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Joy Behar Page
Springer Fever; Penn vs. Jerry; Interview With Ty Pennington
Aired September 23, 2011 - 22:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANNOUNCER: Coming up on THE JOY BEHAR SHOW, Courtney Stodden, the 17- year-old teen bride who married a 51-year-old actor, inked a reality deal. The one and only Jerry Springer tells Joy how he manages to stand out now that tabloid TV like that is the norm.
Then Kendra Wilkinson opens up to her emotional roller coaster ride from stripper to reality star to mother on the verge of suicide.
Plus Ty Pennington tells Joy about working with the first lady for the season premiere of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition".
That and more starting right now.
JOY BEHAR, HOST: Believe it or not, "The Jerry Springer Show" is now in its 21st season and a whole new generation of crazy is stepping up to the plate. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The real reason why you`re on this show is not about that, it`s about your mom.
JERRY SPRINGER, HOST, "THE JERRY SPRINGER SHOW": You slept with her mother?
This was over a year ago.
Well, this kind of violated the nobody in a year.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That was kind of recent.
SPRINGER: It was kind of recent?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That was kind of recent.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BEHAR: It could have been worse, it could have been nana.
SPRINGER: Yes.
BEHAR: I`m happy to welcome back to my show the always entertaining, Jerry Springer.
SPRINGER: Please, don`t get up. Don`t get up. Thank you very much. Thank you. This is great. This is the best place to be.
BEHAR: It is.
SPRINGER: Yes.
BEHAR: Jerry, where do you find these people?
SPRINGER: Where are you from?
BEHAR: Where do they come from, these people who tell you all the innermost demented secrets of their lives?
SPRINGER: They live in our country. They are Americans.
BEHAR: They are us?
SPRINGER: Yes. They are us, they really are. The truth is, we`re all alike, some of us just dress better. In other words, yes, some of us are luckier. Maybe we went to a good school.
BEHAR: Would you do sleep with your girlfriend`s or wife`s mother? Come on. Who does that?
SPRINGER: Thursdays. No, you`re right. You`re right.
I know. But it`s not as if wealthy people don`t do bad things, too.
BEHAR: Oh, they do plenty.
SPRINGER: In other words, what I`m saying is obviously, not everybody does what they do. But it`s wrong to assume that it`s just people of low income that do things like that.
BEHAR: Did I say that?
SPRINGER: No, you didn`t. And I didn`t because I enjoy being on television.
BEHAR: The only thing is that high income people will not come on your show because they don`t have to.
SPRINGER: No. They go on -- but no, what they do, though, is they go on late night television, or on all these magazine shows and they talk about their private lives and who they --
BEHAR: Oh, yes, like "The Housewives" shows.
SPRINGER: Yes, whatever. So, yes, it`s all over the culture. It`s certainly all over the entertainment business.
BEHAR: And I blame you for that.
SPRINGER: Well, I accept the blame. I have ruined the culture. I have ruined it.
BEHAR: I mean 21 seasons.
SPRINGER: Yes.
BEHAR: I mean you`ve been -- you`re the perpetrator, let`s face it, Jerry. You`re the perp.
SPRINGER: Yes. Well, here`s the thing. I`m sorry. I`m so sorry. No. But what happened was it started out like to be a regular show.
BEHAR: Yes.
SPRINGER: And the only decision I ever made and this is God`s truth, the only decision I ever made regarding the show was I wanted it to go young. All the shows at that time were trying to be like Oprah. There were 20 -- 20 talk shows in the early `90s. They all wanted to go after middle-aged housewives.
And then Ricki Lake came along --
BEHAR: Yes.
SPRINGER: -- and she was the first show to go after young people.
BEHAR: Yes. That`s right.
SPRINGER: And so I said well, why be 1 out of 20 going after Oprah`s audience? Let`s be 1 out of 2, go after Ricki`s audience; let`s be young. So we had young people in the audience. Young people on stage, young subject matter. Well, young people are wilder. Then the show started going crazy. Universal bought us and said from now on, you`re only allowed to do crazy. So that`s in the contract.
I mean that`s true. If you call us with a warm uplifting story, you`re not allowed -- we have to send you to another show.
BEHAR: Yes. We know that.
SPRINGER: Yes.
BEHAR: We know that.
SPRINGER: Yes.
BEHAR: Now, you know, there was a suicide recently on Bravo, one of "The Housewives" shows of Beverly Hills --
SPRINGER: Yes. Right.
BEHAR: Taylor Armstrong`s husband.
SPRINGER: Right.
BEHAR: So -- then they`re saying that maybe reality TV has something to do with it. Do you think so?
SPRINGER: Well, first of all, let`s separate reality TV from our show. Our show is real and I would argue that what we call reality TV is not. In other words, it doesn`t mean the consequences can`t be real --
BEHAR: Yes.
SPRINGER: -- but it`s not a real life situation.
What you`re doing is you`re taking people and putting them in a fake situation. You all have to be on an island, you all have to be in a house living together with strangers. You all -- in other words, they create the situation for entertainment. But it`s not real life.
The people who come on our show, for better or worse, this is how they`re living their lives every day, they`re just coming on the show to talk about it. So that -- there`s a real difference there.
BEHAR: Well, it`s somewhat similar. You`re geeking them up first of all. They wouldn`t normally go around acting crazy like this in their real lives. They`re on television. It`s all fun, people are geeking them up and they --
(CROSSTALK)
SPRINGER: Well, that probably is true. But the stories are true. Do they get psyched up because the audience is cheering, I`m sure that is true.
BEHAR: Yes. It is true.
SPRINGER: We keep running these clips. They don`t make me look real good.
BEHAR: Well, I mean I don`t think you care about that, truthfully.
SPRINGER: Oh, I`m sensitive.
BEHAR: I don`t know. You always give that very warm moment at the end where you lecture everybody.
SPRINGER: Yes.
BEHAR: It`s ok to be a transsexual.
SPRINGER: Well, it is.
BEHAR: Yes. And you did that 20 years ago when you say speeches like that. It`s ok to dress up in lady`s clothing, all that.
SPRINGER: Yes. Yes.
BEHAR: So you`re always very liberal in your positions.
SPRINGER: Always.
BEHAR: But you know, what I worry about is like what they call "The Jenny Jones Moment". You know, where a guy goes on TV like he did with Jenny Jones and says, I`m in love with my best friend or something and then the best friend kills him or something happens like that.
SPRINGER: Yes. Well, let me tell you why that doesn`t happen --
BEHAR: That`s pretty scary.
SPRINGER: Let me tell you why it doesn`t happen with us.
BEHAR: Why?
SPRINGER: From day one, if there is a surprise on our show, the guest knows ahead of time that there is going to be a surprise. They are given a list of 21 possible surprises. They don`t know which one it`s going to be but they`re given a list of 21. They have to agree to all 21 possibilities before they`re on the show so that if there`s one that they don`t want to handle on the show, say don`t tell me if it`s that, then they`re not on.
BEHAR: That`s not going to happen on your show.
SPRINGER: Right. Because they may not know which of the 21 it`s going to be but they`ve already accepted the idea that they could be told and one of the 21.
BEHAR: So you`ve never been sued or anything like that?
SPRINGER: Well, people get sued -- you know companies get sued but not for stuff like that.
BEHAR: What have you been sued --
SPRINGER: Well, the food was bad in the greenroom.
BEHAR: Big deal. That`s true everywhere.
Now, Simon Cowell`s "X Factor" premiered last night.
SPRINGER: Yes.
BEHAR: Paula Abdul ran off to vomit after a contestant guy exposed himself.
SPRINGER: Yes.
BEHAR: Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(CLIP FROM "X FACTOR")
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where`s Paula?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BEHAR: We`re not sure what she`s disgusted by, his singing or his schmeckel --
SPRINGER: Yes.
BEHAR: -- but they -- she goes and hauls and then they hauled him off. They didn`t really haul him off the show. Wait a second. They showed it. This is on tape obviously otherwise you wouldn`t see that X in front.
SPRINGER: Well, that`s pure show -- that`s pure show business, obviously, because it was taped. If they really were upset about it, they could have cut it out of the tape. It wasn`t live.
BEHAR: Yes. Exactly.
SPRINGER: So obviously, they don`t. Look, these shows -- that is -- it`s pure show business. So we shouldn`t get upset about it because we shouldn`t be like I can`t believe it --
BEHAR: It`s kind of gross.
SPRINGER: Well, I agree.
BEHAR: It`s gross.
SPRINGER: Oh, I understand. I`m not saying we shouldn`t be upset that that`s there but we shouldn`t say how could that happen? It`s a show, they`re trying to -- obviously trying to get higher ratings. They`re doing something that`s extreme. That`s what that business is.
But you know what? Simon will fix it and everything he touches eventually works out.
BEHAR: I know.
SPRINGER: So even if it didn`t have a great first night, my guess is he`ll probably --
BEHAR: You know, he gave up $100 million to do this show because -- they offered him that at "American Idol".
SPRINGER: Yes.
BEHAR: I was reading that.
SPRINGER: A week`s pay?
BEHAR: Not a week -- is that your salary?
SPRINGER: Oh, I`m sorry.
BEHAR: Seriously, who makes more money, you or Judge Judy?
SPRINGER: Judge Judy.
BEHAR: Ok. When we come back Jerry will be joined by --
SPRINGER: I don`t want her calling me for a loan.
(CROSSTALK)
BEHAR: Penn Jillette.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BEHAR: I`m back with talk show legend, Jerry Springer and joining us to talk politics is another opinionated fellow, Penn Jillette, illusionist and the author of "God, No". Hey, Penn, how are you? Ok.
PENN JILLETT, ILLUSIONIST/AUTHOR, "GOD, NO": Never have been better, boss, how are you?
BEHAR: Very good.
Ok, Jerry, let`s talk politics a little about --
SPRINGER: Sure.
BEHAR: -- Obama`s having a little bit of trouble these days.
SPRINGER: Sure.
BEHAR: You know I mean, do you think there are -- there are any current candidates who stand a chance against the guy or not?
SPRINGER: No. I think right now, he`s in trouble. And you know, the economy is going bad. And obviously, he`s going to be blamed and he`s the President and things look bad.
They look bad until the Republicans settle on a candidate. Once there is another human being running against him --
(CROSSTALK)
BEHAR: Yes.
SPRINGER: -- then all of a sudden you can make a comparison and my guess is he ultimately ends up winning. But of course now he`s going to look bad because there is no one else to pick on.
BEHAR: Well that`s true, that`s true.
But a new poll Penn, shows that Sarah Palin trails Obama by just five points. She`s not even in the race. Doesn`t this show something about what`s going on in this country, they`re so dissatisfied with everybody?
JILLETTE: Yes, any -- anyone who`s put up against Obama right now will look really, really good because -- because the economy is so bad, he`s doing so badly. But I think -- I think Jerry is completely right, I think once they actually decide on a person and a person is running, then, everything gets dug out about them. You know, all you do is get less popular as you go on. Every time you open your mouth and say something, you alienate some people.
So I think Jerry is probably right, I think Obama is probably our present president and our next president.
BEHAR: I think so, too.
SPRINGER: Yes.
BEHAR: I hope so. I mean, I don`t see anybody on the right who is better than he is to tell you the truth.
SPRINGER: Well, no I`m biased. I like him a lot and I want him to win. But you know --
(CROSSTALK)
BEHAR: He`s not perfect.
SPRINGER: -- he`s not perfect.
BEHAR: Yes.
SPRINGER: And the truth is --
(CROSSTALK)
JILLETTE: Yes.
SPRINGER: -- it could be -- it could be a close race. But I don`t think -- and I -- and I think going along with what Penn just said, you are never as popular as you are the day before you announce. So once you announce, it`s all downhill.
BEHAR: Yes. Then it`s downhill. Yes, yes.
(CROSSTALK)
JILLETTE: Once you -- once you mention anything on policy.
SPRINGER: Sure.
JILLETTE: And I`ll also say that I disagree with Obama on a -- on a huge number of things, but the things that I disagree with him on are things that I would disagree with the other candidates on. I mean if a -- as libertarian as I like to be, if a hard-core socialist came out and said they would simply stop the wars and stop the wars on drugs, I`d be behind them completely.
I mean and there`s no candidate that`s doing that except maybe Ron Paul, who`s talking about let`s stop killing people. But I want to mostly --
(CROSSTALK)
BEHAR: Yes.
JILLETTE: -- stop spending billions of dollars killing people we don`t know with money we don`t have for reasons we don`t understand. I`m against that.
(CROSSTALK)
BEHAR: Now you know -- you know, I`ve been watching Bill Clinton on television quite a bit.
SPRINGER: Yes.
BEHAR: So he`s -- he`s warning Obama not to raise taxes or cut spending until we get the economy off the ground.
SPRINGER: I`m ok with the idea at this point of not cutting spending.
BEHAR: Yes.
SPRINGER: And the reason is this -- the problem with the spending is virtually everything we spend money on is for middle and lower income people. Rich people don`t need government services.
BEHAR: No that`s right.
SPRINGER: So when you have politicians being so brave and say, I`m going to tighten the belt. It`s time to --
(CROSSTALK)
BEHAR: It`s on the lower middle classes; that`s right.
SPRINGER: Yes, it`s always the little guy that gets hurt, so that`s the first thing. Secondly I do believe -- I don`t believe we should raise taxes on middle income Americans or lower income --
(CROSSTALK)
BEHAR: Right.
SPRINGER: -- they don`t have the money for it.
We should raise taxes on people like me. And you know, if you love this country, quit balking about millionaires having to spend a couple of more bucks. We send kids to fight and die for this country, why can`t we that have a lot of money spend a little money for Americans. Don`t we love America.
(CROSSTALK)
BEHAR: Did you hear -- did you hear Mayor Bloomberg talk about this. He said, "That everybody should participate in taxes. That it`s really poor people even should always contribute if it`s a dollar just so that they feel they`re part of the country." You`re saying only rich. I don`t think this is going to work.
SPRINGER: It`s no -- it`s not only rich, I`m saying in terms of -- every -- I agree middle class has to pay taxes. We`re talking now whether we raise the taxes. At this point, I don`t think we can raise taxes on middle income Americans. Rich people we can, I`m sorry, Penn.
BEHAR: Ok Penn go ahead, what do you have to say?
JILLETTE: What -- well, what -- what Jerry said in there was a little bit nutty, which is we`re sending people, lower income, young people overseas to kill with rich people`s money. I think the government`s not doing a very good job with all the money they have.
Also, I -- I don`t trust Clinton that much. In 1993, Clinton put through, at a time coming out of a recession, Clinton put through the largest tax increase in history and probably brought us out of a recession, so even as a libertarian, if you`re talking pragmatically, Clinton did a very different thing than he is urging Obama to do.
And how much are you talking about, Jerry? When my -- when my taxes went from 35 to 39 and back to 35, it made very little difference.
(CROSSTALK)
SPRINGER: Ok.
JILLETTE: What would be the ideal top tax bracket?
(CROSSTALK)
SPRINGER: Ok and what --
JILLETTE: Is the only arguing about four percent, that`s all they`re arguing about. I don`t care about that.
SPRINGER: I understand -- I understand if you kept the taxes -- did away with the Bush tax cuts and if you increased taxes for people who make over $1 million a year. I totally understand --
(CROSSTALK)
JILLETTE: To what, how much?
SPRINGER: Wait, wait, whatever it is. Either -- I`m admitting. I`m agreeing with you. I admit that even if you just raise the taxes for people who make over $1 million, there is no way you`re going to raise enough money to deal with our deficit. That isn`t the point.
JILLETTE: Never.
SPRINGER: The point that I don`t get is when we say we love our country so much the one place where the Republicans are willing to draw the line and say we`re willing to cut Medicare, we`re willing to cut all these programs but by God we`re not going to make wealthy people pay any more money. Everyone has to pay except the very wealthy.
(CROSSTALK)
BEHAR: It`s out -- it`s outrageous really.
SPRINGER: That`s not America. We all should pay.
(CROSSTALK)
JILLETTE: But Jerry you also --
(CROSSTALK)
BEHAR: Yes.
JILLETTE: -- you also can give -- I mean, all of us should be giving more money to charity and the wealthy can do that. You don`t need the government to force you, you can also just do it.
(CROSSTALK)
BEHAR: Yes, but they don`t. I know a lot of rich people, they give nothing.
(CROSSTALK)
SPRINGER: Yes, but --
JILLETTE: But they do, but they do. I do.
SPRINGER: Well, I know you do. But there is nothing wrong --
(CROSSTALK)
JILLETTE: Don`t you, Jerry?
SPRINGER: Yes.
JILLETTE: Of course.
SPRINGER: Yes but there is nothing wrong with saying, think about it. Why are we arguing over this? If you`re a millionaire, if you`re making millions and millions of dollars a year, so to help out America, how about your taxes go a little up. Big deal?
(CROSSTALK)
BEHAR: You know, you know can I just tell you Jerry --
SPRINGER: Don`t do it, I`m helping out my country, I love it.
BEHAR: All right, I was at a dinner party, all rich people.
SPRINGER: Yes.
BEHAR: Harry Diller was there.
SPRINGER: Yes.
BEHAR: Other people, really billionaires they not only have a plane, they have a yacht.
SPRINGER: A yacht.
BEHAR: You only have a plane.
SPRINGER: That`s a yacht of money.
BEHAR: I was -- and I asked all of them, would you be willing to have your taxes raised, to a man, to a woman at that table, they said, yes, they would. I think that there`s such an enormous --
(CROSSTALK)
SPRINGER: It`s the politicians that don`t want to --
(CROSSTALK)
BEHAR: Yes, I do believe that that`s it.
JILLETTE: But -- but Jerry, do you really want -- why couldn`t we -- why do we want to use all that money from all those rich people to put pot heads in jail, to fight wars overseas, to put people on death row?
A lot of the stuff the government is doing costs a lot of money and is morally wrong. Why are we so thrilled about giving money to people to use it incorrectly?
(CROSSTALK)
SPRINGER: I agree with you. I agree with you.
BEHAR: No we don`t want that.
SPRINGER: Ok.
BEHAR: Who says they`re going to use it incorrectly.
SPRINGER: Well, yes, I am not in favor of them using it incorrectly. I`m with you on a lot of these issues Penn.
JILLETTE: But they are all using it incorrectly.
SPRINGER: Well, I know but that`s not -- but in the meantime I don`t want to cut Medicare, in the meantime, I don`t want to cut people`s grant so a middle class kids can go to college. The money is needed for important stuff. I agree with you some of the money we spent is misspent.
JILLETTE: Right, but they tell you, they tell you they`re going to use the money for the poor and not that much money goes to the poor, it goes to putting pot heads in prison. Don`t do that.
BEHAR: Ok. Speaking of pot heads, thank you for being on the show, Jerry; thank you, Penn, and check your local listings for "The Jerry Springer Show", now in its 21st season.
We`ll be right back.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Coming up next, Nick Lachey tells joy why he agreed to allow reality cameras into his life yet again.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BEHAR: The third seasons of NBC`s "The Sing-off" premiered this week, leaving viewers on a high note. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(CLIP FROM "THE SING-OFF)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BEHAR: Wow. Joining me is the show`s host, Nick Lachey. Welcome, Nick.
NICK LACHEY, HOST, "THE SING-OFF": Thank you.
BEHAR: I thought that had music behind it. It`s all singing voices?
LACHEY: Yes, it really -- sometimes it really did sound like there`s instrumentation behind it. But those are all voices. Those are sounds and noises and instruments played by only the human voice.
BEHAR: No kidding.
LACHEY: Yes.
BEHAR: That`s pretty interesting.
LACHEY: It was pretty wild.
BEHAR: I`ve never seen anything like that quite. You had a very big year. You have a hit show.
LACHEY: We like to think so. Yes, thank you.
BEHAR: You`re in your third season as I said.
LACHEY: We are.
BEHAR: You just got married to Vanessa Minnillo.
LACHEY: I did.
BEHAR: I almost said Vanilla Minnillo.
LACHEY: Not much vanilla about her. She`s a fiery one.
BEHAR: She is? Another TV host. You were married to another TV person before, right?
LACHEY: Well, yes. But a slightly different set of circumstances there. Yes, we`ve been married about two months now. Got married this summer. So exciting stuff there.
BEHAR: Yes. But you were together for five years.
LACHEY: We were. Yes, a long time. We dated and actually lived together and all that good stuff. So not much -- not much feels like it`s changed.
BEHAR: No.
LACHEY: Kind of extension of the same, you know, what was already a very good relationship.
BEHAR: I just got married after 29 years of dating.
LACHEY: Congratulations. Wow.
BEHAR: Thank you. And people say, is there any difference? I don`t know. How could there be a difference?
LACHEY: After 29 years, I feel like you pretty much know everything.
BEHAR: Exactly.
LACHEY: I felt like that after five years. I can`t imagine 29.
BEHAR: You do. You know each other very well.
LACHEY: Congratulations. That`s great.
BEHAR: Well, congratulations to you.
But the first time, I think you married too young, right? How old were you?
LACHEY: I wasn`t necessarily too -- I think I was 28 or something, first time around. So, I think it`s -- I don`t know whether it was a too young thing or too much going on thing. But you know, you learn from --
BEHAR: Showbiz.
LACHEY: That certainly played a part in everything, I think.
BEHAR: You feel like you`re in a fishbowl. I mean even -- in this time with Vanessa, you did have your wedding on the air, right?
LACHEY: We did. We did a wedding special for TLC, which, yes some people raised eyebrows to that.
BEHAR: It did?
LACHEY: But I think we really thought about that long and hard and certainly knowing what I had been through before and what that all was like, I didn`t want to repeat that. But I felt like this was a -- you know, it was clear beginning and end to this scenario and opportunity to create a really great wedding moment was something we wanted to do.
BEHAR: Now, your show has some interesting things coming up. Tell me about it before we have to wrap.
LACHEY: Yes. Well, "Sing-off" we`re in our third season. We expanded the season from five episodes to 11 episodes. And from 10 groups to 16; so a lot more extensive this time around. So we`re very excited about that.
We`ve been able to integrate a lot of new themed episodes. A country western episode this year, our first ever hip-hop episode. So just really great music, really super talented singers with a real passion for performing and for music. So it`s a great show to be a part of.
BEHAR: There are a lot of people who can really sing, I notice.
LACHEY: A ton.
BEHAR: A lot of good singers out there. You know, on Broadway --
LACHEY: Right. It`s intimidating.
BEHAR: It is. I mean they`re out there and they can sing and they can dance and do everything all at once.
LACHEY: Yes.
BEHAR: It`s fascinating to watch.
LACHEY: I think shows like this, it`s great to encourage people in the arts, and provides an example and something to aspire to for kids. Like man, I want to do that. It`s so promoted and glamorized now. I think it`s great, you know.
BEHAR: Well, good luck with the show --
LACHEY: Thank you. Thank you.
BEHAR: -- and the new marriage.
LACHEY: Thank you very much.
BEHAR: Thanks for coming you on. You can catch Nick Lachey on "The Sing-off" Mondays at 8:00 p.m. on NBC.
We`ll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BEHAR: Ty Pennington loves tearing down homes in disrepair and rebuilding them, sometimes with the people still in them. The new season of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" kicks off with a very special guest pitching in to help build a new home for homeless female veterans. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TY PENNINGTON, HOST: This week, you guys got a personal message from the first lady herself, Michelle Obama.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was encouraging. It was humbling. It was overwhelming. It was just so many emotions, to think that she would think of us.
PENNINGTON: She really has shown her support for what you do to help American veterans and about all of us joining forces. The only thing that could be better than that would be if the first lady were here in person.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That would be overwhelming.
PENNINGTON: Well, guess what? It gives me great honor to introduce the first lady of the United States, Michelle Obama!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BEHAR: Joining me now is "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" host, the fabulous Ty Pennington.
PENNINGTON: Thanks for having me.
BEHAR: How did you get Michelle Obama to do the show?
PENNINGTON: I got her on speed dial. So I just gave her a call and you know--
BEHAR: Does she watch the show? She must watch the show.
PENNINGTON: That`s what was really amazing is she -- you know, the family actually watches the show and they love what we do. So we were helping out a family. Well, Barbara Marshall (ph) runs this thing called Jubilee House down in North Carolina, and it`s basically a homeless shelter for female veterans who are jobless, homeless, a lot of them are single parents raising kids and just trying to get back on their feet. And so she heard about the project and wanted to be involved, something she is passionate about. And when we heard that, we were like oh my God, this is, it`s pretty incredible to think that the White House would like to be involved in one of our projects.
BEHAR: Well, you do good deeds, they`re all about good deeds, aren`t they?
PENNINGTON: Well, certainly. Yes, but not just that, but it really is about honoring all veterans, too, and it opened our eyes to realize how many people served our country but are dealing with, you know, the fact that they don`t have a job, don`t have a home.
BEHAR: Did she get her hands dirty, did she like dig in?
PENNINGTON: She definitely rolled up her sleeves. What was really incredible --
BEHAR: She has got those arms, she could lift a house.
PENNINGTON: Right. Yes, I think she could probably lift me over her head, too. She`s like a strong woman. She`s really incredibly approachable, which is amazing. She showed up in like low-top converse and was just ready to go to work. And just really engaging.
BEHAR: She`s lovely, isn`t she? I like her.
PENNINGTON: Yes, she makes you feel very comfortable and not, you know--
BEHAR: And you went to the White House.
PENNINGTON: We did.
BEHAR: Was the president there?
PENNINGTON: You know, it`s funny, we were there, the bus was on the lawn, I mean, I can only imagine, you know, that`s the first time our bus, I`m sure, has been in that driveway, and will never be again. You know, it`s like sure, guys, come on, bring the bus in, it`s no biggie, let`s just do a couple of scans, don`t mind us. We were there and of course I got to yell with my bullhorn at the White House, which must be highly annoying. But the dog was quiet, which was nice.
But yes, the president was busy, and he ended up coming over because he had -- everything shut down, nobody could leave, nobody could go. And I think the one thing that was really interesting, too, is we had all kinds of meetings with the Secret Service about when she was going to arrive on our site. And it was like, you`re not going to know where we are, you know, you`re not going to know when, but we`ll be there. You know, and so like everywhere you look --
BEHAR: They`re sneaky.
PENNINGTON: Right. It`s like letting you know, don`t be too -- just be aware we`re watching. So it was intense but really incredible, and it was really awesome to just have her there and to know that she`s really passionate about what we`re doing for this family.
BEHAR: I like the way you do things, you make things over. What about this set? Anything you want to try?
PENNINGTON: Well, it`s nice, but it seems like you`re sort of alone on a rooftop. You know? I feels like you ought to have more friends.
BEHAR: Feel like jumping sometimes.
(LAUGHTER)
BEHAR: Where`s the rooftop.
PENNINGTON: Oh, yeah.
BEHAR: I know. All this space back here, we should have dancers back there or something.
PENNINGTON: Dancers -- you know, well, you already have more women on that other job you have got. So maybe you should have a bunch of men standing around.
BEHAR: Just standing there.
PENNINGTON: Yeah, just standing there.
BEHAR: Maybe like a gay bar behind me.
PENNINGTON: Yes. Like a rooftop gay bar. That would be great.
BEHAR: There`s a thing that Ikea is doing. They`re trying to do it, anyway. They have this place where men can go and sit, this is not in this country, I believe it`s in Sweden or some place. I forget where, somewhere.
PENNINGTON: Are you saying in Australia?
BEHAR: Yes. Oh, in Australia. That`s it. I always get Sweden and Australia mixed up.
PENNINGTON: Oh, totally. I see how that could happen.
BEHAR: Anyway, there`s a place where the men can go and sit while their wives shop around. And so what do you think about that idea? Do men not like to shop?
PENNINGTON: What do they do? What do they do, just sit there? In time out? Or what?
BEHAR: I think they can play on their iPads or they can call up their mistress, whatever, I don`t know.
PENNINGTON: Oh, so they`re like dropping off the kids at--
BEHAR: Yes, the bubbles -- those kids are always playing with those big balls in the place.
PENNINGTON: Right. So this is a place where men can just sort of like play video games and sort of watch sports while the women shop?
BEHAR: Yes. I mean, I`m just saying that because men don`t seem to like to shop. You must be shopping all the time in your field.
PENNINGTON: Well, I`m more of a designer than shopper. But there are a lot of those. But I would say, the thing is, yes, I`m pretty good at it. But I mean, I think most men, if they`re shopping with their wife, I mean, it`s sort of like that scene out of "Old School," yes, we`re going to Bed, Bath and Beyond, you know, it`s going to be an awesome day. So I think most men would sort of just rather if they could be dropped off and just hang out with other men and watch football, I think it probably benefits both because they can probably shop a lot better without, you know, you like this, I don`t know.
BEHAR: The men.
PENNINGTON: Yes.
BEHAR: They`re so annoying. They don`t want to really stroll behind you and look at every dress, it`s so irritating.
PENNINGTON: And men don`t want to have the pressure to answer, does that look good? Yes.
BEHAR: I know. So what about this idea of a man cave? What do you think about that? Because I`ve heard about that, men have this room in their house where there can really be pool tables and football and everything.
PENNINGTON: Guilty.
BEHAR: You have one?
PENNINGTON: Yes.
BEHAR: What about a mom cave, it`s for women? What would you put in there, because you`re a designer, let`s hear it?
PENNINGTON: In the mom cave? I would imagine, you know, something -- well, sort of relaxing. Women love the nails and the spas, so maybe one of those things you soak your feet in.
BEHAR: Oh, a pedicure, little pedicure thing.
PENNINGTON: A mani-pedi booth.
BEHAR: A mani-pedi, what else?
PENNINGTON: Let`s see. How about maybe soundproof or like put a sound machine in there that you have got like relaxing stuff, maybe -- oh, my God, just play that song over and over, "Beautiful, that`s true." You know, just do that--
BEHAR: I love that. James Blount (ph). Women love that.
PENNINGTON: Just on a loop, you know.
BEHAR: That other one, you`re amazing, that other song by Bruno--
(CROSSTALK)
PENNINGTON: All these compliment songs.
BEHAR: What a great idea! I love that.
PENNINGTON: Come out of there feeling like, I`m amazed and refreshed.
BEHAR: Yeah.
(CROSSTALK)
BEHAR: Don`t go changing to try and please me. Stay as hideous as you are. All right, so that`s what you would do.
PENNINGTON: That and maybe a mini fridge where they could have like you know, chilled towels, hot towels, a lot of like, you know, aromatherapy.
BEHAR: What`s in your man cave?
PENNINGTON: Old beer and guitars.
BEHAR: That`s it?
PENNINGTON: Yes. That`s the way we like it.
BEHAR: Pictures of naked women?
PENNINGTON: Yes. But not like current.
BEHAR: Oh, like who?
PENNINGTON: Just half naked.
BEHAR: Who`s in there? Any movie stars or something?
PENNINGTON: Yeah, probably back in this day. You know? I`m kidding. Actually, I don`t have any -- I don`t have any -- I have like choking victim -- you know, like you and me, like how to do --
BEHAR: How to choke someone?
PENNINGTON: No, how to do the Heimlich maneuver and stuff? I like all those sort of warning posters, because you just never know when it`s going to happen, so I always like, especially in the man cave, so.
BEHAR: The man cave. Now, did you and I talk, last time you were here, did we talk about the fact that you have ADHD?
PENNINGTON: Well, we might have, but I`ve got ADHD, so not only would I not remember, but I probably changed the subject in mid-conversation.
BEHAR: So I thought that you could be cured of ADHD. I guess not.
PENNINGTON: No--
BEHAR: What`s the difference between ADD and ADHD?
PENNINGTON: Well, ADD is attention deficit disorder, OK? I think a lot of people may have that, and it`s sort of like not being able to focus long enough to finish a paragraph or, you know, you finish a chapter in the book and realize you didn`t really soak any of that up. Now, ADHD is attention deficit hyperactive disorder.
BEHAR: So you`re jumping around when you`re not finishing--
PENNINGTON: Well, you`ve got distractability, impulsivity. I`m the kid who would actually jump off the roof because it might be an impulsive idea to do, which isn`t really good for other kids to see, because then they think it`s cool to do it.
BEHAR: I see.
PENNINGTON: I was that kid in class that would cause so much chaos, that, you know, I would wear my desk, I`d swing on the blinds, I`d slap Joey on the back of the head and just run up and down, while the teacher is trying to teach all the other kids. So I was highly entertaining, but I was quite a distraction. Of course some of those -- well, I don`t know what you would call them, but those -- people like that do end up in the entertainment industry. Clearly, it worked for me. But the fact that I could also, like, work with my hands as an artisan in construction and not lose any of my fingers--
BEHAR: Are you on medication?
PENNINGTON: Yes. I take -- you know, it`s basically a chemical imbalance that, you know -- but there are theories that you can just go to diet, which, you know, you just eat protein and cheeses and things like that.
BEHAR: That makes you hyper, protein. You need carbs to slow you down.
PENNINGTON: No. It`s about, you know--
BEHAR: Really?
PENNINGTON: But the thing is, if you go off your diet, then immediately you`re off balance. And so it`s really -- it seems to work.
BEHAR: It`s interesting that the other kids would follow. So the worst thing is to have ADHD with leadership qualities?
PENNINGTON: Exactly.
BEHAR: OK. Let me --
PENNINGTON: Which clearly I have.
BEHAR: Before we go, I have a couple of Facebook questions for you.
PENNINGTON: OK.
BEHAR: You were a male model. Did you wax?
PENNINGTON: Did I wax? Well, that`s a good question.
BEHAR: A yes or no would be sufficient. You know if you waxed.
PENNINGTON: Oh, you mean myself?
BEHAR: Yes.
PENNINGTON: Oh, no.
(CROSSTALK)
PENNINGTON: There`s a lot of tough jobs out there in the beginning, a lot of waxing of floors and cabinets. You know, you got to work your way up.
BEHAR: But did you have to wax your chest?
PENNINGTON: Are you kidding? No, I -- why.
BEHAR: So you didn`t wax?
PENNINGTON: No. No.
BEHAR: OK. Somebody wants to know, are you married, single or dating. And then I`ll leave you alone.
PENNINGTON: Well, I guess I`m single because I don`t have time to date. So but I guess that`s what Facebook is all about.
BEHAR: Do you think it`s hard when you have ADHD to have a relationship? It must be hard, right?
PENNINGTON: I have dated, I`ve been in a relationship before, and I know that they`ve been challenged, yes. It`s sort of tough to stay focused on one task (ph).
BEHAR: One person.
PENNINGTON: Yes.
BEHAR: Yes. OK, thanks for dropping by. It was lovely to see you.
PENNINGTON: Thanks for having me.
BEHAR: And the new season of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" premieres Sunday at 7:00 p.m. on ABC. We`ll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BEHAR: Since her wild days as a playboy model and one of few Hefner`s girlfriends in "The Girls Next Door," Kendra Wilkinson got married, had a child and landed her own show. Pretty good, let`s take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KENDRA WILKINSON: And we just moved into a beautiful house in Kalabacid and it`s our dream home. It`s over 5,000 square feet. Five large bedrooms, a huge kitchen, huge backyard, I mean, perfect space. But we are redoing the [ bleep ] out of it.
What`s that stuff wrapped around our house? What the [ bleep ]?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BEHAR: Her new book is called "Being Kendra." And it`s called "Being Kendra: Cribs, Cocktails and Getting My Sexy Back." There`s a whole long title in here. And I`m happy to welcome Kendra Wilkinson to my show. Hello, Kendra.
WILKINSON: Hi. Thanks for having me.
BEHAR: What was that? Are you in foreclosure or something?
WILKINSON: I can`t give it away. That`s like -- that`s like one of those ...
BEHAR: Cliff-hanger?
WILKINSON: Yeah, yeah. You have to watch. It`s on the first episode. So that airs the 25th.
BEHAR: OK. The first line of your book is "Hank and I had sex on the staircase today." That`s got to hurt, doesn`t it?
WILKINSON: I had to open up my -- I had to open up my book like that. I had to.
BEHAR: Yes.
WILKINSON: You know, I have to get it all out there. I`m an open book. I have to open up with big bang.
BEHAR: But I would like to know how you do it on the staircase. Don`t you slide down? I`m curious.
WILKINSON: I actually -- you know, you`re not the only one that`s asked me that.
BEHAR: Yeah.
WILKINSON: You know, I had to -- if you read on, I had to actually, you know, look out the window. And it was a whole -- I had to look out the window to watch if my assistant was coming in the door.
BEHAR: Oh, it was more fun.
WILKINSON: Yeah.
(CROSSTALK)
BEHAR: Of getting caught.
WILKINSON: Oh, yes.
BEHAR: Yeah.
WILKINSON: During nap time.
BEHAR: OK. All right. But you write you never have sex in the bed. Why not?
WILKINSON: The bed is boring. It`s so boring. I mean if we have to ...
BEHAR: At my age, it`s not boring, believe me. I enjoy the bed, particularly to sleep in.
WILKINSON: I mean, you know, yeah, well, it happens, you know. I mean if it happens, it happens in the bed.
BEHAR: Yes.
WILKINSON: But we like to be -- we like to have fun.
BEHAR: You avoid the bed?
WILKINSON: Yes. Yes. So I mean we only get so much time, you know.
BEHAR: Why? Why are you so rushed?
WILKINSON: You know, we have things going on. You know, we have -- we have cameras in our house, we have the baby. Oh, yes, there is a lot going on in our house. So we only have ...
BEHAR: Do you ever do it while the cameras are in another room?
WILKINSON: Oh, yes.
BEHAR: Like their reddish -- You do?
WILKINSON: Oh, yeah.
BEHAR: You`re an adventurous sexual being, aren`t you?
WILKINSON: Like -- I have a story. Right before I -- the night I got induced, right before we went in, I`m like, babe, we got to have sex right now, now, because we won`t be having sex in six weeks, that`s a long time.
BEHAR: Yes.
WILKINSON: So we just had sex that -- right before we went to the doctor to get induced.
BEHAR: I think that that`s -- isn`t that dangerous, to have sex in the ninth month like that?
WILKINSON: That`s a great thing. It`s a great ...
BEHAR: Oh really?
WILKINSON: Yeah.
BEHAR: See how much I know. I know nothing.
WILKINSON: It helps.
BEHAR: It helps the baby to come out.
WILKINSON: Yes.
BEHAR: The baby must be confused by that. OK. You have said the truth I is -- this is your quote, if I wasn`t on my reality show, there`s a good chance I`d probably be stripping. Why? Those are your two alternatives?
WILKINSON: Well, I mean life guided me to where I never thought it would guide me to. I mean I never thought I would ever be here.
BEHAR: So, why stripping? Why not Wal-Mart?
WILKINSON: Well because -- that`s funny that you ask. No. I was a stripper before I got into the Hollywood business, so -- but actually at the same time I was looking into -- looking into college at the time, too. But it`s really just to show that, you know, I`m very thankful for where I`m at.
BEHAR: Yes. The reality show. But you have to be careful. You know, but we`ll get to that in a minute, because you married a football player, Hank Baskett ...
WILKINSON: Yes.
BEHAR: How you say his name?
WILKINSON: Yes.
BEHAR: In 2009? Right?
WILKINSON: Uh-huh.
BEHAR: And season four of the "Kendra" begins the 25th of September. Now, are you worried about the reality show marriage curse?
WILKINSON: You know ...
BEHAR: Because I mean I can name you names, I have a few here. The Gosselins split, the Speidis, remember that? Hulk Hogan, Jessica Simpson, the Salahis and seven other housewives, once they were in reality shows they got divorced. What do you think?
WILKINSON: You know, I think if it`s meant to be, it`s meant to be, you know, with them, I`m saying with them.
BEHAR: Yes.
WILKINSON: Hank and I have a very -- I know it doesn`t look like it in the spotlight ...
BEHAR: No, I don`t know.
WILKINSON: Hank and I have a very traditional relationship, you know, where family is number one to us. You know, we celebrity and Hollywood, all that stuff comes like last, really.
BEHAR: How long did you know each other?
WILKINSON: Actually, we knew each other about, what, five months before we got married.
BEHAR: Before you got married?
WILKINSON: Yes.
BEHAR: And now, you`re married how long?
WILKINSON: Two and a half years.
BEHAR: So it`s working out.
WILKINSON: Oh.
BEHAR: That`s nice.
WILKINSON: It`s amazing.
BEHAR: And the baby, Hank number four, is 21 months old.
WILKINSON: Yes.
BEHAR: Do you have any kind of thoughts about maybe putting him on television? Because that could be -- that could be detrimental to a child.
WILKINSON: You know, people -- people have their opinions and they say, you know, why are you putting your baby on TV? And, you know, I flipped to, you know, ABC and NBC and you see babies on sitcoms. So I just don`t understand the difference between, you know, showing him for a couple seconds on a reality show doing what he would do ...
BEHAR: Yeah.
WILKINSON: ... other than (ph) put a baby on a sitcom and try to ...
BEHAR: Well, the difference is the baby on the sitcom is an actor and is playing a part ...
WILKINSON: Yeah, right.
BEHAR: Whereas your baby ...
WILKINSON: Right, and they have a script.
BEHAR: Yeah, I guess it`s a little bit different. Because it`s I mean the reality is more important to the child than a script. Although you may be right. It may be just as crazy to do that.
WILKINSON: And he just does what he does and the cameras are there.
BEHAR: Yes.
WILKINSON: So, it`s, you know, and that`s a rule of ours. You know, we make sure that he comes first. We work around his schedule.
BEHAR: Yes. You know, when we come back in the next segment, I want to ask you about your postpartum depression because you had a severe case, did you not?
WILKINSON: Yes.
BEHAR: So, don`t go away. We`ll have more with Kendra in just a minute.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BEHAR: And we`re back with Kendra Wilkinson. Now, Kendra, after the baby was born, Hank, you struggled with postpartum depression. Tell me about that. How long after the baby was born?
WILKINSON: It was pretty much right away. You know, I -- if you read my first book, "Sliding Into Home", I -- I go into detail about, you know, my depression as a teenager. And, you know, I struggled with drugs and alcohol and I got through that. But I was very depressed. I even got, you know, I was in a -- I went to a hospital because I had suicide issues and, you know, right after having the baby, I felt very similar, there were similar feelings that ...
BEHAR: Depressed.
WILKINSON: Yeah, very depressed. And I lost that, you know, how are you doing today, Kendra? Like it went -- I never got -- that got lost. And everybody`s like baby, baby, baby, which is definitely important and, you know, I made sure that the baby was well taken care of, but I just -- I felt very like nobody cared about me and I felt just thrown away almost.
BEHAR: Yes. I mean sometimes I think postpartum depression is really loneliness. Sometimes because you`re alone with the baby all day long ...
WILKINSON: Yeah.
BEHAR: And if you`re isolated from your family, it`s tough.
WILKINSON: Yes.
BEHAR: So it`s not just some hormonal thing. A lot of it is circumstantial.
WILKINSON: Oh, yes, 100 percent.
BEHAR: Did you get some help?
WILKINSON: No, because I also say it in my book that, you know, I`d been bouncing -- I was bouncing around the United States. You know, and if you`ve been in therapy you know that you know, you just don`t go one time or two times. It`s a whole, you know, it`s like medicine. You have to ..
BEHAR: Forever.
WILKINSON: Yes. So I finally have a home now that you saw that.
BEHAR: Yes.
WILKINSON: I finally have a home so now, you know, I`m definitely -- I`m definitely, you know, able to get help.
BEHAR: In my notes, I guess, in the book you say that you destroyed the apartment?
WILKINSON: Yes, yes.
BEHAR: So it wasn`t just you were depressed, you were also violent?
WILKINSON: I had a break in mind. I had a -- no, family ...
BEHAR: Did you hit (ph) furniture and everything?
WILKINSON: Family -- not trust me, they were in safe -- I would never ever put my family in harm`s way.
BEHAR: Oh, no. No. It was an assault against the furniture.
WILKINSON: Yes.
BEHAR: Yes. So, what did you do?
WILKINSON: No, I was in Minnesota at the time, snowed in, you know, I`m not used -- you know, I`m used to being under the sun. So being in Minnesota was hard because, again, I didn`t know anybody, I was in a very small apartment snowed in for weeks.
BEHAR: Yes.
WILKINSON: Didn`t know anybody and I just -- we didn`t have a home.
BEHAR: So you got mad, you got angry. It`s interesting that you -- that you just lashed out.
(CROSSTALK)
WILKINSON: I was stir crazy, and I just felt bad. I felt guilty because my baby was just like bouncing around like a piece of luggage and I just -- I felt like we had no home and I had a break ...
BEHAR: And yet the marriage has lasted, though, through that period.
WILKINSON: Oh. Yes.
BEHAR: Good for you.
WILKINSON: Yes.
BEHAR: That`s good, I`m happy that you came through it.
WILKINSON: Yeah, and we`ve been through -- we`ve been through a lot, you know. And we`ve gotten through it and that`s a reason why I wanted to write a book, is because there is light, there is light down the tunnel.
BEHAR: Yeah, and that`s, you know, that`s motivation. And I`m here at the light now. So.
WILKINSON: Yes.
BEHAR: Well, good luck to you.
WILKINSON: Thank you.
BEHAR: I mean you have a nice book here, you`ve got a show, you`ve got a husband and a baby. Who`s better than you, Kendra?
WILKINSON: You, Joy.
BEHAR: "Being Kendra". Thank you for watching. Good night, everybody.
END
