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Penn State's 1st Game Since Allegations; GOP Candidates Debate in S.C.; Brett Ratner Resigned from Oscars; Ashton Kutcher Trouble on Twitter

Aired November 12, 2011 - 19:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon. Thank you very much for joining us. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

You don't usually see a college football game start with a collective prayer by fans and both teams kneeling together on the field. But that's how it began today for Penn State's Nittany Lions in their first game since child rape allegations leveled against a former coach.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

LEMON: A very emotional game. A prayer, that prayer was for the eight alleged victim of former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky out of jail today on bail, the scandal leading to Penn State's first game without head coach Joe Paterno in 46 years. Beaver Stadium was filled with navy blue. Tears in the eyes of a generation of students, alumni and fan, many of them having to reconcile their sadness over the horrific allegations against the loss of Paterno from the program he ran for so long.

His departure may have seemed sudden. But his fate was sealed long ago by how he handled, and, some say, mishandled an eyewitness report in 2002, that his former defensive coordinator raped a young boy in a locker room shower. Paterno's son Jay is still Penn State's quarterbacks coach. He spoke to ESPN about the first of many Saturdays without his father in command.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAY PATERNO, JOE PATERNO'S SON: Joe has always taught us about the blue line at practice, when you cross the blue line, the only thing you can control is what you're doing right there. So, we just had to imagine there's a blue line coming into the stadium. And once we're here, we're focused on the task at hand and just a little short. Dad, wish you were here. We love you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Joe Paterno's son.

We have team coverage for you now, both Mary Snow and Athena Jones on the Penn State campus.

We're going to start with you, Mary. And, Mary, with all the attention being paid to the game today, we shouldn't lose sight of the investigation at the heart of this case, Jerry Sandusky, that former Penn State defensive coordinator accused of sexually abusing eight boys over a period of 15 years. So, where are we now with the investigation, Mary?

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Don, investigators continue to follow up on leads and tips that they're getting. And, you know, there are a number of investigations going on right now. Of course, first and foremost, that criminal investigation led by the Pennsylvania state's attorney general's office. Just yesterday, Penn State initiated its own investigation into who knew about these allegations and when they knew it. And the Department of Justice earlier this week also said that it, too, was investigating.

Just a short time ago, Don, we also want to tell you that Joe Paterno was seen returning to his home. This, of course, just days after being fired from Penn State and not being the coach for first time in 46 years. There have been fans outside his home. He did not speak to them.

And also just last night, his family released a statement saying that he has hired a criminal defense attorney. Paterno has not been charged with anything, but there is the possibility that he faces civil lawsuits. And, Don, you know, there were so many questions about whether or not Penn State should have even played today's game.

The university's new president Rodney Erickson addressed that earlier today. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RODNEY ERICKSON, PRESIDENT, PENN STATE UNIV.: I believe this was the right decision to play this game. Yes, there were a number of individuals, we received e-mails and other communications that indicated that or suggested that under the circumstances, it was not appropriate to play today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SNOW: And don, here on the campus of Penn State tonight in very stark contrast to what happened just days ago when Joe Paterno was fired and we saw all that unrest, it's been very quiet here. Some fans noting that it's been very somber also throughout the day -- Don.

LEMON: Mary, thank you very much. Stand by. We'll be getting back to you throughout the evening here on CNN.

I'm glad Mary mentioned that she talked about that rioting that happened earlier in the week. I want to bring in Athena Jones now.

Many Penn State students did not react well to the news that Paterno was fired on Wednesday, Athena. Mary alluded to it earlier. We saw the rioting on the campus, a news van overturned. And today is senior day. And the team lost a tough game to Nebraska by three points.

So, Mary says it seems somber where she is. Is it a similar mood there where you are?

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it doesn't seem like there's any rioting going on. There are still some people who are out tailgating still. But in terms of when we saw people leaving the game after, there seemed to be a sense of resignation. There were a few chants of "We are Penn State" but it was a calm crowd, I believe. But a lot of people did not like how they were portrayed in the media, so they don't want to be put in that doing same thing happen again or having the same thing happened again.

And so, a lot of the fans we spoke with, a lot of the players, families and friends, members of Penn State and the Penn State community who have been coming to games for years had a real hard time with how they say the media portrayed what happened on Wednesday night. They argued that we blew it out of proportion.

But this is among a lot of difficult emotions today. You had people who wanted to come out and support coach Joe Paterno, but also others who said, well, you know, we're paying way too much attention to him. We needed to be paying a lot more attention to these eight alleged child abuse victims.

And so, you saw during the game there was a group of student who had painted their chests in blue and white, and it said "for the kids." And you have a lot of people wanting to come out and support the kids.

LEMON: I want to ask you this because a lot of people are having a hard time with this and you say people are out drinking and tailgating. And it's just -- some people are having a hard because they feel that part as a celebration. Of course, that's a rite. You do that at the football game. And so close following these charges.

Are the people there aware of the sentiment when you see the people out drinking? Did anyone ask, hey, you know, some eight kids were possibly abused and you guys are out one week after finding out and partying and drinking and celebrating? Did anyone ask about that?

JONES: Well, it's been really interesting. The people I spoke with, I said, have you read the charges? And a lot of us in the media, of course, have read this 23-page list of charges, the summary from the grand jury, of what coach -- former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky is accused of doing. So, you ask people about that and they'll say, yes, I've read them, but we still don't know, you know, between the lines. We don't know everything that was said, who said exactly what and in exactly what terms to each person.

And so, you had people who said, hey, I understood. I spoke with one guy who said, I'm a teacher. I understand the weight of these charges. And yet he still wants to hear directly from coach Paterno himself, from Joe Paterno himself.

We know that's probably not going to happen right now. We've seen this statement from him and now he has a lawyer and is not likely to speak out. He didn't come out tonight.

LEMON: And, Athena, I just want to continue with you -- JONES: People want to hear from him.

LEMON: I want to continue with you because you bring up a very good point right now because we saw Joe Paterno heading home just a short time ago. It was dark in the SUV and he's in the back. Is he sleeping or is he just leaning trying to get out of the way of the cameras?

But there he is in the back of the SUV as it drove him home there. And you see the supporters, Athena.

And this was courtesy of our affiliate KYW-3 in Philadelphia. KYW-3 in Philadelphia.

And these are live pictures now courtesy again -- is this KYW as well? OK. This is a CNN camera. But I think KYW is there in Philadelphia for that. This is CNN live pictures outside of Joe Paterno's home.

So there are a lot of people who are anxious to hear from him, Athena. And he's got a lot of support. But again, as you said, he's probably not going to do any talking until this investigation is further and we get more information about it.

JONES: Yes, I mean, I'd be surprised to hear him speak. And certainly on the advice of his lawyers, it would make sense that he wouldn't. And that was sort of the indication we got from that statement this morning.

But here in this crowd, you saw a lot of people wearing shirts, what some said the legend and had the years of his service at Penn State. You had others that said, Joe knows football. Signs that said Joe's still our guy.

At the same time you had this small plane that was flying around that had a banner that said Joe's so dirty, he needs a shower.

So, there's been certainly a lot of mixed emotions. We did hear from CNN's Sarah Hoye, who's another one of our team members who's been on the ground, right outside Joe Paterno's house that a former Penn State player, Kenny Jackson, who ended playing for the Philadelphia Eagles did come by and also visit Joe Paterno. But in terms of anyone coming out and speaking, we haven't heard anything so far and don't really expect to.

LEMON: Athena Jones, thank you.

And, again, our thanks to Kate Snow -- I'm sorry, Mary Snow. Appreciate it.

JONES: Thanks.

LEMON: Still much more ahead on the Penn State scandal. John Wertheim of "Sports Illustrated" will join me to talk about the impact the scandal has on the students.

Also, a reporter who has covered Penn State for 30 years will be here to share his impressions about what this past week has meant.

And actor Ashton Kutcher really stepped in it with an ill-advised tweet after Joe Paterno was fired. Social media expert will explain why a bad tweet is almost impossible to undo.

Also ahead on CNN, the field of GOP presidential candidates minutes away from taking the stage in South Carolina for yet another debate. We'll hear from some good advice or more embarrassing and awkward moments. What's going to happen tonight?

And breaking news in Europe: a change in leadership. One of the world's most recognized leaders resigned.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: The tenth presidential -- GOP presidential debate is tonight. It is being held at Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina. The focus will be on foreign policy and national security.

This could be crucial for several of the candidates. A lot of people will be watching Newt Gingrich. His poll numbers have improved as some of his rivals have stumbled. Gingrich, Ron Paul, Rick Santorum were campaigning in the state today ahead of tonight's face-off.

But most of the attention will be on Texas Governor Rick Perry, to see if he can recover from his embarrassing performance in Wednesday's debate.

Tonight's debate could also be critical for Herman Cain. There's a chance to get the focus back on the issues. Cain has spent much of the past couple of weeks fending off accusations of sexual harassment dating back to his tenure as the head of the National Restaurant Association.

In an event today in Georgia, Cain even seemed to borrow a page from the "Occupy" movement, describing Washington as an enclave of political elitism.

(BEGIN VDIEO CLIP)

HERMAN CAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There's a political class in Washington, D.C., and then you have we the people out here. They believe that they know better what we need than we do, but the American people are saying, we're tired of them being the political class, and they treat the American people like the underclass. Not when Herman Cain is president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Well, you can better believe we're going to keep an eye on tonight's debate and let you know if any of the candidates make news.

We have some breaking news to tell you about, and it's in Italy, where they're celebrating the resignation of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. The billionaire media tycoon was serving his third term, but had become widely despised in his country. By the end of his reign, the country's finances were nearly in ruins, threatening the entire Eurozone. The burden of riding the county's economy is expected now to fall on former E.U. Commissioner Mario Monte. He's widely expected to be named as a caretaker prime minister.

Up next on CNN: the Penn State sex abuse scandal. This incident this week when students rioted near campus only made the school and students look worse. Next, we'll hear from some students who say this isn't the Penn State that they know and love.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Penn State's loss to Nebraska today obviously seems small compared to the wider tragedy the campus is coming to grips with. But thousands of students still poured into Beaver Stadium. They cheered on their team, even as they try to understand how their leaders failed them.

"Sports Illustrated's" Jon Wertheim spoke with three students to ask how they're coping with this ordeal. And Jon joins us now.

Hi, Jon.

JON WERTHEIM, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED: How you doing?

Yes. I talked to three Penn State undergrads today. And I asked them a number of questions, but basically what do they want to convey about the Penn State student body? What do they want to communicate, and I also asked them about Joe Paterno.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

EMILY KAPLAN, PENN STATE STUDENT: I think I want them to know that people are disappointed that our leaders did cover up such a disturbing scandal. I think people think Penn State student are blindly supporting Paterno, but they are really disappointed with their university.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'd like people to know that Penn State students aren't raving lunatics. We do a lot of great things. And that even though what a few individuals did, that doesn't represent everybody.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I hope you understand that, you know, we're still going to be Penn State. That we've had so many good things happen here, so many great things happen here, so many good people come out of here that just a few people can't ruin and tarnish the reputation of a school like this.

WERTHEIM: Talking to students earlier in the week, it seemed as though support for coach Joe Paterno was really mixed. Obviously, if you want to call it a riot, obviously, that was opposed to his firing.

Talking to your friends, the dining hall -- I mean, what did you think the sentiment on campus was?

KAPLAN: I think a lot of people supported coach Paterno. For a lot of people outside of State College, that's really hard to believe because they really associate him as the face of the scandal. But I'm from out of state. I wouldn't have been here if it wasn't for coach Paterno. This would have been an agriculture school.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've heard an interesting comparison where Joe Paterno is -- the student body's collective father. So, it's really hard to see a father figure go out like that, I guess, and be fired in that way.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I've gone back and forth so many times thon issue. He's just done so much for the school. You see his contributions everywhere you go. It's so hard to forget everything he's done for us.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Go ahead, Jon. What do you make of what they said?

WERTHEIM: Yes, I thought they were very well spoken. I think the Penn State students feel that they've sort of been left out of this discourse. Everybody saw the footage of the riot, if we want to call it that. But otherwise we haven't heard from students.

I think they wanted to make the point that we're up on this, we're trying to follow it. We haven't been given a lot of guidance by the administration. We're aware of this.

And as the kids said, you know, we're not just, you know, raving in the streets. We've really been affected by this as well. I really enjoyed talking to those three kids.

LEMON: I'm going to ask you a similar question that I asked Athena Jones earlier. Was the game a welcome distraction for students? I mean, did they have any reservations about focusing on football when they are still under such stress?

WERTHEIM: Yes, I don't think they -- they almost didn't look at it as football. It was sort of a time to come together. It was a diversion.

And what I sense today, I mean, people are saying, oh, there were going to be boycotts and protests, and there was none of that. What I sense was almost just emotional depletion and exhaustion, that they were just sort of happy to be out there on a sunny day and Saturday. Penn State lost a close game. Almost didn't matter.

And it was a very subdued, sort of appropriately subdued scene. And I get the feeling that this community, this campus, this institution, is just sort of emotionally exhausted seven days into this scandal.

LEMON: Thank you very much, Jon Wertheim. We appreciate it. Jon, we'll see you back here at 10:00 p.m. Eastern.

We're going to debut most of our hour tonight here on CNN, 10:00 p.m. Eastern on this Penn State story and what's next for Penn and why didn't anybody report it to police, and on and on. And we'll have our Jon Wertheim. I appreciate your reporting. In three minutes, financial survival tips that will keep you merry and money smart this holiday season. Who wouldn't want that? That's worth sticking around for.

But, first, making their mark this week: a 61-year-old Canadian man who didn't keep driving when he saw Sara Berg and her cousin having car trouble on a busy Wisconsin interstate. Victor Giesbrecht pulled over and changed Berg's flat tire.

A few minutes after driving off, Giesbrecht went into cardiac arrest. This time, it was Berg that came to the rescue. She pulled over and performed CPR on Giesbrecht until medics arrived, saving his life.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: It is hard to believe but the holiday season just a few weeks away. And while it's supposed to be a festive time, the thought of spending money on gifts can be extremely successful for people struggling with debt.

Terry Savage is author of the book "The Savage Truth on Money" and a personal finance columnist with the "Chicago Sun Times." She joins us now from Chicago to help us all master our money.

So, Terry, the Christmas tree farm, the little place went up my neighborhood a week and half ago. The catalogs are coming in the mail. So, what can people do to get to the holiday season without drowning in debt?

TERRY SAVAGE, AUTHOR, "THE SAVAGE TRUTH ON MONEY": You know, it's a sure sign. It's hard to believe we'll be talking about Black Friday and about the stores opening up early and people lining up for all the bargains.

So, let me say: first up, it's not your responsibility as a consumer to save the entire economy from recession. No matter how much you hear the economists talking about will consumers spend more, your job is to take care of your own family. And that means getting set, getting organized early. Make the list early.

I know you're waiting for last-minute deals. The stores are going to give you early deals. So shop early.

And most of all don't get caught up in that crunch of emotions when it is the last week and you feel the time pressure.

And make your plan, you know, you're going to sit down, maybe with your family over the Thanksgiving holidays, talk to everybody about maybe we're going to do something different this year. Maybe we'll have a grab bag.

LEMON: Right.

SAVAGE: And instead of everybody buying something for everybody, you know, pull a name. And remember that all gifts don't have to be financial ones, that you could absolutely make a card that promises -- kids can promise their parents to take the garbage out without complaining and parents could maybe pick them up after practice. So, they're kind of little gift cards that don't cost anything, but thoughtful anyway.

LEMON: That's a good idea in these times when people are so busy and running around, just to spend time with people I think is very important. And I like your idea of pull a name. We used to do it in grade school and we had like a dollar amount, a limit, right, that you couldn't go above. I think that's nice.

SAVAGE: Exactly. So you're not competitive on that.

LEMON: So, listen, it's been a wild week on Wall Street, Terry, with a lot of ups and downs. But one commodity that just keeps on going is gold. Does that mean that we should start buying gold instead of stocks?

SAVAGE: Well, maybe a little bit of gold might be a very good holiday present, because it's more likely to be worth more in the year ahead than be worth less. A gold coin, an ounce cold coin that would cost you about $2,000, but there are smaller coins and chains. And what's going on with gold is that for time immemorial, man has tried to create gold.

I mean, just think back to Rumpelstiltskin, he could spin straw into gold. The fact is, gold can't be created or destroyed, unlike paper currencies. And so, as people worry about the euro and even about the dollar, the Fed having created a lot of money, the price of gold goes up. That's what it's signaling, concern over paper currencies.

LEMON: I have a two-fold question on real estate. The second part is about veterans. But the first part I want to ask you: is it a good time to buy? Do you think that the real estate market -- I don't know, I don't want to catch you off guard, will ever be worth what it was?

SAVAGE: That's OK, Don.

LEMON: Is that a better investment than stocks?

SAVAGE: The stocks are different kind of investment. Stocks are very attractive as gold is, as sort of a hedge against paper currencies. They pay dividends, money in the bank, your chicken money. You're going to keep that safe. But investment money, you can get a little better return on the bank. You take a little risk.

Now, real estate, I actually do think that at this moment, if you have good credit and money for a down payment, you can lock in 30-year fixed rates at very low rates. If you plan to stay in the home, this would be the time to get a bargain price on the home. So, profit from someone else's distress. But you may look back on this not three years from now or five maybe but down the road and say, what a great opportunity that was to buy a home. It's not over for home ownership in America.

LEMON: Yes. And so, I will answer the second part of the question. I think it's great that we're celebrating Veterans Day this weekend and there's some incentives, some mortgage deals for vets. So that's great. That's all we have time for, Terry.

A quick comment if you want.

SAVAGE: All right. Just check out those V.A. mortgages, 30-year fixed rate, no down payment, 3.875 percent. Check with the V.A. That's a special deal for Veterans Day.

LEMON: Thank you, Terry Savage. Good to see you.

SAVAGE: Thanks, Don.

LEMON: And for many people Joe Paterno was more than a coach. He was Penn State. Now his school must go forward without the father figure who was bigger than life. Ahead, we'll hear from a reporter who has covered the school for a generation.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Welcome back. A game unlike any other in the history of the Penn State football program. Beginning with a collective prayer by fans and both teams kneeling on the field.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Protect the victims that -

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Concern for the eight alleged victims of Penn State's former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky who is out on $100,000 bail. The child sex abuse scandal led to Penn State's first game without Coach Joe Paterno in 46 years after he was fired earlier this week. Paterno has been staying out of the public spotlight. Here he is returning home soon after Penn State's loss today.

Interim head coach Tom Bradley always dreamed of taking over this job, but certainly not like this. He held a news conference shortly after today's game.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM BRADLEY, INTERIM HEAD COACH, PENN STATE: I thought that our fans, as I had asked them to do on Thursday night to show class and dignity, and they did all day today. There was a crowd, the solidarity for the children, for the victims. I thought it was a touching moment by Penn State and the class that I had asked them to exhibit. And I really didn't have to ask them because I knew they would do it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: And they certainly did showing the kind of resilience that made Pennsylvania proud. But one game alone won't heal a school devastated by scandal. Neil Rudel is a reporter for "The Altoona Mirror." And he joins us now by phone from state college. Neil, thank you for joining us. You've covered Penn State for 30 years. What do you think of the way the football team and the school have handled things today?

NEIL RUDEL, REPORTER "THE ALTOONA MIRROR" (on the phone): Well, they really put their best foot forward and Nebraska as well. I mean, both teams had a tremendous display of sportsmanship. A very emotional scene. Penn State walked out, you know, arm in arm. You've never seen that before. They always ran out. They walked out like in kind of a single file line maybe four or five players across arm in arm. Then they joined with Nebraska. Both teams, both coaching staffs, Penn State had 300 former letter winners here. It was very quiet. It was just a very touching scene. And I think Penn State took a step, a very preliminary step toward beginning the healing process.

LEMON: You can see the coaches, the staff, they've been criticized for the way they handled it. I have to be honest with you, the media has been criticized as well for not picking the story up sooner. It wasn't a national story but certainly there in state college it was sort of - it was whispered. People said they talked about it openly (INAUDIBLE) or whatever. Do you think the reference for Joe Paterno blinded even reporters to what happened on his watch?

RUDEL: I don't know. I mean, there was an investigation in 1998, and that report never became public. There were no charges filed. So until there were charges filed or there was, you know, it didn't become public the investigation in 1998 until the investigation in 2009. And that's when a lot of flags went off and the grand jury got involved and the reporting, you know, has since obviously exploded. But most papers don't typically run stories without charges. There were more whispers, but there was never any substantiated fact.

That's what I have to ask you so as a reporter there that you have covered it for a long time, had you heard these rumors? Had you heard people talking about this when it concerns Sandusky?

RUDEL: Only in the last year or so, couple years, when, you know, you heard that they may be looking into it in terms of the grand jury. That was really the first that I had heard about that. You know, I mean, now that you look back over a period of time, maybe some things, light bulbs go off of geez, you saw this or saw that in terms of Jerry's involvement with the second mile and he would show up at different events with kids. Sometimes just, you know, one kid here and there, and then that kid would be a speaker at the banquet. And you just sort of assumed that that was how the program worked.

So you know, you look back now and you may be able to see a little more of a paper trail. But I still had not heard any - that he was being looked into until a couple years ago.

LEMON: Well, Neil, you know, people talk. And just because it wasn't made public or there wasn't a grand jury investigation, did anyone not give any credence to it. Was it just gossip? Or I mean - RUDEL: Well, that's what you didn't know. You know, and if we were in the business of printing newspapers, of printing gossip - I realized the web and the twitter and everything now, that takes care of itself. But still you hope the newspapers and I think the "Harrisburg Patriot News" did a tremendous job in buttoning down real allegations, real facts, talking to victims' families and, you know, I'm sure there was some relationship in cultivating the sources in Harrisburg with the district - you know, the attorney general and the grand jury.

LEMON: Neil Rudel is a reporter with "The Altoona Mirror." He has covered Penn State for 30 years now. Thank you, sir. We appreciate you joining us.

RUDEL: Thank you, Don.

LEMON: This isn't Oscar season. So why is everybody talking about the Academy Awards? Well, that's what happens when a major player on the show makes a homophobic comment that leads to the host to quit.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: It is still months away, with you everyone is talking about the Academy Awards after a gay slur led to a complete overhaul of the upcoming show. Brett Ratner known as the director of the "Rush Hour" trilogy and also known in some circles as the man who ruined the "X- Men" franchise, he was lined up to produce his first Oscar telecast until he said this during a Q&A for his new movie "Tower Heist." He said "Rehearsal is for fags." Well days later he resigned under pressure and apologized for offending anyone.

I want to bring in Sean O'Neal, news editor for the AV Club, a great source for pop culture. Hey, Sean, thank you for joining us. Ratner is known for letting his mouth get away from him. Should the Academy have expected this when they hired him anyway?

SEAN O'NEAL, NEWS EDITOR THE AV CLUB: Well, I think they expected what anybody expects from Brett Ratner, which is total class, but you know, in a more or less sarcastic answer to your question. I think that Brett Ratner has sort of a reputation in the entertainment industry for sort of a desperate macho posturing. You know, he has this sort of self-styled bad boy loud mouth in the locker room kind of persona. And I think just this week more people happened to pay attention to him. But this isn't really an aberration for Brett Ratner, anybody who has followed him for the last few years knows this is like a greatest hits of Brett Ratner interviews. You know.

LEMON: OK. So Sean, listen to this - this is Brett Ratner on "The Howard Stern Show." This happened a little bit later in the week. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRETT RATNER, DIRECTOR: This is the Oscars, so I really can't talk about all the sex I got when I was - before I have sex with a girl, I do do one weird thing. I do take them to the doctor and check them out.

HOWARD STERN, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: You do?

RATNER: I won't have sex - I'm a cootie freak. I'm like a germophobe, I'm a hypochondriac. Before I go all the way I send the girl to the doctor.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: So there were more things. I actually heard it when it was happening. I'm a huge fan of Howard. I listen to Howard. So I'm wondering though that's what Howard's show was about. What got him in trouble, the slur or the Q&A with Howard Stern?

O'NEAL: Well, I think if it was going to be the slur, I mean he would have gotten in trouble several years ago when he was teaching a guest lecture at a class in NYU where he actually used that word in describing what other film students were watching instead of appreciating the mastery of "Rush Hour 3." And you can look that up.

Like is said this isn't really an aberration in Ratner's history. You know, certainly this entire week has been a culmination of things. It began with the whole talk of Olivia Mann and G-4, then of course, the comments about rehearsing being something that heterosexuals don't do, and then, of course, you know, the "Howard Stern Show."

You know, but I believe the Academy president Tom Sherak actually said that it was the Howard Stern interview that made him realized that, you know, perhaps Brett Ratner isn't the classy individual that he first thought that he was going to be.

LEMON: That he would want for his telecast. All right. Listen, a day after Ratner resigned Eddie Murphy dropped out as a host of the show. Ratner handpicked Murphy after they did "Tower Heist" together. So what's going on with Eddie Murphy's career. It seems like he causes critics - he is causing critics a lot of frustration right now.

O'NEAL: Well, I think that's because Eddie Murphy kind of seems like he's been not funny longer than he was actually funny by this point. I think that's why the critics might have something against him. You know, the reason, you know, when he took the Oscar job, it was supposed to be the beginning of the Eddie Murphy comeback. You know, he talked about returning to maybe stand-up. He wanted to do edgier material, which the Oscars are obviously edgy material. But you know, of course "Tower Heist" critical returns on that, the box office returns on that are a little weak. And then you know, I think the very interesting thing happened this week. You know, the day after Eddie Murphy resigned, we finally got a look at his next movie, which is basically more of the same.

LEMON: Yes, what is it? The movie is called "A Thousand Words" is that it? That's the next movie.

O'NEAL: It's actually been on the shelf for about two or three years. They weren't sure even sure they're going to release it. And then they decided that they wanted to capitalize on the Eddie Murphy Oscar buzz that was probably going to happen and then they decided to release the trailer this week. If you've seen the trailer - go ahead.

LEMON: Yes, if you've seen the trailer, it's been criticized. We're going to move on just for time purposes because I have to get to a break. But I do have to say a day after Eddie Murphy dropped out they got Billy Crystal, which was pretty much a safe choice.

Listen, Sean, we want you to stick around, because we're going to be talking about Ashton Kutcher coming up next. He stuck his foot in his mouth or whatever the twitter equivalent of that is over the Penn State scandal and we're going to tell you what he tweeted out and how he is making up for it now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: The Penn State child sex abuse scandal is so toxic even people with no connection to it whatsoever are feeling the sting. Just ask Ashton Kutcher. Here's what he tweeted when he heard Penn State head coach Joe Paterno was sacked. He said "How do you fire Joe Pa? #insult, #noclass as a hawkeye fan I find it in poor taste." Kutcher felt the backlash and he removed the tweet.

Then he sent this out. "As of immediately I will stop tweeting until I find a way to properly manage this feed. I feel awful about this error. Won't happen again."

So I want to bring in a guy who knows a lot about social media. His name is Scott Steinberg, the CEO of Tech Savvy Global. So Scott, Ashton Kutcher is a Twitter superstar. He got to a million followers even before CNN. So what does it mean for him to have to turn over his Twitter account to managers?

SCOTT STEINBERG, CEO TECH SAVVY GLOBAL: Yes. This is quite a reversal of fortune. I think it's what parents call a teachable moment. Quite a bit of a comeuppance for Ashton. It's a big deal because this is a guy who helped popularize the platform in its infancy. And now he's literally having to hand it over to his production company to manage it. And it underscores the importance of thinking before you speak or in this case tweet.

With eight million followers, that's a lot of people listening. And the issue is that social media is all about trust. Having a two-way dialogue and him having to turn it over to another party would be like me answering your question by pulling out a publicist and having them do it for me.

LEMON: I want to bring back Sean O'Neal here. He is the editor for the AV Club. Sean, you heard what Scott said there. Was this just a case of Kutcher tweeting before he knew what he was tweeting about?

O'NEAL: Well I think a lot of lot of people are guilty of that for sure. But not everybody has eight million people listening to them every time they do it.

You know, Ashton Kutcher is a busy guy. He's got a lot of acting and social entrepreneuring to do but definitely, you know, he probably learned this week that putting every single unfiltered thought as he has it out there in the ether is probably not the best idea.

LEMON: Scott, Kutcher clearly seemed sorry. He tweeted out this picture of himself next to "I am stupid" sign. Do you think he can manage the bad PR from this on Twitter?

STEINBERG: Well he's certainly not the first celebrity to put his foot in his mouth. I think people can be forgiving. We're all human, we all say dumb things. The problem is with the internet tends to have a long memory. And as with any relationship, a parent, a spouse, a child, a sibling, if you lose their trust, it's going to take before forgiveness happens.

LEMON: Scott, while I have you here, I want to switch gears for just a minute and talk about Facebook. There's some news about privacy features?

STEINBERG: Yes, apparently Facebook is close to reaching a settlement with the Federal Trace Commission that would require them to have you opt in or choose to allow adjustments to your privacy features in the past when they rolled our features and updates your photos, your wall post, your friends, things you're into. Those have often times become public and it sent people scrambling back to update their pages. So in this case, the FTC is talking about actually having annual audits for 20 years about privacy, making sure that if you choose that information should be private, it stays that way.

LEMON: All right. Scott Steinberg, Sean O'Neal, thanks so much to both you. Appreciate you joining us here on CNN this weekend.

Many high school seniors serious about applying to colleges rely on rankings from "U.S. News and World Report." But is this the best way to choose a school? Our education contributor Steve Perry tells us how the ranking are created and talked to someone who thinks they're hurting higher education.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Rankings don't really matter as much to me.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I find (INAUDIBLE).

STEVE PERRY, CNN EDUCATION CONTRIBUTOR (on camera): What is your issue with the ranking.

LLOYD THACKER, DIRECTOR, THE EDUCATION CONSERVANCY: The process of college admissions had been commercialized to the nth degree (INAUDIBLE).

PERRY (voice-over): Lloyd Thacker leads the Education Conservancy. They say the rankings have become a beauty pageant where some students feel pressured to choose their college based on number instead of their own values.

(on camera): There's a group called Education Conservancy -

ROBERT MORSE, DIR. OF DATA RESEARCH, "U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT": They don't like the ranking.

PERRY: They think it's a crock.

MORSE: It's true that the rankings have become a big brand for U.S. news but they've become a brand because there is a void of information.

PERRY (voice-over): According to Robert Morse, the rankings are fair because they're based on a combination of reputation, graduation rates, (INAUDIBLE) and endowments among other things. We hit the streets to find out what students thought, the results were mixed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's always that strive to get into the school that's ranked one higher than the next.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think in my opinion it's kind of stupid. It is. It shouldn't be that way.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A college ranking might easily sway a college student to choose one school over another.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Biased. A little bit biased, tainted, kind of stereo typical. But quite important.

MORSE: we believe that we're producing something for consumers, that's our main mission. I don't think it's this pivotal force in admissions, even though it's a factor.

THACKER: What it does is it turns students into customers, education into product and gaining admission to the most selective college a prize that must be won.

PERRY: Steve Perry, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Coming up.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

LEMON: The musicians behind "Losing My Religion" and other hits are counting their final days. We're moments away from the R.E.M. interview. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: The end of an era. We are witnessing the end of R.E.M. as we know them. The band members are feeling much more than fine since announcing the breakup of arguably America's biggest alternative rock band.

CNN's Shanon Cook got up and close and in depth with R.E.M. about their final days. So she's here to give us a preview of another great assignment. So the big question is, Shanon, why?

SHANON COOK, CNN ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER: Why? Well, Michael Stipe and Mike Mills say their breakup has nothing to do with drama or feuding from within the band. They simply say that they'd like to go out on what they consider a high note and be free to pursue other projects. But as you'll hear from this snippet of the interview, it's not like they're doing giant happy dances over the decision.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOK (on camera): So how do you feel about this? Do you feel sad? Are you relieved?

MIKE MILLS, BASSIST, R.E.M.: There's certainly there's sadness. It's bitter sweet by all means.

MICHAEL STIPE, LEAD SINGER, R.E.M.: The feelings go from here to here, we're feeling every one of them.

MILLS: Right.

STIPE: But you know, not relief, though, because relief implies like we're escaping something and it certainly isn't that. The word that popped into my head, there is an odd feeling of liberation because it means that for the same reason we're breaking up rather than just going on hiatus, it means we're free to do whatever we want without the shadow of R.E.M. hanging over it, the shadow of future projects hanging over it. It's a liberation, it's a clean break and a chance to move forward.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOK: And Don, you can check out the full interview in the 10:00 p.m. Eastern hour tonight. The band will get a little bit nostalgic about some of their past hits and they'll also tackle the topic of a comeback tour.

LEMON: OK. All right. That's a good tease. I like that. And I like Michael Stipe's glasses, too.

COOK: You like that?

LEMON: Thank you, Shanon.

COOK: They're pretty cool.

LEMON: Yes. We'll see you back here at 10:00 p.m., OK. Appreciate you joining us.

COOK: Thanks, Don.

LEMON: I want to check the headlines real quickly here on CNN. For the first time since allegations of child rape rocked the Penn State football program, the Nithany Lions took the field today winding up with a three-point loss to Nebraska.

They played without Joe Paterno as their head coach for the first time in 46 years. Paterno was fired for his handling of allegations against his former defensive coordinator, Jerry Sandusky, who is accused of sexually abusing eight boys over a 15-year period. Tonight at 10:00 p.m. we're going talk with a sex abuse victim about surviving the pain and we'll have a live report from the Penn State campus for you.

President Barack Obama says China must play by the rules when it comes to trade and currency. He spoke to business executives at the Asia Pacific Economic Corporation Summit in Honolulu. Mr. Obama also said that the U.S. wants China to grow but Beijing should do more to create a level playing field. Sunday, Mr. Obama sits down with the Chinese Prime Minister Xu Jintao for their first summit in 10 months.

I'm Don Lemon at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta. I'll see you back here at 10:00 p.m. Eastern. Right now, Fareed Zakaria asks the question, can the U.S. reclaim its place as a world leader in education?