Return to Transcripts main page

CNN This Morning

Prince Harry Talks Fractured Family, His Mother, Drug Use; 6- Year-Old Boy In Custody After Shooting Teacher In Classroom; Bob Saget's Widow Speaks To CNN On Anniversary Of His Death. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired January 09, 2023 - 07:30   ET

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


[07:30:00]

ZANE ASHER, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: That made me sick to my stomach is when he talked about the fact that that night when Princess Diana died in that tunnel in Paris that there were paparazzi there, which we knew, of course. But after her car crashed in that tunnel and she lay fighting for her life, instead of going over to help her --

TRISHA GODDARD, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yes, yes.

ASHER: -- they instead took photographs, which is inhumane if not criminal. I think --

GODDARD: And also, the last thing that she would have seen is flashbulbs. The flash of a flashbulb.

ASHER: Flashbulbs.

GODDARD: That, to me, was visceral.

ASHER: Oh my gosh.

And then, on top of that, there is no trust in this family. I mean, can you imagine not trusting a single member of your own family to the point where there's no such thing as a private conversation? Any conversation you have with your brother or your stepmom, or your dad --

GODDARD: It's reported.

ASHER: -- in the back of your mind you're thinking hmm, could this be on the front pages of the tabloids tomorrow?

GODDARD: But you know what? It's very much like -- I talked to a woman who does trauma counseling with companies and she said this is a business when he talks about the firm.

It's like when you've got somebody who is going to inherit the family business and all of -- all of the money and the games they play. It's more like succession, if you like, than an average family because it's not just the family, it's a business. It's a firm. There's an image to be held. And I think when you've got a part of the tabloid media that's become a gossip rag, basically, it's almost like -- I don't know, I would sing like Tony Soprano. Hey, if you play the game we'll be nice to you. If you don't we're going to take you down. It is --

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: That's your Tony Soprano?

GODDARD: That's my Tony Soprano.

(LAUGHTER)

GODDARD: Thank you. I'll take --

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: That was quite good.

GODDARD: Yes, yes, I did.

But, you know, it's that whole thing. If you're nice to us we'll be nice to you. If you don't give us everything then we will take you down.

If your women come in and don't play the game, we're going to talk about their clothing and how they don't fit in. How they're, as one journalist called it, uppity and what have you. But if they're nice, we're going to say hey, look what a nice little mole (PH) she's turned into. They're acting like the mob.

I'm not anti-tabloid. I am pro-robust journalism. And a lot of what these newspapers are doing has nothing to do with journalism.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: In addition to that, though, I was struck by the -- where he weighed in on his relationship with his brother. I think so many people might rely on their siblings --

GODDARD: Oh, yes.

COLLINS: -- and they had this shared experience together. But he was talking about how the problems with his brother date back to when they were in school. And he was excited to finally be in school with him but William was like we don't know each other.

ASHER: Yes. And I think what we're learning is that there's a lot more, perhaps, to Prince William than meets the eye.

GODDARD: Yes.

ASHER: Prince William has certainly been portrayed one way over the past, sort of, 20 years. You know, the golden boy. I remember when everybody talked about this idea of maybe the monarchy could skip Charles and go straight to Prince William.

GODDARD: Yes.

ASHER: He was beloved. And now, we're sort of learning that William is perhaps a bit more of a complex character. I found it interesting when he talked about Meghan. And what made me really sad is -- I mean, Meghan Markle -- she never stood a chance in this family. She just did not stand a chance.

I think that for generations, people within the British royal family have chosen to marry people who were -- who were right for the job. People who were members of the nobility -- the upper class. And along comes Harry --

GODDARD: And she was an American actress.

ASHER: Yes. Along comes Harry --

GODDARD: And there's snobbery in the U.K., isn't there? We've seen some -- no, there is.

ASHER: Right.

GODDARD: We should say, Zain, it's -- America -- when I told friends I married an American, there was like -- you know. There is snobbery.

LEMON: This is -- this is --

GODDARD: And I'm sorry, yes.

LEMON: -- a conversation that Trisha and I have been having since the wedding and this --

GODDARD: Since the wedding.

LEMON: It was -- I know we have to go, but can I just say -- because you talked about the British tabloids, right? I could say 400 positive things about Meghan and Harry --

GODDARD: Out of this interview -- the bad one, yes.

LEMON: -- out of this interview, right. The bad one gets picked up.

Like, I will say, of course, it's their story to tell but let me just say this -- or I think what Meghan does in her podcast -- she brings to light this. It's very important. But I'm surprised at this. They pick up the surprise part but not the good part.

GODDARD: Oh, Lemon, outraged.

LEMON: Outraged. No, I actually -- in person, I actually quite like them.

GODDARD: Yes.

LEMON: I actually think that they're very dynamic. I actually think that they're more interesting than Kate and William. Maybe that's part of the problem.

GODDARD: That's a headline. But that's going to be the headline.

ASHER: It's because --

LEMON: They are more interesting.

ASHER: -- tonight, saying what?

LEMON: And do I want -- you know who I want to watch more than Kate and William? I want to watch Meghan and Harry because they are actually real people, flawed, putting it all out there, which is you -- and if you're a member of the media, of course, you can critique and criticize. That's what we do.

GODDARD: Yes.

LEMON: But, you know, let's go here. We have to go.

ASHER: It's because on some level -- on some level, the British tabloids believe that we, as a society, enjoy consuming negative news about Meghan and Harry more than we enjoy consuming negative news about Kate and William.

GODDARD: Yes.

ASHER: That's, you know -- and so they think they --

GODDARD: Clickbait.

ASHER: -- are giving us what we want.

GODDARD: Clickbait.

LEMON: I say look, it's their story to tell. More power to them. There are certain things that I wouldn't share, but that's me.

GODDARD: Don Lemon would not share things. You know it's coming.

LEMON: Thank you. More to talk -- we can talk more. We'll talk more.

Thank you, thank you, thank you. Good to see both of you, Trisha and Zain.

[07:35:01]

Coming up, Anderson Cooper is going to join us to talk about his sit- down interview with Prince Harry, so make sure you stay with us.

And be sure to tune in tonight for Anderson's full interview -- the full interview. "THE HARRY INTERVIEW" begins tonight at 8:00 p.m. eastern -- "AC360" right here on CNN.

HARLOW: All right. It is -- I can't believe I'm telling you this, but this actually happened. A 6-year-old boy in custody for shooting --

LEMON: Oh my gosh.

HARLOW: -- his first-grade teacher after an altercation at school. Next, we will speak to the parent of a child who was in the building at that school when this all happened.

(COMMERCIAL)

HARLOW: Well, Richneck Elementary School will remain closed today and tomorrow after a 6-year-old boy shot and injured a teacher at the school. This is in Newport News, Virginia. Police say there had been an altercation between the first-grader and the teacher before the student shot a single round at their teacher on Friday. No one else was injured.

Police took that boy into custody. The police chief says, quote, "This was not an accidental shooting."

[07:40:03]

According to officials, the teacher who was wounded is in stable condition. Her alma mater, James Madison University, identifying her as Abby Zwerner.

Newport News Mayor Phillip Jones said this about all of it last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR PHILLIP JONES, NEWPORT NEWS, VIRGINIA: There's a lot of questions that we have to answer as a community. One, how a 6-year-old was able to have a gun and to know how to use it in such a deliberate manner. But I do know that right now because it remains an investigation, we're going to let itself sort of work out before we rush to judgment at this time.

But I can tell you that the individuals responsible will be held accountable. I can promise that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Well, I'm joined now by Mark Anthony Garcia. His 8-year-old son was right there. Mark Jr. attends Richneck Elementary School and was there when all of this happened. Thank you both for being with me, and good morning.

MARK ANTHONY GARCIA, RICHNECK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PARENT (via Webex by Cisco): Good morning.

MARK ANTHONY GARCIA JR., ATTENDS RICHNECK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL (via Webex by Cisco): Good morning.

HARLOW: Morning.

So, Dad, I didn't know Mark Jr. was going to be here. I'm glad he is. No child -- no one should have to face this and no child should have to.

What did you think as a dad when you found out what had happened in your -- in Mark's school?

GARCIA: Well, first, before I start off, I just want to say prayers and healing to Ms. Abby and the child, Richneck Elementary School, the city, and our community.

The second thing is I wasn't alerted about what happened at the school. Half of the parents was not alerted about what happened in the school. We found out on the news. My wife called me and told me that there's a shooting -- an active shooter at the school.

And when we found out there was an active shooter, I got up. There was police helicopters everywhere outside. Traffic was jammed up. So the mission to get to the school somewhat was impossible until we got there. And then it was a two-mile radius cordoned off of parked cars and people running, trying to actually get to the scene.

Once we got to the scene at Hope Church, that's where the cops met us and they were trying to diffuse the situation. Because that's when we -- and only the crowd and the cops were telling us that there was a shooting and it was a child and teacher that was shot. That's how we found out.

HARLOW: I can't -- no one -- no one called you. The school didn't send a text message. You found out on the news?

GARCIA: Correct. Correct. And the worst part about this is that the school usually sends out a text message, as well as the city. I have three text messages from the city. They have a code -- a code of every city that sends out the messages.

There was one that was sent out -- it was sent out on -- go ahead, I'm listening. On the first, the seventh, and the eighth.

HARLOW: Yes. Mark --

GARCIA: (INAUDIBLE).

HARLOW: I just think at the heart of this -- and I'm sorry. I don't -- I don't mean to interrupt you. The heart of this is that a 6-year- old child had a gun in your 8-year-old child's school and shot a teacher.

How does this happen?

GARCIA: It happens because -- this is how I feel. And as a prior military veteran, I kind of understand this because I had to do this with my soldiers. It's called grouping. And when we miss the group and we miss the target, we miss what we're supposed to do.

Number one, the call to the parents. We missed that grouping. So half of these parents are confused and when we get there we're already riled up because we don't understand.

Number two, the security measures. They said that they had metal -- they had metal -- they have -- they don't have metal detectors in the front of the school. I walk my son to school and pick him up every single day. There's only one person outside, but they also have a role (PH) guard and stuff like that to get the kids into school.

There are no metal detectors into that school. There's only one metal detector and that's inside of the library.

We don't have a precise guideline of clear backpacks that could possibly have helped this, as well as security with wands to get each child through properly.

On a -- on -- in an article yesterday was released and they said that they have security measures inside of the facility and kids are looked at every day in their backpack sporadically. My child's backpack is looked at every single morning by his teacher and his folder -- Ms. McArthur in the second grade -- every single morning. How did we miss this?

And again, prior raised concerns. We, as parents, raised these concerns before. We've talked to the principal. We've talked to the guidance counselor. We went to town hall meetings. We spoke on Zooms. What else are we supposed to do?

HARLOW: Yes. Look, I mean, I understand. I cannot imagine. I have a 6-year-old and a 4-year-old and I cannot imagine what you're going through. What all the parents are going through.

[07:45:03]

I do want to say we got a statement from the school, Mark, and they said "There are many concerns we need to unpack before we can determine if any additional preventive measures would have impacted the probability of this incident occurring."

It sounds like you think there's a lot they could change.

But is it alright if I ask your son, Mark Jr., a question?

GARCIA: Yes. Can you give me one second before we even say that? I'm not blaming the school. I'm blaming the city for not implementing the measures to help these schools after three years of school shootings.

HARLOW: OK.

GARCIA: Go ahead.

HARLOW: We'll reach out to the city as well.

But, Mark Jr., how you doing this morning?

GARCIA JR.: I'm doing good.

HARLOW: What was it like for you when this happened?

GARCIA JR.: Um, so, when it happened, the teacher heard it from the first grade and we all went to the -- and we all went to the room. And then, when we got there we all stayed quiet. Two people were crying "I will help them."

And when the cops came, we were marching to the gym and we were all safe. And they were programming (PH) it was safe now. HARLOW: How can they make it so you feel safer? Because I know school

is canceled today and tomorrow, but you're going to go back to school, right? And what can everyone do to make you feel safer?

GARCIA JR.: Possibly, just be myself and make sure I'm not scared.

HARLOW: You know, dad, I know -- we've got to go, but I know -- know your boy said something to you, right, when you picked him up. What did he say to you?

GARCIA: He just said that he was scared and he was glad that we got there on time, and it was just a scary situation. Children were shaken up. The parents was even more shaken up.

But like I said, Richneck Elementary School is not to blame here. Their safety measures are implemented. They've got these kids in a safe zone. I'm very glad that that's what happened.

HARLOW: Good.

GARCIA: And I just want the state to speak up and try to get more implements so this doesn't happen again.

HARLOW: Well, Mark Jr., you are very brave. Thank you both for being with us this morning.

GARCIA: Thank you.

LEMON: Wow.

HARLOW: I can't even --

LEMON: Excellent. And can you imagine?

HARLOW: No, I can't. That's the -- like, guns in America. Six years old?

LEMON: Yes.

HARLOW: Come on.

LEMON: Yes.

HARLOW: All right.

LEMON: It has been a year to the day since the comedy world lost Bob Saget. Coming up, his widow joins us on her late husband's legacy.

(COMMERCIAL)

[07:51:13]

LEMON: Today marks one year since America lost its T.V. dad, Bob Saget. The comedian and actor died suddenly from head trauma in his Florida hotel room while on tour.

His death was devastating to his friends, his fans -- but most of all, to his family.

His widow, Kelly Rizzo, has been sharing her journey on Instagram in the year since Bob died, writing this. "I cannot thank you all for almost a full year of all the love and support and kindness. I can only hope to show you how thankful I am and give it back a bit over time."

So joining me now in an exclusive interview is actress and producer, Bob Saget's widow, Kelly Rizzo. Kelly, so happy to have you on.

How are you doing?

KELLY RIZZO, ACTRESS, PRODUCER, WIDOW OF BOB SAGET: Thank you, Don. Well, thanks for having me, first off.

I am doing OK. Every day is a little different. As most people know, this is a journey and there's really no guidebook or handbook on how to handle it. But just every day, I've been doing my best and most importantly, trying to keep his legacy alive in any way that I can, and just keep sharing the love he had for people as much as I can. So, you know, that's been part of my new purpose.

LEMON: It's interesting that you're doing this on social media because you're using it in a positive way and as an outlet. And I think Bob was also very active on social media as well.

And he also used his social media to work with the Scleroderma Research Foundation, right, to bring light and voice to that. You have taken on his mission. And for several months -- and several months ago, there was a benefit in his honor, raising more than $1.3 million.

What does that support from people and from Bob's peers mean to you?

RIZZO: It's everything because that was his life's work. He dedicated his entire life to supporting the Scleroderma Research Foundation. And he had said -- he goes, for the rest of my life I will be fighting for this cause and doing everything I can to help find a cure. Because it's the disease that took his sister's life almost 30 years ago and he was just so fiercely dedicated to it.

So, I mean, I can't even come close to doing what he did for it because he was such a force, and he was the face of it for the last 30 years almost. So I'm just using anything I can do to help further the cause.

And I helped out with the benefit this last September and I helped bring together some of his best friends in his -- you know, comedians, musicians to really help raise even more money for the cause. And the fact that all of his friends just continue to show up for him -- it's -- the gratitude is just -- I can't even -- I'm speechless with how grateful I am to all of them.

LEMON: Yes. Well, the Bob Saget Memorial Fund will award its first grants this year. What do you think Bob would have to say about all of this? RIZZO: Oh, gosh. I mean, I'm sure he would have some kind of dark humor joke about, like, a memorial fund in his name. But I won't even try to go there.

But he would be so touched that there's this massive now fund that is in his honor and is in his name to be able to fund the research to end this horrible disease. And his whole thing was -- he was, like, we want to put this entire foundation out of business because then that means they found a cure. So, he -- just the fact that he continues to have a big impact on finding a cure for scleroderma would just mean so much to him.

LEMON: Yes.

[07:55:00]

Hey, before I let you go, I've got to ask you, Kelly, if there's anything else you would like to say about Bob. How you're going to remember him going forward? Because I personally -- I -- he was one of my favorites, and comedians help me get through the sad times, the bad times, the troubled times. And the darker the humor -- you mentioned dark -- he'd have some dark humor joke -- the better for me.

So, give us some words of wisdom and what do you think he'd think about this moment?

RIZZO: Just -- you know, I know what made a really big impact after last January and after everything happened was sharing his message of love and laughter, and of never letting a moment go by without telling your loved ones how much they mean to you. That was so big with him. He never left anything on the table.

If you were in Bob's life, you knew how much he loved you. He never missed an opportunity to tell you. I mean, that's what I'm so grateful for even in our last conversation -- our last moments was I love you so much. I love you so much. Like, I never doubted for one second his love for me, for his family, for his friends.

And I think we think of him as this big comedian and America's dad and all these things, but he was really just a sweet, sweet, loving, thoughtful, kind person. And, you know, just remembering him for the incredible man that he was at heart is what I know would mean so much to me and his family for how to -- him to be remembered by, and just sharing that love.

And then, of course, the laughter is -- you know, remembering his jokes. But also, I'm just so grateful that I always have that in my ear. Him whispering little jokes to me forever. So I'm very grateful for that.

LEMON: Yes, and funny as hell. I mean, I think anybody -- go look at the roast of Bob Saget.

RIZZO: Yes.

LEMON: He was funny as hell. Thank you, Kelly. I appreciate it.

RIZZO: And that -- yes.

Thank you, Don.

LEMON: Thank you.

RIZZO: Thank you so much.

HARLOW: I loved that. I loved that. Thinking of her today, especially.

Prince Harry adding new details about his fractured relationship with the royal family. Anderson Cooper, who did that sit-down interview with him for "60 MINUTES" -- he's here with us, ahead.

COLLINS: Also this morning, thousands of nurses at two of New York City's biggest hospitals are on strike. What is behind the move? We have a live report just ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're really concerned, especially my oncology patients that get chemotherapy. But this had to happen for them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL)

HARLOW: It is your Money This Morning.

LinkedIn seeing a boost in users and revenue after a recent wave of layoffs in the tech and media industries. Those industries just so happen to make up a core part of LinkedIn's user base.

[08:00:00]