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What To Expect At King Charles' Coronation Tomorrow; Maker Of Weight Loss Drug Wegovy To Limit Supply Amid High Demand; Jury Clears Ed Sheeran Of Copyright Infringement. Aired 7:30-8a ET
Aired May 05, 2023 - 07:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL)
[07:31:57]
ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: Millions of people across the United Kingdom and the world preparing to celebrate and to watch the coronation of King Charles III along with the coronation, of course, of Camilla, the queen consort -- though from here on out she's just the queen. The ceremony combining both this religious service -- this ceremony steeped in medieval tradition -- and plenty of pomp and pageantry.
It takes place tomorrow at Westminster Abby and it is the first coronation in seven decades. He will only be the 40th reigning monarch to be crowned at Westminster Abby since 1066.
Joining us now, the host of "BBC AMERICA," Sharon Carpenter, and CNN contributor, Trisha Goddard. Great to have you both with us this morning.
I can hear the rain has just started behind you so it feels sort of apropos --
SHARON CARPENTER, HOST, BBC AMERICA, FORMER HOST, PEOPLE TV'S ROYAL REPORT: Yes.
HILL: -- as we're talking about sort of all things very British with the royal family.
Trisha, if I could begin with you, this --
CARPENTER: Perfect timing.
HILL: It is perfect timing.
In this moment, it's interesting what the reaction has been -- somewhat mixed. There is so much anticipation -- people haven't seen this in 70 years -- and yet, there are questions. The younger generation, specifically, asking questions.
What is the mood there this morning?
TRISHA GODDARD, CNN CONTRIBUTOR, HOST, "THE WEEK WITH TRISHA GODDARD": Well, actually, I mean, there are tourists everywhere -- tourists -- you know, this is a peak thing for tourism -- a peak time of the year. But yes, you're right, there has been varied reaction.
The fact that King Charles has been so inclusive and has different faiths represented, it speaks to the younger generation -- but there has been some criticism.
Historian David Starkey, for instance, suggested that the reason that the government isn't really on board is because Rishi Sunak -- remember, we have a Hindu prime minister -- Rishi Sunak -- he's implying doesn't quite get the whole history because of the religion being different.
You can hear the rain there over me here -- over there.
CARPENTER: And the thunder as well.
GODDARD: Which I have to say they are predicting for tomorrow, which might cancel the flypast.
But yes, there have been mixed reactions. Remember, King Charles is the first divorced king since Henry VIII.
HILL: So as we look at all of this it's interesting you brought up those comments that David Starkey had made in response to the prime minister. What he said specifically was, "He's a man of immense talent, of extraordinary skill, but really not fully grounded in our culture."
I mean, Sharon, he's basically --
GODDARD: Yes.
HILL: -- saying you're just not British enough for me. King Charles is supposed to be the king --
GODDARD: Exactly.
HILL: -- of the United Kingdom. Of course, he's the -- he's the head of state for the commonwealth, which represents a number of countries. Being inclusive here is not just about religion but it's recognizing that this is a far more diverse country and commonwealth than it has ever been.
GODDARD: Yes.
CARPENTER: Yes, yes.
GODDARD: Yes. We've got a -- what, we've got Sadiq Khan, haven't we, as the mayor --
CARPENTER: Yes.
GODDARD: -- in London.
CARPENTER: Exactly.
GODDARD: We've got the first Muslim -- first minister in Scotland. CARPENTER: Yes.
GODDARD: You know, we are a really diverse country.
CARPENTER: Yes, absolutely.
And one of the other things, some of these commonwealth nations who have the king as the head of state are looking to remove him. I know that Jamaica has been talking about this. Belize has been talking about this as well.
[07:35:09]
Also, one of the issues that King Charles is going to have to deal with moving forward is the monarchy's ties to the slave trade.
GODDARD: Yes.
CARPENTER: This is something that has been making the headlines recently. King Charles has said that he is going to open the royal archives for studies to be done and research to be done about those ties. So it's going to be interesting what we find out.
GODDARD: Yes, it really is.
HILL: So in -- and in terms of what we're watching for tomorrow there are all of these efforts from King Charles to make this a more inclusive ceremony, part of which is including different faiths. There's been a lot made about would he be defender of "the faith," being the Church of England, or "defender of faiths."
He has the U.K.'s chief rabbi participating, who is actually staying --
GODDARD: Yes.
HILL: -- at St. James's Palace so that he can walk because, of course, it's the Sabbath.
GODDARD: Yes.
HILL: So Trisha, how --
GODDARD: Yes.
HILL: How inclusive is it actually going to be? Do you think he is fulfilling that promise as he needs to?
GODDARD: Well, it's been King Charles' wish to do this but you have to remember that he's not the one who has organized absolutely everything. He has a Muslim peer, he has a Jewish peer, he has a Hindu peer -- all presenting official artifacts, for instance. But there has been some talk about are they truly representative of their communities. Were they just picked because they're in the House of Lords? On my other show, I had a lot of people phone in and say you know what, it would have been better if he'd taken someone from the community.
But this is the problem. When you try to please everyone it's really difficult. You're not going to be successful as you hope you are going to be. But it is a step in the right direction.
CARPENTER: Yes.
HILL: Sharon --
CARPENTER: And I would like to add as well -- oh --
HILL: Go ahead.
CARPENTER: Sorry, go ahead.
HILL: Well, I was going to ask you about the other thing but we're almost out of time.
CARPENTER: I was just like to add --
HILL: So I will say the other thing.
CARPENTER: Let's do it.
HILL: There's so much focus on not only Queen Camilla, right, and all of the pomp and the pageantry, and the glitz, and the jewels -- but look, everybody wants to know what's going to happen with Harry. So we know he's attending. We don't know if --
CARPENTER: Yes.
HILL: -- he has a role at this point.
What is the sense of whether or not --
CARPENTER: Exactly.
HILL: -- he will appear on the balcony? Because that moment will say a lot about not only this reign heading forward but, frankly, about the family itself.
GODDARD: Yes.
CARPENTER: This is going to be the big moment. The balcony moment is really the grand finale of coronation day and King Charles is going to be taken to that balcony for the first time as monarch, by the way. But everyone is going to be looking to see who is up there.
GODDARD: I think it's sad.
CARPENTER: And Charles -- this is going to be a tough decision for him. Is he going to go for only senior working members of the royal family to show this is a slimmed-down monarchy that he's working on, or is he going to go in the direction of family? We all know that Harry is --
GODDARD: I hope -- I hope he does. I hope he does. He's a dad.
CARPENTER: But he's played second fiddle.
GODDARD: Come on, he's a dad.
CARPENTER: It's what I would like to see.
GODDARD: He is a dad.
CARPENTER: Harry up there, standing with King Charles, with Queen Camilla --
GODDARD: Yes.
CARPENTER: -- and with Prince William. Apparently, the two of them aren't even on speaking terms.
HILL: A little tension there, I'm told. A little tension.
CARPENTER: I think that would say this is a modern-day monarchy right there.
HILL: It would be great to see. We will be watching for that moment.
GODDARD: Yes, I want -- I hope it sets a good --
HILL: I'm with you. I'm going for family. Bring everybody on the balcony.
GODDARD: Yes.
HILL: Trisha, Sharon --
CARPENTER: Family first.
HILL: -- appreciate it. Enjoy the day tomorrow. Thank you.
And, of course, you can see all the action right here on CNN -- "THE CORONATION OF KING CHARLES III." You can watch history in the making inside Westminster Abby. And, of course, all throughout up until that balcony moment and afterwards. Coverage begins tomorrow morning at 5:00 a.m. eastern.
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, we'll be watching closely.
Until then, we're also tracking this. A drug to fight obesity is getting so popular that the company making it is having trouble keeping up with demand.
HILL: Plus, a Manhattan jury finds Ed Sheeran did not deliberately copy parts of Marvin Gaye's classic song "Let's Get It On."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ED SHEERAN, ENGLISH SINGER-SONGWRITER: I am obviously very happy with the outcome of the case and it looks like I'm not having to retire from my day job after all. But at the same time, I'm unbelievably frustrated that baseless claims like this are allowed to go to court at all.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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[07:43:21]
COLLINS: Demand now outweighing supply when it comes to the popular obesity drug Wegovy. The drug's maker, Novo Nordisk, says it will temporarily limit some of the starter doses for new patients in the U.S. The reason, the company says it's having a tough time keeping up with demand.
Joining us now is CNN medical correspondent Meg Tirrell. So what's going on? Is it just too many people are taking this now because it's so popular?
MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Novo Nordisk says hundreds of thousands of U.S. patients are on this medicine --
HILL: Wow.
TIRRELL: -- and it's tracking prescription growth and it's just going faster than it can currently supply the drug. And so, it says it's going to keep supplying it to the patients who are already on the medicine who are these sort of higher maintenance doses, but it's going to limit these lower doses where patients start out in order to try to just be able to keep up with who they're currently supplying. And they say this is going to last through September.
HILL: And just so people are clear, too, this is Wegovy. So this is -- this is only approved as a weight loss drug for obesity. This is not -- so it's not being taken away from diabetes patients. But --
COLLINS: It's like Ozempic.
HILL: Like Ozempic.
TIRRELL: Yes.
HILL: But is there a sense that this is actually going to work? I saw they even have a FAQ of why can celebrities get this but I can't.
TIRRELL: Yes. So, you know, they are trying to increase capacity and they're even going to cut back on their marketing in order to try not to stimulate too much demand at this point. But the concern is that if patients can't get this to start on it they might switch to trying to get the drugs elsewhere through either medical tourism or compounding pharmacies, or online. And doctors are warning you've got to be really careful when you're going sort of outside the normal channels for these medicines. COLLINS: Yes. Make sure that you do actually get it from your physician.
TIRRELL: Right.
COLLINS: Meg, keep us updated and let us know if their tactic does work.
TIRRELL: Yes.
COLLINS: Thank you.
HILL: Well, for Ed Sheeran, he's probably waking up a little happier this morning. A major victory for the singer-songwriter. A jury finding his hit song "Thinking Out Loud" did not infringe on the copyright of the classic Marvin Gaye slow jam "Let's Get It On."
[07:45:08]
The British singer-songwriter said if he lost the case he was going to quit music altogether. Sheeran said he actually missed his grandmother's funeral in Ireland because of this trial.
After the verdict, he declared the ruling was an important step in protecting musicians and their art.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHEERAN: I am obviously very happy with the outcome of the case and it looks like I'm not having to retire from my day job after all. But at the same time, I'm unbelievably frustrated that baseless claims like this are allowed to go to court at all. These chords are common building blocks, which were used to create music long before "Let's Get It On" was written and will be used to make music long after we are all gone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: Joining us now, the host of "Boston Globe Today," Segun Odoulowu. Nice to see you this morning.
SEGUN ODOULOWU, HOST, "BOSTON GLOBE TODAY": Thank you.
HILL: This is a big deal.
ODOULOWU: A huge deal.
HILL: What does it mean in the broader context, especially as we -- when it comes to more lawsuits like this because this wasn't the first time?
ODOULOWU: No, and what we all need to understand is that a lot of popular music is built on the skeletons of songs past, right -- even sampling. But what happened here with Ed was they thought that the chord progression and the sounds of "Thinking Out Loud" is the same as "Let's Get It On" with Marvin Gaye. And I think what really swayed it is Ed performed the song in the courtroom.
HILL: Yes.
ODOULOWU: And I feel like that might even be jury tampering because if you're going to get a concert, it's really hard to vote against or to find against Ed in this.
But what it can do is allow artists to be free. We saw with "Blurred Lines" that when the Gaye family comes for -- you know, they feel like you've infringed on their father's work or Marvin's work, they will be litigious. And in that case, it was pretty obvious that the song --
HILL: I was just going to say that was -- yes.
ODOULOWU: Yes.
HILL: This -- you couldn't -- I couldn't hear it in that way in the Ed Sheeran song --
ODOULOWU: Well, I --
HILL: -- I have to say, the way I could with "Blurred Lines."
ODOULOWU: I could, though -- I could.
HILL: What?
ODOULOWU: I mean, on the -- on the Joe Budden podcast they played them side-by-side, and then they mixed them together, and you can hear similarities. But Ed, again, playing it in the courtroom basically said well look, like, these songs have -- lots of songs have these chord progressions. You can't penalize everybody.
So again, I was torn. Ed Sheeran's song "Perfect" was the theme music to my wedding.
HILL: Oh.
ODOULOWU: "Let's Get It On" was the theme to my honeymoon --
(LAUGHTER)
ODOULOWU: -- so I was torn between who to vote for but I'm happy -- I'm happy that Ed won because I like his music.
HILL: OK -- well, there's that. I learned a lot in the last 10 seconds.
COLLINS: I don't even know if I should follow up on that. Like, I'm just like --
HILL: Do we want to just end on that note?
ODOULOWU: No, we just want to -- like, no -- it's springtime. Look, we've got -- we've got bright colors on.
HILL: Love is in the air.
ODOULOWU: Absolutely.
HILL: Yes.
ODOULOWU: I'm so happy.
COLLINS: But can I ask you on a serious note because Ed Sheeran, when he came out and was saying -- lamenting that he missed his grandmother's funeral because of this -- he seemed to be phrasing it or framing it as like a shakedown. He was saying this is an attempt to shake the piggy bank and just to get money out of it. Is that?
ODOULOWU: Well, there can be truth in that. We saw even with the Gwyneth Paltrow trial, right --
HILL: Yes.
ODOULOWU: -- that if you're a celebrity, and in the way society is right now, you're a bit of a target.
HILL: Yes.
ODOULOWU: And anything that can get some money out of you people are going to try and do that.
So, Ed winning kind of puts a wall up that says look, celebrities are going to fight back, too. They're not just going to start writing blank checks. Gwyneth Paltrow not going to write a blank check. Let's take it to court. If you really believe that you did nothing wrong, we're going to use what's available to us and try it out.
COLLINS: Because I guess the thinking is they're uberwealthy and if they could just settle this they'll just do that instead of actually going to court and fighting it out.
HILL: Easier to make it go away.
ODOULOWU: And the song had been out for a long time, right? It's one thing to, like -- you hear the song immediately --
COLLINS: Really.
ODOULOWU: -- and you're like whoa, whoa, whoa, this is wrong. It's another thing where you hear the song, you let it get super popular and let the artist make a lot of money, and then you come. Then that does look like a shakedown.
HILL: Yes, it raises questions.
ODOULOWU: It does.
HILL: Great to see you and to learn so much more. I mean --
COLLINS: I mean, did you ask -- I just love that you just said all of that about your honeymoon and wedding. ODOULOWU: Oh, listen -- this is what love does. Love makes -- doesn't they say love makes all of us fools? So, yes.
COLLINS: Love it. (INAUDIBLE).
HILL: That's a beautiful place to end.
COLLINS: Glad to have you on set today.
ODOULOWU: Thank you. Great to be here.
COLLINS: Thanks, Segun.
Also this morning, as we are tracking this story out of the Supreme Court, more and more scrutiny it seems like every single day. Justice Clarence Thomas now facing more ethics questions on his ties to a Republican megadonor. There's a new report just out this morning from The Washington Post that brings up new questions about payments that his wife received from a conservative nonprofit.
HILL: Plus, federal prosecutors in the Mar-a-Lago investigation have obtained the cooperation of an insider who worked for Trump at his resort, according to The New York Times. We're going to take a deeper dive into both these reports next.
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[07:53:58]
COLLINS: It's the iconic American product at the center of tens of thousands of lawsuits. On the next installment of "THE WHOLE STORY" CNN's Pamela Brown investigates the claims that have been made by thousands of women and men who now blame Johnson & Johnson's now discontinued talc baby powder for their cancer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It started in spring and summer. I was starting to feel like I wanted to have kids so I saw a doctor and she told me, yes, we should do your follicle count. And the next day I got the results. It just said yes, you're count is fine but you have malignant masses.
Yes, that's leaving Sloane Kettering. And then this is it healing up. And then chemotherapy.
I mean, you get a mesothelioma diagnosis, right, and you don't understand how would I have asbestos. Everywhere that I've gone I've always had some Johnson & Johnson baby powder. I just never imagined that something that you would use on babies was unsafe.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[07:55:18]
COLLINS: And Pamela Brown joins us now with more on her exclusive reporting. Pam, I mean, this story is just -- it's scary because so many people trusted Johnson & Johnson and trusted this product. And there was a big investigation in the New Yorker a few months ago also into this and I'm so glad that you looked into this.
What did you find?
PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR AND INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: So, yes, this is a story that's been going on for years, right -- Johnson & Johnson being sued by plaintiffs who claim that its talc-based baby powder caused their cancer.
And so, what we wanted to do was actually dig deeper and look at some of those claims, look at the science, and follow some women like you just saw Lisa Fallander (PH), and follow the women who are suing this multibillion-dollar iconic American company. They are just some of the 40,000.
It was really fascinating when you peeled back the layers. Both sides are adamant that what -- the women that we spoke to are adamant that the baby powder caused their cancer. And Johnson & Johnson vehemently denies that, saying our product is safe. The science shows it. Even though in 2019, the FDA found in one sample asbestos. Johnson & Johnson counters while we did our own independent testing -- more than 150 tests -- and there was no asbestos, and the lab was contaminated.
And so, what we do is we examine the claims. We follow these women.
And I sat down with Allison Brown, an attorney for Johnson & Johnson who has defended this company in court. Here is what she had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
P. BROWN: So -- I mean, Johnson & Johnson is at the center of this and so it is essential to hear from this lawyer who has been defending Johnson & Johnson in court.
ALLISON BROWN, ATTORNEY FOR JOHNSON & JOHNSON: The first thing that is most important for me that people know about these cases is that they are doing an enormous disservice to a very important issue of women's health.
What we can say with 100 percent certainty is that we have never confirmed a finding of asbestos in any product that has been sold and that decades of scientific testing and study have shown that our talc is safe and does not cause cancer.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
P. BROWN: And so, Allison Brown argues that the blame is on these plaintiffs' attorneys for why there are so many lawsuits against Johnson & Johnson. She says they're money-hungry and with their advertising they've lured people in, even though she claims the product is safe.
Now, of course, the plaintiffs and their attorneys argue it's not. They have their evidence that they show that we're going to put -- that you're going to see in this documentary.
But right now, Johnson & Johnson -- it has offered $8.9 billion to these plaintiffs. They're trying to settle. They say some of the plaintiffs are on board but some aren't, and they still want to have their day in court, including some of the women we spoke to.
HILL: It is fascinating and so interesting to hear from that attorney from her take on it. Really looking forward to the report this weekend to hear from more of those women.
Pamela, appreciate it. Thank you.
P. BROWN: Thank you.
HILL: And, of course, you can see Pam's full report on a new episode of "THE WHOLE STORY." It airs this Sunday at 8:00 p.m. eastern right here on CNN.
COLLINS: And CNN THIS MORNING continues right now.
Good morning, everyone -- top of the 8:00 a.m. hour.
There's a major development overnight happening in Ukraine. Russia's mercenary boss making a surprise announcement in a video that he is pulling his troops out of a crucial battle. Coming up, his angry, vitriolic message to Russia's military leaders.
HILL: The New York Times reporting the Justice Department has an insider witness who worked at Mar-a-Lago as they investigate former President Trump's handling of top-secret documents.
COLLINS: Also, just about 30 minutes from now, the April jobs report is going to be released. It could help and it could also hurt markets as America's banking crisis is flaring up once again.
This hour of CNN THIS MORNING starts right now.
Welcome back.
This morning, the Ukrainian military says that we could be witnessing a turning point in this war. This is really interesting. The head of Russia's Wagner mercenary group says he is pulling his troops out of that key Ukrainian city of Bakhmut. Russia has been trying to take it for months. Ukraine has been pushing back for months. Russia has suffered staggering losses as a part of this battle.
The furious Wagner chief is blasting Russian military leaders accusing them of denying ammunition from his fighters.
He released a video overnight as he is standing next to a pile of dead bodies -- dead mercenaries. I do want to warn you we have blurred this video of Yevgeny Prigozhin but it is still quite graphic.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
YEVGENY PRIGOZHIN, FOUNDER, WAGNER GROUP (through translator): These men here who died today are Wagner PMC. Their blood is still fresh.
