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Joy Behar Page
Bodyguard Sues Britney; Maverick McCain
Aired September 09, 2010 - 21:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOY BEHAR, HOST: There`s a lot going on tonight. The Koran burning controversy, and Meghan McCain will join me. But most importantly, Britney Spears` bodyguard is suing her for sexual harassment. He said she had very loud sexual activity in front of him. Do you think she was lip-synching the moaning?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Coming up on THE JOY BEHAR SHOW, a former bodyguard claims pop superstar Britney Spears sexually harassed him and beat her son. Is this the end of the line for the new and improved Britney or just a disgruntled worker`s scheme for a quick buck?
Then Michael Douglas opens up about his battle with cancer. We`ll tell you what he said about his tumultuous year.
Plus, Senator John McCain`s daughter, Meghan, stops by to talk about the secrets in her new book, "Dirty, Sexy Politics", including her feelings about her dad`s former running mate, Sarah Palin.
That and more starting right now.
BEHAR: Britney Spears` former bodyguard, Fernando Flores, is suing the pop star for sexual harassment. Flores claims she repeatedly exposed herself, have engaged in sex acts in front of him and even physically abused her two young sons.
Are all these claims for real? Is Britney, bananas or is she just an easy mark for easy money?
Here to discuss are Gloria Allred, victims` rights attorney. She previously represented another one of Britney`s former bodyguards in the custody case between Spears and Kevin Federline. Psychologist Debbie Magids and Ken Baker, executive news editor for E!
Welcome guys.
Let me start with the sexual harassment claims. Ok. Gloria, listen to this.
He says that Britney made "repeated and unwanted sexual advances", she summoned him to her bedroom while she was naked, she wore a see-through dress and exposed herself to him and engaged in vigorous sexual relations in front of him. Do you buy all this?
GLORIA ALLRED, VICTIMS` RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Well, I mean that`s going to have to be proven in a court of law, Joy. But if in fact he can prove those facts then of course, he is going to be able to prove sexual harassment and that would be a violation of the law because what he has to prove is that the conduct to which he was exposed was severe or pervasive and certainly the conduct you`ve just described from his lawsuit would be severe if proven.
BEHAR: You know, not for nothing, Ken, Britney does have a history of this kind of behavior. I mean the girl flashes when she`s coming out of a car in front of Wal-mart. This is not anything new. So are his -- I mean, are his claims much of a stretch really when you think of it? What do you think, Ken?
KEN BAKER, EXECUTIVE NEWS EDITOR, E!: Well, you make a good point. I mean, the question that you asked in the introduction here was, is Britney bananas? I`m not a doctor, I`m not a psychologist.
But I can tell you that for the last two years or so Britney has been under legal conservatorship because of some psychological issues that she has that she wasn`t able to care for herself or care for her children. So she was put under a guardian basically that`s run by her father and some lawyers.
So I think that the idea that she may be mentally unstable or maybe has poor judgment is not a stretch. Now again, as Gloria said, we don`t know the facts exactly in the case.
BEHAR: Right.
Baker: We know the allegations, we know the allegations clearly.
But I do think that there`s -- one thing that`s very interesting about this is that the bodyguard, before this was filed yesterday, gave this lawsuit right here to all of us in the media hours before it was even filed. So it`s very clear that the goal here seems to be to get us to talk about it, to exert some kind of pressure to maybe possibly get money out of this. And I think for that reason I think it`s sad for Britney and other celebrities who can be victims of these kind harassment suits.
BEHAR: Yes. That`s interesting. What you`re saying basically that maybe somebody tipped it off for publicity purposes.
But you are a shrink.
DEBBIE MAGIDS, PSYCHOLOGIST: I am a shrink.
BEHAR: But she seems to be getting her life together. She`s doing a segment on "Glee". Those boys are going to love some flashing, I`ll tell you.
(CROSSTALK)
MAGIDS: Listen. Britney certainly had issues. She certainly seems to be getting her life together. And I just want to point out, you know, K-Fed took those children away from her and he is supporting her right now.
You know, this also add in child abuse allegations and I don`t believe them if K-Fed is on her side. And I do think this guy may be
BEHAR: He is on her side.
MAGIDS: Yes, he is. And I think that he would take those kids away from her if he thought that there was any truth to what these allegations are.
And I would really look into this guy as being an opportunist. Did Britney maybe flash him? Maybe. That`s very possible. I don`t think that she is capable of the things he`s saying to her children.
BEHAR: Ok, but that the child --
MAGIDS: Yes.
BEHAR: Let`s go to that. Before we go to that, Gloria, how often are women really the aggressors in sexual harassment cases? It seems like it`s usually the other way around.
ALLRED: It is usually the other way around. I did have a case many years ago where I represented a man who was sexually harassed by a woman. We litigated that case and we won that case.
And so it is possible because, of course, sexual harassment, it really depends on, most the time the victim is a female who is being taken advantage of by a male supervisor. But men can be the victims as well.
I do want to say that I think it`s unfair to name call this particular plaintiff, Mr. Flores, Fernando, who filed this lawsuit. We don`t know whether or not his allegations are true. And even if he provided the lawsuit to the press, that doesn`t mean that what he is saying is without merit. It maybe that it has merit or not.
BEHAR: How could he prove it? He has to have something on videotape it seems to me. How would he prove it?
ALLRED: Well, it`s going to be a matter of credibility. It`s going to be his credibility, perhaps, against Britney`s credibility. We don`t know whether there were any security cameras. We don`t know if he told anybody about it at or about the time of the event.
Apparently at one point he alleges he did tell his supervisor and did not get a response that he felt was supportive. Got a response he alleges that it was, you really like it, something like that. We don`t know again whether that`s true or not.
But I will say this, some of his allegations in reference to her going around naked are similar to an allegation that my client, Tony Baretto made, years ago.
BEHAR: Ok. Well, ok, that doesn`t look good for her.
Let`s go to the child abuse claims, all right? There are very serious allegations there. However, Child Services previously investigated and found his claims without merit. Doesn`t that deal a serious blow to his case?
He said that she savagely beat Sean Preston, one of her kids I guess, with a belt -- with his belt. That means he was standing there, right? Purposefully fed both her sons crab meat until they vomited. I don`t know that that`s -- that`s crazy.
(CROSSTALK)
MAGIDS: When you call child services in they have to take it very seriously. And considering her fast behavior and that she has -- did not have custody of those kids, if they found something they would have taken those children away from her and her ex-husband, excuse me, would have also stepped in.
You know, that`s the part that makes this seem unrealistic to me.
BEHAR: You don`t believe that part?
MAGIDS: I don`t because Child Services takes their jobs pretty seriously.
BEHAR: But they miss things, plenty, don`t they? They miss things.
MAGIDS: They do miss things. But when something`s this high profile they`re really taking a look.
BEHAR: Ok. Britney`s representatives have completely dismissed the allegations. I have to read this statement. They say, "This lawsuit is another unfortunate situation where someone is trying to take advantage of the Spears family and make a name for himself. The Department of Children and Family Services conducted a proper investigation surrounding Mr. Flores` accusations and have closed the case without any further action. Ms. Spears and her attorneys have every expectation that this matter will be dismissed by the courts."
So Gloria, the abuse allegations may be unfounded, but what about this sexual harassment claims? The facts of that. That may work for him.
ALLRED: I`ve had a lot of experience with Children and Family Services. I can tell you in the case of a celebrity it takes a lot for them to consider removing the children from the home. I mean even where in the matter involving children, involving the custody battle some years ago, with Kevin Federline and Britney Spears, where my client gave a declaration that was unrebutted and was accepted into evidence about Britney`s drug use, and even there where the court found that she was a continuous, a frequent and a habitual user of controlled substances. Even there they did not, the court did not remove the child from her home. Instead, gave 50/50 custody.
So it takes a lot for them to remove from the celebrity. I think that`s wrong because they think --
BEHAR: From a celebrity.
ALLRED: -- that children of celebrities should receive as much protection as any other child would receive. But I don`t think that`s usually the case.
BEHAR: Ok. You`re shaking your head and you have the last word and then I have to go.
(CROSSTALK)
MAGIDS: I think that it`s hard for anyone to take anyone`s children away from their mother. I don`t think it`s just celebrity. And I think when there`s founded result, I think they do take the child out of the home. And it isn`t easy, I agree with her there but I don`t think it`s just because she`s celebrity.
It`s really hard to take a child away from her mother.
BEHAR: I guess so, yes.
Ok, thanks very much everybody.
Up next, I`ll be joined by the real maverick of the McCain family, Meghan McCain.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Coming up a little later on THE JOY BEHAR SHOW, Snooki is found guilty and sentenced to community service, completing her first step in the Lindsay Lohan training program.
And you`ve heard of reading to the blind. Well, one woman reads Playboy to the blind complete with intricate descriptions of the photos.
Now back to Joy.
BEHAR: I don`t know if there`s a new sheriff in town but there is a new maverick, Meghan McCain, Senator John McCain`s daughter is socially liberal and can be an outspoken critic of her own party. I knew I like this girl.
She`s written a fun new book, "Dirty Sexy Politics". Here with me now is Meghan McCain. Hey Meghan.
MEGHAN MCCAIN, COLUMNIST, THE DAILY BEAST: Hi, thank you so much for having me.
BEHAR: Well, it`s good to be had. You know, do you know Snooki?
MCCAIN: I interviewed her for the "Daily Beast".
BEHAR: Did you really? Did you find her as incredibly intelligent as we all do here?
MCCAIN: Yes, she`s not a great intellect, but she was very nice to my family.
BEHAR: She was.
MCCAIN: And she`s like "Go, McCain" and I was like anybody on my team, I`m on your team so --
BEHAR: Oh so she`s a Republican?
MCCAIN: She just doesn`t like Obama because he taxed tanning.
BEHAR: Oh that`s right. And she`s been tweeting with your father.
MCCAIN: They tweet back and forth.
BEHAR: What is up with that?
MCCAIN: I don`t know, it`s too many worlds combining. I was like, enough tweeting with Snooki. Like -- maybe that should be done. I don`t - - so whatever.
BEHAR: Ok.
MCCAIN: She`s pretty harmless. She doesn`t bother me like she does a lot of people.
BEHAR: No.
MCCAIN: Like it`s just entertainment.
BEHAR: Just the people on the beach.
MCCAIN: Yes.
BEHAR: Ok. "Dirty Sexy Politics." I read some of this book. And I don`t see any sexy in here. Just dirty.
MCCAIN: It`s in -- it`s in the beginning. I just talk about like campaign sex and campaign goggles which I wasn`t having but a lot of the staff and the journalists were.
BEHAR: Really?
MCCAIN: And there`s not a lot to do in the meantime and you hear all the gossip. So I talk about that.
BEHAR: Oh no kidding?
MCCAIN: Yes.
BEHAR: You want to name names?
MCCAIN: I do a little bit in the book. I mean, there was a lot of relationships that ended afterwards. And I talk about campaign goggles which is like beer goggles, where the more you`re around the person the more attractive they come. You`re just on the campaign and like your goggles and when you drink the more attractive they come. So, I`m giving that to society, you`re welcome. So --
BEHAR: Ok.
Now, what`s interesting, when your father was campaigning to be president you were part of the campaign. And then they gave you the old heave-ho.
MCCAIN: Yes.
BEHAR: What -- what happened to that?
MCCAIN: It was after the convention, and I just think there was a lot of drama with obviously Bristol`s pregnancy and there`s just so much of everything going on. And I think they just couldn`t deal with me anymore. And --
BEHAR: Why -- what were you doing at that point that they couldn`t deal with you?
MCCAIN: I just never really just -- I say in the book they just sort of wanted women to stand still and look pretty. And I just have never, ever been able to do that. And I was very frustrated and I would vocalize my frustration on lots of things on what going on in the campaign.
So they said go home or go on your own tour in Ohio. And I went on my own tour in Ohio. And it was amazing and I got my own tour bus. And it was so much fun. And it was like part of my favorite memories of the whole time.
BEHAR: That`s nice.
MCCAIN: Yes.
BEHAR: Your father really couldn`t save you -- your job there, I guess.
MCCAIN: No, no.
BEHAR: He couldn`t do it.
MCCAIN: No, no, yes.
BEHAR: There`s a moment in the book when you write about a very scary incident where you took too many Xanax.
MCCAIN: Yes, yes.
BEHAR: Tell me about that.
MCCAIN: A friend of mine who I put unanimously in the book and I don`t want her to get in trouble, gave me an envelope that said for emergency use only. Or it was like if you just can`t handle what`s going on take this. But I guess she didn`t realize that I have two glasses of wine and like -- ready to start to (INAUDIBLE), like I don`t take drugs or I have anything like that, I don`t really drink that much. And I just passed out.
I took it all the day before the election. I passed out and I missed like about two-thirds before Election Day, because I was like passed out on Xanax. So you know, whatever.
BEHAR: That was -- that was before the election?
MCCAIN: Right, it was the day before the election.
BEHAR: And then after the election, when your father did not win, you took to your bed in your pajamas for a couple of weeks?
MCCAIN: I did.
BEHAR: So you -- you take this very hard.
MCCAIN: I did. I took it really hard -- I was very sad --
BEHAR: Do you think if you had to do it again you would take it as hard?
MCCAIN: I think so.
BEHAR: Yes.
MCCAIN: I`m older and wiser. But you get so attached. And I think a lot of people -- I mean, Al Gore like -- gained a lot of weight and grew a beard. And you just have to -- it`s like a mourning, at least for me it was.
BEHAR: Yes.
MCCAIN: And -- yes, I was like a hot mess for a while. But then, you know, when you`ve kind of grow up and I have to thank Tina Brown and the people at the "Daily Beast" for giving me a job after the election and still being interested in what I have to say. So --
BEHAR: Well that`s good. A lot of people are interested in what you have to say.
MCCAIN: Hopefully.
BEHAR: Yes.
Now, I don`t want to dwell on Sarah Palin too much because I know you`re sick of the topic. But I read that you cried --
MCCAIN: Yes.
BEHAR: -- when you found out that she was going to be -- you and I have that in common. I also cried that day.
MCCAIN: It was -- it was not her. I cried that I didn`t know --
BEHAR: Oh it was her.
MCCAIN: Well, I didn`t know who she was and I didn`t know -- an hour before I met her was when I found out she was my father`s running mate. Which I just think is a screwed up way for me personally, I`m just a little bit bitter about it. And I was just a bit hysterical.
I didn`t know what was going on. And there were so many things and it was just like hit, hit, hit. It was like her daughter is pregnant, bam. Like this -- this is what`s going on, bam. It was just like, what, and I there`s the -- I talk about how I nicknamed her after a Beck song. And it was just the energy changed.
BEHAR: Yes.
MCCAIN: So --
BEHAR: I mean, but -- when you were at the convention with her and she`s passing the baby around and -- and Levi is in the audience and you knew so much --
MCCAIN: I did.
BEHAR: -- that day. You knew so much. What was going through your head that day? I mean, we were watching and my mouth was dropping open.
MCCAIN: Why?
BEHAR: Well, I mean, they passed that baby around more than a joint at a Grateful Dead, concert, first of all. That was like, here`s the baby, here`s the baby, here`s the baby. It was, like, staged for the audience.
MCCAIN: -- staged.
BEHAR: Yes, yes.
MCCAIN: Trig you`re talking about.
BEHAR: Yes, Trig. Yes, that little baby.
MCCAIN: That didn`t bother me at all.
BEHAR: No and Levi and the audience and you knew that those two were --
MCCAIN: I was just more confused than anything. I was very disconnected. And I`m very empowered in a lot of ways and I sort of grew up very independent and I feel like I`m very a sexually empowered woman. And I just felt like maybe -- I just -- you know, I grew up listening to like -- Gwen Stefani and you know really. There was like music like own yourself and my parents always very cool about things. And I came to a place where I really was comfortable with who I am.
And it`s weird being able talking about this on television. But I feel like young Republican women out there don`t need to be told abstinence only education is the only way to be. I`m almost 26 years old.
BEHAR: It sounds ridiculous to you?
MCCAIN: It`s not that it`s ridiculous. I think it works for a lot of people. I worry about STDs and pregnancy. I have a 19-year-old sister. And I`m constantly worried about the messaging, I mean at this point, she`s like enough, Meghan, I know, I get it.
But I just worry about her and the kind of messages she`s being sent. So it`s hard out there for women. I mean, we`re sent such mixed messages, be beautiful and sexual, but don`t have sex --
BEHAR: Yes.
MCCAIN: -- God forbid. So I just felt very weird about my life and my choices.
BEHAR: I see.
MCCAIN: So --
BEHAR: I see. Yes, I mean, it is kind of weird to be told to abstain from sex when you`re 26 years old.
MCCAIN: Yes.
BEHAR: I mean, you know --
MCCAIN: I mean --
BEHAR: -- if you don`t do it then you`ll never do it.
MCCAIN: -- and like God love people that it works -- I just -- I just think that you can die from sex in this country and --
BEHAR: And girls should be told that they should worry about preventing not just a baby but diseases.
MCCAIN: Of course, yes and I have lots of friends who just have weird experiences. And I live in reality. So --
BEHAR: Ok.
And let -- let me just read one more little thing --
MCCAIN: Sure.
BEHAR: -- about Palin and then I`ll drop the topic.
MCCAIN: Ok.
BEHAR: I promise. You said, "I mean no disrespect to them when I say this, but when the Palins arrived from Alaska and unpacked their bags they brought dramas, stress, complications, panic, and loads of uncertainty."
Has Sarah Palin responded to this at all to you?
MCCAIN: No. No.
BEHAR: She hasn`t. Do you think she will?
MCCAIN: No and she`s entitled to her opinion. Maybe she will at some point. I stand by that quote; I know it got a lot of pick up.
This is my story of what it was like on the campaign. I was there for two years. They were there for six weeks -- or almost two years -- I had a very different experience.
And everything changed for the good and the bad, you know. I`m sure in the Obama campaign, things changed for them too.
BEHAR: Do you think your father lost because of her?
MCCAIN: No. And I state that clearly.
BEHAR: Ok. More with Meghan McCain in just a minute; don`t go away.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BEHAR: I`m back with Meghan McCain, Senator John McCain`s daughter and the author of "Dirty Sexy Politics". Meghan you`re a Republican woman; I also read that you would never be able to vote Democrat.
MCCAIN: I don`t think so.
BEHAR: Even if the candidate was better than the Republican candidate, could you consider it?
MCCAIN: I still think a bad Republican is better than a good Democrat.
BEHAR: Really?
MCCAIN: Yes.
BEHAR: Oh, that`s brainwashing, pure and simple.
MCCAIN: No it`s not. No it`s not.
BEHAR: All right. I`ll let you off the hook.
You`re pro-gay marriage. You`re socially a liberal.
MCCAIN: I am. This is where I`m moderate.
BEHAR: You believe in premarital sex I presume. And are you pro- choice, too.
MCCAIN: No, I`m pro-life.
BEHAR: You`re not pro-choice.
MCCAIN: No. I`m pro-life.
BEHAR: So yourself or for everyone, pro-life?
MCCAIN: I`m pro-life myself. I don`t think we should get rid of birth control or like contraception and sex education. It works for me. I struggle with my faith. I`m for gay marriage. I have a tattoo on my wrist of a cross, when I had to really come to terms that God is what I think it is. My God is love and my God doesn`t make mistakes.
I`m personally pro-life and but I`m also pro-gay marriage and I really struggle with these things.
BEHAR: Would you fight against a person wanting an abortion if they needed to get one? Would you fight against that?
MCCAIN: I don`t agree with it. You know, I actually watch this movie, "Walls Don`t Talk", I think it`s what it`s called on HBO. It showed a lot of things about like women who were getting back-end (ph) abortions - -
BEHAR: That`s pretty bad. In my day that`s what they did.
(CROSSTALK)
MCCAIN: I could never get an abortion. I`m really bad at policing other people`s lives and bodies in that sense. Again, it works for me I believe. I believe abortion is --
BEHAR: A sin. You believe it`s a sin.
MCCAIN: I do. But you know, again, I`m really not good at preaching my values in that sense on other people. I don`t know.
BEHAR: But you seem --
MCCAIN: It`s complicated.
BEHAR: You seem to want to bring everybody together and not have this divisive -- in a way you`re like Obama. Remember he said there were no red states, no blue states, just the United States. That reminds me of you in a way.
MCCAIN: You know, I -- well, it`s weird to be compared to Obama, but I guess --
BEHAR: Do you like him?
MCCAIN: -- I think my father was like that too. I don`t, no.
BEHAR: You don`t like Obama?
MCCAIN: No. I don`t understand him.
BEHAR: As a person, a politician or --
MCCAIN: His political beliefs obviously I completely disagree with on every level. I mean I just worry about the kind of debt he`s leaving my generation. And on a personal level I just have never connected with him. I just -- it`s sort of why I understand the frustration of a lot of people. I just think he really -- somehow how this incapacity to connect with a lot of America. He does connect with some, but this frustration that`s going on, he clearly isn`t connecting with --
BEHAR: Do you think the Republican Party has been rough on him, though? I mean --
MCCAIN: No. Are you kidding?
BEHAR: Recently he said something like, they`re treating me like a dog.
MCCAIN: You`re President. Deal with it. Compared to what they have put Sarah and my father and President Bush through, no, you`re the President. Sorry. Good lord.
BEHAR: Well, I was rough on Bush, but he deserved it.
What about the next election now? Who would you put up against Obama? In 2012?
MCCAIN: Right now I really -- I keep saying Mitt Romney is interesting me in a lot of ways. I think he`s really making the right moves.
BEHAR: Do you think that his religion will stand in his way? That the Christian vote won`t go to him because he`s a Mormon?
MCCAIN: No. I don`t think that matters.
BEHAR: You don`t think so, really?
MCCAIN: No, I don`t think it matters. I think what people care about is jobs and the economy.
BEHAR: Joy.
MCCAIN: I don`t think they care. And I personally think we`re all praying for the same thing.
BEHAR: We`re all praying to the same person up there somewhere?
MCCAIN: I think we`re praying to the same spirit.
BEHAR: Ok. Well, you`re a -- you`re not a divider. You really are trying your best I think. Will you run for president yourself?
MCCAIN: No.
BEHAR: Never?
MCCAIN: No.
BEHAR: I don`t know about that. I see you in the Senate one of these days.
MCCAIN: No. Can you imagine me in the senate?
BEHAR: I see you there. Ok, Meghan. The book is called "Dirty Sexy Politics". Check it out.
We`ll be back in a minute.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BEHAR: Her drunken behavior on the beach, Snooki, from MTV`s "Jersey Shore," has been given a fine and two days of community service.
You know, if she wants to be of real service to her community she should move. But not to New York. Can I suggest outer Rangoon?
Now she didn`t get off that easily. The judge added a verbal smack down. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUDGE DAMIAN G. MURRAY, SEASIDE HEIGHTS MUNICIPAL COURT: You seem to be acting like a Lindsay Lohan wannabe in this matter. Going through life rude, profane, obnoxious and self-indulgent is not the way you want to live your life.
And hopefully this incident will impress upon you that there are consequences to your actions.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
BEHAR: That`s right. Ouch.
With me to discuss this and more are Rebecca Dana, senior correspondent for the "Daily Beast." Howard Bragman, celebrity publicist and author of "Where`s My 15 Minutes?", and Christine Lakin, co-star in the upcoming movie, "You Again."
OK, Howard, what`s up with the judge? Is he auditioning?
HOWARD BRAGMAN, CELEBRITY PUBLICIST: He was playing for the camera, wasn`t he?
BEHAR: Really.
BRAGMAN: He did a beautiful job. And it`s so funny because most of the young people are like, Lindsay Lohan is their role model. And Snooki is, like, yes, I want a movie star, I want the cover of "Vanity Fair." I want what she has.
(LAUGHTER)
BEHAR: But the mother -- Lindsay`s Mother said that`s not fair to compare her to Lindsay. What do you think about that?
REBECCA DANA, SENIOR CORRESPONDENT, THE DAILY BEAST: I think it`s absolutely fair. Yes, and I`m happy to see that at least we have a justice system to parent our D-List celebrities if they`re not going to have parents themselves.
(LAUGHTER)
BRAGMAN: And Dina is the mother of the year, isn`t she? Didn`t she write a book --
(CROSSTALK)
BEHAR: The Lohans are the parents of the year, both of them. But after her slapdown from the judge, Snooki stepped up with an apology. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NICOLE "SNOOKI" POLIZZI, STAR, "JERSEY SHORE": I would definitely like to apologize to the Seaside cops. When I saw what happened and everyone told me what happened, very embarrassed. This is not like me. I`ve never been in this situation before. So I definitely would like to apologize to anybody that I hurt.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
BEHAR: Not like her? What is it like, Madeleine Albright at the U.N.?
(LAUGHTER)
BEHAR: I mean who was it like?
BRAGMAN: And I want to thank my publicist -- I want to thank my publicist for those great words.
(LAUGHTER)
CHRISTINE LAKIN, ACTRESS, "YOU AGAIN": I like that she figured out what she did based on a videotape that someone shot and showed her.
(LAUGHTER)
BRAGMAN: That`s true. She said, you know -- so she said -- she said everyone told me what happened.
(CROSSTALK)
LAKIN: And then she viewed what happened.
BEHAR: Wasn`t she there?
LAKIN: No, apparently not. Apparent not.
DANA: First drink ever.
(CROSSTALK)
DANA: It`s the first time she`s ever been to a bar.
BEHAR: Yes. And she`s a virgin, too.
But, Howard, as a publicist, this is all working in her favor, isn`t it? She`s a bad girl.
BRAGMAN: Unfortunately --
(CROSSTALK)
BEHAR: Yes.
BRAGMAN: Unfortunately it is kind of working in her favor. We like kind of bad people. We like these apologies. She certainly said, quote/unquote, "the right thing." And when you`re a reality star you want to sort of go to the next level. I mean this was a great day for Snooki yesterday.
BEHAR: It`s a great day. Do you think they`ll air that segment? I think they will. Of her on the beach --
BRAGMAN: Will they air it? Yes, they`ll give it multiple airings. This is what that stuff is built on.
BEHAR: And what about this tweeting with John McCain business? And now she`s tweeting with -- what`s his name, the mayor, Newark`s mayor?
DANA: Corey Booker. Yes.
BRAGMAN: Corey Booker.
DANA: He said he would give her a fine for texting while she was in traffic.
BEHAR: Why are they treating these politicians tweeting with her? And -- why?
DANA: They`re trying to get a little of her stardust.
BEHAR: She`s tweeting while she`s driving also.
DANA: Yes. Well.
BEHAR: Which is interesting. Don`t you have to pass a written test for that?
DANA: Don`t you have to be a certain height to drive? She`s like --
BRAGMAN: No. You have to live in L.A. to do that. I`m sorry.
LAKIN: I think it`s an interesting Catch 22, though. I mean she`s famous for kind of being drunk and obnoxious, yet the judge is telling her that she`s too drunk and obnoxious. But it`s kind of made her who she is. If she wasn`t drunk and obnoxious we wouldn`t be even talking about her. Right?
BEHAR: That`s true.
LAKIN: So?
BEHAR: That`s the irony of Snooki.
LAKIN: Right.
BEHAR: Now, moving on --
(CROSSTALK)
BEHAR: You can add Angelina Jolie`s name to the list of people mad at the Koran burning Pastor Terry Jones. Sounds like someone is not getting adopted any time soon. Just saying.
(LAUGHTER)
BEHAR: OK, now -- all these people are coming out against this guy. You know about it, right?
LAKIN: Yes.
BEHAR: This pastor. He has 50 people in his congregation. I mean, Mel Gibson has more people at dinner Rosh Hashanah tonight.
(LAUGHTER)
BEHAR: And yet we`re making such a big deal over this guy.
BRAGMAN: Making us feel guilty, aren`t you, by the way? Thank you.
BEHAR: You two are here tonight. Just saying. So what do you think is going on with that whole story? How do you feel about that?
BRAGMAN: It is a great press. I`m not talking great in the -- in the world of good versus bad. But in terms of successful. It`s a wonderful press by this church and you guys in the media are just eating this crap up like it`s strawberry ice cream. You are.
BEHAR: I beg your pardon, Howard. It`s your fault.
BRAGMAN: No, but the media -- you know, I was watching CNN today before I came here.
LAKIN: Yes.
BRAGMAN: It`s all over there. And they`re talking about the president`s engaging. Shut up. Let this guy go burn his books, don`t give him the cameras, don`t give him what he wants. Or -- you know, that will never happen, right?
BEHAR: No, but if he burns the books -- you know, these jihadists around the world, they`re very touchy. You know what I mean? They`re very touchy. I mean they had a --
BRAGMAN: Should have seen the Jews when the brisket was late last night. You want to talk touchy.
(LAUGHTER)
BEHAR: Now that`s touchy. What about Angelina coming in on this?
LAKIN: Well, I mean she is U.N. ambassador. I guess it`s like, you know, if we`re going to make her U.N. ambassador maybe there is some kind of, you know, degree to which she can say these sorts of things.
But, you know, then again, who am I? And I`m sitting here talking to you about it. So I guess we can all kind of give her our own opinion about it.
BEHAR: That`s -- well, yes, that`s true. Well, of course, she has the right to say it.
DANA: In Angelina`s defense, she was asked -- I mean she`s visiting flood victims in Pakistan. And journalists asked her this question. And she just said, you know, if I can quote most reasonable people would say, which is this seems like a bad idea.
BEHAR: It`s this girl, how does she have time to visit flood victims in Pakistan? She`s adopting 20 kids a week.
(LAUGHTER)
DANA: She has an army of nannies, I think.
BEHAR: She has this kind of time to visit flood victims in Pakistan.
BRAGMAN: They cloned her, you don`t know?
BEHAR: Unbelievable. The president doesn`t visit flood victims in Pakistan. By the way, this guy says that if he gets a call from the White House he won`t burn the Koran.
BRAGMAN: No, he said he will take the call from the White House, he`ll consider it.
BEHAR: He`ll take the call? He`ll consider it?
BRAGMAN: But you know what, really honestly, this is a great moment for parents to talk to their kids because it`s obviously not going away. And say listen, there are good Jews and bad Jews, good Muslims and bad Muslims.
BEHAR: Good Christians and bad Christians.
BRAGMAN: Good Christians and bad Christians.
BEHAR: Yes.
BRAGMAN: This is a time to judge people on their own. Books and people aren`t bad, and races aren`t bad, individuals are bad.
BEHAR: OK. Very good.
Now there`s another story that`s kind of interesting. There`s a non- profit group in Houston that reads "Playboy" over the radio for the blind. This is true. It`s not as farfetched as you think. I want to know a blind who only touched "Playboy" for the article.
(LAUGHTER)
BEHAR: Anyway, they`re called "Taping for the Blind" and they read the articles. The jokes, the letters and the pictures. OK? How -- would you tune in for this, Howard? First of all.
BRAGMAN: Well, you know, I`m probably not going to buy the magazine. So they`re not going to make a lot of money. "Playboy" really does have amazing articles. You look at their history through the decades. They`ve had -- they`ve had some of the best writers in the world. Some of the best interviews in the world.
BEHAR: Yes. But they describe the pictures. Let me read you a piece. All right? "She has a very large grin on her face, pink lipstick." This is great. "She has a small tattoo right over the small of her back over the dimple area, behind her shoulder, down past her arm, you can see her breasts peeking out. There were no tan lines at all. She`s not wearing any nail polish or jewelry or bathing suit or anything."
What`s with the nail polish? Is that a fetish for blind guys?
(LAUGHTER)
BRAGMAN: You`re asking me? Wait.
DANA: She said that she described the nail polish because sometimes it`s the only thing the models are wearing.
BEHAR: Oh.
DANA: Mental images.
LAKIN: Exactly.
BEHAR: I mean, don`t you think it`s odd that they have to do this for blind people? Or is it nice?
BRAGMAN: Someone read "Playgirl" to me with the Levi Johnston issue and I thought it was a great issue.
BEHAR: Right, really?
DANA: You know I would say --
BEHAR: You could see his gray matter right through the book.
DANA: As a journalist and as a member of this dying business of journalism, I`m just delighted to hear that people are reading magazines still. And I think if anyone wanted to read the "Daily Beast" which is where I work into the radio for anyone who would like to hear, I`d be thrilled.
BEHAR: Really?
DANA: Yes.
BEHAR: Thrilled.
LAKIN: I think now what they really should do for these blind men and, I guess, women who want to read "Playboy" is have sort of like a virtual, you know, thing. They can hear it and listen to it and they can read it in Braille and everything. Or maybe, someone can just do something, you know, for these groups of people. I don`t know, women could come and you could have an interactive sort of virtual thing going.
Look, it`s for the blind, people.
BRAGMAN: Joy.
BEHAR: So in other words, cop a feel? Is that what you`re saying?
LAKIN: That`s what -- cop a feel for the blind.
(LAUGHTER)
BEHAR: I think that`s your new charity.
LAKIN: Thank you.
BEHAR: Howard.
BRAGMAN: If it`s really cold, doesn`t that spell something, the two dots? That`s all I want to know.
BEHAR: I guess so.
All right. Thank you guys for all of this fascinating conversation we just had. And see Christine Lakin in "New Again" out September 24th.
Up next, Fran Drescher joins me to talk about Michael Douglas and his battle with cancer.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BEHAR: Michael Douglas has had a pretty bad year so far. His eldest son was sent to jail, his ex-wife is suing him and now he`s battling stage 4 throat cancer. But through it all he`s seemed to have remained very upbeat.
Take a look at the actor joking about his cancer on the "Late Show with David Letterman" recently.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST, "LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN": You look great and you don`t sound like you have throat cancer. Now is -- why is that?
MICHAEL DOUGLAS, ACTOR: Because I`m on stage. Because Kirk would never -- you know, he`d say, son, you have to look good, you never know when you might have cancer.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
BEHAR: Here now to talk more about Michael Douglas, "Parade" contributing editor, Dotson Rader, who interviewed Michael Douglas for the September 19th issue of "Parade."
Hello, Dotson. You know, that`s an odd thing for a father to say even though he was making a joke about it. You`ll never know when you`ll have cancer? Well, I never heard -- my mother never said anything like that to me. My father didn`t. (INAUDIBLE) don`t you think?
DOTSON RADER, PARADE CONTRIBUTING EDITOR: No, no. But I think he`s - - I think why he`s handled himself the way he has, Michael.
BEHAR: Yes.
RADER: Precisely because of his father. I mean his father -- for two people who never were particularly close, it took his father`s helicopter accident, which was a disaster in `92.
BEHAR: Yes.
RADER: To change his father`s life. And that was followed by the stroke in `96. And Michael Douglas watched the change in his father. His father became very, very spiritual.
BEHAR: I see.
RADER: And in a sense -- I don`t want to put words in his mouth, but turned -- changed his values. And Michael comes from a very conservative WASPy eastern prep school kind of upbringing.
BEHAR: Well, his father`s Jewish. Kirk Douglas is Jewish.
RADER: His father is Jewish. He`s father is church of England. But he was raised by his mother.
BEHAR: I see.
RADER: And I think that accounts for a lot of the sort of --
(CROSSTALK)
BEHAR: So when you interviewed him did he seem upbeat with you, too, or is it just for camera?
RADER: He seemed very tired.
BEHAR: He seemed tired. Well, he`s got these treatments going on.
RADER: Yes.
BEHAR: The radiation, I guess, drains him. What did he tell you about his prognosis? Because I reading the doctor said he has an 80 percent chance of recovery, even though it`s stage 4 which sounds dire to me.
RADER: Right. Well, he said -- I mean he was going to beat it. He was very strong about it, he`s very optimistic about it. You know, the actual odds of probability for stage 4 is 50 to about 80 percent. But he thinks he`s going to -- I think a lot of that just comes from this sense of -- he`s a very tough cookie.
BEHAR: Puts one foot in front of the other.
RADER: Yes.
BEHAR: He had a very, very tough year. I mean if anybody wants to make the case for stress-related illnesses, this guy had a -- his ex-wife is suing him of his earnings from the movie "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps." And then his son, Cameron, is in prison for dealing drugs and stuff.
RADER: That`s right.
BEHAR: What did he tell you about all of that?
RADER: Well, he -- we talked a bit about his wife. His first wife. And he was -- and just, maybe we talked 15 minutes about it then he stopped and just rolled his eyes and said, I can`t talk anymore about her because of the lawsuit.
BEHAR: Oh.
RADER: But it was a very unhappy, troubled marriage.
BEHAR: And the son?
RADER: The son -- it`s surprising because he actually took his two little children to visit Cameron in the federal prison.
BEHAR: Oh, he did?
RADER: Yes. Which surprised me. And when I asked him why he did it he gave the same reason that he gave for coming forward about his cancer.
BEHAR: Which is?
RADER: Which is that the worse thing in life is fear and the way you deal with fear is you face it, and you`re honest about it and he said, there for my children to find out about Cameron and take them there to see him and allow me to explain to them what had happened.
BEHAR: Yes.
RADER: Than to hear it from someone else. He said the same thing was true of cancer.
BEHAR: I see. Well, thanks very much for giving us any kind of insight into what`s going on.
RADER: Thank you.
BEHAR: I`m a big fan of his.
RADER: I am, too.
BEHAR: I always -- I really am a fan of Michael Douglas` work. I think he`s a fantastic actor.
RADER: I admire him a lot.
BEHAR: And he -- a great producer. He`s a great guy. We wish him the best.
Dotson, thanks very much.
RADER: Thank you.
BEHAR: Look for the Michael Douglas article in the September 19th issue of "Parade."
Now I want to bring in actress and cancer survivor, Fran Drescher, my pal.
Hey, Fran, how are you doing?
FRAN DRESCHER, ACTRESS: Hi, I`m doing well. I`m actually 10 years well. I celebrated my 10 years of wellness. And you caught me as I was coming out of a big event for Cancer Schmancer where we introduce in Los Angeles the Fran Van`s Early Detection program, which is vans that go into low-income neighborhoods with mobile mammography units and pap tests.
And make sure that women that are of low income, uninsured or underinsured, will get tested early so that they can survive. Because, as Cancer Schmancer always says, stage 1 is the cure. And if you catch it on arrival, 95 percent survival.
BEHAR: That`s very good that you`re doing that. You`re a real advocate for this type of thing now. And I guess it was hard for you when you were diagnosed back in -- in 2000 with uterine cancer, I remember the whole story.
That must have been tough just to hear that. I mean, you know, just to hear the doctor say, you know, you have it.
DRESCHER: Oh, god --
BEHAR: It`s terrible.
DRESCHER: You know, I always say to people that when the doctor calls and tells you you have cancer, at the end of the day he goes home and eats dinner with his family and you go home and eat your heart out with yours.
BEHAR: Yes.
DRESCHER: It is leveling, and it`s really the depths of despair. And I didn`t think I was going to live. But you know, I can -- I`m not glad I had cancer. I don`t wish it on anyone, but I am better for it and my life has become more enriched and more purposeful, and sometimes the best gifts come in the ugliest packages.
I think that turning pain into purpose is very healing, and writing the book, "Cancer Schmancer," which was a "The New York Times" bestseller, was extremely cathartic for me and then starting the Cancer Schmancer Movement has just become my life mission now.
And everything that I do from this point forward has to somehow informed what I`m trying to do for the greater good, which has really turned the way we think about cancer on its head.
And that`s, you know, a big task. But I think that we need to become a nation that is -- lives much more preventatively, that starts questioning the levels of toxins that we expose ourselves to on a daily basis because 95 percent of most cancers are environmental. Only, you know -- or 90 percent and only 5 or 10 percent is genetic.
BEHAR: Genetics. Yes.
DRESCHER: So we`re really have to --
BEHAR: Fran -- let me interrupt you.
DRESCHER: Right, I`m sorry.
BEHAR: We`re going to have more time with you but I have to take a break for a second. We`ll be right back with more.
DRESCHER: OK.
BEHAR: OK.
DRESCHER: Sorry.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BEHAR: I`m back with my guest, Fran Drescher. We`re talking about Michael Douglas and his fight against cancer.
You know, you were talking before about how most cancers are environmental. And he was saying in his interview with Letterman that he smoked and drank quite a bit over the years.
DRESCHER: Yes.
BEHAR: I mean --
DRESCHER: That`s a lethal combination. Smoking and drinking. That combination is a lethal combination, and that`s what, you know, killed Sammy Davis. And I was just telling a dear friend of mine who -- you know, smoking the cigar and then shooting back a whiskey and I said, you know, you`re asking for it. You`re just asking for it.
BEHAR: I think just smoking alone is bad enough. And then adding the alcohol to it I guess it`s really poisoning yourself.
DRESCHER: It`s a very bad -- yes, it`s a very bad combination, and you know, the thing is they say that there are, like, three elements, and part of it is, you know, stress or trauma and if he`s had a particularly difficult year and --
BEHAR: Well, he`s had that. He has had that.
DRESCHER: He`s a smoker and a drinker.
BEHAR: Yes. And to put it all together and it`s not a pretty picture.
DRESCHER: Right. No. It`s not at all.
BEHAR: But he says that he`s remaining upbeat and that he`s going to beat it. The doctors have -- some of his doctors have given him a very high recovery rate. Eighty percent.
DRESCHER: Listen, my prayers are for him. You know, the thing is, and God willing, he will beat this thing. You know, I wish he was in stage 1. Most of the reason why we lose people to cancer is due to late-stage diagnosis.
Nobody should be diagnosed in stage 4. And if Michael Douglas is being diagnosed in stage 4, what happened -- what about the rest of America? The people that don`t have access to the kind of doctors or, you know, health insurance that he has?
BEHAR: Right. I know. His wife --
DRESCHER: This is what I keep driving home.
BEHAR: Katherine Zeta, she was saying in "People" magazine, I think I read, that he -- she was very irritated that they didn`t catch it, you know, earlier. But he sort of dismisses that as you can`t find everything. Sometimes it happens. You know?
DRESCHER: You know, this is why --
BEHAR: It`s not easy to detect.
DRESCHER: We have to transform from being patients into medical consumers. The very word "patient" implies passivity. I don`t give anyone power of attorney over my money. And I`m sure Michael Douglas doesn`t either.
But yet, we`re a little too quick to believe what the doctors say. Well, I wasn`t. I went to seven second opinions after the first doctor said it wasn`t such a big -- you know, there was nothing really wrong with me. So you know, I wish that he had done the same.
I -- you know, my prayers are for him. I hope that he beats this. He hasn`t started his real post-op treatment. So you know, he first has the hard work ahead of him, but you have to be, you know, your own best general.
BEHAR: Yes, right.
DRESCHER: You have to navigate everything. You have to be in charge even when you don`t feel like it. You have to do it.
BEHAR: Yes.
DRESCHER: And you have to ask questions. You know --
BEHAR: Yes.
DRESCHER: You have to be very proactive.
BEHAR: OK, Fran, thanks very much. And happy new year. It`s Rosh Hashanah.
DRESCHER: Thank you. I appreciate that.
BEHAR: Happy new year.
DRESCHER: And I wish everybody a healthy and a happy new year.
BEHAR: OK. And be sure to check out the benefit telecast, "Stand Up to Cancer," airing on all four major networks tomorrow night at 8:00 p.m. Stay healthy. Good night, everybody.
END
