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CNN Larry King Live

Mine Explosion in West Virginia; Tiger Woods' Dramatic Return to Golf

Aired April 05, 2010 - 21:00   ET

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

LARRY KING, HOST: Tonight, breaking news -- explosion in a West Virginia mine. We've got the latest on the dead, the trapped and the injured.

Then, Tiger Woods back again, sounding like a changed man. Open...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, COURTESY AUGUSTA NATIONAL GOLF CLUB)

TIGER WOODS, PROFESSIONAL GOLFER: I lied to myself. I lied to others.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Up front...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, COURTESY AUGUSTA NATIONAL GOLF CLUB)

WOODS: I acted just terrible, foolish and made incredibly bad decisions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Unguarded...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, COURTESY AUGUSTA NATIONAL GOLF CLUB)

WOODS: It's -- it's pretty brutal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Some fans are still cheering the world's best golfer.

Is the cheating scandal that shocked the world behind him once and for all?

Then, the incredible Jane Fonda on her decades-long love of fitness and her latest plastic surgery, taking your calls next on LARRY KING LIVE.

Let's get right to the breaking news out of West Virginia.

Here's what we know right now. A mine explosion has left seven dead and 21 injured, at least 19 unaccounted for, fearing trapped. Jeff Jenkins is the news director at West Virginia Metro News Radio Network and WCHS Radio.

He's with us on the phone.

Jeff, where exactly was this explosion and what caused it, if we know that now?

JEFF JENKINS, NEWS DIRECTOR, WEST VIRGINIA METRO NEWS RADIO NETWORK: Larry, this is about 30 miles southeast of Charleston in Raleigh County. It's actually on the Boone/Raleigh County line -- an underground line there owned by Massey Energy.

And the explosion took place -- we talked to a miner who worked on basically the opposite side of the mine. And he said the explosion happened at about 3:00 this afternoon in another section of the mine. But he could feel the force of the air blowing out from the area of the mine that -- that he was located in. So it must have been some -- just a massive explosion, that now Massey Energy has confirmed that seven are dead and 19 are unaccounted for.

KING: That company, Massey, they've gotten some pretty good awards for safety, haven't they?

JENKINS: They have. They have. They are the -- they are the largest mine producer in this region of the country, in West Virginia certainly. But it was also Massey Energy four years ago, just -- just a few weeks after the Sago Mine disaster, where Aracoma Coal, there was a mine fire and two miners died. So they've also had, Larry, their share of tragedy.

KING: And, Jeff, hang with us.

Let's go on the phone to Elizabeth Pellegrin, the public information officer at the Charleston Area Medical Center. We understand an injured miner was brought to your facility.

What is his condition, Elizabeth?

ELIZABETH PELLEGRIN, CHARLESTON AREA MEDICAL CENTER: Well, her has been admitted to the ICU at this point. He came in about 6:00 on helicopter.

KING: Came -- transported by helicopter?

How far is that -- how far is your facility from the mine?

PELLEGRIN: By helicopter, about 15 to 20 minutes. And by land, about a 45 minute drive.

KING: Do you know how your -- are you set up to receive other miners?

PELLEGRIN: We are. The explosion happened around 4:30. And by 5:09, our pager system had gone out for a code triage. So our clinicians are here and standing by. And we certainly hope to be able to treat more miners as they're able to reach them.

KING: Are these special kind of injuries your facility is familiar with?

PELLEGRIN: Yes. We're a level one trauma center, so certainly any injuries with torso or neuro, head trauma, and, also, carbon monoxide I just, we will be able to treat here.

KING: Let's go to State College, Pennsylvania.

Jeff and Elizabeth, you stay with us.

Mark Radomsky is director of the miner training program at Penn State. He's the grandson of a miner who died, by the way, in a mining accident. He's worked in the mines himself.

What kind of rescue operations do you gather are going on now, Mark?

MARK RADOMSKY, DIRECTOR, MINER TRAINING PROGRAM, PENN STATE: Well, currently, I'm sure the mine rescue teams are there and assessing the situation -- gathering information, setting up a command center and -- which will coordinate the -- the rescue operation.

KING: How do they know where to go and what to do?

RADOMSKY: Well, since Sago, we have improved tracking and communications. So they would have a better idea. And, of course, talking to the miners and talking to those in charge of where the miners might be located, so they would systemically move toward them.

KING: Are -- are the miners trained what to do when trapped?

RADOMSKY: Absolutely. Absolutely. Again, since Sago and the subsequent Miner Act, the training has been more often and the training has improved in quality. So they are, I would say, every -- every quarter, they are going over, in smoke sometimes and simulating emergencies. And they're donning their rescuers and going through the escape ways.

KING: Jeff Jenkins, on the phone, to your knowledge, was this during a shift -- in a shift change?

When?

JENKINS: This was -- it's -- I know the report -- the first report of the explosion, Larry, as Elizabeth mentioned, was probably right around a little after 4:00. But for the miner we talked to who was in the mines, he said the explosion happened at around 3:00. And that was at the end of the day shift. So it would be the day shift miners who are -- who are trapped inside here.

And as was mentioned by your other guests, that's exactly right. We talked to the miners as far -- as far as what they have available to them, these trapped miners, if they are able to. There is more self-contained, self-rescuer breathing devices that they have access to in different parts of the mine. There are safety chambers. At this mine, they have inflatable safety chambers near the face of the mine, so near where the mining is taking place, that they can inflate them. And -- and in that, they have 96 hours of oxygen. So if they're able to get to these areas, they should have a good supply of oxygen, if the mine rescue teams, which are coming now from across the state, we've been told, can actually get to them.

KING: Elizabeth, have you been given any advance information as to what might be coming your way?

PELLEGRIN: We -- we have not. We understand that the mine rescue teams did make one attempt in one location and were not able to reach them in that location and then were going into a second one. And that was probably over an hour ago.

And we're just anxiously awaiting to see what types of injuries these miners have. And we're expecting potential trauma and carbon monoxide injuries.

KING: Mark, a couple of other things.

Is this rescue operation affected by whether it's night or day?

RADOMSKY: No. No. There's really no -- no bearing. It has no bearing on the -- on the rescue.

KING: Are we much too early to speculate, Mark, as to cause?

RADOMSKY: Definitely. Definitely.

KING: This would take, how long, would you gather, before we have really concrete information?

RADOMSKY: Oh, that would be just a guess. And, you know, each investigation is going to be different and unfold differently. You just have to gather the facts from all the different sources, from -- from the individuals, the witnesses and so forth, and just go very, very slowly and not do anything premature, make sure you have all your facts and then draw some conclusions. But that would probably be out, in the future, you know, months.

KING: Thank you very much.

We, of course, will stay on top of this story here on LARRY KING LIVE and on every program on CNN.

Back with more after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: We will update you, by the way, throughout the hour with the news from the West Virginia mine disaster.

Now on to Tiger Woods. All of our guests were at Augusta today for his return to golf. This will commence on Thursday with another Masters.

Rick Reilly is a columnist, "ESPN The Magazine," ESPN.com. He's the host of ESPN's "Homecoming," contributing essayist for ESPN Sports Center.

Christine Brennan, sports columnist, "USA Today." She was at Tiger's news conference.

And Doug Ferguson, golf writer for the Associated Press. Three days before the start and nearly five months after the car accident that led to this shattering story, Tiger Woods faced a crowd on the links at Augusta National and fielded reporters' questions for about 35 minutes. He owned up to having lied, deceived and rationalized.

Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, COURTESY AUGUSTA NATIONAL GOLF CLUB)

WOODS: I fooled myself, as well. You know, as I said, I lied to a lot of people, deceived a lot of people, kept others in the dark. I rationalized, you know, and even lied to myself. And that's -- when -- when you strip all of that away, you start realizing what -- you know, when I stripped out all that away and started realizing what I had done, the full magnitude of it, it's -- it's pretty brutal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Rick Reilly, how did he do?

RICK REILLY, COLUMNIST, "ESPN: THE MAGAZINE": I mean, I still think he's a little slippery. I mean he's much softer than he used to be, a little more chin hair. He -- he didn't say anything about his wife, Elin. You know, he didn't say I really miss her. I can't wait to get back with her, I'm trying to save my marriage.

And it kind of makes me wonder, Larry, if it's over.

KING: Doug, was he asked about his wife?

DOUG FERGUSON, GOLF WRITER, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS: He was asked if she was going to be here this week. And -- and he said he that she wasn't. And then he was -- he was asked again and he couldn't hear the question about whether him playing was a sign that he was giving enough time to repair the marriage and -- and he wouldn't go there.

KING: Christine, we're going to -- you were one of the reporters who pressed him on this treatment by the controversial sports doctor, Anthony Galea.

Here's some of what Tiger said and then we'll ask you about it.

Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, COURTESY AUGUSTA NATIONAL GOLF CLUB)

WOODS: He never gave me HGH or -- or any PEDs. I've never taken -- in my entire life -- I've never taken any illegal drug ever, for that matter.

(END VIDEO CLIP) KING: Christine, how did he do today?

CHRISTINE BRENNAN, "USA TODAY" SPORTSWRITER": I thought he was more human, Larry, than we've seen him at other press conferences here, certainly in Augusta. You know, he's telling us to believe him. And I -- I think we all want to believe him. And we hope this is true. Of course, he said in other -- other quotes and other answers that he'd been lying before or, you know, he knew that his -- his life -- his life, you know, was bad. And, of course, we didn't know that at the time.

So he's lying before and now he's telling us to believe him and this is the truth. And I hope it is. But I think -- I think, as journalists -- I know I'll speak for myself -- you know, you wait and see what happens now. There's no way to know if this is all true.

On the performance-enhancing drug issue, that is the story of our lives, the issue of steroids in sports. It's certainly the story of this generation of sports. And so I thought it was important to ask Tiger about this doctor who's been to his home four times.

He did deny that he's taken any performance-enhancing drugs. And, obviously, that answer is now on the record as the federal investigation of Dr. Galea moves forward.

KING: Rick, when is enough enough in this story?

REILLY: You know, I used to watch him. I remember him being up by 12 shots and pounding his driver into the ground and going -- and I said to myself, this -- this kid is never going to get enough.

And today, he seemed like he finally did reach enough.

So, you know, I'm kind of ready to watch him play golf. The guy has apologized to everybody but his paper boy. And he -- I don't think he's going to go any further than that.

So I think tonight was enough.

KING: And, Doug, before you leave us, as a golf writer for the Associated Press, how do you -- what's your angle with the Masters?

How much of it is Tiger this weekend?

FERGUSON: The Masters will, at some point, take over, Larry, when -- when you get to the weekend. It always does.

The question is whether Tiger is part of it. I mean the first step is -- is whether he makes the cut. And then if he works into contention, he's going to be a big, big part of the story.

It -- it's still The Masters. It's still Amen Corner and the Georgia Pines and the Azalea and all the magic.

But it -- it's a different Masters. And we saw that today. There's never been this much activity on a -- on a Monday -- this type of -- of a crowd down at Amen Corner.

So this is Tiger's Masters for as long as he's here.

KING: But, Doug, you know, if he makes the cut, the television ratings will zoom, will they not, to people who don't even know what The Masters is?

FERGUSON: You know, people watch The Masters more than any other golf tournament, because it's played at the same course and the beauty and the -- and the memories and the history here and all that good stuff. And they -- and they spike when -- when Tiger is in contention, as we've seen over the years.

But now, you're bringing in another audience to this Masters of...

KING: Well...

FERGUSON: -- of people who -- they knew Tiger played golf, but now they -- they know this Tiger as the guy who's been the star of so many tabloids.

KING: Thanks a lot, Doug.

We'll come back with Rick Reilly and Christine.

We'll be joined by Howard Bragman and Dr. Drew Pinsky and discuss the Tiger brand, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: We are back.

Here's the latest on the mine disaster in West Virginia. A massive explosion claimed the lives of seven people. At least 19 are missing, maybe trapped. Cause unknown, but it was a big one.

Emergency rescue workers are on the scene in Raleigh County, where the Upper Big Branch Mine is located.

When we have more, we'll let you know.

Back to Tiger news.

We're joined by Howard Bragman, founder of 15 Minutes, a media P.R. firm, crisis management, a celebrity branding expert and author of "Where's My 15 Minutes?"

And Dr. Drew Pinsky, host of VH1's "Celebrity Rehab." He's an addictionologist and author of the best-selling book, "The Mirror Effect."

Tiger Woods ended treatment about four weeks after his November 27th car accident. He spoke today about the timing of the decision and something he missed while in rehab.

Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, COURTESY AUGUSTA NATIONAL GOLF CLUB)

WOODS: Having spent Christmas Day with my -- my family was just incredible. And then having to go off from there into -- to treatment, that -- that was a very difficult time, because what people probably don't realize is that because of the time frame of it, it I missed my son's first birthday. And that hurts. And that hurts a lot.

And I vowed I would never miss another one after that. I can't go back to where I was. I want to be a part of my son's life and my daughter's life going forward. And I missed his -- history first birthday. I mean, that's -- that was very hard that day. And it's something that I regret and I probably will for the rest of my life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Rick Reilly and Christine Brennan remain with us.

Dr. Drew, on this program in November, the day Tiger delivered an on camera statement, you said you came away with a bad feeling.

DR. DREW PINSKY, ADDICTION SPECIALIST: Yes, I did.

KING: What did you come away with today?

PINSKY: A much, much better feeling. In fact, every time I see him talk, I feel as though his treatment is progressing. And today, I thought he was connected. I thought he was -- he was genuine. I thought the feelings were real. There were very few issues that I was concerned about. I was concerned with how he closed down the Vicodin and Ambien conversation. I was concerned that he wasn't willing to talk about who decided when the timing was right for him to return to work, because I think it is a little bit early.

KING: Overall, you give him a big plus?

PINSKY: Overall, I felt relieved for him and I felt angry with people that were attacking, wanting more sordid details. We've heard it enough.

KING: Howard, from a P.R. standpoint, how did he do?

HOWARD BRAGMAN, CRISIS MANAGEMENT EXPERT: He did great. It was just four months too late, was his problem. He did (INAUDIBLE)...

KING: Why?

He should have done this sooner?

BRAGMAN: He could have put a lot of this behind him...

KING: But he's had rehab since. Maybe that helped.

BRAGMAN: I'm sure it helped. But he's also done a lot damage to his image. He's lost hundreds of millions of dollars. I'm not saying he wouldn't have, but I think he could have put a lot of this behind him.

We call these kind of moments cathartic -- cathartic moments. And you either sit down with a guy like you or you sit down and do a press conference. And you could feel it. You could feel when he talked about his child's birthday, the pain he's caused people.

The American people sort of have had enough of the salaciousness and they wanted to be on his side. And we finally got to a point where he gave them a reason to be on his side.

KING: Rick Reilly, you buy that?

REILLY: Yes, I mean, I buy it.

I had a question for Dr. Drew, which is if a guy is going through rehab, why not say why you were on Vicodin that night, why you were on Ambien, why your wife had to go back to the car -- to the house and get them and show them to the police?

Why not show -- show exactly and tell people what it is you're in for rehab exactly?

Is it for sex?

Is it for drugs?

What is it?

So I'd just like to see him go -- be completely transparent.

But, overall, I agree with the doctor. It was -- it was an A at least.

PINSKY: Well, let me just say that generally when people are in recovery, we ask them -- I mean he said I did horrible, horrible things; I was lying, cheating, manipulating, distorting. My thinking was all off.

I mean that -- sort of horrible, horrible things really encompasses everything. You don't have to go into detail about it. It's like -- it's like a drug addict getting up and telling their war stories. You can hurt yourself and hurt other people if you get up to try to have a catharsis because you feel you need that.

On the other hand, saying I'm contrite, I did horrible things, this disease took me to an awful place, that's really all we need to hear.

KING: Christine, being America as we are, don't you think we want this to -- want him to do better?

Don't you think most of the people are rooting for him to win?

BRENNAN: I think that a lot are, Larry; certainly people who love sports. You know, they just want to see him play golf. He's the most famous athlete in the United States and one of -- if not the most -- famous athletes on the planet. So that's for sure.

I think there's an element of people who come out here -- and there was some, you know, tepid applause. Some said it was louder. Tiger was thrilled with the reaction he got here today on this course when he played his practice round. Others -- observers were saying ah, maybe not -- you know, not wild praise or applause.

But he wants to get back to this and he wants to be loved. And even if -- if people back home are saying boy, that guy, I can't believe what he did, they'll come running out here and at least stand and watch. And they won't boo. There will be no -- no booing or anything like that this week here at Augusta National.

So I agree with you.

KING: All right...

BRENNAN: I think people want -- want to, you know, have a story of redemption here.

KING: All right, quickly because we have limited time because we have the governor of West Virginia coming.

Is it going to go away?

BRAGMAN: If he plays good golf, I think this will eventually go away. It's going to -- you fall into a hole very quickly. It could take him months and even take him years to rebuild what he once was.

KING: Thank you very much.

We planned on more time on this and certainly we will devote a lot of time to it Thursday, when The Masters begins and we'll have our guests back.

The governor of West Virginia is here next with the latest on the mine explosion.

Don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: The governor of West Virginia is with us, Joe Manchin.

Governor Manchin is on the phone.

He is in Florida.

Tell us how you got to be in Florida on this terrible occasion, governor.

GOV. JOE MANCHIN (D), WEST VIRGINIA: Well, yesterday -- you know, our session just ended up here. And now we have to do our budget session -- our legislative session. My wife and I had a chance to get away for a day or two and we came down and visited some friends.

Last night, late last night, I got the call, around 6:00 today, 6:00, 6:30, I think, maybe. And the plane's coming to get us. We'll be back home. I'll be at the mine site probably about -- around 2:00 in the morning.

KING: But you're keeping in constant touch, correct?

MANCHIN: We're in constant touch, yes. Once are -- we're set up. Our -- our command post is set up now. I just spoke to Ronald Wooten, the head of our mine safety and health. We had Jimmy Gianato, head of the Office of Emergency Services. Our communications people are there.

The main concern we have right now, Larry, that we do is that, you know, our hearts and prayers go out to the families of -- of the lost miners.

What we do now -- and we secure an area for the families that are waiting to hear the miners that are missing. I want them to know that we're in a total rescue mission right now and we're doing everything humanly possible.

President Obama called me and he and I spoke on the phone. He offered every asset that they had available to them. And we'll keep him informed and -- and everybody is doing everything humanly possible. And time is of an essence. You know, since our last -- we've been through this before with Sago and Aracoma...

KING: Yes.

MANCHIN: -- in 2006. And we have shelters in place.

I spoke to the mine owner or the CEO of the mine operator. It is Don Blankenship. They do have the rescue chambers in place. We're very hopeful that the miners that are missing are -- were able to get to those chamers. And that's where our prayers are right now, Larry.

KING: The government's role in this, Governor, the president's role and the like, is -- can this be considered a natural disaster?

MANCHIN: You know, what -- how this usually works is basically you have MSHA, who is the federal arm of mining. And then you have the state (INAUDIBLE) state. We take -- we take the lead on this, basically, because working with the state, we're there continuously working with the Feds.

But we want to come into agreement on how this rescue operation -- they work together and they also work with the mine, the mine owners and the mine operators, because they know that mine. They have the maps and they coordinate things as we move through, because you don't want to put the rescuers in harm's way, either, if you don't have to. And I've watched these brave people work around the clock for days risking their own lives to save one of their fellow miners.

So, it's a very orchestrated, very careful. And we're working very hard. The main thing is having all the assets. We're getting people from around the country that were calling and people that have basically have drilling operations and that can bring assets to us. And we have to plan this out. You know, this never goes the way you intend them to go. And you plan for whatever it takes to make sure you save your miners.

KING: This is West Virginia's worst dream, right?

MANCHIN: It always is. And you know what -- Larry, you know, usually during the wintertime -- January and February, when the barometric pressure is fairly low -- and that's when, sometimes, you have the gas builds up and things of this sort.

This is an unusual time for something. We don't know what the cause is. But it's -- it's not a normal time when we expect, if this is a gas explosion or whatever might have -- might have happened. I don't want to speculate. But we're very -- we're very -- we're watchful. We're -- you know, we're going to make sure that the families that we have, we keep them informed. We do not talk to the media until we talk to the families first. And then we talk to the media for what facts we might have and go from there.

KING: So we'll close. We don't want to speculate either, Governor, except to add, you are on your way there. You got caught -- you were down there getting caught, you're going right back.

And you're going right to the scene, right?

MANCHIN: I'll be right to the scene. They'll fly me right into the scene. So I'll be right there as quickly as humanly possible. Our people are on there. We're in contact on the day, minute by minute. And good decisions will be made here. We'll -- we'll do everything we can.

KING: Will you join us tomorrow night?

MANCHIN: I'll be happy to join you tomorrow night. I'll join you whenever you want me to and give you a full breakdown of what has happened. By then, we should know. And hopefully by then, we'll have the missing miners out safely...

KING: Yes, we'll see.

MANCHIN: -- and, hopefully, no more casualties.

KING: Thanks, Governor.

A safe flight.

MANCHIN: Thank you, Larry.

I appreciate it.

KING: Governor Joe Manchin.

We're back with Jane Fonda after this. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: Jane Fonda is a two-time Oscar winning Actress, best selling author and fitness icon. She's here with us in the studio.

But first, "Charleston Gazette" reporter Ken Ward is with us with an update on the situation in West Virginia. Where are you, Ken? And what can you tell us?

KEN WARD, "CHARLESTON GAZETTE": I'm actually at our news room in Charleston. We have some other staff that are on the site. Unfortunately, I can't tell you too much about the rescue operation. I heard our governor on there talking about how well planned out these operations should be. And while that's true, I don't believe that we in the press or public have been told exactly how far along they are in that process, whether or not any of these nine rescue teams are actually underground yet, and really beginning the process of this rescue.

We learned just four years ago at Sago that really every minute counts in one of these operations. So we're hoping to hear soon that those teams are actively underground and beginning this rescue.

KING: Trouble in our situation, you can't jump too soon. You can't speculate, can you?

WARD: That's correct.

KING: Thanks, ken. We'll keep in constant touch.

WARD: Thank you.

KING: Now a moment with Ry Revard (ph) from the "Charleston Daily Mail." Can you add anything?

OK, we lost him. We have Jane Fonda. Sorry. This is called live television, Jane.

Thanks for being with us. You got any thoughts on the Tiger Woods thing?

JANE FONDA, ACTRESS: No. I don't feel I'm in any position to weigh in on the subject. Who am I? I feel compassion for both of them. It's really sad.

KING: Do you worry more about this whole concept today, cheating and the like? More people talking about it -- do you think there's such a thing as sexual addiction?

FONDA: I know there is.

KING: How do you know that, Jane?

FONDA: Never you mind. No, there is sexual addiction. And apparently -- I've been sitting out in the green room with Dr. Drew, who says it can be cured. KING: Do you think so? You have to accept Dr. Drew, right?

FONDA: Yeah.

KING: You want to get people moving again. What is World Fitness Day?

FONDA: I'm launching the first ever World Fitness Day on May 1st. I got inspired to do this because I work with adolescents in Georgia. I have a non-profit called the Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention.

KING: You still live in Atlanta?

FONDA: Yes, that's my home. So I work with teens. And then I'm 72 and I'm writing a book about Boomers and seniors and the other end of the life span. And they have something in common. When people are fit and healthy and strong, they're empowered. They don't feel helpless. You know, young kids tend to feel powerless. Older people sometimes can feel powerless.

When you take charge of your health, it gives you power. I want to show in this event, this huge Georgia Dome -- we're taking it over. It's the home of the Falcons. There are going to be thousands of people. They're coming from Mexico, Canada, Minnesota, Utah, Iowa, all over the country, to come to Georgia to work out, kids, students, older people.

KING: It's going to be on the field?

FONDA: It's going to be on the field. There will be thousands of people. There's going to be myself, Richard Simmons, Denise Austin, Bill Blank. Debbie Allen is going to do a salsa workout. Here's the new announcement that no one's heard; Ludacris is going to perform live. And this is a big deal. Ludacris is performing live. The Pointer Sisters are performing live. It's going to be a lot of fun. We have contests. We have teams we're putting together.

KING: Who is financing all of this?

FONDA: Delta, Coke, Kaiser Permanente, Health Compare, the Falcon Youth Foundation. We have a lot of sponsors. We're pumping for a purpose. We're pumping up to raise money for the Georgia campaign that I founded 16 years ago.

KING: Is your ex-husband involved?

FONDA: No, Ted can't be there. I heard from him today. He's going to be at one of his 23 properties. But he's helping in other ways, as he always does.

KING: Let's clear something up. We said at the beginning -- and we don't want to be tabloidish. You're not engaged?

FONDA: I'm not like you, Larry. Three's enough, OK?

KING: Take a close look. She'll never be back. Get a good shot of her.

FONDA: No, I'm not engaged.

KING: But you have a great guy in your life?

FONDA: I do. Yes, I do. And he's from Brooklyn. Richard Perry.

KING: Great music producer.

FONDA: He's a great music producer. He was the one that helped me connect with the Pointer Sisters, because he produced all their great hits. They're going to play all their major songs. Do you remember "Jump" and "Neutron Dance." They're going to do it live. It's going to be a lot of fun.

To find out more, we just launched today the website, WorldFitnessDay.org.

KING: WorldFitnessDay.org.

FONDA: For people who can't be there, we're going to stream live on You Stream and Facebook/JaneFonda. I've entered the modern era, Larry. What can I say.

KING: We'll be back with more of Jane Fonda. We'll ask -- this is a good tease --- what was she doing on Barbra Streisand's bathroom floor, next.

FONDA: Oh, you read my book?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: We're back with Jane Fonda. It's going to be World Fitness Day May 1st at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. Want more information? WorldFitnessDay.org, all one word, or you can see it on Facebook.

FONDA: We're going to stream it live when it happens on You Stream and Facebook/JaneFonda.

(CROSS TALK)

KING: What were you doing -- now, you Twittered -- because you're a Twitter freak.

FONDA: I blog and Twitter, yes.

KING: All day long?

FONDA: No.

KING: I'm at your play "33 Variations," intermission, you're Twittering.

FONDA: Yes. KING: I thought you Twitter when you're off-stage. Hey, I'm off-stage. I'll be right back. You Twittered you were on the floor of Barbara Streisand's bathroom.

FONDA: Well, my boyfriend produced some albums with Barbara. And I've known Barbara over the years, and he's known her very well. And we were over there for dinner. We wanted -- he wanted to play her something. So the bathroom was the place. Isn't it in your house?

KING: No.

FONDA: No?

KING: No. You're a wild girl, Jane. You're very unusual. There's no one quite like you.

FONDA: You say that to all your female stars. I watch your show all the time. I know.

KING: In 2000, you swore you would never do any more cosmetic surgery. You've since admitted nipping and tucking.

FONDA: I caved.

KING: Why?

FONDA: It's my prerogative.

KING: Whoever does -- if there's one person that doesn't need it, it's you. You blogged about your latest surgery.

FONDA: Right, I didn't want to lie about it. I'm writing a book about getting older, so I had to admit it. I feel so good. I'm so happy. I didn't want to look kind of tired and jowly (ph) anymore. I didn't do a lot, right? Your lighting is so good, you probably can't see my crow's feet and everything like that. I don't look --

(CROSS TALK)

KING: Crow's feet, they're forever.

FONDA: I guess they can, but I like my crow's feet and I like my little laugh lines. It was just the little jowls away, that's all.

KING: Don't you get a little -- I'm taking from a guy's standpoint -- a little frightened about going under the knife for no way -- not for a medical reason?

FONDA: No, I was frightened about not. If I was really brave, I would have not, because I vowed that I wouldn't and I did, and I feel -- I don't feel proud of it.

KING: Just for appearances?

FONDA: Yes, I wanted to not have to worry that I didn't look the way I feel, frankly. But, however, I am -- I have stayed fit. I may have -- my workout studio stopped, and everything, but I stayed fit, and I'm very strong and healthy, even though I've got a new hip, ceramic and titanium. I like to think it's kind of the floral pattern that the royals drink tea out of.

KING: What's it like walking around with a titanium hip?

FONDA: It's kind of cool. It's exciting when you go through the airports and bells and whistles go off.

KING: Does it make noise?

FONDA: Of course, all kinds of noise? Oh, you mean in life?

KING: Yes, walking down the street make noise?

FONDA: No, it doesn't. No, it doesn't.

KING: Is it kind of weird? Are you constantly aware it's titanium?

FONDA: No, not at all, and I got a new knee too. New knee, new hip, bionic, right? Hey listen, I just feel lucky that I'm alive at a time when you can do this. And I have a new knee, a new hip, and I'm going to teach working out for thousands of people in the Georgia Dome on May 1st. So --

KING: We'll be back in a moment with the world's greatest wreck, right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWS BREAK)

KING: You were saying something to Anderson about somebody.

FONDA: Yes. It's World Fitness Day on May 1st, in the dome in Atlanta. It's kind of gathering. It's like a snow ball. More things keep happening. Jason Sellers, who is the lead singer and writer of the Scissor Sisters -- I'm exercising to one of their songs, and he's going to come out on stage and do it with me. It's really good.

KING: What if you get 100,000 people? What do you do?

FONDA: No, we're going to get 3,000 people. That's what it can hold, yes. There's going to be -- on the stage behind me, working out, are going to be kids from Georgia who won an essay. We have 12 kids that will essays -- the winners of essays, "why I'm committing to be fit." They will get on the stage and --

KING: All day long?

FONDA: No, the actual -- the doors of the dome open at 8:30. The show begins at 10:00. It ends at 11:00, 11:15.

KING: Admission price?

FONDA: It depends. If you're older or younger, it's 25 dollars. In the middle, it's 75.

KING: OK. Back to other things. Twitter question, King's Things got a number of Tweets referring to you as Hanoi Jane. There's a new book coming out, get this, "Hanoi Jane, War, Sex, and Fantasies of Betrayal."

FONDA: Yes, it's a good book.

KING: You know the book?

FONDA: Yes, I advertise it on my blog.

KING: It seems to be a book that's critical of you.

FONDA: No, it's about the myth, why it is that 300 people went to North Vietnam, many people before me, why me, why have they created this myth. You know, when I came back from North Vietnam, there was maybe a quarter of an inch of media about it in the "New York Times." Nobody made a big deal out of it. It was created.

KING: By critics?

FONDA: By right wingers. There are some people who are like stuck there. They're still stuck in the past. I always want to say get a life or read what really happened, you know.

KING: People still yell at you when you walk down the street?

FONDA: No, no. When I did the play on Broadway last year, there would be, you know -- for about two or three weeks, there was a small protest of four or five people outside the theater. Nobody paid any attention.

But it makes me sad for these people who are stuck, because they've not taken the time. If they're going to waste their energy on hatred, they should take the time to find out what was really true.

KING: Some other things. What do you think of Michelle Obama and the obesity fight?

FONDA: I think it's great that she's staked this out as one of her issues, as has Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is sending me a greeting and a salute in the Georgia Dome on May 1st.

KING: You keep saying that. We've repeated it a lot. I think we're getting it through to them.

FONDA: We know how to sell.

KING: WorldFitnessDay.org, one word.

FONDA: A lot of people are very obese in this country. One out of six youth are obese. It's a huge medical crisis.

KING: What do you think of Sarah Palin? There was a little quick move. You went from crisis to -- FONDA: You betcha!

KING: What do you think?

FONDA: You betcha. I think she could have a television show maybe.

KING: She got one.

FONDA: But she should not be a politician in my opinion.

KING: What do you make of the feelings about her? I don't even to have ask you the question, Sarah Palin. What do you make of the story?

FONDA: Sad. I think it's sad when someone says I'm going to run for office and they can't answer basic questions, you know, about the world, about what they read, about history, things like that. I think we should take our political -- our political world, life, members who aspire to be elected officials more seriously. They have to be grounded in some kind of reality.

KING: How do you account for her popularity?

FONDA: Well, I -- I don't know. It worries me, frankly.

KING: OK. OK. A number of other Tweets asking me to ask you about the late Michael Jackson and your friendship with him.

FONDA: Yes, I was a friend of his. I spent some really nice time with Michael, very poignant time that made me feel tremendous compassion and love for him.

KING: What is it about him that we didn't know?

FONDA: How hard his growing up was. I think it's why he, Judy Garland, Elizabeth Taylor, the child stars who were so, so, so big, so young, they had a kinship -- Roddy McDowell. I was very close to Roddy. It's hard when you're really young. And it was hard because of situations in his private -- in his family and his -- it's been talked about.

KING: When did you start your career? What age?

FONDA: Oh, 22.

KING: So you were -- was there ever a tendency to want to be --

FONDA: I wanted to run the other way totally.

KING: You did?

FONDA: Yeah, but I didn't know what to do. I was fired as a secretary. I didn't want anything to do with acting. I didn't think I had talent. I thought I wasn't pretty enough, all those kinds of things. But I didn't -- it was Lee Strassburg (ph) that got me into acting.

KING: Did Peter want it?

FONDA: I'm not sure. I'm not sure. I can't speak to that.

KING: How is Peter?

FONDA: He's fine. He's good. He looks great.

KING: We'll be back with our remaining moments with Jane Fonda. Don't forget, May 1st.

FONDA: World Fitness Day, first annual.

KING: Don't go away.

FONDA: Yay, Delta.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: We're back with Jane Fonda, who starred -- by the way, first, quick we have a first update on the breaking news from West Virginia. Seven dead, 19 missing, believed to be trapped. A massive explosion, Upper Big Branch Mine. It occurred late this afternoon. Rescue efforts are underway. The cause of the blast unknown and under investigation. The governor, we just spoke to him, is flying there. He had flown down to Florida for a mini vacation. That's all I turned out to be. And he'll be at the scene and will be with us -- the governor will be with us tomorrow night.

Jane Fonda is with us now. We're running out of time, so one of the things I want to make sure to cover is Lindsey Lohan. You co- starred with her in a good movie, "Georgia Rules." You have another perspective on her, don't you?

FONDA: Another compared to who? I like her a lot. I feel tremendous compassion for her.

KING: And her talent?

FONDA: She has a lot of talent.

KING: Are you going to do another movie?

FONDA: Am I? You betcha, to quote Sarah Palin. You betcha. In fact, I'll doing a movie in June, in France, in French. I haven't made a movie in French in 50 years, but I'm fluent. So that will be fun. And it is with a great, great, great cast of French actors. And Geraldine Chaplain is in it. (FRENCH) When I was married to Badine (ph) -- that was the first one -- I made movies in French then.

KING: This is news. What's the title of the movie?

FONDA: It's called (FRENCH), which means "And If We All Live Together."

FONDA: It's a comedy?

FONDA: Yes, sort of, sweet tender comedy.

KING: Why France? Why French? Why a movie now? Why a French movie now?

FONDA: Why not?

KING: "The Monster in Law" was hysterical.

FONDA: Wasn't it funny?

KING: You were hysterical.

FONDA: You know how I could do that? Do you know why I was able to do that? Because I had never played a part like that, because of living with Ted for ten years. You know what I mean. Because I discovered that over the top and outrageous, up close and personal, could be charming and endearing. So I just -- I thought of Ted when I was --

KING: Over the top and --

FONDA: And totally endearing, right?

KING: He is.

FONDA: Yes, so it was easy for me to do the part after ten years with him.

KING: He'll always be part of you.

FONDA: Always. So will Tom Heyden (ph) and so would Badine (ph), except he died. Life is too short.

KING: It is.

FONDA: Are your seven wives a part of you? There were eight, but you married one twice. I'm sorry. I just like -- you're the only person I know that got married more than my father. That's why I like --

KING: Why do you do this? You have some kind of thing. You have to get it out?

FONDA: What's wrong?

KING: All right already.

FONDA: OK.

KING: Jane Fonda, WorldFitnessDay.com, al one word.

FONDA: That's what you get for asking me about Sarah Palin.

KING: It's normal to ask you about Sarah Palin. Our guest has been Jane Fonda.

FONDA: I'll never be back.

KING: If you don't know about WorldFitnessDay.org by now, there's something wrong with you. Don't forget, we'll keep you up to date -- posted on that tragedy in West Virginia. The governor will be with us again tomorrow night. And we'll be covering all the time.

Dr. Schlessinger is also probably another one of your favorites, with us tomorrow night as well. We thank Jane Fonda, and thank you for joining us. Anderson Cooper and "AC 360" right now. Anderson?