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Nancy Grace

Russell Armstrong`s Family May Sue Bravo

Aired August 19, 2011 - 20:00   ET

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

JEAN CASAREZ, GUEST HOST: We begin tonight with breaking news as reality television takes a stunning turn of (ph) the family of suicide victim and reality star husband Taylor Armstrong of the "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" is saying tonight that reality television caused his death, yes, made him take his own life.

Bravo`s "The Real Housewives" known for turning everyday neighbors and friends into megastars. But with the show`s second season in the can and ready for air, Armstrong reportedly in a panic over how he was going to be portrayed. The only answer in his mind, says his family, tragedy, when this husband of "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" commits suicide.

And with that new season set to premier in just weeks, it all turns explosive when star Taylor Armstrong files for divorce, alleging years of domestic violence, not to mention their staggering money problems, and Russell Armstrong`s alleged history of abusing women.

With his dirty laundry about to air out in front of the world, was it just too much? Tonight, stern warnings to the television network Bravo by Russell Armstrong`s family, now threatening to sue, Don`t you dare air video of my deceased son.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Shocking news coming out of the reality TV world.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Terrible, terrible tragedy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The estranged husband of "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" cast member Taylor Armstrong.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Found dead in an apparent suicide.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Reportedly found hanging in the bedroom at a friend`s house.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This show led to his depression.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) so vocal when it comes to speaking out about domestic violence, and you know, with the allegations, is that going to be addressed on the show?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You have to tune in and see, but a lot of the issues of my marriage are definitely addressed this year.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The show characterized him as someone that abused his spouse.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Before he took his life, he said, Mom, they`re just going to crucify me this season.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel like I have this life that I want to celebrate. I just wish he would celebrate with me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: And that was video from Bravo`s "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills."

Good evening. I`m Jean Casarez of "In Session" on the truTV network, in for Nancy Grace. Thank you so much for joining us.

Tonight, a bitter divorce, abuse allegations, mega-money problems, and his world about to unravel on national television, "Real Housewives" husband Russell Armstrong commits suicide. Is it a wrongful death lawsuit next? We have joining us tonight, taking your calls live, former "Housewives of Orange County" and D.C.

But first, let`s go straight to Alexis Tereszcuk, reporter with Radaronline. Alexis, what`s the latest?

ALEXIS TERESZCUK, RADARONLINE.COM: Well, the latest is that we revealed that Taylor Armstrong actually suffered a horrible beating at the hands of Russell. She wound up in the hospital. And this was what we learned was the straw that broke the camel`s back. It`s why she filed for divorce.

After he hanged himself this week, all of this news has come out. They had a very volatile relationship. They were both very worried about financial -- their financial situation. They were lots in debt. They had, you know, over a million dollar lawsuit against them.

But he was very concerned -- Russell was very concerned, as you said, that he was being portrayed so badly on this show, that it only showed the bad things, instead of the good things. You know, he`s a good father, he had three children, that he was very involved with their lives, but it never showed that. And the family said that it was overwhelming for him and it was just too much.

CASAREZ: All right, joining us tonight exclusively, two former "Housewives." First of all, Jeana Keough, former cast member of Bravo`s "Real Housewives of Orange County" is joining us live tonight. We are taking your calls. And Michaele Salahi, former housewife of Bravo`s "Real Housewives of D.C." Ladies, thank you so much for joining us.

First of all, to Jeana. Jeana, when you look at this tragedy and you look at Bravo and the portrayal of Russell Armstrong last season -- and the second season that`s in the can, it says that all focus is to be on him this second season for breaking up the marriage, not being a good husband, financially distraught to the tune of $1.5 million -- do you think the show caused him to commit suicide?

JEANA KEOUGH, FMR. CAST MEMBER, BRAVO`S "REAL HOUSEWIVES OF ORANGE COUNTY": I do not think the show caused him to commit suicide. You just listed all the problems they had in their marriage and in their financial world, but divorce and therapy can solve some of those problems. Lawsuits -- if you`re successful, everybody gets sued. Everybody lost money in this tech industry. So I don`t think any of those things would cause him to commit suicide.

And in my own personal problems, when I was going through the show, we have the same producers, Evolution, they said, Your husband can`t handle all the stress of all of us cameras around, so for the four months we`re shooting, we`re going to get him this beautiful place to live. And he`s welcome to come and go as he pleases, but he has this sanctuary that there will be no cameras. So they were totally in tune with my family and my needs and took care of my husband and gave him a beautiful place to live and everything was done for him so he could be stress-free and -- because he was suffering with depression.

So no, I think they did everything they can. And from what I had heard, Russell had backed out of filming as much the second season, like some of our housewives` husbands have done in the past years.

CASAREZ: And we can get into that, but to Michaele Salahi. What we`re hearing here -- you are a former cast member of "The Housewives -- Real Housewives of D.C.," joining us. We`re taking your calls live. It sounds like that the lavish lifestyle is provided to you, and they really cater to the husbands of this show, rather than the converse.

MICHAELE SALAHI, FMR. CAST MEMBER, BRAVO`S "REAL HOUSEWIVES OF D.C.": In my situation, it was a little different. We went through -- prior to -- in the middle of filming, the White House experience. So we were kind of on our own. That was something that I think everyone was trying to understand at that time, and it was -- we didn`t hear from Bravo. So we were in the middle of filming, and it was just kind of, like, Whoa.

But so we had a very different situation. And I don`t think you can blame one entity, like Jeana said. There are so many parts to their lives, and I think it`s just maybe all of it together. Similar to how our lives, everything was just coming on us.

CASAREZ: To Jeana Keough, joining us tonight, a former cast member of "The Real Housewives of Orange County." Did the husbands sign a separate contract from the wives?

KEOUGH: Yes.

CASAREZ: And were they paid as well as the wives?

KEOUGH: No, the -- no one is paid but the wives. And maybe now the children get paid. But -- and the husbands. Maybe now they do. But I did the first five years, and the husbands and childrens (SIC) did not get paid. So most of the men removed themselves as much as possible because they have their real jobs to do.

CASAREZ: Well, joining us tonight, Ronald Richards, who is the attorney for Russell Armstrong. Ronald Richards, thank you so much for joining us. You do represent this young man that committed suicide, the husband of Taylor Armstrong of "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills." Do you believe the show caused his death? And could he go out and make a living because of everything the show asked him to do?

RONALD RICHARDS, ATTORNEY FOR RUSSELL ARMSTRONG: Well, I believe the show took away his marriage and his money. And it made it very difficult when these allegations started being repeated in the media for him to continue in his current occupation, which is dealing with financial markets.

CASAREZ: And why was he $1.5 million in debt? And was he?

RICHARDS: He wasn`t $1.5 million. There was a lawsuit that was recently filed as a result of a breach of a settlement agreement, and that was his exposure. But I don`t think he was in debt to that degree.

CASAREZ: Was he paid at all for the show?

RICHARDS: I don`t believe he was paid the first season at all. He was trying to get paid as part of his community property interest in brand endorsements, and they were making a little bit of money and had some things on the burner that were up and coming.

CASAREZ: And what are you going to do about Bravo`s second season? Because it`s in the can, we understand. Everything is shot. And the focus is putting a spotlight on many of his alleged negative qualities, such as domestic abuse.

RICHARDS: Well, we were trying to tailor what some of the other housewives would say about them when they didn`t have any personal knowledge of some of these allegations. But now I`m hoping the show just deletes this character entirely so his kids are spared the next 20 years of agony of having to see their deceased father repeated on TV.

CASAREZ: Joining us tonight, once again, former housewives that are taking your calls, answering your questions, Michaele Salahi, former cast member of "The Real Housewives of D.C." Michaele, how much of it is real on "The Real Housewives," and how much of it is scripted? Because this is all about ratings.

SALAHI: You know, I will say that there is some reality and there is some guided. In my case, there was. So guided meaning, guided -- would I normally go out with the women all the time? No. So it is a guided set, you know, where you will be. But you know, in our case, there was some things. You know, the White House did unfold, and that was in the middle of filming.

CASAREZ: Jeana Keough, former housewife of "The Real Housewives of Orange County," what about your situation? Because the more issues there are, the more emotional abuse, lies, all of that, the more successful the show will be. So how much is made up?

KEOUGH: I don`t think any of it is made up. Like in Taylor`s case, I know Bravo and Evolution will take ultimate care, and they`ll probably even have her attorney -- his attorney come in and preview some of the scenes. If I was Taylor and there are some wonderful scenes of her husband with the children -- it`s a great video of his life.

As far as any fighting and bickering, all that -- my husband had scenes he didn`t like and Bravo edited them out. I had a strong entertainment attorney, and he went in there and said there -- you know, I don`t want him portrayed in any bad ways. So they really worked with us on that and gave him time to heal and go through his issues. So I`m sure they`ll do the same with this.

They`ve already put off the season, I`ve heard, so I imagine that they will, if anything, maybe do some kind of retro something, pull out all the wonderful scenes. And I`m sure there`s wonderful scenes. And I`m sure they will also say that the allegations that they were in financial trouble and they spent $60,000 on a birthday party -- you and I know that that birthday party was donated by caterers and everybody. So don`t make them look fiscally irresponsible when they really weren`t.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) story that you guys are on the verge of a divorce.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) completely false.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Completely false. There was nothing true about that?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. We`ve been in therapy, and you know, we`re doing what it takes to smooth out the rough edges.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Every marriage should do that, right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, exactly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Russell Armstrong, the estranged husband of "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star Taylor Armstrong.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sadly found dead in his home, his death believed to be a suicide.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I had no idea that Russell would ever do something like this.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He reportedly was found hanging in the bedroom at a friend`s house.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The day before he took his life, he said, Mom, they`re just going to crucify me this season.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Have to tune in and see, but a lot of the issues in my marriage are definitely addressed this year.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Every couple has troubles. But she talks about this on air.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was absolutely terrified about how he was going to be portrayed.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He would be bashed by some of the other cast members.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Put him in a spotlight that he wasn`t coped (ph) to deal with.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The marriage absolutely drove my son into poverty.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This show led to his depression.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was 47.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: I`m Jean Casarez, in for Nancy Grace. Russell Armstrong, the real-life husband of reality show Taylor Armstrong, real life "Housewives of Beverly Hills" -- we know he committed suicide. But now the family is coming out and saying, Bravo, don`t you dare air any of that video in your upcoming season because you caused the death. You`re responsible for the death of Russell Armstrong.

We`re taking your calls live. Out to Sylve in Maryland. Hi, Sylve.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Jane. Jane, what benefit did Taylor Armstrong have in throwing the $60,000 birthday party for their 4-year-old daughter, knowing that Russell was in financial straits? And even though Jeana says that most of it was catered, the viewer -- what the viewers see is the opulence and the elegance. How is that going to look?

And I also have a question for Michaele Salahi. Michaele, the "D.C. Housewives" franchise was not renewed for a second season because your fellow "D.C. Housewives" cast, Linda (ph) and Mary (ph), said that you caused Bravo not to renew the second season. Do you believe that is true?

CASAREZ: All right, let`s go out to Michaele. Michaele, your response to that question?

SALAHI: To answer her question, "The Real Housewives" -- I had already moved on. I took another show with Dr. Drew and knew that the other women -- if you had watched the reunion, you saw kind of the bullying and what I went through. So you saw a lot of what I was experiencing. And by that point, when the new year rolled in, they were still trying to make their decision, Bravo. And the other women, I heard, had kind of banded together, and you know, tried to get me fired. And you know, I had moved on.

And when Bravo had said that, you know, they liked the whole cast to return or not, I was glad because I think the show was -- I had referred to it, the wives to the show and was a big part at the beginning stages with producers. So I was a big part of that. And you know, that`s an answer to her question.

CASAREZ: Jeana Keough, I have to ask you, former cast member of "The Real Housewives of Orange County" -- what do these reality shows bring to all of us as we sit and watch your issues, your problems from our living rooms?

KEOUGH: When I was in it, in the first five seasons of our show, I thought we helped people and showed them that we have the same issues they did. We had children struggling in school, struggling with drug issues, alcoholic husbands. We had real issues and we had real answers to the problem. And I thought we were like a little mini-soap opera and helped people.

And a lot of people came to me and said that my daughter was their 12- year-old`s idol because she could go to a party and say, What are you drinking that for? You don`t need to. Your personality is fine. And I really thought we gave life lessons. And that`s what the show started out to be.

CASAREZ: All right, everybody, I want to tell everybody we`re watching video from Bravo`s "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills."

To Ronald Richards, attorney for Russell Armstrong, who committed suicide -- this week his body was found. Do you think this is all reality? Because, look, these shows are ratings. Ratings denote the success of the show. They bring in the advertisers. It`s all about money. They have to create some of this stuff.

RICHARDS: Of course. The non-scripted actors create their own content so they`re re-signed for the next year. There`s no requirement they sign all the housewives. So couples get together and try to come up with the most grandiose subjects and content.

CASAREZ: I want to go out to senior reporter for "In Touch Weekly" Dorothy Cascerceri, who is joining us. And I want to talk about an issue that is not directly attributed to his death but something that is extremely significant. It`s domestic abuse. How real was the domestic abuse that Russell perpetrated on Taylor Armstrong?

DOROTHY CASCERCERI, "IN TOUCH WEEKLY": The domestic abuse was very real. There are reports claiming that Taylor Armstrong spent some time at Cedars Sinai hospital in June because they had gotten into a fight and he had hit her in the face. She even had to have reconstructive surgery.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What`s the key to a happy relationship?

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hard work and commitment. That`s the key to a good relationship.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Los Angeles County coroner`s office says 47- year-old Russell Armstrong killed himself.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Very devastated and shocked and surprised.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They`re almost extras.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) these people go on reality shows, have drama in their lives. That`s why they`re cast.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But when the rubber hits the road, the reality sets in.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think that Bravo should be held responsible.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think he should be edited out with the other character, Taylor, and he should be rest in peace.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: Jean Casarez, in for Nancy Grace. Let`s go out to the lawyers, big legal issue here, Mark Nejame, personal injury lawyer joining us from Orlando, Florida, also criminal defense attorney, and Paul Batista, defense attorney and author of "Death`s Witness" joining us from New York.

First to you, Mark Nejame. Do you believe that Bravo caused or contributed to this man`s death because of how he was portrayed and how he knew he was going to be portrayed in the second season of the show?

MARK NEJAME, PERSONAL INJURY ATTORNEY: From what I`ve heard so far, it`s not a case my firm would take. The reality of it is, is the show hadn`t aired yet. So it`s pure speculation as to how he may be portrayed. And if the portrayal was truthful and it wasn`t in reckless disregard of the truth, it would be a stretch to have a wrongful death claim.

CASAREZ: All right, Paul Batista, what we`re hearing is that the debt that this man was in -- and he was the breadwinner because he was a venture capitalist, so he was used to making money. But he says -- his family is saying that all of his money was used up during this show because he had to pay for so much. The show didn`t give him all these things. And that was one thing that contributed to his depression and ultimate suicide.

PAUL BATISTA, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Bravo, beware. We have had cases like this in the past, Jean. For example, as a result of "The Jenny Jones Show" a few years ago, one man implied that another was gay. That other man killed the guy who made that implication, went to trial, the jury came back with the verdict in excess of $10 million.

These are hard cases to prove, but we have a history here of being able to prove that. So again, Bravo beware.

CASAREZ: All right, to Ronald Richards, attorney for Russell Armstrong. Do you think the family will try to stop or will you take part in this and airing of any video of Russell Armstrong in the second season?

RICHARDS: Well, we`ll be making a request once we see what Bravo`s going to do. We don`t think that they should air these sessions of therapy because it`s very macabre and ill advised. So we will be asking them not to air footage of Russell Armstrong, and then react after they decide what they`re going to do.

CASAREZ: But if the whole issue is making money, aren`t they going to do it?

RICHARDS: No, because they also want to take the high road. They don`t really need all of his outtakes and these therapy sessions, and this negative stuff about a man that killed himself. I think they were -- they`re going to come up with a different solution, in my opinion.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TAYLOR ARMSTRONG, CASTMEMBER, THE REAL HOUSEWIVES IN BEVERLY HILLS: A lot of the issues in my marriage are definitely addressed this year.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Before the new season started, before teak his life.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They`re going to hurt my feelings.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Said, mom, they`re just going to crucify me this season.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Russell is not -

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`re wondering if there are warning signs that Russell Armstrong -

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He`s in phoenix, right?

TAYLOR ARMSTRONG: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The husband of one of "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills."

TAYLOR ARMSTRONG: I was really disappointed. I wanted to spend time with him and he wasn`t there.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Was depressed because he committed suicide.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: His wife, Taylor Armstrong, filed for divorce last month.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was so distraught before the end of it. And he said I don`t know what to do. He said I`ll never survive it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CASAREZ: I`m Jean Casarez in for Nancy Grace.

Everybody, we`re learning that Russell Armstrong may have been dead for 24 hours until his body was found with an electrical cord around his neck.

I want to go out to Alexis Tereszcuk, senior reporter for radaronline.com.

Alexis, exactly how was Russell Armstrong portrayed in season one? We know season two is just about to begin. How was he to be portrayed in that season two?

ALEXIS TERESZCUK, SENIOR REPORTER, RADARONLINE.COM: In season two, he was going to be portrayed even worse than he was in season one. In season one, they showed him as a distant husband, sometimes kind of mean to Taylor. Season two it was going to really get into depth into this therapy that the two went to. It was going to perhaps touch on the abuse that Taylor suffered at his hands.

You know Bravo had to stop filming after Taylor was in the hospital from the, when Russell hit her in the face, so it was definitely going to show a lot more things and he was very worried. He told all his family he was made out to be the villain.

The family members I`ve spoken to have been very angry about this, they are saying Russell was grate guy you know that it was Taylor was the problem in the marriage. She pushed him to the brink because of the financial needs, she want to live a lifestyle that they really weren`t able to afford. The Maloofs have so much money. The Armstrong has money but certainly not on that level. So, it was very hard to keep up with the very, very rich women that were on the show.

CASAREZ: In fact Alexis, his own mother said he was in a panic over season two airing or could it have been a consciousness of guilt because he knew so much of what was going to air was very, very true.

Joining us tonight everybody, are two former housewives. We have Jeana Keough, who is a former cast member of bravo`s "Real Housewives of Orange County" also, Michaele Salahi, former cast member of Bravo`s "Real Housewives of D.C."

First of all to Jeana, I heard you in the background when the attorney for Russell Armstrong said moments ago that so much is made up in the shows because they want the ratings, they want the notoriety, it is not all real. That`s just in the title. Your response to that.

JEANA KEOUGH, FMR CAST MEMBER, REAL HOUSEWIVES OF ORANGE COUNTY: It is not scripted. These women aren`t good enough actors to react something. It is what is going on in their lives. If her husband truly was beating her and I don`t see any proof of it, I`ve never read anything in the paper about it, police report or anything, so that`s all hearsay, and at any point, his attorney, Ron, could have called bravo and say, hey, my husband you know, Russell wishes to be removed from the show, don`t show him.

As many of our other husbands did, Jim Bellino and everyone, they said, I don`t want to be in it, maybe I`ll walk by at a party, but I don`t want to be in it. He had that right. At any point, you could quit. So, I can`t imagine that anything that devastating was coming out on TV that he would have taken his life.

CASAREZ: Michaele Salahi, do you agree? Can a husband just walk away and say I`m not going to participate or is there an unspoken pressure that if you want your wife on this show, you better be there too?

MICHAELE SALAHI, FMR CAST MEMBER, REAL HOUSEWIVES OF D.C.: In our city, Jane, it was very different than what Jeana is saying, we were guided. I was guided many times. I was even told a certain line to say one time, so in our city it was a little different and each city probably operates different with different production companies for Bravo. Ours was completely different.

In my case, my husband was trying to make me happy. I don`t know the Armstrong`s`. And I think it is a tragedy and faith is what that family has to hold on to right now. But for me, my husband was trying to make me happy. And he wasn`t, like, oh my gosh reality, I mean we`re doing a TV show, but he really wanted to make me happy. And certain family members said absolutely no way, they wouldn`t be on camera.

CASAREZ: Jeana, what about clothes? Did they pay for your clothes, your shoes, your purses, your jewelry?

KEOUGH: No. But wonderful sky tops, you know we put those little tops with all the bling on, all the wonderful people in Hollywood would give us clothes and shoes, so there really wasn`t any cost to us for clothes and shoes. And by the second season, people were doing our hair and makeup, so, no, there was no cost. That is not a reason that he spent all that money.

As everybody else in this country, Obama, sorry - everybody`s business change. He wasn`t the only tech industry that got hit 50 percent. So I don`t believe he committed suicide for financial or depression or divorce.

When you guys get the reports back, I`m sure it is like some freak Prozac or something that made him do it because nothing in his life couldn`t haven`t been changed without lawyer and therapy and marriage counseling.

CASAREZ: And that would be the defense for any action. You`re exactly right.

To Ronald Richards, joining us tonight, who is the attorney for Russell Armstrong, how much was paid for with the housewives of Beverly Hills? Were there clothes? Were there lavish parties paid for? How much did Russell Armstrong have to pay to in essence be on the show?

RONALD RICHARDS, RUSSELL ARMSTRONG`S ATTORNEY: I don`t think this is an unrealistic assessment that the parties paid for all the trips, the events, and everything and Russell was concerned about what the other housewives were saying about him when he wasn`t there and you`re absolutely right, if he would have said I`m not going to participate at all, Taylor would have ended the marriage a long time ago.

He was compelled to finance it, and he was spending 30 to $50,000 a month supporting this lifestyle and all of these interesting events that the viewing public would keep wanting to watch.

CASAREZ: What about - I want to get your response to these abuse allegations because they are rampant, even Taylor Armstrong has spoken out and it wasn`t disclosed if there is any truth in season one, but there was a benefit for domestic abuse victims.

But even former women in his life have come out saying that he was abusive toward them. Your response?

RICHARDS: I did - yes, I disagree with that. I agree with Jeana, there was no documented abuse. The one allegation of abuse was in a "People" magazine article, and I spoke to a report they are morning, it was simply just abuse without defining what it is.

It would have been adventurous for her in their divorce just alleged in the pleadings which it was not, that she was a victim of domestic violence or any for that criminal conducts. So, it is unfortunate for all these things would kind to erupt after my client is deceased.

CASAREZ: To Patricia Saunders, clinical psychologist, allegations are there, even court documents are there from the past, from women that were in Russell Armstrong`s life, can this be something that can be so traumatic that it is coming out publicly that it can cause someone to put an electrical cord around their neck and end their life?

PATRICIA SAUNDERS, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: Not by itself. And men who have a history of or are alleged to be abusers typically do not commit suicide. It is more complicated.

I think everybody is forgetting that Russell Armstrong chose to be on this show. Jeana called it a soap opera. I think of it as a soap bubble, it`s a mix of reality and fantasy. This man chose to spend the money. The fact that he may have been depressed, he may have been a violent guy doesn`t excuse him from the fact that three children will pay for the rest of their lives with a suicide father.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUSSELL ARMSTRONG, CAST MEMBER, THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF BEVERLY HILLS: The big birthday party is really in Dallas next Thursday.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. Very nice.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everyone had a good time tonight?

RUSSELL ARMSTRONG: Yes, we`re going to beaches now. Big party is just starting.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You guys look really happy tonight.

RUSSELL ARMSTRONG: Things are good, yes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFED MALE: What did you get for your birthday?

TAYLOR ARMSTRONG: I got shoes, shoes, a lot of shoes, which is a perfect gift for a woman like me.

RUSSELL ARMSTRONG: A lot of shoes. That`s all you have to do and she`s happy.

TAYLOR ARMSTRONG: Shoes.

RUSSELL ARMSTRONG: She has a month long birthday, though. So it is very painful.

UNIDENTIFED MALE: You going to celebrate in any other cities besides L.A.?

TAYLOR ARMSTRONG: I was in Las Vegas last night and I think we`re going to head somewhere else but -

RUSSELL ARMSTRONG: We`re headed to lone star state.

TAYLOR ARMSTRONG: No, we`re going to be in Dallas. You already have your cowboy hat on. Next week, we`re going to Dallas.

UNIDENTIFED MALE: Do you ever get back to Oklahoma?

TAYLOR ARMSTRONG: You know I don`t. I don`t have any family there any longer really that I`m close to so -

UNIDENTIFED MALE: Oh, OK.

TAYLOR ARMSTRONG: Don`t make me go Oklahoma on your -

UNIDENTIFED MALE: Enjoy your birthday.

TAYLOR ARMSTRONG: Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CASAREZ: It is very tragic. That is Russell Armstrong there. I think you`re watching him live from "The Real Life Housewives of Beverly Hills", committed suicide this Monday, body not found for 24 hours. Family now saying Bravo you better not air this video because you caused his death, a premiere just about to start.

I want to go out to Dorothy Cascerceri, joining us tonight is the senior editor of "In Touch Weekly". What is the status of the show? Because the premiere of the second season is just around the corner.

DOROTHY CASCERCERI, SENIOR EDITOR, IN TOUCH WEEKLY: Yes, you`re right. The premiere of the second season is supposed to be September 5th. But Bravo has a really difficult decision now to make.

They have postponed a premiere party they were supposed to have on August 24th. And they have said that now the premiere of the show is going to be pushed back at least a week. But it might even be pushed back further.

Bravo has a chance here to really capitalize off of this horrible tragedy. And with networks, a lot of times we see that the bottom line is the thing that matters most to them. And so we`re going to have to wait and see what bravo ends up doing in this position, if they`re going to give the family some time to grieve or if they`re going to go ahead and air the show, because at this point, the show has so much more attention than it ever had last season because of this horrible tragedy. And it is really so sad that it has taken something like this, you know, that really highlights the show in terms of people`s minds that maybe never watched it or never even heard of it.

CASAREZ: You know Dorothy you`re so right in what you`re saying.

Out to Mark Nejame, personal injury lawyer, criminal defense attorney joining us from Orlando, if you represented Russell Armstrong right now, money is the bottom line with this reality show. That`s what they want. The advertisers, the success of the show, I mean they`re on the premiere of their second season, can you imagine how many people are going to watch the first episode? Would you as his attorney want to look at this video ahead of time to see what light he`s portrayed in and if so, in some way try to ask them not to air it?

MARK NEJAME, PERSONAL INJURY ATTORNEY, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORYNEY: Absolutely. From what I heard from Mister Richards, his attorney, I think that`s exactly the right way. Look, the reality of it is he signed a contract and as devastating as this is for the family and for a man to be in such a position of despair, to take his own life, especially with children it a horrible situation.

But where is the personal responsibility? Where are the natural consequences of action? People seek fame and fortune. He signed a contract. He knew that they were airing. And from what somebody else said, he could have arguably not appeared.

So, those are real issues. And if I were the attorney, I would sit down and say that every executive who has a child please be sensitive to the fact that these children are now forever going to be scarred. We don`t need to make it any worse, an appeal to their sense of consciousness still allowing the story in un-appropriate ways to be brought out maturely, intelligently but sensitively.

But come on, you`ve got to have personal responsibility. There are consequences of actions. You signed a contract, you want fame and fortune, and when it doesn`t go the way you want it to, you can`t go be blaming everybody. I heard somebody wanted to blame Obama for this poor family man`s death. Come on. Responsibility for what people do.

CASAREZ: Obama? OK.

NEJAME: That`s what somebody was saying earlier. They were blaming Obama for the economic situation and everything else. Leave him out of it.

CASAREZ: Got it.

NEJAME: Leave it out of it.

CASAREZ: Got it. Alright, Paul Batista, when you look at this, and we don`t know what contract he signed, we don`t know, but is there an argument that now that he`s deceased, this video that was already shot for season two, there will be no more? And if he`s not paid to be in the show, and this is the last video he ever shot, that`s valuable, isn`t it? Wouldn`t you try to negotiate something for his children?

PAUL BATISTA, DEFENSE ATTORNEY, AUTHOR, DEATH`S WITNESS: Well, I certainly would and I certainly - you can only do that with the threat of a lawsuit.

Look, Bravo is going to air this series. There isn`t a doubt in my mind because it is going to make a cold and calculated money decision that no matter what its exposure and damages may be to the estate of Mister Armstrong, it is going to make so much more by broadcasting these shows.

So as a corporation, it is going to weigh those. I`m not condoning it. But those are the factors that are going to come into play and we`ll be seeing this show in the next season.

CASAREZ: We sure will. Ronald Richards, attorney for Russell Armstrong. Do you know at all if bravo is going to shoot the funeral of your client?

RICHARDS: I know they`re not going to shoot the funeral and that would create a complete chaos with his mother and father and I don`t - I actually think they publicly said they`re not going to do that. I would expect nothing otherwise.

CASAREZ: Do you know when that funeral is set for?

RICHARDS: Well, I`m supposed to find out before 12:30. I`m supposed to find out today by Taylor Armstrong`s lawyer when that is. I`ve actually given them a deadline of today. So, hopefully I will find out.

CASAREZ: Alright. Let`s go to the callers, Monica in Connecticut. Hi, Monica.

MONICA, CALLER, CONNECTICUT: Hi, how are you?

CASAREZ: I`m fine. Thank you for holding.

MONICA: thank you. I wanted to say that I just don`t agree that Russell was truly portrayed in a bad light in the first season. Because all married people like me who watch the show understand these women expose their daily ups and downs, and this is most of us couldn`t do.

I also want to say that Taylor seems like a really sweet person for someone to be blaming her for this horrible situation. It just seems really lowdown and shameful. That`s why I`m not surprised that Jeana is there commenting on someone else`s marriage troubles, which is what she did for Tammra in "The Real housewives of Beverly Hills." She`s the one that said the Obama comment. So, it seems like Jeana is just perpetuating more hatred.

CASAREZ: Jeana, your response, a viewer is contesting what you said?

KEOUGH: I`m not sure. I adore Taylor and want the best for her and horrified by the turn of events in her life, so. I`m here for Taylor.

CASAREZ: Alright, Michaele Salahi, final word tonight on all of these.

SALAHI: I think it`s the tragedy that the whole, I mean everyone in America is dealing. And final word is to the family to hold on to faith. The viewer that just called in, every marriage has things that they go through. This tragic circumstance is not, you can`t point a finger. You can`t blame just one entity.

It sound like everything in his life was unfolding and I trust that Bravo will do the right thing and honor this man. Because my husband`s father -

CASAREZ: Alright, thank you to all of our guest tonight.

And now, to tonight`s CNN heroes.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFED MALE: As millions struggle across the drought ravaged horn of Africa and what the U.N. refugee agency is calling the worst humanitarian disaster in the world, CNN hero Magnus Mcfarland Burrow`s organization, Mary`s meals, is in the middle of the crisis.

MAGNUS MCFARLAND BURROW, MARY`S MEALS: We have been working in Northern Kenya for about four years now. We have seen the situation worsen steadily. Today, one third of the children are malnourished. And so we have a real situation of life and death.

And because of that, we`re trying desperately to expand our program to reach more children at risks.

UNIDENTIFED MALE: Since 2006, Mary`s meals have been feeding thousands of young children in schools across the region.

MAGNUS: The mission of Mary`s Meals is about linking food through education. It`s about education to be in route to poverty for their whole community.

UNIDENTIFED MALE: In recent weeks, Magnus` organization has responded to the drought crisis by feeding an additional 6,000 children daily, 24,000 in all.

The kind of important global work for which Magnus was named a top ten CNN hero last year and received an order of the British Empire from Queen Elizabeth. But Magnus remains laser focused on the critical work in Africa.

MAGNUS: As part of our East African-American respond, we intend to reach many more thousands of children. And we`ll do that as funds allow us to.

UNIDENTIFED MALE: Many more thousands of children to be supported by an organization already feeding half a million children daily in 16 impoverished countries.

Magnus: It`s for people to share a little of what they have in order these children can be fed.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFED MALE: How was the party inside?

TAYLOR ARMSTRONG: It was so much fun. We had a blast. Thank you.

UNIDENTIFED MALE: You look really happy.

TAYLOR ARMSTRONG: I`m really happy. Thank you.

UNIDENTIFED MALE: Where are you off to now?

TAYLOR ARMSTRONG: Well, if I told you that, then you`d show up there.

(LAUGHTER)

TAYLOR ARMSTRONG: No, we`re doing very well. We`re going to get a mad house. What a better way than to see David Arquette, right?

UNIDENTIFED MALE: Right. Exactly.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CASAREZ: Out to Dorothy Cascerceri, who is the senior editor of "In Touch Weekly." Dorothy, we know that the couple has a young daughter. How old is she? Do we know at all what she`s been told or how she`s doing?

CASCERCERI: Their young daughter Kennedy is now five years old. She is very young. And we don`t really know what she`s been told. We do know that Taylor has been hold up with family and with Kennedy staying away from everything. Staying away from the media crush of all this.

And Taylor has always on the show proven herself to be a very loving and caring mother especially when it comes to Kennedy. The poor little girl was allergic to the dog that Russell bought her for her birthday. Taylor was crying how much this girl was suffering. And so we know that Taylor definitely will be there for Kennedy and help her through this difficult time even though she`s probably too young to understand it right now.

CASAREZ: Jeana, very quickly, what would be your advice for Taylor? Should she do the show? Is that good for the young daughter? Or should she not and just be with her 5-yeary-old?

KEOUGH: It`s a trap-shoot. I mean, I personally I would do the show and bring attention to depression. Like, I`m a spokesperson for national treatment centers so is my daughter Kara. So I turned it into something positive. And I`m sure Taylor will do the same.

CASAREZ: All right.

If you have depression, deal with it and help other people and prevent other people from having the same issues.

If there is one moral to the story, a lesson we all can learn is to look at this, look at what happened and try to have some education and lessons for all of us.

Thank you so much to our guests.

Tonight let us stop to remember Marine Lance corporal Michael Glover, 28 years old from Brooklyn, New York. He was killed serving in Iraq and was awarded the Purple Heart and Navy and Marine Corps achievement medal. He left his studies and scholarship at Pace law school to serve our country. He was also proud of his Irish heritage.

He loved playing golf, softball, and taking guitar lessons. He leaves behind his parents Margaret and Dennis, his sister Elizabeth. Michael Glover, a true American hero.

Thank you so much to all of our guests and to you at home being with us. See you Sunday night 8:00 sharp eastern. Until then, good night, everybody.

END