Return to Transcripts main page
Showbiz Tonight
Britney Spears Out of Rehab Again; Continuing Anna Nicole Courtroom Coverage
Aired February 21, 2007 - 23:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
A.J. HAMMER, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT ANCHOR: The major players in the Anna Nicole Smith saga view her body. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
BROOKE ANDERSON, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT ANCHOR: And Britney Spears in and out of rehab. Should K-Fed get the kids? I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. TV`s most provocative entertainment news show starts right now.
HAMMER: On SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, the Anna Nicole Smith courtroom showdown explodes. Tonight, tears and tension as Anna Nicole`s mother gets a grilling she will never forget.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Have you in any fashion profited at all from the death of your daughter?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: The accusations fly.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VIRGIE ARTHUR, MOTHER OF ANNA NICOLE SMITH: The only one who has ever, ever made any money off of my daughter is that man sitting right there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: The tears flow. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT with the unbelievable drama.
Plus, we`ve just got to ask -- what`s up with that wise-cracking judge? Tonight, even more shocking Britney Spears news. Just one day after checking into rehab, the bald-headed Britney checks right out again.
Tonight the latest breaking Britney news. Plus, Bonaduce on Britney. Danny Bonaduce unplugged in the interview you will see only on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
Hello, I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
ANDERSON: Hi there. I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. And, yes, we can say, oops, she did it again. We can hardly believe it ourselves, but once again Britney Spears has checked in and out of rehab in a single day. The big breaking Britney news, we`re going to have that, A.J., in just a moment.
HAMMER: But first tonight, the incredible drama today of the in-court battle over Anna Nicole Smith`s body. Anna Nicole`s mother took the stand today and came under fire. She broke down in tears and she fought tooth and nail for the right to bury her daughter. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT right there in the Ft. Lauderdale courtroom for the showdown.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JUDGE LARRY SEIDLIN, FAMILY COURT JUDGE: We have a journey to give lasting peace and tranquillity to Miss Smith`s body.
HAMMER (voice-over): But there was no peace and tranquillity in this courtroom, as Anna Nicole Smith`s mom, Virgie Arthur, tearfully tore into Smith`s companion, Howard K. Stern, as the common link between the deaths of Anna Nicole and her son, Daniel.
ARTHUR: My grandson did not overdose. Howard was there when he died and Howard was there when my daughter died. And he has my granddaughter, and it is not even his child, and I`m afraid for her life as well.
HAMMER: A day of explosive accusations.
ARTHUR: And the one who has ever, ever made any money of my daughter is that man sitting right there.
HAMMER: And explosive conflict.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What are do you object to?
SEIDLIN: Listen to me. I`m running the courtroom.
HAMMER: As both sides square off over the right to decide where Anna Nicole Smith will be buried. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT updating you on this Anna Nicole soap opera, which is getting all kinds of TV coverage.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So you`re seeing just about everything happening outside the court, as well as inside.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What a scene.
HAMMER: Anna Nicole`s companion, Stern, wants Anna Nicole buried next to her son, Daniel, in the Bahamas. But Anna Nicole`s estranged mother, Virgie Arthur, is in court fighting that.
ARTHUR: That`s not his home.
SEIDLIN: I understand.
ARTHUR: It`s not Vickie`s home.
HAMMER: She wants Daniel Exhumed and want to bury both Daniel and Anna Nicole in the family plot in Texas. She told the court that she and Anna used to have a loving mother-daughter relationship.
ARTHUR: We used to go get our nails done. We used to do fun things together.
HAMMER: There was nothing fun about what we saw the previous day in court, where attorneys played a tape of recent interview, where Anna Nicole lashes out at her mother.
ANNA NICOLE SMITH, ACTRESS AND MODEL: (INAUDIBLE) drugs -- and you didn`t do this and you didn`t do that. How could she know? She didn`t know my son.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why would she say these things? What do you want to say to her?
SMITH: (INAUDIBLE) Bitch. How dare you. (INAUDIBLE) Mommy dearest.
HAMMER: Flash forward a day later, where mommy dearest had her response.
ARTHUR: The drugs took her over, and that picture you saw on TV yesterday, that was not my daughter.
HAMMER: And Virgie Arthur isn`t just blaming the drugs for her estrangement from Anna Nicole, she is pointing a finger squarely at Howard.
ARTHUR: When Howard came in, Howard Stern came in, as her lawyer, friend, whatever he was, when he came in, all the family was shut out, all of us. Not just me, her brothers and sisters, her niece and nephews, all of us were shut out.
HAMMER: Things got a little nastier when both sides traded suggestions that the other is profiting from Anna Nicole`s death.
ARTHUR: He`s the one that`s getting the money. I`m not.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I feel like --
SEIDLIN: You can have a seat. You have no podium here, Mr. Stern. Appreciate you being here though.
HAMMER: Both sides took a break from bashing each another to visit Anna Nicole`s body at the medical examiner`s office. We see Virgie here being consoled after seeing her daughter. The M.E.s say that Anna Nicole`s body is rapidly decomposing, putting even more time pressure on a case that may also affect Larry Birkhead`s claim.
In case you forgot about him, he is the ex-boyfriend, who is waging his own legal battle to prove that he, and not Stern, is the father of Anna Nicole Smith`s baby girl, Dannielynne. He is in court for the burial battle as well. The judge is promising a decision on Friday, and it couldn`t come a moment too soon, as Anna Nicole`s various legal dramas drag on with no end in sight.
SEIDLIN: The clocks ticking.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: As you just heard, a decision in this case is expected on Friday, and the many other issues in this case will go on for who knows how long. Stay with us, because coming up in just a few minutes, predictions on who might win the battle of the body. You know, something really smells fishy about whether Howard K. Stern or Virgie Arthur might actually be making money of this whole sordid mess. The fireworks are flying at 15 past the hour.
ANDERSON: Well, hear we go again. Britney Spears is on the loose! Yes, that Britney, who has once again checked out of rehab just one day after checking in for the second time in a week. So let`s see, in one week she has done two stints in rehab, shaved her head in public, and who knows what else she has done. With us tonight from Glendale, California, Harvey Levin, TMZ.com`s managing editor. Hi Harvey.
HARVEY LEVIN, TMZ.COM: Hi Brooke.
ANDERSON: All right Harvey, just last week, Britney Spears checked into the rehab center in Antigua, then she checked out. And now it`s the Promises Rehab Center in Malibu, in and out, less than 24 hours. But given her recent behavior, her conduct, shall we say, should we be shocked that she has done this again, that she is out of rehab?
LEVIN: I don`t know whether you should be shocked or not. I think the fact is her family has been trying to intervene to help save this woman. She is in desperate straits. And I think, based on what happened last week and this week, Britney Spears is either unwilling or unable to help herself. It is a terrible situation.
ANDERSON: It certainly is. And, Harvey, once she checked out of rehab, TMZ is reporting that after she left, she went straight to a lawyer`s office. All right, who did she go to and why?
LEVIN: Well, a couple hours after she checked out, she went to see Blair Burke, who is a prominent lawyer in Los Angeles, who actually represented Mel Gibson on his DUI, has represented a number of other very prominent people in various criminal matters, but also civil matters as well. We don`t know why she went.
I`m going to give you my hunch, and this is only a hunch, Blair Burke represented Reese Witherspoon in her fight with the paparazzi, and given what`s going on with Britney and the paparazzi, maybe this is a replay.
ANDERSON: Maybe she is standing up to the paparazzi. Interesting hunch. All right, I also want to know, Harvey, when you check into a place like Promises, is there any way they can keep you there against your will, if they see fit?
LEVIN: Well, normally if you`re going to hold somebody against your will, you have to get some kind of a 72 hour hold from a court, you know, if they are a danger to themselves and others. But I don`t believe, at least in California, that just because somebody signs a document saying I want to check in for rehab, that they can be held prisoner. That`s not the case.
ANDERSON: Well, clearly she is unstable. We all see that. And speaking of possible danger to herself or others, there are those who are concerned, Harvey, that she could be a threat to herself and there is also concern about her kids. Is there any way somebody could have her legally committed?
LEVIN: Well, look, I can`t tell you whether she is a danger to herself or others. That is a legal standard and that`s something a court has to decide and I`m not Dr. Phil. So I can`t -- I`m just not qualified to say that. I will say that Children Services has been getting a number of anonymous calls from people who have just been expressing concern, particularly about the children.
I`m told that the children are fine. They are with other people, primarily Britney`s mother, and that they are in no danger.
ANDERSON: All right, and there are also reports also that she may be spending time with Kevin Federline at this point. We know their joint custody is a temporary agreement, they are sharing custody. What do we know about that?
LEVIN: There have been reports that Kevin Federline has weighed in on this, and is upset that she hasn`t checked herself in. But what I know is that I`m being told of the two of them, Kevin is clearly the more stable of the two. And he has weighed in. I can`t tell you the extent to which he is involved, but I do know that he is somewhat involved with the children, and they communicate when it comes to the children.
ANDERSON: Very quickly, Harvey, ten seconds, could this behavior hurt her going forward in this custody battle in a decision by a judge?
LEVIN: Of course it could. I mean, if Britney Spears has a substance abuse problem, that goes to her fitness as a mother, and that absolutely could have an impact.
ANDERSON: All right. Harvey Levin, managing editor of TMZ.com, as always, thanks so much.
LEVIN: Sure, Brooke.
ANDERSON: And now we want to hear from you. What do you think about it? Here`s our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day: Britney, in and out of rehab, should Kevin get the kids? Go to CNN.com/SHOWBIZTONIGHT. Send us an e-mail, SHOWBIZTONIGHT@CNN.com.
And remember, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is the only entertainment news show that lets you express your opinion on video. To send us a video e-mail, just go to our website, CNN.com/SHOWBIZTONIGHT.
HAMMER: Brooke, one guy who certainly knows all about rehab and is very candid about it, Danny Bonaduce, and coming up, he is pulling no punches as he gets real about what Britney needs to do.
ANDERSON: That`s right, A.J. Plus we`re going to have the dramatic showdown in the Anna Nicole Smith case. A lawyer asks Howard K. Stern point blank, are you the father of Dannielynne? We`re also going to have this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEIDLIN: You should join hands, join hands, because it`s only in this country that you can join hands.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: We should all join hands. Judging the judge. The judge in the Anna Nicole Smith hearing is full of quips and quirks. Some say his style rules. Others object. We`re going to take a closer look coming up. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT for Wednesday night is coming right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s continuing coverage of the Anna Nicole Smith courtroom saga. I`m A.J. Hammer. As we`ve been reporting, it was Anna Nicole Smith`s mother, Virgie Arthur, versus Howard K. Stern today in the battle for Anna Nicole Smith`s body.
They were back on the stand with some explosive testimony, from Virgie`s tearful words about her daughter`s drug use, to Howard K. Stern admitting he has been financially supported by Anna Nicole Smith for years now. And late today, a dramatic confrontation.
Joining me tonight is investigative journalist Jane Velez Mitchell. She is in Hollywood. Ashleigh Banfield, host of Court TV`s Hollywood Heat, is joining us from Court TV`s New York studios. Ladies, are you ready?
ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, COURT TV ANCHOR: Never.
HAMMER: Well, let`s get into this very dramatic moment that came late today. Larry Birkhead`s attorney, Debra Opri, finally, point blank, got to ask Howard K. Stern, straight out, are you the father of Dannielynne? Let`s take a look at this shocking moment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DEBRA OPRI, LAWYER FOR LARRY BIRKHEAD: Your honor, you need to hear this. He testified yesterday, under oath, that he was the natural father of Dannielynne, under the laws of the Bahamas. does not recognize a biological father, and the laws in this state list the natural father as the biological father. Mr. Stern, you can laugh at me all you want. Are you, or are you not the biological father of Dannielynne, under the laws of this state?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Well, that`s not what they are there for, but face to face she finally got to ask the question right to Howard K. Stern. Ashleigh, he didn`t answer, as we saw, but when are we finally going to get this baby thing settled?
BANFIELD: Oh heavens, you know, probably not in this particular court, because the judge reigning himself in, even though he digresses to this issue a lot. He reigns himself in to deal with just this issue at hand, and that is who gets to decide where Anna Nicole Smith`s dead body will be buried.
HAMMER: So, Ashleigh, now that we`ve had two days of this thing going on -- yesterday we had Howard K. Stern. Today we had Virgie Arthur. It was quite compelling temperature, particularly emotional from Virgie. Who is winning?
BANFIELD: It depends on the minute. Seriously, that`s the trouble. Really, both of them have been slammed and both of them have made points on the stand. Both of them have been asked pointedly about money that they have made off of Anna Nicole Smith. They have both been asked about declarations that Anna Nicole Smith made to them in the past about wanting to be buried near Marilyn Monroe in California. That doesn`t play to either of their cases.
That said, A.J., I`m not so sure this judge is too keen on Howard K. Stern, because I think he is mad that he can`t just get a simple paternity question answered.
HAMMER: All right, well that puts the ball at least in the favor of Virgie Arthur for the moment. What`s your take on it, Jane? Anybody coming out on top at the moment?
JANE VELEZ MITCHELL, INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST: Well, I`m becoming a big fan of Judge Larry, because he is finally getting to the big elephants in the room, drugs and money, money and drugs. I`ve been chomping at the bit, waiting for those issues to come up, because they are so crucial. Now we have established, Howard K. Stern has admitted on the stand, yes, I have lived off Anna Nicole Smith for many years. I signed some of her checks.
Yes, I could make six million dollars in contingency fees if she had won her battle with her late oil tycoon husband, possibly still could win that, if the estate battle continues on as it`s expected to. So obviously you see the string of money. Then you add the drug issue. He was forced to admit on the stand that, yes, she was taking Methadone and other drugs, at least until five months ago.
That would be taking Methadone while she was pregnant. We have all seen the video this week that went public of Anna Nicole in a clown face, looking totally drugged out, while purportedly Howard K. Stern is videotaping her, saying this footage could make a lot of money. So, I think it is looking pretty bad for Howard, at least on the P.R. front.
HAMMER: Well, I think, particularly when you`re talking about the drugs, but I want to go back to the money for a second. Ashleigh, what do you think, does it make a difference in this case? Is it looking bad for Howard K. Stern, the fact that he admitted that he has been supported by Anna for all these years?
BANFIELD: I think it`s part and parcel of a lot of different issues that are winding themselves into this case. And we have to keep coming back to that essential question, which is, what was Anna`s intent? And if enough witnesses, enough affidavits, enough testimony can come out, especially that stuff about her buying burial plots for not only her son, Daniel, but herself, and then perhaps her daughter, and Howard K. Stern. That matters too.
So, regardless, everybody seems to be in her story for the cash. So it`s becoming a bit of a wash when it comes to money. The intent is the issue. If it can be proven in the mind of Judge Seidlin, that`s probably where he will make his decision.
HAMMER: Well, something we`ve talked about here on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, and I was so happy to see it finally brought up in a court of law today, both Howard K. Stern and Virgie Arthur being absolutely grilled about whether they have been paid, or if they have at all profited from the media for what they have said and what they have done since Anna died.
In fact, Jane, we saw Howard admitting to the fact that he got on a charter jet, that was chartered by Entertainment Tonight, from Florida down to the Bahamas after Anna died. Something really stinks here, doesn`t it.
MITCHELL: Yes. I mean, Virgie is flying around with Splash News. Howard is flying around with Entertainment Tonight. We, as human beings, always want clear-cut heroes and villains. It seems like everybody is a little dirty in this story.
But I think it really comes down to, at the end of the day, do we trust Howard K. Stern? Does he have credibility? And I see him losing credibility by the minute in this case. The fabulous part is that the whole world is watching, so it`s not happening in this limited context of just what`s being said in court. We all know the story. So you can fool some of the people some of the time, but you can`t fool all the people all of the time.
HAMMER: Well, we`ll see what happens tomorrow, because the judge says he will be ruling on Friday who is going to get the rights to bury Anna Nicole Smith. Jane Velez Mitchell and Ashleigh Banfield, I got to wrap it up there.
BANFIELD: I hate to say this, it could be appealed.
HAMMER: Yes, that could always happen. Thanks for joining us.
ANDERSON: A.J., the judge in this case is definitely a character, as we`ve seen, but some are asking whether his little asides and jokes are out of line. Straight ahead, we`re going to take a look at what Judge Seidlin is really like when the cameras are off. We`ll also have this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ARTHUR: When Howard came in, Howard Stern came in, as her lawyer, friend, whatever he was, when he came in, all the family was shut out, all of us. Not just me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Anna Nicole Smith`s mom gets grilled on the stand. Virgie Arthur in her own words, coming up.
ANDERSON: And he`s back. Danny Bonaduce has plenty to say about Britney Spears entering and leaving rehab twice in less than a week. That` still ahead. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is coming right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Listen to this. It`s talk show history. For the first time Oprah Winfrey is appearing as a guest on the "Ellen Degeneres Show." And it turns out the two women have more in common than highly rated talk shows. They are also neighbors in California. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OPRAH WINFREY, TV TALK SHOW HOST: We`re neighbors! Steadman was at the corner deli, because we live about two blocks from the deli, and he said he ran into you and Portia there. He was there buying some bread or something.
ELLEN DEGENERES, TV TALK SHOW HOST: Yes, there was a long, long line, and he is so tall, so, you know, it looked like -- and he is eating -- he was only buying a brownie that big.
WINFREY: I know.
DEGENERES: And he was already eating it. And I thought, Oprah, cook for him. What`s wrong with you? Why don`t you cook for him?
WINFREY: Actually I do, but at that particular deli, they do a thing called pumpkin bread. You know, I`m not good with the bakery stuff.
DEGENERES: He loved it. He said he goes there just for that, and then he hit on me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Oprah and Ellen did get serious, when they talked about politics. Oprah said she is really feeling Senator Barack Obama in the presidential campaign. She said she thinks he can do amazing things. Oprah`s appearance on Ellen airs tomorrow.
HAMMER: That was pretty cool. Ellen probably had something else on her mind this week. She is hosting a little show called the Oscars on Sunday. And, of course, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT will be all over it. Brooke Anderson, Sibila Vargas and I will be right there for the Academy Awards, the biggest stars, the biggest surprises. So be sure to watch SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s live Oscar coverage on Sunday at 6:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. Eastern.
ANDERSON: Melissa Etheridge up for best song at the Oscars and she told me about how she found out she was nominated and she really opened up about her battle with breast cancer. That`s straight ahead.
HAMMER: Plus, he is back. Danny Bonaduce sure has plenty to say about Britney Spears leaving rehab. That`s still ahead. We`ve also got this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEIDLIN: You should join hands, join hands, because it`s only in this country that you can join hands.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Colorful guy, isn`t he? Judging the judge. The judge in the Anna Nicole Smith hearing is full of quips and quirks. Some say his style rules, but others object. We`re going to be taking a closer look at that coming up. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is coming right back. Stay right with us.
(NEWS BREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
