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Showbiz Tonight
New Details in Anna Nicole Mystery; Jolie Adopts Again
Aired March 15, 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: An update on how Regis Philbin is doing after his heart surgery. And why are police losing patience with Heather mills? I`m A.J. Hammer in New York. TV`s most provocative entertainment news show starts right now.
On SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, Angelina Jolie adopts again. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is right there as the newest member joins the Jolie-Pitt family, a three-year- old Vietnamese boy. But not everyone is celebrating. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT investigates the controversy around Angelina`s latest adoption.
Anna Nicole smith, the plot thickens. We are all over the late- breaking developments. Why police from Florida and the Bahamas are meeting. Why there`s new interest in Anna`s computer. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT with the latest twists and turns in the Anna Nicole Smith saga.
Hello, I`m A.J. Hammer in New York. There are stunning new developments in the Anna Nicole Smith case. One of them, shocking allegations that her son Daniel hired a private detective just before he mysteriously died. All of this is coming up.
But first, anger over Angelina Jolie`s new adoption. She`s bringing home a little boy from a Vietnamese orphanage that on Thursday was filled with more photographers than orphans. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT goes all over the world to bring you the latest on this fire storm and we answer all the questions. Who is this child? Did Angelina get any special treatment and most pressing of all, where on Earth was brad?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER (voice-over): The Jolie-Pitt clan is definitely the most famous, most photographed, the most talked about family in the world except for maybe the British royal family. But the Jolie-Pitt clan is definitely prettier, and now, it has grown by one.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Angelina has adopted again.
HAMMER: That`s right. With a big media storm, Angelina Jolie has adopted a three-year-old boy from a Vietnamese orphanage. He joins her and Brad Pitt`s adopted children, five-year-old Maddox and two-year-old Zahara, plus their biological baby girl, Shiloh.
J.D. HEYMAN, "PEOPLE.COM": She`s in love with this little boy and she wants to make her family larger and more filled with love than it already is.
HAMMER: "People.com`s" J.D. Heyman tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT that Jolie has even renamed her son.
HEYMAN: His new name is Pax Thien. Pax is Latin for peace. And Thien is a Vietnamese name that has many meanings, among them sky.
HAMMER: SHOWBIZ TONIGHT brings you all the latest details about the newest addition to this famous family. Angelina adopted the little boy from this orphanage Ho Chi Minh City. Check out this media mob scene as Angelina, with her son Maddux in tow, arrives at the orphanage to meet her new son, who had been abandoned at the orphanage when he was just a baby.
HEYMAN: He`s a little boy who likes soccer and is very engaging and everyone who has seen this child and worked with this child says he couldn`t be a nicer little boy.
HAMMER: The director of orphanage says Jolie greeted the boy with a kiss and a hug, but he was a bit shy at first.
NGUYEN VAN TRUN, DIRECTOR OF ORPHANAGE (through translator): When he first met her this morning, he started crying. But she was very calm and said, that is normal. He is a child. She must be very understanding.
HAMMER: But the director said by the time the day was over, everyone was all smiles. The child was ussured to Jolie`s van, an umbrella hiding his face from the camera, as the new family sped away.
Before leaving, Jolie signed the orphanage guest book writing, quote, thank you for taking such wonderful care of my son. Brad Pitt didn`t accompany Angelina to Vietnam. He was reportedly back in Los Angeles shooting a movie. "People.com`s" J.D. Heyman tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT why Angelina did this adoption without her famous domestic partner.
HEYMAN: Vietnamese law makes it difficult for unmarried couples to adopt. So Angelina pursued the adoption as a single parent. Obviously they will raise the child as a family, as a unit, as parents together.
HAMMER: When madonna adopted a child from Malawi last year, critics slammed her with accusations of baby shopping and special treatment. But officials in Vietnam insist, even though Angelina is after all Angelina, her adoption was not fast tracked.
TRUNG: She applied for an adoption to the Ministry of Justice in January. She did not choose a child herself. The child was recommended by us, just like any other adoption case.
HEYMAN: She did everything she was asked to do in terms of Vietnamese law and in terms of dealing with the adoption officials in Vietnam. She`s crossed every T. She`s dotted every I.
HAMMER: Anyone who has watched Angelina Jolie for the last few years, and really who hasn`t, probably won`t be surprised by her latest adoption. She`s been all over the world tending to needy children. She adopted her son Maddox in Cambodia, while daughter Zahara is from Ethiopia.
ANGELINA JOLIE, ACTRESS: I`ve always felt that my kids are around the world.
HAMMER: In an interview last year shortly after she gave birth to Shiloh, Jolie told CNN`s Anderson Cooper that she and Pitt were planning more international adoptions.
JOLIE: We are looking at different countries and it`s going to be the balance of what would be the bets for Mad and for Z right now. Another boy, another girl, which country, which race, which fits best with the kids.
HEYMAN: She`s always talked about building a family where everyone in the family feels that they have kinship, not just emotional kinship but shared culture and ethnicity with one another. She understands what a big step this is and she is taking the future and welfare of this little boy very seriously.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: Well, at last report, Angelina was still in Vietnam with little Maddox and her new son, Pax. U.S. officials need to review the adoption before they can issue a passport for the child. And as the reports began surfacing that Angelina was planning to adopt again, her critics began to write feverishly about it.
Is it too soon, too many kids for the Jolie/Pitts? Is this just some hot Hollywood trend? Joining me tonight from Hollywood, investigative journalist Jane Velez-Mitchell and from "The New York Daily New," features reporter Jo Piazza, who wrote some pretty harsh words about Angelina`s adoption news. Good to see you both, ladies.
So Jo, you began your column today having a little fun with this line that I would like to read: you wrote, quote, "when most people go out for a little Vietnamese, they come back with Spring Rolls. Angelina Jolie is bringing home a boy." All right Jo, you`ve got an A plus for creativity, but it sounds like you`ve got a problem with this.
JO PIAZZA, "NEW YORK DAILY NEWS": We might have been a little bit harsh, but I think the issue here isn`t that Angelina is going to give him a much better life than he would have had in Vietnam. It`s not that she doesn`t have the money to take care of him properly. It seems a little quick to everyone. And I think that`s where people are being critical. She just had baby Shiloh, what, ten months ago, and now all of a sudden she`s bringing a new baby into this family.
HAMMER: I don`t know, Jane, what do you think? Because it sounds like a whole lot of judgment where maybe there shouldn`t be some.
JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL: Absolutely. That`s absolute nonsense. Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are doing absolutely the best thing that they can do with their fame. They are using their celebrity to make the world a better place. There`s a big problem. The world`s population is exploding. There are millions of orphans living around the world in absolutely horrible conditions. Something has to be done about it.
Angelina Jolie is doing something. She went to Vietnam. She adopted a child who was abandoned at birth and who has spent his entire life, three years in an orphanage. And she`s also raising consciousness around the world about this problem. Who could have a problem with that?
HAMMER: Jo, I`ve got to read another little nugget from your article today in the "Daily News." You also wrote, quote, "if the process goes through, Angelina`s latest takeout tot gets a passport, and a first class ticket to join America`s modern `Brady Bunch.`" Jo, I got to tell you, sounds like a good deal to me and far from the life of an abandoned Vietnamese child in an orphanage over there. It sounded a moment ago like you`re saying that`s not really a problem. And I`m not seeing any downside for this boy. I`m really not.
PIAZZA: No, the child has obviously been given a golden ticket into America`s golden family. The issue is just that it could be too soon and it could be too soon to expand this family.
HAMMER: Do you think that also pertains to the fact that Angelina just lost a mom. Concern has been raised that perhaps she is trying to fill a void. Although, as she told our own Anderson Cooper, this was always part of the plan for them.
PIAZZA: Right, no, Angelina has always had this plan to adopt lots of babies from all over the world. And I`m not criticizing her for it. More power to her and to Brad Pitt. The only issue is, how much attention is each of these kids going to get from Pitt and Jolie when there are so many of them and they`re coming in such quick succession.
HAMMER: I don`t know, I think they`ll figure it out. Jane, people have raised concern over stars like Angelina Jolie going abroad to get their kids. Of course, we know that Madonna did it with a cloud of controversy around her. Jessica Simpson, Halle Berry have all talked about adopting overseas. What do you say to critics, Jane, who are saying, why not take care of kids here in our own backyard, here in this country?
MITCHELL: You know, this is so threatening to people, because essentially it`s challenging our notions of family values. In the old days, family values was take care of people who are related to you and now Angelina Jolie and the others are challenging us and saying, we have a moral obligation to expand our circle of compassion beyond people who are just related to us.
Essentially she`s saying that those who have a lot have a moral obligation to help those who don`t have a lot around the world. That`s very threatening to people. Because it`s really saying, look in the mirror. Are you as good a person as you say you are, if you are not doing something about this? She`s also redefining the entire concept of family for the 21st century. She`s really offering a blue print, and saying, one biological child, the rest adopted. Again, multicultural family, how threatening is that?
HAMMER: To me that spells progress. Jo, do you see this as sending a bad message, going outside the U.S?
PIAZZA: I absolutely don`t think it`s sending a bad message going outside the U.S. I agree that she is creating a new kind of family and, you know, good for her.
HAMMER: Yes, I would have to agree. Good for her. Good for the Jolie-Pitts and thankfully, they`re going to be able to provide a good family for this home, and give them all the care that they need. Because, you know, they`re going to be able to afford the staff to it, in addition to being able to spend time with the kids themselves. Jane Velez-Mitchell, Jo Piazza from the "New York Daily News," I appreciate you both joining us tonight.
Coming up, could there be a break in the Anna Nicole Smith case? There are stunning new developments tonight, including what was found on Anna Nicole`s computer that could be a major key into the investigation. That`s next.
Plus, where have all the bad boys gone? We`ll take a look at why these days, Hollywood`s bad girls seem to be outdoing the guys, straight ahead.
And if you think there`s not much to being a model? Look at Carmen Electra. She probably has new respect for super models, after this little turn on the cat walk. Coming up, celebrity fashion road kill. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is coming right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. This is TV`s most provocative entertainment news show. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York. Tonight, is the key to solving Anna Nicole Smith`s death on her computer. A lot of attention is being paid to Smith`s laptop and the entertainment news website TMZ.com is reporting that e-mails from Anna Nicole to her doctors about drugs reside on that computer.
Joining me tonight from Glendale, California, Harvey Levin, managing editor of TMZ.com, also in Hollywood tonight, chief correspondent for "Inside Edition,": Jim Moret. Good to see you guys both.
Harvey, TMZ reporting two very powerful prescription drugs were sent to Anna Nicole in the Bahamas, when she was eight months pregnant. One was a drug for sleep disorders and another was a morphine-like drug. How does all of this figure into what the medical examiner is investigating, who`s looking into how Anna died?
HARVEY LEVIN, TMZ.COM: Well, those are really two distinct issues, A.J. As for the drugs, yes, we did get in touch with the Beverly Hills doctor, who did some cosmetic work on Anna Nicole, who said to me, yes, he sent he sent her Demerol and Dalmain and some other vitamins when she was eight months pregnant, sent it to her, but it wasn`t prescribed for her.
He wouldn`t explain why it was prescribed to someone other than Anna Nicole Smith. Nonetheless, he did send it. We know that. So clearly drugs were a part of Anna Nicole`s life. We did the story about Methadone with another doctor. So this was an issue with her.
Now separately, we found out that what seems to have triggered all this recent interest among authorities is a computer, and the information on that computer is important to them. Now, I cannot tell you that the information revolves around drugs. because my sources wouldn`t go that far with me, just that the computer was relevant. But it just seems logical to me, with everything that`s going on, that it seems like the intersection to all of this is drugs.
HAMMER: And another flag being raised right now with this other shocking report that you`ve uncovered, Jim, that Anna`s son Daniel was actually looking to hire a private investigator just before his mysterious death. Why in the world would this 20-year-old kid have been looking to do this?
JIM MORET, "INSIDE EDITION": Well, according to the private investigator we talked to, Daniel wanted to hire him because, in his words, Daniel was afraid, did not want to go to the Bahamas, wanted to send a private investigator there. And this really links into what Harvey is saying.
Daniel was concerned that drugs were a big part of his mother`s life. He felt he was being pushed out. He felt that she was being, in effect, held prisoner and kept away from the rest of the world and even he was being pushed away. And Daniel was very concerned. Unfortunately Daniel couldn`t afford the fee and when Daniel turned up dead just about a month or so after he met with the private eye a few times, the private investigator was really upset. He said to him that raised a red flag, because Daniel seemed to be sober and did not seem to be using drugs when he met with him.
The reason why authorities got involved, Daniel had the private investigator`s card in his pocket and four Bohemian police officers and a Burbank detective went and talked to this private investigator after Daniel died.
HAMMER: Yes, that`s a huge red flag. And as I`ve been saying every day with this case, the plot thickens. The "Miami Herald" reported that Seminole Police met with the Broward County prosecutors and homicide investigators. That`s homicide investigators. Now, we know it`s not a criminal investigation just yet. But does the fact that they met, and these are homicide investigators, does it mean that it is moving in that direction?
LEVIN: Usually if there is a homicide investigation, it means some kind of a wrongful death. Why else would homicide investigators get involved? It has not risen to the level of an investigation yet. But clearly there is a probe going on. And the Bohemian police are interested enough to come to Florida, to meet there. I know that yesterday, at least one Bohemian cop checked into the Hard Rock Hotel where Anna Nicole died. So there is renewed interest in this.
I think, I`m not going to say this for a fact, because I don`t know. But I think that there was some intersection between Daniel`s death and Anna`s death. Because otherwise, why would the Bohemian police get involved to this level with Anna.
HAMMER: Yes, I mean, those are reports that have been sort of fluttering right below the surface for some time now. And of course, tomorrow, big day in the Bahamas. A couple of hearings; we have the one over who gets the mansion that Anna Nicole was living and where Howard K. Stern and the baby supposedly were.
But first Jim, there`s yet another hearing in this ongoing paternity battle. Even after the hearing take place tomorrow, we are still what feels like miles away from getting this all done, aren`t we?
MORET: We are. The court hearing in the Bahamas is just one of a string of hearings. You had some in Florida. The judge there found he does not have jurisdiction. You had one as recently as this week in California. Larry Birkhead is trying to join Howard Stern, bring him into a paternity fight. In the Bahamas, really, that`s probably the proper place to bring an action.
Basically, Larry Birkhead said, look, I want to get a DNA sample from Dannielynn. He`s challenging the paternity. And you remember, Howard Stern is listed on the birth certificate as the father in the Bahamas. So he`s presumed to be the father. That`s why Larry Birkhead has to bring an action. And since the baby and Howard are in the Bahamas, that`s the real logical place to bring the action.
HAMMER: Yes, and it goes on and on and on. Hopefully, as Larry Birkhead`s lawyer said, it will be over in a month. Harvey Levin, Jim Moret, thanks so much for being with us.
And now we want to hear from you on this for our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT Question of the Day: Anna Nicole Smith`s death, do you think foul play was involved? Vote at CNN.com/SHOWBIZTONIGHT. Or e-mail us at SHOWBIZTONIGHT@CNN.com.
You know, you can also vote on our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT Question of the Day by sending a text to 45688. To vote yes, write SHOWBIZ Yes. To vote no, SHOWBIZ No. And send it off to 45688.
Well fans are reaching out to Britney Spears on her website. As you know, Britney is in rehab at Promises in Malibu. She checked in after lots of nights on the town and, of course, the infamous head-shaving incident. There`s the shaved head right now. Britney`s website is getting a new look, too. Right there at BritneySpears.com, there`s a note that says there will be an official new site soon. Also a picture of Britney that looks like it was taken about ten years ago.
But in any event, for right now, the website is also soliciting well- wishes from Britney`s fans. Here`s a little sampling of what is posted so far.
Lauren writes, "we want you to take care of yourself and your family first and foremost. Of course, I am super excited to hear some new music, too." They all pretty much sound like that. If you want to add your voice to the choir of well-wishers, just go to the website, BritneySpears.com.
Well, between Britney and Lindsay and Paris, it seems that Hollywood`s bad girls are running amok. That got us wondering, where have all the bad boys gone? Are the bad girls taking over? That`s at 31 minutes past the hour.
Plus, an update on Regis Philbin. Kelly Ripa talks about how he`s doing after his heart surgery. We`re going to let you know, and there were even some tears, that`s next.
And if you think there`s not much to being a model, watch this. Carmen Electra probably has new respect for super models. We`ve got celebrity fashion road kill you will not want to miss, coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Good news tonight about up Regis Philbin`s heart surgery. On "Live With Regis and Kelly" this morning, Kelly Ripa was happy to report that Regis came through his bypass surgery yesterday with flying colors. She said he`s already up and about and making jokes and that the doctors say Regis has the heart of a 19-year-old. Kelly thanked all the doctors and nurses involved in Regis`s surgery and recovery and she even got a little teary-eyed when she was talking about her co-host. Take a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KELLY RIPA, "LIVE WITH REGIS AND KELLY": We are, around here, just so thankful and so grateful for everybody that took part in Regis`s surgery and recovery, and we can`t begin to express our joy and happiness around here. And I`m going to get emotional, but Regis, I`m so glad that you are OK. I`m so thrilled that you are feeling better. And nursey-poo is coming with her sponge.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: So what`s that all about? When Regis announced earlier this week that he would be having heart surgery, Kelly joked that she would be his nurse and give him sponge baths. She says that, since then, people from all over the country have been sending her sponges. I think everybody agrees, we are happy to see Regis doing just fine.
Well you are not going to believe what Heather Mills is saying about Paul McCartney. Trust me, it`s not what you`re thinking. That`s coming up.
Plus, why police are losing patience with Heather. We`ll also have this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PIAZZA: I think that bad boys were so 2005/2006. And 2007 is really the year of the bad girls.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Oh, yes, it`s a whole new era. Where have all the bad boys gone? We`ll take a look at why these days, Hollywood`s bad girls seem to be outdoing the guys, straight ahead.
And do you think there`s nothing to being a model? Well, watch Carmen Electra. She and probably some other big stars have new respect for super models, after their turn on a cat walk. It`s full-on celebrity fashion road kill, coming up on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT,
(NEWS BREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. It`s 30 minutes past the hour. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York. This is TV`s most provocative entertainment news show.
As you no doubt no know, Heather Mills and Paul McCartney going through a nasty divorce right now. But despite that, Heather actually has some new and nice words for Paul McCartney. What is she saying? We`ll tell you in just a few minutes. And we`ll also tell you why police are mad at Heather for a rather surprising reason. That`s on the way.
Also tonight, some shocking courtroom moments caught on tape. I`m talking about chairs flying, a pen stabbing - these are moments you will not want to miss, coming up in just a few minutes on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
But first tonight, where have all of Hollywood`s bad boys gone? There used to be so many of them, making shocking headlines all the time it seemed. Jack Nicholson -w e had Russell Crowe, Colin Farrell. Now those guys out of the picture. Some really bad girls are now front and center.
What`s going on here? SHOWBIZ TONIGHT wants to know: how have Lindsay, Britney and Paris all booted the baddest of the bad boys?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER (voice-over): Bad boys come in all shapes and sizes. There`s the rock star bad boy, the 80s bad boy and even the angry bad boy. But these guys have gone away - gone, pushed aside by bad girls. Very bad girls.
BRITNEY SPEARS, ENTERTAINER: (INAUDIBLE)
JO PIAZZA, "NEW YORK DAILY NEWS": I think the bad boys were so 2005, 2006. And 2007 is really the year of the bad girl.
HAMMER: From catfights and DUIs with Paris Hilton, to head-shaving and heavy-duty partying with Britney Spears, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you, Hollywood`s young leading ladies are doing enough misbehaving to out-bad the bad boys.
DAVID CAPLAN, "STAR" MAGAZINE: They just behave by a different code of conduct. In the past, the guys who have been out of control, when you look at a Colin Farrell, or even earlier, like, Corey Haim and all those guys from the 80s and 90s, you really saw them just plummet.
The girls somehow, it always bodes well for them.
HOWARD BRAGMAN, FIFTEEN MINUTES PUBLIC RELATIONS: I call them the Cat Pack right now. And that`s Paris and Lindsay and Nicole. It shows that women can behave just as badly as men, and be just as outrageous.
HAMMER: So who`s the most outrageous bad girl of them all?
Let`s start with Nicole Richie. Rehab and rumored eating disorders were just the top of the iceberg. Richie`s bad-girl stock skyrocketed with this mug shot.
CAPLAN: Nicole Richie is one of the baddest bad girls in Hollywood right now, because she`s so unabashed about what makes her bad.
HAMMER: Police arrested Nicole for DUI after finding her driving the wrong way on an L.A. freeway in December. Nicole had no problem allegedly telling cops she had been popping Vicodins and smoking pot before getting behind the wheel.
From mug shots to "Mean Girls," you can`t say the words "Hollywood bad girl" without bringing up Paris Hilton. Paris not only has her sex tape, but there`s also a DUI arrest and dozens of catfights under her belt.
CAPLAN: Paris Hilton actually is one of young Hollywood`s meanest girls. She really is the leader of this clique. You see her at nightclubs; she`s just talking bad about everyone there.
PARIS HILTON, ENTERTAINER: (BLEEP) my throat. Tore a (BLEEP) in my (INAUDIBLE).
CAPLAN: But at the same time, all these girls flock to her. When Britney Spears wanted to essentially, you know, come out after splitting from Kevin Federline, who did she go to? Paris Hilton.
HILTON: We were nice. We did one.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right.
PIAZZA: These girls are out every night; they`re partying every night. It`s kind of like the bad girl that everyone wants the chance to be at one point in their life, but they can never do it.
HAMMER: From Hollywood bad girls to beauty-girl bad girls. Miss USA Tara Conner and former Miss Nevada Katie Reese gave pageants a bad name after admitting to underage drinking and drug use.
TARA CONNER, MISS USA: I wouldn`t say that I`m an alcoholic.
HAMMER: And while Miss USA went to rehab, Miss Nevada gave up her crown, after these racy party pictures made their way to the Internet and to entertainment sites like TMZ.com.
CAPLAN: It`s sort of good-girl-gone-bad.
HAMMER: Why is this happening? SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you, the fascination with our bad girls is largely due to the lack of any good bad boys.
PIAZZA: We just don`t have any bad boys on the scene. Colin Farrell has disappeared.
HAMMER: A smoker, a heavy drinker and a serial dater, Colin Farrell burst on to the Hollywood scenes as one of the baddest boys since Jack Nicholson.
He famously told "W" magazine - quote - "When I come to town, I (BLEEP) everything I can."
CAPLAN: Colin Farrell was great; he really went to the extreme with his bad-boy behavior. There was drinking; there was just full-on promiscuity. There was violence; he had a bit of a temper.
HAMMER: But Farrell`s full-throttle partying caught up with him. Colin checked into rehab. From drinking and painkillers in 2005, after making the bad-boy movie "Miami Vice."
COLIN FARRELL, ACTOR: Do you think (INAUDIBLE)
CAPLAN: He went into rehab, and he sort of saw the light. But with him, also on the personal front, it also helped though that he had a child to take care of. And you see that with a lot of these bad boys, that, you know, they have a kid, and then they become this great dad, a doting dad.
HAMMER: Doting dad? Doting dads don`t sell magazines.
Bad girls do, especially in the tabloids, where most of the readership is made up of women. And SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can now tell you, that is why we`re seeing more of this.
BRAGMAN: Every time a woman goes out, there`s a - you have her outfit you can judge. Does she look sober? There`s so many things. And a guy can put on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, and - and pretty much go anywhere. If a woman goes out without makeup, it`s news, right? You`ll see that picture in the tabloids and go, `Look at how bad she looks.`
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: Well, Grammy-winning rap star LL Cool J says we should give bad-girl Britney a break. You know LL`s hits, "Going Back to Cali" and "Momma Said Knock You Out." He knows all about the hardcore Hollywood party scene. That`s because he was caught up in it when he was a teen star.
He`s got this new book, "LL Cool J Platinum Workout."
LL stopped by SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, and we talked about the book, Britney Spears and how he managed to avoid all the dangerous pitfalls of live in the fast lane, and being young in Hollywood.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: You look around at what goes on in young Hollywood these days. What are the Lindsays, the - the Parises, and - and what`s happening with Britney Spears now.
How is it that you have managed to stay so grounded? What - what was the force for you?
LL COOL J, RAPPER: You know, the reality is - first of all, I`m not perfect. I - I did - you know, I did my Hollywood thing, and I did it hard. That`s the first thing.
Thank God I was a little more discreet, and it wasn`t always the - you know, the guy that was out there and out front. So I don`t want to pretend to be on a pedestal. I`m not a politician; I`m not a pastor. You know, I`m an entertainer, I`m an actor, I`m a - I`m a musician and an author. And that`s where I stand. You know, I`m not Barack Obama, and I`m not claiming to be.
But that being said, I think that spiritually, you know, you got to be grounded. And then you can`t get so attached to the - to the business that it just consumes you, you know? Yes, I like to have the finer things, and I love to be successful. And I enjoy myself very much.
But I can`t sell my soul to - to do it. And - but that doesn`t mean that I won`t work hard, you know?
I mean, I think as far as Britney Spears is concerned, we need to embrace Britney, and - and show her that we can be compassionate, you know? It`s - it`s tough.
But, you know, for the average person, it`s hard to feel sorry for a millionaire. It`s hard to fell sorry for someone who has a $100 million in the bank, and they - it looks like the world`s their oyster. You know, it`s hard to - to find compassion for them.
But I think that sometimes we have to look past the money and the riches and the fame and see a human being. I mean, this is a girl crying out for help. Maybe we should be compassionate. But that`s just my personal opinion.
HAMMER: It`s no secret that in the entertainment industry, people are obsessed with their bodies, with how - how good they look. And it - and it - to the point where it can send very dangerous messages.
Do - do you think we`re a little too obsessed with looks?
LL COOL J: Yes, I think that it gets - it can become a little weird and a little narcissistic. I think that people shouldn`t star themselves. I think that the average person, and the average young girl, should not feel like she has to weigh 85 pounds in order to look attractive.
I think that there are all different types of body types. I think that some guys are bigger than others, and actually some girls are bigger than others, and actually - and I think that we should be able to be comfortable with that, and it should be about maximizing your own personal potential, as opposed to us finding this archetype and all trying to follow it, or us finding this cutout, this - this - this model that we all want to look like.
And I think that that`s important, you know?
HAMMER: And that`s easy for us to say and for us to preach as much as possible.
LL COOL J: It`s hard.
HAMMER: But when the magazines and the TV shows are constantly putting out these images of those super-skinny women, like the Nicole Richies and the Paris Hiltons - you know, how do we change the tide, I guess is what I`m saying?
LL COOL J: You know what? You can`t. You - you know, you can`t stand under Niagara Falls and say, `Stop! Wait a minute!` You know, it just doesn`t work like that.
HAMMER: (INAUDIBLE)
LL COOL J: You know, it`s just going to keep flowing.
I mean, the reality is, it`s a personal choice. You know, but being skinny doesn`t mean you`re healthy, you know what I mean? Like, we can`t confuse it.
I think that there are a lot of women out there - you know, there are a lot of men who appreciate a woman with a little meat on her bones. You know, I`m one of them. You know, I - I personally - you know, you don`t have to be rail thin for me.
You know, so it`s a matter of taste and choices, you know?
HAMMER: We know that working out.
LL COOL J: Yes.
HAMMER: .men and women, it can be a totally different experience. But in - in your book you`re saying, it shouldn`t necessarily be.
LL COOL J: No, it doesn`t have to be a totally different experience. I mean, you know, a lot of women are - are really afraid that they`re going to bulk up. They think they`re going to get huge. They think if they lifts, they`re going to get too big.
HAMMER: Well, and they`re looking at you, you know, talking about this book.
LL COOL J: But the thing is, they don`t have to - what they have to remember is, they don`t have quite as much testosterone in their bodies, so they`re not going to build that kind of muscle. Only thing they`re going to do - only thing that`s going to happen is they`re going to build a little muscle, it`s going to enable them to burn more calories. Because the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn.
But what - what is happening, I think, in America, is that a lot of people are kind of doing the fast-food thing the wrong way. And on top of that, they`re - they`re - they`re really not getting that - that extra exercising that they really, really need, and - and we`re suffering for it.
But I think this book can help you, you know?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: LL definitely one of the good guys in the business.
You want more fitness tips from LL Cool J? Get his new book, "LL Cool J`s Platinum Workout." It is in bookstores right now.
Well coming up, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is taking you to court, in a different way than you might think. Disturbed defendants, out-of-control attorneys - coming up, some of the most outrageous courtroom moments caught on tape. You will not want to miss them.
Also, Heather Mills and Paul McCartney going through a nasty divorce battle of their own. But tonight, what Heather now has to say about Paul is really going to surprise you. Plus, why police are pretty upset with Heather right now.
Also, a real celebrity fashion flop on the catwalk. Yes, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT right there as these sexy stars slip up. Glad we brought along some ice.
SHOWBIZ TONIGHT coming right back after this.
First, it`s tonight`s "`Entertainment Weekly` Great American Pop Culture Quiz": "Back in 1996 in the doomsday drama `Independence Day,` what finally leads to the demise of the attacking aliens?" A nuclear bomb - or nucular, as our president says; flu virus; computer virus; or water?
We`re coming right back with the answer.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ready A-sound for tomorrow night`s show promo.
Roll A-take (ph) sound.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shazoom, Don (ph). Pre-set Camera 1. Stand by, A.J. Open his mike. Dissolve. Go.
HAMMER: Nice zoom, Don.
Once again, tonight`s "`Entertainment Weekly` Great American Pop Culture Quiz": "In 1996`s doomsday drama `Independence Day,` what finally leads to the demise of the attacking aliens?" Was it a nuclear bomb; the flu virus; a computer virus; or water?
You know the answer. It`s C, a computer virus.
Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, TV`s most provocative entertainment news show. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
Well, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT was right there in Los Angeles as some of Hollywood`s best-looking leading ladies took their clothes right off their backs. Settle down; it`s not what you think.
Take a look. Stars like Denise Richards and Kristen Cavallari strutted their stuff for the "Clothes off Our Back" charity, a great organization founded by actors Jane Kaczmarek and the great Bradley Whitford. But some of them ended up on their backs.
Yes, talk about high-heeled hijinks. Carmen Electra there wiping out, and "Days of Our Lives" star Allison Sweeney trying to help her out, and hitting the floor herself. But they got right back up, they took off their heels and they finished the show.
Kind of like Carrie Bradshaw did. Remember this? Sara Jessica Parker falling down on "Sex and the City."
Tonight, if you thought that wacky Anan Nicole Smith judge Larry Seidlin was out of order, just wait till you see this. Court TV has put together some of the most outrageous courtroom moments, all caught on tape.
Joining me in New York, the host of Court TV`s "Hollywood Heat," and host of the Court TV special, "Disorder in the Court II" Ashleigh Banfield.
ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, COURT TV: Sounds so official.
HAMMER: Yes, it is. It is official. And it`s good to see you.
BANFIELD: Good to see you.
HAMMER: And truly, the where-is-the-body-being-buried courtroom hearings that were going on over Anna Nicole Smith with the wacky judge really reminded us how much we love all the craziness in the courtroom.
BANFIELD: Especially when it`s not stoic. Because we expect it to be stoic. And when things just go crazy, it`s just out of order. And so when anything`s out of order, we got to see it.
HAMMER: And the amazing thing is now - because cameras are in so many courtrooms - it does get caught on tape.
Let`s kick it off with something you`re going to be showing on your show. And this is some wackiness going on in Springfield, Massachusetts.
BANFIELD: This would be the case of the Springfield Strangler. This is what happens when the victim`s family members get at the defendant - Alfred Gaynor (ph) was attacked by one of the victim`s sons in this case. Ooh, that had to hurt.
Convicted rapist - this was, again, a family member. So they get him out of there as quickly as possible. Yikes. (INAUDIBLE)
Again, it`s the unexpected. You just think at the very moment when you`re going to be safe and you`re going to get out of that courtroom, things just explode.
HAMMER: Looks like an episode of "Jerry Springer."
BANFIELD: A little bit.
HAMMER: And - and of course, tensions can always run high in a courtroom. And sometimes, it`s the opposing sides that can go at it, as - as we see in this next particular clip.
BANFIELD: These are families. And of course, you always have families of victims in courtrooms who have to deal with the evidence they`re hearing. In this particular case, a Navy vet was murdered. He was in his late 60s, and one of the - one of the family members of the defendant made some nasty comment to the victim`s family members, `Oh, he was 69; he wasn`t going to live forever anyway.`
And of course, that`s what set that off.
HAMMER: Man.
BANFIELD: Can you imagine how insensitive that would be?
HAMMER: I - I - I can`t, and I wouldn`t want to be in that room with all of that going on.
BANFIELD: No, especially when that guy was actually pleading guilty and apologizing. But then you have his own family members saying, `He wasn`t going to live forever anyway.`
HAMMER: Now you would think, with the level of security in a courtroom, things would be much tamer. And you certainly would think that a police officer, in his own interrogation room, would be safe. As we`re about to see right here, that is not always the case.
BANFIELD: Not when you`re dealing with somebody named "Henry Dreaverman" (ph).
HAMMER: Yikes.
BANFIELD: This guy grabs a pen and stabs one of the police officers who is interrogating him about a bunch of arsons and burglaries he (INAUDIBLE). Look at this - oh, it`s so quick and it`s so stealthy.
Even with all that security - and those guys are big, too - those officers are big. Even with all that - now he did face those charges. He was convicted ultimately. He was about to sign his confession.
HAMMER: And instead he used the pen for something.
BANFIELD: Yes.
HAMMER: .completely different.
BANFIELD: Now do you think he`s going to have to sign another confession down the road?
HAMMER: Now you would certainly expect that a prosecutor would be attacked, at least verbally, by a defense attorney in the course of - of a court proceeding. But not attacked by the defendant. And I believe that`s what we`re going to see in this next clip from the show.
BANFIELD: No, and you always wonder, A.J. - you got a judge here about to actually deal with a certain thing, and - look at that, grabbing a water pitcher. The defendant goes after the prosecutor. The prosecutor, who`s just doing a job - we always wonder though, because the prosecutors have to say such vile things and be so tough in their prosecutions. And you wonder how these defendants stomach some of this stuff.
But Curtis Wayne (INAUDIBLE) was not particularly the nicest man. He was dealing with penalties for murder - two of them, in fact, back in 1996, facing the death penalty. He didn`t get it though.
HAMMER: A frightening scene.
BANFIELD: And - and he wasn`t charged for this. He didn`t get the death penalty in the case, and he wasn`t charged for that outburst.
HAMMER: Seeing that you have the ability to fill up an entire show with all this stuff makes me wonder, is this stuff happening more often - violence in the courtroom happening more often now than ever before?
BANFIELD: Not necessarily. But I think we`re getting a lot more cameras in courtrooms, which catches this.
These are generally very stoic, like I said, places. And they are respectable places. And people do respect the law.
Mark Lunsford - of anybody, I would have expected him to go off, having to listen to the testimony about his little daughter`s death. But he was very stoic, and that`s usually the way it is.
HAMMER: We`ll look forward to seeing more of those clips.
Ashleigh Banfield, thank you as always for joining us.
And you can catch "Disorder in the Court II: 20 More Outrageous Courtroom Moments" - 20! - on Court TV. That`ll be Monday.
And we`ve been asking you to vote on our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT "Question of the Day": "Anna Nicole Smith`s Death: Do you think foul play was involved?"
Go on the Internet to vote, at cnn.com/showbiztonight, or send us an e-mail if you got more to say, showbiztonight@cnn.com. We`ll be reading some of your e-mails tomorrow.
And you can vote on the "Question of the Day" by sending a cell phone text message to 45688. Write "SHOWBIZ Yes" to vote yes; to vote no, write "SHOWBIZ No." And send the text message to 45688.
Well, from what we`ve been hearing and reading - and there`s been a lot out there - the whole Heather Mills-Paul McCartney divorce is pretty nasty. Tonight, you are not going to believe what Heather is now saying about her estranged husband and Beatles star Paul McCartney. And we`re going to tell you why police are so heated up at Heather.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, TV`s most provocative entertainment news show. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
Now despite all the nasty rumors that have been going around, all the name-calling - tonight, Heather Mills say she will always love Paul McCartney. In a BBC interview, the Beatles star`s estranged wife says that since he`s the father of their 3-year-old daughter Beatrice, she will always have very strong feelings for him.
She`s also fighting back about all this bad press she`s been getting lately, accusing her of being gold digger as she and Paul are going through this nasty, nasty divorce. She`s very angry about that. She insists she is not a publicity seeker, and she is not trying to line her pockets. But Heather does think that some people are out to smear her.
Police in the U.K. are also warning Heather to stop calling "999" too often. That`s the British version of "911." Mills says that she`s calling that number all the time because she has felt threatened by the paparazzi. But officials think she might be crying wolf.
Well, Heather Mills is just one of many stars hounded by the paparazzi constantly. Lindsay Lohan, Leonardo DiCaprio each secret - recently had some scary run-ins with the photogs.
So yesterday, here is what we were asking you to vote on for our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT "Question of the Day": "Celebrity Paparazzi Frenzy: Do you feel sorry for the stars?"
Pretty mixed vote last night. This is how it went, with 48 percent of you saying "yes"; 52 percent of you saying, "no, you don`t feel sorry for them."
Let`s take a look at a couple of the e-mails we received.
We heard from Tim. He lives in South Dakota. And Tim writes, "Stars deserve their private time. You can`t even step outside without people right in their face."
Joshua from California says, "Too bad. Why should we feel sorry? It`s part of the world they live in. Suck it up and deal with it."
Very sensitive.
Also heard from Cathy in Ohio. Cathy writes, "Think we need to put something n the books. Paparazzi are out of control. There should be laws where they can`t be any closer to the stars than 25 feet."
Let`s see what`s coming up on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, for a Friday night.
And as we get into the weekend, it`s a very special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT: "Hollywood`s Wakeup Call." SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is sounding the alarms and saying right here, right now, Hollywood needs to get real, because it is still way out of touch with reality when it comes to portraying body image, paying too much attention to young starlets running around without underwear. We`ve got a lot to say about that and a whole lot more. Do not miss this special hour of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, "Hollywood`s Wakeup Call." And that will be tomorrow.
And that is it for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. Thanks so much for watching. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
"GLENN BECK" coming up next, right after the latest from CNN Headline News.
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