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Showbiz Tonight
Coverage of Paris Hilton`s First Post Jail TV Interview
Aired June 27, 2007 - 23:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PARIS HILTON, "THE SIMPLE LIFE": It was a very traumatic experience. But I feel like god does make everything happen for a reason. It gave me, you know, a time out in life just to really find out what was important and what I want to do, figure out who I am. And even though it was really hard, I took that time to get to know myself.
LARRY KING, CNN ANCHOR: Did it change you?
HILTON: Yes, definitely. I have a new outlook on life.
(END VIDEO CLIP
A.J. HAMMER, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT ANCHOR: Paris speaks about jail, about her medical problems, about her life as a party girl, about whether she uses drugs, about whether she thinks she got a raw deal. Tonight SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is the only live entertainment news show getting first reaction to Paris Hilton`s first TV interview after jail. The explosive interview with Larry King, the never before heard details. We are coast-to-coast. The SHOWBIZ special report, Paris speaks, starts right now.
Hello, I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
BROOKE ANDERSON, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT ANCHOR: Hi there everyone. I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood, where just a few doors down from me Paris Hilton sat down tonight for an exclusive interview seen and heard around the world on CNN`s "LARRY KING LIVE." Our cameras were right there as Paris arrived for the most anticipated interview of the year, just one day after getting out of jail, where she was locked up for 23 days.
And SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is the only entertainment news show on TV that is live right now with complete coverage of what Paris said, and the first reaction.
HAMMER: Tonight, Paris opened up like never before about everything, from her time in jail to whether she uses drugs, to revelations about her mysterious medical condition. We are coast to coast tonight with a very fired-up panel of the best and smartest folks you`ll see anywhere, and they will be here with us throughout the hour. Tonight, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT with Paris Hilton in her own words, like you`ve never heard her before.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HILTON: I just want to let people know what I went through.
HAMMER (voice-over): And that she did. Paris Hilton opened up about her jail ordeal in a revealing and emotional chat with CNN`s Larry King. Her first TV interview since she was released from her 23-day jail stint.
KING: Do it change you?
HILTON: Yes, definitely. I have a new outlook on life.
HAMMER: SHOWBIZ TONIGHT tells you what Paris has to say about her in and out and back in again jail term, and how she feels she got shafted by the legal system.
KING: Do you think you got a raw deal? Do you?
HILTON: Yes, I do.
HAMMER: And how the whole thing has changed her.
HILTON: It was a very traumatic experience, but I feel like god does make everything happen for a reason.
HAMMER: Only SHOWBIZ TONIGHT takes you back stage in CNN`s Los Angeles offices, where Larry himself greeted his famous guest before his exclusive interview.
HILTON: I`m a little nervous.
HAMMER: That`s not really surprising. Just hours earlier we saw Paris making international headlines when she emerged from her three-week jail stay. She talked about that moment with Larry King.
KING: What was that moment like? We saw you hopping down, that feeling of freedom?
HILTON: It was one of the happiest days of my life. It was just pandemonium, and then as soon as I saw my mom, I ran to her to give her a hug.
HAMMER: Paris Hilton got her jail time for driving on a suspended license in a DUI case. She still claims she didn`t know she wasn`t able to drive.
HILTON: I never would have driven on a suspended license. I get followed by paparazzi all day. Why would I have the audacity to do that?
HAMMER: She was sent to jail anyway, and she describes that traumatic first night.
HILTON: When I first got in that cell, I was having severe panic attacks, anxiety attacks. My claustrophobia was kicking in. I wasn`t sleeping. I wasn`t eating. It was -- the doctors talked to the sheriff, and he could see that it would be better if I just did it on house arrest.
HAMMER: As we all know, the decision to release Paris days into her sentence didn`t go over too well. A judge quickly ordered her back to jail. Listen as Paris talked about the horrifying moment when she learned she was going back in.
HILTON: It was a shock, everything. Going from being so happy to be at home with my family. Then all of a sudden ten minutes before the police arrive, I`m yanked out of bed. They`re telling me they`re going to handcuff me, and they`re bringing me back to the courthouse. I had no idea what was going on. I was in complete shock. It was unbelievable. I was terrified.
HAMMER: Some jail officials are saying she served more time than most people who commit the same offense. Paris does not disagree.
HILTON: I think the crime did not fit the punishment. I did my time, and it was really hard, but I don`t feel like I deserved to go to jail for it.
KING: You never thought you were a criminal?
HILTON: No. Even though I hated it, I`m glad it happened in a way, because it`s really changed my life forever.
HAMMER: And she says she has changed. For one, no more drinking and driving.
HILTON: I`ll never make that mistake again.
HAMMER: No more hard partying.
HILTON: I`m frankly sick of it.
HAMMER: And a lot more charity.
HILTON: I have a platform where I can raise awareness for so many great causes.
HAMMER: And all in all, she just wants to be a better Paris.
HILTON: I have definitely matured and grown a lot from this experience.
HAMMER: And as Paris Hilton returns to the public eye, we`ll all see if she`s right.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: You will be hearing a lot more of Paris Hilton in her own words throughout the hour, and we are going coast-to-coast with our passionate Paris panel. Joining me live tonight from Hollywood, attorney Gloria Allred, celebrity publicist Howard Bragman of 15 Minutes PR, and also "People Magazine`s" Mike Fleeman. Now, "People" got an exclusive print interview and photos with Paris. That will be on stands on Friday. Also joining us tonight from L.A., investigative journalist Pat Lallama. In Atlanta tonight, defense attorney and TV host Lauren Lake, and live with me in New York, David Caplan from VH-1`s entertainment web site, 24Sizzler.com.
Welcome to you all. Let`s get this baby fired up. Paris obviously had a lot to accomplish with this big interview tonight. Lauren Lake, let me start with you. Bottom line it for me right off the top here. How did Paris Hilton do?
LAUREN LAKE, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Bottom line, A.J., it started off good, and then it crashed and burned. By the end of it, I was sitting there saying to myself, we haven`t established anything. We haven`t established that she`s accepted full responsibility for what she did. We haven`t established that the dumb role was just an act. We haven`t established that we had a real mental illness. We haven`t established --
I mean, we haven`t established anything except Paris is very boring. The only thing we`ve established is that everybody has been watching her for no reason for way too long.
HAMMER: You may have a point there. Pat Lallama, I hear you laughing in the background. This is easily the most important interview that Paris Hilton has ever given. What did you think?
PAT LALLAMA, INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST: Well, I have to tell you, with all due respect to Mr. King, whom I adore, there are -- I learned in journalism school, there are no boring stories, only boring reporters. I felt like she was being interviewed by Depak Chopra or Billy Graham. And maybe it`s a little hard, but I wanted to ask her, why did you have sex on tape? Why did you go out without underwear?
I mean, three cops told you you weren`t allowed to drive. There were a lot of harder questions I had. However, I give her a lot of credit. I thought she was gracious. I thought she was classy. I have to say, I think there`s a big shot for this woman to do something good with her life.
HAMMER: All that said, they had a lot of ground to cover in an hour of TV, which we all know is not really a full hour. Howard Bragman, you are the PR guru who told us right here on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT that sitting down with Larry King is exactly the right move for Paris Hilton. Did she accomplish what she needed to accomplish tonight?
HOWARD BRAGMAN, 15 MINUTES PR: You know, A.J., she taught us that she`s a much better photo opportunity than interview, and that`s the first thing. You know, if I take my clients and they do an interview like this, they have to make news. They have to say something new and different that`s going to drive the headlines the next day. There was not one new piece of news, other than she thinks Britney is a wonderful mother. But there was nothing --
and now all we`re going to do is analyze. Did she look good? Did she sound sincere? Did she lie? I think it didn`t work. I give her a C minus.
HAMMER: So you`re kind of saying that the headline is there is no headline, and, of course, everybody was waiting to see if she was going to own up to what she did. Now, let`s not forget that she was arrested for DUI. She got cited for driving on a suspended license twice. And as we know, she was sent to jail for all that. Here`s what Paris told Larry King when he asked if she thinks she got a raw deal.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KING: Do you think you got a raw deal? Do you?
HILTON: Yes, I do. You know, I think the crime did not fit the punishment. I did my time, and it was really hard, but I don`t feel like I deserved to go to jail for it.
KING: You never thought you were a criminal?
HILTON: No.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Gloria Allred, let me go to you on this. Obviously, you are an attorney who has made a career out of advising your clients. Do you think Paris Hilton was contrite enough tonight?
GLORIA ALLRED, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, I think what she did was she was consistent with the prior story, A.J. that she`s told in court, in the sense that she says she was relying on others. Tonight she said her lawyer. It`s been reported in the past that she said her publicist -- to tell her that she actually could drive, that, in fact, though her license had been suspended, she could drive to work, and she said she was driving from work.
But, in any event, she`s staying consistent with that story. She`s kind of doing a dance both ways. You know, saying that she didn`t deserve to go, and, yet, she learned from it. It was traumatic, and, yet, she`s going to make something good from it. She also showed, I think, a little bit of naivete, saying that she was treated the same as everyone else. As I`ve been saying, I have inmates who were in the L.A. County Jail, who didn`t get the medical care that she did, and I`m sure there are many people who had Attention Deficit Disorder and Claustrophobia that did not get to go home and did not get to get the medical care that she got there.
HAMMER: Yes, and I was watching specifically to see if I got the impression that she understands that she messed up. David Caplan, what do you think?
DAVID CAPLAN, VH-1: I really didn`t get that message. She was very sort of like, oh, I was busted, but, again, you know, the law just gave me a raw deal. She didn`t seem that remorseful over the whole thing, and she didn`t really acknowledge the past. Every time Larry would acknowledge, you know, how do you feel, you know, that you were charged? Do you feel you got a raw deal? She would always go to the future, but OK, I have learned my lesson. And I didn`t really feel that, oh, Paris feels really bad about what she did.
HAMMER: Yes, she did make the point, however, that she will never drink and drive again, which I think was a terrific point for her to make. She did, of course, at that same time, make the point that when she was busted for DUI, I only had one drink, a .8, only had one drink. Mike Fleeman, I want to talk to you because "People Magazine" got the exclusive print interview with Paris. You guys went to her house. You spent some time with her. Was the Paris that you saw when you visited with her and did your interview the same Paris that we saw with Larry King tonight?
MIKE FLEEMAN, "PEOPLE MAGAZINE" What we saw was a Paris who was more like the Paris you saw bounding out of the jail. She was still sort of basking if her freedom. There was more joy. There was more bounce in her step. She really exhibited that gratitude that she mostly spoke about on Larry King.
HAMMER: Were you saying there was more bounce in her step when she was with you guys?
FLEEMAN: Yes.
(CROSS TALK)
FLEEMAN: Yes. She`s much more demure, much quieter, and I don`t know how much of that was the passage of time or that she`s in a TV studio. But she was much more just joyful. You could feel how glad she was to be at home and with her family.
HAMMER: Yes.
FLEEMAN: It seemed like a much more genuine feeling of elation.
HAMMER: Yes, well it doesn`t come across necessarily in print interviews. It can across in television, the fact that I think she was pretty nervous tonight. She was getting grilled about everything, drinking and drugs. Does she think she has a problem with alcohol? What did she say when Larry asked her if she had ever done drugs? We`ll be getting into that coming up next.
ANDERSON: Also, Paris`s startling reason why she walked the red carpet at the MTV movie awards just hours before reporting to jail. It really surprised me what she said. That`s also coming up.
HAMMER: And Paris tells Larry King what happened to her in jail that was the single most humiliating experience of her entire life. That`s all still to come as the SHOWBIZ special report, Paris speaks, continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Welcome back to this special live edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, Paris speaks. I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. All this hour, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is bringing you live, first reaction to Paris Hilton`s stunning first post-jail TV interview with Larry king. Our fired up coast- to-coast panel is back with me now.
Guys, you know, Larry asked a lot of questions over the course of that hour, and at one point he brought up her drinking. And he asked whether or not she had ever used drugs. Let`s have a look at that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KING: Have you ever been addicted to drugs?
HILTON: No.
KING: Taken drugs?
HILTON: No.
KING: Never taken drugs?
HILTON: No.
KING: Do you have a drinking problem?
HILTON: No, not at all.
KING: So -- you must have had -- you were just this one drink this one time?
HILTON: I`m just -- I`m not a big drinker. I`m not really into it. I think socially people do sometimes when they go out, but it`s not something that I really care about.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Lauren, out to you. What do you think. This is a girl who is known for partying, being a party animal. She`s been arrested for DUI. Given her image, are people really going to buy that?
LAKE: Well, absolutely not. And not to mention the fact she hangs around with three well-known people that have those issues. So you kind of listen to her and go, hmm, really? Are we really going to believe that? Like I said, this is just one of many moments, including the whole claustrophobia moment, the whole bible moment, where it is that kind of moment where as a client, like if she was my client, I would just be cringing like, oh, no. What are we doing?
ANDERSON: Yes. You know, I think this is her time to really make a fresh start, be genuine. Pat, what do you think?
LALLAMA: You know, I think I`m shocking everyone here because I have been such a cynic and such a critic all the way along. But I mean, I think she actually generally answered those questions truthfully. I`ve hung around with some pretty deviant characters in my life, and you change your mind over time when you get to know who they are. The fact of the matter is I don`t really see her as a drug addict. I don`t really see her as one of these miscreants walking around looking for crack or looking for coke and staying up all night drinking bottles of tequila.
I don`t see that in her. I don`t think those are her issues. I think her issues are being spoiled and bad parenting. I think she answered those questions easily, because I think they were true answers.
ANDERSON: All right. Pat, giving her the benefit of the doubt. Well, you know, aside from being a party girl, a reformed party girl, as she says, everybody says, you know, she`s famous for nothing. People don`t understand why the heck she`s a celebrity and Larry King asked her about that. Listen to what she had to say about that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILTON: A misconception that I always hear is Paris doesn`t work for a living. She just gets money from her family. And I completely disagree with that. I have made a name on my own, by myself. I`ve not taken any money from my family. I work very hard. I run a business. I`ve had a book on the "New York Times" best sellers list. I`m on my fifth season of a TV show. I`ve done an album. I do movies.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: All right, Howard. She does movies. No one would ever say they are Oscar caliber. She makes music. We know she has a television show. Why do you think people still have that perception that she is famous for nothing?
BRAGMAN: Did you love that line? It was like Romi (ph) and Michelle`s Wedding. I`m a businesswoman in the diner. That`s all I could think of when she said that. Let me ask you, Brooke. Name one of her songs. Name one of her movies. And name the title of her book, and then let`s talk about it.
ANDERSON: Gloria, what are your thoughts about this?
ALLRED: I would disagree with that if I may, because I think she`s a very smart businesswoman. She`s got this image of a party girl, but let`s face it, she has made, on some occasions, a whole lot of money from going to those parties, getting paid to go to those parties, maybe 25,000, 50,000, 100,000 dollars, just to show up at the party, and then she really gets a two-fer or a three-fer, because when she`s there, she gets all the press coverage, and that helps her brand. That helps sell the handbags, the perfume, and all of the other things.
So this is a really smart businesswoman. Going to parties is a promotional tool. It`s a marketing tool for her. She`s done that very well.
ANDERSON: Yes, she has been pretty savvy. Well, David, do you think anything she said tonight is going to change the perception that does exist out there of her?
CAPLAN: Absolutely not. I don`t think she said anything tonight that was new that we hadn`t already heard before. Even though she said she`s a changed woman, she`ll be involved with charity. She spoke about her love of god, even though she couldn`t remember a bible passage. None of this was anything that was new. I didn`t go away from this interview thinking, OK, now I really believe what I heard while she`s in prison. She`s completely changed. Not at all.
ANDERSON: Mike, what do you think, your thoughts? I know she has a lot fans out there. I`ve spoke with them. They were at the jail for her release. So I know a lot of people do love her.
FLEEMAN: Well, let me tell you what the fans said. People.com took a poll, and 78 percent said she got what she deserved, not a raw deal. An overwhelming majority of the People.com readers also don`t believe that she is really a changed woman, so she does have a credibility gap between what she is saying and what people believe. But she`s also a woman in transition.
She`s not, you know -- I don`t know if she`s quite ready yet to completely shed that party girl image. I don`t think she`s quite sure where her place is going to be in the world.
ANDERSON: Very good point. We all know Paris spent a lot of time alone in her little cell. She spent a lot of that time writing. She actually brought along some of her jailhouse notes to tonight`s interview. Call it deep thoughts with Paris, and we`re taking you inside Paris` mind while she was in jail next.
HAMMER: And Paris` startling reason why she walked the red carpet at the MTV Movie Awards before she reported to jail. I couldn`t really believe the explanation she gave. That is coming up.
ANDERSON: And Paris tells Larry King what happened to her in jail that was the most humiliating experience of her life. That`s all still to come as the SHOWBIZ TONIGHT special report, Paris speaks, continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Welcome back to this SHOWBIZ special report, Paris Speaks. I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood, and we are live, getting the very first reaction to Paris Hilton`s first post-jail TV interview with Larry King tonight. As you just heard, Paris had a lot of time to herself in a very small space. And she filled that time reading fan mail, and writing.
She said she kept a daily journal in jail, and also wrote down ideas and reflections, and she read from them during tonight`s interview. One of them was about her fellow inmates at the Lynwood jail. She said she developed a lot of compassion for them. Here she is, reading from her notes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILTON: I am lucky enough that I have a home and a family to go to when I get out of here. Most of the women in here don`t have that option, so they have to go back on the streets. And some of them end up even back here because they don`t know where else to go. I want to help set up a place where these women can get themselves back on their feet, a place with food, shelter, clothing, and programs, kind of a transitional home.
I know I can make a difference and hopefully stop this vicious circle of these people going in and out of jail.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Paris also said she learned that the female inmates at the Lynwood jail return an average of 7.3 times, and she thinks it`s very sad.
HAMMER: Just a few hours before Paris reported for jail, you may remember, she actually walked the red carpet at the MTV Movie Awards. Tonight, she gave what I thought was a startling explanation for why she did that. We`ll get into that coming up.
ANDERSON: I wasn`t expecting her answer to that. And Paris tells Larry King what was the most humiliating experience of her life. And no, it wasn`t the release of the sex tape, surprisingly. We`ll tell you what she said, coming up.
HAMMER: And I believe, Brooke, on this occasion it is important that we be reflective about all this. I just have to wonder, what are we going to think a year from now when we look back on tonight? Will Paris really change her tune, or will she go back to her old ways, as many expect she may? We`re going to get predictions from our expert panel as this special edition, Paris speaks, continues. Stay right where you are.
(NEWS BREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Tonight, on this SHOWBIZ TONIGHT special report, "Paris Speaks". Tonight, for the very first time Paris Hilton opens up about here 23 days in jail.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARRY KING, CNN ANCHOR, "LARRY KING LIVE": You think you got a raw deal? Do you?
PARIS HILTON: Yeah, I do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is the only entertainment news show live with the very first reaction to Paris` first post-jail interview. A SHOWBIZ TONIGHT special report, "Paris Speaks" starts right now.
Welcome back to this live SHOWBIZ TONIGHT special report, "Paris Speaks". It`s 30 minutes past the hour. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
ANDERSON: And I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. You`re watching TV`s most provocative entertainment news show.
OK, just a short time ago, Paris Hilton sat down with CNN`s Larry King -- her very first interview since getting out of a Los Angeles County jail on Tuesday. Here are the latest stunning headlines from that interview:
Paris said she doesn`t think she deserved to go to jail. She also denied ever using drugs -- and added she`s not a big drinker. And a shocking admission -- Paris says she suffers from claustrophobia, talks to a therapist, and has been taking medication for attention deficit disorder since she was a child.
HAMMER: And that`s not all Paris said. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s live coverage of Larry King`s exclusive interview with Paris continues now.
We are again going coast to coast with this SHOWBIZ special report. From Hollywood attorney Gloria Allred; celebrity publicist Howard Bragman of Fifteen Minutes Public Relations; "People" magazine`s Mike Fleeman; in Los Angeles, investigative journalist Pat Lalama; in Atlanta tonight, defense attorney and TV host Lauren Lake; here in New York, David Caplan, from the new VH-1 entertainment website, 24sizzler.com.
Welcome back, everybody. One thing that everybody has been wondering is whether or not Paris has really changed. In the interview tonight Paris was quite frank about her past. Let`s listen to what she told Larry King about that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILTON: I think, in life, everyone makes mistakes, and have you to learn and grow from them. And I`ve been a little immature in the past and made some wrong choices, but I`ve learned from them, and I think that makes me the person I am today.
KING: How about friends that weren`t right friends for you? Have you gotten rid of them?
HILTON: I`ve gotten rid of a lot of people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Understandably, a couple of prepared answers in her interview tonight. Lauren lake, what do you think? Has Paris Hilton changed?
LAUREN LAKE, DEFENSE ATTORNEY, TV HOST: Well, I can`t tell by that interview. And, you know, I don`t mean to be the resident cynic here, but I wanted to see more, A.J. I wanted to see more details. I wanted to see just more of her come out. I could have something to relate to. I felt like she was reading a script, and she didn`t even read it well.
HAMMER: Yeah, I think that`s true. Pat Lalama, you know, a lot of people have said as this whole thing was going on and we kept hearing while she was in jail she`s going to be a changed person. We all know you can`t change in 23 days, but at least you can gain some perspective. What do you think? Was it just too canned?
PAT LALAMA, INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST: I think it was a little canned. I think, yeah, you know, pre-scripted, yeah, a little bit. Not so real.
But I will say this. I do not believe that a woman who is used to mansions, jewels and limos, who spends 23 days in the county jail in Los Angeles is not going to have some new perspective. I think it had to do something to move her into a more mature arena. I really believe that.
HAMMER: It does seem that she is really trying to get the message out whether planned or not, and -- hey, that`s part of the deal when you are in the spotlight. The message is it won`t be business as usual for Paris Hilton. Mike Fleeman, let me go to you from "People" magazine because in "People" magazine`s exclusive print interview with Paris, that will be out on Friday, was she basically trying to get the same point across?
MIKE FLEEMAN, "PEOPLE": I think she was. I think what you are seeing is somebody who has changed a little bit. You can`t expect somebody to go into a jail as Paris Hilton and come on the Mother Teresa. We have something in between that. I think we`re expecting a little too much of Paris right now.
I don`t want to be a Paris defender, but, you know, I think she is like many people who have just gone through a very traumatic experience. She`s trying to work it out in her own mind, and find out what has she learned, and where is she going to go? She doesn`t have these pat answers and a game plan in a 12-point plan on how Paris is going to be different a year from now.
HAMMER: Well, you know, if you talk to a publicist, they might tell you she should have exactly those things. Because so much of this is going to be about her image. Her image that she needs to put behind her, her image moving forward. Let`s talk about what happened when she went into jail because there`s one moment from this interview tonight that just confounded me. And I think something that she did right before she went to jail, or we`re seeing right now confounded a lot of people.
Just when she was about to turn herself in to serve her time, she walked the red carpet at the MTV awards. I still shake my head in disbelief that she did this, but listen to the reason she gave Larry King for doing that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILTON: Actually, I was playing a trick on everyone because outside my house, outside the limo, and facility there was paparazzi I heard from all around the world. So I thought if I went to the MTV awards, and snuck out during the show, I could get there unnoticed, and that`s what we did. No one even saw me going in.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Huh? What? No one saw you going in? The fact is we did see you going into jail. The fact is, Paris, your windows in your car were conveniently rolled down so the TMZ cameras could catch this shot, that you`re seeing right here.
Pat Lalama, that explanation seems a little flimsy to me. How about you?
LALAMA: Why, A.J., somehow I don`t think you bought that. I think it was very flimsy. See this goes to -- this speaks to the issue I have been yelling about. She should have stayed home with her parents, had a nice talk about her future, and when she got out, she should have stayed home with her parents, and had a nice talk about her future.
This is too much knowledge of the presence of the cameras for my taste, but let`s remember, A.J., we are the ones who breathe oxygen into this life. It`s all about us, OK?
HAMMER: All right. Well, we clearly, you know, think -- at least I do -- that everything she does now has to be more carefully thought out. Howard Bragman, as the PR guru, hearing an excuse like that, it struck me as a big mistake. What did you make of it?
HOWARD BRAGMAN, FIFTEEN MINUTES PUBLIC RELATIONS: I don`t think it`s a huge mistake. I think sort of people inside the industry. If you look at Paris and what she was talking about, that she lives her life 24 hours a day with cameras around her. So if Paris only got photographed by one camera as opposed to 50, for her that`s a victory. I would call it a small victory, but for her it was a victory. But it`s a little inside baseball, because it doesn`t matter if one camera catches you, or 50 cameras catch you. It was still out there in the public, and she was in a bit of denial.
HAMMER: I know. David Caplan?
DAVID CAPLAN, VH-1: I was shocked that she said that. And she also said no one saw her go into Lynnwood. The truth is, that night, she actually went to the Twin Towers facility, as well. She had really her facts were wrong in two cases. A, people saw her, and she didn`t go straight to Lynwood, she went to the Twin Towers facility. And before that, she stopped by her parents house after the MTV awards. She made it sound as if she ducked out of the MTV awards and went to Lynwood, which just didn`t happen.
HAMMER: No, I actually think that she probably went -- look, this is what she told Larry King. He can only ask the questions. She can only answer them.
I think she went to the MTV awards because she realized she was about to be locked up for 32 days, let me get in one more big party. We do know that Paris went to jail for driving on a suspended license, twice, after her DUI arrest. I want you to listen to what she said about her reaction in court when the judge sentenced her to jail.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILTON: I was walking in there assuming I was just going to get community service. That`s what my lawyer said at the time. So, when he sentenced me to that much time in jail, it was shocking, because that doesn`t happen ever.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Attorney Gloria Allred, were you surprised that Paris was surprised?
GLORIA ALLRED, ATTORNEY: Well, I guess the old "my lawyer made me do it" defense didn`t fly with the judge. Is it going to fly with the American public or the public around the world? I don`t know. Was I surprised that she said this? No, because if that`s what she believes -- and I don`t know if it happened. I don`t know if she planned to sue her lawyer for malpractice. I doubt it.
Because what are her damages -- her brand is going to be so enhanced by all of this. She`ll make so much more money now because now she`s known worldwide. People care about her. She`s still a beautiful young woman. And I think she just is going try to make the best of this.
HAMMER: Well, a few people said to me asking my opinion. They said they thought she kind of embarrassed her a little bit tonight. Over the years certainly Paris Hilton has done of plenty of embarrassing things. But what do you think that she says is her most humiliating experience ever? You`re not going to believe this. She says it happened to her in jail, coming up. You bet our panel is going to tear into that.
ANDERSON: Yeah, A.J. when I heard her tell Larry King about it, I was stunned. OK. So what`s in the cards for Paris. Will she do more embarrassing things? Will she bounce back better than ever? We`ll put our panel to the test, Paris predictions, straight ahead, as our live SHOWBIZ TONIGHT special report, "Paris Speaks", continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Welcome back to our live SHOWBIZ TONIGHT special report, "Paris Speaks". I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood.
Our live coverage of Paris Hilton`s exclusive interview with CNN`s Larry King tonight, continues, right now. We are joined again, by our fired up coast-to-coast panel.
OK, you know, Paris talked a lot tonight about her experience of going to jail, being in jail. And one of the things she was asked about was being strip-searched. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KING: Were you strip searched? Do they do that in jail?
HILTON: Yeah.
KING: I know they do it in prison.
HILTON: Yes, they do. They do it in any jail.
KING: What was that like?
HILTON: The most humiliating experience of my life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: OK, you know, a lot of people are going to say she has done a lot of things more humiliating than that. I`m talking about the sex tape, which I`m told is still on sale, and that she`s profiting from. What about her spewing racial slurs while out partying? It was despicable. And there`s video of that.
Lauren, does it say something about Paris that she doesn`t consider those things more humiliating?
LAKE: Yeah, and it says something about the fact that she didn`t bring these things up and really keep it real, Brooke. This is my problem with this. Don`t get me wrong, no one expects Paris to be at the soup kitchen tomorrow morning doling out meals. However, if you agree to do an interview, I expect you to keep it real, and break things down. If not for your own rehabilitation but for the young girl who`s look up to you, and say I was running around with no panties on, spewing racial slurs, acting like an idiot for money, and I wasn`t living up to my fullest potential. I want her to lay it on the line, and she didn`t do that for me, and that`s really real.
ANDERSON: Really come clean and really take responsibility for your actions.
And, Pat, I know overall you give Paris an A for this interview, but don`t you think she`s done more humiliating, shameful things?
LALAMA: Oh, absolutely. I have said it on your air more times than I care to remember. I`m aghast at what she`s done. I think, you know, this wasn`t -- in her mind she`s not going to walk in there and say this is a confessional and I`ll spew it out there. You have to drag it out of her. You have to make her face Jesus, so to speak, for lack of a better term.
But the point of the matter is, she`s not going to say, oh, by the way, that sex tape -- she`s just not going to do that.
Let me make another important point. You said, Brooke -- or you implied -- perhaps she didn`t find that humiliating. I`m not so sure she did. I watched that sex tape. I had to -- it`s part of my job. I interviewed Rick Solomon, the man she was purported to be having sex with, although he said she liked the camera more than the sex. I think that`s the conditioning of that particular genre of young people. Pamela Anderson got rich and famous by having sex on tape. I don`t think these people think there`s anything wrong with that, and that troubles me.
ANDERSON: Oh, yeah, that is just sad. A sad statement about society.
Mike, "People" magazine got the first print interview with Paris. That hits newsstands on Friday. What else did Paris say about some of the hardest things she`s endured during this whole ordeal?
FLEEMAN: You get a real sense of how surreal this was for her. You know, she talked to us about being curled up in the fetal position, in the cell, and she was having severe anxiety attacks, that it was all a blur to her. You know? And you get the sense of really just how panic-stricken and how awful it really was.
ANDERSON: Well, after that experience Paris now seems to be on a mission, says that she wants to change her life, has changed, is more spiritual. And one of the things that Larry King asked her about was her partying. Is she going to keep it up, or is she going to tone it down? Listen to what she had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILTON: You know, I realize that there`s a lot more important things in life and there`s a lot more things to do. And, frankly, I`m sick of it. I have been going out for a long time now. And, yeah, it`s fun, but it`s not going to be the mainstay of my life anymore.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Gloria, certainly the right thing for Paris to say, but is that realistic, considering how she makes a living? I mean, she gets paid to show up at parties sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars, for crying out loud. Do you buy this?
ALLRED: Well, I expect her to continue to make a public appearances and to continue to be paid very well for those appearances. Some of them will be parties. Some will be benefits for good causes, and I expect quite a bit of that. She indicated breast cancer, multiple sclerosis. She will continue to go to events. And, you know, maybe there will be a period of time where she`s not just, you know, party girl in the nightclubs.
But then, at some point she`ll go back, because there are a lot of young people there. I`m sure she`s going to want to meet other young people. She`s indicated she would like to meet a guy and get married and have a baby one day, a little girl. She has advice for that baby. I do expect her to go back at some point, but I also expect her to do good things. She`s made promises, and she needs to keep them.
ANDERSON: Yeah. And La Du (ph) may not be the best place for her to meet her future husband, but that`s beside the point.
Howard, as the PR guru, if she`s not going to be out there partying, or if she`s going to tone it down, how do you recraft her image? And make sure that she gets the press she needs to make a living it is way she`s accustomed to, frankly?
BRAGMAN: I think she made a mistake. You said she gave the right answer. I think she gave the wrong answer. Paris should be having an evolution, not a revolution, right now. Nobody is going to buy 180 degree shift. We are happy to buy that she`s going to party a little less, and do a little more charity. And I think she set herself up for when she does show up at a bar, when she does show up at a party, she`s going to get criticism.
What you have to do is define what you`re going to do; what charities you want to be involved with. And that`s what I wanted to hear tonight. I wanted to her to announce that I`m starting a halfway house for women. I`m starting a fund to raise money for these things, and that`s what we didn`t hear, and I want to hear more of that vision.
ANDERSON: Well, to that end, another moment tonight was when Paris - - again, in what seemed like a carefully prepared script, wanted to get the message out there that she`s not a bad person. Listen to what she had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILTON: I just feel like I`m any other girl. I don`t know. I have a good heart. I`m a good person. I don`t think of myself as any different than anyone else.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: OK, the thing is a lot of people don`t think that she`s a good person. People think she`s self-centered, that she feels a sense of entitlement. David, is her image so ingrained in people`s minds that it doesn`t matter what she does, what she says, it ain`t going to change?
CAPLAN: I mean, I think, unfortunately, you know, it`s completely ingrained. She is self-centered, she is all those things, actually. But people are really forgiving. And I think people will give her a little bit of leeway, especially in light of her sentence, and they`ll accept her self-centered ways, and be like: All right, but if she does some good deeds, OK, we believe Paris. She is changing.
ANDERSON: Lauren, what do you think about that? Will people accept those self-centered ways?
LAKE: Well, I don`t think they`re going to accept it. I think she`s going have to show some type of changing. Some type of evolving. And like I said, it starts with admitting things. I mean, let`s admit, why can`t she just say, you know what, I`m saying racial slurs. And, you know what, I made a great living making a TV show that catapulted my career with a black girl, and I`m sorry for that, and that was wrong. Maybe I`ll talk to people about race relations, and be more open about that. Come on, Paris. This is your time!
ANDERSON: Yeah, and she needs to show some commitment. I think she needed show more emotion.
Pat, how long do you think people will give her to make a sincere change? It may not be immediate, but do think people will give her a little bit of time?
LALAMA: Well, that cynical monster came out of the left side of my brain, right now. And here`s what I`m about to say. You knew it had to come out. I was being so good tonight.
ANDERSON: I knew it did.
LALAMA: But here`s the thing: I think as long as we pay attention to her bad behavior, she`ll have bad behavior. I think this is what we feed off of. I think when she becomes a good little girl who stays home and has a baby and reinstates the Peace Corps, we aren`t going care anymore, and that`s the sickness of this society.
ANDERSON: That is very sad. We`ll have to leave it there for now. Stay with us. You know, coming up next, what will Paris be doing a day, a week, a year from now, A.J.?
HAMMER: I`m not sure. Maybe having that baby that Pat spoke of, let`s see.
Brooke, do me a favor. Would you tell our panel to stay put. I want to put them on the spot tonight, because I`m going to be looking for some Paris predictions. Will she, in fact, bounce back? This was one of the most important interviews she ever gave in her life. It`s giving her that opportunity. Will she do something outrageous? Will she stop saying, "That`s hot"? Oh, we can only hope.
SHOWBIZ TONIGHT live coverage of Paris Hilton`s very first, post-jail interview back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Welcome back to our live SHOWBIZ TONIGHT special report, "Paris Speaks". So for the past hour, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT has been the only entertainment news show bringing you live, first reaction to Paris Hilton`s stunning first post-jail interview with Larry King.
Our fired up coast-to-coast panel has a lot to say; so many opinions flying around tonight. Before we go, I`m putting you all on the spot. I want some predictions. I`m giving you about 20 seconds each. I`m going to hold you to it.
Lauren Lake, you`re up first.
LAKE: Well, like the Reverend Jesse Jackson says, I`m going to keep hope alive. However, actions speak louder than words. And I hope for Paris Hilton that what she does in the future speaks louder than what she said tonight.
HAMMER: Hope is alive and well.
Howard Bragman, you`re next.
BRAGMAN: A.J., we talked about it before. Paris may not be addicted to drugs or alcohol, but she is addicted to attention and publicity. Walking the straight and narrow is not nearly as much fun as the flash bulb a`poppin`. And she`ll be back to her old life like a moth to a flame.
HAMMER: She`ll be enjoying all the front pages of every newspaper tomorrow.
David Caplan.
CAPLAN: I think Paris Hilton will open up a halfway house with her best friend, Nicole Richie, and there you`ll have the sixth season of "The Simple Life."
(LAUGHTER)
HAMMER: Pat Lalama, go ahead.
LALAMA: Well, what will she be, 28 next year? So, I`m going to say mean ol` Hollywood will consider her over the hill, and the paparazzi will be on to the newest, hottest, youngest, richest, most spoiled wayward blonde.
HAMMER: Really?
LALAMA: Yeah.
HAMMER: You think?
LALAMA: Well, what do I know?
HAMMER: Mike Fleeman, your magazine is going to have Paris on the cover, the first print interview tomorrow. Your prediction for what we`ll be talking about in a year from now, about Paris?
FLEEMAN: I think there`s going to be a big announcement Paris Hilton hair extensions. It will be proceeds going to charity. She`ll call it "Hair That Cares."
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh!
(LAUGHTER)
HAMMER: So she`s going to kind of bring it all together. I think I kind of like it.
FLEEMAN: She`ll be a party girl with a conscience.
HAMMER: Gloria Allred, you have been the voice of reason throughout the night. Please, tell us what you think is going to happen with the lovely young Paris Hilton?
ALLRED: OK, she will not solve the problems in the Middle East. She will not tell us how to get the troops out of Iraq. She will fulfill her promise to have a halfway house for young women, who were formerly inmates. And perhaps to go to fundraisers for breast cancer and for multiple sclerosis. She`ll -- Paris will be burning with a new idea to improve her image.
HAMMER: What a perfect note to end it on.
Gloria Allred, Howard Bragman, Mike Fleeman, Pat Lalama, Lauren Lake, David Caplan, thank you for being a part of our passionate panel tonight. I think we figured out whatever there was to figure out about all of this. That`s it for our special live SHOWBIZ TONIGHT special report, "Paris Speaks". I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
ANDERSON: Thanks so much for watching, everybody. Have a great night. I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood.
This man, Glenn Beck, is coming up next, right after the latest headlines from CNN "Headline News". Take care.
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