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Showbiz Tonight
Paris Hilton`s CNN Interview Gets Low Grades; WWE Steroid Controversy
Aired June 28, 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: A Michael Moore "Sicko" shocker, where he is banned from now. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
BROOKE ANDERSON, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT ANCHOR: And one of the biggest pop groups of all times, back together. I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. TV`s most provocative entertainment news show starts right now.
HAMMER: On SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, inside Paris Hilton`s startling interview with Larry King, straight from Larry himself.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARRY KING, CNN ANCHOR: Think you got a raw deal? Do you?
PARIS HILTON, "THE SIMPLE LIFE": Yes, I do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Tonight, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT reveals the secrets of what happened when the cameras stopped rolling.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KING: I thought through the first five minutes she was rather nervous.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Larry King right here on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. Plus, new details of what happened when Paris got out of jail. And you won`t believe where she is now.
The stunning stories about Paris you haven`t heard.
Wrestling in crisis. Tonight, startling new questions raised by the horrific deaths of wrestler Chris Benoit, his wife and his son. Was steroid use to blame? And will this apparent murder-suicide bring down professional wrestling for good? SHOWBIZ TONIGHT with the unbelievable story behind the disturbing deaths.
Hello, I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
ANDERSON: Hi there everyone. I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. And right now you are going to get the story behind the story of Paris Hilton`s confessions.
HAMMER: That`s right. Tonight SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is bringing you the inside story of Larry King`s exclusive interview with Paris Hilton from Larry himself. It`s the interview that has made headlines around the world. And today Larry and I talked about the things you haven`t heard before, including what was going through his mind as Paris spoke for the first time since getting out of jail.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER (voice-over): It was the interview heard and watched around the world.
HILTON: I just want to let people know what I went through.
HAMMER: Paris Hilton`s sitdown with CNN`s Larry King, her first TV interview since being released from her 23-day jail stint for violating probation, had everyone playing critic, from TV pundit --
LISA BLOOM, COURT TV: I was moved. I thought this showed her as a more complex person, clearly a very kind person.
LAUREN LAKE, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Paris is very boring.
HAMMER: To people on the streets.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Paris Hilton is Paris Hilton. She`s not going to change at all. I don`t think so.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, she doesn`t have to change. She can afford not to.
HAMMER: Now SHOWBIZ TONIGHT gives you the inside story behind the interview everyone`s talking about.
HILTON: I`ve been a little immature in the past, and made some wrong choices.
HAMMER: And watch as I turn the tables on Larry King on his own set, interviewing the interviewer about what he thought about his worldwide exclusive with Paris Hilton. In short, it wasn`t easy.
KING: To be honest with you, A.J., I had to work.
HAMMER: It was a nervous Paris Hilton who strode into CNN`s L.A. office for the big interview.
HILTON: I`m a little nervous.
HAMMER: Larry tells me she wasn`t kidding
KING: I thought for the first five minutes she was rather nervous. Then I thought she calmed down.
HAMMER: Paris used the bulk of the interview to tell the world that her humiliating jail time has forever changed the party going heiress we have known throughout the years.
KING: Think it changed you?
HILTON: Yes, definitely. I have a new outlook on life.
HAMMER: But make no mistake about it, she thinks her 23-day jail term was too harsh.
HILTON: You know, I think the crime did not fit the punishment.
HAMMER: That response didn`t sit well with some critics.
LAKE: We haven`t established that she`s accepted full responsibility for what she did.
HAMMER: Larry King tells me he can see why people weren`t happy with her response.
(on camera): Larry, do you think that she was in denial that people wanted to see her being more contrite?
KING: Absolutely. I think sometimes people can be in denial.
HAMMER (voice-over): But the moment that has people shaking their heads is Paris Hilton`s answer to Larry King`s drug question.
KING: Have you ever been addicted to drugs?
HILTON: No.
KING: Taken drugs?
HILTON: No.
KING: Never taken drugs.
HILTON: No.
HAMMER: Let`s just say her answer has left some critics, well, skeptical.
KEN SUNSHINE, CELEBRITY PUBLICIST: It`s crazy. Does anybody really believe she`s never taken any drugs ever.
HAMMER: In fact, Hilton`s statement is becoming the most eyebrow raising drug denial since --
BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I experimented with marijuana a time or too and I didn`t like it. I didn`t inhale and never tried it again.
KING: I was surprised by her answer on never taking drugs.
HAMMER: Larry tells me even he was taken aback.
KING: Most people are telling me that they think that in the past she probably had a drug probably and saying that she never took drugs, people didn`t believe that.
HAMMER: Still, he`s keeping an open mind.
KING: I`ve learned over 50 years, people aren`t always what their reputation is. So I don`t know that she took drugs. So I can`t say you`re a liar.
HAMMER: Something else from the Paris interview is setting tongues wagging, Larry tells me.
KING: That`s been oddly the most thing mentioned to me today by the most people.
HAMMER: We`re talking Paris and the Bible. She insists she emerged from jail a more spiritual person, telling Larry the Bible brought her comfort in jail.
HILTON: I`ve always had a sense of spirituality but even more so now after being in jail.
KING: Did you read the Bible in jail.
HILTON: Yes.
HAMMER: But then there was the pause.
KING: What`s your favorite bible passage?
HILTON: Hmm, I don`t have a favorite.
HAMMER: I had to ask Larry about it.
(on camera): Were you surprised she got tripped up there.
KING: It came to me that most people who read the Bible have a favorite passage. So it came to me the thought that maybe she didn`t read the Bible. That was a long pause.
HAMMER: Maybe you caught her somewhere. Maybe you caught her
KING: Maybe.
HAMMER (voice-over): Still, Larry is giving Paris a passing mark for her interview performance.
(on camera): How do you think she did overall?
KING: I think she did OK.
HAMMER (voice-over): But one question still baffles the 50-year broadcast veteran, the phenomenon that is Paris Hilton.
KING: I was most puzzled -- and she didn`t have an answer for it -- why do they follow her around? Why were there mobs of people outside CNN yesterday? Why?
HAMMER: So it seems Larry has learned something that`s becoming more and more apparent to all of us. One can`t explain the fame or infamy of Paris Hilton. But it can make for interesting TV.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: Yes, it can. By the way, TMZ.com is reporting that Paris is heading to Hawaii. Not sure if she`s checking into the Hilton Hotel though. You can download Larry King`s entire interview with Paris Hilton on CNN.com/podcast. That much I do know. And you can also get it directly from iTunes. And stay right here with SHOWBIZ TONIGHT for my entire interview with Larry King. What really surprised him, and secrets about what he and Paris talked about during commercial breaks. We`ve got the inside scoop coming up at 30 minutes past the hour.
ANDERSON: So we`ve just heard from Larry on how he thought Paris did. Now it`s time to grade Paris. So we`re taking out the SHOWBIZ TONIGHT report card. With me tonight from Atlanta -- you saw her in the piece just now -- Lauren Lake, defense attorney and TV host, and here in Hollywood, Howard Bragman, founder of 15 Minutes Public Relations.
All right guys, here`s what we`re going to be grading her on, believability, demeanor, if this really is a new Paris, and her overall performance. Now, we do know that one of Paris` biggest challenges was the believability factor. Would people believe what she was saying? And I have to tell you, there was a lot of skepticism when she said she`s no longer a party girl, that she`s never tried drugs, that she`s found god.
Lauren Lake, what do you think? Was she believable to you?
LAKE: Not too much. And it`s unfortunate because she had some good moments in the interview. But on very crucial moments, she slipped. I mean, when he asked her how does she think her ADD affected her when she was in jail? No real answer. Has she ever used drugs? No. What`s your favorite passage of the bible? I don`t really have one.
We weren`t asking her to quote chapter and verse. But at least tell us one little thing.
ANDERSON: Yes, I agree with you. The good moments for Paris were few and far between. Howard, overall, what do you think? Did she come across as believable? I know you don`t think that the strip-search was the most humiliating moment of her life, as she claims.
HOWARD BRAGMAN, 15 MINUTES PR: No, perhaps not. I mean, everybody has seen Paris Hilton naked. I`m gay and I`ve seen Paris Hilton naked. Let`s start there. OK.
ANDERSON: So I`m guessing, Howard, that you wouldn`t grade her very well on believability. What would your grade be?
BRAGMAN: Well, I`m a pretty harsh grader because I train people to do interviews like this for a living, and she felt trained. If the -- if she`s doing a really good job, you don`t want to know she`s trained. And I think it was pretty clear that she had some pat answers. I`m saying a D. I`m being tough here.
ANDERSON: A D. Lauren what about you?
LAKE: I unfortunately gave her a D as well.
ANDERSON: I have to agree with both of you. All right, we`ve got to move on to next on our report card, and that is demeanor. Paris in the interview said that she thought she got a raw deal and that her sentence was unfair. Was her attitude the right one? Was she contrite enough? Lauren, what did you think of her demeanor?
LAKE: Well, I thought her demeanor wasn`t bad. I don`t think she got shoock on the questions. I don`t think she ever felt like, don`t ask me that. You have a lot of nerve. We didn`t get that kind of aloof feeling that sometimes many of us feel like she may have in real life. I think demeanor and appearance -- I`ll add that in -- she was OK.
The dress was nice, sweet, not too sexy, very classy. And she kept her cool. So on that, I think she did a little bit better in demeanor than she did on believability.
ANDERSON: Howard, what`s your take?
BRAGMAN: Not so much. I mean, this is her highest grade from me. I would have liked to see more emotion, more catharsis. She looked like she would have rather been at the dentist getting a root canal to me, but I`m going to give her a C plus and be generous. I just wanted her to feel more.
ANDERSON: Lauren, how about you? How do you grade it?
LAKE: And I was even more generous. I gave her a B.
ANDERSON: All the way up to a B. All right, well now let`s talk about the New Paris. She really tried to convey that she`s a changed person, that she`s misunderstood, that she`s not a dumb blonde, but a hard worker and famous for something, not nothing. Lauren, do you think she was convincing that this really is a new and improved Paris?
LAKE: No. And this is where I got stuck. Number one, I never got her taking full responsibility for what happened. She`s still talking about a raw deal. Who gave her the raw deal? The justice system or your attorney that told you that you could drive. We still haven`t gotten down to the bottom of that.
ANDERSON: She was playing the blame game there.
LAKE: Yes, but who is really to blame here? You are saying your attorney told you you could drive. Where is this attorney and did they really tell her that? Now secondly, not only did she never accept full responsibility, we never got down to the bottom of what really happened to her, in terms of this whole catharsis. What happened in jail?
It`s kind of like god found me and I became spiritual and now I want to work with breast cancer research. And it`s kind of like you had 3 1/2 weeks to think about it. We`re not looking for an overnight sensation, and yet, we are looking for more than contemplation. What is your plan?
ANDERSON: Tell us about that transformation. Very quickly, Howard, what do you grade her here?
BRAGMAN: I`m saying she`s on probation in the court of law and she`s on probation in the court of public opinion. I`m giving her a C. We are just not going to know from one interview. We`re going to known as time passes whether there`s really a new Paris out there.
ANDERSON: Lauren, you`re up.
LAKE: And I`m sorry, afterwards, I felt like I`m giving her a D, and I want her to accept some responsibility. And I want more than just talk. I want her to walk the walk.
ANDERSON: OK, overall performance, we`ve got ten seconds left. Howard, you first.
BRAGMAN: C-minus. A little better than a D, but it didn`t do her a lot of good, but not a lot of damage either.
LAKE: I gave her the exact same thing, a C-minus overall. She sat through the questions. I commend her for that. But she could have gone deeper and let us know who she really is. I still don`t know.
ANDERSON: All right, tough crowd. I can`t say I disagree with anything either of you said. Lauren Lake, defense attorney and TV host, Howard Bragman, from 15 Minutes Public Relations, thank you both.
HAMMER: Now we`d like to get your take. It`s our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day. What do you think, Paris Hilton interview, do you now have more respect for her?
You can vote at CNN.com/SHOWBIZTONIGHT or email us at SHOWBIZTONIGHT@CNN.com. You can also vote on our question of the day by zipping off a cell phone text message to 45688. If you wan to vote yes, write SHOWBIZ yes; if you want to vote no, write SHOWBIZ no. Send it to 45688.
And coming up, a lot more inside secrets of Larry King`s interview with Paris Hilton.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KING: I was surprised on her answer of never taking drugs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: The drug issue just one of the many controversial things that Paris said. Coming up, Larry is here to tell me exactly what was going on when the cameras weren`t rolling.
ANDERSON: Also, wrestling in crisis. Tonight, I`ve got the new questions about the horrific deaths of Wrestler Chris Benoit and his family. Were steroids to blame? And could this bring down professional wrestling? That`s next.
HAMMER: And more Michael Moore controversy. Today, a "Sickco" shocker. I`m going to tell you where he`s now supposedly banned from. That`s coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, TV`s most provocative entertainment news show. I`m Brooke Anderson. Tonight the professional wrestling world is in crisis over the shocking deaths of WWE wrestler Chris Benoit, his wife, and their young, mentally retarded son. This story remains almost hard to believe. Police say Benoit, one of wrestling`s most famous figures, killed his wife and his son over a period of two days, first his wife, then his son, then himself.
Now there`s speculation that roid rage may have had something to do with it and talk that a steroid scandal could bring down the billion dollar world of pro wrestling.
All right, joining me tonight, we`ve got Court TV`s Lisa Bloom, from the Court TV studios in New York. And also with me tonight is former pro- wrestler, Jon Stewart. Now John, this is such a tragic and unbelievable story here. But I want you to give me a sense as to how potentially explosive and dangerous this could be for the world of wrestling.
JON STEWART, FORMER PROFESSIONAL WRESTLER: It`s only going to be explosive and dangerous if the fans care enough about the tragedy that happened that they are going to stop buying the merchandise, going to the live events and buying the pay-per-view at their houses. And I don`t know if that`s going to happen or not.
I mean, The fans are so numb to tragedy in wrestling, much like fans of race car driving in the `40s, `50s and `60s, that I don`t know if this is even going to be a speed bump for the World Wrestling Entertainment. The only thing that is going to stop the industry in its tracks is if the advertisers say, wow, wait a minute. This business is crazy. We are done. We are out. This is not the image we want to present for our brand and for our customers. If that happens, you can see the World Wrestling Entertainment in a lot of trouble.
ANDERSON: Well, right after they were all discovered dead in their home, WWE, World Wrestling Entertainment, issued a statement, and here`s part of it. It reads, "steroids were not and could not be related to the cause of death (asphyxiation). Authorities had no factual to speculate as to Benoit`s state of mind and rightly did not do so."
Now, Lisa, it seems to me that they may have been jumping the gun a little early to say that before toxicology reports were released. Don`t you think?
LISA BLOOM, COURT TV: It`s oftly early. We do not know yet what was in Chris Benoit`s body. We do that know steroids were found in his home. We know that his doctor`s office was raided today to see exactly what was going on with Chris Benoit. Was he prescribed steroids or other kinds of medication that could have caused him to lash out, had roid rage, as it`s called, have this anger, hostility in that could set him off to do something like this. We just don`t know yet.
ANDERSON: Right, well, WWE Chairman Vince Mcmahon appeared on "The Today Show" today and it got very contentious when Meredith Vieira read that statement back to him. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MEREDITH VIEIRA, "THE TODAY SHOW": The quote is steroids were not and could not be related to the cause of death. That`s very specific.
VINCE MCMAHON, WWE OWNER: It`s very specific, but it`s relating to the word rage, because of the steroid rage that everyone was using. Obviously this is not an act of rage. It`s an act of deliberation. When you do something like this over three days, it`s not an act of rage, be it steroid rage or roid rage, whatever it`s called, or any other rage.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: OK, Jon, you were a pro wrestler. You know the sport inside out. It`s one of the most popular shows on television. Should Vince Mcmahon -- should someone take a little more responsibility here.
STEWART: Absolutely, I have a degree in counseling psychology. Killing your wife, smothering your child is not an act of rage. I mean, that is such a cop out for a man that has really a lot of respect for the way he`s handled the wolf by the ears for the past 20 years. And, you know, roid rage, there are levels of roid rage. There are roid rages that last for four or five days.
That doesn`t actually mean that the actual terror and anger could last 30 seconds. But that paranoia, the delusion, the conspiratorial mentality could go on for three or four days. I`ve been there. I`ve witnessed it and felt it myself. So that is complete malarkey that Vince is saying that this is not rage. The guy killed two people and himself. There was rage involved.
ANDERSON: You know, remarkably in the past ten years, about 60 wrestlers have died, all under the age of 45, for various reasons, including drug overdoses. That can`t be normal. Lisa, what do you think? Are we on the tip of an iceberg here?
BLOOM: I think we very well may be. There shouldn`t just be an investigation into Chris Benoit and his doctor`s office. This should go to the WWE itself. Let`s find out exactly what`s going on. These people do not look like normal human beings and there is an obvious reason, Steroids.
We all know how dangerous and damaging steroids are. This may be a horrific example of that that`s really an eye opener. Let`s find out what`s going on behind the scenes. Yes, there is drug testing. But is there sort of a casual closed eye approach to what we all suspect is probably going on. I think this could have repercussions at the highest levels of the WWE.
ANDERSON: And for somebody to be so very troubled, it`s just heart breaking. This is such a sad tragedy. Jon Stewart, Lisa Bloom, thank you both.
HAMMER: You know, so many people think Paris Hilton flopped during her exclusive, explosive interview with Larry King.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KING: I think she did okay. Most people are telling me that they think that in the past she probably had a drug problem.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: So many controversial moments, but what did Larry think of what she said? He`s here to tell us, coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: OK, so Michael Moore`s new movie, "Sicko," where he rips into the health care business, is creating all kinds of controversy. Well, one of the most important places of business may be sick of Michael Moore. Tonight, I can tell you that Moore says the "New York Stock Exchange" banned him today. He was scheduled to do a television interview there.
Moore`s people say they weren`t given a reason, just that he was not allowed in the building. Now while I think Michael Moore makes some very good points in his film, when I sat down with him, things got really heated when I challenged him on why he didn`t include anybody from the health insurance companies in the movie.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: You didn`t have anyone from the health insurance companies to explain.
MICHAEL MOORE, "SICKO": But everybody knows their story. They said the same thing about "Fahrenheit 911." Why didn`t you show all the crimes of Saddam Hussein. Well, I think everybody knows that, because the media has done a pretty good job telling us all the things Saddam Hussein did.
Now I`m going to show you why I don`t think he`s a threat to us and we shouldn`t be in this war. That`s my job. That`s the way I do it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: He is very passionate about what he believes. And by the way, the New York Stock Exchange had no comment.
HAMMER: There has been so much fired up reaction to Paris Hilton`s shocking, exclusive interview with Larry King.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KING: I was surprised by her answer on never taking drugs.
If someone has done something wrong that a lot of people do -- a lot of people have taken drugs in America -- admit it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: We are taking you behind the scenes. I`ve got Larry right here. You`re not going to believe what he was surprised about when he asked Paris about everything from drug use to reading the bible. And I want to know what went on when the cameras stopped rolling. I`m going one on one with Larry King coming up next.
ANDERSON: A.J., I bet Tony Danza, this guy, has a lot to say about this. He raised kids right here in Los Angeles. Plus, he`s got a very interesting connection to David Hasselhoff. You know, the Hoff has been going through a very nasty custody battle. Tone Tony Danza is right here. You don`t want to miss that. And that is straight ahead.
And one of the biggest pop bands of all time -- listen to this -- getting back together. I`m really excited for this. Their songs have really been spicing up my day, so to speak. So, if you can`t figure it out from that hint, don`t worry, I`m going to let you know coming up. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT for a Thursday night headed straight back. Stay with us.
(NEWS BREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARRY KING, CNN ANCHOR, "LARRY KING LIVE": I think she did OK. Most people are telling me that they think that in the past she probably had a drug problem.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: The Paris Hilton interview. Larry speaks. I sat down with Larry King to get his impressions of his interview with Paris Hilton. Did he buy everything she said about God, drugs, and changing her ways?
Plus, Larry tells me what really surprised him. And what happened when the cameras stopped rolling? Tonight, Larry King`s inside story of the Paris interview.
Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. It`s 30 minutes past the hour. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
ANDERSON: I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. You are watching TV`s most provocative entertainment news show.
A.J., I`m not sure what I thought was more interesting. Watching Larry King interview Paris Hilton about her 23 days behind bars, or hearing what Larry told you about what really happened with Paris behind the scenes and during those commercial breaks.
HAMMER: I`ve got to say, Brooke, my interview with Larry King was truly fascinating. It is one thing to see Larry do the interview with Paris, truly another to hear his real thoughts on the whole thing. Larry and I spoke about everything, including his very first impression of Paris.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: So we saw her get out of the elevator. You came to greet her. We heard that she told you she was nervous at the time.
KING: First thing she said.
HAMMER: What was your impression of her, your first?
KING: I guess I understood it, with all the attention. She`s had all this attention all this time. But now there`s been never greater attention paid on her than the last three days. Getting out of prison, getting out of jail, rather, and coming to do this show. I wasn`t surprised at all.
Then, I tried to ease her. I just said well, if you`re nervous, then I`m nervous. And if you make me nervous, then you`ll be nervous, then we`ll all be nervous and it will be a nervous show. And she kind of laughed a little. And I thought for the first five minutes she was rather nervous, and then I thought she calmed down fine.
HAMMER: She had a lot on her plate as you said, and a lot to accomplish in the course of her time with you. How do you think she did overall?
KING: I think she did OK. Most people are telling me that they think that in the past she probably had a drug problem, and she`s saying she never took drugs, people didn`t believe that. This is what people have really studied this, have told me, that they didn`t buy that.
HAMMER: She does have a reputation as a worldwide party girl.
KING: She said she goes to parties, but she doesn`t do drugs. Now, I`ve learned over 50 years, people aren`t always what their reputation is. So I don`t know that she took drugs, so I can`t say, you`re a liar.
HAMMER: But DUI, as we know, is what started her on the road that eventually got her into jail.
KING: Actually, she said it was one drink.
HAMMER: She had one drink. You did ask her about that drink. I want to take a look at that particular sound byte.
KING: Sure.
HAMMER: Let`s watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KING: Have you ever been addicted to drugs?
PARIS HILTON: No.
KING: Taken drugs?
HILTON: No.
KING: Never taken drugs? Do you have a drinking problem?
HILTON: No, not at all.
KING: You must have had -- you were just this one drink, this one time?
HILTON: I`m just 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)
KING: I am told by people that based on body weight, one drink can cause you to get an .8 -- I`m not an expert on that -- but that it`s possible. Why would she have been subjected to a test if you only had one drink? In other words, was she driving abnormally? Or I think the lights were out on the car?
HAMMER: She definitely was in violation somewhere. So I guess it was a pretty standard thing. But you did go back at her when she generally denied the fact that she is a drinking woman. It struck me that you were surprised by her answer.
KING: Oh, I was surprised by her answer on never taking drugs. If now -- this is a supposition. If someone has done something, wrong, that a lot of people do, a lot of people have taken drugs in America. Admit it. You always look better than in denial. Now, if you didn`t, you didn`t. But if you did, and you deny it, it never looks good.
HAMMER: Contrition was something that a lot of people were looking for last night. And you asked a lot of burning questions, including whether or not she thought she got a raw deal. Let`s watch that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KING: You think you got a raw deal? Do you?
HILTON: Yeah, 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: Now, she said the crime didn`t fit the punishment. Larry, do you think that she was in denial, that people wanted to see her being more contrite?
KING: Absolutely. And the poll we took, 63 percent of the people thought she got a fair shot, in the days she did in the jail. I think sometimes people can be in denial. You know, and it`s possible. I can`t go into her head. But she may have been. She may have been over coached, you know, a lot of people were very concerned about her handling this well, and sometimes you can over coach someone.
HAMMER: Did you get the sense that was the case? Because, obviously, people were preparing her for certain things. And to me, it was quite evident when you asked her a question that she hadn`t been prepped on.
KING: The Bible.
HAMMER: Particularly, the Bible. In fact, in light of the fact that she said she found religion when she knew that she was headed for jail and she all of a sudden this photograph carrying around the Bible, and you asked her about her time spent with the B bible. Let`s watch that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KING: What`s your favorite Bible passage?
HILTON: Um, hmm. I don`t have a favorite.
KING: Do you read it every day?
HILTON: In jail, I read it a lot.
KING: Going to go to mass?
HILTON: Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: So were you surprised she got tripped up there? Because there was a great moment of silence that will go down in the infamy of Paris Hilton.
KING: That`s been oddly the most thing -- the most thing mentioned to me today, by the most people was how did you come up with the passage question? Now, I am not a biblical person. My wife is a devout Mormon. I am not a believer. I respect people who do. But it came to me that most people -- most people who read the Bible, have a favorite passage. So it came to me the thought that maybe she didn`t read the Bible. That was a long pause.
HAMMER: Maybe you caught her somewhere. Maybe you caught her.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: All right. Larry did really give me the inside story of that whole interview. And there is more to come. Coming up, Larry reveals to me what he was really surprised by. And what happened when the cameras stopped rolling.
ANDERSON: That was great, A.J., can`t wait for more.
Plus, I love this guy, Tony Danza is here; he`s stepping into David Hasselhoff`s shoes. But why? We will let you know the connection. Tony Danza, ahead in the interview you`ll see only right here on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
HAMMER: Everybody loves Tony.
And get ready for that Spice Girls song to be stuck in your head again. I really, really want to say that it`s a joke, but the Spice Girls are coming back. I`m feeling sporty already. We are going to tell you how they are getting ready to spice it up again. That is still ahead on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, TV`s most provocative entertainment news show. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
Tonight, Larry King opens up to me about what really went on behind the scenes of his exclusive sit down with Paris Hilton.
Now, before we had the break you heard Larry tell me that he thought Paris did an OK job during the interview. But, of course, I wanted to know more, like what was going on when the cameras turned off? And what did they talk about during those commercial breaks?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KING: We talked about how she was doing; how she felt about how she was doing. We talked about her grandfather. How he was. I liked him. I met him, as I said, I met her at his house sometime back. I talked to her about her parents. I know her parents. Her parents have been on our show.
HAMMER: Did she ask you at all, Larry, how do you think this is going?
KING: Nope.
HAMMER: Did she bring notes with her about the different types of answers she should give you?
KING: No, the only notes she had was -- and we did two references to it, which I thought were nice moments -- where she kept a lot of notes in prison. We even showed the notes. And she read two extensive notes; one about herself; one about other prisoners in jail. I keep saying prison and jail. I would say it was conventional chit-chat.
To be honest with you, A.J., I had to work last night. Tonight, we had Collin Powell on. And we talked about Iraq and we talked about all these kind of involved things and he a very exploratory guest, and he really got into himself and his own feelings, and his wife. But they are more seasoned at this. These are people who have been through this all their lives. This is a woman who hasn`t.
I was most puzzled -- and she didn`t have an answer for it. Why do they follow her around? Why were there mobs of people outside CNN yesterday? Why?
HAMMER: She`s got to know. She`s got to have some insight into that.
KING: They don`t call up these people, do they? Do they call up and say, I`m going to this restaurant?
HAMMER: A lot of people do. Paris Hilton doesn`t need to do that.
KING: Do people do that?
HAMMER: Absolutely.
KING: Well, you`re the entertainment man.
HAMMER: I`m telling you right now, you talk to any seasoned publicist and --
KING: They will call up and say I`m going to Spago`s tonight?
HAMMER: They do.
Last question, when the cameras stopped rolling, what happened?
KING: She jumped up. We took pictures together. The whole crew came over. The people who were with her were very happy with how she did. Our crew came over, they were talking about the book, "The Secret." It`s a very big book selling now. She`s very interested in that. Someone in our crew was very interested in that as well, to talk about it. But it was a very lively, upbeat. And then I had to do a couple quick interviews and then run for the airport and fly here.
HAMMER: So her people were happy, was Paris Hilton happy? She had a lot to accomplish. You gave her an international platform. A lot of people want to know, if you think that she accomplished what she needed to do?
KING: I think she was happy. She almost cried a couple times. I think she`s bearing some contrition. I would say she was happy. Another thing I was surprised to see that she got thousands of letters, and not one critical. That also surprised me. I would have thought --
HAMMER: So she told you.
KING: So she told me. I would have thought somebody would have written down, you know, you were. Why would you drive impaired? Another thing interesting to me, she said she won`t drive again. And that she will be driven around. Someone in that position should be driven around all the time.
HAMMER: No question about it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: So, you can have it for your very own. You can download Larry King`s entire interview with Paris Hilton by going to CNN.com/larrykinglive. You can get the podcast on iTunes, as well.
It really was fascinating to sit down with Larry, Brooke, and get his take on it. Like he said, he thinks she did OK, and I think he shares the sentiment that she probably could have done better.
ANDERSON: Yeah. He said he really had to work. Did he seem pleased with the interview overall?
HAMMER: He did seem pleased with the interview. And wasn`t trying to trip her up with the Bible question, by the way. It`s just something that popped in his head. If you watch Larry before, you know that`s how he rolls.
ANDERSON: That`s right. Yeah, he was just curious.
OK. We`ve been asking you to vote on our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day. The Paris Hilton interview, do you now have more respect for her? Let`s take a look at the votes so far. Only 7 percent say yes, only 7. And 93 percent say no. We have been flooded for e-mails already on this topic. Here are a few of them.
Larry from Florida writes: "She skirted around almost every question Larry asked her and did nothing but lie."
Marsha from Kentucky thinks: "I squirmed in my seat when Larry King asked Paris what her favorite verse from the Bible was and she didn`t know!"
Nancy from North Dakota writes: "No drugs, never been drunk, give me a break. Paris, do you think we`re stupid?"
Keep voting. Cnn.com/showbiztonight. Write to us at showbiztonight@cnn.com. We will read more of your thoughts tomorrow.
Don`t forget to stay on top of the latest and most provocative entertainment news stories. You can do that by signing up for the SHOWBIZ TONIGHT newsletter. All you have to do is go to cnn.com/showbiztonight. It`s very easy, just click on newsletter, on the left-hand side of the page. We will e-mail that to you every single day.
HAMMER: Now let`s move on to a guy who gets a lot of respect, for good reason, actor and former TV host Tony Danza. He`s getting ready to take over for David Hasselhoff in Vegas in "The Producers" as Max Bialystock. And he will be hosting the biggest Fourth of July fireworks display in Washington, D.C., on PBS.
Tony Danza, joining me in New York.
TONY DANZA, ACTOR: Hi, A.J. What`s happening?
HAMMER: Always good to see you. It`s really interesting to me.
TONY DANZA, ACTOR: I just got out of rehearsal. I just wanted you to know. I would have had a little --
HAMMER: I was going to say, didn`t have a wardrobe change opportunity.
(CROSS TALK)
It`s interesting to me, with all the nuttiness going around Paris Hilton, she was on your show --
DANZA: Paris Hilton?
Wait, wait, wait, first of all.
HAMMER: Yeah?
DANZA: First of all, David Hasselhoff played the gay director. He didn`t play Max Bialystock. Couldn`t do the part. That`s number one. He played the gay director.
Second of all, it`s not a fireworks display. It`s a huge concert on the Capital Lawn; 500,000 people come out. It`s the biggest Fourth of July celebration in the country. It`s the 27th year.
It`s on PBS and on Armed Forces Network. It`s all over the world. It`s not just the fireworks.
HAMMER: Yeah, well, Fourth of July always reminds us that sometimes we need to think about the patriotism in this country. And it`s coming --
DANZA: It`s more than that. It`s more than that, it`s the country`s birthday. And it should be something where we forget about all the things that divide us, and the one thing that brings us together, that we are all Americans.
HAMMER: It`s going to be a festive day, I`m sure --
(CROSS TALK)
HAMMER: -- and with you hosting.
DANZA: Big opening number, too. Yes, it`s one of those songs, big thing.
HAMMER: We got him to sing, ladies and gentlemen, that`s pretty good.
All right, on your TV talk show, back in the day, and it`s -- you had Paris on three times. But you also have known her since she was a kid.
DANZA: I know the family. And I think she`s a -- look, this is a kid who is probably should have went to school and got a little bit more education. I mean, I think they are giving her an hour on TV is probably putting a lot of pressure on just about anybody. But it looked like she, you know, I think Larry King did a pretty good job stretching it out, as it were.
HAMMER: Do you get all the craziness that surrounds her, though? You are a guy who has been in the spotlight for a long time, but because of your talent you`ve had an amazing career based on your talent.
DANZA: I think it`s a tough spot to be in. I can`t imagine what it must be like to have all those people on you all the time. You certainly see, she asks for it, but it still must be a tough thing once you have it. And that`s, you know, by the way, jail is jail. And she did get a tough sentence. There`s no doubt about it. And it`s because she`s a celebrity.
A lot of people think you`re a celebrity, you`re going to get off. I think the opposite is true. You`re a celebrity, they`ve got to make an example of you. Otherwise it happens -- Lee Bacha (ph), what happens to Lee Bacha (ph). But you guys did plenty.
Let`s talk about "Capital Fourth", because you guys --
(LAUGHTER)
DANZA: I mean, listen, CNN, I think you ought to rename the network, the Paris Hilton network.
HAMMER: Well, that`s why you`re here on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. So we can talk about these things.
DANZA: I love that I`m following Paris.
HAMMER: So, a question for you though, as a guy who has raised three kids of varying ages, while you`ve been under the spotlight. You know, in the case of people like Paris and Lindsay and Britney, a lot of people have said it comes down to the parenting. How is it that you have managed to get it done and keep them grounded?
DANZA: It certainly comes down to the parenting, but it also comes down to our society, our culture. Our culture is interested in these people. They don`t do anything. They just are. I mean, you know, I got a little theory. I think entertainment, in general, has taken a turn. It`s not so much about entertainment anymore. It`s more about making us feel better about ourselves when we watch something.
HAMMER: Feeling better about ourselves when we see stars falling?
DANZA: Not only that, but when Simon Cowell berates someone on "American Idol" or you watch Jerry Springer, or some of those shows. Or you see somebody throw salt in the pot, and they applaud. You can do that at home. It`s just -- we`ve taken -- I don`t know, its not so much you want to see virtuosity anymore. You want to see this kind of stuff, this lurid, sort of -- you know, I don`t know, titillating sort of stuff as opposed to seeing these great performances, or somebody who is out there trying to do something.
HAMMER: And it makes it particularly tough for you. We saw what happened, we mentioned David Hasselhoff was in "The Producers" and you are stepping in the Max Bialystock role.
DANZA: Yes, Max, a much different role.
HAMMER: Max is a different role. But when we saw the scrutiny that he`s had to endure, when the tape of him came out, of him drunk --
DANZA: That`s another thing --
HAMMER: And falling down on the floor, but it`s very difficult to keep your private life private.
DANZA: Wait a minute. That used to be -- people wouldn`t even want to know that. There was a time we didn`t want to know that stuff. Now we can`t wait and now it`s, you know, the Tom Friedman wrote a column the other day, that we are all going to have to get "our hows" together, H-O-W-S, that`s hows, how we do things? Because everybody`s got a cell phone, everybody can be a movie maker, everybody can document anything.
HAMMER: You have to watch your step.
Tony, I appreciate you coming in.
DANZA: So, listen, I`m going to be in Vegas August 13th.
HAMMER: You`re going to be in Vegas, August 13. Let me get this plug in. You also can catch Tony`s new special "A Capital Fourth" next Wednesday.
DANZA: At 8 o`clock on PBS, all over the country. Come see the show.
ANDERSON: All right. Looking forward to that.
I find this hard to believe, but it has been more than 10 years since the Spice Girls broke onto the scene with their hip song, "Wannabe". What got them back together after all these years? Scary, Baby, Ginger, Sporty and Posh, together again. I`m going to tell you why, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. I`m Brooke Anderson.
It`s hard to believe, but it has been more than 10 years since this song first burned its way into our eardrums.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SPICE GIRLS SINGING
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: You`ve gotta love that. Now, after all these years, what the Spice Girls really, really want is to go on tour again. Their record label is releasing a Spice Girls Greatest Hits album in November, although I can`t imagine what will be on there besides that "Wannabe" song.
And Scary, Baby, Ginger, Sporty and Posh Spice gathered in London to announce they`re doing a reunion tour to go along with it.
They`re going to play eleven concerts around the world, in December and January. The idea for a reunion has come up before, and Sporty Spice really, really didn`t wanna do it. But she says now it feels right.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SPORTY SPICE, SPICE GIRLS: A girl`s allowed to change her mind. I say first of all. And also this is something we have only seriously started discussing this year, really. And yeah, you know, I think all of us have had our fears and doubts but we feel that the time is right. And we were having fun to be together again for a little while.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: The first show of the reunion tour is December 7th here in Los Angeles.
HAMMER: Well, I know Paris Hilton is out of jail, but she`s not out of the woods. She`s on probation until March 2009, but she can shorten that by a year doing community service, which possibly could include a public service announcement. And "Jimmy Kimmel Live" just couldn`t resist imagining what a Paris PSA might look like.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
Hi, I`m Paris Hilton. Did you know that childhood obesity is a really big problem in the U.S. today? Well, I think we should try to fix it because I don`t like fat kids.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Paris does care, doesn`t she? Very good.
ANDERSON: All right. Yesterday we asked you to vote on our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day. It was this -- Paris Hilton out of jail: Did you think she learned her lesson? Just 15 percent of you say yes, but 85 percent of you say no. Here are some of the e-mails we received.
Patricia from Arizona writes, "She learned that she can get away with anything if she cries long enough."
Joyce from Florida says: "After that cat walk out of jail, it shows that you can`t teach and old new tricks."
HAMMER: Let`s find out what`s coming up on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
Tomorrow, secrets of the Hilton family fortune. How did the Hilton`s amass their billions of dollars? It`s the story you haven`t heard. Including how Paris almost lost her inheritance to the Catholic Church. That`s tomorrow on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
That is it for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. Thanks for watching. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
ANDERSON: I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. "Glenn Beck" coming up next right after the latest headlines from CNN "Headline News." Take care.
END
