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Showbiz Tonight
Special Report: `Party Girl Meltdown` Covers Latest Antics Of Lindsay, Britney & Paris
Aired June 29, 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: Inside the secrets of the Hilton family fortune. I`m A.J. Hammer New York.
BROOKE ANDERSON, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT ANCHOR: And a supermodel gets tough on super skinny models. I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. TV`s most provocative entertainment news show starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: On SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, truth or consequences for Paris Hilton! Tonight, major fallout from the Paris Hilton interview with Larry King. From her being a changed person, to her bible reading, to her lifestyle.
LARRY KING, CNN ANCHOR: Have you ever been addicted to drugs?
PARIS HILTON, "THE SIMPLE LIFE": No.
KING: Taken drugs?
HILTON: No.
HAMMER: Did Paris tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth? Tonight, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT calls in the Paris truth squad!
Tonight, Lindsay Lohan in crisis. Stunning new information about what may have been in Lindsay`s system when she crashed her Mercedes into a curb. Was there more than alcohol involved? And why is Britney Spears at war with her mother? Tonight, a SHOWBIZ TONIGHT special report, the meltdown of the party girls.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Friday night is on. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
ANDERSON: I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. And tonight, we can tell you that Britney Spears seems to be at war with her mother. And Lindsay Lohan may be in bigger trouble than ever. A SHOWBIZ special report, party girl meltdown, is coming up.
HAMMER: That`s right Brooke. But first tonight, we are calling in the SHOWBIZ TONIGHT truth squad on Paris Hilton. Now, we have been doing some digging, and Paris might not dig at all what we are about to tell you. Because Paris` claims in her exclusive tell-all interview with CNN`s Larry King may have some giant holes in it, holes big enough to drive a truck through!
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HILTON: I have a new outlook in life.
HAMMER: Paris Hilton began step one of her image makeover on CNN`s "LARRY KING LIVE," her first TV interview since being released from jail. When asked about using drugs, Paris left no wiggle room and gave a flat out answer.
KING: Have you every been addicted to drugs?
HILTON: No.
KING: Taken drugs?
HILTON: No.
KING: Never taken drugs?
HILTON: No.
HAMMER: But SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you, her denial is rising eyebrows.
LAUREN LAKE, ATTORNEY: Hmm, really? Are we really going to believe that?
HAMMER: Some are saying Hilton`s recollection of past drug use is a little hazy. TheSmokingGun.com has posted some eye popping clips it acquired from an online collection of Paris Hilton`s home videos.
HILTON: I`m smoking pot.
HAMMER: Of course, it could be that Paris likes to grind up kitchen ware and smoke it. After all, pottery can be cool. But, as we also know, pot is a common term for marijuana.
HILTON: Smoke some (EXPLETIVE DELETED) herb.
HAMMER: And so is herb, although, of course, the voice in this video could have a thing for parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme. Nonetheless, we also see her smoking a suspicious looking substance from a plastic bag while visiting the happiest place on earth. No, not Disney Land, Amsterdam.
We also see Paris talk freely and almost affectionately about qualudes (ph) and mushrooms. And we`re assuming she doesn`t mean shiitakes. Again, Paris, what was it you told Larry King?
KING: Have you ever been addicted to drugs?
HILTON: No.
KING: Taken drugs?
HILTON: No.
KING: Never taken drugs?
HILTON: No.
RACHEL SYME, "RADAR MAGAZINE": When I first saw her say that I was like, really, Paris?
HAMMER: "Radar Magazine`s" Rachel Syme tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT that from the first time she heard it, she found Hilton`s denial a bit puzzling.
SYME: She`s trying to change her image. She said jail has really changed her. It made her a different person. And I think that for her this new image doesn`t include somebody who has done drugs in the past.
HAMMER: Rachel wasn`t alone. Others were skeptical too, including Ken Sunshine, one of the most powerful and influential publicists in Hollywood.
KEN SUNSHINE, PUBLICIST: It is crazy. Does anybody really believe she`s never taken any drugs ever?
KING: I was surprised by her answer on never taking drugs.
HAMMER: Even Larry King himself told me he found it strange.
KING: Most people are telling me that they think that in past she probably had a drug problem. And saying she never took drugs, people didn`t believe that.
HILTON: And I`m smoking pot.
HAMMER: But now that the Smoking Gun has taken issue with Hilton`s credibility, it seems Paris is in danger of taking a place in history alongside America`s funniest drug denials. There is this classic by Bill Clinton about marijuana.
BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I didn`t inhale and never tried it again.
HAMMER: People around in the 1980`s remember former D.C. Mayor Marion Barry`s denials that he smoked crack.
MARION BARRY, FORMER D.C. MAYOR: At no time did I see any drugs, use any drugs, have any knowledge of any drugs.
HAMMER: Unfortunately for him, an FBI tape proved otherwise. Now that Paris Hilton has joined that illustrious club, she`s learning a painful lesson in image rehab. Larry King told me that Paris could do well to remember a simple fact about the American people.
KING: 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. If you didn`t, you didn`t. But if you did, and you deny it, it never looks good.
HILTON: Being in the spotlight, I have a platform where I can raise awareness for so many great causes.
HAMMER: And if Paris is serious about becoming a better person, "Radar`s" Rachel Syme tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT Paris needs to start by coming clean.
SYME: I think that she can`t take that step into being the new Paris Hilton without admitting to being the old Paris Hilton.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: Now, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT tried repeatedly to get a response to the Paris videos from her publicist. He did not respond to us by show time. So, is Paris Hilton in denial, or did she just forget that she`s the chief executive officer of the party girls association? It`s time for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT to get to the bottom of all things Paris in the SHOWBIZ Truth Squad, Paris edition!
Joining us from Hollywood tonight, Howard Bragman, founder of 15 Minutes Public Relations, and in New York, Julia Allison, editor-at-large for "Star Magazine." Howard, Julia, I welcome you both to the totally festive weekend. We, of course, can not say for sure that in the video we saw Paris is actually doing drugs. But, Howard, it does seem to me that this video does add further doubt to the minds of any disbelievers who had a hard time swallowing Paris` flat out claim with Larry King that she has never, ever done drugs.
HOWARD BRAGMAN, 15 MINUTES PUBLIC RELATIONS: Well, she could have gone to Amsterdam for the canal boat rides. There is certainly that possibility. But, you know, we live in a society where it is better to acknowledge it. When you have Barack Obama, a presidential candidate, saying he did drugs, it just takes it off the table. You can`t come back later and say, gotcha. You said you didn`t do drugs and now we found out you did. He`s already admitted it.
And that was a big PR mistake because we`re talking about it now. If she had said, sure, I`m a 26-year-old girl. I smoked pot a few times like everybody else I know, it would have gone away. And now it is looming over her head and hurting her credibility.
HAMMER: But Paris has so much more at stake than Barack Obama. Maybe not. Allison, what do you think? Do you agree Paris` claim is a little hard to believe?
JULIA ALLISON, EDITOR AT LARGE, "STAR MAGAZINE": Of course. I don`t think there is anyone in America who didn`t roll their eyes when she said no, never, like that. No, of course she`s lying. But, like, who cares ultimately? I mean, she obviously did drugs. Most people who -- most people who do drugs don`t necessarily tape themselves. And she made the mistake of doing that. But I think that going on Larry King -- and maybe she panicked.
I think she -- of course, she`s going to answer no, because that`s what all good little girls do. But she should have just come out and said it, you know? I made mistakes, I`ve made tons of mistakes in my life. Some of them include sex tapes. Others include drugs.
HAMMER: And I`m going to protect you here by saying she taped herself doing something that made it look like maybe that`s what she was doing. Let`s be very clear about that.
ALLISON: But, of course, she said I`m smoking pot.
HAMMER: Well, she said it. Let me get your help in getting to the bottom of another truth or consequence with Paris here, and her claim that she`s found god, that she`s now really into the Bible, that she spent all this time in jail reading the Bible and the holy book. Let us take a look at what Larry King asked her about the bible.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KING: what is your favorite Bible passage?
HILTON: Um, I don`t have a favorite.
KING: 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: The pause that will go down in infamy. Now, when I spoke with Larry King after he spoke with Paris, he told me that of all the things she said that night, the Bible brain freeze, the thing that most people asked him about. Howard, are you at all buying her claim that she suddenly found God and the Bible?
BRAGMAN: You know, I hate to doubt anyone`s personal relationship with their God, lest a peace of lightning comes down and strikes me. And I have been at the house where the Hiltons have talked about going to church. But whether she does or not, it didn`t feel credible. That`s the whole point.
And that was sort of the problem with the interview. Paris would give an answer and say, yes, I did the Bible. Tell me about it. Tell me what it did for you and there was no depth to it. That was the real issue here. It is credibility.
HAMMER: I need to get to another truth or consequence about her drinking, as we have heard. She denies ever using drugs. But let`s see what she said about drinking to Larry King.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KING: Do you have a drinking problem?
HILTON: No, not at all.
KING: But you must have had -- you were just this one drink this one time?
HILTON: I`m just not -- I`m not a big drinker. I`m not really into it. I think socially people do sometimes when they go out, but it is not something that I really care about.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Julia, let me go to you on this. I got about 15 seconds.
ALLISON: You know what, that I actually believe. I have heard that Paris is not a huge drinker. She doesn`t -- she`s not an alcoholic. I think she drinks socially. But honestly, her drug is fame. She doesn`t need the alcohol.
HAMMER: Yes, I think she gets a big rush from those flashbulbs going off. Julia Allison, Howard Bragman, thank you both for joining us tonight.
ANDERSON: A.J., Lindsay Lohan is in rehab, as you know. But the trouble keeps pouring in. Tonight, there are shocking reports that it wasn`t just booze that was in her system when she crashed her car.
HAMMER: And Brooke, she`s not the only Hollywood party girl that`s in trouble. The word is now out that Britney Spears may be at war with her mom. I`ve got to wonder if any of these girls can truly get their act together. We`re getting into all of that, coming up at 31 minutes past the hour in a SHOWBIZ special report, party girl meltdown! We`ll also have this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She can command a fee anywhere between 50,000 dollars and a couple hundred thousand dollars just to show up at a nightclub.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: OK, but even without those appearance fees, Paris Hilton has more money than most of us can ever dream of. But where did it all come from? And how did Paris almost lose her inheritance to the Catholic Church? I was stunned to hear some of these juicy details. And we have got them. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT investigates the secrets of the Hilton family fortune straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, TV`s most provocative entertainment news show. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York. Tonight`s video of the day is unreal. I actually can`t watch it because I`m a wuss when it comes to animals. It`s not yet Friday the 13th yet. That comes next month, by the way. But this black cat has had its share of bad luck.
Watch what happens as I`m not watching. First, it survived three weeks stuck in a tree without food and water. No one could coax it down. Then, this happened; after a firefighter poked at the cat, it lost its balance and fell 60 feet to the ground.
Now, the feline is fine. Although, I don`t know how we know that because the cat took off and ran into the woods and people in the neighborhood say they haven`t seen it since.
ANDERSON: They usually land on their feet. OK, tonight, just when she thought she might be out of the woods, Lindsay Lohan may have a whole new troubling problem. There are several reports that say toxicology tests reveal that there was not only alcohol in Lindsay`s system when she crashed her Mercedes last month in Los Angeles, but also cocaine. Soon after the crash, Lindsay checked herself into rehab.
With us tonight from Hollywood, A&E interventionist and founder of Intervention 911.com, Ken Seeley. Ken, we should say right off the bat that we reached out to Lindsay Lohan`s representatives. As of show time we have not heard back from them. But I`ve got to say, Ken, we already heard that Lindsay is planning to extend her rehab beyond 30 days. It would seem to be a no brainer that this is a step in the right direction for her.
KEN SEELEY, A&E INTERVENTIONIST: Yes, no. I don`t think that`s what is happening, Brooke. I think she`s doing that for PR. I think she`s doing it so it looks good when she does go to court. What I`m excited about right now for her is the judge now has all the power in the world. He has her on a class A felony. So he could hold her and make her liable for three years in probation. And that`s what I really believe it is going to take for this one woman to get recovery.
She`s not going to get it by just extending for another 30 days or 90 days or whatever she plans on doing. She`s really going to have to hit a bottom and be accountable to somebody like the courts.
ANDERSON: Yes, long-term commitment. And speaking of court, the toxicology findings will soon be turned over to the district attorney. She`s due in court August 24th on criminal charges. Ken, what do you think? Do actors who have these kind of problems like Lindsay, are they in danger of basically becoming unhirable for some time to come?
SEELEY: Yes, that`s what I see is going to end up happening. Her insurance is going to be skyrocketed, where they won`t be able to hire her because of her behavior and her drug and alcohol abuse. So what I see happening in her future is she isn`t going to be able to get a job because they`re not going to want to pay those premiums anymore, and she`s going to be just left in the back.
And then she`s going to be wondering whatever happened to me. I was doing so well in my career. And there is not anybody that could do anything. But I believe that if the judge -- if we get a strong judge like Paris just had -- if we get a strong judge that steps up to the plate and says, I`m the one that can save this young woman`s life, and do what is necessary to do that, I think we have a good chance in helping her and really getting her the help that she needs to save her life.
ANDERSON: Well, you know, Ken, Lindsay`s birthday coming up, Monday. She turns 21 years old, the legal drinking age. She can go to any bar she wants to. But Ken, you are the expert on addiction. How long does she need to stay away from any place where the primary temptation is alcohol?
SEELEY: Well to stay away from it -- I don`t think she is going to stay away. But I would love to see, like I say, the judge to put her on the formal probation, where she can`t drink or do drugs for three years. And if she does, she has to show up back in court and then they have a program in the state of California called Drug Court, where if she does fail that probation, he`ll put her in Drug Court and if she fails that, they throw her right in jail. They don`t care who she is.
And maybe by her being who she is and the courts doing that, maybe people will see how serious this is and that there is something that the courts can do to help save their lives in hitting this bottom.
ANDERSON: Yes. And maybe these potential issues she may face, maybe those could scare her just enough to sincerely turn her life around. I want to ask you this, her dad, Michael Lohan, just got out of jail, claims he`s changed, cleaned himself up. Considering their past contentious relationship, would it be a good idea for Lindsay to let him back into her life?
SEELEY: You know, I believe that`s what it takes, for somebody like her dad to go into jail or go into treatment or get long-term help. And now I believe that he could have turned around while he was in there for that time. But he`s going to be the one that needs to jump up and step up to the plate and say to the judge, you know, please help me save my daughter`s life. Please do something here that is going to help her put those healthy boundaries in place, where she can`t continue to hit these bottoms.
She`s going to continue. I predicted it in the past that, you know, it is going to be an accident. Somebody is going to get hurt. Now, you know, the next step is jail and then death. And we don`t want to see either one of them happen to her. We want to see her bloom and blossom in her career. But that`s not going to happen if she continues down this road of addiction.
ANDERSON: You`re right. What could potentially happen is very alarming. Ken Seeley, thank you very much for your insight.
SEELEY: Sure.
HAMMER: Now we would like to hear from you for our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day. Lindsay Lohan in crisis, can her career ever recover? You can vote at CNN.com/SHOWBIZTONIGHT. Email us at SHOWBIZTONIGHT@CNN.com.
And you can stay on top of the latest and most provocative entertainment news stories by signing up for the SHOWBIZ TONIGHT newsletter. Go to CNN.com/SHOWBIZTONIGHT, click on newsletter, and we`ll e-mail it to you every single day.
Brooke, we`ve been focusing a lot on the skinny model debate here at SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. I think the message that Hollywood and the fashion industry send to young girls is insane. And now, a supermodel is joining the fight. What that model told me that made so much sense, coming up next.
ANDERSON: Also, a shocking report, A.J., that Britney Spears is telling her mom to stay away from her kids. And Britney isn`t the only young Hollywood star with troubles. Coming up, a SHOWBIZ special report, party girl meltdown. Also this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Does she make enough money to live on or is she really living off the family money?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Just did how Paris Hilton become the heiress of a multi- million dollar fortune? How did she almost lose it to the Catholic Church? SHOWBIZ TONIGHT investigates the secrets of the Hilton family fortune coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Tonight in the SHOWBIZ Weight Watch, when you think of beautiful supermodel Rachel Hunter, Slimfast probably isn`t the first thing that comes to mind. But Rachel is teaming up with the company for a campaign called "Find Your Slim." This is aimed at helping people get real about weight by setting realistic goals that are right for them, not some unattainable image that`s put out by Hollywood and the fashion industry.
Rachel stopped by SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, and we got to talking about the ban on super-skinny models in some international fashion shows. I asked her if she thought it was a good idea, since she used to walk those runways herself.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RACHEL HUNTER, SUPERMODEL: It was a hell of a lot different. I was a size eight. A size eight was a normal -- what girls were wearing at that time. And, you know, in some ways I`m sure a lot of women think that`s kind of skinny in a way too. But I think when it starts encroaching -- like making these girls sick and they`re doing things behind their back and it is a massive problem.
To go to the ultimate of skinny, where you`re your bones are sticking out and stuff, it is not easy. And it`s not easy on society. And society is absolutely screaming out for moderation and to be, you know -- the normalcy to be accepted. And that needs to happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Rachel also told me that it is important to set a good example of healthy living. She says she feels too skinny if she gets below 140 pounds.
ANDERSON: A.J., a really shocking report that Britney Spears is telling her mother to stay away from her kids. And, you know, Britney isn`t the only young Hollywood star with troubles.
HAMMER: That`s right, Brooke. There are reports that Lindsay Lohan was more than bombed on just booze when she crashed her car. And Paris Hilton, Paris isn`t hiding. It kind of looks to me like the party girls of Hollywood are in some kind of major meltdown right now. So we are getting straight into that straight ahead. We`ll also have this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She can command a fee anywhere between 50,000 dollars and couple hundred thousand dollars just to show up at a nightclub.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Even without those appearance fees, Paris Hilton has more money than most of us could ever dream of. But where did it all come from? SHOWBIZ TONIGHT investigates the secrets of the Hilton family fortune coming up. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT for Friday night headed straight back.
(NEWS BREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Does she make enough money to live on, or is she really living off the family money?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Secrets of the Hilton family fortune. How did Paris Hilton become the heiress to all that money? How much are the Hiltons really worth? And how did she almost lose her inheritance to the Catholic Church? Real surprises in the story tonight. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT investigates the secrets of the Hilton family fortune.
Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT for a Friday night. It is 30 minutes past the hour. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
ANDERSON: And I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. This is TV`s most provocative entertainment news show.
Tonight, we`re declaring a "Party Girl Meltdown!" There are so many outrageous things going on with Lindsay, Britney and Paris -- I want to get you up to date. First, Lindsay Lohan. According to several reports, Lindsay was bombed on more than just booze when she crashed her Mercedes in Beverly Hills on Memorial Day weekend. Reports say toxicology reports show that she also had cocaine in her system.
Then we have Britney Spears -- could she be at war with her mother? Cameras caught Britney giving her mom papers from her lawyer, and TMZ says the papers ask Lynne Spears to stay away from Britney`s children, if she is taking -- that is Lynne -- is she is taking medication.
And then there`s Paris Hilton, who has fled far from home after her interview with Larry King. Paris is reportedly hiding out in Hawaii with her family.
HAMMER: Let`s get right to it. I have a fired up coast-to-coast panel ready to lend their insight into our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT special report, "Party Girl Meltdown". In New York tonight, David Caplan from VH-1 celebrity website, 24sizzler.com; and "Star" magazine`s Julia Allison; in Hollywood tonight, Ken Seeley, lead interventionist for A&E`s hit show, "Intervention", and celebrity publicist Howard Bragman, of Fifteen Minutes PR.
Gang, thanks for being here tonight.
Lindsay Lohan`s toxicology report was leaked to TMZ.com and now we know that her problem may not just be alcohol, perhaps cocaine as well. She stayed in rehab for longer than the previously expected 30 days.
Ken, I heard you say earlier on the program that that may be more of a PR move. But do we need that toxicology report, Ken to confirm that party girl Lindsay is and has been in meltdown mode?
KEN SEELEY, A&E "INTERVENTION": No, look at her behavior. All these years that she`s been behaving in the manner that she has, we don`t need anything like that. The addiction is in the behavior. It is not only taking the drink or the drug, it is the behavior. And she`s been exhibiting this behavior for quite a long time to know she`s an addict.
HAMMER: And I should point out, we did reach out to Lindsay`s reps to find out exactly what is going on. As of show time, we haven`t heard back from them.
David Caplan, are they now going to have to go into more major damage control for Lindsay than they have been doing?
DAVID CAPLAN, VH-1: Absolutely. Because with this new report it really confirms what everyone suspected. It confirms sort of less, you know, verifiable tabloid reports. Now they absolutely have to. This is a police document. And she`ll be heading to court in August where it is all going to come out in the open. They already started the PR spin by extending her time, and of course, by scrapping her Las Vegas birthday party.
HAMMER: I want to take a look at a particular picture again. Charles, if we can throw that up, because to me this is the one picture that truly captured the essence of what is going on, the height of Lindsay`s meltdown.
It`s the shot of her passed out, just days after her car accident, just before she checked into rehab. Now, if you add this latest report about the cocaine, Howard Bragman, as the PR guru here, in the short-term and you said she`s un-hirable before, but is her career really in serious trouble now?
HOWARD BRAGMAN, FIFTEEN MINUTES PUBLIC RELATIONS: It is not about her career right now. As Ken mentioned, it is about her life, A.J. The career has to be secondary now.
And if her reps are concerned about her career, they`re looking at the wrong thing. We got to save this kid`s life. This is a young, screwed up girl, and forget her career. She has got to get it together or she`s going to be dead. And it is really that simple.
HAMMER: I hope they`re paying attention to that because a lot of times -- and as a PR man, I`m sure you know this -- that is the focus, isn`t it? They do focus on the career when they should be focusing on saving a life.
JULIA ALLISON, "STAR" MAGAZINE: Well, if I may --
(CROSS TALK)
HAMMER: Go ahead.
ALLISON: I do understand what you`re saying about, yes, you need to save her life. But honestly, if she doesn`t have a career, you think she`s not going to go into drugs even more? I have to say, you know, honestly, I`ve heard reports, very good reports about her upcoming movie in July. And if that is a success, perhaps she can get her life back on track through her career.
HAMMER: But, Julia, let me ask you this. You know, her last couple of movies have not done well.
ALLISON: Right.
HAMMER: So if this movie doesn`t succeed, her career really will be dead in the water, won`t it?
ALLISON: I absolutely agree with you. I think that because of "Georgia Rule" not doing well, because of her co-stars not particularly enjoying working with her, if she doesn`t do well in this next movie, she will be in trouble. But I heard very good buzz about it. So we`ll see.
HAMMER: Let`s move on to Britney spears now. She was just photographed handing her mom, Lynn, some papers. TMZ says these papers with written up by her lawyer, basically telling mom, Lynn, to stay away from her two grandchildren. Lynn, was the architect of Britney`s career. So David Caplan, I`m curious how it ever got this bad?
CAPLAN: Well, the thing is, the things between Lynn and Britney got really bad after Promises, because Britney essentially blamed her mom and her then-manager Larry Rudolph for pushing here into rehab. She doesn`t think she needed rehab. She doesn`t think she had a drinking problem. So, the interesting thing here is by Britney serving her mom with this letter from her lawyer, and the rumors is the reason she doesn`t want Lynn around the kids, is because that Lynn herself may be using prescription drugs, like pain killers and so forth, that was some of the report.
So, it is sort of Britney almost getting back at her mother. I think there say more childish element here we`re not hearing from Britney yet.
HAMMER: But we are seeing some behavior from Britney that we certainly hoped we wouldn`t see just out of rehab. She was in rehab for 30 days and she`s been going to the clubs. Britney is photographed everywhere she goes so it is not like she can go out secretly.
Ken Seeley, as an interventionist, the fact that Britney is out of rehab, going out again, does this behavior scare you about her?
SEELEY: Yeah, you know, what is really happening here, A.J. Is, you know, it is just showing that she`s going further into her addiction and her disease, because by cutting off the people that are trying to stop your disease, by giving her the mother that letter. That`s exactly what is happening. She is going further, further into her disease.
What needs to happen with her is the same thing that happened with Lindsay and same thing that happened with Paris. Let`s get the law involved. It is a delicate situation when it comes to this point. What you have to do is you have -- it is like a chess game. You take one step at a time. And what the mother needs to do now is step up to the plate and say, OK, you want to go that route, well, we`re going go another route. And you have to be delicate because we don`t want to see her in jail. And we definitely don`t want to see her dead.
So we have to watch what we`re doing. She really needs to get a professional involved and make sure that she`s doing the right, appropriate actions, and taking the right appropriate actions. Because if she doesn`t, you know, it could even spiral or turn into a big blowup.
HAMMER: It seems to me also the battle that is apparently going on with mom is just going to disable progress. In fact, let`s take a look one more time at this picture that we have of her mom. She looks like she`s in total shock here.
Howard Bragman, why do you think this is unfolding in a public way? This is something that certainly could have taken place behind closed doors away from any cameras.
BRAGMAN: You notice Paris Hilton (sic) said she was a good mother, she didn`t say she was a good daughter. Let`s start there. But, really, she has no sense of public and private, this girl. She`s been famous since she was a kid. And she just doesn`t have a clue at what parts of her life belong in the pages of the media and on TV and what doesn`t. She`s relatively clueless.
And she`s not the kind of client you sit down and talk to in a rational way and say, Britney this is probably a bad choice because she`s living in whacky land. She just doesn`t get it. And it is really kind of disturbing.
HAMMER: Julia, what concerns you most about Britney, in about 15 seconds here.
ALLISON: Well, honestly, I`m more concerned by her cutting off her mom than I was about her cutting off her hair. She and her mom were incredibly close for many, many years. They wrote books together. I think she`s gone absolutely off the deep end. And if I were her mother, I would just sit her down and say, this is absolutely unacceptable, Britney, no.
HAMMER: Britney, Lindsay, Paris, they`re all with big issues right now. Paris Hilton in hiding after her interview Larry King. She just kind of disappeared. Coming up next, our expert panel is going to weigh in on exactly what Paris needs to do, when she returns from wherever she is. We`ll also have this.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She can command a fee anywhere between $50,000 and a couple $100,000 just to show up at a nightclub.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Even without those appearance fees, Paris Hilton makes more money than most of us could ever dream of. She has a lot of money and where did it all come from? And how did Paris almost lose her inheritance to the Catholic Church? I was stunned to hear some of these juicy details. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT investigates the secrets of the Hilton family fortune, straight ahead.
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ANDERSON: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. TV`s most provocative entertainment news show. I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. Back to our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT special report, "Party Girl Meltdown."
Our fired up coast-to-coast panel is back with me now. All right, so we have spoken about Lindsay and Britney. I want to move now to Paris. The last we have heard is that Paris is now hiding out in Hawaii with her family. She was photographed wearing that black wig and a hat in disguise.
Howard, Paris is out of the public eye now. But given how she`s made such a big to do, she`s going get involved in charity, does she need to get back from vacation pretty darn soon to show that she means business?
BRAGMAN: Actually I think the vacation is kind of a nice time-out. She said she needed a time-out. I`ve said it before. And I think people like her to be out of the public eye for a little while. So this was a good choice.
Now when she does come back, it is about two things, it is about what she needs to do, which is get involved with charity, get involved with more serious causes. And it is also about what she needs not to do, which is be seen with her old friends, be seen partying, be seen at clubs.
I like kind of like this time-out. I`ll let her have a couple of weeks in Hawaii. It is all right.
ANDERSON: I kind of like this time-out from her, too.
BRAGMAN: Let`s go cover it, Brooke. Let`s go.
ANDERSON: That would be nice, wouldn`t it? A trip to Hawaii. Although Paris did do that exclusive interview with Larry King and said professed to be a change woman, become more charitable, before she does all that, does she need to do some damage control first? Because let`s take a look at what she told Larry King about her possible drug use.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARRY KING, CNN ANCHOR, "LARRY KING LIVE": Have you ever been addicted to drugs?
PARIS HILTON: No.
KING: Taken drugs?
HILTON: No.
KING: Never taken drugs?
HILTON: Uh-uh.
KING: Do you have a drinking problem?
HILTON: No, not at all.
KING: But you must have had -- you were just this one drink, this one time?
HILTON: I`m just not -- I`m not a big drinker. I`m not really into it. I think socially people do sometimes when they go out, but it is not something that I really care about.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: OK. There has been a lot of skepticism about this. Larry, himself, told A.J. he didn`t believe her. And there`s also that video posted on the website Thesmoking gun.com, in which she talks about smoking pot.
Ken, what do you make of this?
SEELEY: The number one symptom of the disease of addiction is denial, so by her sitting out there saying that, that`s part of the disease. And, you know, like we said earlier, I don`t believe that she`s an alcoholic. You know, I haven`t seen that behavior before. But the addiction to the paparazzi, and the fame, that`s what I`m seeing.
But it still ends down in that horrible spiral down. So somebody still has to jump in and help save this young woman. It is the same behaviors that, you know, Lindsay is doing, that Britney is doing. If we don`t do something to save these young women, they`re going end up dieing, they`re going to end up in jail, as she already has. Now it is time to take the chance and help save their lives. Do something to help save them.
ANDERSON: Absolutely. People do need to jump in and help.
And Julia, I do want to talk about her credibility for one more second. Is there a potential crises for Paris? In terms of credible, as she tries rebound?
ALLISON: Did Paris have credibility ever? No -- listen, honestly, I think she had an amazing opportunity with this jail stint to come out of it. And if I had been her PR person I would have said, listen, you come right out, you immediately start working with Mothers Against Drunk Driving, you donate all of the proceeds from your interview, fees, to Mothers Against Drunk Driving. Don`t just throw at random charities.
When she was on the Larry King interview, she said I`ll help children, I`ll help multiple sclerosis. I`ll help breast cancer. It seemed like she was just pulling out random charities. Find one that really makes a lot of sense and go with it. I wouldn`t have gone on vacation, no.
ANDERSON: Have some focus, you`re right, with those charitable promises.
ALLISON: Right.
ANDERSON: And David, when Paris gets back from Hawaii, what does she need to do? Does she need to lie low or get to work really fast?
CAPLAN: I really think she needs to get to work right away. She needs to announce the -- something like a Paris Hilton Foundation, announce the charity work. I think if she does that, that`s really her damage control for the lies she said during the Larry King interview. People will forget. You know, people have a short memory. She needs to come back and right away be like, OK, everyone, this is what I`m doing now to help the people I said I would.
ANDERSON: This is the new me.
Ten seconds, Howard. She didn`t knock that interview out of the park. Should she keep her mouth shut for a while?
BRAGMAN: Yeah, we talked about it the other night. She`s good at photo opportunities. Let`s see her at some charitable functions, looking good, and helping the cause and raising money for something other than herself.
ANDERSON: Well said.
Thanks to David Caplan, Julia Allison, Ken Seeley and Howard Bragman. We appreciate it so much.
HAMMER: We have been asking you to vote on our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day. Lindsay Lohan in crisis, can her career ever recover? You can keep voting at CNN.com/showbiztonight. Or you can e-mail us at Showbiztonight@cnn.com.
And you can always stay on top of the latest and most provocative entertainment news stories, by signing up for our fantastic SHOWBIZ TONIGHT newsletter. Just go to cnn.com/showbiztonight. Click on newsletter, right there on the left-hand side of the web page. We`ll send it to you in an e- mail every day.
ANDERSON: Before CNN`s "Larry King Live" got the exclusive first TV interview with Paris Hilton after she left jail, there were a lot of reports that she was looking to get paid big time for that first interview. It seemed strange since the Hilton family has so much money. It`s a multibillion-dollar fortune after all, even stranger, the secrets behind it.
When it comes to how the Hiltons became some of the richest of the rich, there are a lot of bizarre turns along the way. Tonight, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT investigates the secrets of the Hilton family fortune. Here is CNN`s Randi Kaye for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
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RANDY KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Did Paris Hilton really expect to get paid $1 million for her first post-big house interview? The family denies shopping her around. But if they did, why? Does she need the money?
MATTHEW MILLER, "FORBES", MAGAZINE: A $1 million is a $1 million; she could buy a big house with a $1 million.
KAYE: She already has a big house.
MILLER: If she`s already got a big house and she`s already got plenty of cars and stuff like that. You have to remember that the rich don`t think about just, you know, I`m rich, I don`t need to stop working. An extra million dollars is an extra million dollars.
KAYE: Matthew Miller edits the "Forbes 400 List". Paris is not on it, but her grandfather, Barron Hilton, is, No. 374. With an estimated worth of $1.4 billion. As family patriarch, he`s the wealthiest of the Hiltons. Paris` father, Rick, has a successful high end real estate company in Los Angeles and is reportedly worth hundreds of millions.
(On camera): It is Paris` great grandfather Conrad who they can all thank for their lifestyle, though. He began building the hotel empire back in 1919. When Conrad died in 1979, he left most of his fortune to the Catholic Church. But his son, Barron, went to court to fight the will and regain control of the empire, and he won.
(Voice over): When he dies, his wealth will be divided among his six children and eight grandchildren. So, how much will this poor little rich girl get? Some estimate $100 million, plus or minus.
(On camera): Does she make enough money to live on, or is she really living off the family money?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She makes enough money to live on. There is no doubt about it. She makes millions of dollars a year.
KAYE (voice over): In fact, Paris, who is famous for being famous, earned at least $7 million last year. About $1 million of that, Miller says, from her TV show "The Simple Life". Add to that her perfume line, cell phone video games, purses and appearances.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She can command a fee anywhere between $50,000 and couple $100,000 just to show up at a nightclub.
KAYE: Hundreds of thousands of dollars just to show up?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The difference between Conrad and Barron and Paris is that they were running billion-dollar hotel empires. What she`s doing is not huge pieces of entrepreneurship that is going to shake American capitalism.
KAYE: Miller gives Paris credit for being a savvy entrepreneur but admits she was born into the right family, which long before Paris hit the tabloids was making headlines. Great-grandpa Conrad married actress Zsa Zsa Gabor. Great Uncle Nicky married Elizabeth Taylor. Nicky, by the way, at 26 was arrested for public drunkenness. Think anyone offered him $1 million to talk? The more we talk about Paris, Miller says, the richer she`ll get.
MILLER: You and I are making Paris Hilton`s brand more valuable right now.
KAYE (on camera): We`re making her richer as we speak.
MILLER: Right here. Because some nightclub in Las Vegas or New York who would usually be paying her $50,000 to show up is now going to pay her $75,000 to show up this weekend.
KAYE: Proof it pays to be a Hilton.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: That was CNN`s Randi Kaye for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
We all love john Krasinski as Jim from "The Office." Now he`s playing Mandy Moore`s fiancee in the new movie "License to Wed." But does John have any secrets to successful relationships in real life? John will tell us what he thinks the key is -- coming up next. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT for a Friday night is coming right back.
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ANDERSON: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT for a Friday night. I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood.
It`s time now for "Making It Work". This is where we look at the secrets of successful romance in Hollywood. Tonight, John Krasinski, you know him and love him as Jim from the hit sitcom "The Office."
Now he`s starring with Robin Williams and Mandy Moore in the big- screen comedy "License To Wed." SHOWBIZ TONIGHT sat down with John and got his take on the formula for relationship success. Take a look.
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JOHN KASINSKI, ACTOR: I`m pretty adamant about saying communication is the biggest thing in a relationship. Not only what you -- the dos and don`ts are, and what you like and what you don`t like, and being honest with each other, but just not letting, you know, little things get in the way.
Like I always say, going to dinner is one of the hardest things when you`re dating. Where do you want to go? I don`t know. Where do you want to go? I don`t know. Relationships end that night.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: So true. Very well said, John. He`s got a great sense of humor. You can catch John Krasinski in a "License To Wed". It`s in theaters July 3.
HAMMER: So, coming up the big Paris Hilton interview. Yesterday we were asking you to vote on our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day. Here is what we posed. Paris Hilton interview: Do you now have more respect for her. In three words, not so much. Look at this; 14 percent of you said yes. And 86 percent of you said no. We got a lot of e-mail, too.
Including one from Marie in Colorado who writes, "What I saw was a woman who was basically incapable of even pretending to be humble for an hour."
We also heard from Gia in Pennsylvania. Gia writes: "Paris` interview proved three things: She`s still stupid. She` still a liar. And she`s still shallow."
Let us now find out what`s coming up SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
On SHOWBIZ TONIGHT this weekend, I sit down with Larry King to get his impressions of his interview with Paris Hilton. This is not to be missed because Larry tells me what really surprised him and what happened when the cameras stopped rolling! That`s Saturday and Sunday on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
And on Monday, "Prescription For Rehab". We`re taking an in-depth look at addiction in Hollywood. And we`re taking you inside a rehab center for the rich and famous. That`s Monday on a special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, "Prescription For Rehab".
That is it for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York. Have a nice weekend.
Brooke, you have a nice weekend.
ANDERSON: You too, as well, A.J. And I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. Take care everybody.
"Glenn Beck" is coming up next. Right after the latest headlines from CNN "Headline News".
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