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Showbiz Tonight
Stars: They`re Not Like Us
Aired July 04, 2007 - 23:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
A.J. HAMMER, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT ANCHOR: The missteps, the meltdown, the worst celebrity excuses ever. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
BROOKE ANDERSON, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT ANCHOR: And do stars have the right to privacy or should they just shut up and stop whining? I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. A special edition of TV`s most provocative entertainment news show, Stars, They`re Not Like Us, starts right now.
HAMMER: On SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, stars doing the most outrageous things and it`s all caught on tape. From Britney`s breakdown, to Tom`s tirade to Paula`s punchiness.
Tonight, who is on top of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s list of the most embarrassing, most painful to watch celebrity interviews ever.
And the secrets to being a superstar cover girl. Steamy relationships, putting on or taking off the pounds.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The biggest joke in celebrity journalism is for celebrities to say, oh, I don`t want to be covered by the press.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: SHOWBIZ TONIGHT with your 100 percent, money bag guaranteed recipe, the magic ingredients to being a tabloid magazine star.
I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
ANDERSON: Hi there, everybody. I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. Welcome to this special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, Stars They`re Not Like Us.
HAMMER: All right, so exactly what are we talking about here? Most of us aren`t really famous, but stars have TV crews and paparazzi stalking their every move. They`re just waiting for that slip up or that hook-up that is going to be splashed across all the tabloids. Tonight we`ve got a revealing look at how stars get famous, whether it is for who they date, the things they say or the absolute ridiculous excuses they give for the things they do.
ANDERSON: A.J., to get it all started, some of the most painful pieces in television history. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT picks the most embarrassing celebrity interviews ever.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANNY DEVITO, ACTOR: (INAUDIBLE)
ANDERSON (voice-over): Whether it`s Danny DeVito`s nonsensical ramblings on "The View" ..
BRITNEY SPEARS, ENTERTAINER: (INAUDIBLE)
ANDERSON: ...or Britney Spears` emotional breakdown on "Dateline NBC," SHOWBIZ TONIGHT brings you the top five "Most Embarrassing Celebrity Interviews Ever." Sit downs, throw downs and melt downs the stars probably wish had never happened, and have us asking: what the heck were they thinking?
HOWARD BRAGMAN, FIFTEEN MINUTES PUBLIC RELATIONS: They`re really not thinking, and that`s the problems.
TOM CRUISE, ACTOR: You don`t even - you`re glib. You don`t even know what Ritalin is.
TERESA STRASSER, TV GUIDE CHANNEL`S "TV WATERCOOLER": But then when he was so condescending to Matt Lauer, and when he insulted therapy -- of which I get and need a lot -- now you`re pissing me off.
CRUISE: And she doesn`t understand the history of psychiatry. She - she doesn`t understand in the same way that you don`t understand it, Matt.
ANDERSON: It`s mission impossible to forget Tom Cruise and his anti- psychiatry rant on the "Today" show, when Tom went off on host Matt Lauer about Brooke Shields` use of antidepressants for her postpartum depression. That put him in the top 5 of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s "Most Embarrassing Interviews Ever."
BRAGMAN: I think Tom is an incredibly passionate man. Passionate about his belief in Scientology, passionate about his wife and his family. And I sometimes think the emotional element get in the way of his rational thinking about it.
ANDERSON: That interview pretty much made his Oprah-couch-jumping interview - we`ll call that one "5A" - look tame in comparison.
OPRAH WINFREY, TALK SHOW HOST: We`ve never seen you behave this way before.
CRUISE: I know.
WINFREY: Have you ever felt this way before?
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
WINFREY: You`re gone. You are gone.
STRASSER: Oprah kept telling him, `You are gone. You are gone.` You know who was gone? His publicist.
ANDERSON: Well, Tom Cruise may be gone, but he`s not alone.
SPEARS: You have to realize that we`re people. And that we need - we just need privacy, and we need our respect. And - and those are things that you have to have as a human.
ANDERSON: This "Dateline""interview, which took place with Britney`s handlers nowhere in sight, is SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s fourth "Most Embarrassing Interview Ever."
STRASSER: The aesthetics were a mess. I mean, the look of her - it looked like, you know, she wasn`t a multimillionaire, but she was somebody who needed to rotate the tires on her house.
ANDERSON: Even ageless beauty Farrah Fawcett had to explain away her 1997 space-cadet moment on "The Late Show With David Letterman," which landed her on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s list as the No. 3 "Most Embarrassing Interview Ever."
BRAGMAN: Did you ever consider that maybe Farrah Fawcett is spacey?
DAVID LETTERMAN, TALK SHOW HOST: Now, a lot of people said to me, Well, what was the deal with Farrah Fawcett? Was she drunk? And I said, Oh, I - I don`t think so. You weren`t drunk, were you?
FARRAH FAWCETT, ACTRESS: No. You could have smelled it. That - that - that`s what I meant.
LETTERMAN: Yes, I know.
FAWCETT: You could have smelled it.
ANDERSON: Hmm. Smelled it, huh? Well, the question of whether or not Danny DeVito was drunk during his appearance on "The View" is one that the actor and his reps answer, `No way. He was just tired.`
DEVITO: I knew it was the last seven lemoncellos that was going to get me.
ANDERSON: It also got you, Danny, named as the No. 2 "Most Embarrassing Interview Ever."
STRASSER: I found Danny DeVito`s appearance refreshing because, you know, he was honest. He just said, I had some lemoncellos, and I`m hung over. Who has not gone to work a little hung over?
PAULA ABDUL, ENTERTAINER: Hey, you know what? It is what it is.
ANDERSON: Even some of the stars we may idolize can find themselves on the business end of an embarrassing and somewhat incomprehensible interview.
ABDUL: No animation. I`m helping cast four girls that are going to play the roles of these characters. And I get to play a role in it.
ANDERSON: Hey Paula, how about playing the role of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s No. 1 "Most Embarrassing Interview Ever"?
STRASSER: But she was looking here - and, you know, Paula Abdul, this is not her first day in show business. She wanted to look at the camera - she was looking over here, and she`s moving. She can`t stay in frame. She`s hyperkinetic. She was here, and she was here. She was all over the place.
ABDUL: Listen: any publicity is good publicity.
BRAGMAN: No, that`s one of the biggest myths of our business. There is definitely bad publicity.
ABDUL: You got to learn to eat it up and - and embrace it, and say, `Seattle had the best delusional people.`
ANDERSON: All right, Paula - we won`t go that far.
And the way these celebrities keep finding themselves in interviews that are - hmm, less than flattering - it doesn`t look like it`s going to end anytime soon.
CRUISE: What do you mean by that?
ANDERSON: Well, what SHOWBIZ TONIGHT means, Tom, is this: if you guys keep thinking you can go out in front of millions of people making a.
(DONKEY BRAYING)
ANDERSON: ...out of yourselves, we`re probably going to be there to say.
STRASSER: Now that was the most embarrassing celebrity interview ever.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Celebrity public relations guru Howard Bragman, who you just saw in the piece, says that some celebrity`s embarrassing moments, like Danny Devito`s, are harmless and handled well, then there are some like Tom Cruise`s that can actually hurt one`s career.
Stars definitely not like us when it comes to being splashed all over magazines, being chased by the paparazzi. Anna Nicole Smith, for example, she lived her life in tantalizing tabloids. But how do celebrities become tabloid fodder in the first place? SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is about to reveal a startling secret, the ultimate how-to to becoming a tabloid star. Some do it better than others. But Britney Spears could be the best at it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON (voice-over): Perhaps there is no one better who earned the title "tabloid star" than Anna Nicole Smith. In life, she wasn`t only on the outside covers week after week, she was on the inside.
SHOWBIZ TONIGHT talked with Anna Nicole when she launched her own column for "The National Enquirer."
ANNA NICOLE SMITH, ENTERTAINER: What better way to get my - my - my (INAUDIBLE) out there, and what better way to get an education?
ANDERSON: Both her life and her career as a tabloid columnist were cut short when she died mysteriously in a Florida hotel room.
HAMMER: Breaking news: Anna Nicole Smith, dead.
ANDERSON: But in life, Anna Nicole lived on the edge, losing weight, gaining weight, making headlines - always making headlines.
SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you there are still plenty of other tabloid stars who won`t let readers down. So let SHOWBIZ TONIGHT give you our secret checklist on what makes a good tabloid star.
First, get yourself into a magazine like "Star" magazine, whose readership has soared in the past year. The magazine`s deputy New York bureau chief, David Caplan, tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT it`s a certain something that keeps people reading the tabloids week after week.
DAVID CAPLAN, "STAR" MAGAZINE: It needs to be someone who, when you read about them or you see photos of video of them, your jaw drops, and you`re like, `Oh my God, I can`t believe they did that.` There`s really that factor. And that really is the X factor.
ANDERSON: Even "Sex and the City"`s Miranda couldn`t escape the lure of a juicy, jaw-dropping headline once in awhile.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Miranda, I don`t know how to tell you this, but I was reading my "Tattle Tale" and there`s a picture of Smith.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Miranda! What in the world are you doing reading something like that?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I love it. It`s my thing. Let it go.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, Smith is always in that rag.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, but this time, he`s gay.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh.
ANDERSON: Next on the SHOWBIZ TONIGHT secret list: hookup or breakup. It`s always a great headline.
CAPLAN: When we have, say, Angelina and Brad hooking up, breaking up, readers like to feel that they`re a part of the story.
ANDERSON: And whose breakup story is getting the most press as of late? Britney Spears?
Oh, Britney, the tabloids loved it when you dropped your husband. They followed your hard-partying ways, detailing how you look, even down to the latest shaved head and trips to rehab.
And while SHOWBIZ TONIGHT might beg you to change your ways, it`s another way to keep your name in print.
HOWARD BRAGMAN, FIFTEEN MINUTES P.R.: People whose looks change, be it extreme weight loss or gain, be it having a little surgical enhancement, dating somebody new every week, consuming too many libations - these are the things that make you a tabloid star.
ANDERSON: Oh, but the tabloid stars know how to take a step further. Britney`s late-night antics, Lindsay`s less-than-stellar public appearances - they`re working the cameras that follow their every move.
Public relations expert Howard Bragman tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT those candid moments - um, not so candid.
BRAGMAN: People like - like Britney and Lindsay and - and Nicole, these are not stupid people. They know that showing up at certain places, wearing certain outfits, they`re going to get people buzzing, and they`re sort of attracted to that buzz the way a moth is to the light.
ANDERSON: Ain`t that the truth. And we`ve got the proof. When Lindsay, Britney and Paris got together, it was a tabloid dream.
And so our next check-off on our list: join forces. The newest superhero tabloid stars joining forces: Katie Holmes and Victoria Beckham. Hollywood`s new best friends know how to use the press to their advantage.
CAPLAN: I mean, the biggest joke in celebrity journalist is for celebrities who complain, `Oh, I don`t want to be covered by the press, I don`t want to be in magazines.` And then you see them appear at restaurants like the Ivy, like Coy.
ANDERSON: And playing coy with the cameras in public places like so many stars do is what will keep those tabloid stars on the covers for a long, long time to come.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Anna Nicole Smith left - left life in the same way she lived it, and it was on the - on the cover of a tabloid.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: And no doubt Anna Nicole Smith`s story and her mysterious death will be the subject of tabloid magazines for years to come.
HAMMER: And Brooke, Anna Nicole certainly never shied away from the cameras, but there are some stars that actually can`t stand them.
ANDERSON: Yes, while some thrive on the attention, others fight back and speak out against it.
HAMMER: So the question is do stars even have the right to privacy? Or should she just shut up and stop whining? That`s coming up.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Paris is famous because she has manipulated the media in a way which just makes everyone wanting to know more and more about her.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well Paris Hilton, Kevin Federline, Nicole Richie, come on, why in the world are they famous? SHOWBIZ TONIGHT investigates why fame ain`t what it used to be.
HAMMER: And from Nicole Richie`s cramps to Ashleigh Simpson`s acid reflux, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT presents the worst celebrity excuses ever. This special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, Stars, They`re Not Like Us, back just after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Welcome back to this special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, Stars, They`re Not Like Us. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York. Tonight, famous for what? Doesn`t it seem like there are more and more stars out there these days who are famous simply because they`re famous? And I`m not just talking about Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie, Who obviously come to mind. I`m talking about all those reality show rejects, the spouses of famous people, all the nobodies who, through some twist of fate, are now somebodies.
The bottom line, fame these days, it just ain`t what it used to be.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER (voice-over): Remember when? Liz Taylor, Jack Nicholson, George Clooney, Julia Roberts. Now these were Hollywood stars who worked hard to achieve fame and fortune.
Yes, something went wrong. From Paris Hilton to the crazy bride from YouTube who made national headlines.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I hate my hair!
HAMMER: .. .to the range of reality-show rejects like this guy from "American Idol"..
(CROSSTALK)
HAMMER: It seems like these days, just about anybody can be famous. And we mean anybody.
SIMON COWELL, "AMERICAN IDOL": And you look like one of those creatures that live in the jungle with those massive eyes. What are they called? Bush baby.
SETOODEH: There`s such a great rush to that. They think, `You know what? I`ve made it, just because Simon called me a bush baby, I`ve made it.` And it`s a rush that they don`t think they can beat.
Being real doctors or lawyers or - or working a real job where you have to get dressed to work everyday and work hard and do something. This is getting a lot for doing nothing, which is hard to beat.
HAMMER: And while reality shows can turn nobodies into somebodies, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you, that flash of fame lasts just 15 minutes.
(CROSSTALK)
HAMMER: Unless you`re Paris Hilton or Nicole Richie, who despite an obvious lack of talent, are now bona fide celebrities.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How are you feeling, Paris?
HAMMER: People who are now known - really known, we might add - for little more than starring in sex tapes and losing too much weight.
CAPLAN: Right now, we live in a society where, it`s good to be famous. But if you can`t be famous, being infamous is a good consolation prize.
Many of the celebrities we see in magazines like "Star" are famous merely because they are created celebrities.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Paris!
CAPLAN: All you need are a few paparazzi photographers to take photos of them, and it just explodes.
PARIS HILTON, ENTERTAINER: (INAUDIBLE)
HAMMER: Paris Hilton`s been working the press for years, turning herself from a staple of gossip pages into a multimillion-dollar international brand name.
CAPLAN: Paris Hilton is the best example of someone who became a celebrity. In the early days of her sort of ascent to fame, there was a scandal with her like every few weeks - the sex tapes to who she was dating. And it really just had this snowball effect, where not she`s an established celebrity.
HAMMER: An established celebrity who maintains her fame through infamy.
CAPLAN: Paris is famous because she has manipulated the media in a way which - to think everyone wanting to more and more about her.
(CROSSTALK)
HAMMER: And that feeds upon itself, to the point there`s no turning back.
Case in point: Nicole Richie.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nicole!
CAPLAN: Every time Nicole Richie denied being anorexic or denied having an eating disorder, I think she got more news articles than probably people who were actually doing legitimate work.
HAMMER: This possibility of achieving instant fame, whether it be on Web sites like YouTube or on reality shows, isn`t lost on teenagers.
"Newsweek" magazine recently found that 31 percent of all teens believe that they`ll be famous when they grow up. And if they can`t be famous - well, that`s OK, too.
A new book called "Fame Junkie" says the No. 1 career goal of nearly half of all teenage girls: being a celebrity assistant.
SETOODEH: Because they feel like, if they`re close enough to famous people, that magical dust of fame will come off on them, and they, too, will sort of - sort of be special.
HAMMER: Sort of special, like professional celebrity-slacker-turned- insurance-pitchman Kevin Federline.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Federline!
HAMMER: Who used a technique that many famous-for-nothing stars use: he married his way into the spotlight.
SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you that people like K-Fed are stars, and may very well continue to be stars, not because of what they do, but because of who they are.
CAPLAN: It`s the story behind this personality. It`s all about being a character. You can be the most accomplished actor, the most accomplished musician. But if there`s nothing really interesting, if there`s really no sort of `so what?` factor that the reader finds, they`re not going to be interesting, and it just won`t do well for the magazine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: Well, whatever they`re famous for, magazines says that when Paris or Nicole are on their covers, they sell a lot do better than others, including most Oscar or Grammy winners.
ANDERSON: That`s pretty sad. Well, A.J., you know, Paris and Nicole have given some really outrageous excuses for their behavior.
HAMMER: And thank goodness for the colorful reasons they give for all those bad things they do.
ANDERSON: Yes, Pretty bizarre. From Nicole Richie`s cramps to Ashleigh Simpson`s acid reflux, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT with the worst celebrity excuses ever, straight ahead.
HAMMER: And the shocking influence young Hollywood stars like Paris, have over young girls. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT asks the controversial question, are these sleazy starlets turning our kids into prosti-tots. We`ve also go this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRITNEY SPEARS, SINGER: Are we watching "back to the Future?" Is that possible to time travel, space?
(END VIDEO CLIP
ANDERSON: Britney Spears like you`ve never seen her before, really deep thoughts about life and time travel. You`re watching a special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Welcome back to this special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, Stars, They`re Not Like Us. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York. Britney Spears so not like the rest of us. When we saw these outrageous home videos we`re about to show you of her and her husband Kevin Federline on YouTube, all we could say is, are you kidding us about this? So grab some Cheetos and take a look now as Britney ponders partying, time travel and whether or not she`s been missing out on some things.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEVIN FEDERLINE, RAPPER: Partying.
SPEARS: Huh?
FEDERLINE: It`s all the partying.
SPEARS: What are you talking about, all the partying.
FEDERLINE: That`s why you feel that way.
SPEARS: What`s that supposed to mean?
FEDERLINE: Wouldn`t you rather go out or would you rather go watch the movie?
SPEARS: Huh?
FEDERLINE: Would you rather go out -- if you had a choice to go out or go watch a movie, what would you want to do?
SPEARS: I would go watch that movie and just drink at home. What I`m trying to say is, do you ever feel like -- like can some people -- have you ever seen "Back To The Future."
FEDERLINE: Yes.
SPEARS: Is that possible to time travel speed?
FEDERLINE: No.
SPEARS: Yes, it is, Kevin.
FEDERLINE: OK, but not that we know of.
SPEARS: I think people can do that. I think some people are ahead of us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Yes, of course they are. In all fairness to Brit, this tape looks like it was made a long time ago. But I`m still not sure what she was talking about with all this time travel speed talk.
ANDERSON: Yes, what was she thinking, A.J.? You know, Britney and her pantiless party pal Paris Hilton, we do make fun of them. But in all seriousness, do they have a bad influence on young girls?
HAMMER: Certainly a lot of the messages they send out cannot be good, Brooke.
ANDERSON: That`s right and SHOWBIZ TONIGHT asks the controversial question, are these sleazy starlets turning our kids into prosti-tots?
HAMMER: Also coming up, do stars have the right to privacy, or should they just shut up and stop wining. We`ve also got this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think we cannot continually be using menstrual cramps as an excuse. When you use it for that, it makes it harder to use it for smaller things.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, like murder.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: From Nicole Richie`s cramps to Ashleigh Simpson`s acid reflux, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT with the worst celebrity excuses ever. This is a special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, Stars, They`re Not Like Us. We`re back after this.
(NEWS BREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Welcome back to a special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT: "Stars: They`re Not Like Us." It is 30 minutes past the hour. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
ANDERSON: And I am Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. This is TV`s most provocative entertainment news show.
You know, A.J., a lot of celebrities love to have their picture taken. They thrive on the attention and the exposure. But then other celebrities despise it, they speak out against it, they really fight back.
So coming up, we`re going to take a look at stars and their privacy, or lack of it.
HAMMER: Yes, a lot of people say, `You know, it just comes with the territory. So deal with it.`
Somebody who deals with those cameras all the time and - and seems to love it, Paris Hilton. Now she seems harmless enough, but she`s been caught on tape doing some pretty nasty stuff that sends out pretty bad messages to young women everywhere. So we`re going to be getting into the bad influence of Paris Hilton from people who are just peeved at her. That`s on the way.
ANDERSON: That`s right, A.J.
But first, excuse them. Tonight, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is dissecting the lamest, most pathetic excuses stars have used when getting into trouble. And we`ve heard them all on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, especially those doozies, those so-called "official statements" from celebrity publicists.
So, excuse us, here`s our list of the "Worst Celebrity Excuses Ever."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON (voice-over): It was the lip-synching Milli Vanilli moment Ashlee Simpson will never forget on "Saturday Night Live." And she is just one of many celebrities whose excuses we are dissecting, cutting, slicing, dicing and picking apart.
A recording of Simpson`s vocals came on while her band broke into a completely different song. She did a crazy jig and left the stage.
Ashlee was all full of excuses for what happened, and SHOWBIZ TONIGHT goes to comedy duo Frangela for the worst excuse, play by play.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When Ashlee Simpson got caught lip-synching on "Saturday Night Live" - what I didn`t understand, she went through a series of excuses. Do you remember?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: At first it was the band`s fault.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right. Right. Right. Right.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Then it was acid reflux.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. Yes.
ANDERSON: But why the excuses? Why didn`t Ashlee just fess up that she messed up?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When the rest of us mess up, we`re just like, I messed up.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. I`m like, Oh you know what? My bad.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But celebrities are like, No, no, no. I have an excuse.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, no. No. This is not my fault.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. No, no, no. I didn`t - no, that wasn`t me. It was the boom (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Condition (ph) around me.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. Yes.
JESSICA SIMPSON, SINGER: Dolly, that made me so nervous.
ANDERSON: And conditions for Ashlee`s older sister Jessica proved to be just too nerve-wracking when she blundered her way through a prestigious tribute to country music legend Dolly Parton, mumbling that her nerves got the best of her as she exited the stage.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is what I don`t understand: Jessica Simpson can actually sing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Now we expect Ashlee to mess up.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE), Jessica? She had a meltdown. I mean, she lost it. She sang the song, and then she was like, Ahh. I`m sorry. I`m so - I was nervous.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) better on, you know, like, children.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Flower pageants.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. Or "American Idol."
ANDERSON: So what`s with America`s idols giving the media these lame, ridiculous excuses when they screw up?
SHOWBIZ TONIGHT went right to PR expert Howard Bragman.
HOWARD BRAGMAN, FIFTEEN MINUTES PUBLIC RELATIONS: I think we have to be really clear that we live in the age of spin, and -- and we`re in an era of personal responsibilities. And celebrities have jumped on this bandwagon. And instead of saying here`s what happened, and -- and I apologize, they come up with these outrageous explanations that really don`t have any credence and make them look even more ridiculous.
ANDERSON: And SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you that even more ridiculous is when Oscar-winning actor Russell Crowe offered one of the worst excuses ever when he hurled a phone at a hotel employee in New York City.
The star from Down Under claimed he lost his cool when he couldn`t phone home to his wife from his cell phone.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I mean, how much pressure is Russell Crowe`s wife putting on him when he throws a phone at somebody because he can`t get a ride home? And also, that`s Naomi Campbell`s weapon of choice.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Really. Get yourself a whole `nother thing, Russell.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You need, like, a PDA. Use something different.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Be creative.
ANDERSON: And known for her creativity on and off the screen, Oscar- nominated actress Winona Ryder told police she was doing research for a role when they arrested her for shoplifting. Yeah right. She was later convicted.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I`m doing a role called "The Craziest Stealer." Yes, I`m - I`m the lead.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s about character work.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right. Right. Right. We`re going to try to use that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Really. See how far we get.
ANDERSON: So do these excuses go very far? Is it better sometimes to just shut up?
BRAGMAN: If it`s something really egregious, maybe you should just shut up and not offer an explanation. Because maybe the explanation is the most obvious one, and you don`t want to go there.
ANDERSON: But still, there are celebs who did go there when they were arrested for driving while under the influence.
We are, of course, talking about Paris Hilton, whose excuse was she was exhausted. And besides, she only had one drink.
And then there was her "Simple Life" co-star, Nicole Richie, who told police she was taking Vicodin for stomach cramps when she was pulled over for driving erratically.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think we cannot continually be using menstrual cramps as an excuse. And when you use it for that, it makes it hard to use it for smaller things.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Like murder.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right.
ANDERSON: While never arrested for DUI, Britney Spears did get in trouble when she was caught driving with her baby son, Sean Preston, perched precariously on her lap instead of in a car seat. Her excuse: she was being chased by the paparazzi.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don`t know how it helps to have your child in your lap. I can`t have my purse in my lap. You going to put your baby in your lap?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, and what if he slides on down between the pedals Britney? That`s why they made that safety seat. And they call it that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A child safety seat.
ANDERSON: And hasn`t Britney learned by now that taking a backseat and passing on a poor excuse is best for your career?
BRAGMAN: Very often, a poor excuse is worth than no excuse. I mean, it really becomes laughable, and in this era of blogs and this era of YouTube, the bad excuses get played again and again and again, and actually are a lot more amusing than what happened in the first place.
ANDERSON: And to this day, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is still waiting for Britney to give us an excuse, any excuse, for her now-infamous video shot by her soon-to-be-ex Kevin Federline.
BRITNEY SPEARS, ENTERAINER: (BURPIING)
ANDERSON: Uh, Britney, when your burp, you are supposed to say "excuse me."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: One of our favorite Britney Spears excuses? When her publicist told SHOWBIZ TONIGHT she didn`t pass out on New Year`s Eve at a nightclub in Las Vegas because she was drunk, but rather she was - quote - "tired and falling asleep."
Tonight, stars and privacy. The two don`t really go hand-in-hand. But should they? Some celebrities, like Britney, say yes.
But we at SHOWBIZ TONIGHT say no. We say getting noticed in public just comes with the territory when you`re a big star.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Back up. Back up. Back up.
PARIS HILTON, ENTERTAINER: Hi!
BRITNEY SPEARS, SINGER: Literally we can`t see - see.
ANDERSON (voice-over): Paris and Britney coming home from the clubs, swarmed by the paparazzi - all of them looking for the money shot of two of Hollywood` hottest commodities.
HILTON: We are nice. We did one.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right.
ANDERSON: Paris and Britney are playing coy. But they know just as well as any other star, that in Hollywood, anything goes, especially your privacy.
Just ask Jennifer Love Hewitt, who tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT fame and photographers go hand in hand.
JENNIFER LOVE HEWITT, ACTRESS: And without the paparazzi and without the magazines that remind people what time your show is on and what`s happening, then the whole sort of business doesn`t really work.
E.L. WOODY, PHOTOGRAPHER: There`s not a star in the world that wants to get out of their car and not be recognized by the crowd. Even though they`re not going to pose.
ANDERSON: E.L. Woody is the so-called king of the paparazzi. He`s been in the business for 30 years, and knows that if a person wants to become famous and stay famous, they need to give up their right to anonymity.
WOODY: Hello gorgeous!
They need us more than we need them.
ANDERSON: Danny Bonaduce couldn`t agree more. He tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT that he has no sympathy for stars who demand privacy.
DANNY BONADUCE, ACTOR: I am entitled to a certain portion of your life. You gave it to me. You sold it to me. And I bought.
ANDERSON: Angelina Jolie understands that. She and boyfriend Brad Pitt are arguably the most stalked couple in the world.
She tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT that she can handle the press, but when she`s out with her kids, she`s entitled to her privacy.
ANGELINA JOLIE, ACTRESS: You know, there are a lot of long lenses now. There`s no reason that somebody has to be, you know, this - this close to - to a kid`s face. Because it scares kids, and - and it psychologically affects them.
Like, I personally would just - I`d like to be able to take my kids out. I`m not walking them down a red carpet; we`re just going out. So we`re not asking for - for press.
And - and as I said, you know, we`re not saying you`re not allowed to take pictures of them. We understand. Whatever. You see, we`re - they`re - we`re public, they`re public. But - but I think a distance - a distance would be good.
ANDERSON: Justin Timberlake probably wouldn`t mind some distance when it comes to the paparazzi. He had a run-in with a photographer back in 2004 with his girlfriend, Cameron Diaz. Still, he tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT that if you`re famous and you`re out on the town, you have to expect that when you`re in public, there`s nothing private about it.
JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE, SINGER: If you live in Los Angeles and you - and you - and you`re - and you`re traveling around Hollywood, you can expect to have your picture taken at some point.
But my thing is, when things are - are - are muttered or - or yelled at or - you feel like your - your space is encroached upon for the sake of getting a picture of you looking uncomfortable, that`s when I feel like it`s overstepped the lines.
ANDERSON: But in the end, it all comes down to this: if you`re famous, you`re going to be noticed. It simply comes with the territory.
And as Danny Bonaduce tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, it`s part of your job.
BONADUCE: Everybody has every right to any part of me or them that they want, because I sold myself to you. I do it on purpose. If you want to come up to me and ask me anything, say anything you want, you have that right, because I sold myself to you and you bought and I`m grateful.
ANDERSON: And stars who disagree with Danny might want to ask themselves how they`d feel if suddenly no one was interested in them anymore, and the flashbulbs stopped popping.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: And stars should be warned: the business of following celebrities just keeps growing and growing. E.L. Woody, that paparazzo we showed you in the piece, says you`ll now find 40 or 50 photographers where there used to be only four or five.
HAMMER: You know, even when there are no paparazzi around, like at a private party, for instance, sometimes the stars tend to bring their own cameras along. And you know what? Not always a good idea.
Take a look at this:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILTON: She`s a (BLEEP) broke poor (BLEEP) from, like, Compton.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Yes. Coming up next, the controversy over Paris Hilton caught on tape using racial slurs.
ANDERSON: Plus, stars dating stars. Is it better for the famous to only date the famous?
That`s next, as this special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, "Stars: They`re Not Like Us," continues. Hang tight.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let`s get A.J. to...
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Welcome back to this special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, "Stars: They`re Not Like Us." I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
You know, something Paris Hilton said at a party several years ago has come back to haunt her in a way she could never have imagined. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT first told you about the ugly, disgusting racial and gay slurs Paris got caught saying on camera and we showed you the tape.
And after it all came to light, the party-girl-gone-wild came under fire like never before.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER (voice-over): Paris Hilton, America`s sweetheart. Well, she was never quite that, but with her little catch phrases, her red-carpet- ready fashion, and her soap opera of a personal life...
HILTON: When people say that, they don`t know me. I`m a far out lush. (INAUDIBLE) any of my friends.
HAMMER: Paris was an occasionally annoying, always entertaining, train wreck of a celebrity that was, we admit, fun to watch.
Well, now SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you, the fun is over.
HILTON: She`s a broke, poor (BLEEP) from, like, Compton.
HAMMER: We see the ugly side of Paris in this video, one of several of her personal items taken from a storage space and now placed online. We also see her hurl a slur found offensive by blacks. And another slur found offensive by gays.
The gay rights group GLAAD quickly issued a statement slamming Paris, saying -- quote - "these are not frivolous words and to use them as if they are gives tacit sanction to the racism and homophobia they engender."
Paris` new rants come at the beginning of an anti-Paris backlash, as America wakes up to a shocking fact: our girls are actually looking up to Paris.
COOPER LAWRENCE, DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGIST: Our teenagers are looking to her as a role model. We`re not making this up. They`re buying the magazines with her on the cover. They`re buying anything to do with her. They`re watching her reality show. Young girls are interested in her.
HAMMER: And it`s not just this shocking video, which was part of a treasure trove of Paris-analia sold by a Web site which got a hold of Paris` possessions when she failed to pay a storage bill. Paris-analia that includes naked pictures of her and other outrageous party photos.
A "Newsweek" cover story looks at the effect the exploits of Paris and her crew are having on America`s girls. The magazine`s poll finds that 77 percent of respondents -- 77 percent -- think Paris, Britney and Lindsay have too much influence on young people.
KATHLEEN DEVENY, "NEWSWEEK": I think parents are definitely concerned about it. As a parent, I am.
HAMMER: Kathleen Deveny co-wrote the "Newsweek" cover story. She tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, you won`t believe how young girls are when they start their Paris worship.
DEVENY: Fifth graders who are carrying tiny purses with little tiny stuffed dogs inside them. And first-graders, who use words like sexy and talk about sexy song lyrics, in a lot of ways are really appealing to young girls. They are completely uninhibited by parents and curfews and school. They do whatever they want. They are beautiful. They wear fabulous clothes. They often have boyfriends, nice cars, and great cell phones.
So, you can see why they would be appealing to girls.
LAWRENCE: I think Paris Hilton, while she has potential to be a fabulous human being, as we all do, is a horrible role model. Horrible.
HAMMER: Which is just what we heard from SHOWBIZ TONIGHT viewers, who swamped us with angry e-mails, many echoing Ricardo Cater from Lakeworth, Florida.
He writes - quote - "is there any way you can make Paris and her sister go away? If there is a petition or something, I am ready to sign it, because she is a disgrace to us."
Developmental psychologist Cooper Lawrence tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT there is a danger to the Paris effect.
LAWRENCE: The danger in following somebody like Paris Hilton or Lindsay Lohan and using them as your role model is that they`re not going down a very good path. These are ages when - when girls are forming their identity. So where they look to decide who they are, where they look to the sociocultural environment. They look in the social environment and they say, `OK, this is who I am. This is who they are. How do I measure up?` And that`s not a good yardstick.
HAMMER: So while Paris is left to wonder if this new video will harm her career, a nation of parents is wondering if Paris and her never- ending string of seedy exploits will harm the development of America`s girls.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: So what exactly is it that makes Paris tick? Well, we needed to know. And that`s why I sat down with Jamie Johnson, heir to the Johnson & Johnson fortune, and the director of the HBO documentary, "Born Rich."
I asked him if Paris` behavior was just the typical sense of entitlement.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAMIE JOHNSON, "BORN RICH": Well, I think, you know, when I was working on that documentary, and interviewing a lot of kids from vastly wealthy families, they would tell these stories over and over again, where they were at school at a young age and teachers were impressed by their wealth, their friends were impressed by their wealth. They would get favorable treatment.
And when you see that happening in the first and second grade, we`re talking about six and seven years old, and that just keeps on continuing and it escalates, and I really think it can lead to a sense of serious entitlement, and maybe we`re seeing more and more of that.
HAMMER: I mean, that`s the thing, it really does start that young, doesn`t it? When - when this is the kind of family you`re coming from, which it was the case with Paris Hilton - you know, again, money never an issue. It - it`s something that`s probably been with her for a very long time.
JOHNSON: Yes, I think - I think that`s probably true. And it`s something I`ve certainly observed. And, you know, when things start young like that, they really have a tendency to have deeper roots and they stay with you throughout life sometimes, and it - and it`s unfortunate to see.
HAMMER: And then it seems like the need for attention comes along with it. I mean, just in that video we were watching, she is begging the camera man to please focus on her. She went off and she got her television show.
Why is there always that urge to be at the center of attention? Is there something to it, coming from the money?
JOHNSON: Well, I think as far as my experience goes and my observations, there are really two ways that wealthy people approach the media.
And one way is they love the notoriety. They are always trying to get themselves in front of the camera.
And then you have a slightly different way of approaching it, where people are the opposite and they`re going in the other direction. They want to stay away from the camera; they want to stay out of the limelight. And I think, more than anything, it`s really a conscious decision.
You know, some people make the argument, well, I`m wealthy and it`s not my fault that I have this attention around me, and there is that level of interest.
I personally don`t buy that argument. I think you - you have a choice to make.
HAMMER: Yes.
JOHNSON: You surround yourself with celebrities and in places where there are always photographers trying to take your picture, then, of course, you know, you`re going to get the attention of the media.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: So Paris seems to have a thing for Greek shipping heirs, but has also dated some famous guys. But why is it that some stars will only date other stars? We`re going to look into that next, as this special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fade up, zoom Camera 3. Pre-set 7. Open Brooke`s mike. Dissolve Hollywood. Go.
ANDERSON: Thanks, Charles (ph).
All right. We`ve got a question for you tonight: in Hollywood, why does it seem like the big stars only date or marry other big stars? They are what we call celebrity serial daters. And we here at SHOWBIZ TONIGHT wondered why these stars can`t be happy with a nice doctor or lawyer? Why do they only date their own kind, and are these relationships destined to fail?
SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Sibila Vargas spoke with the host of TV Guide`s "The Fashion Team," Daphne Brogdon.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SIBILA VARGAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So let`s talk about Brad Pitt. OK. A gorgeous guy. You know, he`s dated all of these women before. I mean, let`s - let`s start with Juliette Lewis, then Gwyneth Paltrow, then Jen Aniston, and now Angelina Jolie
I mean, this guy really epitomizes the celebrity serial dater, doesn`t he?
(CROSSTALK)
DAPHNE BROGDON, "THE FASHION TEAM": Oh, sorry.
VARGAS: Why do - why do some seem to prefer to date other stars only?
BROGDON: I was going to say that, you know, remember when he was on "Head of the Class," he dated Robin Givens. He`s been going up the celebrity food chain ladder. I think in the celebrity circles, he`s like the drunken girl in the dorm room being passed around.
You know, I think it`s actually somewhat strategic, you know, as well as just that`s the access. That`s who they meet. And let`s face it, if you had the chance to date Angelina Jolie, who wouldn`t? I mean, I might.
VARGAS: I think I`m with you right there.
But -- I mean, but it`s not necessarily a recipe for bliss. You know, they sometimes break up. I mean, look at Tom Cruise, for example. He dated Mimi Rogers. That broke up. And then Nicole Kidman, then Penelope Cruz, now Katie Holmes. A lot of people are saying that, you know, that marriage isn`t going to last.
So, you know, are they destined for failure?
BROGDON: Well, it depends upon what your definition of failure is. I mean, Tom Cruise was married to Mimi Rogers, Nicole Kidman. I would have to say none of them ever badmouth him. You know, he seems to come up smelling like a rose. The only time when he doesn`t is, you know, when he mouths off to Matt Lauer on "The Today Show" or something.
VARGAS: Right. But then there`s a relationship, sort of, you know, a person like Gwyneth Paltrow, let`s take for example. She dated Brad Pitt, Ben Affleck, Luke Wilson, and now married to Coldplay`s Chris Martin.
You know, is it just that some stars are only comfortable with their own?
BROGDON: You know, in her case it might be. She does have a little sort of a haughty air, you know.
But, you know, it`s not like they are going to go up to the UPS guy and be like, hey, do you want to date me, or that the UPS guy is going to be like, hey, I wonder if Gwyneth Paltrow would, you know, take it -- asked -- you know, if I asked her out, would she go out?
You know, I think that there is a comfort level that they have. They know how to walk the red carpet. They know the crazy hours and the crazy schedule. So why not?
VARGAS: Sure. And she also comes from that Hollywood royalty, too, right?
BROGDON: Mm-hmm. Yes. That`s probably part of that haughtiness.
(LAUGHTER)
VARGAS: Daphne Brogdon, thank you so much, from TV Guide Channel, "The Fashion Team."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: That`s it for this special edition of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
ANDERSON: And I am Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. "GLENN BECK" is coming up next, right after the latest headlines from CNN Headline News.
Keep it right here, and take care everyone.
END
