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Showbiz Tonight
Britney Spears: Relevant?; Judge Shows Are Hotter Than Ever; Kevin Bacon On Making Marriage Work; O.J. Accused of Burglary
Aired September 14, 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, CO-HOST: O.J. Simpson questioned by police in an armed robbery case. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
BROOKE ANDERSON, CO-HOST: And uh-oh, it may be another big embarrassment for "High School Musical" star Vanessa Hudgens. I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. TV`s most provocative entertainment news show starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER (voice-over): On SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, Rosie O`Donnell`s shocking confessions. It`s Rosie unplugged like never before, including her stunning confession that she used to break her own bones when she was a child. But why? And what really went on between her and Barbara Walters. Has Rosie gone too far this time? Tonight SHOWBIZ TONIGHT with the intimate details of Rosie`s shocking confessions.
Does Britney Spears really matter anymore? Tonight the startling attacks on Britney from some of the biggest music stars in the world, from Kanye West to the Foo Fighters.
DAVE GROHL, MUSICIAN: I don`t sit around with my Britney Spears CDs going, why, Britney, why?
HAMMER: Tonight, does Britney matter to music anymore or has she just become a tabloid queen? Tonight it`s a SHOWBIZ special report. Does Britney really matter?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: Welcome to Friday night. I`m A.J. Hammer, broadcasting tonight and every night from New York City.
ANDERSON: Hi there, everyone. I`m Brooke Anderson coming to you tonight from Hollywood. And I just really cannot believe what Rosie O`Donnell is revealing in her new tell-all book. You`ll hear for yourself in just a moment.
HAMMER: But first tonight, a new O.J. Simpson shocker. Man, what a roller coaster ride of a day this has been. Let me let you into our world and tell you what it has been like. Now first thing this morning, we hear that O.J. is a so-called "alleged suspect" -- I can`t believe I just did air quotes, in a possible burglary at the Palace Station Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, and that guns were involved.
And now tonight we can tell you that -- well, let`s let the cops in Vegas tell it the way they did late today at a news conference.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAPT. JAMES DILLON, LAS VEGAS METRO P.D.: Just before 8:00 p.m. Las Vegas Metro responded to a call of a person as a victim of an armed robbery at the Palace Station Hotel and Casino at 2411 West Sahara. The victim stated that the -- one of the suspects involved in the robbery was O.J. Simpson.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: You may want to lean back in your Barcalounger and relax because once again, it`s O.J. time. Now get this, O.J. claims he was conducting his own sting operation so he could get back some memorabilia that he says was stolen from him, including the suit he was wearing the day, back in 1995, when he was found not guilty of killing his wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ron Goldman.
So let us now let the O.J. fun begin. We have three of the biggest and best O.J. Simpson experts anywhere with us tonight as SHOWBIZ TONIGHT goes coast to coast. In New York, investigative journalist Diamond Dimond; also in New York tonight, COURT TV News anchor Ashleigh Banfield; and out there in Hollywood tonight, Gloria Allred, who represented the family of O.J.`s murdered wife Nicole Brown.
I appreciate you being with us. We have a lot to sort out tonight. First of all, Simpson told the Associated Press that an auction house owner had called him several weeks ago to say that collectors "have a lot of your stuff and don`t want anyone to know they`re selling it. So what does do? Well, he decides to go out and conduct himself a little sting operation.
Diane Dimond, let me start with you. I have to ask, do you think anybody actually believes anything O.J. says these days?
DIANE DIMOND, INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST: Well, I don`t want to talk for everybody else, but I`ll tell you, I`ve been covering this guy since the 1994 murder -- double murder back there in California. And I`m certainly skeptical. Look, if somebody has something of yours, A.J., or something of mine, what do we do? We call the cops because they`re about to sell it.
No, O.J. Simpson decides to take, I guess, vigilante -- legal vigilante into his own hands and go to the hotel room himself. That`s not the way you do it. And you especially don`t take a group of guys, some of whom might be armed. That`s armed robbery. Whether he thinks it is or not, that is armed robbery.
HAMMER: Gloria Allred, I can only imagine your reaction when you heard this news today.
GLORIA ALLRED, ATTORNEY: Well, of course, O.J. Simpson in trouble, telling a story about how he got into trouble? And it will be interesting to see whether anybody believes him this time because we know, O.J., that - - A.J., that when O.J. testified in the civil case, the jury did not believe him, did not believe him when he said he never kicked, beat, hit Nicole.
And that, perhaps, is one of the reasons that they found against him and awarded $33 million verdict to the estate of Nicole Brown Simpson and to the estate of Ron Goldman.
HAMMER: There are so many fascinating little tidbits and elements to this particular story. At the news conference today, the police weren`t confirming or denying the reports that have been floating around that O.J. was, number one, with five other men, number two, that guns were drawn. One of the men who claims he was in the room is a sports memorabilia collector by the name of Alfred Beardsley.
I want you to listen to what he told tmz.com.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALFRED BEARDSLEY, SPORTS MEMORABILIA COLLECTOR: I was directed at gunpoint to pack the items up in the condition they were brought in.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: COURT TV`s Ashleigh Banfield, let me go to you. If it does turn out that a gun was pulled but O.J. did not actually hold the gun him himself, could he still be in huge trouble here?
ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, COURT TV: Oh, yes, you bet. I mean, you`ve heard of the getaway driver in the car who wasn`t even in the bank when it was robbed by his friends? It`s called accomplice. There are all sorts of laws to accommodate for people who help out or are part of it. But I think, even further, some of these -- and there were two witnesses, apparently -- allegedly, in this hotel room. And what they say is that O.J. was actually calling the shots.
So, I mean, it`s pretty serious, the fact that the police in their news conference were using the words "robbery." And as Diane alluded to, armed robbery is extraordinarily serious. It doesn`t whether you walk into the room, bust into the room, that can be another charge. You are in the room just like you can walk into a bank and then commit a terribly serious crime. And you can be in prison for a very long time for that.
HAMMER: I`m having such a great deal of difficulty just wrapping my head around -- well, so many things, but particularly the premise here. And, Diane, you alluded to this a few moments ago. I don`t know about you, but if I thought something was stolen from me and I had information on where it was, I don`t think I would cook up my own little sting operation. I would actually go to the cops.
So what do you think it is, Diane, that O.J. is afraid of the cops or is his ego that massive or he just thinks he`s Superman? What`s going on here?
DIMOND: That is -- I think you got it with the latter there. I think it`s his ego. I think that, especially when I read this book of his, which I got a couple weeks ago, I`ll tell you, this is a guy that doesn`t play by the rules. The laws that appeal to you and me, he just doesn`t think that they apply to him at all. I think he doesn`t think he`s Superman but I think he thinks he can get away with whatever he wants to because he can explain it away.
And I was distressed to see that the police talked to him initially, but then just let him go. He went and played golf and he`s hanging around Las Vegas. He may even go back to L.A. if he wants, according to the police.
HAMMER: Well, I`m not O.J., I`m A.J., but not O.J., and I`m thinking...
(LAUGHTER)
(CROSSTALK)
HAMMER: ... if I was O.J. -- or even though Gloria called me O.J. a moment ago, but I gave her a pass on that. But if I was O.J., I would think that I would want to distance myself from anything where there might even be a resemblance to some sort of impropriety, particularly if it`s involving guns or men with guns.
You know, going back to the old expression, what was he thinking? I mean, Gloria, it`s not as if he was reclaiming Ft. Knox here. We`re you can talking sports memorabilia.
ALLRED: Well, yes, he thought he had a right to it. He may or may not have had a right to it. That isn`t the point. He thought he could get away with doing, I guess, what Paul Newman in a "Sting" in the movies would do. But guess what? This is real life and he has got big problems right now.
It`s interesting, A.J., that he is talking to the police, apparently. He doesn`t have Johnnie Cochran to call anymore, may Johnnie rest in peace. He`s talking up a storm, apparently he also has talked to the press. So he`s locking himself into a story. But he`s not the only one who was there.
There were others in the room and perhaps somebody on the phone listening, who may also be a witness, so he had better get his stories straight because he has got big problems.
HAMMER: I can just hear it now. If the room key doesn`t fit, I`ll let you finish that line.
(LAUGHTER)
HAMMER: And I have to say, the timing is not lost on me. The coincidence, the fact that this happened today, because as we all know, this is the day that the book "If I Did It" was finally released in which O.J. is talking about how he might have killed Nicole and Ron, if he did it. As we know this book had a lot of controversy swirling around it, it was dropped like a hot potato around the first time around, and now Ron Goldman`s father Fred has the legal rights to it so he can still get money that O.J. owes him, in a sense.
I want you to listen to what Fred told Oprah Winfrey about this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FRED GOLDMAN, FATHER OF RON GOLDMAN: Every penny that we can take away from this monster is a peace of justice. As tiny as it may be, it`s a piece of justice. And that`s the only avenue we have. We didn`t get what we wanted in the criminal trial, which would have been much preferable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: He`s referring, of course, to that $31 million judgment against O.J. in the civil suit that he hasn`t really seen a red cent from. Ashley Banfield, the book was number two on amazon.com today. Are you surprised about by that?
BANFIELD: No, no, not at all. Actually, I was disappointed when it was pulled away from us all last time because even those who followed every intricate detail of that trial really want to see what O.J. had to say. And you know what, it`s just -- it`s a prurient thing, people want to know with what`s on O.J.`s mind and now we get the chance to see it, albeit under a different title.
But I think we should all take a deep breath here before we go on with this story just to note that this is all in the D.A.`s hands now, no charges have been filed. It`s up to the D.A. to look at these interviews and all this spewing that O.J. has been doing not only to the police, but to Linda Deutsch of the Associated Press.
And then it`s up to them to decide, I think we`ve got something or we don`t. And when they possibly say they have got criminal charges, then I think you`re going to be doing a lot of this for the next few months, A.J.
HAMMER: Sure. And let me just say it again because it rang so nicely, if the key doesn`t fit...
(CROSSTALK)
HAMMER: And exactly to your point, by the way, Ashleigh, making it clear that there have not been any charges filed yet. I just wanted to reiterate that. Diane Dimond, Ashleigh Banfield, Gloria Allred, I do appreciate you being with us.
BANFIELD: Thanks, A.J.
ANDERSON: Well, O.J. not the only celebrity who has written a stunning book. Rosie O`Donnell makes some shocking confessions in her new book, including why she used to, get this, break her own bones when she was a child. That`s next.
Also this...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VANNESSA HUDGENS, ACTOR: Just don`t do bad things. Stay out of trouble and I`m completely fine with that because I`m not very attracted to doing the bad things.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Oh, Vanessa Hudgens, I`m sorry, it`s kind of funny to hear her say that now that the naked pictures of the "High School Musical" star are all over the Internet. And now she has yet another embarrassing new development to deal with. That is coming up.
ANDERSON: And speaking of embarrassing, let`s gets back to Britney`s VMA performance. Yes, it was cringe-worthy, but in the grand scheme of the music business, is Britney even on the radar anymore? That`s straight ahead in a SHOWBIZ special report. does Britney really matter?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, TV`s most provocative entertainment news show. I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. Former "View" co-host, Rosie O`Donnell is proving that when it comes to shocking us all, she hasn`t lost her touch. She has written a new book that has frank and hard-hitting words about her old sparring partners, Donald Trump and Barbara Walters. No surprise there.
But the big surprise is that the most mind-blowing words she has to write are about herself, including one powerful revelation about her life of pain.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON (voice-over): We`ve heard some shocking things come out of Rosie O`Donnell`s mouth, especially when she co-hosted "The View."
ROSIE O`DONNELL, FORMER CO-HOST, "THE VIEW": Here`s how it gets spun in the media: Rosie, big fat lesbian loud Rosie.
ANDERSON: But perhaps her most shocking words yet appear in her new book "Celebrity Detox," Rosie`s explosive book has everyone talking.
KEN BAKER, USMAGAZINE.COM: I think Rosie has a flare for getting attention and selling her products.
ANDERSON: SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can now tell you that in her book Rosie revealed for the first time that when she was a child, she used to break her own limbs. She writes: "My hands and fingers usually, no one knew, it was a secret."
COOPER LAWRENCE, PSYCHOLOGY EXPERT: It`s a very sad beginning to quite an incredible career.
ANDERSON: Psychology expert Cooper Lawrence tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT it`s a fascinating and disturbing revelation.
LAWRENCE: Your heart can`t help but to go out to somebody like that. This is a level of low self-esteem that I couldn`t even begin to describe to you.
ANDERSON: Rosie, who lost her mother when she was 10, said the attention she got from her injuries was "proof I had some value, enough to be fixed."
LAWRENCE: There are certain personality disorders that people specifically harm themselves. They`re truly trying to get attention from people. They want to see what troops are going to gather, who around them really cares about them. And according to Rosie`s book, that seems to be her reasoning for harming herself.
ANDERSON: Rosie has always been open about her struggles with serious mental health issues.
O`DONNELL: I could not stop crying.
ANDERSON: On "The View" earlier this year, she revealed the 1999 shootings at Columbine High School plunged her into a deep depression that she didn`t shake until she started taking medication and doing this, hanging upside down, something called inversion therapy.
O`DONNELL: Looks scary, but it`s not. It really does help.
ANDERSON: And her shocking confessions in her new book might shed light on her feuds with celebrities such as Donald Trump...
O`DONNELL: He has hair looping, going everywhere.
ANDERSON: ... Kelly Ripa...
KELLY RIPA, CO-HOST, "LIVE WITH REGIS & KELLY": I think what you said is downright outrageous.
ANDERSON: ... and most recently with "The View" "co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck.
O`DONNELL: Do you believe I think our troops are terrorists, Elisabeth?
(CROSSTALK)
LAWRENCE: If you have low self-esteem, you surround yourself with people or you put yourself in the public eye to be somebody that`s a negative target.
ANDERSON: In her new book, Rosie tackles her tit-for-tat spat with Donald Trump, who, to put it mildly, doesn`t like Rosie very much as he told SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
DONALD TRUMP: Rosie`s a loser. She has always been a loser.
ANDERSON: Rosie gets in another Trump shot in her book, she calls him a "gelatinous slug." Rosie also dishes on her relationship with Barbara Walters. Rosie reveals the tensions with Barbara began shortly after Rosie first joined "The View". Rosie writes: "During the commercial, people scream `I love you, Rosie!`, and Barbara tells them in a school teacher tone, it is impolite to say `I love you` to one person when there are four of us up here. Then a stony silence sets in."
TERRY ANZUR. FORMER TV NEWS ANCHOR: Rosie is clearing trying to sell books here.
ANDERSON: Former anchor and TV talent coach Terry Anzur tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT that Rosie should back off Barbara.
ANZUR: When she fights with Donald Trump, great, you know, he`s a big pinata just sitting there waiting to be whacked. But Barbara Walters, everybody loves her, and opens their heart to her. Rosie just picked the wrong target.
ANDERSON: Rosie`s people tell SHOWBIZ TONIGHT that Rosie loves Barbara and always will. Walters herself is also being diplomatic. She is telling SHOWBIZ TONIGHT: "Rosie has written a very sad book and I choose to remember the happier times we had and hope to have in the future."
But US magazine`s Ken Baker tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT there`s no love lost between these two former colleagues.
BAKER: All their comments are very diplomatic, very measured. Obviously, Barbara can`t stand Rosie and vice versa. She just isn`t going to come out and say it.
ANDERSON: But whether it`s talk about her feuds or her own inner demons, Rosie`s new revelations will likely deepen our understanding of one of TV`s most controversial figures.
LAWRENCE: It really gave me a sense of who she was and it explains a lot of her behavior as of late.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Rosie`s "Celebrity Detox: The Fame Game" will be released on October 2nd. It`s already on amazon.com`s bestseller list.
HAMMER: Well, just when "High School Musical" star Vanessa Hudgens was probably thinking the nude photo scandal was starting to die down, more pictures have surfaced. Vanessa apologized after the first wave, saying she was embarrassed and she regretted having taken the photos. Now the new ones reportedly show Vanessa sticking out her tongue and posing with other girls. Although I have to say they`re not nearly as scandalous as the first set.
SHOWBIZ TONIGHT talked to Vanessa just before the scandal broke, and at that time, she still had a reputation for being one of the few squeaky clean, wholesome stars around. We asked her how she avoided the pitfalls of young Hollywood.
Listen to what told us.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HUDGENS: It`s easy. Just don`t do bad things. Stay out of trouble and I`m completely fine with that because I`m not very attracted to doing the bad things.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Here`s the thing that I just still don`t understand. Why can`t people remember? Because it`s pretty simple. Don`t take pictures that you wouldn`t want to end up on the Internet if you`re going to be famous or even if you`re not going to be famous. By the way, we did speak with Vanessa`s rep today and she had no comment.
ANDERSON: Good advice, A.J.
All right. There are new outrageous claims against Larry Birkhead tonight. Did he really stage photos of himself at Daniel Smith`s gravesite? What Larry told us about that coming up.
Also this...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GROHL: I don`t sit around with my Britney Spears CDs going, why, Britney, why?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: All right. Foo Fighters clearly not losing any sleep worrying about Britney Spears` career after that rotten performance at the VMAs. They may have a point, she doesn`t play any instruments, she lip synchs. So we got to thinking, does Britney really matter? That`s coming up in a SHOWBIZ special report.
ANDERSON: And a tremendous day at "Live with Regis & Kelly." They are celebrating two decades on the air, if you can believe that. And guess who stopped by to walk down memory lane? Kathie Lee Gifford. Things got kind of hot and heavy, we`re going to show that to you next, stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: A big anniversary at "Live with Regis & Kelly," today the show celebrated 20 years on the air. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT was right there on set when Regis` former co-host, Kathie Lee Gifford showed up as a special guest during the taping of the show. And this morning we all got to see some very funny moments with Regis, Kathie Lee and Kelly. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KELLY RIPA, CO-HOST, "LIVE WITH REGIS & KELLY": I see it here and I want to know about the sexual tension.
KATHIE LEE GIFFORD, FMR. CO-HOST, "LIVE WITH REGIS & KATHIE LEE": It isn`t obvious?
RIPA: I think it`s obvious. I`m actually feeling it right now and I`m not sure who it`s coming from more.
GIFFORD: No, I am hot. No question. But it`s basically a menopausal kind of hot, and so...
RIPA: Are you sure?
GIFFORD: Oh, I`m absolutely -- please...
RIPA: Because I`m feeling a connection right now.
GIFFORD: Well, that`s for you.
(LAUGHTER)
(CHEERING & APPLAUSE)
(CROSSTALK)
REGIS PHILBIN, CO-HOST, "LIVE WITH REGIS & KELLY": All right, all right, all right!
Honest to God, have either one of you -- when did your crush on me end?
(LAUGHTER)
GIFFORD: My crush on you is never going to end.
PHILBIN: Oh, really? Oh.
RIPA: Damn it, she stole my answer first!
(LAUGHTER)
PHILBIN: Yes, they`re still vying for me!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Congratulations on two decades to everybody at "Live with Regis & Kelly."
HAMMER: You know, Britney Spears was only 5 years old when that show went into national syndication. And now after her disastrous VMA performance, some are asking, is Britney washed up at the tender age of 25? When it comes to the music business, does Britney Spears really matter? That is next in the SHOWBIZ special report.
Also this...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUDGE DAVID YOUNG, TV SHOW HOST (singing): One little, two ,little three little tickets, four little, five little, six little tickets, seven little, eight little, nine little tickets, 10, 11, 12, and 13.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Meet David Young, the first openly gay judge to get his own TV show. There are already so many TV judges, what`s behind our obsession with court shows? Judgment day coming up.
And attack of the college football mascots, Cougar versus Duck in showdown of mythic proportion. And then the cheerleaders get involved, something you`ll definitely not want to miss. It`s coming up on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
(NEWSBREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: On SHOWBIZ TONIGHT does Britney Spears matter to the music business anymore?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVE GROHL, FOO FIGHTERS: I don`t sit around with my Britney Spears` CDs going, why, Britney, why?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Spears once lived at the top of the pop charts outselling every other artist, but not anymore. Now SHOWBIZ TONIGHT dares to ask, Does Britney Spears matter to music anymore? Is she just a manufactured star, anyway? And can she ever really make a comeback? This heated debate is our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT special report.
Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT for Friday night. It`s 30 minutes past the hour. I`m A.J. Hammer broadcasting tonight and every night from New York City.
ANDERSON: And I`m Brooke Anderson, coming to you tonight from Hollywood. You are watching TV`s most provocative entertainment news show.
Tonight, rapper Kanye West has some startling things to say about Britney Spears disastrous performance at the MTV Video Music Awards. Now, Kanye has his own bone to pick with MTV. He threw a little bit of a tantrum after he didn`t win in any of the five categories he was nominated for. But he said Britney opening the show just added insult to injury. Take a look at what he said on Ellen today.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELLEN DEGENERES, COMEDIAN: So, Britney opens the show, and what were your thoughts on that? Because, obviously, everybody has strong thoughts on Britney.
KANYE WEST, RAPPER: I just felt like she wasn`t ready. And I felt like, you know, they had to get their ratings. And you know, it was like at the end of the day they did what they had to do. It`s not a black or white thing, it`s like a money thing, you know?
DEGENERES: Right.
WEST: Because, you know, someone had to be at that practice and be like wow, this is not good. Like all the lip-synching, and everything. I mean, that performance, if it had been pulled off perfectly, still wouldn`t have been up to par to start off the MTV Awards.
DEGENERES: Right. I agree.
WEST: Because I`m a fan. I`m a fan of these award shows. I told the guys at MTV, I said, look, it`s only a couple of things important to music this year. You know, Umbrella, Amy Winehouse -- it`s not just me. I said, Britney Spears is not important in music, right now.
DEGENERES: Right.
WEST: She`s important to the tabloids, and stuff like that.
DEGENERES: Right.
WEST: I really felt, I felt bad for her too, you know?
DEGENERES: Yes.
WEST: It`s bad for everyone involved.
DEGENERES: So, and I said the same thing, basically, that you`re saying. I said it the day after I felt like someone. I said initially someone in her camp should have stopped her, someone who protects her, a manager, an agent, a publicist. Somebody should have said, you`re not ready.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Yes, I completely agree. And Kanye raised an interesting point there that got us thinking, is it true? Has Britney Spears become irrelevant to music? And was she ever relevant in the first place?
HAMMER: And that brings us to tonight`s SHOWBIZ TONIGHT special report: "Does Britney Really Matter?" That`s what we`re about to ask our fired up coast-to-coast panel. With me tonight, in Hollywood, Howard Bragman, found of Fifteen Minutes Public Relations, in New York Tonight, Courtney Hazlett, senior reporter for "OK" magazine, and Alicia Quarles, reporter for the Associated Press.
I appreciate you all being here tonight. Here we are, I know it feels like it was only yesterday, but we`re just about a week after the massive Britney embarrassment. Howard Bragman, let me go to you first. When you consider all the reasons that Britney Spears makes the news these days, except for being a tabloid train wreck, has Britney Spears become irrelevant?
HOWARD BRAGMAN, FOUNDER, FIFTEEN MINUTES PR: Well, I don`t think being a tabloid train wreck is irrelevant. If you saw her income, which was over $750,000 a month, about the same as what you make for hosting the show.
HAMMER: Yeah.
(LAUGHTER)
BRAGMAN: The reason she gets that money is because when she shows up places TV cameras show up, and photographers show up, and reporters show up. So, publicity does have a value. Unfortunately, her value is not in music and it is not in performing, it is for being a magnet for the media.
HAMMER: OK, but to that point, then her value initially was in music, and in performing, so Courtney Hazlett, "OK" magazine, what do you think?
COURTNEY HAZLETT, "OK" MAGAZINE: I don`t think she`s irrelevant at all, because she hasn`t proven that she cannot come back. Everybody knows she wasn`t ready for this performance. I think if she actually takes a little break, comes back and makes up for it, she`s back to being relevant. You can`t discredit this girl for selling the millions of records that she has sold and being a fantastic performer. That`s why we`re paying attention in the first place.
HAMMER: Alicia Quarles, you`ve been covering this extensively, the ups and downs of Britney Spears for the AP. What do you think?
ALICIA QUARLES, ASSOCIATED PRESS: I agree with Courtney. Britney Spears is not irrelevant at all. I mean the single is really good. "Gimme More" is a good song, so the irony is she did terrible at the MTV Video Music Awards, but the song is actually good, and I`ve heard several songs from the album and they`re all good.
HAMMER: OK, we`ll going to take your word for it and then we`ll judge for ourselves when we actually get to hear the album, when it finally is released, hopefully sometime in the next couple of months.
First, you have to hear what Dave Grohl, the front-man for the group the Fu Fighters, told SHOWBIZ TONIGHT with regards to Britney`s relevance to the music industry. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVE GROHL, FOO FIGHTERS: It really bums me out that, you know, that someone with that back tracking tape thing, and a bikini can be considered and artist. I don`t sit around with my Britney Spears` CDs going, why, Britney, why? You know, I don`t give a (BLEEP) (BLEEP).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Now, with full acknowledgment to whatever Britney`s past success has been, Courtney let me go back to a point that you were sort of raising a moment ago. Isn`t Britney really just symbolic of the fabricated artists -- which is a part of the music industry --
HAZLETT: Absolutely.
HAMMER: They create them all the time. You know, kind of like "The Monkeys" or the "Partridge Family".
HAZLETT: Or the Spice Girls or Milli (ph) Vanilli, definitely comes to mind. People like Dave Grohl, I see what he`s saying, absolutely. Especially when you`re an organic performer like Dave Grohl is. But you`ve got to remember, Britney Spears is not the first person to show up and lip synch. And she gets called out on the carpet for it every time. She doesn`t make any bones about it. So, I don`t think you can give her too much trouble for it.
HAMMER: Should we Howard Bragman? I mean, obviously, this has been going on since pop music has been around.
BRAGMAN: You know, Britney knew she was under heavy duty scrutiny. She got criticized a few months ago for the House of Blues, for exactly this. For giving a bad performance and lip-synching. She knows better. You`re talking to your audience. We want to at least pretend that her music is not all done in a studio and something comes from her. She absolutely has to take responsibility.
And to say, well, her team should have told her. You assume her team not talking to her? I assume they are and she`s not listening. So, she blew it and she has to accept this.
HAMMER: Yeah, and now it`s going to be really interesting to see where things go from here. And we`re talking, of course, about whether Britney matters when it comes to music. But we do have to admit and we certainly have pointed this out in the course of the segment, she is wonderfully relevant to everyone who loves a good never-ending train wreck of an story.
Alicia Quarles, from the AP, that`s fun for now. It`s all well and good for us to read and talk about here, but in terms of the long run, in terms of keeping her career going, I don`t know, not such a good thing, as far as I can tell.
QUARLES: The tabloid drama, in terms of taking her seriously is never a good thing. But you can`t discredit her musically. "Hit Me, Baby, One More Time", even though it was this pop song, tons of rock bands covered it. That will go down in history as probably one of the most played songs, ever. So musically, she has made an influence. And tabloid wise, it`s bad for her career.
HAMMER: What do you think, Howard, there has got to be a time where all of this is really going to stop being funny, stop being fodder, that`s all interesting. And it`s all going to come to a screeching halt and personally, now, Alicia says this album is terrific. But I`m thinking that that time where everything stops, should be coming up real soon, if the new album does flop when it come out within the next couple of months?
BRAGMAN: You know, we -- she`s on shows like this, we`re talking about her. She`s on the cover of almost every weekly magazine this week. It`s pretty outrageous. Her moment will end when the ratings go down. We track these things very carefully, and you know how many people are watching your show on a given day, what you`re talking about. The magazines, who is on the cover, who is pulling. As soon as she quits pulling, she`s done. And her show is canceled.
HAMMER: Well, Courtney, your magazine puts her in the pages, and on the cover. Don`t you think that will happen sooner rather than later, if this album is dead on arrival?
HAZLETT: I do think it will happen sooner, rather than later. I think the important thing to remember here is that "I`m A Slave For You" wasn`t about singing ability, it was about a midriff and a snake. It was Britney Spears at her performing best. And once that performance is absolutely non-existent, and the shenanigans just get to the point where it`s too hard to watch, because it`s so uncomfortable. That`s really when everyone is going to finally stop paying attention and maybe Britney will get some help.
HAMMER: Yeah, I have to reiterate, I`m not here to give her a hard time. I think there`s not a person among us who doesn`t want to see her pull it all together. So, let`s got through a couple of predictions.
Alicia, let me start with you. What`s our gut? A year from now are we going to be saying, hey, isn`t it amazing how Britney Spears once again, pulled her act together and is relevant in music once again? Or are we going to be saying, Hey, A.J., love that conversation we had about a year ago?
QUARLES: Unfortunately, for Britney Spears I think a year from now we`re going to be saying, God, that`s so sad what happened to her. It`s not like we`re listening to Amy Winehouse, here, where it`s all about the music. With Britney Spears, you`re buying a package. You`re buying a hot girl, which used to be hot, who can dance, who can move. She`s lost half of that package. So, most people probably aren`t going to go out there and buy the album just because the tracks are pretty good.
HAMMER: Well we will wait and see what happens, the album, due out in November. Who know?
Howard Bragman, Courtney Hazlett, Alicia Quarles, I do appreciate you being with us for our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT special report.
BRAGMAN: Thank you.
ANDERSON: We`ve been asking you to vote on our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day about Britney Spears. Does she matter to the music business anymore? Keep voting, cnn.com/showbiztonight. Write to us, showbiztonight@cnn.com. We`re going to read some of your thoughts on Monday.
HAMMER: Just when you thought you`d heard it all, yes, there`s another shocker out of the Anna Nicole Smith saga, believe it or not. Did Larry Birkhead actually stage photos at Daniel Smith`s gravesite? The outrageous story is on the way not to be missed. Also, this:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (SINGING): One little, two little, three little tickets, four little, five little, six little tickets, seven little, eight little, nine little tickets, 10, 11, 12, and 13.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: The verdict is in, but who`s got the gavel? Well, meet America`s first openly gay TV judge. And we`ll talk about why today`s Court TV shows have America so obsessed. Court is in session, just ahead.
HAMMER: And Brooke are you watching these college mascots, right here? Probably glad they didn`t end up in court over this particular fight. All of this may look harmless, but the battle of the mascots got really, really ugly. We`ll have the ridiculous details coming up next on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, TV`s most provocative entertainment news show.
All right, time now for a story that made us say, "That`s Ridiculous!" Classic football game, nothing new. But this time, it was the mascots who went to blows. Take a look at this. Apparently the Oregon Duck got his bill in a twist when the Houston Cougar stole Duckie`s famous move doing push-up after a touch down.
Well, Duckie wasn`t having any of that copy cat`s game, so he took him down! Like any duck would. You`d think the Cougar would have had the upper paw, but not in this cat fight. Thank God the cheerleaders broke it up or it could have gotten ugly.
Now the University of Oregon isn`t quacking up about the incident. The school says it`s mascot violated the code of conduct and the Duck got suspended for two weeks. Attack of the Duck, now "That`s Ridiculous!"
HAMMER: Nothing staged about that.
Well, the fights among the main players in the Anna Nicole Smith saga seem to be getting worse by the day. Now, even more shocking accusations are being thrown at Larry Birkhead, father of Smith`s daughter.
A former Los Angeles sheriff`s deputy, who became Birkhead`s bodyguard, after Anna Nicole died, told the "New York Daily News" that Birkhead capitalized on the tragic death of Smith, and her son Daniel. The bodyguard, a guy named Mark Spear, told the "News" that Birkhead called the paparazzi and actually staged photos at Daniel Smith`s gravesite. Spear reportedly said that Birkhead pretended to be emotional and even did three takes for the photographer.
Well, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT reached out to Larry Birkhead for his response, he gave us this statement. He gave us this statement, quote, "I am not going to keep responding to individuals in this case. I`m going to start filing lawsuits and Mark Speers (stet)" -- as Birkhead called him -- "is going to be one of those individuals named. Speers (stet) works for Debra Opri, the attorney that I fired. So one can only imagine his motivation for this crazy story."
ANDERSON: Tonight, America`s obsession with judge TV show. Tonight SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can reveal that this, that while there are more Court TV shows than ever. Check this out. There are 10 nationally syndicated court shows on television this season. "Judge Judy" is the top-rated judicial show on TV. She`s in her 12th season and has an audience so big, it rivals "Oprah".
Several more judge shows are in development, including one with this guy, Larry Seidlin, the infamous crying judge from the Anna Nicole Smith case. So, why are we so obsessed with order and disorder in the court?
Who could know better than two of the best judges with their own television shows? Here they are. Joining me tonight from Boston, Judge Maria Lopez, of the "Judge Maria Lopez Show", and in Miami, Judge David Young of the brand new, "Judge David Young Show".
Welcome to you both.
JUDGE MARIA LOPEZ, "JUDGE MARIA LOPEZ SHOW": Welcome. Thank you.
JUDGE DAVID YOUNG, "JUDGE DAVID YOUNG SHOW": Thank you. Great to be here.
LOPEZ: Wonderful, thanks for having us.
ANDERSON: Great to have you.
Judge Young, certainly one thing that distinguishes you, you are the first openly gay judge to have your own television show. No doubt it is very entertaining, because you are the only television judge I know who breaks into song. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
YOUNG: Let me see this, can I please?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sure.
YOUNG: Thank you.
One little, two little, three little tickets, four little, five little, six little tickets, seven little, eight little, nine little tickets, 10, 11, 12, and 13.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(LAUGHTER)
ANDERSON: You just make me smile, Judge, you know? So many of the other shows are really serious and you use humor. You like to keep the courtroom pretty loose, don`t you?
YOUNG: Well, you know, the purpose of a judge is to get the truth. And by using humor and by using my personality, I can get a lot out of the litigants that are in front of me. For instance, I could have hell about - - yelled at that man for lying to me. But what good would that have done? Would he have learned from his bad behavior? No! He would have just shut down. When anyone yells at me, you just shut down.
But by using a little ditty, like I used, I got it out of him and by the end of this case, you saw what happened. I was able to reconcile a son and a father. Now you can`t ask for anything better than that.
ANDERSON: And you`re a pretty good singer, by the way.
YOUNG (SINGING): Thank you!
ANDERSON: Judge Lopez, you know, a completely --
(LAUGHTER)
You`re welcome.
A completely different approach to your show. You`re very no nonsense. I`d really hate to have to go before you. Let`s take a look at your show.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LOPEZ: You shouldn`t be having two sisters fight and you should be egging them, one against the other.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m not instigating their fighting.
LOPEZ: This is a very sad situation. These are the last two people who are left, OK?, in this family. Life is too short to carry this anger and this nastiness.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Judge Lopez, you know, I watched these shows and something I`ve always been curious about is why in the world would people want to go on national television and air their dirty laundry? What`s wrong with these people?
LOPEZ: They want -- no, no, I think they like to come on TV. They want to be vindicated, publicly, they`re very emotionally involved. And they`re going to have fun, too. I mean, but they want everyone to know that they`re right. Somebody has to declare one right and one wrong. People love coming on TV.
ANDERSON: Well, you know --
LOPEZ: And I don`t think, because -- I was going to say, I don`t sing, because you`re right, David has a much better voice than I do.
(LAUGHTER)
ANDERSON: You have a pretty terrific voice as well. Maybe you should break into song from time to time, too.
LOPEZ: I know, I know.
ANDERSON: I want to mention, you know, you`ve got "CSI", "Law & Order", Court TV, and now 10 judge-lead shows. You think by now that America would have hit their saturation point. But they haven`t.
Judge Young, what is it about these shows that makes America so obsessed?
YOUNG: Well, people love disputes, but people also love resolution. And in these shows it really gives people what they want out of a TV show. I remember when I was younger, I used to watch "Dallas" and nothing drove me crazier than those "Who shot JR." I had to wait three gosh darn months to find out who shot JR. I was killing myself. And these shows, you get an answer.
ANDERSON: Judge Lopez, weigh in, are they basically replacement for soap operas, in a way?
LOPEZ: He`s right. Well, they have certainly replaced soap operas. And I think David is right. That`s it is a conflict and immediate resolution. But the truth of the matte is the public, and the audience, the producers have always known, that the public has an appetite, is interested in dramas that happen in courtrooms and in hospitals. I mean, this is not a new idea. They have now figured out that this is what the public wants to see and know about.
(CROSS TALK)
ANDERSON: Speaking of drama, we can`t forget Judge Larry Seidlin, I want to bring him into this; the crying judge from the very dramatic court battle for Anna Nicole Smith`s remains. Here`s a little something to refresh your memory, if you forgot.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUDGE LARRY SEIDLIN, ANNA NICOLE CASE: And I hope to God, you guys give the kid the right shot.
(SOBBING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Judge Lopez, he`s shopping his own judge TV show, do you think he`s got what it takes?
LOPEZ: No, I don`t think he`s got what it takes. I don`t think people want to see a judge crying. And you know that shtick, you know, it`s a one-trick-pony kind of act. And no one wants to see that. I mean, people want to see judge make decisions. Not cry to the litigants.
ANDERSON: Maybe people want to see Judge David Young sing from time to time. We`re going to have to wrap it up there.
LOPEZ: Well --
ANDERSON: Judge David Young, Judge Maria Lopez, thank you both. Congratulations. Best of luck whatever you do in the future.
YOUNG: Thank you.
LOPEZ: Thank you. Thank you, Brooke.
ANDERSON: All right, the verdict is in about Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick. They are really hot stars and somehow they`ve defied the odds by staying married for 19 years. Straight ahead, I ask Kevin how he and Kyra make their marriage work. You know, really under the glare of the Hollywood spotlight, the intense scrutiny, his candid and very person answer is next on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Tonight, making it work in Hollywood. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT has been talking to successful celebrity couples to find out how they`re making their relationships last under the glare of the celebrity spotlight.
Kevin Bacon, one of the busiest actors in Hollywood. He and his wife, actress Kyra Sedgwick, managed to keep their careers on track while juggling marriage and family. They`ve been married for 19 years and have two kids.
I had a chance to talk with Kevin and I asked him how he and Kyra manage to make it work.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEVIN BACON, ACTOR: Well, I think we really enjoy each other`s company. We -- we try to keep the time apart to, you know, down to like two weeks if possible, which is involves a lot of flying back and forth. We talk every day. We do a lot of texting, e-mail, you know. Try to just kind of communicate with each other and be supportive of each other.
And, you know, outside of that, I think we just were lucky enough to meet someone that we were meant to be married to. I mean, nobody has ever really proved to me that there`s any higher incidence of divorce or separation in Hollywood than there is anywhere else in the world. I mean, there`s like -- you know, marriage has a hard making it.
And again, very little is written about the ones that survive. It`s the ones that don`t survive that are interesting, make interesting reading and interesting television. So those are the things that generally focused on. But there`s plenty of people that are still together, I think.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Kevin also told me he and Kyra have no hard and fast rules about accepting a job when the other is working. But that they always put their children first. And I love this quote, from him. He once told "Cosmopolitan" magazine, "No place, no business could break up my wife and me. To me, marriage is about committing yourself to one person. In my opinion, I got the hottest babe there is. I would never do anything to jeopardize that."
And Kevin`s new movie, "Death Sentence", is in theaters now.
HAMMER: Kevin Bacon, one of the good guys. Time now to see what`s coming up on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. Tomorrow the shocking Britney figure firestorm. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is asking the controversial question: Is it fair to criticize Britney Spears for her weight. I say no, but you may be surprised by the SHOWBIZ TONIGHT fired up debate about weight, body image, and Britney`s MTV meltdown.
And on Monday, well SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Brooke Anderson is going to be backstage at the Emmy Awards on Sunday. She`ll get the very first reaction from the biggest stars, and the biggest surprises and controversies. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT at the Emmys, that`s Monday on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
That is it for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. Have a great weekend.
Have fun at the Emmys, Brooke.
I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
ANDERSON: Thank you.
I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. Have a good night, everybody. "Glenn Beck" coming up next after the latest headlines from CNN "Headline News." Take care.
END
