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Showbiz Tonight
Britney`s Meltdown Continues; Richards/Sheen Custody Battle Flares up Again
Aired September 20, 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: Donald Trump goes off on Rosie O`Donnell`s shocking new book. And why is Alicia Silverstone getting naked on TV? I`m A.J. Hammer in New York. TV`s most provocative entertainment news show starts right now.
On SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, has Britney Spears finally gone off the deep end? A judge orders her to be tested for drugs and alcohol, if she wants it keep her kids. So what does Britney do? She goes out partying at the club until the early morning. What could she possibly be thinking? Tonight, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT asks, has Britney hit rock bottom?
Tonight, the startling reasons O.J. Simpson could beat the rap. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT with the wild, crazy cast of characters in the case against O.J. So we`ve got to ask, is there any jury in the world that would convict him?
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A jury, at a certain point, is going to just say, a pox on both your houses.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Tonight, it`s a SHOWBIZ special report you can`t miss. Why O.J. may win.
Hello, I`m A.J. Hammer, broadcasting tonight and every night from New York City. So you think O.J. Simpson is toast? There`s no way he`s going to beat the rap? Wait until you see our SHOWBIZ special report.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can`t get a bigger collection of unsavory characters than here. You know, a jury at a certain point is going to just say, a pox on both your houses.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Crazy as it may sound, O.J. may win after all. Our special report is coming up.
First tonight, has Britney Spears hit rock bottom? It`s not looking good for her right now. Let me ask you something; if were you fighting for custody of your kids, and a judge ordered you to get tested for drugs and alcohol to prove that you were a fit parent, would you go out that very same night the judge told you that and party for all the world to see? Well, that is exactly what Britney did and, quite frankly, it`s rather mind-boggling.
And it`s just one more example of something Britney did that has us asking, is she just self-destructing?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER (voice-over: It`s official. A court has found Britney Spears guilty of having some serious, serious problems. In the latest hearing in Britney`s custody battle with her ex-hubby Kevin Federline, the judge slammed Brit for her, quote, habitual, frequent and continuous use of controlled substances and alcohol, and he ordered random drug tests for her twice a week. No testing for K-Fed.
MIKE FLEEMAN, "PEOPLE MAGAZINE": The judge came down on Britney Spears much harder than anybody expected.
HAMMER: And how did Britney react to seeing her wild ways and substance abuse issues go from tabloid topic to a matter of legal public record? She went partying. No, your eyes are not deceiving you. As you see in this video from Hollywood.TV, just hours after the judge`s order, Britney hit not one but two of L.A.`s hottest night spots.
FLEEMAN: It was very bizarre that she would sort of flaunt things this way.
HAMMER: "People Magazine`s" Mike Fleeman tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT it was a scene that someone with Britney`s problem might have been better off avoiding.
FLEEMAN: Drinks are coming to the table. We have one source says that Britney was drinking. One says didn`t see her brink. As soon as the judge sent out a very clear, stern warning, she went and did exactly the opposite of what she should do. I think a lot of people now are concerned about where this is going.
HAMMER: Jo Piazza of the "New York Daily News" tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT Britney may have been sending a message.
JO PIAZZA, "NEW YORK DAILY NEWS": I think Britney was kind of making a screw you to the judge. Not exactly the kind of thing you do when a judge tells you you`re going to be drug tested or you`re going to lose your kids.
HAMMER: But even if it is Britney`s prerogative to party like a pop star, losing custody of her two young boys is a possibility that seems to grow with each reckless thing she does. Remember Britney`s recent flame outs? Including her self-inflicted implosion at the MTV Video Music Awards.
So SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is asking, is it just us? Or does it look like Britney Spears is hell bent on sabotaging herself?
FLEEMAN: She is continuing on what looks like a very self-destructive path.
HAMMER: Yes, Britney Spears has been more than a little reckless for some time now.
PIAZZA: We`ve seen Britney Spears go from sexy little pop singer to crazy hot mess.
HAMMER: With her lingering custody battle and sputtering music career, lately Britney Spears has been making it seem like she is trying to destroy her career along with her personal life.
PIAZZA: Britney, in the past several months, has screwed up two huge magazine photo shoots. Then there was the VMA debacle.
HAMMER: SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you everyone is still talking about Britney Spears` disaster in the desert, the MTV Video Music Awards in Las Vegas. "People Magazine`" Mike Fleeman tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT that her bad performance and just as bad bare-all costume were more examples of Britney`s career suicide.
FLEEMAN: Before the big night, Britney Spears spent her time in clubs, late at night partying. Then day of the rehearsal, she shows up late. She ignores the fashion advice. She just doesn`t seem to be listening to anybody.
HAMMER: Britney`s public partying after her judicial smack down is just the latest bad move on her part. And Jo Piazza tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, the judge was probably not impressed.
PIAZZA: If he saw her going out, which he did, because everyone in America did, he could order her drug testing as early as today.
HAMMER: So even if Britney doesn`t succeed in killing her custody chances with this latest round of indiscriminate partying or killing her career with some bone-headed decisions at the VMAs, stay tuned. Because given the road she`s on, she`s bound to be successful on both counts very, very soon.
PIAZZA: She is just teetering on the brink of losing these kids. At this point, I don`t think she really cares. Britney Spears is absolutely self-destructing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: While it does indeed seem that Britney is self-destructing before our very eyes, here`s what we want to know. Has she in fact hit rock bottom? Joining me tonight from Hollywood, interventionist Ken Sealey from A&E`s hit show "Intervention," and investigative journalist Jane Velez-Mitchell, author of "Secrets Can Be Murder."
Guys, I appreciate you being with us tonight. Ken, let me start with you. You have seen people hit rock bottom. From what you`re seeing with Britney, has she hit rock bottom?
KEN SEALEY, "INTERVENTION": A.J., she`s nowhere close to her bottom. She`s so far away from it, and her money and her career has taken her where it`s its padded that bottom. She`s nowhere near it. So what needs to happen is the family needs to come up and raise the bottom that we teach as interventionists, and we need to push her down a little bit to make her feel it, where they finally meet, and you hit rock bottom. And then that`s when therapy and treatment takes effect, when you hit that bottom. But she`s nowhere near it.
HAMMER: But she certainly seems to be spiralling in that direction, Jane. What do you think?
JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST: Absolutely. I think she`s heading in that direction. Nobody can tell you but the person themselves -- and even they don`t know when they`re going to hit rock bottom. But defiance is a hallmark of addiction. That`s has the addict does. Nobody`s going to tell me what to do. I`m going it my own way.
That`s part of the disease and that`s exactly what she`s in. Also, it`s kind of like Satan`s dance. The more and more desperate you get, the more self-destructive you get. It`s an acceleration of self-destructive behavior. That`s what I see with her right now.
HAMMER: Isn`t that very typical of -- you mentioned defiance, the fact that she went out partying after that judge gave her the order to get tested for drugs?
MITCHELL: Absolutely. This is a woman who`s saying, nobody is going to tell me what to do. And as a recovering alcoholic myself with 12 years of sobriety, I can relate to that, remembering when I was in my disease, where I was not going to acknowledge that I had a problem, no matter what. So the moment of clarity, when you see yourself in the mirror, the way other people see you, can take years to achieve.
This is a woman in her 20s. A lot of people find it very hard to get sober that young, even though she`s got her two kids riding on this. And what strikes me as amazing is that this apparent addiction is destroying her maternal instincts.
HAMMER: Let`s talk about that, because I can`t help but think that if she continues to spiral down this particular path, she is going it lose the kids. But, Ken, it seems so intentional that on some level it`s almost like she wants for that to happen?
SEALEY: Yes. No, A.J., she doesn`t want that to happen. Nobody wants that to happen. But like Jane just said, that`s what addicts do. What we need to do is we don`t want her dead like Anna Nicole and we don`t want her in jail. You gently have to raise that bottom. And we don`t know when that`s going to be for her. But we have to continuously work at it. Push her down, raise the bottom and make it happen.
So it happens, so it doesn`t have to be jail or death.
HAMMER: Yes.
SEALEY: Otherwise, that`s where she`s heading.
HAMMER: And it`s not just the loss of her kids that seems to be impending here. It seems like she is just hell bent on wrecking her career as well. We all saw what happened at the MTV Video Music Awards. We also saw her get involved in what was supposed to be this terrific "OK! Magazine" photo shoot, part of big comeback. Instead of doing that, she trashed a dress and she walked out.
Ken, given her apparent alcohol issue, does any of this really surprise you?
SEALEY: Like we said earlier, this is exactly what we do as alcoholics. This is the behavior they demonstrate as alcoholics. It`s a positive thing, the media covering it, because like Jane said, this is when she`s going to be able to mirror it and be able see it. And inside, I would hate to be where she`s at, mentally in her own skin. It`s got to be devastating to watch this over and over, like a train wreck every time she turns on the TV.
It`s got to be close to hitting her bottom, but we`ll never know until we continue to raise it and push her down and then they meet and then that`s when she`ll get the help she needs.
HAMMER: As you mention, the money can act sort of as cushion, I guess? We learned through the course of this custody battle that Britney makes more than 700,000 dollars a month and she has something like 100 million dollars in the bank. Jane, what do you think? With that kind of a cushion, does she even care if she hits rock bottom, or is she just not thinking that way?
MITCHELL: A.J., with that kind of cushion, she could afford a team of psychiatrists. I suggest she hires that team. It`s not about torpedoing her career. She wants to do that, fine. She doesn`t ever have to work again. But it`s her two kids. You know, there`s very, very little in life that can destroy a woman`s maternal instincts. Alcohol is one and drugs is another that can, in fact, destroy your maternal instincts.
What happens with addicts is they lie to themselves. They say I`m going to the club, and I`m only going to have one. Once you have that one, you cannot stop. It is absolutely impossible to stop. The disease takes over. And the compulsion is so great that you have no control.
HAMMER: I have got to tell you, Jane and Ken, we here at SHOWBIZ TONIGHT continue to pull for Britney, and hope she can find the right path to turn this thing around. Ken Sealey, Jane Velez-Mitchell, thank you both so much.
Now we`d like to hear from you. It`s our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day; Britney Spears, is she sabotaging herself? Vote at CNN.com/SHOWBIZTONIGHT. Our e-mail address is SHOWBIZTONIGHT@CNN.com.
If you want to vote on the question of the day by sending a cell phone text message, well, you can. The number to dial is 45688. Want to vote yes, write SHOWBIZ yes, want to vote no -- you got it -- SHOWBIZ no. Once gain, the number, 45688.
Britney and K-Fed not the only celebs who are in the middle of a nasty custody battle. Charlie Sheen and Denise Richards are truly saying some really awful things about each other. I just don`t personally get why they`re doing it all in public. We`ll get into that next. We`ll also have this --
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O.J. SIMPSON, FORMER NFL STAR: Don`t let nobody leave this room. Think you can steel my (EXPLETIVE DELETED).
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HAMMER: Could O.J. Simpson beat the rap? Some people are already saying there is no way a jury will convict him in his robbery case. But why are they saying that? That is coming up in a SHOWBIZ special report, why O.J. may win.
And Alicia Silverstone proves once and for all, nothing says eat your veggies like a naked woman slowly emerging from a swimming pool. Why Alicia is bearing all and one city just isn`t having it. That`s coming up on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. We`ll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHARLIE SHEEN, ACTOR: We love each other and want to hang out until we die. Didn`t that sound romantic? It did.
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HAMMER: He said it with a smile. A very happy Charlie Sheen with his fiancee Brooke Mueller (ph) at the Emmy Awards last weekend. Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. This is TV`s most provocative entertainment news show. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York. So Sheen may have been happy then. Tonight, he is furious. His custody battle ex-wife Denise Richards has exploded again in a really, really nasty way.
Denise Richards just filed papers in court obtained by "Access Hollywood" that accuses Sheen of inappropriate behavior and conduct, attraction to underaged women, and sexual explicitness on the Internet, including revealing his private parts. Wow.
Joining me tonight from New York, Ashleigh Banfield, host of Court TV`s "Hollywood Heat." Also from Hollywood tonight Ken Baker, editorial director of USMagazine.com. Ken, Ashleigh, I appreciate you both being her. Ken, let me start with you. Not the first time Denise has accused Charlie of inappropriate behavior, is it? Take us back here.
KEN BAKER, USWEEKLY.COM: No, this has been going on a long time. It`s been almost 2 1/2 years actually. Charlie`s show is "2 1/2 Men." But these two and a half years a have been a lot more interesting than any episode I`ve seen of that show. Basically, how it started was when she was just six months pregnant with her second child, back in `05, she filed for divorce.
Why? She made some wild allegations that had to do with prostitutes, drugs, gambling and a whole list of inappropriate behavior. And ever since then, it has been war. And, in fact, they were actually divorced last year. But what has been at issue is the issue of the children. They have two children together and they are fighting over the custody. The fact is that Charlie wants more custody than he has right now.
HAMMER: Yes, allegations made in the past nasty, and this is terrible. Who knows, after all, if any of it is actually true? Because they`re right now just allegations. We don`t know if Charlie actually exposes himself on the Internet or if he is attracted to underaged girls. Ashleigh, if Denise Richards can`t even actually substantiate any of this, is it still helpful to her getting custody of the kids that she`s putting it out there?
ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, "HOLLYWOOD HEAT": No, I don`t think anything going out in the public is helpful in a case like this. Listen, no judge wants to see two little kids have to face their parents bickering in front of millions of Americans. The best interests of the child, remember the Anna Nicole case -- the best interests of the child are always what prevail in cases like this. When both of these yahoo`s have their attorneys releasing all of this dirt to the press, it`s not going to bode well for either of them, A.J.
HAMMER: And Charlie, of course, quick to respond and deny all these allegations. In face, he fired off a response. I want to read to you what he said, quote, "clearly the mother of my children has no interest in responsible co-parenting when it comes to my relationship with our girls. She behaves as though she owns our children. She does not. A day of legal reckoning for her is fast approaching. The truth will prevail. It always does."
Ken, give me a little more of the historical background on how we even got to this point with Charlie and Denise, because when you think back to when they first hooked up, they were truly one of Hollywood`s perfect couples, kind of beaming like we just saw him beaming with his new fiancee a moment ago?
BAKER: Actually, the story in Hollywood at the time was that Denise Richards has changed Charlie Sheen. He was known as the bad boy. He was the one who was always out with different girls and partying in Vegas, and there was a lot of press that they did together at the time, where Charlie said I`m a changed man. It`s all because of Denise. She`s the only woman who could ever tame me.
Then they got married. They had a child. It seemed as though things were good. Suddenly things go really bad, really fast. She said, in an interview to "Harper`s Bazaar" last year that she was shocked to find out about all these dark, dirty secrets about Charlie Sheen, and she had never known them, and would have never married him if she`d known about them. Of course, a lot of people are saying, honey, maybe he didn`t really ever change. You just thought he did.
HAMMER: You listen to those allegations. And as nasty as they are -- and then you listen to the statement Charlie issued -- he seems pretty confident. Richards has been pulling out all the stops, it seems, even the nanny. Her nanny has filed a declaration that Charlie hit the family dogs, yelled and cursed at the kids. Ashleigh Banfield, does Charlie need to step it up and fight fire with fire, as nasty as that would be?
BANFIELD: First of all, there could be a house-keeper who comes out and gives depositions on his behalf, about what Denise`s behavior is like in the house. We don`t know what he`ll pull out in terms of his case. I have to be honest with you, who hasn`t yelled in front of the kids or maybe smacked the family dog here and there? That to me doesn`t sound like horrific behavior.
I think there will obviously have to be some color added to that. I`m not sure. He could have as much ammo in his back pocket. And perhaps he has just chosen right now not to release it.
HAMMER: But should he, if wants to even have a prayer here?
BANFIELD: No! You fight these things in court. You don`t fight them in the press. I hate that.
HAMMER: I agree with you 100 percent. Ashleigh Banfield from Court TV, Ken Baker, I appreciate you both being with us tonight.
BANFIELD: Thanks, A.J.
HAMMER: Another question on a lot of people`s minds tonight, will O.J. Simpson beat the rap? There are some people who are already saying there is no way that a jury will actually convict him in his robbery case. We`ve got a fired up panel. They`re ready to get to work on that one. That`s coming up at 30 minutes past the hour. Our SHOWBIZ special report tonight, Why O.J. may win. Also this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, "THE APPRENTICE": I think it`s a poorly written book, but I would expect nothing less from Rosie.
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HAMMER: Yes, all right. Here we go again. Donald Trump going off on Rosie O`Donnell`s new book. Wait until you hear what Donald told me about Rosie`s revelation that she used to break her own bones when she was a child. He didn`t pull any punches. That`s coming up.
And Alicia Silverstone proves, once and for all, in case you were wondering, nothing says eat your veggies like a naked woman slowly emerging from a swimming pool. Why Alicia is bearing it all and why one city just isn`t having it, coming up on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York. So Alicia Silverstone wants you to eat some broccoli, and she`s willing to take off all her clothes for the cause. Like you guys are going to eat broccoli because of that. The lovely Ms. Silverstone is bearing it all in a new ad campaign for the animal rights group, People For the Ethical Treatment of Animals. There is this print ad and there is also a TV commercial that`s being rolled out in Texas. Watch this.
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ALICIA SILVERSTONE, ACTRESS: I`m Alicia Silverstone and I`m a vegetarian. There`s nothing in the world that`s changed me as much as this. I feel so much better, have so much more energy. It`s so amazing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: I don`t know what you thought of that, but a cable system in Houston has pulled the ad from the air because of the nudity. And we just showed it. But the ad is running in Dallas and on PETA`s website and here on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
Is O.J. Simpson going to beat the rap in his robbery case? You know, the case against him is filled with, really, some of the most unsavory characters I`ve ever seen. The question is, will it play in his favor? A fired up panel is ready to go coming up next in a SHOWBIZ special report, why O.J. may win.
I don`t know why I ever thought Donald Trump might have sympathy for Rosie O`Donnell. I don`t think it`s ever going to happen. He does have some very strong opinions about Rosie`s book. What he told me on the way, as well as this --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I like things that are built for comfort, not for speed. I would prefer if she knew how to dance. She looks like the little white girl on "Soul Train," that kind of just don`t know all the steps.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: One of my favorite comedians, D.L. Hughley, giving me his deep thoughts on everything, from Britney Spears to O.J. Simpson to Paris Hilton`s intellectual thoughts, coming up in an interview you`ll see only on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
O.J. SIMPSON: Don`t let nobody out this room. (EXPLETIVE DELETED) Think you can steal my (EXPLETIVE DELETED) and sell it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: O.J. Simpson charged with armed robbery, kidnapping and more. Will Simpson`s own voice seal his fate? Or will a shady cast of characters pave the way for Simpson to beat the charges? Tonight a SHOWBIZ TONIGHT special report: "Why O.J. May Win".
Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. It`s 30 minutes past the hour. I`m A.J. Hammer broadcasting tonight, and every night, from New York City. This is TV`s most provocative entertainment news show.
Tonight a SHOWBIZ special report: "Why O.J. May Win". Yeah, you heard me right. As much as a lot of people would love to see O.J. Simpson get convicted in the robbery and kidnapping case against him, and wind up behind bars, this wild and wacky cast of characters, in this particular case, could become O.J.`s best defense.
With us tonight from Hollywood, investigative reporter and author of "Secrets Can be Murder" Jane Velez-Mitchell and attorney Gloria Allred and joining us from Chicago, CNN contributor, the great Martin Roland.
Gang, to get an idea, a better idea, of what this why this whole case against O.J. Simpson may just fall apart, I want you to check out some of these players, including the alleged victims. It`s kind of like this bad Hollywood movie. So, let`s get a brief rundown from CNN`s Randi Kaye for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
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RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Bruce Fromong, a 53-year- old, Vegas-based sports memorabilia collector, who came to the Palace Station Hotel to do a on some Simpson collectibles. Footballs, photographs, a Hall of Fame certificate. Fromong even testified for Simpson at his wrongful death civil trial. And as this tape, posted on the TMZ.com website shows he didn`t take the events of last Thursday well.
BRUCE FROMONG, ALLEGED ROBBERY VICTIM: Nobody puts a gun in my face! I stood up for that (EXPLETIVE DELETED) in -- while in jail I stood up for him in the press, I stood up for him on the -- on the-- on the stand.
KAYE: On Monday, Fromong suffered a massive heart attack. He`s in fair condition in a Los Angeles hospital.
Then, there`s the other dealer, Alfred Beardsley, also a longtime Simpson supporter and collector of Simpson souvenirs. At first he told tales to the press that Simpson and company storming the hotel room.
ALFRED BEARDSLEY, ALLEGED ROBBERY VICTIM: I was directed, at gunpoint, to pack the items up in the condition they were brought in.
KAYE: Then, well, he changed his tune.
BEARDSLEY: At no time did Mr. Simpson hold any kind of firearm at all.
KAYE: Now Alfred Beardsley had a few legal issues of his own. It turns out this Simpson fan was also a fugitive with a warrant for his arrest in California.
Finally, there`s the snitch. Thomas Riccio, an ex-convict, who says he called Simpson and told him people at the Palace Station Hotel, quote, "have a lot of your stuff and they don`t want anyone to know they are selling it." What Riccio didn`t tell Simpson, was that he, too, was armed, with a cell phone, ready to record and sell the sounds of the confrontation.
SIMPSON: Nobody out of this (EXPLETIVE DELETED) room! Think you can steal my (EXPLETIVE DELETED) and sell it?
KAYE: Perhaps just proving once again the old adage about honor and thieves.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: That was CNN`s Randi Kaye, for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
I hope the Hollywood screenwriters are paying attention to all of this, because you just can`t make this stuff up. I want to begin with Thomas Riccio, because he`s the guy who set up the meeting in the hotel room. And he`s also being accused of setting up O.J. Gloria Allred, if that could be proven, could that help O.J. win?
GLORIA ALLRED, ATTORNEY: Well, absolutely, A.J., because the defense is going to be attacking the credibility of each and every one of the alleged victims, and they`ve got a lot of stuff in their arsenal to attack them on.
I mean, one of these guys, obviously, it was Beardsley, just violated his parole, or at least is accused of violating parole, been arrested and transported back to California. You know, another one has a record. Another one is recording, and he has his own agenda, and then there are some that are selling what they`re recording.
So -- you know, they can allege the motive was money. This is not the perfect victim, any one of them.
On the other hand usually -- you can`t make up the facts in any case. The prosecutor has what he has. He`s going to have to work with it. And, of course, Mr. Simpson might like to make himself the victim in all this, but I don`t think too many people are really going to buy that.
HAMMER: I want to play something that I saw this morning when I was watching the "Today" show, that really kind of surprised me. Thomas Riccio, the gentlemen we just looking at, made the dramatic claim that he actually went to the cops before the day he and O.J. went to that hotel room, because he wanted to let them know about the stolen memorabilia. Watch what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
THOMAS RICCIO, TAPE RECORDED O.J. CONFRONTATION: Went to the police. It`s well documented. I have the -- I have the business cards of the cops I talked to. The FBI, and different states from Houston and in -- in Los Angeles. I called the Los Angeles police department. Everything`s documented.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And finally --
RICCIO: You don`t have to believe me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
RICCIO: Call the police liars, call everybody liars, I documented everything since 2004.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: All right. All of that may well be true, but Riccio -- and Gloria alluded to this a moment ago -- Riccio also acknowledged that he is a four-time convicted felon. So this is not exactly the most stand-up guy.
Roland let me go to you, because you`re chuckling along there. Do you think there`s even a chance that a jury would see this guy as credible?
ROLAND MARTIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Probably not. Let me tell you something. If the O.J. Simpson defense team, if they were a group of atheists, trust me. They will now be believing in Jesus Christ. They are absolutely happy with all of these guys who continue to talk and talk and talk. Every time they change their story, every time they give their interview, they`re going to document that.
And when they put them on that stand, if they change one word, one line, and one story, they`re going to bring all that stuff into evidence. So O.J. is sitting there going you guys just keep talking, running your mouths, and you`re doing me a huge, huge favor.
ALLRED: The problem is that O.J. Simpson himself has been a little Chatty Cathy, and he was talking, talk, and talking. He talked to the police, to the press. So all of those statements may be coming in to evidence and may be used against him as well.
ROLAND: And -- and what -- you`re the jury, you`re going, well who in the world do we believe? You got O.J. saying one thing, Riccio saying another, and this other guy saying another. We don`t know what, I mean there are several stories -- there`s a gun, no gun? Hey, let them go.
JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER: I want to jump in here.
HAMMER: Jane Velez-Mitchell, jump in there.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I really feel that O.J. still has some very serious problems. You`re not going get a bunch of art students from Harvard involved in this kind of scheme. Water finds own level. Of course, these are shady characters. This is a shady dealing.
The fact is, O.J. went in there, some people allegedly pulled guns, they took stuff beyond the stuff that he says was his. They took other stuff that apparently did not belong to O.J. ever, involving Joe Montana and baseballs. So that is armed robbery. And even though all of the charges might not stick, and even though these guys are shady characters, I still think O.J. has some big, big problems.
HAMMER: Gloria what do you think about that? At the end of the day, no matter how shady these people are, and no matter how good the defense may think they have it for O.J. Simpson, if he was involved in an armed robbery, he was involved in an armed robbery.
ALLRED: Even if he was not the person with the gun -- a conspiracy is being alleged. And if he was part of that conspiracy and if someone had the gun, and it was used it could be argued that was a foreseeable consequence of planning to do a robbery.
So, yes, that`s one of the reasons that he`s in very, very serious trouble, and it`s interesting, too, A.J., that Riccio has said in a way that -- well, that he`s recorded so much of it, that he has documentation going back, allegedly for the plan for this -- this heist, so to speak. Which supposedly wasn`t going to be a heist, but turned out to be one. Now he has immunity. In a sense he`s acknowledging that maybe he, himself, wouldn`t be believed, but listen to the recordings and believe them.
HAMMER: Yes, but we are acknowledging --
ROLAND: A.J. --
HAMMER: Hold on a second, Roland. Hang on one second, because we`re acknowledging sort of at the heart of our special report, there are a lot of people who think -- based on the credibility, or lack thereof, all the characters involved -- that O.J. could actually win. We`ve talked about, we mentioned a moment ago Alfred Beardsley, one of the guys that O.J. allegedly robbed. Where was he today? Well, he was in court after being arrested on a parole violation.
So, I think it`s worth looking, once again, real quick, at what Randi Kaye had told us how he has already changed his story, and Gloria alluded to.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: At first he told tales to the press of Simpson and company storming the hotel room.
BEARDSLEY: I was directed, at gunpoint, to pack the items up in the condition they were brought in.
KAYE: Then, well, he changed his tune.
BEARDSLEY: At no time did Mr. Simpson hold any kind of firearm at all.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Gloria -- actually, Roland, let me go to you. I would have to think a jury hears this, and his credibility is just about out the window. If I`m O.J. Simpson watching SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, right now, watching that little piece of tape of Alfred Beardsley thinking, you know, maybe I`m going to be OK, after all here?
MARTIN: Of course, as Gloria said, the critical point is O.J. did not have to hold the gun in order to be convicted of armed robbery. I think the critical two words are very simple, reasonable doubt. Now, I we heard that back in 1993, `94, `95, and the same holds up here. That is what the defense is going to focus on.
That is, if want the jury to sit there, and the jury is absolutely confused as to who did what, who was doing what, who picked up what, you`re going to plant reasonable doubt. And that`s why they`re going to focus on every single one of these contradictory statements, and seize upon all of them.
HAMMER: Isn`t it interesting how things can change in the course of the week? When this story first broke, everybody was like, yeah, we got him. He`s definitely going to jail. Then we start to learn about all these people, and my, how things change.
SO, Jane Velez-Mitchell, where are we going with this? What`s going to happen?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, I think the devil`s in the details. We still don`t have the entire story. We still don`t know why --
MARTIN: True.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: -- Thomas Riccio was doing all this. Certainly not to be a good Samaritan, and we don`t know everything that was said on all those audiotapes. For example, Simpson said at one point, I don`t want violence used. That would be exonerating for him, but we don`t know if he ever said that.
HAMMER: Still, not as airtight as it felt when this whole thing first blew wide open. Gloria Allred, Jane Velez-Mitchell, Roland Martin, I appreciate you being with us tonight.
ALLRED: Thank you.
MARTIN: Thanks, A.J.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Thanks.
HAMMER: So whether O.J. beats this rap or not he certainly has given a lot of comedians a lot of new material. I guess that`s kind of a side benefit to the whole thing. Coming up, the hilarious insightful reaction from D.L. Hughley. You don`t want to miss what he tells me about O.J., Britney and people`s fascination with fame.
And this famous couple certainly has had a lot of people fascinated over the years. Now, who`s reaching out to J-Lo with an offer that left us shaking our heads? We`ll have that surprising story coming up next. Also this --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP: I think it`s a poorly written book, but I would expect nothing less.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Oh, Donald, tell us what you really think. I caught up with Donald Trump. And he sure had a lot to say about Rosie O`Donnell, her new book, and what he thinks is the saddest part about the whole thing. His shocking comments still ahead on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, TV`s most provocative TV news show. It`s time now for another story that made us say --
STUDIO CREW: "That`s Ridiculous!"
HAMMER: Jennifer Lopez, certainly known for her music, her movies, and yes her impeccable taste in clothing. No one can argue she`s a trendsetter. Somehow J-Lo let it slip that she loves the taste of Kentucky Fried Chicken every once in a while. Well, the fast food giant didn`t skip a beat. Reps said, hey, J-Lo`s about to go out on tour, we know exactly what she needs an all-access pass to any KFC along the road. Reps wrote an open letter to J-Lo with the unusual offer. There is no word yet on whether or not J-Lo has accepted it. Either way, we say J-Lo`s finger-lickin` offer -- now, "That`s Ridiculous!"
SHOWBIZ TONIGHT has a treat for you tonight. The hottest of all of the hot topics in Hollywood. We`re talking the sensation, the controversial, the hilarious from, of course, O.J. Simpson`s latest arrest to Britney Spear`s wreck of a life, to Paris Hilton`s latest wise words to the world. You really don`t want to miss this. The best part of it all, we have comedian extraordinaire D.L. Hughley to hash it all out for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: We`ve got a bunch of stuff to talk about here.
D.L. HUGHLEY, COMEDIAN: Absolutely.
HAMMER: Let`s begin with obvious hot topic No. 1. We`ve got to talk about O.J. Simpson, who all of a sudden thought he was some kind of super bad, super cop.
HUGHLEY: Right.
HAMMER: Would you do me a favor? Would you take us in to the mind of O.J. Simpson?
HUGHLEY: Well, you know, I couldn`t do that. You know --
HAMMER: That`s a scary place?
HUGHLEY: I`m like, oh, no. I can`t.
But I do think that if you get away with killing two people, you should chill. That`s what I think. I mean, you should assume you`re not going to get that kind of legal break again. I don`t understand what he -- and then --
HAMMER: Not that it was proven that he did that, of course.
HUGHLEY: Right, right, right, OK. But --
(LAUGHTER)
HUGHLEY: I think that it is hilarious. You know, his lawyer was saying he wasn`t a flight risk. But we remember the slow Bronco chase. I`m not even going to try to get away from the police and save gas. But, OK.
HAMMER: Exactly. Going 15 miles an hour. What kind of a flight risk?
HUGHLEY: Right. Make a commitment. Get away or stop. I don`t understand what you`re doing. But I think O.J. is a -- tell you what I do believe, I do believe that he is -- whatever the maximum is, he`s getting it.
HAMMER: Oh, you think?
(LAUGHTER)
HUGHLEY: Oh, yes. It`s like they been laying dead (ph) for this, it`s like, we got got`em! It`s a hot line. I think, yeah, -- boy, and -- and conversely, if anybody else, the Average Joe, were in this situation, I don`t think it would rise to the level of six counts of, six felony counts. I don`t think that at all.
HAMMER: No, perhaps not.
HUGHLEY: But he -- there ain`t no glove, ain`t no acquit and fit this time. Ain`t no Ito.
HAMMER: Let me get your take on something else, that actually also kind of happened in Vegas. Part of the story is in Vegas. The MTV Video Music Awards, Britney Spears, not a well-received performance. And then of course she goes out afterwards, and her panties are once again, missing, you know, from her wardrobe setup.
HUGHLEY: Right.
HAMMER: Do you think she is melting down?
HUGHLEY: No. Obviously, she just don`t like girls. And people are talking about panties, to me she looked -- I liked her body. I don`t like -- I like a little -- see, I like things that are built for comfort, not for speed. I think she looked -- I would have preferred if she knew how to dance. She looked like the little white girl on "Soul Train" that kind of just don`t know all the steps. But I think she -- anybody that thought she could sing --
(LAUGHTER)
I mean, come on.
HAMMER: Why`d they show up for the party?
HUGHLEY: Right, right, right.
HAMMER: So the guy who is all over the Internet, screaming, "Leave Britney alone!?
HUGHLEY: Right that was --
HAMMER: Do we need to leave Britney alone?
HUGHLEY: I don`t think she should be like, today, I was reading where her bodyguard said he saw her traipse around naked in front of her children.
HAMMER: There were allegations of nakedness --
(CROSS TALK)
HUGHLEY: These kids are one and two. They`re one and two. My mother -- who did -- woman start walking around naked in front of their kids and they go, Mommy, what`s that? That`s when they stop. That`s not -- I mean, that`s -- I don`t think that`s an indictment on how she parents. And I really, personally, think that -- why are we fascinated with -- TMZ is now bigger than CNN.
HAMMER: What do you think of that?
HUGHLEY: I think it`s ridiculous.
HAMMER: First of all, that`s not true.
HUGHLEY: I`m telling you, you`ll see CNN run a story, with TMZ -- it used to be that everybody ran stories courtesy of CNN. Now, I just don`t understand this society. Like if it ain`t Paris Hilton, why I don`t -- what is she famous for, because her mommy and daddy own hotels? I don`t see the Ramada girls. You ever seen them? I never see the girls from Hotel 6. They ain`t never --
HAMMER: You know, but we could be getting to a good place with Paris Hilton. And to that end, can I read you a little something?
HUGHLEY: All right.
HAMMER: She game an interview to "People" magazine.
HUGHLEY: Right.
HAMMER: I don`t think she intended it to be a full interview, but here`s what she told them. And she`s talking about a relationship she has with Adrien Grenier. He`s the star of HBO`s "Entourage".
She said, quote, "He`s been kind of a mentor to me, teaching me about the environment and what I can do. I think it`s cool to talk to some one from L.A. who has more to talk about than all this artificial crap people talk about. It`s nice to talk to someone who`s real."
Yes, the princess of all that is artificial.
HUGHLEY: Reality, yeah, right, right, right.
HAMMER: Is she suddenly becoming a deep thinker?
HUGHLEY: I don`t know. Maybe when she stops at a gas station she didn`t put enough air in her head this time. You know, yeah.
I think she`s a kid and I think she`s -- I don`t know why we`re so fascinated with people who don`t -- you know -- I don`t know that they contribute to the dialogue as much as we give them credit for. I don`t think she`s a bad person. I just don`t think she`s particularly newsworthy.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: Also particularly newsworthy, D.L. Hughley has a fantastic new comedy show called "Unapologetic". It is airing this weekend on HBO. Be sure to check it out. It`s going to be great.
Well, yesterday, we asked you to vote on our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day. This is what we wanted to know from you: Britney Spears ordered to undergo drug testing. Should her kids be taken away? Look at this, 66 percent of you said yes; and 34 percent of you said no.
A lot of e-mail came in on this. Including one from Dawn in Idaho.
She writes, "Britney obviously addicted to something. Until she gets that under control, the kids should not be with her."
We also heard from Karla in Oklahoma, who writes, "Britney Spears should get her kids taken away while she gets help and custody should be given to her mom, not her ex."
We do appreciate your e-mails every single day.
Donald Trump, certainly never one to hold back. I can tell you all I did was mention the name, Rosie O`Donnell and he got all fired up.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: She is a degenerate. So, she probably did a lot things that most people wouldn`t be doing. Rosie`s got some big problems.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Coming up, Trump goes full throttle about Rosie, her book, and what he thought was the saddest part of her story. The shocking comments coming up on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Tonight, Donald Trump, never one to hold back, he let me know exactly how he feels about Rosie O`Donnell. Trump is slamming her again. This time over her controversial book "Celebrity Detox" in which Rosie does her best to take a few swipes at Trump as well.
Now, The Donald has a book of his own coming out soon. When I caught up with him at the launch of his new hotel condominium in New York City, I asked Donald whether his new book has any life lessons learned from Rosie. Listen to what he told me.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: It`s a great book. It`s a book on success and how to be successful and they`ve already order over 500,000 copies, which is a tremendous success. So we`re really looking forward to it. It`s called "Think Big and Kick Ass." I think it`s going to do very, very well. It`s going to be a No. 1 bestseller very quickly I suspect.
HAMMER: So, Rosie`s not in there at all?
TRUMP: I do discuss her a little bit.
HAMMER: Oh, you do? Because you made quite a few pages of her book. I was actually curious to get your reaction to, you know, her talking about the whole thing and putting herself out there like that.
TRUMP: Well, I looked at her book. It`s very poorly written, but I`d expect that. She`s not a very intelligent person. But it`s a very poorly written book.
The sad part is how she attacks Barbara Walters. Barbara Walters saved her career in a sense. Because she got thrown off television, she did poorly on Broadway, poorly with her magazine, which folded. And Barbara gave her a second chance. She really belittles Barbara Walters. And she shouldn`t do that that. She also was very tough on ABC. So, I think it`s a poorly written book, but I expect nothing less from Rosie.
HAMMER: Were you surprised about revelations from her early life. The fact that she broke her own bones when she was young? The things that she went through?
TRUMP: I don`t know if I believe it necessarily. But, you know, she is a degenerate. So she probably did a lot of things that most people wouldn`t be doing. Rosie`s got some big problems.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: Oh, Donald, I wish you had told me how you really felt. Trump`s new book, as he said, is called, "Think Big and Kick Ass, in Business and Life." It will be in stores on October 16.
It is time now to see what is coming up on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
Tomorrow, we go inside the minds of Rosie O`Donnell. Rosie`s controversial new book reveals a very troubled past. And she`s opening up like never before about her personal turmoil, her inner-most anxieties. But could there be even more going on below the surface? We`re bringing in two top psychologists to read between the lines tomorrow.
Also tomorrow, older women rule. Hollywood`s hottest, most talented older actresses are leaving the movie industry behind and making a new mark on television. Talking about Glenn Close, Holly Hunter, Sally Field. They are over 40 and they are hotter than ever. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT investigates female stars who are turning age in an asset on TV.
That`s it for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York. "Glenn Beck" coming up after the latest on CNN "Headline News."
END
