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Showbiz Tonight
Britney`s in Love?, Lindsay`s Rock Bottom, Beauty Queens Unplugged
Aired October 09, 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, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rosie speaks out for the first time about her shocking new book. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And Jennifer Lopez is letting the world know she`s very happy. I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. TV`s most provocative entertainment news show starts right now.
ANNOUNCER: On "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, Britney Spears in love; no, there isn`t a new man in her life. There are dozens of them. Tonight, Britney`s love affair with the only guy she may have in her life right now.
BRITNEY SPEARS: I love you guys.
ANNOUNCER: But could Britney`s obsessive love affair be dangerous? Tonight, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT dares to go behind the flashbulbs to investigate Britney`s biggest love.
Tonight, Lindsay Lohan`s confessions, fresh out of rehab and speaking out. Lindsay`s startling revelations about hitting rock bottom and her shocking confessions about her addiction. But wait a second. Shouldn`t she be lying low? Tonight, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT demands to know, are Lindsay and Britney addicted to fame?
HAMMER: Hello, 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 from Hollywood where stars get as addicted to fame as they do to other things, from Paris to Lindsay to Britney, we have a startling SHOWBIZ TONIGHT report coming up.
HAMMER: But first tonight, Britney in love. Yes, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you Britney Spears is madly in love and not with one guy, oh, no, with a bunch of guys who follow her like she was the pied piper day in and day out, night in and night out. And SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can now reveal that Britney`s love affair could be dangerous. It`s probably Britney`s most enduring relationship. No, it`s not with K-Fed, not with Justin, not with her family, certainly not with her little dog, London. No, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you that Britney`s most significant relationship right now is with the paparazzi.
SPEARS: I love you guys.
HAMMER: As this video from hollywood.tv shows, photographers that follow her day in and day out, has become almost surreal.
SPEARS: You`re supposed to be with me, not filming me!
COOPER LAWRENCE, PSYCHOLOGY SPECIALIST, RADIO HOST: If you have a sort of an odd friendship, sort of a parasitic friendship, where they need each other in a very unhealthy way.
HAMMER: Of course, the paparazzi need Britney because they make their living selling pictures of her to tabloid magazines. And Britney needs them -- well, why does Britney need them? For one, as we see in this video from hollywood.tv, the photographers change her tire when she has a flat. They also compliment her wardrobe.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I like your hat, Britney.
HAMMER: They delete unflattering digital photos of her when she asks nicely and they even defend her honor. Check out this tmz.com video of a woman on the street heckling Britney and her sister, Jamie Lynn.
JULIA ALLISON, STAR MAGAZINE: Britney`s not dating anyone right now. Luckily for her, she has 25 paparazzi guys trailing her at all times. Who needs a boyfriend when you`ve got the pap?
HAMMER: Hollywood insiders say, make no mistake about it, Britney makes darn sure she and her paparazzi paramours spend quality time together even if she has to seek them out.
HARVEY LEVIN, MANAGING EDITOR, TMZ.COM: This woman will circle the block on Robertson to make sure that people see that she`s coming. I mean she`s legendary in this town, legendary you know for courting cameras. I mean she loves it. It`s how she rolls.
HAMMER: But SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is asking, is Britney`s devotion to the paparazzi and the media attention they bring a healthy relationship or is it a union that is, according to her song .
Of course Britney isn`t the only star who courts paparazzi attention. But Britney is famous for taking it to a whole new level.
ALLISON: She`s so insecure and so misguided that she looks to the paparazzi for affirmation that she`s still a huge star.
HAMMER: Julie Allison of "Star Magazine" tells "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT Britney does what she can to make sure the paparazzi followed just about her every move.
ALLISON: We`ve heard from sources inside her camp that she wants this kind of attention. She`s so frightened that when she stops getting attention, she`s going to stop being somebody.
HAMMER: But Britney`s love affair with the paparazzi is sometimes abusive. Look at this disturbing video. Britney`s two small sons crying while become accosted by the paparazzi with their mom. Not an exactly ideal environment for such young children.
ALLISON: They shouldn`t grow up thinking that`s normal. It`s not normal. In no way is it normal. It`s bizarre. And I can`t understand why she doesn`t find it more upsetting.
HAMMER: But it does upset Britney. In a "Dateline NBC" interview last year, Britney broke down when she told Matt Lauer that she would like the paparazzi to leave her and her family alone.
MATT LAUER, DATELINE NBC: Is that one of your biggest wishes?
SPEARS: Yes. I would like for them to leave me alone.
HAMMER: But if that attention was so painful for Britney, why does she seek it now? It all makes perfect sense to psychology expert Cooper Lawrence.
LAWRENCE: That`s what addiction is. There`s that side of you that really needs it and really craves it. It makes you feel good about who you are. But on the other side of it, you hate it and resent it because that`s what makes you feel good about who you are.
HAMMER: So if it`s true that Britney`s love affair with the paparazzi masks an attention to the addiction they provide her, then maybe that`s the toxin that helps poison so many areas of Britney Spears` life.
LAWRENCE: It`s not healthy. It`s not healthy at all. But nothing that Britney does has been healthy.
HAMMER: What do you think? Here`s what we want to know for our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day. We`re asking, Britney Spears, is she addicted to fame? Let us know your thoughts at cnn.com/showbiztonight and e-mail us at showbiztonight@cnn.com.
ANDERSON: Well, there`s little doubt that fame played a role in Lindsay Lohan`s downfall. Tonight Lohan is finally out of rehab and is now for the very first time confessing that she hit rock bottom when she was arrested fro DUI and cocaine possession earlier this year.
Joining me tonight from Hollywood, interventionist Ken Sealy from A&E Intervention and investigative journalist, Jane Velez-Mitchell, author of "Secrets Can Be Murder." Great to see both of you. And you know Lindsay has just done a big tell-all interview with both "OK" magazine and "In Touch" magazine. And I want to read to you now what she told "OK." Listen to this, "I hit rock bottom. Everything in my life came to a point where I had to make a decision. The arrest that night helped me come to a point where I had to make one."
Jane, you know she spent just about two months in rehab this time. She relapsed after her two previous stays in rehab. Can she really say for sure that she`s hit rock bottom or is it too soon to tell? I want to believe she`s on the right path.
JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST: We all want to believe she`s on the right path, Brooke, or at least most of us. Maybe not some of her Hollywood party friends but I think she said all the right things in that interview. The thing that impressed me most is that she spoke about humility, that she had learned the concept of humility, which is an absolutely key aspect of sobriety. She also apologized to her fans. And that is another key aspect of sobriety, taking responsibility and making amends. So I think her heart`s in the right place. She seems to be on the spiritual bead. Let`s hope she doesn`t get knocked off.
Finally, I think it was wonderful that she is reunited with her dad and she expressed the insight that she was acting out because she wanted to get her parents` attention. And once you understand the why of your behavior, that`s when you`re about to change it.
ANDERSON: Yes. From her words she seems to be in a completely different state of mind.
Ken Sealy, what do you think? Are you encouraged?
KEN SEALY, A&E INTERVENTION: You know this is what we normally do as interventionists is we raise that bottom so they feel that pain. So hopefully that was enough pain for her to realize that she needs to change her behavior. So I`m hoping that that`s it and with her saying that she`s going to go back to Utah and she`s going to stick close to her recovery, I`m hoping it`s that and not dating because a lot of people in new recovery start dating and that becomes their addiction. So I`m hoping that it`s really recovery.
ANDERSON: Well, she has been very open about that, Ken, that she started dating somebody while she was in rehab. She said his name is Riley. You know, a lot of people think that may not be a good thing to do, date someone with the same problems and struggles that you have. Your thoughts?
SEALY: Horrible. It`s a horrible way to start your recovery. And 99.9 percent of the time they end up relapsing. So if that`s the case and that`s why she`s in recovery, then it`s not going to work. You know she has to go in to save her life and feel the pain of her bottom. That`s really what a bottom is. It`s not about dating. I`m praying that she really did hit this bottom and she could be a great example and help millions of people if that is the case.
ANDERSON: I know that both of you are for the most part encouraged. And I would like to say that everybody is optimistic here. But I`ve got to tell you, you have to listen to what Danny Bonaduce, who`s been to rehab many times himself, says about Lindsay`s chances of succeeding. Listen to this.
DANNY BONADUCE, ACTOR: Compared to Britney and Paris and Nicole Richie, I find Lindsay the most dangerous of the four horse women of the apocalypse and I don`t give her a long shelf life. And it`s sad because she`ll straighten up, which is unlikely, or she`ll die, which is possible.
ANDERSON: Danny B., always so positive. Jane, way too harsh?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I think it is way too harsh. With all due respect to Danny, I don`t think anybody can make predictions about somebody else`s sobriety. And in fact in my 12 years in sobriety observing people, sometimes the goody two shoes are the ones that slip and the down and outers are the ones who actually make it through mistakes and all. There`s only two hard and fast rules. Don`t drink, don`t use, go to meetings, work the program. If she does that, she can stay sober. You know, she`s in her 20s. Yes, she pulled some humdingers out there but let`s all remember what we were like when we were in our early twenty. I was disco dancing till dawn. I`m sure he would have said the same thing about me.
ANDERSON: I wish I could see that. Just go dancing till dawn. I`m sure it was quite a sight. That`s awesome.
Well you know, Ken mentioned that Lindsay is planning to film a movie. Then that she will go back to Utah. In her interview with "In Touch" magazine, she said, "The biggest thing not being in L.A., staying away from the nightlife. Going out all the time was very self destructive. Partying and having all of those pictures taken distracts from the work that I do." Ken, very quickly, will there ever be a point that she should ever go near any club with a 10 foot pole?
SEALY: No, no, no. Not right out. I think it will take at least a year of structured living and sober living before she should go near any of that.
ANDERSON: Well, we wish her the best. Stay strong, stay focused, Lindsay Lohan, Ken Sealy of A&E Intervention, Jane Velez-Mitchell, author of "Secrets Can Be Murder," thank you both.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Thanks Brooke.
SEALY: Thanks Brooke.
HAMMER: Well you know between Lindsay giving interviews right out of rehab and Britney Spears making a spectacle of just going to a convenience store, I have to wonder, are they addicted to the spotlight? Do they bring all this attention on themselves? We`ll be looking into that coming up at 30 minutes past the hour. It`s our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT special report tonight, addicted to fame.
Also this.
TARA CONNER: I`m known because I`m the Miss USA that went to rehab. You know that`s not fun for me. It`s not fun for me to sit there and think, wow!
ANDERSON: The ugly side of beauty pageants. Straight ahead why former beauty queens caught in big scandals including former Miss USA Tara Conner decided to live together with the cameras rolling. Plus their surprising comments about Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan.
HAMMER: And perhaps the most important question you will ponder all day, why did the kangaroo cross the road and right in the middle of an auto race no less? That`s next in the showbiz video of the day.
SHOWBIZ TONIGHT for Tuesday night coming right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: And welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. You`re watching TV`s most provocative entertainment news show.
All right time now for the SHOWBIZ TONIGHT video of the day. I want you to check out this crazy kangaroo. This guy hopped right onto a track in Australia right in the middle of a car race as the cars roared on by. And amazingly, the kangaroo didn`t get crushed. The kangaroo hopped right off like it was no big deal. Hey Mr. kangaroo, I`ve got to tell you. The boxing ring, much safer than a racetrack because even though kangaroos can reach speeds of about 30 miles an hour, that`s no match for a Chevy. In Australia, a lot of the cars have these protective bars in front because there are so many kangaroo car collisions. I`m glad this one didn`t end badly. That is our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT video of the day.
HAMMER: All right from kangaroo hopping to bar hopping now, bar hopping just one of many things Tara Conner did that almost got her fired as Miss USA. And as we now know, she went to rehab and later handed over her crown to Rachel Smith. Now, in a fascinating new MTV reality show called "Pageant Place," Tara, Rachel and other beauty queens let cameras capture the drama of their life. That includes former Miss Teen USA Katie Blair. She got into trouble herself for underage drinking. And I`ve got to tell you. I was absolutely blown away by how frank they all were when I spoke to them, including Tara Conner, on how she rebounded.
Can you possibly have imagined that things would have worked out as well as they have, given what took place back then being with the TV show and everything else you`re doing?
TARA CONNER, MISS USA 2006: Someone told me while that was going on, they said, you`re going to look back at this and you`re going to laugh. And I wanted to smack them upside the head. Because there was so much going on and it was a really, really hard time for me.
HAMMER: I want to take a look back at that press conference. You`ve certainly come a long way since. I want to take a look at something you said that day on that stage.
Let`s roll this.
CONNER: I wouldn`t say that I`m an alcoholic. That would be pushing the envelope just a little. We all have personal demons that we have to face at some point or another.
HAMMER: So after that, your struggles really continued. You went into rehab. You admitted to having a problem. So now, I guess you would be considered a recovering alcoholic. But it is a daily struggling, isn`t it?
CONNER: Absolutely. Yes, I have to put any sobriety every day just to be able to work or to be able to have any kind of relationship with my family or even be able to interact with the girls in a healthy way. If I don`t put my sobriety first then I could slip and it`s not a place that I would like to fall back to. It`s my number one priority and then everything else comes afterwards.
HAMMER: I imagine it`s helping you a lot in your big sister role on "Pageant place" that you are to the other women who are on the show. Now you two were living together, Katie, when you were going through your own difficulty and a scandal of your own. There was the underage drinking that happened at the time. I`m curious if when that happened and when that broke -- when the cameras weren`t around, you guys, perhaps now, do you sit around and say, you know what? That was sort of a big deal out of nothing?
KATIE BLAIR, MISS TEEN USA 2006: I don`t know. I mean it was obviously it was a big deal. It was a mistake and I think it taught a lot of people lessons. I mean for me personally where I`ve grown up and how I was raised, it was a big deal out of not a whole lot the way I was brought up.
HAMMER: You went through rehab and then thankfully redemption after that and then you hand your crown over to Rachel. Did you feel some sort of additional personal pressure to kind of rebuild the image of this thing? Which perhaps I don`t want to say it was tarnished. But people now have a different association than they once did with this type of a pageant or these types of shows?
RACHEL SMITH, MISS USA 2007l I went into it with the mentality that I was going to close the book on 2006. 2007 is my year to make my impact. And pursue my passions and be the best Miss USA I could be.
HAMMER: I wanted to ask you about Lindsay Lohan who just got out of rehab which is really now the first step. She`s got a tough road ahead of her as well. What do you think she can expect right now getting out?
CONNER: You know she`s going to have like she`s always had a huge microscope on her. That makes it hard enough to deal with. I mean no one wants to get sober and have everyone sit there and watch every single move that you make because it`s for you. You`re getting sober for you not for the world. You know I didn`t get sober so that everyone could like me again. I got sober because you have to in order to live. I`m extremely proud of her for staying as long at the rehab that she did and I`m hopeful that she`ll stay sober.
HAMMER: And someone we can`t ignore who is behind the curve still, Britney Spears, obviously. When you see her and she appears to many of us to be in some kind of a denial about what she`s actually doing, do you see some of herself in her?
CONNER: Absolutely. I see a lot of -- a little bit of the old Tara. The thing I see is hard for her, it could be the same case for Lindsay. It wasn`t hard for me to hit rock bottom. OK. I just won Miss USA. I was a beauty queen, I was slapped on the wrist left and right. My family was drug through the mud you know. But with them, they get a good for you, here`s a check. It`s hard for them to hit a rock bottom at all or to see that there`s error in the way that they`re living their lives because everyone is applauding them for it. The more bad that they do, the better press they get. I turned good. Tara disappears. They never say, this one stayed sober. They say, look at this one out here doing this. You know they`re being applauded for that so where are they to think that they`re doing wrong.
HAMMER: That`s an excellent point. "Pageant Place" premiers tomorrow night on the MTV.
Well, as we`ve seen with Britney and Lindsay, fame can be dangerous but can it also be an addiction?
JANE FONDA: Celebrity has become much more important than just the works. This is not a dress rehearsal. This is life, if you blow it, kind of that`s it.
HAMMER: Jane Fonda, very well said. So are Britney and Lindsay addicted to the spotlight? How can they possibly break free? That`s coming up in a showbiz special report addicted to fame.
ANDERSON: Well, Rosie O`Donnell knows all about the pitfalls of fame. Her new book, actually called "Celebrity Detox," and for the first time she`s speaking out about it. We`ve got that coming up.
HAMMER: And Jennifer Lopez says she`s at a happy time in her life right now. But did she finally fess up to being pregnant? You`re not going to want to miss what she said today. That`s next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Tomorrow on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, one of my favorite people in Hollywood, Halle Berry. She told me all about what`s she`s looking forward to most about being a mom and how that plays into her new movie role. My one-on-one with Halle Berry coming tomorrow on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
ANDERSON: Well Halle is talking about her pregnancy but Jennifer Lopez is still being very coy about whether or not she`s expecting. Not even Diane Sawyer could get her to confirm it. Take a look at what happened today on "Good Morning, America".
DIANE SAWYER: I know what everybody`s asking and I know you have so little privacy in your life, which I really appreciate. So I`m just going to say, how are you?
JENNIFER LOPEZ: I`m very well, thank you so much. It`s really a great, happy time in my life. Yes. Thank you. Thank you. And I don`t know. Everything`s great. You know we have the album coming out today, we have the tour, everything else is just wonderful.
SAWYER: Can I hug you because I`m happy?
LOPEZ: Yes.
SAWYER: Congratulations.
LOPEZ: Absolutely. Thank you so much.
ANDERSON: "AMERICAN MORNING" entertainment correspondent Lola Ogunnaike had a similar experience when she sat down with Jennifer. Not even a bilingual approach worked. Watch this.
LOLA OGUNNAIKE, AMERICAN MORNING: I`ve got to ask you about the rumors that are swirling about you being pregnant.
LOPEZ: Yes.
OGUNNAIKE: Do you care to clear the record right now?
LOPEZ: No.
OGUNNAIKE: If I ask you in Spanish?
LOPEZ: No.
OGUNNAIKE: [speaking in foreign language]
LOPEZ: My answer would still be no.
ANDERSON: I guess we`ll just have to wait. It`s clear that J-Lo won`t tell us until she`s good and ready. And that is her right.
HAMMER: That it is. While J-Lo is saying mum about becoming a mom, you know it seems like Britney Spears can`t even go to I don`t know Taco Bell without everybody knowing about it. But do she and Lindsay bring it on themselves out of I don`t know some need to see those flashs going off in their face all the time? That`s next in a showbiz special report, addicted to fame.
We`ll also have this.
ROSIE O`DONNELL: Well the book`s about my truth and I`m sure that you know there are people that could argue whether or not I have the right to say it.
ANDERSON: Rosie O`Donnell speaks out for the first time about her shocking new book. But why isn`t she doing other shows, even turning she turned down Oprah? We`ve got that coming up on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT for this Tuesday night.
Coming up, America is one nation under God, right? No, not as far as some on Capitol Hill are concerned. I`m Glenn Beck. All the details are next.
RICHELLE CAREY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I`m Richelle Carey. This is your "HEADLINE PRIME" news break. The Atlanta Falcons` are entitled to get back nearly $20 million in bonuses paid to former quarterback Michael Vick. An arbitrator agreeing Vick`s dog fighting guilty plea shows he was in violation of his contract when he signed it. The players union will appeal.
No survivors from the skydivers` plane that crashed south of Washington`s Mount Rainier on Sunday. A pilot and nine jumpers were on board. Rescue workers found the last three victims Tuesday.
And 24 actor, Kiefer Sutherland will serve 30 days in jail for drunk driving as part of a plea deal. He pleaded no contest Tuesday to DUI. The actor must also enroll in an alcoholic education class and attend therapy. He was already on probation for a 2004 DUI conviction. Keep it here. I`m Richelle Carey.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
A.J. HAMMER, CNN ANCHOR, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT: On SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, addicted to fame. Tonight, we`ve got a revealing look at another startling star addiction, but this one does not involve a bottle or a drug.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JANE FONDA, ACTRESS: Celebrity has become much more important than just the work. This is not a dress rehearsal. This is life. You know, and if you blow it, kinda that`s it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: What Jane Fonda is talking about is when stars can`t get enough of themselves. Tonight, Britney, Lindsay, others, are they addicted to fame? It`s a SHOWBIZ special report.
Also tonight, Rosie O`Donnell`s shocking revelations. Tonight, Rosie is speaking out like never before about fame, Hollywood and her explosive time on "The View." Tonight, we`ve got Rosie all fired up again in her own words. It will leave you speechless.
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.
BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN ANCHOR, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT: And I`m Brooke Anderson. Coming to you tonight from Hollywood, this is TV`s most provocative entertainment news show.
HAMMER: And tonight, we have a SHOWBIZ report, "Addicted to Fame". I want you to take a look at this video courtesy of Hollywood.TV, Britney Spears posing for pictures. And as you see, she`s not mugging with her fans. That`s the paparazzi, the same paparazzi who stalk her, who hound her, whenever she leaves the house, wherever she`s going. Now you`d think because she`s in the middle of this nasty custody battle with her ex, Kevin Federline, Britney would be laying low these days.
Well, no. There she is posing and smiling for pictures. Is she, like so many others, addicted to fame?
Here with us again tonight from Hollywood, investigative journalists and author, "Secrets Can Be Murder" the lovely, Jane Velez-Mitchell, joining us tonight from New York, clinical psychologist, Dr. Judy Kuriansky, also in New York, author of "The Manual," Steve Santagati.
Gang, I appreciate you all being here, and can we re-rack and re-run that video, Charles, of Britney standing there posing with the paparazzi. Because it just blows me away. She used to complain about these guys all the time. We obviously already know about Lindsay`s addictions and we know Britney`s struggles.
Dr. Judy, let me start with you, can being addicted to fame be just as dangerous?
DR. JUDY KURIANSKY, CLINICAL PYSCHOLOGIST: Yes, it can. Indeed, because an addiction to fame, although it`s an addiction to attention is basically like an addiction to drugs or to alcohol. People don`t think of it that way, or like an addiction to love and sex. It doesn`t seem like it`s going to drive you to distraction. But look what it`s done, in fact, to Britney.
And basically, there are three characteristics of this. First of all, if you have to have it, the fame, the attention or the drug and the alcohol, if you crash when you lose it, like we`ve seen Britney, and even Lindsay do. And the third thing is when you`re out of control, and that we see from both of them as well.
HAMMER: And it seems that Britney, yes, has to have it and just can`t get enough of it. And if you want more proof that Britney is in love with her suitors, in air quotes, take a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, Britney.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, Britney.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On the sidewalk, guys.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There`s the guy that did the tire (ph), that`s him right there, Britney.
BRITNEY SPEARS: I love you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We love you, too, Britney.
(CROSS TALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We love you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMER: All right, now, Steve, let me go to you. She loves her kids, she loves her dogs. But does she also really need to love the paparazzi? It`s not like she needs them to sustain her career anymore.
STEVE SATAGATI, AUTHOR, THE MANUAL: No, they`re her drug dealers though A.J., come on they`re fame dealers. Of course she`s gonna love them she`s smart at least she`s telling the truth you know. I read a good article with Kid Rock in "Maxim" magazine on the plane today. And he was like saying, all these celebrities that complain about these paparazzi hounding them, and stuff like that, them are full of it. They call them, they tell them where they`re going to be, they have them photographing their kids. It`s no mistake.
But at least Britney`s embracing it right now. You know what? She`s doing something right, she`s in love with her fame-slash-drug dealers. But it is a scary thing you know. It gets more serious when it`s like Fonzi jumping the shark. They have to do something to maintain their fame and that`s when desperation comes.
It`s the DUIs, it`s the drinking, it`s the drugs. It used to be getting married in Vegas. So what`ll they do next? That, like Dr. Judy said, that`s where it becomes a problem. I can`t believe I just agreed with her! Oh my god!
HAMMER: Yeah, you did air quotes once. It`s like this big, black hole that they can get sucked into. Let`s talk about Lindsay Lohan for a moment. Because we`ve been reporting, you know, Lindsay`s just out of rehab the third time.
SANTAGATI: Right.
HAMMER: We know that Lindsay was just as much in love with having herself photographed as Britney seems to be. She gave this interview to "In Touch" and I want to review what she said. What she said when she just got out:
Quote, "The biggest thing is not being in L.A. and staying away from the nightlife. Going out all the time was very self-destructive. Partying and having all those pictures taken distracts from the work that I do."
Jane Velez-Mitchell, is it really even possible for us to separate her substance abuse addiction from her fame addiction?
JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, AUTHOR, "SECRETS CAN BE MURDER": They`re all kind of intertwined like a big ball of yarn and its hard to separate them. She has to separate her addictions of consumption to drugs and alcohol, from her addictions of behavior being addicted to fame. And they do interplay with each other. If something`s going bad in your personal life because you`ve messed up, because you`ve gotten drunk and high, what better way to get a boost of self-esteem than to go out and have all those cameras popping in your face?
It`s an easy quick fix to feel like you`re on top of the world and you`re number one. And yes, everybody still loves you. So it`s a fast fix but it doesn`t last forever, especially when your behavior gets more and more self destructive on the alcohol and drug front. So yes, she has to separate out her addictions and attack them in the order that they`re killing her. And that obviously that means, number one, drugs and alcohol.
HAMMER: Dr. Judy, what do you think about that? Can they sort of become this vicious cycle?
KURIANSKY: Absolutely. They become a vicious cycle and here`s one of the reasons why. Jane was pointing out some of the important psychological things. That desperate need for attention -- and for love. But there are physical reasons, too. There`s a powerful cocktail of chemicals that flow in the body. You`ve got adrenaline. You`ve oxytocin. You have phenylethylamines. You`ve got endorphins. And those things really flood your brain, your body, and it`s like playing a sport. When you keep going and going and going at it, and you crash when it all falls down. That`s another important part.
SANTAGATI: And, A.J., there`s a necessity for this drug. I mean, look at us, we`re all on television right here. Everybody that`s an expert, and yourself included, we know what television can bring us in terms of opportunity. We know what having our image and our voice and face out there can bring to us.
These celebrities ride a fine line of tapping into fame to make it further their career, and also, damaging themselves. We have to know as adults and as mature individuals when it is that we have to stop. When do we shut off and get into our personal life.
HAMMER: I would have to say that`s essential, having perspective when you do what we do, and when they do what they do. It goes without saying that has to happen. Let`s talk about somebody else who maybe falls into the category of having a need for attention, the lovely Paris Hilton. Never met a camera she didn`t like. Shortly after Paris got out of jail, she said something very interesting on "Larry King Live. She told Larry king she was going to change her ways. Right. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PARIS HILTON, CELEBRITY: You know, I realized that there`s a lot more important things in life. And there`s a lot more things to do and I`m frankly sick of it. I`ve been going out for a long time now. And yeah, it`s fun, but it`s not going to be the mainstay of my life anymore.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Right, I`ll say again. Paris became famous for being famous. She was always seeking out the camera. It seems to me that she`s still doing that. Jane Velez-Mitchell, what do you think? Has she really kicked her addiction?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I don`t think she`s kicked her addiction to fame. She has the classic addiction to fame. And to a certain degree, it worked for her up until she got into trouble. What about all those promises she made about helping people. What about that halfway house she was going to do for her fellow inmate that she met and bonded with, during her couple of seconds in jail? OK? What happened to all that work?
It`s okay to have the cameras popping if you`ve got work behind it to justify it. But when it`s hollow, when it`s superficial, ultimately, I think it won`t help your self-esteem. Ultimately it`s a joke, it`s a charade, it`s a facade. And eventually she`s going to feel very shame based about it.
HAMMER: Yes, she will. How about a halfway house for those addicted to fame?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yeah!
HAMMER: Jane Velez-Mitchell, Doctor Judy Kuriansky, Steven Santagati. Thanks for being with us tonight.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: That`s a good one.
KURIANSKY: Thank you.
ANDERSON: We`ve been asking you to vote on our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT "Question of the Day". It is this -- Britney Spears, is she addicted to fame? Keep voting. Cnn.com/showbiz tonight. Write to us, here`s the address, Showbiztonight@cnn.com. We`ll read some of your thoughts tomorrow.
Rosie O`Donnell has a lot of revealing things to say about fame. Tonight she`s opening up like never before about celebrity, Hollywood, and her rocky time on "The View."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROSIE O`DONNELL, COMEDIAN: Well, the book`s about my truth and I`m sure that -- you know, there are people who could argue whether or not I have the right to say it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Listen, I think it`s great that Rosie doesn`t hold back. But you can bet her new book is going to cause a lot of controversy. If you love her, even if you hate her, you`re going to want to stick around for this.
HAMMER: Well, Brooke, "Hannah Montana" star, teen star Miley Cyrus doesn`t really get caught up in any controversy that we ever hear about. But tonight, I`m sorry to say, well, maybe that`s not entirely true. Coming up, parents are absolutely furious with something going on around her. That`s on the way.
I`ve got to tell you, I`m pretty psyched for Johnny Depp`s new movie. He`s a barber seeking nasty revenge. Trust me, this one looks like a cut above the rest. Coming up next. Your "First Look" coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
O`DONNELL: It was hard to go into a show that was on for nine years, where everyone knew each other except for you. They had a nine-year history and I was the new kid on the block. And so it was tough in some ways, and touching and emotional, and all the things that you would imagine it to be.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Rosie O`Donnell, candid thoughts on her rocky experience as co-host on the "The View." I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. You`re watching TV`s most provocative entertainment news show.
Tonight, Rosie`s revelation: "Celebrity Detox", the much-awaited book by Rosie O`Donnell has hit bookstores. And Rosie did a big book signing in New York today. What new secrets did Rosie reveal? Joining us tonight, in New York, author and commentator Keli Goff, and in Hollywood tonight, Ken Baker, managing editor of USmagazine.com
Ken, Keli, Rosie makes a lot of shocking revelations in her book, "Celebrity Detox", including her confession -- and this is just heartbreaking -- that she used to break her own bones when she was a child.
Let me read you this passage, quote, "mostly by myself, in my bedroom, with a heavy wooden hanger, or a small Mets baseball bat. My hands and fingers, usually. No one knew my secrets."
Keli, what do you think, is this going to make Rosie a more sympathetic figure? It`s obvious she went through some really troubling experiences.
KELI GOFF, AUTHOR, COMMENTATOR: You know, I don`t know that there`s a lot that could really make Rosie a sympathetic figure at this point. But what I will say is whether she has a TV show on the air or not, there is, and will always be, the "Rosie" show. I mean, think about it. We`re hearing about the fact that she`s declining to do major media for her book, and yet, there`s a whole segment being devoted to her right now, precisely because of who she is and how compelling she is. You know, love her or hate her, there`s just some compelling about watching her and listening to her.
ANDERSON: Absolutely. And SHOWBIZ TONIGHT was right there today at her book signing in New York City. And we talked to a lot of her fans. They say, hey, you know, what, yes, this book does humanize Rosie. Take a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Some people identify with her because she`s really for real -- you know, flaws and all. You really just can`t knock anybody for being human.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Ken, do you think that most of America maybe feels that same way? Do most people love Rosie, flaws and all, because nobody`s perfect?
KEN BAKER, USMAGAZINE.COM: I think there are two camps. And they have one thing in common. Now, the two camps are, you either love her or you hate her. But what everyone has in common is, you all have to watch her. We can`t help but watch her and listen to her and see what she has on her blog. And I have a confession to make, OK?
ANDERSON: Tells us.
BAKER: I love Rosie O`Donnell. I`m going to make that confession, because she`s so honest. I agree with that fan who was at the bookstore. Look it, she has some problems. Obviously she has a lot of anger and other issues that she`s still working out and she`s working them out in front of us all. And there`s some sort of, perhaps, narcissistic reason why she has to do this.
But that aside, you have to just say, look, at least she`s bringing her humanity to the table. We live in this celebrity culture where celebrities are always kind of telling us the spin. Oh, I`m sober, I`m fine, my movie`s great -- when they know it`s not. There`s something refreshing about Rosie and I think she`s one of a kind.
ANDERSON: Yeah.
GOFF: Well, Brooke I have a confession.
ANDERSON: I agree it`s very courageous to be so candid.
What`s your confession, Keli?
GOFF: I have a confession myself, which is, I`ll totally fess up to being one of those people who tuned into the Rosie era of "The View" just to see what she was going to say next. Or more specifically, who she was going to offend next, or get into a fight with next. I think that, you know, I have to agree with Kenneth, there`s something refreshing about someone who doesn`t have a verbal filter and is OK with that, you know?
ANDERSON: Absolutely. And you talked about this a moment ago, Keli. Usually when big celebrities write a book like that, they go out, they do the talk show route. But not Rosie. She turned down Oprah, she canceled an interview with Diane Sawyer,
GOFF: And yet we`re talking about her right now.
ANDERSON: She posted her own -- we are. But she did self-produced interview on her blog. Take a look at what she said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
O`DONNELL: I wrote the book and turned it in, four years ago. And it just didn`t feel right to me. It didn`t feel like it was ripe, like it was ready, like I had come to sort of conclusions or observations maybe before I had lived them. So, I wanted to sort of put it aside. And then when Barbara Walters asked me to join "The View," I thought, I`m going to document this year on "The View". What it felt like. And intermix it with the original book that I wrote four years ago.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: No fears there with having an interview edited or chopped up. Keli, is this just an example that Rosie might be a bit of a control freak?
GOFF: I`m just going to say this. Call me crazy, Brooke, but I just kind of believe there`s like a top five list of people that it`s probably not wise to antagonize in this world. And I don`t think the presidents are on that list, or even the vice president. But I would say people like Oprah Winfrey and Barbara Walters and Anna Wintour, probably are.
And you know, Rosie`s about two thirds through that list right now. I think it might not have been a bad idea to just -- I don`t know -- let it be and to try to do something the traditional route, and maybe talk to someone. But, you know, hey, Rosie`s going to be Rosie.
ANDERSON: Yeah, right.
GOFF: That`s why she`s so entertaining.
ANDERSON: Yes, she`s going to do things her own way. We do have to wrap it up there. Ken Baker and Keli Goff, always a pleasure. Thank you both.
BAKER: Thanks.
HAMMER: Johnny Depp is back. He`s joined by Helena Bonham Carter, for the big-screen version Stephen Sondheim, award-winning musical, "Sweeney Todd." Now, this one`s pretty dark. Depp`s a barber in this one who seeks revenge for being wrongly sent to prison. His victims show up for dinner. The thing is, they are dinner. Here`s your SHOWBIZ TONIGHT "First Look".
(BEGIN MOVIE TRAILER)
ANNOUNCER: This is the tale of an ordinary man who had everything.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) his name was, Benjamin Barker.
ANNOUNCER: Until a man of power stole his freedom, destroyed his family and banished him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: May the Lord have mercy on your soul.
ANNOUNCER: And in his sorrow a new man was born.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fifteen years dreaming I`m going to come home to a wife and child.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Benjamin Barker.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not Barker, Sweeney Todd now and he will have his revenge. Where`s my wife.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She`s gone. And he`s got your daughter.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He took her.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You have to leave this all behind you now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
These are desperate times. Desperate measures are called for.
All right, you, Sir. No one`s in the chair. Come on.
Sweeney`s waiting.
I want you, bleeders. You, sir, you, sir, welcome to the grave.
(SINGING) I will have vengeance. I will have salvation.
I can guarantee the closest shave you will ever know.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: May the good Lord smile on you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You`re mad.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The years, no doubt, have changed me.
At last my home is complete again.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That`s all very well. What are we going to do about him?
(END MOVIE TRAILER)
HAMMER: Well, if that movie feels a little "Beetle Juice", "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory-ish" for good reason. It`s because Tim Burton directs this is one, he also did those films. "Sweeney Todd" opens up this Christmas.
Well, Miley Cyrus, controversy, two things that you`ve never really heard in the same sentence until now. Yeah, sweet little Hannah Montana is kind of caught up with something that`s got parents everywhere outraged. But dad Billy Ray has her back. And that`s coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: If you had to guess who the hottest music tour ticket out there, what would you guys say?
STUDIO CREW: Aerosmith!
HAMMER: It`s not Aerosmith. It`s not Bon Jovi. It`s not even Justin Timberlake. It`s 14-year-old pop star Miley Cyrus. That`s right. She is, of course, the star of Disney`s super successful "Hanna Montana". And she`s also the daughter of country singer Billy Ray Cyrus. And the frenzy over getting your grubby little hands on a Miley ticket has gotten so bad, some scalpers are asking more than $4,000 a pop.
The Missouri attorney general has even filed a suit against some brokers. We caught up with daddy Billy Ray in Virginia. I gotta tell you, he was all business.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILLY RAY CYRUS, COUNTRY SINGER: What scalpers do with tickets, that`s beyond our control. I know that the public is aware of that. Miley and I, we`re not in charge of ticket sales. We`re in charge of going out and doing a concert and making as many people happy as possible.
As far as scalping goes and as far as selling out arenas, too quickly, that`s beyond our control. We`re just here as entertainers. And our job is to go out and make as many people happy as possible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: There you go. If you have a problem getting a hold of these highly coveted tickets, do not go blaming Billy Ray or Miley Cyrus. It`s not their fault.
ANDERSON: No, it`s not.
Yesterday we asked you to vote on our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT "question of the day". Lindsay Lohan, out of rehab, do you think it will work this time? Most of you, not very hopeful. Look at this, only 15 percent of you say, yes, it will work. And 85 percent of you say, no, it won`t. Here are some of the e-mails we received.
Romanov from Illinois writes: "I`m sorry, Lindsay will drink again, and will probably most likely wind up in rehab again."
Laure from Wisconsin says, "I don`t think it will work until she admits it out loud that she has a serious problem."
HAMMER: Welcome to the portion of the program where we take a look ahead and see what`s coming up on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
Tomorrow we have a revealing look at Britney Spears` sister Jamie Lynn. You know she`s a big star herself on that Nickelodeon "Zoe, One on One" show. So how does Jamie Lynn avoid going down the same scary path as her big sister? Can she learn from Brit`s mistakes? We`ll get into that tomorrow.
Also tomorrow, there she is, the lovely Halle Barry. We`re all so excited for her. She`s pregnant. I had a great time hanging out, spending a little time chatting her up. Halle really opened up to me about becoming mom. She told me what she`s looking forward to most and you`ll hear that tomorrow.
That`s it for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
And it`s great to have you back, Brooke.
ANDERSON: Ah, thank you very much. Good to be back. I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. Have a great night, everybody.
"Glenn Beck" is next after the latest headlines from CNN Headline News. Take care.
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