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Showbiz Tonight
Obama and McCain Acting Like Celebrities; Pam Anderson Harsh Words for Sarah Palin; Lynn Spears Receives Criticism for Her Tell-All Book; New Developments in the Rob Lowe Nanny Case; Oprah Stands By Her Decision to Not Have Palin on Her Show
Aired September 12, 2008 - 23:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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A.J. HAMMER, HOST (voice over): Now on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, the celebrity campaign blitz.
Tonight, John McCain`s brand-new fiery showdown with the ladies of "The View." Also, Obama`s controversial courting of the late-night talk shows. Will "Meet the Comedians" win over more voters than "Meet the Press"?
KIM SERAFIN, IN TOUCH WEEKLY: It does seem that the candidates are really kind of acting like celebrities.
HAMMER: Plus, wait until you hear what Pamela Anderson said about Sarah Palin. Pam`s Palin fury.
Tonight, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT with the brand-new celebrity campaign explosions.
Casting Sarah Palin -- her style, her take-no-prisoners toughness, and of course, the moose hunting. So who should play Sarah Palin?
Tonight, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT with a great debate, who should play the Sarah- cuda?
Plus the backlash against Britney`s mom`s tell-all. Lynne Spears` bash for going public with her family book of secrets. Your fired-up reactions.
TV`s most provocative entertainment news show starts right now.
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HAMMER: Hello. I`m A.J. Hammer broadcasting tonight and every night from New York City.
BROOKE ANDERSON, CO-HOST: Hi there, everyone. I`m Brooke Anderson coming to you from Hollywood.
And I cannot believe what Pamela Anderson said about Sarah Palin. It`s Pam versus Palin, you`ve got to hear this straight ahead.
HAMMER: But first, the celebrity campaign blitz. Today John McCain sat on the celebrity couch of "The View" for a grilling by the no-nonsense ladies. And right after that, another grilling, McCain cooking up some ribs on the "Rachael Ray" show.
And Barack Obama, well, the late-night talk shows, "Saturday Night Live."
What`s next? The (INAUDIBLE) and Billy Circus? Oh yes, this already is a three-ring circus.
Tonight, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT with the latest developments making news right now.
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HAMMER (voice over): In this heated presidential election, celebrity used to be a dirty word.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He`s the biggest celebrity in the world.
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HAMMER: But now, as they rack up TV appearances in the weeks before election day, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you that both Barack Obama and John McCain are now doing the celebrity TV circuit in hopes it will get them to the White House.
SERAFIN: Even though nobody wants to be portrayed as a celebrity in this campaign, they`re sort of taking the route that a celebrity would take in terms of the media appearances that they`re doing, whether it`s David Letterman or "The View" or Rachael Ray or "Saturday Night Live."
HAMMER: On Friday, John McCain appeared on "The View" and while there was no shortage of laughs and banter, including McCain ribbing the outspoken liberal Joy Behar.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think she`s on the undecided category.
HARRIS: Things got surprisingly serious.
MCCAIN: You`ve got to let me finish.
BARBARA WALTERS, CO-HOST: I`m sorry.
MCCAIN: You`ve got to let me finish.
HAMMER: With McCain getting grilled on his running mate, Sarah Palin.
WALTERS: She was chosen to reform the government.
MCCAIN: Because that`s what she`s done.
WALTERS: Who is she going to reform?
MCCAIN: That`s what she`s done.
WALTERS: Who is it -- you chose her just to reform.
MCCAIN: The Republican Party, the Democrat Party, even an independent. She`ll reform all of Washington.
HAMMER: His opposition to the Roe v. Wade decision on abortion.
MCCAIN: I believe Roe v. Wade was a very bad decision, Barbara. I think it was a bad decision.
HAMMER: And his maverick credentials.
JOY BEHAR, CO-HOST: I don`t see the old John McCain that used to really buck the system as much, because I understand why. You want to get elected. But you know?
MCCAIN: When I say, OK, what specific area have I, quote, "changed," nobody can name it. I`m the same person that I always was.
SERAFIN: They went after McCain. I mean they were rough on him.
HAMMER: After his "View" grilling, McCain did some grilling himself on the "Rachael Ray" show where SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you, the wannabe commander-in-chief became a commander-in-chef and shared his famous rib recipe for an episode to air later this month.
"In Touch Weekly`s" Kim Serafin tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT these kinds of TV appearances can be to a candidate`s advantage.
SERAFIN: It lets them show a little bit more of their lighter side. They can show their personality. They can show a side that maybe doesn`t get shown when they`re on "Face the Nation" or "Meet the Press."
DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST, LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN: Barack Obama, come on out, Senator.
HAMMER: It`s a lesson Obama has learned, too. Earlier in the week, the Democrat appeared on "The Late Show with the David Letterman." His appearance was, at times, serious.
He talked about what he would have done if he were president on 9/11.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Any president who was there would have had to deal with a whole range of problems that we hadn`t anticipated before.
HAMMER: And he also lightened things up when he talked about the new celebrity of the 2008 campaign, Sarah Palin.
OBAMA: There`s no doubt that she`s been a phenomenon, as somebody who used to be on the cover of "TIME" and "Newsweek," you know?
HAMMER: And Obama also lined up a gig to appear on the season premiere of "Saturday Night Live," a show on which both Obama.
OBAMA: Live from New York, it`s "Saturday Night."
HAMMER: And McCain.
MCCAIN: What should we be looking for in our next president? Certainly someone who is very, very, very old.
HAMMER: Have appeared in the past.
So if it seems weird to see a possible future leader of the free world doing the same media tour as an actor promoting a movie, you better get used to it because the candidates know this kind of celebrity exposure is an important part of campaigning.
SERAFIN: We know in this election and elections in the past, we definitely vote on personalities. We definitely want to like the person that we`re voting for. And that is why these are such key appearances for a lot of the candidates.
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HAMMER: So, live from New York, it`s the presidential election. Goodness.
With me tonight, in New York, Lisa Bloom. She`s the host of "Lisa Bloom: Open Court." In Hollywood tonight, Howard Bragman, the founder of Fifteen Minutes Public Relations.
All right, Howard and Lisa, now, John McCain`s been on "The View" a few times before. But today he takes his very first appearance for the first time on the "Rachael Ray" show. Rachel and the senator were cooking ribs. You`re going to see that show in a couple of weeks.
But, Lisa, isn`t it just amazing how these shows have really become the new must-do campaign stops?
LISA BLOOM, HOST, "LISA BLOOM: OPEN COURT": Well, I love that these candidates want to get their message out as broadly as possible. And what better way than to appear on shows where there are millions of viewers. A lot of people don`t watch the political shows, but they watch "The View" and they watch "Rachel Ray."
And so they`re trying to get their message out, they`re trying to be charming and approachable and appealing for the American voter. You can`t blame them for doing it.
HAMMER: Doesn`t always mean it`s going to be light and easy, though. I got to tell you, John McCain thought that the ladies of "The View" were going to go easy on him. He thought wrong because, not only was John grilling on "Rachael Ray," he got grilled on everything, including how he characterized his pick of Sarah Palin as a running mate.
You got to watch this.
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WALTERS: Just a quick question. You have said that Governor Palin is the greatest vice president in the history of the United States. Greater than John Adams who became president? Greater than father George Bush who became -- the greatest vice presidential candidate -- isn`t that a little strong?
MCCAIN: We politicians are never given to exaggeration or hyperbole, as you know.
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HAMMER: OK. So didn`t really answer the question, big surprise. Not the only tough question, by the way. This thing went on for the entire show. The ladies of "The View" were tough as nails through the whole program.
Howard, do you think McCain was sitting there going, this isn`t exactly what I expected?
HOWARD BRAGMAN, FIFTEEN MINUTES PUBLIC RELATIONS: You know, if John McCain or Barack Obama think there`s going to be any softballs between now and Election Day, they`re both kidding themselves. We are very engaged as a country. We want to know. We`re passionate.
There are big differences between these candidates and I think the ladies of "The View" were only expressing questions that a lot of us have right now. So this is what it`s going to be like for the next 50 some days, A.J.
HAMMER: Yes, although, I`m really curious to see what Rachael Ray asked him, you know, anything tougher than the recipe for his barbecue sauce. I don`t know -- I don`t know. We`re going to have to wait and see on that.
So you`ve got "The View," your got Rachael Ray. Barack Obama making his second appearance on "Saturday Night Live" with the season premiere.
It seems to me that Obama and McCain are really now in a new race which is kind of like a race to see how many celebrity shows they can get on.
Lisa, is this getting absurd?
BLOOM: No, I don`t think it is. I think it`s a great day when it`s Barack Obama and John McCain instead of Paris Hilton and Britney Spears on these shows. When people care about the substance and people care about issues like global warming, ending the war, the economy, that`s what we`re talking about instead of boob jobs and hair color.
I think this is a great day for our country.
HAMMER: It is a kind of a nice break from all that, isn`t it?
One celebrity show that we know the candidates won`t be appearing on is the "Oprah Winfrey Show." She very vocally supports Barack Obama. But she`s not having any candidate on her program during the race.
And now there are calls for an Oprah boycott from women who want her to have Sarah Palin on the show. And the calls just keep coming in on our "Showbiz on Call" phone line including one from Anna in Massachusetts. Listen to Anna.
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ANNA, MASSACHUSETTS RESIDENT: I`m canceling my subscription to "Oprah." I am 68 years old. And I think she`s very unfair. I don`t care what any one says. She`s very unfair.
She has a woman show and she should be talking to Palin. She doesn`t have to talk to Palin about politics. She can talk to her about being what she does as a governor or as a mother in Alaska.
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HAMMER: You know, this is ongoing. We`re hearing a lot of this.
Howard Bragman, why is Oprah getting so much heat here? Again, she`s made it clear she will not use her show for politics. She won`t have any candidates on. It`s not like she`s singled out Sarah Palin in this case.
BRAGMAN: A.J., everybody is a producer, aren`t they, out there? It`s just the world we live in. People have lived in a society now where we can go on the Internet and we can choose our content and we think we`re going to dictate what Oprah should do on her show.
Well, I would disagree. Oprah is Oprah. She`s taken a very honorable position. She said, here`s who I support and because of that, I`m not going to put anybody on the show this season until the campaign`s over and I give her credit. And you know, there`s a lot of other shows that will take Sarah Palin right now, let me tell you.
HAMMER: You`re exactly right.
BRAGMAN: Sarah Palin`s the one who needs to get out there and start telling her story to different shows. It`s not about Oprah. It`s about Governor Palin really getting out there and exposing herself to more than one interview.
HAMMER: Howard Bragman, I`m right there with you. And I got to leave it there.
Howard and Lisa Bloom, I appreciate your being here tonight.
BLOOM: Thanks, A.J.
BRAGMAN: Thanks, A.J.
HAMMER: We want to hear from you for our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day sound off on McCain and Obama. Will it help them to appear on entertainment shows?
CNN.com/showbiztonight is where you vote, or e-mail showbiztonight@CNN.com.
And Brooke, you know, people can also get in touch with us and have a chance to be on TV with "Showbiz on Call."
ANDERSON: You`re right about that, A.J. Our viewers can give us a buzz so that they can tell us what they think about McCain and Obama going Hollywood or anything they want to get off their chest.
HAMMER: The number 1-888-SBT-BUZZ, 1-888-728-2899. Leave Brooke and me a voice mail. We`re going to play some of your calls right here on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
ANDERSON: And A.J., we have received a ton of calls about Sarah Palin, too.
HAMMER: Yes, viewers just fired up over this whole Oprah/Palin controversy we`ve been talking about.
ANDERSON: Yes, but what about casting Sarah Palin? Those glasses, the take-no-bull toughness. So who should play Sarah Palin? Coming up, I`ve got the great debate, casting the Sarah-cuda.
Also this.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Help me, help me.
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HAMMER: Hey, you think Kanye doesn`t like to get his picture taking? It`s hip-hop star Kanye West going nuts on a paparazzo at the airport. No friendly skies there. Will he go to jail? Well, tonight, Kanye`s speaking out about this bizarre smack down. That`s next.
Also new right now, the backlash over Britney Spears` mom, Lynne Spears, about to come out with a shocking tell-all. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT viewers bashing Lynne for going public with her family secrets. You don`t want to miss this. Next.
ANNOUNCER: SHOWBIZ TONIGHT brought to you by.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please. Please help. Help me.
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ANDERSON: Tonight, caught on tape, hip-hop star Kanye West`s dramatic airport meltdown that led to cops arresting him.
Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. And there is more of that Kanye video that you`ve just got to see, one of two big celebrity controversies that are new right now.
Kanye West is speaking out for the very first time after his arrest for scuffling with the paparazzi at Los Angeles International Airport.
What`s that all about?
And tonight, brand-new outrage over Britney`s mom`s tell-all book. Lynne Spears is getting slammed for revealing her family`s secrets and her famous daughters` not-so-secret struggles.
With me tonight in Hollywood is Ken Baker who is the ed executive news editor for E! and in New York VH1 news host, Janell Snowden.
Ken, Janell, I want to begin with Kanye West. Now, we all know that the paparazzi can really get under the skin of celebrities and sometimes the stars lose their temper. But Kanye and his bodyguard really go berserk in this video, tangling with photographers, smashing camera equipment.
You`ve got to take a look. Look at this.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police, police. Help me, help me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I took it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please help. Help me. Help me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I took it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Let me get that. Let me get that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police. Police.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ain`t no police, man. Get off me. Get it off my face.
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ANDERSON: OK. Janell, I have no doubt that he was probably provoked. The paparazzi can be very aggressive. But what was Kanye thinking? Did he really think he could get away with this in an airport of all places?
JANELL SNOWDEN, REDHOTREDCARPET.VH1.COM: I don`t even think he was saying about whether or not he could get away with that. I think he was just provoked, as you say. I mean when you`re a star like Kanye, you`re chased everywhere. Sometimes it`s warranted, sometimes it`s not so much.
In this case, he looked like he was trying to get out of town and trying to get back to recording his album. He was on his way to Honolulu. And whatever this guy did he didn`t like so much and so he just kind of went off.
And you know, I mean, yes, some property was damaged and that was certainly not too kosher. But there`s always two sides to a story. So we`ll just have to wait and hear Kanye`s side.
ANDERSON: If only Kanye had made it to security, the paparazzi can`t harass celebrities when they`re getting screened and trying to get through security. And we do know that Kanye West posted $20,000 bail following his arrest for vandalism. And he`s now speaking out for the very first time writing on his blog:
"We back in the lab, I`m cool with the paparazzi. This guy wasn`t cool. I gotta work now. I`ll rant later."
Now, Kanye was the one who`s arrested and he is known for having a very short fuse. But, Ken, instead of apologizing there, it sounded to me a little bit like he`s suggesting that, ah, this really wasn`t his fault.
KEN BAKER, EXECUTIVE NEWS EDITOR, E!: He is suggesting that it wasn`t his fault. He is suggesting, as Janell said, that he might have been provoked. We don`t know. We actually just talked to the cops today. They said, you know, we`re not saying, that`s all going to play out in court.
So right now, it`s just going to be a lot of speculation as to whether he was provoked or not. But what is clear from that blog posting is that you kind of got a sense that Kanye is in Hawaii, he`s chilling, he`s calm, cool and collected.
You know what? He could have used some of that yesterday. No matter what someone might have been telling him, he could have used a little bit of cool and calm when they were taking his picture.
ANDERSON: I know, just patience, count to 10, please try not to snap. It`s not worth the altercation.
All right, new right now, as well, the backlash against Britney Spears` mom. Lynne Spears is getting slammed for exposing family secrets in her new tell-all book called "Through the Storm."
Among the revelations, she talked about such things as her young daughter Jamie Lynn`s pregnancy and how she was being pressured to get an abortion.
Well, our viewers were surely fired up when we asked in our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT "Question of the Day," Britney Spears mother: was it wrong for her to write a tell-all book?
Take a look at this. A whopping 83 percent said yes. Only 17 percent said no.
Janell, do you think people are reacting negatively, not only to the book itself, but maybe to the timing of it, now that Britney is finally getting back on her feet?
SNOWDEN: It all does seem very coincidental but hey, as we all know, nothing in Hollywood is ever such. So I think, you know, Britney`s mom certainly has a lot that she can discuss. We`ve all been through the trials and tribulations with Britney and with Jamie Lynn recently.
And so now she`s probably feeling like she`s on a good page with both of her daughters, one with a healthy baby, the other whose career is on the upswing. So, I mean, hey, if this is what they need and this is what helps get their family back together -- you know, I`ve read that she`s saying in it that she and Britney are now back to four or five phone calls a day.
That`s great, more power to them.
ANDERSON: Yes, maybe it can be beneficial for their family. We`ll see.
Ken Baker, Janell Snowden, we`ll leave it there. Thank you both.
HAMMER: You know, Brooke, the stars are not holding back about the presidential candidates at all.
ANDERSON: No, I know, A.J. You got to hear what Pam Anderson said about Republican VP pick, Sarah Palin. She goes off and that is coming up.
You know what? I guess that means we won`t see Pam playing Sarah Palin anytime soon. So who should play Palin? Her style, her take-no-prisoners toughness. We`ve got a great debate casting the Sarah-cuda.
HAMMER: For the first time since her shocking drug arrest earlier this year, "Rescue Me" actress Tatum O`Neal speaking out in details. She`s really opening up to Oprah. That`s coming up.
And I almost can`t even get the words out about this -- Paris Hilton is getting -- Paris Hilton is getting another TV show. And there`s an "American Idol" connection here. I think my TV is going to go on strike.
And remember, you can watch SHOWBIZ TONIGHT video anytime with new stuff being posted all the time at CNN.com/showbiztonight. Among the videos now playing, Britney`s mom tells out. The secrets of her new book but is releasing it now really bad for Britney?
SHOWBIZ TONIGHT back after this.
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HAMMER: Thank you, Charles.
Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York. Here are some more stories that are new right now. And I`ve got to tell you, I don`t know what to make of this.
You know Paris Hilton has this ridiculous new reality show on the MTV, one where people compete to be her best friend forever. Well, now, "American Idol" host Ryan Seacrest, a wiseman, and Paris have developed a scripted series together.
No word on what the show is going to be like but Seacrest says it will be, quote, "loud."
Brand-new developments in the Rob Lowe nanny-gate scandal. He`s firing back against one of the nannies who`s suing him. Lowe says it`s the nanny, not his wife, who used racial slurs and acted totally inappropriately.
This nanny, Laura Boyce, sued the Lowes back in April claiming, among other things, Lowe`s wife used racial slurs and walked around naked.
And Jennifer Lopez pulled out of the "Project Runway" finale. J.Lo was scheduled to be a judge on the show but host Heidi Klum says that Lopez had to cancel due to a foot injury. Tim Gunn replaced her.
ANDERSON: Oh it`s Tim Gunn. Always make it work.
And A.J., speaking of guns of a different kind, I know Republican VP pick, Sarah Palin, loves to hunt. Pam Anderson, well, she doesn`t like that one bit. You know she`s a big animal rights person.
You`ve got to hear Pam go off on Palin. It ain`t pretty. That`s coming up.
And you know Pam is from a part of Canada that`s not so far from Alaska. But these two aren`t going to be best buds and don`t expect to see Pam cast in any Sarah Palin movie.
But who should play Sarah? She`s got such a unique look and background, her no-bull, moose-hunting attitude, tonight, a fired-up but fun debate, casting Sarah Palin.
HAMMER: Looking forward to that.
And you`ve got to hear this, "Rescue Me" star Tatum O`Neal is opening up to Oprah Winfrey with dramatic details about her drug arrest. She allegedly tried to buy cocaine. Her battle with substance abuse in her own words, coming up.
But first keep in mind, you can always stay on top of the most provocative entertainment news. Just subscribe to our daily SHOWBIZ TONIGHT newsletter. It`s easy to do. Head on over to CNN.com/showbiztonight, click on the "Sign up for newsletter" link right there at the bottom of the page.
SHOWBIZ TONIGHT coming right back.
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