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Showbiz Tonight
A-Rod in Hot Water with Fans; `Real Housewives` Star Facing Multiple Charges; SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Top 5 Buzzmakers Countdown
Aired August 06, 2013 - 23:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
A.J. HAMMER, HOST: Tonight on the "SHOWBIZ Countdown," stars in hot water. The Yankees` Alex Rodriguez fights his epic doping suspension as he hears this from baseball fans everywhere.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(BOOING)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Alex Rodriguez.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: But a disgraced A-Rod isn`t the only celebrity feeling the heat tonight. Oh, no. Chris Rock getting some boos himself for making a dying teenager`s wish come true.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRIS ROCK, COMEDIAN: I had a Make a Wish kid, and I snuck him the Pam Anderson sex tapes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Chris sneaks a porn to a terminally ill teen. Amazing or way too much?
SHOWBIZ TONIGHT starts right now.
Hello, I`m A.J. Hammer. Thank you for watching.
Tonight, the "SHOWBIZ Countdown." We`ve got stars in hot water, crisis teams circling overhead tonight. You can even hear the sirens. There are some serious stars in need of some serious help. Tonight, we`re counting down the top three celebrities who are hitting hard times.
So let us now set the plate for No. 3 on our "SHOWBIZ Countdown." Yankees star Alex Rodriguez is really feeling the heat. He`s back on the ball field as he appeals his 21-game suspension over alleged use of performance- enhancing drugs.
Let`s just say, not too many people are rolling out the welcome mat for him. It`s not just the fans booing him. He`s also facing some pretty tough questions out there on the field, questions he apparently doesn`t want to answer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you deny that you used PEDs?
ALEX RODRIGUEZ, YANKEES PLAYER: Like I said, I think we`ll have a forum to discuss all of that. And we`ll talk about it then.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One thing I don`t quite understand. You said there`s a time and a place to talk about stuff. If you didn`t use PEDs in this recent, why don`t you just say it?
RODRIGUEZ: There`s a lot of things that have been thrown to the wall, and I think when the time is right, there will be an opportunity to do all of that. I don`t think that time is right now, and I don`t want to interfere or get in the way of anything that -- with due process.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: OK. Joining me now in New York, Jenny Hutt, author and host of the Sirius XM show "Just Jenny." Jenny.
JENNY HUTT, HOST, SIRIUS XM`S "JUST JENNY": Hi.
HAMMER: You`re an attorney so I know you`re sitting there carefully listening to every word coming out of his mouth.
HUTT: Yes.
HAMMER: I`m curious to get your take on this, because when you`re accused of doing something wrong...
HUTT: Right.
HAMMER: ... and you refuse to deny or accept responsibility...
HUTT: Yes.
HAMMER: ... either way, you`ve got to accept people aren`t going to stop doubting you, right?
HUTT: Yes, you think? And you`re saying there`s a pro baseball player who used performance-enhancing drugs potentially? Is that what you`re saying, A.J.?
HAMMER: Well, that is the suggestion here.
HUTT: Look, this is what I think. I think A-Rod needs to go home. I understand that he wants to fight the suspension. I understand that`s on appeal, so he can play.
But if -- I agree with you. If he`s going to sit at the table and say, "I`m not going to say whether I did or I didn`t, everybody," it`s like just say something. Either deny it or admit it. Because this sort of the middle-of-the-road baloney sandwich stuff is baloney sandwich. It`s so non-committal.
HAMMER: And it was -- it sounded to me like a line fed to him by a lawyer or a publicist.
HUTT: Yes.
HAMMER: Or something like that.
Let me go to David Begnaud. He`s the host of "Newsbreakers" on Ora TV. David`s out in Hollywood.
So A-Rod, David, we`re watching him, and he seems to be talking about how unfairly he`s been treated. And he`s talking very little about whether he`s actually guilty. I don`t think that`s the best approach here. What about you?
DAVID BEGNAUD, HOST, ORA TV`S "NEWSBREAKERS": Yes. Well, look, here`s the interesting thing, A.J. I get the fact that he can`t say anything, that he`s got to dance around. This is one thing I hate about going to those damn press conferences. They never give you an answer.
HAMMER: Right.
BEGNAUD: However, here`s the point. I hate cheaters. And if A-rod is a cheater, I don`t want to ever hear about him or see him again. It`s kind of like Lance Armstrong.
I heard somebody say the other day it`s all about money. Major League Baseball doesn`t want to pay him, so they want to move him out. I don`t care about money. I`m not a big baseball fan. I care about cheaters, and I care about people who lie. And if he did, I want him held accountable to the fullest extent.
HAMMER: Yes. I`m right there with you, particularly when here is a guy who is held up so high by so many kids. They worship him. He`s their hero. And I`m watching this press conference. I watched a whole bit of it back. And I`m just thinking back, wow, this press conference, really a monument for A-Rod`s self-pity. Let`s listen in a bit.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RODRIGUEZ: I just want to express to you guys and the fans of baseball that the last seven months has been a nightmare. It`s been probably the worst time of my life, for sure. I`m fighting for my life. I have to defend myself. If I don`t defend myself, no one else will.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: OK, Jenny, I can`t help but think, who`s worse when you think about Alex Rodriguez up there or Lance Armstrong and all that we had to hear from him over the years?
HUTT: Well, it`s hard to sort of weigh who`s worse. I mean, I kind of think -- I kind of think Armstrong is worse because of how many years it went on and how -- the length of the denials and how many people he hurt.
But what I will say to what David just was saying about cheaters, et cetera, is that there is this issue that in pro baseball there are a lot of people who use these performance-enhancing drugs, and so it`s sort of like he`s just gotten caught. But I think a lot of them do it, A.J. I don`t think this is like a first-time person coming out to -- like, this is not new.
HAMMER: Yes. All right. Well, it will continue to roll out, and people will continue to boo him as he walks on the field, I am sure.
Let`s get to No. 2 now in our "SHOWBIZ Countdown" of stars in hot water. Well, "Real Housewives of New Jersey" star Teresa Giudice and her husband, Joe, some boiling hot water. A 39-count indictment. That`s a federal indictment that they`re staring at for a ton of financially-related charges.
Teresa says, "Hey, I`m not guilty." Now she`s talking about her predicament. I want to read to you a bit of what she wrote on her blog post.
She said, "Thank you all so much for your support this week. I appreciate it more than you`ll ever know. I am really trying to let things roll off my back. I just want my family together and at peace, no matter what. Insult me, make fun of me, do what you will. I`ll keep being a good little girl. Thank you all again for your support and prayers."
All right. Let me bring in Alex McCord, former star of "Real Housewives of New York."
It`s nice to see you, Alex.
Look, innocent until proven guilty here, but what do you think about how Teresa has handled her predicament so far? She`s not staying quiet. She`s not going away.
ALEX MCCORD, FORMER REALITY TV STAR: Well, I mean, it`s kind of a non- statement statement. If she says nothing, then people will slam her for saying nothing. But the whole, I`m going to be a good little girl thing, maybe it`s wishful thinking.
It`s interesting that she`s not really saying anything more about that. She`s complaining about the paparazzi following her taking her daughter to the doctor.
Meanwhile, she has to wait until her arraignment on August 14. She`s kind of in limbo. She can`t hide, because the show is airing. So she`s trying to do business as usual and pretend there`s not a big pink elephant in the room.
HAMMER: Yes. And that`s really making it not look so good for her, unfortunately.
CROSS: True.
HAMMER: She`s going to have to sit it out and wait to see what happens as they await the next portion of the legal process. Let us get to the big reveal now, the No. 1 star who is in hot water. This is somebody who always seems to be dealing with some kind of drama or trouble.
Chris brown today said he can no longer stand the heat so he`s getting out of music. Listen to what he tweeted. "Don`t worry mainstream America, after this X album, it will probably be my last album. Being famous is amazing when it`s for your music and talent. I`m tired of being famous for a mistake I made when I was 18. I`m cool and over it."
Yes, and there`s a pretty good chance that Chris is talking about his epic mistake of beating up Rihanna back in 2009. So Alex, he`s right. He has never been able to shake it. Does he have a right to be upset?
MCCORD: Look, they`re never going to let it go. We, the public, are not going to forget that it was a domestic violence issue that got him in hot water in the first place. And so anything that he does after that will bring it all up again. You know, this time it`s a hit-and-run but, hey, Rihanna didn`t go away and this whole back together and breaking up, maybe he should stop for a while.
Time out. That`s what we`ve asked for in the past from Chris. Seems to be doing pretty well. But Jenny, what do you think? Is he just crying now in a way that he should stop, and is this thing just always going to stick with him?
HUTT: Wah. When I think of Chris Brown, I think of the Rihanna debacle and I think of a picture that went around the Internet for a while that was rather personal.
So look, I think that he`s going to be back. This is not his last album. There`s just no way. And I think Alex is 100 percent correct. He had to go in for a hit-and-run, not because of what he did to Rihanna, unfortunately.
HAMMER: Yes. Look, and being in the public eye, no matter what you have done or haven`t done, it ain`t easy.
All right. Jenny, David, Alex, thank you all so much. You definitely want to stay where you are. We have another SHOWBIZ Countdown of tonight`s buzz makers ready to roll. Did Chris Rock really sneak a sex tape to a make-a- wish foundation kid?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROCK: I had a Make-a-Wish kid, and I snuck him the Pam Anderson sex tape.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Well, that is certainly one very special and very human wish to fulfill for a teenage boy. You`ve kind of got to wonder, too: Did Chris get a little carried away?
Plus, a ton of people sure think Simon Cowell got really carried away when he got his wife`s friend pregnant. Why is he so upset now he`s stuck in the middle of his lover`s divorce.
Soap opera legend Susan Lucci knows all about cheating drama. She`s right here tonight. She`s weighing in on Simon`s tawdry affair.
This is SBT, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, on HLN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, there`s some breaking news this morning.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That`s right.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s that Al Roker for the first time in 39 years overslept.
Al ROKER, NBC METEOROLOGIST: Yes, I did.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Yes, he did. Al Roker overslept, and he didn`t even get to give the weather report early this morning. Fortunately, hell did not freeze over. The world did go on as expected. Never happened before like that for Al.
Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. We`re going to have more on Al`s sleepy slip-up in just a moment. Right now, we`ve got a big SHOWBIZ newsmaker, here to weigh in on some of the biggest real-life dramas out there today.
And first off, a real-life soap opera story line playing out in headlines involving "The X Factor" judge Simon Cowell. Now, Simon is expecting his first child with the wife of his former friend.
And I personally don`t think there`s a better expert at soap opera dramas than the great Susan Lucci, who will forever, of course, be known to millions of fans as the fierce Erica Kane on "All My Children."
Susan, also hosting such a great show, the brand-new season of "Deadly Affairs on Investigation Discovery. She joins me in New York for the "SHOWBIZ Newsmaker" interview.
Always great having you here.
LUCCI: It`s so good to be here. Thank you.
HAMMER: On the Simon Cowell story, it made me think of you when it happened. Just because I knew you were coming on the show and the amount of soap opera drama like this you witnessed play out through all of your years on "All My Children."
Thankfully this did not turn into a deadly affair, but according to the divorce report, the filing says that Simon used to vacation with this couple, and now he`s fathering the wife`s child. I mean, what needs to happen, Susan, in your expert opinion for it to work out for everybody?
LUCCI: Well, all I know is that truth is much, much better than fiction. So whatever`s going to happen, it`s going to be fascinating to watch. And "Deadly Affairs" has a lot of those real-life love triangles, quadrangles, whatever that really turn out so bad. So bad.
HAMMER: Starting out something like this where a couple gets involved, maybe a child is involved, but then the deadly part gets involved.
LUCCI: The deadly part. Let`s hope Simon Cowell`s soap opera doesn`t turn out like that.
HAMMER: Yes. That`s something that we don`t...
LUCCI: No, we do not.
HAMMER: All right. Let`s talk about something else on a lighter note. We just showed you Al Roker, he overslept this morning.
LUCCI: YES.
HAMMER: ... first time in 39 years. Al`s a professional. He missed his first show ever in his entire career.
LUCCI: Did he miss the whole show?
HAMMER: He missed his early show.
LUCCI: OK.
HAMMER: But he made it in time for "The Today Show." I want to play for you how he explained it to his colleagues this morning.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This time.
ROKER: My phone didn`t go off. And somebody said, what`s your backup? And for 39 years I didn`t need one.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Al, wake up!
How many years were you on "All My Children"?
LUCCI: Since 1970. I think it was 42.
HAMMER: Did you ever miss a call time because you overslept?
LUCCI: I never missed a call time. I might have given some stress to hair and makeup if I -- if my -- also because one morning my clock, the batteries must have run out in the middle of the night so I was running late. New York city traffic. I live about an hour and a half outside of Manhattan. So hair and makeup had to double team really fast, but we made it.
HAMMER: Well, that`s good. You didn`t mess up the a.m. and the p.m. Some folks do that. If the clock says, you know, they set it for 6 a.m. -- 6 p.m., it should be 6 a.m.
LUCCI: I know.
HAMMER: Al will be OK, though.
LUCCI: He will be fine. He will be great. It happened before.
HAMMER: And look at you. Who didn`t think for a moment you wouldn`t be OK after "All My Children" and that amazing era came to an end? But wow, is it better than you imagined after things came to a close? Because you and I talked at the time, and you knew it was not going to be easy, just waking up to something new every day.
LUCCI: No, and I am just so grateful. Oh, my goodness, so grateful to be on two such great shows, two such great networks as Investigation Discovery for "Deadly Affairs" and Lifetime for "Devious Maids." I mean, I had a great experience on "All My Children," and you never expect that to happen again and here I have it. Let me knock on something fast. But I`m so grateful.
The only advice I can give you, and who am I to give you advice, but just, you know, set your wake-up calls. Maybe a few of them. And things will continue to be fabulously successful.
LUCCI: Exactly. Be on time.
HAMMER: Great seeing you.
LUCCI: Great seeing you.
HAMMER: And make sure you check out Susan in the brand-new season of "Deadly Affairs" on Investigation Discovery.
All right. You`ve got to get ready for another high-watted "SHOWBIZ Countdown" today, and today`s top buzz makers. Russell Brand making, I think, a pretty terrible joke about his sex life with his ex, Katy Perry. Russell, I know you`re a comedian, but saying you tried to think about anything else but your ex-wife while you`re in bed together, that`s a little tasteless, don`t you think?
Plus the $300,000 burger. There it is, took five years to make in a test tube. And now some of the world`s top food critics are finally tasting it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There`s quite some intense taste. It`s not that juicy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Like an animal protein cake.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I miss salt and pepper.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Animal protein cake. Not exactly a mouth-watering endorsement there. But would you ever eat a test tube burger? Decide for yourself, next.
Time for the "SHOWBIZ Buzz List," what the SHOWBIZ staff is buzzing all about.
Already Oscar buzz for Oprah Winfrey`s brand-new role in "The Butler." We will keep buzzing about this film until it opens next Friday.
Do you think you can beat Wall Street? Now you can try. There`s a brand- new iPhone app, My Winning Trade, that teaches you how to trade stocks and you don`t have to risk your own money, which is kind of nice.
Can`t get enough of Kelly Rowland`s amazing cover shot on September`s "Essence" magazine. The interview inside just as good.
The genius behind Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling has us diving into the detective book, "The Cuckoo`s Calling." She wrote it under a pseudonym, but yes, it`s 100 percent Rowling.
And we know what we`re doing every Friday for the rest of the summer. We are watching season 20 of "America`s Next Top Model." It just premiered. It`s as addicting as ever.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With bronze muscles like these.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s the girls versus the guys.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When I go for things, I win.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s nice of you to show up to be some eye candy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Let`s get it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Tonight, welcome to the era of the $300,000 burger. Yes, 300 grand. You`re probably wondering well, what the heck is in it? Gold flakes? Perhaps a mountain of caviar? Well, $300,000 is how much that test tube burger you`ve been hearing about costs to make.
Yes, I know, a burger grown in the lab, it doesn`t sound especially tasteful. Especially when you consider that huge price tag. But maybe it really is delicious.
We put CNN`s Jeanne Moos on the case for a yum or yuck taste test.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If you like your burgers rare, you won`t find meat rarer than this.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s the next creation.
MOOS: Monday morning, there were only two of these on earth. And one got eaten.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The burger has its own security guard and I wouldn`t be surprised if it`s going to have an agent.
MOOS: This being the first public taste test of a test tube burger.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: An historic event, a world first.
MOOS: If you think golf is slow, wait until you hear the play-by-play when the test tube burger is cooked in a London press conference.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How`s it cooking?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s holding incredibly well.
MARK POST PROFESSOR: Forty billion cells in that little hamburger.
MOOS: Grown from stem cells taken from the shoulder of a cow.
POST: We actually are producing it. It`s just not in a cow.
MOOS: Professor Mark Post has been developing a burger made in a lab for five years. The $330,000 burger was funded by the co-founder of Google. Burger in a test tube may look like Pepto Bismal. Professor Post says creating beef this way would be great for reducing greenhouse gases. It would produce way more meat without slaughtering all the cows.
There`s a catch.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How do you overcome the yuck factor?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Kind of gross.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it`s disgusting.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m always aware of -- that it is created in a lab.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It doesn`t seem natural.
MOOS (on camera): Do you like burgers?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I like burgers biologic from a cow.
Reporter: A petrie dish and then with a sniff, a nutrition researcher, a food writer served an independent unpaid tester.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There is quite some intense taste. It`s close to meat. It`s not that juicy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Like an animal protein cake.
MOOS: (on camera) What the test tube burger doesn`t have is fat. Without that, a fat chance it`s going to taste as good.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I miss salt and pepper.
MOOS: They did add bread crumbs, caramel, red beat juice for color and saffron and cooked it in butter.
Before the test tube.
No lettuce, tomato, no problem onion, no ketchup. Reporters in the audience begged for hl scraps.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: May I please have a bite.
MOOS: Reports: I tastes that it tastes like meat, tastes like crap. Some can`t believe it`s not a cow. It`s in the test tube. Remember when test tube babies were rare?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Where`s the beef?
HAMMER: I think if you just put a burger on that burger it will taste like a burger. That`s CNN`S Jeanne Moos for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
All right. Get ready. I`m firing up another "SHOWBIZ Countdown." Will today`s bachelor change the show forever in a groundbreaking new season?
HAMMER: So this surprising bachelor top our countdown or will Lindsay`s moment of reckoning with Oprah take the No. 1 spot?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you an addict?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oprah, Lindsey Lohan, the television event.
So what does Lindsay need to say to Oprah now that she`s out of rehab? Did she make all of the right moves to rehabilitate her image? Will Lindsay take the next slot on our SHOWBIZ Countdown?
This is SBT, HLN, of SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROCK: I had a Make-a-Wish kid, and I snuck him the Pam Anderson sex tape.
(END VIDEO CIP)
HAMMER: Right now the "SHOWBIZ Countdown" is today`s top buzz makers. Chris Rock controversy. Did he really give the infamous Pamela Anderson sex tape to a terminally ill kid? And if he did, is that awesome or awful?
Does that top Russell Brand saying that sex with his ex-wife, Katy Perry, was so boring that he had to fantasize about other women? Russell, have you lost your mind?
Which shocker will top the "SHOWBIZ Countdown"? SHOWBIZ TONIGHT continues right now.
(MUSIC)
HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. Thank you for watching. I`m A.J. Hammer. And tonight on our SHOWBIZ Countdown, it`s today`s top five biggest buzz makers.
Let`s fire it up with number five. People are buzzing today about Chris Rock`s controversial revelation about what he gave a cancer-stricken teenage boy as part of a make-a-wish foundation visit. Rock talked about his gift in one of my favorite online shows. It`s a new episode of Jerry Seinfeld`s hot web series, "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee." Look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRIS ROCK, COMEDIAN: I had a make-a-wish kid, he`s like 15-year-old dying of cancer, and I snuck him the Pam Anderson sex tape. And in between all of the other crap.
JERRY SEINFELD, COMEDIAN: Yeah.
ROCK: He`s dead now, but .
SEINFELD: He lived a little more.
ROCK: He lived a little more.
SEINFELD: Yeah.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Wow. Seriously, a special gift to be sure but did Chris Rock go too far? David Begnaud of news breakers on Ora TV is with me tonight from Hollywood, along with actress and comedian Michelle Buteau. So, this Pamela Anderson sex tape definitely thinking out of the box for this type of a gift. And I have to say, I really have no problem with it if it is in fact true. But David, as a last wish gift from Chris Rock, are you thinking this was just awesome or is it kind of awful?
BEGNAUD: Look, coming from Chris Rock, it`s a pretty damned cool gift, I guess. If Chris Rock is the gift giver. I mean if that`s what the kid wanted and you`re dying and he`s a teenager, you know what, better for it. I don`t know if I want my kid giving that. I`m sure he`s not going to give it. But if it`s coming from Chris Rock, it must have been one hell of a joke.
HAMMER: And, you know, some people, Michelle, calling Chris a hero for that gift. People are chattering about this online.
BEGNAUD: No.
HAMMER: Are you with him on this one? A hero?
MICHELLE BUTEAU, COMEDIAN AND ACTRESS: Well, I don`t know if he`s a hero. Maybe for that kid he was a hero .
HAMMER: Right.
BUTEAU: But I do think he was hilarious and kind of thoughtful. Because it`s a pretty good tape. I mean .
(LAUGHTER)
BUTEAU: It`s some of the best work Pamela has ever done, if you know what I`m saying.
HAMMER: Thoughtful.
BUTEAU: Yes. Thoughtful. He was really thinking outside the box. I like that. I mean you`re not going to like - call Oprah and have her perform at a roast. You know what I mean? If this guy loved Chris Rock, then, you know, he got the best gift ever.
HAMMER: This kid probably died laughing. It gives Tommy Lee some exposure, again, too.
BUTEAU: No pun.
HAMMER: All right. From controversial move to another, let`s get to number four in a Buzzmaker countdown, Russell Brand joking about sex with his ex. Katy Perry. So, Brand offered a what - a lot of people are finding to be a pretty shocking admission about their intimate marital relations. In his new (INAUDIBLE) here`s what he says. "When you`re married, it`s one person. That`s one more than a monk. It`s not that different. I`d be having sex thinking, think of anyone, anyone else." And that was perhaps the worst Russell Brand impersonation ever. Russell.
BEGNAUD: That`s good, A.J.
HAMMER: No, no, it was really awful.
BUTEAU: No, it was actually awful.
HAMMER: Yeah, thank you.
(LAUGHTER)
HAMMER: Russell has only been married once and that was, of course, to Katy Perry. Today, this joke is dividing the country. This morning on "The View," Joy Behar and Sherri Shepherd going out at it with very different perspectives. Look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOY BEHAR, HOST, "THE VIEW": Wow. What a nasty guy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I thought it was a little rough that he said that.
SHERRI SHEPHERD, HOST, "THE VIEW": He is a comic. When you`re married is one thing, when you`re married and you`re comic, you talk about what are the boundaries, and what are not - but when you`re divorced, for me I`m like, all the gloves are off.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Yeah. All right. Michelle, let me throw this to you. Because you`re a comedian as well. Are you with Sherri, all the gloves come off if the divorce goes through?
BUTEAU: I`m actually down with Sherri. However, I feel like you have to be a funny comedian in order to throw the punches like that and he`s being, his shtick is just being truthful and I find it very mean. And don`t diss monks like that. That`s a real job, Russell. What is he talking about? Nobody is thinking about Russell Brand when they are having sexy time. They are probably very much Katy Perry. So whatever.
HAMMER: You had to bring him - David, what do you think? Is Katy fair game now that they are divorce or is Russell kind of not playing fair here in your mind?
BEGNAUD: Look, first of all, let`s not even talk about fair game or not, A.J. Let`s talk about who has really got to think of what. If you`re having sex with Russell Brand, you`re probably thinking of somebody else.
HAMMER: Right.
BEGNAUD: I mean come on. (INAUDIBLE) Russell good morning, that relationship. Come on, Russell, get real.
BUTEAU: Trust and belief.
BEGNAUD: Is it fair game? I don`t know, if it`s funny I can buy into it at the comedy club. At the end of the day, I think it tends to be a little bit mean. Not my particular shtick, but it works for some people.
HAMMER: Yeah, certainly is consistent for Russell. All right, let`s keep it moving here right to number three on our buzzmaker countdown, Lindsay Lohan turned the tables last night. She was the guest host of "Chelsea Lately." I think she did pretty well and she did not hold back. Let`s look at some of it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LINDSAY LOHAN, ACTRESS: Kristen Stewart told off paparazzi this week. And there`s a video of this on TMZ. She`s hiding behind the gate waiting to get into a car and she said, you`re a piece of (EXPLETIVE DELETED), and you don`t deserve to breathe the same air that I do.
Yeah, I`m just excited that Kristen Stewart, you know, finally showed some emotion.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: OK. Hey, look, I`m thinking she had to bring it because, obviously, all eyes are watching her now that she`s out of rehab. But David, you know, I couldn`t help but think and, look, I`m sure somebody may have written that for her, but is she kind of playing with fire by slamming another star? You know? It just seems like something that she should be doing?
BEGNAUD: AJ, I don`t think you can play with fire anymore than the girl`s played with fire.
A.J.: Yes.
BEGNAUD: I could give a tare about Lindsay Lohan, however, nobody has been given more second chances than this girl. She`s now hosting "Chelsea Lately." I hope she does it. I hope the interview with Oprah works. I hope she can get her life back on track and do something right. Do something well.
HAMMER: Yeah, you know, it`s funny. We`re always used to when she is coming back from a down time, like being in rehab, about her appearing somewhere and being self-effacing. And she certainly did that on "Chelsea Lately." She was joking about drinking and all of the trouble that she`s been in.
BUTEAU: She was so funny.
HAMMER: Yeah.
BUTEAU: I think this is going to be the perfect comeback for her, step by step, not some big made-for-TV movie. We want to see her making fun of herself and being a normal person. I thought she was funny. I was surprised.
HAMMER: You know, one step at a time there, as you say. But she really, putting herself out there, as you said, not only on "Chelsea Lately" she is doing this Oprah sit down. That`s going to air on Sunday on the OWN network. Here`s a little bit of that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OPRAH, MEDIA MOGUL: Do you think you are addicted to chaos?
ANNOUNCER: Oprah, Lindsay Lohan.
OPRAH: What is going to be different this time?
ANNOUNCER: A next chapter exclusive.
OPRAH: When you get the first DUI, is that a wake-up call? What do you know about yourself now that you wish you had known six rehabs ago?
ANNOUNCER: The television event.
OPRAH: What does it feel like to be both an adjective and a verb for child star gone wrong?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: I actually think that was a pretty good tease for the show.
BEGNAUD: Wow.
HAMMER: With the question .
BUTEAU: Yeah.
HAMMER: But it`s funny, though, it almost sounded like Oprah, Lindsay Lohan.
BUTEAU: It`s ahead.
HAMMER: Heading in the ring.
BEGNAUD: A good (INAUDIBLE). You know .
BUTEAU: I love it.
HAMMER: Listen, a lot of people -- there are going to be a lot of eyeballs on this thing. Everybody wants to hear what Lindsay is going to confess to Oprah Winfrey. Michelle, are you with me in thinking, that Lindsay better completely copped to everything that she seems to have been in denial about in the past or else this sit down will be a major fail and should be back to - it`s a real opportunity. Obviously, they`ve taped it already but I`m dying to see her to be completely candid.
BUTEAU: Oh, Oprah is going to get it. Oprah is not going to end the interview .
BEGNAUD: Absolutely.
BUTEAU: . until she gets the answers she needs. Oprah is the therapist. So, she is going to get it and we`re going to hear it, all edited nicely to music. What?
HAMMER: Oprah, Lindsay. David, let me go to you. What do you need for Lindsay to say on Sunday that you`re going to be feeling a little better about the possibility that, yeah, look, she`s on the right track and we`ve said that before?
BEGNAUD: What do you need? You need the questions asked by Oprah. I truly believe that this format is going to be the most raw, honest, openly emotional interview we`ve probably seen with Lindsay Lohan. And if she shows up with her game face and she answers the questions honestly, I think this might be a real opportunity for her to get some respect from people who otherwise could give a you know what about her.
HAMMER: If taken away, just - is Lindsay going to cry?
BUTEAU: I hope so.
BEGNAUD: Maybe. Maybe.
HAMMER: She better. She`s an actress. Get a tear stick. Make it happen.
BEGNAUD: Get out there.
HAMMER: It`s Oprah, for god`s sake. Do whatever Oprah wants.
All right, David and Michelle, stay right there, because the SHOWBIZ Countdown is picking up steam. As we get closer to number one and tonight, we have a history-making thirst for the bachelor. A prince, a pro football player, and an actor. They`ve all had their shot at true love on the ABC show, but for the first time, "The Bachelor" is finally doing something that a lot of people say is way overdue. But will the big change top our SHOWBIZ Countdown of state`s top buzzmakers? Rihanna has certainly made getting naked on Instagram an art form. Well, tonight she`s rocking the tiniest bikini. A few feathers and she`s walking the streets of Barbados with a few thousand of her closest friends. And wait till you see what we`ve named as our moment of "SHOWBIZ Awesomeness. This is SBT, SHOWBIZ tonight on HLN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Will you marry me?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A thousand times.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: "The Bachelorette" fans just buzzing today about that moment: the kneel, the ring, the big question and, of course, that moment of truth. But it`s the next bachelor and his new quest for love that has tongues wagging today.
Welcome back. We`re counting down today`s top five buzz makers. "The Bachelor`s" history making new reality is what is coming in at number two. So, ABC has just revealed the latest bachelor who will soon take the helm on that quest for love. He`s Juan Pablo. And he became the first Latino bachelor in show`s history.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Explain your ideal woman.
JUAN PABLO, NEW BACHELOR: She has to, first, love my daughter .
AUDIENCE: Ah!
PABLO: Second of all, she has to be a good dancer.
(LAUGHTER)
PABLO: Being on "The Bachelor" opened up my eyes and I`m definitely ready to fall in love.
I really want to have that wife and a couple of other kids to spend Christmas and birthday parties and Valentine`s Day and that`s what I really want.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: There you have it. Juan Pablo looking for love and he`s ready to roll. Let me bring back comedian and actress Michelle Buteau and Jenny Hutt, the host of series XM radios "Just Jenny."
So, there you have Juan Pablo. And if you were looking online today, you saw social media on fire. Jenny, of course, in part it`s because he`s Latino. I think it is about time. Do you agree with me or is this much to do about nothing? Or people are getting all crazy for no reason?
HUTT: Oh, well, I totally think it`s about time. We should let all nationalities find love, that forever love that can only be found by being on "The Bachelor."
BUTEAU: Yeah.
HUTT: Yeah, right?
BUTEAU: And thank you, ABC, for finding a hot Latino man with a job. Hello.
(LAUGHTER)
BUTEAU: I said it. I`m sorry. Where was the show when I was single? Juan Pablo. Anybody named Juan Pablo, you are taking your panties off and having some toppers.
HUTT: Really?
BUTEAU: That`s the thing.
HUTT: That`s what you do.
Well, I think he likes the girls with the (INAUDIBLE) because I have a tiara at home.
HAMMER: Michelle, I`m sorry, I think they`ve already completed the casting process, and we`re not going to be able to squeeze you into this.
BUTEAU: That`s OK, honey, I`ve already said yes to the dress. I have my victor.
HAMMER: I was going to say I know you`re spoken for as well. All right, well, if it`s not Juan Pablo, what could possibly be number one? Here is your big reveal on our SHOWBIZ Countdown of today`s top five buzzmakers, MTV green lighting a new series showcasing virginity. I guess it was only a matter of time. It`s called "The Untitled Virgins Project." And it`s, well, at least that`s the name that they are throwing around right now. It`s going to follow the lives of people who have not said yes to the dress just yet and taken that particular plunge. Unlike MTV`s hit series "Real world," you`re not going to have the participants living in the same house which to me I guess makes sense, Jenny. But I`m thinking about the premise of the show, it`s almost like the anti-Jersey Shore. Like they are trying to con themselves off that a bit, perhaps.
HUTT: Right. Well, I don`t know that it`s not really saying yes to the dress, it`s saying yes to not taking off the dress.
BUTEAU: Yes, girl.
HUTT: Or no to taking off the dress.
BUTEAU: Yeah, panties on.
HUTT: I mean they are going to make virginity cool, that`s great.
BUTEAU: I think it`s great but where are they going to find these people?
HUTT: Right.
BUTEAU: Where are they going to find virgins?
HUTT: And how are they going to prove it?
BUTEAU: OK.
HUTT: They are taking them to mikvahs?
BUTEAU: Just saying, whatever that was.
HUTT: It`s a Jewish thing.
HAMMER: What you`re thinking on that, Jenny, I mean is this show, just because it`s on MTV and they seem to have their finger on the pulse of these things, I mean we`ve seen the success with all of the reality shows .
HUTT: Yes.
HAMMER: Is it going to sort of change the discussion out there?
HUTT: Yes.
HAMMER: Is it going to change the way we all think of people like Snooki and the situation?
HUTT: Well, actually, I think what it`s going to do is finally put an end to the teen pregnancy problem and the STD problems that we seem to be suffering from as a culture.
BUTEAU: It will not.
HUTT: TV is going to do it.
BUTEAU: It will not change my opinion on Snooki and Jersey Shore, though.
HUTT: Why not?
BUTEAU: Because it is what it is.
HUTT: OK.
HAMMER: All right. Well, Michelle, Jenny, thank you very much. I guess we`ll be drinking shots to virginity show.
BUTEAU: When? All right.
HAMMER: All right. As we move on, we do have some breaking news tonight. It`s Rihanna. Nearly naked yet again. All right. We know that she`s always nearly naked. But this time it`s actually for a purpose. Yes, bad girl Ri-Ri is on her home island. She`s hanging out in Barbados as she shines bright like a diamond for carnival, which is all lot of fun. Now, you may want to get a little closer to the air conditioning because we have SHOWBIZ`s hot flashes coming up next. And wait until you see what we have named tonight as our moment of SHOWBIZ Awesomeness.
This is "SBT" SHOWBIZ TONIGHT on HLN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HAMMER: Time now for SHOWBIZ hot flashes. This is where we tackle the day`s hottest headlines. First up, we have Rihanna`s naked ambition. A lot of people having a bit of a hot flash with these photos of Rihanna. She obviously got very much into the spirit of crop over, the annual carnival in Barbados. She`s wearing this barely-there white number. Ri-ri just sashayed her way through the streets. She was partying up with everybody there. Some say it`s actually tougher to recognize Rihanna with clothes than without.
Back with me now in New York, Michelle Buteau from VH1`s "Best Week Ever". I think she looks terrific. Rihanna seemed to be naked quite often, and she also shares her nude pics on social media, Michelle, as we know, and that certainly puts some people off. But for me, this is at least one case where I think she is, shall we say, appropriately naked. Are you telling Rihanna, cover it up or let it all hang out?
BUTEAU: Well, you know I would be like, put a bra on, please, because you`re (INAUDIBLE). But I am Jamaican and Haitian, so I love me some carnival. You`ve got to keep it spicy. And I love her outfit. This is what we do in the Caribbean. Now, she`s taken it to like everyday life, but I love it. I mean, I wish I could wear what she`s wearing. You want to come to carnival this year with me, A.J.?
HAMMER: Yeah, I`m right there. That would be certainly a fun time, I think, I`ll be pretty --
BUTEAU: I`ll make sure you have a good time.
HAMMER: Oh, I don`t doubt that for one second. Let`s go to our next hot flash, shall we? It`s singer Solange Knowles, Beyonce`s little sis. She says she`s having the time of her life. She gave this brand-new interview where she says that she has one of the best jobs in the world, because she works for about an hour a day. Right now she`s promoting some of her new music. She is visiting Croatia and Senegal and Glastenbury (ph), England for the music festival, and I`m sitting here thinking, well, that`s a nice life. Michelle, who`s got it better than her?
BUTEAU: Oh my God? You know who has got it better than her? Beyonce. Hello, isn`t that her number one job in life, to be her sister? I`m sorry. I said it. I`ll say it again. Why is she giving up all the goodies? I mean, she`s a mom, too, right? That`s a full-time job all day long. So I don`t understand where she`s coming from. I`m like, please stop telling people you only work for an hour, because it takes like at least three hours to mix those prints like she does.
HAMMER: I guess it`s a money making thing, you know, and obviously, look, Beyonce makes probably a heck of a lot more money than her sister, but really, whose career would you choose? Because put it this way - well, Beyonce is a mom as well and working around the clock, and her sister, she is just saying I`m working about an hour a day to promote my music, you know, the job that pays.
BUTEAU: Well, I`m going to say Beyonce because I actually know what her songs are. What?
HAMMER: Michelle Buteau, thank you very much. All right. Are you like me? Do you love the Mumford and Sons? Do you love enthusiastic banjo playing and random bearded men kissing in music videos? Then you cannot miss tonight`s moment of SHOWBIZ awesomeness.
(MUSIC)
HAMMER: So you look at this and you think it`s just a Grammy winning band doing their thing, right? But you`re going to find out why this brand new Mumford and Sons video will have you laughing, it will have you crying, and singing along like never before.
This is "SBT," SHOWBIZ TONIGHT on HLN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC)
HAMMER: That`s the awesome new video for the new Mumford & Sons song "Hopeless Wanderer." Tonight the video has gone viral. It`s not because it`s such a great song, which it obviously is, but because the band has gone through a dramatic and really hysterical makeover. And that is why Mumford & Sons take tonight`s moment of SHOWBIZ awesomeness.
At first glance, it definitely looks in this video like the guys from the English folk band with their hipster look are just kind of doing their thing. This is where the makeover comes in. The stars of the video, they are actually comedians and actors Jason Bateman, Will Forte and Ed Helms and Jason Sudeikis. They are channeling Mumford & Sons in this video that has gone massively viral. They are sort of exaggerated versions of the band members. I think the result is brilliant. You`ve got to watch.
(MUSIC)
HAMMER: Spectacular. That`s such a great song, and now an unforgettable and awesome video to go along with it. Coming up next on "DR. DREW ON CALL," former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky writes letters from prison. Hear what the convicted child molester says about life behind bars, starting right now.
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