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Showbiz Tonight

The Miley Outrage: Is There a Double Standard?; Should Miley Apologize?; Are People Overreacting to Miley Performance?; Rumors of Drugs, Pending Divorce Swirl around Khloe, Lamar; `Buffy` Actress Recounts Story of Survival; iPhone Musician Lands Record Deal; Defending Miley; Interview with Nick Selby

Aired August 27, 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 SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, inside Lamar Odom`s troubled world. An NBA star with a reality star wife and wild reports swirling. Is their marriage on the rocks? Is he battling addiction? Tonight, "People" magazine`s Raha Lewis brings us the inside story.

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HAMMER: Also tonight, defending Miley Cyrus. The top five reasons to stand up for Miley as she still feels the heat over that raunchy VMA performance. Big-time TV personality and host of E!`s "Hello, Ross," Ross Matthews is going to break it down with us.

SHOWBIZ TONIGHT starts right now.

Hello, I`m A.J. Hammer. Thank you for watching. My guest co-host of the show, Nischelle Turner, is right here with me tonight. And tonight in our "SHOWBIZ Countdown," we`re counting down today`s top three "Burning Questions" about Miley Cyrus.

NISCHELLE TURNER, CO-HOST: And we do mean burning. Because today the heat on Miley seemed to be burning even stronger following her VMA twerk fest.

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TURNER: Well, tonight Miley herself is taking on the haters and others who think she should be ashamed of herself for her rump-shaking, finger- twirling, R-rated performance at the VMAs. Hey, how come Robin Thicke isn`t also getting the heat?

HAMMER: Yes!

TURNER: Are we blurring the lines here, A.J.?

HAMMER: Yes. Maybe.

Let`s kick off our countdown with our No. 3 "Burning Question" about just that. The Miley outrage: is there a double standard at work here?

Let me ask celebrity publicist and TV personality Kita Williams. Kita is joining us from Hollywood tonight.

Always great to see you. And I`ve got to get your take. Is there a double standard? The young woman gets slammed, the older guy does not. Doesn`t seem right.

KITA WILLIAMS, CELEBRITY PUBLICIST: You know, I don`t think it`s a double standard. I think really what it is, is dealing with the young girl who really is struggling between being an adolescent star and an adult star. I think we all saw the performance a tad bit disturbing.

I think the difference is I think Robin Thicke seemed a tad bit disturbed, too. I don`t think he knew all the gyrations were going to go on that go on on that stage.

I think for the most part, you know, we all saw the performance happen. And I think a lot of us are questioning it two days later. And I think it makes sense for us to understand what it is to be over-sexualizing yourself on stage as a young woman at 20 and what message does that send out to your fans?

HAMMER: Let us not confuse anything here, though. He knew exactly every single move that was going to take place on this stage. This was so carefully choreographed and worked through. I don`t doubt for a moment that Robin knew what was going on.

But you look at how Miley is being attacked. She`s got everybody riled up one way or the other tonight, including Lisa Belkin. Lisa is senior columnist on "Life or Family" for "The Huffington Post."

And Lisa, you wrote a pretty terrific open letter to Miley Cyrus today. We`re going to get to that in just a second. I think everybody needs to know what you had to say about that.

But first, do you feel that it is fair that Miley is getting all this criticism, even though, you know, Robin Thicke was right up there basically enabling her.

LISA BELKIN, HUFFINGTON POST: Yes. And -- but he had his clothes on.

HAMMER: True.

BELKIN: And, yes. I think there are a lot of people who made some mistakes. And I think it was a ridiculous segment artistically. And I think that the reason she`s getting a lot of the flack is because she`s the one who seemed to be out there saying, "Look at me. I am using this moment to change my image. And this is how I have chosen to do it." And I think that that`s what people were reacting to. That`s certainly what I was reacting to.

HAMMER: Yes. I think she`s been changing her image for some time now. But I think this certainly put an exclamation point on it, Nischelle. Let`s face it: Robin Thicke has been gone after himself for people saying his video was misogynistic. Do you think there was a double standard going on as far as this performance?

TURNER: You know, I`m not sure if it`s a double standard. I think it was actually just a bad decision on Miley`s part. Because I think she could have done something else to make herself look more adult. And she could have been sensual instead of being over-sexed, weird-looking. So I don`t necessarily think it`s a double standard. I think that it was just her not making a good choice.

So that takes us to our second "Burning Question" on the "SHOWBIZ Countdown." Now, here it is. Should Miley apologize? Now, she doesn`t seem too upset at least by judging her Twitter time line.

She just posted this racy picture of her in a really skimpy mock Michael Jordan outfit, complete with the No. 23. Apparently, she was in mid-twerk right there. Should Miley be more apologetic or keep posting?

WILLIAMS: You know, as an entertainment publicist, I think she definitely should address it from a standard. I don`t know if apologize is the word she wants to use. But I would definitely recommend that she says something about what she`s thinking.

Of course being an artist, you`re creative. You`re going to do things that are shocking. The VMAs, you know, they`re definitely a provocative show. I definitely would urge her to put something out a little bit more positive so that kind of balances what we saw and who she is as a person; as an artist and as a person. Those two lines can be a tad bit blurred, based on what we`ve seen with her onstage.

TURNER: Yes. Exactly.

Lisa, you know, I want to ask you, because you wrote this open letter to her. It`s getting a lot of buzz today. Here`s part of what you said.

You said, "We are all for feminism and a woman`s right to enjoy her sexuality. But it is a misuse of feminism to define it as grinding on Robin Thicke amid dancers dressed like species-nonspecific plush animals. You have the right to remind us that you have sex and that you like it. But only when you no longer feel the need to remind us of that will we actually believe you."

Lisa, it sounds like you think Miley should do a little apologizing, backtrack a little bit here.

BELKIN: I don`t know that apologizing -- I think there are actually people who owe her an apology for -- for directing her this way.

I was just sad. I mean, it reminded me of a little kid -- and I wrote this -- who stands up and says, you know, "I big girl now. I can do this myself." And by declaring it, you`re in effect saying it`s not true yet. You know, it`s like "Look at me. I`m mature and I`m an adult, and I`m a sexual woman." No. Real sexuality and sensuality doesn`t involve essentially taking all your clothes off and simulating sex on camera.

HAMMER: But we`ve seen it before.

BELKIN: We have.

HAMMER: And yet people are freaking out over it. So Kita, our last "Burning Question": Are people just getting too worked up over this?

WILLIAMS: No, I don`t think people are overreacting. I think we need to be a conscious society, and we understand that Miley is only 20. You know, I think the difference is -- and I`m not trying to defend or to come down on her. I think we were just stark (ph) because she still has a girl`s body. She has a little girl`s body. She didn`t have enough curves to twerk. You know? I think if she had a little bit more curves and she was a little bit older, we may have seen it in a little different light. But she`s a young girl looking for her sexuality, and she definitely didn`t find it on the VMA stage.

HAMMER: I do think a lot of it has to do with the fact that it`s Miley Cyrus, former Hannah Montana.

BELKIN: Absolutely.

HAMMER: All right. Lisa, Kita, thank you both so much.

BELKIN: Thank you.

WILLIAMS: Thank you.

HAMMER: Well, as big as this Miley thing is, she was almost overshadowed today by the startling news and mystery surrounding Khloe Kardashian Odom and her husband, Lamar. New revelations today about what they`re going through.

He`s reportedly battling a substance abuse problems. Lots of reports today. Lots of questions, too, like what substance, if any, is Lamar using? Did he really go missing? And are he and Khloe on the brink of being the latest Kardashian divorce?

"People" magazine is breaking lots of news about all this today. "People" writer Raha Lewis joins me from Hollywood.

So Raha, let`s get right to it. What is "People" hearing? Are Khloe and Lamar on the brink of divorce?

RAHA LEWIS, "PEOPLE" MAGAZINE: Look, something like this would push any couple to the brink. But what we do know, our sources tell us that Khloe has not made any decisions yet and is really committed to helping Lamar.

HAMMER: That`s not surprising. She really has been standing by him, and she really lashed out at fans over the weekend with a pretty angry tweet about all the chatter that`s been going on.

But there was this report that -- I always find strange when these reports come in. Lamar actually went missing over the weekend. What you are hearing about the reality of that?

LEWIS: Well, his close friend and former Rhode Island College coach, Jerry DeGregorio, had previously said that when he`s faced with a crisis, sometimes his first inclination is to run and hide. But we know that his coach spoke out and said that -- sorry, the agent spoke out and said that he was not missing. His father spoke out and said he had talked to him. We know Khloe has been in touch with him. So he was not missing, as far as we know.

HAMMER: Yes, I think sometimes, you know, people are going through something, and clearly, there was something going on here. We may not know exactly what, and they`ll tend to lay low.

There`s one thing that people may now know about Lamar Odom. The guy has had some troubles, including a rocky relationship with his only surviving close relative, his father. And that`s something we actually saw him talk about on E!`s reality show, "Khloe and Lamar." Let`s look at that.

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LAMAR ODOM, PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL PLAYER: He`s been through a lot. I give him that. Vietnam.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I get it.

ODOM: Addiction. But at the end of the day, he ought to keep it real a little bit. I`m not asking him to be a father. I`m just asking him to act like you are my father.

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HAMMER: Well, like his dad, Odom has had his own personal struggles with substance abuse, hasn`t he, Raha?

LEWIS: Yes, he has. He`s actually been suspended in the past for drug use. So it`s definitely something he has dealt with.

But look, this is a guy who everyone is rooting for him. Phil Jackson tweeted his support. Magic Johnson tweeted support for him. Everyone wants him to get through this, and everyone will support him in every which way that they can.

HAMMER: Well, we will continue to root for him, as well. I`m sure his fans and Khloe`s fans are doing the same.

Raha Lewis, thank you so much for joining us tonight. Great insight from "People" magazine.

And you can check out the new issue of "People" on newsstands on Friday.

Moving on now to Miley mania 2.0. Miley still feeling the heat tonight in a big way for that over-the-top VMA performance.

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HAMMER: Tonight, defending Miley. That`s right. You`ve got to be here for this. We are counting down the top five reasons to stand up for Miley tonight: from album sales to Facebook to Miley`s own words. Team Miley is getting to turn it back.

Leading the way, TV personality and E! host Ross Matthews. He`s taking on Miley mania.

Also this...

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CHARISMA CARPENTER, ACTRESS: It`s so warm. It`s beautiful. Any ideas? Let`s go to the beach. I never made it to the water.

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HAMMER: "Surviving Evil." This is crazy. Real stories of people who survived true crime terror. Actress Charisma Carpenter hosts the show and shares her own personal near-death story.

This is SBT, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, on HLN.

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HAMMER: Tonight, "Surviving Evil." Charisma Carpenter did. She`s probably best known as Cordelia Chase, Buffy`s frenemy on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," but in real life, Charisma suffered a horror that was truly unimaginable, and she is back on TV to tell her story.

I`ve got to tell you, this is so unbelievable.

TURNER: It sure is. Even more so that she actually survived to tell this story.

Just a few years before rocketing to fame on "Buffy" and on "Angel," she was violently attacked at gunpoint by an out-of-control former cop and serial rapist. Now she is sharing her amazing story of heroism for the very first time in a chilling new series called "Surviving Evil." It`s on Investigation Discovery. Charisma hosts the show. She joins us tonight from Hollywood.

First of all, you are amazing. Let me just say that. But let`s talk about "Surviving Evil," because it kicks off with your personal story of survival. You were just 21 when you were attacked. Can he tell me what happened to you and your friends back then?

CARPENTER: We were on the beach one San Diego hot summer night. And I was attacked first. I had pulled away from my two friends, and a man came out with a gun and a hose over his face. And I screamed. And the boys ran over to help me, and then we were all robbed and bound and all of that.

TURNER: Wow. I mean, I see you kind of remembering it in your head. And we see you recount that night. It was really bone-chilling in the detail that you did on "Surviving Evil." Let`s take a little bit of a look at that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) CARPENTER: It was so warm. It was beautiful. Any ideas? I said, "Guys, let`s go to the beach." I never made it to the water.

He placed the gun to my head.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She asked him, you know, "What are you going to do next, rape me?"

Then he said, "You bet your sweet ass I am."

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TURNER: Oh, my gosh. OK, Charisma, how difficult was it for you to relive that and even just watching it there?

CARPENTER: You know, it`s been a really long time. And I`ve done a lot of work on myself. So it`s not -- I have a very healthy outlook on it today.

TURNER: Well, I`m glad to hear that.

CARPENTER: It was an event -- thank you. This isn`t an event that broke me in any way. In fact, it`s empowered me and inspired me now to tell my story and inspire others to tell their stories or to get the help that they need to overcome whatever violent crimes they`re experiencing now or have.

TURNER: I was going to say, it`s been 20 years. So now when you`re telling your story, what you`re doing is trying to pass it on and empower other women that you can survive something like this.

CARPENTER: Not only can you survive; you can actually thrive and go on to have a wonderful life. I have a family. I`m philanthropic; I give back. I have a great career. And here I am, you know. So I`m sort of a testament to overcoming some really dark moments. And to me...

TURNER: Doing it well. Yes, indeed. Doing it well. You know what I like about this, too, Charisma? You helped get this guy locked up for a really long time because of a really critical piece of evidence. Tell me about that.

CARPENTER: The key piece of evidence in -- was the flashlight. He was a San Diego police officer. And it was a police-issued flashlight, which then has their names engraved. And this piece of evidence linked him to us and ultimately led to his conviction. So that was sort of my way of fighting back.

But the boys that I was with that night literally fought back and were shot doing it. So it was a great night for us in a sense that we stopped him. And so I`m very proud of them. They`re heroes.

TURNER: Well, and you are, too, because you`re here to tell the story, and he wasn`t able to hurt anyone else ever again.

So Charisma Carpenter, thank you very much for joining us tonight.

CARPENTER: Thank you.

TURNER: Be sure to check out the new series, "Surviving Evil," when it debuts Wednesday on Investigation Discovery.

HAMMER: Wow. That really is amazing and inspirational. And we move from one inspirational story to another tonight.

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NICHOLAS SELBY, GEORGIA TECH SOPHOMORE: I`m telling you, if you want to change the world, you`re at Georgia Tech! You can do that!

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HAMMER: This is just awesome. It`s a college speech that turns this everyday guy into an Internet superstar. He`s Nick Selby. He is right here to share his real 15 minutes of fame frenzy.

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CURTIS FIELDS, IPHONE MUSICIAN: I started playing my iPhone because I didn`t have the money to purchase a keyboard.

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HAMMER: And that`s right. There is an app for that. The amazing story of this talented musician who actually used his iPhone to land a record deal. That is next.

This is SBT, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, on HLN.

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HAMMER: Wow. Did you see this? This guy is not only playing musical instruments on his iPhone, you`ve got to hear what just happened to him. Nischelle, it is remarkable how good this guy is with his telephone.

TURNER: Do you see me bobbing my head? He is just that good, A.J. So good that he just got signed to a recording contract. Just by playing that iPhone.

Now his incredible story tonight, we`ll hear from CNN`s Victor Blackwell for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.

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VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Yes, he is actually playing the guitar on his iPhone. Curtis Fields has become one of the first musicians to land a major record deal using simply his iPhone.

FIELDS: I started playing my iPhone because I didn`t have the money to purchase a keyboard. And I didn`t really think of it as something that can take me somewhere. I just thought it was fun.

BLACKWELL: Fields went to an audition where he met Ray Daniels, who was immediately impressed.

RAY DANIELS, FIELDS`S MANAGER: Actually, I actually remember Curtis calling me the next morning, like, "Hey, are you interested in working with me? Because my son and my girl are sleeping on the floor."

BLACKWELL: Daniels agreed to be Fields`s manager, along with Davon Washington. They took him to meet music executive L.A. Reid at Epic Records.

FIELDS: I was playing this song in L.A. Reid`s office as my audition. And he pulls out his drumsticks from under the table and starts, like, tapping along. And we were just jamming it. It was like one of the most surreal moments ever. But after that, he was like, "You have to be me."

BLACKWELL: This may have been the first surreal moment for the young musician, but it would not be the last. He`s since appeared on "The View" and also performed for the BET Awards among better-known artists.

DAVON WASHINGTON, MANAGER: There were artists who started to sell hundreds of thousands of songs who have No. 1 and top five or top ten songs on the radio. They were vying for those spots, as well. So it`s like that`s when we really began to understand just how special his talent was.

BLACKWELL: Fields`s phone may helped him get a deal, but it`s his talent and his perseverance that will take him places. And he wants to inspire others with his story.

FIELDS: When people say Curtis Fields, I want them to think about their dreams. And think about things that they really want to do in life and the things that they feel like they were put here to do. And I want them to look at those things as attainable, and it`s all possible. It`s just about not giving up on whatever your dream is.

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TURNER: A.J., I`m pulling for this kid.

HAMMER: Yes.

TURNER: He`s got to do this name justice, though, because it`s a derivative of Curtis Mayfield. He`s got that in his blood.

HAMMER: Yes. Looks like he has a bright future ahead.

All right. Coming up, we`re coming now to Miley mania.

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HAMMER: Defending Miley. Lots of big stars standing by Miley tonight. Is it much ado about nothing? Tonight, we count down the top five reasons to defend Miley, and we`re doing it with TV personality and E! host Ross Matthews.

This is SBT, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, on HLN.

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HAMMER: Right now the "SHOWBIZ Countdown." The top five reasons to defend Miley Cyrus over her VMA twerk spectacle. The shocking defense of Miley today, including a lot of Hollywood stars.

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PEREZ HILTON, CELEBRITY BLOGGER: Miley Cyrus is a trending topic on Twitter. Whether you liked her performance or not, everybody is talking about her.

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HAMMER: Like Perez says, Miley sure succeeded at getting some monster attention for herself and the VMAs. So what`s going to be today`s No. 1 Miley defense? Who better to help us decide than E! host Ross Matthews. Ross is right here tonight. Oh, yes, he`s got some things to say about Miley`s twerk-gate.

SHOWBIZ TONIGHT continues right now.

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HAMMER: Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. Thank you for watching. I`m A.J. Hammer with my guest co-host tonight, the lovely Nischelle Turner. And tonight on the SHOWBIZ countdown, we have got today`s top five reasons to defend Miley Cyrus.

TURNER: Yes, A.J. There are people defending Miley`s over the top twerking spectacle at the VMAs.

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TURNER: Let`s get the countdown going at No. 5. With Miley, defending Miley. Downright (inaudible) now, twerked her way to the top of Twitter. Here`s what she just tweeted. Smilers, my VMA performance has 306,000 tweets per minute. That`s more than the blackout or Super Bowl. #fact. So Ms. Miley doing a little gloating there. Ross Matthews with us tonight. He is the host of the new E! show, "Hello, Ross," which premieres Friday, September 6. So hello, Ross.

ROSS MATTHEWS, HOST, "HELLO, ROSS": Hello.

TURNER: Thank you for joining us. OK look. Miley is not laying low. She`s not hiding out. She`s loud and proud of the buzz she`s got going. Are you buying how she`s defending herself?

MATTHEWS: Listen, if her intention was to cause people to talk about it, then ding, ding, ding, that`s working. It`s absolutely working. It`s all anybody can talk about right now. If her intention was to create art that is respected in the music industry, I don`t know she did that. She is definitely being talked about.

TURNER: You`re so sweet. I don`t know if she did that. I don`t know either. You think that her gloating, like she`s been doing could backfire badly as that twerk-a-rama thon she did at the VMAs. What do you think?

MATTHEWS: Twerk-a-rama-thon. Yes. You know, she injured herself. You know, I think she gets twerker`s comp. I`m not sure. But that poor dear foam finger. I feel bad for that.

You know, here is the deal. I thought last night was a really great opportunity. Miley has got this great song. It`s a big hit. For her to go out there and say, look, I`ve completed this transformation, I am now this artistic, successful artist, this woman. And I feel it was a missed opportunity in a way, and I love Miley. But I just kind of didn`t get it.

TURNER: Yes, she transformed all right. AJ, are you surprised to see her, I don`t know, tooting her own horn?

HAMMER: No, I`m totally with Ross on this. My brother, I agree. She was looking for reaction. She got a big reaction. Not all of it good, of course, but she`s doing exactly what she should be doing and making the most of it. And while she`s riding high on her Twitter buzz, she is getting a surprising show of support coming to her from fellow celebrities tonight. No. 4 on our countdown, Hollywood defending Miley. SHOWBIZ on location in New York last night. It was the U.S. premiere of "One Direction`s" new documentary called "One Direction: This is us." Remember, they were at the VMAs. Watch what they told us last night.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don`t care what everyone is talking about it. I thought it was just --

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. It was good fun.

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HAMMER: Good fun. Ross? That performance was lots of things. But good fun?

MATTHEWS: Well, it depends on who is watching and what you`re into. Again, I think, you know, she just wanted people to talk about it. It was the No. 1 -- when she is bragging about that tweet. She is talking about how more tweets than the Super Bowl. Those are facts and that`s true. People I know, I tweeted about it. Everyone was, my Twitter feed was blowing up about it. So in certain ways, it was very successful.

HAMMER: And the truth is, have we ever seen anybody have more fun with a bear costume and a foam finger? I say no.

MATTHEWS: She just loved it, she just kept going.

HAMMER: Yes. Why not?

Gossip blogger Perez Hilton was also at the One Direction premiere last night. He told SHOWBIZ TONIGHT this was Miley`s big night.

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HILTON: Miley stole the night. It was about Justin Timberlake as we were watching and immediately after. But then Monday, all day Monday Miley Cyrus was a trending topic on Twitter. Whether you liked her performance or not, everybody is talking about her. I don`t think it was too much. I just was disappointed that she didn`t focus enough on her vocals. And she didn`t sound as great as I know she can.

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HAMMER: See, you have Perez defending Miley saying he doesn`t think what she did was too much. He was more concerned about how she was singing. Ross, I think he`s got a good point. Who is to say after all what is too much at the VMAs? It ain`t the Oscars, right?

MATTHEWS: That`s exactly why we tune in. Every time I watch the VMAs, I`m -- for example, I was in New York. I was under my covers in the hotel room. I tuned in because I wanted to see what weird thing was going to happen.

HAMMER: Yes.

MATTHEWS: And as soon as this started, I was like, Miley, thank you for bringing the weird a little bit. The Gaga performance was a little subdued. Justin Timberlake was great. But N-Sync was like for a second and a half. At least Miley brought something worth tweeting about.

HAMMER: You got what you came for. Ross, all right. Let us keep the countdown moving. Nischelle, take us to No. 3.

TURNER: All right. I guess I`m the old fogey here but let`s keep this going. At no. 3, we have got FaceBook defending Miley. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s Facebook wall remains out of control today. Hundreds of people weighing in on Miley, everybody had something to say about this. Here`s what LAW wrote. No one is talking about Jennifer Hudson`s performances, Lady Gaga or anyone else. They`re all talking about Miley. The more publicity she gets, she may sell more record sales.

And this from Lori G. "I actually feel sorry for her. I think she`s crying out for help, just like Britney Spears did for so many years before she finally had her meltdown." Ross, do you think what Lori is talking about there is correct, a cry for help?

MATTHEWS: I don`t know if it`s a cry for help from Miley. You have to think about these other people she talked about, like Britney Spears, who was really going through some other issues, mental issues, substance abuse allegedly, some of that going on. With Miley, she`s a pretty good girl for the most part, at least what we hear about in the press. But she just sort of had a weird stage moment there. But I mean, you don`t see her partying or driving drunk or getting tickets. I don`t feel sorry for her necessarily. I just think this was just a bizarro, headline grabbing performance.

TURNER: With a weird foam finger that I just can`t get out of my brain.

Let`s take a look at what Juan M. wrote on our FaceBook wall. He is showing a lot of love for Miley as well. He says, "I think she`s great. This is a game of sex appeal. You have to be a gamer. Because Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Jennifer Lopez, Madonna and others, this is what creates uniqueness in these shows. It`s not disgusting if it is done in good taste. Miley rules." Ross, isn`t that what this is all about? If the fans stick with you, doesn`t all the negative stuff go away?

MATTHEWS: Miley is a rare group of performers who have this humongous online following who will defend these people to the ends of the earth. You think about One Direction, the Wanted, Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus. No matter what they do, their fans come to their aid.

Listen, I don`t think this was the best thing for her career, to be honest. Yes, people are talking about it. I don`t think it gives her any more legitimacy, but I don`t think her fans see it that way. I think they just see a lot of people picking on Miley and they want to come to her defense.

HAMMER: It would have been better if the fans were defending her, saying stop hating on Miley, and wow, what a great performance. They`re just saying stop hating on Miley.

But let`s get to No. 2. on our countdown of reasons to defend Miley. It is the numbers defending Miley. Look at this. Popping the iTunes charts, right now, Katie Perry, Robin Thicke, Gaga and look at here, No. 4, Miley Cyrus. I would say, Ross, Miley`s chart topping sales are a major vindication for that young lady tonight.

MATTHEWS: Yes, probably. In my defense, I would say I downloaded it before the performance. I think a lot -- listen, the song is really good. Nobody is disputing that. The song is really catchy. The kids love it. I count myself in there. I love it, too. You know what? At the end of the day, you`re right, it`s climbing since the performance. You don`t see it drop in sales.

TURNER: And that brings us to the big reveal, No. 1 on our countdown of the day`s top five reasons to defend Miley. And it`s SHOWBIZ defending Miley. Yes. She`s made it clear. She`s not Hannah Montana. She`s 20 years old. A.J., does everybody need to just get over it and accept she can do these kind of things?

HAMMER: Accept that this is who she is at least at the moment. Look, she spent the past couple of years distancing herself from the Miley Cyrus, Hannah Montana persona. That`s in the past. And through that and through the way she`s been performing and taking photographs of herself, this is in fact who she has become. So I think we just need to accept it. Yes, everybody needs to relax. Don`t you think, Ross?

MATTHEWS: I`ll go back to what I said in the beginning. This is an opportunity for her to really establish herself as a grown-up artist. I think we all understand she`s growing up and she is becoming a woman. I think that transition had kind of happened in the industry and with fans. But, you know, she could have really solidified herself as someone with something to say. That didn`t happen in this performance. I don`t know what she was saying.

HAMMER: Nischelle, there were a lot of ways for her to go as she made the transition. Justin Timberlake certainly went down a different path. I don`t know how this is going to work for her in the long run. Where does she go from here?

TURNER: That is a good question. I hope she goes to the store and buys some clothes to put on. First things first. I tell you, I`m going to be Debbie Downer here, guys. I thought it was uncomfortable, I thought it was weird, I didn`t get it. I like Miley, but I didn`t get it. I just was weirded out by the whole thing, the tongue, the foam finger, no clothes, all of it.

HAMMER: And you`re most certainly not alone.

MATTHEWS: No, you`re not.

HAMMER: Ross, thank you so much for being here. Congratulations on "Hello Ross" premiering next Friday night. I know it`s a dream come true for you to do this talk show. I`m really happy for you.

MATTHEWS: Thank you, I`m a super fan of pop culture. The show is for super fans. Friday, September 6, 10:00 p.m.,. after "Fashion Police" and every Friday after that. Come join the fun.

HAMMER: Best of luck with it.

MATTHEWS: Thank you.

HAMMER: And as Miley continues to shake things up with her VMA twerk fest, we have got a college student who is grabbing the world`s attention with an epic message of inspiration.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am telling you, if you want to change the world, you`re at Georgia Tech! You can do that!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HAMMER: I love this. It is totally over the top. It`s a welcoming speech to the freshman class of Georgia Tech. It is making this guy a national superstar. He is a college sophomore. Nick Selby. He is right here tonight. He`s going to get us all pumped up about his instantly legendary speech that is changing the world.

You have to see former Secretary of State Colin Powell`s dork dance. Yes. The retired four star general getting down on stage with Daft Punk. I`ll reveal why in your moment of SHOWBIZ awesomeness.

This is SBT, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT on HLN.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Georgia Tech is proud of its many traditions, but the one I find most exciting is our tradition of excellence.

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TURNER: Nick Selby, simmer down. You got your 15 minutes of fame with your over the top epic welcoming speech to the freshman class of the Georgia Institute of Technology. That is intense. I`m telling you, A.J., nobody welcomed me like that when I started college.

HAMMER: And think about his life right now. One day this regular college sophomore, he`s going to classes, hanging out with friends. The next thing he`s this national superstar getting to enjoy his 15 minutes of fame. I`m so happy Nick Selby is with us. Great to have you here, Nick.

NICK SELBY, SOPHOMORE: Nice being here. Thank you, AJ.

HAMMER: Absolutely. What I love about this is out there in the audience, nobody saw this coming. You kind of teed up the crowd by launching into what seemed like it was going to be just another boring old welcoming speech. And then, man, did you unload.

What did it feel like to do that with some 4,000 people out there in the audience?

SELBY: It was a blast. I loved it. It was a lot of fun. I was really worried. I mean, there`s a big possibility they would all just kind of sit there and stare at me wondering what had just happened. In which case that would be a really, really awkward end to a speech. But doing it was amazing. It was wonderful.

HAMMER: It looked like you were having an absolute blast. I checked this afternoon. As of then your speech had been viewed nearly 300,000 times on YouTube. I would like with you now to relive that epic moment as "2001: A Space Odyssey" roars in the background.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SELBY: I am telling you, if you want to change the world, you`re at Georgia Tech! You can do that! If you want to build the Ironman suit, you`re at Georgia Tech! You can do that. If you want to play theme music during your convocation speech like a badass, we`re at Georgia Tech! We can do that! I am doing that!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HAMMER: I feel like I can do anything right now, and I`m not even at Georgia Tech. You`re hitting your time cues. You got it nailed, man.

But the thing that is cool about YouTube viral videos like this is you never know who`s going to see it. So I understand that somebody rather famous has reached out to you since seeing this thing.

SELBY: There`s -- nobody famous reached out to me. I got to ride to class in a race car, which was really cool. I will say this. I`m waiting on the call from Gwyneth Paltrow and Jon Stewart. That would --

HAMMER: Oh, you haven`t heard from her yet. OK. I had understood that maybe you had heard from her already. I have to tell you something, man, ride this wave as long as it can. I`ll get on the phone with Gwyneth and have her call you. It is hugely inspiring to anybody who sees it. Thank you so much for being here, Nick.

SELBY: Thank you, A.J. Honor to be here.

HAMMER: All right, we move now from that amazing student speech to the confessions of this bad teacher.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I repeatedly voiced concern to administrators that I needed to thwart and was initially brushed aside, and in the end subjected to this kind of micromanagement and pressure.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HAMMER: Did the system really turn this super dedicated New York City teacher into a bad teacher? Up next, you have got to hear him confessing why he thinks it`s nearly impossible for a good teacher to survive in the public schools.

This is SBT, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT on HLN.

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I feel like they did a really, really good job of making my workday almost unbearably difficult. And by the end of the school year, even if I didn`t have another job to go to, there was no way I was ever going to work in that environment again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HAMMER: Tonight, confessions from a bad teacher. That`s a New York City school teacher revealing everything about the pitfalls teachers face in one of the biggest and toughest school systems in all the world. This is a SHOWBIZ true confession that no parent wants to miss.

TURNER: Exactly. What happens when teachers are trying to shine, but the system is telling them they`re bad? For wanting to excel, for caring too much? Tonight we have the confessions of one of those so-called bad teachers. He`s revealing everything about how he was forced out of the New York City school system because he wanted to make sure his students succeeded. This is shocking stuff. All uncut, all raw, and real.

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WILL JOHNSON, NYC PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER: My name is Will Johnson. I`m a high school special education teacher in New York City.

My main purpose in writing the article "Confessions of a Bad Teacher" was to kind of address some of the pressures that I was feeling in my work, that I felt like a lot of other teachers probably around the city and around the country were also feeling.

And the sense that no matter how hard I was working, no matter how hard teachers were working, that it just didn`t seem like we were doing quite enough.

There`s definitely a culture of fear in a lot of city schools. I think that there are ways in which a culture of fear can be useful for an administration if there are things happening at the school that could get the administration in trouble and they don`t want teachers to speak out about it. So in my situation, I am a special education teacher. Part of my job is to monitor my special education students and making sure they`re getting the services that they are supposed to get.

I taught in a self-contained room, and there was supposed to be a para professional (ph) to assist me. For the entire year that we taught there, there was never any assistance. So we were basically on an island out there on our own.

I repeatedly voiced concerns to administrators that I needed support. And was initially brushed aside. And in the end, subjected to this kind of micromanagement and pressure as a way to I think force me out of the school.

At my former school, we were instructed never to really raise our voice, never to kind of assert authority in traditional ways. The problem was that I had the experience of writing students up for cursing me out, for telling me to get the f out of this, the main office, and writing it up and then having the student suffer no consequences at all and be back in my classroom, you know, later that day, knowing that they had gotten away with essentially verbally assaulting me. And this happens all the time to teachers all over the place.

I`m not totally sure why the administrators don`t back up teachers in these situations. But I think some of the time it`s because they`re worried that their numbers will look bad. And the more times you report kind of disciplinary infractions that are -- result in suspensions and things like that, the worse your school looks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TURNER: You must join us this Thursday for a SHOWBIZ special, true confessions. Reality stars, former teen heartthrobs, even an ex-gang member and a 27-year-old virgin. Their biggest secrets revealed Thursday. On SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.

HAMMER: Think that teacher`s confessions are revealing? Look at this. Former secretary of state and retired four star General Colin Powell dork dancing. He`s up there on stage with Daft Punk. The whole amazing scene is coming right up in your SHOWBIZ moment of awesomeness. This is SBT, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT on HLN.

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HAMMER: Time for SHOWBIZ awesomeness. This is when we reveal the most awesome story of the day. And Nischelle, tonight, we have former Secretary of State Colin Powell dork dancing.

TURNER: Yes, retired four star general who helped lead the country through some seriously tough times just got down to Daft Punk`s mega hit, "Get Lucky." Here`s the best part, the very next day he went on "Face the Nation." Powell showed off his moves while attending a huge charity event with a bunch of Hollywood a-listers in the Hamptons here in New York. So without further ado, here is Colin Powell getting dorky on stage with Jamie Foxx.

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TURNER: Pharell (ph), Katie Holmes and Ellen DeGeneres were also boogeying down at that benefit, and AJ, I didn`t think he looked too dorky.

HAMMER: He is just bouncing up and down there.

TURNER: Yes.

HAMMER: Thank you for watching. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York. You can catch SHOWBIZ TONIGHT Monday through Thursday at 11:00 p.m. Eastern, 10:00 Pacific. HLN continues right now.

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