Sometimes it amuses me that some of the over 30-crowd of celebrities is still so old-fashioned when it comes to media. What other explanation is there for people like Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt consistently giving interviews to crusty old fart Larry King? This man was a boring old gnome back in the 1980s – and now he’s just ridiculous. And yet, some of the “older” celebrities are still stuck in the old-media dynamic, and they still go on Larry King Live. Anyway, Jolie is going to be on tonight – it should be good. And by “good” I mean “you’ll want to shoot Larry in the face after five minutes.” So it seems Jolie and Larry have already pretaped the interview – that means no calling in to yell at her, Chelsea Handler! And some of the interview excerpts have already begun leaking out – like this one, from Us Weekly. Jolie tells Larry that she and Brad are open to having more kids:
Guess six ain’t enough. Angelina Jolie says she and Brad Pitt aren’t necessarily done having kids via adoption or the old-fashioned way.
On Wednesday’s Larry King Live, Jolie, 35, said she has “no plans at the moment,” to add a seventh child to her big brood with Pitt, 46. “But we’re always open [to the idea],” she admitted.
The Tourist actress explained how she and Pitt keep their kids’ fears in check when they’re swarmed by photographers.
“Well, we try not to get them into the middle of it,” she explained. “We try to get them around things and under things [to hide from paparazzi].”
When a shutterbug does get a shot of Shiloh and the gang? “We just have to kind of smile and say, ‘Don’t worry, it’s not scary. They just like to take pictures…As a parent, the only thing you can do is try to make sure that they don’t feel it’s a threat, you don’t act like it’s a threat, and you just keep smiling so they don’t feel anything negative.”
She’s been using that “we’re open to it” line for a couple of years now. I like it – I imagine her real thoughts are something like “six kids and no sleep makes Angelina want to stab Larry in the face, thank you.” My theory: they’ll probably adopt one more kid, a few years from now, maybe. Once the twins have grown up a little more, then Angelina will get all broody. Just my theory.
UPDATE: Oh, this happened last night? MY BAD. CNN really needs to update their site, for real. Honest mistake (because I never watch LKL).
Here’s the only video clip I could find from the interview:
Oksana Grigorieva was on Larry King last night to tell her side of the story. She described Mel’s attack on her the night of January 6th and explained how he hit and choked her and “brandished” a gun. She also denied leaking the phone tapes or trying to extort money from Mel, claiming that she’d walked out on a $15 million offer from Mel to drop the charges and provide him increased visitation with his one year-old daughter, Lucia. As for her motivation for recording Mel, she said that she was afraid that she wouldn’t live through the night and that she also wanted a record for Mel, so that she could show him how he sounded.
I think Kaiser summed up this situation best in her last story on Oksana, in which she wrote that “even with all of her faults as a person, [Oksana is] still a victim of a violent, nasty piece of sh-t who physically and emotionally abused her, and the fact that she’s going to war with him publicly makes me respect her.” My feelings about Oksana changed slightly after watching her on CNN, where she came better than she did in thevideos she made for People.com. (Here’s a link describing my impressions at that time, which I don’t want to get into again.) So I agree with Kaiser and do respect the way Oksana is calling Mel out, even though many people are faulting her for that same reason. She’s not a “perfect victim” and is not taking it laying down. E! Online has a very good summary of Oksana’s interview, and you can read the transcript and watch the full video on CNN
“Jan. 6, this year, the beating took place,” Grigorieva recalls in the interview that aired tonight. “Mel actually assaulted me while I was holding the baby in my arms…I ran into my son’s bedroom and told him, ‘Mel’s crazy.’ ”
She says that her 12-year-old son, Alexander (with actor Timothy Dalton), hid behind the bed as she stood there with Lucia, “like a mother protecting her cubs.”
He came into the room “and struck me twice,” she continues. “He wasn’t drunk. He hit me, and choked me in front of my son and brandished a gun at me.”
Gibson was apologizing by the very next day, promising to get “treated” and “be evaluated,” Grigorieva says.
In a signed declaration, one of the supposedly sealed documents from their family court case that have been leaked to the press, Gibson admitted to slapping, but not striking, his ex.
According to the actor, they fought and Grigorieva grabbed Lucia out of her bassinet and started running. “Her rapid movements were causing Lucia’s little body to be flung from one side to the other, her head shaking violently…I slapped Oksana one time with an open hand in an attempt to bring her back to reality,” Gibson stated. “I did not slap her hard. I was just trying to shock her so that she would stop screaming, continuing shaking Lucia back and forth.”
Either way, Grigorieva tells King that she feared for her life afterward and ended up taping Gibson on the phone because she thought she wouldn’t “live through the night,” because he threatened to come over and kill her.
“I wanted my mother to be able to prove that, if I’m dead, that this is who did it,” she says.
And as if the recordings that made it online weren’t disturbing enough, Grigorieva says she has “nonedited” tapes that are “unforgivable.”
Having said her decision to speak out was all about this issue of domestic violence and her daughter, Grigorieva says she thinks victims of abuse are “really decent human beings.”
“They cover up for perpetrators, they’re trying to help them,” she says. “In the back of my mind, I thought, If I don’t killed tonight, I’d like him to hear what he sounds like, to get…better.”
“I wanted to help him, as strange as that may sound.”
Martin Garbus, the attorney who joined her on the air, explained that it is legal to record people without their knowledge in California if one feels his or her life is being threatened or if there are “illegal connotations” in the conversation.
When asked how the tapes got released, Grigorieva says, “I have no idea. They were in possession of my lawyers and the court.”
She says he called her 30 or 40 times in one night, and she recorded him eight or nine times.
Meanwhile, Gibson has accused Grigorieva of making the tapes to extort money from him.
“We think the extortion charges are retaliatory for the domestic violence case,” Horowitz told E! News. “She talks about why she made the tapes. She was fearful and wanted [Gibson] to change. She wasn’t trying to extort him.”
“I never have extorted him,” she says on TV tonight.
Grigorieva admits that not breaking up with Gibson after he supposedly became violent was a mistake.
“I stayed for a little bit too long,” she says. “I gave him last chance. He asked me for the last chance. He begged. He cried. He cried on his knees. What am I supposed to do?”
“At the beginning of our relationship, he said, ‘There’s a dark side of me I don’t want you to see,’ ” Grigorieva tells King, who asks her multiple times about Gibson’s drinking.
“No liquor, not once,” she insists, maintaining that Gibson never drank around her.
“As a human being, as the mother of his child, I would forgive him, but he really needs to come and acknowledge what he’s done and what he’s doing,” she says.
A lot of people are going to be wondering about her motivations for coming forward after she’s released all this evidence. I think she wants to share her side of the story, and try and show that she’s not doing this for money. She also is worried about her daughter now that Mel has shared custody. On Larry King, Oksana claimed to be speaking out for domestic violence victims and said “I guess what I’m trying to do is step in for domestic violence, not just for myself, not for this six months of torture that I went through and my daughter, but also other domestic violence victims. Because this is a very high profile case and I have this opportunity to be invited by you. Other victims might not have such a chance to speak up.” Do I believe that’s her main motivation? No. I do believe that she’s telling the truth about Mel, though. We heard him admit hitting her while she was holding the baby and threaten to kill her, and his excuse for that is laughable.
Update: As a result of this interview Mel is filing for full custody of Lucia, claiming “that Oksana’s false and derogatory statements to the media about Mel and the attempt to sully his character show she is not acting in the best interests of Lucai.” This only shows what a mean, petty bastard he is.
For now, it looks like Larry King and his estranged wife Shawn might be putting their most recent divorce filings aside. Just for a moment, to catch their breath (and reload). While they are trying to work sh-t out, more stories about their strange, gross, and kinky marriage are coming to light. CB points out that the National Enquirer has been covering much of the same subject matter for more than a year, and that the Enquirer was right about everything. Basically, the current coverage claims that Larry King has been boning his wife and his wife’s sister “for years” and that Larry’s wife Shawn had a long-term affair with her sons’ soccer coach, Hector Penate. Hector has spoken about his affair with Shawn before, and now he’s giving many more interviews. Here’s a photo of Hector, and In Touch Weekly’s story:
After 13 years together, Larry King and Shawn Southwick are reportedly considering a divorce after Larry had an alleged affair with Shawn’s younger sister, Shannon Engemann, and Shawn slept with their kids’ baseball coach for a year and tried to have a baby with her lover through in vitro fertilization. In an exclusive interview with In Touch, the baseball coach, Hector Penate says Larry knew about their steamy trysts but didn’t even care because he was so in love with Shannon.
“I still think to this day that Larry is in love with Shawn’s sister,” he explains.
Hector admits that he quickly fell “in love” with Shawn after they met in 2007. Two-and-a-half weeks later, they started sleeping together, although Shawn has denied the affair with Hector.
“Larry was in New Hampshire and I was training the kids,” Hector reveals to In Touch. “Then she made a couple of hints to me that she was ready to go. We were in the car and we just started kissing.”
From there, says Hector, the two spent more and more time together — and they even vacationed in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, together with her sons Chance and Cannon. Their physical chemistry was intense, Hector adds: “We had sex in Larry’s bed — a lot. I felt like it was my house.”
Shawn also bought Hector extravagant presents. “She paid my rent, she bought me clothes and a BMW 7 Series.” But the biggest gift she almost gave him? A baby. “She wanted to have a little girl with me. She was trying to fertilize her eggs to do that.”
If that’s not strange enough, Larry co-signed Hector’s Studio City, Calif., apartment. “She controlled him,” he says. “He just sat there and signed it.”
And even though Larry is approaching 80, Hector says that the newsman has an active libido and makes this shocking claim: “He’s a [sex] freak,” Hector says, adding that he believes Larry was sleeping with both Shawn and Shannon.
Did you also dry heave when reading that last part? How could you not? Radar also has an extensive and exhaustive piece about the Kings’ marriage, and they basically confirm all of the above (Radar piece here). Let’s see, new material:
*A source says that Larry fired his wife’s lover as soon as he found out about the affair, around the summer of 2008, despite the fact that his two children “idolized Hector.”
*A source also claims that Shawn was so distraught by the affair between Larry and her sister that it was one of the causes of her depression and the start of her drug dependency issues: “The reason why Shawn was in such a depressive state all the time and started her dependency on drugs – because her husband was spending an exorbitant amount of money on his sister-in-law , her sister.”
*Hector just wanted to be famous. A source says: “I’ve known Hector for a very long time and he’s been very ambitious from the very beginning, very ambitious. When he gets something in his head, he’s like very driven. And this whole acting thing for him, he, you know, I guess back in 2004 or 2003 he decided he really wanted to be an actor and that was what he ate, slept, dreamt and breathed – acting. I mean, it was like that’s all he wanted to do all of a sudden. And that’s probably why I wasn’t surprised to hear he was having an affair with Shawn, because I thought he probably just thought that that was his ticket to Hollywood. I think Hector’s looking for his 15 minutes of fame, and I guess he’s getting them.”
Oh, and this Hector dude ALSO gave an interview to Entertainment Tonight (via NYDN) in which he claims that Shawn would complain about Larry and then say, “Don’t worry, he’s gonna die soon.” Ew. This Hector dude is giving me the creeps. All of them are, actually. This scandal is so gross.
Larry King, 76, is getting divorced for the eighth time, to the seventh wife, Shawn, who is 50 years old. They’ve been married 13 years, and they have two sons together. I feel like we’re all witnessing some kind of Biblical prophecy. “Ye shall watch The King of Larrys tear asunder the eighth matrimony, spoketh the Lord.” Which is funny, because Larry might predate Christianity. But don’t lull yourself into some kind of comfort zone of “he’s an old fart, his wife was probably tired of his ass”. Larry King is a crazy old bastard, and he marries crazy ladies. So this sh-t is going to get good in a hurry. First, the statement from Larry’s rep: “His major concern is the welfare of his children, and beyond that he’s not going to comment about the divorce.” Larry filed the papers first, listing the date of separation as April 13, Tuesday. While filing, he asked the court to deny Shawn spousal support. Oh, Larry! You crazy bastard. Larry and Shawn have two sons together, Cannon (who is 9) and Chance (who is 11).
Also, note this – various media outlets are reporting various numbers for how many times Larry has actually been married and divorced. Some say six, some say seven, some say eight. Do you think Larry can remember at this point? TMZ notes that Larry did marry and divorce the same woman twice.
Now, the good stuff. After Larry filed for divorce in California, Shawn filed her own divorce paperwork, asking for primary custody of the kids, and spousal and child support. There’s also a big real estate war brewing, because Shawn claimed many jointly owned properties as “hers” while Larry filed paperwork to keep all of the homes that may be in Shawn’s name.
As for why the rush to get the paperwork filed and get the divorce war started so quickly, TMZ reports that Larry and Shawn had an “explosive argument” at their home on Wednesday, and that “cars screeched out of the driveway afterwards”. What was the argument about? What does a 76 year old man have to get angry about? Why, his wife is still accusing him of having an affair with her sister. Oh, YES. It was even But the sister denies it. Here’s more from TMZ:
TMZ has learned Larry King’s marriage fell apart in large part because Shawn Southwick believes Larry is having an affair with her sister, Shannon Engemann … but Shannon tells TMZ exclusively it’s absolutely not true.
Shannon says Shawn has been accusing her of fooling around with Larry for months. She says Shawn has repeatedly pointed to the fact that Larry gave Shannon numerous gifts as evidence. But Shannon says, “This is so ludicrous. She’s singling me out, but Larry has been nothing but generous to our entire family, including me.”
Shannon says it’s true … Larry has given her gifts for Xmas and her birthday. Shannon was not specific, but Shawn reportedly believes Larry bought Shannon a $160,000 car, among other things.
Shannon said, “Shawn has left me threatening messages.” After the National Enquirer published a story suggesting an affair, Shannon says, “Shawn left me a message … ‘If you dare sue the Enquirer I will pull out every last receipt that proves you had an affair with Larry.’”
Shannon adds, “I’m tired for taking the wrap for things. I did not have an affair with Larry. He’s been like a father to me.”
And finally, Shannon added, “I have a date tonight and I’m not going to worry about it. I love my sister. What’s happening is not my fault.”
“He’s been like a father to me.” Hahahaha….gasp…hahaha. Jesus. This is a fun divorce already! So, do you think Larry was/is boning his sister-in-law? In all honesty – and I’m not saying this out of ageist prejudice, I swear – I don’t really think Larry is capable of really having a physical affair at this point. What’s shocking to me is not that Larry is 76 years old – it’s that I thought he was in his late 80s or something. Larry has lived a long and full and crazy life, and I’m sure that if he is “attracted” to his sister-in-law, it’s probably more of a “she’s pretty to look at, and she’s nice, I’ll buy her a car” sort of way, rather than some epic affair.
Okay, I know I’m doing a lot of photos for this post, but I seriously can’t stop laughing. There are literally SO MANY hilarious photos of Larry and Shawn:
There’s a lot of juicy gossip about 76 year-old high-waist pants wearing talk show host Larry King, particularly his relationship with his seventh wife, Shawn Southwick, 50. It’s Larry King, though, so these stories tend not to get a lot of play. The Enquirer reported late last year that Southwick had a year long affair with her son’s baseball coach, a 29 year-old aspiring actor. Around the time of the affair, Southwick went to rehab for an addiction to Vicodin. There were breakup and divorce rumors around that time, but Larry and Shawn stayed together. They have two sons, Chance, 10, and Cannon, 9.
Now the Enquirer has a follow-up that claims that Southwick’s affair was revenge for the fact that King was secretly sleeping with her 45 year-old sister. They claim that King was lavishing Shawn’s younger sister Shannon with gifts including a car and an all-expenses paid year and a half long stay at the Beverly Hill’s Hotel. When Shawn figured out what was going on she flipped out.
Shannon – a voice-over actress and model – claimed she had an affair with Larry, telling a close pal: “I had sex with Larry, and he bought me an expensive car.”
The car triggered an explosive confrontation between the two women in early July, sources say.
“To help her sister out, Shawn sold Shannon her Mercedes-Benz at a huge discount,” a close friend of Shawn told The Enquirer.
“Just weeks later, Shawn saw Shannon driving a $160,000 car. When Shawn confronted her, Shannon said she’d traded in Shawn’s Mercedes and bought the new car with money she’d earned from voice-over work for a movie. When Shawn asked which movie it was, Shannon claimed she couldn’t remember.”
A suspicious Shawn eventually learned her husband… actually bought the car for Shannon, said her close friend.
“Shawn said she also discovered that Larry had spent $1.5 million to put up Shannon at the swank Beverly Hills Hotel for 18 months,” divulged the friend – who passed a polygraph test. “Shawn was furious! She said that she wouldn’t have felt so crazy if she’d caught Larry fooling around with a stranger. The fact that he’s cheating with her sister has made it so much worse.”…
Shannon’s story also triggered Shawn’s affair with their son’s baseball coach… sources say.
[From The National Enquirer, print edition, January 4, 2010]
Don’t Larry King and his wife sound perfect for each other? Instead of dumping his cheating ass she got some on the side from the hot baseball coach and went back to him. Maybe she realized that her prenup wouldn’t afford her the lifestyle she was accustomed to and she may as well suck it up.
The Enquirer has a photo of Larry out walking in NY with Shawn’s sister, Shannon. Shannon is thin and blonde just like her sister and she obviously shares her sister’s scruples. I wonder if Shawn and Shannon are able to put aside their differences for the holidays and flash each other fake smiles or if they avoid each other. There’s always the alternative – a knock down sister fight. Larry King isn’t worth it though. Just take the old guy’s money with a shrug and a smile.
Larry King and his wife Shawn are shown at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party on 5/3/06. Credit: AXELLE/BAUER-GRIFFIN.COM. Other photos are of Larry and Shawn on 11/19/09 and 8/10/09. Credit: Fame Pictures
Carrie Prejean got all indignant and nearly stormed off the set of Larry King Live last night, calling Larry’s questions about the mediation in her lawsuit against the Miss California pageant “inappropriate” repeatedly as if she was scolding a naughty kindergartner. She got flustered with King’s questions about her settlement, and called the details “confidential,” pulling off her mic and threatening to leave when Larry took a call.
Before that, Prejean repeated the exact same talking points she used on Hannity and The Today Show – there’s a campaign against her, the “liberal media” attacks conservative women more than the other side, and the whole issue with the Miss California pageant is about her response to the gay marriage question. She even called Sarah Palin her “hero.” She did admit that she got fired from the pageant for “supposed contract violations, not making appearances, and I guess being hard to work with.” At least she knows what she’s accused of.
Radar Online is reporting that Carrie stormed off set after taking off her mic. She may have, but she came back after the break and continued to answer questions. She came across as a petulant child who took offense to a simple, non-threatening question. Carrie’s other issue was that Larry took a call from a viewer right after he upset her with his simple line of questioning. Supposedly the show worked out a deal with Carrie’s people that no calls would be accepted.
Here’s the transcript that shows what went down. The video segment where Carrie takes off her microphone and gets all pissy is above. You can watch the first part of the interview on CNN’s website.
KING: We’re back with Carrie Prejean. She’s the author of “Still Standing.” That book is available everywhere. We’ll take a call or two for Carrie in a moment. You sued the pageant after they fired you. They counter-sued. And then you accused them of a number of things including religious discrimination, clearly an issue very important to you. Why did you settle? You don’t have to tell me the terms of the settlement. But why settle, since you had a fight to carry on?
PREJEAN: Larry, everything that was discussed in mediation — I’ll say it again — is completely confidential. I’m not going to be able to talk about that. So I’m just letting you know that ahead of time.
KING: So you can’t even say why you settled? That’s not — how does that break what you settled for. I’m not asking you what the settlement was.
PREJEAN: It’s a confidential agreement and I’m not allowed to talk about that. So —
KING: So the agreement discusses the motive behind why each party agreed?
PREJEAN: Larry, you’re being inappropriate. You really are. So I’m not going to —
KING: What? I’m asking a question.
PREJEAN: I’m not going to talk about anything discussed in mediation. It was a confidential settlement.
KING: All I’m asking — so — All right. So what you’re saying is, in mediation, it was discussed why you were mediating?
PREJEAN: Larry, it’s completely confidential. And you’re being inappropriate, OK?
KING: All right. Inappropriate King Live continues. Detroit, hello.
CALLER: Hi, calling from Detroit. I’m a gay man and I love pageants. I’m sure that you, Carrie, have got great gay friends that helped you possibly win. What would you gave them as advice if they wanted to get married?
KING: Did you hear the question, Carrie? Did she hear the question? Is she leaving because I asked what motivated the settlement?
PREJEAN: Excuse me?
KING: Did you hear the question?
PREJEAN: No, I can’t hear you.
KING: You took the mike off. You put the mike on, you can hear.
PREJEAN: I think you’re being extremely inappropriate right now. And I’m about to leave your show.
KING: Well, so I went to another area. I took a phone call. They asked a question of you. I left that subject. You feel it was inappropriate? I didn’t mean to be inappropriate. I just thought it was a logical question. But you need to have a mike. Who are you talking to?
Hello? We’ll be back right after these messages on LARRY KING LIVE.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KING: We’re back with Carrie Prejean. I did not certainly mean to ask you a question — you don’t want to take phone calls, right?
PREJEAN: Yes, that was the agreement that you had with my publicist.
KING: No one told me. I didn’t know we weren’t supposed to take phone calls. And I meant nothing of the question.
PREJEAN: Right, and this is you and I talking and I appreciate that.
KING: OK. What are you going to do next?
PREJEAN: Oh, my gosh. I’m just so excited to be, you know, promoting this book. I’m so excited to be an author now. It’s really great that — I’m 22 years old, and I think that I’ve accomplished so much. And I think that there is definitely a message out there to spread to young women and that is, you know, never do anything that you wouldn’t want your biggest fans to see or, you know, never do anything that, heaven forbid, your dad would see.
This girl is such a piece of work. All she had to do was tell Larry she was legally bond not to discuss the settlement. She could have smiled and said she was so sorry but she was honoring her agreement. Instead she got all mad and tried to seem like the authority in a conversation with a seasoned interviewer on a major cable network. The more Carrie does press for her book, the more she shows why she got fired and ended up having to drop her lawsuit. She is a snotty, difficult person with a persecution complex.
TMZ reports that the guy Carrie sent her “solo sex tape” to claims she asked him to lie and say she was only 17 so it wouldn’t be published. He tells TMZ that Carrie was 20 when she made the tape, not 17. He reportedly wanted $10,000 for it, and I bet some outlet will pony up and it will soon hit the ‘net. Oh goody.
CBS anchorwoman Katie Couric is reportedly fuming at Larry King. Couric considered herself a candidate to replace the 75-year-old when he retires in 2011, but instead, King is looking at either Anderson Cooper or “The View” co-host Joy Behar as his likely successor.
An angry Katie Couric is insulted that Larry King refuses to consider her as a top candidate to replace him on his popular CNN talk show, say sources.
Katie learned “through channels” that the 75-year-old interviewer admires her greatly, but didn’t select her as his No. 1 replacement candidate, or even his No. 2, disclosed a friend a friend of the “CBS Evening News” anchorwoman. King is widely expected to retire after his contract expires in 2011.
Katie, 52, is third on Larry’s wish list – behind CNN anchorman Anderson Cooper and King’s surprising second-place choice, Joy Behar, divulged a source close to Larry.
“Katie’s actually pretty angry,” revealed her friend. “While she respects Anderson Cooper, she regards him as something of a lightweight. When she heard Larry favored Anderson, it bothered her a little bit. When she heard Larry thought Joy would be a better choice, she really flipped out!
“She thinks the world of Joy, but believes she is an entertainer first and certainly not in her league as an interviewer.”
Joy received rave reviews for the Sept. 29 debut of “The Joy Behar Show,” which a New York Post columnist said “could turn out to be the smartest show on television.”
Despite buzz that “American Idol’s” Ryan Seacrest might be in line for the job, Larry has turned thumbs down for the television host.
Confided the King source: “Larry likes Ryan and calls him ‘a super-talented kid,’ but doesn’t think he has a news background to do his job the right way.”
[From The National Enquirer print version, Oct. 19, 2009]
I think there’s only one way to settle this: news anchor rumble! Seriously, though, the only one of those people I’d watch is Anderson Cooper, and even then, I would rather see him on location than sitting at a desk every night. I love how Katie Couric considers Cooper a lightweight! Like she’s any different. Personally, I’d rather have gum surgery than listen to that harpy, Joy Behar. She’s already got two shows! And don’t even get me started on that hyperactive chipmunk known as Ryan Seacrest. He’s way too busy producing hideous reality shows for E! to take a job that would give him some credibility.
Anyway, this whole feud sure marks a change in broadcasting. Remember when all the news anchors wanted to be on the network evening news, and getting a job on a cable channel was considered a bad career move? In other news: Larry King can’t retire fast enough for me.
Segment of Jon Gosselin’s Larry King interview. The full interview is below
Jon Gosselin and his giant vacant eyes were on CNN’s Larry King Live last night. (You can watch the whole interview as a podcast, view the whole video below, or read the transcript.) He explained that he read online that he would no longer be a part of the show and that no one told him ahead of time. He also said that Kate didn’t tell him about it and that he hasn’t spoken to her in three weeks. I still can’t stand the guy, but I have to admit that he did convince me that he believes the reality show is no longer healthy for his children. He got really passionate about it, and what’s more is that he actually admitted that he was a passive person and called himself an “avoider.” By no stretch of the imagination do I like this guy, but I did come away thinking that he’s doing the right thing for his kids. I don’t believe that his only motivation for sending TLC a cease and desist was protecting his children, though. I still think he’s trying to assert his authority after being marginalized by TLC.
As we mentioned yesterday, after Jon was cut from his family’s reality show he sent TLC a legal letter stating that they were no longer allowed to film the show on his property. TLC suspended production on the newly renamed “Kate Plus 8″ and issued a statement
that Jon’s behavior was “erratic” and “opportunistic.”
In this Larry King Live appearance, Jon and his lawyer discussed their reasoning for demanding that production be halted, and they also gave some background to their feud with TLC. Jon’s lawyer claims that TLC knew ahead of time that Jon was about to stop the show with an announcement on Larry King Live, and that’s why they tried to preempt him by cutting him from the show. TLC and Kate say that Jon only tried to stop the show because he was kicked off, and that he was filming as of last Friday and never said a thing about it. I think that it was a reactionary response, because Jon’s lawyer kind of backtracked a little later in the interview when talking about when they made that decision.
Jon’s lawyer also claims that TLC “exploited” the Gosselin family with a sophisticated contract and low pay. Jon and Kate made a total of $1 million last year combined while TLC made an estimated $186 million in just one quarter off of their show. TLC also never obtained work permits for the kids nor did they set up a trust for them, and they maintain that was Jon and Kate’s responsibility. As far as Jon is concerned this show is over. His lawyer is confident that once Jon asserts his parental rights the show will not be able to continue at all:
On why his kids should not be on the show Jon Gosselin: I’m asking not to be on the show and I’m asking my children not to be on the show. I mean, I don’t want them to film anymore. I don’t think it’s healthy for them. And I — the reason I don’t think it’s healthy for them is that we’re going through a divorce right now. And I don’t think it should be televised. And I think my kids should be taken off the show.
Jon’s lawyer claims that TLC knew they were about to halt production Jon’s Lawyer, Mark Jay Heller: As a matter of law, when an individual has joint custody, there is no decision that can be made without his consent. And the truth of the matter is, Larry, we had asked weeks ago for this production to stop. And the minute TLC learned we were coming on Larry King’s show and we were going to announce on the show that we were putting the brakes on the divorce and putting the brakes on the show and disclose the reasons why, which would have been very embarrassing to them, as you’ll learn later on in this program, they decided to save their face and preempt this individual by coming out and firing him before it became public that he fired the show.
What really happened is previous to that announcement, [that Jon was off the show] I notified [TLC] that Jon was going to go on the show [Larry King Live] and he was going to ask that the show be terminated (INAUDIBLE)…
And not only was he going to say that on the show, but he was going to tell the reasons why. And on September 25th, their lawyer sent me a letter in which they said — when they learned we were going to go on the show, Jon should not proceed with his appearance. And when we told them we were going to still appear and we were going to, in essence, terminate the show, they then said yesterday we’d better do something first.
TLC tried to tell Jon not to party Jon Gosselin: I don’t get along to the people at TLC… Since January, I started getting calls from the executives, which is so rare. You really don’t really hear from them. [They said] that I’m in breach of contract and, you know, I can’t go out. They put me on house arrest. They gave me a bodyguard for three weeks…. It’s house arrest. They give you — I had 24-7 bodyguards.
On the children’s lack of a contract or work permits
KING: Are you saying, Mark, that this contract is null and — are you saying this isn’t a contract?
HELLER: This is a null contract for the following reason. As mentioned earlier, at the time that these two struggling people were desperate for money, TLC came with a cadre of lawyers, the most sophisticated contract you’ve ever seen and said sign. They had no manager. He had no lawyer. He had no idea of what he was signing.
What’s more upsetting is the contract provided that there was no compensation specifically for the kids. These kids have been working for the past four years without any specified contract being attributed them.
KING: But wouldn’t it be in violation of a child labor law…
HELLER: Well, that…
KING: …to have a contract with a kid?
HELLER: …that’s precisely so. And the investigation has been undertaken by the Labor Department, which may expose the respective parties to almost $2 million of fines because they require a permit. TLC, contrary to what was represented to Jon, never got a permit for the kids to act; never got pay permit for the location and these provisions render it as against public policy.
Jon’s lawyer on how the show is over now Jon’s Lawyer, Mark Jay Heller: I can assure your viewers and you that this show will definitely not go forward with the eight children under any circumstance, because I have confidence in the courts. Every child is a ward of the court. And they will never subject the children to this show if the father believes it’s detrimental.
Jon’s lawyer kind of backtracks about why they decided to issue TLC a cease and desist Jon’s Lawyer, Mark Jay Heller: From the very first week that I became Jon’s attorney, I had an explosive discussion with them as soon as I learned about how they had exploited Jon and his wife when they executed this contract. And I told them that this had to be addressed immediately and they stopped communicating with me. I’ve been talking about pulling the plug on this show ever since I became counsel. And Jon made a decision and I followed it.
They also had Kate Gosselin’s divorce lawyer on via satellite, and he said that he thought the children don’t need work permits and that “one parent can’t unilaterally make the decision not to have the children go forward.”
Larry King also asked Jon about all his affairs, and his answers were somewhat evasive but less dodgy than I expected. On his first “alleged” affair with Deanna Hummel, he said that she just drove him home when he was too drunk to drive and that “We were just friends.” On Kate Major, he half admitted sleeping with her and said “The things I’ve done in the past are mistakes.” On nanny Stephanie Santoro, he denied the affair and said “Not true. Again, I made mistakes. I trusted people. I’m a genuine person. I give everyone a chance. Some people just take advantage.” He also repeated his claim that he loves Hailey and hinted that he’s cheated on her. “I apologize to Haley. I have made mistakes.”
Jon said that he’s sincere in his effort to forge a better relationship with Kate for the sake of their children. He hasn’t seen or spoken with her in three and a half weeks, but he said that he does text her and that he tried to delay their divorce in an effort to work with her. “Listen, we know we’re not going to be husband and wife anymore. But we’re always going to be mom and dad. We have to work together against this. We have to pull our kids off of television and work this out as a family. ”
This whole thing is kind of mind blowing and there are a lot of details to keep track of. I don’t side with either party because they’re both wrong in distinct, well-documented ways. The show needs to end, though, and if Jon Gosselin is putting the breaks on that’s only going to benefit his children. As he said they don’t need to be filmed dealing with their parents’ divorce. Maybe their parents should stop talking to the press so much too. At least a few of those eight kids are going to read all this crap as soon as they’re able.
Instead of quietly taking stock of his life, and trying to figure out where he can make some changes, Chris Brown has been partying up a storm. He did offer a rehearsed and stunted video apology to Rihanna and to his fans a couple of weeks ago, but that was about it. Last week he even allegedly got into some kind of brawl at a bowling alley. So what does a kid with anger and violence issues do to make sure he keeps his fan base? Why, he goes on a publicity tour, of course. The first stop will be Larry King Live on Wednesday, according to Radar. Wednesday is the day of Chris’s formal sentencing – of five years probation and community service, and Chris will likely go on Larry King Live only hours later.
So why was Larry Kind chosen for this exclusive? According to Radar’s sources, Brown’s management team “believes the singer will be able to get his apology across without facing brutal questioning.” Yeah, Chris really seems like he’s “sorry” if he can’t face real questions:
Chris Brown is planning to give his first national TV interview discussing the night he assaulted Rihanna, RadarOnline.com has learned exclusively.
The singer will be formally sentenced on Wednesday, August 5 and sources tell RadarOnline.com that he will most likely appear on Larry King Live after that.
Brown’s plea deal, negotiated by his lawyer Mark Geragos, will be turned into an official sentence of five years probation, 180 days of labor oriented service, and attending a domestic violence counseling class for one year.
Larry King Live is the first choice of Brown’s handlers, RadarOnline.com learned exclusively. Brown’s team believes the singer will be able to get his apology across without facing brutal questioning.
Brown previously made a formal public apology that was posted on his website and said “I felt it was time you heard directly from me that I am sorry,” and that he wanted to live his life in a way that, “would make me truly worthy of the term role model.”
I can’t believe I’m doing this, but I’m going to defend Larry King. Yes, he’s a bit decrepit and senile, but he’s still able to get exclusives, and he’s able to get important people to admit things they haven’t before. I don’t think Larry would really go after Chris in a hard-hitting way, but I think Larry would do a better job than we’re expecting. And it’s not like Chris Brown is some kind of genius – Larry King should be able to trap him easily. As much as I’d hoped Chris’s apology was for real, I do tend to think it, and these future interviews, are all to shore up his fan base. And there are so many out there who buy it, or still blame Rihanna for what happened. Chris is going to be able to convince some that he’s just a guy who had one bad day.
In an interview with Larry King, Joe Jonas confirmed that his brother, Nick, is dating Miley Cyrus again. Here’s how it went down: Larry asked how the boys’ love life was going, and Joe replied (for the first of many times in the interview) “we date, and we’ve always said we do.” But when Larry King asked if Joe’s girlfriend (Camilla Belle) was as famous as Nick’s, Joe replied offhandedly, “I don’t think anyone is as famous as Miley Cyrus.”
The interview came after Miley broke up with her 20-year-old boyfriend Justin Gaston last week. Miley has dated Nick before, and after both said in separate interviews that they had “reconnected,” there was speculation that they were back together. You can be sure that Disney execs are pleased about the news. Miley and the Jonas Brothers are vocal about their choice to remain virgins until marriage, but it is easier to believe when they are dating each other.
You can’t help but feel a little sorry for Justin Gaston. Although there might have been some part of him that was in the relationship with Miley for the money and the fame, he clearly cared about her. He also dealt with a lot of flack due to their age difference, and many people thought he was skeevy for it. But he was willing to put up with that to be with her. I’m sure Justin is no saint, but Miley just publicly broke up with him for her (younger) ex-boyfriend. That’s got to hurt.
There is also speculation that Miley was getting cozy off-screen with her co-star Liam Hemsworth in the movie version of the Nicholas Sparks novelThe Last Song. But the “photo evidence” of them is just the two of them jetskiing. I don’t see how that means they’re hooking up, but you never know. Maybe Miley is keeping her options open.
Note by Celebitchy: Nick Jonas and Miley Cyrus had a surprise duet on stage over the weekend in an encore during the kickoff concert for the Jonas Brothers tour in Arlington, TX. The Jonas Brothers are touring with Jordin Sparks and Miley was not expected at all. Nick and Miley looked a flirty on stage and Nick even gave Miley a little kiss on the cheek afterwards.
Here is Miley and Nick’s performance, thanks to Evil Beet:
Miley and Nick are shown out on 4/10/09. Credit: RIV/Fame Pictures. The Jonas Brothers are shown performing in NY on 6/19/09. Credit: WENN.com
