Turn On:
Friday night you probably won't want to miss Corey Feldman talking about the "sickening realization" he's had about his childhood friendship with Michael Jackson on ABC's "20/20" at 10 p.m. EST (see item below). And the WB offers "A Scooby-Doo Valentine" at 8:30 p.m. EST. Also: You might want to catch HBO's "Lackawanna Blues" Saturday night at 8 p.m. EST. And don't forget to tune in to the Grammys on Sunday night at 8 p.m. EST on CBS.
Morning Briefing:
Hindsight on "20/20": To build interest in Martin Bashir's chat with former child actor and Michael Jackson ex-friend Corey Feldman tonight at 10 p.m. EST on ABC's "20/20," the network has released a spicy snippet of what Feldman, befriended by Jackson when he was just 13 and long a defender of the pop star, has to say. Feldman, who has been called to testify for the prosecution in Jackson's upcoming child molestation trial, still maintains that Jackson never manhandled him, but says that, looking back now, he realizes that the singer did act in other inappropriate ways. Such as? "If you consider it inappropriate for a man to look at a book of naked pictures with a child that's 13 or 14 years old -- then your answer would be yes," he tells Bashir. During one childhood visit to Jackson's home, he says, "I noticed a book that he had out on his coffee table. The book contained pictures of grown men and women naked. And the book was focused on venereal diseases and the genitalia," Feldman says, adding that Jackson sat down to explain the photos to him. "I was kind of grossed out by it. I didn't think of it as a big deal. And for all these years, I probably never thought twice about it ... But in light of recent evidence ... I have to say that if my son was 14 years old -- 13 years old, and went to a man's apartment that was 35, and I knew that they were sitting down together talking about this, I would probably beat his ass." (ABC News)
What some people will do for a cheap couch ... Hundreds of people were crushed, as many as 20 treated for heat exhaustion and six taken to the hospital in a stampede at the midnight opening of a new IKEA store in north London earlier this week. "More than 4,000 flocked to the new store in Edmonton last night, lured by adverts promising huge discounts, including sofas at #45 each and bed frames cut to #30," reports the London Evening Standard. "As soon as it was declared open, the crowds tried to push their way through the main doors, leaving many people pinned against the wall. Security guards were overwhelmed and scores of shoppers were thrown to the ground ... Video footage showed shoppers fighting over furniture. One man was pinned against a wall by a burly customer as they argued over a sofa. A woman was left with blood pouring from her nose after she was pushed against a wall, while another was heard screaming in pain as she tried to escape the crush. Shoppers were stretchered into ambulances while others sat on the floor, where staff gave them first aid." Staffers closed the store within a half-hour of the opening, at which point some shoppers tried to break the glass in the store's front window. "I think it's fair to say we misjudged it and maybe were a bit naive, but some shoppers behaved like animals and started shoving and pushing everyone else," said an IKEA spokesman. "There's not much we can do to stop that." (This Is London via Apartmenttherapy.com)
Mom-and-popaganda: Julia Roberts has released photographs of her and her two-month-old twins -- taken by her husband, cameraman Danny Moder -- in order to keep the paparazzi from vying to get the first photos of the babies. The People magazine cover story accompanying the photos includes two very important details about the actress: 1) that she has managed to lose most of her pregnancy weight (we knew you were concerned), and 2) she and Moder have found time between diaper changes to take a trapeze class with friends. (People via N.Y. Daily News)
More gropees? Lawyers for the Canadian woman who has accused Bill Cosby of drugging and groping her say they've received a "steady stream of phone calls" from women who say that similar things have happened to them at the hands of the comedian. One of the attorneys, Dolores Troiani, says that the new accusers have apparently been inspired to come forward after seeing Cosby's second accuser, California attorney Tamara Green, on a series of TV news and talk shows. "We have taken their information, and we've passed it on to the police," Troiani told the Knight Ridder News Service. "All of them have said they saw Tamara on TV and they called as a result of that." Green herself said Thursday that she had received three phone calls from women in Colorado, Texas and Los Angeles claiming to have had experiences similar to hers. "The women said to me, 'It happened to me and I said nothing,' " Green said. "I am not going to be alone when all this is said and done." Cosby has denied the allegations made by the Canadian woman and Green. (Knight Ridder News Service)
Also: The all-too-real life: Flavor Flav reportedly hopped out of a car on a busy New York City street the other day and flagged down an ambulance to take his "Strange Love" co-star Brigitte Nielsen to the hospital after Nielsen had a severe asthma attack and began to hyperventilate. (Lloyd Grove's Lowdown) ... Sunday night's Grammy Awards will include Tim McGraw, Bono, Norah Jones, Alicia Keys, Brian Wilson, Steven Tyler and Al Green, all backed by Velvet Revolver, performing John Lennon's "Across the Universe." Their rendition of the song will be made immediately available online for 99-cent download, with proceeds going to tsunami relief efforts. (N.Y. Daily News) ... Janet Jackson is being sued by a former fan who claims her bodyguards roughed him up and caused him permanent injury when he tried to pass her a note in a New York club. (Rush and Molloy) ... Rumors are afoot amongst tabloid types that Cameron Diaz and Justin Timberlake may be planning to get hitched on Valentine's Day in Vegas. (Page Six) ... After pleading no contest to a misdemeanor assault for attacking a woman she found at her ex-boyfriend's Los Angeles home last spring and pleading guilty to possessing a forged prescription and the drug oxycodone, Courtney Love has avoided felony charges and been sentenced to 18 months' probation. She also must continue the drug rehabilitation program she claims has kept her clean and sober for a little while now. (Reuters)
-- Amy Reiter
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