Turn On:
Wednesday night is truly a rare and wonderful night of quality TV. At 8 p.m. EDT on CBS, Dr. Phil has his sit-down with recovering addict Pat O'Brien. And at 10 p.m. EDT, ABC airs its much-hyped "Primetime Live" exposé on Fox's "American Idol," on which former contestant Corey Clark is expected to allege that judge Paula Abdul coached him and had a sexual relationship with him. (See below for excerpts from both shows.)
Morning Briefing:
Poor Paula: What exactly is Corey Clark, booted from the second season of "American Idol" for failing to disclose an arrest for abusing his 15-year-old sister, going to say about Paula Abdul on "Primetime Live" tonight? ABC has thoughtfully provided a few choice excerpts. Clark contends that he first spoke with Abdul on the phone after one of her associates slipped him a piece of paper with her number on it. "So she was like, 'You got to have better song choices, and I want to help you do that. I want to look out after you like -- like I'm your mom,'" he recalls. "And then she was like, 'Well, more like your sister.' And I was like, 'Okay, cool, cool.' And then she was like, 'Well, maybe more like your special friend.'" Clark says that Abdul, with whom he claims to have had a sexual relationship, coached him on what to sing, how to sing it and how to dress, even going so far as to give him money to buy expensive clothing and treat him to a pricey haircut. Clark's parents are also set to appear on the show to say that their son told them that he was in a relationship with Abdul and that they disapproved -- and that the judge called their house looking for their son. What's more, a few friends of Clark's are claiming that he brought Abdul to meet them. Abdul's lawyers have branded Clark a "liar and opportunist." (Clark is peddling a book and has also written a song about the alleged affair.) But what of the much-ballyhooed voice message Abdul is said to have left for Clark as the story of his allegations began to break? Here, according to the N.Y. Daily News, is the "explosive" message that "Primetime Live" is set to air: "Hi, it's Paula. Call me back. If the press is trying to talk to you, you say absolutely nothing. That's all you do. These people are crazy. I don't know what it's regarding, but something's going on. Okay? I hope you're doing well." (Associated Press, ABC News, N.Y. Daily News, The Washington Post)
Poor Pat: And what exactly is Pat O'Brien going to say when he sits down to discuss his alcohol addiction and treatment -- and those pesky voice mails on which he allegedly tried to get an unidentified woman involved in a three-way frolic with him and his girlfriend -- with "Dr. Phil" McGraw tonight on that CBS prime-time special? "I was out of control," O'Brien tells Dr. Phil. "I started drinking in the late '60s. I kept drinking, and it really got to a DEFCON 3 level the past couple of years." He insists that his decision to enter rehab had nothing to do with those voice messages. "I fled because I was dying," he says. "Thank God on some level this happened, and I'm not dead." Meanwhile, O'Brien was spotted at the Coachella music festival just days after checking out of rehab, swearing up a storm -- just like in those randy audiotapes. (CBS and Defamer.com via N.Y. Daily News)
Jackson trial update: In Monday's proceedings a forensic accountant testified that Michael Jackson's cash-flow situation was dire at the time of the nationally televised airing of the Martin Bashir documentary in which he was depicted holding hands with the boy who would become his young accuser and discussing his penchant for sharing his bed with young boys. The accountant, John Duross O'Bryan, said that Jackson had "an ongoing cash crisis, not enough cash to pay bills." Later, the D.A. tried to cast doubt on the testimony of one of its own witnesses, Jackson ex-wife Debbie Rowe, who surprised prosecutors by saying only nice things about Jackson when she took the stand, by calling on sheriff's investigator Sgt. Steve Robel. Robel said that, when he interviewed Rowe last year, she said that she had lied when she praised Jackson's parenting style in the Bashir documentary. "She referred to Michael as a sociopath and his children as being possessions," Robel said, adding that Rowe also told him that she and Jackson had a "plan" to always say nice things about each other in public. (Associated Press)
Also: Katie Holmes didn't show up as planned at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute Gala on Monday night, but a lot of other big names (including Holmes' beau's ex Nicole Kidman) did. Mary-Kate Olsen not only showed up, but reportedly broke all rules of art preservation and propriety (not to mention New York City law) by chain-smoking in the bathroom with her sister, Ashley, by her side. (N.Y. Times, Lloyd Grove's Lowdown) ... In a new book by Anthony Summers and Robbyn Swan, "Sinatra: The Life," excerpted in the June issue of Vanity Fair, Jerry Lewis claims that Frank Sinatra once smuggled "three and a half million [dollars] in fifties" through customs in New York for his buddies in the mob. According to the authors, Sinatra's friends in the mafia also helped him get the role of Pvt. Angelo Maggio in the 1953 movie "From Here to Eternity," for which he won an Oscar, by threatening Columbia Pictures studio chief Harry Cohn with bodily harm if he failed to cast the singer. (Vanity Fair via BBC News and N.Y. Daily News) ... Lil' Kim is being sued for breach of contract by two vocalists who performed on her "La Bella Mafia" album. The two men contend that Lil' Kim failed to pay them for their services, eventually gave them jewelry valued at $10,000 apiece in lieu of payment and then demanded it back "under a threat of physical violence." They're seeking payment of $100,000 apiece. (Reuters) ... A Maryland woman has been arrested for allegedly continuing to stalk Sean Hannity even after the court had ordered her to keep her distance from him. She allegedly sent Hannity packages and letters, including one note that read, "LOOK WHAT YOU DID TO ME." (The Smoking Gun) ... "The Daily Show" regular Stephen Colbert is getting his own Comedy Central half-hour show, "The Colbert Report," which Jon Stewart says is "about a man and his forum." (N.Y. Times)
Money Quote:
Jennifer Lopez on her career plans: "I'm a total powerhouse ... I'd like to become the first female president -- that would be cool." (German magazine Bravo via Agence France-Presse)
-- Amy Reiter
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