[Gaga:] I would like to propose a new law. Our new law is called "If you don`t like it, go home."
[Hammer:] Big news breaking today on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. The incredible political power of Lady Gaga: Gaga rallies her little monsters over a major gay rights issue. Is Gaga political powerhouse or a powerless pop princess? Paris` big new problem. Paris detained in Japan today after she pleaded guilty to cocaine possession charges. Plus, a SHOWBIZ TONIGHT exclusive: Paris versus Lindsay Lohan, who is more likely to stay out of trouble? The incredible new way "The Situation" is cashing in today. And will J-Woww score a big paycheck by posing nude? Plus, breaking today from the "Showbiz News Ticker," Lindsay Lohan settles a battle with a baby. And a shocking "SNL" split.
[Unidentified Male:] TV`s most provocative entertainment news show continues right now.
[Hammer:] Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. It is 30 minutes past the hour. I`m A.J. Hammer, coming to you from New York City.
[Anderson:] And I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. And now a blockbuster showbiz special report. Lady Gaga power princess? There`s no question that Gaga is one of the most powerful, influential female singers out there. She`s definitely the queen of music right now, but does anyone listen to her when it comes to controversial political issues?
[Hammer:] Well, Gaga put on a full-court press. She tried to get the "don`t ask, don`t tell" policy, keeping gays from openly serving in the military, repealed. She rallied tons of her little monsters. Well, there was a setback today for Gaga. A vote in Washington did shoot down this latest attempt to change the law. So SHOWBIZ TONIGHT has got to ask, is Gaga a political powerhouse or a powerless pop princess? Here`s "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s" Kareen Wynter.
[Kareen Wynter, Hln Correspondent:] Outrageous outfits, sexy music videos and shocking public behavior, like flipping off photographers at a baseball game. Even outfitted in an outlandish meat attire at this year`s MTV Video Music Awards.
[Gaga:] I never thought I`d be asking Cher to hold my meat purse.
[Wynter:] Lady Gaga has our attention, and she`s pushing a message she`s fired up about, but is the public listening?
[Gaga:] I`m here because "don`t ask, don`t tell" is wrong.
[Wynter:] The Grammy winner spoke out at a rally in Maine Monday, lashing out at the government`s "don`t ask, don`t tell" policy. It`s about gays in the military.
[Gaga:] We`re going to war for you and you and you and you and you, but not you because you`re gay.
[Wynter:] And just last week, the politically provocative Gaga posted this video on her Web site, urging Congress to put a stop to the hotly debated practice.
[Gaga:] I am here to be a voice for my generation.
[Wynter:] And that generation is listening, says music and pop culture expert Steven Smith. He tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT her shift from controversial icon to social activist hasn`t hurt her cause.
[Steven Smith, Music And Pop Culture Expert:] The transformation, I think, is something very, very calculated. Whatever message Lady Gaga is putting out there, anything she can do to be controversial is going to help.
[Wynter:] Even if it means inspiring Ellie and Lauren. They are two college kids in Colorado who produced this video.
[Elie:] Lady Gaga could die if you don`t vote.
[Gaga:] Do you want me to die?
[Elie, Lauren:] No, we don`t want you to die.
[Wynter:] The liberal outreach voter group, Campus Progress, just posted this video on their Web site to encourage young people to vote.
[Sarah Haile-mariam, Campus Progress:] Ellie and Lauren aren`t politically active, they`re not even registered to vote yet. But they`re getting registered to vote as a consequence of all the activity that`s occurring over "don`t ask, don`t tell."
[Wynter:] Campus Progress Sarah Haile-Mariam tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT that it was Gaga`s passion that actually inspired the video.
[Haile-mariam:] What Lady Gaga was able to do was to challenge us to take that passion and to take our creativity and to utilize it. And it`s really incredible to see how celebrity and activism and the Internet are interacting in a way that makes young people more impactful than we`ve been able to be in years past.
[Wynter:] And the pop star who`s at the political forefront wants the public to take action, instead of just watching from the sidelines.
[Gaga:] I would like to propose a new law. Our new law is called "If you don`t like it, go home."
[Smith:] So when you see a young pop star get excited by activism and realizing, yes, there are problems in the world, things we should attack, then, yes, definitely, it can get people more devoted to a certain cause.
[Wynter:] When it comes to devotion, Lady Gaga isn`t just using her voice to rock the music world. She`s inspiring young America to make some political noise of their own.
[Gaga:] Can you all hear me?
[Hammer:] Well, Lady Gaga may be able to create a political spectacle, but some people doubt that she packs a political punch. And that leads to today`s "Showbiz Flash Point": Lady Gaga, political powerhouse or a powerless pop princess. With me in New York is Sunny Hostin, who is a legal contributor for "In Session" on TruTV. Right now from Hollywood, Hyla, who is an entertainment journalist with 5DollarPrep.com. Ok so the repeal of "don`t ask, don`t tell" did fail to move forward today, but to me, even if the vote didn`t go her way, there`s no doubt that Lady Gaga got everyone`s attention. Hyla, to you first for our "Showbiz Flash Point," is Lady Gaga a political powerhouse or a political pop princess?
[Hyla:] I think she has potential to be a powerhouse, absolutely. The difference between her and a lot of other celebrities is that they usually talk in talking points and they don`t really necessarily have a point or they`re fully educated. When you watch this speech, if you watched the entire 15 minutes, she speaks with conviction, with passion. She made great points. She speaks with facts. I would put her up against a Glenn Beck or Bill O`Reilly any day. I think she could hold her own. She came across like that.
[Hammer:] Well, I have to tell you I agree with you on so much of that. I think she came across terrifically, and I`m a Gaga fan. But the problem I have, Sunny, is it`s one thing to rally your fans. You`re preaching to the choir, basically. But if you want to have political clout, doing things like showing up wearing a dress made of meat doesn`t really help your cause. So to our "Showbiz Flash Point," a political powerhouse or a powerless pop princess?
[Sunny Hostin, Legal Contributor, "in Session" On Trutv:] I think she`s a powerless pop princess right now. I have to agree with you, I mean, she certainly has the reach. And I commend her for putting herself out there with the message, which I think is a wonderful message
[Hammer:] Yes.
[Hostin:] that we can`t tolerate discrimination in any form. But I don`t think that the Senate was going to listen to her, especially in the way that it was delivered. The message was wonderful; the delivery, eh, not so much.
[Hammer:] Well, I`ve got to say, Gaga working for positive change, I completely agree with you on that. So we give her a lot of credit for that. Let`s talk about Paris Hilton, on the other hand. She seems to be disrupting international relations today, Brooke. What`s going on?
[Anderson:] Yes. All right, A.J., Paris is making big news today in Japan. And this just one day after she pleaded guilty to cocaine possession charges in Las Vegas. Here`s the story. Paris was reportedly stopped today from entering Japan on a business trip. Paris was supposedly stopped by immigration in Japan because of her guilty plea. Sunny, if this happened on day one of Paris` year-long probation, what does that say for the remaining 364 days? Is her nightmare just beginning?
[Hostin:] It is just beginning. I mean, this is going to be difficult for her. It`s one year of probation and she could end up in jail if she gets into trouble. And a lot of people sort of took issue with the fact that I said, you know, this wasn`t just a slap on the wrist type of sentence. She is going to be held accountable. And we`re seeing it happen already. She goes to Japan and she`s held prisoner basically in a hotel airport, because she pled guilty to possession of cocaine and the Japanese don`t take kindly to cocaine possessors.
[Hammer:] And that`s not the only bad news today for Paris Hilton. I`ve got more bad news for both Paris and Lindsay Lohan. They have she has a court date of her own, and that`s happening on Friday. An arrest warrant was just issued after Lindsay failed a drug test during her probation. Take a look at this. It`s our exclusive SHOWBIZ TONIGHT poll where we asked, who is most likely to turn her life around? And look at these results, just in late today, only 13 percent say Paris Hilton. Seven percent say Lindsay Lohan; 80 percent say neither one are going to turn their lives around. Hyla, do our viewers have it right? Neither of these two have a shot?
[Hyla:] It it depends. Basically, I think Lindsay is in control of her fate here, because if she can get her friends and her family to really step up and call her out on the things that she`s doing, then she really is going to make a change. She has the best opportunity, because Lindsay has a career in the movie business. She`s a great actress. Paris, I think she likes this attention. This is what she does for a living is to have her name in the press so I think she feels she`s being successful, but Lindsay has the best chance only if her friends and family step up.
[Hammer:] Yes, well, the problem here is we keep hearing both of them saying, ok, all of that is behind me, that`s in my past, and now I`m turning things around and they keep showing us that it isn`t happening. Sunny Hostin and Hyla, thanks, guys, I appreciate it.
[Anderson:] I`ve got to say, I`m not sure if Mel Gibson has a lot of friends nowadays, ever since those awful reported tapes of him came out, he allegedly beat up and threatened to kill his ex. But Jodie Foster is standing up for Mel today. That story is coming up. Also those "Jersey Shore" kids cashing in again big-time today. Maybe they`ll be able to buy the Jersey Shore. "The Situation`s" wallet is getting bigger than his abs for an incredible new reason. And will J-Woww collect a supersized paycheck for posing nude? Ok, maybe the "Jersey Shore" cast isn`t as rich as this crew, yet. I`m talking about the best-paid women on prime-time TV. This is SHOWBIZ TONIGHT on HLN News & Views.
[Hammer:] Time now for the "Showbiz News Ticker"; more stories from the SHOWBIZ TONIGHT newsroom, making news today.
[Molly Ringwald, Actress:] I think the issues haven`t changed. I think it doesn`t matter that technology changes, we have Internet now, we have texting now. All of the issues behind it are all the same. You know, kids wondering how they fit in and the insecurities and you know all of that. I think it just never changes. And that`s why they`re so timeless.