[A.j. Hammer, Cnn News Anchor:] A national holiday named after Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie? I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
[Sibila Vargas, Cnn News Anchor:] And how to be a boss without using the "B" word. I`m Sibila Vargas in Hollywood TV`s most provocative entertainment news show starts right now.
[Announcer:] On SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, a coast to coast country controversy. Tonight, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is there as country music`s biggest stars speak out about the Dixie Chicks.
[Unidentified Male:] If they`d a made that comment about Saddam Hussein, the next morning they would been drug through the streets of Iraq headless.
[Announcer:] Are these singers still angry about the Dixies dissing Bush or are they ready to kiss and make nice? Plus, tonight how a child who was raped and beaten by a disgusting sex predator saved her own life by using what she saw on TV shows.
[Unidentified Female:] We started talking, and when I started asking for things he would go downstairs, and once he was downstairs, I would grab evidence. Tonight, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT with the amazing story of how primetime TV helped a young girl live to see another day.
[Hammer:] Hello, I`m A.J. Hammer in New York.
[Vargas:] And I`m Sibila Vargas in Hollywood. And A.J., let the Dixie duels begin.
[Hammer:] You said it, Sibila. And we do mean duel. We are, of course, are talking about the Dixie Chicks and their unapologetic controversial new album on which they basically tell President Bush, too bad if you didn`t like what we said about the war in Iraq. Now, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can bring you, for the very first, time the biggest names in country music and what they`re saying about all of this. And not all of them are whistling Dixie.
[Reba Mcentire, Country Music Artist:] I don`t know why we`re so nervous about hosting this show this year. I mean, if the Dixie Chicks can sing with their foot in their mouth, surely I can host this sucker.
[Hammer:] Well, there you have it. Reba McEntire taking a shot at the Chicks. Getting a big rise out of the some big stars at the Academy of Country Music Awards, Tuesday night.
[Mcentire:] Oh, thank y`all.
[Hammer:] The Dixie Chicks, once the darlings of the country music scene, were nowhere to be found in that audience. But other big names sure were. And only SHOWBIZ TONIGHT has their candid reaction to the controversial group and their new unapologetic album.
[Martina Mcbride, Country Music Artist:] I`ve always loved them, so I hope they do well. I`m sure they will.
[Unidentified Female:] I`m not mad at them. I hope the rest of the country isn`t either.
[Hammer:] The Texan trio drove a wedge through Nashville and their huge fan base after famously messing are fellow Texan, President Bush, on the brink of war in 2003. At the time, the Dixie Chicks were the biggest thing to happen to country music, with countless awards and tens of millions of albums sold, they were quite simply, on top of the world. But that world came tumbling down. After lead singer Natalie Maines told a London concert crowd, she was ashamed the president was from her home state. Word traveled fast and, before you knew it, this. Brutal backlash, even death threats. The chicks went into hiding. But now, almost three years later, they`re back, with a defiant new album and a bold single, "Not Ready to Make Nice." SHOWBIZ TONIGHT on the Country Music Awards red carpet, asking the stars what they`re thinking now.
[Aaron Tippin, Country Music Artist:] I made a comment about president. You know, they had a right to their own opinion, that`s fine, you know, but I hope they realize that if they`d a made that comment about Saddam Hussein, the next morning they would been drug through the streets of Iraq headless.
[Hammer:] As far as the chicks were concerned, that might as well have happened. When SHOWBIZ TONIGHT producer, Carrie Hill, sat down with the group they told her the worst part was hearing they were unpatriotic.
[Natalie Maines, Dixie Chicks Lead Singer:] It was heartbreaking to hear all of this. They doesn`t support the troops, doesn`t support the troops, doesn`t support the troops. But, it was such the opposite. And I hated that people got to use my words against me when, I didn`t support the war, but in my mind, because I do support the troops. Because I support human life and, if you`re going to put people at risk of ending their lives, you better be able to hand us proof.
[Carrie Hill, Showbiz Tonight Producer:] And ironically, it wasn`t weren`t these comments were made after you had dedicated a song... No. 1
[Hammer:] But times have changed. The president`s approval rating is now at an all-time low, and even though plenty of people are still mad, more and more are getting behind the Chicks. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT went straight to country superstar Vince Gill and his wife Amy Grant.
[Vince Gill, Country Music Artist:] And this country is founded on free speech and, you know, right or wrong or whether you believe, agree, disagree, you know, that right is very much apparent and people live and die and fight and die so we can have that. And to see them kind of crucified for their statements I thought was a little harsh.
[Hammer:] Celebrity backing, but will this play in Peoria?
[Joe Levy, "rolling Stone" Magazine:] This single "Not Ready to Make Nice" is not big on the radio and is really not big on country radio. That`s been their core before and they`ve alienated it.
[Hammer:] Well, even without that radio play for the single, the album is still expected to chart well next week when it finally comes out on the chart. And if it does, that would even surprise the Dixie Chicks because they told us they weren`t exactly sure who their audience even is anymore. And an apology from Emily Robison today, she was quoting yesterday as dissing the ladies of "The View." Basically she said that the show, "The View" is not one that the Dixie Chicks would appear on. Well, today, "View" co-host Meredith Vieira read an apology from her. Robison said she didn`t mean to insult the show and that, quote, "This Chick is eating some crow."
[Vargas:] Well, now we want to hear from you with our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day. Dixie Chicks: Do you mind politics with your music? Go to cnn.comshowbiztonight and send us an e-mail at showbiztonight@cnn.com.
[Hammer:] All right. We all know that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are having a baby together is a big deal, as big deals go. But you may have no idea how big a deal it is in Namibia. That is that small African country where Pitt and Jolie have been hiding out waiting for the baby to be born which should happen any day now. How big a deal? Well, listen to this. A Namibian radio station actually has proposed that a national holiday be declared on the day the baby is born. And it`s getting all kind of support. And the Namibia government says foreign journalists must get permission from Pitt and Jolie to enter the country. What`s going on over there? Well, joining us tonight in New York is Lloyd Grove of the "New York Daily News." Here with me in our studio Lola Ogunnaike of the "New York Times." This is insane. It is nuts, Lloyd. I want to go to you first. Why Namibia? Why are Brad and Angelina there?
[Lloyd Grove, "new York Daily News":] Well, I`m afraid if they went to some bigger country they might get lost in the shuffle and maybe people would be less interested. I don`t know. But I think, you know, Angelina obviously loves Africa. She`s visited the country before, I think when she was doing "Tomb Raider." So but, on the other hand, they`re having their cake and eating it too. They claim they want privacy, but I think they`ve set up the situation to get maxim impacted. You know, this national holiday, I hope they extend it here to the United States, because I could use a day off.
[Hammer:] What do you think about that? They really are doing this to have their exclusion, but the spotlight is shining right on them because of this small, little country they`ve holed up in.
[Lola Ogunnaike, "new York Times":] I mean, A.J. people are acting like the Messiah is being born or baby Jesus. It`s just a kid. It`s just a kid. And, yes, the kid is going to be beautiful and have great genes and the whole nine, but a whole day for this one child? I don`t get it.
[Hammer:] Yeah, we`ll get into that holiday thing in just a second. But this is actually turning out to be, Lloyd, a pretty good deal for Namibia.
[Ogunnaike:] Oh, it`s huge for Namibia.
[Hammer:] I mean, I would ask why Namibia would they want them, but look, this is a nation that`s, what, about 12 years old, you can`t beat the publicity.
[Grove:] Yeah. I mean, suddenly it`s on the map. I mean, maybe some people maybe I will take a vacation in Namibia and see their wonderful Burning Shore Resort, maybe even try and stay in the room where Angelina and Brad waited for this great miracle to occur. How exciting.
[Ogunnaike:] I love that there is going to be like a Brangelina rollercoaster, there`s going to be like a Namibian a Brangelina theme park and everyone`s going to be headed out there. It`s huge for Namibia.
[Grove:] I want to go there just to mail a postcard with a Brangelina stamp with the new baby.
[Hammer:] Well listen, they might not just end up open the stamp, but they`re actually, potentially dictating how things are done over there. They are getting to say who gets to come in the country, Lloyd. How insane is that?
[Grove:] Well, I`m glad somebody is running immigration policy. I think Lou Dobbs might suggest that they do that here, too, after they`re through in Namibia.
[Ogunnaike:] On a serious note, though, it is kind of ridiculous that these two celebrities have taken over, you know, their equivalent of the first amendment, if they even have one, and said, that look, journalists aren`t free there. They have to check with Brad and Angelina to see if it`s OK. It`s definitely something that wouldn`t happen in this country, and I do think that`s over the top.
[Hammer:] It is a little strange. And, you mentioned the idea, and we were talking about this absurd idea of a national holiday. I mean, this is nuts, right?
[Ogunnaike:] I would like to think so. But, again, maybe this is their way of saying thank you. This has been huge for the country. You can`t get any better P.R. than this. And I think that may be their way of saying thank you. I don`t know if it`s the best way to go about saying thank you, but...
[Hammer:] And Lloyd, to be clear, you know, this is a radio station that proposed this, not the government, that a national holiday be declared on the day this baby is born.
[Grove:] Well, I don`t know, it might be a government radio station. So, you know, I think it might happen. So far I think it`s equally divided, yes or no, but, why not a national holiday in Namibia. That`s my question. Why not?
[Hammer:] Well listen why not? And we do no that Angelina has had a tremendously positive impact and influence in Africa where she spent a lot of time working with some really truly amazing causes. When I spoke with her a few weeks ago she talked about, you know, the education program that she`s trying to get, you know, get education going in nations where it simply doesn`t exist. She not only has had tremendous influence there, Lola, but on Brad Pitt as well. I mean, is this guy ever going to be the same Brad Pitt that we once knew?
[Ogunnaike:] We`ll never look at him the same at all. He`s an international traveler, he`s a humanitarian now as of hooking up with Angelina Jolie. It`s been really incredible for him. Him and Jennifer Aniston were hot and people knew them and people talked about them, but he has not had this much press in years. So, this has been major for him.
[Hammer:] Yeah, this is definitely...
[Grove:] This is great for a 42-year-old aging movie star.
[Hammer:] One of the smartest things he could have done. All right, guys. Thank you very much for chiming in on it, tonight. Lola Ogunnaike and Lloyd Grove, we appreciate you joining us here on
[Showbiz Tonight. Ogunnaike:] Thank you.
[Vargas:] Coming up, the secrets to staying together. Some of you celebrities, you may want to take notes here. The well-known woman who`s talked about making marriage work on Oprah, that`s coming up next.
[Hammer:] It`s a wet Willis. Huh? Yeah, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT shows you what came over the ledge while Bruce Willis was being interviewed for "Over the Hedge." I want to see that again. And we will. Plus, we`ve got this.
[Unidentified Female:] I saw him beating my brother and I heard my brother yelling, please, don`t kill me. And I said, please leave him alone, it`s me that you want.
[Vargas:] A stunning story of survival, tonight, how a young girl who was beaten and raped stayed alive because of what she saw on TV shows, that story still to come.