Hasselhoff Drinking Drama; Madonna`s Brand-New Adoption War
A.J. HAMMER, HOST: Now, on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, is David Hasselhoff drinking again? What the Hoff rushed to the hospital after drinking too much? Did he really almost die? And did his youngest daughter come to the rescue?</s>HARVEY LEVIN, TMZ: We`re told that these reports are greatly exaggerated.</s>HAMMER: Tonight, the late-breaking developments in the startling Hasselhoff drinking drama. And SHOWBIZ TONIGHT dares to ask, should the Hoff be taken off "America`s Got Talent"? Madonna`s brand-new adoption war. Tonight, a man claims to be the father of the little girl Madonna wants to adopt, and he wants Madonna to back off on the same a court takes on Madonna`s adoption appeal. What did the court decide? And could the alleged daddy hurt Madonna`s chances? Plus, Michael Vick, an animal rights spokesman? Tonight, is the former football star and convicted dog-fighting felon really teaming up with the animal rights group, PETA? The SHOWBIZ Truth Squad is on the case. TV`s most provocative entertainment news show starts right now.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Tell me you`re going to stop.</s>DAVID HASSELHOFF, ACTOR AND "AMERICA`S GOT TALENT" JUDGE: I`m going to stop.</s>HAMMER: A dramatic and unforgettable look at David Hasselhoff`s struggle with alcohol. In 2007, "Extra" aired this shocking footage of a drunk Hasselhoff being questioned about his drinking by one of his teenage daughters.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why do you like doing this to yourself?</s>HASSELHOFF: Because I`m lonely and I have trouble with my life.</s>HAMMER: Now, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you Hasselhoff is making news with another alcohol-related incident, one so serious it apparently landed him in the hospital. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is tackling all the big questions. Was Hasselhoff`s reported lost weekend as serious as some are making it out to be?</s>LEVIN: We are told that these reports are greatly exaggerated.</s>HAMMER: Will it affect his job on "America`s Got Talent"? And will it reignite one of the most bitter divorce battles Hollywood has ever seen? Radar Online quotes an unnamed source who says on Saturday night, Hasselhoff`s 16-year-old daughter Hayley found him unconscious in his home suffering from alcohol poisoning and with a blood alcohol content of .39. Radar`s source says Hayley called her mother, Hasselhoff`s ex-wife, Pamela Bach, who came over and drove him to the Los Angeles Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.</s>LEVIN: He got drunk on Saturday.</s>HAMMER: TMZ`s Harvey Levin tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT Hasselhoff`s people are telling a far less dramatic story.</s>LEVIN: At that point, he decided he would go to the hospital, got in the car on his own power and was driven to the hospital where he got out the next morning. It seems odd that you would be able to walk to your car if you were more than four times the legal limit.</s>HAMMER: Hasselhoff has admitted to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT in the past that he`s a recovering alcoholic and that, quote, "part of recovery is relapse." But was this weekend`s incident a minor relapse or full-on alcohol poisoning as is being reported? SHOWBIZ TONIGHT can tell you Hasselhoff`s people are blaming his ex-wife, Pamela Bach, for the alcohol poisoning reports.</s>LEVIN: We`re told that the story she is sending out is grossly exaggerated, the way they`re putting it.</s>HAMMER: Hasselhoff and Bach were married for 16 years, and they had two daughters before they divorced. This, as divorces go, was a really bad one. And, apparently, still is.</s>HAMMER: In fact, Hasselhoff initially accused his ex of leaking that famous drunk tape. She denied that.</s>HASSELHOFF: The judge said today, enough.</s>HAMMER: Hasselhoff won sole custody of his girls just months after that tape came out. Now, with these new Hasselhoff headlines, his people suggest that Hoff`s ex is lashing out against him.</s>LEVIN: Hasselhoff`s lawyer is saying that he`s going to go after Pamela Bach in court trying to get some kind of sanction against her for talking about this when she shouldn`t be talking at all.</s>HAMMER: In a statement to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, Hasselhoff`s attorney says Hasselhoff is fine and was never unconscious on Saturday night. The attorney adds, quote "It`s pretty obvious as has been the case in the past that his ex-wife is putting out false information about him. She is not supposed to be talking to the press about her ex-husband and she continues to do so."</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The iconic David Hasselhoff.</s>HAMMER: Hasselhoff is a judge on "America`s Got Talent."</s>HASSELHOFF: Even the stuff that`s printed or the stuff that`s negative that is not really true, you know, it teaches me a lesson.</s>HAMMER: Just days before this latest incident, while promoting the new season of "America`s Got Talent," Hasselhoff told SHOWBIZ TONIGHT he`s learned something from all the false headlines.</s>HASSELHOFF: It teaches me, you know, that it`s not a perfect world, you know? But you can try to make yourself as perfect as you can.</s>HAMMER: But with no one denying that Hasselhoff experienced at least some kind of alcohol-related issue this weekend, it`s clear that, for Hasselhoff, things are still far from perfect.</s>LISA BLOOM, CNN ANCHOR, "IN SESSION": Not necessarily. Supreme courts don`t usually decide cases right on the spot. They usually take it under advisement, which means they take some time to ponder it, to kick it around with the other justices before they reach the decision. So merely a delay alone does not necessarily translate into bad news for her.</s>HAMMER: All right. Well, it`s not just because now, we have this brand-new paternity dispute. A brand-new, never-before-seen interview with a 24- year-old man who claims to be the father of Mercy James, the young girl Madonna wants to adopt. And this guy tells the CBS "Early Show" that even though that he has never actually seen Mercy James in person, he is the father and he doesn`t want her to be adopted by Madonna. Take a look at this.</s>PRIYA DAVID, CBS NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Have you ever held Mercy? Have you ever seen her?</s>JAMES KAMBEWA, ALLEGED FATHER OF MERCY JAMES: In newspapers and</s>TV. DAVID: But not in real life?</s>KAMBEWA: Not face to face. I do not want my baby to be adopted. Because I want to take care of her and I am capable to take care of my baby.</s>HAMMER: June, I don`t know about you. I watched this. It`s kind of tough to know what to believe. When you see the interview with this guy, do you think this is really the heartbroken father of Mercy James? Or perhaps, a guy who`s looking to cash in on the world`s biggest pop star, or maybe even both?</s>JUNE SARPONG, BRITISH TV PERSONALITY: I think I`m going to go with the latter. I mean, goodness. I could be Mercy`s father.</s>HAMMER: I don`t know about that.</s>SARPONG: You know, it doesn`t make any - now, I mean, I`m sorry. Where are they getting these people from? If there isn`t actually a paternity test to prove that he is Mercy`s father, I don`t think anyone should be interviewing him. Anyone could come out and say they`re her father.</s>BLOOM: And A.J., you know, what is the definition of a father?</s>SARPONG: Yes.</s>BLOOM: To me, it`s somebody that sticks around and actually raises a child.</s>SARPONG: Exactly.</s>BLOOM: I mean, except that he`s a sperm donor who hasn`t the child for three years, hasn`t visited her, has only seen her in the newspaper. He`s not a father. I don`t care if he`s biologically related to her.</s>SARPONG: At all. At all.</s>HAMMER: Yes. And that`s exactly the point that we`re hearing from.</s>SARPONG: And it`s funny he`s only coming out now. Why wasn`t he around three years ago?</s>HAMMER: Well, exactly, although he claims that he was told before all this publicity came around about Mercy James - he was told she had died during childbirth. But Lisa, you make a terrific point about what qualifies him as a father and that`s the point that we`re hearing from Madonna`s camp. Just this afternoon, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT heard from Madonna`s spokesperson and this is what she tells us, "I do not know for a fact that he is the biological father of Mercy. What I do know is that she was not visited for the three years she was in the orphanage by anyone claiming to be a parent. And I know that he wasn`t at court or represented regarding the appeal for the adoption." Now, the alleged father, as I mentioned, told that Mercy died in childbirth, only read that she was alive in the newspaper when Madonna tried to adopt her. So Lisa, is it possible that, in any way, this guy`s claims could ruin or at least, delay Madonna`s chances of adopting Mercy James regardless of how we feel about it?</s>BLOOM: Yes. Sure, it could delay the claims because the court will have to consider it. There will have to be a paternity test. But by the way, now that he does know that this little girl exists, what`s stopping him right now, in stead of doing an interview, or right before after the interview, from going over there and taking his little girl and taking care of her, or at the very least, visiting her and providing for her?</s>HAMMER: Yes.</s>BLOOM: I mean, this is such a sham to me. It`s insulting to Madonna who`s trying to do something positive and help an extremely poor child have a better life.</s>HAMMER: Yes. And unfortunately, that may delay things. The grandmother now thinks she was bullied into putting Mercy up for adoption. So with all of these people coming out - Madonna is trying to do just a magnanimous thing here and it could be putting the breaks on it all. Lisa Bloom, June Sarpong, thank you both for being here tonight. I appreciate it. Now, we want to hear from you. Here`s our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day in light of all these developments - "Madonna`s Malawi Adoption Battle: Should she give it up?" What do you think? CNN.com/ShowbizTonight is where you go to vote. You can also E-mail us if you have more to say, showbiztonight@cnn.com. Well, tonight, I can tell you that Oprah Winfrey could be making a big difference in two very big stories right now. The parents of Madeleine McCann, a little girl who went missing a couple of years ago, go on Oprah`s show and they just poured their hearts out. Will their big TV appearance actually change anyone`s suspicions about them? Also, we`ve been flooded with e-mails and calls to "Showbiz on Call" all about Kirstie Alley going on Oprah and revealing she put back on all her weight that she lost. Does Kirstie have anything to apologize for? That is coming up. Is convicted dog-fighting felon Michael Vick really teaming up with the animal rights group, PETA? Huh? Could it be? The SHOWBIZ Truth Squad on the case. And watch out, Susan Boyle. Tonight, you`ve got brand-new competition.</s>TEXT: Jenny McCarthy inks deal with Oprah Winfrey`s company for her own talk show. Father of Jamie Lynn Spears` baby released from hospital after car crash.