Cheryl Burke on Her Weight; Casting Call for the Campaign`s Biggest Characters
OPRAH WINFREY, HOST, "THE OPRAH WINFREY SHOW": I`m here to tell you, Iowa, he is the one. He is the one. Barack Obama.</s>HAMMER: And of course, Oprah Winfrey endorsing Sen. Barack Obama at a campaign stop in Iowa back in December. But if Obama is the next president of the United States, will Oprah become the next ambassador to England? Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. I`m A.J. Hammer in New York. Tonight, the idea that Oprah could become an ambassador is one of two stories making news right now. Reports are swirling that Oprah could become part of the new administration if Obama wins the presidency. But would she do it and really, would it be a good idea? Also new right now, "Dancing With The Stars`" Cheryl Burke sick and tired of hearing people talking about how she gained weight. Wait until you hear what she told Ellen DeGeneres. Joining me in New York tonight is Ben Widdicombe who is an editor-at- large for "Star" magazine. Also in New York, April Woodard who is senior correspondent for "Inside Edition." All right, Ben and April. I want to start off with Oprah Winfrey. As we`ve heard, there`s a lot of chatter that Oprah actually could become the next ambassador to Britain if Obama becomes our next president. Now, I should point out, an Oprah spokesperson did tell SHOWBIZ TONIGHT that Oprah has not been approached. So all of it, you know, basically hypothetical right now. But, Ben, could you see Oprah being the ambassador to England?</s>BEN WIDDICOMBE, EDITOR-AT-LARGE, "STAR" MAGAZINE: A.J., this is just absurd. Clearly, Tyra Banks is far more qualified to be ambassador</s>HAMMER: Just to be clear, Ben. Where are you from?</s>WIDDICOMBE: I`m from Australia.</s>HAMMER: OK. I just want to be clear because some of our audience may have confused your accent for being a British accent. I want to make sure you`re being impartial here. Oprah, obviously, though, has done so much here in the U.S. and overseas. You know, you mentioned education, Ben. She did build that all- girls school in Africa. She`s obviously proven her ability to reach across economic and class and racial lines. What do you think, April? Could you see Oprah, if not as the British ambassador, being some part of an Obama administration?</s>APRIL WOODARD, SENIOR CORRESPONDENT, "INSIDE EDITION": Absolutely. And you know, she`s got the skills to bring so many people from diverse backgrounds together. So many people trust. So definitely I could see her in some type of administrative role.</s>HAMMER: Yes. Ben, let`s talk about this in all seriousness now, because we can joke all we want about what job may or may not be right for her. Haha. But the idea of her actually doing it. Obviously, if she takes any kind of government job, you know, it`s going to be a pretty big pay cut. So do you think Oprah would actually even consider it or she`d say, "You know what? Thanks, but no thanks. I`ll just continue to help the world in my own way, with my own money, in my own time."</s>WIDDICOMBE: I think any kind of government job would be a really great way for Oprah to disappear. Now, the job of ambassador to Great Britain is a prestigious job. It`s the top post in the American Foreign Service. But let`s face it, she is the most powerful woman on American television. She has far more influence where she is right now. I think she would just disappear onto the wallpaper if she went to work for Obama.</s>HAMMER: Yes. So only if she really wanted to disappear should she consider taking the job; it`s sounds like what you`re recommending there.</s>WIDDICOMBE: Absolutely.</s>HAMMER: All right. Let`s move on to this other story that`s new right now. "Dancing With The Stars" star Cheryl Burke talking to Ellen DeGeneres about bloggers who, you know, are sadly making this big deal out of the fact that she gained about five pounds. I said five pounds. Now, Ellen asked her if she felt any pressure to lose that weight. Watch what Cheryl said.</s>ELLEN DEGENERES, HOST, "THE ELLEN DEGENERES SHOW": Did it affect you in a way where you thought you need to diet? Like, did you actually think to yourself, "Maybe I should lose weight"?</s>CHERYL BURKE, "DANCING WITH THE STARS" STAR: I was like, "Maybe I should just starve myself for four weeks so people would shut up." But at the end of the day, I`m an athlete, I like to eat and I like to work out and I like to feel healthy.</s>DEGENERES: You are healthy. You look great. You are healthy and you look great.</s>HAMMER: Yes. I mean, are you kidding me? April, what do you think? I mean, this is just ridiculous, isn`t it, that Cheryl Burke even has to go on television and explain why she gained five pounds. Come on.</s>WOODARD: When I saw that, I was like, "What the heck is going on here?" Here`s this beautiful woman, wonderful body, great dancer. Lay off of her. I mean, five pounds - she has to explain that she wants to get something to eat. She`s hungry. Leave her alone.</s>HAMMER: Yes, and you what? She could kick all of our butts regardless.</s>WOODARD: Right.</s>HAMMER: I mean, look at - talk about a woman in tremendous shape. And I`d like to illustrate how ridiculous all this is. Do we have that still we could put up? Thank you, Charles. Take a look. This is a picture of Cheryl Burke last year on the red carpet and this year. I`m sorry. I`m looking at this and trying to see the difference here. Maybe I need to update my prescription. Ben, what do you think? Cheryl has every right to be just angry over the ridiculousness of this whole thing, doesn`t she?</s>WIDDICOMBE: Oh, she does. She should be absolutely furious. As she said herself, she is an athlete. It`s her job to burn the calories. It`s probably not healthy for her to have two percent</s>HAMMER: Yes. I do, too. I think I speak for you as well, April. It just makes me mad when I see stuff like that. And you know, sometimes I want to say, what are those bloggers looking like ...</s>WOODARD: Exactly.</s>HAMMER: ... while sitting at their computers downing the Big Macs. All right. Ben Widdicombe, April Woodard, thank you so much for being here tonight. Well, the "Showbiz On Call" phone lines just won`t stop ringing as you guys call in to let us know what you think about Sarah Palin and those reports that the Republican Party spent $150,000 on clothes, accessories and hairstyling for her. Well, we`ve got a call from Carol in Washington. I`ve got play this for you. Carol says what`s the big deal?</s>CAROL, CALLER FROM WASHINGTON: I don`t know what the fuss is over the amount of money Sarah Palin has spent on clothing. It`s a special occasion for her. It`s just a little different from a bride on a wedding day.</s>HAMMER: That`s a little different from a bride on a wedding day. But I want to play another call we got from Evan in Indiana who also called in to "Showbiz On Call" in defense of Sarah Palin.</s>EVAN, CALLER FROM INDIANA: Like you said, country first. She would not be spending all that money on one outfit. It doesn`t matter what she wears on TV. She will go on there and represent herself like she`s supposed to.</s>HAMMER: Let me put you on our show. Call us at "Showbiz On Call." You can let us know what you think about this or if there`s something else on your mind, we want to hear about that as well. And we keep the "Showbiz On Call" phone lines open all the time. So you know, if something strikes you at 4:00 in the morning, call us, 1-888-SBT-BUZZ; that is 1-888-728-2899. Leave us a voice mail so we could play your call right here on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. And your calls to "Showbiz On Call" also now online on our homepage, CNN.com/ShowbizTonight. There`s one thing that I can clearly say about this presidential election. There is a cast of characters straight out of Hollywood in this thing, right? Coming up, we have some great ideas for what the campaign`s biggest characters can do after this election is over. We`re thinking, you know, maybe a talk show for Sarah Palin? How about Joe the Plumber on a home improvement program? We`re casting the characters, coming up. And also this -</s>SEN. JOE BIDEN (D-DE), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: John McClain - John McClain, excuse me. John McCain -</s>SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: (sneezes) I`m sorry.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bless you.</s>OBAMA: I was fighting that off for a while.</s>HAMMER: It is not all serious business on the campaign trail, not by a long shot. Coming up, some hilarious and some unexpected moments in SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s continuing coverage of the funniest campaign ever. And what about this? Is 15-year-old Miley Cyrus really dating a 20- year-old model? And what does her family have to say about all this? Well, Miley is speaking out and that is coming up next on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT.