Jessica Simpson Considers Adoption; Britney Spears Statue at Center of Abortion Debate
A.J. HAMMER, HOST: Renowned psychic joins us live. And has Generation X refused to grow up? I`m A.J. Hammer in New York. TV`s only live entertainment news show starts right now.</s>HAMMER (voice-over): On SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, an uproar over a sculpture of Britney Spears, naked and giving birth. Tonight, the outrageous sculpture that has set off a firestorm of controversy in the abortion debate. Is it art? Or is it activism? SHOWBIZ TONIGHT investigates. A Simpson surprise. Jessica reveals she may adopt a child, even though she`s getting divorced. Tonight, how Simpson may be following in the footsteps of Angelina Jolie, Sharon Stone and Meg Ryan. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT asks, are single Hollywood moms setting a good example?</s>WHOOPI GOLDBERG, COMEDIAN: Hey, I`m Whoopi. And if it happened today, it`s on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. Really.</s>HAMMER: I`m A.J. Hammer live in New York City. So just when we thought we thought we had heard everything, we wake up today and we hear the latest news about Jessica Simpson. Her divorce battle with Nick Lachey? No, it`s not what I`m talking about. Another new boyfriend, perhaps? Nope. She`s planning on adopting a child. That`s it. She`s getting rid of a husband and maybe getting a baby. But hang on just one second, because we did a little digging around and we discovered that adoption is very hot in Hollywood, so we started wondering what the heck is going on here? CNN`s Deborah Feyerick joins me live now with some answers -- Deb.</s>DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Answers I have, A.J. Well, if Jessica Simpson does decide to adopt, she`s going to have plenty of company among Hollywood starlets. The question is, are adopted babies the newest celebrity accessory? And do stars have an easier time adopting than the average person. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT has the adoption answers.</s>FEYERICK (voice-over): Jessica Simpson may soon go from boots to baby booties. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT has learned the newly single star is looking at adopting a child.</s>J.D. HEYMAN, "PEOPLE" MAGAZINE: Jessica Simpson has said that she`s interested in adopting a child, probably from Mexico where she does charity work.</s>FEYERICK: Simpson`s publicist tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, quote, "Jessica and her family have anonymously contributed money to orphanages for several years. It is true that Jessica is exploring options to further help these children in need."</s>RICARDO CHAVIRA, ACTOR: No adoption agency is going to touch us now.</s>FEYERICK: On "Desperate Housewives", Eva Longoria`s character, Gabrielle, is desperate to adopt, just as long as the mom`s pretty enough.</s>CHAVIRA: Oh, my God. Are you trying to say that you don`t want Fiona`s (ph) baby because she`s plain?</s>EVA LONGORIA, ACTRESS: Plain I can handle. Carlos, since that woman has walked into our house, the clock has stopped working.</s>FEYERICK: In real life Hollywood, lots of stars are adopting. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT is asking what`s with the adopted baby boom?</s>HEYMAN: Hollywood is filled with adoptive parents. This isn`t anything new. Meg Ryan, Steven Spielberg, Sharon Stone, Tom Cruise, these are all adoptive parents. They`ve all got loving families. And they`ve all had children in a nontraditional way, but they`ve gone and made very happy nuclear families.</s>FEYERICK: Currently, the reigning queen of adopters is Angelina Jolie. She adopted a Cambodian boy, Maddox, in 2002. And just last year she and later Brad Pitt adopted an Ethiopian girl, Zahara. Rapper and actress Chris "Ludacris" Bridges tells SHOWBIZ TONIGHT he`s giving props to Brangelina for their international adoption.</s>CHRIS "LUDACRIS" BRIDGES, RAPPER/ACTOR: They`re leading by example. People need to lead by example.</s>HEYMAN: People are very impressed by what she`s done, how she`s used her celebrity to help other people. So it`s not surprising that people like Jessica Simpson and others have been inspired to maybe take similar actions.</s>FEYERICK: "Sopranos" star Edie Falco adopted her son, Anderson, in 2004. Falco told SHOWBIZ TONIGHT`s A.J. Hammer what it was like to become an adoptive mom.</s>HAMMER: Did motherhood come naturally to you?</s>EDIE FALCO, ACTRESS: You know, much to my surprise, actually.</s>HAMMER: Really?</s>FALCO: Well, you know we`re sort of hard-wired for it. You know what I mean? And after I read all the books and talked to all the people, I realized, oh wait a second, I know what I`m doing. You know, you kind of get out of the way, and it happens very naturally.</s>FEYERICK: It may seem that adopting a child in Hollywood is as easy as taking an agent. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT had to ask, do stars have a leg up when it comes to the difficult process of adoption?</s>DAVID RADIS, ATTORNEY: They don`t get any shortcuts on that process.</s>FEYERICK: Los Angeles attorney David Radis has helped numerous celebrities adopt. He says the rich and famous may be able to afford high- priced help, but they also face big adoption hurdles.</s>RADIS: The perception is that it`s easier because everybody hears about them because news shows such as yours are profiling celebrities or public figures. Nobody profiles the average family living in Topeka that waits six to eight to nine months before they adopt.</s>FEYERICK: With all the speculation, questions and chatter about Hollywood adoptions, in the end it`s really about finding happy homes for children who need them.</s>HEYMAN: It`s not an easy process. And you really have to commend anybody who`s going to reach out in this way and open their hearts and their homes to some other child around the world.</s>FEYERICK: And of course, adoptions aren`t just a trend in Hollywood. All told, about 50,000 children are adopted in the U.S. each year, another are adopted 20,000 abroad. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT will be there to tell you if Jessica Simpson decides to add to that number.</s>HAMMER: Deb, the trend will definitely continue. Thanks so much for that report. CNN`s Deborah Feyerick joining us live for SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. Now we want to hear from you on the topic. It is our SHOWBIZ TONIGHT question of the day. Single Hollywood moms: are they setting a good example? If you`d like to vote, hop online. CNN.com/ShowbizTonight is the web address. You can also e-mail us at ShowbizTonight@CNN.com. We`ll get into your e-mails a bit later in the show. Well, tonight, a statue of a nude, pregnant Britney Spears is about to be unveiled. And the image of Spears in a birthing position, lying on a bear-skin rug, called "Monument to Pro-Life: The Birth of Sean Preston" -- you`re seeing it right here, a bit of it blurred out for television purposes -- is raising some eyebrows and it`s causing a bit of controversy. Anti-abortion groups are using the statue as a focal point for their crusade against abortion, although the artist says it`s just a new take on the term "pro-life." The statue goes on display on April 7, at the Capla Kesting Fine Art Gallery in Brooklyn. Joining me here in New York is gallery co-director, David Kesting. David, thank you very much for being here on</s>SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. DAVID KESTING, CO-DIRECTOR, CAPLA KESTING FINE ART GALLERY: Thanks for having me.</s>HAMMER: I spoke to Dan Edwards, the artist, the sculptor who did the Britney Spears sculpture that we`re talking about a couple of hours ago. And I had to ask him why he would use Britney Spears as the image of wholesome motherhood. And let`s take a listen to what he had to say.</s>DANIEL EDWARDS, ARTIST: Well, I`m not sure that pro-life is all about being wholesome or about being motherhood. It`s about giving birth, primarily, something that she did do. And it was also a birth and pregnancy that everybody was quite taken with. So that was my initial attraction.</s>HAMMER: It does seem, though, I guess by use of the term pro-life in the title that the anti-abortion movement has actually latched onto this. I`m getting the sense this is not something you independently encouraged?</s>EDWARDS: Correct. I did -- well, I did invite Manhattan Right to Life to offer some support materials. And that was essentially to contrast their imagery with mine.</s>HAMMER: OK, so the sculptor, who art is also featured right here. This is a bust that he did. He does do other sorts of art. But he said that he`s not taking a stance on the abortion debate. However, the term pro-life is in the title of this work that you guys are displaying, and he is allowing anti-abortion groups to hand out pamphlets about what their cause is. So do you agree that he`s not looking to make a statement here?</s>KESTING: I don`t necessarily think -- I don`t really agree with he`s letting anti-abortion groups hand out materials at the gallery.</s>HAMMER: He -- he said in my interview with him that he is. So are you saying he isn`t?</s>KESTING: There are support materials for the piece at the gallery.</s>HAMMER: For the piece, but are there support materials being handed out by anti-abortion groups?</s>KESTING: No, not at the gallery.</s>HAMMER: So if he is saying that, he is...</s>KESTING: I think that might be taken a little bit out of context. There is some material from the right-to-life foundation next to the sculpture and on what the sculpture means.</s>HAMMER: OK, but do you agree that he -- he is saying he`s not making a statement here. It`s pretty strong using the term pro-life in the title of the piece. So what`s your take?</s>KESTING: I think that this -- this seems to be a lot -- very kindred to the controversy that`s going on with the piece. It seems like a lot of pro-life advocates are a little upset at the piece, that it displays Britney Spears, that Britney is the subject matter of it and is giving birth in what seems a very seductive or sexual way. And I think that some right-to-life advocates have tried to distance themselves from the piece, as such, whereas some pro-choice advocates have -- shave been upset about the piece because it is in its title, and supposedly in its nature, a pro-life work.</s>HAMMER: Well, let me ask you this. You guys are displaying the piece. What`s your take on what it`s all about?</s>KESTING: I personally think that it`s an amazing work of art. I`m very happy that it`s getting as much attention as it does. I think that Dan Edwards is an amazing artist. And you can tell from the work of the piece, from the work that we have right here, that he has a very uncanny knowledge of the human form and the human figure, and his ability to render that in three-dimension is unparalleled.</s>HAMMER: So in the case of Britney Spears and whether or not people it`s make a statement, people will have to go see the piece and really make the call for themselves?</s>KESTING: Yes. And I think that that controversy helps play up to the avant garde aspect of it, you know, the fact that pro-life is trying to distance themselves from it and the pro-choice people are trying to ridicule the piece. And there`s another section, a selective Caesarean section.</s>HAMMER: OK. I`m not going to get into that on this part of the debate. I think we`ve covered it all, and I`m out of time. But David, thank you very much for sharing your thoughts on it.</s>KESTING: Thank you very much for having me.</s>HAMMER: Good luck with the display. It is called "Monument to Pro-life: The Birth of Sean Preston". It`s going to be on display April 7 to the 23rd at the Capla Kesting Fine Art Gallery in Brooklyn. Well, imagine for a moment the fattest cat you`ve ever seen. All right, you got that image in your head? No lie, I`m about to show you an even fatter one. That`s coming up next. Plus, a controversy over what`s too hot for TV. A new show called "The Bedford Diaries" hasn`t even aired yet. Already the censors are hard at work. We`ll look into what all the fuss is about. And one of the stars will join me live, coming up in just a bit. Also ahead...</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The person who died.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The first name of the person who died, yes.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Charles? Charles.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I got goosebumps.</s>HAMMER: Renowned psychic Char Margolis gets that reaction a lot, even from celebrities. She`s joining me live, coming up on the interview you`ll see only on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT. First, tonight`s "`Entertainment Weekly` Great American Pop Culture Quiz." Counter-culture guru Timothy Leary is the godfather of which "Reality Bites" star? Was it Winona Ryder, Ethan Hawke, Janeane Garofalo or Ben Stiller? I`m coming right back with the answer.