SHOWBIZ TONIGHT

The Palins` "Reality Show"; Hogan`s Money Secrets; The Ladies in Politics and Their Sense of Style; Daytime Talk Shows Dragged Into Politics

Aired September 5, 2008 - 23:00:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

BROOKE ANDERSON, HOST: Now on SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, the real-life Sarah Palin reality show - TV cameras following her and her family everywhere. Tonight, what can Palin`s family learn from the likes of reality show families like the Hogans who saw their family crumble under the eye of the camera. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT investigates the Sarah Palin reality show.
Plus, the controversy over presidential election styles. Sarah, Cindy, Michelle. Could what they wear actually affect the way people vote? Is it even fair to judge them on their styles? SHOWBIZ TONIGHT with your fired-up calls.

And Hulk Hogan`s shocking money secret. For the first time, we learn just how rich Hogan really is and how Hulk and his soon-to-be ex-wife Linda are spending their millions on clothes, maid service, even their pets. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT starts right now.

ANDERSON: But as we saw with past reality show families like the Hogans and the Osbournes, such family fame can be very hard and sometimes destructive.

LINDA HOGAN, HULK HOGAN`S WIFE AND REALITY TV STAR: I just don`t like you hanging out like that.

ANDERSON: After the run of "Hogan Knows Best," Hulk Hogan`s family became embroiled in divorce and legal troubles. Linda Hogan recently told "People" magazine that her family`s reality show, quote, "disintegrated us, basically." And it`s that same harsh spotlight that has turned to the Palins.

ARGETSINGER: I think it`s going to be an interesting, difficult journey for this family.

ANDERSON: Well, and it is intense scrutiny that all of a sudden her family is under the white-hot glare of the spotlight the family isn`t accustomed to. And, you know, as we saw with the Osbournes, with the Hogans, that attention can come along with, you know, living your life on the camera. It has the potential to rip families apart.

And tonight, for the first time, I`m revealing just how rich Hulk Hogan and his soon-to-be ex-wife Linda are. Plus the ridiculous amount they spent on clothes, maid service, even their pets. .

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

L. HOGAN: I like having lots of houses, just like having them finished.

HULK HOGAN, WRESTLER AND REALITY SHOW STAR: It depends on how you can afford to pay for all these houses, if you want, because I can`t. I`m wrestler. I`m not Tom Cruise, even though I look like him. I don`t make money like him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Oh, come on, Hulk. Are you kidding me? SHOWBIZ TONIGHT has learned exactly how much money Hulk Hogan has and how much he stands to lose in his divorce from wife, Linda.

Welcome back to SHOWBIZ TONIGHT, TV`s most provocative entertainment news show. I`m Brooke Anderson in Hollywood. Tonight, we have remarkable new details about how much money the Hulk has. Hulk and his wife, Linda, have been locked in a bitter divorce battle since last year. And now, brand-new court papers reveal how much Hulk is really worth, how much Linda Hogan spends on clothes every single month and the staggering amount the Hogans have spent on legal bills since their lives have spiraled out of control.

With me from New York tonight, Ashleigh Banfield, Tru TV host and anchor of "Banfield and Ford in Session." And here in Hollywood, Darren Kavinoky; he`s an attorney who runs the Kavinoky Law Firm.

Ashleigh, Darren, in these court documents, Linda claims Hulk`s worth $26 million. We were married for 24 years and there`s been no talk of a pre-nup that would exist. People didn`t really do that 24 years ago. Darren, should Hulk be worried here that he could lose a fortune?

ATTY. DARREN KAVINOKY, KAVINOKY LAW FIRM: Well, Brooke, anytime you have a long-term marriage and you don`t have a pre-nup, there`s a risk that you`re going to lose a chunk of money. But what`s an absolute certainty in this case is that everyone is going to lose every shred of dignity that they ever had before this thing is over. I`m not sure they have too much left.

In Linda`s case, she spends more money on clothes than the entire GNP of Tanzania and she looks like something out of a Tim Burton movie. And by the way, I think this is a bit of irony that she`s a self-described homemaker and she spends over $10,000 a month on people to pick up after her like maids and pool boys. And by the way, just because you have a pool boy living in the shed out back doesn`t qualify as pool maintenance. So you`d better be careful on that one.

ANDERSON: Oh, Darren, tell us how you really feel. We`ll get to how much she spends monthly in just a moment. But of course, we know that along with the divorce, the Hogans` teenage son is in jail for a crash that nearly killed his friend. It`s been devastating for both families. And the new court documents reveal the Hogans have spent $126,000 for Nick`s criminal defense team, $80,000 for a crisis public relations firm, over $299,000 on divorce lawyers.

Ashleigh, this really shows how much the once all-American family has crumbled in the past year, doesn`t it?

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, ANCHOR, "BANFIELD AND FORD IN SESSION": I think it`s a pretty sad statement when your divorce attorney`s bill is about - I don`t know, a little more than two times your criminal defense bill for your own son. I think that`s a super, super sad statement on this family.

But then, I think everything else that`s happened, too. Look, they made their beds and now they`re lying in it. They came up with a reality program. They`re big super stars, so the scrutiny comes with that. And I think that`s tragic. Nobody likes to see families break apart. I think in this case, the only plus is that the kids are at least not children.

ANDERSON: Yes. They are a little bit older than those who could maybe be impacted severely, negatively, for a long time, hopefully. I do want you to take a look at what the documents say the Hogans spent on education last year. Take a look at this. Zero! Nothing!

I want to compare that to the number of cars that they have. Fourteen cars between the four of them. OK. Both Nick and Brooke are college age now. Nick, we know, is now in jail. Brooke is a reality TV star trying to become a singing star.

Darren, it seems that with all their problems, the kids might be better off getting a college education.

KAVINOKY: Gee, you think? And besides the 14 cars, there`s also another eight-motor bikes and they have more boats than the entire cast of "Water World." So these people, by the way, need to stay away from anything with an engine, as far as I`m concerned, especially after that tragedy involving Nick.

So, yes, a college education is a good idea. But, please, when you go, pick a school that has a great public transportation system so everybody can rest easy knowing you`re off the roads.

ANDERSON: That`s a good point, Darren. I do want to quickly go back to how much these two, Hulk and Linda, spend on clothes every month - fascinating tidbits in this document. For Linda, over $7,000 a month and for Hulk, $102 a month.

Ashleigh, does that show just how much the Hulk might be forced to spend to keep Linda in the lifestyle she is accustomed to? Or do you think maybe she`s in for a rude awakening?

BANFIELD: Well, first of all, I can`t believe you`d defer to me on that considering I wear white after Labor Day. But I will tell you this, the weird thing in this part of this story is that Jim McGreevey and his ex- wife Dina Matos-McGreevey, that former gay governor of New Jersey - that case taught us a really big lesson on whether you should be working for a living when you`re a housewife and you`ve been married to your guy for a while, or whether you should sit back and eat bonbons, because Dina got slammed for having a career. She`s able to work. She`s able to make money, so she doesn`t get much after she splits with the guy.

In this woman`s case, she`s making $650 an episode for that Hogan reality show.

ANDERSON: Reality show, yes.

BANFIELD: But she`s not capable of making a lot of money. She has been married for a quarter of a century.

ANDERSON: Yes.

BANFIELD: She`s probably going to make off like a bandit, but maybe not for long.

ANDERSON: Yes. Maybe a little bit desperate in this case. And like Darren said, it probably won`t be likely that any of them keep a shred of dignity. It is ugly. We`re going to leave it there for now. Ashleigh Banfield, Darren Kavinoky, thank you both.

BANFIELD: Thanks.

KAVINOKY: Thanks, Brooke.