4-6-11 - An Update on Wyatt, Rosie's Words on Chris Brown and James Slocum

In case you missed it...

WYATT'S SURGERY
Rosie started today's broadcast discussing her day at the hospital yesterday with her girlfriend, Tracy.  Tracy's son Wyatt is 7 years old, has Down Syndrome and had a congenital heart defect called subaortic stenosis.  Yesterday Wyatt underwent open heart surgery to correct it.  Rosie said he did really well and got the breathing tube out after only a couple hours after the surgery.  Rosie talked with the staff about the difficulties they had trying to explain to Wyatt what was going to happen to him because of his limited ability to communicate.  He's recovering so well he might be home by the end of this week or the beginning of next.

Rosie said when she's in these types of situations she begins to have what she likes to call "a movie moment" where she begins to look at all the staff as cast members in the movie of her life.  She said it was so strange that now all the doctors and the nurses are now younger than her.  She said it really felt like an episode of Grey's Anatomy!  And when she's nervous she begins to "interview" everyone in the room.  She even asked the nurses if they ever feel like they're living an episode of Grey's Anatomy and they said no. 

Tracy even told Rosie she wasn't sure she wanted Rosie there because she didn't want the surgery to become all about her.  Rosie said that happens, she can go somewhere and suddenly all the attention and focus is on her.  But that didn't happen yesterday.  Rosie said the entire experience was beautiful and there is something unifying about sitting with members of other families who are also waiting for their loved ones to come out of surgery.

After surgery, Wyatt kept signing the sign for water but he wasn't allowed to have any and he didn't understand why.  All he was allowed was a spoonful of water at a time and the nurse went to feed him a spoonful of water and he grabbed the cup to drink it. They had to pull it away from him and he began to cry.  Rosie said she could barely take it.  Rosie said being a parent to a child with Down Syndrome has been very challenging for her and she's a bit surprised by that because she always thought she was fantastic with kids with disabilities.  Tracy encouraged Rosie to begin to look at kids with disabilities for the child they are instead of the disability they represent.  Rosie said for the first time, that happened to her yesterday and she saw Wyatt for the little boy that he is and not his disability.

Rosie took a call from a listener who was with her son on their way for his final checkup following the same surgery!  The caller said her son is doing very well and she wished Wyatt all the best in his recovery.  Rosie and the caller discussed how nurses are the real heroes of the hospital and often don't get enough credit for all that they do.

Janette, who has traveled all over the world for her charity Medical Missions for Children, spoke about how lucky we are in this country to receive such fantastic medical care.   Rosie said they call it open heart surgery because it really opens your heart.  On their way out Tracy, who says she doesn't really believe in God asked if they could stop in the chapel in order to say "Thank you" to God.  Rosie told her she didn't have to go to the chapel to say "thank you" and that she could do that anywhere.  Rosie said overall it was an amazing experience and she's so happy that he's okay.  She thanked everyone who wrote in to her on her email, blog and Twitter with their thoughts and prayers for Wyatt and her family.  

DANCING WITH THE STARS
Rosie watched Dancing With the Stars last night where Wendy Williams went home.  She and the staff also discussed how Kirstie Alley fell this week while dancing.  Rosie said (this is just her feeling) as an overweight person she cringed when that happened because of the shame she thought she might be feeling because Kirstie's overweight.  Rosie said when you're overweight sometimes you can have shame when something like that happens to you.  For example, she was filming Another Stakeout and two paramedics (who were actually actors) had to carry her on a stretcher.  It was too hard for them to lift her so they had to get more people.  Rosie felt so ashamed of her weight at that moment.  But Rosie loved the way Kirstie recovered and thought she was so great about it afterward.  Rosie said she likes Kirstie a lot and she loves getting to know her in this way on that show.  Deirdre said Kirstie got a tattoo following the show that says "unbroken."   Rosie also liked the band OneRepublic and Lacey Schwimmer, the girl who danced to it!  Can I just say I LOOOOOOOOVE OneRepublic?!  They rock.  I saw them perform live once and they are amazing. 

Rosie took a call from a listener who loves Rosie Radio and mentioned how sad she was that Rosie is leaving Sirius.  Rosie said she loves doing the radio show too and said she's really going to miss it.  Rosie and the caller talked about the dancer Lacey who danced during OneRepublic's song.  It made me remember her from the show So You Think You Can Dance!   

She's amazing.  If this doesn't give you chills I don't know what will.

Overall, Rosie loves getting to know Kirstie Alley better.  She just recently heard the story of how Kirstie got her first acting role, one of the best moments of her life, the same day her mother died in a car accident, one of the worst moments of her life.  She was only 20 at the time.  Rosie said everyone has a story that could break your heart.  She said there are sometimes misperceptions about people after they become famous that they don't have the same feelings or hardships the rest of us have because they're rich and somehow impervious to pain.  When she first became friends with Madonna, they would walk on the street and people would come right up to her and make comments about her appearance.  Madonna said it really didn't bother her because it was more about the person and their own issues with themselves than it was about her. 

ROSIE ADDRESSES HER COMMENTS ABOUT CHRIS BROWN
Rosie said a lot of people have picked up different quotes about what she said about Chris Brown.  There was an article about it in the NY Post and also a piece Michael Musto wrote about what she had to say.  Rosie then responded back to Michael following his article.

Here is what she said in her own words:

here is what i think michael musto

yes chris brown and rihanna had a violent relationship
sadly many children who are raised in violent homes
as chris and rihanna were
grow up to replicate the pain they have lived.
they had a fight in the car
both had wounds
rihanna's blacked eye
swollen sad face
was heartbreaking to see
for every woman every child that has ever been hit

he hit her
chris brown turned himself in
he released a statement -

'Words cannot begin to express how sorry and saddened I am over what transpired.' Brown released a two-minute video on his official YouTube page apologizing to fans and Rihanna for the domestic altercation, expressing the incident as his 'deepest regret' and saying that he has repeatedly apologized to Rihanna and 'accepts full responsibility'

he did all that was expected of him
he was commended by the judge

he spoke to larry king for an hour
with his mother
spoke of the pain and past
the how and the now

he eventually gave robin roberts an in depth 20/20 interview
where he spoke all about the entire rihanna abuse incident

is it unreasonable of chris to assume
that he could now
2 years later
release his cd without having to focus on that day

i assume he trusted robin
show biz trust -
u think u r on the same side
be careful

- having interviewed celebrities for 6 years
- that a segment producer told the publicist there would be one mention maybe
- but then it was ALL about the cd - FAME

do u think chris was nervous?
he looked nervous to me?
he looked like a teenager
do u think he felt safe
live on tv?
do u think he was prepared to once again talk in depth about rihanna?

so they roll the tape
and there it is in the intro
and they r back live
first ? out -
robin asks a long winded one
about the restraining order...
and then goes on to bring it up 6 more times.

and he sat hunched over - with new white hair
and i wanted to hug him
like his mom did - i bet

shame
yes chris brown has shame
we all do

me - u - chris and robin

he was then able to perform his song -
which he did
he went back to the dressing room -
and cursed and yelled and threw some furniture around
a chair hit a window - it broke - no one was hurt
he took off his shirt - and walked away from the studio

my point
maybe not well said on the radio

yes there r strands of racism running thru here
of young black men
seen nightly in handcuffs on the local news
of the thug/angel paradigm tupac lived

i never met chris brown
i never knew his music
i bought his cd last week
i bought rihanna's too

this is reality tv

i have no desire to b right
this is only how i feel
maybe angry that robin did not have his back
but perhaps expects me to have had hers
point is
we r all brown

chris or jackson

compassion - understanding - the only goal"

Rosie read her statement and followed it up with how she felt maternally towards Chris Brown.  She said she saw him for the child he once was watching his mother get beaten and telling her he would someday go to jail for killing his stepfather.  Rosie said she wasn't making excuses for Chris; she's just stating the facts and the fact is he came from an abusive household.  Rosie said no one should ever hit anyone, but it happens.  She said we can either demonize the person or we can try to understand and accept that anger and violence is part of human nature.  And know that people make mistakes.  Rosie asked if we should all be held accountable for the rest of our lives for the worst thing we ever did.  Rosie also thought Robin would have had a maternal compassion for Chris.

Rosie was clear that she does not condone the act she simply understands the behavior because of where Chris came from.   She also understands that he became what he once loathed and she could feel the shame he undoubtedly felt from that.  Rosie felt because Chris had already done the in depth interview with Robin that he probably felt safe with her and that the issue had already been fully addressed.  Rosie said there's a thing that happens to you in showbiz where you feel safe with certain interviewers.  Rosie felt that way about Katie Couric.  They were friends and Rosie felt good interviewing with her.  Then during an interview Katie asked Rosie if she's difficult to work with.  Rosie said to Katie that she knows her and she should know.  Katie said, "But I've never worked with you, are you difficult to work with?"  Rosie remembered being shocked at the question because they were friends.

Rosie said maybe it's wrong or racist of her to think Robin would have an affinity towards Chris because they're both black.  Just like it would be wrong for people to think she has an affinity to Perez Hilton because they're both gay.  (Although she does like how he's become a much more positive blogger recently!)
 
But Rosie asked again if we should hold someone accountable for the rest of their life for their worst moment.  And she believes compassion can never be wrong.  Rosie then said she'd open up the phone lines if you'd like to call in and call her an asshole.   

Rosie took a call from a listener who came from an abusive home and has worked with abused women as an adult.  She said Robin can't even begin to comprehend the abuse that Chris Brown came from. This caller saw the same women come in to the shelter again and again because they kept going back to the abuser.  She said sometimes abuse is a two way street.  Rosie wasn't sure if Chris and Rihanna had a volatile relationship but said all evidence says they did.  Rosie said she does not blame Rihanna but she thinks Chris is both a victim and a victimizer.  Rosie asked us all to try and see someone for the whole individual that they are and not simply the sum of their mistakes.

Rosie took another call from a listener who is confused by what Rosie is trying to say.  Rosie tried to re-explain her thoughts on the topic for the listener and said perhaps Chris felt like he had already addressed the topic enough and was ready to move on and was frustrated because she wouldn't let it go.   

Rosie took another call from a listener who said when Chris started talking about the title of his record FAME standing for "forgiving all my enemies" that that was when the interview started to change.  He said Chris seemed like he was demanding everyone's respect.  The caller said respect is something you earn and not something you demand.  Rosie didn't see him saying he was forgiving all his enemies in that way at all.  She thought it was just his way of forgiveness.  The caller said Chris looked cocky during the interview. 

Rosie took another call from a listener who said Chris looked "triggered" by Robin Roberts repeated questioning and if he hadn't had been in a live interview he would have walked away.  Rosie said there's a pre-interview where they discuss the questions beforehand and Chris probably assumed he wouldn't have to talk about it again.

Janette didn't understand our unwillingness to forgive Chris Brown when we will forgive "the lying sacks of shit that are running this country!"  And Janette feels like it's none of her business with what celebrities do in their personal lives.  She said it's their business and they need to work it out.  People have asked Rosie WHO IS SHE to weigh in on this topic?  Rosie said she's "just an overweight mom in the suburbs who has some experience interviewing celebrities." 

Rosie took another call from a listener who respects Rosie's compassionate attitude but thinks Chris didn't take personal responsibility for what he had done.  Rosie mentioned the 20/20 interview and the Larry King interview and asked the caller if she had seen either of them.  She had not.  Rosie pointed out that Chris spends a long time addressing it in both those interviews. 

Rosie said imagine YOU were judged on your worst moment for the rest of your life and no matter what you did, nothing could make it better.  She felt compassion for him in the end. 

Rosie took one final call from a listener who was concerned about Chris throwing the chair in the studio because it seems as if he doesn't have his anger fully under control.  Rosie said throwing the chair wasn't a good thing but said he grew up in a house full of violence.  The caller told Rosie it's a lot easier to just hate him and she admires Rosie for standing up for him.

In the end Rosie said we all have rage and how it manifests is something every human being has to work on.  She encouraged listeners to find parts of themselves in Chris's story and maybe then they could find a way to understand him and perhaps even forgive him.

SHADOW OF WAR BY JAMES SLOCUM
Rosie then introduced James Slocum who wrote the book Shadow of War (Based on the Journal of Daniel Kippelstein).  James is also a director and a screenwriter and was in the studio for the interview.  James explained that he had been working on this book off and on for over 19 years!  When he went to film school at USC he met David Kipplestein, the son of Daniel Kipplestein.  David gave James the journal and asked him what he thought of it.  James said he was captured by the story and David asked him to write a screenplay for it.

Daniel, who wrote the journal, died in 1987 and didn't show the journal to his son until just before he died.  It was never spoken of while he was alive.

The story is about Daniel's family who lived in Prague in 1939 when the Nazis invaded Czechoslovakia.  His father was shot dead in the streets and his sister ran to the school to tell her brother and they escaped.  Daniel, his sister and another boy from the school all escaped together.  Rosie said she loved the book when she read it and then she found out that one of the characters is loosely based on her!  James said it's true!  He based one of the characters, a woman who hides, feeds and takes care of the children for a time, on Rosie!  Rosie said it was very touching to find that out!  James said when he's writing a book he thinks of a person he knows or a celebrity he knows well and the details start coming to him and really makes the story come to life.

Rosie said she could see this book as a movie so much so that she could almost hear the score.  She said it would make a great musical too!  Rosie said it's a beautiful book and highly recommended it to her listeners.   

Rosie closed the show.

and that's what you missed - kw