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tv   Piers Morgan Tonight  CNN  June 17, 2011 12:00am-1:00am PDT

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that's it for "360." piers morgan starts right now. tonight, the lies, the scandal, the end of a career. >> so today i'm announcing my resignation from congress. >> what happens to anthony weiner now? i'll ask the man who broke the story, andrew bright bart, plus wolf blitzer and christiane amanpour on the political fallout and dr. drew pinsky on anthony weiner's challenges and then tatum o'neal as she talks about her battle with addiction. she tells an incredible true life story. drugs, her marriage to bad boy john mcenroe, and most of all, her troubled relationship with her father. tatum o'neal talking about ryan.
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your brother said your father gave him drugs when he was, i think, 11. did he do that to you? >> you'll to have ask him. >> why do i have to ask that? >> because we have a show that we're doing and it just -- i don't want to say any incriminating things that will kind of make it harder to kind of make peace. i know for sure my dad made a lot of mistakes. i'm sure that he is living with them today. >> this is "piers morgan tonight." good evening. an extraordinary moment just a few hours ago. congressman anthony weiner announcing his resignation amidst shouts from hecklers. listen to this. >> unfortunately the distract that i have created has made that impossible. so today i am announcing my resignation from congress. >> yeah! bye-bye, pervert. >> so my colleagues can get back to work, my neighbors can choose a new representative. >> better than you. >> and most importantly that my
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wife and i can continue to heal from the damage i have caused. >> suitably undignified end to a pretty undignified scandal. here to talk about the political and personal implications of what happened, wolf blitz er er, christiane amanpour and dr. drew pinsky. wolf. let me start with you. you conducted the interview which he lied through his back teeth, another way of putting it. what was your reaction today when he finally resigned? >> pretty sad. obviously he is an intelligent guy, a smart guy. but he's also a stupid guy. he made a horrible mistake and he's paying the price for it. not only politically but personally. he's been married less than a year. his wife is pregnant. we know his wife, houma abedin, she's lovely. she works for the secretary of state hillary clinton. and it is a tragic story. a fall from power, a fall from
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grace. he's been humiliated and it is sad all around to see what's happened. having said all that, i wouldn't necessarily rule out the possibility that at some point down the road, maybe a year, five years, who knows, he'll try for a political comeback. i sense it is almost in his dna. he would like to do it. we'll see how he cope with the personal problems first though. >> watching his resignation speech it was carefully crafted. it was quite political. it was almost like a comeback speech in waiting. were you surprised by the tone of it? >> i was surprised that he did it, frankly, to begin with. i thought he would resign, issue a piece of paper and make a written statement, if you will. he came out there, spoke for about four minutes. you heard the one heckler heckling him. he didn't answer any questions, and he immediately went back to deal with his personal issues right now. but he did it. he went to that senior citizens center in brooklyn where he launched his political career about 20 years ago when he ran for the city council. he's been in the house of representatives for 13 years. i would point this out. he has almost $5 million in political campaign money on
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hand. $4.5 million that he collected for a possible run for mayor of new york, and he was the front-runner until all this scandal erupted. another $350,000 or so from his campaign, his congressional campaign left over. he can save that money, let it get interest and use it down the road if in fact he decides he and his swents constituents in new york want to see him try the political road once again. >> andrew breitbart, do you feel vindicated today, and do you have any sympathy for anthony weiner? >> yes, i do feel vindicated. i do think congressman weiner probably could have survived this scandal if he came clean on the first few days. it was memorial day weekend. and it probably could have been buried, but he relied upon "salon" magazine and "the daily kos" and the organized left wing media to try to focus on the
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cover-up and to cover up for what he did and try to cast aspersions on me and even to claim that i was the hacker. so i do feel vindication on this and do i feel vindication on a greater level, that this is what happens when we report stories at my websites. that the organized left throws everything that they can at us in order to try to impugn our motives. and we have to be extra careful. we were extra careful in this story, and at the end of the day we were indslated. do i feel sorry for him? yes. especially when i was at the press conference last monday, or two mondays ago. as much as i couldn't stand how he was handling the situation and even blaming me with wolf blitzer's show, how can you not feel for a person that has fallen from the highest of the highs in american politics to this absolute bottom. >> dr. drew, let me bring you in here. this is a personal tragedy,
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never mind a professional meltdown for anthony weiner. he's clearly got a big problem. would you view it as an addiction? if so, he said he'll be having treatment. would you recommend that? how do people who have this particular online cyberspace sexual issue, how do they best deal with this kind of thing? >> well, there's several questions there so let me try to tackle each of them. one is to say i know wolf mentioned this was stupid. this is not intellectual could go any of problems when people do these sorts of things. they can be conceptualized as addiction. i find that treating they will as addictions tends to be a very useful model for guys like this. the fact is the way the internet functions, it sucks many people into these sorts of behaviors that otherwise wouldn't have manifested. clearly this is something where in those moments, where he was trying to evoke what it is he was trying to evoke. the kinds of men who government get involved in these online.
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they tend to be narcissistic, they tend to have empty emotional land capes. pointing out that they i don't know representative weiner. and they're trying to evoke a feeling in those moments. in those moments when they're compulsively doing, this they aren't thinking. all of us are shaking our heads. what were they thinking? when we look back, when they look back and they think what was i thinking? they weren't. they're thinking on an emotional level. not a good intellectual or cognitive level. then it has its own life to it. they try to stop and they can't and they need a lot of support, and it takes a long time to get better. let me say from the beginning, i've been hoping he would put his personal life, the treatment of his condition ahead of his career. if you tried to hang in and deal with all this political fallout, there is no way he could have been effectively treated. >> christiane amanpour, let me bring you in here. you don't see this kind of scandal involving high-profile women. why is that? >> no, you don't. let me say that again and again, no, you don't.
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there was a large collective rolling of the eyes when all this happened. those of us who are women, excuse me? excuse me? what is going on here? and look. all i can say is that the studies show that more parity, more diversity, more gender equality across the board. whether it is in politics, at the top of business, whether it public spear and public life, does produce different results. research shows, for instance, that more women at top levels of businesses, those businesses produce more money. those women who were hedge funders and who are, have a different and slightly less dramatic results in their investments and hedge funding, and i spoke to one of the most senior women in the world right now who is christiane le guard, the french finance minister, and potentially the new head of the
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imf. >> and she had a fascinating thing to say. we have a clip of this. listen to this. >> we inject less libido. we don't necessarily project our egos into cutting a deal. i believe there's a majority of women in such positions that approach power, decision-making processes and other people in the business relationship in a slightly different manner. >> i mean, the counterargument, of course, is it is all very well saying women would never do this kind of thing. there were at least six women we know of who were willingly or apparently willingly going along with this congressman in this chat. >> this has been played to death and you've done all of the reporting on this. i will say though in general, that they were not women who were in elected office. they were not women who were public. some of them were having political discussions with him, and they were not met with a political response.
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i'll leave it at that. what i'm saying is that in a world where there is still not parity, even in the united states, in the most evolved democracy. there's only 20% of women in the united states congress, right? there are these issues that really, it's a great time to address them. there is a difference in the way they deal, and one of the interesting things that research has shown is that when men seek public office, the researchers at rutgers have said, it's because they want to be somebody, and when women seek public office of any type, it is because they want to do something. >> dr. drew, i'll bet you've got something to say about that. >> that was exactly the research i wanted to quote. i've done some of the research myself. it is about the type of person that pursues aggressively these sorts of positions. the type of man is somebody who wants to be somebody. the type of women is somebody who wants to do something and make changes. let's remind ourselves, by the way, the women who were participating with weiner were disempowered, who felt that this was perhaps the only way to get access through a man's world.
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>> let me bring in andrew breitbart again. if you had the same information right now, and for all i know you may well, on a republican, would you gone after them with the same enthusiasm? >> i'm not sure about the same enthusiasm but i probably would have gone after him. i didn't like it when it was governor sanford. i didn't like to when it was senator craig. i didn't like to when it was mark foley. as i look at the ledger, it seems to be about equal between republicans and democrats. the reason people come to me with these types of stories, is that they think that historically, the media covers up for democrats and go after the republicans with an extra zeal. if somebody wants to come to me that shows a congressman who is a republican who like congressman weiner, who is putting himself into a position where he can be easily blackmailed, i think that doesn't do a service to the
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country or the republican party so i would definitely go after it. >> wolf blitzer, let me end with you here. >> let me add one point to what andrew was suggesting. there is one u.s. senator, republican david vitter works did have an illegal relationship with prostitutes. not only did he not resign, he stayed in the united states and he was just re-elected and is still a member of the united states senate. >> let me answer that. it was reported on. the mainstream media did its job. i wasn't out there saying that he needed to step down. i was just doing the job that many people would like for the mainstream media to do when it happens to be democrats. for about 72 hours, i was the hacker. i will credit the mainstream media, specifically dana bash and ted barrett, the producer
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and reporter who doggedly pursued this and i believe changed the story from the famed hacker story to the truthful story that we now know to have come to fruition. >> wolf, let me ask you to sum up here. it's been a massive distraction to the democrats for three weeks. everybody who appeared in public has been asked about that. is that distraction now over? how much damage has it caused, if any? >> i think it has caused damage to the democrats. in these three week they were thinking they had a little roll going on medicare spending and other issues, taxes and obviously a lot of the media paid attention more to the anthony weiner story than we did to some of the other issues and democrats were frustrated. that's why nancy pelosi and so many of the others began this drum beat asking for him to step down. i suspect there will be some interest in what happens to anthony weiner. but my gut tells me, everyone will move on.
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we should have more women many high office. do you think that's a good idea? >> do i think it is a good idea in. >> yeah. >> i do. >> excellent. a woman who has had her own battles with addiction. tatum o'neal. bile. i can enter trades. on the run. even futures and forex. complex options? done. the market shifts... i get an alert. thank you. live streaming audio. advanced charts. look at that. all right here. wherever "here" happens to be. mobile trading from td ameritrade. number one in online equity trades. announcer: trade commission-free for 30 days, plus get up to $500 when you open an account.
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if you ain't my pa, i want my $200. i heard you through the tour talking. >> you just hold on a second. >> i want my money. you took my $200. >> will you quiet down? >> i want my $200. >> that role made tatum o'neal a superstar but her life offscreen has been to say the least, tumultuous. certainly with her father ryan. a new series, ryan and tatum, the o'neals. joining me now, how are you?
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>> i'm well, i'm well. >> you're like part of my life. we were born almost in the same year. when you were winning oscars, i was dreaming of oscars. you and your dad and the whole o'neal kind of thing reverberating. >> great. i like to hear that. i've always thought you were part of our family. here we are. we look a little alike, too. >> we do. >> maybe we are part of the same family. >> sure. morgan and o'neal. >> it is interesting. the show. i watched a bit of it last night. and fascinating, anyone who know the the history between the two of you. do you have an overwhelming sense of relief? both of you, you think, that at least you manage to get back to somewhere, even if it is not perfect yet? >> exactly. i think that the conversation has started and that's all i could have asked for. we had such trouble just having the conversation. just saying hello. just getting to, you know,
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what's your day like and can you come over for father's day on sunday, which my dad asked me earlier today. and i said yes. so we get caught in the little things. and i think having the cameras there, almost because we are actors in a way made it easier and more comfortable. >> how did you feel when he asked you over for father's day? >> i felt like i would be there for him because it's father's day. a day our show launches. and it seems like the right thing to do. have you watched it together yet? >> no. >> what are you expecting? >> when we watch it together? or when i watch it all together? i don't know. >> you're going to be sitting there. >> it will be at 10:00. i thought i would be tired so i might want to go back home. if he wants me to, i will. because i want to tweet during it and everything. and he doesn't know what that is and i don't know if i get reception in malibu. >> i get the sense that you
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probably, everywhere you've been in term of the media for the last 25 years, it is always tell me about your dad. do you hate your dad? are you talking to your dad? >> that's really true. and during my book tour, a little bit, it has been so what does your dad think about the book? and what does your dad -- how did he get that temper? and at a certain point, i said i don't know. and maybe should you ask him. but you'll get to. and you're probably not even going to ask me about him. >> i will ask you about him only because i'm interviewing him after i interview you. i've never been in that position. i think the whole dynamic fascinating. >> he when he pushed you, not pushed you but encouraged you into the same business. >> i would say pushed. >> he was the adult doing the pushing. he was shoving you through the fame door which you didn't need to go through. when you see that little girl in paper moon, a role that changed your life.
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when you see that, do you wish sometime you had never been pushed into that world? >> i don't really think about that. i have, i had the life that i have. i have the upbringing that i have. i have the experience that i have. the idea of sort of, the other alternative would have been maybe to stay with my mom and her direction was going very badly. i often think, the best thing to do, or the best decision that could have been made between the two would have been to be with him and i've had kind of an amazing life. you know? it's been hard. it's had some very big downs and some great ups but i don't think that i would take the girl next door even though there are other families that i look at that i kind of admire. lately i've been thinking like the middletons and the way they are with their father. there seem to be a big closeness there. and i often think, how lucky they are. the girls.
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>> that must be, it must be painful to see any father/daughter relationship that you weren't able to enjoy. it's always been so fractious. >> and it was complicated with your mother, too. not easy to look at people who had what i presume you would have had. >> which seems like consistency, stability, normalcy, that stuff. >> you've always been his daughter. so that would have brought with it a kind of residual fame anyway. >> exactly. and i was his daughter when he did love story before i had ever done paper moon. and i used to go around bragging, my dad was in love story. >> it was an amazing film, love story. >> i've watched it countless time. >> beautiful film. >> do you still watch it? >> of course. and what's up doc? >> do you? >> oh, yeah work my daughter. >> when you watch your dad in love story, he plays such a gentle character. loving. ironically, of course, difficult relationship with his father in
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the movie. they sort of come to terms with right at the end. >> but i'm going to back away a little. that is my dad. my dad has that kind of seductive, soft, sweet, gentle, loving side. so it's always so confusing when that side isn't always there and you're a little bit off balance. he has a temper side. so that's him. that's what we all love. and so he isn't all bad and he isn't all great. but neither are any of us. it is just complicated. >> what are the biggest misconceptions? >> about him? >> let focus on you. >> about me. >> people who don't know you. >> perhaps that i would imagine that people probably think that maybe i'm sort of frivolous drug addict that has it all and sort
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of decided to throw my life away maybe. that isn't the case, obviously i'm a very sensitive and quirky and sometimes weird person who fell into some hard times and has worked very hard to come back and to have the best life that i can have. raise kids and be a mom and be a worker among workers and make a living and do all the things that as a sort of whole woman, i would have liked to do had i not maybe had the big problems growing up. >> how much of the drugs played a part in the down side of your life? >> i would say 98%. yeah. it's been very, very, it's had a very negative effect on me in all areas. both in my physical body, my financial world, my relationship with my children. i mean, it kind of has really screwed up every kind of possibility.
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so yeah, i would have passed that whole thing and been fine. >> let's take a short break and come back. talk about how you got into that in the first place. >> and how you got out. so it will owned a happier note. let me tell you about a very important phone call i made. when i got my medicare card, i realized i needed an aarp... medicare supplement insurance card, too. medicare is one of the great things about turning 65, but it doesn't cover everything. in fact, it only pays up to 80% of your part b expenses. if you're already on or eligible for medicare, call now to find out how an aarp... medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company, helps cover some of the medical expenses... not paid by medicare part b. that can save you from paying up to thousands of dollars... out of your own pocket. these are the only medicare supplement insurance plans... exclusively endorsed by aarp. when you call now, you'll get this free information kit...
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this was a scene in 2008 when you hit rock bottom. >> one of the times. not every time. i've had worse times, too. >> this is where you were arrested for buying crack cocaine. >> tell me about the first time you ever took drugs. >> 11. in los angeles -- >> how did you get them? >> they were round it was. the '70s. it was around where. it seemed to be everywhere i went. 12, 13. >> people's houses? >> people's houses. >> what was the drug? >> first pot. then quaaludes, i think. first alcohol, actually. and then you know just on and on. >> your brother said that your father gave him drugs when he was i think 11. did he do that to you? >> you'll have to ask him. >> why are you reluctant to say? >> we have a show we're doing and i don't want to say incriminating things that will
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make it harder to kind of make peace and have healing. every time i kind of bring up the bad stuff, it just doesn't go toward making a healing and getting us to a better place. i know for sure my dad made a lot of mistakes. i'm sure that eliving with them today. >> to be that age, i've got three sons. two are around that age. the idea of them taking drugs just sickens me. >> it is disgusting. i imagine my kids, too. even at 25. i mean, it's criminal. >> it is. >> it is. yeah. and at the same time, he is my dad and for whatever reason, i decided that i would turn, i was going to have something to do with him.
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and after 25 years of not talking to him at all, probably ended up being a good thing. i grew into the woman i'm sort of still becoming and trying to be. and luckily, he, you know, it is never too late to forgive someone. and it is okay to give people a second chance. even if they are child molesters or -- i believe that. and it is my family. and just because we're public, you know, it doesn't mean that there is -- i would always want to try to be forgiven. especially because my dad was willing to have the conversation with cameras. he was willing to do that. to me that's a big deal. >> i totally agree. there's no hiding pace. >> i don't know any father that would say, yeah, let's turn on the cameras and talk about the past. it is not a fun place to look. even in great families. so i thought it was pretty brave of him. >> what had been your worst moments involving drugs when you
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look back? the one when you felt most ashamed? >> obviously like the arrest that you showed. i've had terrible rock bottoms with heroin where i thought i would definitely die and almost died. sadly, which i'm super grateful to be alive and to be well and to be sitting here. >> how did you get into heroin? >> through a friend, a person after my divorce. do you still call them friend? >> no. >> not much of a friend. >> yeah, yeah. it's not the person. it's me. i chose to take it. he didn't like wrap me up and stick a gun to my head. it was my choice. the thing is that it is no one's fault but yourself at the end of the day. and i did it. i wish i hadn't done it really. but at the same time, i am who i am for the experience that's i've gone through, good, bad and ugly. maybe i am more emthe pathic, maybe i'm a more loving mom because i did almost die city and shoot cocaine and i did lose my kids and i did get them back.
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i put all of our family through a lot of hell. and i feel like how lucky am i that i can sit here and be in a good place and be able to talk to you and talk to my dad and have him maybe get to know me now. not a junky and not dead and maybe he'll be proud of me and maybe not, you know? maybe he won't love the tatum that i am today. but i hope so. and that's maybe what the show will be about. >> when you look at yourself now, what do you see? and what do you think? >> i feel good about myself. i kind of like her. she is nice, she is friendly, she's outgoing, she's generous, she loves her kids. >> i was surprised. yesterday, for example.
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>> i'm quirky, you know. >> i never met you. i just read all this stuff obviously to get an idea, a mythical idea of someone. we bumped into each other on an elevator here. and i didn't recognize you. and then it's tatum. you're interviewing me tomorrow night. this is a very attractive, normal looking woman. how can this be the crazy tatum o'neal? >> thank you for saying. that it's so funny. a friend of mine said. that you don't look like that. people have a preconceived idea of what that looks like. i'm out here trying to dispel that idea that we are all human beings. we are allowed to have a second chance. and people shouldn't just presume just because you've done a drug that's illegal, that you're a bad person. i've never gone out of my way really to hurt anybody. i have really gone out of my way to hurt myself. i'm really working on that today. that does have a residual effect on my kids original my friendships, on my career, obviously. >> do you think you're winning the battle?
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>> i know i'm winning the battle. >> how long have you been clean now? >> i've been sober for a year now. >> are you proud of yourself? >> like beyond. the fact is it is a year but many years from the time that i was strung out and copping drugs, you know, in manhattan years and years ago when i used to be a heroin addict. so how could i not be proud? >> you should be proud. >> i pray every day, i'm grateful. i'm so grateful that i got a second chance. perhaps this journey that has been so difficult, and so, it's been so raw. there hasn't been a lot of filter between me and the public, me and life. that this may help a young girl who is in a situation where she is using drugs and she feels ashamed and she can't stop. maybe she'll go to get help or to go a meeting or say, if tatum o'neal can actually talk about it and do it and turn her life around, maybe i can.
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>> you're right. we'll come back and talk to you about farrah fawsett. [ man ] i got this new citi thankyou card
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and started earning loads of points. you got a weather balloon with points? yes i did. [ man ] points i could use for just about anything. ♪
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♪ there it is. [ man ] so i used mine to get a whole new perspective. ♪ [ male announcer ] the new citi thankyou premier card gives you more ways to earn points. what's your story? citi can help you write it.
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we'll talk about farrah fawcett in a moment. first, what's your view of weiner gate? >> first, it is really sad. he was a really kind of an ambitious, really ambitious up and coming congressman who wanted to be mayor. the idea that he self-sabotaged this hugely suppose the a definite addiction. whether it is that he knew it was an addiction or not, i don't know. it is a complete sabotage of everything. >> do you recognize that kind of self-destruct button? >> yeah. it is like he had to do it in a way, it seems like. even though he's married to one of the most beautiful women in the world. he had to kind of, the compulsion speaks very highly to addiction. >> in terms of addiction, is it the same compulsion that you would have felt for heroin? you know it is bad for you, you know it is wrong but you can't stop. i don't accepted any pictures of myself naked or otherwise through the internet or twitter.
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i promise, i wear, and never have. so i don't know that. i can imagine that the fact that he did that so recently after his marriage speaks to an incredible compulsion to kind of, no matter what happens, he had to do it kind of thing. twitter is a social mediaful it is not private. >> what's the best way for any addict to try and deal with it once this has been blown up like it has? >> there are so many different ways now. you can reach out and get help. you can go to detox. >> what did you find was the best way? >> for me, a 12 step program worked for me. >> did it save yourself life? >> i know it is saving my life a day at a time for sure. and lucky me for finding it. and it is funny. i had gone to ten treatments. i'm not saying that treatment isn't a great way to kind of detox and get better and find some help. but at the end of the day, there is a way that you can save lives.
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you can save your own life. and i think it would be better to, it would be great to get more women in there. women are not coming in as much as men to this program. and not getting the help that they -- >> how do you physically feel these days? >> amazing. >> do you miss drugs? >> not even a little bit. >> are you surprised at that? >> i'm grateful. i don't really think about it. why should i think about something? if it's not broke, don't fix it. i'm just grateful that i'm, that i don't need to change the way i feel. like i always felt so uncomfortable and so sad and so not worthy of the world. that i needed to kind of change to survive. and today i don't feel. that i feel very grateful. i feel very content and comfortable in a way, which i have never felt. that's obvious, too, if you look at me over the last decades or see other interviews or look at an oprah interview when my first book came out. you can see that i'm a jumpier girl, a woman.
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i'm not as, i can't answer a question as well. i can't really look at you in the eye as well. and i think that is, it is what it is. i'm better. >> you had all this in the middle of trying to recover. you were hit by a double whammy, really. one big one, farrah fawsett who played this huge part of your life in many ways. and also, michael jackson. and of course you actually dated for a while. >> he was my friend. and we went on a date, although he was like a child at 18 and i was a real child at 13. so if you think about those ages, at the end of his life, the stuff that he went through, that could seem questionable that i was 13 and he was 18. but first i think it was really sad that two great people died on the same day. and that farrah didn't get the kind of due she could have had, perhaps. >> to get both these pieces of news must have been such a weird experience for you.
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>> we knew, we knew that farrah was very sick. and then i had been getting updates that she was, you know, getting closer and getting closer. michael jackson was a terrible, terrible, terrible shock. >> hold it there. we'll have a short break. [ doctor ] here's some health information for people over 50.
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if you're not sure, call for this free information kit to learn more. [ female announcer ] call the toll free number on the screen now to find out what the risks of p.a.d. really are. you'll find a 7-point checklist that helps you understand what could be putting you at risk. if you have symptoms, you'll learn how treating symptoms is different from reducing your risk. you'll also learn about lifestyle changes and treatment options that can help reduce your risk for heart attack and stroke. there's even a discussion guide for you to bring to your doctor that can help you discuss p.a.d. together. call the toll free number on the screen for your free information kit today. the risk is real. take the next step. call today.
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my special guest tatum o'neal. fascinating before we wept to break about the awful day for you, michael jackson, a long-time friend. and then farrah fawcett dying. that ties into addiction. who knew he was even that addicted that he was taking something that could kill him every day. that was tragic, and obviously farrah. i sort of lost something that i never had. i never really knew her well enough for her to really take in the role of being my mom. >> you were 15 when your dad got together with her. an awkward age for any daughter. >> for me it was. >> did you feel, not a sense of abandonment -- >> i felt the sense of abandonment. >> you did. >> oh, yeah. he left me for sure for her. i didn't get mad at her. i was mad at him.
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>> did you ever get mad at her? >> no. because she was nice. she was a nice woman. and she, it wasn't her fault. it was my dad. he made the choice. so i kind of, i think, there was a point that first of all, i was 15 and she was the most beautiful woman in the world. so i felt awkward most of the time around her. and i was looking at her pictures and thinking, gosh, how i am a going to compete? it was a little off-putting so i was better off figuring out my own -- >> did you have any real relationship with her for a long time? >> just that one that i write about in my book. where i went to talk to her. while she knew she was sick. in her apartment and got to kind of talk to her. i didn't. >> when you did finally talk to her, when she knew she was dying, what was it like to talk
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to this woman who had been such a pivotal figure in your life without really being one. was she sorry to you for what had happened? >> no. there was never an acknowledgement in our family of what really happened. there was a lot of sort of a, a kind of movie star denial in a way. that our life isn't real and what, our responsibilities don't really apply to us, kind of thing. so no. that was was okay. like i wasn't looking for an apology. i just wanted to kind of say my respects and show her that i was a woman, that i was doing well, that i wasn't addicted to drugs, that i had three beautiful children that, i was doing okay. and she was very kind of supportive and asking me all about myself and what was i doing. i felt a sense really from her peers that she wanted to kind of be doing the things that i was doing and have the opportunity to be out and to be working and
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stuff. and in a way i felt sad. beyond just sad for her sickness, but sad that she -- because she was always like a girl, you know? she was never really like -- >> do you think she was the love of your dad's life? >> well, i think so. i mean, at this point it seems like -- i wouldn't say no, it wasn't. i don't know anymore. he's just had so many women. there were so many before her. i always say that she was the american one before he went through every great beauty in europe. >> i mean, the most uncomfortable story involving the three of you, i thought, was at a funeral where not only does your father not recognize you, but he also hits on you. is this true? >> well, if you know my dad and you'll get to meet him you'll sort of see that he is just always joking and stuff. and i'm not saying this was a joke. but we had not seen each other
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at this point in, i don't know, a good decade. and i don't know how well he sees anymore. and i'm not so sure that he hears very well, either. so speak up in your interview. but he just saw that i had all this sort of belong hair. and that was in my face. and he went hey, you know, how are you doing? then he sort of went, oh, my god, it's you, tatum. and i went, yes, dad, it's me. how are you? >> the word "awkward" could have been invent for that moment. >> but we sort of laughed about it. that's how we are. we laughed about it. >> is he basically just an incurable romantic do you think your dad? >> totally. >> he loves women? >> you're so right. that is totally it. does that excuse terrible parenting? no. but that's it. he's just -- that's his whole life. and he doesn't understand anybody that isn't like that. because i'm not. i'm much more practical. >> we're going to -- incurable man of many tensions, mr. mcenroe after the break. >> oh, sure.
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>> how would i feel if my father were to say get sick or die even? would i be okay? and i realized that i wouldn't be okay. so i knew i needed to make an effort. because what is your life about? your family. what's your life about? your father. >> of course a moment from your series on oprah winfrey's own network. you've got a new book "found, a daughter's journey home" which of course it is. >> thank you. >> and part of his journey was that having had these problems with a man with a temper, your dad, you then decide to marry john mcenroe. but even as i say that i want to laugh. >> do you know how old i was when i married him? >> 22. >> exactly. so do you think i had like the full idea of what i was doing in my life? >> this was a guy smashing rackets and shouting "you cannot be serious." i mean, get a clue. >> very interesting man. very interesting, talented legend. i was taken. i'm super proud of our kids. and i'm a really big fan of john's, actually.
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>> how do you get on these days? >> we get on as well as a divorced couple who have three grown kids can. i mean, we are civil. >> do you talk regularly? >> no. do you talk to your ex-wife regularly? >> every day. >> well, we don't. >> really? >> no. but that's okay. >> how often do you talk? honestly. >> well, he got mad recently. so not very often. i don't remember the last time. my daughter just got her tonsils out so i texted him that day. >> last time you spoke six months ago? six years ago? >> maybe two. >> two years ago? >> yeah. >> wow. >> he's not really a fan of mine. i said i was a fan of his. i don't think he sees addiction as a disease. i think he sees it as a moral deficiency in a person. so i think he thinks that i kind of went out of my way to ruin my life and drop my children. that is not the case at all.
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i have a lot of regret, obviously, for all the choices that i've made. >> whose decision was it to end the marriage? >> mine. >> how did he take that? >> not well. at the same time, maybe it was too much for me. as howard stern said to me yesterday, maybe it was too much for me that i had had such a sort of volatile upbringing with my dad and to kind of get involved with a man who was maybe equally as volatile but very different. let's just make that real clear. very different. >> what's your love life like these days? >> oh, i don't have any love life. i'm happy like that. >> zero? >> zero. >> no man at all? are you looking for a man? >> no, i'm really not. i don't think i will. but i think right now i'm very driven to kind of make up for lost time. >> what kind of man do you think now you ought to be with? >> maybe a gentle, smart, loving person. not to say that john wasn't those things, but maybe sody