tv Nightline ABC July 20, 2013 12:35am-1:06am PDT
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♪ i won't spend the winter nights holding on to what ain't right ♪ ♪ you might break your words real fast but mine are made to last ♪ ♪ three hundred sixty-five days you been making me wait ♪ ♪ so keep your two-timing games it's a lotta too late ♪ ♪ the summer's over over over over over over ♪ ♪ three hundred sixty-five days you been making me wait so keep your ♪ ♪ two-timing games it's a lotta too late the summer's over over over ♪ ♪ over over over over, over, over now ♪ ♪
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to matt damon, we ran out of time. we'll try to schedule. "nightline" is next. thanks for watching! good night. tonight on "nightline." seaworld and a documentary. it casts seaworld as a bad guy but tonight the marine park claims it is inaccurate and misleading. underwear billionaire. from katy perry to beyonce, spanx are a slimming secret weapon worn by millions of women, now a few men. >> i'm wearing spanx. >> a modern take on the girdle built this woman a billion dollar empire. >> trayvon martin could have been me. >> a permanent reflection on being black in america. president obama compares himself to trayvon martin and claims racism in this country won't go away simply.
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from new york city, this is "nightline" with bill weir. >> thanks for being with us this friday. found in every social the killer whale is among the most lethal apex predators on the planet if you happen to be a fish or a seal. yeah, despite their fearsome size and monster bite and that name, man is none on the menu but captive killer whales have turned on their trainers over the years and the most recent one inspired "blackfish" which questions the wisdom and morality of keeping them in tanks for tourist, but seaworld is fighting back in a big way which means the film may get a bigger audience than anyone imagined. here's abc's linsey davis.
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>> reporter: the scene seems so joyful. video of seaworld trainer dawn brancheau performing with tilikum, a spectacular killer whale. she plays with him, bonds with him as they lie down together in shallow water and then something goes terribly wrong. >> this whale grabbed her, pulled her in the water. >> reporter: tilikum, the 12,000-pound 22-not-long killer whale kills the 40-year-old trainer igniting a controversy that is still playing out today. it's fuel for a bitter back and forth between seaworld and this documentary filmmaker, gabriela cowperthwaite, her new documentary, "blackfish" out today raises the troubling question, can or should killer whales be held in captivity. >> i didn't understand why a killer whale would bite the hand that feeds it. you know, his trainer. >> reporter: but now the film has seaworld going on the offensive. seaworld told abc news in a statement "instead of a fair and balanced treatment of a complex subject, the film is inaccurate
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and misleading and regrettably exploits a tragedy that remains a source of deep pain for drawn brancheau's family, friends and colleagues." seaworld also sent film critics an e-mail pointing out what it says are errors in the film. an unusual move. >> most companies would just ignore this. it is a limited release film and this is a controversy that actually will probably get people to see the movie. >> reporter: brancheau's death was practice areally shocking because she was one of the most gifted and experienced trainers at seaworld. >> dawn was the poster child for seaworld. she was a top, top trainer. you can't blame dawn. she did everything right. >> reporter: but should this incident have been a surprise? there have been four deaths involving killer whales in captivity and tilikum has been associated with three of them. in 1991, at sea land of the pacific a trainer fell into a pool with tilikum and two other whales and was killed. >> the whale grabbed her back
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foot and pulled her under. >> reporter: in 1999, tilikum now at seaworld was found one morning with a body draped across his back. the park visitor had managed to stay after the park closed and what exactly happened and what role tilikum played, if any, remains unknown. and then finally, dawn's death in 2010. for sun who never met him, spent any time with him, how would you describe him. >> i always thought tilikum was a real puppy dog. kind of shows you how naive i was. >> reporter: but tilikum is a crowd favorite providing a big splash to the delight of crowds. what is the lore that causes people to fall in love with these animals. >> so impressive to look at. the capacity of those animals, the intelligence. >> when you look it their eyes you know somebody is home. they're spectacular. >> reporter: in the wild they live in tightly bound community. >> they live in these big families and they have life spans very similar to human life spans. the females can live to about
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100, maybe more. males to about 50 or 60, but the adult offspring never leave their mother's side. >> reporter: killer whales have never been responsible for loss of life in the wild. just human life. >> this is true. there's no documented case of a killer whale ever killing anybody in the wild. it's only in captivity where these incidents have happened. >> reporter: buffettalities aren't the only concern. the very behavior of a killer whale isn't 100% predictable. from 1988 to 2009, before dawn brancheau's death, seaworld generated 100 incident reports of killer whales engaging in undesirable behavior including nearly a dozen that involved injuries to trainers. >> if we fell off then you would have injuries related to aggression with the whales for sure. >> reporter: in one the trainer made the mistake of putting her foot on and off a killer whale.
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>> watching the video knowing orca, your stomach drops because you know what's probably going to happen. grabbed her foot. you hear her scream out somebody help me. >> reporter: the trainer was eventually released but not before having her arm badly broken. >> she's very lucky to be alive. that's for sure. >> we embarked on the sort of 40-year experiment here the marine park experiment to understand killer whales and i think we actually in the process of that we fell in love with them but i think the results of this 40-year experiment are that we can just never ever truly give them what they need. and that it's actually very dangerous for us to try. >> reporter: the government agreed and in the wake of brancheau's death osha undertook an investigation and ordered seaworld to keep trainers further away from killer whales even placing them behind barriers ending the dramatic acrobatic work that once thrilled audiences. seaworld continues to appeal the
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decision and says osha has a fundamental misunderstanding of how to properly and safely care for and work around these animals. and that since 2010 the company has voluntarily implemented changes to the training protocols for the killer whale program that have proven to be safe and effective and seaworld believes marine parks play a crucial role in society and says seaworld rescues, rehabilitates and returns to the wild hundreds of wild animals every year and that seaworld commits millions of dollars annually to conservation and scientific research. >> they're trying to get a message out that they're as passionate about animals as the people who visit this park and the documentary is presenting a biased one-pointed view of their business. you want to show your shareholders, you want to show the people that go to your parks the animal community that you have a point of view. that you love animals, that you have a message to get out there. that you care about animals deeply and t why this is a
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smart strategy. >> reporter: even cowperthwaite says she doesn't want to see seaworld close down, just change. >> i think that they have the financial resources to be able to sort of shift this whole marine park circus-like environment into one of education. >> reporter: with summer here, thousands of visitors will be coming to seaworld in orlando think thrilling to the site of tilikum performing in captivity as he has for the past 21 years. for "nightline," i'm linsey davis, in new york. >> "blackfish" opened today in new york and los angeles and our thanks to linsey. just ahead, not just hollywood stars love their slimming magic, no, millions of women and a few men swear by spanx and it has made the inventor a billion dollars. the great outdoors...
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so how does one become the youngest woman ever to crack the forbes billionaire list? like any good entrepreneur it helps to solve a problem shared by millions. for example, an invention that can help a nation that loves slim fashion almost as much as it loves to eat. enter spanx. used to call it a girdle but the woman who reinvented the idea as shapewear is a business story for the ages and abc's juju chang has it. >> red carpet secret? spanx. >> spanx. >> spanx. >> reporter: it's the not so
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secret secret to looking slim and trim. >> you have got to wear spanx. >> reporter: that must have undergarment. >> spanx. >> reporter: celebrities can't stop blabbing about. >> spanx. >> spanx. >> best invention. >> reporter: that word of mouth has paid off over 13 years. spanx now sucks in $250 million in annual sales with not one penny spent in traditional advertising. >> i think the magnitude of it only hits me in moments. >> reporter: the woman behind all those shapely behinds, sara blakely, the inventor and founder of spanx. >> it's hard for me to absorb like that's a product i created, like, you know i created it. >> reporter: spanx is now to shapewear what kleenex is to tissue. a billion dollar household name. >> what we are hear the most from e-mails and phone calls is confidence. i feel confidence i don't have normally. i mean just -- it's a really great feeling. >> reporter: and now guys are feeling it too.
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call them manx, the male equivalent of the physique enhancing shapewear. no man boobs here and launching a new line adding a third option to the endless tug-of-war between boxers and briefs. >> the underwear is spanx. >> i'm wearing spanx right now i can tell thaw. >> they do something for you down there. >> reporter: who knows for sure if it's really just a joke. spanx did indeed help a hollywood costume department transform adam sandler from jack to jill in his 2011 comedy. >> a little soul. >> reporter: blakely breathed new life into the tierld old tees and tank, good-bye undershirts and hello game changer. the compression teechlt promising to enhance your before to after. >> i saw a real opportunity talking to my brother, my dad and my husband and so i thought, why don't we make the men's undershirt give them a little bit more, you know, a cleaner look under their suits. >> reporter: but blakely isn't
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neglecting women now adding control tops to yoga pants. >> a little point like a tummy tame. >> reporter: and lululemon and athleta are doing the same. turns out women are willing to spend beaucoup bucks on workout pants or slimming swimsuits and, yep, the bra. >> i'm wearing one now. it's become one of my favorite products. the bralelujah. the idea, bring it up to speed and get rid of back fat and not dig into their shoulders so the rest of the bras made out of panty hose. >> reporter: it's amazing. >> hooks, wires, clasp free, airport friendly. >> reporter: spanx now has more than 200 products sold in 55 different countries. the simple idea that undergarments can make or break an jut fit turned blakely at 41 the forbes cover girl.
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the youngest female billionaire ever. >> i mostly giggle when i think about it because it reminds me of those backdrops you would choose at the mall with your friends. >> reporter: look, i'm the sexiest woman alive. her mammoth success had humble beginnings in clearwater, florida. >> i was always trying to figure out ways to make money and do little businesses. my first memory is drawing pictures with my friend on a rainy day and selling them door to door. >> reporter: but her life's biggest pivot point was traumatic. on a bike ride she witnessed her best friend get hit and killed by a car. in her grief she turned to self-help tapes. >> i recommend mized all ten tapes of wayne dire's how to be a no limit person and i feel that that really changed the trajectory of my life. >> reporter: the tapes helped her cope with failure and rejection like when she bombed the exam to get into law school. she spent seven years selling
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fax machines door to door. >> sometimes people would be particularly nasty and rip up my business card in my face. i would just sit in my car and cry and put in some motivational tapes and usually shift my thinking. >> reporter: then she had that aha moment that would forever change her life sparked about i a troublesome pair of cream colored pants. >> every time i put them on you could see the thong, you could see the panty line. you could see cellulite on the back of my shoes and cut out control top panty hose one time, that's it. my rear looked firm. my cellulite had been smoothed out and knew that was the idea i had been asking for. >> reporter: with $5,000 this savings she started cold calling hosiery mills. >> one guy called me and said i have decided to make your crazy idea and i found out he ran it by his daughters over dinner and they said, dad, help this girl make it. it's a great idea. >> reporter: a great idea with a catchy name. why spanx. >> i knew it was right. because it was about the butt
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and nobody forget it. >> reporter: what were the runners-up. >> open-toed delilahs. we would not be sitting here -- i realize that. >> reporter: two months into business, oprah anointed spanx footless panty hose one of her favorite things of 2000. >> i love spanx. >> reporter: and the rocket has been ignited. >> the orders starting coming in all day, all night. >> reporter: from a one-woman business to a shapewear empire in just over a decade. >> i fast forward all these years later and to stand in front of my own store is a real emotional moment. >> reporter: her husband says she's a business titan because she still listen eens to her intuition. >> she entered a male dominated space with no business experience and said i'm going to go for it. >> reporter: blakely wants to launch a new generation of free male entrepreneurs for now through a starter program named leg up. >> this is linsey phillips.
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she invented a flip flop that -- switch flops. >> reporter: the key to makely's success is all about taking that lightbulb moment and keep it flowing. >> if you're in search of your idea put on your awareness glass, look at things differently. there are million dollar ideas everywhere. >> reporter: for "nightline" i'm juju chang in new york. >> more tips on building a business and find them at abcnews.com/nightline. coming up next. the president candidly offers a few words on being black in america in wake of the "simple times" verdict. george zimmerman verdict. so i was honest with my doctor. i told her i'd been feeling stuck for a long time. she said that for some people, an antidepressant alone only helps so much and suggested we add abilify (aripiprazole). she said that by taking both, some people had symptom improvement as early as 1 to 2 weeks. i wish i'd talked to my doctor sooner. [ female announcer ] abilify is not for everyone.
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call your doctor if your depression worsens or you have unusual changes in behavior, or thoughts of suicide. antidepressants can increase these in children, teens and young adults. elderly dementia patients taking abilify have an increased risk of death or stroke. call your doctor if you have high fever, stiff muscles and confusion to address a possible life-threatening condition. or if you have uncontrollable muscle movements, as these could become permanent. high blood sugar has been reported with abilify and medicines like it and in extreme cases can lead to coma or death. other risks include increased cholesterol, weight gain, decreases in white blood cells, which can be serious, dizziness on standing, seizures, trouble swallowing, and impaired judgment or motor skills. [ sally ] since adding abilify, i feel better. abilify and my antidepressant make a pretty good team. [ female announcer ] ask your doctor about a free trial of abilify and go to addabilify.com. inside the only 3 chamber laundry detergent. ♪ now, here you go, let it go ♪ ooh ♪ 'cause it's a bright light
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zimmerman not guilty verdict, many americans of color have been waiting for their president of color to weigh in and, according to sources in the white house, barack obama expected to be asked about it during a series of interviews yesterday and when he was not decided to call for an impromptu unscripted speech today to put the turmoil in personal terms. the reaction is still reverberating on social media so that tops tonight's "feed frenzy." there was a surprise guest in the white house briefing room today, president obama reflecting personally for the first time since the verdict in the george zimmerman trial and offering a perspective some had been waiting-for-days. >> there are very few african-american men in this country who haven't had the experience of being followed when they were shopping in a department store. that includes me. there are very few african-american men who haven't had the experience of walking
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across the street and hearing the locks click on the doors of cars. that happens to me at least before i was a senator. and, you know, i don't want to exaggerate this, but those sets of experiences inform how the african-american community interpr interprets what happened one night in florida. >> it was a near riot outside st. mary's hospital in london when prince william and princess katherine made a visit there or so everyone thought. is the royal baby finally on its way? tragically, no. they were impostors shilling for a local tabloid so i guess it's back to bedding and baby watching for now and the emmy nominations for the best commercials on tv are the nike jogger. >> and this one from google chrome. >> talk to you later. >> bye.
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