'Entertainment Tonight' backs Jolie twins story
(Agencies)
2008-06-03 14:57
 |
Large Medium Small |
On Monday, Jolie's attorneys advised news organizations that someone was posing as Holly Goline, Jolie's personal assistant, and had sent out false information about the movie star. The source for the "Entertainment Tonight" report was an e-mail supposedly from Goline, said an executive at the show who did not want to be identified for competitive reasons.
Was "Entertainment Tonight" punk'd? Perhaps not, the executive said.
The show initiated its own contact with Goline after hearing rumors the babies had been born in France, said the executive. The person who made the contact was an "ET" producer who had worked with Goline while at CNN and kept Goline's e-mail address, the executive said. The executive forwarded an e-mail exchange that appeared to support this version of events.
In the e-mails, Goline — or the impostor — said she was there for the deliveries and everyone was doing well. Pressed by "ET" for more information, the person said she could say no more.
"Entertainment Tonight" had removed its story from its Web site after the questions were raised. No mention was made of the story on Monday's show.
"Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are friends of `Entertainment Tonight.' We have spent years cultivating that friendship, working with them side by side on many of their projects," Linda Bell Blue, executive producer for "Entertainment Tonight" and its sister broadcast, "The Insider," said in a statement Monday. "We wish them and their children well. We are waiting to see how this story plays out."
Millions of dollars could be at stake. After Shiloh was born, Pitt and Jolie were at the forefront of a growing movement by celebrities to auction off exclusive rights to first public pictures of their babies (Pitt and Jolie donated the money to charity). Sometimes exclusive details on the birth come with these rights.
Ivens said OK! would be interested in exclusive pictures of the babies, but would not discuss whether there were any negotiations to obtain them.
Jolie has said the babies are due in August. Ivens said OK! grew more comfortable over the weekend that the "Entertainment Tonight" story was wrong because of other clues. There were no reports of flowers being delivered to hospitals, or grandparents flying in, she said, and Pitt was seen attending a sporting event over the weekend — an unlikely spot for a new father of premature twins.