Too bad no one had a video camera going Saturday night at the piano bar in Nantucket where Katie Couric was singing her heart out. Women’s Wear Daily reports the CBS anchor was at The Summer House with her beau, Brooks Perlin, who picked up the tab, and a gaggle of friends. Long after Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler had left, Couric sang the Neil Diamond classic “Sweet Caroline” and joined in as her group closed the place down with “America the Beautiful.”
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You’d think it would take a lot to make the preternaturally perky news anchor Katie Couric mad – but it turns out all it takes is one word: Sputum.
In the new issue of New York magazine, Couric admits to slapping news editor Jerry Cipriano on the arm “over and over and over again†after he used the word sputum – which she hates — in her presence (the definition is “matter that is coughed up from the respiratory tract, such as mucus or phlegm, mixed with saliva and then expectorated from the mouth).
According to New York, falling ratings on CBS Evening News (which now brings in 5.5 million viewers down from the 13.5 million that tuned in for Couric’s debut) have caused the stressed out anchor to lash out at her coworkers.
Sure, the word is disgusting, but enough to turn a peppy woman semi-violent?
“I sort of slapped him around,†Couric, 50, confirms. “I got mad at him and said, ‘You can’t do this to me. You have to tell me when you’re going to use a word like that.’ I was aggravated, there’s no question about that.â€
But the two eventually resolved their differences, although you won’t hear the word “sputum†on the program any time soon.
“We did ban the word sputum from all future broadcasts,†she says. “It became kind of a joke.â€
See more interview highlights below as the former Today show talks wardrobe changes, taking a hit in the press, and what the future holds…
On toning down her wardrobe for CBS:
“I try to give them as little to talk about as possible, without becoming Pat on Saturday Night Live.â€
On her perky image:
“I think that bugs people even more, that I’m not a woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown. It’s probably disappointing to some people.â€
On media criticism: “I’ve gone through a bit of a feeding frenzy and there’s blood in the water and I’ve got some vulnerabilities. This person who’s been successful isn’t so great, and finally she’s been put in her place—that kind of mentality. I think it’s fairly primal.â€
On her CBS coworkers allegedly leaking negative stories about her to the press:
“It’s damaging, and it’s really tacky.And I would be so embarrassed to be one of these petty, behind-the-scenes operators who get some kind of charge out of trashing someone. I’m not perfect; I’m sure I’ve said unkind things about people in my career and life, but people getting their jollies from seeing it in print is so creepy and weird to me. And if you’re so unhappy, get another job!â€
On the future:
“If it turns out [the job] wasn’t a perfect fit, then, you know, I’ll do something else that’s really exciting and fulfilling for me.â€
On whether she regrets jumping to CBS:
“I mean, of course. I’m human. I’m not going around, ‘Dee-da dee-da dee.’ I have days when I’m like, ‘Oh my God, what did I do?’ But for some weird reason, they don’t happen that often.â€
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Katie Couric says her old “Today” show fans are still miffed at her switch to the ratings-challenged “CBS Evening News.” Couric tells More magazine, “At ‘Today,’ I seemed to be enjoying myself, I seemed to be fun-loving. ‘We really liked her in the morning’ – that’s what the old viewers say. But now – well, they seem to think it’s like I’ve had a lobotomy or a personality change.” Hey, Katie’s still fun-loving – More reports her cellphone rings to the tune of the Pussycat Dolls’ sexually charged hit with the lyrics, “Don’t cha wish your girlfriend was hot like me.”
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Katie Couric may want to assign a couple of her investigative reporters at the “CBS Evening News” to shadow Brooks Perlin, her new boy-toy.
Perlin, 33 – whom Couric, 50, snagged at a Louis Licari salon event last fall and has been running around with since – seems to have a hard time settling down in a career as well as having a “pattern” of dating older women, a source says.
Not only has Perlin worked for three Connecticut-based hedge funds in the last five years, he hasn’t had a full-time job since September, a source told the Post’s Marianne Garvey.
He last worked at Keel Capital Management in Stamford but left to start a Queens-based company that creates environmentally friendly, green-building products. Before that, the spin-class-obsessed triathlete worked for a short time at both Pequot Capital Management and Grange Park, a hedge fund that’s now closed.
“If someone isn’t working out at three hedge funds, chances are it’s not the place you’re working at,” said the source. “Brooks is a free spirit, but he’s a 33-year-old going on 18. And he hasn’t taken life seriously so far – he’s trying to figure himself out.”
According to the source, Perlin’s lack of focus stems from a “horrible accident that happened to an immediate family member” in his past. “It happened sometime before he was 10 years old, it was just an accident. After that, he was sheltered and he was very protected,” said our source, who adds Perlin “has a pattern of dating women much older and has a very complicated relationship with his mother over what happened.”
Meanwhile, we’ve learned that his mom, Anne Perlin, was busted last November for fourth-degree larceny. She was found guilty and fined $200 in a Stamford court.
Couric has often been spotted getting out of her limousine and heading to Perlin’s East Side apartment near Sutton Place, where a female resident complained that he “checks out every girl that walks by.” An ex-girlfriend of Perlin also backs up the claim, saying, “That’s totally accurate, he has a wandering eye.”
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Katie Couric has a new, hot, younger man. The CBS anchor, 50, has quietly been dating a 33-year-old triathlete, Brooks Perlin, for the past few months. Friends say Couric met Perlin through mutual friends and is “very happy.” They’ve kept the relationship quiet but went public earlier this week when they attended a performance of Joan Didion‘s “Year of Magical Thinking” at the Booth Theatre. Couric’s rep declined to comment.
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Katie Couric and Ex: Reunited?
Katie Couric’s ex- boyfriend Chris Botti, who she has been seen eating with in NYC’s restaurant recently, was also seen with his ex-girlfriend Lisa Gastineau in LA couple of weeks later. As source tells Chris and Lisa got along well, joking and smiling. Most sources tell Star that Katie and Chris are not dating. So the question is, how will Katie react to her ex hanging out with his ex-girlfriend?
Vince Crushed Over: Jen Dating!
Jennifer is now dating her ex-boyfriend’s best friend Sam Rockwell. Vince Vaughn, Jen’s ex-boyfriend, seems to be very upset about the situation. He was seen in a Japanese restaurant, in LA, complaining about his life to his friend.
Caught: Tom Uncovers Katie’s Plan to Leave Him!!!
Katie is going to Shreveport , La with her 10-month-old daughter to film her next movie, Mad Money. Sources say that she planned this to “break free from her controlling husband Tom Cruise.†In order to control his wife he is planning to go with her to Shreveport and will be on the set every day.
The reason why Tom wants to attend the set is to interfere with the nude scene that Katie has with a young co-star Adam Rothenberg in her new move. He already talked with producers of the movie and told them why the movie would be better without the nude scene. However, industry sources say that the nude scene could really boost Katie’s career as an actor. Although, due to the low budget of the move Tom will have the last word since he has a lot of money and connections.
Such unfortunate decision on his part could jeopardize their relationship, because Katie is trying to continue her slowed down acting carrier and she is very persistent about it, sources say.
Angelina’s Nightmare: Birth Mom Wants Son Back!
Baby trouble for Angelina Jolie. Her newly adopted son Pax Thien Jolie, from Ho Chi Minh City is not adapting well to his new home in Malibu California. To make things worth his birth mother, Pham Thu Dung, single garment factory worker and a drug addict, wants to get profit from her child and might want to try getting her child back from Angelina.
Angelina’s lawyer assures Star that the adoption is final and binding. Insiders say that Angelina knew that there might be a problem with mother, because she knew that mother was alive. The actress decided to go ahead with the adoption process since the child was abandoned by his birth mother, the mother had no legal custody of a child anymore.
When the birth mother of the baby Pax found out secretly that the baby was adopted by multi millionaires, she decided to make some money from the child by trying to look for the baby in the hospital but was unsuccessful since she could not recognize her son. Angelina states that she is not going to pay money to his birth mother, because it would be like “blood money†to her.
Another issue that Angelina has to deal with is her that while the baby’s mother was pregnant with him she was on heroin. Family doctor tells Star that the child should be fine. Currently Angelina is looking for a Vietnamese nanny to make the environment for the new baby more home friendly.
News Courtesy of Star Magazine – check out their website! www.starmagazine.com
Sparks appear to be flying again between Katie Couric and trumpeter Chris Botti. The Post’s Braden Keil reports they were having a cozy dinner Wednesday night in a private booth at SoHo’s Lure Fishbar, a short walk from Botti’s new penthouse apartment. Couric seemed particularly giddy when the smooth jazz musician continuously purred in her ear. Botti and Couric have been off and on since her four-year relationship with TV mogul Tom Werner ended in 2004.
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RICK Kaplan, a giant in TV journalism (he’s 6-foot-7), is being brought in by CBS News President Sean McManus to rescue Katie Couric‘s languishing ratings from third place.
In his long career, Kaplan, 59 – a close friend of Bill Clinton – ran MSNBC until his ouster last summer. He has also run CNN and had a big role at ABC News. He will replace Rome Hartman as executive producer of “The CBS Evening News,” insiders told Page Six.
“There was agreement that changes had to be made. Rome and Sean remain close colleagues, and Rome has a bright future with CBS News, but this was definitely a Sean McManus decision,” one source said. “This was a competitive move, an aggressive move by Sean.”
During the crucial February sweeps, CBS drew a nightly average of 7.6 million viewers to its evening newscast, trailing ABC’s Charlie Gibson with 9.69 million, and NBC’s Brian Williams with 9.65 million. Williams, who had been No. 1, was so upset to lose his lead that NBC removed his executive producer, John Reiss, last week.
Couric’s rating are actually lower now by 120,000 viewers than her predecessor Bob Schieffer’s were a year ago.
“Katie Couric makes $15 million a year, and she’s a proven star. You know they weren’t going to fire her,” an insider said.
But CBS veterans should brace themselves for Kaplan’s arrival – “He’s a bull in a china shop. He’s going to bend a lot of people the wrong way,” our source said.
Since Couric debuted last fall, TV critics have been underwhelmed by the slower pace of her show, and it has been dogged by the perception it has less hard news than its competitors.
“She brought a lot of people with her. They gave Katie a lot of leeway,” said one network-watcher. “Under Kaplan, there will be less influence from her people and a more traditional news show.”
This source also predicted, “Keep your eye on the friction between Kaplan and Paul Friedman, the No. 2 man in the news division.”
Couric, in a public interview at the 92nd Street Y on Tuesday, said, “I’ve never really obsessed over ratings . . . I want to turn out a quality newscast.”
Spokesmen for CBS and Couric had no comment.
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What was touted to be a juicy tell-all on Katie Couric seems to be shaping up less salacious than expected. Biographer Ed Klein, who’s writing “The Truth About Katie Couric,” told Page Six he was never planning to print gossip or dirt about the CBS anchor – but our sources suggest Klein simply can’t find anyone close to Couric willing to spill any secrets. People from her past, like one-time boyfriend Cap Lesesne, a plastic surgeon, refused to dish to Klein on the former “Today” show host. Lesesne also said he felt the need to “defend Katie” in regard to Klein’s questions. “Everyone’s afraid he will take things out of context,” said a source who cited Klein’s controversial biography of Hillary Clinton as an example. Other sources claim that, though Klein has repeatedly said he wants his next book to be a positive one, he is “only taking material from disgruntled and jealous parties, not knowledgeable sources.” Klein continues to insist that the book, due out in August, “is not going to be a polemic against Katie.” Reps for Couric declined comment.
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