Original Air Date:
Friday, May 1, 2009
Friday Live in Chicago:
With Mark and Ali out for the show, Oprah and Gayle were joined by designer Nate Berkus and Jenny McCarthy for the Friday Live in Chicago panel. Oprah assured that Mark and Ali would return the following week as it will be the final Friday Live of the season.
To start the show, Oprah welcomed a special group who had slept outside the building hoping to get her attention. Representatives from the organization Invisible Children were given a few minutes to share the details of their work to help the children of Uganda
For 23 years children in Uganda have been abducted and turned into soldiers. The people from Invisible Children hope that viewers will take the opportunity to go to their website, watch the film provided on the site, and contact local policy makers to encourage government to step in and help these children.
Hugh Jackman:
After briefly mentioning the Chicago Bulls game against the Celtics the night before, Oprah welcomed Hugh Jackman to the show. Hugh has been on the rounds to promote his latest film X-Men Origins: Wolverine and shared footage with viewers of the midnight showing where he surprised his diehard fans. Jenny, Gayle and Nate had all screened the film together and requested more butt scenes from Hugh who did all of the nude scenes himself. Working with a body builder and sticking to a special diet, Hugh was able to get his body fat down to just 4% before the filming of the movie.
Hugh described his plan which included getting up at 3:45 in the morning, eating large amounts of proteins, and eating every 3 hours. After a clip from the film, it was obvious that all of his hard work was well worth it. Hugh shared that his children, 3 & 8 are not old enough to see the film, but enjoy having a doll of their dad as Wolverine, even though they think he looks too angry.
Jenny McCarthy in Shape:
The panel moved to highlight how Jenny McCarthy was on the cover of Shape Magazine in a bikini and had a photo of her on the beach appear in a tabloid, looking great.
Jenny expressed that she got into a bit of trouble after commenting about how she had been airbrushed on the cover. Shape responded that they are very proud of their efforts to put healthy people on their magazine. To clarify, Jenny explained that she simply meant that her stretch marks and freckles were removed, making her look flawless - they did not artificially create her fit body.
Gay Marriage in Iowa:
The panel also discussed how Iowa had become the third state to legalize gay marriage. Nate Berkus was the first to comment and expressed that he is still surprised that it is still such as issue in the US, stating that he feels everyone deserves equal rights, no matter what. The panel then discussed how Jenny didn't realize that Nate was a gay man until just recently and how each member on the panel had been referred to as gay at some point in time by the media. Each person stated that if they were gay, they would not be ashamed to share that with the world.
Nate expressed that he would marry his partner, but that it's not about having a ceremony to believe in the commitment, it's having the right to have it in the first place. The panel then welcomed Mary Frances and Stephanie, a lesbian couple from Iowa who were one of the first couples to get married once it became legal. The women have been committed for 12 years and have 2 children together. They both shared that the right to marry each other was a dream come true for them because they feel deeply that they are meant to be together.
Chihuahua Caught in Michigan Wind Storm:
The next news story the panel discussed involved a pet chihuahua being blown away in a wind storm in Michigan. Dorothy and Vern lost their 6lb dog in 70mph winds and didn't find her for 2 days 3/4 of a mile away. The most interesting part of the story is that the couple used the help of a pet psychic to locate their dog Tinkerbelle. Dorothy and Vern appeared via Skype to share how grateful they were to have heard Lorri, the pet psychic, on the radio and have her assist in the search. Lorri shared how she was able to visualize the location of the dog and was happy to help.
Ellen's 1000th Episode:
The previous day, Oprah appeared on Ellen via satellite to congratulate her on her 1000th episode and announce which month the duo would be appearing on the cover of O Magazine. Ellen and Oprah will be cover girls together on the December issue of O, the holiday special.
Jenny McCarthy Blog and Upcoming Show:
To end the show, Oprah announced a new blog on Oprah.com from Jenny McCarthy called Give It Up Before Summer. Jenny will be blogging about tips and health to get you ready for the summer months.
Also announced was Oprah's upcoming episode with the parents of Madeleine McCann which will be airing on Monday. A age progression picture was shown of Madeleine and viewers were told that her parents are still hoping that someone will come forward with information about her abduction.
