The week began on a sad and tragic note ,as 32 people were shot and killed Monday on the campus of Virginia Tech University, ending with the death of the gunman himself.. The story shocked the world as the media frantically tried to unravel the details amongst the terrible confusion and heartbreak.
The gunman, later revealed to be a student of the university named Cho Seung-Hui, was discovered to have left a note in his dorm room that was found after the bloodbath. Two days later, a package arrived at NBC News that contained photos, video and writings from Cho.
The network was then left in the unenviable position of deciding how to handle the airing of this delicate information (a debate that is still being discussed today), and some scripted shows on other networks were withdrawn from airing, due to the sensitivity of their content in light of the tragedy.
Another topic making world headlines this week was ?American Idol,? which served up a double helping of attention with two big stories.
The first came from judge Simon Cowell, who was seen rolling his eyes on camera as finalist Chris Richardson was sending his regards to the Virginia victims’ loved ones. Cowell responded to the public outrage that ensued from his perceived insensitivity with a claim that it was all a big misunderstanding, and ?Idol? rolled the tape to back up their #1 judge.
The 2nd big “Idol” story came on Wednesday night, when the much talked-about Sanjaya Malakar was eliminated. Both loved and despised by many “Idol” fans, Sanjaya’s departure was a hot topic both here and in his father’s home country of India.
But despite being kicked off “Idol,” Sanjaya still had the privilege of being invited to attend the White House Correspondents Association Dinner in Washington as a guest of People magazine.
?Idol? alumna Kelly Clarkson, a confessed Sanjaya fan, spoke to Access about her new album, her upcoming tour, and her surprise of winning Song of the Year at the ASCAP Pop Music Awards.
Another “Idol” alum, Carrie Underwood, dominated with three wins at the CMT Music Awards.
photo: AP
Charitable causes were a hot ticket this week. “Dancing With the Stars” contestants (both past and present) strutted their stuff on the catwalk at the “Race to Erase MS” gala, Oscar de la Renta’s store opening in LA brought in some Hollywood stars to shop and support cancer research, Kyle MacLachlan joined the Entertainment Industry Foundation to fight cancer, and Fran Drescher launched her own “Cancer Schmancer” movement.
Madonna furthered her charitable cause as well, returning to the African nation of Malawi in her campaign to help orphans – causing a bit of a fracas with her presence.
In television news, some details emerged about the upcoming spin-off episode of “Grey’s Anatomy,” as well as some words from T.R. Knight about the state of affairs on the set of the show. “Grey’s” joined ABC sister-shows “Ugly Betty” and ?Brothers & Sisters? (as well as Jennifer Aniston) as GLAAD award-winners this week.
Two other shows are gearing up for comebacks, as the cast of “Heroes” celebrated their return from hiatus in Hollywood, and NBC announced that Sharon Osbourne will sit in the judge’s chair on the new season of “America’s Got Talent.”
And finally, Alec Baldwin has found himself in hot water, over a published voicemail on the Internet of him berating his 11-year-old daughter, in which he refers to her as a ?rude, thoughtless little pig.? He responded by filing a petition asking the court to determine if his ex-wife, Kim Basinger leaked the tape. Kim’s spokesperson told Access that the “voicemail speaks for itself,” but did not have any other comment.
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