Denise Richards has been making the rounds on the morning talk show circuit this week to promote her new reality television show Denise Richards: It’s Complicated. She is also attempting to improve her public image after being dragged through the mud by her former best friend and former husband. Her tentative and stilted responses to interviewer questions aren’t leaving the impression she might have been trying to convey.
Most interviewers, including Matt Lauer and Whoopie Goldberg, questioning the advisability of putting her young daughters in the spotlight on her new show. Denise seemed a little wishy washy in explaining that having them near her on the show is a good thing. When pressed, she asked the interviewers whether they had seen the first aired segment because she felt the girls initial experience in front of the camera was short-lived and appropriate.
Richards says that she did not break up Heather Lockler‘s marriage to Richie Sambora, although she says she can understand why people think that. The two women were best friends until both marriages imploded at about the same time.
Things got more interesting when Today Show host Lauer asked Richards about the e-mail that she had reportedly sent to ex-husband Charlie Sheen’s girlfriend Brooke requesting a sperm sample so that she could have another baby that would be a full sibling to her daughters. Richards said the e-mail was doctored and that if she had been considering having another child, she would have asked Richie Sambora to be the sperm donor, because the two were in a relationship at that time.
Richards indicates that she never considered having another child, and had all she could do holding things together because her mother was gravely ill with cancer and Richards spent most of her time helping with her care. Her mother died in December 2007.
Charlie Sheen must have taken in the interviews this morning because he is hopping mad and has already issued a statement to Matt Lauer at the Today Show. Calling Denise’s revelations absurd he released the following statement:
The mere fact the she continues to publicly discuss and harass both Brooke and me three years after our separation which, for the record is longer than the actual length of the marriage, is beyond desperate and speaks volumes.
I will no longer sit back and be egregiously painted as a liar. If any proof can be established that these are not in fact her words and statements verbatim, I openly invite her and would even encourage Ms. Richards to sue me in a court of law.”
It seems that Charlie boy has jumped into the deep end of the pool. There was nothing vindictive or accusatory in Denise’s tone. She seemed reluctant rather than vengeful. Several times she apologized for wading into a certain line of questioning and said she really shouldn’t respond but would answer only because her ex and his girlfriend had already spoken on the topics. Perhaps she knew that no matter what she said, her ex would take exception, and he did just that.
Given his immediate rage, it seems likely that Richards is questioning the wisdom of granting interviews on the subject of crazy Charlie. She admits that she has made some mistakes in the past and her recent interviews are no exception.