Thanksgiving night: Watch NBC's 'People of the Year'
Posted: Monday, November 16, 2009 3:38 PM by Elizabeth Chuck
From Stories of Redemption to Candid Personal Reflection, Hear People in the Public Eye Say Things You've Never Heard Before About How Their Lives Changed in 2009
NBC saves the best dish for last this Thanksgiving with a look at the most fascinating, inspirational, heroic and notorious figures, and most-talked about stories of 2009. Taylor Swift, Nadya Suleman, Susan Boyle, Kobe Bryant, and Captain Chesley Sullenberger all speak out in new and revealing interviews with NBC's Matt Lauer in an hour-long primetime special airing at 9:00 p.m. ET. From candid reflections and stories of redemption to surprising talk about how fame has affected their personal lives, viewers will get to see people in the public eye saying things they've never heard before.
Below are excerpts from the special. If used, attribution must be given to: "NBC's People of the Year," airing on Thursday, Nov. 26 at 9 p.m. ET.
Sullenberger on "Rock star sex":
Matt Lauer: What about the relationship? Did it only help the relationship? Did it put strain on the relationship?
Laurie Sullenberger: Both. I-- he doesn't know I'm gonna say this, but I had joked the other day that said, you know, the hero sex really helps (laughter) a 20-year-old marriage.
Sully Sullenberger: Rock star sex.
Matt Lauer: There's the headline (laughter) right there.
***
Suleman – "I stopped the food stamps":
Nadya Suleman: I stopped the food stamps.
Matt Lauer: So, let me just make sure I'm clear on this. Right now, the taxpayers of California--
Nadya Suleman: Oh, zero. Oh, no.
Matt Lauer: Are paying zero for the support of--
Nadya Suleman: Nothing.
Matt Lauer: --any of these 14 children.
Nadya Suleman: Zero.
Matt Lauer: Is there any payment being made for some of these caregivers coming into your home?
Nadya Suleman: No.
Matt Lauer: You're paying for all of that?
Nadya Suleman: From the very beginning.
***
Suleman on the rumors about her and John from "John and Kate Plus Eight" :
Matt Lauer: Oh, John--John and Kate Plus Eight...let's just get it out there.
Nadya Suleman: They can leave them alone. They need to leave me alone.
Matt Lauer: You can squash it.... So, the rumor is that--A) that you have a crush on him.
Nadya Suleman: No. (laugh)
Matt Lauer: B) that-- that there was consideration to doing a show, a reality-type show, where you two would go on a date.
Nadya Suleman: I couldn't even think about it. I love that this happened, because this is a perfect example of what kind of erroneous beliefs are out there. And they just-- they want to feed people these lies.
Matt Lauer: So, no, no, no? It will not happen?
Nadya Suleman: A billion percent no.
***
Kobe on "fixing" his image:
Matt Lauer: When you have a year like the one you just had, and you compare it to 2004, and it was a tough year. Professionally it was a tough year. Personally it was a tough year. Legally it was a tough year.
Kobe Bryant: You know, as tough as it was for me, it was actually tougher on my family. Once everything had transpired, you know the experts would say, well you know, it's an incurable situation. We can't fix you, and so forth and so on.
Matt Lauer: You were so concerned about it, or it was enough on your radar that you sat down with people, smart people -
Kobe Bryant: Right.
Matt Lauer: And said what do we do about that.
Kobe Bryant: Oh, absolutely. And they all said no -
Matt Lauer: You can't be fixed?
Kobe Bryant: Thanks. Great meeting. (laughter)
Matt Lauer: But then you found someone who was willing to say yes.
Kobe Bryant: Yes we did. And we put our heads together. And you know, the most important thing was not to come out and do all these interviews on camera and all these things. But it's just for people to see who you truly are, to open up.
***
Boyle –"I don't want it to end":
Matt Lauer: You don't long for a simpler life again?
Susan Boyle: I accept now that my life will never be the same. And I don't want it to end.
