Patti Blagojevich makes her 'Get Me Out of Here' debut
It's a pity the judge in Rod Blagojevich's corruption trial didn't allow him to take part in NBC's new edition of "I'm a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here!"
Illinois' former governor might have finally met his match as a shameless publicity hound in Spencer Pratt, better known as Mr. Heidi Montag from the MTV reality series "The Hills." Patti Blagojevich isn't even in the same league.
Illinois' former first lady debuted Monday night on the season premiere of the "Survivor"-style NBC reality series by almost getting washed away on the first creek crossing. She later got to state her case on her husband's legal woes, calling them "a big hoopla (made) out of something that wasn't even true."
The disgraced former governor had hoped to take part in the three-week elimination competition in the jungles of Costa Rica, but a judge rejected the idea, citing him as a flight risk in his upcoming corruption trial, so NBC got Patti to take his place. According to court documents, she'll stand to make about $60,000 to $125,000, depending on how long she lasts, although the show pays lip service to the contestants performing for charity. In addition to her husband's defense fund and other family expenses, Patti Blagojevich will be competing for the Children's Cancer Center. She had originally announced she'd be competing for the Bear Necessities Pediatric Cancer Foundation, but the organization declined, issuing a statement about how Rod Blagojevich stands accused of extorting money from its partner, Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago.
"Our longtime partnership with Children's has made great strides in fulfilling Bear's mission of curing the scourge of pediatric cancer," the statement read, "and we would never do anything to harm that relationship."
That pretty much redefines the entire concept of being a pariah.
"The last few months of our lives have been pretty difficult," Patti Blagojevich said on the show. "After that, the jungle doesn't seem so scary."
She may yet regret saying that. She lost a food challenge - trying to be the first to eat a dried tarantula - to washed-up actor Lou Diamond Phillips.
And although it seemed as if she was hanging in on the final "Trauma Tank" challenge, during which the celebrities lowered their heads into an area filled with roaches and spiders, the challenge cut off abruptly at the end of the two-hour season premiere of what was said to be a "live" show - well, at this point she must be used to having vermin crawl over her.
Pratt immediately established himself as the lead vermin of the 11 competing celebrities by deliberately acting the villain. It was as if, without his newlywed bride Heidi's sexy looks, he had to count on notoriety to keep viewers from voting him off over the show's four-week run, which will end with someone being declared "king or queen of the jungle." He did anything to remain the center of attention.
"There's one team, Heidi and Spencer versus all you nobodies," he said at one point. Before that, while threatening to quit, he said, "This cast is devaluing our fame."
Now he knows how the state of Illinois feels. When he later said he'd have voted for Rod Blagojevich for president, that pretty much sealed both their political reputations.
Other borderline celebrities taking part include former Bull John Salley; actor Stephen Baldwin; model Janice Dickinson; wrestler Torrie Wilson; comedy duo Frances Callier and Angela V. Shelton, known as Frangela and hair-challenged "American Idol" crooner Sanjaya Malakar.
The show will be on at 7 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays until the finale June 24 on WMAQ-TV Channel 5.
<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Related links</h2> <ul class="moreWeb"> <li><a href="http://celebrity.itv.com/">'I'm a Celebrity' Web site</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>