How did she do it?
How did Ann Curry of NBC’s Today show beat out Oprah, Diane Sawyer, Katie Couric, and Barbara Walters to land the interview of the year?
Talk about a “get.” According to Nadya Suleman’s publicist (yes, she already has a publicist and by the end of the month I’m sure she’ll also have a TV agent, a book agent, and an entire entourage of handlers) the 33-year-old mother of eight newborns sat down with Curry this morning.
Reports say that Suleman left a Southern California hospital this morning and headed for her first interview with the Today show co-anchor at an undisclosed location. This, just 10 days after giving birth to octuplets and setting off a firestorm of controversy regarding In Vitro Fertilization (IVF).
Witnesses say that Suleman is holding up well and is gearing up for life at home with 14 children under the age of 8. According to her rep, Suleman has spent the last 10 days bonding with her newborns despite the fact that she has yet to hold all of them in her arms.
Sources wouldn’t say whether or not Suleman was paid by NBC to take part in the Curry interview. However, it is not the policy of TV news organizations to pay for interviews.
I guess Suleman’s holding out to collect her purported $2 million speaking fee from Oprah.
After all, according to her rep, Suleman is one smart cookie in business matters as well as in life.
“She’s very bright and I think the realization is hitting her now,” Suleman’s rep told reporters. “She’s thinking about how it compares to her former life. That was then and this is now.”
Suleman, who has been accused of having a “reproduction obsession,” reportedly plans to return to the hospital frequently to visit her babies, who are expected to remain there for several more weeks.
In that time I suspect we will be seeing a lot more of Suleman on TV and in magazines. Curry may have landed the first sit down with her, but I can guarantee that this interview won’t be Suleman’s last.
NBC execs say Curry’s interview with Suleman will air on Today and Dateline in coming days.