Rick and Darva, Celebrities, Soap Stars, Royals Gossip Message Board
Well, I'd worried that the "announcement" meant that, indeed, he'd chosen another bride!; not Joy; for she'd made clear her feelings; the whole time they were on camera together in this promo, she was shaking her head over and over in a "no" to his "proposal". Neither was Meredith Vieira his "Bride-to-be", despite the wedding gown she'd donned ( "I'm not making a play for Rick Rockwell; I'm after real money! Point me in the direction of those rich lottery winners! ). Neither was Star Jones, despite her $1,000,000 square-cut fancy yellow diamond "engagement ring", from jeweler Fred Leighton ( "I don't need Rick Rockwell to buy it for me; I can borrow it, from Fred, for an hour." ). It all appeared to be a part of the usual sort of play-acting joke-proposals that Rick endured on his many radio and television appearances. The "shocking announcement" turned out to be nothing more than Rick's "announcing [his] candicacy for President of the United States in the year 2000"; which is, in actuality, simply part of his comedy act: the year 2000 version of his prelude to his "In My America" routine, which he'd performed in Joy's Comedy Corner, to mixed applause.
The Ladies challenged her earlier statements of wanting her private life back; but Darva explained that "So many of my [public] remarks have been taken out of context and out of a timeline...
When I made those remarks, I had just come back [ from the ill-fated honeymoon ]; I was just really overwhelmed by everything...I really wanted my life back. I didn't want any association with [ Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire ]";
She'd thought she could go back to her job as an emergency room nurse; "but I was going back to a life that no longer exists."
Lisa Ling points out that as member of the Air Force, and a Magna Cum Laude, that Darva really lowered her standards by doing this. But Darva only considers being on the "...Millionaire..." show a lowering of her standards. She considers Playboy "a mainstream publication." She was proud of the pictorial, and wouldn't regret it. She did admit to having "some conflicts," but "we have all done things that contradict our beliefs. The only difference with me is that I have to go in front of the country and talk about it...I am judged publicly."
Darva is in talks to find a TV job; but doesn't want to keep appearing on talk shows, which she considers nerve-racking.
The View showed a video recap of Rick's jokes about Darva ( "Call me old-fashioned, but I think a man should see his wife naked at least once...If I'd have known she was so intent on posing, I'd have brought along a Polaroid on the honeymoon." ). During and after the video clip, Darva was rolling her eyes and pulling down her mouth in disgust/exasperation. Star noticed: "Ooh! Look at that expression!! That's an ex-wife's expression!!"
Darva: "I don't find him incredibly funny...It's just that he's been saying that from the beginning... He's been telling that joke from day one...he doesn't even find a new joke."
Joy shrugs, wags her head, saying "[ Yeah,]get some new material?"
[ Although Joy jokes here, she'd liked Rick's material when he'd guested; only having issue with one joke: "You know, on the cruise, they kept her in the kitchen to keep the meat cold! Fifty choices, and I pick an ice cube!" The audiences oohs at that. "Turning! They're turning!" warned Joy.
But Rick defended his right to joke so: "Well, I'm not being mean... Did you hear her talking to Diane Sawyer?: [ Sawyer asks ]: 'What did you think when he first came out?' [ Darva]: 'Eeeyew!! Is that the best they could do???' and 'This is not a person I would normally even be friends with.' That's cold!" ]
Lisa Ling disbelieves that with a nursing shortage, she couldn't find a job; mentions that she could work in a foreign country. Darva counters that she'd sent out many resumés, she'd had many job interviews; and she wants to stay close to home. She worked paycheck to paycheck, and REALLY needed the money. The morgage had to be paid, and she was responsible for the care of her elderly, sick mother.
Darva DOES need the money [ and whatever career comes from this ], even though posing nude goes against her religious beliefs. Darva believes in a forgiving God, and told The Ladies a reiteration of what she'd told Matt Lauer, just two hours earlier on "Today": "That's between God and I, and I'm going to leave it there. I believe in a forgiving God; I believe in a God that sees in my heart; and I'm going to take my chances with him accepting me, forgiving me; because I believe that he is much more accepting and forgiving than the rest of the public."
>yeah, update your jokes< [ Of course, if Darva was familiar with comedy, she'd know that comedians construct a routine, consisting of tried-and-true jokes, also known as their "killer set." A good comedian does update and supplement his killer set with new jokes, which Rick has done, from week to week, quite brilliantly; and Darva's waffling and flip-flopping has provided an ample windfall of material. Rick is only telling the jokes; Darva is living them out. ]
Despite her good-natured attitude, and sense of humour, it seems that Darva did not impress the Ladies:
Her new line, "I believe in a forgiving God," annoyed the Ladies of the View, who expressed their scorn: "I'm fascinated by the conversation Darva must've had with the Lord: 'Hello, God, listen; I'm going to be posing nude for Playboy today, okay, and I want you to forgive me later, is that all right with you?' " said Joy.
"God says 'Go, and sin no more'; you don't sin first in anticipation of getting forgiveness..." added Star.
"I think someone just likes being a celebrity, maybe," said Lisa Ling. "There are parts of this country --and in the world-- desperate for nurses."
However, the Ladies seemed charmed by Rick, even posing with him for photos. Rick stood between the four, posing for a photo, urging them to smile: "Say 'Darva'! "
Joy said that she'd felt Darva had said mean things about him. Rick was philosophical: "She needed to villify me, in order to justify her actions."
One thing bothered the Ladies; when this story had first blown, they had roundly criticized Rick for his [alleged] battering of his erstwhile fianceé, Debbie Lee Goyne. But Rick denied it: "I would never hit a woman. You've got a woman, a young, professional woman, empowered, intelligent; she called the cops when I let the air out of her tires--stupid move, immature, I grant you that;--but why didn't she call the police when I allegedly hit her?" [ she did file the restraining order immediately after the vehicle tampering incident, on Feb. 12, 1991. She added the taped confession on Feb. 19. ]
Star Jones asks: "Let me ask you straight: Did you?"
"No."
"And have you ever?"
"No."
"But you let the air out of her tires?"
"Yes."
"I would've hitYOU!" declares Joy.
Darva refuses to tell how much she's being paid for the Playboy layout; Hefner is equally cagey.
AHA! Maybe Darva isn't so dumb, after all! I was thinking that Darva was being ripped off by Hefner, who'd reportedly only offered $400,000 vs. the $3,000,000 that Penthouse was offering. I'd puzzled over just why Darva was being such a sucker; but it had been rumoured some time ago that she and her agent were angling for a piece of the profits--unprecedented, in Playboy history.
Or was it unprecedented? Think about how Darva will not tell how much she'd been paid. That is a pointer to a confidentiality deal. And why a confidentiality deal? So that everybody doesn't demand the same deal!!
And why not Penthouse? Surely one nude magazine is like the other? But of course, I'm not familiar with the content nor context of their pictorials. But I'd remembered that Penthouse was the magazine that published those scandalous Vanessa L. Williams shots, not caring that she had to step down as Miss America as a result. I guess she'd felt that they were so much less kind and considerate than Playboy. After seeing Darva's pictorial, I think she made the right decision. Playboy's pictorials are the nude version of a super-model glamour-shoot. I think that it will help whatever career she tries. And Darva's proved that she has bankability, in magazine sales and TV/radio ratings.
In the end, I think it was smart of Darva to pose. There are those who deride her as a hypocrite for posing now, when previously, she'd told everyone that she'd wanted her life back. Many cannot understand the very real facts, that at this time, a nursing job would be difficult, if not impossible, what with all the continuing interest of the media. I can see it. I've been interviewing a number of the other contestants, who can certainly testify to how intrusive the media has been to their own lives--and they were not even chosen as the "bride"!
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