Blagojevich Busted

CHICAGO (CBS) ― Deposed Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich wasn't allowed to appear in a network TV reality show in Costa Rica, but his wife Patti Blagojevich will.

A federal judge has barred ex-Gov. Blagojevich, who faces federal corruption charges, from being on the NBC show "I'm a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here" because it would send him out of the country. Patti Blagojevich accepted the network's offer to appear on the show and went to Los Angeles earlier this week to film a promotional shoot, said Glenn Selig, the Blagojevichs' publicist.

The couple appeared on NBC's "Today" show Thursday to announce the move. Patti Blagojevich said she hopes her appearance on the reality series will help show that she isn't the profanity-spewing person portrayed on federal wiretaps.

"I don't think those characterizations were fair at all," she said.

According to the complaint filed by prosecutors, she was taped on an expletive-laced phone conversation suggesting the Tribune Co. "just fire" newspaper editors who didn't favor her husband.

"Hold up that f***ing Cubs s***," she says as her husband is talking on the telephone. "F*** them."

"I think that people who know me know the truth behind those comments," she said Thursday.

In public, Patti Blagojevich has been generally been reserved, often shielding the couple's two children and avoiding television cameras herself. Now she'll be the one thrust into the spotlight.

The former governor "jokes that in a way she will have it easier competing in the jungle," Selig said in a statement. "He knows how hard it is to take care of the kids and to run a home."

Blagojevich said that although he won't be a contestant, he will be involved with the show in some way.

He is charged with scheming to sell or trade President Barack Obama's U.S. Senate seat and using the muscle of the governor's office to squeeze companies with state business for campaign contributions.
He has pleaded not guilty.

While Blagojevich had to surrender his passport after being charged, he can still jet around the country, and he flew to Los Angeles last month to film a promotional spot for the show. He was strapped into a harness and hoisted in front of a blank green ChromaKey screen to simulate a parachute jump with wind machines in front of him.

Actor Stephen Baldwin is among the others participating in the show, and he had hoped former Gov. Blagojevich could participate. He said the Blagojevich would "add intensity and spice" to the show and should be allowed to participate because he is innocent until proven guilty.

Former NBA basketball star John Salley, Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt of "The Hills," Janice Dickinson, former "American Idol" contestant Sanjaya Malakar, and Torrie Wilson are also signed on for the show, according to published reports. Figure skater Nancy Kerrigan and Dog the Bounty Hunter are also expected to participate, published reports said.

Patti Blagojevich is named throughout her husband's indictment as having received payments from convicted fundraiser Antoin "Tony" Rezko, but she is not charged with anything. She was fired earlier this year from her $100,000-per-year job as chief fundraiser for the Chicago Christian Industrial League homeless agency.

"In these terrible economic times, I feel it's necessary to go to work to support my family so, yes, that's the primary reason for doing the show," Patti Blagojevich said.

Legal experts said her stint on the show might not be the best news for Blagojevich's federal fraud case. The former governor already has been criticized for making the rounds of New York talk shows when state lawmakers were holding an impeachment trial.
 
"It just looks tawdry," Northwestern University law Professor Albert W. Alschuler said. "There's been too much showmanship already on the part of the Blagojevich family."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

Editor's Picks

• Gay Celebrities
• Did You Know? Stars From Chicago!
• Celebs Who Lean To The Right
• Real Or Fake?