Skirting the Weight Issue, Flockhart Dumps 'Today' Date


By David Bauder

    NEW YORK — Actress Calista Flockhart doesn't want to talk about weighty
topics, so the Today show doesn't want to talk to her at all.

The star of Fox's Ally McBeal backed out of a
long-scheduled interview with the NBC morning
show when its producers refused a request not to
talk about her weight. The ultra-thin actress has
denied rumors that she has an eating disorder.

"We never agree to restrictions on interviews,"
Allison Gollust, a Today spokeswoman, said
Thursday.

Flockhart had been booked on Today for next
Monday to promote her new movie. She also has
appearances planned for next week on CBS's
Late Show with David Letterman and on The
Rosie O'Donnell Show.

Flockhart has answered questions several times about her weight "and it always
comes out the same," said Pat Kingsley, her publicist.

"We just said `enough is enough,"' she said. "We're fed up with it and we don't
want to put her out there anymore."

The Letterman and O'Donnell shows are different because they are entertainment,
not news, shows, she said. Both shows readily agreed not to talk about her
weight, even volunteering to stay away from the topic, Kingsley said.

"The Rosie O'Donnell Show is a talent-friendly show," spokeswoman Laura
Mandel said, "and if guests don't want to discuss something, it's OK with us."

A spokeswoman for Letterman was not immediately available for comment.



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