Free Blonde Ambition by Rita Cosby Page B

shoot and splashy Entertainment Tonight exclusive, Howard appeared on Larry King Live with the promise of a major announcement.
       Larry King first read a statement by Larry Birkhead: "I've been told by Anna Nicole Smith that I'm the father of her newborn child. I have proof of it. I've attended multiple doctors' appointments, participated in the planning of this child up until a minor disagreement more than midway through the pregnancy. In order to eliminate the back and forth claims regarding paternity, I am requesting that a DNA test take place in the U.S."
       And then Howard fired back. "Well," he began. "I think you have to look at what his motives are and, you know, if he honestly believed that he was the father based on when the baby was born, he should have handled it appropriately.
       "First, he should have waited until Daniel was put to rest," he continued, reminding millions of people that Daniel had not yet been buried more than two weeks after his death. "And, second, handle it through the proper channels, not through television and through the media. I mean for him to do that on Entertainment Tonight and, at the same time, send a slew of e-mails to Anna, it's just completely inappropriate."
       It was an ironic statement considering Howard himself was sitting in a television studio, dealing with the situation "through television and through the media."
       Regarding the slew of e-mails, apparently unbeknownst to Howard, Anna had been more than just getting e-mails from Larry Birkhead; she had also been speaking to him covertly on the phone and text messaging him, sometimes even using other people's cell phones. According to Anna's employee confidante, Larry Birkhead, the man claiming to be the father of her child, was secretly a part of her life even as late as January 2007. In fact, on Christmas Day 2006, Anna called Larry to tell him "the baby is beautiful" and "she loved him." After the conversation, Larry told people he was so happy to get the nice call.
       "They used to talk on the phone," he said. "They would talk for hours. The minute Howard would come around, she would hang up."
       But Howard K. Stern didn't know about the ongoing conversations and, in fact, spun a different story. "She never considered him a boyfriend," he said during the nationally televised interview. "Anna and I have been in a relationship and we love each other and it's been going on for a very long time and because of my relationship as her lawyer, we felt that it was best to keep everything hidden. And we've done a pretty good job of that."
       Howard K. Stern announced, "I am the proud father."
    • • •

    Howard's announcement was a shock not only to America but also to most of Anna and Howard's friends. One of Howard's closest friends told me privately, "Since Howard came out on TV and said he's the dad, I was always suspicious of him. But I didn't want to get in the middle of it."
    Peter Nygard, the billionaire fashion designer whom Anna dated for three years in the late 1990s, said, "Howard was Anna's houseboy. She was clearly not interested in him."
       "I bet the bank they never had sex," Ben Thompson told me. He, like Peter Nygard, was another boyfriend Anna had during the ten years she knew Howard. Thompson said Anna and Howard had separate bedrooms, even when they visited his family in South Carolina. "He was her personal valet," he said, "but never her lover. If he ever looked at her with lust, she would have clocked him."
       Ben Thompson knew the two of them for years, and says he never saw Howard romantic with anyone. According to Jackie Hatten, Daniel's godmother, Anna Nicole told her, "Eeeew! I'd never sleep with Howard, if he's the last person on earth. He's gay!"
       Ben Thompson says that Anna told him on numerous occasions, "Howard was repulsive to her." He also revealed to me startling conversations he had had directly with Anna and Howard, which show that Howard knew