So ill ride ride like the wind ride like the wind gonna ride like the wind you feel that, ladies, thats me. Okay, that was creepy. I smoked a funny cigarette with Christopher Cross backstage. Lets just say the filter is off anyway, i feel like ive gone on too long. So i am going to shut up. Lets have Christopher Cross take us out whoa. Whoa. Christopher cross, everyone ride like the wind tonight on nightline messy kitchen. Nigella lawson made a career as a hot celebrity chef. See, look, that is so easy and yet so perfect. But now its her reputation in firefighter. We go inside a spectacular trial with allegations of habitual drug use and caught on camera marital feud. Spoiled rotten. From private planes to fast cars and luxurious labels. These kids are living the life. And their motto if youve got it flaunt it. Plus, duck and cover, duck dynasty patriarch puts his foot in his mouth with antigay comments and gets suspended from the show. Now the whole family is threatening to walk. Were actually going to do this . Could the sun be setting on their empire . Announcer keep it right here, america, nightline is back in just 60 seconds. A subaru. Are the hands that do good things for the whole community the environment, seniors, kids, and animals. Thats why we created the share the love event. By the end of this year, the total donated by subaru could reach 35 Million Dollars. You get a great deal on a new subaru. Well donate 250 dollars to a choice of charities that benefit your community. It feels good to be a helping hand. From new york city, this is nightline with dan harris. And good evening. Court watchers tell us we are just hours away now from a verdict in a trial that has riveted Many Americans and has entirely transfixed people across the pond. The case involves Nigella Lawson, british celebrity chef and domestic goddess, who like Martha Stewart and paula deen before her is in reputational hot water. Lama hasan takes us inside a courtroom showdown. Reporter celebrity chef Nigella Lawson on the hot seat for the past three weeks, front and center of a fraud trial that isnt even about her. A case that involves her beloved former assistants, accused of embezzling more than 1 million of nigella and her former husbands money. But a grilling in the courtroom has been spilling some dirty Little Secrets about the tv cook. Forcing her to confess she had taken cocaine. And to use her word, smoked the odd joint. In court, nigella found herself in the witness box as a key witness. She strode in her fiveinch heels, kneehigh boots. Went in meaning business. Physically rolled up her sleeves. Gripped the box and gave the oratory. Reporter the daughter of a british politician, nigella started as a restaurant critic 20 years ago. By 1998 she published her first book how to eat. Having people around my table makes me really happy. Reporter a year later the tv show that made her famous. Nigella bites. So easy and yet so perfect. Reporter but then this summer, making headlines with these pictures. Not quite domestic bliss. Snapped at a London Restaurant with her husband, 70yearold ad mogul. Sarchi brushed it off as a tiff. Their marriage soon started unraveling when her familys longterm personal assistant, sister francesca and another, were accused of swindling the Company Credit card to the tune of over 1 million. Sarchi alleged she was a drug user, dubbing her highella. Saying in an email read allowed in court, you were so off your head on drugs you allowed the sisters to spend whatever they liked, and yes, i believe every word they said. Later, backtracking and claiming that he never saw any evidence of nigella taking drugs. Responding to that email which sarchi sent his exwife, calling her highella, he said, i was just being nasty. This isnt a very pleasant email. But i was very, very upset. Her reputation has also been on the line. I actually felt that from a branding point of view, this was someone who was showing confidence. And showing a bit of british, stiff upper lip, kind of idea. She was going in as a woman in her own right. I think that was a powerful image in terms of tv image. Reporter for ten hour she chose to stand to give evidence spanning two days, refusing to sit for the whole duration. It was a kitchen. This is what she does. She directs. She tells people what she wants them to hear. She stood, and she was going to stand for the entire time it took for her to get her message across. How would you say she came across . She stood up to give her evidence the whole time. She didnt sit down. She seemed very businesslike. She tried to project her voice. She did a great job of that. She seemed to connect with everyone who was asking her questions. Reporter nigella accused her former husband of a witchhunt in an effort to save his reputation. And savage hers. He said to me that if i didnt go back and clear his name, he would destroy me. I freed myself from a brilliant but brutal man. Then adding fuel to the fire. Her former assistants turned their back on her in court. Claiming she lied abut her cocaine use. Francesca testifying she saw nigella with white powder around her nose, Numerous Bank notes covered with white powder lying around the house. Though both sisters admitted they never saw nigella doing drugs, just evidence of drug use in her home. This isnt the first time a legal proceeding tripped up a domestic doyenne. Martha stewart was charged with Insider Trading ten years ago. After a sixweek trial that turned into a media circus. What was a small personal matter became over the last two years an almost fatal circus event of unprecedented proportions. Reporter a jury found her guilty of lying to investigators. She served five months in federal prison. But after her release welcome to marthas cooking school. Reporter she went straight back to work and her brand remains powerful. A very different outcome for paula deen, the belle of southern cooking. A little bigger than a tablespoon but thats a good start. Reporter who faced accusations that she had used racial slurs. When a former employee sued for racial and sexual discrimination. A first apology offered on youtube did not go well. I want to apologize to everybody. For the wrong that i have done. Reporter a judge tossed the racial bias part of the case. And deen settled sexual discrimination charges. Thank you, darling, i love you. Reporter the damage was done. The food network canceled deens show. She retains a loyal following. Deen lost 12 million in endorsements. Having people around my table makes me really happy. Reporter as for nigella, the question is whether her cooking crown remains intact. Its really important in this case. Because the world is watching her. Theyre watching her to see do we still trust her . Can we trust this womans reputation in terms of her brand . Now, i believe that that so far, that what has been revealed in the court proceedings, that this is a woman who had put forward her case from her point of view in a very clear way. Reporter so far the court of Public Opinion seems to be in nigellas favor. A recent poll for a british newspaper found that 39 had more sympathy for her than sachi. Even the Prime Minister of the country is declaring he is on team nigella. Speaking the spectator magazine, David Cameron was quoted as saying, im a massive fan, im also an amateur cook and i like her recipes. The judge asked the jury to disregard camerons comments. Nigella surrounded herself with a close knit circle of advisers, called team cupcake. Sarchi ambled into court himself, no one to consult with. He reportedly asked a stranger to rate his performance. Was i crap . He asked. A verdict expected as early as tomorrow. So far, team cupcake seems to be coming out on top. But the proof as they say will be in the pudding. This is the new competition. Reporter the next scheduled appearance is on abcs the taste early in the new year. For nightline, im lama hasan, in london. Our thanks to lama hasan. When the verdict comes down we here at abc news will bring it to you. Coming up next here on nightline, the lifestyles of the young, rich, and extremely obnoxious. Once upon a time, an insurance clerk stumbled upon a cottage. [knock] no one was at home, but on the Kitchen Table sat three insurance policies. The first had lots of coverage. The second, only a little. But the third was. Just right bear hi yeah, we love visitors. Thats why we moved to a secluded house in the middle of the wilderness. Just the right coverage at just the right price. Coverage checker from progressive. So heres to the bride and. [ coughs ] [ all gasp ] [ male announcer ] robitussin dm max now comes in a new liquidfilled capsule. Nothing provides more powerful cough relief. 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[son]hi [mom screams] at Kaiser Permanente weve reduced serious heart attacks [people clap and cheer] by 62 , which makes days with grandpa jack 100 more possible. Join us at kp. Org and thrive. It is the dilemma for people who cast reality tv shows. You want stars who are brash and provocative. But do those very qualities make those people unlikeable . Does likability even matter when all viewers seem to want is a vicarious train wreck. The questions hang heavily over a new show features young people who say they are extremely rich, im talking wash your hair in expensive champagne rich, and have no problem flaunting it. Heres abcs nick watt. Dont believe the hype. Reporter it seems to me the rich kids of Beverly Hills is ignoring one of the oldest rules of entertainment. Do i look as bitchy in real life . Reporter possibly. Its an old rule that says a leading character to be believable must be at least a little likeable. Lets check the selfie lighting in here. Reporter the audience has to empathize even just a little bit. I am dorothy wang. My dad is a billionaire. He has a fear about me being a princessy person. Yeah, a little late on that. Reporter thats morgan, dorot dorothys bff. People label me as conniving and manipulative and it does bother me that im so misunderstood. Reporter is she likeable . Have we had one good conversation about how my hair looks . Your hair looks good. I know. Reporter why do e executives think this will be a blockbuster . Great tv starring bad people. Reporter or people behaving badly. Its topping into the massive market of invoivoyeuristic show. Aspirational shows all the way from Million Dollar listings. To the shaws of sunset. You or i may not have the money that the people do. It is fun to see how they live. Reporter apparently that is healthy, a degree of aspirational daydreaming is good for us. They can afford to be more interesting than we are. Half the reason why we look to watch them, right. Their bad behavior is multiplied by the amount of dollars they throw at it. Turns out the shows are, a barometer of the times. During the economic downturn the glitzier shows like the housewives of whatever, slumped a little. And along came home stars and extreme couponing. And that show about pregnant teens on mtv. Why are you looking at me psycho . Because you are. Reporter and a little later, honey booboo. Who gave us viewers the chance to look down, as well as up. The launch of a show like the rich kids of Beverly Hills is an economic indicator, a bit like the nasdaq, telling us were now on an economic upswing. Have you ever partied so hard youve partied your eyebrows off . Because i have. Reporter there are more rich young people than ever before. You have your facebooks, your twitters. With every ipo youre creating hundreds if not thousands of new millionaires overnight. And then of course you have the steady stream of some of colleges best and brightest into finance. Where kids are becoming very rich very quickly. Reporter i see the rich kids of Beverly Hills as a new virulent drugresistant strain of reality tv. Launched off the back of the equally nauseating rich kids of instagram. A tumbler page of photos hosted by kids barely old enough to shave. These kids have no humility about their money. They are willing to brag. Show you everything they have got. Based on what i have seen from the promos i feel like the rich kids of Beverly Hills theyre a little more in your face, a little more obnoxious of what we typically see of the kardashians. Reporter yes, theres an element of empathy mixed with the aspiration of the show, like keeping up with the c kardashians. Keeping up with the kardashians. Watching the privileged deal with life problems we struggle with. Kardashian arguing with her mom. Mom . What . You spent 4,000 on a dress. Reporter or a real housewife arguing with a real man. You are disappointing our family i am . Yes. Shame on you. Reporter its a common bond and we like that. While they may be rich theyre very relatable to the average viewer. Reporter might these rich kids of Beverly Hills move beyond that humanity . So far all weve seen is a promo clip and bios released by e dorothy funemployed, which means unemployed which is so fun. It remains to be seen how viewers will accept these kids and this show. I think the timing might be hard for viewers coming off the holidays. May be hard to look at people flaunting their wealth while we at home may be struggling to pave off their bills. One bottle is not rich, washing your hair with dom is rich. If you are the sort of person who believes in the american dream. Still believes that this is something that you, yourself, can obtain if you continue to work hard and try hard. Then its more as operational than obnoxious. Reporter maybe characters in our entertainment dont need to be even a little bit likeable anymore. Maybe thats just so last century. Im nick watt for nightline in los angeles. Deep questions from the world of reality tv. Our thanks to nick watt. By the way, turns out there may be an even bigger problem brewing in the world of reality tv. Up next on nightline, why the stars of duck dynasty have just tonight issued a tough new statement that may place the entire show in jeopardy. The start of sneeze season. E] the windblown watery eyes. [ sniffling ] the sniffling guy on the bus. And, of course, the snow angels with your little angels. Thats why puffs plus lotion is soft. Puffs plus are dermatologist tested to be gentle. They help soothe irritated skin by locking in moisture better. So you can always put your best face forward. A face in need deserves puffs indeed. [ male announcer ] when you feel good, no one is immune. Emergenc has more vitamin c than 10 oranges plus other antioxidants and electrolytes to help you come down with a serious case of healthy. Emergenc. Making healthy contagious. 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[ male announcer ] available at these fine retailers and nespressous. Com. We have news tonight from the intersection of two Great American preoccupations, reality tv and the culture wars. Just hours ago, the stars of the megahit duck dynasty issued a statement strongly indicating they may be willing to walk away from their show. Its all part of an uproar over questionable comments about gays and africanamericans. And abcs matt gutman is on the story. Reporter phil robertson, patron saint of so many hunters whos known for his grace in the backwoods and that duck call. Seemed to blow it for real this week when he preached to gq about what is sinful, telling the magazine, start with homosexual behavior and just morph out from there. Bestiality, sleeping around with this woman and that woman. The patriarch didnt stop there, robertston who grew up in jim crow louisiana, tells gq the africanamericans he knew then were happy. I never saw with my eyes the mistreatment of any black person. Preentitlement, prewelfare. You say, were they happy . They were godly. They were happy. No one was singing the blues. In the two days since those word were publish aid cascade of recriminations have ricochetted. One possible casualty is a es crown jewel duke dynasty itself. The family tonight threatening to call it quits. This is the patriarch of the most watched unscripted Cable Television show in history who preside over a 500 million empire, the bushbearded sons of duck dynasty are among the most highly recognized americans anywhere. Presenting at the Country Music awards. Rubbing shoulders with the nations top politicians at the white house correspondents dinner. They have their own christmas cd out this year. Not bad. Christmas cookies are a special treat reporter duck the halls anyone . And when i hung out with them for a day this year, they preached the gospel of their love for all good things. Guns, fried frogs legs, family. And god. Amen. Reporter their shop is a shrine to many fans. But duck dynastys massive success the past few years may explain why the comments published in gq triggered shotgun blasts of controversy. First there was a letter from the Human Rights Campaign and the naacp to a e calling the remarks dangerous and revisionist. After lumping gays with terrorists, robertson said let god sort them out later. A e heard robertson and the critics placing him on indefinite hiatus, and perhaps pushing him to this apology. I would never treat anyone with disrespect just because theyre different from me. We are all created by the almighty and like him i love all of humanity. We would all be better off if we loved god and loved each other. Youd think the stars goose is cooked but not so fast. Fans and his family are fighting back. Late tonight his family released a statement saying, we cannot imagine the show Going Forward without our patriarch at the helm. We are in discussions with a e to see what this means for the future of duck dynasty. An a e rep says no comment. There are others out there saying, the duck stops here. On facebook someone created a fan page calling for the boycott of a e until phil is brought back. Some big guns like sarah palin, seen here with the cast, coming to phils defense now, accusing liberals of applying the First Amendment selectively. Even the governor of robinsons home state, robby jindal, making his own produck call. The left is