NEWSMAKERS

June 2, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

NEWSMAKERS

Duchess: Offer began as way to help friend

CHICAGO

An apologetic Sarah Ferguson told Oprah Winfrey that even though she is in deep financial debt, her offer to sell access to her former husband, Prince Andrew, for $724,000 began as an effort to raise money for a friend.

The Duchess of York said in an interview that aired Tuesday on “Oprah” that she only asked for so much money after the undercover journalist posing as a businessman gave her $40,000 for a friend, whom she would not identify.

“I just took a long shot ... I think I just went, ‘Well, if you’re going for 40 [thousand dollars], well, OK, if you want to do business in the future,’” she said, trying to explain, before, admitting that she didn’t know what she was thinking.

Still, she went ahead after being told the man might invest in her children’s books, videos and other projects as well as assist her with what she described as her own “very serious financial debt.”

Ferguson would not elaborate on how much money she owes but said she is considering filing for bankruptcy.

She also would not confirm a report Winfrey said she’d seen that says she receives $20,000 a year in her divorce settlement, saying that she is prohibited from discussing it because of a confidentiality agreement. But she also suggested that she took less money than she could have because she wanted to remain friends with Queen Elizabeth.

Spike TV celebrating ‘Goodfellas’ anniversary

NEW YORK

Spike TV is bringing together Robert De Niro and Ray Liotta to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the mob classic “Goodfellas.” The two stars will be at Spike’s fourth annual “Guy’s Choice” awards, to be televised June 20.

Event producer Casey Patterson says “Goodfellas” is considered a touchstone for Spike’s target audience of 18- to 34-year-old men. Spike is still working on getting cast member Joe Pesci to attend. Filmmaker Martin Scorcese will be in Europe and won’t be at the show’s taping in Culver City, Calif., on Saturday.

Patterson calls the film “a classic story, shot in a way that makes it really, really sexy.”

Dunst reprises role as witness in trial

NEW YORK

It was witness stand, the sequel, for actress Kirsten Dunst. The “Spider-Man” star reprised her role Tuesday as a star witness in the real-life drama. She testified against a man being retried on charges of helping steal her purse from a New York City hotel room. It was used as an actors’ lounge during a 2007 movie shoot.

She gave a clipped, subdued account of returning from filming to find her $2,000 handbag gone. James Jimenez was convicted last fall of trespassing, but jurors deadlocked on a more serious burglary charge.

He’s being retried on that charge. His lawyer says Jimenez just tagged along with a co-defendant he believed had permission to be there.