Oprah’s Oscar special beats Barbara’s

New York – Oprah Winfrey beat Barbara Walters at her own game during Oscars week.

Winfrey’s first Academy Awards interview special reached 15.4 million viewers last Thursday on ABC. Walters’ special on Oscars night, her 26th, drew an audience of 14.5 million, according to Nielsen Media Research.

The two media titans made a point of saying they were not in competition, and their shows had separate themes. Winfrey set up Oscar winners to interview other Oscar winners – Julia Roberts and George Clooney, for example. Walters did her traditional interview show, this year with Helen Mirren, Eddie Murphy and Jennifer Hudson.

Walters’ show ran before the Oscars in eastern time zones, and after the ceremony out West. Winfrey’s special ran on Thursday, directly following ABC’s hottest show, “Grey’s Anatomy.”

Appeals court to hear Smith burial arguments

West Palm Beach, Fla. – An appeals court was set to hear arguments Wednesday about whether Anna Nicole Smith should be buried in the Bahamas or Texas – a dispute that has dragged on for more than two weeks after the pinup’s death.

In filings Tuesday with the Florida 4th District Court of Appeal, attorneys for Smith’s boyfriend and her infant daughter claimed Smith’s estranged mother was trying to “place her in death where she never wanted to be in life” – Texas.

The three judges assigned to the case haven’t said when they will rule. Smith, 39, died in a Florida hotel Feb. 8.

Florida Circuit Judge Larry Seidlin last week gave control of Smith’s body to the attorney for her 5-month-old daughter, Dannielynn. The judge said he wanted to preserve Smith’s dignity by having the funeral occur quickly after being told by the medical examiner that her body was decomposing.

The girl’s attorney, Richard Milstein, quickly said he would bury Smith in the Bahamas, where witnesses said she wanted to be laid to rest.

Supermodel feels ‘shame’ for hot temper

New York – Naomi Campbell says she very much regrets losing her temper and hitting her maid with a cell phone over a pair of missing jeans last year.

“I felt very remorseful for having thrown the phone at someone that didn’t deserve it,” the 35-year-old supermodel tells the TV show “Extra” in an interview set to air Tuesday. “I have a deep sense of shame for the things I’ve done.”

What made her do it? It was “tiredness, lack of sleep (and) just so many things,” she says.

“I was being really destructive to myself. … I didn’t know how to reach out,” she says. “It was a really scary time.”

Campbell, who has a reputation for angry outbursts, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault last month for hitting Ana Scolavino in the back of the head with the phone last March. Scolavino was treated for a head injury.

In exchange for her guilty plea, she was ordered to pay Scolavino’s medical expenses of $363, do five days of community service and attend a two-day anger-management program.

“I do therapy every day,” Campbell tells “Extra,” adding that she’s also partaking in the healing powers of crystals: “I think they bring great energy. … You should see how many I travel with.”