He's Not a Celebrity, Get Him Out of Here

Yes, proving that it is truly the network to plumb the depths of questionable taste, NBC just trotted out disgraced former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich as a cast member (but in an undecided and limited capacity and not on every episode, they said -- because a judge's recent ruling prevents him from traveling to Costa Rica with the show) of the upcoming I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here.

To his credit, Blagojevich said he doesn't consider himself a celebrity -- "it should be called a bunch of celebrities and a former governor."  He says he's participating as a way to earn a living and support his daughter, and is enjoying meeting the other celebs.  And in an interesting comparison, he compared himself to his former "second favorite governor," but now that he's out of office (and looking forward, he says, for the courts to find him innocent of all allegations of wrongdoing), his "favorite governor," Arnold Schwarzenegger.  But whereas Arnold started in bodybuilding and proceeded to office, Blagojevich is working it in reverse, going from the governor's mansion to life under NBC's big top.

Other announced cast members include Heidi Montag & Spencer Pratt (not in attendance today in Pasadena), Stephen Baldwin, Janice Dickinson, NBA star John Salley, American Idol's Sanjaya Malakar, and professional wrestler and beauty queen Torrie Wilson.