NBC Wants Blagojevich for "I'm a Celebrity..." Reality Show

Network Hoping "The Hair" Plus Jungle Humidity Equals Ratings Gold

NBC has apparently reached a tentative deal with Rod Blagojevich to have the painfully shy former Illinois governor appear as a cast member on "I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here," or "Who the @#*! is That?", as the show is known informally.

The Chicago Tribune is reporting that Blagojevich would get paid $80,000 per week to appear on the reality show, which is set to start taping on June 1 in the Costa Rican jungle. Blagojevich would join the hollow halls of former "I'm a Celebrity" cast members like "Downtown" Julie Brown, "Stuttering" John Melendez, and Chris "Not a Judd Sister" Judd.

Blagojevich may already be practicing the deft combination of bravado and incoherence that it takes to survive on "IACGMOOH". A New York Times article carries a nifty quote that Blago offered to reporters gathered at a Chicago courthouse, where he pleaded not guilty Tuesday to fraud and racketeering charges: "Black care never catches a rider whose pace is fast enough. You got that?"

Can't you just see the close-up on Blago, still chewing the group's last salamander kabob as he spews that line to an incredulous and genetically-engineered fifth Baldwin brother?

• Chicago Tribune: Former Gov. Rod Blagojevich Hoping to Appear on Reality Show
• N.Y. Times: Blagojevich Denies Guilt, and This Time It's Official
• Check Out the Blagojevich Indictment (FindLaw)
• I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here (NBC.com)