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☆ Ex-producer Harvey Weinstein faces sentencing for Los Angeles rape conviction
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Steve Gorman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LOS ANGELES, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Harvey Weinstein, the onetime Hollywood titan who came to epitomize a culture of pervasive sexual misconduct by powerful men that ignited the #MeToo movement, is to be sentenced on Thursday for the 2013 rape of an actress in Los Angeles. Whatever sentence is pronounced should be served once the former movie producer and Miramax co-founder has completed the 23-year sentence imposed for a sexual misconduct conviction in New York, prosecutors argued in their sentencing memorandum. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Lisa Lench declared a mistrial on the deadlocked charges. The producer of "Pulp Fiction" and "Shakespeare in Love" was convicted of sexual misconduct in New York in February 2020, and extradited from New York to a Los Angeles prison in July 2021. In New York, Weinstein is appealing his conviction and prison sentence.

☆ Porn star Ron Jeremy committed to state mental hospital
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Danielle Broadway | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LOS ANGELES, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Porn star Ron Jeremy was committed to a state mental health hospital after being found incompetent to stand trial on rape and other charges, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles District Attorney said on Tuesday. Jeremy can be held for up to two years, said Greg Risling, spokesperson for the district attorney's office. The 69-year-old had been charged with 30 counts of rape and other sexual misconduct stemming from incidents in the Los Angeles area over a 23-year period. In January, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Ronald S. Harris ruled that Jeremy was not competent to assist in his defense, according to his attorney, Stuart Goldfarb. Jeremy was among the biggest names in the adult film industry, appearing in more than 2,000 movies starting in the 1970s.

Jan 27 (Reuters) - Rick Astley has sued the rapper Yung Gravy over a song that borrowed heavily from the British singer's signature "Never Gonna Give You Up," claiming that the new song illegally used an impersonator who imitated Astley's distinctive baritone. "In an effort to capitalize off of the immense popularity and goodwill of Mr. Astley, defendants ... conspired to include a deliberate and nearly indistinguishable imitation of Mr. Astley's voice," the complaint said. Among the defendants are Yung Gravy, whose real name is Matthew Hauri, and his record label, Universal Music Group's (UMG.AS) Republic Records. Universal and a representative for Yung Gravy did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The song saw resurgent popularity about two decades later through the "Rickroll" internet meme, where it unexpectedly interrupts unrelated content.

☆ Billie Eilish seeks restraining order against man accused of breaking into her parents' home
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Marlene Lenthang | Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Dianadasrath-Headshot.Jpg | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

Billie Eilish has requested a restraining order against a man who allegedly broke into her parents' California home earlier this month and professed his love for her. He "claimed that at some point in time Billie had been watching Mr. Anderson and writing songs about Mr. Anderson, and that Mr. Anderson really wanted to meet Billie,” O'Connell wrote. The order seeks to bar Anderson from harassing her and contacting her in person or via social media platforms. In February 2021, Eilish was granted a temporary restraining order against another man accused of harassing her outside her family’s home and sending a letter containing a death threat. Prior to that, she got a temporary restraining order against another man who allegedly showed up at her parents’ home seven times.

☆ Porn actor Ron Jeremy found mentally incompetent to stand trial for rape
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

David McNew/Pool via REUTERSLOS ANGELES, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Porn star Ron Jeremy was declared mentally incompetent to stand trial in Los Angeles on rape and other sex charges involving 21 women, City News Service reported on Tuesday. Jeremy, 69, pleaded not guilty in August 2021 to more than 30 counts of sexual assault, including 12 of rape, in the Los Angeles area over a 23-year period. Goldfarb and a representative for the Los Angeles District Attorney's office did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Reuters on Tuesday. A hearing on whether to place Jeremy in a state hospital will be held next month, the Associated Press said. The alleged offenses took place at night clubs and bars in the Los Angeles area, during a photo shoot, and at Jeremy's home, the District Attorney's office said.

☆ 'Romeo & Juliet' stars sue over teen nude scene in 1968 film
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting were just teenagers when they electrified audiences in the 1968 version of “Romeo and Juliet,” directed by Franco Zeffirelli. The film was a hit and was nominated for four Academy Awards, but it also stirred controversy over a bedroom scene which included images of Whiting’s buttocks and Hussey’s bare breasts. Now in their 70s, Hussey and Whiting filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court on Friday, accusing Paramount of sexually exploiting them and distributing nude images of adolescent children. The suit alleges that he was being dishonest and that Whiting and Hussey were in fact filmed nude without their knowledge. In a 2018 interview with Variety, Hussey defended the nude scene.

☆ Jury finds former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein guilty of sexual assault
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Industry Insight | Saw Law Firms Move Past The Pandemic Into A More Client-Focused Service Environment | Thomson Reuters Institute | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

LOS ANGELES, Dec 19 (Reuters) - Former movie producer Harvey Weinstein was found guilty of sexual assault in a trial in Los Angeles on Monday, the second conviction for the one-time Hollywood kingmaker who became the face of #MeToo sexual abuse allegations five years ago, according to the Los Angeles Superior Court. The jury found Weinstein guilty on three counts involving allegations by one woman, but acquitted him of charges relating to a second alleged victim and did not reach a verdict on charges relating to two other women. Reporting by Tim Reid; Editing by Tom HogueOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ The divorce lawyer who's represented Johnny Depp, Kim K, and Angelina Jolie charges $1,000 an hour and says tough love is how she gets things done
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Mark Ellwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Laura Wasser is a divorce lawyer whose clients have included Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie. "You'd go to someone's bar mitzvah and say, 'You're Dennis Wasser's daughter,' and they'd say, 'You're at that table,' according to whether my dad had represented the mom or the dad," she said. She'd majored in rhetoric at the University of California, Berkeley, and realized quickly that what she'd loved most about those studies was vital in divorce cases, as was her age and gender. She's a spokesperson for Divorce.com, the do-it-yourself split site, as its chief of divorce evolution and has hosted several podcasts, including "All's Fair with Laura Wasser" and "Divorce Sucks! With Laura Wasser," where one guest was the Kardashian momager and matriarch Kris Jenner.

Kim Kardashian’s divorce from Ye was finalized Tuesday, with the rapper formerly known as Kanye West agreeing to pay the reality show star $200,000 a month in child support payments, court documents show. According to settlement papers filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, Ye agreed to begin paying Kardashian next month for their four children, all of whom are under 10. Kardashian's lawyer declined to comment. Kardashian filed for divorce last year, claiming in court documents that Ye’s social media posts about their family were “misinformation” that caused her emotional distress. In court documents, a lawyer for the rapper described her assertion as “double hearsay” and said she couldn’t prove he wrote the posts.

☆ Dwyane Wade blasts ex-wife's claims about profiting from transgender daughter's name change
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Dianadasrath-Headshot.Jpg | Diana Dasrath | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

In the documents, Funches-Wade claimed her ex-husband violated their custody agreement because he never tried discussing the name change with her. She also accused him of possibly “pressuring” their child to move forward with the “name and gender change in order to capitalize” on related financial opportunities. Wade has been publicly supportive of Zaya, who came out in 2020. “There are genuinely people out there who think that you’re a kid, this is a phase, or you don’t actually know what you’re talking about,” Zaya said in a clip from the Logo30 series. “I know that I’m trans and it’s not like one day I just went, ‘I want to try out being trans.’ No.

The landmark case was the first to test whether the NCAA could be held liable for traumatic brain injuries suffered by players, lawyers said. “The NCAA bore no responsibility for Mr. Gee’s tragic death, and furthermore, the case was not supported by medical science linking Mr. Gee’s death to his college football career,” Bearby said. Alana Gee’s lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Alana Gee's lawyers said his substance abuse and health problems stemmed from CTE. Tests of Gee's brain tissue following his death concluded that he suffered from CTE and that this “likely contributed” to his cognitive decline, according to Alana Gee's November 2020 lawsuit.

He is now on trial in Los Angeles Superior Court and had been facing 11 charges of rape and sexual assault. Werksman also asked Siebel Newsom to explain "dozens" of emails she sent to Weinstein in the years following her encounter. In one of the emails, Siebel Newsom thanked Weinstein for inviting her and her husband to a pre-Oscars party. Siebel Newsom responded that she was afraid of Weinstein and felt a need to be nice to him. He was extradited from New York to a Los Angeles prison in July 2021.

When she arrived, Weinstein had no interest in discussing her projects, Siebel Newsom said. Siebel Newsom said Weinstein got her onto a bed, though she cannot recall if he carried or dragged her there. Siebel Newsom's attorney confirmed in October that Siebel Newsom would testify in the case. At the time of the meeting with Siebel Newsom, she had not met her future husband, current California Gov. In cross-examination, Weinstein attorney Mark Werksman questioned Siebel Newsom about why her husband had accepted campaign donations from the producer.

LOS ANGELES — A Louisiana woman has accused Hollywood legend Warren Beatty of coercing her into a sexual relationship when she was a teenager decades ago. Beatty is not identified by name in the suit, which did include a detailed description of the actor. The actor is accused of taking the teen on rides and offering to help with her homework. The relationship between the teen and the actor, who was about 35 at the time, continued and turned sexual, according to the suit. The teen thought she “was involved in a romantic relationship with a movie star," according to the lawsuit.

☆ Lawsuit asks Netflix to release film about 'orgasmic meditation' without 'misappropriated' sexually explicit material
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Tim Stelloh | Tim Stelloh Is A Breaking News Reporter For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

More than a dozen people formerly associated with a wellness company known for “orgasmic meditation” are asking a judge to weigh in on a forthcoming Netflix documentary, saying the film should be released without “misappropriated” sexually explicit material that could show them, their lawyer said Wednesday. The documentary, billed as an investigation into allegations about the company, OneTaste, is set to be released Saturday. It isn't clear if video showing the plaintiffs, who are identified in the suit as "Doe," is included in the movie. In a statement Wednesday, OneTaste CEO Anjuli Ayer described the people "standing up to Netflix" as "brave and powerful." "I join them to call on Netflix to not go forward with a project so fundamentally flawed," Ayer said.

☆ Dwyane Wade's ex-wife files objection to daughter Zaya's name change
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Jo Yurcaba | Jo Yurcaba Is A Reporter For Nbc Out. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

As a result, Funches-Wade argued Wade violated their custody agreement and asked the Los Angeles court to reject the name-change petition. Zaya came out as trans in 2020, and Wade has been publicly supportive of her in multiple interviews since then. “Petitioner has appeared on national television shows and in media reports regarding our child’s name and gender change. “There are genuinely people out there who think that you’re a kid, this is a phase, or you don’t actually know what you’re talking about,” Zaya told Logo. We are who we are.”Neither Wade’s representative nor Funches-Wade’s attorney immediately responded to NBC News request for comment.

LOS ANGELES, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Opening arguments are set for Monday in the Los Angeles rape trial of Harvey Weinstein, the once-powerful Hollywood producer who became the face of #MeToo allegations five years ago. In Los Angeles, he is facing 11 charges of rape and sexual assault involving five women in the Beverly Hills and Los Angeles area between 2004 and 2013. Jennifer Siebel Newsom, a documentary filmmaker, actor and wife of California Governor Gavin Newsom, is one of Weinstein's accusers in the California case. Now in declining health, he was seated in a wheelchair during jury selection in Los Angeles Superior Court. He could face up to 140 years in prison if convicted on all 11 of the charges in Los Angeles.

☆ Jailed Harvey Weinstein faces rape trial in Los Angeles
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Lisa Richwine | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LOS ANGELES, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Harvey Weinstein, currently serving a 23-year sentence for sex crimes in New York, is back on trial on criminal charges in Los Angeles, the city where he once held sway as one of the most powerful producers in Hollywood. Weinstein, 70, is facing 11 charges of rape and sexual assault involving five women in the Beverly Hills and Los Angeles area between 2004 and 2013. Weinstein was extradicted from New York to a Los Angeles prison in July 2021. Now in declining health, he has been seated in a wheelchair during jury selection in Los Angeles Superior Court. He could face up to 140 years in prison if convicted on all 11 of the charges in Los Angeles.

☆ Trial begins for Danny Masterson, 'That '70s Show' actor charged with rape
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

LOS ANGELES — A prosecutor described rape allegations by three women Tuesday against “That ’70s Show” actor Danny Masterson from two decades ago that contained some of the same disturbing elements. One of them said he dragged her to his bed where she regained consciousness to find him having sex with her. Superior Court Judge Charlaine F. Olmedo sternly reminded the lawyers that Scientology would not dominate the trial. The Associated Press does not typically name people who say they were victims of sexual abuse unless they come forward publicly. Weinstein’s second rape and sexual assault trial — he’s already been convicted in New York — is happening simultaneously, just down the hall from Masterson’s.

☆ Tiffany Haddish says she lost all her gigs after abuse claim
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( Lisa Respers France | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Following a notice of dismissal filed by the plaintiffs for a lawsuit involving allegations of molestation against comedians Tiffany Haddish and Aries Spears, Haddish says the suit has cost her work. “I lost everything,” she told a TMZ photographer when she was questioned at LAX airport on Wednesday. The incidents allegedly occurred while Haddish was supposedly trying to help the youngsters get into show business, according to the suit. Attorneys for Haddish and Spears have not responded to CNN’s requests for comment. When asked by TMZ if she thought the dismissal might help her, Haddish responded, “I don’t know, bro.

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