Legal news
Eric Clapton Successfully Sues Woman for Selling a Bootleg Live CD for $11
Very rich and often delirious musician Eric Clapton has successfully sued a German woman for selling a single bootlegged recording of one of his concerts from the 1980s on eBay. As DW points out, Clapton sent a Düsseldorf court an affidavit stating that the recordings were illegal. The defendant claimed she didn’t know she was infringing copyright, selling a recording for €9.95, or the equivalent of about $11. Stating that her late husband had purchased the original CD at a department store in 1987, the defendant appealed to the court, which was rejected. The judge ruled that it did not matter that she hadn’t purchased the CD herself and did not know the recording was done illegally. Clapton’s injunction requires the defendant to pay the legal fees of both parties, which come out to about ...
Sex and the City’s Chris Noth Accused of Sexual Assault by Two Women
Chris Noth has been hit with two separate allegations of sexual misconduct. According to a story published by The Hollywood Reporter, two different women aged 31 and 40, came forward separately months apart — without knowing each other — with allegations that the Sex and the City star sexually assaulted them. Using pseudonyms, the alleged victims assert that their respective encounters with Noth took place in 2004 in Los Angeles and 2015 in New York City. The younger of the two women, a journalist in the entertainment industry, initially reached out to THR via email. “Seeing that he was reprising his role in Sex and the City set off something in me. For so many years, I buried it,” wrote Lily in August. The timing of the SATC reboot helped the woman make the decision to “try to go pub...
Tory Lanez Shouted, “Dance Bitch!” Before Shooting Megan Thee Stallion in Foot
According to testimony at a preliminary hearing for Tory Lanez’s assault trial, the controversial artist shouted, “Dance, bitch, dance!” before shooting Megan Thee Stallion in the foot. Via TMZ, the revelation came from LAPD Detective Ryan Stogner, who was relaying Meg’s version of events. According to Det. Stogner’s testimony, at approximately 4:30 a.m. on July 12th, 2020, Lanez was standing on the step board of an SUV while Meg stood outside of it. The two had been fighting, and Lanez was intoxicated when he yelled at her to “Dance!” As shots rang out, Meg “immediately felt pain to her feet, observed blood, fell to the ground, and then crawled to an adjacent driveway of a residence.” Det. Stogner’s testimony confirmed public knowledge of the event, including that Mega...
Goldenvoice Sues Live Nation over Coachella Day One 22 Festival
The average music fan may not know it, but there are two Coachella music festivals scheduled to take place in the desert of Southern California over the next several months. If AEG-owned promoter Goldenvoice has its way, however, the copycat Coachella Day One 22 will be wiped off the map. As Billboard reports, Goldenvoice filed a trademark infringement lawsuit on December 13th against AEG’s primary competitor Live Nation in US District Court in California. Of course, Goldenvoice is known for its Coachella Valley Arts and Music Festival, which has taken place at the Empire Polo Field in Indio, California since 1999. Ordinarily, the company would be suing the festival’s promoter, the Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians, but the Native American tribe is shielded from legal action due to...
Taylor Swift Ordered to Face Trial in “Shake It Off” Copyright Lawsuit
Here’s one lawsuit Taylor Swift just can’t shake off. On Thursday (December 9th), a federal judge ruled the pop singer must face a jury trial after being accused of taking lyrics from 3LW’s “Playas Gon’ Play” for her 2014 hit “Shake It Off.” Per Billboard, US District Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald turned down Swift’s request to dismiss the case, ruling that there were “enough objective similarities” between the two songs that a jury could come to the conclusion that “Shake It Off” had infringed on the copyright to 2001’s “Playas Gon’ Play.” “Even though there are some noticeable differences between the works, there are also significant similarities in word usage and sequence/structure,” the judge wrote. “It is clear that there are enough objective similarities amongst the works to imply that...
Travis Scott Begins Effort to Dismiss Astroworld Lawsuits: Report
Travis Scott has begun the process of dismissing the hundreds of lawsuits over his deadly Astroworld festival. Per TMZ, the Houston rapper has filed to have a civil suit against him and his companies — Jack Enterprises and Cactus Jack — be dropped with prejudice. Scott is issuing a “general denial” in response to attendee Jessie Garcia’s lawsuit, meaning he wants to deny responsibility for all allegations in one blanket response. TMZ reports that Travis and his legal team are preparing a similar response to every civil suit filed against him. This may not be necessary, however, as attorneys for both victims and festival organizers filed a joint petition last week to combine the mounting number of cases into a single “multi-district litigation.” As Billboard points out, this is standar...
Alec Baldwin Could Still Be Charged For Rust Film Set Shooting
Last week, during his first interview since the tragedy on the set of indie film Rust, Alec Baldwin claimed that he didn’t pull the trigger on the prop gun that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. He also said that he’s “been told by people who are in the know… that it’s highly unlikely that I would be charged with anything criminally.” But Santa Fe County District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies, who’s leading the investigation, says the actor and several others could still be charged for their roles in the event. “Everyone involved in the handling and use of firearms on the set had a duty to behave in a manner such that the safety of others was protected,” Carmack-Altwies told TMZ. “It appears that certain actions and inactions contributed to this outcome.” Investigation...
Jeffrey Epstein’s Pilot Says He Flew Kevin Spacey on Plane Dubbed “Lolita Express”
Day two of Ghislaine Maxwell’s trial began where day one ended, with Jeffrey Epstein’s longtime pilot Lawrence Paul Visoski Jr. on the stand. On Tuesday, as the New York Times and New York Post report, Visoski named some of the high-profile guests he had ferried on Epstein’s private plane, including politicians, artists, and accused sexual predator Kevin Spacey. For those tracing Epstein’s alleged global sex trafficking operation, his frequent flights have long been a source of interest, so much so that his private plane has been dubbed the “Lolita Express.” Visoski served as the disgraced financier’s chief pilot for over 25 years, and testified that in addition to Kevin Spacey, he flew former presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump, plus actor Chris Tucker, late astro...
Ghislane Maxwell’s Lawyer Compares Jeffrey Epstein to James Bond, Doesn’t Seem to Know Who James Bond Is
On the first day of Ghislane Maxwell’s sex trafficking trial, her lawyer compared accused serial predator Jeffrey Epstein to a “21st century James Bond,” which is undoubtedly one of the strangest interpretations of the James Bond franchise in the history of film criticism. Before his death, which was ruled a suicide, Epstein had been arrested and accused of running a global sex trafficking ring involving adolescent girls. Maxwell was Epstein’s longtime partner and former girlfriend, and she’s standing trial on six counts of exploiting young girls. Prosecutors have alleged that she “assisted, facilitated, and contributed to” Epstein’s crimes. Via the New York Times, the defense contended today that Maxwell is a “scapegoat.” Her lawyer Bobbi C. Sternheim said, “Ever since Eve was accuse...
Marilyn Manson’s Home Raided by LA County Sheriff’s Department
Marilyn Manson’s West Hollywood home was raided by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department on Monday. TMZ reports that detectives executed a search warrant in connection to an ongoing sexual assault investigation. Manson has been accused of sexual abuse and other violent behavior by at least 15 women, including actresses Evan Rachel Wood and Esme Bianco. A representative for the LA County Sheriff’s Department confirmed to Rolling Stone that Manson was the target of the raid. “It was a search warrant for his belongings,” the representative said. Advertisement Related Video Among the possessions reportedly seized were hard drives and other media storage units. Manson’s lawyer, Howard King, previously said the singer “vehemently denies any and all claims of sexual assault or abuse of anyo...
Producer Adapting Rape Memoir Realizes Story Doesn’t Make Sense, Helps Clear Man’s Name
Timothy Mucciante was executive producing a film adaptation of Lucky, Alice Sebold’s 1999 memoir about being beaten and raped in 1981, when he noticed several issues with the subsequent trial that led to the conviction of Anthony J. Broadwater. Mucciante became so convinced that an injustice had occurred that he dropped out of the movie this past June, hired a private investigator, and turned over the findings to Broadwater’s lawyer. On Monday, as the New York Times reports, Broadwater was finally exonerated of the crime. Broadwater, now 61, was only 20 years old at the time of his arrest. He had returned home to Syracuse, New York from a stint in the Marines to spend time with his ill father. Throughout the trial, his father’s health worsened, and he died shortly after...
Judas in National Tour of Jesus Christ Superstar Indicted in Capitol Insurrection
Caught silver-handed? An actor in the national tour of Jesus Christ Superstar has been charged for taking part in the January 6th insurrection at the US Capitol, The Hollywood Reporter notes. James D. Beeks, who plays Judas Iscariot in the traveling Broadway production under the stage name James T. Justis, has been charged with one count of obstruction of Congress and one count of unlawfully entering a restricted building or grounds. An investigation by the Washington DC US Attorney’s Office revealed the actor to be associated with the far-right extremist militia group the Oath Keepers, and paid dues to the anti-government organization just two weeks prior to the insurrection. Beeks also works as a Michael Jackson impersonator, and was identified by authorities by the “Bad” jacke...
