Legal news
Diplo Sexual Assault Accuser Drops Lawsuit
A woman who accused Diplo of sexual assault has filed to dismiss her lawsuit. According to documents viewed by Consequence, the case will be dismissed with prejudice, which would forbid the plaintiff from pursuing another lawsuit on the same grounds. “In light of the evidence and after consultation with my attorneys, I have decided to withdraw my lawsuit,” the plaintiff, known as E.K., said in a statement. “No payment was offered or requested. I regret filing the lawsuit.” E.K.’s attorney confirmed that the lawsuit has been withdrawn. “As we said when we first learned of this lawsuit, there was absolutely irrefutable evidence that proved that the allegations it contained were false,” said Diplo’s attorney Bryan Freedman. “As soon as we shared that plethora of evidence with the plainti...
Two Former Sex Pistols Sue John Lydon over Music Licensing in Danny Boyle Miniseries
Two former Sex Pistols — guitarist Steve Jones and drummer Paul Cook — are suing John “Johnny Rotten” Lydon for blocking the licensing of the group’s music for Danny Boyle’s Sex Pistols miniseries. Pistol is a six-episode limited series that’s been adapted from Jones’ 2017 memoir Lonely Boy: Tales From a Sex Pistol. It’s been causing tension among the onetime bandmates ever since it was announced, and while legal action isn’t a surprise, the direction of it is. In April, it was Lydon who threatened to sue, called the decision not to hire him as a consultant “disrespectful.” His attempts to curmudgeon his way into a check didn’t work, and he’s now trying to grind the production to a halt by refusing to grant permission for the group’s songs. As The Associated Press reports, J...
Britney Spears Uses #FreeBritney Hashtag in Instagram Post Celebrating Court Ruling
The #FreeBritney movement has been pop culture canon for quite a while now, and it’s been cemented even further now that its namesake has finally utilized the hashtag on her own social media. Celebrating Wednesday’s court ruling that she can at last hire her own lawyer, Britney Spears shared a gleeful Instagram post expressing her gratitude with clips of herself horseback riding and doing cartwheels. Tacked on at the end of the caption was a cheeky “#FreeBritney.” “Coming along, folks … coming along,” Spears wrote, with a middle-finger emoji for good measure. “New with real representation today … I feel GRATITUDE and BLESSED !!!! Thank you to my fans who are supporting me … You have no idea what it means to me be supported by such awesome fans !!!! God bless you all !!!!! Pssss this is me ...
Judge Approves Britney Spears’ Request to Hire Her Own Lawyer
A judge has approved Britney Spears’ request to hire her own private counsel to represent her in her ongoing conservatorship case. In the wake of Britney’s damning public testimony last month, her court appointed attorney, Sam Ingham, tendered his resignation. During a hearing on Wednesday, Judge Brenda Penny approved Ingham’s request to remove himself from the case, while allowing Britney to retain her own representation for the first time since the conservatorship was put into place some 13 years ago. TMZ reports that Britney has already picked Matthew Rosengart to replace Ingham. A one-time federal prosecutor, Rosengart is now a go-to attorney for A-list clients including Madonna, Sean Penn, and Steven Spielberg. Advertisement Related Video Britney herself appeared in court on Wednesday...
Roy Moore’s $95 Million “Pedophile Wand” Lawsuit Against Sacha Baron Cohen Thrown Out
Sacha Baron Cohen’s money, like teenage girls, should be kept out of Roy Moore’s reach. That’s the gist of a ruling from a New York judge, who has tossed out a $95 million lawsuit alleging that a segment in the show Who Is America? made Moore appear even more like a pedophile than he already did. During their interview, Cohen used a wand said to detect child sex offenders on Moore, and it beeped. That made Moore angry enough to seek legal recompense, but according to court documents viewed by TMZ, he actually signed a waiver ahead of filming giving up his right to sue. The judge also noted that Who Is America? is clearly satire, and protected as free speech under the 1st Amendment. Moore is one of the more loathsome footnotes in America’s political history. He twice ser...
Drake Bell Sentenced to Two Years Probation for Child Endangerment, Victim Calls Him a “Pedophile”
Jared Drake Bell, best known for Nickelodeon’s Drake and Josh, has been sentenced to two years probation for child endangerment, People reports. He is also required to complete 200 hours of community service. Charges were brought against the former child star in early June, and on June 24th he pleaded guilty to felony attempted child endangerment and a misdemeanor charge of disseminating matter harmful to juveniles. On Monday, July 12th, the 35-year-old actor appeared virtually in a Cleveland court to hear his sentence. His victim, now 19, made a public statement for the first time during the hearing. She called the actor, “The epitome of evil,” claiming that he began grooming her at the age of 12 and allegedly sexually abused her at the age of 15, sending her photos of...
Former Disney Star Kyle Massey Wanted for Arrest After Skipping Court
Kyle Massey, who played Cory Baxter in Disney Channel’s That’s So Raven and Corey in the House, has a warrant out for his arrest after missing a court date. Last month, the former child star was charged with a felony for communication with a minor for immoral purposes. He had been scheduled to appear for arraignment the morning of July 12th, after previously missing his arraignment in late June. Following this second no-show, as TMZ and Cox Media Group have reported, a judge in King County, Washington, has issued a $100,000 warrant for his arrest. The 29-year-old actor first found himself in legal trouble in 2019, when the alleged victim in this case sued him for $1.5 million. According to the lawsuit, Massey sent “numerous sexually explicit text mes...
Lil Baby Arrested in Paris for Narcotics, James Harden Questioned by Police
Rapper Lil Baby has been detained as part of a narcotics investigation in Paris, France. He had been taking in Fashion Week with NBA player James Harden, who was also questioned by police but not arrested. The news was first reported by Le Parisien and has since been confirmed by NBC News. Reportedly, the two men were among a group stopped by law enforcement officials at around 4:50 p.m. local time. The cops said they smelled marijuana, and bystander footage shows them going through Harden’s pockets. Harden can be heard saying, “It’s ok,” and “I don’t understand.” Check out the video below. The Brooklyn Nets’ star seems to be in the clear, while Lil Baby, whose birth name is Dominique Armani Jones, was arrested alongside one other unidentified individual. The investigat...
Bill Cosby Planning Standup Comedy Tour Following Prison Release
Fresh off his overturned conviction for sexual assault, Bill Cosby is ready to make his return to show business. That’s right, the disgraced comedian wants to mount a full-blown standup comedy tour. According to TMZ, Cosby’s spokesperson Andrew Wyatt confirmed the 83-year-old’s team has started reaching out to club promoters across the country, with many allegedly saying they’d be open to having him perform. “The world wants to see Mr. Cosby,” Wyatt told the gossip outlet. Among those who likely aren’t interested in seeing Cosby back in the limelight are the more than 60 women who’ve come forward with allegations of the former Cosby Show star engaging in rape, drug-induced sexual assault, sexual battery, and child sexual abuse. In 2018, Cosby was convicted of three counts of aggravated ind...
Britney Spears’ Court-Appointed Attorneys Resign From Conservatorship Case
Hours after Britney Spears’ longtime manager, Larry Rudolph, announced his resignation, the singer’s court-appointed legal counsel is following suit. Samuel D. Ingham III and Loeb & Loeb “tendered their resignations” as Britney’s lawyers on Tuesday, according to court documents reviewed by The Hollywood Reporter. The news is hardly a surprise, as Britney expressed displeasure with her legal representation while testifying at her conservatorship hearing last month. In particular, Britney said Ingham had failed to inform her that she had the right to request the termination of her conservatorship. “My lawyer, Sam, has been very scared for me to go forward,” Britney told Judge Brenda Penny. “He told me I should keep it to myself.” Related Video What’s more, according to a report publ...
Britney Spears Called 911 to Report Conservatorship Abuse on Eve of Public Testimony
The New Yorker has published an extensive new investigation into Britney Spears‘ ongoing conservatorship battle. Written by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ronan Farrow and Jia Tolentino, the piece sheds new light on the circumstances leading to the court-appointed conservatorship, Britney’s medical treatment and state of mind, and the pop star’s multi-year quest to end it. Notably, on the eve of last month’s hearing, Farrow and Tolentino report that Britney called 911 to report herself as a victim of conservatorship abuse. After learning of the call, members of Britney’s team reportedly began “texting one another frantically… worried about what Spears might say the next day, and they discussed how to prepare in the event that she went rogue.” The next day Britney did in fact go “ro...
Cop Plays Taylor Swift While Confronting Protestors So Video of Conflict Will Get Pulled for Copyright Infringement
During a July 1st protest at the Alameda County Courthouse, a cop played a Taylor Swift song on his phone so that footage of the conflict would get pulled from YouTube for copyright infringement. Via Gizmodo, Sheriff’s deputy David Shelby had been arguing with James Burch, the policy director for the Anti-Police Terror Project. Amid a disagreement about whether a banner constituted a “tripping hazard,” Shelby suddenly pulled out his phone and began playing Swift’s 2014 single “Blank Space.” “I don’t know why — are we having a dance party now?” Burch asked. Shelby said, “You can record all you want. I just know it can’t be posted on YouTube.” Related Video Shelby was relying on YouTube’s Content ID system, which scans videos against a database of copyrighted materials in orde...
