Legal news
Leonard Cohen’s Estate Exploring Legal Actions Against RNC Over Unauthorized Use of “Hallelujah”
Leonard Cohen’s estate is exploring “legal options” following the unauthorized use of “Hallelujah” during Thursday night’s Republican National Convention. In a statement, Brian J. Monaco, president and global chief marketing officer of Sony/ATV Music Publishing, said that “on the eve of the finale of the convention, representatives from the Republican National Committee contacted us regarding obtaining permission for a live performance of Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’. We declined their request.” The RNC nonetheless played two different versions of “Hallelujah” during last convention: a recorded cover by Tori Kelly and a live performance sung by opera singer Christopher Macchio. Michelle L. Rice, the legal representative for the Cohen Estate, said the family was “surprised and dismayed that...
John Lennon’s Killer Mark David Chapman Denied Parole for 11th Time
Mark David Chapman, the man convicted of murdering John Lennon, has once again been denied parole and will remain in prison for at least another two years. According to The New York Daily News, a parole board denied Chapman’s request for early release on August 19th. Chapman, 65, is currently serving a 20 years-to-life sentence after pleading guilty to killing Lennon on December 8th, 1980. In 2000, Chapman became eligible for parole, but his request for early release has been denied eleven times to date. In past parole hearings, Chapman claimed to have found Jesus and said he felt “more and more shame” for his actions. However, Lennon’s widow, Yoko Ono, has argued against Chapman’s release, saying she fears for her family’s safety. Upon denying Chapman’s previous request in 2018, a p...
TikTok Sues Trump Administration Over Attempted US Ban
TikTok vs. Donald Trump TikTok is suing the Trump administration for trying to ban the app’s American operations. In a statement, the popular video sharing platform said that Trump’s recent executive order violates its right to due process and offers no evidence that the app presents a national security threat. “We do not take suing the government lightly, however we feel we have no choice but to take action to protect our rights, and the rights of our community and employees,” TikTok contends. Trump’s executive order halts transactions between the Beijing-based ByteDance and TikTok’s US-based users and employees, essentially killing the app in America, where it boasts an estimated 80 million users. Trump’s purported reason for issuing the August 6th order was that the app presented possib...
Britney Spears Asks Court to Prohibit Her Father from Regaining Conservatorship
After more than a decade, Britney Spears is seeking to permanently break free from her father’s conservatorship. According to documents filed on Tuesday, the pop star officially asked the court to not allow her father, James Spears, to regain control over her life. From 2008 to 2019, James oversaw nearly every major aspect of his daughter’s existence — from personal matters like her relationships and health to financial affairs related to her career. The “Womanizer” singer was placed under such a conservatorship following a series of public meltdowns and hospitalizations. However, in recent years, many of Britney’s fans have called into question her father’s motives. Believing he and his team may have unfairly taken advantage of the conservatorship for their own personal benefit, they bega...
Lawsuit Against Lizzo Over “Truth Hurts” Royalties Dismissed
Lizzo may finally get some peace and quiet after last year’s nonstop lawsuits. On Friday afternoon, a California federal judge dismissed a lawsuit against the breakout pop star over credits on her hit “Truth Hurts”. Last fall, songwriters Justin and Jeremiah Raisen accused Lizzo of plagiarizing the “Truth Hurts” lyric “I just took a DNA test/ Turns out I’m 100% that bitch” from “Healthy”, a collaborative demo they made together with the Cuz I Love You singer, Jesse Saint John, and Yves Rothman in April 2017. Lizzo pushed back by suing the Raisens and Yves Rothman, and instead granted a songwriting credit to Mina Lioness, the Twitter user whose original joke inspired the lyric. Then in February, the Raisens filed a countersuit against Lizzo to demand credit and royalties from “Truth Hurts”,...
Three R. Kelly Associates Charged with Intimidating and Bribing Alleged Victims
The R. Kelly saga continues, and this time because of the disgraced R&B singer’s loyal network of friends. Federal prosecutors in New York have arrested three Kelly associates for threatening and bribing the alleged victims of Kelly’s abuse. Richard Arline Jr., who prosecutors describe as a “self-proclaimed longtime friend of… Please click the link below to read the full article. Three R. Kelly Associates Charged with Intimidating and Bribing Alleged Victims Eli Enis You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet Beautiful people, chat and make money in the process. Earn rewards by chatting, sharing photos, blogging and help give users back their f...
Megan Thee Stallion Says She Was Shot in the Foot
Megan Thee Stallion has issued a social media statement regarding the incident over the weekend that led to Tory Lanez’s arrest and her own trip to the hospital. The “Girls in the Hood” rapper was taken to a Los Angeles hospital with what was reported at the time as a foot wound caused by broken glass found in Lanez’s car. However, Megan has now said the injury was in fact “gunshot wounds” she sustained “as a result of a crime that was committed against me and done with the intention to physically harm me.” She also clarified that she was never arrested, and the police only drove her to the hospital. Despite her public statement, the Los Angeles Police Department told TMZ that while Megan Thee Stallion was with police, “she did not report that she was the victim of any crime.” Accordi...
Empire Actor Bryshere Gray Charged With Felony Assault
Empire actor Bryshere Gray has been charged with felony aggravated assault after allegedly attacking his wife. The Goodyear Police Department in Goodyear, Arizona said Gray was arrested on Monday after they received a 911 call about a woman who had been assaulted for several hours by her husband, whom was identified as Gray. The woman, who had multiple visible injuries, told officers that Gray strangled her and that she had temporarily lost consciousness, according to USA Today. After officers arrived outside of Gray’s home, a short standoff ensued. Eventually, SWAT and crisis negotiators were able to convince Gray to exit his home and surrender. In addition to felony aggravated assault, Gray was charged with two misdemeanor counts of domestic violence and disorderly conduct. On Empire, Gr...
Three Men Formally Charged in Pop Smoke Murder Case
Three men have been formally charged in connection with the murder of Pop Smoke. TMZ reports that Corey Walker, 19 and Keandre Rogers, 18, have been charged with murder, while Jaquan Murphy, 21, has been charged with attempted murder. Two other individuals under the age of 18 were also detained on Thursday, but their respective charges have not yet been disclosed. The Los Angeles Police Department says the men were part of a street gang responsible for several murders, including Pop Smoke’s. The rapper was shot and killed at his home in the Hollywood Hills on February 19th, 2020. Last week brought the release of a posthumous album called Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon, featuring unreleased music from the rapper alongside collaborations with DaBaby, Future, Quavo, Swae Lee, and other...
Lori Loughlin to Serve Two Months in Prison After Pleading Guilty in College Admissions Scandal
Lori Loughlin and her husband, Mossimo Giannulli, have agreed to plead guilty for their involvement in the largest college admissions scam in American history. Under terms of the plea deal, the Full House actress will serve a two-month prison sentence and 24 months of supervised release. Giannulli, meanwhile, will spend five months behind bars. Loughlin and Giannulli were accused of paying $500,000 in bribes so that their daughters would be classified as recruits for USC’s crew team, fast-tracking their admittance into the school. (Neither daughter ever rowed crew.) This is a developing story… You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet Beautiful people, chat and ...
Mr. Rogers Sued Ice Cube for Sampling Him in “A Gangsta’s Fairytale”
Mr. Rogers and Ice Cube Over the weekend, Ice Cube celebrated the 30th anniversary of his debut solo album, AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted, with a digital listening party. He hosted the event on Instagram Live where he rapped along to his hits, shared insight into the songwriting process, and recalled old memories. Unexpectedly, one of those recollections involved getting sued by Mr. Rogers himself. As noted by Stereogum, the N.W.A. rapper brought up the surprising legal tussle practically as an aside. “I actually wrote [‘A Gangsta’s Fairytale’] for Eazy-E. But y’all know what it is; we weren’t getting down at the time so I had to take it myself,” he said on Instagram. “It’s a trip because off this song, Mr. Rogers sued us. He was mad because we had the Mister Rogers theme at the beginning of thi...
Martin Shkreli Denied Early Release From Prison
Looks like America will need to come up with another way of finding a COVID-19 vaccine: a federal judge has denied Martin Shkreli’s request for an early release from prison. Last month, Shkreli petitioned the court for an early release, saying that he had “been conducting significant research into developing molecules to inhibit the coronavirus.” “Mr. Shkreli has spent countless hours while incarcerated researching disease treatments and possible cures for COVID-19,” his lawyers wrote in a formal request. “His current project has been well received. One company is prepared to begin working on clinical trials of Mr. Shkreli’s work within weeks.” The judge wasn’t buying it, however. TMZ reports that the judge dismissed the pharmadouche’s claims as yet another example of the “delusional self-...
