A year after Leakes dropped the suit, she is opening up about the reasons she had to leave the show and it’s because she felt she “wasn’t getting fair treatment,” she said during an interview with Carlos King on Reality with the King.
Leakes said she was getting phased out for Season 13 of the reality series and was only offered six episodes, something she didn’t think was fair. The former Bravo star said that executives told her the reason she was only offered a part-time role was because she looked unhappy. Leakes questioned how they were able to tell she was unhappy and if anything, what made her unhappy was that her episode count was cut short on a season that ended up having a total of 21 episodes.
“I’m unhappy that I got six episodes. I mean, shouldn’t I get more than six episodes? Like, why is it a phase-out when there’s other girls who are not the same complexion as me and started as an original housewife?” she said. “Why are they being offered 18 episodes, and I am being offered six episodes. What did I do? Because I don’t know anything that I’ve done ever on this show that no other housewife in this franchise have not done. I’ve never done anything that no one else has done.”
Leakes cited that multiple incidents that she was being called out for that other housewives have aldo done but continue to be on the network. One example was when Teresa Giudice from New Jersey pushed Cohen during a reunion, versus when Leakes pushed a camera operator that was in the way of her getting into her closet trying to stop a co-star from rummaging through her personal space.
Reflecting on everything, Leakes says she’s always been open to having a conversation with NBCUniversal brass, and even after all that has transpired she “still respects them for what they do” in the television landscape.
“I want you to know that I have always from day one been very open to sitting down and having a conversation to figure out how to work anything out, how to move forward, how to just anything that we could do to just move forward. I’ve always been very open to that. I can’t say that the other side has been that way,” Leakes said.
She later added, “I’ve always been open to working it out. I’ve always been open to having a conversation. They have never wanted to have a conversation or they’ve never wanted to move forward in any kind of way.”
At one point, Leakes took to social media to call out Cohen and make some incendiary comments about him. During the interview, Leakes assured King that she now has no animosity towards Cohen and even congratulated him on his daughter.
“I don’t have any hard feelings,” she said on her feelings towards Cohen. “I’m a Sagittarius. So at some point, I may be mad with you, but then I get over it. I’m not the kind of girl that carries a grudge or hold[s] the grudge forever. I’m also not [an] ass kisser.”
She continued, “I hate that we’re in this place. I really wish it was a way for us to find our way back to each other because, you know, life is short and you just don’t want to carry ill feelings for the rest of your life. You don’t have to work together to do anything. But it would be nice to either just to just work through the issues.”
Usher captioned the post, “It be like that sometimes .The post featured a group chat between him, Walker and 21 Savage as small icons of their face are at the top of the thread with the words “Good Good” underneath.
In the chat, music begins to play as three dots appear at the bottom right-hand corner. Seconds later, the dots are replaced with an icon of Usher’s face, and as he sings the lyrics of the song, they appear as messages to the group.
“We ain’t good good, but we still good / We ain’t good good, but we still good / I hate that we didn’t make it to forever / Probably ain’t getting back together / But that don’t mean that I can’t wish you better / We ain’t good good, but we still good / I realize that I can’t be your lover / Let’s just keep it honest with each other / I’ll be happy for you when you find another”, he sang.
Of his last line in the text chat, he sang “We ain’t good good, but we still good” then added his reaction to the message with an exclamation point.
The iconic Bronx native, whose name is an abbreviation for “Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everyone,” is one of the most respected rappers in the music industry. He came onto the scene in the mid-1980s as a member of the highly regarded Boogie Down Productions, which he created with the late DJ Scott La Rock. Together, they wanted to advocate for Black Americans with a special New York flair. Shortly after the group began to make noise, Scott La Rock was killed. After his passing, KRS-One continued to make music as a solo artist, still representing the group and fighting for rap music to be heard and recognized along the way.
Since the focus of this year’s ESSENCE Fest was honoring hip hop’s 50th anniversary, rap culture was integrated into all elements of the event — from panel speakers to activations, nightly concerts and more. KRS-One was one of the performers for Friday’s (June 30) show, which was a true ode to hip hop featuring The Sugarhill Gang, Big Daddy Kane, Melle Mel, Slick Rick, Bone Crusher and more. KRS shared that he came to represent his friend Doug E. Fresh, aka the “Human Beat Box,” and was blown away to see his ideas come together.
“Doug E. Fresh is a leader, we know what it is. To come out here and actually see what he had in mind kind of blew us all away and motivated us to do our best,” KRS said during his time in the press room after his segment of the show.
Today’s mainstream rap music is quite different than when hip hop was first introduced to the world in the 1970s. The industry veteran expressed that his class of rappers never cared about the dollars more than the “why” behind what they were doing.
“They ignored us for 50 years; now the 50th year, we here. Come on, we know the game. That’s the difference between real hip hop and fake s**t. Real hip hop is free. We ain’t with the corporations; we ain’t messing with none of that. We built our culture from the center. Now we’re building theirs,” he stressed.
When talking about how to bridge the gap between the new and old school, he stated that today’s artists have a different way of thinking, which has led music fans to what they hear on the radio.
“They are two different mind states, so it’s hard to say there’s a gap because a gap implies that there’s a separation between one thing,” he said. “What people call rap or hip hop today is a disgrace to our culture. An absolute betrayal, disrespect and a disgrace.”
He continued, “That gap you’re talking about is not even a gap; it’s traitors. It’s straight traitors because if you know what original hip hop is all about and you choose to do the opposite, you a traitor. There’s no way around that s**t.”
“We started with breaking, MCing, graffiti art, and DJing, the core four elements. This is hip hop because we wanted peace, love, unity, and having fun. This is why we did what we did. We put [in] all the movies, DVDs, all the first books, all the first rhymes, everything. Now, you come along and say, ‘Man, f**k all that. I just want this money, and these white folks are going to give [me] all this money for me to act like a coon, and I’m just going to go ahead and do it, and f**k the culture.’ That’s a traitor,” the hip hop icon elaborated.
“Where’s your parents, where’s your teacher, your minister, your grandmother?” he asked. “These kids have nothing, so now they turn on the radio, and they listen to hip hop — and somebody like KRS-One, Knowledge Reigns Supreme, Melle Mel, everyone… Black radio don’t even want to play my music, but they’ll [play] that b**ch, and that h**, and that tramp, and that s**t. This is African Americans doing this to African Americans.”
Although the 57-year-old doesn’t blame hip hop for the encounters Black people have with the justice system, he thinks it plays an influential role in regard to the lifestyle some people are after. When it came to police brutality, the father of one mentioned that the mainstream media’s representation of Black people is foolery, so folks shouldn’t be surprised at white cops who lack empathy.
“A white cop could turn on any television show right now and be motivated to shoot anyone of us. Listen to what I just said. A white cop can turn on any Black show, even the ones that’s supposed to be intellectual, showing the Black family and all this bulls**t,” the “MC’s Act Like They Don’t Know” rapper said.
“People can just look for themselves and say, ‘Look at the bulls**t African Americans are dealing with.’ And now they crying, African Americans, that there’s a problem with America, and this and that. Black men don’t want to be home with their kids, Black women aggravating Black men crazy, Black children don’t want to listen to Black men or Black women, so where is the Black family at? This is what hip hop is dealing with. This is what we dealing with,” he added.
Former President Donald Trump has pleaded not guilty to four felony charges that he attempted to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Trump entered his plea on Thursday before Magistrate Judge Moxila Upadhyaya at a Washington, D.C., federal courthouse not far from the U.S. Capitol, where the alleged conspiracy he's accused of orchestrating turned violent on Jan. 6, 2021.
Among those in the courtroom with Trump were his lawyers Todd Blanche and John Lauro. Special counsel Jack Smith was also there, as were the prosecutors working for him, Thomas Windom, Molly Gaston and Mary Dohrmann.
Windom said the Justice Department was not seeking the former president's detention. The conditions of release, Windom said, are that Trump must not violate federal, state or local law while on release and that he "shall not communicate about facts of the case with any individual known to be a witness, except with counsel or the presence of counsel."
Judge Upadhyaya said the most important condition of release is not committing any new crimes while on release, which could lead to him being detained and could add to the sentence he may eventually face. She told Trump that it is a crime to "influence a juror or try to threaten or bribe a witness or retaliate against anyone" connected to the case. Trump said he understands.
The magistrate judge has set the first hearing for Aug. 28 at 10 a.m. ET, and at that time U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who has been assigned the case, will set a trial date.
Among the other people in the courtroom was Evan Corcoran, an attorney for Trump who wound up testifying before the grand jury investigating willful retention of classified documents at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort after prosecutors successfully pierced the attorney-client privilege. Trump was charged with 40 counts in that case.
Trump's appearance comes two days after a federal grand jury indicted him on four counts related to conspiracy to defraud the United States, witness tampering, conspiracy against the rights of citizens, and obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding.
Trump, the front-runner in the Republican presidential field, has called the charges election interference.
"This was never supposed to happen in America. This is the persecution of the person that's leading by very substantial numbers in the Republican primary and leading Biden by a lot. So if you can't beat him, you persecute him or you prosecute him. We can't let this happen in America," Trump said in brief remarks at the airport before departing after the hearing.
Trump remains the clear front-runner in the Republican presidential primary; however, very early polls generally show Trump and Biden close.
The case gets to the heart of the alleged effort to overturn the 2020 election
The Department of Justice's investigation into the events of Jan. 6, 2021, is among the most sprawling and complex in U.S. history — it gets at the heart of the alleged effort to overturn legitimate election results and obstruct the peaceful transfer of power.
The indictment on Tuesday is the latest in a series of legal troubles that are likely to loom over next year's presidential election. Trump also faces separate federal charges over allegedly obstructing an investigation into classified documents at Mar-a-Lago.
In addition to these federal charges, Trump is fighting criminal charges over the accounting for hush money payments in Manhattan; a defamation lawsuit filed by writer E. Jean Carroll; and a grand jury investigation in Georgia over his attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in that state.
Trump's refusal to acknowledge the results began on election night, when he took to the stage at his campaign headquarters and claimed that he was the rightful winner and that the election was being stolen through fraud.
It was a false allegation that he would push repeatedly and continues to push.
In the weeks following the election, Trump's campaign pursued dozens of lawsuits in states where Trump lost. Courts repeatedly rejected the Trump team's election fraud claims.
Yet Trump refused to acknowledge what even his own top advisers were telling him at the time: There was no evidence of widespread fraud that would change the election's outcome.
Instead, he continued to push his false claims of fraud and raise money off them. According to the House Jan. 6 Committee, Trump raised nearly $250 million between Election Day and Jan. 6, 2021.
As 2020 came to a close, Trump began to turn up the pressure on then-Vice President Mike Pence, seeking his help to remain in office.
Lawmakers in Congress were set to meet on Jan. 6 to certify the Electoral College count and Joe Biden's victory.
Trump, leaning on legal theories proposed by outside attorney John Eastman, wanted Pence to refuse to count certain Electoral College votes — a theory that Pence rejected as unconstitutional.
Eastman is currently fighting to retain his law license. The State Bar of California opened a case against him in June and has argued that Eastman knowingly and willfully pushed false allegations of voter fraud during the 2020 election.
Meanwhile, Trump advisers were pursuing a fake-elector scheme, pushing Republican officials in states like Arizona, Wisconsin and Georgia to put forward an alternate slate of electors even though Biden had won those states.
Ultimately, Pence rebuffed Trump's pressure and refused on Jan. 6, 2021, to block the certification of Biden's election win.
But as Congress was meeting on Capitol Hill, Trump was hosting a rally down by the White House. In a long, rambling speech, he repeated his claims of election fraud and told the crowd to "fight like hell" and march to Congress.
Thousands of Trump supporters did just that. They marched from the Ellipse to the Capitol, where they fought through police lines, stormed the Capitol and sent lawmakers fleeing for safety.
Around 140 police officers were injured defending Congress that day, according to the Justice Department.
Law enforcement regained control of the Capitol hours later, allowing lawmakers to return and finish certifying Biden's victory.
The Justice Department immediately launched a nationwide investigation — one of the largest in the department's history — to track down those who broke into the Capitol and hold them accountable. So far, more than 1,100 people have been arrested in connection with the attack.
"As always, we remain a close family with deep love and respect for each other for everything we have built and will continue to build," he wrote.
The office of the prime minister also said that the couple is focused on raising their kids in a safe, loving and collaborative environment.
"Both parents will be a constant presence in their children’s lives and Canadians can expect to often see the family together," the statement said. "The family will be together on vacation, beginning next week."
Sophie and Justin Trudeau first met as children in Montreal and crossed paths again at a charity event in 2003, according to Vogue. They married in 2005 and have three children, two sons and a daughter.
Trudeau has publicly praised his wife over the years, most recently in a post on her birthday in April. He posted two selfies with her to his social media with a caption professing his love for her.
Jennifer and Common were first linked romantically in July 2022 as they were filming the upcoming action thriller "Breathe" together. That month, they were caught on a date in Philadelphia where they were filming the movie.
Since then, they have been spotted together several times on different occasions. Back in February, the two were caught having a dinner date as they were photographed when leaving Nobu restaurant in Malibu together.
In January, meanwhile, a source told Radar Online that the "American Idol" alum and the 51-year-old rap star are "secretly dating." The source spilled, "Things took a romantic turn while they were filming in Philadelphia over the summer. When the day's shoot wrapped, they'd always find their way to each other's side."
The jazz show is scheduled to return to Dolby Live at Park MGM on August 31. The Grammy winner is set to play September 2, 3, 6, 7, 9, 10, 28 and 30, before returning for three dates on October 1, 4 and 5.
The residency started in January 2019, and featured Gaga's covers of "Luck Be a Lady", "Mambo Italiano", "La Vie En Rose", and "Fly Me to the Moon", as well as jazz renditions of her hits "Bad Romance", "Paparazzi", and "Born This Way".
After a 21-month long hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the residency returned to the theatre on October 14, 2021, and concluded in May 2022. As well as performing the stripped-back jazz show, Gaga also gave her Little Monsters the choice to see her pop show "Lady Gaga Enigma".
News of the return of "Jazz and Piano" comes after the "A Star Is Born" star paid a touching tribute to late jazz icon Tony Bennett, whom she performed and recorded with a number of times.
The "Poker Face" singer - who made two albums, "Cheek to Cheek" in 2014 and 2021's "Love for Sale", with Tony, as well as appearing on his 2011 record "Duets II" - has been left heartbroken following his death on July 21 at the age of 96 and reflected on the "magical power" they had when working together.
She wrote on Instagram alongside a photo of them embracing, "With Tony, I got to live my life in a time warp. Tony + I had this magical power. We transported ourselves to another era, modernized the music together, and gave it all new life as a singing duo. But it wasnt an act. Our relationship was very real."
"Sure he taught me about music, about showbiz life, but he also showed me how to keep my spirits high and my head screwed on straight. 'Straight ahead,' he'd say. He was an optimist, he believed in quality work AND quality life. Plus, there was the gratitude...Tony was always grateful. He served in WWII, marched with Martin Luther King Jr., and sang jazz with the greatest singers and players in the world (sic).
Tony had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2016, which meant Gaga had been able to say a "very long and powerful" goodbye to the veteran entertainer and she insisted the 59-year age gap between them had never mattered. She continued, "I've been grieving the loss of Tony for a long time. We had a very long and powerful goodbye."
"Though there were 5 decades between us, he was my friend. My real true friend. Our age difference didn't matter-- in fact, it gave us each something neither of us had with most people. We were from two different stages in life entirely--inspired. Losing Tony to Alzheimer's has been painful but it was also really beautiful."
"An era of memory loss is such a sacred time in a persons life. There's such a feeling of vulnerability and a desire to preserve dignity. All I wanted was for Tony to remember how much I loved him and how grateful I was to have him in my life."
"But, as that faded slowly I knew deep down he was sharing with me the most vulnerable moment in his life that he could--being willing to sing with me when his nature was changing so deeply. I'll never forget this experience. I'll never forget Tony Bennett (sic)."
The "House of Gucci" actress ended with a message to fans urging them not to "discount your elders." She concluded, "If I could say anything to the world about this I would say don't discount your elders, don't leave them behind when things change. Don't flinch when you feel sad, just keep going straight ahead, sadness is part of it."
"Take care of your elders and I promise you will learn something special. Maybe even magical. And pay attention to silence - some of my musical partner and I's most meaningful exchanges were with no melody at all. I love you Tony. Love, Lady (sic)."
Tickets go on sale on August 4 via Ticketmaster. However, fans can sign up for access to an early pre-sale via http://www.vegas.ladygaga.com
Landon takes over from Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, the filmmaking team known as Radio Silence, who helmed the 2022 installment that rebooted and refurbished the movie series. The duo followed that movie, simply titled Scream, with Scream VI, which was released in March.
Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett stepped back, in part, to focus on an original horror movie for Universal, which currently remains impacted by the actors strike. The duo, as well as third group member Chad Villella, will now act as executive producers.
The two recent movies, distributed by Paramount, scared up $137.7 million and $168.9 million worldwide, respectively, and introduced a fresher-faced cast to the bloody proceedings, among them Jenna Ortega, Melissa Barrera and Mason Gooding. Sources say the actors do not have deals for a new installment but are expected to return once the dual writer and actor strikes are settled. Ortega’s deal will be one to watch, as the actress signed on to the franchise before she was catapulted to the A-list thanks to Netflix’s Wednesday.
Also unclear is who will be writing Scream 7. James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick wrote the scripts for the two recent movies. However, Landon is also an established screenwriter, having written or co-written all his directorial efforts. In any event, the script aspect won’t come into focus until the writers strike ends.
It is also expected that Paramount will return as distributor.
Wes Craven directed the first four Scream movies, with Kevin Williamson penning the original released in 1996, creating a dominant horror movie series that winkingly serves up meta-commentary alongside scares. It centered on the hunt for a killer (or killers) in a black sheet and white mask named Ghostface
“It is my job. Let’s not get crazy — I don’t want people thinking that I am setting unrealistic standards. I can afford a trainer, meal prep and a lot of things,” she said during the Aug. 1 episode of the podcast. “It is expensive but I am investing in my career because it is my career to look good. Not even is it my career to look good, it is my career choice to have the kind of career that I want to have.”
Palmer said part of this effort is driven by her desire to work in the action genre, where she wants to do “certain things that would require me” to be fit.
“I never want to put it on anybody,” the mom of one began. “I always want to make it clear that when I am talking about fitness, health and wellness is that, ‘Your journey is your journey. You figure it out the way you can.’ And when you look at these celebrities and people in the industry, know that it is their job.”
She also challenged the unhealthy practices and shortcuts people in Hollywood have been using — such as Ozempic, a drug designed to help people with diabetes — to lose or maintain a certain amount of weight, sharing that “it sucks.”
“I get the girls want to get into shape, but I hate that,” she said. “Ozempic, from my knowledge, I know it’s been made for people that have diabetes. Ever since the girls have been using it to lose weight, the folks with diabetes ain’t able to get [it], the prices have gone up.”
In a previous April interview with People, Palmer stressed the importance of new mothers giving themselves and their bodies grace after pregnancy.
“There’s always this thing of, ‘How’d they do it?’ And I think for me, the main thing I would say to any new mom is do what you can when you can, whatever it is that makes you feel good,” the actress said at the time. “If it’s important to you, then hell yeah put in the work miss girl. Get you whatever diet you want to do or whatever workout regimen that works for you. And if that’s not what you’re worried about, then don’t worry about it.”
The 26-page lawsuit, filed on behalf of a Louisiana woman who says she was “severely injured” after taking the two diabetes drugs, is the first to allege that they can cause gastrointestinal injuries.
Ozempic and Mounjaro — both part of a new class of medicines known as GLP-1 agonists — help people with Type 2 diabetes manage their blood sugar levels. They are also prescribed off-label for weight loss.
GLP-1 medications work, in part, by slowing how quickly food moves through the stomach, which can lead to a person feeling fuller longer. They can also, however, cause gastrointestinal issues, including abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting, which have been well documented in clinical trials and are listed as potential side effects on drugs’ labels.
Jaclyn Bjorklund, 44, of Louisiana, is accusing the drugmakers of failing to disclose other health problems allegedly caused by the medications, including severe gastroparesis, also known as stomach paralysis, as well as “persistent” vomiting, Paul Pennock, an attorney, told reporters on a call Wednesday. Pennock is from the firm Morgan & Morgan, based in Orlando, Florida, which is representing Bjorklund.
Gastroparesis is a condition that slows or stops the movement of food out of the stomach and into the small intestines. It’s sometimes referred to as “delayed gastric emptying,” according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. The condition can be caused by underlying medical issues, and one of the more common causes of gastroparesis is diabetes, according to the American College of Gastroenterology. It can also result from infections or certain medications including narcotics and antidepressants.
While “gastroparesis” is not mentioned in the prescribing information for Ozempic or Mounjaro, “delays gastric emptying” is listed on both drugs’ labels, because it can affect how other medications are absorbed by the body.
The Food and Drug Administration declined to comment on the lawsuit. In a statement, Chanapa Tantibanchachai, a spokesperson for the agency, said it is unclear whether the GLP-1 medications contribute to the occurrence of gastroparesis.
A spokesperson for Eli Lilly did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit. Natalia Salomao, a spokesperson for Novo Nordisk, said the company was not aware of the lawsuit as of Wednesday morning. However, Salomao noted that gastroparesis is a known risk for people with diabetes.
“Patient safety is of utmost importance to Novo Nordisk,” she said. “We recommend patients take these medications for their approved indications and under the supervision of a healthcare professional.”
About 400 people have come forward claiming to have gastrointestinal injuries caused by the diabetes medications, said Pennock, who stated that he ultimately expects to see “thousands of such cases.”
Bjorklund was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in 2017 and had been prescribed Ozempic before later switching to Mounjaro.
Bjorklund is claiming that she was “severely injured” by the medications and had to go to the emergency room multiple times due to stomach problems, according to the lawsuit. She vomited so violently that she lost teeth, the suit claims.
Bjorklund hasn’t yet been diagnosed with gastroparesis, Pennock said, although he claimed her symptoms are “indicative of” the condition and dismissed that the condition was caused by her diabetes.
She is seeking “very significant” compensation from the drugmakers, Pennock added, declining to state a specific amount.
“As a provider, I’m not worried about this being a common problem,” Levy said.Tantibanchachai said the FDA will continue to monitor for any potential adverse events from the medications.
Allison claims in a message shared on her Instagram Stories and Twitter account that she had been attached to the singer’s documentary Love, Lizzo in 2019, but quickly left the project. “I usually do not comment on anything pop culture related,” she wrote over an image of herself at work. “But, In 2019, I traveled a bit with Lizzo to be the director of her documentary. I walked away after about 2 weeks. I was treated with such disrespect by her.”
She continued, “I witnessed how arrogant, self-centered, and unkind she is. I was not protected and was thrown into a sh-tty situation with little support.” Allison then noted that her gut told her to leave the project, and is “grateful” that she did, adding that she “felt gaslit and was deeply hurt.”
“Reading these reports made me realize how dangerous of a situation it was,” the filmmaker concluded before sending her support to the dancers. “This kind of abuse of power happens far too often.”
On Twitter, the filmmaker — who received a best documentary short subject Oscar nomination for her Netflix documentary A Love Song for Latasha, about the 1992 shooting death of 15-year-old Latasha Harlins in Los Angeles — shared why she wanted to speak out. “Validating other Black women’s experiences is deeply important to me,” she explained.
In the complaint filed Tuesday in Los Angeles, dancers Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams and Noelle Rodriguez allege that Lizzo pressured them to go to an Amsterdam sex show and engage with the performers, and that she “called attention” to one dancer’s weight gain. The “Special” singer has been an outspoken proponent of body positivity, and often slammed internet trolls for body-shaming women.
According to Legal Affairs and Trials reporter Meghann Cuniff, who has followed the case closely since the initial trial, Lanez’s attorneys are asking “that he be released from jail to probation and a substance abuse program.” If this request is granted, it would be a huge shift in the expected penalty for Lanez, who was hit with multiple charges in December for assault with a semiautomatic firearm, having an unregistered loaded gun in a vehicle, and discharge with gross negligence.
Lanez, who currently sits in jail awaiting next week’s sentencing, is likely looking at a minimum of nine years behind bars, as his appeals for re-trials have been denied. When speaking on the matter in early May, Los Angeles district attorney Alexander Bott, who served as a prosecutor in the case, explained why he predicts Lanez could be in prison for nearly a decade.
“The sentencing range on this case is roughly nine years all the way up to 22 years and eight months,” he said. “The minimum would be approximately nine years. The judge could, theoretically, stave certain allegations and get below that, but that would be pretty unlikely… My job as a deputy district attorney is to enforce the laws that are written by the legislature… I would say any time you point a gun at someone and pull the trigger five times, that’s an action that could easily kill a person, and I think that’s an action that deserves serious consequences.”
A month after Bott’s forecast, the case’s prosecutors actually recommended to L.A. County Superior Court Judge David Herriford that Lanez serve 13 years in prison. Their memorandum stated that Lanez’s actions on social media following the incident proved his indifference to Megan Thee Stallion’s safety.
She adds that the church created “intentional malicious and fraudulent rumors via hundreds of Scientology-controlled and -coordinated social media accounts that exist solely to intimidate and spread misinformation” about her.
On Wednesday (August 2), the ‘King of Queens‘ star took to her official account on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, and revealed that she filed a lawsuit after 17 years of alleged abuse. Also in her lengthy tweet, she dropped a link to a post on Substack, featuring her same message, plus a press release about her lawsuit.
Remini wrote, “After 17 years of harassment, intimidation, surveillance, and defamation, I am filing a lawsuit against Scientology and David Miscavige. While advocating for victims of Scientology has significantly impacted my life and career, Scientology’s final objective of silencing me has not been achieved. While this lawsuit is about what Scientology has done to me, I am one of thousands of targets of Scientology over the past seven decades. People who share what they’ve experienced in Scientology, and those who tell their stories and advocate for them, should be free to do so without fearing retaliation from a cult with tax exemption and billions in assets.”
The former Scientologist continued, “The press has a right to report about Scientology without facing a sophisticated intelligence operation from Scientology to destroy their personal lives and their careers. Law enforcement authorities have a right to investigate crimes in Scientology without fear that they will lose their jobs. Children, mothers, fathers, aunts, and uncles have a right to request welfare checks on their family members without fear of an operation activated against them by Scientology for doing so. Those in the entertainment business should have a right to tell jokes and stories without facing an operation from Scientology which uses its resources in Hollywood to destroy their lives and careers.”
She concluded by listing her objective, “With this lawsuit, I hope to protect the rights afforded to them and me by the Constitution of the United States to speak the truth and report the facts about Scientology without fear of vicious and vindictive retribution, of which most have no way to fight back.”
After leaving the Church of Scientology in 2013, Remini would go on to host a documentary series from 2016 to 2019 called, ‘Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath.’ In the show, the actress highlighted stories, similar to her own, of people who had left the church and were allegedly rejected by their families and friends, and later allegedly harassed by the church.
ESPN did not publicly address the news after it broke Monday afternoon. Contract discussions with Burke and Rivers are still pending but expected to be finalized, per the report. Jackson confirmed the news on social media on Monday night.
"This morning, unexpectedly, I was informed that my services were no longer needed at ESPN," Jackson wrote, in part. "Although shocked and dismayed with the suddenness of it all, I would like to thank ESPN and all the staff of NBA ESPN crew for allowing me to be a part of the organization for the past 15+ years."
Rivers has spent the last 24 seasons as an NBA head coach, but remains without work after being fired by the Philadelphia 76ers this offseason. He would join Burke in replacing Jeff Van Gundy, who was laid off last month amid a wave of high-profile talent cuts at the network.
Jackson worked alongside Breen and Van Gundy for 15 seasons across two stints starting in 2006. The former NBA point guard spent five years with the network from 2006-11 after his retirement as a player. He left ESPN in 2011 to take over as head coach of the Golden State Warriors. He returned to the booth alongside Breen and Van Gundy after three seasons on the Golden State sideline.
The moves would mark a return for Rivers to the NBA Finals broadcast booth after a stint with ABC in 2004. Rivers called the Finals that year alongside Al Michaels after he was fired as the head coach of the Orlando Magic early that same season. His broadcast stint was brief, though. Rivers returned to NBA sidelines the following season as the head coach of the Boston Celtics, whom he coached to an NBA championship five seasons later.
Lil Baby took over the Foot Locker store in Atlanta's Westland Mall earlier this week to give away over $300,000 worth of sneakers and various items to over 1,500 local students. Additionally, Lil Baby and Foot Locker also partnered with Goodr, a local company whose mission is to combat food waste and end hunger, to provide meals to attendees at the event.
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