Tuesday, November 30, 2021
Josh Duggar of ‘19 Kids and Counting’ Goes on Trial in Child Pornography Case - The New York Times
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- Josh Duggar of ‘19 Kids and Counting’ Goes on Trial in Child Pornography Case The New York Times
- Josh Duggar Update - Witness Drama Breakdown & Amy King's Reaction To 1st Day Of Trial Us Weekly
- Trial for child pornography charges begins for former reality TV star Josh Duggar 5NEWS
- Josh Duggar trial: Jury selection has been completed with 12 jurors and 4 alternates: LIVE UPDATES Fox News
- Josh Duggar ‘sexually assaulted underage girl while she sat on his lap and he read her bible stories’, tri... The Sun
- View Full Coverage on Google News
Josh Duggar of ‘19 Kids and Counting’ Goes on Trial in Child Pornography Case - The New York Times
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Aaron Carter and Fiancée Melanie Martin Break Up a Week After Son's Birth: 'I Was Deceived' - WFSB
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- Aaron Carter and Fiancée Melanie Martin Break Up a Week After Son's Birth: 'I Was Deceived' WFSB
- Aaron Carter splits from fiancée Melanie Martin days after son's birth: 'I don't have a family now' Yahoo Entertainment
- Aaron Carter Believes His Family Is Trying To Put Him Under Conservatorship | TMZ TMZ
- Aaron Carter Says He and Ex Melanie Martin 'Will Continue' to Make Son Their 'Priority' After Split PEOPLE.com
- Aaron Carter Reveals He And Fiancée Melanie Martin Broke Up A Week After Welcoming Son Access
- View Full Coverage on Google News
Aaron Carter and Fiancée Melanie Martin Break Up a Week After Son's Birth: 'I Was Deceived' - WFSB
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Steven Spielberg Pays Tribute to the ‘Immortal’ Stephen Sondheim at the West Side Story Premiere - Vulture
On the set of Spielberg’s remake of West Side Story, there was an SS1 and an SS2. As Spielberg explained during a speech at the film’s premiere on Monday night, he was actually the latter of the two, because he insisted that Stephen Sondheim would have to be the first one. The Broadway legend, who died on November 26, wrote the lyrics for the original musical and returned to consult on its latest film adaptation. Along the way, he sat in on everything from discussions about the screenplay to recording sessions, and became good friends with Spielberg himself. Below, in full, are Spielberg’s remarks about Sondheim from the premiere. After praising Sondheim, Spielberg went on to thank various other collaborators on the film, but it’s worth noting that, at the end of his speech, he closed with, “Thank you, Steve, for the hat.”
It cannot be the night we’ve long anticipated, because of the absence of Stephen Sondheim. His amazing work for West Side Story first put him on the map, and launched a career that would completely redraw that map, reinvent the musical and theater and create a body of work that beyond any doubt is as immortal as anything made by a mortal can be. To borrow what Ben Johnson wrote about Shakespeare, Stephen Sondheim was not of an age but for all time.
Stephen was a big part of the making of our film West Side Story, from the earliest screenplay drafts to every recording session, which Steve attended without fail. Listening with his eyes closed, he’d sway, he’d swoon, or he’d grimace and flinch. So I caught myself watching Steve’s expressions, sometimes more than the actors, because they perfectly reflected what everyone was doing.
He always deferred to our musical director, Jeanine Tesori. She directed all the vocal performances, but his insistence, like Jeanine’s, was on telling emotional truths based on an understanding of character. You can get through any challenges presented by a complicated score, Steve said, as long as you know who you are and what you’re feeling.
And he and I became good friends. He was SS1 and I was SS2, and I insisted on that ranking. Our friendship formed around the work on West Side Story. It grew when I realized that Steve possessed an infinite storehouse of movie knowledge and trivia. He told me things like about his fondness for actresses with smoky voices like Ida Lupino and Glynis Johns, and how many different ways that Margaret Sullavan had died in her films, imagining that her contract with MGM stipulated that you could never be killed the same way twice. Those were the details that never escaped Steve’s notice, either on the boards or on the movie screen. And like everyone else on the planet that cares about words and music, I’m heartbroken at this sudden loss. But Steve is here with us tonight in the form of his great abiding genius and the glorious musical he helped bring into the world 64 years ago, and he’s also here in our gratitude for all the art and culture he left behind. Thank you, Steve.
Steven Spielberg Pays Tribute to the ‘Immortal’ Stephen Sondheim at the West Side Story Premiere - Vulture
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Billie Eilish Is No Longer Keeping Her Tattoos Secret - Vulture
They grow up so fast. In 2019, Billie Eilish told Vanity Fair she wanted to get “a tattoo, maybe?” in her third-annual video interview for the magazine. By 2020, Eilish said she’d gotten that tattoo — “but you won’t ever see it,” she told fans. Now, in her 2021 interview, she’s opening up about her not one, but three tattoos. It’s been a pivotal year for Eilish’s tattoos: In March of this year, she broke her promise from the 2020 video, debuting a tattoo of what appeared to be a dragon on her hip in a photo shoot for the cover of Vogue. Then, in September, she debuted another tattoo, of fairies on her hand, on the red carpet for the London premiere of No Time to Die. And in between, in a June cover story for Rolling Stone, Eilish revealed that she got her last name tattooed on her chest. “Lied again!” she exclaimed in the 2021 video, watching herself say in 2020 that fans would never see her tattoo. Eilish then went on to outline the stories behind her tattoos.
“Yes, I love myself,” she said of her “Eilish” chest tattoo. She also confirmed the hip tattoo is a dragon, which she got “right after” the 2020 video. And she said the fairies on her hand, which she just got “a few weeks” before the October 18 interview, “are from a book that I had growing up: a little fairy book called Fairyopolis.” As for future tattoos, Eilish added that she feels “pretty satisfied.” “No, I’m not gonna be all tatted up,” she said. “But I, you know, have some more ideas.”
Eilish also spoke further about her Vogue cover in the interview, which many took to indicate a new era for the pop star inspired by old Hollywood glamour. “It was a genre that we were doing a shoot for,” she explained, adding that it was jarring to see so many people forming opinions on it. “It was so weird because I was like, ‘It’s not a new style!’” Eilish said. “It’s one thing I wore. And then I’m gonna wear this another day, and then I’m gonna do this.”
Billie Eilish Is No Longer Keeping Her Tattoos Secret - Vulture
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Rumi Carter, 4, Is Big Sis Blue Ivy’s Mini-Me In Beyonce’s New Ivy Park Ad — Watch - Hollywood Life
Beyonce’s daughter, Rumi, looked identical to her sister Blue Ivy in a new campaign for Ivy Park.
Good genes run in the family! Beyonce, 40, released her new ad for Ivy Park and the video stars Bey’s two daughters – Rumi Carter, 4, and Blue Ivy, 9. In the video, Rumi looks like Blue’s mini-me and the resemblance is uncanny. In the middle of the video, Bey posed with her two girls as they all rocked matching outfits.
Beyonce held Rumi on her waist as she wore a black and white gingham sports bra with matching herringbone leggings. Bey opted to wear a skintight, low-cut zip-up bodysuit in the same pattern. Meanwhile, Blue stood on the opposite side of them wearing a matching crop top and high-waisted leggings.
In the video, both girls had their hair done the exact same way which made them look even more alike. Rumi’s hair was slicked back and parted in the middle with two braided pigtails while two thin braided pieces of her were left out framing her face.
Blue’s hair was also parted in the middle and slicked back at the top with two pigtails on top, while the rest of her hair was down in the back and two pieces also framed her face.
Throughout the video, Bey rocked a slew of sexy looks including a skintight neon green long-sleeve bodysuit with no pants, which she wore while playing tennis. In another shot, she wore a tight long-sleeve sheer black and white herringbone jumpsuit with a matching choker necklace and headband.
Another one of our favorite outfits was her long-sleeve flannel print mini dress that was extra tight and cinched in her tiny waist. Last but not least, she showed off her fabulous figure in a tight blue sequin jumpsuit with a plunging V-neckline that revealed ample cleavage. On top of the one-piece, she wore a floor-length sequin herringbone coat.
Rumi Carter, 4, Is Big Sis Blue Ivy’s Mini-Me In Beyonce’s New Ivy Park Ad — Watch - Hollywood Life
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Adele announces Las Vegas concert residency - CNN
(CNN)Who wouldn't want to spend a weekend hanging out with Adele and now we can.
Adele announces Las Vegas concert residency - CNN
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Astroworld victim's family rejects Travis Scott's offer to pay for funeral - INSIDER
- The family of 9-year-old Astroworld victim Ezra Blount declined Travis Scott's offer to pay for their son's funeral.
- Scott had previously offered to pay the funeral costs for each of the people who died at the show.
- Blount's father has since sued Scott over the concert, where 10 people died in a crowd surge.
The family of the youngest victim of the Astroworld Festival tragedy rejected Travis Scott's offer to pay for the boy's funeral, according to letters obtained by Insider.
Ezra Blount, 9, became trapped in the crowd surge at Houston's Astroworld Festival earlier this month and later died after spending days in a medically induced coma.
Scott had previously offered to pay for funeral costs for all 10 people who died at his show in November.
"Travis is devastated by the tragedy that occurred at the Astroworld Festival and grieves for the families whose loved ones died or were injured," Scott's lawyer Daniel Petrocelli wrote to the Blount family.
"Travis is committed to doing his part to help the families who have suffered and begin the long process of healing in the Houston community. Toward that end, Travis would like to pay for the funeral expenses for Mr. Blount's son," Petrocelli said.
In response, the Blount family reportedly rejected the offer.
"Your client's offer is declined. I have no doubt Mr. Scott feels remorse. His journey ahead will be painful. He must face and hopefully see that he bears some of the responsibility for this tragedy," Blount family lawyer Bob Hilliard said.
Scott's legal team also reached out to Hilliard and the Blount family requesting an in-person meeting, Rolling Stone reported. That offer was also declined by the family.
"With all due respect, no. This isn't a photo-op story here. This is a 'who's responsible and why' type of investigation. And he's on the shortlist," Hilliard reportedly wrote back to Scott.
Blount's father, Treston Blount, has filed a $1 million lawsuit against Scott and the event's organizers.
Astroworld victim's family rejects Travis Scott's offer to pay for funeral - INSIDER
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Cassie Randolph eager to 'move past' drama rehashed on 'Coming Out Colton' - Page Six
Still a thorn in her side.
After the trailer dropped on Monday for Colton Underwood’s new Netflix series, “Coming Out Colton,” a source exclusively told Page Six that his ex Cassie Randolph is frustrated that their tumultuous breakup is being rehashed.
“Cassie really just wants to move past any drama having to do with Colton. She’s being roped back into all this Colton mess because of the Netflix show,” the insider said.
“There are a lot of bad memories associated with the end of their relationship and she wishes there was a way to completely separate herself from his narrative.”
Former “Bachelor” lead Underwood, 29, handed his final rose to Randolph, 26, while filming the Season 23 finale of the ABC reality show in late 2018. Though they never got engaged, the pair continued dating — and even lived together at one point — until announcing their split in May 2020.
Randolph got a restraining order against Underwood in September of that year for allegedly stalking her, attaching a tracking device to her vehicle and sending her disturbing text messages. She dropped the order less than two months later.
In the preview for “Coming Out Colton” — which details Underwood’s experience entering the gay community — the former football player admits he put Randolph “through hell” because of his “own insecurities” about his sexuality.
“Cassie filed a restraining order against you. You went off the rails,” Underwood’s dad, Scott, tells him in the clip, while a friend adds elsewhere, “What you put her through was bulls–t.”
Underwood has previously apologized to Randolph publicly, most notably when he came out in an emotional April appearance on “Good Morning America” and in a May cover story interview with Variety.
Meanwhile, Randolph has remained largely silent about Underwood’s revelation and his subsequent apologies.
Initially, she addressed the influx of support she received in the wake of the news while promoting her YouTube channel in April, telling fans, “Thank you everyone for all the kind comments and messages.”
Later, in a video, she said, “I’m not gonna be further discussing it or commenting on it for now. There’s a lot of layers to it, and I just think the best thing for me at this time is to move forward and just focus on going forward.”
Although Randolph would rather not be a peripheral character on “Coming Out Colton,” she is pleased to see that Underwood seems remorseful.
“It’s nice to see that he appears genuinely sorry — and it’s comforting to know that his friends and family are holding him accountable for everything he did to Cassie,” the source said.
The trailer also sees Underwood reconnect with his former “Bachelor” suitress Onyeka Ehie, an ally who has applauded him on social media for sharing his truth. According to Variety, Ehie offers “full-throated support” for Underwood in their on-camera conversations.
However, a second source told us that most of the women of Season 23 are “unequivocally Team Cassie.”
“The collective attitude among the girls of Season 23 is that they’re happy for Colton but are more concerned about Cassie in this situation,” the insider elaborated.
“There is concern among Bachelor Nation about how Colton’s show is going to make her feel. They want her to feel supported as it plays out.”
The first source noted that it’s a “complicated situation” for Randolph, who may have worries about the way she’s discussed on “Coming Out Colton,” but is nonetheless thrilled that Underwood may be able to help others struggling to come out.
“At her core, Cassie supports Colton telling his story if that helps him and other people in the LGBTQIA+ community,” said the insider. “The part that sucks is that there’s really no way for him to tell his story without mentioning their breakup.”
These days, Randolph — who does not maintain communication with Underwood — is coupled up with musician Brighton Reinhardt, with whom she became Instagram official in August.
“Cassie couldn’t be happier and is thriving in her love life. Brighton is such a great boyfriend and she is grateful to have found love with him even after all the trouble she experienced with Colton and ‘The Bachelor,’” the source explained.
“Having Brighton by her side certainly makes this Netflix stuff easier to deal with.”
Reps for Randolph, Underwood and Netflix were not immediately available when contacted by Page Six for comment.
“Coming Out Colton” premieres Friday on Netflix.
Cassie Randolph eager to 'move past' drama rehashed on 'Coming Out Colton' - Page Six
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Marilyn Manson’s Home Raided By LA County Sheriff - Pitchfork
Marilyn Manson’s Home Raided By LA County Sheriff
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has executed a search warrant on an address associated with Brian Warner, aka Marilyn Manson, says Deputy Eva Jimenez of the Sheriff's Information Bureau. TMZ and Rolling Stone report that Warner was not home at the time of the search. Pitchfork has reached out to representatives for Manson for comment.
In February, the LASD opened an investigation into allegations of domestic violence incidents that occurred between 2009 and 2011, while Warner lived in West Hollywood. Within the past year, Warner has been served with multiple lawsuits alleging sexual assault and abuse. In September, one such suit was dismissed but quickly re-filed.
Marilyn Manson was recently nominated for multiple Grammy awards for his appearance on Kanye West’s Donda. Amid criticism, Grammys CEO Harvey Mason Jr. defended the nominations, saying “We won’t look at people’s history” when issuing awards.
Marilyn Manson’s Home Raided By LA County Sheriff - Pitchfork
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Monday, November 29, 2021
Gotham Awards Underway In New York (Updating Live) - Deadline
The Gotham Awards kicked off Monday night in lower Manhattan honoring the best independent films of 2021 with a vaccinated, Covid-tested, in-person ceremony at its longtime Cipriani Wall Street home. It’s a big deal as the first, and the first live, major movie awards event at a time when the industry has struggled to gather together. It may also be a pivotal time as interesting films for grownups are finally seeing some traction at the box office after a dismal year.
Already, Emilia Jones has won the Breakthrough Performer award for her starring role in Apple’s CODA, and Maggie Gyllenhaal won Best Screenplay for Netflix’s The Lost Daughter. Drive My Car, the Cannes screenplay winner and Japan’s submission to the International Feature Oscar race, won Best International Film.
In the nonfiction categories, Denmark’s Oscar entry, the animated Flee, won for Best Documentary, while PBS’ Philly D.A. from Topic and Independent Lens won a new award, for Breakthrough Nonfiction Series.
Lost Daughter and Rebecca Hall’s Passing, also from Netflix, swept the top nominations, which were announced last month in 12 categories. In an interesting shift by organizer Gotham Film & Media Institute (formerly IFP), the acting awards are no longer defined by gender; the Best Actress and Best Actor categories are now combined in Outstanding Lead Performance and Outstanding Supporting Performance with double the nominees – to 10, from five.
Tonight, in the gender-neutral Outstanding Performance in a New Series category there were two winners: Thuso Mbedu for Amazon Studios’ The Underground Railroad and Ethan Hawke for Showtime’s The Good Lord Bird.
In the series TV categories, Netflix’s Squid Game won its first major U.S. award since its record launch on the streamer, taking the honor tonight for Breakthrough Series – Long Format (over 40 minutes); star Li Jung-jae is also nominated for Outstanding Performer in a New Series.
“When I wrote this script 12 years ago in 2009 I did my best but no one liked it — they said it was too violent, absurd, weird,” Squid Game‘s creator Huwang Dong-hyuk said onstage accepting the trophy. Once it aired, he said, “it tool less than 12 days to become the No. 1 show on the planet.”
In the Breakthrough Series – Short Format (under 40 minutes) category, FX on Hulu’s Reservation Dogs took the prize.
The Gothams can be an industry bellwether coming early in awards season and following fall festival buzz. Last year’s Best Feature Gotham went to Nomadland, which went on to win the Oscar. (Other winners at the Gothams last year included Riz Ahmed as best actor for Sound of Metal and Nicole Beharie as best actress for Miss Juneteenth.)
Films released from March 1-December 31, 2021 and TV series from October 1, 2020-September 30, 2021 were eligible for this year’s 31st edition. Budgets are capped at $35 million, which eliminated some interesting indies from contention including Tick..tick…boom!, The Harder They Fall, The French Dispatch and The Tragedy of Macbeth.
The show is also recognizing an array of independent talent with honorary awards including Magnolia Pictures’ Eamonn Bowles, Industry Tribute; Jane Campion (The Power of the Dog), the Directors Tribute; Netflix’s The Harder They Fall cast, Ensemble Tribute; Peter Dinklage (Cyrano) and Kristen Stewart (Spencer), Performer Tributes; late filmmaker/activist Kathleen Collins, inaugural Gotham Icon Award; and The Actors Fund, the Gotham Impact Salute.
Follow along below as we update with winners as they are announced as well as other coverage from inside the venue:
GOTHAM AWARDS 2021 WINNERS
Breakthrough Director
Maggie Gyllenhaal for The Lost Daughter (Netflix)
Breakthrough Series (over 40 minutes)
Squid Game
Kim Ji-yeon, Hwang Dong-hyu, executive producers (Netflix)
Breakthrough Series (under 40 minutes)
Reservation Dogs
Sterlin Harjo, Taika Waititi, creators; Taika Waititi, Sterlin Harjo, Garrett Basch, executive producers (FX)
Breakthrough Nonfiction Series
Philly D.A.
Ted Passon, Yoni Brook, Nicole Salazar, creators; Dawn Porter, Sally Jo Fifer, Lois Vossen, Ryan Chanatry, Gena Konstantinakos, Jeff Seelbach, Patty Quillin, executive producers (Topic, Independent Lens, PBS)
Outstanding Performance in a New Series
(tie)
Thuso Mbedu in The Underground Railroad (Amazon Studios)
Ethan Hawke in The Good Lord Bird (Showtime)
Best Documentary Feature
Flee
Jonas Poher Rasmussen, director; Monica Hellström, Signe Byrge Sørensen, Charlotte De La Gournerie, producers (Neon)
Best International Feature
Drive My Car
Ryusuke Hamaguchi, director; Teruhisa Yamamoto, producer (Sideshow and Janus Films)
Best Screenplay
The Lost Daughter
Maggie Gyllenhaal (Netflix)
Breakthrough Performer
Emilia Jones in CODA (Apple)
Best Feature
Outstanding Lead Performance
Outstanding Supporting Performance
Gotham Awards Underway In New York (Updating Live) - Deadline
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Billy Porter makes a dramatic red carpet entrance at The Fashion Awards 2021 - CNN
On a frigid night in London, the fashion industry has stepped out on the red carpet for the Fashion Awards 2021, hosted by the British Fashion Council.
Richard Quinn is one of five designers vying tonight to win the BFC Foundation Award, which honors emerging talent. Priya Ahluwalia, Nensi Dojaka, Bianca Saunders and Bethany Williams are also nominees.
Other celebrities who wore Quinn tonight include Priyanka Chopra in a billowing floral gown, Hailee Steinfeld in a shimmering backless polka-dot jumpsuit, and Addison Rae in a pink and black mermaid gown.
Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas attend The Fashion Awards 2021 at the Royal Albert Hall on November 29, 2021 in London, England. Credit: Stephane Cardinale/Corbis/Getty Images
Elsewhere on the red carpet, Gabrielle Union arrived in a statement-making chartreuse Valentino couture gown, Maria Sharapova wore a dress made from recycled Evian bottles by Iris van Herpen, and Tom Daley wore a deep blue asymmetrical suit by Christian Dior.
Gabrielle Union made a statement in Valentino couture. Credit: Stephane Cardinale/Corbis/Getty Images
"British fashion to me...there's something that's so incredible when you can go from street style to formal style, unique style, gender-bending queer style," said Daley on the red carpet in a TikTok video posted by The Fashion Awards, which live-streamed the red carpet on the social media platform. "Just to represent yourself however you want to, wear what what you want and just be you, and I love that about London (especially)."
British Olympic diver Tom Daley poses on the red carpet upon arrival. Credit: Ben Stansall/AFP/Getty Images
Lily Allen and Demi Moore both arrived in Fendi, with Moore posing in her ombre knee-length gown next to Fendi creative director Kim Jones. Tonight, Jones is up for Designer of the Year, competing for the title with Jonathan Anderson, Demna Gvasalia, Daniel Lee, and Prada co-creative directors Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons.
Billy Porter makes a dramatic red carpet entrance at The Fashion Awards 2021 - CNN
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Cosby prosecutors urge Supreme Court to restore conviction - ABC News
PHILADELPHIA -- Prosecutors urged the U.S. Supreme Court to reinstate Bill Cosby’s sexual assault conviction, complaining in a petition released Monday the verdict was thrown out over a questionable agreement that the comic claimed gave him lifetime immunity.
They said the Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision in June to overturn Cosby’s conviction created a dangerous precedent by giving a press release the legal weight of an immunity agreement.
Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele called the court's decision “an indefensible rule," predicting an onslaught of criminal appeals if it remains law.
“This decision as it stands will have far-reaching negative consequences beyond Montgomery County and Pennsylvania. The U.S. Supreme Court can right what we believe is a grievous wrong,” Steele wrote in the filing, which seeks review under the due process clause of the U.S. Constitution.
Cosby’s lawyers have long argued that he relied on a promise that he would never be charged when he gave damaging testimony in an accuser’s civil suit in 2006. The admissions were later used against him in two criminal trials.
The only written evidence of such a promise is a 2005 press release from then-prosecutor Bruce Castor, who said he did not have enough evidence to arrest Cosby.
The release included an ambiguous “caution” that Castor “will reconsider this decision should the need arise.” The parties have since spent years debating what that meant.
Steele’s bid to revive the case is a long shot. The U.S. Supreme Court accepts fewer than 1% of the petitions it receives. At least four justices on the nine-member court would have to agree to hear the case. A decision on the petition, filed Wednesday but only made public Monday, is not expected for several months.
Castor’s successors, who gathered new evidence and arrested Cosby in 2015, doubt Castor ever made such a deal. Instead, they say Cosby had strategic reasons to give the deposition rather than invoke his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent, even if it backfired when “he slipped up” in his rambling testimony.
Cosby’s spokesperson called Steele “obsessed” with the actor and said he only hoped to please “the #MeToo mob.” Defense lawyers have long said the case should never have gone to trial because of what they call a “non-prosecution agreement.”
“This is a pathetic last-ditch effort that will not prevail. The Montgomery’s County’s DA’s fixation with Mr. Cosby is troubling to say the least,” spokesperson Andrew Wyatt said in a statement.
Cosby, 84, became the first celebrity convicted of sexual assault in the #MeToo era when the jury at his 2018 retrial found him guilty of drugging and molesting college sports administrator Andrea Constand in 2004.
He spent nearly three years in prison before Pennsylvania's high court ordered his release.
Legal scholars and victim advocates will be watching closely to see if the Supreme Court takes an interest in the #MeToo case.
Two justices on the court, Clarence Thomas and Brett Kavanaugh, were accused of sexual misconduct during their bitterly fought confirmation hearings.
Appellate judges have voiced sharply different views of the Cosby case. An intermediate state court upheld the conviction. Then the seven justices on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court wrote three separate opinions on it.
The majority found that Cosby relied on the decision not to prosecute him when he admitted giving a string of young women drugs and alcohol before sexual encounters. The court stopped short of finding that there was such an agreement, but said Cosby thought there was — and that reliance, they said, marred his conviction.
But prosecutors call that conclusion flawed. They note that Cosby's lawyers objected strenuously to the deposition questions rather than let him speak freely.
Cosby himself has never testified about any agreement or promise. The only alleged participant to come forward is Castor, a political rival of Steele’s who went on to represent President Donald Trump in his second impeachment trial. Castor said he made the promise to a now-dead defense lawyer for Cosby, and got nothing in return.
He never mentioned it to his top assistant, who reopened the case in 2015 after a federal judge unsealed Cosby's deposition.
At a remarkable pretrial hearing in February 2016, Castor spent hours testifying for the defense. The judge found him not credible and sent the case to trial.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court, in its ruling, called Cosby’s arrest “an affront to fundamental fairness."
Weeks later, the ruling prompted the state attorney general to dismiss charges against a jail guard accused of sexually abusing female inmates, because of an earlier agreement with county prosecutors that let him resign rather than face charges.
Cosby, a groundbreaking Black actor and comedian, created the top-ranked “Cosby Show” in the 1980s. A barrage of sexual assault allegations later destroyed his image as “America’s Dad” and led to multimillion-dollar court settlements with at least eight women. But Constand's case was the only one to lead to criminal charges.
Five of Cosby's accuser's testified for the prosecution to support Constand’s claims, testimony that Cosby’s lawyers also challenged on appeal. However, the state’s high court declined to address the thorny issue of how many other accusers should be allowed to take the stand in a criminal case before the testimony becomes overkill.
In a recent memoir, Constand called the verdict less important than the growing support for sexual assault survivors inspired by the #MeToo movement.
“The outcome of the trial seemed strangely unimportant. It was as if the world had again shifted in some much more significant way,” Constand wrote in the book, “The Moment."
The Associated Press generally does not name alleged victims of sexual assault unless they speak publicly, as Constand has done.
Cheryl Carmel, who served as jury foreperson at Cosby’s retrial, said she was glad to see Steele ask for the review.
“I firmly believe that what we decided was correct, or else I wouldn’t have made that decision … with the group. Having it overturned because of something that was outside of the facts of what we were given is disappointing,” Carmel told The AP on Monday.
———
Follow Maryclaire Dale on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Maryclairedale.
Cosby prosecutors urge Supreme Court to restore conviction - ABC News
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Trial of Jussie Smollett, accused of lying to police about an alleged hate crime, opened Monday with jury selection - CNN
(CNN)The long road in the Jussie Smollett case finally reached trial Monday in Chicago, more than two years after police first alleged the actor lied about being the victim of a hate crime and wrongfully diverted weeks of investigative manpower.
How the case unfolded
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Trial of Jussie Smollett, accused of lying to police about an alleged hate crime, opened Monday with jury selection - CNN
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24 Reasons We’ll Keep Watching the Beatles’ ‘Get Back’ Forever - Rolling Stone
Sunday’s on the phone to Monday, but last Tuesday feels like years ago. Thanksgiving weekend was an epic journey for Beatles fans, thanks to Get Back. Peter Jackson’s docuseries finally arrived on Disney+, dropping surprise after surprise on our heads. So much to process. So much to argue about. Any random 10-minute stretch of this movie is crammed with too many quotable quotes and musical details to catch the first few times. Rest assured this isn’t just a one-time bombshell event. Get Back is an instant classic that fans will keep watching and re-watching for years to come.
When I wrote my Rolling Stone review last week, I made sure to avoid spoilers. That wasn’t easy, since these eight hours are packed with lore never even rumored on the geek circuit. (Some involving secret microphones in flowerpots.) But now that it’s all out there, let’s unpack this glass onion, with spoilers galore. Here are 24 reasons why Get Back is a Beatle experience on the level of Anthology or A Hard Day’s Night — one we’ll be living with forever.
- The highlight of the rooftop concert: the joy of seeing Maureen Starkey, Ringo’s wife, bop her head to “Get Back.” Nobody on the roof is a bigger fan than Mo. She was a screaming girl back at the Cavern Club — she’s the only person here who ever stood in line and paid money to hear this band. (The first time she met Ringo, she was asking for his autograph.) She’s waited years for this gig. At the end, Paul looks over and says, “Thanks, Mo” — a beautiful moment that sums up what the Beatles were all about, but also sums up what they are about, even now, which is why this story refuses to fade into the past.
- Downstairs, right afterwards, they all sit in the mixing room. Everybody’s tired, relieved. George sighs, “There’ll be no more rooftops.” But you can see Mo’s sad it’s over, and so is Paul — they’re the only two. Then the playback starts to blast. George closes his eyes and goes to heaven. John grins. Hey, this is us. There’s that priceless shot of all their shoes, everyone tapping their feet. Now it’s a whole room full of Maureen Starkeys. We owe her everything.
- When they’re working out some possible backup harmonies for “Don’t Let Me Down,” John is into it. Paul is into it. George drawls, “I think it’s awful, actually.” And that’s the end of it, thank god. Later, the director blathers about doing the show on a cruise ship. George says, “The idea of the boat is completely insane.” Respect to George, always there with the bitch leadership this crisis demanded.
- The Boiled Testicle award for the most insufferable presence in this or any other movie: Michael Lindsay-Hogg, director of the lousy 1970 doc Let It Be. He has zero ability to notice when it’s his turn to shut up, even as the Fabs roll their eyes at his dippy ideas. (“What about an orphanage? How does that grab you guys?”) After seeing Get Back, it seems like the bitter taste of the original Let It Be was MLH looking for an angle. He was in a snit, so he made a bad movie. It already seems like a minor footnote in the Get Back story.
- One morning Paul comes in with a riff in his head — he strums while George and Ringo yawn in his face. Then they notice it. George plays along. Ringo does his hand-claps. They’re whipping up “Get Back” on the spot. What the fuck? Whatever else the virtues of this song (never a fave for me), they love playing it together — for them, the riff is a clubhouse where they can hang out and converse. “A goer number,” as George Martin would say.(I promise I won’t keep bashing MLH, but the fact that he had this scene on film, yet suppressed it from Let It Be? Practically sabotage.)
- When exactly did George get into the lace bow-tie thing? Never noticed before, but he’s really committed for a few days. The man’s taste in boots and wizard hats is flawless. But since he’s George in January 1969, he can wear anything and look hot.
- Talk about a bombshell: After George quits, John and Paul sneak off to the cafeteria for a top-secret talk, just the two of them. They have no idea the flowerpot on the table is bugged. I screamed, alone in my apartment, like I just saw the waiter’s bowtie on The Sopranos. Ethically dubious, but wow. So here we are listening in on this private chat. John mourns that their disrespect for George created a “festering wound,” and “we didn’t give him any bandages.”A week ago, nobody knew this conversation existed, and nobody could have imagined how raw, honest, empathetic it is. This is how these two talked? Yes it is, it’s true. Yes it is, it’s true.It’s intense, especially when Paul speculates on a future they all deserved to see come true. “Probably when we’re all very old, we’ll all agree with each other. And we’ll all sing together.”
- Hilarious how the Beatles will drag each other all day, yet instantly lash out at anyone who looks sideways at another Beatle. When Glyn Johns asks Ringo to put a damper on the drums, John yells, “The only damper around here is you, Glyn Johns!” After comments from the booth, Paul and John shout, “We’re bloody stars, you know” and “Look, fuck-face, don’t comment!” It reminds me of one of my favorite John quotes, from his 1970 Rolling Stone “Lennon Remembers” interview: “I can knock the Beatles, but don’t let Mick Jagger knock them.”
- Billy Preston, man. The movie flips as soon as he shows up. He sits down at the electric piano and transforms “Don’t Let Me Down,” as John yells, “You’re giving us a lift, Bill!” One of the coolest scenes: John and Billy turn Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech into “I Want You (She’s So Heavy).”
- One of my favorite moments is just a couple of seconds: Ringo gets teased by the others when he orders mashed potatoes for lunch, so he makes a sad face for the camera, then breaks into a good-morning-sunshine of a smile. I will think about this smile now and then for the rest of my life.
- Paul is such a Beatle fan, he writes his own fan fiction. While playing “Two of Us,” he notes how these songs add up to a concept album. “It’s like, after ‘Get Back,’ we’re ‘on our way home.’ There’s a story! And there’s another one, ‘Don’t Let Me Down’ — ‘Oh darling, I’ll never let you down.’”John: “Yeah, it’s like you and me are lovers.”Paul: “Yeah.”Aaaah, yeah. As they say this, John and Paul do a bit of flirty mirroring — they both nervously push their hair out of their face. George and Ringo do a terrible job of pretending not to notice this chat, but at least they try.I will think about this scene more than now and then for the rest of my life.
- Mal Evans, the band’s road manager and aide-de-fab, steals the show. You see how trusted and needed he is. He fetches their guitars. He stalls the cops. Best Mal moment: the baffled look on his face when Paul says, “Mal, we should get a hammer. And an anvil.”(Also: Now we have film proof that all four Beatles really, really liked “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer,” at least the first day they played it.)
- John sings a riff on the Cole Porter chestnut “Friendship,” made famous by Judy Garland. “If you’re ever in a jam, here I am/If you’re ever in the shit, grab my tit!”
- When Peter Jackson releases his 18-hour edit, he simply has to include the full footage of George singing Dylan’s “Mama, You Been On My Mind” and “I Threw It All Away.” The bootleg audio has made the rounds, but seeing George do this is a new experience.
- The band’s respect and deference for Yoko, Linda, and Maureen is striking, in comparison with any other male musicians circa 1969. You can’t exactly imagine Mick Jagger saying, “Linda’s a cameraman.” There’s a Yoko smile I can’t get out of my mind — Ringo slips her a stick of gum. She breaks it in half, hands a piece to John. Her smile with Ringo is just a moment in time that was lost until now — sitting in a vault for 52 years.When they reminisce about their trip to India — that footage could be the next Peter Jackson doc in itself — Paul has fond words for Cynthia Lennon, Jane Asher, and Pattie Harrison. There’s also respect for the Apple Scruffs, the young fans who wait outside, Eileen Kensley and Sue Ahearne. Note how Paul is the one Beatle who looks over and sees them. He doesn’t cheese it up, doesn’t wave or smile — but he needs to know they’re there. To him, they’re the whole point.
- I kept wondering who was the extremely hot twink in the corner with the Mick Jagger-circa-December’s Children haircut. I was shocked when it turned to be engineer Alan Parsons — yes, the guy from the Alan Parsons Project. That messes with my head. Or as John would say, “It turns me off but blows me mind and floats me upstream.”
- You can always read the Bitchy George level by his facial hair. He only shaves when he’s in a cheery mood, so he shows up fresh-faced, all smiles. But stubble means trouble. Even after he rejoins the band, he’s still wary, so he’s got a mangy beard. But then he walks in with a nice tidy mustache and you realize, yes, he feels like a Fab again. Here comes the sun.
- Linda and Paul come out as fans of Help!, the band’s much-maligned 1965 comedy. If Peter Jackson ever does an eight-hour edit of Help!, he can count on my support as a customer.
- Ringo plunks out “Octopus’ Garden” at the piano. Everybody chuckles. But George comes over with his guitar and helps Ringo turn it into a real song, asking for zero credit, even though he’s having enough trouble getting the band to consider his own tunes. The generosity here says so much about these two. On his 80th birthday TV special last year, Ringo explained how George helped him write: “I can write it all, but I can’t end it, so he’d end my songs for me!’”
- Late in Episode 2, John, George, and Ringo play “I Lost My Little Girl” — the first song Paul ever wrote, at 14, about his mother dying. (“Fairly obvious,” he admitted later.) A heavy moment, but a discreet one — nobody else in the room could have any idea what this song was, or what it meant. As always, they communicate in “Beatle code,” as John called it — a private language only these four friends can share.
- Linda’s toddler Heather, what a rocker. When she screams into the mic, John says, “Yoko!” Best moment: Everyone sits in the mixing room to debate production on “The Long and Winding Road.” (Man, now there was a wasted conversation.) Heather climbs up to stand on Paul’s lap and brush his hair.
- George muses about a solo album, saying, “I’m just gonna do me for a bit.” He presents a sensible plan for how the band could “preserve the Beatle bit,” just doing their own music on the side. (John suggests they could all play on George’s record.) But it’s still bullshit that “All Things Must Pass,” “Dehra Dun,” and “Old Brown Shoe” didn’t make the album. Isn’t it a pity?
- Up on the roof: the jubilation that sweeps over John’s face as he sings “Dig a Pony.” He’d totally forgotten his power to make music like this. All four Beatles separately tiptoe to the edge, to sneak a peek at the street below. It’s not exactly a cool crowd (the doc’s only boring moments are the street interviews), but it’s their first audience in years. John gets excited, yells, “Peace on earth!” George tries to act blasé, but he can’t resist taking a look despite himself. Ringo’s peek is the best — he smiles, and lingers there just a moment too long.
- That scene where Paul wonders if the band can survive, if George, John, and Yoko want to bail. The dialogue has circulated on bootlegs for years, but until now, nobody knew it was on camera. “I’ll tell you what — that film is powerful,” Peter Jackson told me last year. “I was aware of the audio — it’s one thing to hear the dialogue, but seeing the emotion on their faces when they’re having that conversation, it’s very powerful.”That’s the mystery at the heart of Get Back: How is it that we keep hearing ourselves in this music? People all over the world, from all different generations and cultures, even though most of us weren’t born back then? Why does the world keep dreaming the Beatles?“They’re only the icons they are because the music was so majestically good,” Jackson told me. “There’s a joy in the songs that they sang. In decades and decades to come, it will never be dulled. It will never be suppressed. That joy, that infectious joy, is part of the human psyche now.” And that joy is all over Get Back.
24 Reasons We’ll Keep Watching the Beatles’ ‘Get Back’ Forever - Rolling Stone
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