Celebrity
Harvey Weinstein Lawyers Argue He Was Denied Fair Trial In Appeal Of LA Rape Conviction
Harvey Weinstein’s lawyers contend in an appeal that he was not given a fair trial when he was convicted of rape and sexual assault in Los Angeles in 2022 and sentenced to 16 years behind bars.
Only six weeks have passed since the state’s highest court overturned his same historic #MeToo conviction and 23-year jail sentence in New York.
The California appeal contends that the trial judge incorrectly suppressed evidence that the Italian model and actor he was convicted of raping had a sexual relationship with the director of a film festival that had brought both Weinstein and the woman to Los Angeles at the time of the alleged assault.
weinstein | AP News Image
Harvey Weinstein Lawyers Argue He Was Denied Fair Trial In Appeal Of LA Rape Conviction
Weinstein’s attorneys said the judge violated “his constitutional rights to present a defense and led to a miscarriage of justice.”
The attorneys argue that the judge erred in informing jurors about Weinstein’s previous, now-vacated conviction in New York and that testimony from women regarding alleged assaults against Weinstein was unfairly prejudicial. Similar testimony led to his conviction being overturned in New York, where the 72-year-old is being imprisoned while Manhattan prosecutors prepare to retrial him.
“The introduction of this excessive, cumulative, and remote evidence of prior ‘sexual assaults’ simply signaled to the jury that the Defendant was a bad man who should be convicted of something irrespective of whether the prosecution proved its case,” the brief stated.
Weinstein was charged with sexually assaulting four women in his California trial, but a jury convicted him of only one attack, on Evgeniya Chernyshova, who claimed that Weinstein showed up unannounced at her hotel room during the LA Italia Film Festival in 2013.
Weinstein’s lawyers say that Superior Court Judge Lisa B. Lench erred in preventing his defense from introducing the jury Facebook messages revealing Chernyshova and the festival’s founder, Pascal Vicedomini, had a sexual relationship. According to the brief, the messages would have revealed that both were lying when they claimed to be friends and coworkers. It would have strengthened defense claims that the victim was not even in her hotel room but was with Vicedomini at the time of the alleged assault.
The reasons are identical to those presented by Weinstein’s counsel in a motion for a new trial, which Lench denied before his sentencing.
Weinstein has since engaged appellate attorneys, including Jennifer Bonjean, a Chicago-based lawyer whose appeal in Bill Cosby’s sexual assault case resulted in his Pennsylvania conviction being overturned permanently.
Weinstein | Vulture Image
Harvey Weinstein Lawyers Argue He Was Denied Fair Trial In Appeal Of LA Rape Conviction
Throughout the trial, Chernyshova only used the name Jane Doe 1. The Associated Press does not normally identify persons who claim to have been sexually abused unless they come forward publicly, as Chernyshova did following the trial. She agreed, through her lawyer, to the AP using her identity.
“Weinstein’s appeal makes the same tired arguments that he previously made multiple times, but without success, to the trial court,” Chernyshova’s attorney, David Ring, wrote in an email Friday. “We are confident that the trial court properly assessed the evidence and made all of the required evidentiary conclusions. We are convinced that Weinstein’s appeal will be denied, and he will serve several years in prison.”
According to the defense’s appeals brief, three jurors wrote statements stating they now regret their decision to vote unanimously guilty.
According to the petition, “jurors confirmed that they did not believe the pair were romantically linked and explained that if they had access to such evidence it would have changed their calculus of whether any rape occurred.”
Harvey Weinstein Lawyers Argue He Was Denied Fair Trial In Appeal Of LA Rape Conviction
According to Weinstein’s attorneys, Chernyshova’s lawsuit, which she filed shortly after the ruling, demonstrates that they ought to have been able to determine whether she had financial stakes in the outcome.
Weinstein’s defense attorneys initially submitted a notice of appeal in April 2023 and requested multiple delays before filing Friday’s brief. The prosecution has until August 6 to file its response.
SOURCE – (AP)
Will Smith brought flames and faith to the BET Awards stage on Sunday.
Smith returns to his musical origins with the release of his new single, “You Can Make It.” In the gospel-inspired tune, Smith, accompanied by Fridayy and the Sunday Service Choir, raps about perseverance.
Will Smith | CNN Image
Will Smith Debuts New Song In Fiery Performance At The BET Awards
“The darker the hell you gotta endure / The brighter the heaven you get to enjoy / The harder the fall, the higher you soar,” Smith rapped as spectacular fire engulfed the stage. His words, a testament to his resilience, echoed through the audience, inspiring them. “God opens a window when the devil closes the door / Believe me, they tried to bleed Will Smith / In the rearview, I see adversity was the gift / To lift me higher gifts requires faith.”
Smith’s performance at the BET Awards follows his surprising Coachella cameo in April when he appeared during J Balvin’s set for a boisterous rendition of his track “Men In Black,” which was first released in conjunction with his smash 1997 film of the same name.
The “Independence Day” star’s new song is his first solo material in nearly five years, a fact that has his fans buzzing with excitement. It marks his first significant release since 2005’s “Lost and Found” album, making it a highly anticipated event in the music world.
Smith has recently collaborated with other musicians, such as Bad Bunny and Marc Anthony. In 2017, he released the EDM single “Get Lit” and the track “Light ‘Em Up” with Sean Paul, which are on the soundtrack for his upcoming film, “Bad Boys: Ride or Die.”
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/Will-Smith-performance-bet-awards-063024-1f4fb97d35d44d03b89bd4d0acb09fdd.jpg "Will Smith Debuts New Song In Fiery Performance At The BET Awards")
Will Smith | EW Image
Will Smith Debuts New Song In Fiery Performance At The BET Awards
Smith is a four-time Grammy winner for rap performance, both solo and as part of a duo/group. His first win came in 1988 for the song “Parents Just Don’t Understand,” which he performed with DJ Jazzy Jeff as the Fresh Prince.
The pair also won for their 1992 single “Summertime.” Smith won back-to-back Grammys for rap performance in 1998 with “Men In Black,” followed by “Gettin’ Jiggy with It” the following year.
SOURCE – CNN
The mother of Pat Tillman, a US military hero, has criticized ESPN’s choice to honor Prince Harry (The Duke of Sussex) with the award named after her son. Mary Tillman said ESPN network never consulted on Prince Harry getting the Pat Tillman Award.
The award honors the late NFL safety-turned-Army Ranger who volunteered following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Tillman was killed in Afghanistan on April 22, 2004, the news stunned his fellow Americans.
“I am shocked as to why ESPN would select such a controversial and divisive individual to receive the award,” Mary told the Daily Mail Newspaper. “There are recipients that are far more fitting than Prince Harry,” she said. “There are individuals working in the veteran community that are doing tremendous things to assist veterans.”
The shocked mother also said that Prince Harry is already popular and has won many awards, so ESPN should have picked someone else who has never been in the spotlight.
Many unsung heroes have won the Pat Tillman Award. Last year’s winner was the Buffalo Bills training staff, who revived Damar Hamlin after he had a cardiac attack in the middle of a game.
Mary’s condemnation was echoed by ESPN analysts Pat McAfee, who accused his own network on Friday of “trying to piss people off” for picking Prince Harry, the New York Post reports.
“It’s going to Prince Harry,” McAfee said on his talk show, “who I don’t even think is a Prince anymore, right? He said don’t call me that? See, why does the ESPYs do this s–t?
“This is like actually the most embarrassing thing I’ve seen in my entire life,” he added.
In picking The Duke of Sussex and others to receive honors during the upcoming ESPY Awards (Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly), Kate Jackson, VP, Production at ESPN, touted the recipients as those who have changed the world.
Jackson said, “These honorees have used their platforms to change the world and make it more inclusive for marginalized and suffering communities. They have shown incredible resilience, positivity, and perseverance, and we can’t wait to celebrate them at the 2024 ESPYs.”
Others have praised Harry for starting the Invictus Games, even though his life as a royal has caused a lot of trouble. Harry served in the British military for 10 years and flew helicopters on two tours in Afghanistan.
The Games, which started in 2014, are multi-sport competitions in the style of the Paralympics for soldiers and service members who have been hurt or sick.
When Prince Harry found out he was going to get the Pat Tillman Award, he said, “This one is for our whole service community.”
This award was made in 2014 and is given to someone who has worked in ways that are similar to Tillman’s.
Tillman was a safety for the Arizona Cardinals and served in Iraq and then Afghanistan before being killed by friendly fire in 2004. For his service, the hero was given the Silver Star and the Purple Heart after his death.
Source: Daily Mail, NY Post
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Popularity Hopes Dashed
Entertainment
BET Awards Return Sunday With Performances From Lauryn Hill, Childish Gambino, Will Smith And More
The BET Awards return on Sunday night. The evening will be performance-packed and begin with a blazing set by Megan Thee Stallion, two days after the release of her third studio album.
Taraji P. Henson, an Oscar-nominated performer, will host the performance for the third time at Los Angeles’ Peacock Theatre.
BET Awards | AP News Image
BET Awards Return Sunday With Performances From Lauryn Hill, Childish Gambino, Will Smith And More
Lauryn Hill and her son YG Marley, Childish Gambino, Ice Spice, Tyla, Chlöe, Coco Jones, Keke Palmer, Marsha Ambrosius, Summer Walker, GloRilla, Latto, Muni Long, Sexyy Red, Shaboozey, and Victoria Monét will also perform. Will Smith will perform a new song, but no specifics have been disclosed. The Grammy and Oscar winner is still recovering from the iconic Oscars slap two years ago, with the successful release of “Bad Boys: Ride or Die” bolstering his recovery. Tanner Adell, a country musician, will also perform on the BET Amplified stage.
The BET Awards will be broadcast live on BET starting at 8 p.m. Eastern from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. They will also air simultaneously on Comedy Central, Logo, MTV, MTV2, Pop, TV Land, Nickelodeon at Nite, and VH1.
Drake leads the nominations, exactly as he did last year. These include an album of the year nomination for his eighth studio album, “For All the Dogs.”
BET Awards | AP News Image
BET Awards Return Sunday With Performances From Lauryn Hill, Childish Gambino, Will Smith And More
One of the accolades he’s up for is the music video for “First Person Shooter,” his collaboration with J. Cole, which may have sparked his recent feud with rapper Kendrick Lamar.
Nicki Minaj follows with six, including album of the year for her much-anticipated “Pink Friday 2” release. Two of her nominations were for her song “Barbie World,” which appeared on the hit “Barbie” soundtrack, which she sang with Ice Spice.
J. Cole, Sexyy Red, SZA, and best new artist Grammy winner Victoria Monét all have five nominations, while 21 Savage, Beyoncé, Doja Cat, Megan Thee Stallion, Tyla, and Usher each have four.
Usher will receive the BET Awards’ Lifetime Achievement award, previously granted to Busta Rhymes last year and Sean “Diddy” Combs the year before.
The R&B sensation is an eight-time Grammy winner who recently completed a two-year residency at the Park MGM, “Usher: My Way”. In February, he released his first solo album in eight years, and in August, he will embark on a 24-city U.S. tour dubbed “Past Present Future.”
BET Awards | AP News Image
BET Awards Return Sunday With Performances From Lauryn Hill, Childish Gambino, Will Smith And More
Usher’s 2024 Super Bowl halftime show received critical acclaim and featured guest appearances from Alicia Keys, H.E.R., Jermaine Dupri, Lil Jon, and Ludacris. His album “Confessions” sold over 10 million units in the United States, making it one of the best-selling music projects ever. It produced No. 1 songs like “Yeah!” with Ludacris and Lil Jon, “Burn,” and “Confessions Part II.”
Presenters include Andra Day, Colman Domingo, DC Young Fly, Devale Ellis, Jay Ellis, Jessica Betts, Ms. Pat, Niecy Nash-Betts, and Saucy Santana.
SOURCE – (AP)___
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