Tag:

Sexual

Liam and Noel's brother Paul Gallagher denies rape and sexual assault charges
Music

Liam and Noel’s brother Paul Gallagher denies rape and sexual assault charges

by jummy84
written by jummy84

Paul Gallagher, the older brother of Oasis’ Noel and Liam, has pleaded not guilty to multiple charges of sexual assault.

Today (Friday September 26), the 59-year-old appeared at Harrow Crown Court, which was sitting at Southwark Crown Court, entering pleas of not guilty to all charges (via BBC).

The charges include one count of rape, three counts of sexual assault, three of intentional strangulation, two of making a threat to kill, as well as charges concerning coercive and controlling behaviour and assault conditioning actual bodily harm.

The Metropolitan Police have said the alleged offences took place “between 2022 and 2024”, and Gallagher has now been bailed to face trial on 13 September, 2027.

Gallagher was charged in July by Scotland Yard after an investigation opened against him last year. He went on to make an appearance in court last month, speaking during a five-minute hearing only to confirm his name, age and address.

Paul is one year older than Noel and seven years older than Liam, and has worked previously as a photographer and DJ.

The Telegraph reported in July that the North London flat that Paul Gallagher lives in now, situated in East Finchley, was bought for him by Noel in 2004. While he grew up with Liam and Noel in Burnage, Manchester, he has never been involved with the Britpop band. He was listed as ‘tour DJ’ in the official tour programme for the Oasis Live ‘25 reunion tour.

This weekend, Oasis are set to play their final two announced UK shows on the reunion tour, headlining Wembley Stadium on Saturday and Sunday (September 27 and 28). They recently wrapped the North American leg of the tour and they have further dates to come in South America, Australia, South Korea and Japan.

For help, advice or more information regarding sexual harassment, assault and rape in the UK, visit the Rape Crisis charity website. In the US, visit RAINN.

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Jason Derulo Accuser Re-Files Sexual Harassment Claims in New York
Music

Jason Derulo Accuser Re-Files Sexual Harassment Claims in New York

by jummy84
written by jummy84

A singer who claims Jason Derulo sexually harassed her and then turned “deeply hostile” when she rebuffed his advances has resurrected her previously dismissed lawsuit against the platinum-selling artist and Atlantic Records by filing it in New York.

Emaza Gibson, known professionally as Emaza Dilan, first sued Derulo and Atlantic in October 2023 in Los Angeles, but a California judge dismissed the complaint last year, ruling that Gibson had signed artist agreements with clauses agreeing that all legal disputes would be confined to New York courts. Gibson’s new lawsuit, filed Thursday in Manhattan state court, includes the same allegations but now cites New York laws for her claims of discrimination, retaliation, hostile work environment, breach of contract, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

“This case arises out of a recording deal gone wrong due to egregious sexual harassment, broken promises, and retaliatory career sabotage,” the new 49-page lawsuit obtained by Rolling Stone alleges. “What began as a dream opportunity quickly descended into a nightmare of quid pro quo sexual harassment and intimidation.”

In the new complaint, Gibson, 27, alleges that Derulo reached out to her via direct message in August 2021 and said he wanted to sign her for his new joint venture linking Atlantic Records with his own label, Future History. Gibson claims Derulo, 35, promised he would personally mentor her and collaborate with her on multiple albums, which caused her to feel “over the moon” at the prospect of Derulo “leveraging his star power to boost her introduction to the market.”

Gibson says the professional relationship took an unexpected turn when Derulo allegedly pressured her to drink alcohol with him during late-night meetings and purportedly made sexually explicit comments to her on Nov. 2, 2021. She claims Derulo told her that if she wanted to “make it” in the music industry, she would have to take part in what the lawsuit describes as “ritualistic sex acts.” Gibson says she made it clear she wasn’t interested, and Derulo “became increasingly disinterested and aloof” after that.

Editor’s picks

Lawyers for Derulo, Future History, Atlantic, and Derulo’s longtime manager, Frank Harris, did not respond to requests for comment. Derulo previously denied Gibson’s claims against him, stating in an Instagram post that the allegations were “completely false and hurtful.”

With her refiled lawsuit, Gibson clearly is not backing down. “Derulo exploited his power, implying that plaintiff’s success was conditioned on participating in degrading sexual rituals and cocaine use,” the New York complaint states. “When plaintiff resisted Derulo’s advances and later complained about his misconduct, defendants retaliated by withdrawing support, stalling her music releases, and ultimately terminating her contract under pretextual circumstances.”

The lawsuit further alleges Derulo “physically intimidated” Gibson “by lunging at her and screaming in her face without provocation.” Gibson claims Derulo “deliberately sabotaged her dream and career when she didn’t submit to him sexually, an abuse of power that likely any reasonable member of the community would find despicable.”

Speaking with Rolling Stone when she first filed her claims in 2023, Gibson said her alleged experience with Derulo dashed her dreams. “This is super devastating for me. [Professional singing] is something I always wanted to do since I was a little girl. Jason was one of my favorite artists on the pop scene. I accept this amazing offer only to find out the person I looked up to would put me through such a traumatic situation,” she said.

Trending Stories

“We are fully committed to defending Jason’s innocence against these blatantly false and baseless claims. If these false accusations are refiled in New York, we are confident that the New York court will ultimately dismiss the case and prove Jason’s innocence. The court was correct in dismissing the lawsuit in California,” Derulo’s legal team said in a statement to Rolling Stone last year, after the case was fully dismissed in Los Angeles.

In his Instagram statement, Derulo said he stood “against all forms of harassment” and remained “committed to supporting people following their dreams” in the entertainment industry. “I’ve always strived to live my life in a positively impactful way, and that’s why I sit here before you deeply offended by these defamatory claims,” he said.

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Smokey Robinson's Sexual Assault Accusers Can Proceed Anonymously
Music

Smokey Robinson’s Sexual Assault Accusers Can Proceed Anonymously

by jummy84
written by jummy84

A judge ruled Thursday that the four housekeepers suing Smokey Robinson for sexual assault can move forward with their $50 million lawsuit against the Motown star using pseudonyms.

Robinson had filed a motion asking the court to strike down the women’s complaint and force them to refile using their real names if they wanted to proceed. He claimed the women waived their right to anonymity when they appeared at a press conference on May 6 wearing masks and sunglasses while their lawyers shared some identifying information.

The “Being With You” singer, who is now counter-suing the Jane Does with a $500 million defamation and elder abuse cross-complaint, argued the women and their lawyers shouldn’t be allowed to “pick and choose” the details they disclose. At the press conference, the lawyers told reporters that the women were Latina, earned “below minimum wage,” and didn’t step forward sooner in part due to concerns they might face “reprisals” related to immigration status.

Before the judge ruled from the bench Thursday at a morning hearing in downtown Los Angeles, Robinson’s lawyer, Christopher Frost, argued that the pseudonyms were hindering the defense’s effort to subpoena witnesses. He also revealed some of what Jane Doe 3 purportedly said during her sealed deposition taken a day earlier.

“We learned that Jane Doe No. 3 is the sister of Jane Doe 2, and she brought Jane Doe 2 to the employment of the Robinsons four years after she claims to have already been sexually assaulted. That’s the kind of information they want to hide,” Frost argued. “We also learned that Jane Doe 3 did nothing to find another job for 12 years, then had another job and left it to come back to the Robinsons. That’s all during the time they were claiming they were being sexually assaulted. That’s the type of information they don’t want the public to know.”

Los Angeles County Judge Kevin C. Brazile listened but stuck to his tentative order in favor of the Jane Does. He said the women could proceed with pseudonyms, but he might change his mind as the case progresses. He then set a trial date for Oct. 11, 2027, adding that Robinson’s advanced age, 85, gave him priority. The judge said his other new trials were being set three years in the future.

Editor’s picks

“This early in the case, I don’t think their identities need to be revealed. Maybe later, but for now, you’re not harmed. You know who they are,” Judge Brazile said. He signaled he would grant exceptions to the anonymity ruling if Robinson’s defense needs to use the women’s names when reaching out to third-party witnesses to ask about their interactions with the plaintiffs.

In his written ruling, Brazile said he disagreed with Robinson’s claim that the plaintiffs waived their right to anonymity “simply because they might argue that their immigration status resulted in a delay coming forward, or because plaintiffs had a media conference during which they wore masks.”

“The court believes that this is a matter in which there is an overriding interest supporting the use of pseudonyms,” Brazile wrote. He cited the “repeated rapes” alleged in the women’s complaint and the possibility that Robinson’s celebrity status might inspire fans to “seek retribution.”

Before setting the trial date, Judge Brazile asked about the musician’s health. “I’ve hugged the man. He’s in better shape than I am,” Frost replied. The lawyer said the 2027 trial date worked, but something sooner might be a problem. “The other problem we have is that because the Jane Does filed police reports, we can’t have him testify at the moment, and we don’t know how long that is going to take, so we have to avoid a situation where we move so quickly that he can’t present his defense,” Frost said.  

Related Content

The high-profile legal battle first grabbed headlines in early May, when the four women filed their stunning complaint with allegations that the soul singer repeatedly sexually assaulted them during their various tenures dating as far back as 2007. The lawsuit accused Robinson of multiple rapes, instances of sexual assault and battery, false imprisonment, and gender violence. It went on to accuse Robinson and his wife, Frances Robinson, of negligence, creating a hostile work environment, sexual harassment, and causing emotional distress.

In the 27-page complaint, the women alleged that Robinson would find ways to isolate them at his homes in the San Fernando Valley and Las Vegas and force them into sexual contact despite their protests. Jane Doe 1 alleged Robinson sexually battered her at least seven times between January 2023 and February 2024. She claimed Robinson would take his wife to a nail salon, rush home, and then lure her into his “blue bedroom,” where he would lock the door and place a white towel on his bed so he wouldn’t “soil the bed lines.” The woman claimed Robinson ignored her resistance and would “roughly penetrate” her without using a condom.

Jane Doe 2 alleged she worked for Robinson and his wife between May 2014 and February 2020. She claimed Robinson forced her into unwanted sexual acts on at least 23 occasions. She said Robinson would force her to perform oral sex on him before he penetrated her without using a condom. She claimed he “enjoyed ejaculating all over [her] face, much to his satisfaction and her abject humiliation.”

In their cross-complaint, Robinson and his wife claimed the former housekeepers conspired with their lawyers to make “slanderous statements” against the couple at their press conference. They claimed the Jane Does and their lawyers “fabricated” the claims to extort money.

According to the Robinsons, they treated the women “as extended family” during their employment, giving them autonomy in their jobs and substantial gifts, including money for dental work, clothing, vacations, concert tickets, and even a car in one case.

Trending Stories

“The depths of plaintiffs’ avarice and greed know no bounds. During the very time that the Robinsons were being extraordinarily generous with plaintiffs, plaintiffs were concocting an extortionate plan to take everything from the Robinsons – everything over and above what they were freely given – and wrongfully destroy the Robinsons’ well-built reputations,” the 19-page cross-complaint obtained by Rolling Stone said.

Lawyers for the women did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Trey Songz Settles Sexual Assault Lawsuit Over New Year’s Eve Incident
Music

Trey Songz Settles Sexual Assault Lawsuit Over New Year’s Eve Incident

by jummy84
written by jummy84

Trey Songz has reached a confidential settlement to end a lawsuit claiming he sexually assaulted a woman at a Miami nightclub on New Year’s Eve in 2018.

The R&B singer (Tremaine Neverson) was facing assault and battery claims from Jauhara Jeffries, who alleges Songz non-consensually penetrated her with his fingers while they were dancing at E11even Miami in the early hours of Jan. 1, 2018. Songz denied ever assaulting Jeffries.

Related

The pair had been gearing up to go to trial next month alongside E11even Miami, which was accused in Jeffries’ lawsuit of negligently serving alcohol to Songz despite his public history of substance abuse. But new docket entries in Florida court say Jeffries, Songz and the club have all reached a settlement to end the litigation.

“This court has been advised that the matter has been settled as to all parties and therefore, it is hereby ordered and adjudged that this case is dismissed,” wrote Judge Antonio Arzola on Tuesday (Sept. 9). “The court reserves jurisdiction to enforce the settlement and to enter orders necessary to this enforcement.”

The terms of the settlement have not been made public, as is typical for out-of-court resolutions. Jeffries’ lawyer, Ariel Mitchell, tells Billboard on Wednesday (Sept. 10), “I can only comment that the matter has been resolved.”

Reps for Songz and E11even Miami did not immediately return requests for comment.

Related

Fat Joe at Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest on December 31, 2024.

Songz has faced numerous allegations of sexual misconduct over the years. The singer previously settled claims that he assaulted a woman at a Los Angeles house party in 2016, and he’s set to go to trial next year over a separate Las Vegas incident from 2021.

Jeffries first filed her lawsuit in 2020, and it had been scheduled to go to trial in Miami this October before a settlement was reached. The case had been muddled by allegations from Songz’s legal team that Mitchell, Jeffries’ attorney, attempted to bribe a witness into backing her client’s version of the events at E11even Miami.

Mitchell has strongly denied these claims, and Judge Arzola ultimately declined to issue penalties earlier this year after finding that there wasn’t conclusive evidence of bribery in what amounted to a “classic ‘she-said versus she-said’ scenario.”

However, Mitchell is facing disciplinary action from the Florida Bar for falsely telling media outlets, including Billboard, back in 2022, that she’d already been cleared of wrongdoing related to the bribery allegations. In reality, says the Florida Bar, Mitchell was still under investigation at the time of these press comments.


Billboard VIP Pass

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Charlie Sheen Opens Up About Past "Liberating" Sexual Encounters with Men
Music

Charlie Sheen Opens Up About Past “Liberating” Sexual Encounters with Men

by jummy84
written by jummy84

Maybe it’s that he’s getting older and wiser (or he’s got some promotional work to do?), but Charlie Sheen has been in an earnest, sharing mood as of late. In addition to a forthcoming Netflix documentary, and his corresponding memoir, the Two and a Half Men star recently had heaps to say in an interview with PEOPLE (via Entertainment Weekly).

Perhaps the most striking revelation in the piece is Sheen’s acknowledgment of his relationships and sexual encounters with men. The lead-up to the documentary marks the first time he has even broached the subject, describing the process of opening up as “fucking liberating.” He added, “A fucking piano didn’t fall out of the sky. No one ran into the room and shot me.”

Sheen said these same-sex relations began while he was still regularly using drugs, including crack cocaine. (Sheen has been sober since mid-2017.) He explained that these encounters, paired with his ongoing struggles to remain sober, generated a lot of internal tension and existential pondering.

Related Video

“That’s where it was born, or sparked,” Sheen said. “And in whatever chunks of time that I was off the pipe, trying to navigate that, trying to come to terms with it, ‘Where did that come from? Why did that happen?’ — and then just finally being like, ‘So what?’ Some of it was weird. A lot of it was fucking fun, and life goes on.”

There were other, equally insightful tidbits revealed, including:

His HIV status: Sheen first revealed his positive status during a November 2015 appearance on the Today show. As to what caused him to make the announcement, Sheen said that in years prior, house guests or sexual partners would snap pictures of his medications as a form of blackmail. Despite his drug use and other concerns, however, Sheen went on to say, “I do know for a fact that I never passed it [HIV] on.”

The 2011 tour: In the lead-up to his 20-city “My Violent Torpedo of Truth / Defeat Is Not an Option” live show, Sheen made the now-infamous comments about having “tiger blood.” However, Sheen told PEOPLE that the tour “didn’t have to happen,” adding that “Somebody should have tapped out for me and said, ‘This is a bad idea.’” He added, “I’ve never found ‘exploitation’ as a good treatment protocol.”

His friendship with Jon Cryer: In spring 2011, Sheen’s personal issues caused him to be written off Two and a Half Men. The fallout severed Sheen’s relationship with friend/co-star Cryer, and Sheen believes that his actions even put Cryer “in the line of fire” (via Us Magazine). Cryer does appear in the doc, but was recruited for the production by the director and not Sheen himself, who says he has no way of directly contacting his former friend. “I wrote to him and I said, ‘Hey, thank you for your contributions, and I’m sorry we didn’t connect personally,’” Sheen said of a message sent to Cryer, later adding, “So if you’re reading this, Jon, DM me your new number!”

His working/personal relationship with Chuck Lorre: Unlike Cryer, Sheen has since reunited with Two and a Half Men co-creator Chuck Lorre. The mend took place in time for Sheen to appear on Lorre’s 2023 comedy series Bookie. At the time, Lorre told Variety, “I was nervous, but almost as soon as we started talking, I remembered, we were friends once,” adding, “When he came to the table read of that episode, I walked up, and we hugged. It was just great.”

The Netflix documentary, aka Charlie Sheen (due out September 10th), gives additional perspective into Sheen’s tumultuous life through the lens of candid interviews with friends/family. That includes Denise Richards, Heidi Fleiss, Sean Penn, Ramon Estevez, Brooke Mueller, Chris Tucker, and even his drug dealer, Marco.

Meanwhile, his memoir, The Book of Sheen (out September 9th), was written entirely by the actor and covers his childhood as the son of a Hollywood star (Martin Sheen), his early rise to fame, and his stint on Two and a Half Men “coping with the chaos of divorces and drugs.”

Check out both the trailer and book cover below.

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Charlie Sheen opens up about sexual encounters with men
Celebrity News

Charlie Sheen opens up about sexual encounters with men

by jummy84
written by jummy84

Charlie Sheen has opened up about his sexual encounters with men for the first time.

Charlie Sheen opens up about sexual encounters with men

The 60-year-old actor revealed he first started sleeping with men in the midst of his drug addiction and said: “some of it was weird. A lot of it was f****** fun”.

Speaking on Good Morning America, he explained: “That’s what started it. That’s where it was born, or sparked. And in whatever chunks of time that I was off the pipe, trying to navigate that, trying to come to terms with it – ‘Where did that come from?… Why did that happen? – and then just finally being like, ‘So what?’ So what? Some of it was weird. A lot of it was f****** fun, and life goes on.”

However, he admitted he was extorted by people who knew his secret.

He said: “It did come with a tremendous amount of extortion. And so at the time, I was just like, ‘Alright, let’s just pay to keep it quiet. And just hope it just stays over there, make it go away, you know? Make it go away’.

“I just need to be free of that … and then see how the world feels if people know that stuff. Because I’ve written a story all these years about, ‘Oh jeez, if I ever reveal that, then this has to be how I’d be dealt with, how I’d be treated, how they’d feel.'”

Thrice-married Charlie also revealed he is currently single but looking for love again.

Charlie was married to Donna Peele from 1995 to 1996, Denise Richards from 2002 to 2006 and Brooke Mueller from 2008 to 2011.

He shares daughters Sami, 21, and Lola, 20, with Richards, 16-year-old twins Max and Bob with Mueller and has daughter Cassandra Estevez, 41, with his high school girlfriend.

He said: “My romantic life is as uneventful as it possibly could be, and it’s been that way for a long time. It wasn’t even by choice, but the girls [Sami and Lola] moved in, and then when they moved out, the boys moved in, and there wasn’t enough room in the car. Plus, I spent so much time and energy chasing that for so long. I had to get to a place where I could be alone, but not lonely.

“But I am open to love again. Probably not marriage, though!”

Charlie also talks about his exploits in upcoming memoir The Book of Sheen and Netflix documentary aka Charlie Sheen.

When asked in the documentary how it feels to be talking for the first time about having sex with men, Charlie answered: “Liberating. It’s f****** liberating… [to] just talk about stuff. It’s like a train didn’t come through the side of the restaurant. A piano didn’t fall out of the sky. No one ran into the room and shot me.”




0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Skip Bayless, Fox Sports Settle Sexual Battery & Retaliation Suit
TV & Streaming

Skip Bayless, Fox Sports Settle Sexual Battery & Retaliation Suit

by jummy84
written by jummy84

UPDATE: Eight months after a former Fox Sports hairstylist accused Skip Bayless of repeatedly pressuring her into having sex with him for over a million dollars, the plaintiff, the ex-Undisputed host and Fox Sports have reached a deal.

A request for dismissal by Noushin Faraji was approved on August 28 after initially being filed earlier that month. As usual in such sexual battery and retaliation cases, no details on the settlement were provided – but you can be sure money changed hands.

As for Fox themselves, the Murdoch-owned company kept it short. “We are pleased that this matter has been resolved. There will be no further comment.”

PREVIOUSLY, JAN 6 PM: Skip Bayless and Fox Sports are reunited, though not in a way either party would have hoped for.

The former Undisputed host and the network division run by Erik Shanks and Mark Silverman have been hit with a jury-seeking complaint claiming Bayless propositioned a hairstylist at Fox Sports with $1.5 million if she would have sex with him.

Characterizing Fox Sports as den of iniquity, the 14-claim lawsuit filed January 3 in Los Angeles Superior Court also alleges that Bayless repeatedly tried to “pressure” plaintiff Noushin Faraji “into having sex with him.”

“Ms. Faraji brings forth this action because for over a decade at Fox, she was forced to endure a misogynistic, racist, and ableist workplace where executives and talent were allowed to physically and verbally abuse workers with impunity,” reads the suit that claims sexual battery, retaliation, hostile work environment and fraudulent business practices.

Read the sexual battery and 13 other claims against Skip Bayless, Fox Sports, Joy Taylor and others here.

In tones and terms familiar to those who have read past lawsuits involving sexual harassment and more that Fox entities and executives have been slapped with over the past decade, the potential class action adds: “When Ms. Faraji and others came forward to report the wrongdoing, instead of addressing their concerns, Fox retaliated against them while the perpetrators and those who protected them were inexplicitly promoted. This case thus represents yet another in a long line of cases chronicling the toxic culture at Fox, marked by bad faith promises and repeated failures to address a poisonous and entrenched patriarchy.”

Detailing the July 2021 occurrence in which Bayless is alleged to have offered Faraji that $1.5 million to sleep with him, the suit then damningly says: “Approximately one week later, Mr. Bayless made another advance at Ms. Faraji. Ms. Faraji responded: ‘Skip, stop, you have a wife.’ Mr. Bayless responded: ‘Aren’t you Muslim? Doesn’t your dad have three to four wives?’ Ms. Faraji responded that her father was dead, and when Mr. Bayless looked taken aback, she made an excuse to leave.”

Faraji claims that in 2024 Bayless said to her while she was giving him a haircut that “he fantasizes about having sex with her and asked how much money it would take for her to have sex with him. Bayless supposedly went on to say: “The more you say no the more I want you.”

Bayless is also alleged to have accused Faraji of having a sexual relationship with Bayless’ then co-host and “archrival” Shannon Sharpe, an allegation Faraji says was totally false. Sharpe on his and Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson’s Nightcap podcast Sunday briefly addressed being mentioned in the actions by saying, “That ain’t got nothing to do with me.”

Following several tense on-air exchanges between Bayless and Sharpe, the latter jumped to ESPN in June 2023. In August 2024, ex-ESPN host Bayless was pink-slipped by FS1 after eight years. Both sides painted that departure in rosy terms, but declining ratings and then the cancellation of Undisputed were said to be a major issue – as Faraji notes in her suit. Not long after Bayless’ exit, Faraji herself was fired from FS1 “by removing her from the schedule entirely, using fabricated business necessities as a pretext,” the lawsuit says.

“We take these allegations seriously and have no further comment at this time given this pending litigation,” a Fox spokesperson told Deadline today. Reps for Bayless did not respond to a request for comment from Deadline. If they do, this post will be updated.

Truth is, with current Fox Sports host Joy Taylor and FS1 Content VP Charlie Dixon named as defendants in the suit, as well as Bayless and a number of Fox Sports corporate entities, Fox better take this allegations seriously.

In her 42-page suit by attorneys Rana Ayazi and Devin Abney, Faraji says Taylor did nothing to help her and actually told her to “get over it” after Dixon allegedly groped the hair stylist at a 2017 birthday party the on-air star was hosting. In fact, along with office intrigue (to put it politely) and an alleged affair between Taylor and Dixon and the power plays over women the VP seemed to be making at FS1, Speak co-host Taylor became “romantically involved” with FS1 colleague Emmanuel Acho in 2020, according to Faraji – a relationship she found FS1 superiors asking her about over and over.

All of which, along with Faraji calling out Fox for ”Labor Code violations” and “unfair, unlawful, and fraudulent business practices” when it comes to pay, finds the plaintiff seeking class action certification, a variety of unspecified damages, and Taylor and Dixon to be fired.

As the filing says:

At this point, Ms. Faraji seeks justice. She knows that Mr. Dixon used his position of power to coerce women into having sex with him and used it as justification to grope Ms. Faraji. She knows that Mr. Dixon did not immediately fire her (after Ms. Taylor and Ms. Faraji had a falling out) only to appease Mr. Bayless by providing him with a plaything. Despite Ms. Faraji being an excellent hairdresser and continuously being requested by talent, she was shrunken down to how much she could appease Mr. Bayless, and once Mr. Bayless was gone, so was her job.

After the suit became public, a number of associates of Bayless and others chimed in, among those who Bayless’ former First Take partner Stephen A. Smith.

“The Skip Bayless I know has a hard time giving away $15, he’s one of the cheapest people I know,” the discerning NBA sports commentator and cultural icon noted on his podcast Monday. “That’s just me. But that doesn’t mean that I have any inside knowledge about any of this, I don’t, I don’t, and I’m not going to get involved.”

Smith went on to say: “I know Skip, and I’m very, very heartbroken that he finds himself in this situation, being accused of these allegations. But I can’t be over the airways being irresponsible and attaching truth or innocent, you know, or guilt to anything that I know nothing about. All I can say, and I don’t think it’s a crime to say, is just like I said with Jay-Z. The person that I’ve known for 25 years. I’ve never seen anything like that from that person, anything close to that from that person. That’s the same thing that I would tell you about Skip Bayless.”

Jay-Z has been accused of raping a 13-year-old girl at a MTV VMAs party in 2000 with the much accused and currently incarcerated Sean “Diddy” Combs and a yet unnamed female “Celebrity B.” The rap superstar, real name Shawn Carter, has vehemently denied the claims and has his lawyer Alex Spiro trying a swath of tactics to get the charges dismissed.

Bad Boy Records founder Combs was arrested September 16 on charges of sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution. Already behind bars at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center and denied bail, Combs’ trial is set to start May 5 next year.

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
L.A. Reid Loses Lawyers Ahead of Sexual Assault Trial
Music

L.A. Reid Loses Lawyers Ahead of Sexual Assault Trial

by jummy84
written by jummy84

With less than two weeks to go before his trial on claims he sexually assaulted former Arista A&R executive Drew Dixon, music mogul Antonio “L.A.” Reid is effectively representing himself, a federal judge confirmed Tuesday during a status conference in the New York-based civil case.

At the end of the 30-minute video hearing, U.S. District Judge Jeannette A. Vargas referred to Reid as “pro se,” meaning a party moving forward without an attorney. The comment came after the judge granted a renewed request by Reid’s lawyers to be relieved “unconditionally.” In filings, the lawyers previously told the court that Reid — who helmed Arista, Island Def Jam, and Epic Records during his heyday — hadn’t paid them since February. They said while it’s true Reid owns a mansion in Los Angeles’ ritzy Bel-Air neighborhood, he hasn’t been able to sell it, even after slashing the price by several million dollars.

During the hearing, the outgoing lawyers from the prominent California-based firm Kinsella Holley Iser Kump Steinsapir LLP promised to work with any new attorneys hired by Reid, to help them “get up to speed.” They also promised to “facilitate” ongoing communication between Reid’s business managers and Dixon’s legal team. (The judge previously asked the lawyers to stick around to handle discovery issues leading up to an Aug. 25 status conference.)

“If he does not obtain counsel, what is his current intention, with respect to the final pre-trial conference?” Judge Vargas asked Tuesday, referring to the Aug. 25 hearing. She warned that Reid’s “failure to appear could result in default.”

The lawyers said Reid was on notice that he was required to appear himself if he did not have counsel. Judge Vargas also asked the lawyers to supply Reid’s personal phone number and home address to court staff. In a minute order after the hearing, she again referred to the Sept. 8 trial date as “firm.”

In her 2023 lawsuit, Dixon alleged that Reid started sexually harassing her “almost immediately” after he assumed the CEO role at Arista in 2000. She said the harassment turned physical when Reid allegedly cornered her on a private plane in 2001, forcibly kissed her, and “digitally penetrated her vulva without her consent.”

Editor’s picks

Dixon alleged Reid attacked her again a few months later, forcibly kissing and groping her in the back of a private car with his driver present. She claimed Reid retaliated when she spurned his advances, blowing off potential artists she brought to Arista Records for auditions, including a young Kanye West and Grammy-winner John Legend. 

Trending Stories

“Reid adamantly denies the allegations,” his lawyers wrote in a court filing last May. They argued that while the Adult Survivors Act made it possible for Dixon to revive her decades-old claim of sexual assault, her claims of lost commissions related to West and Legend were beyond the statute of limitations.

In a ruling two weeks ago, Judge Vargas said Dixon would not be barred from at least seeking lost commissions if she did so under a cause of action covered by the revival statute. The judge said it wasn’t clear if Dixon would succeed. “Whether the loss of commissions can be fairly traced to any of the asserted causes of actions under traditional principles of causation has not been adequately addressed by the parties,” she wrote in her ruling.

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Newer Posts
Older Posts