Legal and Management
Executive Turntable: New Hires at Obama’s Media Company & Warner’s Social Justice Fund
Dan Fierman most recently served as president of Epic Media in Los Angeles, leading the media start-up to acquisition by Vox Media in 2019. Prior to that, he led news coverage at MTV, was the Editorial Director of the pop culture site Grantland and oversaw culture and special packages at GQ. He and Holmes oversaw the launch of The Michelle Obama Podcast and Renegades: Born in the USA, the podcast hosted by President Obama and Bruce Springsteen. Mark R. Wright was an executive at MACRO, where he developed and produced Juel Taylor’s directorial debut, They Cloned Tyrone (Netflix). His slate of projects also includes the Oscar-winning film Judas and the Black Messiah, Alan Yang’s Tigertail and Birth of Cool. He has produced several short films, including an award-winning science fiction film,...
Marilyn Manson Court Docs Claim Assault Allegations are ‘Coordinated Attack’
Esmé Bianco’s harrowing accusations of sexual assault and abuse at the hands of Marilyn Manson are “untrue, meritless,” and part of a “coordinated attack by multiple plaintiffs,” the goth-rocker claims in a new court filing. Earlier this year, Bianco, a star from the hit HBO series Game of Thrones, stepped forward to join others who’ve accused the musician of years-long abusive behavior. In the lawsuit filed in federal court in Los Angeles, Bianco claimed that Manson violated human trafficking law by bringing her to California from England under the false pretenses of roles in music videos and movies that never materialized. According to Bianco’s suit, Manson, whose real name is Brian Warner, deprived her of food and sleep, plied her with alcohol and drugs, locked her in a bedroo...
Prosecutors Air More Claims in R. Kelly Case, One Involving an Underage Boy
The Grammy Award-winning singer is charged with leading what prosecutors call a criminal enterprise of managers, bodyguards and other employees who allegedly helped him recruit women and girls for sex and pornography and to exercise a lot of control over them. The charges involve six different women and girls, who aren’t named in court filings. Now, prosecutors would also like jurors to hear about more than a dozen other people whom the government alleges that Kelly sexually or physically abused, threatened or otherwise mistreated. Among them, the government says, was a 17-year-old boy and aspiring musician whom Kelly met at a McDonald’s in December 2006 and later invited to his Chicago studio. After asking the boy what he would do to make it in the music business, Kelly propositioned and ...
Dr. Dre Ordered to Pay Nicole Young Nearly $300K a Month in Spousal Support
Billboard has reached out to Dre’s and Young’s attorneys for comment. Dre (born Andre Young) and Nicole were married for 24 years until she filed for divorce in June 2020 citing irreconcilable differences. The couple, who married in 1996, have two children together: 23-year-old son Truice and 19-year-old daughter Truly. During the back-and-forth that took place after the announcement of their split, Dre’s attorneys filed a copy of what they said was a prenup signed by the couple in late December 2020, which noted that all the property that they’d acquired since their wedding would be kept separately, but also that Nicole did not waive her right to spousal support. The level of spousal support would become the centerpiece of the yearlong dispute, with the s...
Britney Spears’ Conservatorship Case Ignites Bipartisan Legislative Push
Both Mace, a Republican from South Carolina, and Crist said it was Spears’ passionate plea last month that a judge end the conservatorship that controls her life and money that spurred their proposal. “What she had was an opportunity to do is bring to light, to shine a light, on those abuses,” Mace said. “Her situation is a nightmare, and if it can happen to Britney Spears, it can happen to anyone in this country.” Speaking in open court, Spears condemned her father and others who control the conservatorship, put in place as Spears underwent a mental health crisis in 2008. Spears said that the arrangement has compelled her to use birth control and take other medications against her will, and prevented her from getting married or having another child. Spears’ father and his attorneys have e...
Britney Spears Says She’s ‘Not Even Close’ to Telling the Full Story About Conservatorship
Spears has spoken in the past two hearings in front of Los Angeles Superior Court judge Brenda Penny regarding the conservatorship that has controlled the pop star’s personal life and finances for 13-plus years. Spears made shocking claims in court, including that she’s unable to remove her implanted birth control and have more children and that she was once put on lithium against her will. She was granted the right last week to choose her own attorney after having only court-appointed counsel for the duration of the conservatorship so far. In addition to speaking out in court, Spears has also been newly vocal on social media, with a few scathing posts over the weekend that targeted those closest to her, including sister Jamie-Lynn Spears and dad Jamie Spears. “My so-call...
Ariana Grande Tells Britney Spears She’s ‘Loved & Supported’ After Court Hearing
It’s unclear whether Grande and Spears have ever met or interacted, though Grande did pay tribute to the pop legend by impersonating her signature vocals on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon back in 2015 and singing a snippet of Spears’ “Womanizer” on Snapchat that same year. In Spears’ Instagram caption Wednesday, Spears thanked her dedicated fans, writing, “You have no idea what it means to me be supported by such awesome fans !!!! God bless you all !!!!!” Also in the comments section was Latin star Paulina Rubio (“I love you #freebritney”) and Spears’ boyfriend Sam Asghari: “Internet is about to explode #FreeBritney.” See Spears’ new post below: You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Date...
Britney Spears’ Conservator Claims Dad Used $2M of Star’s Funds for His Defense
Montgomery asked Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Brenda Penny on July 7 to approve that the 24/7 protection she requested be paid for by the conservatorship, which could cost up to $50,000 a month. Jamie’s attorney Vivian Lee Thoreen filed an opposition the next day, arguing that Montgomery “is not the only person involved in this Conservatorship who has received threatening communications and/or death threats” and suggested other feasible options for security. Montgomery also said in the documents that she and Jamie “should be working as a team to ensure that Ms. Spears’ best interests are being met, that she is on a path to recovery and termination of her conservatorship, and that she is living her best life possible. Instead, Mr. Spea...
Dua Lipa Sued for Posting Paparazzi Photo of Herself to Instagram
Integral Images is seeking $150,000 in damages or, alternatively, “an award of actual damages and disgorgement of all of Defendant’s profits attributable to the infringements,” whichever is larger. It is additionally asking for an order enjoining Dua Lipa from further acts of infringement, as well as litigation costs and attorney’s fees. A screen grab of Lipa’s alleged use of the photo, which shows the star standing in line at an airport while wearing an oversize hat, is included as an exhibit with the complaint. Integrated Images claims the photo was taken just a few days before Lipa posted it to her account with the caption, “I’ll be living under big fluffy hats until further notice.” Representatives for Lipa and Integral Images did not immediately return Billboar...
Lil Baby Detained by Paris Police During Fashion Week
Lil Baby was detained in Paris on Thursday (July 8) for allegedly transporting drugs, according to the city prosecutor’s office. NBA star James Harden was also stopped but not detained, the prosecutor’s office said. Images shared on social networks showed the Brooklyn Nets star briefly frisked in the incident on one of the French capital’s most elite avenues. The prosecutor’s office said one other person was also detained, without releasing the identity. An investigation is under way. You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet Beautiful people, chat and make money in the process. Earn rewards by chatting, sharing photos, blogging and help give users back their fair share o...
Madonna Supports Britney Spears’ Fight to End Conservatorship: ‘Give This Woman Her Life Back’
Madonna showed support for her onetime collaborator Britney Spears on Thursday night (July 8), writing on her Instagram story that the justice system needs to “give this woman her life back.” Over a photo of herself wearing a Britney T-shirt, Madonna posted this message: “Give this woman her life back. Slavery was abolished so long ago! Death to the greedy patriarchy that has been doing this to women for centuries. This is a violation of human rights! Britney we coming to get you out of jail!” Madonna is joining a chorus of pop stars rallying around Spears as she fights to end the 13-year conservatorship that has controlled her finances and personal life. You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should...
Donald Trump Sues Facebook, Twitter and YouTube for Wrongful Censorship
Under Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act, social media platforms are allowed to moderate their services by removing posts that, for instance, are obscene or violate the services’ own standards, so long as they are acting in “good faith.” The law also generally exempts internet companies from liability for the material that users post. But Trump and some other politicians have long argued that Twitter, Facebook and other social media platforms have abused that protection and should lose their immunity — or at least have to earn it by satisfying requirements set by the government. Trump was suspended from Twitter, Facebook and YouTube after his followers stormed the Capitol building on Jan. 6. The companies cited concerns that he would incite further violence. Nonetheless, Tr...
