Legal news
Johnny Depp’s Former Agent Says “Unprofessional Behavior” Hurt His Career, Not Amber Heard
The ongoing Johnny Depp–Amber Heard defamation trial centers on Depp’s claim that Heard’s abuse-detailing Washington Post op-ed hurt his career, but according to the actor’s former agent, Depp did much of that on his own. In her testimony, United Talent Agency’s Tracey Jacobs claimed that Depp’s “unprofessional behavior,” including lateness and substance abuse, made Hollywood studios reluctant to cast him in recent years. Though Depp long reigned as “the biggest star in the world,” “His star had dimmed due to it getting harder to get him jobs given the reputation he had acquired due to his lateness and other things,” Jacobs said. At one point, the actor even began relying on an earpiece to have his lines fed to him. “Crews don’t love sitting around for hours and hours waiti...
Elon Musk Paid $250,000 to Flight Attendant Who Accused Him of Sexual Misconduct: Report
Elon Musk’s aerospace company SpaceX paid a flight attendant $250,000 as part of a severance agreement after she accused the founder of sexual misconduct, Business Insider reports. The flight attendant, who worked on a contract basis as a member of the cabin crew SpaceX’s corporate jet fleet, says she was encouraged to get licensed as a masseuse so that she could give Musk massages. In 2016, she was providing the businessman with a massage in a private cabin on his Gulfstream G650ER when he allegedly exposed his erect penis to her, rubbed her leg without consent, and offered to buy her a horse in exchange for performing a sexual favor. She told a friend about the incident, and the friend described it in a signed declaration reviewed by Insider. According to the declaration, when the unname...
Pharma Bro Martin Shkreli Released from Prison Early
Martin Shkreli, the infamous “pharma bro” who raised the price of a life-saving drug by 5,000%, went toe-to-toe with the Wu-Tang Clan, and found himself sentenced to seven years in prison for defrauding investors, has received an early release after less than five years served, according to his attorney. “I am pleased to report that Martin Shkreli has been released from Allenwood prison and transferred to a BOP halfway house after completing all programs that allowed for his prison sentence to be shortened,” Ben Brafman, his lawyer, said in a statement to The Washington Post. According to a spokesperson for the Federal Bureau of Prisons, he’ll remain in the halfway house until mid-September. Shkreli had been accused of taking stock from his biotechnology firm Retrophin and u...
Fyre Fest’s Billy McFarland Released Early from Prison
Fyre Fest co-founder Billy McFarland has been released early from prison and is currently living in a halfway house, according to Billboard. McFarland was sentenced to six years in prison in 2018 for the fraudulent festival, which promised attendees a luxurious Bahamas experience complete with catered meals, luxury villas, and performances from the likes of Migos and Blink-182. Instead, guests were stranded in a tent city offering little more than school lunch food. McFarland pleaded guilty to bank fraud, wire fraud, and lying to investigators. In October 2020, the con artist was placed in 23-hour-a-day solitary confinement after recording a tell-all podcast from prison. Six months later, he was released from solitary in Lisbon, Ohio’s FCI Elkton prison and transferred to FTC Oklahoma City...
Mac Miller Drug Dealer Sentenced to 17.5 Years in Prison for Fentanyl Sale
Stephen Walter, one of the three men charged in the overdose death of Mac Miller, has received a 17.5-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to federal charges of distribution of fentanyl, reports Rolling Stone. The sentence came after US District Judge Otis D. Wright, II rejected a plea agreement that Walter struck with federal prosecutors in October 2021 for a flat 17-year sentence. Since prosecutors claimed Walter continued to sell cocaine and counterfeit oxycodone pills even after Miller’s untimely passing, Judge Wright said he couldn’t accept the deal’s terms. “The court has elected not to accept that plea agreement. So, sir, if you want, at this point, you can withdraw your guilty plea and go to trial,” Judge Wright said. “I may as well lay it out, okay. When you continue to enga...
Young Thug, Racketeering, and RICO, Explained
Musical superstar Young Thug, his close associate Gunna, and 26 others have been charged with violating Georgia’s criminal racketeering laws. In a 56-count indictment, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis alleged that Thugger’s label Young Stoner Life Records acted as a criminal street gang with ties to the national Bloods organization. He was arrested on Monday, while Gunna was booked Wednesday morning. The defendants have been charged with conspiracy to violate Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO Act, which was closely modeled on the federal RICO Act. To make those charges stick, the DA’s office will have to prove that Young Thug served as the head of a criminal enterprise whose illegal activities came as part of an organized scheme. RICO Acts are...
Andy Dick Charged with Felony Sexual Battery, Arrest Caught on Livestream
Andy Dick has been arrested in Orange County, California on suspicion of felony sexual battery. The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that police were called this morning, May 11th, to a campground in O’Neill Regional Park in Trabuco Canyon after a man alleged he was sexually assaulted. Dick, 56, was arrested, and the victim was taken to a hospital for examination. According to TMZ, Dick and a group of live streamers had been living in the RV park. The arrest was broadcast on creator Captain Content’s RV YouTube channel. Related Video This is far from the first time Dick has been accused of sexual misconduct. In 2019, the actor and comedian was accused of groping his Uber driver, and before that, he was fired from the films Raising Buchanan and Vampire Dad for “groping people’s genitals, u...
Young Thug Facing Seven Additional Felony Charges After Guns and Drugs Found in Home Raid
After being arrested on gang activity and racketeering charges in Atlanta earlier this week, Young Thug (born Jeffery Lamar Williams) is facing even more legal trouble. A search of Fulton County jail records has revealed seven more felony charges stemming from guns and drugs that were found in a police raid of his home in the Buckhead area of Atlanta. Specifically, the charges include Possession of Marijuana with Intent to Distribute; Possession of a Schedule III, Iv or V Controlled Substance with Intent to Distribute; Possession of Firearm During Commission of a Felony; and Possession of Sawed-Off Shotgun, Sawed-Off Rifle, Machine Gun, dangerous Weapon, or Silencer. There are also three separate charges of Unlawful for Person Employed By/Associated with Criminal Street Gang to Conduc...
Mario Batali Found Not Guilty of Sexual Misconduct
Mario Batali has been found not guilty of indecent assault and battery charges dating back to May 2019. The verdict was delivered on Tuesday, May 10th, in Boston Municipal Court by Judge James Stanton after the celebrity chef waived his right to a jury decision. Judge Stanton made the ruling after a day and a half of testimony, primarily from the woman who accused the former Food Network personality of groping and kissing her without consent at a Boston bar in April 2017. “It’s an understatement to say that Mr. Batali did not cover himself in glory on the night in question,” the judge said (via The New York Times), while acknowledging the accuser “has significant credibility issues.” Batali did not testify. He was facing up to two and a half years in jail and would have been required to re...
Young Thug Arrested on Gang Activity, Racketeering Charges
Young Thug was arrested on gang activity and racketeering charges in Atlanta on Monday. According to the New York Times, Young Thug was charged with one count each of participation in street gang activity and conspiracy to violate the RICO Act as part of a 56-count indictment filed against the rapper and 27 of his associates. YSL (short for Young Slime Life) is the name of Young Thug’s record label. However, in its indictment the Fulton County District Attorney alleges that the Atlanta-based YSL also engages in criminal gang activities, including murder and armed robbery. Related Video As the co-founder of YSL, Young Thug is specifically accused of renting a car which was used in the 2015 murder of a rival gang member named Donovan Thomas, Jr. Prosecutors also say that members of YSL sough...
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Dave Chappelle Attacker Charged with Four Misdemeanors, Won’t Face Felony Charges [UPDATED]
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office has declined to press felony charges against the man who attacked Dave Chappelle on stage at the Hollywood Bowl on Tuesday night. “After reviewing the evidence, prosecutors determined that while criminal conduct occurred, the evidence as presented did not constitute felony conduct,” a spokesperson for the department said in a statement provided to The Hollywood Reporter. “The District Attorney’s Office does not prosecute misdemeanor crimes within the city of Los Angeles.” Police say the man, 23-year-old Isaiah Lee, had a replica gun with a real knife inside. According to the Los Angeles Times, however, Lee did not use the weapon during the assault; it was inside a bag he was carrying. The case has been referred to the Los Ang...
Judge Rejects Amber Heard’s Motion to Dismiss Johnny Depp Defamation Lawsuit
The judge presiding over Johnny Depp’s defamation lawsuit against Amber Heard has rejected Heard’s motion to dismiss the case. The motion was filed by Heard’s attorneys after Depp’s legal team concluded their case on Tuesday. After hearing arguments from both sides, Judge Penny Azcarate said there is sufficient evidence for the case to continue. Instead, Heard’s attorneys will now have to convince a jury that the actress did not defame her ex-husband when she wrote a Washington Post in which she discussed being a victim of domestic abuse. Although Heard did not refer to Depp by name or go into any details of the abuse, Depp claims the op-ed damaged his personal reputation and career in Hollywood. He subsequently sued Heard for $50 million, which led Heard to file a $100 million count...
