Legal news
Fyre Fest’s Billy McFarland Placed In Solitary Confinement Following Launch of Podcast
Billy McFarland’s newly launched Fyre Fest podcast has reportedly landed him in solitary confinement. According to the New York Times, McFarland was placed in 23-hour-a-day solitary confinement, and may remain there for up to 90 days or more, pending an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. “We believe the investigation stems from his participation in the podcast and the photographs that were taken and utilized in the trailer, which were all properly taken,” McFarland’s lawyer Jason Russo told the Times. “We don’t believe he’s violated any rule or regulation, and there can’t possibly be anything else. He’s been a model prisoner there.” A spokesman for the Bureau of Prisons declined to comment and told the Times the agency does not discuss the housing arrangements o...
Phil Collins Hits Trump with Cease and Desist Order After Playing “In the Air Tonight”
Phil Collins has hit Donald Trump’s presidential campaign with a cease and desist order following the unauthorized use of “In the Air Tonight” during a rally in Iowa on Wednesday night. Collins’ 1981 solo single was played aloud prior to Trump taking the stage in Des Moines, Iowa. The campaign has a tendency of using songs without listening to their lyrics — the most recent example being CCR’s “Fortunate Son” — but playing a song titled “In the Air Tonight” as an airborne virus continues to ravage the country seems particular tone-deaf. Then again, it could’ve also been the campaign’s way of flipping a middle finger at health officials and media members who question why Trump is holding mass gatherings where many of the attendees are not wearing masks. Whatever the case, Trump’s campaign d...
John Fogerty Serves Trump with Cease and Desist Over Use of “Fortunate Son”
Donald Trump is not the introspective type, and so he has no qualms about playing “Fortunate Son” at campaign rallies without permission. The CCR classic was written by a US Army veteran about children of privilege who found ways — for example, lying about bone spurs — to avoid the draft lottery during the Vietnam War. But even if Trump can’t comprehend the irony, that songwriter has had enough. John Fogerty has issued a “cease and desist” order, tweeting, “He is using my words and my voice to portray a message that I do not endorse.” Fogerty posted his statement along with a picture of himself in uniform. He said “Fortunate Song” came about “because, as a veteran, I was disgusted that some people were allowed to be excluded from serving our country because they had access to political and...
Chadwick Bosemen Died Without a Will, Widow Files Probate Case to Oversee Estate
Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman left behind new legal will upon his death this past August. However, by marrying his wife, Taylor Simone Ledward, in the months prior to his passing, Boseman ensured she would inherit his assets. According to TMZ, Boseman’s widow filed a probate case in Los Angeles on Thursday and requested the judge grant her limited authority over his estate. According to court documents reviewed by TMZ, the estate is estimated to be worth $938,500, though additional assets are thought to be held in separate private trusts. The docs also indicate that the actor is survived only by his parents, Leroy and Carolyn Boseman. Much like the film star’s stage 4 colon cancer diagnosis, the public wasn’t aware of Boseman and Ledward’s marriage until Boseman’s death. No...
Promoters Behind The Chainsmokers’ Packed Hamptons Concert Fined $20,000
Over the summer, The Chainsmokers threw COVID caution to the wind with a “drive-in” concert in the Hamptons. VIP tickets cost upwards of $25,000, which is just $5,000 more than the promoters behind the event will now have to pay in fines to state of New York. Videos from the concert — thrown during peak pandemic back in July — immediately sparked backlash when they started spreading on social media. More than 3,000 attendees had arrived in over 600 vehicles, and they clearly weren’t staying within their designated parking perimeters. Even worse, most appeared to be gleefully flouting mask requirements. The New York State Department of Health launched an investigation into the concert over violations of its COVID-19 safety regulations. Today, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that the event’s...
Tiger King’s Doc Antle Indicted on Felony Wildlife Trafficking Charges
So at this point, it’s pretty clear everyone involved in Tiger King was a villain, right? No? Well, how about now: One of the Netflix series’ stars, Bhagavan “Doc” Antle, has been indicted on felony wildlife trafficking charges. According to a press release from Virginia Attorney General Mark R. Herring, Antle has been charged with one felony count of wildlife trafficking and another of conspiracy to traffic wildlife, plus four misdemeanor counts of conspiracy to violate the Endangered Species Act and nine more for animal cruelty. The charges stem from a months-long investigation involving Antle’s Myrtle Beach Safari in South Carolina and Wilson’s Wild Animal Park in Winchester, Virginia. Antle and the owner of that second roadside zoo, Keith Wilson, allegedly trafficked animals between th...
Tory Lanez Charged with Felony Assault in Connection with Megan Thee Stallion Shooting
Tory Lanez has been charged with felony assault in connection with the shooting of Megan Thee Stallion. According to TMZ, the Canadian rapper/singer (born Daystar Peterson) is facing one count of assault with a semiautomatic firearm, and one count of carrying a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle. If convicted, he faces up to 22 years in prison. Lanez was initially arrested in mid-July following in incident in which Megan Thee Stallion was shot in the foot. Megan initially said her injuries were caused by broken glass in Lanez’s vehicle, but she later acknowledged she had suffered “gunshot wounds… as a result of a crime that was committed against me and done with the intention to physically harm me.” For his part, Lanez denies any wrongdoing, and recently released a concep...
YoungBoy Never Broke Again Arrested on Felony Gun and Drugs Charges
YoungBoy Never Broke Again is facing felony drugs and weapons charges after being arrested in Baton Rouge on Monday night, according to WAFB 9. The rapper, whose real name is Kentrell Gaulden, was taken into custody alongside 15 other people. Gaulden was reportedly charged with possession of a Schedule I drug and intent to distribute Schedule II and IV drugs, as well as with illegal possession of a firearm. Alleged video of the arrest was posted to YouTube, as you can see below. Gaulden was previously arrested and charged with two counts of attempted murder following a shooting incident in 2016. He later pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of aggravated assault with a firearm and was sentenced to a 10-year suspended prison sentence and three years active probation. In February 2019, Gaulden...
Lil Yachty Arrested for Driving More Than 150 Mph
Lil Yachty is facing reckless driving charges after being caught driving more than 150 mph on an Atlanta interstate last week. According to Atlanta’s WSB-TV 2, Yachty was pulled over in his white Ferrari on September 11th. He was subsequently arrested, charged with reckless driving and speeding in excess of maximum limits, and booked at the Atlanta City Jail. Back in June, Lil Yachty crashed another one of his Ferraris on the same interstate and sustained minor injuries. Witnesses say the road was wet and Yachty was speeding at the time of the crash. Lil Yachty’s most recent album, Lil Boat 3, dropped in May. Related 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 Beautifu...
Kodak Black Asks Donald Trump to Commute His Prison Sentence
Kodak Black has sent a petition to Donald Trump asking him commute his prison sentence (via TMZ). In August of 2019, the rapper pleaded guilty to federal weapons charges in Florida. He was sentenced to 46 months in prison, and his time served has been shockingly eventful. Early on, he put a prison guard in the hospital after grabbing his testicles in a drug-addled fight. Afterwards, he was moved from a Miami correctional facility to a maximum-security Kentucky prison. Then, this past April, he pleaded guilty again, this time to gun possession charges in New York. That sentence will be served concurrently with his other charges. Last week Black sued the Federal Bureau of Prisons, alleging abuse by Kentucky prison guards — including a “gang beating” involving correctional officers “flicking”...
Bill Murray’s Lawyer Responds to Doobie Brothers, Offers Golf Shirts as Restitution
Earlier this week, The Doobie Brothers served Bill Murray with the greatest cease and desist letter you’ll ever read. In a nutshell, through their lawyer Peter T. Paterno, the yacht rockers asked Murray to either fork over the money or stop using their song “Listen to the Music” to promote his line of golf apparel. “It’s a fine song. I know you agree because you keep using it in ads for your Zero Hucks Given golf shirts,” wrote Paterno. “However, given that you haven’t paid to use it, maybe you should change the name to ‘Zero Bucks Given.’” “This is the part where I’m supposed to cite the United States Copyright Act, excoriate you for not complying with some subparagraph that I’m too lazy to look up and threaten you with eternal damnation for doing so,” continued Paterno. “But you al...
The Doobie Brothers Wrote Bill Murray the Best Cease and Desist Letter
Michael McDonald of The Doobie Brothers (photo by Philip Cosores) and Bill Murray (photo by Steven L. Shepard) Get ready to read the most random story of the week! Apparently Bill Murray has his own golf apparel brand (!) called William Murray Golf, and he’s been using The Doobie Brothers’ classic hit “Listen to the Music” to promote his newest product without the band’s permission. As such, the band has mailed him a letter requesting he stop or pay up — except this is a legendary comedian and actor, so the note is a whole lot funnier than what it typically would be for this sort of thing. As Stereogum notes, this saga began when Murray started running new ads promoting William Murray Golf’s latest shirt named Zero Hucks Given, a play on Huckleberry Finn, one of his favorite literary chara...
