Police and teenagers may not agree on a lot of things, but there is one thing they can agree on—the Nae Nae dance.
On Monday, a Washington D.C. cop approached a group of teenagers and encouraged them to disperse after a fight. Instead of leaving, however, 17-year-old Aaliyah Taylor walked up to the cop and started performing the Nae Nae dance. The cop, not one to be outdone by a teenager, then responded using a slightly untraditional police tactic. She started a dance-off. “I mostly hold my head down when I dance, so I didn’t really see her,” Taylor told The Washington Post. “But when I looked at the video after, I was like ‘Oh, she has some moves.'” While Taylor appears to have won the dance-off, the cop’s effort seems to have been appreciated by everyone. “I never expected cops to be that cool. There are some good cops,” Taylor said. Shortly after the battle, the conflict was settled, the two hugged, and everyone walked off in peace. Watch them whip whip their way to justice.
President Obama tweeted:
President Obama
✔
@POTUS
Who knew community policing could involve the Nae Nae? Great example of police having fun while keeping us safe:
Benedict Cumberbatch has stunned crowds after launching into a foul-mouthed but impassioned speech about the refugee crisis following his Hamlet performance – reportedly saying “F**k the politicians”. This isn’t the first time that the Sherlock actor has urged audiences to support the crisis as he has been asking for donations to help the Syrian refugees, after his performances at London’s Barbican theatre.
Cumberbatch also launched into reading a poem called Home by Somali poet Warsan Shire, which includes the line: “No one puts children in a boat unless the water is safer than the land.” One theatregoer told the Daily Mail: “He then spoke about a friend who had come back from the Greek island of Lesbos a few months ago, where there were 5,000 people arriving a day, and how the [British] government was allowing just 20,000 refugees into the country over the next five years.” If he hadn’t already grabbed everyone’s attention, he remarked: “F**k the politicians”. Several members of the audience supported Cumberbatch’s frustration with politicians, which perhaps led him to use the swear word. The source added: “It’s not quite what you’d expect when you go for an evening with the Bard, but it got a few cheers.” Cumberbatch has repeatedly spoken out on the refugee crisis, memorably during a screening of Black Mass, he said: “I’d like to sit down with [home secretary] Theresa May and get a full understanding of how her political economic model works… that there is virtually a zero degree of financial benefit from an immigrant population.” The Crowded House song ‘Help is Coming’ is also being re-released in a bid to raise money to tackle the situation. I support Cumberbatch's passion and desire to help but I'm not sure he should try to influence or coerce a captive audience, who came to watch a Shakespearean play. And he shouldn't use his employers' theater ( particularly without their permission ) as a political forum.
Justin Bieber’s nickname should be The Janitor. It seems he’s always trying to clean up some sort of mess, which ironically, is literally what he was doing during his latest meltdown. Shortly after the “Sorry” singer walked out of a Spanish radio interview on Wednesday, Justin made another abrupt exit… except this time he left his fans hanging. Bieber was performing in Oslo when someone in the front row spilled something onstage. The Canadian crooner, 21, attempted to clean up the mess with a towel when people got in the way. “Hey, no, what are you doing? Yo yo yo yo what are you doing? Stop it. Come on. I said stop it. Yo, what are you doing?” an irritated Bieber can be heard asking the crowd in a video posted to TMZ. A few girls giggled in the background, but that didn’t soften the singer’s heart. “Come on, guys. Yo, listen to me. Are you listening? I’m trying to wipe the floor, give me a second… yo,” he continued. After a few fans tried to touch him, that’s when he hit his breaking point. “Guys, never mind, I’m done. I’m not doing the show,” he declared sounding like an angry parent while walking offstage. “I’m not doing the show.” Bieber then threw the towel to the side as well as his sweatshirt only to never be seen or heard from again. That is, until he decided to take to Instagram and post about his recent headline-making events. “Sadly it’s Been a rough week for me, long days no sleep, while having to be ‘on’ as they would say for cameras fans etc,” he wrote. “In no way did I mean to come across mean, but chose to end the show as the people in the front row would not listen. Hopefully people will understand where I am coming from. ” Justin continued, “I don’t always handle things the right way but I’m human and I’m working on getting better at responding not reacting. Unfortunately people were affected by this as am I. For the people in the back I am so sorry and for anyone I may have disappointed im sorry. Sorry for wasting the tv people’s time I’ll be sure to make it up to you next time on tour.. With love Justin.” Here’s hoping the Biebs gets some sleep before his next appearance… for everyone’s sake.
I think the Biebs is kind of full of his own importance. People pay a lot of money to see him perform. They do it because they admire him and his music. He should be used to enthusiastic fans. He knew this kind of thing would happen when he signed up to be a 'pop star'. I hope he matures a little, becomes more responsible and learns to control his temper.
Disgraced comedian Bill Cosby has been accused of drugging and sexually assaulting dozens of women. As countless victims come forward, many schools and former allies have cut ties with the comedian, while some former co-stars have come forward to talk about uncomfortable encounters they had with Cosby. And in a new clip unearthed by Latina, viewers get a chance to watch a creepy 2003 interview between Cosby and a then relatively unknown Sofia Vergara. Cosby was part of a group of hosts filling in for David Letterman on "The Late Show" while Letterman dealt with health issues. Every minute of the interview is unbearable, as Cosby stares down Vergara, commenting on everything from her outfit to the fact that she makes him "excited." And to make matters worse, Cosby plops down next to Vergara in a guest seat, instead of sitting at Letterman's desk. "S-I-N is sin," Cosby says as Vergara looks on uncomfortably. "Men look at you, and they only think of sin ... Now what you have on tonight is wonderful. This is wonderful. And when you walked out, many, uh, many people became attentive." Cosby continues, and begins to lean in closer to Vergara to speak to her. "You make me feel young again," he says, speaking in a Spanish accent. "You make me feel very, um, excited. Look at me." Vergara clearly tries to deflect his comments with laughter, but we can't shrug off our discomfort. Watch the entire interview below:
After the video began circulating again, Vergara fired back at claims that she was another one of Cosby's victims. A Spanish radio station tweeted out the below, which in English reads, "A video of an interview of Bill Cosby and a young Sofia Vergara came out. It's rumored if she could've been one of his victims."
US parental watchdog groups have wrongly boycotted the Muppets’new show. Because they have alwayshad a mature edge – even touching on free love and drugs – Even before the premiere of The Muppets in September, US parental watchdog groups were upset. Promos for the TV series update of the 40-year-old puppet franchise included jokes about the character Animal and his band always being happy – but now “legally” so. Other spots released by the show’s network, ABC, hyped Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy’s breakup and revealed how newly single Miss Piggy’s Tinder profile encouraged suitors to “put this pig in a blanket.” One even showed the actor Nathon Fillion doing ‘the walk of shame’ leaving Piggy’s trailer. Without seeing a full episode, 'One Million Moms' announced a boycott of the series, calling it a “perverted” and “sexually charged” reimagining of a once “family-friendly” show. The group’s call to action insisted that the new Muppets was “not what Jim Henson imagined and created. The new show is aimed at a mature, modern audience and addresses subjects not suitable for family viewing.” The Parents TelevisionCouncil piled on as well. But rather than being a subversion of Henson’s original idea, The Muppets is doing exactly what the characters have always done – they practically invented the concept of a children’s program geared largely for adults, and without them the landscape of US TV would look completely different. Like the 1970s series The Muppet Show, this new program follows Kermit, Piggy, and their friends’ behind-the-scenes antics as they try to stage an entertainment – in this case a late-night Talk show called 'Up Late With Miss Piggy'. And like The Muppet Show 40 years ago, The Muppets comments on contemporary culture – exactly the thing which made them a favourite of theGeneration X parents now watching with their children. Most of the jokes from the Muppets have always been aimed solely at the parents in the room. That’s how they’ve always risen above the purely kid shows of the day. A version of the Muppets debuted in 1975 as part of the first season of one of US TV’s most adult institutions, Saturday Night Live. The human comedians in the cast resisted the puppets, and Henson didn’t care for the writing, so the association lasted only one season. And so The Muppet Show was born – a sweeter, ready-for-primetime phenomenon that retained a bit of edge. (The Muppets as we know them have since returned to SNL for far more triumphant appearances.) On The Muppet Show, things could get pretty sexy, like when Raquel Welch danced with a Muppet spider. There was even a darkly ironic rendition of a Shel Silverstein song called You’re Always Welcome at Our House that featured verses about a door-to-door salesman being hit on the head with a hammer and then locked in a closet,followed by another visitor to “our house” being poisoned with lemonade and stored in a freezer. In another famously disturbing Muppets bit, which Henson performed in the ‘70s on a few late-night talk shows with Kermit, the punchline is basically Kermit’s death. Not to mention that the troupe’s house band, Dr Teeth and the Electric Mayhem, have always been hippie rock stars, with all the sex and drugs that implies. The fact is, the Muppets were born of the counterculture movement of the ‘60s . Following The Muppet Show, the Muppets stuck to feature films and primetime programs, where they could play to adults. The Muppet Movie, released in 1979, featured a dark plotline involving evil restaurateur Doc Hopper trying to make a frog-legs feast from Kermit. In the 1981 movie The Great Muppet Caper, Charles Grodin tried to seduce Miss Piggy as part of a heist scheme (below).
Perhaps the Muppets have been able to appeal to both children and adults because they are puppets. They can adapt to any era, they don’t age, they can do anything, and they’re in a unique position to break the fourth wall, to remind you that what you’re watching isn’t real. It’s the perfect formula to smuggle in satire
It’s in their cultural influence, that the truly subversive nature of The Muppets isrevealed. Fourteen years after their creation, their first true heir emerged: The Simpsons. Parents decried that series, too, when it first premiered in primetime in 1989. And it took many viewers a while to catch on that ‘cartoon’ does not equal kids, just as ‘puppet’ does not equal kids. The Simpsons continues to air, now surrounded by even more ‘adult’ cartoons such as Family Guy and Bob’s Burgers. The animated Disney movies that dominated pop culture throughout the ‘90s – Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King – borrowed heavilyfrom the Muppets, sneaking adult-level jokes and themes among the moral lessons and catchy songs. Pixar has since followed suit. Even many live-action shows have borrowed elements of the Muppets’ approach:
On the new Muppets show, Kermit has broken up with Miss Piggy and is pursuing a new pig girlfriend.
If the Muppets have something to teach us, it’s that neither they, nor their Rainbow Connection message of hope, nor programs apparently geared for kids, need be juvenile.
A 2013 note in which, the then-Liberal leadership contender Justin Trudeau predicted he would beat Prime Minister Stephen Harper was just sold on eBay.
Michael Kydd was on a Porter Airlines flight on March 20, 2013, and passed a note to Trudeau asking "Can you really beat Harper?" Trudeau responded with a quote from his famous late father — former prime minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau — "Just watch me." Trudeau, who was running for the Liberal leadership at the time, confirmed the note in a tweet on the same day saying, "Yup, it was me." Bidding on the note — attracted a top bid of over $ 12,000. On Oct. 13, 1970, Trudeau's father replied "Well, just watch me!" when asked by a reporter how far he would go to combat Quebec separatist terrorists during the October Crisis, [ the kidnapping of British diplomat James Cross and Quebec provincial cabinet minister Pierre Laporte by the FLQ.] ( Front de libération du Québec ). The FLQ was a radical separatist group in Quebec. Founded in the early 1960s, it militantly supported the Quebec sovereignty movement. They wanted to become independent of Canada and self governing. There is still a large faction of the population in Quebec that support the idea. James Cross survived the kidnapping but Laporte was murdered by the FLQ.
Three days after the kidnapping, Pierre Elliott Trudeau invoked the War Measures Act, giving police more power in response to terrorist acts. It allowed mass raids and arrests to take place in order to find the group who had kidnapped Laporte and Cross. Trudeau said:
"The gun pointed at the heads of these innocent men have FLQ fingers on the trigger. Should any injury result, there is no explanation that could condone the act. Should there be harm done to these men, the Government promises unceasing pursuit of those responsible."
Pierre Trudeau was as good as his word. He persevered until the criminals were caught and dealt with. They were sentenced for murder, and served terms ranging from 20 years to life. Mr Kydd says he will donate the money to charity.
Studies have shown that music accompanied by dancing is good cardio and makes us happy, allowing us to express ourselves and releasing endorphins. So go 'Boogie' or 'Dougie' or make up your own 'happy' dance.
Chris Rock is returning to host next year's Oscars ceremony, its producers David Hill and Reginald Hudlin have announced.
The actor and comedian previously hosted the 77th annual Academy Awards in 2005, when the reception to his opening monologue and some controversial jokes was mixed. "I'm so glad to be hosting the Oscars," Rock said. "It's great to be back." The 88th Oscars will be held on Sunday 28 February, 2016. Last year's ceremony, hosted by television and Broadway star Neil Patrick Harris, had the lowest Oscar ratings for six years, and were down 16% on the previous year, when Ellen DeGeneres had been at the helm.
"Chris Rock is truly the MVP of the entertainment industry," said Hill and Hudlin. "Comedian, actor, writer, producer, director, documentarian - he's done it all. He's going to be a phenomenal Oscar host. " "We share David and Reggie's excitement in welcoming Chris, whose comedic voice has really defined a generation," said Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs. "He is certain to bring his amazing array of talents to this year's show." In 2005 - the year that Clint Eastwood's Million Dollar Baby won best picture - Rock received a standing ovation before uttering a word and began by ordering the assembled A-listers to "sit your asses down". But as the LA Times recalls, Rock's performance was met with a range of reactions. USA Today described him "one of the worst hosts ever" while critic Roger Ebert praised a "home run" opening monologue that was "not shy of controversy". Rock's recent film roles include I Think I Love My Wife, Head of State, Death at a Funeral and and the first three films in the blockbuster Madagascar series, as the voice of Marty. In 2009 he wrote, produced and presented the documentary Good Hair. On TV, he created the series Everybody Hates Chris, which ran from 2005 to 2009. He most recently directed the TV comedy special Amy Schumer: Live at the Apollo, which premiered this month on HBO. Seems like Chris is a very busy man. He is outrageous and outrageously funny. A very bright fellow.
JOHANNESBURG (AP) -- Oscar Pistorius, the double-amputee Olympic runner who fatally shot his girlfriend in 2013, was released from prison and placed under house arrest on Monday night, a South African official said. "Oscar Pistorius was placed under correctional supervision tonight," Manelisi Wolela, a spokesman for South Africa's correctional services department, said in a cellphone text message sent to journalists. Wolela cited officials at Kgosi Mampuru II Correctional Centre, a prison in the South African capital of Pretoria where Pistorius had served nearly a year of his five-year sentence for manslaughter. The correctional services department had originally said Pistorius would be released from the Pretoria jail on Tuesday in line with a decision by a parole board at the prison. "The handling of the actual placement is an operational matter of the local management, and how they handle it is their prerogative that is carried out in the best interest of all parties concerned, the victims, the offender and the Department of Correction Services," Wolela said in a second text message. The murder trial of Pistorius generated intense international interest, and the surprising decision to release Pistorius a day early, and at night, appeared to have avoided the logistical challenges and spectacle associated with a large gathering of TV crews and other journalists hoping to catch a glimpse of Pistorius on the way out of prison. While out on bail during his trial, the 28-year-old Pistorius had stayed at his uncle's mansion in an upmarket suburb of Pretoria. However, an Associated Press journalist outside the house said no one had gone in or out of the main entrance of the house on Monday night. Under South African law, an offender sentenced to five years or less in jail can be released after serving one-sixth of the term - in Pistorius' case 10 months. Pistorius was acquitted of murder last year for the Valentine's Day shooting death of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, but prosecutors have appealed the trial verdict of culpable homicide, or manslaughter, and will seek a murder conviction again at South Africa's Supreme Court on Nov. 3. If Pistorius is convicted of murder by a panel of five judges at the appeal, he faces going back to prison for 15 years, the minimum sentence for murder in South Africa, which no longer has the death penalty. Pistorius has maintained he thought Steenkamp was an intruder in his Pretoria home and killed her by mistake. Prosecutors said he shot her intentionally during an argument after she had fled to a bathroom stall. While under house arrest, Pistorius will have to live under certain conditions until his sentence ends on Oct. 20, 2019. Pistorius will have to continue receiving psychotherapy and cannot handle any firearms, the corrections department previously said. Wolela, the correctional services department spokesman, had not ruled out ultimately allowing Pistorius to return to training. He also said Pistorius would not be required to wear an electronic tagging device. Pistorius, known as "Blade Runner" for his carbon-fiber running blades, gained worldwide fame when he ran against able-bodied athletes at the 2012 London Olympics, the first amputee runner to compete at the games.
Syrian artist Saint Hoax claims not to pay much attention to the vitriol that comes out of Donald Trump's mouth. But last week, the presidential hopeful made some comments on Europe's refugee crisis that he couldn't ignore: If elected, Trump said that he would send all Syrian refugees in the U.S. back to their war-torn country. Because the refugees could, Trump opined, be "a Trojan horse" for ISIS.
Saint Hoax is responding with a satirical project involving blow-up sex dolls made to look like Donald Trump. For $39, you can own a Trump of your very own, to do with as you see fit. Proceeds from the sale of the dolls, all made in China (obviously), will go to the UN Refugee Agency to provide blankets, water, dry clothes and food to Syrian refugees.
"I'm hoping to raise enough money to show people how a blow-up Donald is actually more useful than the actual Trump," the artist told The Huffington Post in an email from Lebanon. In addition to dissing the candidate, Saint Hoax sees the dolls as a metaphor.
"People can fill him up with air and deflate him at any minute," he wrote. "It's a symbolic representation of how a political leader is made. Each box includes a Trump doll and a needle for you to pop him whenever you feel like it."
Khloé Kardashian Flies His Family to Vegas to Keep Vigil by His Side
Kris Jenner and Kim Kardashian outside Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center on Wednesday night.
While Lamar Odom’s life hangs in the balance, the Kardashians have rallied around him — and they’re seeing to it that the rest of his nearest and dearest are too.
Khloé, who is apparently making medical decisions for her estranged husband following his apparent overdose, has flown his children, Destiny and Lamar Jr., their mother Liza Morales, and his father Joe Odom to Las Vegas to join her at Lamar’s bedside at Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center. By Wednesday night, they had all arrived and joined the Kardashian clan, including Kim Kardashian West, Kris Jenner, and Kendall Jenner. Caitlyn Jenner was also reportedly en route.
Joe Odom, who has been estranged from Lamar at some points over the last few years, at the hospital.
E! News reports that Odom — who was found unconscious in a Nevada brothel after using cocaine and up to 10 sexual-performance supplement pills, according the Nye County Sheriff’s Department — was supposed to be facing off against Morales in a New York City court this week as part of their ongoing custody battle. Instead, they are praying that he regains consciousness and recovers from his suspected stroke.
Rev. Jesse Jackson visited Odom on Wednesday and told reporters that the former NBA player was doing better 24 hours after being discovered unconscious, foaming at the mouth, and bleeding from the nose on the floor of his VIP suite at Love Ranch. “Apparently from what the doctor said, he was much better off today than yesterday,” Jackson said. “He at least has some responsiveness now.”
He continued, “He’s got tubes in him now, but we felt inspired by his presence. We’re just holding hands and hoping he can bounce back.”
An unnamed source close to the former basketball star told a similar story to Entertainment Tonight, claiming “Odom briefly fluttered open his eyes and at one point Kim Kardashian believed he squeezed her hand.”
Despite these observations, Odom remains in critical condition and on dialysis as his kidneys reportedly have started to fail. A Kardashian insider told People magazine it’s a very dire situation.
“They’re pretty sure this is goodbye, but they’re praying for a miracle,” said the source. “They know that God has the power to heal him, but that’s really the last hope
at this point. This is really bad.”
Lamar and Khloé with his children, Lamar Jr. and Destiny, on the red carpet in 2011
It’s no surprise that Khloé is having the most difficulty. The fact that they were no longer together after Lamar’s public cheating scandal — and they had a difficult recent run-in after which he publicly denied that he was stalking her — hasn’t helped. “She is lost,” the insider said of Khloé. “He never signed a living will, so Khloé is making decisions for him,” which has been “very stressful.”
But Khloé’s famous family is helping her through this, including a pregnant Kim, who has been with her at the hospital. Kanye West’s wife, who is due in December, even canceled her baby shower, which was to be held this weekend at her friend Allison Azoff’s home (where Khloé and Lamar were married in 2009) and was going to have a Troop Beverly Hills theme (yes, the 1989 movie).
“She’s totally focused on being there for Khloé right now,” an insider told E! News about Kim.
The Kardashian family isn’t just supporting Lamar in person, they are on social media as well. Following Kendall’s heartbreaking “please don’t go” post, Rob Kardashian, Kris, Kourtney, and Kylie all posted on Instagram asking for prayers for Lamar.
Rob Kardashian posted this photo, writing, “Praying nonstop for my Brother
While they are trying to focus on prayers, there are some distractions — like Dennis Hof, who owns the Love Ranch brothel and won’t stop talking to the press. The 69-year-old limelight lover told the New York Daily News that he was asked by a publicist for the reality TV fam not to give anymore interviews about Lamar’s wild three-day stay there, during which the jock dropped $75,000 on a VIP suite and the around-the-clock services of two women. Hof’s response? “I told her to pass on a message: Go to hell.”
Despite things like this, hopefully Lamar’s loved ones can stay strong while they band together for him.
One of Donald Trump's celebrity pals is pissed at him, legally speaking, anyway -- Steven Tyler is threatening to sue Trump if he keeps using Aerosmith's song "Dream On" during campaign rallies. According to Tyler's angry cease and desist letter ... this is actually the 2nd time Trump has been warned about using Aerosmith's classic ballad. Tyler's attorneys say they sent an initial letter back in August, but noticed Trump has pressed on using the song. Most recently, Trump's campaign played "Dream On" during a stop in Georgia on Saturday. Tyler says the repeated use of the song insinuates the Aerosmith frontman endorses Trump for president. He's giving Trump 24 hours to drop the song from is playlist ... or present some evidence he has license to use it. Tyler's defense of his song seems like it's purely a business move -- since he's been tight with Trump. Tyler and Aerosmith drummer Joey Kramer attended the Republican debate in Cleveland as Trump's guests, Donald has been to their concerts, and Tyler is a registered Republican. Tyler's attorney Dina LaPolt confirms it's not about politics. She tells TMZ, Tyler's "position has always been consistent regarding copyright and intellectual property. Simply, one must get permission from the music creators. Steven wrote 100% of 'Dream On,' and this is about the un-authorized use of his property." If it's just about capitalism ... you'd think Trump would understand Tyler's stance.
Jim Carrey attended the funeral of his late girlfriend Cathriona White in Ireland on Saturday morning. The actor was seen carrying White's coffin to Our Lady of Fatima Church, in her home village of Cappawhite, Co Tipperary, the Associated Press reported. He helped walk the casket from the funeral service to the burial grounds of Cappawhite Cemetery where White was buried next to her father, Pat, NY Daily News reported. Carrey was bedecked in all black and appeared somber while holding the coffin with numerous other men. White, a 30-year-old make-up artist, was found dead on Sept. 28 at a residence in Sherman Oaks and died of suspected suicide. According to the L.A. County Coroner's office, White was found along with several suicide notes and four different kinds of powerful medication, including Ambien, Percocet, Zofran and Propranolol. An L.A. County Medical Examiner's office official said that her body would be released to her husband. "She had a husband, we have a husband as next of kin," said the Medical Examiner's official, "We're not releasing any more information on next of kin, but we do have her as married." Carrey issued a statement through his publicist to The Hollywood Reporter on Sept. 29: "I am shocked and deeply saddened by the passing of my sweet Cathriona. She was a truly kind and delicate Irish flower, too sensitive for this soil, to whom loving and being loved was all that sparkled. My heart goes out to her family and friends and to everyone who loved and cared about her. We have all been hit with a lightning bolt."
TIPPERARY, IRELAND - OCTOBER 10: Jim Carrey attends The Funeral of Cathriona White on October 10, 2015 in Cappawhite, Tipperary, Ireland. (Photo by Debbie Hickey/Getty Images)
TIPPERARY, IRELAND - OCTOBER 10: Jim Carrey attends The Funeral of Cathriona White on October 10, 2015 in Cappawhite, Tipperary, Ireland. (Photo by Debbie Hickey/Getty Images)
TIPPERARY, IRELAND - OCTOBER 10: Jim Carrey attends The Funeral of Cathriona White on October 10, 2015 in Cappawhite, Tipperary, Ireland. (Photo by Debbie Hickey/FilmMagic)
TIPPERARY, IRELAND - OCTOBER 10: Jim Carrey attends The Funeral of Cathriona White on October 10, 2015 in Cappawhite, Tipperary, Ireland. (Photo by Debbie Hickey/Getty Images)
TIPPERARY, IRELAND - OCTOBER 10: Jim Carrey attends The Funeral of Cathriona White on October 10, 2015 in Cappawhite, Tipperary, Ireland. (Photo by Debbie Hickey/Getty Images)
A new accusation has surfaced in connection to Bobbi Kristina Brown's death, according to an ongoing $10 million wrongful death civil lawsuit filed against Brown's boyfriend, Nick Gordon. According to a new court document obtained by ET, Brown's conservator, Bedelia C. Hargrove, alleges that "Ms. Brown died due to a violent altercation with Defendant (Gordon) after which he placed her in a bathtub, unconscious, after he injected her with a toxic mixture." WATCH: Could Nick Gordon Be Facing Criminal Charges in Bobbi Kristina Brown Case?
A previous amendment to the initial lawsuit had alleged that Gordon gave Brown a "toxic cocktail rendering her unconscious," though there was no reference to an alleged injection. Gordon has not been arrested in connection with Brown's death, and his lawyers previously called the initial "toxic cocktail" allegations "slanderous and meritless." The new documents surfaced shortly after the Fulton County District Attorney filed a motion to seal Brown's autopsy, allegedly due to fears of a potential flight risk for defendants and possible harm to witnesses. "The criminal investigation involving possible charges in this case is ongoing, no arrests have been made, and disclosure of the autopsy report and the above mentioned information at this time would compromise the integrity of the investigation and create risk of flight of possible defendants, and could pose a danger to witnesses involved in this case," the filing read. A judge granted the motion on Sept. 28. On Jan. 31, Brown was found unresponsive in a bathtub in her home and was taken to North Fulton Hospital in Roswell, Georgia, where she was put on a ventilator to assist her breathing. She was later placed in a medically induced coma at Atlanta's Emory University Hospital. Nearly two months later, Brown was moved to a rehabilitation center, where she remained until June 24, when she was moved to a hospice center. She died at Peachtree Christian Hospice in Duluth, Georgia on July 26 at 22 years old.
Witchy sez : I notice they raced to go public with the accusation (as if that wouldn't create a risk of flight), but there seems to be no interest in producing a shred of evidence to back it up. This is usually the first sign of a false accusation. The second sign is making the accusation in a civil court rather than a criminal court. They're two-for-two, so far. That just looks shady.
Secret Spouse! Jim Carrey’s Ex GF Was Wed To A Scientologist Before Her Suicide, New Report Claims — See The Marriage License Jim Carrey‘s late ex girlfriend Cathriona White was married at the time of her death, RadarOnline.com has confirmed. And according to a new report, her husband was a fellow Scientologist! The 29-year-old makeup artist, who was found dead in her apartment on September 28 of an apparent suicide, was married to Mark Burton and the two met on the set of a web TV series titled The Online Gamer, Scientology critic Tony Ortega reported Tuesday. The show is part of the Reckless Tortuga web channel and Ortega claims that it was made by a group made up mostly of young Scientologists. As Radar previously reported, White began taking classes at the Scientology Celebrity Centre in the months before her death. A rep for the church said, “Saying that somebody was studying Scientology in the past and connecting that to a suicide is like saying a person who had previously studied the Bible committed suicide.” According to Clark County records obtained by Radar, Mark Damian Burton and Cathriona Anne White were married on January 14, 2013 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Ortega claimed that she was unable to attend her father’s funeral in Ireland when he died in 2012 because she was in the United States illegally. She began dating Carrey that year, but they broke up five months later. She also posted a photograph on social media that included Burton over a year ago. A Carrey source told the Hollywood Reporter that the actor was under the impression that White was separated from her husband. “There is no way that Jim would have taken her out to public places if he thought she was married,” the source said. “As far as Jim was concerned, Cat was separated from her husband and was going to start divorce proceedings in December. When people are separated they date or do whatever they need to do.”
Witchy sez : If you or someone you know is in an emotional distress or suicidal crisis, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255). Our sincere condolences to the family ... from the PIC's
Ashley Judd is coming forward with new allegations against a Hollywood heavyweight. The 47-year-old actress claims that she was sexually harassed by “one of our industry’s most famous, admired-slash-rivaled bosses” while filming Kiss the Girls in the late ‘90s in a new interview with Variety. Judd declined to name the alleged offender, but the article states that he was “a mogul from a rival studio.” “He was very stealthy and expert about it,” she says of the alleged encounters, claiming that he invited to her to his hotel to share a meal and discuss roles just to lure her up to his room . “It was so disgusting. He physically lured me by saying, ‘Oh, help me pick out what I’m going to wear.’ There was a lot that happened between the point of entry and the bargaining,” she said. “There was this whole process of bargaining – 'Come do this, come do this, come do this.’ And I would say, 'No, no, no.’ I have a feeling if this was online and people had the opportunity to post comments, a lot of the people would say, 'Why didn't you leave the room?’, which is victim-blaming. When I kept saying no to everything, there was a huge asymmetry of power and control in that room.” Judd claims that her situation was not unlike several other actors, whom she says have since swapped stories involving the mogul in question. “The ultimate thing when I was weaseling out of everything else was, 'Will you watch me take a shower?’ And all the other women, sitting around this table with me, said, 'Oh my god – that’s what he said to me too,’” Judd told Variety. “In that moment, I told him something like, 'When I win an Academy Award in one of your movies.’ He said, 'No, when you get nominated.’ I said, 'No, no, when I win an Academy Award.’ That was a small moment of power when I was able to contradict him and hold to my reality. And then I got out of there. And by the way, I’ve never been offered a movie by that studio. Ever.” Though Judd says she eventually reclaimed her power from her alleged harasser, publicly confronting him at the premiere of Double Jeopardy, she also says “I was really hard on myself because I didn’t get out of it by saying, 'OK motherf***er, I’m calling the police.’” Earlier this year, Judd announced that she would be pressing charges against Twitter trolls whom she claimed threatened her with sexual violence after a seemingly innocuous tweet about a college basketball team “playing dirty” during March Madness. Just after, Judd penned a passionate essay titled “Forget Your Team: Your Online Violence Towards Girls and Women Is What Can Kiss My Ass.” In the op-ed, Judd writes about her own traumatic experiences of sexual assault. “I am a survivor of sexual assault, rape and incest,” she wrote on Mic.com’s “Pass the Mic” series. “The summer of 1984 was tough for me. I experienced two rapes by an adult and systematic molestation from another adult, who also had another man in the room watching (I now understand this was to ensure he had a witness, in order to undermine me in the event I tried to report the incident). … This January, I read three different things that freshly triggered an additional, very specific memory from age 15 – an attempted oral rape by yet another adult man.” What is it with powerful men in the entertainment industry? They see a lot of beautiful women and just see them as ripe peaches, ready for them to pluck any time they want.
Ashley Fights Gender Based Violence on Twitter
After Judd says that she began to heal with the help of therapy, she received a particularly vulgar tweet that led her to research what legal actions to take against gender-based violence on Twitter. "Supported by friends and a brilliant psychologist, my therapy was astonishing, as all such healing work is," she recalls. "I felt like I had the chance to finally speak, fight and grieve, and be consoled and comforted. But then, on literally the very next day, I received a disturbing tweet with a close-up photograph of my face behind text that read, 'I can't wait to cum all over your face and in your mouth.'" "The timing was canny, and I knew it was a crime. It was time to call the police, and to say to the Twittersphere, no more," she recalls. To make matters worse, these these types of disturbing tweets aren't the exception -- Judd says she deals with them on a regular basis. "I routinely cope with tweets that sexualize, objectify, insult, degrade and even physically threaten me," she writes. " ... But this particular tsunami of gender-based violence and misogyny flooding my Twitter feed [on Sunday] was overwhelming. Tweets rolled in, calling me a c**t, a whore or a b**ch, or telling me to suck a two-inch d*ck. Some even threatened rape, or 'anal anal anal.'" Now, she is using this incident to stand up for other women who also deal with this type of harassment. "What happened to me is the devastating social norm experienced by millions of girls and women on the Internet," she adds. "Online harassers use the slightest excuse (or no excuse at all) to dismember our personhood. My tweet was simply the convenient delivery system for a rage toward women that lurks perpetually." She closed her essay with a plea for others to continue to speak out against abuse. "So for now, I am handing it back over to those of you who are unafraid to speak out against abuse like I have faced, and those of you who are righteous allies and intervening bystanders," she writes. "You're on it. Keep at it -- on the Internet, at home, at work and in your hearts, where the courage to tackle this may fundamentally lie. We have much to discuss, and much action to take. Join me." And despite her negative Twitter experiences, Judd continues to be active on the social media platform and even tweeted about her passionate essay on Thursday. "I published my #onlinegenderviolence essay w/ http://mic.com because millennials will solve this problem," she posted. " .... Who else has had enough? What will you do?"
Los Angeles recently declared a state of emergency over the city's growing homeless population - up 12% in two years. Residents of the city's main homeless encampment say a mix of drugs and rising rents are driving the problem. The City of Angels has another nickname: the homeless capital of America.
The heart of this capital is in the shadows, beneath the gleaming skyscrapers, on Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles. In this land of glitz and glamour, the forgotten people have made camp. For block after block, the homeless and their scant belongings - tarpaulins, tents and shopping carts - are scattered on the concrete in the baking sun. Most of the faces are African-American. Steven Kuklinski has been living here on and off for 10, perhaps 15 years. He is not keeping count. The woes that brought him to Skid Row are common. "Emotional and psychological problems, which led to escape through drugs," is his own frank assessment of how he ended up on the streets. "Drugs and prison and jail go hand in hand," he adds.
At the last count there were 44,359 homeless people in Los Angeles County and 25,686 in the city itself, according to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA), an agency set up in 1993 to find a solution to the problem. LAHSA estimates that more than two-thirds of homeless people are on the streets with no shelter at all. Southern California's warm climate makes that possible but still tough, especially recently when the temperature downtown by lunchtime was 34C (94F). "We need some help," says Denise Scott, taking refuge in the shade, her hair pulled tight in a black bandana. She compares Skid Row to a Third World country. "It doesn't look like America. We can bomb countries and build them back up, but we can't take care of homelessness?"
Skid Row resident Denise Scott sees illegal immigration as part of the problem
Not everyone here is on drugs, she insists. Many just can't pay the rent. "We don't have affordable housing," says Ms Scott, and for that she blames a failure to control immigration."We have over 20 million illegal aliens, undocumented people, in this country. And they live indoors." The Pew Research Center puts the number of undocumented immigrants closer to 11 million. Whatever the figure, the billionaire businessman Donald Trump, currently campaigning for the Republican nomination for president, would sort it out, reckons Ms Scott. She would vote for "The Trumpster", as she calls him, "because he seems to know more about immigration," than President Barack Obama. "Spice" lives on Skid Row with her husband "Dice". They are here out of choice, living in a tent which doubles as a kitchen catering for the homeless. Their business on the fringes of society appears extremely popular with the people on the street. Its legality and tax status may not be clear, but the food smells delicious and the menu is surprisingly varied.
Skid Row resident "Spice" says soaring rents in Los Angeles have driven some to the streets
Rising rents have driven more and more people on to the streets, Spice says. "Nobody can afford rent on Skid Row, or anywhere else. Rent is going up and salary is not going up and it's not balanced. "Homelessness is going to continue until legislation steps up and say 'Put a cap on it. Stop!'" Herb Smith, the president of the Los Angeles Mission, a non-profit organization on Skid Row, says the problem has actually worsened as the economy has recovered from the financial crisis of 2008. "We were making in-roads for a number of years during the hard economy time but because of a number of factors we've seen a growth recently of people coming back out onto the streets," he says.
Los Angeles' homeless population has jumped 12% in the past two years
"Affordable housing in LA is almost non-existent," says Mr Smith who points to recent data that suggests that the average two-bedroom unit in the city now costs more than $2,600 per month to rent. "If a person's earning minimum wage they may be spending 50 or 75% of their income on housing costs and so that makes it very difficult for them to be able to survive," he says. At City Hall, council member Mike Bonin agrees. Mr Bonin, who represents the city's 11th District, was at the forefront of a recent move to declare a state of emergency because of homelessness. His district includes Venice Beach, where rough sleepers are a particularly serious problem. "We have become a city of shanties," says Mr Bonin, noting that homelessness has not only increased by "a whopping 12%" over the past two years but is now spreading out across the city.Encampments are almost everywhere, he says. "We have people by the hundreds living in tents." It is this "tremendous crisis" says Mr Bonin, which has prompted the first state of emergency in Los Angeles since the North Ridge earthquake of 1994, when 60 people died.
The average rent of a two-bedroom apartment in Los Angeles costs more than $2,600 per month
Declaring a state of emergency could make it easier to find homes for residents by easing some housing restrictions and fast-tracking permits for more affordable housing. "I think this is absolutely as serious as the aftermath of an earthquake," he says. "All levels of government have been effectively negligent in dealing with this problem for way too long," he says. "There's something absolutely shameful and disgusting about it. It's absolutely wrong that in a nation this wealthy and in a city this wealthy that this problem has continued. We've got in Los Angeles a growing gap between the rich and poor."
Tackling it will require an extraordinary effort. Proposed changes include raising the minimum wage, building more affordable housing and specialist shelters, and providing rental subsidies as well as improving mental health services and drug treatment programs. Mr Bonin insists the city will find an extra $100 million to help fund such solutions, although even he concedes that this is a "drop in the ocean". The money has not yet been allocated.
Back on Skid Row, the sirens are wailing as yet another ambulance rumbles up to the kerb to help someone who has collapsed. This seems to happen every 30 minutes or so. But amid the despair here, there is some hope. Christian Lofland, 50, works at the Los Angeles Mission, looking after facilities maintenance. Three years ago he was on the streets himself. It was the mission's faith-based program, offering shelter, a shower and the prospect of a job, which helped him turn his life around. For Mr Lofland, the slide into drug-addiction and homelessness happened fast.
With help of friends and social services, Christian Lofland now has a job and a place to live
"One day I woke up and thought, you know I don't have a roof over my head, I have no money, I don't have any gas in my car. I don't have a job," he says. It took the support of friends, the assistance of the mission, will-power and prayer to kick heroin and get back on his feet, he says. On the streets, not enough stories have such happy endings and the city authorities are now under intense pressure from sceptical voters to do more to help the homeless. "There's a lot of fat cats who are going to have their hands out for $100 million," Mr Lofland says. "They're building the tallest building in LA for a billion dollars and they're going to spend a tenth of that on sheltering homelessness," he adds. "So where's the priority?"
Cumberbatch also launched into reading a poem called Home by Somali poet Warsan Shire, which includes the line: “No one puts children in a boat unless the water is safer than the land.”
