#when her own mother reported the controversies surrounding her win | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

foolgobi65 · 4 years

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Mahabharata (any characters or pairing) + college au + meet messy + “alexa, play wonderwall.” (at this point im just picking things at random lol)

play wonderwall : you’ll see lol basically used this as an excuse to write a version of the scene u and i both acknowledge as our favorite. the single most iconic scene in the entire epic, bar none. for our sake, i really hope that you like it!! also the “meet messy” is basically random people in the crowd meeting this trainwreck of a family in all of its glory. also i think rhea’s modern au krishna goes by shyam yadav??? i tried to use a different first name at least but none of them sounded as nice so i gave up lol sorry rhea.

“Are you fucking kidding me?”

It seems like the entire university is gathered on the front lawn to watch the swearing-in ceremony of new Union President Dharamraj Kuru after what many reported to be the nastiest student election season perhaps ever seen. Jarasandha Magadh, after years of refusing to graduate, had at the last minute been put in the hospital and, apparently, sustained injuries so extensive that it had effectively argued that his already completed coursework should be all that was counted when factoring in his final mark.

“Especially given said student’s...extensive history...with this institution,” Shyam had apparently said when arguing Jarasandha’s case to University Administration, Jarasandha himself completely unaware and apparently furious when he was brought out of his medically induced coma.

Jarasandha’s party’s hastily promoted candidate Sahadeva was wildly acknowledged to be weak, young, and meant to be nothing more than a rubber stamp on business as usual. Dharamraj, whose upstart campaign effectively communicated how poorly “business as usual” had treated the student body, was suddenly flooded with factions of students seeking an alliance so that their respective organizations might be allocated larger portions of the budget everyone assumed Dharamraj would soon control.

Everyone was right. Dharamraj won in a landslide, and now here everybody is, watching him deliver his maiden speech as their new President.

“Shisupal,” Dharamraj sighs, “what exactly is your problem?”

“My problem,” Shisupal shrieks, walking up to the dais from where Dharamraj stands, surrounded by his friends, family, and his girlfriend Yagna. “You’re asking me what my problem is, Brother?”

“Brother?” someone in the crowd asks, too low to be heard at the front.

“I think they’re related on their mother’s side,” someone else responds. “Both their mothers are sisters, but Pritha was adopted out to a friend of her father so was never close to her biological siblings.”

“Jesus,” another laughs, “are they all just cousins?”

A wide assortment of Kurus stand on stage, jubilant after so many years of them trying and failing to win elections at the university their fathers had once ruled. Yagna, from a prominent family herself, at Dharamraj’s side. Shyam Yadav, whose sister Subhadra is in love with Dhananjaya and whose father was like a brother to Pritha when she was lonely in Kuntibhoj and Vasudev not imprisoned with his wife.

Yes, they really are all just cousins.

Vrikodara steps in front of Dharamraj, arms crossed and looming nearly half a metre taller than Shishupal. Yet, Shishupal is not cowed -- though many men more intelligent than he would have been.

“I’m not afraid of you, asshole. Everyone knows you’re just the gun in Dharamraj’s hand, and your brother is a pacifist. You won’t touch me.”

“You would be surprised,” Dharamraj says mildly, smiling slightly as the crowd laughs at the thought of violence from the slightly frail Dharma, always seen in the library or sitting under the tree outside it, smoking cigarettes as he argues with professors twice his age about obscure legalities and wins.

“You wouldn’t hurt a fly,” Shishupal spits, “you’re too much of a coward to hit a person when they know it’s coming. That’s why you’re just stabbing us in the back, selling us out on the first day when we put our reputations on the line to back you for President.”

“Shisupal!” Vrikodara roars, Dhananjaya striding to stand next to him, Suyodhana and Radheya on either flank despite what is rumored to be their own tensions with Pandu’s sons. The family is closing ranks at this attack from one their own, it seems, but then what is University politics if not a way for people to find some entertainment from other people’s drama.

“What,” Shishupal retorts, “you expect us all to shut up while you commit to sinking half of the budget into that wastrel’s pathetic fund? You plan on just giving our money away to anyone who spins a sad life story and begs for cash?”

Well, University politics is about this too -- the eternal question of which students should be helped, and how much. The fund in question is the brainchild of Shyam, a way for individuals to apply for rapid monetary relief in response to uncontrollable circumstances, and be granted what they need with almost no questions asked.

“Shisupal,” Dhananjaya steps forward, sensitive as always when his best (and only) friend’s name is brought up. “We’ve let you get away with more than we should because you happen to be our mother’s nephew. If you continue to embarrass us in public it won’t end well.” Shishupal laughs. “For you or for me? As far as I can see, you’ve all been duped by that street-trash pretending to be Vasudev Yadav’s son.”

Dhananjaya glares. “Uncle Vasudev is more our mother’s brother than your mother is her sister. Slander his name at your own risk.” Again, Shishupal refuses to cower despite what the crowd acknowledges as fierce odds -- Dhananjaya doesn’t actually attend the University, only visits frequently from the Indian Air Force Academy to spend time with Shyam, and his brothers sometimes as well. The man is licensed to shoot a gun, for god’s sake, but Shishupal continues to stand firm.

“Even now, you’re all standing in front of him,” Shishupal taunts, “Dancing to his tune and protecting his reputation when you know as well as I where he came from. He didn’t even speak English until he left that shithole after killing his own uncle, and you idiots are planning to sink my money into his scheme? Not on my watch.”

“No,” a voice comes from the back of the group on the dais, “there’s no need to make that face. I can fight my own battles, Dhananjaya. Especially against an absolute clown, like Shishupal.”

“A clown,” Shishupal shouts, “you’re calling me a clown?”

Shyam rolls his eyes, having pushed his way to the front. Behind him Vrikodara is grinding his teeth, Dhananjaya’s fingers hovering at his own waist as if wishing for a gun.

“Well I could have called you a motherfucker,” Shyam shrugs, “but I’m quite fond of your mother. In fact, she was the one who’s begged me to forgive you every time you’ve done something like this.”

Shishupal snarls. “My mother doesn’t beg, street-trash, and she certainly wouldn’t lower herself to beg from you. People like you are only demanded from.”

Shyam shrugs again. “Suit yourself. But consider this your last warning -- say another word, and I won’t let you go like I did before.”

“Before? Before?” For some reason, Shyam’s threat has only made Shishupal angrier, face turning purple where it was red. “Before, as in that time last year, when you stole my wife from the wedding hall at gunpoint. Is that what you mean by before?”

The crowd goes still at the reminder of the biggest controversy to rock their collective social circle.

Shyam raises an eyebrow. “The whole point of that was that she wasn’t your wife when we left.” His lip curls in a sneer of his own, eyes suddenly cold. “You were treating her so poorly that she asked what to her was a complete stranger to kidnap her on her wedding day. I wouldn’t talk so loudly about before.”

Nearly a year ago, Shishupal was to be married to Rukmini Bhoja after years of forcing her to stand attendance at his side during all campus events, despite her not actually being enrolled as a student. Both of their families were rich, well connected, and sought increased prestige through connection with the other. It was, people remarked, on paper the perfect match.

Of course, Rukmini was intelligent, witty, kind, and one of the most beautiful women most people had ever seen. Shishupal passed classes off of sheer intimidation, threw rocks at the college cats, and supplemented these qualities with his insistence on growing a patchy, horrible, beard and kept his oily, stringy hair long. Worse, there were rumors that Shishupal was even meaner drunk than he was sober, and that once Rukmini had been seen walking away from him clutching her arm and had returned with a scarf wrapped around her shoulders to cover where otherwise might have been a visible pattern of bruises.

The wedding, everyone had agreed, was to be a tragedy, and would only serve to make Shishupal even more insufferable. When the nightly news had aired the extraordinary report of a young woman staging her own kidnapping, apparently begging one of the groom’s family connections to attend her wedding and hold a gun to her head as they walked out, it was widely agreed to be answer to their prayers, and above all a job very well done by the erstwhile bride to be. When it was revealed that the “kidnapper” was Shyam, well, that just made the whole thing even funnier.

When classes restarted, Shishupal prowled with a whole new look -- clean-shaven, and short hair. Rukmini Bhoja was noticeably absent from campus events, but a few months in Shyam had been seen getting off the bus at the station near campus and kissing someone who looked just like Rukmini goodbye.

It seems the rumors about that last bit had found Shishupal too. “Stranger,” he scoffs. “Is that what we’re calling it these days?”

Shyam’s entire body, always loose, always slightly in motion, goes completely stiff. More than Dhananjaya, more than Vrikodara, it is Shyam who now suddenly looks like an apex predator. The crowd, not even the one facing Shyam directly, finds itself taking a step back.

“What exactly is it that we’re calling,” Shyam asks softly -- sound only heard because it’s being picked up by the microphone on the podium awaiting the rest of Dharamraj’s long-forgotten speech.

Shishupal rolls his eyes, sneering. “I’m glad that bitch made such a spectacle of herself when calling off the wedding. I wouldn’t have wanted to marry a whore, you know. Why take seven rounds to get something she sells, no?” He smirks, as the entire group on the dais -- the whole horrible writhing mass of Kurus and their assorted friends and family -- advance as one. “Or, I guess she was the one who was buying,” Shishupal laughs, looking at Shyam who appears to be frozen in place, his face a perfect picture of overwhelming rage. “She paid you to take her, didn’t she? Poor bitch didn’t even think you’d fuck her for fr--”

“SHUT THE FUCK UP, YOU SON OF A BITCH!”

Shishupal’s eyes immediately roll up into his skull, as a result of Shyam Yadav’s fist colliding with Shishupal’s jaw. No one bothers to catch the body.

Silence reigns for entire minutes as everyone watches Shishupal, crumpled on the ground. Watches Shyam Yadav, standing over him wild-eyed, with his right hand still in a fist.

“Oh Alexa,” a gentle female voice calls out from the crowd. Everyone turns to stare, open-mouthed, at Rukmini Bhoja standing in the front row, absolutely grinning at this turn of events. She gazes back at them, turning towards Shyam again and laughs. “Alexa this is so sad. Play ‘Mmm Whatcha Say.”

#ok i will say that the idea of rukmini basically organizing her own kidnapping/hit job where she hires krishna to attend and kidnap her at g #thats chefs kiss to me #i cant believe i never thought of that before its t ha t funny #mahabharata #also the mm watcha say gag was too good to not include when he gets clocked the fuck out at the end sorry lol #also i decided to make vasudev only brother-like for kunti #so that subhadra/krishna arent arjuna's cousins lol #also she seems even in canon to be closer to vasudev than her other siblings so we're rolling with it #anyways i hope u like it!!!!#these are all being churned out like stream of consciousness and then i hit publish lol so i have no idea if theyre any good at all #but thank u for the opportunity to put a version of this down on paper #maya writes #avani008 #also lol i used none of their traditional names because i thought it would be funnier to give them all long pretentious names that flowed ni #*nice

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strictlyfortheculture · 4 years

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MY TAKE: 1,300 WORDS ON JAY ELECTRONICA’s ‘A WRITTEN TESTIMONY’

After 11 years of anticipation, Jay Electronica finally released an official study album, A Written Testimony featuring Jay-Z who was playing the role Ghostface Killah did for Raekwon on Only Built 4 Cuban Linx.

Jay-Z was the co-star; the Scottie Pippen to Michael Jordan; the one who complimented the headliner, assisting him in a win, and this album most certainly was a win.

Now I make the point of listing Jay-Z as a co-pilot in this audio journey because many in the Internet realm want to say Jay-Z "lyrically murdered" Electronica on his own shit. Ironically, something Nas claimed happened to Jay Z on the Renegade song years ago.

That didn't happen. Jay-Z did what he was supposed to do, he collaborated with an emcee who captured his ear and mind back in 2010.

This was not Watch The Throne, Part II. To say such a thing is to disrespect what Jay-Z and Kanye West created in 2011. A Written Testimony was the overdue, formal introduction to the rap world Hip-hop's resident Willy Wonka - Jay Elect - the man who creates endless wonders while staying aloof. Jay Electronica is a real-life James Bond, a man who shook the Hip Hop world when he released the game-changing "Exhibit C", dated and fathered a child with Erykah Badu, sparked a bidding war between Puff Daddy and Sean Carter based on the strength of a couple singles, the man who disappeared for years, and was romantically linked to an heiress from the Rothschild family.

YEAH, this man is a legend.

But those exploits coupled with several loose singles and two mixtapes were not enough to satisfy the appetite of hungry Hip Hop listeners, eager to devour the sounds of a man from New Orleans, Louisiana who is, lyrically, more like Rakim Allah than Soulja Slim ... and still, Jay Elect pay homage to his NO influences throughout the album (see "Ghost of Soulja Slim", in particular). How can a Southern emcee come on the scene without having a stereotypical sound of a New Orleans rapper? He doesn't sound like Master P nor does he follow the path of Lil Wayne. No. Jay Elect made his trail unique; distancing himself from the pack.

After 10 years of waiting, Jay Electronica announced his album WOULD be released in Match 2020. Now a lot has changed since 2010 when the original album was meant to come, and during that time tastes change and even the most loyal fans lost faith that it would happen.

Was this real? Was Jay Electronica gonna drop or was this another instance where an artist over-promised and under-delivered?

Finally, Friday the 13th, March 2020 A Written Testimony was released and the internet was flooded with the full gamut of emotions ranging from exhilaration to disappointed (can't please the internet critics or Joe Budden) to a renewed faith in the man of legendary reputation.

Yes, people were pleased to hear that Jay-Z is still one of the best in the game, today, but for me, I was delighted to hear Jay Electronica slay the sound-waves. This 10 track album not only reinforced my appreciation for Jay Electronica; it made me want to study his lyrics; dissect these testaments to its very root.

The introductions to (1) The Overwhelming Event and (2) Ghost oF Soulja Slim featuring sound bytes of Louis Farrakhan speaking to the masses about the Black people in America being real children of Israel; the recipients of God's promise to bless the descendants of Abraham caused dissent from Hip Hop critics and listeners alike who felt the Nation of Islam leader's alleged anti-Semitic comments have no place in a rap album. Those people forget that Jay Electronica is a member of the Nation of Islam.

WRITER'S NOTE: All of those critics are silent when rappers say of Nigga or calling Black women "bitch" and "ho". Where are they during those moments of controversy? Hmmm. This is a conversation for another time.

Controversy aside, the lyrical wordplay on display should have silenced any nonbeliever.

(2) Ghost of Souljah Slim starts off the album right with both men trading verses, and more importantly Electronica showing that he can hold his own with Sean Carter.

(3)The Blinding has Jay Electronica talking about the hesitancy to release his music to an audience that will undoubtedly pick apart his work rather than enjoy it for what it is. (4) Neverending Story is where Jay Elect laces an Alchemist beat with the tale of his come-up from humble beginnings and hostile surrounding to still being chosen by God; bestowed with divine greatness.

(5) Shiny Suit Theory showcases Elect rhymes over a self-produced song proclaiming his forthcoming rise in the world of rap.

(6) Universal Soldier has both men share tales of their rise from hardship and criminal lifestyle to gaining knowledge of self and ultimately overcoming the hurdles placed before them

(7) Flux Capacitor has Jay Elect speaking on a preordained calling upon him to bring superior lyricism and teachings to the world while representing New Orleans.

(8) Fruits Of The Spirits is a song detailing the long wait for this debut album, Electronica lets the listener know that it was all part of his master plan for just like Thanos (from the Marvel Comics), he can defeat any competition with the snap of his fingers.

(9) Ezekiel's Wheel ties into the Biblical story of Ezekiel, the warrior who was placed by God to be the prophet over Israel, Jay Electronica declares himself to be a prophet to the children of Israel, whom Farrakhan, in the album intro stated were the Black people in America.

(10) A.P.I.D.T.A. (All Praise Is Due To Allah) is my personal favourite is a song dealing with the loss of loved ones. According to reports, this song was written on the same night Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna Bryant died in a tragic helicopter crash in February 2020. Wow.

On this sombre track, Jay Electronica offers lamentations over the loss of his beloved Mother, speaking of how her departure from this physical form has cut him to his soul, rendering his spirit wounded.

Eyes fiery, cry tears to my diary Sometimes a Xanny bar can't help you fight back the anxiety I go to my Lord quietly, teardrops on our faces Teardrops on my face, it's like teardrops become waterfalls by the time they reach my laces My eyelids is like levees but my tear ducts is like glaciers As I contemplate creation, the salt that heals my wounds pour out my eyes just like libations I can't stop my mind from racing, I got numbers on my phone Pictures on my phone The day my mama died, I scrolled her texts all day long The physical returns but the connection still stay strong

Jay Elect later rhymes,

Sleep well The last time that I kissed you, you felt cold but you looked peaceful I read our message thread when I get low and need a refill

All controversy and delay aside, Jay Electronica delivered a debut album that rivals that of your favourite MCs. FUCK Joe Budden and anybody who disagrees. I'm still waiting on Joe to release one record as meaningful as Elect's worst. Anyway, I digress.

In an era where the word Classic has lost its meaning thanks to the overuse of fans and critics alike, I won't give it that distinction, at this time. I do, however, feel this album will go down as one of the more significant releases of the last 10 years. This is evidence of substance over style. No commercials tracks. No filler. Just two talented men delivering lyrical food to a hungry audience in need of manna from heaven rather than the pursuit of bread ($$$).

And man cannot live on bread alone. Peace God. Holler at me

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realjay · 3 years

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Jayden Pharr

Johnny Depp scores big win over Amber Heard as judge rejects her bid to throw out his defamation suit

Johnny Depp's defamation lawsuit against his ex wife Amber Heard is still ongoing, as a Virginia Judge ruled Tuesday meaning the case will proceed to a trial next year. Penny Azcarate, Fairfax County's Judge rejected Heard's third motion since Johnny Depp filled his lawsuit in March 2019. Which was on various grounds set out in an opinion from USA TODAY.

Amber attempted to have the Virginia lawsuit discarded citing the ruling of a London Judge last year in a libel lawsuit Depp filled against The Sun tabloid. He afterward lost following of a controversial legal showdown in an English courtroom. The London Judge concluded that the 2018 article accusing Johnny Depp a wife beater were false and the majority of Heard's claims of domestic abuse could be proved to the civil standard.

However, Virginia's Judge Arzcarate found the two cases to be different and that Heard was not a party in the London lawsuit; even being a witness for The Sun, failing her argument for dismissal under well-established legal precedents governing when civil cases can be dismissed. Arzcarate said in her opinion, the defendaint's claim that refusing the U.K. Judgement in this case would set a dangerous precedent is unfounded. She also stating that upholding English libel judgement in the U.S. would create the chilling effect and could make a dangerous precedent. The defendaint's argument was unpersuaded in this court.

The decision marks a major victory for Johnny in his continues warfare against his ex wife, which started in 2016 during their divorce in California and now outlasted their brief hectic marriage. Benjamin Chew of Brown Rubnick, Depp's lawyer stated "Mr. Depp is most gratified by the court's decision".

USA TODAY have reached out to Heard's Virginia lawyer, Elaine Charlson Bredehoft. The two will resume their case trial on April 11, 2022 of discovery proceedings such as taking dispositions including Heard's. The trial will take place in Fairfax County, Virginia's largest and most populous county in suburban Washington, D.C. The Virginia case rose from an opinion article Heard wrote in the Washington Post in December 2018 which contained content claiming Heard had become a public face of domestic violence. She mourned that she "felt the full force of our culture's wrath for women who speak out".

A few months later, Depp filled his lawsuit seeking $50 million in damages. He depicted himself a victim of false allegations, according to his suit he was part of an elaborate hoax to generate positive publicity for Heard to advance her career. The suit also said "Ms. Heard is not a victim of domestic abuse; she is a perpetrator". Heard never pointed towards the actor by name in her essay but it was clear who an what she was referring to, according to Depp's lawsuit.

Her article followed the couple's toxic 2016bdivorce proceedings, during the time Heard alleged domestic abuse, filed for a retraining order against Depp and claimed he had thrown a cell phone at her face during a fight at their downtown Los Angeles loft. Depp intensly denied all her allegations, when the Los Angeles police went to the loft they found no such evidence of the crime. By the end of the summer the two reached an settlement outside of court and issued an effusive joint statement professing their love.

USA TODAY obtained a statement saying the two had a very passionate relationship that at times become volatile, but always bound by love. Neither of the two parties made false accusations for financial gain, there was never an intent of physical or emotional harm. Amber wishes the best for Johnny in the future and she will be donating financial proceeds from their divorce to charity. For the past two years Heard's multiple legal teams have tried to get Depp's Virginia lawsuit dismissed, to no avail. Meanwhile, the two movie stars were the witnesses in Depp's libel lawsuit in London, which finalized in June 2020 after a three week trial.

In the wake of that case Johnny Depp's role as dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald in the "Fantastic Beasts" franchise, was replaced by Mads Mikkelsen. During an interview Depp expressed how he felt boycotted by Hollywood, implying to the surreal five years surrounding the case. He spoke about the film industry fall-out on his ounce formidable career. Meanwhile, Heard has became a single mother on her own terms announcing it on Instagram, welcoming her daughter Oonagh Paige Heard this year. Depp won another defamation suit when a New York Judge partially granted a petition to determined if Heard truly donated the seven million dollars to the American Civil Liberty Union and to Children's Hospital Los Angeles, as she pledged.

As a result of that ruling the ACLU must release documents that confirm Heard followed through with her pledge, which has become a point of contention in the Virginia case.

I wanted to report on this news because it will determine how future movies that envolve Johnny Depp and Amber Heard will continue. It may not have a big impact but some people will still be anticipating how their favorite movies like Pitates of the Caribbean will continue without their leading star. The stars' lives would also be in question as how their careers will continue.

Does this mean Johnny Depp will continue with his other movie roles, what will become of Amber Heard?

Johnny Depp scores big win over Amber Heard as judge rejects her bid to throw out his defamation suit, USA TODAY, Aug. 17 2021,https://usatoday.com/stroy/entertainment/celebrities/2021/08/17/johnny-depp-scores-win-over-amber-heard-virginia-defamation-suit/91711254002/

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footballghana · 4 years

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Eric Frimpong: Soccer star to jail time

It’s March 3, 2008, a brilliant day in Santa Barbara. But for Eric Frimpong, it feels like hell. He’s in Superior Court, encircled by sheriff’s deputies, making one more trip to the Department 2 courtroom. This is his last stop on the outside for a while, a painful reminder of how far he has fallen. He left his native Ghana in 2005 to play soccer for UC Santa Barbara; a year later he became a campus hero while leading the Gauchos to their first-ever national championship. If the immigrant experience can have a sound, Frimpong’s sound was a raucous stadium. But in 2007, just weeks after being selected by the Kansas City Wizards in the MLS draft, he was accused of raping another student on the beach near his house. Now he’s a convicted felon.

Frimpong enters the courtroom, which is packed with students and parents, former teammates and coaches — row upon row of supporters. They’ve come for the sentencing that concludes a trial that has rocked this community: People v. Eric Frimpong. Or more accurately, People v. Eric Frimpong and His People.

A victim’s advocate reads a statement on behalf of the accuser, referred to in this story and in news coverage throughout the trial as Jane Doe. “I don’t care that he’s a soccer star…and I’m a nobody,” the statement says. “Eric Frimpong ruined my life.”

There’s a rumble in the gallery. If his supporters could chime in now, they’d say that the kid in the prison garb has never spoken an unkind word or acted aggressively toward anyone. They would remind the court of the points made at trial: that his accuser was a woman with little memory of what happened that night because of a near-toxic blood alcohol level; that Frimpong’s DNA wasn’t found on the victim; that semen found on her underwear belonged to a jealous boyfriend, a white student who was never a suspect. They would argue that overzealous law enforcement was determined to nail a high-profile athlete, facts be damned, and that this was the Duke lacrosse case all over again — except that the defendants in the Duke case were white men from affluent families with the means to navigate America’s justice system, unlike Frimpong, who is poor and an immigrant.

Judge Brian Hill, citing Frimpong’s clean record and “a lot of community support,” delivers his sentence: six years in state prison. As Frimpong is led away, many people in the gallery are crying. Out in the hall, Paul and Loni Monahan stand solemnly while the courtroom empties. Their son, Pat, was Frimpong’s teammate, and the Monahans — a white, middle-class family — had embraced “Frimmer” like a son and a brother. Loni distributes copies of a printed statement: “We will continue to fight for Eric. We will not rest until he is exonerated and the ugly truth of his wrongful prosecution and conviction comes out.” When the leaflets are gone, she leans against a wall, tears flowing. “Eric believed in our system,” she says. “He believed justice would prevail.” Then she straightens. “Before I was sad,” she says. “Now I’m mad.”

Something good happened in Santa Barbara. Even now, as Frimpong sits behind a glass partition in the visitors’ room of a California jail, he smiles easily while talking about where he’s come from and what he has achieved. The way he sees it, he has always been fortunate.

Back in Ghana, in western Africa, he and his three younger siblings were raised by their mother, Mary, in the poor farming community of Abesin, but her job as a typist with the government forestry department allowed the family to have plumbing and electricity, unlike many of their neighbours. Eric was an engineering major and a midfielder for Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, in Kumasi, when he caught the eye of UCSB assistant Leo Chappel, who attended a 2005 match to scout the son of a Ghanian pro but ended up offering a scholarship to Frimpong instead. The first words out of Frimpong’s mouth? Thank God. The next: What’s UCSB?

By that August, the Gauchos had a crafty midfielder with intangibles to burn. Frimpong’s intelligence, instinct and vision, along with his speed and touch, made him an on-the-ball force. He also had a winning personality. “Frimmer was very humble and considerate, on and off the field,” says head coach Tim Vom Steeg.

As a senior the next year, the 5’6″ Frimpong developed a reputation as a lockdown defender in leading the unseeded Big West champs to a string of improbable NCAA tournament wins. When the final whistle blew on the 2006 national championship game, the Cinderella Gauchos had defeated four-time king UCLA. Frimpong earned All-Big West honours, a spot in the MLS supplemental draft and the gratitude of his peers. “He was the heart and soul of the team,” says Pat Monahan. “Eric won us that championship.”

Everyone around Frimpong was buoyed by his success: his mother, friends and classmates, prominent locals who had helped him out along the way with invites to dinner, rides to the store and, when he struggled with homesickness during his junior year, a fund-raiser that yielded $3,000 for a ticket to Ghana. “We all tried to pitch in, because Eric’s so darn likeable,” says Tim Foley, a booster who made Frimpong a regular guest at his family’s home. “He was an American success story.”

The Monahans were especially proud. Frimpong had met his “American parents” on move-in day in 2005, and they promptly invited him to spend Thanksgiving in San Diego. They gave him his first cell phone and laptop and took him on family vacations. They sat in their kitchen for hours listening to his stories about Ghana. They were also impressed by his knowledge of the Bible, and his quiet spirituality helped bolster their own faith. “He was going to graduate, play professionally, make more money here than he ever could in Ghana and bring it back to support his family,” Loni says. “Eric really had it all.”

Something bad happened in Santa Barbara. On Feb. 17, 2007, sometime after midnight on a fast-eroding bluff of beach right below 6547 Del Playa Drive, Jane Doe was raped. She said Eric Frimpong did it, and an all-white jury agreed. But the nature of the case, and some of the more slippery details surrounding it, has divided the community, raising questions about the reliability of the victim’s memory, the true character of the accused, the motives and tactics of law enforcement, even the fairness of the justice system. Amid all the controversy, though, two simple truths remain: A young woman was victimized, and a young man’s dream was shattered.

UCSB is among the nation’s top party schools, and oceanfront Del Playa is the belly of the beast. Even a model student-athlete like Frimpong, who maintained a 3.0 GPA while working on a double major in applied mathematics and business economics, found it hard to skip the party entirely. After the Gauchos won it all, they were the toast of the town, especially Frimmer. As Pat Monahan puts it, “You’d walk into apartments and see Ghanian flags hanging over people’s beds.”

Frimpong’s journey from soccer hero to convicted felon began a little more than halfway through his senior year. (The account that follows is based on police reports, interview transcripts, court proceedings and comments from trial observers.) The night of Feb. 16 began for Frimpong in the same place where he started most Friday nights, on the couch in his house at 6547 Del Playa Drive, watching a movie with housemates. His girlfriend, Yesenia Prieto, was working late, but Eric had reason to celebrate, fresh off an impressive 10-day tryout for the Wizards, so he showered and went to meet friends at a party at 6681 Del Playa Drive. It was outside that home, at about 11:30 p.m., that Frimpong met Jane Doe, a UCSB freshman. They struck up a conversation, then walked back to his house to play beer pong. They arrived just before midnight, and Eric introduced Jane to his roommates before taking her to the patio, where the two of them played beer pong for a few minutes until, according to Frimpong, Doe said she wanted to smoke, so they headed for the park next door. At the park, he says, Doe approached another male, who appeared to have followed them. When she walked back to Frimpong, she started kissing him, but he wasn’t interested because she smelled of cigarettes. Doe became aggressive, he says, and stuck her hand down his pants. He pushed her away, then headed to the home of his friend, Krystal Giang, who’d been expecting him. By 4 a.m., he was in bed at Prieto’s apartment.

About an hour and a half earlier, Jane Doe, accompanied by her sister and two friends, checked into Goleta Valley Cottage Hospital emergency clinic, claiming she had been raped. She was transferred to the Sexual Assault Response center downtown, where a nurse discovered a laceration to Doe’s external genitalia and bruises on her body, findings consistent with sexual assault.

“Yesterday was a really good day,” Doe told sheriff’s detectives Daniel Kies and Michael Scherbarth when they arrived at her dorm room the next morning, according to a police transcript. The reason for cheer: The 18-year-old Doe had just regained her driver’s license following a juvenile DUI conviction. At around 9 p.m. on Feb. 16, she went to a party with her sister, Elizabeth, and friends Mia Wolfson and Lakshmi Krishna. After stopping at a second party, Doe left the group and headed for a fraternity bash on Del Playa. “That’s where I saw the guy,” she told police.

From there, Doe’s story is mostly consistent with Frimpong’s, up to and including their game of beer pong. “He was really nice,” she said. But their accounts differ sharply after that. According to Doe, the next thing she remembers is being on the beach, where the nice guy turned violent, knocking her to the ground, striking her in the face, holding her throat and raping her before fleeing. Having lost her purse, Doe walked to Del Playa, where she stopped a passerby, student Justin Hannah. Using his cell, she phoned a friend, her father and then Wolfson and Krishna, who picked her up around 1:30 a.m. Doe, who admitted to drinking heavily throughout the evening, couldn’t remember anything between stepping into their car and going to the hospital — a period of one hour — but her friends would fill in the blanks: At first Doe didn’t want to go to the hospital because she was worried about getting in trouble for drinking. But back at the dorm, her friends kept urging, and she relented. Sitting with the detectives that morning, she described her attacker as a black male who spoke with an “island accent” and had “big lips” and short hair. His name? “Eric, I think.”

Sometime around noon on Feb. 17, Kies and Scherbarth spotted Frimpong hanging out with friends at the park on Del Playa. When Kies asked if he would accompany them to the station to talk about “what happened last night,” Frimpong agreed to go, despite being unsure what the detective meant. Once at the station, Kies reminded Frimpong that he had come voluntarily and asked him to describe what he’d been doing the previous night. According to the police transcript, Frimpong told Kies about watching a movie at home, then going to a party and eventually meeting Doe, whom he described as one of the “random soccer fans,” and playing beer pong with her before heading to Giang’s house and later to Prieto’s. Kies then asked for Frimpong’s consent to collect the clothes he’d worn the night before. “Yeah,” Frimpong responded, “but I still don’t know what’s going on.” Kies explained that the girl said that they’d “had sex” on the beach.

“Wow,” Frimpong responded.

Kies then informed Frimpong that he was being detained and read him his rights. Minutes later, he explained the rape accusation. “I didn’t have sex with her,” Frimpong insisted. Charged with felony rape, he phoned Paul Monahan, who spread the word. Vom Steeg couldn’t believe it: “I’m thinking, Frimpong? Rape? No way.” (The coach later asked Frimpong directly. “I said, ‘Eric, is there any chance you had sex but you thought maybe it was consensual?’ He said, ‘Tim, I never pulled my pants down.’ I said, ‘If you did this, DNA will prove it.’ He said, ‘Coach, I’m not stupid.’ “)

By the next day, Frimpong supporters had mobilized. Vom Steeg arranged for Paul Monahan to meet with Foley, and it was agreed that Monahan would fund a defense while the $100,000 bail would be paid by Foley and Cam Camarena, a former UCSB soccer player who helps finance Right to Dream, a program that brings Ghanian players to America. Based on a referral, they hired attorney Robert Sanger, and funds were bolstered by the campus-based Eric Frimpong Freedom Fund, which raised $25,000 within months. When Frimpong was released on bond, teammates were waiting outside the police station. “Nobody knows Eric like we do,” says former teammate Alfonso Motagalvan. “And he’s just not capable of doing something like this.”

When the test results came back in March, Frimpong’s DNA hadn’t been found on Jane Doe’s clothing or body, but Doe’s DNA had been found on Frimpong: in two nucleated epithelial cells, found on his scrotum and penis, and in an unspecified trace under his fingernail. (Epithelial cells are found inside the body and in body fluids like mucus, saliva and sweat. These tested negative as vaginal cells, but such tests can be inconclusive. When the case went to trial that November, the defense argued that the findings were consistent with Frimpong’s claim that Doe had grabbed his genitals.) Also, semen found on Doe’s underwear didn’t match Frimpong’s — but it was a match for that of Benjamin Randall, Doe’s sexual partner throughout her freshman year. Randall told authorities that he and Doe had engaged in intercourse seven days before the rape; Doe said they’d had sex four days prior but that she thought she was wearing different underwear, and she told a nurse that they’d used a condom. (During the trial, Doe and Randall confirmed they’d been together at parties the night she met Frimpong. Randall testified that, while en route to a friend’s house, he spotted Doe and Frimpong walking on Del Playa at about 11:40 p.m. Randall then called Doe, and she told him she was headed to “Eric’s house to play beer pong.” Under cross-examination by Sanger, Randall admitted, “I might’ve been a little upset. I guess you can call that jealousy.” He also testified that after the call, he returned to his dorm at Santa Barbara City College, where he spent the night alone.)

Despite having DNA evidence matched to him, Randall was never a suspect. Neither was the man who retrieved Doe’s purse, which she said she’d lost either on the beach or at Frimpong’s home. It was delivered to the sheriff’s department the next day, minus $30, by someone described in the police report as a “can recycler.” But because of a “language barrier,” he wasn’t questioned.

Frimpong was the only suspect, even though there was no apparent sign of sexual activity — no blood, semen, vaginal secretions — or any scratches or other telltale marks of rape on his body or clothes. The absence of abrasions was odd. Doe told authorities she was wearing a “thicker ring” on her right ring finger and that she hit her attacker so hard, “all my knuckles were screwed up.” There was also very little sand found on his clothes. (At the trial, Dianne Burns, a criminologist who examined the physical evidence, testified to the presence of two small vials’ worth of sand in the cuffs of Frimpong’s jeans and in one pocket.)

Still, the district attorney’s office pressed on, in a case reminiscent of one that was unraveling on the East Coast. “There was always a strong parallel to the Duke case,” Vom Steeg says. “From the start, the sheriff’s department felt like they had their guy. But when the evidence didn’t turn out the way it was supposed to, their position became, ‘If she’s willing to testify, we’ll go forward.’ ”

Using phone records, authorities estimate that the attack took place between 12:15 and 1:15 a.m., a time period for which Frimpong did not have a solid alibi. James Jennings, a bicycle taxi driver, said he gave Frimpong a lift between 12:30 and 2 a.m. and that the player acted like “the happiest guy in the world.” Giang told authorities that Frimpong arrived at her home sometime between 11 p.m. and midnight. But a 1:34 a.m. phone call from Frimpong to Giang seemed to place his arrival later than she had estimated. Also thorny was the testimony of Hannah, the student who had lent Doe his phone. He said that while Doe “looked like she had just come out of a traumatic experience,” her clothing didn’t appear to be dirty or sandy. He also said that she told him that she “didn’t know what had happened.”

Throughout the investigation and during the trial, Doe admitted to gaps in her memory. In her interview with detectives, she claimed she had consumed “a couple shots of vodka” before leaving her dorm. In an interview that April with assistant district attorney Mary Barron, the lead prosecutor, Doe said she’d consumed more throughout the evening. “I know I had beer,” she said. “And I know I had rum.” She also acknowledged that her memory after beer pong was hazy. “That’s when it starts to, like, cut out,” she told Barron. According to the transcript, Doe had little memory of going to the beach, and her recollection of the rape itself was scattered. Asked whether she recalled going outside to smoke, Doe said she “probably” smoked but didn’t remember when. “I don’t even know, since there’s that chunk missing.”

So what happened on the beach? Doe said Frimpong may have tried to kiss her, but when pressed by Barron she admitted, “I have no clue. I’m just assuming…” She also said, “I remember him biting me on my face,” even though she had told the emergency room doctor she thought she’d been hit, and when questioned by detectives, she said she didn’t know about being bitten — despite Kies’ saying, “That’s definitely, most definitely, teeth marks, dude,” about the bruise on her cheek. When Barron questioned her about it, Doe said, “But later, when they’re, like, ‘It looks like teeth marks’ …I remember that happening.”

Doe continued, “I saw him, like, feel around — take off his belt — or something on his pants — I don’t know.” She said she remembered being penetrated, and “it felt like a penis.” Barron asked if the attacker was the same person she’d played beer pong with. Doe said that while she couldn’t recall going to the beach, she remembered the attacker’s accent, his eyes (“They were white”) and his lips (“They’re big”). She was also fairly confident that the rape lasted “15 minutes at the most… but then, since there’s that huge chunk of time that I don’t remember, it could be anything.”

Many of Frimpong’s supporters believe that race is at the heart of the case. Santa Barbara County has nearly 425,000 residents, but only 2% are black. “I love this town,” says Foley, a resident for 30 years, “but there’s no question there’s racism here.”

Thanks to Frimpong’s celebrity status, he wasn’t flying under the radar. “I’m 100% convinced that they were going to nail this guy before he walked into the station,” Foley says. (At the trial, Burns testified that in a Feb. 22 phone call from Kies, the detective asked her to expedite her usual process, reminding her that this was a “high-profile case.”)

Back on campus, media coverage led to an unwelcome surprise for the defense: After reading about Frimpong’s arrest, another student came forward claiming that she too had been assaulted by him. This new Jane Doe told police that a few weeks before the rape, he had acted aggressively toward her, grabbing her buttocks and tackling her on the beach. The DA used the accusation to charge Frimpong with misdemeanor sexual assault, which made for a second count at trial. (He was found not guilty.) “The DA’s office filed a weak claim of sexual assault to portray Eric as a serial sexual predator and bolster the flawed rape claim,” wrote Kim Seefeld, a local defense attorney and former prosecutor, in a blog post on Jan. 15, 2008. “The allegations severely prejudiced him before the jury.”

The second charge also sent Frimpong back to jail, where friends say he was taunted by deputies. When Paul Monahan picked him up later that day, after Foley and Camarena paid the additional $250,000 bail, Frimpong broke down in tears.

There was no trip to the White House with the rest of his teammates. After the second arrest, Frimpong went into seclusion, moving to an apartment with Pat Monahan and relying on friends to run errands and deliver food. He still ventured out for dates with Prieto, and he remained active on the field, playing in an intramural league and with the semipro Ventura Fusion. He also took a part-time job with Foley. “I tried to give him pocket money, but he wouldn’t take it,” Foley says. “He was a different kid, just as sad as can be.”

Meanwhile, a battle raged among the student body. On one side were Frimpong’s loyal backers, who attested to his character in TV interviews and who carpooled in large numbers to his hearings. On the other side were victims’ rights advocates, who responded with rape awareness presentations on campus and a confrontation with Frimpong supporters at an MLK Day rally. “It was ugly, with a lot of people saying a lot of dumb things,” Giang says. “People just forgot that at the heart of this are the facts, not just vague concepts.”

None of it kept Frimpong from graduating in June 2007. “Nine out of 10 kids would have dropped out,” Vom Steeg says. “It says a lot about his character.” Adds Camarena, now the head coach for the University of Hawaii at Hilo: “Eric never blamed corruption, never called anyone a racist, never called the girl a liar. He continued to uphold American values. And he maintained faith that our justice system would see him through.”

Frimpong put that faith in an all-white jury of nine women and three men. His trial began on Nov. 26, and for three weeks Department 2 was home base for Team Frimpong. Many supporters came with notebooks, and during recess they would go to the café across the street to discuss the latest unfavorable ruling. They point to the time, for example, when Barron may have implied to the jury that Frimpong had chosen not to testify, even though the prosecution is not allowed to refer to the defendant’s right to remain silent. While Judge Hill said that there were “possible inferences,” he denied Sanger’s motion for a mistrial. Also, during jury deliberations, Hill refused to dismiss juror No. 5 after her arrest for drunken driving. (The defense argued that the juror, whose case was in the hands of the DA, couldn’t remain impartial.)

Perhaps the most troubling ruling, as far as the defense was concerned, involved bite mark analysis. The prosecution’s forensic expert, Norman Sperber, testified that he couldn’t rule out Frimpong for causing the bite on Jane Doe’s face. But detectives failed to disclose that they had first approached another expert: Raymond Johansen would later testify, outside the jury’s presence, that after preliminary analysis, he told Kies that the bite mark was “vague.” Law enforcement is required to turn over evidence that doesn’t point to the defendant as the suspect; suppressing such evidence is grounds for a mistrial. But Kies failed to file a report of his conversation with Johansen. When questioned by Sanger, the detective stated that while he had indeed approached Johansen first, the dentist had failed to provide any opinion. Kies and senior DA Ronald Zonen both told the court that they had passed over Johansen because he wanted to charge for his services, and Sperber wasn’t charging. But Sperber testified that he always charges for his services, and he did so for this case, too. Judge Hill, who had served 19 years as a Santa Barbara DA prior to sitting on the bench, ruled that Johansen’s testimony was not exculpatory and denied that motion as well.

Nonetheless, Frimpong’s supporters save much of their scorn for Sanger. The prosecution rested its case on Dec. 12, having called 32 witnesses; Sanger questioned them all on the stand but called only one additional witness, a blood expert who testified that Doe’s blood-alcohol level at the time the sample was taken, 5:37 a.m., was .20 and that it could have been as high as .29 at the time of the incident — an almost lethal level. Sanger rested his case the next day. “The final score was 32-1,” Vom Steeg says. “I feel guilty like we didn’t do enough.” Loni Monahan spoke to Sanger throughout the trial about his strategy. “He told me, ‘The best defense was no defense, because it would demonstrate there’s nothing to defend,'” she says. “We made a mistake.”

The jury began deliberating on Friday, Dec. 14; the next Monday, just after 3:30 p.m., came the guilty verdict.

On Jan. 31, 2008, with Frimpong in jail awaiting sentencing, the defense filed a motion for a new trial, citing several factors, including a development with the jury: In a written declaration to the court, juror Ann Diebold stated, “I regret the decision I made in finding Mr Frimpong guilty.” Among her many points was the court’s refusal to provide the jury with evidence they had requested for review, including Doe’s testimony and Frimpong’s interview with Kies — the latter because some jurors stated that they wanted “the opportunity to hear Mr Frimpong’s side of the story.” (They were read-only Doe’s direct testimony, without cross-examination, because Judge Hill said “it would take some time to gather the additional information,” Diebold wrote.) Diebold also claimed that the jurors rushed through deliberations so they could conclude the case by the Christmas holiday. “I felt pressure from the judge and other jurors to reach a verdict by Dec. 18,” she wrote.

Sanger’s motion was a last-second heave, but it allowed him to put his own forensic dentist on the stand. Defense expert Charles Bowers fell ill during the trial and was unable to testify, but at the hearing on Feb. 28, he delivered his opinion: Frimpong’s teeth could not have made the bite, but Randall’s teeth could have. As Bowers spoke, there was a buzz in the gallery. But Judge Hill was unmoved. He began the hearing by saying that in his 27-year career, “I’ve not seen a rape case with so much incriminating, credible and powerful evidence,” and ended it by dismissing the motion. Three days later, he sentenced Frimpong to six years.

Today Eric Frimpong is prisoner F95488, a ward of the California Correctional Institution in Tehachapi, about 75 miles northeast of Santa Barbara. Friends and supporters continue to fight for him, but none worries more than his mother. “She’s sick to death,” says Loni Monahan, who provides Mary with weekly updates. “We understand one of every 10 words, but we’re moms, so it’s enough.” Loni’s own son marvels at Eric’s almost preternatural calm in the face of adversity. “The kid’s in jail, and with all his issues, he’s the one keeping us sane,” Pat says.

Frimpong is small in size, but he seems to have avoided many of the pitfalls of life behind bars. He even calls many of his fellow inmates his friends. One of them is 45-year-old Terry Carter, who served time with Frimpong at Santa Barbara County Jail. “Eric was a godsend, just an amazingly positive influence,” he says. “It’s funny, but to guys twice his size, the kid’s a leader.”

Every day, Frimpong led group exercises in the yard, but his primary pastime was Bible study. Before his arrival it was Hispanics-only, so Eric started his own, and some of them joined his.

“It’s a terrible thing that happened to me,” Frimpong says. “Being in here, I keep asking myself why God put me in that situation. And then it struck me: Maybe I can reach more people, help more people if they hear my story.”

His supporters say it’s working. “All you have to do is look at Frimmer’s camp — he hasn’t lost anyone,” Vom Steeg says. “In fact, since the trial, he’s actually gaining supporters.” In Ghana, Frimpong’s plight is well-documented by the media. In Santa Barbara, people continue to proclaim his innocence, even when it’s not easy to do so. After writing several opinion pieces in the local papers, Kim Seefeld was inexplicably subpoenaed to appear at the hearings on the motion for a new trial. (She was never called to testify.) “I got harassed by the DA, subpoenaed and threatened, all because I stuck my neck out for someone I believe is innocent,” says Seefeld, who plans to continue her writing. “That’s what happens to a citizen who dares to question our justice system in Santa Barbara.”

And then there are the letters from all over the world, many containing donations. “These are people who don’t even know Eric, have never spoken directly to him,” Loni Monahan says with awe. “Eric was born to be a pro soccer player, but he’s realized he has more impact in the direction he’s going. There’s a groundswell going on.”

The key addition to Team Frimpong is Ronald Turner, a Sacramento-based, court-appointed appellate attorney who has filed the opening brief in an appeal with the Second Appellate District of California. The process gives Frimpong hope. So too does his dream of eventually attending seminary and becoming a priest. Not that he has given up on turning pro. “He’s very determined,” says Andy Iro, Frimpong’s friend and former teammate, now with the MLS’ Columbus Crew. “His reputation has been tarnished, but if anyone can come out of this a better person, it’s Eric.”

Many nights, Frimpong says, he dreams the same dream: He is running, but not from anyone or anything. His bare feet punch the shoreline, toes clawing the sand, while the sun sets on the Pacific Ocean. “My body can be in prison,” he says. “But my mind and soul are in Santa Barbara.”

Something bad happened there. Two young lives were suddenly, sadly interrupted. But in the end, something good may still come of it.

Source: espn.com

source: https://footballghana.com/

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Prodigy singer Keith Flint was found hanging at £1.5million mansion

Prodigy frontman Keith Flint was last pictured at a pub in Chelmsford, Essex, on March 2

The Prodigy frontman Keith Flint was found hanging in his £1.5million country mansion, an inquest heard today.

The 49-year-old singer was discovered unresponsive last Monday at his home in the Essex village of Dunmow, Chelmsford Coroner’s Court was told.

He had recently returned from a tour in Australia and locals said they had seen him jogging in the lead up to his death.

The inquest comes as Flint’s former bandmates thanked fans for their outpouring of support after his death.

A two-minute hearing this morning was told Flint had died by hanging and a toxicology report was being prepared.

Coroner’s assistant Lynsey Chaffe told the court today: ‘On March 4, 2019, Mr Flint, a 49-year-old gentleman, was found unresponsive at his home.

‘An ambulance was called paramedics arrived and found Mr Flint had passed away. Police attended, all protocols were followed and the death was confirmed as non-suspicious.

Flint, with his estranged wife Mayumi Kai in Kensingon, West London, in November 2009

The Prodigy’s Liam Howlett is seen in North London yesterday almost a week after Flint’s death

‘A post-mortem examination was carried out on March 6, 2019 at Broomfield Hospital by Doctor Lower who has given a provisional cause of death as hanging, which is under investigation whilst we are awaiting toxicology.’

A full hearing will take place on July 23. Senior coroner Caroline Beasley-Murray passed her condolences to the band’s manager as she set a date.

Howlett was seen filling up his sports car at the petrol station in North London yesterday

Flint’s Prodigy bandmate Liam Howlett was seen in North London yesterday, for the first time since Flint was found dead.

Howlett, 47, considered the leader of the band, was seen days after appearing to confirm Flint took his own life.

Previously he wrote on Instagram: ‘The news is true, I can’t believe I’m saying this but our brother Keith took his own life over the weekend.

‘I’m shell shocked , f***ing angry, confused and heart broken r.i.p brother.’

Howlett was seen looking glum as he filled up his car in London, near to where there was a rave in honour of Flint over the weekend, with proceeds going to mental health charities.

Energetic musician, singer and dancer Flint was found unresponsive by medics in his marital home he shared with estranged wife Mayumi Kai.

Keith fought a long battle with drink, drugs and depression, however his wife previously had ‘saved him’ from his party lifestyle.

Over the weekend it emerged he had spent up to two years dating a mother-of-three in Essex before his death last week.

Howlett (left) and Flint (right) are pictured together at Too2much nightclub in London in 2006

Howlett seemed preoccupied and pensive as he filled up his car, according to witnesses

The Prodigy star was dating Faye Kelbie, 43, after the pair met in their local village.

The Prodigy frontman is understood to have delayed the sale of the couple’s country pile in the hopes of winning back Miss Kai

At the time of his death last Monday it was reported the Firestarter hitmaker had been asking Miss Kai to come home.

However, it has now emerged he had been dating Miss Kelbie after splitting with Miss Kai, a Japanese DJ, years ago.

The businesswoman has been devastated by his suicide, a friend told The Sun. The pair had broken up weeks ago but had talked days before his death, it was claimed.

Flint is believed to have taken his own life at his home.

A source close to Miss Kelbie told The Sun: ‘Faye is absolutely devastated. For over two years, Keith was a huge part of her life and she adored him. ‘They split up because she struggled with the amount of time he was touring.

‘Faye just wishes she had known the extent of his unhappiness and mental health issues — she would have done all she could to help. But the feeling is that Keith made his mind up to end things weeks ago.’

Miss Kelbie, who runs her own dermatology clinic and has three sons was seen crying after his death but declined to comment on their relationship.

Flint bought the country home in Dunmow, Essex, and the surrounding estate in 1997

The singer was last seen in a pub in Chelmsford buying lunch for his personal trainer. Just hours earlier he had run a Park Run 5k and reportedly got a personal best time in.

He was last seen on March 2, when he appeared to be in good spirits.

Pictures shared with MailOnline show hours after a park run the singer and dancer was casually dressed, eating with his personal trainer at the Galvin Green Man in Chelmsford.

He was seen joking with other diners as he bought lunch for himself and his trainer.

He even asked permission to take a few bottles of beer and cider home with him afterwards, it was claimed.

He was sat next to an unlit fire, prompting the photographer to initially joke about whether he was going to be a Firestarter again as he sang in his 1990s hit which made Prodigy a household name. However, he was battling personal demons.

A wall in Brick Lane, East London, was sprayed with a tribute to the singer who was adored by thousands of fans. The Prodigy said they have been touched by the outpouring of love for him

Flint was in a ‘serious relationship’ with secret girlfriend Faye Kelbie, according to reports

The Prodigy frontman is even understood to have delayed the sale of the couple’s country pile in Essex in hopes of winning back Miss Kai.

The 15th century farmhouse was listed for sale just days ago.

Flint was born on September 17, 1969, in Redbridge, East London. Pictures from his childhood show him sitting angelically with a neat side-parting for a school photo.

But Flint said he had an unhappy childhood and hated being at home. He added that he had ‘a dysfunctional side’, despite having a high IQ.

After leaving school, he moved to Braintree, Essex, and met Howlett in a nightclub. Flint was originally The Prodigy’s dancer but the band’s fortunes were transformed with him as vocalist and they would go on to sell 30million records.

Controversial songs such as Firestarter and Smack My B**** Up sparked public outrage but won the band millions of fans.

Faye Kelbie (pictured) is said to be devastated after the death of Flint, whom she was dating

Flint’s much-parodied performance in the 1996 video for No 1 single Firestarter – scowling and yelling ‘I’m a firestarter, twisted firestarter’ – is said to have attracted the most viewer complaints in the history of Top Of The Pops.

The band had been due to appear at this year’s Glastonbury festival, which they had headlined in 1997, and their album No Tourists topped the charts in November.

They had recently returned from a tour of Australia and were due to appear in North and South America before making appearances at several of Europe’s summer festivals.

Flint briefly dated children’s TV presenter Gail Porter – as a couple they were dubbed ‘Beauty and the Beast’ but they split in 2000. Miss Porter last night tweeted one word: ‘Heartbroken.’

In 2006 he married Japanese DJ Miss Kai. Flint credited her with saving him from drugs but they had separated and she was working in Japan when he died.

The singer had reinvented himself as a country gentleman. Neighbours said he was nothing like his wild onstage persona but a well-spoken fitness fanatic who was often seen out riding, running or cycling and was teetotal.

One said: ‘He was lovely, always very friendly and polite. He liked to ride and loved his dogs. The image you might think of him with rings in his nose was wrong. He was really nice.’

Flint (left) seemed happy on March 2 in Chelmsford, proudly discussing that morning’s personal-best 5k run with his personal trainer (right) and how it felt good to open his lungs up

Flint (middle) takes part in the Park Run in Chelmsford two days before he was found dead

Flint bought and renovated a pub, The Leather Bottle, in the nearby village of Pleshey.

Customers were ordered to pay a £1 fine if they made a quip about Firestarter when he lit the pub’s fire. He quit the tenancy in 2017.

He was also involved with motorcycle racing as owner and manager of Team Traction Control, which won three Isle of Man TT races in 2015.

In an interview with FHM magazine in 2015, Flint said he ‘wasn’t saving up for anything’ and was ‘cashing it all now’.

In his trademark outspoken way, he added: ‘I’ve always had this thing inside me that, when I’m done, I’ll kill myself. I swear to God that’s not suicidal – it’s definitely a positive thing. The moment I start sh***ing the bed is when you’ll see me on the front of a bus.’

Essex Police said Flint had been alone at his house, which was set behind high walls in ten acres of land.

For confidential support call the Samaritans on 116123, visit a local Samaritans branch or see samaritans.org for details.

The Prodigy songs enter the Top 40 chart following Keith Flint’s death

Flint in the video for 1996 hit Firestarter

Two of The Prodigy’s songs have entered the Official Big Top 40 following the death of singer Keith Flint.

The vocalist was found dead at his home in Essex on March 4.

His death sparked a surge in streams and downloads of the electronic band’s music, and their 1996 track Firestarter is now at seven in the Official Big Top 40 chart.

Their hit Breathe, which was also first released in 1996, is at number 31. Both songs were number one when they were first unveiled.

The Official Big Top 40 is compiled from Apple Music streaming and iTunes sales data, as well as airplay from the stations on which the show is broadcast.

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newyorktheater · 5 years

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Playwright Dominique Morisseau

Alexandra Schwartz, new theater critic for the New Yorker

Susan Sarandon

Rachel Bloom, coming to Radio City Music Hall

Christie Brinkley

Julie White

Lilly Padilla

Jackie SIbblies Drury

Kristine Nielsen

April Matthis, new star of Toni Stone

Good Friday

Kate Baldwin

Marin Ireland

Hurricane Diane

Heidi Schreck

March is designated Women’s History Month and there is no better example of a theater woman on the march this March than Dominique Morisseau, who is 1. curating “50 in 50: Letters to Our Daughters” (March 9), 2. will appear as a panelist for Women’s Day on Broadway (March 12) and 3. will be making her Broadway debut as the book writer for “Ain’t Too Proud,” opening this month. (Details for all below.)

Morisseau is certainly not alone. Alexandra Schwartz will join Vinson Cunningham as the co-theater critic of the New Yorker. (Hilton Als is remaining at the New Yorker but “stepping away from the daily theater beat.”)

Women make up just under 43 percent of the actors on prominent New York stages, 31 percent of directors and about 25 percent of playwrights, according to the just-released latest annual edition of “Ethnic Representation on New York City Stages,” by Asian American Performers Action Coalition (AAPAC), which looks at the demographic breakdown in Broadway and major non-profit theaters during the 2016-2017 season.

Of the theaters examined, the report discovered that Playwrights Horizons hired the greatest percentage of minority actors, 58 percent, and Vineyard the least, at five percent. Caucasian performers “continue to be the only group that over-represents compared to their respective population size in New York City.”

March openings

February quiz

Week in New York Theater Reviews

Daddy: An Interracial Love/Hate Triangle Starring Alan Cumming, Charlayne Woodard

Superhero: With Great Powers Come Great Disappointments

Good Friday: Feminist Discourse Via Blood and Guns

Boesman and Lena: After Apartheid, Fugard Turned Into Beckett

Hurricane Diane: A Lesbian, Climate Catastrophe Comedy

Alice By Heart: Lewis Carroll during the London Blitz, via Spring Awakening team.

The Week in New York Theater News

Andrea Martin

Kristine Nielsen

Julie White

After being injured (four ribs broken!) during a rehearsal, Andrea Martin has to drop out of Taylor Mac’s Broadway debut play, “Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus.” Kristine Nielsen will play Martin’s role this three-character play, and Julie White will take over the role Nielsen was to play.

Legal Threats From Broadway’s ‘Mockingbird’ Sink Productions Around the Country (New York Times)

Scott Rudin Responds to ‘Mockingbird’ Controversy With a Solution (Hollywood Reporter)He’ll let the theaters forced to cancel do the Aaron Sorkin version that’s now on Broadway.

The Long Strange Flight of “Mockingbird” (American Theatre)

Despite the persuasive account by two men in the documentary “Leaving Neverland” that Michael Jackson sexually abused them for years when they were young children, the Michael Jackson musical, “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough,” is still slated for a Broadway run in 2020, with a book by Lynn Nottage and directed by Christopher Wheedon.

“The musical is set in 1992, as Michael and the team are rehearsing for the Dangerous World Tour.” The first public accusation that Jackson molested children occurred in 1993.

Jackie SIbblies Drury has won $25,000 and the 2019 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, for her play “Fairview,” a comedy about an African-American family that morphs into a provocative discourse on race, representation, identity and performance. The prize annually recognizes a woman playwright. (Previous winners include Lynn Nottage, Sarah Ruhl, Caryl Churchill, Annie Baker, and Paula Vogel.) “Fairview” is getting an encore presentation at Theatre for a New Audience in June. Her “Marys Seacole” is currently running through April 7 at Lincoln Center.

Lily Padilla’s play “How To Defend Yourself” as the winner of the 2019 Yale Drama Series and $10,000. The play is about 7 college students gathering for a self-defense workshop after a sorority sister is raped.

The third annual “50 in 50: Letters to Our Daughters,” curated by Dominique Moriesseau, will offer 50 monologues by women writers from all over the world read by actresses LaChanze, Pauletta Washington, Jasmine Cephas Jones, and Phyllis Yvonne Stickney

March 9, 2019 at 3pm and 7pm at the Kumble Theater at LIU, Brooklyn.

The second annual Women’s Day on Broadway, an afternoon of panel discussions St. James Theater, will take place on March 12th, FREE.

Susan Sarandon

Marin Ireland

Jesse Eisenberg

Susan Sarandon and Marin Ireland will star in The New Group’s production of Jesse Eisenberg’s new play “Happy Talk,” about a saint of the suburbs who turns matchmaker for her ill mother’s immigrant home aide, April 30 – June 2 at Signature Center

April Matthis will replace Uzo Aduba as the star of “Toni Stone,” a play by Lydia R. Diamond about he first woman ever to play professionally in a men’s league, when she joined the Negro Leagues in 1953. Uzo Aduba, a star of “Orange is The New Black,” has exited the production “due to a scheduling conflict.” The play will be on stage at Roundabout’s Off-Broadway theater May 23-August 11.

Mathis, an Obie winner, has performed Off-Broadway in Everyone’s Fine With Virginia Woolf, Measure for Measure, Signature Plays, Antlia Pneumatica, Iowa, On the Levee, The Sound and the Furyand Fondly, Collette Richland. Other cast members include: Jonathan Burke (currently starring in Choir Boy) Eric Berryman, Harvy Blanks, Phillip James Brannon,, Daniel J. Bryant, Toney Goins, Kenn E. Head and Ezra Knight.

Rachel Bloom, creator and star of the television series “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” announced that the show’s cast will perform live at Radio City Musical Hall May 14

Christie Brinkley will return to “Chicago” on Broadway as Roxie Hart April 18 – May 12

Chris Urch

Ato Blankson-Wood

James Udom

“The Rolling Stone,” a play by Chris Urch, opens at Lincoln Center’s Mitzi Newhouse Theater July 15th. Set in anti-gay Uganda, it pits a gay man in a secret relationship against his brother, a church pastor. Cast: Ato Blankson-Wood, Latoya Edwards, Robert Gilbert, Myra Lucretia Taylor, Adenike Thomas, James Udom.

The line-up for Clubbed Thumb‘s 24th annual Summerworks Festival, May 17 – June 29 at The Wild Project.

LUNCH BRUNCH

By Sarah Einspanier

Directed By Tara Ahmadinejad

MAY 17 – MAY 28

Seven public defenders on a frenzied quest for the perfect lunch–whilst battling ACS, inequality, burn out, and a big ole serving of existential dread.

YOU NEVER TOUCHED THE DIRT

By Zhu Yi

Directed by Ken Rus Schmoll

JUNE 3 – JUNE 13

The Li family would be enjoying their new lake-view luxury villa outside of the city, were they not surrounded by the gardeners, maids, and security guards who had once owned the land–as well as the Gods, ghosts and unnamed spirits there for thousands of years before them.

KING PHILIP’S HEAD IS STILL ON THAT PIKE JUST DOWN THE ROAD

By Daniel Glenn

Directed by Caitlin Ryan O’Connell

JUNE 19 – JUNE 29

The councilmen of Plymouth Plantation fight about what the Good life is— all the while displaying the head of Wampanoag leader Metacom on a spike.

Clubbed Thumb’s previously announced return engagement of Plano will begin performances on Monday, April 8 at the Connelly Theater (220 E. 4th Street) for a limited run through Saturday, May 11. Opening night is set for Saturday, April 13.

Television series “Nashville” is being adapted into a stage musical, aiming at Broadway.

Tony Kushner on why he loves “What The Constitution Means to Me” (in conversation with Heidi Schreck and critic Sara Holdren in New York Magazine)

NYC is not the only city w/ a theater building boom. After 40 years in Cambridge, Mass. American Repertory Theater will move to a planned “research and performance center” in Allston, a section of Boston just across the Charles River from Harvard Square.

Rest in Peace

Luke Perry, 52, after a stroke. Best-known as an actor on “Beverly Hills 90210” and “Riverdale,” he was also a Broadway veteran, performing in the Rocky Horror Show in 2001.

André Previn, 89, celebrated conductor, jazz pianist and Oscar-winning film composer. Mia Farrow was one of his five ex-wives. He was also a Tony nominated composer for the 1969 Broadway musical “Coco”

Women on the March in March. Killing Mockingbird. Keeping Michael Jackson. #Stageworthy News of the Week March is designated Women's History Month and there is no better example of a theater woman on the march this March than Dominique Morisseau, who is 1.

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placetobenation · 6 years

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Steve’s Box Office Report: November 2007

Top 10 Films for the Month of November:

American Gangster – $130,164,645

Enchanted – $127,807,262

Bee Movie – $126,631,277

Beowulf – $82,280,579

No Country for Old Men – $74,283,625

Fred Claus – $72,006,777

This Christmas – $49,121,934

Hitman – $39,687,694

Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium – $32,061,555

August Rush – $31,664,162

Honorable Mentions:

The Mist – $25,594,957

Lions for Lambs – $15,002,854

Awake – $14,377,198

November Winners: American Gangster, Enchanted, No Country for Old Men, and This Christmas

It has been pretty safe to say that the year of 2007 has been a real roller coaster ride of a year as we started slow, picked up a bit in March, peaked throughout the summer, and has been on a downslide throughout the fall. Now we are heading into what is usually the busiest time of year with the holiday season upon us and these last two months had a lot of ground to make up after how dismal the fall has been. However, when you look at the overall scope of November 2007 all it did was pretty much continue the downward spiral that was going on even though there were a few bright spots with some of the films released this month. The first film released this month that makes it into this category is the crime drama American Gangster, a film loosely based on the real life gangster Frank Lucas and his rise to power by smuggling heroin into the USA. Despite some controversy surrounding the figures portrayed in the film, it did earn positive reviews from critics and was able to finish first in its opening weekend ahead of Bee Movie which I’m sure stunned some people and it would go on to have a pretty solid run throughout the month. The next film released this month that is a winner of the month is the animated/live action film Enchanted, a Disney film which sees an animated princess thrown into real-life New York City and try to make her way home while adjusting to reality. The film was well received from critics who enjoyed Disney taking a playful jab at their own films, and this film would play out pretty well over Thanksgiving as it had the second highest opening on Thanksgiving weekend behind only Toy Story 2 even though it was still on the lower end of Thanksgiving weekends. The third film released this month that makes it into this category is the thriller film No Country for Old Men, based on the novel of the same name which follows a Texas welder and Vietnam veteran as they struggle to survive in 1980s West Texas. It would end up being one of the best reviewed films of the year with many considering it the Coen Brothers greatest film, and it would be listed on more critics’ top 10 lists than any other film released this year which validates it as one of the best films of 2007 as it would have a good run in limited release before having a solid run after it was widely released. The fourth and final film released this month that makes it into this category is the comedy musical This Christmas, a film which sees the eldest son of a family visit them on Christmas for the first time in four years. Unlike the previous three films in this category which were well reviewed by critics, this one was not liked as much and would receive more mixed reviews, but it would end up doing mildly decent with its holiday tie-in and coming out on Thanksgiving weekend though it couldn’t hold a candle to Enchanted. So while there were some films that would go on to have solid runs throughout the holiday season, they were unable to hold a candle to the previous year and ultimately the year continued downward and the year would need a Christmas miracle to save it.

November Losers: Bee Movie, Beowulf, Fred Claus, and Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium

So as I just mentioned, the month of November did have some films that would go on to have pretty good runs and make a good chunk of money, but it wasn’t enough to drag the box office out of the hole that the fall had dug. On top of that, there were several other films released this month that looked like it could’ve assisted the winners in making November a successful month, but instead you could say that it ended up just being more weight that dragged down the month and helped lead to it being underwhelming in terms of previous Novembers. The first film released this month that ends up being one of the losers of the month is the animated film Bee Movie, a film which sees a bee try to sue the human race for exploiting his fellow bees for honey. Despite coming out right at the beginning of the month and with October having been devoid of any family films, this should’ve been the prime spot for Bee Movie to make a good amount of money going into Thanksgiving before Enchanted came out. However, the middling reviews ended up hurting it in the long run and after finishing second in its opening weekend to American Gangster, it was all downhill from there as it would be lapped easily by Enchanted though it did end up finishing in the top three for the month which considering how much it made isn’t much of a compliment. The second film released this month that ends up being a loser of the month is the fantasy film Beowulf, loosely based on the epic poem that sees the hero come to Denmark to protect the people from a monster and his mother. The film would end up receiving positive reviews from critics despite the way it was filmed and its differences from the novel, but it wasn’t enough to draw the mainstream to it and it would lead the least attended mid-November weekend in 14 years which one could argue ended up being the lowest point of this whole year. The third film released this month that ends up being put in this category is the holiday comedy film Fred Claus, a film which sees Santa Claus’ brother Fred return to the North Pole to work for Santa to earn money needed only to cause problems between the two. Despite the holiday tie-in and having Vince Vaughn as the star when he was still at his drawing best, the film would end up being poorly reviewed from critics and would crumble under the weight of Bee Movie and Enchanted. It wouldn’t be the only family film to suffer as the fourth and final film released this month that ends up being a loser is the film Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium, a film where an eccentric owner of a magic toy shop takes a struggling pianist under his wing to eventually take over his shop when he leaves. Despite positive feedback for the performances of Natalie Portman and Jason Bateman, the film would receive poor reviews from critics and would end up debuting under Bee Movie and Fred Claus before being completely crushed by Enchanted and it would barely make it into the top 10 of the month. This has to be one of the first times since doing these recaps that in a month that saw so many family films released in one month after a month where none were released, only one film broke out which was Enchanted while the others that are in this category either underwhelmed or pretty much tanked completely which led to the overall underperforming of the month.

The Surprise/Story of November 2007: Gangsters overtake princesses and bees to win underwhelming November 2007

So as I had mentioned earlier in the recap, 2007 has been on a bad downward slide throughout the fall after a pretty hot summer and it was supposed to be around this time when things would turn around and the year would end on a high note. However for whatever reason, the doldrums that the box office had become throughout the fall continued here into November and it was a major step backwards especially when you compare to last year at this time. To put it into a bit of perspective, the last month saw no films aimed at families released and this month alone saw four films released that were geared towards families with one tying in the holiday season. However, only two films managed to break the $100 million mark which were Enchanted and Bee Movie with Enchanted finishing just ahead of Bee Movie by a mere $1 million. But even with four family films being released this month, they all ended up playing second fiddle to American Gangster which finished with just over $130 million which may look impressive if it was released in one of the other down months. But coming out in a month that saw a family film make almost $200 million the previous year, there is only one word that can describe this month and it was in fact “underwhelming” as the box offices blahs continue and now it comes down to December to salvage the year.

Overachiever of November 2007: No Country for Old Men

This was an interesting month in that the family films that were released this month either did fairly decent like Enchanted and Bee Movie or underperformed like Fred Claus (more on that in the next category). It looked like there would be a film that would go on to have a very successful run similar to Borat last year which was a surprise hit, but this year didn’t see that happen as none of the other films ended up overperforming and lift the month up. In terms of what film would be considered to be the overachiever of the month, the only film that really met the criteria was the film No Country for Old Men. After having a solid run on the limited circuit, the film would go wide on Thanksgiving weekend and would end up playing very well throughout the months behind great reviews from critics who considered it one of the greatest films of the decade. We will get into the film’s success in a few categories from now which as mentioned would help validate it as one of the best films of the year, and as such earns its spot as the overachiever of the month.

Underachiever of November 2007: Fred Claus

As I have mentioned a few times in the last year and a half that I’ve done this report, either the overachiever or underachiever of the month would be an easy choice for one and a hard choice for the other one. In this case, the overachiever was a bit difficult to choose while choosing an underachiever was a bit easier considering there were a bit more options to choose from. Given that there were four family films released this month and half of them underwhelmed, it was more than likely that one of them would be declared the underachiever of the month and sure enough that comes to fruition as my choice for underachiever of the month is Fred Claus. As mentioned in the loser of the month category, Vince Vaughn was still a pretty bankable star at this point and it was interesting to see him in a movie like this playing Santa’s older brother, and given how close to the holidays the film was released it seemed like a no-brainer that it would do well. Instead, the film was panned by critics who felt Vaughn was out of place in a family film and coming out a week after Bee Movie and two weeks before Enchanted, it proved to be a disaster and the film would quickly bottom out by the time Christmas rolled around. You know you’re in big trouble when a film based around Christmas that is released around Christmas ends up tanking, and it goes to show that simply having the Christmas presence isn’t enough to make money during the holiday and it ends up being a microcosm as to how underwhelming the month was.

November 2007 Awards Watch: American Gangster, Enchanted, Bee Movie, No Country for Old Men, August Rush, and Awake

As we head into the end of the year, everyone knows that it was now time for the bulk of the awards contenders to come out around this time and attempt to make some good money going into the ceremonies. This month saw a very unique group of films released that ranged from positive reviews to negative reviews, and it would be interesting to see which ones would get the nod in any of the three award shows. The first film from this month that makes it in this category is American Gangster as it would be nominated for two Academy Awards (Best Supporting Actress and Best Art Direction) though it wouldn’t win either, and it would also be nominated for 3 Golden Globe Awards (Best Picture – Drama, Best Actor – Drama, and Best Director) though it wouldn’t win any of those either. The second film released this month that makes it here is Enchanted as it would be nominated for one Academy Award (Best Original Song for three different songs) though none of them would win, and it would also be nominated for two Golden Globe Awards (Best Actress – Musical or Comedy and Best Original Song) though it wouldn’t win either one. The next film from this month that gets into this category is Bee Movie which would be nominated for one Golden Globe Award (Best Animated Picture) though it wouldn’t win and so far the November films are not having much success though that would change with the next film. The next film from this category that makes it in here is No Country for Old Men which would win four Academy Awards (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Adapted Screenplay) and this would be the most wins for a film in this year’s ceremony, and it would also be nominated for four more awards (Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, Best Cinematography, and Best Film Editing). The film would also win two Golden Globe Awards (Best Supporting Actor and Best Screenplay) while also being nominated for two more (Best Picture – Drama and Best Director) which would solidify its standing as one of the best films of the year. The next film released this month that makes it into this category is the drama August Rush, a film about a piano prodigy who tries to learn about his past while his mother was also looking for him. Despite the poor reviews from critics, the film would end up receiving one Academy Award nomination (Best Original Song) though it wouldn’t win and was one of the lower end films to get a nomination. The sixth and final film from this month to get included in this category is the thriller Awake, a film about a man who remains conscious during surgery and uncovers a murder attempt against him by his girlfriend. The film would be panned by critics and would be the only film in this month to receive any Golden Raspberry Award nominations as it received two (Worst Actress and Worst Screen Couple) though it wouldn’t win either one. It is pretty interesting considering how underwhelming the month ended up being in terms of money made, yet a bunch of films managed to snag plenty of award nominations and victories which is quite a testament to those films succeeding despite being in a disappointing month.

Overall Thoughts of November 2007:

So overall, it is pretty safe to say that even though this month did fare better than some of the other months of the year, November 2007 ends up being probably the most disappointing month of the year to this point. As mentioned, the fall of 2007 has been very dismal and this was the chance to turn things around and end the year on a high note much like we saw last year, but ultimately November ends up continuing that downward trend and the entire box office appears to be in a slide going into December. Now the month was not a complete failure unlike other months like January and October as a few films did crack $100 million and did fairly well, but again they would’ve been more impressive in another month and not a month like November that’s supposed to be one of the big months of the year. 2007 has been quite the year for the box office as it has had its high points (mainly the summer) and certainly its low points (January and the fall), and coming off this month which ended up being pretty disappointing it is now up to December to try and end the year on a high note. As for the month of November 2007, it is a pretty disappointing month that continues the box office blahs that the fall had brought on.

Final Grade: C

#IFTTT #Place to Be Nation

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itsiotrecords-blog · 7 years

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Everyone loves a good conspiracy theory. We’ve created ones about space, politics, terrorist attacks, and pretty much anything else you can think of. Even celebrities are not safe from conspiracy theories – far from it. Tons of our biggest stars have had the most ridiculous things said about them. This is hardly surprising, considering the nature of their careers. They’re constantly in the public spotlight, and so everyone is always talking about them and speculating about what goes on in their lives. It’s only a matter of time until some crackpot comes along and starts telling everyone wild conspiracy theories about something that couldn’t possibly be true. But what if these conspiracy theories are real after all? What if the people telling these stories have hit the nail right on the head? In many cases, there’s no way we would ever know if these theories are real, except if the celebrities themselves confessed to it. And since many of these accusations would end a celebrity’s career and ruin their reputation, that’s probably never going to happen. I’ll be the first to admit that some of these theories are just plain ridiculous, but there are some which are really worth considering. Which ones are real and which ones are fake? Read on, and make up your own mind…

#1 Tom Cruise’s Wives One of the most well-known celebrity conspiracy theories involves Tom Cruise‘s wives. There’s a lot weirdness surrounding these wives, and some of it is actually rooted in truth. This is made even weirder by the fact that Tom Cruise is embroiled in the ever controversial church of Scientology. The theory is as follows: The Church Of Scientology holds auditions for women to become Tom Cruise’s wife. Those who are successful are offered a contract worth millions, and a hefty bonus if they’re willing to give birth to Tom Cruise’s child. The contract is reported to last approximately four years, which makes sense since each of Tom Cruise’s marriages have lasted that length. In fact, Katie Holmes divorced Cruise almost 4 years to the dot from the day they got married. This is also seemingly confirmed by actress Nazanin Boniadi, who says she auditioned for the role of Tom Cruise’s wife, but didn’t get the part. So why does Cruise do this? Theories range from the secret fact that he’s gay to just general Scientology weirdness.

#2 Alex Jones And Bill Hicks Alex Jones has been getting more and more media coverage these days, but there’s one strange conspiracy theory that keeps on dragging him down. The theory is that he is secretly Bill Hicks, and he faked his own death and then reinvented himself as the talk show host Alex Jones. This is made all the more believable by a number of things. First of all, they look incredibly similar, to the point where it really makes you wonder if they are the same person. Second of all, Bill Hicks was famous for having very extreme and unapologetic political views, something that he shares with Alex Jones. Alex Jones is one of the biggest enemies of the left these days. Alex Jones has vehemently denied this conspiracy theory, but it looks like he’ll never be rid of these allegations.

#3 Cristiano Ronaldo’s Relationships Cristiano Ronaldo is another celebrity who suffers from a very persistent conspiracy theory. The theory involves his many relationships. We all know that Ronaldo has dated a number of incredibly hot super models and other incredibly sexy celebrities. But some say that these relationships are completely fake, and they’re only to serve Cristiano’s image. These people say that Cristiano employs a similar tactic to Tom Cruise’s alleged tactic of paying girls to date him for a few months, and then moving on the next one. This is made all the more suspicious by the fact that all of Ronaldo’s children are born from surrogate mothers, meaning he hasn’t actually impregnated a woman the good old fashioned way. Why would he do this? Like Cruise, the allegations against him are that he’s secretly gay. This would seem to be supported by the nature of his relationship with boxer Badr Hari.

#4 Hillary Clinton Is Extremely Ill This is one theory that actually has some weight to it. A lot of people say that one of the main reasons Hillary Clinton lost the election was due to her much publicized health issues. She was famously caught on tape outside of the 9/11 memorial, and she appeared to completely collapse, having to be dragged into the waiting black car by her handlers. Many people say that the black car is actually an ambulance in disguise. She later said that she had pneumonia, but it’s not common for people to collapse like that from pneumonia. She also suffered from numerous coughing fits, and at one point spat out a huge ball of phlegm into a glass of water during her speech. Some say that her failing health is the result of a serious head injury she suffered years ago, which actually happened and is well documented.

#5 Keanu Reeves Is Immortal This is an all-time favorite of celebrity conspiracy theories, and it never seems to go away. As you can see by the picture, there is a theory that Keanu Reeves is somehow immortal, and has been living through countless centuries without aging a single year. The first painting, from 1530, depicts a man who is frighteningly similar to Reeves. We don’t know who this man was, as the painting is simply called “Portrait of a Man,” by Parmigianino. The second painting is of French actor Paul Mounet. He lived a long life, dying at age 77 – or so it’s thought. The theory is that Keanu Reeves is all of these men, and has lived throughout the ages. As interesting as this theory is, there are some serious doubts. The most notable one is the fact that Keanu Reeves seems to be aging in this lifetime… Unless he’s somehow hiding his eternal youth under that bushy beard…

#6 Bill Clinton And Jeffrey Epstein One theory that is as frightening as it is convincing is Bill Clinton‘s connection to Jeffrey Epstein. Who is Jeffrey Epstein? He’s a registered sex offender and US financier who has connections to all of your favorite politicians. He was convicted of sex with underage girls, and has even been connected with the alleged “loaning out” of young girls to people in high places to get on their good side. Many people say that he operated a huge child sex slave ring, and he used to take them all to his island, called Little Saint James. He currently lives in the Virgin Islands, where his island is located. Bill Clinton rode on Epstein’s private Jet, nicknamed “The Lolita Express” numerous times, while he was taken to Epstein’s private island. The former US president even ditched his security detail on a number of these trips, preferring to be alone with Epstein. The plane was equipped with a bed where passengers would allegedly have group sex with underage girls. The theory is that Bill Clinton participated in the underage sex that was going on both on the island and on the plane. And if he was travelling on the plane, to that island, it’s hard to refute these claims.

#7 Elvis Presley Is Still Alive Another celebrity conspiracy theory that has been around for ages is the theory that Elvis Presley is still alive. There have been numerous pictures taken of a man who lives in Graceland who people say is none other than the King Of Rock. Could this be true? Theoretically, yes. Elvis would be 82 today if he were still alive, meaning he could still be out there somewhere. But why would he fake his own death? Well, his career was over, and the novelty of being a celebrity was probably starting to wear off for Elvis. He was old, fat, and everyone knew he was a has-been. So it makes sense that he decided to fake his own death and live a normal life of peace and quiet, without the press following his every move. There are numerous other supposed pieces of evidence for this, including the fact that his corpse was allegedly just a wax figure when it was seen in the funeral home.

#8 The Trump Time Travel Theory Okay, hold on to your hats people, because we’re about to go into serious tinfoil hat territory. During the election campaign, a user on 4chan’s infamous politically incorrect message board posted a series of bizarre revelations about Trump‘s supposed possession of a time machine. He says that Trump inherited the time machine from his uncle, John G. Trump. But here’s where it gets interesting. Apparently, John G. Trump really was a scientist, and a damn good one at that. He was reportedly capable of creating “death rays” and “megavolt beams of electrons and ions,” but he never used this knowledge to create weapons. But the really interesting facts come from John G. Trump’s connection to Nicola Tesla. After Tesla died, John G. Trump was tasked with looking over Tesla’s notes, to see if anything he invented could be turned into a weapon. That actually happened. John G. Trump reported back to his superiors that nothing Tesla wrote about was useful. The theory is that John G. Trump actually stumbled upon Tesla’s blueprints for a time machine, and was able to recreate it. Donald Trump was given this time machine by his uncle, according to the theorists. He allegedly traveled into the future, saw a dark and destroyed world, and then returned back, realizing he had to change history. According to the conspiracy theorists, this is the whole reason he ran for president. This is also apparently the reason Trump was able to win the election against almost impossible odds.

#9 Peter Thiel Is A Vampire You may not know of Peter Thiel, but he’s a very important man these days. He’s the guy who started Paypal, and he has since rose to become one of the richest men in the world. But Peter Thiel is into some pretty weird stuff behind closed doors. He’s investing insane amounts of money into life-extension technology, and he’s said numerous times that he wants to find a way to live forever and become immortal. And how is he doing this? The blood of children. You heard me right, Peter Thiel has admitted to taking blood transfusions from young people as a way to extend his life, and he says that it’s actually working. But some people say that he’s not only being injected with children’s blood, he’s actually drinking it. Either way, it’s pretty weird.

#10 Marilyn Monroe Was Assassinated Another very famous celebrity conspiracy theory centers around Marilyn Monroe’s death. She died under extremely suspicious circumstances, and some people claim to know the answer to the mystery. Her death was ruled as a suicide from taking barbiturates, but an autopsy was never conducted. She had suffered from depression throughout her career. But some say that it wasn’t a suicide. Monroe had an alleged affair with then president John F. Kennedy, and some say that she was threatening to expose him. As the theory goes, John. F. Kennedy actually silenced her before she could ruin his reputation and delegitimize his presidency. Other theories state that it was the CIA alone who took the murder of Monroe into their own hands, seeing her as a threat to America as a whole, and that John F. Kennedy had nothing to do with it.

#11 All Celebrities Are Pre-Chosen From Birth One of the weirdest conspiracy theories concern all celebrities, or at least most of them. Ever wonder why celebrities all seem to look so similar? Ever wonder why celebrities seem to only date other celebrities? Well some people say that celebrities are actually chosen from birth, and the ones who become superstars have their whole careers planned out from the time they can barely walk. These same conspiracy theorists claim that the elites breed certain celebrities with each other to try to create the most beautiful people ever, and that their marriages are all arranged. There are many instances of celebrities looking extremely similar to one another, even though they’re apparently not related to each other. Could this be the result of the same genes being recycled over and over again, and the same families inbreeding with each other over countless generations?

#12 John Travolta Is Gay Another celebrity involved with the Church Of Scientology is John Travolta. He was involved with the church even before Tom Cruise, and he attributes his success to the teachings of Scientology. And you can’t argue with the results. He started landing countless roles after getting involved with the church. But throughout his career, he has been dogged by the same rumor: that he’s secretly gay. To truly understand this conspiracy theory, you have to understand how Scientology works. Basically, a huge part of the religion is an activity called a “reading.” You go into a room with another trained Scientologists who encourages you to recall your deepest memories. John Travolta participated in countless readings, and the Church of Scientology still has all the transcripts from those readings. Every little secret he confessed in that room is in the Church’s possession. The theory is that the Church has evidence that John Travolta is gay from these readings, and they’re essentially blackmailing him with it, not letting him leave the church and forcing him to do their bidding. A man from California recently came out and said that he had been in a sexual relationship with Travolta. John Travolta later threatened to sue that man.

#13 Katy Perry Is JonBenet Ramsey Another celebrity conspiracy theory that’s gathering steam these days is the theory that Katy Perry is actually JonBenet Ramsey. JonBenet Ramsey was the child who was found dead at the age of 6 in her basement in 1996. The conspiracy theorists say that she didn’t actually die, and that she faked her death, went into hiding, and reemerged as Katy Perry years later. The theory was popularized by many people, including a popular Youtuber who claimed that “You know, the eyebrows don’t change much on a person. You’re born with your eyebrows. They’re very close, very close indeed, aren’t they? … As you know, this whole entertainment industry is just a charade — you really don’t know the truth.”

#14 Beyonce And Blue Ivy Another insane celebrity conspiracy theory surrounds Beyonce and Jay-Z‘s baby, Blue Ivy. There are various degrees to this conspiracy theory, from the somewhat believable to the ridiculous. The more conservative theorists claim that Beyonce was never pregnant with Blue Ivy, and that she used a surrogate mother to birth her child. They back up their claims with photos and video footage of Beyonce’s belly while she was allegedly pregnant, which seems to “fold in” at times. Other more adventurous conspiracy theorists claim that Blue Ivy is actually an Illuminati satan spawn, who’s name is a clever anagram of “Eulb Yvi,” which is the name of Satan’s daughter in many occult texts. Take your pick, both are pretty weird but they could both be true, especially given how connected this couple seems to be to Illuminati symbolism.

#15 Obama’s Real Father The last conspiracy theory surrounds Barack Obama. Many people say that Barack Obama’s real father was not Barack senior, but Frank Marshall Davis. Why is this important? Because Frank Marshall Davis was a communist who lived in Hawaii, where Barack Obama was born. Frank Marshall Davis had alleged connections to the Kremlin in Russia, and was not the sort of person you would associated with you if you wanted to become president. The theory is that Barack Obama lied about his father, instead claiming that a Kenyan man was his father, in order to seem more popular with many American voters. Obama even mentions Frank Marshall Davis in his book, Dreams From My Father. Also, Barack Obama’s own half-brother Malik expressed interest in this theory. Either way, does it really matter who his father was? Not really, in my opinion.

Source: TheRichest

#IoTRecords

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shanghai-dublin-blog1 · 7 years

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movietvtechgeeks · 7 years

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Latest story from https://movietvtechgeeks.com/pink-ignores-lady-gaga-slams-plus-young-thugs-no-show-concert-mega-celeb-gossip/

Pink ignores Lady Gaga slams plus Young Thug's no-show concert: Mega Celeb Gossip

Young Thug is getting sued by an upstate New York event organizer who claims the Atlanta rapper was a no-show at a concert he was to headline.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that organizer Nicholas Fitts filed a lawsuit last month in a Cobb County, Georgia court against the rapper and his Smyrna-based company YSL Enterprises.

The lawsuit says Young Thug, whose, name is Jeffrey Williams, had signed a $55,000 contract to play an August concert at Sahlens Stadium in Rochester, New York and “did not have a valid legal reason” for skipping the show.

Fitts says he lost more than $200,000 in lost tickets sales, in addition to about $57,000 in promotional costs. Seems like doing the show would have been a whole lot cheaper!

Superstar songstress Pink is not letting the trolls of social media create unnecessary – and unwanted – drama between her and her musical peer, Lady Gaga.

Last Sunday, Gaga performed an incredible show at Super Bowl LI. During her performance, Gaga utilized a suspended harness to execute various aerial tricks and flips. Inevitably, social media users right away drew comparison to Pink’s past aerial performances. Subsequently, rumors were spread that Gaga had stolen her whole half time show concept from Pink.

Fortunately, Pink was quick to shut down the speculation of an underlying feud between her and Gaga. Early on Monday, the 37-year-old mother of two took to her Instagram account to completely clear the air. On her page, Pink posted a lengthy text image, which read:

“For the record: Let’s squash this before it even has a chance to be a thing… Lady Gaga killed it yesterday [at the Super Bowl LI half time show]. Her voice was powerful and beautiful, her outfits were on point, choreography stellar, her heart was in it and she sang about love and inclusiveness all in front of millions and millions of people. Let’s celebrate a woman who has the guts to jump off a roof and stand up there in the first place.”

Pink, Instagram post:

The “So What” singer went on to point out that she is far from the first person to ever involve aerial tricks in a stage performance. Pink went on to write, “Who cares if I flew first? Cause I didn’t! Cirque and Peter Pan have been in the air for years! Now can we get back to the real controversy? The one where our so called leader is stripping our humanity away minute by minute….”

Just as Gaga did at the very beginning of her Super Bowl performance (by opening with an emotion-driven snippet of “God Bless America”), Pink expertly re-directed the media buzz around her to focus on a much more pertinent issue – the current divisive political climate within the States.

People all across the world were able to let out a huge sigh of relief on Tuesday, as reports confirmed that Jamie Lynn Spears’ young daughter had awoken following her scary ATV accident.

Last Sunday, Jamie’s 8-year-old daughter Maddie was airlifted to a hospital after she completely flipped her ATV while on a hunting expedition. Shortly after the accident, medical staff told the media that the young girl was in “critical condition,” as she incurred some serious injuries during the crash.

Fortunately, People magazine put out a report on Tuesday, which included some positive news from Tangipahoa Paris Sheriff’s Department. In the statement, the presiding Sheriff Department shared:

“With her father, mother and stepfather by her side, Maddie regained consciousness mid-day Tuesday, February 7. The 8-year-old daughter of entertainer Jamie Lynn Spears was involved in an ATV accident at a family home Sunday in Kentwood, La. Paramedics resuscitated her and she was airlifted to a local hospital. She is aware of her surroundings and recognizes those family members who have kept a round-the-clock vigil since the accident. Doctors were able to remove the ventilator today and she is awake and talking. Maddie continues to receive oxygen and is being monitored closely but it appears that she has not suffered any neurological consequences from the accident.”

Without a doubt, this is incredible news considering the extent of the crash. Early reports from TMZ claimed that Maddie had flipped into a body of water, in which she was submerged for several minutes and was rendered unconscious.

Here’s hoping Maddie makes a quick and full recovery!

Could Tamron Hall join Kelly Ripa on “Live With Kelly”?

A spy spotted the former “Today” host discussing her career over lunch with Discovery’s Henry Schleiff at Michael’s.

“He was encouraging her to join Kelly,” a spy told media outlets. “He said, ‘Throw your hat in the ring! Lighten things up.’ ”

CAA co-founder Bill Haber popped by to greet Hall, who sported a bright red power suit. She still hosts “Deadline Crime” on Schleiff’s ID network, but hasn’t announced her next move.

Selena Gomez and The Weeknd were on a date at the starry Sunset Tower Hotel’s Tower Bar on Monday.

“They were holding hands and very affectionate,” a spy said. “They left together and she was hugging him from behind.”

The pair began dating last month, just after he split with her pal Bella Hadid.

Also at Tower Bar, “La La Land” star Emma Stone “was with five friends,” our spy said, and Nicole Richie and Eva Longoria sipped Ruffino wines at the hotel while viewing Rachel Zoe’s collection.

James Corden shot down chatter that he could be in the running for Stephen Colbert‘s “Late Show” gig.

“It just seems sort of silly to me. I really love him,” Corden told Esquire’s March 2017 issue. “So I always find it slightly embarrassing. I really don’t think there’s any substantial evidence at all. I really don’t think it exists.”

In December, Corden, who hosts “The Late Late Show,” was rumored to possibly take over the earlier “Late Show” time slot.

“The only time I get really like, ‘What are you talking about?’ is when anyone will talk about time slots. Which is like telling the time with a sundial. Just the very notion of a television schedule for a show like this is absurd to me,” he continued. “I got really cross when we did that ‘Carpool’ with Adele and someone wrote, ‘How did a 12:30 talk-show host get Adele?’ And I’m like, ‘What world are you living in?’ That clip has been viewed 129 million times. Those are Super Bowl numbers.”

CBS CEO Les Moonves says he’s “very fortunate” in that he has “two very successful guys.” “… They’re very successful in different ways,” Moonves told the magazine. “The Internet has changed all that. By and large, the guy who’s better known gets the 11:30 slot, but for James’ success it doesn’t matter. It’s almost an old way of thinking.”

Meanwhile, Colbert’s “Late Show” won the late-night ratings competition last week over NBC’s Jimmy Fallon for the first time since Colbert replaced David Letterman in September 2015, the Nielsen company said Tuesday.

Now that she’s conquered the Super Bowl, Lady Gaga is moving on to an entirely different competition.

The pop singer will serve as guest-judge on the Season 9 premiere of “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” Logo announced Tuesday in a statement. The appearance, airing in March, will mark Gaga’s “Drag Race” debut — and it’s actually kind of amazing that she’s never been on the show before, right?

Gaga confirmed the news with a tweet that includes a sneak peek at her guest spot.

https://twitter.com/ladygaga/status/829026286257442817

In the video, RuPaul tells everyone, “Gentlemen, start your engines,” before Lady Gaga appears — looking fabulous in a sequined bodysuit and dramatic eye makeup — to kick off the competition: “May the best woman win.” Her arrival seems to set off a frenzy of emotions among the competing queens, with screams of delight and tears flowing. (One of them may have even fainted?)

In addition to her recent Super Bowl halftime gig, Lady Gaga has graced the small screen with her presence in the last two seasons of FX’s “American Horror Story,” picking up a Golden Globe last year for her work on “AHS: Hotel.”

If you’re wondering why President Donald Trump hasn’t tweeted about “Saturday Night Live’s” terrible ratings, here’s one likely theory: The NBC sketch-comedy series is having its most-viewed season in 22 years.

The most recent “SNL,” in which Melissa McCarthy lampooned White House press secretary Sean Spicer, nabbed a 2.5 rating among adults 18-49, according to TVLine’s sister site, Variety. As such, the late-night laugher ranked behind only CBS’ “The Big Bang Theory” as the highest rated program in the demo.

These numbers are in line with “SNL’s” overall Season 42 viewership — its best since Season 20 — which is up 22 percent in total viewers over last year (10.6 million vs. 8.7 million).

Perhaps to capitalize on the ratings streak, NBC reportedly is thinking about spinning off “SNL’s” Weekend Update segment into its own 30-minute Thursday-night series to launch in the fall.

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/820764134857969666

In a sense, the Not Ready for Primetime Players should probably give thanks to the ever-critical POTUS for the ratings boost: Though Trump has been very public with his disdain for frequent “SNL” guest star Alec Baldwin, Baldwin’s impression of the tycoon-turned-commander-in-chief is a likely audience draw. (Baldwin will host the show for the 17th time this weekend; Ed Sheeran will be the musical guest.)

SNL’s recent success is likely to irk the ratings-conscious Trump, who used part of his speaking time at February’s National Prayer Breakfast to malign Arnold Schwarzenegger’s stewardship off “Celebrity Apprentice,” which Trump used to host (and on which he is still credited as an executive producer). Earlier this year, Trump also tweeted that the number of Fox News Channel’s inauguration viewers was “many times higher than FAKE NEWS CNN,” an inaccurate statement to which CNN quickly responded.

Nina Dobrev is making it clear that there’s no bad blood between her and ex-boyfriend Ian Somerhalder.

“Can’t believe how time flies,” she captioned a photo with Somerhalder and his wife Nikki Reed on Tuesday, “Farewell dinner with team Somereed! So good catching up with these goofballs. All love”

Dobrev, 28, and Somerhalder, 38, met on the set of TV’s “Vampire Diaries” in 2009 and dated for over three years, calling it quits in 2013.

When Dobrev decided to leave the show in 2015, rumors spread that she was leaving because of her ex and his whirlwind romance with the “Twilight” actress.

Reed also addressed the chatter on Tuesday. “For the last few years we thought addressing any baseless rumors with silence was the best way,” Reed wrote on Instagram, “So here’s to putting an end to all those fake stories of on set jealousy, betrayal, made-up-friendships lost & women hating women. Because at the end of the day, that’s what this is about: teaching girls that you have to hate other girls only breeds a generation of women who believe you have to hate other women. And that’s what these magazines, websites and blogs don’t understand. That is the harmful unintended consequence of their bulls–t stories and we have a moral responsibility to fix that. Let’s turn this page together, as we all walk into the next chapter peacefully.”

Somerhalder and Reed began dating in 2014 and were engaged after just six months. The couple wed in April 2015.

“They look happy and I am happy and so I don’t see why there should be a problem with that,” Dobrev said at the time, “The drama is in the media, it’s not with us.”

Dobrev was back on set in Georgia to film the “Vampire Diaries” series finale.

“This is my true final goodbye, as today I shot my last scene of the ‘Vampire Diaries’ forever,” she wrote on Instagram on Monday, “Coming back for the series finale has been a whirlwind of emotion, nostalgia, love, tears of joy and bittersweet endings. It feels like the beautiful closure we all needed, myself included, and I couldn’t have been happier to come home to be with my ‘TVD’ set family and friends.”

While Super Bowl LI didn’t break any records when it came to the number of viewers who tuned in, Lady Gaga’s ambitious half time performance did. On Sunday, February 5th, Gaga gave the crowd exactly what it wanted – a high-energy, passionate, hit-filled performance. Fortunately, all of the singer’s hard work that went into planning and rehearsing for the big gig paid off. It was just revealed that Gaga’s half time show was the second most watched show in Super Bowl history.

According to the latest reports, over 117.5 million viewers tuned in to watch Gaga do her thing on stage. Evidently, Gaga was able to draw in some additional audience members, as the football game itself (Atlanta Falcons v. New England Patriots) only managed to capture the attention of roughly 111.3 million viewers.

Lady Gaga started her ~13 minute performance by belting out the lyrics of “God Bless America” on the roof of the Houston stadium. Surrounded by lit-up drones flying all around her in the dark sky, the incredible set-up literally looked as though it was all done by green screen.

The songstress proceeded to go through some of the biggest hits of her career, including “Just Dance,” “Poker Face” and “Telephone.” She ended the performance with a bang, as she finished up her chart-topping track “Bad Romance” and did one of the most epic microphone drops in television history.

Throughout the performance, Gaga remained in the zone and played up her theatrical stage persona. However, she did break character at one point, as she lovingly gave a shout-out to both her mom and her dad.

Now that we’ve seen Gaga, Beyoncé, Katy Perry, Madonna, Bruno Mars, and countless other world-renowned superstars take the Super Bowl stage, it will be interesting to see whom the NFL enlists next for the demanding gig. In addition, it will also be interesting to see if future half time performers can boost viewership like Gaga did.

Well, you don’t hear too many mainstream celebrities giving props to US President Donald Trump…and you certainly would not expect to hear it from outspoken feminist and pro-choice advocate Lena Dunham. However, while appearing on Howard Stern’s radio show, Lena revealed that Trump has led to some positive changes in her personal life.

On Monday morning, Lena talked candidly with radio host Howard Stern. During the interview, Lena explained that she actually credits the controversial President for her recent weight loss. The Girls actress told Howard, “Donald Trump became president and I stopped being able to eat food.” The star went on to elaborate, “Everyone’s been asking like, ‘What have you been doing?’ and I’m like, ‘Try soul-crushing pain and devastation and hopelessness and you, too, will lose weight.’” Lena added, “[Trump] said I was a B-list actor with no mojo.”

If nothing else, it is nice to hear that Lena Dunham was able to find somewhat of a silver lining amidst all of the political turmoil happening right now in the States.

While many were expecting superstar songstress Taylor Swift to make a triumphant return to the music spotlight in 2017, the 1989 artist just told fans that she has no plans to do so at this time.

On Saturday night, the artist performed at the annual 2017 DIRECTV NOW Super Saturday Night Concert, which took place at Club Nomadic in Houston. Taylor delighted a relatively small group of fans (~9,000) to a set that featured 17 of her biggest hits, including “Blank Space” and “I Knew You Were Trouble.” In addition, the singer also performed 2 hit songs she wrote for other artists last year, Calvin Harris and Rihanna’s “This is What You Came For” and Little Big Town’s “Better Man.” In the midst of her set, Taylor even surprised fans with the debut live performance of her and former One Direction singer Zayn Malik’s current radio hit, “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever.”

During her nearly 2-hour set, Taylor spoke candidly with the audience. She revealed that she has no big plans to return to the spotlight this year. She unexpectedly announced, “As far as I know this is the only show I’ll play in 2017…by coming to this show tonight you are attending 100% of this year’s tour date.“

While fans thoroughly enjoyed Taylor’s high-energy performance, which included an appearance from her good friend/DJ Ruby Rose, they were inevitably disappointed to hear that the pop star is not planning to tour in 2017. However, based on what Taylor said (i.e. “as far as I know…”), it seems like nothing is set in stone.

With the Hollywood community and overall entertainment industry growing bigger everyday, it can sometimes be tough to keep tabs on all of the different celebrities. Unfortunately for one social media user, actress Kate Beckinsale took their moment of celebrity confusion as an opportunity to have some fun on social media.

On Friday night, Kate posted a photo of her and a bunch of friends having dinner together. Included in the photo was outspoken comedian, Sarah Silverman. While Sarah may be 46 years old – which just so happens to be 3 years older than Kate herself – that didn’t stop one social media user from confusing her with Kate’s 18-year-old daughter Lily Sheen. Shortly after Kate posted the group photo, the confused social media user posted a comment saying, “That Sarah is your daughter? Pretty like you [Kate Beckinsale].” Far from being Kate’s daughter, Sarah is actually dating Kate’s ex-husband (and Lily’s father), actor Michael Sheen.

Clearly amused by the confused fan’s comment, Kate playfully replied, “Granddaughter. We are very proud of her.”

Kate Beckinsale, Instagram post:

Fortunately, although Sarah is now dating Kate’s ex, the two female celebrities are good friends. In fact, back in 2016 Kate gave Sarah a shout-out in an interview she did with fashion publication Stylist. When asked about Sarah, Kate gushed, “I’m completely open to any other strong, cool, sensitive, independent-thinking women who are going to be an influence in my daughter’s life. Sarah’s a great person and I’m glad she’s in the village that’s helping. It’s important as a teenager to have good women in your life, building up the fabric of your experience of becoming a woman. Even if Sarah wasn’t Michael’s girlfriend I’d want her to be in that.”

Just a few weeks ago, you couldn’t walk past a grocery store cash register without seeing photos of Drake and Jennifer Lopez splashed across all of the major tabloid magazines. Fast forward to now and the two stars’ unexpected romance has seemed to have completely extinguished.

On Saturday, the songstress took to her Instagram page to post a cryptic quote that seemingly referenced her short-lived fling with the “Hotline Bling” rapper. The “Dance Again” artist’s pink and black text photo read, “Timing is everything. If it’s meant to happen, it will, and for the right reasons.”

Jennifer Lopez, Instagram post:

Unfortunately, while plenty of social media users commented with their own interpretations of the text post, the starlet did not offer any further explanation. In addition, Drake has continued to keep the details of his and Jennifer’s mysterious, rumored (possibly no longer existent) romance private.

As always, we will just have to wait and see how this celebrity love story unfolds – that is, if it ever does.

With all of the craziness going on in the world, it seems like the perfect time to cover some happy news coming out of Hollywood.

Back in November of last year, soulful crooner Michael Buble took to his Facebok page to announce that his son Noah was diagnosed with cancer. At only 3 years of age, Noah began chemotherapy treatment late last year. Both of Noah’s parents, Michael Buble and his wife Luisana Lopilato, decided to put their careers on hold so that they could support their son through his subsequent treatments.

Fortunately, just over 2 months after the tragic news about Noah’s health was made public, Michael gave the press a hopeful and uplifting update. On Friday, the “Home” singer released a statement to the media, which read, “[Luisana and I] are so grateful to report that our son Noah has been progressing well during his treatment and doctors are very optimistic about the future for our little boy. He has been brave throughout and we continue to be inspired by his courage. We thank God for the strength he has given all of us.” Later in the statement, Michael and his wife ensured to thank all of the medical professionals who have been treating Noah. The duo noted, “Our gratitude to his doctors and caretakers cannot be put into words. We’d also like to thank the thousands of people that have sent their prayers and good wishes to us. As we continue this journey, we are greatly comforted by your support and love.”

While Michael cancelled a number of his prior commitments promptly after receiving the devastating news about his son, he is still set to host the upcoming 2017 Juno Awards.

The Juno Awards are set to take place on April 2, 2017, in Ottawa, Ontario.

After a several month long hiatus, former Disney starlet Selena Gomez is gearing up for her triumphant return to music.

Back in 2016, Selena ended up cancelling the last leg of her “Revival World Tour,” as she was reportedly struggling with both her mental and physical health. Shortly after cancelling the tour dates, Selena voluntarily admitted herself into a rehabilitation center in Texas, where she sought support for her anxiety, mental health, and worsened symptoms she was experiencing related to her Lupus. Fortunately, the star’s stint in the centre ended up being just what she needed, as she has since been easing back into her normal routine.

Just over a month ago, Selena was spotted heading into a music studio with songwriter Justin Tranter. Inevitably, this triggered speculation, as fans wondered if they could finally expect some music from the “Hands to Myself” artist.

On Friday, Selena added fuel to the fire, as she posted a series of videos to her Instagram story. In the various videos, Selena is seen singing along to some new tracks, which have yet to be publicly released.

Selena Gomez, Instagram story: Undoubtedly, Selena has plenty of stuff going on in her personal life to draw music inspiration from. The young beauty just recently made her romance with fellow artist, The Weeknd, public.

Stay tuned for more updates on Selena’s new music!

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#Celebrity Gossip #Donald Trump #Drake #Featured #Lady Gaga #Pink #RuPaul #Selena Gomez #Young Thug

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Diller Island is back! Plans for Pier 55, Barry Diller’s arts complex on the pier off 14th Street — with theatrical productions organized by such experienced hands as playwright George C. Wolfe and producer Scott Rudin — have been revived in a deal brokered by Gov. Cuomo. Diller announced in September he was killing the project out of frustration over the legal battle against it. Other good news this week in New York theater is about Melissa Gilbert, The Prom, Olaf, elephants, and The Lion King for free, with a bit of a catch.

Week in New York Theater Reviews

Roxanna Hope Radja, Ward Horton, Michael Urie and Michael Rosen

Torch Song

It’s crazy, says Michael Urie as Arnold, that “after all these years I’m still trying to justify my life.” Arnold means his life as a gay man, and though he is talking specifically to his mother (Mercedes Ruehl), the comment lands with force in Torch Song, the Off-Broadway revival of the 1982 Broadway play that launched Harvey Fierstein’s mainstream career as both playwright and performer. It would be terrific to report that the issues Fierstein wove into his Tony winning comedy about Arnold Beckoff’s life and loves make the play seem dated 35 years later…But the search for love and acceptance and self-acceptance remains as fresh as a wound….What does feel dated, though, is a steady beat of jokes as if set to the metronome of an old-fashioned Broadway comedy…Torch Song can probably best be appreciated, even celebrated, as a piece of living gay history. Torch Song has been extended through December 9 Ferguson Review: Michael Brown’s Killing, Via Grand Jury Transcript .“Ferguson,” a play by Phelim McAleer, presents verbatim testimony from the Grand Jury that declined to indict white Police Officer Darren Wilson for the August 9, 2014 shooting death of unarmed black 18-year-old Michael Brown….But it would be misleading to speak in isolation about “Ferguson” as if strictly a work of theater. McAleer’s play doesn’t just plug into the controversy surrounding the killing; it has generated its own controversy…

Jesus Hopped the A Train

Two killers in adjoining prison cages face off about God in this killer revival of one of the earliest plays by Stephen Adly Guirgis, the streetwise New York playwright of such acclaimed recent dramas as the Pulitzer-winning Between Riverside and Crazy and Broadway’s The M-F With the Hat. Foul-mouthed funny and intense and thought-provoking, the play is a promising start to Guirgis’ 2017-2018 “residency” at New York’s Signature Theatre. Jesus Hopped The A Train has been extended through November 26, 2017

People, Places and Things

“Drugs and alcohol have never let me down. They have always loved me,” Emma (Denise Gough) tells the doctor at the rehab clinic, not quite halfway through Duncan Macmillan’s play. Her comments are actually a sign of progress. If an alcoholic’s 12-step journey toward recovery is a familiar subject, “People, Places & Things” offers enough special and surprising, well, people, places and things to justify a visit to St. Ann’s Warehouse

Week in New York Theater News

The Prom, new musical comedy with a book by Bob Martin (Drowsy Chaperone) and Chad Beguelin (Aladdin) will open on Broadway Nov. 15, 2018 The musical, which was staged at the Alliance Theater in Atlanta last year,is about a group of publicity-hungry Broadway actors who decide to intervenewhen a small-town Indiana high school cancels its prom rather than let two girls attend as a couple. https://youtu.be/VNayiK5AguE Melissa Gilbert ( Little House on the Prairie) will be starring in Irish Rep’s “The Dead 1904,” an encore of the immersive show based on James Joyce’s story. November 18-January 7 Audra McDonald is the recipient of the 2018 Eugene McDermott Award in the Arts at MIT. The $100,000 cash prize awarded at a gala in her honor also includes an artist residency, during which McDonald will present a public talk at MIT on April 14, 2018 about her performances in musical theater, film and television. Shows that have announced national tours: Michael Moore’s Terms of My Surrender, The Humans, Amazing Grace – and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child will play Australia Barbra Streisand’s most recent concert engagement, Barbra: The Music … The Mem’ries … The Magic!, will premiere on Netflix November 22. The Lion King will celebrate its 20th anniversary on Broadway with a free performance on November 15 at 8 PM. Theatergoers will be chosen by lottery. The catch? You have to appear in person on November 12th Sunday in Times Square from 10 am to 6 pm or Queens Library, Bronx Library Center, Brooklyn Public Library Central Branch, Inwood Library in Manhattan, or Todt Hill- Westerleigh Library on Staten Island.

Scalpel, Sponge, Show Tunes: When Doctors Moonlight as Actors

Almost a year after the 2016 election, we look at how the nation’s theatremakers are responding to the age of Trump https://t.co/9CCHC45YKz

— American Theatre (@AmericanTheatre) October 24, 2017

Harvey Weinstein produced Singin’ in the Rain is shelved for Broadway

#CrossThatRiver, new musical about black cowboys, w/ score by jazzist @AllanHarris @59E59 Nov 30-Dec 31https://t.co/6PWOitfUPq pic.twitter.com/xw2E2GrJIn

— New York Theater (@NewYorkTheater) October 20, 2017

Broadway producer Roland Scahill who admitted scamming friends and others into investing hundreds of thousands of dollars into a nonexistent play about opera star Kathleen Battle has been sentenced to six months in jail. Howard Sherman has been appointed first ever director of communications and education of Stage Directors and Choreographer’s Society, a union. He’ll also continue w/ Arts Integrity

Like @RTC_NYC, @ucbtny began in Chelsea supermarket basement. Upright Citizens Brigade is now moving uptown (ala RTC) to 42nd St pic.twitter.com/PsOD7xOOYq

— New York Theater (@NewYorkTheater) October 19, 2017

Atlanta is doing its part for Puerto Rican relief w/ all-star reading of Our Town @TheFoxTheatre directed by @iamKENNYLEON Nov 6 pic.twitter.com/6A93Sj9uI0

— New York Theater (@NewYorkTheater) October 20, 2017

Elephants outlawed for entertainment in New York

Olaf branching out – @FrozenBroadway, yes, but also a movie short Olaf’s Frozen Adventure + Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade balloon pic.twitter.com/UhUDjwXl3l

— New York Theater (@NewYorkTheater) October 25, 2017

Oskar Eustis talks about the ups & downs (such as getting fired) of his 30 years w/ Tony Kushnerhttps://t.co/j2x6UKurpF

— New York Theater (@NewYorkTheater) October 24, 2017

RIP Robert Guillaume, 89, Emmy winner for Soap, Benson star, 1st black Phantom of the Opera, 7-time Broadway veteran. pic.twitter.com/nbY3p1mFnC

— New York Theater (@NewYorkTheater) October 24, 2017

http://variety.com/2017/tv/news/robert-guillaume-dead-dies-benson-1202598171/ I found my thrill On Blueberry Hill — RIP Fats Domino, 89, boogie-woogie pianist, rock n roll pioneer.

Theater Pier Revived! Another Audra Award. The Lion King for Free. Barbra Online. The Week in NY Theater Diller Island is back! Plans for Pier 55, Barry Diller’s arts complex on the pier off 14th Street -- with theatrical productions organized by such experienced hands as playwright George C.

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