Bill Cosby is firing back at seven women who are suing him for defamation, accusing them of making false accusations of sexual misconduct for financial gain, The Associated Press reports.
Cosby filed counterclaims in federal court Monday, alleging the women made “malicious, opportunistic, and false and defamatory accusations” of sexual misconduct against him. Cosby is seeking unspecified monetary damages.
The women claim Cosby defamed them by allowing his representatives to brand them as liars after they went public with allegations of rape and other sexual misconduct dating back decades.
In his counterclaim, Cosby says the women have “engaged in a campaign to assassinate” his reputation and character. He says their campaign is “nothing more than an opportunistic attempt to extract financial gain from him.”
The women suing Cosby in Massachusetts are among approximately 50 who have accused the comedian of rape or unwanted sexual contact.
■
Pennsylvanians will get a chance to say “hello” to Adele next year, The Associated Press reports.
The British singer announced dates for a 2016 North American tour on her website and will appear at Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Center on Sept. 9 and 10.
Tickets go on sale Thursday at 10 a.m. time.
She’s listed 56 stops on her North American tour, which follows a previously announced — and sold out — European tour.
It’s her first tour in North America in more than five years, supporting her record-breaking album “25.”
■
Justin Bieber was seen cozying up to a Kardashian Friday night in Los Angeles, People reports.
The singer and Kourtney Kardashian were spotted spending some quality time together at The Nice Guy in West Hollywood, where Bieber performed two songs.
"He and Kourtney were nearly inseparable — smoking on the patio together and were super touchy-feely," a source says.
They kept the party going, leaving The Nice Guy together to hit up another West Hollywood hotspot.
“They went to Blind Dragon afterwards,” the source says. “Kourtney left around 12:45 a.m. and Justin left around 1:30 a.m.”
On Sunday, Bieber, 21, sparked a flurry of speculation that he and Kardashian, 36, were more than friends when he posted a photo on Instagram that seemingly referenced Kardashian ex Scott Disick.
Bieber posted a photo with a mystery women, captioning it “Lord knows,” which fans speculated was a reference Disick’s nickname, The Lord. However, paparazzi photos later revealed that the mystery woman in the Instagram post was not Kardashian.
■
A half-mile section of Hollywood Boulevard was closed to traffic and a giant opaque tent lined four blocks of the famous thoroughfare. Fan bleachers were up and spotlights were everywhere, the AP reports.
Was the Academy Awards coming early to Hollywood? No, bigger: On Monday evening, three theaters rolled out red carpets for the world premiere of the hugely anticipated “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.”
Many of Hollywod’s top stars were slated to join hundreds of costumed fans at what could be the largest Hollywood premiere ever. One of the participating theaters — the iconic TCL Chinese — hosted the premier of the original “Star Wars” in 1977.
Los Angeles Police say extra vehicle patrols and more officers on foot were assigned to the area.
“The Force Awakens” opens Friday.
■
“August Wilson: The Ground on Which I Stand” has been nominated for an NAACP Image Award in the outstanding documentary — television category, WQED-TV reports.
The NAACP Image Awards celebrate the accomplishments of people of color in TV, music, literature and film, and honors individuals or groups who promote social justice through creative endeavors. Winners will be announced Feb. 5 during a ceremony airing live on TV One.
“American Masters — August Wilson: The Ground On Which I Stand,” a documentary co-produced by WQED and New York-based PBS flagship station THIRTEEN, premiered nationwide on PBS in February 2015, is available on the “American Masters” website and on DVD from PBS Distribution.
■
Pop star Josh Groban will be making his Broadway debut next year in a musical inspired by an unlikely writer — Leo Tolstoy, the AP reports.
Groban will play Pierre in “Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812,” a musical by Dave Malloy that dramatizes a 70-page melodrama at the center of “War and Peace.”
The sung-through musical premiered at New York City’s Ars Nova in 2012 and is playing at the American Repertory Theater at Harvard University.
Since he made his debut in 2001, Groban’s soaring anthems and soothing yet stirring ballads have sold millions of albums.
Rachel Chavkin will direct. Additional casting, design team and theater will be announced later.
■
Monday was a great day for George Miller’s postapocalyptic action-adventure “Mad Max: Fury Road.” The box office hit dominated the Critics’ Choice Awards nominations Monday morning and was also named the top film of the year by the Online Film Critics Society.
The society is the world’s oldest group for online film critics, with 254 members from 22 countries.
The Warner Bros. release won four awards from the Online Film Critics Society — for top film, director, editing for Margaret Sixel and cinematography for John Seale.
Michael Fassbender won lead actor for “Steve Jobs,” and Cate Blanchett received the lead actress honor for “Carol.”
Supporting actor went to Oscar Isaac for “Ex Machina,” and Rooney Mara won for supporting actress for “Carol.”
Original screenplay honors went to Josh Singer and Tom McCarthy for “Spotlight”; Phyllis Nagy won for adapted screenplay for “Carol.”
“Inside Out” won in the animation feature category, and “The Look of Silence” received documentary honors. Taiwan’s “The Assassin” won for film not in the English language.
The international group also recognized films not yet released in the U.S.: “Cemetery of Splendor,” “The Club,” “Dheepan,” “The Lobster,” “Mountains May Depart,” “Mia Madre,” “Rams,” “Right Now, Wrong Then,” “Aferim!” and “The Sunset Song.”
■
Taylor Swift and Prince are releasing exclusives to competing music streaming services they support, Swift serving up a free stream of a performance from her 1989 Tour for Apple Music, and Prince delivering his latest album on Tidal, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Swift took time Sunday, on her 26th birthday, to make the announcement that “The 1989 World Tour Live” will stream free to Apple Music users on Dec. 20.
The performance was recorded during her tour stop in November in Sydney, Australia. In addition to video of the concert itself, the stream will include scenes from backstage and excerpts of rehearsals with many of the guests she brought on stage with her in different cities over the course of the tour.
The stream will be offered at applemusic.com/TaylorSwift.
Meanwhile, Prince dropped his new album, “Hitnrun Phase Two,” over the weekend as an exclusive available only on the Tidal music service.
After working in recent years with his stripped-down group 3rdEyeGirl, Prince has brought back his large-scale New Power Generation band on the new collection of a dozen tracks, several of them featuring a 16-piece horn section combining Prince’s NPG Hornz and Minneapolis-based Hornheads.
It was recorded over a period of about four years, according to Prince’s spokeswoman.
Among the tracks on “Hitnrun Phase Two” is “Baltimore,” the call for peace and better understanding that he released in the wake of rioting sparked by racial clashes in that city.
The new album follows quickly on the heels of “Hitnrun Phase One” that Prince released on Sept. 7.
■
Lenora Nemetz and Virginia Ann Woodruff, Broadway veterans with Pittsburgh ties, are among the cast of New York-bound “Gotta Dance,” about pro basketball’s first 60-and-older dance team. The show has been extended one week, through Jan. 17, during its pre-Broadway run at Chicago’s Bank of America Theatre, the producers announced via press release. “Gotta Dance” stars Andre De Shields, Georgia Engel, Lillias White and Stefanie Powers in her Broadway debut.post-gazette
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Featured post
Ab-Toning Moves — No Crunches Required
Let's be honest: crunches aren't the most exciting of exercises. And they're not always the most effective way to tone your a...
-
Is this real?i thought santa was not real????Santa has made his rounds for the year, but he didn't quite make it back to the North Pol...
-
Nasra Ali, managing director of Kaldi Africa, is pictured in her company's tasting room in Lagos, Sept...
No comments:
Post a Comment