Bill Cosby accuser Janice Dickinson was spotted for the first time since the 83-year-old's sexual assault conviction was overturned.
Dickinson, who was accompanied by her husband Robert Gerner, was recently seen outside of her Los Angeles home. The 66-year-old wore a black blazer paired with a white top and sunglasses. She had a somber expression.
The former model previously revealed she found out about the news of Cosby’s prison release when she got out of bed Wednesday.
"My friend, Stephen Lenehan, gave me a telephone call and he told me, he said, 'I have some bad news.' And I was bracing for a hurricane or something, and he was like, 'Cosby is out of prison.'...First of all, [I felt] so angry. So angry. Second, I felt like I was kicked in the stomach, in my abdomen, by some psychic blow," Dickinson recalled to Entertainment Tonight.
Janice Dickinson is seen for the first time since news broke that convicted sexual predator Bill Cosby had been released early from prison. The former model was dressed in black and had the support of her husband Robert Gerner as a limousine waited outside her Los Angeles home. (Clint Brewer Photography/A.I.M./BACKGRID)
Dickinson maintained that she had been raped by Cosby.
"I was raped by Bill Cosby," she told the outlet. "And I know that it changed my life forever. That’s why my heart goes out to all the women who started #MeToo after I first came out on your show. I just think people are ignorant."
Dickinson first publicly accused Cosby of rape in 2014 in an interview with Entertainment Tonight. The model claimed the comedian raped her at a hotel in Lake Tahoe. The two had traveled there together after Cosby allegedly told Dickinson he could help her with her career. Cosby’s lawyer at the time denied the allegations in a statement to the outlet.
"Janice Dickinson's story accusing Bill Cosby of rape is a lie," he said. "There is a glaring contradiction between what she is claiming now for the first time and what she wrote in her own book and what she told the media back in 2002."
Janice Dickinson first publicly accused Bill Cosby of rape in 2014. (Photo by Lilly Lawrence/Getty Images for ART 4 PEACE )
Cosby was released from prison after a Pennsylvania court overturned his sexual assault conviction on Wednesday. The court claimed it had found the prosecutor on the case had violated an agreement made with a different prosecutor that should have prevented Cosby from being charged.
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In Amazon’s new science fiction film “The Tomorrow War,” star Chris Pratt leans heavy into the “fiction” part.
“No, I don’t believe in aliens,” Pratt told Variety‘s Marc Malkin at the movie’s June 30 premiere at Banc of California Stadium in Los Angeles.
In “The Tomorrow War,” Pratt’s Dan Forester is drafted into a future war to save mankind from losing a global war against a deadly alien species. Traveling to the year 2051, Dan teams up with a scientist (Yvonne Strahovski) and his estranged father (J.K. Simmons) to ensure a long life for his young daughter and to rewrite the planet’s fate. The movie was supposed to hit theaters, but rerouted to Amazon Prime Video when the pandemic hit.
“There are a lot of films you would want to see in the theater,” Pratt said. “But I think this story is so good that if the script was just read to you, you’d be moved.”
When asked what life might look like in 30 years, Pratt didn’t quite envision a dystopian landscape ransacked by extraterrestrials.
“I’ll probably be on the set of ‘Guardians of the Galaxy 71,’ Pratt laughed. “I think I’m probably going to be surrounded by grandchildren, hopefully…I’m going to be fat and happy and not wearing makeup.”
The action star confirmed that “Guardians of the Galaxy 3” starts filming later this year, but was tight-lipped on what fans can expect from the ragtag, intergalactic crew’s next adventure.
“You know what, I’m giving you the scoop. Fuck it. I’m telling you everything,” Pratt joked, much to Marvel’s sigh of relief. His best summation of what’s to come was “James Gunn is back.”
Reflecting on working with Gunn and “Thor: Love and Thunder” director Taika Waititi, Pratt described the directors as “rock stars in their own way” who have their own styles of working. He continued to gush over Waititi, calling him a “madman” and “genius.”
“He is the kind of guy who can deliver an amazing movie…That’s the destination,” Pratt said. “The journey to getting there [is] just as fun as watching the movie. He’s vibrant, he’s always making the crew laugh, he’s doing bits. You can’t believe he’s the director.”
Besides the stars of “The Tomorrow War,” the other main attraction on the carpet was a replica of part of the aliens. Watch Strahovski’s reaction to the gimmick below.
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Princes William and Harry unveil a new statue of their mother, Princess Diana, on what would have been her 60th birthday.
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Diana, Princess of Wales, died in a 1997 car crash in Paris at just 36. To mark what would have been her 60th birthday, her sons unveiled a statue of her at her former home, London's Kensington Palace, during a private ceremony on Thursday.
"Today, on what would have been our mother's 60th birthday, we remember her love, strength and character -- qualities that made her a force for good around the world, changing countless lives for the better," William and Harry said in a joint statement. The statue depicts a towering Diana, flanked by children who represent her global charity work.
Thanks to all the headlines and buzz about the royal family of late, this wasn't just an ordinary statue dedication. Here's why.
Diana's statue
Who made the sculpture?
Diana's two sons commissioned the statue in 2017, the year that marked the 20th anniversary of Diana's death. There have been other statues of the late princess -- some are creepy -- but with her sons' approval, this one stands above the rest. And with Diana one of the most photographed people on the planet, the sculptor had a tough task.
That high-pressure job fell to British sculptor Ian Rank-Broadley, whose image of Queen Elizabeth II has appeared on all UK and Commonwealth coins since 1998. No images of the work leaked, so Thursday's reveal was the first time most people have seen the Diana statue.
At least one British historian, Tessa Dunlop, has criticized the choice of a male sculptor for the job, saying the failure to choose a female sculptor was a "missed opportunity." She also noted that there's "certainly no doubting Rank-Broadley's talent."
People place flags on the gates of Kensington Palace on June 30. Diana, Princess of Wales, would have turned 60 on July 1.
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Statue details
The statue is built larger than life, as you can see when William and Harry stand in front of it. There are three children depicted, though one is hidden behind another, making it look as if there are only two. And they are not based on three specific children, but are meant to be universal.
"The figure of Diana, Princess of Wales, is surrounded by three children who represent the universality and generational impact of the princess' work," according to a statement from Kensington Palace.
Diana isn't wearing one of her iconic ballgowns, but a simple, classic, belted dress.
"The portrait and style of dress was based on the final period of her life as she gained confidence in her role as an ambassador for humanitarian causes and aims to convey her character and compassion," the statement reads.
Diana's name, and the date of the unveiling, are engraved on a stone below the statue. Another stone features words from the poem The Measure of a Man, which was listed in the program for a 2007 memorial service for Diana. (The author of the poem is unknown, and words were altered from "man" and "he" to "woman" and "she" for Diana.)
The quote reads, "These are the units to measure the worth/Of this woman as a woman regardless of birth/Not what was her station?/But had she a heart?/How did she play her God-given part?"
Amid the forget-me-nots
The statue stands in the Sunken Garden of Kensington Palace, reportedly a special place to Diana. To mark the 20th anniversary of her death in 2017, the garden was replanted in white flowers, taking inspiration from Diana's wardrobe. In preparation for the sculpture, more than 4,000 individual flowers, including Diana's favorite, forget-me-nots, have been planted.
"Every day, we wish she were still with us, and our hope is that this statue will be seen forever as a symbol of her life and her legacy," the brothers said Thursday.
Now that the statue has been unveiled, the public will be able to see it, as Kensington Palace and its gardens are open to visitors. The gardens are free to visit, though there is a charge for tours of the public areas of the palace itself.
Kensington Palace is the main residence of Prince William and his family. Prince Harry and wife Meghan Markle, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, also lived there for a time, and numerous other royals have called it home. Diana and Prince Charles lived there after their wedding, raised their children there, and Diana lived there even after her divorce.
William and Harry's relationship
Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge, is second in line to the British throne after his father, Prince Charles. William was born to Charles and Diana in 1982, and his brother, Harry, followed in 1984. Harry was third in line to the throne at his birth, but William's three children have pushed him down to sixth in line.
Diana, pictured here in March 1990, would have been 60 this year.
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The two brothers once seemed to be extremely close to both each other and to their mother. William was 15 when Diana died, and Harry was 12. They seemed, publicly at least, to be the best of friends for years. But tabloids have questioned whether Harry's 2018 marriage to Markle and the couple's subsequent move to California have driven a wedge between the brothers. As heir to the throne, William has to walk a carefully circumscribed path that's laid out for him, while, as the "spare," Harry is more free to decide his own future.
It doesn't help that back in March, Harry and Meghan gave an explosive televised interview to Oprah Winfrey. Among other headline-making revelations, Meghan said someone in the royal family was concerned about her unborn son's skin color, and that palace representatives didn't offer help when royal pressures drove her to thoughts of suicide. It surely didn't help that Meghan said Kate made her cry during plans for her wedding -- William is known to be a strong defender of his wife, and there's no way he enjoyed having that made public. William later had to specifically deny that the royal family was racist when questioned at an event.
The two brothers seem to be on separate paths now. Vanity Fair reports that the two have been talking about plans for the statue unveiling, but that their relationship is still "very strained."
On Thursday, the brothers presented a united front.
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The university emphasized sexual assault survivors are its "first priority."
"Survivors of sexual assault will always be our first priority," the university said in the statement. "While Dean Rashad has acknowledged in her follow-up tweet that victims must be heard and believed, her initial tweet lacked sensitivity towards survivors of sexual assault."
"Personal positions of University leadership do not reflect Howard University’s policies," the statement continued. "We will continue to advocate for survivors fully and support their right to be heard. Howard will stand with survivors and challenge systems that would deny them justice. We have full confidence that our faculty and school leadership will live up to this sacred commitment."
Rashad first shared support for Cosby, who was originally sentenced to prison for three to ten years after being convicted of drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand, on her personal Twitter account before acknowledging the alleged victims.
"FINALLY!!!! A terrible wrong is being righted- a miscarriage of justice is corrected!" Rashad first tweeted.
"I fully support survivors of sexual assault coming forward," she later added. "My post was in no way intended to be insensitive to their truth. Personally, I know from friends and family that such abuse has lifelong residual effects. My heartfelt wish is for healing."
Cosby was released from prison after a Pennsylvania court overturned his sexual assault conviction on Wednesday. The court claimed it had found the prosecutor on the case had violated an agreement made with a different prosecutor that prevented Cosby from being charged.
#FreeBritney activists protest at Los Angeles Grand Park during a conservatorship hearing for Britney Spears in Los Angeles. | Rich Fury/Getty Images
Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida and a handful of other Republicans have invited pop star Britney Spears to testify before Congress about her conservatorship.
"You have been mistreated by America’s legal system. We want to help," Gaetz wrote in a letter to Spears dated Wednesday. "The United States Congress should hear your story and be inspired to bipartisan action. What happened to you should never happen to any other American."
Gaetz said he and fellow Republican Reps. Majorie Taylor Greene (Ga.), Burgess Owens (Utah) and Andy Biggs (Ariz.) have been following her conservatorship battle with “deep concern” and stand with the pop star.
Rumors about Spears' discontent with her conservatorship spread for years online and trended with the #FreeBritney hashtag. But last week, Spears spoke directly about the issue herself in court, describing her conservatorship as “abusive.”
Spears’ father, Jamie Spears, has been the legal manager of his daughter’s multimillion-dollar estate since 2008. He was also the conservator “of her person” until 2019, when he stepped back from this part of the legal agreement for his own health reasons. Since then, Jodi Montgomery, a private professional fiduciary, has been in charge of Spears’ person.
In last week’s testimony to Los Angeles Superior Court, Spears described how her conservatorship thwarted her desires to have another child and remove her IUD contraception, get married and take time off from her concerts and touring schedule.
"I truly believe this conservatorship is abusive," Spears told the judge. "I just want my life back. It's been 13 years and it's enough.
Judge Brenda Penny denied Spears’ request to end her father’s role in her conservatorship on June 30.
In recent months, a number of conservative lawmakers have taken up Spears' cause, using it to highlight what they have called conservatorship and guardianship abuse.
“Britney Spears wants to tell her story,” Gaetz told conservative TV network OAN on Wednesday night. “She’s not someone who wants to just crawl under a rug a pretend this didn’t happen. She wants accountability and justice, and I can think of no better place than the United States Congress to really tackle this problem and … bring people together from all sides of politics to solve it.”
Gaetz also told OAN that the "Free Britney" movement is part of a broader movement on conservatorship and guardianship reform in Congress.
In March of this year, he and House Judiciary ranking member Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) wrote a letter to Chair Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) to ask for a hearing on conservatorship and Spears’ case.
POLITICO asked Spears’ court-appointed attorney whether his client has received the letter and intends to respond, but he has not yet replied.
It didn’t take long for audio from Britney Spears’ June 23 conservatorship hearing to make the rounds on the internet, despite a clear and emphatic warning from the L.A. County Judge Brenda Penny that recording wasn’t allowed. Whether the person, or people, who did it will face any penalty remains to be seen, but the court has taken another action in response: It shut down its remote audio attendance program entirely.
Under California state and local court rules, no recordings of court hearings are allowed (including by members of the press) without advance permission from the judge in the form of a written order. According to the 2019 California Rules of Court, “Any violation of this rule or an order made under this rule is an unlawful interference with the proceedings of the court and may be the basis for an order terminating media coverage, a citation for contempt of court, or an order imposing monetary or other sanctions as provided by law.”
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When asked what is the court’s general policy is on taking action if a proceeding is recorded without permission, L.A. County Superior Court Communications Director Ann E. Donlan said only: “Parties who publish unauthorized recordings of court proceedings in violation of a court order are subject to sanctions and other potential liability pursuant to California Code of Civil Procedure section 1209 and other applicable law.”
Penny, at the beginning of the hearing, not only reminded those listening about the policy against recording but also warned against live-tweeting and told those physically in the courtroom that they needed to use a pen and paper instead of a laptop for their notes. Still, audio of Spears testimony began circulating just hours after the hearing, including in a YouTube post that has since been taken down because of a copyright claim from the court.
The next day, the court issued an announcement that, effective Monday, the remote audio attendance program would be shut down.
“Effective June 28, the Court will no longer offer the Remote Audio Attendance Program (RAAP) to listen remotely to courtroom proceedings,” read the announcement, which also detailed the rolling back of other COVID-19 protocols. “The Court implemented this temporary program during the pandemic recognizing there may be abuses of the Court’s orders prohibiting recording, filming, and distribution of proceedings. Widespread breaches by the public in a recent court proceeding highlighted the need to return to in person, open courtroom proceedings, which is a welcome development.”
The program, which was launched in January in response to the pandemic, marked a step toward improved court access for media. Even pre-COVID, cramped court rooms and varying judicial preferences regarding the use of laptops for note-taking made covering proceedings logistically difficult. And, after the O.J. Simpson murder trial became a televised international spectacle, courts have long been reticent to give even bona fide news outlets permission to record.
Amid the pandemic, federal courts have also dabbled in allowing access to hearings via audio and video feeds (though the 9th District U.S. Court of Appeals has been routinely streaming hearings for quite some time). There’s currently a bill in the U.S. Senate, dubbed the Sunshine in the Courtroom Act of 2021, that would give federal judges broad discretion to allow courtroom proceedings to be televised, or otherwise recorded. The bipartisan bill is opposed by the Judicial Conference, the policymaking arm for U.S. courts, which argues cameras have an intimidating and negative affect on litigants, witnesses and jurors.
During the June 23 hearing, as you can hear in the illicit audio, the performer said her conservatorship was “abusive” and listed a series of complaints including that she didn’t have any control over the medication she’s prescribed and couldn’t get someone to make a doctor’s appointment to remove her IUD. On Tuesday, her father, Jamie Spears, filed two documents in response to those claims. One is a petition asking Penny to “order an investigation into the issues and claims” she raised. The other is a response to a pending motion that would make Jodi Montgomery’s temporary role as conservator of Spears’ person a permanent one, which requests an evidentiary hearing. Jamie Spears notes that he hasn’t had any input into his daughter’s medical care since 2019 and challenges the contention that she doesn’t have capacity to consent to medical treatment. He notes Spears’ court-appointed attorney Samuel D. Ingham III stated in the petition her incapacity was determined by a court order in October 2014, but Jamie contends “there was no such finding, and there is no such order.” (Read that filing below.)
On Wednesday, Penny signed an order that reflects her decision back in November to install corporate fiduciary Bessemer Trust as a co-conservator of the estate alongside Jamie Spears.
The next hearing is currently set for July 14. Unless there’s a reversal of court policy, it will not be streamed. The Judicial Council, which is California’s policymaking arm, says it’s a local court decision and “we’re not aware of any movement toward consistent audio or video streams of court proceedings.”
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