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A Dead Funny All-Star Tribute’
Met Gala: Bad Bunny pays tribute to Puerto Rico with his Met Gala look
Bad Bunny pays tribute to Puerto Rico with his 2025 Met Gala look. The Grammy-winning superstar announced a world tour on the same day.
A new comedy special is bringing Joan Rivers back from the dead, at least for one night.
NBC is honoring the life and legacy of the late comic with “Joan Rivers: A Dead Funny All-Star Tribute,” an hour-long television special set to air May 13.
“Given that I’m dead, I assume someone will finally decide to honor me,” Rivers said in a letter she left for her daughter, Melissa Rivers. “Well, it’s about time.”
The comedy special, which features cameos from famous comics, was filmed at the Apollo Theater in Harlem on the opening night of the 2024 New York Comedy Festival, NBC said in a news release.
The group, including Chelsea Handler, will “pay homage to Rivers’ razor-sharp humor and impact on pop culture” through standup, musical bits and tributes. They will also revisit “Rivers’ legendary cabinet of jokes” but add their own personal spin to the material to make it timely and new.
“This tribute is everything my mother would have wanted — hilarious, unfiltered and filled with people she respected (and roasted). And as usual, she was still the funniest person in the room,” Melissa Rivers said in a statement. “It’s incredibly moving to see so many iconic comedians come together to celebrate her legacy, especially the women whose careers she helped make possible by breaking down so many doors.”
Here’s what to know about “Joan Rivers: A Dead Funny All-Star Tribute,” including how to tune in.
Who was Joan Rivers?
Joan Rivers was a comedian and television personality who was a regular on NBC’s “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson” and made frequent appearances on other shows, including “The Ed Sullivan Show.”
Rivers also served as host of daytime talk show “The Joan Rivers Show,” for which she earned her first and only Emmy Award. She later hosted Fox’s version of “The Tonight Show,” dubbed “The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers.”
Rivers is best known for her fashion commentary on E! Network’s “Fashion Police” and “E!’s Live from the Red Carpet” telecasts before every major award show, from the Golden Globes to the Grammys.
She discussed the dos and don’ts of celebrity fashion from 2010 up until her death in 2014. Rivers also famously coined the phrase, “Who are you wearing?”
Rivers also received various accolades in her 50-year career. She was a Grammy Award winning performer, a Tony Award-nominated actress, bestselling author, playwright, screenwriter, film director, columnist, lecturer, radio host, jewelry designer, entrepreneur and the renowned creator of the modern-day red-carpet interview show.
“An unparalleled legend in the entertainment industry, Rivers was more than just a comedian, she was a force of nature,” NBC said in a news release. “… Rivers was also the first woman to break the glass ceiling of male-hosted late-night television.”
‘Joan Rivers: A Dead Funny All-Star Tribute’ teaser
How to watch ‘Joan Rivers: A Dead Funny All-Star Tribute’
“Joan Rivers: A Dead Funny All-Star Tribute” airs May 13 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on NBC.
An extended and uncensored version of the comedy special will debut on Peacock on May 14 and will feature additional comics, who will be announced later.
An encore presentation will air June 5 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on E!.
We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. USA TODAY Network newsrooms operate independently, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.
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Tory Lanez stabbed in prison after Megan Thee Stallion shooting
Tory Lanez sentenced in Megan Thee Stallion shooting, asks for mercy
Tory Lanez was sentenced to 10 years in prison for shooting Megan Thee Stallion. Lanez took responsibility for “everything I did wrong that night.”
Entertain This!, USA TODAY
Rapper Tory Lanez, who’s behind bars for shooting fellow hip-hop star Megan Thee Stallion, has been hospitalized after being attacked in prison.
Lanez, 32, was “attacked by another inmate” around 7:20 a.m. May 12, a spokesperson for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation confirmed to USA TODAY. Lanez, whose real name is Daystar Peterson, is serving a 10-year prison sentence at the California Correctional Institution at Tehachapi after he was convicted of shooting Megan Thee Stallion in 2020.
“Staff immediately responded, activated 911 and began medical aid,” according to the statement. “Peterson was subsequently transported to an outside medical facility for further treatment.”
It is currently unclear what motivated the attack.
The Office of the Inspector General was notified of the incident, and an “investigation has been initiated by CCI’s Investigative Services Unit and the Kern County District Attorney’s Office.”
USA TODAY has reached out to Lanez’s representatives for comment.
Tory Lanez stabbed 14 times, suffered from collapsed lungs
Hours after reports of Lanez’s hospitalization came out, his official Instagram account released a statement on the attack.
“Tory was stabbed 14 times – including seven wounds to his back, four to his torso, two to the back of his head, and one to the left side of his face. Both of his lungs collapsed, and he was placed on a breathing apparatus,” the statement said.
“He is now breathing on his own. Despite being in pain, he is talking normally, in good spirits, and deeply thankful to God that he is pulling through. He also wants to thank everyone for their continued support.”
USA TODAY has reached out to the California Corrections Department for comment.
Lanez was found guilty in December 2022 of shooting the Grammy-winning rapper during an alleged argument in the Hollywood Hills in July 2020. The Canadian singer-songwriter, who pleaded not guilty on all counts ahead of his trial, was charged with discharging a firearm with gross negligence; assault with a semiautomatic firearm; and carrying a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle.
He was sentenced on Aug. 8, 2023, and began his sentence a month later, on Sept. 19. His team has since appealed the conviction.
Since his conviction, Megan Thee Stallion, whose real name is Megan Pete, has sought a restraining order last year against Lanez. She filed a request for a temporary restraining order against him in Los Angeles County Superior Court in December, according to court documents obtained by USA TODAY at the time.
Megan claimed the singer orchestrated a “campaign of harassment” against her, including employing a network of bloggers to slander her online.
“Years after the criminal trial, Mr. Peterson, by and through his media puppets, continues to reoffend Ms. Pete by forcing her to relive this trauma,” her civil lawsuit said.
Contributing: Edward Segarra and Anika Reed, USA TODAY
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Cassie, singer and ex-girlfriend, at center of testimony
Judge rejects claim government leaked video In Diddy case
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs suffered a setback when a judge denied his request for a hearing on claims the government leaked a 2016 video of him allegedly assaulting his ex-girlfriend
unbranded – Entertainment
Casandra “Cassie” Ventura Fine is starting another chapter of her life.
“I am better today, but I will always be recovering from my past,” she wrote in a lengthy letter to fans last year.
The Instagram note was posted days after security footage surfaced, showing her then-boyfriend Sean “Diddy” Combs kicking, hitting and beating her at a now-shuttered Los Angeles luxury hotel in 2016. Combs, the music producer-turned-Hollywood power player, was later charged with sex crimes after his September arrest in Manhattan.
Now, with Combs’ federal trial underway, Cassie is central to prosecutors’ case against the Billboard chart-topper turned disgraced former billionaire.
Their entangled legal saga first began in November 2023 when Ventura filed a bombshell civil lawsuit against her A-list ex-boyfriend, claiming rape and years of physical abuse. The two settled the suit one day later.
Known for the hit track “Me & U,” the lead single off her self-titled (and only) studio album, the singer is set to testify in court as one of Combs’ alleged victims, accusing Combs of coercing her into sex and physically beating her.
In court May 12, Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Johnson described one instance in 2009 where Combs allegedly threw Cassie on the floor of an SUV and “stomped repeatedly on her face.” Cassie will testify about another instance when she said Combs forced an escort to urinate in her mouth, Johnson said.
Combs’ defense, however, argued that Cassie became jealous when she realized she would never be the music mogul’s wife. “Regret does not mean coerced,” said Combs’ lawyer Teny Geragos, attempting to poke holes in one of the prosecution’s arguments.
How long was Cassie with Diddy? They met when she was 19 – and he was 37
At 19, Cassie met a then-37-year-old Combs in 2005 and signed to his music label Bad Boy Records the following February.
In her 2023 suit, Cassie’s legal team claims that “within two years of meeting Mr. Combs, Ms. Ventura found herself lured into the immediate circle of her boss, the owner of her record label, and one of the most powerful men in the entertainment industry.”
From there, a decadelong relationship formed by unwanted force and control allegedly began.
Though Cassie’s parents were “skeptical of (his) displays of wealth,” Combs began renting apartments for the early career entertainer around 2008 or 2009 in Manhattan near his own New York City residence, the suit claimed. Around 2010, Combs began paying for an apartment in Los Angeles near his own home in the sprawling California city.
Then, to maintain control and order over her life, he allegedly plied the music up-and-comer with prescription drugs. He also “violently beat” her, according to Cassie’s lawsuit, forcing her to stay in hotel rooms while bruises on her body healed.
According to her suit, Combs also forced her to participate in “freak offs,” drug-fueled parties with male sex workers conducted without Cassie’s consent.
What allegedly happened between Cassie Ventura, Diddy
In 2015, Combs’ alleged behavior intensified. During a surprise birthday dinner for Cassie’s 29th birthday, Combs forced her to participate in a “freak off,” Cassie claimed.
Combs allegedly went back to a hotel room where Cassie’s friends were and dangled fashion designer Bryana “Bana” Bongolan over the 17th floor balcony of the hotel suite. Cassie’s friend Tiffany Red posted a carousel of selfies on Instagram in November, recalling the date of the alleged 2015 assault. Red captioned the post, “seventeen stories up high on 9/7/15 with the homies.”
And in 2016, an event central to the case against Combs took place.
A surveillance video reportedly from the since-closed InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles on March 5, 2016, surfaced last year in reports from CNN. Diddy, clad in a bath towel, runs down a hotel hallway toward Ventura. In the footage, he strikes her, throws her to the ground and kicks her twice. Then, he grabs her and drags her down the hallway. The video also shows Diddy throwing what appears to be a vase.
The video appears to corroborate what’s alleged in Cassie’s suit. Diddy apologized in an Instagram video prior to his arrest, saying he was “disgusted” with his actions, though his legal team pushed back against the video’s inclusion during the trial. (In a pre-trial hearing April 25, lawyers for Combs entered a motion to exclude a 2016 surveillance video obtained by CNN from evidence used in the trial. But Judge Arun Subramanian denied their request, saying the video was a “fair and accurate” depiction, and that there are two witnesses who authenticated the tape.)
By September 2018, at a dinner at an Italian restaurant in Malibu, California, Cassie claimed she hoped to end their relationship. After dinner, Combs allegedly forced his way into her apartment and raped her. The next year, in 2019, she entered contracts to end her business relationship with Combs and married trainer Alex Fine.
On May 12, Fine was spotted at the courthouse as opening arguments got underway in Combs’ trial.
Cassie Ventura kids: Singer is pregnant with her third child
Almost two years after Cassie’s bombshell lawsuit, Combs is now standing trial on federal sex-crimes charges.
In the half-decade since walking away from Combs, Cassie “struggled with the physical and mental manifestations of her trauma,” according to her lawsuit. “The birth of her two children, however, allowed her a new lease on life and gave her purpose.”
Cassie and Fine welcomed two daughters: Frankie, 6, born in December 2019, and 4-year-old Sunny in March 2021.
“She credits her children with saving her from the trauma that had consumed over a decade of her life,” the suit from 2023 reads.
Then, on Feb. 19, Cassie announced on Instagram that she was pregnant again with her third child.
After “Me & U” and Cassie and Diddy, there’s now the future: testifying on the witness stand and awaiting a verdict.
Contributing: Edward Segarra, Anna Kaufman, Anika Reed
If you are a victim of domestic violence, The National Domestic Violence Hotline (thehotline.org) allows you to speak confidentially with trained advocates online or by the phone, which they recommend for those who think their online activity is being monitored by their abuser (800-799-7233). They can help survivors develop a plan to achieve safety for themselves and their children.
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Todd and Julie Chrisley, other reality stars’ prison release dates
911 call of Chase Chrisley at Twin Peaks in Buckhead
The son of former reality TV stars Todd and Julie Chrisley has found himself in some legal trouble. He’s accused of assaulting a bar manager at the Twin Peaks restaurant in Buckhead.
Fox – 5 Atlanta
A reality television to prison pipeline? It’s more common than you might think.
From “Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” star Jen Shah’s involvement in a telemarketing scheme to the “Chrisley Knows Best” stars charges on tax evasion and bank fraud, plenty of personalities have gone from TV screens to behind bars.
In at least one case, the plea for their release has reached the highest office in the land: Savannah Chrisley, daughter of disgraced reality stars Todd and Julie Chrisley, has appealed to President Donald Trump’s administration for their pardon. Savannah, 27, spoke at the Republican National Convention in July 2025.
As of May 12, 2025, the Chrisleys are still in their respective prisons.
Who are the other reality stars who are serving time in prison? Here’s a closer look.
Julie and Todd Chrisley from ‘Chrisley Knows Best’
It’s been more than two years since Julie and Todd Chrisley began their prison sentences for bank fraud. But instead of the respective seven- and 12-year sentences, each has had their prison time slightly reduced.
The Chrisleys gained fame on the USA Network reality show “Chrisley Knows Best,” which followed their tight-knit, boisterous family and lavish lifestyle in Atlanta and Nashville. The show drew in more than 2 million viewers by its eighth season and inspired the spinoffs “Growing Up Chrisley” and “According to Chrisley.”
However, their image as savvy real estate tycoons was sullied in June 2022, when the pair was found guilty of tax evasion and defrauding community banks out of more than $30 million in fraudulent loans.
In January 2023, the Chrisleys traded their luxurious lifestyle for prison time. Prosecutors said the reality TV couple was driven by greed as they engaged in an extensive bank fraud scheme and then hid their wealth from tax authorities.
Julie Chrisley, 52, is serving her prison sentence at the Federal Medical Center in Lexington, Kentucky, with an expected release date of Jan. 8, 2028.
Todd Chrisley is serving time at FPC Pensacola and is expected to be released April 7, 2032, more than two years before his original 12-year sentence was supposed to be up.
Brittish Williams of VH1’s ‘Basketball Wives’
Former “Basketball Wives” star Brittish Cierrah Williams found herself in hot legal water last year when authorities apprehended her over a series of scams.
On Oct. 24, 2023, U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey sentenced Williams, 35, to four years in prison for committing $564,000 worth of frauds, including tax frauds, bank fraud, insurance fraud and three separate pandemic fraud schemes, according to a release from the US Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Missouri.
Williams, then a radio personality in St. Louis, pleaded guilty to 15 felonies in May 2023. Williams will also be on supervised release for five years after serving time, and was ordered to pay $564,069 in restitution.
She is now serving time at FCI Waseca, “a low security federal correctional institution” in Minnesota, with a release date of Dec. 24, 2025.
Josh Duggar of TLC Network’s ’19 Kids and Counting’
Josh Duggar, who rose to fame on TLC’s hit show “19 Kids and Counting,” was sentenced in May 2022 to 12 years in prison for downloading and possessing child pornography.
The eldest child of Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar and a father of seven himself, Josh Duggar was found guilty in December 2021. Federal authorities said they began investigating the reality TV star after a Little Rock, Arkansas, police detective found child porn files were being shared by a computer traced to Duggar. A federal agent testified that images depicting the sexual abuse of children, including toddlers, were downloaded in 2019 onto a computer at a car dealership Duggar owned.
This is not Josh Duggar’s first fall from grace. “19 Kids and Counting,” was canceled in 2015 following revelations that Josh Duggar had molested four of his sisters and a babysitter when he was a teen. At the time, he apologized, admitting to a porn addiction and infidelity.
Duggar, 37, will be released Oct. 2, 2032. He is imprisoned at FCI Seagoville in Texas.
Jerry Harris of Netflix show ‘Cheer’
In 2020, after gaining fame on the Netflix docuseries “Cheer,” competitive cheerleading coach Jerry Harris was charged with producing child pornography.
Federal court records show Harris admitted he solicited and received explicit messages on Snapchat from at least 10 to 15 individuals he knew were minors; had sex with a 15-year-old boy at a cheerleading competition in 2019 and paid a 17-year-old money in exchange for nude photos.
Season 2 of the hit Netflix show addressed Harris’ downfall.
Harris pleaded guilty in February 2022 and in July of that same year was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison.
Harris, 25, is serving time at FMC Lexington in Lexington, Kentucky and has a projected release date of Jan. 18, 2031.
Jen Shah of Bravo’s ‘Real Housewives of Salt Lake City’
In January 2024, “The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” star Jen Shah was sentenced to 6½ years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with a national telemarketing scheme.
Judge Sidney H. Stein ruled the Bravo celebrity would spend 78 months behind bars, despite prosecutors’ suggested sentence of 120 months. That’s in addition to five years of supervision after her release. Shah, 50, also agreed to forfeit $6.5 million and to pay $9.5 million in restitution as part of her plea agreement.
Shah, whose arrest was partially captured by Bravo’s cameras, was ordered to begin her sentence Feb. 17, 2024.
She is currently serving time at FPC Bryan in Texas and is expected to be released Sept. 19, 2026.
Charles ‘Todd’ Hill of HGTV’s ‘Flip It to Win It’
Former HGTV star Charles “Todd” Hill turned from celebrity fixer-upper to disgraced real estate criminal, when authorities charged him with committing real estate and financial fraud.
Hill, 59, was sentenced to four years in jail and ordered to pay back close to $10 million for committing fraud against 11 victims, according to a news release from the County of Santa Clara Office of the District Attorney in California.
The “Flip It to Win It” star was convicted in 2023 of multiple fraud schemes. On the show Hill would buy dilapidated homes, fix them up and sell them for a profit. Instead, “Hill spent millions on overbudget remodels, laundered profits and pocketed millions in fraudulently obtained money,” the news release stated.
He was indicted in November 2019, then convicted by plea on Sept. 27, 2023, of grand theft against all victims. He was ordered to pay back $9,402,678 in restitution and serve 10 years on probation.
Hill is currently serving time at FCI Oakdale and will be released March 22, 2037.
Contributing: Amy Haneline, Maria Puente, Elise Brisco, Marisa Kwiatkowski and Tricia L. Nadolny, USA TODAY
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A look at Sean Combs’ family tree
What we know about the case against Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs
The trial against Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is kicking off. How strong is the case against him? Here’s what we know now.
Sean “Diddy” Combs’ children are standing by his side as his sex-crimes trial begins.
The embattled music mogul’s kids turned out to the courthouse in New York on May 12, and were seen walking hand-in-hand, as his federal trial got underway with the completion of jury selection and start of opening arguments.
Combs’ kids Quincy Brown, Justin Combs, Christian Combs, Chance Combs, D’Lila Combs and Jessie Combs were seen arriving to court, as was his mother, Janice Combs.
The rapper’s mom and children have remained supportive as he faced charges of racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. In a joint statement in October, his kids said their father has been judged “based on accusations, conspiracy theories, and false narratives that have spiraled into absurdity on social media,” adding, “We stand united, supporting you every step of the way.” Combs has also pleaded not guilty to all counts against him.
A few of Combs’ adult children have been implicated in his legal troubles. His son Justin Combs was named as a defendant in a sexual assault and sex trafficking lawsuit brought by music producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones. According to the suit, the eldest Combs son was present during an altercation at a recording studio, in which Diddy or Justin Combs is alleged to have shot a man, referred to simply as “G.”
Justin Combs is also alleged to have been involved in Diddy’s “sex-trafficking venture.” The complaint claimed Justin Combs solicited “prostitutes, underaged girls, and sex workers” and participated in “freak offs” (a term Combs allegedly used to refer to sexual encounters with sex workers).
Combs’ youngest son, Christian “King” Combs was also named in the lawsuit. According to the complaint, Lil Rod witnessed the rapper “drugging and sexually assaulting a woman.” King was also sued in 2024 for allegedly assaulting a woman on a yacht in 2022.
How many children does Diddy have?
Diddy has seven children, six of them biological, ranging in age from 2 to 33.
How old are Diddy’s children? Sean Combs’ family tree, explained
Diddy had his first biological son, Justin Combs, 31, with fashion designer and stylist Misa Hylton.
Diddy adopted Quincy Brown, 33, the son of ex-girlfriend and model Kim Porter, who died in 2018 after a battle with pneumonia. The former couple also shared three other children: son Christian “King” Combs, 27, and twin daughters D’Lila and Jessie Combs, 18.
Diddy has another daughter, 18-year-old Chance Combs, whom he shares with businesswoman Sarah Chapman.
His seventh and last child, daughter Love Sean Combs, was born in October 2022 with model and cybersecurity specialist Dana Tran.
What is the age order of Diddy’s kids?
Who is Justin Combs?
In 2012, Justin Combs was accepted at the University of California, Los Angeles, on a $54,000 football scholarship.
According to the UCLA Bruins’ website, as a defensive back, he didn’t see any play in his first year. He made some tackles on the field in 2013 and 2014.
Following his football career, Justin Combs went into show business, executive producing a six-episode online talk show called “Respectfully Justin” through Revolt, his dad’s media company, in 2021. He was also the executive producer of “The Crew League,” a televised celebrity basketball tournament.
Justin Combs also dabbled in acting, making appearances in the Starz series “Power Book II: Ghost.”
Who is Christian ‘King’ Combs?
Christian Combs, also known as the rapper King Combs, signed with his father’s label, Bad Boy Records, in 2016. That same year, he graduated from high school.
In 2019, he released his EP, “Cyncerely C3,” which featured collaborations with Ty Dolla $ign, Jeremih and City Girls. He followed this with singles and collaborations before releasing a four-track EP, “C3,” in 2023. In 2024, he released the track “Pick a Side,” which references the federal raids on his father Sean Combs’ homes.
In September 2023, Christian Combs joined his dad in performing onstage at the MTV VMAs, where Sean Combs was presented with the Global Icon Award.
He’s also active in fashion and signed with IMG Models in 2023. In 2018, at 19, he was named the face of Dolce & Gabbana’s spring/summer 2018 campaign. In 2020, he collaborated with Rihanna for a Savage X Fenty capsule collection.
His mom, model and actress Kim Porter, died in 2018 at age 47 of pneumonia. She and Sean Combs had an on-again, off-again relationship that ended after 13 years in 2007.
Who is Diddy’s stepson Quincy Brown?
The actor and singer Quincy Brown, who appeared in the Starz series “Power Book III: Raising Kanan,” is Sean Combs’ stepson. His parents are Kim Porter and singer/songwriter and record producer Al B. Sure.
Brown has also made appearances in TV shows, movies and music videos, including 2015’s “Dope” and “Brotherly Love,” as well as the Fox drama “Star” and Maluma’s 2021 music video for “Sobrio,” per IMDb.
Contributing: Edward Segarra, Jay Stahl and Brendan Morrow, USA TODAY
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'Glee' actress puts literacy skills to the testCelebrities
‘Glee’ actress puts literacy skills to the testCelebrities
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What happened to Bindi Irwin? Star recovering from appendectomy
Bindi Irwin is recovering after a surprise surgery.
The zookeeper and TV personality missed an annual gala honoring her late father Steve Irwin on May 10 due to undergoing an emergency surgery for a ruptured appendix, her brother told People.
“She’s going to be OK, but surgery – out of all the things we were ready for, that was not one of them,” Robert Irwin told the outlet on the gala’s red carpet. “She’s just come out the other side of endometriosis and now the appendix goes.”
Robert Irwin added that their mother, Terri Irwin, would also miss the gala to help his sister recover.
Bindi Irwin revealed in 2023 that she had been diagnosed with endometriosis, a “disease in which tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside the uterus” associated with “severe, life-impacting” pain, according to the World Health Organization.
At the time, she wrote in an Instagram post that she experienced 10 years of “insurmountable fatigue, pain & nausea” and doctors had written it off as “something you deal with as a woman” before she found an answer.
Robert Irwin added that his sister was going to “tough it out” before her surgeon urged the appendix removal.
“She’s very sad. She’s devastated that she and mom can’t be here, but I know she’ll make a speedy recovery,” he said. “Health is so important – it really is. Bindi has become an incredible advocate for women’s health, particularly, and I think it’s really important to prioritize getting help.”
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Cassie Ventura ‘freak off’ videos used for blackmail
What we know about the case against Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs
The trial against Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is kicking off. How strong is the case against him? Here’s what we know now.
Cassie is at the center of opening statements in Sean “Diddy” Combs’ federal sex-crimes trial.
At the official start of Combs’ trial May 12, Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Johnson delivered the government’s argument against Combs, who is facing five counts on charges of sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
But the prosecution painted an image of a controlling, powerful man who coerced a young artist into a complicated and at times violent romantic relationship. Cassie was 19 when she first met Combs, who was 17 years older than her, Johnson said. He allegedly promised her a 10-album deal, and although she recorded music constantly, he always had a final say on which music she was able to release, Johnson said.
What started as a professional music relationship quickly devolved, Johnson said. Cassie began dating Combs in 2007 and had an on-and-off relationship with him for more than a decade. Known for the hit track “Me & U,” the lead single off her self-titled (and only) studio album, Cassie later sued Combs, alleging their professional and romantic relationship quickly changed as he coerced her into sex and physically beat her.
In court May 12, Johnson described one instance in 2009 where Combs allegedly threw Cassie on the floor of an SUV and “stomped repeatedly on her face.”
Cassie will testify about another instance when she said Combs forced another escort to urinate in her mouth, Johnson said.
Diddy used Cassie ‘freak off’ videos for blackmail, prosecutors claim
Cassie entered her first “freak off” reluctantly, but she “loved” Combs and “wanted to make him happy,” Johnson said. Combs’ “freak offs,” the sometimes dayslong sexual performances he is accused of holding, involved illicit substances and commercial sex workers.
Johnson said jurors will hear testimony from some of the escorts, one of whom saw Combs drag Cassie by her hair at a “freak off.”
She continued, saying “the defendant beat (Cassie) viciously,” whether she was taking too long in the bathroom or missed his calls or left a “freak off” early. Combs had power over Cassie’s career and livelihood, and he would threaten to release videos of her with “dozens and dozens of male escorts,” Johnson said. He “had the power to ruin her life.”
For Cassie, the videos are “souvenirs of the most humiliating nights of her life,” Johnson said.
“Her livelihood and safety depended on keeping the defendant happy,” Johnson said. The prosecution said Combs and Cassie “were unfaithful and jealous,” but “only one had power.”
This argument may factor heavily into the trial as the defense is expected to paint Cassie as equally violent against Combs.
Witnesses of Cassie’s assaults and injuries will also testify, Johnson said, before asking jurors to “please use and trust your common sense.”
Defense argues Cassie was ‘jealous’
In the defense team’s opening statement, Combs’ lawyer Teny Geragos argued that Cassie became jealous when she realized she would never be the music mogul’s wife.
“Regret does not mean coerced,” Geragos said, attempting to poke holes in the one of the prosecution’s signature arguments. Every woman in this case had “free choice,” she said, and argued that the “freak-off” videos were meant to be “intimate” and not intended “to be seen by people outside that room.”
Geragos said the case is about his personal, private sex life, and admitted that he has sometimes been violent.
“Sean Combs has a temper,” Geragos said. “My client is not proud of that.”
Cassie’s husband spotted at Diddy trial
Cassie’s husband, Alex Fine, was spotted at the courthouse during the first day of opening arguments. Fine, who wed Ventura in 2019, shares two children with the singer, with a third on the way.
He is presumably there to support his wife, who will serve as one of the prosecution’s key witnesses.
Cassie hotel video takes center stage
The hotel video from 2016 featuring Combs beating Cassie – which Combs’ defense team failed to convince the judge to remove from the evidence list prior to trial – was a talking point in the prosecution’s opening statement. Lawyers plan to show their own clips of the incident, separate from the recording, largely viewed by the public when CNN released it in 2024.
Combs’ inner circle gave one of the security guards a bag of $100,000 in cash for the video, Johnson said.
In response, the defense team argued that Combs was “not trying to obstruct justice” but rather to protect both him and Cassie from “bad publicity.”
Prosecutors allege Diddy tried to kill new man Cassie was seeing
Describing one violent episode, Johnson said Combs broke into the house of a man who was seeing Ventura with a gun and a bodyguard with the intent to kill. While no one was home, Combs later found Ventura and, “beat her brutally,” flinging “her around like a rag doll,” she argued.
Ventura sued Combs in November 2023, alleging she trafficked, raped and viciously beaten by her former partner over the course of a decade.
Combs and Cassie reached a settlement one day later.
The case was civil, rather than criminal, as part of a one-time legal loophole opened by the city of New York, a fact Combs’ defense team seized upon, claiming it was a “money grab,” since civil suits result in damages but not jail time.
Contributing: Aysha Bagchi, Anika Reed, Anna Kaufman
If you are a victim of domestic violence, The National Domestic Violence Hotline (thehotline.org) allows you to speak confidentially with trained advocates online or by the phone, which they recommend for those who think their online activity is being monitored by their abuser (800-799-7233). They can help survivors develop a plan to achieve safety for themselves and their children.
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Blake Lively’s team slams Baldoni's over Taylor Swift subpoenaEntertainment
Blake Lively’s team slams Baldoni’s over Taylor Swift subpoenaEntertainment