Author: business

The former child star, who costarred with Williams in the 1993 comedy “Mrs. Doubtfire,” reflected on his experience working with the iconic actor-comedian in an interview with Entertainment Weekly published April 17. Lawrence, who played Williams’ son Chris Hillard, was 13 at the time of the film’s release while Williams was 42.

“Those six to eight months were the biggest learning curve anyone can get when it comes to making movies and being an entertainer,” Lawrence told the outlet. “And then on top of that, you get a chance to be around Robin Williams, and he takes an investment in you, as he does with people. But in particular, he really took an investment with me.”

Aside from being “the most brilliant artist” Lawrence has “ever worked with,” Williams — who died in August 2014 at age 63 — was candid with the young actor about his struggles with substance abuse.

Madeline “Matty” Matlock (Kathy Bates) can go back to practicing law in her 70s, can win over juries and uncover injustice with her eyes closed. But can she survive losing a friend or opening up her family?

Those are the big questions left hanging for CBS’ remake of “Matlock,” which aired its Season 1 finale April 17. All season long, Bates’ Matty has been infiltrating high-powered New York law firm Jacobson Moore, searching for who was responsible for suppressing evidence about the dangers of prescription opioid drugs – evidence that could have taken the drugs off the market before people like Matty’s daughter became addicted and overdosed.

In the packed two-hour finale, Matty works uneasily with former close friend and current boss Olympia (Skye P. Marshall) to discover whether Olympia’s ex-husband Julian (Jason Ritter) was the guilty party. Olympia finds definitive proof her ex committed the egregious crime just as he shows up begging her to keep his secret. Meanwhile, an increasingly-stressed Matty waits for Olympia to come to her house for a debrief when the doorbell rings – and her grandson Alfie’s (Aaron D. Harris) long-lost father is on the other side of the door.

He’s evaded pirates, snipers and killer bees.

But the clock finally ran out for Los Angeles fire captain Bobby Nash (Peter Krause), who succumbed to a lethal virus in the April 17 episode of ABC’s “9-1-1” (Thursdays, 8 ET/PT). Station 118 was called to a research facility, which had been set on fire by a mad scientist named Moira (Bridget Regan). Moira created a hemorrhagic fever and stole the antidote in attempt to extort millions of dollars from biotech executives by threatening another global pandemic.

Bobby manages to save his fellow firefighter, Chimney (Kenneth Choi), who falls ill and starts coughing up blood while responding to the lab blaze. But after waiting for the rest of the team to safely evacuate and unmask, Bobby realizes that there was a hole in his breathing apparatus. Knowing he has been infected and will soon die, he has one last conversation with his wife, Athena (Angela Bassett), who weeps as they touch hands with a glass partition between them.

Before meeting Athena, Bobby killed dozens of people – including his wife and children – in an apartment fire that he inadvertently caused. The tragedy has been referred to repeatedly throughout the series, now in its eighth season. And by sacrificing himself for the 118, Bobby feels that he’s achieved “true redemption,” says executive producer Tim Minear. “It made sense for his arc.”

In court documents dated April 2 and filed on April 17, Combs’ defense team said a forensic analyst they’d hired as an expert confirmed none of the videos they were able to obtain “accurately depict the incident.” As such, his team argued, “There is simply no way to obtain or create an accurate version” of the footage, and the video evidence should not be presented to jurors.

The assault footage, which became public when CNN released and aired it on May 17, 2024, was the result of the news organization editing “approximately ten-and-a-half-minutes of footage into a 48-second out-of-order clip,” Combs’ attorneys wrote. The clip “immediately and dramatically turned the tide of public opinion against Mr. Combs” and “painted Mr. Combs in the worst possible light,” they added.

CNN has denied this characterization, with a spokesperson previously telling USA TODAY in a statement, “CNN never altered the video and did not destroy the original copy of the footage, which was retained by the source. CNN aired the story about the video several months before Combs was arrested.”

Diddy on trial newsletter: Step inside the courtroom with USA TODAY as Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs faces sex crimes and trafficking charges. Subscribe to the newsletter. 

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York declined to comment.

Shortly after CNN made the video public last year, Combs posted a video taking “full responsibility” for the attack. The post is no longer available on his Instagram account.

“My behavior on that video is inexcusable,” he said. “I take full responsibility for my actions in that video. I’m disgusted. I was disgusted then when I did it, (and) I’m disgusted now.”

Diddy’s team claims all existing assault footage is ‘distorted’

Combs’ team said in total, they received the following: two iPhone videos from prosecutors showing what someone recorded of the hotel surveillance footage while watching it, the “compilation” CNN released to its audience and “three videos with footage obtained by CNN from three single cameras in the Intercontinental Hotel.”

The iPhone videos “distort the events,” the defense claimed in their filing, while CNN’s videos were allegedly “significantly sped up (and) not accurately represent human movement as a result of being converted from one file type to another.”

In their filing, defense attorneys also alleged “CNN paid their source” for the video files, made copies and destroyed the original files they’d received.

Combs’ team has previously cast doubt on the hotel video as evidence of what U.S. attorneys allege was a widespread sex trafficking enterprise spearheaded by the rapper. In November, his team accused prosecutors of presenting an “altered” video of him attacking Ventura to convince a judge he should not remain detained.

The rapper’s lawyers at one point accused government agents of leaking the footage to CNN, but the judge rejected the claim.

The controversial legacy of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs. Here’s what we know

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs faces federal sex crime charges. Here’s what we know about his controversial legacy.

If the judge does not agree to the request to exclude the footage, Combs’ team is asking for a pretrial hearing in which their forensic analyst could share his findings about the various videos.

Combs is currently in jail after being denied bond multiple times.

He now faces two counts of sex trafficking, two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution and one count of racketeering ahead of his May 5 trial. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges and maintained his innocence in response to dozens of sexual assault lawsuits, which detail alleged events dating back to the 1990s, that have been filed over the past 1½ years.

What is shown in CNN’s video of Diddy and Cassie?

The hotel surveillance video, reportedly from March 5, 2016, compiled clips from multiple camera angles. The incident matched an allegation levied in Ventura’s November sex trafficking, rape and physical abuse lawsuit against the hip hop mogul. The two settled the civil suit one day after it was filed.

In the video, Ventura is seen in a black sweater with the hood up and a duffle bag in hand, calling an elevator. From a different camera angle, Diddy is seen in a bath towel running down the hotel hallway.

He catches up with Ventura before the elevator comes, striking and yanking Ventura by the hair and throwing her to the ground. Combs then kicks Ventura twice while she lies on the ground, picking up her bag and dragging her back toward the hotel rooms.

He then lets her go, appearing to say something to her as he walks back to a hotel room with her bag.

Diddy’s lawyers have said Cassie video shows ‘domestic dispute,’ not trafficking

Combs and his lawyers have repeatedly pushed back on prosecutors’ claims that the 2016 video is evidence of Combs’ alleged sex trafficking and so-called “freak offs.” Rather, his attorneys say, the footage shows a “domestic dispute” and “a sad glimpse into a decade-long consensual relationship.”

In a TMZ documentary released last year, Combs’ lead attorney Marc Agnifilo argued the attack footage was not relevant to his client’s criminal case.

“Their difficulties did not stem from their intimate time together. Their difficulties stemmed from the fact that she was cheating on him and he was cheating on her,” he said. “And what we see in that video is terrible. It’s unforgivable, and we don’t seek to forgive it. But it’s not related to the charge.”

Contributing: Taijuan Moorman, USA TODAY

If you or someone you know has experienced sexual violence, RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Hotline offers free, confidential, 24/7 support to survivors and their loved ones in English and Spanish at: 800.656.HOPE (4673) and Hotline.RAINN.org and en Español RAINN.org/es.

Broadway has a colossal new star in the Mind Flayer, a fearsome spider-like monster that towers over the Marquis Theatre stage in a bone-crunching, spine-tingling sequence of “Stranger Things: The First Shadow.” During a recent tech rehearsal for the play, the wide-eyed cast has huddled in the mezzanine to catch a glimpse of the creature in action, unfurling its gnarly tentacles in a maelstrom of billowing smoke and flashing red lights. The gruesome spectacle that follows earns raucous cheers and applause from the slack-jawed onlookers.

“A bunch of us came up here to watch,” says cast member Eric Wiegand, who portrays a teenage Alan Munson in Netflix’s theatrical prequel. “That’s insane. That was my first time seeing it.”

The play was co-conceived by “Stranger Things” creators Mark and Ross Duffer, telling a dark origin story of the mysterious Henry Creel (Louis McCartney), who’s better known as Vecna, Season 4’s big bad. The ambitious, effects-heavy production premiered in London in 2023, and officially opens on Broadway April 22.

TMZ founder Harvey Levin invited his “dear friend” Maher on the 2 Angry Men podcast, which Levin hosts with criminal defense attorney Mark Geragos, for the April 17 episode. The three opened the show by asking the “Real Time with Bill Maher” host for his thoughts on criticism he’s received – including from Washington Post columnist Josh Rogin, who’d said on “Real Time” that Trump was using Maher as “a prop in a PR stunt.”

“I would say to them, as opposed to what? I had the opportunity to go to the White House and talk to the president and not give up my principles. It seems like nobody noticed that,” Maher told Levin and Geragos. “I didn’t go MAGA. I had the opportunity to talk to Donald Trump and say things to him that maybe he never hears, literally to speak truth to power. I shouldn’t take that opportunity? Again, don’t do that? OK.”

Read the transcript: Bill Maher’s full monologue on his Donald Trump meeting

Bill Maher says he should be considered a ‘hero’ for going ‘inside the inner sanctum’ of Trump

And in true fashion, the designer’s runway show in downtown Manhattan Thursday afternoon brought out all the biggest celebs, from actresses Anne Hathaway and Sadie Sink to country music star Kacey Musgraves.

The fall/winter 2025 collection, the designer’s first outing since his starry and extravagant Hamptons showcase just before New York Fashion Week’s September kickoff, was an off-calendar show that packed just as much star power as its predecessor.

A cast of leading ladies sat front row, including Oscar winner Ariana DeBose, Emmy-winning comedian Julia Louis-Dreyfus, “White Lotus” star Sarah Catherine Hook and actresses Naomi Watts, Michelle Williams and Eiza González. Ryan Destiny, Chase Sui Wonders, actress-singer Andra Day and more were in attendance.

Hathaway donned a tan trench coat and coordinating bejeweled tan denim, topped with a high ponytail. The blonde bobs of Watts and top Vogue editor Anna Wintour popped up just seats away from one another in the front row, while Ralph Lauren darling Musgraves opted for a white cowboy hat and Western-themed belt. González and DeBose dazzled in classic suiting, while Day paired springtime whites with a gem-encrusted top.

In an amended complaint filed April 16 against his record label, Drake, 38, said the performances introduced millions of new listeners to Lamar’s smash hit and have led to more threats against the Canadian rapper, born Aubrey Drake Graham, and his family.

Drake said this occurred though Lamar omitted the word “pedophile” from his Super Bowl performance, seen by more than 133.5 million people, ostensibly because “nearly everyone understands” it was defamatory.

“It was the first, and will hopefully be the last, Super Bowl halftime show orchestrated to assassinate the character of another artist,” Drake said.