Mellencamp’s sons accused of battery
Rocker John Mellencamp’s two teenage sons face battery charges for allegedly punching and kicking a man during a fight that left the victim with serious facial injuries.
Monroe County prosecutors on Thursday charged 19-year-old Hud Mellencamp, of Nashville, Ind., and 18-year-old Speck Mellencamp, of Bloomington, Ind., with one count each of battery resulting in serious bodily injury.
Ty A. Smith, 19, of Bloomington, faces the same charge in the early morning July 29 attack. Smith is the son of Indiana University baseball coach Tracy Smith and is a walk-on for IU’s football team.
A probable cause affidavit states that Speck Mellencamp punched 19-year-old Alexander Bucy in the face on the porch of Bucy’s Bloomington home because he thought Bucy had hit him earlier that evening. Hud Mellencamp and Smith joined in, and the trio allegedly “punched, kicked and stomped” Bucy, the document states.
Bucy suffered facial fractures and received stitches at a local hospital, according to the affidavit.
Simmons sorry for Tubman spoof
This is probably not the type of publicity Russell Simmons was hoping for with his new YouTube channel, All Def Digital.
The media mogul has apologized for and taken down from the channel a comedy video titled “The Harriet Tubman Sex Tape.” The spoof portrayed the abolitionist icon tricking her slave master into having sex with her on camera in order to blackmail him.
The video received a barrage of criticism, including posts on social media sites and online publications that called it offensive. Simmons, in a statement posted on GlobalGrind.com, said he had been contacted by the NAACP, which asked him to take the video down.
On Wednesday, Simmons launched All Def Digital, a joint venture with the DreamWorks Animation-owned AwesomenessTV.
Brown avoids hit-run charge
Singer Chris Brown is off the hook in his misdemeanor hit-and-run case, after a Los Angeles judge dismissed the charge, noting that a “civil compromise” had been reached.
Brown came to an agreement with the woman whose car he struck in Toluca Lake, Calif., last May, Superior Court Judge Christine Ewell said.
Ewell dropped the charge over objections from a deputy city attorney who noted that Brown was on felony probation for a 2009 assault on singer Rihanna at the time and showed signs of aggression after the collision.
The birthday bunch
Sportscaster Frank Gifford is 83. Actress Julie Newmar is 80. Actress Lesley Ann Warren is 67. TV personality Kathie Lee Gifford is 60. Singer Madonna is 55. Actress Angela Bassett is 55. Actor Timothy Hutton is 53. Actor Steve Carell is 51. Country singer Emily Robison (The Dixie Chicks) is 41.