Quincy Jones seeks millions from Michael Jackson estate
Quincy Jones sued Michael Jackson’s estate on Friday claiming he is owed millions in royalties and production fees on some of the superstar’s greatest hits.
Jones’ lawsuit seeks at least $10 million from the singer’s estate and Sony Music Entertainment, claiming the entities improperly re-edited songs to deprive him of royalties and production fees. The music has been used in the film “This Is It” and a pair of Cirque du Soleil shows based on the King of Pop’s songs, the lawsuit states.
Jones also claims that he should have received a producer’s credit on the music in “This Is It.”
The producer worked with Jackson on three of his most popular solo albums, “Off the Wall,” “Thriller” and “Bad.”
Jackson’s estate wrote in a statement that it was saddened by Jones’ lawsuit. “To the best of its knowledge, Mr. Jones has been appropriately compensated over approximately 35 years for his work with Michael,” the statement said.
Official out after ‘Daily Show’ remarks
Don Yelton, a Republican official in North Carolina, has been forced to resign following an appearance this week on “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart” in which he made a series of racially charged remarks.
On Wednesday, correspondent Aasif Mandvi traveled to North Carolina to look at the effect of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn a key provision of the Voting Rights Act. There he met with Yelton, a precinct chairman in Buncombe County and an advocate of the state’s strict new voter ID laws.
In the segment, Yelton denied that the laws were in any way racist. But when it came to his own views, he was less adamant. When asked if he was a racist, Yelton took a long pause then replied, “Well, I’ve been called a bigot before.”
From there he continued to dig an even deeper hole, telling Mandvi “one of my best friends is black,” repeatedly using the N-word and saying he favored the state’s new laws because “if it hurts the whites, so be it. If it hurts lazy black people that wants the government to give them everything, so be it.” (He also admitted the new regulations were politically motivated – or, as he put it, “The law is going to kick the Democrats in the butt.”)
The segment quickly went viral Thursday, with New York Magazine calling it “the most baldly racist ‘Daily Show’ interview of all time.”
By Thursday afternoon, the Buncombe County Republican Party asked Yelton to resign.
The state GOP also called for Yelton to resign and condemned his remarks as “outrageous.”
Yelton apparently obliged, telling Pete Kaliner, host of “The Pete Kaliner Show” on WWNC-AM, that he’d resigned.
The birthday bunch
Actor Bob Hoskins is 71. Actress Jaclyn Smith is 68. “Wheel of Fortune” host Pat Sajak is 67. Musician Bootsy Collins is 62. Actress Rita Wilson is 57. Actor Dylan McDermott is 52. Country singer Keith Urban is 46. Writer-actor Seth McFarlane is 40. Actor Jon Heder is 36. Singer Mark Barry (BBMak) is 35.