People: Columbia University puts Clooney on staff
Amal Clooney is joining the faculty of Columbia University as a visiting lecturer.
Columbia announced Friday the lawyer married to George Clooney will lecture on human rights this spring. She also will serve as a senior fellow with its law school’s Human Rights Institute.
Clooney served as a senior adviser to Kofi Annan when he was the U.N.’s envoy on Syria. She also represented WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in extradition proceedings.
Human Rights Institute co-director Sarah H. Cleveland said Clooney’s “extensive experience” will enrich the experience of Columbia’s students.
The Clooneys married in September. They’re based in London, but he’s filming “Money Monster” with Julia Roberts in New York this spring.
Penn unapologetic about Oscars joke
Sean Penn opened up about the green card joke heard ’round the world, saying that he has “absolutely no apologies” for his comment.
Penn, tasked with presenting the Best Picture Oscar last month, made waves when he opened the envelope and first asked, “Who gave this son of a bitch his green card?” before announcing the winner as “Birdman.”
The movie was directed by the Mexican-born Alejandro Inarritu, and many wondered whether the joke was distasteful. The term “green card” refers to a document that confers permanent residency on immigrants in the United States.
“I found it hilarious,” Inarritu said after the ceremony. “Sean and I have that kind of brutal (relationship) where only true friendship can survive. I make on him a lot of very tough jokes that I will not tell you,” he added.
“I have absolutely no apologies,” Penn says.
“In fact, I have a big (expletive) you for every … anybody who is so stupid not to have gotten the irony when you’ve got a country that is so xenophobic,” he said. “If they had their way, you wouldn’t have great filmmakers like Alejandro working in this country. Thank God we do.”
Casino owners fight for Trump name
Donald Trump won’t rest until his name is off every last vestige of the Atlantic City casino empire he once owned.
The owners of the Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort on Friday appealed a court order in favor of Trump and his daughter, Ivanka, in a lawsuit seeking to strip their name from the casino.
Trump Entertainment Resorts – which the real estate mogul and reality TV star no longer runs – filed the appeal in U.S. District Court in Delaware of a Feb. 20 ruling enabling the Trumps to move forward with their lawsuit in state court.
The Trumps say Trump Entertainment allowed its two Atlantic City casinos to fall into disrepair. That, the Trumps say, damages their personal brand.
The birthday bunch
Actor-director Micky Dolenz (The Monkees) is 70. Singer Gary Numan is 57. Actor Aidan Quinn is 56. Actress Camryn Manheim is 54. Actor Freddie Prinze Jr. is 39.