People: Will Smith joins Oscars boycott
Will Smith says he will not attend the Academy Awards next month, joining his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, and others in protest against two straight years of all-white acting nominees.
“My wife’s not going. It would be awkward for me to show up with Charlize (Theron),” said Smith on ABC’s “Good Morning America” on Thursday. “We’ve discussed it, but at this current time, we’re uncomfortable to stand there and say this is OK.”
Smith, who some thought might be nominated for his performance in the football drama “Concussion,” said his decision was “deeply not about me.”
“This is about children that are going to sit down and they’re going to watch the show and they’re not going to see themselves represented,” said Smith.
Smith, who would likely have been a sought-after presenter at the Feb. 28 ceremony, becomes the biggest name to join a boycott of the Academy Awards following announcements by Spike Lee (an honorary Oscar recipient this year) and Pinkett Smith.
Mark Ruffalo, nominated for his performance in the newspaper drama “Spotlight,” told BBC News on Thursday that he was “weighing” whether to skip the ceremony. But later in the day, he clarified he will attend the Oscars “in support of the victims of clergy sexual abuse and good journalism” – the subjects of “Spotlight.”
Judge tosses Pennsylvania woman’s defamation suit vs. Cosby
A federal judge on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit filed by a Pittsburgh-area woman who claims Bill Cosby defamed her when he and his representatives responded to allegations that he drugged and sexually assaulted her and other women.
The October lawsuit filed by Renita Hill, 48, of Baldwin, was dismissed with prejudice, meaning she cannot try to amend and re-file it.
Hill went public with her allegations in November 2014 in an interview on Pittsburgh’s KDKA-TV in which she said she was “emboldened” by other women who had made similar accusations against Cosby.
Her lawsuit said she was made out to be a “liar” and “extortionist” when the comedian, his wife and his attorney issued blanket denials.
U.S. District Judge Arthur Schwab agreed with Cosby’s attorneys that the statements were opinions protected by the First Amendment.
“Even considering these three statements together as a combined, single statement, this newly ‘conjoined’ statement does not lead to an inference that plaintiff is a ‘liar and an extortionist,’” the judge wrote.
Hill’s attorney, George Kontos, promised to appeal saying he strongly disagreed with the judge’s reasoning.
“The basis of his opinion is these are constitutionally protected, ‘pure’ opinions,” Kontos said. “But, looked at as a whole, they contain all sorts of innuendo and undisclosed facts.”
Don McLean’s wife cites years of abuse leading to his arrest
Don McLean’s wife was granted a temporary order of protection from the “American Pie” singer after she cited a pattern of abuse going back three decades.
Police in Maine arrested McLean on a misdemeanor domestic-violence charge Monday, and court records show his wife then filed a handwritten request for protection.
She wrote that in the early years of their marriage, McLean’s rage was “unfathomably deep and scary.” She said McLean’s abuse often left her bruised, and that she feared for her life when she called 911 this week. “Don terrorized me for four hours, until the 911 call that I think might have saved my life,” she wrote.
McLean issued a statement Thursday saying the marriage is experiencing a “very painful breakdown.” He also said he is “not a villain,” and it is an emotional time for his family.
“I may never recover from this but I will try and hope to continue to entertain you all as I always have,” McLean said.
McLean was released on bail and is due in court Feb. 22. His attorney, Walter McKee, said McLean will plead not guilty when the case returns to court.
McLean’s signature song “American Pie” topped the Billboard chart 44 years ago.