A federal civil jury cleared New York Knicks point guard Derrick Rose and two friends Wednesday of sexual assault accusations brought by a woman who had claimed they gang-raped her in 2013.
The woman said she and Rose met at a Hollywood party in 2011 and began a sexual relationship, but that one night the NBA star and two friends forced themselves on her while she was severely intoxicated and unable to consent. She had been seeking $21.5 million in damages.
The civil trial at U.S. District Court in downtown Los Angeles began Oct. 4.
"I am thankful that the jury understood and agreed with me," Rose said in a statement to The Associated Press. "This experience and my sensitivity to it was deep. I am ready to put this behind me and focus on my family and career."
The jury heard days of emotionally charged and dramatically opposing accounts of what happened that August night in 2013. The woman's lawyer says the three men conspired to attack her knowing she was incapacitated; the defense cast her as a jilted lover who decided to go after Rose's money when she was dumped.
Though neither side denied that there was a sexual encounter, the question is if the woman was intoxicated and whether or not she invited the men to her apartment. She claims to have been drifting in and out of consciousness — per the LA Times — and awoke late in the night to find the three men in her apartment. According to the men, she orchestrated the plan for them to come over.
The jury had no physical evidence to support either side's claims. The women and men relied heavily on a series of text messages and phone calls exchanged between them.
"All three men were innocent from Day 1," Mark Baute — Rose's attorney — said. "We're very happy that the system worked."
The other two men, Ryan Allen and Randall Hampton, are employed by the 28-year-old NBA star who started his career in his native Chicago — where he was rookie of the year and later the league's youngest-ever MVP — before being traded to New York.
It is a huge week for ~love~ for the Orange Is the New Black cast members.
People magazine confirmed on Wednesday, October 5 that Laura Prepon—who plays Alex on the hit Netflix show—is engaged to actor Ben Foster. The two made their red carpet debut as a couple Tuesday night (October 4) at the New York City premiere of Prepon's film, The Girl on the Train. Prepon sported a sparkly ring on that finger, setting the rumor mill ablaze—only it's true this time. See the beautiful ring for yourself in the photo, below:
Prepon and Foster are a rather new Hollywood couple. It was only a few months ago that people speculated they were an item after spotting them together all over New York City. However, Prepon actually knows Foster from her That's 70s Show days. (He's tight with her former costar, Danny Masterson.)
And this is the second Orange Is the New Black engagement confirmed this week. On Monday, Time reported that Samira Wiley—Poussey Washington on OITNB—is engaged to one of the show's writer-producers, Lauren Morelli. Wiley posted a photo of the ring to her Instagram account with a simple, beautiful caption: "Yes."
Litchfield? More like Lovefield. Congratulations to the happy couples! Please letLaverne Cox officiate both ceremonies.
Karl Lagerfeld scolded Kim Kardashian for showing her multi-million-dollar jewelry on social media in a new interview following the reality star's October 3rd robbery in Paris.
"It's a very bad thing for Paris, but I don't understand why she was in a hotel with no security," the Chanel creative director, 83, told Reuters at Paris Fashion Week. "If you are that famous and you put all your jewelry on the net, you go to hotels where nobody can come near to the room. You cannot display your wealth and then be surprised that some people want to share it with you."
As Ipresstv previously reported, Kardashian, 35, was staying in a private residence at Hôtel de Pourtalès when a group of five armed men dressed as policemen raided her apartment. The criminals entered the building after a concierge let them in at approximately 2:30 a.m. local time. Moments later, they handcuffed the staffer and forced him to lead them to Kardashian's flat.
The robbers then tied up and gagged the Keeping Up With the Kardashians star before locking her in a bathroom. They stole more than $10 million worth of jewelry, including a diamond ring worth $4.5 million, before escaping on bicycles.
A source exclusively told Ipresstv that Paris police believe the attack may have been an inside job, calling the case "one of the strangest they have had to deal with in recent years."
Kardashian's husband, Kanye West, abruptly ended his performance at the Meadows Music & Arts Festival in Queens, New York, Sunday night after he learned of the news while on stage.
The couple's two children, daughter North, 3, and son Saint, 9 months, were both in NYC during the time of the raid. The robbers are still at large.
Several stars came to Kardashian's defense after the shocking news broke, including Chrissy Teigen and James Corden, the latter of whom tweeted, "People making jokes about @KimKardashian tonight would do well to remember that she's a mother, a daughter, a wife, a friend. Be nice or shut up."
When it comes to rare lunar events, September 2016 seems to be the month that keeps on giving: This Friday, Sept. 30, a black moon will rise in the skies of the Western Hemisphere, a phenomenon we haven't seen since March 2014.
So what is a black moon exactly? It has several definitions, but in Friday's case, a black moon is the second new moon to occur in a single month, something that only happens roughly every 32 months, according to Space.com. (Typically, each month, there's a full moon and new moon — generally, a blue moon refers to when there's a second full moon in one calendar month.)
The moon itself will be pretty much invisible, since a black moon refers to the moment when the dark side of the moon faces the earth, but it will provide a great opportunity for stargazing, thanks to all that darkness.
The Black Moon, which will occur at 8:11 p.m. ET on Friday, will only be happening in the Western Hemisphere because, technically, the new moon will happen Oct. 1 for the Eastern Hemisphere (they'll be getting their black moon at the end of next month).
The next time there will be a second new moon in a single calendar month in the Americas will be July 2019.
It's been five years since the last Harry Potter film, but we can't stop poring over where our favorite stars are now (it helps that some of them magically transfigured into major hotties). The same goes for those who have been longer off the radar, such as Stanislav Yanevski, who only appeared in 2005's Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
Goblet of Fire featured Yanevski as Bulgarian student and athlete Viktor Krum, who competed in the Quidditch World Cup and against Harry in the Triwizard Tournament. Perhaps most famously, and to the ire of her future husband Ron Weasley, Krum took Hermione Granger to the Yule Ball on her first date.
So what has Yanevski been up to for the past decade? He's appeared in a handful of films, but catching up with the actor on social media reveals that he has spent a lot of time growing out his hair, getting tattoos, and liberally using hashtags to document his journey toward looking like a real-life Khal Drogo.
Yanevski still acts sporadically, but both his Wikipedia page and Instagram bio acknowledge that he is likely best known for his brief stint as a Bulgarian wizard.
In the books, Viktor Krum is described as gruff and looking like "an overgrown bird of prey," but as an aloof star Quidditch player, he attracts the giggly attention of plenty of Hogwarts girls in his year abroad. And e may not have gotten the girl or the cup, but we'll always remember Krum as a solid guy, and Yanevski as a brooding bad boy who grows a great beard.
Gone but never forgotten. Alexis Arquette died at age 47 on Sunday, September 11, her brother Richmond Arquette confirmed. Alexis, who was best known for playing a Boy George-inspired character in 1998’s The Wedding Singer, spent the majority of her time in the spotlight advocating for LGBT rights and shedding light on issues affecting the transgender community.
The actress (born Robert Arquette) was part of one of Hollywood’s most famous families. In addition to brother Richmond, she was the sibling of David Arquette, Rosanna Arquetteand Oscar-winning actress Patricia Arquette. Her parents were actress Brenda Olivia “Mardi” and actor-director Lewis Arquette. The creative couple raised their brood on a religious commune in Virginia.
In 2006, Alexis began a symbolic (but never surgical) male to female transition, an experience which was documented in the 2007 documentary Alexis Arquette: She’s My Brother. Though Alexis previously chose to be referred to as a woman, she began to identify as “gender suspicious” in recent years, according to brother David.
Back in February, the Scream alum, 45, appeared on Khloé Kardashian’s former talk show, Kocktails With Khloé, where he explained that Caitlyn Jenner’s transition inspired Alexis’ decision to veer away from the trans label.
"She was like, 'Yeah, sometimes I'll be a man, sometimes I'll be a woman. I like to refer to myself as gender suspicious,'" David told Kardashian (Jenner's former stepdaughter) of his “wild” sibling. "I said, 'You're my sister and brother?' [Alexis] said, 'It depends on how I'm dressed.'"
He added: "I think because of Caitlyn, she's like, 'I did that already. Now let's take it to the next level.’”
Alexis’ brother Richmond penned a touching Facebook post elaborating her gender fluidity. "Our brother Robert, who became our brother Alexis, who became our sister Alexis, who became our brother Alexis, passed this morning September 11, at 12:32 am," he wrote on Sunday morning. "He was surrounded by all of his brothers and sisters, one of his nieces and several other loved ones. We were playing music for him and he passed during David Bowie's Starman. As per his wishes, we cheered at the moment that he transitioned to another dimension."
Despite the change, Alexis (whose cause of death has not yet been confirmed) never once turned her back on the LGBT community. The Los Angeles resident — who landed her first significant acting gig at 19 years old as a transvestite named Georgette in 1989’s Last Exit to Brooklyn — was a vocal supporter of pal Chaz Bono, Cher’s eldest child, who transitioned from female to male between 2008 and 2010.
During a 2009 interview with Entertainment Tonight, Alexis explained that her decision to come out and transition in the public eye was part of a conscious effort to raise awareness. “Coming out as transgender in America from a celebrity family is a lot easier than it can be for private individuals anywhere else in the world,” the outspoken star said at the time. “In fact, if you come out as transgender in certain parts of the world, you may be murdered in the street.”
Hours after Alexis passed away, the Arquette siblings took to Facebook on Sunday to pay tribute. In their emotional post, they noted that Alexis never said yes to a part if she felt it could be potentially hurtful to trans people.
"Alexis was a brilliant artist and painter, a singer, an entertainer and an actor. She starred in movies like Last Exit to Brooklyn, Pulp Fiction, Jumpin' at the Boneyard, Of Mice and Men, The Wedding Singer, and The Bride of Chucky,”they wrote. “Her career was cut short, not by her passing, but by her decision to live her truth and her life as a transgender woman. Despite the fact that there are few parts for trans actors, she refused to play roles that were demeaning or stereotypical. She was a vanguard in the fight for understanding and acceptance for all trans people.”
Alexis — who once worked as a toy designer for Mattel before finding success in the entertainment industry — always marched to her own beat. In 2008, her sister Patricia opened up to the Los Angeles Times about Alexis’ colorful childhood.
“I remember Alexis growing up, and we'd be in school in kindergarten, and they'd say, ‘Get in line, boys here, girls here.’ Alexis would always get in the girls' line,” the Boyhood star recounted. “I remember Alexis getting dressed in drag at 4.”
Patricia went on to say that she once thought Alexis was a gay male until her younger sister offered clarification one day: “That's not what's different about me, it's not that I'm a gay man. It's that I'm in the wrong body: I am a woman.”
On Sunday, Patricia honored her late sibling with two tweets of Alexis' favorite songs: David Bowie's "Starman" and T. Rex's "Cosmic Dancer.""Breaking through the veil singing StarMan," the Academy Award recipient tweeted, adding, "To My first best friend - Cosmic Dancer.”
David also paid respect by tweeting, “Thank you all for your love and kind words about Alexis. My hero for eternity.”
Most likely making Alexis so heroic in her brother’s eyes was her courageous dedication to living her most authentic life no matter what others might think. “I wore makeup since I was 12, but [my family wasn’t] so much in denial as their fear was that if I came out as transgender and lived my life as a woman, that I might receive a lot of flak from people on the street,” she told CNN in 2009. “… I have a hard time always holding back when it comes to my anger towards those who are unaccepting of those who are different.”
