A couple of crypto scams, a lost-then-found dog going unrewarded, and strange accusations
of being in league with the FBI. Here's what on celebrity dockets these days.
In May 2023, country music star Jimmie Allen was handed legal papers alleging that he had
repeatedly sexually assaulted and abused a member of his management team for at least 18 months. The
employee, cited as Jane Doe, claimed she was fired after she complained. She added that he took her
virginity against her will one night after an American Idol taping in 2021, telling Variety,
"He held me in place. At that point,
any physical will was just out the door. I was pretty much paralyzed."
Allen dismissed the allegations in a prepared statement which read:
"It is deeply troubling and hurtful that someone I counted as one of my closest friends,
colleagues and confidants would make allegations that have no truth to them whatsoever."
Less than a month after the first suit was filed,
a second accuser, known as Jane Doe 2, sued Allen for sexual assault.
Bad Bunny's riding high on the Latin music scene, but his bank account could take a hit pending the
outcome of a lawsuit launched in March 2023 by his ex-girlfriend, Carliz De La Cruz Hernández. She's
seeking $40 million in damages because she wasn't credited on two Bad Bunny songs, "Pa Ti" and "Dos
Mil 16," each of which contain one line she claims to have contributed. The line? "Bad Bunny baby."
Hernández says she recorded several takes on her cellphone in 2015,
back when Bad Bunny was still going by Benito Martínez Ocasio. The artist added her track to
a few Soundcloud recordings, but when "Pa Ti" was set to be included on an album,
Hernández says she rejected a $2,000 buyout for the tracks.
According to the lawsuit, the sample was used for promotions, concerts, TV,
and social media platforms. One legal document reads,
"This has caused, and currently causes,
that De La Cruz feels worried, anguished, intimidated, overwhelmed and anxious."
Ramón G. Vela Córdova, an intellectual property lawyer working out of Puerto Rico,
told Vice that Bad Bunny and his associates could have nipped this debacle in the bud, saying,
"If a lawyer had sat down with this and really given it some thought,
they would've said, 'Let's resolve this before it becomes an issue.'"
Mixed martial arts fighter Israel Adesanya is used to winning fights in the octagon, but the
UFC champ will need a different set of skills to win a lawsuit filed in May 2023 by his former
girlfriend. Adesanya's ex, Charlotte Powdrell, is asking for half of his earnings, claiming
she supported him long before he established himself in the fight game. The civil suit's
timing hardly seems coincidental, considering the $3 million purse Adesanya earned after regaining
his middleweight title a month before. Although the relationship was first made public in 2019,
the couple had apparently been seeing each other for years. They broke up in 2020.
While Powdrell is keeping mum about the upcoming court case,
Adesanya took to Instagram to express his feelings, posting,
"Imagine being so f—ing entitled that you think you deserve what a man has worked
his whole life for. When you came into this life with nothing and tried to leave with millions."
Fellow UFC fighter Sean O'Malley expressed his support on his podcast,
The BrOMalley Show, claiming he didn't even know his Adesanya had a girlfriend.
"But to want half of his s—,
to want half of what he's gone out there and done, is absolutely ridiculous."
The fatal on-set shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of Rust may have
forever tarnished the reputation of Alec Baldwin, its star and executive producer.
Baldwin accidentally killed Hutchins with a prop gun during filming in 2021. In April 2023,
Hutchens' parents and younger sister filed a wrongful death suit against the actor.
"We filed a lawsuit today alleging battery, intentional infliction of
emotional distress, negligence, and loss of consortium for our three plaintiffs."
The plaintiffs' attorney, Gloria Allred, went on to say,
"Mr. Baldwin may pretend that he is not responsible for pulling the trigger and
ejecting a live bullet which ended Halyna's life. He can [...] pretend
that he is just an actor in a wild west movie but, in real life, he cannot escape
from the fact that he had a major role in a tragedy which had real life consequences."
"The trigger wasn't pulled. I didn't pull the trigger."
Baldwin declared the suit "misguided" in court documents, adding,
"The loss of a daughter and sister is undoubtedly painful in any circumstance.
Yet Plaintiffs — who had been distanced from Halyna physically, financially,
and emotionally for years before her death — have no viable cause of action against Defendants."
The suit, originally filed in February 2023,
moved ahead after the court dropped two charges of involuntary manslaughter against the actor.
NFL legend Tom Brady and comedian Larry David may not have much in common,
but one thread they share is something they'd like to sever.
"It's FTX. It's a safe and easy way to get into crypto."
"Uhhh, I don't think so."
Late in 2022, Edwin Garrison, who invested in cryptocurrency exchange company FTX,
named both celebs, along with NBA aces Shaquille O'Neal and Steph Curry and tennis player Naomi
Osaka in a class-action lawsuit claiming their celebrity contributed to his firm's
financial downfall. FTX lost billions in the volatile cryptocurrency market,
and eventually declared bankruptcy. The suit claimed the celebs willingly took
part in the marketing of FTX, including a major promotion event in Florida,
and attracted investors who lost their money due to the company's faulty business model.
According to the lawsuit,
"Part of the scheme employed by the FTX Entities involved utilizing some of the biggest names in
sports and entertainment [...] to raise funds and drive American consumers to invest [...] pouring
billions of dollars into the deceptive FTX platform to keep the whole scheme afloat."
Among the defendants, David was most vocal when it came
to explaining his alleged culpability, stating,
"I did not appear in Florida on behalf of any FTX entity nor did I
take any action in the State of Florida related to the advertising contract."
U.S. authorities are investigating allegations that FTX used client
funds to invest in several ventures without their knowledge or consent.
For years, the Backstreet Boys have inspired a legion of female admirers,
but Nick Carter has received more than just love notes from his fans. Papers
filed in April 2023 named him as a defendant in a sexual assault lawsuit. The plaintiff,
singer Melissa Schuman, claimed Carter sexually assaulted her in 2002. Schuman
notified the police 15 years later, but the statute of limitations had already passed.
"I actually did try to come forward when it happened. I
had actually confided in my manager at that time about pressing charges."
A recent amendment extending those limitations prompted Schuman's lawyers to sue Carter.
In response, Carter released a statement reading,
"I am shocked and saddened by Ms. Schuman's accusations. Melissa never expressed to me
while we were together or at any time since that anything we did was not consensual."
Schuman also released a statement about her past experience and future commitment
to making the recording industry a safe space for all, which read,
"I've faced extraordinary backlash for standing up for myself; I am not the first,
however my intention is that I am the last. It's time that powerful figures in the music
industry get the message that they can no longer afford to enable and protect sexual predators."
Carter was also named in a lawsuit filed by Shannon Ruth,
who claimed the singer sexually assaulted her on a tour bus.
Hip-hop artist and TV producer 50 Cent, whose drug dealing past is well-known,
isn't crazy about people who tip off the law. In April 2023, after reading in
Rolling Stone that rapper and former Fugees performer Pras Michel was an FBI informant,
Fitty, aka Curtis James Jackson III, took to Instagram, posting,
"I knew this fool was a Rat! I'm glad I never f— with this guy."
Michel got wind of the social media entry,
which has since been deleted. Fearing for his career and safety, he decided to sue 50 Cent,
NBA star Kyrie Irving — who made similar comments online — and Rolling Stone.
Jonathan Noah Schwartz, Michel's lawyer, said,
"Labeling a hip-hop artist such as Michel, the reputation of whom is
dependent upon 'street credibility' and not being a 'snitch,' a 'government informant'
most certainly tends to subject said hip-hop artist to hatred, distrust,
ridicule, contempt and/or disgrace, along with injury in their trade or profession."
The incident sprang from information that came out during Michel's trial
and conviction on ten counts of money laundering, witness tampering,
and acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign government. Michel testified that he
approached authorities on his own volition, which sparked the informant allegations, telling TMZ,
"I was never in the past, present, or future an FBI or a CIA informant. Never ever."
Decades from now, historians will stumble upon
the name Rudy Giuliani and wonder what the heck happened to that man.
"All the networks! We have to forget about the law! Judges don't count!"
As New York District Attorney during the '80s, he took on the Mafia and Wall Street corruption. As
New York City mayor, he cut crime in half and was a figure of stability in the aftermath of
9/11. But things changed when he became Donald Trump's lawyer. Quicker than anyone can say "The
Big Lie," Giuliani was implicated in everything from campaign-finance illegalities to helping
orchestrate the overturning of the 2020 Federal Election. Giuliani's public profile turned even
uglier in May 2023 when former employee Noelle Dunphy filed suit, claiming he repeatedly sexually
abused and harassed her in the workplace. Dunphy is seeking $10 million in damages.
Dunphy, who was hired by Guiliani in 2019, included several graphic
accounts of sexual assault in the court document. The complaint read, in part,,
"Giuliani began abusing Ms. Dunphy almost immediately after she started working [for him,
and] made clear that satisfying his sexual demands — which came virtually anytime,
anywhere — was an absolute requirement of her employment and of his legal representation."
Giuliani has denied the allegations. In the words of his spokesperson, Ted Goodman,
"Mayor Giuliani's lifetime of public service speaks for itself,
and he will pursue all available remedies and counterclaims."
A civil case involving singer Lady Gaga has literally gone to the dogs. It began in February,
2022 when her dog walker, Ryan Fischer, was shot during the theft of her two French
bulldogs. The singer posted a $500,000 reward for the return of her animals,
"no questions asked." They were found by a woman named Jennifer McBride. Police eventually arrested
five perpetrators, including Fischer's shooter, who received a 21-year jail sentence. But Gaga
refused to pay McBride the reward money when authorities discovered she was in on the heist.
McBride was sentenced to two years' probation, but still felt entitled to the reward,
due to the "no questions asked" stipulation. In her court filing,
McBride — who's seeking $1.5 million in damages — claims:
"[Lady Gaga] never intended to honor their unilateral offer to pay the
reward money. [The reward was posted] with the intent to defraud and induce
members of the public to rely upon it and to act upon said promise."
Neither Gaga nor her legal team have commented on the allegations.
If a tree falls on someone else's property, who gets sued for it? That's the gist of a
civil suit filed against actor William H. Macy claiming that,
in 2021, the actor hired a landscaping contractor to cut down trees on his
neighbor's land. The complaint filed by Pierce Brown, Macy's neighbor, reads,
"Macy's workers [...] destroyed and removed or seriously damaged several healthy,
decades-old mature pine trees and other vegetation from the Brown Property [...] In accessing the
Brown Property, Macy's workers damaged the gate that connected the two properties."
"The law's pretty clear. If you step on someone
else's property and cut down their tree, there's gonna be liability."
Brown is seeking $600,000 in damages for devaluation of his
property and emotional distress over the loss of the trees. But a lawyer
specializing in property disputes between neighbors, says the damages could multiply,
given that California has rigid laws regarding tree preservation.
Entrepreneur Elon Musk relies on wealthy investors to fund his projects. While the
strategy seems to have worked for ventures like SpaceX and Tesla,
the same can't be said about his support of Dogecoin cryptocurrency.
"What is Dogecoin?"
"It's an unstoppable financial vehicle that's going to take over the world."
In April 2023, several investors banded together to sue Musk for $258 billion
over claims of racketeering. The case alleges that Musk's frequent
promotion of Dogecoin on social media and on shows like Saturday Night Live,
in which he parodied his support of Dogecoin as a "hustle," is akin to a pyramid scheme.
Investors claim that Musk's publicity spiked Dogecoin's price by more than
36,000% during a two-year period before allowing its value to drop,
which short-changed anyone who had a stake in the currency. Musk's legal team contends
that no law exists that forbids a celebrity to endorse a product or even use humor to elevate
its profile. Musk even claimed the origin of Dogecoin was satirical, telling Time,
"Even though it was created as a silly joke,
Dogecoin is actually better suited for transactions [than bitcoin]."
No doubt Academy Award-winner Tim Robbins, best known for his lead role in The Shawshank
Redemption, can perform in front of the camera. But the jury is still out
on his ability to run a theater company. In April 2023, Matea Galeana, lobbed a wrongful
termination suit against Actor's Gang Inc., a Los Angeles-based company Robbins co-founded in 1981,
claiming it violated several labor codes, including some covered by the California
Family Rights Act. Galeanna was pregnant in 2022 when she was fired from her marketing
and communications job at Actor's Gang, after discovering she wouldn't be paid
for maternity leave or while undergoing surgery to alleviate pregnancy complications. Galeana's
baby girl died four hours after birth in November 2022. Court documents filed on
her behalf state that the defendants accepted her request, but also decided not to pay her.
Robbins wasn't named in the lawsuit although he's singled out as a main contributor to the
alleged toxic work environment at the theater company. The court filing claims that, in one
particular meeting, Robbins raised his voice to staff and made baseless accusations of theft.
So far, news of the lawsuit is the sole black mark on the company,
which is celebrating its 40th anniversary.
For all the movies that Martin Scorsese has directed, from Goodfellas and Casino
to Taxi Driver and Raging Bull, you'd have to search long and hard to find a
real-life scandal associated with his projects. But in May 2023,
British production company Op-Fortitude Inc. took legal action against Scorsese, who had pocketed a
$500,000 advance, but allegedly did no work on the material. The project was
a World War II drama based on a crucial but little-known initiative associated with D-Day.
The complaint filed in Los Angeles Superior Court read,
"Mr. Scorsese has done nothing whatsoever in furtherance of production of the picture,
and has been completely unresponsive to Op-Fortitude's repeated attempts to reach him."
Op-Fortitude and LBI Entertainment, which represents Scorsese and his Sikelia production
company, struck a deal late in 2021. The director was hired to perform groundwork in regard to
casting and production for the movie, Operation Fortitude, which was slated to begin filming
the following year. When Op-Fortitude received no word on the film's progress from Scorsese,
a conversation with an LBI rep confirmed that, if the venture was canceled,
Scorsese's advance would be returned. But when Op-Fortitude killed the deal,
Scorsese claimed the company had no right to do so and refused to return the advance.
Country fans are a strange lot when it comes to priorities. Take Morgan Wallen for instance,
who was suspended by his label in 2021 for uttering a racial slur on video, only to
see his record sales spike in response. But when Wallen canceled an April 2023 show in Mississippi
at the last minute after losing his voice, all hell broke loose. The cancellation prompted patron
Brandi Burcham to sue the singer when she didn't receive her promised point-of-purchase refund. She
dropped the complaint until a lawyer representing other disgruntled ticket holders filed a class
action lawsuit. Law firm Langston & Lott took to social media with a since-deleted post reading,
"Tens of thousands of people collectively spent millions to attend this event,
and those affected are entitled to know the truth and to be made whole."
Wallen claimed that he suffered from vocal fold trauma after straining his pipes at
concerts in Florida and subsequently had to cancel six weeks of shows to rest his voice.
But on an Instagram Story, Wallen revisited the ill-fated show in Mississippi, saying,
"I really thought I'd be able to take the stage and it kills me to deliver this so
close to showtime, but my voice is shot and I am unable to sing. All tickets will
be refunded at point of purchase. I am so sorry, I promise you guys I tried everything I could."
The 2023 split between actors Olivia Wilde and Jason Sudeikis was turned up to 11 by
the photogenic presence of One Direction's Harry Styles and a child custody battle. But
what flew under the radar was a civil case filed against the couple. Enter their nanny,
Ericka Genaro, who sued the twosome for wrongful
termination in February 2023 after she asked for three days of stress leave.
"She says Sudeikis wanted her to take part in family therapy sessions along
with Olivia, who was on Zoom back in the U.S."
Wilde had already moved out of the home by that time, which meant more
responsibility for Genaro in caring for their two children. This made the nanny
increasingly anxious and depressed. According to court documents filed on Genaro's behalf,
"Wilde's sudden absence from the home had an adverse consequence on its emotional state,
including Sudeikis leaning on the presence of [Genaro] for support."
Sudeikis and Wilde have retaliated with papers of their own, claiming
that Genaro shouldn't have filed a lawsuit in a California court,
but should have sought an arbitrator in New York. In a joint statement the couple said,
"Our focus has been and will continue to be to steadfastly protect our family in
the face of harassment of any kind. We are confident that the evidence brought
forward will affirm our position to summarily dismiss this case and bring our family peace."
If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault,
help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network
website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).