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Derek Dixon, the actor who raised allegations of sexual harassment against Tyler Perry, has broken his silence after suing the producer and media mogul for $260 million last month.

In his first interview since filing the bombshell lawsuit in June, “The Oval” actor Dixon told the Hollywood Reporter, “I couldn’t just let [Perry] get away with this.”

Dixon alleged in his complaint that when he worked for Perry from January 2020 to June 2024, the multi-hyphenate entertainer “sustained a pattern of workplace sexual harassment, assault and retaliation,” according to court documents reviewed by The Times. Dixon briefly appeared in BET’s “Ruthless” before landing a role in Perry’s “The Oval,” appearing in 85 episodes from 2021 to 2025.

“Everyone deserves to go to work and do their job without their boss trying to have sex with them,” Dixon said to THR in a story published Thursday. “My goal is to help ensure that the next generation of actors and creatives don’t have to choose between their dreams and their dignity.”

Seeking a response from Perry, The Times was referred Friday to the initial statement from Perry’s attorney Matthew Boyd, which denies Dixon’s allegations.

“This is an individual who got close to Tyler Perry for what now appears to be nothing more than setting up a scam,” Boyd said in the statement. “But Tyler will not be shaken down and we are confident these fabricated claims of harassment will fail.”

Dixon recalled to the trade outlet how he initially came to work for Perry and further spoke on the producer’s allegedly incessant attempts to spark a sexual relationship with his employee. In his suit, Dixon describes sexually suggestive text messages Perry allegedly sent, including one where he asks the actor “What’s it going to take for you to have guiltless sex?”

More damning were the allegations of sexual assault Dixon raised against Perry in his lawsuit. The 46-page complaint detailed multiple incidents, including one at Perry’s guest house in Georgia when the producer pulled down Dixon’s underwear and groped his buttocks. Dixon’s complaint also alleged Perry sexually assaulted him during a previous stay at his guest house and during a meeting in the director’s trailer.

According to the lawsuit, Dixon refused Perry’s advances and walked a fine line, keeping his interactions with Perry professional but friendly enough to remain in his good graces. Recalling the alleged assault in the trailer, Dixon said it would seem Perry would back off and “say things like ‘We need to just be business.’”

“And I would think, ‘Great. Yes.’ Every time I thought it would stop,” he said.

Dixon claims in his lawsuit that Perry leveraged his standing in the entertainment industry — specifically his ability to bring the actor’s own TV series to life — “to create a coercive, sexually exploitative dynamic.” The suit also says Dixon “woke up” in June 2024 and realized Perry was never going to be serious about helping Dixon ”grow his career.”

The actor reported the alleged abuse he experienced to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Though the lawsuit claims the complaint was not investigated, THR reports the case is pending. He told the magazine he felt compelled to sue Perry because “I was an employee, and he was my boss.”

He added: “For a long time, I convinced myself that it was part of the industry, or that somehow I had to accept it to keep working. But eventually, I couldn’t stay silent anymore.”

Since suing Perry, Dixon told THR he has received mixed reactions, including threats online and support from people who claim they experienced similar misconduct by Perry. He also said he decided to publicly accuse Perry as he feels attempts to settle matters privately “never result in the type of change necessary to protect victims.”

Despite going public with his allegations against Perry, Dixon said he fears that the producer “will be able to continue doing this without any major consequences.”

Ye, the vitriolic rapper formerly known as Kanye West, is facing a new round of controversy involving fresh allegations from an ex-assistant including sex trafficking, sexual harassment, stalking and sexual battery.

Ye’s accuser, former Yeezy employee Lauren Pisciotta, has taken more legal action against the Grammy-winning “All of the Lights” musician a year after she sued him for sexual harassment and breach of contract, among other counts, in June 2024. In an amended complaint filed Tuesday in Los Angeles, Pisciotta claims the rapper forced her to perform oral sex on him, sexually assaulted her numerous times during her Yeezy employment and engaged in sexual activity with employees at his Yeezy offices. Pisciotta also accuses the rapper of stalking her after she filed her initial lawsuit.

Legal representatives for Ye and his Yeezy brands did not immediately respond to The Times’ request for comment Thursday.

Pisciotta’s 37-page complaint, reviewed by The Times, doubles down on claims from her June 2024 suit but also details sexual assaults that allegedly occurred at a San Francisco hotel shortly after Ye hired Pisciotta in 2021 to help with the creation of his album “Donda.”

“For almost two years Ms. Pisciotta dedicated her life to Ye under the pretense that he would present her with pivotal opportunities in the music and fashion industries at an even larger scale than any of her previous work,” the lawsuit said. “Despite Ms. Pisciotta’s unwavering dedication to her job, Ye continued to sexually harass her at every opportunity.”

Pisciotta alleges that during her time working with Ye in San Francisco, he forcefully kissed her on the mouth, forcibly touched her genitals with one hand while stroking himself with the other, exposed himself and “forced his penis into her mouth,” according to legal documents.

Ye allegedly sexually assaulted Pisciotta another time, in October 2023, according to legal documents, when they were en route to Paris from Los Angeles. The 48-year-old rapper requested Pisciotta come to his private room on his plane and demanded she give him a hug. She refused, but Ye said he needed to speak with her and locked her in the room, where he allegedly “retreated to his bed and began to masturbate.” Pisciotta claims she was “forced” to remain in the room until someone opened the door from the outside.

The complaint also paints a disturbing picture of the inner workings and culture of the Yeezy offices, alleging Ye verbally abused Pisciotta, often used “derogatory, antisemitic slurs” and “demanded assistants and other employees draw swastikas in the workplace.” Earlier this year, Ye came under fire for placing a TV ad during the Super Bowl for a website selling a T-shirt emblazoned with the hate symbol.

Additionally, “Ye openly performed sexual acts with women at the Yeezy office,” the complaint said, adding that one of the women was his current wife, Bianca Censori. Pisciotta’s complaint also repeated previous allegations that Ye constantly messaged her about his sexual fantasies involving her, sending sexually explicit videos, photos and memes.

Ye, who in recent years has used his social media pages to spew hate including antisemitic rants, posted on X earlier this year about his inappropriate workplace practices in numerous lewd posts mentioned in the complaint.

“Life is about using your position to f— the baddest b— possible,” he said in one post.

Other since-deleted posts from Ye include “I’m a walking me too,” referring to the watershed #MeToo movement, and “I’m a big time perv.” The complaint also includes posts where Ye uses misogynistic language and homophobic slurs, and claims there is a difference between “me too rapes” and “real rape.”

Though the complaint mainly concerns incidents that allegedly occurred during Pisciotta’s Yeezy tenure, she said the rapper admitted to assaulting her in 2015 during a studio recording session in Santa Monica.

Pisciotta alleged that West’s disturbing behavior did not end after she was terminated at Yeezy. She claims the rapper grabbed her by the throat and stuck his tongue in her ear when they saw each other at a concert in November 2022. He also allegedly moved into the same apartment complex as Pisciotta, prompting her to move out of state.

After moving to Florida, Pisciotta claims Ye arranged a “swatting” event at her home days after she filed her initial lawsuit. Swatting is a hoax 911 report made in the hope of generating a large law enforcement response. Pisciotta said officers arrived at her home to investigate reports of child abuse and murder. Pisciotta said she had “also experienced a barrage of service workers such as plumbers and food delivery workers showing up to her door unannounced.”

She further alleges she has received calls from people warning her not to pursue further legal action against Ye.

Pisciotta is also suing for counts of assault, battery, false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress and other charges. She demands an unspecified amount in damages and wants a jury trial.

A legal group co-founded by Stephen Miller, the White House chief of staff and architect of the Trump Administration’s harsh immigration policies, filed a federal civil rights complaint against the Dodgers earlier this week, accusing the team of “engaging in unlawful discrimination under the guise of ‘diversity, equity and inclusion.’”

The lawsuit, filed Monday with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission by America First Legal, was first reported Wednesday by The Athletic. The Dodgers declined comment about the complaint, which also named their ownership group, Guggenheim Partners and the Dodgers’ professional groups for employees, such as the Black Action Network and Women’s Opportunity Network.

In a press release, America First claimed the Dodgers’ actions violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin.

The charges come less than two weeks after the team said they declined to allow federal immigration authorities to use Dodger Stadium parking lots as a staging area for immigration raids around Southern California. A day later the Dodgers committed $1 million to assist families impact by the immigration raids.

American First claims the reigning World Series champions, who visited with President Trump at the White House earlier this season, have violated the law by sponsoring programs geared to women and people of color and by “[e]mbedding diversity, equity and inclusion strategies” into every aspect of the organization.

The group also points to the biography of Mark Walter, the majority owner of the Dodgers and CEO of Guggenheim Partners, in which it calls Walter a “social-justice advocate.”

The Dodgers and Guggenheim Partners are just the latest organizations to find themselves in the crosshairs of American Legal over their diversity efforts. The group has pursued cases against IBM, the world’s largest industrial research organization, and Johnson & Johnson, a multinational pharmaceutical company, among others.

America First’s complaint focused heavily on a page on the Dodgers website that defines the team’s mission “to create a culture where diverse voices and experiences are valued.” The site outlines efforts to recruit women and people of color, partner with community groups to support racial and social justice and promote heritage events for staff and fans.

“The DEI mission statement indicates that the Dodgers are incorporating DEI into its workplace in quantifiable ways with identifiable goals to achieve ‘success,’ which appears to entail engaging in unlawful discriminatory hiring, training, and recruitment,” America First stated in its complaint.

Jared Rivera of Pico California, one of the groups that have called on the Dodgers to do more for immigrants, told the The Athletic the complaint amounts to retaliation.

“Stephen Miller’s group is dressing up vengeance as legal action,” he said. “Retaliating against the Dodgers for their compassion shows Miller is threatened when the team and its fans stand up for what is moral and right.”

Terrance “T.A.” Dixon, once a hype man to rapper Fat Joe, has sued his former employer for $20 million, making some allegations that might blend right in at Sean “Diddy” Combs’ RICO and sex-trafficking trial.

The federal lawsuit, filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York and reviewed by The Times, alleges that the rapper underpaid Dixon, cut him out of promised pay for contributing to album tracks, defrauded authorities about his income, ditched Dixon in foreign countries without money or transportation home and is running a criminal organization built on intimidation and violence.

The lawsuit alleges that Fat Joe forced the hype man — a sort of backing vocalist who pumps up the audience — into approximately 4,000 sex acts with women in front of him and his crew.

The 54-year-old rapper, born Joseph Antonio Cartagena, is also accused of having sexual relationships with girls who were 15 and 16. The allegations go back to when the rapper was in his late 30s, the lawsuit says. Fat Joe’s song “She’s My Mama,” which has graphically sexual lyrics, was based on what is alleged to have happened with him and one of the girls in real life, the lawsuit says.

The lawsuit states that Dixon’s role over about 16 years was more than that of the usual hype man. He “consistently” had duties that included co-writing lyrics, structuring hooks, recording background vocals, performing at more than 200 live shows as Fat Joe’s primary onstage counterpart and managing travel logistics, including equipment transport, security and emergency arrangements. The complaint alleges that Dixon also acted as Joe’s bodyguard and handler during tours.

According to the filing, Dixon wrote or co-wrote tracks including “Congratulations,” “Money Over Bitches,” “Ice Cream,” “Cupcake,” “Blackout,” “Dirty Diana,” “Porn Star,” “Okay Okay,”“No Problems,” a version of “All the Way Up,” “300 Brolic,” “All I Do Is Win (Remix verse),” “Red Café (Remix),” “Winding on Me,” “Cocababy” and “Get It for Life.”

The complaint alleges that Dixon was not properly paid for his efforts, even though he says he was promised certain ownership percentages and documented credit on songs that Fat Joe released commercially. Dixon, who left Fat Joe’s team in 2020, was unable to obtain certain evidence of wrongdoing until a person named as “Accountant Doe” came forward last year with information, the lawsuit says.

Fat Joe “exercised sole control over contracts, budgets, tour management, licensing, and credit attribution and intentionally omitted Plaintiff’s name from liner notes, publishing registrations, and royalty structures, despite Plaintiff’s direct contributions to these works’ creative and commercial success,” the complaint says.

Joe Tacopina, an attorney for Fat Joe, called the lawsuit “a blatant attack of retaliation” and labeled the allegations “complete fabrications” that his client denies in a statement to Variety. Retaliation referred to the slander lawsuit that the rapper filed against Dixon in April after the former hype man accused him on social media of flying a 16-year-old across state lines for sex.

Dixon’s attorney, Tyrone Blackburn, is also representing producer Lil Rod (Rodney Jones) in his $30-million federal lawsuit filed last year against Sean “Diddy” Combs and others in Combs’ orbit, in which Lil Rod alleged sexual harassment and sexual assault. A judge tossed out a majority of Lil Rod’s allegations against Combs in late March.

Both lawsuits include trigger warnings in bright red type ahead of the allegations — something not often seen in such documents.

“Fat Joe is Sean Combs minus the Tusi [pink cocaine],” Blackburn said in a statement to the Independent. “He learned nothing from his 2013 federal conviction,” the attorney added, referencing Fat Joe’s four-month sentence and $15,000 fine in a plea deal for failure to file a tax return in multiple years on more than $3.3 million in income.

In addition to Fat Joe, defendants in the new lawsuit include Peter “Pistol Pete” Torres, Richard “Rich Player” Jospitre, Erica Juliana Moreira and several companies —including Roc Nation — that are affiliated with the rapper. Dixon is asking for a jury trial.

Some of Blake Lively‘s text messages with friend Taylor Swift could be disclosed in court, in a recent development of the actor’s winding legal battle against her “It Ends With Us” co-star Justin Baldoni.

U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman on Wednesday filed an order denying the “Gossip Girl” alumna’s request to keep her messages with Swift out of litigation, according to legal documents reviewed by The Times. “Given that Lively has represented that Swift had knowledge of complaints or discussions about the working environment on the film, among other issues, the requests for messages with Swift regarding the film and this action are reasonably tailored to discover information that would prove or disprove Lively’s harassment and retaliation claims,” reads the order.

Baldoni and his Wayfarer Studios filed a request for production connected to the Lively-Swift texts in February, asking for “‘all documents and communications related to or reflecting Lively’s communications with Taylor Swift” about their 2024 romantic drama and subsequent legal proceedings.

The “It Ends With Us” co-stars have engaged in a legal back-and-forth for months after Lively accused director Baldoni of sexual harassment on the set of the film and accused his team of orchestrating a smear campaign against her in December. The allegations first surfaced in a report from the New York Times. She formally sued Baldoni in federal court on Dec. 31. Baldoni and nine other plaintiffs — including his crisis PR team and executives at Wayfarer Studios — hit back that same day with a $400-million countersuit against Lively and her husband, “Deadpool” star Ryan Reynolds, and a separate defamation complaint against the New York Times.

Liman dismissed Baldoni’s complaints, which failed to meet legal standards, earlier this month. The judge said in his Wednesday order that “Lively’s motion is rooted in the broader concern that the Wayfarer Parties are using demands for communications with Swift not ‘to obtain information relevant to claims and defenses in court, but to prop up a public relations narrative outside of court.’ ”

Wednesday’s order also denied Baldoni’s cross-motion to compel Lively to produce documents connected to the production.

Baldoni’s team subpoenaed Swift earlier this year but eventually withdrew it after the singer and her legal reps dismissed it as an “unwarranted fishing expedition,” according to Variety.

In a statement shared with multiple outlets, a representative for Lively reacted to this week’s order, claiming, “Baldoni’s desire to drag Taylor Swift into this has been constant dating back to August 2024” and is an effort to influence the singer’s fan base. In the past, the devoted league of Swift supporters known as Swifites have banded together to criticize the singer’s high-profile exes and in recent years, rallied against Ticketmaster over allegations of fraud, price-fixing and antitrust violations.

“We will continue to call out Baldoni’s relentless efforts to exploit Ms. Swift’s popularity, which from day one has been nothing more than a distraction from the serious sexual harassment and retaliation accusations he and the Wayfarer parties are facing,” the spokesperson added, according to People.

Representatives for Swift and Baldoni did not immediately respond to The Times’ request for comment.

Los Angeles County prosecutors on Wednesday charged 19 people with conspiring to murder a rapper who allegedly angered a member of the Mexican Mafia, a prison-based syndicate of Latino gang members.

According to a complaint filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, accused Mexican Mafia member Manuel “Snuffy” Quintero issued an order in 2022 to kill Nelson Abrego, who performs under the name Swifty Blue.

In the complaint, prosecutors described a sprawling conspiracy that played out over TikTok messages and recorded jail calls, drawing in prisoners from Kern County, jail inmates in downtown Los Angeles and gang members in Paramount, the southeast Los Angeles County city that both Quintero and Abrego call home.

Quintero, 49, was arrested Wednesday and has yet to enter a plea. It wasn’t clear from court records whether he has a lawyer. A longtime member of the Paramount Varrio gang, Quintero has served prison time for assault, manufacturing methamphetamine and false imprisonment, court records show.

Manuel Quintero, shown in a Feb. 15, 2014 photograph from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, has been identified by law enforcement officials as a member of the Mexican Mafia.

(California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation)

On New Year’s Eve in 2022, an alleged subordinate of Quintero, Giuseppe “Clever” Leyva, told an informant he’d notified gang members in Paramount, Compton and downtown L.A. that they had instructions to attack Abrego “on sight,” the complaint says.

Leyva, 34, is now in custody on an unrelated federal case that charges him with selling drugs and guns in Imperial County. He pleaded guilty to trafficking methamphetamine in March and has yet to be sentenced. His attorney in the federal case didn’t immediately return a request for comment.

After the informant asked if “Snuffs is mad” at the rapper, Leyva allegedly said of Abrego: “F— him.”

It’s unclear why Quintero was angry with Abrego, who could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

In a 2024 interview with The Times, the rapper declined to discuss any potential issues with the Mexican Mafia or “jailhouse politics.”

Abrego previously said his music resonates with people because “everybody wants to be a gangster.”

“Whether you’re a lawyer, a police or a kid going to school, everybody wants to be big, bad and tough,” he said in 2024.

Eight months after he spoke to the informant, the complaint says, Leyva warned another person in a TikTok message to stay away from the rapper.

“Let me give u a lil 411 s u won’t get mis guided with the internet,” he wrote, according to the complaint. “With Swifty his career is done.”

“I talked to him tried to guide him but he didn’t listen,” Leyva allegedly continued, adding that now the rapper was “getting his blues” in Men’s Central Jail.

In November 2023, Abrego was jailed on a gun possession charge. Onesimo “Vamps” Gonzalez, held two cells down from the rapper, called his mother and told her to ask an associate if “the one who sings” was “still good,” according to the complaint.

Gonzalez’s mother hung up. When her son called back, she allegedly said, “He’s no good.”

Men’s Central Jail in downtown Los Angeles.

(Al Seib/Al Seib/Los Angeles Times)

Both Gonzalez and his mother are charged in the conspiracy. Gonzalez was already in custody; Dominga Gonzalez, 66, was arrested Wednesday at her Bellflower home, according to a statement from the FBI.

Two days after mother and son spoke, another jail inmate, Jonathan “Dreamer” Quevedo, called a man imprisoned in Kern County who was using a contraband cell phone, according to the complaint.

After mentioning “Swifty Blue,” Quevedo allegedly asked Jacob “Eagle” David if he recalled a “raza rapper” who was “in the shower.”

Prosecutors believed this was a reference to Jaime Brugada Valdez, a rapper known as MoneySign Suede who was stabbed to death in the showers at the Correctional Training Facility in Soledad in 2023.

“The end result should be the same,” allegedly replied David, who was imprisoned for carjacking and robbery.

The next day, the complaint says, David instructed Quevedo to tell the attackers: “Handle that s— with prejudice… You know how that’s like a court term? Well, this s— [is] with prejudice.”

Quevedo allegedly confirmed it was “already in motion.”

When inmates were let out of their cells at 5:50 the next morning to take a shower, Adrian “Slick” Bueno, Andrew “Largo” Shinaia and Jude “Crazy” Valle entered Abrego’s cell, the complaint says. While Michael “Weasel” Ortiz obstructed a nearby camera, Bueno, Shinaia and Valle beat the rapper and “sliced” him, prosecutors charged.

About five hours later, Quevedo called a woman from jail and asked her to tell David in state prison that “old boy got his rap session,” according to the complaint.

“They didn’t really get a good show,” Quevedo allegedly said. “Expect them to be performing in probably the 4000 floor” — another area of the jail — “here soon.”

The attempt on Abrego’s life was unsuccessful, and by March 2024, the complaint says, Leyva told Joshua “Demon” Euan in a TikTok message the rapper was recording a live stream outside his family home “as we speak.”

Euan drove to the house at 1 a.m. and sent Leyva a photograph of a gun in the cup-holder of a car, according to the complaint. “He ain’t here,” he wrote to Leyva.

Later, Euan allegedly told Leyva he sent people to vandalize Abrego’s family home. According to the complaint, he sent photographs of graffiti that read, “Swifty Blue 187,” a reference to the California penal code section for murder.

Euan, 37, eluded arrest Wednesday and remains at large, according to the FBI.

KIM Kardashian stripped off topless while writing on a bed in a very glamorous new photoshoot – but some fans were quick to share their concerns.

The SKIMS founder, 44, took to Instagram this weekend to share a racy video and series of snaps of herself in some risque lingerie before stripping off.

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Kim could be seen looking sensational as she laid on a bed in some raunchy lingerie before stripping off for a topless display that left little to the imagination.

Stripping completely naked, Kim covered her modesty with just a leather jacket as she lay on the bed with some high heeled boots on.

“2am nyc time,” she penned in the caption.

She then shared a very sexy video on social media from the same shoot.

Kim failed to add a caption but put the track Crazy by Aerosmith to the montage of clips.

At the start of the video, Kim could be seen sitting on the edge of a bed as the camera zoomed into her chest.

Wearing a black triangle string bikini-style bra, which had crosses on the front, the stunning reality star also rocked several cross necklaces around her neck.

Kim was then seen writhing on the bed as she moved around.

Fans were divided in the comments section, with some besotted with the clip, and others slamming her for the raunchy video and snaps.

Jessica Simpsom commented on the racy display writing: “So good oh myyyyy.”

While one fan wrote: “So hot.”

A second then said: “Kim as we know her! Gorge!”

“Love this look,” penned a third.

While a fourth added: “The most beautiful woman in the entire world.”

A Quick Look at Kim’s Business Empire

SKIMS is just one part of Kim Kardashian’s multi-million dollar business empire. The reality TV star makes money from a multitude of jobs.

The Kardashians on Hulu – 2022 to present

SKIMS – an underwear, loungewear and shapewear brand founded in June 2019

SKKN – skincare and makeup line

Kim has also acted on American Horror Story, received endorsements from numerous companies, and more making her net worth a little above $1 billion

But several others slammed Kim for her “using faith as a fashion symbol”.

“Please don’t use crosses as a symbol for ‘fashion’. It takes away from its meaning,” said one.

“Take off that cross,” demanded another.

A third then said: “Disrespect to the cross.”

While some others said that Kim’s four children would grow up to see the video and be stunned.

“Omg can you imagine this being your mother. Those babies are going to see all of this one day,” said one.

While another reminded her that she is a mother to four kids.

This comes as, at the time of publishing, Kim is still yet to publicly wish her daughter North West a “happy birthday” on social media.

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Channel 4 hit show Celebrity Celebrity left fans unimpressed just minutes into the first episode as new famous duos took to the sofa to share their views on the latest telly

Viewers were left feeling unimpressed just moments into the new season of Gogglebox, criticising the show’s format change.

The Channel 4 favourite, known for featuring regular mates and households commenting on the week’s prime telly offerings and movies, took a different turn on Friday (June 6) night with the reappearance of a star-studded version.

Celebrity Gogglebox made its comeback with fresh high-profile names settling in to view a selection of well-liked shows, including telly legends Paddy McGuinness, Vernon Kay and broadcasting duo Clare Balding with Alice Arnold joining the series.

Fan-favourites like television host Rylan Clark alongside his mum Linda and broadcast journalist Nick Grimshaw with his niece Liv came back for more sofa critiques.

Fresh faces were also spotted among the cast, such as TV star Vicky Pattison and The Only Way Is Essex personality Pete Wicks, reports the Manchester Evening News.

Highlights for the celebs included programmes like Race Across the World, Faking It, Celebrity Bridge of Lies, Silence Is Golden, Big Zuu and AJ Tracey’s Rich Flavours, Canal Boat Diaries, and ITV News – Trump and Musk.

Nonetheless, viewers at home didn’t reserve their comments on the celebrity take of the show, stating that this edition seemed a bit too ‘forced’.

Disgruntled opinions quickly poured in via X, previously known as Twitter, with one individual posting: “Not the dreaded celebrities again, so many of them are so annoying #Celebritygogglebox.”

One viewer ranted: “We watch normal #Gogglebox because it’s hilarious and we love all the families. #celebritygogglebox is not funny and we couldn’t care less about the celebs. It’s just people watching telly.”

Another added their two pence, saying: “Celebrity Gogglebox just isn’t funny like the original, it feels forced! #gogglebox #Celebritygogglebox.”

Yet, not everyone was against the concept as a fan expressed enthusiasm: “#Celebritygogglebox #Gogglebox 1st minute and we see Alex Scott and Jess Glynn. I’m already into this series, I hope we get to see the Eubanks too, TV gold are Chris and Junior.”

Meanwhile, Rylan has recently spilled the beans on his mum’s TV future amid calls from fans for the mother-son pair to star in their own show.

Chatting with the Daily Star, he revealed: “We’ve been offered hundreds of things. We got asked to do a travel show and the chance to go here and go there.”

He continued, explaining his mum’s situation: “It would be hilarious, but she’s just not well enough to do it. Gogglebox is enough for us. She feels comfortable doing that show because we’re just sat in my kitchen.”

Celebrity Gogglebox is available to watch and stream on Channel 4

Former Los Angeles Times reporter Maya Lau filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against Los Angeles County, former Sheriff Alex Villanueva, a former undersheriff and a former detective, alleging that a criminal investigation into her activities as a journalist violated her 1st Amendment rights.

The suit comes less than a year after a Times article revealed that Lau had been the target of an L.A. County Sheriff’s Department probe that “was designed to intimidate and punish Lau for her reporting” about a leaked list of deputies with a history of misconduct, Lau’s attorneys alleged in an emailed statement.

Lau’s suit seeks unspecified damages to compensate her for alleged violations of her dignity and privacy, as well as the “continuous injuries” and anxiety she says in the complaint that she has faced in the wake of the revelation she had been investigated.

The suit details “six different counts of violating Ms. Lau’s rights under the U.S. constitution and California state law, including retaliation and civil conspiracy to deny constitutional rights,” according to the statement by Lau’s attorneys.

“It is an absolute outrage that the Sheriff’s Department would criminally investigate a journalist for doing her job,” Lau said in the statement. “I am bringing this lawsuit not just for my own sake, but to send a clear signal in the name of reporters everywhere: we will not be intimidated. The Sheriff’s Department needs to know that these kinds of tactics against journalists are illegal.”

The Sheriff’s Department said in an emailed statement that it had “not been officially served with this lawsuit” by late Tuesday afternoon.

“While these allegations stem from a prior administration, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department under Sheriff Robert G. Luna is firmly committed to upholding the Constitution, including the First Amendment,” the statement said. “We respect the vital role journalists play in holding agencies accountable and believe in the public’s right to a free and independent press.”

Villanueva said via email that he had not yet reviewed the complaint in full and that “under the advice of counsel, I do not comment on pending litigation.”

“What I can say is the investigation in question, like all investigations conducted by the Public Corruption Unit during my tenure as Sheriff of Los Angeles County, were based on facts that were presented to the Office of the Attorney General,” he said. “It is the political establishment, of which the LA Times is a part, that wishes to chill lawful investigations and criminal accountability with frivolous lawsuits such as this one.”

A spokesperson for the county counsel’s office declined further comment. The other defendants in the lawsuit, former Undersheriff Tim Murakami and former Detective Mark Lillienfeld, did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday afternoon.

In December 2017, The Times published a story by Lau about a list of about 300 problem deputies. A lengthy case file reviewed by The Times last year found that department investigators launched an initial probe into who provided Lau with the list. The agency’s investigation began when Jim McDonnell was sheriff in 2017. The Sheriff’s Department ultimately dropped the investigation without referring it for proscution after, as Lau’s complaint says, it “turned up no evidence connecting Ms. Lau to any crime.”

The case file reviewed by The Times last year stated that, after Villanueva became sheriff in 2018, he revived the investigation into Lau, which the complaint alleges was part of an “unlawful conspiracy” conducted as part of a policy of “retaliatory criminal charges against perceived opponents of LASD.”

Lillienfeld led the investigation, and Villanueva “delegated to Undersheriff Murakami his decision-making authority” in the probe, which Murakami ultimately referred to the state attorney general’s office for prosecution, Lau’s complaint says. In May 2024, the office declined to prosecute her, citing insufficient evidence.

But Lau alleges that the damage was already done and that her rights under the 1st Amendment and California’s Constitution had been violated. “If LASD’s actions are left unredressed,” according to the complaint, “journalists in Los Angeles will be chilled from reporting on matters of public concern out of fear that they will be investigated and prosecuted.”

The Sheriff’s Department told The Times last year that its probe of Lau was closed and that the department under Luna does not monitor journalists.

David Snyder, executive director of the First Amendment Coalition, a nonprofit free speech and press freedom advocacy organization, told The Times last year that reporting on leaked materials involving a matter of public concern is typically “protected under the 1st Amendment” even if a reporter is aware they were obtained illegally.

“You’re not authorized to break into a file cabinet to get records. You’re not authorized to hack computers. But receiving information that somebody else obtained unlawfully is not a crime,” Snyder said.

The saga of the leaked records began in 2014, when Diana Teran compiled a list of deputies with histories of disciplinary problems. Teran was working for the Office of Independent Review, which conducted oversight of the Sheriff’s Department until it closed down that July.

In 2015, Teran was hired by the Sheriff’s Department to serve in an internal watchdog role. In 2017, according to the investigative file reviewed by The Times last year, she heard that Times reporters including Lau had been asking questions about the list.

After investigating further and learning that the reporters had asked about specific details that matched her 2014 list, she grew worried that it had been leaked.

On Dec. 8, 2017, The Times ran an investigation by Lau and two other reporters that described some of the misconduct detailed in the list, from planting evidence and falsifying records to sexual assault. Some of the deputies on the list, the reporters found, had kept their jobs or been promoted.

Sheriff’s department investigators interviewed Teran and other department officials who all denied leaking the list. The investigation was dropped before Villanueva became sheriff in November 2018.

Several months later, Lillienfeld was assigned to investigate allegations that Teran and other oversight officials had illegally accessed department personnel records, reopening the probe into the leaked list.

Lillienfeld’s inquiry produced an 80-page report that was part of the case file reviewed by The Times last year. It detailed potential times when the list could have been leaked by Teran and stated that she denied doing so.

In fall 2021, Murakami sent the 300-page case file – which identified Lau, Teran, L.A. County Inspector General Max Huntsman, an assistant to Teran and an attorney in Huntsman’s office as suspects – to California Atty. General Rob Bonta. There was no probable cause to prosecute Lau, according to the complaint.

“Undersheriff Murakami alleged that Ms. Lau had engaged in conspiracy, theft of government property, unlawful access of a computer, burglary, and receiving stolen property,” the complaint says. “Ms. Lau did not commit any of these crimes.”

Bonta declined to prosecute the case.

“The retaliatory investigation against Ms. Lau is one example of how Alex Villanueva used the LASD to target and harass his political opponents,” said Justin Hill, an attorney at Loevy & Loevy representing Lau. “Our communities suffer when governmental leaders try to silence journalists and other individuals who hold those leaders accountable. This lawsuit seeks to re-affirm the protected role that journalism plays in our society.”

Edison International officers and directors misled the company’s investors about the effectiveness of its efforts to reduce the risk of wildfire in the months and years before the devastating Eaton fire, a shareholder lawsuit claims.

The lawsuit, filed last week in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, points to repeated statements that the utility made in federal regulatory reports that said it had reduced the risk of a catastrophic wildfire by more than 85% since 2018 by increasing equipment inspections, tree trimming and other work aimed at stopping fires.

The complaint also raises doubts about news releases and other statements that Edison made soon after the start of Eaton fire, which killed 18 people and destroyed thousands of homes and businesses in Altadena.

“We take all legal matters seriously,” said Jeff Monford, a spokesman for Edison. “We will review this lawsuit and respond through the appropriate legal channels.”

The lawsuit claims that Edison’s early statements on the Eaton fire — in which it detailed why it believed its equipment was not involved in the fire’s start — were wrong.

“Edison obfuscated the truth by making false and misleading statements concerning its role in the fire,” the lawsuit claims.

More recently, Pedro Pizarro, the chief executive of Edison International, said the leading theory for the fire’s start was the reenergization of an unused, decades-old transmission line in Eaton Canyon.

The investigation by state and local fire investigators into the official cause of the deadly fire is continuing.

The lawsuit was filed as a derivative action in which shareholders sue a company’s officers and directors on behalf of the company, claiming they had breached their fiduciary duties. It seeks financial damages from Pizarro, Chief Financial Officer Maria Rigatti and members of the company’s board of directors. Money recovered would go to the company.

It also directs Edison “to take all necessary actions” to reform its corporate governance procedures, comply with all laws and protect the company and its investors “from a recurrence of the damaging events.”

The lawsuit was brought by Charlotte Bark, a shareholder of Edison International, the parent company of Southern California Edison.

“Prior to the outbreak of the Eaton Fire, the Company had a long history of not prioritizing the safety of those who lived in the areas it serviced, and paying fines as a result,” the lawsuit states. Since 2000, it says, Edison has paid financial penalties of $1.3 billion for violating utility safety regulations.

The complaint points to an October regulatory report that was the focus of a Times report. In the article, state regulators criticized some of Edison’s wildfire mitigation efforts, including for falling behind in inspecting transmission lines in areas at high risk of fires.

The lawsuit lists the major destructive wildfires that investigators said were sparked by Edison’s equipment in recent years, including the Bobcat and Silverado fires in 2020, as well as the Coastal and Fairview fires in 2022.

“The recurring wildfire incidents connected to the Company display that the Board has repeatedly failed to mitigate a risk that materially threatens Edison,” the complaint states.

The lawsuit accuses Pizarro, Rigatti and the company’s board of directors of “gross mismanagement” and claims that the defendants “unjustly enriched” themselves.

“Because the Individual Defendants failed to carry out their respective duties, the compensation they received was excessive and undeserved,” the suit states.

It asks the court for an order that would require the officers and directors to pay restitution, including returning the compensation they received that was tied to how well the company performed.

Chris Brown is facing the music for allegedly smashing a tequila bottle over a music producer’s head at a London nightclub two years ago. The R&B star was arrested in connection to the incident early Thursday, The Times has confirmed.

The Metropolitan Police force said in a Thursday statement that it arrested a 36-year-old man shortly after 2 a.m. in a hotel in Manchester, England, “on suspicion of grievous bodily harm. “ The controversial “Under the Influence” singer, 36, remains in custody. Brown was arrested for his alleged involvement in a February 2023 “incident at a venue in Hanover Square,” the statement said.

Though police did not provide additional details — including the nature of the incident or the venue — the charge echoes allegations music producer Amadou “Abe” Diaw raised against Brown in a civil lawsuit filed in October 2023. Detectives for the Central West Area Basic Command Unit have launched an investigation, the statement added.

A representative for the Grammy winner did not immediately respond to The Times’ request for comment Thursday.

Brown was arrested more than two years after he allegedly “brutally assaulted” Diaw by “beating him over the head” with a bottle of Don Julio 1942 Tequila at the TAPE nighclub in London, according to the lawsuit reviewed by The Times. The complaint, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, accuses Brown of assault and battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The co-defendants include Live Nation, Sony, RCA Records, and another musician, among others.

In the 13-page complaint, Diaw claims he and a friend entered the nightclub and noticed Brown and the other artist “approaching them in a seemingly friendly manner.” The encounter took a turn when Brown allegedly began beating Diaw “on top of the head” with the tequila bottle, striking the top left side of his head three times, the lawsuit said. Diaw claims Brown — whose music career has been marred by numerous allegations of assault (he notably pleaded guilty to assaulting ex-girlfriend Rihanna) — “inflicted severe and lasting injuries” by smashing his head with the bottle and “continued to ruthlessly stomp on” him as he lay unconscious on the nightclub floor following the bottle attack. The other artist who was with Brown also allegedly kicked Diaw in the stomach and legs.

Nightclub staff intervened and brought Diaw out of the venue. Diaw was hospitalized “with lacerations on his head and torn ligaments on his leg,” according to the suit. He continues to suffer “double vision and significant pain in his legs” and needs continued treatment and therapy.

The bottle attack was captured by nightclub surveillance cameras and Metropolitan Police obtained the footage, the complaint said. Diaw also accuses Brown and the other co-defendants of engaging in “defamatory conduct by spreading false rumors about” his clients and claiming he “is a thief in an effort to sabotage professional relationships.”

Diaw seeks an unspecified amount in damages exceeding $25,000 including medical expenses, loss of earnings and other relief deemed appropriate by the court. The next hearing in the case is set for May 30. A jury trial is also set to begin in June 2026, according to a legal database.

Ryan J. Daneshrad, an attorney for Diaw, said in a statement shared with The Times on Thursday: “We can confirm that Chris Brown was involved in an incident with our client, and the injuries sustained are serious.

“We are pursuing all legal remedies to hold him accountable,” Daneshrad added. “At this time, we will let the facts speak for themselves through the proper legal channels.”

Brown’s arrest precedes the kickoff of his Breezy Bowl 20th anniversary tour in June. The performer will launch his slate of live performances on June 8 in Amsterdam. He is set to perform three shows in Manchester on June 15, 16 and 24.

After the European leg of his tour, Brown will come stateside beginning July 30 when he will perform in Miami. The stadium tour will come to Los Angeles at SoFi Stadium on Sept. 13 and 14.

MADISON, Wis. — A federal grand jury indicted a Wisconsin judge Tuesday on charges she helped a man in the country illegally evade U.S. immigration authorities looking to arrest him as he appeared before her in a local domestic abuse case.

Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan’s arrest and ensuing indictment has escalated a clash between President Trump’s administration and local authorities over the Republican’s sweeping immigration crackdown. Democrats have accused the Trump administration of trying to make a national example of Dugan to chill judicial opposition to the crackdown.

Prosecutors charged Dugan in April via complaint with concealing an individual to prevent arrest and obstruction. In the federal criminal justice system, prosecutors can initiate charges against a defendant directly by filing a complaint or present evidence to a grand jury and let that body decide whether to issue charges.

A grand jury still reviews charges brought by complaint to determine whether enough probable cause exists to continue the case as a check on prosecutors’ power. If the grand jury determines there’s probable cause, it issues a written statement of the charges known as an indictment. That’s what happened in Dugan’s case.

Dugan faces up to six years in prison if she’s convicted on both counts. Her team of defense attorneys responded to the indictment with a one-sentence statement saying that she maintains her innocence and looks forward to being vindicated in court. She was scheduled to enter a plea on Thursday.

Kenneth Gales, a spokesperson for the U.S. attorney’s office in Milwaukee, declined to comment on the indictment Tuesday evening.

Dugan’s case is similar to one brought during the first Trump administration against a Massachusetts judge, who was accused of helping a man sneak out a courthouse back door to evade a waiting immigration enforcement agent. That case was eventually dismissed.

Prosecutors say Dugan escorted Eduardo Flores-Ruiz and his lawyer out of her courtroom through a back jury door on April 18 after learning that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were in the courthouse seeking his arrest.

According to court documents, Flores-Ruiz illegally reentered the U.S. after being deported in 2013. Online state court records show he was charged with three counts of misdemeanor domestic abuse in Milwaukee County in March. He was in Dugan’s courtroom that morning of April 18 for a hearing.

Court documents suggest Dugan was alerted to the agents’ presence by her clerk, who was informed by an attorney that the agents appeared to be in the hallway. An affidavit says Dugan was visibly angry over the agents’ arrival and called the situation “absurd” before leaving the bench and retreating to her chambers. She and another judge later approached members of the arrest team in the courthouse with what witnesses described as a “confrontational, angry demeanor.”

After a back-and-forth with the agents over the warrant for Flores-Ruiz, Dugan demanded they speak with the chief judge and led them away from the courtroom, according to the affidavit.

She then returned to the courtroom and was heard saying words to the effect of “wait, come with me” and ushered Flores-Ruiz and his attorney out through a back jury door typically used only by deputies, jurors, court staff and in-custody defendants, according to the affidavit. Flores-Ruiz was free on a signature bond in the abuse case at the time, according to online state court records.

Federal agents ultimately captured him outside the courthouse after a foot chase.

The state Supreme Court suspended Dugan from the bench in late April, saying the move was necessary to preserve public confidence in the judiciary. A reserve judge is filling in for her.

Richmond writes for the Associated Press.