O’Neill has always spoken of wanting his players to play at the highest level, but as mentioned, a significant number of players will be going up against his Rovers to avoid the drop and it’s tight at the bottom.
They include Price at West Brom, who are also four points above the relegation zone, Ciaron Brown, Jamie McDonnell, Jamie Donley and Brodie Spencer at Oxford United, who are one point from safety and Terry Devlin at Portsmouth, who are one point above the drop, while he manages Tom Atcheson at Rovers.
Is it a cause for concern for Northern Ireland that the international boss could potentially relegate some of his regulars in the international squad?
O’Neill certainly didn’t think so.
When asked in February he said he isn’t “having that blood on my hands” and the fate of those clubs lay with their respective managers.
“At the end of the day, my job is to do the best I can for Blackburn Rovers,” he said.
“The lads who manage those respective clubs, their job is to do the best for their clubs as well. I don’t think that’s an issue at all.”
Cynics may question whether O’Neill, who will have reduced preparation time with Rovers for two big games by virtue of preparing NI to face Wales, will deliberately disadvantage Championship rivals while in charge of NI in terms of how he manages the aforementioned players’ loads against Wales with a busy spell of domestic action to follow.
Coincidentally, three of the four players released from the NI squad in Norwich’s Ruairi McConville (knee), Preston’s Ali McCann (knock) and Hull City’s Paddy McNair (thigh) will face three of O’Neill relegation rivals in Portsmouth, Leicester and Oxford on Friday.
O’Neill would refute any suggestion of meddling no doubt and when asked about the cramped schedule said he was “aware of the situation” but stressed he would still focus on helping Northern Ireland win the game in Cardiff.
“We’re not in charge of the schedule of the games for either the international window or the EFL. I think 80% of my squad play in the EFL. We’re mindful of the situation for the clubs, of course, but when the clubs signed these players, they knew they were international players and, we’re not going to be reckless with the players or anything like that there, but, we have to obviously look after ourselves as a group of players,” he explained.
“The most important thing is that the players just go out and play the game. They’ll be fine. The lads who play in the EFL, they play a lot of football and they’re used to playing regular football. So they’ve got resilience and I’m sure they’ll get through the game fine.”
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department has settled for roughly $1.2 million a lawsuit from Michael Flynn, the former national security advisor to President Trump who pleaded guilty during the Republican’s first term to lying to the FBI about his conversations with a top Russian diplomat and was later pardoned.
Court papers filed Wednesday do not reveal the settlement amount, but a person familiar with the matter, who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity to disclose nonpublic information, confirmed the total as about $1.2 million.
The settlement resolves a 2023 lawsuit in which Flynn sought at least $50 million and asserted that the criminal case against him amounted to a malicious prosecution. It also represents a stark turnabout in position for a Justice Department that during the Biden administration had pressed a judge to dismiss Flynn’s complaint. Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi, a former personal lawyer for the president, has openly criticized the Russia investigation in which Flynn was charged and the Justice Department in the last year has opened investigations into former officials who participated in that inquiry.
The Justice Department cast the settlement as an “important step in redressing” what it says was a “historic injustice” of the Russia investigation that shadowed Trump for much of his first term.
“This Department of Justice will continue to pursue accountability at all levels for this wrongdoing. Such weaponization of the federal government must never be allowed to happen again,” a spokesperson said.
In a separate statement, Flynn said: “Nothing can fully compensate for the hell that my family and I have endured over these many years — the relentless attacks, the destruction of reputations, the financial ruin, and the profound personal toll inflicted upon us all. No amount of money or formal resolution can erase the pain caused by a prosecution that should never have been brought.”
The settlement is the latest turn in the long-running legal saga involving Flynn, one of six Trump associates charged as part of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into potential ties between Russia and Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. That investigation found Russia interfered in the election on Trump’s behalf and that the Trump campaign eagerly welcomed the help, but it ultimately found insufficient evidence of a criminal conspiracy.
Flynn, a retired Army lieutenant general who vigorously campaigned at Trump’s side, served for weeks as his first national security advisor before being pushed out of his position. He remained a Trump ally even after agreeing to cooperate with Mueller’s team. He was pardoned in the final weeks of the president’s first term.
Flynn pleaded guilty in December 2017 to lying to the FBI when he said he had not discussed with the Russian envoy, Sergey Kislyak, sanctions that the outgoing Obama administration had just imposed on Russia for election interference. During that conversation, Flynn advised that Russia be “even-keeled” in response to the punitive measures, and assured him “we can have a better conversation” about relations between the countries after Trump became president.
The conversation alarmed the FBI, which at the time was investigating whether the Trump campaign and Russia had coordinated to sway the election. In addition, White House officials were stating publicly that Flynn and Kislyak had not discussed sanctions, which the FBI knew was untrue.
Flynn was ousted from his position in February 2017 after news broke that Obama administration officials had warned the White House that Flynn had indeed discussed sanctions with Kislyak and was vulnerable to blackmail. He pleaded guilty months later to a false statement charge.
But Flynn later sought to withdraw his guilty plea, saying federal prosecutors had acted in “bad faith” and broken their end of the bargain when they sought prison time for him.
The Justice Department in 2020 moved to dismiss the case, asserting that the FBI had no basis to interview Flynn about Kislyak and that any statements he made during the interview were not material to the FBI’s broader counterintelligence probe.
Flynn was pardoned by Trump in November 2020, ending the court case and the legal wrangling.
In his lawsuit, Flynn maintained his innocence and said he was targeted by the “virulently anti-Trump leadership” of the FBI’s Russia investigation. He contended that investigators pursued him despite knowing there was no evidence of a crime and coerced his guilty plea.
“He was falsely branded as a traitor to his country, lost at least tens of millions of dollars of business opportunities and future lifetime earning potential, was maliciously prosecuted and spent substantial monies in his own defense,” says the lawsuit, adding that Flynn will continue to suffer “mental and emotional pain.”
Key was also a guest on the the TMS programme and he said England will make changes in the way they approach selection.
There had been a perception that the England Test team felt like a ‘closed shop’, particularly to players in county cricket who did not fit the aggressive Bazball style.
Key said the introduction of a “county insight group” to offer input into selection will attempt to formally rebuild relations with stakeholders, including directors of cricket, in the domestic game.
The 46-year-old former Kent captain also said England’s selection policy will become more cut-throat compared to the past when certain players have almost appeared undroppable.
“We’ve overvalued loyalty and overvalued having a settled team,” Key said.
“We thought what we wanted to do is make sure we have a team that is settled out there [in Australia], that we go out there and we’re not giving debuts to opening batters [during the Ashes] and stuff like that.
“But what that does is it creates an environment where there’s not enough consequence. We need to be more ruthless with our selection.”
McCullum is due to return to work towards the end of May as England gear up for a Test series against his native New Zealand which starts at Lord’s on 4 June.
However, Vaughan felt it would have been worthwhile McCullum spending time on the circuit during the early rounds of the County Championship – for good PR if nothing else.
“I’m a bit disappointed that he’s not coming a bit earlier,” Vaughan said.
“I think at this stage, when you’re trying to win back the fans, trying to win back a little bit of the game, if I was Brendon McCullum, I’d come a few weeks earlier, get seen around the counties.
“I’d go and talk to a few coaches, go and speak to a few umpires, get seen out and about just for the optics. Because at this stage he needs the fans, and he needs the game to kind of get behind his philosophy a little bit more.”
Hours after Kevin Durant knocked him out of the top five on the NBA’s all-time scoring list , Jordan was all smiles as he walked to Victory Lane to greet Tyler Reddick after the driver’s win Sunday at Darlington Raceway.
Reddick — who drives for 23XI Racing, which is co-owned by Jordan and veteran driver Denny Hamlin — joined NASCAR Hall of Famers Dale Earnhardt and Bill Elliott as the only Cup Series drivers to win four of the first six races in a season.
To do so, Reddick had to overcome a malfunctioning battery and a large deficit in the final 50 laps. Afterward, Jordan jumped the track’s safety barrier to greet Reddick and his team with some hard high fives and enthusiastic cheers.
“I think the key to him winning was just keeping his head,” Jordan said after the race. “We just had to get the car right, and I think he did an unbelievable job. I just wanted everything to be good, because once he gets back out there, then I feel like his competitive juices are going to carry him all the way to the end. He earned it all week, and I’m real proud of the team.”
Earlier this year, Reddick became the first NASCAR driver to start the season with three consecutive wins. He stands atop Cup Series standings, leading second-place Ryan Blaney of Team Penske by 95 points. Reddick’s 23XI teammate Bubba Wallace is currently in third place.
One night earlier, Durant scored 27 points in the Houston Rockets’ 123-122 victory over the Miami Heat to overtake Jordan for fifth place on the NBA’s all-time leading scorer list. In his 18th season, Durant has 32,294 points — two more than Jordan, who played 13 seasons for the Chicago Bulls and two for the Washington Wizards. Durant and the Rockets play the Bulls in Chicago on Monday.
Jordan has yet to comment publicly on the matter, but Durant had plenty of praise for the man considered by many to be basketball’s GOAT on Saturday during his postgame news conference.
“I’ve been inspired by all of these players that I’m either coming close to or passing up, and MJ is in a world of his own,” Durant added. “He’s in a galaxy of his own as somebody that I look up to, respect and who basically shaped the game for me.”
Durant also pointed out that Jordan would have scored many more points had he not taken multiple seasons off during the span of his playing career.
“He left a few, I want to say, thousand or so points on the table, too, with the amount of games he missed,” Durant said. “… He scored points quickly, man. So he set the bar high, and it’s pretty cool to reach that bar.”
Michael Conlan began his professional boxing career with great fanfare and an ambition to become a multi-weight champion, but despite going close, he was unable to replicate his success as an amateur.
The 34-year-old called time on his career following Friday’s defeat to Kevin Walsh in Belfast when his last roll of the dice to get back into title contention unravelled.
A polarising figure, Conlan could sell out arenas and outdoor venues to the tune of 12,000, while eliciting the ire of others in his home town.
What could not be disputed was he talent inside the ring, with his silky switch-hitting skills bringing his from the streets of west Belfast to the top of the amateur game and within a whisker as a pro.
“I didn’t think I lost tonight but it was too close for my liking and no matter how I would lose, no matter if it’s a robbery, I said that would be my time,” Conlan told reporters in his dressing room after his defeat to Walsh.
“It’s all very raw at the minute and how I’m answering questions is all emotion.
“How light I feel at the minute is probably relief. I’ve had so much pressure on my, so many expectations, even my own.
“I’ve not achieved what I wanted to but I said when I came back into it [in 2025] it would be if I achieve it, then great but if I don’t then so be it. This is the so be it situation and now I can spend time with my family.”
Having followed his brothers into the boxing gym as a seven year old, Conlan would blossom into one of, if not the best Irish male amateurs.
Collecting Antrim, Ulster and Irish titles as a junior, his first major international senior competition came at 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, where, as a 17-year-old, he came unstuck against Australia’s Jason Moloney.
It was just the beginning as the following year, he won the first of five Irish Elite titles which earned him a place on the team for the World Championships in Baku, reaching the quarter-finals which earned a place at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
There, he made the big breakthrough, reaching the semi-finals where he lost to Cuba’s Robeisy Ramirez but returned with a bronze medal to great acclaim.
It was a return to Belfast for the first time since his defeat by Jordan Gill in December 2023 which left him with much to ponder in terms of his career.
After a 16-month hiatus, Conlan returned in March 2025 under new coach Grant Smith, producing a points win over Asad Asif Khan in Brighton before stopping Jack Bateson in Dublin six months later.
However, the SSE Arena once again proved to be the scene of one final night of disappointment that has resulted in his decision to retire.
It wasn’t a case of him being completely dominated this time, but there was self-awareness that his performance was not up to a level where he could threaten a standing champion.
Walsh will instead seek his own opportunity and called out WBC featherweight champion Bruce Carrington afterwards.
“It was definitely a close fight,” he told DAZN afterwards.
“Shout out to Mick Conlan – I’ve always been a fan of his but he couldn’t figure me out. He’s been a helluva fighter, but his time’s up.”
Those words rang true with Conlan confirming this is indeed time up.
“Boxing has given me an unbelievable life,” he reflected.
“I can never be bitter with the situation because it gives you so much and takes so much. I’ve always said you can never love the sport as it will never love you back.
“I want to walk away with my health intact and my family good. I’ve done really well in boxing, have reached some serious heights and fought in some serious arenas around the world, done things many fighters don’t get to do.”
He continued: “I’ve achieved an awful lot but have I reached my goal of becoming a world champion? No, and that’s the hardest part of all.
“I’m a stubborn person and would want to keep going, but I’ve missed a lot of my family’s lives. I’ve two kids, my daughter is 11 next week and my son is seven. I’ve missed maybe 65 or 70% of their lives through boxing and training camps, so it’s time to go home.”
A left-footed winger cutting in from the right flank? It just feels natural at Bayern Munich.
It was an Arjen Robben trademark – now it’s Michael Olise’s.
Bayern go into the second leg of their last-16 tie with Atalanta in the Champions League on Wednesday holding a 6-1 advantage.
That’s thanks to a dazzling performance from the 24-year-old in the first leg, when he scored twice and laid on an assist.
The display was in keeping with Olise’s remarkable form since he joined from Crystal Palace in the summer of 2024 – no one in Europe’s top five leagues has more than his 23 assists in all competitions this season, no winger can top his 38 goal involvements.
It’s no wonder he’s now being talked about as one of the best players on the planet.
“It’s nice to hear but there’s half of the season still to play, so I’m focused on the team and on team titles now,” said the typically relaxed Frenchman on a potential Ballon d’Or after his masterclass in Bergamo.
He may have a laid-back attitude and a languid playing style, but behind the calm exterior there is a steely determination.
“I don’t want to compare the players because they’re not the same but [he has] the mentality of [former Manchester City player] Kevin de Bruyne when I played with him,” said Bayern boss Vincent Kompany after the Atalanta game.
“I was lucky to watch him come through as a young player and become a superstar. I saw the whole process and it is that obsession with detail that Michael has.”
Northern Ireland manager Michael O’Neill says that Chris Atherton’s switch to the Republic of Ireland is “disappointing, but we have to accept it”.
Atherton made history in September 2022 when he became the youngest senior footballer in the United Kingdom at 13 years and 329 days old, when he featured for Glenavon in the League Cup in Northern Ireland.
The 17-year-old moved from Glenavon, who he had been with since the age of four, to Chelsea’s academy in July 2025 before signing a professional contract in October.
Atherton represented Northern Ireland at under-16 and under-17 level, and was a youth ambassador at the announcement in Nyon for the UK and Ireland’s successful bid to host Euro 2028 in October 2023, but has now changed allegiance to the Republic of Ireland.
Speaking at his squad announcement for the World Cup play-off semi-final in Italy, O’Neill said “every player has the right to make that choice”.
“He’s a young player that had been initially in the Republic of Ireland set-up,” he continued.
“He came back to be part of our set-up and I think Chris played maybe 17 times for representative teams for us.
“But every player has the right to make that choice, and obviously he’s made that choice.”
O’Neill also referenced the decision of Omari Kellyman, who is on loan at Cardiff City from Chelsea and switched to England from Northern Ireland in 2023.
Northern Ireland have also benefited from changes of allegiance, as Jamie Donley and Ronan Hale switched from England and the Republic of Ireland respectively in the past 12 months.
“We can’t handcuff them to a decision that they made initially,” O’Neill added.
“They have the right to make that choice once in their career, and Chris has decided to make that choice.
Manchester United manager Michael Carrick praises the “great” connection between Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes, after the duo combined for the opening goal in their 3-1 victory over Aston Villa.
MICHAEL B. Jordan has been dreaming of landing Oscars glory since he was 15-years-old, but there were fears his career was over before it began.
In-demand Jordan heads to the Academy Awards on Sunday in line to land the coveted Best Actor award for supernatural horror movie Sinners, which has been nominated for a record-breaking 16 gongs.
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Michael B. Jordan (far right) was just 15 when he starred in the first season of HBO’s The Wire alongside JD Williams (second from left)Credit: AlamyJordan is hoping to land an Oscar for best actor for his dual role in SinnersCredit: Shutterstock Editorial
But in an exclusive interview with The U.S. Sun, childhood pal JD Williams — who starred alongside a teenage Jordan in HBO’s iconic cop drama The Wire — says his bloody exit in the show had the young actor doubting his future.
Williams played local dealer and gang member Bodie, taking Jordan’s unassuming, drug-running character of Wallace under his wing.
Yet when the bosses, led by Hollywood star Idris Elba as the notorious Stringer Bell, suspected Jordan was speaking to cops, Williams was told to execute him.
With the actors only given their scripts days before a shoot, the Creed star had no idea his breakout role was soon to be over.
It was a heartbreaking end to the first season, and left a young Jordan worried about his career ending abruptly.
“None of us knew where the story was going,” Williams told The U.S. Sun. “You only get your scripts week to week. When he saw that he was getting killed off, he literally thought he wasn’t going to work again.
“I told him, ‘Look, everybody loves you already. When this happens, people are going to look up Wallace’s real name. When they find out it’s Michael B. Jordan, they’re going to look for you in everything.’”
Williams, 48, and Jordan, 39, grew up in Newark, New Jersey, and both attended Arts High School.
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While many of the actors in The Wire were cleverly drawn from the gritty streets of Baltimore, trained actors such as Elba, the late Michael K. Williams, who played hustler Omar, as well as Jordan and his pal Williams, helped elevate the five-series masterpiece to the next level.
Jordan came into the show off the back of the 2001 sports drama Hardball, starring Keanu Reeves.
He was very much learning his trade when he met Williams and his fellow co-stars for the first time.
Yet going up against the A-listers Timothee Chalamet and Leonardo DiCaprio for an Oscar illustrates just how far Jordan has come since those early, nervy days.
“I had already heard about him because he had done Hardball, and I was proud of him for that,” Williams recalled. “Then to find out he was on the same series I was doing, I was like, ‘Wow — a kid from exactly where I’m from and we’re doing this together.’”
The two actors quickly formed a bond on set.
They hung out together, playing PlayStation and traveling to Las Vegas and Miami when not filming.
Their friendship has remained strong ever since.
“I would say he’s probably the most organic actor — star actor — out there,” Williams, a prominent and memorable character in The Wire who was eventually killed off himself after 34 episodes, said. “There’s minimal fakeness in him, minimal shade.”
If Jordan wins the best actor award, he will become the first character from writer David Simon’s critically acclaimed show to be crowned by the Academy.
“Someone from our class had to get it, if Michael K. Williams were still alive, I think he would have been in this position too, but I’m so proud it’s Mike,” said his old friend. “There’s no scandal with him. It’s deserved.”
Williams went on to star in prison drama Oz, is working on numerous independent projects, has also appeared in Starz drama BMF, and now relishes helping guide the next generation of actors.
Jordan, meanwhile, has steadily built one of the most successful careers of his generation, starring in films like Creed and portraying villain Killmonger in Marvel’s Black Panther.
Jordan was killed off at the end of the first season of The Wire and feared he may never work againCredit: AlamyJordan plays twin brothers in Sinners, which has been nominated for a record 16 awardsCredit: AP
Crucially, his longtime creative partnership with director Ryan Coogler, who was also behind Creed in 2015, has become one of the most influential collaborations in modern Hollywood.
No film has ever received more nominations than Sinners, in which Jordan masterfully plays a dual role as twin brothers Elijah and Elias.
The movie stormed this year’s Academy Awards with a record-breaking 16 nominations, surpassing the previous record of 14 shared by All About Eve, Titanic and La La Land.
Its dominance spans the biggest categories, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay for Coogler — along with a Best Actor nomination for Jordan, his first at the Oscars.
The apocalyptic drama also earned acting nods for Delroy Lindo and Wunmi Mosaku, while racking up recognition across major craft categories including cinematography, editing, costume design and visual effects.
The record-setting 16th nomination came in the Academy’s brand-new Best Casting category, recognizing Francine Maisler’s work assembling the film’s ensemble.
Williams says he worked on a series of scripts and ideas with Jordan over the years, but admits the partnership with Coogler has helped his friend evolve as an actor and is why he now stands on the brink of greatness.
“Him and Ryan getting together is the perfect combination,” he said. “Having a director that is great to collaborate with is exactly what was needed.
“If you have a vision and you’re part of a class of actors coming up together, that’s what happens. They are the perfect combination.”
Jordan’s ability to deliver the performances his directors want is also key.
“If you give Mike direction, he gets it straight away,” Williams said. “He can go exactly where you need him to go and be what you need him to be in that moment.
“That’s the essence of acting — delivering the message to the audience.
“And he’s not just there to be handsome and pretty. Mike is writing, producing, directing. He understands the whole business.”
Biggest Oscar Nominees of 2026 Academy Awards
Everyone in Hollywood hopes to snag a nod on the industry’s biggest night but only few get that honor. Here are the nominees from the major categories of the 2026 Academy Awards:
Best Picture
Bugonia
F1
Frankenstein
Hamnet
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
The Secret Agent
Sentimental Value
Sinners
Train Dreams
Best Director
Chloé Zhao — Hamnet
Josh Safdie — Marty Supreme
Paul Thomas Anderson — One Battle After Another
Joachim Trier — Sentimental Value
Ryan Coogler — Sinners
Best Actor (Leading Role)
Timothée Chalamet — Marty Supreme
Leonardo DiCaprio — One Battle After Another
Ethan Hawke — Blue Moon
Michael B. Jordan — Sinners
Wagner Moura — The Secret Agent
Best Actress (Leading Role)
Jessie Buckley — Hamnet
Rose Byrne — If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Renate Reinsve — Sentimental Value
Emma Stone — Bugonia
Kate Hudson — Song Sung Blue
Best Supporting Actor
Benicio Del Toro — One Battle After Another
Jacob Elordi — Frankenstein
Delroy Lindo — Sinners
Sean Penn — One Battle After Another
Stellan Skarsgård — Sentimental Value
Best Supporting Actress
Teyana Taylor — One Battle After Another
Wunmi Mosaku — Sinners
Amy Madigan — Weapons
Elle Fanning — Sentimental Value
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas — Sentimental Value
Best Original Screenplay
Bugonia — Yorgos Lanthimos & Will Tracy
Marty Supreme — Josh Safdie & Ronald Bronstein
One Battle After Another — Paul Thomas Anderson
Sentimental Value — Joachim Trier & Eskil Vogt
Sinners — Ryan Coogler
Best Adapted Screenplay
Blue Moon — Richard Linklater & Glen Powell
Frankenstein — Guillermo del Toro
Hamnet — Chloé Zhao
The Secret Agent — Kleber Mendonça Filho
Train Dreams — Clint Bentley & Greg Kwedar
Best Animated Feature
Arco
KPop Demon Hunters
The Magnificent Life of Marcel Pagnol
Zootopia 2
The Night Gardener
Best International Feature Film
The Secret Agent — Brazil
Sentimental Value — Norway
It Was Just an Accident — Iran
Universal Language — Canada
Sujo — Mexico
Best Documentary Feature
The Alabama Solution
Come See Me in the Good Light
Four Daughters
No Other Land
The Perfect Neighbor
More than two decades after their time on The Wire, Williams says watching Jordan’s continued rise is deeply personal.
Their families remain close.
“I’m proud of my brother,” he said. “He’s been growing as an actor his entire life. But he’s deeper than that — he writes, he produces, he directs. He’s built himself into this system.
“I can’t explain how proud I am. Thinking back to us just sitting on my parents’ steps at my little sister’s birthday party — and now seeing where he is. The vision is unfolding exactly the way it was supposed to.”
But will he watch his old friend’s moment of destiny on Sunday night?
“When I don’t watch my team, they win. When I watch my team, it’s 50-50. And I don’t — I just don’t know, man,” he said with a huge smile.
“If it’s not this time, it’s going to be the next time. But of course I am behind my brother. I always will be.
“Chalamet is a great actor, but this is Mike’s year. If he wins, I’m going straight to his house. I don’t know if I’ll hug him or punch him in the stomach, but it’ll be a great feeling. He’s a great dude and I love him to death.
“We talked about this stuff while playing PlayStation years ago. Seeing it unfold meticulously — not as a fluke, but as a plan — is beautiful.”
JD Williams told The U.S. Sun about his time on The Wire with close friend Michael B. JordanCredit: GettyTimothee Chalamet is up against Jordan for best actor following his performance in Marty SupremeCredit: Reuters
Four siblings who were part of Michael Jackson’s secret “second family” have filed a lawsuit revealing the depths of the alleged sexual abuse they suffered as children, including claims that the singer molested one of the boys at the homes of Elton John and Elizabeth Taylor.
The lawsuit, filed against Jackson’s estate in California’s Central District Court on Friday, accuses the late singer of grooming, drugging, raping and sexually assaulting four of the Cascio children — Edward, Dominic, Marie-Nicole and Aldo — over the course of more than a decade, beginning when some of them were as young as 7. A fifth sibling, Frank Cascio, is not a plaintiff in the lawsuit.
The pop icon used code phrases such as “Can I have a meeting,” “Yogi Tea,” “Neverland,” and “Go to Disneyland” to encourage the children to engage in “extreme sex acts” with him, the suit alleges. He plied them with wine — “Jesus Juice” — and hard liquor — “Disney Juice “ — and used drugs to make them more compliant, according to the lawsuit.
The “Thriller” singer’s connection to the Cascio family began in the 1980s when he met their father, Dominic Cascio Sr., at a luxury hotel in New York where the father worked.
The lawsuit accuses Jackson of “insinuating himself” into the Cascio family by using “obsessive attention, lavish gifts, access to his celebrity lifestyle, and declarations that he loved and needed each of them.” He invited them to travel around the world with him and celebrated Thanksgiving, Christmas and his own birthday with them. He often spent long periods of time at their New Jersey home, where he also brought his own children, according to the complaint.
The chart-topping artist is accused of raping and molesting Edward “Eddie” Cascio at Elizabeth Taylor’s house in Switzerland as well as at Elton John’s home in the United Kingdom. Representatives for Jackson’s estate, Taylor’s estate and John did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The complaint alleges that the late singer abused the four siblings at international and national tour stops as well as at his Santa Barbara County estate, Neverland Ranch. That property became a central focus of the 2019 documentary “Leaving Neverland,” in which two of Jackson’s accusers, Wade Robson and James Safechuck, detail the abuse they suffered as children.
The complaint states that Jackson’s staff would help conceal and normalize his abuse of the Cascios; employees would deliberately book the parents hotel rooms away from their children, the suit says, so they could not tell how much time Jackson was spending with them.
The entertainer showed the siblings pornography and photos of naked children to desensitize them, the complaint alleges. He told them that his life, their lives and that of their family members would be destroyed if people knew what was going on.
“He told them to stay away from therapists and to avoid women, who he told them were ‘evil,’ ‘sneaky,’ ‘liars,’ and could ‘smell’ if something sexual had happened,” the complaint states.
For decades after the initial 1993 sexual assault claim against Jackson surfaced, the Cascio family did not speak up against the singer.
The performer convinced the parents to withdraw Aldo Cascio and Marie-Nicole Cascio from school on two occasions to “prevent disclosure of the abuse and gain more access to them,” the complaint alleges. The second time was shortly after authorities raided Neverland Ranch in 2003.
The Cascios’ longtime relationship with the superstar became known to the public when they appeared on Oprah in 2010.
During the appearance, they were billed as Jackson’s secret “second family” and said that they were reluctant to come forward but wanted to “show the world who Michael really was.” At the time, the family said that the siblings were never abused and that they didn’t believe the accusations against Jackson.
As the four siblings aged and exposés such as “Leaving Neverland” came out, their statements about their childhood relationship with the pop star shifted. In 2019, several members of the Cascio family entered a confidential settlement agreement with Jackson’s estate agreeing to remain silent about their relationship to the singer.
That agreement provided for Jackson’s estate to pay each sibling five annual payments of about $690,000 as compensation “for the many years that Jackson abused each of them and that the Jackson Organization enabled and covered up the abuse,” according to the complaint. The Cascios say that this amount is “wholly inadequate,” noting that the singer reportedly paid $25 million in 1994 to settle the abuse allegations made against him in 1993.
Now, the four siblings are challenging the agreement as part of their recently filed lawsuit, alleging that they were coerced into signing it without understanding their rights.
“Buried within the Document’s legalese was a purported release of the Estate from liability for Jackson’s crimes, and language that prohibited Plaintiffs from reporting Jackson’s crimes to law enforcement or anyone saying anything negative about Jackson, or holding the Estate accountable in court for its and Jackson’s wrongdoing,” the complaint alleges.
Marty Singer, an attorney for Jackson’s estate, decried the lawsuit as “a desperate money grab” in a statement to People. A representative for Singer did not immediately respond to The Times’ request for comment.
“The family staunchly defended Michael Jackson for more than 25 years, attesting to his innocence of inappropriate conduct,” Singer told People. “This new court filing is a transparent forum-shopping tactic in their scheme to obtain hundreds of millions of dollars from Michael’s estate and companies.”
The four Cascio siblings are asking a jury to award them financial damages — including some potentially tripled damages because they were abused as children — over their allegations of sexual abuse and cover-up. They are also asking the court to throw out the 2019 agreement they say was used to silence them and are also seeking a ruling that the estate cannot force their claims into private arbitration.
Still, Reddick seems to be at the start of something special as the driver of a team co-owned by the NBA legend who led the Chicago Bulls to two NBA championship three-peats in the 1990s (1991-93 and 1996-98).
Less than a month into the season, Reddick has established his own three-peat of sorts, the likes of which has never been seen before in NASCAR.
After winning the Daytona 500 on Feb. 16 and at Echo Park Speedway in Atlanta last week, Reddick held off Shane van Gisbergen over the final 20 laps at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, on Sunday to become the first Cup Series driver to win the first three races of the season.
“It’s incredible. NASCAR’s always been super competitive but in this day and age where the field is so close, for us to be able to pull this off is true testament of teamwork, hard work in the offseason by everyone on this team, everyone at 23XI,” Reddick told KXAN-TV in Austin after the race.
“It’s super special to be on this kind of a run. We’re just gonna try to keep it going as long as we can. We’re kind of just in the right headspace throughout the week, and it’s been really sweet to just grab these wins like we have.”
23XI Racing co-owner Michael Jordan watches the final laps by Tyler Reddick on Sunday in Austin, Texas.
(Stephen Spillman / Associated Press)
Jordan, who co-owns 23XI Racing with Denny Hamlin, was with Reddick’s pit crew at the end of the race. As Reddick climbed out of the car, Jordan gave him a high five and exclaimed, “Three, baby, three!”
Reddick posted video of that exchange with Jordan on X and wrote, “3 PEAT BABY.”
Also on X, Reddick posted a photo of Jordan holding up three fingers after the Bulls’ first three-peat in 1993 next to a photo of himself making the same gesture while holding his trophy from Sunday’s race.
“Tyler came in with most pressure,” Jordan told Fox Sports. “He had a chance to win three in a row. That’s the hardest one to win, you know. And he kept to his strategy. … Tyler did a good job. He beat good competition.”
In December, an anti-trust lawsuit against NASCAR filed by 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports was settled nine days into the trial, with NASCAR agreeing to grant all of its teams the permanent charters they had been seeking.
Started in 2020, 23XI Racing has three full-time cars — driven by Reddick, Bubba Wallace and Riley Herbst — as well as a part-time car driven by Corey Heim. Entering next week’s race in Phoenix, Reddick leads the NASCAR Cup standings by 70 points, followed by Wallace in second place.
Jordan credited Hamlin, who still drives for Joe Gibbs Racing, as the “mastermind” who put together a team that is seeing such great success early this season.
The “Sinners” star won the Actor Award for lead actor for portraying the film’s twin ex-mob enforcers turned juke joint owners, Smoke and Stack.
“I wasn’t expecting this at all,” Jordan said as he accepted his award Sunday evening. “I’m so honored and privileged to be nominated in categories with people and actors and humans that I love.”
“I love their work and what you contribute to to our craft, and this ride has been unbelievable,” he said. “So thank you for welcoming me in and making me feel seen.”
Jordan went on to reminisce about his time as an entry-level SAG-AFTRA member, aspiring toward truly belonging to “this club that I wanted to be in so bad.”
“Those guys that were talking on stage with the awards and nice suits, talking, being in fancy places like that,” the actor said. “That’s what I always wanted and that kid from Newark, New Jersey’s standing here right now.”
The “Creed” alum went on to thank his mother for driving him to his earliest auditions and director Ryan Coogler for “giving me the opportunity to show what I can do and to be fearless and to create a safe space for us to find the truth.”
Finally, Jordan extended gratitude to his fellow actors and his fans, “who’ve seen me grow up in front of the camera and in these rooms.”
Jordan’s triumph over his fellow nominees, particularly “Marty Supreme” star Timothée Chalamet, is a positive sign as the actor looks toward the Academy Awards later this month.
“Sinners” received a record 16 nominations, many of which are sure to turn into wins at the March 15 ceremony.
