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Travis Scott Requested To Be Dismissed From The Astroworld Festival Lawsuit, Saying He Shouldn’t Be Responsible For Safety Or Security Concerns

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After being named as a defendant in the hundreds of combined lawsuits stemming from the 2021 Astroworld Festival disaster, Travis Scott has at last asked out of future proceedings. According to Billboard, Travis’ attorney Daniel Petrocelli filed a motion to dismiss him from the suit on Monday, asserting that ensuring safety and security at live events is “not the job of performing artists” — even ones whose album tiles grace said events.

The motion reads in part, “Like any other adrenaline-inducing diversion, music festivals must balance exhilaration with safety and security—but that balance is not the job of performing artists, even those involved in promoting and marketing performances. Which only makes sense: Performing artists, even those who engage in certain promotional activities, have no inherent expertise or specialized knowledge in concert safety measures, venue security protocols, or site-design.”

Even so, the defense writes, Travis did make concessions to alleviate crowding issues when they were brought to his attention during the planning phase. “When, during festival planning, concerns arose about the risk of a stampede occurring in the festival site, the Scott defendants supported festival organizers’ efforts to eliminate that risk by agreeing to remove certain rides and other attractions at the site,” Petrocelli wrote. “Then, when the Scott defendants were told to end the show after Mr. Scott’s guest performer finished performing, they did just that—ending the show as directed.”

Travis is, of course, only one of the named defendants, which included Drake (who has also since requested dismissal from liability), Apple Music, Live Nation Entertainment, and the venue and security companies involved. The nearly 300 cases were combined into a single case in January 2022, and proceedings have have gone relatively slowly since. Scott, after a year out of the spotlight, returned to performing in 2022 and released the follow-up to Astroworld, Utopia, in summer of 2023.

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Diddy’s Shares In Revolt TV Were Reportedly Bought By ‘Essence’ Magazine Owner Richelieu Dennis

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Amid personal and business turmoil arising from “Me & U” singer Cassie Ventura’s sexual assault lawsuit against him, Sean “Diddy” Combs has seen his fortunes take a tumble. In addition to stepping down as Chairman of his company Revolt Media (and its television network, Revolt TV) and relinquishing his ownership of DeLeón Tequila, he also sold all his shares in Revolt to an undisclosed buyer earlier this week.

It didn’t take long for the buyer’s identity to be revealed, though; according to Page Six, Essence magazine owner Richelieu Dennis is the new owner of the network founded by Diddy in 2013. Dennis was recently profiled in Forbes as “the Godfather of Black business” after selling his company Sundial Brands, LLC — the parent company of SheaMoisture — to Unilever in 2017 and bought Essence the next year. In the interview, he talked about being “bullish on media” in response to rumors he wanted to buy Vice or BET.

He’s been a controversial figure since those splashy moves, with AfroTech noting that some Black culture critics view him as a “sellout” for selling SheaMoisture to the British consumer goods giant. Meanwhile, last year, Business Insider published a report detailing a “dehumanizing” culture at Essence after speaking with twenty then-current and former employees about the brand’s “extremely unhealthy work culture.”

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NBA Podcaster LeBron James Is Now Breaking College Basketball Head Coaching News

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LeBron James is keeping himself busy these days. Of course, he’s doing everything he can to help the Los Angeles Lakers avoid the Play-In Tournament in the Western Conference (they’re currently the 9-seed), and off the court, he’s mixing being a basketball dad with his new media venture, as he co-hosts the podcast Mind the Game alongside J.J. Redick.

Now, LeBron is adding a new club to his bag: college basketball newsbreaker. James tweeted that he received word from “an unquestioned source” that the Duquesne Dukes, which won the Atlantic 10 Tournament this season and earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament, will promote associate head coach Dru Joyce III to take over for the recently retired Keith Dambrot.

Not long after, the program announced that Joyce will become its next head coach.

As for why LeBron James is so plugged into the goings on of Duquesne basketball, Dambrot was his coach at St. Vincent-St. Mary’s for the start of his high school career, while Joyce was one of his teammates and remains a close friend. Joyce always made sense as Dambrot’s replacement for a ton of reasons — he had a lengthy pro career abroad, has been around the program in an important role for the last few years, and is a respected basketball mind. And as an added bonus, LeBron will continue to follow Dukes basketball closely, which is nice.

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Tom Holland Has Found His Juliet For The West End Production Of ‘Romeo And Juliet’

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Back in 1597 when William Shakespeare wrote “Wherefore art thou, Romeo?” it’s impossible to assume who he had in mind to read the line. Fast forward a few hundred years, that same Romeo will be played by none other than Tom Holland in the West End production of the play. Shakespeare would have loved him in Spider-Man.

The Jamie Lloyd Company has rounded out the cast for the upcoming production, which is set to open in May and run until August. Francesca Amewudah-Rivers is set to take the stage as Juliet, opposite Holland’s Romeo. Amewudah-Rivers only has one previous acting credit on the BBC series Bad Education.

The cast also includes Doctor Who’s Freema Agyeman as the Nurse, Michael Balogun as the Friar, Tomiwa Edun as Capulet, Ray Sessay as Tybalt and Joshua-Alexander Williams as the pun-loving Mercutio. Are you getting High School English flashbacks yet?

Holland expressed his excitement in a statement.”Beyond excited to announce our cast for Romeo and Juliet. I can’t wait to get started and I know we’ll create something really special together.” It will be so special as long as you forget how the play ends.

This will be the latest project for Holland, who took a brief acting hiatus last summer. Romeo and Juliet will also mark Holland’s return to the stage after getting his big break as Billy Elliot at the age of 12. Unfortunately, Romeo and Juliet does not have as many elaborate dance numbers. Yet.

(Via Deadline)

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Lil Yachty Launches His Label Concrete Rekordz, Backed By Quality Control And K-Pop Machine HYBE

Lil Yachty has been everywhere lately, collaborating with both major stars like Drake and J. Cole and rising stars like JID and Nemzzz. Now, he’s taking yet another step in furthering his rap dominance, announcing the launch of his new label, Concrete Rekordz. The label is named after his crew, Concrete Boys, who also comprise the roster, and is backed by the label that originally signed Yachty, Quality Control Music.

An additional wrinkle is that Quality Control is now owned by HYBE America, the stateside arm of the Korean entertainment company responsible for the success of K-pop groups like BTS, New Jeans, Seventeen, and Tomorrow X Together. In other words, there’s some serious muscle behind Concrete Rekordz, which accompanied the launch with the release of their new video for “Family Business.”

The Concrete Boys crew consists of Camo!, DC2TRILL, Draft Day, and Karrahbooo, who accompanied Yachty on his 2023 Field Trip Tour.

In a press release, Quality Control COO “Coach K” Lee said, “Yachty has always had profound vision since the day we met and to see him take his curatorial magic and expand it to discover and enhance other artists is exciting to me.” Meanwhile, his co-founder, QC CEO Pierre “P” Thomas, said, “I’m excited to see Yachty step into the role of executive alongside being one of the most formidable creatives in the world with such an eye for talent. Karrahbooo is a star and they are all going to be the new wave of cool that can bring something different to the culture that is so badly needed.”

You can check out the video for “Family Business” above.

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Very Rich Person Larry David Thinks His Net Worth Is ‘None Of Your F*cking Business’

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As Curb Your Enthusiasm wraps up its 12th and final season, Larry David has been making the press rounds to promote the ending of his hit HBO series. So far that press tour has seen him throttling Elmo, and for a brief moment, it sure looked like he was ready to give Chris Wallace the same treatment.

While making an appearance on the latest episode of Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace?, which saw David launch into an impassioned rant about why Donald Trump is a sociopath, the comedian got similarly testy when Wallace started asking about his net worth. In addition to Curb, David also had a hand in creating Seinfeld and he reportedly walked away with $242 million when the series was sold into syndication in 1998. But when Wallace started poking into David’s finances, the TV creator wasn’t having it.

Via The Hollywood Reporter:

While speaking with David, Wallace explained that his father always told him people are fascinated by how much rich people are worth and that he once asked the question to Johnny Carson.

“I’m going to say what should have been said to your father: None of your f*cking business. How about that? And that’s ridiculous. That’s ridiculous,” David replied, but Wallace pressed him, telling the comedy icon that he’d read he is worth $500 million.

“That number is so preposterous,” David clapped back.

Wallace didn’t give up, but David wasn’t about to crack either.

“How about $100 million?” Wallace asked to which David replied, “OK, how about you shut up? OK. How about you shut up? Is that all right?”

Realizing he wasn’t getting an answer, Wallace did find the exchange memorable. “I gotta say, you know, 100 interviews. Nobody’s ever said that to me before,” he said with a laugh.

Curb Your Enthusiasm season 12 airs new episodes Sunday on HBO.

(Via The Hollywood Reporter)

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Even Wagner Moura, Who Portrayed Pablo Escobar On Netflix’s ‘Narcos,’ Was ‘Really Destroyed’ By Filming Alex Garland’s ‘Civil War’

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Wagner Moura, who you may not have immediately recognized in Mr. and Mrs. Smith (he’s that damn good in the show), famously portrayed Pablo Escobar in two seasons of Netflix’s Narcos. The series did, yes, frequently cast him as a sad clown and Robin Hood figure, but Escobar was also ruthless in his drug-lording escapades. As well, his rooftop death scene was surely harrowing to shoot, but somehow Wagner Moura had an even more difficult time while appearing in Alex Garland’s upcoming Civil War.

The A24 film has been described as very disturbing and realistic-seeming even though Texas and California are on the same side. Moura portrays a Reuters journalist who is confronted and challenged by Jesse Plemons’ machine gun-wielding character, and he described (while speaking with Hollywood Reporter) how that scene took two days to film, “and afterward I just laid down in the grass and cried” as described in an interview. Moura then elaborated about how Narcos and Civil War compared as acting experiences:

“Please don’t feel this is some actor bullsh*t, because it’s totally true for me. When I did Narcos, which was heavy sh*t, I would do scenes where I’m killing or doing horrible things, I would end the scene, and my mind would move on. I’d think, “I’m going to have a beer or I have to call my son or I have to pay that bill.” But my body doesn’t know that I’ve moved on. I’d go to grab a Coors, and the glass in my hand is shaking like crazy. That doesn’t go away, and it takes a toll.

When asked how long it took to feel “normal” again after wrapping the film, Moura responded, “I don’t know. Somehow, it’s still there.” Kirsten Dunst, who portrays a photojournalist in the film, has also revealed that she acquired PTSD symptoms from the gunfire-heavy production.

As for Garland, the Ex Machina, Annihilation, and Devs filmmaker has also spoken to Hollywood Reporter at length, and when quizzed about the film’s seemingly ambiguous red-blue divides, he countered, “I personally think questions are answered.”

Audiences will find out more when Civil War arrives in theaters on April 12.

(Via Hollywood Reporter)

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An Old Clip Of Kanye West’s Wife Bianca Censori Has Resurfaced, And Fans Are Shocked To Hear Her Accent

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Kanye West and wife Bianca Censori are often in the news for one reason or another, usually for something having to do with showing too much skin in public. Ye also frequently raises eyebrows with things he says, but we don’t hear Censori speak all that often. So, people were surprised by her voice when an old video of her talking recently made the rounds online.

As TMZ notes, the video sees Censori, for the 2022 CFS Summit in Paris, discussing her work as an architectural designer for Yeezy. The clips runs for nearly two minutes, and in it, Censori speaks plainly about her job, but it’s not what she says that has generated interest, but how she says it: with an Australian accent, as she’s originally from Melbourne.

Some were surprised to hear Censori speak, like one X (formerly Twitter) user who said, “That’s the first clip of her actually speaking I think anyone has found. Thats not what I expected.” Others didn’t understand the big deal, like another user who wrote, “Publicly known she’s Australian < Public surprised she has Aussie accent.”

As OK! notes, another commenter said, “Oh, she sounds normal. The L.A. valley girl uptalk has gotten to her a bit, but aside from that she sounds normal.” Somebody else said she sounds like “a typical Melbourner.”

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Whoopi Goldberg Dragged A ‘Slow, Sexy Dance’ Attempt From Sunny Hostin On ‘The View’

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Everyone knows that Whoopi Goldberg just does what she pleases at any given point, especially when it comes to her hosting duties. On a recent episode of The View, the ladies were discussing a viral Reddit post where a man admits to slow dancing with an ex to get back at his wife. That’s the kind of stuff that goes down on Reddit these days.

But Sunny Hostin, a famously jealous person, breaks down the interaction, which she did not approve of, “Apparently, his dance with his ex, who he has seen naked, was a slow, sexy dance,” she said, adding in her own modified take on the “sexy dance,” by dancing in her seat. That’s the kind of stuff that goes down on The View these days.

The dancing continued as the ladies discussed. Goldberg obviously couldn’t gloss over the moment, and called out Hostin’s “dance.” She said, “Are you itchy right now? Is that why you’re moving around like that?” Hostin did not respond to the bait, though Whoopi was obviously proud of herself.

Hostin concluded that the man should not have “slow danced” with his ex, while Whoopi could not care less. “Either you trust your man, or you don’t,” she said.

Then again, Whoopi has been on one lately. Between her alien conspiracies and alleged jail time, maybe she needs a little break from the ladies of The View. She can spend some time arguing on Reddit instead.

(Via Decider)

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What Are Sydney Sweeney, Zendaya, And The Rest Of The ‘Euphoria’ Cast Doing Next?

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Following an increased number of rumors that Euphoria Season 3 has been canceled, HBO confirmed that the series has been delayed but will eventually release a third season in 2025. As for how this will affect the series burgeoning stars like Zendaya, Sydney Sweeney, and Jacob Elordi varies from actor-to-actor.

All three have moved on to movie stardom, but there are clear signs that the Euphoria delay impacted their schedules as well as their castmates. Fortunately, most of them remain busy, so here’s where you can see the cast of Euphoria next while you patiently wait for Season 3.

What Is Zendaya Doing Next?

Up next for Zendaya is the sexy tennis drama Challengers, which hits theaters in April 2024. She’s also a producer for the biographical drama A White Lie. With Euphoria Season 3 taking a back seat, Zendaya’s schedule is surprisingly open, but we have a feeling it won’t stay that way for long, particularly if Sony and Marvel get a fourth Spider-Man movie off the ground.

What Is Sydney Sweeney Doing Next?

Right now Sydney Sweeney can be seen in Madame Web and Immaculate. After that, her next films are the thriller Echo Valley and Eden, which teams her with director Ron Howard. Sweeney is also attached to a remake of Barbarella, but that project is still in early development.

What Is Jacob Elordi Doing Next?

Of all the Euphoria kids, Jacob Elordi has the fullest schedule. His next projects include Frankenstein (as the titular monster, no less), Parallel, On Swift Horses, Oh Canada, and The Narrow Road to the Deep North.

What Is Barbie Ferreira Doing Next?

Barbie Ferreira bowed out of Euphoria Season 3, so she’s not affected by the delay. She can next be seen in the upcoming comedy/drama Bob Trevino Likes It followed by the back-to-back horror films Faces of Death and House of Spoils.

What Is Hunter Schaeffer Doing Next?

Hunter Schafer can be seen in the upcoming thriller Cuckoo. After that she has packed schedule with Mother Mary, Palette, Kinds of Kindess and voice work for the video game OD.

What Is Maude Apatow Doing Next?

As of this writing, Maude Apatow has no pending projects except for Euphoria Season 3. However, you can catch her doing voice work for the AMC animated series Pantheon.

What Is Alexa Demie Doing Next?

Alexa Demie also has no pending projects except Euphoria Season 3.

What Is Angus Cloud Doing Next?

Tragically, Angus Cloud passed away in July 2023. However, the actor still had two projects that have yet to be released. He can next be seen in Freaky Tales followed by Abigail. Both projects are slated for release in 2024.

Euphoria Seasons 1 and 2 are available for streaming on Max.