New this week: 'The Pale Blue Eye,' Iggy Pop and 'The Menu'
This weekโs new entertainment releases include albums from veteran Iggy Pop and rising star Brandon Ratcliff, Lifetime concludes its coverage on R. Kellyโs victims with a two-night special, and Christian Bale stars as a detective in an 1830 whodunit alongside a young Edgar Allen Poe.
EXPLAINER: R. Kelly acquitted on rigging trial. Why?
Federal prosecutors this week scored multiple convictions against R. Kelly at the singerโs trial in Chicago, but they lost on the headline charge โ that Kelly obstructed justice by rigging his 2008 state child pornography trial, at which jurors acquitted him.
R. Kelly's lawyers start defense; he says he won't testify
R. Kellyโs lawyers began mounting a defense Thursday in Chicago against federal charges of child pornography, enticement of minors for sex and fixing his 2008 state trial, with an initial witness contending the singer was himself a victim of blackmail.
Witness about R. Kelly: I didn't want to 'carry his lies'
A woman who says she was sexually abused hundreds of times by R. Kelly before she turned 18 has testified that she agonized several years ago about whether to cooperate with federal investigators who were looking into child abuse allegations involving the singer.
Disgraced R&B star R. Kelly back in Chicago for sex trial
R. Kelly has returned to the federal jail in downtown Chicago ahead of his trial on child pornography and obstruction-of-justice charges, just two weeks after the disgraced R&B star was sentenced in New York to 30 years in prison for racketeering and sex trafficking.
R. Kelly behavior mirrors abuse tactics, expert witness says
Prosecutors are inching closer to concluding their case at the R. Kelly sex-trafficking trial, calling two final witnesses to try to further cement allegations he groomed young victims for unwanted sex and psychological torment in episodes dating to the 1990s.
Left out of MeToo: New initiative focuses on Black survivors
Tarana Burke, founder and leader of the #MeToo movement, stands in her home in Baltimore on Oct. 13, 2020. A coalition of three groups vital to the #MeToo movement is collaborating on an initiative to focus on a population that has often felt left out of the conversation: Black survivors of sexual violence. (AP Photo/Steve Ruark, file)Itโs been more than three years since the #MeToo movement launched a culture-shifting conversation about sexual violence. In a statement, the groups said they were working together to create safe spaces for Black survivors; to confront narratives "that harm and silence Black survivors;" and lastly to come up with new practices that will help get Black survivors โbelieved, heard, and supported.โBurke said the most important immediate impact will simply be that a national conversation is being had. AdAmong the initiative's concrete plans: narrative research; conversation guides; a five-part event series; and โrapid-response toolsโ to support Black survivors who come forward.
Country artist Cam confronts hard truths on 'The Otherside'
Country singer Cam poses in Nashville, Tenn., on Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2020 to promote her second album The Otherside. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)NASHVILLE, Tenn. โ The five-year journey between albums for country singer Cam was an evolution in coming to grips with hard truths about a music industry that had left her a bit bruised but not broken. But two years ago, Cam decided to walk away from Sony Nashvilleโs imprint Arista citing different values, but remaining under Sony on the RCA Record label based in New York. The title track, a meticulously crafted country dance track, was co-written with acclaimed Swedish dance artist Avicii, whose real name was Tim Bergling. She knew what she was getting into when she heard Smithโs easily recognizable voice on the demo for โHappier For You,โ a melancholic country song that fit well with Cam's aesthetic of moody and introspective country tunes.
Appeals court agrees R&B singer R. Kelly should stay jailed
NEW YORK R. Kelly can remain behind bars awaiting multiple trials on child pornography and other charges in three states, an appeals court in New York said Tuesday as a lawyer for the R&B singer cited another inmate's attack on Kelly last month as one reason he should receive bail. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan upheld a decision by a Brooklyn federal judge to deny bail to Kelly, 53, who remains in a federal jail in Chicago. The 2nd Circuit said prosecutors had proven both and that no condition or combination of conditions could assure against those risks. The appeals court said the lower court also did not err in finding Kelly failed to demonstrate a compelling reason for temporary release. In a court filing in Chicago federal court Friday, Leonard wrote that Kelly sustained unspecified injuries when he was attacked at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago in late August by another inmate. A bail application is pending in Chicago, though the 2nd Circuit ruling would keep him behind bars even if he won bail in Illinois.
Kelly's lawyers want to question gang member in cell attack
CHICAGO Attorneys for R. Kelly want to question a convicted member of the Latin Kings gang who says he beat up the jailed R&B singer in a Chicago cell. Kellys lawyers filed a motion Friday in federal court to question Jeremiah Farmer under oath, the Chicago Tribune reported. Farmer, 39, is facing mandatory life in prison in a racketeering conspiracy that involved a 1999 double murder, according to the newspaper. It appears that MCC personnel simply followed Mr. Farmer, allowed him to carry out the attack, and then only intervened after Mr. Kelly had already sustained serious injuries, Kellys attorney Michael Leonard wrote in the motion. Kellys attorneys have been trying to have him released on bond pending his trial.
Black National Convention puts spotlight on police brutality
Black Lives Matter activists are holding a virtual Black National Convention Friday, Aug. 28, to adopt a political agenda calling for slavery reparations, universal basic income, environmental justice and legislation that entirely re-imagines criminal justice reforms. Anyone who is watching, who is both enraged or looking for action, will find a space" in the Black National Convention, Byrd said. The Black National Convention was originally planned to take place in-person in Detroit, the nations Blackest major city. Fridays convention is expected to be the largest gathering of Black activists and artists, albeit virtual, since the historic 1972 National Black Political Convention in Gary, Indiana, which concluded with the introduction of a national Black agenda. The Black National Convention broadcast begins after the D.C. march has concluded.
R. Kelly's manager charged with phone threats to theater
Donnell Russell, 45, of Chicago, was charged with conspiracy and with threatening physical harm by interstate communication. Threats of gun violence aimed at intimidating and silencing victims of sexual abuse are unlawful as well as unacceptable," she said. William F. Sweeney Jr., head of New York's FBI office, said it defies logic that a threat like the one alleged here could stop victims from speaking about their alleged abuse." Kelly remains jailed in Chicago after pleading not guilty to dozens of state and federal sex crime charges in Illinois, Minnesota and New York. The charges range from sexual assault to leading a racketeering scheme aimed at supplying Kelly with girls.
How an arrest upended filming of 'Surviving Jeffrey Epstein'
This combination of photos released by Lifetime shows participants in the new docuseries Surviving Jeffrey Epstein top row from left, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, Teresa Helm, Jena Lisa Jones, Kiki, Rachel Benavidez, Marijke Chartouni, Chaunte Davies, and Courtney Wild. (Lifetime via AP)NEW YORK The filmmakers behind Surviving Jeffrey Epstein moved quickly when Ghislaine Maxwell was arrested on federal charges that she acted as a recruiter for the financiers sexual abuse. If your timing can be great, our timing was great, said executive producer Robert Friedman. Production was underway when the 66-year-old Epstein killed himself in his New York City prison cell last August after his arrest on sex trafficking charges. To finally have a shot at it (after Maxwell's arrest) is remarkable.Maxwells arrest just a month before the series' premiere triggered a race, but definitely worth it said Sundberg.
Lifetime returns to R. Kelly with a new powerful series
A year later, Lifetime is readying a follow-up series, โ Surviving R. Kelly Part II: The Reckoning, โ with one major difference: this time, R. Kelly will be behind bars when it airs. โSurviving R. Kelly Part II: The Reckoningโ will premiere Thursday on Lifetime. That groundbreaking hip-hop group toured with R. Kelly and Maynes was initially approached by the documentary makers about what he witnessed on the road. In an interview with The Associated Press, he connected R. Kelly to other self-destructive superstars like Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston and Prince. Bryant said the indictments against R. Kelly were never the goal of the series.
APโs top albums of 2019: Ari Lennox, Summer Walker, Anitta
(Republic Records via AP)NEW YORK, NY โ The top 10 albums of the year by Associated Press Music Editor Mesfin Fekadu:1. A nomination โ or eight โ isnโt necessary for any real music fan to realize how outstanding, soulful and poignant Lennoxโs debut album is. Lennoxโs โShea Butter Babyโ is the best album of the year, no matter if awards shows think differently, including you, the Soul Train Music Awards. Summer Walker, โOver Itโ: Summer Walkerโs debut album is perfect, as she spits matter-of-fact lyrics over some beats that borrow from classic โ90s R&B hits including Usher, Destinyโs Child and 702. But even when sheโs not sampling a song, Walker can hold her own, delivering a flawless album thatโs easy to obsess over.
R. Kelly a no-show in federal court because of toenail infection
(CNN) - R. Kelly did not appear Wednesday at a federal court hearing in Chicago because he had a toenail infection, his attorney Steven Greenberg said. The singer is in a walking boot after having his toenail removed and did not want anyone to step on his foot, Greenberg said. Kelly, who is being held without bond in Chicago, is facing separate federal grand jury indictments in Illinois and New York. The anticipated court appearance was part of a status hearing in Kelly's federal case in Illinois. Greenberg has also filed a motion to have obstruction of justice charges against Kelly and Derrel McDavid, his former business partner, removed.
R. Kelly's sexual misconduct trial date set for April
(CNN) - Embattled singer R. Kelly is set to go on trial next spring on sex misconduct charges. Kelly's initial trial date on 13 federal charges in Illinois has been set for April 27, 2020. U.S. District Court Judge Harry Leinenweber set the trial date Wednesday. Kelly, 52, has vehemently denied any allegations of sexual misconduct in the past. The documentary series, "Surviving R. Kelly," which aired this year on Lifetime, revived public interest in the case against Kelly.
Too Much Too Soon: The Life and Death of Aaliyah
Speaking to Inside Edition in 1997, though, Aaliyah shot down the rumors. Aaliyahs mom, Diane Houghton, vehemently denied that Kelly had a sexual relationship with Aaliyah while she was underage after Surviving R. Kelly was released. But I am really busy with a career.Months after her interview with Inside Edition, she released her biggest single, Are You That Somebody? from the Dr. During her interview with Inside Edition, she expressed that she wanted to make sure she branched out of music. The secret to life is just living, she told Inside Edition 1997.
R. Kelly Charged With 2 Counts of Prostitution in Minnesota
R. Kelly is facing a new set of charges. The prosecutor says that the girl removed her clothes and Kelly followed suit, then he danced with her. "It is despicable that Mr. Kelly used his fame in order to prey on underaged girls," Freeman stated. We fully expect that at some future date, Mr. Kelly will have to account for his actions in Hennepin County." RELATED CONTENT:R. Kelly Denied Bail at New York Arraignment HearingR. Kelly's Crisis Manager Announces He's Stepping DownR. Kelly Arrested on Federal Sex Crime Charges in Chicago
R. Kelly Denied Bail at New York Arraignment Hearing
R&B singer R. Kelly pleaded not guilty in a New York City court Friday to charges he sexually abused women and girls. The jailed Kelly appeared for scheduled back-to-back hearings in federal court in Brooklyn, where he was ordered held without bail, reports CBS New York. Kelly, 52, is charged in New York with exploiting five victims, identified only as "Jane Does," three of whom were minors. Kelly often filmed the sexual activity, federal prosecutors say, including sex with the underage victims, constituting child pornography. The allegations have swirled for years around Kelly, whom federal prosecutors said last month was "emboldened by his fame and the lack of any real consequences."