Entertainment
Veteran Actor, Bill Cosby Freed from Prison
US comedian Bill Cosby was freed from prison on Wednesday, in a blow to the #MeToo movement, after a US court overturned his conviction for drugging and sexually assaulting a woman 15 years ago.
The 83-year-old left SCI Phoenix, a state jail 35 miles (56 kilometers) northwest of Philadelphia, after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that Cosby had been denied a fair trial.
Cosby, who shattered racial barriers with his Emmy-winning role on “I Spy” in the 1960s, was convicted in 2018 of assaulting Andrea Constand at his Philadelphia mansion in 2004.
But the judges wrote in a 79-page decision that a non-prosecution agreement between a former district attorney and Cosby over evidence he gave in a civil case meant the actor should not have been charged.
“Cosby’s convictions and judgment of sentence are vacated, and he is discharged,” they wrote.
Cosby, who also starred as a dad and doctor on the hit TV series “The Cosby Show,” in the 1980s, left prison just before 2:30 pm (1830 GMT), a spokesperson for Pennsylvania’s Department of Corrections told AFP.
His conviction was the first guilty verdict for sexual assault against a celebrity since the advent of the worldwide reckoning against sexual violence and abuse of power dubbed the #MeToo movement.
Accusers of Cosby and supporters of the movement expressed anger at his release.
Lawyer Lisa Bloom said she and the three Cosby accusers that she represents were “disgusted that he is a free man today.”
Cosby served more than two years of a three-to-ten-year sentence for aggravated indecent assault and has always maintained his innocence.
He has not reacted to his release and Cosby’s publicist did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Although more than 60 women charged that they had been victims of sexual assault by Cosby, he was tried criminally only for Constand’s assault, since the statute of limitations had expired in the other cases.
Cosby has insisted that the encounter with Constand, who was then a Temple University employee, was consensual.
(AFP)
Entertainment
Actor Lalude Laments Unpaid N1.5m Promised Him by MC Oluomo to Campaign for Tinubu, Sanwo-Olu
Nollywood actor, Fatai Adekunle Adetayo, popularly known as Lalude, has accused the president of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), MC Oluomo, of failing to fulfil financial promises made to celebrities who campaigned for President Bola Tinubu and Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, during the 2023 general elections.
Speaking during a recent episode of the Beyond the Fame podcast, Lalude expressed deep disappointment over what he described as abandonment, revealing that he and other entertainers were promised N1.5 million each by MC Oluomo but never received a dime.
Lalude, known for his iconic ‘babalawo’ roles in Yoruba movies, said he and other actors, including comedian Ganiu ‘Alapini’ Nofiu, were lodged and made to campaign for weeks without proper compensation.
According to him, they initially received N10,000 daily for feeding, but even that was stopped abruptly.
“We were camped for seven weeks. We trekked long distances every day while MC Oluomo followed us in his car. In the end, we were abandoned,” he lamented.
He claimed that both he and Alapini were promised N1.5 million each, a promise that was never fulfilled.
‘We finished the work and no dime was given to us. Is it good? It was MC who called us.
“MC promised me and Alapini. He asked us to demand for whatever we wanted. We did but we got nothing up till date.
“He took us to where we lodged to campaign for the president. He promised to give us N1.5 million each.
“Whoever is behind these misdeeds will not prosper. I know they will still come to us by 2027 and we are waiting for them?” He added bitterly.
This comes just days after veteran Nollywood actor Ganiu Nafiu, popularly known as Alapini, and actress Bukky Adekogbe Raji, also known as Aminatu Papapa, expressed deep regret for supporting President Tinubu during the 2023 presidential campaign.
Popular Nigerian film and stage producer, Kayode Peters, has passed away in Canada.
“Yes, he is,” Yaw told Peoples Gazette when asked if Mr Peters had died. “I am still trying to speak with his brother but he is not picking.”
Circumstances surrounding the producer’s death remain unclear as of the time of this report.
Mr Peters was known for his work on several stage plays and sitcoms, including Extended Family, and he was behind the hit comedy sitcom Flatmates in the early 2000s. He was also regarded as a significant contributor to Nigeria’s contemporary theatre and television space.
Anna Wintour has stepped down as the editor-in-chief of Vogue after an impressive 37-year tenure.
According to recent reports, Condé Nast, the publisher of Vogue, has initiated the search for her successor.
This significant development marks a new era in the fashion industry, given Wintour’s unparalleled influence in shaping Vogue’s editorial direction and cementing its position as a global fashion authority.
As Wintour’s legacy continues to inspire future generations of fashion enthusiasts and industry professionals, her departure raises questions about Vogue’s future direction and the potential shifts in editorial focus.
However, the circumstances surrounding her departure remain undisclosed.
