
Benny Blanco Talks Working with Justin Bieber Before Meeting Fiancée Selena Gomez
Many know Benny Blanco as Selena Gomez's sweet, devoted fiancé and new musical partner. But before all of that came a long list of songwriting and production credits with some of the biggest and best artists: Sia, Britney Spears, The Weeknd, Wiz Khalifa, Kanye West, and Justin Bieber.
Here, we look back to when we spoke to Blanco in an interview with @NIGHT host Mr. D about their then-recent release, Lonely. The song was featured as a single on both Bieber's album Justice and Blanco's debut Friends Keep Secrets, co-written by FINNEAS. Blanco said, 'We all wanted to work with each other. Like Justin loves Finneas. I love Finneas. I love Justin. Finneas loves me. Yeah, we got a whole little thing!'
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Recording this song felt vulnerable for Bieber in a way he had never experienced before. 'It was one of those songs that was like a rocky road,' Blanco says. 'He's like, 'man, do I put this song out? I'm just so happy that he was brave enough to put it out because I think it's so important to people.'
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The song went two times platinum in Canada.
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Global News
21 hours ago
- Global News
Smokey Robinson, accused of rape by ex-staff, files defamation lawsuit
NOTE: The following article contains disturbing details of sexual assault. Please read at your own discretion. Music legend Smokey Robinson is suing four of his former employees for defamation after they filed a lawsuit against the singer in early May accusing him of sexual assault and rape. Robinson and his wife, Frances Gladney, countersued the group of housekeepers in Los Angeles on Wednesday, accusing the women of false claims of sexual assault as part of an 'extortionate' lawsuit. The Motown legend's accusers say they were afraid to come forward until now over fears of losing their livelihoods and immigration status — all four plaintiffs are immigrants of Hispanic descent. View image in full screen Smokey Robinson and Frances Gladney attend the 66th Grammy Awards Pre-Grammy gala in Los Angeles. Amy Sussman / Getty Images The accusers, who filed their anonymous suit in Los Angeles Superior Court, are seeking at least US$50 million in damages. The women say they experienced abuse between 2007 and 2024, and labour violations including a hostile work environment, illegally long hours and lack of pay. Story continues below advertisement The singer has denied the allegations and is currently under investigation for sexual assault. His lawyers argue that the complainants are after his money. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy The couple claims that the women accompanied them on family vacations and celebrated holidays together. 'The Robinsons did not abuse, harm, or take advantage of plaintiffs; they treated plaintiffs with the utmost kindness and generosity,' their lawsuit states. Robinson's lawyers have also filed a motion to dismiss the accusers' lawsuit on the basis that they should not have been granted anonymity. The accusers filed on May 6 as Jane Doe 1, 2, 3 and 4. The lengthy legal document refers to at least 50 separate alleged incidents of rape, dating back almost two decades, where Robinson is accused of forcing his former staff into sex. View image in full screen American singer Smokey Robinson performs onstage at the Holiday Star Theater, Merrillville, Ind., July 28, 1982. Paul Natkin / Getty Images Jane Doe 1, who was hired in January 2023, claimed she was left with no choice but to resign in February 2024 after experiencing numerous assaults. Story continues below advertisement According to the filing, she would work by herself at the family home on weekends. On Saturdays, Robinson would take his wife to the nail salon and then rush home to be alone with Jane Doe 1. 'Upon returning home, Defendant Smokey Robinson would call her into his blue bedroom, lock the door and escort their dog Shilo out of the room. He will have showered and clothed only in his underwear. He would then neatly place a white towel on his bed, not to soil the bed linens, in preparation for what was about to occur,' the lawsuit states, adding that he would 'roughly penetrate' her, causing 'great pain.' The plaintiff says she protested and attempted to escape his assaults, to no avail. According to the lawsuit, Jane Doe 1 was assaulted in such a manner at least seven times. Similarly, Jane Doe 2 resigned from her position in 2020, following years of alleged assaults that she says started in 2016. The filing says Robinson began summoning her via text message to areas of his residence not under security camera surveillance, including the garage, the laundry room and his blue bedroom, where he would force himself upon her and rape her, allegedly on 23 occasions. If Jane Doe 2 protested, Robinson would threaten her, saying he would get his wife to 'be mean' to her, the filing states, adding that his wife had knowledge of the abuse and failed to act. Story continues below advertisement Jane Doe 3, who worked for the Robinsons for 12 years from 2012 until 2024, when she resigned, claims to have been sexually assaulted by the musician for almost the entirety of her tenure. On one occasion, he offered her $500 in exchange for oral sex, a proposition she says she refused, according to court documents. She claims to have been raped by Robinson at least 20 times. Jane Doe 4 says she was forced to resign in 2024, having worked for the family since 2006, due to repeated sexual assaults by Robinson, including rape and daily harassment. Robinson, a member of both the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame, was among the biggest hitmakers of the 1960s, both with his group the Miracles and as a solo artist, with songs including Tears of a Clown and The Tracks of My Tears. He was a central part of the Motown Records music machine in his hometown of Detroit as an artist, producer and songwriter for other artists. — With files from The Associated Press


National Post
2 days ago
- National Post
Co-defendant in Vince McMahon sex trafficking lawsuit makes deal to help accuser
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Global News
2 days ago
- Global News
Kevin Costner sued by ‘Horizon' stunt double over ‘unscripted' rape scene
Actor Kevin Costner and producers of his film Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 2 are being sued by one of the movie's stunt performers over allegations that she was forced to perform a violent, unscripted rape scene without consent or prior warning. Devyn Labella, the lead stunt double for Ella Hunt, who plays a character named Juliette in the Horizon franchise — a four-part western series written and directed by Costner, who also stars in the movie — filed a lawsuit in California on Tuesday. View image in full screen Kevin Costner on the red carpet for 'Horizon: An American Saga' at the 77th annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 19, 2024, in Cannes, France. Gisela Schober / Getty Images She is claiming that on May 2, 2023, Costner made her partake in an improvised rape scene the day after Hunt and LaBella had shot a scripted scene also depicting rape by a different character. Story continues below advertisement Hunt declined to film the unscripted scene, according to the filing. Consequently, LaBella was called to fill in, unaware that Hunt had refused to participate and vacated the set. The lawsuit alleges that LaBella was not given prior warning that a new male actor in the impromptu scene had been instructed to 'climb on top of Ms. Hunt (LaBella)' and 'violently' pull up her skirt. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'Defendant Costner, who was present on the set, specifically added this scene, which varied from the scene filmed the day before, which had not involved pulling up the actor's skirt. Moreover, this revised scene is not specified in the assigned call sheet for that day,' lawyers for the plaintiff argued. View image in full screen Left to right: Isabelle Fuhrman, Ella Hunt, Kevin Costner, Sienna Miller and Abbey Lee Kershaw attend the 'Horizon: An American Saga' photocall at the 77th annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 19, 2024, in Cannes, France. Stephane Cardinale - Corbis / Getty Images According to LaBella, during the filming of the scene, Costner told her to 'lay down' in a wagon while he directed the male actor to 'repeatedly perform a violent simulated rape' on her, while Costner continued to experiment with different angles and 'takes.' Story continues below advertisement The lawsuit argues that Costner violated the terms of LaBella's contract, established by her union, SAG-AFTRA, which requires all performers to consent to participating in scenes simulating sex or involving nudity and to receive 48 hours' notice ahead of filming sequences of that nature. LaBella says she was not given the required warning and that she did not consent, as required in her contract. She also says there was no intimacy co-ordinator present, which is compulsory under Hunt's contract, and also applied to LaBella as her stunt double. In addition, the lawsuit claims the set was not closed. It is common practice that during the filming of intimate scenes, only a skeleton crew is present. However, LaBella claims that 'the scene was broadcast publicly on monitors for the entire crew to witness … anyone could walk by and observe the scene being performed.' It also states that, unlike the unscripted rape scene, the scripted one filmed the day prior was rehearsed and overseen by an intimacy co-ordinator on a closed set, as stipulated in her contract. LaBella is seeking damages for sexual harassment, a hostile work environment and breach of contract. She claims to have been left in the wagon alone after the scene wrapped, saying that she felt 'shock, embarrassment, and humiliation while attempting to process the situation,' and that she was 'holding back tears.' Story continues below advertisement LaBella was required to continue working on another scene afterward, despite her 'terrified' feelings, her lawyers say. In a statement to Variety, Costner's lawyer, Marty Singer, denied the allegations, saying his client 'always wants to make sure that everyone is comfortable working on his films and takes safety on set very seriously,' adding that LaBella's claim has 'absolutely no merit, and it is completely contradicted by her own actions — and the facts.' 'Ms. LaBella is a serial accuser of people in the entertainment industry and has worked with the same lawyer on past claims. But those shakedown tactics won't work in this case,' he continued. Costner argues that LaBella was briefed on the scene and allowed to rehearse it before giving a 'thumbs up' to her stunt co-ordinator, which, according to his lawyers, indicated her willingness to participate if she was needed, which she was not, Costner says. Instead, he says LaBella attended a dinner with the stunt co-ordinators, was in 'good spirits' and made 'no complaints to them.' According to the lawsuit, LaBella was not rehired for the filming of the third installment and has not been called back to work with the stunt co-ordinators on any other projects despite having worked with them on multiple projects before.