EXCLUSIVE Michael Jordan's furious response to being named in twisted Diddy roleplay fantasy with Shaq
But the NBA great, 62, was taken aback this week when he was interrupted on his Italian trip to be told his name had come up at the trial of disgraced rap mogul .
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Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Furious judge blasts Katy Perry lawyers for 'outrageous' attempt to sneak in singer's evidence in $15M battle over veteran's house
Katy Perry got off to a rocky start on the first day of her real estate trial Thursday after the judge blasted her lawyers for trying to ambush his courtroom with a surprise video appearance by the pop superstar. 'It's outrageous, it's not nice, it's unfair,' fumed LA Superior Court Judge Joseph Lipner on day one of the bitter damages trial in which the singer 40, is seeking millions from 85-year-old dying veteran Carl Westcott over repairs and back rent on the $15million Montecito mansion she bought from him five years ago. The judge's tirade came after Westcott's attorney, Andrew Thomas, revealed that Perry's legal team had only informed him a day earlier that the singer, who is currently on tour, would only be available to testify at 1:30pm Thursday. 'I object to that because it's undue surprise,' Thomas told the court. 'I am not prepared yet to question Ms. Hudson' – Perry's lawyers asked for her to be referred to by her real name which is Katheryn Hudson. 'I intend to put on a case in which I will call Ms. Hudson in a certain order and that was not going to be today. It would be extremely prejudicial for her to testify today.' Perry's attorney, Eric Rowen accused Westcott's lawyers of 'targeting' her and 'creating a media circus'. 'She has nothing to do with the damages part of this case,' he added. But Judge Lipner sided with Thomas, accusing Perry's legal squad of unfair tactics that he said 'reflect badly on them and Ms. Hudson.' He ordered Perry's attorneys to reschedule her testimony to a later date when she's available, which was eventually set for Tuesday August 26 at 11am via video. He also ruled that the pop singer won't have to take the stand for more than two hours. Westcott - who suffers from an incurable brain disorder - agreed to sell his 1930s estate in star-studded Montecito to Perry in 2020 for $15million in cash. Perry and Bloom penned a personal letter to Westcott following the sale of the property in 2020, which expressed how grateful they were to have been sold the home Just days later, he tried to back out of the deal, claiming he was under the influence of painkillers when he signed. But Perry and her now-ex fiancé, Orlando Bloom, fought him, insisting that they want to keep the 9,000 sq ft home and use it to raise their daughter Daisy – who will turn five on Tuesday, the day her mother testifies. Westcott sued to get the sales contract voided but, after a nearly four-year court battle, the famous pair won their case to keep the giant property 100 miles north of LA, where other celebrity residents include Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Oprah Winfrey, Ariana Grande, and Gwyneth Paltrow. Soon after winning the keys to the 9,000 sq. ft. house, the singer went back to court again, this time seeking $6million from Westcott, claiming nearly $2.5million in damages to the sprawling, 2.5-acre property and the $3.5million in back rent she could have charged during her long legal fight. On Thursday, Perry's attorneys said they were reducing their damages claim to $1.3million, knocking $1.2million off the bill. Perry – who is also trying to force Westcott to pay her estimated $3million legal fees – has come under fire from his family members for going after their ailing patriarch. They say they are outraged by the 'greed ' of the pop star, estimated to be worth $350million, and have slammed the 'Hollywood elite system' that they say allows celebrities like her to 'treat ordinary people like dirt'. 'It's entitled celebrity behavior,' Carl's son Chart Westcott, 39, said. 'She has no sense of fair play, no empathy, zero empathy, quite the opposite.' Chart said that it was a 'miracle' that his bedridden father – who is 'in horrible condition' as he receives hospice care for Huntington's disease – has 'survived longer than we ever expected' And he bitterly disputes the millions Perry is demanding for lost rental income and repairs to the estate, which boasts a tennis court, two guesthouses and a pool, The damages she is seeking are 'absolutely egregious', said Chart, whose brother Court is married to Real Housewives of Dallas star Kameron Westcott. 'There's no real explanation other than greed. This is such a small deal to be worried about – I think its a matter of privilege.' Perry hired more than a dozen 'experts' to scour the house for faults and argues that the property needed $1.1million in repairs for extensive basement damage caused by flooding from a water leak, and $225,000 to repair the roof of a a guest cottage/poolhouse damaged when an oak tree fell on. She's also asking for $3.5million in lost rent that she could have earned on the posh retreat despite stating at the time of the sale that she wanted the house to raise daughter Daisy. Some 37 names are on the witness list for the non-jury trial which is expected to last 45 days. Both Court – who was in court Thursday – and Chart Westcott are also on the list while many of the other witnesses are 'experts' hired by Perry to tell how the mansion fell into disrepair during the long-running legal debacle. Bloom, 48, was also subpoenaed by Westcott's attorneys to be a witness. But judge Lipner excused him, saying he wanted to avoid a 'celebrity circus'. Westcott, a veteran of the US Army 101st Airborne was born into a 'dirt poor' family in Mississippi but moved to LA where he made his fortune building several successful companies including 1-800-Flowers. He and Perry became ensnared in their bitter dispute after he claimed his judgment was clouded by powerful medication and ill health when he inked the deal to sell on July 15, 2020. He had only purchased the home in May of that year and moved in two months prior to his dealings with Perry's manager, Bernie Gudvi, who agreed to pay Westcott $3,750,000 more than he had just bought it for. The then-80-year-old had been discharged from the hospital only four days prior to signing, having undergone a six-hour back operation and he was on a potent cocktail of opiates to numb the pain, according to his lawyers. When the medication wore off, Westcott said he realized he'd made a mistake and decided he no longer wanted to sell. 'The combination of his age, frailty from his back condition and recent surgery, and the opiates he was taking several times a day rendered Mr. Westcott of unsound mind,' his lawyers argued. But Perry and Bloom's persisted in their quest to own the mansion and went to court, using Gudvi to front their case. Then, Westcott's family took up the fight on his behalf after he became bedridden and mentally incapacitated because of Huntington's disease, which attacks the brain and can cause progressive dementia. The famous couple – who split in June after nine years together – won their original case after Judge Lipner ruled that there was 'no persuasive evidence' that Westcott lacked the capacity to sign the contract. 'There are no grounds for rescission. The contract must be respected,' the judge concluded, leaving only the issue of damages – essentially how big a discount, if any, to award to Perry - to be determined. In the midst of her litigation with Westcott, Perry
The Guardian
5 hours ago
- The Guardian
Italian police arrest Ukrainian man over Nord Stream pipelines blast
A Ukrainian man alleged to have been involved in the 2022 detonation of the Nord Stream pipelines carrying gas from Russia to Germanyhas been arrested in Italy, according to German authorities. The man, identified only as Serhiy K, is believed to have been onboard the sailing boat from where the attack was allegedly carried out. Carabinieri arrested him on Wednesday evening near Rimini after a European arrest warrant was issued on Monday, Germany's federal prosecutor's office (GBA) said on Thursday. The attacks on the pipelines, which were not in use, were carried out on 26 September 2022 and damaged them apparently beyond repair. Investigators have long suspected a Ukrainian commando operation. Divers are believed to have been taken there by the chartered sailing yacht Andromeda, which set off from the German port of Rostock to the area close to the pipelines near the Danish island of Bornholm, where they planted explosives on the sea bed. Serhiy K is thought to have been onboard. Investigators do not believe he was one of the divers, but he is thought to have had a leading role as a coordinator of what appeared to have been a well-planned operation. The yacht was hired with the help of intermediaries and using forged identity papers, from a German company, according to prosecutors. The incident has been under investigation since 2022 by the GBA, which said it intended to charge any suspects with anti-constitutional sabotage and causing an explosion. During extensive media investigations, in particular by the news magazine Der Spiegel, people who allegedly had detailed knowledge of the incident said the commandos had not intended to commit a crime. Instead, they had considered it an attack on a legitimate military target due to Russia's war on Ukraine, not least because the profits from gas deliveries to Germany had contributed significantly to financing Moscow's war. Spiegel's research revealed evidence suggesting the action had been sanctioned by the Ukrainian armed forces, although this has been denied by Kyiv. German prosecutors have not said when they expect Serhiy K to be extradited to face German authorities. Separate investigations by Swedish and Danish authorities were closed in February 2024, leaving German authorities to continue their inquiries alone. Sign up to This is Europe The most pressing stories and debates for Europeans – from identity to economics to the environment after newsletter promotion At one point Russia accused the US of being behind the sabotage, following Washington's criticism of Germany's dependence on Russian gas. Another initial strong assumption was that the perpetrators were Russian – but investigators traced the yacht and discovered its connection to Ukraine. Like Kyiv, Washington and Moscow denied the allegations. Last year Germany's federal prosecutor general, Jens Rommel, secured an initial arrest warrant against one of the suspected divers. However, the suspect left his home in Poland before he could be arrested after Polish authorities allegedly warned Ukrainian authorities in advance. The man is believed to have driven into Ukraine in a car with diplomatic licence plates, according to Spiegel. Separately on Thursday, the Georgian captain of an oil tanker that damaged undersea cables in the Baltic Sea in 2024 after his vessel dragged along the sea bed for about 55 miles has denied wrongdoing, calling the incident a 'maritime accident'. Davit Vadatchkoria and the first and second officers of the Eagle S oil tanker are to face charges in a Helsinki court on Monday over the slicing of power and telecommunications cables as their vessel travelled westwards in the Gulf of Finland, having departed from a Russian oil port. 'We are innocent. It's only a maritime accident,' Vadatchkoria, who is being detained in Finland, told the Finnish public broadcaster YLE on Thursday.
The Independent
5 hours ago
- The Independent
Foxy Knoxy no more: How Monica Lewinsky and Amanda Knox teamed up to reclaim Knox's narrative
Monica Lewinsky is keenly aware of what it feels like when your name is no longer your own and becomes attached to a character conjured by others. An affair that she had with President Clinton nearly 30 years ago as a White House intern made her an international headline. So, when Lewinsky read that Amanda Knox, another woman whose image precedes her, wanted to adapt her memoir for the screen, she felt she was in a unique position to help. Knox was on a study abroad program in Italy in 2007 when one of her housemates, Meredith Kercher, was killed. She and her then-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito quickly became the prime suspects. The story was a tabloid sensation and Knox was branded Foxy Knoxy. After a lengthy trial, she and Sollecito were convicted of Kercher's murder and sentenced to more than 20 years in prison; they were later acquitted and exonerated. Knox has already told her story in two memoirs and it's been dramatized by others. There was a Lifetime movie about the case and she believes the 2021 movie "Stillwater" starring Matt Damon was unfairly familiar. 'I have a story to tell because I have a mission, and my mission is to help people appreciate what really is going on when justice goes awry," Knox said about why she entrusted Lewinsky to help tell her story through 'The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox." 'This woman, who has gone through her own version of hell where the world had diminished her to a punchline inspired me to feel like maybe there was a path forward in my life," Knox said. The limited series is now streaming on Hulu. Grace Van Patten ("Tell Me Lies") stars and both Knox and Lewinsky are among its executive producers. Shared but different trauma Lewinsky was not always in a place to help others reclaim their narrative because her own was too much to bear. She remembers vaguely hearing about Knox's case but didn't have the energy to give it attention. 'I was allergic to cases like this,' Lewinsky said. 'I had just come out of graduate school at the end of 2006. And 2007 was a very challenging year for me.' She believed graduate school would lead to a new beginning and desired to 'have a new identity and go get a job like a normal person.' She said the realization that wasn't going to happen 'was a pretty devastating moment." In 2014, Lewinsky wrote a personal essay for Vanity Fair and became one of its contributors. She went on to produce a documentary and give a TedTalk called 'The Price of Shame,' addressing cyber-bullying and public-shaming. Educating others provided Lewinsky with a purpose she had been looking for. 'With most everything I do, it feels really important to me that it moves a conversation forward somehow," said Lewinsky. She now hosts a podcast called 'Reclaiming with Monica Lewinsky.' By the time they officially began working on 'Twisted Tale,' Lewinsky was in protective mode. The 52-year-old Lewinsky, 14 years older than Knox, wanted to shield her from painful moments. She recalled being particularly worried that Knox would be traumatized by reading the first script. 'It's someone else's interpretation. There's dramatic license,' explained Lewinsky, who said she can still 'have sensitivities' to reading something written about her. Instead, Knox was OK and Lewinsky learned they're 'triggered by different things.' She laughs about it now: 'Amanda's a lot more agreeable than me.' The interrogation was key Knox said a part of her story that she wanted to make sure the TV series got right was the interrogation scene. She still describes it as 'the worst experience of my life and a really defining moment in how this whole case went off the rails. 'I was interrogated for 53 hours over five days. We don't see that on screen," she said. Now an advocate for criminal justice reform, Knox hopes viewers are moved by the condensed version and recognize 'the emotional truth and the psychological truth of that scenario.' Knox said she was coerced into signing a confession that she did not understand because of the language barrier. She was not fluent in Italian and did not have a lawyer with her at the time. In that document, Knox wrongly accused a local bar owner of the murder, and she still has a slander conviction because of it. Knox's lawyers recently filed paperwork to appeal that decision. She believes interrogations should have more transparency 'because what happens behind closed doors results in coerced confessions from innocent people to this day. I really wanted to shed a light on that.' No villains in Knox's version Knox has returned to Italy three times since her release from prison. One of those times was to meet with the prosecutor of her case after years of correspondence. Showrunner-creator KJ Stenberg said she had to condense more than 400 pages of their writing back-and-forth for their reunion scene. That meeting ultimately became the framework for the series. 'The scope of this story isn't, 'Here's the bad thing that happened to Amanda, the end.' The scope of the story is Amanda's going back to Italy and to appreciate why she made that choice, we need to go back and revisit everything that leads up to it," said Knox. Viewers will also see others' perspectives, including Sollecito's, a prison chaplain and confidante, and Knox's mother. It also shows how the investigators and prosecutor reached the conclusion at the time that Knox and Sollecito were guilty. 'We did not want mustache-twirling villains," said Knox. "We wanted the audience to come away from the story thinking, 'I can relate to every single person in this perfect storm.' That, to me, was so, so important because I did not want to do the harm that had been done to me in the past.' 'It's showing all of these people who are going through the same situation and all truly believing they were doing the right thing," added Van Patten. Knox isn't presented as perfect either in the series. 'I wasn't interested in doing a hagiography of Amanda Knox, nor was Amanda,' said Steinberg. Knox's harsh return to life after prison Knox had a hard time adjusting to so-called 'real life' after she was acquitted and returned home to the United States. This is shown in 'Twisted Tale.' 'I couldn't interact like a normal person with other people," said Knox. 'I went back to school and there were students who were taking pictures of me in class and posting them to social media with really unkind commentary.' She said the stigma has become "a huge, like, life-defining problem for me to solve.' 'People don't think about the adjustments she had to go through to reinsert herself into normal life, which is still not normal,' said Van Patten. Knox said she's learned that there are positives and negatives to her unique situation. 'There are exoneree friends of mine who have been able to move on with a life and be around people who don't know about the worst experience of their life. That's kind of a blessing and a curse. You don't have to explain yourself all the time but it's a curse because then this thing that was so defining of who you are as a person is something that you maybe feel like you don't know if you should share." "In my case, I never had that choice." Knox is now a married mother of two and grateful that her life did not turn out the way that she feared it would while in prison, particularly that she would never have children. "I was 22 years old when I was given a 26-year prison sentence. I could do the math,' she said. 'So every single day when I am with my children, I am reminded that this might not have happened. I don't care if I'm exhausted and I'm overwhelmed, this is what life is all about.'
