Latest news with #TalentAgenciesAct
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The heartbreaking reason Kelly Clarkson missed her show tapings
(NewsNation) — When Kelly Clarkson mysteriously missed 10 consecutive tapings of her show last month, fans were baffled. I reported she was 'overwhelmed,' and rumors circulated she wanted to quit her show. MrBeast fans seek refunds after Las Vegas event The mystery deepened even more after Clarkson returned to taping the show, citing 'personal reasons' as to why she was out, but refused to address said reasons publicly. But I can now reveal what insiders are saying happened. Welcome to 'The Scoop' — the ultimate back-to-the-office water cooler cheat sheet, your go-to source for all things everyone really wants to know! Get the latest on everything from the political swamp maneuvering in D.C. and Hollywood drama to jaw-dropping small-town shenanigans from Paula Froelich. 'Her ex-husband is sick and she took the kids to see him,' one person in the know told me. Clarkson's ex, Brandon Blackstock, was a music manager (including hers) until recent years when he stopped working for Starstruck Entertainment, the company his father, Norvill Blackstock, founded. While Clarkson and Blackstock had a protracted divorce battle, which turned into a nasty business battle (he was Clarkson's manager and an executive producer of her eponymous show for some years), 'He is still the children's father,' my source said. The former couple share a daughter, River Rose, 10, and son, Remington Alexander, 9. But things have not always been so copasetic between the two. After Clarkson filed for divorce on June 4, 2020, there was a protracted, two-year custody and spousal support battle that ended in 2022. Clarkson, according to Entertainment Tonight, 'retained the couple's highly contested Montana ranch in the settlement, as well as ownership of the family pets, several cars, including a Ford Bronco, a Ford F-250, and a Porsche Cayenne. She was also ordered to pay Blackstock $1.3 million and contribute $45,000 per month in child support for their two children. Additionally, Blackstock was granted $115,000 per month in spousal support, set to conclude in January 2024.' Michelle Trachtenberg's cause of death revealed But while the divorce was over, one year later, Clarkson sued Blackstock for violating California labor laws. Clarkson stressed that he and Starstruck Entertainment broke the Talent Agencies Act by acting as an 'unlicensed talent agency', and in 2023, a California labor commissioner found Blackstock guilty of improper management and ordered him to reimburse his ex-wife $2,641,374 for past commissions. Since then Clarkson has taken several shots at Blackstock, including, according to Entertainment Tonight, revising the lyrics of Gayle's 'ABCDEFU,' in July 2023, and singing, 'F**k you and your dad and the fact that you got half / And my broken heart, turn that s**t into art / F**k you, and your view from the valley I bought too / Everybody but your dogs, you can all f**k off!' More Gene Hackman investigation bodycam footage released When I called Starstruck, a woman answering the phones screamed, 'We are not commenting on that!' And hung up on me. A call to Norvill Blackstock and Brandon's lawyer Bryan Freedman were not returned and multiple emails and calls to Clarkson's rep Melissa Kates or NBC reps, Kelly Kimball or Jen Geisser were not returned. Our best goes out to Brandon and Kelly. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
28-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
How Range Is Firing Back At CAA Over Its Blockbuster Lawsuit
In the periphery of CAA's lawsuit against management firm Range Media Partners is a nod to a bitter standoff five years ago between the Writers Guild of America and talent agents that changed the way agencies do business. It concerned the decades-old collection of packaging fees, whereby agencies receive ongoing payments from studios in exchange for having bundled one or more clients on a project, as well as agency-owned production entities that take ownership stakes in content. The agencies insisted that the practices offer higher financial upside for talent, while the WGA called out potential conflicts of interest that disincentivize agents from getting their clients the best deal possible. Ultimately, CAA backed down, agreeing to a guild rule barring it from acting as a packaging agent or owning a major stake in a production entity. At first glance, CAA's lawsuit is about a tale as old as time: Departing agents allegedly stole confidential information to poach clients. But its scope reaches the heart of the firm's business dealings. CAA claims that Range is actually just a rival talent agency masquerading as a management company, giving it an unfair advantage over competitors because it's not bound by certain guild agreements, like rules over how deals can be structured. The company, for instance, can offer high-profile clients the ability to avoid paying a commission in favor of giving it a producer fee or credit on their project. More from The Hollywood Reporter SoCal Fire Fund Auctioning Off Lunch With Julia Roberts and 'Only Murders in the Building' Set Visit to Support Relief Efforts Producers Guild of America and Entertainment Community Fund Establish Fire Relief Fund CAA, Sean Penn's CORE and LAUSD Launch Fund to Aid Wildfire Recovery The lawsuit seeks a court order blocking Range from further violating the Talent Agencies Act, a licensing scheme that says only licensed agents can 'procure' work for clients in the entertainment business and that managers caught doing the same can have their contracts voided and commissions forfeited, and representing WGA members without permission from the guild. One question that could decide the case has emerged in the legal standoff: Is CAA improperly using its lawsuit filed in California state court as a vehicle to assert claims believed to be under the purview of the California Labor Commission? Beyond that, is Range's business model something CAA can target in a lawsuit? By Range's thinking, detailed in a demurrer filed on Monday, CAA should be barred from further pursuing the case. Even if the facts alleged in its complaint are true — and it doesn't make that concession — the agency doesn't assert legally sufficient claims, Range alleges. It characterizes the dispute as a powerful company attempting to penalize longtime employees for leaving, portraying CAA as a quasi monopolist that 'leveraged its dominance and market power to control key aspects of the entertainment industry.' In a statement, Orin Snyder, a lawyer for Range, said CAA is 'trying to use its power to bully and intimidate Range and its founders.' He adds, 'For an agency that professes to support talent, it's ironic that CAA is now attempting to reduce choice in the industry.' And when four former CAA employees left the agency to join Range, founded by CAA's former head of its TV department Peter Micelli, it retaliated by cancelling their vested equity citing allegedly illegal noncompete provisions in their contracts that shouldn't apply anyway because they intended to work as managers and not as agents, Range says in the filing. CAA only filed its lawsuit, the firm adds, because arbitration isn't going its way. 'CAA has not explained why it waited until late 2024 to file this case if, as it alleges, Range stole confidential information and competed unlawfully four years ago, in 2020. Nor has it explained why it did not file suit two years ago when it raised these allegations in arbitration,' writes Snyder, joined by Ilissa Samplin and Daniel Nowicki. He argues that CAA's claims are 'either preempted, filed in the wrong tribunal, or defective as a matter of law because CAA lacks standing to bring the claim.' The thrust of CAA's lawsuit revolves around the claim that Range gained an unfair competitive advantage by stealing confidential information, violating the TAA and neglecting to contract with the WGA. Range responds by arguing that The Uniform Trade Secrets Act blocks any allegation concerning the theft of confidential business information. That's not all. It says that CAA should take its case to the California Labor Commission, which has authority over claims alleging a violation of the TAA. 'Of course, this does not mean CAA is entitled to any relief from the Labor Commissioner, or that it even has standing to bring a TAA claim,' the filing states. 'The Labor Commissioner's regulations specify that the only cognizable disputes under the TAA are disputes between artists and their agents, not between an agency and its alleged competitor.' To date, no artist has filed a TAA complaint against Range, the company says. Regardless, it adds that CAA cannot bring a claim alleging a violation of the law against Range on behalf of talent. Range advances similar arguments in moving to dismiss claims over aiding and abetting, as well as interference with prospective economic advantage. In its latest filing, Range says that the legal roadblocks CAA faces are fatal and that it shouldn't be allowed to fix its lawsuit if the court grants its motion. Since its inception four years ago, Range has surfaced as a competitor — albeit a small one — in a talent agency landscape that's consolidated into three major players after CAA in 2022 closed its acquisition of ICM Partners. It's drawn investments from hedge fund billionaire Steve Cohen's Point72 Ventures, media mogul John Malone's Liberty Global, TPG founder David Bonderman's Wildcat Capital, family entertainment company Playground Productions and A+E Networks, which serves as a co-producer on scripted TV projects set up at the company. And Range employees aren't the only former agents to pivot to management. Theresa Kang and Phil Sun have both left WME in recent years to start their own management firms. Best of The Hollywood Reporter How the Warner Brothers Got Their Film Business Started Meet the World Builders: Hollywood's Top Physical Production Executives of 2023 Men in Blazers, Hollywood's Favorite Soccer Podcast, Aims for a Global Empire
