The Grapevine
Trina Braxton calling it quits on marriage.
Word on the street Tim Duncan hired a private investigator to spy on cheating wifey .
Eminem Suing Facebook For Over $150,000 For Using Em Music In The New Facebook Commercial
Eminem Suing Facebook For Over $150,000 For Using Em Music In The New Facebook
In the 12-page complaint, filed Monday evening in Detroit federal court, Ferndale, Mich.-based Eight Mile Style contends that a Facebook ad that was broadcast online April 4 copied music from Eminem's 2000 song Under the Influence.
The 30-second ad, dubbed Airplane, was featured in a webcast by Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg to announce Facebook Home, an interface for Android phones. Some viewers at the time noted a similarity between the ad's music and Eminem's song.
Eight Mile Style oversees rights and licensing for Eminem's song catalog.
The complaint claims the ad agency, Wieden + Kennedy of Portland, Ore., copied Eminem's music "in an effort to curry favor with Facebook by catering to Zuckerberg's personal likes and interests, and/or to invoke the same irreverent theme" of the rapper's song.
A Facebook spokesperson declined to comment on the suit. The Free Press has contacted an attorney for Wieden + Kennedy seeking comment.
A version of the commercial featuring new music was posted to YouTube several days later. That version has also since aired on television.
The lawsuit contends the alteration "was an admission that Facebook knew it had infringed" on the Eminem song.
This isn't the first time Eight Mile Style has taken on a tech giant: Apple Inc. reached an out-of-court settlement with the publisher in 2005 after using Eminem's Lose Yourself in an iPod commercial without permission.
Audi agreed to a settlement in 2011 after using a Lose Yourself sound-alike song in a European promotional clip.
The Facebook Home media event took place in early April — the same week that web sleuths made headlines by purportedly turning up the old Angelfire homepage of a teenage Zuckerberg.
That site includes an "About Me" page that cites Eminem's best-known persona: "Hi, my name is ... Slim Shady. No, really, my name is Slim Shady. Just kidding, my name is Mark."
Further twisting the plot: Wieden+Kennedy was the firm behind Eminem's famed Super Bowl spot with Chrysler in 2011 — which featured an authorized version of Lose Yourself.
Eight Mile Style had directly complained to the ad agency in April about the Facebook ad music. In an April 29 response obtained by the Free Press, a Wieden + Kennedy attorney argued that Eight Mile Style had no grounds to assert copyright, saying the Eminem song passage had itself been copied from Michael Jackson's 1991 song Give In to Me.
In the letter, attorney Guy Cohen attributed the writing and production of Under the Influence to periodic Eminem collaborator Dr. Dre, who Cohen contended "has a long, well-documented history of copyright infringement."
Under the Influence was in fact cowritten by D12 and produced by the Bass Brothers, the Detroit duo who handled much of the rapper's work at the time.
"I find it so arrogant, after they did so well with the Chrysler-Eminem campaign, that they would say Dr. Dre stole this from Michael Jackson," said Eight Mile Style head Joel Martin.
Even setting aside any Michael Jackson issue, Cohen wrote, the music in the original Facebook spot "simply is not substantially similar" to the Eminem song.
Moreover, he wrote, Wieden + Kennedy has "taken steps to ensure that the earlier version of (the Facebook ad) is no longer publicly available."
Tim Duncan Allegedly Hired a Private Investigator To Catch His Cheating Wife For
a Whole Year!! -- A new report makes some shocking claims about San Antonio Spurs
star Tim Duncan's divorce. According to The San Antonio Express, Duncan hired a
private investigator to follow his estranged wife Amy as long as a year ago. She filed for divorce in March 2013. Details of the reported private investigation have not yet been revealed. Just last week, reports Just last week, reports surfaced that the NBA star requested to postpone the divorce from his wife of 12 years until after the Spurs until the NBA playoffs are over. The request -- filed using only the initials A.S.D. vs. T.T.D. -- also indicates that the couple has a prenup, which Duncan wants enforced. Watch the video above for more on Duncan's divorce, then click though the slideshow below for eight of
the nastiest athlete splits. story by futuristic blogger
Braxton Family Values" star Trina Braxton can't un-break her marriage ... the
reality star finally pulled the trigger on her divorce from philandering husband
Gabriel Adrian-Solis, TMZ has learned.
Toni Braxton's sister filed divorce docs in Georgia court claiming her marriage
was irretrievably broken. Trina and Gabriel tied the knot in August 2003,
separated in March 2013, and are currently living in separate pads.
It's not exactly a shock -- the duo suffered from a slew of marital problems,
including infidelity. Gabriel has admitted to cheating on Trina with numerous
women in the past and Trina admitted to cheating on Gabriel -- all of which
played out on their reality TV show.
As for the nuts and bolts of it all ... Trina says she'll try to work out a
financial agreement with her estranged husband to divvy up their assets (and
debts) as calmly as possible. She's asking for a total divorce, claiming there's
no hope for reconciliation. story by TMZ
Jigga and Beyonce were spotted going to catch a movie Sunday. Even ballers need a a day off.
Movie night
Porn star pleads no contest to exposing another to disease
A porn actor who works under the name Mr. Marcus and hid the fact he tested positive for syphilis pleaded no contest Tuesday to a misdemeanor charge of exposing another to a communicable disease.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Catherine Ewell sentenced Jesse Spencer to 30 days in jail, 15 days of community service and three years of probation.
He was ordered to obey all laws and not alter or conceal the results of any medical test.
In addition, Spencer was arrested 12 days ago on suspicion of drunk driving and was being held on $200,000 bail.
Marcus has said that when he got sick, he received a penicillin shot and believed he was free of syphilis. But subsequent to shooting a sex scene, he showed syphilis in his system.
Subsequently, the Los Angeles porn industry temporarily shut down in August as a syphilis scare hit the industry and lent impetus to the current condom law.
Kenya Moore may soon go from “Gone With the Wind Fabulous” to just “gone” if she doesn't settle an eviction lawsuit.
RadarOnline has obtained court documents that were recently filed in Fulton County by her landlord, Conya Weems, citing that the former Miss USA-turned-reality-star was short $848 on her $3,999 rent for the month of May. In addition to defaulting on unspecified terms and conditions on the six-bedroom, six-bathroom mansion in Roswell, Ga.
Weems is reportedly seeking $2,500 in eviction fees and damages, in addition to rent for the month of June. Moore has until June 7 to respond to Weems' motion.
Aside from negotiating a new contract for season six of Bravo’s highly rated show, “The Real Housewives of Atlanta,” the 42-year-old has been busy performing her single, “Gone With the Wind Fabulous,” at various clubs.
Kenya Moore Eviction: Real Housewife Of Atlanta Faces Lawsuit On Georgia Mansion
Jesse Jackson Jr. Sentence: Feds Recommend 4 Years In Prison For Ex-Congresman By FREDERIC J. FROMMER
WASHINGTON — Prosecutors Friday recommended four years in prison for former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., following his guilty plea this year on criminal charges that he engaged in a scheme to spend $750,000 in campaign funds on personal items.
The government suggested an 18-month sentence for Jackson's wife, Sandra, who pleaded guilty to filing false joint federal income tax returns that understated the couple's income.
The government is also recommending that Jackson pay $750,000 in restitution to the campaign and that Sandra Jackson make a restitution payment of $168,000.
Because the couple has two children, prosecutors proposed that the sentences be staggered, with Sandra Jackson going first. According to the government, she could be out of prison in little over a year with credit for satisfactory behavior and serving the end of her sentence in home confinement. Both Jacksons are scheduled to be sentenced on July 3.
Jesse Jackson's lawyer, meanwhile, asked the judge to sentence Jackson to a term below guidelines. Under federal sentencing guidelines, the range is 46 to 57 months in prison. The lawyer, Reid H. Weingarten, argued that Jackson's ongoing treatment for depression and bipolar disorder, his record of good works and his family and community ties all support leniency. Jacksons' sentencing memo includes about five pages of redacted material on his health issues, and a few redacted lines on other issues. Sandra Jackson's lawyer suggested that his client receive a sentence of probation.
Jackson, who had been a Democratic congressman from Illinois from 1995 until he resigned last November, used campaign money to buy items that included a $43,350 gold-plated men's Rolex watch and $9,587.64 worth of children's furniture, and his wife spent $5,150 on fur capes and parkas.
In Friday's 45-page sentencing memo, prosecutors urged the judge to take into account the advantages Jackson, the son of a famed civil rights leader, had in his life. Jackson "chose to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars despite having advantages in life and financial resources that few possess and that most can only dream of obtaining," the prosecutors wrote.
They noted that his yearly salary as a congressman ranged from $133,600 to $174,000, and that his wife's salary as Chicago alderman was also six figures. The memo said that Jackson's campaign paid his wife's consulting firm $5,000 a month during the time of the conspiracy – $340,500 in total.
"Before defendant or his wife stole a dime, they received substantial incomes," the government wrote, adding that in 2011, for example, their combined income was around $344,000 – putting them among the nation's high earners. FOR MORE CLICK HERE
Lauryn Hill Leaves New Jersey Home After Landlord sues for unpaid rent by Keith Nelson
(AllHipHop News) On July 8th, Lauryn Hill will move into a prison cell to serve her tax evasion sentence but she has already began her move.
After the singer’s landlords filed a lawsuit in March over unpaid rent, Hill agreed to pay $7,000 in rent and leave her residence by May 31st according to TMZ.
Lauryn Hill will serve three months in prison and three months of house arrested followed by nine months of supervised release for failing to file taxes from 2005-2007.
A Kansas judge’s assistant of 34 years has been fired for providing a wrongly convicted man with documents to help him gain his freedom. Last month, Sarah Snyder was terminated for violating court rules by inappropriately giving advice and discussing court matters with outsiders.
Robert Nelson, a man attempting to exonerate himself from a r@pe conviction through DNA testing, had been turned down twice because his motions did not meet technical requirements. Luckily for him; however, he had help on the inside. Following the failure of the second motion in 2011, Snyder gave Nelson’s sister, Sea Dunnell, a copy of a motion filed in another case where the judge had sustained a request for DNA testing.
According to Daily Kos’s, Laura Clawson, Nelson used that motion to file for a third time in 2012. Later that year, the judge sustained the motion. He also found Nelson to be indigent, and appointed legal director of the Midwest Innocence Project, Laura O’Sullivan, to serve as his legal representation. Testing showed that Robert Nelson did not commit the r@pe for which he had been convicted.
Although Snyder’s actions led to the release of an innocent man, she was fired. According to Snyder, the reason had to do with her violating numerous court rules, including providing assistance to Nelson and talking specifics of the case, even while under seal, to attorneys who were not involved in the matter.
Although the termination was procedurally correct, Snyder helped fix a wrong in the current justice system; she helped exonerate an innocent man from an atrocious and embarrassing conviction, which nearly cost him his life. Instead of being rewarded, she was punished. Nelson could not afford a competent attorney that would provide him with the necessary legal advice to free him. Without Snyder’s help, he’d still be in jail receiving denied motions.
Fortunately for Snyder, she was just several months from retirement, and she will still receive her pension. Nelson was convicted in 1984 of raping a woman and robbing her. He was released on June 12 after DNA tests revealed that he was not one of the individuals in the 1983 attack.
Family Judge Orders Dwyane Wade to Surrender His Kids to Ex-Wife
Miami Heat Superstar, Dwyane Wade’s relationship with ex-wife, Siohvaughn Funches, has been broadcast all throughout the media. This week, the saga continues. Although the two reached a weighty financial agreement just a few days ago, there’s still some drama brewing. Wade has been ordered by a family judge in Miami-Dade County to surrender his two boys to their mother after refusing to make them available to her for visitation. Wade did so because he believes that she is not mentally stable.
Wade applied his agility on the basketball court to a court of law when he simultaneously handled the legal agreement between him and Funches in an attempt to put an end to her visitation rights. While he and Funches’ legal teams debated how much Funches really deserves from the divorce, Wade had another legal team trying to document Funches’ mental instability.
As reported by Atlantablackstar.com, Funches’ recent staged street protest in Chicago has led him and his team to believe that she is not in a position to care for their children. Wade has also raised concerns about her health, specifically some breathing problems.
According to the filed court documents, Wade wants his ex-wife to pass a psychological evaluation and until she does, he wants his children to remain in his custody.
“S.L.’s [Funches-Wade] statements, behaviors, and her demeanor in court reflect that she is presently lost, angry and desperate,” reads the file. “Her behavior is not in the children’s best interests… D.T. [Wade] requests that this Court immediately suspend S.L.’s timesharing… pending the results of a psychological evaluation of S.L.”
Last week, Wade and Funches managed to agree on a post-divorce financial settlement. It will reportedly pay Funches $5 million dollars, not including undisclosed bonuses. It hasn’t been signed; however.
Employee of 30 Years Fired for Helping Free Innocent Man by Barry Burch Jr.
Woman Lied in Michael Jordan Paternity Suit: Called “Gold Digging Media Hound” by Judge
Pamela Smith, the woman who claimed basketball legend, Michael Jordan was the father of her 17-year-old son, is now ordered to pay Jordan $9,704.13 for lying about Jordan fathering Grant Pierce Jordan Reynolds. Reports say that the paternity suit Smith filed on Jordan was all a publicity hoax and she knew the whole time that Jordan wasn’t the dad.
Smith filed the suit in February of this year, demanding child support, money for medical bills and a paternity test. After a month of the suit sitting in court, Smith withdrew the claim. However, there was a possibility that the claim could be refiled.
During the case’s proceedings, Jordan’s attorney stated that Smith named her EX husband as Grant’s father in her divorce filings, and did not mention that a paternity test was established back in 2003 for the kid. The test confirmed that Michael was not the father.
The court judge called out Pamela for being a “gold digging media hound” and pointed out the fact that she hired a publicist before hiring a lawyer for her case. Because Smith attempted to slander Michael’s name, she is now ordered to pay the millionaire almost $10,000 for her choice to chase dollars instead of chasing the truth. Maybe she was hoping for a role on the TV show, “Basketball Wives,” where being an actual wife isn’t required.
Jordan hasn’t issued a statement about the judge’s decision.
Pamela claimed her son Grant was a product of their relationship in 1995 while Jordan was still married to Juanita Vanoy.
Messy Marv tweets after getting jumped and robbed in Reno
Messy Marv, a Bay Area gangster rapper who has been known for dissing rappers and tossing up Blood signs in Crip clubs, found the end of his luck last night. Apparently he was set to perform a gig in Reno, Nevada which is just a drive from his hometown. After the show did not go so well however. At some point during the night at the hotel he was staying at, a fight broke out, and he was beaten badly. Not only that, he was robbed of various items, including his smartphone.
Mimi & Nikko Of Love & Hip Hop Speak Out On Sex Tape
Master P's wife has had it with the rap mogul ... she's filed for divorce. Sonya Miller filed divorce docs -- obtained by TMZ -- in which she seeks to end her 24-year marriage based on the standard "irreconcilable differences."
The couple has 4 minor children -- she wants full custody. They also have famous adult son, Romeo.
Sonya wants spousal support. This one's a little weird. Back in 2011, Sonya went to court to get child support. At the time we thought they were already divorced, but now we learn no one ever pulled the trigger and filed divorce documents. So she did it now, but we're told they've been separated for a long time.
M.P. has clearly moved on ... because a woman he was rumored to be dating threw him a surprise, flash mob birthday bash in Santa Monica back in April. The party backfired because Master P hated it and stormed out of the restaurant.
Posted by Futuristic Blogger
Title. Double click me.
Title. Double click me.
MASTER P WIFE FILES FOR DIVORCE
TMZ has learned the tape starring Mimi Faust from "Love & Hip Hop" is one of the hottest pre-sellers Vivid has ever seen. Vivid Entertainment honcho Steve Hirsch tells TMZ ... they've made more than $400,000 in pre-sales ... just off the trailer. Hirsch says Vivid has never seen pre-orders at this level."Mimi & Nikko: Scandal in Atlanta" is set to drop Monday in full on Vivid.com and Hirsch says he's expecting sales to be massive.Or he could just be talking about Nikko's manhood.
Jay -Z allegedly involved in a 20 million dollar extortion plot?
A collection of Jay Z master recordings -- valued between $15 and $20 MILLION -- is at the center of an alleged theft and extortion plot ... and TMZ has learned, police have already nabbed the tapes.Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... a producer named Chauncey Mahan -- who worked with Jay Z from 1998-2002 -- was questioned Friday in connection with the alleged plot.Here's the backstory ... Jay Z's Roc-A-Fella Records recorded a boatload of master recordings between 1998 - 2002. We're told in 2002 the masters went missing -- Jay Z and his people assumed they were lost.Fast forward to this past Friday. Mahan apparently had a number of the masters in his Northridge, CA storage facility. Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Mahan allegedly contacted Live Nation -- which has a joint venture with Jay Z called Roc Nation -- and said he would either let the tapes go up for auction or give them the tapes for a $100K "storage fee." We're told Mahan eventually agreed to take $75K.We're told on Friday Mahan went to the storage facility to seal the deal with Jay Z's people. Little did he know the LAPD had been contacted by Jay Z's people and showed up. We're told cops then detained Mahan and he agreed to come into the station for questioning. He also agreed to let the LAPD take possession of the tapes until a judge determines ownership.Mahan was not arrested, but our sources say the Beverly Hills PD is investigating the extortion allegations because that's where Live Nation is based. We're also told Jay Z's people filed a grand larceny complaint Friday with the NYPD and that investigation is ongoing.
4/21/2014 11:19 AM PDT BY TMZ STAFF
The Most Hated Stars in Show Business
Chris Brown Since beating his girlfriend Rihanna before the 2009 Grammys, Chris Brown has been in a downward spiral. “That night was the deepest regret of my life, the biggest mistake,” the R&B star said. But Chris can’t seem to shake the hate, knocking out a window at ABC studios in 2011 in a fit of rage and inciting a brawl at a club in NYC.
For more of this story click here
