By Jennifer Odell
2:15pm PST, Nov 10, 2022
Warren Beatty sued for allegedly coercing minor to have sex in 1973: Report
Warren Beatty, 85, is reportedly facing allegations of grooming a minor and coercing her into having sex in 1973.In a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles on Monday (Nov. 7), Kristina Hirsch only names a "Defendant Doe" in the suit, but later says he was nominated for an Oscar in 1967 for playing "Bonnie and Clyde," according to The Hollywood Reporter. Hirsch claims she met Beatty on a set when she was 14 and he was 35 and says he gave her "undue attention," and told her to call him at his hotel. "The teenage Plaintiff did as the movie star instructed her to, and called defendant Doe soon after their first meeting," the suit alleges. According to THR, Hirsch says in the complaint that the star eventually began discussing "losing her virginity" with her and giving her car rides before coercing her into having sex. "Due to defendant Doe's stature, position of authority, predatory grooming and manipulation of Plaintiff, as well as Plaintiff's young age, Plaintiff was initially thrilled that defendant Doe was interested in her, and believed she was involved in a romantic relationship with a movie star," Hirsch's complaint continues. She was reportedly able to file suit due to a 2019 California law that altered the statute of limitations for a period of three years. Requests for comment to THR were not returned by Beatty's rep, the outlet reported on Wednesday.
Sean Penn gives Oscar to Volodymyr Zelenskyy as 'a symbol of faith'
Former actor and comic Volodymyr Zelenskyy now has an Oscar adorning his mantle. The statuette was a gift from Sean Penn, who presented one of his Academy Awards to the Ukrainian president on a recent visit to Kyiv — Penn's third trip to the nation's capital since Russia invaded in February, Zelenskyy noted in the caption to an Instagram video on Tuesday (Nov. 8). "This is for you," Penn says in the clip after greeting Zelenskyy with a handshake and a warm smile. "No, Sean. That is yours," Zelenskyy replies as Penn hands him the Oscar. "I feel terrible. It's just a symbolic, silly thing," Penn says. "But if I know this is here with you, then I'll feel better and strong enough for the fight. When you win, bring it back to Malibu, because I'll feel much better knowing there's a piece of me here." The video also shows Zelenskyy presenting Penn with an Order of Merit honor for his support and "popularization of Ukraine in the world." Penn was shooting a documentary about Russia's threat to invade Ukraine when Vladimir Putin launched the war on Feb. 24. The actor and director's support of Ukraine has since landed him on Russia's "stop list," banning him permanently. "There are three places in the world that all the pride of my life will be," Penn told Zelenskyy in the clip. "The place where my daughter was born, the place where my son was born and this." Zelenskyy later called the Oscar gift "a symbol of faith in the victory of our country" that "will be in Ukraine until the end of the war." Penn won his Best Actor Oscars in 2003 for "Mystic River" and in 2008 for "Milk."
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'Black Panther' star Letitia Wright recalls 'downward spiral' after Chadwick Boseman's death
The cast of "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" faced a series of gut-wrenching, uphill battles on the way to what already looks like an inevitable world box office takeover. That's especially true for Letitia Wright, who survived a traumatic accident on the set just one year after the untimely death of her friend and co-star, Chadwick Boseman. Speaking to Variety in a cover story published Wednesday (Nov. 9), Wright opened up about both painful experiences, admitting she fell into a "downward spiral" and initially refused to believe Boseman had died at age 43 following a private battle with colon cancer. "It haunted me for months that I couldn't say goodbye to him or be around my 'Black Panther' family to share in that moment," she said of losing Boseman at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Thanks to support from co-star Daniel Kaluuya and a "gentle conversation" with director Ryan Coogler, Wright said she eventually broke through her grief and returned to work on the sequel. But just two months into filming, she was badly injured in a motorcycle accident on the set that left her hospitalized with a concussion and a fractured shoulder. "I'm still processing it," Wright said. "I'm still working through it in therapy. It was really traumatic." As Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige told Variety, an accident like that would be "horrifying on any production," but it "was particularly harsh on this production that was already …. emotionally strained." "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" hits theaters Friday (Nov. 11).
Britney Spears isn't ready for a biopic: 'Dude i'm not dead'
Millie Bobby Brown's dream of playing Britney Spears in a biopic will have to wait — because as Spears put it on Instagram this week, she's currently "still breathing." "I hear about people wanting to do movies about my life," the singer wrote as part of the caption to a long Instagram post on Tuesday (Nov. 8). "Dude I'm not dead !!!" She seemed to be referring to comments the "Stranger Things" star made on Monday's "Drew Barrymore Show," where she admitted she wants to "play a real person" at some point, then named Spears as a dream role, according to EW. "I think her story, first of all, resonates with me," said Brown, whose performance as Eleven on the '80s-era, cult classic flick-inspired Netflix show earned her almost instant fame at a young age. "Just growing up in the public eye, watching her videos, watching interviews of how when she was younger — I mean, same thing with you," she continued. "I see the scramble for words [during interviews] and I don't know her, but when I look at pictures of her, I feel like I could tell her story in the right way and hers only."
RELATED: The business of being Britney Spears
Snoop Dogg has a biopic in the works
In other biopic news … Universal Pictures has announced plans to give "entertainment industry mogul and icon of gangsta rap" Snoop Dogg the biopic treatment, with Snoop set to produce the film, making it the first under his new Death Row Pictures banner. "I waited a long time to put this project together," the rapper, 51, said in a statement on Wednesday (Nov. 9), "… because I wanted to choose the right director, the perfect writer, and the greatest movie company I could partner with that could understand the legacy that I'm trying to portray on screen, and the memory I'm trying to leave behind." He ultimately chose "Black Panther" and "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" co-writer Joe Robert Cole to write the screenplay. Allen Hughes will reportedly direct the project, which is slated to feature music from Snoop's 30-year-long career in rap, according to Pitchfork.
Did Johnny Depp's cameo overshadow the fashion in Rihanna's 'Savage X Fenty Vol. 4?'
The fourth edition of Rihanna's Savage X Fenty lingerie show hit Amazon Prime early Wednesday (Nov. 9), with the corset-clad singer kicking things off as a self-described "Mother Nature" figure in a misty, purple-hued forest. But a few hours after the 40-minute fashion show landed, it was unclear if Rihanna's stunning appearance — or her even new lingerie collection — would garner the same attention as her decision to include Johnny Depp as a model. Depp's 40-second cameo comes about halfway through the streaming video, with the star decked out in pieces from Rih's new menswear line as he walks through the forest to the thumping beat of Outkast's "So Fresh, So Clean." As male dancers move to the rhythm behind him, Depp strides from tree to tree, where he pauses to gently wrap his arms around the trunk, ending the mini-scene. Though he wasn't featured in the trailer for "Savage X Fenty Vol. 4," TMZ broke the news of Depp's involvement last week. Fans and press outlets alike responded with a mix of confusion and criticism, given Amber Heard's allegations Depp abused her during their marriage — just a few years after Rihanna's then-boyfriend, Chris Brown, attacked her before the 2009 Grammys. A new round of criticism surfaced Wednesday once the show hit Amazon, with outlets like the Washington Post declaring Depp's brief cameo "eclipsed" Rihanna's entire "event." Rihanna, meanwhile, seems to be shrugging off the backlash and focusing on her return to music. "Lift Me Up," her first solo song in six years (from the "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" soundtrack) debuted at No. 2 this week on Billboard's Hot 100 chart. In February, the singer's slated to headline the 2023 Super Bowl. Speaking to E! News earlier this week, she said she was still working out plans for the 12-minute set and had not yet decided if she'd bring on any of her musical "peers."
Imelda Staunton weighs in on 'The Crown' backlash
In the wake of Queen Elizabeth II's death on Sept. 8, Netflix's "The Crown" faced harsh criticism from detractors including Dame Judi Dench, who slammed the show's "inaccurate and harmful account of history" in an open letter to Britain's The Times. Others have called out Netflix as disrespectful of the late monarch for proceeding with plans to air Season 5, which hit the streamer on Wednesday (Nov. 9). Now, the show's new Queen Elizabeth, Imelda Staunton, is weighing in. "I feel it's understandable that people are feeling sensitive because of recent events," the Oscar-nominated star told EW this week. "There's no doubt about it. We finished filming this season six months ago. If this was coming out two years ago, there wouldn't be all of this going on," she continued. "So I think there's a sensitivity and there's not a lot we can do about that. I think one would like to feel that people would recognize over all the seasons that Peter Morgan has written, the amount of respect he has for this family, and the amount of integrity he uses in order to write these, yes, imagined scenes that are hung around real events. I don't think there's a lot we can do or say."
