September 15 - 21, 2012
17
TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS
Entertainment
Michael Jackson insurance claim dropped An internal investigation has cleared two white Atlanta police officers of racially profiling director/actor Tyler Perry.
Atlanta police clear white officers of profiling in Tyler Perry case TWO white Atlanta police officers who pulled over and questioned entertainment mogul Tyler Perry have been exonerated of racial profiling by an internal investigation, according to documents released Tuesday. Just after noon on February 24, Perry left his studio in southwest Atlanta alone in a white Porsche Panamera. As the actor and director later explained in a lengthy Facebook post, Perry made an illegal left turn to make sure he wasn’t being followed. Two Atlanta police officers in a patrol car pulled Perry over and questioned him for about six minutes before letting him go without issuing a ticket. Perry described the incident as “hostile” and that he felt unsafe.
One of the officers continued to “badger him” during questioning, the entertainer said. After a four-month investigation, an internal affairs officer reported, “I would submit the evidence shows the actions of both officers with the regard to the traffic stop of Mr. Perry were justified, lawful and proper.” A representative for Perry said he was unavailable. “Tyler Perry is out of the country and unable to comment at this time,” said spokeswoman Keleigh Thomas. The report said the officers were working for the auto theft task force and one thought Perry’s $110,000 sports car was similar to one on a list of stolen cars. The officer said that as he turned around Perry made the illegal turn.
MICHAEL Jackson’s former concert promoter AEG Live is withdrawing a $17.5m (£10.9m) insurance claim over the singer’s cancelled comeback gigs. AEG had filed the claim against insurer Lloyd’s of London for its concert-related losses in 2009. However, the insurance company sought to nullify the policy, saying AEG made false claims about Jackson’s health. A lawyer for AEG said the company dropped the claim because it had been reimbursed by the singer’s estate. The move comes a week after the publication of leaked internal emails from the concert promoters which saw them voice concerns over the 50-year-old’s stability and health. In one email, sent the day the singer appeared in London to announce his This Is It shows, AEG chief executive Randy Phillips described the singer as “locked in his room drunk and despondent”. The company’s lawyer Marvin
Jackson died in June 2009 from an overdose of the anaesthetic propofol.
Putnam said the decision to withdraw the insurance claim had “nothing to do with the recent leak”. Lawyers said they suspected the emails were leaked from material shared between the two sides in a
The famed actor says that a downturn in the economy has changed things in the movie industry.
Sir Paul gave the thumbs up after receiving the award.
Sir Paul McCartney receives France’s Legion of Honour SIR Paul McCartney has been given France’s highest award, the Legion of Honour, for services to music. The former Beatle was decorated by President Francois Hollande during a ceremony at the Elysee Palace in Paris. As an officer of the Legion of Honour, Sir Paul joins such cultural icons as actor Clint Eastwood and singers Barbra Streisand and Liza Minnelli. In his native Britain, he was knighted by the Queen in 1997 earning the title Sir. Sir Paul said afterwards: “It is such an honour to be awarded this.”
He recently performed to a global audience at the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games. The Legion of Honour was created by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802, and comes in five grades Knight, Officer, Commander, Grand Officer and Grand Cross. Sir Paul, 70, has enjoyed a long and successful music career after rising to fame with The Beatles. He and bandmate John Lennon penned such hits as Yesterday, Hey Jude and A Hard Day’s Night, before the Beatles split up in 1970. McCartney went on to forge a solo career. (BBC)
Brad Pitt says big Hollywood salaries ‘don’t work now’ BRAD Pitt says the days of actors getting multi-million dollar salaries are over. “Yeah, that thing died,” Pitt laughed when asked if it was possible for stars to still command a price tag upwards of $10m (£6.2m) per movie. “That arithmetic doesn’t really work right now... that deal’s not flying these days.” Pitt has been a familiar fixture on lists detailing the highest paid actors. The most recent Forbes list for 2012 was topped by Tom Cruise, with an estimated yearly salary of $75m (£47m). Meanwhile Pitt is thought to have earned $25m (£16m). As for what state Hollywood is in, in general, Brad Pitt concedes: “It’s a really interesting time.
“A lot of the studios have been challenged because of the economic downturn as well so they’ve been betting on bigger, more tent pole kinds of things. “At the same time that opens up a vacuum for really interesting new film makers to come in.” So-called ‘tent pole’ films take the biggest budgets but their profits are expected to prop up other movies for the major studios. Brad Pitt’s acting work over the past few years has ranged from the Oscar nominated Moneyball, to the children’s animation Happy Feet 2 and most recently the crime thriller Killing Them Softly. “You take the roles for the roles,” Pitt says, “and you’ve just got to balance economics like everyone does.”
separate legal case between AEG and Jackson’s mother, Katherine. Mrs Jackson has accused the promoters of pressuring the singer to carry on with the sold-out comeback shows despite indications he was too weak. “We are standing by AEG’s lawyers comments that the withdrawal of the claim was not related to the leaked emails,” Paul Schriffer, a lawyer for Lloyd’s of London said. “In exchange for AEG withdrawing its insurance claim, underwriters agreed to dismiss AEG from the case and to waive any costs recoverable from AEG.” Michael Jackson died on 25 June, 2009 from an overdose of the anaesthetic propofol. Last November his personal physician, Conrad Murray, was convicted of his involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to four years in jail. (BBC)
Chris Brown says that the tattoo is not a representation of Rihanna.
Chris Brown denies controversial tattoo is of Rihanna A TATTOO of a skull on Chris Brown’s neck is not his ex-girlfriend Rihanna, a spokesperson for the singer has said. There had been outcry online over the design’s similarity to pictures of a beaten Rihanna in 2009. Brown’s representative told US site TMZ the design was “not Rihanna or an abused woman as erroneously reported.” He pleaded guilty to assault and was sentenced to five years probation after attacking Rihanna in 2009. The R&B singer, who was 19 at the time of the attack, also had to complete community service and domestic violence counselling.