Lori Loughlin's attorneys say new evidence proves innocence in college admissions scandal - USA TODAY

Joey Garrison USA TODAY

Published 11:09 AM EST Feb 27, 2020

BOSTON — Attorneys for Lori Loughlin and fashion designer husband Mossimo Giannulli said new evidence released Wednesday exonerates their clients and other parents still fighting charges in the nation's college admissions scandal.

In a court filing, lawyers of the celebrity couple highlight written notes that Rick Singer, the mastermind of the nationwide admissions scheme, took on his iPhone following discussions with FBI investigators in 2018 about recorded phone calls they directed him to make to parents. 

In one of the notes, Singer wrote that FBI officials got "loud and abrasive" and "continue to ask me to tell a fib" about what he told clients before they paid into his scheme. He said the FBI wanted him not to restate what he actually told his clients — that they were making a payment to an athletic program, bot a college coach.

"Essentially they are asking me to bend the truth," Singer wrote. 

More: Lori Loughlin told daughters they needed to do better in high school, new court doc alleges

Loughlin's and Giannulli's lawyer Sean Berkowitz said the notes, turned over Wednesday by prosecutors, prove the underlying argument of their clients — that they thought they were making "legitimate donations" to a nonprofit operated by Singer that would help universities, not bribing college officials.

The US attorney’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Loughlin and Giannulli are accused of paying Singer $500,000 to get their two daughters falsely tagged as crew recruits to get them admitted into the University of Southern California. 

More: Lori Loughlin's attorneys argue feds are concealing evidence in college admissions scandal

Federal prosecutors say it was part of a sprawling, nationwide scheme in which wealthy parents paid significant sums to Singer, a college consultant, to either fix test scores on their children’s college entrance exams or get them falsely tagged as athletic recruits to get them admitted into prestigious universities.

Prosecutors turned over the Singer notes to defense attorneys Wednesday on the eve of a status conference hearing before U.S. District Judge Nathaniel Gorton. He's expected to set trial dates for 15 parents who have pleaded not guilty to federal charges in the scheme including Loughlin and Giannulli. 

Parents' attorneys have argued the government has failed to turn over exculpatory evidence during pre-trial proceedings; in particular, FBI "302 reports" that detail witness statements and interview notes taken during the investigation. Defense attorneys have asked the judge to postpone setting a date until the dispute over the evidence is resolved. 

More: College admissions scandal: Fight for FBI notes a new battlefront for accused parents

At the direction of the FBI, Singer made wiretapped phone calls to past clients to try and get them to recite their crime. The full note that Singer wrote on Oct. 2, 2018 reads:

Loud and abrasive call with agents. They continue to ask me to tell a fib and not restate what I told my clients as to where there money was going - to the program not the coach and that it was a donation and they want it to be a payment. I asked for a script if they want me to ask questions and retrieve responses that are not accurate to the way I should be asking the questions.

Essentially they are asking me to bend the truth which is what they asked me not to do when working with the agents and Eric Rosen. Liz raised her voice to me like she did in the hotel room about agreeing with her that everyone Bribed the schools. This time about asking each person to agree to a lie I was telling them. 

"This is precisely the kind of exculpatory – and indeed, exonerating – information defendants have been seeking," Berkowitz wrote in the court filing.

Singer, in the same note, also wrote that FBI authorities "want to nail Gordon at all costs," referring to prominent New York attorney Gordon Caplan. Caplan pleaded guilty to paying $75,000 to have someone correct answers on his daughter's ACT test to inflate her score. He was sentenced in October to one month in prison.

More: NY attorney sentenced to 1 month in prison for paying $75K to have daughter's ACT answers fixed

A federal magistrate is expected to rule this spring whether the FBI 302 notes – which are separate from those taken by Singer – must be turned over to defendants.

In a letter a letter Wednesday releasing Singer's notes, Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Rosen said federal prosecutors learned about the existence of Singer's notes during the "Varsity Blues" investigation in October 2018. But at the time they believed it to be privileged information that was not subject to review. He said Singer's attorneys this week agreed to waive privilege rights of the notes. 

"We intend to disclose the remaining iPhone content shortly, once the privilege review is

complete," Rosen wrote.

But Berkowitz said the evidence should have been released no more than 30 days after parents were indicted. He called it "devastating to the government’s case," adding that it "demonstrates that the Government has been improperly withholding core exculpatory information, employing a 'win at all costs' effort rather than following their obligation to do justice."

They predicted it would set off a series of motions of defendants, including potential motions to dismiss the indictments.

Thirty-one of 53 defendants charged in the college admissions case have pleaded guilty, while others, including Loughlin and Giannulli, dig in for trial. Fourteen parents and two college coaches have been sentenced for their crimes, with sentences ranging from no prison to nine months behind bars.

Reach Joey Garrison and on Twitter @joeygarrison.

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2020-02-27 15:23:45Z
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Taylor Swift Transforms Into The Man for New Video, Drags Scooter Braun and Scott Borchetta - TooFab

Taylor Swift not only sings about "The Man" in her new music video for her single, she straight up becomes him.

The singer wrote, directed and stars in the visual for her song about the double standard between men and women in the entertainment industry, while making veiled references to her very public feud with both Scooter Braun and Scott Borchetta, after Braun purchased Swift's masters from Botchetta's Big Machine.

Donning prosthetics, a fake beard and dark brown hair, the video sees Taylor becoming "Tyler Swift," a powerful guy who manspreads on the subway, urinates in public and takes exotic trips with bikini-clad models.

Calling out her Scooter-Scott drama, one scene sees "Tyler" standing in front of a wall covered in graffiti listing the names of Taylor's albums. One sign on the wall reads "Missing: If Found Return to Taylor Swift," while another has the image of a scooter with a red line through it.

No Scooters, get it?

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The video ends with Tyler shooting a music video of his own, directed by Taylor, who gives him the one piece of advice women are sick of hearing: "Could you try to be sexier, maybe more likable this time?"

We briefly hear Tyler's voice, which was provided by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.

The video also includes cameos from Taylor's dad, who plays a tennis ref, and Tik Tokker Loren Gray.

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2020-02-27 15:11:00Z
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How “The Invisible Man” Shows The Horror Of Not Believing Women In The #MeToo Era - BuzzFeed News

Photo Credit: Universal Pictures

Cecilia Kass (Elisabeth Moss) in The Invisible Man.

Director and screenwriter Leigh Whannell didn’t set out to make a movie about the dangers of men gaslighting women and the true horror of people not believing victims when they talk about their abuse.

But when Whannell started to work on the script for the latest iteration of The Invisible Man, a remake of the classic sci-fi novel by H.G. Wells that has been adapted into television and film numerous times, these timely themes came up organically and ultimately shaped the entire plot of the film, which stars Elisabeth Moss as Cecilia and Oliver Jackson-Cohen as her husband, Adrian Griffin (aka the Invisible Man himself).

“I didn't go into this film thinking, How do I wrap this iconic character around a story about gaslighting?” Whannell told BuzzFeed News. “It was during the writing of that first draft that I felt the movie drifting in this direction of gaslighting, domestic abuse, and women not being believed or feeling like there's an unseen threat. It felt like it really fit his character naturally.”

At a time when movements like #MeToo have led to abusive and toxic men being held accountable more than ever, the 2020 version of The Invisible Man has a whole other meaning — and induces a whole other level of fear — for viewers.

Photo Credit: Mark Rogers

Moss (left) and Whannell on the set of The Invisible Man.

The audience first meets Cecilia when she’s escaping from her husband Adrian and their cold, isolated home. She manages to hide out at a friend’s house and is told that Adrian killed himself, but Cecilia believes she’s being haunted by her dead husband after countless instances of an invisible figure torturing her and those around her.

“I didn't want to be that person who's shoehorning a social issue into a movie that doesn't warrant it,” Whannell said. “I felt that it was organic and it spoke to the metaphor of the Invisible Man. This is a villain who is notable by his absence; the superpower that this iconic villain possesses is the ability to be standing next to you without you knowing it. And so what better way to exploit that than through gaslighting and all these issues?”

Whannell said Elisabeth Moss was his “partner in crime” who helped give significant feedback on the script once she came on board the project. As a man telling this story about the abuse and violence experienced by a lead woman character, Whannell said that Moss “brought invaluable perspective as a woman that I don’t have.” The two would “dissect the dialogue together,” and she would talk the director through how she would handle a particular situation if she were in Cecilia’s shoes.

“I obviously saw her as the authority on the woman's point of view, so I was just really receptive and thankful to have her,” Whannell said. “It was that stamp of approval that I got from Lizzie that allowed me to sleep at night when I was making this film and not feel like an imposter telling a story that I wasn't qualified to tell.”

In addition to his conversations with Moss, Whannell said he spoke to counselors at domestic violence shelters for women in Los Angeles, as well as other friends of his, about women’s relationships and fears. He wanted the story to come across as authentic as possible, which meant doing research.

“It was interesting to see the commonalities that would come up between disconnected friends of mine separated by oceans,” he said. “It didn't matter where they were from — they would come back to this thing about having to walk back to their car at night with their keys between their fingers, ready to go. I felt like there was a chance for the Invisible Man to literalize this fear of the unseen person that’s watching you walk back to your car.”

According to Whannell, the horror genre lends itself to depicting the worst of society’s systemic problems because it can illustrate our collective fears. In the case of The Invisible Man, Cecilia’s character is an example of what it’s like for a woman to be driven to feel “crazy” in the wake of abuse when no one around you believes what you’re saying.

When he was alive, Cecilia’s husband Adrian was charismatic and manipulative enough that no one would believe her when she told them about the abuse. When he’s allegedly dead, Cecilia tries to tell her friend James, her sister Alice (Harriet Dyer), and Adrian’s lawyer brother Tom (Michael Dorman) that she thinks Adrian is still alive and haunting her, but no one believes her because they think it’s impossible for her brilliant scientist husband to have created technology that would allow him to exist invisibly.

Photo Credit: Mark Rogers

From left: James Lanier (Aldis Hodge), Cecilia Kass (Moss), and Sydney Lanier (Storm Reid) in The Invisible Man.

“It’s the idea that you’re losing your mind. A lot of women I spoke to talked about this feeling of being afraid to speak up or say a certain thing in case someone thinks you're crazy or thinks you're difficult,” Whannell said. “Horror has always been a Trojan horse for a wider social message. To me, horror films are an expression of our anxiety as a society. It's always been that way.”

While no one believes her, the Invisible Man continues to wreak havoc in Cecilia’s world: He switches her medication, sends a nasty email to her sister, hits James’s daughter Sydney (Storm Reid) in the face, and even slits Cecilia’s sister’s throat at a public restaurant. Everyone thinks Cecilia is the perpetrator of all these acts, causing her to be arrested and placed in a psychiatric hospital.

The director said he wanted Cecilia’s character to be “the voice of reason in the film, the one who knows what’s really going on” and that everyone else around her “has a warped view of the situation.” But despite what’s real and what’s not, people see what they believe to be true, allowing Adrian to continue to successfully gaslight Cecelia even in his alleged death in the same way that he successfully haunted and tortured her when he was alive.

“He's a charming narcissist and he’s a sociopath. If you do the research into narcissists and sociopaths, they’re very, very charming. They're scientists of the human condition and can break someone down very quickly, assess their needs and desires, and play to that,” Whannell said. “Some people live their whole lives in a state of performance and you get very good at manipulating people in such a skillful way that everybody falls into line. There are people out there who are just amazing at manipulation, and society rewards them.”

Universal Pictures

Cecilia Kass (Moss).

After Cecilia escapes from the psychiatric hospital and ends up in a violent battle with the invisible figure back at her friend James’s house, Cecilia unmasks the man in the invisibility suit and viewers are surprised to see Adrian’s now dead brother. The cops then find Adrian tied up in his basement, with him claiming that his brother kidnapped him and orchestrated the whole ordeal.

Cecilia still doesn’t believe this to be true and comes up with one final plot to reveal Adrian’s abuse by agreeing to have dinner at their former house — only this time she’ll be wearing a wire to record him. She has the intention of getting him to admit on tape that he was, in fact, the Invisible Man the whole time. When he refuses and Cecilia fails to make any headway, she beats Adrian at his own game and excuses herself from the dinner table, puts on his invisibility suit, and kills him, making it look like a suicide.

The twist ending is Cecilia’s own bit of redemption; if the law wasn’t going to hold Adrian accountable, she was going to find her own way to ensure her own safety and peace.

“I've dragged the protagonist through the mud and at the end I want to give some catharsis,” Whannel said. “I wanted the character to feel free.”

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2020-02-27 13:31:00Z
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Why Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip's Son, Prince Edward, Has Never Held Princess Diana or Sarah Ferguson in 'High Regard' - Showbiz Cheat Sheet

The youngest of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh’s four children, Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex has never thought too highly of Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York and the late Princess Diana, his former sisters-in-law. Ahead, find out why Prince Edward didn’t get along with the two women when they were still married to Prince Andrew, Duke of York and Prince Charles, Prince of Wales. 

Prince Edward certainly keeps a lower profile than that of his older siblings — so much so he’s sometimes referred to as a forgotten royal — but he is indeed a member of the British royal family. He’s also said to be the favorite child of  Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth II.

Unlike the public who were smitten with Princess Diana and later the Duchess of York, the women didn’t (and maybe still don’t) hold the same magic for Prince Edward. 

Royal biographer once wrote Princess Diana’s glamour didn’t charm Prince Edward

Unlike many others in his family, Prince Edward stood alone in his dislike for Princess Diana when she joined the royal family or the Firm in 1981 following her and Prince Charles’ memorable royal wedding that enchanted the public when they kissed on Buckingham Palace’s balcony. 

Prince Charles, Princess Diana, and Prince Edward in New Zealand on April 22, 1983 | John Shelley Collection/Avalon/Getty Images

According to the author and royal biographer, Ingrid Seward, Prince Edward wasn’t impressed by Princess Diana. “Almost alone among the Royal Family, Edward was not taken in by [Diana’s] glamour,” Seward wrote in her 1995 biography, Prince Edward, per Express. 

Princess Diana had been ‘very popular’ among others in the royal family

Penny Junor, another author and royal biographer, wrote in her 2005 book, The Firm, everyone else accepted Princess Diana with open arms.  “There was an acceptance she was very popular,” a private secretary told Junor referring to Princess Diana. “I never heard the Queen criticize Diana.” 

When the Duchess of York officially joined the royal family in 1986 upon marrying Prince Andrew, Prince Edward felt the same about her as he did Princess Diana. 

He blamed Sarah Ferguson and Princess Diana for poor state of the royal family

According to Seward’s biography, Prince Edward followed his father’s lead when it came to Princess Diana and the Duchess of York, blaming them for the royal family’s image in the public eye. 

Princess Diana and Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York at a polo match in 1987 | Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Image

“Taking his cue from the Duke of Edinburgh, he deems them substantially responsible for many of the difficulties that have beset his family and so undermined their public standing,” Seward wrote. 

She continued, saying Edward didn’t exactly think much of Sarah or Princess Diana: “Prince Edward does not hold his sisters-in-law the Princess of Wales and the Duchess of York in high regard.”

During their time in the royal family, Sarah and Diana saw their fair share of scandal. There were many shake-ups within the way things were done when Princess Diana came around. She took on less glamorous charities, changed the way royal women give birth, and, of course, there had been the drama surrounding her marriage with Prince Charles and his affair with Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall. 

Prince Edward and Sarah Ferguson on July 12, 1987 | Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images

As for Sarah, she had been initially accepted as part of the family just like Diana, but as time went on those feelings dissolved. She and Prince Andrew divorced in 1996 — the same year as Prince Charles and Princess Diana — and the toe-sucking incident in 1992 caused strife within the family.

Today, the Duchess of York is still slowly making her way back to the high ranks of the royal family following more controversy over the years since her divorce. Meanwhile, there’s no indication that Prince Edward’s feelings have changed about Sarah or the late Princess Diana. 

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2020-02-27 12:45:50Z
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Will Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie Save Prince Andrew's Legacy? - Showbiz Cheat Sheet

Prince Charles wanted a slimmed-down monarchy when he takes the throne, but it may be becoming a little too slim. Now that Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex have officially left royal duties, and with many other family members aging, there are spots to fill within the royal circle. However, the queen may have a new solution that could save the monarchy and renew Prince Andrew’s legacy. 

Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie to take on more royal duties

With Prince Harry and Meghan off in Canada and no longer attending royal duties, Queen Elizabeth has asked her granddaughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, to take on a more active role within the royal family. According to the Daily Mail, sources close to the Queen have confirmed her wishes for the new structure. 

Currently, both Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie are not considered working royals. They don’t receive money from the Sovereign Grant and hold outside jobs.

Princess Beatrice works in finance and consulting and is currently employed by the software firm, Afiniti as their Vice President of Partnership and Strategy. According to her bio with the company: “Beatrice is responsible for the management of the strategic Afiniti partnerships as well as company growth through unique initiatives and client development.”

Princess Eugenie holds an art history and English literature degree and currently works as the director of a London art gallery, Hauser & Wirth. 

Since both women hold prestigious positions in the private job sector, they may not want to take on more royal duties. The crown has not announced if Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie’s new duties will require them to give up their current jobs.

There are also their partners to consider. In 2018, Princess Eugenie married Jack Brooksbank, and Princess Beatrice is engaged to marry Edoardo Mapelli this spring. 

This is a relatively new announcement, so we don’t yet know how the Princesses, and their partners, feel about the request and whether they’re willing to take on this important responsibility. However, in the past, both women have always seemed eager to support and promote the monarchy. 

Prince Andrew left royal duties amongst a scandal

One of the empty spots within the royal family was recently vacated by Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie’s own father, Prince Andrew. Last November, he was asked to step away from his duties by the Queen, after a scandal involving convicted sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein. 

Epstein has been accused of sex trafficking, including the procurement of underage girls for his circle of contacts. Prince Andrew came into the spotlight when it was revealed that he was a long-time friend of Epstein, and even called Epstein his “best friend” at one point.

There have also been accusations of assault from women about Prince Andrew himself, but nothing has ever been proven. Although the details are shakey, Prince Andrew stepped down from royal duties to protect the Crown. 

Will Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie save their father’s legacy?

Princess Beatrice | Jonathan Brady – WPA Pool/Getty Images

As Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie are seen more often in the public spotlight, it’s likely that their reputation among royal fans will increase. If they can shift attention to their charitable works and help the British people, then they’ll earn a place in the public’s heart, and that’s good news for Prince Andrew’s family. 

Next in line for the throne, Prince Charles is also on board with this new change to the royal lineup, despite his previous comments about a slimmed-down monarchy. He believes the princesses may be able to help the crown. 

However, it’s unlikely the public will ever completely forget about Prince Andrew’s scandal. Just like the Princesses’ mother, Sarah Ferguson, and her toe-sucking debacle. It’s always just under the surface of public awareness.

But Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie may be able to prove that they are not like their parents, and therefore earn the British people’s respect for the younger generation. 

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2020-02-27 10:05:51Z
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Helen Mirren, Who Won an Oscar for Playing Queen Elizabeth II, Says Meghan Markle Was a ‘Fantastic Addition to the Royal Family’ - Yahoo Entertainment

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Helen Mirren, who won an Oscar for her performance as Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II in “The Queen,” says Meghan Markle was “a fantastic addition to the royal family,” and she “applauds” Markle and Prince Harry’s decision to step back from royal duties, she tells Variety.

Mirren, who is the subject of an homage at the Berlin Film Festival this week and will receive the festival’s Honorary Golden Bear for Lifetime Achievement on Thursday, says of the couple’s decision to withdraw from the royal family: “I think their instincts are absolutely right, and I applaud them for it. Hugely actually. Of course, it is complicated.”

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She adds: “Meghan Markle was a fantastic addition to the royal family – charming, did everything right, was gracious, was sweet natured, and seemed to be … Wow! What a lovely addition. Didn’t seem to be neurotic…

“So, I think it is a loss in a way, but at the same time I think their instincts are absolutely correct. And I think it will all, hopefully, sort itself out, and the tabloid pearl-clutchers will get over their trauma at not having someone to attack all the time. They’ll find another victim… probably me,” she says with a laugh.

Mirren says she has witnessed a huge improvement in the position of female actors over the course of her career. (She says she prefers the term “actress.” “It has a slightly fin de siècle feel about it that I like,” she says. “But thank you for being politically correct; I approve of political correctness as well, so that’s alright.”) “Oh god, there’s more work to be done, further to go, but it is great, it’s absolutely great,” she says, with gusto. “It just pisses me off that I’m not now 23, and that that world is not open to me, because it is a much better world than it was when I was 23.

“I have often been asked if I was angry, and I was profoundly angry about it as I ticked off 20 male characters to one or two female characters if you were lucky. Incidentally it hasn’t changed that much. At least now you have female-led movies, and occasionally it is mostly female (casts) – still very rare, but at least they exist.

“But I always said when I was asked that question, and I still believe it, don’t worry about women’s profiles in drama, although you should, but worry about women’s profiles in life – in politics, in particular, and in the professions – and fight for that, and to a certain extent I was right because that world changed, and as night follows day drama and culture – us looking at ourselves through drama, through art – has changed, because they are looking at a different world. So change the world and culture will change alongside that.”

Mirren describes Margaret Thatcher as her “greatest female role model,” adding “not because I believed in her politics – I absolutely did not. I don’t think she was a great person as a person.” But she says a little girl who saw Margaret Thatcher on television would say “Mummy who’s that?” and the mother would reply, “That is the Prime Minister of England.” “Then that 4-year-old’s head goes: ‘Women can be Prime Minister of England.’ That wasn’t the case when I was 4 years old,” Mirren says.

She concedes that sometimes life does imitate art. “Culture can lead the world. It can say: Look there are women scientists in the world. Drama can change the look of the world around us; it is a symbiotic relationship.”

Mirren has been to the Berlin Film Festival a few times, most recently in 2015 with “Woman in Gold,” and she regards it with a certain reverence, so her Honory Golden Bear for Lifetime Achievement, and to be the subject of an homage for her work, means a great deal to her. “The Berlin film audiences are highly educated and very critical. They are not impressed by Hollywood. They are very discerning,” she says. “So you take a film to Berlin with a certain amount of trepidation. For that reason it becomes a very important festival for all filmmakers. I guess all I’m saying is to receive an award like this, particularly from the Berlin Film Festival, is to my mind quite impressive.”

Mirren has been an avid watcher of European films since her student days, but hasn’t appeared in as many European films as she would have liked to.

“I very proudly count myself as a European actress, and in my career I would have ideally liked to have been more of a European actress,” she says.

“I’m a member of the European Film Awards group and get incredible pleasure from seeing extraordinary European films every year, many of which never get to be seen outside their own country, that are incredible pieces of filmmaking.

“One or two of them will get nominated for best foreign film in the Oscars, but behind that film are many, many brilliant movies, about such an extraordinary array of subjects, and approached in such original, inspiring ways.

“When I go to the movies it is mostly to see European films. Where the American film industry succeeds it is where they have been influenced by European films, and along those lines there have been some great American movies, but I also have to say African, Antipodean, Asian, Latin American movies. I think the variety of culture, of history, the love of film coming out of Europe is so powerful.”

Mirren regards drama – theater, television and cinema – as more than just a form of entertainment, but as a serious art-form, through which we can explore how we as humans think and behave. She says most Hollywood movies she saw as a young person didn’t impress her, but when she discovered European films that changed her perspective on what could be achieved through cinema.

“It wasn’t until I saw European films that I realized that film could be a whole different thing. That it could be as expressive and as culturally important as theater was to my mind, and that revelation happened to me through seeing Antonioni’s ‘L’Avventura’ in a very seedy cinema in Brighton – a XXX type of cinema – and it was an incredible revelation for me. And thereon any European film that was showing anywhere I would go off to see,” she says.

“I was an usherette at an art film cinema called the Everyman in Hampstead (in London) when I was a student at college. So that gave me an incredible opportunity to see movies. Not just European movies. I remember seeing ‘Citizen Kane’ – like 10 times because it was so extraordinarily good. That was always my go-to film experience…to this day really. I love a nice popcorn movie and I’m much more generous in my tastes than I used to be. But still my go-to film experience is something, as you said, that retells the human story in all its variety and its complexity, and misery and its joy.

“We are constantly doing and then looking at ourselves doing, and then asking ourselves why we do, and how we do, and what we do. And that is what the history of art in human culture has always been.”

While some other actors have moved into producing or directing movies Mirren has no wish to do the same. “I think I am intrinsically too lazy. I did direct. I did a half-hour film for Showtime TV. I absolutely loved the experience. I was quite good at it. In fact Showtime asked me to do a full-length feature afterwards. But, again, I’m much too lazy. You know, honestly, I want to sit at home and watch TV.”

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2020-02-27 08:42:00Z
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Queen Elizabeth Prepared Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle Quite Differently for Life in The Firm - Showbiz Cheat Sheet

Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle had completely different paths to the royal family, in no small part to how Queen Elizabeth treated them as they prepared to enter the royal family. Not only did they come from opposite backgrounds, but they were both reportedly advised quite differently before they married into “The Firm.” With Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, leaving the monarchy at the end of March, here is what Queen Elizabeth told her and Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, when they were getting ready to become royalty.

Queen Elizabeth, Meghan Markle, Prince Harry, Prince William, and Kate Middleton | Neil Mockford/GC Images

Kate Middleton waits on Prince William

Middleton met Prince William when they were attending the University of St. Andrews in the early 2000s. What started out as a friendship quickly turned romantic, and by their second year in college, they were already dating.

After they went public with their relationship upon graduation, royal watchers expected William to propose at any minute. But it took Prince William a whole 5 years to introduce Middleton to Queen Elizabeth. In fact, the two experienced a few ups and downs — including a breakup in 2007 — before he popped the big question in 2010.

Because she waited so long for William to propose, the media started calling Middleton “Waity Katie.” The future Duchess of Cambridge also came under intense media scrutiny and it took her a while to adjust to her new life under the spotlight.

Although Middleton and Prince William seemed destined to be together, Queen Elizabeth reportedly had some reservations about her joining the royal family.

Queen Elizabeth wanted Middleton to have a career

Once things started to get serious between Middleton and William, Queen Elizabeth reportedly fretted over her lack of a career. Her Majesty felt as though Middleton should have a better work history before marrying William, and advised her to start some charity work.

“Privately [the Queen] had grave concerns and believed that Kate needed to have a job and an identity in her own right before an engagement was announced,” royal author Katie Nicholl wrote in The Making of Romance. “The Queen is one of the hardest-working royals, despite her age, and that a future member of the Royal Family was without a full-time job was unacceptable to her.”

Before tying the knot with William, Middleton worked for a company called Starlight, which helps children who are terminally ill. She also took a job at her parent’s company, Party Pieces.

Queen Elizabeth was reportedly quite pleased by Middleton’s work and happily welcomed her into the royal family when she wed William in 2011. Since then, Middleton has continued her charitable work with a focus on early child development and education.

Although things worked out for Middleton, the same cannot be said of Markle. This past January, the former actress and her husband, Prince Harry, formally announced that they are leaving the royal family for a quieter life in North America.

Queen Elizabeth offers Meghan Markle different advice

In stark contrast to Middleton, Markle had an established career in Hollywood when she started dating Harry. Apart from starring in the popular legal drama, Suits, Markle had already done a lot of charitable work, including being a women’s advocate for the UN.

Markle was also very outspoken about politics and social issues. In 2016, for example, she lashed out at Donald Trump for being “divisive” and “misogynistic” in his campaign for the presidency.

According to Express, Queen Elizabeth asked Markle to tone things down when it was clear she was going to marry Harry. Paul Burrell, who used to be the butler to Princess Diana, claims that Markle would have been required to “toe the party line” at the behest of Her Majesty.

“What comes with maturity is a set of beliefs and they don’t sit well with the Royal Family. She has to toe the party line,” Burrell explained.

Whereas Kate Middleton was asked to increase her workload and establish a career, Markle was pretty much advised the opposite. Although Markle did her best to satisfy the royals, things have not turned out well for her and Harry.

Inside Kate Middleton’s relationship with Meghan Markle

To make things even more complicated, Markle and Middleton never really hit it off. They first appeared in public in 2017 shortly after Harry proposed. Their first joint outing without their husbands was in 2018 when they watched a few tennis matches at Wimbledon together.

One reason Markle and Middleton were not fast friends is that they did not share a lot of things in common. They also barely got to know each other as Harry and Markle’s relationship moved very fast.

“Meghan and Kate have known one another for a relatively short period of time. Though they both clearly adore their husbands, they are hugely different people,” author Nigel Cawthorne shared.

Despite their differences, Middleton reportedly did her best to welcome Markle into the family. In fact, when she was engaged to Harry, Markle admitted that his family had been great at making her feel at home.

Queen Elizabeth has not commented on the reports about the advice she gave Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle when they were joining the royal family.

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2020-02-26 14:50:44Z
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What's next for Harvey Weinstein following NYC rape conviction - Fox News

Now that Harvey Weinstein is officially a convicted rapist that will spend time behind bars, the disgraced movie mogul's legal strife is far from over.

After a jury of seven men and five women handed down the verdict on Monday after five days of deliberating, Weinstein remained at a New York City hospital on Tuesday, his new life as an inmate interrupted by concerns about high blood pressure and heart palpitations.

Lawyers for the 67-year-old Weinstein said he was buoyed by plans to appeal Monday’s sexual assault and rape conviction, and that the detour to Bellevue Hospital on the way to the city’s notorious Rikers Island prison complex was precautionary.

“He’s in pretty good spirits. He’s energized,” Weinstein lawyer Arthur Aidala said.

Elsewhere, it was Weinstein’s accusers who were feeling energized.

HARVEY WEINSTEIN IS 'FLABBERGASTED BY THE VERDICT,' DEFENSE ATTORNEY SAYS

They’ve continued to herald the verdict in the landmark #MeToo case as a sign that women's voices are being heard, with some even saying they're ready to testify in his looming California criminal case if asked.

With Weinstein poised to begin life as an inmate, there are many questions that remain as to what the justice system still has in store for him.

WILL WEINSTEIN GO TO JAIL ONCE HE LEAVES THE HOSPITAL?

Harvey Weinstein was convicted of rape charges in a New York court. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Aidala said Weinstein wasn’t handcuffed when they greeted each other Tuesday in a large hospital room as jail officers stood guard outside. He said that Weinstein was looking forward to visitors, and it wasn't clear how long he would be there.

If Weinstein gets discharged from Bellevue, it’s likely he’ll end up at a protective unit at the city’s Rikers Island jail facility. It’ll be a short stay because he’ll be moved to state prison after sentencing.

While it’s up to the city’s corrections department to decide where inmates are housed, Judge James Burke said he’d ask that Weinstein be placed in the jail's North Infirmary Command, where he’d have “something tantamount to protective custody.”

Martin Horn, a former city corrections commissioner, said that despite its name, the infirmary is more like a regular jail than a hospital unit.

Built in 1932 as the original Rikers Island Hospital, the infirmary now has smaller, 10-cell blocks that are used for protective units for inmates who might be targets in the general population, such as sex offenders and former law enforcement officers.

HARVEY WEINSTEIN'S GUILTY VERDICT PROMPTS IMMEDIATE CELEBRATION ON SOCIAL MEDIA: 'JUSTICE SERVED'

Horn said the city’s jails have specialized units for the disabled. However, inmates with serious medical needs are often sent to the hospital ward at Bellevue.

In lobbying to keep Weinstein out of jail following the verdict, his lawyer, Donna Rotunno, told Burke that he has back injuries stemming from a car crash last summer and a condition that requires shots in his eyes, so he does not go blind.

After visiting with Weinstein Tuesday, Aidala told reporters: “He's not the picture of health by any stretch of the imagination.”

WHEN WILL WEINSTEIN BE SENTENCED AND WHERE WILL HE BE IMPRISONED?

Harvey Weinstein will be sentenced in New York City after a jury found him guilty of rape charges. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

Weinstein is due to be sentenced on March 11. He was convicted on two counts: criminal sex act for forcibly performing oral sex on a woman in 2006 and third-degree rape for a 2013 attack on another woman. Together, the charges carry a maximum penalty of 29 years in prison.

On the criminal sex act count, he faces a minimum of five years in prison and a maximum of 25 years in prison, while the third-degree rape count carries a maximum penalty of four years in prison. The judge could have the sentences run concurrently.

At Weinstein’s sentencing hearing, his accusers will again get a chance to confront him in court and the former producer will be afforded an opportunity to speak after declining to testify at trial.

HARVEY WEINSTEIN FOUND GUILTY OF THIRD-DEGREE RAPE, CRIMINAL SEX ACT; DA SAYS CASE 'CHANGED THE COURSE OF HISTORY'

Once Weinstein is sentenced, he’ll be transferred from the city’s jail system to the state prison system. There, he will undergo a thorough evaluation, including a comprehensive medical review, to determine which facility is best to imprison him.

“They're going to make sure that nothing happens to him while he's in their custody. Not because he's important, but just from a public relations point of view it would be awfully embarrassing," said Horn, who now teaches at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

WHAT ISSUES COULD WEINSTEIN’S LAWYERS RAISE ON APPEAL?

Harvey Weinstein and his attorney Donna Rotunno plan to appeal the New York jury's decision. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

Weinstein’s lawyers were upset with the judge's handling of the case, from his inclusion of a juror who’d written a novel involving predatory older men to his rulings on evidence, witnesses and objections.

They could challenge Burke's decision not to delay the trial when authorities in Los Angeles announced new charges against Weinstein just as jury selection was about to get underway.

HARVEY WEINSTEIN INDICTED ON NEW SEX CRIMES IN LOS ANGELES

The defense team was also upset that some evidence was turned over to them at the last minute or after witnesses had already testified. In one instance, an accuser said she found the dress she was wearing the night of an alleged encounter with Weinstein just days before she was to take the witness stand — too late, the defense said, for it to be tested for DNA.

Aidala said Tuesday that Weinstein was “somewhat flabbergasted by the verdict” but remained “cautiously optimistic” he could prevail on appeal.

WHAT ARE THE ALLEGATIONS IN THE CALIFORNIA CASE?

Harvey Weinstein still faces charges in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

Weinstein faces charges that he raped a woman at a Los Angeles hotel in 2013, then sexually assaulted a different woman in a Beverly Hills hotel the next night.

Eleven other women alleging sexual misconduct by Weinstein told reporters Thursday that they hope to testify against him at that trial.

HARVEY WEINSTEIN ACCUSER CAITLIN DULANY RESPONDS TO GUILTY VERDICT: ‘I HAVE A RENEWED SENSE OF JUSTICE’

“We will get you in LA,” said Louisette Geiss, a former actress and screenwriter who said Weinstein asked her to watch him masturbate during the 2008 Sundance Film Festival.

Weinstein could get up to 28 years in prison on the charges in the California case.

Additional sexual assault cases are under investigation by police in the Los Angeles area.

“This is only the beginning. We will continue to fight,” said Sarah Ann Masse, another of the women who spoke Tuesday as part a group calling itself the “Silence Breakers." She says Weinstein once sexually harassed her in his underwear during a job interview.

HOW ARE PEOPLE REACTING?

President Donald Trump spoke about the Harvey Weinstein verdict shortly after it came down. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Asked about Weinstein Tuesday, President Donald Trump called Weinstein's conviction a “great victory” for women that “sends a very strong message."

"He was a person I didn't like," Trump told reporters.

TRUMP SAYS HE 'NEVER LIKED' HARVEY WEINSTEIN, WHO WANTED TO 'DEFEAT ME IN THE ELECTION'

Trump himself stands accused of sexual misconduct, including a rape allegation, by more than a dozen women when he was a private citizen. He has denied all the allegations.

Mimi Haleyi, the former production assistant who accused Weinstein of forcing oral sex on her in 2006, called the verdict “a huge relief."

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“I just think that we’re being educated about the reality of sexual assault and sexual assault victims,” Haleyi said on “CBS This Morning.” “It’s not always just a stranger. It’s very often somebody that the person knows, and with that comes an entire other layer of processing."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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2020-02-26 15:26:53Z
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Pop star Duffy says she withdrew from public spotlight after being raped, drugged and held captive - The Washington Post

Duffy, 35, whose given name is Aimee Anne Duffy, asked her fans to “please trust me I am ok and safe now.” The singer did not offer further details of her assault but said she will post a “spoken interview” to social media in the coming weeks in which she will try to answer more questions.

View this post on Instagram

You can only imagine the amount of times I thought about writing this. The way I would write it, how I would feel thereafter. Well, not entirely sure why now is the right time, and what it is that feels exciting and liberating for me to talk. I cannot explain it. Many of you wonder what happened to me, where did I disappear to and why. A journalist contacted me, he found a way to reach me and I told him everything this past summer. He was kind and it felt so amazing to finally speak. The truth is, and please trust me I am ok and safe now, I was raped and drugged and held captive over some days. Of course I survived. The recovery took time. There’s no light way to say it. But I can tell you in the last decade, the thousands and thousands of days I committed to wanting to feel the sunshine in my heart again, the sun does now shine. You wonder why I did not choose to use my voice to express my pain? I did not want to show the world the sadness in my eyes. I asked myself, how can I sing from the heart if it is broken? And slowly it unbroke. In the following weeks I will be posting a spoken interview. If you have any questions I would like to answer them, in the spoken interview, if I can. I have a sacred love and sincere appreciation for your kindness over the years. You have been friends. I want to thank you for that x Duffy Please respect this is a gentle move for me to make, for myself, and I do not want any intrusion to my family. Please support me to make this a positive experience.

A post shared by @ duffy on Feb 25, 2020 at 10:12am PST

Duffy’s first album, “Rockferry,” went platinum seven times after it dropped in 2008, hitting No. 1 in six countries and netting her the British Breakthrough, Best British Female and Best British Album titles at the Brit Awards, the BBC reported. In the United States, she was nominated for two Grammys and won a third for Best Pop Vocal Album.

Her single “Mercy,” which echoed the tone of contemporaries Amy Winehouse and Adele, topped the music charts in 12 countries, according to the BBC. Duffy’s second album, “Endlessly,” was released in 2010 with less success, and she dropped a handful of other songs in 2015 that included tracks for the Tom Hardy movie “Legend,” in which she appeared as a nightclub singer.

For fans and observers in the music world, the sputtering trajectory of her musical career over the last decade felt strange after such a strong start.

In her statement, Duffy explained her absence.

“Many of you wonder what happened to me, where did I disappear to and why,” she said in an Instagram post.

When a journalist contacted her last summer, Duffy said, she “told him everything.” She said the reporter was “kind” and that “it felt so amazing to finally speak.”

“The recovery took time. There’s no light way to say it,” she said in her statement. “But I can tell you in the last decade, the thousands and thousands of days I committed to wanting to feel the sunshine in my heart again, the sun does now shine. You wonder why I did not choose to use my voice to express my pain? I did not want to show the world the sadness in my eyes. I asked myself, how can I sing from the heart if it is broken? And slowly it unbroke.”

The singer thanked her fans for their kindness over the years and said has a “sacred love and sincere appreciation” for them.

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2020-02-26 14:38:00Z
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Singer Duffy says she retreated from the spotlight after being 'raped and drugged and held captive' - CNN

The "Mercy" singer said she still wasn't sure now was the right time to share but that it felt "liberating" to do so.

"Many of you wonder what happened to me, where did I disappear to and why," she wrote. "The truth is, and please trust me I am ok and safe now, I was raped and drugged and held captive over some days."

Duffy says she survived and spent "thousands and thousands of days ... committed to wanting to feel the sunshine in my heart again."

"You wonder why I did not choose to use my voice to express my pain? I did not want to show the world the sadness in my eyes. I asked myself, how can I sing from the heart if it is broken? And slowly it unbroke."

Duffy took home the best pop vocal award at the 2009 Grammys for her breakthrough album, "Rockferry." That same year, she was also nominated for best new artist.

In 2010, she released another album, "Endlessly," after which she largely retreated from the music scene.

The Welsh artist said that in the coming weeks she'll post a spoken interview in which she will also address fan questions.

A rep for Duffy declined to comment when contacted by CNN about her post.

She closed by saying, "Please respect this is a gentle move for me to make, for myself, and I do not want any intrusion to my family. Please support me to make this a positive experience."

On social media, people commended the singer for her bravery.

"Wow, your strength is truly inspiring," one user wrote on Instagram.

"Your music is a reflection of your heart and who you are, beautiful and strong. I pray and hope for a real and long lasting healing," another fan wrote. "We are with you dear, precious @duffy you are incredible and very missed. Fight this thing, don't let it define you or determine your life."

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2020-02-26 14:35:00Z
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Harvey Weinstein to get special treatment as officials fear an 'Epstein incident' - New York Post

Convicted rapist Harvey Weinstein will get special treatment in custody — because officials fear another “Epstein incident,” sources told The Post.

Still reeling from the uproar after pedophile Jeffrey Epstein managed to hang himself in his Manhattan lockup last year, jail officials are taking extraordinary steps to monitor their newest high-profile inmate.

Weinstein will always have his own cell, will constantly have a dedicated team of correction officers with him — and could even be shipped to a facility outside of the city, sources said.

“The last thing you want is another Jeffrey Epstein incident,” a jail source told The Post.

“Harvey is going to be isolated as much as possible and will always have a detail with him throughout the prison. He’s never going to be like other prisoners, able to walk down the hallway or sit in the canteen alone.”

The special measures have already started within Bellevue Hospital, where Weinstein was taken for chest pains after his conviction Monday, Joe Russo, president of the Assistant Deputy Wardens / Deputy Wardens Association, told The City.

A jail captain escorts him on every move, and the team watching him includes several members of the department’s elite emergency response unit to ensure he doesn’t try to harm himself, Russo said.

The entire jail hospital unit is shut down to eliminate any chance Weinstein could bump into other inmates, Russo told the site.

“There seems to be a Jeffrey Epstein influence here,” Russo said.

Russo suggested city officials are keen to keep the high-profile prisoner out of the city, with options being debated including a jail in Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester or even as far away as Albany.

Jeffrey EpsteinAP

If he does stay at Rikers he could even get an entire housing unit just for him, Russo told The City.

“He’s very high-profile and you can’t put him with somebody else,” Russo told the site.

Sources told The Post that while options outside of the city are being considered, it is far from straightforward, with state officials getting the final say.

The Correction Department declined to comment on The City’s Weinstein report.

“He’s in our custody right now,” Avery Cohen, a City Hall spokesperson, told the site.

Weinstein was convicted in Manhattan court Monday of rape and criminal sex act — which leaves him facing up to 29 years behind bars. Wherever he ends up, Weinstein should be well prepared — having hired a “prison consultant’’ to help prepare him for his time behind bars.

Epstein, 66, was being held in the Metropolitan Correctional Center in downtown Manhattan, awaiting sex-trafficking charges, when he was found dead the morning of Aug. 10.

Corrections officers Tova Noel and Michael Thomas with falsifying documents claiming they’d checked on Epstein and other inmates every half hour the night he died. Both guards pleaded “not guilty.”

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2020-02-26 13:30:00Z
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Prince Harry returns to UK for final round of royal engagements, requests to only be called 'Harry' - Fox News

Prince Harry returned to the United Kingdom for one of his final engagements as a senior member of the royal family.

The Duke of Sussex, 35, traveled to Edinburgh, Scotland by train to attend a summit for an eco-friendly tourism firm called Travalyst, according to reports.

The event host, Ayesha Hazarika, informed the crowd that Harry did not want to be referred to as "Prince" during the appearance.

MEGHAN MARKLE, PRINCE HARRY WILL END THEIR ROYAL DUTIES BY THE END OF MARCH

Prince Harry requested that the public does not call him 'Prince' at a royal event in the U.K. (Stefan Rousseau/Pool via AP)

"He's made it clear that we are all just to call him Harry. So ladies and gentlemen, please give a big, warm, Scottish welcome to Harry," Hazarika told the crowd, according to Daily Mail.

It marked Harry's first official public appearance days after he and Meghan announced on their official website that they would no longer use the term "Royal" or "Sussex Royal" after the "Megxit" transition is completed in the spring of 2020.

QUEEN ELIZABETH SEES ‘MEGXIT’ AS ‘DAMAGING TO THE MONARCHY,' SOURCE CLAIMS: ‘THIS HAS BEEN RATHER HURTFUL'

Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex attend the 91st Field of Remembrance at Westminster Abbey in London. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Meghan's husband is also set to visit the Abbey Road Studios in London on Friday for a collaboration with Jon Bon Jovi. He and Meghan may be making five additional appearances before they end their royal duties on March 31, according to Sky News.

Harry and Meghan announced in January their decision to step back from their senior royal duties. The Sussexes no longer hold an office at Buckingham Palace. The deadline is part of the deal the duo made with Queen Elizabeth II.

Included in the transition is Meghan and Harry's agreement to stop using their "royal highness" titles. The couple also plans to split their time between the United Kingdom and North America as they attempt to live financially independent.

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While Harry and Meghan's royal transition comes after the Queen shared her approval with the public, a source close to Buckingham Palace told royal expert Katie Nicholl that Her Royal Highness “generally doesn’t want to talk about it,” Vanity Fair reported on Monday.

“The queen has been keen to get this resolved because she sees it damaging to the monarchy and on a personal level I think this has been rather hurtful for her,” the source said.

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2020-02-26 12:45:58Z
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