DON JOHNSON'S SUSHI SEX SUIT: An incident at a San Francisco sushi bar is
coming back to haunt Don Johnson, and no, it's not a case of food poisoning.
The star of the just-canceled series Nash Bridges is being sued for sexual
harassment by a woman who claims the actor grabbed her and made lewd comments
at the Mas Sake restaurant in January.
The woman, whose name is not included in the suit, said she decided to
introduce herself because she was a fan but quickly became a non-fan after
Johnson responded with "inappropriate physical behavior."
The suit accuses Johnson of sexual battery, assault and battery, and
intentional infliction of emotional distress, according to The Associated Press.
Johnson's lawyers and publicist have maintained that there is no merit to
any of the accusations. In May, prosecutors decided not to file criminal
charges against Johnson for the alleged incident.
The actor, who became a household name after his '80s stint on Miami Vice,
was previously sued for sexual harassment in 1997; the case was settled in 1998.
LOPEZ HURT BY SUGGESTIONS OF RACISM: Jennifer Lopez said it's "hurtful" to
suggest that she's a racist because of an epithet she sings in a remix of her
new song "I'm Real."
Lopez performed the original version of the song in the middle of
Rockefeller Plaza on NBC's "Today" show Friday morning. She's drawn criticism
for the remix by rapper Ja Rule, which includes the "n-word."
"For anyone to think or suggest that I'm racist is really absurd and
hurtful to me. The use of the word in the song, it was actually written by Ja
Rule, it was not meant to be hurtful to anybody," she said during an interview
between songs.
"I don't want to give it too much energy. I'm here to perform for the fans
and that's what I'm going to do."
The 30-year-old singer and actress said that despite the rumors, she's not
pregnant. And when asked whether she's marrying her boyfriend, dancer Cris
Judd, she smiled and said, "I guess you'll just have to wait and see."
JESSICA SIMPSON, KIELY WILLIAMS GIVEN TRL BIRTHDAY PARTY: Jessica Simpson and
3LW's Kiely Williams had a belated birthday party at MTV.
Williams turned 15 and Simpson turned 21 earlier this week, but they both
got birthday cakes during an appearance Thursday on "Total Request Live."
Simpson, 3LW, Dream, Destiny's Child and Eve appeared on the show to
promote the "TRL Tour," in which they all perform with rapper Nelly. It kicks
off Wednesday in Albany, N.Y.
Simpson said fans will see a different side of her on this tour, her first
in a year.
"My fans haven't seen the new Jessica," she said. "I'm just a lot more
confident. I've grown up lot. My first record, I recorded it when I was 17
years old. I just turned 21 two days ago, and I feel like I've grown up 10
years. I think you're going to see that on stage."
BRAD RENFRO RETURNS TO COURT: Brad Renfro, who tried to steal a yacht in
August, missed the premiere of his new movie to return to court on allegations
he violated his probation.
The star of the 1994 film "The Client" appeared before a judge in a brief
hearing Thursday, the judge's office said. The hearing will resume Tuesday
after Renfro has undergone drug and alcohol testing, the office said.
The 18-year-old actor was arrested in May in his hometown of Knoxville,
Tenn., and charged with underage drinking.
"It's about time for me to grow up and these people gave me more than
enough of a chance to grow up," said Renfro, who missed the Thursday premiere
r
of "Bully" in California.
In January, Renfro was sentenced to two years' probation and ordered to pay
more than $4,000 for repairs to the yacht.
Authorities said Renfro and a friend tried to steal the 45-foot yacht from
Holiday Harbor in Fort Lauderdale before dawn. As they motored away, they
forgot to untie all the docking lines, which snagged the $175,000 vessel,
damaging its stern.
Renfro was in Fort Lauderdale filming "Bully," an adaptation of Jim
Schutze's 1998 book about the suburban murder of 20-year-old Bobby Kent by a
former circle of friends in 1993. The movie opened Friday.
JAY LENO UPSET ABOUT DEMOLITION OF BOYHOOD HOME IN BOSTON: Jay Leno says if he
had known a developer planned to tear down his Massachusetts boyhood home, he
wouldn't have sold it.
"I remember when I sold it, the realtor said, 'It's not really the kind of
house people want,' and I remember I was slightly insulted," Leno told The
Associated Press on Thursday.
The 1950s blue-shuttered gray Cape in Andover, Mass., is scheduled to be
torn down in a few weeks to make way for a $2.6 million, five-bedroom house
under construction a few feet away, said developer Todd Wacome, owner of
Wynwood Associates, which purchased the property about five years ago.
Leno said he realizes that newer, fancier homes have changed the face of
the neighborhood.
"Since they built the mansions next to it, my house looks like a trailer
parked behind it. It's like my neighborhood went into the witness protection
program," he said.
Leno, host of NBC's "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno," said he still
cherishes memories of the place where he grew up.
"We just had a good time in that house, we didn't lock the doors."
The Andover Preservation Commission is expected to approve the demolition
permit this month, member Ann E. Constantine told the Eagle Tribune of Lawrence.
She said the commission recently photographed the house to document what
many townspeople believe to be a historic residence. The commission could delay
the demolition for up to six months, but is not likely to do so, Constantine
said.
SCHWARZENEGGER, MANDELA SUPPORT SPECIAL OLYMPICS IN SOUTH AFRICA: Former South
African President Nelson Mandela and Arnold Schwarzenegger have teamed up to
promote the Special Olympics.
On Thursday, they took a ferry from Cape Town harbor to Robben Island,
where Mandela spent 18 of his 27 years as a prisoner of the apartheid regime,
to light a Special Olympics torch. Robben Island prison since has been turned
into a museum.
"With the lighting of this flame of hope, we hope that we can tear down the
walls of prejudice, the walls of ignorance, that we can include ... people of
intellectual disability and make them part of our society," Schwarzenegger told
schoolchildren and athletes.
The Special Olympics is hoping to recruit an additional 100,000 African
athletes by 2005.
Mandela, who is now trying to broker an end to Burundi's civil war, said
the project was "helping to remove the stigma which is attached very wrongly to
people who are disabled."
The torch was then taken by ferry back to the mainland, where hundreds of
law enforcement officers accompanied it on a run through Cape Town to the
Parliament buildings in the city center.
Schwarzenegger, whose movie credits include the "Terminator" films, "Total
Recall" and "True Lies," has been an ambassador for the Special Olympics since
1979. He is a son-in-law of Special Olympics founder Eunice Kennedy Shriver.
ARTIST CHIHULY OPENS BOUTIQUE IN LAS VEGAS: Glass artist Dale Chihuly is
betting that his first retail shop is going to be a hit with the 36 million
tourists who visit Las Vegas annually.
The Seattle-based artist, who created the vibrant floral glass chandelier
in the lobby of the Bellagio hotel-casino, opened a boutique Thursday in the
upscale resort's Conservatory.
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The shop features a number of his colorful pieces that range in price from
$2,500 to $60,000, as well as lithographs and prints that start at more than
$1,000. Prints of the artist's work can be purchased for as little as $15 as
well as books, videotapes and calendars.
Chihuly said he doesn't plan any other retail shops.
"It's a good business opportunity," Chihuly told The Associated Press. "I
like Vegas. I really enjoy being here and it gives me an excuse to come." |
