Michael Kassan, CEO of MediaLink, the strategic advisory firm acquired by UTA in 2021, is out.
22.02.2024 - 06:39 / variety.com
William Earl A Los Angeles Superior Court judge has denied ABC’s bid to dismiss the COVID vaccination wrongful termination case filed by a father and son who ran the construction and special effects department for ABC’s “General Hospital.” James Wahl and his son Timothy Wahl sued ABC in 2021, asserting they were fired from the long-running daytime serial when they refused to get a COVID-19 vaccination on religious grounds. On the heels of Judge Stephen I.
Goorvitch’s Feb. 20 order denying ABC’s motion to dismiss the case, the sides are set to meet March 11 to confer on a trial date.
Goorvitch rejected ABC’s assertion of doubt that the Wahls’ objection to the COVID vaccination were based in firm religious beliefs. ABC argued that the pair’s roles were such that they could not receive an exemption to its strict COVID vaccination policy, given the industry-wide restrictions imposed during the pandemic to allow TV and film production to resume.
“The jury, not the judge, must resolve whether Plaintiffs [the Wahls] had genuine religious beliefs and whether Defendant [ABC] could have reasonably accommodated Plaintiffs without posing an undue hardship,” Goorvitch wrote. The judge seemed to question whether ABC had made an effort to accomodate the pair and whether it overstated the risk the Walhs posed to “General Hospital” cast and crew members.
“Defendant argues that Plaintiffs could not have been accommodated because they could not maintain a distance of six feet from others. Interpreting the record in the light most favorable to Plaintiffs, however, they were only in close proximity to others for between 30 seconds to several minutes while Plaintiffs were masked and testing regularly and the people with whom they had contact
.Michael Kassan, CEO of MediaLink, the strategic advisory firm acquired by UTA in 2021, is out.
Currently on trial in France for decrying the sexual assault claims from actress Charlotte Lewis, Roman Polanski now finds himself facing a trial next year in the United States over allegations of raping a minor in 1973.
Celebrity Big Brother viewers reckon they've sussed out when Sharon Osbourne will be leaving the ITV reality show.The former X Factor judge, who isn't a full-time housemate and is currently receiving a semi-VIP treatment, is still in the house with just over a week to go until the live final on 22 March. She is reportedly being paid £100,000 for five days as a CBB housemate.
Notorious former NFL superstar Antonio Brown is giving the finger to a judge who threw the book at him for refusing to give a pair of $1 million finger “covers” back to a celebrity jeweler.Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Kerry Bensinger recently ordered Brown, now a rising rap artist, to pay Shuki International $1,095,000 after the embattled ex-All Pro receiver failed to answer a lawsuit alleging he borrowed the jeweler’s diamond-encrusted finger covers and other pieces of jewelry in 2022 — but never returned or paid for them.Jean Louis Shukitold The Post that Brown blew off voice messages he’s left since last month’s ruling, and instead only fired back texts indicating the court order won’t sway him.“U caint [sic] get s–t cracker,” said Brown in the first text, fired off at 4:42 a.m. on Feb.
J.K. Rowling is back at it again — but this time instead of getting canceled online, her comments got taken straight to the police!
Reggae artist Matisyahu has had the House of Blues in Chicago cancel his scheduled performance Friday because of the “threat of protests.”
EXCLUSIVE: A documentary about the legendary Billy Preston that’s set to debut tonight at SXSW might not see the light of day.
Stranger Things star Brett Gelman has spoken out after a third bookstore cancelled his signing event, following backlash surrounding his views on Israel.Book Soup in West Hollywood, Los Angeles, was set to be the next stop on the star’s debut book tour, promoting his short story collection, The Terrifying Realm Of The Possible: Nearly True Stories (set for release on March 19).However, similarly to bookstores in San Francisco and Winnetka, Illinois, Book Soup have cancelled his appearance. The decision comes after Gelman has been outspoken in support of Israel, particularly following the attack by Hamas on the Supernova music festival in October 2023.An initial statement released by Book Soup said that it “feels very strongly that a free society should protect individuals’ freedom of thought and expression,” before clarifying that the cancellation was in the interest of safety for Gelman, the staff and the attendees.According to the Los Angeles Times, the Fleabag star responded: “I am really wondering if there was any direct threat made.
Citing safety concerns, Book Soup has canceled a March 27 appearance by Stranger Things actor and author Brett Gelman.
Jonathan Majors and Meagan Good are making their red carpet debut.
Jaden Thompson Outside Los Angeles’ AMC Grove the afternoon of March 3, entertainment professionals and mall-goers alike were treated to a unique Hollywood spectacle as Jack Black, Bryan Cranston, Ke Huy Quan, Kyle Gass and more showed off their best martial arts moves on the “Kung Fu Panda 4” red carpet. Tenacious D’s cover of “…Baby One More Time,” which recently went viral on social media and is featured in the film’s end credits, played as bandmates Black and Gass shot scenes for the song’s forthcoming music video.
Cynthia Littleton Business Editor Former Verve CEO Bill Weinstein has filed a lawsuit against the talent agency, alleging that he was improperly ousted from the company on Feb. 19 by two partners who are looking to sell the company.
Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Janet Yang, the Los Angeles-based producer and president of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, has been appointed as an independent non-executive director to the board of Imax China, a subsidiary of premium large format cinema company Imax that has its own share listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The company, Wednesday, reported a return to net profits of $27.5 million for the 2023 calendar year. That compared with net profit of $10.8 million in 2022.
Kim Kardashian‘s eight-year-old son Saint West got the moment of a lifetime on Sunday night when he walked out onto the soccer pitch holding hands with superstar Lionel Messi!
Not sure if Cavalry Media needs someone to come to the rescue, but the shaky shingle may now see its whole house of alleged cards come tumbling down.
Selena Gomez is gearing up for an exciting night!
Hill Harper, running for an open U.S. Senate seat in Michigan, returned to Los Angeles earlier this month, where the actor headlined a fundraiser co-hosted by John Legend, as well as other figures including Vivica A. Fox and Mike Tollin.
Nigel Lythgoe has been accused of sexual assault in another lawsuit.
Los Angeles’ Ethics Commission has rejected Les Moonves’ $11,250 settlement with the city over information leaked to the once powerful CBS CEO by a LAPD officer about sexual assault allegations.
EXCLUSIVE: President Joe Biden‘s return to the Hollywood fundraiser circuit also includes a familiar name: Covid 19.