Reuters Showbiz and Celebrity Breaking News

French production powerhouse Federation Studios is investigating strategic options that could include its full or partial sale, according to a Reuters news agency report on Thursday.

Reuters, a lawsuit has been filed against the American record executive, A&R representative, and record producer, accusing him of two alleged incidents of sexual assault over two decades ago.In the court records obtained by the outlet, it is stated that former music executive Drew Dixon filed the lawsuit in Manhattan’s federal court on Wednesday (November 8). The plaintiff, aged 67, is seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages and claims that Reid derailed her career after he became Arista Records’ chief executive.As reported by the outlet, a representative for Reid did not immediately respond to requests for comment, and lawyers who have represented him on recent legal matters have also not yet provided comment on the accusations.The alleged assaults outlined in the filing include two that occurred in 2001, during the time that the pair were working together.

The New York Times acknowledged that it “relied too heavily” on Hamas’ claims about the source of a blast at al-Ahli Hospital last week in Gaza, as the Times and other mainstream outlets came under intense criticism for initial reports on the explosion.

Fugees is asking for a new trial in his money laundering case after claiming that his lawyer created a “failed” closing argument with generative AI.In April this year, Michel was convicted for his involvement in a billion-dollar Malaysian money laundering scheme.As reported by Reuters, however, a brief filed on Michel’s behalf has requested a retrial on the grounds that the musician’s previous attorney David Kenney reportedly used the AI program EyeLevel.AI to create the closing statement.According to the brief, filed by Michel’s new legal representation team at ArentFox Schiff: “Kenner’s closing argument made frivolous arguments, misapprehended the required elements, conflated the schemes and ignored critical weaknesses in the government’s case.”It continued: “The AI program failed Kenner, and Kenner failed Michel. The closing argument was deficient, unhelpful and a missed opportunity that prejudiced the defense.”Kenner has not responded to the brief.

Reuters videographer Issam Abdullah was killed and four other reporters were wounded in southern Lebanon on Friday while covering skirmishes along its border with Israel.

X, formerly Twitter, has followed through on Elon Musk’s plan to remove headlines from news articles.

People are confused by the seemingly bizarre way George Santos decided to “hard launch” his relationship with his husband Matt.

We wondered if this might happen, and now, here it is…

Studio Ghibli has a new lead shareholder in the shape of Nippon Television Holdings.

Harry Styles turned up the London heat with his toned physique.

Disney is planning to offer free cricket on smartphones and tablets in India as it fights back against subscriber loss at its Indian streaming service Disney+ Hotstar. 

Elon Musk says that he plans to make another move that will complicate news media outlets effort to draw traffic to their content on Twitter/X.

Justin Trudeau is thankful for the support from fellow Canadians.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor UPDATED, 3:55 p.m. ET: X, Elon Musk’s new name for the social network formerly known as Twitter, appears to be adding an approximately five-second delay to links that are redirected to certain sites, including Meta’s Facebook, Instagram and Threads. Earlier Tuesday, X’s delay also was applied to links to the New York Times and Reuters.

Ellise Shafer “Barbie” has been banned in Algeria in its third week of release, according to Reuters. In a statement to the news site, an unnamed “official source” said that the film “promotes homosexuality and other Western deviances” and “does not comply with Algeria’s religious and cultural beliefs.” The news was first reported by local site 24H Algerie on Monday, which wrote that the North African country’s Ministry of Culture and Arts had asked theaters showing the film to immediately remove it from their schedules.

Algerian authorities have pulled runaway box office hit Barbie from local cinemas over its “damaging morals”.

Among the 18 names listed in the 41-count indictment unsealed by a Fulton County, Georgia D.A. tonight was one not generally associated with Donald Trump and his inner circle: Trevian C. Kutti.

If Donald Trump is indicted this week, viewers may see something they haven’t in his three previous cases: Televised proceedings.

Lebanon has banned “Barbie” screenings entirely.

The Indian mega-merger between Sony’s TV operations in India and Zee Entertainment has been given the greenlight, paving the way for a $10B TV partnership.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Lebanon, once thought of as among the most liberal parts of the Middle East, is poised to ban global hit movie “Barbie.” More conservative Kuwait said Wednesday that it had gone ahead with a ban due to its promotion of homosexuality. Lebanon’s culture minister Mohammad Mortada said on Wednesday that the Warner Bros. film was found to “promote homosexuality and sexual transformation” and “contradicts values of faith and morality” by diminishing the importance of the family unit.

The Barbie movie isn’t going to be found in Lebanon anytime soon.

Deadline has confirmed that Warner Bros’ billion-dollar grossing Barbie won’t be getting a release in Kuwait, and it’s skating on thin ice in Lebanon.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Christine Romans is getting ready for a new start after “Early Start.” The CNN veteran, who has been with the Warner Bros. Discovery network for 24 years as a business correspondent and early-morning anchor, is leaving for an as-yet unannounced role with another outlet, according to people familiar with the matter. She announced her exit on Friday’s broadcast of “Early Start,” the CNN crack-of-dawn program she has anchors since 2014.

Kevin Spacey has been cleared of sexual assault charges in a London trial.The actor was acquitted of all nine charges at Southwark Crown Court on Wednesday (July 26), including seven counts of sexual assault, one count of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent, and one count of causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity.As reported by Reuters, Spacey began to cry when the verdict was returned by the jury, before he thanked court staff.During the four-week trial, Spacey was accused of sexual offences against four men, alleged to have taken place between 2001 and 2013. He was accused of performing a sex act on a former aspiring actor while he slept, and of several other assaults – including grabbing a driver’s crotch during a car ride to a celebrity party outside London.Ahead of the trial, Spacey denied all the charges and described the prosecution’s case against him as “weak”.In court, the actor said he had been “open” about times he had been “promiscuous”, saying: “It doesn’t make me a bad person.”During his closing speech, Spacey’s defence barrister, Patrick Gibbs KC, accused three of the four men of lying “for reasons which, ultimately, will only ever be known to themselves”, while suggesting the fourth was intoxicated.“It’s not a crime to like sex, even if you’re famous and it’s not a crime to have sex, even if you’re famous, and it’s not a crime to have casual sex,” Gibbs told jurors.

The youngest player in this year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup was born in the United States, but she’s not playing with Megan Rapinoe and the rest of the USWNT — she’s playing for South Korea.

Eros International Media, per a Reuters report quoting government officials. Variety reached out to Eros for comment but had not received a reply by press time. The ministry investigation follows an examination into the company’s accounts by financial market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). That resulted in an interim order in late June and the banning of two Eros executives. The June order, which probes Eros’ financial practices in forensic detail for the period 2012-13 to 2019-20, found that the company, which was in the business of producing and distributing films, had advanced funds to 19 entities said to be for film production. Some $153 million of the amounts transferred to these companies was “untraceable.” Film rights were neither created nor the funds returned to Eros. Approximately 94% of this figure was subsequently written off by Eros. The order concludes that of the untraceable amount, approximately half was “siphoned off/diverted by Eros.”

British pop-rock band The 1975 has been banned from performing in Malaysia a day after the band’s frontman Matty Healy slammed the country’s anti-LGBTQ laws and then kissed his bandmate, bassist Ross MacDonald.  The country, where homosexuality is illegal, also canceled the remainder of the Good Vibes Festival Saturday, which was supposed to run the rest of the weekend with several other acts.  "There will be no compromise against any party that challenges, disparages and violates Malaysian laws," Malaysia’s Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said in a statement, according to Reuters.   He added, "never touch on the sensitivities of the community, especially those that are against the traditions and values ​​of the local culture."  The Good Vibes Festival said in a statement they "deeply regret" the cancelation of the festival due to the "controversial conduct and remarks made by UK artist Matty Healy from the band 1975."  The statement added that Malaysia’s Ministry of Communication has "underlined its unwavering stance against any parties that challenge, ridicule, or contravene Malaysian laws."           View this post on Instagram                       A post shared by Good Vibes Festival (@goodvibesfest) A government committee also clarified that The 1975 has been banned from the country.  "I do not see the point of inviting The 1975 to a country and then telling us who we can have sex with," Healy said in a lengthy onstage speech Friday, saying they had considered canceling but didn’t want to disappoint their fans.

Shakira isn’t out of the woods yet!

Shakira’s legal troubles are far from over as she faces a second tax fraud case in Spain.