Dominic Patten-Senior Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

Dominic Patten Senior Editor, Legal & TV CriticAs the deep pocket run-off campaign between incumbent Jackie Lacey and challenger George Gascón heads into its final month, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office today unveil even more new sexual assault charges against Harvey Weinstein.“Case BA483663 was amended today to add three felony counts each of forcible rape and forcible oral copulation,” the D.A.

Dominic Patten Senior Editor, Legal & TV CriticThe President of the United States of America and the First Lady have tested positive for the coronavirusWith just over 30 days before the election, the announcement from Donald Trump on social media comes just hours after the former Celebrity Apprentice host and Melania Trump went into self-quarantine after Hope Hicks, one of his top aides, tested positive for COVID-19 earlier today.Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19.

Dominic Patten Senior Editor, Legal & TV CriticThere was a Hell of a lot of brimstone and fire from Donald Trump last night in the first Presidential debate with Joe Biden and America is feeling scorched this morningAlmost from the start, Fox News’ Chris Wallace went from playing moderator to nursery school teacher trying to reign in the asinine former Celebrity Apprentice, who seemed more intent adapting a Tasmanian devil strategy than talking policy – AKA classic Trump.Still the near universal

Dominic Patten Senior Editor, Legal & TV CriticJohnny Depp may have succeeded earlier this month in getting the trial for his $50 million defamation lawsuit against Amber Heard pushed back to May next year, but the Fantastic Beasts star might not be so wily when it comes to ducking a deposition in the heated case.Having already launched a $100 million counterclaim against her ex-husband this summer, Heard is now asking a Virginia judge to force Depp to finally sit down for an elongated

Dominic Patten Senior Editor, Legal & TV CriticWith just three weeks until The Voice returns for its 19th season, coach Kelly Clarkson is facing some serious legal competition.The Grammy winner and talk show host was sued today in Los Angeles Superior Court by her long-time management company for failing to pay millions in commissions related to her stint on the NBC competition show and The Kelly Clarkson Show.Under a verbal agreement in place since 2007, five years after Clarkson won the

Dominic Patten Senior Editor, Legal & TV CriticAlmost a year after Gabrielle Union was fired as a judge from America’s Got Talent after just one season, the LA’s Finest star and NBC have come to a deal over her claims of misconduct and racial discrimination on the show and at the Comcast-owned network.“We’ve reached an amicable resolution,” said NBC and Union in a concise joint statement this morning.

Dominic Patten Senior Editor, Legal & TV CriticThe Walt Disney Company may be losing some of its privilege, at least when it comes to a potential pay-equity class action lawsuit against the House of Mouse, what they knew and when they knew it.As part of the ongoing action first filed back in April 2019 by two long time female employees of Disney, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge on September 25 ordered the company to partially pull back the corporate curtain on how compensation is determined

Dominic Patten Senior Editor, Legal & TV CriticIt was a good win for the Green Bay Packers, but maybe even a bigger win for Sunday Night Football last night – at least compared to last week.As well as breaking news from the New York Times of the reality of Donald Trump’s taxes and finances, Green Bay’s match up with the New Orleans Saints faced the determining game of the NBA Eastern Conference finals on ESPN on Sunday.

Dominic Patten Senior Editor, Legal & TV CriticDonald Trump suffered another blow on Sunday as a federal judge hit the pause button on the former Celebrity Apprentice host ban on the Chinese created widely successful video app.Coming just as the New York Times dropped a bombshell expose on Trump’s long hidden taxes and debts, the partial injunction granted by U.S.

Dominic Patten Senior Editor, Legal & TV CriticOn Wednesday, five Republican Senators fired off a letter to Netflix’s Ted Sarandos over the streamer service’s plan to have the executive producers of Game of Thrones  adapt Chinese author Liu Cixin’s sci-fi trilogy The Three-Body Problem.

Dominic Patten Senior Editor, Legal & TV CriticEvel Knievel once said that he “would always rather be in the arena fighting than be a spectator.”The legendary stunt rider’s son is clearly taking those words to heart with a new lawsuit against Walt Disney Pictures and Pixar over the Duke Caboom character introduced in last year’s Toy Story 4.“Defendants have used in commerce, and continue to use in commerce, the likeness, reputation, and image of Evel Knievel in the film Toy Story 4 through

Dominic Patten Senior Editor, Legal & TV CriticBryan Callen says he is innocent of multiple rape allegations made against him and the former Goldbergs actor is suing the husband of one of his accusers to prove it, sort of.“This lawsuit arises from Defendant Gabriel Tigerman’s ongoing campaign to destroy the livelihood of actor and stand-up comic Bryan Callen through threats, harassment, and intimidation of third parties that dare contract with him,” says the complaint for intentional

Dominic Patten Senior Editor, Legal & TV Critic(Updated with Ben Crump tweet & KY AG remarks) A grand jury in Kentucky decided today to indict a Louisville cop with low level criminal charges in the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor earlier this year.Not directly addressing Taylor’s death nor demands for accountability, former Louisville Detective Brett Hankison has been indicted for wanton endangerment in the first degree for his role in the situation surrounding the March 13 fatality.

Dominic Patten Senior Editor, Legal & TV Critic(Updated with Ben Crump tweet) A grand jury in Kentucky decided today to indict a Louisville cop with low level criminal charges in the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor earlier this year. In a rare move against law enforcement, former Louisville Detective Brett Hankison has been indicted for wanton endangerment in the first degree for his role in situation surrounding the March 13 fatality.

Dominic Patten Senior Editor, Legal & TV CriticJoe Biden said Tuesday that Cindy McCain will officially endorse him in his bid to toss President Donald Trump out of the White House.“Maybe I shouldn’t say it but I’m about to go on one of these Zooms with John McCain’s wife, who is first time ever is endorsing me because of what [Trump] talks about with my son and John’s who are heroes, who served their country — you know he said they’re losers, they’re suckers,” Biden remarked at the end of a

Dominic Patten Senior Editor, Legal & TV CriticAlmost nine months after Kobe Bryant, his 13-year old daughter Gianna and seven others perished in a helicopter crash, the basketball legend’s widow today hit the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department with a scathing lawsuit over photographs taken by deputies at the accident site.“The gratuitous images soon became talked about within the department, as deputies displayed them to colleagues in settings that had nothing to do with investigating the

Dominic Patten Senior Editor, Legal & TV CriticMore than two and a half years after Gary Oldman took home the Oscar for his portrayal of Winston Churchill in the Joe Wright-directed and Anthony McCarten-penned Darkest Hour, a History Channel writer is suing the actor, NBCUniversal and others connect to the movie for allegedly ripping off parts of his script.“[Ben Kaplan] spent years developing, writing and refining Churchill,” says the complaint, seeking a jury trial, filed last week in Los

Dominic Patten Senior Editor, Legal & TV CriticBesides the obvious changes in formant and technical reach due to the coronavirus pandemic, Jimmy Kimmel’s third time as host saw a lot of firsts at the 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards last night.For one, there was a host again after the TV Academy show ceremony tried to be like the 2019 Oscars and go without a frontman or frontwoman.

Dominic Patten Senior Editor, Legal & TV Critic“These are the strangest of days,” said Catherine O’Hara tonight when the Schitt’s Creek star grabbed the Emmy for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series.

Dominic Patten Senior Editor, Legal & TV CriticHaving a hot streak of a night at the 2020 Emmy Awards tonight, Watchmen capped it just now with an Outstanding Limited Series win and a call to meet the challenges of history and today.“History is mystery, it is broken into a million puzzle pieces and many are missing,” said series creator Damon Lindelof on Sunday in his acceptance speech for the HBO show.

Dominic Patten Senior Editor, Legal & TV Critic“That is very sad news,” said Bill Maher tonight as the nation and the world learned of the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.In front of a coronavirus socially distanced live audience on Friday, the Real Time host and his panel were informed of the passing of the 87-year old trailblazer as they were in the middle of filming tonight’s show.

Dominic Patten Senior Editor, Legal & TV CriticEXCLUSIVE: CBS has topped primetime, daytime and late-night TV viewership for the second season in a row.While in a virtual dead-heat with NBC for overall total reach, the ViacomCBS-owned network averaged 6.32 million viewers in the highly valued 8 – 11 PM period for the 2019-2020 full-year season, says Nielsen.

Dominic Patten Senior Editor, Legal & TV CriticThe more than $10 million breach of contract complaint just filed over Melissa McCarthy starrer Life of the Party may prove a party pooper for the Ghostbusters actress, Warner Bros, director Ben Falcone, the Gersh Agency, agent Sean Barclay, and Brett Ratner and his RatPac banner – or not.“Plaintiff formally pitched the Concepts to the Gersh Defendants in 2014, and was informed that the Concepts had significant commercial likelihood of success,” the

Dominic Patten Senior Editor, Legal & TV CriticEXCLUSIVE: Norman Reedus is doubling down at AMC.Less than a week after it was announced that The Walking Dead star would be fronting his own spinoff of the cabler’s zombie apocalypse series with Melissa McBride, Reedus has now signed a first look development deal with AMC Studios.Set to run for two years, the agreement with the AMC Network’s unit comes as Reedus has formed his own bigbaldhead production shingle.Partnering with Brillstein

Dominic Patten Senior Editor, Legal & TV CriticIt’s going to a long, long week.Dominated by Reality and Nonfiction categories, the opening night of the 2020 Creative Arts Emmy Awards was a rather stilted affair on Monday.

Dominic Patten Senior Editor, Legal & TV CriticCommunications chief Kevin Brockman is leaving WarnerMedia in the latest executive exit at the AT&T-owned company.On the job at the now Jason Kilar-run for just under a year and a half, former longtime Disney exec Brockman just informed staff this morning of his departure.Stepping back from his day-to-day responsibilities immediately, Brockman’s primary publicly stated aim before formally leaving at the end of the year will be to assist Christy

Dominic Patten Senior Editor, Legal & TV CriticSoFi Stadium was devoid of fans on last night’s Sunday Night Football due to the coronavirus pandemic, but full of victory for hometown heroes the Los Angeles Rams. Sadly that winning feeling wasn’t reflected in the ratings for NBC and the NFL.The team’s first game at their sparkling new $5 billion digs saw the Rams take down the Dallas Cowboys 20-17 in a grinding battle.

Dominic Patten Senior Editor, Legal & TV CriticEXCLUSIVE: Less than a year after putting up his own shingle, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau has picked up another novel for adaptation.The Game of Thrones star’s Ill Kippers Productions has optioned the just published It Will Be Just Us by Jo Kaplan. The deal was finalized just before Labor Day after negotiations by Coster-Waldau’s Sloane, Offer, Weber & Dern attorneys David Weber and Lon Sorensen and Kaplan’s team of John W.

Dominic Patten Senior Editor, Legal & TV CriticJohnny Depp today got his wish to have another delay in the start of the trial over his $50 million defamation lawsuit against Amber Heard, but not for the reasons he pitched.In a hearing this morning in Fairfax County, Virginia, Circuit Court Chief Judge Bruce White pushed the trial back from January 11 next year to May 3, 2021 However, the latest postponement had nothing to do with Depp’s filming schedule for Warner Bros’ Fantastic Beasts 3.

Dominic Patten Senior Editor, Legal & TV CriticWith the coronavirus pandemic still raging across America, this year’s NFL season opener was as different as night and day in many ways from the 100th season kickoff in 2019. For one thing, as reigning Super Bowl champs the Kansas City Chiefs pummeled the Houston Texans 34-20, the ratings were down – a lot.In early numbers, the primetime NBC game scored a 5.2 among adults 18-49 and 16.4 million viewers between 8 – 11 PM ET.

Dominic Patten Senior Editor, Legal & TV Critic“I imagine we will be on his radar and I think it is likely the IRS will start auditing my taxes, but that’s just a guess,” The Comey Rule director Billy Ray said  today on how Donald Trump will react to the upcoming Showtime event series.

Dominic Patten Senior Editor, Legal & TV CriticEXCLUSIVE: Just like Hobbs and Shaw themselves, the once battling Universal and The Fast and The Furious franchise producer Neal Moritz have become a buddy flick again.Almost two years after Moritz took the Comcast-owned studio to court for breach of contract on the Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham starring F&F spinoff, the two sides have settled – and it’s all hugs, kisses and pedal to the metal now.“Neal H.

Dominic Patten Senior Editor, Legal & TV CriticYears after first going public with an alleged sexual assault by Kevin Spacey in the 1980s, Star Trek Discovery star Anthony Rapp is finally taking the House of Cards actor to court.“By reason of the foregoing, plaintiff, ANTHONY RAPP, sustained psychological injuries, including but not limited to, severe emotional distress, humiliation, fright, anger, depression and anxiety; a severe shock to his nervous system; and has been caused to suffer mental

Dominic Patten Senior Editor, Legal & TV CriticThere is no official word yet on the fate of big Thanksgiving family dinners, but Halloween is definitely shuttered this year in Los Angles because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.“Door to door trick or treating is not allowed because it can be very difficult to maintain proper social distancing on porches and at front doors especially in neighborhoods that are popular with trick or treaters,” declared the LA County Department of Public Health

Dominic Patten Senior Editor, Legal & TV CriticThe end is nigh for The Walking Dead, sort of.The zombie apocalypse series based on Robert Kirkman’s comics is coming to an end in 2022 with an expanded 11th season.However, fans of the once highest rated show on the small screen shouldn’t  fret too much at the loss of the mother show.

Dominic Patten Senior Editor, Legal & TV CriticAmber Heard really isn’t buying Johnny Depp’s line that he is too busy making Fantastic Beasts 3 to show up for the start of the $50 million defamation trial that he instigated.“Plaintiff should not be permitted to delay the trial and continue causing this damage simply because there is a scheduled movie shoot conflicting with trial and for which he has made no effort to schedule around his deposition and this trial,” says the Aquaman star’s lawyers