West Hollywood mayor says his favorite part of Pride parade is ‘seeing all the kids’

During the West Hollywood Pride parade on Sunday, Mayor John Erickson sat down with KTLA to discuss the event. When asked by the hosts about his favorite part, he said it was “seeing all the kids” in the audience.

The parade featured a number of floats supported by local businesses, most of which featured nearly naked men and women engaged in performances that were overtly sexual. Nonetheless, Erickson maintained that it was ok because the kids were “having so much fun.”

“I loved going out there and seeing all the kids just living and being there with their parents of all shapes and sizes and just seeing them having so much fun,” Erickson said, “giving them fans and throwing them candy and everything like that.”

He added that “in a world like today, to have this right now front and center, we need it now more than ever.”

Erickson’s sentiments echoed those he espoused just days earlier during an interview with queer magazine The Fight. After moving to West Hollywood in 2012, the self-described “very proud gay man” attended his first Pride parade. After being elected to the city council, he joined the parade himself.

“It was weird. It was amazing,” he told the outlet. “You get to see people. The best part is seeing all the kids and their families out there. It’s just utterly breathtaking.”

Keep reading

George Clooney Co-Hosting A Biden Fundraiser While Amal Clooney Sits On The Committee Indicting Israeli Officials and Hamas Leaders

Politics get confoundlingly complicated at times and 2024 leans into some of the more bizarre partisan politics ever in recent times as proven in the latest developments with George Clooney and Julia Roberts set to host a Biden fundraiser in California next month with Barack Obama, while Amal Clooney has been sitting on an advisory panel that resulted in the International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant applications of Israel officials and Hamas leaders on Monday.

The Biden fundraiser scheduled for mid-June is designed to have Clooney and Roberts engage grassroots donors over social media. They are also expected to lend their names for the Biden campaign emails and text messages.

The U.K.-based international panel of legal experts, of which one was Mrs. Amal Clooney, a noted human rights lawyer, gave their unanimous consent to Karim Khan, the ICC prosecutor. Khan had announced months ago that he would investigate everyone involved in the October 7 Hamas attack inside Israel, as well as Israeli’s response inside Gaza. He is now seeking arrests warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and three Hamas leaders on war crimes charges.

“The attacks by Hamas in Israel on October 7 and the military response by Israeli forces in Gaza have tested the system of international law to its limits,” Clooney and other legal advisors wrote in an op-ed published in The Financial Times. The other members of the panel include: Lord Justice Fulford, Judge Theodor Meron CMG, Danny Friedman KC, Baroness Helena Kennedy LT KC, and Elizabeth Wilmshurst CMG KC.

“…The prosecutor has taken a historic step to ensure justice for the victims in Israel and Palestine by issuing applications for five arrest warrants alleging war crimes and crimes against humanity by senior Hamas and Israeli leaders,” the op-ed noted.

Keep reading

Jeffrey Epstein’s notorious ‘little black book’ containing the names of 349 of dead pedophile’s associates is put up for auction

Jeffrey Epstein‘s notorious ‘little black book’ that included hundreds of the dead pedophile’s contacts has been put up for auction. 

The billionaire’s address book is set to go under the hammer for as much as $200,000, after previously being bought by an investigator on eBay for just $425. 

The investigator has now decided to sell it on after feeling uneasy about owning such an ‘evil book.’ It is being auctioned by Alexander Historical Auctions, after two other houses passed on the offer. 

Epstein’s book reportedly includes 221 names, addresses and phone numbers not found in an earlier published version first revealed in 2015 by Gawker, according to the New York Post

The mini notebook was examined by a forensic examiner that dated it to 1997, after it was found earlier in the 90s by musician Denise Ondayko, who claimed to have picked it up off the street while strolling down Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue. 

Keep reading

New York appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction from landmark #MeToo trial

New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with “egregious” improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.

The state Court of Appeals ruling reopens a painful chapter in America’s reckoning with sexual misconduct by powerful figures — an era that began in 2017 with a flood of allegations against Weinstein. The court ordered a new trial. His accusers could again be forced to relive their traumas on the witness stand.

Weinstein, 72, has been serving a 23-year sentence in a New York prison following his conviction on charges of criminal sex act for forcibly performing oral sex on a TV and film production assistant in 2006 and rape in the third degree for an attack on an aspiring actress in 2013.

He will remain imprisoned because he was convicted in Los Angeles in 2022 of another rape and sentenced to 16 years in prison. Weinstein was acquitted in Los Angeles on charges involving one of the women who testified in New York.

Weinstein’s lawyers argued Judge James Burke’s rulings in favor of the prosecution turned the trial into “1-800-GET-HARVEY.”

The reversal of Weinstein’s conviction is the second major #MeToo setback in the last two years, after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of a Pennsylvania court decision to throw out Bill Cosby’s sexual assault conviction.

Weinstein’s conviction stood for more than four years, heralded by activists and advocates as a milestone achievement, but dissected just as quickly by his lawyers and, later, the Court of Appeals when it heard arguments on the matter in February.

Allegations against Weinstein, the once powerful and feared studio boss behind such Oscar winners as “Pulp Fiction” and “Shakespeare in Love,” ushered in the #MeToo movement. Dozens of women came forward to accuse Weinstein, including famous actresses such as Ashley Judd and Uma Thurman. His New York trial drew intense publicity, with protesters chanting “rapist” outside the courthouse.

Weinstein is incarcerated in New York at the Mohawk Correctional Facility, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) northwest of Albany.

He maintains his innocence. He contends any sexual activity was consensual.

Keep reading

Comedian Says Dave Chapelle Was “Visited” to Have His Views ‘Corrected’

Comedian Jim Breuer claims that Dave Chapelle told him he was once “visited” by an unnamed elite group of people and told to ‘correct’ his views.

Breuer made the remarks during an appearance on the Rosanne Barr podcast.

The apparent visit took place in 2005 after Chapelle’s TV show became highly popular and before the comedian ‘disappeared’ to Africa.

Breuer claims Chapelle spoke to him during the Aspen Comedy Festival and was “freaked out.”

“And all I can say is he was visited,” said Breuer. “And when he told me who visited him, my heart stops for a second, I’m like get the fuck (out of here).”

“You believe me right? You believe me Jim, right?” Chapelle supposedly told Breuer.

“They came to me, and he said the names,” said Breuer, “And then all of a sudden he went to Africa.”

Another guest on the podcast suggested that Chapelle may have been “threatened” by the shadowy people who visited him.

“He was corrected,” clarified Barr, an explanation that Breuer agreed with based on what Chapelle told him, and that the conversation was focused on “heavy shit.”

The so-called “visit” might explain part of the reason why Chapelle decided to walk away from the spotlight at the height of his newfound fame and take a long break in South Africa.

Keep reading

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ Former Bodyguard Claims Music Mogul Had Tapes of “Politicians” and “Princes”

The former bodyguard of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ claims the music mogul had blackmail tapes of politicians, princes and other prominent individuals who were involved in his sex parties.

Combs, who has been hit with a barrage of physical abuse, rape and sexual trafficking allegations, had his homes in Miami and Los Angeles raided by the Department of Homeland Security last month, during which federal agents seized computers and other electronic devices.

Gene Deal, who was present the night when Notorious B.I.G. was fatally shot in 1997, made the sensational comments during an interview with ‘The Art of Dialogue’ YouTube channel.

“I don’t think it’s only celebrities gonna be shook. He had politicians in there, he had princes in there. He also had a couple of preachers in there,” said Deal.

“Can you imagine, he had every room bugged,” he added.

When asked why Combs’ media department had stayed silent on the allegations against him, Deal responded, “Either they took part in some of the stuff that happened, or they’re scared that it may mess up their brand.”

Fox News host Jesse Watters speculated that the tapes, if they exist, are now in the hands of the feds and “that’s a lot of blackmail.”

Keep reading

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ alleged victims ‘talking a lot’; feds claim ‘concrete, detailed, explicit allegations of sex trafficking’

Federal officials were acting on specific allegations of sex trafficking when they raided two of Diddy’s homes on Monday — and they say his alleged victims have not been holding back during interviews.

An officer with the Department of Homeland Security told The Post the case has been active for several weeks as authorities investigate a range of allegations against the 54-year-old rapper and mogul.

“We believe that there is a disturbing history of sex trafficking,” said the Miami-based officer, who spoke under condition of anonymity.

“We are responding to concrete, detailed, explicit allegations. This is not random. We didn’t choose his name out of a hat. We had allegations that we’re following up on.”

The public first became aware of allegations against Diddy when his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura filed a federal civil suit against him in November last year.

That case was settled out of court the next day, but has been followed by three further lawsuits alleging sex assault, all of which Diddy has strongly denied.

Keep reading

Prince Harry Among A-List Celebrities Named in $30 Million Sex Trafficking Lawsuit Against Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs

Prince Harry has been named in court documents in the sex trafficking lawsuit lodged against Bad Boy Records founder and media mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs.

The royal’s name appeared in the $30 million lawsuit filed by producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones who alleges that the music mogul participated on sexual misconduct, grooming, and sex trafficking.

According to the New York Post, the Duke of Sussex, 39, was one of several “A-List” celebrities whose names appear in the court documents.

The music mogul’s Los Angeles home was raided on Monday by federal agents in connection to the sex trafficking investigation.

“Investigators said across the coast, the music mogul’s Miami home was also raided Monday,” Fox News reported.

Keep reading

Nickelodeon’s ‘house of horrors’: Inside the abuse allegations aimed at Dan Schneider’s kids’ shows

Bryan Hearne never became a big star like Amanda Bynes, Ariana Grande or Drake Bell when he was one of many child actors in the Nickelodeon universe that dominated children’s TV in the late ’90s and early aughts.

Because of his outspoken mother, he ended up being one of the lucky ones.

Hearne, now 35, was let go in 2003 from “All That” — the kids’ sketch series that featured Bynes, Kenan Thompson and others — after two years.

He claims it was least partly because his mom, Tracey Brown, was too mouthy about what she saw as strange and inappropriate behavior on the set, which was run by the then-king of children’s television, Dan Schneider.

“It was a house of horrors,” Brown said on the new and harrowing four-part docu-series, “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV,” premiering Sunday and Monday on Investigation Discovery.

“Quiet on Set” rips the facade off writer-producer Schneider, now 58, and his enormously profitable but toxic juvenile show-business factory that churned out iconic hits such as “The Amanda Show,” “Zoey 101,” “Drake & Josh,” “Sam and Cat,” and “iCarly” — starring young actors like Jamie Lynn Spears, Jennette McCurdy, Miranda Cosgrove and Victoria Justice.

Keep reading

Actress Elizabeth Hurley Performs Lesbian Sex Scene — Directed by Her Own Son

Actress Elizabeth Hurley is raising eyebrows with her next role where she engages in a steamy lesbian sex scene — that her own son wrote and directed.

Hurly’s son, Damian, 21, is making his directorial debut with the upcoming film Strictly Confidential, but gay website Pink News is noting that the LGBTQQIAAP2S+ community is already panting for the flick because of the lesbian sex scenes it reportedly contains.

The trailer for the film was posted on February 28 and shows a clip of this scene between Hurley and her co-star Pear Chiravara.

The film, which was shot on digital cameras and looks like a cross between a mystery thriller and reality shows like Love Island or Temptation Island, elicited a lot of chatter on social media, as many users found it odd that a son would direct his own mother in a sex scene.

Keep reading