Perverted Lives of the Rich and Famous > NBCUniversal CEO ousted; Diva-like Don Lemon finally Fired by CNN

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NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell ousted over ‘inappropriate

relationship’ with CNBC anchor Hadley Gamble

By Alexandra Steigrad and Jorge Fitz-Gibbon

April 23, 2023 4:35pm  Updated

NYPost

NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell was ousted after admitting “an inappropriate relationship” with a CNBC anchor at the media giant, parent company Comcast said Sunday.

The alleged affair was exposed during an investigation by an outside counsel after a complaint against him, according to sources.

“Today is my last day as CEO of NBCUniversal,” Shell said in a statement Sunday. “I had an inappropriate relationship with a woman in the company, which I deeply regret.

“I’m truly sorry I let my Comcast and NBCUniversal colleagues down,” the statement said. “They are the most talented people in the business and the opportunity to work with them the last 10 years has been a privilege.”

The woman Shell had an affair with was identified by Deadline.com as anchor and senior international correspondent Hadley Gamble. The outlet said the pair started a relationship 11 years ago and continued sporadically for years.

Shell, who is married, has been with the company for a total of two decades.

He ran the media giant’s entertainment wing and left with Comcast’s Peacock streaming service struggling to keep up with competitors, the Wall Street Journal said.

NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell announced Sunday he is stepping down after two decades with the company, admitting that he had “an inappropriate relationship” with a woman in the company.

No replacement has been named.

REUTERS

Peacock clocked more than 20 million new subscribers in the fourth quarter but still lost nearly $1 billion, the newspaper said.

Comcast did not reveal details of Shell’s relationship with the staffer, or identify her role in the company.

Gamble previously made news when she was accused by Russian state media of acting like a “sexual object” to distract Russian President Vladimir Putin, with state outlets even suggesting she was part of a US “special operation.”

Was she sleeping with Shell because he's so handsome?

Shell was reportedly having an affair with anchor and senior international correspondent Hadley Gamble.

Getty Images

The allegations came after she interviewed Putin at a Russian Energy Week panel in Moscow in October 2021. Vladimir Soloviev told his state radio show back then that Gamble distracted Putin with her “sex appeal,” while propagandist Dmitry Kiselyov accused the veteran journalist of having “behaved boldly, openly positioning herself as a sexual object,” according to a translation from a 2021 Daily Beast report.

Olga Skabeeva insisted Gamble must be part of a US “special operation” to target Putin, the outlet reported. 

Before taking over as CEO in January 2020, Shell served as chairman of NBCUniversal’s Film and Entertainment, where he was charged with creating content and overseeing programming at various operations. That included film and network businesses, such as the company’s Spanish-language Telemundo network. 

In May 2020, Shell cut senior management salaries by 20% and rolled back pay for employees making more than $100,000 a year by 3% to stave off financial losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Shell rose to the top job at NBCUniversal after former CEO Steve Burke resigned in December 2019. Under Burke, revenue rose to nearly $35.9 billion in 2018, up from almost $31.4 billion in 2016, according to Securities and Exchange Commission filings. 

A replacement for Shell as CEO has not been named.

Mike Cavanagh, Comcast’s president, will take over Shell’s duties until a replacement is named, with NBCUniversal’s TV and streaming head, Mark Lazarus, and theatrical operations boss, Donna Langley, reporting directly to Cavanagh during the transition.

Shell is just the latest media industry exec to leave their post amid scandal — among them NBCUniversal vice chairman Ron Meyer, who resigned after revealing that he was being threatened with extortion by a former paramour.

Last year, CNN president Jeff Zucker suddenly quit after admitting a relationship with another executive at the news network — which came to light during a probe into former CNN anchor Chris Cuomo.

And former CBS boss Les Moonves resigned in 2018 after multiple allegations of sexual misconduct were made public. 

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Misogynist Don Lemon fired from CNN, ‘stunned’ by how he found out

By Alexandra Steigrad, NYPost

April 24, 2023 12:35pm  Updated

Don Lemon, the controversial anchor of “CNN This Morning,” has been fired from CNN — an abrupt ouster that follows a slew of scandals for the gaffe-prone anchor.

In a fiery tweet on Monday, Lemon claimed to have been blindsided by the news, saying he was informed that CNN fired him via his agent, UTA’s Jay Sures.

“I was informed this morning by my agent that I have been terminated by CNN. I am stunned after 17 years at CNN I would have thought that someone in management would have the decency to tell me directly,” Lemon wrote.

“At no time was I ever given any indication that I would not be able to continue to do the work I have loved at the network. It is clear that there are some larger issues at play.”

Lemon’s fiery tweet drew a pointed rebuttal from CNN on Twitter early Monday afternoon.

“Don Lemon’s statement about this morning’s events is inaccurate,” CNN tweeted. “He was offered an opportunity to meet with management but instead released a statement on Twitter.”

Inside CNN, staffers are said to be “ecstatic” that Lemon is no longer at the network, as he had become a major distraction. 

Don Lemon waves goodbye at the end of his CNN show on Monday, April 24, 2023.

CNN

Obviously, his female co-anchors are really broke-up about him leaving

Although sources said there was not a single incident that caused CNN and Lemon to part ways.  CNN management saw that Lemon’s outbursts and bad behavior were not “getting better” and were part of a “pattern,” making it clear that the situation was no longer tenable.

Going forward, the plan is for Collins and Harlow to continue co-anchoring the ratings-challenged morning show in order to “stabilize things,” sources said. One source who knows both hosts said the duo have a “great relationship” and enjoy working together, so there’s hope that the transition is seamless. 

CNN had been testing Collins out in primetime, and management had been eyeing her for an anchor spot, but that appears to be on hold for the time being, the sources said.

CNN CEO Chris Licht circulated the news — which appeared to have surprised Lemon and staffers alike, following the struggling morning show’s Monday broadcast — in a memo to staffers.

“CNN and Don have parted ways,” Licht said. “Don will forever be part of the CNN family, and we thank him for his contributions over the past 17 years. We wish him well and will be cheering him on in his future endeavors.”

The controversies leading up to Don Lemon’s CNN firing >

Don Lemon is no stranger to controversy.

The now ex-CNN anchor was in hot water multiple times in the lead-up to Monday’s shock firing — from his infamous Nikki Haley “past her prime” remark to a screaming match with a female co-host and alleged “diva” behavior.

CNN hasn’t provided a public explanation for Lemon’s ouster after 17 years with the cable news network. But Lemon took to Twitter to insist that he had been blindsided by the news after hosting “CNN This Morning” earlier in the day.

Below are just a few of Lemon’s recent controversies.

Beef with his co-host

In December last year, Lemon is said to have “screamed” at his co-anchor, Kaitlan Collins, after an on-air segment, sources told The Post at the time.

When the cameras stopped rolling after the Dec. 8 show, he allegedly approached Collins and unleashed on her in front of staffers for supposedly “interrupting” him on air.

“Don screamed at Kaitlan, who was visibly upset and ran out of the studio,” one source said.

In the aftermath, a source said: “At this point, Kaitlan wants to be on set with Don as little as possible … It’s messy.”

Soccer spat

Just weeks before his alleged screaming match, Lemon clashed with his two female co-hosts over on-air remarks he made about women’s soccer.

Lemon got into an awkward dispute with both Collins and Harlow after he suggested the US men’s soccer team should get paid more than the women’s side.

“The men’s team makes more money. If they make more money, then they should get more money,” Lemon said.

“The men’s team makes more money because people are more interested in the men.”

Diva-like behavior

A damning Variety magazine report published earlier this month alleged Lemon has a long history of sexist and “diva-like behavior.”

The report cited roughly a dozen former CNN staffers who listed several alleged instances of misogynistic behavior.

Read more of the Post’s Don Lemon coverage

Separately, The Post has learned that Lemon has tapped former CNN flack Allison Gollust to advise him during his acrimonious split with CNN.

Gollust is former CNN CEO Jeff Zucker’s girlfriend. Zucker and Gollust were both ousted from the network after their affair came to light in 2022.

“It’s a power move,” one media insider said of Lemon’s decision to work with Gollust. Meanwhile, it is unclear whether CNN will continue paying Lemon.

A source close to Lemon said that the network is expected to continue to pay him what he was owed on his contract.

Lemon signed a new deal with CNN last September when his primetime show was cancelled and he was moved to co-anchor the relaunched morning show. CNN deals tend to be three to four years.

The Post reached out to Gollust for comment on whether Lemon was still being paid by CNN. She did not comment. 

The anchor had been in hot water for months.

Earlier this month, Licht admitted that the former primetime star has been a “lightning rod” for controversy — days after a damning report in Variety alleged years of “diva-like” and misogynistic behavior by Lemon.

The magazine reported that Lemon sent threatening text messages from an anonymous number to co-anchor Kyra Phillips because he was angered that she was chosen to cover the aftermath of the US invasion of Iraq.

A spokesperson for Lemon told The Post that he never sent the text.

Lemon is also alleged to have once remarked to other staffers that he did not consider Soledad O’Brien authentically black, according to Variety.

At the time, a CNN spokesperson told The Post, “Don denies making any related remark in a derogatory way.”

In February, Lemon also was under fire after saying on air that 51-year-old GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley was not “in her prime.”

The Post also reported that he yelled at co-anchor Kaitlan Collins after a tense on-air segment in December.

On Friday, The Post reported that White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre refused to be interviewed by the anchor.

According to insiders, it wasn’t just Jean-Pierre who was turned off by Lemon’s behavior: Advertisers were also concerned and were pulling out of spending on the show, which launched in November.

Inside the network, Licht had had talks with Sures and Lemon about the show not being a great fit for the embattled anchor.

The show failed to gain ratings traction, and each scandal with Lemon had caused another round of blowback from staffers, a source said.

Still, the split had turned acrimonious when Lemon tweeted the news ahead of CNN’s statement on Monday.

The network had planned to continue paying Lemon even if he was off the air, but the anchor tweeted out that he had been fired.

CNN did not comment.

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The Perverted Lives of the Rich and Famous > Oscar Pistorius parole denied; Don Lemon's misogynistic behaviour

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Oscar Pistorius denied parole in South Africa in girlfriend's death

By Clyde Hughes

Oscar Pistorius, shown in this file photo at the London 2012 Summer Olympics on August 5, 2012. He was denied parole on Friday in connection with his girlfriend's death. File Photo by Terry Schmitt/UPI | License Photo

March 31 (UPI) -- The South African authorities on Friday denied parole to disgraced paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius, who was convicted in 2017 for the shooting death of his girlfriend at his home.

Pistorius, who gained worldwide notoriety for sprinting with blade-like prosthetics, fell from grace in the 2013 death of Reeva Steenkamp in what the paralympic athlete said was an accidental shooting.

Reeva Steencamp

The parole board with South Africa's Department of Correction Services said it found that Pistorius had not finished the minimum detention period to be freed. Steenkamp's parents have opposed Pistorius' attempts at early release.

The department said Pistorius, 36, would not be considered for parole again until August 2024.

"While we welcome today's decision, today is not a cause for celebration," June and Barry Steenkamp said, according to The Guardian. "We miss Reeva terribly and will do so for the rest of our lives. We believe in justice and hope that it continues to prevail."

While Pistorius has continued to maintain that he had mistaken Steenkamp for a burglar at the time of the shooting, her parents have not accepted his explanation and until he does they will always oppose his release.

"Unless he comes clean, they don't feel that he is rehabilitated," the family's attorney Tania Koen said, according to NBC News.

Pistorius, who is serving a 13-year sentence for the shooting, had maintained he should be considered for parole earlier and sued for that right. South Africa's Supreme Court of Appeals ruled in 2021 that Pistorius's sentence should have started in 2014 when he was sentenced to the less serious culpable homicide and not in 2017 when the same court extended his sentence from six to 13 years.

CNN’s Don Lemon has long history of sexist, ‘diva-like behavior’: report

By Ariel Zilber and Natalie O'Neill

April 5, 2023 1:59pm  Updated

NYPost

Embattled CNN host Don Lemon has an appalling history of workplace misogyny that began decades before his sexist on-air comments — including allegedly threatening and demeaning former colleagues such as Soledad O’Brien , Kyra Phillips and Nancy Grace, according to a bombshell report.

Lemon — who sparked outrage in February when he declared that 51-year-old GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley was not “in her prime” — engaged in disrespectful, “diva-like” behavior often directed at his female co-workers, according to a damning expose in Variety published Wednesday.

The “CNN This Morning” co-host, 57, has allegedly called a female producer fat to her face, accused O’Brien of not being black and sent Phillips a menacing text message because he was jealous, according to the report.

“There was a time when it appeared that Black people were most often the subject of his ire. Now, it seems to me that when he says something offensive, there’s almost always a woman on the other side,” Goldie Taylor, a former CNN consultant, told Variety. “I’m never surprised when Don gets in trouble.”

In 2008, while working as co-anchor of CNN’s “Live From,” Lemon was passed over for Phillips to cover the aftermath of the Iraq invasion.

CNN's Don Lemon has a history of misogynistic behavior that includes run-ins with past colleagues Soledad O'Brien and Nancy Grace, according to a report.

Enraged, he allegedly vented his jealousy by ripping up pictures and leaving them on Phillips’ desk, two sources who worked at CNN at the time told the outlet.

She later received a threatening text message from Lemon while out with co-workers.

“Now you’ve crossed the line, and you’re going to pay for it,” read the message sent to Phillips’ phone from an anonymous number that was later reportedly traced to Lemon.

CNN conducted an investigation into the text, removed Lemon from his co-anchoring duties alongside Phillips and demoted him to weekends, according to Variety.

A spokesperson for Lemon contended that he never sent the text.

“Don says the incident never occurred and that he was never notified of any investigation,” the rep told The Post. “CNN cannot corroborate the alleged events from 15 years ago.”

Around the same time, Lemon allegedly mocked former CNN and Headline News anchor Nancy Grace on the air by mimicking her, stunning fellow colleagues, according to Variety.

Grace thinks he’s “an ass” who was generally “rude, dismissive and really unfamiliar with the [news] content being discussed,” a person close to Grace said.

Lemon soon earned a reputation for mistreating women in the newsroom, sources said.

“That was the beginning of when you knew that Don was kind of volatile and didn’t say good things about women,” said one person who reportedly witnessed Lemon mocking Grace.

When O’Brien landed the coveted gig of hosting CNN’s high profile 2008 docuseries “Black in America,” Lemon allegedly humiliated her because he had sour grapes, according to the report.

During an editorial call with roughly 30 staffers, Lemon suggested O’Brien — who is white and Afro-Cuban — isn’t actually black, two witnesses told Variety.

“Don has long had a habit of saying idiotic and inaccurate things, so it sounds pretty on brand for him,” said O’Brien, who wasn’t present during the phone call.

A CNN spokesperson told The Post, “Don denies making any related remark in a derogatory way.”

“Don, Soledad, and others, have in the past correctly referred to her Afro-Cuban heritage as it is a unique part of her personal story,” the rep added.

In 2008, Lemon reportedly told staffers that he doubted Soledad O’Brien was really black.

Getty Images

Lemon was also known around the company for flouting the rules, according to the report.

Just a year after joining CNN in 2006, the then-41-year-old Lemon started dating a 22-year-old junior staffer despite the disparity in age as well as the power dynamic, the report said.

CNN insiders told Variety that Lemon, who reportedly showed up late to the newsroom and skipped editorial meetings, was allowed to skirt the rules because of his close friendship with Turner Broadcasting chairman and CEO Phil Kent.

“As fast as you could make a rule, Don would bend it,” said one senior executive at the time.

Lemon also had the backing of Jeff Zucker, who was hired to run CNN in 2013.

Six months after Zucker’s arrival, Lemon gave a controversial on-air monologue in which he told black people to “pull up your pants.”

Lemon is also alleged to have mocked CNN and Headline News anchor Nancy Grace.

Getty Images

“Walking around with your ass and your underwear showing is not OK,” Lemon said during the broadcast. “In fact, it comes from prison when they take away belts from the prisoner so that they can’t make a weapon.”

Lemon added: “And then it evolved into which role a prisoner would have during male-on-male prison sex.”

Despite his incendiary statements, Lemon kept his job — even as co-workers complained, according to the report.

Goldie Taylor, a former CNN consultant, said she was blacklisted by the network for criticizing Lemon’s comments.

In 2014, Lemon once again drew widespread criticism when he told a Bill Cosby rape accuser that she could have prevented the attack by biting the comedian’s penis.

In September, he sparked more outrage when he used a sexist stereotype on air to explain why political commentator S.E. Cupp had verbally stumbled over a statistic about Republicans.

“Is it fair to say this because I’m not a mommy, but is it mommy brain?” he asked Cupp, prompting an awkward silence.

“No, Don, I just forgot what I was going to say,” she replied.

In February, Lemon triggered an uproar when he claimed Haley was not “in her prime” due to her age, and was ordered to undergo sensitivity training.

“Everything Everywhere All at Once” actress Michelle Yeoh, 60, later appeared to take a jab at Lemon during her Oscars acceptance speech — urging ladies to not let “anyone tell you you are ever past your prime.”

On Wednesday, former CNN contributor Mary Katharine Ham pointed out that Zucker kept Lemon at CNN despite multiple screw-ups — while the women who had problems with him are no longer at the station.

“SO STRANGE, it’s all the women in this story who took issue w Lemon during the Zucker era who are no longer at CNN, not Lemon. Especially weird considering how many very righteous #metoo segments we all did. Huh,” she tweeted in reaction to the Variety piece.

Lemon also drew sharp criticism for giving advice to Jussie Smollett, the disgraced actor who fabricated claims that he was the victim of a Chicago gang assault by a mob of Trump supporters, while reporting on the sensational case.

“He should have been benched in that instance. No question,” said one long-time colleague.

A CNN spokesperson defended Lemon’s interaction with the star, and called the entire Variety story flawed.

“CNN reviewed the [Smollett] incident in question at the time and found that any interaction was an act of journalism as Don was attempting to prompt a response from Mr. Smollett and book him for his show,” a spokesperson for the network said.

“The story, which is riddled with patently false anecdotes and no concrete evidence, is entirely based on unsourced, unsubstantiated, 15-year-old anonymous gossip,” the spokesperson said.

“It’s amazing and disappointing that Variety would be so reckless.”

It's not so amazing that CNN would be so reckless!

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Perverted Lives of the Rich and Famous > Another CNN Exec Bites the Dust; Cowboy's Cheerleaders Settle Voyeurism case; Prince Andrew Settles with Virginia

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Another One Gone At CNN: Gollust Announces Her Resignation

From Network

Carmine Sabia

February 16, 2022 

OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.

Not to mention commentary which reflects this blog editor's opinion.

It has been around two weeks since former CNN head Jeff Zucker resigned from his position at the network, citing an inappropriate relationship with a co-worker, and now that co-worker has resigned.

Allison Gollust, the former lieutenant to Zucker, resigned after an investigation “into issues associated with” Chris Cuomo, a former CNN anchor, and his brother Andrew, the former governor of New York, a memo sent to staffers by WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar said, CNN reported.

“Based on interviews of more than 40 individuals and a review of over 100,000 texts and emails, the investigation found violations of Company policies, including CNN’s News Standards and Practices, by Jeff Zucker, Allison Gollust, and Chris Cuomo,” he said to staffers.

“We have the highest standards of journalistic integrity at CNN, and those rules must apply to everyone equally,” he said. “Given the information provided to me in the investigation, I strongly believe we have taken the right actions and the right decisions have been made.”

So, is this an admission that with Cuomo, Zucker and Gollust the highest standards of journalistic integrity were not met?

Gollust issued a statement announcing her departure from the company on Tuesday.

“WarnerMedia’s statement tonight is an attempt to retaliate against me and change the media narrative in the wake of their disastrous handling of the last two weeks,” she said. “It is deeply disappointing that after spending the past nine years defending and upholding CNN’s highest standards of journalistic integrity, I would be treated this way as I leave. But I do so with my head held high, knowing that I gave my heart and soul to working with the finest journalists in the world.”

There's that phrase again. Apparently, Gollust has over-estimated her standards.

Reports have indicated that Chris Cuomo is getting set for a major lawsuit against the network.

After his former boss Jeff Zucker exited the network, sources say that Cuomo wants a settlement of around $60 million, The New York Post reported.

 

Multiple sources tell Page Six that Cuomo — who was fired in December for helping his brother, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, fend off sexual harassment allegations — is ready to dig his heels in by claiming that Zucker not only knew about his dealings with the governor but that the network boss had his own inappropriate dealings with Andrew.

And he is prepared to demand not the $18 million left on his contract, but as much as $60 million.

“He wants Megyn Kelly money,” sources said to The Post.

“Chris insists he never did anything for his brother Andrew that Zucker didn’t know about,” a source said.

“His camp believes Zucker wasn’t fired for an inappropriate relationship with Allison Gollust. Everybody knew about that and nobody cared.

“What he believes happened is WarnerMedia found something in their investigation into Chris, perhaps internal memos or documents which revealed more about Zucker’s involvement with Andrew Cuomo. Gollust was just a convenient excuse,” they said.

That's been my theory ever since Zucker stepped down.

“Chris intends to fight for every dollar on his contract, and loss of income from the 15 to 20 years left in his career, had Zucker not orchestrated a ‘f–k-job’ on him. He could ask for as much as $80 million but CNN isn’t going to pay that. But there’s an argument he could ask for as much as $60 million,” the source said.

Another source said that “Chris is telling people in the Hamptons he was wrongly fired, humiliated, his career has been ruined, and he wants Megyn Kelly money.”

For reference, Kelly got $69 million from NBC after she was fired in 2019 when she defended blackface on her show.

Sources have said that Zucker “coached Andrew Cuomo [on] what to say in his press conferences, particularly how to hit back at President Donald Trump. He advised him when, and where, and what to say. He chastised Andrew if he appeared on other networks.

“When this all finally comes out, it will put an end to the big cry fest going on at CNN over Zucker’s ousting,” they said.

WarnerMedia chief executive Jason Kilar met with CNN staff in DC on Monday the idea of a severance package for Cuomo was talked about and staff did not appear to be on board.

Jake Tapper, the host of the CNN show “The Lead” referred to Cuomo as a “terrorist” who wants to attack the network.

“How do we get past this perception that this is the bad guy winning?” New York Times reporter Michael M. Grynbaum reported.

You can't! They're all bad guys.

“Did you think about what message it sends to the journalists in the company and also to the larger public that someone can be found to break with those journalistic standards and then get paid handsomely for it?” CNN host Don Lemon said, the Wall Street Journal reported.

It's a sad commentary considering how journalistic standards have fallen so far in recent decades.

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Dallas Cowboys paid $2.4MN to settle cheerleader allegations – report

An NFL team paid off cheerleaders who accused a team executive of voyeurism,

according to a new report

© Tom Pennington / Getty Images

NFL team the Dallas Cowboys reached a confidential $2.4 million settlement with four cheerleaders who accused a senior team executive of voyeurism including recording them while in their dressing rooms, according to a report.

The four members of the cheerleading squad were each paid $399,523.27, according to ESPN, which says that the rest of the money was used to pay associated legal costs after they made allegations that former senior vice president for public relations and communications Richard Dalrymple recorded them with his cell phone while they were in a state of undress.

Dalrymple retired from the Cowboys after 32 years of service earlier this month.

The 2015 complaint alleged that Dalrymple gained entry to their locker room using a security key card and was subsequently discovered by the women attempting to record them with his iPhone.

An internal investigation conducted by the team found no firm evidence of any impropriety on Dalrymple's behalf, according to the outlet – but the team hierarchy allegedly saw fit to issue him with a written warning. 

Dalrymple vigorously denied the allegations against him in a statement. "People who know me – co-workers, the media and colleagues – know who I am and what I'm about," Dalrymple said.

"I understand the very serious nature of these claims and do not take them lightly. The accusations are, however, false. One was accidental and the other simply did not happen. Everything that was alleged was thoroughly investigated years ago, and I co-operated fully."

Figures within the Cowboys also indicated to the report that no wrongdoing was found in their investigation.

"If any wrongdoing had been found, Rich would have been terminated immediately," said Jim Wilkinson, a communications expert employed by the team.

"Everyone involved felt just terrible about this unfortunate incident."

Even though no wrongdoing had been found!? Weird! $2.4m is a lot of money to pay for 'no wrongdoing'!

The report also suggested that Dalrymple's retirement came around the same time as he became aware of various reporters' interest in the matter – although Dalrymple said that this timing was merely coincidental.

The account also quotes a former Cowboys cheerleader who was not involved in the incident as saying that the alleged voyeurism was common knowledge amongst the cheerleading squad.

It also details how the team allegedly conducted a forensic analysis of Dalrymple's work phone but found no evidence of photographs being taken.

Dalrymple is said to have denied owning a personal cell phone and told investigators that he did enter the locker room, mistakenly thinking it was empty while wanting to use the bathroom.

"It was a 'he said, she said' – and the team chose to believe Dalrymple's side of things," ESPN quoted an unnamed source as saying. "But four women swore this happened."

None of the four women who made the reported complaint are currently employed by the team.

I'll bet! But they have $400,000 dollars.

Prince Andrew settles sex abuse lawsuit

The financial terms of the settlement between the British royal and his accuser

Virginia Giuffre have not been revealed

FILE PHOTO. Prince Andrew. 

Prince Andrew, the second son of Queen Elizabeth II, has reached a settlement with Virginia Giuffre, who had accused the senior British royal of sexually abusing her when she was a teenager, according to a court filing in New York on Tuesday.

The 61-year-old Duke of York agreed to pay a confidential financial sum to Giuffre, both parties announced in a joint statement attached to the court document. Andrew will also make a "substantial donation" to a charity that supports "victims' rights."

The settlement comes weeks before Prince Andrew was set to be required to participate in a deposition under oath, during which he would have been questioned by Giuffre's lawyers about her accusations. The joint statement from Prince Andrew and Giuffre reportedly says that the British royal does not admit to any of the accusations against him.

The court documents also show the prince claiming that he "regrets his association" with convicted billionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. "Prince Andrew has never intended to malign Ms Giuffre's character, and he accepts that she has suffered both as an established victim of abuse and as a result of unfair public attacks," the linked statement said, adding that the Briton "regrets his association with Epstein, and commends the bravery of Ms Giuffre and other survivors in standing up for themselves and others."

“He pledges to demonstrate his regret for his association with Epstein by supporting the fight against the evils of sex trafficking, and by supporting its victims,” the filing adds.

Andrew’s legal team had tried to get the lawsuit thrown out on a technicality by claiming a previous deal between Giuffre and Epstein meant that she was barred from pursuing a case against the royal. However, US District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan rejected this, allowing the case to proceed to trial. Following the court's refusal to dismiss the suit, Buckingham Palace announced that Prince Andrew had returned his "military affiliations and royal patronages" to Queen Elizabeth and would "continue not to undertake any public duties."

It's rumoured that the Queen, herself, will pay Andrew's settlement. I wonder if that's how he got to be the way he is?

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Perverted Lives of the Rich and Famous > Man United ace arrested in 'extremely shocking' rape; CNN boss 'quits'; Anna Duggar needs help

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Police continue to quiz arrested England ace Mason Greenwood,

20, over 'rape and assault of 18-year-old student'

Manchester United suspend player after 'shocking' footage circulated

on social media - as father of 'victim' says her account 'was hacked'

By LIZ HULL and EMINE SINMAZ FOR THE DAILY MAIL

PUBLISHED: 18:29 EST, 30 January 2022

England footballer Mason Greenwood was in police custody last night after being arrested over allegations of rape and assault.

The Manchester United forward, 20, was detained after distressing pictures and audio circulated on social media earlier in the day alleging he attacked an 18-year-old student.

The images appeared to show the woman bloodied and bruised.

Another post included a voice recording of a conversation between a man and a woman, dated October last year, which purportedly chronicled the woman being attacked.

Within hours of the messages emerging and spreading across social media, his club put out a statement saying it was aware of them and they were making inquiries ‘to establish the full circumstances’.

It added: ‘Manchester United does not condone violence of any kind.’

Mason Greenwood (pictured with England manager Gareth Southgate) is at the centre of a police investigation and has been arrested on suspicion of rape and assault this weekend

The woman was interviewed by plain clothes officers at her family home yesterday afternoon.

A spokesman for Greater Manchester police said they had launched an investigation after being made ‘aware of online social media images and videos posted by a woman reporting incidents of physical violence’.

He added: ‘Following inquiries we can confirm a man in his 20s has since been arrested on suspicion of rape and assault. He remains in custody for questioning. Inquiries are ongoing.’

Forensic officers also arrived at Greenwood’s £2million mansion in the upmarket village of Bowdon, Cheshire, yesterday evening.

Manchester United suspended the rising star, who earns a reported £75,000 a week, shortly before news of his arrest emerged. In a second statement, the club hierarchy said the player would ‘not return to training or play matches until further notice’.

News of Greenwood’s suspension and arrest is also likely to put his lucrative sponsorship deal with Nike at risk. Yesterday a spokesman for the sports brand said they were ‘deeply concerned by the disturbing allegations’ and would be ‘closely monitoring the situation’.

The allegedly incriminating posts were online for just a few hours before being deleted. The woman’s father told the Daily Mail his daughter believed her Instagram account had been hacked.

Speaking from his £1million home in an upmarket Cheshire village, the company director, 61, described the allegations as ‘dreadful’.

‘I’m just coming to terms with it,’ he said. ‘As a father you don’t want to know things like this are happening to your daughter. She is devastated. But she is safe. It is in the hands of the police now.’

Campaigners and women’s charities also welcomed the investigation into the ‘shocking’ allegations.

Former chief prosecutor Nazir Afzal said the pictures, and particularly the voice note, were ‘shocking in the extreme’. ‘Manchester United must deal with it but it is also clearly a police matter,’ he said.

There is much more to this story, being called football's #MeToo moment, at the Daily Mail.

CNN president quits

Jeff Zucker failed to disclose romantic relationship with colleague

that came up during Chris Cuomo probe

Jeff Zucker © Mike Coppola / Getty Images for CNN

Jeff Zucker announced his resignation as president of CNN and chairman of Warner Media’s news and sports division on Wednesday, after nine years at the cable channel’s helm. 

As the reason for his move, Zucker said that he failed to disclose in a timely manner a “consensual relationship with my closest colleague, someone I have worked with for more than 20 years,” that he said “evolved in recent years.” 

According to the New York Times, the person in question is Allison Gollust, CNN’s executive vice president and chief marketing officer. Gollust said on Wednesday that she would remain at CNN.

“Jeff and I have been close friends and professional partners for over 20 years,” she said in a statement. “Recently, our relationship changed during Covid. I regret that we didn’t disclose it at the right time.”

Gollust and Zucker’s relationship came up during the investigation into the CNN tenure of Chris Cuomo, the younger brother of the now-former New York governor, Andrew Cuomo. CNN fired Cuomo in December 2021, saying he inappropriately used his position at the network to help his brother defend charges of sexual harassment. Andrew Cuomo had resigned in August, dogged by the accusations which did not result in criminal charges.

“Together, we had nine great years,” Zucker said in a memo to CNN employees on Wednesday. “I certainly wish my tenure here had ended differently. But it was an amazing run. And I loved every minute.”

Zucker, 56, came to CNN in 2013. He previously worked at NBC Entertainment, where he green-lit the reality TV hit ‘The Apprentice’, starring real-estate mogul and future US President Donald Trump. Riding on that show’s success, among other things, Zucker was promoted to chief executive of NBC Universal in February 2007. Just three years later, in June 2010, Comcast offered him up to $40 million to resign, after acquiring the company.

One unnamed TV executive told the New York Times’ Maureen Dowd at the time that Zucker was “a case study in the most destructive media executive ever to exist” who had “taken a once-great network and literally destroyed it.”

So, I'm wondering if the affair is a cover for his being fired. It used to be that if you were fired for sexual indiscretions that it would be covered with another excuse. That now seems to be reversed. 

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Anna Duggar - In a really bad place thanks to Josh

By CARLY STERN FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

PUBLISHED: 14:40 EST, 4 February 2022 

Anna Duggar has broken her silence about her sex offender husband Josh Duggar's child porn conviction, defending him and appearing to insist that he is innocent. 

Anna, 33, shared a short message on Twitter and Instagram on Thursday, her first since announcing the birth of their seventh child in November. 

'There is more to the story,' Anna wrote. 

Though she didn't elaborate, she included a link to her husband's motion for acquittal or a new trial.

Anna had accompanied Josh to court every day of the trial in December, and appears to believe the defense's argument that someone else could have been behind the horrific trove of photos and videos of children being sexually abused that were found on Josh's computer.

Yet she seems to be the only one steadfastly sticking by him: Several members of Josh's family had released statements in support of the conviction, and no one has liked Anna's post or tweet.

Anna Duggar has broken her silence about her sex offender husband Josh Duggar's child porn conviction, defending him and appearing to insist that he is innocent 

Anna has turned off comments on her Instagram posts, which has only got about 2,000 likes in 18 hours — far less than her previous post on November 15, which announced the arrival of her daughter Madyson Lily and got over 96,000 likes.

Though her sister Priscilla liked the post, not a single member of the Duggar family has.

Many of the Duggars — including Jill and Derick Dillard, Jessa and Ben Seewald, Joy Anna and Austin Forsyth, and Jinger and Jeremy Vuolo — wrote statements following Josh's conviction in which they expressed approval of the outcome. 

Though none of the Duggars approved of her post about Josh, however, they don't seem to be shunning Anna, who was present at the family's ugly sweater party in December.

While Anna managed to avoid critical comments on Instagram, they have flooded in on Twitter, with users calling her 'delusional' and 'brainwashed.'

'No dear just stop and save yourself. Have some self-respect,' wrote one.

There is a lot more on this story at The Daily Mail.

Anna seems to blame Josh's parents and Joe Biden for this conviction. I have personally witnessed someone who is a chronic liar cover up his sin by telling his wife and friends only as much as they can take without turning on him. Always blaming someone else, he put his wife and friends in an awful place. If that's what has happened here, Anna's going to need some serious help when she allows herself to believe the truth and comes to terms with it. IMHO Josh is despicable for putting her through this. Please pray for her.

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Perverted Lives of the Rich and Famous > Virginia can sue Andrew; Prince Andrew loses all Military titles; CNN Producer sued for despicable, horrific acts of CSA

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Sex abuse lawsuit against Prince Andrew can proceed — judge

Disgraced British royal now faces testimony or settlement in US lawsuit

Britain's Prince Andrew. © AFP / CARL COURT

A Manhattan court has given the go-ahead for Virginia Giuffre’s sexual assault case against the UK’s Prince Andrew. The prince’s lawyers had tried to have the case dismissed due to a settlement between Giuffre and Jeffrey Epstein.

US District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan ruled on Wednesday that Giuffre’s civil case against Andrew can move ahead to trial.

Giuffre claims that deceased pedophile Jeffrey Epstein and his recently-convicted girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell trafficked her to the Duke of York for sex on three separate occasions when she was 17 years old.

Earlier this month the prince’s legal team pressed Kaplan to dismiss the case, after it emerged that Epstein paid Giuffre $500,000 in a 2009 settlement, in which she agreed not to sue anyone linked to the convicted pedophile who could be a “potential defendant.” 

Kaplan, however, sided with Giuffre’s lawyers, who argued that the agreement was only signed for Epstein’s benefit, not that of a “third party” like Andrew. As such, the prince’s motion to dismiss was “denied in all respects.”

Andrew denies the allegations, and has insisted that he doesn’t recall ever even meeting Giuffre. The royal maintained his denial even after being shown a photograph of himself and Giuffre together in London during a BBC interview in 2019. More recently he has accused Giuffre of seeking a “payday” from the case.

The trial now moves into what may be a lengthy phase of discovery and deposition, should the two parties fail to reach a settlement. During this phase, other members of the British royal family may be summoned to testify.

Prince Andrew loses military titles and use of HRH

Britain's Prince Andrew during the commemorative ceremony of the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Bruges, in Bruges, Belgium, 07 September 2019 (reissued 13 January 2022)

The Duke of York's military titles and royal patronages have been returned to the Queen, Buckingham Palace has said.

Prince Andrew, 61, will also stop using the style His Royal Highness in an official capacity, a royal source said.

It comes as he faces a US civil action over sexual assault allegations - claims he has consistently denied.

A source close to the duke said he would "continue to defend himself" against the case brought in New York by Virginia Giuffre.

A judge in the city ruled on Wednesday that the case brought by Ms Giuffre could continue, after the prince tried to have it dismissed.

Buckingham Palace said in a statement: "With the Queen's approval and agreement, the Duke of York's military affiliations and Royal patronages have been returned to the Queen.

"The Duke of York will continue not to undertake any public duties and is defending this case as a private citizen."

All Prince Andrew's roles have been returned to the Queen with immediate effect, and will be redistributed to other members of the Royal Family, a source said.

The issue had been widely discussed with the Royal Family, the source said.

Like Harry and Meghan, Prince Andrew retains his title HRH but will not use it in any official capacity.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence said it had no comment about the duke's military titles being handed back to the Queen, and that it was a matter for the Palace.

On Thursday, a letter - released by anti-monarchy pressure group Republic - was signed by more than 150 Royal Navy, RAF and Army veterans asking the Queen to strip Prince Andrew of his eight British military titles.

The duke had a 22-year career in the Royal Navy, and served as a helicopter pilot during the Falklands War.

The latest Palace announcement means he has lost military titles including Colonel of the Grenadier Guards - one of the most senior infantry regiments in the British army.

The other UK military titles he no longer has include:

Honorary air commodore of RAF Lossiemouth

Colonel-in-chief of the Royal Irish Regiment

Colonel-in-chief of the Small Arms School Corps

Colonel-in-chief of The Royal Lancers (Queen Elizabeth's Own)

Colonel-in-chief of the Yorkshire Regiment

Colonel-in-chief of the Small Arms School Corps

Commodore-in-Chief of the Fleet Air Arm

Royal colonel of the Royal Highland Fusiliers

Royal colonel of the Royal Regiment of Scotland.

The duke will also lose several overseas honorary roles including colonel-in-chief of The Royal Highland Fusiliers Of Canada, colonel-in-chief of the Royal New Zealand Army Logistic Regiment, colonel-in-chief of the Princess Louise Fusiliers of Canada and colonel-in-chief of the Queen's York Rangers (1st American Regiment).

But he will retain his service rank of Vice-Admiral, the Palace has confirmed.

As an ex-member of the armed forces, he was promoted in line with his still-serving peers and made Vice-Admiral by the Navy on his 55th birthday in 2015.

The duke was due to be promoted to Admiral on his 60th birthday in 2020, but asked to defer this after stepping back from public duties in 2019.

At the time, the Palace said his other military appointments had been suspended.

Several other charities and organisations had cut their ties with the duke, but he continued to hold dozens of royal patronages - including being a patron or member of prestigious golf clubs, schools and cultural trusts.

There is more on this story at BBC.

Ex-CNN producer accused of ‘despicable acts’ against minor

Arrested former senior CNN producer John Griffin hit by pedophilia lawsuit

John Griffin in police custody, December 22, 2021. © Vermont State Police/AP

A lawsuit filed against former CNN producer John Griffin on behalf of an alleged underage sex crime victim seeks $15 million in damages and fees. Griffin was arrested last month on child sex trafficking charges.

Griffin is accused of “despicable acts” of “horrific sexual abuse” of a minor, Fox News reported on Tuesday, citing a civil lawsuit filed in Connecticut last week.

“For several years prior to 2020, the defendant solicited young girls, including the minor plaintiff, for the purpose of knowingly persuading, inducing, enticing and coercing them to engage in sexual activity, sexual exploitation, and/or sexual trafficking,” the lawsuit alleges.

The case against Griffin was brought on behalf of a nine-year-old girl, dubbed Jane Doe in court documents. The suit is seeking up to $15 million in damages and fees, Fox News said.

A former producer of Chris Cuomo’s show on CNN, Griffin was arrested on child sex trafficking charges last month and fired from the channel. According to prosecutors, in 2020, Griffin paid a Nevada woman more than $3,000 to fly her to Boston and then commit sex crimes that involved her adopted daughter at his vacation home in Vermont.

The evidence reportedly includes a drone video of the defendant in his underwear standing next to a completely naked nine-year-old girl. 

Griffin pleaded not guilty to the charges in December. 

CNN said at the time that the channel was unaware of Griffin’s actions and called charges against him “deeply disturbing.”

Perhaps that's true, but one can't help but wonder how such a person's character wasn't a warning sign?

Perverted Lives of the Rich and Famous > Weng Reverses Accusations; Krakow Politician Asked to Sleep With Guest; Twitter Protects Another CNN Pervert;

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Chinese tennis star denies sex assault allegations in new video

19 Dec, 2021 19:11 

Peng Shuai has appeared to deny that she made sexual assault claims. © Reuters

Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai, whose well-being has caused international concern since she posted allegations of sexual assault, has appeared to deny all claims against a former Chinese vice-premier.

In a new video which appeared on Sunday, Peng denied accusing anyone of sexually assaulting her and claimed that a lengthy post she made on local social media outlet Weibo in November, which was later taken down, had been misunderstood.

The video was posted by Singapore media outlet Lianhe Zaobao after footage had been shared of Peng with basketball legend Yao Ming at a Shanghai event. 

"First, I need to stress one point that is extremely important, I have never said or written that anyone has sexually assaulted me, I have to clearly stress this point," Peng said in the latest clip. 

Peng added that her post on Weibo was a "private matter" which "people have many misunderstandings" about. 

Peng, 35, claimed to have been living at her home in Beijing without supervision since global concerns for her safety were raised, and said that she wrote to WTA chief Steve Simon last month to deny the allegations of sexual assault she had apparently lodged against 75-year-old Zhang Gaoli, though the latter figure wasn't mentioned in her new video address.

The Wimbledon and French Open doubles winner insisted that an English translation of the letter to Simon by state media in China was accurate.

The WTA has canceled tournaments in the Asian country as a response to the furor, while Simon said he "had a hard time believing" Peng had actually written the email or what was attributed to her.

Peng's denial comes as the Chinese capital prepares to host the Winter Olympics in February amid a US diplomatic boycott.

As the wider world believed Peng to have gone into forced hiding, after being absent from the public eye for almost three weeks since making her post, International Olympic Committee (IOC) chief Thomas Bach held a video call with her for which his organization was widely-criticized and deemed to have cozied up to the Chinese government. 

On Sunday, a separate video of Peng smiling and laughing at a Shanghai event with Ming was posted by Qingqing Chen, a reporter for the Global Times, which is owned and run by the state in Beijing.

Believed to be from the Shanghai stop of a cross-country skiing tour, a photo of her, Ming, former table tennis player Wang Liqin and Olympic sailing gold medalist Xu Lijia in front of the iconic Yangpu bridge was also published by the same reporter, which marks the most active weekend of media related to Peng that the world has had access to since the controversy began.

It seems Peng has had a reorientation of her thoughts. I wonder how that came about?

Polish politician told female colleague to sleep with Ukrainian visitor

19 Dec, 2021 09:26 

By Layla Guest

Polish city councillor Alicja Szczepańska takes part in a demonstration in 2018. © Social media

A Polish politician has spoken out over claims she was pressured by a colleague to sleep with a visiting official from Lvov during a banquet with a Ukrainian delegation, prompting calls for him to stand down from his post.

Local media reported on Friday that Alicja Szczepańska, a councilor in the southern Polish city of Krakow, was left outraged after the assembly’s deputy chairman, Sławomir Pietrzyk, insinuated that she should “pay for services in kind,” and attempted to push her to jump into bed with a fellow guest at the opulent bash held earlier this month.

The woman told Polish news outlet Onet on Thursday that she found her fellow politician’s efforts to solicit sex for the Ukrainian delegate unacceptable, adding that he had made suggestive remarks about her body. Szczepańska has since complained to the head of the city’s administration, insisting she is taking action in a way “every person who is subjected to sexual harassment and discrimination should do in this situation.”

The councilor said, however, that she does not feel she is a victim, as using this terminology creates a stigma towards people who have been molested and harassed.

The scandal sparked outcry from councilors and women’s rights groups, with some demanding Pietrzyk’s resignation. Rafał Komarewicz, the chairman of the ‘Friendly Krakow’ club, which the politician is a member of, condemned him over the “very serious allegations,” adding that if events transpired as Szczepańska claims, consequences are inevitable.

Pietrzyk took to Facebook to issue a public apology last week. “I apologize to Councilor Szczepańska for my use of unfortunate phrases during dinner with the delegation from Lvov, which were taken as an insult,” he wrote, saying he is sorry his words caused “pain and sorrow.”

Twitter censors account that alleged another CNN pedophilia scandal

19 Dec, 2021 19:40

© Reuters / Chris Aluka Berry

Twitter has suspended an account linked to Project Veritas after the media outlet posted a video accusing a CNN producer of soliciting nude photos of an underage girl and fantasizing about molesting another child.

The account, called ‘@investigatecnn’, was suspended on Saturday for unspecified violations of Twitter’s rules. The move came two days after Project Veritas released a video in which former sex worker Janine Bonanni alleged that a CNN producer – later identified as Rick Saleeby – asked for nude ‘mother-daughter’ pictures with her 15-year-old child and spoke of the sexual things he wanted to do with the 14-year-old daughter of his fiancé.

Project Veritas founder James O’Keefe said the suspension came shortly after his investigative journalism outlet released Saleeby’s name – with the permission of his now ex- fiancé. The video of O’Keefe’s interview with Bonanni had been viewed about 1.3 million times.

Saleeby is a producer for CNN’s ‘The Lead With Jake Tapper’. O’Keefe said Tapper’s name was trending on Twitter at the time the social media giant suspended the account that posted the video. Saleeby’s ex-fiancé sent a note to Project Veritas thanking the outlet for having “saved us all from him.” She added that she was pushing for the producer to be criminally charged.

“The real question is, is CNN putting pressure on Twitter to take down this video?” O’Keefe said. “This is about potential pedophilia, potential abuse against an underage girl.” CNN is yet to comment on the case. 

Bonanni, who claimed to have known Saleeby for more than a decade, showed text conversations and a recording of a telephone call purported to be with the producer to back up her accusations. In one of the texts attributed to Saleeby, the person asked Bonanni whether he would be given “mother-daughter nudes” for his help. Bonanni, now a case manager for sexual assault victims, said the ‘help’ reference was to money that Saleeby gave her.

The allegations against Saleeby surfaced after CNN last week fired another producer, John Griffin, who was arrested on December 10 for allegedly trying to entice children to engage in sexual activity.

Bonanni said she spoke to Saleeby after Griffin’s arrest, and he reacted by calling his fellow producer a “pervert” and a “scumbag.” She added, “In my head I’m thinking, you’re doing the same thing.”

Ironically, Saleeby was caught up in another Project Veritas report in 2019, when he was shown on hidden camera speaking about allegations of sexual misconduct against another CNN producer.

Twitter permanently banned a Project Veritas account last February after the outlet posted a video of one of its staffers confronting a Facebook executive about his leaked comments regarding censorship tools.

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