AM-Prep-Music-Report

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Cassie asks for domestic violence victims to be taken seriously

UNDATED (AP) _ Cassie is offering her thanks to those who took her seriously after C-N-N released a video of Sean “Diddy” Combs beating her in a hotel hallway in 2016. Cassie says in a statement her only request is that people open their hearts to believing victims the first time. Combs has apologized for the attack. He cannot be charged because the statute of limitations expired. Cassie had sued Combs in November over what she said was years of sexual, physical and emotional abuse. The suit was settled the next day.

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Kelly Rowland: I stood my ground

CANNES, France (AP) – Kelly Rowland says she has boundaries and she stands by them. Rowland had a confrontation on Tuesday with a security guard on the red carpet for the premiere of her film “Marcello Mio” at the Cannes (CAN) Film Festival in France. Rowland says there were other women on the carpet “who did not quite look like me, and they didn’t get scolded, or pushed off, or told to get off.” Rowland says the security guard felt she had to stand her ground, and Rowland felt she had to stand hers.

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Last Astroworld lawsuit is settled

HOUSTON (AP) – The last wrongful death lawsuit filed over Travis Scott’s deadly Astroworld festival has been settled. An attorney for the family of nine-year-old Ezra Blount says a settlement was reached this week. Blount was the youngest of 10 people killed during a deadly crowd surge at the festival in 2021. Jury selection in a lawsuit filed by the family was set to begin in September. The terms of all 10 lawsuits are confidential.

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Sean Kingston's house is raided, mother arrested

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) – Sean Kingston’s mother was arrested after a SWAT team raided his rented mansion outside Fort Lauderdale, Florida, yesterday. Broward County detectives arrested 61-year-old Janice Turner on fraud and theft charges but declined to give details. Kingston wrote in an Instagram post that has been since taken down, “I am good, and so is my mother! … My lawyers are handling everything as we speak.” Attorney Dennis Card, who witnessed the arrest, says it was partly related to a lawsuit he filed against Kingston in February, accusing Kingston of defrauding a company that installed a 17-foot-wide T-V set. The lawsuit says Kingston told the owners if they gave him a discount, he would do commercials for them with Canadian pop star Justin Bieber.

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What's next for the D-O-J fight against Ticketmaster

UNDATED (AP) _ With the U-S Justice Department taking legal action to potentially break up Ticketmaster and Live Nation, legal experts say live music fans should not hold their breath about ticket prices dropping. Ticketmaster, owned by Live Nation, controls 70 per cent of the ticket market in the U-S. Ticketmaster says the D-O-J’s lawsuit will not solve the issues about ticket prices and service fees, and it says the fees go to the concert venues. Legal experts say it might be a year before a trial starts, then likely months of arguments, then likely an appeal if a judge orders a breakup of the companies.

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Tennessee authorities look into attempt to sell Graceland

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) – Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti says his office is looking into an investment company’s attempt to auction Graceland. Skrmetti says Elvis Presley’s estate “became the target” of Nausanny (NAW’-san-ee) Investments and Private Lending when it tried to sell the property this week. Nausanny had said Presley’s daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, put Graceland up as collateral for a 2018 loan she did not pay back. Her daughter, actor Riley Keough (KEE’-oh), got an injunction to stop the sale.

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Celine Dion releases trailer for “I Am: Celine Dion”

UNDATED (AP) _ Canadian chanteuse Celine Dion says she was not ready to tell her story, but she’s ready now. Dion released the trailer for her documentary “I Am: Celine Dion,” which will stream on Amazon Prime on June 25th. Dion is unable to sing because of a rare neurological condition called stiff person syndrome, which causes pain and spasms in her muscles.

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Stevie Van Zandt documentary will air on H-B-O

LOS ANGELES (AP) – Stevie Van Zandt will be the focus of a feature documentary that will run next month on H-B-O. “Stevie Van Zandt: Disciple” will look at his career with the E Street Band, as an actor, as a radio host and as an activist. It will air on June 22nd.

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The Canadian Press