Like many women of her generation, the unnamed Japanese American writer at the center of Marie Mutsuki Mockett’s bold, erotic “The Tree Doctor,” finds herself in midlife, squarely ensconced in the sandwich generation. She’s burdened with the double-whammy of childcare and tending to an elderly parent while holding down a job, in this case as an adjunct lecturer.

At novel’s start, Mockett’s protagonist has flown from her home in Hong Kong for what was supposed to be a brief trip to northern California to help her widowed mother, who has dementia and needs to be placed in long-term care.

Then, the pandemic hits. All nonessential travel is banned; Hong Kong has imposed a strict quarantine for travelers. The woman is stranded in her childhood home, remotely teaching a class on Japanese aesthetics and trying to console her two children and husband through video chats.

This could have been a novel solely about the unfair amount of work that disproportionately fell upon many women during the pandemic, the care-giving while also doing economic labor. But Mockett has something far more sly in mind. And it’s not about learning how to bake sourdough bread, like so many pandemic-era memes aimed at women.

As she cares for her mother’s long-neglected garden, the woman calls on a man at the local nursery — known as “The Tree Doctor” — and one thing leads to another, as the saying goes. A torrid, graphic, no-holds barred affair ensues.

The woman isn’t going to leave her husband or children. She’s not looking for a replacement mate. She’s intellectually fulfilled by discussing the intricacies of “The Tale of Genji” with her bright college students. No, she’s in it for the sex, for re-discovering what her body needs after decades of putting herself dead last on the checklist of things to do.

Mockett is the author of four books, including novel “Picking Bones from Ash” and two works of nonfiction. Her prose is as lush as the garden in the woman’s Carmel home, as Mockett weaves together discussions of flora, dissections of passages from “Genji” and the woman’s memories of childhood trips to Japan with her mother.

The title character remains an archetype, an antidote to the life of self-sacrifice that has been unhealthy for the woman. He may be a fantasy of sorts, but it’s also unrealistic to expect women, particularly mothers, to fulfill everyone else’s needs but their own. As the woman notes, “Someone once said that for every baby a woman has, that’s two books she doesn’t write.”

“Tree Doctor” is a book that says that kind of sacrifice takes its toll.

The Tree Doctor

By: Marie Mutsuki Mockett.

Publisher: Graywolf, 256 pages, $17.

©2024 StarTribune. Visit at startribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

My question is, how are we supposed to work on our marriage with no contact? What am I supposed to do? I love her, but she’s avoiding me and everyone else, including her friends and family. All she wants to do is work and be alone in her apartment. — Lonely in the East

Dear Lonely: When you asked how your wife plans to work on your marriage if you aren’t seeing each other or communicating (or utilizing marriage counseling), you asked a pertinent question. She cannot have it both ways, nor does she seem open to repairing what drove her to leave your marriage.

Ask if she is interested in counseling. If she isn’t, PLEASE get a referral to a therapist for emotional support for yourself right now. If you do, you will more quickly be able to figure out what your next steps should be.

Dear Abby: Two of my children contracted pink eye. We were assured by the doctor that after being on antibiotics for 24 hours, they would no longer be contagious. Feeling reassured, we isolated them for 24 hours and went about our plans to visit family as originally scheduled.

I later learned that a few days after we left, three of my nephews, whom my sons played with often, all came down with pink eye. I have apologized, but I still feel guilty. We did everything the doctors recommended, yet we still gave it to others. Is there anything else I can do to make up for it? — Pink with Guilt

Dear Pink: A large box of chocolates might sweeten the bitter aftertaste of your visit to that family. Or, go online and search for “Ice Cream of the Month Club.” If you do, you will find several companies that guarantee frozen deliveries nationwide. Include a message on the card, “Apologies for the pink eye.” (And be sure one of the flavors is strawberry to reinforce your sentiments.)

Dear Abby: I am a 14-year-old boy living with my parents. Due to religious constraints, I was not going to be allowed to date until I turned 16. That policy has recently changed, although my parents are still holding me to it.

My problem is, there’s this girl. She’s my sister’s best friend. I met her when she came to hang out with my sister. I’m afraid if I wait, she’ll fall out of my life. Also, I am afraid that it will be awkward with my sister. What should I do? — Lovesick in Utah

Dear Lovesick: Your parents are enforcing those rules and, at least for now, you need to abide by them. If this girl is friendly with your sister, she’s not going to drop out of your life. That’s why, if you are as smart as I think you are, you will make an effort to simply be “friends” with her. Just friends. If you do, as you get to know each other better, you may form a more lasting relationship than if you were to make a move on her now. I wish you luck.

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com

Kao Kalia Yang has been called the foremost chronicler of Hmong life in the United States, and though this isn’t wrong, it’s the kind of tempered acclaim with which immigrant authors are especially familiar. Let’s retire the qualified praise. Her immensely powerful new book confirms Yang as one of America’s sharpest nonfiction writers.

“Where Rivers Part: A Story of My Mother” is about Tswb (pronounced “Chew”) Muas. Yang fans know her by another name. She was “Chue” in Yang’s “The Latehomecomer,” and excellent follow-up, “The Song Poet: A Memoir of My Father,” which Esquire named one of the 50 best biographies ever published.

Tswb gave birth to Yang in a Thai refugee camp, where her family lived for eight years before moving to Minnesota in 1987. Because her life has been a study in resilience, this book could’ve been too reverent for its own good. But, sticking to the approach that worked so well in “Poet,” Yang foregoes third-person narration in favor of her mother’s first-person voice. This gives the book immediacy, authenticity and humor (Yang also has an autobiographical picture book, “The Rock in My Throat,” out this month).

Born in Dej Tshuam, Laos — known locally as the Village Where the Rivers Meet — Tswb’s youth was distressing and brief. Her mother was widowed three times. Seeking stability amid chaos — North Vietnamese and Lao troops stalked members of the Hmong ethnic group, some of whom aided America during the Vietnam War — Tswb wed at 16.

Tswb consulted her mother about such decisions. “Young men who smell bad will only smell worse with age,” her mother said. Nineteen-year-old Npis — “Bee” in Yang’s previous books — must’ve smelled just fine.

Hiding in Laotian jungles, Tswb’s family survived by fishing, bartering and gathering vegetables. They made toothpaste from cooked banana peels.

In 1979, Tswb, Npis and their first child, Dawb, nearly died crossing the Mekong River, yet made it safely to a refugee camp in Thailand. There, the growing family lived near an open sewage canal and trembled as wind blew the roof off their communal house. “Pressures of this transient life” caused marital arguments.

In the Twin Cities, Tswb worked in factories and earned her high school diploma. More challenges awaited: Repetitive-stress injuries, depression. One of her toddlers ate lead paint.

The book is stronger for Yang’s decision to include fraught, not necessarily flattering, scenes. In one, Npis, having learned Tswb was pregnant, says he’s too old to raise another child. To Tswb, this is cowardice, the words suggesting she “kill the child inside me.”

For all its harrowing detail, “Where Rivers Part” lets the reader see the world afresh. As young Tswb washes bowls in a stream, “little minnows emerge out of the rocks to grab the bits of rice swimming down the current.” Years later, Minnesota snowdrifts assume “shapes like sheet-clad American ghosts in the orange glow of the streetlamps.”

After marrying, Tswb was known to relatives as “Npis’ wife.” In her daughter’s exceptional book, Tswb shines in the lead role.

Where Rivers Part: A Story of My Mother’s Life

By: Kao Kalia Yang.

Publisher: Atria, 310 pages, $28.99.

©2024 StarTribune. Visit at startribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Not long after they moved in, the wife began copying our interior and exterior design elements and one night stood in our kitchen and said, “Well you know, everything’s a competition.” To say we were dismayed would be an understatement. My husband and I spent many years collecting vintage furniture and other items to create a distinctive home. It has been a labor of love.

Six months ago, we installed a unique garage door, unlike anything in the neighborhood. Abby, within three months she installed the exact same one! Are we wrong to find it crass and disrespectful?

We no longer want to spend time with them but don’t want to completely sever the connection because they are neighbors, and we also have some mutual friends. Moving is not an option; this is our home. What should we do? — Fed Up in Ohio

Dear Fed Up: I understand why you are frosted and need to distance yourself. Who wants to be close to someone who considers “everything” to be a competition? Perhaps it will lessen your frustration to remember that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, while you learn to accept things you cannot change. Of course it is in your best interest to keep things cordial, but it might be better if you no longer invite this woman INTO your home.

Dear Abby: I lost my beautiful mother six years ago. While, of course, I miss her terribly, something else has been bothering me that I’m having trouble getting over. I allowed my cousin on my dad’s side of the family to come to the hospital to see me and pay her respects, which didn’t bother me. It’s what occurred next that I have the big issue with.

When my cousin left the hospital, she jumped straight on Facebook and posted for everyone to see “RIP, Aunt Sally.” Everyone who was friends with Mom saw the post, which meant she announced my mom’s passing before I had even had time to process it all. I was extremely hurt, angry, sad and shocked that she would do that.

It still bothers me as it’s not something that can be undone. I was still lying beside my mom crying and trying to say goodbye to her when my phone started blowing up with messages and notifications. How can I get past the betrayal I feel? I have had very little contact with that cousin since. — Hurt in Florida

Dear Hurt: Please accept my sympathy for the loss of your mother. In this internet age, it’s not unusual for people to post their feelings online. Your cousin may have been venting rather than intending to make a formal announcement of your mother’s passing. The problem with posting is that once it’s on there, it is out there for everyone to see and react to.

I do think this is something you should discuss with your cousin, who may not have realized how her online sentiments affected you on that sad and stressful day. You deserve an apology for her insensitivity.

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com

The world is changing so quickly, especially in the field of in vitro fertilization. I know I have much to be thankful for, but I’m finding it a hard pill to swallow that many of our older parents are choosing to have another set of kids in their later years. My father, who is in his mid-60s, has just had twins with his third wife. His children are younger than mine.

I feel entirely replaced by his new family. Rather than being a present father and grandfather, he has nearly disappeared. I thank God that my mother is a proud and devoted grandmother to my children. In addition to his disappearing act, Dad has decided to leave all of his assets to his third wife and the twins. They call my kids their twins’ “cousins”!

A number of my friends also have a parent who has chosen to start their lives over in this way, including their mothers, who, in their later years, have had babies via surrogate. This is so painful. How do I, and the younger generations, overcome this feeling of abandonment? — Big Sister in California

Dear Sister: I can’t speak for the others, but you are blessed with a loving husband and two amazing children. A step in the right direction would be to concentrate on those blessings you have. You are lucky at your age to still have a living father.

Parents are free to live their own lives when their children reach adulthood. As you point out, what your father has done is not uncommon. Please, for your own sake, stop blaming him and embrace the life that you have.

Dear Abby: For 23 years, my sister was involved with a violent alcoholic and drug addict. It ultimately ended when he chose to take his own life a year and a half ago. Their union produced two children — a boy (17) and a girl (13).

Recently, at our grandma’s memorial service and family reunion, I overheard constant negative comments from my nephew about people drinking at the event, and how we shouldn’t, because his dad was an alcoholic. No one was belligerent or ill-mannered. I only overheard these comments; I did not engage with them. My question is, should we be tempering our drinking around my nephew? — Social Drinker in Tennessee

Dear Social Drinker: As long as the family can handle their alcohol consumption, there is no reason to change their behavior when your nephew is around. There is, however, a genetic predisposition to addiction in some families. This is why your niece and nephew should be warned (if they haven’t been already) that this might place them in jeopardy if they choose to experiment with it.

TO MY READERS: For those who celebrate Easter, I wish you all a meaningful and memorable day. Happy Easter, everyone. — LOVE, ABBY

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com

I am at the point that I no longer want to be around her because, in her eyes, I can’t do anything right. I feel like any invitation from her is fake or last-minute, especially for family gatherings.

This leads me to the subject of my wedding: My fiance and I agree we don’t want her there because of how she has treated not only me, but him as well. We sent out the invitations and invited my dad, who is my hero. So, guess who now has hurt feelings? NOW she wants to talk to me.

Abby, I do not want to talk to her unless my fiance’s mom, “Shelley,” is there as a buffer. Mom won’t talk like she usually does to me if Shelley is there. I’m not comfortable seeing or talking to Mom alone, which I have expressed. The problem is, this hurts my dad, which hurts me, too. How do I make nice without disrespecting myself in the process? — In a Mess in Montana

Dear Mess: How much “nice” do you want to make with your mother? Are you willing to invite her to the wedding when you see her (with Shelley)? If your parents are still together, do you expect your father to show up without her? I doubt that’s likely to happen. You have some grown-up decisions to make regarding your special day. Bite the bullet. Invite your mother and, if necessary, seat your parents in “Siberia.” After that day, you will not be obligated to see or speak to her again.

Dear Abby: After 30 years, I’m considering filing for divorce. My husband has always had anger problems, which I’ve put up with all this time. I’m not sure I want to go on dealing with this issue for the rest of my life. What stopped me before was our two children. I was afraid to be a single mother because my mom was a widow with four children, and I saw what she went through financially and emotionally without a husband.

Now that my children are grown and on their own, there’s nothing stopping me but fear of not being able to support myself. My husband makes more than I do, and I have bills I need to pay. If I rent an apartment, I’m not sure I can swing it. I know the first step is to find a lawyer and discuss my options, but I’m afraid my husband will beg me to stay, which he has done in the past. Please help me decide what to do. — Maybe Ready to Go in Indiana

Dear Maybe Ready: I’m glad to offer you a suggestion. Talk to an attorney now and find out what your options may be if you don’t stay with an abusive, bad-tempered husband. Once you know where you stand, you can then decide whether your husband’s begging is enough incentive to spend the rest of your life being treated the way he has treated you.

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com

The cozy mystery makes for perfect escapism.

Sometimes we want to set aside stories of grisly violence, gritty reality and dysfunctional cops to reach for soft-boiled, soft-focused tales of crime and detection comprising quaint villages, quirky characters and ample wit, charm and twists.

In the present day, Annie, an aspiring crime writer living in London, receives a letter out of the blue from Frances’ solicitor. Frances has named her great-niece sole benefactor of her estate and would like her to attend a meeting. Annie is baffled; she has never met her relative. Her confusion turns into shock when she arrives at Gravesdown Hall in the village of Castle Knoll and finds Frances dead.

Foul play is suspected, and at the reading of the will Frances issues a challenge from beyond the grave: In order to claim her inheritance, Annie must solve her great-aunt’s murder in one week.

“Frances may be nutty, but she’s very calculating. And she likes to play games,” explains Annie’s mother. This game involves Annie assuming the role of amateur sleuth and working against the clock to unmask a killer.

She trawls through the photos, notes and reports that Frances has amassed over the years in her “murder room,” and delves into the past by way of Frances’ journal. She compiles a growing list of suspects that includes a shifty property developer, a gardener with a “side business,” Frances’ friends and family — even a vicar and a detective. Annie also tries to decode the fortune-teller’s cryptic prediction, a riddle about a queen, a bird and dry bones.

As Annie investigates, we join her in weighing the significance of seemingly innocuous details (Frances’ messy bouquet of flowers, her recent car trouble) and answering nagging questions. Is Frances’ death connected to the decades-old disappearance of her friend Emily? And why, after 60 years, did Frances’ killer strike now?

Perrin’s update on the classic murder mystery is impaired by its far-fetched premise and a plot that becomes convoluted rather than intricate. In addition, not all her characters’ voices ring true. On the plus side, the pace never lets up and tension mounts when anonymous threats and a body in a trunk make Annie realize that her life might be in danger. The result is a fun yet flawed whodunit.

How to Solve Your Own Murder

By: Kristen Perrin.

Publisher: Dutton, 360 pages, $28.

©2024 StarTribune. Visit at startribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

The biopic form practically demands failure, or at least a series of narrative compromises made under pressure from so many factions: the real-life subject, or keepers of the now-deceased subject’s estate, nervous about an unsympathetic truth or two; the streamer or studio backing the project; and the filmmakers themselves, trying to do right by the person featured in the title, while finding a shape — and the ideal performer — to make the thing work.

“Shirley,” now streaming on Netflix, constitutes the latest frustrating, two-hour example of all that pressure. You don’t, however, detect any of it in the carefully detailed performance of Regina King as Shirley Chisholm, the first Black female member of the U.S. Congress, who campaigned for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1972.

Watching King in scenes with the late, great Lance Reddick (as Chisholm advisor Wesley “Mac” Holder), or Terrence Howard (Arthur Hardwick, her second husband; they met as New York State legislators in 1966), or André Holland (as Chisholm’s rival presidential hopeful Walter Fauntroy), you can relish the skill sets of these performers — their sleight-of-hand ease with even the horsiest loads of exposition. This, too, can scarcely be avoided in any biopic: those moments when two characters are meant to be talking like they know each other well, and are well-acquainted with the background or context of whatever they’re discussing. Problem is, the audience isn’t. So the dialogue starts sounding like they’re speaking directly to the viewer, in bullet points.

“Shirley” struggles with many such moments. Writer-director John Ridley, who also produced, focuses the two hours he has on a few months in ’72, when Chisholm took on the political challenge of her life, seeking 1,500 delegates amid a pale male sea of skepticism. Nixon was set to go for a second Republican term pre-Watergate; in those days, scandalous and/or illegal presidential activity was enough for a vast majority of the party in power to ditch the man in charge. McGovern, the way-out-ahead Democratic front-runner, felt inevitable though he got creamed by Nixon in the end.

Did Chisholm and her better-known, better-funded competitors, from Humphrey to Muskie to Lindsay, have a chance? No, and yes. Campaigns turn on a series of dimes, and coin tosses with fate. In America, we’re besotted with underdog stories because they typically involve long-shots who end up winning. “Shirley” can’t work that way, although Chisholm proved an seriously inspirational political figure. She had her eye on the future, whether she would run the country in that future or not.

I wish the movie dramatized those harried campaign months more persuasively, without quite so many speech-y bits even when no one’s making any speeches. Five minutes into “Shirley” in a brief scene from Chisholm’s first congressional year, there’s a confrontation with a bigoted white Southern pol, fussed about this interloping Black woman from Brooklyn earning the same $42,500 annual salary he does. Does the scene work? Only as crude shorthand. It feels more like a biopic straining for hit-and-run impact, rather than a telling fragment in a real-life story.

The actors do all they can, all the time. Lucas Hedges portrays young, green law student Robert Gottlieb, who at 21 became Chisholm’s national student organizer; Christina Jackson, astutely delineating campaign worker and future Congresswoman Barbara Lee’s conflicted feelings about politics, adds welcome doses of subtlety. Along with Reddick and company, these two buoy a script gradually taking on more and more water.

King’s in charge, of course. Her real-life sister Reina King plays Chisholm’s sister Muriel, resentful of Shirley’s favored-daughter status. In their scenes, and in every scene elsewhere, the top-billed Oscar winner (King won for her work in “If Beale Street Could Talk”) works low-keyed wonders in selling what’s overstated in an understated, humanizing way. Chisholm came from Guyanese and Bajan (Barbadian) descent, and while King foregoes some vocal particulars (the sibilant “s,” mainly) she evokes Chisholm’s public persona and refreshing candor extremely well.

Writer-director Ridley, who won his own Oscar for adapting “12 Years a Slave,” has done solid work (the recent Apple miniseries “Five Days at Memorial”) and at least one directorial documentary project, the 1992 Los Angeles uprising documentary (“Let It Fall”), that is very close to great. With “Shirley” we’re close to almost-not-quite territory, and visually, Ridley sticks with conventional shot sequences of characters in frame, alone, either speaking or reacting. This makes fluidity and interpersonal flow pretty difficult. The political particulars of Chisholm’s presidential bid, and the question of why so many other candidate’s delegates got funneled into McGovern’s losing campaign, never risk much complication. Time is too short.

At one point King, as Chisholm, resists the advisors’ pleas to simplify her “messaging” (was that word in circulation 52 years ago?) by saying: “I am not leaving out the nuance!” In “Shirley,” the top-shelf actors aren’t, either. Even if their material does.

Michael Phillips is a Tribune critic.

“Shirley” — 2.5 stars (out of 4)

MPA rating: PG-13 (for profanity including racial slurs, brief violence and some smoking)

Running time: 1:57

How to watch: Now streaming on Netflix.

MIAMI — A nondisclosure agreement crafted on behalf of Sean “Diddy” Combs is the newest clue illuminating a sordid world of alleged sex trafficking, abuse and illegal drug use surrounding the music mogul. It raised alarm bells for a lawyer who analyzed the document for the Miami Herald.

NDAs are standard for artists and celebrities with major popularity and influence, attorney Gavin Tudor Elliot said. Normally, they’re viewed as tools to protect an artist’s private life, but the scope and breadth of Diddy’s NDA, Elliot added, is far beyond the norm.

“This agreement may be the broadest non-disclosure agreement that I have ever seen,” said Elliot, who has done extensive corporate contract work, including NDAs, for more than 20 years. “The lack of clear definition as to who can and cannot be spoken about is terrifying.”

For Elliot, the agreement may have been drafted to create a “culture of silence” rather than to offer a simple barrier between Diddy and the public.

Why did Diddy hand out NDAs?

In a lawsuit filed last month, music producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones accused Diddy of being the leader of a criminal enterprise that could qualify as a “widespread and dangerous criminal sex trafficking organization.” A copy of the NDA was included in an updated complaint filed Wednesday.

The NDA was presented to people who were at a Hollywood recording studio when a shooting occurred on Sept. 12, 2022, Jones alleged. Some signed it; he did not.

In the 98-page filing, Jones states the friend of Diddy’s son Justin Combs was shot during a heated conversation with Diddy and Justin.

According to Jones, there was a “massive coverup” after the shooting. Diddy’s crew, he alleges, doctored the narrative that the man was shot outside the studio during a robbery. Police have yet to release any reports related to the shooting.

Jones, however, states that Diddy and his son took the unnamed man into a nearby restroom shortly before gunshots rang out. When the door finally open, the man was on the floor in the fetal position, bleeding from his torso.

Jones rushed to the aid of Justin’s friend and took him to an ambulance, according to the lawsuit. Since the shooting, he has mysteriously vanished.

The producer’s lawsuit isn’t the only time similar allegations have emerged in recent months. Diddy was accused of sexual assault in several other lawsuits filed by women.

The first involved R&B singer Cassandra “Cassie” Ventura, who alleged that Diddy abused her for years and forced her to have sex with male sex workers. He settled with her the day after it was filed in November, but Cassie’s legal action proved to be a catalyst for other potential victims to speak out — in turn creating a domino effect for the four lawsuits that followed.

It’s unclear who has seen or been told to sign the NDA — part of the agreement is that signers can’t disclose it.

Agreement weaponized for intimidation?

Elliot sees the agreement more as a dangerously broad legal document rather than a true NDA that would withstand legal challenges.

The document attempts to be a nondisclosure, nondisparagement, intellectual property rights and indemnification agreement all at once for Diddy and anyone affiliated with him, in any shape or form.

There are no specifics on what would make someone an associate of Diddy, nor does it have any constraints on what can and cannot be said about them, Elliot said.

The agreement strives to make everything involving or around him confidential, he said, but that’s not how the law works. Traditionally, most NDA’s allow signers to disclose any information that is part of the public domain or that is given to them by a third party.

“It is anybody’s guess who those people are because anyone affiliated with the artist in his professional or personal life counts,” he said. “I would never let a client sign this.”

The ambiguity created by the agreement’s terms is intentional, Elliot said. Any normal person with little legal knowledge would fear of the prospect of being sued by referring to someone or something that they did not know even involved Diddy.

“It’s not only designed and intended to create that culture of silence and intimidation, but any reasonable person reading this would think they would just need to shut up,” he said.

However, the NDA is not bulletproof, and Elliot added it would be unenforceable. A signor would be allowed to talk about Diddy and his associates if they were mandated to by a court, such as a subpoena or police investigation, and to seek legal counsel.

While those loopholes exist, Elliot thinks a normal person wouldn’t know. The fear alone would stop them from reporting a possible crime involving Diddy or his associates if they can’t prove it beyond a reasonable doubt.

“The most likely response from people would be ‘I didn’t see anything’ or ‘I don’t know,’ if they would say anything at all,” Elliot said of signers who may have seen a crime committed.

When are NDAs needed?

A celebrity — or someone of high net worth — may request an NDA for people who work for them, including assistants and housemaids, to protect information they may not want publicly disclosed, said South Florida attorney Brad Cohen, who has represented celebrities like Drake, Lil Wayne and Kodak Black.

“When you’re dealing with people of high-net worth … the motivation to make things up, leak information, get paid for information increases,” Cohen said.

There’s a multitude of business reasons for having an NDA signed, Cohen said. If something happens at a location in which a prominent individual is affiliated, it could affect their business dealings. For musicians, they may want to protect their music from being prematurely released to the public.

“It’s more of a protection for the high net worth or popular person from, usually, nefarious individuals …” Cohen said.

Elliot believes it is more likely that the NDA offered to Jones and others was an emergency agreement, and Diddy’s team has a better-worded and less ambiguous document for other matters.

“This is speculation, but this [NDA] seems like the sort of one you have in your back pocket when something really bad goes down and you want to cover it up,” he said.

©2024 Miami Herald. Visit miamiherald.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

MIAMI — Days after federal agents raided Sean “Diddy” Combs’ multimillion-dollar compounds on both sides of the country, a music producer who sued the hip-hop megastar turned entrepreneur has come forward with another complaint that sheds light on more than a dozen pages of new accusations.

In a lawsuit filed last month, Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones accused the Bad Boys Records founder of being the leader of a criminal enterprise that could qualify as a “widespread and dangerous criminal sex trafficking organization.” For about a year, Jones worked with Diddy to produce several songs on his R&B album “The Love Album: Off the Grid.”

Jones on Monday amended the complaint, submitted in New York federal court, to name the actor Cuba Gooding Jr. as a co-defendant. Also listed as defendants are Diddy’s son Justin Combs, record label executives and members of the music mogul’s staff.

Jones’ complaint was again revised Wednesday, providing more details — and evidence — related to the alleged sex-fueled work environment that he was exposed to while working for Diddy on the Grammy-nominated “Love” album in 2023.

Mounting evidence levied against Diddy?

Here are some of the new allegations detailed in the amended civil complaint:

• Diddy paid rap sensation Yung Miami, Instagram model Jade Ramey and actress Daphne Joy a monthly fee to work as his sex workers.
• While crafting “The Love Album,” Diddy wanted to create a “love-making atmosphere.” In that quest, he forced employees, including Jones, to take shots of alcohol and engage in sex acts with sex workers.
• Diddy personally distributed guns from his Los Angeles and Miami Beach homes to local gang members.
• Brendon Paul, described as Diddy’s mule, transported guns to and from night clubs, strip clubs and other venues in the Miami area.
• Diddy’s employees smuggled drugs on commercial airlines through carry-on luggage.
• Chief of staff Kristina Khorram ordered drugs and forced Diddy’s entourage to carry them in black Prada pouches. She also solicited sex workers, negotiated their price and paid for them.
• While in Miami, neither Khorram nor Diddy allowed Jones to visit family for birthdays or holidays. They allegedly told him that if he left, he wouldn’t be allowed to return.
• At a July 2023 listening party in California, there were at least five girls under the age of 17. Jones reported feeling uncomfortable, yet Diddy took his car keys so that he couldn’t leave.
• In a group chat including Jones, Diddy would ask his confidants about their opinions of Jones — and if they thought the producer would remain loyal to him.
• Diddy hired a private investigator to dig up “dirt” on Jones, offering people money to speak poorly about the producer. Friends of the producer would then receive harassing messages from the private investigator.
• Jones alleges that there was a “massive coverup” related to the 2022 shooting of Justin Combs’ friend inside a Hollywood recording studio. Diddy’s crew, he says, doctored the narrative that the man was shot outside the studio during a robbery.
• Those who were present at the studio that day were also asked to sign a nondisclosure agreement. Jones refused to do so.
• Jones also maintains that Diddy was present inside the studio — and included a photo in the lawsuit of a bloody mess in a bathroom. The victim has since mysteriously vanished.

©2024 Miami Herald. Visit miamiherald.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

She has many good qualities. She’s knowledgeable on many topics, she’s artistic and she’s a good cook. She is just exhausting to be around. I feel bad for her and her husband. Her children are good, productive citizens. But man, oh man, I dread getting a call from her. Advice? — Overwhelmed in Georgia

Dear Overwhelmed: There’s a reason why you are drained after those phone calls. Your friend is a compulsive talker and a “sapper.” (A sapper is someone who gains energy by draining it from others.) The next time she calls, have a stopwatch handy and make a note of the length of time she rambles on and on. Then point out that although she may be unaware of it, she talked at you for (insert number) minutes.

Then suggest she dial it back and consider asking an occasional question and including you in the conversation, because what she has been doing is exhausting. She may not like what you are saying, but she really needs to hear it.

P.S. Consider screening your calls so that if you don’t have the energy to talk with the woman, you can avoid listening to her.

Dear Abby:  My husband and I are planning a cruise to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary as well as his retirement next year. We invited my brother and his wife, “Rita,” to join us. Because my brother has always wanted to visit our cruise destination, they accepted.
Rita then shared our cruise plans with her brother and his wife, “Jewel.” Jewel expressed interest in the destination and said she wouldn’t mind going. In response, Rita welcomed them to join us! When I was told this, Rita said her brother doesn’t like cruises and probably wouldn’t want to go, so I just let it go. Still, I am annoyed at her presumptuousness.

Am I wrong to feel the way I do about her inviting her family without first asking if it was OK with me and my husband? Rita did say she was sorry for inviting them, but I’m still annoyed. I love my brother and sister-in-law, and I’d hate to cause family drama. I’d welcome your thoughts. — Cruising in Hawaii

Dear Cruising: I agree that what Rita did was presumptuous. It was also thoughtless. She did not have the right to invite anyone along on your holiday. IF Jewel tells Rita that she and her husband HAVE decided to come, it will then be Rita’s responsibility to straighten the matter out by rescinding the invitation, and you should “sweetly” make that clear to her.

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com

If you want to head to the theaters, check out Luc Besson’s wacky “DogMan” and our find of the week “Lousy Carter” (showing one night only in San Francisco).

Here’s our roundup.

“Renegade Nell”: “Happy Valley” creator Sally Wainwright enlivens the popular tween fantasy-tinged genre with this exemplary female powered Disney+ series set in 18th-century England. In eight addictive episodes, the on-point filmmaker succeeds where others have failed, injecting just the right doses of intrigue and humor into a quietly subversive feminist story.

“Nell” is made stronger by its well-written characters. And it is purpose-driven Nell (Louisa Harland, channeling some Jessie Buckley intensity) — a legend in the making — who anchors it. She’s gained not only notoriety but superpowers via a Tinkerbell-esque sidekick Billy Blind (Nick Mohammed).

When Nell and her two sisters flee from those who want to keep them quiet, their paths continue to cross with a duplicitous highwayman/aristocrat (Frank Dillane, providing much of the humor) who is the younger paramour of an irresponsible, gossip-mongering newspaper editor (Joely Richardson, living it up here), and a privileged brother (Jake Dunne) and sister (Alice Kremelberg) who are enabled int their tapping to the dark side by the Earl of Poynton (Adrian Lester).

There are many more engaging characters and a slew of clever cameos from British stars. Each play essential parts in the action, and do their fair share of conniving and derring-do to aid or defeat the grand, evil purposes of the bad guys. “Renegade Nell” gallops ahead of other Disney+ offerings by telling a new story tremendously well, and giving us a young woman who defies the ruling class to gain not only justice but freedom. Details: 3½ stars out of 4; all episodes available starting March 29.

“A Gentleman in Moscow”: Anyone who gulped down Amor Towles’ 2016 literary page-turner and then campaigned friends to follow suit will approach Showtime’s eight-part adaptation with a touch of trepidation. Rest easy, dear readers, showrunner and executive producer Ben Vanstone and creator/writer Joe Murtagh have done this one a solid and nothing more.

Ewan McGregor initially seems like an odd casting choice to play Count Alexander Rostov — a 1920s aristocrat whose mouthy ways lead to his getting forever confined by a Bolshevik court panel to the ritzy Metropol hotel. But he grows on you and gives another one of his emotionally complex performances, even if he’s not a Russian.

What might look on the outside look like a cushy sentence is anything but as Rostov’s ordered to never step outside and is confined within the dilapidated, uncomfortable accommodations in a drafty, chilly attic. Down below, he befriends many: confident actress Anna Urbanova (Mary Elizabeth Winstead, giving a classic, classy performance) who relishes her healthy sexual appetite, and a precocious child instrumental in playing a critical, life-changing part in his life as the decades fly by and the screws get tightened on dissent.

Unlike some series, the extended length of this one benefits the decades-spanning story arc, with each episode cycling us through Russian history and showing how the changing political winds whisked away some in power leaving the powerless to find strength, love and greater meaning. Details: 3 stars; starts streaming March 29 on Paramount+ (with Showtime) and then on March 31 on Showtime.

“STEVE! (martin) a documentary in 2 pieces”: The first part of Morgan Neville’s entirely worthwhile two-part Apple TV+ series blows the audience away in its creative approach in charting comedian Steve Martin’s childhood, fledgling stand-up career and then his phenomenally successful stage shows. Told entirely without the fallback plan of a talking head, it overlays interviews with Martin and others with video and images of the time. It’s an immersive experience and one of the most creative and unique approaches used for a documentary about a famous person.

The second part is less adventurous but finds Steve at home, preparing for a show with his friend and “Only Murders in the Building” co-star Martin Short, his wife, comedian Jerry Seinfeld, friend Tina Fey and costar Diane Keaton, amongst others. It focuses more on his film career, and features clips from some of his biggest successes (“The Jerk,” “Parenthood”) and his biggest failures (“Pennies From Heaven” and Nora Ephron’s “Mixed Nuts”). The energy and momentum of the first part deflates in the second, but it is in tempo with the man himself, as a much more content, less anxiety-ridden Martin candidly reflects on the films, his greatest loves (including art), his emotionally shut-off father and a renaissance-like career that includes author, painter and playwright amongst other talents. It is a telling glimpse into the life of a creative artist who learns the invaluable truth that all the trappings of success mean so little until you’ve built a place you call home. It’s an exceptional documentary, even if the second half can’t quite keep up with the first. Details: 3½ stars; drops March 29 on Apple TV+.

“DogMan”: Luc Besson’s bizarro but commendable character study swings from great to awful, sometimes in a matter of seconds. What prevents its erratic tendencies from going entirely off leash is Caleb Landry Jones’ gutsy, fully committed performance. You can’t take your eyes off this underrated actor. He’s unforgettable as Douglas Munrow, a loner drag performer (he does a very cool Marilyn) in a wheelchair who’s more at home with his own pack of scraggly dogs than he is with humans. He has a good reason — his cruel dog-fighting father kicked him out and locked him in the filthy backyard kennel till he broke out. The dogs were the only ones who showed Douglas unconditional love and also protected him. Besson wrote this outlandish story, and while his directing is better than his screenwriting there is an undeniable flair to everything about this weird affair. Yes, it continually goes on and off the rails, but then it spits you off into an unexpected, but rather ingenious, place at the end. So given all that, is it worth seeing? Yes, but only if you plunge rather than lean into its chaotic  mindset from the very start. Details: 2.5 stars, in theaters Friday.

Find of the week

“Lousy Carter”: Indie filmmaker Bob Byington’s biting comedy fails on all counts in the originality department with its worn-out premise of a pompous professional – in this case a college literature professor who’s teaching a master’s course on “The Great Gatsby” –  confronting mortality when his doc says he has six months to live. A “death sentence” is one of the most overused plots but Byington’s dry-witted black comedy works better than the bulk of ‘em because it is wickedly funny and uncompromising and that’s due to the acidic screenwriting from Byington and the wry lead performance from David Krumholtz as a former dreamer with a big, hardly commercial idea to make an animated movie out of a Nabokov novel. Byington’s cast this droll comedy well with funny turns from actors portraying Carter’s forthright ex-girlfriend (Oliva Thirlby), a funeral-loving grad student (Luxy Banner) who challenges him all the time and his sorta best friend (Martin Starr) and his horny wife (Jocelyn DeBoer). Told in just under 80 minutes, “Lousy Carter” made me laugh uncomfortably quite often and then even shocked me at the end. Details: 3 stars; screens March 31 at the Roxie in San Francisco; also available On Demand starting March 29.

Contact Randy Myers at soitsrandy@gmail.com.

When he stays at our place, we fix all the meals and he uses our washer, dryer and detergent for several loads of laundry each time. He’s a longtime friend and brings his spouse, with whom I get along well. But as time goes on, their visits are becoming more frequent and longer in length.

Always being the host and entertaining makes me anxious. My husband can’t seem to understand what my issue is when I try to talk with him about it, but I feel that seeing these folks a couple times a year is more than enough to keep the friendship going. How can I get my husband to understand my side without ruining the friendship? — Hosted Out

Dear Hosted Out: These people may be friends, but your hospitality is being taken advantage of. Try once more to explain to your husband that their visits are happening too often. However, if he doesn’t accept it, then arrange a vacation for yourself the next time they are expected to arrive. By this I mean, pack a bag and go to a hotel.

Perhaps, when your husband has to assume all the responsibility for these freeloading friends, he will see the light. I can’t believe the wife would let you do all the work by yourself. How lazy and insensitive of her not to volunteer.

Dear Abby: My sister “Maggie” has turned into one of those “crazy cat ladies.” We have been encouraging her to move into assisted living, but she says she’d rather be dead than give up her cats. When we visit her, we bring along air freshener. Maggie has gone nose-blind to the smell and argues her house does not stink. My wife will not walk in until after I have sprayed the house.

Among Maggie’s other issues: Her children have abandoned her. We had to hire people to help her out because no one in her son’s family would take the job. When my mother got sick, my wife and I stepped up and gave her 24/7 care. Taking care of my sister was not part of my retirement plan. Her retired son and his family not doing their part has caused a rift between us. Please advise. — Above & Beyond in the South

Dear A & B: What a caring and responsible brother you are. If there are no alternatives, it appears you may be taking care of Maggie until her passing. That her son has shirked his responsibility is disgraceful. (It may also be elder abuse.)

Your sister may be unaware of the fact that some assisted living places DO allow residents to have pets. Maggie might be more amenable to moving if you can help her find one. However, if that isn’t feasible, consider discussing this with an attorney as well as adult protective services.

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com 90069.

Thinking of cruising around French Polynesia with Windstar Cruises? Now, you can add on a stay at Marlon Brando’s private island after your sailing.

Windstar Cruises is launching a new offering in partnership with Pacific Beachcomber, a company that operates seven hotels in French Polynesia. One of those properties is The Brando, a private island eco-resort on the atoll of Tetiaroa with 35 private villas, white sand beaches and a 5-mile-wide lagoon.

Through the collaboration, Windstar guests can now book a two-night stay at The Brando after sailing aboard the Star Breeze, which recently replaced Wind Spirit and doubled the small-ship line’s capacity in the region.

The luxury post-cruise add-on will be available for booking starting May 1. It’s only open to guests staying in Star Breeze’s top suites: the owner’s suites, as well as the Broadmoor and Sea Island suites.

After sailing around French Polynesia with Windstar, guests will disembark the ship in Papeete. Then, they’ll board a small plane for the 20-minute flight to The Brando. While there, they’ll enjoy daily excursions, spa treatments, beach equipment and more. Then, they’ll be flown back to Papeete. Rates start at $6,900 per person based on double occupancy.

“This collaboration not only further enhances our commitment to providing unparalleled luxury and most romantic experiences for our guests in French Polynesia, but also allows us to extend the Windstar experience seamlessly from sea to land, providing our guests with exceptional hospitality throughout their journey,” says Christopher Prelog, president of Windstar Cruises.

The late American actor first purchased the atoll in the 1960s. In 1999, he asked his friend Richard Bailey, chairman of Pacific Beachcomber, to help him develop the property into a resort. Together, the two men began drawing up plans for a luxurious but environmentally friendly haven.

Brando died in 2004, but his family gave Bailey permission to carry the late actor’s vision forward. In 2014, that plan finally came to fruition when The Brando opened to the public. Since then, it’s been a hot spot for celebrities, with guests ranging from Barack and Michelle Obama to Britney Spears and Leonardo DiCaprio.

Since February, Windstar has offered Pacific Beachcomber’s InterContinental Tahiti Resort & Spa in Papeete for pre- and post-cruise stays. During their sailing, Windstar guests can also book a one-night stay in an overwater bungalow at Pacific Beachcomber’s Intercontinental Bora Bora Le Moana as a shore excursion.

“We are delighted to extend a warm invitation to Windstar Cruises’ guests to discover our secluded island havens, including The Brando, an eco-resort unlike any other nestled in the heart of French Polynesia,” says Bailey. “Together, we aim to deeply immerse our guests in the vibrant Polynesian culture and the untouched splendor of our natural surroundings.”

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©2024 Northstar Travel Media, LLC. Visit at travelpulse.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Streaming Friday, March 29, on Apple TV+ comes a revealing two-part documentary about beloved comedian Steve Martin, directed by Oscar winning “20 Feet from Stardom” director Morgan Neville. “Steve! (Martin): A Documentary in 2 Pieces,” is a truly unique documentary project, the two halves distinctly different but fitting together to create an illuminating portrait of Martin and his relationship to fame and creativity.

The first half “Then” tracks his early life, through childhood, the budding of his comedy career, his boundary-pushing stand-up shows, and his meteoric rise to fame in the 1970s, becoming a pop culture sensation through his platinum-selling comedy albums, sold-out tours and many appearances hosting “Saturday Night Live.” The first part ends with Martin’s transition to a film career with “The Jerk,” and his first major stumble with the poorly received “Pennies from Heaven.”

The second half of the two-part film, titled “Now,” follows Martin in the present day, co-starring on the Hulu hit “Only Murders in the Building” with his longtime friend and collaborator Martin Short, living a private life with his wife and young daughter. In contrast to the chaotic frenzy of his life in the 1970s, Neville captures Martin in moments of quiet contentment, biking with Short through Santa Barbara, fixing easy meals on the road, and reflecting on his life. It’s a fascinating and riveting watch, in which the elusive star opens up like never before about the highs and lows of his personal life and career.

But while “Steve! (Martin): A Documentary in 2 Pieces,” is an absorbing watch, it will likely make you want to revisit his filmography, especially the early titles from the late 1970s and ’80s on which the documentary focuses. So here’s a little primer of where to watch some of Steve Martin’s earliest films, as an accompaniment to the doc.

His breakout role was obviously in “The Jerk” (1979), which he wrote and Carl Reiner directed. Martin stars as a simple country boy who heads off for life in the big city. The film was a massive hit and cemented Martin as a star. Stream it on Showtime or rent it elsewhere. In 1982, Martin and Reiner reunited for the noir parody “Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid”

The documentary also focuses on the 1981 flop “Pennies from Heaven,” a 1930s-style movie musical directed by Herbert Ross and co-starring Bernadette Peters and Christopher Walken. Martin in a sincere mode was not warmly received by critics and audiences, and the film explores how that failure was a deep wound for Martin. A fascinating object in his career history, rent “Pennies from Heaven” on all digital platforms.

Of course, there’s the iconic 1986 comedy “Three Amigos!,” which Martin wrote with Lorne Michaels and Randy Newman, directed by John Landis and co-starring Short and “SNL” star Chevy Chase. Stream it on AMC+, The Roku Channel, or rent it elsewhere.

But while he was making these rom-coms, he was also starring as a beloved movie dad, in 1989’s “Parenthood,” directed by Ron Howard, heading up an all-star ensemble cast including Mary Steenburgen, Dianne Wiest, Jason Robards, Rick Moranis, Martha Plimpton, Keanu Reeves and Joaquin Phoenix. Stream it on Netflix. He also starred in the 1991 film “Father of the Bride” opposite Diane Keaton and Kimberly Williams-Paisley (plus Short and a tiny Kieran Culkin). Stream it on Disney+ or rent.

There are so many more fantastic Steve Martin movies, but the documentary will inspire you to revisit these early favorites in his career, so consider this the companion guide to “Steve! (Martin): A Documentary in 2 Pieces” on Apple TV+.

(Katie Walsh is the Tribune News Service film critic and co-host of the “Miami Nice” podcast.)

©2024 Tribune Content Agency, LLC

LOS ANGELES (AP) — In the first nine months of 2023, Sean “Diddy” Combs triumphantly performed at the MTV VMAs, released an R&B album that received a Grammy nomination and was a suitor to buy the BET network.

But several lawsuits filed late last year raised allegations of sexual assault and rape against Combs — one of hip-hop’s most recognizable names as a performer and producer.

The music mogul’s homes in Los Angeles and Miami were searched Monday by federal agents with Homeland Security Investigators and other law enforcement. Officials said the searches were connected to an investigation by federal authorities in New York.

The officials spoke to The Associated Press on conditions of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss details of the investigation. Combs’ whereabouts are unknown but his attorney said Tuesday that the mogul is “innocent and will continue to fight” to clear his name.

“Yesterday, there was a gross overuse of military-level force as search warrants were executed at Mr. Combs’ residences,” said the statement from attorney Aaron Dyer. “There is no excuse for the excessive show of force and hostility exhibited by authorities or the way his children and employees were treated.”

Although Diddy was embroiled in one high-profile business dispute for part of 2023, it was a case filed by his former girlfriend and R&B singer Cassie that opened the door to other claims of sexual violence. Combs has vehemently denied the lawsuits’ allegations.

It is not clear whether the search is related to any of the allegations raised in the lawsuits, which include one from a woman who claims Combs raped her when she was 17.

Here are some things to know about Combs and the investigation.

WHO IS DIDDY?

Combs is among the most influential hip-hop producers and executives of the past three decades. He built one of music’s biggest empires, blazing a trail with several entities attached to his famous name. He is the founder of Bad Boy Records and a three-time Grammy winner who has worked with a slew of top-tier artists including Notorious B.I.G., Mary J. Blige, Usher, Lil Kim, Faith Evans and 112.

The music mogul created the fashion clothing line called Sean John, was associated with a well-known vodka brand and launched the Revolt TV network, which focuses on music and social justice issues targeting African Americans. He also produced the reality show “Making the Band” for MTV.

In 2022, BET honored Combs with the Lifetime Achievement Award for his ability to shape culture through his career.

Combs won Grammys for his platinum-selling 1997 album “No Way Out” and the single “I’ll Be Missing You,” a song dedicated to the late Notorious B.I.G. who was killed earlier that year. He won another Grammy for “Shake Ya Tailfeather” with Nelly and Murphy Lee.

Last year, Combs released his fifth studio album “The Love Album: Off the Grid,” which was nominated for best progressive R&B album at February’s Grammy Awards, which he did not attend. The album was his first solo project since his 2006 chart-topping “Press Play,” which had two top 10 hit singles: “Last Night” with Keyshia Cole and “Come to Me” featuring Nicole Scherzinger.

In 2004, Combs played Walter Lee Younger in the Broadway revival of “A Raisin in the Sun,” which aired as a television adaption four years later. He’s also appeared in films including “Get Him to the Greek” and “Monster’s Ball.”

WHAT SPARKED THE LAWSUITS?

In November, Combs’ protege and singer Cassie sued him for alleging years of sexual abuse including rape. The lawsuit alleged he forced her to have sex with male prostitutes while he filmed them.

Combs and Cassie Ventura began dating in 2007 and had an on-and-off relationship for more than a decade.

The suit was settled the day after it was filed, but the lawsuits against Combs kept coming.

Combs had said in a December statement, “I did not do any of the awful things being alleged.”

In February, a music producer filed a lawsuit alleging Combs coerced him to solicit prostitutes and pressured him to have sex with them. Combs’ attorney Shawn Holley has said of those allegations that “we have overwhelming, indisputable proof that his claims are complete lies.”

Another of Combs’ accusers was a woman who said the rap producer raped her two decades ago when she was 17.

The filings detail acts of sexual assault, beatings and forced drugging allegedly committed in the early 1990s by Combs, then a talent director, party promoter and rising figure in New York City’s hip-hop community.

ANY REPERCUSSIONS FROM THE LAWSUITS?

Last year, Combs stepped down as chairman of his cable television network Revolt amid the sexual abuse allegations against him.

Revolt announced Combs’ decision via social media. It’s not clear if he will ever return to the media company — which said Combs previously had “no operational or day-to-day role” at the network.

“This decision helps to ensure that Revolt remains steadfastly focused on our mission to create meaningful content for the culture and amplify the voices of all Black people throughout this country and African diaspora,” the network said.

The network had been preparing to celebrate its 10th anniversary.

Combs also created an online marketplace called Empower Global that featured Black-owned brands. The website for the curated marketplace is still active, but shows no products being sold.

WHAT HAPPENED WITH DIAGEO?

Earlier this year, Combs withdrew the lawsuit filed last year against Diageo as part of a settlement with the London-based spirits giant.

Combs said the company didn’t make promised investments in Ciroc vodka and DeLeon tequila — two brands Combs promoted in the past — and treated them as inferior “urban” products. He also accused Diageo of racism.

In court filings, Combs said Diageo leadership told him race was one of the reasons it limited distribution to “urban” neighborhoods. Combs said he was also told some Diageo leaders resented him for making too much money.

In legal filings, Diageo accused Combs of resorting to “false and reckless” allegations “in an effort to extract additional billions” from the company.

Combs’ reputation took a serious hit after the lawsuit was filed. Diageo became the sole owner of Ciroc and DeLeon after the lawsuit was withdrawn.

Every time my wife and I have a disagreement, I start thinking about my ex and what life would’ve been like if I had stayed with her. I find myself thinking about her more and more often each day. I know my ex still loves me, although she won’t come out and say it. Is it OK to be in love with one and still love the other? — Lots of Love in Florida

Dear Lots: May I inject a sliver of reality into your fantasy? You say you “know” your ex-wife still loves you although she won’t come out and say it, nor does she answer your passionate letters. I’d say her refusal to communicate sends a pretty strong message that she doesn’t feel the way you do.

I don’t know what is wrong in your current marriage, but if you don’t stop pining over the wife you dumped, you are going to lose this one, too. Counseling may help you accomplish this, and it is what I strongly recommend. Start now.

Dear Abby: We recently moved to a new neighborhood. My 8-year-old son, “Joey,” has become best friends with a classmate, “Paul,” who lives on our street. We know from research we did when we bought our house that Paul’s stepfather, with whom he lives, is a sex offender who committed crimes against children and served time in prison.

Paul has been coming to our house most days, which is fine. However, both Paul and Joey have started asking whether Joey can go play at Paul’s house. I will never allow my son to play there. At some point, the boys will want an explanation, but I don’t think Paul knows about his stepfather’s past, and I don’t think Paul’s mother knows that I know.

If I tell Joey an age-appropriate version of the truth, I am sure he will tell Paul. I don’t think this is how Paul should hear about his stepfather’s past, plus I am concerned it might cause Paul’s mother to get upset and cut off the kids’ friendship. Do you have any advice? — Conflicted in the West

Dear Conflicted: Are you absolutely certain that you have the story right and Paul’s stepdad is a registered sex offender? I ask because I’m surprised that he would be allowed to live in a household with a minor child.

Your concern that Joey might tell Paul about his stepfather is laudable. A way to handle it would be to continue insisting that the boys play only at your house. I do think you should discuss this with Paul’s mother so you know for sure this is what you are dealing with. If it is true, for the next few years use the old, “Because I’m your mother and I said so!” when Joey asks to visit Paul. Eventually, the truth is going to come out, but Paul should hear it from his mother.

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com

In the late 1990s, NBC ran a promotional campaign with the slogan, “If you haven’t seen it, it’s new to you,” aimed at boosting summer reruns of such hits as “Mad About You” and “Frasier.”

Updated for 2024, the line would be, “If you haven’t streamed it, it’s new to you.”

Original series created to drive new subscribers to streaming platforms are showing up more frequently on linear broadcast and cable TV networks. Media companies are looking to expose the programs to broader audiences and fill out their lineups to help pay the freight as they battle to keep pace with Netflix.

This summer, CBS will be running the first season of the Taylor Sheridan crime drama “Tulsa King” starring Sylvester Stallone — a show that was made for streamer Paramount+. You can binge rival Peacock’s new reality series “The McBee Dynasty,” but if you want to kick it old school, individual episodes air weekly on parent company NBCUniversal’s USA Network.

In January, ABC aired the first season of the Hulu hit “Only Murders in the Building,” It performed well enough for the network to plan on airing another season at some point in the future.

The trend runs counter to the perception that viewers looking for non-sports entertainment programming have abandoned linear TV.

It may be true that many younger consumers who have grown up with streaming don’t even own a TV set, which they see as a gadget to bombard their parents and grandparents with pharmaceutical drug commercials all day. But for media companies, linear TV, while on the decline with shrinking ratings and cord-cutting, has turned into a marketing tool that expands public awareness of their streaming shows.

Meanwhile, the streaming businesses owned by legacy media companies such as NBCUniversal parent Comcast Corp., Paramount Global and Disney are all under pressure from Wall Street to generate profits. Turning to linear networks is a means of generating more revenue to help monetize their investments in streaming.

“These companies are hemorrhaging money [on streaming],” said Doug Herzog, a veteran cable and broadcast executive. “None of it is working great. That’s the issue. They are trying things out because that’s what they should be doing.”

Paramount Global Chief Financial Officer Naveen Chopra summed up the approach at an investor conference where he said his company aims to get “the most we possibly can out of every single dollar that we invest in content.”

Executives say viewers can expect to see more original programs created exclusively for streaming services pop up on broadcast and cable channels.

That’s because the broadcast networks have the ability to reach more than 95% of the homes in the U.S. While cord-cutting has reduced the number of homes getting pay TV, major cable networks are connected to about 70 million homes, still more than most subscriber-based streaming services. Peacock, for example, has about 30 million paying subscribers.

Streaming shows can become hits and cultural touchstones, but it’s harder for them to reach the kind of critical mass that big network TV series such as “Friends” once achieved. That’s why the legacy companies are finding that shows already exposed on streaming can pass as original programming on linear TV.

“It’s something we will continue to do because what you see in a fragmented marketplace — as popular as these shows are — there are still people who have not seen them,” said Craig Erwich, who as president of the Disney Television Group oversees ABC and Hulu. “Putting them in different places and telling people they are there is always additive. It’s never cannibalistic.”

With a cast that includes Martin Short, Steve Martin and Selena Gomez, “Only Murders in the Building” is a show with the kind of broad appeal linear TV networks still seek, requiring just a few edits of foul language.

Disney found that half of the viewers who watched “Only Murders” on ABC were not signed up to Hulu, which has almost 50 million subscribers. After the series aired on the broadcast network, viewers wanted more. The hours of viewing for the first two seasons of the program rose by 40% on its original streaming home.

“It was new to a lot of people,” Erwich noted. “It surprises me because the show is so wildly popular in both consumption and critical acclaim that you start to think that everybody who wants to see this has seen it. But it’s a big country and there are many different types of people who want to watch TV in many different types of ways.”

NBCUniversal similarly saw viewers flock to Peacock to watch the second season of the medical anthology drama “Dr. Death,” after episodes from Season 1 aired on NBC. Viewing of the show on Peacock rose 58%.

“Only Murders” came in handy for ABC, as last year’s strikes by Hollywood screenwriters and actors had shut down production for months and cut off the pipeline of fresh programming. But the network was looking for a way to deploy the show well before the labor stoppages became a factor, executives said.

Streaming shows are likely to show up on the networks during the summer months, when repeats can no longer draw a sizable crowd. Rather than investing in original series for a smaller available audience, CBS can turn to a streaming show with a high-profile star such as “Tulsa King,” which features Stallone as a crime boss.

Last week, NBCUniversal’s Peacock unveiled a new serialized reality show, “The McBee Dynasty,” which tells the story of a family ranch and the four brothers vying to take over the business from their patriarch. The entire series is available to stream on Peacock while individual episodes air Monday nights after “WWE Raw” on USA Network.

Funneling the nearly 2 million WWE fans per week into the Peacock series uses one of the most time-honored stunts in the TV playbook.

The notion of a TV schedule where viewers are compelled to make an appointment to watch shows has almost become an anachronism in the age of streaming video on demand. But pulling an audience from one time period to the next remains the most efficient way to drive millions of viewers into sampling a new program, especially following live events or reality competition shows that are best enjoyed by watching in real time.

“The concept of a show-to-show audience flow is real,” said Frances Berwick, chairman of NBCUniversal Entertainment. “There is still a tremendous amount of value in it.”

Bravo aired the first season of the Peacock reality competition “Traitors” ahead of the streaming debut of its second batch. It was an easy fit, Berwick noted, as several of the players on the program come from the Bravo slate of reality shows such as “Below Deck.”

“We’ll do it where it makes sense and we have the right content,” Berwick said.

Most streaming shows making it to linear TV are staying under the same corporate umbrella. But it may be only a matter of time before networks regularly provide a second window for original shows created for platforms that they do not own. It’s already happening.

Fox recently cut a deal with Amazon’s Prime Video to get a broadcast run of the game show “The 1% Club” a week after episodes make their streaming debut. The CW is currently airing the Canadian sitcom “Children Ruin Everything,” which was created for the Roku Channel.

Similar deals and experiments are probably ahead in the effort to get programs in front of enough viewers to build them into profitable assets.

“We’re going to see a lot of creativity,” Berwick said. “Good content is good content.”

©2024 Los Angeles Times. Visit latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Dear Separate:  As a parent, your responsibility is to protect your children. If you feel exposing them to something might be harmful, you are within your rights to keep them away. However, if you are raising your children in a healthy environment, exposing them to your family drama in LIMITED DOSES isn’t likely to be harmful. Afterward, if your relatives behaved badly, use it as a teaching moment. Use them as a “bad example” and point out that in YOUR family, you do not behave that way.

Dear Abby: I am a single man who recently turned 40. I am looking to find a wife who, like myself, has never been married and has no kids. I joined several dating websites, but most of the women are divorced or widowed or have kids.

I just discovered a new dating website for single, never married people. I’m not sure if I should join it, but having a website designed for people like me is a great idea. I have read that 25% of all Americans have never been married. Pew Research just reported a brand-new poll and millions of Americans have never been married, so I am not losing hope. Should I join? — Contemplating in Florida

Dear Contemplating: By all means, explore that new dating site. When you do, expect to meet women who are considerably younger than you. Remember, however, that once you connect, you will have to take all of the precautions that people on other sites do to ensure that you do not get misled. Dating, regardless of how you meet someone, can be risky. I wish you luck.

Dear Abby: I have a neighbor who lives across the street. She’s in her late 70s. We’ve been friendly until recently, when she came to visit with me for coffee. We talked about many different things that day. She had brought me a present and homemade cookies, which was nice.
When I mentioned something that apparently she didn’t like or believe, she stood up, announced that she didn’t come over to feel “uncomfortable” and left in a huff! I emailed her and sent a handwritten apology, but she hasn’t spoken to me since. What should I do with her unopened gift and cookies? I don’t feel comfortable accepting them. — Dazed and Confused

Dear D & C: How sad that your neighbor wasn’t able to tell you what it was you said that made her so uncomfortable she felt she had to end the relationship. (Perhaps you could have straightened it out at the time.) However, her decision seems to have been made, and you will have to accept it. Because you now feel uncomfortable accepting them, return her gift and the cookies.

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com

“I had a playlist of my favorite Aretha Franklin songs, and she’d often start singing along — the only artist I’ve ever worked with who did that,” says Smith, 60, who’s just published “Aretha Cool: The Intimate Portraits,” a collection of his Franklin photos named after that playlist.

“I remember the first time I used (the playlist), the one song comes on and she starts humming along to it, then she starts singing to the song — ‘You’re All I Need to Get By,’ one of my all-time favorite ones. I’m 4, 5 feet in front of her and I kinda forgot where I was and I started singing along with her.

“She stops me — ‘Jordan, baby, don’t sing.’ She said it firmly, actually, but the whole room burst out laughing. Then she starts laughing and the whole time I’m shooting everything. I love the pictures of her laughing that day, full-on, the whole room letting loose. Every time I hear that song, I think of that day.”

Those photos are among the dozens of images, and memories, that populate “Aretha Cool.” It’s a book Smith — who previously published “Sepia Dreams: A Celebration of Black Achievement Through Words and Images” — says he felt a call to create, the impetus coming from the death of Franklin’s longtime companion, Willie Wilkerson, from COVID-19 in April 2020.

“He’s the first person I know who passed from COVID, and I started thinking about how much things had changed, people we lost and the importance of legacy,” explains Smith, who remained close with Franklin until her death in 2018. “I thought: ‘OK. This book must be done. People have got to know about this side of her, from a photographer’s point of view and how it was for me working with her …’ cause there was nobody like her, and nobody’s really talked about or covered this last stage of her life.”

Smith — born in Brooklyn and raised in South Carolina, where his father exposed him to photography — was already a well-established high-end fashion and celebrity shooter when he met Franklin, whose work had appeared in international magazines and advertisements. When the Queen of Soul was looking for a new photographer in 2005, her publicist, Gwendolyn Quinn, recommended Smith, who had just published “Sepia Dreams.”

“I did my research,” he notes, and upon discovering that Franklin favored yellow roses, he sent her some with a note: “Looking forward to a great shoot. Looking forward to meeting you.”

“Then, before I got out there — we were shooting in Detroit — she called me on her phone, from her private number,” Smith recalls. “I’m like, ‘Who is this calling me,’ and then, ‘Oh, snap, it’s Aretha calling me!’ We talked about life, food. She said, ‘No photographer ever sent me yellow roses before.’

“Then we met and had a great shoot in Detroit, and we just kept going from there.”

Smith did make one minor faux pas during that first session, however. “The playlist — this was before I made the Aretha playlist — had Mariah Carey on it, and it looked like (Franklin) wasn’t into it,” Smith remembers. “I asked her who her favorite new artist was, and she said, ‘Me!’ And then I asked her again — new artist — and she said, ‘Me!’ Then it hit me. … Put some of her music on! Of course!”

He went on to photograph Franklin on several occasions, in Detroit and New York — including a hat-oriented shoot following her performance of “My Country Tis of Thee” at Barack Obama’s first inauguration in January 2009. The images over the years were used for promotional and personal use and in a variety of publications and media outlets. They spoke on the phone frequently as well — even after Smith moved to Japan, where his wife is from, eight years ago, which initially made Franklin mad until he promised her “it’s only a flight.”

“A lot of stars are not comfortable being in the camera,” says Smith, who last photographed Franklin in 2014, though subsequent sessions were scheduled but canceled due to her deteriorating health. “There’s a facade that comes up. That’s normal, but she was not that way. She was very real from the jump and you could feel that, and you don’t get that every day with a lot of people, especially in Hollywood.

“She just had this very real feeling about her from the first moment I met her — no pretension, nothing, and I loved that. That made me feel more comfortable and made me feel like being myself. I think that’s what made us get along so well.”

Smith still has the iPod with the Aretha Cool playlist and has posted it on Spotify. Not a day goes by that he doesn’t think about Franklin, he says, and he’s hoping the book gives readers some sense of how special he found her to be.

“I want people to see the other side, the real side of her that I fell in love with,” Smith explains. “She was like an aunt that everybody knows. Everybody has an Aretha in their family. In Black America, we all have an Aretha in our family. I’ve shot so many people, but never felt the connection like I had with her. I’ll always miss her.”

Folks, this week has been one of those bouts. First, it was the new “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” (verdict: too much “heart” and digital mayhem, not enough funny). And now, streaming on Prime Video, we have another ’80s-derived throwback, the “Road House” remake with Jake Gyllenhaal.

The 1989 Patrick Swayze edition, costarring Kelly Lynch, Sam Elliott, Kathleen Wilhoite and, singing along with “Sh-Boom,” Ben Gazzara, was nothing but ridiculous trash. And fun. Calling it “human-scaled” makes the old “Road House” sound as if it took place somewhere on planet Earth, among humans, which isn’t really true. And yet who says we can’t enjoy a sustained feat of complete fraudulence, if the spirit’s right and a movie takes some downtime for love scenes between beat-downs?

The new “Road House” has no time for sex. Compared with the old one, it’s 30 times bloodier and one-third as fun. Still, there are things to recommend it, namely the Irishman.

The action has been relocated from outside Kansas City to the fictional Glass Key, Florida. Screenwriters Anthony Bagarozzi and Charles Mondry establish bouncer Dalton as a suicidal, scandal-clouded Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight with more baggage than Swayze’s Dalton ever lugged. Traveling by Greyhound, Dalton has come to the Florida Keys to take a job at the beachfront bar owned by Frankie (Jessica Williams). She needs a legit set of abs to control her insanely unruly customers and keep the peace.

That Dalton does, violently. Director Doug Liman escalates the bone-crunch melees with propulsive crimson relish, albeit with tons of editing cheats and medium-good digital trickery. The narrative obstacles in “Road House” carry over from the ’89 movie; there’s a corrupt crime family running amok, with Billy Magnussen amusingly detestable as the primary scumbag. Once again, a discreetly smoldering local doctor (Daniela Melchior) patches up Dalton after his initial run-in with the local rabble, and sees this mysterious, courtly stranger as potential date-night material.

The old “Road House” dripped with casually rampant misogyny disguised as examples of the ungentlemanly bad behavior Dalton must vanquish. Most of that ambiance is gone here. So is any trace of actual sensual anything. The central “romance” this time barely registers. Reductively, you could put it this way: Liman’s “Road House” gets the job done, but it’s the wrong job, and the ratios are off. When movie fantasies like this reduce the sexual current between its leads to nil, the emphasis on crazier and crazier brutality starts feeling not just jaded, or bloodthirsty, but a drag.

On the other hand, you know who’s great in this? Conor McGregor, best known as an Irish UFC star, making his feature debut in “Road House” as Knox, the special guest assailant the bad guys hire to dispose of Dalton. McGregor’s a born entertainer, delightfully overripe and dementedly committed to every close-up and every strutting threat of grievous bodily harm. His bare bottom gets a wittily star-making entrance of its own, in a traveling shot that goes so long, it’s basically a “Road House” spinoff.

Gyllenhaal has his moments; he finds some wit in Dalton’s zingers, and in his scenes with the local bookstore owner’s teenage daughter (Hannah Love Lanier), the star gets a pleasant “Shane” vibe going. To be sure, “Road House” succumbs to its own bouts of reductivist critique, or self-critique. At one point the scrappy, baseball bat-wielding kid summarizes the stranger’s arrival in Western movie genre terms: “Local townsfolk send for hero to help clean up the rowdy saloon.” Then she adds: “You know. That crap.”

“Road House” — 2 stars (out of 4)

MPA rating: R (for nudity, violence, alcohol use and foul language)

Running time: 1:54

How to watch: Now streaming on Prime Video

Michael Phillips is a Tribune critic.

LOS ANGELES — If there were a Mount Rushmore of true crime, the faces of Erik and Lyle Menendez would certainly be on it.

The 1989 murder case of the two brothers who gunned down their parents Jose and Kitty Menendez in their Beverly Hills mansion predates the era of podcasting and YouTube sleuths that saturate the internet today. But their sensational trials were inescapable in the 1990s and now resonate with a new generation of obsessives.

The public’s enduring fascination with the case — and the changing perceptions of the brothers’ defense that they were sexually abused by their father — is the focus of “Menendez Brothers: Victims or Villains,” a new documentary series that premieres Monday on Fox News Media’s streaming service Fox Nation.

“It’s the first such case in American media history that was something more than a legal story,” Jonathan Towers, vice president of development for Fox Nation, said in an interview. “It was a form of entertainment.”

The case’s powerful mixture of family dysfunction, money and violence has made it the subject of two made-for-TV movies, an upcoming Netflix series from Hollywood producer Ryan Murphy and a steady stream of documentaries over the years.

It’s easy to understand audiences’ insatiable appetite for stories about the brothers.

Entering the living room of the family’s Elm Drive home on Aug. 20, 1989, the brothers fired 12-gauge shotguns multiple times at their parents, creating a crime scene so blood-soaked even Sam Peckinpah would have looked away.

After telling police that their parents were murdered, the brothers went on a conspicuous spending spree before they were arrested for the crime. At their trials, defense teams said they were driven to kill after years of being physically and sexually abused by their father.

Their first trial in 1993 ended in hung juries. They were re-tried and convicted in 1996 and are serving prison sentences of life without parole at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego.

The first Menendez trial took place when cameras in the courtroom were still novel and cable TV was growing. Courtroom video became programming for Court TV, one of the early signature networks of the then expanding multi-channel universe.

Instead of sketches or print and TV journalism accounts, viewers watched the criminal justice system play out in real time. The shared experience of observing the proceedings made the Menendez brothers ubiquitous. Every facial expression was scrutinized, as “Victims or Villains,” produced by the Los Angeles-based Pilgrim Media Group, depicts with dozens of vintage video clips.

Los Angeles commuters heard KFI radio hosts John Kobylt and Ken Chiampou riff daily on the topic. Network news and tabloid shows such as “A Current Affair” featured the story every night. Loftier venues such as Charlie Rose’s PBS talk show and ABC’s “Nightline” with Ted Koppel weighed in as well.

The Menendez brothers paved the way for the live-from-L.A. legal saga of O.J. Simpson that began in 1994. The televised trial of the actor and former football star for the killing of his wife Nicole Brown Smith and her friend Ron Goldman was such a ratings draw it dealt a blow to network daytime soap operas from which they would never recover.

True crime sagas and court cases went on to become the main source material for network newsmagazines such as “Dateline” and “48 Hours.” They have proliferated on dedicated cable networks such as Investigation Discovery, supplied streaming platforms, and serve as a massive driver for podcasts such as Ashley Flowers’ “Crime Junkie.”

Murdoch family-controlled Fox News Media has turned to true crime to build its Fox Nation streaming business. The platform, which has 2 million paid subscribers, is stocking up on investigative documentaries that can attract a younger audience than that of the company’s conservative-leaning cable news channel.

But what may be the most jarring aspect of “Victims or Villains” is how the Menendez brothers were a source of laughs. They were depicted in sketches on “Saturday Night Live” and spoofed by Jay Leno on “The Tonight Show.” (Both shows lampooned the Simpson trial as well as Leno featured a dancing troupe of Judge Lance Ito lookalikes).

“It is fascinating to see how it was a matter of comedy back then,” Towers said. “It would not be today.”

“Victims or Villains” examines how the media frenzy around the Menendez brothers permeated through the public perception of the case. Their defense was called “the abuse excuse” by some legal pundits and critics.

“Are we on the verge of substituting a talk show empathy for our criminal code?” Koppel asked his “Nightline” viewers.

The documentary also explores how the ridicule the juries and prosecutors were subjected to after the mistrial affected the second trial that ended with a conviction. Those latter proceedings were not televised.

But the public understanding of the trauma sexual abuse can have on children, including among men, has evolved over the years. Various cases involving the molestation of children by members of the Catholic Church, the trial of Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky and actors speaking out about abuse have altered the once-taboo conversation.

Comedian and actor Rosie O’Donnell, a victim of sexual abuse, appears in “Victims or Villains” as an advocate for the brothers and the validity of their claims. She has been joined by the droves of young social media users who have discovered the case.

During the COVID-19 shutdowns, the current iteration of Court TV — a digital over-the-air network owned by Scripps — aired the Menendez trial in its entirety; it is also available via streaming.

Captive viewers tuned in and many took to TikTok to express support for the siblings and their contention that abuse drove them to kill.

The changing public sentiment comes as the current legal team for the Menendez brothers seeks a new hearing based on recently discovered evidence purporting to show their father had also molested Roy Rosselló, when the singer was a 14-year-old member of the boy band Menudo.

The Menendez lawyers contend the new evidence corroborates the brothers’ claims and supports the argument that they should have been convicted of manslaughter instead of first-degree murder.

The doubters remain. Pam Bozanich, a member of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s prosecution team for the first Mendendez trial, has sat for 14 documentary interviews over the years. In “Victims or Villains,” she still maintains the brothers fabricated the story of their father’s abuse.

“The facts in this case are irrefutable,” Bozanich said. “Except for the ones about Jose being a child molester.”

©2024 Los Angeles Times. Visit latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

The news was confirmed to the Daily News by a spokesperson for Max, the HBO-owned streamer behind the New York City-set series.

“It has been a joy to have Karen Pittman play the smart and stunning Professor Nya Wallace on the first two seasons of ‘And Just Like That…,’” the rep said. “As we have thoroughly enjoyed working with this dynamic actress, so too have others.”

While “AJLT” producers and the Broadway alum had every intention of continuing the fan-favorite character into season 3 — with Deadline reporting that Nya had already been written into scripts — “due to her commitments to two other streamer series, it has become apparent that filming three shows at once isn’t possible.”

Pittman, 37, has already been a series regular on Apple TV+’s “The Morning Show” since 2019, and was tapped to star in the upcoming Netflix drama series “Forever,” which is currently in production.

“We are disappointed to announce that scheduling conflicts will not allow us to continue with this character,” the spokesperson added. “Karen and Nya will be missed, and her Max family and fans will all be cheering her on in her other endeavors.”

News of Pittman’s departure comes not long after Sara Ramirez, who starred as controversial character Che Diaz, was allegedly axed from the show for vocally supporting Palestine in the war between Israel and Hamas, according to the Tony winner herself.

Late last year, it was announced that the long-awaited third season won’t hit Max until 2025, presumably due in part to the months-long writers’ and actors’ strikes that left Hollywood on pause for a significant chunk of the year. Though “AJLT” was officially renewed in August, writers only resumed work in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, according to Deadline.

FORT WORTH, Texas — The story of a North Texas couple, who embezzled nearly $17 million from a fruitcake company, is getting a film adaption thanks to actress Jennifer Garner and a Fort Worth, Texas, company.

Deadline has revealed that Garner and Paul Walter Hauser joined “Fruitcake,” a movie about the embezzlement case that rocked Corsicana-based Collin Street Bakery. It is a sordid tale of greed and broken trust that ultimately leads to a nest of diamonds, expensive cars and trips to exotic resorts on private jets.

Hauser is set to play the bakery’s accountant Sandy Jenkins, who embezzled $16.6 million out of the company from 2004 to 2013. Garner will play Jenkins’ wife, Kay.

In 2015, Sandy Jenkins was sentenced to 10 years in prison and died four years later at a Fort Worth federal prison hospital. Kay Jenkins was sentenced to five years probation and to complete 100 hours of community service.

Max Winkler is directing the film that’s based off the Texas Monthly article “Just Deserts.” Trey Selman wrote the script and is a producer on the movie, along with Fort Worth native Red Sanders.

Sanders, who owns and operates local video production company Red Productions, said he’s particularly familiar with the bakery story.

“They pitched the story and I was like, ‘I love that story, I know it well’,” Sanders told the Star-Telegram. “My cousin owns the fruitcake bakery that it happened too and they’re like, ‘Yeah right’.”

Sanders first caught wind of the bakery film adaption at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2017, which he attended as a producer for the movie “One Percent More Humid.”

It was there where Sanders met Winkler, who’s first movie, “Flower,” also premiered at the festival. After reading Selman’s “Fruitcake” script on the flight back to Texas, and having met Winkler, Sanders was all in on the the project.

In May 2019, it was announced that Will Ferrell and Laura Dern had been cast in the project as Sandy and Kay Jenkins. By February 2020, the rest of the cast was formalized.

But it would be all for naught, as the world shut down just weeks later as reports of COVID-19 infections spread and a pall hung across the globe from an enigmatic pandemic.

“We were planning to shoot in summer 2020 and that got totally derailed,” Sanders said.

With the first iteration of the fruitcake story on ice, the tale found new life as a documentary.

Sanders began working with director Celia Aniskovich on a television project titled “Fruitcake Fraud,” which landed on Discovery+ in 2021. While a success for the streamer, Sanders held on to ambitions of giving the story the full big screen treatment.

Things picked up steam last summer when Texas Monthly came aboard, but again, a few weeks later the project hit another brick wall. Both the Writer’s Guild of America and Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) took to the picket lines, pushing the project’s timeline back even more.

After both strikes ended towards the end of last year, work picked up again on “Fruitcake.” This time Garner and Hauser had joined the cast.

“It’s been one of these things of like, ‘Okay, I’m a producer and I’m stubborn. I love this story, I love Trey’s writing in it’,” Sanders said. “This has to be made.”

The “Fruitcake” story is firmly set in North Texas and Sanders said they hope to shoot the movie in the same place.

With Garner and Hauser on board, the next step in the filmmaking process is finalizing the rest of the cast and applying for production incentives. Like many states, Texas offers tax incentives such as cash grants for productions that film in state.

After being approved for incentives, the project would move into pre-production and eventually begin shooting.

“Just because you say you’re gonna film in Texas doesn’t mean that you’re approved for incentives,” Sanders said. “We gotta see if we’re actually approved.”

If the production does end up shooting in North Texas, Sanders said they’ll aim to hire workers from the area. A boon for two local entities, the Fort Worth Film Commission and Tarrant County College, who had partnered on a new training program last fall. Their mission: Grow film-related jobs in the region. Students can gain certifications in construction, lighting and electric work.

For anyone looking to work on productions filming in North Texas, whether that be on “Yellowstone” creator Taylor Sheridan’s numerous shows such as “Landman,” or on “Fruitcake,” Sanders said enrolling in the program is the way to go.

“If we are to shoot here, we’ve got to make sure that the workforce continues to grow here,” Sanders said.

©2024 Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Visit star-telegram.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

McDonald’s comments came during an interview on Audacy’s 92.3 The Fan on Friday, and while he was hesitant to reveal the news “because I don’t want to be a liar,” he said, sources close to the matter confirmed to Deadline that the film is being developed for Netflix.

“I saw Adam about two weeks ago, and he says to me, ‘McDonald, you’re gonna love this,’” the 69-year-old actor revealed in his interview. “I said, ‘What?’ He says, ‘How about that,’ and he shows me the first draft of Happy Gilmore 2.”

“I thought, ‘Well, that would be awesome.’ So, it’s in the works. Fans demand it, dammit!” McDonald added.

Sandler and his Happy Madison Productions, which gets its name from a combination of “Happy Gilmore” and another 90s Sandler comedy “Billy Madison,” have had a long-standing agreement with Netflix, which led to him being Hollywood’s highest-paid actor last year.

The 57-year-old “SNL” alum earned roughly $73 million acting in and producing three films in 2023: “You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah,” “The Out-Laws,” and “Murder Mystery 2.”

When Sandler released “Happy Gilmore” in 1996, the film grossed over $82 million worldwide and has become one of his most popular films in the years since.

In addition to co-writing the film, he starred as the film’s main character, a down-on-his-luck hockey player with a temper, who discovers a hidden talent for golfing.

The news of the supposed sequel comes just one month after the death of actor Carl Weathers, who starred alongside Sandler in the film as Chubbs Peterson, a golf coach who once had his hand bitten off by an alligator.

Neither Sandler nor Netflix have commented yet on the reported “Happy Gilmore” sequel.

ATLANTA — Michael Mauldin, one of the forefathers of Atlanta’s hip-hop scene and father of Jermaine Dupri, is suing one of Dupri’s proteges over the use of the phrase “Scream Tour.”

In a 45-page lawsuit filed last week in the Northern District of Georgia’s United States District Court, Mauldin is accusing Shad Gregory Moss, better known as Bow Wow, for copyright infringement.

In the lawsuit, Mauldin claims that Moss, “willfully infringed on Mauldin Brand’s common-law trademark rights in the SCREAM TOUR Trademark in connection with goods and services similar to Mauldin Brand’s, without Mauldin Brand’s consent, despite being aware of Mauldin Brand’s prior rights.”

Mauldin claims that under “common law,” he’s used the name for tours since 2001. He had previously sent Moss a cease-and-desist letter that Mauldin said the rapper ignored.

“(Moss’) actions are likely to cause confusion among the trade and consuming public, thereby causing irreparable harm to Mauldin Brand,” the lawsuit reads.

When reached on Friday, Mauldin, a record executive and the chairman of the Black American Music Association, said he was not available then to talk about the lawsuit.

Mauldin’s musical career dates back to the 1970s when he worked with Atlanta’s foundational soul band, Brick. He went on to work with Sister Sledge, Cameo and the SOS Band before turning his attention to the burgeoning rap scene. In 1984, he was the producer of the New York Fresh Fest, the monumental first-ever major rap tour that featured Run DMC, the Fat Boys and Whodini, as well as preteen dancer Dupri.

Dupri went on to start So So Def Records and launch or assist in the careers of Kris Kross, Mariah Carey and Janet Jackson.

Bow Wow is an Atlanta-based rapper and actor who was a child superstar in the early aughts as a signee to Dupri’s So So Def Records. He’s starred in cult classics like “Roll Bounce” and “Like Mike.” Bow Wow’s representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Last fall, Dupri and Bow Wow performed together during the BET Hip-Hop Awards for a tribute to So So Def.

Mauldin said in the lawsuit that since 2001, Scream Tours “have been highly successful in attracting, cultivating, and promoting teenage and young adult music performers in the music industry.”

He listed several performers who have commanded his stages, including T-Pain, Ne-Yo, T.I., Chris Brown and Moss, who performed at the age of 14 at the first Scream Tour in 2001.

In 2022, the lawsuit claims that Moss helped produce what was called the Millennium Tour and subsequently started using Mauldlin’s phrase to promote it across his social media platforms. The lawsuit also states that Moss sold items marked as “Scream Tour.”

“Moss is not currently affiliated with, sponsored, or licensed by Mauldin Brand to use the SCREAM TOUR Trademark in connection with products and services identical or similar to the Mauldin Brand Services,” the lawsuit states. “Moss has not obtained permission to use or license the SCREAM TOUR Trademark, or any other marks or designs confusingly similar thereto, for use on or in connection with any goods or services, including the Infringing Goods and Services.”

Atlanta Journal-Constitution staff writer DeAsia Paige contributed to this story.

©2024 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Visit at ajc.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

“I really don’t want to make my life a tabloid,” the 43-year-old model told the New York Times in an interview published on Friday. “I don’t want to open myself up to all of that,” she added, but addressed the cheating rumor by bluntly stating, “That is a lie.”

Bündchen had been married to Brady for 13 years before their split in 2022, and both have been photographed on apparent dates with new people in the years since. But the seven-time Super Bowl champion, now 46, has not been subject to the same cheating allegations as his ex-wife.

“This is something that happens to a lot of women who get blamed when they have the courage to leave an unhealthy relationship and are labeled as being unfaithful,” Bündchen said in the interview. “They have to deal with their communities. They have to deal with their family. Of course for me, it just happens to be a little bit amplified.”

The former Victoria’s Secret Angel did confirm that she is now seeing Valente and admitted that it’s the first time she’s dated someone who started out as her friend.

She described the budding relationship as “very honest, and it’s very transparent.”

Since her divorce, Bündchen has moved out of the mansion she shared with Brady in “Billionaire’s Bunker” in Miami and purchased her own residence just a short drive across the water, in Surfside, Fla.

The new environment, she said, is similar to her hometown of Horizontina, Brazil, where she remembers growing up and observing her mother’s hard work around the house.

“My mom — she’s superwoman to me. She’s a warrior,” Bündchen said of her mother, Vania Nonnenmacher, who died of cancer in January at the age of 75.

Now, Bündchen is trying to set the same example for her kids, 14-year-old Benjamin and 11-year-old Vivian. She’s been doing many of the chores around the house herself, including making breakfast for her children, she explained.

She’s even created her own cookbook, set to be released March 26: “Nourish: Simple Recipes to Empower Your Body and Feed Your Soul,” which will feature 100 of her favorite recipes.

In a recent Instagram video, Bündchen called the process of making the book, “a work of love,” adding, “of all of the things I’ve done, it’s completely different.”

Three years ago, I learned they have a group chat with two of the other women and have gotten together outside of work and didn’t include me. What bothers me most is they laugh and talk in front of me about the funny memes and videos they send each other.

I’m tired of being excluded, and I don’t understand why they have done it. We all get along, so I’m not sure why this is happening. Any advice on what I should say or do? — Apart in Illinois

Dear Apart: Folks are entitled to socialize (or not) with anyone they would like after work. However, to treat you the way they have been seems insensitive, bordering on rude, and you have every right to say so the next time it happens. It may lead to a “difficult” discussion, but you have a right to tell them how it affects you. Do not depend upon your co-workers to be personal friends, which may not be possible. I encourage you to cultivate social relationships outside the office from now on.

Dear Abby: I am 34 and recently found out I have started menopause. I knew it might come early for me because most of the women in my family began in their 30s and were done by 50. I have no biological children and now probably never will. I guess I waited too long for the right time, the right person, etc. I was always careful to use birth control when I became sexually active and never left it up to my partner.

I am now having a hard time coping with this feeling of loss. I know I shouldn’t be grieving something I never had, but I find myself tearing up thinking about it. I’m angry at myself for missing out on it. I have been married to a wonderful man for almost two years, but we have been together for 10. I wanted to be married and financially stable before having children.

I feel like I’m being punished. My poor husband takes the brunt of my frustrations and anger, which isn’t fair, and I apologize when it happens, but I find myself slowly drifting into isolation because of it. I don’t know what to do anymore. I’m sad, angry, frustrated and empty. I wish I had an answer or anyone who understands to just hear me. Any advice? — Grieving in Oregon

Dear Grieving: Your feelings are understandable. It’s time to seek counseling for help to stop blaming yourself or your husband and cope with your feelings of sadness, anger and frustration. Once that is done, it may be time to consider your options for fulfilling your maternal instincts. These include fostering, adoption, surrogacy and volunteer mentoring. Please consider them.

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com

“It feels validating in a way,” Coleman told the Herald. “I never have to think, ‘How would a 35-year-old feel about x, y, and z,’ because I’m pulling from personal experience.”

“Company,” which plays April 2 – 14 at Citizens Opera House, revolves around Bobbie’s birthday party and her friends’ endless questions about her finding a partner and settling down. Nearly plotless, the action in the musical comedy unfolds as the couples she’s friends with play out vignettes while Bobbie tries to make sense of modern marriage, bachelorhood, and life.

“I resonate a lot with how Bobbie presents in social situations because, in every scene, the moments she is having with these couples aren’t centered on ‘just another day at the office,’ ” Coleman said. “There is something unique that’s happening with each couple. Like, the first scene, with Harry and Sarah, all the sudden has them doing jiu-jitsu in the living room.”

“Bobbie has to be supportive of what’s going on with her friends, and has to keep cool and calm on the surface,” she continued. “You see that a lot and it allows Bobbie to eventually interpret everything, digest everything, through her own songs.”

In Sondheim and Furth’s original 1970 production, Bobbie was Robert — and the show was a smash,  nominated for a record-setting 14 Tonys, winning six. This revival, also a hit and Tony winner, switches the gender of the protagonist and a few other characters. Actors and audiences have found the changes pull the piece forward into today.

“Looking at that original material, there’s nothing obtusely masculine in George Furth’s writing,” Coleman said. “That’s why it lends itself to having genders swapped so easily… I’ve done quite a few revivals and the ones that have a fresh take and perspective and still does the material justice have been more successful.”

Sondheim himself loved the changes to reflect the contemporary. Before he died in 2021, Sondheim worked with director Marianne Elliott around the revival’s revisions.

“He was around a little bit in New York and we got to see him and he told us ‘Thank you,’ so many times and I thought, ‘What? We should be thanking you,’” Coleman said. “With Sondheim, he writes about the full human experience. I love how he asks questions of the audience, especially in ‘Company.’ It makes ‘Company’ very malleable.”

Coleman loves spending so much time with Bobbie. And she does spend a lot of time with the character — Bobbie leaves the stage for only a flash during the duration of the show. The character also gets whole songs, long moments in the spotlight, to herself.

“It’s me fully alone on stage, no set, and I get to just assess what is happening,” she said of those songs with a laugh. “Touring, these theaters are so much bigger than what we did on Broadway, twice as big. The first thing I thought of was that I’m going to have some very, very vulnerable moments on stage fully alone, so alone in front of so many people. It’s a little daunting, a little terrifying, but it’s certainly a dream.”

For tickets and details, visit boston.broadway.com

Well, Valerie has now renewed contact with my spouse through letters and emails, reestablishing old ties. I have asked her to not let Valerie back into our lives. I’m upset that she has accepted contact after how Valerie treated me. My spouse hasn’t addressed Valerie’s behavior, and at the time of the incident, I was asked to just let it go, which I did.

Now that Valerie has resurfaced, contacting only my spouse and addressing cards only to my spouse, it’s clear the “game is on” once again. My spouse has not supported my feelings and refuses to acknowledge Valerie’s rudeness during that luncheon visit.
I do not want to be friends with this person. My spouse has made clear she intends to remain in contact with this person and is not going to bring up “old dirt” with her. Am I wrong for asking her to forgo this friendship and not let this person back into our lives? — Unacknowledged in Oregon

Dear Unacknowledged:  No, you are not wrong. Ask your spouse why she is nurturing a relationship with Valerie and, if she would like to end your relationship, to please say so now because you feel threatened by what Valerie is doing. It’s honest, and if your fears are true, it is better to know now.

Dear Abby: I’ve been seeing a man for about a year. For the most part, we get along fine. We spend a lot of time together, and he professes his love for me. His intentions are to be together forever, although there has not been a proposal. I think I could continue this relationship indefinitely.

There’s just one thing: I’m not physically attracted to him. He is presentable and well-groomed, but it can’t compensate for the fact that he is homely. I am, to put it plainly, a beautiful woman. I have always dated “in my league.”

I am trying hard not to be shallow, but this bothers me greatly. Sometimes I’m just disgusted. I know we’ll both age, but until then, he’ll still be ugly. I do have feelings for him, so should I try harder to overlook his defects? — Torn About Him in Nevada

Dear Torn: No! For both your sakes, please don’t do that. The man you are writing about deserves someone who is more focused on inner qualities than you seem capable of. Forcing yourself to like him should not be necessary. Because this bothers you so much, do both of yourselves a favor and let him go.

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com