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Michael Jackson’s Niece, Brandi, Says In Interview Wade Robson Is Lying About Sexual Abuse, That “GMA” Cancelled Interview with Her

Roger Friedman
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Michael Jackson’s Niece, Brandi, Says In Interview Wade Robson Is Lying About Sexual Abuse, That “GMA” Cancelled Interview with Her

Brandi Jackson, niece of Michael Jackson, gave an interview today to podcaster John Ziegler in Los Angeles. She says that Michael’s accuser, Wade Robson, was her boyfriend for seven years. Brandi, daughter of Jackie Jackson, insists that Robson is lying about being abused by Jackson, and that he’s doing it for money.

The interview, below, is a good listen, and Brandi is compelling. I will warn you that when she’s asked by Ziegler if her motivation is money– from the Jackson estate, etc, she says no. But to be fair, Jackie Jackson is the only one of Michael Jackson’s brothers who’s worked for the Estate to make piece within the Jackson family. Ziegler may or may not know that.

But Brandi is believable. She is clearly furious with Robson. She says they had a semi-platonic relationship as teens, and finally consummated the relationship around age 18. At the same time, she says, Robson was doing choreography for Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake, and that he slept with Spears. That broke up Brandi and Wade. It ended Wade’s relationship with Timberlake, who is said to have written “Cry Me a River” about their teen soap opera.

Also, Brandi says two major networks cancelled interviews with her, including “GMA.” This might be because her story doesn’t fit the narrative of Michael being a pedophile.

You can start the Ziegler interview at the 14 minute mark. There’s a lot of intro up to that point. But this is something to think about, certainly.

PS There’s a Daily Mail interview with Brian Oxman, who was never Michael Jackson’s lawyer. Just skip it. Oxman was disbarred after Michael’s trial. It looks like he gave or sold copies of a deposition to the Daily Mail. Even though he defends Jackson, he is not a legit source for anything. I watched Tom Mesereau fire him in the parking lot at the Santa Maria courthouse after he fell asleep in court!

Marvel-ous! “Captain Marvel” Scores $61.3 Mil Thurs-Fri Opening, First Marvel Film with Female Lead Should Break $150 Mil Weekend

Roger Friedman
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Marvel-ous! “Captain Marvel” Scores $61.3 Mil Thurs-Fri Opening, First Marvel Film with Female Lead Should Break $150 Mil Weekend

Brie Larson should be feeling pretty good this morning.

Marvel’s first female led super hero movie, “Captain Marvel,” made $61.3 million last night. That includes $20 mil from Thursday previews.

By Sunday Marvel will have at least $150 million in the bank. And a new franchise spread over the next six or seven years.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T for Aretha Franklin on the West Coast as Clive Davis Screens Tribute Special for Joni Mitchell, Neil Sedaka, Berry Gordy, Diane Warren, Beverly Johnson

Leah Sydney
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R-E-S-P-E-C-T for Aretha Franklin on the West Coast as Clive Davis Screens Tribute Special for Joni Mitchell, Neil Sedaka, Berry Gordy, Diane Warren, Beverly Johnson

Clive Davis held an intimate dinner party last night at the Sunset Tower to celebrate and preview his already much heralded CBS special  “Aretha: A Tribute” which airs this Sunday night at 9 pm.  Clive explained his take on the special.  “I’m particularly proud of this, not only does it do great justice to Aretha it also reminds us of what great voices mean to the future of music as the hip hop revolution more and more dominates. Let us not forget the history of great voices.  Each artist performing at the Shrine in January gave the performances of their lives. Feel free to go with it, with whatever emotions you feel.”

Rickey Minor, the Musical Director,  told me that “Working with Clive is always inspiring for me because he cares deeply.  He introduced me to Aretha over 20 years ago. I told her then, ‘I work for you. That’s how I work.’  And we lasted.  I produce, arrange, conduct and direct.  Anything I can do to add value to what is there. With this honor to Aretha, all I had to do was support these artists and get out of their way.”

The powerhouse artists included Yolanda Adams, Shirley Caesar, Alessia Cara, Brandi Carlile, Chloe x Halle, Kelly Clarkson, Common, Celine Dion, Fantasia, Jennifer Hudson, Alicia Keys, John Legend, Patti LaBelle, Janelle Monae, SZA and BeBe Winans.

Clive was joined by his devoted friends including quite a group: the legendary singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell, the legendary record producer Richard Perry,  the legendary creeator of Motown, Berry Gordy and his daughter Sherry, the legendary pop star and composer Neil Sedaka, plus a slew of A listers including 10-times Oscar nominated songwriter Diane Warren, Beverly Johnson, Barbara Davis, Nancy Davis and Ken Rickel, Grammy honcho Neil Portnow, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Suzanne De Passe, HBO’s Glenn Whitehead and Jeff Guthrie, record producer Harvey Mason Jr., writer David Wild, Nikki Haskell, producer Roger Birnbaum, Apple’s Larry Jackson and Stephanie Shepherd, Clive’s son Producer Mitch Davis, (another of Clive’s sons Doug Davis is a Producer on the show) and the maestro Executive Producer of the special Ken Ehrlich.

Whew!

Clive noted poignantly of his dear friend Aretha that, “She was the one timeless, pure artists that knowing and feeling with a sense of history she will be listened by countless generations to come.  Aretha stood all of us on our ears.”

Love Rocks: Robert Plant Sings Led Zep, the Heart Sisters Reunite, Lukas Nelson Almost Steals the Show, and Charlie Rose is in the Audience

Roger Friedman
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Love Rocks: Robert Plant Sings Led Zep, the Heart Sisters Reunite, Lukas Nelson Almost Steals the Show, and Charlie Rose is in the Audience

The third annual Love Rocks concert at the Beacon Theater was notable for many things: Robert Plant singing Led Zeppelin with Sheryl Crow, Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart patching up their family feud, Willie Nelson’s Lukas appearing like a star, and Charlie Rose in the audience.

Martin Short and Bill Murray were the hosts, a laid low Whoopi Goldberg was absent, but Paul Shaffer happily played second banana on stage, and Chevy Chase actually made a cogent appearance.

The all star concert benefits the vital NY group, Gods Love We Deliver. They say they made $100,000 last night, but I’m not sure why it wasn’t more. It seems like they should have made 10 times that. But that’s another story. John Varvatos and Greg Williamson, the brains behind this amazing gathering, have started a great new New York tradition.

SNL/Letterman guitarist Will Lee led an all star band that consisted of Steve Gadd, Larry Campbell, Eric Krasno, Shawn Pelton, Jeff Young, and the reliable Mr. Shaffer. The back up singers included Elaine Caswell and Chrissi Poland. There was an outstanding horn section. The band was so good they could have gone right into a recording studio and started making hits. They almost didn’t need the main stars.

But they were there, oh yes. Buddy Guy, aged 82, and Taj Mahal, a mere 76, were off the hook as they say. With BB King gone, and others retired, these two must be put in Zip Loc bags and stored carefully. Same for Mavis Staples, who was partnered with Irish pop singer Hozier. They looked like Rocky and Bullwinkle. Hozier had a knockout version of Jackie Wilson’s “Higher and Higher.” The audience loved his 4 year old hit “Take Me to Church.” But his new song, I couldn’t figure it out.

Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart is who I waited for. They’d had a family dispute and weren’t talking for a while. I’m glad they patched it up. You can’t go to your grave until you’ve heard “Crazy on You” live. I’m sorry, this is true. Ann Wilson’s voice is a national landmark. She should really make an album of Grace Slick rock songs. Nancy Wilson is still wailing away on guitar, and bringing in that Spanish classical sound. Loved them.

Robert Plant. Okay, Robert Plant. There’s no more Led Zeppelin, and he makes these sleepytime records with Alison Krauss. He and a lively Sheryl Crow– who kicked the audience out of their lull with “If It Makes You Happy” and “All I Wanna Do”– people sang all the words– performed “Black Dog.” Except this Black Dog didn’t bite, it was a service dog for petting. Robert has become an actual plant. (I saw the Zep in ’74. He used to be a Venus Fly Trap.)

Plant finally woke up on the Zep’s “Thank You” (not the Dido song, thanks Setlist.fm) and reminded us that he wasn’t always an interpreter of Fifties warbling. Again, the band, I don’t know how they did it. They played behind Billy Gibbons on “Foxy Lady” and behind Ivan and Cyril Neville. There was also a singer I’ve never heard or seen named Alice Smith who was so outrageously good, she was like Roy Hobbs in “The Natural” or the late Sharon Jones when she made her debut at 40. Who is she? Why isn’t she a star?

It was quite a night. I’d prefer a little more R&B. But the audience dictates the direction– UWS. mostly white, gray hair, bald spots, everyone has Warner Bros. vinyl records from 1973 at home. All we were missing was Bonnie Raitt and Boz Scaggs. Maybe she’ll come next year. I don’t mean this in a bad way at all. As the ensemble closed with Dave Mason’s “Feelin’ Alright” (where was he?), Grace Potter (who should have hits, dammit) peeled the music off the ceiling, and a slight smell of pot wafted through the air, I had an acid– or was that just GERD– flashback and headed for the door.

PS

Text DELIVER to 41444 to donate. Especially now, in the cold, when a lot of people can’t get out.

Roseanne Barr Concert Tour of 5 Dates in May Have to be Cancelled: Almost All Seats Available

Roger Friedman
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Roseanne Barr Concert Tour of 5 Dates in May Have to be Cancelled: Almost All Seats Available

I told you last winter that Roseanne Barr had book four dates in May to do her stand up comedy show. There were two in Indiana, and one in Pennsylvania and North Carolina each.

Since then, she’s added the Fox Theater in Detroit.

Only one problem: the tickets have not sold in any venue. Almost all the tickets are still available for May 2 in Raleigh, NC; May 4 at Penns Peak; May 16 in Ft. Wayne; and May 17 in Detroit. Plus there’s a fifth show May 17 in Elkhart, Indiana.

Alas, according to ticketcharge maps and the online box office for the Lerner Theater in Elkhart, 80% of the seats have gone unsold. There’s some balcony seats gone at each venue, but by and large, even crazy, conservative, right wing fans are uninterested.

And it’s not like it’s overpriced. You can see Roseanne for $35 bucks in most places, $25 if you don’t need to be right up front.

But I’d start looking for cancellation announcements soon. These theaters need to sell tickets. Maybe Carrot Top is available.

“Empire” Star Jussie Smollett Indicted in Chicago on 16 Felony Counts for His Claims of False Attack

Roger Friedman
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“Empire” Star Jussie Smollett Indicted in Chicago on 16 Felony Counts for His Claims of False Attack

“Empire” actor Jussie Smollett has been indicted by a Chicago grand jury on 16 felony counts for making his claims of a false racial attack. The charges are for disorderly conduct for filing a false police report. Each charge carries a sentence of 4 years probation.

As we all know by now, Smollett said he was attacked outside his Chicago hotel on January 29th by two men who he said poured a chemical on him and yelled racial and anti-gay slurs at him. He said they wore red MAGA hats.

It turned out, after weeks of back and forth, that he’d staged the attack himself, including put a noose around his neck. Earlier, he’d sent a threatening letter to himself at the “Empire” studio which he thought no one took seriously.

The motive, it’s alleged, was money. Smollett didn’t think he was being paid enough for “Empire.”

Ironically, it was “Empire” creator Lee Daniels and Danny Strong who were first to jump to Smollett’s defense after the attack.  Their level of shock and disappointment must be very high.

Smollett, 29, had everything: a hit acting career, a singing career that he was launching, and hot prospects post-Empire. It remains a mystery how he self-destructed. It will be very hard for him to re-establish a career. “Empire” is in the process of writing him out of the show now.

Smollett has pleaded not guilty to all charges and posted a $100,000 bond to be released.

“Captain Marvel,” Scores $20 Mil in Previews, First Female Led Marvel Movie Heads to Massive Opening Weekend

Roger Friedman
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“Captain Marvel,” Scores $20 Mil in Previews, First Female Led Marvel Movie Heads to Massive Opening Weekend

DC Comics had a blockbuster in “Wonder Woman.”

Now Marvel Comics movies has one coming in “Captain Marvel.”

The Brie Larson-starring movie scored $20 million in previews last night. The projections now are in the $150 million range for Friday through Sunday including last night.

That’s a big chunk of change considering a B plus like ranking of 85 on Rotten Tomatoes. The movie had a lot of naysayers trying to kill it (not sure why). But early indications are that didn’t matter.

If “Captain Marvel” turns out to be a $500 million movie. it will have an asterisk sort of connection to “Bohemian Rhapsody,” which made over $700 million. The stars of both movies, Brie Larson and Rami Malek, started out in a film few have ever seen called “Short Term 12.” They’ve each won Oscars in lead roles since then.

Daniel Destin Cretton directed “Short Term 12,” which made just $1 million in 2013.  Cinedigm, a digital company, distributed it. Another star was Lakeith Stanfield, who was such a hit this year in “Sorry to Bother You.” I think the casting directors for “Short Term 12”– Kerry Barden, Paul Schnee, and Rich Delia– deserve a prize of some kind.

Good News! Whoopi Says She’s Much Better, Had Pneumonia in Both Lungs and Was Septic: “I came very close to leaving this good Earth”

Roger Friedman
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Good News! Whoopi Says She’s Much Better, Had Pneumonia in Both Lungs and Was Septic: “I came very close to leaving this good Earth”

Good news. Whoopi Goldberg sent a video in this morning that was played on “The View.” She says she had pneumonia in both lungs. “I came very close to leaving this good Earth.” She sounds raspy but looks good and that’s the main thing. Keep getting stronger, Whoopi!

Julianne Moore Throws Her Hat in the Ring for 2020 Oscars as “Gloria Bell” Opens with a 100% Rating

Roger Friedman
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Julianne Moore Throws Her Hat in the Ring for 2020 Oscars as “Gloria Bell” Opens with a 100% Rating

Weren’t the Oscars like a week ago? Didn’t Olivia Colman win Best Actress?

Oh, that was so 2019.

Today Oscar winner Julianne Moore opens in “Gloria Bell,” a movie with a rare Rotten Tomatoes score– a 100%.

I haven’t seen it because distributor A24 only 1 screening opportunity this week. Oh well.

Other reviewers who did get to see it praised Moore and co-star John Turturro, as well as director Sebastián Lelio, who remade his own 2013 Chilean film for Americans.

Even Anthony Lane from the New Yorker, who dislikes everything regular people like, sent glowing notices:  “For the millionth time, the female of the species is let down by the male, and that’s that. The genius of Moore, though, is how plausibly, and how patiently, she fills the spaces of ordinary living.”

So one Best Actress spot seems to be taken, and it’s only March 8th. Maybe we should have a mid year Oscars in September for the early films of the year!

Whoopi Goldberg’s Mystery Illness Causes Her to Miss Hosting All Star Charity Show, She’s AWOL from “The View” for a Month

Roger Friedman
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Whoopi Goldberg’s Mystery Illness Causes Her to Miss Hosting All Star Charity Show, She’s AWOL from “The View” for a Month

What has happened to Whoopi Goldberg?

Last night she missed hosting the all star Love Rocks NYC charity rock concert at the Beacon Theater. No announcement was made until after the show–featuring two dozen rock stars– began.

This comes as Whoopi has now missed a month of shows for “The View.” Her last appearance was on February 6th. During the week leading up to the Oscars, which were on February 24th, her disappearance was credited to the rumor that she’d be hosting the show. But Joy Behar explained that Whoopi had pneumonia, and couldn’t host her own show let alone the Oscars.

Now two more weeks have passed, and Whoopi still MIA. I spoke yesterday with a former associate who’s kept in touch. That person led me to believe that Whoopi “is improving,” that she’s definitely been felled by pneumonia, and that the Oscar winning actress and “View” captain was “finally back home.” The implication is that Whoopi had been in the hospital.

Last night, Whoopi’s hosting duties at Love Rocks were taken by Martin Short, Bill Murray, and Paul Shaffer, with a surprise appearance by Chevy Chase. Love Rocks president Karen Pearl asked everyone to send good wishes for Goldberg’s recovery.

We can only hope that everyone is right– that Whoopi got hit by a bad strain, that she’s on the road to recovery and that we’ll hear from her soon. We’ve heard of pneumonia being surprisingly bad this year. Kim Porter, the mother of Sean Puffy Combs’ children, succumbed to it last November.

You know, we take Whoopi Goldberg for granted because she’s on TV every day and she’s outspoken. But she’s comic genius. Her original live, directed by Mike Nichols, was one of the greatest theatrical experiences.  Her turns in “The Color Purple,” not to mention “Ghost.” are some of the best movie performances ever. Let’s all of us keep her in our thoughts.

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