People: Kesha fans deliver petition to Sony, ask it to drop Dr. Luke
Fans of the pop star Kesha on Friday called on Sony to cut ties with the producer she has accused of raping her.
About 35 Kesha fans gathered outside Sony’s Manhattan headquarters to deliver petitions with more than 411,000 signatures demanding that the label release Kesha from her Sony recording contract and drop the producer, Dr. Luke.
Armed with signs that said “Free Kesha Now,” the group chanted “Do the right thing!” and “People over profits!” Protesters also danced to Kesha’s songs.
The hit-making producer, born Lukasz Gottwald, is not charged with any crime.
He says Kesha fabricated her story about being drugged and raped a decade ago to get out of her recording contract.
Friday’s hourlong rally comes a month after a Manhattan judge denied the “Tik Tok” singer’s initial request to be released from her contract.
The hearing led to an outpouring of support from celebrities, including Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga.
‘Dog Whisperer’ Millan says animal cruelty claim misguided
An anti-cruelty complaint that sent authorities to “Dog Whisperer” Cesar Millan’s rehabilitation center has been blown way out of proportion, the dog trainer said Friday.
The complaint was started online and based on footage from Millan’s television show “Cesar 911,” in which a French bulldog-terrier mix named Simon chases a pot-bellied pig and nips its ear, making it bleed. The complaint is misguided because it was a happy ending – the pig was fine and the dog was rehabilitated, Millan said.
Animal control officers and sheriff’s deputies visited his ranch Thursday, but no action was taken. In a telephone interview from Iowa with the Associated Press, Millan said when he got back from his speaking tour, he would cooperate fully with both departments.
The dog trainer who television made famous said he has used the same technique to help aggressive canines hundreds of times. The training involves getting the dog together with the animal it doesn’t like (whether it is another dog, a cat or a horse) so the two can learn to get along.
Millan was working with an aggressive dog named Simon, who was attacking his owner’s pet pot-bellied pigs. A promotional clip on National Geographic’s website showed Simon chasing a pig and biting its ear.
A new clip was released Friday showing the full context of the encounter said Chad Sandhas, senior director of talent and media relations for National Geographic Channels.
The pig was tended to immediately, healed quickly and showed no lasting signs of distress, Sandhas said.
The extra clip reveals “Cesar and his animal pack effectively helped Simon to overcome his aggressive behavior toward other animals; as a result, Simon did not have to be separated from his owner or euthanized,” he said.
“This is not the first time (Millan) has used bait animals,” Breitner wrote in the petition. “This is wrong!”
Leader of Eagles of Death Metal apologizes for comments
Eagles of Death Metal frontman Jesse Hughes has apologized for suggesting that security guards at a Paris concert venue were complicit in the assault by Islamic militants there in November that left 89 people dead.
Hughes told the Fox Business Network last week that six guards at the Bataclan venue never came to work the night of the attack, and “it seems rather obvious that they had a reason not to show up.”
On Friday, Hughes apologized: “I humbly beg forgiveness from the people of France, the staff and security of the Bataclan, my fans, family, friends and anyone else hurt or offended by the absurd accusations I made.”
“My suggestions that anyone affiliated with the Bataclan played a role in the events of November 13 are unfounded and baseless – and I take full responsibility for them,” he said in a statement.
The band’s performance at the Bataclan concert hall was turned into a bloodbath when suicide bombers stormed in as part of near-simultaneous attacks on cafes and a stadium around Paris.