Celebrity Scoop – 07/22/2019

KATY PERRY TESTIFIES IN COURT FOR ‘DARK HORSE’ COPYRIGHT TRIAL – (07/22/2019)

Katy Perry took the stand on the first day of her copyright infringement trial for her song, “Dark Horse,” featuring Juicy J.

Perry is being sued by Christian rapper Flame, real name Marcus Gray, who says “Dark Horse” uses the underlying beat from his song “Joyful Noise” featuring Lecrae. In her testimony Thursday, Perry said that herself and the song’s creators, which include Dr. Luke, real name Lukasz Gottwald, Max Martin, Juicy J and Sarah Hudson, had never heard of “Joyful Noise” or of Gray before the lawsuit.

“I could perform it for you live,” Perry said after her attorneys encountered technical difficulties with playing “Dark Horse” in the courtroom.

Da Truth, real name Emmanuel Lambert Jr., who co-wrote “Joyful Noise,” also took the stand and said the track was a hit in the Christian music scene and was widely available on platforms such as YouTube. Perry’s attorney said that there is no evidence that “Joyful Noise” was widely distributed and that it defied “common sense that “her clients would have heard it due to the song’s obscurity. She also argued that the underlying beat is too common and short to be copyright protected. The trial is slated to pick up again on Tuesday.

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Full Story: People

JUSTIN BIEBER URGES DONALD TRUMP TO SAVE CHILDREN IN ICE DETENTION CENTERS AFTER HELPING A$AP ROCKY – (07/22/2019)

Justin Bieber is asking for Donald Trump’s help after he showed support for A$AP Rocky.

Bieber took to Twitter to first thank Trump for his efforts to help A$AP, who is currently imprisoned in Sweden. Justin’s comments took a turn when he asked Trump to also help the thousands of children trapped in ICE detention centers at the border.

“I want my friend out.. I appreciate you trying to help him. But while your at it @realDonaldTrump can you also let those kids out of cages?” Justin tweeted.

Trump has yet to respond.

Last week, a 32-page report from the House Oversight Committee’s staff said the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy was “more harmful, traumatic and chaotic” than previously known and resulted in the separation of migrant children from their families between April and June 2018.

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Full Story: USA Today

ED SHEERAN’S ‘NO 6 COLLABORATIONS PROJECT’ DEBUTS AT NO. 1: Ed Sheeran’s new album No. 6 Collaborations Project has debuted in the top spot on the Billboard 200 album chart. The new album moved 173,000 equivalent album units, making it the largest week of the year for a pop album by a male artist. It also marks the biggest week in total album sales by a solo male artist since Shawn Mendes’ self titled album in June 2018. Ed knocked J. Cole’s Revenge of the Dreamers III album from No. 1 to No. 3, with Billie Eilish’s When We Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? staying put at No. 2. Rounding out the top five are Lil Nas X’s 7 at No. 4 and Chris Brown at five with Indigo.

KEVIN SMITH OPENS UP ABOUT REPAIRING RELATIONSHIP WITH BEN AFFLECK – (07/22/2019)

After not talking for “nearly a decade,” Ben Affleck and Kevin Smith have reunited. Filmmaker Smith recruited Affleck, 46, for the upcoming Jay and Silent Bob Reboot, a sequel to 2001’s Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, in which he also starred. (But also to Smith’s entire oeuvre, including Chasing Amy, in which Affleck starred as well).

At Comic-Con, Smith, 48, shared a sweet selfie of the pair and opened up in a caption about the happy ending to a long estrangement. 

In Reboot, Affleck will reprise his role as Holden from Chasing Amy, but the scene that Smith now dubs “magical and life-affirming” almost didn’t happen.

“When we started shooting the movie, the scene didn’t exist. This scene — and more importantly, my reunion with a guy who I’ve missed terribly for nearly a decade — only happened because of [entertainment journalist Kevin McCarthy],” Smith revealed.

It happened because Affleck was recently asked in an interview if he was involved in Reboot. “Ben said no, but he was available,” Smith wrote.

Smith says he figured he wasn’t serious, but he still “finally” reached out.

“I was scared to be rejected, but I texted him, ‘To paraphrase the sad old King Osric in Conan the Barbarian? There comes a time when the jewels cease to sparkle, when the gold loses its luster, when the throne room becomes a prison, and all that is left is a director’s love for the people he used to make pretend with,’” Smith said. “And after a long beat of wondering how he’d receive this, my estranged friend wrote back as only he could: ‘Of course you still liken yourself to a king,’ he joked. And then ‘Would be a pleasure to see you again, Old Man.’ “

“So naturally, weepy me — who breaks down emotionally during comic book flicks —  was a blubbery mess,” Smith wrote. “Not only did we score an amazing scene for the flick, but I also got my friend back — all because of entertainment journalism.”

Smith added, “It … brought back a massive missing piece of my heart.”

While the full story behind their estrangement is unclear, a Twitter user asked them in November and Smith responded: “If I had to guess? It’s because one of us has a big mouth and told too many candid stories that sometimes weren’t his to tell, and the other one is Ben.”

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