Six (alleged) rogues and Kevin Bacon
It's an all TV/movie star edition!
the true crime that's worth your time
Before we get to the celebrities, there’s our weekend consumption to discuss. First, I’m so sorry I even mentioned The Watcher in last Friday’s “what true crime are you on about this weekend?” item. Sarah covered all my complaints and more in this week’s Extra Hot Great podcast; the “and more” comes in because I got so bored by the second episode I spent most of it on Facebook Marketplace looking at ugly coffee tables. I guess when you put out as much content as Ryan Murphy does there’s bound to be some duds, but this show’s dud-ery is epic.
I’m hoping for better luck this weekend when I sit down to the newest season of Unsolved Mysteries. Netflix released three episodes this past Tuesday, as you know, and more are promised in coming weeks. I see that one of the cases on deck is Tiffany Valiante’s death, which has intrigued me for a while — the soon-to-graduate senior was struck by a commuter train in 2015 in what officials say was a suicide, while her family says she was murdered. (Sorry, Elon.)
So that’s my true-crime weekend, that and actually being at home with my husband for the first time since early September (long story!). As the World’s Best Spouse I have restrained myself from watching any of our shared shows or starting on the new season of American Horror Story (Murphy, again!) so I suspect much of my TV-watching will be of the untrue crime variety. What about you? — EB
Consider this a pre-month’s-end budget-cleanup cleanup, with a star-studded theme. Our link list has a preponderance of Oscar winners, big-budget tentpoles and formerly beloved sitcom stars on it this week, I’m afraid.
Only two of the seven boldfaced names in this roundup aren’t being accused of anything, and of those, one of them still carries the weight of verified misconduct in the past. And now today’s subject line is starting to make sense, isn’t it? Anyway, here’s a bunch of actors whose work feels a lot less fun to watch these days, and Kevin Bacon.
Kevin Spacey Denies Anthony Rapp Sex Abuse Claims, Says Father Was a “White Supremacist and a Neo-Nazi” [Hollywood Reporter]
This headline is from earlier in Spacey’s civil trial, which he won this week, but I hung onto it because it details some of the bizarre remarks Spacey made while testifying, like that he was only listening to management when he didn’t push back on Rapp’s claims when they were first made. (Did your management advise you to do those bizarre Christmas Eve videos, sir?)
From CNN on the case’s dismissal:
CNN Legal Analyst Joey Jackson saw Thursday’s verdict as a huge win for Spacey, one that demonstrates a jury can tune out the noise involving a celebrity’s alleged reported misdeeds in the Me Too movement and evaluate a case based on the facts presented in court.
Spacey still faces several other cases, including criminal charges in the UK. — EB
Ezra Miller: The Flash actor pleads not guilty to burglary [BBC]
Miller appeared remotely at Monday’s arraignment, and will return to court on Jan. 13. Meanwhile, rumors of debatable validity started swirling that UK actor George MacKay is in talks to take over the role of The Flash from Miller, who reportedly participated in reshoots for The Flash (expected release date: June 2023) just last week. — EB
Comedian Andy Dick Arrested for Burglary at Vacant Santa Barbara Home [Santa Barbara Independent]
Andy Dick’s faced slews of charges and allegations since he rose to fame in the 1990s — in fact, more than once I’ve heard his name invoked in conversations about Miller’s struggles. Like Miller, Dick allegedly entered a home that wasn’t his and took stuff. Unlike Miller, he apparently posted video from the home to Instagram…
… and was “allegedly found trying to flee with tools” from the residence. Dick was arrested and remained in jail for at least a week; he’s pled not guilty and his public defender said that they “are confident additional facts will come to light supporting Mr. Dick as this case moves forward.” — EB
Two Women Who Said “That ’70s Show” Actor Danny Masterson Raped Them Were Pressured By Scientology To Stay Quiet, Prosecutors Said [Buzzfeed]
The first of three women who accused That ’70s Show actor Danny Masterson of rape took the stand this week; her description of the alleged assault, as recounted by the AP, is harrowing.
Along with the alleged pattern of abuse by the actor, it’s striking how much of the criminal case revolves around Scientology. Per the AP,
All three of Masterson’s accusers were members of the Church of Scientology at the time they say they were raped, but have since left. Masterson remains a member. Judge Charlaine Olmedo said before the trial that she would not allow Scientology to become a de facto defendant, but would allow limited discussion of it.
Before the woman took the stand Wednesday after beginning her testimony Tuesday, the judge warned her not to stray too far into discussions of the religion, an issue she had already admonished Deputy District Attorney Reinhold Mueller about.
Scientology still came up. The woman testified that some of her mutual friends filed so-called “knowledge reports” signaling their unhappiness with her after she told them about the initial incident with Masterson, and she was summoned by an ethics officer who forced her to make peace with him and take responsibility.
It’s a matter made even clearer in Buzzfeed’s report (I mean, that headline…)
During an afternoon recess, a visibly frustrated Olmedo admonished the attorneys to abide by the rulings she issued earlier this month, saying that Mueller couldn't bring up Scientology so freely while questioning the witnesses about their lives and that Cohen didn't have to object every single time the church was brought up.
"This trial is not going to be inundated with Scientology," the judge said. "I need both of you to abide by my ruling, and if you don't do that, I will start excusing the jury every time I need to admonish one side or the other."
After the jurors were dismissed for the day, Cohen requested a mistrial, citing J.B.'s statements during direct examination as unfairly prejudicial to Masterson.
"The jury has been told from Day 1 that Masterson’s a Scientologist," he said. "The jury has now been told ... that Masterson and his religion look down upon those ... that are not of the same religion."
A lot of the claims made by church leaders’ reactions to alleged victim reports on Masterson strike similar notes to the slews of news reports and docs we’ve seen in recent years regarding claims within many other more mainstream religions, so the eggshell-walking around Scientology raises my brows a bit. When a priest is on trial for molesting a bunch of kids, are prosecutors told not to mention Catholicism too much? It’s an odd thing we’re seeing here. — EB
Mel Gibson can testify at Harvey Weinstein sexual assault trial, judge says [AP]
First I should apologize to Gibson, as when I saw that headline I assumed he’d be testifying on the convicted rapist/movie producer’s behalf. But he’s not: Gibson says his masseuse told him Weinstein raped her in a 2015 exchange, which prosecutors say proves that the alleged victim didn’t make up the assault later on.
Actor Daphne Zuniga (of Melrose Place fame) will do the same for another victim, so it’s not like Gibson is the only celeb who’ll offer second-party testimony; he is, however, under greater scrutiny over his own woes, which include a widely-publicized racist voicemail and a DUI arrest during which Gibson made a number of anti-Semitic remarks.
From the AP:
Weinstein attorney Mark Werksman then argued that if Gibson does take the stand, the defense should be allowed to cross-examine him about widely publicized antisemitic remarks Gibson made during an arrest in 2006, and about racist statements to a girlfriend that were recorded and publicized in 2010.
Lench said a wider discussion of Gibson’s racism was not relevant to the trial, but she would allow questioning of whether he had a personal bias and animus toward Weinstein.
Werksman argued that Gibson had such a bias both because Weinstein is Jewish, and because Weinstein published a book that criticized the depiction of Jews in the Gibson-directed 2004 film, The Passion of the Christ.
“Any evidence of Mr. Gibson’s racism or antisemitism would give rise to a bias against my client, who challenged him,” Werksman said.
If all goes as planned, opening statements in Weinstein’s L.A. criminal trial will begin on Monday. — EB
Cuba Gooding Jr. Will Serve No Prison Time After Plea in Sex Abuse Case [New York Times]
Gooding pled guilty to a single count of harassment, after prosecutors said that at trial, they were hoping to present testimony from 19 women who came forward with allegations against the actor after his case hit the headlines.
“The decision of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg to allow Mr. Gooding Jr. to walk away with a deal, which allows him to avoid trial and erases any criminal record, is an insult to many of the accusers,” Gloria Allred said. The plea deal means no jail time (he was sentenced to time served); he still faces multiple civil cases, including one that claims he raped a woman at the Mercer Hotel in 2013. — EB
Kevin Bacon explains how he lost ‘most’ of his fortune to Bernie Madoff: ‘There’s obvious life lessons there’ [CNBC]
I’ve saved the least odious for last, so you walk out of here with a decent taste in your mouth (I hope it worked?). Long long ago, when I’d fill in for Sarah’s coverage of The Following on Previously.tv, I’d think about Bacon and wife Kyra Sedgwick’s (then just rumored) Madoff-ing — why else do that dumb, dumb (but kind of fun, right, Sarah? [“Poe Head and I had some laughs” — SDB]) show?
A zillion years later, Sarah and I still occasionally crack “Madoff” at each other about the beloved actor’s less prestigious decisions, but it’s said without malice: we’ve all taken jobs to pay the bills, and when your savings is stolen, you have to take even more.
I don’t typically listen to the Smartless podcast, as hosts Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, and Sean Hayes in combination serve significantly more smugness than I can tolerate. I made an exception for this episode, though, and was struck by how actualized and generally…OK Bacon was as he discussed the crime, saying, “I think people will be not happy to hear me whining about money.”
Certainly, you get angry and stuff, but I have to say that there were a lot of people who were much worse off than we were … Old people, people whose retirement funds were completely decimated. There's always gonna be somebody that's gonna have it a lot worse than you.
Bacon hasn’t ever said how much he lost to Madoff in the 2008 scandal, and the various suits against Madoff also don’t appear to specify (and believe me, I’ve checked). Between Bacon and Sedgwick, though, I’m sure they had a significant nest egg — the cash from The Closer alone might be more than most of us will ever see. — EB
Next week on Best Evidence: The Good Nurse, the Essex-lorry case, and whether Skye Borgman ever sleeps.
What is this thing? This should help. Follow Best Evidence @bestevidencefyi on Twitter and Instagram. You can also call or text us any time at 919-75-CRIME.