Following is a summary of current entertainment news briefs.
A century after debut, UK music store HMV makes Oxford Street return
British music store HMV on Black Friday returned to its former flagship store on London’s Oxford Street after a four-year absence, offering vinyl, clothing and merchandise in a vote of confidence for physical stores in an increasingly online age. The 363 Oxford Street address hosted the very first HMV store in 1921, opened by composer Edward Elgar, and was central to the development of British popular music and culture. Pop band Madness reopened the store on Friday.
Chinese court rejects Canadian pop star Kris Wu’s appeal
A court in China’s capital Beijing on Friday denied the appeal of Chinese-born Canadian pop star Kris Wu, who was sentenced to 13 years in prison for crimes including rape. The former member of K-pop group EXO returned to China in 2014, where he built a lucrative career. In 2017 Wu made his Hollywood debut in the film “XXX: Return of Xander Cage”.
BRIT Awards double nominees for gender-neutral categories, add R&B prize
Britain’s pop music honours, the BRITs, has doubled the number of nominees for its gender-neutral categories, organisers said on Friday, after an outcry over an-all male list of best artist contenders at this year’s awards. Both artist of the year and international artist of the year will count 10 nominees from next year, up from five.
Rio police investigate Taylor Swift concert organizers after fan’s death
Rio de Janeiro’s police said on Friday they have opened an investigation into the organizers of the Brazilian leg of Taylor Swift’s “The Eras Tour” for the death of a 23-year-old fan who fell ill at the show last week. The police will investigate whether entertainment firm Time for Fun (T4F) committed the crime of endangering human life or health. Fans and concert-goers said they had been banned from entering the venue with bottles of water despite the extreme heat in the city which hit 59.3 degrees Celsius (138.7 degrees Fahrenheit) on the day of the event.
Actor Jamie Foxx accused of sexual abuse in New York lawsuit
Oscar-winning actor Jamie Foxx was accused of sexual assault in a lawsuit filed in New York City on Wednesday that alleges he groped a woman at a rooftop bar and restaurant in Manhattan in August 2015. The plaintiff, identified in the complaint only as Jane Doe, said the assault occurred in a secluded corner of the Catch NYC rooftop lounge after she and a friend had approached the film star and had their pictures taken with him.
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs accused of 1991 sexual assault in second suit
Sean “Diddy” Combs has been accused of drugging and sexually assaulting a university student in 1991 in a lawsuit filed in a New York court on Thursday, the second suit of its kind filed against the hip hop mogul in the past week. The complaint against Combs was among a flurry of lawsuits filed this week against public figures under New York state’s Adult Survivors Act, ahead of the expiry of a special one-year window for such complaints. The law allows such lawsuits to be filed in court even if the statute of limitations have run out.
(With inputs from agencies.)
