Entertainment
Judge orders Britney Spears’ father to depose, produce documents
A judge ruled that pop-singer Britney Spears’ father, Jamie Spears, must sit for a deposition and produce all documents that are being requested by the pop star’s team.
According to Variety, the judge ordered Spears’ father to be deposed within the next 30 days in Los Angeles.
Judge Brenda Penny ordered Spears’ father to produce all documents related to electronic surveillance.
This move favours the singer, and indicates that the court believes it has reason to further inquire into shocking allegations that Jamie Spears had hired a security firm that put his daughter under surveillance throughout her conservatorship, with allegations of monitoring her phone and bugging her bedroom to record her private conversations.
Prior to the judge’s ruling on these motions, Jamie Spears’ attorney, Alex Weingarten, asked the judge to give his team access to documents from the singer’s team to help prepare for his client’s deposition, reports Variety.
“It’s a deposition. Not an ambush,” Weingarten said in the courtroom, before Judge Penny ruled against his request.
The hearing at the Los Angeles Superior Courthouse was heated with fiery debate among Weingarten and the pop star’s attorney, Mathew Rosengart.
Wednesday’s hearing marked a big victory for the singer, who has been fighting against her father in a continuous legal battle ever since her conservatorship was terminated last year.
Spears was put under a court-ordered conservatorship in 2008 by her father, who acted as her sole conservator for most of the 13 years.
After more than a decade of fighting against the arrangement, Spears’ father was suspended by the court in September 2021, and the conservatorship was ultimately terminated in November 2021. Despite the singer’s newfound freedom, her legal team’s battle has remained messy with no resolution from either side.
Still on the table after Wednesday’s hearing is whether the singer will be deposed by her father’s team.
The judge nearly reached a decision on that matter, first giving a tentative order to deny Jamie Spears’ motion to depose his daughter, but then decided to continue the motion, asking the attorneys on both sides to present their arguments to the court on why the singer should or should not sit for a deposition, ahead of the July 27 hearing.
“You don’t sit down a victim for a deposition to be deposed by the victimiser,” Rosengart argued in the courtroom, telling the judge that sitting for a deposition would be “re-traumatising” to the singer.
Last month, Weingarten filed documents on behalf of Jamie Spears, requesting to depose his daughter, in light of her social media posts. Rosengart blasted the request, calling it a “revenge” and “sham”.
In court on Wednesday, Weingarten said that having Spears sit for a deposition is par for the course, since she is a party in the case.
Rosengart firmly disagreed, arguing that Spears’ father should have all the information he needs, given that he was the one who was running her conservatorship and making decisions about her life.
“Ms. Spears was in a conservatorship for 13 years that was run by her father,” Rosengart told the judge.
“Mr. Spears is the individual who has documentation and first hand knowledge. Mr. Spears and the documentation serve as the evidence. Ms. Spears has no knowledge or documents,” Rosengart continued, telling the judge that she is the victim in this situation.
“She’s not the accuser. She’s not the alleger,” he said. “Ms. Spears is not a plaintiff here. Ms. Spears is not a defendant here.”
Rosengart told the judge that his client’s father is only filing motions to “drive up fees,” instead of letting his daughter “move on with her life.”
“She is free, and Mr. Spears wants to suck her back into the conservatorship” for “improper, immoral reasons,” Rosengart said.
At one point, pleading with the judge to allow his team to depose the pop star, Weingarten said that “unfortunately” there are documents under seal and “court orders regarding” the electronic surveillance.
“Based on what I know,” he said, “I suspect that Ms. Spears will be a treasure trove of information.”
Weingarten said that if the judge decides the singer does not have to sit for a deposition, her father will not have his “fair day in court.
The attorney said he is being held to a “different standard” than other parties in the case, based on “unproven allegations.”
“I appreciate that it’s en vogue to trash Jamie Spears,” Weingarten told the judge “But he has rights in this country, you’re innocent until proven guilty.”
“You do not put a victim back in front of the victimiser. It’s the wrong thing to do,” Rosengart shot back.
“That would be wrong, whether my client was Britney Spears or Jane Doe.”
“The mere deposition itself is harassment,” Rosengart told the judge.
Rosengart has been fighting against Jamie Spears and the singer’s former business manager, Tri Star Sports & Entertainment, ever since he was retained by Spears in summer 2021.
He has accused the company of “stonewalling” his attempts to obtain information for his client, refusing to cooperate and avoiding deposition. Spears’ legal team said they have been requesting to depose the elder Spears for nine months, and claimed he has evaded those requests. At Wednesday’s hearing, Judge Penny moved in favour of the star, agreeing that her father has failed to appear for his deposition.
Earlier this month, in bombshell court documents, Rosengart claimed that his client’s father and Tri Star were in cahoots to create the conservatorship and reap the benefits by taking millions of the superstar’s hard-earned money, rather than looking out for her best interest, which they deny.
Rosengart claimed that Tri Star was directly involved in creating the conservatorship and received at least $18 million throughout it.
Lawyers for Tri Star denied these claims, stating, “As all the evidence makes abundantly clear, the conservatorship was set up on the recommendation of legal counsel, not Tri Star, and approved by the Court for more than 12 years.”
Spears’ father and Tri Star have denied all claims of improper behaviour, despite been the subject of damning accusations. While the surveillance allegations have largely focused on Spears’ father and Black Box, the security team he was alleged to have hired, Tri Star has been at the centre of extensive claims of financial mismanagement.
A report in the New York Times alleged the star was under surveillance from a security team hired by her father and that Tri Star was involved in monitoring the singer’s phone.
At the time, a lawyer for Tri Star told Times, “These allegations are not true.” Earlier this month, Weingarten filed a sworn declaration from Jamie Spears, denying having any awareness of his adult daughter’s private bedroom being bugged or authorising surveillance of the pop star.
“I am informed of the allegation by Britney’s counsel that a listening device or ‘bug’ was placed her bedroom as surveillance during the conservatorship,” the declaration stated.
“This allegation is false.”
Weingarten did not speak to members of the media after the hearing on Wednesday, but outside of the courthouse, Rosengart told reporters that his client wants to simply “move on.”
“Mr. Spears, if he loves his daughter, as he professes he does, should leave her alone,” Rosengart told reporters, including Variety.
“He should get on with his life, instead of continuing to litigate against his daughter.”
Entertainment
Bagheera OTT Release Date: When & Where To Watch Sriimurali’s Superhero Film
Bagheera is a superhero film starring Sriimurali in the lead role. The film was released in theatres on October 31, 2024, and it received positive reviews from critics and audiences. The film had a worldwide box office collection of Rs 29 crore and it emerged as the highest-grossing Kannada film of 2024. It is streaming on OTT.
Where to watch Bagheera?
The film is streaming on Netflix. The Kannada language film is written and directed by Dr Suri.
What is the story of Bagheera?
The film centres around a young boy named Vedanth, who aspires to be like Superman and sees him as a symbol of hope. However, he eventually decides to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a police officer like Prabhakar, his father. Years later, after successfully passing the exam, Vedanth joined the police force. One day, he organises a police operation that leads to the arrest of several gangsters.
However, he is shocked to discover that the criminals are released due to the corruption of high-ranking officers. He also learns that his father is also a corrupt officer. However, his life turns upside down when he discovers that a girl died by suicide because she was sexually assaulted. After the incident, Vedanth decides to seek justice. He wears a superhero costume and becomes Bagheera, a vigilante who indiscriminately kills wrongdoers. But, when a CBI officer named Guru commands his team to apprehend Bagheera at all costs, will Vedanth be able to protect his true identity?
Cast and production of Bagheera
Bagheera features Sriimurali as IPS Vedanth Prabhakar and Bagheera, Rukmini Vasanth as Dr Sneha, Prakash Raj as Guru, a CBI officer, Achyuth Kumar as Prabhakar, Rangayana Raghu as Narayana and Sudha Rani as Vedanth’s mother, among others. It is produced by Vijay Kiragandur under the baneer of Hombale Films.
Entertainment
Maharashtra Elections 2024: Salman Khan Casts Vote Amid Heavy Security In Mumbai’s Bandra
The Maharashtra Assembly elections 2024 are taking place today, November 20, 2024, and Bollywood actor Salman Khan stepped out in Mumbai to cast his vote. Photos and videos of the actor have surfaced on the internet, which show him surrounded by heavy security.
The Kick actor cast his vote at a polling booth in Mount Mary Convent High School in Bandra West. Khan was seen wearing a grey T-shirt, paired with denim jeans, and wore a black cap.
Earlier today, Salman’s parents, Salim Khan and Salma Khan, made their way to the polling booth on Wednesday afternoon, surrounded by a team of bodyguards.
Bollywood
Kangana Ranaut’s Emergency To Finally Hit Theatres In 2025, New Release Date Announced For 4th Time
It will indeed be a happy new year for actress Kangana Ranaut as her much-hyped film, Emergency, will finally see the light of the day in 2025. After several setbacks, delays and controversies, the film is now all set to hit the silver screens on January 17, 2025.
Kangana took to her social media handles on Monday to announce the new release date of Emergency. “17th January 2025 – The epic saga of the nation’s most powerful woman and the moment that altered India’s destiny. #Emergency – Unveils Only in cinemas on 17.01.2025! (sic),” she wrote.
In the poster, Kangana can be seen acing the ‘Indira Gandhi look’, along with Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talapde, Vishak Nair and Milind Soman. While Kher will be seen essaying the role of JP Narayan, Shreyas will play Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Vishak Nair grabbed eyeballs as Sanjay Gandhi in the trailer, and Milind Soman will play Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw in the upcoming film.
This is the fourth time that the makers have announced a release date for Emergency. The film was first supposed to release in November 2023, but it was then pushed to June 2024. The film was once again postponed to September 6, 2024, however, just days before the D-day, the Censor Board refused to grant the film a valid certificate.
Several Sikh bodies objected to certain incidents shown in Emergency and moved court, stating that the film will show their community in a negative light. Taking in cognizance their plea, the CBFC did not give the censor certificate to Emergency, forcing the makers to push the film indefinitely.
It is to be noted that Emergency is even more special for Kangana as it marks her debut as a director. The film also stars Mahima Chaudhry, Satish Kaushik, and others in key roles.
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