PEOPLE
LAS VEGAS — O.J. Simpson is suing a Las Vegas hotel-casino that banned him in November 2017, alleging that unnamed employees defamed him by telling a celebrity news site he had been drunk, disruptive and unruly.
Simpson, on parole in Nevada for a 2008 conviction for armed robbery and assault with a weapon, filed the lawsuit Thursday against Nevada Property 1, owner of the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.
The complaint acknowledges Simpson, after several hours with two friends at a steakhouse and a lounge in November 2017, received a notice from a security guard as they left. It prohibited him from returning to the Las Vegas Strip property. He says he was never given a reason.
Cosmopolitan spokeswoman Rachel Henry declined comment.
The lawsuit was first reported by the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
FAIRFAX, Va. — Free press advocates in Virginia are concerned that a libel lawsuit between Hollywood actors Johnny Depp and Amber Heard could set a bad precedent.The Virginia Press Association asked Friday to intervene in a $50 million lawsuit Depp filed against Heard, his ex-wife. Depp says he was defamed by an op-ed piece Heard wrote in The Washington Post in December 2018, in which she never identified Depp by name but referred to herself as a “public figure representing domestic abuse.”Depp has denied abusing Heard and said the article clearly refers to earlier allegations Heard made.The press association argued Friday in Fairfax County Circuit Court that the case could set a bad precedent for cases involving “defamation by implication,” a category of claims that includes Depp's lawsuit and which the press association says should be only be applied very narrowly.Judge Bruce White, though, barred the press association from filing any briefs outlining its position. He said his job was to apply the law as it exists without considering the association's policy concerns.The trial is scheduled to begin in February.
LOS ANGELES — The Producers Guild of America will honor Octavia Spencer for her work behind-the-camera at its 2020 awards show.Spencer, who was among the producers of last year's best picture Oscar winner “Green Book,” will receive the Visionary Award at the Producers Guild Awards on Jan. 18. Spencer also served as an executive producer on horror film “Ma,” released earlier this year.
