Business

02 Jun 2023

iHeartMedia’s 30% Gain Leads Music Stocks This Week Amid Robust U.S. Jobs Report

Shares of iHeartMedia jumped 30.5% to $3.12 this week, making the radio giant the best-performing stock on the Billboard Global Music Index. The company gained 25.3% on Friday (June 2) without any clear signal — such as an SEC filing or earnings release — to drive such a sharp movement. On Thursday, CEO Bob Pittman told The New York Post that “radio is as strong as ever” and is not in competition with streaming services like Spotify. “The consumer uses us both,” he said. iHeartMedia’s share price is down 49.1% year to date.

The Billboard Global Music Index increased 1.3% to 12,47.74 overall this week, as 11 of the index’s 21 stocks finished in positive territory. Korean music company HYBE was unchanged, while the remaining nine stocks posted losses between 0.9% and 4.2%. The index has gained 6.8% year to date. 

Stocks closed the week on high notes following a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics jobs report that showed non-farm payroll employment increased by 339,000 in May. Although the music industry is experiencing a rare series of layoffs and notable tech companies like Meta continue to downsize, the jobs market has remained strong in the face of inflation and higher borrowing costs following a year of interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.

The S&P 500 gained 1.5% on Friday, bringing its one-week increase to 1.8%. The Nasdaq composite gained 1.1% on Friday and closed 2.0% higher on the week. Overseas, the United Kingdom’s FTSE 100 index fell 0.3% this week while Korea’s KOSPI index improved 1.7%.

Madison Square Garden Entertainment (MSGE) was the only other stock on the Billboard Global Music Index that showed a double-digit gain, with shares gaining 14.4% to finish at $40.09. On Wednesday, Macquarie initiated coverage of MSGE with a $43 price target and an “outperform” rating; speaking with the TD Ameritrade Network on Friday, Macquarie analyst Paul Golding noted the company’s “high-quality assets that are very well known in the largest market in the country” and “desirable assets” for concerts and tours. 

Outside of the Billboard Global Music Index, radio company Townsquare gained 16.9% this week, bringing the company’s year-to-date improvement to 44.7% despite a soft advertising market that has hurt most radio stocks. K-pop company JYP Entertainment, home to Stray Kids and Twice, steadily rose throughout the week to close at 128,700 KRW ($98.53) on Friday, up 13.2%, for a year-to-date gain of 89.8%. JYP announced on Wednesday that it expanded its partnership with Imperial and Republic Records to help market and promote its music in the United States.

02 Jun 2023

Indie Rockers OK Go Settle Cereal Lawsuit With Post Foods

The band OK Go has reached a confidential settlement to end a bizarre legal battle with Post Foods over a new line of on-the-go cereal packages called “OK Go!”

Just months after OK Go — a power pop band best known for its viral music videos — vowed to fight back against a “big corporation” that “chose to steal the name of our band to market disposable plastic cups of sugar to children,” attorneys for both sides asked a Minnesota federal judge to dismiss the lawsuit permanently, with each side paying their own legal bills.

The filing said that the two sides had “settled this action on terms agreeable to all parties,” but did not include specific terms of the agreement in public court records, like whether the band would be paid or if Post would change the brand name. Neither side immediately returned requests for comment on Friday (June 2).

The settlement will resolve an unusual legal dispute that pitted a pop band against a multinational food company, asking the question: Will consumers who see a portable snack package of Fruity Pebbles on a supermarket shelf think that a band with a similar name had endorsed it?

The fight started in September when an attorney for the band sent a cease-and-desist letter warning Post that OK Go was “surprised and alarmed” to see Post’s new product line. He claimed the name infringed the trademark rights to the band’s name since it would “suggest to consumers that OK Go is endorsing Post’s products,” or falsely imply that the cereal company had received permission to use it.

“Our client regards this matter with the utmost seriousness and has authorized us to take all steps necessary in any venue to protect its rights,” OK Go’s attorney wrote in the September letter. “If we do not hear from you within 10 days of the date of this letter, we will assume that Post does not wish to resolve this matter amicably.”

A week later, an attorney representing Post responded, saying that the company must “respectfully disagree” with the band’s accusations. The attorney argued that rock music and breakfast cereal were “clearly unrelated” products and that the phrase “OK Go” was merely a common term that had previously been used by many other companies on their products.

In January, Post took the battle to court, asking a federal judge for what’s known as a “declaratory judgment” — meaning a pre-emptive ruling that the company did nothing wrong. Post argued that the trademark rights of a rock band like OK Go don’t extend to an unrelated product like cereal and that the new cups are clearly marked with Post’s own brand names to avoid any confusion.

“Without resolution by this court, Post will be unfairly forced to continue investing in its new OK GO! brand while under the constant threat of unfounded future litigation by defendants,” the cereal company wrote in its lawsuit.

In a statement to Billboard at the time, the members of OK Go said they’d been surprised to learn of Post’s lawsuit.

“A big corporation chose to steal the name of our band to market disposable plastic cups of sugar to children. That was an unwelcome surprise, to say the least,” the band wrote. “But then they sue US about it? Presumably, the idea is that they can just bully us out of our own name, since they have so much more money to spend on lawyers? I guess that’s often how it works, but hopefully, we’ll be the exception.”

According to Post’s lawsuit, the company had offered to pay the band as part of a “good faith effort” to resolve the dispute without resorting to litigation, despite its belief that the accusations lacked legal merit. The company claimed OK Go rejected that offer and made no counter-proposal, leaving Post with no choice but to file a lawsuit.

02 Jun 2023

Executive Turntable: Warner Chappel Names Legal & Business Affairs Head; WMX Shakes Up Leadership

Steve Butler was named head of legal & business affairs, North America at Warner Chappell Music. Butler will support the publisher’s U.S. (including Nashville and U.S. Latin) and Canadian markets while working closely with various departments to ensure cohesion across its North American operations. He will continue reporting to Warner Chappell executive vp/global head of legal & business affairs Peter Rosenthal. Butler was previously senior vp of legal & business affairs; among other deals, he oversaw the company’s purchase of David Bowie‘s catalog.

Warner Music Group’s WMX announced several new hires: Karl Walsh as executive vp/head of global commerce; Brian Furano as global head of A&R; and Robbie Owens-Russo as senior vp of creative services. Additionally, the company announced the following promotions: Tracy Stone to head of artist and fan experiences, North America; Bob Workman to head of WMX artist & fan experience, UK & rest of the world/senior vp of international artist & brand partners; and Angela Nguyen to head of global commercial operations. The new appointments mark a major overhaul of WMX’s merchandise, commerce, partnerships and ops teams. Walsh can be reached at Karl.Walsh@wmg.com, Furano can be reached at Brian.Furano@wmg.com, Owens-Russo can be reached at robbie.owens-russo@wmg.com, Stone can be reached at Tracy.Stone@wmg.com and Workman can be reached at Bob.Workman@warnermusic.com.

David Loiterton was hired as president, Indo-Pacific at Primary Wave Music. Based in Hong Kong, Loiterton will be tasked with managing the company’s catalog while driving investment in music IP across the region, particularly in India, Japan, Korea, China and Australia as well as emerging Southeast Asian markets. He can be reached at dloiterton@primarywave.com.

SESAC Performing Rights promoted Erin Collins to senior vp of film/TV creative services. The Billboard 2022 Women in Music honoree will continue overseeing SESAC’s network of composers and publishers.

Independent dance label Armada Music announced several new hires and promotions: Madeleine van Schendel was named chief growth officer; Jop Bonnike was promoted to COO; and Michel Peek was promoted to GM of publishing. Additionally, Nadine van Bodegraven moved from Armada’s executive team to join its investment company BEAT as COO.

Attorney Kenneth T. Deutsch joined law firm Paul Hastings as a partner and global co-chair of its entertainment and media practice. He joins from Latham & Watkins, where he served as global co-chair of the firm’s entertainment, sports and media group.

Island Records announced the promotions of Hannah Colson to director of artist development and Sam Lunn to director of strategic marketing.

MNRK Music Group promoted Brandon Squar to GM and Ebrahim “Abe” Rasheed to senior vp of urban. Squar will oversee commerce, marketing, project management and publicity for the company’s artists while Rasheed will spearhead all efforts in A&R and artist development for MNRK’s urban roster.

Tamaya Petteway was named senior vp of partnerships at Dick Clark Productions, where she will be tasked with securing brand partnerships across the company’s live event programming, including the American Music Awards, the Country Music Awards, the Billboard Music Awards, Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve, the Streamy Awards, So You Think You Can Dance and The Golden Globes. Petteway joins the company from Endemol Shine North America, where she most recently served as senior vp of brand partnerships, licensing and digital.

Ariana White was promoted to vp of publicity at Atlantic Records. She currently handles publicity for Atlantic signees Kali, Mahalia, Rico Nasty, Ckay, No Cap and Quando Rondo, among others.

The Black Music Action Coalition and Audiomack announced a paid internship and mentorship program designed to discover the next generation of Black executives in the music industry and named several executives as mentors. They are: Artistry Group CEO Max Gousee, The Blueprint Group CMO/partner Al Branch, Biz 3 Publicity CEO Kathryn Frazier, CAA agent Yves Pierre, 10Q Management CEO Lydia Asrat and AEG talent buyer Marcus “Don Dada” Johnson. Prospective candidates to the program can apply here.

Troy Skabelund joined artist financing company beatBread as CFO. Skabelund is also founder/CEO of the small business consulting network Advisory Zone.

Boutique entertainment law firm Ritholz Levy Fields promoted three attorneys to partner: Cody Brown (New York), Jenna Harris (Nashville) and Dan Zupnick (New York). Brown can be reached at cbrown@rlfllp.com, Harris can be reached at jharris@rlfllp.com and Zupnick can be reached at dzupnick@rlfllp.com.

Lauren Kreisler was promoted to director of brand & digital for the Official Charts Company in the UK, a newly created role. Her expanded role comes ahead of the company’s refreshed brand identity and consumer-facing digital platform in the coming weeks. Kreisler can be reached at lauren@officialcharts.com.

Anna Desalu was named vp of commerce and sales at record label Blac Noize! (Big Machine/SB Projects), where she will lead streaming initiatives for the company’s roster, including by cultivating digital partnerships and editorial placement. She joins the company from Warner Music Group/Atlantic Records’ Asylum Records, where she was director of sales and commerce.

Audioshake co-founder/CEO Jessica Powell has joined the advisory board of digital music distribution platform Octiive, joining SoundCloud chief product officer Rohit Agarwal and Meta head of UK and Ireland venture capital & partnerships Rowly Bourne.

02 Jun 2023

HYBE Aims to Raise $380 Million for U.S. Acquisitions: Report

HYBE is reportedly in talks with investors to raise around $380 million (500 billion won) to fund acquisitions outside of the South Korean entertainment market, according to a report by Bloomberg.

The agency and entertainment company is exploring taking on strategic and financial investments in exchange for equity, the outlet reported Thursday, citing sources who said the timeline and amount sought in the fundraise may yet change.

A spokesperson for HYBE did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and Billboard has not independently verified the report.

HYBE’s leadership said it began fundraising talks earlier this year as the company works to diversify its roster of talent beyond BTS, the world’s biggest boy band. BTS is currently on hiatus while its eldest member, Jin, completes South Korea’s mandatory military service.

In February, HYBE acquired Atlanta hip-hop label and management firm Quality Control for $300 million, adding to its 2021 acquisition of Scooter Braun’s Ithaca Holdings for around $400 million. HYBE executives have also signaled they are eyeing acquisition targets in the Latin music market.

HYBE has courted controversy in recent months with its failed takeover of rival Korean entertainment company SM Entertainment, eventually bowing out in late March with an announcement that it was selling its roughly 15% stake for nearly 564 billion won ($435 million) to Kakao.

Earlier this week, South Korea media reported that three HYBE employees could be prosecuted for insider trading for allegedly using non-public information about BTS’ planned hiatus before the news was given to investors. South Koreas’s public securities regulatory the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) said the employees allegedly sold HYBE shares after learning that BTS would go on hiatus but before the group announced its plans to the public on June 14, 2022. The employees made an estimated 230 million KRW ($173,000) through the trades, according to reports.  

02 Jun 2023

Ed Sheeran’s ‘Let’s Get It On’ Copyright Accusers Launch Appeal to Overturn His Trial Victory

A month after Ed Sheeran won a high-profile jury verdict that his “Thinking Out Loud” did not infringe Marvin Gaye‘s “Let’s Get It On,” his copyright accusers have formally launched their appeal.

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The heirs of Ed Townsend — who co-wrote the iconic song with Gaye – filed a so-called notice of appeal Thursday in Manhattan federal court, the first step toward asking a federal appeals court (the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit) to overturn the outcome and revive their lawsuit against Sheeran.

The upcoming appellate battle will mark the next chapter in nearly seven years of litigation over “Thinking Out Loud” — a commercial and critical success that hit No. 2 on the Hot 100 before eventually winning the Grammy Award for song of the year.

In their suit, Kathryn Townsend Griffin and other Townsend heirs claimed that Sheeran had “knowingly and intentionally infringed” the earlier tune, stealing the “heart” from one of the most “instantly recognizable songs in R&B history.”

The two songs at issue in the case do sound similar, as even Sheeran has seemingly acknowledged: The star was captured on video at a 2014 concert toggling back and forth between them, drawing huge applause from the audience. But his lawyers say that’s simply because the two tracks share commonplace musical building blocks – elements that are free for all to use and cannot be “monopolized” under copyright law.

After years of delay, the case finally went to trial in April. Lawyers for the Townsends urged the jurors to “give credit where credit is due,” playing that concert video of Sheeran and calling it a “smoking gun.” But Sheeran’s lawyers, supported by testimony from the star himself that included a brief guitar performance, argued the star had done nothing wrong by using “the scaffolding on which all songwriting is built.”

On May 4, jurors sided with Sheeran, finding that he and his co-writer had independently created “Thinking Out Loud” without copying it from  “Let’s Get It On” and clearing him of millions in potential legal damages.

A verdict against the singer would have reverberated throughout the music industry, much like an infamous 2015 verdict against Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams over their megahit “Blurred Lines,” which made musicians and companies more cautious about similar-sounding songs. Instead, his case represents the latest lawsuit in which such claims were rejected, following a 2020 ruling on Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway To Heaven” and a 2022 ruling on Katy Perry’s “Dark Horse.”

Thursday’s motion – procedural first step in any appeal in federal court – does not include detailed arguments; those will be filed later at the Second Circuit. But they will likely include challenges to what evidence the judge allowed to be used in the case and how he conducted the trial in April. Such appeals typically face an uphill climb, particularly when a case was decided by a jury rather than by a judge.

Briefs will be filed at the Second Circuit in the coming months. It could take the court well over a year to issue a final ruling.

02 Jun 2023

How Luminate’s New Music Data Platform Will Keep Pace With an Evolving Industry

Luminate has been the music industry’s data authority for over three decades. As the company readies the launch of a more sophisticated platform, its leaders discuss the past, present and future of the operation — and how they’ve kept pace with the evolving business.

PAST – Starting with the launch of SoundScan in 1991, Luminate “has continued to reflect changing consumption habits” — from the CD boom to the streaming age — says Scott Ryan, the company’s executive vp of commercial. In 2015, just as streaming was becoming a primary consumption format, Luminate launched Music Connect, designed “as a next-generation solution to SoundScan, which measured sales only,” says chief product officer Arnaud Retureau. But with more recent developments necessitating the ability “to pull deeper insights at a quicker pace,” Retureau adds, Music Connect began showing its age ­— calling for a new and improved platform to encompass the myriad ways music is consumed today.

PRESENT – Announced at the Music Biz conference in May, Luminate’s eponymous new platform, which is currently in beta, was built to reflect the rapidly evolving modern music industry. Improvements include a more customizable user interface that allows for sorting, filtering and grouping; enhanced search functionality; more comprehensive artist metadata; the addition of market-level data from specific countries; and support for such forms of consumption as short-form video and gaming. “The fundamental approach to our new platform was simple in theory ­— to accommodate new data sources and improve the ways in which users can see the data they need with improved insights,” says chief data officer Glenn Walker.

FUTURE – Given the platform’s “expansive capabilities,” chief commercial officer Stephen Blackwell says, “We are constantly engaged with new data sources to enhance our [analytic] sets.” Later this year, Luminate will welcome data partners Deezer, Melon and Styngr, with more slated to be announced. In the coming months, Luminate will also build film and TV metadata into the platform to “allow for a more holistic view of the entertainment landscape,” says Luminate executive vp/head of film and TV Mark Hoebich. Looking further afield, the explosion of artificial intelligence technology “holds the potential to amplify both the quantity of content and the volume of data by tenfold within a few years,” says CEO Rob Jonas — making a more advanced data platform a must.

Luminate is an independently operated company owned by PME TopCo, a PMC subsidiary and joint venture between Penske Media Corporation and Eldridge. Billboard is an independently operated company owned by PME Holdings, a subsidiary of PME TopCo.

02 Jun 2023

Big Loud CEO/Partner Seth England Wins Billboard Country Power Players’ Choice Award

For 2023, Billboard has introduced the Country Power Players’ Choice Award, a peer-voted accolade chosen by Billboard Pro members to honor the executive they believe has made the most impact across the country music business over the past year. Across three rounds of voting, Billboard Pro members have chosen Seth England, partner and CEO of Big Loud, for the inaugural award.

As a label head, England has helped lead the careers of Morgan Wallen, ­HARDY, ERNEST and Hailey Whitters (in partnership with Songs & Daughters). Wallen, whom England also manages, followed his 2021 record-breaking album, Dangerous: The Double Album, with One Thing at a Time, which has spent 12 weeks atop the Billboard 200. HARDY and ERNEST are opening for Wallen’s One Night at a Time international tour.

“I’m honored by this recognition. For this award to be peer-voted means more than I can say,” says England, who is also an honoree on Billboard’s 2023 Country Power Players list. “To my partners Craig [Wiseman] and Joey [Moi], and the unmatched staff across Big Loud, if this is for me, it’s for all of us. I’d like to say thank you to my support at home — my wife and son, Rakiyah and Theo, my amazing family.”

01 Jun 2023

Kanye West Hit With Assault Lawsuit by Photographer Over Alleged Phone-Throwing Incident

A paparazzo is suingKanye West over an alleged incident in which the rapper grabbed her phone and threw it into traffic, according to court documents obtained by Billboard.

Photographer Nichol Lechmanik is suing West (sometimes known as Ye) for assault, battery, negligence and interference with the exercise of her civil rights following the alleged altercation, which occurred on the afternoon of Jan. 27 outside Sports Academy in Newbury Park, Calif., per the complaint filed in California Superior Court in Ventura County on Wednesday (May 31).

Lechmanik alleges that while driving her car and filming Ye’s ex-wife Kim Kardashian as she exited the facility, she noticed that West was “angrily confronting” another photographer on the street outside. “Given Defendant Ye’s reputation for violence against photographers, his history of physically harming them, and based on his threatening body language, Plaintiff became fearful for the photographer’s safety,” the complaint reads. It states that Lechmanik then began filming the incident on her phone from inside her car with the window open.

Lechmanik alleges that Ye then walked up to her car and “aggressively” said, “You all ain’t gonna run up on me like that,” and when she replied that she wasn’t, he became “enraged,” reached into her car and “ripped her phone out of her hands” before throwing it “onto the street towards oncoming traffic.”

According to the lawsuit, Lechmanik said the incident caused her “great mental, and emotional pain and suffering” and that she “anticipates incurring medical and related expenses.”

Lechmanik is requesting general and special damages, punitive and exemplary damages, civil penalties and costs of the suit. Additionally, she’s asking for an order enjoining West and “all persons acting in concert with him or acting on his behalf, from touching, striking, annoying, contacting, molesting, attacking, threatening, or otherwise interfering with…the Plaintiff, and all persons similarly situated, to pursue the occupation of photographer.”

West has a long history of legal scuffles with paparazzi that stem all the way back to 2008 when he was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport after breaking the flash of a paparazzo’s camera.

01 Jun 2023

Employees at BTS Label HYBE Face Insider Trading Charges Linked to Group’s Hiatus Announcement

Three HYBE employees could be prosecuted for insider trading in South Korea for allegedly using non-public information about K-pop group BTS’ planned hiatus before the news was given to investors, according to multiple reports out of South Korea.  

South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), the equivalent of the Securities Exchange Commission in the U.S., says the employees allegedly sold HYBE shares after learning that BTS would go on hiatus but before the group announced its plans to the public on June 14, 2022. HYBE’s share price plummeted 28.9% the following day, erasing about $1.59 billion of market capitalization, and didn’t reach the pre-announcement level until Jan. 27. The employees made an estimated 230 million KRW ($173,000) through the trades, according to reports.  

The FSS says that the Seoul Southern District Prosecutor’s Office was conducting the investigation and that the HYBE insiders could face criminal prosecution, online outlet allkpop reported.   

Korean media reports say the unnamed employees were in charge of managing HYBE’s music groups and one was a team leader. “HYBE is unable to comment on this matter as this involves an ongoing investigation on an individual,” the company said in a statement to Billboard. 

BTS announced it was taking a break from group activities after nine years in an hour-long, pre-recorded YouTube video, which showed the seven members gathered at a dining table and discussing their careers. The share price’s decline led to speculation that word of the pending announcement had leaked and allowed some investors to sell shares before the precipitous drop. HYBE’s share price dropped 13.6% in the two trading days leading up to the June 14 announcement. 

The FSS noted that HYBE heightened investor confusion by disclosing information about the BTS hiatus through social media videos, rather than through official company announcements, allkpop reported. 

The Korean regulator also made news recently after it raided the Seoul office of SM Entertainment on April 17. According to reports, the regulator was seeking evidence of stock price manipulation after HYBE, which took a stake in the company in February and March, filed a petition seeking a probe.

01 Jun 2023

Former Playboy Model Accuses Bill Cosby of Drugging and Sexually Assaulting Her in 1969

A former Playboy model who alleges Bill Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted her and another woman at his home in 1969 sued him Thursday under a new California law that suspends the statute of limitations on sex abuse claims.

In her lawsuit, Victoria Valentino, 80, says she was an actress and singer 54 years ago, when she met Cosby, now 85. The comedian and actor later approached her at a Los Angeles café, where he spotted her crying over the recent drowning death of her 6-year-old son.

The Associated Press does not identify people who say they have been sexually assaulted unless they come forward publicly.

Cosby offered to pay for a spa treatment for Valentino and a friend, and then sent a chauffeured car to pick the women up for dinner. That evening at a steakhouse, Cosby gave them each a pill, she said in the court filing.

“Here! Take this!” the lawsuit alleges Cosby said to them. “It will make you feel better. It will make us ALL feel better.”

Cosby then drove the women to his house, where Valentino passed out on a couch, and later woke up and witnessed him sexually assaulting her unnamed friend, according to the lawsuit. The court documents allege Cosby then “engaged in forced sexual intercourse” with Valentino while she was incapacitated from the drug.

Valentino’s allegations come on the heels of lawsuits last year by six Cosby accusers in New York under a similar provision known as a “lookback” law that allows adults to file sexual abuse cases for allegations that had fallen outside the statute of limitations.

The former “Cosby Show” star, who has been accused of rape, sexual assault and sexual harassment by at least 60 women, has denied all allegations involving sex crimes. He was the first celebrity tried and convicted in the #MeToo era — and spent nearly three years at a state prison near Philadelphia before a higher court threw out the conviction and released him in 2021.

His spokesperson, Andrew Wyatt, said Thursday that Valentino’s lawsuit lacks “any proof or facts” and that so-called lookback laws violate constitutional rights aimed at protecting crime victims and “those that are accused of a crime.”

“What graveyard can Mr. Cosby visit, in order to dig up potential witnesses to testify on his behalf?” Wyatt asked in a statement. “America is continuing to see that this is a formula to make sure that no more Black Men in America accumulate the American Dream that was secured by Mr. Cosby.”

The lawsuit in LA County Superior Court was filed nearly two years after Cosby left prison when the Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned his 2018 sexual assault conviction. They found he gave incriminating testimony in a deposition about the encounter only after believing he had immunity from prosecution. The trial judge and an intermediate appeals court had found no evidence of such immunity.

Earlier this year, a Los Angeles jury awarded $500,000 to a woman who said Cosby sexually abused her at the Playboy Mansion when she was a teenager in 1975.

Seven other accusers received a settlement from Cosby’s insurers in the wake of the Pennsylvania conviction over a defamation lawsuit they had filed in Massachusetts. Their lawsuit said that Cosby and his agents disparaged them in denying their allegations of abuse.

Valentino’s lawsuit requests a jury trial and seeks unspecified punitive damages.