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A Los Angeles judge has dismissed a lawsuit accusing Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee of sexually assaulting a woman in a helicopter in 2003, ruling that her case was filed too late.
The case against Lee, launched last year by an anonymous Jane Doe accuser, was filed under a newly enacted California law that temporarily lifted the statute of limitations for years-old sexual assaults – one of several such laws passed around the country in recent years.
But in a decision issued Monday, Judge Holly J. Fujie ruled that Lee’s accuser had failed to show that Lee’s alleged assault had been followed by any kind of “cover-up” – a key requirement under the provision she cited.
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“The court finds that plaintiff has not pled facts sufficient to support the theory of the necessary ‘cover up’ because plaintiff has not asserted facts evidencing defendants’ concerted effort to hide evidence relating to sexual assault,” the judge wrote. “Plaintiff instead makes vague allegations that the court finds insufficient to support the revival of a claim.”
Though the ruling is a setback for Lee’s accuser, the case is not yet over. The judge gave her and her attorneys 20 days to file an updated version of her complaint if she has additional information that would fix the flaws in her case. Her attorneys did not immediately return a request for comment.
In her December complaint, the Jane Doe plaintiff claimed she had been “lured under false pretenses” by Lee’s personal helicopter pilot into taking a ride from San Diego to Los Angeles in February 2003. Once onboard, she claimed that Lee and the pilot “consumed several alcoholic beverages, smoked marijuana, and snorted cocaine” before the rock star assaulted her.
“Tommy Lee then proceeded to sexually assault plaintiff by forcibly groping, kissing, penetrating her with his fingers, and attempting to force her to perform oral copulation,” her lawyers wrote. “As a result of Tommy Lee’s sexual assault, Plaintiff has suffered severe emotional, physical, and psychological distress.”
The case, over an incident that allegedly occurred more than two decades ago, was filed under the Sexual Abuse and Cover-Up Accountability Act – a California law that created a three-year window starting last year for alleged survivors to file sexual assault lawsuits that would normally be barred by the statute of limitations.
The case against Lee was one of many cases filed during the “look-back windows” created by similar statutes, including New York’s Adult Survivors Act. Just before that law expired in November, a flood of years-old abuse cases hit the courts, most notably against Sean “Diddy” Combs.
But such laws have strict requirements. In the case of the Sexual Abuse and Cover-Up Accountability Act, an alleged victim must show that the defendant “engaged in a cover up or attempted a cover up,” meaning a “concerted effort to hide evidence relating to a sexual assault or other inappropriate conduct” or conduct that “incentivizes individuals to remain silent.”
In her complaint, Lee’s accuser claimed that the drummer and other defendants “engaged in a concerted effort to prevent information or evidence of such sexual assaults from being made public or disclosed to anyone.” But in her ruling on Monday, Judge Fujie said that simply spelling out the statute’s requirement was not enough.
“These allegations are conclusory in nature and do not allege specific actions directed to plaintiff,” the judge wrote. “As such, plaintiff’s action as alleged is effectively time-barred.”
In a statement to Billboard, Lee’s attorney Sasha Frid said: “We applaud the court’s decision. The court got it right in finding that the plaintiff cannot assert a claim against Tommy Lee. From the outset, Mr. Lee has vehemently denied these false and bogus accusations.”
A criminal case against Morgan Wallen for allegedly throwing a chair off the roof of a six-story Nashville bar is moving forward after an initial court hearing Friday (May 3).
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Wallen’s attorney Worrick Robinson appeared on behalf of the star before a Nashville judge, who set a new court date for Aug. 15. The hearing did not involve entering a plea, and Wallen had waived his right to appear in person, but Robinson said the star himself would be at the next hearing.
“This is obviously very complicated case and it’s not going to resolve itself without subpoenas and witnesses,” Robinson told the media after the hearing. “The state will subpoena witnesses and we’ll work on the case on our end. Morgan will be here on Aug. 15, and several things can happen in the case. We might have a hearing, we might settle the case or the case might continue. Those are the options.”
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Wallen, who is in the midst of three sold-out headlining shows at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium on his One Night at a Time Tour this weekend, was arrested in Nashville on April 7 in connection to the chair-throwing incident. Two Metro Nashville Police Department officers were reportedly standing on the street below Chief’s on Broadway, owned by country singer Eric Church, when the chair landed approximately three feet from the officers. Police then reportedly spoke with staff and witnesses and viewed security footage to confirm Wallen’s alleged actions.
After the arrest, the country star was charged with three felony counts of reckless endangerment and one misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct.
“I’m not proud of my behavior, and I accept responsibility,” Wallen said in a statement on April 19. “I have the utmost respect for the officers working every day to keep us all safe. Regarding my tour, there will be no change.”
Speaking with the media after Friday’s hearing, Robinson confirmed that there is surveillance footage of the incident, which he has viewed. He also addressed the issue of the police report noting that Wallen was seen “laughing” after the incident. “As each of you know, you can’t always believe everything you read, and I haven’t seen anything to suggest that at all, so I don’t have any proof that that is correct.”
Asked by media if they have a preference to settle the case, Robinson said, “These cases are always complicated and you just never know what’s going to happen. As an attorney, all you can do is be prepared and that’s what the district attorney’s office will do also. Everybody will prepare as if there’s going to be a hearing, but I think everybody generally wins if you can resolve it in a manner that everybody can live with.”
Robinson also responded to media who asked if Wallen was denying throwing the chair, saying, “I think he has said he takes responsibility for what he’s done … We’re not required to enter a plea of any type. But you’ve read his words and I think you understand them clearly.”
Friday night (May 3), Wallen continues with his second of three sold-out shows at Nissan Stadium as part of his One Night at a Time tour.
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Mariah the Scientist has been arrested on battery charges for an alleged incident that took place at a nightclub in Atlanta. TMZ was first to report the news.
The singer — born Mariah Buckles — was booked on Wednesday (May 1) on misdemeanor battery and simple battery charges, according to the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office. Jail records show that the artist has since posted a $5,000 bond.
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Billboard has reached out to Mariah the Scientist’s reps and attorney.
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According to legal documents obtained by Billboard, Mariah is accused of intentionally causing “bruises and cuts” and “visible bodily harm” to a woman on the night of March 28. The documents say the “Aura” singer allegedly made “physical contact of an insulting or provoking nature” by “grabbing [the victim’s] wig and pulling her to the ground.”
In the Atlanta Police Department’s incident report obtained by Billboard, the victim went to the Zone 2 precinct on March 29 and claimed that a “female grabbed her by her wig and pulled the wig off her head,” then “proceeded to drag her on the table and floor.” The victim said in the police report that she wasn’t wearing her glasses at the time, so was unable to ID her attacker, but later learned that it was Mariah the Scientist, and told police that the alleged incident had been posted to social media. The victim also told law enforcement that in addition to having her wig removed, “she suffered minor scratches on her feet from being dragged while she was wearing heels.”
In the incident report, the reporting officer noted that a call was made to Mariah the Scientist, who said that the night of the alleged incident, she and the club owner had gone over “to talk to the victim and the victim threw a drink at her.” According to the report, Mariah then claimed “a friend that was with the victim swung at her and missed, so she grabbed the victim and friend and the table broke and they all ended up on the ground.”
The victim said “that she never threw anything at the suspect and never touched the suspect,” according to the police report.
As part of Mariah the Scientist’s bond order, in addition to paying the $5,000 fine, she is ordered to have no contact with the victim and will have to stay away from Club Cavo in Atlanta, where the alleged altercation took place. The 26-year-old will also have to take and pay for an anger management class, and may not consume any alcohol or drugs, or possess weapons.
The artist is slated to wrap up her 45-date To Be Eaten Alive Tour in Atlanta on Friday night (May 3), with a show at the Tabernacle.
Morgan Wallen, who is fresh off a headlining gig at Stagecoach music festival, was scheduled to attend a court date in Nashville, Tenn., on Friday (May 3) in regards to his arrest after allegedly throwing a chair off the roof of a Broadway Street bar. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest […]
Britney Spears has reached a settlement to finalize her divorce from husband Sam Asghari, according to court documents obtained by Billboard.
Less than a year after the pair announced they would end their 14-month marriage, attorneys for both Spears and Asghari filed paperwork Wednesday in Los Angeles court to end the proceedings. The filings say the “uncontested” divorce is bound by “a written agreement regarding their property” and spousal support.
Asghari filed for divorce from Spears in August, citing irreconcilable differences. The pair had dated since they met on the set of her “Slumber Party” music video in 2016 before getting engaged in September 2021. They soon tied the knot in a star-studded Los Angeles wedding ceremony in June 2022, which featured a gatecrashing incident by a man Spears had briefly married in 2004.
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Following the news of the divorce, Asghari said at the time: “We will hold onto the love and respect we have for each other and I wish her the best always.” In her own statement, Spears said: “6 years is a long time to be with someone so, I’m a little shocked but … I’m not here to explain why because its honestly nobody’s business !!!”
The mention in Wednesday’s legal filings of a “written agreement” is likely a reference to a prenuptial agreement. When the pair married in 2022, TMZ reported that Asghari had signed “an ironclad prenup” which meant that he “doesn’t get a dollar from the fortune Brit’s made up to this point.” Such legal agreements are standard procedure for celebrities who have a large disparity in assets with a new spouse, since state law could potentially require splitting property in the event of divorce.
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Beyond referencing such an agreement, Wednesday’s filings included little detail. Asghari’s attorneys said he would “give up forever any right to receive spousal or partner support” except for what is listed in their settlement agreement. The extent to which Spears pays for his legal bills is also governed by the written contract.
The agreements were signed by attorneys for both sides. Spears was represented by celebrity divorce specialist Laura Wasser and her longtime personal attorney Mathew Rosengart, who also handled her long conservatorship battle. Asghari was represented by Neal Hersh, another well-known celebrity divorce attorney. Neither side immediately returned requests for comment.
News of Wednesday’s agreement was first reported by TMZ. To be finalized, the deal must now be signed by the judge overseeing the case, though that step is formality.
It’s been a busy few weeks for Spears’ lawyers. Last week, she reached another settlement to end a long-running legal dispute with her father Jamie Spears over allegations of misconduct during his years running the pop star’s 13-year conservatorship that ended in 2021.
Former Nickelodeon producer/writer Dan Schneider fired back at the team behind the bombshell series Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV on Wednesday (May 1) in a lawsuit in which he alleged that the documentary series wrongly implied that he sexually abused the child actors he worked with.
According to the Associated Press, Schneider filed the defamation suit against Warner Bros. Discovery and other companies behind the investigative series in Los Angeles Superior Court, claiming in the suit that the show’s trailer and episodes deliberately mixed and juxtaposed images and mentions of him with the criminal sexual abusers spotlighted in the show with the implication he was involved.
Former teenage actor Schneider (Head of the Class) split with Nickelodeon in 2018 after more than a decade at the center of some of the network’s most successful, star-making shows, including All That, The Amanda Show, Kenan & Kel and as executive producer of Zoey 101, iCarly and Victorious, with the latter three, respectively, launching the careers of Jamie Lynn Spears, Miranda Cosgrove and Jenette McCurdy and Victoria Justice and Ariana Grande.
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Schneider took center stage during many storylines in Quiet, which interviewed the casts and crews of several of Schneider’s most successful shows to describe how the sets he was responsible for often sexualized their young teen stars in a sometimes tense, toxic work environment some described as abusive. The series originally ran on the ID channel in March and is now available to stream on Max.
Among the bombshell revelations in the series that spotlighted descriptions of sexual abuse of child actors was the emotional commentary from Drake & Josh star Drake Bell, who described his grooming and sexual abuse by former childhood dialogue coach Brian Peck; Peck was convicted of sexually assaulting a Nickelodeon child actor (Bell) in 2004. In the third episode, Bell graphically recounts the abuse he suffered at Peck’s hands when he was 14- and 15-years-old.
Other former actors on Nickelodeon shows from the Schneider era also allege that they were rife with sexism, racism and inappropriate behavior involving underage stars and crew and alleged predatory behavior. The show suggests that Schneider’s shows tended to put young women in comedic situations with overt sexual implications, while depicting him as an angry and emotionally abusive boss, including specific allegations of sexual harassment and gender discrimination form women who worked as writers under him on All That.
Among the allegations are that he displayed pornography on his computer in their presence in the writers’ room and often asked for massages from female staffers with the implication that they could help get the women’s sketches on the shows, which he has denied.
According to the AP, the suit claims “Quiet on Set’s portrayal of Schneider is a hit job. While it is indisputable that two bona fide child sexual abusers worked on Nickelodeon shows, it is likewise indisputable that Schneider had no knowledge of their abuse, was not complicit in the abuse, condemned the abuse once it was discovered and, critically, was not a child sexual abuser himself.” In addition to Discovery — parent company of ID and Max — the suit names the show’s producers as well, Sony Pictures Television and Maxine Productions. The suit claims that the series and its trailer unjustly implicated Schneider in child sex abuse by showing pictures of him, some with his arm around young actresses, amid discussions of what they said were unsafe environments on his sets.
The series claims that kid actors were made to wear suggestive costumes and act in inappropriate sketches with clearly pornographic undertones. All That actor Leon Frierson talks about his superhero character, Captain Big Nose, who wore tights and underwear and a prosthetic nose with matching noses on his shoulders.
“You can’t help but notice that it looks like penises and testicles on my shoulders,” he says in the series, adding that one sketch included Captain Big Nose blasting a giant sneeze caused by his allergy to asteroids, with the punchline consisting of him shooting messy goo on the face of a young woman. “The joke in that sketch is effectively a cum shot joke. It’s a cum shot joke for children,” culture writer Schaachi Koul says in the premiere episode of the five-part series. “Looking back, it’s very strange. Frankly, it was just uncomfortable,” says Frierson, who also describes that getting close to “kingmaker” Schneider could result in another level of success for the young actors. “It was important to be on his good side, and he made it known who was on his good side,” he says.
Nickelodeon, which was not named in the suit, said in a statement in the series that it could not “corroborate or negate” the allegations from two decades ago, but that it investigates all formal complaints and has strict protocols for shows starring minors.
Schneider, 58, was not interviewed for the series, but issued a YouTube video apology after the show aired in which he said he was sorry for “past behaviors, some of which are embarrassing and that I regret.” The suit is seeking financial damages to be determined at trial for what it described as “the destruction of Schneider’s reputation and legacy” via “false statements and implications” as well as the editing and removals of portions of the series and trailers.
“Schneider will be the first to admit that some of what they said is true,” the lawsuit claims according to The Huffington Post. “At times, he was blind to the pain that some of his behaviors caused certain colleagues, subordinates, and cast members. He will regret and atone for this behavior the rest of his life. But one thing he is not — and the one thing that will forever mar his reputation and career both past and present — is a child sexual abuser.”
In a statement to HuffPo, Schneider said the series “highlighted mistakes I made and poor judgment I exhibited during my time at Nickelodeon. … There is no doubt that I was sometimes a bad leader. I am sincerely apologetic and regretful for that behavior, and I will continue to take accountability for it.”
Stories about sexual assault allegations can be traumatizing for survivors of sexual assault. If you or anyone you know needs support, you can reach out to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN). The organization provides free, confidential support to sexual assault victims. Call RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Hotline (800.656.HOPE) or visit the anti-sexual violence organization’s website for more information.
This is The Legal Beat, a weekly newsletter about music law from Billboard Pro, offering you a one-stop cheat sheet of big new cases, important rulings and all the fun stuff in between.
This week: Tupac’s estate threatens to sue Drake over his use of the late rapper’s voice; Megan Thee Stallion faces a lawsuit over eye-popping allegations from her former cameraman; Britney Spears settles her dispute with her father; and much more.
THE BIG STORY: Drake, Tupac & An AI Showdown
The debate over unauthorized voice cloning burst into the open last week when Tupac Shakur’s estate threatened to sue Drake over a recent diss track against Kendrick Lamar that featured an AI-generated version of the late rapper’s voice.In a cease-and-desist letter first reported by Billboard, litigator Howard King told Drake that the Shakur estate was “deeply dismayed and disappointed” by the rapper’s use of Tupac’s voice in his “Taylor Made Freestyle.” The letter warned Drake to confirm in less than 24 hours that he would pull the track down or the estate would “pursue all of its legal remedies” against him.“Not only is the record a flagrant violation of Tupac’s publicity and the estate’s legal rights, it is also a blatant abuse of the legacy of one of the greatest hip-hop artists of all time. The Estate would never have given its approval for this use.”AI-powered voice cloning has been top of mind for the music industry since last spring when an unknown artist released a track called “Heart On My Sleeve” that featured — ironically — fake verses from Drake’s voice. As such fake vocals have continued to proliferate on the internet, industry groups, legal experts and lawmakers have wrangled over how best to crack down on them.With last week’s showdown, that debate jumped from hypothetical to reality. The Tupac estate laid out actual legal arguments for why it believed Drake’s use of the late rapper’s voice violated the law. And those arguments were apparently persuasive: Within 24 hours, Drake began to pull his song from the internet.
For more details on the dispute, go read our full story here.
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Other top stories this week…
MEGAN THEE STALLION SUED – The rapper and Roc Nation were hit witha lawsuit from a cameraman named Emilio Garcia who claims he was forced to watch Megan have sex with a woman inside a moving vehicle while she was on tour in Spain. The lawsuit, which claims he was subjected to a hostile workplace, was filed by the same attorneys who sued Lizzo last year over similar employment law.BRITNEY SETTLES WITH FATHER – Britney Spears settled her long-running legal dispute with her father, Jamie Spears, that arose following the termination of the pop star’s 13-year conservatorship in 2021. Attorneys for Britney had accused Jamie of misconduct during the years he served as his daughter’s conservator, a charge he adamantly denied. The terms of last week’s agreement were not made public.TRAVIS SCOTT MUST FACE TRIAL – A Houston judge denied a motion from Travis Scott to be dismissed from the sprawling litigation over the 2021 disaster at the Astroworld music festival, leaving him to face a closely-watched jury trial next month. Scott’s attorneys had argued that the star could not be held legally liable since safety and security at live events is “not the job of performing artists.” But the judge overseeing the case denied that motion without written explanation.ASTROWORLD TRIAL LIVESTREAM? Also in the Astroworld litigation, plaintiffs’ attorneys argued that the upcoming trial — a pivotal first test for hundreds of other lawsuits filed by alleged victims over the disaster — should be broadcast live to the public. “The devastating scale of the events at Astroworld, combined with the involvement of high-profile defendants, has generated significant national attention and a legitimate public demand for transparency and accountability,” the lawyers wrote.BALLERINI HACKING CASE – Just a week after Kelsea Ballerini sued a former fan named Bo Ewing over accusations that he hacked her and leaked her unreleased album, his attorneys reached a deal with her legal team in which he agreed not to share her songs with anyone else — and to name any people he’s already sent them to. “Defendant shall, within thirty days of entry of this order, provide plaintiffs with the names and contact information for all people to whom defendant disseminated the recordings,” the agreement read.R. KELLY CONVICTIONS AFFIRMED – A federal appeals court upheld R. Kelly’s 2022 convictions in Chicago on child pornography and enticement charges, rejecting his argument that the case against him was filed too late. The court said that Kelly was convicted by “an even-handed jury” and that “no statute of limitations saves him.” His attorney vowed a trip to the U.S. Supreme Court, though such appeals face long odds.DIDDY RESPONDS TO SUIT – Lawyers for Sean “Diddy” Combs pushed back against a sexual assault lawsuit filed by a woman named Joi Dickerson-Neal, arguing that he should not face claims under statutes that did not exist when the alleged incidents occurred in 1991. His attorneys want the claims — such as revenge porn and human trafficking — to be dismissed from the broader case, which claims that Combs drugged, assaulted and surreptitiously filmed Dickerson-Neal when she was 19 years old.
Lawyers for Sean “Diddy” Combs pushed back against a woman’s lawsuit that accused him of sexual assault, filing a motion on Friday (April 26) to dismiss some claims that were not under law when the alleged incident occurred.
The motion filed in a New York court claims Combs cannot be sued because certain laws didn’t exist when Joi Dickerson-Deal made the allegations against him in 1991.
The music mogul’s lawyers want certain statues from Dickerson-Deal’s claims such as revenge porn and human trafficking to be dismissed with prejudice.
In a filing last year, she said Combs “intentionally drugged” her then brought her home and sexually assaulted her after a date in Harlem when she was a 19-year-old college student.
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Without her knowledge, Combs videotaped the assault and later shared it with several friends in the music industry, the suit alleges. He denied the allegations, accusing her of seeking to exploit the New York law that temporarily extended the statute of limitations.
Dickerson-Deal’s claim came nearly three decades after his alleged misconduct and the New York State Revenge Porn Law was not codified until 2019, Combs’ lawyers said.
His attorneys also pointed out a few others including the New York Services for Victims of Human Trafficking Law, which came into effect in 2007.
The Associated Press does not typically name people who say they have been sexually abused unless they come forward publicly, as Dickerson has done.
Last month, Combs’ properties in Los Angeles and Miami were raided by federal authorities in a sex trafficking investigation. The criminal investigation is a major escalation in the scrutiny of Combs, who has been the defendant in several recent sexual abuse lawsuits.
In a lawsuit Combs settled the day after it was filed in November, his former protege and girlfriend, the R&B singer Cassie, sued him alleging years of sexual abuse, including rape. The lawsuit said he forced her to have sex with male prostitutes while he filmed them.
In February, a music producer filed a lawsuit alleging Combs coerced him to solicit prostitutes and pressured him to have sex with them.
Another of Combs’ accusers was a woman who said he raped her two decades ago when she was 17.
Combs and his attorneys have denied all of the allegations in the lawsuits.
Britney Spears has settled an outstanding legal dispute with her father that arose following the termination of the pop star’s 13-year conservatorship in 2021, Billboard has confirmed. Terms of the settlement were not disclosed.
“It has been our honor and privilege to represent, protect, and defend Britney Spears,” said Spears’ attorney, Mathew Rosengart, in a statement sent to Billboard. “Although the conservatorship was terminated in November, 2021, her wish for freedom is now truly complete. As she desired, her freedom now includes that she will no longer need to attend or be involved with court or entangled with legal proceedings in this matter.”
A legal scuffle ensued in the wake of the conservatorship’s dissolution in November 2021, when Rosengart vowed to investigate alleged misconduct by Spears’ father, Jamie Spears, during the years he served as his daughter’s conservator — including claims that he took millions from her estate, tried to control her with drugs and denied her the freedom to remove a birth control device.
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Conflict also arose over Jamie’s request in December 2021 that Britney’s estate continue paying his legal fees, arguing that the conservatorship’s termination did not end his ongoing “fiduciary obligations” and that he could face “personal bankruptcy and ruin” if his request was turned down. Rosengart responded by calling the request “not only legally meritless, but an abomination.”
Britney was placed in a conservatorship controlled by her father in 2008 following a string of public breakdowns. The legal arrangement came under scrutiny beginning in 2019, when a pair of documentaries and a movement dubbed #FreeBritney launched by the superstar’s fans went viral, ultimately leading Britney to speak out on her own behalf in public court testimony.
Attorneys for Jamie Spears did not immediately respond to Billboard‘s request for comment.
You can read Rosengart’s full statement below.
It has been our honor and privilege to represent, protect, and defend Britney Spears.
Although the conservatorship was terminated in November, 2021, her wish for freedom is now truly complete. As she desired, her freedom now includes that she will no longer need to attend or be involved with court or entangled with legal proceedings in this matter.
Britney Spears won when the court suspended her father, and Britney Spears won when her fundamental rights and civil liberties were restored.
Since obtaining her freedom in late 2021, Britney Spears has achieved remarkable success on several fronts, including her August, 2022 collaboration with Sir Elton John on the smash hit Hold Me Closer (which debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart and became her 24th top-ten single), followed by her landmark book deal with Simon & Schuster for her memoir The Woman in Me, an immediate NY Times #1 bestseller, which received universal, breathtaking praise and would not have been possible during the conservatorship.
We repeat our gratification for being in a position to help restore the civil rights and liberties of Britney Spears and the honor and privilege it has been to serve and protect Ms. Spears and obtain her goals in resolving various legal matters pursuant to her thoughtful and wise instruction and requests, which once again are to her credit.
Victims of the Astroworld music festival want their looming trial against Travis Scott, Live Nation and other organizers to be livestreamed to the public, citing a public demand for “transparency and accountability.”
After more than two years of litigation over the 2021 crowd crush at the Astroworld — a disaster that left 10 dead and hundreds injured — the first jury trial is set to kick off early next month. It will be a pivotal first test for hundreds of other lawsuits filed by alleged victims that claim the organizers were legally negligent in how they planned and operated the festival.
In a motion on Thursday (April 25), lawyers for the plaintiffs in the upcoming trial argued that it should be broadcast live on the internet, saying such a step was needed to “ensure that all those affected by the Astroworld tragedy can observe the proceedings and stay informed of the trial’s progress.”
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“The devastating scale of the events at Astroworld, combined with the involvement of high-profile defendants, has generated significant national attention and a legitimate public demand for transparency and accountability,” the plaintiffs’ lawyers write. “By livestreaming the trial, the Court will demonstrate its commitment to open and accessible proceedings, fostering public trust and confidence in the judicial system’s handling of this consequential matter.”
A ruling opening up her courtroom to cameras would be a major shift for the judge overseeing the Astroworld litigation. Back in 2022, citing the risk that potential jurors might become biased, Judge Kristen Hawkins imposed an unusually strong gag order that has severely limited public knowledge about the status of the case.
Media outlets like ABC challenged Judge Hawkins’ gag order, arguing that it was depriving the public of information about important judicial proceedings over a newsworthy event. But a Texas appeals court upheld the media ban last year without explanation.
Hundreds of lawsuits have been filed over the deadly crowd crush during Scott’s Nov. 5, 2021, headlining set at Astroworld. The cases, collectively seeking billions in damages, claim that organizers bear legal responsibility for the disaster because of poor safety planning and failure to stop the show after problems had been reported.
The lawsuits have spent much of the last two years in discovery, as the two sides exchanged information and took depositions of key figures. But now the first trial in the massive litigation — over a wrongful death case filed by the family of Madison Dubiski, a 23-year-old who died at Astroworld — is set to start on May 6.
In seeking to have that trial aired live, attorneys for Dubiski’s family argued that it was “impractical” for everyone involved in the litigation to attend the proceedings physically: “There are hundreds of plaintiffs and their family members, numerous defendants, and a multitude of counsel to account for.”
But they also hinted that they think the judge might have doubts about broadcasting the trial. The recording would be “conducted unobtrusively, with minimal disruption to the trial process,” the plaintiffs’ lawyers said, and the judge will have the ability to “pause or terminate the broadcast if necessary to preserve order or to protect sensitive information.” And witnesses would be sequestered and required not to watch the stream “to safeguard the fairness and impartiality of the proceedings.”
The judge will presumably rule on the motion in the next week before the trial gets underway.
