Cardi B has prevailed in a civil lawsuit brought against her by a Beverly Hills security guard after two days of testimony from the rapper that was sometimes colorful and drew laughter from jurors.
Emani Ellis sued Cardi B for $24 million, accusing her of assault, battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress in the aftermath of a confrontation in a hallway outside of an obstetrician’s office. Ellis claimed that, during the set-to, the rapper scratched her with a long nail extension, leaving a facial scar.
The hip-hop star was found not liable on all counts by jurors after less than an hour of deliberations.
“I swear to God, I will say it on my deathbed, I did not touch that woman,” Cardi B said outside the courthouse following the conclusion of the trial. She added that she had missed her kids’ first day of school because of the civil trial.
“I want to thank my lawyers,” she said, “I want to thank the jurors, I want to thank the judge, and I want to thank the respectful press.”
Cardi B, whose real name is Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar, testified that she never touched, scratched or spat at the security guard, who she believed was taking video of her with her cellphone. The rapper was four months pregnant and had an appointment on the day of the incident — Feb. 24, 2018.
Ellis worked as a security guard at the Beverly Hills building where Cardi B had her medical appointment, and she testified that she was doing her rounds when she saw the celebrity exit the elevator. She testified that she was overcome with excitement and declared, “Wow, it’s Cardi B.”
Ellis alleged that the performer then turned to her and said, “Why the f— are you telling people you’ve seen me?” Cardi B then accused her of trying to spread news about her being at the doctor’s office, she testified during the four-day trial.
Cardi B cursed at her, used the N-word and other slurs, called her names, threatened her job, body-shamed her and mocked her career, Ellis said. She alleged Cardi B spat on her, took a swing at her and scratched her left cheek with a 2- to 3-inch fingernail.
The rapper blasted the plaintiff in an Alhambra courtroom, saying she was looking for a payout. Cardi B said the pair went chest-to-chest and exchanged angry words but nothing more.
She told jurors that she said to Ellis: “B—, get the f— out of my face. Why are you in my face? Why are you recording me? Ain’t you supposed to be security?’
“I’m thinking to myself, ‘Girl is big!’” she testified.” “She’s got big black boots on. I’m like, ‘D—, the hell am i gonna do now?’”
The rapper said that she’s 5 feet 3 and was 130 pounds and pregnant at the time of the incident. She wouldn’t have tried to fight the guard, who was far larger, she said.
Asked if she was “disabled” during the incident, Cardi B’s comments drew laughter in the courtroom: “At that moment, when you’re pregnant, I’m very disabled,” she said with a roll of her eyes. “You want me to tell you the things I can’t do?”
Tierra Malcolm, a receptionist for Dr. David Finke, with whom Cardi B had an appointment that day, told jurors that she saw Ellis corner the celebrity. The receptionist said she then got between them, and the guard reached for the rapper. Malcolm said she ended up with a cut on her own forehead.
Finke testified that he saw the guard cause that injury and also hit the receptionist’s shoulder. He further said that Ellis had no injuries. Both testified they never saw Cardi B hit Ellis.
During closing arguments on Tuesday, Ellis’ attorney, Ron Rosen Janfaza, told jurors, “Cardi B needs to be held accountable.” “There was no video camera … so really it comes down to one thing — do you believe, Ms. Ellis, a guard with a good record? She is a model citizen,” he told jurors.
Rosen Janfaza noted that, under cross-examination, the rapper acknowledged that she and Ellis were chest-to-chest as expletives were exchanged, and that alone is an unwelcome touch and battery on his client, he said. He told jurors that the receptionist and doctor did not see the 40 to 50 seconds where Cardi B labeled his client fat, spat on her and took a swing at her.
He said his client suffered for seven years, and “this was a violent attack.”
Cardis B’s attorney, Peter Anderson, said jurors needed to employ common sense to reject the security guard’s story and that the preponderance of evidence showed his client did nothing more than yell and curse, and “that isn’t something you can sue over.”
“The question is whether Cardi ever struck the plaintiff,” Anderson said. And the evidence is overwhelming that she did not, he said. Anderson said that the guard testified that she never made a police report, did not seek immediate medical attention, did not even use a Band-Aid on the scratch, but went home and took a nap.
Jonas Brothers are maximizing the news cycle around their 20th-anniversary Greetings From Your Hometown Tour, which launched less than a month ago but has generated dozens of headlines about surprise guests, unexpected reunions and two brother trios joining forces.
The latest big news from the tour came at Sunday’s stop in Dallas, where Fifth Harmony — Ally Brooke, Normani, Lauren Jauregui and Dinah Jane — performed together for the first time in seven years. The quartet performed “Worth It” and “Work From Home” for the lucky crowd, which was also treated to surprises from Kelsea Ballerini, The Plain White T’s and Ryan Cabrera that night. The tour kicked off in the JoBros’ native New Jersey, with Demi Lovato popping up Aug. 10 for a Camp Rock sing-along. Oh, and fellow brother trio Hanson showed up at the Virginia Beach show on Aug. 15 to perform “MMMBop” with the boys.
On the new Billboard Pop Shop Podcast, Katie & Keith are talking about all the ways artists are carving out special moments for fans at their shows — like Taylor Swift’s acoustic set on Eras Tour or Kelly Clarkson’s nightly Kellyoke cover in Las Vegas — and why it’s a win-win for everyone involved.
Also on the show, Stray Kids get their seventh No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 — the entirety of their charting efforts — as KARMA debuts atop the list. Meanwhile, Laufey, Deftones, Tyler, The Creator and BigXthaPlug all shake up the Billboard 200 top 10. Plus, on the Billboard Hot 100, as the KPop Demon Hunters hit “Golden” is No. 1 for a third week, Doja Cat’s new “Jealous Type” debuts in the top 40. And on the Pop Airplay chart, Sabrina Carpenter’s “Manchild” jumps to No. 1 — marking her sixth leader, and all have come in just one year and five months’ time. Has anyone else notched that many No. 1s that quickly?
The Billboard Pop Shop Podcast is your one-stop shop for all things pop on Billboard‘s weekly charts. You can always count on a lively discussion about the latest pop news, fun chart stats and stories, new music, and guest interviews with music stars and folks from the world of pop. Casual pop fans and chart junkies can hear Billboard‘s executive digital director, West Coast, Katie Atkinson and Billboard’s managing director, charts and data operations, Keith Caulfield every week on the podcast, which can be streamed on Billboard.com or downloaded in Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast provider. (Click here to listen to the previous edition of the show on Billboard.com.)
[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for Alien: Earth, Season 1 Episode 5, “In Space, No One…”]
Alien: Earth took us back in time (and into space) mere days before the USCSS Maginot’s intended arrival date on the planet in the show’s riveting fifth installment, “In Space, No One…” which pays homage, not just in title, to Ridley Scott‘s 1979 film that started it all.
Written and directed by series creator Noah Hawley, Alien: Earth‘s latest episode tracks the events that led to the crash-landing of the USCSS Magino, as seen in the premiere episode, through Morrow’s (Babou Ceesay) eyes. As a security officer, the cyborg is alerted to a death aboard the ship caused by a breach in the containment of the species they’re transporting.
But as the events play out, Morrow realizes that sabotage is at play, and he begins to look at everyone suspiciously, including interim captain Zaveri (Richa Moorjani), who steps up after the ship’s captain dies. Still, the cyborg maintains his control and calm, even eliciting a curious comment from crewmate Rahim (Amir Boutros), who wonders how the cyborg doesn’t break a sweat despite the stress.
Realizing that navigation has also been lost, meaning the only potential outcome is a crash-landing, Morrow seeks answers and discovers a crew member has been tasked by Prodigy, Boy Kavalier’s (Samuel Blenkin) corp, to commandeer the ship and cargo. In other words, the seemingly random crash-landing had been orchestrated all along by the barefoot billionaire.
Patrick Brown / FX
And as Morrow roots out the sabatour, the creatures aboard are running amok, reducing the crew count drastically. When Morrow devises a plan to meet at the bridge, he decides that to preserve the cargo and deliver it to Weyland-Yutani, only he is needed to survive, and so he welds the door shut, leaving Zaveri to be massacred by the Xenomorph.
As he works to square away his tasks before closing himself in the emergency landing space, the calm and cool Morrow finally breaks a sweat. Is it due to the pressure of a 65-year-long mission during which he tragically lost his daughter? Hawley answers that question and many more, including which new species should scare viewers the most, in the Q&A below.
This episode pays homage to the story told in 1979’s Alien, but this time around, Morrow is at the center of it all. What made you want to reimagine this story, and what is driving Morrow to complete this mission?
Noah Hawley: I love the reversals for an audience in whom you’re rooting for, and who you’re rooting against. And I think those are some of the most meaningful moments as a viewer because it really is an active process that you go through. I remember in Season 2 ofFargo, Jesse Plemons and Kirsten Dunst, and they’re up against this Gerhardt family, and you think, “Well, I don’t care who they send, I’m rooting for Jesse and Kirsten.” And then they send the kid with cerebral palsy who wants to prove he’s a man. And the audience goes, “Well, hold on. I don’t want anything bad to happen to him.”
I think we’re trained to root for violence as a solution to a problem, and I always want the audience to have to wrestle with it a little bit and to look and to go, well, look at Morrow’s side of it. I mean, he has this mission he’s been tasked with, and he lost his ship. It was boarded, and they’ve stolen from him, and he’s the protagonist in his story, and his ethics are not our ethics, necessarily, but he’s not wrong on some level. When he says to Slightly, “If you took something from me, how is it wrong for me to take it back?”
Patrick Brown / FX
The biggest reveal in this episode is that Prodigy had infiltrated Weyland-Yutani’s USCSS Maginot with the intent to sabotage their mission. Does Morrow’s drive to go after Prodigy and Kavalier stem from wanting to give purpose to the time he lost with his daughter?
No, I think he articulates it in the third hour when he says, “I’ve been gone 65 years, this is my life’s work, and if I’ve lost this, then what was the point of those last 65 years?” And clearly, he made some choices. He sealed the door so that [Zaveri] couldn’t get in. I mean, he made these choices that are meaningful if you actually get the ends that justify the means. But if you don’t, then you just have the stuff that you did, and you have nothing to show for it.
This mostly contained episode builds up to an outcome we already knew. How did you approach that as a director and writer of the installment?
Well, you have to invest in all those people and think about how hard that is, to introduce this crew in 51 minutes, distinct and specific individuals whom you have feelings about. And then we’re also introducing and solving a sabotage mystery, and we’re playing out all these creature stories. So, on some level, why I wanted to do it was my mission overall was to try to turn Alien into something new. But if someone was going to get to also do classic Alien, I wanted that to be me. Right? I wanted to go, “I see what you did, Sir Ridley, and I see what you did, Mr. Cameron and Mr. Fincher, and here I am. Here’s my best effort at it.”
What’s interesting is that Morrow is technically in Ripley’s (Sigourney Weaver) shoes in this scenario, but he keeps his cool to the point that the crew questions why he isn’t sweating… until he is.
Then there’s that moment when Clem (Tom Moya) runs up and says something big, and you see for the first time Morrow doesn’t know what to do, everything is out of control. And that moment is everything to me. And Babou played it so brilliantly, but then he takes charge. There’s a moment she obviously can’t recover from that moment for herself, but he does, and that’s why he survives.
Patrick Brown / FX
In that final sequence aboard the USCSS Maginot, Morrow does begin to sweat. Is that a result of several different factors or merely the encroaching Xenomorph?
It’s a level of complexity. We all face it, right? You’re trying to get dinner on the table, there’s a flood in the bathroom, the cat’s throwing up in the other room. There’s a certain moment where you’re just like, I literally don’t know what to do right now. I don’t know which fire to put out. I don’t know what to do. Obviously, the stakes here are a lot higher, but I do think we all reach a moment where it’s just one thing too many, and he’s literally been carrying this crew; their priorities are weird, he’s got a drug addict for a doctor, it’s the island of misfit toys that’s on this ship. He’s been like, I’m going to get us through, and then at a certain point, he realizes I can get me through, I can’t get anybody else through, especially if they’re not going to help.
Babou Ceesay’s real-life daughter plays Morrow’s daughter in this episode’s flashback, and your son appeared alongside you earlier this season. What was it like incorporating real family members into the series, and how did that lend itself to more authentic moments onscreen?
It’s only fair for him to get his kid onscreen, too. This is how I make things. I make things by hand and to the point of yeah, I record music for the show and my son asked if there was something for him, and I thought, well yeah, I can put him in, but he’s not one of the lost boys, so he could be the young Hermit, but I’m not going to write scenes for it. I was planning to shoot this flashback piece, and so I’d need a father and a mother, and I thought, there’s just going to be day players, and the best way to get any kind of performance out of him is to just get down on the floor and do it with him. And it was really meaningful for me personally, because, of course, that was two years ago. The difference between a 10-year-old and a 12-year-old is… he’s a different kid now, right?
And so for Babou, in that moment, I thought, we’ve all come all this way. He’s moved his family across the earth. Why wouldn’t I give him that lifelong memory and connection with his own child? That’s immortalized on film. I think that too often we look at these shows as some calculated act written by a cash register or something, but this is five years of my life. This is a very personal document for me,
We’ve known the Xenomorph for years, but you’ve introduced several new species into the Alien world with this series. Is there one we should be most terrified of?
Well, I think people are rightly focusing on the eye simply because it clearly has a larger agenda. And as you see, as the season goes on, this may not just be a parasite or a predator. This may be a rival. And I think that’s really interesting.
When Nestlé abruptly ousted its chief executive Laurent Freixe over Labor Day weekend after revelations of a romantic relationship with a direct subordinate, one detail stood out: He was shown the door without a severance package.
That, according to corporate-governance veteran Nell Minow, is almost unheard of in the C-suite.
“That is really unusual,” she told Fortune. “I think that’s actually a badge of success for corporate governance, because that’s something investors have been concerned about for a long time: CEOs being dismissed and somehow getting to stay on.”
Nestlé confirmed to Fortune that Freixe will not receive a severance package.
For years, high-profile executives who crossed ethical lines have left with multimillion-dollar parachutes. Famously, Steve Easterbook, the former executive of McDonald’s, walked away from the role with a hefty sum of $40 million after getting caught having a consensual sexual relationship with a subordinate. McDonald’s later clawed back $105 million from Easterbook after finding he hadn’t disclosed sexual relationships with other subordinates at the fast-food giant.
Adam Neumann—after leading a disastrous charge to take the company he founded, WeWork, public—received $445 million in a payout package during his ouster. And after 346 people died in two crashes during Dennis Muilenburg’s tenure as CEO, he was not awarded severance, but was still left with more than $60 million in his pocket from other stock options.
Minow said these different outcomes show that boards are not always consistent in how they police misconduct, but said one thing remains consistent: Social media has left directors with fewer options to look the other way.
“There has been bad behavior in the boardroom for a long time,” Minow said. “But partly because of social media, partly because of the way things get out, the board is under more pressure to respond.”
The reputational fallout from bad behavior can be brutal. A Polish CEO who was recently caught on video snatching a U.S. Open souvenir hat from a child watched his company’s online reviews collapse to near zero in days. The “John” from Papa Johns caused Major League Baseball to pull their promotion with the pizza chain after he said the N-word during a media-training call in 2018.
Boards are slowly adapting, Minow argued. Some have begun docking bonuses or moving faster to terminate CEOs “for cause,” meaning the executive in question committed serious misconduct that warrants dismissal without severance pay. But she warned many still demonstrate a double standard.
“If you see some hypocrisy in the board, by the way that they handle the CEO versus the way they handle a middle manager, that’s a green light for employees to behave badly themselves.”
Even the apology, she said, operates as a test of governance. Minow keeps what she calls an informal “hall of shame” of poor executive apologies. The worst, she explained, dodge responsibility or fail to show how the company will prevent a repeat. The best are blunt, swift, and backed by action.
Ultimately, Nestlé’s move may prove a turning point. By denying Freixe a golden parachute, the Swiss food giant signaled that boards are starting to treat reputational risk as seriously as financial risk, and that missteps at the top no longer guarantee a cushy landing.
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Gold prices are surging again, hitting new record highs above $3,509 per ounce earlier on Tuesday (2 September). After falling in the wake of gold’s previous peak in April, gold stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are back on the charge.
The yellow metal’s latest upswing is being driven by speculation over Federal Reserve interest rate cuts and the future independence of the US central bank. Further gains are widely expected — JPMorgan has tipped gold prices to average $3,675 by the fourth quarter, and $4,000 by the middle of 2026.
Source: The Royal Mint
The omens look good for gold stocks and funds, although of course, further price rises cannot be guaranteed. Here are three to consider in the current market.
The easy route
The simplest way is to purchase an ETF that owns physical gold (in this case, bars that are locked up in vaults). This saves investors the trouble of having to store and sell the metal themselves. It also removes the need for them to buy gold-producing shares to get exposure to the precious metal.
The iShares Physical Gold (LSE:SGLN) is one I think demands serious attention. It’s the UK’s largest gold fund, with total assets above $18.7bn, and enjoys exceptional liquidity, making it easier for investors to open and close positions.
Furthermore, its total expense ratio is a very attractive 0.12%. Only the Xtrackers Physical Gold fund has a lower cost (0.11%).
But remember that prices may naturally fall if gold reverses course.
A cheap gold stock
As I say, individuals can also capitalise on buoyant gold prices by considering shares in metal producers. Brazilian miner Serabi Gold (LSE:SRB) is one that’s caught my eye.
Holding gold shares is riskier than physical metal or bullion-backed ETFs. They can fall when gold prices fall, and also if operational problems occur. Serabi, for instance, could retrace if its drive to double production over the next few years encounters issues.
However, this strategy can also mean higher returns, as producer profits can rise far more sharply than the gold price during bull markets. What’s more, holding gold shares can also provide an added bonus of dividend income. The dividend yield at Serabi is a solid 3.8%.
Today the shares trade on a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 3.9 times. This cheapness provides substantial scope for further price rises, in my view.
Best of both worlds
There are clearly advantages and disadvantages to buying gold-tracking funds and bullion-producing shares. I think one attractive way to balance the risk and reward of both options is to look for an ETF than holds shares in many different gold companies.
This is a strategy I’ve actually chosen myself by buying the L&G Gold Mining ETF (LSE:AUCP). This fund holds shares in 37 different gold companies, which helps reduce the impact of shocks experienced by individual companies on shareholder returns. But it doesn’t eliminate those risks, of course.
I like this particular fund because of its focus on larger mining companies like Newmont Mining and AngloGold Ashanti. These businesses tend to be much more stable than junior miners, while still providing the possibility of substantial capital gains.
It’s delivered an 80.6% return over the last 12 months. That’s substantially better than the 38.9% increase that gold prices have enjoyed over the period.
Clinton’s words triggered widespread outrage after praising Representative Nadler. Clinton referenced Nadler as a “mensch” and expressed her appreciation of his retirement. Clinton’s intentions to publicly appreciate Nadler made a further spark to an already polarized political environment.
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Since 1992, Nadler has been serving as a New York congressman. Wearing yet another hat, as the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, he declared that he will not seek reelection. Clinton’s remarks with the word “mensch” were undoubtedly a reference to the New York connections that she and Nadler share. It was a verbal appreciation that covered the New York-educated and Jewish community Mr. Nadler ingrained himself in. Nadler would retire in 2024, a culmination of his years in New York and Washington. Clinton said Hillary Clinton praised Nadler for his “leadership, selflessness, and decades of service to New Yorkers.”
An overwhelmingly large number of people expressed their shock and anger. With most of the rage revolving around Clinton, the reactions erupted around Clinton’s post. The fervor of detesting Clinton is obvious in the immense number of comments which demanded her to be imprisoned; one such person proclaimed, “You are an evil horrid woman and should be in prison.” Another, “Trump is going to put your ass in jail,” a popular idiom of unproven but popular suspicions of Clinton’s long-running controversies.
Clinton was not the only person to face the heat. Many also took to the internet to bash Mr. Nadler, as one being called him a “disgrace,” and another describing the way that he “disserved” New Yorkers. A couple of people decided to describe his old age and the state of his body, with one saying, “he is too old to be anywhere near politics,” and an even ruder “the only service he offered was to his diaper.”
A few people doubted the authenticity of the post. One user tried to confirm, “Is this a parody account?” while another user gave a cynical comment, “You know it’s bad when Hrc [Hillary Clinton] gives u a compliment..” This marks the different reactions to the Clinton persona in public.
There are more replies. One user mentioned, “Democrats need some sane leaders.” This worries the party’s future, the discussion is being dominated by the remarks. There is also another user replying to Clinton, claiming that she was the one that rigged the primaries to get rid of the progressive candidates. This underlines the feeling, which is caused by the 2016 election.
This anger filled the void under debated American politics, culturally. Both Clinton and Nadler come from different ends of the political spectrum. Thus any words of acknowledgement coming from either of the two are met with an explosive boiling over of outlandish accusations in the name of politics. Nadler and Clinton have doom and blessings coming from the political world, especially in the last few decades, in the name of politics that are cruel.
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If Clinton did not acknowledge Nadler’s departure from Congress, the backlash that Clinton received becomes an aftershock, and it proves the level of scrutiny in politics matters. At this moment, the discussion seems to be dominated by the treacherous work environment where Nadler’s legacy is being questioned, and very little is being talked about the good parts of his legacy.
Before he died alone in his jacuzzi, Matthew Perry had received three injections of ketamine in the space of just six hours. “Shoot me up with a big one,” he told his personal assistant, ahead of the final, fatal dose.
According to court documents, in the period leading up to 28 October 2023, Kenneth Iwamasawas illegally administeringPerry with between six and eight shots of the drug, an anaesthetic that can have hallucinogenic effects, each day.
A live-in assistant, he admitted to finding the actor unconscious at his Pacific Palisades home on at least two occasions in the weeks prior.
The hit that ultimately killed the Friends star was supplied by Jasveen Sangha, also known as the “Ketamine Queen” – a dealer who apparently only dealt “with high-end and celebs”. She has agreed to plead guilty to five charges and will appear in court later today.
Her charges, along with others filed against Iwamasa and others over the supply of ketamine to Perry, exposed part of Hollywood’s underground drug network – and put the spotlight on the world of celebrity, money and power.
Image: Jasveen Sangha was known as the ‘Ketamine Queen’. Pic: Jojo Korsh/BFA.com/Shutterstock
‘Yes men’ with terrible consequences
Perry’s death was met with both utter shock and a sad sense of the inevitable. The world knew him best as Chandler Bing, the comic heartbeat of Friends. But behind the jokes and the sarcasm, he was deeply troubled.
“It almost felt like we’d been mourning Matthew for a long time because his battle with that disease was a really hard one for him to fight,” is how his former co-star Jennifer Aniston described his addiction in a recent interview. “As hard as it was for all of us and for the fans, there’s a part of me that thinks this is better… I’m glad he’s out of that pain.”
The actor was an addict, and vulnerable – but also a huge star, worth millions.
Image: Kenneth Iwamasa was Matthew Perry’s live-in assistant. Pic: APEX / The Mega Agency
Iwamasa was administering the injections, ultimately playing God – but to him, the power most likely lay with his famous boss. His actions may seem inexcusable, but did he feel he had a choice?
“I think it was a situation that increasingly got more and more out of control,” says Bonnie Low-Kramen, a former celebrity assistant turned trainer, and author of Be The Ultimate Assistant.
Image: Photos: Photos: Jojo Korsh/BFA.com/Shutterstock/ APEX/The Mega Agency/ AP/ DoJ/ AP
Those who do the job, especially in Los Angeles, can be put under an enormous amount of pressure, she says, “tasked with doing things many of us wouldn’t imagine carrying out for our employers. It is a job which comes with an inherent power imbalance”.
Which means it can be incredibly hard to say no.
“When people are rich and famous, they often have people around them who won’t say no,” she says. “And assistants are in the yes business anyway.
“We’re in the business of figuring out, ‘well, let’s solve the problem…’. When money is no object, there are new rules that apply in that situation and that can be really hard to handle.”
Iwamasa is not the first celebrity assistant asked to administer or pick up illegal drugs, she says, and Perry is not the first star to die after taking drugs.
Image: Money Iwamasa paid for ketamine. Pic Central District of California Prosecutor’s Office
Ms Low-Kramen highlights the deaths of Janis Joplin, Princeand John Belushi as just a few other examples.
“Unfortunately, there are so many examples of this tragic end, where the abuse of drugs gets to a point where they’ve handled it for a really long time, and then the day comes when it can’t be handled anymore.”
For those struggling with addiction, being surrounded by “yes men” can have terrible consequences, says Garrett Braukman, an addiction treatment executive in Hollywood.
“Treatment is difficult for people when they have yes men. They have a lot of people that are going to tell them you can get whatever you want, you can get drugs, you can get alcohol, you could do whatever, and no one is willing to really look at that from the perspective of how dangerous that is.”
Image: Material prosecutors said was taken from Sangha’s ‘stash house’. Pic: Central District of California Prosecutor’s Office
Mr Braukman says addiction can go hand in hand with fame and that a “high” percentage of his patients work in the entertainment industry.
“I don’t know how I would be able to stay clean and sober if I go to my grandma’s house and there’s 20 guys outside of my grandma’s house taking pictures of me walking in. You become an animal to a degree that people are watching.”
Image: Dr Salvador Plasencia appeared in court in July. Pic: Reuters/Mike Blake
Rise in use of ketamine
The use of ketamine recreationally has been on the rise in recent years, in the UK as well as the US. In England, some 3,609 people started treatment for problems with the drug in the year 2023-2024 – more than eight times the number in 2014-2015, when 426 sought help, according to government statistics.
In January, drag queen The Vivienne was found dead in the bath at their home in Cheshire, aged 32. The star’s family later told how the performer had died “from the effects of ketamine use causing a cardiac arrest”.
Ketamine is usually taken recreationally as a crushed powder, but also sometimes injected or swallowed – making people feel detached and dreamlike. It can also cause severe bladder and kidney problems.
Image: The Vivienne died after taking ketamine in January 2025. Pic: PA
Perry’s struggles with alcohol and other drugs, before ketamine, were long running and well documented, starting with drinking as a teenager before moving on to painkilling prescription drugs Vicodin and OxyContin, and tranquilliser Xanax.
“I have spent upward of $7m (£5.8m) trying to get sober,” he wrote in his memoir, released when he was clean, just a year before his death.
While accepting the almost unsurpassable legacy of the hit show that made him a star, he said he hoped his support for fellow addicts would be the achievement he was best remembered for.
“When I die, I don’t want Friends to be the first thing that’s mentioned – I want helping others to be the first thing that’s mentioned and I’m going to live the rest of my life proving that.”
He only lived for another year.
Image: Perry (centre) with his Friends co-stars David Schwimmer, Lisa Kudrow, Courteney Cox, Jennifer Aniston and Matt LeBlanc at the Emmys in 2002. Pic: Reuters
Illegal use v therapy
Before he died, Perry had been undergoing legal ketamine infusion therapy to treat depression and anxiety. The drug can be used as a treatment in clinical settings in the US, and some specialist and private centres in the UK – although there are concerns from some medics here about its use even in those settings.
According to a postmortem report, the actor had reportedly been clean for 19 months before he started obtaining the drug illegally as well.
It was not the supervised doses that killed him, but the idea of an addict taking the drug to help their problems might still sound shocking.
Image: Pic: Reuters
In California, ketamine drips are legally used as pain relief, to treat mood disorders and to help with addiction. Other celebrities and notable figures – including Chrissy Teigen, Elon Musk and Sharon Osbourne – have all shared details of ketamine therapy and how it helped them.
Dr Austin Harris, owner and medical director at NeuroRelief Ketamine Infusion Therapy, says historically the drug is “extremely safe” when used in the right conditions, and swears by its effectiveness.
At the clinic in California, he explained to Sky News how it can help people with mood disorders and chronic pain, as well as those in recovery from drug or alcohol abuse.
“Which a lot of people who don’t really understand this at a scientific level might think is an oxymoron,” he says. “But actually, it’s profoundly beneficial – done properly – in resetting both neurologic and psychological patterns for substance abuse.”
Image: Ketamine treatment at NeuroRelief Ketamine Infusion Therapy in LA
Ketamine infusion “restarts in our brain what should already be there”, he says, in terms of “the neurologic road workers, to be able to then direct, to build new patterns and actual new nerve pathways”.
One patient having therapy at the clinic also spoke to us, saying he had abused alcohol and marijuana, and occasionally opiate painkillers, for many years.
“I’ve had enough experience and decades of being addicted to drugs and alcohol and traumas and trying different things,” he said. “When I came out of that infusion I was like, wait a minute. I didn’t have the shakes. I didn’t have the cravings.”
Dr Harris emphasises the need for administration by a professional in a clinical setting. “Matthew Perry was being illegally sold ketamine on the black market. The fact that a doctor happened to be one of several people that was illegally selling it to him should not be confused with the appropriate legal utilisation of ketamine.”
The actor was vulnerable, Dr Harris continues. “It’s absolutely abominable… You have someone with serious addiction problems, lifelong. And sadly, I think that he was really taken advantage of.”
The drugs stash
As well as Sangha and Iwamasa, the others charged over Perry’s death are Erik Fleming, an associate of Perry’s who was in contact with Sangha, Dr Mark Chavez, a physician, and Dr Salvador Plasencia, who also supplied ketamine illegally to Perry.
“I wonder how much this moron will pay,” Dr Plasencia said in a text exchange between him and Chavez.
Image: Dr Mark Chavez, a physician from San Diego, pleaded guilty in court last year. Pic: AP/ Damian Dovargan
After Perry died, Sangha desperately sought to cover her involvement. “Delete all our messages,” she instructed Fleming in a message on Signal.
In March 2024, law enforcement searched Sangha’s home and found 1.7kg of pressed pills containing methamphetamine, 79 vials of liquid ketamine, MDMA (ecstasy) tablets, counterfeit Xanax pills, baggies containing powdered ketamine and cocaine, and other drug-trafficking items such as a gold money counting machine, a scale, a wireless signal and hidden camera detector, drug packaging materials, and $5,723 in cash, according to her plea agreement.
Sangha was happy to supply to Hollywood’s rich and famous – and not an anomaly.
Several books have been written by Tinseltown dealers, and only a few months ago, the Sean “Diddy” Combs trial heard from a former personal assistant to the hip-hop mogul who testified about meeting sellers for his boss.
Now, as she becomes the last defendant to admit her role in Perry’s death, the Ketamine Queen’s guilty plea brings to a close the criminal investigation into the circumstances surrounding the tragedy.
But in a world where money talks, where fame and addiction or mental health issues often go hand-in-hand, it is unlikely to be the last.
The USS Sampson, a U.S. Navy missile destroyer, docks in Panama City, Panama, on Sept. 2. The deployment comes amid a broader U.S. Naval presence in Caribbean waters following President Donald Trump’s order last month to take action against Latin American drug cartels.
Daniel Gonzalez/Anadolu/via Getty
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Daniel Gonzalez/Anadolu/via Getty
Tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela are rising. Days after sending U.S. gunboats to South American waters, President Trump said Tuesday that the U.S. Navy struck a vessel in the southern Caribbean carrying what he described as a Venezuelan drug shipment.
Trump told reporters during an Oval Office event that the operation happened “over the last few minutes, (we) literally shot out a a boat, a drug carrying boat, a lot of drugs in that boat.”
Moments later Secretary of State Marco Rubio tweeted confirmation, calling it a “lethal strike” on a vessel operated by a “designated narco-terrorist organization.”
In a later Truth Social post about the operation, Trump said 11 people were killed, calling them “terrorists,” claiming they were members of Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang. He included a video in the post labeled “unclassified” showing a strike on a small speedboat with four outboard motors.
The strike on the vessel comes amid the Trump administration’s increasingly confrontational posture toward the Veneuelan regime. Washington accuses Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro of leading a drug cartel and has put a $50 million bounty on his head. Then just over a week ago, the U.S. deployed warships—including the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group—to waters off Venezuela’s coast in a significant show of force.
Maduro claims the U.S. military buildup is a sign that Washington is trying to overthrow the Venezuelan government. In response Maduro has declared “maximum preparedness” in the country, saying that 4.5 million militia members are ready to ensure that “no empire will touch the sacred soil of Venezuela.” State TV network Telesur has been running extensive coverage featuring Venezuelans—including fishermen and ordinary citizens—called up for military service.
Maduro was sworn in for a third six-year term as Venezuela’s president in January 2025, following an election widely criticized as fraudulent. Maduro has used Washington’s latest show of force to rally both domestic and international attention. The Venezuela government had not responded to the U.S. strike or President Trump’s claims prior to publication.
During Trump’s first term, U.S. warships were also sent to the region, with little impact. Former U.S. Ambassador to Venezuela James Story, who previously worked on anti-narcotics issues at the State Department, told NPR the current administration’s policy toward Venezuela was incoherent. In July, for example, the U.S. reissued a license allowing U.S. oil company Chevron to operate there.
I bought Phoenix (LSE: PHNX) shares 18 months ago when the dividend yield was close to 10%. That was a remarkable level of income, and I’m glad I took the plunge.
I’ve already received three bumper payouts, while the Phoenix share price has climbed 20% in the last year. It’s not climbing today (2 September), though.
FTSE 100 income star
Shares in Phoenix Group Holdings, to use its full name, are down 3.74% to 656p today, as concerns over rising UK bond yields rattle markets. Phoenix manages around £280bn of assets, so falling stock markets can reduce the value of its portfolio.
Rising bond yields are a particular threat to high-yield dividend stocks because they offer investors a higher ‘risk-free return’ from government debt, without exposing their money to the market volatility of equities.
Yet, Phoenix looks solid. Cash generation rose 22% to £1.4bn in 2024. Management is targeting £5.1bn in total between 2024 and 2026, which should support steady future dividends. Its solvency ratio remains strong at 172%.
Equity risks remain
There’s always the chance that dividend payments could be trimmed one day, although Phoenix has managed to hold or increase them in nine of the last 11 years, with average annual increases of 2.91%. Nothing is guaranteed, but the track record is encouraging.
Despite the dip, the stock trades on a price-to-earnings ratio of 15. That looks fair value rather than cheap. I think we could be in for a bumpy September, and I’m wondering whether I should take the opportunity to pick up more Phoenix stock at the lower price.
At today’s price, I could buy 304 shares with £2,000 after charges. Analysts expect the next payout to be 25.95p per share. On that basis, that £2k would hand me £78.88 in dividend income.
In fact, I’d get more. I already own 871 shares, which will generate £226. Combined with the new holding, that’s around £305 landing in my account on 30 October. Which is pretty handy. I’d automaticaly reinvest it, something I do with every dividend I receive, as this accelerates the compounding process. This would further increase my stake in Phoenix, and set me up for even more dividends next year.
Reinvest to grow
Of course, this isn’t an easy win. Once a stock goes ex-dividend, its share price typically falls by the amount of the payout to reflect the lost value. Some investors also sell immediately after the ex-dividend date, knowing their cash is on the way. The important thing for me is that nobody can take this income from me once it is declared.
My own plan is simple. I aim to hold this stock for years, reinvesting each twice-yearly payout to buy more shares, and treating any capital growth on top as a bonus.
With the stock still offering one of the highest yields on the FTSE 100, I think income seekers might consider buying Phoenix before it goes ex-dividend on 2 October. I’ve got some cash in my SIPP, and plan to do so myself.
This past Labor Day weekend, former Succession actor Nicholas Braun landed himself in a pair of serious, not sexy handcuffs. You see, DUIs are no laughing matter, which Nicholas now understands firsthand. Moving forward, Nicholas still has to work his way through this charge, which all happened in New Hampshire last Friday night.
Nicholas Braun was arrested in New Hampshire on a DUI charge
Photo Credit: Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin via Getty Images
According to TMZ, while driving around Moultonborough, New Hampshire, over this past Labor Day weekend, local police officers pulled Nicholas over. Following this traffic stop, they arrested Nicholas on two separate charges: Suspicion of DUI Impairment and Operating Without Lights. The police then proceeded to take Nicholas to a jail in Carroll County, where he remained in custody for about an hour. Following his abbreviated time in the clink, Nicholas walked free on his own recognizance.
And no, he did not pay bail. There was none, per the outlet. Likewise, Nicholas got to bypass the infamous mug shot pose for his keepsakes. Reportedly, the machines used at this station, which take these picture-perfect memory captures, were down. Some guys have all the luck, eh?
Except that Nicholas was actually lucky, because, drunk or not, no one got hurt. Well, minus a potential blow to his persona, that is. However, Nicholas does have a court date ahead. According to court records, this date is quickly approaching, landing on the morning of September 16.
At this time, Nicholas has yet to speak about his arrest or the charges he is now staring down. Likewise, online, his last post was 22 weeks ago. But if he does speak, we will update you accordingly.
Nicholas most recently starred in Splitsville earlier this year. Up next, he will appear in a movie called Three Bags Full: A Sheep Detective Movie.
TELL US – DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY WORDS TO SAY TO NICHOLAS?
