Reuters Entertainment News Summary
Following is a summary of current entertainment news briefs.
Hand sanitizers as London Fashion Week opens amid coronavirus disruption
Hand sanitizers and face masks were the new must-have accessories as London Fashion Week opened on Friday, in what was expected to be a subdued gathering hit by the absence of many Chinese attendees because of coronavirus. Fashionistas queued for catwalk shows sporting face masks in different shades of pastel as buyers, designers, students and social media influencers came prepared at a time of global anxiety about the spread of the virus.
R. Kelly accused of sex with teen girl in 1990s as indictment is updated
Singer R. Kelly, already facing trial in three states on sexual abuse, child pornography, kidnapping and obstruction of justice charges, has been hit with an updated indictment in Chicago stemming from a newly-identified victim, court documents showed on Friday. The superseding indictment, filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago, identifies the latest accuser only as "Minor 6" and charges Kelly, 53, with engaging in sexual acts with her in the late 1990s, when she was 14 or 15 years old.
Who needs an Oscar? I'm popular in U.S. now, jokes Ukrainian leader
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, a former comic actor, joked on Saturday that after dreaming of Oscars and popularity in the United States, he had achieved at least the fame part through President Donald Trump's impeachment. Asked at the Munich Security Conference about Ukraine being dragged into U.S. politics, Zelenskiy reverted to his previous career as a comedic actor when he played a fictional president in a popular TV series.
Leadership of 'French Oscars' resigns amid Polanski controversy
The management of the "French Oscars" resigned en masse on Thursday after weeks of controversy centered on director Roman Polanski, whose latest film "An Officer and a Spy" leads nominations ahead of the 2020 awards ceremony. The resignations come just two weeks before the Cesar Awards, France's equivalent of the Oscars, which featured 12 nominations for Polanski's movie about Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish French officer unfairly accused of spying for Germany in the 1890s.
New York prosecutor says former movie producer Weinstein abused his power
New York prosecutors told jurors that Harvey Weinstein abused his power and pushed back against claims by the former Hollywood producer's defense team that his accusers were not credible. Setting the stage for the jury to begin deliberating next week in Weinstein's weeks-long sexual assault trial, Assistant District Attorney Joan Illuzzi said Weinstein, 67, had counted on his victims never coming forward.
Billie Eilish releases theme to forthcoming James Bond film 'No Time to Die'
American teen pop sensation Billie Eilish, fresh off her big Grammy Awards victory and an Oscar night performance, has released her much-anticipated official theme song to the forthcoming James Bond film "No Time to Die." The four-minute ballad, a haunting song of betrayal and despair co-written by Eilish and her older brother, Finneas, and performed to an orchestral arrangement, was posted on Thursday to YouTube and various music streaming sites.
Banksy plays with violence and innocence in Valentine's Day graffiti
British street artist Banksy is thought to have given a Valentine's Day gift to his home town of Bristol in western England with the appearance of a new mural showing a small girl with a catapult and a splatter of red flowers. Banksy - whose identity is not publicly known - has not confirmed that the artwork is his. He often uses Instagram to claim ownership of his works but has yet to do so this time. His agent did not respond to Reuters' request for confirmation.
Weinstein's lawyer assails accusers' credibility in New York rape trial closing argument
A lawyer for Harvey Weinstein on Thursday took aim at the credibility of the women accusing the former movie producer of sexual assault and urged jurors in the closing arguments of his New York trial to acquit him. Weinstein, 67, has pleaded not guilty to sexually assaulting former production assistant Mimi Haleyi in 2006 and raping Jessica Mann, a onetime aspiring actress, in 2013.
