Big setback in Ashley Judd’s case

A federal judge in Los Angeles has dismissed Ashley Judd’s sexual harassment claim against Harvey Weinstein but said she could proceed with a defamation claim against him. Judd had accused Weinstein of defaming her in 1998 after she refused what she said were his sexual advances a year earlier. In her lawsuit, filed in April 2018, the actor accused Weinstein of smearing her reputation by discouraging director Peter Jackson from casting her in his blockbuster movie franchise The Lord of the Rings.

Judd, one of the first women in October 2017 to publicly accuse Weinstein of sexual misconduct, had accused the Hollywood movie mogul of sexual harassment in violation of a California law barring such conduct by a person in a “business, service or professional relationship” with another. In a footnote to his ruling, District Judge Philip Gutierrez said he was not determining whether Judd was sexually harassed by Weinstein “in the colloquial sense of the term”. But Gutierrez said Judd’s relationship as an actor with the film producer was not covered under the California statute she had cited.

Weinstein’s lawyer, Phyllis Kupferstein, said in a statement: “We have said from the beginning that this claim was unjustified, and we are pleased that the court saw it as we did. We believe that we will ultimately prevail on her remaining claims.”

Bird Box challenge: Teen crashes car

A 17-year-old has caused a highway collision after driving blindfolded as part of the Bird Box challenge. Based on the hit Netflix horror starring Sandra Bullock, the social media challenge involves participants taking part in tasks while wearing a blindfold, emulating characters in the film who must evade sight-targeting monsters.

The unnamed teen drove on the highway with her beanie hat pulled over her eyes. According to KUTV and the Layton police department, she soon careered into the other lane and hit another car, a light pole and a sound wall. Police are recommending charges of reckless driving.

“I’m almost embarrassed to have to say ‘Don’t drive with your eyes covered’, but you know apparently we do have to say that,” Travis Lyman of the Layton police said. “The stakes are just so high and it’s just such a potentially dangerous thing as it is: to try and do it in that way is inexcusable. It really puts everybody at risk.” No one was injured in the crash — a relief to Netflix, which earlier this month issued a warning to fans of the film to lay off the blindfold stunts. “PLEASE DO NOT HURT YOURSELVES WITH THIS BIRD BOX CHALLENGE,” Netflix tweeted from its primary account. “We don’t know how this started, and we appreciate the love but...have just one wish for 2019 and it is that you not end up in the hospital due to memes.”

Avengers set to present Oscars 2019

For some years, the Academy Awards have been seeking to shake up their annual telecast, in an attempt to freshen the ceremony and lure a larger — and younger — audience. Veteran producers have been let go; edgier hosts employed — and ratings continued to fall. This year, however, a radical reinvention of the ceremony has been all but forced on the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, following the decision of Kevin Hart to step down three days after he was announced as host in December.

Hart — an actor and comedian particularly popular with exactly the demographic the Oscars were keen to court — was reportedly told to apologise anew for homophobic remarks he had made in the past or quit his post.

He chose the latter, but speculation had been strong as no replacement was unveiled — and Hart did indeed apologise a few days later anyway. Last week, he appeared on Ellen DeGeneres’s chat show and declared he would be open to a return, if only to “take a stand against the trolls” who he felt had hounded him online.

But the backlash to the interview was considerable, with many objecting to Hart’s appropriation of victimhood and DeGeneres’s agreement with his assessment that his detractors were simply “haters”. Reports have now emerged in the Hollywood trade press that the telecast team have resigned themselves to the lack of a replacement and sought instead to secure the services of countless stars to act as awards presenters.