R&B singer R. Kelly’s legal troubles seem far from over with Chicago police charging him with failure to pay more than $161,000 in child support owed to his ex-wife Andrea-for their three children. The arrest came just two weeks after he was arrested and charged with 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault against four women and girls—three of whom were under the age of consent at the time. Prosecutors say three of Kelly’s victims were underage girls and that Kelly abused them over a span of about a dozen years. Kelly was once again released from custody after someone paid his bail three days after his arrest.
His second arrest came just hours after an interview with Gayle King where he became visibly upset and was screaming and cursing. During the interview, which broadcast on ”CBS This Morning,” Kelly again denied the allegations that have followed him for years as well as the more recent allegations that he is holding several young women in what has been described as a sex cult. The 52 year old singer went from tears to yelling throughout the interview as he claims that the accusations are lies. During the tense interview, at times, Kelly jumped from his seat, standing over King as he yelled and pounded on his chest.
- Kelly: “I didn’t do this stuff! This is not me! I’m fighting for my [bleep] life! Y’all are killing me with this [bleep]! I gave y’all 30 years of my [bleep] career!”
Gayle King: “Robert.”
- Kelly: “Thirty years of my career, and y’all are trying to kill me!”
During the interview, when asked about whether he pays child support to his ex-wife, he claimed to only have about $350,000 left in his bank account.
Kelly has faced scrutiny for more than a decade, though you wouldn’t know it by looking at his record sales over the years. He is notably known for his music as much as the allegations involving underage girls. It’s been well-known that Kelly settled four cases involving underage girls before his 2002 indictment. During the six years it took that case to go to trial, Kelly churned out hits like “I Believe I Can Fly,” “I Wish” and “Fiesta”. He was eventually found not guilty and though the allegations were well known, they faded from the publics’ mind as his record sales soared.
Attention to the allegations were reignited in January after the six-part Lifetime docuseries “Surviving R. Kelly” aired. It featured interviews with seven accusers and former members of his inner circle. They all said Kelly preys on vulnerable women and young girls. All of the girls were willing involved with him but were underage at the time. They claim that at the time, they loved him and began their relationships believing they had a special connection but began to realize that he had a sickness.
Gayle King also asked King about the two women that currently live with Kelly, whose parents both claim he has isolated them- abusing and brainwashing their daughters. Aspiring singer Jocelyn Savage, 23, met Kelly when she was just 17 years old and has been living with Kelly since she was 19. She broke off contact with her parents soon after she began living with him. Another aspiring singer, Azriel Clary, 20, also met Kelly when she was 17 years old and she broke off contact soon after moving in with him. In an interview with Gayle King, Clary and Jocelyn defended R. Kelly saying, that their parents are just after money and that they were happy being his girlfriends and living with him. R.Kelly was in the room during the interview.
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An Alabama officer will not be charged in the fatal Thanksgiving Day shooting of 21 year old E.J. Bradford at a Birmingham area mall. State Attorney General Steve Marshall announced that his investigation found the officer did not break the law and will not be charged in the death of Emantic “E.J.” Bradford Jr. The facts of the case demonstrate that the officer “reasonably exercised his official powers, duties, or functions when he shot E. J. Bradford on the night of Nov. 22, 2018,” the report states.
Bradford’s shooting happened as officers were responding to a report of gunfire at the Riverchase Galleria in Hoover. At 9:52 pm on November 22, 2018, an altercation involving four people occurred near the Footaction and JCPenney stores on the second level of the mall. One of the men, Erron Brown, reportedly drew a weapon and shot 18-year-old Brian Wilson twice before fleeing the area. Stray gunfire also hit a 12-year-oil Molly Davis.
According to the Alabama State Attorney General’s report, approximately five seconds after the shooting, two officers from the Hoover Police Department approached Bradford, who was “running toward the initial shooter and victim with a firearm visibly in hand.” One of the officers fired shots at Bradford from behind, striking him 3 times in the head, neck and lower back. The attorney general’s report says the officer mistakenly believed Bradford had fired the earlier shots and was justified in shooting him. The officer saw Bradford running toward the shooting scene with a gun and believed he was trying to kill the shooting victim, according to the report.
Police initially described Bradford as the gunman and said officers acted heroically to “take out the threat,” but later corrected themselves and identified Erron Brown as the alleged shooter. Brown, 20, was arrested in Georgia a week later and charged in the shooting of Brian Wilson and Molly Davis. The attorney general, whose office took over the investigation from the local district attorney in Hoover, also released surveillance video and other documents from the investigation.
E.J. Bradford had enlisted in the army in 2017 and completed basic training, but was administratively separated in August 2018. He was a licensed gun owner and was reportedly attempting to protect the mall patrons when he was shot. Bradford’s killing sparked weeks of protest last year and protests erupted again after the announcement that the officer would not be charged. Bradford’s father called the attorney general “a coward” for the report’s finding. “My son was murdered. And you think I’m going to let it go?,” Emantic Sr. told reporters Tuesday. “That was a homicide … You killed my son. You are a coward. You’re a coward too, Steve Marshall.”
Benjamin Crump, an attorney for the Bradford family, said officers stated in the attorney general’s report that they did not give Bradford any verbal warning. “We don’t have any evidence whatsoever that E.J. ever knew the police officers were there whatsoever. E.J. went to his grave not knowing who shot him three times in his back.” Crump said that race played a role in Bradford’s death and that a civil lawsuit claiming wrongful death will be filed.
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Grammy-nominated rapper 21 Savage, was detained by agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement on February 3, 2019. ICE says British-born Shéyaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, better known by his stage name 21 Savage, overstayed his visa after coming to the U.S. at the age of 12 in 2005. Lawyers for the rapper say he is being wrongfully detained and that his new visa application is currently pending.
Abraham-Joseph, 27, faces deportation after he was turned over to ICE by cops targeting his cousin, rapper Young Nudy. Nudy, whose real name is Quantavious Thomas, was stopped by DeKalb County police and agents with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in a targeted stop. Abraham-Joseph, happened to be riding with Thomas and has not been charged with any crime in connection with the stop.
ICE alleges that he entered the US legally in July 2005, when he was a minor but subsequently failed to depart under the terms of his nonimmigrant visa. ICE says Abraham-Joseph became unlawfully present when his visa expired in July 2006. “Mr. Abraham-Joseph is presently in ICE custody in Georgia and has been placed into removal proceedings before the federal immigration courts,” ICE said in a statement. “ICE will now await the outcome of his case before a federal immigration judge to determine future actions.”
His detention has provoked outrage among his fan base and has shone a spotlight on immigration proceedings. An attorney for Abraham-Joseph said his representatives are working to secure his release. “We are working diligently to get Mr. Abraham-Joseph out of detention while we work with the authorities to clear up any misunderstandings.” His lawyers say that he was “left without legal status through no fault of his own” at the age of 13 and are arguing that his detention is based on “incorrect information about prior criminal charges. They say that ICE is now refusing to release him on bond of any amount, despite the fact that he has a pending U-Visa application, and that he has relief from removal available to him.” A U-Visa is available to crime victims who are willing to provide ‘helpful information’ to law enforcement. His lawyer said that the feds have known his client’s address since he filed for the U-Visa in 2017 and questioned why they took no action until this weekend.
Abraham-Joseph, who has collaborated with some of the music world’s hottest stars, including Drake, Cardi B, Travis Scott and Post Malone, has had numerous encounters with the law and has never sought to hide his status from the authorities, his legal team say. In 2014 he was convicted of drug possession in Fulton County In 2016, he called the cops to report that someone had kicked in the door of his 10th Street condo, taking a Glock handgun, a Rolex and other jewelry, a Louis Vuitton bag and a safe containing $345,000.
His lawyers have argued that he is a “role model to the young people in this country, especially in Atlanta, Georgia, and is actively working in the community leading programs to help underprivileged youths in financial literacy.” He will now likely miss the Grammy’s ceremony, where he is up for record of the year for Rockstar with Post Malone.
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A trial is underway in Boston against pharmaceutical executives who prosecutors say ran a criminal scheme of bribing doctors to prescribe its’ highly addictive fentanyl spray, Subsys, to patients who didn’t need it. John Kapoor, the founder of Insys Therapeutics and former CEO, and other drug executives are accused of organizing fake speaking events to pay and influence doctors. One of the defendants, Sunrise Lee, allegedly gave a lap dance to a doctor at a company event in order to persuade him to prescribe the drug.
Subsys is a powerful pain killer used to treat cancer pain in terminally ill patients. The drug, which is made from fentanyl, is incredibly powerful, about 100 times more powerful than morphine. More than 900 people have died while using Subsys since it was approved in 2012. Kapoor, was charged by the government in 2017. The indictment against Kapoor and the other former Insys executives allege that they “conspired to mislead and defraud health insurance providers” who did not want to approve payment for Subsys when it was prescribed for patients who did not have a cancer diagnosis. The U.S. Department of Justice said the company executives were able to get around those concerns by setting up the “reimbursement unit,” which was dedicated to obtaining prior authorization directly from insurers and pharmacy benefit managers.
The executives — Sunrise Lee, John Kapoor, Michael Gurry, Richard Simon and Joseph Rowan — deny wrongdoing and have pleaded not guilty to racketeering conspiracy. They have argued that prosecutors are trying to make an example of Insys, a small segment of the pharmaceutical industry they say is unfairly maligned by a government trying to show it is making a dent in the opioid crisis. The government also charged former CEO and company president Michael Babich and Alec Burlakoff, the former vice president of Sales. Burlakoff and Babich have pled guilty to charges tied to the racketeering and conspiracy case and have agreed to cooperate with the government. They are expected to be star witnesses for the government during the trial.
“In exchange for bribes and kickbacks, the practitioners wrote large numbers of prescriptions for the patients, most of whom were not diagnosed with cancer,” the government said in its 2017 announcement. Prosecutors and court documents say, Subsys’s pharmaceutical sales team used a playbook of scandalous incentives to get the drug prescribed. They hired attractive sales reps in their 20s and 30s and encouraged them to stroke doctors’ hands while “begging” them to write prescriptions.
The company offered doctors hefty speaking fees, often for events attended only by buddies and people who worked in their practices. How frequently a doctor participated in the company’s lucrative speaker program was based on how frequently doctors wrote Subsys prescriptions, prosecutors said. Insys made 18,000 payments to doctors in 2016 — a total of more than $2 million that went to headache doctors and back pain specialists.
Prosecutors say Sunrise Lee, a former dancer at a Florida strip club was hired as a sales executive despite having no academic degree and her only management experience was running an escort service. Prosecutors say Lee rose to become Insys Therapeutics’ regional sales director and once gave a doctor a lap dance during one of the speaking events. Holly Brown, the Insys sales rep who recounted the lap dance story to federal jurors, testified that Lee frequently wore low-cut tops and frequently handed out her business card to doctors “ if they wanted to discuss the Fentanyl Spray ‘in private.’ ”
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A terrorist attack at a luxury hotel and office complex in the Westlands area of Nairobi, Kenya has left 21 civilians dead and dozens more wounded or missing. Five attackers were also killed during the siege that began around 3pm on Tuesday, January 15th and ended just before 10am the next day. More than 700 people were safely evacuated during the attack. In a statement, the Somalia-based Al-Shabab group claimed the assault was retaliation for President Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The attack began at a bank inside the compound after a car bomb explosion ripped through three vehicles in the parking lot, followed by a blast from a suicide bomber in the lobby of the seven-story Dusit Hotel. The explosion triggered vehicles parked nearby to burst into flames. After the blast the remaining terrorists opened fire on guards, forcing them to open the gates of the complex at 14 Riverside Drive.
Kenyan authorities believe there were four to six attackers armed with guns and grenades. Security camera footage released to local media outlets showed at least four armed men inside the complex as well as footage of the suicide bomber who calmly walked into the lobby and self-detonated a suicide vest. The coordinated attack lead to a standoff that continued through the night, with people trapped in various parts of the buildings hours later. The Recce company, the anti-terrorism unit of the Kenya Police, were sent in to combat the militants. A member of the British SAS and an unspecified number of United States Navy SEALs, who were in the country to conduct training, also took part in the response. Australian embassy security detail also exchanged fire with the terrorists as they made their way into the complex.
According to Inspector General of Police Joseph Boinett, sixteen Kenyans, one Briton, one American and three unidentified people of African origin are among the dead and twenty-eight others have been hospitalized. Among the dead was U.S. businessman Jason Spindler, who in 2001 survived the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center. He was co-founder and managing director of I-DEV International, a firm advising on business strategy for emerging markets. A British man is also among the dead and was later identified by the development organization Gatsby Africa as Luke Potter, head of its forestry and tea portfolio.
A few of the victims identified in the attack were: James Oduor, who worked at one of the offices inside the complex. Oduor was trapped inside the complex in the hours after the initial blasts and sent out a tweet at 2:05am that read “Waaah. What’s happening at 14 Riverside fam? Any news from out there?” Another victim, Bernadette Konjalo, worked at the Dusit Hotel, and was shot as she ran away from an armed attacker after helping hotel guests find safety. Also killed were Kenyan development consultants Feisal Ahmed, 31, and Abdalla Dahir, 33, who worked for Adam Smith International (ASI). Described as “inseparable buddies’ by friends, the two were killed as they were having lunch at the Secret Garden restaurant in the grounds of the hotel when the suicide bomber struck. Mr Ahmed’s widow is reportedly seven months pregnant.
After the attack, the militant group Al-Shabab, said “In a response to the witless remarks of US President Donald Trump and his declaration of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel,” the group targeted “Western and Zionist interests worldwide … in support of our Muslim families in Palestine.” In 2013, Al-Shabaab militants targeted the luxury shopping center of Westgate, which is 2 miles away from the site of Tuesday’s attack, killing 67 people in a siege that lasted several days. The group also killed nearly 150 people, most of them students, in an attack on Garissa University College in Kenya in April 2015.
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In France, the “yellow vest” protesters took to the streets again over the weekend. The protests against a fuel tax erupted on November 17th 2018 when people across France donned high-visibility vests, giving them their nickname the yellow vests, and went out to disrupt traffic. Similar actions have followed every weekend and while the number of demonstrators has dropped, cities across France continue to see rioting and disruption. At least six people have died and at least 1,400 have been injured as a result of the unrest.
What began as anger over green tax on vehicle fuel has grown into more general discontent with the leadership of President Emmanuel Macron, who protesters accuse of favoring the urban elite. The intensity of the protests forced the government to halt the plans for the fuel tax hike but demonstrators called for additional economic reforms, and many for the resignation of President Emmanuel Macron. While Macron said the tax was necessary to “protect the environment” and “combat climate change”, protesters claimed the decision was yet another sign that the “privileged” president is out of touch with regular folk struggling to make ends meet.
President Emmanuel Macron delivered a national address announcing he would raise the minimum wage and cancel a tax increase on low-income retirees. He also proposed some social reforms, including an increase in the minimum wage by 100 euros ($113) a month beginning in January that will not cost employers extra and a promise that overtime hours will not be taxed. While Macron’s announcement appeased some demonstrators, many continue to take to the streets.
Last week, a group of protesters in Paris rammed a forklift into a government ministry building, while violent confrontations between some demonstrators and police took place in the capital. French security forces fired tear gas and flash-balls after a march through picturesque central Paris turned violent. Rioters started fires on the prestigious Boulevard Saint Germain in Paris. Police boats patrolled the river while beyond the Seine, motorcycles and a car were set on fire on the Boulevard Saint Germain. Riot police and firefighters moved in with a water canon as barricades mounted in the middle of the wide street burned.
A reported 50,000 people across the country came out as the movement is now in its second month of protests. While the number of rioters has dwindled from the 280,000 that joined the protests in November, the disruption and destruction of property continues. The march had been declared in advance and approved, in contrast to some illegal December demonstrations that degenerated into vandalism, looting and chaos.
After two months of civil unrest, the government has declared it will crackdown on the disruption. Prime Minister Philippe said the government would support a “new law punishing those who do not respect the requirement to declare protests, those who take part in unauthorized demonstrations and those who arrive at demonstrations wearing face masks”. Known troublemakers would be banned from taking part in demonstrations, in the same way known football hooligans have been banned from stadiums.
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An arrest has been made in connection with the deadly shooting at a California bowling alley that left three people dead and four others wounded. Police say Reginald Wallace, 47, of Los Angeles was identified as the suspect within 30 hours of the shooting and was arrested and is being held without bail. Wallace is on parole after serving a 17-year sentence for assault with a deadly weapon which involved a firearm and was released in 2017. Felons are barred under state law from possessing firearms.
The shooting occurred just before midnight on Friday, January 4th at the Gable House Bowl in Torrance, about 20 miles south of Los Angeles. Police say two women began fighting, then more people joined in and finally 10 to 15 people, both men and women were brawling. It was then, police say, that Wallace shot into the crowd with a handgun and is believed to be the sole shooter in the incident. It is unclear whether Wallace knew anyone in the bowling alley, but he was part of the larger group that was already inside the bowling alley.
The three deceased victims who died at the scene were identified as Michael Radford; 20, Robert Meekins; 28 and his friend Astin Edwards, also 28. Meekins leaves behind a 5-year-old son. Police said two injured males were taken to a hospital and two other males sought medical attention on their own. Torrance Police Chief Eve Irvine said in a statement that there was complete chaos before Wallace started shooting. “It was complete chaos, people were running all over, there were fights still occurring and when he pulled out the handgun, the minute people started hearing shots, even more chaos erupted.”
Wes Hamad, a 29-year-old Torrance resident, said he was at the bowling alley with his 13-year-old niece and cousin when he saw a “huge fight” break out. Hamad said the brawl, which lasted about five minutes, blocked the entrance and spiraled into complete chaos. “I grabbed my niece and started running toward the far end of the bowling alley,” he said. “As we were running, we heard 15 shots.” As he was leaving, Hamad said he saw a woman weeping over a man who had gunshot wounds to his head and neck.
Damone Thomas was in the karaoke section of the bowling alley when people ran in screaming that there was a shooter. Thomas said his friend flipped a table to shield them as they heard gunshots. Thomas said he didn’t feel scared because he was “just trying to survive.” It wasn’t until later, Thomas said that he realized how traumatic the situation was. “Closing my eyes, all I can see is the women against the wall crying, not knowing what to do,” he said.
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Las Vegas police have identified the woman accused of killing a nail salon owner after failing to pay for a $35 manicure. Police say they are looking for 21-year-old Krystal Whipple in the death of 53-year-old “Annie” Nhu Nguyen. Police say Whipple stopped by the salon, Crystal Nails & Spa to get a manicure around 3:45 p.m. on Dec 29th. She allegedly attempted to pay with a fraudulent credit card. When the credit card payment was declined, she allegedly said she would get cash from her black 2017 Chevrolet Camaro, but instead started to drive away.
When Nguyen noticed her pulling out of the parking lot, she rushed outside with husband Sonny Chung to try to stop her. Nguyen ran in front of the vehicle and Whipple accelerated and hit Nguyen. Nguyen was thrown under the car and dragged 50 feet as Whipple drove off. Nguyen died of multiple blunt force injuries and her death was ruled a homicide by the Clark County coroner’s office. Chung, who witnessed his wife’s horrific death, said he tried his best to stop Whipple from getting away by holding onto the back of the car. Police said the car, a rental that had been stolen last month, was found abandoned at a nearby apartment complex.
Nguyen left behind three daughters aged 20, 25 and 28 and two grandchildren aged four and six. She was a Vietnamese refugee who came to America and raised her three daughters as a single mother. She traveled the country before landing in Las Vegas two years ago, family members said. She and her husband Sonny loved their business. They were open 12 hours per day, seven days per week.
Las Vegas police released storefront security video footage of the incident along with a plea for information on the whereabouts of the suspect, Krystal Whipple. Officer Larry Hadfield said “We are asking the public’s help if they have knowledge of where this person is to contact the homicide section. Investigators have worked around the clock with no time off because they were determined to make Whipple “answer for this horrible crime.” A previous booking photo of Whipple, dated April 2018, was provided in a press release from LVMPD.
Whipple was convicted in 2017 in Las Vegas of attempted possession of a stolen vehicle, according to Clark County District Court records. She was sentenced to four months in jail last year for violating probation in that case.
If you have knowledge of Whipple’s whereabouts or any information about the case, please call the Las Vegas Metro Police Department Homicide Section at 702-828-3521 or send an email to homicide@lvmpd.com.
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A Tennessee woman who was convicted as a teenager for killing a man while she said she was a sex trafficking victim, was granted clemency. Cyntoia Brown, now 30, was granted a full commutation to parole by Governor Bill Haslam and will be eligible for release Aug. 7 after serving 15 years in prison. She will remain on parole for 10 years. Brown was tried as an adult and convicted of first-degree murder and aggravated robbery. In 2006, she was sentenced to life for the death of Johnny Mitchell Allen, who paid Brown for sex.
Her case gained national attention and awareness about the toll of human trafficking. At the time, Brown had run away from home and was living with her 24-year-old boyfriend, a pimp known as “Kut Throat,” who Brown said raped her and forced her into prostitution. According to Brown, on the night of August 6, 2004, Brown, then 16-years-old, met Johnny Mitchell Allen, a 43-year-old real estate broker and US Army veteran, in the parking lot of a Sonic Drive-In in Nashville. Brown agreed to have sex with Allen for $150. The two then ordered dinner and Allen drove them to his home.
At some point during the evening, Brown shot Allen in the back of the head with a .40-caliber handgun. Brown said she feared for her life and shot Allen, 43, while in bed with him because she believed he was reaching for a gun. She then stole $172 in cash, several firearms, and a vehicle, a Ford F150. She drove the stolen truck to InTowne Suites where she was living with her pimp.
During her trial, prosecutors argued the motive was robbery and say Allen was shot as he slept. Brown’s supporters and lawyer have argued her sentence was too extreme, given her age and circumstances. Nashville police detective Charles Robinson testified that she told investigators she shot Allen because she feared for her life. In a letter dated Dec. 12, 2017, Robinson urged Haslam not to grant clemency to Brown. “First and foremost, Cyntoia Brown did not commit this murder because she was a child sex slave as her advocates would like you to believe. Cyntoia Brown’s motive for murdering Johnny Allen in his sleep was robbery.” Among the evidence cited by Robinson, was how Allen’s “arms were folded underneath his head and his fingers were interlocked together,” which was inconsistent with Brown telling investigators he was reaching for a gun.
Haslam said in a statement that the decision comes after careful consideration of “what is a tragic and complex case. Cyntoia Brown committed, by her own admission, a horrific crime at the age of 16. Yet, imposing a life sentence on a juvenile that would require her to serve at least 51 years before even being eligible for parole consideration is too harsh, especially in light of the extraordinary steps Ms. Brown has taken to rebuild her life.”
While in prison, Brown has earned a GED and an associate degree in 2015 through the Lipscomb Initiative for Education Program with a 4.0 GPA, Haslam said. Brown said she is scheduled to earn her bachelor’s degree in May. Brown said she is committed to live the rest of her life helping others, especially young people. “My hope is to help other young girls avoid ending up where I have been,” she said.
Brown thanked the governor and her supporters in a statement released by her attorneys. “Thank you, Governor Haslam, for your act of mercy in giving me a second chance,” Brown said. “I will do everything I can to justify your faith in me.” Brown said she is grateful for the support, prayers, and encouragement she has received, including from Tennessee Department of Corrections officials.
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The actor Kevin Spacey has been charged with felony sexual assault for allegedly sexually assaulting a teenager in a bar in Massachusetts in 2016. A public show-cause hearing was held for the case Dec. 20 where Clerk Magistrate Ryan Kearney issued a criminal complaint for the charge against Kevin S. Fowler, also known as Kevin Spacey. Spacey is due in court on January 7 to face the felony charge that could bring him up to five years in prison. Spacey has denied the charges.
The alleged assault on a male victim took place at a Nantucket bar in July 2016. Last year, former Boston TV news anchor Heather Unruh held a press conference to share her son’s allegation of sexual assault against Spacey. She stated that her then 18-year-old son said was sexually assaulted by Spacey inside the Club Car Restaurant on Nantucket. Unruh says her son was not of legal drinking age but had told Spacey he was and that the actor bought him drink after drink after drink. “My son was a starstruck, straight 18-year-old young man who had no idea that the famous actor was an alleged sexual predator or that he was about to become his next victim,” she said at the time. “When my son was drunk, Spacey made his move and sexually assaulted him.”
The Nantucket Police Department began its criminal investigation in November 2017, said Massachusetts attorney Mitchell Garabedian, the attorney for the alleged victim. The department has since transferred the case to the district attorney’s office. Garabedian said in a statement, “The complainant has shown a tremendous amount of courage in coming forward. Let the facts be presented, the relevant law applied and a just and fair verdict rendered.” Multiple men have come forward with accusations of sexual assault and harassment against Spacey since October 2017, which prompted Netflix to abruptly cut ties with and drop the actor from its hit political drama House of Cards. Spacey is still under investigation in Los Angeles and in England for other alleged sexual assaults.
Soon after the charges were filed against Spacey, the actor posted a bizarre video to his Twitter account where he portrays his House of Cards character Frank Underwood. The actor addresses his House of Cards fate while also saying that he knows his fans want him back. “I know what you want,” Spacey begins in Frank’s accent. “Oh sure, they may have tried to separate us, but what we have is too strong, too powerful. After all, we shared everything, you and I. I told you my deepest, darkest secrets. I showed you exactly what people are capable of. I shocked you with my honestly, but mostly I challenged you and made you think. And you trusted me, even though you knew you shouldn’t. So we’re not done, no matter what anyone says. And besides, I know what you want. You want me back.”
“Of course, some believed everything and have been just waiting with bated breath to hear me confess it all. They’re just dying to have me declare that everything said is true and that I got what I deserved. Only you and I both know it’s never that simple, not in politics and not in life,” he says. “All this presumption made for such an unsatisfying ending, and to think it could have been such a memorable sendoff.” He goes on to say that in both life and in art, nothing should be off the table: “I can promise you this. If I didn’t pay the price for the things we both know I did do, I’m certainly not going to pay the price for the things I didn’t do.” Spacey ended the 3 minute video by directly calling out his death on House of Cards. The actor puts on Frank’s signature ring before walking off. “My confidence grows each day that soon enough, you will know the full truth,” he says. “Wait a minute, now that I think of it, you never actually saw me die, did you? Conclusions can be so deceiving.”
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