An attempt to shake up actor Charlie Sheen. Rumor has it that Hollywood star Lindsay Lohan is in rehab. Former professional wrestler Hulk Hogan has filed a lawsuit against the gossip site Gawker for publishing a sex tape.
Testimony at former President Donald J. Trump's criminal trial in Manhattan on Thursday sharpened the celebrity-obsessed digital media environment of the past 15 years or so that fueled Trump's rise to political prominence. I dug deep.
This humorous story was brought to the jury primarily through witness Keith Davidson. He's a Los Angeles lawyer who specializes in getting money from clients with celebrity taint. During their testimony, and especially during cross-examination, Mr. Davidson and his defense attorney, Emile Bove, together led the jury through some of the gossip and sordid dealings in which he was involved. .
Mr. Davidson has already spoken on stage about how he helped broker the deal between former Playboy model Karen McDougal and porn actress Stormy Daniels, who disclosed her sexual relationship with Mr. Trump. It took me a day and a half. He was silenced by his former personal attorney, Michael D. Cohen. Prosecutors claim the former president's efforts to keep the story hidden were criminal.
Mr. Bove grilled Mr. Davidson about his dealings with several former clients and celebrities. Mr. Bove suggested that Mr. Davidson might have tried to “squeeze” money from boldface names known to customers, a term that appeared to anger Mr. Davidson.
The purpose of Mr. Bove's questioning appears to have been to suggest to the jury that Mr. McDougall and Mr. Daniels may have tried to extract their own payments from Mr. Trump. But to make that point, Mr. Bove had to drag Mr. Davidson into some old dirt.
There, the jury heard about a “sex tape broker” who helped Mr. Davidson handle a video featuring his client, reality TV star Tila Tequila.
Jurors also found out how Mr. Davidson revealed that another client had tried to extort $2 million from Mr. Sheen in what Mr. Davidson claimed was an “illegal act”. I also heard at least a little bit about how it helped. .
“So you extracted a lot of money from Charlie Sheen?” Mr. Bove asked.
“There was no extraction,” Davidson said.
Mr. Bove asked again, “Did Mr. Sheen pay you?”
Mr. Davidson declined to answer this time.
“The details of the settlement are confidential and will not be discussed here,” he said.
