Weinstein unrepentant in court filings

Disgraced movie producer Harvey Weinstein’s lawyers filed a response in federal court this week to the class-action racketeering lawsuit against him for engaging in a criminal enterprise to perpetrate and conceal sexual assault. The court document angered several famous actresses whose names Weinstein invoked in his defense.

“Harvey Weinstein’s attorneys’ use of my (true) statement—that he was not sexually transgressive or physically abusive in our business relationship—as evidence that he was not abusive with many other women is pathetic and exploitive,” Meryl Streep said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter. In the filing, Weinstein tried to use Streep and actress Jennifer Lawrence as human shields, noting they each called him nice or respectful in the past and wouldn’t join the class-action lawsuit against him.

The suit in U.S. District Court in New York is a bold legal move to hold Weinstein accountable for alleged sexual assaults that occurred outside the statute of limitations. The six plaintiffs argue the way Weinstein allegedly committed and then tried to cover up sexual assault and harassment—promising movie roles, offering victims places to stay, stalking them after the fact—makes the crimes still fair game in court.

In the motion to dismiss, Weinstein’s lawyers argue fiercely that the legal maneuver doesn’t pass muster. They claim unwanted kisses and hugs, requests for massages, and even being chased around an apartment by a naked man do not meet the technical definition of a sex act under the laws in question.

Lawyers also blame the victims for not coming forward sooner, saying “the complaint was not filed until December 2017, despite plaintiffs’ contention that Weinstein’s alleged proclivity for sexual misconduct was well-known throughout the entertainment industry.” The motion also says the women involved are just trying to get attention and filed the suit “for its newsworthiness rather than its legal efficacy.”

Though he might have a legally defensible position—only a judge or jury can say for sure—Weinstein’s willingness to use the same abusive, victim-blaming tactics that have protected sexual predators for so long is morally indefensible.

Joy Behar talks about Vice President Mike Pence on The View. YouTube/ABC

Media bias

ABC’s The View faced backlash from viewers after co-host Joy Behar made derogatory remarks about Vice President Mike Pence’s Christian faith on Feb. 13.

“It’s one thing to talk to Jesus,” Behar said. “It’s another thing when Jesus talks to you. That’s called mental illness, if I’m not correct. Hearing voices.” Co-hosts Meghan McCain and Sherri Shepherd defended Christians, with McCain saying she thinks Jesus speaks to her, too. Behar clarified, “I don’t think that he’s mentally ill, even though he says he is hearing voices.”

Fox News reported that angry viewers inundated ABC with complaints about Behar’s remarks, and Pence called out the network in an interview, saying it should not provide a forum for religious intolerance.

“I’m not unusual. I think I’m a very typical American,” Pence said after explaining that he reads the Bible and prays with his wife every morning. Behar said this week in response to the criticisms that she doesn’t think Christians are mentally ill, the comment was just a joke, and she didn’t mean to offend anyone.

Despite the controversy, the daytime talk show is having one of its best ratings seasons in recent years, outperforming its CBS competitor, The Talk. Some credit the addition of McCain, daughter of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., as co-host for the show’s latest success. —L.L.

Joy Behar talks about Vice President Mike Pence on The View. YouTube/ABC

No say can you see

Pop singer Fergie admitted this week that her attempt to jazz up “The Star-Spangled Banner” for Sunday night’s NBA All-Star Game came off badly. Set to a bluesy backbeat, Fergie’s rendition employed warbles, head bobbles, and occasional moans better suited to a smoky speakeasy than a patriotic song at a sporting event. “I’ve always been honored and proud to perform the national anthem, and last night I wanted to try something special for the NBA. I’m a risk taker artistically, but clearly this rendition didn’t strike the intended tone. I love this country and honestly tried my best,” the Black Eyed Peas singer told TMZ. Fergie joins a list of singers, including Michael Bolton and Christina Aguilera, who notoriously botched their performances of the U.S. national anthem, a tune that’s hard for many voices because of its wide range of notes. According to the National Museum of American History, anthem writer Francis Scott Key chose the tune “To Anacreon in Heaven,” a song sung by gentlemen at an 18th century British supper club. Perhaps so many struggle with it because they aren’t singing it as intended—to be belted out jovially, pub-style, by a group of old friends. —L.L.

Crime against clay

A partygoer at a Philadelphia museum enraged the Chinese government by vandalizing a millennia-old statue that belongs to the Qin dynasty collection of terra-cotta warriors. China loaned 10 of its thousands of clay warrior statues, made around 200 B.C. to guard the tomb of emperor Qin Shi Huang, to Philadelphia’s Franklin Institute in the fall. At a so-called ugly sweater holiday party at the museum, a young attendee snuck into the closed exhibit, took selfies with the statue, and snapped off its thumb. The FBI charged 24-year-old Michael Rohana of Bear, Del., with theft of an object of cultural heritage from a museum and related crimes, CNN reported. Rohana is out on bail, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer, but the Chinese want him to pay. An official with the Shaanxi Cultural Relics Exchange Center told the Beijing Youth Daily it expected severe punishment for the perpetrator: “For more than 40 years, the exhibition of cultural relics in our province has been exhibited in over 60 countries and regions in the world for more than 260 times. … Such a vicious incident has never happened before.” —L.L.

We meet again

Harper Collins Publishers plans to release in October a sequel to Mitch Albom’s popular 2003 novel, The Five People You Meet in Heaven. Similar in theme to the famous movie It’s a Wonderful Life, Five People told the story of a man who dies and in heaven meets with people whose lives affected his, and vice-versa. The sequel, The Next Person You Meet in Heaven, picks up where the first book left off, as the main character, Eddie, reunites with another important person he met at the end of his earthly life. The first book depicted heaven as a sort of reform school for people who didn’t adequately learn life’s lessons, but it also taught an important truth often missing in modern stories—that each life is precious and matters to God. —L.L.

A song for the kingdom

Saudi Arabia announced plans this week to build the country’s first opera house. The Islamic government has not allowed concerts or music in restaurants and stores for two decades, but it is relaxing some restrictions on the arts in an attempt to reclaim money Saudis spend on entertainment abroad. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has worked in recent years to ease some of the country’s most restrictive social codes, such as the ban on female drivers. The first movie theater allowed in 35 years is also expected to open in the country next month. —L.L.