The Year of the Slap: Pop culture moments in 2022

Taylor Swift was up. Elon Musk was in, out, in and maybe out again. Tom Cruise was back. BTS stepped aside, and so did Serena Williams, and Tom Brady too — oops, scratch that. But the slap? The slap was everywhere. Ok, so maybe it wasn’t on the level of a moon...

Mistrial after jury deadlock in Danny Masterson rape case

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A judge declared a mistrial Wednesday at the rape trial of “That ’70s Show” actor Danny Masterson after jurors, who were leaning strongly toward acquitting him, deadlocked following the monthlong trial in which the Church of Scientology played a supporting role. ...

Jury tells filmmaker Haggis to pay $10M total in rape suit

NEW YORK (AP) — Oscar-winning screenwriter Paul Haggis was ordered Monday to pay an additional $2.5 million in damages in a rape lawsuit, bringing the total to $10 million for a woman who said he sexually assaulted her nearly a decade ago. While accuser Haleigh Breest's lawyers...

Jury orders Filmmaker Paul Haggis to pay $7.5M in rape suit

NEW YORK (AP) — A jury ordered Academy Award-winning filmmaker Paul Haggis Thursday to pay at least $7.5 million to a woman who accused him of rape in one of several #MeToo-era cases that have put Hollywood notables’ behavior on trial this fall. Jurors also plan to award additional punitive...

Jury orders Oscar-winning filmmaker Paul Haggis to pay at least $7.5 million to publicist who accused him of rape

Jury deliberations begin in rape civil case vs. Paul Haggis

NEW YORK (AP) — Jurors began deliberating Thursday in a civil trial involving Academy Award-winning filmmaker Paul Haggis and a publicist who accused him of rape. The jury heard three weeks of testimony. Haggis and accuser Haleigh Breest spent days on the witness stand giving...

Deliberations in Paul Haggis rape lawsuit set to start

NEW YORK (AP) — Jury deliberations are due to start Thursday in a rape civil case against filmmaker Paul Haggis, tasking a six-person panel with sifting through dueling narratives about what happened between him and a publicist on a night in 2013. In accuser Haleigh Breest's...

Filmmaker Haggis finishes testimony, denies claims by women

NEW YORK (AP) — Filmmaker Paul Haggis choked up and wiped away tears while finishing his defense Friday from the witness stand against a civil trial rape claim by a publicist. Haggis, 69, reached for tissues after his lawyer finished questioning him a final time following cross...

Filmmaker Haggis says he never forced himself on publicist

NEW YORK (AP) — Disputing allegations in a rape lawsuit, Oscar-winning filmmaker Paul Haggis testified Thursday that his accuser sometimes seemed “conflicted” during their initial kisses but then started taking initiative. Taking the witness stand for a second day in a civil...

Filmmaker Haggis takes stand to 'clear my name' in rape suit

NEW YORK (AP) — Filmmaker Paul Haggis told jurors Wednesday that he believed he had a consensual encounter with a woman who later accused him of rape, portraying himself as a “flirt” who acted on what he thought was mutual attraction. Publicist Haleigh Breest alleges that he...