*Mornings Archives

Bill Cosby is a free man.

Just hours after news broke that the comedian’s rape conviction was overturned, Cosby returned to his Pennsylvania home.

His TV wife Phylicia Rashad celebrated the news, tweeting, “FINALLY!!!! A terrible wrong is being righted — a miscarriage of justice is corrected!” That was followed by a huge backlash with many people pointing out that Cosby wasn’t released because he was innocent. The Cosby Show mom later backpedaled, writing, that she fully supports “survivors of sexual assault coming forward.”

D.A. Kevin R. Steele agreed with those calling out Rashad. He said, “The majority decision by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court orders the release of William H. Cosby Junior from state prison. He was found guilty by a jury and now goes free on a procedural issue that is irrelevant to the facts of the crime.”

Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court had overturned his rape conviction, saying a previous agreement with a prosecutor meant he couldn’t be charged.

The 83-year-old was convicted in 2018 after being charged in 2015 for an incident that had occurred in 2004. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison and had served more than two years already.

Cosby later released a statement, saying, “I have never changed my stance nor my story. I have always maintained my innocence. Thank you to all my fans, supporters and friends who stood by me through this ordeal. Special thanks to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court for upholding the rule of law.”

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James Franco has settled his sexual misconduct suit and will pay out $2.2 million to the accusers.

In 2019, Sarah Tither-Kaplan and Toni Gaal filed a class-action complaint alleging that the actor and his partners, who opened an acting school a few years earlier, “engaged in widespread inappropriate and sexually charged behavior towards female students by sexualizing their power as a teacher and an employer by dangling the opportunity for roles in their projects.”

All parties to the suit released a joint statement, which read, in part, “While Defendants continue to deny the allegations in the complaint, they acknowledge that Plaintiffs have raised important issues; and all parties strongly believe that now is a critical time to focus on address the mistreatment of women in Hollywood.”

A Los Angeles judge still needs to approve the settlement.

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Harrison Ford’s on-set injury is taking longer to heal, further delaying production on the fifth Indiana Jones movie.

An industry insider tells the Sun, “It is Harrison’s last outing as Indiana and everyone thought it would be plain sailing. But now Harrison is injured and it is worse than first thought.”

Last week the 78-year-old star hurt his shoulder while shooting a fight scene. Now comes word that he’ll be sidelined for at least three months as he undergoes shoulder surgery.

The source says, “The film’s bosses have come together to work out the scheduling and it’s chaos. The earliest they think they can restart the production is September.”

It’s unclear if this will affect the release date, which is set for July 29th, 2022.

Gal Gadot has given birth to her third child and third daughter with husband Jaron Varsano.

They named the little girl Daniella. The Wonder Woman star broke the news on Instagram with a family photo. She wrote, “My sweet family I couldn’t be more grateful and happy (and tired) we are all so excited to welcome Daniella into our family.”

Gal and Jaron also have daughters Alma Versano, 9, and Maya Versano, 4.

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Former Disney star Kyle Massey has been charged with a felony for allegedly sending pornographic material to a 13-year-old girl.

According to TMZ, the star of That’s So Raven and Cory in the House has been accused of sending sexually explicit content to the girl between December 2018 and January 2019.

The 29-year-old actor was previously sued for $1.5 million by the girl and her mother, who accused him of sending the teen inappropriate texts, videos and photos over Snapchat. The lawsuit said Massey first met the girl when she was only 4 years old.

According to TMZ, the girl dropped a civil suit against Massey after her lawyers told her “they didn’t think Massey had enough money to make the case worth it.” That’s when, she says, she filed a police report.

Massey was scheduled to appear for his arraignment Monday in Washington, but he didn’t show up.

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The torch has been passed in the land of the Sopranos. Fourteen years after the final episode of ‘The Sopranos’ wrapped, actor James Gandolfini’s son is stepping into the role of Tony Soprano. The new movie, ‘The Many Saints of Newark,’ is about the mob boss’ backstory. It’s out October 1st.

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‘Clifford the Big Red Dog’ is getting the movie treatment. Yes, America’s favorite dog from those sweet children’s books is hitting the big screen. Actors Jack Whitehall and Darby Camp say playing opposite the 10-foot tall Big Red Dog required a lot of imagination. In the film, Clifford is on the run from a genetics company that’s looking to supersize animals. The family movie hits theaters in September.

LeVar Burton says it will hurt if he isn’t named the permanent host of Jeopardy!

After a social media campaign, the actor landed a guest spot on the game show in July. But he’s letting producers know he wants to stay.

In a new interview with The New York Times Magazine, he was asked how tough it would be for him if he doesn’t get the job.

Burton said, “It will hurt. I’m not going to lie. But if that happens, I will get over it. I will be fine. Remember: Everything happens perfectly and for a reason. That is my default. It’s all going to be OK. Because it always is.”

The Star Trek: The Next Generation actor and Reading Rainbow host is set to guest-host Jeopardy! between July 26th and 30th.”

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Jason Sudeikis and his Ted Lasso co-star Keeley Hazel are officially dating.

An insider confirms to People that the two, who also co-starred in Horrible Bosses 2, costars have “been seeing each other.”

The source adds, “They’ve been dating for a little while now. They’re just having fun. It’s nothing serious at this point.”

Jason and Keeley were also photographed together in New York City for the first time.

This is Jason’s first public relationship since splitting from longtime partner Olivia Wilde last year.

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And, there’s a new set of voices coming forth to support Britney Spears. Brit’s infamous ex KEVIN FEDERLINE has finally spoken up.  And he wants whatever’s best for Britney. His lawyer issued a statement saying, quote, “It doesn’t matter how positive of an effect a conservatorship has had if it’s having a deleterious effect and detrimental effect on her state of mind . . . “Kevin feels that the best thing for his children is for their mother to be happy and healthy.”

Britney and Kevin have two sons, 15-year-old Sean and 14-year-old Jayden.

Britney’s sister JAMIE LYNN also spoke out.  She said she supports Britney in WHATEVER she wants to do . . . and she made it clear she’s not living off her conservatorship. She said, quote, “I have nothing to gain or lose either way.  This situation does not affect me either way, because I’m only her sister who’s only concerned about her happiness.”

Prince William and Prince Harry were “at each other’s throats” during their grandfather’s funeral in April, according to the Daily Mail.

Biographer Robert Lacey says all the tension between the royal brothers boiled over and they argued “as fiercely as ever” inside St. George’s Chapel right after cameras caught the two speaking outside.

Lacey writes, “The rage and anger between those two has grown so incredibly deep. Too many harsh and wounding things have been said.”

He adds that “there was no reconciliation, and no brotherly sit-down or ‘mini summit’ following Prince Philip‘s funeral. The conflict between Diana‘s two bitterly divided sons does not seem likely to end any time soon.”

The funeral took place on April 17th.

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Michael Strahan’s ex-wife has been arrested for allegedly harassing her former girlfriend in New York City.

According to TMZ, Jean Strahan is accused of showing up at the home of Marianne Ayer on Friday — despite Ayer having an order of protection against Jean.

Ayer has accused Strahan of grand larceny, disorderly conduct, harassment and forcible touching, according to the gossip blog. Ayer has also claimed that Strahan threatened her with a plastic gun and kicked her dog.

Jean divorced the GMA co-host in 2006. Michael recently accused her of abusing their 16-year-old twin daughters.

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Ace Showbiz says filming on Mission Impossible 7 has been halted again because of a positive coronavirus test. A source tells the website that Tom Cruise may be positive.  “And this time, those working on the production have said they think Tom could be the possible cause of the postponement. Everyone on the set was told that filming was being stopped again because of a positive test. And since then, Tom hasn’t been on set once. Now people are speculating that he could have come into contact with the person who tested positive. And in some cases, people are even gossiping and saying it could be him. Obviously there is no proof of that but it’s not stopped people ­gossiping about it. It’s now become a joke on set, with people saying how ironic it would be if Tom was the reason they had to press pause again.”