'F1: The Movie' roars to $55.6 million opening weekend in US, Canada
FILE PHOTO: Brad Pitt, Lewis Hamilton and Damson Idris attend the premiere for the film "F1 The Movie" in New York City, U.S., June 16, 2025. REUTERS/Kylie Cooper/File Photo
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The Star
3 hours ago
- The Star
Baby oil and a torched Porsche: key moments from Sean 'Diddy' Combs' trial
FILE PHOTO: Special agent Yasin Binda shows evidence photos from hotel where Sean "Diddy" Combs was arrested (including baby oil), during Sean "Diddy" Combs' sex trafficking trial in New York City, New York, U.S., May 16, 2025 in this courtroom sketch. REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg/File Photo NEW YORK (Reuters) -The jury in Sean "Diddy" Combs'sex trafficking trial is due to begin deliberations on Monday. Combs pleaded not guilty to all five counts he faced. Here are seven key moments from the trial testimony: Baby oil and Astroglide Prosecutors on May 21 showed jurors bottles of baby oil and Astroglide lubricant that Homeland Security Investigations found during a search of Combs' Miami Beach home in March 2024. Prosecutors said Combs used those items in sexual encounters with his girlfriends and male escorts sometimes called "Freak Offs." Gerard Gannon, an HSI agent who took part in the raid, testified on May 21 that agents found 25 bottles of baby oil and 31 bottles of Astroglide in Combs' closet. 'Voyeurism as a fantasy' Casandra "Cassie" Ventura, a rhythm and blues singer who dated Combs for 11 years, said that within the first year of their relationship he introduced her to the concept of "voyeurism." "He described voyeurism as a fantasy that he had where he would want to see me with another male and having sexual interaction," Ventura testified on May 13. Red lights, stripper shoes Another former girlfriend of Combs' who testified under the pseudonym Jane said on June 5 that she took part in sexual encounters with Combs and male escorts which they called "hotel nights" from 2021 through 2024. Jane said the rooms would be lit with red lights, and that she and Combs would choose together the outfits she wore, which usually included "provocative lingerie and really high stripper shoes." The 'Punisher' and a nude male with a veil Sharay Hayes, a male exotic danger known as "The Punisher," testified on May 20 that he frequently was paid to take part in "Freak Offs" with Ventura and Combs. The first time, while he and Ventura were applying baby oil on each other, Hayes said he saw a nude male enter the hotel room carrying Astroglide lubricant and covering his face with a veil "like what the Muslim women wear." Hayes said he later learned the man was Combs. Kid Cudi's dog locked in a bathroom and a torched Porsche Scott Mescudi, the rapper known as Kid Cudi, testified on May 22 that after Combs learned in December 2011 that Mescudi was seeing Ventura, Combs broke into Mescudi's home, opened Christmas presents Mescudi had bought for his relatives, and locked Mescudi's dog in a bathroom. Weeks later, Mescudi said his Porsche was set ablaze with a Molotov cocktail in his driveway. "I knew he had something to do with it," Mescudi said of Combs. 'Crying and saying no' Ventura fought back tears as she said Combs raped her in her living room in 2018, after they ended their relationship. "I just remember crying and saying no but it was very fast," Ventura testified on May 14. 'Is this coercion?' Jane testified on June 9 that after a dispute at her home last year, Combs kicked, punched and dragged her in her backyard. She said Combs then directed her to perform oral sex on a male escort named Anton even though she had told him she did not want to. According to Jane, Combs got close to her face and said, "Is this coercion?" (Reporting by Luc CohenEditing by Sandra Maler)
The Star
3 hours ago
- The Star
Jury in Sean 'Diddy' Combs' sex trafficking trial to start deliberating
FILE PHOTO: Prosecutor Emily Johnson questions rapper Kid Cudi as he testifies at Sean "Diddy" Combs' sex trafficking trial in New York City, New York, U.S., May 22, 2025 in this courtroom sketch. REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg/File Photo NEW YORK (Reuters) -The jury in Sean "Diddy" Combs' sex trafficking trial is expected to begin its deliberations on Monday, after hearing dueling narratives from prosecutors and defense lawyers last week about whether the music mogul forced his former girlfriends to take part in drug-fueled sexual performances. Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty to racketeering conspiracy and two counts each of sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. A former billionaire known for elevating hip-hop in American culture, Combs could be sentenced to life behind bars if convicted on all five counts. Over more than six weeks of testimony in Manhattan federal court, two of Combs' former girlfriends -- the rhythm and blues singer Casandra "Cassie" Ventura and a woman known in court by the pseudonym Jane -- told the 12-member jury that he forced them to take part in the performances with paid male escorts, sometimes known as "Freak Offs," while he watched, masturbated and occasionally filmed. Both women testified that Combs beat them, and jurors saw a hotel surveillance video showing Combs attacking Ventura in a hallway in 2016. "Cassie repeatedly told you that the defendant's violence was in the back of her mind whenever he proposed a Freak Off," prosecutor Christy Slavik said in her closing argument on Thursday. "The whole point was to control Cassie, to make her afraid to say no to the defendant. And it worked." Combs' lawyers acknowledged that he was at times violent in domestic relationships, but argued Ventura and Jane took part consensually in the performances. During cross-examination, the defense highlighted tender and sexually explicit text messages the women sent Combs over the course of their years-long relationships with him. "If he was charged with domestic violence, we wouldn't all be here," defense lawyer Marc Agnifilo said during his closing argument on Friday. "He did not do the things he's charged with." The founder of Bad Boy Records, Combs lived a lavish lifestyle in his Miami and Los Angeles mansions and was feted for turning artists like Notorious B.I.G. and Usher into stars. He has been held in federal lockup in Brooklyn since his September 2024 arrest. (Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York;Editing by Noeleen Walder and Alistair Bell)
The Star
4 hours ago
- The Star
Jeff Bezos, Lauren Sanchez wedding reportedly cost RM236mil
The sky itself is no limit for billionaire Jeff Bezos and fiancee Lauren Sanchez, who have travelled into space - and expectations were about as high ahead of their wedding in Venice on Friday. One of the world's most enchanting cities as backdrop? Check. Star-studded guestlist and tabloid buzz? Of course. Local flavour? You bet. And then, time to tie the knot. The couple held their wedding ceremony Friday night, and Sanchez posted to Instagram a photo of herself beaming in a white gown as she stood alongside a tuxedo-clad Bezos, the world's fourth-richest man. It was the second day of events spread across the Italian lagoon city, which added complexity to what would have been a massive logistical undertaking even on dry land. Dozens of private jets had flocked to Venice's airport, and yachts pulled into the city's famed waterways. Athletes, celebrities, influencers and business leaders converged to revel in extravagance that was as much a testament to the couple's love as to their extraordinary wealth. The heady hoopla recalled the 2014 wedding in Venice of actor George Clooney to human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin, when adoring crowds lined the canals and hundreds of well-wishers gathered outside City Hall. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and his wife Lauren Sanchez Bezos embrace, as they leave on a boat from Aman Venice hotel, on the third day of their wedding festivities, in Venice, Italy, June 28, 2025. Photo: Reuters Not so for these nuptials, which became a lightning rod for small, colourful protests. But any desire to dampen the prevailing fever pitch hadn't materialized as of Friday. Instead, the glitterati were partying, and the paparazzi jostling for glimpses of the gilded gala. And the bride wore a classic mermaid-line gown, featuring Dolce & Gabbana's signature Italian lace. A traditional tulle-and-lace veil completed her look. "Not just a gown, a piece of poetry," she wrote on Instagram, where her name now appears as Lauren Sanchez Bezos. Venice is famed for its network of canals, where gondoliers croon for lovestruck couples and even ambulances are aquatic. But water transport of everything from bouquets to guests makes Venice among the world's most challenging cities for a party, according to Jack Ezon, CEO of Embark Beyond, a luxury travel advisory and destination event service. Kylie Jenner leaves a hotel ahead of the anticipated wedding celebrations of Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez, in Venice, Italy, Friday, June 27, 2025. Photo: AP "It's a very tight-knit community; everyone there knows everyone, and you need to work with the right people,' said Ezon, whose company has put on a dozen high-end events in Venice. "There's very tight control, especially on movement there with boats.' It at least triples the cost versus staging the same soiree in Rome or Florence, he said. Veneto Gov. Luca Zaia was first to give an estimated tally for the Bezos/Sanchez bash: he told reporters last week the most recent total he saw was between 40 million and 48 million euros (up to US$56mil/RM266mil). It's an eye-popping, jaw-dropping figure that's over 1,000 times the US$36,000 average cost of American couples' weddings in 2025, according to wedding planning website Zola's annual report. Bezos' team has been tight-lipped about where these millions are going. When the youngest son of Asia's richest man married last July, performances by pop stars Rihanna and Justin Bieber pushed up the price tag. "How do you spend $40 million on a three- or four-day event?' Ezon said. 'You could bring headliners, A-list performers, great DJs from anywhere in the world. You could spend US$2mil on an incredible glass tent that's only there for 10 hours, but it takes a month to build," or expand the celebration to local landmarks. People take part in a protest 'No Space for Bezos' a day after the wedding ceremony of Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez in Venice, at Venice's train station on June 28, 2025. Photo: AFP There's no sign Sanchez and Bezos, the former CEO of Amazon, intend to take over any of Venice's tourist-thronged hotspots. Still, intense hand-wringing about the prospect prompted their wedding coordinator, Lanza & Baucina, to issue a rare statement calling those rumours false. On Friday afternoon, Sanchez emerged from her hotel wearing a silk scarf on her head and blew a kiss to journalists before stepping into her water taxi. It carried her through the canals to San Giorgio island, across the lagoon basin from St. Mark's Square, where the couple held their ceremony Friday night. Bezos followed two hours later. Then, in a string of water taxis, came their illustrious guests - Oprah Winfrey, Kim Kardashian, Ivanka Trump, Tom Brady, Bill Gates, Queen Rania of Jordan, Leonardo DiCaprio and more. Paparazzi trailed on their own boats, trying to capture them all on camera. Vogue magazine, to which the couple granted exclusive access, reported that the Dolce & Gabbana-designed gown took 900 hours to complete. Inspired by Sophia Loren's wedding dress in the 1958 film Houseboat, it featured high-necked, hand-appliqued lace and 180 silk chiffon-covered priest buttons. Kim Kardashian (left) and Khloe Kardashian snap a selfie as they arrive at San Giorgio Maggiore on the wedding day of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos with Lauren Sanchez, in Venice on June 27, 2025. Photo: AFP There are some who say these two shouldn't have been wed in this city. They characterise the wedding as a decadent display of wealth in a world with growing inequality, and argue it's a shining example of tourism taking precedence over residents' needs, particularly affordable housing and essential services. Venice is also one of the cities most vulnerable to rising sea levels from climate change. "Venice is not just a pretty picture, a pretty postcard to please the needs and wants of the elite or of mass tourists, but it is an alive city, made of people who want to actually live there," Stella Faye, a researcher at a university from Venice, said on Friday. About a dozen Venetian organisations - including housing advocates, anti-cruise ship campaigners and university groups - are protesting under the banner "No Space for Bezos,' a play on words referring to his space exploration company Blue Origin and the bride's recent space flight. In 2019, Jeff Bezos announced he was divorcing his first wife, MacKenzie Scott, just before the National Enquirer published a story about an affair with Lauren Sanchez. Photo: AFP Greenpeace unfurled a banner in St. Mark's Square denouncing Bezos for paying insufficient taxes. Activists floated a bald-headed Bezos-inspired mannequin down Venice's Grand Canal atop an Amazon delivery box, its hands clenching fake cash. Authorities - from Venice's mayor to the nation's tourism minister - have dismissed the outcry, saying it ignores the visibility and economic boost the wedding has brought. "There will be photos everywhere, social media will go wild over the bride's dress, over the ceremony,' Italy's tourism minister, Daniela Santanche, told the AP. "All of this translates into a massive free publicity campaign. In fact, because they will spend a lot of money, they will enrich Venice - our shopkeepers, artisans, restaurateurs, hotels. So it's a great opportunity both for spending and for promoting Italy in the world.' As Amazon's CEO, Bezos usually avoided the limelight, frequently delegating announcements and business updates to his executives. Today he has a net worth of US$234bil, according to Forbes. Lauren Sanchez filed for divorce the day after Jeff Bezos' divorce was finalised. Photo: AFP In 2019, he announced he was divorcing his first wife, MacKenzie Scott, just before the National Enquirer published a story about an affair with Sanchez, a former TV news anchor. Sanchez filed for divorce the day after Bezos' divorce was finalised. He stepped down as CEO in 2021, saying he wished to spend more time on side projects, including Blue Origin, The Washington Post , which he owns, and his philanthropic initiatives. Sitting beside Sanchez during an interview with CNN in 2022, he announced plans to give away the majority of his wealth during his lifetime. Usher (left) and Tom Brady leave a hotel ahead of the anticipated wedding celebrations of Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez, in Venice, Italy, Friday, June 27, 2025. Photo: AP Last week, a Venetian environmental research association issued a statement saying Bezos' Earth Fund was supporting its work with an "important donation.' CORILA, which seeks protection of the Venetian lagoon system, said contact began in April, well before any protests. Local media have reported a reception Saturday in the Arsenale, a former navy base best known as a primary venue for the Venice Biennale. – AP
