Latest news with #BillyBush
Fox News
20-07-2025
- Fox News
Father of vindicated Karen Read warns concerned Americans 'the next Karen Read could be you' in new interview
Karen Read's father, Bill Read, opened up about his family's experience throughout her three-and-a-half-year legal saga in a candid new podcast interview. His 45-year-old daughter faced murder and other charges in the Jan. 29, 2022, death of her then-boyfriend, John O'Keefe, a Boston cop whom prosecutors alleged she mowed down with a Lexus SUV and left to die in a blizzard. The defense argued that she had never struck him, police had conducted a faulty investigation, and someone else had killed him. After a mistrial, jurors the second time around found her not guilty of all homicide-related charges and found her guilty of driving under the influence of liquor. Speaking with Billy Bush on his live show, "Hot Mics with Billy Bush," the elder Read said he believes his daughter had been the target of a corrupt investigation from the start and that she wouldn't have put up such a fight if she had had something to hide. "I can tell you, as a parent, no parent, no loved one, no significant other in this life should go through what my wife and I and our daughter have gone through these three and a half years, so I say to everyone out there, take back your government," Read said. "If you don't like what your leaders are doing in the criminal justice system, get them out. Take back your government, because the next Karen Read could be you." The younger Read and O'Keefe spent the night of Jan. 28, 2022, drinking in Canton, Massachusetts. They went to two bars before driving to an after party at the home of another Boston cop named Brian Albert. Prosecutors and the defense disagree about what had happened after they had gotten there just after midnight. At around 6 a.m., Read and two friends returned to the address to find O'Keefe dead on the front lawn under a dusting of snow. Police initially charged her with drunken driving manslaughter and fleeing the scene, but prosecutors later secured an indictment for the more serious charge of second-degree murder. Jurors ultimately cleared her of all of those allegations but agreed that she had drunk alcohol before getting behind the wheel. "We're very close. She is very candid. She's very truthful, and had she hurt John O'Keefe, she told me, she said, Dad, 'If I thought I hurt him, I'd own up to it. . . . But I did not strike him,'" the elder Read told Bush. "And I believed her." If you don't like what your leaders are doing in the criminal justice system, get them out. Take back your government, because the next Karen Read could be you. Plus, he said, the state's case was unconvincing and weak. "When you just look at the evidence, the wounds to the body, the lack of damage to the car, and then couple that with the physics, the science, the medical testimony..." he said. He took particular issue with the autopsy photos, and he said that's what had prompted her to reach out to attorney Alan Jackson, the Los Angeles lawyer who added a jolt to her legal team at trial. "Karen Read is the engine, the transmission in this bus. She's the fifth attorney," her father said. Imagine waking up every day in your 70s for 3 1/2 years knowing the people elected to serve you and assigned to protect you are trying to put your daughter in prison for life for something she did not do. That was Bill Read's reality. Read, who went up to every sidebar with her lawyers at trial, already had a prominent Boston-area attorney, David Yannetti, when she brought in Jackson and Elizabeth "Liza" Little. For her second trial, she also added New York's Robert Alessi. Bush also asked Read about his own relationship with O'Keefe. Could he have seen him as a son-in-law if things got that far? "I can't say that," he said, adding, "I liked the man." GET REAL-TIME UPDATES DIRECTLY ON THE TRUE CRIME HUB They really bonded over sports, he said. "I saw John O'Keefe as really an athlete," he said. "You could see his style throwing the football with him. You could see he had it in his blood." He also said that his daughter can't have kids of her own but crafted a bond with O'Keefe's niece and nephew, whom he had adopted after their parents died. SIGN UP TO GET TRUE CRIME NEWSLETTER "Karen was never going to be able to biologically have children, and I'm not sure that she would be necessarily one that would willingly embrace children. But those two children, she saw as an opportunity to provide a female presence in their life," he said. O'Keefe's niece testified against his daughter at trial and is a plaintiff in the family's wrongful death lawsuit against her. But jurors still found too many holes in the state's case. "Imagine waking up every day in your 70s for 3 ½ years knowing the people elected to serve you and assigned to protect you are trying to put your daughter in prison for life for something she did not do," Bush told Fox News Digital. "That was Bill Read's reality." Read received a year of probation for the drunken driving conviction. She is still facing a wrongful death lawsuit from O'Keefe's family, which her civil defense team asked the court to dismiss earlier this month. The case prompted the residents of Canton, Massachusetts, to demand an independent audit into their local police department, which found no evidence of a "conspiracy to frame" Read but faulted local police for a series of mistakes, including failure to photograph the victim's body before it was moved, failing to lock down the crime scene and conducting witness interviews outside of headquarters. State police also launched an internal probe into the lead homicide detective, Michael Proctor, who was fired for sharing confidential information with civilians outside of law enforcement and drinking on the job. He is appealing his dismissal. There was also a federal grand jury empaneled in the case, and one of the jurors pleaded guilty to leaking secret information earlier this week.
Yahoo
15-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
SiriusXM Launches Lower Cost Ad-Supported Plan in Bid to Take on Streaming Audio Giants
The satellite radio company SiriusXM wants to take the streaming music platforms on more aggressively, launching a new and less expensive plan meant to provide a value offering to consumers. The new plan is called SiriusXM Play, the new plan will be ad-supported and cost under $7 per month, the company says. While SiriusXM's talk channels have had ads for some time, its core music channels have generally not included them. SiriusXM Play will have about half the ad load of traditional FM and AM radio stations, the company says. More from The Hollywood Reporter Billy Bush Claims He Flagged Donald Trump's Lewd 'Access Hollywood' Comments to His Producer in 2005 Ryan Reynolds Will Invade Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest on ESPN With Costco's Former CFO Meta Facing European Showdown on "Pay-or-Consent" Ad Model The new offering is meant to not only make the company more competitive with the likes of Spotify and Apple Music, but also to grow its nascent advertising business, which has become a key strategic effort for the company. The new tier will be available both in-air and on streaming. Play is available on a limited basis now, with further rollouts and package pricing to come later in the year. At the moment, SiriusXM car and streaming plans start at $9.99 per month, going up to $25 per month for its most comprehensive offering. 'SiriusXM Play presents us with an incredible opportunity to thoughtfully scale our audio service on the road and off to even more listeners across North America,' said Wayne Thorsen, SiriusXM's COO. 'With Play, we can reach and engage with new, more price-sensitive listeners with a low-cost, ad-supported subscription with more than 130 channels available in-car and so much more in-app, and leverage our strengths across both content and technology as the premium audio leader in-car to deliver this compelling offering to consumers and advertisers alike.' 'Play is an exciting net-new opportunity for marketers looking to tap into passionate, high-quality audiences across some of SiriusXM's most beloved music, talk, and sports channels, reaching listeners in the moments that matter,' added Scott Walker, chief advertising revenue officer for SiriusXM. 'The car is the final frontier for digital ad-supported media. In the short term, we are opening up new inventory for marketers, including premium, curated music. In the long term, with more advanced capabilities, we have a chance to revolutionize the in-car advertising landscape.' Best of The Hollywood Reporter How the Warner Brothers Got Their Film Business Started Meet the World Builders: Hollywood's Top Physical Production Executives of 2023 Men in Blazers, Hollywood's Favorite Soccer Podcast, Aims for a Global Empire Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
14-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Extra' Sees Layoffs Ahead Of Season 32
Daytime Emmy-winning half-hour newsmagazine Extra has let go a number of staffers ahead of its forthcoming 32nd season, Deadline has confirmed. The decision is a result of an annual cataloguing that assesses staff structure and production processes and was not a performance-based. As Extra continues into its third decade, it seeks to revamp the show with a new host and fresh look to engage viewers. It's currently unclear how many workers were laid off. More from Deadline Billy Bush Leaving 'Extra' After 5 Seasons As Host 'Extra' Renewed For Season 32; Billy Bush's Return As Host Uncertain Arianne Zucker Talks 'Days Of Our Lives' Final Episode & 'Access Hollywood' Moment With Donald Trump: 'I Didn't See It The Way People Were Seeing It" The news comes two months after host Billy Bush announced he will not be returning to the long-running syndicated entertainment news series. 'After an amazing five years hosting Extra, I'm moving on to continue building out my Hot Mics digital platform,' Bush told listeners on his Hot Mics podcast at the time. 'We have experienced unprecedented growth in a short period of time here on this show and I find myself hungrier and more stimulated than at any point in my professional career. Extra is culturally iconic. If I had a dollar for every time someone hollered 'Extra Extra' to me in the airport or something, I'd buy Warner Bros.' With Season 32, Extra will be led by executive producer and showrunner Jeremy Spiegel. As the second longest-running entertainment newsmagazine in syndication, the show has garnered 12 consecutive Daytime Emmy nominations for Outstanding Entertainment News Program. In 2014, it clinched the Emmy in that category, repeating the feat two years later. Extra was renewed for Season 32 back in March by Fox Televisions Stations, which has been the daily newsmagazine's anchor station group for the past six seasons. The show is produced by Telepictures in association with Warner Bros Unscripted Television, and is distributed by Warner Bros Domestic Television Distribution. The Hollywood Reporter was first to break the news. Best of Deadline 'The Buccaneers' Season 2 Release Schedule: When Do New Episodes Come Out? 'The Buccaneers' Season 2 Soundtrack: From Griff To Sabrina Carpenter 2025 TV Series Renewals: Photo Gallery
News.com.au
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
Ricky Martin stormed off set after Billy Bush nearly outed him mid-interview: ‘You motherf**ker'
Ricky Martin was fuming when an American radio host questioned him about his sexuality in the early noughties. Billy Bush — who now regrets the intrusive question — revealed on Literally! With Rob Lowe on Thursday that he told the Latin music superstar at the time that eight people he spoke to in the lobby bar the night prior wanted to know 'if you're gay.' 'He stiffens up in the chair and he goes, 'What?' And I go, 'Oh boy,'' the reporter recalled. 'And he goes, 'You motherf**ker,' rips off his microphone.' Bush, now 53, claimed Martin, also now 53, added, 'You want your headline … You piece of garbage.' The Livin' La Vida Loca singer allegedly then walked off the set, leaving the entertainment reporter to say to himself, 'Oh sh*t,' while his producer also freaked out and said, 'This is terrible.' Bush, who had flown to Miami for the interview, claimed he got a call from his bosses in Los Angeles shortly after, and they reprimanded him for his line of questioning. 'I'm not in the business of hurting people. I am in the business of figuring out who I am and where I'm going. And you need to be able to make mistakes in life,' the Extra host told podcaster Rob Lowe, further reflecting on the incident. Bush said he immediately walked back into the interview location to apologise to Martin, and said, 'Ricky, I am so sorry for asking that question. I don't know what I was thinking. It was a cowboy question. It was inappropriate. I'm so sorry, and I promise you this will never see the light of day.' The Nobody Wants to Be Lonely singer then transparently told him, 'I've been struggling with this my whole life. There will be a time, there will be a place. It will not be here on this program while I'm promoting this album.' He continued, 'It is deeply personal to me. I appreciate you coming back in here. I forgive you.' Martin eventually came out as gay in 2010, approximately seven years after his interview with Bush. He announced on his website at the time that he was a 'fortunate homosexual man.' The She Bangs singer added, 'These years in silence and reflection made me stronger and reminded me that acceptance has to come from within and that this kind of truth gives me the power to conquer emotions I didn't even know existed.' The revelation came after years of speculation about Martin's sexuality from fans and journalists, like Bush, who pried into the details about his personal life. The now-late Barbara Walters infamously asked the She's All I Ever Had singer about the 'rumours' in a sit-down for '20/20' in 2000, which the renowned news anchor later regretted. Martin has said that interview left him feeling 'violated' and with 'a little PTSD' because he wasn't ready to come out. Bush shared that, for his part, he was able to make amends with the Grammy winner two years after their uncomfortable exchange. 'He gave me a great big hug, and we had went through it and I learned a valuable lesson that day,' the Hot Mics with Billy Bush host said. 'Don't be an a**hole, don't be an idiot. You have to find nuance in this business, who people are, where you can go, where you can't.'
Daily Mail
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Ricky Martin stormed off set after Billy Bush nearly outed him mid-interview
Billy Bush opened up about his radio host early career blunder when he nearly outed Ricky Martin, who stormed off angrily mid-interview. From his rise to global stardom with Livin' La Vida Loca in 1999 to the time he went public with his sexuality in 2010, speculation swirled around Ricky's love life. In the early 2000s, Billy was a young reporter at Access Hollywood who landed an interview with Ricky. The night before the taping, Billy asked women in a hotel bar what they wanted to know about the singer and they all responded: 'Is he gay?' SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO But when Billy floated the question to Ricky the next day, he was met with a furious outburst, with the singer calling him a 'motherf***er' before tearing off his mic and storming off set. Now Billy, 53, has apologetically told the story on Literally! with Rob Lowe - but despite his remorse, some social media users were outraged. 'Billy Bush is an a hole,' wrote one Facebook commenter. Another social media user made a sly reference to Billy's leaked hot mic tape with Donald Trump, in which the latter bragged about being able to 'grab' women 'by the p***y' because 'when you're a star, they let you do it'. 'Billy Bush seems to have been very interested in everyone's sex life,' the social media user said. 'He must not have been getting any himself.' However, another user on X said: 'Did he say he's straight? That would be the only shocking "outing" here,' while a Facebook commenter sniggered: 'Should've called him a c***sucker.' At the time when Billy met Ricky, the singer had already given an interview to Barbara Walters, who grilled him about his gay rumors in an uncomfortable exchange that she later expressed remorse for and he later described as having given him 'PTSD'. As a rising television personality himself, Billy was anxious to pursue the 'newsmaker' question of Ricky's sexual orientation. In the lobby bar of his Miami hotel the night before his taping with Ricky was scheduled, Billy asked some of the other patrons: 'All right, ladies, I'm interviewing Ricky Martin tomorrow. What do you wanna know?' They all responded: 'Is he gay?' leaving Billy with the impression that the audience watching the broadcast would also be thinking of the same topic. During the interview, Billy asked: 'Ricky, I asked eight people in a lobby bar last night what they wanted to know about you, and they all said the same thing.' Ricky stiffened and sharply demanded: 'What?' and Billy, screwing up his courage, continued: 'They wanted to know if you're gay.' 'You motherf***er!' Ricky allegedly erupted, tearing off his microphone. 'Barbara Walters asked me this and now you. You don't care at all about me. You want your headline. You want your this - you piece of garbage. Who do you think you are?' Ricky stalked off the set, leaving Billy in shock, wondering: 'What just happened?' while his producer said: 'This is terrible.' Within three minutes, Billy's phone was flooded with calls from Los Angeles as the show bosses lambasted him for fumbling the interview. Billy recalled feeling 'badly' about the way the conversation had gone because Ricky 'was legitimately hurt, and I'm not in the business of hurting people. I'm in the business of figuring out who I am and where I'm going, and you need to be able to make mistakes in life - remember that, people,' he told the podcast host. Shortly after the blunder, Billy approached Ricky for a private conversation and apologized for his handling of the interview. Ricky, I am so sorry for asking that question,' Billy said. 'I don't know what I was thinking. It was a cowboy question. It was inappropriate. I'm so sorry and I promise you this will never see the light of day. I will smash that tape with a hammer.' At that point Ricky told Ricky: 'I've been struggling with this my whole life. There will be a time. There will be a place. It will not be here on this program while I'm promoting this album. It is deeply personal to me. I appreciate you coming back in here. I forgive you, and yes, destroy that tape if you would.' Their talk concluded with a hug, and when they met two years later, the two men embraced again. 'And I learned a valuable lesson that day,' Billy shared on Rob Lowe's podcast. 'Don't be an a**hole. Don't be an idiot. You have to find nuance in this business - who people are, where you can go, where you can't.' In response to the news, Billy told a truncated version of the botched interview story on Access Hollywood and apologized publicly for his indiscreet question. 'I felt terrible. Truth be told, I let my ambition overshadow my sensitivity and judgment,' Billy said during the broadcast. 'I went for the big question. I had no idea it would be at the expense of Ricky's deepest feelings.' They appear to be on good terms now, as Ricky cheerfully gave Billy an interview for Extra on the red carpet of the Emmys this past September.
