Latest news with #Playgirl
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Iconic 80s teen heartthrob who starred in scandalous film alongside Brooke Shields is seen on rare outing
This actor and occasional model was pictured out in Connecticut on a rare outing this week. He is best known for costarring with Brooke Shields in an iconic film from the early 1980s. The movie struck up controversy that has endured for decades due to its copious nudity and the fact that Shields was only 14 when she worked on the production. This star, who is now 64, later played up his image by posing nude in Playgirl just a couple years later. Since then he has remained prolific with a variety of film roles and guest parts on television, including a reunion with Shields nearly two decades after they first worked together. Can you guess who this '80s actor is? He's Blue Lagoon star Christopher Atkins. Atkins, who was born in New York in 1961, tends to fly under the radar, but he was pictured in a rare sighting in Southport, Connecticut, earlier this week. He was seen running errands around town, which included a stop at a gas station to fill up. The '80s heartthrob looked as if he was dressed for a day at the beach with a gray–green tank top and gray floral-patterned Hawaiian-style cargo shorts, along with beige flip flops. He still sported his recognizable blond hair, though it had faded to the point that it was almost a platinum shade now. Atkins and Shields starred in 1980's Blue Lagoon as a pair of children who are shipwrecked on a remote island. After the only adult to survive with them dies, they are left alone to find for themselves. The children grow up and eventually become lovers on the island, which is inhabited by indigenous people that they steer clear of. Shields was only 14 at the time, so a body double performed her nude scenes. But Atkins was 18 and did his own full-frontal nude scenes. Critics savaged Blue Lagoon but it was a hit at the box office Despite his boyish looks, Atkins was 18 at the time filming began, but Shields was only 14. As a result, her numerous nude scenes were filmed by an adult body double, but Atkins performed his own nude scenes. Still, critics and audiences were alike were scandalized by the story — in which Atkins and Shields' characters are cousins — and Shields' young age. Although she isn't pictured in the nude, Shields still performed topless on set, though sometimes with her hair glued to her chest. Critics savaged The Blue Lagoon, but it was a hit at the box office, where it reportedly grossed $58.8 million in North America along against a budget of just $4.5 million. But Blue Lagoon's box office success didn't translate to major roles for Atkins, possibly because of the critical disdain for the film. He followed it up with voice roles in the English-language dubs of Japanese anime adaptations of Swan Lake and Aladdin And The Magic Lamp in 1981 and 1982, respectively. In 1982 he made the risky move to pose nude in Playgirl, which may have made it hard for audiences to separate him from Blue Lagoon's reputation. The same year, he had a lead role in The Pirate Movie, an Australian musical loosely based on Gilbert and Sullivan's classic opera The Pirates Of Penzance. The movie didn't change his fortunes, though, as critics again lambasted the movie, and it barely made back its budget. Atkins got a more high-profile role as a recurring character on Dallas for a year beginning in 1983, but since then he appeared almost exclusively in low-budget films in supporting roles. Atkins married the Australian model Lyn Barron in 1985, and they share two children. Although he continued to act throughout the decade, it was the least productive period of his career, and in 2009 he told People that he struggled with alcoholism while also battling a career recession at the time. He ended up going to rehab during the decade, but he boasted of being sober for more than two decades at the time. He had a brief return to prominence in 1999, when he reunited with Shields on her sitcom Suddenly Susan for an episode. Atkins also had a small role in the 2012 TV movie Blue Lagoon: The Awakening, which was a present-day remake of the earlier film. Although he never gave up his love of acting, Atkins later took up additional trades as a swimming pool builder and a fishing lure designer In 2022, he reunited with Shields for her podcast, in which they discussed the controversial nudity on Blue Lagoon. After joking about Atkins' on-set nudity, Shields remembered thinking, 'Why do I have to look at this? I'd never seen one before. I'm not going to start now' Two years later, Atkins scored another high-profile TV guest spot on an episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. Although his other film projects have remained small scale, he has stayed impressive busy, and he currently has five projects that are completed or in post-production, according to IMDb. Although he never gave up his love of acting, Atkins later took up additional trades as a swimming pool builder and a fishing lure designer. In 2022, he reunited again with Shields for her podcast Now What?, in which they discussed the controversial nudity on Blue Lagoon. After joking about how often he was nude on set, Shields remembered thinking, 'Why do I have to look at this? I'd never seen one before. I'm not going to start now.' She added that members of the production 'wanted so desperately for us to fall in love with each other,' but that wasn't going to happen, as 'even kissed anybody.' Atkins replied: 'Which was probably great for the film because that's what it was all about. You have to admit the chemistry between us was just amazing.' The actor recently relieved his glory days when he graced the cover of Playgirl's July 2025 issue, 43 years after he first posed for the magazine.
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Sean 'Diddy' Combs case includes a charge steeped in racist history, attorneys argue
Sean "Diddy" Combs' lawyers are seeking to have one of the charges against him in a federal racketeering case dismissed because, they say, it's racist and has been been used disproportionately against Black men. Combs is awaiting trial, tentatively scheduled to begin in May, on racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, and violating the Mann Act, which prohibits transporting someone across state lines for the purpose of prostitution. On Tuesday evening, his legal team filed a motion casting the prosecution under the Mann Act as racist — something prosecutors have denied in previous hearings. "Mr. Combs has been singled out because he is powerful, Black, and he is being prosecuted for conduct that regularly goes unpunished," his lawyers argued in their motion. The Mann Act was once called the White-Slave Traffic Act and was put into law in 1910 to prohibit the transportation of women for prostitution or other "immoral" purposes. Combs' lawyers, however, argued to the court that the law's historic purpose has been to "target Black men and supposedly protect white women from them," pointing to the prosecution of Jack Johnson and Chuck Berry as past examples. Johnson was pardoned posthumously in 2018. "High-profile white men, including former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, have engaged in similar conduct but were never charged under the Act," the motion said. Read more: How Sean 'Diddy' Combs allegedly used his empire and employees to 'get his way' with women Combs is accused of hiring escorts and having them cross state lines for sex in a federal indictment unsealed last year. According to the motion, the escort service, which the motion does not name, is "not some secretive underground operation that was previously unknown. It has been operating in the open for over a decade. It has a website and over 10,000 followers on X [formerly Twitter]. As the company's own press page states, its operations have been featured in Playgirl, Glamour, Sheen, Hustler, Cosmopolitan, and Esquire." Combs, who is being held in a federal correctional facility in Brooklyn, N.Y., has pleaded not guilty and maintained that he is innocent of any wrongdoing. In a recently filed superseding indictment in Manhattan, federal prosecutors increased the number of alleged sex trafficking victims from one to three but does not identify them. The allegations of "Victim-1" mirror those made by singer and Combs' former girlfriend Casandra "Cassie" Ventura, in a lawsuit filed in 2023. That suit was eventually settled. The expanded indictment also extended the duration of the alleged conspiracy, saying it began in 2004 instead of 2008 and lasted until 2024. Read more: A wall of secrets may crumble as feds call out enablers of Sean 'Diddy' Combs' alleged sex crimes The indictment alleges the Bad Boy Entertainment founder used his empire to coerce victims into sex in gatherings known as "freak-offs." It alleges Combs 'used force, threats of force, and coercion to cause victims, including but not limited to three female victims,' to engage in commercial sex acts. Combs was arrested in September after nearly a yearlong federal investigation. Prosecutors allege that, as part of a sex trafficking scheme, Combs and his entourage engaged in violence, abuse, arson, and kidnapping and, during one abduction, brandished a firearm. Combs' attorneys have unsuccessfully sought to exclude evidence they say was leaked, including a 2016 video, which shows Combs and Ventura in a hallway of the Intercontinental Hotel in Los Angeles. The video, obtained and published by CNN last year, shows Combs chasing Ventura down the hallway, kicking her, striking her and throwing a vase at her before dragging her back to the door of a room. The video, which quickly went viral, confirmed at least some of the physical abuse allegations against the singer detailed in the 2023 lawsuit. Since the first indictment, a growing number of people have sued Combs, accusing him of sexual abuse, some of them minors at the time of the alleged acts. None of the federal allegations involve minors. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
19-02-2025
- Los Angeles Times
Sean ‘Diddy' Combs case includes a charge steeped in racist history, attorneys argue
Sean 'Diddy' Combs' lawyers are seeking to have one of the charges against him in a federal racketeering case dismissed because, they say, it's racist and has been been used disproportionately against Black men. Combs is awaiting trial, tentatively scheduled to begin in May, on racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, and violating the Mann Act, which prohibits transporting someone across state lines for the purpose of prostitution. On Tuesday evening, his legal team filed a motion casting the prosecution under the Mann Act as racist — something prosecutors have denied in previous hearings. 'Mr. Combs has been singled out because he is powerful, Black, and he is being prosecuted for conduct that regularly goes unpunished,' his lawyers argued in their motion. The Mann Act was once called the White-Slave Traffic Act and was put into law in 1910 to prohibit the transportation of women for prostitution or other 'immoral' purposes. Combs' lawyers, however, argued to the court that the law's historic purpose has been to 'target Black men and supposedly protect white women from them,' pointing to the prosecution of Jack Johnson and Chuck Berry as past examples. Johnson was pardoned posthumously in 2018. 'High-profile white men, including former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, have engaged in similar conduct but were never charged under the Act,' the motion said. Combs is accused of hiring escorts and having them cross state lines for sex in a federal indictment unsealed last year. According to the motion, the escort service, which the motion does not name, is 'not some secretive underground operation that was previously unknown. It has been operating in the open for over a decade. It has a website and over 10,000 followers on X [formerly Twitter]. As the company's own press page states, its operations have been featured in Playgirl, Glamour, Sheen, Hustler, Cosmopolitan, and Esquire.' Combs, who is being held in a federal correctional facility in Brooklyn, N.Y., has pleaded not guilty and maintained that he is innocent of any wrongdoing. In a recently filed superseding indictment in Manhattan, federal prosecutors increased the number of alleged sex trafficking victims from one to three but does not identify them. The allegations of 'Victim-1' mirror those made by singer and Combs' former girlfriend Casandra 'Cassie' Ventura, in a lawsuit filed in 2023. That suit was eventually settled. The expanded indictment also extended the duration of the alleged conspiracy, saying it began in 2004 instead of 2008 and lasted until 2024. The indictment alleges the Bad Boy Entertainment founder used his empire to coerce victims into sex in gatherings known as 'freak-offs.' It alleges Combs 'used force, threats of force, and coercion to cause victims, including but not limited to three female victims,' to engage in commercial sex acts. Combs was arrested in September after nearly a yearlong federal investigation. Prosecutors allege that, as part of a sex trafficking scheme, Combs and his entourage engaged in violence, abuse, arson, and kidnapping and, during one abduction, brandished a firearm. Combs' attorneys have unsuccessfully sought to exclude evidence they say was leaked, including a 2016 video, which shows Combs and Ventura in a hallway of the Intercontinental Hotel in Los Angeles. The video, obtained and published by CNN last year, shows Combs chasing Ventura down the hallway, kicking her, striking her and throwing a vase at her before dragging her back to the door of a room. The video, which quickly went viral, confirmed at least some of the physical abuse allegations against the singer detailed in the 2023 lawsuit. Since the first indictment, a growing number of people have sued Combs, accusing him of sexual abuse, some of them minors at the time of the alleged acts. None of the federal allegations involve minors.
Express Tribune
28-01-2025
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
NLE Choppa denies 'gay baiting' accusations over viral 'playgirl' photoshoot
NLE Choppa is setting the record straight after a viral photo from his Playgirl shoot sparked accusations of queerbaiting. The 22-year-old rapper, currently in Paris for Fashion Week, took to social media to address the criticism. He responded directly to a tweet claiming he was "gay baiting," clarifying that he was simply expressing "freedom" and comfort in his own skin. In a video from his hotel bathroom, Choppa explained, "I just feel like narratives get painted because I don't care so much," adding, "But do not say that I'm a gay baiter because I'm comfortable enough to show off the perfection that God has orchestrated over my physical, my mental, my spiritual, and even my emotions." Choppa continued, "I am not a gay baiter because I posted a selfie in the mirror showing off how beautiful I am. I am not a gay baiter if I post a picture showing off how much God has blessed from below the waist with something that got women going crazy. I am not a gay baiter because, in [my] Playgirl shoot, I show a piece of my ass. I can't show a piece of my own ass without being called a name? It's my ass!" — NLE Choppa (@Nlechoppa1) The rapper, known for his hit "Slut Me Out 2," also expressed his love for himself, explaining that his confidence as a Black man is often misunderstood. He wrote on X, "I understand me being in love with myself as a BLACKMAN is so RARE to the point that some people try putting the homosexual jacket on my name." In previous statements, Choppa made it clear that while he supports the LGBTQ community, his romantic interests are exclusively with women. He also addressed the backlash from his desire to perform at a Pride event, saying, "I'm secure, I know who I am. Show love, it won't hurt and also you do know women are a part of the LGBTQ community right[,] you gone hate them too?"
