Hollywood Week: Sean Combs Sentenced, Skydance/Warner Bros., Dolly Parton, AI Actress
- Details
- Category: Haute This Issue
- Published on Saturday, 04 October 2025 10:44
- Written by Janet Walker
Disgraced Hip Hop mogul Sean Combs finally heard his fate as a Manhattan judge sentenced the founder of Bad Boy Records to 50 months in prison in addition to time served for his prostitution related conviction.
Sean Combs Sentenced
Federal Prosecutor Christy Slavik pointed out that Combs, 50, already booked speaking engagements for next week, calling the heralding of his freedom, before the sentencing, "the height of hubris," as she presented evidence to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, during the sentence hearing.
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The hearing, which lasted nearly eight hours including sentencing recommendations, with the prosecution asking for the maximum 87 months, or 7 years, and the defense requesting 14 months, or time served. Before the beginning of witness and family statements, Judge Subramanian indicated he agreed with the sentencing recommendations.
Even if he were persuaded by his attorneys that he would be released, booking speaking engagements presented him as one who had dangerous levels of overconfidence, and no empathy toward his victims. His arrogance and his continued belief that he was above the law, presented him as someone who was once again in a position of power, and all others, including Judge Subramanian, would need to bow.
When announcing his decision Judge Subramanian explained, "I want to say, first, we heard you," Subramanian said to Ventura and Jane, neither of whom attended the hearing. He credited the women for making Combs's "horrible acts" public and opening the path for accountability. Subramanian said," reported The Washington Post.
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After pronouncing the 50 month or 4 years sentence, the judge said that a substantial sentence was required "to send a message to abusers and victims alike that exploitation and violence against women is met with real accountability." However, until special privileges law, an unwritten yet often used legal shield that protects many from prosecution, is abolished, the law remains held hostage to the whims of a quid pro quo system.
As Combs will receive credit for time served he will serve an additional 36 months. He is also required to pay a $500,000 fine and received an additional five years of supervised release for his July convictions.
"By finding Combs not guilty of sex trafficking, the lawyers said, the jury concluded that Combs did not use force or coercion on his victims. "That was totally inconsistent with the jury verdict. The Judge acted as a 13th juror," said attorney Alexandra Shapiro, who will lead Combs' appeal. "The sentence was driven by the conduct the jury rejected. The jury acquitted Mr. Combs of any coercion,"' ABCnews.com reported.
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David Ellison Continues to Shop
Paramount Skydance, led by CEO David Ellison, is shopping again and looking to acquire Warner Bros., Studio with a cash heavy offer.
Although representatives from both Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros., have not confirmed the specifics of any deal, or even if talks have moved from ambiguous into a clearer vision, however as Warner Bros., home to Harry Potter franchise, and DC Comics, has openly discussed splitting into two, Paramount Skydance, backed by the Ellison family wealth, is said to be eyeing the option of a cash heavy acquisition of Warner Bros., before the split so to avoid becoming one suitor in a sea of potential deep pocketed suitors, such as Amazon or Apple.
"The bid will be for the entire company, including its cable networks and movie studio, the people said. Warner said late last year it planned to restructure into two operating divisions, one focused on the legacy cable-television business and the other on streaming and studios. . . . A bid hasn't yet been submitted and the plans could still fall apart," reported The Wall Street Journal.
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Ellison's Advantage - The Great Wealth Transfer
Ellison's advantage, which is in part due to the successes of his father, Oracle founder Larry Ellison, is also aided by the great wealth transfer, which has begun as parents of one of the wealthiest generations in history, due in part to the boom in technology, pass away leaving more than a trillion dollars in assets to their children.
Ellison should benefit from that, as Larry Ellison, now 81, and while still healthy and mentally sound, is aging. If he gifts traditionally, sometime within the next decade, Ellison's more than $300 billion net worth will be passed to his two children.
According to media sources, Larry Ellison is gearing up to make his mark on the entertainment industry, and the acquisition of Paramount Pictures was only the beginning. His plans include creating a merger of technology and entertainment, building Paramount Skydance, especially with the acquisition of Warner Bros., into something similar to his cash heavy competitors such as Apple and Amazon or better.
Dolly Parton Illness
Dolly Parton, 79, who is to receive the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Science Governors Award on Sunday, November 16, 2025, has announced she will not be in attendance due to ongoing health issues.
The award winning singer and songwriter also cancelled her Las Vegas residency citing medical reasons.
Parton, who lost her husband of 59 years, Carl Dean in March, "has often said her faith keeps her resilient in difficult times. And while she's grieving her husband of 59 years, she is still looking forward. "I want to be able to do good, and I just pray for God to give me strength and the energy…to show me what I need to do, where I'm most needed," she told Woman's World last year. "And to give me the stamina and the strength to carry it out," Yahoo Entertainment reported.
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AI Actress Slammed by Unions
AI actress Tilly Norwood, who is not human but the collaboration of technology and artificial intelligence and created by code, and is not capable of the human experience or have knowledge of the human condition, is being slammed across all professional performing unions.
"SAG-AFTRA, the U.S. labor union that represents actors and other talent, has now weighed in via a statement: "The union is opposed to the replacement of human performers by synthetics. To be clear, 'Tilly Norwood' is not an actor, it's a character generated by a computer program that was trained on the work of countless professional performers — without permission or compensation," said SAG-AFTRA. . . ."It has no life experience to draw from, no emotion and, from what we've seen, audiences aren't interested in watching computer-generated content untethered from the human experience. It doesn't solve any 'problem' — it creates the problem of using stolen performances to put actors out of work, jeopardizing performer livelihoods and devaluing human artistry," reported The Hollywood Reporter.
Janet Walker is the publisher, founder, and sole owner of Haute-Lifestyle.com. A graduate of New York University, she has been covering international news through the Beltway Insider, a weekly review of the nation's top stories, for more than a decade. A general beat writer/reporter and entertainment/film critic, she is also an accomplished news/investigative news/crime reporter and submitted for Pulitzer Prize consideration "Cops Conspire to Deep Six Sex Assaults" in the Breaking News Category and was persuaded to withdraw the submission. Ms. Walker has completed five screenplays "The Six Sides of Truth," "The Assassins of Fifth Avenue," "The Wednesday Killer," "The Manhattan Project," and the sci-fi thriller "Project 13: The Last Day." She has also published "Unholy Alliances: A True Crime Story," and "Days, Times, Seasons, and Events: A Collection of Poetry & Prose," which can be purchased here. She is a member of the Los Angeles Press Club, the National Writers Union, and a member of the International Federation of Journalists.
