Hollywood Week: Paramount Settles, ICE Deports Boxer, Combs Shocking Verdict, Michael Madsen

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Category: Entertainment News

Published on Saturday, 05 July 2025 12:28

Written by Janet Walker

U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement Agents, which have targeted the undocumented Latino population in Los Angeles, arrested World Boxing Champion Julio César Chávez Jr., after his fight with Jake Paul in Anaheim, and announced he would be deported.

Paramount Settles

In hopes of securing the green light on the billion dollar Skydance-Paramount deal, lawyers for the news program 60 Minutes, which is owned by Paramount, announced they have agreed to pay Mr. Trump $16 million dollars to settle his defamation lawsuit.

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The monies, some of which will cover Mr. Trump's legal fees, and any remaining balance will be transferred to his presidential library fund.

"The size of the settlement, $16 million, is the same sum that ABC News agreed to pay in December to settle a defamation case filed by Mr. Trump against the network and one of its anchors, George Stephanopoulos. Paramount's board was concerned that paying a higher amount to settle the case could increase the company's exposure to potential legal actions from shareholders accusing it of bribery," reported The New York Times.

The settlement deal has already caused members of congress to cry foul. Senator Elizabeth Warren, (D-Maine) has said the settlement constitutes bribery.

And in reality, it does. However, there is no other methodology to move government along, at this time, other than the paying the gate keeper. Mr. Trump needs monies for his library and when he was under investigation and prosecution, many networks allowed their teams to speak publicly creating the possibility for defamation.

The settlement should move the Skydance-Paramount deal past the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

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Shocking Verdict in Sean Combs Trial

After more than seven weeks of shocking testimony,  60 hours of intimate accounts of sexual proclivities that reinforce stereotypes, and 34 witnesses, in the end (no pun intended) the jury comprised of eight men and four women, delivered a split verdict, convicting Combs on the lesser charges, and acquitting him of the more severe.

While Combs was thanking Jesus, (an odd reaction as the usual litmus test for Christianity remains are you making the bedsprings creak), his jubilation may be a bit premature.

Recap and Breakdown

The gender imbalance of the jury made it impossible to ever reach a conviction on the racketeering charges. Women understand the constraints society places on them, how many have said, "It's me, it's not you," to shake off someone who just didn't get the message. Four women could not have swayed the men to understand the dynamics of word choices in relationships.

At the conclusion, ambition was the deciding factor. Combs, in his heyday, could propel careers, and he wasn't, I assume, the only pimp in the music industry. Sex is the express train to fame, and that is not a new or shocking statement. It is want it is.

The prosecution's failure seems to boil down to reducing the RICO charges to the lowest common denominator, presenting it in the context which doesn't mean dumb it down, it means suggest to those who will ultimately make a decision, in terms they can comprehend based on the activities on the RICO list of charges.

"The law is best known for helping dismantle criminal syndicates, like the Mafia, but has been employed against an ever-expanding variety of criminal groups, including violent street gangs and narcotics traffickers," reported The New York Times.

Proving that Combs ran a criminal enterprise should have included the sale and transportation of narcotics, and even simply, the distribution (not slinging teenths on tenth) but providing party favors for friends at any of his various reported parties, equates to distribution.  And then walking it back, where did the drugs come from, who was the supplier, how did they get paid, who made the purchase. And ultimately where did the money come from? Petty cash? Really? The biggest failure was believing a jury would equate his sexual proclivities, as disgusting and anti-social as they were, to anything other than ambition. The texts messages, and multiple million dollar payouts, usually dissuade a jury. For the slam dunk, the at the buzzer win, there needed to be something other than sex.

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Sentencing

Now, the greater indicator of the proposed sentencing is Judge Arun Subramanian's decision not to release Combs, while suggesting a sentencing date of October 3, 2025, roughly 90 days after the shocking verdict.

Pundits, who are routinely sought out for their legal opinions, have placed the range of sentencing from "time served," to "minimum, if any." Both pundits also stated the Judge Subramanian would release Combs.

The changes he was convicted on carrying a maximum penalty of 10 years each. Both the attorneys for the defense and the prosecution are expected to meet this week to propose a sentencing schedule. The prosecution is expected to push for the maximum and possibly compromise to 60 months or five years for each count, while the defense is expected to suggest, in addition to time served, 24-27 months or less than three years for each count.

As the judge is the ultimate authority, he can ignore both counsels, and sentence combs to eight to ten years each or on both counts. It's doubtful the judge will overrule the verdict and impose his own even as legally it is allowed. Although, sentencing recommendation are just that a recommendation.

Judge Subramanian will review Comb's entire life, the severity of his past criminal actions, his current convictions, the probability of future criminal actions, and other factors, while taking into consideration the recommendations before he hands down a sentence.

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Michael Madsen Dies

Michael Madsen, who shot to fame in Quentin Tarantino's "Reservoir Dogs," and teamed with the director again on "Kill Bill," and "The Hateful Eight," died this week. He was 67.

With a career spanning more than four decades, Madsen certainly made the most of his opportunities. His IMDB page list is a wonder. He is credited for 346 roles;  he had 19 credited roles in 2013, and average between eight to 13 over the last five years. He has 17 upcoming projects in various production phases. He is credited with 23 producer roles.

Madsen began his acting career with small roles on television dramas and movies. Before his star turning role in Quentin Tarantino's 1992 "Reservoir Dogs," Madsen turned heads for his appearance in Oliver Stone's "The Doors," and as the love interest in "Thelma & Louise." When Madsen was cast as Mr. Blonde, Tarantino's first movie, it was a new kind of gangster and it fit Madsen. Who can forget his dance around the bloody cop as he cuts his ear off?

"Mr. Madsen never achieved true leading-man status like his soul mates Charles Bronson and James Gandolfini — but perhaps, measured by volume, he did. A tough guy's tough guy, he seemed ubiquitous in his 1990s heyday, one of those guy-who-was-in-everything actors," reported The New York Times.

Madsen was unresponsive when paramedics arrived at his Malibu home, on the morning of Thursday, July 3, 2025. The cause has been described as cardiac arrest.

Madsen was born September 25, 1957 in Chicago. His mother, a filmmaker and producer and his father a firefighter. Madsen is survived by his wife, and seven children and two sisters, Cheryl and Virginia, an academy Award nominated actress. He is predeceased by his son, Hudson, who died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in 2022.

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 her second book, "Days, Times, Seasons, and Events: A Collection of Poetry & Prose," will be completed soon. She is a member of the Los Angeles Press Club, the National Writers Union, and a former member of the International Federation of Journalists.