'Smallville' Actress Allison Mack Is Charged With Sex Trafficking Actress Allison Mack was charged with sex trafficking on Friday in connection with her alleged involvement in a secret cult in upstate New York. The FBI arrested Mack in Brooklyn. She was scheduled to appear in federal court Friday, according to NBC New York. She and Keith Raniere, who was arrested March 25 in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, are both charged with sex trafficking, sex trafficking conspiracy and forced labor conspiracy. The charges are in connection with their involvement in NXIVM (“Nexium”), a group started by Raniere that claims its mission is “to raise human awareness, foster an ethical humanitarian civilization, and celebrate what it means to be human.” Authorities allege that Mack recruited women to join what she claimed was a female mentorship group called Jness. However, she and Raniere are accused of exploiting the women who joined, both sexually and for their labor, according to BuzzFeed. Authorities said the 35-year-old Mack was Raniere’s direct “slave” but also acted as “master” to other women in the group. The members were not only forced to have sex with Raniere but have his initials branded into their pubic region with a cauterizing pen, according to the criminal complaint obtained by the New York Post. During the branding, Mack allegedly told the women to “feel the pain” and to “think of [their] master,” the paper reported. Mack allegedly cajoled her victims into posing for naked photos for Raniere, which were also used as blackmail. In return for serving as Raniere’s pimp, investigators said, Mack received “financial and other benefits” from the cult leader, according to NBC New York.
Natalie Portman addresses snub of 'Jewish Nobel,' backlash IAN DEITCH,Associated Press 16 hours ago Scroll back up to restore default view. JERUSALEM (AP) — Actress Natalie Portman has snubbed a prestigious prize known as the "Jewish Nobel," saying she did not want her attendance to be seen as an endorsement of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Portman was to have received the award in Israel in June and said in a statement issued early Saturday that her reasons for skipping the ceremony had been mischaracterized by others, and she is not part of the BDS, a Palestinian-led global movement of boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel. News of Portman's decision to skip the event triggered an angry backlash Friday from some in the country's political establishment. That was due to reports that Portman through a representative had told the Genesis Prize Foundation she was experiencing "extreme distress" over attending its ceremony and would "not feel comfortable participating in any public events in Israel." Portman's statement said her decision had been mischaracterized. "Let me speak for myself. I chose not to attend because I did not want to appear as endorsing Benjamin Netanyahu, who was to be giving a speech at the ceremony," she wrote. "Like many Israelis and Jews around the world, I can be critical of the leadership in Israel without wanting to boycott the entire nation. I treasure my Israeli friends and family, Israeli food, books, art, cinema, and dance.'" She asked people to "not take any words that do not come directly from me as my own." Israel faces some international criticism over its use of lethal force in response to mass protests along the Gaza border led by the Islamic militant group that rules the territory. One Israeli lawmaker warned that Portman's decision is a sign of eroding support for Israel among young American Jews. The Jerusalem-born Portman is a dual Israeli-American citizen. The Oscar-winning actress moved to the United States as a young girl, evolving from a child actress into a widely acclaimed A-list star. Portman received the 2011 best actress Academy Award for "Black Swan," and, in 2015, she directed and starred in "Tale of Love and Darkness," a Hebrew-language film set in Israel based on an Amos Oz novel. Her success is a great source of pride for many Israelis. The Genesis Prize Foundation said Thursday that it had been informed by Portman's representative that "recent events in Israel have been extremely distressing" to Portman, though it did not refer to specific events. Since March 30, more than three dozen Palestinians have been killed by Israeli army fire, most of them in protests on the Gaza-Israeli border. Hundreds more have been wounded by Israeli troops during this time. Israel says it is defending its border and accuses Hamas, a militant group sworn to Israel's destruction, of trying to carry out attacks under the guise of protests. It has said that some of those protesting at the border over the past few weeks tried to damage the fence, plant explosives and hurl firebombs, or flown kites attached to burning rags to set Israeli fields on fire. Several Israeli communities are located near the Gaza border. Rights groups have branded open-fire rules as unlawful, saying they effectively permit soldiers to use potentially lethal force against unarmed protesters. Israel's right-wing Culture Minister Miri Regev said in a statement Friday that she was sorry to hear that Portman "has fallen like a ripe fruit into the hands of BDS supporters," referring to the Palestinian-led boycott movement. "Natalie, a Jewish actress born in Israel, is joining those who relate to the wondrous success story of Israel's rebirth as a story of 'darkness and darkness'," Regev said. Rachel Azaria, a lawmaker from the centrist Kulanu party, warned that Portman's decision to stay away is a sign of eroding support for Israel among young American Jews. "The cancellation by Natalie Portman needs to light warning signs," Azaria said in a statement. "She is totally one of us. She identifies with her Jewishness and Israeli-ness. She is expressing now the voices of many in U.S. Jewry, mainly those of the young generation. This is a community that was always a significant anchor for the state of Israel. The price of losing them could be too high." Oren Hazan, a legislator in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing Likud Party, called on the government to revoke Portman's Israeli citizenship. Gilad Erdan, Israel's Public Security Minister said he sent a letter to Portman expressing his disappointment. "Sadly, it seems that you have been influenced by the campaign of media misinformation and lies regarding Gaza orchestrated by the Hamas terrorist group," he wrote. He invited her to visit and see for herself the situation on the ground. The Genesis foundation said it was "very saddened" by Portman's decision and would cancel the prize ceremony, which had been set for June 28. "We fear that Ms. Portman's decision will cause our philanthropic initiative to be politicized, something we have worked hard for the past five years to avoid," it said. Portman said in her statement that the backlash has inspired her to make numerous contributions to charities in Israel. She pledged to announce those grants soon. The Genesis Prize was launched in 2013 to recognize Jewish achievement and contributions to humanity. Previous recipients include former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, actor Michael Douglas, violinist Itzhak Perlman and sculptor Anish Kapoor. When Portman was announced late last year as the 2018 recipient, she said in a statement released by organizers at the time that she was "proud of my Israeli roots and Jewish heritage." ------------------------------- I'm certain her career will not suffer. It comes off as phony and coercive to call out a celebrity that rejects the event. Another thing... why are all the recipients celebrities? This alone proves its a celebrity-name-grabbing for their own foundation. I think Portman's move to endow charities in Israel was the best and most appropriate response.
HER? She has a face like a normal cheery person and looks younger than 35. wow. I don't see mastermind sex slave operator.
Anish Kapoor is famous... in the art world. Mike Bloomberg is famous. I’ll concede that Perlman (the violinist) probably is the least known.
Is being famous, being a celebrity? I'm sure a renown physicist is famous in his field, but I wouldn't call them a celebrity like Michael Douglas.
There are degrees to fame, no denying that. Also field notoriety. I’m sure there are people in the world who would be aghast to know that we don’t know who Ytzak, the violinist is.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/music/cel...ll-simmons-dropped/ar-AAwkLdA?ocid=spartandhp Rape Charges against Russell Simmons to be dropped.
of all 3 charges. all 3 carry a 10 yr sentence each ! no jello for you Bill. don't drop the popsicle stick.
http://www.foxnews.com/entertainmen...ertainment+(Internal+-+Entertainment+-+Mixed) I don't know if this is Hollywood News or just news. Seems like Matt Groening of the Simpson is just begging for trouble here... Wow. Own up to it pal. You fucked up!
It is cool to see actor Hank Azaria being open to further development of Apu, whether he is directly involved or not. It is really difficult to say, “oh, it used to be okay, but now it isn’t”. Things change. Times change and so does perception, social norms, etc. This is a part of progressing as a society when it comes to racial/gender sensitivity.
That character isn't holding society back at all. It's a cartoon. South Park does far worse....and there's nothing wrong with it. We are losing our sense of humor in the name of political correctness.
