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Jonathan Majors’ attorney provides Manhattan DA texts from alleged accuser in which she “disavowed” abuse

March 30, 2023 by WDNY Radio

On Thursday morning, Jonathan Majors‘ attorney, Priya Chaudhry, provided to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office text messages that she says exonerate her Creed III-star client following his assault arrest Saturday, March 25.

Chaudhry provided text messages that she said were sent to Majors from the unnamed woman in which she said she “was the one who used physical force on him,” not the other way around.

Further, Chaudry said, the messages also show the accuser “disavowed” allegations of physical assault that led to the actor’s arrest over the weekend.

“I reiterated it was not an attack,” one of the purported texts from the alleged accuser read in part, adding, “I’m so angry they [arrested you]…I’m sorry you’re in the position, and will make sure nothing happens about this,” it continues.

The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office declined to comment on the text messages.

The day after the arrest, Chaudhry said in a statement, “Jonathan Majors is completely innocent … We are quickly gathering and presenting evidence to the District Attorney with the expectation that all charges will be dropped imminently.”

Chaudhry said the evidence includes video footage from the vehicle where the alleged assault occurred, witness testimony from the driver and others who both saw and heard the alleged incident, “and most importantly, two written statements from the woman recanting these allegations.”

“The NYPD is required to make an arrest in these situations, and this is the only reason Mr. Majors was arrested. We expect these charges to be dropped soon,” Chaudhry’s statement said.

Police officers initially responded to a 911 call Majors made himself, purportedly over concerns about his girlfriend, with whom he lives in a penthouse apartment in New York’s Chelsea neighborhood, police sources told ABC News.

Mass shooting at Yo Gotti’s Prive restaurant kills two and injures five others

March 30, 2023 by WDNY Radio

A mass shooting occurred at a Memphis restaurant owned by Yo Gotti on Wednesday, killing two and injuring five others.

ABC24 reports police responded to calls of a shooting that took place following an altercation in Prive restaurant.

One man died on the scene, while another passed away at Regional One Hospital. Five others — four men and one woman — were shot and transported to hospitals via personal vehicles.

Police are still investigating the scene.

Pet Shop Boys dropping singles compilation, ‘SMASH – The Singles 1985-2020’

March 30, 2023 by WDNY Radio

Pet Shop Boys are celebrating their vast collection of singles with a brand new release.

SMASH – The Singles 1985-2020 features all of the group’s singles from their 35-year career, including such hits as “West End Girls,” “What Have I Done To Deserve This,” “It’s A Sin,” “Always On My Mind” and many, many more.

“As we start work on a new album, and later this year continue our ‘Dreamworld’ greatest hits tour, it seems like a good time to take stock and bring together every single we’ve released,” the band shares.

The set will drop June 16 and fans will have a variety of formats to choose from. In addition to a three-CD and a six-LP box set, it will be released digitally. It will also be available in two special, limited-edition formats — a six-LP white vinyl box set and a three-cassette box set. Plus, there will be a three-CD/Blu-ray edition, which includes all the videos from the collection.

And that’s not all fans can look forward to this year. On April 14 Pet Shop Boys will publish the 2023 edition of their Annually book, which will include an exclusive CD EP, Lost, featuring four tracks they recorded in 2015.

SMASH-The Singles 1985-2020 is available for preorder now.

On This Day, March 30, 1945: Eric Clapton is born

March 30, 2023 by WDNY Radio

On This Day, March 30, 1945 …

Eric Patrick Clapton was born in Surrey, England, and would go on to be regarded as one of the most influential and successful musicians to emerge from the 1960s British music scene.

Clapton started his career with The Yardbirds and went on to have successful careers with such groups as Cream with Ginger Baker, Blind Faith with Steve Winwood, and Derek and the Dominoes.

Clapton eventually went solo, releasing his debut solo album in 1969, and scored his first number one in 1974 with a cover of Bob Marley’s “I Shot The Sheriff.” Clapton has sold more than 280 million records worldwide and is best known for such classic songs as “Lay Down Sally,” “Tears in Heaven,” “Wonderful Tonight,” “I Can’t Stand It” and “Change the World,” as well as covers of the J.J. Cale songs “After Midnight” and “Cocaine.”

Clapton is the winner of 18 Grammys and to this day is the only musician to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame three times — as a solo artist, and as a member of both The Yardbirds and Traffic.

Rebel Wilson says she was “dumped” by a famous woman before meeting fiancée Ramona Agruma

March 30, 2023 by WDNY Radio

Speaking on the U Up? podcast, Rebel Wilson explained that she was “dumped” by a famous, apparently closeted woman before she met her now-fiancée, Ramona Agruma.

The Pitch Perfect star, 43, explained the “dalliance” with the other woman, whom she didn’t name for privacy reasons, fizzled, but credits it for her current relationship.

“I met a woman and had, like, feelings for her, which totally came as a blindside,” Rebel recalled. Seeing as her dating life had previously been limited to “dudes,” Wilson said she was nervous.

“It was so embarrassing,” Rebel said, describing how they were “hanging out as friends” in her apartment at the time. “I said the words, ‘I don’t want to offend you, but are you interested in women?'”

She recalled, “I’ve never had a conversation like that because I was normally just dating dudes, and never had to talk about sexuality and stuff,” she admitted.

The feelings were mutual.

However, the person she was referring to wanted to keep her sexuality out of “the public eye” for the sake of her career. Rebel said eventually she “kinda got dumped.”

However, the actress credited “that whole experience with opening my heart up” to a same-sex relationship.

After the celebrity dating app Raya didn’t work out for her, a mutual friend introduced Rebel to Ramona, “thinking it might just be a friendship thing, but then it progressed.”

The experience of looking for love led Rebel to start a new dating app called Fluid, for people whose attractions don’t necessarily “tick a box.”

She noted, “If your preferences start changing,” the app changes along with you.

Rebel and Ramona’s relationship made headlines in 2022, as the actress simultaneously came out.

The Disney fan couple were engaged last month in front of Cinderella’s castle in Disneyland.

Roku to slash 200 jobs, amounting to 6% of workforce

March 30, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Roku plans to lay off another 200 workers, or 6% of its workforce, the video-streaming company said in a government filing on Thursday, just months after a prior round of layoffs in the fall that slashed 200 jobs.

The company’s revenue surged during the pandemic when customers stuck indoors came to rely on at-home entertainment.

However, the return of consumer habits more closely resembling pre-pandemic life has posed a challenge for the San Jose, California-based company.

The round of layoffs, which the company described as a “restructuring plan,” aims to “lower the Company’s year-over-year operating expense growth and prioritize projects that the Company believes will have a higher return on investment,” the government filing said.

The layoffs will cost the company between $30 and $35 million due to severance payments and other employee benefits, the filing said.

The company’s revenue stood essentially unchanged over the last three months of 2022 compared with the same period a year ago, according to an earnings report released last month.

Roku had previously warned of a difficult business environment expected at the end of last year due to a slowdown in ad spending and the adverse effects of inflation.

Shares of Roku ticked up about 1.5% in early trading on Thursday.

Report: Lana Del Rey is engaged

March 30, 2023 by WDNY Radio

Did you know that, in addition to there being a tunnel under Ocean Blvd, Lana Del Rey is engaged?

That’s according to Billboard, which reports that the “Summertime Sadness” artist is set to marry Evan Winiker, whom she’d apparently been quietly dating.

Winiker works for the Range Media Partners entertainment industry company and used to play in the band Steel Train with Jack Antonoff, who’s long worked with Del Rey.

Del Rey was reportedly engaged to musician Clayton Johnson in 2020 and previously dated Sean Larkin of the reality police show Live PD.

Metallica premieres ‘72 Seasons’ title track

March 30, 2023 by WDNY Radio

After a week of teases, Metallica has now premiered the title track off the band’s upcoming album, 72 Seasons.

The eight-minute thrash epic is available now via digital outlets and is accompanied by a video streaming on YouTube.

The album 72 Seasons, the follow-up to 2016’s Hardwired…to Self-Destruct, will arrive April 14. It also includes the previously released songs “Lux Æterna,” “Screaming Suicide” and “If Darkness Had a Son.”

Metallica will be supporting 72 Seasons on a massive world tour, which begins in Europe in April before hitting the U.S. in August.

KISS adds four new shows to their The End of the Road Tour

March 30, 2023 by WDNY Radio

KISS may have announced their final tour dates, but that doesn’t mean they are done adding shows.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers just added four new U.S. dates to their The End of the Road Tour. The new shows will take place in October, starting with Detroit on October 20. The other additions are Nashville on October 23, St. Louis on October 25 and Fort Worth, Texas, on October 27.

Tickets for the new dates go on sale to the KISS Army on April 3 at 10 a.m. local time, with a general sale happening April 7 at 10 a.m. local time.

As previously reported, KISS has already announced they will wrap the tour December 1 and 2 at New York’s Madison Square Garden, which they say will be the band’s final shows ever. A complete list of KISS dates can be found at kissonline.com.

Nine dead after two Black Hawk helicopters crash in Kentucky

March 30, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(TRIGG COUNTY, Ky.) — All nine service members on board have died after two U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopters crashed during a training mission in Trigg County, Kentucky, an Army official announced, calling it a “truly tragic loss.”

The Black Hawk helicopters from the 101st Airborne Division — one with five on board and another with four on board — were on a “routine training mission” when they crashed at about 10 p.m. Wednesday, Army officials said. The helicopters were “flying a multi-ship formation under night vision goggles,” officials said.

Brigadier General Lubas said the helicopters “have something very similar to the black boxes that we see on the larger aircraft, and we’re hopeful that that will provide quite a bit of information on what occurred.”

Trigg County, where the crash occurred, is about 25 miles northwest of Fort Campbell, a military installation on the Kentucky-Tennessee border.

Kentucky State Police troopers found the wreckage in a location described as either a field or a semi-wooded area, said Sarah Burgess, a police spokesperson.

No one else was hurt, Army officials said.

The service members’ names have not been released. Officials said they are in the process of notifying the families.

“We’re gonna wrap our arms around these families and we’re gonna be there with them,” Kentucky Gov. Andy. Beshear said at a news conference Thursday.

ABC New’s Ahmad Hemingway, Emily Shapiro, Jaclyn Lee and Matt Seyler contributed to this story.

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