newsmakers

newsmakers

Jury finds Pharrell, Thicke copied for ‘Blurred Lines’ song

LOS ANGELES

A jury awarded Marvin Gaye’s children nearly $7.4 million Tuesday after determining singers Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams copied their father’s music to create “Blurred Lines,” the biggest hit song of 2013.

Marvin Gaye’s daughter Nona Gaye wept as the verdict was being read and was hugged by her attorney, Richard Busch.

The verdict could tarnish the legacy of Williams, a reliable hit-maker who has won Grammy Awards and appears on NBC’s music-competition show “The Voice.”

An attorney for Thicke and Williams has said a decision in favor of Gaye’s heirs could have a chilling effect on musicians who try to emulate an era or another artist’s sound.

Bill Cosby accuser’s mom appeals to comedian’s wife

SPRING HILL, Fla.

When William and Judy Thompson met comedian Bill Cosby in the late 1980s to discuss their teen daughter’s modeling and acting career, they felt immediately at ease.

Cosby reassured the Thompsons that their then-17-year-old daughter, Jennifer, would be fine living in an apartment with other models as she launched her career. He promised to help the teen, they said.

Jennifer Thompson now says she fended off unwanted sexual advances from Cosby and once performed a sex act on the comedian. He then gave her $700. That encounter — their final — clouded Jennifer Thompson’s next two decades.

Thompson, now 44, and her parents recently spoke to The Associated Press about the encounters with Cosby. They also revealed that three weeks ago, Judy Thompson sent a letter to Cosby’s wife, Camille.

“Mother to mother,” said Judy Thompson. “This letter was written from my heart.”

“Your husband crossed boundaries that never should have been breached,” she wrote to Camille Cosby. “He shattered her innocence.”

It could not be determined whether Camille Cosby received the letter.

Associated Press