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Harvey Weinstein scandal aftermath: Fresh accusations pop up against Hollywood’s A-listers

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After the Weinstein scandal, celebrated personalities like Kevin Spacey, Dustin Hoffman, Jeremy Piven, and Brett Ratner face fresh accusations.

As the fallout from the Harvey Weinstein scandal continues, new names from the Hollywood’s A-list artistes have popped up with charges of sexual misconduct. While controversies continue over the recent charges of sexual assault leveled against Oscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey, other celebrated personalities – including actor-director Dustin Hoffman, “Entourage” star Jeremy Piven and “Rush Hour” director Brett Ratner – also face fresh accusations of sexual harassment. Furthermore, Mexican actor Roberto Cavazos claimed that the number of accusers against the “House of Cards” actor, Kevin Spacey, could be in dozens.

Here are a few Hollywood’s A-listers who faces fresh allegations of sexual misconduct:

Dustin Hoffman

Actress Anna Graham hunter accused that Dustin Hoffman had groped her and spoken to her inappropriately about sex in 1985 – during the shoot of ‘Death of a Salesman’ TV movie – when the actress was just 17 years old. Just a day after Hoffman issued an apology for his past behavior, another woman – writer producer Wendy Riss Gatsiounis – also came forward to claim that even she had faced harassment from the Oscar winning actor.

Gatsiounis claimed that she was been sexually harassed by the actor at the outset of a meeting held with Hoffman and Tootsie screenwriter Murray Schisgal. According to Gatsiounis, the meeting was held to discuss a prospective movie adaptation of her play ‘A Darker Propose’. The actress, who was in her 20s at that time, claimed that Hoffman allegedly asked her whether she had sex with a man over 40.

“I’ll never forget – he moves back, he opens his arms, and he says, ‘It would be a whole new body to explore.’ The whole thing was just a source of torment for me. I was just this writer and he had been my hero, and it stayed with me for a long time” said Gatsiounis.

Brett Ratner

As many as six actresses – including Natasha Henstridge, Olivia Munn and Jamie Ray Newman – alleged that they had earlier been sexually harassed by Brett Ratner – the director and producer of Rush Hour series, X-men and Horrible Bosses.

While Natasha Henstridge claimed that she was forced to perform oral sex with Ratner in 1990s, Jamie Newman alleged Ratner of “loudly describing sex acts he wanted to perform on her in explicit detail” – while she was sitting next to him in a flight.

Jeremy Piven

Over multiple posts on Twitter, actress Ariane Bellamar accused Jeremy Piven of groping her breasts in a trailer on the set of the HBO hit show Entourage.

“‘Member when you cornered me in your trailer on the #Entourage set? ‘Member grabbing my boobies on the [couch] without asking??” she tweeted.

In another Tweet the actress wrote, “Jeremy Piven, on two occasions, cornered me & forcefully fondled my breasts & bum.”

Days after Bellamar’s accusation, another actress, Cassidy Freeman alleged that Piven sexually harassed her on the day when Stephen Colbert’s Late Show dropped him from its broadcast. Over a post in her Instagram account, Freeman wrote, “I know what you did and attempted to do to me when I was far too young.”

Kevin Spacey

Following multiple allegations of sexual misconduct, Netflix on Tuesday suspended the shooting of the sixth season of the ‘House of Cards’. However, in continuing trouble against the Oscar-winning actor, new allegations have emerged against Spacey.

After actor Anthony Rapp claimed that Kevin Spacey tried to “seduce” him when he was just 14 years old, filmmaker Tony Montana came up with fresh allegations. Montana alleged that he was groped by the ‘House of Cards’ actor in a Los Angeles bar in 2013.

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Parliament Winter Session to be held from November 25 to December 20

Kiren Rijiju, Parliamentary Affairs Minister affirmed that the government’s proposal to convene both Houses of the Parliament (Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha) during this period was sanctioned by President Droupadi Murmu.

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Parliament Winter Session to be held from November 25 to December 20

The Parliament Winter Session will commence from November 25 and will conclude on December 20. The winter session will take place two days after the announcement of Maharashtra and Jharkhand Assembly election results.

Kiren Rijiju, Parliamentary Affairs Minister affirmed that the government’s proposal to convene both Houses of the Parliament (Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha) during this period was sanctioned by President Droupadi Murmu.

Notably, the upcoming Winter Session will be the observance of Constitution Day on November 26, commemorating the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the Indian Constitution. Reportedly, the event will be celebrated in the Central Hall of Samvidhan Sadan in New Delhi, with members of both Houses gathering to honour the country’s foundational document.

Taking to X, Kiren Rijiju said that the President, on the recommendation of Government of India, has approved the proposal for summoning of both the Houses of Parliament for the Winter Session, 2024 from 25th November to 20th December, 2024 (subject to exigencies of parliamentary business). The Union Minister added that on 26th November, 2024 (Constitution Day), 75th Anniversary of the adoption of Constitution, the event would be celebrated in the Central Hall of Samvidhan Sadan.

In this session, raging discussions are expected to be held around two key legislative proposals: The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024 and One Nation, One Election.

Previously, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had stressed on the importance of the Waqf (Amendment Bill), asserting that it would be addressed in the winter session. Addressing an election rally in Gurugram, the Home Minister said that they will resolve The Waqf Board law in the next session of the Parliament.

At present, a Joint Parliamentary Committee(JPC) is holding marathon meetings across various states to engage with stakeholders and address their concerns and build a consensus on the contentious bill.

Reportedly, the Centre might also look to introduce One Nation One Election Bill which will ensure simultaneous polls for Lok Sabha and state assemblies.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his Unity Day speech in Gujarat, said that the One Nation, One Election proposal, which aims to synchronise all elections in the country either on a single day or within a specific time frame, will be cleared soon and will become a reality.

The Prime Minister said that they are now working towards One Nation One Election, which will strengthen India’s democracy, give the optimum outcome of India’s resources and the country will gain new momentum in achieving the dream of a developed India.

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Kerala High Court quashes charges against director Sreekumar Menon in complaint filed by actor Manju Warrier

The court also noted a significant delay in the actor’s report of the alleged incident involving obscene language.

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Kerala High Court quashes charges against film director Sreekumar Menon in complaint filed by actor Manju Warrier

In a significant development, the Kerala High Court has quashed all charges against film director Sreekumar Menon in a case filed by renowned South Indian actress Manju Warrier. The criminal case lodged in 2019, alleged stalking and harassment by Sreekumar Menon against Manju Warrier.

Justice S. Manu, who presided over the case, found insufficient evidence to support the charges pressed against the film director. The charges included stalking under Section 354D of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), using obscene language under Section 294(b) of the IPC, and criminal intimidation under Section 509 of the IPC.

The Kerala High Court also noted a significant delay in the actor’s report of the alleged incident involving obscene language. The complaint, which was filed in 2019, mentioned an altercation that supposedly occurred in Dubai in December 2018. Furthermore, the Court pointed out that Section 188 of the CrPC mandates seeking Central Government permission for prosecuting offenses committed outside India.

The final report also included a charge under Section 120(o) of the Kerala Police Act. However, the High Court observed that this offense is non-cognizable, meaning the police cannot initiate a case without specific permission. Since the other charges were deemed unsustainable, the Kerala High Court ruled that prosecution solely under this section would not hold validity.

The case stemmed from a petition filed by Manju Warrier with the Kerala State Police Chief in 2019. The petition alleged stalking and harassment by Sreekumar Menon. Subsequently, the petition led to the registration of an FIR at the Thrissur East Police Station. 

Both film director Sreekumar Warrier and actor Manju Menon have enjoyed successful careers in the Malayalam film industry. Their collaboration on the film Odiyan, starring Mohanlal, marked Sreekumar Menon’s directorial debut. 

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Will not contest any election in future, have to stop somewhere: Sharad Pawar hints at retirement

The NCP leader said that he is not in power, and his tenure in the Rajya Sabha has one-and-a-half years left.

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Will not contest any election in future, have to stop somewhere: Sharad Pawar hints at retirement

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) senior leader Sharad Pawar, 83, today hinted at retirement as he said he may not contest any more elections after his Rajya Sabha term ends in 18 months.

Sharad Pawar who formed the NCP in 1999 is widely regarded as the grand old man of Maharashtra politics. The veteran politician was speaking at his family stronghold of Baramati in western Maharashtra, which will see a Pawar vs Pawar contest in the November 20 Assembly election.

Addressing a rally, the NCP leader said that he is not in power, and his tenure in the Rajya Sabha has one-and-a-half years left. He continued that he will not contest any election in future, and that he will have to stop somewhere. He also thanked the voters of Baramati for making him an MP and MLA a staggering 14 times overall. Notably, a potential close of a nearly six-decade-long political career comes as the NCP and its allies – the Congress and the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena group – contest this month’s election.

In this election, the fight for Baramati is being seen as a referendum on Sharad Pawar’s continuing influence over voters, since it sees his grandnephew, Yugendra Pawar, do battle against his nephew Ajit Pawar, whose led the rebellion last year that forced the NCP to split.

NCP leader Ajit Pawar is a five-time MLA from Baramati but, in each of his earlier wins, he had the backing of his uncle’s party. This will be the first assembly election in which he contests under his own banner.

The result of the election for the Baramati Lok Sabha seat, where the people voted overwhelmingly for Sharad Pawar’s candidate, his daughter Supriya Sule, underlines Ajit Pawar’s task at hand.

Speaking at Baramati, Sharad Pawar said that he holds no grudge against Ajit Pawar, adding that he led the people there for 30 years. However, he also said that it is time for him to prepare a young and dynamic leadership, which can take over for the next 30 years, apparently referring to Yugendra Pawar’s future position.

The veteran politician continued that he is not seeking votes, acknowledging that voters have always been magnanimous with all Pawar family members. He added that however, now they have to look ahead at the future.  

Notably, Sharad Pawar’s retirement from electoral politics has been circulating for some time now, and was raked up again in January by nephew Ajit Pawar, who had fought against and forced a split of his uncle’s party, leading the rebels into an alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party and a faction of the Shiv Sena that had earlier broken away from Uddhav Thackeray.

At that time, Ajit Pawar hit out at Sharad Pawar for not sticking to a 2023 resolution to step down from the party’s top post. He said that some people simply refuse to retire. He continued that people should stop after reaching a certain age, but some are not ready, even after turning 80. Referring to his uncle, Ajit Pawar said that this person is not ready to retire.

Responding to this jab, Sharad Pawar said that he is neither tired nor retired, echoing late former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s remarks. He questioned who they were to tell him to retire, adding that he can still work.

Last year in May, while the NCP was battling its internal crisis, Sharad Pawar announced his resignation as party boss. However, the announcement was unanimously rejected by top leaders. A few days later, he withdrew his resignation.

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