Reuters Entertainment News Summary

Following is a summary of current entertainment news briefs.

Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni lawyers due in court ahead of 'It Ends With Us' trial

Lawyers for actors Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni are due in Manhattan federal ​court on Tuesday for a final hearing ahead of a highly anticipated civil trial stemming from Lively's allegations of sexual harassment by Baldoni during ​the filming of their 2024 romantic drama "It Ends With Us." The civil trial set to begin in May ‌will be ​limited to Lively's retaliation claims against Baldoni's production company after a judge threw out her sexual harassment claims. Both actors are expected to testify about Lively's claims after a steady drip of details emerged in more than a year of acrimonious and widely publicized litigation.

Spotify's spending plan hurts profit outlook as Europe, North America growth lags

Spotify forecast second-quarter earnings below estimates on Tuesday, citing more spending on marketing for new features as growth in major markets of Europe and North America ‌slowed, sending its shares down 11%. Co-CEO Gustav Soderstrom told Reuters that Spotify was investing heavily in new features, including marketing efforts and the computing power needed for artificial intelligence, rather than expanding its workforce.

Man pleads guilty in murder of Run DMC's Jam Master Jay

A New York man on Monday pleaded guilty to taking part in the 2002 murder of pioneering hip-hop star Jam Master Jay of famed group Run-DMC as part of a dispute over a drug deal, according to federal prosecutors. Appearing in court in Brooklyn, Jay Bryant, 52, admitted to playing a role in the fatal shooting of Jason Mizell, better known by his stage name Jam Master Jay, and faces up ‌to 20 years in prison, the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York said in a statement.

Deaf Disney fans can now enjoy iconic animated songs recreated with ASL

Disney Animation is giving some of its most iconic songs a new voice — one spoken through hands, faces and movement — reimagining ‌classic numbers in American Sign Language to mark National Deaf History Month. Songs "We Don't Talk About Bruno" from "Encanto," "Beyond" from "Moana 2" and "The Next Right Thing" from "Frozen 2" were recreated using Deaf West Theatre performers as models for the animation.

Disney chair says CEO will 'rise to the occasion' in Trump-Kimmel spat

It's the job of Walt Disney's new CEO Josh D'Amaro and his team to decide the group's response to the row between the White House and ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, Disney Chair James Gorman said on Tuesday. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that Kimmel should be fired by ABC and its parent Disney, joining his wife Melania in calling out the talk show host for remarks made prior to a shooting at Saturday's White House correspondents' dinner.

Taylor Swift files to trademark her voice, likeness to ward off ⁠AI deepfakes

Pop superstar Taylor ​Swift filed trademark applications for two audio clips and one image of herself in ⁠what a trademark attorney said is an attempt to protect her voice and likeness from deepfake videos and audio created by artificial intelligence. The applications were filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Friday and list Swift's TAS Rights Management as being the owner of the audio clips and image.

Sony defeats UK lawsuit over performers' rights for classic Hendrix albums

Sony Music Entertainment on Tuesday defeated a ⁠London lawsuit claiming performers' property rights in relation to Jimi Hendrix's classic 1960s albums, which the label had warned could have caused chaos for the music industry. London's High Court ruled guitarist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell effectively signed over their rights to The Jimi Hendrix Experience's albums and rejected the claimants' arguments that streaming was not covered by a 1966 deal.

David Attenborough ​centenary celebrations start with closer look at 'Life on Earth'

Celebrations to mark the 100th birthday of renowned British naturalist David Attenborough start next week with a show delving deeper into his milestone 1979 TV series "Life on Earth". That programme - with its famous face-to-face encounters with mountain gorillas in Rwanda - set the ⁠pattern for natural history documentaries in the decades that followed and helped establish him as one of the world's most authoritative voices on conservation.

US FCC reviewing Disney's ABC station licenses after Jimmy Kimmel joke

After a joke by late-night host Jimmy Kimmel drew calls from the White House for ABC to fire the comedian, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday ordered an early license review of the network's television stations. The ⁠dramatic escalation ​by the FCC and standoff between President Donald Trump's administration and the global entertainment conglomerate is the first crisis facing Walt Disney's new CEO Josh D'Amaro.

Amazon secures exclusive rights to Oprah Winfrey's podcast

Amazon signed a multi-year deal with American talk show host Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Entertainment that gives its Wondery podcast unit exclusive distribution and advertising rights to "The Oprah Podcast" in audio and video, the companies said on Monday. The podcast features Winfrey's interviews with cultural figures and everyday people on topics including relationships and financial health. Guests have included tennis player Serena Williams, actor Hugh Jackman, television cook Ina Garten and author Adam Grant.

Austrian pleads guilty to ⁠foiled attack on Taylor Swift's Vienna concert

A 21-year-old accused of planning an Islamist attack on a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna in 2024 that was foiled at the 11th hour pleaded guilty as his trial opened on Tuesday. The defendant, an Austrian identified as Beran A, was arrested on August 7, 2024, the ⁠day before the first of three planned concerts by the U.S. pop star in Vienna.

Paramount ⁠seeks FCC approval for foreign investors backing Warner Bros acquisition

Paramount Skydance has asked the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to greenlight foreign investments backing its acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery, according to regulatory filings made public on Monday. A Paramount spokesperson said the filing is completely standard for investments such as the ones at issue and is not a condition to closing Paramount's acquisition of Warner Bros. FCC rules govern foreign investments in U.S. television broadcasting.

Kimmel says his joke was misconstrued, Trump ‌says ABC should fire late-night host

Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel said ‌on Monday his joke about U.S. first lady Melania Trump had been misconstrued and was not a "call to assassination." Kimmel used the opening monologue of "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" to address ​comments made last Thursday in a parody segment on the White House correspondents' dinner.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)