Michael Jackson’s ex-wife, Debbie Rowe, has sued the pop singer, claiming he has failed to pay her what he promised when the two divorced in 1999.
In the lawsuit, filed July 3 in Los Angeles Superior Court, Rowe seeks an immediate payment of $195,000 for attorney fees and $50,000 in living expenses so that she can continue pursuing her child-custody case against him.
Rowe is the mother of Jackson’s two children, Prince Michael Joseph Jackson, 9, and Paris-Michael Katherine Jackson, 8. She gave up her parental rights to the children in 2001 but asked a judge to reinstate them in 2003 after she learned of Jackson’s arrest on child-molestation charges.
Rowe says in the lawsuit that Jackson stopped making his promised payments to her in October 2003.
Jackson agreed when they divorced to pay his ex-wife $1 million a year for the first three years after their split and $750,000 annually for six more years. Rowe also received a house in Beverly Hills and a 1998 Ford Explorer. She agreed to visit her children only once every 45 days, according to the lawsuit.
Coldplay frontman Chris Martin says that the band doesn’t want to impose its political beliefs on others but that band members feel an obligation to use their celebrity for a good cause.
“We don’t want to be preachy, we just say those words (fair trade), and make sure people look it up themselves,” Martin said at a news conference in Hong Kong ahead of a Coldplay concert Thursday.
Coldplay supports Oxfam’s fair trade campaign, which lobbies against trade policies that hurt developing countries, such as the influx of goods from developed countries.
Martin, who is married to actress Gwyneth Paltrow, said the band wants to put its name recognition to good use.
“When one or two people take pictures of us, we feel like we could start advertising something we care about,” said Martin, who has the Oxfam campaign’s twin-striped logo tattooed onto his left hand
Prince’s fan website has been shut down, but an attorney for the musician says it’s not related to a recent trademark lawsuit against the site, NPGMusicClub.com.
HM Publishing Holdings, a book company in England, filed the lawsuit July 3 based on its own NPG, a science-
book subsidiary called the Nature Publishing Group.
Prince’s attorney, David Schelzel, said Prince already has approval of the name from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and that the legal action is minor.
Former “American Idol” contestant Daniel James “DJ” Boyd, accused of videotaping sexual encounters with two teenage girls, has been indicted on child pornography charges.
Boyd, 27, pleaded not guilty Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City to charges of production of child pornography and possession of child pornography.
A trial date was set for Sept. 18. Boyd faces up to 40 years in prison if convicted.
Boyd, a contestant on the popular TV talent competition two years ago, was arrested last month in West Valley City, Utah, after a 14-year-old girl contacted police. He has remained in the Salt Lake County Jail since his arrest.
The Salt Lake County district attorney’s office has also charged Boyd with unlawful sexual activity with a minor and unlawful supply of alcohol to minors.
He is scheduled to appear in district court July 25 for a preliminary hearing on those charges.
