‘Inventing Anna’ Triggers Defamation Suit from Vanity Fair Staffer

Vladimir Putin lookalike who made a tidy second income impersonating the Kremlin chief has been told to "grow a moustache and not leave his home" for his own safety. Slawomir Sobala, 53, from Poland, has noticed a shift in attitude towards him as his evil twin's campaign of terror in Ukraine has worsened. His daily toils are intensified by the fact that in his hometown, Wroclaw, in the west of Poland, one in every ten residents is Ukrainian.READ MORE: Beauty queen who watches pals die on Ukrainian front line 'has bullet for Putin'"The war that Putin unleashed obviously affects my daily life.

Naga Munchetty was forced to defend herself after she was accused if “ruining” the highly-anticipated Celebrity MasterChef final.During Friday’s visit to the BBC studios, the 47-year-old broadcaster and her co-host Charlie Stayt welcomed viewers back to discuss the latest headlines in the news.One of the biggest stories on everyone’s lips was the epic final of the BBC cooking competition which saw McFly’s Danny Jones, Mel Blatt and Lisa Snowdon fight it out for the trophy.READ MORE: BBC Breakfast's Naga Munchetty likens co-star to 'corpse' as he asks for new jobOver the course of the last four weeks, 19 famous faces have been competing to become the show’s latest champion and dazzle judges Gregg Wallace and John Torode with their cookery skills.And last night, the winner of the celebrity spin-off show was announced – spoiler warning: the next paragraph reveals the 2022 winner.Lisa Snowdon was crowned the winner of the TV series after she impressed the judges with her delicious three-course dinner.BBC Breakfast covered the show’s final this morning as they welcomed the brunette beauty, 50, onto the show to share how it felt to take home the award.She told viewers: “I’m honestly so blown away. It’s such a life changing experience.

Max Verstappen’s failure. Despite that, Latifi insists he will leave Formula 1 with fond memories. READ MORE: Damon Hill issues brutal Nicholas Latifi verdict as Nyck de Vries stars at Italian GP In a statement, he said: “I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone at Williams Racing - all the people back at the factory and those I work with trackside - for the last three years.“My initial F1 debut was postponed due to the pandemic but we eventually got going in Austria and, although we have not achieved the results together we hoped we would, it’s still been a fantastic journey.“Getting those first points in Hungary last year was a moment I’ll never forget, and I will move onto the next chapter of my career with special memories of my time with this dedicated team.

USA have claimed that a new Russian bat virus could dodge the Covid vaccine and infect humans.Russian horseshoe bats are understood to be the source of the virus, called Khosta-2 but referred to as a sarbecovirus.According to the journal PLoS Pathogens the virus has been exhibiting "troubling traits”.READ MORE: 'Hurt' Queen Elizbeth was 'exhausted by the turmoil' of Harry and Meghan, claims new bookResearchers from the Paul G. Allen School for Global Health at Washington State University (WSU) first made the discovery that the virus can use spike proteins to infect the cells of people in a similar way to Covid.

Strictly Come Dancing will return to our screens tonight (September 23) after the BBC delayed the show's launch due to the death of Queen Elizabeth II on September 8. A brand new cast of 15 celebrities will be introduced to Strictly viewers tonight, including Paralympian Ellie Simmons, EastEnders star James Bye and TV presenter Helen Skelton.

tattoo artist wowed her Instagram followers with a stunning snap showing her ink. Mara Inkperial, from Germany, boasts hundreds of jaw-dropping inkings all over her body.She specialises in black and grey realism with portraits, calligraphy and geometric designs over her gorgeous figure. READ MORE: Ex-banker who turned into 'Dragon Lady' disowned by son after extreme transformation Now the influencer wowed her 789,000 followers on Instagram as she stripped down to a racy bikini to flaunt her ink.

APPOINTMENTSLeila Oliveira has been promoted to President of Warner Music Brazil. She will take up the role on 28 Oct, replacing Sérgio Affonso, who is leaving to set up his own independent label. “It’s an incredible honour to be asked to succeed Sergio as President of Warner Music Brazil”, she says.

We’ve been waiting with trepidation for some time now for the big announcement on whether or not a certain person will stand for the US presidency again in 2024. And it seems like we might now be drawing closer to learning whether or not that will happen.

Shoppers on the lookout for the start of this year's Black Friday sales, don't have long to wait as retailer BT has announced when it will launch its 2022 discounts.

The Chancellor unveiled a new wave of economic measures being introduced by the government in the House of Commons today.

Those experiencing hair loss or male pattern baldness may have contemplated getting hair transplant surgery to regain a thicker head of hair. And in recent years, it has become increasingly popular for patients to travel abroad to places such as Istanbul and get their hair transplant in Turkey.

Former Canal+ CEO Rodolphe Belmer is taking charge of TF1.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer A man who met writer-director Paul Schrader at a campus event at their Michigan alma mater has filed a lawsuit alleging that Schrader later stole his ideas and used them in the film “The Card Counter.” Mark Vanden Berge alleges in the suit that he met Schrader after a screening of “First Reformed” at Calvin University, a Christian college in Grand Rapids, in February 2018. He says he told Schrader about a treatment he was working on for a film called “Blown Odds,” about a gambler’s search for redemption, and asked Schrader for help developing it into a marketable screenplay. According to the suit, Schrader told him to email him the treatment. Vanden Berge sent it to him, according to the suit, but never heard back from Schrader directly, though he says he was told that Schrader had received it.

Rachel Williams has filed a lawsuit against Netflix executives over her portrayal in Inventing Anna. The former photo editor and producer for Vanity Fair was played by Katie Lowes in the drama miniseries, which was released in February.

Inventing Anna subject Rachel Williams is suing Netflix for defamation over her portrayal in the series.The former Vanity Fair photo editor took offence over the way she was framed in the series in connection to con artist Anna Sorokin, and filed a defamation lawsuit against Netflix on Monday (August 29).Williams is portrayed by Katie Lowes in the series, and the character at first accepts expensive gifts and holidays from Sorokin but eventually gives her up to the authorities.The real-life woman claims that her character in the show is fabricated, and the lawsuit filed in Delaware federal court, obtained by Deadline Hollywood, alleges it paints Williams in a negative light while using her real first and last name, as well as employment and school history.“This action will show that Netflix made a deliberate decision for dramatic purposes to show Williams doing or saying things in the Series which portray her as a greedy, snobbish, disloyal, dishonest, cowardly, manipulative and opportunistic person,” the lawsuit reads.Addressing one scene in particular which appears to show Williams abandoning Sorokin in Morroco, Williams claims she had told Sorokin she had to leave early for work.The lawsuit continues: “Williams did not stop being friends with Sorokin because Sorokin was having problems in Morocco, but rather because she subsequently discovered on her return to New York that Sorokin was a liar and a con artist whose statements and promises had induced Williams to incur liabilities of around $62,000 on Sorokin’s behalf were false, and who only reimbursed her $5,000 despite numerous promises to reimburse her $70,000 to account for the full debt and any late fees incurred.”Netflix has not commented on the case.

Not for the first time, Netflix is today facing legal action for adding fictional traits to a real person for one of its dramas. In this defamation and false light invasion of privacy case, the drama in question is Inventing Anna, and the real person is ex-Vanity Fair photo editor Rachel Williams, played in the Emmy nominated and Shonda Rhimes produced miniseries by Katie Lowes.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer A judge on Monday denied a defense request to postpone Harvey Weinstein’s trial in Los Angeles in order to avoid publicity for “She Said,” a feature film about the exposure of sex abuse allegations against him. Weinstein is set to go on trial on 11 counts of rape and sexual assault on Oct. 10, and the case is expected to last at least through the end of November. “She Said,” a film based on the book by New York Times reporters Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey, is due out from Universal on Nov. 18. The film is also expected to have its world premiere at the New York Film Festival, which runs from Sept. 30 to Oct. 16.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer Talks between the Motion Picture Association and the Hollywood labor unions have failed to produce an agreement on a new law that would address firearm safety on movie sets. The two sides backed competing proposals earlier this year in Sacramento in response to the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of “Rust” in New Mexico last October. Both bills would have established a training standard for film armorers — a job that is currently almost entirely unregulated. The union proposal would have been more sweeping, however, establishing the role of a “set safety supervisor” who would have the power to shut down productions. Both bills stalled in the legislature in May, but the two sides continued to talk in hopes of reaching an agreement before the Aug. 31 legislative deadline.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer A bill to extend California’s film and TV tax incentive program through 2030 has been placed on hold, as lawmakers continue to work on elements of the bill, including a new diversity mandate. The state’s $330 million tax credit for Hollywood is currently set to expire in 2025. Sen. Anthony Portantino has worked on a bill, SB 485, that would add another five years to the program. Last week, a new provision was added requiring that productions that receive a tax credit adopt hiring goals that are “broadly reflective” of the state’s demographics. Assemblywoman Wendy Carrillo, D-Los Angeles, led the effort to include that provision, which also adds an extra 4% subsidy for projects that meet their diversity targets.