Platform for change
Ellen Degeneres wins an Emmy and outlines plans for her show.
“The Young and the Restless” won best drama at the first virtual Daytime Emmys along with three acting trophies on Friday night, with some winners speaking out about racial injustice.
Ellen Degeneres accepted the trophy for best entertainment talk show for her self-titled program.
“I intend to use the next two years of my show as a platform for change, to amplify voices of Black people and people of color and to educate my audience,” she said from home. “More than ever, I feel like this is a responsibility to effect change.”
CBS’ “The Young and the Restless,” whose co-creator Lee Philip Bell died in February at age 91, earned four other trophies in technical categories.
Jason Thompson ,who plays Billy Abbott on “The Young and the Restless,” won his first Daytime Emmy for lead actor in a drama series. He becomes the third actor who has played the part to win. David Tom did so in 2000, and Billy Miller won in 2010, 2013 and 2014. Thompson had been nominated five previous times for his stint on “General Hospital,” but didn’t win.
Bryton James of “Y&R” earned supporting actor honors, while Eva Larue won for guest performer on the show.
“The world is fighting against racial injustice and it’s our responsibility as the human race to educate ourselves and take action, because until we all can acknowledge and empathize with the problem there will always be a problem,” James said from his sofa.
Alex Trebek won best game show host for the second straight year and “Jeopardy!” claimed game show honors.
At 79, Trebek continues to preside over the popular quiz show while battling pancreatic cancer. In March, he announced he had survived one year of treatment. Taping of the show has since been suspended during the coronavirus pandemic, which has affected talk shows and daytime dramas.
“I’ll be honest with you, this one is a shock, very surprising to me,” Trebek said. “Speaking as one who has now been nominated 32 times and won seven times, I think I can say with some degree of authority that winning is nicer.”
Heather Tom of “The Bold and the Beautiful” earned lead dramatic actress honors for her longtime role of Katie Logan. Tamara Braun of “General Hospital” won as supporting actress.
Singer Kelly Clarkson won best entertainment talk show host for the first season of her eponymous show.
“Watch out @johnlegend I’m comin’ for that EGOT status,” Clarkson tweeted, referring to her fellow singer’s victories at the Emmys, Grammys, Oscars and Tony awards.
The team from “General Hospital” won directing honors, while best writing went to the team from “The Bold and the Beautiful.”
— Associated Press
Not guilty plea in Jeremy rape case
Adult film star Ron Jeremy pleaded not guilty Friday to charges of raping three women and sexually assaulting a fourth.
Jeremy, 67, whose real name is Ronald Jeremy Hyatt, entered the plea at his arraignment in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom to three counts each of forcible rape and forcible penetration by a foreign object and one count each of forcible oral copulation and sexual battery.
Jeremy wore an orange jail jumpsuit and face mask inside a glass enclosure where in-custody defendants appear in court.
He was being held in a county jail on $6.6 million bail, a figure a judge declined to reduce Friday. He was told to return to court for a hearing on Aug. 31.
Jeremy previously denied the allegations through his lawyer Stuart Goldfarb. Jeremy was arrested Tuesday and has had an initial court appearance.
Prosecutors allege Jeremy raped a 25-yearold woman at a West Hollywood home in May 2014, sexually assaulted a 33-year-old woman and a 46-year-old woman in separate incidents at a West Hollywood bar in 2017, and raped a 30-year-old woman at the same bar in July of last year.
If convicted of all the counts, he could face 90 years in prison.
Los Angeles County sheriff’s detectives had been investigating Jeremy for two years, and presented the case to prosecutors on Monday.
Jeremy, nicknamed “The Hedgehog,” is among the best known and most prolific actors in the history of the adult film industry, with thousands of credits to his name, along with appearances in more mainstream entertainments like music videos and the reality television series The Surreal Life.
The counts make Jeremy the third man to be charged, along with Harvey Weinstein and producer David Guillod ,byataskforce formed by District Attorney Jackie Lacey.
— Associated Press