Wednesday, June 30, 2021
'Smallville' actor Allison Mack gets 3 years in NXIVM sex-slave case - CP24 Toronto's Breaking News
NEW YORK (AP) - TV actor Allison Mack, who played a key role in the scandal-ridden, cult-like group NXIVM, was sentenced to three years in prison Wednesday on charges she manipulated women into becoming sex slaves for the group's spiritual leader.
Mack - best known for her role as a young Superman's close friend on the series “Smallville” - had previously pleaded guilty to the charges and began cooperating against NXIVM leader Keith Raniere. Prosecutors credited her with helping them mount evidence showing how Raniere created a secret society of brainwashed women who were branded with his initials.
At her sentencing in Brooklyn federal court, Mack renounced the self-improvement guru.
“I made choices I will forever regret,” she said, also telling the judge she was filled with “remorse and guilt.”
“I am sorry to those of you that I brought into NXIVM,” she wrote in a letter filed with the court last week. “I am sorry I ever exposed you to the nefarious and emotionally abusive schemes of a twisted man.”
She reiterated her apologies to the victims in court on Wednesday: “From the deepest part of my heart and soul, I am sorry.”
Mack wept at times while reading her statement to the court. U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis told her he believed her apology was sincere, but said she deserved a serious sentence for using her celebrity to groom victims as “a willing and proactive ally” and “essential accomplice to Raniere's monstrous crimes.”
Under advisory sentencing guidelines, Mack had faced between 14 and 17 1/2 years behind bars, but her defense team argued in court papers that probation or a sentence to home confinement was more appropriate. Prosecutors had agreed that any prison term should be below the guidelines range because of her cooperation.
“The NXIVM saga and the story of Ms. Mack's descent have been a tragedy for all involved. But that need not, and should not, be the end of the story for Allison Mack,” her lawyers wrote in court papers.
A victim, Jessica Joan, rejected Mack's apologies, telling the judge the actor deserved no mercy.
“She can blame Keith all she wants but she is a monster cut from the same cloth,” Joan said in court on Wednesday. “Allison Mack is a predator and an evil human being.”
Mack, 38, was once part of the inner circle of Raniere, whose group attracted millionaires and actors among its adherents. Prosecutors said she became a “master” for “slaves” she ordered “to perform labor, take nude photographs, and in some cases, to engage in sex acts with Raniere.”
As authorities closed in on Raniere, he fled to Mexico with Mack and others to try to reconstitute the group there. He was arrested and sent to the United States in March 2018; Mack was arrested a few days later.
“Ms. Mack now understands that this was the best thing that could have happened to her at that time,” the defense papers said.
Mack provided information to prosecutors about how Raniere, now 60, encouraged “the use of demeaning and derogatory language, including racial slurs, to humiliate `slaves,”' the government papers said. More importantly, she provided a recording of a conversation she had with Raniere about the branding, they added.
The branding should involve “a vulnerable position type of a thing” with “hands probably above the head being held, almost like being tied down, like sacrificial, whatever,” Raniere told her. The women, he added, “should say, 'Please brand me. It would be an honor.' Or something like that.”
Raniere was sentenced last year to 120 years in prison for his conviction on sex-trafficking charges. A 41-year-old heir to the Seagram's fortune, Clare Bronfman, was sentenced to nearly seven years in prison in September for her role as Raniere's unwavering benefactor.
Mack was allowed to remain out on bail in home confinement until surrendering to prison on Sept. 29. She left the courthouse on Wednesday without speaking to reporters.
'Smallville' actor Allison Mack gets 3 years in NXIVM sex-slave case - CP24 Toronto's Breaking News
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Bill Cosby released after court overturns sex assault conviction - Al Jazeera English
Bill Cosby has been released from prison on Wednesday after the US State of Pennsylvania’s highest court overturned his sex assault conviction, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections.
The state’s high court found that an agreement with a previous prosecutor prevented him from being charged in the case.
Cosby was released “from SCI Phoenix just before” 2:30pm local time (18:30 GMT), the Department of Corrections said in a tweet.
Mr. Cosby was released from SCI Phoenix just before 2:30 p.m. https://t.co/9OrCeutiQP
— PA Department of Corrections (@CorrectionsPA) June 30, 2021
Cosby has served more than two years of a three- to 10-year sentence at a state prison near Philadelphia. He had pledged to serve all 10 years rather than acknowledge any remorse over the 2004 encounter with accuser Andrea Constand.
The 83-year-old Cosby, who was once beloved as “America’s Dad”, was convicted of drugging and molesting the Temple University employee at his suburban estate.
He was charged in late 2015, when a prosecutor armed with newly unsealed evidence — Cosby’s damaging deposition from her lawsuit — arrested him days before the 12-year statute of limitations expired.
Actor and comedian Bill Cosby leaves the Montgomery County Court in handcuffs after sentencing in his sexual assault trial in Norristown, Pennsylvania on September 25, 2018 [File: Brendan McDermid/Reuters]The Pennsylvania Supreme Court said the testimony tainted the trial, even though a lower appeals court had found it appropriate to show a signature pattern of drugging and molesting women.
Justice David Wecht, writing for a split court, said Cosby had relied on the former district attorney’s decision not to charge him when the comedian gave his potentially incriminating testimony in Constand’s civil case.
The court called Cosby’s subsequent arrest “an affront to fundamental fairness, particularly when it results in a criminal prosecution that was forgone for more than a decade.”
His appeals lawyer, Jennifer Bonjean, said Cosby should never have been prosecuted.
“District attorneys can’t change it up simply because of their political motivation,” she told the Associated Press news agency, adding that Cosby remains in excellent health, apart from being legally blind.
Cosby was the first celebrity tried and convicted in the #MeToo era, so the reversal could make prosecutors wary of calling other accusers in similar cases. The law on prior bad act testimony varies by state, though, and the ruling holds sway only in Pennsylvania.
Prosecutors did not immediately say if they would appeal or seek to try Cosby for a third time.
The justices voiced concern not just about sexual assault cases, but what they saw as the judiciary’s increasing tendency to allow testimony that crosses the line into character attacks. The law allows the testimony only in limited cases, including to show a crime pattern so specific it serves to identify the perpetrator.
Harvey Weinstein leaves New York City Criminal Court after a bail hearing on December 6, 2019 [File: Scott Heins/Getty Images via AFP]Weinstein now faces separate charges in California.
In Cosby’s case, one of his appellate lawyers said prosecutors put on vague evidence about the uncharged conduct, including Cosby’s own recollections in his deposition about giving women alcohol or quaaludes before sexual encounters.
“The presumption of innocence just didn’t exist for him,” Jennifer Bonjean, the lawyer, argued to the court in December.
In May, Cosby was denied parole after refusing to participate in sex offender programmes during his nearly three years in state prison. He has long said he would resist the treatment programmes and refuse to acknowledge wrongdoing even if it means serving the full 10-year sentence.
This is the first year he was eligible for parole under the three- to 10-year sentence handed down after his 2018 conviction.
Cosby spokesperson Andrew Wyatt called the parole board decision “appalling”.
Cosby, a groundbreaking Black actor who grew up in public housing in Philadelphia, made a fortune estimated at $400m during his 50 years in the entertainment industry.
He used this wealth to pay $1m bail when charged in 2015. A prosecutor alleged in 2018 that Cosby also paid $3.38m for Constand’s silence, ABC News reported at the time.
Pennsylvania prosecutors said Constand did not approach them, but they sought her out after the deposition was unsealed in 2015.
“The evidence in this case will show that Andrea Constand didn’t come to us. What happened was, after this gets released, we go to her. And we ask if she’s willing to help the commonwealth,” Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele told the jury, according to ABC News.
Cosby’s trademark clean comedy and homespun wisdom fuelled popular TV shows, books and standup acts.
He fell from favour in his later years as he lectured the Black community about family values, but was attempting a comeback when he was arrested.
“There was a built-in level of trust because of his status in the entertainment industry and because he held himself out as a public moralist,” Adrienne Jappe, assistant district attorney of suburban Montgomery County, argued to the justices.
Cosby had invited Constand to an estate he owns in Pennsylvania the night she said he drugged and sexually assaulted her.
Constand, a former professional basketball player who worked at his alma mater, went to police a year later. The other accusers knew Cosby through the entertainment industry and did not go to the police.
The Associated Press does not typically identify sexual assault victims without their permission, which Constand has granted.
Bill Cosby released after court overturns sex assault conviction - Al Jazeera English
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Bill Cosby's sex assault conviction overturned by court - CTV News
PHILADELPHIA -- Pennsylvania's highest court threw out Bill Cosby's sexual assault conviction and released him from prison Wednesday in a stunning reversal of fortune for the comedian once known as “America's Dad,” ruling that the prosecutor who brought the case was bound by his predecessor's agreement not to charge Cosby.
Cosby, 83, flashed the V-for-victory sign to a helicopter overhead as he trudged into his suburban Philadelphia home after serving nearly three years of a three- to 10-year sentence for drugging and violating Temple University sports administrator Andrea Constand in 2004.
The former “Cosby Show” star - the first celebrity tried and convicted in the #MeToo era - had no comment as he arrived, and just smiled and nodded later at a news conference outside, where his lawyer Jennifer Bonjean said: “We are thrilled to have Mr. Cosby home.”
“He served three years of an unjust sentence and he did it with dignity and principle,” she added.
In a statement, Constand and her lawyers called the ruling disappointing, and they, like many other advocates, expressed fear that it could discourage sexual assault victims from coming forward. “We urge all victims to have their voices heard,” they added.
Cosby was arrested in 2015, when a district attorney armed with newly unsealed evidence - the comic's damaging deposition in a lawsuit brought by Constand - filed charges against him just days before the 12-year statute of limitations was about to run out.
But the Pennsylvania Supreme Court said Wednesday that District Attorney Kevin Steele, who made the decision to arrest Cosby, was obligated to stand by his predecessor's promise not to charge Cosby, though there was no evidence that agreement was ever put in writing.
Justice David Wecht, writing for a split court, said Cosby had relied on the previous district attorney's decision not to charge him when the comedian gave his potentially incriminating testimony in Constand's civil case.
The court called Cosby's subsequent arrest “an affront to fundamental fairness, particularly when it results in a criminal prosecution that was forgone for more than a decade.” It said justice and “fair play and decency” require that the district attorney's office stand by the decision of the previous DA.
The justices said that overturning the conviction and barring any further prosecution “is the only remedy that comports with society's reasonable expectations of its elected prosecutors and our criminal justice system.”
Cosby was promptly set free from the state prison in suburban Montgomery County and driven home.
“What we saw today was justice, justice for all Americans,” said another Cosby attorney, Andrew Wyatt. ”Mr. Cosby's conviction being overturned is for the world and all Americans who are being treated unfairly by the judicial system and some bad officers.“
Bonjean said Cosby was “extremely happy to be home” and “looks forward to reuniting with his wife and children.” Several supporters outside yelled, “Hey, hey, hey!” - the catchphrase of Cosby's animated Fat Albert character - which brought a smile from him.
He later tweeted an old photo of himself with his fist raised and eyes closed, with the caption: “I have never changed my stance nor my story. I have always maintained my innocence. Thank you to all my fans, supporters and friends who stood by me through this ordeal. Special thanks to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court for upholding the rules of law.”
In a statement, Steele, the district attorney, said Cosby went free “on a procedural issue that is irrelevant to the facts of the crime.” He commended Constand for coming forward and added: “My hope is that this decision will not dampen the reporting of sexual assaults by victims.”
“I am furious to hear this news,” actor Amber Tamblyn, a founder of Time's Up, an advocacy group for sex-crime victims, said on Twitter. “I personally know women who this man drugged and raped while unconscious. Shame on the court and this decision.”
But “Cosby Show” co-star Phylicia Rashad tweeted: “FINALLY!!!! A terrible wrong is being righted - a miscarriage of justice is corrected!”
Four Supreme Court justices formed the majority that ruled in Cosby's favor, while three others dissented in whole or in part.
Peter Goldberger, a suburban Philadelphia lawyer with an expertise in criminal appeals, said prosecutors could ask the Pennsylvania Supreme Court for reargument or reconsideration, but it would be a very long shot.
“I can't imagine that with such a lengthy opinion, with a thoughtful concurring opinion and a thoughtful dissenting opinion, that you could honestly say they made a simple mistake that would change their minds if they point it out to them,” Goldberger said.
Even though Cosby was charged only with the assault on Constand, the judge at his trial allowed five other accusers to testify that they, too, were similarly victimized by Cosby in the 1980s. Prosecutors called them as witnesses to establish what they said was a pattern of behavior on Cosby's part.
Cosby's lawyers had argued on appeal that the use of the five additional accusers was improper. But the Pennsylvania high court did not weigh in on the question, saying it was moot, given the finding that Cosby should not have been prosecuted in the first place.
In sentencing Cosby, the trial judge had declared him a sexually violent predator who could not be safely allowed out in public and needed to report to authorities for the rest of his life.
In May, Cosby was denied parole after refusing to participate in sex offender programs behind bars. He said he would resist the treatment programs and refuse to acknowledge wrongdoing even if it meant serving the full 10 years.
The groundbreaking Black actor grew up in public housing in Philadelphia and made a fortune estimated at $400 million during his 50 years in the entertainment industry that included the TV shows “I Spy,” “The Cosby Show” and “Fat Albert,” along with comedy albums and a multitude of television commercials.
The suburban Philadelphia prosecutor who originally looked into Constand's allegations, Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce Castor, considered the case flawed because Constand waited a year to come forward and stayed in contact with Cosby afterward. Castor declined to prosecute and instead encouraged Constand to sue for damages.
Questioned under oath as part of that lawsuit, Cosby said he used to offer quaaludes to women he wanted to have sex with. He eventually settled with Constand for $3.4 million.
Portions of the deposition later became public at the request of The Associated Press and spelled Cosby's downfall, opening the floodgates on accusations from other women and destroying the comic's good-guy reputation and career. More than 60 women came forward to say Cosby violated them.
The AP does not typically identify sexual assault victims without their permission, which Constand has granted.
Cosby, in the deposition, acknowledged giving quaaludes to a 19-year-old woman before having sex with her at a Las Vegas hotel in 1976. Cosby called the encounter consensual.
On Wednesday, the woman, Therese Serignese, now 64, said the court ruling “takes my breath away.”
“I just think it's a miscarriage of justice. This is about procedure. It's not about the truth of the women,” she said. Serignese said she took solace in the fact Cosby served nearly three years behind bars: “That's as good as it gets in America” for sex crime victims.
Correction:
This story has been corrected to show that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court did not express an opinion on the use of additional accusers.
Bill Cosby's sex assault conviction overturned by court - CTV News
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Actor Allison Mack sentenced to 3 years in prison for role in NXIVM cult - CBC.ca
Actor Allison Mack, who played a key role in the scandal-ridden cult NXIVM, was sentenced to three years in prison Wednesday on charges she manipulated women into becoming sex slaves for the group's spiritual leader.
Mack had previously pleaded guilty to the charges and was expected to seek credit for co-operating against NXIVM leader Keith Raniere and taking responsibility for helping him create a secret society of brainwashed women who were branded with his initials.
At its height, NXIVM had thousands of members in New York, Vancouver and Los Angeles. Mack was a prominent member of the group during the time the TV series Smallville was filmed in and around Vancouver. Mack played the role of Superman's close friend in the show.
At her sentencing in Brooklyn federal court, Mack renounced Raniere.
"I made choices I will forever regret," she said, also telling the judge she was filled with "remorse and guilt."
NXIVM victim rejects Mack's apology
Devoting herself to the self-improvement guru "was the biggest mistake and greatest regret of my life," Mack wrote in a letter filed with the court last week.
"I am sorry to those of you that I brought into NXIVM," she wrote. "I am sorry I ever exposed you to the nefarious and emotionally abusive schemes of a twisted man."
She reiterated her apologies to the victims in court on Wednesday: "From the deepest part of my heart and soul, I am sorry."
Mack wept at times while reading her statement to the court. U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis told her he believed her apology was sincere, but said she deserved a serious sentence for using her celebrity to groom victims as "a willing and proactive ally" and "essential accomplice to Raniere's monstrous crimes."
Jessica Joan, a victim of the cult, rejected Mack's apologies, telling the judge Wednesday that the actor deserved no mercy.
"She can blame Keith all she wants, but she is a monster cut from the same cloth," Joan said. "Allison Mack is a predator and an evil human being."
WATCH | Raniere sentenced to life in prison:
![](https://thumbnails.cbc.ca/maven_legacy/thumbnails/5/683/nxivm-sentencing-dsouza-271020.jpg?crop=1.777xh:h;*,*&downsize=510px:*%20510w")
Disgraced NXIVM founder Keith Raniere was sentenced to life in prison for sex trafficking and other crimes. Several of his accusers and former followers told court he turned them into sex slaves who were branded with his initials. 2:00
Lawyers had asked for probation
Under advisory sentencing guidelines, Mack would face between 14 and 17 1/2 years behind bars, but her legal team argued in court papers that probation or a sentence of home confinement would be more appropriate.
Prosecutors had agreed that any prison term should be below the range in the guidelines because of Mack's co-operation.
"The NXIVM saga and the story of Ms. Mack's descent have been a tragedy for all involved. But that need not, and should not, be the end of the story for Allison Mack," her lawyers wrote in court papers.
Mack, 38, was once part of the inner circle of Raniere, whose group counted millionaires and actors among its adherents.
Prosecutors said she became a "master" for "slaves" she ordered "to perform labour, take nude photographs, and in some cases, to engage in sex acts with Raniere."
As authorities closed in on Raniere, he fled to Mexico with Mack and others to try to reconstitute the group there. He was arrested and sent to the United States in March 2018; Mack was arrested a few days later.
"Ms. Mack now understands that this was the best thing that could have happened to her at that time," the defence papers said.
WATCH | The rise and fall of NXIVM:
![](https://thumbnails.cbc.ca/maven_legacy/thumbnails/494/363/ytthumb.jpg?crop=1.777xh:h;*,*&downsize=510px:*%20510w")
Understanding NXIVM, the alleged sex cult led by Keith Raniere and whose members included Smallville actress Allison Mack. Josh Bloch discusses the group's rise and fall. 3:53
Recording discussed branding of women
Mack provided information to prosecutors about how Raniere encouraged "the use of demeaning and derogatory language, including racial slurs, to humiliate 'slaves,' " the court papers said.
More importantly, they said, she provided a recording of a conversation she had with Raniere about the branding.
The branding should involve "a vulnerable position type of a thing" with "hands probably above the head being held, almost like being tied down, like sacrificial, whatever," Raniere told her.
The women, he said, "should say, 'Please brand me. It would be an honour.' Or something like that."
Raniere was sentenced last year to 120 years in prison for his conviction on sex-trafficking charges. A 41-year-old heir to the Seagram's fortune, Clare Bronfman, was sentenced to nearly seven years in prison in September for her role as Raniere's unwavering benefactor.
Mack was allowed to remain out on bail in home confinement until surrendering to prison on Sept. 29. She left the courthouse on Wednesday without speaking to reporters.
Actor Allison Mack sentenced to 3 years in prison for role in NXIVM cult - CBC.ca
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Bill Cosby released from jail after sex assault conviction overturned by court - Global News
Pennsylvania’s highest court overturned Bill Cosby’s sex assault conviction Wednesday after finding an agreement with a previous prosecutor prevented him from being charged in the case.
Cosby has served more than two years of a three- to 10-year sentence at a state prison near Philadelphia. He had vowed to serve all 10 years rather than acknowledge any remorse over the 2004 encounter with Canadian accuser Andrea Constand.
The 83-year-old Cosby, who was once beloved as “America’s Dad,” was convicted of drugging and molesting the Temple University employee at his suburban estate.
He was charged in late 2015, when a prosecutor armed with newly unsealed evidence — Cosby’s damaging deposition from her lawsuit — arrested him days before the 12-year statute of limitations expired.
The trial judge had allowed just one other accuser to testify at Cosby’s first trial, when the jury deadlocked. However, he then allowed five other accusers to testify at the retrial about their experiences with Cosby in the 1980s.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court said that testimony tainted the trial, even though a lower appeals court had found it appropriate to show a signature pattern of drugging and molesting women.
In May, Cosby was denied parole after refusing to participate in sex offender programs during his nearly three years in state prison. He has long said he would resist the treatment programs and refuse to acknowledge wrongdoing even if it means serving the full 10-year sentence.
This is the first year he was eligible for parole under the three- to 10-year sentence handed down after his 2018 conviction.
Cosby spokesperson Andrew Wyatt called the parole board decision “appalling.”
Prosecutors said Cosby repeatedly used his fame and “family man” persona to manipulate young women, holding himself out as a mentor before betraying them.
Cosby, a groundbreaking Black actor who grew up in public housing in Philadelphia, made a fortune estimated at $400 million during his 50 years in the entertainment industry. His trademark clean comedy and homespun wisdom fuelled popular TV shows, books and standup acts.
He fell from favour in his later years as he lectured the Black community about family values, but was attempting a comeback when he was arrested.
“There was a built-in level of trust because of his status in the entertainment industry and because he held himself out as a public moralist,” Assistant District Attorney Adrienne Jappe, of suburban Montgomery County, argued to the justices.
Cosby had invited Constand to an estate he owns in Pennsylvania the night she said he drugged and sexually assaulted her.
Constand, a former professional basketball player who worked at his alma mater, went to police a year later. The other accusers knew Cosby through the entertainment industry and did not go to police.
The AP does not typically identify sexual assault victims without their permission, which Constand has granted.
© 2021 The Canadian Press
Bill Cosby released from jail after sex assault conviction overturned by court - Global News
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William, Harry to unveil Diana statue as royal rift simmers - The Globe and Mail
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Princess Diana's sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, will put their differences aside when they unveil a statue in the Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace in her memory.
Aaron Chown/The Associated Press
They were once so close.
Princes William and Harry grew up together, supported each other after their mother’s untimely death and worked side by side as they began their royal duties – two brothers seemingly bonded for life by blood, tradition and tragedy.
But those links are now painfully strained as William sits in London defending the royal family from allegations of racism and insensitivity made by Harry and his wife, Meghan, from their new home in Southern California.
Royal watchers will be looking closely for any signs of a truce – or deepening rift – on Thursday when William and Harry unveil a statue of their mother, Princess Diana, on what would have been her 60th birthday. The event in the Sunken Garden at London’s Kensington Palace will be their second public meeting since Harry and Meghan stepped away from royal duties over a year ago.
People shouldn’t expect a quick resolution of the conflict because the two men are fighting over core beliefs, says Robert Lacey, a historian and author of “Battle of Brothers: William, Harry and the Inside Story of a Family in Tumult.” William is defending the monarchy, and Harry is defending his wife.
“It’s a matter of love versus duty, with William standing for duty and the concept of the monarchy as he sees it,” Lacey said. “And then from Harry’s point of view, love, loyalty to his wife. He is standing by her. These are very deeply rooted differences, so it would be facile to think that there can just be a click of the fingers.”
But finding some sort of rapprochement between the princes is crucial to the monarchy as Britain’s royal family seeks to appeal to a younger generation and a more diverse population.
When Harry married Meghan just over three years ago, it seemed as if they would be central figures in that next chapter of the royal story.
The Fab Four – William and his wife, Kate, together with Harry and Meghan – were seen as a cadre of youth and vigour that would take the monarchy forward after the tumultuous 1990s and early 2000s, when divorce, Princess Diana’s death, and Prince Charles’ controversial second marriage to Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, cast doubt on the future of the institution.
Meghan, a biracial former TV star from Los Angeles, was expected to be an important part of that effort, with Black and Asian commentators saying that for the first time there was a member of the royal family who looked like them.
But the words “Fab Four” were quickly replaced in tabloid headlines by “Royal Rift.”
First, their joint royal office was dissolved. Then, Harry stepped away from royal duties and moved his family to North America in search of a more peaceful life. William pressed on with royal tasks, including goodwill events like accompanying his grandmother to Scotland this week to tour a soft drink factory.
The relationship was further strained in March when Harry and Meghan gave an interview to U.S. talk show host Oprah Winfrey.
Harry confirmed rumours that he and his brother had been growing apart, saying “the relationship is `space’ at the moment” – though he added that “time heals all things, hopefully.” Harry also told Winfrey that his father, Prince Charles, didn’t accept his calls for a time.
And then came the real shocker. The couple revealed that before the birth of their first child, an unidentified member of the royal family had expressed concern about how dark his skin might be. Days after the broadcast, William responded, telling reporters that his was “very much not a racist family.”
But whatever their disagreements, out of respect for their mother, William and Harry won’t put their differences on display during the statue ceremony, said historian Ed Owens, author of “The Family Firm: Monarchy, Mass Media and the British Public 1932-1953,” which examines the royal family’s public relations strategy.
“We’re not going to see any acrimony or animosity between the brothers on Thursday,” Owens said. “I think reconciliation is a long way off, but nevertheless these are expert performers. Harry and William have been doing this job for long enough now that they know that they’ve got to put, if you like, occasional private grievances aside for the sake of getting on with the job.”
Lacey believes William and Harry will ultimately reconcile because it is in both of their interests to do so.
Harry and Meghan need to repair relations to protect the aura of royalty that has allowed them to sign the lucrative contracts with Netflix and Spotify that are funding their life in California, Lacey said. If they don’t, they risk becoming irrelevant like the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, who were shunned by the royal family after the duke gave up the throne in the 1930s to marry an American divorcee. His brother, Queen Elizabeth II’s father, then became king.
“It’s very appealing, particularly in America, the idea that they rebelled against this stuffy old British institution,” Lacey said. “But there’s a point they can’t go too far, and they’re approaching that point.”
“On William’s side, it is impossible to go on ostracizing, boycotting the only members of the royal family who are of mixed race in a multiracial world of diversity,” he added.
The critical moment may be next year, when the queen celebrates her platinum jubilee, marking 70 years on the throne.
Under normal circumstances for these big occasions, the queen would want the whole family together on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, where the royals have traditionally gathered to wave to the public.
“Who’s going to be on the balcony at Buckingham Palace?” Lacey asked. “That family grouping has surely got to include Meghan and Harry and their two children, Archie and Lili, alongside their cousins, the children of William and Kate.”
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William, Harry to unveil Diana statue as royal rift simmers - The Globe and Mail
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Ex-'Smallville' Star Allison Mack Arrives to Court for Sentencing in Sex Cult Case - TMZ
9:42 AM PT -- Federal law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Mack has just been sentenced to 3 years in prison and a $20k fine. She'll also be on supervised release for 3 years.
Former "Smallville" star Allison Mack has just shown up to court to face the music -- and by that, we mean she's about to be sentenced in her sex cult case.
Mack was bum-rushed by a crowd of photogs and reporters Wednesday as she made her into a NYC courthouse -- with several of them asking what sort of sentence she was hoping to get.
She was mum on all of that ... keeping her mask on tight and taking cover behind her team, who escorted her in amid all the chaos. Still, the questions are valid -- especially considering she recently made it clear she wants serious leniency.
Mack's judgment day comes shortly after writing a letter to address "those who have been harmed by my actions." In the letter, obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, Mack said, "it is now of paramount importance for me to say, from the bottom of my heart, I am sorry."
She also wrote she threw herself "into the teachings of Keith Raniere with everything" she had and "believed, whole-heartedly, that his mentorship was leading me to a better, more enlightened version of myself."
MARCH 2018Mack -- who was with Raniere in Mexico when he got busted in 2018 -- called devoting her loyalty, resources and life to him "the biggest mistake and regret of my life."
In a memo filed in court ... Mack's attorneys had asked for no jail time given she has publicly denounced Raniere, who in October was sentenced to 120 years in prison.
As we reported ... Mack pled guilty in April 2019 to 2 counts ... racketeering conspiracy and racketeering. Prosecutors essentially alleged she was the pimp for the NXIVM sex cult that garnered headlines around the world. She faces up to 40 years behind bars ... 20 for each count.
Originally Published -- 8:24 AM PT
Ex-'Smallville' Star Allison Mack Arrives to Court for Sentencing in Sex Cult Case - TMZ
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Harry and William to unveil statue of mom Diana together as royal rift continues - CP24 Toronto's Breaking News
LONDON (AP) -- They were once so close.
Princes William and Harry grew up together, supported each other after their mother's untimely death and worked side by side as they began their royal duties - two brothers seemingly bonded for life by blood, tradition and tragedy.
But those links are now painfully strained as William sits in London defending the royal family from allegations of racism and insensitivity made by Harry and his wife, Meghan, from their new home in Southern California.
Royal watchers will be looking closely for any signs of a truce - or deepening rift - on Thursday when William and Harry unveil a statue of their mother, Princess Diana, on what would have been her 60th birthday. The event in the Sunken Garden at London's Kensington Palace will be their second public meeting since Harry and Meghan stepped away from royal duties over a year ago.
People shouldn't expect a quick resolution of the conflict because the two men are fighting over core beliefs, says Robert Lacey, a historian and author of “Battle of Brothers: William, Harry and the Inside Story of a Family in Tumult.” William is defending the monarchy, and Harry is defending his wife.
“It's a matter of love versus duty, with William standing for duty and the concept of the monarchy as he sees it,” Lacey said. “And then from Harry's point of view, love, loyalty to his wife. He is standing by her. These are very deeply rooted differences, so it would be facile to think that there can just be a click of the fingers.”
But finding some sort of rapprochement between the princes is crucial to the monarchy as Britain's royal family seeks to appeal to a younger generation and a more diverse population.
When Harry married Meghan just over three years ago, it seemed as if they would be central figures in that next chapter of the royal story.
The Fab Four - William and his wife, Kate, together with Harry and Meghan - were seen as a cadre of youth and vigor that would take the monarchy forward after the tumultuous 1990s and early 2000s, when divorce, Princess Diana's death, and Prince Charles' controversial second marriage to Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, cast doubt on the future of the institution.
Meghan, a biracial former TV star from Los Angeles, was expected to be an important part of that effort, with Black and Asian commentators saying that for the first time there was a member of the royal family who looked like them.
But the words “Fab Four” were quickly replaced in tabloid headlines by “Royal Rift.”
First, their joint royal office was dissolved. Then, Harry stepped away from royal duties and moved his family to North America in search of a more peaceful life. William pressed on with royal tasks, including goodwill events like accompanying his grandmother to Scotland this week to tour a soft drink factory.
The relationship was further strained in March when Harry and Meghan gave an interview to U.S. talk show host Oprah Winfrey.
Harry confirmed rumors that he and his brother had been growing apart, saying “the relationship is `space' at the moment” - though he added that “time heals all things, hopefully.” Harry also told Winfrey that his father, Prince Charles, didn't accept his calls for a time.
And then came the real shocker. The couple revealed that before the birth of their first child, an unidentified member of the royal family had expressed concern about how dark his skin might be. Days after the broadcast, William responded, telling reporters that his was “very much not a racist family.”
But whatever their disagreements, out of respect for their mother, William and Harry won't put their differences on display during the statue ceremony, said historian Ed Owens, author of “The Family Firm: Monarchy, Mass Media and the British Public 1932-1953,” which examines the royal family's public relations strategy.
“We're not going to see any acrimony or animosity between the brothers on Thursday,” Owens said. “I think reconciliation is a long way off, but nevertheless these are expert performers. Harry and William have been doing this job for long enough now that they know that they've got to put, if you like, occasional private grievances … aside for the sake of getting on with the job.”
Lacey believes William and Harry will ultimately reconcile because it is in both of their interests to do so.
Harry and Meghan need to repair relations to protect the aura of royalty that has allowed them to sign the lucrative contracts with Netflix and Spotify that are funding their life in California, Lacey said. If they don't, they risk becoming irrelevant like the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, who were shunned by the royal family after the duke gave up the throne in the 1930s to marry an American divorcee. His brother, Queen Elizabeth II's father, then became king.
“It's very appealing, particularly in America, the idea that they rebelled against this stuffy old British institution,” Lacey said. “But there's a point they can't go too far, and they're approaching that point.”
“On William's side, it is impossible to go on ostracizing, boycotting the only members of the royal family who are of mixed race in a multiracial world of diversity,” he added.
The critical moment may be next year, when the queen celebrates her platinum jubilee, marking 70 years on the throne.
Under normal circumstances for these big occasions, the queen would want the whole family together on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, where the royals have traditionally gathered to wave to the public.
“Who's going to be on the balcony at Buckingham Palace?” Lacey asked. “That family grouping has surely got to include Meghan and Harry and their two children, Archie and Lili, alongside their cousins, the children of William and Kate.”
Harry and William to unveil statue of mom Diana together as royal rift continues - CP24 Toronto's Breaking News
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Actor Allison Mack faces sentencing in NXIVM sex-slave case - CTV News
NEW YORK -- TV actor Allison Mack, who played a key role in a scandal-ridden, cult-like upstate New York group, is facing sentencing Wednesday after pleading guilty to charges she manipulated women into becoming sex slaves for the group's spiritual leader.
Mack -- best known for her role as a young Superman's close friend on the series "Smallville" -- is set to appear Wednesday in Brooklyn federal court. She's expected to seek credit for cooperating against NXIVM leader Keith Raniere and taking responsibility for helping him create a secret society of brainwashed women who were branded with his initials.
Devoting herself to the self-improvement guru "was the biggest mistake and greatest regret of my life," she wrote in a letter filed with the court last week.
"I am sorry to those of you that I brought into NXIVM," she wrote. "I am sorry I ever exposed you to the nefarious and emotionally abusive schemes of a twisted man."
Under advisory sentencing guidelines, Mack would face between 14 and 17 1/2 years behind bars. Her defense team has argued in court papers that probation or a sentence to home confinement is more appropriate, and prosecutors have agreed that any prison term should be below the guidelines range because of her cooperation.
"The NXIVM saga and the story of Ms. Mack's descent have been a tragedy for all involved. But that need not, and should not, be the end of the story for Allison Mack," her lawyers wrote in court papers.
Mack, 38, was once part of the inner circle of Raniere, whose group attracted millionaires and actors among its adherents. Prosecutors said she became a "master" for "slaves" she ordered "to perform labor, take nude photographs, and in some cases, to engage in sex acts with Raniere."
As authorities closed in on Raniere, he fled to Mexico with Mack and others to try to reconstitute the group there. He was arrested and sent to the United States in March 2018; Mack was arrested a few days later.
"Ms. Mack now understands that this was the best thing that could have happened to her at that time," the defense papers say.
Mack provided information to prosecutors about how Raniere encouraged "the use of demeaning and derogatory language, including racial slurs, to humiliate `slaves,"' the government papers said. More importantly, she provided a recording of a conversation she had with Raniere about the branding, they added.
The branding should involve "a vulnerable position type of a thing" with "hands probably above the head being held, almost like being tied down, like sacrificial, whatever," Raniere told her. The women, he added, "should say, 'Please brand me. It would be an honor.' Or something like that."
Raniere was sentenced last year to 120 years in prison for his conviction on sex-trafficking charges.
Actor Allison Mack faces sentencing in NXIVM sex-slave case - CTV News
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"Zola" director on making a stripper and sex movie that looks and feels "consensual" - Salon
Writer/director Janicza Bravo's audacious drama, "Zola" — based on the tweets by A'Ziah King — is a helluva story and one literal hell of a movie. The film is brilliantly shot, morphing from fantasy to reality to nightmare in under 90 minutes as Zola (Taylour Paige in a starmaking performance) recounts how she "fell out" with Stefani (Riley Keough) during a weekend trip to Tampa.
The two women meet in a restaurant where Zola works, and bond over the fact that they both are pole dancers. When Stefani invites Zola to join her, her boyfriend Derrek (Nicholas Braun of "Succession"), and X (Colman Domingo) to go make some money, Zola agrees, unaware of what she is getting herself into. Suffice it to say, things get tense and intense.
Bravo magnifies all the messy drama and invites viewers to go on a wild ride with the title character. The filmmaker spoke with Salon about her kinetic new film and her worst road trip ever.
You took over directorial duties after James Franco left the project. Can you talk about that?
I feel so lucky it got to be me. When the story came out in October 2015, I wanted it then. I kind of went after it. I sent it to my reps. They wrote me there was article in "Rolling Stone," and you approach it that way and can get her life rights. There were five bidders at that point, and I wasn't going to compete with bidders. I can't say I lost it because I wasn't really part of the conversation. When it was announced that James was going to direct it, with Killer Films (Christine Vachon's company) producing, I wrote Killer, because they produced my first film. I said that if this ever becomes available, please think of me because I am very interested in the project. Two years later, James stepped off of it, and I spent three months auditioning for it, and here we are.
What was it like meeting with A'Ziah aka Zola and adapting the story from her tweets?
Once I actually got the job as the director, that was the first order of business, meeting A'Ziah, the real Zola. We were texting and DMing each other a bit, and I wanted her to meet me and know that she had access to me, and I would let her in as much as she wanted to be, and I was hoping for the same. But I really wanted to be on her page, and at her pace, and make her feel comfortable because she was suddenly being thrust into a world that wasn't hers.
We did a Facetime chat, and we talked about where we came from, and why I loved her story so much, and I mentioned the films I watched and photographs that inspired me. And then I had her, at her own pace, retell me the Twitter story. We went through the whole arc of the story and asked if there was anything she had not included that she wanted to be in the story. There were a few things. Then I had her blessing to work on it. I spent a few months drafting, writing, with Jeremy [O. Harris]. Then I did my director's pass. So, a year or more later, I shared the draft with her, and she read it and gave her second blessing. That's the nuts and bolts of the unsexy steps of approaching the script.
Can you describe your visual approach to the storytelling, which has elements of fantasy, harsh reality, and downright nightmare? There is a real texture on the screen. It's glossy and gritty.
One of the main references — the homework I sent to everyone, from Jeremy O. Harris, to Ari Wegner, the cinematographer, to Katie Byron, the production designer to Joi McMillon, the editor — was a copy of Hieronymus Bosch's "The Garden of Earthly Delights." That painting is a triptych. Panel 1 is Heaven, Panel 2 is Earth, and Panel 3 is Hell. That is the arc of the film. When we are in Heaven our palette is softer, with less information, and things move at different, tempered pace, and when we enter Earth — moving from Detroit to Tampa — there is more movement and color, things get busier, and that's our proper entry. Panel three, we meet blackness. It is when the bottom drops out, and we are in Hell.
Can you talk about your editing strategy? The film zips along, taking viewers on the wild ride Zola endures. It also mirrors how society is fast-paced, or when time just crawls. We feel Zola's anxiety waiting out even horrible moment of this weekend.
This was my third time working with Joi, who edited the film. Your editor is the other writer. A'Ziah was the first writer, Jeremy and myself were the second and third writers, and Joi is the fourth and final writer. When we worked on my first feature, "Lemon," we did a similar approach to editing, it was very emotional. I wanted the editorial landscape to mirror the protagonist's interior. The frenetic-ness and the pressure you are feeling is a mirror into Zola's gut.
I'm curious about the decisions you made filming the scenes of a sexual nature. Can you talk about shooting the women and men in these key scenes?
I myself am a bit prudish, so I think some of that is my inherent prudishness. When I showed up to this text, there were a handful of things I wanted, and one of those things was that I didn't want to see naked women. I felt there is such a large library of naked lady bodies, and I don't need to add to that. There are going to be more films to add to this library and I don't need to be a part of it. I also thought, given the nature of the work, which is so vulnerable, if I were to use their bodies in that way, that it might take away from some of the dignity and the integrity that I wanted to imbue into the nature of where they had found themselves.
I wanted things to feel consensual. I talked with Ari who shot the film, and Katie the production designer, about what consent looks and feels like. In American films, sometimes nudity on screen doesn't feel consensual. I was thinking about some Helmut Newton photographs and why they work for me. They are often so naughty and so sexual, but it feels that there is this consent between the photographer and the model, and the model feels in control of the narrative even though she is not behind the lens. I wanted to find that the women felt taken care of. In exposing the men, it wasn't a "Ha! I get to do it!" or "I am a woman, and this is a woman's gaze." There was maybe some politics there, but it was really about being so much inside what the women who were being bought were seeing.
The film's tone is interesting. I could argue you are satirizing these characters, but I could also argue that you are celebrating them. Can you talk about what you intend or want viewers to see?
I feel pure celebration. One of the conversations I had with the actors was that I'm not interested in judgment. What you feel or what you see on the outside of these characters has no place here. We are going to show up, totally open and with generosity, and take care of who these people are because they are all based on someone. I want to approach them warmly and openly. It was like theater camp. Someone is paying us to play and explore. I love each of the four central characters so much and I inject some piece of myself into each of them.
This is a cautionary tale. What is the moral?
I'm not going to give the answer that you want hear, but I think it's a cautionary tale about making friends with white people, actually. And I'm going to leave it at that. [Laughs]
Not that you would ever be in Zola's situation, but what would you do if you were in her position?
What I would hope for is the access and the ability to process my trauma in the way she did, which was to retell it in that way. I've not found myself in that situation, but I have found myself in crunchy narratives that I didn't exactly know how I got there or what mistakes I made that brought me to them. The power of the pen to have that, and use her voice for agency, is so sexy to me. I applaud her for using Twitter as the tool to process and exorcise that witch. It could have left her rather unraveled.
What can you say is the worst weekend or road trip you've ever been on?
When I was 26, I did birthright in Israel. After my 10 days, I stayed in Israel for a few weeks and met an Israeli guy at a bar and we got on and with each other and he invited to me to seven days in Sinai. I said yes. I had this fantasy of a very sexy seven days in Sinai, and I had never really travelled in this part of this world. I got on a plane by myself, went to Egypt, and I did not wear the right clothes. I couldn't get a cab out of the airport as a single woman. I had to be accompanied by a man. I was begging men to let me be in their car. That was a really dark experience. I convinced this family to let me get in a car with them and I rode in the flatbed of this truck lying down with my luggage. I finally make it to this hotel on the beach right on the Dead Sea, and it's stunning. The cab driver, when he drops me off, asks when I am leaving. I get there and see this guy and I think we're about to have this wild romance. And he decides to stop speaking to me about 5 or 10 minutes after I landed there. He is with a group of friends, and no one speaks English. So, I spend seven days just inside my own head with no one really talking to me, just waiting for the cab to come back.
"Zola" releases in theaters Wednesday, June 30.
"Zola" director on making a stripper and sex movie that looks and feels "consensual" - Salon
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Kate Middleton wows in Zara red blazer at England's Euro 2020 game - HELLO! Canada
By Heather Cichowski
Duchess Kate joined Prince William and Prince George on June 29 for England's big game against Germany at the Euro 2020 tournament at London's Wembley Stadium. The Duchess of Cambridge showed her team spirit for England in an elegant fashion by wearing a red blazer from Zara!
Kate enhanced the golden buttons on her jacket with her jewelry. Photo: © Christian Charisius/picture alliance via Getty Images
The style maven wore the Textured Double Breasted Blazer from Zara ($69.99), which is sadly now sold out. The duchess loves jackets from the Spanish retailer and has worn similar styles on a few different occasions, including a green blazer for St. Patrick's Day 2021 and a royal blue version during her and Prince William's royal tour of Scotland.
For Duchess Kate's appearance at the Euro 2020 game, she paired the Zara red blazer with a white top and black belted trousers.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince George clapped from the stands. Photo: © Christian Charisius/picture alliance via Getty Images
She accessorized with gold jewelry which enhanced the golden buttons on the tailored jacket.
Kate's jacket was the perfect piece for the match! Photo: © Zara
Just visible under her thick, tousled hair was Kate's go-to Double Strand Beaded Satellite Chain from Spells of Love, which has become a staple accessory for the duchess in recent months.
Kate often completes her outfits with this gorgeous layered necklace. Photo: © Spells of Love
Similarly, the Duchess of Cambridge re-wore her Maya Torque Gold Bangle from Halcyon Days ($180), which she has in two colours and has worn to a handful of engagements recently.
Finally, the mom of three topped off her look with another piece from her jewelry box: the Faux Pearl Curb-Chain Earrings ($355) from Simone Rocha.
Like the Queen, Duchess Kate is fond of pearly jewelry, including these faux pearl Simone Rocha earrings. Photo: © MatchesFashion.com
The Cambridges looked like they had a blast at the game at Wembley Stadium. It was an important match because England had to beat Germany in order to advance to the Quarter Finals. The winner, England, will face either the Ukraine or Sweden next.
MORE: Prince George joins Prince William and Duchess Kate at England's Euro 2020 game
Prince George is a big soccer fan and looked very enthralled with the game. The seven-year-old joined his parents to sing "God Save the Queen," the U.K.'s national anthem, ahead of the game and they got to say hi to David Beckham and his son, Romeo, who were seated nearby. Since England won the match, many consider George to be the team's new lucky charm!
Don't miss a beat with HELLO! Canada's Daily Hits newsletter, your daily dose of royal and celebrity news, fashion, weddings and more. CLICK HERE to sign up for free!
Kate Middleton wows in Zara red blazer at England's Euro 2020 game - HELLO! Canada
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Tuesday, June 29, 2021
Kate Middleton Won't Attend Princess Diana's Statue Unveiling | Daily Pop | E! News - E! News
Kate Middleton Won't Attend Princess Diana's Statue Unveiling | Daily Pop | E! News - E! News
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'Canada's Drag Race' Season 2 Changes: New Judges Revealed - TVLine
Canada’s Drag Race will be serving some very different looks when it returns for Season 2 later this year.
Following the news that neither Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman nor Stacey McKenzie will be returning as judges, we can officially welcome their replacements to the panel: Handmaid’s Tale actress Amanda Brugel and celebrity stylist Brad Goreski. Additionally, Season 1 correspondent Traci Melchor is being bumped up to full-time judge. That trio joins Brooke Lynn Hytes, the only returning judge from Season 1.
“The secret’s out! We are so excited about our judging panel this season,” says showrunner Trevor Boris. “They make a fabulous team, and the fans are going to love what each brings to the table. Brooke Lynn Hytes is drag royalty and brings so much experience from season one, while Brad is a style icon, who is as funny as he is fashionable. We’re also thrilled that Amanda and Traci are joining the team. Amanda was such a hit on the panel last season, and is of course an award-winning actress who will share her talents with our queens. And Traci is a legend of the Canadian entertainment industry and a huge supporter of Canada’s 2SLGBTQ+ and drag communities.”
So, what will the judges be up to in Season 2? According to the announcement, “the resident judges helm every episode, visit the Werk Room, judge the challenges, reveal competition twists, and decide who stays and who ‘Sash-ehs Away’ after the epic Lip Sync For Your Life performance. Hytes and Goreski anchor the judges panel in every episode, with Brugel and Melchor joining regularly throughout the season. In addition to RuPaul’s Drag Race fan-favorites like Snatch Game, Rumails, and Untucked, Season 2 is also set to bring audiences a few surprises and ‘RU-veals’ that have never been done before, while also celebrating the uniqueness of Canada’s drag scene and queer community.”
“I am incredibly honoured to be joining the Drag Race family,” Brugel says. “Now that the world has been introduced to the exceptional talent of our northern queens, I feel so fortunate to be able to champion the next class of drag royalty!”
Adds Goreski, “I’m a huge fan of Canada’s Drag Race and am absolutely thrilled to be joining the show. The drag in Canada is incredible, so I can’t wait to see the amazing looks and artistry that the season two queens are going to bring to the runway.”
Season 2 of Canada’s Drag Race is expected to premiere later this year, available to U.S. viewers via WOW Presents Plus. Drop a comment with your thoughts on the new judges panel below.
'Canada's Drag Race' Season 2 Changes: New Judges Revealed - TVLine
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Prince Harry makes surprise appearance at the virtual Diana Award ceremony after arriving back in the UK - HELLO! Canada
By Heather Cichowski
Prince Harry paid sweet tribute to Princess Diana as he made a surprise virtual appearance at the Diana Award ceremony on June 28, four days after he arrived back in the U.K. for the unveiling the late Princess of Wales's statue later this week.
The Duke of Sussex participated in the awards in what appeared to be a pre-recorded speech recorded at his Montecito home, according to HELLO! UK. He thanked the recipients of this year's prizes for continuing Diana's legacy and helping make the world a better place.
"I'd like to start by acknowledging and celebrating the incredible young people joining us today," the Duke of Sussex began his speech. "And wherever you are right now, I want to thank you for being part of this important moment and for being such a valuable asset to your community."
The dad of two said the effects of COVID-19 have been wide-ranging over the last 16 months, and connected the different the 2021 Diana Award winners have made during the pandemic.
"I'm truly honoured to be celebrating your work, your commitment to change-making and the vital role that you've taken on representing a new generation of humanitarianism."
The Diana Award supports the late People Princess's legacy. The Princess of Wales believed young people have the power to change the world. Harry spoke about his mother's passion for making our planet a better place, and also spoke about how he and Prince William will honour Diana later this week with a statue unveiling at Kensington Palace.
"Our mum believed that young people have the power to change the world," Harry said. "She believed in your strength because she saw it day in and day out and in the faces of young people exactly like you, she witnessed a boundless enthusiasm and passion.
Prince William and Prince Harry present an award to Faith Dickinson from Ontario at the Diana Award at St James's Palace on May 18, 2017. Photo: © Paul Grover - WPA Pool/ Getty Images
"And I, too, see those same values shine through. As it has done for 21 years now, the Diana Award carries her legacy forward by putting young people at the centre of our future. And this has never been more important.
"Never be afraid to do what's right. Stand up for what you believe in and trust that when you live by truth and in service to others, people will see that just as they did with my mum."
In the video, the duke was clad in a navy blazer with a white collared shirt underneath. The speech was shot in front of the corner of a room with ochre walls. A floral arrangement and a dark wooden door leading to an area with a plant could just be seen.
The Duke of Sussex travelled from Los Angeles to London's Heathrow Airport last week. He has reportedly been quarantining at Frogmore Cottage, his and Duchess Meghan's U.K. home in Windsor. His cousin Princess Eugenie, her husband Jack Brooksbank and their baby boy August are living there at the moment. It is said the house has been divided in two so Harry can quarantine separately from the younger Princess of York and her family.
MORE: Prince Harry arrives back in the U.K. ahead of unveiling of Princess Diana statue
The unveiling of Diana's statue will take place in the Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace on July 1, on what would have been the Princess of Wales's 60th birthday.
Some of Diana's family members will attend, along with sculptor Ian-Rank Broadley and garden designer Pip Morrison. It is likely that Diana's sisters, Lady Sarah McCorquodale and Lady Jane Fellowes, and her brother Charles Spencer will attend.
The Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace was one of Princess Diana's favourite places. Photo: © Samir Hussein/WireImage
The Duchess of Sussex, has remained in the United States with her and Harry's newborn daughter Lilibet Diana and two-year-old son, Archie.
Don't miss a beat with HELLO! Canada's Daily Hits newsletter, your daily dose of royal and celebrity news, fashion, weddings and more. CLICK HERE to sign up for free!
Prince Harry makes surprise appearance at the virtual Diana Award ceremony after arriving back in the UK - HELLO! Canada
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