Fame Under Fire

Recorded at the 2026 Crossed Wires festival Anoushka and resident trial attorney Shaun Kent explore how social media is transforming the courtroom. They discuss the growing influence of social media on juries, lawyers, and public opinion, and answer questions from the audience. Host: Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty Series Producer: Louise Clarke Senior Impact Producer: Melanie Stewart Smith Digital Jou...

Fame Under Fire's resident trial attorney Shaun Kent is in the UK! He joins Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty in the London studio to discuss one of the biggest shifts taking place in the legal world: the growing influence of social media on criminal trials. From celebrity cases to viral courtroom moments, they explore how online audiences are changing the way lawyers, juries and the public engage with t...

Your comments and questions following our exclusive interview with the actress Jen Ann, who accuses Kanye West of sexually assaulting her. She filed a civil lawsuit in 2024. Kanye’s lawyers don't deny it happened, but they say it was art and that Jen consented to it. Our resident trial attorney Shaun Kent and Anoushka answer your questions - from why Jen Ann could file after 14 years, to why Kanye...

The timetable in the criminal case against D4vd has changed following the latest court hearing. David Anthony Burke has pleaded not guilty to all charges relating to the death of Celeste Rivas Hernandez. The preliminary hearing, where prosecutors seek to establish probable cause, has been delayed. The hearing is also expected to include witness scheduling, meaning testimony could form part of the...

Jennifer An, a former contestant on America’s Next Top Model, alleges Kanye West, now known as Ye, assaulted her during filming for a La Roux music video in New York in 2010. She is now suing the rapper.

An alleged sex tape linked to Sean “Diddy” Combs spread rapidly online as Diddy’s lawyers appeal his sentence. Sean “Diddy” Combs is asking the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan to overturn prostitution-related convictions, reduce his sentence or order his immediate release from prison. Defence lawyers argue the jury acquitted him of the most serious allegations, while prosecutors conti...

Missed some of the biggest celebrity legal stories? A catch-up takes in Drake v UMG, with questions around rap, art and the First Amendment, and a refresher on the D4vd trial. D4vd has pleaded not guilty to all charges. Host: Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty Series Producer: Louise Clarke Senior Impact Producer: Melanie Stewart Smith Digital Journalist: Daniel Raza Researcher: Helena Warwick-Cross Produ...

Drake's lawsuit against Universal Music Group over Kendrick Lamar's Not Like Us was dismissed, but the legal battle is continuing after Drake appealed the ruling. New amicus briefs have brought more voices into the dispute, with arguments around artistic expression, rap music in courtrooms and First Amendment protections. Host: Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty Series Producer: Louise Clarke Senior Impac...

D4vd returned to court for a status hearing amid discovery delays and the huge volume of evidence in the case. The singer, whose real name is David Anthony Burke, faces charges including murder, continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14, and unlawful dismemberment of human remains. The preliminary hearing has now been delayed until 29 June. D4vd has pleaded not guilty to all charges. Host: Anous...

A delayed preliminary hearing in the case against D4vd brings new scrutiny after prosecutors publicly filed a briefing document laying out their allegations. The filing includes claims relating to grooming, text messages, digital evidence, travel records and purchases prosecutors say connect to the death of Celeste Rivas Hernandez. D4vd has pleaded not guilty to all charges. Host: Anoushka Mutanda...

Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni have reached a settlement in their legal dispute linked to the movie It Ends With Us, ending proceedings two weeks before a trial due to begin on 18 May. A federal judge had already dismissed 10 of 13 claims, including sexual harassment, defamation, and civil conspiracy, leaving claims for retaliation, aiding and abetting retaliation, and breach of contract, to proc...

A small magazine with dogs in designer clothing on its covers finds itself up against Condé Nast, publisher of Vogue, in a trademark dispute over name. Both sides are defending the right to use the name ‘Dogue’. A separate case carries a $27m claim after a comedian’s take on The Lion King’s opening lyrics went viral. Host: Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty Series Producer: Louise Clarke Digital Video Pro...

D4vd, real name David Burke, has been charged with first-degree murder, continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14 and the unlawful mutilation of remains after the death of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez. Prosecutors say the charges include special circumstances, and Burke has entered a not guilty plea. Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty and our resident trial attorney Shaun Kent look at what the ch...

Motions in limine reveal competing attempts to restrict evidence in the Lively–Baldoni case, including challenges to witness testimony, viral material and past controversies. Legal arguments focus on whether the material informs the claim of retaliation, or risks biasing a jury. Our resident trial attorney Shaun Kent explains how evidentiary rules shape what may ultimately be presented in court. H...

A judge has thrown out several claims in Blake Lively’s lawsuit connected to the movie It Ends With Us. The decision is based on legal thresholds around where events took place and how her role was classified. Retaliation remains part of the case, based on alleged actions following complaints about working conditions. The court has allowed those claims to proceed. Both sides deny any wrongdoing. A...

Radio 2 presenter Scott Mills has been sacked from the BBC following allegations relating to his personal conduct. We look at what we know, and the ongoing uncertainty around the circumstances surrounding his exit. And there’s a fresh focus on the Epstein files. We examine exchanges between Jeffrey Epstein and model scout Ramsay Elkholy. Messages between the two include degrading descriptions of y...

A full season of The Bachelorette has been cancelled days before broadcast. ABC made the decision after a video surfaced of the latest Bachelorette Taylor Frankie Paul in a domestic incident from 2023. The case had already been through the courts. Taylor Frankie Paul was arrested and later entered a plea in abeyance on a charge of aggravated assault. This means she had accepted responsibility in c...

The case against Marius Borg Høiby, the eldest son of Norwegian Crown Princess Mette-Marit, has gripped Norway throughout its seven weeks. He faces 39 charges at Oslo District Court, including four counts of rape, coercive control of a former partner, drug offences, and repeated breaches of restraining orders. He denies the most serious charges. The most serious allegations center on four anonymou...

Controversial US rapper Kanye West - now known as Ye - has been ordered to pay $140,000 to a man he hired to renovate his $57m Malibu mansion. Handyman Tony Saxon claimed he was injured while working at the beachfront house in 2021, that he wasn’t paid properly and that he was fired after refusing to run generators that released carbon monoxide inside the property. West’s team had argued Saxon was...

US singer D4vd has been named as the ‘Target’ of a Grand Jury investigation into the apparent murder of a teenage girl. The body of Celeste Rivas Hernandez, 14, was found decomposing in a car belonging to the singer in Hollywood last September - but so far there have been no arrests, no charges and no indictment. Resident Fame Under Fire attorney Shaun Kent joins Anoushka to discuss the latest in...

We answer your pressing questions on the biggest legal cases of the moment. First up, the Blake Lively v Justin Baldoni case in New York. How did dragons, Game of Thrones and Taylor Swift get dragged into all of this? And how might it impact Taylor? Next, your questions on the case France’s first family, the Macrons, have brought against American online commentator and provocateur Candace Owens. R...

As Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni head to court together for mediation behind closed doors, we look at how this process works. Legally, both must try and reach agreement before their dispute goes to full trial in May. So what happens at hearings like these? How do they work? Can they reach agreement and avoid a full public trial? Resident Fame Under Fire attorney Shaun Kent walks us through the l...

Social media has been rife with speculation about what is in the Epstein Files with stories of cannibalism, designer babies, and references to torture. But what is actually true? What more do we know? The episode answers the questions listeners most want answers to. And we hear about the latest legal developments from US lawyer Arick Fudali, who represents 11 survivors of Jeffery Epstein. What doe...

Reputations supposedly take years to build and seconds to destroy. But what if that's no longer the case? What if the normal rules about earning - and keeping - a reputation simply don't apply any more. This week, David Yelland is joined by Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty, from the BBC podcast Fame Under Fire. Together, they venture into some distinctly dubious corners of the internet to see how public...

The latest release from the Epstein files has once again thrown the spotlight on numerous famous names such as Bill Gates, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and President Trump. But within the millions of documents, other famous names have appeared, so what does it actually mean if your name is connected to the files? One of those mentioned is rapper Jay-Z, included after an FBI tip off many years ago. I...