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Jack Nicholson Returns to Courtside for Lakers’ Playoff Game

Actor Jack Nicholson attends Game 6 of a first-round NBA basketball playoff series between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday, April 28, 2023, in Los Angeles. (AP)
Actor Jack Nicholson attends Game 6 of a first-round NBA basketball playoff series between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday, April 28, 2023, in Los Angeles. (AP)
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Jack Nicholson Returns to Courtside for Lakers’ Playoff Game

Actor Jack Nicholson attends Game 6 of a first-round NBA basketball playoff series between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday, April 28, 2023, in Los Angeles. (AP)
Actor Jack Nicholson attends Game 6 of a first-round NBA basketball playoff series between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday, April 28, 2023, in Los Angeles. (AP)

Jack is back.

Los Angeles Lakers superfan Jack Nicholson was watching at courtside for the first time in nearly two years Friday night when his team hosted the Memphis Grizzlies in Game 6 of their first-round playoff series.

The 86-year-old Nicholson hadn’t been in his usual seats in the Lakers’ downtown arena since last season’s opening game in October 2021, but the three-time Academy Award-winning actor returned to his famed spot near the opposing bench with his son.

Nicholson was a fixture in the last half-century of Lakers history, cheering on the team through several eras of success after getting his season tickets in 1970. He was the most prominent face in the Lakers’ gallery of celebrity fans, his sunglasses and famous grin ever-present at courtside — and occasionally on the court if he was particularly displeased by an official’s call.

Nicholson cheered while the Showtime Lakers racked up championships and captured Hollywood’s imagination, and he remained an avid fan while they won five more titles in the Kobe Bryant era. He famously adjusted his shooting schedules and personal meetings to keep himself free to catch every big Lakers game.

Nicholson rarely attended games after fans returned to the Lakers’ building following the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the chance to watch the Lakers attempt to win a playoff series at home for the first time since 2013 was irresistible to their No. 1 fan.

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Rapper Sean 'Diddy' Combs Returns to Jail as Judge Considers Bail Bid

Family members enter the federal court in Manhattan on the day of music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs’s hearing on his request to be released from jail pending trial in New York City, New York, US, November 22, 2024. REUTERS/Kent J. Edwards
Family members enter the federal court in Manhattan on the day of music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs’s hearing on his request to be released from jail pending trial in New York City, New York, US, November 22, 2024. REUTERS/Kent J. Edwards
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Rapper Sean 'Diddy' Combs Returns to Jail as Judge Considers Bail Bid

Family members enter the federal court in Manhattan on the day of music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs’s hearing on his request to be released from jail pending trial in New York City, New York, US, November 22, 2024. REUTERS/Kent J. Edwards
Family members enter the federal court in Manhattan on the day of music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs’s hearing on his request to be released from jail pending trial in New York City, New York, US, November 22, 2024. REUTERS/Kent J. Edwards

Sean "Diddy" Combs will remain in custody for at least several more days as a US judge considers his bid to be released on $50-million bail from the Brooklyn jail where the music mogul has been held for 10 weeks.
After a nearly two-hour hearing in Manhattan federal court, US District Judge Arun Subramanian said on Friday he would rule on Combs' bid for home detention "promptly."
Combs' lawyers this month proposed a bail package backed by his $48-million Florida mansion. It also called for Combs to be monitored around the clock by security personnel and to have no contact with alleged victims or witnesses.
Combs has been denied bail three times since his arrest, with multiple judges citing a risk he might tamper with witnesses. The rapper and producer pleaded not guilty on Sept. 17 to charges he used his business empire, including his record label Bad Boy Entertainment, to sexually abuse women.
During the hearing, defense lawyer Marc Agnifilo disputed prosecutors' contention that a 2016 hotel surveillance video of Combs assaulting former girlfriend Casandra Ventura, known as Cassie, showed there was a risk he would act violently if released.
"There's a zero percent chance of that happening," Agnifilo said.
Combs apologized in May after CNN broadcast the video showing him kicking, shoving and dragging Cassie in a hotel hallway. Agnifilo said he had never denied the incident, but said the video was not evidence of sex trafficking.
"It's our defense to these charges that this was a toxic, loving 11-year relationship," Agnifilo told the court.
Earlier, prosecutor Christine Slavik said Combs tried to bribe hotel staff to delete the surveillance footage - demonstrating he was committed to concealing his crimes by illegal means.
Even from behind bars at the Metropolitan Detention Center, Combs had communicated with his lawyers through unauthorized channels, and sought to run a social-media campaign to sway potential jurors, Slavik said.
"The defendant here has demonstrated that either he cannot or will not follow rules," Slavik said. "The defendant, simply put, cannot be trusted."
Regarding Combs' attempted social-media campaign, defense lawyer Alexandra Shapiro said he had a right to respond to news coverage of the case that could paint him unfavorably for potential jurors.
Upon being led into the hearing by the US Marshals service, Combs, wearing a beige jail-issued outfit, blew kisses toward his family seated in the second row of the courtroom's audience.
COMBS DENIES WRONGDOING
Prosecutors said the abuse included having women take part in recorded sexual performances called "freak offs" with male sex workers who were sometimes transported across state lines. Combs, 55, has denied wrongdoing, and his lawyers have argued the sexual activity described by prosecutors was consensual.
Combs' lawyers questioned why jail was needed when federal prosecutors in Brooklyn last month allowed the pre-trial release on a $10-million bond of former Abercrombie and Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries, who has pleaded not guilty to sex-trafficking.
The US Attorney's office in Manhattan, which brought the charges against Combs, countered that Jeffries is 80 years old with no criminal history, whereas Combs has prior arrests.
They also said federal agents recovered rifles with defaced serial numbers from Combs' residences. This week, Subramanian ordered prosecutors to destroy their copies of handwritten notes that Combs took in jail, pending a decision on whether they were subject to attorney-client privilege.
A government investigator photographed the notes during a sweep of the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, where Combs has been jailed.