Marilyn Manson: Rock star fined for blowing nose on camera operator in 2019 concert
Rock star Marilyn Manson has been fined and sentenced to 20 hours of community service after pleading no contest to blowing his nose on a camera operator during a concert.
The 54-year-old, who’s real name is Brian Warner, appeared in court on Monday and was charged with two misdemeanour counts of simple assault following the incident during a 2019 concert in New Hampshire.
Manson pleaded no contest to the charge of nose-blowing, meaning he does not contest the charge, but does not admit guilt.
The plea was part of a deal that saw prosecutors agree to dismiss the other charge against the musician, which alleged that he spat on the camera operator.
Manson pleased no contest to blowing his nose on a videographer during a concert in 2019. Pic: AP
He was fined just over $1,400 (£1,131) with $200 (£161) suspended, and needs to stay arrest-free while also notifying local police of any New Hampshire performances for two years.
During the New Hampshire concert, Manson approached the camera operator, Susan Fountain, put his face close to her camera and spat a “big lougee” at her, according to a police affidavit.
A police sergeant who reviewed the video footage said in the affidavit that Manson blew a “significant amount of mucus at Fountain”, and that after the camera view changes, you can see Manson “point and laugh at Fountain as she gets down and walks away”.
Marilyn Manson leaving Belknap Superior Court on Monday. Pic: AP
Ms Fountain said in a statement that the incident was “the most disgusting thing a human being could have done”.
Manson initially pleaded not guilty to both charges in 2021, with the rock star’s lawyer claiming the type of filming that Ms Fountain was doing at the concert commonly exposes videographers to “incidental contact” with bodily fluids.
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He’ll serve his community service in California after the judge granted permission to do so, and Manson told reporters that for the punishment, he might choose to work with people in recovery.
US rock star Marilyn Manson performs during a concert in Bogota. File pic
The hit-artist rose to fame as a musical sensation in the mid-1990s, and while he’s most commonly known for his hit albums, he has also been embroiled in public controversy.
Manson has faced multiple sexual assault allegations over the years, but most cases have been dismissed or settled, including a now-settled suit filed by Game Of Thrones actress Esme Bianco in 2021.
The new version of the ChatGPT AI chatbot has been unveiled and offers near-instant results across text, vision and audio, according to its maker.
OpenAI said it was much better at understanding visuals and sounds than previous versions.
It offers the prospect of real-time ‘conversations’ with the chatbot, including the ability to interrupt its answers.
The firm says it “accepts as input any combination of text, audio, and image and generates any combination of text, audio, and image outputs”.
GPT-4o is to be rolled out over the next few weeks amid a battle by tech firms to develop ever-more advanced artificial intelligence tools.
Monday’s announcement showed tasks such as real-time language translation; using its vision capability to solve a maths question on a piece of paper, and to guide a blind person around London.
GPT-4o can respond to audio in as little as 232 milliseconds, with an average of 320 milliseconds, which the company says is similar to human response time.
To try to ease concerns over bias, fairness and misinformation, the Microsoft-backed company says the new version has undergone extensive testing by 70 external experts.
It comes after Google earlier this year had a major PR blunder over images generated by its Gemini AI system.
GPT-4o model will be free, but premium ‘Plus’ users get a greater capacity limit for messages.
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Previous versions of the chatbot have caused unease in schools and universities due to some students using it to cheat by producing convincing essays.
When it launched two years ago, ChatGPT was said to be the fastest-ever app to reach 100 million active monthly users.
The announcement also stole a march on Google, which is expected to tomorrow show off its own new AI features at its annual developers’ conference.
A 16-year-old suspect armed with a rifle has been stopped from entering a church full of children by worshippers during a livestreamed service, say authorities in Louisiana.
The boy tried to get into the St Mary Magdalen Church, in Abbeville, through the back door at around 10.30am on Saturday (4.30pm UK time), according to police.
A livestream of the incident that was seen by Sky News’ partner outlet NBC News showed a man approaching Reverend Nicholas DuPre after 48 minutes to whisper something.
Rev DuPre then stopped the service and asked churchgoers to pray with him, while some people were heard panicking and screaming.
Around 60 children were inside and waiting to take their first Holy Communion when worshippers confronted the armed suspect.
The Louisiana Catholic church said they then took him outside before calling the police.
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On the livestream, police officers could seen walking through the church, as boys ran across the altar and the clergy took shelter, NBC News reported.
Someone was heard to say over a loudspeaker: “Guys, just get ahold of your children, go slowly. We did apprehend a child, he is in custody.”
In a statement, Abbeville Police Department said that upon arrival, officers arrested the suspect and then searched the church.
The force added the teenager was charged with terrorising the church and two counts of possession of a firearm by a juvenile.
Witnesses told TV station KADN that he was dressed all in black and armed with the rifle, NBC News reported.
Police chief Mike Hardy thanked the churchgoers who intervened for their “quick response and remaining calm throughout this matter”.
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The church also said it now plans to have uniformed law enforcement officers outside of its masses “out of an abundance of caution”.
The swimmer who was the first victim in the 1975 blockbuster Jaws has died.
Susan Backlinie died in her home in California at the age of 77, according to her agent. Her death was first reported by The Daily Jaws website.
The opening scene of Steven Spielberg‘s classic features Ms Backlinie running along the beach and before diving into the water and skinny dipping.
The poster for the film Jaws. Pic: HA/THA/Shutterstock
Her character Chrissie Watkins is then suddenly pulled under the water and she screams as she is violently attacked by an unseen great white shark.
Ms Backlinie had been a champion swimmer when cast in the film. She told The Palm Beach Post in 2015 that Spielberg told her: “When your scene is done, I want everyone under the seats with the popcorn and bubblegum.
“I think we did that,” she said.
In the documentary, Jaws: The Inside Story, Spielberg called Ms Backlinie’s sequence “one of the most dangerous” stunts he’s ever directed.
“She was actually being tugged left and right by 10 men on one rope and 10 men on the other back to the shore, and that’s what caused her to move like that.”
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Ms Backlinie worked with Mr Spielberg again in the 1979 parody war film 1941, in which she spoofed her Jaws character.
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