Stephen Bear found guilty of sharing sex tape featuring Georgia Harrison on OnlyFans
Stephen Bear has been found guilty of sharing a sex tape featuring a fellow reality TV star that then appeared on the online subscription site OnlyFans.
The 32-year-old was accused of voyeurism, and two counts of disclosing private, sexual photographs and films – and was found guilty on all three charges.
During the trial at Chelmsford Crown Court, the jury heard that Bear, who won Celebrity Big Brother in 2016, had sex with his ex-girlfriend and The Only Way Is Essex star Georgia Harrison in his garden before sharing CCTV footage of it on OnlyFans.
Wearing a black suit and tie, Bear looked straight ahead as the jury foreman returned the verdicts after more than eight-and-a-half hours of deliberation.
He then told the court: “My barrister said not to…
“In my opinion from the very beginning it was never a fair trial, what the press said against me.
“I was fighting a losing battle and it is what it is.”
Judge Christopher Morgan responded: “Thank you for that observation.”
Ms Harrison, who waived her anonymity in relation to the case, watched on from the public gallery and appeared to breathe a sigh of relief as the guilty verdicts were returned.
Georgia Harrison
In a statement released through police, she said the “last two years have been absolute hell and this verdict will allow me to start to put the pain I have suffered in the past and start embracing the future”.
“I hope me taking a stand gives other men and women who have fallen victim to revenge porn the courage to seek justice and most importantly show them that they have absolutely nothing to be ashamed of,” she said.
Ms Harrison added that she has felt “ashamed, hurt, violated, even broken at times” but now feels empowered after coming through the ordeal.
She had previously claimed she did not know Bear “had CCTV cameras in his garden that recorded them having sex”.
The 27-year-old said that when Bear showed her the footage, she told him “never to send” it to anyone and “made it plain how upset she would be if he did”, said Jacqueline Carey KC, prosecuting.
She claimed she saw Bear send the footage to someone on WhatsApp later that day, and that later that year she was made aware that it was circulating online.
The alleged offences are said to have taken place between August and December 2020.
During his trial, Bear posted a “50% off” deal for his adult entertainment website on Twitter alongside a photo of him arriving at court with his girlfriend Jessica Smith.
Stephen Bear with his partner Jessica Smith arriving at Chelmsford Crown Court
The image showed him walking from a hired chauffeur-driven white Rolls Royce to the court building, with the accompanying text reading: “50% off my adult site for the next 24 hours.
“Come see why I’m trending.”
Bear had described himself as “like the jack-of-all trades” while giving evidence in court, adding he was also a labourer and did roofing before doing some “TV work”.
He added: “Now I do a bit of adult entertainment because my TV work has been on hold for two years because of this case.”
The judge bailed Bear until January 31 to return to the same court for sentencing, after a report has been prepared about him.
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John David Washington says he felt like he had to conceal his desire to act because of the external expectations of him being the child of Denzel and Pauletta Washington.
He tells Sky News it took some time for him to pursue an acting career, choosing football instead to assert his “independence” and create his own “identity” separate from his famous family.
“I’ve been wanting to do this my whole life… but I was hiding it,” he said.
“I had to conceal that passion based on my relationship to the world and more specifically, my folks being in the industry, so I chose ball.
“I loved ball, but I was sort of hiding my love for the arts under a helmet – literally an American football helmet – and so when I wanted to become an actor, when I decided to pursue it, that was a big shock to some people.”
The 40-year-old actor says when he decided to pursue an acting career, he kept the decision quiet.
“Some people didn’t know I was even pursuing it professionally until I got a job,” he said.
John David with fellow actor Danielle Deadwyler. Pic: David Lee/ Netflix
Since switching to acting, John David has starred in a number of notable roles including the protagonist in Christopher Nolan’s Tenet, Ron Stallworth in BlacKkKlansman and Joshua in The Creator.
He also led the stage revival of the 2022 Tony-nominated play The Piano Lesson on Broadway alongside Samuel L Jackson.
“He [Jackson] originated the role [I play] in 1987 at Yale with Lloyd Richards and August Wilson,” John David said.
“So it was of great importance for us to learn from both he and Michael Potts about August Wilson. It was a great blessing for me, I think, for all of us to have him present on set.”
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The Piano Lesson is the third August Wilson play to be adapted for the screen by Denzel Washington’s production company Mundy Lane Entertainment.
It is part of a pledge made by the Gladiator II actor to make all 10 of the playwright’s works into films.
The Netflix project is directed by another Washington family member, Malcolm, and stars most of the cast from the Broadway revival.
The Piano Lesson is Malcolm Washington’s directorial debut. Pic: Katia Washington/ Netflix
Set in 1936 Pittsburgh in the aftermath of the Great Depression, the film centres on a family heirloom, a piano, that is etched with the carvings of their family history made by their enslaved ancestor.
Malcolm says he started reading the play for the first time during the pandemic and immediately wanted to be involved in the film adaptation.
“I think with this movie, reclamation of story and identity is so central to the theme and it’s something that’s central to my life where I both acknowledge the fertile ground that I was raised on and who I am today.
“That’s what Wining Boy [played by Michael Potts] really is trying to do, he’s trying to build on that legacy, so that’s a story that really resonated with me.”
The filmmaker added: “I take all the gifts that my ancestors laid in front of me, and I’m trying to build something for the next generation to pass down – all of their gifts, plus mine to the next generation and let them build on it.”
Malcolm has dedicated his directorial debut to his mother, Pauletta Washington. Pic: David Lee/Netflix
Malcolm says his goal was to put family at the forefront of the production. By dedicating his feature debut to “Mama”, he is acknowledging the dedication and sacrifices that mothers make for the growth of their families.
“There’s so much pointing to my mother in particular, who inspired this adaptation so much. I see so much of her life in Berniece’s character [played by Danielle Deadwyler] – and that became a guiding light for me in this adaptation,” he said.
“As we made this thing and started reconnecting with our ancestors, my mum became like a kind of representative of them.
“She’s the matriarch of our family. She tells me about my grandparents and great-grandparents and the line that I come from, and I see them in her.
“And when the movie ends, I want people to kind of have that moment of reflection for their own lives. So in dedicating it to her, I was trying to dedicate it to all mums everywhere.”
The Piano Lesson is now available on Netflix.
Blockbuster Wicked has landed the largest opening weekend of 2024 at Vue International.
The film, starring Oscar-nominated actress Cynthia Erivo and Grammy-winning pop star Ariana Grande as Elphaba and Glinda, surpassed both Gladiator II and Paddington In Peru.
It has also had the largest opening weekend for a stage musical adaptation in the cinema chain’s history.
A boss for Vue International said it had seen a “sea of pink and green” over the weekend.
Ariana Grande (left) as Glinda and Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba in the film. Pic: PA
Pic: PA
Pic: PA
Released on Friday, Wicked is up 60% on Les Miserables’ opening weekend in 2012 and three times larger than the 2022 film adaptation of Matilda.
Founder and chief executive of Vue International Tim Richards said: “Vue has seen a sea of pink and green over the opening weekend of Wicked, which has shown continued high demand for the big screen experience.
“We saw record-breaking pre-sales for Wicked, followed by a chart-topping opening weekend – the biggest for 2024.”
The film is the first of two parts, with the second expected in November next year.
Wicked and Gladiator II – known together as Glicked – have reportedly failed to beat out Barbenheimer, Barbie and Oppenheimer, in its own opening weekend last summer.
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Glicked brought in £215m in worldwide ticket sales – with Wicked making the majority of that.
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