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Agency says it isn't investigating 'Idol' claim
Compiled from Times wires The state agency charged with pursuing antidiscrimination claims said Tuesday it's not investigating a charge of age bias made by a college professor against the producers of the Fox's hit television series American Idol. Drew Cummings, 50, said the show refused to grant him an audition because he was too old. His attorney, Frederick Kramer, said the charge would spark an investigation by the Florida Commission on Human Relations. But FCHR spokesman Eugene Morris said the agency has no record of Cummings' discrimination charge and would not investigate such a claim. Kramer also said the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission will review the charge, which he says was filed in state and federal court. EEOC attorney Mike Farrell said Tuesday confidentiality rules prevent the organization from confirming or denying any investigation. Kramer declined a request to provide the Associated Press with a copy of the discrimination charge and would not specifically say where the charge was filed. Celebrity sick bayBOBBY BROWN HOSPITALIZED: Bobby Brown, who was sent to jail in Georgia last week for drunken driving, has been hospitalized, authorities said Tuesday. The singer was transported from the DeKalb County Jail to Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta around 3 a.m., a spokeswoman for the DeKalb County Sheriff's Office said. She declined to provide details, saying inmates' medical information is confidential. Brown, the husband of Grammy-winner Whitney Houston, entered jail Friday after pleading guilty to a 1996 drunken driving charge. He was sentenced to eight days, but the spokeswoman said Brown is eligible for release today under a "good time" policy that reduces sentences by 25 percent for good behavior. ANASTACIA HAS BREAST CANCER: Pop singer Anastacia on Tuesday said that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. The cancer was discovered last week during a checkup, the 29-year-old said in a statement. "My doctor was insistent that I have a mammogram even though it was not required. He saved my life!" she said. Chan says he has used stunt doublesTurns out Jackie Chan did use stunt doubles in The Tuxedo. Renowned for performing his own daredevil martial arts stunts -- and breaking bones -- the 48-year-old action figure says he has started using body doubles, but only when necessary. "I will use stunt doubles if you ask me to ride an F-16 jet fighter, or to jump over a series of hurdles with a crazy horse, or to perform two 720-degree somersaults," Chan said, responding to a report in the South China Morning Post. The Post reported Chan used at least seven stunt doubles in The Tuxedo and quoted Chan as saying it wasn't his decision, and that the director and studio officials "call the shots."
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From the wire |
