Cee Lo Green issues apology for rape comments and returns to Twitter

September 3, 2014 9:51

Singer says his remarks were 'idiotic' and 'untrue'

Cee Lo Green has apologised for controversial remarks he made about rape on Twitter earlier this week.

The singer deleted his account on the social networking site on September 2 after posting a series of tweets relating to a recent court case in which he pleaded no contest to supplying ecstasy to a woman.

Green escaped jail time last month after pleading no contest to drugs charges. The singer was accused of secretly slipping ecstasy into the drink of his dinner date at a sushi restaurant in July 2012, and was sentenced to three years of formal probation and ordered to complete 360 hours of community service.

An earlier rape charge relating to the same alleged incident was dropped due to insufficient evidence. Writing on Twitter, Green had remarked: "People who have really been raped REMEMBER!!!" and "If someone is passed out they're not even WITH you consciously! so WITH Implies consent."

Although Green removed his profile from Twitter after receiving criticism for his remarks, he has now reactivated his account and has issued an apology. "I truly and deeply apologize for the comments attributed to me on Twitter," he wrote. "Those comments were idiotic, untrue and not what I believe."

Earlier today, meanwhile, it was revealed that Green's reality TV show The Good Life has been cancelled. MTV reports that US cable network TBS decided not to renew the programme for a second season after it returned disappointing viewing figures for its first six-episode run.

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Green Day not liable for using artist's work at concerts

By Jonathan Stempel

Wed Aug 7, 2013 1:16pm EDT

n">(Reuters) - Dereck Seltzer wasn't happy when he learned that Green Day used his artwork without permission as a video backdrop at its concerts. But a federal appeals court on Wednesday said the popular rock band didn't violate his rights.

The decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in California, in what it called a "close and difficult case," can make it easier for performers to incorporate works of art to enhance the experience of concert fans, so long as they don't simply copy the artwork or diminish its value.

Seltzer, a Los Angeles illustrator, in 2003 created "Scream Icon," an abstract image of an anguished, contorted face that has been used on posters and plastered on walls as street art.

During a 2009 tour, Green Day, whose lead singer is Billie Joe Armstrong and which has sold more than 70 million records, used a version of the artwork covered by a red "spray-painted" cross in a video backdrop for its song "East Jesus Nowhere."

The version had been adapted from a photo of a weathered and torn copy of Seltzer's work posted on a brick wall on a corner of Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles.

Seltzer sued after rejecting a proposed settlement that included concert tickets. But a federal district judge in Los Angeles in 2011 rejected his claims of copyright infringement and violations of the Lanham Act, a federal trademark law.

In upholding that decision, Circuit Judge Diarmuid O'Scannlain wrote for the 9th Circuit that Green Day's use of "Scream Icon" was fair, and was "transformative and not overly commercial" despite making few alterations.

"With the spray-painted cross, in the context of a song about the hypocrisy of religion, surrounded by religious iconography, (the) video backdrop using Scream Icon conveys new information, new aesthetics, new insights and understandings that are plainly distinct from those of the original piece," O'Scannlain wrote for a three-judge panel.

O'Scannlain said Seltzer's testimony that the value of his work wasn't affected, and the absence of the work from Green Day merchandise and promotional material, also weighed in the band's favor.

The 9th Circuit did overturn a $201,000 award of attorney's fees to Green Day. Even though Seltzer lost, it said, he had not been "objectively unreasonable" by suing.

Nathan Canby, a lawyer at Rosenfeld, Meyer & Susman representing Seltzer, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Peter Anderson, a lawyer for Green Day, did not immediately respond to similar requests.

The case is Seltzer v Green Day Inc et al, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 11-56573.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Vicki Allen)

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Armstrong rehab stint forces Green Day cancellations

Green Day lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong performs during the 2012 iHeart Radio Music Festival at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada September 21, 2012.

Credit: Reuters/Steve Marcus

NEW YORK | Mon Oct 29, 2012 2:15pm EDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Green Day said on Monday they are canceling their fall club tour and postponing early 2013 dates as frontman Billie Joe Armstrong continues treatment for substance abuse.

"Obviously the timing for this isn't ideal, but Billie Joe's well-being is our main concern," band member Mike Dirnt said in a posting on Green Day's website.

"We are happy to say that Billie Joe is doing well, and we want to thank you all for the outpouring of support and well wishes that we have received, and we can't wait to see you all again soon," he added.

Armstrong, lead singer and guitarist for the Grammy-winning rock band, sought substance abuse treatment late last month following an angry, guitar-smashing on-stage outburst in Las Vegas. Details of his substance abuse have not been released.

Green Day also announced on Monday it was moving up the release date of "iTré!," part of an ambitious trilogy of albums that marks their first collection of new music since 2009, to December 11 from its original date of January 15, in part to make up for the canceled and postponed dates.

"If we couldn't be there to play it for you live, the least we could do was give you the next best thing," said drummer Tre Cool.

The band's latest tour, including dates in Seattle, Sacramento and Reno, was due to wind down in Tempe, Arizona, on December 10. The website said tickets for the club shows would be refunded, and that new dates for the postponed shows would be announced shortly.

The California-based punk rock band, formed in the late 1980s, has sold more than 65 million records worldwide and won five Grammys, including best alternative album for its 1994 major-label debut, "Dookie," and best rock album for "American Idiot" and "21st Century Breakdown."

(Reporting by Chris Michaud; Editing by Jill Serjeant, Gary Hill)

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Green Day Unveils 'Uno!' Album Artwork

by Hannah Gilman, N.Y.  |   June 14, 2012 4:05 EDT

Green Day fans were treated to a sneak peek Thursday (June 14), when the band debuted the album artwork for their upcoming Sept. 25 album, "¡Uno!" The release, the pop-punk trio's first since 2009's "20th Century Breakdown," will be closely followed by two more albums, "¡Dos!" and "¡Tré!"

The cover features a black and white cutout of frontman Billie Joe Armstrong's face, eyes crossed out with hot pink X's, against a gritty, geometric, neon green background. "Green Day" is loudly splashed in hot pink across the top of the cover, while "¡Uno!" is sprawled graffiti-style in white in the lower left-hand corner.

Green Day Announces New Album Trilogy

The artwork was accompanied by a 30-second trailer that gives fans a glimpse into the making of the band's new album trilogy. Each shot changes with the beat of the music, leaving plenty of opportunity for viewers to catch a look at what went into the record's creation.

The trailer shows the trio recording in the studio, with bits of handwritten songs shown on tattered paper, and a dry erase board covered in what are presumably song names. Titles include "Carpe Diem," "Crushing Bastards" and "Makeout Party."

"¡Dos!" is slated to land Nov. 13, and the final installment of the trilogy, "¡Tré!," is set to drop Jan. 15, 2013.

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