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Updated, with Trump campaign comment: The five men wrongfully convicted of the assault and rape of a woman in Central Park in 1989 have filed a defamation lawsuit over comments that Donald Trump made about them at September’s presidential debate.

Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana, Kevin Richardson, Antron Brown and Korey Wise claim in their lawsuit that during the debate, Trump falsely stated that they “killed an individual and pled guilty to the crime. These statements are demonstrably false. Plaintiffs never pled guilty to any crime and were subsequently cleared of all wrongdoing. Further, the victims of the Central Park assaults were not killed.”

Their lawsuit, filed in federal court in Pennsylvania, also cited other statements that Trump has made about their case.

The five men were all teenagers when they were arrested and later convicted of the rape. The lawsuit noted that, after their arrest, they spent hours of interrogation,...

Members of the Central Park Five have filed a lawsuit against Donald Trump alleging the former president repeatedly made “false and defamatory statements” about the men, “negligently, knowing they were false, and/or with reckless disregard for their truth or falsity.”

According to a civil complaint filed on Monday the five men — New York City Council Member Yusef Salaam, Antron Brown (formerly Antron McCray,) Kevin Richardson, Raymond Santana, and Korey Wise — are suing Trump over statements made during his presidential debate against Vice President Kamala Harris in September. The five men,...

RaMell Ross’ “Nickel Boys” kicked off the opening night of the 62nd annual New York Film Festival on Friday, September 27. The film chronicles the powerful friendship between two young Black men navigating the harrowing trials of reform school together in Jim Crow–era Florida. IndieWire caught up with the director and stars on the film’s NYFF red carpet.

Making his first fiction feature, RaMell Ross explained why Colson Whitehead’s 2019 novel “The Nickel Boys” inspired him to make this project. “Colson’s narrative power pulled me into it, as it pulled in every other reader,” he said. “I never have ever read a book thinking about an adaptation. That’s not my thing. I kind of wondered what Elwood would look like, and at one point [when] he realized he was Black or raced, in the context of Colson’s narrative, it’s such a beautiful idea.”

Before making the project,...

Exclusive: Ava DuVernay had a lot to say in the Emmy-winning When They See Us about the harm heaped on the so-called Central Park 5. Now she is speaking out about the settlement she and Netflix reached with the former prosecutor in that travesty of justice.

“After years of legal wrangling and millions of dollars spent, [former prosecutor Linda Fairstein] walked away with no payment to her or her lawyers of any kind, rather than face cross examination before a New York jury as to her conduct and character,” the Array founder told Deadline today of the end of the four-year defamation suit that was set for trial to start on June 10. “I believe that Linda Fairstein was responsible for the investigation and prosecution of the Central Park Jogger case that resulted in the wrongful conviction of five innocent Black and Brown boys,” she bluntly said.

She added: “In the days leading up to her defamation trial,...

Linda Fairstein, the controversial former prosecutor involved in the Central Park Five case, has settled her defamation lawsuit against Netflix and Ava DuVernay over the 2019 docuseries “When They See Us.”

Fairstein sued in 2020, alleging that she was falsely portrayed as a racist villain who orchestrated the convictions of five innocent young men. The case was set to go to trial next week in federal court in Manhattan.

In the settlement, Netflix agreed to donate $1 million to the Innocence Project. Fairstein will not receive money.

Netflix also agreed to add this disclaimer to the front of the show: “While the motion picture is inspired by actual events and persons, certain characters, incidents, locations, dialogue, and names are fictionalized for the purposes of dramatization.”

Fairstein said in a statement that the litigation has revealed the truth about the case. She cited a judge’s ruling last fall denying Netflix’s motion for summary judgment,...

(Updated with Linda Fairstein statement) Just days before Netflix and the former prosecutor of the unjustly imprisoned Central Park 5 were set to go to trial in New York over Ava DuVernay’s Emmy-winning When They See Us, the whole four-year long legal battle is over.

“The parties announce that they have resolved this lawsuit,” said the streamer, DuVernay, writer Attica Locke and ex-Assistant District Attorney Linda Fairstein in a joint statement today. Documents are being filed right now in court to end the matter. “Netflix will donate $1 million to the Innocence Project. Ms. Fairstein will not receive any money as part of this settlement.”

The trial was scheduled to start on June 10

Along with no compensation, Fairstein leaves the matter without the usual confidentially agreement and without any admission of fault on the defendants’ part, I hear. In a move that borders on ironic were it not so consequential, Netflix...

Exclusive: First Lady Jill Biden will be the featured speaker at Monday’s A Day Of Unreasonable Conversation, a social impact event featuring entertainment industry figures and activists.

Biden will take part in a conversation with Halle Berry to talk about the first-ever White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research. Their talk, titled “Writing New Stories About Women’s Health,” will delve into how cultural figures and content can advance conversation’s about the topic.

The first lady is heading to Southern California today for a round of fundraising and an appearance this weekend at the Los Angeles Human Rights Campaign dinner.

Others taking part in the Getty Center event include Paris Hilton, Yvette Nicole Brown, Christine Blasey Ford, Amy Spitalnick and Sitarah Pendleton-Eaglin. The lineup includes Jane Fonda, Cord Jefferson, Yusef Salaam, Charli d’Amelio, Dorian Warren, Maurice Mitchell, Sinead Bovell, Angela Patton, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford,...

Sarah Silverman has one group to thank for the Democrat sweep that happened following Tuesday’s election: the Illuminati.

“Democrats were the big winners last night, which meant all those human sacrifices were worth it,” Silverman said while hosting “The Daily Show.” “Shoutout to my fellow Illuminati members. Guys, we did it.”

Democratic voters showed up for Tuesday’s election as across the country strides were made to protect abortion rights. According to the AP, supporters of abortions rights won a ballet measure in Ohio, a Democratic governor in the primarily Republican Kentucky held onto his position partially due to campaigning for reproductive rights and a Democrat won a seat on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court after promising to uphold abortion rights.

Silverman zeroed in on these victories during the back-half of her monologue. Specifically, she mocked the report that Republicans are trying to develop a better anti-abortion term than “pro-life...

Updated, 5:08 Am Pt, Wednesday: Democrats won significant victories in off-year elections on Tuesday, with Andy Beshear reelected governor of Kentucky, an abortion rights ballot measure easily approved in Ohio and the party taking full control of Virginia’s General Assembly.

As cable news networks deployed graphics and teams of pundits to offer their takes, there was a bit of vexation when it comes to making sense of it all when it comes to 2024.

Earlier in the evening, CNN released the results of a poll showing President Joe Biden trailing former President Donald Trump in a rematch, giving fuel to the storyline that Democrats are facing a five-alarm fire when it comes to their prospects next year.

On MSNBC, as it was clear that Beshear was on his way to winning reelection over Republican Daniel Cameron in the deep-red state, Chris Hayes said, “If everything was going as poorly as people say things are going,...

In August of 1990, Yusef Salaam, then 15 years old, told the judge at his sentencing hearing that he looked at “this legal lynching as a test by my God Allah.” On Wednesday, nearly 23 years later, Salaam — an exonerated man, poet, author, and activist — has been declared the winner of a New York City Council primary in his home district of Harlem.

Salaam was one of the Central Park Five, a group of teens wrongfully convicted for the rape and assault of a jogger in New York City’s Central Park in...

Aunjanue Ellis, who earlier this year was nominated for an Oscar for her work in King Richard, has lined up the leading role in filmmaker Ava DuVernay’s next feature.

Ellis will star in a film inspired by Caste: The Origins of Our Discontent, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Isabel Wilkerson’s 2020 nonfiction book that examines the system of hierarchy that shaped America. The book earned wide acclaim, and was part of Oprah’s Book Club.

DuVernay wrote the screenplay and is directing the indie project, which began filming in December in Georgia, and will move on to shoot in Germany and India. DuVernay produces alongside Array’s Paul Garnes. J4A, a private equity fund dedicated to social justice projects, is financing.

Ellis is among the stars of the upcoming musical The Color Purple for Warner Bros., and has also wrapped on Fox Searchlight’s The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat...

Colson Whitehead’s 2020 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel “The Nickel Boys” is getting a big-screen adaptation from MGM’s Orion Pictures, starring Oscar and Emmy-nominee Aunjanue Ellis.

Directed by Oscar-nominated filmmaker RaMell Ross, Ellis will star alongside Ethan Herisse (“When They See Us”) and Brandon Wilson (“The Way Back”), who will lead the young cast, as well as Hamish Linklater (“The Big Short”) and Fred Hechinger.

“It is an honor to be working with such talented people and trusted with such an incredibly written story, with historical roots,” Ross said in a statement announcing the feature adaptation. “I’m constantly impressed by the passion and creativity of the collection of people moving this project forward.”

Ross adapted the screenplay alongside two-time Academy Award-nominee Joslyn Barnes of Louverture Films, which is producing the movie with Plan B Entertainment and Anonymous Content. Whitehead serves as executive producer.

Added Alana Mayo, president of Orion Pictures:...

Click here to read the full article.

Oscar nominee Aunjanue L. Ellis (King Richard) is set to star in The Nickel Boys, an adaptation of Colson Whitehead’s novel of the same name, to be directed by RaMell Ross.

The Nickel Boys is set in Jim Crow-era Florida and focuses on two boys unjustly sentenced to a brutal reform school. MGM’s Orion Pictures, Plan B Entertainment and Anonymous Content will produce the movie adaptation, which will also star Ethan Herisse, Brandon Wilson, Hamish Linklater and Fred Hechinger.

Oscar nominee Joslyn Barnes of Louverture Films, who will pen the screenplay for the movie version along with Ross, is also set to produce, while Whitehead will executive produce.

“It is an honor to be working with such talented people and trusted with such an incredibly written story, with historical roots. I’m constantly impressed by the passion and creativity of the...

Aunjanue Ellis is celebrating her very first Oscar nomination for her performance in “King Richard.” The actress plays Oracene Price, the mother of tennis icons Venus and Serena Williams, and the wife of the film’s protagonist, Richard Williams.

Ellis recently spoke with Gold Derby editor Christopher Rosen about Oscar nominations morning, her process of getting into character and the importance of honoring Price’s story onscreen. Watch the video interview above and read the complete transcript below.

SEETim and Trevor White interview: ‘King Richard’ producers

Gold Derby: Congratulations, I was so excited for you. We’re a week past the Oscar nominations, but what was that morning like for you before we talk about the film?

Aunjanue Ellis: Right, well, I hid all day and didn’t have my phone on at all. I didn’t have the expectation of it, but other people in my life did, and...

[Editor’s note: This article was originally published in November 2021 and has been updated.]

Don’t let the title fool you: While Reinaldo Marcus Green’s crowd-pleasing biopic Best Picture contender “King Richard” gets its name from the tongue-in-cheek nickname of the father of the iconic Williams sisters, it’s Aunjanue Ellis’ Oscar-nominated turn as their mother Oracene Price that feels like the real revelation. Green’s film, produced by both Venus and Serena Williams (along with their sister Isha Price), tracks the rise of the tennis champs through the teachings of their mercurial, driven father. And while Will Smith turns in one of the best performances of his career as the eponymous Richard Williams, Ellis matches him at every turn.

For Ellis, bringing the full truth of Oracene Price — that’s “Ms. Oracene” to her — wasn’t just essential to the role; it became nothing less than a mission for the actress. But first, she had to counter her own misconceptions.

Ellis admits...

After the death of George Floyd and the protest aftermath, some films that came out in recent years take on added resonance, particularly those that involve the murder of black youths at the hands of quick triggered and fearful cops. Features include Fruitvale Station and The Hate U Give. I was fascinated by a most prescient 2019 short film sent to me by its makers, who intend on turning it into a limited series. On a leisurely Sunday, have a look at About The People, a Sterling Milan-directed drama that got strong reaction on the festival circuit last year, starting with an attempt by a powerful group of Black men to use their collective influence to force change, rather than waiting for it to be implemented by a white establishment that is only now reacting to the serious injustice people of color endure too often. I’ve got more after...

Flix FlashbackIn #WatchWithTNM this week, we discuss the series on five innocent boys who were wrongfully accused and convicted of a heinous crime decades ago.Nikhita VenugopalFacebookOver the past several weeks, protests have raged across the United States and in many parts of the world following the killing of 46-year-old George Floyd, an unarmed black man, at the hands of a white police officer in Minneapolis. The anger over Floyd’s death wasn’t born of a single incident, but generations of systematic racism and excessive force by the police against black and brown Americans. Michael Brown, Sandra Bland, Freddie Grey, Walter Scott, Breanna Taylor, and so many more lives have been lost to the status quo. The story of five innocent boys who were wrongfully accused and convicted of a heinous crime decades ago is a part of that narrative. Korey Wise, Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Raymond Santana and Yusef Salaam,...

Flix FlashbackIn #WatchWithTNM this week, we discuss the series on five innocent boys who were wrongfully accused and convicted of a heinous crime decades ago.Nikhita VenugopalFacebookOver the past several weeks, protests have raged across the United States and in many parts of the world following the killing of 46-year-old George Floyd, an unarmed black man, at the hands of a white police officer in Minneapolis. The anger over Floyd’s death wasn’t born of a single incident, but generations of systematic racism and excessive force by the police against black and brown Americans. Michael Brown, Sandra Bland, Freddie Grey, Walter Scott, Breanna Taylor, and so many more lives have been lost to the status quo. The story of five innocent boys who were wrongfully accused and convicted of a heinous crime decades ago is a part of that narrative. Korey Wise, Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Raymond Santana and Yusef Salaam,...

“Graduate Together,” a virtual commencement ceremony featuring over 30 speeches from celebrities and world leaders, will qualify for the Primetime Emmy Awards in 11 categories, it was revealed this week.

Should a nomination or eventual win come for the special, shot virtually from coronavirus quarantine, it will surely mark the strange and unprecedented time Hollywood is currently living and working through. But it also tells us something about the future of community engagement and inspiration, say experts who spoke with Variety.

LeBron James, President Barack Obama, Megan Rapinoe and Zendaya all offered up their advice to the high school class of 2020 on the May 18 special — any of whom would be A-list gets for the average graduation, or even the most exclusive thought leadership conferences held annually around the globe.

In the past weeks, numerous digital commencement events have gone up thanks to platforms like Zoom, Hollywood’s beloved black tie fundraisers found a way to survive,...

Oscar-nominated director Ava DuVernay will host a live discussion of her critically-acclaimed Netflix series “When They See Us,” which tells the story of “The Exonerated Five” — Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana Jr. and Korey Wise — the five young men who were wrongfully convicted of the rape and assault of a woman in Central Park in 1989.

Commemorating the one year anniversary of the release of the four-part drama series, DuVernay will watch the first episode and chat along with audiences in real time.

The virtual watch party also follows the news that DuVernay’s production company Array Now has officially launched Array 101, an educational initiative aimed to bridge the gap between Hollywood and social justice by providing educational resources to help audiences explore the historical context of the story and work through the emotional questions it brings up. Featured on the site, is a detailed breakdown of the...

A year after the release of her Emmy-winning Netflix series When They See Us, filmmaker Ava DuVernay is continuing to share the story of the Exonerated Five while also furthering the conversation around social justice.

In a new online education initiative called Array 101, launched by DuVernay's multiplatform media company and arts collective Array, learning guides will be created for the company's films and television series.

The first to receive a guide is DuVernay's Netflix miniseries recounting five teenagers — Kevin Richardson, Antron Mccray, Raymond Santana Jr., Korey Wise, and Yusef Salaam — who were wrongfully convicted ...

Exclusive: One lawsuit against the Emmy- and Peabody Award-nominated When They See Us miniseries has already been tossed out of court. Now, Netflix and Ava DuVernay are aiming to get the defamation action by ex-Central Park Five prosecutor Linda Fairstein dismissed too.

“Plaintiff’s claims fail under the First Amendment as a matter of law,” say the three-pronged filings Monday by the Oscar-nominated director, the streamer and co-defendant Wtsu producer/writer Attica Locke.

“Material falsity is essential to any defamation claim and is an element Plaintiff must establish,” says the motion to dismiss put in the federal court docket today. It comes in response to ex-Assistant District Attorney for New York County Fairstein’s wide spread damages and apology-seeking initial complaint of March 18.

“Here, the Series is an artistic dramatization of controversial and contested historical events. Plaintiff’s complaint that the Series’ portrayal of her is “false” because it ‘depict...

When presidents are this bad, it makes just about anyone look good. That is why we shouldn’t sanctify Andrew Cuomo right now. Juxtaposed next to Trump — who recklessly ignored warnings about the pandemic and appears ready now to sacrifice Americans to it for the sake of Wall Street — the governor of New York is earning plaudits from left and right alike for his ability, thus far, to tackle this crisis. He deserves many of them.

However, even as the president finds new ways to fail each day, we should...

Almost a year after the Emmy winning When They See Us launched on Netflix, the streamer and director Ava DuVernay have been sued by former Central Park Five prosecutor Linda Fairstein for defamation.

DuVernay may be radio silent today on this, Netflix ain’t having any of it.

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“Linda Fairstein’s frivolous lawsuit is without merit,” a spokesperson for the streamer said Wednesday morning after the ex-Assistant District Attorney for New York County filed her damages and more seeking suit in federal court in Florida. “We intend to vigorously defend When They See Us and Ava DuVernay and Attica Locke, the incredible team behind the series,” Netflix added.

In language reminiscent of a WSJ op-ed she wrote back in June 2019, Fairstein says that...

Jharrel Jerome was one of the big winners at Sunday's Critics' Choice Awards. The 22-year-old actor took the stage to accept the award for best actor in a limited series or movie made for television, accredited to his role as Korey Wise in Netflix's When They See Us. He took a moment in the spotlight to thank everyone who played a part in his success, notably the Exonerated Five, who inspired the series.

"This is for the Exonerated Five, no matter what," Jerome said, accepting his first-ever Critics' Choice award. "This is for Korey Wise, Antron McCray, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana, Kevin Richardson." He went on to thank his mother, father, aunt, and sister before giving a special shout-out to director Ava DuVernay - who, earlier in the night, delivered a powerful speech while accepting the best limited series honor for When They See Us. Calling DuVerney an "amazing,...

Ava DuVernay received a standing ovation at Sunday's Critics' Choice Awards after When They See Us took home the award for best limited series. The drama tells the harrowing true story of the Central Park Five, and in her speech, DuVernay made sure to give Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana, and Korey Wise the praise they deserve and make a powerful statement about prison reform.

"People who are poor and innocent are behind bars, while the rich and guilty walk free and gain power."

"This series began with a tweet from Raymond Santana, and now he, Antron, Kevin, Yusef, and the mighty Korey Wise stand for something larger than they ever imagined," DuVernay said. "If you watched their story and felt something in that moment, I invite you consider doing something. There's no right thing to do. Do what you feel where you are, but don't let...

After receiving criticism, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) announced through her campaign that she will be returning funds donated to her by Central Park Five prosecutor Linda Fairstein. Fairstein has been criticized harshly as recent events, including Ava DuVernay’s When They See Us, which dramatized the lives of the men accused and exonerated of the murder, have led to a reexamination of the case.

The Central Park Five case centers around Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana, and Korey Wise, whose convictions for the murder of a jogger...

For most of the “When They See Us” shoot, director Ava DuVernay worked with two or three cameras, but when it came to shooting the tense courtroom seen where Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana and Korey Wise are put on trial, DuVernay shot with four cameras. Editor Spencer Averick says, “We needed reactions from the parents, the legal team, the kids and the judge because there’s a lot going on.”

Episode two in the four-part series picks up as the boys get ready for trial and the judge has ruled the admission tapes as admissible evidence. With the DNA evidence, inconclusive and the defendant having no recollection of the attack, the lawyers for the boys believe — with the boys being coerced into confessing — that the case is weak.

It’s decided the young boys are to have separate trials, and as we see from the episode,...

Sunday’s Primetime Emmy Awards was an evening of exciting wins, great fashion and, of course, great speeches. The speeches spanned the emotional spectrum from being genuinely heartfelt and touching to absolutely hilarious and full of wit. With the ceremony now in the rearview mirror, let’s take a look at the five best acceptance speeches we heard during the show.

Comedy Supporting Actress: Alex Borstein, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”

Borstein gave one of the best speeches last year and she followed it up with another knockout this year. She started by taking a swig from a minibar bottle with her “Family Guy” co-star Seth MacFarlane and then built on her material from last year by saying that she wasn’t wearing underwear and that her seat should be destroyed. She then brought up her mother and grandmother, both immigrants, and her grandmother who escaped being shot by a guard...

The Exonerated Five, whose lives were depicted in Ava DuVernay's powerful Netflix miniseries, When They See Us, graced the Microsoft Theater at the 2019 Emmys. The series entered the Emmys ring this year with a breathtaking 10 nominations, including ones in the limited series and lead actor categories. In the latter section, Jharrel Jerome, who plays Korey Wise, would pick up a win, ending his speech by paying homage to the men whose stories of resilience became the show's foundation.

In 1989, a media blitz dubbed five Black and Latino teenage boys - Wise, Raymond Santana, Kevin Richardson, Antron McCray, and Yusef Salaam - the "Central Park Five," a label that would become entrenched with a history of injustice and racism. In April 1989, a young woman named Trisha Meili was brutally raped and beaten while jogging in Central Park one night. Using intimidation tactics, the police cornered the teenagers into confessing that...

“When They See Us” star Jharrel Jerome took home they Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series on Sunday and shouted out the “Exonerated Five” while accepting his award from the stage.

The story of Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana and Korey Wise, the five men who were falsely convicted for the 1989 sexual assault of jogger in Central Park was dramatized in the Netflix limited series from director Ava DuVernay, and all five men were in attendance for Jerome’s win.

“This is for the men who we know as the Exonerated Five,” Jerome said, to a round of applause from the audience.

Also Read: 'When They See Us' Cast Speaks Out on Injustice: 'America Is Allowing This to Happen'

Jerome portrayed Wise in the miniseries to critical acclaim. His nomination was one of 16 for the drama, which was also up for Outstanding Limited Series.

When They See Us’ Jharrel Jerome paid tribute to the “exonerated” Central Park Five as he accepted the Emmy for outstanding lead actor in a limited series or movie.

Jerome’s award for the first pick up of the evening for Netflix. He beat Escape At Dannemora’s Benicio del Toro, Fosse/Verdon’s Sam Rockwell, True Detective’s Mahershala Ali, A Very English Scandal’s Hugh Grant and Chernobyl’s Jared Harris.

Jerome plays Korey Wise, one of five teenage boys of color wrongly convicted in the notorious Central Park Jogger case of 1989 in the four-part Netflix drama.

Jerome received his award to a standing ovation. “I feel like I should be in the Bronx right now,” he said. He thanked his fellow actors, his mother and Ava DuVernay. “Most importantly, this is for the men that we know as the exonerated five,” he added.

The five that he...

Emmy-nominated director Ava DuVernay was joined on the Emmys red carpet by some very special guests tonight.  Kevin Richardson, Antron McCray, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana, and Korey Wise, also known as the Central Park 5 and the Exonerated 5, walked the carpet with the woman who told their story with the Netflix miniseries When They See Us.  DuVernay explained to E!'s Giuliana Rancic that it was Santana who reached out to her to ask that she consider telling their story, and then he introduced her to each of the rest of the men.  "Cut to four years later and now we're here in tuxedos! It's crazy," she says.  "It's a blessing, it's a...

The Exonerated Five made their Emmys debut during the awards show Sunday.

Kevin Richardson, Antron McCray, Korey Wise, Raymond Santana and Yusef Salaam attended the awards show with When They See Us writer-director Ava DuVernay. The Netflix limited series, which tells the true story of The Central Park Five being wrongly convicted of rape in the 1989 Central Park jogger case, is nominated for 16 awards.

E! Live From the Red Carpet's Giuliana Rancic spoke to DuVernay and the Exonerated Five before the ceremony kicked off.

DuVernay began the interview by discussing how she became inspired to make When They See ...

Netflix’s “When They See Us” burst into the Emmy race with 16 nominations, including Best Limited Series. Directed by Ava DuVernay, it tells the true story of the Exonerated Five, who were wrongfully convicted of raping a jogger in New York City in 1989. Gold Derby recently spoke with several of the show’s contenders, including stars Jharrel Jerome, Niecy Nash, Asante Blackk, Michael Kenneth Williams and Marsha Stephanie Blake, plus composer Kris Bowers, as well as editors Terilyn Shropshire and Michelle Tesoro. Scroll down and click on any name below to be taken to their full interview.

See ‘When They See Us’ Emmy voter event: Ava DuVernay and cast say there was no way they could turn down this story [Listen]

The show was a particular challenge for Jerome, who was the only actor in the cast to play one of the accused as a young teenager and also as an adult.

In April 1989, the lives of five young men of color were irrevocably and horrifically changed. Wrongly accused of raping a white female jogger, they were first arbitrarily rounded up by police simply for being in the area, then pushed into false confessions that would ultimately land them a collective name that resonates in the memory of America: The Central Park Five.

Sentenced to five to 15 years, Kevin Richardson, Antron McCray, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana and Korey Wise lost so much more than their youths, and their fates were set in no small part by full-page ads in the New York papers calling for their death penalty—paid for by one Donald Trump, real estate developer.

Widespread misunderstanding of the slang ‘wilin’ out’—which essentially just means heading out as a group to have a good time—added to the miasma of racism that condemned the young men. It was quickly...

Netflix welcomed a packed house of Emmy voters to an event honoring their limited series “When They See Us” on August 11. The panel discussion took place at Paramount Studios in Hollywood and was moderated by J.J. Abrams. It featured writer-director-producer Ava DuVernay, stars Jharrel Jerome, Niecy Nash, Aunjanue Ellis, Marsha Stephanie Blake and Asante Blackk, and composer Kris Bowers — all Emmy nominees for their work in the fact-based drama. Listen to the full 53-minute Q&a above.

See Asante Blackk interview: ‘When They See Us’

“When They See Us” tells the true story of the Exonerated Five (formerly known as the Central Park Five): Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Raymond Santana, Yusef Salaam and Korey Wise. In 1989 the five teenagers were wrongfully accused of raping a white jogger in New York City. They were convicted and spent years behind bars and as registered sex offenders until their sentences were finally...

Ava DuVernay and the cast of her most recent project “When They See Us” celebrated their Emmy nominations with a special screening of the limited series Sunday night.

The four-part Netflix series about the men now known as “The Exonerated Five” received an impressive amount of recognition from the Television Academy, earning 16 nominations — the most Emmy nods for a program on the streaming service this year. As the awards show draws closer, DuVernay is anxious and hopeful for the five men the story is based on. In fact, DuVernay revealed that Korey Wise, Raymond Santana Jr., Kevin Richardson, Antron Mccray and Yusef Salaam will be escorting her on the big night.

“The most important thing is the way that the men’s lives have changed. The real ‘Exonerated Five’ — they live a different life now,” DuVernay told Variety on the red carpet at the Paramount Theatre. “People know that they’re innocent.

Never mind that the moderator of an Fyc Sunday night panel at Paramount for the Netflix hit When They See Us was celebrated Star Wars trilogy director J.J. Abrams. On this evening, the superstar director was more than willing to play superfan for When They See Us director Ava Duvernay and her four-part docudrama, which has netted a whopping 16 Emmy nominations including Outstanding Limited Series.

In June, Netflix broke out of its usual cone of silence on viewership figures to report that more than 23 million accounts had tuned in to the series worldwide.

“You cannot look away,” Abrams said of the series before introducing the panel, which included DuVernay, Emmy nominated composer Kris Bowers and nominated actors Asante Blackk, Jharrel Jerome, Niecy Nash, Aunjanue Ellis and Marsha Stephanie Blake. The series, which he praised as “filmmaking tightrope-walkery…blows my mind and breaks my heart,” Abrams said.

DuVernay, who won a...

Netflix’s highly watched four-part series, When They See Us earned the most nominations for the streaming giant with a whopping 16 Emmy noms including Outstanding Limited Series. After the nominations were read, show director, co-writer, and producer Ava DuVernay hopped on Twitter to thank the real-life series subjects—Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana, and Korey Wise—affectionately dubbed The Exonerated Five.

“Thank you to the real men for inviting me to tell their story,” DuVernay wrote. “Thank you @TelevisionAcad for honoring the work. Saluting every single crew and cast member. And saluting Raymond, Korey, Antron, Yusef and Kevin. Love you, brothers.”

DuVernay also picked up writing and directing noms for the series, while Jharrel Jerome, Aunjanue Ellis, Niecy Nash, Asante Black, John Leguizamo, and Michael K. Williams were among the series stars recognized for their acting performance.

When They See Us, which follows the five Harlem teens...

Netflix already said that When They See Us was one of the most popular series on the streaming platform. Now the numbers are out, showing more than 23 million accounts worldwide have watched the four-part drama about the so-called Central Park Five.

On Tuesday, Ava DuVernay, who produced, directed and co-wrote the miniseries, took to Twitter to share the viewership numbers.

“Imagine believing the world doesn’t care about real stories of black people. It always made me sad,” she wrote. “So when Netflix just shared with me that 23M+ accounts worldwide have watched #WhenTheySeeUs, I cried. Our stories matter and can move across the globe. A new truth for a new day.”

Imagine believing the world doesn’t care about real stories of black people. It always made me sad. So when Netflix just shared with me that 23M+ accounts worldwide have watched #WhenTheySeeUs, I cried. Our stories matter and can move across the globe.

The story of the Central Park 5 — now called the Exonerated 5 — is a part of American history that is difficult to consume and is, unfortunately, all too relevant to 2019 even though the events happened in 1989. Ava DuVernay painted an emotional, beautiful and cathartic story of the falsely accused Korey Wise, Raymond Santana Jr., Yusef Salaam, Antron McCray and Kevin Richardson in the Netflix limited series When They See Us. Deadline’s New Hollywood Podcast took a field trip to DuVernay’s Array campus and took dive into the journey in making the series.

When They See Us is a difficult watch. It will stir up feelings of anger, sadness, frustration, disappointment and even more anger and sadness — but it is necessary viewing as it is part of our history that shows the flaws of our justice system and our country in general. But ultimately, DuVernay manages to sew in a quiet...

The exonerated men in the 1989 Central Park jogger case received a standing ovation at this weekend's Bet Awards.

While introducing the men, Regina Hall, host of the 19th annual ceremony, named Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana Jr. and Korey Wise as the group "now known as the exonerated five."

In 1990, the five black and brown teens were wrongly convicted of raping a white female jogger in the New York City park. They were famously dubbed the "Central Park Five," a moniker given to them by the media that Ava DuVernay's ...

Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana and Korey Wise received a standing ovation at the Bet Awards Sunday night, where they were introduced not by their old tabloid nickname, “The Central Park 5,” but as the “Exonerated 5.”

Host Regina Hall introduced the men, who were convicted and then exonerated in the 1989 sexual assault of jogger in Central Park. Their story is the subject of Ava DuVernay’s new Netflix miniseries, “When They See Us.” You can watch the full clip below.

“Our next presenters were five teenage boys who were falsely accused and wrongly convicted of an unspeakable crime. ‘When They See Us’ is a poignant, true story that reminds us all of the racial injustices that continue to happen [to] us all and plague our justice system. It is my sincere honor to introduce to you Yusef Salam, Korey Wise, Kevin, Raymond Santana, and Antron McCray — now known as...

Image Source: Getty / Roy Rochlin

Prior to Disney's A Wrinkle in Time, Ava DuVernay shifted conversations around racial justice with films like 13 and Selma. When They See Us, her latest project now available to stream on Netflix, revisits the harrowing story of the Central Park Five in a five-part limited series. The details of the real case are ghastly, marking a grave miscarriage of justice and revealing how the deep legacy of racism plagued America's media and legal system in the late '80s.

While out on a jog the evening of April 19, 1989, a 28-year-old white woman named Trisha Meili was brutally assaulted and raped at Central Park. Her body was found in a ravine, covered in grime and blood. She spent 12 days in a coma, suffering from severe hypothermia and memory loss. Though medical professionals believed that she would die, Meili woke up. The trauma affected her memory,...

Netflix highlighted the crafts of “When They See Us” during a recent special event at their Fysee space. The panel discussion, which took place at Raleigh Studios in Hollywood and was moderated by the show’s own writer-director Ava DuVernay, shined a spotlight on a variety of behind-the-scenes talents who spoke about their work on the limited series. Watch the full 47-minute Q&a above.

See Terilyn A. Shropshire and Michelle Tesoro interview: ‘When They See Us’ editors

“When They See Us” tells the shattering true story of Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Raymond Santana, Yusef Salaam and Korey Wise, formerly known as the Central Park Five, now known more and more as the Exonerated Five. As teenagers in 1989, they were wrongfully accused of raping a white jogger in New York City. They were convicted and spent years behind bars and as registered sex offenders until their sentences were finally vacated...

“When They See Us” writer and director Ava DuVernay still talks to the real-life subjects of the series almost every day.

“This morning I talked to three of them,” said DuVernay at a Tuesday night screening for the four-part Netflix series, which tells the true story of the five black and Latino boys who came to be known as the Central Park Five through their arrest, imprisonment and eventual exoneration. DuVernay first met one of the five, Raymond Santana Jr., in 2014, after he reached out to her on Twitter. Since then, she says she’s developed close relationships with all of them.

“These are my brothers, I’ve gotten to know these men for four years, I’ve sat in their homes, I’ve met their families,” said DuVernay.

“We talk a lot and it’s not even about this, it’s like, Korey’s moving into a new apartment,...

Bet has unveiled its lineup of guests and participants for the inaugural social impact conference, Meta Convened by Bet Networks. The two-day invitation-only event takes place June 20-21 in Los Angeles and serves as a lead-up to Bet’s annual Bet Experience and Bet Awards.

The event brings together some today’s leading thought leaders from across sectors to explore opportunities for long-term impact. Guests scheduled to attend include Queen Latifah, Tyler Perry, Lee Daniels, Charles King, Rev. Al Sharpton, Jemele Hill, Donna Brazile, DJ Khaled, Hill Harper, Charles Phillips as well as member of The Exonerated Central Park Five Yusef Salaam. Perry will serve as the conference’s opening speaker.

“Bet Networks is uniquely positioned to convene thought leaders from across sectors for this timely dialogue about the power of media, entertainment and technology to positively impact the African American community,” said Scott Mills,...

Without any superfluous comment, actress-producer Ava DuVernay made her thoughts crystal clear about Donald Trump and the Central Park Five last night by tweeting a clip from her Netflix miniseries When They See Us.

Within hours of the president reasserting his misleading claim that the so-called Five “admitted their guilt,” DuVernay tweeted a clip from the series in which actual archival footage, used in the Netflix series, shows an ’80s-era Trump proclaiming how he’d “love to be a well-educated black” because of all the advantages society has to offer them. We then see that the 1989 Trump is being watched on TV by the mother of one of the boys wrongly accused of raping the so-called Central Park Jogger.

“They want to kill my son,” says the mother, Linda McCray (played by Marsha Stephanie Blake). “That devil, that devil wants to kill my son….They’re gonna have to come for me first.

As seen in Ava DuVernay’s new miniseries “Central Park 5,” five young men were wrongly convicted in a brutal 1989 attack on a jogger in Central Park, then exonerated when DNA evidence proved another man committed the crime — and he confessed. President Trump took out a newspaper ad before the men were exonerated, calling for their executions, but he said Tuesday that he has no regrets.

“You have people on both sides of that. They admitted their guilt,” Trump said on Tuesday when asked by a reporter if he feels he owed the five men an apology.

The men’s attorneys and the men themselves have said that the statements they made in policy custody were coerced.

Holy shit — years after DNA evidence exonerated them, Trump suggests the Central Park 5 are guilty and refuses to apologize for saying they should be executed.

"You have people on both sides of that. They admitted their guilt.