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PEOPLE & ARTS A29
Saturday 19 March 2016
Taylor Swift makes surprise appearance at Nashville hospital
KRISTIN M. HALL own radio show or whether Television personality and producer Ryan Seacrest, foreground left, and singer Taylor Swift, center,
Associated Press you want to record,” Swift join young patients at a ribbon cutting ceremony for the new Seacrest Studio, Friday, March 18,
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — said. “It was so exciting to 2016, at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tenn. The fully function-
Pop star Taylor Swift made see the excitement that it ing studio allows patients to record, do interviews, play songs and broadcast to the rooms in the
a surprise appearance at brought to this one hospi- hospital
a Nashville, Tennessee, tal.”
children’s hospital to help It wasn’t the first time that Associated Press
“American Idol” host Ryan Swift made a surprise visit
Seacrest open a broad- to a children’s hospital: She “I get the coolest letters engineer or they want to said. “And this gives them
cast studio for patients. previously visited others, in- and emails from parents be a deejay or they re- a chance to technically
Swift on Friday met with cluding Hasbro Children’s and kids talking about how ally want to be in music in learn how to do all of it
children at Monroe Carell Hospital in Providence, they want to be a tech some capacity,” Seacrest too.”q
Jr. Children’s Hospital at Rhode Island. She said she
Vanderbilt University Medi- has visited the children at
cal Center following the the Nashville facility be-
ribbon cutting on the new fore and the studio gives
Seacrest Studio built at the the city’s many singers
hospital. and songwriters a place
She told the crowd that to reach all the children at
she visited one of the now the hospital.
10 studios that Seacrest’s “Can you imagine the art-
foundation had built at ists and the songwriters and
children’s hospitals across the entertainers who are
the country and wanted going to be stopping by
to be involved when he the hospital?” she said.
opened the latest one in The fully functioning stu-
Music City. dio lets children learn how
“What I saw when I went to record, do interviews,
there was an opportunity broadcast to the rooms
for the kids to find excite- in the hospital and play
ment and to express their songs.
creativity and to learn Seacrest said he hears
about what it is to cre- back from patients all over
ate content, whether you the country who have felt
would like to make your inspired by the studios.
Jury awards Hulk Hogan $115 million in Gawker sex tape suit
TAMARA LUSH They said Hogan didn’t Jury Hulk Hogan sits in court before the start of his trial Thursday, acter does that on set, but
Associated Press consent to the video, that March 17, 2016, in St. Petersburg, Fla. when they go on a talk
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) Gawker didn’t follow usual show, they’re themselves,”
— A jury sided with ex-pro journalism procedures be- Associated Press Sullivan said.
wrestler Hulk Hogan on fore posting it and that the Sullivan called into ques-
Friday and awarded him video wasn’t newsworthy. right, every right, to keep websites: TMZ and The tion whether the tape was
$115 million in his sex tape Gawker did not try to con- whatever precious private Dirty. Hogan went on TMZ’s all a celebrity stunt to drum
lawsuit against Gawker tact Bollea or the woman moments in his life, which TV program to talk about up publicity for Hogan’s
Media. in the video, and nor did for this gentlemen are very it, and later, appeared on career.
The jurors reached the de- the website contact the few.” the Howard Stern show. Meanwhile, in a related
cision Friday evening, less woman’s husband, DJ Bub- Gawker’s attorneys told “He has consistently cho- development, sealed doc-
than six hours after they be- ba The Love Sponge Clem, the jury that the video is sen to put his private life uments in the case were
gan deliberations. The trial who recorded the video. “not like a real celebrity out there, for public con- unsealed late Friday.
lasted two weeks. It was never conclusively sex tape” and urged them sumption,” said attorney Attorneys for media com-
Earlier Friday, in spirited determined during trial to watch the video, which Michael Sullivan. panies including The As-
closing arguments, lawyers who leaked the video to contains nine seconds of He also criticized Hogan’s sociated Press sought to
for Hogan and Gawker dis- the media. sexual content. claim that he was in Hulk have the files unsealed
cussed themes of personal Hogan didn’t ask for any They pointed out that Hogan persona when he and an appeals court
life versus celebrity, and of this to happen, lawyer news of the sex tape first was doing interviews. agreed Thursday.
freedom of speech versus Kenneth Turkel said, add- appeared on at least two “An actor playing a char- The documents outline al-
the right to privacy. ing that Bollea, the private legations, facts and con-
Hogan, whose given name man, expected privacy flicting testimony that
is Terry Bollea, sued Gawker during an intimate mo- might have colored jurors’
for $100 million for posting ment. Much was made views of the case. Among
a video of him having sex during the trial of Hogan’s them: assertions that Ho-
with his former best friend’s celebrity persona versus gan filed the lawsuit to hide
wife. Hogan contended Bollea’s privacy. racist comments made on
the 2012 post violated his “I want you to imagine the video, that the woman
privacy. fact that for 35 plus years who Hogan had sex with
Hogan’s attorneys told ju- he is essentially an actor, knew it was being filmed,
rors this is the core of the an entertainer, who has that Hogan participated
case: “Gawker took a se- played the same role,” said in an FBI investigation and
cretly recorded sex tape Turkel. sting because he was be-
and put it on the Internet.” He said Hogan “has every ing extorted.q
