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PEOPLE & ARTS Tuesday 21 January 2020
Prince wrongful death case

dismissed; estate case continues

By AMY FORLITI death, but failed to do so. tion specialist who was
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A But as early as last summer, contacted by Prince's as-
wrongful death lawsuit filed plaintiffs began dismissing sociates before he died,
by Prince's family members defendants. was dismissed by a judge
has been quietly dismissed Claims against Dr. Michael in September, but remains
in recent months, suggest- Schulenberg — a doctor alive on appeal. Prince's
ing family members have who treated Prince in the family says Kornfeld had a
reached settlements with weeks before his death duty to advise Prince's as-
defendants including the — were permanently dis- sociates that he should be
Minnesota doctor who saw missed in November, along immediately admitted for
Prince in the weeks before with claims against Schul- treatment. But the judge
his death and the Illinois enberg's former employer. found no evidence that
hospital that treated him Both sides agreed to the Kornfeld ever communi-
for an opioid overdose sev- dismissals. cated with Prince or that a
en days before he died. Claims against Walgreens, doctor-patient relationship
The dismissals largely close which filled prescriptions for was established.
one legal chapter in the Prince, and Trinity Medical An autopsy found Prince In this Feb. 4, 2007 file photo, Prince performs during halftime of
superstar's legacy, even Center, the Illinois hospital overdosed on fentanyl. the Super Bowl XLI football game in Miami.
as efforts drag on to value where Prince was treated Authorities said it was likely Associated Press
and dispose of his estate for an opioid overdose a Prince didn't know he was
once pegged at around week before he died, were taking the synthetic opioid tion, but refused to answer The fight between pop su-
$200 million. also permanently dismissed that is 50 times more pow- nearly all of the questions, perstar Michael Jackson's
Prince was 57 when he in August by agreement. erful than heroin. according to a transcript. estate and the IRS over
died of an accidental fen- Attorneys in the case either Authorities said Schulen- Meanwhile, Prince's siblings valuing his estate continues
tanyl overdose on April 21, declined comment or did berg admitted prescribing are still waiting to learn how in federal tax court, even
2016, without leaving a not return messages to The the opioid oxycodone to much his estate is worth. though he died in 2009.
will. No one was criminally Associated Press. But Henry Prince's bodyguard in the Court filings several months The lengthy proceedings
charged in his death and Blair, a professor at Mitchell days before Prince died, after Prince's death sug- are stretching some of the
the source of the counter- Hamline School of Law in St. knowing the drug would go gested the estate was siblings' resources. In recent
feit pills that killed him re- Paul, Minnesota, said the to Prince. He disputes that worth around $200 million months, one of Prince's sis-
mains unknown. dismissal language — with allegation, although he before taxes. More recent ters, Tyka Nelson, sold a
Prince's heirs filed a wrong- agreement by defendants paid $30,000 to settle a fed- filings suggest the estate portion of her share of the
ful death lawsuit against a and plaintiffs — leaves him eral civil violation alleging and Internal Revenue Ser- estate for an undisclosed
slew of defendants in April "99.99% sure those are set- the drug was prescribed il- vice have not yet agreed amount to Primary Wave,
2018, alleging they had the tlements." legally. on its value. a music publisher that also
duty and opportunity to di- A medical negligence The bodyguard, Kirk John- Protracted litigation isn't holds interests in the estates
agnose and treat Prince's claim against Howard Ko- son, was deposed during unusual for big estates, of Whitney Houston and
addiction and prevent his rnfeld, a California addic- the wrongful death litiga- even when there is a will. other musicians.q

'Out on Television' tracks evolution of LGBTQ portrayals

By LYNN ELBER able to move the needle tions of LGBTQ people of
AP Television Writer to acceptance." said Cruz, color lagged.
Actor Wilson Cruz says a whose TV roles include Dr. "I don't know why it took
new documentary on the Hugh Culber in "Star Trek: so long, but I'm sure it had
evolution of LGBTQ depic- Discovery" and Dennis in something to do with rac-
tions on television is a "love "13 Reasons Why." ism," he said, dryly. "It's a
letter" to the medium's "Visible: Out on Television" hunch."
power. includes an interview with Before openly LGBTQ char-
It's also a testament to how Ellen DeGeneres about acters came to TV, Sykes
LGBTQ people and their al- coming out as gay along said, she tried to guess at
lies harnessed TV to tell the with her sitcom character, possibilities.
community's stories, said and Adam Lambert dis- "Pretty sure Roz is gay,"
Cruz, who along with actor- cussing his experience as she said of a character on
comedian Wanda Sykes an "American Idol" contes- the 1986-92 sitcom "Night
was an executive producer tant. The narrators include Wilson Cruz speaks at the "Visible: Out on Television" panel dur- Court." She reeled off a few
for "Visible: Out on Televi- Janet Mock, Margaret Cho, ing the Apple+ TCA 2020 Winter Press Tour at the Langham Hun- other hunches, including
sion." The five-part docu- Asia Kate Dillon, Neil Patrick tington, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2020, in Pasadena, Calif. Mary Ann from the 1960s sit-
mentary will be released Harris and Lena Waithe. Associated Press com "Gilligan's Island" and
Feb. 14 on the new Apple Making the documentary housekeeper Alice on "The
TV Plus streaming service. gave him a sense of how toward progress is getting acters and more fully di- Brady Bunch."
"It's through television that far the medium and society additional LGBTQ creators mensional transgender "Sam who?" Sykes said
we got to tell the entire so- has come, from invisibility behind the camera as writ- characters that add to skeptically, a reference to
ciety and our own culture to depictions across a wide ers, directors and produc- what's portrayed on FX's Alice's long-time boyfriend
what our lives are really like. number of TV programs, ers, he said. "Pose," which stars Emmy- and eventual husband on
Because of that amount Cruz told a TV critics meet- He also called for less vio- winner Billy Porter. the sitcom that debuted in
of authenticity, we were ing Sunday. The next step lence toward LGBTQ char- Cruz was asked why depic- 1969.q