LONDON – British tabloids expressed outrage Thursday over a new documentary-style film that imagines what would happen if Prince Harry were taken hostage by the Taliban.
“The Taking of Prince Harry” depicts the prince, played by actor Sebastian Reid, serving in the military in Afghanistan and being kidnapped by insurgents.
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Harry, 26, served one term as a military officer in Afghanistan and has made public his desire to return for another tour. The prince, who is third in line to the throne, served as a forward air controller in 2007.
The Sun tabloid featured the headline “Fury at Harry ‘traitor’ drama” on Thursday, while other newspapers condemned the film and suggested it could endanger the prince’s safety if he returns to Afghanistan.
A spokeswoman at Channel 4, which produced the mock documentary, says there is nothing in the program “that would compromise Harry or any other serving member of the armed forces’ safety.”
The film focuses on the negotiations that could take place if the prince were taken hostage and held behind enemy lines. In one scene, an unloaded gun is held to his head; in another he is forced to appear in terrorist propaganda.
Harry “was informed of the documentary and its content, and his reaction is private,” a spokesman said.
Article claims Dobbs hired illegal workers
NEW YORK – The Nation magazine is reporting that former CNN anchor Lou Dobbs relied on illegal immigrants to help maintain his homes even as he spoke out on the air against them.
The Nation said the article, published online Thursday, is based on a yearlong investigation including interviews with five immigrants who worked without papers on Dobbs’ properties in New Jersey and Florida.
Dobbs said in an interview Thursday the article is “a political assault” based on what he called “the lie” that he has hired illegal immigrants. He says: “I have never, do not now and never will.”
Dobbs was host of a weeknight news and commentary hour on CNN until resigning last November after 29 years with the network. He continues to host a syndicated radio show.
Timberlake: Records rule
BERLIN – Justin Timberlake says he thinks vinyl records sound better than digitalized tunes.
The 29-year-old pop musician and actor told German newspaper Frankfurter Rundschau on Thursday that he loves putting on records featuring oldies from the Beach Boys and early Beatles, claiming they “sound warmer” and “more vintage” than digital versions.
Still, the singer acknowledges that MP3 files are handy for selling his own songs online.
Timberlake currently stars as Napster founder Sean Parker in “The Social Network,” a biopic about Facebook creator Mark Zuckerburg.
Pop singer pleads guilty to drug charge
PASADENA, Calif. – A member of the pop group Girlicious has pleaded guilty to felony cocaine possession and has received a deferred judgment that could result in the charge being dismissed.
Los Angeles district attorney’s spokeswoman Jane Robison says Natalie Mejia entered the plea Wednesday in a Pasadena courtroom.
A trial on a charge of possession with the intent to sell had been scheduled for this week. Mejia was arrested on March 9 in Glendale, Calif., after police said they found 13 bags of cocaine in her Gucci purse during a traffic stop.
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