In August 2008, I blogged about Barenaked Ladies lead singer Steven Page. He was arrested in July for possession of a controlled substance. The arrest caused the band to cancel an appearance at the Disney Music Block Party in New York. The charges against Page were eventually reduced to a misdemeanor in October 2008.
Today, it was announced on the band’s web page that by mutual agreement, Page was leaving the band. Page released a statement saying, “These guys are my brothers. We’ve grown up together over the past twenty years. I love them and wish them all the best in the future.” Page said that he plans to pursue a solo career and the Barenaked Ladies plan to go on without him. Hum, do I smell a “Rock Star: Barenaked Ladies” reality show coming up?
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Police Department is still investigating the internal leak of a photo of Rihanna taken shortly after the reported assault by boyfriend Chris Brown. If you have not seen the pic, you can see it at TMZ, but let me say, it is not pretty. It looks like she was punched around quite a bit.
The LAPD has acknowledged that this is an authentic picture, releasing a statement saying, “At this stage, it is reasonable to believe this is the type of photo taken in a police department domestic violence investigation.” The police have yet to formally identify Rihanna as the assault victim, but the photo clearly shows it is her.
Needless to say, the department is not happy about the leaked photo. While LAPD spokesman Lt. John Romero said they were “looking into it vigorously” but would not talk about protocols, E! News is reporting that a source has said the LAPD has identified the computer from which the photo came, however, not the individual that sent it to TMZ. The source also told E! that prosecutors are hoping to build a felony case against the person who leaked the photo.