‘Stranger Things’ Star Fires Agent After Sexual Assault Claim

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Fourteen-year-old Finn Wolfhard, who plays Mike Wheeler in Netflix’s hit Stranger Things, has left talent agency APA after his agent, Tyler Grasham, was accused of sexual abuse by another actor. APA has now terminated Grasham.

As first reported by The Wrap, accusations against Grasham were aired by Blaise Godbe Lipman, a former actor turned director who is also known as Blaise Embry. Lipman initially shared his experience, without naming the perpetrator, as part of a broad outpouring of sexual assault and abuse accounts unleashed by allegations against mogul Harvey Weinstein.

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Then, according to Lipman’s account, Grasham — the unnamed perpetrator — “poked” him on Facebook. Lipman responded by publicly disclosing Grasham’s name in a followup post, saying the inscrutable gesture “reminded me about Tyler’s harassment after the ordeal.” Lipman is now 28, but said the incident occurred when he was 17.

“Tyler Grasham, under the pretense of a business meeting . . . fed me alcohol while I was underage and sexually assaulted me,” Lipman wrote. “APA Agency has kept this man employed, working with kid actors.”

Lipman observed that his disclosure could be seen as a positive outcome of the Weinstein scandal, which is “no longer about Harvey.”

A disturbing wave of accusations from both within and outside the entertainment industry have been posted to social media in recent days under the hashtag #metoo.

In addition to Wolfhard, who also starred in the recent hit It, Entertainment Weekly reports that Descendants star Cameron Boyce has also fired Grasham.

Tech

Alibaba-backed Best Inc raises $450 million in IPO after slashing terms

HONG KONG (Reuters) – Chinese logistics firm Best Inc priced its U.S. initial public offering at the bottom of expectations, raising $ 450 million after it revised terms of the deal to cope with tepid investor demand.

Up to $ 932 million had originally been expected for the listing, underscoring how some fast-growing companies may have to temper their expected valuations to lure investors burned by recent underperforming IPOs.

The offering was the biggest by a Chinese firm in the United States since rival express delivery firm ZTO Express Inc (ZTO.N) raised $ 1.4 billion in October. ZTO’s stock has traded below its IPO price since debuting and is down 22 percent from the listing price.

Best, which is backed by Alibaba Group (BABA.N), priced 45 million American depository shares (ADS) at $ 10 each, the bottom of a $ 10 to $ 11 indicative range, Thomson Reuters publication IFR said on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the deal.

Best declined to comment on the IPO pricing when contacted by Reuters.

The company had initially expected a price range of $ 13 to $ 15 per ADS and an IPO consisting of 53.56 million new shares and 8.54 million existing shares.

The revised IPO one day before its market debut suggested weak investor enthusiasm for the original terms. The slump in ZTO’s share price also prompted some investors to balk at Best’s initial pricing, a person close to the deal told Reuters.

Best, founded by former Google executive Johnny Chou, faces stiff competition from Chinese logistics firms such as S.F. Holding (002352.SZ), YTO Express (600233.SS) and STO Express (002468.SZ), all of which recently went public in China, the world’s biggest logistics market.

Best was banking on China’s booming logistics market to justify its valuation, but concerns over competition, along with rising fuel and labour costs prompted some investors to balk at Best’s initial pricing.

Best reported a net loss of 623.8 million yuan ($ 94.9 million) for the six months ended June 30. Total revenue rose 133.5 percent to 8.10 billion yuan, driven by its freight and express delivery business.

Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba, led by Jack Ma, holds a 23.4 percent stake in Best.

Reporting by Fiona Lau of IFR; Additional reporting by Aparajita Saxena in Bengaluru and Elzio Barreto in Hong Kong; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar and Stephen Coates

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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