Entertainment on the Wire

Will.i.am ties song to Obama win in 2008

Will.i.am claims his song Yes We Can won Barack Obama the American presidency in 2008.

The 43-year-old American musician and producer created a music video that entirely used quotations from the soon-to-be president of the United States, and, despite Obama's campaign having no involvement in the video, the Black Eyed Peas star claimed it helped Obama get the White House.

Speaking to The i newspaper, he said: "That song went on to tip the election to where Obama became the Democratic nominee because it galvanised the youth. I don't like using the term 'virus' because anyone can catch a virus. I say 'baton' because a baton means effort; you have to run to the nearest person as fast as you can to pass it to them. So that song was 'baton-able', and people shared it, and it was the first time a political figure running for office had a piece of content that gets seen 20 million times in a weekend, and he became the Democratic nominee after that."

The song - which was co-created by Bob Dylan's son, Jesse - features a number of singers and actors, including Scarlett Johansson, John Legend, Nicole Scherzinger, Tatyana Ali, Harold Perrineau, and Aisha Tylor.

Will.i.am, whose real name is William James Adams Jr, also revealed that his motivation to produce music comes from his mother, Debra Adams.

When asked where his drives comes from, he said: "My mom encouraging me early on. 'Willie, show nanny your grades, make nanny proud'. At the end of the day, it's as innocent as that; that kind of encouragement at the centre of the family builds a person's character.

"And that's what we try to do at my school - offer encouragement."

Harvey Weinstein defended

Harvey Weinstein has been defended by Today host Kathie Lee Gifford in the wake of the sexual harassment allegations against him.

The 65-year-old disgraced producer has been accused of sexually harassing a number of female employees over a 30-year period, and while many in Hollywood have condemned him for his alleged actions, television host Kathie has revealed that she reached out to him when the scandal broke in October.

Kathie - who also got in touch with Bill Cosby when he, too, was accused of sexual misconduct - said: "I don't want to throw everybody on the same manure pile. Being a jerk is not the same as being a rapist. It just isn't. I've been friends with Bill for a long, long time ... .

Harvey Weinstein was a friend of mine for 30 years. I called him and left a message.

"I just want people to know I don't judge them. I don't like what they do, but God knows their hearts, and there's hope for them. You can't call yourself a friend, if the first minute there's trouble, you run.

That's called a fair-weather friend and that's not a friend at all."

However, the 64-year-old show host insists she isn't defending the alleged actions of the stars in any way as she claims she has been a victim of sexual harassment herself and found it "awful".

She instead hopes that people can be "merciful" toward those who are "sorry" for their alleged behaviour.