Four siblings who claim they were abused by Michael Jackson have hit a roadblock in their child sex trafficking lawsuit against the King of Pop’s estate.

In a Wednesday (Aug. 12) ruling, first obtained and reported by Billboard, Judge Hernán D. Vera booted the claims brought by Edward, Dominic, Marie-Nicole and Aldo Cascio out of a public courtroom. The federal judge said that under the clear terms of a 2019 settlement between the family and the Jackson estate, all related disputes must be handled in confidential arbitration.

“Although the allegations are horrific, the court is without discretion to do aught but enforce the language of the arbitration clause,” wrote Judge Vera.

The Cascio siblings grew up with Jackson and once referred to themselves as his “second family.” While previously staunch defenders of the star against pedophilia claims, the family members alleged in a February lawsuit that Jackson raped and molested them as children over the course of more than a decade.

The Jackson estate strongly denies these claims, which the Cascios first raised in 2019 after the release of the explosive HBO documentary Leaving Neverland. The four siblings, along with their fifth brother Frank, claimed privately at the time that this documentary “deprogrammed” them. The estate paid them a $3.5 million settlement without admitting any wrongdoing.

The Cascios now say that settlement is void and unenforceable because they were coerced into signing it. Judge Vera ruled on Wednesday that those arguments, “while serious”, clearly do not belong in a public courtroom under the terms of the settlement.

“While plaintiffs are fully within their rights to raise questions about unconscionability, those challenges must be presented later before an arbitrator,” wrote the judge.

The ruling echoes another decision reached in March by a different judge in California state court, who oversaw a related legal proceeding over Frank’s sexual assault claims. In that case, the judge ruled that Frank’s signature on the same settlement agreement required arbitration of all further disputes.

A lawyer for the Cascio siblings, Howard King, told Billboard on Wednesday, “It’s disappointing, but not surprising, that the decision on whether the Cascios were duped into signing an unconscionable agreement with an arbitration clause will be made by an arbitrator rather than a jury of peers.”

“The family had hoped the court would allow for a public trial over the decades-long molestations of the Cascio siblings by Michael Jackson and the ensuing cover-up by his advisors,” added King. “Instead, the family will seek justice from the dark confines of a private conference room.”

Reps for the Jackson estate did not immediately comment on the decision.

The estate has previously characterized the claims as a “desperate money grab,” pointing out that the Cascios “spent decades defending and affirming Michael’s innocence” before changing their tune. The siblings stated during a 2010 appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show, for example, that Jackson was “never” inappropriate with them, and Frank wrote in a 2011 memoir, “Michael’s love for children was innocent, and it was profoundly misunderstood.”

Jackson, who died in 2009, was never convicted or held legally liable for any accusation of child sex abuse during his lifetime; he settled a civil claim in 1994 without admitting any wrongdoing, and he was acquitted at a criminal trial in 2005. But such allegations have continued to dog his legacy, most notably when Leaving Neverland amplified claims from two men, Wade Robson and James Safechuck, in disturbing detail.

The Jackson estate vehemently denies all claims of sexual misconduct, and it called Leaving Neverland a “one-sided hit job” in litigation that ended with the documentary being removed from HBO. Robson and Safechuck are continuing to litigate civil abuse claims against the estate.

Not every hit gets all the way to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, but some legendary songs have gotten as close as possible to the top spot, peaking at No. 2.

This week, Billboard rounded up our staff picks for the 100 best songs to peak at No. 2 on the Hot 100, celebrating the earworm hits that came agonizingly close to the top of the chart. Now, we want to know which one is your favorite.

The poll includes our top 10 standout No. 2 hits, which span decades and genres, including Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” and Prince and the Revolution’s “Purple Rain” to Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance” and Missy Elliott‘s “Work It.” (If your favorite No. 2 hit isn’t among the options, there’s an “Other” field that allows you to freely write in your pick.)

The songs on the ballot represent just a portion of the many memorable hits that have fallen just one spot short of the Hot 100 summit. From songs that became defining moments for their artists to tracks that have endured for generations, the history of No. 2 hits is filled with records that remain just as culturally significant as chart-toppers.

Billboard has explored the phenomenon from several angles over the years, including just how three artists were able to score No. 2 Hot 100 hits without “doing anything on the songs,” and how 12 artists managed to reach No. 2 on the Hot 100 with their first hit, but unfortunately never happened to land on the chart again.

You can check out our full list of best No. 2 hits to see which songs made the staff’s cut.

Now it’s your turn: Which song is the best No. 2 hit of all time? Vote in the poll below, and let us know if there’s another No. 2 hit that deserves a spot on the list.

Vote in our poll below:

Ticketmaster users can now use Google’s AI chatbot Gemini to find live events, the ticketing company announced on Wednesday (Aug. 12).

Ticketmaster is now available as a connected app on the Gemini platform, where fans can look for events and compare seating options and prices before being taken to the Ticketmaster marketplace to complete the purchase.

The Gemini integration will allow users to strike up a conversation with the AI platform to find events versus using traditional search engines. Users can prompt Gemini with questions or phrases like, “Find me two tickets to a football match under $150” or “What concerts are happening in Chicago this weekend?”

“Eligible events are surfaced automatically based on relevant fan searches, creating new discovery opportunities while keeping Ticketmaster as the secure destination for purchasing tickets,” stated a press release announcing the integration. For Ticketmaster clients and event organizers, the release boasts that the partnership could mean “access to fans earlier in the decision-making journey.”

The process requires users to connect Ticketmaster in Gemini and then ask @Ticketmaster to help them find concerts, sporting events and more. If a user finds an event to attend, they will be directed to Ticketmaster’s marketplace. When users reach the marketplace, their selected seats will already be loaded for a more seamless purchase experience.

The app is currently available in English across Gemini on the web, iOS and Android for U.S.-based users. Ticketmaster intends to scale it to additional languages and markets over time.

Gemini is the latest in AI integration for Ticketmaster, which has already rolled out event discovery across ChatGPT, Claude and Amazon Alexa+.

Role Model covered Olivia Rodrigo’s “Maggots for Brains” as part of his set at the BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge on Tuesday (Aug. 11), but the singer born Tucker Pillsbury seemingly wasn’t feeling too confident after his performance.

Ahead of the cover going live on YouTube, Role Model posted a message to his Instagram Story in an attempt to get ahead of his expected critics. “I covered olivia for BBC and im just gonna get ahead of the comments and let you know i botched it,” he wrote with two heart-eyes emojis.

Instead of tweaking Rodrigo’s lyrics, Role Model leaned into the pop star’s yearning for a long-distance lover on the You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love track. Fans in the YouTube video’s comments section seemingly expected worse based on his “botched” warning, and lent their stamps of approval. “Came from his Instagram Story. Not botched actually,” one commenter wrote.

During his Live Lounge stop, Role Model also performed “High Hopes 3000” and “Harmony” from his Chuck Timely & The Hourglass album, which arrived on Aug. 7.

“Maggots for Brains” is from Rodrigo’s most recent album, which arrived in June and topped the Billboard 200 with 485,000 total album-equivalent units earned. The song has so far peaked at No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Role Model isn’t the first to attempt a Rodrigo song in the Live Lounge this year: Sienna Spiro covered “Less” during her BBC Radio 1 stop in July.

Watch Role Model’s “Maggots for Brains” cover below.