At the MGM Building, reporters from Lionheart Network, YouTube, and Yahoo gathered, preparing for the upcoming interview.
As for the paparazzi from various TV stations and newspapers, they were all denied entry.
However, while this approach prevented them from obtaining valid information or causing trouble for Eric, it couldn't stop them from being obnoxious.
Because these TV stations chose to broadcast live, with cameras pointed at the MGM entrance.
The theme was MGM closing its doors, refusing interviews, seemingly guilty, and Eric Cooper definitely having something to hide.
If you have nothing to hide, why don't you dare to accept our interview? Not accepting means there's a problem.
Without considering MGM's hostile stance towards them, the logic might even make sense, as most people in the world are, after all, a mob.
These people don't think independently; they believe whatever the media says and are most suitable to be used as pawns.
Compared to the self-media era of later generations, while this situation is also serious, the people of this era are undoubtedly more ignorant and foolish.
After extensive sensationalism by The Big Six and TV stations, the flames of public opinion had already ignited.
Many people went to MGM's official website to leave abusive comments, demanding Eric apologize and provide an explanation.
Some even threatened not to renew their Lionheart Network membership next month and to boycott transformers and the hunger games in protest of Gal Gadot, that b*tch.
Many also called on the Los Angeles local Prosecutor to take action and investigate whether Eric had sexually assaulted a minor.
"Let go of me! You're hurting me, you b*stard!"
"No way, I will never let go. You are my lover, and you will be forever."
In the lounge, Eric forcefully embraced Gadot and pressed her onto the sofa.
Although he apologized on the phone, even the usually obedient Gadot immediately started cursing at Eric.
He could only keep apologizing, expressing remorse and love, and then tricked her into coming for this interview.
Of course, a few apologies were clearly not enough to erase Gadot's dissatisfaction and hatred. Even though she saved Eric's face in front of outsiders, when they were face to face, she couldn't help but punch and kick him.
According to Eric's request, Gadot had been working out since she came to Hollywood. Although she wasn't a muscle-bound woman, her strength was not to be underestimated.
Knowing he was in the wrong, Eric originally wanted her to beat him up to vent her anger, but after a few punches, he almost vomited his guts out.
Indeed, while 'doing it' also consumes a lot of physical energy, it clearly cannot replace working out.
Fortunately, Gadot still cared for him. Seeing his pained expression, she stopped hitting him and was then pinned down on the sofa.
Eric kept kissing her, trying to open her mouth but never succeeding, when he suddenly felt a salty taste stimulating his taste buds.
Looking up, he saw two lines of tears already streaming down Gadot's face.
Eric's heart ached, and he somewhat frantically helped her up: "I'm sorry, baby, please don't cry! Your tears will only make me feel worse!"
Gadot remained silent, but tears kept falling incessantly.
Eric didn't know what to do, so he could only continue apologizing, holding her tightly in his arms.
After a while, Gadot finally spoke softly: "I'm going home. You've disappointed me so much, Eric. We're over!"
"No, don't say that, my dear. How can we be over? I want to be with you forever, I want to be with you for a hundred years."
"Hmph! You can go be with those other women, Nicole Kidman, Charlize Theron, the Olsen Sisters. You have such broad tastes; the twins just disgust me. After the interview clarification, I'm going back to Israel. Let's just pretend we never knew each other."
"Wait, Gadot, you can't do this. Have you forgotten your dream? You want to become a world-class superstar. As long as you finish filming the hunger games, that dream can come true. You're about to succeed, how can you give up!"
Gadot shook her head, her eyes red: "Eric, that's your dream, not mine. It doesn't matter if I don't act or make movies; this was never part of my life plan."
"I thank you for letting me live a star's dream for two years, but let's stop here. I can't be thinking about you being intimate with other women while I'm filming. I'm not that magnanimous or altruistic."
"I'm also not in the mood to film the hunger games anymore. Although I don't have enough money to pay the liquidated damages, I still have 1% of MGM's shares."
"I'll use that 1% of shares to pay off the debt. I think it's worth over a hundred million, enough for you to reshoot it."
Seeing that Gadot had even planned her retreat, seemingly determined to leave, Eric felt an even greater headache.
"My dear, you can't do this, you can't just abandon me like this. I still want to tell you something."
"What is it?" Gadot asked weakly.
"My mother wants to meet you."
Hearing this, Gadot was somewhat surprised.
"Why does she want to see me? Did you tell her?"
"Yes, she was very happy after learning about our love and invited you to dinner at home. My father knows too, and they are willing to accept you as a member of the Cooper Family."
Gadot paused, then asked in a flat tone: "When?"
Seeing her attitude soften, Eric breathed a sigh of relief: "Friday. You must come. I've already promised them I'd persuade you to come home. Don't make me lose face."
"Hmph! We'll see. I need to think about it."
Phew.
Eric let out a long breath. Dealing with women was much more exhausting than fighting The Big Six.
When fighting those old bastards, you can use any means, but with your own woman, it's only apologies and appeasement, and the outcome depends entirely on her mood.
Tiring, simply too tiring. No wonder they say 'chasing a wife is a crematorium'.
"Mom, everything depends on you! Fight for your son!" Eric roared internally.
Wiping away her tears, touching up her makeup, and ensuring no one could tell she had cried, the two of them, or rather, a group of people, attended the interview together.
The cameras were set up and pointed at the lens.
Lionheart Network still adopted a live broadcast model, while the other two were edited recordings.
The advantage of this was obvious: others couldn't maliciously edit to smear him.
The staff signaled to begin, and the Yahoo reporter started asking questions.
Yahoo was taking the lead in this session, so no one could say Eric was deliberately whitewashing himself. Yahoo wasn't his soldier, so it always had some credibility.
"Mr. Cooper, regarding what Bar Refaeli said, have you heard about it? Many people hope MGM can provide an explanation."
Eric turned on his microphone: "I know. Today is specifically to clarify this matter."
"Clarify? Do you mean that everything Bar Refaeli said is false?"
"Yes, it's completely fabricated, not a single bit credible. Bar Refaeli was instigated by someone to deliberately frame me and Gadot, to frame MGM. This is a conspiracy."
"In her fabricated lies, Gadot and I became heinous slave owners; we were as evil as Satan."
"But the truth is, the opportunity for her to come to Hollywood and gain her current fame was entirely provided by MGM."
"It sounds like there are many untold stories hidden behind this." The reporter's eyes lit up.
"I want the public to know everything, Gadot, you tell them." Eric looked to his side.
Gadot nodded, then recounted in detail how she and Bar Refaeli came from Israel to the United States and what happened in between.
Her tone and expression contained anger and confusion: "I still don't understand why Refaeli would frame me? We've known each other for a long time, lived under the same roof for two years. I always considered her my closest family, but she has disappointed me too much!"
"I don't know if Refaeli was threatened, or if she has other difficulties, but I hope she comes forward and tells the truth. I'm willing to help her; we're all willing to help her."
"So, you never exploited or oppressed Bar Refaeli at all?" the reporter continued to ask.
Eric interjected: "I also want to ask many of the doubters: if Bar Refaeli's life was truly as miserable as she claims, how do you explain everything she has gained?"
"First the walking dead, then house of cards, all big-budget shows that were bound to be hits, and her roles were very likable, holding significant weight."
"I want to ask, looking across all of Hollywood, how many people enjoy the kind of treatment Bar Refaeli received? Shelley, you have the most say on this matter."
The camera turned to the representative of the Screen Actors Guild. Her mission this time was to handle the matter impartially, without bias, and only state the facts she had.
"According to the number of actors registered with the Screen Actors Guild, to debut in important roles in popular shows, Bar Refaeli's luck and treatment have already surpassed 99% of actors. This is unquestionable."
"Exactly. She was able to take commercial gigs and attend the Emmy Awards because I was promoting her, not exploiting her."
"But Bar Refaeli betrayed my trust. She was willful and thought that with a little fame, she could do whatever she wanted, not following on-set rules."
"And I still gave her over a week to reflect, but she didn't cherish the opportunity, so MGM was forced to fire her."
"These are not just my baseless claims; everything has proof."
After speaking, Frank Darabont displayed the attendance records and relevant photos from the set during that period, which the Screen Actors Guild also verified.
Rick, Daryl, Daniel Wu, and other actor representatives also expressed their views.
The real fatal blow came from Bar Refaeli's agent. For this matter, her head had been throbbing for days, and she utterly hated that b*tch.
In her account, Bar Refaeli transformed into a temperamental, jealous, ambitious schemer.
As the various people spoke, the attitudes of many viewers watching the live broadcast began to change.
"I said it before, what Bar Refaeli said isn't necessarily credible. At least MGM can provide evidence, while she only has empty words."
"Eric Cooper said this was a carefully designed trap. As soon as something happened to him, TV stations and newspapers couldn't wait to broadcast it on a loop 24/7. It's obvious who's behind it."
"I almost got fooled by that b*tch. I even cursed for a long time. I should apologize to Eric Cooper and Gal Gadot."
"Heh heh. Eric Cooper is a powerful figure with vast resources. If he wants to hold a whitewashing event, who wouldn't cooperate?"
"Completely unreliable. Why were only reporters from Yahoo, YouTube, and Lionheart Network allowed in? MGM is clearly guilty. This was all pre-arranged. Everyone, don't fall for it!"
"I still prefer to believe Bar Refaeli's character. She's closer to us, isn't she?"
"'Closer' is what kind of bullsh*t reason? She can earn hundreds of thousands of dollars for one show, can you?"
On site, the reporter looked at the interview agenda and brought up another highly discussed question.
"Mr. Cooper, your relationship with Gal Gadot is also a key concern for everyone. May I ask, when you two started dating, was she of legal age?"
Eric reached out and held Gadot's hand: "No, she was 17 at the time, but I can assure you that before she turned 18, we never crossed the final line."
Gadot spoke solemnly: "This is a private matter between us, and I hope everyone doesn't focus too much on it."
"During my time with Eric, he always acted like a gentleman and never made any inappropriate moves."
"I'm very grateful for everyone's concern, but let's leave it at that."
Seeing that the reporter had no more questions, Eric finally said: "The truth will never be buried or hidden, and those hiding behind the scenes will eventually be exposed."
"If Bar Refaeli dares to admit that everything she said is true, then stand up and confront us live. Otherwise, you don't deserve sympathy!"
Eric wasn't sure how many hearts this interview would win back; all he could do was try his best.
Afterward, he wanted to take Gadot to see the new house, but the girl was clearly still angry and refused his invitation.
Time came to the next day. As Yahoo and YouTube released the interview video, discussions about the matter reached a new height.
But it did have some effect; the voices supporting MGM significantly increased, and many people called on Bar Refaeli not to hide, saying that true gold fears no fire.
Some also believed that fixating on Eric and Gadot's relationship was absurd to begin with.
They are both willing participants, and their relationship is so good, why do you need to meddle?
However, many also believed that a thorough investigation was necessary, otherwise it would be tantamount to condoning sexual offenses against minors.
Various TV stations and newspapers continuously pressured the Los Angeles judicial system on this matter, but had not yet received a response.
And some tabloid newspapers and magazines once again published so-called interviews.
In these interviews, Eric and Gadot were portrayed as heinous villains and bullies on set, just as Bar Refaeli had described.
But without exception, the interviewees were either unidentifiable, or 'an industry insider who could not be named,' or more often, extras who had participated in MGM projects.
Anyone with a bit of independent thinking would know that the credibility of such interviews was very low.
But they couldn't withstand the sheer quantity. When many people around you are transmitting the same information, three people make a tiger, and even falsehoods become truth through embellishment.
YouTube, on the other hand, interviewed many Hollywood stars familiar to Eric, and their evaluations were all very positive.
On Facebook, Little Mercenary, Chris Evans, Hugh Jackman, Peter Jackson, and others also expressed their support for Eric's character.
The two sides seemed to be caught in a tug-of-war, but without the support of mainstream media, MGM was still at a disadvantage.
The box office for Million Dollar Baby was also severely affected, with its IMDb rating even dropping below 8 points.
Eric had been reluctant to go out these past few days, simultaneously comforting his 'big babies' and planning a major counterattack.
Time quickly came to Thursday. Under immense public pressure, the Los Angeles judicial system finally couldn't hold out and announced that it would investigate whether Eric had sexually assaulted a minor.
"Mr. Eric Cooper, I am Leonard, a local Prosecutor. I am now issuing an investigative inquiry to you. Please cooperate!"
A bespectacled man in uniform, accompanied by two police officers, walked into Eric's office.