Chapter 416: Chapter 417: The Light of the Black Community and the "One Bug" Rule
That's right. Last year, Gisele Bündchen had broken up with Leonardo DiCaprio because she couldn't tolerate his womanizing ways. Leonardo hadn't put up a fight and simply agreed to the split. However, the two remained friends and occasionally even shared a "friends-with-benefits" moment. As Leonardo put it, "This kind of relationship keeps things easy for both of us."
That said, Leonardo couldn't help but envy Martin's ability to maintain a large "harem" without any drama. He asked, "Seriously, man, you've got to teach me. How do you manage to keep so many women around without them getting jealous of each other?"
This wasn't the first time Leonardo had asked such a question, and Martin's answer never changed.
"I've told you before—it's a talent. You can't learn it."
"Screw talent!" Leonardo cursed, then changed the subject. "By the way, I finished reading the script you gave me. Which role did you have in mind for me?"
Instead of answering, Martin asked, "Which role do you want to play?"
Leonardo thought seriously for a moment before replying, "I'll play Jack Twist. He's more lively, and I don't like playing quiet, brooding characters."
Martin gave him a surprised look, thinking to himself, Is he serious? If that's the case, how much of a blow would it take for him to eventually accept a role like the one in The Revenant?
"Alright, Jack Twist is yours."
"Great! So, should we start building some chemistry? Are you coming to my place tonight, or should I go to yours?"
[TL/N: There's no gay shit happening here]
"No, Martin's staying with me tonight," Nicole interjected, not hiding the fact that she and Martin had a deeper relationship.
Martin shrugged. "You heard her."
"Fine, fine. Looks like I'll have to find someone else to keep me company tonight," Leonardo said, already scanning the room for his next target. It didn't take long for him to spot a tall, blonde model—his tastes never changed.
Once Leonardo was out of earshot, Nicole warned Martin, "I've read the Brokeback Mountain script. I don't want you turning into one of those 'double-ended' types. Don't let the role blur the lines, okay?"
In Hollywood, bisexuality was common—both among men and women. Many weren't inherently gay or bisexual but simply grew bored with heterosexual relationships and sought new thrills.
Martin shuddered at the thought, his mind conjuring up a bizarre image of himself entangled with Leonardo. He quickly shook his head to dispel the thought and said firmly, "Don't worry. In this lifetime, the next, and the one after that, I'll only ever be interested in women—beautiful women."
The party wasn't over yet, but Martin and Nicole decided to leave early. They got into Martin's car, and as soon as they hit the road, several paparazzi vehicles tailed them. One blue Citroën was particularly aggressive, driving on the wrong side of the road to keep pace with Martin's car. A paparazzo leaned out of the window, clutching a camera with a massive lens, snapping photos furiously.
Fortunately, it was past 11 PM, and the roads were relatively empty.
"These paparazzi are insane!" Nicole said, worriedly glancing at the Citroën and the photographer who seemed ready to fall out of the car.
"Don't worry. My car has tinted windows. They can't see inside," Martin reassured her before turning to Gordon, the driver. "Gordon, lose them."
"Got it," Gordon replied, speaking into his earpiece. "I'm taking the next right. Block the paparazzi."
A black SUV that had been following Martin's car accelerated, cutting off the Citroën. Gordon then made a sharp turn onto a side road, leaving the paparazzi vehicles behind.
Martin looked back and praised, "Nice work, Gordon."
Nicole glanced back as well and asked, "Won't driving so aggressively just make them more suspicious?"
Martin laughed. "Sweetheart, this is America. As long as there's no evidence, suspicion is just suspicion. It won't hurt us."
Nicole smiled. "True."
It was 2003, not long after the infamous 1994 O.J. Simpson murder case, which was still making headlines. The case had torn apart the illusion of fairness and justice in the American legal system, exposing its bias toward the wealthy. It showed the world that America was a country where the rich could get away with almost anything.
The impact of the O.J. Simpson case was immense. On October 3, 1995, at 10 AM Pacific Time, the entire United States came to a standstill as the verdict was announced. President Clinton paused his work; former Secretary of State Baker delayed a speech; Wall Street trading slowed; and long-distance phone lines fell silent. Thousands of police officers were deployed across Los Angeles, fully armed and on high alert.
CNN estimated that around 140 million Americans watched or listened to the verdict of the "Trial of the Century." And the jury's decision? O.J. Simpson was found not guilty.
Yes, even though everyone knew he had killed his wife, and even though all the evidence pointed to him, one piece of evidence—a sock—was deemed inadmissible because the defense argued it had been obtained illegally. This single flaw overturned all the prosecution's efforts.
This is a famous rule in American law known as the "One Bug" rule. It's an analogy: if you find one bug in your bowl of noodles, you don't look for a second one—you throw the whole bowl away. Similarly, even if the police gathered overwhelming evidence against Simpson, one piece of inadmissible evidence (the sock) rendered the entire case invalid.
This rule was designed to protect the wealthy and powerful, giving them an escape route when they committed crimes—unless the other party was equally wealthy or powerful, of course.
When discussing the Simpson case, both Black and White Americans agreed that if Simpson had been a poor man who couldn't afford top-tier lawyers, he would've been locked up without question.
Of course, appearances had to be maintained. While American law provided a "backdoor" for the elite, using it required spending exorbitant amounts of money on the best lawyers to find and exploit that loophole. If you failed, well, that was your own fault.
Take Mike Tyson, for example. Despite spending a fortune on a team of high-profile lawyers, he was still convicted—likely because the victim in his case was White, and the jury was predominantly White. In contrast, the Simpson jury was mostly Black. As a Black celebrity who, like Michael Jackson, was seen as a "light" for the Black community, it was no surprise that many wanted to protect that light.
But enough digression.
Martin and Nicole safely arrived at her small villa in Santa Monica, where they spent a romantic night together. Meanwhile, back at Martin's Beverly Hills mansion, a group of girls were chatting away.