NEW YORK — Rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine tried unsuccessfully Tuesday to persuade a federal judge not to send him to jail, calling him “bro” and insisting he never meant to violate the terms of his probation from a felony conviction.

Judge Paul A. Engelmayer in Manhattan ordered him detained for at least two weeks, citing alleged misconduct such as failing drug tests and declining to get required permission to travel — acts that he said would reflect a lack of respect for the law.

The judge also noted that the performer left the Dominican Republic this year, violating a court order to remain there after he was arrested in January on domestic violence charges and detained in October 2023 after he was accused of assaulting a local music producer. His lawyers say he's being treated unfairly there in a corrupt judicial system.

In 2019, Engelmayer sentenced him to two years in prison in a racketeering case. The musician, whose real name is Daniel Hernandez, pleaded guilty in 2019 to charges accusing him of joining and directing violence by the gang known as Nine Trey Gangsta Bloods.

Tekashi 6ix9ine was supposed to appear in court on Tuesday morning. When he didn’t, Engelmayer signed an arrest warrant. When the rapper showed up later that morning, he was arrested and accused of violating his probation repeatedly through what a prosecutor described as a “pattern of noncompliance.”

Engelmayer, who had freed Tekashi 6ix9ine months early in April 2020 by granting a compassionate release request because of dangers the coronavirus posed for him, was stern as the rapper sat before him.

He seemed to soften somewhat after Tekashi 6ix9ine insisted on addressing him directly.

The rapper apologized for coming to court late.

“I'm not a bad person,” he said, noting that he finished four-and-a-half years of a five-year term of supervised release but ran into problems after his supervision was switched in July from court officers in New York to court officers in the Southern District of Florida, where he lives now.

He disputed a prosecutor’s claims that he didn’t request permission as required to go to Las Vegas in early September for a show in front of 20,000 people, and he said he skipped two drug-testing appointments because he thought they weren’t required after an earlier positive test for marijuana use proved erroneous.

“I feel like I did nothing wrong,” he said, though quickly he added that he knew he'd done a few things that were “technically” wrong.

Otherwise, he said, he'd been “squeaky clean.”

He also said his life was difficult and the “past four years has been bad, bro.”

He added: “Freedom is everything for me.”

Later, Tekashi 6ix9ine addressed the judge more typically, saying his failure to show up to a couple of drug tests was “just a misunderstanding, your honor.” He insisted he's never done drugs and that a drug test that found methamphetameme resulted from prescription drugs that contained traces of the substance.

At another point, he told Engelmayer: “I’m not a piece of,” before pausing, apparently to choose the right words, before saying: “I’m not a bad person.”

The judge conceded that there might be justification for some of his behavior, but he said he sensed the rapper had been “cutting corners.”

After the hearing, the rapper’s lawyer, Lance Lazzaro, said in an email that his client was charged with three “technical violations” of his supervised release and that he was “confident that each specification will be dismissed.”

The musician’s next hearing is scheduled for Nov. 12.

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Robert Downey Jr. says he ‘intends to sue’ all future executives who use his AI replica

LOS ANGELES — Robert Downey Jr. doesn’t think Marvel executives would ever recreate his portrayal of Tony Stark using artificial intelligence. But if they did, he would lawyer up — even posthumously.

On a recent episode of the “On With Kara Swisher” podcast, the Oscar-winning actor said he intends to “sue all future executives” who allow an AI-created version of him. Speaking about his role as Iron Man, Downey said he does not want his likeness recreated by AI technology.

“I am not worried about them hijacking my character’s soul because there’s like three or four guys and gals who make all the decisions there anyway and they would never do that to me, with or without me,” Downey said.

Swisher noted that those executives would eventually be replaced.

“Well, you’re right,” Downey said. “I would like to here state that I intend to sue all future executives just on spec.”

“You’ll be dead,” Swisher said.

Downey replied: “But my law firm will still be very active.”

Representatives for Marvel Studios and for Downey did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The discussion comes amid the Hollywood video game performers’ strike, which began in July after more than 18 months of negotiations over a new interactive media agreement with game industry giants broke down over artificial intelligence protections.

Leaders of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists have billed the issues behind the labor dispute — and AI in particular — as an existential crisis for performers. Concerns about how movie studios will use AI helped fuel last year’s film and television strikes by the union, which lasted four months. SAG-AFTRA ultimately signed a deal requiring productions to get the informed consent of actors whose digital replicas are used.

A spokesperson for SAG-AFTRA said that Downey has the right to deny any digital replica uses in film because of California's new law prohibiting the unauthorized replication of a dead performer’s likenesses without prior consent. That law, signed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom in September, was sponsored by the union.

Downey made his Broadway debut this month in “McNeal,” a one-act play by Ayad Akhtar that delves into themes of artificial intelligence, artistic integrity, plagiarism and copyright infringement. The 59-year-old actor plays the titular character, Jacob McNeal, an acclaimed novelist whose battles with alcoholism and mental illness culminate at a crucial juncture in his career.

“I don’t envy anyone who has been over-identified with the advent of this new phase of the information age,” Downey said. “The idea that somehow it belongs to them because they have these super huge start-ups is a fallacy.”

The podcast episode explored questions the play raises about truth and power in the age of AI, and whether there is a “social contract” related to the use of AI.

Downey’s upcoming role as Doctor Doom in “Avengers: Doomsday” will bring him back to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2026.

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Francis Ford Coppola to receive AFI Life Achievement Award

NEW YORK — Francis Ford Coppola will receive the 50th AFI Life Achievement Award, the American Film Institute announced Tuesday.

Coppola, who recently released his long-in-development epic “Megalopolis,” will be presented with the award in a gala tribute at Los Angeles’ Dolby Theatre on April 26. The 85-year-old filmmaker will be the 50th recipient of the award first handed out to John Ford in 1973.

“Francis Ford Coppola is a peerless artist — one who has created seminal works in the canon of American film, and has also inspired generations of filmmakers who now embody his artistry and his independent spirit,” said the producer Kathleen Kennedy, chair of the AFI board of trustees.

Coppola released “Megalopolis,” a Roman epic set in modern-day New York, in September. The film, which first premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, drew mixed reviews from critics and flopped with audiences. Coppola, though, has maintained he was compelled to make “Megalopolis” as an artist, not as a businessman. He self-financed the film.

“Everyone’s so worried about money. I say: Give me less money and give me more friends,” Coppola told the Associated Press in an earlier interview. “Friends are valuable. Money is very fragile. You could have a million marks in Germany at the end of World War II and you wouldn’t be able to buy a loaf of bread.”

Last year’s AFI honoree was Nicole Kidman. Other recent recipients include John Williams, Mel Brooks, Denzel Washington and Julie Andrews.

By Associated Press