The decades-long controversy over the Los Angeles Zoo’s elephants is intensifying, even after officials announced that Billy and Tina will be moved to a zoo in Oklahoma where they will have more room to roam.

On Friday, an L.A. resident sued to halt the transfer of Billy and Tina to the Tulsa Zoo, arguing that they should instead be sent to an animal sanctuary.

The lawsuit, which seeks an injunction from the L.A. County Superior Court, includes a declaration from the singer Cher, who has been advocating on behalf of Billy and Tina for years.

“Billy and Tina have served their time in confinement,” Cher said in the declaration. “They deserve the chance to live out their lives in peace and dignity.”

Animal rights advocates have criticized the L.A. Zoo for decades for holding elephants in a relatively small enclosure, which they say causes serious health issues. Other celebrities who have rallied to the elephants’ cause include Lily Tomlin and the late Bob Barker.

Jewel, 61, and Shaunzi, 53, were euthanized in the last few years because of health issues that the zoo said were age-related, leaving only Billy and Tina, who live in separate enclosures in an elephant habitat of about 6.5 acres.

Zoo officials have long defended the care they provide to the elephants and did not cite any health issues in late April when they announced the transfer to the Tulsa Zoo, which recently expanded its elephant complex to include a 36,650-square-foot barn and a 10-acre wooded preserve. Billy and Tina will join five other Asian elephants there.

On Thursday before the City Council’s budget committee, L.A. Zoo Director and Chief Executive Denise Verret said she believed that Tulsa would provide “an environment where they can thrive,” citing the social benefits of living with other elephants.

The lawsuit, filed by John Kelly, an animal lover and longtime L.A. resident, names Verret as a defendant and outlines the health issues that can afflict elephants in captivity, including “zoochosis,” a mental illness caused by confinement.

Billy and Tina’s living conditions are “abysmal,” with little shade and hard-packed sand that has allegedly caused severe damage to their feet, according to the lawsuit.

“It doesn’t matter how big the zoo enclosure is, if it’s expanded or not, whether you call it a preserve or you call it an exhibit. It’s incredibly inhumane for them,” Melissa Lerner, an attorney representing Kelly, said in an interview after a news conference at the zoo’s entrance Sunday.

As far back as 2008, advocates have expressed anguish about Billy’s repetitive head-bobbing, which is a sign of brain damage, according to In Defense of Animals, which this year ranked the L.A. Zoo as No. 1 on its “10 Worst Zoos for Elephants” list for the second year in a row.

Billy is 40 years old, and Tina is 59. Billy came the L.A. Zoo when he was 4, in 1989, and Tina arrived at 44 in 2010, according to the zoo’s website. Asian elephants have a lifespan of roughly 60 years in the wild.

A spokesperson for L.A. Mayor Karen Bass did not immediately provide a comment Sunday. A zoo representative , referred questions to the city attorney’s office; a spokesperson for that office said he could not comment on pending legislation.

L.A. City Councilmember Bob Blumenfield, a longtime advocate for the elephants, filed a motion last month seeking to pause their relocation until the City Council could review the possibility of sending them to a sanctuary.

At a budget committee hearing Monday, Blumenfield urged Verret to provide a report that includes the costs and benefits of the transfer to the Tulsa Zoo. He asked Verret to promise that the elephants will not be moved until the City Council could review the report and vote on it.

“What I can promise you is that I am always going to make decisions that are for the best interest of the animals at the zoo, including the elephants,” responded Verret, who was appointed by then-Mayor Eric Garcetti in 2019.

Blumenfield again questioned Verret at the budget hearing Thursday, noting that the organization Last Chance for Animals has offered to pay to move Billy and Tina to a sanctuary.

Verret said no date has been set for the transfer and noted that the L.A. and Tulsa zoos have not signed a contract.

Kelly’s lawsuit also contends that the public and elected officials have been shut out of the decision-making. At both budget hearings, City Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez said that Verret has the power to move the elephants to Tulsa without the council’s approval.

On Sunday outside the L.A. Zoo, about 35 protesters, many of them from the group Los Angeles for Animals, held “Free Billy” signs and chanted “Mother’s Day is no excuse for animal abuse.” They urged visitors not to enter the zoo.

“Sweeping problems under the rug doesn’t get rid of problems,” said L.A. resident Elvia Sedano, who has been protesting at the zoo on behalf of the elephants nearly every Sunday for two years. “So we’ll be back. We’ll keep coming back until they do the right thing.”

Times staff writer David Zahniser contributed to this report.

Story: Kyrah and Issac, former elite operatives turned lovers, go on the run with their son after their old team puts a bounty on their heads. Hunted by their ex-boss Jack Cinder, they must fight to protect their family and confront their past.

Review: ‘Shadow Force’ is a film that feels all too familiar, offering little new within its overdone premise. It’s a standard action thriller that doesn’t bother to break any molds. The plot takes too many liberties, never properly explaining key elements, and leaves the audience to fill in the gaps. While the action sequences may keep you engaged momentarily, the film quickly loses its grip, leaving you indifferent to what’s happening on screen. Despite the high stakes and potential for a gripping story, the lack of depth makes it a forgettable experience.

The plot centers on Kyrah Owens (Kerry Washington) and Issac Saar (Omar Sy), two former elite operatives who worked for a covert unit called Shadow Force. When they fall in love and have a child, they decide to leave their violent world behind to protect their son. However, their past catches up with them when Isaac’s identity is revealed while saving their son during a bank robbery. Once their former boss, Jack Cinder (Mark Strong), discovers they are alive, he places a bounty on their heads and sends a team of skilled assassins to kill them. The couple, forced to go on the run, must rely on their instincts and combat skills to survive. From Mexico to Spain to Bolivia, the action-packed journey unfolds with high-speed chases and near-death encounters.

The film suffers from a lack of clarity, particularly when it comes to its central premise. The audience is never truly given an understanding of what Shadow Force is or what Kyrah and Isaac have been doing before the events of the film. If their crime is simply falling in love and wanting to raise a family, it feels like a flimsy excuse for a plot. While the action sequences are thrilling, the narrative leaves much to be desired. The few moments of warmth, especially between Kyrah, Issac, and their son Ky, bring a brief sense of emotional connection. Issac’s use of French adds an interesting layer to his character, giving a natural, authentic feel to the portrayal, but these moments are overshadowed by a confusing and shallow storyline.

Kerry Washington’s performance is a major letdown, especially when compared to her past work. Her portrayal feels uninspired and flat, lacking the depth and intensity needed for such a high-stakes role. It’s hard to believe this is the same actress who delivered a brilliant performance in her previous film ‘The Six Triple Eight.’ Mark Strong, on the other hand, brings a sense of menace and gravitas to the character of Jack Cinder, proving to be a strong presence in his role as the antagonist. But it’s Omar Sy who stands out in this film. Despite being French, Sy is perfectly at ease in an English-language film, delivering a performance that balances both toughness and warmth effortlessly. His character feels real, and his natural charisma elevates the film, making him the one redeeming aspect.

‘Shadow Force’ never fully capitalizes on the potential its premise offers. It stays on the surface level, failing to dive deeper into its characters or plot. While it delivers on action, it never goes the extra mile, and in the end, it remains a forgettable, average film.

“Can you believe,” Jenny Lewis asked, “this is our third show in 17 years?”

Wearing the same outfit she’d worn at the first two — polka-dot mini-dress, white ruffle socks, a glittering tiara perched atop her head — Lewis was onstage Saturday night with her band Rilo Kiley at the Just Like Heaven festival in Pasadena.

“It’s truly amazing to be here with you all,” she told the crowd of thousands spread across the leafy grounds surrounding the Rose Bowl. “But mostly,” she added, turning to her bandmates, “it’s amazing to be here with you all.”

One of the defining Los Angeles rock bands of the last quarter-century, Rilo Kiley formed in 1998 — both Lewis and the group’s other singer and songwriter, Blake Sennett, had been child actors — then spent the next decade steadily approaching the big time with clever if jaundiced songs about sex, bad decisions and the Hollywood dream machine. Yet just as the band was poised to blow up, Rilo Kiley split amid creative and personal tensions between Lewis and Sennett, who’d also been romantically involved. Now, for the first time since 2008, the group — rounded out by Pierre De Reeder and Jason Boesel — is on the road playing shows again; its reunion tour launched last week with gigs in San Luis Obispo and Ojai and is scheduled to run through the fall.

The timing makes sense, given that Lewis over the intervening years has become something of an older-sister figure for a subsequent generation or two of smart young musicians writing about all the ways the world can disappoint a woman in her 20s. (Think Phoebe Bridgers, think Haim, think Olivia Rodrigo.)

Then again, nostalgia is rarely required to justify itself, as Just Like Heaven made clear. A fixture of the Southern California festival landscape since 2019, this annual show brings together veterans of early-2000s indie rock to relive memories of an era before streaming and social media remade pop music; other acts high on the bill this year included Vampire Weekend, TV on the Radio, Bloc Party, the Drums and Toro y Moi.

Near the end of its headlining set on Saturday, Vampire Weekend offered up what frontman Ezra Koenig called “a salute to indie” — strung-together covers of period hits by Phoenix, Tame Impala, Beach House, Grizzly Bear and TV on the Radio — in a slot the band typically dedicates to audience requests for oldies like “Don’t Stop Believin’ ” or “Dancing in the Dark.” That Grizzly Bear’s “Two Weeks” now qualifies as a classic was a fact nobody seemed to need convincing.

Indeed, Lewis has said that part of what led her to reconvene Rilo Kiley was the huge success of a recent reunion tour by the Postal Service, the electro-pop side project that she and Death Cab for Cutie’s Ben Gibbard introduced in 2003 and which last year headlined Just Like Heaven after earlier selling out three nights at the Hollywood Bowl.

Yet if all that eagerness to reminisce made easy pickings of folks in Pasadena, Rilo Kiley played with more muscle and panache than it needed to on Saturday in an hour-long set that showcased the band’s impressive versatility.

“The Execution of All Things” and “With Arms Outstretched” were crisp and strummy, while “The Moneymaker” rode a raunchy soul-rock groove and “Dreamworld” evoked the glossy menace of mid-’70s Fleetwood Mac. Now as during the group’s heyday, what elevated the performance was Lewis’ skill as a storyteller: the torch-song melancholy she found in “I Never,” about a woman betting too much on a relationship, and the perfectly soapy romantic drama of “Does He Love You?” in which she plays two of the three parts in a doomed love triangle. For the latter, she grabbed a video camera and roamed the stage, sending footage of her bandmates to the giant screen behind her — not just the star of the Rilo Kiley show but its director too.

On Spotify, the band’s biggest song is the coolly self-assured “Silver Lining,” from its darkly funny final LP, “Under the Blacklight,” and here Lewis delivered it with a swaggy nonchalance. But the true heads know that Rilo Kiley’s real should’ve-been-a-hit was 2004’s sly yet ebullient “Portions for Foxes” — “The talking leads to touching / And the touching leads to sex,” goes one key line — which is why the group finished with the song at Just Like Heaven.

As she sauntered offstage, Lewis blew a kiss to the crowd, then jumped back to her microphone, grabbed a Modelo she’d left behind and took a sip through a straw.