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Jay Z to take sickening case of Kalief Browder and turn it into series on prison reform

Also in Tattle: The Rolling Stones, Stan Lee, Diane Keaton, Harris Faulkner and Fetty Wap

AS

AVA Duvernay

's documentary

13th

, about the prison system and racial inequality, premieres on Netflix, the Associated Press reports that

Jay Z

will co-produce a six-part series for Spike TV about prison reform.

TIME: The Kalief Browder Story, co-produced by Harvey Weinstein, will air in January.

Browder was 16 when he was arrested on suspicion of stealing a backpack and sent to Rikers Island in New York for three years. He was kept in solitary confinement for 800 days and, according to his lawyer, beaten by inmates and guards. He was never tried and was released in 2013.

Browder killed himself last year at age 22.

Jay Z attended a press conference Thursday with Browder's mother, the filmmakers and Weinstein and said he hoped Browder's story "inspires others and saves other lives."

He called the prison system "broken."

"I think it's very clear that solitary confinement for a 16-year-old is wrong to every single person in here," Jay Z said. "It's inhumane."

Well, Browder did allegedly steal a backpack. (Sarcasm alert.)

Jay Z would not be drawn into picking a side in the current presidential race on the topic of prison reform (has anyone heard either candidate mention prison reform?), saying "it's not a political issue. It's a human issue. It's a story of compassion and empathy."

Jay Z said he came across Browder's story in an article in the New Yorker magazine and reached out to the young man. "I just wanted to give him words of encouragement," Jay Z said. He wanted to tell him "I'm proud of him for making it through."

The series is directed by Jenner Furst, who wouldn't explain how he obtained Browder's video interrogation by police.

Stones roll

The

Rolling Stones

will drop their first studio album since 2005's

A Bigger Bang

, with the 12-song (all covers)

Blue & Lonesome

, a tribute to the blues artists who inspired them when they were getting started in the early 1960s.

The album, out Dec. 2 and produced by Don Was, was recorded over three days and features Eric Clapton on two songs and drummer Jim Keltner on one.

* In other Stones news, their "Exhibitionism" exhibit will open at Industria in New York's West Village on Nov. 12.

Tickets are available now at stonesexhibitionism.com.

Lee pins hope on 'Respect'

When he speaks at a "creators' roundtable' at Madison Square Garden tonight, comic book legend

Stan Lee

won't be talking about all the iconic characters he brought to life with artists

Jack Kirby

,

Steve Ditko

and others. There would be no time for anyone else to talk.

Instead, the Washington Post reports, Lee will speak about a lapel pin he has created that depicts a handshake between arms of contrasting tints, interlocked beneath the word "Respect."

"My daughter J.C. and I were watching TV, and she commented about the U.S. flag pin that so many politicians, including the president, often wear," Lee told the Post. Daughter then asked Dad: Why couldn't people, regardless of race, wear a solidarity pin that indicated mutual respect?

"J.C.'s remarks sent me back to the drawing board," Lee said, "and I designed such a pin.

"It is our desire," Lee added, "that the 'Hands of Respect' symbol spreads into the general culture.

"I always felt the X-Men, in a subtle way, often touched upon the subject of racism and inequality, and I believe that subject has come up in other titles, too," Lee said of his days revolutionizing comics at Marvel, "but we would never pound hard on the subject, which must be handled with care and intelligence.

"As a believer in the inert goodness of man," Lee said, "I'm hoping that the pin will serve to remind people that America is made of different races and different religions, but (that) we're all co-travelers on the spaceship Earth and must respect and help each other along the way."

TATTBITS

*

Diane Keaton

, who has been the object of crushes for 40+ years, will receive the 45th American Film Institute Life Achievement Award at a gala tribute on June 8 in Los Angeles.

Keaton's films include The Godfather, Play It Again, Sam, Sleeper, Love and Death, an Oscar-winning turn in Annie Hall, Looking for Mr. Goodbar, Reds, Baby Boom, Father of the Bride, The First Wives Club, Something's Gotta Give and Finding Dory.

*  Fox News anchor Harris Faulkner (Outnumbered) has "amicably" settled a $5 million lawsuit against Hasbro over a plastic toy hamster named Harris Faulkner that she said was designed to look like her.

Both sides filed papers Wednesday asking a judge to dismiss the lawsuit and then got back on their respective wheels.

"The 'Harris Faulkner' toy is no longer manufactured or sold by Hasbro," the statement said. "However, since there still may be 'Harris Faulkner' toys or packaging with the 'Harris Faulkner' name in the stream of commerce, Ms. Faulkner reiterates that she has not endorsed or approved this product."

Fetty Wap (a/k/a Willie Maxwell II) says he brought about $165,000 in cash to a New Jersey municipal building where he admitted to charges including driving with tinted windows and a suspended license.

He was ordered to pay $360 in fines.

It's always good to bring a few extra bucks. Just in case.

- Daily News wire services

contributed to this report.

gensleh@phillynews.com

215-854-5678 @DNTattle