List of All Articles with Tag 'ties'

'One Dance' rapper Drake – real name Aubrey Graham – was left in an awkward situation on Saturday, when the musician with a reported net worth of around $250m (£200.7m) tried to donate just short of $500 to an online streamer, only for his VISA card to be declined. Graham was hosting a livestream when the incident occurred, over on the platform Kick - which seeks to rival popular streaming site Twitch. The stream itself was to promote the online cryptocurrency casino Stake, and it was when Drake wanted to gift $499.99 in subscribers to a streamer known only as Daisy that he experienced some problems. And it all unfolded while Daisy was broadcasting herself getting a foot massage. As you do. After entering a verification code to authorise the purchase, the dialogue box disappeared to show the payment hadn’t in fact gone through and Drake would have to try and pay again. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter “Embarrassing,” said Graham in a high-pitched, sing-song voice, as fellow rapper Lil Yachty smiled at the mishap next to him. Given Drake’s aforementioned net worth, it’s unlikely the musician himself is in any financial difficulty, and after looking at someone off-camera and being made aware of the situation, it wasn’t long before the card issue was resolved and he was back to splashing the cash. Nevertheless, that didn’t stop the blunder from going viral on social media, as some were left shocked by how he said the word “embarrassing”, apparently: Others also noticed Drake was sporting fingernails with yellow nail varnish, with Marca reporting that UFC athlete Israel Adesanya - one of the artist’s favourite sportsmen to bet on – paints his fingernails as well. Well, at least Drake’s getting his card declined in style… Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Clarkson’s Farm presenter and former Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson has become the latest TV personality to speak out in defence of Phillip Schofield, as the ex-This Morning star continues to face intense online and media scrutiny over an affair with a younger male colleague. In May, the broadcaster quit ITV before later issuing a statement via the Daily Mail in which he confirmed he had a “consensual on-off relationship” with the individual which was “unwise, but not illegal”. “I am painfully conscious that I have lied to my employers at ITV, to my colleagues and friends, to my agents, to the media and therefore the public and most importantly of all to my family. “I am so very, very sorry, as I am for having been unfaithful to my wife,” Schofield said. Then, in an interview with the BBC’s media editor Amol Rajan after revealing the relationship, he said he understood “how Caroline Flack felt” and that if his daughters “hadn’t been there” for him last week, “I wouldn’t be here”. He added: “They guarded me and wouldn’t let me out of their sight. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter “It’s like a weird numbness. I know that’s a selfish point of view, but you come to a point where you just think, ‘how much are you supposed to take?’ “And this is how Caroline Flack felt, and it didn’t stop.” In a separate interview with The Sun, in which he was asked if he “groomed” the young co-worker, Schofield said he “did not”. Now, in a comment piece penned for The Sunday Times, Clarkson has intervened to argue that while he doesn’t know Schofield “at all well” and has “no skin in the game”, the ITV presenter “is only guilty of being what he said he was: gay”. “When it emerged that he’d actually done homosexuality, everyone went berserk. He maintains that his lover was over the age of consent when their relationship became physical, but that hasn’t silenced the howls of disgust. “And I find that weird … [We] nod appreciatively when we learn that the age gap between Al Pacino and his pregnant girlfriend is 54 years, which means that when he was starring as an old man in Scent of a Woman, she wasn’t even an embryo. “But Phil and his toy boy? Noooo. That’s totally unacceptable,” he wrote sarcastically. Further illustrating the point, Clarkson went on to add the situation is somehow so unacceptable that “all the charities he’s supported must turn their backs, his wine business must be wound up and, from now on, WeWontBeBuyingAnyCar.com” – referencing the car selling website Schofield once collaborated with on a marketing campaign. “And that’s just the start of it. Everyone who’s ever walked past him in the street must be sacked as well. “And those who paid his wages or sat next to him in the studio must be hauled into televised committees so that bramble bushes can be inserted into their bottoms. I’ve never seen a witch hunt like it, and what baffles me most of all is that, as things stand, no crime has been committed,” he continued. However, Twitter users aren’t too supportive of Clarkson’s remarks about a “witch hunt”, seeing as he received widespread condemnation in December for a controversial piece in which he claimed he dreams of the Duchess of Sussex being made to “parade naked” in public while people “throw lumps of excrement” at her: Clarkson’s not the only person to be accused of “hypocrisy” over his comments about Schofield and a “witch hunt”, either, as former Good Morning Britain presenter Piers Morgan’s own attacks on Meghan were brought up following his remarks on the scandal. “Unless Phillip Schofield’s ex-lover contradicts his version of events to The Sun and BBC, then it’s time to stop this relentless persecution of a guy who’s lost everything and looks right on the edge to me. "He doesn’t seem to have committed any crime, and he’s not a govt minister,” he tweeted. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Singer Dua Lipa is known for pop hits such as 'Levitating' and 'IDGAF', but it turns out the English-Albanian musician does ‘GAF’ about the UK government’s rhetoric around immigrants – including around Albanians. Speaking to The Sunday Times, the 27-year-old, whose parents are Kosovo Albanians, said “of course it hurt” when Home Secretary Suella Braverman spoke of an “invasion” of immigrants and “Albanian criminals” in the Commons back in November. The artist said: “All those words thrown around about immigrants? I always felt London was an amalgamation of cultures. It is integral to the city. “So when you hear the government talk about Albanians, for example, it hurts. It’s short-sighted and small-minded, but it’s the way a lot of people think. “No matter how we try and change the rhetoric, there will always be those who think, ‘immigrants are coming into the country and taking jobs!’ “However, immigrants who have come here have earned their keep by working incredibly hard. There needs to be empathy, because people don’t leave their country unless they have to out of necessity, out of fear for their family.” Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Last year, Braverman told MPs: “[2022] has seen a surge in the number of Albanian arrivals – many of them, I am afraid to say, abusing our modern slavery laws. “Albania is not a war-torn country, and it is very difficult to see how claims for asylum really can be legitimate claims for asylum. I would also note that we see a large number of Albanian migrants arriving here and claiming to be victims of modern slavery. “Again, I really am circumspect about those claims, because Albania is, of course, a signatory to the European convention against trafficking - the original convention that underlies our modern slavery laws - and if those people are genuinely victims of modern slavery, they should be claiming that protection in Albania.” At the time when Braverman made the remarks, the prime minister of Albania, Edi Rama, slammed the comments for “fuelling xenophobia”. While Lipa said she likes “being vocal about politics all over the world”, she added she would “stay away from politicians”. Nevertheless, the 'Physical' singer has been praised online for her intervention: And it’s not the first time Braverman has been called out for her choice of language around immigrants, as at the start of the year she was confronted on her use of terms such as “invasion” by a child survivor of the Holocaust. After the woman – 83-year-old Joan Salter – asked Braverman why she feels the need “to use that kind of language”, the home secretary replied to say she “won’t apologise for the language that I’ve used” to “demonstrate the scale of the problem” around immigration. “We mustn’t shy away from saying there’s a problem. I will not shy away from saying we have a problem with people exploiting our generosity, breaking our laws and undermining our system,” she said. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

With June being Pride Month and the time to advocate for the rights of LGBT+ people, conservatives have still taken the opportunity to try and make it all about them – from releasing “transphobic” documentaries on Twitter to now erecting their own flags making their views on sexuality and gender known. April Wilde Despain - a “homeschool mom” from Utah who “enjoys causing unnecessary drama” and is “not a member of or believer in the LGBTQ religion”, according to her Twitter bio – shared a tweet commenting on Pride Month on Friday. She wrote: “We heard June was the month to hang up flags celebrating our personal beliefs about gender, sexuality, and identity. So we hung up ours!” Along with the text, she attached a photo of her and her husband posing next to a flag depicting “a proclamation to the world” on “the family” issued by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in 1995. Well, that’s what the title says, at least – the rest is too small to read on the flag from the distance. Kind of defeats the purpose of a flag, April. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Anyway, for those unfamiliar, the Mormon proclamation states “all human beings – male and female – are created in the image of God” and that “marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan”. It continues: “We warn that individuals who violate covenants of chastity, who abuse spouse or offspring, or who fail to fulfil family responsibilities will one day stand accountable before God. “Further, we warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern profits.” However, what April failed to realise is where there is a chance to get creative with Photoshop, the internet will all too happily take it. And so, alternative flags were born: Others, meanwhile, decided to point other issues contained within the picture – such as April’s choice of footwear: April has since doubled down following the ridicule, sharing the image again several hours later and writing: “Uh oh. All the ‘inclusive’ and ‘tolerant’ have found my tweet and are mocking my family bc we dare to believe differently than them. “I’m so sad. Oh well. “To all them I say: here’s another pic of us enjoying what we believe about gender, sexuality, identity and love.” And thus, the memeing continued all other again… Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

The mother of the late ITV presenter Caroline Flack has given her thoughts on the ongoing scandal surrounding the former This Morning host Phillip Schofield, after the broadcaster said he understood “how [she] felt” amid “relentless” media criticism of his affair with a younger male colleague. Schofield quit the popular ITV daytime show in May, before releasing a statement in which he confirmed he had a “consensual on-off relationship” which was “unwise, but not illegal”. In his first broadcast interview since issuing these comments, carried out by the BBC’s media editor Amol Rajan, the broadcaster said he has “lost everything”. “My girls saved my life… Last week, they haven’t left me for a moment. They’ve been by my side every moment, because they’re scared to let me out of their sight," Schofield said. “They said to me, ‘don’t you dare do this on our watch. We’re supposed to be looking after you.’ “If my girls hadn’t been there, I wouldn’t be here, because I don’t see a future. And so how much do you want a man to take? “And this is how Caroline Flack felt, and it didn’t stop.” Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Flack quit ITV2’s reality show Love Island in December 2019 after facing an assault charge over an altercation with her boyfriend. She died by suicide two months later amid intense criticism online and in the press. Now, after Schofield referenced her daughter’s experience in his BBC interview, Caroline Flack’s mother Christine spoke to Newsnight and confirmed she does “feel worried for him” amid the “relentless” comments around the scandal. After presenter Victoria Derbyshire read Schofield’s remarks to Ms Flack, she replied: “That’s exactly how she felt. Everyday, she’d try and be a little bit stronger, which I imagine Phillip is, and you get more and more thrown at you. “He knew Caroline, and I must say when she died he was very upset, and I think he’s now realising even more what she went through. But until it happens to you, you feel sad, but you don’t understand.” Asked what her message to Schofield would be, Ms Flack added: “I hope they’ll get over this, and they will. They will. “Don’t do anything silly. You’ve got your daughters, you’ve got your friends.“ Ms Flack has since been commended online for her comments on social media. In his lengthy interview with the BBC, Schofield also said the fact the scandal has become “so massive” is “predominantly homophobic”, and that he is a “victim of hate”. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

TalkTV host Piers Morgan, who has become known for his continued criticism of Meghan Markle, has now taken to Twitter to say it’s “time to stop” the “relentless persecution” of former This Morning presenter Phillip Schofield following news of his affair with a younger male colleague. Schofield left the popular ITV daytime show in May, before going on to issue a second statement via the Daily Mail in which he revealed he had a “consensual on-off relationship” with the individual which was “unwise, but not illegal”. “I am painfully conscious that I have lied to my employers at ITV, to my colleagues and friends, to my agents, to the media and therefore the public and most importantly of all to my family. I am so very, very sorry, as I am for having been unfaithful to my wife,” he said. Then, in his first broadcast interview following this statement with the BBC’s media editor Amol Rajan, he said he understood “how Caroline Flack felt”, referring to the late ITV presenter who died by suicide in February 2020 following intense tabloid coverage of her life. Schofield said: “Last week, if my daughters hadn’t been there, I wouldn’t be here. They guarded me and wouldn’t let me out of their sight. “It’s like a weird numbness. I know that’s a selfish point of view, but you come to a point where you just think, ‘how much are you supposed to take? Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter “If you don’t think that is going to have the most catastrophic effect on someone’s mind… Do you want me to die?” Sharing his thoughts on the ongoing scandal, Morgan tweeted on Friday: “Unless Phillip Schofield’s ex-lover contradicts his version of events to The Sun and BBC, then it’s time to stop this relentless persecution of a guy who’s lost everything and looks right on the edge to me. “He doesn’t seem to have committed any crime, and he’s not a govt minister.” However, Twitter users were quick to accuse the broadcaster of “hypocrisy”, as some argued he’s engaged in the “relentless persecution” of Meghan: In fact, in March 2021, after the duchess revealed to Oprah Winfrey that she was having suicidal thoughts following the backlash over her stepping back from royal duties with her husband Harry, Morgan said on ITV’s Good Morning Britain that “I don’t believe a word she says”. “I wouldn’t believe her if she read me a weather report,” he added. The remarks received widespread condemnation at the time, to the extent the mental health charity Mind said it was “disappointed and concerned” by the comments and more than 41,000 complaints were made to the broadcasting regulator Ofcom. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Despite being one of the biggest YouTubers of his generation, KSI has revealed the shockingly low amount of money he's managed to make from moving over to TikTok. “9.2 million followers, 70 million likes, 200+ million views”, he explained, as the others guessed at how much it would be. He then revealed he'd made £3,000 from his content there. “£3000 for the amount of views he gets… that’s mad”, they responded in shock. However, it's not all doom and gloom as he and Jake Paul netted over $250 million in Prime sales. Click here to sign up for our newsletters

Both of them had stints at ITV - Dan Wootton used to be a showbiz reporter on Lorraine, while Eamonn Holmes presented This Morning alongside wife Ruth Langsford – and now, amid the ongoing controversy over broadcaster Phillip Schofield, Holmes has given an interview to Wootton on their new TV home, GB News. The chat comes after Schofield – another former This Morning host – resigned from ITV and admitted being “unfaithful” to his wife after having an “unwise, but not illegal” relationship with a younger male colleague. In a two-part interview with Wootton, Holmes (who ditched ITV for GB News in 2021) claimed the younger male colleague would be “delivered from Phillip’s London home” to ITV’s studios in a car, after having stayed at his London home “in cars paid for by ITV”. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter “Those in authority had to know what was going on and they thought they would dodge a bullet with this,” said Holmes, adding that the affair was “known by virtually every staff member both on and off screen”. While Holmes’ revelations to Wootton set social media buzzing, so too did an unusual snap of the pair from the interview, which was widely mocked on Twitter: As the scandal surrounding This Morning continued online and in the press, the first edition of the programme following Schofield’s departure – on 22 May – saw the Dancing on Ice and The Cube presenter gave an on-air tribute lasting just 30 seconds. Alison Hammond told viewers: “We can’t start today’s show without paying tribute to the man who spent the last two decades sitting on the This Morning sofa: Phillip Schofield. Co-presenter Dermot O’Leary continued: “So, the show – everyone on and off-screen at ITV and This Morning – want to say a huge thank you to Phil for what he’s done to make the show such a success over the last 21 years." Hammond added: “Quite simply, we all know he’s one of the best live television broadcasters this country has ever had, and we and all the team wish him all the best for the future.” Meanwhile Holly Willoughby, who appeared alongside Schofield on This Morning for more than a decade, first thanked her colleague for “all of his knowledge, his experience and his humour”, adding “the sofa won’t feel the same without him”. After Schofield admitted to the affair with a younger man, Willoughby issued a follow-up statement and said: “It’s taken time to process yesterday’s news. When reports of this relationship first surfaced, I asked Phil directly if this was true and was told it was not. “It’s been very hurtful to now find out that this was a lie.” Willoughby is understood to be returning to This Morning from next Monday after a half-term break. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Liam and Noel Gallagher are at it again and once again it's Liam who is firing the shots at his older brother and his apparently 'blasphemous' cover of a famous Joy Division song. The older Gallagher and his band High Flying Birds performed with the BBC Concert Orchestra as part of BBC Radio 2’s Piano Room to promote their new album Council Skies. During the performance he covered the iconic tune 'Love Will Tear Us Apart.' Now we'll leave judgment of the cover down to you but it's fair to say that Liam wasn't too impressed by Noel's attempt to pay tribute to their fellow Manchester indie music icons. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Writing on Twitter, Liam (with the obligatory swear words) said: "I must once again apologise on behalf of my family for Rkids p**s poor and damn rite blasphemous version of joy division’s love will tear us apart tut f**king tut SORRY [sic]." In case you are wondering here is Noel's cover: And for comparison's sake, here is the original classic from Joy Division. Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart [OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO] www.youtube.com Regardless of what you think of the cover it doesn't look like Oasis are getting back together anytime soon. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Taylor Swift fans are taking concert etiquette to a whole new level, by wearing diapers so they don't miss a second of her performance. The running joke circulated on TikTok with one fan writing "The diaper rash and trench foot was worth this moment of Taylor Swift looking right at us." Another clip, that racked up almost 300,000 views showed a fan struggling with her oversized disposable pants. "It’s the most durable, the most absorbent," she said. While diehard fans believe they have come up with an innovative solution, fellow TikTokers in the comments weren't too keen on the idea. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter "I think I would just hold it or very quickly go during a song I liked a bit less, I would never be able to actually go in a diaper and then linger in," one wrote, while another added: "If I can hold it on a flight from Ca to HI, I can hold it for a Taylor Swift concert." Meanwhile, a third added: "The bathrooms are emptyyyyy during the show, we sprinted, went, sprinted back and missed like 1/3 of a song we were okay missing." @sillygrlera the diaper rash and trench foot was worth this moment of taylor looking right at us💕 #delulu #taylorswift #erastour #foxboroughnight2 #gillettestadium #gilletten2 It comes after fans claim they suffered from feelings of forgetfulness following the star's sold-out tour. Speaking to Time, Jenna Tocatlian, 25, spoke about her experience at Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts. She said: "If I didn’t have the 5-minute video that my friend kindly took of me jamming to it, I probably would have told everyone that it didn’t happen." Many more took to Twitter with similar claims, with some saying they felt guilty for leaving the show with no core memories. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Fans are convinced they have uncovered the real reason why Kim Kardashian was spotted drinking Guinness in a London pub back in March. For the blissfully unaware, the reality star went viral, once again, after images of her sipping a pint circulated online. The photo was seemingly for St Patricks Day but was later exposed as a set-up when a new angle popped up on Twitter. The updated post showed an entire camera crew surrounding Kardashian. The tweet caption read: "Disappointed to learn that this was the Insta vs reality of Kim K in the pub." One person responded: "I mean…. Maybe a couple of cameras I expected, but this crew is almost taking up the whole bar haha and that’s not counting security etc.." But now, fans believe they've uncovered the real motive behind the not-so-candid snap. It was recently announced that the mother-of-four will be playing a character named Siobhan in season 12 of American Horror Story, which led people to jokingly believe she was "method acting" the entire time due to Siobhan being an Irish name. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter "It's giving Rathmines," one person wrote, while another joked: "She was doing research here." Meanwhile, a third wrote: "That's why she was in a pub on saint Patrick's day she's a method actor." Kardashian appears to have started filming for the show, after popular account DeuxMoi shared a rooftop scene of her and co-star Emma Roberts in New York. She was seen sporting a long leather trench coat, with her hair styled in a ponytail. The pair walked across the rooftop before sitting down on a sofa and having a conversation. "Looks like a regular scene from Keeping Up With The Kardashians," one person responded, while another added: "I am guessing she is playing someone very close to who she actually is." Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Conspiracy theorists believe that Kylie Minogue is being used as an "Illuminati puppet" after making a comeback with her new single, 'Padam Padam'. The run-up to her 16th album Tension has already caused a storm among theorists, who believe there's more to the so-called symbolism than meets the eye. The album cover shows the 55-year-old holding a diamond up to one of her eyes. A pose that many conspiracy theorists believe is associated with the Illuminati. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Of course, there is no evidence that the Australian popstar worships the devil – but they ran with it anyway. Some Twitter users lost their minds over the cover, with one passionate user writing: "I loved Kylie Minogue I made excuses for her, but her latest album is in-your-face Illuminati symbolism from one-eye cover to dancing in devil red on the debris of Western Civilization in the 'Padam Padam' video. Looking back, it was there from the start, on 'I Should Be So Lucky'". Another added: "Oh dear! So the illuminati has a new toy puppet, and she’s a pop princess! Caution lovers. Be kind, enjoy her music but don’t be led. Your choice is free." Many more poked fun at the claims, with one tagging the star herself, writing: "Love the song. Sucks you’re getting slammed for being Satanic. Like? Aren’t we all? Illuminati is soooo 2006." Meanwhile, a third person joked: "If Kylie Minogue was really part of the Illuminati then she would get the respect that she deserves." Kylie Minogue - Padam Padam (Official Video) www.youtube.com Illuminati claims are nothing new, with the likes of Beyonce and Sam Smith being tarnished with the same brush. Even the Church of Satan believes social media is getting out of hand, with Bill M saying he "can't believe the holy-rollers keep taking the bait," describing them as "so passé" to Indy100. "I really have no idea where these Illuminati believers are getting their information on 'Satanism' and 'Satanic ritual' from," the Magister of the Church of Satan said. "It's certainly not from any actual Satanic literature." Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.