Will Young has felt “ashamed” of being single.

The 44-year-old pop singer stars in a new production of ‘Song from Far Away’, a one-man play by Simon Stephens, and Will admits that he can relate to his character, who develops a crush on a waiter who showed him kindness once.

Will – who came out as gay in 2002 – explained to the Guardian newspaper: “I can relate to a lot of that.

“I’ve been mostly single throughout my life. I don’t feel it now, but there was a time when I was quite ashamed of it. Relatives pityingly asking … ‘Anyone?’ Because of past experiences – abuse at boarding school – I find relationships triggering.

“I don’t feel damaged, but it was damaging. I don’t know if I can trust someone to do that with.”

Will plans to take a prolonged break from the music business this year, and the ‘Anything Is Possible’ hitmaker is happy to distance himself from the industry.

He said: “To be honest, I don’t love the industry. After all this time I still don’t know if it works for me.”

Will actually finds acting to be less stressful than making music.

The chart-topping star thinks musicians are under more pressure to create a “brand” for themselves.

Will – who shot to fame on the TV show ‘Pop Idol’ in 2002 – explained: “What the audience thinks of me doesn’t matter. I’m not selling myself but someone else.

“Music is different. There’s pressure to be a brand. I’m even locked out of my social media because I just get drunk and slag people off. As an actor, I don’t need that presence.”

By Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Mass shootings in the United States accounted for most extremism-related fatalities last year in the country with over 80% of those murders committed by white supremacists, data released by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) showed on Thursday.

The advocacy group labeled 25 murders in 2022 as “extremist-related,” with 18 of those “committed in whole or part for ideological motives.”

Two mass shootings – one in May in Buffalo, New York, wherein an avowed white supremacist fatally shot 10 Black people, and another in November in Colorado Springs wherein five people were killed in an LGBTQ nightclub – accounted for most of the extremist-related murders of 2022, the ADL report showed.

White supremacists commit the highest number of domestic extremist-related murders in most years, but in 2022 the percentage was unusually high: 21 of the 25 murders were linked to white supremacists, according to the ADL report.

“All the extremist-related murders in 2022 were committed by right-wing extremists of various kinds,” the ADL report said.

ADL’s Center on Extremism reported an overall decrease from 2021 when 33 extremist-related killings were documented. ADL had documented 22 extremist-related killings in 2020.

Human rights groups have raised concerns over white supremacy in the United States in recent years.

President Joe Biden has labeled white supremacy as poison and called on Americans to reject it. In December, he established an inter-agency group to coordinate efforts to counter antisemitism, Islamophobia and related forms of bias and discrimination.

The issue of white supremacy came back into headlines late last year when former President Donald Trump hosted white supremacist Nick Fuentes at his private club in Florida. Trump said the encounter with Fuentes happened inadvertently while he was having dinner with Ye, the musician formerly known as Kanye West.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by David Gregorio)

Shania Twain takes fashion and beauty tips from drag queens’ online tutorials.

The ‘Man! I Feel Like a Woman!’ singer, 57, has been a long-time ally of the LGBTQ+ community, and revealed how she finds inspiration from drag acts in an interview with Anthony Allen Ramos from the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), posted on Thursday (23.02.23) to YouTube.

She said: “Drag shows are so fun! I’ve been to a couple of drag shows, big ones in Las Vegas… I so admire the talent there.

“First of all, it takes a lot of courage. I mean… fashion in itself takes courage.

“You’re taking on a lot, and then the makeup – the ability to put their own make-up on, and do such a beautiful job – I have learned a lot from drag queens.

“I watch their tutorials. I’ve never seen such transformation in some of these talents that their faces go through, just through creative makeup.

“I’m very inspired by it, is what I would say. I think we need this inspiration.

“We need drag queens to share their talent with us.”

Shania’s iconic looks have included the leopard-print hood she wore in the 1990s music video for her ‘That Don’t Impress Me Much’ hit, with the singer crediting designer Marc Bouwer with the idea for the look.

Speaking about how she is getting ready to kick off her highly-anticipated world tour in support of her newly-released ‘Queen of Me’ album, and her new single ‘Giddy Up!’, she added: “I just wanna be cheerful. I wanna cheer myself up, I wanna cheer others up and just get some pep in our step… just this feeling of feeling giddy.”

By Brendan O’Brien

CHICAGO (Reuters) -Grammy-winning R&B artist R. Kelly was sentenced on Thursday to one year in prison after his conviction in Chicago on federal child pornography and enticement charges, local media reported.

Kelly was convicted in September of felony sexual exploitation of a child, enticement of a female and possession of material containing child pornography.

Judge Harry Leinenweber of the U.S. District Court for Northern Illinois ordered the sentence to run consecutively with the 30-year sentence Kelly received last year on a previous federal conviction in New York, the Chicago Sun Times reported in a tweet.

In that case, Kelly was convicted of multiple felonies including illegal sex with minors and sexual exploitation of minors.

In the federal case in Illinois, prosecutors argued that the singer was so incorrigible that “the only way to ensure Kelly does not re-offend is to impose a sentence that will keep him in prison for the rest of his life.” They want to add another 25 years to his existing 30-year sentence.

Defense attorneys said Kelly, a 56-year-old African American man who suffers from diabetes, was already facing an effective life sentence with the 30-year term. They acknowledged that the judge must impose a sentence of 10 years, but contended that it should run concurrently.

They also questioned why federal prosecutors have dedicated so many resources to prosecuting a Black artist when many of the biggest white stars in rock ‘n’ roll history have been accused of abusing underage girls and “none have been prosecuted and none will die in prison.”

Defense lawyer Jennifer Bonjean alleged a double standard for a Black artist, naming 11 white rock stars in her sentencing memo who have been accused of abusing underage girls and gone unpunished.

Kelly did not address the judge because he still faced prosecution in other jurisdictions and any statement could be used against him, Bonjean said.

(Additional reporting by Daniel Trotta; Editing by Richard Chang and Mark Porter)

A David Bowie archive encompassing more than 80,000 items is to be made available to the public for the very first time.

The late pop icon – who died in 2016 at the age of 69 following a battle with liver cancer – will be immortalised through the creation of The David Bowie Centre for the Study of Performing Arts at V+A East Storehouse, in Stratford’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park from 2025.

Dr Tristram Hunt, Director of the V+A, said in a statement: “David Bowie was one of the greatest musicians and performers of all time. The V+A is thrilled to become custodians of his incredible archive, and to be able to open it up for the public. Bowie’s radical innovations across music, theatre, film, fashion, and style – from Berlin to Tokyo to London – continue to influence design and visual culture and inspire creatives from Janelle Monáe to Lady Gaga to Tilda Swinton and Raf Simons. Our new collections centre, V+A East Storehouse, is the ideal place to put Bowie’s work in dialogue with the V+A’s collection spanning 5,000 years of art, design, and performance. My deepest thanks go to the David Bowie Estate, Blavatnik Family Foundation and Warner Music Group for helping make this a reality and for providing a new sourcebook for the Bowies of tomorrow!”

The archive will span the entirety of the ‘Life On Mars’ hitmaker’s career, handwritten lyrics, letters, sheet music, original costumes, fashion, photography, film, music videos, set designs as well as the legendary musician’s own instruments.

A spokesperson from the David Bowie Estate, said: “With David’s life’s work becoming part of the UK’s national collections, he takes his rightful place amongst many other cultural icons and artistic geniuses. The David Bowie Centre for the Study of Performance – and the behind the scenes access that V+A East Storehouse offers– will mean David’s work can be shared with the public in ways that haven’t been possible before, and we’re so pleased to be working closely with the V+A to continue to commemorate David’s enduring cultural influence.”

Adam Lambert felt “ashamed” of who he was when photos of him kissing a man leaked online.

The ‘If I Had You’ hitmaker shot to fame when he appeared on ‘American Idol’ in 2008 and though at the time, he had came out as gay to his friends and family eight years beforehand, he didn’t discuss his sexuality on the show, but recalled the backlash he received when pictures of him with another guy were made public two months before the finale.

He said: “I was very comfortable and secure with who I was.

“It was never a secret. During the live broadcast, there was no one asking me what my sexual preference was, and we weren’t allowed to do interviews during the show back then because they wanted to keep everyone on a level playing field.”

Adam admitted the backlash over the photos made him feel “ashamed” of who he was for the first time.

He added to People magazine: “It was like I was going backwards in some ways.”

But the ‘Whataya Want from Me’ singer ultimately came out “stronger”.

He said: “It made me stronger and informed the kind of art that I wanted to make.”

The 41-year-old singer also hit out at the double standards he faced, with ABC receiving 1,500 telephoned complaints after he kissed his male bassist during the American Music Awards, resulting in the network cancelling his appearances on ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ and ‘Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve’.

He said: “I remember doing an interview shortly after the show and them blurring my mouth as they replayed the clip.

“But they showed Madonna and Britney Spears kissing [on the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards] without any censor. It was such a double standard.”

These days, Adam – who is in a relationship with 27-year-old Oliver Gliese – is “proud” to see singers such as Lil Nas X and Sam Smith embracing who they are.

He said: “No matter what size or gender or sexuality you are, there is space for you.

“If you’re getting people talking, you’re winning on some level.”

Raven-Symoné is to receive the Icon Award at the upcoming Truth Awards for her commitment to the LGBTQ+ community.

The 36-year-old actress – who has been married to Miranda Maday since 2020 – will be honoured at the ninth annual Truth Awards on March 18 for her “persistent presence” in family entertainment in shows like ‘That’s So Raven’ and the ‘Raven’s Home’ reboot as she “raises the visibility of LGBTQ community.”

In a statement, founder Sheryl Lee Ralph said: “The Truth Awards, along with our acceptance and understanding of the LGBTQ+ community, will encourage, inspire and motivate others to live their truth unapologetically.

“It’s important that we focus on supporting our brothers and sisters in the LGBTQ+ community as they continue to fight for equality. Our public acknowledgment and partnership make it possible for them to live out loud and openly for the world to see.”

The ceremony will stream exclusively on Fox Soul next month and will feature a wealth of other famous faces as hosts, including the likes of ‘Pose’ actress Angelica Ross, talk show star and Cocktails With Queens‘ host Claudia Jordan.

The former ‘Cosby Show’ star previously admitted that there was “no need” for her psychic alter ego Raven Baxter to be made into a lesbian when Disney was rebooting the series in 2016 because she and her character are two different people.

She said: “There was a conversation before the series started and I was asked the question, ‘Would you like Raven Baxter to be a lesbian?’ And I said, no. I said no. The reason I said no wasn’t because I wasn’t proud of who I was, or I didn’t want to represent the LGBTQ+ community in any way.

“It was because Raven Baxter is Raven Baxter is Raven Baxter. There was no reason for me to change the human that she was in order to fit the actress that played her. And Raven Baxter is a character that I was proud to play, even if she is straight, cisgender, I don’t mind. Let her have her moment

Scientists have found that setting up sculptures alongside the road can slow drivers down, potentially making for safer and more liveable towns.

Researchers placed brightly coloured works of art near two German communities and then measured the effect these had on drivers.

Speeding drivers drove more slowly, they found, observing traffic activity in Amelinghausen and Ottersberg, in northern Germany.

The works of art encouraged motorists to think. They attracted drivers’ attention, but did not pose a threat to road safety, the scientists say, based on an assessment of resident surveys, traffic measurements and recording drivers’ eye movements.

After the first sculptures were installed in Ottersberg, the number of speeding violations – faster than 50 kilometres per hour – decreased by up to 24%.

“It had an effect, but art alone doesn’t change everything,” says Rainer Höger, a professor of industrial psychology specializing in mobility at Germany’s University Lüneburg.

He is now calling for sculptures to be erected in combination with further infrastructural measures to calm traffic.

“As a major result of the project, it was found that artistic installations at the roadside can lower inner-city speed levels substantially in some cases, but the exact extent depends on inner-city characteristics,” says the team from Ottersberg University of Applied Sciences, TU Hamburg and Leuphana University of Lüneburg.

Drivers did not slow down right away after passing the first sculptures. Given that, the scientists recommend placing art works at the approach of some towns, or near to the entrance signs, to benefit from the slowing effect.

But that could be tricky in some places if there are traffic regulations that ban the placing of objects directly at roadsides outside built-up areas.

“It would be worth considering whether the rigid legal requirements could be relaxed, perhaps with an exemption, to initiate a speed reduction in the approach to a town by means of appropriate art installations,” the researchers suggest.

Art installations only change part of the local atmosphere, the experiment concludes. To permanently slow down speeding drivers, further changes are needed to the townscape, alongside speed limits.

Bette Midler turned down the chance to star in ‘Sister Act’ because she didn’t want to wear a nun costume.

The 77-year-old star was offered the chance to feature in the 1992 comedy film as Deloris Van Cartier but rejected the movie as she was “afraid” of wearing the habit.

Bette told Variety: “I turned them down. They came to me with ‘Sister Act’ and I said, ‘My fans don’t want to see me in a wimple.’ Can you believe that? How off the wall is that? How crazy is that?

“(Walt Disney Studios boss) Jeffrey Katzenberg called me every day, ‘Please, please.’ I stood my ground because I was really afraid of the costume. Isn’t that amazing? I can wear anything but a nun’s habit?”

The lead role ultimately went to Whoopi Goldberg and Bette praised her performance in the movie, which proved to be a big success.

The actress and singer said: “Whoopi wore it all the way to the bank. So God bless her. And she was perfect for it.”

Despite her distaste for the nun’s habit, Bette has been happy to wear a number of outrageous costumes during her prolific screen career.

The ‘First Wives Club’ star said: “I’ve worn them all. I have been an old lady, a young lady, a witch, a mermaid, a showgirl, a stripper, a bad lounge singer. I’ve run the gamut. And I have to say, it’s been a blast.”

Bette also had the chance to play the antagonist Annie Wilkes in the classic horror film ‘Misery’ but turned down the part – which was taken by Kathy Bates – as it was “too violent”.

She explained: “I just couldn’t. It was too violent.

“The character was so not funny, so without any qualities of redemption. She cut off his foot. Come on. Who does that?”

New editions of classic 20th century children’s books by British author Roald Dahl — such as “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” “James and the Giant Peach,” “Matilda,” “The Witches” and “Fantastic Mr. Fox” — have been edited and rewritten to remove language seen as offensive or potentially insensitive to modern-day sensibilities.

After comparing new editions published by Puffin to previous versions of Dahl’s classics, the British newspaper The Telegraph found that the new versions removed or rewrote passages describing characters as “fat,” “crazy,” “ugly,” and “black.”

Some references to ethnicities have been removed or adjusted — “Eskimos” are now described as Inuit — and gender-neutral terms like “children” and “parents” have replaced some references to “boys and girls” and “mothers and fathers.”

The Telegraph cited before-and-after examples, including from “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” An older edition of the book described one character like this: “The man behind the counter looked fat and well-fed. He had big lips and fat cheeks and a very fat neck.” In the newest edition, these sentences were removed entirely.

Other sentences referencing fatness were also removed, such as “The fat around his neck bulged out all around the top of his collar like a rubber ring”; “Who’s the big fat boy?”; and “Enormous, isn’t he?”

Many edits are more subtle: “The fat shopkeeper shouted” became “the shopkeeper shouted,” and “the fat shopkeeper said” became “the shopkeeper said.”

Some Twitter users attacked the latest updates to Dahl’s books as “woke” and pointless. “The thing that annoys me about the Roald Dahl changes is how stupid they are,” tweeted Daily Telegraph arts and entertainment editor Anita Singh. “A ban on the word ‘fat’ yet keeping in the rest of the description in which Augustus Gloop is clearly fat.”

Dahl, one of the most popular children’s authors of the 20th century, died in 1990 at the age of 74, and in 2021, the streaming service Netflix acquired the Roald Dahl Story Co., which manages the rights to the author’s characters and stories, and which had already begun reviewing Dahl’s work alongside Puffin before the Netflix sale. Dahl’s books have sold more than 300 million copies worldwide, with translations in 63 languages.

“We want to ensure that Roald Dahl’s wonderful stories and characters continue to be enjoyed by all children today,” the Roald Dahl Story Co. said in a statement. “When publishing new print runs of books written years ago, it’s not unusual to review the language used alongside updating other details including a book’s cover and page layout. Our guiding principle throughout has been to maintain the storylines, characters, and the irreverence and sharp-edged spirit of the original text. Any changes made have been small and carefully considered.”

Roald Dahl Story Co. spokesman Rick Behari added in an email that “the overall changes are small both in terms of actual edits which have been made and also in terms of the overall percentage of texts which has been changed.”

Dahl’s work, like his life, has its unsettling moments and has long been subject to update, revision and apology by other creatives laboring to bring his art to mass audiences.

In the first edition of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” published in 1964, the Oompa-Loompas helping Willy Wonka were originally described as African Pygmy people whom Wonka had “smuggled” out of Africa in crates to live and work in his factory. Facing pressure from Black actors and groups such as the NAACP after America’s Civil Rights era, the 1971 film made the Oompa-Loompas orange-skinned with green hair. In a 1973 revision of the book, Dahl recast the Oompa-Loompas as white and fantastical instead of Black and African.

In 2020, the actor Anne Hathaway apologized for her depiction of Grand High Witch in Robert Zemeckis’ adaptation of “The Witches” in which the character had three fingers, angering disability advocates over a negative portrayal of limb differences. The same year, Dahl’s family apologized for his history of making antisemitic remarks.