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Published by BANG Showbiz English Kate McKinnon doesn’t know if she can watch ‘Saturday Night Live’ anymore. The 38-year-old comedian admitted that the decision to leave the show after a decade was “very, very difficult” and she is unsure if she will be able to watch it now that she is no longer involved. Speaking on ‘Live With Kelly and Ryan’, Kate said: “I thought about it for a very long time, and it was very, very hard. All I ever wanted to do in my whole life was be on ‘Saturday Night Live’. So, I did. I loved it, I had the best decade, and then I was just like, my body was tired, and I felt like it was time. “I don’t know what I will do. I don’t know if I can watch the show yet. It’s just too emo because I miss everyone so much. I mean, it’s my other family. It’s too emo. So, I think I’m just going to tape ‘The Bachelorette’ and watch it.” Kate joined ‘SNL’ in 2012 and was the show’s first openly lesbian cast member. She also had the longest tenure of any female performer on the show. She won two Emmys for Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series during her time on ‘SNL’ and is in the running for a third this year. McKinnon left the show at the end of season 47, alongside Pete Davidson, Aidy Bryant and Kyle Mooney. Speaking previously about her own departure, Bryant – who also joined the cast in 2012 – said: “If it weren’t for COVID, I probably would have left a few years earlier. But it was such a huge change. When COVID hit, it was so jarring that we were all like, ‘I’m definitely going to come back next year.’ And then I had to shoot ‘Shrill’ for half of last season, and so I missed a lot. And then it was like, ‘Well, now I should go back one more.’ I kept trying to seek one last normal year. This year wasn’t the normal year that I hoped for, but it was closer to that. It was like, ‘OK, it’s really time now.’ And 10 felt like a nice, solid round number.” View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Ivana Trump’s funeral is estimated to have cost at least $152,575 (£127,000.) The amount is nearly 20 times the price of the average farewell ceremony for the typical American – which sits at $7,848 (£6,541.) Ivana was sent off in a $125,000 (£104,000) gold coffin prepared by Frank Campbell’s Funeral Home, renowned as the last stop for “everybody who’s anybody” in New York City. Other expenses are said to have come to around $27,575 (£22,191.) The calculations are based on prices of ceremonies at the Frank Campbell funeral home and observations about Ivana’s goodbye ceremony, which included a display of her Vanity Fair magazine cover. Services from the famous facility can run in the high six figures, the Daily Mail has reported. Its silver-plated copper casket sets people back $70,000 (£58,000) and for between $2,000 (£1,700) and $8,300 mourners can buy custom made gold jewellery containing a lock of their dearly departed’s hair. Frank Campbell’s funeral home was opened 1898 by a young casket maker known as “the PT Barnum of death” for staging elaborate publicity stunts. After John Lennon was assassinated in 1980 the home used a decoy hearse and coffin to ensure a secret run to the crematorium. And for Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Campbell’s arranged for the former first lady to be to be embalmed at her Fifth Avenue apartment so paparazzi could not snap pictures of her being carried out in a body bag. Donald Trump’s first wife Ivana, who died aged 73 at her New York home, was buried Wednesday (20.07.22) next to the first hole along a grassy area at her ex-husband’s Bedminster Golf Club following an invite-only funeral service. The mum to three of the ex-president’s children had her rose gold casket lowered into the ground “not too far from the main club house” at the ground, one mourner told the New York Post. View the full article

Published by Reuters By Luc Cohen and Jacqueline Thomsen (Reuters) – A U.S. congressional committee probing the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol has sought to build a case that then-President Donald Trump behaved illegally when he tried to overturn his 2020 electoral defeat, but what charges could prosecutors bring against Trump and how might he defend himself? Here are some ideas being floated: OBSTRUCTING AN OFFICIAL PROCEEDING In a March 2 court filing, the committee detailed Trump’s efforts to persuade then-Vice President Mike Pence either to reject slates of electors for Joe Biden, who won the election, or delay a congressional count of those votes. The president’s efforts likely violated a federal law making it illegal to “corruptly” obstruct any official proceeding, or attempt to do so, said David Carter, the California federal judge overseeing the case said in a March 28 written order. At a primetime hearing on Thursday, committee members alleged that Trump watched the violence at the U.S. Capitol unfold live on television and failed to prevent it. Witnesses testified as to Trump’s reluctance to tell the rioters to leave for hours after they breached the building. Jennifer Rodgers, a former federal prosecutor and lecturer at Columbia Law School, said a prosecutor would include that testimony if they were to try Trump on an obstruction charge because it would show his intent at the time. “(Trump) was urged by everyone around him to act, to try to do something to stop it, and he chose not to,” Rodgers said. CONSPIRACY TO DEFRAUD THE UNITED STATES In the March 2 filing, the committee said it was likely that Trump and others conspired to defraud the United States, which criminalizes any effort by two or more people to interfere with governmental functions “by deceit, craft or trickery.” In addition to Trump’s efforts to pressure Pence, the committee cited his attempts to convince state election officials, the public and members of Congress that the 2020 election was stolen, even though several of his allies told him there was no evidence of fraud. Cassidy Hutchinson, an aide to then-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, previously testified that Trump was so enraged by then-Attorney General Bill Barr’s interview with the Associated Press saying there was no evidence of election fraud that Trump threw his lunch at the wall, breaking a porcelain dish and leaving ketchup dripping down the wall. SEDITIOUS CONSPIRACY? Prosecutors have already charged more than a dozen members of the far-right Proud Boys and Oath Keepers groups who were at the Jan. 6 riot with seditious conspiracy, a rarely used statute that makes it illegal to overthrow the U.S. government by force. To prove Trump committed seditious conspiracy, prosecutors would need to show he conspired with others to use force. Rodgers said a prosecutor could use Trump’s failure to act to bolster such a charge, including testimony that he knew he was the only person who could get the rioters to leave the Capitol. TRUMP’S DEFENSE? Trump has repeatedly denied doing anything illegal in connection with the Jan. 6 events. In a series of posts on his social media platform Truth Social on Thursday, Trump attacked the House panel, but maintained his false claims that the 2020 election was stolen. “So many lies and misrepresentations by the corrupt and highly partisan Unselect Committee!” he wrote. If the Justice Department were to bring charges, prosecutors’ main challenge would be to prove that Trump acted with corrupt intent, experts said. Trump could argue he sincerely believed that he won the election and that his well-documented efforts to pressure Pence and state election officials were not meant to obstruct Congress or defraud the United States, but to protect the election’s integrity. DOES THIS MEAN TRUMP WILL BE CRIMINALLY CHARGED? No. Neither Carter nor the committee can charge Trump with federal crimes. That decision would have to be made by the Justice Department, led by Attorney General Merrick Garland. The department is conducting its own investigation of the Jan. 6 events. Any decision to indict Trump would have enormous political consequences as the former president weighs another run for the White House in 2024. The department did not respond to a request for comment. (Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York and Jacqueline Thomsen in Washington; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Daniel Wallis) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Sarah N. Lynch WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Steve Bannon, a key associate of former President Donald Trump and an influential figure on the American right, was convicted on Friday of contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena from the committee investigating last year’s attack on the U.S. Capitol, a major victory for the Democratic-led panel. A jury found Bannon, 68, guilty of two misdemeanor counts for refusing to provide testimony or documents to the House of Representatives select committee as it scrutinizes the Jan. 6, 2021, rampage by Trump supporters who tried to upend the results of the 2020 presidential election. Each contempt of Congress count is punishable by 30 days to one year behind bars, as well as a fine of $100 to $100,000. U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols set a sentencing date of Oct. 21. The verdict by the jury of eight men and four women, after less than three hours of deliberations, marked the first successful prosecution for contempt of Congress since 1974, when a judge found G. Gordon Liddy, a conspirator in the Watergate scandal that prompted President Richard Nixon’s resignation, guilty. Bannon was a key adviser to the Republican Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, then served as his chief White House strategist during 2017 before a falling out between the two that was later patched up. Bannon also has played an instrumental role in right-wing media. His defense team in closing arguments on Friday suggested to jurors that Bannon was a political target and painted the main prosecution witness as a politically motivated Democrat with ties to one of the prosecutors. The prosecution countered that Bannon showed disdain for the authority of Congress and needed to be held accountable for his unlawful defiance. Prosecutor Molly Gaston told jurors the attack represented a “dark day” for America, adding: “There is nothing political about finding out why Jan. 6 happened and making sure it never happens again.” Evan Corcoran, one of Bannon’s attorneys, told jurors, “The question is, ‘Why? Why was Steve Bannon singled out?” The trial featured two days of testimony. Prosecutors questioned only two witnesses. The defense called none. The conviction may strengthen the committee’s position as it seeks to secure testimony and documents from others in Trump’s orbit. Trump last year asked his associates not to cooperate with the committee, accusing it of trying to hurt him politically, and several of them rebuffed the panel. Another former Trump adviser, Peter Navarro, was separately was charged with contempt of Congress in June for refusing to appear for a committee deposition. Navarro’s trial is scheduled for November. The Justice Department opted not to charge two other Trump associates, Mark Meadows and Daniel Scavino, for defying the committee despite a House vote recommending it. Unlike Bannon, Meadows turned over some communications to the committee. The committee could make multiple referrals to the Justice Department seeking criminal charges against Trump himself, according to its vice chair Liz Cheney. SPURNED DEADLINES The main prosecution witness was Kristin Amerling, a top committee staffer who testified that Bannon spurned deadlines to respond to the September 2021 subpoena, sought no extensions and offered an invalid rationale for his defiance – a claim by Trump involving a legal doctrine called executive privilege that can keep certain presidential communications confidential. The Justice Department charged Bannon last November after the Democratic-led House voted the prior month to hold him in contempt. Bannon separately was charged in 2020 with defrauding donors to a private fund-raising effort to boost Trump’s project to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexican border. Trump pardoned Bannon before that case went to trial. A pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol and attacked police with batons, sledgehammers, flag poles, Taser devices, chemical irritants, metal pipes, rocks, metal guard rails and other weapons in a failed effort to block congressional certification of his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden. The committee has said Bannon spoke with Trump at least twice on the day before the attack and attended a planning meeting at a Washington hotel. It played a clip of Bannon saying on his right-wing podcast the day before the attack that “all hell is going to break loose tomorrow.” The judge limited the scope of the case Bannon’s team could present to jurors, moves one of his lawyers said “badly stymied” the defense. Bannon was barred from arguing that he believed his communications with Trump were subject to executive privilege and was prohibited from arguing he relied on legal advice from an attorney in refusing to comply. Bannon’s defense argued that he believed the subpoena deadlines were flexible and subject to negotiation between his attorney and the committee. In an 11th-hour reversal with the trial looming, Bannon this month announced a willingness to testify in a public hearing before the committee, an offer that prosecutors said did not change the fact he had already broken the law. (Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Will Dunham) View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Lizzo has praised Harry Styles as a “great person” who “really cares about how you feel”. Lizzo, 34, became close to the 28-year-old singer after he covered her song ‘Juice’ in the BBC Live Lounge and she revealed that Harry put her at ease as soon as they met, despite her social anxiety. Speaking on the ‘Spout’ podcast, she said: “He did ‘Juice’ in his Live Lounge and I was like, oh my gosh, there’s a mutual respect here. There was a show that we were going to do together and it was like, okay, we got to go to Miami to do this show. Let’s split a jet. “For our first time meeting…we were talking for a long time. He’s a great person, a great listener, a really good listener and really cares about how you feel, and very funny. “That’s an interesting way to meet somebody for the first time for people with social anxiety. Not the ideal way. But Harry can make even the most socially anxious person feel very comfortable.” Lizzo also spoke about her friendship with Selena Gomez, 30, but insisted they are not working on new music together. She said: “I don’t know why people just assume every time the two famous musicians talk to each other on the Internet that they’re about to drop a song. What if we just want to be friends? Why you in my business? “I mean, she’s incredible. I have been a fan of hers for such a long time.” View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English David Harbour dropped 75lb for ‘Stranger Things’ season four. The 47-year-old actor – who is married to British pop star Lily Allen – is set to give fans a detailed insight into the huge transformation he underwent for his part of Hopper in the buzz-worthy Netflix sci-fi series with an Instagram Live with his personal trainer, David Higgins, this evening (22.07.22). And he’s revealed he embarked on a “difficult and exciting ride” to go from 270lb to 190lb. Showing off the impressive transformation from episode three to four, he wrote on Instagram: “Many of you have asked about Hopper’s physical transformation from season 3 to season 4. My trainer @davidhigginslondon worked with me for 8months to make the transformation, and then another year to keep it through the pandemic. All told it was a difficult and exciting ride, changing diet and exercise plans (or lack thereof). We are gonna do an Instagram live tomorrow Friday at 4pm UK time, which is 11am eastern I believe. Wanna answer questions you may have with @davidhigginslondon and tell you what I learned.” David has had to put weight on to play Santa in an upcoming festive flick, and while he admits it’s not healthy for his body and he won’t be able to do it for much longer, but he enjoys living in different versions of his skin. He continued: “Second pic is me and David the week we began, my resistances and fury flaring. And pic three is the shoot day, the black x’s are for cgi scarring because of problems with the practical effect. All told I lost over 75lbs. 265-270 in season 3 and all the way down to 190 when we shot. Recently ballooned up again to play jolly ole st. Nick in a flick I can’t wait for you to see this holiday season, so I am struggling to fight back down towards a good weight for wherever hopper ends up in season 5. All this up and down is not good for the body, and I’ll have to give it up soon, but it is such a fun part of the job to live in a different version of your skin for a while. Come join us tmrw for the live and bring qs (sic)” View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Saucy Santana says that his style was mostly influenced by women. The 28-year-old star – who started his career as a makeup artist before becoming a rapper – explained that while he “never wanted” to be a girl himself, he wanted to “dress feminine” and would make his cousin into his own “personal” version of superstar Nicki Minaj. He said: “Girls were my main [style and beauty] inspiration growing up. My girl cousin, Deirdre, and I grew up like brother and sister. Deirdre was my personal Nicki Minaj. I would make her get the Chinese bangs with the black hair that had pink streaks. She had to get her nails painted pink and black, too. She would wear six-inch Jeffrey Campbell heels. “I didn’t never want to be a girl, but I always wanted to dress feminine. Gucci Mane was my favorite rapper in high school. He influenced a lot of things that I started doing after that time.” The ‘Here We Go’ hitmaker – who achieved prominence as a rapper when his videos went viral on TikTok back in 2020 – also explained that he is not a huge fan of color when it comes to his looks and would “never” paint his nails bright yellow in case it makes him look “tacky.” Saucy – whose real name is Rashad Michael Harris – told Allure: “I love to look chocolate. [My current nail style] is only because it’s springtime, I’m not a big color person. I would never do full yellow nails — I always incorporate nude. I don’t want to look tacky!” View the full article

Published by DPA Socrates Sculpture Park in Queens offers a great view of the Upper Eastside. Dörte Nohrden/dpa Alicia Keys sang about New York City as a “concrete jungle,” and in fact the skyline of the metropolis of 8.8 million people between the Hudson River and Rockaway Beach appears to be nothing but wall-to-wall skyscrapers. But the “Big Apple” is more than glass, asphalt and concrete: 14% of its area consists of greenery. There is of course Manhattan’s famous Central Park, but that’s just one of numerous green spaces, both large and small, that show a lesser-known side of the city. Admiring the skyline from a hammock Just an 80-minute ferry ride from Manhattan’s southern tip lies an oft-overlooked oasis: Governor’s Island. Those visiting the 70-hectare, car-free island in New York harbour are rewarded with a panoramic view of the skyline and the Statue of Liberty. In the park area Hammock Groves you can literally hang around in one of the hammocks set up among the trees. There’s a “Teaching Garden,” particularly suitable for children, while the “Friends of Governors” offer free 1-hour walking tours of the island. You can also rent bicycles. Take a break in Astoria Just the trip alone to the Socrates Sculpture Park is a pleasure. Those who hop aboard a ferry at Pier 11 (Station Wall Street) on the southern tip of Manhattan will experience the best way to reach the city’s largest borough, Queens. The 48-minute mini-cruise passes under four bridges, including the historic Brooklyn Bridge and the Queensboro Bridge, providing views of the city from both sides of the East River. Once arrived at the pier in Astoria, it is only a short walk to Socrates Sculpture Park. It is scarcely imaginable today that this spot on the banks of the river was nothing more than a trash dump until the late 1980s. It is thanks to a committed neighbourhood and artists’ community that the park was created, one that at the same time is a highly-regarded open air museum. The summer programme includes art and gardening projects but also free activities such as yoga courses and meditation, and even canoe tours which start out at the nearby Hallett’s Cove Beach. Through it all, visitors enjoy the panoramic views stretching from Roosevelt Island to the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Concrete Plant Park: Pick your own herbs and fruits It’s a surreal spot filled with contrasts: The Concrete Plant Park on the Bronx River is New York’s first public “Foodway.” In this communal garden between the river and the Amtrak rails, anyone is free to harvest the herbs and fruits growing there. “Up to the end of the 1980s this was still a huge concrete plant,” project coordinator Nathan Hunter notes, pointing to the remaining giant rust-red cement silos. “Then the plant was shut down and the deserted place became a sad spot with a trash heap and drug-dealing.” Finally, following protests by local residents, in 2009 the park authority NYC Parks created Concrete Plant Park. Getting there: The Number 6 subway line to Whitlock Avenue station Wave Hill: Spectacular views across the Hudson The view from the pergola in Wave Hill in the north-western corner of the Bronx can only be described as spectacular. From the highest point in the park, the view to the west takes in further gardening areas, the glittering Hudson River and beyond to the New Jersey shore with its tree-covered basalt stone cliffs called “The Palisades.” Wave Hill is the best proof of the variety presented by a downright green Bronx. The nearby Van Cortlandt Park as well as Pelham Bay Park in the eastern part of the borough are among New York City’s largest parks. Getting to Wave Hill: Take the “Hudson Line” of the Metro-North Railroad from Grand Central Station. The half-hour ride offers views of the Harlem River and Hudson River. Get off at Riverdale station, from which it’s only a short walk up the hill. Governors Island offers spectacular views of Manhattan’s skyline. Dörte Nohrden/dpa The terrace café of Wave Hill House in Wave Hill Park in the Bronx is the perfect place for a break. Dörte Nohrden/dpa The giant rust-red cement silos in Concrete Plant Park are a relic of the site’s former use. Dörte Nohrden/dpa The “Teaching Garden” on Governors Island. Dörte Nohrden/dpa View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Sarah Michelle Gellar is returning to TV. The ‘Buffy The Vampire Slayer’ actress has joined the cast of the upcoming ‘Teen Wolf’ spinoff ‘Wolf Pack’ and announced the news in a surprise appearance at San Diego Comic-Con this week. Entertainment Weekly reports that Gellar, 45, will play arson investigator Kristin Ramsey, who is on the hunt for the teenage arsonist responsible for starting a deadly wildfire in Los Angeles. The wildfires lead to the reawakening of a supernatural predator. Teen Wolf creator Jeff Davis said: “Everyone knows that ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ was a huge influence on ‘Teen Wolf’. So I always thought it would be amazing if we could bring Sarah Michelle Gellar back to a horror show.” Sarah Michelle – who will also serve as executive producer on the show – said: “Everything these guys have been saying about family and the atmosphere of Jeff’s shows is really true. I hope you guys come join us!” ‘Wolf Pack’ will also star Armani Jackson as Everett, Bella Shepard as Blake, Chloe Rose Robertson as Luna, and Tyler Lawrence Gray as Harlan. It is based on the book series by Edo van Belkom, and follows four young teenagers who find themselves united by the bite of a werewolf. Meanwhile, Sarah Michelle recently shared about her “tough” battle with COVID-19, with her symptoms made worse by her long history of asthma and lung issues. She wrote on Instagram: “I realise I’ve been really quiet on here, after two and a half years COVID finally got me. “Thankfully I’m vaccinated and boosted. “But to those out there that say ‘it’s just a cold’… maybe for some lucky people it is. But for this (relatively) young fit person, who has struggled with asthma and lung issues her entire life, that is not my experience. “Even with therapeutics and all my protocols it’s been tough. I know I’m on the road to recovery, but it’s certainly not been an easy road.” View the full article

Published by DPA New research has underlined the benefits of getting boostered against Covid-19, as it improves protection levels against new Omicron subvariants. Hannah A Bullock/Azaibi Tamin/CDC/dpa Seattle (tca/dpa) — While Omicron subvariants have evolved to evade antibody responses from the primary Covid-19 vaccine series, a new laboratory study led by researchers in the US suggests boosters may offer some protection against serious disease. An international research team analysed plasma samples from people who had been infected with Covid-19 before vaccines were available, from those who had completed only a primary vaccine series, and from others who had been boosted with currently available vaccines. Led by the lab of David Veesler, associate professor of biochemistry at the University of Washington School of Medicine, the research team assessed seven of the world’s primary vaccines as well as immunity acquired through previous infection. The team consisted of infectious disease research physicians and scientists from UW Medicine, Fred Hutch Cancer Center, and research institutes in California, Argentina, Italy, Pakistan and Switzerland. The vaccines included in the study were Moderna, Pfizer, Novavax, Jannsen, AstraZeneca, Sinopharm and Sputnik V. The Omicron variant has several sublineages, including BA.5, which is predicted to soon dominate globally and is likely to become the most immune-evasive SARS-CoV-2 variant to date, UW said in a news release about the study. As reinfections and breakthrough cases rise, public health officials around the world are recommending boosters several months after the initial vaccine series. Veesler and his team measured and compared the benefits of vaccine boosters on the plasma-neutralizing activity against the original coronavirus as well as against the Omicron subvariants. The study, published in July in Science, found a marked improvement in Omicron-neutralizing activity in the plasma of boosted individuals. The authors said this highlights the importance of vaccine boosters in improving antibody responses against Omicron strains, including BA.5. “Vaccine boosters may provide sufficient protection against Omicron-induced severe disease,” the authors wrote in the study’s summary. View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Rafe Spall says “it’s really easy to not grope people”. The 39-year-old actor has hit out at those who blast the MeToo movement and said that men should take more responsibility for their actions. He told inews.co.uk: “Since this sort of reckoning that men have had, we get those men going, ‘Oh, so am I not allowed to talk to a woman any more? Am I not allowed to chat?’ “It’s like, you know very well what you’re allowed to do, and what you’re not allowed to do. Like, it’s really easy to not grope anyone. “I’m never in my mind going, oh, just don’t do it! Never. It’s really easy to not grope people. It’s really easy to not make women feel uncomfortable. It’s really easy.” And Rafe says poor behaviour is “received, learned and taught” and it is important for people to actively prevent it. He explained: “I think that’s innate and toxic masculinity is a corruption of that. That’s not inherent. That’s received, learned and taught. So I think you’ve got to go out of your way [to counteract that]. I mean, obviously, culture has done a pretty good job of making unacceptable behaviour acceptable, or de rigueur. But being decent is pretty easy.” Spall has two sons and a daughter with his wife, former ‘Hollyoaks’ actress Elize du Toit and he admitted raising them right is “a lot of pressure”. He said: “My sons’ idea of what a man is will be defined by me in many ways. Also, my daughter’s idea of what it is you should expect from men will in some way be influenced by me. So it’s a lot of pressure.” View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Malcolm McDowell says fans are still obsessed with ‘A Clockwork Orange’ 50 years on from the film’s release. The 79-year-old star played Alex DeLarge in Stanley Kubrick’s cult dystopian crime movie and explained that fans are still recreating his character’s look on both sides of the Atlantic. Speaking to the Metro newspaper, Malcolm recalled: “Once I was driving around under the Hammersmith flyover and I passed the Tube station and out came four boys in the white boiler suits with the bowlers and codpieces and I’m driving past… and I put the window down and looked out but of course they were oblivious. “I thought, ‘Holy God! How amazing!’ I was hooting with laughter.” The star continued: “But I see it all the time now. On Halloween now, in America, people dress like that. And they always come up to me like it was a new thing. “They say, ‘You won’t believe this…’ And I say, ‘You dressed like me on Halloween?’ And they say, ‘Yeah! How did you know?'” Malcolm stars in the new film ‘She Will’ as a filmmaker with an abusive past and feels that the project resonates following the MeToo movement. He said: “It is because I don’t think we realise quite how the victims are affected through the decades, how they cope if they never get over it. “This film makes that very precise statement – they’re always suffering in some way. And maybe the main character, Veronica, is not able to get past it. But something traumatic obviously happened.” The movie features flashbacks of Malcolm as a young man and the actor felt it made the picture more authentic. He explained: “It gave it an authentic ring. And I am playing a man who has been in the public eye somewhat. It’s interesting, because it really made me think – the script and the film – about abuse in a different way.” View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English John Cleese says cancel culture has led to the “death of creativity”. The 82-year-old comedy legend has come out in support of ‘Harry Potter’ author J.K. Rowling after she faced the wrath of cancel culture when she was accused of transphobia. And the BAFTA winner has also mocked modern comedies for lacking creativity due to writers being fearful of insulting anyone. During the FreedomFest conference in Las Vegas, the ‘Monty Python’ star told Fox News Digital: “There’s always been limitations on what they’re allowed to say. “I think it’s particularly worrying at the moment because you can only create in an atmosphere of freedom, where you’re not checking everything you say critically before you move on. What you have to be able to do is to build without knowing where you’re going because you’ve never been there before. That’s what creativity is — you have to be allowed to build. And a lot of comedians now are sitting there and when they think of something, they say something like, ‘Can I get away with it? I don’t think so. So and so got into trouble, and he said that, oh, she said that.’ You see what I mean? And that’s the death of creativity.” He went on: “You can do the creation and then criticise it, but you can’t do them at the same time. So if you’re worried about offending people and constantly thinking of that, you are not going to be very creative. So I think it has a disastrous effect.” The ‘Shrek the Third’ star insists it all comes down to the audience and what’s appropriate. He added: “My audience is much older, and they’re simply not interested in most of the woke attitudes. I mean, they just think that you should try and be kind to people and that’s no need to complicate it, you know? “If you go to a Republican convention and tell anti-Democrat jokes, you’ll get a very good response. If you tell anti-Republican jokes, you won’t. So you’ve got to fit your material to some extent to your audience. And that’s part of it … If you go to see your granny and to have tea with her, you don’t start telling her sex jokes. Now that’s not because it’s illegal, it’s just bad manners.” Cleese says taboo subjects, such as sex, always get the biggest laughs. He explained: “So I think you would think what the audience is and then you might shock them a little bit because that’s fun. And also, as I point out on stage, if you get into areas that are a little bit taboo, you actually get the biggest laughs, which is why sexual humour is often greeted with huge laughs when it’s not particularly funny. It’s to do with anxiety and the release of anxiety when people relax or laugh with spare energy that comes from the fact that they just laughed at something they’ve been anxious about before.” The former ‘Fawlty Towers’ star added how comedy films are all about making big bucks these days, rather than providing the biggest laughs. He said: “What I feel now is that very few people understand how to plot the comedy, so the comedies in America are really aimed at young men because they’re the ones who go to the cinema on Friday night, which means that the box office looks good. “And it’s all done ultimately to money because we now have studios that are more interested in money than in making great movies and in the old days, they wanted to make great movies too.” Cleese added how 1988’s ‘Dirty Rotten Scoundrels’ is one of the last flicks in the genre he enjoyed. It’s not the first time the writer has spoken out about cancel culture. He previously criticised the removal of an episode of his classic 1970s sitcom ‘Fawlty Towers’ from streaming service UKTV due to a racial slur. View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Kim Novak has turned to painting to cope with grief. The 89-year-old actress is still mourning the loss of her husband of 44 years, Robert Malloy, in 2020 but Kim feels closer to her late spouse when she is painting. She told Closer US: “I find my art is very prolific since my husband passed. I have a sense of him looking over my shoulder and watching me with that little smile on his face. “Painting a picture of him felt like we could still communicate in a warm and intimate way. It made me feel less lonely. “You have to be patient. Don’t be afraid to let those emotions out and then let go.” While dealing with her grief has been difficult, Kim also admitted the practicalities of being a widow, such as being solely responsible for her business affairs, have also been an adjustment. She said: “I learned how little I knew and did not fully appreciate just how hard my husband had to work. I never had to deal with business before, but now I have to do it all. Sometimes it’s hard to keep from feeling sorry for myself.” But the ‘Vertigo’ actress is grateful for the time she had with her second husband Robert. She said: “I had been married once before [to her ‘Moll Flanders’ co-star Richard Johnson] but it just didn’t suit me being married to an actor. “My love of animals and Bob’s love of animals that bonded us. Bob also had a wonderful sense of humour.” View the full article

Published by Chicago Tribune CHICAGO — A far northwest suburban bakery has received a stream of harassment after selling tickets to a family-friendly drag show scheduled at the shop on Saturday, while protesters and counterprotesters plan to rally outside during the show, according to the owner and police. Corinna Sac, owner of UpRising Bakery and Cafe in Lake in the Hills, Illinois, planned what she said is a fun and child-friendly event, replete with costumes, dancing, breakfast food and a celestial theme. Sac, a baker, opened the shop with the goal of creating a space for everyone, she said. The space holds live music,… Read More View the full article

Published by OK Magazine Mega Agency All products featured on OK! Magazine are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, OK! Magazine may earn an affiliate commission. Actor Brad Pittreturned to his 1999 Fight Club roots this week when he wore a skirt to the Bullet Train premiere in Berlin. Even though this isn’t the first time the Oscar winner wore what is seen as womenswear, he is amongst a group of men in popular culture challenging the intersection between gender and clothing. Back in 1999, Pitt was a Rolling Stone cover star, and after starring in Fight Club, a film that explores themes of masculinity, the handsome hunk wore several miniskirts, hoop earrings and gloves. His choice of wearing a skirt on the red carpet isn’t a surprise to fans, but it’s a statement that aligns with the fashion principles of Harry Styles, Jaden Smith and more. Why Are Skirts So Controversial? Clothing being seen as a tool for making a political statement isn’t new to history. Most images of Civil Rights leaders and the overall movement include reverends, teachers and more wearing their Sunday best. It is rare to find images of Civil Rights activists in casual clothing such as denim. At the time, denim was seen as the workwear for the sharecropper. Due to its association with both poverty and the rural worker, James Brown never wore it and didn’t allow his band to sport it. However, understanding that denim was the workwear of the working class, Martin Luther King Jr. wore denim and a work shirt when he was arrested in Birmingham, Ala. Wearing workwear instead of a suit was a conscious decision to show his allyship with the rural Black southerner. The images that were taken of Dr. King prior to being arrested were highly publicized and continue to be analyzed in classrooms all over the country. His arrest in Alabama was not only King making a statement, but shortly after his arrest, he wrote A Letter From a Birmingham Jail. With the current political climate surrounding both women and LGBTQ rights, there has been an increase in cis-men wearing what has been considered women’s clothing. When Styles’ December Vogue cover was released, the musician was met with both praise and backlash for wearing a dress. But it was clear to many fans that the former One Direction member was making it known that his identity isn’t defined by what he wears. For Kid Cudi, his decision to wear dresses and skirts was his way of not only paying homage to rock icon Kurt Cobain, who also wore dresses, but it’s another form of self-expression. In an interview with GQVirgil Abloh, who designed Cudi’s dress for an SNL performance last year, told the publication, “For me, it represents personal empowerment despite any social norm, it vehemently represents confidence. It’s Cudi knocking on your television screen saying, ‘Hey! Be yourself.'” As politicized as the male skirt has become, similar garments are still common amongst men in various cultures. But, in today’s climate, it looks as though the skirt is becoming the norm for menswear, and ultimately, the clothing binary we have associated with it will become obsolete. Keep scrolling to shop for male skirts! Amazon SHOP NOW AITFINEISM’s retails for $39.99 at amazon.com. Amazon SHOP NOW NGTEVOO’s Skirt retails for $21.58 at amazon.com. Amazon SHOP NOW Kangma’s Pleated Skirt retails for $22.27 at amazon.com. Incerunmen SHOP NOW Incerunmen’s Pleated Wide-leg Loose Skirt Pants retail for $39.89 at incerunmen.com. View the full article

Published by NJ.com WASHINGTON — The House Jan. 6 committee closed out its set of summer hearings with its most detailed focus yet on the investigation’s main target: former President Donald Trump. The panel on Thursday examined Trump’s actions on Jan. 6, 2021, as hundreds of his supporters broke into the U.S. Capitol, guiding viewers minute-by-minute through the deadly afternoon to show how long it took for the former president to call off the rioters. The panel focused on 187 minutes that day, between the end of Trump’s speech calling for supporters to march to the Capitol at 1:10 p.m. and a video he released a… Read More View the full article

Vote Clark Kent or Jimmy Olsen… for most compelling witness… View the full article

Published by Raw Story By Tom Boggioni Former President Donald Trump went on a massive tirade late Thursday night after the House select committee on the Jan 6th riot concluded their latest public hearing, with Trump ending his night by trashing Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) as a “disloyal sleaze bag!” After the committee displayed irrefutable evidence that the former president did nothing for three hours while watching on TV as rioters stormed the Capitol building, Trump appeared to be trying to place blame everywhere but in his own lap and included House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) in his Truth Soc… Read More View the full article

Published by Tribune News Service I thought, naively it turns out, we might get to a point in my lifetime where we stop saying same-sex marriage. Where we just say marriage. Where a qualifier that points out the sex of two people in a union is so utterly, presposterously unrelated to the spirit and beauty and point of that union that we’d eventually realize it’s the equivalent of putting air quotes around something and we’d stop saying it altogether. Now I wonder if same-sex marriage will become outlawed in my lifetime. When the Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade last month, Justice Clarence Thomas argued in his concurring opi… Read More View the full article

Published by Hong Kong Free Press LGBT activist Jimmy Sham has launched a new legal bid to force Hong Kong to recognise the status of same-sex couples who were married overseas, with his lawyer arguing that differential treatment from heterosexual couples violates people’s right to equality. Sham, who failed in his initial judicial challenge in September 2020, appealed against the lower court’s ruling before a three-judge panel, consisting of Chief Judge of the High Court Poon Shiu-chor, Vice President of the Court of Appeal Susan Kwan and Justice of Appeal Carlye Chu. Sham is currently detained under the national security law… Read More View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English ‘My Policeman’ will have its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival. The romantic drama – starring Harry Styles, David Dawson and Emma Corrin – will get a theatrical release from October 21, before it is available globally on Amazon Prime Video from November 4, but it will premiere first at TIFF in September. ‘My Policeman’ has been directed by Michael Grandage and written by Ron Nyswaner, and is based on the book of the same name from Bethan Roberts. Set in 1950s Brighton, it tells the story of Tom (Styles), a gay policeman who marries a school teacher named Marion (Corrin) while being in a relationship with Patrick (Dawson), a museum curator. It also flashes forward to the 1990s, where Tom (Linus Roache), Marion (Gina McKee) and Patrick (Rupert Everett) are still reeling with regret over the past, but have one last chance to repair the damage. Meanwhile, Harry, 28, previously warned that ‘My Policeman’ and his other upcoming movie ‘Don’t Worry Darling’ are “not family friendly”. He said: “I don’t know if you can watch either with your parents! I’m going to have to do another one!” Asked if it is true there are some “pretty saucy scenes” in both movies, he confirmed: “Yes.” Harry – who appears opposite Florence Pugh in ‘Don’t Worry Darling’ and Emma and David in ‘My Policeman’ – also revealed he felt “very lucky” to have built a “trusting” relationship with his co-stars when shooting their sex scenes, so there was no awkwardness. He said: “I think it depends very much on who you’re working with and what the situation is, all I can say from my own experience is that I was very lucky to have a very trusting relationship within the people we were working with and that kind of came first, so it was all discussed and all of it was very, kind of, ‘OK above the filming, above anything that is happening, it’s the cameras, it’s me and you, we’re doing his together, and we trust each other and if at any point, you know, we can stop whenever’ and all that kind of stuff. “I’d never done that before on camera – at least I don’t think!” View the full article

Published by The Spun By Chris Rosvoglou Earlier this week, the Democrat-led House of Representatives voted to pass a bill that would codify same-sex marriage into federal law. The bipartisan final vote for this bill was 267 to 157. In order for this bill to pass the Senate, at least 10 Republicans would need to join all 50 Democrats. U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville of Alabama recently shared his thoughts on same-sex marriage. At first, Tuberville told reporters there’s “no need for legislating on gay marriage.” When asked if he supports same-sex marriage, Tuberville responded: “Yeah, if that’s what you want to do, f… Read More View the full article