The winner of Miss BumBum 2023 has left fans shocked after turning up to claim her title dressed in an outfit made of raw meat to protest her being “seen as a piece of meat”. Contestant, Lari Sumpani, 24, was crowned in the first place, with Sabrina Rabanne, the runner-up, and Rafaela Dias taking third place. The final presentation of the beauty pageant took place on 18 August in São Paulo, Brazil. Things took a turn towards the end of the show, as Lari Sumpani, who has 265,000 followers on Instagram (@eusumpani), decided to draw attention to an issue close to her heart – the objectification of women. "I'm only seen as a piece of meat, but contrary to what many people think, I have content,” she told NudePR.com. In a photo, Lari, who has previously hit the headlines for discussing her ‘sex diet’ fitness routine, can be seen wearing a small, bikini-like top and short skirt. The thin slices of red, fatty meat appear to be stitched together, as they hang down the model’s body. Lari also shared a video of the unusual co-ords, which has over 70,000 views online. The look is somewhat reminiscent of the memorable outfit Lady Gaga once wore to the MTV Awards in 2010. MissBumBum viewers have been left divided, with some fans reportedly calling the move inappropriate, while others have praised the move. “There was a steak for sure,” joked one fan. “Congratulations Lari, well deserved. Success smp for you,” added someone else. [sic] “Nothing but strength,” added another person. Lari can also be seen posing with her fellow contestants who are donned up in glitzy dresses, as well as bikinis and lacy underwear. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter 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.

US Senator Ted Cruz was fooled by a fake picture from the flooding in the aftermath of Hurricane Hilary and people are gobsmacked. On Sunday (20 August), Tropical Storm Hilary became the first storm in 84 years to hit the Southern California area. It left a deluge of rainfall in Los Angeles and across the southern Californian deserts causing flooding and sparking a host of new jokes and memes that seem to have tripped up Cruz. One such joke was shared by one X (formerly Twitter) user who posted a fake picture of a shark appearing to be swimming down a flooded road. They wrote in the caption: “Friend of mine out in LA just took this picture on the 405. And yes, all news and media outlets you have permission to use this. Wild.” The community notes later explained that the picture was a “digital hoax” that had been mocked up from a real image a kayaker took of a great white shark trailing them. It first appeared online in 2011 in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene in Puerto Rico. Despite the hoax being more than 10 years old, it didn’t stop it from fooling the Texas Senator, who reposted the tweet, writing: “Holy crap.” Later, Cruz revealed that he had been told it was a hoax, adding: “I’m told this is a joke. In LA, you never know…” People expressed concern that a sitting Senator was able to fall for something so easily. One person questioned: “If he falls for this think of all the other things Ted Cruz falls for.” Another said: “We are governed by people who get duped by hoaxes so old they have their own Wikipedia page.” “Thinking this was real should get you expelled from public office,” someone else suggested. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter 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.

Dunder Mifflin employees aren't the only people curious about whether that now-iconic DVD logo ever really does hit the corner of the screen.

A Taylor Swift lookalike has come under fire for causing chaos when she went out in public pretending to be the pop star as part of an internet prank. Ashley Leechin - who has 1.6m followers on TikTok - sported a white top, blue jeans, accessorised with a red bag, red leather cap, and signature red lipstick in a look reminiscent of Swift's Red era. With several 'security guards' surrounding her, Leechin turned up to The Grove, a popular shopping mall in Los Angeles where she was swarmed by Swifties who believed they were seeing the Anti-Hero singer in the flesh. Leechin then showed up at Downtown Disney, the shopping district of Disneyland in Anaheim, California where she repeated the prank and appeared to fool members of the public. @paolaamarcella Yall think this was taylor? #viral #taylorswift #thegrove #fyp #losangeles The two instances were part of a prank video by YouTuber Victor Galvan (Vic In The Game) who has posted videos of similar stunts, with his latest video being a "Fake Bad Bunny prank.". Clips of Leechin being swarmed by fans quickly made rounds of social media, with people criticising her for pretending to be the popular musician out in public, calling the stunt "irresponsible," especially in light of fans recently congregating outside a restaurant where the real Taylor Swift was eating. One person wrote: "You guys are really irresponsible for doing this given the recent events and the likelihood of security concerns that could arise. Also, this is disgusting!" "This is such weird behavior," another person said. Someone else added: "How is this Ashley girl gonna say she did it because other celebrities hire dupes in the past??? Taylor didn’t hire you, you did it for attention." "Taylor should sue them or get a restraining order against that Ashley," a fourth person commented. Leechin has since responded to the negative online reaction and took to TikTok where she explained she collaborated with Galvan, so wasn't the one who hired the bodyguards, and described the stunt was a "social experiment." @noitisashley13 Sorry late post. ‘A day in the life of a celebrity’ - only because it was Taylor everyone is blowing this out of proportion. If it were anyone else, it would have had a completely different outcome. This is why celebrities would hire decoys so they can enjoy their private event or quiey evening. Thank you to everyone who was so kind & sweet yesterday. Not going squash any other rumors because that is pointless. Just a friendly reminder, please do not bully any of my friends. You can bully me because it seems to be an okay thing to do in the ‘swiftie’ fandom but please do not bully my friends because they were incredible to work with. #itsjustashley #vicinthegame #taylorswift "This social experiment was to live a day in the life of a celebrity to see what would happen if I went out looking like Taylor Swift and so from all the videos that you guys have seen [of] fans swarming, this goes to how far a fandom will go," she said. Leechin also said the stunt was a "positive experience," and added it "was not to be malicious it was not to mock anyone," but admitted the timing was "horrific" referring to Swift recently being swarmed by fans. "It was not a 'malicious act' by any means & I want everyone to know that words do not affect me," Leechin wrote in a recent Instagram Story. "Decoys have been hired multiple times by celebrities in the past (many more than just JLo & Ben [Affleck]). The massive amount of positivity I have received outweighs your negativity. "This really shows how far a fandom will go & the true possessiveness that some fandoms have over a celebrity." In another story, she added: "Please don’t expect me to turn off my comments, stop making content or disappear for that matter. It is called freedom of speech for a reason and you have as much air as you want to say what you need to say. "The videos surfacing are taken way out of context & I just want to say to those who have messaged me and have said very kind things, I see you and I thank you. I just hope those who are angry over speculation do not dwell on this and can eventually enjoy their day." Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter 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.

A cancer sufferer has been fiercely condemned online for allegedly pressuring her daughter into shaving off her hair. The mum’s own hair had been “destroyed” by chemotherapy and so she urged her 17-year-old child to cut hers in solidarity, according to her husband. The man explained what happened in a lengthy Reddit post, admitting that his wife’s “manipulative” behaviour had left their relationship in turmoil. He wrote: “My wife is currently battling cancer, and one of the things she’s told me she’s struggling with the most was losing her hair. She’s been given a near 100 per cent chance of survival since we caught it early, but the chemotherapy has destroyed her hair anyway, and she had to shave what was left of it off a few weeks ago. “Not long after that, she suggested we attempt to get our 17-year-old daughter, Anna, to do so as well. Anna has very long hair that she puts a lot of care into so I felt it was appropriate to ask her in private if she wanted to/would be willing to do such a thing. She told me that she didn’t want to cut her hair and I figured that was the end of that.” However, he went on: “Yesterday they came home from a ‘girls shopping trip’ [...] and Anna had a buzzed haircut. That struck me as odd after what she’d said, so after dinner I talked to her and she told me that my wife had said she would never forgive Anna if she didn’t show her support by buzzing her head. I asked her if she was happy about it and she said that she wasn’t." He continued: “When I went to bed, I brought it up with my wife and she said ‘it was Anna’s choice to or not, I just told her how I’d see the situation’. “I told her off, saying she needed to respect Anna’s personal choices and that a 17-year-old girl being against shaving her head wasn’t exactly out of the ordinary. However, my wife simply said it was to show support for her.” Wrapping up his post, he admitted: “I love my wife, and I understand that she’s going through something traumatic, however, her attitude comes off as very manipulative to me, and that’s not behaviour I feel I can personally accept. “I’m not sure if I can move past this to continue the relationship,” he concluded. His post on the AITA forum racked up more than 16,000 likes and 3,300 comments in just 16 hours as fellow Redditors voiced their thoughts on the mother’s behaviour. “I'm sorry that [your wife] has cancer, but what she did to your daughter was very abusive,” wrote one horrified commentator. “If she is unable to deal mentally with her disease and treatment, then she needs professional help, not to manipulate and coerce your daughter into making a choice that she didn't want to make. Make no mistake, she ABUSED your daughter.” Another agreed but added that “we need to dig deeper”. “I don't think this was about the wife wanting support so much as her being miserable and envious of her daughter's hair,” they suggested. “The wife is rightfully miserable right now and it's an amazing coincidence that the daughter has long, lovely hair that she's proud of and [takes] good care of. Looking at that long luxurious hair was a daily visual reminder to the wife of her own lost locks. Nice hair, be it long, short or shaved head by choice, is tied very strongly to a woman's personal concept of beauty.” They continued: “Misery loves company and the wife now has the satisfaction of knowing her innocent daughter feels just [as] horrible as she does and the bonus is the wife doesn't have to look at that constant reminder of the hair she lost.” And a third urged the original poster (OP) to take a “long hard look at his wife's relationship with their daughter to see what else she's done that might fit into this pattern”. “Telling your 17yo (sic) you'll never forgive her if she doesn't shave her head? Absolutely unacceptable, but probably isn't an isolated incident. You don't usually see people go from 0 to 60 that fast.” Another user seconded this theory, explaining that they’d suffered similar “abuse” from their own mum. They wrote: “My mother pulled the same hair stunt when her hair came out in clumps as part of menopause. Guilted me into cutting hair I could sit on into a pixie cut like hers. I cried in private for weeks after. “It was part of a much larger pattern of behaviour but this was the first time it was really visible so the first time anyone asked about it. I didn't even realise the guilt trips I'd been sent on until other people's questions made me think back and I learned guilt isn't love. My dad had no idea.” Meanwhile, cancer survivors agreed that they’d never put someone they love through the pain of losing their hair. “As a cancer survivor, I know how sucky this situation is for the OP's wife, but I have a bad feeling that she's going to play the cancer card ad infinitum because she feels life and everyone who doesn't have cancer owes her,” one wrote. Another added: “Cancer survivor too. Losing my hair was worse than losing my breasts. You can't hide it. I would never want someone I love to go through that.” Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter 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.

An apparent phenomenon which occurred at a recent Lana Del Rey concert has left conspiracy theorists chomping at the bit. Rey’s performance took place at the Foro Sol arena in Mexico City on August 15, but it wasn’t until the weekend that footage of the jaw-dropping occurrence exploded across social media. Recordings of the incident show swathes of the crowd suddenly toppling to the ground after being hit by what viewers called a “mysterious energy wave”. The bizarre sweep was filmed from numerous angles and, indeed, looks like a dramatic full-body Mexican wave involving hundreds of people. X/Twitter users were quick to demand explanations for the strange happening and, inevitably, the responses came in thick and fast. “Someone's TESTING something without informed consent,” one theorist suggested. “Probably crowd control device.” “Evil spirits and demonic energy exists,” offered another ominously. “I’ve seen Holy Spirit do this, as strange as this will sound to most,” wrote a third, who describes himself as a “Jesus Person”. However, others were quick to shrug it off as just an example of the so-called “domino effect”. This was explained by crowd science expert Keith Still, who told The Messenger: “It’s called a progressive crowd collapse, where the momentum of one person knocking into another, increases significantly. “I think the phrase ‘domino effect’ is quite appropriate,” he added. And yet, scores of viewers remained unconvinced by this idea. “Progressive Crowd Falls do happen BUT NOT LIKE THIS,” responded one. “Anyone who’s been to a big show can tell the difference,” they added. “[One] big difference in my mind: when the progressive crowd thing happens it’s usually stopped when smaller people bump into the bigger people. “This though, this looks like everyone was pushed nearly simultaneously. That doesn’t happen, like ever.” Another agreed, saying: “I’ve been to hundreds of gigs before, never seen this.” Meanwhile, most people accepted the logical explanation. “Some girl was interviewed and said a person up near the front was crawling on the ground looking for something, caused a few people right above them to fall backwards into the tightly packed crowd causing a domino effect,” wrote one. And others joked that the crowd had simply been bowled over by the power of Rey’s voice. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter 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.

Indulge your urge to be a huge hater without hurting anyone’s feelings.

The woman who broke the internet by launching into a flummoxing rant aboard an American Airlines (AA) flight is doing everything she possibly can to rebrand herself as a beacon of positivity. Tiffany Gomas was widely christened the “crazy plane lady” after footage of her meltdown – during which she uttered the now immortal words “that motherf**ker is not real” – went viral online. The 38-year-old marketing executive has since addressed her actions, admitting that they were “completely unacceptable”. However, she has also urged viewers to appreciate that “we all have our bad moments”. And on Sunday, a week after sharing her tearful apology, she posted some groomed-but-relaxed photos of herself on Instagram, accompanied by the caption: “One moment doesn’t define you; but it can define your purpose.” In the snaps, Gomas looks a far cry from the frazzled, scraped-bun-banshee on board that AA aircraft and, instead, shows off her long, flowing hair as she poses barefoot on her kitchen floor. Emphasising her ambitions to become a motivational mental health guru, she added the hashtags: “#selflove #empowerment #motivation #staytuned.” The “stay tuned” refers to a project she has been promoting ever since sharing her public apology. She Texas-based exec insists that she wants to use the “life-altering” experience of becoming an internet personality to “do a little bit of good in the world” and has hinted that she’d like to become an influencer. Gomas ended her video message last week with the message: “Join me on my journey of promoting positive mental health and standing up against cyberbullying,” alongside a link to a new eponymous website. So far, the only content on the site is that same video, and a message reading: “Stay tuned”. It's Tiffany Gomas www.youtube.com Numerous admirers have commented on her recent photos, insisting she can’t possibly be “the same lady from the plane”. However, the 38-year-old has held her hands up and explained that whilst it was, indeed, her, she should not be “judged” for a one-off slip-up. In an interview with the Daily Mail, she said that in the wake of the incident, her life had “blown up”. “It’s frightening,” she admitted: “Things go viral and everything changes. “No one knows anyone else’s story, and no one should judge. No one knows what it’s like.” In the notorious clip, Gomas stormed to the front of the plane and declared that she was getting off because “that motherf**ker back there is not real.” “You can sit on this plane and you can die with them or not. I’m not going to,” she yelled before being removed by members of the cabin crew. Gomas flew into a rage following an argument with a relative, whom she accused of stealing her AirPods, according to police records reviewed by The New York Post. Because of her behaviour, passengers were forced to disembark Flight 1009 from Dallas to Orlando, before eventually being allowed to re-board – causing a delay of at least 3 hours, the US news outlet reported. Gomas was issued a warrant for criminal trespass after police found her sitting outside the airport terminal waiting for an Uber, however, she was neither arrested nor charged. Now, she clearly just wants to move on with her life. Onwards and upwards, eh, Tiff. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter 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.

Uri Geller has claimed that aliens will arrive on Earth “within 10 to 20 years”. Geller, the self-proclaimed psychic, has predicted that extra terrestrial beings are setting their sights on our planet – and he thinks NASA needs to make preparations right away. “I think in the coming 10 to 20 years there will be a landing,” Geller told The Mirror. He doesn’t think they’re here to cause us harm, though. “It won’t be an invasion. Wherever they come from - I think maybe two or three species out there - if they wanted to destroy us they could." Geller even thinks the aliens are going to arrive and give us a few tips on how to keep world peace. He went on to say: “They’re concerned we might press the red buttons and nuclear bombs will fly. They won’t want our planet destroyed.” Geller added: “There will be a Steven Spielberg type landing. I hope they land somewhere like the White House lawn or the Eiffel Tower. “It will be the biggest revelation in history - religiously, archaeologically, everything. It will be like finding the Arc of the Covenant.” So there you go – if Geller is right, there’s a whole lot to look out for over the next two decades. It’s hardly the first time Geller has spoken about aliens. In fact, he believed that UFOs were out in force on the day of the Queen’s funeral last year. Geller previously told his Twitter followers to “watch the skies over London” on Monday, when the late monarch was laid to rest after her death aged 96. In the post, which was accompanied by a video message, the entertainer wrote: “The Queen’s funeral. I believe ‘they’ will want to pay their respects too! “Three months ago, a UFO flew over Her Majesty’s jubilee celebrations [and] this may happen again. Send me what you have seen or caught on camera! God Bless The Queen!” Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter 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.

New research suggested that Brits abroad are turning to outrageous makeshift sex toys while on holiday. Sexual wellness brand Lelo discovered that 40 per cent of Brits feel more turned on during their travels. Despite this, just 28 per cent of the study confessed to taking a toy overseas with them. The remaining majority admitted to feeling anxious during security checks, worried whether it would go off in their luggage and simply having no space in their suitcases. Well, it turns out holidaymakers are becoming more creative with what's available, with more than one in 10 admitting to using a DIY vice. Shockingly, 18 per cent are opting for shampoo bottles, shortly followed by wooden spoons (16 per cent). A further 20 per cent even claimed to turn to vegetables. Of course, none of these are recommended by medical professionals. Luka Matutinović, LELO CMO, said: "No one wants to be so desperate on their travels that they turn to a vegetable for stimulation. The SONA 2 Travel was created for pleasure and optimised for travel, so we wanted to combine the two and really put the toy to the test, and where better to do so than in Climax itself… or even better, in multiple Climaxes!" "The good news is you don’t need to go to Climax to climax. Whether you are planning to travel to Cancun, Copenhagen or the Costa Del Sol we believe the launch of our new SONA 2 Travel guarantees you plenty of pleasure without having to follow in Ruby’s footsteps." Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter 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 classic Twister ice lolly has bizarrely struck up a conversation online after a video showing how they're made went viral. The clip, which racked up over 3.2 million views, was reposted on X (formerly known as Twitter) where it left viewers feeling "distressed". It shows the ice cream being pumped out of a machine in its famed yellow, turquoise and pink colours. The next step shows an industrial slicer chopping the ice cream log into smaller chunks, ready to be slotted with a wooden stick. The Twister lollies are then transported to a freezer before being packaged up. The two-minute video has since been reposted and liked tens of thousands of times, with the poster writing: "Sorry, but the haphazard way the sticks are being launched into the Twister ice lollies (or whatever they’re called here) is killing me." "No that can't be right, reject reject reject," another added, while a third chimed in: "Wow them machines really couldn't be bothered... giving Monday vibes." One offended user wrote: "That is deeply, deeply troubling." "Imagine how lucky you'd feel when you get one with a functionally placed stick," another joked. It comes after people were left mind-blown after discovering the real meaning of 'Twix,' the popular chocolate treat. The revelation came in 2018 after Fooji tweeted at Twix, and asked: "I read that "Twix" is short for "twin biscuit sticks." Can you confirm or deny this?" To which Twix said they were “close” with this theory and then revealed the name is actually short for "twin sticks." Who knew? Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter 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.

MrBeast has done it again, with another record-breaking challenge that's racked up tens of millions of views in less than 24 hours. On Saturday (19 August), the popular YouTuber, real name Jimmy Donaldson, uploaded an exciting challenge that saw every country in the world go head-to-head for $250,000 (£196,300). The video was an instant hit with his 177 million subscribers, having racked up 48 million views in 17 hours at the time of writing. The numbers continue to soar by the second. MrBeast's latest challenge sees one person from each country take on his version of the Olympics. All participants were flown out to America, before battling it out in five different rounds of activities including gymnastics, archery and fencing. Countries were eliminated throughout the challenge, with just 47 making it to the third round. The last standing won the cash prize. Every Country On Earth Fights For $250,000! www.youtube.com This isn't the first time the online sensation has broken records after his Squid Game challenge in 2021 and his 'lost at sea' experiment. MrBeast previously acknowledged his achievement when he broke the world record for the most views in 24 hours for a non-music video, with 46 million. Speaking about his famed 'Stranded at Sea' video from August 6, MrBeast said: "New video broke the world record for most views in 24 hours on a non music video! I’m living the life I would dream of every night when I was 13.. I love all of you and thank you so much for watching our videos!!! I’ll never take you all for granted." Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter 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.