List of All Articles with Tag 'brit'

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

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

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

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

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

LONDON Ratings agency Fitch on Friday stuck with its negative outlook for Britain's sovereign credit rating, citing a

You would think that a band named Rage Against the Machine would be pretty radical in terms of their politics, and you would be right, but that hasn’t stopped right-wingers complaining about a tweet from guitarist Tom Morello taking aim at Nazis. This is a controversial take for some conservatives, apparently. On Thursday, Morello tweeted a graphic which reads: “German saying: If nine people sit down at a table with one Nazi without protest, there are 10 Nazis at the table.” Pretty uncontroversial. As Uproxx notes, it’s not too far removed from the oft-cited quote from the late human rights activist Desmond Tutu: “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.” And yet, conservatives on Twitter – many of whom have paid the social media platform for a coveted blue tick – aren’t happy with the idea behind this thought experiment, with many getting angry over “communists” for some reason: They’re even kicking off under Morello’s tweet in the form of Community Notes – Twitter’s tool used to provide context to a post if it’s inaccurate. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter One anonymous user wrote “there’s little evidence that this is actually a German saying”, before linking to a tweet citing the phrase from an actual German person named Jens Foell. Oops. And to be clear about whether or not it is actually a German saying, one Reddit thread from 2018 saw users discuss its validity, with all but one claiming they haven’t come across it. However prominent the saying may be in Germany, we’d like to think many can get behind the sentiment no matter where it came from, but looking at the tweets above, we’d be wrong… 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.

By Gerry Doyle SINGAPORE Britain supports adding Ukraine to NATO and "that path is open" to them, although

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

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

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

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