
Even Dua Lipa has something to say about Suella Braverman and the government’s immigration rhetoric
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.
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IShowSpeed captures moment rival fan attacked him at FA Cup Final
Not only did Manchester United fan IShowSpeed not get the result he’d hoped for at the FA Cup Final, but he also got attacked by a rival fan too. The American YouTuber was at Wembley for the game, which Manchester City won 2-1 thanks to a brace from Ilkay Gundogan. Things went from bad to worse for IShowSpeed, real name Darren Watkins Jr., who was watching the game when a man in front of him appeared to punch him. The 18-year-old looked shocked as the punch sent his phone flying out of his hand, with the incident caught on his stream. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter His security stepped in and moved him away from Speed into the rows of seats below. Another member of the crowd then handed the phone back to the YouTuber, before Speed shouted at the man in disbelief. “What? Bro, what did you just do?” he said. “Why did he just f***king punch me, bro? Why did he put his hands on me? I didn’t even touch him!” It comes after Speed recently made headlines after signing up to Rumble to produce a handful of exclusive livestreams a month alongside streamer Kai Cenat. Rumble, a streaming platform created to ‘protect free and open internet’ in response to cancel culture, has grown exponentially in recent months, signing exclusive deals with creators and streamers such as Russell Brand and Andrew Tate. 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.
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Florida congressman Maxwell Frost shouts 'F*** DeSantis' on stage at a Paramore concert
Maxwell Frost, the first and only Gen Z congressman in the United States, joined pop rock band Paramore on stage last night shouting 'F*** Ron DeSantis.' The group invited Frost to join them onstage at their concert in Washington, D.C. at the Capitol One Arena during their hit song 'Misery Business'. Lead singer Hayley Williams asked the Florida congressman if he had anything to say to the crowd, to which the Democrat responded by shouting: 'F*** DeSantis! F*** fascism!' When bringing the youngest congressman onto the stage, Williams asked the crowd: 'Can you see this? Can you see the future right here?' Paramore, especially Williams, have used their platform to criticise DeSantis before. Earlier in their US tour, Williams told fans that if they vote for DeSantis 'you're f***ing dead to me.' Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Frost, who was elected in 2022 as congressman for Florida's 10th congressional district, has repeatedly criticised DeSantis, who is the governor of Florida and recently announced his bid to become the Republican Presidential nominee. Later that night, Frost doubled down on his statement by tweeting: "I said what I said." Many conservatives have criticised Frost and Williams for their statement, some called Congressman Frost 'ridiculous' and an 'idiot', others said he 'doesn't understand fascism'. However, the Floridian seemed unbothered by conservative's comments tweeting: Paramore’s recent run of shows is proving eventful to say the least, after the group were forced to stop a concert to deal with a couple fighting and pushing in the crowd at Madison Square Garden. 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.
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