SHOW BIZ

Chris Brown is speaking out after lawmakers honored him during his concert in Arlington, Texas, then apologized for the honor.

On Sept. 12, U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) and Democratic Texas Rep. Venton Jones appeared at AT&T Stadium for Brown and Usher’s R&B Tour, where they honored both singers for their contributions to music. The politicians presented them with a Congressional Record recognition and state proclamation.

“Right now, we are experiencing Black joy to the highest level,” Crockett said on stage. “And I wanted to make sure we document that in the Congressional Record.”

Usher was not on stage when either honor was presented.

The incident sparked public backlash because of Brown’s history of domestic violence. In June 2009, the “Forever” singer pleaded guilty to one count of felony assault for physically attacking Rihanna.

On Monday, the 37-year-old singer and dancer took to social media to apologize to Crockett for the criticism she received following the recognition, uploading a photo of the two to his Instagram story with text that read: “I apologize for any backlash you have to deal with for awarding for me. I’m not political but I move off of frequency and energy and I’m so grateful. Once again, thank you.”

But by Tuesday, Jones released a statement apologizing to his constituents for his role in presenting Brown with a state resolution.

“Over the past few days, I have listened closely to the conversations, concerns, and heartfelt feedback shared across our community following my presentation honoring Chris Brown with a state resolution,” Jones said.

Jones, who first assumed his role in 2023, said that the presentation was an attempt to reach voters ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm election.

“First and foremost, I want to acknowledge the women, the Black women, whom my actions have hurt. In moments like these, I think it’s important to be specific and just as loud with an apology as our original actions were,” Jones added in his statement. “I apologize.”

After Jones’ statement, Brown called out the representative.

“I didn’t ask to be honored because I knew some s— like this would happen and [Venton Jones] immediately started tap dancing and apologizing because he didn’t wanna lose voters and support,” Brown wrote on Sept. 15 on his Instagram. “I have a great idea.. how about [y’all] leave me the f— alone and let me focus on the fans that spent their money to actually see and support me.”

Outside of the most widely recognized incident involving Rihanna — which occurred hours before the couple was set to appear at the 2009 Grammy Awards — there have been multiple domestic violence allegations against Brown, including by his ex-girlfriend Karrueche Tran. She was granted a restraining order against the singer in 2017.

Brown has been accused in several other cases of violence against women from 2018 to 2022, either dismissed, settled out of court, or the investigation dropped.

This summer, the singer pleaded guilty to beating up a man in a London nightclub with a glass bottle in 2023. There is an active $50-million suit against Brown and members of his entourage by four male concertgoers who allege they faced a “brutal, violent assault” backstage following a Fort Worth, Texas, show in 2024.

All Creatures Great and Small fans were quick to share their thoughts on the first episode of the new Channel 5 series.

Beloved Channel 5 period drama All Creatures Great and Small has returned.

On Thursday (September 17), fans were thrilled when a brand new series kicked off as the residents of Darrowby were now settling into a post-war existence. The episode kicked off with James in London, as Channel 5 viewers got to see Helen’s (Rachel Shenton) sister Jenny (Imogen Clawson) as a nurse in the city.

However, when the couple returned to Darrowby, trouble arose as a new vet arrived in the village, which didn’t sit well with Siegfried (Samuel West), who accused him of trying to poach his clients from Skeldale House.

Fans also saw the return of Dorothy (Maimie McCoy), who made a comeback during the festive special last year and has since sparked a romance with Siegfried.

Although during the episode, it seems as though the pair are including Mrs Hall (Anna Madeley) on their dates, as they spoke about going to see a film at the cinema later that night.

Elsewhere, Helen and Mrs Hall spoke about her return as Helen mentioned her being back had ‘made a difference’. Mrs Hall agreed as she said: “In more ways than one.”

Despite Helen joking that it meant she was keeping Siegfried out of their hair, Mrs Hall remarked: “No, she’s exactly what he needs. I had a feeling she would be if he gave her another chance.

Helen replied: “He doesn’t know how lucky he is to have you, do you know that?” As it seemed as though she was suggesting there was more to their friendship than is said, Mrs Hall didn’t notice.

As Dorothy later suggested, the three of them saw another film, Mrs Hall told her she didn’t mind if they wanted to spend time just the two of them, as she told her: “I’d hate to feel like I was getting in the way.”

Her friend replied: “If anyone is getting in the way, it’s me. You’re working, and here I am getting under your feet.” Mrs Hall added: “If you were in my way, I’d tell you.”

Later on, Siegfried was frazzled over the new arrival as Dorothy assured him he had no reason to worry over it, although Mrs Hall didn’t seem too convinced as she stayed quiet on the matter.

The interactions between the three characters didn’t go unnoticed with viewers, as many were quick to comment on the episode as they noticed the only link between Siegfried and Dorothy is Mrs Hall.

On X, one person said: “Both Dorothy and Siegfried are basically dating Audrey because she is the only common interest they have. brilliant.” Someone else added, “Audrey is the glue between Siegfried and Dorothy. These two do not have much in common, which became obvious. D doesn’t know Siegfried needs truth, not flattery, and Siegfried doesn’t even want her opinion.”

Another person added: “Wait. Why is Dorothy so hesitant to spend time alone with Siegfried, without Audrey there as well? Are things not going well? ill-matched?” While someone agreed: “So the cracks are already visible? Just what my predictive analysis hinted at. We would see stuff already, but things are going south just yet.”

All Creatures Great and Small continues Thursdays on Channel 5 from 9pm

KATIE Price appeared to ignore her marriage breakdown for the night as she celebrated her best friends’ engagement.

After ending her marriage to Lee, 43, the former glamour model was played a voice note from him on GMB on Wednesday, in which he insisted “there’s been no wool pulled over anyone’s eyes”. 

Tonight, Katie appeared in good spirits as she joined her friends for a boozy night out.

Katie flashed a big smile alongside celebrity interviewer pal Lewis Nicholls and Mike Turner.

He shared a photo of the trio and wrote: “Reunited to celebrate our engagement with Katie tonight,” with a red love heart emoji.

Katie was seen beaming as she held a glass of bubbly in her hand while joining her friends at Bank House Hotel Worcester.

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Speaking to Susanna Reid and Ed Balls this week, Katie candidly confessed that – despite everything – she still loves Lee. 

She said: “I love him… but who is he?

“I love the man I met. I can’t take it. I was stupid to fall for him. It’s really sad.”

Katie also admitted she believes her ex loves her too, saying: “I do believe he did. 

“I think he’s got himself in such a situation… where he copy and pastes what he says to women… I do believe he’s fallen for me.”

Katie then revealed the signs that finally made her open her eyes.

She said: “For example, one of the rings he bought me he said was worth £72,000. So I thought I’d better get it insured.

“So I took it into a shop and got it cleaned to get it insured. When they gave it back to me I said, ‘How nice are the diamonds?’

“They said, ‘They’re really good lab diamonds. They were grown in a lab. The ring is probably only worth about five grand’. Do you know how embarrassed I was?”

On the latest episode of her podcast The Katie Price Show, Katie held up her hand to sister Sophie, 36, and said: “I’m still wearing my ring but on the other hand because I love the ring. 

“I’ve taken Lee out of [my Instagram] bio now. Enough is enough now, it gets to a point where you can tolerate so much… 

“I did what I had to do. It doesn’t matter what people say about whoever I’m with. I have to do what I need to do. 

“If there are things that I question, that’s for me to find out myself to make my decision. Things haven’t added up and I’m not happy about them. He is still in prison and I haven’t spoken to him.”

Tone Capone, the Bay Area producer whose smash hit “I Got 5 On It” for Luniz defined his region’s hip-hop sound, has died. He was 59.

The producer’s death was first reported by KQED. Capone had most recently lived in Las Vegas. No cause of death was given.

Capone, born Anthony Douglas Gilmour in Berkeley, learned to DJ while attending Berkeley High School. He often performed at college and house parties with his close friend Nick Peace, who became an accomplished hip-hop producer as well. While Bay Area hip-hop was famously independent and insular, Capone produced singles for major-label groups like the R&B combo SWV and the Oakland group Capital Tax, rooted in his love of ‘70s soul and hard-edged funk.

His sound — soulful yet martial, with a distinct, emphatic downbeat — yielded some of the region’s most beloved and distinct hip-hop hits, including Mac Dre’s “Fire” and “Not My Job,” E-40’s “Ring It,” 3xKrazy’s “Keep It on the Real” and cuts by Celly Cel, Andre Nickatina and countless others.

He’ll be best known for Luniz’ 1995 hit “I Got 5 On It,” a slinky, spooky track riffing on the Club Nouveau song “Why You Treat Me So Bad,” which entered the canon of ageless west coast hip-hop. The song hit the Billboard top ten, and recently resurfaced in a slow, eerie remix for Jordan Peele’s 2019 horror film “Us.”

Capone’s slow-rolling sound also traveled well to Houston, he worked with Scarface, Devin the Dude and more. His productions on Scarface’s 1997’s “The Untouchable” helped it go platinum, with “Smile” sporting one of the last verses recorded by Tupac Shakur.

A Big Brother duo have sparked romance speculation just days into the new ITV series

Two Big Brother housemates have seemingly ‘confirmed’ their romance after just four days in the famous house.

The duo entered the experiment on Sunday (September 13), alongside 14 other contestants. But they have now been spotted laying together in bed and holding hands, prompting fans to suggest that they have already ‘hard launched’ their connection.

The moment came during Thursday (September 17) night’s episode, when the house was transformed into a ‘dreamland’. While nominated housemates Millie, Pauline and Rochelle stayed in the main house, the remaining contestants were sent to a much smaller ‘nightmare room’.

As they were settling into the their new living space, Chelsey and Lynx were seen holding hands while chatting with their co-stars. And the duo didn’t appear to be hiding their intimate body language from the rest of the house.

This has sparked conversation on X, formerly Twitter, where one viewer wrote: “Finger interlocking holding hands in front of basically everyone, oh they really hard launching this romance thing init #bbuk.”

Many fans have complained about the pair’s alleged “showmance,” arguing that they are treating the social experiment like a dating show. “Chelsey & Lynx need to realise this is not Love Island #BBUK,” said one.

Another frustrated viewer posted: “Stop trying to make a chelsey and lynx showmance happen! it’s not going to happen! #bbuk,” while a third added: “they’re holding hands now? #bbuk.”

Someone else chimed in with: “Do they know its not love island ffs stop holding hands #bbuk,” with a final viewer putting forward: “We’ll have to get one of Lynx or Chelsey out soon if they continue, they think they’re on Love Island. #bbuk,” reports OK!.

Although their romance has come under fire, Chelsey and Lynx have separately attracted some support since joining the show. Manchester-based Chelsey has been described as “a sweetheart”, with one fan writing: “I really like Chelsey so far, she’s got a great bubbly personality. #BBUK.”

Lynx has his admirers, too. “I like lynx #BBUK,” one supporter posted, while another declared: “Lynx might be the coolest name i’ve ever heard #bbuk.” Chelsey and Lynx aren’t the first pair to find a connection on the series. 2025 contestants Marcus and Elsa, who met on the show, recently announced their engagement and first pregnancy together.

Away from the romances, the house is preparing for an eviction. Big Brother’s undercover moles, Tays and Philip, nominated Millie, Pauline and Rochelle, leaving the public to decide who goes.

The result will be revealed during Friday’s live broadcast, with AJ Odudu and Will Best on hand to interview the departing housemate.

Big Brother continues on ITV2 and ITVX tomorrow night at 9pm

KATIE Price’s ex Dane Bowers has updated fans from his hospital bed about ‘complications’ after a seven-hour surgery.

Back in August, the Another Level singer revealed he needed to have a “very serious operation”.

On Thursday, Dane, 46, took to Instagram from his hospital bed to share an update on how his spinal fusion went.

He said: “So I had my surgery yesterday, luckily enough I didn’t really have much pain, obviously I had this morphine drip thing that I could press the button for and I’ve not used it.

“I used it once right at the beginning to see what it felt like I guess, but I’ve not used it which is good.”

But the singer – who wore a hospital gown with a piece of white material tucked into the neckline – then explained something was wrong with his neck and chin.

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He said: “I have this thing here on my chin which needs to be seen to, which is why I’m talking a bit weird, it’s all numb and it’s from where my face was down.

“My surgery was seven hours which is quite long. And it’s sort of seeping as you can see…disgusting.

“So I think I’m having a dermatologist and some sort of skin doctor come to see, but that’s the only sore bit really.”

Dane – who dated Katie between 1998 and 2000 – then revealed he had managed to get out of bed and stand up with a physiotherapist and used a walker to do some steps around the ward.

He added: “My back is sore when I move but I’m not particularly in pain. I did have a bit of cramping in my good leg but otherwise not too bad.”

When Dane shared the news of his upcoming surgery last month, he said: “I got a second opinion and I am glad I did, because it’s pretty much changed what I am doing.

“Bad news for me, I do need to have a very serious back operation. I need to basically have a fusion”.

Spinal fusion is a procedure which sees two or more vertebrae joined together with metal rods, cages or screws.

LADY Gaga’s baby name has finally been revealed after the star welcomed her first child with fiance Michael Polansky.

The Born This Way hitmaker, 40, who had kept her pregnancy under wraps and spent months out of the public eye, gave birth in June.

Now, after rampant speculation, the couple’s baby has been revealed to be a girl named Rose Bean Polansky, reports TMZ.

The outlet, who obtained the birth certificate, says she was born in Los Angeles on June 9 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre.

Baby Rose was welcomed with the help of Dr. Robert Katz, who helped deliver Ciara and Russell Wilson‘s baby Sienna in 2017.

The inspiration behind the name remains unclear but some have speculated it could be linked to La Vie En Rose, the famous french song she sings in hit film A Star Is Born.

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As a toast to the song, the star had a rose tattoo inked down the length of her spine in 2019.

Meanwhile, the middle name Bean could be a nod to singer Carl Bean who provided the inspiration behind her hit “I Was Born This Way”.

Lady Gaga – real name Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta – was seen out and about with her new baby for the first time earlier this month.

The new mum was snapped taking a stroll with fiance Michael with the tot close to her chest while out and about in the California sunshine.

Baby Rose was wrapped in a beige sling and white baby-grow, with its face turned to her chest.

The popstar placed a tender hand protecting the tot’s neck as they spent some quality time together.

Lady Gaga gave a hint as to her family plans in 2025, when she spoke openly about her thoughts on motherhood in a series of interviews.

She told the New York Times: “I’m excited to be a mom. I used to have a lot of apprehension about it.

“The thing that’s the most important to me is to not force my children to live a life that they are not choosing.

“So the more that we can give them space to discover who they are on their own, that’s the thing that I believe in the most”.

She also told Rolling Stone last year: “Being a mom is the thing I want the most.”

And talking about her own relationship with her mum with Allure in 2019, she said: “I really hope that when I have maybe a little girl one day, or a little boy, and they see Mommy put her makeup on, that they have the same experience that I did.

“That’s the greatest gift of all, when you can connect with your parents.”

Lady Gaga and Michael first got together in 2019, but went public with their relationship in 2020.

They went Instagram official in February 2020, when Gaga posted a pic of her cuddling up to her new man.

SUPERSTAR Ed Sheeran quietly donated £1.5million to aid in the Middle East ongoing conflict amid the fallout from Macklemore being removed from his Loop tour.

The four-time Grammy Award winner asked US stadium owner Robert Kraft to match his donation to bring aid to the region.

Rather than publicize the generous move himself, Ed’s donation has come to light after Macklemore publicly challenged Robert to match his own £750,000 ($1 million) donation to Palestinian organizations.

Taking to Instagram, Robert wrote: “Earlier today, before Macklemore challenged me to match his donation, Ed called me and asked me to commit $2 million to match his donation to aid in the region to fight this humanitarian crisis.

“Ed now plans to reach out to other venue owners and our goal is to continue to work together to build bridges.”

Ed’s huge donation comes after 15 years of supporting countless charities around the globe.

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He teamed up with Médecins Sans Frontières across both his Mathematics and Divide tours to help raise money for some of the world’s most conflict-torn states.

The charity provides humanitarian medical care—focusing on projects in conflict zones and in countries affected by endemic diseases.

The fallout comes after Robert Kraft took the unprecedented move to ban Ed’s support act Macklemore from performing at his Gillette Stadium near Boston.

The rapper had used previous support slots to call for a “Free Palestine” on stage and flashed up images of Gaza.

As well as referring to the war as “genocide,” Macklemore also dedicated a song to pro-Palestinian protesters.

Macklemore took to social media to slam the move, prompting a global backlash.

In his statement on Tuesday, Ed, who has tried to keep out of politics all his career, said: “I am appalled by the conflict between Israel and Palestine.

“The suffering and pain caused on both sides is a human tragedy. There are too many wars across the world causing immeasurable pain, none of which should be tolerated.”

He added: “Macklemore coming off tour was the promoter’s decision, it was not mine. I would never let down the fans who had made plans, nor would I abandon the touring crew and the other support acts and musicians who rely on me for work and to make a living.”

LONDON — Ireland will boycott the Eurovision Song Contest for a second year over Israel’s participation, the country’s national broadcaster said Thursday.

RTÉ said it will not send an act to the 2027 competition in Bulgaria and will not broadcast the show because of the “appalling and ongoing loss of lives in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis there which continues to put the lives of so many civilians at risk.”

Ireland was one of five countries — along with the Netherlands, Iceland, Slovenia and Spain — to skip Eurovision this year to protest Israel’s inclusion in the pan-continental music contest.

Eurovision Director Martin Green said organizers regretted RTÉ’s decision but “fully respect” it.

“All broadcasters decide on an annual basis to participate in the following year’s contest. We will remain in dialogue with RTÉ and hope to welcome them back to the contest in the future,” Green said.

Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS announced last month it will also boycott next year, calling Eurovision a “platform for division.”

“AVROTROS will not participate in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2027 because the event can no longer be considered neutral, with a participating country still involved in a large-scale military conflict,” it said.

Next year’s competition is due to take place in Bulgaria’s Black Sea resort of Burgas in May, after Bulgarian singer Dara won the 2026 event with her infectious party anthem “Bangaranga.”

The contest was founded in 1956, in part to help unite a shattered continent after World War II. It pits acts from dozens of countries against one another for the continent’s musical crown.

Israel has taken part in Eurovision since 1973, one of a few non-European countries to compete. But calls for Israel to be kicked out have swelled over the conduct of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government in the Hamas-Israel war in Gaza.

The 2024 Eurovision contest in Malmo, Sweden, the 2025 in Basel, Switzerland and this year’s contest in Vienna saw pro-Palestinian protests and heightened security.

Moments after the final rapid-fire rhythm of Anthrax’s opening number “Caught in a Mosh” fades from the open air of the Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, N.J., shaggy-headed vocalist Joey Belladonna addresses the audience. “I gotta ask everybody out there right now. Who’s never seen Anthrax before?” Around half of the 6,000-or-so crowd members who showed up by 6 p.m. for the three-band bill, headlined by heavy metal legends Iron Maiden, raise their hands. “Ah, yeah! We got a lot of new friends here today. Thank you for being here.”

Some bands with a four-decade career would be disappointed by the turnout, or by the realization that many fans not wearing Maiden shirts are dressed in Megadeth merch. But for Anthrax, preaching to the unconverted is an opportunity to expand their fan base beyond the somewhat insular community of thrash metal, a style of music that took the aggression of bands like Iron Maiden and turbocharged it with the speed and fury of hardcore punk. As much as Anthrax cherish being one of the “Big Four” — Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax — playing a 35-minute set well before dark is a great way to reach new listeners.

“We have a strong base of fans that are deeply into this band, but we know there are also people that have never listened to this type of music before,” says bald-headed, gray-bearded rhythm guitarist and lyricist Scott Ian from his home office outside of L.A. a week before the show. “They’ve heard band names, but maybe they haven’t dipped their toe in the water. So, it would be great to reach them and give them something they didn’t even know they wanted and then they’ll fall in love with it.”

A full 10 years have passed since Anthrax released their last studio album, “For All Kings,” which helps explain why they’re not as well-known as some metal veterans. Instead of rushing out an album after the pandemic, Anthrax took their time writing and fine-tuning new songs before entering Dave Grohl’s Studio 606 in L.A. in 2022. Then, they wrote more songs and massaged those for another two years before finishing the recording and sending the album to be mixed in 2025.

“I nitpicked over every detail of these songs before I even sent the demos to the other guys to put their two cents in,” says drummer and main songwriter Charlie Benante, clad in a black T-shirt and blue jean shorts, and sporting cropped black hair and a slanted mustache. “I wanted them to be as good as they could possibly be. Being good enough wasn’t OK.”

The 11 tracks on “Cursum Perficio” (Latin for “I complete my journey”) encapsulate the finessed brutality, incisive melodies and experimental flourishes from Anthrax’s years with Belladonna (from 1984-1992 and 2005 to the present), during which the band wrote its fastest, most aggressive songs. As much as Anthrax were driven this time by the desire to attract new fans, they were also motivated by many popular new metal albums — and not in a good way.

Anthrax’s meticulously crafted album was recorded at Studio 606, using Iron Maiden support slots to court new listeners beyond the thrash faithful.

(Travis Shinn)

“I hear bands with new records out, and they’re horrible,” Benante says, squinting his eyes and grimacing. “The genre has gotten stagnant to the point where you see a social media post by some band mentioning they have new music coming out, and you can tell exactly how it’s going to sound just by the way they look.”

While “Cursum Perficio” may be a bit heavy for some metal fans, it’s neither dull nor predictable. The album is loaded with Anthrax trademarks — serrated, crunchy riffs, soaring lead vocals, bludgeoning beats, and scorching guitar — but there are also galactic noise effects, angular song structures and atypical chord configurations. The most striking number, “The Edge of Perfection,” starts with chiming ethereal guitars and gently tapped cymbals, then detonates in a conflagration of feral blast beats, minor-key tremolo guitar picking (redolent of black metal), and chanted tribal vocals before climaxing in a slithering riff and ebullient chorus.

“After 30 years as a band, I can honestly say that’s the best song we’ve ever done,” says Ian, the most voluble member. “I feel like it’s genre-defying and can appeal to fans of atmospheric stuff and extreme metal, and anyone who likes aggressive music or even just guitar rock.”

For such a bruising cut, the lyrics of “The Edge of Perfection” are surprisingly optimistic. “It’s about striving for perfection, which, of course, is impossible. But that doesn’t mean you can’t reach for it,” says Ian. “To me, true perfection is happiness and health, and that comes from love, and it isn’t a given. I work hard at being an empathetic person and I only do things out of love and wanting to make everybody around me feel good as well.”

Lest Ian’s Zen-like proclamation color him a romantic, the guitarist stresses that much of the energy and anger of “Cursum Perficio” stems from the political, social and economic turmoil of the last decade. The problems, he stresses, are cutthroat capitalism, rampant partisanship and mankind’s seemingly innate instinct to destroy.

“Humans are really good at one thing and that’s murder, and we’ve excelled at it over the centuries,” Ian says, shattering the good vibes that flowed like a clean mountain spring just a minute ago. “Every year, we get better at treating each other terribly, which I can’t understand. I mean, there are people on this planet who, if they wanted to, could end world hunger. But I guess there’s no money in that. They would rather make the world a s— place by draining the resources. I swear to God, it’s just like [the 1971 Dr. Seuss book] ‘The Lorax.’”

While Ian purposely scrapped any early lyrics he wrote about politics in the age of Trump (“that would have been boring”), on “Everyone’s Got a Plan” he addresses the partisan strategy of “divide and conquer,” and in the first single, “It’s for the Kids,” he writes about the ubiquity of school shootings. Neither song has stopped naysayers from characterizing Anthrax as left-wing.

“I’m not a liberal,” he plainly states. “I’m a centrist. I like skeet shooting and I enjoy going to a range and shooting at targets.  But I believe in common sense. And no matter what your political leanings, I think everybody can agree that nobody wants to see an 8-year-old shot in the face, which happens all too often.”

“I love this country,” interjects Benante. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t have some problems with it…. The way we go about things in this country is just wrong, and it makes me frustrated to the point where I’m like, ‘F— it. I’ll just put my head down and write a song.’”

“Cursum Perficio” delivers classic Anthrax crunch with experimental flourishes, anchored by genre-defying centerpiece “The Edge of Perfection.”

(Travis Shinn)

Much of “Cursum Perficio” caters to neither the left nor the right. “NYC 93” is about the celebratory chaos of band life in the early ’90s, “The Long Goodbye” addresses the horrors of dementia, and the title track is about closure, whether positive or problematic. The Latin translation of the phrase, along with Benante’s past comments that he can’t imagine writing another full Anthrax album anytime soon, have led to speculation that the band is nearing the end of the line; the theory is seemingly supported by lines like, “The journey’s over/ The threads that hold it all together.” But while there are no plans now to write any new songs, and four of the members are in their 60s (lead guitarist Jonathan Donais is the baby at 47), growing too old to headbang isn’t even a notion.

“I truly believe that going out and playing shows keeps us young,” concludes Benante. “We get in a zone, and the music takes over and the energy going through our bodies is the same as it was when we were 20. Why would we ever want to give that up?”

Wiederhorn is the co-author of Scott Ian’s 2014 autobiography, “I’m the Man: The Story of That Guy From Anthrax.”

Coleen and Wayne as you’ve never seen them before, as they star in their new Disney+ reality series The Real Rooneys

It’s a Premier League makeover for Wayne Rooney, who is embracing his latest position of reality TV star.

Together with wife Coleen and their four boys, Wayne lets the cameras in to the family’s £20million Cheshire mansion to witness the highs and lows of their chaotic family life. “This is a side of us you’ve never seen before,” promises Coleen. Mrs Rooney appears to be spot on. The former number 10 is seen quaffing champagne in a snowsuit, cuddling up to Mickey Mouse and trying to keep up with his growing sons playing football in the garden.

But it’s not all fizz and frolics, Wayne is also filmed being given the hairdryer treatment by Coleen in scenes that could make Sir Alex Ferguson wince. Coleen tells her husband that he’s ruined a family holiday and storms out of shot as the cameras follow them on a beach, leaving Wayne alone and subdued on a sun-lounger contemplating his actions. “The dog house manual? I’m on the third book,” Wazza quips, safely out of Coleen’s ear.

When he’s not receiving instructions on the shopping list or juggling the school run, Wayne is also seen embracing a career pivot to the BBC Sport punditry team. The former England star was a surprise hit at this year’s FIFA World Cup. His no-nonsense commentary and blunt put-downs were a winner with viewers, especially after branding the multi-million pound half-time show ‘crap.’ “I’ll do my job, entertaining the country,” Wayne smirks to the camera, turning on the charm in one of his first TV confessionals.

A summer at the BBC may have signalled a new showbizzy Wayne, but in his new reality series he dives right in.

In the new Disney+ series, Wayne, 40, shares the spotlight with Coleen, 40, and sons Kai, 16, Klay, 13, Kit, 10, and Cass, eight.

Reflecting on their incredible turn of fortunes, after meeting as teenagers on a council estate in Liverpool, Coleen says: “This house is everything I’ve dreamed of, the only problem is we’ve got to share it with our four boys.”

Klay is seen being interviewed by an off-camera producer who asks: “Who’s more famous, mum or dad?” He replies: “My dad. My mum is only known because of my dad.” Wayne also confirms the couple will not have any more children, saying: “No chance, I’ll have the snip.” Coleen references her court case against fellow WAG Rebekah Vardy and her appearance on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! as she works on developing a collection with Primark and filming a TV advert alongside actor Danny Dyer. She says: “Since the court case and then the jungle, it’s opened up a lot of doors.” Wayne is also seen in his natural habitat, revelling in having a kick around with eldest son Kai, who is a forward for Manchester United’s youth academy.

Later in the trailer, Wayne holds Coleen up in his arms as they recreate the Dirty Dancing lift.

“It feels like we’re on the edge of a new life,” the mum says in a voiceover.

Wayne also appears to be fully in the grips of a new look. The footballer appears to have undergone a glossy glow-up to match his new on-screen ‘fun dad’ persona.

Ditching his beard for some rugged manscaping, the ex England captain appears noticeably more primped and preened for the small screen. Growing out his salt and pepper hair, Wayne is happy to show off his locks after his many famous hair transplants over the years.

He underwent his first back in 2011, “I was going bald at 25 why not. I’m delighted with the result,” he previously said.

This year Wayne also revealed he had gone under the knife to have nose surgery to correct long-term breathing difficulties from breaking his nose twice during his playing career

Ready for his close-ups, the former striker is also smiling a little more brightly – sporting some straighter white teeth.

They might not be Keeping Up with the Kardashians, but the Rooneys are hardly in a league of their own.

They are the latest footballing family to join the race to become Britain’s next reality star. They follow The Vardys on ITV and the Owens after Michael and his family also let the cameras in for Prime Video with Peter Crouch and Abbey Clancy set to follow suit in the new year.

The Real Rooneys will launch on September 24 on Disney+.

KATIE Price has revealed why she’s still wearing her engagement ring from conman ex-husband Lee Andrews despite their split – and if she’s spoken to him since her bombshell Good Morning Britain appearance this week. 

After ending her marriage to Lee, 43, the former glamour model was played a voice note from him on GMB on Wednesday, in which he insisted “there’s been no wool pulled over anyone’s eyes”. 

On the latest episode of her podcast The Katie Price Show, Katie held up her hand to sister Sophie, 36, and said: “I’m still wearing my ring but on the other hand because I love the ring. 

“I’ve taken Lee out of [my Instagram] bio now. Enough is enough now, it gets to a point where you can tolerate so much… 

“I did what I had to do. It doesn’t matter what people say about whoever I’m with. I have to do what I need to do. 

“If there are things that I question, that’s for me to find out myself to make my decision. Things haven’t added up and I’m not happy about them. He is still in prison and I haven’t spoken to him.”

keep strong

Katie Price gives health update on her mum after begging her to ‘find strength’

LAST CHRISTMAS

Katie Price could be forced to stay married to Lee for Xmas despite fallout

Speaking to Susanna Reid and Ed Balls this week, Katie candidly confessed that – despite everything – she still loves Lee. 

She said: “I love him… but who is he?

“I love the man I met. I can’t take it. I was stupid to fall for him. It’s really sad.”

Katie also admitted she believes her ex loves her too, saying: “I do believe he did. 

“I think he’s got himself in such a situation… where he copy and pastes what he says to women… I do believe he’s fallen for me.”

Katie then revealed the signs that finally made her open her eyes.

She said: “For example, one of the rings he bought me he said was worth £72,000. So I thought I’d better get it insured.

“So I took it into a shop and got it cleaned to get it insured. When they gave it back to me I said, ‘How nice are the diamonds?’

“They said, ‘They’re really good lab diamonds. They were grown in a lab. The ring is probably only worth about five grand’. Do you know how embarrassed I was?”

JODIE Marsh has leaked an intimate email allegedly from her ex-boyfriend praising their ‘crazy’ sex life following their split.

The former glamour girl, 47, recently announced her heartache at splitting from property developer Lukas Sheen just weeks after going public with the romance.

This morning, she shared the lengthy email on social media platform X in which Lukas revealed the moment he fell in love with her.

He also shared his regret at a fallout the pair had during which they stopped speaking, before musing that it might have led to the relationship they went on to have.

There is a sweet reference to Jodie’s snoring and a declaration they would be together forever.

He went on to describe how they were well-matched in the bedroom and enjoyed a passionate love life.

CHEAT SCANDAL

Jodie Marsh reveals she caught an ex-lover in bed with her best friend

STAR’S PANIC

Jodie Marsh claims ‘people want her dead’ and says ‘I know too much’

Days ago, Jodie, who now runs the animal sanctuary Fripps Farm, said she ended the relationship when a mystery woman allegedly repeatedly called Lukas’ phone.

She said he had been unable to give her an explanation and it had left her embarrassed and “mugged off”.

Addressing the split, she said: “I loved him with all my heart. I’d never felt a love so deep. I’d have taken a bullet for him.

“There have been many red flags recently between us and I kept choosing to ignore them. Last night I reached the end of my tolerance.”

She added: “I don’t care what happened or is happening between them. I feel like I need peace of mind for my own sanity. I know that’s probably mad but my brain can’t cope with the lies.”

Among novelist Mona Awad’s prized possessions is a handmade rabbit brooch with delicate hanging daggers. It’s a gift from a reader. The present was inspired by Awad’s goth-tinged comic novel “Bunny,” which has garnered a cult following on social platforms like BookTok over the last several years with readers who call themselves “bunnies.” Driven largely by these devoted fans, the book’s sequel “We Love You, Bunny” hits shelves this month in paperback, while Awad hops across the U.S. on her latest book tour.

The bunnies are so enamored with Awad’s horror-adjacent satires centered on academia and female friendships (and often compared to “Heathers” and “Mean Girls”), they have created their own online — and offline — aesthetic universe.

Their videos and artwork, spanning Pinterest, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, bring the novels’ surreal, “creepy-cute” aesthetic to life. The fan art features moody Ivy League backdrops with bunny ears, heavy tomes, blood-red candles and saccharine doll-like fashion. It’s a style ripped straight from the book’s antagonists — one of whom wears a pink dress patterned with beheaded girls. Some bunnies cosplay lace-adorned, ax-wielding characters and post the images on social media, or illustrate them.

Sara Ah Sing, a 30-year-old multidisciplinary artist in San Diego who considers herself a bunny, is one such illustrator. She discovered Awad’s fiction when she went down a BookTube dark academia genre-themed rabbit hole. “I was taken aback by how intense and vivid the descriptions were, and not only detailed, but very viscerally described … Mona Awad is not a generic prose writer,” Ah Sing says.

Author Mona Awad writes and dreams up her fiction in La Jolla, where she has a second home.

(Ariana Drehsler / For The Times)

She recalls a protagonist called Cupcake. “She’s described as a person who looks like a cupcake … something like ‘The Children of the Corn’ going to prom. And, it’s like, OK, what does that mean? For an artist it begs for interpretation — and I just have to illustrate it.”

Her imagination has been reignited with the sequel, “We Love You, Bunny.” Ah Sing illustrated its tortured central character, Aerius, as a muscled romance book cover star — with a twist. “Instantly when we meet him in the new book, he’s described with all these delicious descriptions. He’s got all these very specific tattoos that are in very specific places on his body,” Ah Sing says. “He’s wearing pearls and has auburn hair that covers one eye — it’s like a playground for your brain reading that kind of stuff.”

Awad’s vivid descriptions have led to all kinds of fan-led creations. Los Angeles-area Bookstagrammer Michelle Grondine, 40, is inked with five “Bunny”-inspired tattoos. “I have one on my inner ankle, one on my forearm, one on my collarbone, one on my lower back of a cat reading ‘Bunny’ and one on my thigh,” Grondine says. Each of the tattoos varies in style, not unlike the distinct personalities in the book’s fictional MFA cohort.

Grondine plans to attend Awad’s upcoming event at Skylight Books in Los Angeles on Sept. 21 with her best friend, Valentina Feldstedt, who lives in Northridge. The two met online after Grondine spotted Feldstedt’s “Bunny” social posts, and they quickly bonded over their shared obsession. They have collected various editions of the series (including the Barnes & Noble-released “We Love You, Bunny,” which features a bonus chapter), gone to see Awad live several times and crafted Taylor Swift Eras tour-style friendship bracelets for fellow fans and Awad (whom they call “our alpha bunny.”)

“Bunny” author Mona Awad’s spread of her fan art and gifts in her home in La Jolla. (Ariana Drehsler / For The Times)

Feldstedt, 30, has her own “Bunny” tattoo, which she says doubles as an excuse to pitch the novel to strangers. “It’s weird, but if you get it, you get it,” Feldstedt says. “And if you don’t, you’re not a bunny — and that’s fine.”

Awad says her sequel, in part, owes to bunnies like Ah Sing, Grondine and Feldstedt. “When readers started finding it online and creating and expanding the universe of it, it gave me permission to go back to it,” Awad reflects.

She walks around her Boston home and plucks up a fan-made crocheted rabbit toting an ax. Another fan, a nail artist, crafted spooky bespoke black and purple press-ons decorated with intricate white hares. Awad says there’s a song written about the book by an indie band from western Massachusetts called the Greys, and you can buy fan-crafted “Bunny” merch on Etsy.

A poster signed by fans at Mona Awad’s book signing for “We Love You, Bunny” at the Center for Yoga in Los Angeles.

(Ariana Drehsler / For The Times)

But “Bunny” didn’t always have such a rabid fan group. In fact, when the first book was published in 2019, it received critical acclaim, but Awad was disappointed it wasn’t selling as well as her previous novel, “13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl.”

“I was like, well, maybe it’s just a weird book,” she recalls on a Zoom call in her literature-lined home. A few years later, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Awad got a call from her publisher. The book was selling, and they couldn’t figure out why. “It was beginning to sell more than 1,000 copies a week, which is crazy two years after publication,” she says. Around that time, BookTok and BookTube had discovered her novel. Next came the bunny ears.

“More and more readers were tagging me on Instagram, and they were dressed in bunny ears, or they had a bunny tattoo, or they were sharing visual art that they had made, envisioning the characters — paintings, ink drawings, cartoons, comics, so many different iterations of this — and then all of these reels and collages that were just so incredible to see,” she says, pausing to emphasize her amazement. “I was really startled by it. It just kind of came in this wave, and then it just grew from there.”

Jane Friedman, a books industry veteran who tracks publishing news, trends and the intersection with technology in her newsletter “The Bottom Line,” says that intense literary fandoms aren’t entirely new. “Apart from BookTok, there have always been these really obsessive fan communities,” Friedman says. “The internet and social media just made it easier for them to come together, making them far more powerful.”

Friedman emphasizes that some critics are concerned that a so-called BookTok phenomenon pushes literature toward consumerism and waters down literary quality. “You can sometimes see authors chasing a trend rather than writing what they would ordinarily write, hoping their book will go viral,” Friedman says. “But I don’t think that’s the case here. It’s probably a mix of timing, serendipity, literary quality and, you know, the stars aligning.”

Awad was born in Montreal to a French Canadian mother and an Egyptian father. She grew up in a French-speaking family, and when her mother enrolled her in an English-speaking school, she recalls feeling like a complete outsider. It was an experience that would happen again and again — like later when her family moved to a Toronto suburb (where, of course, she had a few goth years), and again in her 30s during grad school when she earned her MFA at Brown University.

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1. Superfan Valentina Bunny lives in Northridge. (Valentina Feldstedt) 2. Madelyn Bunny hails from Kentucky. (Madelyn Chimento) 3. L.A.’s Michelle Bunny has five rabbit tattoos with plans for more. (Michelle Grondine) 4. Valentina Bunny, left, and Michelle Bunny with author Mona Awad. (Michelle Grondine) 5. Chloe Bunny lives in Australia. (Chloe Bunnie)

“It was kind of my first taste of New England, which was very, very mythical to anybody who doesn’t come from there … It was disorienting in ways that I suppose were productive in retrospect, but it was hard. It was my first taste of being critiqued. It was my first experience of sharing work with others and having them talk about it with me, and it wasn’t easy,” she says. “I mean, the whole world of the MFA felt like fodder for horror.”

Being an outsider looking in remains a central theme across her novels, including her other critically acclaimed works, and it resonates deeply with readers. The wildly imaginative “Bunny,” often described on TikTok as a “fever dream,” has been translated into 17 different languages. Awad notes that she has an especially huge readership in war-plagued Ukraine, where the book is a breakout bestseller. “It’s so moving to me,” she says. “What they say is that it’s a very anti-fascist book, and it’s a very anti-establishment kind of book. It is about resisting the pull of the clique, finding your own ground, standing on your own ground, and being authentically yourself and embracing that.”

It’s a theme she will continue in the third Bunny book. “The minute I turned in ‘We Love You, Bunny,’ I missed the characters and the world,” Awad reflects. She knew there would be another one. Although Awad has deep roots on the East Coast where she’s taught university-level creative writing courses — her students perhaps not so unlike some of the MFA characters in her “Bunny”-verse — nearly all of her books were written in Southern California, where she has a second home and plans to write her next novel. She notes that a short story she wrote in 2025 for the New Yorker was set in the San Diego area, as was her novel “Rogue.” “It’s been such a generative place for me,” she says. “I’ve become sort of superstitious about it.”

Her next book is taking shape as she works and dreams near the ocean. Meanwhile, her existing work is set to make waves in Hollywood. “Bunny” is slated to be adapted into a film by J.J. Abrams’ production company, Bad Robot, and was recently acquired by a major streaming service — although Awad can’t disclose which one yet. She says she’s been deeply involved. “I feel like my vision of the book is being honored, which is really meaningful. Part of the reason that’s so important to me is because I want to honor my readers’ connection to it.”

That deep bond is something Awad witnesses firsthand nearly every night on the road, where her digital fandom materializes into physical rooms filled with devoted readers (often donning rabbit ears). “The thing that moved me the most about going on tour for the hardback — and it’s happening as I’m on tour for the paperback too — is seeing just how many people bond over the book,” Awad reflects. “Not only the art that has been generated by ‘Bunny,’ but so much community and friendship has been formed. You see this kindred spirit through reading, and it’s the most beautiful thing.”

Mona Awad presents “We Love You, Bunny” at Skylight Books on Sept. 21. 1818 N. Vermont Ave., L.A.

THERE was an on-stage mystery last night as Nicole Scherzinger ‘went missing’ from a Pussycat Dolls song on their tour.

Her bandmates even failed to cover her lyrics when Nicole was nowhere to be seen on the stage in Poland on September 16.

The Pussycat Dolls’ reunion tour was thrown into chaos after lead singer Nicole didn’t appear on stage for their hit Buttons.

The reunion gig fast became rather awkward when the group’s leading lady failed to appear for the first half of the pop hit.

Bandmates Ashley Roberts and Kimberly Wyatt were left dancing alone, and failed to provide gig goers with the full song or lyrics in Nicole’s absence.

Instead they offered only backing vocals and ad-libs, as well as elite dance moves with their back up dancers.

TALLY OF THE DOLLS

Huge sum Pussycat Dolls fans must pay to meet Nicole Scherzinger on tour

no buttons

Pussycat Dolls kick off struggling tour after band feud and ticket nightmare

Nicole, who carries pretty much the entire vocal on the 2006 hit, was missing for nearly two minutes before joining the second half of the song.

Fans were quick to react to the rather awkward moment during the concert.

One person said on TikTok: “Could the other girls not just fill in a sing her part.”

“This feel proper awks,” penned a second.

“Why didn’t they just sing her part?” asked a third.

“That was so awkward,” added a fourth.

While a fifth said: “I would ask for a refund haha.”

And a sixth added: “She was missing for half of the song and was visibly p***ed as hell after she came out.”

The PCD Forever Tour marks 20 years since the group’s debut album was released.

The string of gigs feature just three of the group’s original members after most US dates were cancelled due to poor ticket sales.

British fans will see the group take to the stage in Birmingham later this month.

There are also further UK dates including London’s O2 weeks later in October.

ITV’s Long Lost Family is back for another emotional episode on Thursday night

A Long Lost Family guest breaks down in tears as he receives news about his sister.

The emotional ITV series, hosted by Davina McCall and Nicky Campbell, sees the hosts strive to reunite family members who have never met, including twins separated at birth and young mothers who had to give up their babies.

On Thursday’s episode, the show hears from Jake, 36, who lives in Australia but was born and grew up in the UK in a single parent family. Jake always knew that he was the result of an extra marital affair. His mother had been a nurse and had met his married father when he was a doctor at the same hospital.

Jake recalled that when he was a newborn, his father occasionally visited, bringing his two children Katie and Tom, who were aged five and three at the time. One of Jake’s most precious keepsakes are two photographs of his brother and sister holding him as a baby.

However, sadly, his mother’s relationship with their father did not last, and Jake never saw his siblings again. When he was 14, Jake and his mum emigrated to Australia.

Despite not seeing his siblings since he was a child, Jake has been desperate to find them and contacted Long Lost Family for help, emotionally saying: “I feel like I always missed out. I missed out on something, that, you know, was really a connection that I craved really. I’ve always somewhat felt a little bit alone. And I just need that connection.”

Sadly, Jake was unable to successfully meet his father after attempting to track him down and therefore unable to learn any more about his siblings. Jake had also tried multiple other avenues to find his siblings, but Katie and Tom appeared to have vanished off the face of the earth.

Even Long Lost Family struggled locating the siblings through their conventional searches. However, the team soon discovered in the series’ files something surprising after receiving thousands of applications.

Months before Jake had applied to the show, Long Lost Family received an application from a woman in Canada called Katie, who was looking for a birth father – with the same surname as Jake’s father. Following a DNA test, it confirmed that Katie was Jake’s half-sister, in an incredible discovery.

Katie is a lawyer who now lives in Toronto and she had no idea that she even had a younger brother. The duo’s brother, Tom, supports Katie’s decision but has chosen not to be involved in any filming at this time.

In an exclusive clip obtained by the Mirror of Thursday’s episode, it sees host Davina share the news with Jake, who breaks down in tears over the discovery.

Asking where his siblings live, Davina explains: “So… Katie, her mum met her stepdad. They moved to… Australia!” Jake is left floored by this discovery as he too moved from the UK to Australia. The guest exclaims: “No way, you’re kidding! No way!” before wiping away tears.

Jake adds: “So they weren’t even that far away. I can’t believe it!” Davina then adds that Katie is a lawyer and she has since moved to Toronto.

The guest then asks: “Did they enjoy Australia? Were they happy?” with Davina responding: “They’ve had good lives, I think the family situation, it’s been difficult for all of you, I think, in different ways.

“I think it’ll be really nice for you to be able to speak together about it. Weirdly, we found her because… she applied to Long Lost Family to find your dad.” This piece of information leaves Jake in tears as he exclaims: “Wow!”

Viewers will have to tune into Thursday’s episode to see the two siblings have an emotional reunion.

Long Lost Family continues on Thursday 17th September at 9pm on ITV and ITVX

José Rivera’s “Marisol” came out around the same time as Tony Kushner’s “Angels in America,” and both plays, vibrating with millennial anxieties, carry the earthly battle for human survival up to the heavens.

There’s a dramatically prominent Angel (Taylor Scott) as well in Rivera’s drama, now in an Open Fist Theater Company revival at Atwater Village Theatre. This celestial warrior has been protecting Marisol (Jade Santana) without her knowing it throughout her life. Marisol, referred to by a publishing colleague as “Miss Puerto Rican Yuppy Princess of the Universe,” still lives in the Bronx and is assailed by dangers just getting to and from work every day.

After an incident on the subway with a deranged man threatening her with a golf club, Marisol returns to her cramped, noisy apartment to learn that her guardian angel is abandoning her to enlist in the battle to replace a senile God, who (to judge by the ailing state of the universe) has grown too old for the job.

Jack Sharpe and Jade Santana in ‘Marisol’ at Open Fist.

(John Dlugolecki)

Marisol will have to fend for herself in New York, a dystopian landscape where crime is rampant, poverty is pervasive and the unhoused are threatened by roving gangs of Nazi skinheads who set them on fire for kicks.

What follows is a modern picaresque journey, in which a clever underdog has to rely on her wit and wiles to survive a corrupt and perilous world. Rivera’s play, which won an Obie Award, caught fire in its 1993 New York premiere at the Public Theater with its theatrical street sense, savage imagery and Puerto Rican-inflected magical realism.

The apocalyptic fears boiling up in the play are perhaps even more acutely felt today, with the ravages of climate change compounding each year and the threat of AI hanging an existential cloud over our heads.

But what’s most satisfying about this reencounter with “Marisol” is seeing a new generation embrace the play’s kinetic freedom. Rivera, who received an Oscar nomination for his adapted screenplay for the 2004 film “The Motorcycle Diaries,” solidified his reputation with this play after his breakthrough work “The House of Ramón Iglesia.”

Director Amanda Weier and her company approach “Marisol” as though it were a new play. The quicksilver changes of scene in this urban hellscape are handled with crisp dispatch. Subway cars and burned-out streets don’t require much in the way of elaborate illustration for the overhang of menace to be felt.

Occasionally, particularly in the early going, the blocking and Christopher Moscatiello’s sound design seemed to be working at cross-purposes. The production’s adventurousness, traversing every corner of Brad Bentz’s scenic design, can have a diffuse effect.

But the clever props design (Bruce Dickinson and Anna Krause) fills in any shoestring gaps. And Mylette Nora’s costumes artfully conjure both the underworld and the spiritual realm.

Jade Santana and Hutchins Foster in ‘Marisol’ at Open Fist.

(John Dlugolecki)

Santana’s Marisol, likable yet spiky, anchors the revival. Her interactions with the golf club maniac (Matthew Goodrich) and the scarred homeless man (Hutchins Foster) are fearfully intense, as they should be.

Grace Soens, who plays June, Marisol’s confederate at work, and Jack Sharpe, who takes on the role of Lenny, June’s mentally disturbed brother, expand this unstable world, where it’s hard to know who to trust.

“Marisol” is rife with ambiguity. One of the biggest questions is whether Marisol is dead or alive. But the surreal reality extends to the map of New York. Marisol can no longer tell if she is heading north or south. And the number of characters wielding golf clubs as deadly weapons raises the concern that the villains are interchangeable — and that the good guys have all fled.

One thing that’s certain is that Marisol will have to take up the fight for her own future. With no one left to protect her, she’s learning to look after herself and those she cares about. To become, in other words, the hero that’s needed to turn this momentous struggle around.

If you’re looking for a Netflix series to watch, this show already has two seasons available and it’s so good, viewers will happily stay up all night watching every episode

On the hunt for a new Netflix series? It can be hard finding something new to watch, but Netflix is showing a series so good viewers are binging all episodes within days.

The show is so addictive, viewers will happily stay up late to binge as many episodes as they can. Two seasons are currently available to watch and the streaming platform even confirmed in May this year a third season will be on the cards. Social media users recently shed light on the comedy series which stars Kate Hudson and Max Greenfield. So what show is everyone talking about?

Running Point, a sport comedy series, follows Isla Gordon (Kate Hudson), who’s unexpectedly put in charge of her family’s pro basketball team, the Los Angeles Waves.

The reformed party girl has a lot to prove as she soon learns that running a basketball team comes with its own set of challenges both on and off the court.

Over on Reddit, many people who have already watched both seasons had really good reviews about the Netflix series. One person wrote in the Running Point forum: “Just started this show, I LOVE IT!

“Last night I was endlessly scrolling through comedy shows on Netflix and nothing was sticking. I decided to start Running Point (with low expectations) and it immediately hooked me. I stayed up all night and just started season 2.”

Speaking about the entire cast, which also features Drew Tarver, who plays Sandy Gordon, Isla’s younger half-brother and chief financial officer of the Waves, Scott MacArthur as Ness Gordon, the older brother and general manager of the team, and Brenda Song as Ali Lee, Isla’s college roommate, best friend and chief of staff.

The person continued: “Kate Hudson absolutely crushes her role as President of the Waves.”

Over in the comments section, other people agreed Running Point has been a good watch. Someone said: “Oh my gosh yes! This was my first thought when I watched this show, all the similarities to Arrested Development.

“It’s so great. My personal favourite is Ness and all his quirkiness and how funny he is.”

A third admitted: “I came across it last weekend. Binged it in 2 days.” And a fourth chimed in: “My family and I started it like a week ago and we already finished it, so funny! Ness is hands down my favourite character, and I really like Sandy.”

Season 2 premiered in April this year, while Netflix announced a month later the series would be renewed for a third season. While an official release date is not finalised, previous release patterns suggest season 3 could be out around early 2027.

KELLY Osbourne fears her son will become an addict like she and her father Ozzy were.

The TV personality, 41, used alcohol and drugs from 13.

She said it was to “numb that pain” she felt after becoming a child star.

Her rocker dad struggled with addiction for decades.

And the mum of Sidney, three, said: “I do believe it to be a genetic disorder.

“It’s something I even worry about with my son.

Read more on Kelly Osbourne

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Kelly Osbourne lifts lid on meltdown she suffered after dad Ozzy’s death

ROCK BOTTOM

Kelly Osbourne reveals she relapsed & drank again after dad Ozzy’s death

“I never want him to go through what I went through. Ever.”

Kelly leapt to fame on reality TV show The Osbournes.

She told the We Need To Talk podcast that she took drugs and drank not because she “wanted a party” but to cope.

She said of her woes: “I went to bed one night.

“And then I woke up and I was the most famous 16-year-old in the world. It didn’t make sense.”

Ozzy died last year aged 76.

In a matter of days, Ed Sheeran has gone from the most agreeable, defiantly middle-of-the-road singer-songwriter on the pop charts to music’s newest villain. The Times’ August Brown and Mikael Wood gathered to break down what happened — and to figure out what it all means.

August Brown: To recap, Sheeran dropped his tour opener, the rapper Macklemore, after the MC described Israel’s actions in Gaza as a genocide and said “Free Palestine” onstage this month at two New Jersey dates of Sheeran’s ongoing stadium tour. Macklemore, in a statement, cited his long friendship with Sheeran while criticizing the singer for allegedly acquiescing to a demand from Robert Kraft, the owner of the NFL’s New England Patriots, that the rapper not be allowed to perform at the Patriots’ Gillette Stadium outside Boston due to his comments.

Kraft, a Trump-supporting billionaire with his own colorful history, released a statement about the tour, saying he was “ensuring that events held at our venue do not provide a platform for hate speech.”

But Sheeran, who performed at Kraft’s wedding in 2022, arguably made things much worse with his own comments on the decision to drop Macklemore from the tour, which ranged from shifting accountability (“Macklemore coming off tour was the promoter’s decision, it was not mine”) to promising that he held compassionate beliefs on this volatile issue but wouldn’t articulate them publicly (“I am not complicit. I have my personal views on this devastating conflict. Just because I choose not to speak publicly, it doesn’t mean I don’t have them, and it doesn’t mean I don’t care.”)

This prompted Sheeran’s remaining openers — including the musician and producer Finneas, the Danish rock combo Lukas Graham and singer-songwriter Aaron Rowe — to drop off the tour, each giving their plainspoken support for both Macklemore’s advocacy and the Palestinian people as their reasons for leaving. The traditional Irish group Beoga, which backs Sheeran for a portion of his nightly show, also quit the tour, saying it was responding to “the silencing of Macklemore by Zionist lobbies.”

It’s too soon to know how this will affect a CVS-core pop star like Sheeran, but it’s clear that for the first time in his career, he’s chosen the path of maximum conflict and controversy for little gain. What do you think he should he have done instead?

Macklemore

(Morgan Hancock / Getty Images)

Mikael Wood: Not let Macklemore be booted from his tour?

Look, I understand Sheeran’s position here: that he views himself as an artist whose audience comes to his show precisely because they’d like to avoid the messy realities of the world for two or three hours. We can choose a different day to discuss how tenable (or not) that position is here in the era of a reality-TV president who long ago blurred the line between politics and entertainment.

But setting aside one’s views on Israel and Palestine, it’s impossible for me to see how Sheeran ever thought his actions would be seen as anything other than allowing a fellow artist to be silenced — a clear loser in the eyes of both the left and the right.

It would be one thing if Macklemore’s comments in New Jersey truly resembled the hate speech that Kraft accused him of dispensing. (Many online have posted images of a costume the rapper wore onstage in 2014 that resembled an ugly Jewish caricature; Macklemore apologized at the time, saying he understood the criticism.)

And of course I get that the very idea of hate speech is slippery — one reason, perhaps, that the folks at AT&T Stadium near Dallas (where Sheeran is scheduled to perform next month) appear to have no problem hosting a concert in November by Ye, who not so long ago released a song called, uh, “Heil Hitler.”

But given how measured Macklemore’s comments were, Sheeran’s decision to go along with the demands for his removal feels less like a fulfillment of his desire to create a conflict-free zone and more like a capitulation to a rich and powerful friend.

August, what do you make of the various statements from the musicians who’ve opted to leave the tour in the wake of all this?

August Brown: The other openers had the most to lose here by bowing out of a huge tour. Yet they took unambiguous stances in favor of Macklemore’s Palestinian advocacy. (On Wednesday, the rapper said on Instagram that he planned to donate “the entire $1 million of my net earnings” from Sheeran’s tour to six organizations “working directly to support the Palestinian people.” He also invited Kraft to match his donation.)

“Artists must not be silenced when they speak up for the oppressed,” Finneas wrote. “I stand with Palestine and its people.”

Lukas Graham went even harder: “We should be able to speak about war, about civilians being killed, about children who deserve to grow up,” the group wrote. “Money doesn’t give you the right to own the conversation.”

Sheeran could have done what many fans regard as the right thing: Defy Kraft’s demands, cancel the Gillette Stadium dates with Macklemore and reroute the tour to somewhere that would support an opening act’s fairly anodyne support of a popular human rights cause. Sheeran is extremely wealthy, and he’d have been on the right side of history, if for no other reason than to say that billionaires shouldn’t have a veto over an artist’s human rights advocacy onstage.

I’m sympathetic to the idea that crews’ livelihoods and fans’ investment in the shows are meaningful things to toss out. But an artist as big as Sheeran can make up the difference. Even a hypothetical statement like “I stand for Macklemore’s freedom of speech and the rights of the Palestinian people. My team’s livelihoods depends on the shows happening, so I will play the Gillette dates as planned,” with a promise for a donation or a benefit show with Macklemore down the line — even that would have smoothed this over.

But his actions here — deflecting accountability, being vague yet defensive about his own politics — and his history with Kraft suggest his sympathies might not lie with the causes his opening acts stand for.

It’s interesting that Beoga and Aaron Rowe, both Irish acts, acknowledged their own country’s history of colonial occupation as reason to stand up for Palestinians (and free speech around it). “Ed has been a friend to me and has changed my life, I could never thank him enough for this,” Rowe wrote in his statement. “But as Irish people we know all too well about genocide, forced famine, and violent occupation.”

Even Lukas Graham cited the band’s roots in Christiania, a Danish enclave with a history as an anarchist commune, as an example they’re following by bailing on this tour. Sheeran likes to say that, through his father, he is culturally Irish though he was born and raised in England. In a country that rallied for Kneecap, the Irish rap group and advocates for Palestinians, his reputation is likely taking a real hit. Whether that extends to his ultra-mainstream U.S. fan base remains to be seen.

Not every artist is obliged to comment on contentious issues — though the success of Olivia Rodrigo’s Daisy Chain Fields festival, which raised money for an array of abortion-rights advocacy groups, showed that A-listers can speak out when they want to. But whatever he actually believes, Sheeran’s long-cultivated neutrality is in tatters. Taking a stand would have been the path of least resistance. Instead, he committed the most basic onstage error: a failure to read the room.

Ed Sheeran’s Loop tour, in the span of less than two weeks, became an unexpected lightning rod for controversy and conversation about artist activism amid Israel’s deadly war in Gaza. Still, the show will go on.

Sheeran’s tour will proceed as planned, The Times has learned. He is scheduled to play on Saturday at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. The venue also confirmed on Wednesday that the Saturday concert is still a go, but that supporting acts have yet to be finalized.

A representative for Sheeran’s tour did not immediately respond to requests for additional information, including who will be the new supporting acts.

In a rapid turn of events since rapper and former opening act Macklemore called for Palestinian liberation onstage earlier this month, Sheeran — the singer of inoffensive hits including “Thinking Out Loud” and “Shape of You” — fell out with the fellow Grammy winner, witnessed all supporting acts drop from his lineup and defended himself against accusations of complicity in silencing criticism of Israel. Additionally, Sheeran confronted scrutiny over his largely apolitical public presence. He attributed this to his longtime desire to “bring people from all backgrounds and cultures together” via his music and performances.

“I am not complicit. I have my personal views on this devastating conflict,” he wrote Tuesday on Instagram. “Just because I choose not to speak publicly, it doesn’t mean I don’t have them, and it doesn’t mean I don’t care. Nor does it mean I don’t support causes in my own, personal way.”

Ahead of Sheeran’s first concert since the scrutiny surrounding Macklemore’s performance, read on for what preceded the fallout of Sheeran’s Loop tour.

Macklemore goes from “Thrift Shop” to “Hind’s Hall”

Macklemore performs at Rod Laver Arena on May 15, 2024, in Melbourne, Australia.

(Morgan Hancock / Getty Images)

Before hitting the stage for Sheeran’s Loop tour, Macklemore famously burst onto the music scene in 2012 as part of the duo Macklemore & Ryan Lewis. The pair gained popularity for the then-inescapable hit “Thrift Shop,” the fourth single off their acclaimed debut album, “The Heist.”

The duo gained further notoriety with hits “Can’t Hold Us” and same-sex marriage anthem “Same Love.” They notoriously bested Kendrick Lamar at the 2014 Grammy Awards in the rap album category. Lamar was nominated for his striking debut “Good Kid, M.A.A.D City.”

A year after releasing their 2016 album, “This Unruly Mess I’ve Made,” the duo announced an indefinite hiatus. Macklemore focused on his solo work, including collaborations with Kesha, Lil Yachty and Skylar Grey. In recent years, Macklemore has taken on a new purpose with his platform.

Macklemore, like many musical acts including Kehlani, Finneas and Irish rap group Kneecap, became a vocal supporter of the Palestinian cause after Israel began its offensive in Gaza in the wake of the Hamas attacks on Oct. 7, 2023. The rapper has channeled his views on the conflict into his music, releasing his protest song “Hind’s Hall” in May 2024. The song calls for a ceasefire, an end to Israeli occupation in Gaza and highlights pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses.

Ed Sheeran announces his Loop tour

Ed Sheeran performs during iHeartRadio Kiss 108’s Jingle Ball 2025 at TD Garden on Dec. 14, 2025, in Boston, Mass..

(Scott Eisen / Getty Images for iHeartRadio)

Last September, Sheeran unveiled his plans to hit the road to promote his eighth studio album, “Play.”

The British “A Team” singer announced at the time that his tour would begin June 2026 with a stop at Arizona’s State Farm Stadium and would run through early November. The announcement did not disclose the supporting acts set to share the stage with him, but informed fans the singer would perform shows across large venues including Inglewood’s SoFi Stadium in August and a pair of performances at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

The concerts at MetLife Stadium would later embroil Sheeran, his tour, Macklemore — and somehow pop star Pink — in controversy.

Macklemore calls to ‘Free Palestine’: Performance or ‘propaganda?’

When Macklemore took the MetLife Stadium stage as the supporting act for Sheeran’s Sept. 4 and 5 concerts, he did not mince words in his message. During his set, Macklemore criticized Israel for its war in Gaza and accused it of genocide of Palestinians. He also projected an edited version of his “Hind’s Hall” music video, which features footage of pro-Palestinian college encampments and protests and military strikes in Gaza.

Video of Macklemore’s performance spread online, drawing ire from some Jewish advocacy groups including StopAntisemitism, which accused Macklemore on Instagram of turning “a mainstream event into a political nightmare against the Jewish state.” Pop star Pink, who is Jewish, shared StopAntisemitism’s post to her Instagram story. She faced backlash for the repost and later clarified in a three-part statement that she took issue with the imagery Macklemore displayed during his performance. She also accused the rapper of taking “the mic to tell all the Jews in the stadium that it wasn’t about them.”

In the wake of Macklemore’s performance, the Israeli American Council and the Anti-Defamation League also decried Macklemore’s performance on social media, with the former publishing a petition calling on Sheeran to remove the rapper from the remaining shows of his tour.

“Freedom of expression does not give anyone the right to turn someone else’s stage into a platform for political propaganda,” the Israeli American Council said on Instagram.

Amid the mounting backlash, Macklemore defended his stance and shared video on social media of his full address to the MetLife crowd. “I said ‘Free Palestine.’ I want those words to be loud and clear so that the people in Gaza all the way to the occupied West Bank know that we have not forgotten them,” he tells concertgoers in his introduction to “Hind’s Hall.”

“To all my Jewish brothers and sisters, criticism of Israel, criticism of apartheid, being against genocide in no way is a criticism of you,” he adds, according to video of his address. “My message is for peace, love for all human beings to be treated with dignity, respect and equality.”

The fallout begins: Macklemore fired from Loop tour

Whether Macklemore would remain on Sheeran’s tour amid the public outcry remained uncertain, until he confirmed his status earlier this week. He said in a lengthy statement shared to Facebook that his continued, vocal support for Palestinians amid Israel’s war in Gaza has cost him professionally.

The rapper said he was removed after “some difficult conversations” with Sheeran. He also went into depth about the inner workings that led to his removal from the tour, including conversations between Sheeran and wealthy venue owners, including billionaire Robert Kraft, whose Kraft Group owns Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts, where Sheeran is set to play later this month.

“Ed told me that Kraft said I would not be allowed to perform in his stadium,” Macklemore wrote. “Ed also told me that Kraft had rallied some of the other stadium owners and collectively they gave him an ultimatum: if Macklemore stays on the tour, you will not be allowed to play in our venues.”

Sheeran in a separate statement shared on Tuesday confirmed he had conversations with Kraft but did not speak to the alleged ultimatum. The singer also said removing Macklemore from the tour “was the promoter’s decision, it was not mine” and that Macklemore’s contract was with its promoter. Messina Touring announced on Monday it had dropped Macklemore from the remaining tour dates “after discussions with stakeholders.”

Additionally, Macklemore wrote that Sheeran’s “typical apolitical stance was being challenged” amid the public scrutiny and “he couldn’t get past his public facing, ‘I don’t take sides.’”

Sheeran appeared to address that criticism, writing in his missive that attendees at his concerts “do not expect a political forum.” The singer also wrote he thinks there can be different ways to work toward peace.

“If we only focus on shouting the loudest, nothing will ever change,” he wrote.

Macklemore said in his Monday statement he was hopeful this turn of events would not mean an end to his friendship with Sheeran and he was grateful for the opportunity to play on tour, regardless.

“I didn’t need 10 Shows from Ed. I needed 2,” he wrote. “Two chances to stand in front of 90,000 people and say … ‘Free Palestine.’”

Supporting acts depart tour in solidarity

Grammy winner Finneas was among the supporting acts who announced their departure from Ed Sheeran’s tour on Tuesday.

(Monica Schipper / Getty Images)

Hours after Sheeran shared his side to the controversy, numerous musical acts including Grammy winner Finneas and folk band Beoga, Sheeran’s backing band, pulled from the Loop tour in solidarity with Macklemore and in support of Palestinians.

“Artists must not be silenced when they speak up for the oppressed. I have decided to withdraw from my upcoming tour dates with Ed Sheeran,” wrote Finneas, who has been a vocal supporter of Palestinians. “I stand with Palestine and its people.”

Pop band Lukas Graham and Irish singer-songwriter Aaron Rowe, both billed as supporting acts for several upcoming dates on Sheeran’s tour, voiced support for the Palestinian people and spoke against the inner workings that led to Macklemore’s removal.

In its statement, Lukas Graham wrote: “Money doesn’t give you the right to own the conversation. Nobody’s bank balance should decide who gets to speak or which suffering we’re allowed to acknowledge.”

Rowe in his Instagram statement said that Sheeran “has been a friend to me and has changed my life” but that he is sympathetic to the Palestinian cause. “As Irish people we know all too well about genocide, forced famine and violent occupation,” he wrote. The “Hey Ma” singer accused elites of leveraging their power to “silence the rightful voices” and criticism of Israel.

“I need to be true to myself and my ancestors who resisted colonisation, and fought for a freedom that I enjoy today in Ireland,” Rowe continued.

Macklemore announced Wednesday that he will donate his earnings from his shows with Sheeran to charities supporting Palestinians. He also invited Kraft to match his donation and reaffirmed his dedication to the Palestinian cause.

“This is what this has always been about,” he wrote. “Not me. Not a tour. Not the headlines or the controversy.”

The North American leg of Sheeran’s Loop tour is scheduled to end Nov. 7 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla. — the same venue that platformed controversial rapper Ye (formerly Kanye West) earlier this summer.

Strictly Come Dancing is reportedly getting a new spin-off show, its first new show in 22 years, and it will be led by pro dancer Dianne Buswell

Strictly Come Dancing is reportedly getting a new spin-off show, 22 years after It Takes Two launched. According to TV insiders, the BBC’s dance competition will launch Strictly Pro Dance Off, led by popular star Dianne Buswell.

The show would see Strictly’s pro dancers go head-to-head in dance challenges and would launch alongside the next series, which launches this Saturday.

In it, a ‘teacher pro’ would show a dance routine to two other stars, who would then perform it on the dancefloor, with the ‘teacher’ picking who did it best. The winner would go on to the next week to face another star. Each duel is set to last seven minutes, so the show is short and draws in the social media generation.

According to The Sun, a source said the goal was to appeal to a younger audience. “It’s obviously part of the renewed drive to bring in a younger market to the show, which, along with hiring more influencers to compete, is seen as future-proofing the contest,” the source explained.

They added that there would be “inevitable” comparisons to the US version of Dancing With The Stars, as their series, The Next Pro, also featured professional dancers competing in head-to-head challenges. The source acknowledged that they were “different formats” but said the focus on the pros would still cause some to see similarities.

The source also said that Strictly was putting more of a focus on the pro dancers as they are aware that much of the appeal of the show comes from the public’s love for pros like Dianne.

Another popular pro dancer is Johannes Radebe, but he will not have a partner this year – as he has been announced as one of the three new hosts.

Emma Willis and Josh Widdicombe are the other two, replacing Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly. Unlike Claudia and Tess, who had fixed roles on the dancefloor and in the ‘Claudetorium’, Emma, Josh and Johannes will operate in a more fluid team.

There are set to be a lot of changes to the hosting roles this year. Emma previously revealed that she and her co-hosts would be dancing as well, which Tess and Claudia didn’t do. “We have to dance in the opening show, the three of us together have some choreography,” she said.

Johannes seemed excited by the plans. “Can you imagine?” he laughed. “For my own mental health and well-being, I need to be shaking my tush. You’ll see me, and not only me, in the launch show — there’s going to be more dancing than you’ve ever seen.”

The three of them also shared that Claudia and Tess sent them good luck messages. Emma said: “They have been in touch with all of us, sending love and congratulations and just saying enjoy it – it’s so fun.”

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