show

British artist Matthew Collings says his exhibition “Drawings Against Genocide”, depicting Israeli violence against Palestinians, has been falsely portrayed as anti-Semitic. After outrage and protests, the London show has been cancelled.

REALITY star Katie Price has hit back at rumours her marriage to Lee Andrews is on the rocks as she shut down speculation in a feisty move.

The couple, who tied the knot in January, were due to appear on GMB on Tuesday but Lee failed to reach the UK leaving Katie to face the interview solo.

Lee’s no show further fuelled rumours of his travel ban, which could explain his many unsuccessful attempts at arriving in England.

After “businessman” Lee ditched plans to fly in, Katie called him out on social media saying he’s made me “look a d**k.”

Fans watched as Katie publicly questioned her husband for the first time and they were convinced the pair were heading for divorce.

But, Katie has clapped back, making fun of those discussing her marriage.

Mixed messages

Katie Price backtracks on husband’s ‘travel ban’ as story doesn’t ‘add up’

PRICEY MISTAKE

I fell for Dubai millionaire’s scam says Danielle Lloyd in warning to Katie

She reposted a picture of a Bratz doll blowing a kiss, with the caption: “Glad I’m the girl being talked about not the miserable one doing the talking.”

Earlier today Katie was forced to put out a statement addressing rumours of her marriage collapse.

She said: “Due to all the madness of trolling, people’s speculation and media frenzy that as a married couple we have both decided @wesleeandrews is taking a break from social media.

“And we are keeping things between us for now as it’s our life and marriage and are very happy.”

It seems Katie made quite the U-turn since she offered Lee a damning ultimatum just days ago.

She explained on her podcast The Katie Price Show: “I said to him, ‘If you don’t turn up to England this time, what’s the deal? Tell me what’s going on because I’m not flying out to Dubai now. I’ve got family, my kids and my job here’.”

Katie said: “If you can’t come to the UK and you are on a flight ban, it’s fine. Just tell me. Does it matter if you can’t fly out of Dubai for whatever reasons, whether it’s two years, three years or never, just tell me.

“I want answers. Just a bit of respect. Just tell me what’s going on.”

While Lee is taking a social media hiatus, Katie is still very much online.

She recently reposted a cryptic quote amid the Lee drama, which said: “Someone asked me what my favourite place is.

“I said: I don’t have a favourite place. I have my favourite people, my kids.

“Whenever I’m with my kids that becomes my favourite place.”

Professional visual artists hate generative AI. This should come as no surprise, but a new survey released last month by a trio of researchers at Carnegie Mellon University breaks down just how much: 99% of respondents out of a pool of 378 verified professional visual artists noted their dislike for the technology, with 92% categorizing it as “strong dislike.”

Even more jarring, the survey found that 80% of respondents believe that they’re in competition with the technology. The artists expressed deep concerns about the impact AI is having on their careers, with 54% saying it has diminished their income, 75% their job and clientele security, and 90% their income opportunities. Another 77% said it had negatively impacted their career growth, 61% the future of their career, and 74% their career sustainability.

The jobs most heavily affected include commercial artists, graphic designers and concept artists in entertainment whose work is sometimes entirely replaced — or largely commandeered — by images generated using tools like Midjourney, Adobe Fireplay or DALL-E; but fine artists working in traditional media are also experiencing a devaluation of their work and a shrinking pool of employers.

“I’m working on getting out of the field and planning to get my PhD in something non-art related because I can’t see my current work as being sustainable when I see them actively replacing me [with] chatGPT,” a costume designer and illustrator said in the survey, which notes, “Demoralization, disempowerment, disrespect, stress, and fear are also commonly expressed, not only regarding individual careers but also extending towards the field at large.”

“It’s been pretty demoralizing at times seeing a lot of younger artists giving up because they don’t see a future in art. That they’re abandoning their creative passions because of AI,” another illustrator said. A comic artist, writer and painter noted that AI underscores that art is not important to the general public. “It has been demoralizing largely because generated AI images look like crap but there is a segment of the population who seem to not care,” the artist said.

Then there is the unnervingly meta task of artists trying to prove they are human, or that they did not generate their work using AI.

“I find users online to be more critical, looking at art less to enjoy it and more so to figure out if it’s AI generated or not. There’s a lot of pressure and anxiety in proving you are a real person now,” one illustrator and designer said. Another artist and sculptor said, “I have seen false accusations for use of AI in work from other artists who do not use AI and I am fearful of being accused of this as well, I now record the creation process of most things so that I have proof AI was not utilized.”

This study affirms the findings of a less formal ongoing survey conducted by Brian Merchant, a former Times technology columnist who now writes an indispensable newsletter on Substack called “Blood in the Machine,” which keeps razor-sharp track of the ways AI is affecting labor, and the pattern of Big Tech deflecting responsibility for harm. As part of an ongoing series titled, “AI Killed My Job,” Merchant invited visual artists to write to him about their experiences, and published the most compelling — and crushing — responses.

In that column, Merchant discusses the “good enough” principle of AI-generated art, noting, “Creative workers aren’t typically worried that AI systems are so good they’ll be rendered obsolete as artists, or that AI-generated work will be better than theirs. Their fear is that clients, managers, and even consumers will deem AI art ‘good enough’ as the companies that produce it push down their wages and corrode their ability to earn a living.”

An idea highlighted in the following letter published by Merchant from an anonymous source:

“I’ve been out of work for a while now. I made children’s book illustrations, stock art, and took various art commissions.

Now I have several maxed out credit cards and use a donation bin for food. I haven’t had a steady contract in over a year. two weeks ago, when a client who has switched to AI found out about this he gave me $50 out of ‘a sense of guilt.’ Basically pity for the fact that Illustrator, as a job, does not exist anymore.”

One thing Merchant is exceedingly good at is reminding readers that there is a surge of dissent swelling from the proletariat — and that after you’re done feeling the necessary despair, you can join the anti-AI resistance. For visual artists that can be as simple as utilizing a growing number of defensive tools when it comes to protecting art, most notably Glaze and Nightshade. The former adds the smallest pixel-sized changes to your artwork, which serves to confuse AI so it can’t train on your style; the latter — as the name implies — acts more like a poison that corrupts AI training data so it can’t scrape from a protected image.

I’m Arts editor — and proud Luddite — Jessica Gelt. This is your arts and culture news for the week.

The week ahead: A curated calendar

FRIDAY

Celeste Butler-Clayton as Coretta Scott King in “Experiencing the Dream: The MLK Musical.”

(Triple T Photography)

Experiencing the Dream: MLK the Musical
The show’s 26 songs will be recorded live with an orchestra of 27 musicians under the direction of Leon Lacy, with orchestrations by Felipe Paccagnella, vocal arrangements by Tony Jones and musical direction by arranger/producer William Taylor. The cast includes Eric Dawkins, Bishop Jonathan Mason, Yolanda Gibbons, Patricia Jackson, James Singleton, Melvin Crispell, Pam Blackmon Kendle and Celeste Butler-Clayton. Written by Kesha L. Ealy and Marcus S. Mason. Mason also composed the music.
7 p.m. Greater Emmanuel Temple, 3740 E. Imperial Hwy., Lynwood. MLKthemusical.com

Riverdance 30 — The New Generation
The Irish music and dance phenomenon marks its three decades with a special anniversary tour.
7:30 p.m. Friday; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday; 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday. Segerstrom Center for the Arts, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. scfta.org

SATURDAY

Ryuichi Sakamoto, left; Bang on a Can All-Stars.

(The Wallis)

Ryuichi Sakamoto
Contemporary music sextet Bang on a Can All-Stars pay tribute to the Japanese composer with works from his album “1996,” which included pieces from his film scores, including “Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence” (1983), “The Last Emperor” (1987), for which he won an Academy Award, “The Sheltering Sky” (1990) and “Little Buddha” (1993).
7:30 p.m. The Wallis, 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills. thewallis.org

Vijay Iyer and Wadada Leo Smith
The longtime collaborators perform music from their 2025 album “Defiant Life” which Iyer noted “was shaped by our ongoing sorrow and outrage over the past year’s cruelties, but also by our faith in human possibility.”
8 p.m. UCLA Nimoy Theater, 1262 Westwood Blvd. cap.ucla.edu

Radiance + Reverie
Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra music director Jaime Martín leads the group in Mozart’s “Haffner” Symphony, “Selah,” a world premiere of a new Double Concerto by Christopher Cerrone performed by violinist Anthony Marwood and cellist Coleman Itzkoff, and Tchaikovsky’s “Mozartiana.”
7:30 p.m. Saturday. Zipper Hall, 200 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A.; 4 p.m. Sunday. The Wallis, 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills. laco.org

Mads Mikkelsen and Zlatko Burić in ‘Pusher II: With Blood on My Hands.”

(Jens Juncker-Jensen / NWR / Magnolia Pictures )

Pusher trilogy
Danish filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn’s gritty triptych takes us through the violent criminal underworld of Copenhagen in three interconnected films, each with a different protagonist: “Pusher” (1996), starring Kim Bodnia; “Pusher II: With Blood On My Hands” (2004), starring Mads Mikkelsen; “Pusher III: I’m The Angel Of Death,” starring Zlatko Burić.
5 p.m. Egyptian Theatre, 6712 Hollywood Blvd. americancinematheque.com

Jodi Siegel
The singer-songwriter and guitarist is joined by guitarist Greg Porée and percussionist Justin Porée for an evening of blues, R&B, soul and jazz.
8 p.m. Sierra Madre Playhouse, Sierra Madre Playhouse, 87 W. Sierra Madre Blvd. sierramadreplayhouse.org

SUNDAY
Celebrating Photography
The Getty has a series of events inspired by the exhibition “Photography and the Black Arts Movement, 1955–1985” (which continues through June 14). It begins Sunday with a free, daylong Family Festival featuring live music, dance, storytelling and interactive workshops. On Wednesday evening, moderator Karen Grigsby Bates and authors Dr. Karin L. Stanford and Mark Speltz discuss the new book “Marching West: The Los Angeles Civil Rights Movement in Photographs.” Thursday morning, the panel “Backstage: An Unfurling of the JPC: Black Photography & Visual Culture” examines how the Johnson Publishing Company and its photographers impacted Black visual culture and the larger field of photography. Finally, on June 7, authors Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe (“Viewfinders: Black Women Photographers”) and Deborah Willis (“Black Photographers, 1840 to 1940: An Illustrated Bio-Bibliography”) discuss their work as artists and historians.
Family Festival, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday; “Backstage: An Unfurling of the JPC,” 10 a.m. Thursday (also online); “Marching West,” 7 p.m. Wednesday (also online); “Viewfinders,” 4 p.m. June 7 (also online). Getty Center, 1200 Getty Center Drive, L.A. getty.edu

F For Fake
A 35 mm screening of Orson Welles’ 1973 enigmatic docudrama profiles professional art forger Elmyr de Hory as a starting point for examining authenticity and authorship.
6 p.m. Brain-Dead Studios, 611 N. Fairfax Ave. studios.wearebraindead.com

Philip Glass and the Poets
The first major Philip Glass 90th birthday celebration (he was born Jan. 31, 1927) features Timo Andres on piano and spoken word performance by Taylor Mac, with special guest appearances by Lucinda Childs and the San Francisco Girls Chorus and their artistic director Valérie Sainte-Agathe.
7 p.m. UC Santa Barbara, Campbell Hall. artsandlectures.ucsb.edu

TUESDAY

Gustavo Dudamel will lead the L.A. Phil in Wagner’s “Die Walküre” in three parts, Tuessday-Sunday at Disney Concert Hall.

(Etienne Laurent / For The Times)

Die Walküre
Conductor Gustavo Dudamel and the L.A. Phil, along with director Alberto Arvelo, tackle the second installment in Wagner’s epic Ring Cycle in three stand-alone parts with opera stars Jamez McCorkle, Jessica Faselt, Christine Goerke and Ryan Speedo Green, and scenic designs by Frank Gehry.
Act I, 8 p.m. Tuesday and Friday; Act II, 8 p.m. Wednesday and Saturday; Act II, 8 p.m. Thursday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. laphil.com

WEDNESDAY
Being There
Peter Sellers received an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of a simple gardener catapulted into the media spotlight and presidential politics in Hal Ashby’s prescient 1979 satire. Shirley MacLaine, Jack Warden and Melvyn Douglas co-star. Screening in 35 mm with an appearance by cinematographer Caleb Deschanel.
7:30 p.m. Academy Museum, 6067 Wilshire Blvd. academymuseum.org

Life of Mozart
The Pasadena Choral Society presents the composer’s unfinished “Requiem” within a dramatic framework using Mozart’s own words. Milo Brody plays Mozart, accompanied by pianist Tali Tadmor, with solos by soprano Erika Boychenko, alto Ali Frazzini, tenor Eric Wernerand bass Chris Tickner.
7:30 p.m. San Marino Community Church, 1750 Virginia Rd #0412. givebutter.com/lifeofmozart

Primary Trust
Times theater critic Charles McNulty described Eboni Booth’s 2024 Pulitzer Prize-winning play as “a quirky, small-scale, quietly reflective work that’s as tenderhearted as it is spryly comic and as poignant as it is ultimately uplifting,” when it had its West Coast premiere at La Jolla Playhouse. Once again directed by Knud Adams, it arrives in Los Angeles with a cast that includes Ugo Chukwu, Rebecca S’manga Frank, Petey McGee and James Urbaniak, with music by Luke Wygodny.
Through June 28 Mark Taper Forum, 135 N. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. centertheatregroup.org

Studio installation view from “A Palace in Time” at the Skirball beginning May 20.

(Courtesy of Robert Russell and Lisa Edelstein.)

Skirball Spring Exhibitions
The Skirball Cultural Center launches three new exhibitions next week: “Inventing America: The Comic Book Revolution”; “Outsiders, Outcasts, Rebels + Weirdos: Punk Culture 1976–1986”; and “Robert Russell and Lisa Edelstein: A Palace in Time.” All three open May 20, Skirball Cultural Center, 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles. skirball.org

THURSDAY

Ain’t Misbehavin’
Grammy Award-winning artist Ledisi headlines this Ebony Repertory Theatre production, in association with Fig Street Films, of the Tony Award-winning revue, a tribute to the music of Fats Waller. Directed by Wren T. Brown, with choreography by Dominique Kelley and music direction by William Foster McDaniel. Chester Gregory, Connie Jackson, Marty Austin Lamar and Natalie Wachen co-star.
May 21 through June 8. Nate Holden Performing Arts Center, 4718 W. Washington Blvd. L.A. ebony rep.org.

Arts anywhere

New and recent releases of arts-related media.

Shaina Taub, Jenna Bainbridge and the cast of “Suffs” during the 77th Annual Tony Awards in 2024.

(Theo Wargo / Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions)

Suffs
When the national tour of Shaina Taub’s musical about the suffragette movement marched through the Hollywood Pantages last fall, Times theater critic Charles McNulty wrote that it “is as informative as it is uplifting. It is above all a moving testament to the power of sisterhood. The struggle for equality continues to face crushing setbacks today, but Taub wants us to remember what can happen when people stand united for a just cause.” Captured on Broadway in December 2024, “Suffs,” starring Taub, who also wrote the book, music and lyrics for the show, debuted on PBS’ “Great Performances” earlier this month and is streaming online until the end of July. pbs.org

— Kevin Crust

Culture news and the SoCal scene

Johnie’s Coffee Shop in Los Angeles May 8.

(Ariana Drehsler / For The Times)

Artist Gary Baseman staged his first hometown show in more than a decade at the long-shuttered, but still iconic Johnie’s Coffee Shop along Miracle Mile on Wilshire Blvd. The Googie-style structure opened its doors for the exhibit, which featured a variety of Baseman’s drawings on menus from L.A.-area restaurants.

The critic Rex Reed died this week at the age of 87 and Times theater critic Charles McNulty wrote an appreciation of the often acerbic provocateur. “He didn’t mince words or allow nuance or second thoughts to stand in the way of a zingy phrase or a colorful wisecrack. Unbridled opinion was his stock-in-trade,” McNulty wrote.

McNulty also weighed in with a review of a revival of Eugène Ionesco’s “Exit the King,” directed by Michael Michetti at A Noise Within. Ionesco, a Romanian-born French playwright, is one of the pillars of the Theatre of the Absurd, McNulty writes, adding, “The existential philosophy of Camus and Sartre, self-evident truths for these absurdist writers, is conveyed less through the content than through the style of their plays. Language is no longer a means of communication but a mark of the unbridgeable distance between human beings.”

People play a satirical video game installation titled “Operation Epic Furious Strait to Hell,” created by guerrilla art group Secret Handshake.

(Heather Diehl / Getty Images)

You can order a Diet Coke, or bomb Iran in a new video game about the Iran war called “Operation Epic Furious: Strait to Hell,” which was installed near the National Mall in Washington, D.C. by the anonymous arts activist group Secret Handshake. For the past year and a half the group has secured permits to erect an ongoing series of satirical public sculptures — mostly about President Trump’s alleged ties to convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein — on and around the National Mall. This is the group’s first foray into video games.

Times classical music critic Mark Swed devoted a recent column to the genius of the American theater director, playwright and performer Robert Wilson, who died last year at the age of 83. “So far this year, there have been, or will be through the end of June, major Wilson opera and theater productions in Moscow; Paris; Ljubljana, Slovenia; Düsseldorf, Germany; Adelaide, Australia; Kaunas, Lithuania; Vienna; Rome; Tokyo; Luxembourg City, Luxembourg; Berlin; Riga, Latvia; and Sophia, Bulgaria. That is to say, pretty much Wilson business as usual,” Swed writes, before examining two new performances of Wilson’s work in Brooklyn and Houston.

Artist Todd Gray stands in front of his work inside the Wilshire/La Cienega Metro Station on May 1 in Los Angeles.

(Carlin Stiehl / For The Times)

Iris Kwok marked the opening of L.A. Metro’s new D Line extension by profiling four of the artists behind the public artwork in three new stations. Nine artists in total worked on site-specific installations: Mariana Castillo Deball, Eamon Ore-Giron, Ken Gonzales-Day, Todd Gray, Karl Haendel, Soo Kim, Fran Siegel, Susan Silton and Mark Dean Veca.

Julius Miller broke the news that a series of seven digital billboards promoting peace will go up across the city as part of the Broad Museum’s upcoming exhibit, “Yoko Ono: Music of the Mind,” which opens May 23. The billboards arrive nearly 57 years after Ono and John Lennon “erected a billboard near the Chateau Marmont emblazoned with the words, “WAR IS OVER! If You Want It.”

Culver City’s Wende Museum of the Cold War announced it will build a $16-million expansion in Hawthorne. It plans to transform a newly purchased Midcentury Modern building into a research institute and interactive storage facility for its collections — “a ‘living archive,’ as it’s calling the facility,” writes Deborah Vankin. The opening is currently set for 2028.

Alvin Ailey’s American Dance Theatre’s Chalvar Montei leaps for the stars. The troupe will perform as part of the Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at the Music Center.

(Dario Calmese / Courtesy La Jolla Music Society
)

The Music Center announced its lineup this week for the 2026–27 season of Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at the Music Center. Highlights include the Joffrey Ballet’s West Coast premiere of “The Sleeping Beauty,” Compañía Nacional de Danza’s North American premiere of “Don Quixote,” and the Los Angeles premiere of a Jerome Robbins ballet festival curated by Tiler Peck. Alvin Ailey Dance Theater is also part of the lineup, and choreographer Sonya Tayeh will unveil an L.A. premiere set to the music of Sinéad O’Connor.

The Los Angeles Philharmonic has announced the 2026 summer season at the Ford. The open-air venue across from the Hollywood Bowl is now in its seventh season under LA Phil leadership, and shows are set to run through Oct. 31. Grab your picnic basket and select a date from a wide variety of shows including dance, music and film. Stand-out acts include Bilal and DJ Rashida, Matteo Bocelli, Jacob Collier, Judy Collins and Bruce Cockburn, Ani DiFranco and Valerie June, Helado Negro and Reyna Tropical, Joe Hisaishi, Iron & Wine, the L.A. Phil, and Punch Brothers.

The Institute of Latino Art has opened in Pomona, with a grand opening reception scheduled for June 13. Occupying the former Latino Art Museum space, the new gallery was founded by artist Oscar Magallanes. A news release notes, “ILA represents a new artist-led institution in the Inland Empire, working to connect regional communities with contemporary Latin American and Chicano art. The inaugural exhibition, ‘Reclamation: Art in Contested Spaces,’ features NSRGNTS, Lapiztola, and Rubén Ortiz-Torres.”

— Jessica Gelt

And last but not least

Times columnist Mary McNamara went to Yorkshire and wrote that it was the bucket-list literary trip of her dreams. Mine too!

Monty Don says he often felt like ‘summer had arrived without me’ when spending time at boarding school as a child, a feeling he experiences now when filming a hit BBC show

Monty Don finds himself “restraining tears” as he opened up about a moment that makes him “resent” a BBC show. Monty, 70, says he has long realised that “home is the epicentre” of his world.

It came after he was sent to boarding school as a youngster and found himself feeling as though “summer had arrived without me”. Monty says that while the seasons shifted at school, home is where they “truly existed”.

He admits that his world now “spins” around his Longmeadow home, which he purchased in 1991. The property consisted of an abandoned field with a single tree in it when Monty bought it.

It now boasts a series of lovingly crafted gardens. It is at Longmeadow that Monty often finds himself feeling like he did when he was a small child, bursting into tears as he realised the seasons had come and gone.

Writing in the Gardeners’ World magazine, he said: “I still have a moment or two like that every year in the garden, although now, 67 years later, I do my best to restrain the tears.”

Monty says a garden often has a “watershed moment” where it seems as though one season becomes the next. The star believes it can often happen with “seemingly no transition” between the two.

On the whole though, Monty explains that in gardening, things “change constantly” through “slow mergings”. He says one moment he often notices the change at Longmeadow is when he goes to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

Monty presents the coverage alongside the likes of Rachel de Thame, Angellica Bell and Nikki Chapman. Monty says he leaves Herefordshire on the Sunday and returns a week later.

In that time, he jokes that his garden has “completely rearranged itself”. “Spring has toppled into summer and I was not there to see it,” he explains.

It brings a “complicated mess of emotions” for Monty, a hark back to his days as a boy at boarding school. He says he feels a sense of “betrayal” from his garden, as well as the delight at welcoming in the new season.

And in part, Monty says he blames the Chelsea Flower Show for taking him away from Longmeadow. He continued: “I do not want to miss out on the greatest garden extravaganza of the year and am delighted to and privileged to present the programme from there, and yet part of me resents being taken away from the garden at this critical moment.”

Monty will return to screens this evening from 8pm (May 15) on BBC Two with Gardeners’ World. He will be making a start on some of his amazing summer planters, including working on his leeks and making fertiliser.

Elsewhere, Frances Tophill will be in Berkshire learning about biodynamic gardening and the benefits it can bring. Adam Frost will be showing viewers around his new garden as it begins to take shape.

WASHINGTON — When Kash Patel visited Hawaii last summer, the FBI took pains to note the director was not on vacation, highlighting his walking tour of the bureau’s Honolulu field office and meetings with local law enforcement.

Left out of the FBI’s news releases was an exclusive excursion that Patel took days later when he participated in what government officials described as a “VIP snorkel” around the USS Arizona in an outing coordinated by the military. The sunken battleship entombs more than 900 sailors and Marines at Pearl Harbor.

The swim, revealed in government emails obtained by The Associated Press, comes to light amid criticism of Patel’s use of the FBI plane and his global travel, which have blurred professional responsibilities with leisure activities. The FBI did not disclose the snorkeling session or that Patel had returned to Hawaii for two days after his initial stopover on the island.

“It fits a pattern of Director Patel getting tangled up in unseemly distractions — this time at a site commemorating the second deadliest attack in U.S. history — instead of staying laser-focused on keeping Americans safe,” said Stacey Young, who founded Justice Connection, a network of former federal prosecutors and agents who advocate for the Department of Justice’s independence.

With few exceptions, snorkeling and diving are off-limits around the USS Arizona. The battleship, now a military cemetery reachable only by boat, has stood as one of the nation’s most hallowed sites since Japan bombed and sank it in 1941. Marine archaeologists and crews from the National Park Service make occasional dives at the memorial to survey the condition of the wreck. Other dives have been conducted to inter the remains of Arizona survivors who wanted to rest eternally with their former shipmates.

Still, since at least the Obama administration, the Navy and the park service have quietly allowed a handful of dignitaries, including military and government officials responsible for management of the memorial, to swim at the site. The Navy and park service declined to provide details of those permitted to take such excursions.

Former FBI directors have visited Pearl Harbor on official business, but none going back to at least 1993 has gone snorkeling at the memorial, according to those familiar with their activities and a former government diver who spoke to AP on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution. The diver said it was unusual for a director or anyone not connected to the memorial to be granted such access because the swims come with physical risks and present security, safety and logistical challenges.

Patel has faced scrutiny over his leadership for the past year, with his use of government resources emerging as a recurring storyline of his tenure. The issue flared in February when video surfaced of Patel partying in the locker room  with members of the U.S. men’s hockey team after their gold medal win at the Winter Olympics in Milan.  Patel defended the trip as recently as this week as “purposely planned” in connection with a cybercrime investigation involving the Italian authorities.

Unanswered questions about exclusive outing

Patel’s excursion was in August as he spent two days in Hawaii on his return to the United States from official visits to Australia and New Zealand. On his way to those countries, he stopped in Hawaii to visit the Honolulu field office. An FBI spokesman did not answer questions about the snorkeling session.

The FBI said in a statement that top regional commanders hosted Patel at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam “as they commonly do with US government officials on official travel.” The Pearl Harbor visit, the spokesman said, “was part of the Director’s public national security engagements last August with counterparts in New Zealand, Australia, our Honolulu Field Office, and the Department of War.”

It was not clear how Patel’s snorkeling session was arranged. A Navy spokesperson, Capt. Jodie Cornell, confirmed the outing but said the service was not able to track down who initiated it.

Participants in Patel’s swim were told “not to touch/come into contact with” the sunken ship in any way, Cornell said. She added that the snorkelers were also briefed about “the historic significance of the Memorial as the final resting place/tomb for hundreds of service members.”

A ‘VIP Snorkel’

Government emails obtained by the AP through a public records request show military officials coordinated logistics and personnel for the “VIP Snorkel.”

The National Park Service, which administers the site in coordination with the Navy, told AP it was not involved in Patel’s swim and declined to comment on the excursion. It also declined to answer questions about any other such outings.

Among those afforded invitations to snorkel have been Navy admirals, secretaries of defense and interior, according to the former government diver. The diver added that the swims were intended to provide officials with insights into the memorial and its operations.

The Navy declined to provide examples or numbers showing how frequently it organizes such excursions. It described Patel’s outing as “not an anomaly.”

Hack Albertson, a Marine veteran, is part of a select group from the Paralyzed Veterans of America trained to dive on the Arizona annually to check on the condition of the wreck. He said it was inappropriate for Patel and other political figures to snorkel or dive at the memorial.

“It’s like having a bachelor party at a church. It’s hallowed ground,” he said. “It needs to be treated with the solemnity it deserves.”

Some family members don’t object to snorkeling

Some family members of Pearl Harbor survivors said they were not bothered by such official excursions, though some expressed a desire to also be permitted to snorkel at the site. They said they have not been permitted to do so.

“I have not heard of anyone who would object to these visits as they are very rare and there aren’t any survivors of the Arizona left alive,” Deidre Kelley, national president of the Sons and Daughters of Pearl Harbor Survivors, wrote in an email. “Their children might have some objections but I haven’t heard any.”

Patel visited Pearl Harbor several years ago during a trip he made to Hawaii while serving as chief of staff to Christopher Miller, then the acting secretary of defense, according to the former government diver.

Miller said he snorkeled over the Arizona during an official visit to the base, but Patel was not present for that excursion. Miller said he was invited to snorkel by regional military officials and was told such a tour was for “special occasions and for special visitors, of which you’re one.” He called it a “meaningful” experience.

“It was a very somber and meaningful event,” Miller said in an interview. “It was a historical tour. It wasn’t a recreational thing.”

FBI will not discuss Patel’s return to Hawaii

Beyond the snorkeling excursion, it is not clear what else Patel did during his second stop in Hawaii.

Flight tracking data for the Gulfstream G550 typically used by the FBI director show the jet remained on the island two nights during that stay before flying on to Las Vegas, Patel’s adopted hometown. The jet has a published range of about 7,700 miles, meaning the plane would have needed to refuel somewhere between New Zealand and Washington.

The snorkeling session happened one day after Patel stopped in Wellington to open the FBI’s first  standalone office  in New Zealand. The visit sparked controversy after the AP revealed that Patel had gifted that country’s police and spy bosses inoperable 3D-printed replica pistols that were  illegal to possess  under local gun laws.

Mustian, Tucker and Biesecker write for the Associated Press. Mustian reported from New York. AP writers Audrey McAvoy in Honolulu, and Konstantin Toropin contributed to this report.

South Korean boy band BTS, U.S. pop culture icon Madonna and Latin music superstar Shakira will be performing at halftime during the World Cup final July 19 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., FIFA announced Thursday morning.

The performance will support the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund, which is looking to raise $100 million to assist children in accessing education and soccer.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino wrote on Instagram that the show “will be a truly special moment, bringing together music, football and a shared commitment to improving the lives of children around the world.”

The show is being curated by Coldplay leader Chris Martin and, if this event announcement video is to be believed, a bunch of Muppets.

“It’s a chance to show how amazing all different kinds of humans are,” Martin explains to Elmo in the video.

The three acts will bring a variety of cultures, musical styles and generations of fans to the Super Bowl-style concert, which will be the first of its kind for a World Cup final.

Madonna headlined the Super Bowl XLVI halftime show in 2012, and Shakira teamed with Jennifer Lopez to co-headline the Super Bowl LIV halftime show in 2020. Also, Coldplay headlined the Super Bowl 50 halftime show in 2016.

No duration time has been announced for the World Cup show, although soccer halftimes are not supposed to last more than 15 minutes. Bad Bunny’s halftime performance at Super Bowl LX in February lasted 13 minutes.

Among the three of them, Madonna, Shakira and BTS have compiled 20 No. 1 songs on Billboard’s Hot 100 singles chart, 10 Grammys and 37 MTV Video Music Awards. Shakira is scheduled to release “Dai Dai” with Nigerian singer Burna Boy as the official song of the 2026 World Cup this month.

FORMER glamour model Katie Price has taken a fresh swipe at “missing” Lee as it seems they weren’t on the same page when he failed to show up in the UK.

Earlier this week poor Katie was left “embarrassed” after Lee, 43, failed to board a flight to the UK again, leaving her alone on the sofa of their scheduled GMB interview.

Katie was left fuming with the Dubai-based “businessman,” who she married in January, and has even issued him an ultimatum.

But now, Katie has continued to fuel rumours their marriage is on the rocks as she posted a clip of her podcast with her sister Sophie to Instagram.

She took a brutal swipe at Lee, writing in text across the video: “Where’s Wal-Lee?”

The mum-of-three made a calculated joke about her husband playing on the words Where’s Wally – a series of search and find books.

EX’S WARNING

Lee Andrews’ ex shares post hinting at downfall & sends message to Katie Price

LAST CHANCE

Katie Price rages ‘time is running out’ for husband Lee

It seems Katie is beginning to question her man as she bantered that he was hard to track down.

In the video, she said: “I just want him here, just to visit here and shut everyone up that he can get here.

“So next week when we do the pod we’ll find out whether he’s come to England or not and we’ll see what he’s said.”

Lee has claimed he was going to fly into the country multiple times but is yet to show up.

It raised questions again about his alleged travel ban which stops him from leaving Dubai, which he denies exists.

With Lee still mooching about the UAE, Katie admitted today that she has started to question her husband.

She captioned a post on social media: “Time is running out for Lee and he needs to give a good reason as to why he can’t get back because I am not going back to Dubai.”

During her podcast, The Katie Price Show, she admitted to confronting Lee over the situation.

She said: “It’s the fact you keep saying you’re coming and then don’t come.

“Of course, everyone is going to flag up. Even I’ve flagged it up to him. Big time I’ve flagged it up now. I said, ‘Don’t do that to me again. Me having to go on live TV without you and make me look stupid and a d***”.

“No wonder everyone’s saying, ‘You’re this, you’re that’, because they’ve got a reason to say it. I agree, I agree with everyone.”

Lee, dubbed a “Walter Mitty,” was caught in yet another lie as documented his journey to the UK on Instagram.

He claimed to be flying from Muscat in Oman, but it was clear from the clips that Lee was in Dubai airport, near where he lives.

This article contains spoilers for the penultimate episode of “The Boys.”

There’s just one episode to go in the fifth and final season of Prime Video’s irreverent superhero satire, “The Boys.” The topical, darkly funny, whip-smart series from Eric Kripke follows a band of vigilante misfits who fight to expose the all-powerful, corrupt conglomerate Vought International and its stable of villainous superheroes.

Among the ragtag crew of antiheroes is Frenchie, played by Tomer Capone. Frenchie is the de facto chemist and inventor of the group, a former assassin for hire whose drug-addled brain is constantly concocting news ways to kill immortal Supes (superheroes). Yet he’s deeply connected with the feral Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara), who was nonverbal when he helped save her from human traffickers who sought to cash in on her Supe strength. Their bond — both are outsiders who suffered abuse as children — is one of the few emotional soft spots in the otherwise fast-moving series about America’s rotten power structure, manipulative media and the gullibility of the public.

Though fans of the show are already mourning the end of “The Boys,” they were dealt another major blow Wednesday, when in Episode 7 beloved Frenchie met his fate at the hands of the sociopathic head Supe, Homelander (Antony Starr). Israeli actor Capone talks about the scene, the end of the show and how to cope with the loss of Frenchie. This conversation has been edited for clarity and length.

OK, so the big question first. Do you actually speak French?

En vous? Moi? [Laughs] OK, a little bit, but it’s a different kind of French. But that wasn’t the difficult part. Frenchie, to me, is one of those characters for an actor, that’s a gift. It’s something I prayed for. It’s a full-on character. He’s an outsider. He’s a foreigner. The way he walks, the way he talks. We can also talk about the crop tops and the hairstyle …

He’s a full-on character, and the French aspect was only part of it. There was also the sign language with Kimiko, and the connection. For me, the emotion and connection was the bigger aspect of portraying Frenchie.

Are you ready for all the tears of your fans once they witness Frenchie’s demise? He sacrifices himself to lure Homelander away from Kimiko. She is saved, but he is killed in the process.

Oh my God, I can’t watch it. I didn’t watch it. I can’t. I’m too involved.

Tomer Capone on the scene with his character’s demise: “Oh my God, I can’t watch it.”

(Jasper Savage/Prime)

So you really haven’t watched the scene yet?

No. It’s the longest character I ever had in my career, and I can’t. Something tells me not yet.

When you shot that scene, was there an intensity on set? How did that play out?

Intensity is always around the show because there’s so much to accomplish doing “The Boys.” But funnily enough, that specific scene was the most tranquil and quiet set I’ve experienced. I remember standing there with the amazing people of the cast and crew, and we’re talking about how the scene is going to play out. I felt this quietness, like everybody was like inside themselves, so I started to get nervous. I said, “Oh my God, they’re expecting something.”

But very quickly, I decided that I’m just going release all the [plans], thoughts or ideas that I had about the scene. I literally went into this mantra that said, “Frenchie, here’s the keys. Drive the car.” And you know what? It was the right way to go. It made sense. It felt very respectful and spiritual. Those kind of scenes come once in never, where you feel like you’re letting the character drive, and you’re just gliding behind it.

“The Boys” is based on the 2000s comic book series of the same name by writer Garth Ennis and artist Darick Robertson. But the show is unlike any comic book adaptation out there. In fact, it mocks superhero culture.

The biggest gift of working [with] Eric Kripke, the writers and this show is that even as things are moving fast and big things are happening, they’re emotionally backed up. And as a character and an actor, it’s like, OK, I understand what I’m doing. This is the world and what we’re playing. You get where it is going, and why it needs to happen.

Were you surprised when you first learned about Frenchie’s fate?

I wasn’t surprised when I heard from Eric that Frenchie was continuing on to the big field [in the sky]. I had this feeling. I didn’t want to say it out loud. It’s like, at this point, the fifth season, we all felt it. We knew where it was going,

But Frenchie is the empathy and compassion of this series. I actually cried when he was killed off. The empathy is gone, and now we’re left with soulless, terrifying Homelander.

But Kimiko lives.

True, but I haven’t seen the finale. How does Kimiko go on without Frenchie?

Well, let me tell you… [laughs]. I can’t tell, but I can say that I do think Episode 8 is going to blow the audience and fans’ minds with where it goes. That’s the only thing I can say. It evolves into something that resonates.

When it comes to pushing the envelope, “The Boys” is renowned for going where most shows won’t. It drove a speed boat into the side of a whale, imbued superheroes with powers such as toxic vomit and a giant killer penis. Then there was the flying killer sheep. Was there ever a moment too far for you?

Almost every episode has those moments … I remember they told us about the whale, and they said they were still figuring out how. It was a surprise. So I’m driving to set, and it was a sunny day on the shore of Toronto, then all of a sudden, my windshield, everything is covered with this [big shadow], and I’m like what’s going on? Clouds? Is going to rain? The day is ruined! Then I look up and see them [trucking] in a real-size animatronic whale. People that had nothing to do with the show were stopping their cars and looking at this whale moving on the Toronto shore. It was like, OK, here we go.

And there was the musical sequence [in Season 3, Episode 5, when a hospitalized Kimiko imagines her and Frenchie dancing to “I Got Rhythm.”]. Karen and I were on set, and there’s like 30 professional dancers stretching behind us, beautiful and fresh and clean. And we’re looking at each other like, what is this show? What are we doing here? As an actor, you pinch yourself. It’s an experience.

Frenchie (Capone) and Kimiko (Fukuhara) in Season 3’s musical number.

(Amazon Studios)

The musical number, did you actually have to practice the choreography for that?

Oh, day in and day out. I thought I knew how to dance. Apparently I needed some work. Luckily, Karen is a total badass in terms of her commitment, and we practiced it day and night, even working on it off set between other scenes, just working in the movements, trying to get it right. But I learned something very fun about myself. Usually, I don’t like to watch myself on screen, like a lot of actors don’t. From time to time, I would watch an action scene or me fighting because I want to see if I got the choreography right. And I learned that I can watch myself dance too.

With all the fighting in that show, that’s also requires quite a bit of physical acting.

We have the best stunt teams in the business. They made our life very easy compared to the crazy stuff we had to do. Saying that, I don’t miss the harnesses that they put on us. I will not miss that

Harnesses?

I remember when we shot the first episode where Frenchie, Hughie (Jack Quaid)and Mother’s Milk (Laz Alonso) are captive in the camp. And then I think Starlight flies me off out of the camp. It was like minus 40, snowing. We’re on our harnesses, and we’re just flying away. It’s an experience.

“The Boys” has brilliantly captured the political craziness in America, but told through the world of egotistical superheroes. For example, Homelander claimed he was lord and savior around the same time President Trump posted an AI image of himself as Jesus.

How they predicted some of the stuff, it beats me. You’re going to have to ask Kripke and his writers. But I love that the show tackles all that. For me, portraying Frenchie is about humanity. About how in chaos and in fear and in the craziness of “The Boys’” world, people still choose love and compassion and that’s really the heart of “The Boys.” Or maybe that’s just from Frenchie’s perspective, where it’s all about family, loyalty and protecting the ones you love.

How did you imagine the character of Frenchie when you first learned of the show?

When I got the audition, I didn’t know about the source material. I didn’t know about the novel, or the graphic comic book. So I went online, and I started researching Frenchie. And the first picture that came in was this buzz cut, crazy, goggle-wearing character. I said, what really? Frenchie specifically is illustrated and drawn so different from volume to volume. It gave me so much space to create something in between those worlds. Then picking the brain of Eric Kripke and building a whole story and backup story for the characters. We already knew, in a way, where it was going, so we had the privilege of understanding the arc of the bigger picture for “The Boys.”

Do you have a favorite Frenchie moment?

Yeah, I do, but it’s not what you might expect to hear. It’s from Season 1. There was this scene with Frenchie and Petit Hughie. Hughie comes out of his father’s house [and he’s upset]. I say that I understand because my father was bipolar too, and [he tried to smother me with a] Hello Kitty duvet. It’s just it’s one of those moments when we couldn’t get those two lines out. We kept breaking. I think it’s the longest scene Jack and I ever had in the show. It was something like 14 takes. All the cast and crew were breaking too. It was like, should we just give it up? But I was fighting for it. No, I can do this! Now it’s a [fan] favorite quote. So that means a lot. I fought for that line!

Have you thought about how you’ll console distraught fans once they’ve seen Episode 7?

Oh, my God. Do you have any tips for me, please?

Sorry, no. I’m in mourning too.

Frenchie will live forever. Viva la Frenchie.

FOR someone whose face never moves, Katie Price couldn’t hide her emotion yesterday as her husband Lee Andrews stood her up on live TV.

What was supposed to be the loved-up couple’s chance to quieten the naysayers turned Katie into a laughing stock as she desperately tried to explain Lee’s absence amid claims he had been detained in the UAE. We’re told the public humiliation was a step too far for those close to Katie, 47, but has it been enough for her to see the light?

An insider said: “It’s not nice to see Katie put on the spot like that. All she ever does is try to be the perfect wife, but she’s struggling with the constant uncertainty.

“Her inner circle are worried it’s going to take its toll on her. It’s put a lot of pressure on the other relationships in her life – like with her sister Sophie, who has been terrified about Lee’s intentions from the start.

“Katie has been through so much heartache in the past and been treated so badly by men, and they think she deserves more – or at least some transparency.

“It’s one thing Lee supposedly missed the flight, but the videos of him at the airport while he desperately insists he is still coming are a hard watch. There is a feeling that he needs to accept the game is up, and they are just worried about how Katie will react when she realises that something is amiss.”

The couple, who tied the knot in January, were due to appear on GMB yesterday. It was set to be their first joint telly interview and a chance for them to set the record straight. 

But while Katie, who had been visiting Lee in Dubai, made it back to the UK, Lee was nowhere to be seen. What followed was a bizarre game of will-he, won’t he, while poor Katie was left struggling alone. 

There is ongoing speculation that Lee, 43, is unable to leave the United Arab Emirates city after allegedly forging his ex-girlfriend Dina Taji’s signature to secure a £200,000 loan – something he’s strongly denied. 

Presenters Susanna Reid and her co-host Ed Balls told how they had approached the Foreign Office to see if Lee had a travel ban.

They said they had been informed they had “supported a British man detained in the United Arab Emirates”.

When the pair quizzed Katie as to whether this was Lee, she said he had denied it in a voice note and added laughing emoji icons to his message.

Explaining the reason for his no-show, Katie, who wore a pink shirt and gold hoop earrings for her chat, said: “He just didn’t make the flight.

“He’s coming here to spend quite a few months now. He’s been sorting out my visa, my international driving licence.

“He’s flying from Muscat, and he had things to do; he didn’t make the flight, but he’s at the airport now”.

Lee reinforced her words as he took to his social media page from the departures lounge.

He praised Katie’s appearance on GMB and said: “Yes, I am at the airport and flying to my wife, who did very well on GMB today.

“And I am on my way to her. I had a couple of things that I had to do last-minute; I couldn’t make the show. I was hoping to get on there with the Zoom link, but they carried on with Kate, and she did really, really well”.

Mum of three Susanna mused: “I wonder if he’s telling you everything, do you trust him?” to which Katie said, “Yes”.

He then asked if Lee was normally unreliable, and she replied: “Not with me”.

Our insider added: “Katie was desperate to keep painting a happy picture, but the cracks are starting to show. She will have been upset about the line of questioning about the man she loves. She is a hopeless romantic and wants to believe the best in Lee, even if no one else does.”

The interview was a disaster, and clips of Katie frantically trying to defend Lee quickly went viral, and Lee was heavily scrutinised. Some people claimed the video he shared wasn’t filmed where he said it was, while others felt sympathy towards her.

Who is Katie Price’s husband Lee Andrews?

KATIE Price tied the knot with Lee Andrews in January 2026. Yet who is he?

• Katie Price has married businessman fiancé Lee Andrews in a whirlwind wedding
• It is the fourth time Katie, 47, has been a bride. She has also been married to Peter Andre, Alex Reid and Kieran Hayler
• Katie and Lee met just after being introduced on social media
• Lee claimed he is a billionaire in a failed clip from his acting career
• He now claims to be a Dubai-based businessman
• Yet The Sun has unmasked him as a fantasist who faked celebrity links using AI-generated photos and recently talked about marrying two other women
• Failed actor is just another title to add to Lee’s questionable CV, after he claimed to have once worked as the Director of Philanthropy at The Prince’s Trust (now The King’s Trust)
• Lee also shared images – since proven to be AI – of him working with Elon Musk and Kim Kardashian
• It’s been revealed shameless Lee told former girlfriends that he had studied at Cambridge University, and has a PhD in biotechnology science
• But The Sun has seen a response from the university explaining it could not find a record of Lee being registered as a student with a date of birth they had provided
• His LinkedIn profile says Lee has been a Member of the Board of Advisors to the Labour Party since 2015
• Lee was also mocked for repeating the exact same wedding proposal on Katie – that he did for another woman just four months ago.

One person commented: “I actually feel a bit sorry for her.”

Another remarked: “This is so sad. The penny still has not dropped, even though GMB know its him that’s been detained as they would have had it confirmed. I hope Suzannah told her after the cameras stopped rolling.”

And as the day went on, it seemed less and less likely Lee would actually arrive, despite his insisting he was on his way.

There certainly seems to be some confusion with the couple’s timeline – over 12 hours before she was due on GMB, Katie posted on her social media – in a video which has now been deleted – to reveal Lee was joining her 

She said on social media: “Where the hell is my husband? Lee will not be on Good Morning Britain with me!!”

She added: “Well, he is not coming, which is gutting really as he said he was coming, so I’m getting the house ready for me”.

And for the first time, the tide might be slightly turning for Katie, and in a surprise movie, she did lay down an ultimatum.

Katie said that although Lee “pays for” her flights to Dubai, she needs him to be more present in the UK.

The mum-of-five, who hasn’t even been able to introduce her kids to Lee, said: “I’ve been in Dubai, I came back on Friday.

“But because I can’t keep going to Dubai, because obviously I’ve got work and my kids here.

 Susanna quipped: “And it’s expensive”, and Katie replied: “Well, he pays for it anyway.”

“But I can’t keep going to Dubai.”

Katie believes that Lee will now be joining her for a few months in the UK, but whether he ever makes remains to be seen. 

The 69th Grammy Awards will take place Feb. 7 at Crypto.com Arena in downtown Los Angeles, organizers said Tuesday during Disney’s annual upfront presentation to advertisers. The show will be the first to air on Disney’s ABC network (and stream on its Hulu and Disney+ platforms) since the Recording Academy ended its half-century-long partnership with Paramount’s CBS.

Nominations for the 2027 ceremony — which will recognize recordings released between Aug. 31, 2025 and Aug. 28, 2026 — are set to be announced Nov. 16. Final Grammys voting will open Dec. 10 and close Jan. 7.

A host for the show hasn’t been announced. Trevor Noah, who began hosting the Grammys in 2021, said his gig at February’s 68th ceremony would be his last.

Big winners at the 2026 Grammys included Bad Bunny, whose “Debí Tirar Más Fotos” was named album of the year; Kendrick Lamar and SZA, who won record of the year with “Luther”; Billie Eilish and her brother, Finneas O’Connell, whose “Wildflower” took song of the year; and Olivia Dean, who was named best new artist.

Among the albums and songs already thought to be in contention for high-level nods next year are Taylor Swift’s “The Life of a Showgirl,” Noah Kahan’s “The Great Divide,” Bruno Mars’ “The Romantic,” Rosalía’s “Lux,” Ella Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas” and Sienna Spiro’s “Die on This Hill.”

Staying true to the spirit of the original show, audiences will see three contestants and their pros battle it out in three rounds of trick shots to reach the dramatic finale.

The BBC has announced the return of iconic snooker show Big Break.

The show originally ran from 1991 to 2002 and was hosted by Jim Davison with the late John Virgo as referee. But the new look show will see it moved from BBC1 to BBC2 and now co-hosted by Paddy McGuinness and Stephen Hendry. They will be joined in the studio by professional snooker players, from across the globe, straight off the competition circuit, in a bid to win their contestants the cash prize.

New co-host Paddy McGuinness said: “I am absolutely delighted to be a part of Big Break. It is one of those shows everyone knows and loves so to be hosting it alongside legend Stephen Hendry will be something special. Bring it on!”

READ MORE: Shaun Murphy offers to host Big Break as snooker stars call for return of iconic BBC showREAD MORE: Christine McGuinness ‘hurt and upset’ over backlash to romances and raunchy admissions

The show originally aired on Saturday nights but the new version will air on BBC2 in daytime. The hosts will be joined in the studio by professional snooker players straight off the competition circuit in a bid to win their contestants the cash prize.

Stephen Hendry, who will co-host and also show off some trick shots and skills on the show, said: “Big Break was a unique mix of trick shots and great entertainment and I can’t wait to be back at the table and bringing this incredible show to a whole new audience and who knows, we might inspire the next generation of snooker players to get into the sport.”

Fans of snooker have long been calling for the return of Big Break, although whether they will like the new format and hosts remains to be seen. Paddy McGuinness was also previously the host of a revamped Question of Sport quiz which failed to win over viewers.

Rob Unsworth, Head of BBC Daytime and Early Peak Commissioning said: “Snooker fans and pros alike have been calling for Big Break’s return, so we’re excited to confirm they’ll get their wish – and can even apply to take part.

“This revamp will showcase some of the game’s best known and up-and-coming faces, as well as tapping into the deep well of snooker fandom online and already on the BBC. The recent World Championships pulled in 120million viewing hours, so pairing upcoming live coverage with the new Big Break will mean audiences can come together with the whole family to enjoy more of what they want.”

Big Break will return in the form of 20 episodes lasting 30 minutes each. Further details on how and when to watch Big Break will be announced soon.

The BBC promised a “brand-new look and feel to Big Break” with the new series, saying audiences will now be “put on the table, behind the ball and into frame, getting up close and personal with the professionals”.

They also insisted they are staying true to the spirit of the original show, so audiences will see three contestants and their pros battle it out in three rounds of trick shots to reach the dramatic finale. Filming begins shortly.

Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook,YouTube and Threads.

The Eurovision Song Contest is back once again and viewers around the world will be looking forward to their annual fix of the international music competition when it all kicks off this week

The Eurovision Song Contest is back once again – with several acts from around the world ready to wow viewers in the hopes of winning the international competition.

Last year, JJ won for Austria with Wasted Love, meaning that this year, all the action takes place at the Wiener Stadthalle in Vienna, with Cosmó taking the reins for the country’s capital city with Tanzschein.

In total, 35 countries will take part in the semi-finals whilst 25 will make it to the grand final of the whole thing, which will take place on Saturday 16 May. For the United Kingdom, YouTube star LookMumNoComputer will be on hand with Eins, Zwei, Drei, following on from entrants of recent years like Sam Ryder, Mae Muller, Olly Alexander and Remember Monday.

READ MORE: ‘We represented the UK at Eurovision – we still recall bitter exchange with Graham Norton’READ MORE: Rylan Clark hints he’d quit TV for very different career as ‘fame ain’t everything’

With current bookies’ odds of 5/4, Finland look set to become victorious this time round. The song is titled Liekinheitin, and it will be performed by violinist Linda Lampenius and singer-songwriter Pete Parkkonen.

Speaking about the track, the pair told The Independent: “The story behind this song is actually quite deep and sad. It’s about when you get involved with someone and let them fall in love with you, but when they get too close, you turn ice cold.

“The protagonist in Liekinheitin can either be seen as the victim of someone’s behaviour, or as a person who becomes addicted to other people, even when they know that the relationship will never evolve. It symbolises the passion these two people are experiencing, but it’s also the desperation that could kill you.”

Hot on their heels is Greece, with bookies giving the country odds of 6/1 after it was announced that Akylas will be representing them with the track Ferto. Over the years, Finland, who have competed a total of 58 times since debuting in 1961, have finished in last place on 11 occasions and won in 2006 with Hard Rock Hallelujah, which was performed by Lordi.

Just one year before their victory, Greece won with Helena Paparizou, who performed the track My Number One four years after she initially finished in third place with Die For You when she was part of the Eurodance duo Antique alongside Nikos Panagiotidis.

For the UK, odds vary drastically from 33/1 all the way to 250/1 – implying that the current entry is set to fall rather low down in the pecking order.

The semi-finals will kick off on Tuesday 12 May at 9pm on BBC One and will be hosted by Rylan Clark and Angela Scanlon, who will return to front the second heat at the same time on Thursday evening. Over on the radio, Sara Cox will be on hand with her commentary at the same time, and will also occupy a Wednesday slot from 4pm to 7pm.

Friday will see Murder on the Dancefloor singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor head up Eurovision Kitchen Disco for BBC Radio 2 from 9pm to 11pm, and will be back at 1pm on Saturday afternoon for Your Ultimate Eurovision Superstar! She will follow on from Dermot O’Leary, who will take to the airwaves from 8am until 10am and celebrate the song contest with his Radio 2 show.

Everything will come to a head at 8pm on Saturday 16 May when Graham Norton will be back to provide coverage as one country will be crowned the latest champion of the contest. International viewers may be able to stream the contest on its official YouTube channel but, in the UK, it remains exclusive to BBC One.

Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Threads.

NBCUniversal has ordered a TV adaptation of the popular New York Times puzzle Wordle that will be hosted by Savannah Guthrie.

Jimmy Fallon, whose company is co-producing the show, and Guthrie announced the series pick-up Monday on NBC’s “Today.” “Wordle” will begin production later this year and debut on NBC in 2027.

Guthrie filmed the pilot episode for Wordle last fall in Manchester, England, where the series will be made as well. The project from Universal Television Alternative Studio, Fallon’s Electric Hot Dog and The New York Times, has been in development for two and a half years.

Guthrie said she learned the show was picked up in February and was set to shoot episodes in March. But producers delayed the start as Guthrie went on a hiatus for two months after the disappearance of her mother Nancy.

“They just stopped everything and said, ‘we will wait for you, of course,’” Guthrie said. “And Hollywood is a really tough business as you know, and I didn’t expect that.”

Guthrie returned to “Today” on April 6. Law enforcement officials believe Nancy Guthrie was taken against her will from her Catalina Foothills home on Jan. 31. The investigation into her abduction is ongoing.

Guthrie did not mention the situation with her mother’s abduction, but indicated her game show duties will be another step toward normalcy. “I’m just determined to put one foot in front of the other,” she told colleagues.

Wordle asks players to guess a five-letter word in six chances through a process of eliminating letters. An individual player’s performance in the game can be posted online without revealing the answer, as the colored tiles are shown without the letters.

Offered as part of a subscription to a bundle of puzzles on the New York Times web site and app, Wordle has been a major driver of digital revenue for the company. The New York Times said earlier this year that users solved the Wordle puzzle 4.4 billion times in 2025.

Wordle was created by Brooklyn, N.Y.-based software engineer Josh Wardle in 2021. After it became an immediate hit online, the New York Times purchased it for a price reported to be in the low-seven-figure range.

The cast and sex experts of Virgin Island spoke at the BAFTA TV Awards after the Channel 4 show was hit with criticism

The Virgin Island cast made a huge splash when the series first aired last year and instantly became a watercooler TV show, with many left questioning whether it was groundbreaking or exploitative.

The premise of the Channel 4 programme followed 12 adult virgins as they explored intimacy in a pressure-free environment, surrounded by experts helping to guide them towards breaking down barriers.

It led to emotional breakthroughs for the brave contestants, and sparked conversations across the UK, resulting in a BAFTA TV nomination in the reality category – which was eventually won by the Celebrity Traitors.

Speaking to the Mirror and other press on the red carpet at the annual ceremony, the cast and experts took the opportunity to hit back at the critics. Addressing the backlash, sex and relationship coach Celeste Hirschman told us: “The proof is in the pudding! The transformations are unbelievable, and in the second season as well!

Dr Danielle Harel agreed: “Exactly! There’s a little bit of a discomfort to see the methods, but honestly, when people see how it helps, they’ll really fall into it, they’ll love it. They’ll really understand why it’s so important.”

Discussing the biggest change in the latest episodes, they revealed that “hundreds and hundreds” of people applied to take part for the second season.

“I think they were much more ready in season two, so they dove in the deep end right away. And we had a little more time, which was nice,” Celeste continued. “And we have play time! We have a BDSM specialist coming in for episode five, so watch out!”

Dr Danielle interjected: “I think people came in more ready for the show, so they were ready to move faster.”

The contestants themselves also couldn’t rave about the series enough. Emma was met with cheers when she shared: “Well, I lost my virginity, so that’s an update, I think!

“Ever since, I’ve been exploring more with intimacy and getting more comfortable with it. Finding out what I like and don’t like. I’ve built so much more confidence and I’ve opened up so many more doors! It’s incredible!

“The pros taught us how it was done, I’m a free woman now thanks to these girls! I didn’t realise that would happen on a two week retreat but these are experts, so they know what they’re doing!”

Emma revealed that she first became intimate “about six months after” filming, during a “self-love journey” in Australia.

“That’s when I started to meet people and try it a bit more. I took away a lot of skills these girls gave me and I did my own learning in my own time, and then I blossomed in the outside world.”

Jason Thompson, who was also a guest at the sex retreat, proudly flashed a bejewelled cherry pin on his suit as he added:“I’m still a virgin, cherry is still in tact. I love myself again, a whole other level of confidence, I’m just all-round happier. It’s the best decision I’ve ever made.”

Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .

Al Jazeera’s Rosalind Jordan and Almigdad Alruhaid report on the latest developments after US President Donald Trump rejected Iran’s response to the US peace proposal, as negotiations increasingly focus on sanctions, ceasefire guarantees, and control of the Strait of Hormuz.

A BAFTA winner broke the fourth wall during the awards’ ceremony to ask BBC bosses if they would cut footage of Gaza: Doctors Under Attack winning the prize for best film about current affairs

A BAFTA winner took aim at the BBC during the ceremony after a documentary about Gaza triumphed at the prestigious television awards ceremony.

The current affairs film Gaza: Doctors Under Attack picked up a major prize at the BAFTA Television Awards tonight (Sunday, 10 May). But the moment quickly turned political when executive producer Ben De Pear used his acceptance speech to question the broadcaster that originally commissioned the programme.

The one-off documentary, which features testimonies from Palestinian healthcare workers and documents attacks on medical facilities in Gaza, was initially commissioned by the BBC before being shelved over impartiality concerns. It was later broadcast by Channel 4 instead.

When he took to the stage after the film won in the current affairs category, Ben thanked the journalists involved in making the documentary before addressing the BBC directly.

He fired his parting shot, asking: “Finally, just a question for the BBC: given you dropped our film, will you drop us from the Bafta screening later tonight?”

BBC One was responsible for the TV coverage of the BAFTA Awards night, but did not air the ceremony live. The reception of each award was broadcast to the public around two hours after the actual events took place.

Ben was joined on stage by journalist Ramita Navia, who delivered a powerful speech about the findings of the investigation featured in the film.

He shared: ” Israel has killed over 47,000 children and women in Gaza. So far, Israel has bombed and targeted every single one of Gaza’s hospitals.

“It’s killed over 1,700 Palestinian doctors and health care workers. It has imprisoned over 400 in what the UN now calls the medicide. These are the findings of our investigation that the BBC paid for but refused to show.

“But we refuse to be silenced and censored. We thank Channel 4 for showing this film. Right now, there are over 80 Palestinian doctors and healthcare workers being held in detention centres that Israeli human rights groups describe as torture camps. We dedicate this award to them.”

The documentary was originally commissioned over a year ago by the BBC via their independent production company Basement Films.

However, the broadcaster delayed its release while an internal review into a separate Gaza-related programme was carried out. After that review process, the corporation ultimately decided not to air the film.

At the time, the BBC said it had concerns the programme could create “a perception of partiality that would not meet the high standards that the public rightly expect”.

The corporation also confirmed that production on the documentary had been paused while the review was was being conducted. Despite dropping the programme, the BBC said it remained committed to reporting on the conflict.

In a statement previously issued by the BBC, the broadcaster said it was “committed to covering the conflict in Gaza and has produced powerful coverage”.

Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .

Love may not be all you need these days, but a picture with it might help. This you can get beginning later this year when the Huntington installs its newly acquired “LOVE” sculpture by Robert Indiana near the Virginia Steele Scott Galleries of American Art.

Indiana first unveiled the iconic sculpture almost 60 years ago — also just a few days before Mother’s Day — as part of his 1966 solo exhibition at Stable Gallery in New York. While this early version measured only 12 inches high, the Huntington’s edition is 12 feet tall and 12 feet wide, making it an ideal vessel for you and your, ahem, loved ones to snap a pic with.

The polychromed aluminum sculpture is third in an edition of five, with two artist’s proofs, and will be the only “LOVE” sculpture in Southern California available to the public. It arrives at the museum’s San Marino campus as a gift of Terri and Jerry Kohl, who also provided funding for installation and long-term care.

“LOVE” is one of the most recognizable pieces of Pop art ever created — a ubiquitous symbol associated with a variety of social causes, movements and groups, including the LGBTQ+ community during the height of the AIDS crisis.

Indiana’s design for “LOVE,” featuring an L and slightly askew O stacked atop a V and E, first appeared on the Museum of Modern Art’s annual holiday card in 1965, and was apparently among the institution’s most popular holiday cards of all time. The artist completed his first monumental love sculpture, made from steel, in 1970. That sculpture is part of the Indianapolis Museum of Art’s collection.

In a news release, Huntington President Karen R. Lawrence said that Jerry Kohl believed that “LOVE,” “belonged in a place where it would be seen and experienced by millions of visitors in the years leading up to the Los Angeles Olympics, during the games, and far beyond. He recognized The Huntington as a cultural destination uniquely positioned to steward the work and share it with a broad public audience.”

“LOVE” will join a number of other outdoor installations across the Huntington’s expansive grounds and gardens, including two recently acquired sculptures by the Cuban-born artist Enrique Martínez Celaya, in addition to pieces by Sam Francis, Tony Smith and Harry Bertoia.

The sculpture also serves to expand the Huntington’s collection of American art dating from the mid-20th century on, joining works by Andy Warhol, Betye Saar, Elizabeth Catlett, Isamu Noguchi, Paul Manship, Gaston Lachaise, Elie Nadelman, Daniel Chester French, Sargent Claude Johnson, Richmond Barthé and Wilhelm Hunt Diederich.

If you’re planning a Mother’s Day jaunt to the picturesque Huntington, you won’t see the sculpture just yet, but you should still go. (This is where I wish all who celebrate a very happy Mother’s Day. Hi, hardworking, selfless moms everywhere: I see you.)

I’m Arts editor Jessica Gelt and I choose LOVE. This is your arts and culture news for the week.

The week ahead: A curated calendar

FRIDAY

Freeways 2026
Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra fellows Alejandro Lombo, flute, Eder Rivera, oboe, and Nicolás Valencia, viola, and other emerging musicians perform works by Dranishnikova, Piazzolla, Mozart, Dvořák, Gaubert, Julia Moss and Ravel.
7:30 p.m. Colburn School, Zipper Hall, 200 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. laco.org

My Birthday Party
Based on stories by Carl Sandburg and Viggo Mortensen, this immersive theatrical experience includes acrobats, aerialists and clowns from Cirque du Soleil and features surprise guests, with music by Veronika Krausas. Opening night performance by Thelma Houston.
8 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday, through May 7. Fais Do-Do, 5257 W. Adams Place, L.A. playwithsprung.com

Lorenzo Viotti in Milan, Italy.

(Vittorio Zunino Celotto / Getty Images)

Rachmaninoff’s ‘Second Symphony’
In his L.A. Phil debut, flamboyant Italian-Swiss conductor Lorenzo Viotti and violinist Lisa Batiashvili join the orchestra for a fiery program of late-Romantic works.
8 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday. Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. laphil.com

Picasso: Le Monstre Sacré
Peter Tate’s solo performance piece, adapted by the actor and director Guy Masterson from Terri D’Alfonso‘s “The Loves of Picasso,” explores the complicated artist’s legacy from within.
8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday; 3 p.m. Sunday, through May 17. Odyssey Theatre, 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd. odysseytheatre.com

TJ Shin’s solo exhibition “Delta” is at Ehrlich Steinberg through June 11.

(Ehrlich Steinberg)

TJ Shin
The L.A.-based artist’s solo exhibition “Delta,” rooted in game theory, consists of a multi-channel video installation, drawings and a newly commissioned text by writer and professor Sunny Xiang.
11 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday, through June 11. Ehrlich Steinberg, 5540 Santa Monica Blvd., L.A. ehrlichsteinberg.com

The Sound of Music
The Hollywood Hills (and San Diego and Costa Mesa) are alive with the sound of Rodgers & Hammerstein on this tour of the latest revival of the classic romantic musical set in Austria as Nazi Germany moves to annex it.
Through May 24. Hollywood Pantages Theatre, 6233 Hollywood Blvd.; May 26-31. San Diego Civic Theatre, 1100 Third Ave.; June 2-14. Segerstrom Center for the Arts, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. soundofmusicontour.com

SATURDAY

Ascent
This world premiere of a play by the late Henry Ong details the true story of aerospace engineer and cyberneticist Qian Xuesen, who co-founded Jet Propulsion Laboratory and was instrumental in United States’ World War II efforts before being unjustly forced to return to China. Direction and dramaturgy by Diana Wyenn.
8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays; 3 p.m. Sundays, through June 14. Skylight Theatre Company, 1816 ½ N. Vermont Ave, L.A. skylighttheatre.org

Maintenance Artist
The Laemmle “Culture Vulture” series continues with a 2025 documentary about Mierle Laderman Ukeles, who, inspired by Marcel Duchamp, inaugurated the idea that routine activities could be seen as performance art. Directed by Toby Perl Freilich.
10 a.m. Saturday and Sunday; 7 p.m. Monday. Laemmle Glendale, 207 N. Maryland Ave.; Laemmle Town Center 5, 17200 Ventura Blvd., Encino; Laemmle Monica Film Center, 1332 2nd St. laemmle.com 6 p.m. May 16. Getty Center, 1200 Getty Center Drive, L.A. getty.edu

Wild Up: The Center Is Between Us
The eclectic ensemble performs Robert Ashley’s “The Park” and “The Backyard,” narrated live by Christopher Rountree, from the 1978 avant-garde spoken work album “Private Parts,” before being joined by the santoor and tabla duo of Kamaljeet and Jas Ahluwalia, along with cellist Chris Votek, for new work.
8 p.m. UCLA Nimoy Theater, 1262 Westwood Blvd. cap.ucla.edu

SUNDAY

Los Angeles Children’s Chorus
LACC presents two spring concerts: Sunday, featuring the Apprentice Choir, Intermediate Choir and Chorale; and May 17 with the Concert Choir, Young Men’s Ensemble and Chamber Singers.
7 p.m. Sunday and May 17. Pasadena Presbyterian Church, 585 E. Colorado Blvd. lachildrenschorus.org

MOMentum Place
Celebrate Mother’s Day in the great outdoors with aerial and circus performers, dancers and musicians, preceded by a brunch from chef David Gussin and Prose Restaurant.
Brunch, noon; performance, 2 p.m.; Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum, 1419 N. Topanga Canyon Blvd., Topanga. theatricum.com

Shirley MacLaine, Debra Winger and Jack Nicholson in James L. Brooks’ 1983 hit “Terms of Endearment,” which won five Oscars.

(Paramount Pictures)

Terms of Endearment
James L. Brooks won Academy Awards for writing, producing and directing this adaptation of Larry McMurty’s novel, which should resonate with anyone who has or had a challenging relationship with their own mother on this Mother’s Day. Featuring a stacked cast including Oscar winners Shirley MacLaine and Jack Nicholson, and nominees Debra Winger and John Lithgow, as well as Jeff Daniels and Danny DeVito. Presented in 35mm.
2 p.m. Academy Museum, 6067 Wilshire Blvd. academymuseum.org

MONDAY

ASCAP Foundation Musical Theatre Workshop
Three new musicals presented as live readings with musical accompaniment and expert feedback panels: “Lilyville” by Antonius Anand Nazareth (Monday); “The Waiting” by Maria Isabella Andreoli and EmmaLee Kidwell (Tuesday); and “Legendary” by Cheeyang Ng (Wednesday).
7 p.m. Monday-Wednesday. The Wallis, 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills. thewallis.org

TUESDAY

Rachel Ward, left, and Jason Patric in “After Dark My Sweet.”

(Kino Lorber)

After Dark My Sweet
Actor Jason Patric presents a screening of his personal 35mm print of director James Foley’s 1990 neo-noir adapted from the Jim Thompson novel. Introduced by Alex Winter and followed by a Q&A with Patric and writer/film critic Travis Woods.
7:30 p.m. Vidiots, 4884 Eagle Rock Blvd. vidiotsfoundation.org

Sarah Andon
“Eclectic Engagement: Explorations in Sound, Space, and Collaboration” features the L.A.-based flutist and an all-star ensemble, including percussionist Nick Terry, pianists Todd Moellenberg, Bryan Pezzone and Aron Kallay, flutist Sarah Wass, violinist Shalini Vijayan and electronicist Cristina Lord performing works by Toru Takemitsu, Sungji Hong, Gabriela Lena Frank, Nicolás Lell Benavides, Herman Beeftink, Jerry Goldsmith, Ennio Morricone and Nino Rota.
8 p.m. Monk Space, 4414 W. 2nd St., L.A. brightworknewmusic.com

WEDNESDAY

Alexandra Silber adapted a new book for Lerner & Loewe’s classic “Brigadoon.”

(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

Brigadoon
Tyne Daly headlines this new adaptation by Alexandra Silber of the classic Lerne & Loewe musical about a mysterious Scottish village that only appears once a century. Directed by Katie Spelman, with original dances created by Agnes Demille.
Through June 14. Pasadena Playhouse, 39 S. El Molina Ave. pasadenaplayhouse.org

A Sea Symphony
Pasadena Chorale performs Walt Whitman’s words with Vaughan Williams’ music, featuring solos by sopranos Rachel Adcock and Asha Srikantiah and baritones Eric Werner and Tobin Sparfeld.
7:30 p.m. First United Methodist Church Pasadena, 500 E. Colorado Blvd. pasadenachorale.org

THURSDAY

Camerata Pacifica
The ensemble performs a program that includes works by Beethoven, De Mey and Bunch, and concludes with Shostakovich’s “Symphony No. 15 for Piano Trio and Percussion,” arranged by Viktor Derevianko.
8 p.m. Thursday. Colburn School, Zipper Hall, 200 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A.; 7 p.m. May 15. Academy of the West, 1070 Fairway Road, Santa Barbara. 8 p.m.; 3 p.m. May 17. Bank of America Performing Arts Center, Scherr Forum, 2100 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd.; 7:30 p.m. May 19. The Huntington, 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino. cameratapacifica.org

Arts anywhere

New and recent releases of arts-related media.

Open-Door Playhouse
Playwright Bernadette Armstrong launched this online venture during the pandemic to help other authors get their work heard by audiences. The endeavor has continued, producing dozens of audio versions of 10-minute and one-act plays delivered as podcasts. The latest release, “Holy Hell,” written by Barbara Lindsay, features a man (played by Gary Lamb, who also directed) and a woman (Elaine Mello) separately recounting the tragedy that united them. Open Door Playhouse is free, relying on listener donations.
opendoorplayhouse.org

“Rupert García: The Making of an American Artist, a Testimonio” by Mario T. García.

(Rutgers University Press)

Rupert García: The Making of an American Artist, a Testimonio
An oral history 30 years in the making, the book chronicles the life and career of the American Chicano visual artist and activist, whose work as a painter, pastellist and screen printer both documented and galvanized cultural movements from the 1960s onward. The book’s author, historian Mario T. Garcia of UC Santa Barbara, will be in town for a book signing at 7:30 p.m. on Friday at Vroman’s Bookstore, 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena. vromansbookstore.com
Rutgers University Press: $35, 215 pages.

Arturo Sandoval, who frequently performs in Los Angeles, has a new album, “Sangú.”

(The Wallis)

Sangú
Trumpeter, bandleader and composer Arturo Sandoval’s latest album — the title is a malapropism of “sounds good” made during the studio sessions — features 12 tracks of Afro-Cuban funk, blending bebop, fiery jazz fusion and batá-inspired rhythms. Sandoval will perform June 4-7 at Blue Note Los Angeles.
Self-released: digital download, $9.50. arturosandoval.com

— Kevin Crust

Culture news and the SoCal scene

Maria Wirries and LJ Benet in “The Lost Boys,” from left; Sara Chase and Brad Oscar appear onstage during curtain call of “Schmigadoon!” on opening night, and Joshua Henry and the cast of “Ragtime.”

(Matthew Murphy, left and right; Valerie Terranova / WireImage, center.)

Tony Award nominations were announced early this week with musicals “The Lost Boys” and “Schmigadoon!” leading nominations with 12 each, followed by “Ragtime” with 11. Malia Mendez has the full list, here, and Times theater critic Charles McNulty followed up with a story on 10 standout Broadway performances and shows worth celebrating, including Laurie Metcalf in both Samuel D. Hunter’s “Little Bear Ridge Road” and this spring’s revival of “Death of a Salesman.”

The Pulitzer Prizes were announced the day before the Tony nominations, and Bess Wohl’s play “Liberation” took home the 2026 Pulitzer for drama. The win foreshadowed what would come next: “Liberation” was nominated for five Tonys, including best play and director.

McNulty also rounded up three major Broadway musicals in one handy, sweeping review: “Cats: The Jellicle Ball,” “The Lost Boys” and “Titanique.” “Cats,” notes McNulty, has managed to distance itself from its kitschy reputation and checkered past to become “one of the hottest tickets of the Broadway season. It didn’t take a miracle, only a complete conceptual overhaul.” Happily, “The Lost Boys” also won McNulty over despite his “antipathy to vampire schlock.” “Titanique” was not McNulty’s favorite, but he noticed that his fellow theatergoers couldn’t get enough.

Joe Mantello at his home in New York on Friday, April 3, 2026.

(Evelyn Freja / For The Times)

There was not one free moment in McNulty’s New York itinerary in early March. While attending a flurry of shows, our critic also sat down to a brunch interview with director Joe Mantello during rehearsals for the new Broadway revival of “Death of a Salesman.” “A two-time Tony-winning director (‘Assassins,’ ‘Take Me Out’), Mantello has a résumé so extensive that it can be startling to recall that he’s the original Broadway director of “Wicked,” the blockbuster that has allowed him to write his own ticket. There aren’t many theater directors who can pick and choose their projects without worrying about their next paycheck, but he has become the Mike Nichols of our era in terms of the breadth and consistency of his theatrical success,” writes McNulty,

The Times got the scoop that Holocaust Museum LA will reopen June 14 as part of the new $70-million, 70,000-square-foot Goldrich Cultural Center. The center doubles the museum’s original 35,000-square-foot footprint and broadens the institution’s “focus on inclusion and community, with a diverse range of events and ramped-up educational offerings,” writes Times contributor Solvej Schou.

Composer John Williams, 94, attended the dedication ceremony of the new John Williams Performing Arts Center at North Hollywood High on April 29, 2026.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Times contributor Tim Greiving, who is also the author of a biography on John Williams, covered a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new John Williams Performing Arts Center at North Hollywood High — the famed film composer’s alma mater. Williams, 94, was in attendance and gave a few brief remarks in front of a crowd filled with other notable school alumni and friends including Kathleen Kennedy.

The Times published an exclusive on Pasadena Playhouse’s new 2026-27 season, which includes the post-Broadway debut of “Real Women Have Curves: The Musical.” Other offerings include a new production of Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s tragicomedy “The Visit,” the L.A. premiere of “Passing Strange,” and a revival of “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.”

Comedian Kathy Griffin in 2019.

(Matt Licari / Invision Associated Press)

Comedian Kathy Griffin is staging her first-ever residency at the Plaza Theatre in Palm Springs. “Can You Handle This Heat? The Kathy Griffin Palm Springs Residency,” is scheduled to run from Jan. 31 to Feb. 26, 2027. Tickets go on sale today.

The Soraya has announced it 2026-27 season featuring eight noteworthy debuts and 45 performances, including Sutton Foster with Chris Walden and the Pacific Jazz Orchestra; the eclectic band Snarky Puppy; Majo Aguilar con Mariachi y Banda; Dance Theatre of Harlem; National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine; Los Angeles Philharmonic; Audra McDonald; and the National Symphony Orchestra. The new lineup also introduces Chad Hilligus as the Soraya’s new executive and artistic director.

Grand Performances announced its 40th annual Summer Concert Series featuring free outdoor shows in downtown L.A.’s California Plaza from June 6–Aug. 29. Highlights include a June 13 anniversary celebration with Jungle Fire, Healing Gems and DJ Liza Richardson; a tribute to the music of Stevie Wonder with DJ Spinna, Monalisa and MC Cognito; and a tribute to Roy Ayers led by composer Sly5thAve with a 12-piece ensemble including drummer Kassa Overall.

This week, IATSE filed unfair labor practice charges against management at the beleaguered John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, alleging the center broke its union contract by permanently eliminating union jobs ahead of its controversial temporary closure.

— Jessica Gelt

And last but not least

Looking for a great classic diner? Me too! This Food story will help.

Satellite images have captured a suspected oil slick spanning dozens of square kilometres near Iran’s Kharg Island, the country’s main oil export hub. Despite fears of a disaster, environmental observers say the slick is shrinking.

Bad Bunny’s halftime show at this year’s Super Bowl was largely embraced as a milestone for Latin music and Puerto Rican culture on America’s most prominent pop-cultural stage.

Not everyone thought so, though.

The Federal Communications Commission has released a massive trove of viewer complaints against the musician, the show’s broadcast partner NBC, and the NFL.

Many of them expressed outrage at the supposed bawdiness of Bad Bunny’s Spanish-language lyrics and dancing on a broadcast watched by children.

“That was the most disgusting inappropriate show. I had to make all of my children go into the next room!” wrote one traumatized Las Vegas viewer. “The none use [sic] of inappropriate language should stand no matter what language it’s in. This is the most disturbing thing I’ve witnessed on live TV in a long time.”

“NFL halftime show showed 2 men in act of intercourse while behind a pickup truck door,” wrote one aghast Ohioan. “The ratings for NFL [sic] made it safe for my children to watch but they witnessed this and became disturbed.”

Another viewer from Charlotte, NC who, to their credit, seemed familiar with Bad Bunny’s catalog, wrote that they “take issue with the vocal performances of ‘Safaera,’ which is a track widely known for explicit sexual references and graphic lyrical content, and ‘Yo Perreo Sola,’ which had choreography featuring overtly sexualized movements, including widespread twerking, grinding, pelvic thrusts and other sexually suggestive conduct.”

Those viewers were likely not sated by the FCC’s February review of the performance, which found that the songs’ lyrics had been appropriately altered for the broadcast.

Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL) had called for the FCC to investigate the broadcast.”What Americans witnessed during the Super Bowl halftime show with Bad Bunny was despicable and never should be allowed to be shown on television again,” Fine told the New York Post.

Many of the viewer complaints mirror President Trump’s post-show social media criticism, calling the performance “one of the worst EVER!”

“Nobody understands a word this guy is saying, and the dancing is disgusting, especially for young children that are watching from throughout the U.S.A., and all over the World,” the president wrote at the time.

Just before the Super Bowl, Bad Bunny had won the Grammy for album with “Debí Tirar Más Fotos,” and joined a wave of artists speaking out against violent ICE raids in speeches at the ceremony. The superstar demurred on performing in the continental U.S. for similar fears, instead performing a lengthy Puerto Rican residency.

BBC Breakfast has been hit with complaints by angry viewers following a major shake-up

BBC Breakfast viewers have been left rather unimpressed following a segment shake-up.

The morning show returned to screens on Saturday (May 9) for another instalment. Naga Munchetty and Charlie Stayt were back at the helm, to discuss some of the biggest stories hitting the headlines.

However, normally on the programme, the hosts pass over to Newswatch host Samira Ahmed, who delves into viewers’ thoughts on recent BBC News coverage.

BBC Newswatch is a weekly show offering viewers and listeners the opportunity to respond to BBC News. The segment sees Samira presenting viewer feedback on the BBC’s reporting of major stories, with audiences either praising or critiquing the coverage.

But fans hoping to watch the latest Newswatch were left disappointed as the segment was conspicuously missing from BBC Breakfast. As the clock approached the typical Newswatch time, Naga and Charlie continued their interview with Labour’s deputy leader Lucy Powell.

And when the interview stopped and the hosts moved onto the next topic, angry fans soon took to X to fume over there being no Newswatch. One person wrote: “Hope newswatch hasn’t been binned for repeats of the same political news.” A second added: “Never thought I’d be desperate for news watch.”

A third comment read: “Fuming it’s dropped.” Another person penned: “Mean buggers binning newswatch, it’s only 10min long sods.” Someone else said: “Saturday viewing fun completely in tatters lol.”

This is not the first time Newswatch has taken a break from screens. In March, Samira announced the segment would be off air for several weeks – but reassured viewers that it would return to screens.

“We are off air next weekend over Easter but we will be back to hear more of your thoughts about how the BBC covers the news, in a fortnight,” Samira told viewers.

Meanwhile, journalist and broadcaster Samira has 20 years’ experience in print and broadcast and has hosted Newswatch since 2012. In 2020, Samira was named British Broadcasting Press Guild audio presenter of the year.

She has presented many news and arts programmes over the years for BBC TV and radio, including The World Tonight, PM, Sunday Morning Live on BBC One, Night Waves on Radio 3 and The Proms on BBC Four.

BBC Breakfast airs Monday to Sunday from 6am on BBC One.