NEARLY half of Brits identify as the “Chief Vacation Officer” in their friend group – the one who gets holiday plans out of the group chat.
A poll of 2,000 adults found there are six different personalities that make up a group trip, also including the “Busy Bee” who is never free (15 per cent) and the “Ghost” who completely disappears until turning up at the departure gates (10 per cent).
Almost half of Brits think they are the ones who get holiday plans out of the group chatCredit: PAA poll of 2,000 people found that there are six personalities that make up a group tripCredit: PA
A fifth (20 per cent) identify as the “Snap Happy One” who cannot let a meal or moment pass without snapping a photo and 14 per cent as the “Fluent-ish Friend”, diving into the local language with confidence.
While 11 per cent are self-confessed “Window Shoppers”, who scour social media for recommendations and share them with the group, but never actually book anything.
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But the research commissioned by Samsung, which highlights the Galaxy Z Fold7 as the ultimate travel command centre thanks to Multi Window functionality for the modern CVO, found 64 per cent think no getaway would get off the ground without this key role.
From starting the chat to choosing destinations and deciphering endless messages, 53 per cent said the CVO plays an undervalued role in making trips happen.
Fifteen per cent called themselves a “Busy Bee” who is never free, with 10 per cent calling themselves a “Ghost” and disappear until turning up at the departure gatesCredit: PAAlmost half of Brits said they use AI platforms to help build the perfect itineraryCredit: Alamy
To shine a spotlight on their heroic work, Samsung has enlisted the support of Vicky Pattison, a self-confessed Chief Vacation Officer, to explore how travel planning has evolved from a simple booking task into a juggling act across apps and the pride she feels when the plans finally exit the group chat.
Vicky Pattison said: “It’s safe to say I love a holiday, and in my friendship group I am absolutely the lead booker and honestly, I thrive from the challenge.
“What starts as a simple ‘we should all go away’ somehow turns into you sorting dates, comparing hotels, collecting passport details and reminding people to pay you back and I secretly get a kick out of it.
“Everyone loves the holiday once it’s booked, but very few people see what goes into making it happen.”
The research found phones are an increasingly important tool for today’s CVOs, with 67 per cent relying on them to help organise trips, from social media to discover new destinations (40 per cent) and AI platforms to help build the perfect itinerary (42 per cent).
Despite this, 46 per cent still struggle to keep track of the group chat, bookings, and everyone’s preferences in one place.
This planning juggle is no longer confined to laptops or kitchen tables either, with Gen Z turning everyday downtime into personal-admin windows, as 24 per cent admit to planning a holiday during their lunch break or on the commute.
The biggest holiday planning challenges for those who go on group trips included choosing where to stay (27 per cent), collecting everyone’s passport details (11 per cent) and finding dates that work for everyone (42 per cent).
When asked what could make this task easier, 37 per cent would value being able to view flights, hotels, and messages side by side.
While others cited being able to see multiple apps at once (38 per cent), easy multitasking between chats, bookings and itineraries (34 per cent), and a large screen for comparing options more easily (32 per cent) as the device features they would find most useful when planning a group trip.
More than a third (37 per cent) agreed having better tools to support holiday planning would encourage them to organise more trips abroad.
TOP 10 HOLIDAY PLANNING CHALLENGES:
Finding dates that work for everyone
Agreeing on a budget everyone is happy with
Choosing where to stay
Making decisions when no one else will commit
Dealing with people changing their mind repeatedly
Getting everyone to reply in the group chat
Chasing people for payments or deposits
Comparing too many destination options
Aligning on activities so everyone feels the trip is worth it
THE Prince and Princess Of Wales have paid tribute to singer Bonnie Tyler, describing her as a “proud Welsh icon” following her death aged 75.
Bonnie died on Wednesday night, months after being treated in intensive care and being placed in an induced coma following emergency intestinal surgery.
Bonnie Tyler was given an MBE by the Prince of Wales at Windsor CastleCredit: PAThe singer died on Wednesday night aged 75Credit: PA
A post on William and Kate’s joint Kensington Palace account said: “We are deeply saddened by the passing of Bonnie Tyler.
“A proud Welsh icon, her extraordinary voice and unforgettable music touched millions around the world and will continue to inspire generations to come.
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“Our thoughts are with her husband, family, friends and all who loved her. Diolch am y gerddoriaeth (thank you for the music).”
Bonnie was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) by the Prince Of Wales in 2023 for services to music.
It comes after Chicago star Catherine Zeta-Jones said her “heart is broken” after the Total Eclipse Of The Heart singer’s death.
Catherine, 56, said Bonnie was a big part of her life after marrying her cousin Robert Sullivan and paid a heartfelt tribute to the Welsh singer, real name Gaynor Hopkins.
The actress shared a photograph of the pair together on Instagram which was taken the night before her wedding.
She said: “An extraordinary woman with vocals to match. A one of kind artist, who so easily could have been a comedian because she was one of the funniest people I ever met.
“Thank you Bonnie for the joy you brought so many. Sleep tight beautiful lady. We shall forever ‘Keep A Welcome In The Hillsides’ of Wales for you. Sending my love to Robert and the family.”
A statement on the singer’s official website said her family and team were “heartbroken” after she “unexpectedly passed away” on Wednesday night in a hospital in Portugal where she was being treated near her home in Faro.
Catherine was among the stars who paid tribute to the singer including Sir Cliff Richard, Sir Rod Stewart and rockstar Bryan Adams.
Sir Cliff, who sang a duet with Tyler on the 2019 song Taking Control, said she was a “wonderful friend gone too soon” in a post shared on Facebook.
He added: “Bonnie’s infectious zest for life entertained so many around the world, and to be a good friend to all, including me.
“It is shocking news to wake up to this morning and I send my love to her family at this very sad time.”
Bonnie was due to perform at the Sunshine Festival in Worcester this summer, along with a number of European dates, and was also booked to perform at Cardiff’s Utilita Arena on December 17.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer also paid tribute to the singer, who he described as “one of Britain’s greatest recording artists”.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “An iconic figure, she leaves behind a catalogue of music – from Total Eclipse Of The Heart to Holding Out For A Hero – which continues to touch lives, flood dance floors and fill karaoke booths.”
He added: “The Prime Minister’s thoughts are very much with her friends and family.”
The singer achieved international fame in the 1980s with the release of Total Eclipse Of The Heart, which shot to the top of the charts in the UK and the US.
Faster Than The Speed of Night, the album which featured the smash-hit track, was also a chart-topping success and landed the singer her only UK number one album.
Recognisable for her husky voice, Bonnie released many other hit songs over the years including Holding Out For A Hero, It’s A Heartache and If You Were A Woman (And I Was A Man).
Welsh First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth led tributes on Thursday and said Wales had “lost a true icon”.
He posted: “I am deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Bonnie Tyler.
“Wales has lost a true icon, whose music brought joy to so many.
“I extend my heartfelt condolences to her family, friends and fans across the world.”
She represented the UK in the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest in Malmo, Sweden, with the song Believe In Me finishing in 19th place.
Welsh broadcaster Carol Vorderman also paid tribute, writing: “I’m so very sorry to hear this. As a Welsh woman Bonnie and her music represented so much to us, it was about fighting and power and living life without apology.
“May you rest in Musical Glory Bonnie.”
The star, who was born in Neath in South Wales, continued to make music and perform until her death, having released her 18th studio album The Best Is Yet To Come in 2021.
Despite being a widely acclaimed and globally-renowned star, Bonnie never received a Grammy Award during her decades-long career but did receive three nominations.
Bonnie’s official website appears to have crashed since the news of her death was announced.
A passenger demanded answers after she claimed she was told she was not entitled to compensation for a flight delay
07:08, 25 Jun 2026Updated 07:17, 25 Jun 2026
There is a strict compensation rule that must be followed(Image: Getty)
TUI has explained a strict 72-hour rule after a customer took to Facebook to complain that she had been turned down for compensation despite facing a lengthy delay. The passenger, named Elaine, said they had been due to travel to Newcastle from Tunisia last week only for the flight to be cancelled.
Posting on TUI UK Official Customer Service – Help & Advice, she said: “Just been informed from Tui that we are not entitled to compensation! TOM869 leaving Tunisia to Newcastle, all day spent at the airport 19th June flight finally cancelled, and overnight accommodation finally organised.
“WE returned to the airport on the 20th to experience a 5 hour delay! Disgusting always highly regarded Tui disgraceful experience and treatment.”
According to another poster they had been due to be on the same flight but there were several issues which led to the delays. Angela said: “I was on this flight, or rather i wasnt haha, but the reason given was the plane needed a deep clean and there was no one in Tunisia to do it, then the plane they were sending for us on Saturday had a fuel leak so they then had to get another plane sent from Gatwick.”
Many other TUI passengers defended the travel firm with many singing its praises. Peter said: “We were delayed coming home on Friday a couple of years ago, we had the claim form by Monday and the compensation in our bank by the end of the week.”
Christine said: “Had a delay outbound a couple of years ago. On arrival we received an email from TUI apologising, and a link to be able to claim compensation. We claimed as instructed and the money was credited to our bank well before the return flight. Can’t get better than that.”
Teresa added: “Why are you blaming Tui? Delays are the last thing airlines want as it costs them lots of money. Usually mechanical or logistical/,operational reasons for delays. We were delayed in LAX for 26 hours 3 years ago. Got a voucher for a coffee and an overnight stay in a hotel but not entitled to anything else.”
And in reply, Dannii from TUI, explained the rules telling her she had not been turned down but had claimed too soon. Dannii said: “I have taken a look and you haven’t been denied, you have put the claim in too early, you need to wait at least 72hours after the flight has landed before a claim can be made.
“So please try again after 72 hours has been since you landed. This was mentioned in the email sent, and will work once you are within the time frame.”
The TUI website also sets out the 72-hour rule which is in place for all flights with TUI. It advised: “Please note, if you’ve been impacted by a flight cancellation, you’ll need to wait 72 hours before you submit your claim. Unfortunately, any claims submitted within 72 hours cannot be processed.”
FOR the past eight years I’ve wasted hours on busy, overpriced trains, travelling between London and my hometown of Devon.
But I recently discovered I could skip the sweaty crowds and do the journey in my sleep for the same price.
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The Riviera Sleeper travels between London and CornwallCredit: The Sun – Cyann Fielding
While you might have heard of the Caledonian Sleeper from London to Scotland, I bet you aren’t familiar with Great Western Railway’s Riviera Sleeper from London to Cornwall.
The full journey from London to Penzance in Cornwall takes eight hours overnight, compared to the daytime five hour journey.
With the normal route being popular (and often packed with chaotic carriages where I arrive home disheveled and sweaty) I thought I would opt for the overnight option to Devon instead.
It takes just over five hours compared to my usual 2hr30, departing at 11:45pm and arriving at 5am.
I booked the cheapest seats on offer, paying £47.50 with a railcard, although the cheapest without a railcard is £43.
This got me an upright seat – if I had opted for a sleeper berth with a single or twin cabin, this would have set me back an extra £49 or £59, respectively, on top of the ticket price.
(Although for my journey, I couldn’t find any for less than £200).
The major benefit of booking a cabin is that you can use the fancy lounges – which have showers – at Paddington, Penzance, and Truro, with breakfast also included onboard.
People in the cheap seats get access to an onboard cafe for drinks and snacksCredit: The Sun – Cyann Fielding
I, however, was not one of the lucky ones, and instead boarded my seat shortly after arriving at London Paddington Train Station at around 11pm.
The train itself is weirdly clean – quite different from your standard daytime Great Western Railway train – and devoid of the usual crowds as well.
Replacing the loud beeping mechanical doors are retro-style doors you need to lean out of the window to open.
Then it comes to the part I was both dreading and anticipating – the seats.
Unlike the daytime trains, the Riviera Sleeper has a different style seat, with an overhead reader lightCredit: The Sun – Cyann Fielding
The operator claims they are similar to airline seats and at first glance, look a lot nicer than what you find on Ryanair.
But when it comes to the actual comfort – I think I would have preferred a budget flight middle seat.
It felt like sitting on a stack of squashed cardboard boxes, and bizarrely even more uncomfortable than the daytime GWR seats.
The head rest is annoyingly high, and the promise of extra legroom was unfounded.
Just the same as a daytime carriage you get a tray table, and then you’ll find plug and USB sockets by your feet.
Additions that you don’t get on the daytime trains include an overhead reading light and swish curtain on the window.
The service departs London for Cornwall at 11:45pmCredit: Alamy
So, how did I sleep? Well, I didn’t.
I simply couldn’t get comfortable as the seats are too small to lie across comfortably.
The minutes I did manage to get some sleep was when I put my feet on the seat next to me, I was quickly awoken by someones shouting “FEET” as they walked through the cabin.
I may be just 5″1, but the headrest didn’t help either – I knocked my head a few times just fidgeting and ended up slumping down in my seat to avoid it.
And all of this is without mentioning the disruption of passengers boarding at half-midnight, with the football playing on their phones at full volume.
Even though I saved money compared to a cabin, I definitely would only book this seat again if it was a last resort – I’d rather just stick to the daytime trains (which even in the noise I manage to get quick naps on).
There was one perk to trying this overnight train, however.
My train got into Exeter St David’s around 4:37am and because this was the stop before mine, I was starting to stir.
I also knew what was coming – a section of the track which I believe is home to the most beautiful train journey in the UK.
The biggest perk is getting to see the sunrise as you chug along the Devon coastCredit: The Sun – Cyann FieldingThough you’ll have to get up early to see itCredit: The Sun – Cyann Fielding
From Exeter, the train runs past Starcross, Dawlish Warren, Dawlish and Teignmouth with beaches and red cliffs on the left side of the train.
And at this time in the morning, a beautiful summer sunrise adds washes of orange, red and yellow.
While getting up early to see this might not be attractive and of course it depends on the time of year you are on the sleeper train, I would definitely recommend it.
The sea was perfectly calm, with only a couple of people entertaining their dogs on the beach, the sand was untouched and the water reflecting all the bright colours of the sky made it look like something from a postcard.
It almost made the seriously uncomfortable seat worth it… almost.
Ask an incoming tourist what the country’s big visitor draws are, and they may well say Buckingham Palace, the Tower of London, Stonehenge, Thorpe Park or even Legoland
Jimmy Doherty runs England’s best large visitor attraction(Image: BBC)
The best attractions in England this year have been crowned, and the winners may come as something of a surprise.
Ask an incoming tourist what the country’s big visitor draws are, and they may well say Buckingham Palace, the Tower of London, Stonehenge or even Legoland.
The victory comes off the back of a win at the Visitor Attraction of the Year at the 2026 Suffolk and Norfolk Tourism Awards, so Jimmy’s is clearly having a good year.
The wildlife park is owned by TV star and conservationist Jimmy Doherty, who has presented programmes on both Channel 4 and the BBC. He is best known for the show Jimmy’s Farm, which details the operation of the Essex Pig Company that he and his wife Michaela Furney own in Suffolk.
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The park aims to be a centre of excellence for British rare breeds while also housing animals like camels, primates, tapirs and crocodiles. Lions and a tiger were added as recently as October 2025.
The real draw that put the place on the map was the acquisition of polar bears. Jimmy’s Farm built Europe’s largest facility for the species, called “the Lost Lands of the Tundra,” housing rescue polar bears alongside brown bears, Arctic foxes, grey wolves, reindeer and red-breasted geese. The bears are even visible from the train window on the London–Ipswich line.
Getting from London to Ipswich by train takes about an hour from Liverpool Street, but the lack of a bus from Ipswich station to the park is an issue some have confronted. Most visitors end up getting a taxi, which costs around £13 each way. The zoo itself is only part of the site; there are also shops and a restaurant in the farm area, and you can leave and re-enter the zoo with your receipt.
Jimmy’s Farm has 1,800 five star reviews on Tripadvisor, out of 2,400 in total.
“What a great day out, a well thought out place, extremely conducive and focused on giving the animals the best possible environment to flourish and feel comfortable in their habitat,” one happy customer wrote.
“Some beautiful woodland walks, plenty of things to do for children aside from seeing the animals, beautifully situated in the centre of the park, away from the majority of animals. Plenty of choice around the park for eating, whether you want a snack or something more substantial, as well as numerous picnic areas if you bring your own food.”
The winners were announced at the annual event hosted by journalist and broadcaster Sean Fletcher on 3 June at Aerospace Bristol.
Coming in second place in the Large Visitor Attraction of the Year rankings was Bletchley Park in Buckinghamshire, where visitors can learn about the code-breaking geniuses who were instrumental in helping the Allied Forces win WWII.
It is clearly a year for farms. The bronze award was handed to Attwell Farm Park in Worcestershire, a family-run petting farm where Pedigree Aberdeen Angus cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, chickens and ducks are all ready to nibble some feed from your hand.
Gold, Silver and Bronze were awarded in 17 categories selected from 21 local awards. They ranged from ‘Regenerative Tourism Award’ to ‘Accessible and Inclusive Tourism Award’ and from ‘New Tourism Business of the Year’ to ‘Self-Catering Accommodation of the Year’.
Tourism Minister Stephanie Peacock said: “I am delighted to see so many businesses across England being recognised for their outstanding work, helping to make people’s stays as enjoyable and memorable as possible.
“From hotels and pubs to glamping, museums and experiences, these awards are a real testament to those striving to ensure our tourism industry remains outstanding. Our upcoming Visitor Economy Growth Strategy will provide a clear, long-term plan to unlock investment, back businesses and showcase more of our great destinations to the world.”
VisitEngland Director Andrew Stokes added: “The awards are a celebration of England’s outstanding tourism industry and an opportunity to highlight the excellence that makes it world-leading.
“From a hands-on, traditional blacksmith’s visitor experience in the Midlands and a castle hotel and spa set in one of our national parks to accessible and inclusive holidays, these awards showcase the exceptional quality, unparalleled customer service and innovation that drive our industry.
“I congratulate the wonderful range of first-class award recipients, all of whom are so passionate about tourism. They are all deserving winners.”
ANGELINA Jolie’s ex Jonny Lee Miller has found love once more.
The 53-year-old is romancing a 27-year-old Pilates teacher with the couple having enjoyed a sun-soaked holiday together.
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Angelina’s ex-husband Jonny has bagged himself a new girlfriendCredit: GettyJonny was seen with his glam new girlfriend earlier this yearCredit: Instagram/@manueladiago
Actor Jonny was married to Angelina in the late 90s for three years before the pair’s split.
But now, according to the Mail, he has been secretly loved-up once again for almost a year.
The publication reports that Jonny and glam Manuela Diago have been dating since June 2025.
Earlier this month, he shared a loved-up snap of them on Instagram as they attended a pal’s wedding.
Angelina and Jonny had a famous romance in the 90sCredit: GettyHe is now happily loved-up with his new girlfriendCredit: Instagram/@manueladiagoAngelina is understood to have always remained on good terms with JonnyCredit: GettyJonny is understood to be settled with his new partnerCredit: AFP
Angelina’s ex has had his eye on his new flame for some time – liking her social media content as far back as October 2024.
In addition, several of her snaps seem to be taken in Jonny’s New York abode.
The couple also holidayed in Malta in March – two months before news of their romance became public.
The Sun has reached out to Jonny for comment.
Jonny’s best-known romance was with Angelina.
They married in 1996 but split 18 months later and went on to formally divorce.
Despite splitting, they have remained relatively close and even sparked romantic reunion rumours in 2021.
That year, they were spotted on several outings together.
Around the time, there were reports he had also begun to bond with two of her sons – Pax and Knox.
Meanwhile, between 2008 and 2018, Jonny was married to Michele Hicks and the pair have a 17-year-old son, Buster.
“It’s just like it used to be – me saying too much and them two looking at me like, ‘Oh, here she goes!’”
The band’s reunion is to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their debut album, Lickin’ On Both Sides.
The record, which came out in October 2001, peaked at No3 in the Official Album Charts and bagged them five Top Ten singles including All I Want, One Night Stand and B With Me.
The Sun revealed in January that the band would be getting back together.
A source said at the time: “Alesha has been excitedly talking about this for a while and would love a Mis-Teeq reunion with Sabrina and Su-Elise to happen.
“Fans shouldn’t expect a Girls Aloud-style comeback tour, though.
“At the minute, lots of things are being discussed and one thing that has come up is the idea of a one-off show. It could be an intimate gig for their die-hard fans or a performance on a big TV programme such as Britain’s Got Talent — which Alesha is a judge on.
“Nothing has formally been offered but nothing is off the table.
“Lickin’ On Both Sides launched Alesha, Sabrina and Su-Elise’s music careers and that record holds a really special place in their hearts.
“They want to celebrate that album with their fans.”
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.”
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.
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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.
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.
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.
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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.”
The snow was flying sideways and he had no jacket, but this lumberjack did not shiver. He stood about 25 feet tall, ax in hand, wearing a red hat and rictus grin. And he was made of fiberglass.
I stood at his feet on the Northern Arizona University campus in Flagstaff, full of the satisfaction that comes at having accomplished something truly trivial: At last, I was face to face with the original Muffler Man.
Stories, photos and travel recommendations from America’s Mother Road
Easter Island has its stone-faced monoliths. China has its terra-cotta warriors. And we Americans have these roadside giants, also known as Paul Bunyans, Uniroyal Gals and most commonly, Muffler Men. Manufactured in Los Angeles, they first appeared on the highways of North America in the early 1960s as an advertising gimmick, often promoting car lots or car parts. Now they’re rising again, a battalion of restored and replica specimens, beloved by road-trippers, kitsch aficionados, artists, preservationists and savvy entrepreneurs.
“To me, they’re kind of instant friends,” said Amy Inouye, the designer and artist who rescued L.A.’s most iconic Muffler Man, Chicken Boy, a chicken-headed statue that stands atop her gallery in Highland Park. “They’re really tall and they just want to be accepted for who they are.”
The Northern Arizona University campus in Flagstaff includes the first oversize fiberglass Muffler Man, who has long been outfitted as a lumberjack.
These figures are especially plentiful along Route 66 this year as it turns 100 — there was a “pre-centennial frenzy” in the words of roadsideamerica.com, which coined the term “Muffler Men” and tracks them on a map. Nobody’s certain how many figures were made during the golden age of Muffler Men, but since 2020, the tally of giants has climbed above 250, including “a few dozen” rediscoveries since 2010, according to Doug Kirby, the co-founder and publisher of the site.
“Just in the last year or two, all these Muffler Men are being added,” he said. In addition, more than a dozen giants are currently in transition — that is, getting reconditioned or relocated.
1.) Cigars and Stripes BBQ in Berwyn, Ill., features a Muffler Man smoking a cigar and holding a jumbo bottle of barbecue sauce. 2.) The Gemini Giant stands along Route 66 in Wilmington, Ill.
On a recent westbound journey from Chicago on Route 66, I started seeing them almost immediately.
First, on Ogden Avenue in the Chicago suburb of Berwyn, there was the Cigars & Stripes Muffler Man. He stood on the roof of the Cigars & Stripes BBQ Lounge, brandishing a chicken wing and a fridge-size bottle of barbecue sauce while chewing on a stogie.
Next, in Wilmington, Ill., came the Gemini Giant, who stands 23 feet tall above a tiny park. Made for a Wilmington diner in 1965, he was auctioned off for $275,000 in early 2024 and placed in his current location later that year. He wears a clunky silver space helmet and holds a rocket in his hands.
I had come across a few Muffler Men before this trip, including Big Josh, who looks down upon Joshua Tree from the Station gift shop on State Route 62. But now I was paying more attention.
At first, I learned, these giants were all men, conceived around 1962 by a Lawndale entrepreneur named Bob Prewitt and made popular from the early 1960s through the mid-1970s by a company in Venice called International Fiberglass.
Made from a standard set of molds and held together by steel frames, most Muffler Men are assembled from three or four pieces. Besides those figures holding mufflers and tires, others were outfitted as cowboys, Indians, lumberjacks (often known as Paul Bunyans), astronauts, chefs, dentists, golfers, hot dog vendors, race-car drivers, pirates and service-station attendants. Then there were the jug-eared goofball characters, which some scholars of the art form call halfwits, while others prefer snerds.
As interest in this kind of advertising grew, female giants followed, including Uniroyal Gals and Rosie the Riveters. Oversized animals, including dinosaurs, bulls, roosters, hens and seals, also multiplied.
Juni Peraza, 25, works at the Meadow Gold Mack retail shop on 11th Street in Tulsa, Okla. She said she has only recently realized the possibilities that come with 11th Street being part of Route 66.
All that action faded in the 1970s. But in about 1989, the seeds of a new Muffler Man era were sown.
Kirby, Mike Wilkins and Ken Smith, who had worked together on the 1985 book “Roadside America,” were building a database for a follow-up project when they realized, “Hey, wait, this configuration of statue we’re seeing in a lot of places,” Kirby said. “We decided we’d better start keeping track.”
The first few they saw were holding mufflers. Thinking of the old nursery rhyme “Muffin Man,” and a Frank Zappa song of the same name, Kirby decided to call them Muffler Men.
When the roadsideamerica.com website launched in 1996, Muffler Men were part of it. By 2000, Roadside America had uncovered their origin story and interviewed Steve Dashew, former president of International Fiberglass. And readers had embraced the giants in a big way.
This fiberglass Rosie the Riveter figure went up on 11th Street in Tulsa in 2025.
“It was like a religious epiphany for some people. For years, they were driving past these things,” Kirby said. “As soon as they realized it was part of an uncharted network across the country … it’s like your third eye has been opened.”
Ken Bernstein, principal city planner for Los Angeles Office of Historic Resources, calls Muffler Men “monumental and distinctive representations of midcentury car culture, especially along auto-centric corridors where it was important to catch the eye of passing motorists.”
New giants, known as custom jobs, are being steadily manufactured now. There’s an entire economic community emerging around their restoration, replication, sales, transport and display, including companies like (Re)Giant and sculptor Mark Cline’s Enchanted Castle Studios. (To confuse matters, many Southern California mechanics woo customers by welding together mufflers to make human figures. Those creations, too, are often called Muffler Men.)
The American Giants Museum in Atlanta, Ill., created in 2024 by Bill Thomas of the Atlanta Betterment Fund and collector-historian Joel Baker, is devoted to the fiberglass figures. The museum, open April through October, includes four standing Muffler Men, with two more expected around Memorial Day.
Because the giants stand in the open air, visitors who show up after hours — as I did — can ogle them any time.
Atlanta, Ill., is home to the American Giants Museum, which celebrates the Muffler Men and Uniroyal Gals that were common roadside advertising features in the middle 20th century.
“I love history. I love anything to do with cars and old advertisements. I think it just takes people back,” said Lee Woods, 55, who jumped on the Muffler Men bandwagon about five years ago and owns the museum.
Woods and his wife, Diane, who have a fleet of tow trucks in Hot Springs, Ark., were collecting old porcelain gas station signs, gas pumps and old cars in 2021 when, on a drive through Illinois, they laid eyes on the Gemini Giant.
“I told my wife I would love to have one of them things to represent our tow company,” Woods recalled.
Before long, they had hired someone to build a custom tow-truck-operator Muffler Man. And before that Muffler Man was done, Lee Woods had bought another one — a Paul Bunyan in Oklahoma. Then in 2023 he got a hold of a Muffler Man Mr. Spock from Rainbow Neon in Salt Lake City. Now Woods has eight Muffler Men in Arkansas.
“Sometimes I get carried away, my wife says,” Woods said.
Last fall, he bought the museum, where he collaborates with Baker, who is founder of the American Giants website, creator of a Giants YouTube series and serves as a Muffler Man broker, consultant and transportation specialist.
“When people see these things, they think they’re the coolest thing out there,” Woods said. “Today we’ve had people from six different countries here.”
1.) Cowboy Bob, who is about 20 feet tall, plays guitar and wears a bolo tie, is one of several oversize fiberglass mascots along 11th Street in the Meadow Gold District of Tulsa. 2.) Meadow Gold Mack, a friendly lumberjack, is mascot for a shop of the same name on 11th Street in Tulsa.3.) A Muffler Man near Gearhead Curios in Galena, Kan.4.) The 2nd Amendment Cowboy is a fiberglass giant that stands at the entrance to a trailer park near the art installation Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, Texas.
From here, the giants seemed to come fast and furious. One in Galena, Kan. Two in Vinita, Okla. (which has since added a third). Five in Tulsa’s Meadow Gold District (including one with an 8-foot-long guitar).
Then in Weatherford, Okla., came a 30-foot astronaut. In Amarillo, a “2nd Amendment Cowboy” with a pair of big pistols at his feet. In Gallup, N.M., a giant on the roof of a used car lot.
By the time I’d reached Flagstaff, my count was 18.
Then came my snowy moment with the original Muffler Man, whose nickname is Louie. Experts agree that he was produced in about 1963 and sent to a Flagstaff cafe with a lumberjack theme (and yes, that cafe stood along Route 66).
Louie stood there until the cafe closed more than 10 years later. Then he was donated to NAU and stationed by the ticket office of the university’s Walkup Skydome. Another lumberjack stands inside.
But after Louie, I hit a drought — no more giant sightings in Arizona and none on the Route 66 alignment I followed into Southern California.
This seemed wrong, because there are so many giants along the byways of Southern California and because this is the land of their birth. Besides Big Josh, there’s the Paul Bunyan in Mentone, the empty-handed Muffler Man known as Kevin on Sherman Way in Van Nuys. There’s the flag-wielding Porsche Muffler Man in Carson (who previously served in the same spot as a club-brandishing Golf Man). And there are plenty of others.
It didn’t seem right to end the journey without another sighting. So I made my way to Highland Park to meet the one who rules the roost.
More specifically, I headed for 5558 N. Figueroa St., which was on the path of Route 66 for several years in the 1930s and which is the home of Chicken Boy.
Blessed with the customized head of a chicken, the body of a Muffler Man and a bucket in his hands (for eating chicken?), Chicken Boy stood for years atop the Chicken Boy fried-chicken restaurant on Broadway downtown, inspiring writer Art Fein to label him “L.A.’s Statue of Liberty.”
After the restaurant was shuttered in 1984, Inouye swooped in to rescue Chicken Boy and place him in protective storage — for years, as it turned out.
The fiberglass statue known as Chicken Boy stands on the roof of artist, designer and gallerist Amy Inouye’s studio on Figueroa Street in Highland Park.
In October 2007, after she and longtime partner Stuart Rapeport had bought the Highland Park studio space and pulled permits, Inouye put Chicken Boy back together again and set him up on the roof. There he remains, sharing space with a billboard, visible up and down the block between Avenue 55 and Avenue 56.
If a nomination by L.A. preservationist Charles J. Fisher goes through, Chicken Boy could become the first Muffler Man declared a city historic-cultural monument. And if you drop by the Future Studio Gallery on a Saturday between noon and 3 p.m. or 4 p.m., you’ll likely find Inouye, now 74, along with a trove of Chicken Boy T-shirts, patches, pencils and ceramic treasure boxes.
But seeing Chicken Boy is its own reward, especially after seeing so many of his fiberglass cousins. I got there on a balmy afternoon, beheld Chicken Boy’s beak gleaming in the sun, and knew my mission was complete.
WASHINGTON — As Kamala Harris eyes a possible 2028 presidential bid, there is little outward enthusiasm among her biggest 2024 backers to fund a repeat performance, adding to uncertainty about the former vice president’s prospects in what is sure to be a crowded primary field.
The Times reached out to more than two dozen top donors to the biggest pro-Harris super PAC in 2024. Several of them said they do not plan to support her should she choose to run, or declined to talk about her. Others did not respond.
“I don’t think it’s a helpful narrative [for 2028] to start with the 2024 hangover,” said one fundraiser for Harris’ 2024 campaign, who requested anonymity to speak candidly. “There is an enormous appetite for new blood — something fresh, something that really represents the future, not the past.”
That narrative is poised to present Harris’ biggest challenge if she decides to run — particularly if it jeopardizes her ability to pull in crucial funding. Though few in the party want to criticize Harris, few appear inclined to endorse her, and conversations about her prospects often come down to one thing: Democrats’ anxiety about winning.
“She’s run, she’s lost, so the question’s going to be, is there somebody that gives Democratic voters more of a sense that they could win?” said Dick Harpootlian, a longtime South Carolina Democratic strategist. “That’s what all of us are looking for. We want to win in ‘28.”
The chatter among party elites appears at odds with recent polling in Harris’ favor, including in April’s Harvard Center for American Political Studies/Harris Poll, which showed Harris leading the Democratic field with support from 50% of Democrats.
The former vice president has also been met with enthusiasm from audiences in a series of recent speaking stops — including when she told a friendly crowd at a New York conference in April that she “might” run for president.
Harris remains undecided about whether to mount a run, according to a person familiar with her thinking, who said Friday she has been focused on boosting Democrats ahead of the midterm elections, meeting voters and delivering messages about the economy and affordability.
If she were to run, Harris would expect a crowded primary field to split donors and would be aware of the need to overcome the perception of skeptics, this person said — but noted that 2028 would afford a very different dynamic than the circumstances under which she took the nomination in 2024.
“There’s a bit of a ‘doth protest too much’ quality to some of these complaints about the idea of her running,” said the person close to her. “It may be a backhanded way of acknowledging that she’d be quite formidable if she decided to get in.”
Speculation about whether Harris would run again — and whether she should — has swirled since her truncated 2024 campaign ended in defeat to Donald Trump. Harris’ decision not to run for California governor in a wide-open race was broadly viewed as signaling presidential ambitions, and she reentered the public eye with the publication of a book about the 2024 campaign and an associated speaking tour.
Last month, Harris gave her strongest signal yet that she could seek the party’s nomination again, telling the Rev. Al Sharpton at a gathering of his civil rights organization in New York that she was “thinking about it.”
“I know what the job is and I know what it requires,” Harris said at the time.
Harris’ 2024 loss to Trump and failure to capture any battleground states — after entering the race late following President Biden’s exit — was bruising for Democrats. The defeat is lingering longer for some top donors than it did after Hillary Clinton’s loss to Trump in 2016, making them extra wary, said one Democratic political consultant.
“Especially in the donor class, everyone feels burnt,” he said. “People just want to turn the page.”
The Times contacted top donors to Future Forward, the Democratic super PAC that spent the most to back Harris in the 2024 election. All the donors contacted gave at least $1 million and some acted as bundlers for the campaign, soliciting big checks from other donors in addition to their own contributions.
Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings, who gave $1 million to Future Forward in 2024, said he hoped to support a different Californian.
“Gavin is the candidate who can motivate both the left and the center,” Hastings told The Times, referring to Gov. Gavin Newsom.
A bundler for both Harris and Biden said it comes down to who can give Democrats the best chance to succeed.
“I think it is too early to pick a favorite in the 2028 race, but Kamala Harris will not be my candidate,” this person said. “I don’t think she would appeal to a swing voter, and we need swing voters to win.”
Others, including a few party leaders, deflected questions by citing a focus on this year’s midterm elections. Rep. James E. Clyburn (D-S.C.), who last year praised Newsom’s presidential prospects during a visit by the governor, said Tuesday that Democrats should be zeroed in on 2026.
“I’m not thinking about 2028, and if she were to call me I wouldn’t talk to her about it,” Clyburn told The Times when asked about Harris’ chances.
Enthusiasm for Harris and skepticism about her viability in 2028 aren’t mutually exclusive, said the former Harris fundraiser.
“A lot of people love her and also don’t think that she is the answer for 2028,” the fundraiser said.
The attitudes of the donor class and political elite may be at odds with those of regular Americans, particularly Black and working-class voters, the Democratic political consultant said. Few of the possible candidates have the potential to excite Black voters the way Harris does, he said.
If a candidate, whether Harris or someone else, makes a successful case that they can win, Black voters will be “strategic and optimistic enough” to rally around whoever it is, said Keneshia Grant, a Howard University political scientist.
But, she said, “I don’t think that they are going to take well to work by elites or the donor class to sideline Harris if there is no clear, reasonable, exciting, Obama-level, yes-we-can candidate instead of her.”
Harris speaks the Public Counsel Awards Dinner on April 29 in Beverly Hills.
(Frazer Harrison / Getty Images)
In recent weeks, Harris has spoken at a fundraiser in South Carolina, a party luncheon in Michigan and a dinner in Arkansas. On Thursday, she was in Nevada to rally Democrats ahead of the midterm primary.
She also joined other likely 2028 contenders at the Colorado Speaker Series in Denver and Sharpton’s conference, accepted an award from the nonprofit Public Counsel at a Los Angeles gala and addressed the National Women’s Law Center gala in Washington to a warm reception, as did Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker.
“She was inspiring, she was hopeful, she pushed back on Trump,” said Jay Parmley, chair of the Democratic Party in South Carolina, where Harris spoke at a party-hosted fundraiser in Greenville on April 15.
South Carolina, a key primary state, could help unlock Harris’ path to the nomination. If Black voters there boosted her to a win, she could build early momentum.
But Parmley said he believed she would have to “get over” the hurdle of convincing voters that she can beat the GOP.
“I don’t think it’s a given she wins here without work,” Parmley said. “She’s going to have to really visit with voters and work just like everybody else.”
Times staff writer Ana Ceballos in Washington contributed to this report.
Some fans are convinced that two TV stars have hinted that they are to take over as Strictly Come Dancing hosts after Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman stepped down
Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman left Strictly Come Dancing last year(Image: PA)
Two major TV stars have seemingly let slip that they’re about to become the new Strictly Come Dancing hosts.
The BBC have now announced all the returning professional dancers after a massive number of exits. It has also been confirmed that all four judges are making their return to the BBC show.
The hosts have yet to be announced after Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman stepped down and there has been much talk about who might replace them, with names including Rylan Clark and Bradley Walsh being rumoured.
Fans now are convinced they know who will be presenting the show – after spotting a telling clue. Referencing the official post to announce the returning professional dancers and judges, one fan noted: “I noticed that they are the only ones from the rumoured 10 to be commenting on the post. Correct me if I am wrong. My dream duo.”
They are referring to the fact Zoe Ball and Angela Scanlon were the only two stars to comment on the post from the rumoured 10. Zoe – who previously presented the spin-off show – and former contestant Angela are hot favourites to replace Tess and Claudia.
One fan penned in response: “Would be two good choices as hosts. Zoe could fill the more serious role (although I still think Emma Willis would’ve been perfect for that but won’t complain about Zoe) and Angela would fill the Claudia role very well.
“The only thing I would say is Angela might have to balance her humour with seriousness a bit more than she has had to do in other presenting roles. But much much better than the other rumoured hosts like Rylan and Bradley Walsh.”
Another added: “I would absolutely not be mad if these were our hosts. Fit the bill for me, and they both know strictly well and how it works,” as a third penned: “Would be absolutely fine with this.”
Tess and Claudia announced back in September that they were quitting the show after the end of this series.
“We have loved working as a duo and hosting Strictly has been an absolute dream. We were always going to leave together and now feels like the right time. We will have the greatest rest of this amazing series and we just want to say an enormous thank you to the BBC and to every single person who works on the show,” they said.
“They’re the most brilliant team and we’ll miss them every day. We will cry when we say the last “keep dancing” but we will continue to say it to each other. Just possibly in tracksuit bottoms at home while holding some pizza.”
