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British People’s Trust In America Has Plummeted During Trump’s First Year Back In Power

Posted on 04/11/2025 by Boris Clair

British people’s trust in America has plummeted during Donald Trump’s first year back in power, according to a major new poll.

The YouGov survey of 4,000 people for the Best for Britain campaign group found that more than half the country – 56% – now distrust the USA, compared to 40% a year ago.

At the same time, the number of people who say they trust the UK’s long-standing ally has fallen from 30% to 15% in the last 12 months.

The findings were revealed on the first anniversary of Trump’s re-election to the White House after his victory over Kamala Harris last November.

Since then, he has clashed with Downing Street in areas such as the Ukraine war and Trump’s decision to impose swingeing tariffs on countries including the UK.

The poll also found that the European Union is now seen as a far more reliable international partner than the US.

A year ago, both were virtually neck-and-neck on 33% and 32% respectively.

But now, 42% of Brits say the EU is more reliable, compared to 22% who say America.

The EU is also seen as a far more important trading partner, with over 51% of people rating it number one, compared to just 21% saying the US, despite Keir Starmer and Trump agreeing a trade deal earlier this year.

Best for Britain chief executive Naomi Smith said: “British people are wide awake to the risk Donald Trump’s authoritarian and chaotic approach poses to the global order – and rightly no longer place their full trust in an increasingly volatile United States.

“Voters have repeatedly told us they expect the government to work pragmatically with our most reliable and important trading partner – Europe – to improve the economy, get bills down and ensure our collective security.

“Labour needs to pick up the pace with Brussels or risk being punished by an electorate still feeling the cost of living squeeze at the next election.”

Sir Kim Darroch, who was British ambassador to the United States during Trump’s first term in office, said: “President Trump’s response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine has been deeply inconsistent. He has at times threatened stronger sanctions on Putin’s Russia, but at other times appeared to blame Ukraine and pressed them to capitulate.

“He has been similarly inconsistent on the US commitment to Nato and the principle of collective defence. All of this makes it crucial and urgent that the government accelerates work on the reset with the EU.”

Strictly Come Dancing Winner Ore Oduba Opens Up About Porn Addiction Struggles

Posted on 04/11/2025 by Boris Clair

Former Strictly Come Dancing champion Ore Oduba has opened up about the first time about a porn addiction that he described as having been “destroying my life from the inside out”.

The TV personality and musical theatre star recently sat down for a wide-ranging conversation with Paul C Brunson on his interview series We Need To Talk, during which they discussed issues including racial identity, mental health, grief and the scrutiny he’s faced as a public figure.

As the interview progressed, Ore first opened up what had made him want to publicly disclose his past issues relating to porn, explaining: “There is a part of me that is terrified. I say ‘a part of me’ – the vast majority is terrified, because I feel like personally, for me, the rest of my life begins the day after this, as it’s a kind of a seminal ‘draw a line’ moment.

“I’ve got so much going on up here. I have no idea how it’s going to come out, but I know it’s going to come from a very important place. And we talked for a long time about where we should have this conversation. And in the end, it had to be you and it had to be you. What you create here is safety.”

He continued: “It’s something that I was really keen to bring to this conversation, to talk to you about, because it was only as a result of all of these awakenings that a year and a half ago, I was able to escape an addiction that had dogged me for nearly 30 years.”

Ore then shared that his addiction dates back to when he was nine years old, when he was “introduced for the first time to pornography” by a friend’s older brother.

“That’s when my addiction started,” he said. “And I think after everything that’s happened, only understanding how much of a thread that had been throughout my life was I was finally able to escape it, because I know it had been dogging me. It had been destroying my life from the inside out.

“But it was the thing that, from a very early age, was what I was running to as a response to a lot of the trauma.”

Recalling his initial reaction to discovering pornography, Ore explained: “This was 30 years ago, at a time when we didn’t have the accessibility that we do now. I was just shown some adult images on the computer, and I remember being very intrigued and a feeling of eyes being opened.

“And whilst I wouldn’t say addiction set in immediately, the intrigue started immediately. And it didn’t take long, relatively speaking, for that intrigue to start running my mind over – because at nine, at that age, you haven’t necessarily got full access. You know, this is dial-up at the time. This is the 90s. And [I wanted] to find a way to address that intrigue, wanting to find ways of [replicating] that awakening or find it, whether it was on television or in magazines.”

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Ore also said that he felt unable to discuss his issues as a child because of his strict upbringing, eventually dealing with it when the burden of hiding it felt like too much for him to bear.

Initially, Ore rose to fame as a host of the CBBC series Newsround, as well as serving as a sports correspondent on various BBC News shows.

After winning Strictly in 2016, he has broadened his presenting horizons, and has also embarked on a career in stage performing, appearing in theatrical productions like Grease, Curtains The Musical and The Rocky Horror Show.

Since last month, Ore’s name has also been repeatedly mentioned as a potential new host for Strictly, following the news that Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman are planning to step down from presenting the show at the end of the current series.

George Clooney Gets In A Little Dig In Response To Hunter Biden’s ‘F**k Him!’ Comments

Posted on 04/11/2025 by Boris Clair

George Clooney has seen what Hunter Biden has said about him ― but he doesn’t want to spend his time “debunking” it line by line.

The Ocean’s Eleven actor is involved in a bit of a public feud with the former president’s son, as Clooney was one of the most public figures to call for Joe Biden to drop out of the presidential race ahead of the 2024 election.

At the time, Hunter Biden didn’t take too kindly to Clooney’s involvement, which he made known in a three-hour-long interview in July.

“Fuck him!” the president’s son said at the time. “Fuck him and everybody around him. I don’t have to be fucking nice. Number one, I agree with Quentin Tarantino. Fucking George Clooney is not a fucking actor. He’s fucking like … I don’t know what he is. He’s a brand.”

“What right do you have to step on a man who’s given 52 years of his fucking life to the service of this country and decide that you, George Clooney, are going to take out basically a full-page ad in the fucking New York Times to undermine the president,” he continued.

Clooney had a less heated response to the artist’s outburst.

“I could spend a lot of time debunking many of the things he said because many of the things he said were just outright lies,” Clooney said in a new interview with CBS that aired over the weekend.

“But the reality is, I don’t think looking backwards like that is helpful to anyone ― particularly to him,” the Oscar winner added, before getting in a little dig.

“I don’t think it’s helpful for the Democratic Party, and so I’m just gonna wish him well on his ongoing recovery, and I hope he does well and just leave it at that,” Clooney shared. “I have many personal opinions about it, but I don’t find it to be helpful to have a public spat with him.”

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Though Clooney has said he doesn’t regret his Times op-ed and that he would write it again, he does think making Kamala Harris the presidential nominee was a “mistake”.

“I wanted there to be, as I wrote in the op-ed, a primary,” the actor told CBS.

“I think the mistake with it being Kamala is she had to run against her own record,” he said, adding that “it’s very hard to do, if the point of running is to say, ‘I’m not that person.’ It’s hard to do.”

“And so she was given a very tough task,” Clooney said.

Everything You Need To Know About ‘Ghost Tapping,’ The New Scam That’s Making People Lose Thousands

Posted on 03/11/2025 by Boris Clair

Tapping your phone to pay has become a common and easy way to purchase treats and gifts –– but it could also be a hidden way for fraudsters to scam you out of money.

That’s because some scammers might be “ghost tapping” and taking advantage of the tap-to-pay and mobile wallet technology when you buy goods on the street, according to a new alert by the Better Business Bureau, a nonprofit that tracks bad advertisements and customer complaints in North America.

In the scam reports, people say they unwittingly thought they were tapping to pay for legitimate purchases, only to later see they were being overcharged hundreds, and in some cases, thousands, of dollars.

In Illinois, a young man with a clipboard claimed that he was raising money for funeral expenses for a family member who had been shot and killed, according to one BBB report.

“I said I could donate $5…I handed my credit card to one of the men, who took my credit card and attempted tap-to-pay on his phone,” the victim recalled. “The interaction felt off to me, so I immediately checked my credit card accounts which both showed multiple charges for $2,496 each to a PayPal account.”

In the reports, scammers would avoid showing buyers what they were tapping for on the mobile pay terminals. That’s why asking to see the screen “to see exactly what’s happening is a great way to protect yourself,” said Melanie McGovern, the BBB’s director of public relations and social media.

‘Ghost Tapping’ Is Rare, But It’s A Good Reminder To Be On Guard

You should always double-check the amount you are being charged for, in order to avoid getting "ghost tapped." — You should always double-check the amount you are being charged for, in order to avoid getting “ghost tapped.”

Don’t be scared to use tap-to-pay at legitimate vendors. To put this alarming scam in perspective, McGovern said her organisation has only gotten less than 10 reports of “ghost tapping” so far. But she is concerned there could be more instances during the holiday season.

During holiday craft fairs, “people have the great convenience of tap-to-pay,” she said. “So…it’s always good to make sure that you’re protecting yourself and you know exactly how much you’ve spent.”

Although it is technically possible for a scammer to “ghost tap” and use your phone’s tap-to-pay feature without you tapping, it would be highly unusual for this to happen without your knowledge. That’s because the near field communication that powers tap-to-pay technology requires a distance of four centimetres or less.

“That’s essentially the length of a paper clip,” said Michael Jabbara, senior vice president and head of payment ecosystem risk and control at Visa. “If you have any awareness of your personal space, if somebody is getting to you within that distance, you are going to kind of be aware of that, and you’re likely going to move away.“

But the idea of “ghost tapping” is a good reminder to always be alert to what’s happening on your credit cards that you upload to your phone.

Scammers “rely on the victims to not check their bank accounts until the end of the month or two months later,” Jabbara said. “My recommendation is always to do your research ahead of time, versus when you’re dealing with a [credit card] dispute.”

There’s An Easy Way To Combat Online Fraud

If you do lose money to this kind of scam, you can dispute a charge or file a consumer complaint with your local attorney general’s office.

But one of the best ways to combat “ghost tapping” ― or any kind of online payment fraud ― is to prevent it. Be vigilant about what is being charged to your phone, and by whom. Here’s how:

Turn on credit card transaction alerts.

Many fraudulent charges will get flagged before being approved by your credit card’s risk signals. But even if somehow that transaction gets approved, “You have the ability to turn on your transaction alerts that can be a ‘first line of defence’ against fraud,” Jabbara said.

That way, you can immediately know if your card made a transaction for a merchant name you don’t recognise for an amount that you wouldn’t have approved.

Always ask for a receipt.

Receipts are helpful proof of purchase if you need to later dispute a charge with your bank or credit card company.

And it’s also a good way to suss out a scammer. McGovern said a vendor telling you “I can’t give you a receipt. [My pay terminal is] broken” is a red flag that someone is scamming you.

These are a few basic but helpful ways you can unmask the ghost, and prevent them from stealing any money you haven’t authorised to spend.

What Each Ripeness Level Of Your Banana Actually Means For Your Health

Posted on 03/11/2025 by Boris Clair

Here’s something you may not have thought about: For some foods (in this case we’re talking about bananas), the nutritional effects on your health can vary depending on the ripeness level when you eat it.

As a banana ripens, its nutritional content — the amount of sugar, starch and vitamins — changes. Meaning, if you need more sugar before a workout, or less sugar because of diabetes, you may want to eat your banana at a certain ripeness level.

Ahead, registered dieticians share the various ripeness levels, what a banana looks like at each stage, and the health conditions or goals that are best addressed at each level of ripeness.

Underripe

Bananas at this stage look green; they’re firm and difficult to peel.

“This stage has the highest resistant starch and low sugar content,” said Avery Zenker, a registered dietitian at MyCrohnsAndColitisTeam.

The benefits of resistant starch are many, including helping to feed healthy gut bacteria that reduce inflammation and keeping blood sugar levels stable, according to Zenker. It’s also digested more slowly, which can keep you full for longer.

“Resistant starch acts very similarly to fibre, which means it’s fermented in the gut (so it fuels your good gut bacteria) and it can be helpful for blood sugar control,” added registered dietitian Amanda Sauceda, a nutrition lecturer at California State University, Long Beach.

While good gut bacteria and blood sugar management are generally important for your health, they may apply to some individuals more than others.

“This level of ripeness is ideal for people who are trying to control blood glucose levels, such as those with insulin resistance as seen with pre-diabetes, Type 2 diabetes and other metabolic conditions,” Zenker said. “Unripe bananas can also be beneficial for anyone looking to improve gut health by improving microbiome balance.” The latter may be especially important for people who are trying to manage digestive issues like irritable bowel syndrome.

“If you want to up the health benefits of your green banana, consider pairing it with some peanut butter,” Sauceda added. “You get a little protein and healthy fats, which help for a better blood sugar response and are good for the gut.”

Some people may want to avoid an underripe banana, however. Zenker said athletes may fall into that category since slow digestion can cause stomach heaviness. People who are sensitive to resistant starch and experience gastrointestinal discomfort after may want a different ripeness level, too.

Barely Ripe

Bananas at this stage are mostly yellow with some green at the ends. While slightly softer, they’re still firm. This ripeness level suggests the banana is still high in fibre and low in sugar, but not to the same extent as underripe bananas.

“The resistant starches have started converting into simple sugars,” Zenker said. “Their mineral levels remain stable, particularly potassium and magnesium.”

She recommended a barely ripe banana to people who want the digestive benefits of an underripe banana without that chalky taste, as well as those who need steady energy throughout the day without major effects on their blood sugar. That means, similar to underripe bananas, barely ripe ones are great for people with insulin resistance, prediabetes, diabetes, metabolic syndrome or digestive conditions.

“They can also be ideal for peri- or post-menopausal women due to the resistant starch content that helps combat the effects of insulin resistance and supports gut health as hormonal changes occur,” Zenker added.

Ripe

Bananas at this stage are fully yellow and soft, but not mushy. They’re easy to peel and have a sweet smell.

While ripe bananas are listed separately from barely ripe ones here, it’s important to note that not all experts find the differences noteworthy.

“Nutrition-wise, these types of bananas are pretty much the same,” Sauceda said. “In fact, the USDA nutrient database categorizes these two types of bananas together.”

With that said, if we’re going to make distinctions, Zenker shared what they are: In ripe bananas, starches have mostly converted into natural sugars, fiber decreases, and sugar and antioxidant content increase. Vitamins and minerals hit their peak.

Sauceda added more noteworthy benefits. “One banana has 8% of your daily value for potassium, which is a mineral many people don’t get enough of,” she said. “This mineral is important for blood pressure and muscle contraction. It also meets 8% of your daily value for magnesium, which is important for bone health.”

Zenker encouraged a ripe banana for people who are about to work out, want quick and convenient whole-food energy, or are looking to increase potassium intake (perhaps to manage high blood pressure or other cardiovascular issues), as well as for kids who want an easy-to-eat, sugary food. Ripe bananas are also a good in-between for people who want fibre without the digestion-related concerns.

Very Ripe

Bananas at this stage are soft, have brown spots and emit a strong aroma.

“Sugar content is near its peak, and fibre continues to decrease,” Zenker said.

That’s great for people who need quick energy, have sensitive digestive symptoms, have low appetite or want a sweet treat, Zenker said. Individuals who are trying to manage their blood sugar may want to avoid very ripe bananas, however, since they’re higher in sugar.

Overripe

Bananas at this stage look brown or black and are soft, even mushy.

They’re highest in sugar and antioxidants, lowest in fibre, losing their vitamin C content and maintaining their potassium content, according to Zenker.

As far as other vitamins go, some are increasing while others are decreasing. “For example, a ripe banana has 14 milligrams of vitamin C but an overripe one has 10 milligrams,” Sauceda said. “Interestingly, overripe bananas have a bit more folate than ripe bananas.”

So again, there are pros and cons, and certain populations and situations for which it’s best suited.

“This stage is best for baking and freezing (banana bread, cookies, smoothies) rather than as a raw snack,” Zenker said. “It’s gentle on digestion and good for anyone needing fast calories, such as athletes, [but] not as ideal for people with diabetes or those seeking fibre or nutrient density.”

Sauceda is a fan of the smoothie option. “You don’t need to add as much banana when you use an overripe one for your smoothie, which can mean less added sugars,” she said.

As evidenced here, the banana to pick at the grocery store isn’t necessarily just the one you like the taste or colour of. Yes, we know this concept is a bit bananas, literally — and it’s true.

At the same time, we can’t blame you for going by the taste metric. Plus, bananas are nutritious whenever you eat them. “Overall, bananas are a great fruit whether you eat them green or ripe,” Sauceda said.

Can Resetting Your Body Clock Help Prevent Dementia?

Posted on 03/11/2025 by Boris Clair

Poor sleep, especially in midlife, has been associated with an increased risk of developing dementia.

We aren’t sure exactly why the two appear to be linked, though, and it can be very hard to unpick whether it’s an early symptom of Alzheimer’s vs an actual cause of it.

New research, however, has found that turning off a circadian (related to the sleep-wake cycle) protein in mice reduced their levels of tau protein, the accumulation of which in the brain is linked to dementia.

It also seemed to raise their nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, or NAD+, levels, associated with increased protection against dementia.

Why might your body clock be linked to dementia?

In the experiment, published in the journal Nature Ageing, scientists genetically removed a circadian protein called REV-ERBα in two groups of mice.

REV-ERBα, which helps to regulate our metabolic cycle and inflammation levels, also appears to control our NAD+ levels (the coenzyme we mentioned earlier, which seems to counteract the changes linked to dementia).

In one of the groups of mice, they deleted REV-ERBα proteins across their entire body.

In another group, the deletion only happened in astrocytes – star-shaped cells which make up a large part of the nervous system and help to support our brains.

For both groups of mice, the change led to increased NAD+ levels.

Speaking to WashU Medicine about a separate paper published in Nature Neuroscience, Dr Erik S. Musiek, who was involved in both studies, said: “There are 82 genes that have been associated with Alzheimer’s disease risk, and we found that the circadian rhythm is controlling the activity of about half of those.

“Knowing that a lot of these Alzheimer’s genes are being regulated by the circadian rhythm gives us the opportunity to find ways to identify therapeutic treatments to manipulate them and prevent the progression of the disease.”

What might this mean?

In the Nature Ageing paper, the researchers ran further studies that involved a combination of both the genetic deletion of REV-ERBα and a promising new medicine. This appeared to increase NAD+ levels.

The researchers suggest that inhibiting the protein may be more useful at certain stages of dementia, like early on when tau tangles are forming, than others.

“Our studies shed light on crucial neuroprotective mechanisms mediated by REV-ERBα in astrocytes and should help guide ongoing drug development efforts to target REV-ERBα function in AD and other neurodegenerative diseases,” the paper reads.

Reform UK Councillor Defects To Tories After Feeling ‘Uncomfortable’ Over Anti-Migration Policies

Posted on 02/11/2025 by Boris Clair

A Reform UK councillor has defected to the Conservatives because he had become “uncomfortable” with the party’s policies.

James Buchan, elected to sit in the borough of Dartford in Kent only in July, announced that he struggled with the idea of facing his family while still being part of Nigel Farage’s party.

He said: “I stood for election with the sole aim of working for my community and getting things done for local families. Having had the opportunity to see Reform from the inside, I’ve concluded that the party doesn’t really have the experience or ambition to do that.”

Buchan suggested Reform’s anti-immigration plans spread fear and that “relying on rhetoric and slogans isn’t going to help real families in communities” like his own.

He added: “The more I saw of Reform UK, the more uncomfortable I felt to be part of it.”

He said he wanted to be able to “look my family in the eye and say, ‘that’s not who I am’,” pointing to Farage’s plans to end indefinite leave to remain status which “could be devastating for decent people who have built a life here and contribute to our country”.

Reform wants to replace the current policy with visas which would require people to reapply to live in the UK.

Buchan claimed these plans had created a “huge amount of fear and anxiety” and that Farage’s party had a “pretty unfortunate way of treating people”.

A Reform source said: “He got elected in July 2025 as a Reform councillor. He should resign his seat but he won’t because he knows he will lose under the Tory banner. We look forward to winning this seat back as soon as possible.”

Dartford’s Conservative council leader Jeremy Kite welcomed Buchan, saying: “James knows that getting elected isn’t about power, it’s about service and being supportive of people.”

The defection comes shortly after Reform also failed to win the Caerphilly by-election for their first seat in the Welsh parliament.

But, the party is still leading in the polls and still has a series of Conservative defections under its belt.

Trevor Phillips Skewers Labour For Treatment Of Rachel Reeves Amid Rental Row

Posted on 02/11/2025 by Boris Clair

Trevor Phillips called out a senior Labour minister today over the way Rachel Reeves has been treated after breaking property law.

The chancellor has been in the spotlight this week after it was revealed she was renting out her family home without the correct licence.

She claimed it was an “inadvertent” mistake as she had not been aware of the necessary requirements.

Within 24 hours, new emails showed her husband had actually been aware – but their estate agents had promised to obtain the correct licence on their clients’ behalf, and then failed to do so.

This was still a breach of property law, but Keir Starmer and his independent adviser on ministerial standards said Reeves’ apology and new attempts to get a licence were “sufficient” as resolutions.

The prime minister did still show his frustration at the way the situation was handled, telling Reeves it was “regrettable” she did not share all of the details when she first told him about the issue on Wednesday.

But, as Sky News presenter Phillips pointed out while interviewing defence secretary John Healey: “In the past, that would have been pretty much ground for resignation, wouldn’t it?”

Healey replied: “Of course it would have been better if they’d managed to get all of the information together in one go, but I think she wanted to act immediately – which she did.”

He then insisted this was not comparable to the Tory government, when ministers breached the ministerial code but did not leave their posts.

Phillips reminded Healey how Labour, when in opposition, used to insist the Tories were acting as though it was “one rule for them, one rule for everybody else”.

“How come it’s so different when you make pretty much the same level of error?” The presenter said.

“Totally different!” Healey insisted. “The independent adviser in a case like Priti Patel said she breached the ministerial code. The independent adviser in Rachel’s case –”

Phillips cut in to list all of the ministers who have been forced to quit over a scandal since Labour came to power, including former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner, who quit over her own tax scandal in September.

“These things happen in government,” the minister said. “The test is how a prime minister responds. And the start of this government, the prime minister set new standards for ministerial conduct, he gave the independent adviser new powers…”

“Why isn’t he getting rid of his chancellor?” Phillips asked.

Healey said: “Because his adviser said it was an inadvertent error, there is no course for further action, the prime minister is taking his recommendation.”

Jeremy Vine Predicts Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor Could Be In An American Jail Within 5 Years

Posted on 02/11/2025 by Boris Clair

Presenter Jeremy Vine has suggested Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor could be an American jail within five years over his links to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

His remarks come after the former prince was completely stripped of his royal status on Thursday and kicked out his home, Royal Lodge.

It means he will effectively live as a private citizen.

He denies all accusations of wrongdoing.

It comes after the publication of Epstein’s self-described “sex slave” Virginia Giuffre’s post-humous memoirs earlier this month.

The book restated her previous claims that Andrew had sex with her on three separate occasions when she was a teenager.

Reports from the Mail on Sunday also suggested Andrew had remained in contact with Epstein for longer than he had once claimed – including for months after the disgraced financier spent time behind bars for soliciting prostitution from a minor.

Speaking on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, presenter Vine said: “I wonder whether the Americans will now think, OK, we can go for him.

“I would reckon in the next five years, he’ll be in an American jail.

“I think they’ll start some extradition proceedings on him – because now he has no protection.

“So they look at everyone who is involved in this – Ghislaine Maxwell is in jail, Epstein is dead – you go through the list, and Andrew has had this royal protection which is now gone.

“That must be a signal to the FBI and others that they can now look into him properly.”

Ghislaine Maxwell was once Epstein’s closest associate. She is now a convicted sex offender serving a 20-year sentence.

Sat on the panel besides Vine was royal author Valentine Low called it an “apocalyptic scenario” which cannot be ruled out.

“Who will protect him?” He said, while noting: “There are an awful lot of high profile American figures who have not been investigated with the same assiduousness that Andrew has been looked at.”

But he speculated that scenario of possible prison time for Andrew “probably hasn’t even occurred” to the Palace.

“They are sincerely hoping all of this will go away,” he added.

Vine also compared the former prince to “asbestos.

He said: “He’s like asbestos, and with asbestos, you have to sometimes live within it in place because moving it is too dangerous.”

His remarks come after defence secretary John Healey confirmed the government were working with the Palace to remove Andrew’s last military title, Vice-Admiral in the Royal Navy.

’I Want To Be The Example I Needed Growing Up: Your Next Pop Obsession Eli On Living Her Dream

Posted on 01/11/2025 by Boris Clair

If there’s one thing to know about the singer-songwriter Eli, it’s that she loves pop music. Like, really loves it, with an appreciation that stretches right back to her childhood, a knowledge that verges on encyclopaedic and a passion that shines through not just in her music and her visuals, but also when we catch up with her just days before the release of her debut album, Stage Girl.

The first time Eli recalls being stopped in her tracks by pop music was hearing Mariah Carey’s Christmas album as a child in her family home.

“I know it’s a random one. I wish I could say that Glitter was being played in my house, but it wasn’t,” she tells HuffPost UK, referring to the oft-forgotten Mariah soundtrack album that eventually became a fan-favourite many years after it was initially released.

“My parents would play that album during the holiday season, and it was one of the first times that, in an insanely impactful way, I was hearing something and I was like, ‘what the fuck is entering my ears right now?’.

“I hate to say this, because people say this about a lot of singers and it’s cliché, but it felt like heaven’s gates were opening. Hearing her, while I was hanging ornaments on the tree, I was like, ‘I need to Shazam this’ – too scared to ask my parents like, ‘hey, who is this?’.”

From then, a young Eli quickly became obsessed with Miley Cyrus – or, more specifically, her Disney alter-ego.

“I live for Hannah Montana,” Eli enthuses. “Now, later in life, I’m owning the fact that she was such a big influence, because maybe from 15 to 20 or something, I would not want to say that. I would be like, ‘no, I love Björk’, or like, ‘I’m really into cool shit’. But Hannah Montana is cool as fuck.”

Eli has been a pop fan since childhood, which she's channelled into her much-hyped new album — Eli has been a pop fan since childhood, which she’s channelled into her much-hyped new album

Looking back, it’s not too hard to imagine why Eli – growing up as a queer child in suburban Massachusetts, with what felt like impossible hopes of pursuing her own dreams – would feel an affinity to Miley’s character in the show, an unremarkable schoolgirl by day, who could don a blonde wig and become someone else entirely.

“There were so many layers underneath what the Disney corporation was putting forward,” she says of Hannah Montana. “That is my favourite stuff, when it peeks through. It reminds me of myself, and my little repressed life.

“Until now, I feel like a lot of things were being hidden, that were trying to shine through – things that I love about myself as a human now.”

Eli’s love for Miley continued as the former child star’s career evolved, and she shed her Disney image on songs like Can’t Be Tamed and during her headline-grabbing Bangerz era.

“Seeing it all unfold, it was so cool to see someone escape this place that may have been a bit repressed, or conservative, or ‘got to be bottled up’, ‘got to appeal to the masses’ and ‘appeal to the conservatives’ or whatever,” she says.

“I don’t want to intellectualise it too much, but it’s freaking incredible. And Hannah’s also a drag queen, and also I’m Trannah Montana – so I live for all of it.”

There’s an obvious reason Eli’s love of pop runs so deep. For the 25-year-old, it often felt like a lifeline during the more difficult and isolating times she faced in her own adolescence.

“Growing up in the prime MTV music video era, I’m seeing Britney Spears, and I’m thinking ‘who the fuck is this woman?’, and everything I ever wanted is being reflected back at me,” she recalls. “And I’m feeling ashamed about it, and confused about it. I’m also feeling invigorated and excited.”

Eli on the cover of her new album Stage Girl

For that reason, Eli is particularly upset about how pop has historically been so readily dismissed by so-called “serious” music critics and commentators, which she puts down to the fact it has always been a genre enjoyed by women and the queer community.

“It’s misogyny, and it’s patriarchy,” she states. “And it’s like, fuck your rock band. Fuck your boring dad music. It will never be Britney, it will never be Rihanna, it will never ever be Beyoncé, it will never be Madonna, it will never be the glitz, the glam…”

“And not even the glitz and glam!” Eli continues, interrupting her own train of thought. “They tried to do the glitz and glam with fucking glam rock. It’s such an annoying thing, too, when people value [men embracing ‘glam rock’] as high fucking art. And I’m like… from California Gurls and Teenage Dream, I’m getting double, triple, quadruple artistry in that than any of these boring rock bands.”

“Not David Bowie,” she quickly points out. “Sorry, David Bowie, it’s not about you. But some of these examples – what? You fuck with them because they’re men, and they can wear their hair all colourful, and wear a jumpsuit, but [women] can’t? Fuck you!”

She laments that this “double standard” even permeates those who love pop, pointing out: “Growing up with Kesha and Rihanna and a lot of others, it was like, ‘they can’t sing’. And that shit got to me. I was like, ’oh can they not sing? What is this?’.

“It’s not good, because it affects everyone. You’re so young and impressionable, and there’s so much internalised misogyny, homophobia, all these horrible fucking things.”

Because of this, Eli found that she often felt a mixture of emotions about owning up to loving the pop stars she idolised when she was growing up.

Listing key moments like seeing Katy Perry’s debut album cover for the first time at Barnes And Noble, or watching tour clips of Ariana Grande on YouTube, Eli remembers “crying in my bed, feeling like, ‘oh my god, I could never be a beautiful feminine woman who embodies everything that I feel like life is about’”.

“They felt like these incredibly important moments in my life, that for a while I was embarrassed by, because of, probably, a lot of the judgement that comes from a lot of the, like, horrible things that men do…” she admits.

For that reason, when Eli was putting Stage Girl together, she had in the forefront of her mind that she wanted to create something her younger self would be proud of.

Eli counts pop legends like Katy Perry, Mariah Carey, Britney Spears, Ariana Grande and Miley Cyrus' Hannah Montana years among some of her earliest inspirations — Eli counts pop legends like Katy Perry, Mariah Carey, Britney Spears, Ariana Grande and Miley Cyrus’ Hannah Montana years among some of her earliest inspirations

“Everything from the titles to the lyrics to the sound choices in my production to the cover art of the singles and the cover art of the album, it’s all about little five-year-old Eli, six-year-old Eli, 12-year-old Eli… what would have grabbed her?” she says. “What would have sucked her into this project and made her feel like, ‘I want to listen to this’?”

Much has been made of the Y2K aesthetic Eli appears to be leaning into in the sound and visuals for her new music, something many other pop artists have had success with in the last few years.

For Eli, though, there’s a deeper meaning to it all.

“It’s not a Y2K project, it’s not trying to recreate any kind of sound from the past,” she insists. “But it’s using sounds and things that existed at a time when I was not feeling safe, and was feeling dysphoric and very detached and a lot of the hard things that [still] make me [sad] – and reclaiming and to trying to give newer generations a place to escape into.”

Eli affirms that she’s happy she’s reached a place where she feels more comfortable “really showing up as me, and really letting myself exist as I am, even in a time when it’s scary to me”.

“It’s always, I guess, been scary to some extent,” she says, pausing, before changing tact. “But also fuck that, who cares? Let’s ignore the fact that it’s scary. No it’s not scary, actually, pause! I’m living!!”

At this, she beams a smile and lets out an excited scream.

“Being able to be in my body and showing up to music in such a new and exciting way for myself” is something she suggests “subconsciously unfolded” more and more as work on Stage Girl got underway.

“Everything was falling into place as I made pop songs that were just kind of out of… inauguration [terror],” she explains. “The [2024] election to the inauguration is when it started. It was like, ‘maybe I will be locked up and killed’, I was very scared, and still am scared! But…” she trails off again. “Ugh, we’re back to the scared.”

“But,” she insists. “I wanted to to lean into the joy, and lean into the glamour, and I think that is the driving force. I need that example, and I needed that example, and I had that example from women. And under the family tree of women, how amazing would it be if I’d had that from a trans woman?”

“It’s a small part of the work to be done,” she concedes. “But I do think art has an important place to [create that space] where a young trans woman or a young queer kid could dive into and could exist in, and – on the surface level, – dress up in a costume and have some fun.

“But under all of that, they could really explore, and unpack, and reclaim things that newer generations will also have to face because unfortunately, things are regressing in some ways. I would love to exist on the joyful side, or exist on the side where I am providing the escapism that I needed.”

Eli hopes that Stage Girl can be an antidote to some of the fear and anxiety many within the LGBTQ+ community are feeling in the current political climate

And it’s not just her own complicated past she wants to reclaim on Stage Girl.

For the last few years, there’s been something of a reckoning over 2000s pop culture, whether that’s the way certain female pop stars were treated by the media, the overworking that many young musicians faced or the exploitation of contestants on shows like The X Factor and American Idol (Eli notes that she tried out for almost all these shows, but never got anywhere with any of them).

Alongside the Stage Girl album, Eli’s accompanying visuals have centred around a fictitious reality series of the same name, with which she hopes to create a more inclusive and welcoming space out of something that could previously have been associated with bullying and toxicity.

“There were some lovely, incredible things about seeing somebody who I saw myself in, who was like, ‘I’m working this day job’, or ‘I’m a 16-year-old girl and I’m from a random town and here I am, Jordin Sparks, here to perform’,” she says of her younger years spent watching American Idol. “That is amazing in itself. Her standing up there and showing the endless bounds of talent she has, that is beautiful.

“What’s not beautiful is… I don’t know if I should go into detail. But even watching back Jordin Sparks’ audition, I’m a little off-put by the way these male judges treated her. I mean I’m very off-put, honestly, by a lot of the moments that happened in all of those seasons. There were so many examples.”

Eli’s exposure to those kinds of shows from a young age, and the “abuse and bullying” faced by the contestants even led her to question whether the music industry was for her.

“I loved singing when I was little,” Eli explains. “I loved singing so much, it felt so joyful. But for the person who grew up watching all those shows – and has now made a project that touches upon talent shows and that kind of thing – there was something so horrifying, that I carried with me for years, watching these judges abuse and bully people, who were showing up with their ambition or with their dreams, and just getting completely made fun of in a very terrifying way.

“There was a period of years, where I was like, ‘well I can’t be a singer, because not only am I going to be bullied by these people and judged and ridiculed, also how do I know how what I’m showing up as, and what I think sounds beautiful, is going to be received?’”

As for Eli’s own pop dreams, they’re something that were established when she was a young child and “never left” her.

“My parents always tell this story,… we were at some kind of family gathering and I was just jumping on the tables at, like, four years old singing The Wiggles, trying to perform,” she enthuses. “And then I would put on shows for my family. My brother and I thought we were like The Jonas Brothers. And then [came] the internet – freaking singing on the internet, because where else was I gonna do it?

“I went behind my parents’ back because they were a little conservative. They were like, ‘you can’t make a social media account’ – which maybe is kind of fabulous of them, looking back. But I didn’t listen. I was just posting covers with tons of hashtags… I had a business email in my bio, and I was like, ‘I’m going to be a fucking star’.”

“And that never went away. I’m still mentally ill,” she adds with a laugh.

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Anyone who’s engaged with Stage Girl so far will know that Eli’s sense of humour is an important part of her personal brand. Her videos have a home-made, DIY feel that allow her warmth and charm to shine through, and she’s also not afraid to lean into the ridiculous side of things to raise a smile or a laugh.

Eli says it’s “refreshing” to be releasing music at a time when other artists (she specifically lists Sabrina Carpenter, Audrey Hobert, Zara Larsson and Chappell Roan, while also pointing out that early Katy Perry was also an influence on her) are allowing their senses of humour to shine in their artform.

“It’s disarming, and it’s also so inviting,” she says. “We need to laugh!”

However, she admits that injecting humour into her art is also something she’s still “trying to find the balance” with.

“Obviously laughing is actually the life force, laughter is amazing,” she says. “But it’s also sometimes used to mask up serious things, and I’m trying to make sure I stay away from that.

“I sometimes lean into the humour to take away from my sincerity. Sometimes. So, as much as, yes, in my music there’s always going to be humour, and I also think humour is being explored a lot more in pop music in a fierce fucking way, and I also love being able to have the humour and also be like artistic seriousness and have them exist at the same time and have that be a beautiful collage of it… this past month for a second I was like, ‘OK, wait, I’m being a little too silly’.”

“I just don’t want to make a mockery of myself,” she admits. “I don’t want to be a parody act. I hate that word. Sometimes industry people call the Girl Of Your Dreams music video a parody, and I’m like, ‘baby, no’.”

Eli points out that her humour has also had its uses while navigating the music industry behind the scenes, too.

“I thought I needed to show up to a big label meeting with all the big dogs, and really wear my business casual whatever or serious suit, serious face,” she shares.

“But how fabulous to be in those rooms [as myself]. And the humour sometimes can be used as a force to be like, ‘guys what the fuck are we doing here? Why are you doing this? Why are you exploiting me? Why are you exploiting tons of artists?’. It also challenges a lot of things that need to be unpacked within our systems, here in America, the crazy capitalistic music industry jargon and legal things that exist.”

“It needs to be challenged by a chubby 25-year-old trans woman who is just making a mockery of some of this behaviour,” she says. “Girl. Oh my god.”

Having been “working at this forever”, Eli says she’s still a little in disbelief that her debut album is now within reach.

“I thought I was just going to feel like every other release, like, kind of complex feelings of, like, ‘oh why am I not Beyoncé?’, but also, ’oh my god, amazing that anyone is listening to this’, which is the usual way it goes with the singles,” she admits.

“But I went to bed last night, and I had this, like, tickle in my tummy that felt like before Christmas. I was like, ’oh, it’s release week’. I was so excited.”

“In some ways… that feeling is similar to, like, when Yours Truly came out,” she admits, referring to the debut album by Ariana Grande, another of Eli’s personal idols. “That is kind of the epitome of a perfect pop album to me, a life-changing album.

“When that came out, I was, like, on the Instagram, Twitter, social media, internet wave with her, I live for a roll-out on the internet. So, the idea of putting out an album? Living the album roll-out fantasy is, like… it’s crazy that it’s happening.”

And for the former Hannah Montana stan, her trademark 2000s-esque fedora has become like her version of the character’s transformative blonde wig, opening the door to her own op dreams.

“It really is,” she agrees, accompanied by another excited scream. “We were working with a stylist a couple of weeks ago, which is, like, a whole new thing for me, because usually it’s just me in my bedroom. And they were like, ‘girl, this fedora’. And I was like, ‘hold on!’.

“You’ve got to fight for your art! Like, they don’t understand, this fedora represents a lot more than just an ugly hat. Like, girl…”

Eli’s debut album Stage Girl is out now.