Tag Archives: Entertainment

Shakira And Barcelona Footballer Gerard Piqué Confirm Split After 11 Years Together

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Shakira and partner Gerard Piqué have parted ways after over a decade together, the former couple confirmed on Saturday.

In a joint statement announcing the split, Shakira and Gerard said: “We regret to confirm that we are separating. We ask for privacy at this moment for the wellbeing of our children, who are our maximum priority.”

“Thank you in advance for your understanding and respect,” they added.

The chart-topping Hips Don’t Lie singer and FC Barcelona player began dating shortly after meeting at the Fifa World Cup in 2010, where Shakira performed the official song Waka Waka (This Time For Africa) and Gerard was one of the players on the winning team, Spain.

During their relationship, they welcomed two sons, seven-year-old Sasha, and nine-year-old Mila.

Born in Colombia, Shakira relocated to Barcelona in the 2010s, where she and Gerard had been living together with their family.

Shakira and Gerard together in 2016
Shakira and Gerard together in 2016

Robert Marquardt via Getty Images

Shakira is currently awaiting trial for alleged tax fraud, after losing an appeal last month.

Prosecutors in Spain have alleged that the star had failed to pay up to around £12.4 million in tax on income earned between 2012 and 2014.

According to Reuters, they are arguing that Shakira was living in Catalonia during this period, although she has insisted she did not permanently move there until 2015.

Her legal representatives have insisted: “Shakira’s conduct on tax matters has always been impeccable in all the countries she had to pay taxes and she has trusted and followed faithfully the recommendations of the best specialists and advisers.”

Shakira is currently gearing up for the release of her twelfth studio album, telling PA Media that it was a “family project” as her children came up with the concept for her Te Felicito music video.

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Liam Payne Clarifies Zayn Malik Comments: ‘I Didn’t Articulate Myself As Well As I Could Have’

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Liam Payne has spoken out after hitting the headlines for comments he made about his former bandmate Zayn Malik.

Earlier this week, the former One Direction star’s interview with YouTuber Logan Paul was shared online, during which he spoke about past tensions within the boyband.

He was also asked about Zayn, who quit 1D in 2014, a year before the group announced they’d be going on an indefinite hiatus.

“There’s many reasons why I dislike Zayn and there’s many reasons why I’ll always, always be on his side,” Liam said.

“You can always look at the man for where he is and say ‘Whatever, that guy’s a dick,’ but at the end of the day once you understand what he’s been through to get to that point and also if he even wanted to be there. I’m so misunderstood by myself more than anyone… I can’t sit here and dick on him.”

Zayn Malik pictured in 2018
Zayn Malik pictured in 2018

Raymond Hall via Getty Images

Liam added: “I can’t commend some of the things he’s done, I can’t be on his side for that.

“What I can say is I understand…. You hope at some point the person on the other side of the phone wants to receive the help you’re willing to give them.”

As his remarks became more widespread, Liam posted a clarification on his Twitter page.

One Direction in 2014, shortly before Zayn's departure
One Direction in 2014, shortly before Zayn’s departure

Jeffrey Mayer via Getty Images

“I wouldn’t normally comment on this stuff but when it’s your family it’s hard to let it slide,” he tweeted.

“They mentioned a specific incident involving Zayn which I responded to – but listening back maybe I didn’t articulate myself as well as I could have.

“I was saying that there will always be things we disagree on but that I will always, always be on his side. That’s family. Zayn is my brother and I will stand by him forever.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Liam admitted that while he and Louis Tomlinson are now “best mates”, they “hated” one another during their time in One Direction.

The Strip That Down singer also recalled an incident when a member of the group “threw me against a wall” during an altercation, and discussed his relationship with ex-partner Cheryl Tweedy, with whom he has a five-year-old son.

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Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill Returns To The UK Charts Thanks To Stranger Things

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One of Kate Bush’s signature tunes made a return to the UK top 10 this week, after receiving pride of place in the latest series of Stranger Things.

The first half of the hit Netflix sci-fi drama’s fourth season debuted last week, with the pop icon’s hit Running Up That Hill being featured prominently in multiple scenes throughout the new episodes.

Due to the popularity of Stranger Things, Running Up That Hill shot to the top of the iTunes chart in the last week, and also received an 8700% percent increase in streaming.

On Friday, it was revealed that the track had landed at number eight in the UK singles chart, an impressive 37 years after it was first released.

The Official Charts Company’s CEO Martin Talbot said of the feat: “It is fantastic to see Running Up That Hill returning to the Top 10 this week, driven by its feature in Stranger Things, introducing Kate Bush and this iconic eighties hit to a brand new audience.”

Kate Bush performing in 1985, the year Running Up That Hill was first released
Kate Bush performing in 1985, the year Running Up That Hill was first released

United Archives via Getty Images

Running Up That Hill was first introduced as the lead single from Kate Bush’s Hounds Of Love album in 1985, peaking at number three upon its original release.

In 2012, a re-recorded version of the track was included in the London Olympics Closing Ceremony, and later released as a single, which also reached number six in the UK charts.

Kate Bush famously keeps out of the spotlight, but did perform a string of concerts in London back in 2014, where Running Up That Hill was included on the setlist.

The acclaimed musician is often reluctant to allow her music to be featured in films or TV shows, but gave permission to Stranger Things as she was apparently already a fan.

Wende Crowley of Sony Music Publishing told Variety: “Kate Bush is selective when it comes to licensing her music and because of that, we made sure to get script pages and footage for her to review so she could see exactly how the song would be used.”

The first chapter of Stranger Things’ fourth season is available to stream on Netfix now.

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Kim Kardashian Says She’d Consider Eating Poo To Look Younger

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“I’ll try anything,” the beauty and reality TV mogul told The New York Times in a recent interview about her new skin care line.

“If you told me that I literally had to eat poop every single day and I would look younger, I might. I just might.”

The new line, SKKN by Kim, is a nine-product skin routine mirroring her own elaborate regimen: cleanser, toner, exfoliator, hyaluronic acid serum, vitamin C serum, face cream, eye cream, oil drops and night oil. The brand launches next month and joins her existing makeup and shapewear lines, KKW Beauty and Skims.

The nine items come to an eye-popping total of $630, which Kim told the Times was necessary in order to include the ingredients she wanted.

She said she uses the products on her neck and décolletage all the way “down to my nipples.”

The Times clarified that, as yet, “excrement is not one of the ingredients in Ms. Kardashian’s new skin care line”.

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Ryan O’Connell: ‘It’s A Scary Time, But More People Are With Us Than Against Us’

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To say the past couple of years have been busy for Ryan O’Connell. Last year saw the second season of his sitcom Special – the sitcom he co-created and starred in – debuting on Netflix to huge acclaim, after which it was revealed he’d joined the cast of the much-awaited Queer As Folk remake.

On top of that, he’s also about to release his first novel, Just By Looking At Him, which he’s already working to have adapted for the big screen.

It’s been an exciting time for Ryan, he tells HuffPost UK, but not one he’s in a particular rush to repeat.

Ryan O'Connell
Ryan O’Connell

Aaron Jay Young

“I can’t have a couple of years like that ever again,” he admits. “I was working so much that I truly felt like I was hanging on by a thread.

“I’m really glad that [projects I’ve worked on] are coming out, but a lot of this stuff that we’re talking about now was born from the pandemic, and trying to stave off existential dread and channel that into work. And now I’m kind of like… oh, I want to have fun. See my friends, and live laugh love.”

It's fair to say these past two years have been especially busy for Ryan
It’s fair to say these past two years have been especially busy for Ryan

Monica Schipper via Getty Images

And while Ryan has enjoyed being “a lady of leisure”, he’s already looking to the future, and says directing is the next challenge he hopes to pursue.

“I’d never really taken that time for myself where I really, truly did nothing. But being a lady of leisure only works if you know that it’s finite,” he says.

“It was really fun, but because I’m a Virgo, I was then like, ‘OK, back to work’. It was also nice to do that knowing I was about to go into the press cycle for the novel and Queer As Folk.”

To launch our new Pride interview series, we spoke to Ryan about the queer TV that made him feel seen when he was growing up, befriending his ultimate queer icon and being the “Kris Jenner of Gen Z”…

Who was the first queer person you can remember looking up to?

Megan Mullally and Sean Hayes in Will & Grace
Megan Mullally and Sean Hayes in Will & Grace

NBC via Getty Images

There was a show on The WB called Popular, it was actually Ryan Murphy’s first show. And Mary Cherry and Nicole Julian, while not gay men, essentially were gay men. They were these really bitchy high schoolers that were, like, hellbent on destruction and being Machiavellian, and they were the most glamorous, insane characters I’d ever seen on TV.

I was maybe 12 years old when the show came out, and I had no idea about what a “queer sensibility” was until I saw that show. and it was like, “oh, I’m laughing because I’m gay”. And then it was like, “oh, I’m gay”.

And then of course, Will & Grace. Karen Walker and Jack McFarland were my first real peeks into queerness, like a little lifeline. So, Mary Cherry, Nicole Julian, Karen Walker and Jack McFarland. Notice that there’s only one actual gay man on that list.

What was the first LGBTQ+ TV show or film that you remember resonating with you?

Wilson Cruz and Devon Gummersall in My So-Called Life
Wilson Cruz and Devon Gummersall in My So-Called Life

ABC Photo Archives via Getty Images

I was eight years when My So-Called Life came out – I should not have been watching it, but my family was obsessed, so we’d watch it every week. And in that show, there was a character called Ricky, who was queer. It wasn’t even really discussed that much, which I think was kind of transgressive in its own way. There wasn’t, like, a “very special gay episode”, he just was gay.

And I remember being eight years old and feeling like, “hmmm I really seem to connect with this character for reasons that I’m not quite sure about and also scared of and also intrigued, dot dot dot”. So definitely My So-Called Life, Popular and, of course, Will & Grace.

What’s a song you associate with your own coming out?

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I came out when I was 17 on the last day of my junior year in high school. And I did it because I had a crush on this boy, and I knew that in order to date him I would have to come out of the clos’ and live my truth. And that summer was this magical coming-of-age, queer Criterion collection vibe.

There was this movie I was watching at the time called Cherish, this small indie film that nobody had seen – and no one has still seen it – and the theme song of that movie was Cherish by The Association. Remember that song? It’s like an old-school 1960s kind of haunted song. And that was me and my boyfriend’s song. Or at least it was in my head.

What was the most recent LGBTQ+ show or film that made an impact on you?

The Other Two
The Other Two

I watched Stranger By The Lake in quarantine, and I loved it. It’s this horny French queer thriller. There are cumshots, there are uncut dicks, it’s sort of spooky spaghetti, I love it. And of course I love The Other Two. Iconic.

But I don’t watch a lot of scripted shows, to be honest. Because I work on scripted, sometimes it feels like I’m doing my homework, so basically I only watch Below Deck.

Who is your ultimate queer icon?

JOEL SAGET via Getty Images

That’s a really, really good question. I’m just going to go with the first person that comes to mind, and that’s the director Gregg Araki, who did films like The Doom Generation, Nowhere, Mysterious Skin and The Living End.

I feel corny saying that, because I’ve actually become friends with Gregg – not to bra-aag. But whenever I’m with him, I’m always like, “you have no idea how obsessed I am with you”. Basically, in the early 90s, he created this new wave of queer cinema, that was so amazing, and he always included a lot of Shoegaze which is my favourite genre of music.

And then next to Gregg, I would say Parker Posey.

Parker Posey
Parker Posey

Dia Dipasupil via Getty Images

When I was growing up, Party Girl, Clockwatchers, House Of Yes, all those indie films were so major to me. Those are two icons to me. She’s amazing, she’s so specific and so herself.

One scripted thing I am watching right now is The Staircase which ordinarily I would not do because it’s like, “honey we’ve already seen the documentary, must we revisit again?”. But honey, if Parker is there, I have to RSVP.

Who is a queer person in the public eye right now that makes you excited about the future?

Fin Argus
Fin Argus

Dia Dipasupil via Getty Images

I am biased, but Fin Argus. They’re in Queer As Folk, they play a character called Mingus. They’re 23 years old, and when I first met them I was like, “OK, they’re 23, I’m 35, we probably won’t have anything in common, they’re only a child”. But we actually got extremely close and I think they’re so brilliant. They also do music and their music is incredible.

I’m obsessed Gen Z. I’ll go on the record as saying I feel like a spiritual grandfather to Gen Z, I’m a big fan. I am very the Kris Jenner of Gen Z, that’s a moniker that I will take proudly.

What’s your message for the next generation of LGBTQ+ people?

We live in a really mind-fuck-y time, in the sense that the world as we know it is becoming more and more progressive, but because of that, there is a fight to retain the old thought. And that fight is actually winning. So it’s this really very weird, emotional, whiplash-y time where the minority is coming into power, but their views don’t reflect the culture that we live in today.

Ryan O'Connell pictured in 2021
Ryan O’Connell pictured in 2021

Media Access Awards Presented By Easterseals via Getty Images

That’s a very hard place to be in, and it’s a confusing place to be in. But my one piece of advice is to know the culture is going with you, rather than against you. And what you’re seeing is, there’s a lot of fear and people wanting to maintain the status quo. But that’s going to change with or without them.

You can’t change the fact the culture is becoming more progressive. So, even though it’s a very scary time for a lot of minorities, more people are with them rather than against them.

The reality is that if it wasn’t real, if the change wasn’t happening, if the world wasn’t becoming more progressive, there wouldn’t be these death rattles of the old guard. These last power grabs. So it makes sense, even though it’s terrible.

Ryan O’Connell’s new book Just By Looking At Him is out on Tuesday 7 June.

Ryan O'Connell
Ryan O’Connell
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