Tag Archives: uk celebrity

Simon Cowell Reacts To Those Who ‘Blame’ Him For Liam Payne’s Death

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Simon Cowell has responded to those critics who “blame” him for the sudden death of former One Direction singer Liam Payne.

The TV and music mogul mentored Liam during his and his One Direction bandmates’ time on The X Factor in 2011, and later signed them to his now-defunct Syco record label for the duration of their time together.

In October of last year, Liam died tragically at the age of 31 after falling from a hotel balcony in Argentina.

Prior to that, the chart-topping singer had spoken publicly about issues relating to his mental health and substance abuse, and a toxicology report found alcohol, cocaine and prescribed drugs in his system at the time of his death.

During a new interview with Rolling Stone, Simon was asked about Liam’s death, stating: “When I heard the news, it really hit me. I saw him a year before this happened. He came over to my house. We talked about his son and being a dad.

“I remember saying, ‘Music is not everything. Don’t let it run your life anymore. Find something else that you are passionate about’.”

Liam Payne pictured in 2017
Liam Payne pictured in 2017

via Associated Press

Simon continued: “You ask yourself that question: ‘Could I have done anything more? What would’ve happened to Liam if he hadn’t been in the band?’.

“Having spoken to his mum and dad recently, all they kept telling me was he was so proud of what he had achieved. I wish I could turn back the clock, of course. When I spoke to him that day, I felt really good about him. I thought, ‘Wow, you seem in a really good place’.”

Asked about those who would put the blame on him for the circumstances leading to Liam’s death, the Britain’s Got Talent judge insisted he doesn’t “read any of this stuff because if I did, you would just torture yourself”.

“The idea that you are essentially responsible for somebody’s life, 10 years after you’ve signed someone? You can’t do that,” he added.

Simon Cowell with One Direction in 2013
Simon Cowell with One Direction in 2013

via Associated Press

Last year, Simon was among the guests at Liam’s funeral, where his four 1D bandmates were also in attendance.

Months before Liam’s death, Simon sparked controversy when he claimed that his “one regret” when it came to One Direction was not being made the legal owner of the group’s name, which even appeared to spark a response from members of the group at the time.

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Adele To Make Her Acting Debut In New Star-Studded Movie

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Adele is set to join the star-studded cast of Tom Ford’s new film in what will mark her acting debut.

The chart-topping star has long expressed her interest in pursuing an acting career, and teased last year that she would be taking a step back from the music scene after completing her string of live shows in support of her album 30.

On Wednesday, Deadline reported that Adele would be appearing in the cast of Tom Ford’s next film, which would be an adaptation of Anne Rice’s 1982 novel Cry To Heaven.

But the Someone Like You singer is far from the only famous face linked with the movie.

Deadline’s article named Adele’s co-stars in the projects as Nicholas Hoult, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Paul Bettany, Daryl McCormack and Colin Firth, who previously appeared in Tom Ford’s adaptation of A Single Man.

Also linked with the project are Ciarán Hinds, George MacKay, Thandiwe Newton, Euphoria’s Hunter Schafer and Owen Cooper, the British teen actor who recently won an Emmy for his stand-out performance in Netflix’s Adolescence.

Owen has since appeared in the BBC comedy Film Club, and will next make his big-screen debut in Emerald Fennell’s adaptation of Wuthering Heights in early 2026.

Owen Cooper
Owen Cooper

via Associated Press

Tom Ford’s team has since confirmed to HuffPost UK that Deadline’s story is accurate.

Adele said a decade ago that she’d be interested in trying out acting after her performance in her Hello music video, directed by filmmaker Xavier Dolan, and was previously linked with a role in a potential remake of the musical Oliver.

When The Hollywood Reporter asked in 2023 if she’d “ever considered acting”, she responded: “No. There is one movie I want to do, but the guy whose movie it would be, he’s not mentally ready to write the script for it.”

“I’m not giving you no clues, though,” she insisted. “But I bug him every now and then about it, but he’s just not there yet. But that’s the only role I ever want. Because I think I’d nail it. I think I’d do really, really, really good at it.”

Last year, the Daily Mail also quoted a “source” who claimed that Adele had been taking acting lessons with the hopes of taking her career in a different direction.

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

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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.

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