Category Entertainment News

Controversial actor Laurence Fox was sued by now-Stonewall chief executive Simon Blake and drag artist Crystal, real name Colin Seymour, over a row on X/Twitter

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Laurence Fox’s libel claim after he was called a racist on social media is set to face a retrial, the Court of Appeal has ruled.

The actor-turned-activist was successfully sued by now-Stonewall chief executive Simon Blake and drag artist Crystal over a row on social media platform X.

Mr Fox, 47, called Mr Blake and the former RuPaul’s Drag Race contestant, whose real name is Colin Seymour, “paedophiles” in an exchange about a decision by Sainsbury’s to mark Black History Month in October 2020.

Mr Fox called for a boycott of the supermarket and was called “a racist” by the men, as well as by broadcaster Nicola Thorp, before he responded with the “paedophile” tweets which led to the libel claims.

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In two judgments in 2024, Mrs Justice Collins Rice ruled in favour of Mr Blake and Mr Seymour, and said Mr Fox should pay them £90,000 each in damages.

The judge dismissed Mr Fox’s counter-claims against them and Ms Thorp over tweets accusing him of racism. Mr Fox challenged this decision at the Court of Appeal in London, where his lawyers described the previous judge’s decision as “plainly wrong”.

And in a decision on Friday, Lord Justice Dingemans, Lady Justice Elisabeth Laing and Lord Justice Warby ruled in Mr Fox’s favour on his counter-claims and the level of damages.

Lord Justice Warby said that the tweets describing Mr Fox as a racist caused serious harm to his reputation and his libel claim should be reconsidered at a retrial.

He also said that the amount of damages Mr Fox was ordered to pay to Mr Blake and Mr Seymour was “manifestly excessive”, halving both sums to £45,000.

Lord Justice Warby said: “I am acutely aware of the need for this court to respect the function of the trial judge, and show due restraint. Having reflected on the arguments and revisited the written materials presented to us I have however concluded that the judge’s approach was in some respects wrong in law in ways that are material to the outcome.”

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The Court of Appeal judge dismissed Mr Fox’s bid to overturn the finding that he had libelled Mr Blake and Mr Seymour. In 2024, Mrs Justice Collins Rice ruled in favour of Blake and Seymour, and told Fox to pay them £90,000 each in damages. The judge dismissed the controversial star’s counter claims against them and Nicola Thorp, who also branded him a racist.

He took to the Court of Appeal in London to challenge the decision and his lawyers claimed the judge’s decision was “plainly wrong”. At the end of a two-day hearing in July, Lord Justice Dingemans, Lady Justice Elisabeth Laing and Lord Justice Warby said the decision will be handed down on October 17.

“It won’t particularly surprise you to know that we won’t give judgment this afternoon, we will reserve matters. Thank you all very much indeed, we will try to give you a judgment as soon as we can,” it was said in July.

The appeal process saw Patrick Green KC, for Fox, claimed the judgement which found the actor had libelled the men should be quashed due to “errors of approach” by the judge, including over whether Blake and Seymour were caused serious harm.

Adrienne Page KC, for Blake, Seymour and Thorp, said Fox’s appeal was “lacking in merit”, with Page later saying: “Whichever way one looks at it, the judge was fully entitled to reach the factual conclusions that she did on the serious, real-world, reputational impact of the appellant’s tweets, for the reasons which she gave.

“There was nothing wrong with her analysis in fact or law. After very careful and conscientious evaluation, the judge was, unsurprisingly, not persuaded of this on the facts.”

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Liam Payne’s girlfriend Kate Cassidy has shared a heartbreaking tribute to the One Direction star on the first anniversary of his tragic death

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Kate Cassidy has revealed her final moments with Liam Payne before his tragic death.

The One Direction star plunged to his death from the balcony of his hotel room on the third floor at the CasaSur Palermo hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He died from “multiple trauma” sustained from the fall and suffered “internal and external bleeding”.

To mark the first anniversary of his death, his girlfriend Kate Cassidy has shared a heartfelt tribute to the late star. She posted a TikTok clip showing Liam attempting to lift her up into the air.

The amusing moment sees Liam try to hoist her up but, when he fails to do so, the pair burst out laughing. Kate paid tribute to Liam alongside the clip.

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She wrote: “This video was taken during the last hour and last day Liam and I shared in this lifetime. I am forever grateful for the beautiful moments we shared. I will miss you for the rest of my life Liam.”

Kate also shared a black and white photo of her and Liam in bed with the singer planting a kiss on her cheek. She also posted a picture of the two embracing.

She wrote: “Today marks a full year without you here. I will forever hate goodbyes. I miss you Liam.”

Liam’s sister Ruth also shared a moving tribute to Liam. She wrote: “1 year, 12months, 52weeks, 365days… whichever way I say it, it still means the most heartbreaking truth that you’re not here any more.

“When you used to go away on tour, and I’d cry that you’d be gone for a while, I always knew you’d come back, but now I can’t get you home, I can’t meet up with you somewhere in the world, I can’t facetime or text to see how you’re doing, it’s an eternal homesick feeling because we can’t go back.”

She went on to say: “‘I underestimated grief, woah did I underestimate it. I am paralysed by it daily. I thought I had felt it before but I know the losses before you were just intense sadness, you are the loss of my life, the one person who I will miss at every single occasion in my life.”

‘I’d taken for granted that my little brother would be there through life, what a cruel lesson to learn in our 30s, that a sibling is not guaranteed to be a lifer, that I have to face this without you.”

Ruth also shared that she has been having a recurring nightmare about Liam’s final moments in the hotel room. She confessed that his death will “never make sense to her”.

Mimi Webb first found fame during the coronavirus pandemic when she gained popularity on TikTok and earned thousands of fans

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A pop star kicked concert-goers out of her gig as fight broke out in the crowd. Mimi Webb didn’t hold back as she told the fans to “get out of my show” after getting into a fight at the venue.

A video of the incident has now gone viral where the singing sensation can be heard speaking into her microphone telling those involved that they won’t be invited to another show. The clip shows Mimi stop and point as she shouts: “You get out.”

The camera then turns around to show a packed audience along with a group of people fighting in front of the stage. Security then try to get involved to sort it out.

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Mimi then added: “You get out, get out of my show now. You’re never invited again. Get out.” The crowd, as well as Mimi, then erupted into boos.

The singer explained that nothing like that had ever happened at one of her shows before. Fans have since been commenting on the incident.

One said: “OMG, I was there, it was so scary.” While another wrote: “OMG what happened to cause him to be removed? Also well done to Mimi for standing up to him, love her to bits.”

“Imagine being told to stop & leave my Mimi Webb……. That would be so embarrassing,” a third added. Mimi’s is currently putting on shows to promote her second studio album Confessions which was released in September.

Mimi first found fame during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 when she gained a huge following on TikTok where she posted her music.

The star recently opened up about why she doesn’t sound like a Brit when she performs. Fans have questioned hwy she uses an American accent when she sings.

Mimi is originally from Canterbury in Kent and has risen up the ranks, managing to climb up into the UK Top 10 and amassing more than one million TikTok followers.

In a TikTok clip, Mimi explained: “Everyone keeps asking me why Brits sing in an American accent. To be honest this is a good point.” She revealed that performing with a British accent “just doesn’t work” for her style of music.

Mimi also featured on the Zach Sang podcast recently, acknowledging that Disney Channel had a massive impact during her childhood which shaped her perception of how pop artists should sound. Mimi explained: “As a kid I was obsessed and I just got the American accent in singing quite early on.”

When Zach questioned whether she deliberately avoids singing with a British accent, she replied: “No, it’s just natural. It’s crazy to me to try and sing in a British accent.

“I’d literally be in Oliver Twist if I did it,” she quipped. Numerous British vocalists adopt an American-style accent whilst singing owing to the powerful influence of American musical genres, plus it’s frequently simpler to articulate particular vowels in an American manner.

A rapid rise to fame led to suffocating public interest in Keira Knightley and, tiring of paparazzi intrusion, the award-winning actress walked away from Hollywood in her early twenties

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Award-winning actress Keira Knightley has revealed how she fled Hollywood and travelled Europe after a hidden struggle.

After picking up an agent when she was just six years old, Keira enjoyed a massive rise to fame which saw her become one of the most sought-after stars in the world by her mid-teens. It was a period that, she says, sent her “mad” as her family home was staked out by paparazzi desperate to get photos of her.

After appearing in George Lucas’s long-awaited first Star Wars prequel, Keira starred in hit comedy drama Bend It Like Beckham when she was 17. Over the following year she went on to play significant roles in Love, Actually and the globally-successful Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.

The huge public demand for photos of her meant that Keira’s every move was stalked by photographers, making her life a complete mystery. “I went mad. I just managed to hide it,” she told The Times.

Her fight-back against the ever-present paparazzi involved buying an entire wardrobe of identical clothes, so that all of the photos of her looked the same.

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But even that wasn’t enough to completely stifle fans’ demand for more and more photos of her and so, still in her early twenties, Keira walked away from stardom.

She recalled the moment she decided to quit Hollywood: “One day, I was like, ‘I’m out.’ And my family backed me. They said, ‘Just f***ing walk.’ ”

Keira called her agent and told them not to accept any more scripts before taking an extended trip around Europe, using her acting gifts to disappear completely.

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“I was very good,” she says. “Museums, trains… no one expects to see you there. I was very scruffy, which they also wouldn’t have expected. You just don’t make eye contact, go a bit hunched. I kind of slithered.”

When Keira returned to acting, she returned on her own terms.

Using the star power that comes with an Academy Award nomination she ignored lucrative blockbuster roles and instead opted for smaller, more art-house films and stage rôles.

She’s also recently appeared in a couple of big-budget dramas with Netflix – The Woman in Cabin 10, where she plays a journalist who is the only eyewitness to a passenger being thrown overboard from a yacht, and 2024’s all-star spy thriller Black Doves.

Hollywood icon Nicole Kidman and singer Keith Urban, who share two children together, split up after almost two decades of marriage

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Nicole Kidman’s busy schedule has been a ‘healthy coping mechanism’ for the star following her split from husband of almost two decades, Keith Urban. The couple’s separation was revealed earlier this month, with the singer reportedly having moved out of their Nashville house.

According to insiders close to the pair, Nicole and Keith were not living together for most of the summer, despite celebrating their 19th wedding anniversary at the end of June. Nicole was said to have been fighting for the marriage, but Keith was “done” and his friends felt their divorce was “inevitable”.

It is rumoured he is already dating someone new. Despite the split, Nicole has kept busy with her recent Vogue interview and her appearance at Paris Fashion Week with daughters Sunday Rose, 17, and Faith, 14.

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She also has two shows coming out, Scarpetta and Margo’s Got Money Troubles, as well as the sequel to Practical Magic.

One relationship expert has said Nicole’s busy schedule has been a healthy way for the star to deal with the end of her marriage.

Relationship expert Susie Kim said of Nicole’s busy schedule: “I think it really helps to keep busy and reconnect with or keep engaged with all of the things that you love.”

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Speaking to nine.com.au, the expert added: “Usually during the break-up, you’ve invested less time in some of the things that you’ve loved, or maybe you’ve lost contact with some of your friends.”

In a recent interview, Hollywood actress Nicole admitted she has always been a risk taker and confirmed she will learn from her ways after the pair’s split was confirmed after 19 years together.

Nicole said: “Taking a risk is what I’ve always done. You get back up and you try again and you learn.”

Speaking to Vogue, she went on: “Literally walk away from it because it will fell you. It will destroy you.”

Despite her words, Nicole made sure to steer clear of directly talking about her marriage breakdown. However, she stressed the importance of “ride-or-die friendships”.

A source had previously revealed the anxious feeling Nicole had had due to her separation from Keith.

A source told People the Aussie star had: “Been stressed [for months] because she knew the separation would eventually become public and she was dreading [the public’s response].”

The source went on: “She’s surprisingly level-headed and calm. Now that it’s out she’s just focused on what’s ahead and her girls.”

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With Christmas fast approaching, parents looking to gift school staff a festive gift at the end of the Winter term should know that there’s one gift teachers like the least

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Schools across the UK will break up for Christmas sooner than you think, as we’re already drawing closer to the last half-term break before the festive season. But the holidays aren’t just time off for students; they give teachers a much-needed break.

Whilst it’s not compulsory, many parents opt to give their child’s teacher a small festive gift as a gesture of gratitude. However, selecting something appropriate for someone who isn’t a mate or relative can prove challenging.

From homemade cards and chocolates to candles and even Stanley Cups, teachers often find themselves heading home with a car boot crammed with presents.

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Of course, an affordable and simple option that can be just as meaningful as a gift and personalised to be as unique as you’d like is a touching thank you card, but if you’re looking for suggestions of something more material to bestow before the festive period, we’ve listed six that are sure to be a hit.

Is there something you shouldn’t buy? According to our Editorial Director’s teacher sister, while they massively appreciate any gifts from their students and their families, there is one thing you may want to avoid gifting teachers – chocolate, because apparently they get given so much of it.

Meanwhile, The Mirror reported that one teacher has warned parents against getting certain gifts for school staff, as receiving the same present from 30 kids in the class can end up being quite repetitive.

Lucinda Chambers, a seasoned teacher with over 15 years of experience, shared her insights with Mamma Mia, suggesting that a simple thank you is often enough. But for those who wish to give something more, Lucinda offered some advice on what to avoid.

One thing she advises against is gifting mugs, as teachers tend to receive them far too often. Instead, she suggests considering a reusable drinks bottle or coffee cup as a thoughtful alternative.

Additionally, Lucinda warns that lotions and other skincare products aren’t typically favoured by teachers. She explained: “A beautifully scented hand cream or shower gel is a lovely thought, but what ‘smells good’ is highly personal, not to mention that some teachers may have highly sensitive skin.”

And finally, although it might seem like a classic gift, she concurs that many teachers prefer not to receive chocolate or sweets as presents. As surprising as that might sound, some teachers simply aren’t keen on these treats and some are gifted them so often they don’t get through them.

Some top recommendations for gifts include:

• Reusable water bottles – e.g. Stanley Quencher or similar alternative
• Scented candle – maybe lavender or other stress-relieving scents
• Personalised stationary
• Wine, beer or other favourite beverages
• Festive hamper – M&S has a wide range of sweet and savoury hampers
• Something homemade – from a handmade card or homemade treats