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General Hospital star Kirsten Storms announced on her Instagram page she will be undergoing a brain aneurysm coiling procedure in the ‘next two weeks’

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General Hospital star Kirsten Storms announced she will be undergoing a brain aneurysm coiling procedure in ‘the next two weeks’ after doctors discovered a cyst in her brain. The 41-year-old star, who is known for her role as Maxie Jones in the ABC drama, first underwent a craniotomy to remove a cyst in 2021.

When she had a follow-up scan in January, she revealed she was “majorly freaked out” when the doctor found a ‘squatter’ cyst on the right side of her brain stem. In a lengthy post shared on her Instagram page, she said: “After my surgery in 2021, my amazing neurosurgeon has been monitoring the cyst that he left on my brain, when he removed one that was causing me problems

“The January scan happened because I had symptoms that the doctors thought could’ve been brain-related. Okay, when I say that I was shocked when doctors told me they found an aneurysm on the right side of my brain… Welp, I basically launched into a standup comedy routine.”

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Kirsten underwent a procedure that same weekend, explaining how the doctor thread a camera from her leg to her brain.

“Anyways, Neurology stuff makes me feel a bit of nervousness, so now – here I am with Emma, in St Louis. And we are crocheting the most beautiful sweaters, while my coiling procedure is being scheduled for sometime in the next two weeks,” she continued after praising her co-star and best friend Emme Rylan for being by her side the entire time.

“Emotional support when going through times in life that cause worry is crucial. Aneurysms (obviously) can be caused by stress. Brain cysts? I believe that is possible too…

“And since the January scan showed a new, but very small squatter (aka cyst) on my brain stem – it was clear I needed change some things in my life asap. For my own personal reasons, no longer living in Los Angeles was very important to me.”

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Kirsten said her daughter Harper, who she shares with ex-husband Brandon Barash, was a huge reason for the move along with her mental heath.

In the caption, she wrote: “I wanted to post this because even though my brain seems to be sorta lowkey rebelling against me, it does allow me to understand that we’ve all got times when things aren’t great. If we can, we will do our best to do what is best for ourselves and loved ones.

“Since I knew what an aneurysm was, the scan in January majorly freaked me out. A few days after I was discharged from the hospital, someone created a blog post that said I was in the hospital that weekend because I tried to “unalive” myself.

“I couldn’t understand why a person would makeup something that terrible, when they had no idea why I was really there.

“There are a few really bad apples out there. We all know that…but there are people in my life who I am truly thankful to know. One of those individuals just made a s**t load of sweaters with me. They are glorious.”

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The play is about four brown girls sharing their different experiences, growing up in London, using a mix of spoken word, dance and acting showcasing a variety of emotions but ultimately sisterhood

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The media and its portrayal of people of colour (POC) has always been, to some degree, questionable. Throughout the years; shows, movies, news and entertainment, often depict certain POC with negative stereotypes.

POC often depict the side character as opposed to the main character, take Ivy from Disney’s Good Luck Charlie, or Dionne from Clueless. They do not really have their own storyline, but instead support the main character’s development.

In particular, South Asian women are seen rarely in the media, and if and when they are; they are portrayed with “humorous” but often harmful clichés.

The stereotypes vary but can include: the smart and academic best friend with strict parents, like Baljeet from Phineas and Ferb. Or the gossiping Asian Aunty, like Mrs Malik from the hit sitcom, Citizen Khan.

The Asian that’s forgotten their roots, in other words, a “coconut”. A step further, is the white saviour trope, where the brown girl needs rescuing by the white man, ultimately liberating her. An example of this, is the Nadia-Guzman relationship from the Spanish series, Elite.

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All of these damaging notions of colonialism, inferiority and exoticism are flipped on its head with this powerful play, ‘Brown Girl Noise’. The play that tackles these clichés whilst educating and celebrating British South Asian culture.

I watched the show at Riverside Studios in Hammersmith. Kaya Uppal, wrote and starred in the play intertwining comedy, drama, love and more all in one.

The play begins with four South Asian girls waiting in a casting room, to audition for the role of Priti Patel. As they wait to be called in, they share their opinions on the labels that have been placed on them throughout their careers.

The quartet are four distinct characters all with contradicting personalities. All characters that resonate with brown girls in society.

Like, the comedic brown girl, hiding her upset with abruptness and wit; the timid brown girl not wanting to step out of line; the sassy, spiritual brown girl concealing her feelings of “not being brown enough” with rudeness; and the outgoing, sociable brown girl who wants everyone to feel welcome, whilst battling her own traumas.

The play then continues from the girls bonding and disagreeing over the typecasts they have faced, to introducing multiple chapters of different underrepresented South Asian stories.

Some of the chapters include: Snow Brown, reimagining the Disney tale Snow White. The characters allude to the problem of unrealistic, Western beauty standards in this chapter.

They also perform their own version of Love Island; highlighting the use of POC in the show as mere tokenism. In addition, they take on Horrible Histories; spotlighting unknown but yet powerful brown women in history.

Behind every chapter was a moral and message to the real issues that brown girls face, like colourism, tokenism, and racism. One emotional chapter was on consent and trauma with the concept of shame and silence interwoven in that segment.

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Whilst every chapter had its own message, the transitions between the audition room and the role play could have been tighter. The audience at times were left a bit confused with some of the underdeveloped chapters. The ending was met with a realisation from the four heroines, but did feel slightly rushed.

However, the piece still delivers a compelling and essential outlook. The performance embraced the highs and lows of British South Asian culture. The consistency was clear with brown girls needing to let go of negative stereotypes and reclaim their identity with strength and hope.

Whilst the show has now finished, I do hope it returns for another run.

After a ‘wobbly’ Fearne Cotton posts about shame in the wake of her former lover, child sex offender Ian Watkins’ ‘murder’ in prison, her old bestie Holly Willoughby offers her love and support

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Presenters Holly Willoughby and Fearne Cotton were thick as thieves for many years. The best friends first met when they were teenagers and their parallel careers in the spotlight saw them working together on many occasions, most famously on Celebrity Juice.

The pair are believed to have reconnected last year after drifting apart for some time and it seems they are now more determined than ever to support each other during difficult moments..

When the pair rekindled their friendship, Holly was on a sabbatical from her TV work after she became the target of security guard Gavin Plumb’s plot to kidnap, rape and kill her. Fearne is notoriously open about her struggles with mental health and in the wake of news her ex Ian Watkins died in prison, and has recently posted about shame and feeling ‘wobbly’, with Holly sending out love to her pal.

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On Tuesday, Fearne, 44, shared a clip on social media with her fans about the things she’s learned this week. Her Instagram caption read: “Four life lessons from this week. I’m not sleeping well. My brain is a bit wobbly at the moment but I’m grasping the lessons life is chucking my way. Which of these interests you the most or rings true?”

In an accompanying video, the mum-of-two talks about her Happy Place podcast and a chat she had with Charlie Mackesy. She recalls how the author of The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse discussed the topic of shame, which she says she “greatly appreciated”.

“The one reminder that I had from that episode was that so many of us feel shame,” she shared, “but we assume it’s just us because that is what shame does. It wants you to believe that it’s just you but it’s not…” Underneath the heartfelt post Holly, also 44, commented: “Love you cotton chops,” with a red heart emoji.

The stars first met many years ago after they both entered the world of showbiz as teens. Holly was scouted as a model aged 14 and Fearne became a kids’ TV presenter for GMTV’s The Disney Show’s at the age of 15. With so much in common they became firm friends and co-hosted their own show in 2007, Holly and Fearne Go Dating, where they matched singles up together.

Fearne was bridesmaid at Holly’s wedding to TV producer Dan Baldwin the same year and the pair landed the team captain roles on Celebrity Juice with Keith Lemon just after. The outrageous but hugely successful show saw them at the helm together for 10 years until the self-confessed, socially anxious Fearne quit in 2018.

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It was then that they are said to have drifted apart as their lives took them in different career and family directions. When Holly left her role hosting ITV ’s flagship show This Morning following the stalking ordeal, she became more holistic in her outlook, which is something Fearne had been focusing on for some time.

A source at the time told The Sun: “Fearne started ­living holistically, concentrating on self-care while Holly was still on TV. But then Holly went down the same path and started meditating and appreciating and researching holistic ­therapies. When she set up her wellness brand, Wylde Moon, she and Fearne were back on the same page again.”

Fearne’s recent post comes just days after former Lost Prophets frontman Ian Watkins was found dead in prison. He and Fearne briefly dated around 2008, although she has never publicly commented on their relationship.

The sick pervert was serving a 29-year sentence for multiple sexual offences, including against children and babies. It was claimed the paedo rocker may have been killed because he refused to pay protection money to other lags. He was found severely injured in his cell at HMP Wakefield in West Yorkshire after allegedly being attacked with a knife, but staff could do nothing to save him and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

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A source told The Mirror: “It looks like it happened just after unlock, they have walked into his cell and he ends up dead. He got attacked in 2023 and that was because he refused to pay (protection). He has always paid for protection but every so often people just reminded him that he needed to pay it so they gave him a good hiding. The guys that have done this are no heroes. It is not like they are some kind of shining Knight.”

Detectives were questioning two prisoners over the brutal death. Rashid Gedel, 25, who was referred to as Rico Gedel, and Samuel Dodsworth, 43, were arrested and charged with murder after the 48-year-old was discovered just after 9am on Saturday.. On Tuesday both men were due to make their first appearance before a Crown Court judge.

Dodsworth appeared via video link from HMP Wakefield, but Leeds Crown Court heard Gedel had refused to attend remotely. No bail applications were made during the hearing and both men were remanded in custody until their next appearance at the same court for a plea and trial preparation hearing on November 12.

Hollywood’s biggest directors, including Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, paid tribute to film poster artist Drew Struzan following his death this week

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Hollywood’s biggest directors have paid tribute to the legendary film poster artist, Drew Struzan, after his death aged 78 this week. His family confirmed the tragic news on his official Instagram account on Monday.

“It is with a heavy heart that I must tell you that Drew Struzan has moved on from this world as of yesterday, October 13th,” read a statement from his brother, Greg Struzan. “I feel it is important that you all know how many times he expressed to me the joy he felt knowing how much you appreciated his art.”

In a separate statement, his family revealed he lost a battle to Alzheimer’s Disease. He created posters for blockbuster franchises and beloved films including Star Wars, Back to the Future, Harry Potter, The Empire Strikes Back, The Goonies, The Shawshank Redemption, and The Thing.

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Following the heartbreaking news, the likes of George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and Guillermo Del Toro paid tribute to their late pal.

Jurassic Park and Jaws icon Spielberg said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter : “Drew made event art. His posters made many of our movies into destinations … and the memory of those movies and the age we were when we saw them always comes flashing back just by glancing at his iconic photorealistic imagery. In his own invented style, nobody drew like Drew.”

Star Wars creator Lucas said in a statement: “Drew was an artist of the highest order. His illustrations fully captured the excitement, tone and spirit of each of my films his artwork represented.

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“His creativity, through a single illustrated image, opened up a world full of life in vivid color… even at a glance. I was lucky to have worked with him time and time again.”

Pan’s Labyrinth director Del Toro said: ” The world lost a genial man, a genius communicator and a supreme artist. I lost a friend – beloved Drew.”

Spielberg even once described him as his “favourite movie artist” and admitted to feeling pressure to “live up to the art” Struzan produced.

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Earlier this year, Drew’s wife said he was suffering from Alzheimer’s in a post shared on Facebook. She said: “Drew can no longer paint or sign things for you. He is not enjoying a well-deserved retirement but rather fighting for his life.

“He hears all the comments you have left here on these pages. It encourages him. At first he was able to express his thoughts but as time progressed it became infinitely more difficult.

“I rely on our 60 years of marriage working as a team to remember for him. Drew has left a strong legacy of love and joy in the form of his work. It has always been a love letter of sorts. His aim was to make the earth a better place in which to live by creating something beautiful. But like a flower, his season is ending.”

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