Archive August 7, 2025

Former GMB presenter Piers Morgan was accused of ‘attention-seeking’ after sharing a post about Beyoncé’s new jeans advert

Piers Morgan was told to ‘have a day off’ as he shared yet another controversial post, this time accusing Beyoncé of cultural appropriation. The former Good Morning Britain presenter, who stormed off the ITV set before quitting the show, is known for his outspoken views that have often landed him in hot water.

This time, the 60-year-old took to his X/Twitter account to share a picture of Beyoncé rocking a full denim outfit in a new advert for Levi’s jeans. The award-winning singer posed in a bedazzled denim crop jacket and equally bedazzled jeans for the photo, which was shared on the brand’s social media page.

She rocked curly blonde hair in the snaps and completed the outfit with silver shows. While most people loved the advert, Piers couldn’t help but hit out at her, claiming she was trying to ‘culturally appropriate’ Marilyn Monroe. It comes after Taylor Swift sparks engagement rumours as fans spot Travis Kelce’s lock screen.

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His criticism comes extremely soon after Sydney Sweeney received backlash for her American Eagle advert, which had her saying she had ‘great jeans’.

In the advert, she said: “Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair colour, personality, and even eye colour. My jeans are blue.”

A voiceover then adds: “Sydney Sweeney has great genes.” In the US, American Eagle’s billboard ads show the word ‘genes’ crossed out and replaced with ‘jeans’.

While some think the campaign is harmless, many say it taps into the ideology of eugenics – the belief that the human race could be “improved” by increasing the presence of traits considered desirable, traits historically linked to whiteness.

Meanwhile, Piers used the heightened tension regarding the recent advert to share the picture of Beyoncé’s advert and wrote: “Very disappointed to see Beyoncé culturally appropriate Marilyn Monroe in her new Levi’s ad.”

Fans hit out at his antics, with one writing in the comment section: “Have a day off,” and another posting: “A white British man talking about cultural appropriation. The jokes. They write themselves.”

Another commented: “Do you understand.. Words? Do you know what culture means?” while one simply pointed out: “Attention seeking ting Piers?”

One person reminded the TV presenter Marilyn, real name Norma Jeane Mortenson, wasn’t a natural blonde and another posted: “Marilyn Monroe is not a culture she’s a person and she didn’t invent blonde hair either lol.”

Even Dionne Warwick said: “Getting involved in women’s business again, I see…” before Piers responded: “Oh not you too, Dionne… it was a JOKE!”

He defended himself in another tweet and claimed: “I would say I can’t believe anyone took my obvious Beyoncé joke post seriously… but I forgot the woke brigade have zero sense of humour.”

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In this Thursday’s Mirror Daily Digest, we’ve pulled together the biggest stories of the day from the BBC ‘penis picture’ scandal to what to expect from the government’s emergency alert test

Welcome to the Mirror’s Daily Digest, where we pull together all the best stories of the day from our News, Showbiz, Sport teams and more. This Thursday, we’re featuring everything from the BBC being embroiled in a fresh scandal to more details surrounding the government emergency alert.

This morning, it was revealed that the BBC had reportedly been hit with another scandal as a top female presenter is alleged to have shown a ‘penis picture’ to a junior staff member, leaving them in tears. Elsewhere, we’ve uncovered all you need to know about the upcoming government emergency alert and revealed explosive new claims about Prince Andrew

BBC presenter ‘showed penis picture’ to junior staff member in fresh scandal

This morning, news broke that the BBC had reportedly been hit with another scandal – a top female presenter is alleged to have shown a ‘penis picture’ to a junior member of staff, leaving them in tears. The star is alleged to have revealed an image of a man’s penis on her phone during a casual conversation.

Insiders claim the star, who is listed among the BBC’s 50 highest-paid employees, asked the young staff member an inappropriate question before showing the picture. The young producer was said to have been “horrified and in tears” over the encounter. It is unknown whose private parts were in the picture.

Bosses were alerted about the encounter, and the presenter was brought into a private meeting where she was told to apologise for her actions. The crisis has been described as a “ticking time bomb” by staff at the BBC, fearing there could be a widespread fallout if the presenter’s identity became public.

Read the full story here.

Emergency alert will go off on millions of phones – ‘spread the word’

As the UK gears up for one of the ‘biggest safety exercises in UK history’, our Politics team have uncovered more details about the emergency alert. In a month’s time Brits have been urged to brace themselves for a loud alarm from their mobile phones in a national drill.

The system will be tested at 3pm on Sunday, September 7, with millions of phones receiving a message warning of danger to life nearby. Mobiles on 4G and 5G networks will vibrate and emit a loud siren for around 10 seconds – even if they are set on silent, and also see a test message appear on screens, making it clear the alert is a drill.

The public won’t need to do anything, just swipe the message away or click ‘OK’ on the phone home screen. The test will be just the second of its kind and follows a government pledge to test the system regularly to make sure the alarm works and get the public used to it.

Read the full story here.

Prince Andrew ‘slept with more than a dozen women in first year of marriage’

This Thursday, our Royal team has been covering explosive Prince Andrew claims revealed in a new royal book. According historian Andrew Lownie, Prince Andrew “slept with more than a dozen women” in the first year of his marriage to Sarah Ferguson.

The biography of the Duke and Duchess of York alleges Fergie wanted to be “The One” but enjoyed several affairs of her own with “reckless abandon”. Lownie, who has written several acclaimed books on the royal family, details claims the York’s troubled marriage was riddled with infidelity.

Within weeks of their lavish wedding in 1986, Fergie is said to have realised the marriage was a mistake as they had few mutual interests. And, with Andrew regularly away on Navy duty, it has been claimed that she embarked on numerous flings.

Read the full story here.

Fury as small boat detentions begin amid threat of human rights legal challenges

As the first wave of detentions of small boat arrivals set to be returned to France began this Thursday, human rights groups voiced their outrage. Campaigners have hinted they are weighing up a legal challenge over the new returns agreement – which will see people who made the dangerous Channel crossing kicked out.

The Home Office said those taken into detention after arriving in Kent yesterday are expected to be sent back to France within a fortnight. In exchange people with a legitimate case to settle in the UK – who have never attempted a small crossing – will be admitted in their place.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper branded the first wave of detentions an “important step forward”. But Steve Smith, chief executive of refugee charity Care4Calais said the group is “keeping all our options open” on challenging the scheme.

Read the full story here.

This Morning’s Josie Gibson ‘skint’ as she moves ‘back into caravan’

Our Showbiz team were tuned into GMB this morning as Josie Gibson appeared on the ITV show to talk about her new TV project. Josie, known for hosting ITV’s This Morning, has been busy filming a new series, Josie Gibson’s Big Country Build, which sees her renovate her Somerset home into an eco-friendly haven, with the help of her loved ones.

A promotional video for the new seven-part series was shown on GMB, in which Josie shared the reality of taking on such a big construction project, admitting it has left her “skint”. During her interview, she also spoke of the challenges she’s faced working so closely with her family and friends on the renovation.

Ranvir kicked things off by pointing out, “You know what, you used to live in a caravan before all of this, and now, just a few years later, you’ve bought this enormous house. You’re a great British success story, Josie!” However, Josie admitted: “Well, I’m moving back into a caravan, I don’t know about that!”

Read the full story here.

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According to a new biography about the Duke and Duchess of York, Fergie claimed she was “in love” with the golf champion and that she went to another country to go on a date.

Sarah Ferguson once flew 1,500 miles in an attempt to go on a date with golfing legend Tiger Woods, a new tell-all book has claimed.

The biography, ‘Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York’ by Andrew Lownie, has made several allegations about Fergie and Andrew’s unusual relationship, including the rampant affairs that they both had behind closed doors before the breakdown of their marriage.

And according to the royal author, Fergie flew halfway around the world to pursue the “gorgeous” Tiger Woods a year after her split from Andrew. Confiding in Piers Morgan before embarking on the ambitious journey, she even allegedly said she was “in love” with the athlete.

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According to Lownie, the author claims that Fergie was a hot pursuit of famous potential lovers over the years in the biography, which was the result of four years of research and hundreds of interviews.

The writer alleges that the Duchess declared she was “in love” with Tiger, and flew 1,500 miles to try and arrange a date. She is said to have confided to broadcaster Piers Morgan, telling him: “I’m in love.”

Morgan reportedly inquired, “Who is the lucky guy?” Fergie responded, “He doesn’t know yet,” to which Fergie replied.

Then, according to the allegations, Fergie said, “follow him around the course for a while and see how I get on.” Poor old Tiger won’t know what hit him, Morgan joked.

Morgan’s advice seemed to help Fergie, as rather than being seen as a romantic couple, the unlikely duo became good friends, with the Duchess seen supporting him at golf competitions.

Woods and Ferguson were pictured embracing while Ferguson was sporting a beaming smile after winning another match at the Byron Nelson tournament in Texas in 1997.

As recently as 2019, Ferguson was seen congratulating Woods’ jaw-dropping comeback to win the Masters, which is his most recent major triumph within the sport. On Instagram, she wrote: “Never have I been more proud. Good days and bad days, Tigers’ heart is loyal, steadfast, and he is an amazing friend.”

According to the book, Fergie began making hints about marrying her ex-husband Prince Andrew just three years after their final divorce, despite her clumsy almost-date with Tiger Woods just two years after their tragic relationship ended.

The Duchess also claims that John F. Kennedy Jr., the handsome son of the murdered US President John F. Kennedy, was visiting New York in 1997.

He is understood to have accepted the invitation when she found out who he was at her hotel for drinks or dinner. According to the Duchess, she said, “That’s not going to bother me” when she found out that Kennedy was seeing the actress Daryl Hannah.

Hannah was actually upset, so Kennedy canceled, claiming a previous engagement, because of it. According to Lownie, Fergie then instructed staff to “spy on his apartment all night to verify that he had told the truth.”

Fergie claimed in a tell-all interview that she had to get divorced in 1999 to celebrate her 40th birthday because “Andrew and I thought it wasn’t appropriate for me to be a commercial while I was still in the Royal Family.”

Despite this, Lownie claims in the book that Sarah had not ruled out remarrying Prince Andrew in the future, and also hinted at the fact that she was open to trying for a third child.

While Fergie may have been open to remarrying her ex-husband, the royal family were far less keen on the idea, according to claims from Lownie’s biography, with one senior royal in particular stepping in to stop the reunion.

The author claimed that the Duchess of York was “living in the land of Nod” and that the marriage was “a squalid public relations exercise” and that Prince Philip was determined to stop Andrew and Fergie getting married again.

The author also claims that Charles, Princess Margaret, and Prince Edward were against the idea of the couple getting married again despite Sarah being the bridesmaid.

Despite finalising their divorce almost 30 years ago, Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson still live together in the Royal Lodge: a 30-room mansion on the grounds of Windsor Castle.

While the pair have described themselves as the “happiest divorced couple”, their unusual living arrangement has often raised eyebrows, especially with reports that King Charles is desperate to kick the disgraced duke out of the royal abode.

The royal author claims that the former couple have insisted on maintaining their peculiar arrangement for one major reason. Lownie asserts in his new book that Andrew’s reliance on Sarah for “stability” is one of the main causes of their continued relationship.

Buckingham Palace and Sarah Ferguson’s team declined to comment.

Andrew Lownie’s “Entitled” (William Collins, £22) will be released on August 14.

Meat Loaf, a singer and actor, first gained notoriety in 1968 and remained so until his passing in 2022, but fans are only now understanding what his name means.

Fans still have no idea where Meat Loaf came from or what its significance is despite having been a well-known musician and actor for more than 60 years.

The American-born singer first released music with his band, Meat Loaf Soul, who had their first performance in California in 1968. At the same time, the singer also started his acting career, with the singer mainly starring in different musicals. Throughout his career, Meat Loaf released 12 studio albums, which included hit songs like ‘I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That)’, ‘Paradise by the Dashboard Light’.

After having sold sold more than 100 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time, the singer died at age 74 in January 2022. While no official cause of death was released, he was reportedly sick with COVID-19 earlier that same month.

The performer, who was born Marvin Lee Aday and later referred to as Michael Lee Aday, was known by his unique stage name. What does the name mean and where did it come from, though?

Taking to Reddit’s Today I Learned forum, one user was eager to reveal the supposed origin of the singer’s name.

When he was born, his father thought he was “nine and a half pounds of ground chuck,” according to the singer Meat Loaf (born Marvin Lee Aday), and gave him the nickname “Meat” (Til). The players and coaches changed the name to “Meat Loaf” years later when he was a heavyset teenage football player.

Over the years, Meat Loaf offered various explanations for his moniker and even told The Guardian in 2003 that “names and ages piss me off. So I just continually lie.”

Meat Loaf appears to have started using the nickname years before his music and acting career even started, despite the name’s constantly changing origin story.

Meat Loaf claimed he got the first half of his name from his father shortly after he was born. The musician said on Oprah Winfrey’s Where Are They Now series in 2016 that he was “born bright red,” explaining that his father told the hospital to put a “Meat” tag in front of his crib because he “looked like nine-and-a-half pounds of ground chuck” as a newborn.

When Meat Loaf “stepped on a coach’s foot and he screamed, “Get off my foot, you hunk of meatloaf! “, he told Winfrey, in eighth grade, that he had received the “Loaf” half of his nickname.

However, the singer made a different interpretation of the tale available to the public in 1978. He claimed at the time that his name was influenced by his size while attending Dallas University. The rocker claimed he has never been weighed below 185 pounds.

He also spun another tale about his name’s origins, according to The New York Times, which reports that the artist also claimed an incident with a Volkswagen was responsible for his nickname.