Category Entertainment News

Kevin Federline has claimed in his new memoir that his ex-wife Britney Spears would stand over their sleeping sons with a knife in her hand, leaving them terrified

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Britney Spears’ former husband, Kevin Federline, has alleged the singer used to stand over their sleeping sons while holding a knife. Kevin – who divorced the Toxic singer in 2007 following three years of marriage – has claimed that on multiple occasions their sons Sean Preston, 20, and 19-year-old Jayden James would wake up to discover their mum watching them.

He said she would then leave the room without any explanation. In an extract from his memoir You Thought You Knew, Kevin penned: “They would awaken sometimes at night to find her standing silently in the doorway, watching them sleep – ‘Oh, you’re awake?’ – with a knife in her hand.

“Then she’d turn around and pad off without explanation.”

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In another section of the book shared with the New York Times, Kevin discussed his worry that “something bad” could happen to his troubled ex-wife.

He penned: “The truth is, this situation with Britney feels like it’s racing toward something irreversible.

“It’s become impossible to pretend everything’s OK. From where I sit, the clock is ticking, and we’re getting close to the 11th hour. Something bad is going to happen if things don’t change, and my biggest fear is that our sons will be left holding the pieces.”

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Kevin continued by voicing his worry that the Free Britney campaign – which fought to end his former spouse’s conservatorship – might have “started from a good place” but has now left experts who could assist the Gimme More star too frightened to intervene.

He penned: “All those people who put so much effort into that should now put the same energy into the ‘Save Britney’ movement. Because this is no longer about freedom. It’s about survival.”

Whilst Kevin doesn’t know the perfect “solution”, he appealed for anyone “who has ever been moved by Britney” to stand by his children and their mother.

He penned: “Now, more than ever, they need your support. I’ve been their buffer for years, but now it’s bigger than me. It’s time to sound the alarm.”

The 47-year-old dancer is eager for his sons to have an “incredible relationship” with their mother. He told the New York Times: “I’ve never, ever, once, been against Britney.

“I’ve only tried to help my sons have an incredible relationship with their mother. And it’s hard because when I really reflect on everything that’s happened – my kids do not know the woman that I married. And I’ve spent two decades trying to bridge that gap.”

A representative for Britney told us: “With news from Kevin’s book breaking, once again he and others are profiting off her and sadly it comes after child support has ended with Kevin. All she cares about are her kids, Sean Preston and Jayden James and their well-being during this sensationalism. She detailed her journey in her memoir [The Woman In Me].”

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Professor Green admitted he ‘very nearly’ called off his wedding to Made In Chelsea star Millie Mackintosh, with him insisting there’s ‘no resentment’ between the two

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Professor Green admitted he ‘very nearly’ cancelled his wedding to Millie Mackintosh as they both felt ‘pressured’ to get married. The 41-year-old musician and the Made in Chelsea star tied the knot at Babington House in Somerset in 2013, but the two went their separate ways three years later.

Their split was seemingly quite bitter at the time, with both stars taking swipes at each other on social media after splitting up. The former couple have both since moved on and had children with other people, with Professor Green now dating actress Karima McAdams.

In a recent appearance on a podcast, the musician admitted he almost called off the wedding to Millie.

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Speaking on Jamie Laing’s Great Company podcast, he said: “There’s so no resentment. She is gorgeous, we were not good for each other at that time. We were at a point. Things we didn’t understand were happening and it was way more than we could have ever dealt with.”

When asked about his divorce, he explained: “It was really tough. If there was never that pressure, we would have never got married, that’s the truth. It very nearly didn’t happen.

“I remember having a conversation with my two best mates, Lewis and Phoenix. Am I getting cold feet? What’s going on here? And one of them said yes. One of them said, No. I won’t put him in it, because it’s not their responsibility.”

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He continued: “I made my own decision. We made our decision, and we didn’t get married for the wrong reasons. We loved each other. It was probably an element of trauma bonding.

“And it takes a lot to get to a place of going, ‘I had a significant part in that, 50% at least, because there were two of us in the situation, and it didn’t work out.’ But hopefully we can both go forward and find happiness and belonging.”

Earlier this year, Millie opened up about their marriage on the Getting There podcast. She told host Brogan Garrit-Smith that she had been “super young” when she married Professor Green in her early twenties and suggested that she had been “a mess” around that time.

Asked about going through a divorce in the public eye, guest Millie said: “I was incredibly anxious. I was barely eating. I was medicating with Xanax.

“I was … yeah, not well. And just … whenever the feelings would come up, I just remember just taking another pill. […] It was a really hard time.”

She added: “I think we both were in our own struggles and I think we maybe both thought we could like fix each other. But we couldn’t. And ultimately, we both had our own struggles, and it just magnified it. And it was actually quite toxic.”

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The new LookFantastic X Lancôme gift set makes the perfect gift for Christmas, and it’s now got £40 off, meaning you can pick up three best-selling products for the price of one

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There’s no greater gift for beauty lovers at Christmas than a great gift set packed with popular products, and the new LookFantastic X Lancôme Beauty Favourites is a top choice. The beauty gift set contains three of Lancôme’s top-selling skincare and makeup items, and for a limited time it’s slashed to such a low price, it works out cheaper than buying one product on its own.

Usually priced at £110, the gift set is now on sale with 40% off, saving you £44 and bringing the price down to £66. Comparatively, the Lancôme Rénergie H.P.N. 300-Peptide Cream 30ml which is included in the set is priced at £67, meaning you’ll not only be saving £1 on the moisturiser, but will still get two additional products for free.

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The LookFantastic X Lancôme Beauty Favourites is touted to include “the best of Lancôme”, and is a curated collection of some of the brand’s best-selling beauty products. There are two full size skincare items inside, as well as a mini 5ml version of the Lash Idôle Mascara, making the set great value for beauty fans or anyone looking to try out some of Lancôme’s products for less.

Inside the LookFantastic X Lancôme Beauty Favourites you’ll get:

• Bi-Facil Eye Makeup Remover 75ml – Gently removes all traces of makeup, including waterproof mascara. Suitable for sensitive eyes and contact lens wearers.
• Rénergie H.P.N. 300-Peptide Cream 30ml – Targets signs of ageing for visibly firmer, smoother and more radiant skin.
• Lash Idôle Mascara Mini 5ml – A non-clumping mascara that targets every single lash for instantly longer, lifted eyelashes.

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Whilst the Lancôme Rénergie H.P.N. 300-Peptide Cream is worth £67 on its own, the Bi-Facil Eye Make Up Remover is valued at £16. Meanwhile the Lash Idôle Mascara Mini 5ml would set you back £14 on its own, getting you £20 worth of freebies in the set.

The star of the set however is definitely the Rénergie H.P.N. 300-Peptide Cream which not only hydrates your skin, but helps smooth fine lines and wrinkles and boosts radiance, leaving your skin looking brighter and more youthful. Whilst it has yet to accrue any reviews on LookFantastic, Boots shoppers have rated it 4.7 out of 5 stars.

One wrote: “I use this as part of my daily skincare routine and have for about a year. I can tell a huge difference in the tightness of my skin on my face and neck.”

Whilst another said: “You just can’t find anything better for your skin for this price.”

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However one mentioned: “The cream is great, but the refill container is horrible – the top is glued on so tight that you have to try to peel it off. I still haven’t been able to get it off – it’s exasperating.”

Meanwhile someone else wrote: “Foundation does not go on smoothly after using this moisturizer. Feels a bit waxy.”

Other great beauty sets you can get your hands on ahead of Christmas include Boots’ Autumn Warmers Beauty Box for £45 which is worth £206.65. You could also snap up the Marks & Spencer Made for an Icon Beauty Box which is worth over £130 but priced at just £30.

BBC Radio 2 star Vernon Kay has decided he won’t discuss a popular TV show on air after a huge blunder

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Vernon Kay has been on the receiving end of a “tonne of grief” from BBC Radio 2 listeners after he inadvertently let slip a spoiler for their favourite programme. The 51-year-old has since decided to refrain from discussing Celebrity Traitors live on air.

The popular murder-mystery series will continue its run on BBC One tonight (October 15) and will be back tomorrow. The subsequent two episodes are scheduled to air next Wednesday and Thursday.

However, many fans will likely catch up with the show on BBC iPlayer over the coming week. This has led Vernon to decide against discussing the show to avoid any potential spoilers for his Radio 2 audience.

While on air, Vernon clarified: “I’m going to avoid Traitors, I’m going to avoid it because people watch it on catch-up don’t they? So I’m not going to talk about it on the radio.

“It’s not like I’m going to avoid it, I’m going to watch it, I’m going to consume it, but I’m not going to talk about it because people get really tetchy.

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“I gave away the winner of Dress the Nation on Sunday, [I] congratulated the winner, oh my gosh, I got a tonne of grief.”

Imitating an irate listener, Vernon exclaimed “I’ve not watched it yet”, before adding: “I always forget about catch-up, I’m a little bit old-school like that. I like watching it. There’s a service on your digital broadcasting system where you can pause the football, go make a brew and you pause it.

“You never play it from where you paused it. If you play it from where you paused it, you’re a psychopath.”

On Sunday, retail assistant Casey Dillon, 23, was crowned Dress the Nation champion. The ITV show is presented by both Vernon and AJ Odudu.

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It marks the newest chapter in a television career spanning three decades. Vernon secured a position on Channel 5’s The Mag in 1998 before transitioning to Channel 4’s T4 in 2000.

It was during his time on T4 that he encountered his future spouse, Tess Daly, who was hosting SMTV Live on ITV at the time. Vernon subsequently went on to front programmes including All Star Family Fortunes and Splash!

Tess meanwhile hosts Strictly Come Dancing. Tess and Vernon encountered each other at a gathering in the early 2000s before their romance flourished.

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They exchanged vows in Horwich in 2003 before having daughters Phoebe and Amber. Tess has previously spoken candidly about their “explosive” beginning to their romance.

Speaking to Fabulous magazine, she revealed: “It was all quite immediate, really, because we instantly had such a blast together. I couldn’t imagine having more fun with anyone else. It was pretty explosive, I tell you.”

Six years ago, Vernon whisked Tess away to the romantic landscapes of the South of France, where, without her knowledge, he had secretly organised a vow renewal ceremony-complete with several wardrobe choices for his unsuspecting wife.

Speaking about the moment when he appeared on I’m A Celebrity..Get Me out of Here!

, Vernon revealed: “I booked a weekend in our favourite hotel in the South of France and I spoke to her stylist at the time and I said I needed four dresses.”

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.