Category Entertainment News

Chris Brown’s upcoming UK tour could be under threat due to his alleged arrest at a five-star hotel in Manchester in the early hours of this morning over an alleged incident in 2023

Chris Brown’s upcoming UK tour is said to be in doubt following his alleged arrest. The rapper was arrested at a five-star hotel in Manchester in the early hours of this morning over an alleged bottle attack at a London nightclub in 2023.

Met Police detectives are said to have arrested the 36-year-old American musician just after 2am at The Lowry Hotel in Manchester. Now, the reported incident could be threatening to derail his upcoming dates.

It’s thought if Brown is convicted of grievous bodily harm then he will “have to cancel his show”.

The Sun’s Brand and Culture expert, Nick Ede, called it “a huge blow to his career and his personal brand PR”.

He added: “This would be a massive blow for his fans and also to Brown himself. The gigs he is playing are some of his biggest ever including the Tottenham Hotspur stadium for two nights to over 62,000 people each night.”

Ede said Brown’s team will be weighing up their next move, but believes they will be “”fighting to make the tour continue.”

While police forces didn’t name Brown in the statement regarding the arrest, the Great Manchester Police said: “This morning (Thursday 15 May) we arrested a 36-year-old man at a hotel in Manchester on suspicion of grievous bodily harm on behalf of the Metropolitan Police.”

A Met spokesman also said: “A 36-year-old man was arrested at a hotel in Manchester shortly after 02:00hrs on Thursday, 15 May on suspicion of grievous bodily harm. He has been taken into custody where he remains.

Mr Diaw alleges R&B star Brown launched an unprovoked attack on him at around 3am during the incident in 2023 while the star and his entourage were at a Dirty Martini club night held at the trendy Tape nightclub.

He claims the singer hit him over the head with a bottle before punching and kicking him as he lay on the floor. At the time, the alleged victim said: “He hit me over the head two or three times. My knee collapsed as well.”

Mr Diaw was taken to hospital, needing crutches to walk when he was discharged. The alleged attack occurred while songwriter Brown was on a worldwide tour and playing in the UK.

Music icon Mel B has detailed how she has been preparing for her upcoming wedding to hairdresser Rory McPhee – who she has credited with helping her trust and love again

Mel B prepared for her upcoming wedding in style by practicing walking down the aisle and even throwing a bouquet on a US chat show appearance.

The Spice Girl, 49, told host Jimmy Fallon she will marry in St Paul’s cathedral and she the proceeded to walk down the Studio 6B “aisle” with an audience member before meeting Fallon at the ‘altar’ and kissing him. An audience member then caught her bouquet.

In real life she will wed hairdresser Rory McPhee who she has credited with helping her trust and love again after an abusive relationship with her ex. “He’s a beautiful soul,” she said, before explaining she had to go for interviews to get approval to marry at St Pauls.

She added: “My fiancé went on his bachelor party, we call it a stag do in England. His friends dressed him up as Scary Spice and put him in a leopard print onesie!”

Mel B was appearing on the show as she will again be a judge on America’s Got Talent this year. She also refused to confirm or deny whether there is still a Spice Girls reunion in the works, but she said she hopes it might happen and Victoria Beckham will design her wedding dress.

Appearing on The Tonight Show Mel said of the reunion: “I’m always the first person to say, ‘Oh, it’s going to happen. It’s going to happen,’ but, just this once, I’m not saying anything.”

Fallon excitedly replied: “That means something! I’ll take that as something.” Mel B responded: “Take it as you want to take it, Jimmy.”

The Spice Girls had enjoyed an impromptu reunion at Victoria Beckham’s 50th birthday bash last year, and Mel B admitted that she would have preferred to have come back together for the fans, rather than party guests.

She explained that the singers joined forces to perform their song ‘Mama’. “So then Mel C got up, and I was like, ‘Why we getting up, doing a free concert?’ And I was the last one going up, going, ‘Why are we doing this?’ I want to do it to the fans! That’s the most important thing.”

The five-piece girl group, Mel B, Beckham, Geri Halliwell, Melanie Chisholm, and Emma Bunton, then sang their song ‘Stop,’ which was captured by David Beckham and shared on social media. “Clearly we hadn’t rehearsed in a while,” Mel B said after Fallon showed footage of the two songs. “We were a bit off key, but, you know, we blend well together,” she added.

Katie Price has reflected on having competed in Making Your Mind Up to represent the UK at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2005, with her runner-up to Javine Hylton at the time

Former Eurovision Song Contest hopeful Katie Price has reflected on competing to represent the UK amid the 20th anniversary of her performance. The reality TV star was runner-up in the Making Your Mind Up selection contest.

Katie, now 46, was among the five finalists on the BBC show in 2005, which was used to decide who would represent the UK at Eurovision in Ukraine that year. She ended up placing second behind Javine Hylton, who went on to perform her song Touch My Fire in the international competition.

Podcast host Katie, who was pregnant with her son Junior Andre at the time, competed in Making Your Mind Up with the song Not Just Anybody. Her performance is said to have earned her a combined score of 101 points, which wasn’t enough to beat Javine, who had instead amassed 116 points.

She’s reflected on the experience ahead of watching the final of this year’s Eurovision in Switzerland on Saturday. She spoke about the contest on the latest episode of her podcast, the Katie Price Show, which was released today.

Katie told her sister Sophie Price: “For years and years, I always remember us always watching Eurovision and then I was up to do it.” She added that she will livestream herself watching the final with her partner JJ Slater and some pals.

Katie added: “I can’t wait for the Eurovision. I haven’t got any memories of Eurovision apart from when I was gonna represent the UK [in 2005] and they weren’t good memories.”

Sophie then asked her: “What was your song?” Singing part of the song that she had competed with, Katie replied: “I’m not just anybody …” Her sister reacted: “Oh god, that song!”

Katie continued by saying that although she “can sing,” she “couldn’t” sing Not Just Anybody back then or now. She said: “The thing is I couldn’t even sing the song then and I couldn’t sing it now, yet I can sing. But I still can’t sing that song.

“I hated it! The whole b***s*** about ‘oh you’re gonna get a Sony album but you have to do this song’ and then they found out I was pregnant and then I lost by one per cent.”

Katie went on to share that she “regrets” taking part in Making Your Mind Up two decades ago. She said on the newly-released episode: “It’s just all political stuff, as usual – but anyway, that’s always a regret of mine doing that.”

The I’m A Celebrity winner added in the discussion about the contest: “If there’s any regret of any job, it was me doing Eurovision in the pink rubber catsuit being seven months pregnant. Trying to hide the fact that I was pregnant.”

The Eurovision Song Contest 2025 final will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer from 8pm on Saturday night. The Katie Price Show is available on podcast platforms.

Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Threads.

READ MORE: ‘I own the cowboy boots Blue Ivy wore to Beyonce’s Cowboy Carter tour – they’re unbelievably comfy’

Frontman Ozzy Osbourne recalls the highs and lows of being in metal band Black Sabbath ahead of final ever gig

Ozzy Osbourne says that being the lead singer of Black Sabbath was like being involved in a marriage with three other men. Ozzy performed with Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward from 1968 to 1979 and then returned on and off from 1997.

The Brummie icon will play with Ward for the first time in 20 years when they reform one last time for the Back to the Beginning show at Villa Park in Birmingham on July 5.

Ozzy said of being with Sabbath: “You abso-f***ing-lutely get married in a band. You are arguing. You get pissed off. Like marriage. Still I’m glad I repaired my friendship with Bill Ward. When I went back with him, he was not the same. The damage had been done to it. It was just like a divorce.”

The rocker, who has been married in real life to wife Sharon for 42 years, admits being reunited with his mates made him recall how tough life was during their early days in the 1960s.

Speaking in the US on Sirius XM radio, he recalled schlepping up and down the UK motorways doing promotional interviews and shows to build a following.

It is a far cry from his multi millionaire lifestyle now of private planes and chauffeured cars. “I remember the first time I went from Birmingham to London. It’s a big day trip. I thought I was going to f***ing die. We must have stopped at every f***ing service station

“We did the radio station crawl to every f***ing radio station. It was a lot of fun. We did 15 interviews every week. My first airplane flight was from Birmingham Airport in Glasgow on a f***ing prop plane. It was like f***ing hell, this is unbelievable. “

Ozzy is likely to be on a chair on his return to stage but there will be lots of smoke like the old Sabbath gigs, flashing lights and big guitar solos from bandmate Tommy Iommi to ensure Ozzy’s entrance and performance will delight fans.

Speaking earlier in the month he said: “I’m used to doing two hours on stage, jumping and running around. I don’t think I’ll be doing much jumping or running around this time. I may be sitting down.”

Ozzy had a fall at home in 2019 which aggravated injuries from a near-fatal quad bike crash in 2003. Speaking about his Parkinson’s diagnosis in January 2020, he told US show Good Morning America: “I just can’t wait to get well enough to go on the road, that is what is killing me.”

The all-day event at Villa Park in Birmingham, the city where the heavy rock pioneers formed in 1968, will also feature sets by a host of major metal bands including Metallica, Slayer and Alice In Chains. Money raised from the show will go to Parkinson’s and children’s charities.

In 2017 the band played what was billed to be their “last” gig with Ozzy, guitarist Iommi and bassist Butler – but without Ward on drums. This time it will be the end of the band.

“I’d love to say ‘never say never’, but after the last six years or so it is time,” said Ozzy. “I lived on the road for 50-odd years, and I’ve kind of got used to not picking up my bags and getting on the bus again. I don’t smoke dope or do any of the rock star lifestyle any more. I’m kind of like a homebody. I never go out. I never hang out in bars – I don’t drink. So what the f*** is out there for me?

50 Cent has mocked his rapper rival Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs after prosecution and Cassie Ventura gave evidence against the Bad Boy Records founder in his court case in lower Manhattan

Rapper 50 Cent couldn’t help but take yet another jibe at Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs following the latest events in court.

Combs, 55, is in the lower Manhattan courthouse facing charges, including racketeering conspiracy, sex ­trafficking by force, fraud or coercion and transportation to engage in prostitution. He was arrested in September.

He vehemently denies all allegations of wrongdoing against him, including those alleged in civil lawsuits. He has been in prison since his arrest, with a number of bail requests rejected.

Now, after Combs’ ex Cassie Ventura testified against the rapper, his rival 50 Cent – real name Curtis Jackson – has mocked him. Among Ventura’s shocking allegations was a claim that during one “freak off,” a blow-up baby pool was filled with baby oil that Combs told Ventura to get into.

There were also alleged texts between the pair that were shown to the jury.

Jackson took to social media to take aim at Combs. On Instagram, he said: “Down on your luck, not feeling good today? Well look at the bright side you could be Diddy.”

He had earlier shared a a screenshot of a headline referencing the inflatable pool. Jackson followed it up by sharing two AI-generated images of Combs in a pool of baby oil and wrote: “Damn he did all that s*** to go out like this, SMH This s*** crazier then regular crazy.”

It’s far from the first time Jackson has hit out at his fellow musician since the accusations were first made. Just days earlier, the Candy Shop rapper commented on something the prosecution said in their opening statement on Monday, May 12.

They claim that in one instance, Combs forced an escort to pee in Ventura’s mouth. After the prosecution’s claim became public Jackson shared a photo of a cherub fountain statue that appeared to be peeing on his Instagram.

He captioned his upload, “Diddy said in ya mouth! SMH LOL.”

Combs and Jackson have had an ongoing feud which has lasted almost two decades. The bitter feud first began in the early 2000s, and their row, which has spanned more than two decades, came to light bigger than ever after Combs’ arrest.

The row between the two rappers first kicked off with the release of 50 Cent’s track ‘The Bomb’. The tune seemingly alludes to Combs having knowledge about the 1997 murder of the late rapper Notorious B.I.G.

The Baby By Me hitmaker has never shown proof or evidence of his rival’s alleged knowledge of the iconic rapper’s murder. Rather, Combs has continued to vehemently deny knowing any information about Notorious’ tragic death.

As he prepares to tour the UK, the music icon exclusively speaks to The Mirror about never wanting to retire, being the ‘nicest man in showbiz’ and winning over his new granddaughter

Out of control ruffians are not the kind of fans most of us would expect to see at Lionel Richie concerts, but that’s how the Oscar winning star describes his UK audience. Also boasting a Golden Globe and several Grammy Awards, not to mention a mere 125 million albums sold worldwide, Lionel says that, at 75, it is these colourful characters who continue to inspire him.

Due to celebrate his 76th birthday on tour on June 20, the still spritely star loves his fans, who he thanks for his amazing career. He tells The Mirror: “It’s the only salvation you can have in life, when you can actually go out and meet the people who participated in your career. How about that? You get to see the people who bought the records and support you.

READ MORE: BST line-up as Stevie Wonder unveiled as the final Hyde Park headliner

“I started out with my generation and now I’ve got the kids, the grandkids, the whole thing. The family shows up on the front row. Really, it’s a celebration. When you start off, you don’t know you have this long in the business and here we are 50-odd years later. That’s amazing.”

Known for hits with the Commodores including Three Times a Lady, solo tracks such as Hello, Dancing on the Ceiling and All Night Long and for a famous duet with Diana Ross – Endless Love, Lionel has really earned the moniker ‘legend’. An acclaimed songwriter, he is also frequently described as the “nicest man in showbiz”.

“I’m a vicious man,” he laughs, sounding like nothing of the sort. “You know what it is? It’s very hard to say something horrible to somebody when they just started off a conversation by saying ‘I love you’. That’s a tough one to come back on with anything other than ‘Thank you’.

“Very few people in life get a chance to share a love with the world. I must tell you how blessed I feel that when I walk into a room, the room starts smiling. I don’t think I need to get angry over that one.”

The star’s reason for not retiring was born out of his conversation with another legendary performer, the US comedian George Burns, who lived to be 100. “I kept saying to George ‘I’m trying to retire George, but I can’t retire until you retire’,” says Lionel.

“And he told me ‘I’m going to tell you the secret to the business – stay booked. As long as it’s working, as long as you feel great, as long as it becomes an excitement that you love going out and seeing the people, book some more shows’.”

And, of his latest tour, he says: “It’s really been a magical ride and I can’t think of anything else that I would be wanting to do for the summer. The joke with all of my life is ‘When are we going on vacation?’ and I say ‘I call that a tour’. So, here we go again – I’m going to have my birthday on tour again.”

With a memoir out in the autumn, a show in Las Vegas and a long-running role as a judge on American Idol, Lionel clearly has no intention of slowing down any time soon. Next up? “I’m certainly not going to be a politician,” he laughs, insisting he never tires of performing his best known hits.

Born in Tuskegee, Alabama, and now residing in California, he adds: “I’m going to tell you the truth and I know this may sound very, very strange – I don’t really perform the songs. I come to the show to watch the audience perform the songs. I don’t really have to do the heavy lifting. It’s a giant night of karaoke.”

Lionel compares his tens of thousands-strong audiences to a Rocky Horror Show performance, in a nod to the Richard O’Brien musical that inspires everyone to dress up in costume. Smiling, he says: “If I could tell you what I see from my best seat in the house, I’ve got people dressed up like Lionel Richie in the ’80s, Lionel Richie in the ’90s, I’ve got wigs and moustaches – you have no idea what I’m looking at. They put on the greatest show year after year.”

And, back to the UK audiences, as he prepares to head to arenas across the country, with the first date in Belfast on May 31, he adds: “They’re out of control. These are out of control ruffians. I think they’re enjoying their performance more than mine from what I can see.

“Every year they keep bringing back the family. It’s hen’s night, you don’t know who or what is going to show up in front of you, but it’s a party and it’s a lot of fun.” With a multi-generational fanbase boosted by his US talent show role, he adds: “Now that I’m on American Idol, I’ve got 9 to 12 year old fans and I’m not Mr Richie, I’m Lionel. ‘Oh my god Mom, Dad, there’s Lionel’.”

The star has his own “tribe” back home too, with children Nicole, Miles and Sofia Richie and three grandkids – Nicole’s teenagers Harlow and Sparrow – and Sofia’s baby Eloise, who will turn one on May 20. “Somewhere along the line God gives you this tribe of people, my kids Sofie, Nicole, Miles,” he says. “You think you’re doing some really powerful stuff and they come to you one day and say ‘Dad, make sure you don’t do anything to embarrass us’.

“Now Sofie has her kid and now I’ve got this newbie Eloise – she doesn’t know who the heck I am. I’ve got to start all over again trying to show Eloise who Pop Pop is. I love the tribe, I love the family growing and thank god I have a place to get away from the tribe some days. Pop Pop has a place to go, it’s called on tour, I hang out on the road for a minute and I get to live the life I’ve always had.”

Married twice before, first to college sweetheart Brenda Harvey and later to actress Diane Alexander, Lionel has been in a third long-running relationship with model and entrepreneur Lisa Parigi, who is in her mid-30s, since 2014. “That’s certainly on the… not to give you the highlight but I won’t rule that out,” he says intriguingly of marrying for a third time. “As I say to all my friends: ‘Stay tuned’.”

And if a third nuptials is on the cards, Lionel has many famous friends who might get an invite, including fellow musician Stevie Wonder. There could even be an invitation pinging its way to Buckingham Palace, for King Charles III is another pal.

“We’ve known each other for a very long time,” says Lionel, who has been involved with the monarch’s passion project The King’s Trust – formerly The Prince’s Trust – since the mid 1980s. “You never really think, with all of his friends and all of his history, you always think he knows a lot of people, but I must tell you I was deeply honoured when I got the Coronation invitation. Wow!

“Then it became quite evident that he wants to spend time together. We were invited to private moments and I must tell you I enjoyed every minute of it. He has a great sense of humour.

“Now that he’s King he’s got a lot of responsibility on his shoulder, but in his private time he has a great sense of humour. We get along quite well and I am proud to call him my friend.”

Fame comes at a price for any instantly recognisable celebrity, but it seems to be one the easygoing star is happy to accept. “If I want to go someplace and sit down by the pool and relax, that’s not gonna happen,” he says.

“I’ve now become a citizen of the world, so wherever I am, I am a part of whatever family’s close to me. I’ve been recognisable for so long, I’ve gotten used to people just starting talking to me. I’m hanging out at a family reunion, people know me and they start telling me how the songs involve their family.”

And when he does want to switch off, Lionel turns to nature. “I like gardening,” says the star, who recently created a public space, Hello Park, close to his childhood home in Alabama. “I like hedges, I like stuff.

“So I’m always planting new stuff on the grounds. My real chillout is out in the woods, creating the next garden. I just like to build things that grow. It’s fascinating to me.”