Rihanna - Rude Boy

By Banzay on 03:52

comm. (0)

Filed Under:


Sofia Vergara Without Makeup (PHOTO)

By Banzay on 03:49

comm. (0)

Filed Under:


Taylor Swift

By Banzay on 03:47

comm. (0)

Filed Under:


Four Men Have Been Charged With Murder In XXXTentacion's Shooting Death

By Banzay on 04:15

comm. (0)

Filed Under:

Four men have been charged with first-degree murder and robbery in the shooting death of rapper XXXTentacion.

A grand jury in Broward County, Florida, returned indictments against Dedrick Devonshay Williams, Michael Boatwright, Trayvon Newsome, and Robert Allen on Wednesday, according to court documents. Williams and Boatwright are in custody, while Newsome and Allen are still at large, according to a statement from the Broward County Sheriff's Office.
XXXTentacion, born Jahseh Dwayne Onfroy, was killed June 18 while outside a motorcycle dealership near Miami, where he had been shopping.

The indictment alleges that Boatwright and Newsome confronted the 20-year-old rapper before Boatwright opened fire. Williams was arrested two days after the attack, and Boatwright was arrested July 5 on unrelated drug charges, according to sheriff's officials.

After his death, debate over XXXTentacion's legacy raged online, and his mother posted a pregnancy ultrasound picture suggesting he had a baby on the way, saying, "He left us a final gift."

The rapper's album ? reached No. 1 on the Billboard charts even as he faced a slew of criminal charges for domestic violence, including aggravated battery of his pregnant girlfriend.

When asked for comment, the Broward County Sheriff's Office directed BuzzFeed News to the state attorney's office, which declined to comment further.

Guns, God And Trump: How An Accused Russian Agent Wooed US Conservatives

By Banzay on 21:28

comm. (0)

Filed Under:

It’s hard to tell how much of the story 29-year old Maria Butina told Americans about herself for years is real. But it's clear that her persona — a scrappy girl from Siberia fighting for Russian gun rights — was carefully calibrated to appeal to US conservatives.

It’s hard to tell how much of the story 29-year old Russian graduate student Maria Butina told Americans about herself for years is real.
What is clear is that in Butina, the Russian government either found or created an irresistible persona for US conservatives. The story she repeated over years of speeches and interviews — of a scrappy girl from Siberia fighting for gun rights in Russia — was carefully calibrated to show a passion for self defense, a yearning for America’s easy access to guns, and a hint of criticism of Russia’s own laws.
On Sunday, she was arrested by FBI agents and jailed, accused of being an unregistered foreign agent tasked with influencing US foreign policy toward Russia and run by a senior Russian government official. On Wednesday, a federal district judge ordered her held without bond as a flight risk after prosecutors detailed her links to Russian intelligence agents.
Conservative groups that interacted with her for the most part declined to comment on the charges against her. But long before that, she had become an exotic but accepted fixture at conservative events. She regularly attended National Rifle Association conventions. Through these events she was able to interact with powerful conservative activists and politicians, including Scott Walker, Bobby Jindal, Rick Santorum, Donald Trump and others, all meticulously documented on social media. At least once, she attended the Conservative Political Action Conference, an annual assemblage of influential Republicans.
People who spoke to BuzzFeed News about their interactions with her, as well as a review of her interviews, writings and extensive social media posts, paint a picture of someone who knew how to push all the right conservative buttons.
Hers was a startlingly effective performance.
By the time she appeared on the popular radio show of evangelical author Eric Metaxas, who later endorsed Trump and served on his evangelical advisory council, her life story — or at least what she said was her life story — rolled off her tongue with practiced ease.
“My story is simple — my father is a hunter, I was born in Siberia,” she explained in the July 2015 interview, echoing previous talking points in which she often drew parallels to parts of the US, like South Dakota, where guns are “necessary for survival” to defend lives and property.
“That seems appropriate, somehow,” Metaxas interrupted, sounding delighted, when she described founding her gun rights organization in a “Moscow version of a McDonalds,” telling her friends “we need to fight for our gun rights.”
“Wow, I just love the idea of this,” he said. “To think…because you know, those of us in in America can be very parochial, we forget that the fight for liberty goes on for all around the globe in different guises.”
Metaxas did not respond to a request for comment.
Butina also seemed to know exactly what a conservative evangelical audience would want to hear, earnestly speaking about the growing number of churches in Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the “great history of Christian religion” that she had in common with US evangelicals, her audience.
“When we talk about Russian and American relationships, the main point is Christianity, in both countries,” she told Metaxas.
According to the story she has told in Russian and English-language interviews, Butina was born in Barnaul, Siberia, in 1988. After graduating from Altai University in her hometown with a degree in political science and education, she started a small business selling furniture but “then moved to Moscow, where power and money is better,” she wrote in an outline for a presentation she gave at the University of South Dakota in April 2015.
In Moscow, she began working for Alexander Torshin, a powerful Russian banking official and close associate of Russian President Vladimir Putin who was sanctioned by the US in April, and founded her pro-gun “Right to Bear Arms” group in 2011.
Some experts say that the very existence of such an organization in Russia, which has stringent gun laws and little public support for loosening them, should have tipped off US authorities from the start.
“It just doesn’t exist,” Anders Aslund, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and an expert on Russia's economic policy, said about what Butina and Torshin touted as a grassroots Russian gun rights group. “It’s a ridiculous front organization with the purpose of infiltrating American groups and forging cooperation with the NRA.”

That’s the case made by US authorities. Over the course of five years, with the help of Torshin and and an as yet officially unidentified American ally, Butina relentlessly forged connections with NRA officials and others deemed to be influential in US policy. Long before she moved to Washington, DC on a student visa in August 2016 to study at American University, she had logged thousands of miles in trips from Moscow to Tennessee, Kentucky, South Dakota, Florida, Nevada, and Wisconsin to build relationships with pro-gun advocates and conservative groups.
As part of her efforts, she gave out honorary memberships to her Russian gun rights organization in the form of an ornamental blue and silver framed plaque, to people ranging from then-NRA president Jim Porter to Oleg Volk, a Tennessee-based photographer who makes pro-gun posters and graphics.
It went both ways – the connections she and Torshin made also visited them in Russia. David Keene, who served as NRA president from 2011 to 2013 as well as chairman of the American Conservative Union, attended her organization’s event in Moscow in 2013. The next year, Keene invited Butina to the annual NRA convention, where she attended the group’s annual Women’s Leadership Luncheon as a guest of former NRA President Sandy Froman. A larger group of NRA and Republican officials was hosted by Butina’s group in Moscow in December 2015.
Butina was able to access “an extensive network of US persons in positions to influence political activities in the United States” through an American described in court papers as “US Person 1,” whose description closely matches Paul Erickson, a 56-year-old veteran Republican operative from South Dakota with whom she had, federal prosecutors alleged Wednesday, a “personal relationship.”
In the later years of her work she, Torshin and Erickson tried to use these connections to set up a “back channel” to communicate with the Trump campaign, send a Russian delegation to the National Prayer Breakfast, and set up a meeting between Torshin and Donald Trump Jr. at the 2016 NRA convention.
Butina was not above using her youth to ingratiate herself, federal prosecutors allege. According to prosecutors’ filing arguing against granting her release on bond, "on at least one occasion, Butina offered an individual other than US Person 1 sex in exchange for a position within a special interest organization."
All this was the result of years of inroads that Butina made by learning to speak the language of US conservative groups, and presenting an appealing case for them to include her.
"What I saw here is great, and I believe it's the first step for Russia,” she gushed in a 2014 video posted by all4shooters.com. “With the help of foreign circles we can do more.”
Butina adapted her message to her audience and current events. As early as 2012, Guns.com ran a piece on her organization calling for more relaxed Russian gun laws after the Sandy Hook shooting. In her conversations with older men, she reportedly often joked about her hunting skills and mentioned she had modeled in photo shoots to promote gun rights, including a glamorous spread in Russian GQ. In an interview with Fox News contributor Katie Pavlich for Townhall.com, she expressed admiration for the NRA’s youth programs.
“Who is the average Russian gun owner and a member of ‘The Right to Bear Arms’ today? A middle class man with a family and a business – someone who has something to lose and to protect,” she told a group of University of South Dakota students in April 2015, before ending with a Bible verse, according to an outline of her presentation posted on social media.
In a video posted by the organizers of FreedomFest, a libertarian political event held in Las Vegas in July 2015, she suggested, with a slight grimace, that she wished to bring the US concept of freedom back home.
"I believe that freedom is very important, and the basis of freedom is, of course, gun rights and the economy and I would really like to know more and bring this knowledge to Russia,” she said.
A lot of them were brief connections. Kevin Boyd, a freelance writer, told BuzzFeed News he met Butina at FreedomFest, the same event at which she asked Trump a question about Russian sanctions. She followed him on Twitter, and the two connected on Facebook.
“I spoke to her a few times at the event and it was mostly about gun rights in Russia,” he remembered. “We also discussed the upcoming US Presidential election and she said she was a fan of Scott Walker, I believe.”
According to people who met her at these events, Butina’s formula was simple and effective – a friendly introduction immediately identifying herself as a fervent Russian gun rights advocate, emphasizing her desire to learn more about like-minded Americans, often asking to take a photo, and connect, connect, connect.
Richard Hohlt, a longtime Republican lobbyist, was quoted in a recent book saying that when he met Butina at CPAC in February 2015, he "was struck by how overly solicitous she was.”
"Could they be friends on Facebook? How could they stay in contact?" he recalled in Michael Isikoff and David Corn’s book “Russian Roulette,” which was published in March this year. "All I can think was, what the fuck is this about?"
Tall and with long red hair, Butina wasn’t exactly inconspicuous. She spoke in clear but Russian-accented English. To some political operatives — and apparently the FBI, which had monitored her activities for five years, prosecutors said — there was something odd about Butina’s presence at so many conservative events.
After Butina asked Trump that question about Russia at the town hall, his advisers reportedly watched the video and wondered how that had happened and where she had come from. Trump adviser Steve Bannon told Reince Priebus, who would eventually become Trump’s White House chief of staff, that it was odd that Trump had a fully developed answer to her question.
"Priebus agreed that there was something strange about Butina," Isikoff and Corn reported in their book. "Whenever there were events held by conservative groups, she was always around, he told Bannon."
Glenn Simpson, the former Wall Street Journal reporter whose research firm hired ex British spy Christopher Steele to investigate Trump’s links to the Kremlin, talked about Butina in a closed House Intelligence Committee hearing in November 2017, a transcript of which was later made public. He described her as “a big Trump fan in Russia” who “suddenly showed up here and started hanging around the Trump transition after the election and rented an apartment and enrolled herself at AU, which I assume gets you a visa.”
“I think she is suspicious,” he added, suggesting that she and Torshin were attempting “to infiltrate conservative organizations,” including the NRA.
“And the most absurd about this is that, you know, Vladimir Putin is not in favor of universal gun ownership for Russians. And so it's all a big charade, basically.”
Still, Butina has defenders in the United States. One of them is Volk, the Tennessee gun photographer who received an honorary membership from Butina and took glamour shots of her with the weapons in 2016.
“I consider the accusation to be quite silly, considering she's in opposition to the supposed Russian clients,” he told BuzzFeed News.
Dmitriy Kislov, who served as an executive director of Butina’s gun rights organization, setting up her media appearances in Russia and often tagged by her on social media, said he was “very surprised” when he heard that she’d been charged as a Russian agent.
“It is a serious mistake,” said Kislov, who told BuzzFeed News he last spoke to Butina 10 days before her arrest. “I know for sure that Maria did not work for the Russian government. The topic of civilian weapons is not popular among official representatives of the Russian government…(so) I very much doubt that our officials would be engaged in this issue.”
But federal prosecutors say they have emails that show she was taking instructions from Torshin. One exchange came on the night of Trump’s election victory when she posted on VK, the Russian equivalent of Facebook: “Well that's it. America gets a Republican Donald Trump for the next presidential term. Supporter of gun rights and restoration of relations with Russia. Congratulations to all!”
That same night, prosecutors said in their court filings, she messaged Torshin: “I’m going to sleep. It’s 3 a.m. here. I am ready for further orders.
Jane Lytvynenko contributed reporting.

Russian State TV Appears To Have Photoshopped Kim Jong Un To Be In A Better Mood

By Banzay on 01:35

comm. (0)

Filed Under:

The photograph of Kim Jong Un being in a good mood aired on Russia's state TV channel, Rossiya 1, during a Sunday news program that discussed positive relations between the Russian and North Korean leaders.

Kim Jong Un "sent Putin a warm hello" and called Russians "wonderful friends," said host Dmitry Kiselyov at the beginning of the segment to the backdrop of the smiling North Korean leader and foreign minister Sergei Lavrov.

However, the photograph released by Russia's foreign ministry shows Kim Jong Un unsmiling and not as tan as in the photo that aired.
The host of the program, who's widely regarded as someone who helps spread the Kremlin's messaging, told a Russian radio station that the image was not altered. "They always take pictures with a high burst mode," he said in explaining the different facial expression.

Rossiya 1 did not respond to BuzzFeed News' requests for comment and a request for the original photo used on the television program. Neither the official Russian Foreign Ministry website, Flickr, or independent wire services have a photo of Kim Jong Un smiling in that photo. However, there are other images from that day of the North Korean leader smiling while greeting Sergei Lavrov.

The video released by the Russian Foreign Ministry also shows no signs of Kim Jong Un cracking a smile.

Michael J. Fox jokes about Charlie Sheen, talks Nike on Letterman

By Banzay on 06:51

comm. (0)

Filed Under: ,

Literary highlights of Comic-Con

By Banzay on 19:57

comm. (0)

Filed Under: ,



By now most everyone has packed up and left San Diego in the wake of Comic-Con, which wrapped up its four-day run Sunday. The conference is a gigantic celebration of comics, movies and fan culture; this year, there were a few particularly bookish highlights.

John Cusack talked about playing Edgar Allan Poe in "The Raven." The 2012 film, named after the author's famous poem, focuses on the mysterious last days of Poe's life -- he died at age 40 in 1849 in Baltimore, possibly from overindulgence in alcohol. "I saw some of Hunter S. Thompson in Poe -- his unflinching ability to delve into the abyss and come back. He reminded me of Hunter in that way," Cusack said at his panel, where he called the author "the godfather of Goth." Hero Complex reports that to amp up the story of the writer's final days, the filmmakers have thrown in a serial killer plot. Oh, Hollywood.
Poe was seen elsewhere at the convention, specifically, on the faces of the audience at the preview of Francis Ford Coppola's movie "Twixt." The film is an original script by Coppola, and is about a horror writer (played by Val Kilmer, who also attended) whose career is in decline and who begins having dreams of orphan girls and a certain long-dead author. The movie is partially -- only partially -- in 3-D, and the Poe masks served as 3-D glasses. Coppola told Hero Complex:

[W]e were in Constantinople and I was meeting with a Turkish lawyer whose sister shows up at dinner and they start giving me this beverage called raki, which is very alcoholic, and I went home to my hotel, fell asleep and had this vivid dream. It was all this Edgar Allan Poe imagery and the scary forest and this little girl with braces saying, “You’re looking at my teeth! You’re looking at my teeth!” and children coming out of a grave in the floor, and then Edgar Allan Poe shows up and I was saying, “This is a gift. I’m being given a story” and I said to Poe, “Guide me.”

If that's not enough Poe for you, stay tuned for a possible Poe television show. In January, ABC picked up a pilot for "a crime procedural" that stars Poe, "the world's very first detective, as he uses unconventional methods to investigate dark mysteries in 1840s Boston." Right.

But back to Comic-Con. For the first time the top prize at the Eisner Awards ended in a tie. Both "Wilson" by Daniel Clowes and "Return of the Dapper Men" by Jim McCann and Janet Lee were awarded the Best Graphic Album-New prize, the top graphic novel award at the Eisners. Other winners included writer Joe Hill for his work on "Locke and Key"; Hill is the son of novelist Stephen King.

Another first: Steven Spielberg made his first ever Comic-Con appearance, with his adaptation of Hergé's classic comic series, "The Adventures of Tintin." The well-loved series launched in 1929 and has been published in 80 languages. Before Spielberg began showing footage from his motion-capture film, he asked, "How many here have ever read a Tintin book?" and recieved a cheer in response, Hero Complex reports. "That makes my job easier," Spielberg said.

Another literary adaptation discussed at Comic-Con was "Paradise Lost," an adaptation of John Milton's epic poem. Star Bradley Cooper, who read the classic work as an undergrad at Georgetown University, appeared on a panel where he talked about taking on the role of Lucifer. Cooper's take: It's an "intimate family story" and he'll be giving the devil his own sympathetic spin.

1989 visit by rock star Bruce Springsteen during motorcycle trip made Prescott bar famous

By Banzay on 06:40

comm. (0)

Filed Under: ,


Matt's Saloon, located on Prescott's famous Whiskey Row, is a dance hall featuring country music. But rock star Bruce Springsteen made it famous more than two decades ago.

On Oct. 1, 1989, Springsteen was traveling through Prescott on his motorcycle and stopped at the bar for a beer.

At that time in the afternoon, not many people were in the saloon, but it didn't take long for word to spread that "The Boss" was in town.

The saloon quickly filled up, Springsteen borrowed a guitar from a member of the house band and soon the place was rocking.

When Springsteen took a break, the crowd was so enthusiastic that a female bartender called "Bubbles" pulled him over the bar to safety.

To this day, the newspaper accounts hanging in Matt's tell the story of how a grateful Springsteen thanked the woman by paying off her $160,000 hospital bill.

That is the type of story that builds Matt's Saloon's legend.

What makes it famous, and perhaps one day a member of the Arizona Music Hall of Fame, is the caliber of country western stars that played the saloon during the 1960s and continue to drop in today.

Topping that list were County Music Hall of Fame members Waylon Jennings and Buck Owens, as well as singer/songwriter Lee Hazelwood. They all played at Matt's during the 1960s.

Hazelwood, who wrote, "These Boots are Made for Walking," just showed up at Matt's.

Matt Butitta, who owned Matt's Saloon from 1962-81 remembers that Owens was playing at the rodeo on the Fourth of July and he brought his band into the saloon and started playing.

Butitta's fondest memories are of Jennings, country's original "Outlaw." He names Jennings as the one performer he wished was still around to play again at Matt's. Jennings died in February 2002.

Butitta met Jennings when the two men were members of a friend's wedding party. At that time, the friend managed Jennings and he talked Butitta into bringing Jennings to Prescott one Fourth of July.

"The people went crazy. Waylon was pretty clean-cut at that time," Butitta told the Daily Courier.

Butitta said his friend wanted him to bring Jennings up for a week, but he was paying $275 and Jennings charged $300.

In the end, Jennings came for the Fourth and Butitta paid him $100 a day for his three-piece band plus rooms next door at the Hotel St. Michael.

Jennings played two sets, and in between the house band would play. Jennings did not have a drummer at that time, and the house band's drummer, Richie Albright, asked Butitta if he could sit in.

According to Butitta, a couple months after playing in Prescott, Jennings hired Albright.

Throughout 1964 and 1965, Jennings would return to Prescott and play at Matt's Saloon. The bar remained a place he would visit whenever he was in Arizona.

Looking back, it seems strange that a small saloon in Prescott could afford to book some country western stars. However, except for Jennings, it seems that most of them, like Owens, were in town to play at the rodeo and ended up at Matt's with the rest of the cowboys.

Some stars just stopped in for a drink.

Current bar co-owner Matt Brassard tells the story of County Music Hall of Fame member Merle Haggard stopping in for a beer.

"He tipped the bartender $5 and signed the bill. Then he walked across the road to the courthouse square and sat there for a couple hours," Brassard said. "He came back in for another beer and asked the bartender if he had gotten his tip. The bartender asked Haggard if he was really him. Haggard said yes, and he had just been sitting across the street writing a song."

Lining the walls of Matt's Saloon are photos of other country performers who either played or drank there, among them Joe Diffie, Asleep at the Wheel and Andy Griegs. Most recently, Vince Gill stopped in after playing a concert in Prescott Valley. Gill became a member of the County Music Hall of Fame in 2007.

Matt's was also the hangout for actors when they came to town to shoot a film.

A 13-year-old Brooke Shields spent one summer shooting her an early film in Prescott. Butatti was friends with her father, and Shields would stand outside the bar selling and autographing Matt's Saloon T-shirts.

"She sold a lot of T-shirts that summer," Butatti said.

Steve McQueen frequented Matt's while filming "Junior Bonner" in Prescott in the summer of 1971. Actor Ben Johnson and director Sam Peckinpah were among the other Hollywood notables that visited Matt's.

Sugar Ray Leonard Says He Was Abused

By Banzay on 20:04

comm. (0)

Filed Under: , ,



Boxing’s sweet as sugar champ says he was victimized sexually by a nameless coach. These revelations are expressed in Sugar Ray Leonard’s new book, The Big Fight: My Life In and Out of the Ring, which debuted Tuesday, June 6th. Spilling everything in this autobiography, the 55-year-old retired fight speaks candidely of his infidelities, drug problems and sexual abuse, Yahoo! Sports reports. Careful not to spill too much, such as the name of the coach who he alleges abused him, the gold medalist tells Yahoo! Sports, “I could state what happened to me without going further and naming names and creating more pain for anyone else.”

While Leonard doesn't name names, he does drop a clue in the book; the assault supposedly took place at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, Canada, where he was preparing for the title. The other clue is the person was a boxing coach.

Regarding his battle with drugs, Leonard is said to have not had even a drink in almost five years. It seems he dealt with his abuse by trying to escape using alcohol and drugs. However, with the release of his new book, the former fighter's hoping he can finally heal.

Marilyn Monroe would be 85

By Banzay on 19:39

comm. (0)

Filed Under: ,






Norma Jean Mortenson was born 85 years ago, on June 1, 1926. Raised as Norma Jean Baker, she became known as Marilyn Monroe, a model and actress and the most-famous sex goddess of all time. Here's a publicity shot, circa 1948. Another iconic American actor was born the same day. There's a picture of him at the end of this gallery.
Photo: Getty Images, Hulton Archive / Hulton Archive

Daisy Lowe models for Stephen Webster

By Banzay on 06:44

comm. (0)

Filed Under: ,


Shot by artist and photographer Mat Collishaw for the brand's autumn 2011 campaign, the new campaign will feature pieces from Webster’s fine collection Murder She Wrote, as well as the silver collections Superstud and shark-jaw inspired range Les Dents de la Mer.

For the shoot, Lowe took on the role of a femme fatale to reflect the theme of the Murder She Wrote collection, which takes a woman scorned as its base.

Webster said: "We have known Daisy for a few years and have watched her blossom into that rare combination of glamorous British rock chick, a combination that can only be born in the UK and helps define why Britain is so unique in its approach to design and style. So, perfect for Stephen Webster - we love her!"

Lowe is the daughter of musician Gavin Rossdale of rock band Bush, and designer Pearl Lowe, so her partnership with Webster is appropriate.

"For this campaign we wanted a more artistic approach, something completely leftfield for jewellery. Mat Collishaw felt like an obvious choice. His art work - achieved by creatively using layered photography techniques - has given us something truly dynamic and new” added Webster.

Why Cheryl Cole Was Kicked Off 'X Factor'

By Banzay on 09:40

comm. (0)

Filed Under: ,


With her little-girl vulnerability, thick regional accent and homespun good sense, Cheryl Cole has long been the U.K.'s sweetheart. And until yesterday, it looked as though the support of Simon Cowell would be enough to propel the Girls Aloud singer to the pinnacle of her TV career, a coveted judging slot on Fox's version of The X Factor.
Now it seem that Cowell has lost his battle to keep Cheryl, with Fox bosses taking the view, according to reports, that her strong North Eastern British accent is problematic. Other reports cite a lack of chemistry with Paula Abdul, homesickness and the fact that she hasn't been up to the mark in the glamor stakes as reasons she may have been ditched.
In Britain, Cole's place in the national consciousness owes as much to the tabloid frenzy surrounding her power-couple breakup with her cheating ex-husband, Premier League soccer star Ashley Cole, as it does to her judging role on Britain's X Factor.
But she won over audiences for her unapologetic -- and to many, unenviable -- Geordie accent, as well as her support for underdog contestants and her fondness for addressing wannabe contestants as "pet."
In the North East of England the Geordie accent is known for its drawn out vowels and its its clipped words: 'yes' becomes 'ya' and the last consonant is often dropped. A spoof in the Guardian newspaper suggested that American audiences might have trouble understanding Cheryl's dialect, struggling to understand that when she said "Ya dazzlin, pet. Keep gannin like that and yazall be a star," what she meant was "you are doing very well, keep going and you will be a star."
In reality, her accent is far from as problematic, and if anything, her heartfelt directness seemed to endear her further to British audiences.
Most notably, her performance earned her the all-important support of Simon Cowell, who elevated her to the top of the pile of his U.K. judging line up and made it clear that he wanted her to be part of the US show.
Of course, the decision to ditch Cheryl may have been part of a strategic campaign of hype-building around the show. After all, Cowell has along history of playing his leading ladies against each other, whether it is pitting Dannii Minogue against Cheryl, Cheryl against Paula Abdul, or now, Cheryl against Nicole Scherzinger, who is now rumoured to take her place.
But if the reports are true and a downcast Cole is heading back to the UK with her dreams in tatters, she can at least be assured of a national welcome.
"Agree Cheryl Cole is better off in the UK where she is very good. What do the Yanks know anyway?" tweeted The Apprentice host Alan Sugar.
Dannii Minogue, who was recently fired from the X Factor U.K. judging line-up Tweeted "Judging [X Factor] should come with a life jacket, drop-down oxygen and a life raft."
Meanwhile, comedian Russell Brand also offered his commiserations while being interviewed on ITV morning show Daybreak.
"Our Cheryl? That cannae be right," he said, imitating Cole's famous Newcastle accent. "I've come to this country in good faith and they've kicked our Cheryl off? Oh no! She's Britain's sweetheart."
Asked if he thought that an American audience would have trouble with Cheryl's accent, Brand advised: "Just listen more, just listen very intently. All them things she's saying -- that's English.

Music saved Jennifer Hudson's soul after a roller-coaster ride of success and tragedy

By Banzay on 06:36

comm. (0)

Filed Under: ,


Once a cruise ship entertainer, the singer has made the finals on American Idol, won a Best Supporting Oscar for Dreamgirls before, devastatingly, losing her mother, brother and nephew in a shocking murder.

"I've been through everything, from the bottom to the top," Hudson tells Insider, via phone, ahead of her first trip to Australia this weekend.

"Ever since American Idol, I've been on a roller-coaster that has not stopped - there's been ups and downs and all the way round and the world has been watching me go through it.

"At times, I feel as though I'm on the outside too, wondering what turns it's going to take, the ups and downs, and how I'm going to get through it."Despite all the turmoil, the mother of 21-month-old David Jr says music has been her saviour.

"It is my expression of me in every way, musically, personally, how I feel right now and everything. Music is my way of bottling it up and passing it along to somebody else."

Hudson admits her new album, I Remember Me, which features the tracks I Got This, Everybody Needs Love, Why Is It So Hard, Feeling Good and Believe, does reflect her life right now.

"It captures every part of me," she says. "Even I Remember Me, that's me personally, that's how I feel about my life and my journey and where I am today, and then Feeling Good is an expression of my weight-loss journey.

Overall it's just the vibe of me."Strength is also a common theme throughout the album - a trait she believes runs in her family.

"My mother was very strong and my sister, so I guess that's where it comes from."

Her strength was never more tested than when her mum Darnell Donnerson, brother Jason, and nephew Julian, 7, were shot dead in their Chicago home 2 1/2 years ago allegedly by her sister's estranged husband. Charged with the murders, he is awaiting trial.

She credits her strong nature, and the help of Weight Watchers, for driving her to lose nearly 40kg. "I do [feel sexy] and I always did," she says, laughing. "It's just like, the rest of the world is catching up. I always knew it was there. It's not new to me."

Hudson exercises daily, and is conscious of what she eats, but doesn't want to lose more weight. Despite being careful with food, she admits chocolate is her guilty pleasure.

"At this point, I don't really want to lose any more weight. I'm trying to shy away more from cardio and doing more cardio and training. So every morning, I get up and do four sets of 25 reps of crunches, of squats and, like, push-ups."

Her personal life is also flourishing with Hudson engaged to wrestler David Otunga, the father of her toddler son. The couple recently moved back to Chicago from Florida.

"When I'm on the road, I can't wait to go home and be mummy.

"He [David Jr] is such a blessing," Hudson says.

"I have never seen a baby have such an impact on the people he meets. There is never a dull moment. He keeps me happy, he keeps me uplifted and he keeps me smiling at all times."

Hudson flew into Melbourne yesterday to face a week packed with promotions, beginning tonight with an appearance on Dancing With The Stars.

Along with various radio interviews, she will also appear live on Seven's Sunrise on Thursday morning.

Her family remain in Chicago, as it's "a long way to travel".

"I've been excited [to come to Australia] since American Idol, and I've never been able to," the R&B-soul singer said.

"When I got the call, I was like, I don't care what's going on and I don't care what they want me to do, I am coming. So here I come."

"Puss in Boots" voiceover actors required to say something about cats

By Banzay on 07:26

comm. (0)

Filed Under: ,


Remember yesterday’s fascinating exchange between Jack Black and Angelina Jolie? It was an example of movie stars in Promo Mode, talking to reporters about the most agreeably inane stuff you can imagine, just so there’s something to write about. Here’s today’s example:
Cats were a big part of Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek's lives long before they got in touch with their inner felines for "Puss in Boots," an animated spinoff to the "Shrek" franchise. Hayek has lived with cats all her life, among them a tailless kitty rescued by one of her dogs years ago.
Surely there’s more to it than that, Selma. More! More!
Though she loves cats, Hayek said she's more of a dog person. She has 10 dogs now and one cat, the feline coming to her thanks to a canine she used to have.
"I had a dog that is no longer with me that rescued that cat without a tail," Hayek said. "This dog, she's dead now, but she was on a ranch that I have, and she showed up with this cat that didn't have a tail. I don't know what did it. We took care of the cat, but it was this dog that was the friend of the cat."
I don’t think they spontaneously offered cat-related tales; they were probably asked if they drew on any experiences to voice the computer-animated creatures. This would have been a fine time to stare at the reporter with either amusement or incredulity - your choice! - and ask “do you mean, was I ever 18 inches tall, walked on my hind paws, wore period costumes and conversed with enormous green ogres? No. It’s called acting. Sometimes we just have to make it all up.”
Here’s the trailer.