politics: Celebs Rumors

Tenacious D‘s deportation from Australia following the duo’s recent remarks onstage about the assassination attempt on former US President Donald Trump.While performing in Sydney on Sunday (July 14), Jack Black sung ‘Happy Birthday’ to his bandmate Kyle Gass, before asking him to make a wish. Gass shared his wish with the audience, remarking: “Don’t miss Trump next time.”The remark was in reference to the failed assassination attempt on Trump at a rally over the weekend, during which a shooter fired at the former President, but only grazed Trump’s ear and claimed the life of one rally attendant.At the Tenacious D show, the comment elicited laughs from the audience, but drew criticism once posted on social media, with many condemning the duo for wishing violence on another human being.NEW: Comedian Jack Black's bandmate makes a "birthday wish" during a performance in Sydney, says he wishes they "don't miss Trump next time." Black was videoed giving Tenacious D band member Kyle Gass a birthday cake."Make a wish," Black said.

the assassination attempt on the former president’s life over the weekend.The monarch, 75, wrote a private letter to Trump, 78, that was delivered Sunday via the United Kingdom’s embassy in Washington, DC, Buckingham Palace confirmed to The Post.The palace did not provide details about the contents of the message.Sources told the Daily Beast that Charles’ letter was “in keeping” with the sentiments expressed by Britain’s new Prime Minister Keir Starmer.He reacted to the shooting at the Butler, Pennsylvania, rally on Saturday by posting: “I am appalled by the shocking scenes at President Trump’s rally and we send him and his family our best wishes.”“Political violence in any form has no place in our societies and my thoughts are with all the victims of this attack,” Starmer, 61, added.Trump was shot in the ear while he was speaking onstage at the Butler Farm Show grounds.The shooter, identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, was perched on a roof about 130 yards from the stage.Crooks was shot and killed by Secret Service, sources told The Post.Another rally-goer, 50-year-old former firefighter Corey Comperatore, was killed by Crooks. Two others, David Dutch, 57, and James Copenhaver, 74, were wounded.Trump told The Post in an exclusive interview that had he not slightly moved his head when Crooks fired at him with an AR-style gun, he would’ve been killed.

Lana Del Rey fans have been reacting to the attempted assassination of Donald Trump on social media.Former President Donald Trump was seen being rushed off stage during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday (July 13) after a gunman opened fire from a nearby building, grazing his ear.

50 Cent, M.I.A., Kid Rock, and Freddie Gibbs, among others – have reacted to a shooting at a Donald Trump political rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday (July 13).A man – who has been identified by the FBI as Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania – is suspected of firing rifle shots at the former president, with one bullet appearing to strike his ear. The FBI have confirmed they are treating the incident as an assassination attempt.A spokesperson for the Secret Service, Anthony Guglielmi, said that the president was “safe”, while one spectator at the rally was killed and two others were critically wounded.

Actor and author Matthew McConaughey teased a possible political run during the National Governor’s Association summer meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah, Friday, where he weighed in broadly on the 2024 presidential race.Participating in a discussion on the role of culture in polarization, McConaughey joked with governors about indulging in the Hollywood heavyweight’s tequila brand the night before, while also taking a more serious tone regarding the “entertainment” factor in American politics. He argued that the “extremes seem to be going further left and further right” and “decency doesn’t seem to be on the table.”“I understand it’s hard to market and sell success in how people negotiate, because it’s not as fun, it’s not as sexy, it’s not as exciting as the car wreck. We’re a nation of rubberneckers,” McConaughey said.

Donald Trump has told George Clooney to “go back to television” after he called on Joe Biden to step down, adding “movies never really worked for him.”President Biden performed poorly in the first debate against Trump on June 27, appearing to lose his way several times, causing many of his supporters to call into question his ability to continue in the fight for the White House.Concerns were further heightened last night (July 11) at a press conference at the NATO Summit where Biden mistakenly referred to Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy as “President Putin” and to his Vice President Kamala Harris as “Vice President Trump”.Clooney published an op-ed piece in the New York Times this week in which he encouraged Biden to step down as the Democratic nominee, saying he has the power to save democracy by doing so.Trump has now fired back on Truth Social. “So now fake movie actor George Clooney, who never came close to making a great movie, is getting into the act.

System Of A Down frontman Serj Tankian has once again hit back at Imagine Dragons for their controversial gig in Azerbaijan.Last month, Tankian made headlines when he criticised Imagine Dragons for their decision to go ahead with their controversial gigs in Israel and Azerbaijan, stating that he has “zero respect for those guys”.The dispute came over a show that Dan Reynolds and co played in Azerbeijan’s capital city, Baku, which some argued could be perceived as being an endorsement of the country’s authoritarian President Ilham Aliyev.Tankian had sent the group a letter last summer urging them to pull out of the Baku Olympic Stadium show. In the letter, he stated that proceeding with the gig “would help whitewash the dictatorial regime’s image”.The likes of Brian Eno, Thurston Moore and Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters also took the time to share an open letter last August asking Imagine Dragons to back out from the gigs.

the Labour Party swept hundreds of seats across the country and ended 14 years of Conservative rule at the 2024 General Election.Nandy will be responsible for overall strategy and policy across the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, including allocating grant-in-aid funding for the British Film Institute (BFI), and is set to oversee a review of the licence fee.Lisa Nandy MP @lisanandy has been appointed Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport @DCMS. pic.twitter.com/aQdf8CuNQF— UK Prime Minister (@10DowningStreet) July 5, 2024In a post on X/Twitter, she wrote: “From rugby league to Royal Opera, our cultural and sporting heritage runs through our towns, villages and cities and is one of our country’s greatest assets.“It is an unbelievable privilege to take on the role of Secretary of State @DCMS.

UK general election yesterday (July 4), Blur drummer Dave Rowntree was unsuccessful in his bid to become MP for his Mid Sussex constituency.Rowntree was beaten to a seat by Alison Bennett, the candidate for the Liberal Democrats.When he announced he’d been selected as Labour candidate last March, he said: “I’m delighted to have the opportunity to become Labour’s first Mid Sussex MP. Residents have their best chance in a generation to make their vote count and return a Labour MP to parliament.”If you want to get rid of the @Conservatives in Mid Sussex, vote @UKLabour #Win24 pic.twitter.com/ZGcXM1bhRd— Dave Rowntree (@DaveRowntree) June 29, 2024Sir Keir Starmer has now fulfilled that aim, with Labour sweeping hundreds of seats across the country and ending 14 years of Conservative rule.The FAC, for whom Rowntree is an Artist in Residence, have extended their commiserations to the X drummer, but have said they look forward to working with “a new influx of MPs” following the Labour win.At the end of year FAC AGM in 2023, which NME supported, Rowntree highlighted the financial difficulties musicians were facing because of streaming.“Our Blur album ‘The Ballad Of Darren’ on week one in the UK sold just over 44,000 units – including 22,000 vinyl albums, 13,000 CDs, 3,000 cassettes and 2,000 sales-equivalent streams,” he said.“In fact, the album had tens of millions of streams on Spotify alone but the cassette sales had a bigger impact on our chart position.

MGMT have responded after the Conservative Party used one of their songs in a General Election advert.The American indie duo hit back at the Tories after the UK’s Prime Minister posted a campaign video, sponsored and promoted by the party, to his X/Twitter and Facebook accounts featuring a slowed-down, unauthorised version of their track ‘Little Dark Age’.The band exclusively told NME: “How many times do we have to remind you jokers that this song is NOT fair game for your utter garbage? Let’s all laugh at this dingus. Clock’s ticking, mate.

the party swept hundreds of seats across the country and ended 14 years of Conservative rule.Sir Keir Starmer is set to be appointed Prime Minister later today (July 5) and promised “national renewal” in a victory speech. Now, the Featured Artists Coalition (FAC) has said it looks forward to working with “a new influx of MPs” following today’s landslide win.The FAC is the trade union body representing the needs of musicians and artists in the UK, and its CEO, David Martin, has said it’s crucial to “pick up on unfinished business from the previous Parliament, and quickly deliver the much-anticipated reforms to music streaming alongside greater support for the live music ecosystem”.In a bid to support live music earlier this year, MPs recommended a ticket levy on arenas and stadiums to save grassroots venues and artists.

Billy Bragg has promoted a way to shake up British politics and make the Liberal Democrats the official opposition to the government.Singer-songwriter Bragg posted a thread earlier today (July 3) in which he advised voting tactically in order to make the Lib Dems the UK’s second-largest party. The overwhelming prediction is that the Labour Party will win a large majority in the election – and could win by a landslide – with most pollsters predicting that the incumbent Conservative Party will finish a rather distant second.However, it could turn out that another party, most likely the Lib Dems, ends up with the highest amount of seats after Labour.

Cardi B has stressed that she’ll “never turn Republican” despite criticising President Joe Biden and saying she might not vote for him in the upcoming election, or anyone at all.The rapper had pledged her support to Biden in the past, having interviewed him and endorsed him in the 2020 election. She also said that she had told him personally that if he wants people to vote for him “we don’t want no false promises.”Explaining her decision to endorse him further, after initially supporting Bernie Sanders, she said: “It’s either, like, we go with Joe Biden or Donald Trump. I’d rather go with Joe Biden.

Stephen Colbert has added his voice to those encouraging Joe Biden to stand down from the 2024 US presidential election race.The president performed poorly in the first debate against Donald Trump on June 27, appearing to lose his way several times, causing many of his supporters to call into question his ability to continue in the fight for the White House.In Colbert’s first Late Night show since the debate, he said watching Biden’s disastrous performance “took a year off my life”.“I think that this is actually a battle of two virtues,” Colbert continued. “One of them is perseverance.

Conservative Party’s landslide defeat to Labour in the 2024 General Election.While Sunak – who will now be replaced as Prime Minster by Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer – delivered a post-defeat speech to his constituents in Richmond and Northallerton, YouTube prankster Niko Omilana stood behind him holding a piece of paper with the letter “L” on it.The prank, which referred to Sunak as a “loser”, was claimed by Omilana shortly after the speech. Taking to social media, where he has over 7.6 million followers, he wrote: “Hold this L rishi, your time is up.”Omilana was able to make it onto the stage because he stood as an independent candidate in the constituency, winning a total of 160 votes.

Glastonbury migrant boat, calling it “vile”.The MP responded to the new Banksy artwork on Sky News (via The Guardian). The dummy-filled boat was launched in the crowds of IDLES‘ set on the Other Stage on Friday (June 28), unbeknownst to the band, during their pro-immigration track ‘Danny Nedelko’.Cleverly called the stunt “vile”, saying: “There are a bunch of people there joking and celebrating about criminal actions which costs lives, people die.

Bombay Bicycle Club on stage at Glastonbury on Friday (28 June), Blur frontman Damon Albarn addressed the crowd about Palestine and “the importance of voting” in the United Kingdom’s general election next week.The indie band brought out Albarn for their evening set at the Other stage to perform ‘Heaven’, a cut from their latest album ‘My Big Day’ on which Albarn features.After thanking Bombay Bicycle Club frontman Jack Steadman, Albarn took a moment to address “three things” with the crowd, asking them to show him how they felt about Palestine. “Are you pro-Palestine?” he asked, to cheers.

after a magistrate judge ruled a lawsuit against the Department of Defense over the discharges of gay veterans could move forward.Biden issued a statement on X Wednesday morning announcing the decision.Despite courage and sacrifice, thousands of LGBTQI+ service members were forced out of the military because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.I'm using my clemency authority to pardon certain former service members who were convicted simply for being themselves. pic.twitter.com/KquoMizp1V— President Biden (@POTUS) June 26, 2024“Today, I am righting an historic wrong by using my clemency authority to pardon many former service members who were convicted for simply being themselves,” the statement read.

6-3 decision along partisan lines the right-wing justices on the U.S. Supreme Court once again targeted the landmark 2015 Obergefell same-sex marriage decision, leading liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor to sound “alarm bells” on marriage equality in her dissent a legal expert says, warning that they may try to “roll it back.”The case involves Sandra Muñoz, a U.S.

Enter Shikari’s Rou Reynolds has spoken to NME backstage at Download 2024, and told us how the upcoming general election could be vital in the survival of the UK’s grassroots music venues.The frontman caught up with us while at this year’s edition of the Donington Park Festival, shortly before Enter Shikari kicked off their first performance on the Apex Stage (barring the post-COVID pilot edition).The set came following the hugely positive response to their latest album ‘A Kiss For The Whole World’, and ahead of the band’s upcoming run of UK live shows – which will be a much more intimate affair after their recent arena tour.The band have been vocal champions of grassroots gig spaces and the Music Venue Trust. Last year, various figures from the UK grassroots live music scene told NME about how 2023 was the “worst year for venue closures” – with 125 grassroots venues shutting down.

NME about why getting young people engaged matters.Just Vote recently launched their Crash The Party campaign, encouraging people aged 18-34 to step up and make their voices heard. They’ve also enlisted over “50 music industry” including artists, record labels and festivals to help spread the message – with the added opportunity of being able to win tickets to Glastonbury and Reading & Leeds.Ahead of the UK’s General Election on July 4, people have until 11.59pm tonight to register to be eligible to vote.

Serj Tankian has criticised Imagine Dragons for going ahead with their controversial gig in Azerbaijan, stating that he has “zero respect for those guys”.The dispute came over a show that Imagine Dragons had plans for in the country’s capital city, Baku, which some perceived as being an endorsement of Azerbeijan’s authoritarian President Ilham Aliyev.Last summer, the System Of A Down frontman reached out to the band and wrote them a “kind” personal letter, urging them to pull out of the Baku Olympic Stadium show. In the letter, he stated that proceeding with the gig “would help whitewash the dictatorial regime’s image” (via Louder).“I really feel that performing in Azerbaijan would have a negative impact on your brand as well,” his letter added, also making a nod towards a news report which stated that the country was preparing genocide against ethnic Armenians in its Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Prior to this week, it had been a relatively sleepy few months for the RICO trial of Young Thug and YSL. The Atlanta rapper has sat in a Fulton County jail since May 2022, alleged by the state of Georgia to be the ringleader of a criminal street gang (six additional felonies connected to gang, drug, and firearm violations were added in August 2022).

System Of A Down‘s Serj Tankian has weighed in on the current situation in Palestine and the movement to boycott companies with ties to Israel.Hamas attacked Israel on October 7 in response to its occupation of Palestinian territories, killing 1,189 people. Israel’s ongoing operations in the interim have killed 37,702 Palestinians [via Al Jazeera].Recently, record labels, promoters and more have called for a cultural boycott of Israel through the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI), an offshoot of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement (BDS) which was behind the huge wave of drop-outs from The Great Escape, Latitude Festival and Download Festival this year.In an interview with NME about his new autobiography Down With The System, Tankian has given his take on current world events and the ongoing boycotts.

Download 2024 yesterday (June 10) over its partnership with Barclays Bank – which has ties to Israel – have announced a show together in Birmingham to raise money for Palestine.Pest Control were the first band to pull out of the Donington Park festival, saying that they would not “take part in an event whose sponsor profits from facilitating a genocide.” Later on, Scowl, Speed and Zulu all followed suit, with Scowl revealing that Pest Control had alerted them to the issue.This Friday! A benefit for Palestine

Fleet Foxes ended up being brought into Hunter Biden’s ongoing trial in Delaware when it emerged he had played the band from his phone while receiving a lap dance.The son of the US President has been on trial for allegedly lying about his drug use when purchasing a firearm in 2018. He claimed to be sober at the time despite reports suggesting he was in the throes of a cocaine addiction.Several of Biden’s ex-girlfriends have testified during the trial, including the exotic dancer Zoe Kestan.

Scowl, Speed and Zulu have become the latest bands to pull out of Download 2024 over its partnership with Barclays and the bank’s ties to Israel.The news follows a similar move from Leeds hardcore band Pest Control who announced they would be pulling out earlier today (June 10), saying that they would not “take part in an event whose sponsor profits from facilitating a genocide.”In a statement posted to their social media, Scowl wrote: “We will not be playing Download fest this year due to Barclays Bank sponsorship of the event and Barclays’ connection to Israel and the genocide Israel is committing in Palestine.“Free Palestine!”They directed fans to the Bands Boycott Barclays campaign for more information and thanked Pest Control “for bringing this to our attention”.Meanwhile, Speed wrote on their social media accounts: “SPEED will no longer be playing Download Festival this Friday June 14 due to the recent news of Barclays Banks sponsorship of the event and their involvement in the war in Gaza.”Zulu announced they would be dropping out shortly after. In their statement, they said: “We will not be playing Download Festival as we just got word about Barclays Bank and their sponsorship of the fest.

Richard Hawley had some choice words for prime minister Rishi Sunak at a show in London on Saturday night (June 8).The Sheffield musician was headlining the Eventim Apollo, and before launching into his 2007 classic ‘Tonight The Streets Are Ours’, he shared some thoughts on the current UK General Election campaign.“You know, I’m 57 years old and I’ve seen some fucking arsehole politicians, but Sunak takes the fucking piss,” he said.The Conservative leader called the surprise early election on May 22, which will be held on July 4.“The thing that slaughters me is the fact that literally probably about a week ago, he came up with a stupid fucking idea to enlist teenagers for a year or two years or whatever, poor fuckers, you know what I mean?” Hawley continued.“That bastard couldn’t even manage a day, you know what I mean?”Hawley appears to be referencing the recent Tory pledge to introduce 12 months of mandatory national service for 18-year-olds, should they win the election.

Radiohead‘s Jonny Greenwood has defended being part of a musical project with Israeli musician Dudu Tassa and spoken out against “silencing Israeli artists for being born Jewish in Israel”.Greenwood performed with Tassa in Tel Aviv on May 26. The day before, he reportedly participated in protests calling for hostages held in Gaza to be released and new elections to be held.They played material from their collaborative album of Arabic love songs, ‘Jarak Qaribak’, which was released last year.Greenwood’s performance was criticised by pro-Palestine activists who accused him of “artwashing genocide”.The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI), a founding member of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement called for “peaceful, creative pressure on his band Radiohead to convincingly distance itself from this blatant complicity in the crime of crimes, or face grassroots measures.”PACBI also pointed out that at the same time that Greenwood’s concert was taking place, Israeli forces were bombing displaced Palestinians sheltering in tents in Rafah, Gaza, which had prompted a large outcry on social media in the last week.

full report into the state of the sector for 2023, showing the “disaster” facing live music with venues closing at a rate of around two per week. Presented at Westminster, the MVT echoed their calls for a levy on tickets on gigs at arena size and above and for major labels and such to pay back into the grassroots scene, arguing that “the big companies are now going to have to answer for this”.The Music Venue Trust has pushed for this system to be introduced as a way of safeguarding the UK’s talent pipeline, similar to how the Premier League funds local football clubs.

D:Ream have banned Keir Starmer from using their 1993 New Labour anthem ‘Things Can Only Get Better’ in his election campaign.The song enjoyed a resurgence in popularity after it was played through a loudspeaker by protester Steve Bray, with the aim of drowning out Prime Minister Rishi Sunak as he called a surprise General Election for July 4. Within 24 hours, the song had gone viral on social media and entered the iTunes Top 10.The Northern Irish band have previously said that they never enjoyed ‘Things Can Only Get Better’ having a political association.“My first reaction was ‘not again, please let me move on’,” singer Peter Cunnah told NME.

Eric Clapton has shared his stance on Roger Waters‘ outspoken political views, saying that it “takes a lot of guts” and has seen him “suffer from it terribly”.The Pink Floyd icon has made headlines countless times in the past for his often-unfiltered political opinions – namely his criticism of the State of Israel.Just a matter of months ago, he faced multiple accusations of anti-Semitism after speaking out on the Israel-Hamas war.

Sunak v Starmer: The ITV Debate – will be moderated by presenter Julie Etchingham, who also hosted debates in 2015, 2017 and 2019.ITV said it also planned to broadcast an interview programme with other party leaders and a multi-party debate.Michael Jermey, ITV’s director of news and current affairs, said: “Millions of viewers value the election debates. They provide a chance to see and hear the party leaders set out their pitch to the country, debate directly with each other and take questions from voters.“ITV is pleased to be broadcasting the first debate in this year’s election campaign.”Other broadcasters, including the BBC, Channel 4 and Sky News, have not yet announced plans for any televised debates.

James Blunt has shared his thoughts on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s mandatory national service plan, saying it’s “not a bad idea”.The Conservative Party have said that 18-year-olds would be required to participate in a scheme involving military or civilian service, if they win the UK general election on July 4.“This modern form of national service will mean that young people get the skills and the opportunities that they need, which is going to serve them very well in life,” Sunak explained at a recent campaign event (via BBC News).“It is going to foster a culture of service which is going to be incredibly powerful for making our society more cohesive, and in a more uncertain and dangerous world it’s going to strengthen our country’s security and resilience.”In a video on TikTok, the PM said: “As is the case in other countries, we will provide a stipend to help with living costs for those doing the military element alongside their training.“Meanwhile, on the civic side, we will make sure organisations have funding for training and administration.”Singer-songwriter Blunt – who served in the British Army before he got signed as a musician, and was an officer during the Kosovo War – recently spoke about the controversial move at the 2024 Hay Festival.This will change lives #nationalservice #generalelection #uk #rishisunak ♬ original sound – Conservatives “We all know it’s not going to happen, but I think the concept – to understand a bit about serving your community – is not a bad idea,” the ‘You’re Beautiful’ singer reasoned (via the Standard).“The greatest thing about the Army is that we worked together as a team, people from all corners of the UK, and that was a huge benefit.”Blunt continued: “I’m a posh twat and these

Dua Lipa has shared her support for #AllEyesOnRafah, advocating for an end to Israel’s ongoing genocide of Palestinian people.The pop star expressed her support for Palestine in a new update on Instagram, making a nod to the viral image spearheaded by activists and humanitarian groups. The AI-generated image shows tents at a camp arranged to read ‘All Eyes On Rafah’ – and comes in a bid to gather support for those forced to live in cramped refugee camps in the southern city of the Gaza Strip with no humanitarian aid.The slogan gathered momentum in light of Israel’s intensified military operations in Rafah.

Eurovision 2024 nearly pulled out of the song contest, just 25 minutes before the live final.The grand final of the competition took place in Malmö, Sweden – the home of 2023 winner Loreen – on Saturday May 11. However, the show was mired by widespread political backlash over the inclusion of Israel amid the Hamas-Israel conflict.Many of the contestants, including Ireland’s Bambie Thug and UK representative Olly Alexander, faced pressure to boycott the event in solidarity with Palestine.