Category: 5. Entertainment

2 July

After One Love Manchester, few thought the feud could get any worse. But when Noel’s wife Sara MacDonald is asked if she would watch Liam’s performance at Glastonbury she declines and calls Liam a “fat twat doing his tribute act”. Noel then posts a screenshot of a message Liam sent to Noel’s daughter Anaïs reading “tell your step mam to be very careful”.

“So you’re sending threatening messages via my teenage daughter now are you?”, Noel wrote. “You always were good at intimidating women though eh?” Liam apologises: “My sincere apologies to my beautiful mum Peggy and my lovely niece Anais for getting caught up in all of this childish behaviour I love you both dearly”.

5 August

Noel speaks to the Guardian in an interview headlined with the quote: “I liked my mum until she gave birth to Liam.”

Noel adds: “That’s not the first time he’s sent texts to my daughter, or left threatening phone calls on my wife’s answering machine. So when he’s threatening my wife via my teenage daughter, I’m thinking, you know, if you weren’t a rock star, if you were just an uncle who worked in a garage, you’d be getting a visit from the police. But because you’re a rockstar, wahey, you get away with that shit.”

Noel says the incident means they are unlikely to ever reconcile. “Because I’ve got one fatal flaw in my otherwise perfect makeup as a human being, which is I don’t forgive people. Once you start texting my children – and his two sons have been going for her, too – and legitimise my wife being bullied on the internet, where she has to shut down Instagram accounts because of the vile shit being written about her and my daughter, then it ain’t happening.”

He also uses the interview for a dig at Liam’s new solo music. “I think it’s unsophisticated music. For unsophisticated people. Made by an unsophisticated man. Who’s giving unsophisticated orders to a load of songwriters who think they’re doing the Oasis thing … I reckon if I put my two sons in a room – one’s nine, one’s 11 – for about 45 minutes, they could probably muster up something better than that new single of his.”

American rapper Kanye West has been blocked from entering Australia over a song glorifying Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.

Australia’s home affairs minister Tony Burke revealed that his department had cancelled West’s valid visa after the song Heil Hitler was released in early May.

West’s song has been widely condemned and has been banned on most platforms.

The highly controversial rapper, also known as Ye, identifies as a Nazi and is known for his anti-Semitic comments. He is married to Australian designer Bianca Censori.

Mr Burke revealed the visa cancellation in an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, during a discussion about the visa cancellation of another person over their Islamophobic comments.

“If someone argued that anti-Semitism was rational, I would not let them come here,” Mr Burke said, while bringing up West’s case.

“[West] has been coming to Australia for a long time… and he’s made a lot of offensive comments.

“But my officials looked at it again once he released the Heil Hitler song, and he no longer has a valid visa in Australia.”

It is not clear if West has been permanently banned from Australia. Mr Burke said that visa applications would be reassessed each time they are made, in accordance with Australian law.

But when asked if any visa ban on West would be sustainable, Mr Burke said: “I think that what’s not sustainable is to import hatred… We have enough problems in this country already without deliberately importing bigotry.”

It is not the first time Australia considered blocking West. In 2023, Australia’s education minister Jason Clare had also condemned West’s “awful” comments on Hitler and the Holocaust, and suggested he could be denied entry.

Amid the current backlash, Heil Hitler raked up millions of views within a day of its release in May.

The song is part of the Grammy-winning artist’s new album WW3, which also contains other tracks with controversial lyrics.

The music video for Heil Hitler, released on 8 May, shows a group of men wearing animal skins and chanting the song’s title. It has been banned on streaming platforms including Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube.

But shortly after its release, West said he was “done with anti-Semitism” and released a new version of Heil Hitler – titled Hallelujah. The new song replaced earlier references to Nazism with lyrics relating to Christianity.

West has in recent years sparked controversy for his anti-Semitic remarks. Earlier this year, he declared himself a Nazi and retracted an apology for earlier comments.

In 2022, sportswear giant Adidas announced it was ending its partnership with West over his anti-Semitism.

Late last year, the company said it had reached a settlement with him to end all legal proceedings between them.

A Letter to Lyndon B Johnson or God: Whoever Reads This First

In cult clown duo Xhloe and Natasha’s two-hander, we are swiftly in the US of LBJ, Beatlemania and Tom Sawyer-style outdoor adventuring. The pair portray muddy-kneed boy scouts who, against a backdrop of chirping insects and with the sole prop of a tyre, recount their hijinks with an emotional impact that sneaks up on you. Read the review. Chris Wiegand
theSpace @ Niddry St, 2-23 August

Abby Wambaugh: The First 3 Minutes of 17 Shows

As directed by Lara Ricote, Abby Wambaugh’s show is a masterpiece of construction, an anthology of dotty creative ideas that resolves into an affecting story of the comic’s miscarriage and of the value of beginnings that never reach a middle and an end. Read the review. Brian Logan
Pleasance Courtyard, 12-25 August

Nina Conti: Whose Face Is It Anyway?

Conti’s signature trick is turning volunteers into human ventriloquist’s dummies and animating them in improvised scenes on stage. Her touring show reveals a master at work, elevating her brand of off-the-cuff voice-throwing and organised havoc to a state of near comedy grace. Read the review. BL
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 7-15 August

300 Paintings

The title of Sam Kissajukian’s show alludes to the surfeit of artwork that the former standup produced during his mental-health crisis. In a self-directed production, he talks us through his output with a slideshow. It’s a funny and fascinating study of the mysteries of the mind. Read the review. Mark Fisher
Summerhall, 31 July to 25 August

Nowhere

In an audacious avant garde solo show, with its multimedia depths of images, audio voiceovers, personal stories, song and dance, Khalid Abdalla asks where you belong when the country in which you were born or raised does not want you or has become too dangerous for you to stay. How does it feel to belong in Nowhere-land? Read the review. Arifa Akbar
Traverse, 12-24 August

Nick Mohammed is Mr Swallow: Show Pony

A deliriously enjoyable hour of comedy meets magic meets more of the real Mohammed than we’ve ever before seen on stage. He’s in character as his alter ego, the camp and bumptious northern know-it-all Mr Swallow, but it’s as if this were a coming out party for a comedian who has remained incognito until now. Read the review. BL
Playhouse, 22 August

Shamilton! The Improvised Hip-Hop Musical

An extension of the Baby Wants Candy! improvisation franchise, this show inspired by audience suggestions has a cast breezily adept not only at making up lyrics on the fly (naturally, there is a rap battle) but also at ad-libbing harmonies, backing vocals and basic choreography. Read the review. MF
Assembly George Square Studios, 30 July to 24 August

Stevie Martin: Clout

Stevie Martin’s show weighs up the differences between live and online comedy. It’s a tricksy and silly hour buoyed by arch good humour and high-quality gags tightly packed inside other gags, ready to jack-in-the-box out and multiply the surprise. Read the review. BL
Monkey Barrel, 1-8 August

Nish Kumar: Nish, Don’t Kill My Vibe

He is the pre-eminent comic polemicist of our age, the joker to whom lefties turn, and others revile, for his righteous tirades against racism, neoliberalism and the Tories. But what drove Kumar to this, where has it left him – and what good does it do? This state of the nation comedy explores the state of Nish too. Read the review. BL
Assembly George Square, 1-10 August

Last Rites

This collaboration between performer Ramesh Meyyappan and director George Mann describes a man’s final parting with his late father. That could have been sentimental but it is invested with rage, making a knotty mix of love and recrimination in which the personal and the political collide. Read the review. MF
Pleasance Courtyard, 18-24 August

I bristle at the expression “bridal makeup”, because it encourages the slightly weird idea that women’s faces should look very different on their wedding days. Brides these days might be wearing black or red, hair up, hair down, hi-top trainers or Dr Martens boots. Similarly, bride-appropriate makeup is however one feels most attractive, comfortable, confident and oneself.

But what I will concede is that the big day often calls for a new foundation. Rarely will you be photographed as much, over so many hours, and be faced with the outcome for so many years, so it’s worth wearing something a little higher-coverage and longer-lasting than for a day at the office.

Something semi-matte is ideal, since the opportunities to powder down shine will be scant and the risk of colour transfer on to a gown is higher with dewy formulas. My most commonly recommended is Lisa Eldridge’s Seamless Skin Foundation (£44), which comes in 40 thoughtfully chosen shades and gives a pretty eggshell sheen to the skin. I’ve never received any negative feedback after the big day.

Similarly versatile is Dior’s Forever Skin Perfect Foundation Stick (£48). If your bridesmaid has room in her bag for anything more than mints and a lipstick, fill it with this, an exceptional medium-coverage solid foundation that melts silkily upon blending, laminating the face in soft, blurry, lasting coverage that can be sheered down or dialled up according to taste. It’s also excellent for any fingertip touch-ups after the ceremony or wedding breakfast.

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On dry skins, it’s hard to beat the makeup artist’s favourite, Armani’s Beauty Luminous Silk Foundation (£47), which makes skin even, glowy (without any flatness or sparkle) and is deceptively natural-looking. That price tag is hefty, but a very similar look is delivered by True Match Nude Plumping Tinted Serum (£14.99) from Armani stablemate, L’Oréal Paris.

For problem skins where redness, acne or scarring are an issue, proceed directly to Estée Lauder for the peerlessly camouflaging DoubleWear Stay-in-place Foundation (£39.50), which not only builds up seamlessly to cover anything, but has phenomenal staying power (add setting spray and it could outlast some marriages).

For oily skin types who’d like a soft matte finish with more vim, I enthusiastically recommend Anastasia Beverly Hills’ Impeccable Blurring Second Skin Matte Foundation (£39, pictured above). I didn’t expect to love this, but even my own parched skin looks great in it, thanks to its flattering, almost vellum paper-like finish.

Prince William opened up about finding hope while working together in a new message on his mother Princess Diana’s birthday.

The future King stepped out in Sheffield on June 1 to mark two years of his passion project, Homewards UK, aimed at making homelessness “rare, brief and unrepeated.”

In a panel discussion, the Prince of Wales highlighted the significance of partnership among the private, public and charity sectors to fulfil a meaningful mission.

As per the Mirror, he said, “Nothing happens without us all working together and doing things properly.”

William added, “It’s very difficult for the government, it’s difficult for businesses, it’s difficult for the charity sector, partnerships, communities, whatever it is, the whole system gels when it works together.”

Moreover, the father-of-three reflected on the importance of hope and working together, seemingly a message for his brother Prince Harry, as they both carry on the legacy of their late mother.

“Hope is very important. I feel less hopeful when I’m doing things by myself. I think as human beings we all want to feel connected, and I always think the greatest impact is when we work together,” William shared.

Notably, the Duke of Sussex also expressed a desire to make peace with the royal family in recent times, especially amid the royal siblings’ father, King Charles’ cancer battle. 

The US rapper and artist Kanye West has been barred from travelling to Australia after the release of his widely condemned song Heil Hitler, which has been banned on Apple Music, Spotify and YouTube.

The home affairs minister, Tony Burke, disclosed on Wednesday that the government had revoked the rapper’s visa after his song referencing the Nazi leader Adolf Hitler was released independently in May.

Burke inadvertently revealed the news about West – who has legally changed his name to Ye – during an interview with the ABC’s Afternoon Briefing program when the minister was asked about the visa cancellation of an Israeli-American tech advocate who wrote “Islamophobia is rational”.

Burke said he would not let anyone who tried to argue that either Islamophobia or antisemitism was “rational” enter Australia to go on a speaking tour, given the purpose of the visa in question was to “give public speeches”.

“Most of the visas that have been cancelled under this section have been where someone was seeking to make a public speech,” he said. “The only one I can think of where it wasn’t for public advocacy – the visa – but we cancelled it anyway, would be Kanye West.”

Burke said Ye, whose wife, Bianca Censori, is from Melbourne, had been coming to Australia “for a long time” and had family here.

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But Burke alleged Ye had “made a lot of offensive comments that my officials looked at again once he released the Heil Hitler song and he no longer has a valid visa in Australia”.

Asked if it were “sustainable” to keep the ban in place given the possibility for international concerts, Burke replied: “I think that what’s not sustainable is to import hatred.

“Every visa application gets reassessed by my officials each time,” Burke continued. “I’m not taking away the way the act operates but even for the lowest level of visa, when my officials looked at it, they cancelled that following the announcement of that song.”

A spokesperson for the home affairs department said it did not comment on individual cases, but all non-citizens who wanted to travel to Australia must satisfy the “character” requirements under the Migration Act.

“The Australian government will continue to act decisively to protect the community from the risk of harm posed by individuals who choose to engage in criminal activity or behaviour of concern, including visa cancellation or refusal where appropriate,” they said.

Guardian Australia attempted to contact Ye for comment through his fashion label, Yeezy.

The PUMA x Skepta “White” Pack drops July 5, 2025, via PUMA.com, PUMA flagship stores, and select retailers. 

Unless you are a big fan of what the American charts call “mainstream rock” and entering late middle age round about now, you may never have heard of 90s outfit Collective Soul. And yet this clearly band-endorsed documentary hypes them so much, you may question your own remembrance of things past. For instance, much is made of Collective Soul’s first big hit, Shine from 1993, which first broke out via airplay at an Atlanta college radio station, with the film giving the impression that everyone was humming this tune back in the day. This may not in fact have been the case: you might associate the time more with the likes of Whitney Houston, Nirvana and dancefloor fillers like Rhythm Is a Dancer.

It turns out that Collective Soul, named after a phrase in Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead, is a classic rawk outfit with a guitar-heavy, chunky-riff and wailing-vocals sound, somewhat generic but enjoyable. The group is built around Stockbridge, Georgia, brothers Ed Roland (the lead singer and songwriter) and his rhythm guitarist brother Dean; they are the sons of a preacher man and father figures and old friends feature very heavily in their story. The film works its way through the band’s pre-history and story methodically, with Ed Roland dominant throughout as literally and figuratively the group’s loudest voice.

Give Me a Word hits every station of the rock band cross, from the years of toil in obscurity, working in music shops and trying out different sounds and collaborators, then the aforementioned big break, and the years when they should have been making bank but were getting ripped off by poor contract reading skills. At one point they even play Woodstock (the 1994 edition, not the big ’69 event) in front of nearly half a million people, and yet they were still sleeping four people to a room and taking home about $150 a week.

Soon, the inevitable musical differences and fallings out reshuffle the line-up. But they’re all such nice guys, despite the flamboyant swearing and boasting about the partying, that the film only barely mentions that the bust-up between Ed and lead guitarist Ross Childress had something to do with a romantic betrayal. Indeed, the film seems rather ripe with pendulant silences on certain subjects and areas of the band members’ lives. We meet no current wives or girlfriends, although their existence is often invoked. And yet one of the people Ed gets most weepy about is a gay friend from high school who died of a drug overdose back in the day, leaving the singer with an enduring and overwhelming sense of loss.

Apart from Ed and Dean’s still living mother and one or two others, there are practically no women in the movie, except for the great Dolly Parton, who covered Shine. Somehow it says it all about the slippery nature of fame when Ed mentions – with amusement, rue and just a tiny trace of resentment – that people just assume that Shine was written by Parton rather than himself.

WEAVE: biophilic, experience-led destination

Benoy celebrates the opening of WEAVE at Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) — a bold new lifestyle destination that reimagines the guest experience through biophilic architecture, sensory immersion and sustainable design.

Designed by Benoy, WEAVE sets a new benchmark for tropical, experience-led architecture in Singapore, a design-forward hub where architecture, nature and community seamlessly converge.

A living landscape inspired by nature

Spanning over 20,000 sqm across three interconnected levels, WEAVE blends lush greenery, organic forms and nature-integrated retail into a living environment that transforms throughout the day. Its architecture draws from the island’s natural topography and cultural richness, inviting guests on a journey that is both restorative and inspiring.

Azaria Lee stated, ​“WEAVE was envisioned as a living, breathing sanctuary, an architecture of movement, light and landscape. We sought to dissolve boundaries between indoor and outdoor, inviting guests to slow down, explore and reconnect with nature through spatial moments that surprise, shelter and inspire.”

A rainforest-inspired experience

Guided by a rainforest-inspired spatial concept, WEAVE unfolds from cool, shaded botanical valleys at the lower levels to vibrant floral terraces above. Natural textures, asymmetrical façades and open-air walkways foster a sense of fluidity and calm, while encouraging moments of community, rest and discovery.

Greening the guest experience

Sustainability is integrated in every level throughout WEAVE’s design, from ETFE canopies that reduce solar heat gain by up to 80%, to passive cooling, green walls, rainwater harvesting and recyclable structural materials. Together, these strategies support RWS’s ambition to become a carbon-neutral destination by 2030.

A gateway between nature, community and commerce

Strategically positioned within the wider RWS masterplan, WEAVE functions as a dynamic gateway, its central location linking key guest flows across the resort and iconic attractions, while shaping an immersive day-to-night journey through space, nature and experience. 

Its distinctive Lifestyle Villas feature expansive glass façades and multi-storey decks that open to nature, overlooking lively corridors framed by greenery and seasonal activity. These spaces offer a vibrant platform where community and commerce meet, inviting both local and global brands to thrive.

Looking ahead

Benoy congratulates Resorts World Sentosa on the launch of WEAVE and is proud to have shaped its architectural vision. We look forward to seeing how this vibrant, nature-led destination invites people to explore, connect and linger.

Download the full press release here.

Image courtesy of Resorts World Sentosa