The Sean Combs verdict is all about timing
Or maybe because it features Sean Combs as — in a way that seemed delightfully meta at the time, as he riffed on his off-screen persona — an oversexed man with anger issues. Oh, how we laughed.
Last week Combs's trial came to an end when the jury acquitted him of racketeering and sex trafficking. Instead, he was found guilty only of the lesser crime of transporting prostitutes over state lines to partake in his sexual orgies, which he called 'freak offs'.
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South Wales Guardian
an hour ago
- South Wales Guardian
Our Place founder warns supermarket dupes will 'cause businesses to fail'
Our Place co-founder and co-chief executive Shiza Shahid said the brand was growing rapidly in the UK despite dupes appearing on the market. Ms Shahid launched the Los Angeles-based business with her husband in 2019, with Will Smith's Dreamers VC, Jay-Z's Marcy Venture Partners, and Gwyneth Paltrow among its early investors. It specialises in kitchenware including pans designed to be non-toxic and non-stick, and collections created in complementary colours and aesthetics. Widely-shared posts on social media, especially Instagram, have helped drive popularity of the brand in recent years – including a collaboration with actress and singer Selena Gomez. Similar versions of bestselling products – namely the 'Always Pan' which currently sells for £125 – have recently launched in supermarkets including Aldi and Marks & Spencer with a lower price tag. Ms Shahid told the PA news agency: 'Unfortunately I think it is incredibly harmful. 'When we started Our Place, my partner and I bootstrapped our savings and worked on the design for two years before we ever sold a single unit. 'And when multi-million dollar corporations come and they knock it off, with no regard for innovation, IP, small business, they are causing tremendous harm and it will cause a lot of businesses to fail, and it will destroy innovation.' She said such companies are 'very skilled in the art of duplicity' which makes it difficult and costly for smaller brands to legally challenge. But the businesswoman told PA that they were 'not able to guarantee that same level of detail and quality' with replica products. 'So we trust that, while not every consumer will see the difference, many will and many do,' she said, adding that shoppers often want to 'support brands that they believe in'. A spokesman for Aldi said: 'For over 35 years we have championed customers by offering high quality exclusive products at the lowest possible prices. 'We go to great lengths to ensure that all our exclusive brand products are compliant with strict copyright laws and regulations.' M&S has been contacted for comment. Ms Shahid, who also co-founded the Malala Fund with Nobel Prize winner and campaigner Malala Yousafzai, said Our Place products are typically viewed as an 'accessible luxury'. 'Despite some of the cost-of-living challenges, people are investing in the home and kitchen,' she told PA. 'The first thing you do is maybe you go out a little bit less, but then you still want the joy and the nourishment and the connection, and home cooking is a really great way to do that. 'It feels like an everyday luxury… people are choosing products that will last, that will bring joy, and that will actually help them save money over time.' Sales across the brand spiked by 92% over the first quarter of 2025 compared with the same period last year, and it has built more than a million active customers. It is also set to launch a shop-in-shop space within London department store Selfridges amid efforts to expand into retailers and take on established competitors such as Le Creuset. Ms Shahid said Our Place has 'a lot of younger consumers but we also have a lot of men and women in their 60s', while many of its products – including the countertop 'wonder oven' – appeal to single-person households and small families.
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Pennsylvania man accused of beheading father and posting video of his severed head to stand trial
A Pennsylvania man accused of killing his father and posting video of his severed head online — and calling for others to help him try to overthrow the U.S. government — is set to stand trial Monday in the Philadelphia suburbs. Justin D. Mohn, 33, faces charges of murder, abuse of a corpse, terrorism related crimes and other offenses for the 2024 killing of Michael F. Mohn at the Levittown home where they lived with the defendant's mother. She found her husband's body in a bathroom. Prosecutors have said Justin Mohn shot his father with a newly purchased pistol, then decapitated him with a kitchen knife and machete. The 14-minute YouTube video was live for several hours before it was removed. Mohn was armed with a handgun when arrested later that day after allegedly climbing a 20-foot (6-meter) fence at Fort Indiantown Gap, the state's National Guard headquarters. He had hoped to get the soldiers to 'mobilize the Pennsylvania National Guard to raise arms against the federal government,' Bucks County District Attorney Jennifer Schorn said at a news conference last year. Mohn had a USB device containing photos of federal buildings and apparent instructions for making explosives when arrested, authorities have said. He also had expressed violent anti-government rhetoric in writings he published online, and the YouTube video included rants about the government, immigration and the border, fiscal policy, urban crime and the war in Ukraine. Mohn's defense attorney, Steven M. Jones, said last week he did not anticipate the case being resolved with a plea deal. Michael Mohn, who was 68, had been an engineer with the geoenvironmental section of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. In the video, Justin Mohn described his father as a 20-year federal employee and called him a traitor. During a competency hearing last year, a defense expert said Mohn wrote a letter to Russia's ambassador to the United States seeking a deal to give Mohn refuge and apologizing to President Vladimir Putin for claiming to be the czar of Russia.
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Love Island USA's Yulissa reveals how producers quietly removed her from the show over racial slurs
Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Former Love Island USA contestant Yulissa Escobar has opened up about her unceremonious exit from the show's seventh season after videos of her making racial slurs resurfaced online. Escobar, who was one of 10 original singletons to join the reality series' current season, was quietly removed last month in episode two. At the time, the show's narrator, Iain Stirling, simply stated that 'Yulissa has left the villa,' without further elaborating. It was later reported that her departure came amid immense fan backlash over old podcast clips showing her using the N-word. The Miami-born entrepreneur has now spoken out in a new TikTok video to share the 'real story' of her exit. She prefaced the video, admitting that while she 'can't share certain things,' she 'will share the majority of what happened.' Yulissa Escobar was booted from season seven of 'Love Island USA' after racist comments she made resurfaced ( Peacock ) 'So, regular ass day. I did not wake up in the middle of the night, they didn't get me in the f***ing morning. They didn't drag my ass out of bed,' Escobar explained. She said she was sitting and waiting with the other contestants for the arrival of bombshells Cierra and Charlie, when she was then called to the front to meet with the producers, expecting it was just to film a confessional. But she soon realized 'something serious was happening' when a producer asked her to take off her mic. 'I honestly got scared, I thought something was happening with a family member or something. I didn't know what was going on,' Escobar said. 'They didn't really tell me anything, they just said, you know, a video resurfaced [on the] internet and it's not looking too good.' Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 day New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled. Try for free ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent. Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 day New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled. Try for free ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent. She explained that at that point, because she didn't have her phone, she wasn't sure what video they were referring to. After the producers confirmed she was being sent home, she was taken to a hotel and left without her phone for two days while awaiting the release of the two episodes she appeared in. During that time, she 'was losing my f***ing mind because I didn't know what was going on. I just knew that there was a video out there. 'So finally, I got my phone back, and when I got my phone back, I was like, 'Holy s*** no way,' and it was a lot. It was a lot to take in,' she said, adding that she continued to frantically search her name on the web. 'And I was like, f***, no. I can't believe people think I'm racist. I mean, I get it, I said a word that I should have not said,' Escobar acknowledged. 'I wish I would have never said that,' she said. 'It is what it is. I can't go back in time. I am sorry that I said that word.' Escobar previously addressed the controversy in a June Instagram post, apologizing for using 'a word I never should've used, a racial slur.' 'I used it ignorantly, not fully understanding the weight, history, or pain behind it. I wasn't trying to be offensive or harmful, but I recognize now that intention doesn't excuse impact. And the impact of that word is real. It's tied to generations of trauma, and it is not mine to use,' she wrote. 'At the time, I was speaking casually in conversation, not thinking deeply or critically about what I was saying. But that doesn't take away from how wrong it was. The truth is, I didn't know better then, but I do now. I've taken the time to reflect, to learn, and to grow from that moment.'
