
Nude photo leak meant to be ‘distraction' from political goals, McGregor says
Article content
The former UFC champion broke his silence after allegedly sending unsolicited nude photos of himself to rap star Azealia Banks, who posted about it online Monday.
Article content
Article content
McGregor directly addressed the X-rated snapshots on his X account on Tuesday evening.
Article content
After reposting several complimentary comments about his manhood, McGregor replied to another post calling out one of his Irish political rivals.
Article content
'Don't let them distract you with my G C while they rob our country blind!' McGregor posted in response to a supporter who shared a story about a presidential candidate's alleged fraud.
Article content
Earlier this year, McGregor announced his intention to run in his home country's presidential elections. His platform has been heavily focused on anti-immigration.
Article content
Don't let them distract you with my G C while they rob our country blind! https://t.co/4F7B0g20w4
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) July 15, 2025
Article content
Article content
The post followed the former UFC champion allegedly sending some X-rated pictures of himself, unprompted, to Banks earlier this week.
Article content
The 212 hitmaker shared the content on X, calling out McGregor for his behaviour as well as his threats for her to not tell anyone about it.
Article content
'How you gonna send a b—- some crooked d— pics then threaten her not to tell,' the rapper posted on X, tagging McGregor. 'N—- do you know who the f— I am?
Article content
'This is HARAM.'
Article content
Banks attached two screenshots — which have since been deleted due to X's content policy — allegedly sent by the MMA superstar via direct messages on Instagram.
Article content
In the X-rated snaps, McGregor is fully naked in what appears to be a closet while taking pictures in a mirror. In one, he appears to be wearing a weighted band around his penis.
Article content
Article content
'Don't be a rat cos (sic) all rats get caught,' a message in the screenshots says.
Article content
'Like how are you really going to sexually harass me with the potato farmer d— then threaten me not to tell??' she wrote in a follow-up post, also calling out McGregor's political aspirations in his home country.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


CTV News
2 hours ago
- CTV News
Morgan: Council's 2018 decision not to fund two Bus Rapid Transit routes avoided deeper financial shortfall
London's mayor says the 2018 decision not to fund bus rapid transit routes in north and west London has actually led to an unexpected benefit.


Globe and Mail
8 hours ago
- Globe and Mail
U.K., Germany sign treaty on defence, trade and migration
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz signed a landmark treaty on Thursday that pledges to tighten defence ties, as European nations try to protect Ukraine, and themselves, from an aggressive Russia in the face of wavering support from President Donald Trump's U.S.-focused administration. Merz said it was 'a historic day for German-British relations' as he signed an agreement that also commits the two countries to boost investment and strengthen law-enforcement cooperation against criminal people-smuggling gangs using the English Channel. 'We want to work together more closely, particularly after the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union,' Merz said. 'It is overdue for us to conclude such a treaty with each other.' The treaty builds on a defence pact the U.K. and Germany, two of the biggest European supporters of Ukraine, signed last year committing to closer co-operation against the growing threat from Russia. It includes a promise to 'assist one another, including by military means, in case of an armed attack on the other,' though it's unclear what practical impact that will have, since both countries are NATO members and bound by the alliance's mutual defence pact. Starmer said the treaty – signed at London's V&A Museum, which is named after Queen Victoria and her German husband, Prince Albert – sealed a 'partnership with a purpose.' 'We see the scale of the challenges our continent faces today, and we intend to meet them head on,' Starmer said during a joint news conference at an Airbus defence and space factory north of London. The U.K.-Germany treaty follows agreements signed during a state visit last week by President Emmanuel Macron, in which France and Britain pledged to coordinate their nuclear deterrents for the first time. Trump promised Patriots for Ukraine. Now Europe has to provide them Germany does not have nuclear weapons. The treaty with Britain says the countries will 'maintain a close dialogue on defence issues of mutual interest ... including on nuclear issues.' The treaty stressed a 'shared commitment to the security of the Euro-Atlantic area, and underpinned by enhanced European contributions' – a nod to Trump, who has demanded European NATO members greatly increase military spending. Germany and the U.K. have both promised to raise defence spending to 3.5 per cent of GDP in the coming years. Merz, making his first trip to the U.K. since taking office in May, said it was 'no coincidence' he traveled to London a week after Macron. 'The E3 – Great Britain, France and Germany – are converging in their positions on foreign policy, on security policy, on migration policy, but also on economic policy issues,' he said. Merz and Starmer discussed ways to boost European support for Ukraine, following Trump's announcement of a plan to bolster Kyiv's stockpile by selling American weapons to NATO allies who would in turn send arms to Kyiv. Merz signaled that those plans are still a work in progress, saying it might take 'days, perhaps weeks' before weapons reach Ukraine. He said that 'above all, we need clarity on how weapons systems that are given up from the European side will be replaced by the U.S.' During the trip the leaders announced that German defence startup Stark, which makes drones for Ukraine, will open a factory in England. They also agreed to jointly produce defence exports such as Boxer armoured vehicles and Typhoon jets, and to develop a deep precision strike missile in the next decade. Starmer also praised Merz for his help curbing the smuggling gangs that brought 37,000 people across the English Channel from France in small boats in 2024, and more than 22,000 so far in 2025. Dozens have died attempting the journey. Berlin agreed last year to make facilitating the smuggling of migrants to the U.K. a criminal offence, a move that will give law enforcement more powers to investigate the supply and storage of small boats to be used for the crossings. Merz committed to adopting the law change by the end of the year, a move Starmer said 'is hugely welcome.' Starmer has worked to improve relations with Britain's neighbours, strained by the U.K.'s acrimonious departure from the European Union in 2020. He has sought to rebuild ties strained by years of ill-tempered wrangling over Brexit terms, and worked to reduce trade barriers and to strengthen defence cooperation. But he has ruled out rejoining the 27-nation bloc's single market or customs union, and has been cool to the idea of a youth mobility agreement with the EU. Britain and Germany agreed on a more limited arrangement that will make it easier for schoolchildren to go on exchange trips. 'I am glad we were able to reach an agreement so that schoolchildren and students can come to Britain more easily in the future, and the other way round can come to Germany more easily, so that the young generation in particular has an opportunity to get to know both countries better,' Merz said.


CTV News
9 hours ago
- CTV News
Ukraine to boost domestic arms production to counter Russia's invasion, says Zelenskyy
KYIV, Ukraine -- A new Ukrainian government approved Thursday will race to expand domestic arms production to meet half the country's weapons needs within six months as it tries to push back Russia's invasion, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. Meanwhile, Switzerland said Thursday that the U.S. Defense Department had informed it that Washington is diverting a Swiss order for Patriot air defense systems to help Ukraine, which badly needs to improve its response to increasingly heavy Russian aerial attacks. Patriot air defence systems for Ukraine The Swiss Defence Ministry, which in 2022 ordered five Patriot systems, said Thursday it has been informed by the U.S. Defense Department that it will 'reprioritize the delivery of Patriot systems to support Ukraine.' It was not immediately clear whether the Swiss-ordered Patriots would go directly to Ukraine or would replace units in other European countries that may be donated to Kyiv. Delivery to Switzerland of the systems, worth billions of dollars, was scheduled to begin in 2027 and be completed in 2028. But the Swiss government said Washington informed it of the delay on Wednesday, adding that it was unclear how many systems would be affected. The need to adequately arm Ukraine's military is pressing as Russia looks to drive forward its summer offensive after three years of war and pounds Ukrainian cities with hundreds of drones and ballistic and cruise missiles. It remains unclear when the promised U.S.-made weapons, especially the Patriot systems, might reach Ukraine. Trump has agreed to send the weaponry, but it will be paid for by European countries. No timeframe for foreign weapons in Ukraine The U.S. Ambassador to NATO, Matthew Whitaker, said he couldn't give a timeframe for when Ukraine might get extra foreign weapons. 'We are all moving with haste to facilitate this and get this done. Things are actually moving very quickly, but I can't verify a date that this will all be completed. I think it's going to be an ongoing movement,' he told reporters in Brussels. 'The plan is that there will be American-made defence equipment, capabilities, that will be sold to our European allies, that they will provide to Ukraine,' he said. British Defence Secretary John Healey said Thursday he and his German counterpart Boris Pistorius will chair a meeting of Ukraine's allies on Monday to discuss U.S. President Donald Trump's weapons plans. Healey said U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and NATO leader Mark Rutte will attend the meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group. NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe, Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, told The Associated Press Thursday that 'preparations are underway' for weapons transfers to Ukraine and that NATO is working 'very closely' with Germany to transfer Patriot systems. Grynkewich said at a military event in Wiesbaden, Germany, that he had been ordered to 'move (the weapons) out as quickly as possible.' He said the number of weapons being transferred is classified. German Defense Ministry spokesperson Mitko Muller said Wednesday he couldn't confirm that anything is currently on its way to Ukraine. Rutte, the NATO chief, said in Washington on Monday that the alliance is co-ordinating the military support with funding from allies in Europe and Canada. He said there were commitments from Germany, Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Canada, 'with more expected to follow.' Ukraine now makes 40% of its own weapons Ukraine's domestic defense manufacturing already accounts for almost 40 per cent of weapons used by the Ukrainian military, according to Zelenskyy. As uncertainty grows about how many more weapons shipments Western countries can provide -- and how quickly -- Ukraine is keen to increase its output and widen its strikes on Russian soil. 'What we need is greater capacity to push the war back onto Russia's territory -- back to where the war was brought from,' Zelenskyy said late Wednesday in his nightly video address. 'We must reach the level of 50 per cent Ukrainian-made weapons within the first six months of the new government's work by expanding our domestic production.' Ukraine has also developed its own long-range drones, which it uses to strike deep inside Russia. Russian air defences shot down 122 Ukrainian drones overnight, the country's defence ministry said Thursday. The wave of drones caused flights to be grounded at airports in Moscow and St. Petersburg, although most of the drones were reportedly destroyed over the border regions of Bryansk and Kursk. Meanwhile, Russia attacked Ukraine with 64 Shahed and decoy drones overnight, killing at least one person, the Ukrainian air force reported. The assault centered on the industrial Dnipropetrovsk region, officials said. In other developments: Russia on Thursday sent to Ukraine 1,000 bodies, including some of the country's fallen soldiers, the Ukrainian Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said. At the same time, Russia received the bodies of 19 soldiers, Russian presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky said. The exchange was part of a deal reached at direct peace talks last May and June that produced few other agreements between the sides. ------ By Volodymyr Yurchuk And Emma Burrows Burrows reported from Wiesbaden, Germany. Geir Moulson in Berlin and Lorne Cook in Brussels contributed to this report.