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Watch: Pro-Palestinian protest prompts scuffle onstage at Royal Opera House in London

Watch: Pro-Palestinian protest prompts scuffle onstage at Royal Opera House in London

Indian Express5 days ago
A performer at the Royal Opera House in London sparked controversy by unfurling a Palestinian flag on stage during the curtain call of 'Il Trovatore' on Saturday night. The incident led to a brief scuffle as an official attempted to remove the flag, but the performer held his ground, refusing to let go.
Images and Videos shared online show the performer standing with the flag across his chest while the lead singers faced the audience. The audience was applauding as the lead singers took their bows, seemingly unaware of the commotion unfolding behind them.
WATCH the moment a cast member battles to unfurl a Palestinian flag in a protest at the Royal Opera House.
These virtue signalers are everywhere. pic.twitter.com/3tilvlK56f
— I Meme Therefore I Am 🇺🇸 (@ImMeme0) July 20, 2025
When asked about potential disciplinary action against the performer, the opera company declined to comment, according to a report by the Associated Press (AP).
The incident occurred during the season's final performance of Giuseppe Verdi's 'Il Trovatore,' which translates to 'The Troubadour.' Director Adele Thomas' production offers a reinterpretation of the story, focusing on themes of desire and an all-consuming curse.
In a later statement, the opera company emphasized their commitment to political impartiality, saying, 'The display of the flag was spontaneous and unauthorized action by the artist. It was not approved by the Royal Ballet & Opera and is not in line with our commitment to political impartiality.'
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Hulk Hogans greatest moments in professional wrestling run wild on you
Hulk Hogans greatest moments in professional wrestling run wild on you

News18

time36 minutes ago

  • News18

Hulk Hogans greatest moments in professional wrestling run wild on you

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Lindsay Lohan's disturbing 2003 interview with Anthony Anderson sparks outrage: ‘I'm illegal!'
Lindsay Lohan's disturbing 2003 interview with Anthony Anderson sparks outrage: ‘I'm illegal!'

Hindustan Times

time4 hours ago

  • Hindustan Times

Lindsay Lohan's disturbing 2003 interview with Anthony Anderson sparks outrage: ‘I'm illegal!'

A 2003 interview between Anthony Anderson and Lindsay Lohan is making waves again. The clip, from Anderson's brief guest-hosting spot on The Sharon Osbourne Show, has people calling out his inappropriate, sexually loaded remarks toward a then-17-year-old Lohan. According to Buzzfeed, what was supposed to be a light promo for Freaky Friday's home release quickly turned awkward. File photo of Lindsay Lohan (Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP) {{^userSubscribed}} {{^usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{#usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{/userSubscribed}} {{^userSubscribed}} {{^usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{#usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{/userSubscribed}} BuzzFeed noted that viewers found Anderson's behavior uncomfortable and hard to watch. From the moment Lohan walked on stage, things felt off. Anderson greeted her with a kiss on the cheek but immediately joked, 'You are sick and you just kissed me on the lips with tongue?' Lohan shot back, 'I didn't kiss you on the lips!' The tension was obvious. {{^usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} Also read: Lindsay Lohan's rare public sighting with husband Bader Shammas steals the show at the US Open Lindsay Lohan, Anthony Anderson interview: Awkward moments on set Anderson praised Lohan's performance in The Parent Trap, but then crossed a line by placing his hand on her knee and saying, 'You've grown up a whole lot since then.' The comment left Lohan visibly unsettled, though she tried to laugh it off along with the audience. {{^userSubscribed}} {{^usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{#usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{/userSubscribed}} {{^userSubscribed}} {{^usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{#usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{/userSubscribed}} {{^usCountry}} Their conversation briefly shifted when Lohan mentioned moving in with fellow former child star Raven-Symoné. Anderson presented her with a pink pillow featuring his face, prompting Lohan to joke, 'This is going to go right on my bed, and when I see you, I will say hi, cuz I will see your face every night.' {{/usCountry}} {{#usCountry}} Their conversation briefly shifted when Lohan mentioned moving in with fellow former child star Raven-Symoné. Anderson presented her with a pink pillow featuring his face, prompting Lohan to joke, 'This is going to go right on my bed, and when I see you, I will say hi, cuz I will see your face every night.' {{/usCountry}} Read More {{^usCountry}} But things turned strange again when Anderson asked, 'Now, aside from entertaining me in your room and in your house, what gentleman will be at the new pad with you and Raven-Symoné?' Lohan said she was not dating anyone, adding, 'But I'm illegal for people that are old.' Anderson responded with, 'Well, some men like 'em young… I'm one of 'em,' leaving her looking uncomfortable. {{/usCountry}} {{#usCountry}} But things turned strange again when Anderson asked, 'Now, aside from entertaining me in your room and in your house, what gentleman will be at the new pad with you and Raven-Symoné?' Lohan said she was not dating anyone, adding, 'But I'm illegal for people that are old.' Anderson responded with, 'Well, some men like 'em young… I'm one of 'em,' leaving her looking uncomfortable. {{/usCountry}} {{^userSubscribed}} {{^usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{#usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{/userSubscribed}} {{^userSubscribed}} {{^usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{#usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{/userSubscribed}} You can watch the resurfaced interview below Also read: Does Pedro Pascal need to hold someone for anxiety? Viral moment with Vanessa Kirby explained Old clip stirs new backlash {{^userSubscribed}} {{^usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{#usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{/userSubscribed}} {{^userSubscribed}} {{^usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{#usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{/userSubscribed}} The interview wrapped up with Anderson pulling Lohan in for a hug and shouting, 'Right now, we're about to get our freak on.' The clip has resurfaced in 2025, likely due to the buzz around Disney's upcoming sequel, Freakier Friday. On social media, people haven't minced words, with many calling the footage 'creepy,' 'gross,' and 'difficult to watch.' FAQs: 1. Why is Anthony Anderson facing backlash over this interview? The resurfaced footage shows him making suggestive remarks to a 17-year-old Lindsay Lohan. 2. How old was Lindsay Lohan during the interview? She was 17 years old at the time. 3. Which show featured this interview? It aired during Anderson's guest-hosting role on The Sharon Osbourne Show. 4. Did Anthony Anderson face legal issues in the past? {{^userSubscribed}} {{^usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{#usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{/userSubscribed}} {{^userSubscribed}} {{^usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{#usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{/userSubscribed}} Yes, he faced sexual assault allegations in 2004, but the case was dismissed. 5. Why is the clip trending again in 2025? It resurfaced ahead of the buzz surrounding Disney's upcoming Freakier Friday sequel. interview Stay connected with all the glitz and glam from the world of entertainment , right from Hollywood gossip to Bollywood chit chat. Also don't miss out on music buzz, anime scoops and OTT action. See Less Stay connected with all the glitz and glam from the world of entertainment , right from Hollywood gossip to Bollywood chit chat. Also don't miss out on music buzz, anime scoops and OTT action. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON {{^userSubscribed}} {{^usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{#usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{/userSubscribed}}

How Hulk Hogan's sex tape lawsuit bankrupted media company Gawker
How Hulk Hogan's sex tape lawsuit bankrupted media company Gawker

Indian Express

time7 hours ago

  • Indian Express

How Hulk Hogan's sex tape lawsuit bankrupted media company Gawker

Hulk Hogan's victory against Andre the Giant at Wrestlemania III in 1987 has long been considered the greatest of his wrestling career. But as influential as body slamming the 500-pound Giant was, in real life terms, it pales in comparison to the impact of Hogan's civil suit against Gawker for publishing a video of him having sex with his best friend's wife. Here's what happened, including the role of Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel. Hogan, 71, died on Thursday (July 25). An unsavoury video Gawker was a news and gossip website founded by Nick Denton in 2002 with the goal of 'being a snarky insidery blog with a focus on New York City and a long satirical streak,' according to an article by The New York Times. Over the years, Gawker developed a reputation for publishing provocative content, which frequently violated copyrights and privacy, or was illegally obtained. It was one such video that would lead to its eventual downfall. In 2007, Gawker obtained a copy of a secretly recorded sex tape, which featured Hulk Hogan having sex with Heather Clem, the wife of his then-best friend, radio personality Bubba the Love Sponge Clem. Bubba had himself filmed the video in secret but it is yet unclear how the video was leaked to Gawker. In 2012, after Gawker published nine seconds of sexually-explicit footage, Hogan, born Terry Gene Bollea, filed a $100 million civil lawsuit against the outlet. Hogan claimed that the sex tape was filmed without his consent even though the encounter itself was consensual. He even told radio host Howard Stern that the coupling received 'Bubba Clem's blessing'. Hogan would testify in court: 'I was depressed. I gave up and gave in. I felt that those people loved me.' Hogan's case was simple: his lawyers argued that Gawker grossly violated his privacy and that publishing the video did not serve any news purpose. 'To him the privacy part of it was integral. It was important,' Hogan's lead trial attorney, Ken Turkel, told the Associated Press. 'Eight-year-old kids were googling 'Hulk Hogan' and 'Wrestlemania,' and they were getting a sex tape. That was hurtful to him in a real personal way.' Gawker's counsel, on the other hand, argued that the footage is newsworthy and protected by the First Amendment, and that Hogan should not have had an expectation of privacy. The First Amendment to the US Constitution essentially protects the freedom of speech. Legally speaking, the case pitted the First Amendment against the privacy rights of celebrities — an issue on which courts had hitherto leaned towards the former. A landmark verdict This is why Bollea v. Gawker is a landmark verdict. With the jury rejecting Gawker's First Amendment arguments and awarding Hogan a whopping $141 million, a precedent was set for celebrities to be able to persuade a jury that their right to privacy outweighs the freedom of the press — even when the published material was true. 'Now more people, including judges, understand that it's possible to sue someone for revealing something truthful, as long as that something is deeply personal and its publication is highly offensive,' Amy Gajda, a Brooklyn Law School professor, told the AP. The verdict effectively made such cases about establishing the 'news value' of publishing any content. 'As long as there is news value in what is published and the media can argue that effectively, they can get a privacy case dismissed very early on,' Gajda said. Many experts have said that the verdict in Bollea v. Gawker has sparked a trend of libel and privacy lawsuits being weaponised against media organisations, including recent cases against Wall Street Journal, ABC and CBS by US President Donald Trump. Behind the scenes of the case was Peter Thiel, the billionaire Silicon Valley investor, seemingly hell-bent on destroying Gawker out of a deep personal grudge. In May 2016, two months after the verdict, Forbes reported that Hogan's entire lawsuit which bankrupted Gawker was funded fully by Thiel. His motivation: a 2007 blogpost on Gawker titled 'Peter Thield is totally gay, people'. The article was irreverently, some would say tastelessly, commendatory of Thiel, with lines like: '…Like the immigrant Jews who created Hollywood a century ago, a gay investor has no way to fit into the old establishment…' 'I think it's important to say this: Peter Thiel, the smartest VC in the world, is gay. More power to him.' For Thiel, being outed like that was humiliating. He privately plotted revenge, setting up a legal fund that was essentially meant to sue Gawker into oblivion. When the Hogan sex tape dropped in 2012, Thiel's team reached out to the wrestler and indicated that the billionaire was willing to bankroll a massive civil suit. Hogan then filed a $100 million suit. Notably, he refused to settle, as is usual, insisting on taking the matter to court. One legal analyst notably wrote in a blog in early 2016, 'Might a Gawker Hater be Covering Hulk Hogan's Legal Bills?' But Gawker did not recognise Thiel's involvement till it was too late. Ultimately, Thiel's resources were central to why Hogan won the case. Thiel would later tell The NYT that taking down Gawker was 'one of [the] greater philanthropic things that [he had] done'.

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