Latest news with #Chilton
South Wales Guardian
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- South Wales Guardian
Conor Maynard speaks on paternity drama and ‘really difficult' past year
Chilton publicly claimed last year that the R U Crazy singer is the father to her daughter Penelope, who was born in October 2024. In March this year, the music artist, 32, said in a social media post that he had taken a paternity test and that the results 'confirm that I am not Penelope's father'. Maynard, who had maintained his silence prior to the social media post in March, told ITV's This Morning: 'One of the main reasons I felt like right now was the right time to speak about it was because … the last year has been really difficult, and mental health is something that I've struggled with for a big portion of my life. 'Obviously, this most recent year has been definitely up there, in terms of my experience and my battle with it, and I've never really shied away from that in the sense, you know, my fans who follow me online and on social media, I've spoken about it openly before. 'Today I've released a brand new song, which goes quite deeply into my battle with anxiety and obviously there have been a lot of things that have happened, and there's a lot of things that have contributed to why things have been so difficult.' He continued: 'What was probably one of the most difficult aspects of the entire situation was it was so kind of shocking to me how it seemed like there was such a failure from the public, and also sometimes even from the press, to require proof before condemning me for something that, obviously, ultimately ended up being false and being not true.' He added: 'It was just very difficult to kind of understand that this was all happening without anyone really knowing the true story, or anyone really knowing whether or not it was completely true. 'I think what was difficult for me was, instinctively, you want to defend yourself, you want to be able to speak your side, but I didn't know what was true and what was not.' Asked if he been told about about Chilton's pregnancy before the media storm, he said: 'I was aware of the situation before, however I had no idea that it was going to go to the press. 'I didn't know any of that was going to happen. In my mind, it was like, well, obviously the natural proceeding would be to get a test to basically make sure that everything is 100% certain, and then obviously we deal with it accordingly. A post shared by Conor Maynard (@conormaynard) 'Obviously, that's not the way it went. And I think it was difficult to remain silent.' He added: 'I instantly was painted as a deadbeat dad and … all of my comments across all of my social media was very much all about that. 'As I said, instinctively you want to defend yourself … but I also felt like it wasn't right to speak on it until I knew the truth myself, and I didn't want to force that, I obviously researched paternity tests and that kind of thing, and I know that it can be considered dangerous for a child that isn't born yet, and also when they're very early in life. 'I was kind of just waiting and allowing that decision to come from the other side.' Maynard confirmed the two had initially met at a party with her other Traitors contestants. Chilton told the It Can't Just Be Me podcast in October 2024 that they met at Raffles hotel in London for a Traitors after-party organised by winner Harry Clark, whose girlfriend, Anna, is the sister of Maynard. Chilton has been approached for comment.
Leader Live
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Leader Live
Conor Maynard speaks on paternity drama and ‘really difficult' past year
Chilton publicly claimed last year that the R U Crazy singer is the father to her daughter Penelope, who was born in October 2024. In March this year, the music artist, 32, said in a social media post that he had taken a paternity test and that the results 'confirm that I am not Penelope's father'. Maynard, who had maintained his silence prior to the social media post in March, told ITV's This Morning: 'One of the main reasons I felt like right now was the right time to speak about it was because … the last year has been really difficult, and mental health is something that I've struggled with for a big portion of my life. 'Obviously, this most recent year has been definitely up there, in terms of my experience and my battle with it, and I've never really shied away from that in the sense, you know, my fans who follow me online and on social media, I've spoken about it openly before. 'Today I've released a brand new song, which goes quite deeply into my battle with anxiety and obviously there have been a lot of things that have happened, and there's a lot of things that have contributed to why things have been so difficult.' He continued: 'What was probably one of the most difficult aspects of the entire situation was it was so kind of shocking to me how it seemed like there was such a failure from the public, and also sometimes even from the press, to require proof before condemning me for something that, obviously, ultimately ended up being false and being not true.' He added: 'It was just very difficult to kind of understand that this was all happening without anyone really knowing the true story, or anyone really knowing whether or not it was completely true. 'I think what was difficult for me was, instinctively, you want to defend yourself, you want to be able to speak your side, but I didn't know what was true and what was not.' Asked if he been told about about Chilton's pregnancy before the media storm, he said: 'I was aware of the situation before, however I had no idea that it was going to go to the press. 'I didn't know any of that was going to happen. In my mind, it was like, well, obviously the natural proceeding would be to get a test to basically make sure that everything is 100% certain, and then obviously we deal with it accordingly. A post shared by Conor Maynard (@conormaynard) 'Obviously, that's not the way it went. And I think it was difficult to remain silent.' He added: 'I instantly was painted as a deadbeat dad and … all of my comments across all of my social media was very much all about that. 'As I said, instinctively you want to defend yourself … but I also felt like it wasn't right to speak on it until I knew the truth myself, and I didn't want to force that, I obviously researched paternity tests and that kind of thing, and I know that it can be considered dangerous for a child that isn't born yet, and also when they're very early in life. 'I was kind of just waiting and allowing that decision to come from the other side.' Maynard confirmed the two had initially met at a party with her other Traitors contestants. Chilton told the It Can't Just Be Me podcast in October 2024 that they met at Raffles hotel in London for a Traitors after-party organised by winner Harry Clark, whose girlfriend, Anna, is the sister of Maynard. Chilton has been approached for comment.
RTÉ News
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- RTÉ News
Singer Conor Maynard opens about 'really difficult' past year
Singer Conor Maynard has spoken about his paternity drama with The Traitors contestant Charlotte Chilton and said the last year has been "really difficult". Chilton publicly claimed last year that the R U Crazy singer is the father to her daughter Penelope, who was born in October 2024. In March this year, the music artist, 32, said in a social media post that he had taken a paternity test and that the results "confirm that I am not Penelope's father". Maynard, who had maintained his silence prior to the social media post in March, told ITV's This Morning: "One of the main reasons I felt like right now was the right time to speak about it was because … the last year has been really difficult, and mental health is something that I've struggled with for a big portion of my life. "Obviously, this most recent year has been definitely up there, in terms of my experience and my battle with it, and I've never really shied away from that in the sense, you know, my fans who follow me online and on social media, I've spoken about it openly before. "Today I've released a brand new song, which goes quite deeply into my battle with anxiety and obviously there have been a lot of things that have happened, and there's a lot of things that have contributed to why things have been so difficult." He continued: "What was probably one of the most difficult aspects of the entire situation was it was so kind of shocking to me how it seemed like there was such a failure from the public, and also sometimes even from the press, to require proof before condemning me for something that, obviously, ultimately ended up being false and being not true." He added: "It was just very difficult to kind of understand that this was all happening without anyone really knowing the true story, or anyone really knowing whether or not it was completely true. "I think what was difficult for me was, instinctively, you want to defend yourself, you want to be able to speak your side, but I didn't know what was true and what was not." Asked if he been told about Chilton's pregnancy before the media storm, he said: "I was aware of the situation before, however I had no idea that it was going to go to the press. "I didn't know any of that was going to happen. In my mind, it was like, well, obviously the natural proceeding would be to get a test to basically make sure that everything is 100% certain, and then obviously we deal with it accordingly. "Obviously, that's not the way it went. And I think it was difficult to remain silent." He added: "I instantly was painted as a deadbeat dad and … all of my comments across all of my social media was very much all about that. "As I said, instinctively you want to defend yourself … but I also felt like it wasn't right to speak on it until I knew the truth myself, and I didn't want to force that, I obviously researched paternity tests and that kind of thing, and I know that it can be considered dangerous for a child that isn't born yet, and also when they're very early in life. "I was kind of just waiting and allowing that decision to come from the other side." Maynard confirmed that he and Chilton had initially met at a party with her other Traitors contestants. Chilton told the It Can't Just Be Me podcast in October 2024 that they met at Raffles hotel in London for a Traitors after-party organised by winner Harry Clark, whose girlfriend, Anna, is the sister of Maynard.
The Hill
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Hill
Who is Scott Jenkins? What to know about the ex-sheriff Trump pardoned
President Trump granted another pardon on Monday for a former official he claimed was the victim of a 'weaponized' Justice Department (DOJ) during the Biden administration, granting clemency to former Sheriff Scott Jenkins. Jenkins served as the sheriff of Culpeper County in northern Virginia for a decade but lost his reelection bid in 2023 amid the charges he was facing and eventually was convicted on bribery charges. He was about to report to prison for a 10-year sentence before being pardoned. Here's what to know about Jenkins: Jenkins served as the county sheriff for 12 years, first being elected in 2011 and winning reelection twice, running as both a Republican and independent. But he lost his reelection bid in November 2023, less than five months after he was indicted. He came in third place in the race, losing to now-Sheriff Timothy Chilton, who was serving as the deputy chief of the Culpeper Police Department. Chilton said at the time that he avoided discussing the details of the allegations against Jenkins during the campaign but wanted to focus on regaining the trust of the community and change the office's culture. One prominent moment during Jenkins's tenure came in 2019 when he announced plans to deputize the county's residents if the Democratic-controlled legislature passed 'further unnecessary gun restrictions.' 'I plan to properly screen and deputize thousands of our law-abiding citizens to protect their constitutional right to own firearms,' he said. Chilton has ended that program since taking office. Jenkins was indicted in June 2023 based on allegations that he accepted more than $70,000 in bribes in the form of cash or campaign contributions from more than a half dozen, including two undercover FBI agents. Prosecutors alleged that Jenkins appointed these men as auxiliary deputy sheriffs, giving them badges and credentials despite them not being trained or vetted and not offering services to the sheriff's office. They also accused him of pressuring local officials in the case of one man, a convicted felon, to restore his right to own a firearm. That man and the two undercover FBI agents testified against Jenkins, saying that they gave the then-sheriff bribes in exchange for being deputized. Jenkins took the stand in his own defense and argued that the payments he received and the badges he provided had no connection. The Washington Post reported at the time that Jenkins's defense attorney argued prosecutors had 'no credible evidence' of bribery and Jenkins 'came up with creative ideas' to get around gun control laws that the state legislature passed. The attorney said the money that Jenkins received were legitimate political donations. Three of the six men who were appointed as auxiliary deputy sheriffs pleaded guilty ahead of Jenkins's trial and cooperated with authorities. Jenkins was convicted on all counts that he faced in December, including one count of conspiracy, four counts of honest services mail and wire fraud and seven counts of bribery concerning programs receiving public funds. He was sentenced to a decade in prison in March. Trump has been eager throughout his second term to grant pardons and commutations to individuals he sees as in the same situation as himself, as victims of a 'weaponized' DOJ under former President Biden. Trump regularly accused prosecutors in different jurisdictions of pursing politically motivated prosecutions, as he was indicted four times during his 2024 presidential election campaign. He cited similar allegations in his post on Truth Social announcing his decision to pardon Jenkins. 'Sheriff Scott Jenkins, his wife Patricia, and their family have been dragged through HELL by a Corrupt and Weaponized Biden DOJ,' he said. He alleged that the judge in the case, appointed by Biden, treated Jenkins unfairly in refusing to accept evidence that Jenkins offered to exonerate himself. Jenkins reportedly asked for clemency last month from Trump, saying during a webinar that he didn't have the money for an appeal of the verdict and believed Trump would step in if he heard the evidence that he wasn't able to share in front of the jury. Trump has also issued pardons for others he's argued were the targets of politically motivated cases, notably most of those convicted of crimes stemming from the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. Those who did not receive pardons receive commutations of their sentences. His pardon of Jenkins also falls in line with others he has issued for those of high-profile individuals who have expressed similar conservative-leaning political views to him, like conservative commentators Dinesh D'Souza during his first term and Michele Fiore, also a former Las Vegas City Council member, during his second term.
BBC News
09-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
The Oxfordshire prisoner of war freed just before VE Day
Joe Woods was freed from the Stalag IV-F prisoner of war camp in eastern Germany on 7 May 1945, the day before VE Day marked the end of the Second World War in camp's liberation, which came on his 24th birthday, brought an end to his four years under German imprisonment."I shall make up for what I have lost," he wrote in a letter to his sister Josie after the camp was letter has been shared with the BBC by his family, who live in Chilton in Oxfordshire, as the UK marks eight decades since the end of war in Europe. Joe's son Keith said to mark the occasion he would "dig out" the archive of his father's time during the war and "have a look through it"."There's always something that reminds you of what's going on, so all these things are good archive to have," he said. Among the collection is Joe's letter to his sister - one of the first he had been able to send as a free man."I was freed on my birthday, and met up with the yanks [American troops] the following day," he wrote."The Russians were in the next village to ours, it was a great laugh to see the Germans scared stiff of our allies."Having lied about his age to enlist in 1939, he had been in Libya in November 1941 when he was taken prisoner and shipped across the Mediterranean alongside fellow captured soldiers. But the ship he was on never made it to its destination. It was sunk during an attack by a British Joe being unable to swim, he "luckily managed to cling to some driftwood" and washed ashore in Greece, his granddaughter Lucy Woods explained."It's quite incredible that he managed to survive that," she arrived back in Europe, Joe was soon recaptured by Axis forces and spent the rest of the war as a prisoner."Myself I am not too bad, a bit weak from the lack of grub as you might know that when I was in German hands we could not write what we wanted to tell," he wrote after he was the letter to his sister, he said: "I close now with all my love to you dear." You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X, or Instagram.
