Latest news with #Hustler
Daily Mail
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Kathy Griffin debuts bold new look with wig at Hustler book signing after frail appearance sparks fears
Kathy Griffin stepped out in West Hollywood on Wednesday with a striking new appearance — just days after sparking concern with a shocking frail look. The 64-year-old comedian turned heads last week when she was spotted on a walk in Malibu, looking almost unrecognizable in her first public sighting since undergoing a hysterectomy in early April. Griffin's gray pallor and visibly thinning hair left fans stunned — some comparing her ghostly complexion to the bloody, severed head of Donald Trump she infamously posed with in 2017, a photo that nearly destroyed her career. But on Wednesday, the former sitcom star was practically unrecognizable in a different way. Wearing a vibrant red wig, full glam makeup, and flashing a wide smile, Griffin posed confidently at a book signing event for Hustler®: 50 Years of Freedom, celebrating the infamous adult magazine. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new Showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. She leaned into the risqué theme with a revealing black corset top and a Hustler-branded bomber jacket, happily posing with the book's author — Hustler founder Larry Flynt's widow, Liz Flynt. Later, Kathy was spotted playfully kicking up her heels before sliding into her car as she left the event. The high-spirited display was a world away from her Malibu outing, where her signature bright red hair hung loose around her shoulders, contrasting sharply with the jarring paleness of her skin — and where her receding hairline and visible scalp issues suggested a bald spot or condition. Known for her biting humor and criticism of Republicans, the Catholic League and celebrity culture, Griffin has opened up about her history of health struggles, starting with a binge eating disorder as a teen. She has also been open about her extensive history with cosmetic procedures, including breast augmentation, a nose job, lip tattooing, a botched LASIK surgery in 2003 that left one eye partially blinded, and life-threatening complications from a 1999 liposuction. She's also battled mental health struggles, especially after the notorious 2017 photo showing her holding what appeared to be Donald Trump's severed head sparked intense backlash. At the time, Trump condemned the image on Twitter, saying, 'Kathy Griffin should be ashamed of herself. My children, especially my 11-year-old son, Barron, are having a hard time with this. Sick!' Donald Trump Jr. added fuel to the fire during a Good Morning America interview, declaring, 'She deserves everything that's coming to her.' Amid the controversy, Griffin, her elderly mother, and her terminally ill sister received death threats, marking one of the darkest chapters of her tumultuous career. The Trump administration went further, placing Griffin on its no-fly list and prompting a Justice Department investigation lasting over two months to determine whether her photo amounted to a conspiracy to assassinate the president — a probe that ultimately led nowhere in legal terms. Still, the image caused her career to nosedive, at least temporarily. Talk shows and theaters canceled her appearances, and CNN ended her annual stint co-hosting its New Years Eve show with Anderson Cooper from 2009 to 2017. 'I wasn't canceled,' she told the New York Times. 'I was erased.' Griffin ended up apologizing for the Trump effigy, posting on Twitter that, 'I went way too far. The image is too disturbing. I understand how it offends people, it wasn't funny, I get it.' She financed and produced 'Kathy Griffin: A Hell of a Story,' a 2019 documentary about the Trump photo and how it changed her life. Meanwhile, her anxiety and chronic back pain triggered a pill addiction, which spiraled into severe depression and an attempt to end her life in 2020. Then in 2021, she was diagnosed with lung cancer, even though she never smoked. A surgery to remove half of her left lung damaged her vocal cords, causing her to undergo at least one more operation to improve her ability to speak. Griffin came forward on social media in 2023 to say that her cancer fight and years of Trump backlash contributed to extreme post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and caused severe anxiety attacks that at times had her writhing in bed for eight hours. She talked about the ordeal in a video posted to her TikTok account. She said at the time that she managed her anxiety partly by pushing herself to do daily tasks such as feeding her dog or taking walks. Griffin took small, but brisk steps on her recent trek in Malibu wearing a gray top, black leggings and designer purse. Such details are the kind of fodder she has used in her brand of caustic comedy aimed at everyone from Barbara Walters to the Octomom to Jesus Christ. Raised in Oak Park, a suburb of Chicago, Kathleen Mary Griffin attended acting school and launched her acting and comedy career in Los Angeles in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Her supporting role on the Brooke Shields sitcom Suddenly Susan and starring role in Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List — winner of two Emmys for Outstanding Reality Show — marked her big breaks on TV. She was a regular on late night talk shows, has performed in 20 stand-up comedy specials on HBO, Comedy Central and Bravo, and has appeared in 45 movies. Griffin finalized her divorce from marketing executive Randy Bick in January after four years of marriage.
BBC News
13-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
William Ruto: Why Kenya's president attracts so many nicknames
Kenya's President William Ruto is a man of many Jesus, El Chapo, Hustler and Chicken Seller are just some that he has acquired in recent is often the case when people are given alternative monikers, some are affectionate but some are intended to mock and reflect a profound anger.A history of the president's aliases offer a window into how the perception of him has has acknowledged the rechristening trend, joking recently that Kenyans are "finishing" him with the numerous labels."You have given me so many names. I had the name William Kipchirchir Samoei Ruto. You added Survivor… Zakayo... now you are at Kasongo (the title of a Congolese song about abandonment and heartbreak). Will you stop at ten, or should I prepare for more?" he recently crowd, at a rally in the capital, Nairobi, responded that they had yet he was elected president in 2022, Ruto attracted handles that bolstered his reputation as a man of the - Kenyan parlance for someone eking out a living against the odds - helped portray him as someone who would prioritise the needs of the struggling Seller, referring to his childhood when he hawked poultry on the roadside, resonated with many who saw his life as an epitome of their own."These were very positive [names]. They sold him to the public in terms of votes," political analyst Prof Herman Manyora told the BBC arguing that they helped catapult him into the top job. "Names really stick with Ruto," he added. But the president has been a high-profile figure in Kenyan politics for a long time, including serving as deputy president for nine years up until 2022, and has never been far from Manyora recalls the label Arap Mashamba – which translates as "son of farms" – coined just under a decade ago and relates to Ruto's ownership of vast tracts of land across the country. Concerns have been raised about how some of these have been 2013, a court ordered Ruto to surrender a 100-acre (40-hectare) farm and compensate a farmer who had accused him of grabbing it during the 2007 post-election violence. He denied any penchant for quoting Bible verses also earned him the Deputy Jesus it is since his rise to the presidency that the nickname manufacturers have been working overtime – with at least a dozen being created - and they have become increasingly that has stood out is Zakayo - Swahili for the name Zaccheaus, a Biblical figure who is portrayed as a greedy tax collector who climbed a tree to see 'tax collector' president sparking Kenyan angerBBC identifies security forces who shot Kenya anti-tax protestersRuto's government ntroduced a raft of unpopular taxes and many Kenyans began to say that he had betrayed the "hustlers"."He failed to deliver after becoming president," Prof Manyora pain of paying more taxes, and a perception that the extra money will be wasted, is often the focus many year, young people came out onto the streets of Nairobi for weeks of protests, which turned deadly, against a fresh government proposal to raise taxes that was later dropped. The chant "Ruto must go" became a rallying call for the demonstrators and now Must Go has become another way to refer to the creative christeners have also focussed on the allegation that the president enjoys foreign the title Vasco da Ganya – a play on the name of the 15th Century Portuguese explorer, Vasco da Gama, and the Swahili word danganya, which means "to lie".Africa's 'flying presidents' under fireRuto's honesty has also been called into question with Kaunda Uongoman, which mimics late Congolese musician Kanda first part refers to the president's love for the Kaunda suit - a safari jacket with matching trousers – and Uongoman, which incorporates the Swahili word uongo, meaning "lies".But the president seems impervious to this volley of verbal spokesman Isaac Mwaura said the manifold nicknames "don't raise concerns" in the office of the president but simply "capture how people view a person".Ruto is "very hands on and doing his best to transform the economy... It's normal for any leader to have many nicknames as this signifies his various attributes and initiatives as a leader", he told the also argued that in spite of the Zakayo nickname, the government has had to raise taxes to pay for new projects, reduce the budget deficit and fix the when people have gone beyond inventing new names and used satire and forms of art to ridicule the president, there has been a negative reaction from officials. Some cartoons and AI-generated images, including showing the president in a casket, have been described as "reckless" and "distasteful".Some of the alleged producers of this online content have been victims of abductions. This, Prof Manyora said, should been seen as a sign of intolerance by the Kiplimo, a 23-year-old university student, said that while he supported the president, some of the promises he has made are sometimes "unrealistic", which fuels the cited the use of El Chapo, referring to the former Mexican drug lord, after Ruto promised a machine that would produce a million chapatis (also known as chapo in Kenya) every day to feed schoolchildren in the capital. Mr Kiplimo however reckons that the way the president brushes off the monikers, and in fact seems to embrace them, shows how strong he Manyora believes the young people who come up with the alternative labels for the president do it as a form of catharsis, a way of releasing tension. This view is backed up by 24-year-old student Margaret Wairimu Kahura, who said that many Kenyans "are in a lot of pain".She feels that the mockery is a way of letting Ruto know how the youth are feeling. She says that no other Kenyan president has been subjected to this level of lampooning, and "so this is unique [but] in a bad way".It is true that previous heads of state had had nicknames but they have not been so last President, Uhuru Kenyatta, was called Kamwana ("young boy"), Jayden (a Kenyan reference to a pampered or lazy child) and Wamashati (for his love of print shirts).His predecessor, Mwai Kibaki, was known as General Kiguoya (a general who is afraid) and Fence the age of social media, with its insatiable appetite for new content to keep people amused has increased the trend towards name for many, like Ms Kahura, the volume of nicknames for Ruto are a genuine reflection of "the different problems that people are facing". You may also be interested in: How Kenya's evangelical president has fallen out with churchesKenyan president's humbling shows power of African youthProtesters set fire to Kenya's parliament - but also saved two MPs Go to for more news from the African us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Comedy can push back against authoritarianism. We need more of that humor now
In a country where telling the truth can get you deported, comedy remains one of the few safe spaces to say something our government hates, like, "Donald Trump has little felon hands." We think only journalism can keep democracy from dying in the dark. I like to remind people that comedy has a flashlight, too. I teach a college course in the San Francisco Bay area called "Can Comedy Save Democracy?" We focus on satire: humor that exposes truth by mocking power. Students learn to 'punch up' at the powerful, not down at the vulnerable. I cover the comic essays and cartoons of one of our Founding Fathers, Benjamin Franklin. And I love sharing that well-worn phrase, 'Comedy is tragedy plus time' (it's the type of math my students don't find intimidating). But even without the luxury of time, comedy can deliver facts and help people make sense of this moment. Reminding Americans that comedy is a democratic tool feels urgent, especially at a time when silence is the safer strategy for law firms, media outlets, universities and that backbone-less species we call Congress. Around the world, humor serves as both a form of dissent and a workaround to censorship. In my research, I interviewed a Stanford engineering student who finally understood Super PACs thanks to "The Colbert Report." Later, the Annenberg Public Policy Center found that Colbert's satirical Super PAC did more to educate viewers about campaign finance than any mainstream news outlet. Comedy is a gateway to engagement. We're already seeing it with satirical songs like "Hostile Government Takeover" by TikTok user AGiftFromTodd. And comedy-news shows like HBO's "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver" make arcane policy watchable and actionable. (Oliver has helped drive real-world reforms, from the bail industry to chicken farming.) Comedy is protected free speech in the U.S. In Hustler v. Falwell (1988), the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that parody isn't libel. The case involved Hustler's fake ad implying televangelist Jerry Falwell lost his virginity… in an outhouse, with his mother. Gross? But we have the right to offend public figures. Today, I'm alarmed by how progressive comedians are being silenced. In March, so-called free speech champions at the White House Correspondents' Dinner dropped Trump critic Amber Ruffin from the lineup. In April, sincere slacker Seth Rogen's jokes were edited out of the YouTube broadcast of the Breakthrough Prize awards, aka the "Oscars of Science." Organizers blamed time constraints (on YouTube's endless stream?!), but it's telling that the cuts were Rogen's wisecracks criticizing Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Trump, who "single-handedly destroyed all of American science," the uncensored Rogen quipped. There's asymmetry in comic freedom now. While left-leaning comics get cut from programming, right-wing comedians are building media empires. Comedy bros like Theo Von and Joe Rogan — whom Democrats now desperately wish they could clone — have enormous sway, promoting Trump, especially with young men. And of course, there's our Comedian-in-Chief. Trump's jokes, like promising to be a dictator "only on Day 1," cloak authoritarian aims in punchlines. His humor is strategic. Watch his recent address to Congress: It played like a set in a two-drink minimum comedy club. The chamber roared as he mocked funding for "making mice transgender" and "the African nation of Lesotho, which nobody's ever heard of." I must say that comedy isn't always noble. It can spread lies, inflame grievances and seduce people toward anti-democratic ideas — just like other forms of media. But similarly, comedy shapes public judgment. And if some kinds of comedy can sneak truth into the public square disguised as entertainment, if they help us make sense of madness and push back against rising authoritarianism, then shouldn't we make more? After all, when Ben Franklin was asked what the Constitutional Convention had produced, a democracy or a monarchy, didn't he famously say: 'A republic — if you can out-meme the red hats.' Keli Dailey is a graduate of the University of Texas' journalism program, now working as a comedian and media professor at Mills College at Northeastern University in Oakland, Calif. Her work, from the Los Angeles Times to South by Southwest and solo shows, blends sharp reporting with cultural critique and satire. This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Can comedy save democracy? Yes, and we need more of it | Opinion
NDTV
26-04-2025
- Automotive
- NDTV
Mahindra & Mahindra To Acquire 58.96 Per Cent Stake In SML Isuzu For Rs 555 Crore
Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd on Saturday announced that it has agreed to acquire a 58.96% stake in SML Isuzu Ltd (SML) at Rs 650 per share, which is an outlay of Rs 555 crore. In addition, M&M will make an open offer under the SEBI Takeover Regulations. The proposed acquisition is a step towards establishing a strong presence in the over 3.5-tonne commercial segment, where M&M has a 3 per cent market share. On the other hand, the M&M has a 52% market share in the less than 3.5-tonne LCV segment. Also Read: Maruti Suzuki e-Vitara Launch in September 2025, Hustler SUV To Follow M&M said this acquisition will double the market share to 6 per cent, with a plan to increase this to 10-12 per cent by FY31 and over 20 per cent by FY36. Incorporated in 1983, SML Isuzu is a listed company with well-recognized brands, a strong vintage, and pan-India presence in the Trucks and Buses segment. SML has a market-leading position in the ILCV. In the buses segment, SMl has around 16% market share. The company reported operating revenue of Rs 2,196 crore and EBITDA of Rs 179 crore in FY24. The company in the statement said it has profitable operations, frugal manufacturing, and strong engineering capabilities. SML offers significant potential to unlock value through synergies in cost, network, brand, manufacturing, talent, and product complementarities. As part of the transaction, M&M would acquire the entire stake of 43.96% held by Sumitomo Corporation, promoter of SML, and separately also acquire a 15% stake held by Isuzu Motors Ltd, public shareholder of SML, for an aggregate consideration of Rs 555 crore. M&M would also launch a mandatory open offer for the acquisition of up to 26 per cent stake from eligible public shareholders of SML in accordance with the SEBI Takeover Regulations. Anish Shah, Group CEO & MD of the Mahindra Group, said, "The acquisition of SML Isuzu marks a significant milestone in Mahindra Group's vision of delivering five-fold growth in our emerging businesses. This acquisition is aligned with our capital allocation strategy for investing in high potential growth areas which have a strong right to win and have demonstrated operational excellence." Rajesh Jejurikar, Executive Director and CEO, Auto and Farm Sector, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, said, "SML brings a strong legacy, a loyal customer base, and a credible product portfolio that complements Mahindra's existing offerings in the trucks and buses segment. This acquisition is a pivotal step toward our ambition to become a full-range, formidable player in commercial vehicles by enhancing market coverage, unlocking operating leverage through platform consolidation, a unified supplier and network base, and better plant utilization. Together, we are well-positioned to scale rapidly and drive profitable growth." The transaction, including the open offer, is subject to the approval of the Competition Commission of India and is expected to complete within 2025 in accordance with SEBI Takeover Regulations. Kotak Investment Banking is acting as the financial advisor to M&M and manager to the open offer. Khaitan & Co acted as legal advisor to M&M.
The Guardian
24-02-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Nick Grimshaw's 6 Music breakfast show review – eating a pork pie in bed is the morning joy we all need
Breakfast radio hosts are like spouses, colleagues, siblings and parents: they can be really, really annoying. It's often a matter of timing – you might find a certain presenter grating at seven in the morning, but the same one prattling on after lunch totally inoffensive. Yet such a visceral, borderline irrational reaction does make the early morning slot a dicey endeavour. Nick Grimshaw will already be well aware of this occupational hazard as he takes over the 6 Music breakfast show from Lauren Laverne – he helmed Radio 1's more high-profile equivalent between 2012 and 2018. As he kicks off his debut programme with the kind of hushed reverence that has long been de rigueur on the station, it's obvious he is doing his best not to rile the faithful. I don't find Grimshaw remotely irritating, though I can see why his (now toned-down) persona – slightly ditzy, chummily familiar – might not be for everyone. Personally, I'm very much looking forward to him bringing more of his giddily droll humour to the show. (We got a sprinkling of comedy this morning, largely courtesy of a an email requesting UB40 from a man eating a pork pie in bed). Yet, unlike his previous gig, the 6 Music breakfast show is clearly not meant to be a personality showcase. It's not even supposed to be particularly entertaining; 6 Music is all about the songs (the clue's in the name), something Grimshaw acknowledges early doors. He is 'here with one job only: to start your day with the best music'. This approach means that 6 Music's rivals are not other stations but music streaming services – and, for the most part, Grimshaw makes an excellent case for the value of the station on these terms. The first half hour is a perfectly calibrated combination of indie classics (New Order's Bizarre Love Triangle), the zeitgeist's latest (the new Fontaines DC), 00s nostalgia (Simian Mobile Disco's Hustler), and critically acclaimed music that deserves a wider audience (courtesy of South African artist Moonchild Sanelly). And there's also something obscure that may be the next big thing (I was delighted to be introduced to the next-gen nu-metal of Toronto's Doflame). This mix of the comforting and the cutting edge, curated by human beings with great taste, is a salve and joy in a world of coldly generic, algorithmic playlisting. Yet, for all 6 Music's taste-making ability, the station also functions as a time warp. Not only has the presenting lineup been largely identical for the past two decades – Grimshaw is a rare new starter – but there's a roster of tracks that have been in almost constant rotation for the same period. Clearly, Grimshaw is not immune to this requirement for suffocating consistency: cue Beastie Boys' Intergalactic, Alright by Supergrass and the Smiths' How Soon Is Now? Most of these came as part of Cloudbusting – the closest thing the breakfast show has to a feature (blessedly, in my opinion) – which involves an hour of upbeat music designed to combat the grey weather. In terms of non-musical interludes, we get a funny and lively (if not overly insightful) interview with Leigh Bowery's friend Sue Tilley – who discusses her book and an upcoming exhibition about the iconic performance artist – and a quick chat with Laverne before she returns in the mid-morning slot. Here, Grimshaw reflects on his first show. 'I was really overthinking it,' he admits, before realising 'it's literally just pressing play and talking in between those songs.' No, it's not a broadcasting revolution, but with a newly subdued Grimshaw and some excellent tunes, the 6 Music breakfast show is in safe hands. Nick Grimshaw's 6 Music breakfast show is on weekdays from 7am
