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The Herald Scotland
26-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
I am not ashamed that I used to be a drunk, says Scots star
Admittedly, it's in the Upper East Side, a block away from Central Park and the Metropolitan Museum of Art and it cost the best part of $2 million (just under £1.5m in Sterling), so he's probably not slumming it. And certainly the tiny corner I see of it through my Zoom lens looks handsome. What's that picture behind you, Craig? 'That's a Scottish artist, Hugh Williams, the horse painter guy. It's good, isn't it?' It's Good Friday in New York today. And in Falkirk too, for that matter. 'You live in Falkirk? A million years ago I went to Falkirk Technical College for a year with Robin Guthrie who was in the Cocteau Twins. He was from Grangemouth. We were both electronic engineers. He made something of his life.' Read more I think it's fair to say that Ferguson has too. Once upon a time known round these parts by his angry comedic alter ego Bing Hitler, Ferguson has gone on to become a film star, a late-night American talk show host - he hosted The Late Late Show on CBS for 11 seasons - and an author. These days he's 62, drug-free, drink-free, a podcaster, a husband and a father. And he has returned to stand-up. Indeed, he's coming back to Glasgow this June with a new show, Pants on Fire. I ask him for the show's elevator pitch. 'It's a bunch of almost true stories. Some of them not true at all. Do you know when you see something on Netflix that's 'based on a true story'? OK, so this is all based on a true story.' What it isn't is particularly topical. 'I made a bit of a change in how I did stand-up. When you do late night [aka The Late Late Show] you're forced into topical events all the time. Everything's topical, everything's politics. I was looking at that space thing with Katy Perry. [Perry went up to the edge of space for 11 minutes on Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin rocket; but you already knew that.] And I thought, 'God if I was doing late night I would be all over that stuff.' 'So, when I came out of it I wanted to go back to the kind of stuff I used to do right at the beginning when I was doing Bing. It was stuff that was anecdotal and personal. And that's what I did.' In his last stand-up show I'm So Happy, which you can watch on his website, he addressed cancel culture and what comedians can and cannot say these days. Does he feel inhibited as a comedian now in any way? 'I recorded that special about 18 months ago and it was very much prominent in my mind at that time and I don't really talk about that anymore. I think it was a moment when everybody was very touchy.' Craig Ferguson on his US talk show (Image: free) When he started comedy, in the 1980s, he reminds me, the only comedians around were himself, Fred MacAulay - 'Fred was doing golf clubs and I was doing nightclubs' - and his hero, Billy Connolly. Back then, he says, 'you were always getting in trouble for saying something. Billy was always in trouble. And I expect it. It's the price of doing business in my line of work. Some people will get mad at what you say. 'When I was doing late night I had a very good producer who would say, 'Is it worth it? Is the joke good enough.' And sometimes it was and sometimes it wasn't. 'And that stuck with me. If it's a good enough joke I don't give a f*** who it annoys. But if it's not that good a joke maybe it's not worth the hassle. 'I know there's stuff I have done back in the day I would now go, 'Oh Jesus.' But you live and learn, I guess.' It's maybe worth remembering that while hosting The Late Late Show on CBS for all those years the moments that cut through most were his interview with Desmond Tutu which managed to combine humour with a platform for ideas of forgiveness and compassion (the show won a Peabody Award as a result) and his monologue in 2007 when he revealed why he would not be doing jokes about Britney Spears when she was struggling with her mental health. 'We shouldn't be attacking the vulnerable people,' he said at the time. All of which maybe raises the question, is he a very different comedian than he was back in his Bing Hitler days? 'It's funny. My youngest boy found a vinyl of Bing Hitler live at the Tron so he put it on and made me listen to it and I thought, 'Some of that is not bad.' That's 1986 I was 24. 'I tend to dismiss things and move on, but I listened to it and I can see how that did OK. Parts of it are funny, parts of it are awful. 'Am I different? I'm older. I move around less on stage now. I get out there, I stand and talk, that's it.' Craig Ferguson as Bing Hitler (Image: free) What's undeniable is that he's a very different person. In the days before we speak I read his 2019 book Riding the Elephant, a series of autobiographical essays in which he talks about his childhood in Cumbernauld, his comedy, his marriages, how he lost his virginity and his toxic relationship with alcohol. He has been sober for more than 30 years now. Reading it, I say, what strikes me is the almost insane drive for success that seems to have animated him throughout his career. 'I think when I was younger I liked to phrase it like that because it sounds like I'm searching for something. That sounds a little bit nicer than what I think it might have been. 'I think I was greedy and I wanted things. I wanted attention. All the stuff people look for on social media. I wanted kudos and attention and money, I suppose. 'There was something that happened early on that reset that for me and I still talk about it with my kids. Whenever I get recognised in the streets we call it a 'Haw Bing'. 'Because one of the first shows I ever did at the Tron Theatre had gone really well and I had gone down the next day to get my guitar or whatever and when I was leaving somebody shouted to me, 'Haw Bing'. It was the first time I'd ever been recognised in the street. A guy at the Trongate shouted, 'Haw Bing' and I turned around. He went, 'You're a c***.' 'It was such an interesting, sharp lesson on visibility and fame and this kind of life. So, if I'm going somewhere the kids will say, 'Put a hat on dad so we don't get any Haw Bings'. 'So, was I searching for something? I don't know. I don't think it was particularly artistic or noble. It was hard to know who I even was. I felt like I was panicking all the time. I think we grew up pretty panicky. Maybe it was the Cold War or something. I felt like I was terrified all the time.' Nuclear annihilation always seemed imminent back then, I suggest. 'It was, though, wasn't it? I used to have dreams about it. I was terrified. There was this level of anxiety all the time. It's probably much more dangerous and scary now.' Craig Ferguson in Still Game in a guest role (Image: free) Does that younger you feel close or far away? 'Yes and no, I suppose. I've reached a point now - I don't know if this is age - I feel affection more than embarrassment or shame for being a drunk back then. I feel sorry for me then. I was so full of f****** bravado and gallusness, but it was all a front. I was f****** terrified and I'm not terrified anymore. 'Am I the same guy? I think essentially yeah. The same DNA obviously, but experience changes you a bit. I was talking to somebody yesterday who's a very successful writer of a TV show and she was saying she's managed to avoid bitterness in her career and I said, 'Well, yeah, maybe a bit of success has helped you avoid bitterness.' 'I don't know. I'm less driven than I was. I'm not out to have it all, girlfriend.' Because you've already had it all? 'A little bit. I used to have a friend - he's still a friend, but he's not alive anymore - this lovely man who helped me out when I was trying to get sober and he was from Liverpool and he used to say, 'II always feel a bit more spiritual when I've a couple of bob in my pocket.' And I think there is some truth to that. 'Look, health is the number one. There's nothing else but health and if you have health you've got everything. But at the same time a bit of cash, a bit of success, a couple of pats on the back is not horrible.' Well, I tell him, as we're more or less of an age, maybe this is a good time to talk about mortality. Craig, do you think about death much? 'The last four or five years I've had a couple of medical procedures. Nothing terrifying, but they involved me getting put under. They give you a drug called Propofol to put you under for an endoscope. 'Now, I'm drug and alcohol-free for decades, but the IV drip went into my arm and the anaesthesiologist said, 'OK, I'm going to send you to sleep now and I watched the drips go in and I thought, 'Oh God, this is great. I love this, I love this, I love this … And then I was gone. Craig Ferguson at the Brave premiere in Edinburgh with Kelly Macdonald and the late Robbie Coltrane (Image: free)'And I think it's probably like that. You're just not there. But this is what I don't know. And I have become more interested … You know people say, 'How often does your dad think about the Roman Empire?' I've become fascinated by Hellenistic philosophers, Stoic philosophers, pre-Roman christianity, the Upanishads, all sorts of people trying to figure it out. 'I am much more interested in that than when I was skint Haw Bing. 'But having a concrete idea about it, no. Do I think about it, not directly. I try not to scare myself too much. But I do question the nature of the universe. 'I think illness terrifies me more than oblivion,' he adds. 'You can have a bunch of problems until you've got a health problem. And then you've got one f****** problem.' We talk some more. We talk about how Billy Connolly is still his God ('If I play guitar, he's Jimi Hendrix'). We talk about his favourite places to eat in Scotland. ('The Curry Pot in Dumbarton Road is my current go-to.') We talk about his obsession with Facebook Marketplace ('that's my new porn'), and his old friend and bandmate Peter Capaldi. ('He's one of those annoying bastards who can do everything.') We talk about his plans for a Polish Easter weekend with his wife's family on a dairy farm in Massachusetts. And inevitably we talk about the state of the world. 'Everybody's got a different opinion and everybody's a f****** expert and everybody has their own TV show on their phone. It seems to create a rather agitated society. Marx talked about religion being the opium of the masses. Clearly, social media is the opium of the masses now and I think it's just a new drug. Indignation is the new drug. 'Everybody is outraged by everybody else's opinion. Maybe that's not new. Maybe it's not that different. But everybody seems a little more ready to be indignant perhaps. 'I have social media accounts, but, full disclosure, I don't do them. 'Also, it seems like it's very addictive and I have a bad history with shit like that.' Craig Ferguson is drug-free and living in New York. Craig Ferguson is an American citizen who still loves coming home to Scotland. Craig Ferguson is not a young man anymore. 'I've reached the age now when I see a cop I go, 'Oh good. There are some police around.'' Craig Ferguson is still making people laugh. What more do we need from him? Craig Ferguson: Pants on Fire, 02 Academy, Glasgow, June 21
Daily Mail
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Fabulist George Santos weeps as he is handed staggering jail sentence for campaign fraud scandal
Former New York lawmaker George Santos sobbed as he was jailed for spinning a web of lies that eventually saw him steal identities and commit fraud. He was sentenced on Friday to 87 months in prison, over seven years, with an additional two years of supervised release. 'Where is your remorse? U.S. District Court Judge Joanna Seybert asked Santos during the Friday sentencing. 'Where do I see it?' With the disgraced lawmaker, the judge said, 'it's always someone else's fault.' Santos wept as he told the court he felt 'humbled' and realized he had betrayed his constituents' trust. 'I offer my deepest apologies,' he said, adding: 'I cannot rewrite the past, but I can control the road ahead.' Santos, 36, pleaded guilty in August 2024 to committing wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. The former congressman was also ordered to pay at least $373,749.97 in restitution and forfeit over $200,000, according to a plea agreement he made last year. He faced up to 22 years in prison, but was widely expected to get a six to eight year sentence. Lawyers representing Santos asked that the ex-lawmaker receive the minimum sentence of two years in prison, but federal prosecutors pushed back, noting in a recent court filing that the Republican 'remains unrepentant' for his crimes. The prosecution painted Santos as a bombastic serial liar who eventually turned to criminality to support his expensive lifestyle that was built on audacious fabrications. Between his guilty plea and Friday's sentencing, Santos would go on tirades on social media, claiming he did not commit crimes that he admitted in court and lashing out at his detractors. Some of the evidence included how Santos called Department of Justice a 'cabal of pedophiles.' It also included social media posts in which he denied using campaign funds to make purchases at Hermès, despite having done so. 'Santos did use campaign contributions made to Redstone Strategies LLC to make luxury purchases at, among other stores, Hermès,' the prosecution said refuting a recent claim by Santos on X. Ahead of his sentencing on Thursday, Santos said: 'I'm doing as well as any human being would be doing given the circumstances.' 'I will be in court tomorrow, ready to face the music.' He also told the New York Times this week: 'Right now, my expectation is I'm going to prison for 87 months.' 'I came to this world alone. I will deal with it alone, and I will go out alone,' he shared. The former Republican started a podcast in December, 'Pants on Fire,' where he dishes on his counterfeit history, which includes lies about him working on Wall Street, attending New York University, playing collegiate volleyball and being Jewish. But those lies, mostly told when he was campaigning for his congressional seat in 2022, were just the tip of the iceberg. His expulsion came after a bombshell House Ethics Committee report detailed his proclivity to deceive donors about his bona fides before using the contributions to prop up his lavish lifestyle. The Republican has been accused of funneling political donations to spending on Botox, designer clothes, casino holidays, and OnlyFans fees. He also allegedly collected $24,000 in unemployment benefits while he did have a job, lying about his income on disclosure forms, and inventing donations to make his campaign look better. 'Contesting the severity of a proposed sentence is not the same as contesting guilt, and punishing protected speech because it questions punishment should trouble anyone who values fair prosecution over personal vindication,' Santos wrote to the judge this week. He claimed in his letter to the judge that his 'colorful' commentary online is now being inappropriately 'repurposed as a sword against me.' But prosecutors say that's because Santos has not learned his lesson. 'Put plainly, Santos is not genuinely remorseful, despite accepting responsibility as part of his allocution,' the prosecution wrote. 'If he were, his actions would be different.'
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Former Rep George Santos Sentenced to Over 7 Years in Prison for Fraud
Originally appeared on E! Online George Santos is facing the consequences of his actions. A federal judge in New York sentenced the former Congressman to 87 months in prison—which totals to more than seven years—on April 25, per NBC News, after Santos plead guilty to two felony fraud charges in August 2024. U.S. Judge Joanna Seybert handed down the prison sentence after prosecutors urged for the 87 months. "From his creation of a wholly fictitious biography to his callous theft of money from elderly and impaired donors,' prosecutors said in a sentencing memorandum, per NBC News, 'Santos's unrestrained greed and voracious appetite for fame enabled him to exploit the very system by which we select our representatives.' In addition to calling Santos a 'pathological liar,' the outlet reports prosecutors also called out his recently launched podcast Pants on Fire with George Santos as 'a perfect crystallization of his lack of genuine contrition and his tone-deaf efforts to continue turning lies into dollars." More from E! Online Untangling Kanye West's "Cousins" Lyrics After Incestuous Relationship Revelation RHOBH's PK Kemsley Spotted Making Out With New Woman Amid Dorit Kemsley Breakup Justin Bieber Shares Why He Won't Leave Los Angeles After Paparazzi Incident Prosecutors noted that without the 'substantial deterrent' of 87 months, 'Santos will continue to deceive and defraud for years to come. That is especially true given Santos's craven efforts to leverage his lawbreaking as a springboard to celebrity and riches.' Santos' attorney, meanwhile, had asked Judge Seybert to hand down the minimum sentence of two years. "His conduct, though involving dishonesty and abuse of trust, stemmed largely from a misguided desperation related to his political campaign, rather than inherent malice," his attorneys said in a court filing, per NBC News, referring to Santos' lack of a criminal history. "Moreover, the public nature of this case and Mr. Santos's fall from a position of public trust serve as a stark warning to others who might contemplate similar offenses.' Upon his 2022 election to Congress, claims Santos had made about his background quickly came into question, with The New York Times reporting he'd lied or embellished parts of his resume and history. Further investigation later revealed campaign finance fraud, and in 2023 Santos was indicted in federal court on Long Island on a wide array of charges. In December of that year, the House of Representatives voted to expel him from Congress. One night before his sentencing, while in conversation with former Congressman Matt Gaetz on One America News Network, Santos addressed the possibility of a pardon from President Donald Trump. 'I haven't petitioned the president for a pardon,' Santos said. 'A lot of people keep asking me this, but obviously, if the president were to extend one, I'd be humbly grateful, because he'd be taking a major weight off my back.' (E! and NBC News are both part of the NBCUniversal family.) For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News App
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Former Rep. George Santos sentenced to more than 7 years in prison
A federal judge in New York sentenced former Rep. George Santos to over seven years in prison Friday. "Where is the remorse?" U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert asked Santos before sentencing him to 87 months behind bars and ordering him to almost $374,000 in restitution. He was ordered to surrender by July 25. Seybert handed down the sentence after Santos made a tearful plea for mercy and acknowledged he'd "betrayed the confidence" of his constituents. The judge did not appear moved by Santos' sobs. She said doesn't like sending people to jail, but Santos was 'fully deserving' of the lengthy sentence. John J. Durham, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, called the sentence "justice" after the hearing, and said Santos was "finally held accountable for the mountain of lies, theft, and fraud he perpetrated.' Santos, 36, had pleaded guilty in August of last year to charges of committing wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. Prosecutors had urged Seybert to throw the book at Santos, the disgraced former Republican congressman, to "reflect the seriousness of Santos's unparalleled crimes." "From his creation of a wholly fictitious biography to his callous theft of money from elderly and impaired donors, Santos's unrestrained greed and voracious appetite for fame enabled him to exploit the very system by which we select our representatives," prosecutors said in a sentencing memorandum, in which they asked Seybert to sentence him to 87 months in prison. Prosecutors said that despite his guilty plea to the pair of felony fraud charges — and a teary expression of remorse to news cameras after the proceeding — Santos is "a pathological liar" who isn't actually remorseful about his actions. Prosecutors noted he'd recently launched a weekly podcast called "Pants on Fire with George Santos," which they called 'a perfect crystallization of his lack of genuine contrition and his tone-deaf efforts to continue turning lies into dollars." "It is abundantly clear that, without a substantial deterrent, Santos will continue to deceive and defraud for years to come. That is especially true given Santos's craven efforts to leverage his lawbreaking as a springboard to celebrity and riches" while failing to pay restitution to the people he swindled, prosecutors said. Santos' attorneys had urged Seybert to sentence him to the minimum of two years. "His conduct, though involving dishonesty and abuse of trust, stemmed largely from a misguided desperation related to his political campaign, rather than inherent malice," his attorneys contended in a court filing, noting that he had no criminal history. "Moreover, the public nature of this case and Mr. Santos's fall from a position of public trust serve as a stark warning to others who might contemplate similar offenses," their filing said. Asked this month on his podcast whether he planned to ask President Donald Trump for a pardon, Santos said, "You bet your sweet a-- I would." In an interview with NY1 this week, Santos said he hadn't reached out to Trump, but he added that he believes "the president is aware of my situation.' "If he feels like I'm worthy of a commutation or of clemency or whatever the case is, he can make that decision," he said. Santos was elected to Congress in 2022, when he flipped a seat on Long Island from Democratic to Republican, helping cement a narrow GOP majority in the House. Questions about his background emerged before he even started his term. The New York Times reported that he had lied about or embellished parts of his résumé and personal history. That led to other fabrications' being revealed, including a claim that he was Jewish. He later said he was 'Jew-ish.' Those lies were later revealed to include campaign finance fraud. He was indicted in federal court on Long Island on a wide array of charges in 2023. Prosecutors said he committed identity theft and swindled donors to enrich himself and live a luxurious lifestyle. Among those whose credit card information he used to make unauthorized donations were three "elderly persons suffering from some degree of cognitive impairment or decline," prosecutors said. He was also later hit with a scathing House Ethics Committee report that found he spent campaign funds on rent, luxury designer goods, personal trips to Las Vegas and the Hamptons, cosmetic treatments and a subscription to the adult content site OnlyFans. The House voted to expel him in December 2023. Santos claims to have raked in hundreds of thousands of dollars since then, thanks in large part to personalized videos he was selling on the website Cameo. In their sentencing memo, prosecutors suggested he might have been inflating those claims, as well. "Santos represented to the Probation Department that he has earned approximately $400,000 during the first month of his career on Cameo and now receives $5,000 per month on average. Yet he represented in a financial statement to the government that his lifetime earnings from Cameo are only $358,256. Clearly, he is lying to someone," the filing said. They also said Santos told prosecutors that he'd been paid $200,000 by a documentary filmmaker but that he'd told the Probation Department the amount was $250,000. Prosecutors noted that under the terms of his plea agreement, Santos had agreed to pay a $200,000 forfeiture and over $373,000 in restitution to his victims. In a court filing this month, they said that "Santos has forfeited nothing and has not repaid any of his victims." In his interview with NY1, Santos said: "As of today, right now, I'm unable to pay anything. I don't know if that's going to change within the next 24 to 48 hours, prior to sentencing, because I am still working on trying to make some kind of meaningful attempt at restitution because it is my obligation." This article was originally published on
Daily Mail
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
BREAKING NEWS Fabulist George Santos is sentenced to prison after campaign fraud scandal
Former New York lawmaker George Santos sobbed as he was sentenced to prison for his proclivity to spin webs of lies that eventually saw him steal identities and commit fraud. He was sentenced on Friday to 87 months in prison, over seven years, with an additional two years of supervised release. 'Where is your remorse? U.S. District Court Judge Joanna Seybert asked Santos during the Friday sentencing. 'Where do I see it?' With the disgraced lawmaker, the judge said, 'it's always someone else's fault.' Santos, 36, pleaded guilty in August 2024 to committing wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. The former congressman also was ordered to pay at least $373,749.97 in restitution and forfeit over $200,000, according to a plea agreement he made last year. He faced up to 22 years in prison, but was widely expected to get a six to eight year sentence. Lawyers representing Santos asked that the ex-lawmaker receive the minimum sentence of two years in prison, but federal prosecutors pushed back noting in a recent court filing that the Republican 'remains unrepentant' for his crimes. The prosecution painted Santos as a bombastic serial liar who eventually turned to criminality to support his expensive lifestyle that was built on audacious fabrications. Between his guilty plea and Friday's sentencing, Santos would go on tirades on social media, claiming he did not commit crimes that he admitted to doing in court and lashing out at his detractors. Some of the feds' evidence included how Santos called Department of Justice a 'cabal of pedophiles.' It also included social media posts in which he denied using campaign funds to make purchases at Hermès, despite having done so. 'Santos did use campaign contributions made to Redstone Strategies LLC to make luxury purchases at, among other stores, Hermès,' the prosecution said refuting a recent claim by Santos on X. Ahead of his sentencing on Thursday, Santos told the AP: 'I'm doing as well as any human being would be doing given the circumstances,' 'I will be in court tomorrow, ready to face the music,' he said in a text. He also told the New York Times this week: 'Right now, my expectation is I'm going to prison for 87 months.' 'I came to this world alone. I will deal with it alone, and I will go out alone,' he shared. The former Republican started a podcast in December, 'Pants on Fire,' where he dishes on his counterfeit history, which includes lies about him working on Wall Street, attending New York University, playing collegiate volleyball and being Jewish. But those lies, mostly told when he was campaigning for his congressional seat in 2022, were just the tip of the iceberg. His expulsion came after a bombshell House Ethics Committee report detailed his proclivity to deceive donors about his bona fides before using the contributions to prop up his lavish lifestyle. The Republican has been accused of funneling political donations to spending on botox, designer clothes, casino holidays, and OnlyFans fees. He also allegedly collected $24,000 in unemployment benefits while he did have a job, lying about his income on disclosure forms, and inventing donations to make his campaign look better. 'Contesting the severity of a proposed sentence is not the same as contesting guilt, and punishing protected speech because it questions punishment should trouble anyone who values fair prosecution over personal vindication,' Santos wrote to the judge this week. He claimed in his letter to the judge that his 'colorful' commentary online is now being inappropriately 'repurposed as a sword against me.' But prosecutors say that's because Santos has not learned his lesson. 'Put plainly, Santos is not genuinely remorseful, despite accepting responsibility as part of his allocution,' the prosecution wrote. 'If he were, his actions would be different.'
