Latest news with #TurningPoints'
Perth Now
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
AJ McLean reveals moment he knew he had to go sober as he vows his kids will 'never' see him drunk
AJ McLean has vowed that his children will "never" see him drunk. The 47-year-old pop star - who Elliott, 12, and ight-year-old Lyric with ex-wife Rochelle Kardis - struggled with addiction at the height of his fame but almost four years after deciding to go sober, he has insisted that while his kids have never seen him under the influence, they are more than aware of his past. Speaking on the 'Turning Points' podcast, he told 'Shout' hitmaker Lulu: "Now it's come to the place where, fortunately, for both my girls, it's not unheard in the world that I am in, that I'm an alcoholic, and I'm an addict. "I've been sober now for almost four years and I've been in and out of the rooms for over 25 years. Luckily for my kids, they've never - not once - seen me drunk or high. "They never will, they never have to. But it is talked about in my house. I have explained it to my girls because they're both very, very in tune with what's going on in the world, they're very smart girls.' The Backstreet Boys star recalled the last time he had any alcohol, and knew he had to give it up when his eldest refused to give him a hug when he returned from a heavy night. He added: "The biggest turning point for me was three and a half years ago. I was doing a show in Miami on my own with a friend of mine and I went out that night. I went hard. Luckily for me I dodged a huge bullet because the fentanyl crisis hadn't escalated to where it is now, but it was happening, it was out there, but it wasn't as much common knowledge as it is today. "And at that point in my life, I had taken all the dealers out of my phone, so I didn't know anybody in Miami - I'm hanging out with some random people. "One thing led to another. I got drunk, ended up doing drugs. It could have killed me. It didn't for whatever reason, but it could have. "But when I flew home the next day, as most addicts do, we try to mask it. I drank a crap tonne of coffee and tried breath mints and all this stuff. "But my wife already knew and was just waiting for me to be honest, which was my biggest problem for years - being honest with anyone about it because I was trying to make it work. And of course, as we know, it worked until it didn't. "But when I got home, my oldest was at dance class, my youngest was home. I walked up to give her a hug and she wouldn't give me a hug. And I was like, 'what's going on babe?' "And she's like, 'I don't know, you don't smell like my daddy'. And that was it. Like the biggest light bulb in the world went off and I was like, 'what are you doing? Why are you still doing this?' "The next day I went back to a meeting, and I have been sober ever since, but this time is different. This time I'm doing what has been suggested. I'm going my 12 steps. I'm showing up Listen to all episodes of 'Turning Points' featuring Boy George, Brian Cox, Kristin Scott Thomas, Anastacia, and John Legend on Spotify.
Perth Now
03-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
Paul Feig defends Blake Lively
Paul Feig has defended Blake Lively, calling her 'awesome'. The 62-year-old filmmaker directed Blake, 37, in the 2018 movie 'A Simple Favor' and it's 2025 sequel 'Another Simple Favor' and when asked about the acrimonious relationship Blake had with director Justin Baldoni on her last film 'It Ends With Us', Paul insisted he loves working with the actress. Paul was asked by Lulu on her 'Turning Points' podcast: 'Blake Lively has got this thing going on about her last film and her director and is that interfering with everything you have to do?' And, he replied: 'No, no. You know, I mean, Blake's awesome and I love working with her and, you know, no press is bad press … I just don't like negativity around people I love, you know, it's not stopping us from anything. Blake's great. I just love working with her.' Referring to Blake's co-star Anna Kendrick, Lulu asked: 'I would imagine that Anna and her get along well, because they've already made a film … if you didn't get along, well, you wouldn't be happy.' Paul said: 'Oh very much so. They have this scene in a pool - it was like the second or third day we were shooting, and they're supposed to be kind of drunk and talking as a long dialogue scene - and they were just magical together. 'We just, my producing partner Laura and I, were just sitting there like watching these tapes going like, 'Oh my god', like this, they just slid back into these characters so wonderfully ... Their chemistry is just through the roof. It's really great. I'm just so lucky to get to work with these amazing people and who bring their own personalities to a project.' Meanwhile, Paul also opened up about directing President Donald Trump for a Macy's commercial in 2010. He said: 'So, when I was going to do this commercial with him everybody, all his reps, everybody's like, 'you got to get him in and out – he does not want to be there'. So I'm already stressed out. 'Okay, how do I do this?' It was kind of a documentary style thing… basically he shows up at like a kid's bake sale at school and he finds the one kid who's kind of this dumpy kid who's not doing it right and he says, 'come on, we're gonna give you a makeover' and takes him to Macy's, buys him a suit from his line and goes back and the kid's successful. 'So here's what we're going to do. We're going meet Donald at the door with the camera. So when he walks in, I'm going to go like, 'Donald, go', you know... So I'm there with the cameras, he comes in. I'm like, 'all right, Donald, we're ready to go'. He's like, 'whoa, whoa. Whoa, wait a minute. I gotta get my makeup on'. So he goes and gets his makeup on and all this stuff and we do the first half of the thing goes through and he's fine. He does a nice job. And so I'm like 'we got it' - he's like 'this is great, you're the greatest, everybody, thanks so much, goodbye, I'm gonna see you later, blah, blah', and I go, 'well, no, no. Actually, Donald, wait, we have to set up the second half where you're successful with the kid'. And he's like, 'what? I was supposed to be out of here an hour ago'. And it was like, 'well you got here 45 minutes ago, so I don't know quite know how to get you out of there …'
Perth Now
28-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
Alan Cumming was always trying to 'prove something' to himself after enduring a rocky relationship with his father
Alan Cumming was always trying to "prove something" to himself after enduring a rocky relationship with his father. The 60-year-old actor alleged that his father was a "bully" to him throughout his childhood and is still "working through" the issues that come with that but insisted that his "drive" to succeed came from that "scary" part of his youth. Speaking on the 'Turning Points' podcast, he told 'Shout' hitmaker Lulu: "When you're scared of things in your childhood … and you know, one of your parents is your bully, that casts such a long shadow in your life and I'm still working through that, still. But the other thing is that, you know, my 'workiness' and my drive in that way, I don't want to attribute that to my dad not loving me. I sort feel like, I guess I'm trying to prove something, but I'm actually proving something for myself. The 'Traitors USA' host claimed that his father called him "worthless" and enjoyed "hurting" him but eventually that sort of behavior gave him the kind of courage he needed to rebel and focus on his career. He said: "When someone sort of tells you you're worthless and takes pleasure in hurting you who's supposed love you and supposed to sort of look after you, it definitely makes you very self-aware and makes you have to make up your own… be vigilant about yourself and make decisions about everything, including yourself. But it also makes you think 'f***you - I'm gonna do what I want to do, I'm going to live my life." The 'Spice World' star opened up further about the abuse he faced at the hands of his father in his 'Not My Father's Son' and reflected that while he did it solely for himself, it came as a "great surprise" that the project helped others as well. He said: "When I wrote the book about my dad, which came about because of a series of circumstances that he suddenly came back into my life, telling that final part of my story that I hadn't really ever talked about very publicly was unexpectedly so brilliant... because so many other people who had gone through similar things or had a variety of different things in their lives said to me 'because you've spoken out about what was your demon, now I feel empowered to talk about mine'. And so you realise that you help so many people by being authentic and honest. And you just, you sort of think you're doing it for you, and you have to do it for you, but actually, it was such a great surprise to me. Listen to all episodes of 'Turning Points' featuring Boy George, Brian Cox, Kristin Scott Thomas, Anastacia, and John Legend on Spotify.
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Boy George has become the 'gay version' of his dad even though there 'wasn't much love' growing up
Boy George thinks he has become the "gay version" of his father. The 63-year-old pop star - whose real name is George Alan O'Dowd - had tried to "do everything" to not turn out like his father but in the end, ultimately turned out to be "most like him" than anyone else in the family. Speaking on the 'Turning Points' podcast, he told 'Shout' singer Lulu: 'I did everything I could not to be like my dad but turned out that I was the most like him of anyone - the gay version of my dad. "I went out of my way not to be like him, and I guess I soaked it up because you can't not.' The 'Karma Chameleon hitmaker explained that he grew up hearing for the things that his parents didn't have and claimed that there "wasn't much love" in his family home although there was "tolerance" for one another. He added: 'I wanted all the things that my parents didn't have… there wasn't much love… there was a tolerance… my parents did love each other no question, they just didn't respect each other. So I grew up thinking that was normal – that screaming and shouting was what you did in a relationship and that constituted love.' George - who is currently thought to be single but previously dated punk rock singer Kirk Brandon and Culture Club drummer Jon Moss - recalled an early relationship was "doomed" from the start because the other boy's parents "disapproved" immediately. He said: "It was doomed from the minute we laid eyes on each other – it was never going to work. I was this mad insecure queen from south London, he was a posh boy from Hampstead whose parents didn't approve – and who knew how to have a relationship, even under the microscope." More weekly episodes of 'Turning Points, featuring the likes of Brian Cox, Kristin Scott Thomas, Richard E Grant, John Legend, and more.
