Latest news with #celebrityculture
BBC News
18-07-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
BBC Sounds launches new podcast - Fame Under Fire - hosted by Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty
Following the success of Diddy on Trial, Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty returns with a bold new series exploring the trending stories in celebrity culture - Fame Under Fire. When scandal collides with celebrity, Fame Under Fire will be listeners' backstage pass to the truth behind the headlines, examining the stories of high-profile figures unfolding in the media – from musicians, film stars, athletes, politicians, influencers and even royalty. In an age of AI-generated 'evidence', misinformation, and unqualified 'newsfluencers', Anoushka and expert guests will myth bust and fact check the stories lighting up social media and beyond. Episode One will be available on Thursday 24 July on BBC Sounds. The trailer episode is out now on BBC Sounds, listen here. Diddy on Trial topped the podcast charts and saw Anoushka report on every day of Sean 'Diddy' Combs's trial from outside the courthouse in New York. Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty said: 'Diddy on Trial was unique because we were in conversation with our listeners throughout the case. This was audience driven journalism from the start, but it was clear after week one at the trial that the Diddy case was just the beginning. We got thousands of messages and requests to look into other powerful figures. We put people in the spotlight on pedestals and invest in them. So when they fall, we want the truth. In Fame Under Fire, each week we'll be investigating the stories of high-profile people who wield a different kind of, but no less influential, power in the world of pop culture.' Rhian Roberts, Commissioner Podcasts & Formats, said: 'Anoushka is the perfect presenter to host these conversations. She brings an authentic love and knowledge of this social media driven space. Fame Under Fire will be the podcast where listeners can get the best intel on the stories dominating their feeds. It'll also give us all a bit of a moment to weigh up how important these stories are, where they come from and why we can get so caught up in them.' Fame Under Fire will be made out of Salford by the BBC's Long Form Audio department, the team also behind Diddy on Trial and the Mangione Trial. It will be visualised on the BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sounds YouTube channel. Clare Fordham, Editor Long Form Audio: 'I'm thrilled that Anoushka will be heading up this exciting new project from our base in Salford. The Long Form Audio team here have led the way in impactful youth-targeted visualised podcasts. Fame Under Fire will be on hand to debunk what you're hearing on social media and get to the truth of what's going on.' Anoushka joined BBC's Long Form Audio team in Salford in 2022, where along with hosting Diddy on Trial, she also contributed to Witness History and The Global Story on BBC World Service. She began her career making documentaries for BBC Radio 4 and her programme Degrees of Love was a New York Radio Award finalist. In 2020, she produced 'Back to Uni' for BBC Sounds and BBC Radio 4, working with BBC investigative journalist Sue Mitchell (To Catch a Scorpion). She has also presented an episode of The Documentary Podcast on BBC World Service English which explored why young people are having less sex. Episode 1 will be released on the 24 of July on BBC Sounds, BBC iPlayer, the BBC Sounds YouTube channel and wherever you get your BBC podcasts. If you are outside the UK, it's available wherever you get your BBC podcasts. Listen to Diddy on Trial on BBC Sounds AR2 Follow for more
Daily Mail
17-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
BRYONY GORDON: We must stop falling for Instagram and the influencers with their fake lives. It will make you feel nothing but despair
In hundreds of years time, when people gather to discuss the decline of early 21st century society and the various cultural moments that led to it, I really hope that they remember to include the news this week that the sister of Love Island star Molly-Mae Hague decided to leave Bali after just 48 hours because it didn't look like it does on Instagram. Oh, laugh if you want! Pooh-pooh the news as trivial and trifling compared to say, government super-injunctions, not to mention conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East. But to me, this totally ridiculous and seemingly frivolous story marks the moment that pop culture as we know it completely jumped the shark.
Telegraph
26-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Rosie O'Donnell: Trump made me overeat
Rosie O'Donnell has claimed Donald Trump made her overeat. The actress and comedian said that living in the US during Mr Trump's first term took a severe toll on her mental health, causing her to eat and drink too much. She added that she decided to flee the country following his November election win for the sake of 'self-preservation'. 'I was very, very depressed. I was overeating. I was overdrinking,' she said, during an appearance on The Chris Cuomo Project podcast. 'It hurt my heart that America believed the lies about him. And then it broke my heart to be in a business that creates and sells those lies for profit.' Around the time of Kamala Harris's election defeat a host of celebrities left, or threatened to leave, the country because of Mr Trump. O'Donnell also moved to Ireland in mid-January to preserve her mental health. 'I really felt this was self-preservation,' she said. 'When I got here, I noticed right away there was a different culture about celebrity. They're not lauded in Ireland. They're not thought of as better than anyone else.' The former talk show host previously suggested that she moved to Ireland because the US is not 'safe' for her youngest child, Clay, who is non-binary. Speaking on the podcast, she said political tensions had grown so much in the US that she and her child had been heckled at the shops. 'People in CVS saying to me and my autistic 12-year-old, 'Hey, Rosie, Trump won. Ha ha.' One cursed at us,' she said. O'Donnell has had a long-running feud with Mr Trump, who has called her a 'pig' and a 'loser', while she has branded him 'mentally unstable'. By contrast, the former The View host said that moving to Ireland has given her the sense of calm she needed. 'Coming home here felt like coming home,' she said, adding that her daughter had told her: 'Mommy, you can be a normal person here.' 'I find myself feeling safe,' she said. 'There's no Maga support here.' O'Donnell has previously said that she is planning to claim Irish citizenship, as she has Irish grandparents. 'To be a good parent to this 12-year-old child...I've got to be around for 20 more years, I need to take care of myself,' she said.
The Sun
21-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Olivia Attwood on her facelift plans, the popular surgery she'd NEVER have & why she keeps her money separate from Brad
IN a time when celebrities are more sanitised than ever, it's refreshing to speak to a star who isn't afraid to say what she thinks – even if it offends. It's that unfiltered, straight-talking, no-nonsense attitude that helped Olivia Attwood, 34, win over the nation on Love Island in 2017, and propel her to the top of TV commissioners' most-wanted list. 7 'I don't take myself too seriously,' she admits. 'Sometimes, the problem online is that the nuance is lost. I'm writing something, cackling away because it's like, 'wink wink', but then it reads differently. Then it's all: 'She attacked someone'. And it was just a little joke. 'Guests leave my podcast saying: 'I'm worried about X and Y', and it's nothing controversial. There's a culture of trying to please everyone by saying nothing. But the only person you're selling short is yourself. 'It'd be very easy for me to change the way I approach things, and zip it. But should I change everything and be boring because a handful of trolls have got in a twist? I don't think so,' she laughs. 'I'm happy to be Marmite. It works. I've given them something to talk about. It's much easier for me to be myself, plus it's so much more fun.' 'The Kardashians' bodies are not created in the gym' True to form, Olivia has never shied away from discussing the work she's had done, either – two boob jobs, chin liposuction, plus regular tweakments of Botox and fillers. Does she think other celebrities should be equally open? 'This is such a difficult conversation, because I don't want to tell people that they owe us their medical records. However, I think when people monetise things, like they're on Ozempic but selling a weight-loss plan, or they've done something to their skin and are pushing a face cream, it's disingenuous. 'I like openness. I always say that if you look at me and something looks too good, then it's probably not natural.' As for the Kardashians, who recently hit the headlines for Kris ' reported facelift, and Kylie Jenner revealing details of her breast augmentation on social media, Olivia has mixed feelings. 'I'm all for honesty, but it feels like it's a bit fashionable now to be an open book. I wish we'd had that energy from them years ago,' she says. 'Kylie came out and said about her boobs, and I was like: 'I've been talking about my breasts for the past 10 years.' I like the Kardashians, this is not me bashing them, but it's too little, too late for me. 'We know Kylie's breasts are fake. We knew she had lip fillers when she was selling those lip kits. What about talking about lipo and BBLs [Brazilian bum lifts]? Their bodies are not created in the gym.' Olivia is back discussing surgery on the second series of her ITV documentary, The Price Of Perfection. During the show, she follows different people's nip/tuck journeys, from TOWIE star Charlie King's nose job, to The Traitors' Amanda Lovett's facelift. 'It is full-on and we've got to make a decision about how much gruesome stuff we leave in,' she says. 'I knew going into the shows that I was fine with blood, and I've watched a lot of surgeries online. I find it more interesting than disgusting. But it's the smell as they cauterise the flesh, which is basically burning it to stop it bleeding.' In fact, despite having a self-confessed 'pancake bum', watching a BBL in Turkey put Olivia off wanting the surgery. 'I would definitely have a facelift in the future, as they can look amazing,' she says. ' I'll have my breasts done again, because they're only guaranteed for 10 years and, if I have kids, I'll have to redo them. BBL is the only one I wouldn't do, because the risk is too much. It's one of the surgeries that has the highest revision rate. 7 'Watching surgeries makes you appreciate what you're putting your body through. I've minimised breast augmentation [in the past], but when you actually see it happening, it sobers you up to the reality of surgery. I think that it's probably given me a bit of a reality check. I love cosmetic intervention and I think it can be life-changing. But surgery is surgery. It's not like getting your nails done or whatever. It's still a big risk and I don't think we should trivialise that.' When leaving Love Island, contestants are often offered free boob jobs or surgery, but Olivia says she has been scrupulous about never accepting free treatments. 'I know I'm lucky to have the ability to fund my own procedures. But I learned really quickly coming out of Love Island that even if it's a hair colour or make-up, when you take something for free, you put yourself into a strange power dynamic. You are recommending that person [or product] and you can't really retract that. 'I know first-hand people who have had a free boob job and it's gone tits-up, quite literally, and they can't publicly tell that story.' 'Being a woman is hard enough, I don't need a man sticking his nose in' Money is a topic Olivia is keen to discuss, joking that she pays a 'hot-girl tax' when she has work done. 'That's tongue-in-cheek,' she says. 'I'm not implying if you don't have work done, then you're not hot. 'But we do have a female tax in general. Colouring your hair, waxing, nails, make-up. . . That s**t is expensive, and I don't think men realise that. Being a woman costs a lot.' Olivia married professional footballer Bradley Dack, 31, two years ago in a lavish London ceremony. Does the Gillingham midfielder ever complain about her spending too much on her appearance? 'No, he knows! We don't have those conversations. Actually, I moan when I see him buying another set of golf clubs. I'm like: 'What a waste of money!' So, I'm a complete hypocrite,' she laughs. 'But he does pull me back to reality. If I say: 'F***, I look old today,' he'll be quick to say: 'Please!' "Also, it's boring. For me, it would be very easy to become so obsessed with the way I look. But Brad will say: 'There are so many more things interesting about you, Liv, than whether you've got a wrinkle.' I love that he does that, because it reminds me not to get sucked in.' Would he ever tell her to stop getting work done? Olivia shakes her head. 'No, how I want to look is an individual journey. I don't do things for him. If I don't feel sexy, everything will have a knock-on effect. Although, if he said it from a wellness point of view, of course I'd listen. But I wouldn't have married someone [who wanted to get] that involved. Being a woman is hard enough, I don't need a man sticking his nose in. He can worry about football and I can make the call on what I need to look good.' As well as deciding how she looks for herself, financial independence is another priority for Olivia. 'I went to an affluent private school, and I remember a close friend whose dad left their mum for his secretary. Suddenly, the big house and the cars were gone, and there's a 50-year-old woman who doesn't know how to pay a bill and can't access their bank account. Watching the rug be pulled out from under people in real time was horrendous. 'Women should absolutely be able to stay at home if they want to. I applaud women who are fulfilled by that. But financial freedom is something that we should always prioritise, because you can't say you're in an equal relationship if you don't have the power to leave when you want to.' 'Get the man, get the handbag, but don't quit your job' She recounts the story of one woman who told her that she'd found messages on her footballer boyfriend's phone that proved he was cheating. 'I said: 'You have to go,' and she said: 'Where? It's not my house, it's not my car. Everything is in his name.' You do not want to be in that spot. 'And I know it's easier said than done. I speak from such a privileged position and I love my job, but I want young women to be educated. Yes, get the man, get the handbag, but don't quit your job. Brad and I have separate bank accounts and a joint one for bills. Everything is very transparent. He knows what I earn, I know what he earns. We know where the money goes. You need to make sure you are aligned with money and want to spend it on the same things. 'Women don't like talking about finances. I don't think we should be afraid. Don't let men mansplain us out of finances. I educated myself a lot in the last two years about money, tax structure and investment.' Olivia and Bradley have also been discussing when to start a family. 'I don't get annoyed with people asking me,' she says. 'I feel like I've entered into this relationship with the public where everything is for sale! I had my wedding on telly. I'm very open on social media, so I think it's natural that people will be curious. 7 'In general, should we be constantly asking women about children? No, but I put myself in a different box. It's like these celebrities that sell their whole relationship, then they break up and ask for privacy. No, absolutely not. We are invested,' she laughs. 'I'm very comfortable with the narrative I've created, and I'm proud to be a voice for women in the same position. I know I want a family, I'm in my early 30s and fertility doesn't last forever. But my life is really full right now and I'm enjoying smashing work. Having a baby would change things, and that's something a lot of ambitious women are afraid to talk about. Whether we like it or not, having a baby will affect me in a different way to Brad. 'And I don't half-arse anything in my life – I'm not going to half-arse being a parent, so I'll do it when I'm ready. If it happened, I'd embrace it, but it would be hard to pause right now, as things are going so well.' She's absolutely right. Then there's the subject of Love Island. With rumours that presenter Maya Jama is preparing to step down, surely Olivia is a natural successor? 'I don't know if that's true,' she says. 'Poor Maya is probably thinking: 'Why is she out there auditioning for my role?!' I have no information about Maya stepping down. For all I know, she'll stay for the next 10 years. I think she's f**king great, but if and when she didn't want to do it, I'd throw my hat in the ring. 'Love Island is the best thing I ever did. That show changed my life. I was lost and it redirected me. No one should have any expectation a reality show can do that. But for me, it worked out well.' Follow Olivia on Instagram @olivia_attwood and stream The Price Of Perfection on ITVX. IN THE MAKE-UP CHAIR with Olivia What are your skincare heroes? My favourite face cream is SkinCeuticals Triple Lipid Restore 2:4:2. Any beauty hacks? Put roll-on deodorant on your top lip – it stops make-up sweating off. What do you splurge on? Botox. Any make-up bag essentials? Nars Face Primer, Charlotte Tilbury Beautiful Skin Foundation and a YSL mascara. Best budget buy? Maybelline Grippy Serum Primer. Who is your celebrity beauty icon? Jennifer Aniston looks fantastic. Describe your beauty evolution. I'm still wearing the same amount of make-up, just in the right places now! I choose more natural hues and my lashes aren't as big.
The Sun
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
I've always loved Stacey Solomon. But the bikini pics have led me to a startling realisation… and deep unease
I LOVE Stacey Solomon, I really do. I've known her since she was on The X Factor as an ambitious 20-year-old and felt for her when her latest reality show 'Stacey and Joe' was slammed - why, then, did the pics of her glorious curves this week hit me like a ton of bricks? 6 6 6 As she posed in her orange bikini on holiday in Lake Como this week, she looked happy, healthy and carefree. Sadly the vile trolls unleashed a torrent of abuse on her with one cruelly saying "She's let herself go" while another added " Ozempic needed". And as I absorbed the comments, it hit me how long it had been since I had seen a celebrity body that looked like my own. Recently it feels like on social media I am constantly bombarded with tiny toned bodies, perfect pert bums and impossibly flat stomachs. Even when I put down my phone it's on our TV screens as the new season of Love Island kicked off with girls in barely-there bikinis and not one belly roll in sight. It's quite a worrying trend and it's left me feeling uneasy that being thin is so back en vogue. I grew up in the era where pals lived by Kate Moss 's mantra 'Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels'. Having struggled with my weight since my teens and having tried (and failed) to do every fad diet going, I've always felt inadequate. I was grateful for the rise of the body confident movement, and I totally embraced it. Finally I could feel comfortable in my own skin because celebrities like Adele, Rebel Wilson and Lizzo - who looked like me - were saying they felt sexy, too. But over the last 12 months I've seen curvier (and actually not-so-curvy) celebs slim down at an accelerated rate with the rise of fat jabs. Everyone has the right to do what they want with their bodies and lose weight however they choose and there are certainly health benefits to slimming down. Stacey Solomon looks incredible as she strips off to black bikini and jumps off a bridge in Italy But this new quick fix means our celebrities are smaller than ever and I think it's making people forget what real women look like. The cult of thin is back in such a big way and it's depressing for those who aren't getting on board and sacrificing themselves to weight loss injections in a bid to be a skinny minny. Stacey, who is a busy mum to Zachary, 17, Leighton, 12, Rex, five, Rose, three and two-year-old Belle, has never shied away from celebrating her 'mum bod'. And it is refreshing to see a typical healthy woman in the public eye. It makes me feel that it would be OK for me to get my body out this summer on holiday. Two years ago, the 35-year-old, who is married to Joe Swash, revealed to her followers she's a size 10-12. The average woman in the UK is a size 16 so while she is still smaller than most women, she is still being judged. The Loose Women star is also maintaining a healthy lifestyle, often working out in her newly built home gym where she aims to be strong not skinny. Standing in front of a mirror she said: 'I thought it was really important to come on here and say when I take the gym clothes off I look like this…' before pulling down her leggings down past her hips to show off unfiltered and non-photoshopped body. She added, '...Which is also really pretty and a really lovely body and I just feel like it's important to show that.' Stacey is one of our most successful Brit celebrities with over 6.1m followers. Strong not skinny She's got a host of TV shows and successful brand deals and is even rumoured to be taking part in this year's Strictly Come Dancing. In a sea of size zero Ozempic loving stars, maintaining her realistic normal body is perhaps why she's still winning over audiences. Stacey's success is not determined by the size on her label. I'm grateful, like many other women, that she prefers to give us an injection of her relatable and funny personality rather than injecting a weight loss drug into her body! 6 6 6
