Incidentally, she was a featured speaker at a United Nations luncheon where she addressed the dangers of cyberbullying. Melania Trump has addressed the implications of cyberbullying in the past. She first declared her interest in… (more…)
Transport for London (TfL) has informed US tech firm Uber that it will not issue it a private hire operator licence after the expiry of its current licence on 30 September. TfL cited the company’s policy on reporting criminal offences, hiring policies and tech software which could bar regulatory organisations for gaining full access to its technology as some of its reasons.
Uber has 21 days to appeal and those appeals could see the battle for Uber on London’s street rage for years into the future. Tfl also noted that Uber had the right to appeal the decision and that it could continue to operate ” until any appeal processes have been exhausted”.
So technically Uber can still continue to offer cars to its customers as Tfl has stated that it can continue to operate whilst any appeals process goes on.
The blow to Uber could potentially mean the loss of tens of thousands of jobs across London as well affecting over 3.5 million passengers who use the service. The company has around 40,000 drivers in London – but they aren’t considered employees of the company, but self-employed.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said in a statement, “I fully support TfL’s decision – it would be wrong if TfL continued to license Uber if there is any way that this could pose a threat to Londoners’ safety and security.”
In a statement, Uber said, “far from being open, London is closed to innovative companies”.
In making its decision to effectively ban Uber TfL said,
TfL has concluded that Uber London Limited is not fit and proper to hold a private hire operator licence.
TfL considers that Uber’s approach and conduct demonstrate a lack of corporate responsibility in relation to a number of issues which have potential public safety and security implications. These include:
In a statement regarding TfL’s decision Mayor Sadiq Khan said,
“I want London to be at the forefront of innovation and new technology and to be a natural home for exciting new companies that help Londoners by providing a better and more affordable service.
However, all companies in London must play by the rules and adhere to the high standards we expect – particularly when it comes to the safety of customers. Providing an innovative service must not be at the expense of customer safety and security.
“I fully support TfL’s decision – it would be wrong if TfL continued to license Uber if there is any way that this could pose a threat to Londoners’ safety and security.
“Any operator of private hire services in London needs to play by the rules”.
The blow to the Saudi backed Uber could potentially mean the loss of tens of thousands of jobs across London as well affecting over 3.5 million passengers who use the service.
Transport for London (TfL) has informed US tech firm Uber that it will not issue it a private hire operator licence after the expiry of its current licence on 30 September. TfL cited the company’s policy on reporting criminal offences, hiring policies and tech software which could bar regulatory organisations for gaining full access to its technology as some of its reasons.
The blow to Uber could potentially mean the loss of tens of thousands of jobs across London as well affecting over 3.5 million passengers who use the service.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said in a statement, “I fully support TfL’s decision – it would be wrong if TfL continued to license Uber if there is any way that this could pose a threat to Londoners’ safety and security.”
In a statement, Uber said, “far from being open, London is closed to innovative companies”.
In making its decision to effectively ban Uber TfL said,
TfL has concluded that Uber London Limited is not fit and proper to hold a private hire operator licence.
TfL considers that Uber’s approach and conduct demonstrate a lack of corporate responsibility in relation to a number of issues which have potential public safety and security implications. These include:
Uber has 21 days to appeal and those appeals could see the battle for Uber on London’s street rage for years into the future. Tfl also noted that Uber had the right to appeal the decision and that it could continue to operate ” until any appeal processes have been exhausted”.
At around 2:30 AM on Wednesday 13th September, a man was assaulted as he prepared to leave the Eazy Street bar in Newcastle’s city centre. The victim was celebrating his 33rd birthday when the attack happened.
The man was seen being punched in the face. He suffered a suspected fractured eye-socket and was transported to a local hospital for treatment.
Eazy Street is a popular bar in Newcastle’s city centre and features nightly drag entertainment.
Enquiries to identify the man responsible are ongoing and police are appealing for anyone who witnessed the assault to get in touch.
Police have released a CCTV image of the man they wish to speak to in connection with the assault. He was in the bar at the time assist their enquiries.
The man, or anyone who knows him, should contact police on 101 quoting log 269 13/09/17.
The openly gay comedian broached the topic when she asked NBC’s Megyn Kelly whether she would consider having the president… (more…)
In the “Death Becomes Her” challenge of season 7, Violet used her notoriously trim waist to her advantage. All 18 inches of it. In a sickening look that received literal gasps from RuPaul herself, Violet cinched her waist so tight she was serving numb-from-the-waist-down realness. Although she lost the challenge to Katya’s shark leg look, the outfit is legendary and will no doubt go down in herstory as one of the most wheeze-worthy – albeit most dangerous – looks ever on the runway.
Everyone knew unforgettable fashionista Tyra Sanchez was a shoo-in for top three, maybe even top two. But everyone thought fan favourite and queen of all things dark and beautiful, Raven, was the definitive winner of season 2. Needless to say, fans were as gagged as Tyra was when she was crowned the winner. Not only was their lip sync finale one of the most neck-to-neck, nail-biting sequences of the show’s herstory, I think I speak for everyone when I say Tyra’s breathless breakdown was literally the reaction of all of us watching. Same, Miss Thang. Same.
Season one was a season of remarkable firsts, for obvious reasons. But one – if not the – stand-out moment from the freshmen run of RuPaul’s Drag Race was Ongina bravely announcing and embracing her status as HIV positive after winning the Mac Viva-Glam challenge. Even today in 2017 it’s still quite taboo to talk about the subject, can you imagine the absolute courage it must have taken for Ongina to do it in 2009? She paved the way for queens further down the line to open up and talk freely about it, such as Trinity K. Bonet, as well as creating a safe, loving space and opening up the conversation for transgender drag queens Sonique, Carmen Carrera, Monica Beverly Hillz and the first trans finalist Peppermint.
Many fans don’t know about the RuPaul spin-off All Stars show that brings back past legendary queens to compete in an uber-intense race to be in the Drag Hall of Fame. Adore had the briefest of brief appearances on its second season. After some extremely harsh criticism on the first day, Adore was shaken and immediately brought back to all the insecurities she felt when originally competing in season 6. In her words, she felt like she had to keep proving her drag was meaningful after so many years and although she expressed remorse over her decision on the reunion it’s still tough to watch her admit to Ru that she wants to go home. It’s also heartbreaking knowing how talented Adore is and how far she could have potentially gone.
While this selection isn’t shocking per se, notorious insult comedy queen Bianca Del Rio slayed as Judge Judy on the season 6 Snatch Game. From her eerily accurate makeup to her impossibly snappy Judy comebacks, Bianca gave the performance Michelle Visage – among many – had been dying to see. After all, Judge Judy had never been done before and as one of Ru’s faves, it was just a matter of time. Well, Bianca certainly did raise the bar for anyone who dares to follow her act. If her standup and her consistent reads were anything to go by, Bianca was probably the only queen who could have served it like she did. Piping hot.
Season 8 brought us Bob The Drag Queen, appropriately titled, Naomi Smalls, also known as The Legs, and Kim Chi, makeup creative extraordinaire. These three went on to be the top contestants of their season, packing back-to-back lip syncs of original songs with choreographed performances that left the crowd roaring in the finale. Kim Chi proved dancing during a lip sync is overrated with her killer “Fat, Fem & Asian” lip sync. She wore a gorgeously gargantuan gown, while the men around her swayed with claws, and looked elegant and campy – letting loose at the end with what can only be described as gyrating. Naomi stuck to her guns, or should we say her buns, with her song, “Legs”, encompassing her passion for modelling all the while highlighting her self-appointed best feature. Bob The Drag Queen who (SPOILERS) ended up snatching the crown also snatched our wigs with her song, “I Don’t Like To Show Off”, in which – yep, you guessed it – she showed off in the best possible way. All three performances are available to watch on the Logo YouTube channel.
Drag is not, I repeat – not, a contact sport. Whatever was going through Mimi’s mind when she picked up India like some kind of drag wrestler is, to this day, beyond me. Her lip sync was doomed from the start, her shoddy wardrobe was malfunctioning, her dance was uninteresting and India was obviously going to be staying while Mimi was sashaying. Her solution was, apparently, to try to divert all the attention to herself but it only resulted in the judges struggling not to laugh and Ru sending her home for her poor taste and lack of judgement. Picking someone up during a lip sync is a definite no-no, but it will also always one more thing to write in the herstory books.
I like to think I’m not alone when I talk about my love-hate relationship with Valentina. The season 9 beauty was effortlessly charming and stunning, quickly winning the judge’s approval with her unflinching ability to dedicate herself to any task and her always on-point runway looks. It was no wonder the fans felt so warmly towards her. Which was why so many were heartbroken when she was sent home for not knowing the words to her lip sync song, she tried to cover it up with her club kid mask and RuPaul ultimately had to stop the lip sync to demand she show her lips. But the truth came out when the reunion aired and fans who, like me, aren’t on the Twitterverse or up to date on their drag social media knowledge found out about the dark side of Valentina. Die-hard fans are no new thing, even to Drag Race. I sipped my tea watching queen after queen attack Valentina for a maelstrom of things; first of, neglecting to defend Alexis Michele or Nina Bo’Nina Brown while her fans incessantly bullied them was something else altogether, then Shea did most certainly not come to play, pulling out receipts the whole reunion, and apparently Farrah’s on-screen friendship with Valentina didn’t last long after the cameras stopped rolling. A black spot was marked on Valentina’s once pristine rep and the latest drag gossip has some more sins to add to her list. Red M and Ms, anyone?
If Don’t Pick Up A Fellow Drag Queen is rule number one on the list of things NOT to do during a lip sync, snatching your own wig is a very close second. But Roxxxy Andrews, top three finalists during season 5, proved this rule to be fine on occasion. Her lip sync against Alyssa Edwards is known as one of the most recognisable lip syncs ever to hit the stage of RuPaul’s Drag Race. Ru herself was gagged, Michelle whooped and hollered – when was the last time you saw Visage whoop and holler ever? Jaws dropped as Roxxxy revealed her much more hair whip-friendlier wig and rocked out to the song like she was Willow Smith herself, leading both her and Alyssa to be safe.
And lastly, Willam’s out of the blue disqualification from the show lands on the number one most shocking spot on this list. Willam was a character who didn’t Rupologize over ANYTHING and her no-explanation sashay away came out of a left field. Fans had to wait until the finale to finally learn that she was breaking the rules and having secret rendezvous meetings with her husband in her hotel room. Ru, of course, couldn’t allow her to continue on in the competition (as fierce as she was) and sent her on her merry way after hurling backstage. I’m a firm believer in Willam at least landing in the top three if she had not been disqualified, a first for the show, but since leaving Willam has gone on to form the drag girl group The AAA Girls with Alaska and Courtney Act, write a book and even have her own talkshow on Fullscreen.
Do you agree with our list? Sound off in the comments below and remember: If you don’t love yourself, how in the hell are you gonna love somebody else?
So last week, Ottavio released his debut single and this week, Bradley, who was one-half of the flamboyant duo Bratavio on the 2016 series of X Factor, has released his. But Bradley has insisted that the song is not about his former singing partner.
This is despite a scene in his video for the song, showing Bradley shredding a picture of Ottavio – before throwing the pieces into the air.
Whilst looking at the photo, Bradley can be heard saying, “can you stop stabbing me in the back, with that fork”.
@BradleyHuntUK is ur song about Ottavio by any chance??
— RandomAldridge (@random_aldridge) September 21, 2017
Nar a few people who need to pipe down yah https://t.co/evV20tpsPP
— BRADLEY HUNT (@BradleyHuntUK) September 21, 2017
Bradley’s single which was released today, has already racked up nearly 4000 views.
Holding the Man is a show that will rip your heart out and reduce you to tears.
Now playing at Above the Stag Theatre in Vauxhall, it’s true story of two Australian men, Timothy Conigrave and John Caleo, who fall in love in the late 1970’s, who have their ups and downs during the 1980’s, and who both are diagnosed with the HIV virus and must deal with not only death knocking on their door but also the shortened time they have to be together. The show is based on the 1995 book by Conigrave and was written by Tommy Murphy. Most of you might have already seen the excellent 2015 film, or previous London productions (including the 2010 production at Trafalgar Studios). The Above the Stage production is just as hard-hitting.
It’s the storytelling and the extremely strong performances of the cast at the Above the Stag that rate this production five stars. Jamie Barnard is excellent as Conigrave while Ben Boskovic as Caleo eerily captures his quietness and reserve. Both actors bring to this production a strength and resolute to their roles that they are almost living out these characters lives right in front of us. From the beginning of the show, we can feel that these two men were meant to be together. But this being the early 80s, not much was known about HIV, so, unfortunately, and I’m not giving anything away here because it’s a well-known story, AIDS was to rear its ugly head directly at these two young, beautiful men.
Holding the Man takes us on a heart-stopping and heartbreaking journey while we travel with them in their relationship with each other in life and in death. And it’s Barnard and Boskovic who take us on this remarkable journey. Joshua Cole as a best friend of the two men provide welcome comic relief in a show that’s very serious: he’s charming and has the best lines in the play. Faye Wilson adds some much-needed sparkle as another one of the boy’s friends, while Liam Burke, Annabel Pemberton, and Robert Thompson round out the ensemble in various roles as parents, friends and fellow students. One scene that includes the whole cast is a hilarious masturbation scene that’s cleverly done and something I’ve never seen on stage before.
But’s is the relationship between these two men that is at the heart and soul of this show. Director Gene David Kirk keeps the drama up and running while designer David Shields provides an excellent minimalist backdrop so the audience can focus on the story, and acting unfolding right before our very eyes.
Kudos to Above the Stag Theatre for producing a serious, dramatic and extremely well-acted show that’s a welcome relief from their previous camp and silly previous productions. Categorise Holding the Man as a must see!
Holding The Man runs at the Above The Stag theatre until 21st October 2017
The normally buff Austin Armacost appeared a little less ripped yesterday when he posted a picture of himself whilst on a boat, wearing only swimming shorts. In the post, the Celebrity Big Brother star captioned that he “loved” his body, despite not having a six-pack, bulging biceps and being “a little chubby”.
This is my body. No 6 pack, no bulging biceps, & a little chubby BUT I LOVE my body. Don’t like it, unfollow #FuckTheHaters ?????? #Happy pic.twitter.com/x4wZ1Hgbvg
— Austin Armacost (@austinarmacost) September 20, 2017
Well, the internet reacted and they weren’t showing the love for Austin or the post, with some suggesting that the post was damaging to his more impressionable fan base.
The post was liked over 4,000 times, but some felt his post just didn’t hit home just right.
what the fuck is this shit ?
— Evan O’Leary (@eolaoire) September 20, 2017
— Tom Griffin (@tgriffin91) September 20, 2017
First off…. pic.twitter.com/3vY1XpKwF9
— Patrick Jordan (@IHavePatrick_) September 20, 2017
second of all, pic.twitter.com/gCZ12KjcTx
— Patrick Jordan (@IHavePatrick_) September 20, 2017
— Olly Barter (@OllyBarter) September 20, 2017
How many young gay guys with an average or bigger body saw this & feel absolutely terrible about themselves? Not good enough @austinarmacost
— Madele (@theemattmay) September 21, 2017
Yeah you’re seriously massive. Making out you resemble Fat Bastard from Austin Powers isn’t the greatest example to set.
— Kevin (@yorkiepud76) September 20, 2017
This is my body. No 6 pack, no bulging biceps, & a little chubby BUT I LOVE my body. Don’t like it, unfollow #FuckTheHaters ?????? #Happy pic.twitter.com/KY2v2pJA9b
— Chris (@chrisdclegg) September 20, 2017
This is my body. No 6 pack, no bulging biceps, & a little chubby BUT I LOVE my body. Don’t like it, unfollow #FuckTheHaters ?????? #Happy pic.twitter.com/CiqQ6pLwT1
— Vito X ? (@theVitoGallo) September 20, 2017