Tag Archives: manchester

Ariana Grande’s Manchester Benefit Concert To Take Place This Sunday

The One Love Manchester show comes less than two weeks after 22 people were killed by a suicide attacker as people left Ariana Grande‘s show at Manchester Arena.

The tribute concert will take place at Emirates Old Trafford Cricket Ground.

The venue has a 50,000 capacity and the gig will be broadcast live on BBC TV and radio. Proceeds will go to the We Love Manchester Emergency Fund, which was set up by the Manchester City Council in partnership with the British Red Cross, in aid of grieving families and victims of last week’s horrific attack.

Those who were at the Manchester Arena concert are being offered free tickets by Grande.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BUuLgqVFdF2/

Others performing include Take That, One Direction’s Niall Horan, and Pharrell.

Seven children were among the victims who died when Salman Abedi detonated a bomb on 22 May.

Grande, 23, suspended her Dangerous Woman tour, including cancelling two shows at London’s O2 Arena, following the attack.

But the US singer had promised to return to Manchester, saying:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BUkJoiDFvru

Tickets go on sale Thursday 1 June 2017 at 10am BST. Ariana is offering fans who were at the Manchester show on Monday free tickets to this benefit concert. Customers who would like to attend will need to follow this link and register before Wednesday 31 May 2017 at 4pm BST.

Ticketmaster will be in touch via email within 36 hours of registrations. Instructions will be passed on as to how to process your free ticket

For more information on the gig, click here.

Daily Juice: Tributes Flood In Following Devastating Attack On Ariana Grande Concert

At around 10.30pm last night, an explosion went off at an Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena, killing at least 22 people and injuring at least 59 more.

The bomb was detonated in the minutes after the popstar walked off stage.

Grande has since posted on Twitter that she felt “broken” by the attack.

The 23-year-old American singer posted a tweet to her 45 million followers saying: “From the bottom of my heart, I am so so sorry. I don’t have words.”

According to reports, she has now suspends her world tour’ following explosion.

https://twitter.com/ArianaGrande/status/866849021519966208?

Friends and collaborators of Grande took to social media to express their horror too.

https://twitter.com/RubyRose/status/866818908946169858

https://twitter.com/taylorswift13/status/866824457050099712

Kristen Stewart isn’t here for sexist fashion rules at cannes

Talking to The Hollywood Reporter; Stewart said

There’s definitely a distinct dress code, right? People get very upset at you if you don’t wear heels or something.”

They do indeed. In 2015, Cannes faced backlash after women were reportedly barred from a red carpet premiere — for Todd Hayes’s pro-LGBTQ romance Carol, no less — because they were wearing flat shoes.

But I feel like you can’t ask people that any more. It’s just kind of a given. If you’re not asking guys to wear heels and a dress, you cannot ask me either.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BUWvi2sBa94/

Cannes Film Festival Queer Palm Award Jury Stage Powerful LGBT Protest Condemning Chechnya Attacks On Gay Men

The jurors of the Queer Palm Award at the Cannes Film Festival have staged a protest condemning the attacks on gay men in Chechnya.

The judges, including Lidia Terki, Travis Mathews and Yair Hochner, were among those who held up signs on the red carpet during the festival in the south of France on Sunday. (HuffPost)

Mexican Telenovela Icon Itatí Cantoral Stars in OITNB‘s Newest Teaser

Orange Is the New Black’s 5th season drops on June 9th, and Netflix has amped up its marketing with a genius crossover between OITNB’s Flaca (Jackie Cruz), Maritza (Diane Guerrero), and Soraya Montenegro (Itatí Cantoral) from the beloved telenovela Maria la del Barrio. (Pride)

https://www.facebook.com/OITNB/videos/1411403695591702/

Rihanna & Lupita Nyong’o Are Starring in a Movie Together

Rihanna and Lupita Nyong‘s are reportedly going to be starring in a movie together! According to Shadow & Act, the Grammy-winning pop star and the Oscar-winning actress will actually get to share the silver screen, after a tweet mentioning an idea for a movie starring the two went viral in April.

https://twitter.com/blaquepink/status/854420031479971846

As if the news of this wasn’t cool enough, Insecure star, writer, and creator Issa Rae is in talks to write the script, and Oscar-nominated director Ava DuVernay is set to direct!

The Last Jedi cast covers Vanity Fair for 40th anniversary

Marking the 40th anniversary of Star Wars, Vanity Fair released four covers that reveal new glimpses of the heroes and villains in Episode VIII.

Moment Of Terror In Manchester: Explosion Leaves 22 Dead And Dozens More Injured

Twenty-two people are confirmed to have died in an explosion at the Manchester Arena last night. Dozens more people – 59 at last count – were injured by the blast.

The horrific attack took place at the end of Ariana Grande’s show, where the singer has been performing on the European leg of her Dangerous Woman Tour.

The bomb was detonated in the minutes after the singer walked off stage.

The blast happened in or around the foyer area, and there was mass panic as people left the venue.

Frantic parents were appealing overnight for information on their children who were in attendance.

Many unaccompanied minors had gone to see their pop idol.

Those in attendance at the concert were evacuated from the arena and train stations nearby had been brought to a standstill.

In a statement in Downing Street, British Prime Minister Theresa May said it was “now beyond doubt that the people of Manchester and of this country have fallen victim to a callous terrorist attack” that targeted “defenceless young people”.

She said the security services believe they know the attacker’s identity but are not yet able to confirm it.

The Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, the Lib Dems’ Tim Farron and Nicola Sturgeon, the Scotland first minister, have been among political leaders voicing their sympathies and concern.

A “broken” Ariana Grande tweeted after the explosion that she was “so so sorry” and through the night other figures from entertainment to global politics have sent out words of condolence to those affected.

https://twitter.com/ArianaGrande/status/866849021519966208

As many as 21,000 were at the sold-out concert for Grande – with many fans being young children and teenagers.

Grande’s manager Scooter Braun issued a statement:

Tonight, our hearts are broken. Words cannot express our sorrow for the victims and families harmed in this senseless attack.

We mourn the lives of children and loved ones taken by this cowardly act. We are thankful for the selfless service tonight of Manchester’s first responders who rushed towards danger to help save lives. We ask all of you to hold the victims, their families, and all those affected in your hearts and prayers.”

In Manchester itself there has been a big community response via social media, with concertgoers offered rides home and beds for the night.

The hashtags #MissingInManchester and #Manchestermissing are now being used to track down some of the dozens of loved ones still missing.

Relatives are using social media to hunt for loved ones, and Manchester police have also set up an emergency number (0800 096 0095) for those who are concerned about missing friends and family.

More than 240 calls were made to the emergency services, with responders including 60 ambulances flooding the area.

Victims of the explosion are currently being treated at eight hospitals across the city of Manchester.

More than 400 police officers were deployed as part of the operation, with a visible presence remaining on the streets of Manchester this morning.

Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Ian Hopkins confirmed they are treating the blast as a ‘terrorist incident until we have further information’.

If confirmed as terrorism it would be the worst attack in the UK since 56 people were killed in the 7/7 London bombings in 2005.

A large cordon remains in place around the arena and nearby Manchester Victoria Station, which was evacuated during the incident and remains closed, while forensic investigators gather evidence.

Police have appealed for concert-goers and witnesses to provide police with footage from the scene if they believe it can assist the probe.

Christina Fonthes, a LGBT Activist, Escapes After Being Held by her Mother who Wanted to ‘Fix’ her Sexuality

Christina Fonthes, a lesbian activist, was flown home to safety after being held captive by her mother in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, who wanted to “fix” her sexuality.

When Fonthes was visiting her family in Kinshasa on 11 August, they stole her passport in order to keep her in the country and “cure her of her gayness”.

She initially managed to get to the British embassy in the city to apply for emergency travel documents, but was unable to stay in the building. Fonthes then travelled to a friend’s house to hide from her family but was reportedly seized by police on the way and taken back to her relatives.

Friends said she was in “massive danger” and suggested the arrest by police was planned by her family.

In a plea for help, Fonthes tweeted on Thursday: “Im NOT missing. My passport has been stolen BY MUM. and I need to return to the uk asap.”

Her partner, the BBC sports presenter Jessica Creighton, told the Independent last week. “It became apparent that her family were unhappy with her decision to be an out lesbian. They took her passport and [were] refusing to give it back. They have said they want to keep her in Congo and ‘cure her of her gayness’… Chris is a British citizen and should be under the protection of the British government. So far, their so-called protection has been utterly useless,” Fonthes, who co-founded the Rainbow Noir LGBT group in Manchester, has lived in the UK for most of her life and is a British citizen. Rainbow Noir thanked well wishers on Facebook on Sunday, saying that Fonthes had managed to return to the UK.

Creighton confirmed her partner was safe, tweeting:

Coming Out – We Discuss with KitschMix Columnist Sam Marshall

Sam Marshall, the beauty Guru and columnist with KitschMix, talked openly with us about her life and the trials of coming out in small North Western town in the UK, as well as the challenges people face in Britain today regarding their sexual preference.

KitschMix: Where were you born and raised? 

Sam Marshall:I was born and raised in Bakewell in Derbyshire.  We lived in a beautiful house up a hill, away from anything except cows and sheep! I suppose I was fortunate – my parents had a successful clothes shop and I went to private school and had a pony! We always had loads of pets, and mum used to grow fruit and veg. It was fab.

KM: When did you first realise you were a lesbian? Did you tell anyone else about your feelings? 

SM: I “realised” I liked girls at 17. A boyfriend pointed out that I kept staring at a waitress I worked with.  I then remember going to Sheffield with a friend and kissing the only lesbian in the only gar bar there!

Looking back my bedroom wall was full of female pop stars and models with short hair – I think I only had one picture up of the man holding the baby!

I went to Sydney in 1999 and had my first “experience”. Very drunk, and she had a huge bush. Not very memorable!  Then came my first girlfriend – she was beautiful, quite boyish and, of course, still in love with her ex!

When I returned to the UK and told all my friends in Bakewell I was now “Gay”. The lads loved it; the girls said I was doing it for attention. At that time Bakewell didn’t even have anyone who wouldn’t have ticked “white British” if you know what I mean.

Needless to say I went back to boys due to the non-existence of lesbians (and much to the relief of my “it’s a phase” mother).

I moved to Manchester in 2001 and in 2004 started seeing a boy who worked on the doors in the Gay Village. We went out there a lot and I felt like a kid in a sweet shop! I didn’t know there were so many gay girls!  I never looked back.

I got civil partnered in 2010, now separated and we still remain friends. Mum totally accepts it and welcomed my ex like part of the family. My sister now says, “if you went back to boys I’d be sick”. Nice.

And the answer is no, I wouldn’t. I’m totally 100% gay.

KM: Have you experienced any discrimination or bad feeling from people because of your sexual persuasion?

SM: Only years ago in Bakewell saying it was for attention. I also had a rather “challenging” employee at Urban – a gay man who decided to try to make my life a living hell. He would tell my waxing clients I was gay, and shout “Dirty Dyke” across the shop floor. He didn’t work there for long after that!

Other than that even clients (after a while its inevitable they will ask about home stuff) that I was waxing were cool about it. I think if you make it an issue then it becomes one. This is normal for me now.

KM: What sorts of challenges do you think LGBT people face in Britain today?

SM: I think times are changing. My late granddad was quite homophobic, but when I told my Nan (his wife) she was like “Whatever makes you happy”. I think generations are dying off that had that negative mind-set. Also it helps that it is illegal to be homophobic -in the workplace it is seen as bullying. I do fear for my son (he has two mums and a dad), but I have friends with a 16yr old daughter who has never been teased or bullied over having two mums. After all most kids have single parent families, with mum’s new partner etc.

Most straight people like having a “gay best friend” – Madonna made that popular with Rupert Everett.  Every time a get speaking to a straight man they say “can we perve at girls together?”!

I think the Trans still get a hard time  – cross dressers especially.  People just stare and feel it ok to say out loud “is that a guy?” I treat a few trans clients and it really is such a brave thing to do. It easier for transsexuals as they don’t look “out of place” – I have witnessed one girl in Manchester (who is stunning by the way) being ogled by guys who have no idea the object of their attention probably has bigger tackle than them!  I suppose it’s about looking different that people don’t like.

It might help that I’m apparently “a lesbian disguised as a straight girl”. One of my exes was constantly called “Sir” in Indian Restaurants, and once asked if she was a girl or a boy!  My current partner looks (apparently) like a “good looking gay boy” and always gets hit on in the village by men until they spot her ample cleavage!  We have stereotypes in our head and things will naturally stand out.

Years ago men looked a certain way, and women did too. Now the lines are blurred.  Men wear make-up and women wear boxers!