64 h. ago Will Smith hit with lawsuit as tour violinist alleges 'predatory behaviour' and 'grooming'

The actor and rapper is facing legal action from former America’s Got Talent finalist Brian King Joseph. Smith’s lawyer has called the allegations ‘false, baseless and reckless’

Society

66 h. ago Will Smith 'sued for sexual harassment' by male tour musician for 'predatory behaviour'

Actor Will Smith is being "sued for sexual harassment" by a musician who joined him on tour throughout 2025 - Smith's lawyers have "categorically denied" the allegations

Events

66 h. ago Will Smith accused of ‘predatory behaviour’ and ‘grooming’ by tour violinist

Brian King Joseph claims the rapper and actor was ‘priming’ him for ‘sexual exploitation’. Smith’s lawyer has called the allegations ‘false, baseless and reckless’Will Smith is being sued by a violinist from his 2025 tour, who claims the rapper and actor exhibited “predatory behaviour” and was “deliberately grooming and priming” him for “further sexual exploitation”. Brian King Joseph is also pursuing the performer and his company Treyball Studios Management for wrongful termination and retaliation in a suit filed in the superior court of California.Joseph alleges that he was hired for the tour in support of Smith’s new album, Based on a True Story, after first appearing on stage with Smith in December 2024. The suit claims that Smith once told Joseph, “You and I have such a special connection that I don’t have with anyone else.” Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago Will Smith is sued for sexual harassment by America's Got Talent star

Joseph, 32, rose to prominence as a top-three finalist on America's Got Talent in 2018.

Events

8 d. ago Marcus Smith suffers embarrassing calamity as opponent can't believe it

Smith's shocker came as Harlequins were crushed once again amid a worrying collapse this season

Politics

1 week ago 'The Army is still not safe for women years after my daughter took her own life': Jaysley Beck's mother condemns MoD report exposing shocking levels of sexual harassment

Gunner Beck was 19 years old when colleagues found her unresponsive at Larkhill Camp, Wiltshire, in December 2021.

Events

1 week ago Spain’s socialists shed voters in regional election as far right makes gains

Vox doubles its seats in Extremadura as Socialist Workers’ party, mired in corruption scandals, loses 10 of its 28 seats Spain’s ruling Socialist Workers’ party (PSOE), already reeling from a series of corruption and sexual harassment scandals, has suffered another blow with a disastrous showing in Sunday’s regional election in the north-western region of Extremadura.The PSOE lost 10 of its 28 seats as the far-right Vox party doubled its representation on two years ago from five to 11 seats. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago The Guardian view on gene editing: breakthroughs need a new social contract | Editorial

Cutting-edge therapies exist, but the market cannot deliver them cheaply. Britain must build NHS capacity so that cures become collective goods, not expensive productsJust a small fraction of our 20,000 genes can cause disease when disrupted – yet that sliver accounts for thousands of rare disorders. The difficulty is: what can a doctor do to treat them? In a common condition such as type 2 diabetes, the underlying biology is similar for millions of patients. The doctor can prescribe metformin. But with a genetic disorder, the mutation might only affect a small number of people worldwide. In many cases, doctors won’t even know which mutation is responsible, let alone how to fix it.Novel gene-editing breakthroughs are making headlines. But therapies are expensive and complex to develop. The cost of bringing any new drug to patients is now around $2bn, in part because, as Brian David Smith notes in New Drugs, Fair Prices, the “success rate, from discovery to market, is ...

Politics

2 w. ago Spain’s ruling party faces crunch regional poll amid corruption and harassment claims

Results of Sunday’s snap election in Extremadura are seen as key test of Pedro Sánchez and his PSOE partySpain’s beleaguered prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, faces a key test on Sunday when voters in the south-western region of Extremadura cast their ballots in the first major election to be held since a series of corruption and sexual harassment allegations enveloped his inner circle, his party and his administration.Extremadura, once a stronghold of Sánchez’s Spanish Socialist Workers’ party (PSOE), has been in the hands of the conservative People’s party (PP) since 2023, when the latter managed to form a short-lived coalition government with the far-right Vox party, despite finishing just behind the socialists. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago Man who attacked cellmate with 'prison napalm' over vape found dead behind bars

Danny Smith, 34, threw a kettle of boiling water mixed with sugar over his cellmate in 2023 - he was found dead in his prison cell last month

Events

2 w. ago Student awarded £65k after JD Sports supervisor sexual harassment case

The student worked part-time while studying for her A-levels

Events

2 w. ago Neighbours star Ian Smith overjoyed at outliving terminal cancer diagnosis: ‘I was supposed to die in March’

Positive news comes after Harold Bishop actor discussed his scrapped plans to take part in voluntary assisted dying

Events

2 w. ago Spain to launch €60 monthly nationwide public transport pass

Bus and train initiative comes as government struggles to survive corruption and sexual harassment allegationsSpain’s socialist-led government is to launch a national public transport pass that will allow people to travel anywhere in the country by bus or train for a flat monthly fee of €60 (£52.70).The prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, unveiled the initiative on Monday, saying it would come into effect in the second half of January and was intended “to change the way Spaniards understand and use public transport for ever”. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago BBC The Finish Line presenter Sarah Greene left fortune by late husband

Sarah Greene's husband Mike Smith passed away in 2014 from complications after heart surgery

Politics

3 w. ago A Hollywood ending? Inside the final days of LeBron James in Los Angeles

A new book explores how an all-time great and a world famous franchise handle the waning of a monumental careerIn a book about LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers, it’s only fitting that one memorable scene involves a Hollywood star: Will Smith.Yaron Weitzman’s latest book is titled A Hollywood Ending: The Dreams and Drama of the LeBron Lakers. Suffice to say the plot thickens when Smith goes to the Lakers’ film room to speak to the team in 2022. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago ‘Men explicitly loving men is so threatening to the status quo’: why are gay male pop stars being shut out of the music industry?

Not long ago, artists such as Lil Nas X and Olly Alexander were ruling pop. But success has stalled as acts face industry obstacles and rising homophobia. What now?At the turn of the decade, gay male and non-binary pop stars seemed poised to take pop music by storm. Lil Nas X broke out with Old Town Road – which blew up on TikTok, sold about 18.5m copies and remains tied with Shaboozey’s A Bar Song (Tipsy) and Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas Is You as the longest-running No 1 single in US history – and artists such as Sam Smith, Troye Sivan and Olly Alexander from Years & Years were all singing about gay love and sex.But the initial promise has stalled. Lil Nas X’s attempts to build on his smash debut album have fizzled, and he is publicly dealing with mental health issues. In October, Khalid released his first album since being outed by his ex last year but only sold 10,000 copies in the first week in the US. A previous album, 2019’s Free Spirit, sold some 200,000 copie...

Events

3 w. ago Michael Smith shows true colours in dedicating win after admitting 'heartbreak'

Michael Smith put on a show after surviving a first set scare to win his World Championship first round game against Lisa Ashton before dedicating his victory

Politics

3 w. ago Spain’s ruling socialist party accused of failing to act on sexual misconduct by senior men

Slew of allegations of sexual harassment hits party already battered by corruption claims and political setbacksEurope live – latest updatesSpain’s ruling socialist party, which has been battered by a barrage of corruption allegations and political setbacks, is scrambling to reassert its feminist credentials after being accused of failing to act on sexual misconduct by senior men in the party.Pedro Sánchez appointed 11 women and six men to his cabinet when he became prime minister in 2018, saying his Spanish Socialist Workers’ party (PSOE) was “unmistakably committed to equality” and to reflecting recent changes in Spanish society. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago Trump launches $1m ‘gold card’ visa scheme amid immigration crackdown

Wealthy immigrants will be able to buy residency, and $5m ‘platinum card’ will exempt holders from some US taxesDonald Trump launched a new program that will allow wealthy foreign individuals to buy a US “golden visa” for $1m, and trailed a “platinum” version for $5m.“A direct path to Citizenship for all qualified and vetted people. SO EXCITING! Our Great American Companies can finally keep their invaluable Talent,” Trump wrote on Wednesday on social media. Continue reading...

Politics

4 w. ago ‘A producer grabbed me, and I thought, Oh, for God’s sake’: Patricia Hodge on sexual harassment, drugs – and being in her prime at 79

Until she reached her 50s, the actor was a constant presence on stage and screen. Then the offers disappeared. Now, as her renaissance continues, she is taking on Mrs Malaprop in The RivalsAfter six decades as an actor, Patricia Hodge says she still gets nervous before a play opens. “I think nerves are always the fear of the unknown,” she says. “Particularly with comedy, where there is no knowing how the audience will react: you’ve got to surf that.”We meet on a sunny winter morning at the Orange Tree theatre in Richmond, south-west London, where Hodge is about to appear in The Rivals, to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Richard B Sheridan play, in which she plays the ironic – sorry, iconic – Mrs Malaprop. “You’re sort of in a tunnel, your entire being is focused on this,” she says. She was here in rehearsals until 11pm the night before. Today, she is sitting at a table with a large coffee. Does she enjoy this bit, the putting together of a play? “I think it’s love-hate actual...

Events