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R Kelly’s sisters speak out in defence of musician in new interview

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R Kelly’s sisters have spoken out in defence of their brother following his recent prison sentence.

In June, Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in prison, following his conviction last year on charges of sex trafficking and racketeering.

The R&B singer (real name Robert Sylvester Kelly) stood trial last summer for racketeering, bribery and violating the Mann Act, which criminalises the transportation of any woman or girl across state lines for “immoral” purposes, such as illegal sexual activity. He was found guilty on nine accounts.

Now, the sisters of the musician, Cassandra, Theresa and Lisa Kelly, have spoken out in his defence on Good Morning Britain and alleged that race played a part in his conviction.

“African Americans have always been treated unfairly,” Cassandra told the programme. “So I think that, that has a lot to do with it as well as other factors.”

Lisa Kelly went on in the interview to claim her brother had never been with an underage girl. “I can say he may have been with younger women but as far as underage girls, no,” she said. “And I stress girls—underage girls, who has seen that?”

She continued: “I’m not gonna acknowledge something that I don’t have the proof of. If there is a victim, I’ll acknowledge. But from what I’ve seen in court and from what I’ve studied and from what I’ve read the only victim I see that’s been stolen from, lied on is Robert. No one is talking about the money that was being extorted from Robert. No one is talking about what was stolen from him…he’s not a monster, he’s not a pedophile, he was just taken advantage of.”

In court last month, Kelly faced seven of his accusers who gave victim impact statements.

Gloria Allred, who represented the three women who testified against Kelly, told reporters that “no one can undo the harm that has been done to these victims”.

One of the victims said of Kelly: “With every addition of a new victim you grew in wickedness, cockiness, diminishing any form of humanity or self-awareness, which soon became the breeding ground for your God-like complex.

“You were doing, saying and encouraging despicable things that no one should be doing. We reclaim our names from beneath the shadows of your afflicted trauma. We are no longer the preyed-upon individuals we once were.”

Another added: “What you did has left a permanent stain of my life I’ll never be able to wash away. Now it’s your turn, to have your freedom taken from you.”

For help, advice or more information regarding sexual harassment, assault and rape in the UK, visit the Rape Crisis charity website. In the US, visit RAINN.

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Music

Taylor Swift reportedly paid everyone’s bill to clear restaurant after attending Travis Kelce’s Chiefs game

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2 hours ago

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September 26, 2023

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Taylor Swift reportedly paid for everyone’s bill to clear a restaurant in Kansas City after attending Travis Kelce’s Chiefs football game.

  • READ MORE: Taylor Swift live in New Jersey: a glittering celebration of every era

Yesterday (September 24), Swift was spotted at the Kansas City Chiefs vs Chicago Bears game in Kansas City, sitting in a suite with Kelce’s mum Donna. After the game, which the Cheifs won 41-3, both Swift and Kelce were spotted driving in Kelce’s convertible.

Allegedly, the two went to a restaurant where Swift paid for everyone’s bill in exchange for them leaving the premises immediately. In a since-deleted TikTok video, a Swift fan claimed that Swift “paid for everyone at the restaurant so that they would leave”.

According to LBC, the video was captioned: “Holy s***, my friend just called me. Taylor paid for everyone’s meals, they had to leave. Not saying where. She is with Travis!”

“I just got a call from a friend and Taylor is going to a place, and she just paid for everybody at the restaurant so that they would leave,” said the fan in the TikTok video.

She continued: “They were eating and the waitress came up and said, ‘Here’s the deal, everything is paid for but you have to have to leave, like right now.’ How freaking insane is this! Oh and of course, she’s with Travis Kelce.”

The pop sensation has been linked to the Kansas City Chiefs tight end after Kelce candidly revealed that he had tried to shoot his shot at Swift by attending one of her ‘Eras’ tour shows with a friendship bracelet that included his phone number on it ready to hand it to her.

Kelce shared that the bracelet was never given to the pop star but he did send her a message telling her that the ball is in her court. Speaking to Pat Mcafee in an interview on The Pat McAfee Show, Kelce said: “I told her that I’ve seen her rock a stage in Arrowhead and she might have to come see me rock the stage at Arrowhead…We’ll see what happens in the near future.”

Fans of the ‘Anti-Hero’ singer have been going wild on the internet since her appearance at the American Football game. One X/Twitter user wrote that Swift and Kelce’s mum being spotted together was “not something I had on my 2023 bingo card”, while another user joked: “What are we doing when Travis Kelce pauses mid game, points to Taylor, and says ‘this one is for you, you know who you are. I love you’ and then proceeds to make a touchdown?”

Check out more fan reactions below:

In other Taylor Swift news, her fans recently hit back at Elon Musk‘s suggestion that the pop star should share her music directly onto X/Twitter.

Earlier this week, Musk – who bought the social media platform for $44billion last year – replied to a post from Swift in which she revealed the ‘From The Vault’ track titles for ‘1989 (Taylor’s Version)’.

“I recommend posting some music or concert videos directly on the X platform,” he wrote. Many Swifties have since hit out at the X owner over his idea regarding the star’s music, with one writing: “With all due respect Mr. Elon sir I think Miss Swift knows what she’s doing.”

Elsewhere, Swift recently urged her fans to take action at the forthcoming US elections, driving record-breaking numbers to the Vote.org website.

“I’ve been so lucky to see so many of you at my US shows recently. I’ve heard you raise your voices, and I know how powerful they are. Make sure you’re ready to use them in our elections this year!,” she posted on her social media.

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New Order announce one-off Los Angeles show with Blossoms

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3 hours ago

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September 26, 2023

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New Order have announced a one-off show in Los Angeles, with Blossoms to support.

The band will be performing at the 6,000-capacity YouTube Theater in the city on November 15, which is a warm-up show ahead of the band’s appearance at Darker Waves Festival in Huntington Beach on November 18. New Order are co-headlining the festival alongside Tears For Fears.

The gig has been billed as part of the Darker Waves Sideshow series, with X, Drab Majesty and Provoker, OMD and Echo and the Bunnymen all playing headline gigs in California in the week leading up to the festival.

Tickets for New Order’s show with Blossoms go on sale on Friday (September 29) – you can buy yours here.

Earlier this month, the band  announced reissued editions of their classic compilation album ‘Substance 1987’.

Originally released via the legendary Factory Records, the record featured all of the Manchester band’s singles up to that point in their 12″ forms, as well as many of their respective B-sides.

‘Substance 1987’ also contained newly-recorded versions of the songs ‘Temptation’ and Confusion’. Other tracks that appeared as part of the collection included ‘Blue Monday’, ‘Bizarre Love Triangle’ and ‘Ceremony’.

Back in 2020, ‘Substance 1987′ returned to online streaming services after being removed five years prior.

Meanwhile, New Order are currently in the middle of their 2023 European and UK arena tour. See the full schedule below, and find any remaining tickets here.

SEPTEMBER
26 – Zénith, Paris
29 – The O2, London

OCTOBER
1 – 3Arena, Dublin
5 – OVO Hydro, Glasgow
7 – First Direct Arena, Leeds

Back in May, Peter Hook ran the AJ Bell Great Manchester Run in honour of The Smiths’ Andy Rourke, who died aged 59 after “a lengthy illness with pancreatic cancer”.

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Stevie Nicks announces 2024 North American headlining tour

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4 hours ago

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September 25, 2023

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Stevie Nicks has announced a handful of dates for her upcoming 2024 North American headlining tour.

The former Fleetwood Mac singer will be headed back on tour in February of next year for an eight-date headlining tour run. It follows the string of solo shows she did earlier this year as well as her current run of gigs that are set to end in December.

Kicking off on February 10 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, at Mark G Etess Arena, Nicks will make stops in New York, South Carolina, Florida, Louisiana and Nebraska. Her tour will wrap up on March 9 in Little Rock, Arkansas at the AT&T Stadium.

General sale for the 2024 North American tour will begin on Friday, September 29 at 10am local time. Visit here to purchase tickets.

Stevie Nicks 2024 North American tour dates are:

FEBRUARY
10 – Atlantic City, NJ, Mark G Etess Arena
14 – Belmont Park, NY, UBS Arena
21 – Greenville, SC, Bon Secours Wellness Arena
24 – Hollywood, FL, Hard Rock Live
28 – New Orleans, LA, Smoothie King Center

MARCH
3 – Omaha, NE, CHI Health Center
6 – North Little Rock, AR, Simmons Bank Arena
9 – Arlington, TX, AT&T Stadium

Nicks is currently on the road. Her next show will be on September 27 at the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh. From there, she will be making stops in New York, Tennessee, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and different cities in California.

Last month, Nicks shared her thoughts on Amazon Prime Video‘s Daisy Jones & The Six after watching it for the second time.

The singer took to social media to talk about the Prime Video series, sharing her thoughts on her recent rewatch. “Just finished watching [Daisy Jones & The Six] for the 2nd time. In the beginning, it wasn’t really my story, but Riley seamlessly, soon became my story.”

She continued: “It brought back memories that made me feel like a ghost watching my own story. It was very emotional for me. I just wish Christine [McVie] could have seen it. She would have loved it. Hopefully it will continue…”

Nicks also shared a statement about the wildfires that swept through Maui in August. The singer-songwriter posted a lengthy statement on her Instagram page expressing her sadness about the fires which have devastated the island and fears for her family

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