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Amanda Gorman's white Dutch translator quits over 'uproar'
The Hague (AFP) - A Dutch writer has resigned as the translator of poet Amanda Gorman, the young black star of US President Joe Biden's inauguration, after an "uproar" over the fact that a black translator was not chosen. Marieke Lucas Rijneveld, who became the youngest winner of the International Booker Prize last year for their novel "The Discomfort of Evening", was picked for the job by Dutch publisher Meulenhoff. But after criticism in the Netherlands of the fact that a white translator was chosen, Rijneveld, who uses the non-binary pronoun "they", said they were pulling out of the job of ...
AFP
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Kim Kardashian files for divorce from Kanye West
Los Angeles (AFP) - Reality TV star Kim Kardashian has filed for divorce from rapper Kanye West after almost seven years of marriage, her publicist told AFP Friday. The mega-celebrity couple's divorce proceedings come just weeks after US media reported the pair were living separately and going through counseling dealing with "regular relationship issues." Celebrity gossip site TMZ -- which broke the news Friday -- said the separation was "as amicable as a divorce can be." Kardashian, 40, is asking for joint custody of the couple's four children, it added, with her lawyer Laura Wasser reported...
AFP
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Kim Kardashian files for divorce from Kanye West
Los Angeles (AFP) - Reality TV star Kim Kardashian has filed for divorce from rapper Kanye West after almost seven years of marriage, her publicist told AFP Friday. The divorce proceedings confirm a split that emerged publicly last month, when the mega-celebrity couple were reported by US media to be living separately and going through counseling dealing with "regular relationship issues." Celebrity gossip site TMZ -- which broke the news Friday -- said the separation was "as amicable as a divorce can be." Kardashian, 40, is asking for joint custody of the couple's four children, it added, wi...
AFP
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Dolly Parton asks Tennessee lawmakers not to erect statue
New York (AFP) - After thousands of people voiced support for proposed legislation that would immortalize Dolly Parton with a statue on the Capitol grounds of her home state Tennessee, the American icon has -- at least for now -- graciously declined. "I am honored and humbled by their intention but I have asked the leaders of the state legislature to remove the bill from any and all consideration," Parton posted on social media. "Given all that is going on in the world, I don't think putting me on a pedestal is appropriate at this time," the 75-year-old said. "I hope, though, that somewhere do...
AFP
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Amanda Gorman poem to be published in French
Paris (AFP) - A poem by Amanda Gorman, the young star of President Joe Biden's inauguration, is being translated into French, the Editions Fayard publishing house said Wednesday. The inauguration poem by the 22-year-old US National Youth Poet Laureate, "The Hill We Climb", is due out in hard copy next month in the United States and the French version will follow in May. It is being translated by up-and-coming music star Marie-Pierra Kakoma, who goes by the stage name Lous and the Yakuza. The Belgian-Congolese singer was recently nominated for France's top Victoires de la Musique awards. Gor...
AFP
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Nicki Minaj's father killed in hit-and-run
New York (AFP) - The father of rapper Nicki Minaj has died after being struck by a hit-and-run driver near New York City, police said Sunday. Robert Maraj, 64, was walking on a road in Mineola, Long Island at 6:15 pm (2315 GMT) on Friday when he was hit, Nassau County Police Department said in a statement. The driver left the scene of the accident, and Maraj was taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead on Saturday. "The investigation is ongoing," police added. The statement did not specify Maraj's relationship to Minaj, but a police spokesman confirmed he was her father. Minaj, 38, was ...
AFP
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'I failed': Skewered by Britney fans, Justin Timberlake apologizes
New York (AFP) - Justin Timberlake on Friday apologized for moments he "fell short" and condoned misogyny, one week after the release of a blockbuster documentary on Britney Spears saw the behavior of the former boy band star come under sharp criticism. The film, produced by FX and The New York Times, explores the vitriol both the media and entertainment industry aimed at Spears, who soared to global fame before publicly suffering a mental health crisis and becoming a paparazzi punching bag in the mid-to-late 2000s. Spears and Timberlake famously dated several years around the turn of the mill...
AFP
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Pop phenom, tabloid target: the fight to #FreeBritney
New York (AFP) - The legal agreement barring Britney Spears from managing her own life and finances is now older than the pop star was when the public met her as an effervescent 12-year-old on the Disney Channel -- and controversy over who steers her life is starting to boil. Spears, 39, has lived under the strict arrangement since her infamous unraveling, which in 2008 led a California court to place her under a unique legal guardianship largely governed by her father, Jamie. The conservatorship -- the precise reasons for and terms of which are buried in sealed or redacted court documents and...
AFP
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Kanye West and Kim Kardashian living separately: report
Los Angeles (AFP) - Rapper Kanye West and his reality TV star wife Kim Kardashian West are living separately and undergoing marriage counseling, NBC News reported, citing a source close to the family. For the past few months West, 43, has been living in Wyoming while Kardashian West, 40, and their four children stayed in California, the source said Tuesday. The mega-celebrity couple, who married in a lavish ceremony in Italy in May 2014, have been repeatedly dogged by gossip-press speculation that their marriage was on the rocks. The couple were going through counseling dealing with "regular r...
AFP
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Chrissy Teigen gets her nose pierced - again
C The 35-year-old star took to Instagram to show off the results from her new piercing after a recent botched attempt. Posting a clip on the photo-sharing site, Chrissy said: "I did it. Second time's the charm." The model explained last month how she had got her nose pierced during her holiday in St. Barts, although it quickly healed up and fell out "immediately" after she had it done. Alongside a picture of her nose pierced, she wrote on Twitter: “So I did this today and it immediately fell out and healed the second she left because she did it wrong lmao." She continued: “Like how do you do i...
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