All posts tagged: Tony

Tony Livesey off-air as BBC airs David Sullivan allegations

Tony Livesey off-air as BBC airs David Sullivan allegations

Published by Sam Flores

Tony Livesey with David Sullivan. Picture: BBC Panorama. BBC Radio 5 Live presenter Tony Livesey was absent from his usual late-night slot as an investigation from Panorama and The Times cast light over his previous career as editor-in-chief of Sport Newspapers. Press Gazette understands that Livesey, who presents the 10pm to 1am show Monday to Thursday on 5 Live, was not scheduled to be on air last night. Stand-in host Qasa Alom started last night’s show with an in-depth report looking into the allegations against Sullivan. Livesey is scheduled to return to present on 5 Live at 10.30pm tomorrow night (Wednesday). A two-year joint investigation by The Times and BBC Panorama has revealed how former Daily/Sunday Sport owner David Sullivan promised to advance the careers of young women if they had sex with him. One woman said she was taken to the offices of the Sport newspaper titles in Manchester and was introduced to the paper’s owner by then editor Livesey. The woman then described an unwanted sexual encounter with Sullivan which took place during …

How Pink’s Tony Awards Opening Came Together

How Pink’s Tony Awards Opening Came Together

Published by Daniella Wilson

The Tony Awards opening number Sunday saw Pink suspended from the rafters and lifting Neil Patrick Harris up in the air with her legs while belting, Megan Thee Stallion rapping about a best musical nominee and Lea Michele making jokes about not winning awards.  And then there was the lyric now etched into popular culture: “Gitchie, gitchie Lesley Manville. Gitchie, gitchie Carrie Coon.” More than 170 performers filled the stage, alongside Tony Awards host Pink, as she guided them through the number, set to a rewritten “Lady Marmalade” that honored Broadway’s leading ladies and included cast members from the season’s shows. This all came together as the brainchild of Dear Evan Hansen and The Greatest Showman composers Benj Pasek and Justin Paul and Mark Sonnenblick, composer of KPop Demon Hunters‘ “Golden.” (Pasek and Paul also collaborated on last year’s opening number for Cynthia Erivo.) The three chatted with The Hollywood Reporter about how they convinced nominees to participate (spoiler: it wasn’t hard), that flying moment, getting certain jokes in the telecast and the complicated logistics …

Tony Awards face backlash after exiled Hollywood producer wins years after bullying claims

Tony Awards face backlash after exiled Hollywood producer wins years after bullying claims

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Broadway fans are up in arms after producer Scott Rudin won a Tony Award for best revival of a play Sunday, four years after he left the industry over claims of bullying and bad behavior. Rudin, 67, took home the coveted trophy as the lead producer on the revival of Arthur Miller’s Death of A Salesman, which stars Laurie Metcalf, Nathan Lane and Christopher Abbott. This marks the fourth time that the play has won best revival, with Rudin also serving as lead producer on the winning 2012 production. Because Rudin was not in attendance at the 79th ceremony of Broadway’s biggest night, Lane accepted the award on behalf of production — and viewers were quick to call out the fact that Rudin’s name was not mentioned on stage even once, despite the play winning the most out of any individual …

2026 Tony Awards Snubs, Surprises 

2026 Tony Awards Snubs, Surprises 

Published by Daniella Wilson

Ragtime and Cats: The Jellicle Ball battled it out at the 2026 Tonys, leading to some unexpected wins and snubs. The musical revivals went into Sunday night’s awards ceremony with 11 and nine nominations respectively, and they ended the night with Ragtime in a slight lead with four Tonys to Cats: The Jellicle Ball‘s three awards. Ragtime triumphed in the best musical revival category, arguably the closest race of the night. However, Zhailon Levingston and Bill Rauch, who directed Cats: The Jellicle Ball, won best direction of a musical over Ragtime director Lear deBessonet, triumphing in a close race. Another Cats snub and surprise win came in the featured actor in a musical race. Theater legend André De Shields was seen as having an edge in the category for his role as Old Deuteronomy, a literally show-stopping performance, but instead Ali Louis Bourzgui was the surprise winner for his role as The Lost Boys‘ charismatic vampire leader. Bourzgui delivered a powerful speech, in which he spoke out against fascists and billionaires and in support of …

Rosie O’Donnell reveals results of transformational facelift at Tony Awards 2026

Rosie O’Donnell reveals results of transformational facelift at Tony Awards 2026

Published by Daniella Wilson

Comedian and actress, Rosie O’Donnell, looked half her age on the red carpet at the 2026 Tony Awards on Sunday, as she stepped out to showcase the results of her incredible transformation. The star removed her glasses to reveal a newly-revitalized complexion, as she candidly opened up about the journey she has been on with her skin following a 50lbs weight loss.  The mother of five’s vulnerable plastic surgery confession came last month, surprising many, as she had publicly condemned the use of surgery for years. “I used to feel very strongly about facelifts. Not casually – morally. I had assigned myself as head of all women who would never – ever,” she shared in an essay on her Substack.  © InstagramRosie shared the results of her facelift “I thought it was a betrayal. Of feminism. Of aging. Of our team of women worldwide. And then I lost 50 pounds…”.  Rosie’s dramatic weight loss meant that her face was ageing as well as ‘melting’, but her youngest daughter, Clay, had words to say on her …

Aubrey Plaza, Christopher Abbott at 2026 Tony Awards Show Off Pregnancy

Aubrey Plaza, Christopher Abbott at 2026 Tony Awards Show Off Pregnancy

Published by Daniella Wilson

The 2026 Tony Awards will be one to remember for Aubrey Plaza and Christopher Abbott. Walking the red carpet prior to the ceremony, Plaza and Abbott posed for photos at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. The couple was all smiles, wearing matching black-and-white looks, with Plaza showing off her baby bump. Sunday’s appearance marked their first red carpet arrival since People exclusively reported in April that the pair were expecting their first child. Plaza supported Abbott as he was nominated for best actor in a featured role in a play for Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman. Unfortunately, Abbott lost the award to Alden Ehrenreich (Becky Shaw). The Tony nomination was Abbott’s first, and his other fellow nominees included Danny Burstein (Marjorie Prime), Brandon J. Dirden (Waiting for Godot), Ruben Santiago-Hudson (August Wilson’s Joe Turner’s Come and Gone) and Richard Thomas (The Balusters). His co-star, Laurie Metcalf, won for best actress. While it’s unclear when The White Lotus actress and Girls star began dating, the pair previously worked together, co-starring in the 2020 …

Pink 2026 Tony Awards: The Host’s Best Moments

Pink 2026 Tony Awards: The Host’s Best Moments

Published by Daniella Wilson

Pink returned to the Moulin Rouge for a star-studded opening to the 2026 Tonys, singing theater-themed lyrics to her hit “Lady Marmalade” cover from the movie musical’s soundtrack. The singer began, though, by honoring a different, older musical: Peter Pan. Suspended high above the stage and twirling around, Pink sang “I’m flying” before Neil Patrick Harris interrupted her to wonder why she was performing such a dated show. “The flying twinks are all vampires now,” Harris said, referencing top Tonys nominee The Lost Boys, which went into the night up for 12 awards. “I just want to show how much I love theater even though I’ve never been on Broadway,” Pink explained, as she flipped upside down, showing off some of her trademark acrobatics. “I’m just concerned people might be like, ‘Why’s Pink hosting the Tonys?’” She belted a couple of lines from Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables and Wicked, lifting Harris off the ground with her legs during “Defying Gravity” from the last show. Ultimately Harris encouraged Pink to just be herself, “the …

Tony Awards viewers skewer CBS and call for boycott amid network turmoil

Tony Awards viewers skewer CBS and call for boycott amid network turmoil

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Viewers of the 79th annual Tony Awards have called for a boycott of host network CBS. The network has been in hot water for months, after a lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump ended with Paramount settling for a $16 million payout. More recently, the veteran journalist Scott Pelley was fired from 60 Minutes after reportedly accusing CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss of “murdering” the top news program. Moments after the Tonys broadcast — celebrating the best of Broadway — kicked off with a dazzling musical number hosted by Pink, viewers noted several issues and didn’t waste time pointing them out online. “I do not shock easily, however, I am shocked and appalled that you had children introduce a dancer who shook her nearly bare derrier in a side view on the Tony Awards,” one viewer wrote on X after rapper …

All the Fashion From the Tony Awards 2026 Red Carpet

All the Fashion From the Tony Awards 2026 Red Carpet

Published by Sam Flores

If you, like Shakespeare, believe that all the world’s a stage, then the Tony Awards 2026 red carpet is primed for performance. Joined by first-time ceremony host Pink, a bevy of stage and screen stars will descend upon New York’s famed Radio City Music Hall to celebrate the best of a bustling Broadway season. As for who will win at the Tony Awards 2026, it’ll be a battle for best musical between The Lost Boys, an opulent adaptation of Joel Schumacher’s queer classic film, or Schmigadoon!, a cheeky ode to Broadway’s golden age based on a cult-favorite Apple TV+ comedy. They lead the Tony Award nominations as the year’s most nominated musicals with 12 nods each. Meanwhile, Death of a Salesman is the most recognized play with nine total nods—including individual honors for stars Nathan Lane, Laurie Metcalf, and Christopher Abbott. Expect them to grace the Tonys carpet, in addition to lead-actor-in-a-play nominee Daniel Radcliffe for Every Brilliant Thing, lead-actor-in-a-musical nominee Luke Evans for Rocky Horror, and Grammy winner Megan Thee Stallion, fresh off an …