Tag Archives: celebrity culture

Diffindo! Has Daniel Radcliffe hexed the Lib Dems?

By Stephen Tall | Published 26th December 2010 - 5:55 pm

Daniel Radcliffe has declared himself to be “underwhelmed” by the Lib Dems in the wake of the tuition fees controversy, according to a report in the Daily Mail:

A source inside the party said: ‘Daniel does not in any way support the violence of the rioters, but to say he is underwhelmed by his party is an understatement. Like millions of others he was under the impression that the Liberal Democrats had no plans to increase the cost of studying.

‘While Daniel will never have to worry about his finances again, a tuition fee hike is a serious issue which

…

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged , , | 12 Comments

Things can only get better for the Lib Dems, as D:Ream’s Brian Cox defects from Labour

By Stephen Tall | Published 14th March 2010 - 6:15 pm

Time was when you were asked to name a Lib Dem celebrity backer you would have been hard-pressed to think beyond Barry Norman, Liz Kershaw and Barry Cryer (all of whom are stars, of course). Then came Sandi Toksvig, Floella Benjamin and Brian Eno; perhaps also Daniel Radcliffe. And last month, the Observer named Coldplay’s Chris Martin, Colin Firth, Kate Winslet, Andrew Motion, Razorlight, and the Kooks. Suddenly, it’s al looking a bit more A-list, a bit more contemporary.

And now comes today’s news from The Sunday Times, ‘D:Ream is over as poster boy Brian Cox deserts Labour: …

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged , | 3 Comments

What’s the right way to respond to #MichaelJackson’s death?

By Stephen Tall | Published 26th June 2009 - 11:10 am

Why is it okay to laugh at the death of celebrities? Genuine question. As news of Michael Jackson’s death swept the world last night, causing the Internet to grind to a standstill, two things about our new cyber-age stood out to me.

First, that it was a US celeb website, TMZ.com, which broke the news of Jacko’s demise, leaving traditional media, including the wire agencies and LA Times, in its reporting wake. Its maintained the frenetic and frequently intrusive coverage today. If you want to see pics of the paramedics arriving at Jacko’s house, or of his grief-stricken relatives …

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged , , , | 11 Comments