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David Furnish is well known as a gay rights campaigner, AIDS activist and of course Sir Elton John’s husband.

In conversation with Sky’s Beth Rigby, he covered a range of subjects from homophobia, trans rights and Prince Harry, to Sir Elton playing Glastonbury on Sunday, amazingly for the first time in a 50 year musical career.

As an outspoken advocate of gay rights he denounced the tone of the media coverage of the disgraced TV presenter Phillip Schofield as “horrifying to watch”.

He said: “Without question, Phillip Schofield, and Elton agrees, behaved inappropriately. It could be perceived as an abuse of power.

“What was horrifying to watch was what I would call a disproportionate response within certain levels of the media, where it was written about over and over and over, where they were piling on for days and then weeks, continually writing negative, highly critical pieces.”

Read more: Phillip Schofield affair reaction was ‘totally homophobic’, says Sir Elton John

He claimed the Schofield scandal – where the presenter left ITV last month after admitting to an affair with a younger colleague on This Morning – unfairly got more coverage than Boris Johnson did for misleading parliament over partygate.

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David Furnish has told Sky’s Beth Rigby that the reaction to Phillip Schofield’s was “disproportionate and points to homophobia.”

“If you weighed up the column inches that they gave to Phillip Schofield… and what happened with Boris Johnson…You will find a great, great difference. And that, to me, points to homophobia.”

He added that Schofield’s actions were a “colossal error in judgement” but the media’s response “felt like homophobia”.

“I don’t think we would have had the same response if it had been between a man and a woman. They would not let it go.”

Glastonbury ‘collaborators’

Furnish revealed as much as he could about his husband’s final UK set this weekend, on the pyramid stage at Glastonbury, saying Sir Elton would bring on “four collaborators of his choosing”.

When pressed as to who the mystery quartet were, Furnish said: “Sorry. I am sworn to secrecy.”

But he hinted that the legendary singer’s final performance would contain “a different setlist” with “a lot of changes”.

Pic: AP
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Sir Elton’s last UK performance will be at Glastonbury. Pic: AP

He added Sir Elton would carry on with musical endeavours following his farewell tour, which ends next month.

“I don’t think he’ll be sitting on the sofa with a remote control,” Furnish joked. “He’s going to go back into the studio in October and start his next album. Which will be great. He’s not done a studio album in a long time.”

‘Admiration” for JK Rowling but ‘bringing people together’ crucial

With transgender issues featuring in sport, education and politics, Furnish diplomatically addressed JK Rowling’s stance on transgenderism.

Furnish said: “I have tremendous admiration for what J.K. has done with Harry Potter and how she has made so many children rediscover the joy of reading, and brought families together in a way that no one has done for a very, very long time.

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Furnish on Rowling: ‘I don’t agree or approve’

“I don’t like to see any community singled out, or stigmatised, and I think when you have a platform like she has, if I was in her shoes, I would direct it towards doing what I do best, which is bringing people together my through my work and through my art, and my culture.”

Prince Harry ‘doing really well’

As the conversation moved to phone hacking making the headlines, Furnish, who previously revealed he and Sir Elton felt “paternal and protective” over Prince Harry said he is doing “great” after giving evidence in court.

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Prince Harry court case evidence explained

Furnish said: “[Harry’s] taken a lot of flack in the media, and you have to remember he’s taking on the media.

“But we are in fairly regular contact, and he was very pleased the way things went in court. And he’s doing really well”.

Furnish confident on ending AIDS epidemic by 2030

As a gay man, Furnish recalled his personal struggles coming out at a time when the stigma around HIV/AIDS was high.

“It was terrifying because initially there wasn’t even a test to find out whether you had AIDS or not. Gay men were just dying these very horrible, heavily stigmatised deaths.”

Furnish didn’t disclose his sexuality during his twenties due to being terrified of the stigma attached and the lack of treatments for the virus.

He said: “It was awful. I watched so many friends waste away, and it was heartbreaking. It was a scary time”.

The Canadian filmmaker is the Chairman of the Elton John Aids Foundation and spoke about his ambition to help with reducing the spread of the infection within the next six years.

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Sir Elton John ‘optimistic’ on HIV

He said: “The great thing is, we know where the problem lies and the science is so good we have the tools to effect the change that we need to affect. We can stop and create a world with no new HIV infections. We just need the funds and the resources.

“It doesn’t mean there will be an end to AIDS completely. But in terms of the point where we define it as an epidemic… we won’t be in that area anymore.

“We’ve gone from a disease that arrived in the eighties, for which there was no hope within our lifetime [to one] we think we can end – end completely”.

You can watch the full interview with David Furnish on BETH RIGBY INTERVIEWS at 9pm tonight on Sky News.

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Angelina Jolie on her legacy, family and new film Maria

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Angelina Jolie on her legacy, family and new film Maria

Angelina Jolie says although she appreciates being an artist, she would prefer for her legacy to be “a good mother” and to be known for her “belief in equality and human rights”.

The Oscar-winning actress stars as Maria Callas in the new Pablo Larrain film about the opera singer’s life.

Pic: StudioCanal
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Pic: StudioCanal

She has called Maria “the hardest” and “most challenging” role she has had in her career and put months of preparation into immersing herself into the world of opera.

Jolie, who recently reached a divorce settlement with actor Brad Pitt, told Sky News: “To be very candid, it was the therapy I didn’t realise I needed. I had no idea how much I was holding in and not letting out.

“So, the challenge wasn’t the technical [side of opera], it was an emotional experience to find my voice, to be in my body, to express. You have to give every single part of yourself.”

The biopic combines the voice of the Maleficent actress with recordings of Maria Callas.

Jolie believes it “would be a crime to not have [Callas’] voice through this because, in many ways, she is very present in this film”.

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Who was Maria Callas?

Born in New York in 1923, Maria Callas was the daughter of Greek immigrants who moved back to Athens at the age of 13 with her mother and sister.

After enrolling at the Athens Conservatory, she made her professional debut at 17 and went on to become one of the most famous faces of opera, travelling around the world and performing at Covent Garden in London, The Met in New York and La Scala in Milan.

Callas’s final operatic performance took place at Covent Garden in 1965 when she was 41 but she continued to work conducting master classes at Juilliard School, doing concert tours and starring in the 1969 film Medea.

Written by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, Maria focuses on the artist’s final years in the 1970s when she moved to Paris and disappeared from public view.

She died on 16 September 1977 at the age of 53.

Pic: StudioCanal
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Pic: StudioCanal

Jolie on changing motivations as an actor

Maria follows the life of an artist fully consumed by the art she creates and even remarks that “happiness never developed a beautiful melody”.

Reflecting on her own life in the spotlight, Jolie said she noticed her own career motivations change over the years.

“There’s this kind of study of being human that we do when we create, and we communicate with an audience because our work is not in isolation – it’s a connection.

“I think when I was younger, I had different questions about being human and different feelings and now as I’ve gotten older, I understand some things and now I have different questions.

“It’s a matter of life, right? And so maybe that’s interesting that this now is a character really contemplating death and really contemplating the toll of certain things in life that I, of course, couldn’t have understood in my 20s”.

Jolie at the New York Film Festival in September with three of her children (L-R) Pax, Zahara and Maddox. Pic: AP
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Jolie at the New York Film Festival in September with three of her children (L-R) Pax, Zahara and Maddox. Pic: AP

A family affair

Two of Jolie’s children, Maddox and Pax, took on production assistant roles during the filming of Maria and witnessed their mother perform opera for the first time in public.

She says the film allowed them to create new experiences together and for her children to see her approach to playing a difficult role.

“Everyone in my home, we all give each other space to be who we are and we’re all different.

“I’m the mom, but I’m also an artist and a person and so my family has been very kind and gives me their understanding. They make fun of me, and they support me and just as you’d hope it would be.”

She adds: “When you play somebody who is dealing with so much pain, it’s very important to come home to some kindness.”

Maria is in cinemas now.

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Sam Moore, who sang Soul Man in the duo Sam & Dave, dies

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Sam Moore, who sang Soul Man in the duo Sam & Dave, dies

Sam Moore, who sang Soul Man and other 1960s hits in the legendary Sam & Dave duo, has died aged 89.

Moore, who influenced musicians including Michael Jackson, Al Green and Bruce Springsteen, died on Friday in Coral Gables, Florida, due to complications while recovering from surgery, his publicist Jeremy Westby said.

No additional details were immediately available.

Moore was inducted with Dave Prater into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.

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Tom Holland and Zendaya’s engagement confirmed by Spider-Man actor’s dad

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Tom Holland and Zendaya's engagement confirmed by Spider-Man actor's dad

Tom Holland’s dad has confirmed his son’s engagement to Zendaya – revealing how the 28-year-old meticulously planned the proposal.

Zendaya, also 28, sparked engagement rumours when she attended last Sunday’s Golden Globes wearing a sparkling diamond on her ring finger.

Neither star has publicly addressed the rumours but Tom’s comedian father, Dominic Holland, has now confirmed the pair are set to wed.

He wrote in a post on his Patreon account: “Tom, as you know by now was very incredibly well prepared. He had purchased a ring.

“He had spoken with her father and gained permission to propose to his daughter.”

“Tom had everything planned out… When, where, how, what to say, what to wear,” he added.

Zendaya arrives at the 82nd Golden Globes.
Pic: Invision/AP
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Zendaya arrived at the Golden Globes with a noticeable piece of new jewellery. Pic: Invision/AP

Dominic also noted that while most men worry about being able to afford an engagement ring, he suspects his actor son was “more concerned with the stone, its size and clarity, its housing, which jeweller”.

Tom and Zendaya met on the set of Spider-Man: Homecoming in 2016, when they played the titular hero and his love interest MJ, respectively. Their romance was confirmed in 2021.

In his post, Tom’s father admitted fears over whether being in the spotlight could put a strain on the couple’s relationship.

He wrote: “I do fret that their combined stardom will amplify their spotlight and the commensurate demands on them and yet they continually confound me by handling everything with aplomb.”

“And even though show business is a messy place for relationships and particularly so for famous couples as they crash and burn in public and are too numerous to mention […] yet somehow right at the same time, I am completely confident they will make a successful union.”

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Zendaya rose to fame after landing a role in Disney sitcom Shake It Up, and became a household name after starring in Euphoria.

Holland – who has starred in three Spider-Man films opposite his now-fiancée – made his stage debut in Billy Elliot the Musical in 2008.

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