Hawaii wildfires: Mick Fleetwood’s restaurant destroyed as he says situation on the ground is ‘catastrophic’
British rock star Mick Fleetwood, who has lived in Hawaii for decades, has said the situation in Lahaina is “catastrophic” following deadly wildfires that have killed at least 96 people.
The Fleetwood Mac drummer told Sky News that the disaster has been “an incredible shock for everyone” – and described the scene as “complete devastation”.
Fleetwood revealed he was in LA visiting family when the fires broke out but flew back immediately, bringing supplies with him.
“These hills were ablaze and I wasn’t there… I was feeling helpless, and switches were going on and off as to what to do.”
Fleetwood’s house was untouched but the town of Lahaina, where he owns a popular restaurant, has been decimated.
His restaurant, Fleetwood’s on Front St, was about to celebrate its 11th anniversary this week – but it has been destroyed by the blaze, and many of his staff have lost everything.
Inside Fleetwood’s restaurant before the blaze. Pic: @stokedshuttersmedia
… and after it was destroyed in the wildfires
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“It’s an incredible shock for everyone,” he says. “The whole town of Lahaina is no more. That in itself is a statement that leads you immediately to the people who lived there.
“Selfishly, I haven’t lost a family member. I didn’t lose my house. Yeah, it could have happened, but it didn’t happen… I’m really lucky. Now, what the hell can I do?
“The immediacy is finding people. The immediacy is communicating and knowing who’s here and who’s safe.”
The world-renowned musician says he has decided to speak out in order to keep the tragedy at the forefront of people’s minds.
“What I can do and I’m doing is being an advocate to say ‘pay attention to what is going on’… that’s actually way more helpful than going down and crying in Lahaina… that will happen, I’m sure, but not now.”
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Hawaii fires: Teens film escape into sea
Many locals in Lahaina fear affluent outsiders and land developers will see the charred land as a golden goose, something which Fleetwood said he would be “waving a flag” against.
“The thought of it becoming some form of playground with no reference to the dignity of that town, to me, would be abhorrent,” he says.
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As scientists warn of climate change fuelling more extreme weather events, Fleetwood says “there are always lessons to be learned”.
He says there should be “a quiet reverence to keeping our eyes and ears open to the world that we live in. And… not living with the continuum of regret, regret and regret.”
Taylor Swift has revealed the release date for her new album, The Life Of A Showgirl.
The pop megastar announced her 12th studio album earlier this week but didn’t give many details.
Now, in social media posts and an appearance on boyfriend Travis Kelce’s sports podcast, Swift revealed just what fans can expect from the new album.
Taylor Swift and boyfriend Travis Kelce on the New Heights podcast. Pic: New Heights
The Life of Showgirl, written during the European leg of her record-breaking Eras tour, will be released on 3 October.
It consists of 12 songs, including the title track that features pop star Sabrina Carpenter.
The full track list is:
1. The Fate Of Ophelia
2. Elizabeth Taylor
3. Opalite
4. Father Figure
5. Eldest Daughter
6. Ruin The Friendship
7. Actually Romantic
8. Wi$h Li$t
9. Wood
10. Cancelled!
11. Honey
12. The Life Of A Showgirl (featuring Sabrina Carpenter)
Long-time collaborators Max Martin and Shellback, two Swedish producers who worked with Swift on some of her biggest hits, joined the pop star for this album.
Within four hours of posting the full podcast episode on YouTube, it had already gathered 4.7m views.
The cover of Taylor Swift’s newly announced album. Pic: Republic Records
The back cover of Taylor Swift’s 12th studio album The Life Of A Showgirl. Pic: Republic Records
‘The hardest-working star in pop’
The album follows last year’s The Tortured Poets Department, which was released during the Eras tour.
That tour, with shows on five continents and in 51 cities, raked in more than $2.2bn (£1.62bn) and was the highest-grossing tour of all time.
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“This album is about what was going on behind the scenes in my inner life during this tour, which was so exuberant and electric and vibrant,” Swift said during her podcast appearance.
Sky News culture and entertainment reporter Gemma Peplow said after her globe-trotting tour and a swathe of re-releases over recent years, the new album cemented Swift’s reputation “as the hardest-working star in pop”.
Disgraced US film producer Harvey Weinstein is to be tried for a third time in a sexual assault case.
A jury in New York could not reach a verdict in June against the 73-year-old who was accused of raping actress Jessica Mann, and a mistrial was declared.
Judge Curtis Farber has said he wants the new trial to happen before the end of this year.
The same jury found Weinstein guilty in June of sexually assaulting former Project Runway production assistant Miriam Haley in 2006 and not guilty of assaulting Polish former runway model Kaja Sokola the same year.
Weinstein will be sentenced for the guilty verdict in Ms Haley’s case on 30 September.
He denied all of the charges. Throughout the retrial, his lawyers insisted the sexual encounters with his three accusers were “transactional” and “consensual,” and labelled the women as opportunists.
Weinstein was originally convicted of rape and criminal sexual act by the same court in 2020 and sentenced to 23 years in prison for the crimes.
Last year, however, New York’s highest court overturned the conviction, prompting Weinstein’s retrial this summer.
Weinstein was once one of the most powerful people in Hollywood – the co-founder of film and television production companies Miramax and The Weinstein Company, who produced films such as the Oscar-winning Shakespeare In Love, Pulp Fiction, and The Crying Game.
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In 2017, a series of sexual misconduct allegations against him propelled the #MeToo movement.
Some of those accusations later led to criminal charges and his convictions in New York and California.
Before the retrial, Weinstein was also serving a 16-year prison sentence after being found guilty of rape in California in December 2022. He has also denied this charge.
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