The Netherlands’ Eurovision entry Joost Klein is under investigation by organisers due to an unexplained “incident” – and will not be rehearsing again until “further notice”.
The Dutch singer missed his slot in the show’s penultimate dress rehearsal in Malmo, Sweden, on Friday, where he had been due to perform his track Europapa in fifth place, just before Israel’s Eden Golan, 20, with her song Hurricane.
Protests have dogged the competition over Israel’s inclusion amid the war in Gaza.
A video posted on the X social media platform showed a producer announcing that Klein would not be performing on Friday, prompting a chorus of boos from members of the audience.
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which organises Eurovision, said in a statement: “We are currently investigating an incident that was reported to us involving the Dutch artist. He will not be rehearsing until further notice.
“We have no further comment at this time and will update in due course.”
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Klein had been part of the flag parade at the start of the rehearsal, and walked around the stage in full costume, but then failed to arrive on stage for his performance around 30 minutes later.
It was later confirmed that the 26-year-old singer would not be performing in the final rehearsal on Friday evening and that the investigation was “still ongoing”.
The EBU said discussions were also taking place between the EBU and Avrotros, the Dutch participating broadcaster.
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Israel performs at Eurovision semi-final
It is not yet clear if Klein will be performing in the Eurovision Song Contest’s grand final on Saturday.
A clip of Klein’s offering – happy-hardcore inspired Europapa – was played out in the recap clips of all 26 songs throughout the rehearsal show, but with a clip of a previous Klein rehearsal.
The track, which is one of the most memorable of the show and was described by one critic as “so bad” it will “put you off music forever”, is among the current favourites to win.
‘Access denied’ website error adds to event’s problems
Adding to its woes, the EBU website went down later on Friday evening, and on attempting to log in a message was displayed saying “access denied” and refusing entry permission. It began working again after around an hour offline.
Meanwhile, Spain’s state-owned broadcaster hit out the EBU, calling on it to respect “press and opinion” at this year’s event. RTVE wrote on social media: “The Spanish delegation from @eurovision_tve has conveyed to @EBU_HQ its commitment to freedom of the press and opinion and has asked that @Eurovision let them watch it.”
The post was made shortly after it was announced that Madrid would be hosting the Junior Eurovision Song Contest later this year.
Some 26 countries, including UK entry Olly Alexander, 33, with his track Dizzy, and Ireland’s Bambie Thug, 31, with the song Doomsday Blue, are due to battle it out for the coveted Eurovision glass trophy on Saturday.
Controversy and confusion at media event
Klein had been vocal in a news conference on Thursday night, which brought together the 10 acts from the second semi-final selected for the final, including Israel and the Netherlands.
Towards the end of the conference, Israeli entry Golan was asked by Polish radio outlet Newsletter whether she thought she was causing a security risk for other participants by attending the event.
The moderator of the conference, Swedish presenter Jovan Radomir, told Golan she did not have to answer the question if she did not want to.
Klein shouted out loudly: “Why not?”
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Israel’s Eurovision entry questioned by entrant
Golan responded to the question, saying: “I think we’re all here for one reason, and one reason only. And the EBU is taking all safety precautions to make this a safe and united place for everyone. And so, I think it’s safe for everyone or we wouldn’t be here.”
Her response was met with a round of applause.
Earlier in the media session Klein, who was asked by an audience member, “Do you think that your song can unite us all by music?”
He swiftly replied: “That’s a good question for the EBU.”
At the start of the news conference, Klein had also draped what appeared to be a Dutch flag around his head completely, sitting like that for a short while before the questions began.
Sky News has emailed Klein’s representatives for comment on his absence from the dress rehearsal.
Greece’s entry, Marina Satti, appeared to pretend to fall asleep as Israel’s Golan spoke.
Over the last few months, there have been demonstrations and calls for acts to boycott the show, after the EBU refused to remove Israel from the competition, insisting it had broken no broadcasting rules.
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Why are there protests at Eurovision?
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Golan’s song Hurricane was reworked from a previous track called October Rain, which was thought to reference the 7 October Hamas attacks on Israel.
During an earlier rehearsal on Wednesday, Golan was met with some boos and cries of “Free Palestine,” and an audience member appeared to have a Palestinian flag removed from them in the auditorium.
On Friday, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called protests against Israel’s participation in Eurovision “wrong,” adding “scenes we’ve seen here [in Malmo] have been outrageous”.
:: Sky News will be in Malmo with updates, a live blog, and all the biggest news from the final as it happens on Saturday.
A suspect has been detained after one of India’s top Bollywood stars was stabbed multiple times in an attempted robbery, according to Indian media reports.
Saif Ali Khan was stabbed six times in an attack at his home in an upscale neighbourhood in Mumbai, in the early hours of Thursday.
He underwent emergency surgery and is now out of danger, doctors said, after they reportedly had to remove a 2.5in shard of blade from his spine.
After a manhunt across the city, one person was detained, TV channels reported on Friday, adding it was not clear if they were the attacker.
Videos circulating online showed officers escorting a man into a police station in Mumbai.
Dikshit Gedam, the police officer investigating the case, did not confirm the detention and told Reuters there was no major development in the case.
Dr Niraj Uttamani, of Lilavati Hospital, reportedly said Khan walked into hospital despite his injuries “like a lion”, accompanied by his son.
“He was soaked in blood when he arrived in the hospital,” he added, according to NDTV.
“But he walked in like a lion. He is a real hero.
“He is very fortunate. If a knife was 2mm deeper, he would have sustained a serious injury.”
The attack on Khan, one of Bollywood’s best-known actors, shocked the film industry and led to many calling for better policing and security.
Mr Gedam said police received reports of an attack around 3am, and the suspected attacker entered the home from a fire escape and got entry to the stairs.
Police said it appeared the attacker was related to a member of staff who worked at Khan’s home – who allowed them entry into the property.
Khan, the son of former India cricket captain Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi and actress Sharmila Tagore, has starred in more than 70 films and television series, some as a producer.
He lives in an apartment in the western suburb of Bandra with his wife, actress Kareena Kapoor Khan, and their children.
Representatives for Ms Khan said in a statement that the rest of the family were uninjured in the incident.
Ariyama Phillips, who works at the home and raised the alarm, was also injured when the actor challenged the intruder.
Adam Scott says achieving a healthy work-life balance can be tricky for actors who spend large chunks of time away from their friends and family.
The 52-year-old star, who is about to return to our screens for the second season of Severance tells Sky News: “It’s hard because we live in Los Angeles, and we make the show in New York. So, it’s months and months away from home.”
It’s been three years since the first season of the Emmy-award-winning workplace thriller, which was met with widespread critical acclaim.
Scott plays Mark Scout, a microdata refinement team leader who catalogues numbers for shadowy corporate entity, Lumon Industries.
Part sci-fi experiment, part chilling workplace parable, the show imagines a world in which workers can opt to undergo a surgical procedure called severance to divide their consciousness into separate professional and personal entities, dubbed “innie” and “outie”.
While Scott’s character has undergone the procedure to help him divide his time more effectively, he has come up with a less extreme solution to achieve work-life balance.
Best known for his role in Parks And Recreation, and with numerous other credits including Big Little Lies and Party Down, Scott and his wife, TV and film producer Naomi Sablan, set up their own production company Gettin’ Rad Productions in 2012.
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He explains: “My wife and I work together when I’m not making the show. We have a company, and we make indie movies and TV, so it’s great. We have an office that we can go to, and that’s a great way to spend time together.”
They also have two children, a son Graham, 18, and daughter Frankie,16.
Scott goes on: “My kids are teenagers now, so they can just fly out on their own, which is great. But it’s hard. We figure it out, you know. Everything’s a challenge at some point. We make do.”
Getting the second season in the can was clearly a big relief for him, and fans will be pleased to hear a third is rumoured to be in the works.
Scott says: “We finished making the show almost a year ago now, so I’ve been home for a while and it’s always great to be home.”
‘Just a little oppressive’
So, how did it feel to work in such an oppressive office space of Luman Industries, even though it was all make-believe?
Scott admits production designer Jeremy Hindle had done a big chunk of the work on his behalf.
Describing the “incredible experience” of entering the set, he says: “In our office, there are those green carpets and then the fluorescent lights, and the ceiling is just a bit low.
“It’s not crazy low. It’s just low enough to feel like something’s off, that it’s just a little oppressive. Little decisions like that by Ben [Stiller] and Jeremy [Hindle] make this whole world feel active and alive when you’re there.
“So, as far as a kind of nightmarish feeling, after you’re there for 12, 14 hours, it’s not difficult to summon those feelings.”
‘I like trying different stuff’
And what about Severance’s star director, Ben Stiller?
A far cry from his screen appearances in comedies like Zoolander and Tropic Thunder, Stiller is both executive producer and lead director of the show.
Scott says Stiller is his favourite director to work with.
“He’s someone who obviously understands actors, so is able to talk to them, work with them and understand that language.”
Scott also says he trusts Stiller “completely and implicitly”.
He says: “With a director, it’s really important that you trust them, that they know when something is working, that they’re not going to move on until they feel they’ve gotten a scene.”
A perfectionist, Scott adds: “I’m always ready to do more and more takes. I like doing a lot and trying different stuff. But if Ben says, ‘We’ve got it’, then I trust that we’ve got it and I’m ready to move on.
“I love his filmmaking. He’s a great guy, and also just the best person to work with.”
The 10-episode second season of Severance will debut globally on Apple TV+ with the first episode on Friday 17 January followed by one episode every Friday.
Jessica Alba has split from her husband of 16 years, film producer Cash Warren.
The Fantastic Four actress shared the news in an Instagram post, telling her 20.6 million followers she had been on a “journey of self-realisation”.
She said their three children remained a priority as they “embark on a new chapter of growth and evolution as individuals”.
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Alba married the film producer in 2008 after getting together on the set of the superhero movie Fantastic Four.
The US actress wrote: “I’ve been on a journey of self-realisation and transformation for years – both as an individual and in partnership with Cash.
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“I’m proud of how we’ve grown as a couple in our marriage over the last 20 years and it’s now time for us to embark on a new chapter of growth and evolution as individuals.
“We are moving forward with love and kindness and respect for each other and will forever be family.”
Alba concluded her statement saying that their three children – Honor, 16, Haven, 13, and Hayes, seven – “remain our highest priority”.
‘I really, really like you’
Alba first met Warren in 2004, when she was starring as invisible superhero Susan Storm in Fantastic Four and he held the position as assistant to director Tim Story.
She previously said Warren slipped her a note on the set, signed with a dollar sign – to match his name – that said: “I really, really like you.”
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The couple eloped while she was nine months pregnant with their first child, Honor Marie, Alba told Glamour magazine in 2022.
They later welcomed a second daughter named Haven Garner in 2011 andson Hayes in 2017.
‘New endeavours’
Alba had early starring roles in Nickelodeon’s series The Secret World Of Alex Mack, as well as the revival of the 1960s television series Flipper.
Aged 19, she received a Golden Globe nod for her break-out role as Max Guevara in James Cameron’s TV series Dark Angel.
She went on to star in hit film Honey playing an aspiring dancer-choreographer, and action crime thriller Sin City, opposite Bruce Willis and Mickey Rourke.
Alba has also made a name for herself as an entrepreneur, having co-founded ethical consumer goods brand The Honest Company in 2012.
Last year, she stepped down as the company’s chief creative. She kept a seat on the board, saying she would be focusing on “new endeavours”.