Rapper Slowthai cleared of raping two women during house party
Rapper Slowthai has broken down in court after being cleared of raping two women at a house party following one of his gigs in Oxford three years ago.
The 29-year-old, whose real name is Tyron Frampton, stood trial at Oxford Crown Court alongside his friend Alex Blake-Walker, 27.
Both were cleared of three joint charges of rape against two women, and Blake-Walker was also cleared of an additional charge of sexual assault against the second complainant.
The jury came back with their verdicts after more than 10 hours of deliberation, following a two-week trial in which it was alleged the two defendants assaulted two women in the early hours of 8 September 2021.
The Grammy-nominated rapper burst into tears as jurors delivered their verdicts, while his wife, singer Anne-Marie, sighed in relief.
Judge Ian Pringle KC acknowledged the level of emotion in the courtroom, telling the court this case has “raised a lot of high feelings”.
WARNING: Details some readers may find upsetting
Frampton had performed at The Bullingdon music venue in the city on the evening of 7 September 2021, where he met the two complainants, one of whom the court had heard was a “huge fan” of his.
After the show, the complainants had returned to Frampton’s tour bus, before heading to a friend’s house party, accompanied by Frampton and Blake-Walker.
It was at this house party the women had alleged they were raped on an outside roof.
Frampton left court with his wife Anne-Marie, and declined to comment on the verdicts. Pic: PA
Frampton and Blake-Walker both agreed that sexual activity took place with the complainants on the night of the alleged assaults, but said it was consensual.
In his evidence to the jury, the rapper said the allegations brought up against him were “just not true” and that the women were “lying”.
Frampton accepted that he and Blake-Walker had “fist-bumped” at the time but denied this was encouraging each other.
The Northampton-born performer, who was nominated for a Grammy in 2021 and a Mercury prize in 2019, was removed from the Glastonbury, Leeds and Reading festival line-up after being charged last year.
The court had previously heard that a backlog of cases had caused a delay between Frampton’s arrest and charge, which came when he was in New York for a magazine shoot.
Both Frampton and Blake-Walker walked free from the dock after the judge told them they were able to go. Frampton, who walked from the court with his wife, declined to comment on the verdicts.
Frampton married Anne-Marie in 2022 in Las Vegas. The couple have a 10-month-old daughter. He also has a two-year-old son with his ex-partner, Russian singer and model Katya Kischuk.
Thousands of members of actors’ trade union Equity are being asked whether they would support industrial action over artificial intelligence protections.
The organisation has launched an indicative ballot among about 7,000 members working in film and TV.
Performers are being asked whether they are prepared to refuse to be digitally scanned on set in order to secure adequate artificial intelligence protections.
It will be the first time the performing arts and entertainment trade union has asked this whole section of its membership to vote in a ballot.
The Hollywood strikes took place in 2023. File pic: AP
The announcement follows the Hollywood strikes in 2023, when members of Equity’s sister union in the US, SAG-AFTRA, and writers, went on strike over issues including AI.
Video game actors in the US also protested over the use of AI, ending almost a year of industrial action earlier in 2025.
Equity’s ballot opens on Thursday and runs for two weeks, and will show the level of support the union has for action short of a strike.
Another statutory ballot would have to be made before any industrial action is taken.
“While tech companies get away with stealing artists’ likeness or work, and the government and decision makers fret over whether to act, unions including Equity are at the forefront of the fight to ensure working people are protected from artificial intelligence misuse,” Equity general secretary Paul W Fleming said in a statement.
“If bosses can’t ensure someone’s likeness and work won’t be used without their consent, why should performers consent to be digitally scanned in the first place?”
Mr Fleming said the ballot would give members the opportunity to “send a clear message to the industry: that it is a basic right of performers to have autonomy over their own personhood and identity”.
The union has no choice but to recommend members support industrial action, he said.
“It’s time for the bosses to step away from the brink and offer us a package, including on AI protections, which respects our members,” added Mr Fleming.
The hotly anticipated Spotify Wrapped is revealing our top tracks, artists and albums for 2025.
But how does the streaming service calculate personalised summaries of users’ listening habits and rank the UK’s hottest artists?
Here’s a look at how your data is used.
The platform describes the annual statistics as “a chance to look back on your year in sound”.
It says data is captured between January and mid-November on every account, although it mostly excludes anything streamed in private mode. (Don’t worry, your passion for the Spice Girls can be kept secret.)
Wrapped presents personalised listening statistics, which Spotify calls the “real story of your year of listening”, alongside global figures for comparison.
The streaming service says Minutes Listened reflects the actual time spent listening to audio on the platform.
Once a user streams at least 30 tracks, Spotify generates a list of Your Top Songs. Similarly, Your Top Artists ranks artists based on total minutes listening to a particular performer.
Other metrics identify the top genres users have played, as well as podcasts and audiobooks ranked by total minutes listened. And if you’ve listened to at least 70% of tracks on a record, you’ll see top albums too.
Spotify also creates Your Listening Age, a guesstimate of your age based on the era of the music “you feel most connected to”.
The streaming service says the statistic is calculated using a five-year span of music which users engaged with more than other listeners of a similar age.
Spotify has been summing up 2025’s most listened to tracks. Pic: Spotify
Swift vs Bunny
Pop superstar Taylor Swift has been named the UK’s most-streamed artist on Spotify for the third year in a row.
But she dropped out of the top spot in the global rankings, coming second to Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny, who secured more than 19.8 billion streams. Third were The Weeknd, followed by Drake and Billie Eilish.
Bad Bunny’s LP Debi Tirar Mas Fotos was the most listened-to album worldwide.
Read more from Sky News:
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Spotify revealed Drake was the UK’s second most-listened to artist, followed by Sabrina Carpenter in third, The Weeknd in fourth and Billie Eilish in fifth.
Despite being the most listened-to artist, Swift failed to break into the UK’s top five most listened-to songs and albums of the year.
Alex Warren’s Ordinary was the most-streamed song, and Short ‘N’ Sweet, released by Carpenter last year, the top album.
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