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Graffiti that’s appeared in a town in Northern Ireland targeting actor James Nesbitt is being treated as a hate crime.

The message threatening the Cold Feet star was on a wall in Portrush, County Antrim – a predominantly unionist town in the county.

The Northern Irish actor, who has spoken publicly about being raised a Protestant, recently spoke at an event in Dublin organised by a campaign group advocating for a united Ireland.

The graffiti referenced the King and Crown and also included a hostile reference to the Pope.

A spokesman for the Police Service of Northern Ireland said: “Police in Coleraine received a report of graffiti on a wall in the Bushmills Road area of Portrush on Wednesday 19th October.

“The graffiti is believed to have been written on the wall some time between 5pm on Tuesday and 7.30pm on Wednesday evening and is being treated as a hate crime.”

Police are asking anyone with information to come forward.

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Local politicians from various parties have condemned the graffiti.

East Londonderry MP Gregory Campbell said Nesbitt should be free to express his views.

The Democratic Unionist Party representative said: “Jimmy Nesbitt is a local lad who has invested in his own community. Those painting threatening graffiti such as this should stop. Their actions are wrong and to be condemned.

“I fundamentally disagree with Mr Nesbitt’s position on Northern Ireland’s future but he has every right to express his political views in whatever forum he wishes. He should be able to do so free from fear.

“That’s a democracy and it’s why I have opposed Sinn Fein all my life as they believed you could justify violence at the same time as doing politics.

“We must be consistent in always opposing violence as well as any threat of violence and attempted intimidation.”

Sinn Fein’s Caoimhe Archibald said the graffiti represented an attack on freedom of expression: “The appearance of threatening and sectarian graffiti directed at James Nesbitt in Portrush is disgusting.

“These threats are an attack on the right to freedom of expression. They come only weeks after James Nesbitt addressed thousands of people in Dublin from right across the political spectrum to discuss the future of the island of Ireland.

“This is clearly a sinister effort to silence debate and intimidate people from joining the discussion. There is no place in society for the threats and hatred directed at James Nesbitt.”

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Earlier this month, the Irish News reported Nesbitt as saying at the Ireland’s Future event that his Protestant friends “would really consider now what the notion of a new union of Ireland might look like – and I think there’s a lot of people that think that”.

He added: “I am certainly very keen on embracing anything in which the relationship between the people in the north is improved, and between north and south and between these islands, and it strikes me that I think a lot more people are coming round to the idea of just even considering themselves Irish.”

Nesbitt has had a long association with Troubles victims’ organisation, the WAVE Trauma Centre.

A spokesman for the centre said: “As a patron of the WAVE Trauma Centre for over 20 years, Jimmy Nesbitt has been a true friend to victims and survivors right across Northern Ireland.

“That speaks to his commitment to support those who have suffered so much during our violent past but yet are too often ignored.”

Having grown up outside of Ballymena, another predominantly unionist town in County Antrim, Nesbitt spent seven years acting in theatre before winning his breakthrough TV role of Adam in Cold Feet.

He has gone on to star in numerous TV series including The Missing and Lucky Man and films including The Lord Of The Rings franchise.

In 2002, he played Ivan Cooper in the television film Bloody Sunday, about the 1972 shootings in Derry.

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Lana Del Rey marries alligator tour guide boyfriend

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Lana Del Rey marries alligator tour guide boyfriend

Pop star Lana Del Rey has married her alligator tour guide partner in Louisiana, according to reports.

The singer, 39, and Jeremy Dufrene, 49, are said to have obtained a marriage licence in Lafourche parish on Monday and had their wedding three days later.

Footage obtained by the Daily Mail appears to show Del Rey, whose real name is Elizabeth Woodridge Grant, wearing a white dress where Mr Dufrene works as a tour guide in Des Allemandes, south of New Orleans.

Del Rey has not commented on the reported wedding.

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She met Mr Dufrene in 2019, posting pictures of her on one of his tours with the caption: “Jeremy lemme be captain at Arthur’s Air Boat Tours x.”

Arthur’s Air Boat Tours gives guided tours through the local swamps, where its website says visitors are likely to see “300 species of birds” and “alligators up close and personal”.

Mr Dufrene’s profile page says he previously worked seven days a week at a chemical plant – when he would “shrimp on vacation days”.

“After a little convincing by his family, he got his captain’s licence and started running tours,” it adds.

“Jeremy’s a great airboat captain and loves interacting with wildlife & customers.”

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The couple were pictured together at Reading and Leeds festival this summer where Del Rey headlined.

She previously dated Scottish singer Barrie-James O’Neill for three years and was last linked to a police officer called Sean Larkin.

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Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs: Woman accuses rapper of further sexual assault allegations in new lawsuit

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Sean 'Diddy' Combs: Woman accuses rapper of further sexual assault allegations in new lawsuit

Sean “Diddy” Combs was hit with further sexual assault allegations after a woman filed a lawsuit in New York.

In the fresh civil case, the woman – identified by the pseudonym Jane Doe – claims she was repeatedly raped and drugged at the music mogul’s homes and became pregnant after one of the encounters.

It follows a series of similar legal cases brought by women against Combs, 54, who was arrested at a hotel in New York last week on sex trafficking, drug possession and firearms offences.

The latest lawsuit was filed on Friday against Combs, his companies and several associates, and seeks undisclosed damages for physical injuries, severe emotional distress, humiliation, anxiety and other harm.

The woman claims she met Combs abroad in 2020 and that the assaults and harassment continued through to July this year.

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She says she was often coerced and harassed into travelling to Combs’ homes in New York, Los Angeles and Miami and other cities, and during every visit the rapper would make her “perform a show” for him.

In one encounter alleged to have taken place in July 2022, the woman claims she blacked out after being forced to take drugs that included ketamine.

She later allegedly took a pregnancy test and told Combs it was positive. She said an associate of the music producer repeatedly demanded her to get an abortion. The lawsuit states she had a miscarriage.

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Diddy ‘didn’t do these things’ – lawyer

The woman, who is being represented by lawyers Marie Napoli and Joseph Ciaccio, also alleges Combs and his associates tracked her location and monitored her conversations.

She claims Combs discouraged her from working and gave her an “allowance” that he used to control her.

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“No one is above the law. Fame and wealth do not protect Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs from serious allegations of sex trafficking and abuse,” Ms Napoli said in a statement.

Combs has been facing civil allegations including rape, sexual assault, and forced drugging since November 2023.

He has pleaded not guilty to racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking but remains jailed, having been denied bail. His attorney said he is innocent and will fight to clear his name.

A lawyer for Combs did not respond to the allegations made in Friday’s lawsuit when contacted by the Associated Press news agency.

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Dame Maggie Smith, known for her roles in Harry Potter and Downton Abbey, has died

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Dame Maggie Smith, known for her roles in Harry Potter and Downton Abbey, has died

Dame Maggie Smith, known for her roles in Harry Potter and Downton Abbey, has died at the age of 89, her sons have said.

The actress died in hospital, her children Chris Larkin and Toby Stephens said.

In a statement, they said: “An intensely private person, she was with friends and family at the end. She leaves two sons and five loving grandchildren who are devastated by the loss of their extraordinary mother and grandmother.

“We would like to take this opportunity to thank the wonderful staff at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital for their care and unstinting kindness during her final days.

“We thank you for all your kind messages and support and ask that you respect our privacy at this time.”

Born in Essex in 1934, Dame Maggie became an internationally recognised actress – one of the most versatile, accomplished and meticulous actresses of her generation.

Her first significant accolade came after playing the fanatical teacher in The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie in 1969, which won her a best actress Oscar and BAFTA.

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Her second Oscar came for her role in California Suite in 1978 which won her a best supporting actress trophy, as well as a Golden Globe.

Pic: Focus Features/Kobal/Shutterstock
Image:
Maggie Smith as Violet Crawley in the Downton Abbey movie (2019). Pic: Focus Features/Kobal/Shutterstock

More recently she won a new generation of fans as Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess of Grantham, in Downton Abbey and playing Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter movies.

Although she was a tour de force in leading roles on the West End stage, she was equally happy – even during the years of her mega-stardom – to accept supporting roles, particularly in films.

Pic: Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc/Alamy
Image:
Dame Maggie played Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter films. Pic: Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc/Alamy

Pic: 20th Century Fox/Kobal/Shutterstock

The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie - 1969
Maggie Smith

1969
Image:
The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie (1969). Pic: 20th Century Fox/Kobal/Shutterstock

The Downton Abbey TV series won her a series of awards – three Emmys, a Golden Globe, and four Screen Actors Guild Awards.

TV presenter Gyles Brandreth has led the tributes, describing her as “wise, witty, waspish, wonderful” and “one of a kind in every way”.

Sir Keir Starmer posted on X that Dame Maggie was a “true national treasure whose work will be cherished for generations to come” while former prime minister Rishi Sunak described her as “an icon of the stage and screen”.

Meanwhile a message posted by BAFTA said: “Dame Maggie was a legend of British stage and screen, winning five BAFTAs as well as a BAFTA Special Award and BAFTA Fellowship during her highly acclaimed career.”

She took Maggie as her stage name because another Margaret Smith was active in the theatre. She was 18 when she first appeared on stage, in Twelfth Night.

Laurence Olivier spotted her talent, invited her to be part of his original National Theatre company and cast her as his co-star in a 1965 film adaptation of Othello.

Pic: Touchstone/Kobal/Shutterstock

Sister Act - 1992
Maggie Smith, Whoopi Goldberg

1992
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She played Mother Superior alongside Whoopi Goldberg in Sister Act (1992). Pic: Touchstone/Kobal/Shutterstock

Pic: Everett/Shutterstock

JUDI DENCH AND MAGGIE SMITH IN 'A ROOM WITH A VIEW' - 1986

1986
Image:
Judi Dench and Maggie Smith in A Room With A View (1986). Pic: Everett/Shutterstock

Pic: Moviestore/Shutterstock

'The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel' Film - 2015
THE SECOND BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL, 2015. Maggie Smith, Richard Gere

2015
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She starred alongside Richard Gere in The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2015) Pic: Moviestore/Shutterstock

Some of her best-known movies included: Young Cassidy in 1966, Death On The Nile in 1979, Quartet in 1982, The Secret Garden in 1994, Tea With Mussolini in 2000, Gosford Park in 2002, and The Lady In The Van in 2016.

She married fellow actor Robert Stephens in 1967. They had two sons and divorced in 1975. The same year she married the writer Beverley Cross, who died in 1998. She was made a Dame in 1990.

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