Singer-songwriter Gracie Abrams has weighed in on the ongoing discourse around Hollywood’s so-called “nepo babies”.

Debates about nepotism in the entertainment industry are nothing new, but the conversation has become much more prominent in the 2020s, thanks in part to a piece in New York magazine about the new generation of A-listers whose parents are already established figures in the entertainment industry.

The “nepo baby” label is one that has repeatedly been levelled against Gracie since her emergence on the pop scene, as her dad is Star Wars filmmaker JJ Abrams.

During a recent appearance on the New York Times’ Popcast, Gracie shared her take on the subject, admitting she thinks it’s “appropriate” that people are aware of the privilege she grew up around.

“The nepo stuff is obviously in the discourse appropriately,” she claimed. “I think about the privilege there and… it’s like, I had a safety net, and that allowed me the ability to experiment and to concentrate.”

She continued: “I had the gift of time to dedicate to doing this thing I loved. I wasn’t growing up afraid financially, and that’s the biggest deal.”

Gracie’s major breakthrough came in 2024 when her album The Secret Of Us spawned international hits like Close To You and That’s So True.

She also served as the opening act on Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, collaborating with the Grammy winner on the album cut Us.

Outside of her music career, Gracie has also made headlines thanks to her relationship with the Oscar-nominated actor Paul Mescal, with the pair hard-launching their romance at the Baftas earlier this year.

Discussing her relationship during her latest interview, Gracie claimed that being with Paul was “a part of my life that brings me so much peace and joy”.

“I’m not going to pretend like that’s not true, but I also think it’s not like an open-door policy,” she said of the media attention the two have received since they began dating.

Speaking to HuffPost UK previously, etiquette expert and author William Hanson, who paired with Hotels.com to create a Grand Etiquette Hotel guide, shared the worst way to treat hotel staff.

“The height of rudeness is treating staff as though they are invisible, or worse, beneath you,” he shared with us.

“Snapping fingers, avoiding eye contact, or issuing demands without a ‘please’ or ‘thank you’ is quite beyond the pale”.

Hanson explained that includes leaving your room in a “reasonable” state for cleaning staff when you finish your stay. But what’s the etiquette when you’re still in there?

Here, we asked him whether we should vacate the area when it’s due a clean.

The etiquette expert’s answer was pretty definitive: “You should vacate the room while it is being serviced. It is simply more considerate”.

He added, “Most housekeepers will wait until you are out and will always knock and announce themselves first.

“If you are inside and would like the room cleaned, answer promptly, greet
them politely, and make your exit. Linger not.”

And, Hanson stressed, it’s important to leave your room in decent nick throughout your stay, rather than just rushing through it at the end.

“As I note in Rule Five of my Grand Etiquette Hotel Guide… ‘Housekeeping Is Not an Archaeological Activity.’ They are there to clean, not excavate,” he stated.

Yes – Hanson has a “golden rule” when it comes to hotel staff.

“If you wouldn’t speak that way to a colleague, don’t do so in a hotel simply because you are paying to be there. Good manners, one finds, are often quietly rewarded,” he said.

A hotel etiquette study commissioned by Hotels.com found that 90% of Brits think our hotel manners are pretty perfect.

But the same research also found that over a third of us have tried to sneak in an extra guest after booking, and about the same amount say they’ve snuck out breakfast buffet food to eat later.

The following article contains huge spoilers for The House Of The Dragon season three.

The third season of House Of The Dragon has begun.

So far, the new instalment of the Game Of Thrones prequel has packed some serious punches.

Viewers have already seen Rhaenyra Targaryen lose her eldest son Jace Velaryon in a vicious battle.

Rhaenyra, played by Emma D’Arcy, finds out about Jace’s death the episode after viewers do – Jace was her sole heir.

When the mother sees her child’s corpse, she begs his dead body to respond.

In an interview with Variety, D’Arcy shared how tough the moment was to film.

“I think the truth is, for Rhaenyra, it’s an insurmountable loss, and it’s a reality that is too terrible to reckon with,” the actor told the publication.

“So the first feeling, the first instinct, is sort of utter denial and to try to push back against that dawning terrible reality. It was a hard day at work.”

They added that there was “only one scene” they “dreaded filming” in season three – the one in which Rhaenyra attempts to get Jace’s body moving again.

“There’s such a strange part of our job, which is there is a sort of business, this gentle mirror between story and lived experience,” they said.

“And whenever you shoot something like that, it does mean letting go of a really treasured cast member and friend – and added to which, imagining those things is painful.

“And you don’t really have an option but to commit to that, at least for the period that you’re shooting it.”

In a previous interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Harry Collett, who played Jace, said of his death: “It’s such a cool way to go. It’s not just brushed under the carpet. It’s very impactful, in such a great and epic episode.

“What a heroic death he gets to have. It’s not just some boring death. I’m very happy with it.”

He also said he’d been warned about his character’s fate since season one of the show.

“Ryan [Condal, House Of The Dragon’s showrunner] would never do: don’t tell the actor, then get them to the script read-through, and that’s when they find out: ‘What? I’m dead?’” he said.

“Luckily, it’s nothing like that. You find out the fate of the characters when you get cast. Some things may change, but nothing that drastic.”

House Of The Dragon continues on Tuesday on Sky, Now and HBO Max in the UK.

Andy Burnham has outlined his vision for the country in his first major speech since Keir Starmer announced his resignation.

Speaking in front of around 100 supporters, including Labour MPs and regional mayors, Burnham vowed to take the UK – which he claimed is “stuck in a rut” – in a “new direction”.

Though leadership nominations have not officially open, Burnham is widely expected to be the only Labour MP with enough support to replace Starmer.

If no-one else challenges him, Burnham will likely become the Labour leader on July 17 and prime minister on July 20.

But the former Greater Manchester mayor has not been in government for decades and only won the Makerfield by-election earlier this month.

While he has insisted he would stick to Labour’s 2024 manifesto, a question mark still hovers over what his time in No.10 might look like.

Burnham’s speech today was an attempt to close that vacuum around what he might look like as prime minister (for no less than the next ten years, according to the new MP).

Though the PM-in-waiting did not take any questions from the press, here’s what we learned from his speech in Manchester.

Burnham announced that he would commit to redistributing power away from London by splitting the No.10 operation in two, with one office in the north of England.

He said: “No 10 North will be the nerve centre of a rewired Britain.

“It will be the conduit through which we redistribute power and resources across the UK.”

Burnham said his office in the north will support regions across the UK on three tasks: “Reform of essential utilities, re-industrialisation and the regeneration of places.”

It would mean regions could take “greater public control of essential services like water, housing, energy, and transport” in a move away from privatisation.

He said: “Ours is a 10-year mission to raise people’s living standards.

“I know people can’t wait forever for change. I heard on doorsteps in Makerfield how people need a bit extra now to help with rising costs.

“I will do my very best to deliver it, and whilst not taking risks with the public finances, will seek to give Britain some breathing space as soon as I can.

“People need to be able to look forward to a night out or a holiday with the kids. People need hope.”

Burnham said he would bring about the “biggest rebalancing of power our country has seen” by introducing more devolution.

“Let me say this very directly: the days of Whitehall fighting the devolution of power into the regions and nations are over for good,” Burnham continued.

“The whole of Whitehall will now be required to get behind our places and work together with them to make quicker, more joined-up decisions.”

The Makerfield MP said he wanted to introduce power at ground level along with a clear share vision which investors can back and committing to “decent infrastructure” across the country.

He pointed to the work he’s done in Greater Manchester having been the region’s mayor up until earlier this month.

He said he gave “businesses the stability and the confidence to invest, increasing their productivity and adoption of new technology.”

Burnham promised to make sure British-based companies are in a better position to win procurement contracts, too.

Burnham said he would “reach out to other parties” in a “fragmented, disjointed” Westminster if he were to get into No.10.

He also suggested he would avoid using the whipping system to force MPs to back the government in parliamentary votes.

It comes after Starmer was heavily criticised by removing the whip from his own backbenchers after they rebelled against his government.

He said: “I will work hard to change that culture, leading from the front and showing how things can be different, letting MPs be authentic representatives, and not using the whip system to create fear or close down debate, involving more people in the work of the government and drawing on the breadth and depth of talent and expertise our party has to offer.

“While the political direction I set is not up for negotiation, I will build an inclusive team at the very highest level, so that all parts of the party and the country can see themselves reflected and represented in it.”

Burnham promised to oversee the “biggest council house building programme since the post-war period.”

“We will use public land, vacant public land, to reduce costs,” he said. “Let me just take you back to the 1970s.

“When we were growing up here amongst the friends we had at school, there were two things that were the foundations of working class aspiration: a council home, a secure home that was the foundation for everything, and then good technical education.

“Those things have been taken away in the decades since, so no wonder so many young people struggle to make it work… don’t blame them, blame ourselves.”

Burnham said he would end “trickle-down economics” and instead offer “good growth in every British postcode”.

He claimed he would achieve that through the “stability that comes from sound public finances” and the “discipline of our current fiscal rules”.

“The change will be the biggest change in our lifetimes to the way the country is run and it is consistent with the 2024 manifesto,” he said.

“We will create a more streamlined state with a clearer purpose to power up all parts of the country and put a laser-like focus on growth and regeneration, good growth.”

Burnham said he takes Alan Milburn’s May review into youth unemployment “very seriously”, after the former health secretary found more than a million 16-to-24-year-olds are not in education, employment or training.

“We need a complete rethink of how we support the next generation to succeed, and it has to start with the education system.

“The days of a school system configured entirely around the university route will be brought to an end.

“University is great for those who want it, but when are we going to focus on the life chances of those kids who want something different? The country hasn’t done that for a long, long time.

“People have argued over many years for an education system based on parity between academic and technical, and that is what we will build, giving every young person growing up here a clear path into a re-industrialised Britain.”

Listen to Commons People, the podcast that makes politics easy. Every week, Kevin Schofield and Kate Nicholson unpack the week’s biggest stories to keep you informed. Join us for straightforward analysis of what’s going on at Westminster.

Ariana Grande has announced that she’s rescheduling three shows on her current live show due to “safety” concerns relating to the concerts’ production.

The Wicked star is currently in the middle of her first world tour in seven years, in support of her 2024 album Eternal Sunshine.

On Monday evening, she announced that two dates on the US leg scheduled for next month are now being delayed to ensure the safety of those in attendance.

Her show at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center on Sunday 12 July has now been bumped to Tuesday 14 July, while two shows in Boston on Wednesday 22 and Friday 24 July have been rescheduled to Thursday 23 and Sunday 26 July, respectively.

Responding to the news on Instagram, Ariana explained: “We are so sorry for these unfortunate scheduling changes. This was our best and safest option as these challenges with production have come to our attention.

“The utmost important thing to us all is safety, first and foremost, and also making sure you all see the show how it is intended to run. Thank you so much for your understanding and I cannot wait to see you.”

Once the US leg of Ariana’s Eternal Sunshine tour is done in August, she’ll bring the show across the Atlantic, where the European leg will consist of 10 nights at London’s O2 Arena.

“I’m very excited to do this small tour, but I think it might not happen again for a long, long, long, long time,” she explained before hitting the road earlier in the summer.

“So, I’m going to give it my all. I think that’s why I’m doing it, because I’m like, ‘One last hurrah. For now’.”

Before the No Tears Left To Cry singer brings her Eternal Sunshine tour to the UK, she’s due to release her eighth studio album Petal, led by her recent chart-topping single Hate That I Made You Love Me.

Ariana previously teased that her new music is “full of life” and was inspired by “growing” in light of “cold and hard and challenging” life experiences.

The British Board Of Film Classification (BBFC) has unveiled its annual report, which includes the films it received the most complaints for in 2025.

The movie that topped the list was Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman’s domestic dark comedy The Roses.

Upon its release last year, the movie was met with some backlash due to a scene in which Benedict’s character tricked his wife into eating raspberries, despite her being allergic to them, and withholding her auto-injector medication.

At the time of its release, leading allergy charity the Natasha Allergy Research Foundation (NARF) branded the sequence “dangerous”, “careless” and “offensive”, with the BBFC having now confirmed this was the reason The Roses was its most complained-about movie last year.

“Complainants were concerned that the film made light of a serious condition that can potentially be lethal and that the depiction of the use of an EpiPen was incorrect,” they explained.

“The BBFC does not require medical procedures in films to be portrayed accurately. However, this issue is highlighted in the extended content advice on our website to ensure audiences are informed in advance.”

It should be pointed out that the BBFC received a total of 11 complaints about The Roses, with Marvel’s Thunderbolts* sparking five complaints, as did the latest Knives Out movie Wake Up Dead Man.

A total of 10 complaints were made to the BBFC about the animated fantasy film Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba Infinity Castle, from those who felt its 15 rating was too severe, while the 18-rated horror film The Black Phone 2 incited nine complaints for similar reasons.

Meanwhile, a PG-rated trailer for Amanda Seyfried and Sydney Sweeney’s The Housemaid was the source of 25 additional complaints.

The Natasha Allergy Research Foundation previously revealed it had already spoken with producers of The Roses over the scene in question, as well as the depiction of food allergies more generally in the film.

“Withholding life-saving medication in a medical emergency is not remotely funny. To make matters worse, the film depicts an adrenaline auto-injector (EpiPen, Jext) being administered incorrectly, repeatedly. This is factually inaccurate and risks spreading dangerous misinformation,” they said at the time.

“For people living with severe food allergies and their families this type of portrayal is not only triggering, but harmful. Food allergies are a medical condition that can, in an instant, become life-threatening.

“Using them as a plot twist for laughs is careless, offensive, and reinforces harmful myths about allergic reactions and anaphylaxis.”

HuffPost UK contacted representatives for The Roses for comment at the time but did not receive a response.

Davina McCall has claimed she offered her services as a presenter when Big Brother was first rebooted by ITV, but to no avail.

The British presenter is probably best known for fronting Big Brother during its original 11-year run on Channel 4, after which it aired on Channel 5 with Brian Dowling and Emma Willis taking over as its hosts, when Davina made the choice not to return.

More recently, the long-running reality show was revived by ITV, where AJ Odudu and Will Best are its current co-hosts.

However, during an interview on the podcast Business Growth Secrets, Davina confessed she’d initially approached ITV bosses about reprising her role as host.

“I’ve got a secret to tell you actually,” she recalled. “When they started Big Brother on ITV, I put myself forward to present it. And they went with new presenters.”

Even then, she claimed she’d told them: “Look, can I please just be pre-titles, and just go ‘fancy another one?’. But they didn’t want me to do that, and I was like, ‘fuck’.”

HuffPost UK has contacted ITV for comment.

During an appearance on The Chris Moyles Show back in 2023, Davina opened up about why she wasn’t back to present the Big Brother revival.

“I think they wanted to go fresh. New start, fresh start, younger,” she claimed. “I do understand and I think it’s quite a good idea.

“Of course I would have done it, I’m being really honest now. But in retrospect, I don’t think it would have been the right fit for me.

“It’s nostalgic for me. It’s come a long way since I hosted it and I am a different person.”

AJ Odudu and Will Best will be back to present a third season of Big Brother in its ITV era later this year.

Rice is delicious. For some, it’s also a bit of a health worry.

You might already know that rice takes up arsenic – a naturally-occurring, toxic chemic element – from the environment.

While it’s impossible to get rid of this completely from our food, we know that consuming a lot of it can be harmful to health.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) claims long-term exposure to arsenic from drinking water and food can cause cancer and skin lesions. It’s also been linked to heart disease and diabetes.

The BBC previously reported that rice “has around 10-20 times more arsenic than other cereal crops”.

Separately, researchers have also previously highlighted how brown rice (which is often touted as ‘healthier’) contains more arsenic and other pesticide contaminants than white rice.

Bearing all of the above in mind, having a solid preparation method for your rice is important.

Over the years I’ve tried rinsing rice under a running tap (although it turns out this doesn’t do much to remove arsenic). I’ve also tried soaking it in a bowl of water, swirling it about and discarding the water (repeating four or five times) until the water’s pretty much clear.

But according to University of Sheffield researchers, there’s a much more effective way of lowering arsenic levels in your rice.

A 2020 study, published in Science of the Total Environment, suggested cooking rice in a certain way removes over 50% of the naturally occurring arsenic in brown rice, and 74% of it in white rice. Yet it didn’t reduce micronutrient levels.

The PBA method involves parboiling the rice in pre-boiled water for five minutes before draining it and topping up with fresh water, then cooking it on a lower heat to absorb all the water.

Dr Manoj Menon, the study’s lead author, said at the time it’s especially useful for parents who want to prepare rice for babies and children who are “highly vulnerable” to arsenic exposure risks.

According to the European Food Safety Authority, children are up to three times more susceptible to arsenic risks than adults due to their smaller size.

It’s for this reason that rice milk isn’t recommended for young children under five.

Yet previous research from the University of Sheffield also found more than half of rice varieties sold in the UK contained levels of arsenic higher than regulations allowed for babies and children under five.

At the time, they called for labelling to warn the public about levels of arsenic in shop-bought rice.