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Saturday Night Live star Bowen Yang has spoken about his initial resistance to performing as Ohio Senator JD Vance on the season 50 premiere of the NBC late-night sketch comedy.

On the September 28th episode, Yang, 33, made his debut as the mustachioed Vance.

However, in a recent interview with them, Yang revealed that up until the live show, he was positive he was the wrong choice to impersonate the Republican Vice Presidential nominee.

“Up until the show, I tapped [creator Lorne Michaels] on the shoulder and I was in the full beard and the full geish and I was like, ‘You can do a buyback if you want,’” he recalled, explaining that he found it difficult to relate to Vance.

That was until he watched Netflix’s Hillbilly Elegy, an adaptation of Vance’s best-selling 2016 memoir, which features a scene of the young Vance (portrayed by Owen Asztalos) questioning his sexuality only to be shut down by his “mamaw” (Glenn Close).

“I was just like, Oh, this guy doesn’t have a personality because he’s never had the spine to claim it,” said Yang, who is gay himself.

The next week, Yang returned to SNL as Vance alongside Jim Gaffigan’s Minnesota Governor Tim Walz to parody the first Vice Presidential debate.

During the sketch with Heidi Gardner and Chloe Fineman as CBS News moderators Norah O’Donnell and Margaret Brennan, Yang’s Vance was asked to give his opening statement.

“Thank you for having me. I want to begin with something that will appeal to women voters. I understand that both moderators are mothers, and I like that,” he said, in reference to Vance’s controversial “childless cat lady” comments.

Fineman’s Brennan then turned her attention to Gaffigan’s Walz, asking: “Governor Walz, it looks like you’re already scribbling down notes. Are you preparing your answers?”

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“No, I got to grade these papers. Got a stack of midterms,” Gaffigan responded as Walz, who was famously a high school social studies teacher and football coach before he entered politics.

“Ok we begin tonight with the topic of Israel,” Fineman’s Brennan continued. “Senator Vance, how would you solve the ongoing crisis in the Middle East?”

“You know that is such an important question, Margaret. One that deserves and answer because it’s important and it’s a question that you asked of me tonight,” Yang’s Vance replied.

“You’re not going to answer, are you?” Fineman’s Brennan questioned, with Yang’s Vance cheekily confirming: “No I’m not.”

Saturday Night Live airs Saturdays on NBC at 11:30pm.

MARRIED At First Sight star Hannah Norborn has hit out at her co-stars’ ‘double standards’.

Hannah quickly became of this series’ most controversial contestants with her flirty antics and husband swapping – but she thinks she’s been unfairly treated.

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The bride made her feelings clear as she shared a video of herself, with the words: “When  you get ambushed for asking someone if their shoe has fluff in but others can actually WRAP their legs around each other. Make I make sense.”

She accompanied the TikTok video with the audio of Gemma Collins on Towie, saying: “It’s tongue in cheek Danielle, it’s funny.”

Despite her antics, Hannah believes others have behaved just as badly and is comparing herself to Adam and Lacey in the TikTok post.

Adam sparked upset with wife Polly when she danced with Lacey, lifted her up and she wrapped her legs around him.

And Hannah caused an uproar on the show when she was accused of massaging another groom’s feet.

A huge row erupted when Polly mentioned that she found some of Hannah’s behaviour towards other grooms on the experiment inappropriate.

She told her friends: “Last night after the commitment ceremony she’s gone up to Shannon and Ryan’s room and she was rubbing Ryan’s feet in front of Shannon and going ‘ain’t you got nice blue eyes, your feet are so soft, isn’t it nice and warm in there?’”

Hannah, who was then excluded by the group, later claimed she was just picking some lint off his shoe.

But despite her pleas of innocence, Hannah does end up with Ryan and in a shock move the pair ended up returning to the show together last night.

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The Brady Bunch star Susan Olsen, who portrayed Cindy Brady in the beloved Seventies sitcom, has claimed a revival series was axed due to her controversial views and support for Donald Trump.

In a recent appearance on the Walk Away Campaign podcast, Olsen said a reboot of The Brady Bunch, which originally aired from 1969 to 1974, was in the works at CBS Studios. However, the revival series was scrapped, she claims, by the network over her past remarks on Covid-19 vaccines and the LGBTQ+ community.

According to Olsen, now 63, the new series was expected to follow the Brady Bunch children as adults, with her playing a libertarian podcaster. Following the end of the original Brady Bunch, Olsen became a political radio show host. She was fired from LA Talk Radio’s Two Chicks Talkin’ Politics in 2016 after an incident with openly gay actor Leon Acord-Whiting, who called her “a Trump fanatic” and accused her of spreading “outrageous misinformation” on the show. He then posted a screenshot of a private message Olsen had allegedly sent him, in which she used a homophobic slur, per Entertainment Weekly.

At the time, LA Talk Radio issued the statement: “We will not tolerate hateful speech by anyone associated with our radio station and have severed our ties with a host that veered off the direction in which we are going.”

Speaking on the podcast, Olsen claimed the Brady Bunch revival was in development for about a year before CBS expressed concerns over her past comments. She was allegedly questioned by producers of the show on how to move forward and appease the network, including taking a “political correctness” course.

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“I did have a phone call with my [TV] siblings and my agent,” Olsen said. “Everybody was saying, ‘We’re sorry, but they just won’t budge. They just will not have you in this.’ I’m like, ‘Wow, I’ve been canceled. A role that I’ve played for over 50 years, I can’t play it now because I’m too dangerous.’ I was like, ‘Well, okay guys, good luck, I hope you can sell it.’”

Olsen said the studio “did a web search and they came up with 50 pages” of comments she had made on social media “and the resounding result was, ‘No, we cannot have her in a show. If we go forward with this project, it will not be with her.’”

The actor added: “To be honest, those 50 pages were my greatest hits. I stand by everything I said. I don’t just say things.”

Ultimately, Olsen claimed CBS would not agree to follow through with her involvement in the revival unless she declared she was “wrong about everything, which was never going to happen.”

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“No, I’m done. At this point, you’re going to have a woke Brady Bunch, and I want no part of it,” Olsen said she told her agent.

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According to the actor, the Brady Bunch revival series was going to thrust the family into the modern era, with one of Jan Brady’s children as trans and one of the Bradys with a Black spouse. However, she said the reboot is now “dead in the water.”

The Independent has contacted CBS for comment.

While Olsen clarified she is “technically” a libertarian herself, she admitted she doesn’t fully agree with the party and has considered joining the Republican Party to vote in primaries.

Following her portrayal of Cindy Brady in the original series, Olsen reprised her role in the subsequent series The Brady Kids, The Brady Bunch Hour, and The Bradys. She also appeared alongside her former co-stars in the 2019 HGTV reality series A Very Brady Renovation, in which the iconic house used for exterior shots in the original sitcom was renovated.

A source close to the project told Vanity Fair the issue with casting Olsen was not due to her support for Trump, but rather her “controversial comments and hate speech, which she has noted she still stands by.”

TV funnyman Joe Lycett has welcomed his first child.

The 36-year-old revealed he has had a son as he posed with his child for the first time.

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It comes just days after he confirmed he has a secret long-term girlfriend, who he keeps out of the limelight.

Joe shared his news with fans tonight in a roundabout post, thanking Birmingham women’s hospital.

The comedian – best known for his stunts – wrote:  “An appreciation post from me for the extraordinary @bham_womens hospital.

“My first encounter with them was years ago when they looked after a pal of mine through surgery, and then most recently when they masterfully welcomed a little boy into the world, who happens to be my son.

“The care and compassion his mum and he received was exceptional; from the antenatal classes, incredible midwives, consultants, doctors, nurses and the ongoing care in the community. We also loved their baked potatoes.

“Birmingham is so lucky to have them and I will be forever grateful for everything they’ve done.”

He added:  “I am LOVING being a dad but sadly I think this now means I can’t get out of going on Rob and Josh’s f**king podcast. We will not be taking any press requests about this as we have already sold the rights to the first family picture to Autotrader.”

His celeb pals rushed to congratulate him, with Clara Amfo commenting: “Yes Joe and fam, yes NHS!”

While Judi Love wrote: “Congratulations.”

And Gabby Roslin shared a series of love heart emojis.

Earlier this week Joe, who is open about being pansexual,  gave fans a rare insight into his love life and revealed he used a fake name for his girlfriend to keep her private.

Speaking on Bimini Bon-Boulash’s podcast The Pieces, he revealed: “So I’ve got Winston the cat, and my partner Denise. And, um, she’s not called Denise, but I don’t talk about her, because she has a job that she can’t be in the public eye.

“I call her Denise because she hates the name Denise, so, uh, I live with Denise.”

Discussing his sexuality, the Late Night Lycett star, explained: “Yeah, it doesn’t matter what the gender or whatever.  And I don’t know why that is, but that is how it is. It’s a strange one because to me that suggests that sexuality is not just man, woman.’

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“So the intellectual side of me goes it’s pansexual, which means all. So, that’s how I feel about myself.”

He added: “And I don’t really care what anyone else thinks about it these days, because I just think it’s nothing to do with you.”

The star went on to reveal that most people think he is gay, explaining: “But I do think it’s interesting. A few years into a relationship with a woman and going like, I am a straight man now, that dresses like this.

“I am still struggling with it in different ways of course. And particularly because lots of people just presume I’m gay because I’m camp on telly.”

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Sacha Baron Cohen brought back two of his most iconic comedic characters, Borat and Ali G, for a skit mocking former president Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.

During a Thursday (October 24) night appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to promote his new minidrama Disclaimer, Cohen, 53, donned the fake mustache of his famous mockumentary character.

The comedian began: “Mr Trump sir, you say in Ohio that people eat the cats and the dogs. Which restaurant do they serve them at? Can you get me a reservation, please? In my country, we have KFC – Kazakh Fried Cat – it’s pussy-licking good!”

Turning his attention to Harris, Borat continued: “You are a woman, a person of colors and are married to a Jew. I advise you not to come to Kazakhstan. You have already made three out of four crimes punishable by death. Please do not tell me that you have also made sexy time with an underage bear.

“Mr Trump, sir, that remind me. After your visit five years ago to the Almaty Beautiful Bear Pageant, we paid the hush monies to gather the grizzly. Problem solved. Thank you for your nuclear secrets in return. You scratch my back; I scratch your khram.”

Earlier in the interview, Cohen reprised his satirical London boy Ali G from his series Da Ali G Show to show how he would moderate a presidential debate between Trump and Harris.

Putting on Ali G’s signature tight red hat, yellow wrap-around glasses and goatee, he addressed Trump, saying: “You has been convicted of 32 crimes, you stole classified documents, you boned nuff porn stars, and you ain’t never paid no taxes. Respeck! You is my hero!”

Turning his attention to Harris, he added: “Me’s also got a question for that fit honey. Yo what is you doing later, a’ight? When we look at you on the television, me gets a massive election a’ight.

“Can we just say to both of you that whatever happen, me is just glad that the next president won’t have white skin,” he quipped, in reference to Trump’s famously orangish appearance.

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Elsewhere during the late-night talk show, Cohen discussed his current Apple TV+ series, Disclaimer, directed by Alfonso Cuarón, which follows a well-respected and renowned journalist (Oscar-winning actor Cate Blanchett) whose past transgressions are on the brink of exposure.

He revealed that years ago he was offered a role in Cuaròn’s 2013 Sandra Bullock-led Gravity before he was eventually approached for Disclaimer.

Cohen explained that he had originally been interested in the role played by Kevin Kline, before the Roma filmmaker told him: “No, you’ll be playing Cate Blanchett’s husband.”

Disclaimer is currently streaming on Apple TV+.

LOVE Island star Eve Gale has sent pulses racing after slipping into a sizzling red dress while on holiday in Miami.

Eve, 25, has jetted off to the US with her girl pals for a spot of winter sun and she is certainly making the most of the warmer weather.

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The blonde beauty, who appeared in Love Island All Stars this year, was snapped looking too hot to handle on an evening out.

Eve’s red dress featured a thigh-high split and plunging neckline, which she showcased while perching in a cream chair.

Coordinating with a slick of red lipstick, Eve wore her long blonde hair loose and she showed off her white pedicure in a pair of see-though heels.

Eve posted two snaps of herself on Instagram and her followers have gone wild.

One commented: “Blondes in red 😍❤️.”

Another added: “Wow so pretty!”

And a third chimed in with a flurry of red heart emojis and the compliment: “Wonderfully beautiful.”

Eve is staying at the £300 a night Mondarin South Beach hotel with her twin sister Jess and some of their fellow Love Island All Stars co-stars, including Sophie Piper, Kaz Kamwi and Molly Smith.

In group shot, the girls were seen posing together on a night out, with Jess captioning it: “Best trip ever.”

Eve also turned up the heat with an impromptu photo shoot as she posed on a sun bed while wearing a Brazil-themed thong bikini.

Behind her, the Miami skyline was bathed in the light from a seriously impressive sunset.

Eve and her sister Jess originally appeared in the sixth series of Love Island in the winter of 2020.

After failing to find a match, the girls tried their luck again by entering the All Stars villa this year.

Eve and Jess, who were unsuccessful, have now teased that they could have a third stab with a slot on Love Island USA.

We exclusively told how the pair have been contacted by bosses from the US version of the the hit reality show, which sees ex-Islander Maura Higgins currently hosting the Aftersun spin-off on Peacock.

Speaking exclusively to The Sun, Eve recently explained how their management were approached while they were in ‘holding’ in South Africa for All Stars.

The sisters were out of contact for a month and missed the casting window for the American series.

“They didn’t realise that our management were running our social media when I was in lock down in Cape Town and didn’t realise that I was out of contact,” Eve said.

“They contacted my management about speaking to us about Love Island USA and didn’t know we were in holding for Love Island All Stars.

“So my management couldn’t speak to us, as we were in holding for about a month. By that time we missed the casting period.

“I’m glad I did All Stars but no doors have been shut.”

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