Pro-Iranian hackers say they’ve infiltrated the account of FBI director Kash Patel after posting his personal photos and documents online.

The release included years-old pictures of Mr Patel, along with a work CV, and other personal records – many of them seemingly more than a decade old.

In a message posted on Friday, the hacker group Handala wrote: “Kash Patel, the current head of the FBI, who once saw his name displayed with pride on the agency’s headquarters, will now find his name among the list of successfully hacked victims.”

In a statement, the FBI said: “The FBI is aware of malicious actors targeting Director Patel’s personal email information, and we have taken all necessary steps to mitigate potential risks associated with this activity.”

The bureau added: “The information in question is historical in nature and involves no government information.”

A Department of Justice official told Reuters the material appeared to be authentic.

One of the hacked photos showed Mr Patel standing beside an antique sports car; another showed him with a cigar in his mouth.

Many of the records released appeared to relate to his personal travels and business in years past, before he was appointed to head the bureau.

It’s not clear when the infiltration occurred, but Mr Patel was reportedly informed by the FBI in December 2024 that he had been targeted as part of an Iranian hack.

Handala, a pro-Iranian, pro-Palestinian hacking group, also took credit this month for a cyber attack on Stryker, a Michigan-based medical technology company.

Read more:
Foreign Office data compromised by hackers in cyber breach
Does America think they’re fighting a ‘holy war’ in Iran?

They said it was in retaliation for US strikes that they claimed had killed Iranian schoolchildren.

The group was singled out by the Justice Department when it announced last week it had seized four web domains tied to Iranian hacking schemes.

Alan Shearer has suffered several cuts to his arms and legs after he was involved in a bike crash.

The Premier League’s all-time leading goalscorer revealed the extent of his injuries on Friday and said he had fallen off his bike after hitting a pothole.

The two images Shearer shared showed multiple cuts to his arms and legs, as well as swelling on his upper chest.

Shearer accompanied the images with the caption: ‘Ouch. Pot holes on a bike are not good!!!’

The 55-year-old, who scored 260 Premier League goals in his career, is currently a pundit for the BBC, Amazon Prime and Premier League Productions.

The former Newcastle United, Blackburn Rovers and England striker is also part of The Rest Is Football podcast alongside former Match of the Day host Gary Lineker and Micah Richards.

This is not the first time Shearer has been involved in a bike crash as the former striker required surgery following an accident while on holiday in Portugal in 2017.

Shearer needed a metal plate inserted into his broken wrist after falling off his bike.

For more stories like this, check our sport page.

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Head of the Civil Service Jayne Brady declined to confirm or deny to Belfast Live whether an HR investigation had taken place

Education Minister Paul Givan has rejected allegations of bullying, stating he has never been the subject of any formal investigation, following renewed questions around the circumstances surrounding a senior civil servant’s departure from the Department of Education.

The issue resurfaced during Topical Questions in the Assembly earlier this week, when Sinn Féin MLAs pressed the minister on whether he had faced an investigation into claims of bullying within his department. The intervention follows long-running speculation about the senior civil servant’s departure from the department.

Last year, the Head of the Civil Service, Jayne Brady, declined to confirm or deny to Belfast Live whether an HR investigation had taken place, amid claims that the senior official involved had raised concerns about alleged ministerial conduct.

In a formal Written Ministerial Statement issued to the Speaker of the Assembly on Friday for inclusion in the Official Report of the Assembly, Mr Givan said: “In the House on 23 March during Topical Questions, I was asked by a number of Sinn Féin MLAs whether I had ever been subject to an Investigation in relation to allegations of bullying within the Department of Education. Given the repetition of such innuendo outside the House, I want to restate unequivocally that I have never been the subject of any such Investigation.”

He added that the line of questioning in the Assembly appeared to be based on “a false premise”, and said he had not been provided with any specific allegations when he sought clarification from those raising the issue.

“When I sought clarification from the MLAs about the basis for their questions, no details or specific allegations were provided. On further reflection, it is possible they were alluding to a confidential NICS HR Review into the conduct and performance of a civil servant. However, because the questions were based on a false premise, I cannot be certain that this was, in fact, what was being referred to.”

The minister said it was possible that MLAs were referring to a confidential Northern Ireland Civil Service HR review, but stressed that the process related solely to the conduct and performance of a civil servant and not to any ministerial role.

“The Head of the Civil Service has confirmed that the matter referenced was led by her, in her capacity as Head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service, and it concerned internal management/HR matters.

“It was neither a disciplinary determination nor a legal process. She further confirmed that the issues being progressed are management, organisational and NICS policy matters, and do not relate to any individual Minister.”

Mr Givan said he had participated in that review only as a witness and insisted he was not under investigation at any stage. He also addressed claims made by the civil servant after they had left his department.

“The civil servant concerned, at a time when they were no longer working with or to me, in fact some nine months later, made assertions that my concerns, raised by me with the Head of the Civil Service, about their conduct and performance, constituted bullying.

“These assertions were never part of the Review’s Terms of Reference, which were settled in December 2024, and in any event, I understand that the reviewer rejected these assertions.”

He concluded by saying he would welcome the publication of all material relating to the HR review, adding that he wanted “to set the record straight” on the matter.

Commenting on the statement, FDA National Officer for Northern Ireland Robert Murtagh said: “This is a confidential matter in which the civil servant involved is not in a position to respond publicly due to their professional obligations. The Civil Service Code restricts civil servants’ ability to speak publicly on any issue.

“Where one party is able to comment openly in those circumstances, it creates a clear and unacceptable imbalance and risks undermining confidence in how such situations are handled.

“Any public account given on that basis cannot be fully tested or treated as complete, particularly when others are effectively prevented from offering their perspective.

“Those in positions of authority have a responsibility to respect both the letter and the spirit of confidentiality, especially where their words carry significant weight and cannot be answered, this is affirmed in the Ministerial Code.

“Likewise, there is a clear responsibility under the Ministerial Code and accompanying guidance on ministers to uphold the political impartiality of the civil service. This includes treating civil servants with consideration and respect and not commenting publicly on individual staffing matters.

“Failing to uphold these principles risks damaging confidence not only in this case, but in the wider protections staff rely on. Government can only work effectively if there is trust between ministers and civil servants. That trust includes recognition of the restrictions on civil servants to defend themselves publicly and the obligation that places on ministers to deal with issues confidentially.”

For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter here.

If approved, the bar could create up to 18 new jobs

A former department store could be turned into a sports bar and restaurant. Baileys Bar is seeking a change of use for the former Beales store in St Neots High Street.

The applicant proposes to change the first floor of the building into a sports bar and restaurant, and use the second and third floors for access and ancillary use. The change is intended to “secure the viable use of an underutilised upper floor within the town centre”.

Beales has been closed for several years. Part of the wider building is already used by other businesses, including a gym on the ground floor.

The first floor is vacant and the second floor is used as staff offices. If approved, the sports bar will include a restaurant with bar seating, dining areas, games, entertainment zones, a kitchen and toilets. The applicant also wishes to hold “occasional” live music events, background music during normal operating hours and karaoke facilities within acoustic pods.

The plans added: “Live music will take place on an occasional basis only and will be managed as part of specific events rather than as a continuous late-night music venue. The karaoke pods are self-contained and designed to contain sound internally, significantly limiting breakout into surrounding areas.”

The proposed opening hours are 9am until midnight from Mondays until Saturdays and 10am until 11pm on Sundays. On selected Saturdays, the bar could stay open until 1am. The bar could create up to 12 jobs for front of house staff and between three and six jobs in the kitchen.

To manage the club’s operations and avoid disruption, there will be: supervision of entry and exit points, management of dispersal at closing time, control of music levels and no dedicated external entertainment areas.

The applicant will not have to create new openings, as they will use existing ones. They added: “Customer access is via the existing Huntingdon Street entrance and stairwell.

“This entrance is already established and avoids introducing new openings or circulation routes within the listed fabric. An existing passenger lift provides access for customers between floors, ensuring inclusive access to the first-floor venue. Servicing and deliveries will continue to take place from the rear service area via Tebbutts Road, utilising the existing service lift to the first floor.”

Disability rights campaigner Flick Williams said City of York Council risked a potential legal challenge unless it exempted Blue Badge holders from a ban on private cars driving through Rougier Street and George Hudson Street.

York City Taxi Association Chair Arshad Mahmood said some of their trips could take up to 20 minutes longer and almost double in cost unless hackney carriages are exempted.

But Tom Horner, the council’s travel behaviour lead, said the way York city centre traffic is managed had to change though officials were open to tweaking the Rougier Route plans.

The comments at the council’s Place Scrutiny Committee on Tuesday, March 24 follow a consultation on the proposals which ran from November to January.

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The proposals would see traffic barred from driving from Rougier Street to Micklegate except for buses, cyclists and emergency services vehicles.

Private traffic turning onto Rougier Street from Station Road would have to turn onto Tanner Row and travel along a new one-way loop via Toft Green to get to Micklegate.

A bus lane would be put in George Hudson Street running southbound and a ‘bus gate’ would be imposed from the road’s junction with Micklegate to the latter’s junction with Skeldergate and North Street.

Blue Badge holders and delivery drivers would still be able to enter the area to park.

Councillors agreed to support recommending an exemption for Blue Badge holders, hackney carriages and private hire vehicles.

A map showing the new one way system in Rougier Street, Tanner Row, Toft Green and Micklegate (blue) and bus gate in Rougier Street, George Hudson Street and Micklegate up to the North Street and Skeldergate junction. Picture is from York Council

A council report on the plans stated a Blue Badge exemption would require a registration system to be created costing an estimated £40,000.

The measures would be trialled for 18 months and Tuesday’s meeting heard changes could be made during that period if necessary in response to any issues which arise.

A reduction of speed limits to 20mph along the route could also be looked at along the route in the long term but they would not be part of the trial.

Council officials have said the measures are needed to speed up bus journeys and make them more reliable along the route which carries more than 1,000 services a day.

Roger French, of the York Bus Forum, said the measures were a crucial step towards creating a transport system that was more reliable, inclusive and sustainable for York’s growing population.

York Civic Trust’s Professor Tony May said the plans offered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to improve public spaces on the route but said 20mph speed limits should also be brought in.

Green Party activist Andy D’Agorne said the measures should be in place all day, every day to stop alternative routes being used in the evening.

York Cycle Campaign’s Robyn Jankel said the measures would help save lives and urged the council to reserve it for buses, cyclists and walkers.

But disability rights activist Ms Williams said it was a leap of faith to think the measures would improve services and it would instead leave disabled people facing longer journeys.

York City Taxi Association’s Mr Mahmood said they understood and supported the council’s aims

But he added the changes could see a journey from St Saviourgate to York Station take 15 to 20 minutes longer and increase in price from about £5.80 to £10.40.

Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader Cllr Paula Widdowson said there was a concerning lack of detail in the proposals and clarity was needed on how potential exemptions would work.

Mr Horner said officials were not wedded to specific parts of the plans and would be open to changes.

He added bus companies could begin improving routes if services run better as a result of the measures but he currently had had no direct assurances of extra investment.

The council officer said: “Bus reliable really affects people, when there’s significant delays it brings more uncertainty into people’s lives and some just won’t take that journey at all.

“Doing nothing isn’t an option, we need to make sure people have confidence in buses because with the housing growth we have in York, North Yorkshire and neighbouring authorities if we can’t move more people onto buses we risk serious congestion.”

Two great bands played at YES for the second night of this year’s festival which is putting the spotlight on the city’s independent grassroots venues.

Walking into the Pink Room, SILVERWINGKILLER had just started playing and the floor was shaking – you could feel the bass in your chest.

SILVERWINGKILLER (Image: BBC Radio 6 Music)

The electronic duo of James Baca and Yushang Ni gave an energetic, fast-paced performance with breakbeats played on a live drumkit.

Rising stars of Manchester’s underground DIY scene, they really sold their brand of industrial-tinged electronic punk.

Mandy, Indiana headlined the night with another hard and heavy performance – these were two bands that definitely warranted the use of hearing protection.

Mandy, Indiana (Image: BBC Radio 6 Music)

The noise rock outfit did not disappoint and brought an energy to the venue that really got the crowd moving.

Lead singer Valentine Caulfield – who sings almost entirely in French – even invaded the crowd near the end of the band’s set.

At the same time, Band on the Wall hosted Kelly Lee Owens for a DJ set and R&B singer Wesley Joseph.

Wesley Joseph (Image: BBC Radio 6 Music)

Elsewhere in Manchester, 6 Music presenters SHERELLE and Femi Koleoso of Ezra Collective each won a MOBO award – SHERELLE for Best Electronic Act and Ezra Collective for Best Jazz Act.

The 2026 edition of the festival places a spotlight on independent venues across Greater Manchester, with events running from 25–28 March at spaces including Band on the Wall, YES and, new for this year, the Eccles Town Hall Ballroom. 

The festival also features new partnerships with local promoters FaT OuT and Homobloc.

BBC Radio 6 Music remains the UK’s most listened‑to digital‑only radio station, reaching a weekly audience of 2.4 million. 

Performances and DJ sets from the festival will continue to be added to BBC Sounds, while highlights will appear on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Music YouTube channel. 

Short clips and updates will also be shared across 6 Music’s Instagram and TikTok accounts.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President JD Vance on Friday held the inaugural meeting of a new anti-fraud task force he’s leading as the Trump administration seeks to show it’s cracking down on potential misuse of social programs.

Vance, speaking Friday before the task force held a closed-door meeting, said that the federal government for decades had not taken the issue of fraud seriously and that it needed to be tackled with “a whole-government approach.”

“This is not just the theft of the American people’s money,” Vance said. “It is also the theft of critical services that the American people rely on.”

President Donald Trump, a Republican, has made a crackdown on fraud part of his chief domestic focus as voters have said they’re concerned about affordability ahead of November’s midterm elections. That effort comes after allegations of fraud involving day care centers run by Somali residents in Minneapolis prompted a massive immigration crackdown in the Midwestern city, resulting in widespread protests.

Vance cited some of the Minnesota allegations on Friday. Last month, he held a news conference to announce a temporary halt of some Medicaid funding until the state took actions that federal officials said would address their concerns.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat who faced Vance as a vice presidential candidate in 2024, has called it a “campaign of retribution” and said the Trump administration was “weaponizing the entirety of the federal government to punish blue states like Minnesota.”

The task force is also the most visible assignment to date that Trump has given to Vance, who is seen as a potential 2028 presidential candidate.

Vance and the task force, which includes about half the president’s Cabinet, the leader of a new Justice Department division focused on prosecuting fraud and Federal Trade Commission Chair Andrew Ferguson, are set to meet regularly to look at rooting out potential fraud and waste in federal benefit programs.

Ferguson, who is vice chair of the task force, cast the issue of fraud as a dire crisis facing the country and said it “shreds the social trust on which these programs and our entire nation depend.”

“This fraud crisis is thus existential,” he said. “If we fail to address it, the fabric of our nation will swiftly unravel.”

Joining the task force was Colin McDonald, a top aide to the Justice Department’s second in command. He was recently confirmed as the assistant attorney general overseeing the new division at the department focused on prosecuting fraud.

The Justice Department has long prosecuted fraud nationally through its Criminal Division, but the Trump administration says the new division is needed to crack down on rampant fraud.

The latest rugby news and headlines from Wales and beyond

Here are your rugby evening headlines for Friday, March 27.

Politicians react to WRU bombshell

Politicians have reacted with approval following the news that Welsh Rugby Union chair Richard Collier-Keywood will step down from his role later this year.

The WRU announced on Friday afternoon that the under-fire chair will not seek a second term. Instead, Collier-Keywood, who was facing an EGM vote to oust him next month, will depart at the end of his term in July.

The 64-year-old has faced considerable criticism in recent months over the governing body’s plans to cut the number of professional teams from four to three.

Quite what his departure means for that plan, or next month’s EGM, remains to be seen. However, following the announcement, some of the chair’s most vocal critics have already responded.

Swansea Council leader Rob Stewart said: “So it looks like the EGM motion has now already succeeded without a vote being cast!

“There is a chance now for the WRU to change course and reengage with fans, clubs, players and public!

“The WRU should now accept that a new plan must quickly come forward. Clubs, players fans need certainty as quickly as possible. It will be financial madness for the WRU and outgoing chair to preside over months of further drift and uncertainty.

“Well done to the fantastic rugby public who have clearly made this happen.”

MP for Swansea West, Torsten Bell, also commented on Collier-Keywood’s departure.

“It’s right that Richard Collier-Keywood has decided to step back from leading the WRU,” said Bell. “It’s not just that on his watch the organisation brought forward the wrong plan for the future of Welsh rugby, but that they went about it in absolutely the wrong way.

“The truth is that the approach of trying to ride roughshod over near universal opposition to push through chaotic changes simply couldn’t work. Those brave clubs who put their heads above the parapet to call the EGM deserve huge credit for spelling that out.

“We now need a reset – as I said to the WRU chief executive just a few weeks ago. There needs to be a new plan and new way of working, not just a new face at the top.”

Pollock signs with Matchroom

England rugby star Henry Pollock has signed with boxing promoter Eddie Hearn’s new sporting talent agency, it has been announced.

The back rower becomes the second high profile name behind UFC fighter Tom Aspinall to team up with Hearn, and more are now expected to follow. Pollock is already one of the most talked about rugby players in the world, with his huge profile and confident personality making him highly marketable.

Hearn was recently present at the Wales v Italy Six Nations match, just days after announcing his new venture. The likes of Louis Rees-Zammit are also likely to be targets for Hearn as he looks to expand his portfolio of athletes.

“I’m delighted to be joining forces with Eddie Hearn and Matchroom Talent Agency alongside Stellar Rugby, at such an exciting stage in my career,” Pollock said.

“Their experience and vision in the global sports market make them the perfect partners to help me grow both on and off the field, and I’m looking forward to what we can all achieve together.”

Hearn said: “I watched this kid and I immediately thought: superstar. I honestly believe he can singlehandedly ignite this sport and I am delighted to welcome him to the Matchroom family.

“With Henry, alongside UFC Heavyweight Champion Tom Aspinall, we are building a team of all stars – and we have many more top names still to bring in as our new Matchroom Talent Agency makes huge strides forward.”

Morgan: Wales boys were brilliant

Wales skipper Jac Morgan has hailed the efforts of his international team-mates during the last Six Nations.

Morgan had to look on from the sidelines during this year’s tournament after a shoulder injury last autumn ruled him out.

He made his long-awaited comeback last weekend for club side Ospreys and ahead of the clash with Connacht this Saturday had a word for his Wales contemporaries.

“The boys were brilliant,” he said, adding: “You could see how the boys and the squad were growing, learning and getting better every week.

“I loved being there to support.

“It was great to see everything that they’ve been building on, working on and improving on coming to fruition in that last game.

“Being able to get that win, it was a great feeling. It’s an opportunity now to build on that and and hopefully take it into the summer.”

Andy Farrell not talking to RFU about England role ‘at present’ – Bill Sweeney

By Duncan Bech, Press Association Rugby Union Correspondent

Rugby Football Union chief executive Bill Sweeney insists there has been no contact with Andy Farrell as part of England’s succession planning for the time beyond next year’s World Cup.

Sweeney has indicated that current head coach Steve Borthwick will be given the summer tour to orchestrate a revival following an abject Six Nations campaign which saw England finish fifth having suffered four successive defeats.

If Borthwick delivers a satisfactory return against South Africa, Fiji and Argentina in July, he will be in a position to see out his contract until Australia 2027 when it expires.

Farrell’s deal with Ireland also ends after the global showpiece and he revealed in the wake of the Six Nations that talks over an extension with the Irish Rugby Football Union will begin soon.

The head coach of last year’s British and Irish Lions tour would be the standout candidate to take over at Twickenham should it be decided by either Borthwick or the RFU that change is needed, but no discussions have taken place.

“He’s under contract to the 2027 World Cup,” Sweeney said of Farrell. “We’re not in a dialogue. We’re not in a discussion with him at the present.”

The review of England’s Championship will be completed by the end of next month and is being conducted by an anonymous panel of figures drawn from inside and outside the RFU with Sweeney, director of performance rugby Conor O’Shea and non-executive director Ben Kay among those involved.

Players and Borthwick’s assistant coaches are also being canvassed for their opinions on why the same team that registered their 12th successive victory when routing Wales in round one then collapsed to their worst ever Six Nations performance.

Although the review has yet to reach any conclusions on the events of the past few weeks, Sweeney’s inclination is to give Borthwick more time with England’s stirring performance against France in the climax to the tournament pointing to a brighter future.

“There is a lot of noise out there,” Sweeney said. “You’ve got to take emotion out of the equation. You just look at it purely in terms of: What was the performance? What were the issues? Why did they arise? And how do we fix them?

“I see the outcome being for us to make sure we have got the right support mechanisms in place to address them and support Steve to get that right going forward.

“We are really focussed on seeing progress again and seeing better and more consistent performances. That is the focus – it’s not a set number of wins or a percentage.

“It’s about getting back to the way we were playing. Steve talks about playing big. That has been the intention and you saw that against France.

“We still think this is an extremely strong squad that has got the potential and capability to do some really good things.”

The Senedd election on May 7, 2026, will decide the 96 politicians who will represent you in the Welsh Parliament. It will also decide the party which will lead the government, deciding on matters including health, education, councils, housing and agriculture.

WalesOnline will be hosting a debate between the six biggest political parties ahead of that election. The leaders of six Welsh political parties will be taking part:

• Conservatives: Darren Millar
• Green Party: Anthony Slaughter
• Labour: Eluned Morgan
• Liberal Democrats: Jane Dodds
• Plaid Cymru: Rhun ap Iorwerth
• Reform UK: Dan Thomas

The debate will be recorded on April 7, and before then we want your questions to put to the leaders to help you decide who to vote for. You can submit questions via this Google form or comment below.

This election will be unlike any other which has gone before for a number of reasons, you can read all those in full.

Polls are projecting that as well as the changes to the electoral system, there could be a huge change about how parties do.

Labour has been in power in Wales since the first Senedd in 1999, but polls project this time Plaid Cymru or Reform UK are likely to be the biggest party. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here

As well as that the whole system is changing. You will elect more politicians via a new voting system. Until now, in Senedd elections you’ve had two votes. One for a constituency candidate and one for a regional one. This election you will have just one.

You will vote for a party, not a person, and each of the 16 constituencies will elect six representatives.

Instead of it being calculated via a first past the post system – the most votes wins – a proportional system is being used.

The Mayhem Ball – the concert tour for Lady Gaga’s 2025 album Mayhem – is set to conclude in April after a global run. The tour delivered everything fans have come to expect from the artist: spectacle, innovation and, above all, immersion in a gothic world.

The production is bursting with macabre theatricality, including concepts and images associated with the gothic tradition. Skeletons, doppelgängers, zombies, candelabra, cloaks, veils, dreams and nightmares are incorporated into intricate set designs and showstopping costumes. Themes of pain, death and rebirth frame the whole narrative of the show.

Gaga has often made interesting use of gothic motifs, so much so that she was a key source of inspiration for my new book Gothic Celebrity: Fame and Immortality from Lord Byron to Lady Gaga. In it, I examine the intersection of celebrity culture and the gothic across literature, visual media and popular culture.

I started writing the book in 2016, inspired by a significant wave of celebrity deaths and the public’s reactions to these losses – including David Bowie, Prince and George Michael. These deaths unsettled many people because modern celebrity culture has established an expectation of the celebrity’s immortality.

Fame, immortality and the gothic

Described by some as the first celebrity, the Romantic poet Lord Byron’s posthumous fame was maintained in the years following his death by various cultural artefacts. These included a statue in Cambridge University’s Trinity College and two illustrated books published by William and Edward Finden in the 1830s.

In the 21st century, digital technology now serves this purpose. Three years after her death, actor Carrie Fisher was digitally resurrected for her role as Princess Leia in the 2019 Star Wars film The Rise of Skywalker with the help of CGI. Holograms of deceased celebrities have also been used for music performances, such as in 2020 for An Evening with Whitney: The Whitney Houston Hologram Tour.

In western culture, our relationship with celebrities revolves around a tension between renewal and decay. We want celebrities to be immortalised; we do not want them to age or die. Technological preservation or the reinvention of a celebrity’s image in a new context reinforces immortality, ageing or dying disrupts it. Gothic can be found in these moments of disruption.

My research has found that celebrities have continually been represented in gothic ways. Mortality and immortality are central themes in these gothic representations, whereby the celebrity is often portrayed as decaying, dead or undead.

The notoriously hideous portrait in Oscar Wilde’s 1890 Gothic novel The Picture of Dorian Gray establishes a useful motif for exploring the deterioration of a celebrity’s flawless image. In the novel’s context of Victorian fashionable society, Dorian Gray is celebrated for his remarkable beauty. However, his decaying portrait embodies the horror of this beauty not being preserved, reflecting both the inevitability of ageing and the precarity of visual media.

This motif is later reimagined in the celebrity portraits of the pop artist Andy Warhol. Warhol’s Marilyn Diptych, created in the months following Marilyn Monroe’s death in 1962, mimics the appearance of a decaying portrait to symbolise Monroe’s death and question the perceived immortality of celebrities in the late 20th century.

In gothic novels, a celebrity’s immortality is often symbolised by the eternally youthful vampire. John Polidori’s 1819 short story The Vampyre established this archetype. In the story, the enchanting Regency gentleman Lord Ruthven – modelled after Lord Byron, who was friends with Polidori – returns from the dead in vampiric form.

Polidori’s tale inaugurates a tradition of eternally youthful vampires modelling celebrity that extends all the way to the post-millennium. In fact, Lady Gaga has played one such character in the anthology television series American Horror Story (2011-). In an episode titled Hotel, she plays a vampire called The Countess who adapts to the modern world by reinventing her image.

Lady Gaga’s gothic celebrity

What makes this phenomenon particularly compelling is the degree to which celebrities can choose to manage or even initiate their affiliation with the gothic. My research has found that there are many celebrities who form dialogues with gothic texts. This is done by producing, starring in or inspiring them. These celebrities also self-consciously construct images that can be described as gothic. Lady Gaga is the perfect example.

A recurring theme in her music performances is her interest in the undead. In the music video for her song Bad Romance (2009), she emerges from a coffin-like container inscribed with the word “Monster”. Later in the same video, she is seen lounging on a bed and smoking a cigarette next to a charred carcass.

Uncanny echoes of this gothic iconography appear in Gaga’s recent Mayhem Ball performances. During her song Perfect Celebrity (2025), she is laying in a sandpit caressing a skeleton, surrounded by skeleton backing dancers. The show’s climax sees Gaga dramatically resurrected after the set is engulfed in flames. She is wheeled back on stage by dancers in plague doctor costumes, who operate on her lifeless body before she is spectacularly reanimated for a show-stopping rendition of Bad Romance.

These performances, in which Gaga is frequently depicted as undead or resurrected, represent more than just an aesthetic interest in the macabre. They are reflections of our enduring fixation with death. In this way, celebrities can play a crucial role in interrogating such profound concerns. Both gothic and celebrity culture are vehicles for exploring how modern western society processes its deepest anxieties.

This article features references to books that have been included for editorial reasons, and may contain links to bookshop.org. If you click on one of the links and go on to buy something from bookshop.org The Conversation UK may earn a commission.