Celebrities having birthdays during the week of May 21-27 include model Naomi Campbell, actor-comedian Mike Myers and singer Patti LaBelle

Fans were left perplexed by Dana White's absence from the much-anticipated 'Emergency Meeting' hosted by Andrew Tate, alongside Adin Ross

Comedian turned commentator Russell Brand has weighed in on the ongoing wildfires in Maui, Hawaii, flouting conspiracy theories in his usual fast-paced, flamboyant style which are so outlandish, that he’s being compared to GB News anti-vaxxer Neil Oliver. Brand, who’s switched appearances on comedy films such as Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Get Him to the Greek for his Stay Free podcast in recent years, uploaded a video to his six million subscriber strong YouTube channel on Thursday with the title, “Something Doesn’t Seem Right”. As the baseless conspiracy theory that the devastating crisis on the US island was not aided by climate change but rather a ‘space laser’ continue to spread online, Brand jumped in and dismissed those rightly questioning such a nonsensical argument. “Now, some people would say, ‘Oh, that’s dangerous misinformation – that should be shut down.’ I think the opposite. “Discuss it, look at it, investigate it. Either it’s true or it’s not true, we can decide for ourselves, let’s not get excited,” he says. We have, Russell – that’s kind of what journalists do for a job… Towards the end of the almost 23-minute-long video, Brand turns to the conspiracy that the fires in Hawaii were “started deliberately to benefit rich elites” such as the investment management company and financial services provider BlackRock. He continues: “Now look at the Ukraine war. Ukraine have already done a deal with BlackRock to rebuild their nation using BlackRock investment. “If you apply that mentality to this situation, if BlackRock end up benefitting from the fires in Hawaii, then the conspiracy is almost a redundant detail. Did they start it? Didn’t they start it? “Is it inevitable that the suffering of ordinary people leads to the benefit of rich elites and massive organisations like BlackRock and billionaires across the globe and why is Bill Gates buying all this agricultural land when he’s not a farmer?” Yes, that’s one whole sentence. “Doesn’t it all feel like a kind of macro-conspiracy that’s so diffuse, institutional, oddly abstracted and bureaucratically opaque, that sometimes you just want to simplify it into ‘they started this fire! They started it with a laser from space!’ “And whether it’s true or not, it not only feels true, in terms of its results it is kind of true. There is a conspiracy to keep you poor and benefit rich elites,” he vented, adding that the “next time there’s a pandemic” the elite are “gonna control you more”. In other news, thesauruses are in short supply around the world. And it’s Brand’s ranting about a shadowy elite and government control during a pandemic which has likely led to social media users on Twitter/X branding Brand (ha) a “frappucino Neil Oliver”, the GB News host who has long peddled conspiracy theories about vaccines and an impending “one-world government”. Back in August 2021 he said he’d happily catch Covid – y’know, an actually deadly virus – “for the sake of freedom”, just so you know the kind of dangerous nonsense we’re dealing with here. Others, however, have pointed out to user Matthew Dimitri – who shared a clip of Brand on X – that Brand was actually making an argument about elites and organisations benefitting from natural disasters like the one in Hawaii, and that Dimitri has “misrepresented” Brand: Except instead of rejecting the laser conspiracy theory outright, remember, Brand said he ‘thinks the opposite’ and that instead we should “discuss it, look at it [and] investigate it”, which isn’t a complete dismissal of the idea. He doesn’t really give a definitive answer on whether the claim is true or not, but rather suggests that the result of the whole ‘is it or isn’t it’ debate is more important, as if it’s part of a broader conspiracy or distraction “to keep you poor and benefit rich elites”. Perhaps a far more compelling argument around all this is that Brand should learn to keep things succinct, for the benefit of everyone... Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

All five answers to the questions below have something in common. Can you figure it out?

In just a month, Madison Beer has gained 459k followers on Twitch and has managed to collaborate with a prominent streamer like xQc

Tom Brady has become the latest US celebrity to buy a stake in a British football club, and we have to admit it’s one sports story we didn’t see coming. The NFL legend has announced he’s become a minority shareholder in Championship side Birmingham City. He’ll get involved in the operation of the club itself, too, with Brady becoming the chairman of the club's advisory board. The new role will see him work with the sports science department to give expertise on the health of the players and advise on recovery programmes. He’ll also work with the marketing team as part of his position. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Brady follows the likes of Wrexham co-owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McInerney in buying a stake in a British club, as well as golfers Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas who were recently confirmed as minority investors in Leeds United. It comes a few months after Brady confirmed his retirement from the NFL after an illustrious career spanning more than two decades with the New England Patriots and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Brady said on Thursday (August 3): “Birmingham City is an iconic club with so much history and passion and to be part of the Blues is a real honour for me. BCFC is built on teamwork and determination and I’m excited to work alongside the board, management and players to make our Second City club second to none. "I’ve been part of some amazing teams in my day, and I’m looking forward to applying my perspective to create that same success here in Birmingham.” Birmingham City chairman Tom Wagner also said: “Tom Brady joining the Birmingham City team is a statement of intent. We are setting the bar at world-class. Tom is both investing and committing his time and extensive expertise. As Chair of the Advisory Board Tom will have a direct impact on the Club. "The Men’s, Women’s, and Academy teams are going to benefit from the knowledge. The goal that Tom has committed to own is to make Birmingham City a respected leader in nutrition, health, wellness, and recovery across the world of football.” The news was announced on Thursday morning and it’s already sparked a big reaction. Birmingham City start their season this weekend when they kick-off their Championship campaign against Swansea. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Viola Davis has stepped back from 'G20', despite the film having secured a waiver to keep shooting, because she doesn't feel it is "appropriate" to work during the ongoing strikes.

IShowSpeed recently expressed his desire to collaborate with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to create a song

Phil Dunster, who played Jamie Tartt, also spoke about how he would miss playing his character as the show ends

The trailer for season 3 of I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson is

Kim Kardashian’s Instagram snaps often make headlines for more than just her outfit choices thanks to her at-times unusual photoshoot locations or embarrassing photoshop “fails”. However, in her latest eyebrow-raising post, the 42-year-old entrepreneur has intentionally grabbed the attention of would-be internet sleuths. In a caption to the selfie, which shows a seemingly make-up-free Kim pouting nonchalantly at her phone, she wrote: “I took this pic last week when I was alone and now going through my phone I am freaking out noticing a woman in the window.” In the background of the picture, framed in the reflection of a sunlit window, a shadowy figure can be seen. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Commentators were quick to offer their theories on the mysterious apparition, with the post racking up more than 2.4 million likes in just 17 hours. Some were similarly unsettled by the unknown “woman”, with one writing: “This is a case for the FBI”. However, others were dismissive of the star’s concerns. “It’s probably her personal assistant,” one said. “She just wanted to post this pic without appearing as if she wants to really post this pic because she thinks she looks good in minimal makeup.” “Calm down it's one of the nanny's [sic] or maids,” added another critic. “Who photoshopped this to give you some more headlines,” wrote a third sceptic. Elsewhere, another of Kim’s 362 million followers, joked that it was “Todd Kraines”, to the delight of numerous fans. To the uninitiated, Todd Kraines is a family friend of the Kardashians who was thrust into the limelight thanks to an elaborate prank. Over a number of months and even years, Kourtney Kardashian’s ex-husband Scott Disick called the family’s matriarch Kris Jenner repeatedly, pretending to be Kraines, who is a real estate agent over in Beverly Hills. The Kraines bit is often named among fans' favourite long-running jokes from the KUWT series. KUWTK | Auntie Kris, It's Me, Todd Kraines--Again! | E! www.youtube.com Anyway, back to Kim’s photo, other critics insisted there was an even simpler explanation for the shadow-person, with one commenting: “That’s literally your reflection.” Another agreed, suggesting: “It's your reflection in theTV? Side profile and your bag, you can clearly see your arm holding up your phone. Or I'm [losing] it lol.” We prefer the Todd Kraines interpretation, to be honest. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Michael Strahan missed another Monday morning episode of ‘GMA’ after enjoying a fun filled show as host of ‘The $100,000 Pyramid'