UFO whistleblower David Grusch said, 'We are not alone'

Eurovision is over and done with for another year, with Sweden’s Loreen becoming the first female entry to win the song contest twice (first in 2012 with 'Euphoria', and then this year with 'Tattoo'), but the drama surrounding the beloved night of entertainment continues. First came the conspiracy theory that a victory for Loreen was “rigged” so Sweden could host the contest in 2024 – 50 years after ABBA’s success with 'Waterloo' – and now, there’s speculation that France’s entry gave the audience in Liverpool and everyone watching at home the middle finger. Well, it would be a step up from Ukraine’s entry Tvorchi, whose track 'Heart of Steel' only included a middle finger in terms of the lyrics, when vocalist Jeffery Kenny sings: “Sometimes you just gotta know / When to stick your middle finger up in the air.” During Saturday’s grand final, France’s representative La Zarra – who took to the stage with the track 'Evidemment' – didn’t look too thrilled with her country’s final position of 16th on the leaderboard, getting only 50 extra points from the voting public on top of their 54 points from the national juries. After co-host Graham Norton shared the result, an unenthused La Zarra was captured reacting to the news by raising one hand, before splaying out the fingers on the other with her middle finger pointing down. She then turned it around to have the offending digit pointing upwards, which then looked like she was flipping the bird, as it were. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Viewers soon expressed their glee at the potentially offensive gesture when they saw it: However, in an interview with the French news channel BFM TV, La Zarra – who was born in Canada to Moroccan parents – insisted the gesture had been misinterpreted, saying she has a “double culture”. “It’s not a negative gesture. On the contrary, it’s just a gesture of disappointment that we use between friends. “Afterwards, I can understand that overseas it is considered another gesture.” It’s not the first time that Eurovision fans have accused an act of doing something naughty, as 2021 winners Måneskin – from Italy – were hit with false and disproven claims that their lead singer took drugs at their green room table. The group said at the time that they were “really offended” by the accusations and that what had actually happened was that the group’s guitarist had broken a glass. 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.

Episode 29 of 'Love Island USA' Season 5 will show the first elimination since the Casa Amor twist

'I'm not guesstimating, but we probably spent at least $150,000 because we had to redo it and take it out', said Camille Friend

Tina Turner claimed she never wanted to appear to be 'wearing a curtain of fake hair', which is why she clipped her own extensions

The Pulitzer Prizes recognizing the best of journalism and the arts in 2022 were announced Monday

Rob Marciano and his ex-wife Eryn co-parent their children, with the 'GMA' host occasionally posting about celebrating holidays with her and the children

An Egyptian archaeologist on Wednesday released a documentary on the life of Cleopatra, the same day Netflix began streaming a controversial production depicting...

Johnny Van Zant and Rickey Medlocke are keeping the music of their band Lynyrd Skynyrd alive.

Wade Robson and James Safechuck -- two men who have long alleged that the late Michael Jackson sexually abused them when they were children, and who were featured in the 2019 documentary "Leaving Neverland" -- are now able to revive their since-dismissed lawsuits against Jackson's estate, according to a court opinion filed on Friday and obtained by CNN.

Ludwig asserted that the individual was not a 'good car thief'

Tina Turner, the growling songstress whose explosive presence left an indelible mark on 20th-century rock, electrified fans with five decades of hit records -- first with husband Ike Turner, then...