Thousands of fans from around the world have descended on South Korea's capital Seoul for the League of Legends world championship final on Sunday, widely...

Fans already had their suspicions after Joe Lycett mysteriously cancelled plans for his new podcast, named Turdcast, on Friday, and now the Birmingham funnyman has confirmed that the planned audio series - and reports of a sewage “spillage” – was part of a much wider stunt calling on water companies to do more to address the sewage scandal. Last week, Lycett announced he was launching the “ploppy poddy” in which guests talk about their “toilet habits”, and even told indy100 that he’d love to have author Dr Giulia Enders on the podcast, implying it was actually a real project from the Got Your Back star. His first guest was supposedly Gary Lineker. There was even a launch event scheduled for Thursday – a day before the supposed release of the first episode - at Liverpool’s Royal Albert Dock, in which Lycett attempted to erect a giant inflatable toilet known as ‘The Turdis’ and interview the general public about their toilet stories. However, the publicity stunt had to be cancelled early “due to a technical issue” with the inflatable object, and windy conditions didn’t help with its inflation, either. A spokesperson released a statement which claimed that “a mechanical fault occurred with a portable toilet which saw a small spillage occur”. “This was immediately dealt with by the support team on hand to ensure there was no impact on the water into which the spillage occurred. “However, the event was cancelled with immediate effect as it was not possible for members of the public to use the toilet as planned. We apologise to disappointed fans hoping to attend,” they said. Lycett himself later put out his own statement on social media on Friday morning, in which he revealed the dramatic decision to “cancel the podcast indefinitely”, as it would be “inappropriate” to launch Turdcast off the back of the “ongoing investigation into the sewage spilled into the waters”. “I’d like to reiterate that it was entirely safe and managed by the team very swiftly. I’ll be releasing more information in due course,” he added. Well, that came on Saturday, when Lycett shared a video statement from “Miss Sue Idge” confirming that “of course” he didn’t spill raw sewage” and that it was instead another stunt to “get people talking about the big issues”. He continued: “I’m not spilling s*** in public everywhere. Who do you think I am, GB News? “No, it was fake sewage, from a fake toilet, to promote a fake podcast. Turdcast was never real, although we did record a real one with the real Gary Lineker. “It would have been better to use a fake Gary Lineker because we would have saved a lot of money on his day rate.” Lycett explained that his fake sewage was to get people talking about the “real sewage” being spilled by water companies every year, and that an hour-long special on water companies will air on Channel 4 next year. “Last year, according to one analysis, £1.4 billion in dividends was paid out to shareholders of the water companies – that’s a lot of money that could be used to improve the sewage network and reduce spills. “So I want the water companies to stop paying dividends, and invest that money in improving and solving this problem,” he said. He then called on viewers and fans to go to a website and email their water company, calling on them to sign up to “Joe’s Poo Promise” – lovely alliteration. Lycett has since been branded a “genius” and “national treasure” over the campaign: And it’s not the first dramatic stunt which Lycett has pulled off, as he pretended to shred £10,000 in protest at David Beckham being an ambassador for the 2022 Qatar World Cup, and created an elaborate four-year stunt which “infuriated” MPs and formed the basis of his most recent stand-up show, More, More, More! Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel 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.

The FBI have jumped on the hype around Taylor Swift’s release of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) to try and get people to send them tips on federal crimes. On Monday (July 10), the FBI Washington Field tweeted their own version of the Speak Now track list, which included ‘songs’ such as 'Terrorism (FBI’s Version)', 'Public Corruption (FBI’s Version),' and 'Weapons of Mass Destruction (FBI’s Version).' In the caption, they played on songs by Swift such as 'Better than Revenge' and 'Superman', writing: “Justice is better than revenge. You may not be Superman, but you can help the #FBI protect the country.” “If you have information about a federal crime, speak now. Call 1-800-225-5324 or visit http://tips.fbi.gov to submit a tip,” the post reads. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter For a fandom that is known for its commitment to uncovering easter eggs and secrets left for them by Swift, you can see why the FBI chose to use Swift’s music in an attempt to encourage people to get in touch. Twitter couldn’t believe that the FBI had referenced Taylor Swift, and many shared the tweet in disbelief and found it hilarious: Republican Congressman Mike Johnson responded to the tweet quoting lyrics from Swift’s ‘Should’ve Said No’, mocking the FBI’s decision to tweet. Johnson has previously accused the FBI of abusing its power. This isn’t the first time government officials and politicians have quoted Swift’s work. During a Judiciary Committee hearing on consolidation in the ticketing industry after the disaster surrounding Ticketmaster and the sale of Swift’s Eras Tour, many senators used Swift’s lyrics to make their points. Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal had quoted the song 'Anti-Hero' during the hearing telling Live Nation that the company should look in the mirror and say: “I’m the problem, it’s me.” 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.

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