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Grand Slam finalist Danielle Collins reveals vile cameraman KISSED her & opens up on being called ‘b****' by sexist fans

Grand Slam finalist Danielle Collins reveals vile cameraman KISSED her & opens up on being called ‘b****' by sexist fans

The Sun6 days ago
TENNIS star Danielle Collins has opened up on her experience of dealing with vile sexism and misogyny in her career.
The American, 31, has won four career titles and reached the final of the Australian Open Grand Slam.
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But in a candid interview on the podcast, Reign with Josh Smith, Collins has spoken out about some of her previous experiences, including being labelled a "b****" by fans and being subjected to inappropriate behaviour from "weird men".
The former world No7 has been outspoken on the subject of abuse women have received in the sport.
She revealed how whenever people have seen her getting upset on the court, fans never truly know the full picture of what has happened.
Collins says that whenever she voices an opinion on a situation, it is because she has reached "boiling point" after sitting on it for a "very long time".
The Florida native explains: "And you know, a lot of the people that are watching sports and watching TV they only get to see a small clip of what takes place.
"They see me getting upset with the cameraman. They don't see everything that led up to why I got upset...
"It definitely seems like when you're a female, if I use my voice and I push back and I ask a question or I set a boundary or even if I don't set a boundary, and I just simply make a request for personal space it's like, how dare I, like I don't have the right to respond or I'm crazy."
Collins highlights one example of when a cameraman "made out" with the side of her face after asking her for a hug.
She explained: "I had a situation a bunch of years ago when I first got on tour and I was dealing with a cameraman that was very persistent.
"And I remember I came off the court, I lost a long three set match, I'm kind of like cramping, I'm tired and all the things are happening.
Moment Emma Raducanu clocks 'fixated' man in crowd & breaks down behind umpire's chair before he's 'escorted out'
"And this guy goes, 'oh, Danielle, you know, I'm so sorry. Can I give you a hug?' And I, I look at my coach, I'm like, 'uh, sure.'
"So I'm like, standing like this and he goes in to hug me and then all of a sudden he goes in to kiss me and I'm like, 'oh no, oh my gosh.'
"And he literally starts making out with a side of my face."
Collins adds that people often don't see behind the scenes interactions with "weird men" who show up at events before stalking them and following them to their hotels.
British No1 Emma Raducanu was the victim of a terrifying stalking case which saw her burst into tears on court at the Dubai Tennis Championship in February.
The 22-tear-old hid behind the umpire's chair as the "fixated man" was removed by security after she spotted him just two points into her game.
Raducanu's former coach Roman Kelecic, claimed the man previously stalked her in Singapore, the UAE and Qatar and had even given her a letter and asked for a photo in a coffee shop the day before.
He was handed a restraining order from Dubai police while his name was also circulated among tennis authorities before it was revealed in June that the sick man had applied for tickets to this year's Wimbledon.
Collins spoke about stalking issues for tennis stars last year, saying it was something many people outside of the sport weren't even aware of, with the tennis pro telling The Telegraph how she doesn't really go places without security detail.
But no matter how much these issues need highlighting, Collins will still be the victim of insults.
However, Collins actually takes great pride in being insulted, believing that being called a "b****" is often directed at women she "loves and respects".
Collins says: "When somebody says that, 'Danielle Collins is a b****.' I kind of just take it as a compliment because so many of the women that I love and respect have been labelled as a 'b****,' and they're a badass woman.
"There are women that get s*** done. There are women that go
after their dreams. There are women that are assertive, powerful, hardworking and they are people that I strive to be.
"So I feel like being a b**** can actually be kind of like a good thing
because it also means you're not afraid to back down when someone's being a jerk.
"It means that you're not afraid to be yourself, and you're okay with not being liked and you're gonna be confident regardless of what other people think about you."
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Venus Williams makes tennis history at the age of 45 after stunning return
Venus Williams makes tennis history at the age of 45 after stunning return

Metro

time24 minutes ago

  • Metro

Venus Williams makes tennis history at the age of 45 after stunning return

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'There were days where I felt I could never leave': Intimate images of 'the real Hotel California'
'There were days where I felt I could never leave': Intimate images of 'the real Hotel California'

BBC News

time25 minutes ago

  • BBC News

'There were days where I felt I could never leave': Intimate images of 'the real Hotel California'

The legendary Record Plant Studios was where the most iconic rock stars of the 1970s gathered, immersing themselves in the decadent atmosphere. Now a new book offers a glimpse inside – and argues that The Eagles' time there inspired the US band's most famous song. In 1974, seeking more creative autonomy and a punchier rock sound, The Eagles parted company with their London-based producer, and headed back to their hometown of Los Angeles, California, where Record Plant Studios, founded by legendary audio engineer Gary Kellgren and shrewd businessman Chris Stone, offered a radical alternative. Here – immersed in the studios' relaxed set-up, where every aspect of the rock-star lifestyle was serviced, from hotel suites to hot tubs − they recorded their hit album Hotel California. Warning: This article contains mentions of drug use. Even when The Eagles took their partying into the studio, the managers did not mind. As Stone remarks in a revealing new book, published by Thames & Hudson: "The longer we kept them there, the more money we made." With musicians finding it so hard, once checked in, to tear themselves away, it was little wonder that within a year of the title track's release, there were whisperings that the Record Plant was the "real" Hotel California. Buzz Me In – Inside the Record Plant Studios, by veteran music journalists Martin Porter and David "Mr Bonzai" Goggin, tells the story of one of the US's most successful recording studios during its most decadent years; from its beginnings (in 1968) in New York – where Jimi Hendrix's Electric Ladyland was made – to its wild Californian incarnations in LA and Sausalito, recording rock legends such as Fleetwood Mac, The Who and The Eagles. Buzz Me In, named after the password used to gain entry to the LA studio, invites the public into a rock 'n' roll world that few have seen. Accompanied by a playlist of the studios' seminal recordings, it draws on Stone's memoirs and archives, behind-the-scenes images, and more than 100 interviews with the artists, producers and studio staff who helped shape Record Plant's success. In the 1970s, Porter and Goggin got closer than most to the secret world behind the studio's doors. "It took me many years to realise that it was a pretty special time," Porter tells the BBC. Forty years on, one figure who had survived this frenzied period stood out: Chris Stone, who is pictured in the book in front of the bubble-written logo designed by Kellgren. "Chris Stone was very prominent in the business and told great stories," says Porter, who was convinced that Stone's memories of the Record Plant's wildest decade were a book in the making. Yet Stone kept knocking him back, insisting: "The story dies with me, Porter." But in the last two years of his life (he died in 2016), he relented, uniting Porter with Goggin, his close friend and publicist, to help steer the endeavour. A blueprint exported worldwide Record Plant was special. "The major artists, that's where they wanted to go," Goggin tells the BBC. It led the race for the latest technology ("more tracks, bigger speakers…") and "created an environment that was unlike the traditional, [more clinical] recording studios". It also gave artists more freedom from the record labels, creating a blueprint for a new way of working that was later exported worldwide. The wizard driving this new direction was Kellgren. He was "fun", "creative" and "innovative", says Porter. "He knew how to work the console, make great sounds, but he also knew how to create a party, and a space where artists wanted to make music and hang out and spend time." More like this:• The album that sent shockwaves through the 00s• The 'untold story' of the ultimate 70s rock band• Why Oasis defined the spirit of 90s Britain When, in 1969, the duo opened a sister studio in LA (and another in Sausalito in 1972), they supercharged the original concept, creating a sort of rock hotel, with group Jacuzzis, mirror-ceilinged bedrooms, bedrooms with nicknames including "S&M", and, in keeping with the era, a variety of illicit drugs intended to keep these paying guests holed up as long as they could. "Mirrors were embedded in the consoles, and the assistants were instructed to make sure there was a clean blade and a straw there every morning," says Porter. Unsurprisingly, Record Plant was a magnet for the wildest rockers, including The Who's hot-tempered drummer Keith Moon, who is pictured in the book in 1976 against the tie-dyed sound-absorbing screens of Record Plant's LA studio. During one frustrating vocal session, he smashed a light bulb in the ceiling each time he missed a note, eventually plunging the studio into darkness. While Stone supplied the business acumen, Kellgren was its creative force: a capricious character who spent most of the 1970s high on drugs, and died tragically young in 1977. He was the brains behind the weighty brick invitations to the LA studio opening, sent to rock royalty far and wide, causing chaos at the post office. On the opening night, the silk-screen-printed invitations were handed to a tuxedoed builder who cemented them together, creating an eye-catching wall of fame. Parallels with Hotel California Working alongside producer Bill Szymczyk, The Eagles would spend an intense nine months at Record Plant LA honing their Hotel California album, whose title song spoke of a place where you could "check out any time you like", but could "never leave". John Lennon was a case in point, encamping at the studio for the best part of five years, enjoying the opportunity to jam with Mick Jagger, or have Elton John play on a new record. It was at Record Plant LA that he spent his infamous "lost weekend" phase, and, in 1980, he signed an autograph for the receptionist at Record Plant New York just minutes before he was fatally shot. Record Plant and its legendary parties drew numerous stars into its vortex, gave them everything they wanted, and held them in its thrall. In Buzz Me In, Ken Caillat, who produced Fleetwood Mac's Rumours album, describes the band's experience at the Sausalito studio as "druggy" and "claustrophobic". In a poignant echo of that famous lyric, he remarks: "There were days where I felt I could never leave." Record Plant had no qualms about catering to every predilection in its quest to sell studio time. On the days Hendrix was expected at the New York studio, a bowl of freshly rolled joints would be placed on the mixing desk. At Sausalito, a tank of nitrous oxide (laughing gas) was installed by Sly Stone's bed; in the LA studio's canteen, The Eagles' Glenn Frey ran up a $50,000 (£37,000) gambling debt playing pinball. Even clean-living Stevie Wonder "was eating up $175 an hour for Studio C [LA] while he was just playing air hockey". The culture of the place was communicated before you even stepped inside. In the studio parking lot, Kellgren would station his purple Rolls-Royce with the licence plate GREED next to his silver Mercedes-Benz, DEDUCT. The album Hotel California went platinum in December 1976, and the eerie six-and-a-half-minute title song – with its beguiling mix of rock, country and Latin influences, including a flamenco-style guitar intro – topped the US charts the following May. The parallels between the lyrics and the studio were obvious to Kellgren. "My God, they're writing about Record Plant!" he exclaimed to producer Jimmy Robinson. The "warm smell of colitas rising up through the air" recalled the marijuana smoke that filled the studios, for example; while the "lovely face" on reception could be attributed to Rose Mann, who would direct visitors down a long open-air hallway into a labyrinth of corridors suggested in the song's opening verse. Her "Tiffany-twisted" mind may have been inspired by the Tiffany-glass ceiling of the control room at Sausalito, or perhaps the 125 stained-glass windows at "The Castle", a Hollywood mansion off Sunset Boulevard purchased by Record Plant in 1975, where Kellgren had hoped to create a rock palace, and whose spires bear some resemblance to the Beverly Hills Hotel featured on the album cover. Some Record Plant employees were convinced that the night manager Michael Gately, who buzzed everyone in, was the "night man" in the song; his "master's chambers" denoted the echo chambers just along the hall from Studio C; the studio's walled car park was the "courtyard", where staff liked to party. And might the "spirit" of "1969" hark back to the studio's star-studded opening? Rumours circulated that the Record Plant was the real Hotel California, encouraged by Kellgren, who saw that the myth-making was good for business and, says Goggin, "certainly didn't try to stop it". The evidence was persuasive. "Pink champagne on ice" might simply be code for Record Plant's extravagances, but the "mirrors on the ceiling" were more literal. There was a mirror over the vocal booth in Studio C, in every back hotel room, and – most significantly – over the king-sized bed of the nautical-themed Boat Room, a space frequented by The Eagles that had a hideaway concealed beneath a panel under the bed where Kellgren would spy on the recording sessions below. The Eagles, however, batted away such speculation. "It's a song about the dark underbelly of the American Dream, and about excess in America, which was something we knew about," Don Henley told Gayle King in a 2007 interview for CBS. "There are so many similarities," Porter tells the BBC. "A lot of the lyrics, a lot of the vibe at the time, was inspired by the place where they wrote the song." The question is put to Chris Stone in the book. "Was the Record Plant the real Hotel California?" His reply: "We were anything our customers wanted us to be." Buzz Me In – Inside the Record Plant Studios by Martin Porter and David Goggin is published by Thames & Hudson. -- For more Culture stories from the BBC, follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram.

Will Ozzy Osbourne's death finally mend his daughters' feud? How vastly-different siblings Aimee and Kelly reunited for their father's final days after admitting they weren't on speaking terms
Will Ozzy Osbourne's death finally mend his daughters' feud? How vastly-different siblings Aimee and Kelly reunited for their father's final days after admitting they weren't on speaking terms

Daily Mail​

time25 minutes ago

  • Daily Mail​

Will Ozzy Osbourne's death finally mend his daughters' feud? How vastly-different siblings Aimee and Kelly reunited for their father's final days after admitting they weren't on speaking terms

To the naked eye, the Osbourne family were considered one of the strongest in showbusiness, with patriarch Ozzy's children rallying round to care for him ahead of his death. And while the Black Sabbath legend will no doubt leave a lasting music legacy, his passing has also sparked fresh hope that it could bring an end to a long-running feud between two of his daughters. Kelly Osbourne, 40, and her sister Aimee have had a fraught relationship for years, after Aimee, 41, decided to move out when she was 16 to avoid appearing in her family's MTV reality show. In recent years the vastly-different siblings had admitted they weren't on speaking terms, with Kelly saying in an interview they just 'didn't understand each other.' But following Ozzy's death in the wake of a six-year battle with Parkinson's disease, The Mail revealed that both Kelly and Aimee were present in their father's home during his final days. A source shared that the sisters were both there to care with their father as recently as last week, after flying over from Los Angeles. They said: 'Kelly has been at the house a lot in the last week or so, so has Aimee. It is terribly sad for all of them, they really hoped he would be able to carry on for a bit longer. 'But it's so lovely that he had his children around him during his last days.' Ozzy shares daughters Kelly and Aimee, as well as son Jack, with his wife of 43 years Sharon, and also had three children, Louis, Jessica and Eliot, from his first marriage to wife Thelma Riley. The Osbourne family shared the news of Ozzy's death in a statement, where they said he died 'surrounded by love' after battling Parkinson's disease for six years. The message was signed by his wife Sharon, and four of his children, Jack, Louis, Kelly and Aimee, showing how the siblings had come together ahead of his passing. Kelly first revealed that she had been estranged from her older sister back in 2021, admitting they hadn't been on speaking terms for many years. Speaking on Dax Shepherd's Armchair Expert podcast, she said: 'We don't talk. We're just really different. She doesn't understand me and I don't understand her.' Back in 2015, Aimee admitted to The Independent that she and Kelly were not on close terms and said: 'I wouldn't say there is an ease between us, but there is an acceptance. Do we socialise? No.' Prior to Ozzy's death, the family had rallied round to support him for Black Sabbath's final show earlier this month, with Kelly getting engaged to her boyfriend Sid Wilson Aimee is on much better terms with her brother Jack, with the pair both running production company Osbourne Media together. Aimee - who is also a singer and performs under her initials ARO - was born in London and raised in California until the age of 16 but moved out of the family home as filming for The Osbournes began in the early 2000s. Reflecting on her decision to not appear on the show she said: 'Back then, I still felt I was trying to figure out who I was in the chaos of family life, so why on earth would I want that portrayed on television? 'I wanted to protect myself, my parents, my siblings, too. They were very young, very impressionable.' She later defended her decision in 2008 and told The Independent: 'I'm not some weirdo depressed daughter that's afraid of the world and locks herself in her room all day. 'I just didn't choose to do the show. I want to be a singer, and I felt if I'd stayed with the Osbournes and done the whole thing I would have been typecast right away. '[Sharon] was hurt, and we definitely had a tough time with disagreements. I'm more reserved and my private life is very important.' Sharon also admitted she was devastated when Aimee moved out, saying on The Talk in 2018: 'She felt too that she didn't want to grow up on camera. She hated the idea - it was appalling to her. 'And so she left at 16 and I regret every day that she did. It broke my heart when she moved.' In recent months, Aimee had made a slow return to the spotlight, sharing snaps to promote her new music on Instagram, and she has also appeared to have patched things up with her parents, having been pictured with her mum Sharon in May. Aimee's life choices were a stark contrast to Kelly, who featured in her family's reality show, and has carved out a career as a presenter on shows including Fashion Police, The View and Project Catwalk. Kelly has also battled addictions to prescription pills and alcohol, revealing she has been admitted to rehab seven times for drink and drugs, as well as two mental institutions, and has been sober since 2017. Ozzy's death was announced in a statement shared by his family on Tuesday. In the statement, his family said: 'It is with more sadness than mere words can convey that we have to report that our beloved Ozzy Osbourne has passed away this morning. 'He was with his family and surrounded by love. We ask everyone to respect our family privacy at this time. Sharon, Jack, Kelly, Aimee and Louis.' It comes after Ozzy revealed earlier this year that he could no longer walk amid his six-year battle with Parkinson's disease. However, he still managed to reunite with his bandmates Geezer Butler, Tony Iommi and Bill Ward for their final gig earlier this month. The Black Sabbath star died on Tuesday aged 76, surrounded by his wife Sharon, pictured with him at the 2020 Grammy Awards, and their children following a battle with Parkinson's Ozzy was born John Michael Osbourne in Birmingham in 1948, and dropped out of school at the age of 15. After serving two months in prison for burglary, he decided to pursue his love of music and by 1970 Black Sabbath had gained a huge following in the US and UK with the release of their first album. Ozzy quit the band in 1978 and divorced his first wife Thelma, who he had two children with, four years later, amid his ongoing substance abuse problems. He went on to marry second wife Sharon Osbourne, who helped him transform into a successful solo artist and the couple had three children together. Ozzy gained a whole new audience of fans with the family's reality TV show The Osbournes in 2001. He is survived by his wife Sharon and his five children, Jessica, Louis, Aimee, Kelly and Jack.

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