Emmys: Lizzo picks up best reality contest award for Watch Out For The Big Grrrls
Singer Lizzo has won her first Emmy for her hit show Watch Out For The Big Grrrls at a ceremony in Los Angeles, BBC reported.
The star won in a category dominated in recent years by RuPaul's Drag Race.
Lizzo was tearful as she collected her award, saying: "When I was a little girl, all I wanted to see was me in the media. Someone fat like me, black like me, beautiful like me."
The show offers plus-size dancers the chance to compete to join the About Damn Time singer on tour.
Series including Ozark, Dopesick, White Lotus and Ted Lasso have also picked up prizes.
For the second year in a row, Jason Sudeikis won best leading actor in a comedy series for playing the titular football coach in Ted Lasso.
Fellow Brit Matthew MacFadyen won best supporting actor for his portrayal of ambitious interloper Tom Wambsgans in Succession.
Amanda Seyfried was named best lead actress in a limited series or anthology for her role as Elizabeth Holmes in The Dropout, which is based on the real-life story of the disgraced biotech entrepreneur.
She beat fellow stars including Lily James (Pam and Tommy), Toni Collette (The Staircase) and Julia Garner (Inventing Anna).
Garner didn't go home empty-handed however, picking up best supporting actress for her role as Ruth in Netflix crime drama Ozark - the third time she has won the award for that role.
There was a muted build-up to the event, with some pre-show festivities called off following the death of Queen Elizabeth II last week.
The British Film and Television Academy cancelled its traditional Hollywood tea party for nominees, while the Canadian consulate postponed its celebrations.
Hosted by Saturday Night Live comedian Kenan Thompson, it is the first full-scale Emmys since the pandemic. Last year's ceremony was staged outdoors and had limited in-person attendance, according to BBC.
Royal drama The Crown, which was last year's big winner, is not in contention for the 2022 awards. Filming on the latest series was put on pause "as a mark of respect" for the Queen, Netflix said last week.
Succession is the favourite to replace it in the hotly-contested best drama category.
It is up against teen drama Euphoria; drug cartel series Ozark; Breaking Bad spin-off Better Call Saul; throwback sci-fi drama Stranger Things; Korean thriller Squid Game; psychological coming-of-age series Yellowjackets and sci-fi mystery Severance.
If it were to take the trophy, Squid Game - in which misfits and criminals compete for cash in barbaric and deadly versions of schoolyard games - would be the first foreign-language series to win best drama.
Succession is particularly well represented in the drama acting categories. Scottish actor Brian Cox, who plays media mogul Logan Roy, will compete for best actor against his on-screen son, played by Jeremy Strong.
Kieran Culkin lost out to MacFadyen in the supporting actor category, while Sarah Snook - MacFadyen's on-screen wife - and Dame Harriet Walter, who plays Logan Roy's ex-wife Caroline, are up for best supporting actress in a drama.
Dame Harriet is also nominated for playing Deborah in Anglo-American football series Ted Lasso, which is the most-nominated comedy.
Other comedies in the running include school mockumentary Abbott Elementary, Hacks, Only Murders in the Building and long-running show Curb Your Enthusiasm, which has never won, BBC reported.
New hit show Abbott Elementary landed its first win of the night for Sheryl Lee Ralph who won best supporting actress in a comedy. She plays no nonsense teacher Barbara Howard in the primary school mockumentary and is the first black actress to win in this category since 1987.
She sang the opening lines of Dianne Reeves' song Endangered Species after accepting her award, adding in an impassioned speech afterwards: "This is what believing looks like."
The shows with the most nominations: Succession - 25 Ted Lasso - 20 The White Lotus - 20 Hacks - 17 Only Murders In The Building - 17 Euphoria - 16
Killing Eve's Jodie Comer, who is up for outstanding actress in a drama series, a prize she took home in 2019.
The Liverpudlian is up against her co-star Sandra Oh for the award, as well as Laura Linney, Reese Witherspoon and Euphoria actress Zendaya, who won last year.
Pam and Tommy is about Anderson and Tommy Lee's leaked sex tape, which is up for best limited series, alongside the aforementioned White Lotus.
They are in competition with three other dramas based on real-life stories - Dopesick, which chronicles the US opioid crisis, The Dropout, which depicts the fall from grace of biotech entrepreneur Elizabeth Holmes (starring Amanda Seyfried) and Inventing Anna, inspired by the story of Anna Sorokin/Delvey, who pretended to be a German heiress so she could convince rich New Yorkers to fund her lavish lifestyle.
Another British actor, Nicholas Hoult, is nominated for lead actor in a comedy series for his part in The Great, and will face competition from the likes of Atlanta creator and star Donald Glover.
Saturday Night Live already has the most wins for best variety sketch show and it picked up the prize again on Monday, extending the number to six.
The Emmys are voted for by more than 25,000 members of the US Television Academy, which represents those in front of and behind the cameras, according to BBC.
This year's awards honour the best TV shows that premiered or streamed between 1 June 2021 and 31 May 2022.
Netflix: Saudi Arabia and GCC warn streaming giant over violating 'Islamic values'
Gulf states have demanded that Netflix remove all content deemed to violate "Islamic and societal values and principles", Saudi media report, BBC reported.
Recent material, including that made for children, contravened regulations, Saudi and Gulf Co-operation Council media watchdogs warned in a statement.
It did not provide any further details.
But Saudi state TV showed blurred clips from animated show Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous, in which two teenage girls confess they love each other and kiss.
Footage from the controversial French film Cuties also featured in the report by Al Ekhbariya TV, along with a caption accusing Netflix of being "cinematic cover for immoral messages that threaten the healthy upbringing of children".
Another video on Al Ekhbariya's website alleged that the streaming service was "promoting homosexuality by focusing excessively on homosexuals".
"[Netflix] was contacted to remove this content, including content directed at children, and to ensure adherence to the laws," the joint statement from the Saudi General Commission for Audiovisual Media and the GCC Committee of Electronic Media Officials said.
Authorities would follow up on compliance with the directives, and "in the event that the infringing content continues to be broadcast, the necessary legal measures will be taken", they warned.
There was no immediate response to the accusations from Netflix, according to BBC.
Although Sunni Muslim-ruled Saudi Arabia has no laws regarding sexual orientation or gender identity, sexual relations outside marriage, including homosexual sex, are strictly prohibited.
Under the country's interpretation of Islamic law, consensual same-sex sexual conduct is punishable by death or flogging, depending on the perceived seriousness of the case.
And the animated film Lightyear, which featured a same-sex kiss, was reportedly banned in the kingdom and the United Arab Emirates in June.
YouTube was meanwhile accused last month by Saudi authorities of permitting "inappropriate adverts" that violated Islamic values, BBC reported.
Actor Paul Shah sentenced to two-and-a-half years in jail, gets clean chit on rape case
The Nawalpur District Court sentenced actor Paul Shah to two-and-a-half years in jail for sexually abusing a minor girl. The court also slapped him with a fine of Rs 2, 5000. Actor Shah, however, got clean chit on the rape case. A single bench of Justice Yagya Prasad Acharya ordered Shah to pay Rs 1 million to the victim. Lal Bahadur Chhetri, Information Officer at the court, said that the parents have also been altered. Earlier, the high court had upheld the decision of the Tanahun District Court and Nawalparasi District Court to keep him in custody. Actor Shah had surrendered himself at the District Police Office, Tanahun on February 27 after a minor singer filed a rape case against him. Shah was sent to custody for seven days for the first time on February 27 and the remand was extended by 12 days on March 5 for the second time for investigation. Based on the complaint filed by a 17-year-old singer, the District Attorney’s Office had filed a case against Shah at Tanahun District Court seeking 14 years of imprisonment.
Later, the issue took a twist after the minor singer, who had filed a complaint accusing Shah of raping her, changed her statement at the Tanahun District Court.
The girl said that she had not been raped as claimed by her earlier. She said that the information she stated while filing the complaint was false.
R. Kelly trial: Witness testifies she was sexually abused by the singer
A woman at the heart of R. Kelly's second federal trial has testified that the R&B singer had sex with her "hundreds" of times before she turned 18, BBC reported.
The 37-year-old woman, known as "Jane", said that improper contact with Kelly began when she was just 13.
The singer is on trial in Chicago for child pornography, obstruction of justice and other charges.
His lawyers have insisted he is not "a monster" and deserves a fair trial.
Kelly, whose full name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, is facing 13 criminal charges including creating and receiving child pornography, obstruction of justice and enticing minors into sexual activity.
