Mark Williams received a seven-point penalty as an attempted practical joke backfired in his World Grand Prix match against Hossein Vafaei. The incident occurred during the fifth frame of the match, with Williams picking up the cue ball and hiding it in his pocket while referee Olivier Marteel was replacing the balls. Williams’ antics got a laugh from the Morningside Arena crowd, which only got louder once Marteel turned around and realised the cue ball was missing. However, as a smirking Williams gave the ball back to Marteel, the referee informed him: “You know that’s a penalty seven. It’s a penalty seven points to Hossein. You touched the ball during a consultation period, it’s in the rules.” Williams was left in disbelief at the penalty and criticised the rules after the match, saying: “World Snooker say ‘have a bit of fun, try and show your character’ and stuff like that. You do something like that, just to have a bit of fun, because it took him a while to get back, so I just picked it up and put it in my pocket, and I got fouled seven for it! “What do they want? They want you to express yourself and have a bit of fun. When you do it, you get penalty points, so I won’t be doing that again!” The Welshman went on to win the match 4-1, but there was yet more drama at the end when Vafaei walked off without shaking hands with Williams. “I just pulled him up about it and said ‘what’s your problem’, and he said it was because I slapped my leg at the end, when I won,” Williams said. “I slapped my leg at the end because I shouldn’t have gone for the pink. I should have played safe. I thought he would have come back to the table and carried on for snookers. That’s why I was a bit fuming. He just stormed off, but if that’s the reason… I don’t care anyway!” Williams is now set to face Cao Yupeng in the quarter-finals and he is feeling confident about his chances of winning the World Grand Prix. Speaking ahead of the tournament, Williams told WST : “I have been playing well for a while now. “I was thinking about my game over Christmas and I felt I had gone a bit slow and lethargic, second guessing myself. My instinct to play shots with freedom is as good as anyone’s. “In a way this event is more important than the Masters because there are ranking points, and that was the motivation for me to get up off the canvas after losing in the semi-finals last week. I have got three cracks left to make sure I am in the Players Championship, I want to be there to defend that title.” Join our new WhatsApp community! Click this link to receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
Eberechi Eze’s ability ‘a joke’ as former teammate tips him to join ‘top club’
Eberechi Eze has been tipped to play for one of England’s top clubs in the future by former teammate Geoff Cameron.
Eze struggled to nail down a regular place in the Eagles’ starting line-up under former boss Patrick Vieira but was revitalised after Roy Hodgson’s return to Selhurst Park in March, scoring six goals in Palace’s last ten games.
His form was rewarded by England boss Gareth Southgate, who named the 25-year-old in his squad for the Three Lions’ two Euro 2024 qualifiers in June and Eze made his international debut against Malta as a second half substitute.
Eze has shown real glimpses of his potential since his move to Palace from QPR in 2020 and his former R’s teammate Cameron believes there’s still more to come from the exciting midfielder.
Speaking exclusively to talkSPORT, Cameron said: “He [Eze] goes at his own beat and he’s smooth, silky, sharp and kind of graceful at the same time. He has this ability to change the game.
“Having seen those glimpses of it at QPR, it was like: ‘You need to be more consistent. You need more’.
“When he was making that jump to Crystal Palace, I’ll never forget I said [to him]: ‘It’s a different beast in the Premier League. You won’t be the number ten because you have to earn it. You can’t be that luxury player [as] you’ve got to do both sides.’
“I think he experienced that in the first six months or so because he was starting and then all of a sudden, he kind of drifted out a little bit. He got a sense that yeah, you have to work both sides.
“Then it became about how you can have an effect on every single game and being the creative guy that he is but also, [adding the] work rate at a consistent level.
“I had a good buddy of mine, Jack Butland, at Crystal Palace and I said: ‘How’s Ebs doing?’ and he said his ability was a joke and he kind of said the same thing that he’ll learn and get through it. Now, you’re seeing the potential that he has and he’s got a bright, bright future ahead of him.
“For me, I think he’ll get there [to a top club], 100 per cent. It’s just [about] time, experience, more games under his belt, more opportunities to show his ability and [to] bang in more goals. He has it.
“Can he do it consistently every game and be that impactful? I believe he can and you’ll see it.”
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Jada Pinkett Smith seemed ‘proud’ to announce her separation from Will and even appeared to suppress laughter, claims body language expert – who says bombshell revelations are the star’s ‘comfort zone’ | Daily Mail Online
Jada Pinkett-Smith was surpisingly calm as she dropped the bombshell news that she and her husband Will have been separated for seven years, and even seemed to be surpressing laughter, according to a body language expert.
Speaking to FEMAIL, Judi James suggested that the 52-year-old almost appeared ‘proud’ to make the announcement during her sensational interview on the Today show.
Judi suggested that the drama is Jada’s ‘comfort zone’ thanks to her Red Table Talks show where she’s used to explosive revelations – such as admitting her affair with family friend August Alsina in 2020.
However, her apparent nervous excitement could also be a sign of relief to get the truth about her turbulent relationship out there.
Sitting down with Hoda Kotb, Jada explained why her marriage to Will, 55, broke down, saying: ‘By the time we got to 2016, we were just exhausted with trying. I think we were both still stuck in our fantasy of what we thought the other person should be.’
Jada Pinkett-Smith smiled for ‘bravado’ as she dropped the bombshell news that she and her husband Will have been separated for seven years, a body language expert has revealed
And Judi said the mother-of-two appeared very animated as she made the revelation while promoting her new autobiography.
‘With a book to plug she is dropping a bath bomb into everything fans know and think about her “perfect” marriage to Will, which could account for the counter-intuitive body language display as she breaks the news during this interview,’ the communication pro explained.
‘Without the words, Jada’s facial expression suggested she was announcing good news, like an engagement or secret wedding, not a split that occurred seven years before.
‘She seemed to be trying to suppress a smile as she “surprised” the host with the scoop.’
Judi said Jada looked to be pursing her lips in a ‘suppression ritual, as though excited to see the news sink in’, with a ‘puckered smile as though she was trying not to laugh’.
‘There was an eye-smile as she tilts her head,’ the expert added. ‘Appearing almost proud as though giving someone a lovely surprise gift.
‘She performed deep nods of affirmation at the host relates the news and there was an explosive laugh as though she was releasing all the suppressed emotion at last.’
Judi also explained that ‘smiling when you deliver or hear bad or sad news can be bravado and it’s quite a common response’.
However, her hand clasp during these moments also ‘suggested some tension’.
Speaking to FEMAIL, Judi James suggested that the 52-year-old actress almost appeared ‘proud’ to break the scoop during her sensational interview on the Today show, as she is in her ‘comfort zone’ thanks to Red Table Talks
Sitting down with Hoda Kotb, Jada explained why her marriage to Will, 55, broke down. Both pictured in 2019
‘[Jada’s] brows raises as their “separate lives” were mentioned, suggesting openness,’ the expert also said.
The star appeared to be pained when questioned on why she decided to hide the truth for so long, because she is normally such a ‘straight talker’.
‘Here she looked upward and there was a micro-wince,’ Judi explained.
‘Her mood changed as she became more dominant and serious, narrowing one eye and speaking with a one-handed gesture or emphasis and precision.’
In the interview Jada – who admitted in 2020 that she’d had an affair with singer August Alsina – said she considered a legal divorce but could never go through with it, candidly revealing that she made a ‘promise’ to her husband that she would never give him a ‘reason’ to get divorced.
‘I made a promise that there will never be a reason for us to get a divorce,’ she continued. ‘We will work through whatever. And I just haven’t been able to break that promise.’
‘But you still live separately?’ Hoda probed, prompting Jada to confirm: ‘We live separately’.
Jada’s nervous excitement could also be signaling a relief to get the truth about her turbulent relationship out there, Judi said
The star appeared to be pained when questioned on why she decided to hide the truth, as she is normally such a ‘straight talker’
Speaking to People, Jada admitted the pair were in fact living separately when her husband slapped comedian Chris Rock at the Oscars in 2022, when he strode onto the stage in a burst of fury over a joke that had been made about his wife’s bald hairstyle.
She noted that no permanent decisions have been made about the future of her marriage, explaining that she and Will are ‘still figuring it out’.
‘We’ve been doing some really heavy-duty work together,’ she said. ‘We just got deep love for each other and we are going to figure out what that looks like.’
Jada went on to praise her children – Jaden, 25, Willow, 22, and Trey, 30, who is Will’s son from a previous relationship – for standing by her during this rocky time in her relationship.
‘My children, they’re little gurus. They’ve taught me a deep sense of self-acceptance,’ she said. ‘They love every part of me. The level of love, unconditional love that they have for me and their dad.
‘And it’s one thing to want to be the person that gives that unconditional love. And then there’s to be the recipient of that.’
Will and Jada’s separation will come as a shock to many given they have denied the gossip about their marriage and kept up the appearance of a committed married couple.
At the 94th Academy Awards, Will famously slapped comedian Chris when he joked that Jada looked like ‘G.I. Jane’ because of her bald head when she had recently revealed that was suffering from alopecia.
Clearly enraged by the jab, the Fresh Prince star stormed the stage and proceeded to slap Chris for making the joke.
The shocking assault occurred moments before he took home the Best Actor gong for his portrayal of tennis superstars Venus and Serena Williams’s devoted father in the film King Richard.
In a rambling acceptance speech, a sobbing Will admitted that ‘love makes you do crazy things’ – but tellingly failed to apologize to Chris for his assault.
In July 2020, Jada admitted she did have an affair with singer August, 31, while married to Will during a bombshell tell-all confessional.
The actress first publicly revealed her affair when she sat down with her estranged husband for an intimate conversation on her Facebook show, Red Table Talk, where she said she developed a friendship with August four years prior, however insisted revealed she and Will were going through a ‘difficult time’ and had ‘basically broken up’.
Will, 55, and Jada (seen at the 2022 Academy Awards) were separated when the actor slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars after he made a joke about the actress’s bald hairstyle
Jada and Will pictured at the Oscars in 2022 with their children Jaden and Willow, as well as Will’s son Trey, 30, by his first wife Sheree Zampino
At the 94th Academy Awards, Will famously slapped comedian Chris when he joked that Jada looked like ‘G.I. Jane’
Jada admitted she did have an affair with singer August Alsina in 2020 during a Red Table Talk. Both pictured in 2017
At the time, Jada famously referred to the years-long affair with R&B singer as an ‘entanglement’ which now features as a reference in August’s track ‘Shake the World’.
The shocking confessional came after both actors initially denied August’s claims that Will gave him his blessing to have a relationship with Jada.
The bombshell Today show interview comes amid Jada’s ongoing publicity tour for her new book, which has seen her opening up about a number of difficult topics – including her battle with ‘depression’ and ‘despair’, which began when she turned 40.
‘On paper,’ it all looked grand – I had the beautiful family, the superstar husband, the lavish lifestyle, fame and fortune,’ she writes in the book, according to an excerpt obtained by People.
However, she says that, behind the scenes, ‘I’d fallen into despair and wanted to be on this earth less and less.’
Jada was the product of a tempestuous childhood in Baltimore, scarred by her mother’s heroin addiction and father’s alcoholism.
Against the backdrop of her turbulent home life, Jada grew to become a drug dealer by the time she befriended Tupac Shakur in high school.
In her autobiography, she writes that she discovered during adulthood that she was suffering from ‘complex trauma with PTSD and dissociation’.
However, during her period of intense distress in the year of her 40th birthday, she had yet to receive an official diagnosis and was left struggling to get to grips with her trauma.
Men Hate Her: 25 Women Who Wrote Genuinely Hilarious Tweets This Week
Just 25 Absolutely Hilarious Tweets By Women “instead of dry January I’m doing why January. it’s where every day i stand in the middle of the street & scream WHY GOD WHY” —@ElyKreimendahl Happy 2024, everyone!!! What’s your New Year’s resolution? Mine is to remember that all comedy is subjective. So when I read comments like “ummmm #57 isn’t funny” that’s OK, it’s not my fault your sense of humor is lacking. <33 happy 20024 everyone pic.twitter.com/LyTYF4VQI2 — Abby Barr (@1AbbyRoad) December 31, 2023 Make sure you follow all these hilarious ladies on Twitter! 1. i bookmark websites with the admirable yet misguided optimism of a squirrel hiding nuts before winter only to forget they even exist come spring — chase (@_chase_____) January 2, 2024 2. In 2024 it’s time to give the people what they want: Dev Patel in more literary adaptations and the Muppets in more literary adaptations. You combine these ideas and you have the best picture of 2024. — adrienne (@barelytolerabIe) January 1, 2024 3. Winter is so embarrassing as a short woman why do I have to spend 3 months looking like this pic.twitter.com/sz7fpZ3XWD — Kylie Brakeman (@deadeyebrakeman) January 8, 2024 4. the fact that dogs and coyotes exist in such close proximity to each other is weird to think about, imagine if we just lived alongside a feral species of 4-feet-tall humans that came out of the woods to eat our garbage at night — Janel Comeau (@VeryBadLlama) January 8, 2024 5. can someone please ask cillian murphy what taylor swift era he is i wanna see the blankest stare in human history — kathleen (@holdenfordfocus) January 4, 2024 6. how you know someone is actually depressed is they won’t be listening to phoebe bridgers or elliot smith they’re listening to shit like this at 9am pic.twitter.com/Yx4rDGSOyO — Swaggot, PhD (@eve4evaa) January 2, 2024 7. Just once I'd like things to spiral into control — 🌈 Susan 🌻 (@PaulineMirror) January 3, 2024 8. "not trying to be a bitch" what a horrid lie, im lowkey always trying to be a bitch,,, we need to un-demonize the Bitch, we need to welcome her judgements bc she wouldn't make them without reason ...or at least that's what i hope — haru (@worstamericngrl) January 4, 2024 9. third base is when we hang out in person and i secretly have a panic attack — melissa broder (@melissabroder) January 3, 2024 10. hey babe sorry I’m late. got stuck behind the unfolding tragedy of narcissus again pic.twitter.com/c3Q3QsWwlh — Gina Lloyd (@GinaGoesOutside) December 30, 2023 11. kind of fucked up that good girl is sexual but I can’t say good boy without feeling like i’m trying to play fetch with him — ellie schnitt (@holy_schnitt) January 12, 2024 12. My daughter is sad because one of her preschool friends hasn’t been in school because he’s on vacation. I asked where he went and she said “he’s at the place where you can’t see the fox but the fox can see you” and I dunno I just feel like I’d need a vacation from that vacation. — Kristen Mulrooney (@missmulrooney) January 10, 2024 13. I hate dealing with fresh garlic. Each individual clove with their little fucking paperwork. — kate♡ (@unimpresst) December 31, 2023 14. back to work tomorrow after 10 days off pic.twitter.com/W9w1Jfaodx — alex (@vodkalemonades) January 1, 2024 15. if you didn't complain about tom cruise completing the mission, despite it being impossible, i don't want to hear a single word about the "predictability" of romcoms. — clipka (@clipka_) January 3, 2024 16. unfortunately there’s no one i respect more than an older woman who enforces the rules of the amtrak quiet car like her life depends on it — Sydney Battle (@SydneyBattle) December 30, 2023 17. I think I should be able to gently say, "I think you're just kind of being a little stupid" to people and them not get mad at me — Lauren Loudermilk (@laurenloudrmilk) December 29, 2023 18. need to get on charlie brown’s level and finally read war and peace in 2024 pic.twitter.com/LxfacGziti — ana (@pelicinema) January 1, 2024 19. When I'm on deadline: Absolutely NOBODY talk to me I cannot process a SINGLE thought that is not about this story in front of me — Hayley Harding (@Hayley__Harding) January 4, 2024 When my friends are on deadline: do you think polar bears know how to love 🥰 20. A24 this A24 that have you ever considered A24 hour break from social media — daisy bard (@DaisyBard) January 11, 2024 21. I know 1 person who graduated from Harvard. The first time I met her, she asked me if she could feed cheerios to her infant, asked how to use a mop, & then told a story about how when she listed her Chicago house for sale she couldn’t remember how many bathrooms it had.I love her https://t.co/nK8SwWvcsC — Czarina (@fishontherun2) January 3, 2024 22. speak for yourself it’s january 1st and i’m reporting for duty https://t.co/kODX39iPoS pic.twitter.com/JyP25v6OWF — anna melissa 🍉✨ (@annamelissa) January 1, 2024 23. instead of dry January I’m doing why January. it’s where every day i stand in the middle of the street & scream WHY GOD WHY — ely kreimendahl (@ElyKreimendahl) January 2, 2024 24. Yoga with Adrienne is what Americans have instead of universal healthcare. — Moira Donegan (@MoiraDonegan) January 9, 2024 25. it is NEVER too early to COMPLETELY write-off the year, if you suffer even the TINIEST inconvenience today then NOTHING you do wrong for the next twelve months is your fault AT ALL — aedison.bsky.social (@aedison) January 1, 2024 Don't miss the funniest tweets by women last year: ...or the funniest tweets about what it was like to be a woman in 2023! I'm Laughing (And Sobbing) At These 50 Tweets About Being A Woman In 2023
Sue Radford says cruel troll made a joke so sick she almost cancelled a party
Sue Radford and her family have become the subject of much discussion since putting themselves on a public platform. But it seems as though their trust in providing an insight into their lives, has now taken a turn for the worse. So much so, Noel and Sue Radford were left considering cancelling the birthday of their 18 year old child Ellie, after a series of cruel taunts online. This is not the first time that online trolls have targeted the family, who boast of 22 children, but it seems as though they draw the line at abuse at their kids. In May, Ellie, celebrated her 18th birthday dressed in a white dress teamed with sparkly heels. And being a proud mum, Sue, posted the picture on social media but it was met with a series of abusive comments. At first, one person wrote: “Happy 18th defo Victoria Beckham double I really thought it was her,” while another commented: “Ellie looks like a little Posh Spice.” But soon after, online trolls descended on the picture and decided to cruelly take aim at Ellie and her body image. One person said that Ellie looked like “mutton dressed as lamb,” which left Sue and Noel devastated. In an exclusive interview with The Sun, Noel, 52, said: “It’s upsetting. Ellie’s 18th is a special moment and she is only 18 once, and it ruined it for her. You can have a thousand positive comments but it takes one or two to ruin your day.” The messages have now been deleted from the Radford’s social media account. Ellie was targeted for being too thin but trolls didn’t realise that she had been diagnosed with Gilbert’s Syndrome, which is a hereditary condition when the liver function is too high and can cause people to lose weight. Sue explained to the publication: “They also said: ‘put weight on, you look anorexic’. But in the last series, viewers will have seen that Ellie was ill. She had Gilbert’s Syndrome which saw her lose a lot of weight. She was quite poorly with it, and you just think people have no right to comment on people’s looks and their appearance. It’s not fair. She was really upset and it’s difficult as a parent.” The couple confessed that trolls affected their daughter to the point that Ellie didn’t want to go out and celebrate her milestone birthday. Sue told the publication that they were able, as parents, to brush off negative comments, but when it came to their children – that is where they ended things. Sue continued: “For me and Noel, you can brush it off and go ‘it doesn’t matter, it’s fine’. But I think when it is your children that are getting that, it’s not ok. The people commenting are probably parents, probably with children the same age as Ellie and they find that acceptable to comment on things like that on social media. I find it mind-blowing.” The couple have been married for more than 30 years and are parents to Chris, 34, Sophie, 29, Chloe, 28, Jack, 26, Daniel, 24, Luke, 23, Millie, 22, Katie, 21, James, 20, Ellie, 18, Aimee, 17, Josh, 16, Max, 14, Tillie, 13, Oscar, 12, Casper, 11, Hallie, eight, Phoebe, seven, Archie, six, Bonnie, five and Heidie, three. Follow Mirror Celebs on Snapchat , , , , YouTube and Threads