I had the absolute pleasure of meeting some of our amazing audience in person this morning at TDA Culture’s first live event in Sydney. There was coffee, delicious treats, camera workshops, great vibes and great people.

Thank you so much to everyone who made the effort to come along, and a special shout-out to Skye and Sera from TDA’s partnerships team who made the whole thing possible.

Don’t worry if you missed out. We had waaaay too much fun not to do it again, so keep your ears and eyes peeled for the next TDA Culture IRL announcement!

“ARN has just announced that they've terminated my contract. I don't accept it. My lawyers told them last week this would be invalid. And guess what? It is. Let me tell you what actually happened here. Jackie and I had a blue on air. That’s it. The kind of thing we've done a hundred times in 25 years. And ARN took the situation and decided to try and burn the place down.”
Kyle Sandilands confirmed his radio contract has been terminated in a statement on Wednesday. It comes amid an ongoing fallout between broadcaster ARN, and the former hosts of the Kyle and Jackie O Show (Sandilands and Jackie Henderson). “It’s over to my lawyers,” Sandilands’ statement concluded.

Five.
The number of Razzies ‘awarded’ to War of the Worlds, a 2025 sci-fi film inspired by HG Wells’ 1898 novel. The Razzies, Hollywood's long-running spoof of the Oscars, spotlight the previous year’s most critically panned movie releases. War of the Worlds, starring Ice Cube and Eva Longoria, took home worst picture, worst screenplay, worst remake, worst actor and worst ‌director. Australian Rebel ⁠Wilson was named worst actress for the ‌action ​comedy Bride Hard.

AI photos of a fake Zendaya and Tom Holland wedding went viral this week, with Zendaya addressing the images during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! The actor told Kimmel many people, including some she knows, have been “fooled by them”. She explained: “While I was just out and about in real life, people were like, ‘oh my god, your wedding photos are gorgeous,’ and I was like babe, they’re AI. They’re not real.”

Sean Penn won his third Academy Award this week, picking up the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in One Battle After Another.

But when Keiran Culkin announced Penn’s award, the Hollywood veteran was nowhere to be seen.

“Sean Penn couldn’t be here this evening — or didn’t want to, so I’ll be accepting the award on his behalf,” Culkin joked.

It turns out Penn couldn’t have been further from LA, after the 65-year-old ditched the red carpet to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Here’s what you need to know.

One Battle After Another won a total of six Oscars (including Best Picture) at the 98th Academy Awards, the most of any film this year.

Ahead of this week’s ceremony, Penn’s portrayal of the hardline militant Colonel Steven J. Lockjaw had already earned him a BAFTA and an Actor’s Award (formerly SAG).

Penn’s absence from all three ceremonies may have come as little surprise to organisers, given his long history of activism.

For example, in 2002, Penn took out a full-page newspaper ad criticising the White House for sending U.S. troops to Iraq. He went to New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina in 2005 to assist in rescue efforts. Since 2010, the actor has worked to support displaced Haitians. Most recently, he’s been a vocal supporter of Ukraine.

Penn visited Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, days after Russia launched its invasion in February 2022.

At the time, he presented Zelenskyy with one of his Oscars and told the wartime President: “When you win, bring it back to Malibu.”

“It’s just a symbolic, silly thing,” Penn said, “[but] I’ll feel much better knowing there’s a piece of me here.”

He’s developed a friendship with Zelenskyy in the years since.

The pair met again at the President’s official residence in Kyiv on Monday. Following the talks, Zelenskyy called Penn a “true friend of Ukraine”

Ukrainian officials then gifted Penn a metal figure in the shape of the iconic Oscar statuette, since he missed the Academy Awards on Sunday (local time). The material for it came from part of a train that was damaged by a Russian strike.

Ukrainian Railways CEO Oleksandr Pertsovskyi presented the ‘Iron Oscar’ to Penn, and said: “You’re missing the Oscars, plus you gave the last one to the President, so we made this one”.

An engraved passage on the statuette reads: “This steel once carried millions of people away from war. Then a Russian missile came. We did not melt it into a weapon. We forged it into gratitude… for your talent. For your courage to stand with Ukraine.”

Penn called the gift a treasure.

Somewhere between your third iced latte and running late again, you realise your makeup needs to keep up

Enter Merit’s Signature Lip Lightweight Lip Blush. It’s a sheer, blurred-matte lipstick that feels like a balm – comfy, hydrating and zero-fuss. One swipe gives you that “put together but not trying too hard” look, and you can build it up if you’re feeling bold.

With eight wearable shades (yes, including a proper red), it’s lipstick for real life, not your makeup drawer.

Bluesfest ticketholders have been told not to expect a refund after the last-minute cancellation of Bluesfest, one of Australia’s biggest music festivals.

Bluesfest Director Peter Noble announced the iconic Byron Bay event would not go ahead this year, blaming poor ticket sales and rising production costs.

The decision was announced on Friday, three weeks before Bluesfest was set to take place over the Easter long weekend, from 2-5 April.

It follows several big-name festival cancellations since 2020, as the industry struggles to recover from the pandemic.

The future of Bluesfest is now in the hands of liquidators, as are ticketholders, partners and artists.

After 35 years, Bluesfest 2025 was billed as the festival’s final chapter. Fans were then surprised when tickets to the 2026 event went on sale mid-festival last Easter.

Bluesfest said its decision to cancel this year followed “extensive consideration of the current operating environment for major live music events.”

Rising costs, “combined with softer ticket demand and international uncertainties, have made it impossible to proceed with the festival in 2026,” a statement read.

A liquidator had been hired “to manage all financial matters, including vendor and partner obligations.”

Liquidation is the process of a company selling off its assets to pay its pre-existing debts before closing.

Bluesfest organisers now owe more than $23 million to ticket holders. However, liquidators have told attendees that “at this stage it seems unlikely that you will be refunded”.

Punters took to Bluesfest’s social media to express their sadness and frustration.

“Look I know this is sad for them but my family save[s] really hard every year to do this… I’m allowed to be mad!” one commenter said.

Some users noted their travel expenses and the flow-on effects for stallholders and local businesses.

“Vendors depend on this,” they added, calling the last-minute cancellation “actually disgusting.”

The disappointment was shared among artists scheduled to perform at the Australian music industry stalwart.

Canadian-American musician Steve Poltz said he was “so excited to return and play my guitar and sing and dance around.”

Poltz added that he’ll “definitely miss the whole Byron experience.”

Western Australian singer Ben Catley said he is “gutted not to get to perform,” but is “even more sad for what this means for live music and culture as a whole.”

“Another Australian festival cancelled, and one of the biggest and longest-running at that,” the musician added.

Since 2020, several staples of the Australian music festival scene have struggled to bounce back from the pandemic.  Pressures like soaring costs and dwindling ticket sales have forced many to cancel or reschedule, including Splendour in the Grass. 

Despite Splendour comebacks in 2022 and 2023, Bluesfest’s Byron neighbour has been on an indefinite hiatus for three years.

Similarly, Falls Festival – which once called Marion Bay, Lorne, Fremantle, and Byron home – has been radio silent. Both Splendour and Falls are organised by the same promoter, Secret Sounds.

Other fallen festivals include Rolling Loud, Listen Out, Groovin’ the Moo, and Unify Gathering. However, some of these events have opted for trimmed-down versions of their original offerings.

In November 2024, the Federal Government launched a Senate inquiry into the state of live music in Australia. 

Noble told the inquiry: “People can’t afford to go out as much, unless it’s something they really don’t want to miss.”

He added that audiences will “sit on that money unless you find a way to make them spend it.“

“When we said, with Bluesfest, this just might be the last one, all of a sudden we’re selling more tickets”.

In its final report, handed down last year, the inquiry found that “urgent action is necessary to ensure [live music’s] survival into the future.”

The common thread of the committee’s 20 recommendations was investment in live music infrastructure and industry support, across all tiers of government.

The inquiry also examined ways to foster a love of music in younger audiences, both listeners and performers. 

Byron Shire Council Mayor Sarah Ndiaye has encouraged punters who’ve booked travel and accommodation to Byron over the Bluesfest Easter weekend to “come anyway”.

The Council suggested that artists may do the rounds at Byron’s live music venues in lieu of the festival.

Ndiaye added that “aside from all the music and entertainment, Byron Shire is a delight with gorgeous swimming, surfing, sky diving and snorkelling conditions.”

Reporting by Emily Donohoe.