We hate to rain on the Irish Daily’s Mirror’s parade, but one of the big stories splashed on their front page is hardly an exclusive, more like a statement of the bloody obvious.
‘X Factor Joe: I’m Gay’ is the headline accompanying a headshot of shy Newcastle lad, Joe McElderry, who won the hearts of teenage girls and old ladies alike while pipping Olly Murs to the X Factor title last year.
We always suspected something wasn’t right, simply because having Cheryl Cole constantly by his side seemed to do nothing for the 19 year old, who finally dispelled doubts about his sexuality in a ‘frank and emotional interview’ featured in this morning’s paper.
Joe, who says he only found about his sexuality ‘three weeks ago’ (pull the other one Joe) said, “I’ve kissed lots of girls but only one boy. I thought, ‘Oh that’s weird, maybe that’s what happens’. I didn’t know what it meant. It was nothing serious, just a one-off thingâ€, before adding, “I am open to the idea of a boyfriend if Mr Right came along.â€
It seems the poor North Korean footballers can’t catch a break. In these pages during the World Cup, we alerted you to the story about a number of the squad who sought asylum in African countries for fear of the reaction they would receive on their arrival back home.
It might have seemed a tad over the top back then, but it seemed they were totally justified as word has come out about the harsh reception received by Kim Jong-Hun’s squad on their arrival back in the country.
According to this morning’s Star newspaper, the Squad were subjected to a six hour verbal roasting for not winning the World Cup, despite their lowly status of 103rd in the world. The worst treatment was reserved for Kim Jong-Hun, himself, who was made to work on a building site and expelled from the Workers’ Party of Korea.
According to an intelligence source quoted in the newspaper, however, the treatment of the footballers was a mere slap in the wrist compared to some of their athletic predecessors. “In the past, North Korean athletes who performed badly were sent to prison camps,†he said.
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