Mary J. Blige is dancing into the Golden Globe Awards as a double nominee — for her acting and songwriting — while Mariah Carey, Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood and Nick Jonas are some of the other popular singers also nominated.

Blige earned nominations Monday for her work in the Dee Rees’ period film Mudbound. She’s up for best supporting actress in a motion picture and best original song for “Mighty River,” which she co-wrote.

“I feel so good. I’ve been thanking God all morning long. I’ve been up since my phone has been ringing,” the 46-year-old singer said in a phone interview with The Associated Press.

Mudbound, released on Netflix last month, follows two neighboring families — one black, one white — on a hardscrabble farm in 1940’s Mississippi. Blige plays the role of Florence Jackson, a mother and sharecropper’s wife.

They filmed last summer in New Orleans, around the time Blige announced she was divorcing from her husband and former manager. She said she took all of the emotion from her personal life and put it into the film.

“I would come over to [my acting coach’s] house and I would be going through it. And she would say, ‘Take all of that mess and give it to Florence. Give everything to Florence.’ And I just gave Florence everything that was good, bad, vulnerable, that was strong, that was sad, that was disappointing,” she said.

Blige detailed the very public breakup and infidelity claims on her album, Strength of a Woman, released in April.

“2016 was the year that I didn’t know what the heck was going on. As women we have intuition, we don’t know exactly what’s happening, we just feel everything. I know I feel everything. And I just gave … everything I was feeling to Florence,” she added.

Blige, who grew up in New York, said trips to the South to visit her family also helped her connect to the character: “I would see my grandmother and my aunts and they were this woman Florence, so I saw this woman a lot. I think I probably have her in my DNA.”

She also said it was tough transforming from Mary J. Blige, the 9-time Grammy-winning R&B superstar, to Mary J. Blige, the actress.

“I wear a lot of wigs and weaves and things like that, but for this I had to wear my own textured hair, which I was never really wanting to do, especially without a perm,” Blige said. “And [Dee Rees] was like, ‘No, I want nappy edges. I want Florence to look like she’s a sharecropper’s wife,’ and it was a little hard disconnecting from Mary J. Blige because she’s been around for a minute. So it was hard to get rid of her. But once I got rid of her, Florence actually liberated Mary. So it was sad but beautiful at the same time.”

Blige’s two nominations are the only ones Mudbound earned Monday.

The singer shares her best original song nomination with Taura Stinson and Raphael Saadiq, the singer-songwriter-producer who has worked on hits for Solange, D’Angelo, Erykah Badu and himself.

Blige’s competition includes Carey, who is nominated for the Christmas tune “The Star,” from the animated movie of the same name.

“Listen, I’ve been a fan of Mariah Carey since Mariah Carey came out. It’s a beautiful thing to see all of your peers at the same time being blessed and nominated and recognized for our work,” Blige said.

Jonas is also up for best original song for “Home” from the animated film Ferdinand. Jonas and Carey are first-time Globe nominees; Blige was up for an award at the 2012 show for “The Living Proof” from the film, The Help.

Other best original song nominees include Oscar-winning composers. Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, the husband-and-wife songwriting duo behind “Let It Go” from Frozen, are nominated for “Remember Me” from the film Coco, while Benj Pasek and Justin Paul — who earned an Oscar this year for “City of Stars” from La La Land, are up for “This Is Me” from The Greatest Showman.

Greenwood earned a nomination for best original score for Phantom Thread. Other nominees include Hans Zimmer for Dunkirk, Alexandre Desplat for The Shape of Water, Carter Burwell for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and John Williams for The Post.

The 75th annual Golden Globes will air live on January 7, 2018.
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Olympic gold medalist Lindsey Vonn is warning young athletes in next year’s Pyeongchang winter Olympic Games not to underestimate the older competitors.

Vonn, who won gold in the downhill skiing at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, broke a bone in her arm last year but is training hard for Pyeongchang. She missed the Olympic Games in Sochi through injury.

“I have been anxiously awaiting these Olympic for the last eight years. I have been training especially hard this summer, you know really trying to make sure I don’t miss anything from my diet to my travel and of course my workouts, my skiing, everything I have done has been in preparation for these Olympics so right now I am trying to stay healthy going in,” she said.

“So far it’s not going very well but I feel that I am saving all of my luck for February and hopefully everything will work out how it is supposed to.”

Acting as ambassador for the 2020 Youth Olympic Games, Vonn met younger athletes, aged 14 to 18, in Lausanne on Sunday.

She said that young competitors at the Olympic Games should know the older athletes knew how to handle the pressure and had more experience of the sport.

“Most of the time younger athletes, I mean I was the same, underestimate the older athletes but the one thing I have is experience. I know how to handle the pressure and I just know a lot about the sport.”

Vonn has four World Cup overall titles in addition to gold and bronze Olympic medals.

She said the Olympic spirit was very important to her and she thought it was a great experience for the young athletes to meet others from different countries and cultures. She is taking the role of ambassador for the Youth Olympic Games for the third time.

“Well I think the Olympic spirit is something very important and I wish that I had had these Olympic Games when I was growing up. I think it is a great experience for the kids to meet other kids from different countries, different cultures. There is so much learning involved with all of these Olympic Games programs and I think it is very important. So I am proud to be an ambassador and I think Lausanne 2020 is going to be amazing.”

The meeting took place in St. Moritz where luge, skeleton, bobsled and speed skating events for the Youth Games will be held.
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Celebrity chef Mario Batali said on Monday that he has stepped away from his restaurant company and ABC said it asked him to step aside as co-host of a daytime food and talk show after he was accused of sexual harassment in a report by an online food trade publication.

Eater New York reported that four women, who were not identified, accused Batali of touching them inappropriately in a pattern of behavior that spanned at least two decades. Three worked for the chef during their careers, according to Eater New York.

Batali said in a statement emailed by his representative Risa Heller, “I apologize to the people I have mistreated and hurt. Although the identities of most of the individuals mentioned in these stories have not been revealed to me, much of the behavior described does, in fact, match up with ways I have acted.”

“That behavior was wrong and there are no excuses,” he said.

“I take full responsibility and am deeply sorry for any pain, humiliation or discomfort I have caused.”

Reuters could not independently confirm the accusations.

Batali said in the statement that he was stepping away from day-to-day operations of his businesses as he works to regain people’s trust and respect.

Batali’s reputation as a master of seasonal Italian food turned him into a restaurant executive, television star, cookbook author and one of the world’s most recognizable chefs.

He premiered on Food Network in 1997 on the show “Molto Mario” and in 2011 helped launch “The Chew” on ABC.

B&B Hospitality Group, which services about 24 restaurants owned by Batali and other chefs, said in an emailed statement that it takes such accusations seriously.

“We have had systematic policies and training about sexual harassment for over 10 years, including a detailed procedure for employees to report complaints to senior management,” B&B Hospitality Group said. “All members of management have participated in these trainings, including Mr. Batali.”

“Mr. Batali and we have agreed that he will step away from the company’s operations, including the restaurants, and he has already done so,” the company said in the statement.

The ABC Television Network, a unit of Walt Disney, said in a statement, “We have asked Mario Batali to step away from The Chew while we review the allegations that have just recently come to our attention.”

“ABC takes matters like this very seriously as we are committed to a safe work environment. While we are unaware of any type of inappropriate behavior involving him and anyone affiliated with the show, we will swiftly address any alleged violations of our standards of conduct.”

Food Network said in an emailed statement that it was suspending plans to relaunch “Molto Mario” in light of the accusations.
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Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro’s fantasy romance “The Shape of Water” led nominations for the Golden Globes on Monday, heading a list of dramas and comedies on issues ranging from press freedom, war, racism and the many aspects of love.

“The Shape of Water,” a surreal drama about a relationship between a river creature and a mute cleaner, collected seven nods across the board, including for best director; actors Sally Hawkins, Octavia Spencer and Richard Jenkins; screenplay and score.

Del Toro said he was grateful for the recognition, adding in a statement: “Above all, ‘The Shape of Water’ is about love overcoming fear and embracing the Other.”

“The Post,” Steven Spielberg’s timely drama about press freedom, followed with six nominations, including for its director and stars Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep.

The Golden Globes are chosen by the 90-plus journalists of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, but nominees often mirror the top films and actors nominated in January for the Oscars, the movie industry’s highest awards.

“The Shape of Water” and “The Post” are also seen as front-runners for Oscars. They will compete for the top drama prize at the Jan. 7 Golden Globe ceremony in Beverly Hills against small-town tale “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” which also got six nominations; British World War II tale “Dunkirk”; and “Call Me By Your Name,” a gay romance starring actor nominees Timothee Chalamet and Armie Hammer.

Mother-daughter comedy “Lady Bird” got four nods, including for stars Saiorse Ronan and Laurie Metcalf. However, first-time director Greta Gerwig was snubbed in an all-male list for her category.

Other comedy or musical film nominees included James Franco’s “The Disaster Artist,” racial horror movie “Get Out,” ice-skating saga “I, Tonya” and “The Greatest Showman.”

Movie studio Twentieth Century Fox and its Fox Searchlight unit for independent film dominated the nominations, sharing a total of 27 nods.

Celebrated actor Daniel Day-Lewis was recognized for “Phantom Thread,” which he has said will be his last film.

British actor Daniel Kaluuya got a nod for his breakout role in “Get Out,” a satire on modern race relations set within a psychological thriller.

Monday’s nominations included A-listers like Angelina Jolie, who got two for her producing work on Cambodian foreign-language entry “First They Killed My Father” and an animated film about Afghanistan, “The Breadwinner.”

For television, British royal series “The Crown,” “Game of Thrones,” “The Handmaid’s Tale, “Stranger Things” and “This Is Us” will compete for the best drama series award.

“Black-ish,” “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” “Master of None,” “SMILF” and “Will & Grace” were nominated in the best TV comedy category.
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Mixed messages from the United States and concerns of a North Korean provocation could undermine South Korea’s plans to use the upcoming PyeongChang Winter Olympics to further peace and reconciliation efforts.

On Sunday, Nikki Haley, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, said in an interview with Fox News that the full U.S. Olympic team would participate in the winter games to be held in South Korea in February. However, she again left open the possibility that heightened security concerns could force the U.S. to reconsider this commitment. Haley said, “We always look out for the best interests of United States citizens.”

Last week Haley said U.S. participation was an “open question” due to high tensions with North Korea over its continued missile and nuclear tests.

The White House and State Department have both expressed unqualified support for sending the full Olympics team and delegation. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders wrote on Twitter Thursday, “The protection of Americans is our top priority and we are engaged with the South Koreans and other partner nations to secure the venues.”

But Haley’s equivocal comments reflect increasing anxiety the U.S. nuclear standoff with North Korea could mar the games. 

H.R. McMaster, President Trump’s national security adviser, recently said the potential for military conflict between the U.S. and North Korea is “increasing every day,” as the Kim Jong Un government’s efforts to develop a nuclear intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), able to target the U.S., constitute an unacceptable security threat.

North Korea’s Foreign Ministry said that U.S. and South Korean large-scale military drills conducted last week made the outbreak of war “an established fact.” On Monday, Japan joined the U.S. and South Korea in two days of missile tracking drills.

South Korean anxiety

Officials in Seoul have opted to focus on the reassurance of Olympics participation offered by the White House.

“President Trump has said the U.S. team will participate in the PyeongChang Olympics in a phone call between two heads of South Korea and the U.S. on November 30th. Also, he promised to send high-level delegation during the Olympics,” said South Korean Unification spokesperson Lee Eugene on Friday.

But South Korean newspapers on Monday voiced alarm that the U.S. might withdraw from the Olympics, especially after the International Olympic Committee banned Russia from participating over state-sponsored athlete doping violations.

“Dark clouds are hanging over the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics,” wrote the Korea Joongang Daily in an editorial Monday. Adding, “We wonder what our government has been doing to reassure the United States.”

A Korean Herald editorial said it is “unusual and shocking” that a U.S. official would contemplate such a “worst case scenario” regarding a North Korean threat during the Olympics, and said it indicates “a grave (security) situation indeed.”

Peace Olympics

South Korean President Moon Jae-in has emphasized that the PyeongChang Olympic Games should be an “Olympics for Peace,” and his government has been urging North Korea to participate, to both insure there are no provocations during the games, and to help ease regional tensions.

A Korea Times editorial criticized Moon for focusing more on persuading its adversary in the North to come to the games while seeming to neglect the concerns of “our allies and traditional powerhouses in winters sports.”

The North Korean Olympic Committee missed the Oct. 30 deadline to register for the winter games, but the International Olympic Committee has indicated it is still not too late. Figure skaters Ryom Tae Ok and Kim Ju Sik are the only North Korean athletes to qualify for the Olympics so far.

North Korean provocation

The possibility that North Korea would attempt to disrupt the Olympics with a missile or nuclear test, a cyberattack or even launching a minor skirmish against South Korea is a credible threat, said Ahn Chan-il, a North Korean defector and analyst with the World Institute of North Korean Studies

“If North Korea decides not to participate and relations between North Korea and the U.S. worsen, it is possible North Korea may disturb our glorious event by provocation,” said Ahn. 

In the last two years, North Korea has conducted numerous missile launches and three nuclear tests, despite facing increasing international sanctions for its provocative actions.

After a long range Hwasong-15 missile test in November, which reportedly reached an altitude of 4,475 kilometers and flew 950 kilometers, Pyongyang claimed it successfully reached operational ICBM capability. But the U.S. and South Korea dispute the operational aspect of this claim and expect further tests in the future.

Youmi Kim in Seoul contributed to this report.
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Simeon Booker, a trail-blazing journalist and the first full-time African-American reporter at The Washington Post, has died at the age of 99.

Booker died Sunday in Solomons, Maryland, according to a Post obituary, citing his wife Carol.

Booker served for decades as the Washington bureau chief for the African-American publications Jet weekly and Ebony monthly. He is credited with bringing to national prominence the death of Emmett Till, the 14-year old African-American boy whose brutal murder in Mississippi became a galvanizing point for the nascent civil rights movement.

Booker was born in Baltimore and raised in Youngstown, Ohio. He joined the Post in 1952, but moved on two years later to found the Washington bureau for Jet and Ebony.

In 2016, he received a career George Polk Award in journalism.
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A rare painting by Albert Namatjira, one of Australia’s most iconic Aboriginal artists, is to be sold to raise money for kidney patients in remote parts of central Australia. Indigenous people suffer kidney disease at 15 times the national average.

Albert Namatjira was a trailblazer. Born in 1902 near Alice Springs in Australia’s rugged Northern Territory, he did not start painting seriously until he was 32-years old.

His Western-inspired watercolors were a radical departure from traditional Indigenous art’s symbols and design, and he became a household name in Australia. The renowned Aboriginal artist was even featured on an Australian postage stamp in the late 1960s.

His famous painting, called “Mount Hermannsburg”, is considered to be one of the most valuable examples of his work. It has been donated by an Aboriginal group to a renal center in Alice Springs to raise money to help indigenous patients receive treatment nearer to home rather than travel hundreds of kilometers.

Sarah Brown, the head of The Purple House, the kidney unit that has been given the Namatjira painting, says it is an incredible gesture.

“So I got a phone call saying ‘hey Sarah, the Ngurratjuta [Aboriginal Corporation] board has met, we would like you to come to the Araluen Arts Center [in Alice Springs] and choose an Albert Namatjira painting.’ And I thought I am never going to have a phone call like that ever again. Central Australia is really the center of the universe for kidney failure, there is well over 350 people in Central Australia who need dialysis, which is usually hemodialysis, which is three days a week, five-hours a session,” said Brown.

Namatjira’s ‘Mount Hermannsburg’ painting is expected to fetch about $75,000 at auction.

The painter died in 1959 at the age of 57.

Australia’s Aboriginal people are by far the country’s most disadvantaged group, suffering high rates of ill health, poverty, imprisonment and unemployment. They make up about 3 per cent of Australia’s population of almost 25 million people.

 
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A sculptor who produced the image of Queen Elizabeth used on Britain’s coins has been chosen to create a new statue of Princess Diana, the office of Princes William and Harry said Sunday, to commemorate 20 years since her death.

Ian Rank-Broadley, whose effigy of the Queen has appeared on all UK and Commonwealth coinage since 1998, will design the statue, which will not be unveiled until 2019.

“Ian is an extremely gifted sculptor and we know that he will create a fitting and lasting tribute to our mother,” Prince William and his younger brother, Harry, said in a statement.

In January, the brothers commissioned a statue in honor of their mother, who died in a Paris car crash 20 years ago, to be erected outside their official London home Kensington Palace.

Diana, the first wife of the heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles, was killed when the limousine carrying her and her lover Dodi al-Fayed crashed in a Paris tunnel in August 1997.

William was 15 and Harry was 12 at the time.

“We have been touched by the kind words and memories so many people have shared about our mother over these past few months,” the brothers said. “It is clear the significance of her work is still felt by many in the UK and across the world, even 20 years after her death.”

It had been hoped that the statue would be unveiled before the end of the year to mark the anniversary, but Kensington Palace said that it was now envisaged that the statue would be unveiled in 2019.

The first permanent memorial to her, a 210-meter (689-foot) long fountain was unveiled in Hyde Park in 2004 after years of bureaucratic wrangling and squabbling over the design.
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If God were a stonemason … Utah’s Arches National Park would be the back room of his workshop. The Arches National Park, established almost a century ago, is now one of the most popular destinations for Americans and tourists from around the world. The park has more than 2,000 natural stone arches, in addition to hundreds of soaring pinnacles, massive fins and giant balanced rocks. VOA’s Alex Yanevskyy had a chance to take in these majestic wonders.
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The federal anti-racketeering law has been used since the late 1970s to bring down mob bosses. Could it be used to prosecute Harvey Weinstein?

Lawyers for six actresses who say they were sexually assaulted by the movie producer filed a lawsuit Wednesday in New York arguing that Weinstein was, essentially, a racketeer who used a legion of assistants, casting agents, security firms, gossip writers and others to supply himself with a steady stream of unwilling sexual partners and silence their complaints.

Their anti-racketeering suit was filed in a civil court, but it prompted discussions about whether prosecutors could make a similar criminal case.

Hurdles to criminal case

Maybe, said G. Robert Blakey, a professor emeritus at the University of Notre Dame law school who helped write the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. But it wouldn’t be easy.

“It would take imagination and intestinal fortitude,” he said. “Prosecutors have been singularly lacking in both when it comes to women making complaints of sexual assault against powerful men.”

The law was drafted to bring down organized crime but it isn’t limited to it, Blakey said. Prosecutors have used it to go after rule-breaking Wall Street firms and corrupt government contractors. Federal prosecutors are currently using it to battle alleged bribery in global soccer in a trial ongoing in Brooklyn.

But a criminal anti-racketeering case also has many hurdles, Blakey said. Federal prosecutors would have to prove that a criminal enterprise existed, it affected interstate commerce and the defendant was associated with and engaged in racketeering. It would also have to be brought within five years of the conspiracy ending, he said. The racketeering statute is a federal law, though some states, like New York and California, have similar state laws.

Weinstein, his enablers

The women suing Weinstein in civil court say the “Weinstein Sexual Enterprise” consisted of a long list of people who either enabled Weinstein’s assaults or covered them up.

Their claims were based partly on reporting by The New York Times and the New Yorker, both of which published exposes saying that Weinstein took extraordinary steps to conceal complaints, including hiring security firms to investigate reporters working on possible stories and working with other media to discredit women who might come forward.

“The goal of the (anti-racketeering) claim is to ensure not only do we get the head of the enterprise, but also those around him who enabled his conduct, whether they tampered with witnesses or destroyed evidence after the fact, or even delivered the women to him,” said Beth Fegan, the lead lawyer on the civil suit.

Weinstein’s attorneys, Blair Berk and Ben Brafman, said in a statement that all the allegations of sexual assault against him are false.

“Mr. Weinstein has never at any time committed an act of sexual assault, and it is wrong and irresponsible to conflate claims of impolitic behavior or consensual sexual contact later regretted, with an untrue claim of criminal conduct. There is a wide canyon between mere allegation and truth, and we are confident that any sober calculation of the facts will prove no legal wrongdoing occurred. Nonetheless, to those offended by Mr. Weinstein’s behavior, he remains deeply apologetic.”

They said he never used company resources at Miramax or The Weinstein Company for personal expenses, including the payment of any legal settlements. Weinstein, though a spokesman, has also denied the allegations that he sought damaging information on the actresses.

75 accusers, no criminal charges yet

At least 75 women have accused Weinstein of unwanted come-ons, groping and outright rape. He’s under criminal investigation in Los Angeles, London, Beverly Hills and in New York. No federal officials have said they are investigating him. As of yet, no criminal charges have been brought. Some of the allegations involve encounters with women many years ago, outside the statute of limitations.

“Law enforcement is having a tough enough of a time making out a simple sexual assault case against Weinstein; the idea that they could pull off a RICO indictment is pretty far out there,” said Jeffrey Lichtman, a defense attorney who defended John “Junior” Gotti, son of the infamous “Teflon Don” or “Dapper Don,” John Gotti. 

“Prosecutors are concerned about one thing, getting a conviction and putting a bad guy away, and they attempt to do so in the simplest and straightforward manner possible due to the high beyond-a-reasonable-doubt standard,” he wrote in an email.

On the other hand, a prosecutor could investigate the allegations in the civil complaint in an effort to seek broader accountability for complacency, said Julie O’Sullivan, a former federal prosecutor who teaches white collar criminal law at Georgetown Law.

“Assuming these allegations are true, if I were a prosecutor, I’d be asking: ‘Do I want to just go after him? Or do I think the larger criminal wrong involves a lot of people who facilitated this criminal conduct?’” she asked.
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Egypt authorities announced Saturday that archaeologists had discovered two small ancient tombs in Luxor, a southern city. 

The tombs date back about 3,500 years and are located on the west bank of the river Nile.

“It’s truly an exceptional day. … The 18th dynasty private tombs were already known. But it’s the first time to enter inside the two tombs,” Antiquities Minister Khaled al-Anani said.

Egyptian officials hope the discovery will help the country’s efforts to revive tourism.

The minister said one tomb has five entrances that lead to a rectangular hall where two burial shafts are located on the northern and southern sides of the tomb.

The tomb contains a mummy wrapped in linen, clay vessels, a collection of about 450 statues, and painted wooden funerary masks. 

Al-Anani said a cartouche carved on the ceiling bears the name of King Thutmose I of the early 18th dynasty.

The other tomb has a 6-meter burial shaft “leading to four side chambers,” which contained artifacts including fragments of wooden coffins. The wall inscriptions and paintings are believed to belong to an era between the reigns of King Amenhotep II and King Thutmose IV, both pharaohs of the 18th dynasty.

IN PHOTOS: Discovery of Two Ancient Tombs Announced in Egypt

The tombs are the latest discovery in Luxor, which is known for its temples and tombs from different dynasties of ancient Egyptian history.

Al-Anani also visited a nearby site where the famous Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut is located. For the first time, the temple’s main sanctuary, known as the Holy of Holies, was opened.

The Antiquities Ministry has made a series of discoveries since the beginning of 2017.

In September, Egyptian archaeologists announced they had found the tomb of a royal goldsmith whose work was dedicated to the ancient Egyptian god Amun. The goldsmith lived more than 3,000 years ago. In the tomb, there were mummies, jewelry and statues.
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The tombs are the latest discovery in Luxor, which is known for its temples and tombs from different dynasties of ancient Egyptian history.
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France bid farewell to its biggest rock star Saturday, honoring Johnny Hallyday with an extravagant funeral procession down Paris’ Champs-Elysees Avenue, a presidential speech and a televised church ceremony filled with the country’s most famous faces.

Few figures in French history have earned a send-off with as much pomp as the man dubbed the “French Elvis,” who notched more than 110 million in record sales since rising to fame in the 1960s.

Hallyday died Wednesday at 74 after fighting lung cancer.

In an honor usually reserved for heads of state or literary giants like 19th-century novelist Victor Hugo, Hallyday’s funeral cortege rode past Napoleon’s Arc de Triomphe monument and down the Champs-Elysees to the Place de la Concorde plaza on the Seine River.

Adding a rock touch to the event, hundreds of motorcyclists accompanied the procession. It was a nod to the lifelong passion that Hallyday, born Jean-Philippe Smet, had for motorcycles. His biker image included signature leather jackets and myriad tattoos.

French President Emmanuel Macron — a Hallyday fan himself, like three generations of others across the French-speaking world — delivered an eulogy on the steps of Paris’ Madeleine Church for the star known to the public affectionately by only one name.

“Johnny belonged to you. Johnny belonged to his public. Johnny belonged to his country,” said Macron, whose voice was broadcast via speakers to the many thousands of often tearful mourners in central Paris.

“He should have fallen a hundred times, but what held him up and lifted him was your fervor, the love,” said Macron of the star’s health troubles and famously excessive lifestyle.

Hallyday’s death unleashed a wave of emotion across France, where he had been a symbol of national identity and stability for more than half a century — even though his private life had been far from stable.

Aside from the drinking, smoking and partying chronicled in juicy detail by the French press, Hallyday had been linked to a string of glamorous women and had married five times.

Chants of “Johnny! Johnny!” and thunderous applause rose up Saturday as fans broke out singing Hallyday classics including “Que je t’aime” (“How I love you”).

About 1,500 police officers secured the area in Paris, a police helicopter flew overhead and emergency vehicles filled nearby streets as tens of thousands of fans lined the procession route. Many dressed to emulate Hallyday’s flashy, rebellious style. Some climbed on fences or stoplights or even the roof of a luxury hotel to get a better view.

Catherine Frichot-Janin, 61, and her husband traveled from Switzerland to pay their respects — saying that the only thing older than their 39-year marriage was their mutual love for Hallyday.

“He’s the companion who’s always there when you have a worry. There will always be his music playing in a bistro,” she said.

Dubbed by some “the biggest rock star you’ve never heard of” — Hallyday’s position as one of the greatest-selling musical artists of all time is unusual as he remained largely unknown outside the Francophone world. But in France, he influenced styles, music and even children’s names.

Laura Dublot, a 30-year-old Parisian, and her brother David are among many who were named after Hallyday’s older children, Laura and David.

“He’s a national icon. This scale of funeral is not surprising — he’s united three generations of French,” Dublot said.

Laurenne Coral, 25, from Lyon, explained that “for the French, he’s like what Queen Elizabeth is for the English.”

A lineup of speakers paid homage inside the neo-classical Madeleine Church, including actors Marion Cotillard and Jean Reno and singer Patrick Bruel.

Bruel, an old friend, said when Hallyday died “it’s like they took away the Eiffel Tower in the middle of the night.”

Fittingly, the words “Thank you Johnny” are being displayed on the famed Paris monument over the weekend.

Hallyday likely would have approved of this send-off, having told French media he dreaded the idea of an isolated funeral like the one he attended for his father in 1989.

“That day, I was the only one there. Not a woman, not a friend. Absolute solitude in death. I wouldn’t like to end like that,” he said.

Other funeral guests included actor Jean Dujardin as well as former Presidents Francois Hollande and Nicolas Sarkozy, who officiated at Hallyday’s last marriage.

The scale of the French adoration for him impressed even those who were not fans.

“I don’t know Johnny. But today is a rare opportunity to walk down the Champs-Elysees with no cars,” said Qiao Pin, a 27-year-old student from Beijing. “Now, I see he’s a very famous star. There’s no one that popular in China.”

Hallyday is expected to be buried in the French Caribbean island of St. Barts where he owned a house. He is survived by his wife Laeticia, two of his former wives, four children and three grandchildren.
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A new exhibition aims to show how the art world has responded to the global changes since the terror attacks in the United States on Sept. 11, 2001. Age of Terror: Art since 9/11 at London’s Imperial War Museum brings together 40 artists from across the world whose works reflect on conflict and society since that day. Henry Ridgwell reports.
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