Financial Conduct Authority targets sexual bullies at work

By City & Finance Reporter

Updated: 16:50 EDT, 24 September 2023

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By Emily Joshu Health Reporter For Dailymail.Com

Published: 15:03 EDT, 16 August 2023 | Updated: 15:03 EDT, 16 August 2023

Two cast members from hit Australian reality series Below Deck Down Under have been sacked amid a sexual misconduct scandal on the show’s set.

Luke Jones and Laura Bileskalne were fired after separately getting into the beds of other members of the crew without consent, in the episode aired on August 7.

The latest episode of the show, which follows the jobs of staff catering to guests on a superyacht, included the moment Jones entered the cabin of cast member Margot Sisson naked and as she slept and attempted to climb into her bed.

It also included Bileskalne entering the room of cast member Adam Kodra and trying to massage and kiss him without consent before producers told her to ‘come down’.

UK domestic abuse charity Refuge praised the show for its handling of the incidents after the production team attempted to intervene and both Jones and Bileskalne were let go from their roles.

A spokesman for the charity said the episodes had ‘sparked vital conversations around consent’ and added: ‘We’re pleased to see that action was quickly taken to ensure a safe environment.’

On the show’s latest episode, which aired on Monday night, Luke Jones was terminated after climbing into the bed of Margot Sisson, who was naked and asleep, ‘without consent.’

Jones had been the ship’s bosun, the officer in charge of equipment and the crew.

Second stew Laura Bileskalne’s reaction to the incident also led to her getting let go by Captain Jason Chambers after she insisted to Sisson that Jones wasn’t to blame.

She was ultimately fired for showing ‘little respect and empathy’ toward Sisson as well as crossing boundaries with Adam Kodra.

The episode showed Sisson state over dinner that she was ‘really drunk’ before heading to bed.

Despite her state, Jones was seen repeatedly trying to flirt with Sisson and asked her to ‘cuddle’ with him as they sat in the back of a car together.

Chief stew Aesha Scott even told deckhand Culver Bradbury that she was going to keep an eye out for her, helping her back to her cabin and assuring her she would not let ‘any drunkenness’ get ‘taken advantage of’.

Sisson said ‘I am glad that you’re here’ but stated clearly: ‘I don’t want to go in the hot tub, I want to go bed. All I want is water and bed, no Luke.’

Returning from the hot tub, Jones went to Sisson’s cabin where she was alone and asleep.

Producers stepped in and told the bosun to leave her alone.

‘Can you f**k off for a second?’ he told the cameramen.

‘We can’t do that, she said no, she said no,’ the producers told him.

Scott returned to the cabin and told Sisson what had happened.

‘Oh my God. Ew, he was naked?’ Sisson responded, to which Scott asked: ‘Did you consent to him being in here?’  

‘No, I was asleep,’ said Margot. ‘I did not invite that at all.’

After establishing that Sisson was safe, Captain Jason was seen reviewing the night’s events with Luke the next morning, which he accepted, before ‘terminating’ his contract.

In the same episode, stewardess Laura Bileskalne was fired after then climbing into crewmate Adam Kodra’s bunkbed and trying to massage him. 

Kodra had told Bileskalne multiple times that he wasn’t interested in pursuing anything with her beyond a friendship.

He told the show’s producers: ‘I’m not interested in Laura in the slightest.

‘I’ve told her a million times, like I just wanna be friends, but it’s just not getting the point across so I don’t know what to do.’

After a night of drinking, Bileskalne followed Kodra to his cabin.

She told him ‘we need to close the door’ while holding a tube of moisturiser in her hand.

Kodra climbed into the top bunk and tried to go to sleep, but Laura put lotion on his back in an attempt to massage him.

Producers again were forced to step in, ordering her to stop.

‘Laura, I got a message from producers telling you to come down,’ the cameraman informed her.

She then kept rubbing Kodra’s back, before a producer burst in and told her to ‘step down’ and go back to her own cabin. 

Captain Jason also sacked Bileskalne over the incident, and for showing little empathy with Sisson.

The events took place last year but aired for the first time on Monday.

Unfortunately, this is not the first time that the Below Deck franchise has been embroiled in a sexual misconduct scandal.

Last year, Below Deck Sailing Yacht caused firestorm on social media after a controversial sexual encounter between two cast members.

Stewardess Ashley Marti had sex with the yacht’s First Officer Gary King while he was highly intoxicated, which many viewers deemed ‘inappropriate’.

Below Deck Down Under first aired in March 2022.

The show is a spin-off of the American reality TV show, Below Deck. 

Lizzo has dismissed the sexual harassment lawsuit filed against her as ‘unbelievable’ and ‘outrageous’ as she broke her silence on the claims.

The Good As Hell hitmaker, 35, is being sued by three of her former backing dancers for alleged sexual harassment, creating a hostile work environment and discrimination and on Thursday, she took to Instagram to break her silence. 

Lizzo insisted the claims are untrue and insisted her accusers had previously been warned about their own ‘inappropriate and unprofessional’ conduct.

She also finally addressed THOSE banana sex act allegations which claimed the singer invited cast members to eat bananas from nude performers’ vaginas while in Amsterdam.

Lizzo wrote in a statement: ‘These last few days have been gut wrenchingly difficult and overwhelmingly disappointing. 

‘My work ethic, morals and respectfulness have been questioned. My character has been criticized. Usually I choose not to respond to false allegations but these are as unbelievable as they sound and too outrageous to not be addressed. 

‘These sensationalized stories are coming from former employees who have already publicly admitted that they were told their behavior on tour was inappropriate and unprofessional.

‘As an artist I have always been very passionate about what I do. I take my music and my performances seriously because at the end of the day I only want to put out the best art that represents me and my fans.

‘With passion comes hard work and high standards. Sometimes I have to make hard decisions but it’s never my intention to make anyone feel uncomfortable or like they aren’t valued as an important part of the team.

‘l am not here to be looked at as a victim, but I also know that I am not the villain that people and the media have portrayed me to be these last few days. 

‘I am very open with my sexuality and expressing myself but I cannot accept or allow people to use that openness to make me out to be something I am not. 

‘There is nothing I take more seriously than the respect we deserve as women in the world. I know what it feels like to be body shamed on a daily basis and would absolutely never criticize or terminate an employee because of their weight.

‘I’m hurt but I will not let the good work I’ve done in the world be overshadowed by this. I want to thank everyone who has reached out in support to lift me up during this difficult time.’

Plaintiffs Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams and Noelle Rodriguez have accused Grammy-winning winner – as well as the Big Grrrl Big Touring and dance team captain Shirlene Quigley – of creating a ‘sexually charged and uncomfortable’ work environment in their lawsuit 

The trio claim while on a concert trip with the Grammy Award-winning artist to Amsterdam in February 2023, Lizzo invited them for a night out on the town that ended in the city’s Red Light District.

They said in their filing: ‘Things quickly got out of hand. Lizzo began inviting cast members to take turns touching the nude performers, catching dildos launched from the performers’ vaginas, and eating bananas protruding from the performers’ vaginas.’

The dancers added Lizzo allegedly ‘pressured’ and ‘goaded’ Arianna into touching one of the nude performer’s breasts.

She refused multiple times, while the popstar allegedly chanted louder and louder to encourage her to do the act, the lawsuit claimed. She eventually did touch the performer.

In another instance, the plaintiffs claim Lizzo invited the dancers to a club in Paris – but failed to mention that it was a nude cabaret bar. This ‘shocked’ the dancers, who said Lizzo ‘robbed them of the choice not to participate,’ the suit said.

Lizzo also allegedly made a claim the dancers were drinking before performances, which Williams then spoke out about. The popstar allegedly made the group go through an ‘excruciating’ 12-hour rehearsal.

Arianna, meanwhile, soiled her pants during the intense rehearsal because she was so fearful she’d lose her job, the documents state. She was then handed a see-through outfit with no undergarments to finish the performance, the suit said.

Rodriguez complained to a manager about the decision to publicly fire Williams, after Lizzo had told the group she had ‘eyes and ears everywhere.’ 

Davis recorded the meeting on April 27, because she claimed she suffers from an eye condition that leaves her disoriented.

But as a result, Lizzo held a meeting and had security confiscate dancers’ phones, the lawsuit claimed.

When Davis tried to tell Lizzo and Quigley she meant no harm recording the meeting, they berated her and Lizzo fired her on the spot, the suit read.

Rodriguez then expressed how she felt disrespected and threatened to resign – to which Lizzo said she was ‘lucky.’

When Rodriguez did indeed quit, Lizzo showed her two middle fingers and yelled a slur at her, the lawsuit claimed.

Since the lawsuit, Lizzo has lost over 120,000 followers on Instagram.

Casino comparison site KingCasinoBonus analysed data on Lizzo’s social channels via Social Blade, revealing a loss of 123,489 followers on Instagram since the news broke. 

In just one day, the singer’s follower count fell by a huge 88,885. While on Twitter/X, Lizzo has lost over 14,000 followers since the lawsuit was filed in California on August 1. 

Ron Zambrano, the plaintiffs’ attorney, said in a statement: ‘The stunning nature of how Lizzo and her management team treated their performers seems to go against everything Lizzo stands for publicly, while privately she weight-shames her dancers and demeans them in ways that are not only illegal but absolutely demoralizing.’

Hours after the lawsuit news was made public, Lizzo’s her former creative director Quinn Whitney Wilson and dancer Courtney Hollinquest claimed they experienced similar mistreatment.

Courtney said on her Instagram on Tuesday: ‘For clarification, I’m not a part of the lawsuit – but this was very much my experience in my time there.

‘Big shoutout to the dancers who had the courage to bring this to light.’

Quinn shared a screenshot online of Courtney’s statement to her own social media page, saying she was ‘echoing’ everything that was already said.

She added: ‘I haven’t been a part of that world for around three years, for a reason.

‘I very much applaud the dancers courage to bring this to light. and I grieve parts of my own experience.’

‘I’d appreciate space to understand my feelings.’

A 2019 interview in which Lizzo made pointed remarks involving her interest in seeing bananas incorporated into sex acts has also resurfaced following news of the lawsuit.

The Grammy Award-winning performer in 2019 spoke with 3FM Gemist Frank van der Lende about the racy ongoings she’d observed while visiting Amsterdam’s Red Light District on past tours.

The songstress, whose real name is Melissa Viviane Jefferson, said that one show consisted of ‘people f***ing’ in front of an audience, which she described as both ‘crazy’ and ‘beautiful.’

The Detroit native added in the chat, ‘I’m trying to go to the show where you eat the banana out the p***** – which one is that?’ to which van der Lende told her it was the Bananenbar.

The Truth Hurts artist said, ‘Oh, that’s the Bananenbar? And they have the banana in the coochie and you have to’ bite on it.

She added, ‘I need my potassium if you know what I’m saying – my p***-tassium.’

Lizzo’s rise to prominence 

Born Melissa Jefferson, Lizzo is best known as a US singer and rapper, who kickstarted her career with her hits Juice and Good As Hell in 2019.

Her music career first took off while she was living in Minneapolis, and she received huge support from legendary artist Prince.

During her rise to stardom, Lizzo performed with many different groups and duos, forming an electro soul-pop duo called Lizzo and the Larva Inks, as well as an all-female rap and R&B group, The Chalice. 

Her father, Michael, passed away when she was 21, and following his death, Lizzo struggled with her mental mental health and lived in her car while pursuing music as a career. 

When her song Truth Hurts flopped in 2017, Lizzo admitted she came dangerously close to quitting music and sought therapy, telling The Times in 2020: ‘That was really scary.

‘But being vulnerable with someone I didn’t know, then learning how to be vulnerable with people that I do know, gave me the courage to be vulnerable as a vocalist.’

The tracks that made Lizzo a star were a far cry from her original career path as a classical flutist, though she regularly shows off her skills on-stage. 

Her first major label album Cuz I Love You, made it into the Billboard Top Ten, a featured the one-flopped track Truth Hurts, which received a huge resurgence despite originally being released in 2017.

Lizzo released her second mainstream album, Special, in 2022, which featured one of her most well-known tracks About Damn Time, which soared to number one on the US charts.

A body positivity advocate

Ever since her career began, Lizzo has been praised for advocating body positivity and confidence, no matter your size or shape. 

She’s never shied away from flaunting her curves in a slew of sexy and revealing looks, whether it be on-stage, the red carpet, or Instagram. 

But in a previous interview with Vogue, she revealed that she would prefer to be known for being ‘body-normative,’ rather than ‘body positive’.

She said: ‘I think it’s lazy for me to just say I’m body positive at this point…I would like to be body-normative. I want to normalize my body.’

The star also added that she’s ready to continue paving the way for ‘girls with back fat’ and ‘girls with bellies that hang’ saying, ‘I owe it to the people who started this to not just stop here.

‘We have to make people uncomfortable again, so that we can continue to change. Change is always uncomfortable, right?’

Lizzo is also no stranger to defending herself and the body positivity movement, appearing on The Zane Lowe Show in August 2021, saying: ‘People saying s**t about me that just doesn’t even make sense. It’s fat-phobic, and it’s racist, and it’s hurtful.

‘If you don’t like my music, cool. If you don’t like Rumors, the song, cool. But a lot of people don’t like me because of the way I look.’

She also said, ‘It’s like it doesn’t matter how much positive energy you put into the world, you’re still going to have people who have … something mean to say about you. 

‘And for the most part, it doesn’t hurt my feelings—I don’t care. I just think when I’m working this hard, my tolerance gets lower. My patience is lower. I’m more sensitive, and it gets to me.

‘I’m only going to focus on positive comments from here on out. I don’t have time for your negativity, your internalised self-hatred that you project onto me with your racism and fatphobia. I don’t have time for it. Anyways, I’m going to continue to be me. I’m going to continue to be a bad b*tch.’

Hitting back at fat-shamers

As an advocate for body positivity, Lizzo has been forced to hit back at trolls on multiple occasions, even threatening to quit music altogether after falling victim to fat-shaming critics.

In May 2023, she was left incensed after seeing a mean comment online from author Layah Heilpern which read: ‘How is Lizzo still THIS fat when she’s constantly moving this much on stage?! I wonder what she must be eating.’

Reposting the comment, Lizzo wrote: ‘JUST logged on and the app and this is the type of s**t I see about me on a daily basis It’s really starting to make me hate the world. 

‘Then someone in the comments said I eat ‘lots of fast food’ I LITERALLY STOPPED EATING FAST FOOD YEARS AGO… I’m tired of explaining myself all the time and I just wanna get on this app w/out seeing my name in some bulls**t.

The star added that she ‘hated’ Twitter and said ‘this is what my body looks like when I’m eating clean and working out.’

Lizzo has also called out ‘fake doctors’ who tried to diagnose people who were struggling with their weight on TikTok, and also shut down rumours she’d ‘killed someone’ by stage-diving at her concert.

When a nude image of her body resurfaced, an internet troll attempted to body-shame Lizzo via Twitter, but it quickly backfired as fans rallied round to support her.

A feminist icon

Along with promoting body positivity, Lizzo has been vocal about the double standards pegged on women in the industry, balking at the idea that she is ‘brave’ for embracing her figure.

When speaking to Glamour as part of the publication’s ‘F’ word series, Lizzo expressed frustration when people use the word ‘brave’ to describe the confidence she exudes. 

‘When people look at my body and be like, ‘Oh my God, she’s so brave,” it’s like, ‘No, I’m not,” Lizzo said. ‘I’m just fine. I’m just me. I’m just sexy.’

She then mentioned how a double standard can exist with other women in the industry depending on their body type.  

‘If you saw Anne Hathaway in a bikini on a billboard, you wouldn’t call her brave,’ Lizzo said. ‘I just think there’s a double standard when it comes to women.’

In an interview with Vanity Fair in 2022, Lizzo added that her wild and colourful stage outfits are also helping her make a statement.

She said: ‘I wanted to be like a dancer, and also it was kind of political and feminist in my eyes to have me, a full-figured dancer, wearing leotards, showing and celebrating curves and being Olympian in strength, endurance, and flexibility. ‘

Plaudits for her groundbreaking series…

In 2022, Lizzo was praised by viewers for her groundbreaking new Amazon reality series, Watch Out For The Big Grrls.

The series follows Lizzo as she tries to put together a team of backup dancers who look more like her than the usual stick-thin dancers other musicians hire.

‘I needed big girls more than I needed a television show,’ she said of her show, explaining that she had trouble finding dancers who matched her size.

‘I didn’t see me reflected in the dancers and then one day I said, ‘You know what motherf***er, if I gotta get a TV show to bring some awareness for this, then pull up my sleeves and let’s go,” she recounted at the SXSW festival earlier this month.

She also said that her series would distinguish itself from other reality shows by not forcing the contestants to resort to cruelty to get a leg up on the competition.

‘It was also important that I changed the narrative of what a reality competition television show looks like,’ Lizzo explained. ‘We don’t always have to be cruel, we can be kind. We don’t have to pit people against each other.’

She continued, ‘I feel like it’s hard enough in the dance world already for girls who look like me, so why would I create that environment in my space? If I had the power to change that, why not change that?’

The series earned widespread critical acclaim, and won Outstanding Directing for a Reality Programme at the Emmy Awards.

… but a lawsuit brings backstage claims to the surface

While on the outside, Lizzo’s series was praised for its body positive image, over a year later, perceptions have changed.

In August 2023 it was revealed that she is being sued by three of her former backup dancers who accused her of sexual harassment and creating a hostile work environment.

The plaintiffs – her former dancers – are named in the lawsuit as Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams, and Noelle Rodriguez. Williams and Davis both appeared on the recent Amazon Prime reality show ‘Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls’ – about the singer’s quest to find backup dancers. 

Hours after it came to light, Beyonce left out her name from the lyrics of her remixed version of Break My Soul.

The lyric mentioning Lizzo goes: ‘Betty Davis, Solange Knowles / [Erykah Badu], Lizzo, Kelly Rowl’ (You know you can do it).’

But in concert footage shared to Twitter, Beyonce purposely replaces Lizzo’s name with four repetitions of ‘Badu.’

Being branded a ‘narcissistic bully’ 

After coming forward with her own claims, director Sophia Nahli Allison has branded Lizzo a ‘narcissistic bully’ as she doubled down on the singer’s ‘toxic’ behaviour.

Allison, an Oscar-nominated filmmaker, shed more light about what she allegedly experienced while working with Lizzo on a documentary back in 2019. 

Alleging Lizzo’s brand was merely a ‘curated facade’, Allison shared her solidarity with those who endured ‘similar experiences’ working with the artist and her team. 

‘To be clear,’ she Allison posted on her stories. ‘Since I’ve spoken out, I’ve had others privately share their very similar experiences, and I have also been affirmed by people who witnessed what I went through.

‘Lizzo creates an extremely toxic and hostile working environment and undermines the work, labor, and authority of other black and brown womxn in the process. (Notice how the documentary ended up being directed by a cis white man.)

‘She is a narcissistic bully and has build her brand off of lies. I was excited to support and protect a Black woman through the documentary process but quickly learned her image and ‘message’ was a curated facade.

‘I stand with the dancers and anyone who has had similar experiences working with her and her team. These working conditions are not OK.’

Resurfaced lyrics raise eyebrows

Following the news of Lizzo’s lawsuit, resurfaced lyrics to her 2021 track Rumors have drawn more attention due to the song’s references to NDAs and ‘cutting some h**s loose.’

The song was a collaboration between the Truth Hurts performer and rapper Cardi B, which jumped onto the Billboard Top 10 chart at the time of its release.

Nearly 30 seconds into the track, Lizzo sings, ‘Had to cut some h**s loose, yeah/ NDA, no loose lips/ Now them h**s tryna sue me/ B***h I don’t give two s***s/ All the rumors are true, yeah.’

Taxpayers forked out £500,000 last year to help the NHS treat victims of sexual mishaps, analysis suggests.

Official data shows hundreds of patients required medical assistance to extract items lodged in their rectums.

Dozens of men needed their penises cutting free after getting them constricted. 

Campaigners today said Brits would be ‘uncomfortable’ knowing their cash was being spent on ‘these disconcerting procedures’.

A total of 514 procedures for the ‘manual removal of foreign body from rectum’ between April 2021-March 2022, according to the latest NHS figures analysed by MailOnline.

Of these 483 procedures listed the manual extraction as the main procedure with other episodes representing other, secondary, procedures related to the incident. 

Objects that needed to be extracted were not specified.

The average anal extraction costs almost £850 per object, according to a report published in 2021.

This means removing stuck objects from British rectums potentially cost the NHS more than £436,000 last year.

Experts said the latest bout of bottom mishaps is part of larger ongoing trend, with the NHS having seemingly having spent around £3million on such extractions in the last decade.

And data suggests the problem is only getting worse, with experts saying Brits’ rising fascination with porno could be to blame.  

Between April 2020 and March 2021 there were 480 removals, over 100 more than in 2012-13. 

Tom Ryan, policy analyst of the Taxpayers’ Alliance, said: ‘Taxpayers will feel uncomfortable at the prospect of forking out such large sums for these disconcerting procedures.’

It is impossible to confirm if all insertions recorded in the data were of sexual nature. Some insert objects for other reasons, such as DIY constipation remedies.

The average age for people undergoing the procedure was 41, with men accounting for the majority admissions, 389, compared to just 125 women.

Researchers from the Royal Wolverhampton Hospitals previously speculated that the rise of internet porn may be behind the rise in cases.

The £850 estimated price tag of removing the objects includes anaesthetic drugs used in the procedure, the time health staff spent treating the patient, and the cost of a hospital stay.

Experts warn that the insertion of objects into a rectum, also known as anal play, carries a number of risks beyond just an embarrassing trip to hospital. 

Lost objects potentially perforate the bowel which can be deadly as material from the digestive tract can spill into other parts of the body, causing an infection.

Using a sex-toy with a flared base is safer, according to the NHS because it helps stop it from getting lost inside.

People most commonly shove objects into their rectum for sexual pleasure.

This is partly to do with the number of nerves in the anus which make it highly sensitive, and for men can also simulate the prostate, an erogenous part of the male reproductive system.

For women it can also indirectly stimulate parts of the vagina.    

Removing constricting objects such as metal penis rings is another sexual mishap potentially costing the NHS thousands each year.

Between April 2021 and March 2022 there were 55 procedures to remove constricting objects from the penis a rise from the previous year’s 42 incidents. Of these 52 were listed as the main procedure. 

Although not all these incidents could be confirmed as being due to sexual misadventure, the majority of these procedures were done on men in their late 30s, and early 40s.

Doctors have previously warned men that using objects to constrict the penis during sex can have horrifying consequences.

Some of the most serious operations to save the member can cost more than £10,000, and require tools more commonly found in a hardware store, experts say.

If all the cases to remove a constricting object in the NHS in recent data cost this much, the bill could be up to £550,000. 

Penis rings are designed to constrict the flesh around the penis which then traps the blood in the genitals. This can help men maintain their erection for longer.

But some devices are made from inflexible materials like metal which can leave men at risk of having the ring get stuck on the penis by the engorged blood.

This not only results in an embarrassing trip to A&E, but the penis can also die due to a lack of oxygen. In some cases, men may even need it amputated.

‘If the ring is made of inelastic materials like many plastics or metals you will not be able to pull it over the engorged penis, causing the distal penis to slowly suffocate on the deoxygenated venous blood that can’t escape,’ says Birmingham based Urological Surgeon Dr Richard Viney.

He added: ‘At least a plastic ring can be cut off but that is definitely not easy if the ring is metal, especially as it conducts heat and the act of cutting metal will generate considerable heat.

‘I was involved in one case that necessitated the attendance of specialists from the fire brigade. The overall cost to the taxpayer was over £10,000 on that occasion.’

Dr Viney said that safe constriction rings are available from high street pharmacies and if your budget is tight, he suggests ‘cutting out the ring from the bottom of a condom and use that’, or just using the ‘whole condom to avoid unnecessary STIs, pregnancies or mess.’

He strongly urges people to not use household items as a replacement.

‘There’s no excuse for trying to repurpose an old metal curtain ring as this will end with in your nearest hospital operating theatre with likely long-term damage to the future function of your penis as well as your dignity,’ he said.

In addition, there were 181 procedures to remove foreign body objects from the urethra according to NHS data from April 2021 to March 2022, 17 more than the previous year. Of these 152 were listed as the main procedure. 

Medics have previously warned about rise in the practise of ‘sounding’ the insertion of objects into the urethra for sexual pleasure. 

The mean age of people attending hospital to have an object removed from the urethra is 48, according to recent NHS data.

Although the data does not reveal what objects were removed or the reason extraction, MailOnline has previously written about people inserting USB cables, needles, pins, iron wires and pistachio shells into the opening of the penis.

The most common reasons for doing is sexual curiosity, sexual practice after intoxication, and as a result of mental disorders, doctors have said. 

Doctors at clinic International Andrology London said there has been a ‘dramatic increase’ in the number of men having urethral problems due to sounding as men ‘look to expand their sexual activities and enhance their sexual experiences’.

Experts have warned men interested in the practice to be aware of the risks and purchase equipment from reputable businesses and ensure they do it hygienically.

But they warned that even then sounding can damage the sensitive tissue in the urethral pathway, which releases urine and sperm.

It can also lead to a lack of bladder control and infection which can require surgery or implants to rebuild sensitive tissue.

Conor McGregor is doubling down on his denial of the sexual assault allegations against him, claiming they are ‘no more than a shakedown’. 

McGregor, who is expecting his fourth child with his fiancée, has been accused of forcing the unnamed accuser to perform oral sex on him and attempting to sodomize her in the VIP men’s bathroom at Game 4 of the NBA Finals last week in Miami. 

The woman’s attorney provided DailyMail.com with the letters she issued to McGregor’s team, the Miami Heat and the Kaseya Center, where the alleged incident occurred. 

She reported her claims to Miami Police on Wednesday, she said, handing over a bag of clothes which she says contains McGregor’s DNA. 

A video obtained by TMZ shows the pair walking into the bathroom together along with McGregor’s security. 

He appears to lead her by the hand into the bathroom, before the door is closed behind them,  

He believes the footage undermines the woman’s original allegation that he and his security guards forced her into the restroom. 

‘After the video was released by TMZ, the claimant’s lawyer now has changed her story. Mr. McGregor welcomes the investigation, which he firmly believes will show the claims against him are false. 

‘After not responding to the demand for money made by claimant’s counsel, she turned to the media to apply pressure. 

‘This is no more than a shakedown,’ McGregor’s attorney, Barbara R. Llanes, said, in a statement. 

The accuser’s attorney originally said he had ‘forced’ her into the bathroom, with the help of his security. 

After the release of the video, she issued an updated statement saying the woman thought she was being led out of the venue to go to the Four Seasons. 

‘My client was under the belief they were leaving and going to the Four Seasons Hotel, as Conor had previously asked her to join him at his hotel room.’ 

She maintains that someone approached her and told her ‘Conor told me to come get you.’ 

As she was walking out of the venue, she says McGregor took her by the hand into the restroom. 

‘My client believed they were leaving, but instead Conor took her into the restroom,’ attorney Ariel Mitchell said. 

Originally, she said in her letter: ‘Mr. McGregor, aided and abetted by the NBA and Miami Heat Kaseya security, had the victim physically forced via security into the men’s bathroom, separating her from her friend and trapping her inside with Mr. McGregor and his security guard,’ her letter said. 

It went on to claim that he ‘trapped’ her in there – then forced himself on her. 

‘Mr. McGregor then appeared from inside the handicapped stall and shoved his tongue in the victim’s mouth and aggressively kissed her,’ according to the legal letter. 

The woman’s attorney says she then told him she needed to use the bathroom. 

While she was in the stall, the woman says McGregor ‘pulled out his penis and shoved it down the throat of the victim’. 

She claims she was able to get him off her, but says he then spat on her and on himself ‘in a desperate attempt to get his flaccid penis hard.’ 

She then tried to flee, but says McGregor ‘aggressively grabbed her, pinned her up against the wall’ and tried to anally rape her. 

‘Fortunately, Mr. McGregor’s penis was too limp for complete penetration, and the victim continuously elbowed Mr. McGregor and finally escaped,’ the letter went on. 

Both the Miami Heat and UFC issued statements in the wake of the incident. 

The Heat said: ‘We are aware of the allegations and are conducting a full investigation. Pending the outcome of the investigation, we will withhold further comment.’ 

UFC’s statement read: ‘The organization is aware of the recent allegations regarding Conor McGregor and will continue to gather additional details regarding the incident. 

‘UFC will allow the legal process to play out before making any additional statements.’ 

Footage emerges of Parramatta Eels star Dylan Brown dancing at a Sydney pub as he is charged with allegedly groping a woman at the venue

• Brown charged with sexual touching 
• Follows alleged incident at a Sydney pub 
• Eels star will face court on Wednesday 

By Kristy Williams For Daily Mail Australia

Published: 22:20 EDT, 3 June 2023 | Updated: 08:15 EDT, 4 June 2023

Trey Songz has been sued for sexual assault after a woman claimed he ‘exposed’ her breast from her bikini top at a 2013 pool party without her consent, according to legal documents obtained by TMZ on Friday.

The Bottoms Up rapper, 38, was also recently hit in February with a separate $25 million lawsuit after a woman claimed he allegedly raped her in 2016.

The woman, who is going by the anonymous name of Jane Doe, is not only going after the Grammy-nominated singer, but also the R&B star’s production company, record executive, Kevin Liles, and also Atlantic Records.

In the documents, she stated that the ‘multiple defendants’ are responsible because they should have been aware of his ‘sexual proclivities’ and further claimed that they ‘failed to keep Trey under control during the event.’

Her attorney, per TMZ, claimed that the woman was ‘humiliated’ following the incident and resulted in ‘long-lasting emotional distress.’

Due to the ’embarrassment’ that also followed her, the attorney claimed that the woman quit her ‘promising career’ just months after the alleged assault.  

Last year in 2022, the woman sent a ‘demand letter’ to Trey over the incident, which happened at the Foxwoods Liquid Sundays with Trey Songz event in 2013 in Connecticut. 

She is seeking a total of $10 million in damages and also included a video that caught the incident on camera. 

However, Trey’s attorney, Michael Freedman, slammed the allegations in a statement to TMZ on Friday.

‘This is yet another example of decade-old allegations being repurposed into a federal case to take advantage of California’s constitutionally questionable new look back window. We look forward to vindicating Trey on the merits in court.’ 

Earlier this year in February, Songz was hit with a $25 million lawsuit, which was connected to a previous sexual assault accusation that had been dismissed after the statute of limitations had expired. 

The woman, who also went by Jane Doe in legal documents obtained by Rolling Stone, went after Trey, his record label, manager Kevin Liles and 300 Entertainment as defendants, claiming the parties should be held responsible for the his actions.

Initially, a woman referenced as Jane Doe, filed a rape report in February 2022, claiming Songz, born Tremaine Aldon Neverson, forced her to have anal sex without her consent at a house party in LA on March 26, 2016.

She maintained that she thought they were going upstairs for consensual sex, but without warning he ‘threw her to the ground’ and allegedly raped her, all the while ignoring her screams out in pain.

Apparently, the naming of record labels and affiliated associates is a relatively new strategy that legal teams are incorporating in sexual abuse claims against musicians.

In the wake of the new lawsuit, Songz responded to the claims against him by taking to his Instagram Stories at the time. 

‘Lies will never be the truth. No matter who chooses to believe such, he wrote in the post that ended with the Arabic phrase,’ alhamdulillah’, which translates in English to ‘praise be to God’ or sometimes ‘thank God.’

In support of the new suit, Doe referenced that she’s not the first person to call out the singer and rapper for violent behavior, and proceeded to list 10 other incidents, which included an attack at a bowling alley in October where he was alleged to have punched a man and a woman during an altercation.

The woman also told police Neverson had ‘dragged her by the hair’ after she allegedly tried to stop him from entering a bathroom with a woman from his entourage.

Dylan Gonzalez, former college women’s basketball player, accused the Heart Attack star of raping her in Las Vegas. Police in Las Vegas reportedly looked into the allegations but closed the investigation in April 2022. 

In another case, Neverson was sued for $10 million in Miami in Dec. 2021 by a woman who claimed she had felt his ‘fingers being inserted into her vagina’ without her consent during a New Year’s Eve party in 2018. In every case waged against him, he has denied any wrongdoing.

In January 2017, Nope actress Keke Palmer, also came forward and claimed that Trey had used ‘sexual intimidation’ to make her appear in his music video for Pick Up The Phone. 

According to People, the mother of one jumped to Instagram after he used her cameo in the video without her permission or consent. 

‘This is preposterous. How am I in this video Trey? After you found me in a closet HIDING because I was so afraid of anymore conflict,’ she began. 

‘Literally my last option was to hide because you all would not listen when I said I did not want to be in the video the FIRST time. Just cause you give someone food and alcohol and throw in a little sexual intimidation doesn’t mean they will buckle.’ 

The former Nickelodeon star further claimed that the singer had ‘secretly filmed’ her and then ‘put me in the video against my wishes.’ 

Trey has other run-ins with the law, such as being arrested in 2021 at an AFC Championship Game and late last year in December, turned himself in after allegedly punching two people in a bowling alley. He pled guilty to disorderly conduct. 

Songz, who is a father to a four-year-old son, signed his record deal with Atlantic back in 2003, which ultimately led to his debut studio album I Gotta Make It (2006), that featured the first single Gotta Make It featuring rapper Twista.

His follow-up album, Tre Day (2007), spawned his first top 20 single Can’t Help But Wait

In total, he has released eight studio albums albums over the years, including the most recent, Back Home (2020).