We have some exciting news for our Sydney readers: TDA Culture is getting its first live event!

On 19 March, we’re teaming up with FUJIFILM Australia for a morning of TDA Culture at Rainbow Studios in Darlinghurst. There’ll be a live Q&A, camera workshops, coffee + breakfast... and it’s all free. The TDA team will be there, too. (I’ll be the one hoarding pastries.)

We’ve officially sold out, but there’s limited capacity left on the waitlist, so get in quick!

If you miss out or can’t make it, don’t fret. We’re hoping to bring more IRL moments to our audience this year, so keep your eyes peeled for the next one!

“You brought so much joy to so many people, and I’m so glad you got to shine so bright on Drag Race… I’m sad you’re gone, and grateful you’re at peace. Love you, old girl. You fought so hard.”
Courtney Act has paid tribute to iconic Australian drag queen Maxi Shield, who died this week at the age of 51. Maxi (aka Kristopher Elliot) was diagnosed with cancer last year. She was a Sydney drag veteran and competed in season one of RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under in 2021. Fans and friends of the late performer have donated over $45,000 to a fundraiser to cover funeral costs.

35,000
The number of people who attended Tropfest in Sydney’s Centennial Park on Sunday. The short film festival returned after a six-year hiatus, showcasing 16 seven-minute films. Finalists were judged by an all-star jury, including actors Margot Robbie, Sarah Snook, and Taron Egerton, as well as director James Cameron. Sydney filmmaker Lianne Mackessy took the top spot for her film Crescendo.

Intense blizzard conditions in New York City forced Broadway theatres to cancel dozens of shows this week, after NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced a state of emergency and issued a city-wide travel ban. Productions including The Great Gatsby, Chicago, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, and Six were halted for at least two days. Daniel Radcliffe’s one-man show, Every Brilliant Thing, was also impacted, just one day after preview performances had begun.

A BAFTA judge has resigned following a controversy surrounding the broadcast of this year’s awards ceremony.

Tourette’s campaigner John Davidson apologised after he involuntarily shouted a racial slur during a BBC broadcast of the British Film and Television Awards (BAFTAs) on Sunday.

The BBC has also apologised for airing the racial slur, which was directed at ‘Sinners’ stars Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo while they were presenting an award.

The ceremony was not broadcast live. The BBC aired an edited version hours after it was recorded.

Tourette’s syndrome is a neurological disorder that may cause sudden, repetitive, and rapid movements or vocal outbursts called tics.

One of the symptoms of Tourette’s is ‘coprolalia’, where a person involuntarily uses inappropriate language, including slurs.

Tourette’s syndrome campaigner John Davidson, the subject of the BAFTA-winning biopic ‘I Swear’, shouted the slur.

Davidson said he was “aware of the distress [his] tics were causing,” and left the BAFTAs ceremony early.

Lindo, who was on stage with Jordan during the incident, told Vanity Fair he wished “someone from BAFTA spoke to us afterwards.”

BAFTA apologised “unreservedly to Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo, and to all those affected by what was heard during the event”.

Organisers said they “took measures to make those in attendance aware of the tics, announcing to the audience before the ceremony began, and throughout, that John was in the room and that they may hear strong language.”

Following criticism for airing the slur, the BBC issued an apology and said the moment would be removed from the streaming version of the ceremony.

Amid the ongoing controversy, filmmaker Jonte Richardson announced he was stepping down from his role as a BAFTA panel juror.

In a statement posted to LinkedIn, Richardson said BAFTA’s handling of the incident “was utterly unforgivable”.

Richardson said the BAFTAs had a “long history of systemic racism” and had refused to acknowledge the harm inflicted or offer an appropriate apology.

In an interview with Variety on Tuesday, Davidson said: “When socially unacceptable words come out, the guilt and shame… is often unbearable and causes enormous distress. I can’t begin to explain how upset and distraught I have been as the impact from Sunday sinks in.”

He explained the “real challenge” he faces is the misconceptions surrounding his tics.

“Understanding the full range of Tourette’s helps reduce stigma and supports everyone living with the condition.”

Shakespeare like you've never seen before

Bell Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, directed by Peter Evans, is the ultimate political thriller with power grabs, betrayal, and drama you can feel from your seat.

Picture this: Rome’s collapsing. Caesar’s untouchable. His enemies decide to take him out – but their attempt at a solution triggers total mayhem.

Forget everything you learnt in high school. This is edge-of-your-seat production will have you captivated from start to finish.

Showing in Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne.

This week, music labels HYBE and Geffen announced that Manon Bannerman from girl band KATSEYE would be taking a hiatus from the group. “We look forward to being together again when the time is right,” they said in a statement.

The announcement prompted an immediate reaction from fans online, which quickly snowballed into accusations of racial discrimination. Several high-profile Black female musicians have now thrown their support behind Manon.

Just a few weeks ago, KATSEYE was riding high on the back of two Grammy nominations and a performance at the ceremony. Now, they are one member down, and fans are leading a boycott on social media. So how did we get here?

KATSEYE is billed as a “global girl group”, with members hailing from across Asia, Europe and North America. They are the first act to debut under a collaboration between Korean music label HYBE and American music label Geffen Records.

Following an intensive K-pop-style training program, the group’s members competed for selection from a group of 20 hopefuls via a digital series called The Debut: Dream Academy. This process was later chronicled in the 2024 Netflix documentary Pop Star Academy: KATSEYE, which dropped shortly after the band’s debut single was released.

Despite being ranked low by music label executives in early training assessments, Manon became an immediate fan favourite once voting opened to the public.

During the live finale, the band’s lineup was decided by a combination of public votes and judges’ scores.

Manon placed sixth overall, making her the final KATSEYE member, joining Sophia Laforteza, Lara Raj, Daniela Avanzini, Yoonchae Jeung and Megan Skiendiel.

Born in Switzerland to a Swiss-Italian mother and Ghanaian father, Manon came into the Dream Academy program with a significant social media following. This meant the then-20-year-old did not audition for the program, but was instead sought out by the labels for her perceived “star power”.

Most of the other contestants auditioned with years of dance and/or vocal training. Without this classical training background, Manon went through additional one-on-one coaching. Fans credit her for putting in the extra work to meet her peers at their high-performance skill level.

The docuseries portrayed Manon as less hard-working than her peers, highlighting her absence from training sessions due to illness. Tensions came to a head in a filmed meeting, during which she told the others: I want this. I'm trying really hard… and I'm sorry.”

Manon has since disputed her portrayal in the documentary, telling The Cut: “Being called lazy, especially as a Black girl, is not fair. Now I feel like I always need to put in extra work to prove something, even though I really don’t.”

On Friday, HYBE x Geffen announced that Manon would be taking a “temporary hiatus” from KATSEYE to focus on her “health and well-being”.

Manon quickly responded, writing: “I’m healthy. I’m okay… Sometimes things don’t fully unfold in ways we can control,” in a post to fan platform Weverse.

The 23-year-old’s comments sparked concern among fans that the hiatus may be more permanent, with some theorising the label is pushing Manon out.

Things escalated further when Manon was spotted liking a reel on Instagram discussing the historical mistreatment of Black women in girl groups and in the music industry more broadly. The video compared Manon’s situation to the discrimination faced by other Black members of girl groups, including Normani of Fifth Harmony and Leigh-Anne of Little Mix. Manon followed both singers shortly after liking the reel.

Leigh-Anne – whose 2021 BBC documentary explored racism and colourism in the music industry – later posted about Manon, writing: “We need to protect each other.”

Since then, several other Black and mixed-race artists, including RAYE, Kehlani and SZA, have publicly offered their support. On Tuesday, Melody Thornton – formerly the lone Black member of the Pussycat Dolls – posted a photo of Manon on Instagram with the caption: “We see you”.

Since the announcement, KATSEYE fans – known as Eyekons – have launched a campaign called #BoycottForManon, urging supporters to unfollow the group, stop streaming their music and unsubscribe from paid fan services.

The movement is demanding greater transparency from HYBE x Geffen about Manon’s hiatus, as well as confirmation that she will not be permanently removed from the lineup.

None of the members of KATSEYE has publicly commented yet.

However, an account claiming to be Rafael Avanzini – the father of KATSEYE member Daniela – added fuel to the speculation. In a series of posts, he told Manon to “come back when you’re ready to work” and responded to a fan who described KATSEYE as a “set six-piece” by writing: “5 is ok too.”

The group is currently preparing to perform at Coachella in April. Whether that set will include all six members remains to be seen.

Reporting by Elliot Lawry.