Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
You silly Jossage
Sensational Sausage Joss chips in with ‘hello lovely’ to shocked panel
Life can be too serious ..we should all dress up and sing JOSS STONE AFTER WINNING ITV SHOW
ROBIN
BRIT award winner Joss Stone was revealed as Sausage last night as she won the coveted crown on The Masked Singer.
The laughing singer, 33, said “hello lovely” to the shocked panel as her sausage head was removed.
Joss, a friend of Prince Harry, said: ‘’Life can be too serious, we should just dress up in chips and sausage and have a sing song. This has been the funnest, most hilarious job I have ever had. I have laughed so much.’’ Earlier, fans had been predicting that Sausage was either Stacey Solomon or Sheridan Smith.
Runner-up was US singer songwriter Ne-Yo, 41, who was revealed as Badger.
He gained fame for his songwriting abilities when he penned his 2004 hit Let Me Love You for singer Mario.
After having his identity revealed, Ne-Yo said: “I’ve had so much fun with this, I really have. It’s a great experience, man. I would happily do it again but I might have to work a little harder to fool you guys.’’
JLS singer Aston Merrygold was the first of the three show finalists to be unmasked last night. He had been performing as Robin.
The 33-year-old sang Stevie Wonder’s
For Once In My Life in the last round of the ITV singing competition. He said appearing on The Masked Singer had been a “brilliant’’ experience.
When asked if any of his fellow JLS band members knew he was on the show, he added: “No. Hi guys.’’
The judges mostly guessed it was Aston but Jonathan Ross punted for Alexandra Burke.
Aston’s earlier performance of Rockin’ Robin was a big clue, however – he performed the song on Stars In Their Eyes as a child.
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KEVIN WHITBREAD
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DRIVERS employed by courier companies to deliver Amazon goods are taking home as little as TWO pounds an hour, whistleblowers claim.
Sub-contractors working for the tech giant are said to be pushing them to deliver up to 250 parcels a shift.
But at the end of the day some selfemployed couriers say they effectively take home less than the minimum wage after paying for van hire, fuel and other deductions.
Now unions have accused the internet giant of turning a blind eye to alleged “slave labour” working conditions.
Unite leadership hopeful Sharon Graham said: “This is 21st century Britain meets Charles Dickens. It’s awful.”
The GMB claims Amazon controls drivers’ workload and shift patterns, but avoids responsibility for other conditions as they are self-employed and work through third parties.
Whistleblowers we spoke to claim couriers have to break the speed limit to meet targets – and some leave seatbelts
SIGN In vans of rushed drivers off so they can leap out of vans quicker. Amazon’s UK sales soared by 51% to a record £19.4bn in 2020. But drivers for Norfolk Amazon courier KMI Logistics showed us slips with a take home wage as low as £1.83 an hour, after costs. The minimum wage for adults is £8.20.
Andy Cooper, 56, says he was told he could make £127 a day. But after forking out £207 a week for van hire and getting just two shifts a week he says his take-home in one week was just £48.
A former oil industry project manager, he quit after three months. He claims he was expected to deliver more than 250 parcels in nine hours.
He said: “It’s slave labour. I’d never had a speeding ticket before but I got three in three months. I’d deliver my first parcel at 7.30am and be lucky to have done 80 by midday. Then I’d have more than 150 left to do. Drivers sit on seatbelts as they are penalised if they miss goals. If you’ve parcels left on your van, someone will help you – but you’ll be docked £1 for each one they take.
“Amazon don’t seem to care about the safety of the drivers. I’ve worked offshore all over the world but never in conditions like this.”
A colleague at KMI, who asked not to be named, showed us a payslip of £30 for two days’ work – £1.83 an hour after costs.
They alleged they were regularly forced to exceed the 10-hour legal limit on driving hours. Out of work pub industry businessman Kevin Whitbread, 53, turned to delivery contractor CDS Group, based in Nottingham. Kevin, of St Olaves, Norfolk, said: “The business model preys on vulnerability.
“One bloke went off with Covid. When he had the all-clear he got no more work.” The Independent Workers Union of Great Britain, which represents drivers, said Amazon had a duty to support them.
Amazon said there was a 24/7 hotline for drivers to make complaints and the firm was “committed to ensuring people contracted by our independent delivery providers are fairly compensated and are treated with respect”.
KMI’s owner Carlos Hopffer said: “We work hard to provide a positive experience for drivers.
“We clearly communicate the availability of routes so they can plan ahead.
“We ensure performance expectations are manageable and that our drivers are paid a fair day rate.”
CDS said: “We have introduced a competitive minimum pay structure and we continue to improve routing as well on road safety for our drivers. Drivers are encouraged to raise any concerns.”
Founded by American Jeff Bezos, worth £145billion, the firm’s UK arm paid just £6.3million in corporation tax in 2019 despite £12.7billion sales.
RAPPER and canny businessman Sean Combs says he first made a mint aged 12 – by doing the hustle.
As a boy, Combs – aka P. Diddy – earned $1,000 a week from paper rounds. He then worked at a diner, a petrol station and even cleaned toilets.
The 51-year-old says: “I was raised in Harlem and my father was killed when I was two.
“My mother had five jobs. I’m from the roots of hustle.
I was a paperboy, the first entrepreneurial thing I did.
I would reach out to the boys about to go to college. I asked if I could do their round and send them half the money. I was making $1,000 a week as I kept all the other rounds on.
“I was a busboy in a restaurant, I pumped gas at a gas station, I also had to keep the bathrooms clean. They are the worst but I was proud to make them clean and see people’s faces when they came out.” Working hard has paid off for Sean, whose $885million fortune is not far behind that of his billionaire pal, Jay-Z. Sean owns a string of companies from music and television to water and booze.
He founded the Bad Boy Entertainment label in 1993 and played a major role in the careers of Notorious B.I.G, Faith Evans and 112 – while his own hits included I’ll Be Missing You and I Need A Girl.
Sean’s dad was shot dead in 1972. The rapper himself was acquitted on charges stemming from a nightclub shootout 20 years ago, when he was known as Puff Daddy. After that he gave himself a string of monikers including P. Diddy, Diddy, Sean John, Swag and Sea.
What does he answer to now? “I am in the love era now,” he says. “I answer to all the names. Call me whatever you like. I will answer to all of them.”
He is also determined to tackle racism in showbiz.
Talking on the Awards Chatter podcast, he adds: “We have to stop the insanity. You will see me get into more films and behind more creatives to find the solution to Hollywood saying, ‘Well, we just don’t know any black executives’.”
I worked at a diner and pumped gas... I even cleaned loo SEAN COMBS ON HOW HE MADE CASH AS A BOY