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The Runaway The Label winter collection launch at Brisbane’s Calile Hotel became the week’s most-talked-about event thanks to some unexpected drama among the influencer elites. WE’VE GOT THE SCOOP
Confidential
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Thursday’s Runaway The Label winter collection launch at Brisbane’s Calile Hotel became the week’s most talked-about event thanks to some unexpected drama among the influencer elites present.
Notable guests included Tammy Hembrow and her fiance Matt Zukowski, Ruby Tuesday Matthews and her fiance Shannan Dodd, Ellie Gonsalves, Shani Grimmond and Tarsha Whitmore.
Hembrow and Matthews stole the spotlight with over-the-top displays of affection, sharing passionate and decidedly non-PG kisses with their partners throughout the night.
Hembrow and Zukowski were inseparable, their love on full display as they were spotted engaging in multiple steamy kisses, leaving little to the imagination and reaffirming their commitment ahead of their upcoming wedding.
But the night took an even more interesting turn thanks to the presence of Hembrow’s ex-fling, the infamous “ladies’ man” Jordan Simi.
Simi caused quite a stir by flirting with several attendees – both single and taken.
His flirty antics culminated in a finale that had tongues wagging when he was reportedly seen sneaking upstairs to his hotel room with a guest as the night drew to a close.
LAND HO! PIRATE SHIP AGROUND
A Gold Coast shopping centre car park has been transformed into an elaborate stage, complete with a sailing ship, for the filming of pirate epic The Bluff.
Crews have been working around the clock on an outdoor set across the road from Westfield Helensvale to construct a sleek sailing ship for scenes in the movie, which features Bollywood star Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Kiwi actor Karl Urban.
In recent days, production cranes have appeared at the set, which is now surrounded by high fences and sheets of black canvas to keep out prying eyes. However, the massive sailing ship is hard to miss.
The vessel bears the name Swiftsure, which was also the name of a 19th-century ship that sank off the Far North Queensland coast just days after rescuing the stricken crew of another shipwreck in 1829.
However, with The Bluff set in the Caribbean Sea, it would seem that name is a mere coincidence, with much of the action set in the Cayman Islands.
In addition to the Helensvale outdoor set, it is expected much of the filming will take place at the nearby Village Roadshow Studios, which are home to the largest water tanks in the country.
Those tanks have been previously used on major marine-themed movies, including Aquaman, Ghost Ship and The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of The Dawn Treader.
COURT PENS ‘TOO FLOPPY’
One of the most anticipated court cases in the state this year delivered a series of bizarre exchanges this week, but particularly a discussion on “floppy” and “stiff” pens.
At a pre-trial hearing in the Supreme Court for the 14 members of “The Saints” hardline religious group – accused in the death of eight-year-old Elizabeth Struhs – alleged leader Brendan Stevens, indicted on a murder charge, asked about writing materials that he and his co-accused would use as they were representing themselves.
“Last time I received some floppy thing that I cannot write with, so I request … (a) stiff pen or pencil,” he said.
Prosecutor Caroline Marco said flexible pens would likely be used for security reasons.
“That is useless,” Mr Stevens said, before Justice Martin Burns said he would look into what could be done ahead of the trial on Tuesday.
BEHIND ENEMY LINES
Was there a spy behind enemy lines at the sellout Gold Coast Suns vs Collingwood Magpies AFL blockbuster at Carrara Stadium last weekend? Spotted enjoying the hospitality in the Gold Coast City Council box was none other than Gold Coast Titans NRL club boss Steve Mitchell. Mitchell confessed he attended the odd Suns game and was full of praise for the game-day experience by the franchise, which is edging close to a record 25,000 members. Also spied in the council box was former Brisbane lord mayor Jim Soorley.
BETTY’S BURGEONING
Noosa-born fast-food chain Betty’s Burgers is growing, with three new stores slated for Queensland before the end of the year. Bun fiends can expect a new outlet at Westfield Carindale in September, followed by a Northlakes venture in October and a Mooloolaba operation before Christmas. The stores will employ about 150 people, with roughly 70 per cent of jobs going to those aged 15-21.
TALL-POPPY TANTY
Gold Coast influencer Troy “Candy” Williams has slammed Australia’s tall-poppy syndrome. In an Instagram rant, Williams hit out at haters he said had targeted him and mate Adrian Portelli. Williams said he and Portelli – dubbed “Lambo guy” after turning up in his Lamborghini to snap up houses on Channel 9’s The Block – had both been targeted by online abuse. “I never get sucked into haters on the internet but for f---’s sake, why are there so many people in this country that get butt-hurt when people do well?” he asked his 308,000 followers. Williams made headlines in 2022 when cops raided his mansion but drug charges against him were dropped. Last year, his car-wrapping workshop at Arundel burnt in a “targeted” arson attack.
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