Veteran Australian rock outfit Crowded House have been the subject of a baffling AI-generated video hoax, with the group issuing a brief statement dispelling the claims made by the clip.

Crowded House shared the video in question to their Facebook page on Saturday (Aug. 9), with the clip featuring AI renditions of TVNZ journalist Simon Dallow and frontman Neil Finn discussing the false claim the musician had fathered a child at the age of 67.

“I never thought I’d be able to become a father again,” Finn can be heard saying, albeit with an improper accent. “Honestly, I believe that chapter of my life was closed, not because I didn’t want it, but because I simply couldn’t.”

As the video unfolds, it becomes clear it was created to promote treatment for men suffering from erectile dysfunction. “For years I lived with a problem most men are too ashamed to talk about,” the AI avatar continued. “No desire, no confidence, no control. I was too embarrassed to even talk to my wife about it.”

The three-minute video concludes with the fake version of Finn even claiming that his desire to speak out in regards to his apparent plight had previously resulted in threats, adding: “I won’t stay silent because I see how men are reclaiming their lives.”

Crowded House’s response to the clip was concise, urging fans not to believe any of the claims made in the clip. “We’re not sure where this came from but please don’t be fooled,” the band wrote. “Neil’s never had trouble with erections.”

Notably, this isn’t the first time that Dallow had been involved in AI-generated video hoaxes, with a 2023 incident seeing the veteran journalist included in a fake video promoting gambling apps.

“We are seeing a proliferation of this type of scam material online and we are dealing with this content on a weekly basis,” a spokesperson for TVNZ said at the time. “These fake stories and scam advertisements are a fabrication.

“Our presenters’ images are used without permission, the quotes are made up and there is no legitimate endorsement or genuine association.”

The group’s brush with AI-generated nonsense comes just days after they announced a series of pop-up dates in their native Australia this October and November. The tour follows the band’s sold-out 2024 run in support of their eighth studio album Gravity Stairs, and marks another chapter in a storied career spanning nearly four decades. 

Crowded House have sold more than 15 million records globally, with their self-titled 1986 debut spawning classics like “Don’t Dream It’s Over” and “Something So Strong.” The band has received 13 ARIA Awards, a Brit Award, and an MTV VMA, and has been streamed billions of times.

Fronted by Finn and co-founder Nick Seymour, the band’s current lineup came together in 2020 and released Dreamers Are Waiting in 2021. Finn’s 2018 stint with Fleetwood Mac introduced him to a new generation of fans before returning to lead Crowded House into a new era.

Close to 34 years since their split, the chances of a Talking Heads remain as distant as ever, with frontman David Byrne asserting such an event will never happen.

Byrne’s comments were shared in a recent interview with Rolling Stone in anticipation of his Who is the Sky? album, which arrives just days before the launch of a global tour in September.

According to Byrne, the forthcoming live dates will likely see him “mix and match” some older Talking Heads material into the set, though he’s aware that doing so is a “real trap.”

“If you do too much of the older material, you become a legacy act that comes out and plays the old hits,” he explains. “You cash in really quick, but then you’ve dug yourself a hole.”

Byrne’s new album is his first since 2018, and in the ensuing years, there have been plenty of discussions about whether a Talking Heads reunion may ever occur. In 2023, Bryne and his former bandmates – Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth and Jerry Harrison – appeared together for the first time since 2002 as part of the Toronto International Film Festival to celebrate the re-release of their Stop Making Sense concert film.

However, chances of a reunion seemed slim even then, especially following news the group had turned down a reported $80 million offer for a series of shows in late 2023.

Reflecting on the experience of reuniting with his bandmates for the Toronto International Film Festival, Byrne told Rolling Stone the experience was “OK.”

“We were all very proud of that show and the film that [director] Jonathan Demme did,” he explained. “We’re thrilled that audiences still wanted to see it. So we put aside whatever differences we have. I said, ‘OK, we’re not going to go there, but we’re going to help promote this thing.’”

Admitting that they “felt more comfortable with one another,” Byrne added that the experience didn’t make the notion of reuniting musically become more attractive. 

“Musically, I’ve gone to a very different place,” he explained. “And I also felt like there’s been a fair number of reunion records and tours. And some of them were probably pretty good. Not very many. It’s pretty much impossible to recapture where you were at that time in your life. For an audience … that was formative music for them at a particular time. They might persuade themselves that they can relive that, but you can’t.”

However, Byrne also admitted he understands the constant pleas and speculation from fans in regard to a reunion.

“I’m a music fan like other people. And there’s artists that stopped working, or bands that broke up, that I heard at a period in my life where music was very important,” he noted. “Maybe I never heard it when it was happening, I missed it. 

“I would love to see it live now. But you realize you can’t turn the clock back. When you hear music at a certain point in your life, it means a lot. But it doesn’t mean you can go back there and make it happen again.”

Talking Heads lasted from 1975 until 1991, with their 16-year career resulting in eight studio albums. 1983’s Speaking in Tongues was their most successful, peaking at No. 15 on the Billboard 200, with lead single “Burning Down the House” giving them their highest-charting single when it reached No. 9 on the Hot 100.

Though the group would split in 1991, their final live performances would take place seven years earlier as part of the Speaking in Tongues tour in 1984. They would later reunite for one solitary performance for their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002.

The wife of founding Maroon 5 bassist Mickey Madden has filed for divorce, two weeks after she accused the musician of beating her during a confrontation about disturbing and sexual texts he’d sent to teenage girls.

Kate Bowman, who married Madden in May, says in court papers filed Wednesday (Aug. 13) that she wants to divorce the bassist due to “irreconcilable differences.” Bowman is seeking spousal support and a separation of assets.

The divorce filing comes just weeks after Bowman filed a domestic violence petition against Madden, alleging he’d attacked her on July 21 at their Los Angeles home after she discovered sexual messages on his phone with “at least two high school girls,” including “fantasies” about “raping one of the girls.”

“He put both his arms around my body around my abdomen and arms to restrain me,” Bowman wrote in the July 30 petition. “He then slammed my body against the marble kitchen counter. I felt pain in my hip and waist area. He shoved me to the ground and was out of his mind. I landed on my knees. He kept screaming for me to give him the phone. He appeared literally insane to me.”

Bowman said she ran from the home to escape Madden, but that he followed her outside and “shoved my body against the metal gate.” Madden then allegedly chased Bowman down the street, and she says he “slammed my body into the rock wall that bordered the street with his body.”

A judge granted Bowman’s request for a restraining order on July 31, ordering Madden to stay 100 yards away from his wife and their shared home.

Madden, who, according to Bowman’s court paper,s has since checked himself into a sex addiction rehabilitation program, could not be reached for comment on Wednesday.

A founding member of Maroon 5, Madden left the band in 2020 after he was arrested on accusations of domestic violence. It is unclear if the alleged incident in that case involved Bowman or another victim, as charges were never filed.

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Following its successful limited release at AMC Theatres, the Eminem-produced documentary Stans will be available to stream with Paramount+.

Spearheaded by Emmy-winning director Steven Leckart, Stans will be available in the U.S., Canada, Latin America and Brazil starting Aug. 26. The documentary will then premiere a day later, on Aug. 27, in the U.K., Australia, Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland and Austria, followed by Japan on Oct. 3. To tune in, you’ll need to have a Paramount+ subscription. (You can sign up for a free, seven-day trial before the subscription kicks in.)

The Essentials subscription will run you $7.99 a month, while the Premium subscription costs $12.99 a month. With an Essentials membership, you’ll have access to the Eminem-centric documentary, as well as Paramount+’s vast library of movies and TV shows, including live sports such as the NFL on CBS and UEFA Champions League. Ads are included. Premium offers ad-free streaming on Paramount+’s vast library, with the exception of live TV, and the ability to stream in 4K UHD, Dolby Vision, or HDR10 on select titles.

Stans focuses on the critically acclaimed rapper’s complicated relationship with his superfans, and is inspired by Eminem’s hit 2000 track “Stan,” centered around an obsessive fan. “Stan” peaked at No.1 51 on the Billboard Hot 100 and has since become a major part of pop culture. The track was so popular that the term “stan” was added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2017, and is widely used to describe overlyy enthusiastic or obsessive fans. 

“’Stan’ is one of the most unconventional songs ever written, where the story is mostly told from a fan’s perspective, so this film was an incredible opportunity to find a unique approach,” said Leckart in a statement. “We kept coming back to one lyric from the song: ‘I’m just like you.’ Fans who echo that same sentiment carry much of the film. But like the song, Marshall’s perspective was also essential to the movie. I’m grateful for just how candid, sincere and frequently hilarious he was.”

Eminem is and has always been an extremely private person despite his larger-than-life public persona. The documentary is examines the dichotomy of a sense of privacy while being a public figure as it relates to his “stans.” Viewers are treated to stylized recreations, rare archival footage and intimate interviews that offer a closer look at Slim Shady’s career thus far and the fans that have stuck by him through it all.

Watch the trailer for Stans below:

UPDATE (Aug. 13): Jamey Johnson, Chris Janson, Victoria Shaw and Miko Marks have been added to the performance lineup for the 2025 ACM Honors. They join previously announced performers Luke Bryan, Russell Dickerson, Karen Fairchild, Carter Faith, Ashley Gorley, Amy Grant, Ashley McBryde, K. Michelle, Carly Pearce and Tucker Wetmore.

The 18th ACM Honors will take place on Wednesday, Aug. 20, at The Pinnacle, located at Nashville Yards, and will be hosted by Pearce, returning for the fifth consecutive year, and first-time ACM Honors host Dickerson. 

Performers will take the stage to celebrate this year’s honorees — Lori Badgett, Eric Church, Luke Combs, Jessie Jo Dillon, Jelly Roll, Cody Johnson, Mac McAnally, Rissi Palmer, Randy Travis, Ben Vaughn, and Lainey Wilson and the box-office hit Twisters.

New seating options have been added, starting at $50 (before taxes and fees). All tickets to ACM Honors will be seated, including the general admission balcony. VIP seating within The Track includes an autographed Hatch Show Print. Tickets are available through AXS. Tickets available at press time ranged in price from $207.65 to $1121. Prices include fees and taxes.

PREVIOUSLY (Aug. 6): The ACM Honors have added four new performers to its lineup. The additional performers are three-time ACM Award-winning songwriter Ashley Gorley, “Wind Up Missin’ You” hitmaker and ACM Award-nominated Tucker Wetmore, K. Michelle and Carter Faith.

Faith is gearing up to release her debut project Cherry Valley in October, while K. Michelle is known for songs including “The Rain” and previously joined Jelly Roll and the Fisk Jubilee Singers on a rendition of The Judds’ classic “Love Can Build a Bridge,” recorded as part of the project A Tribute to The Judds.

PREVIOUSLY (July 30): The first round of performers has been revealed for the upcoming 18th annual Academy of Country Music Honors, including three-time ACM entertainer of the year Luke Bryan, as well as eight-time ACM Award winner Karen Fairchild of Little Big Town, Amy Grant, Ashley McBryde and Carly Pearce and Russell Dickerson.

The ACM Honors are set for Wednesday, Aug. 20, at The Pinnacle in Nashville. Pearce returns to host the event for a fifth consecutive year, and will be joined by first-time ACM Honors co-host Dickerson.

This year’s honorees include executive Lori Badgett, Eric Church, Luke Combs, Jessie Jo Dillon, Jelly Roll, Cody Johnson, Mac McAnally, Rissi Palmer, Randy Travis, the film Twisters, Ben Vaughn and Lainey Wilson.

“I’m excited to return as host of ACM Honors for the fifth year in a row,” Pearce said in a statement. “This night holds a special place in my heart because it shines a light on the songwriters, musicians and industry voices who make what we do possible. It’s truly one of my favorite nights of the year. It will be such a full circle moment to cohost with one of my oldest friends in Nashville, Russell Dickerson.”

“It’s a real honor to be hosting ACM Honors for the first time — especially at The Pinnacle in the heart of Nashville,” Dickerson said in a statement. “This night is all about giving credit to the folks who keep the wheels turning behind the scenes, and I’m proud to be part of it. Getting to team up with Carly and celebrate the industry we love so much is going to be one for the books.”

Additional performers, presenters and event details will be announced in the weeks ahead. Tickets for the ACM Honors are available through AXS.