Stephen Colbert gets into Twitter tizzy about sensitivity and satire

Comedy Central deleted a message on Thursday from its Twitter feed of the late-night satirical show The Colbert Report showing a still from Wednesday night's show where Stephen Colbert joked about starting a "Ching-Chong Ding-Dong Foundation for Sensitivity to Orientals or Whatever". The joke was part of a skit in which the host Stephen Colbert talked about the Washington Redskins's owner buying things for Native Americans upset with the team's name. The hashtag #CancelColbert then appeared on Twitter, igniting a debate over what is funny and what is offensive. On his personal Twitter feed, Colbert said of #CancelColbert: "I share your rage." – AP

NY college to offer Miley Cyrus class

Skidmore College, a private liberal arts college in upstate New York, is offering a summer course on Miley Cyrus. Visiting assistant professor Carolyn Chernoff calls the course The Sociology of Miley Cyrus: Race, Class, Gender and Media and says she'll focus on the 21-year-old performer and all her incarnations as a way to study such topics as gender, race, class, fame and power. She says she got the idea after teaching a course on youth culture that featured a video of Cyrus twerking at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards. – AP

Frozen holds throne on top of Billboard

The soundtrack to Disney's Frozen shows no signs of slowing down four months after its release, as sales for the album hit a high note and held the top spot on this week's Billboard 200 album chart. Frozen, which features the Oscar-winning song Let It Go, sold 202,000 copies last week, its biggest sales week since its November 25 release. Six new releases entered the top 10, led by the rapper YG's My Krazy Life at No 2. The alt-rockers Foster the People debuted their latest record Supermodel at No 3, while the electronic music DJ Skrillex came in at No 4 with Recess. – Reuters

Sinha to get special IIFA honour

The veteran actor Shatrughan Sinha will be honoured for his outstanding contribution to Indian cinema at the 15th edition of the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards ceremony to be held in Florida from April 23 to 26. The filmmaker Ramesh Sippy made the announcement on Thursday. The IIFA, Indian cinema's largest annual extravaganza, is usually held abroad, and makes its US debut this year in Tampa Bay. Sinha began his career in Bollwood in 1970 and is known for films such as Kalicharan (1976), Kaala Patthar (1979), Dostana (1980) and Shaan (1980). – IANS

The Grandmaster wins big at this year’s Asian Film Awards

The Chinese martial arts drama The Grandmaster won Best Picture, Best Director for Wong Kar-Wai, Best Actress for Zhang Ziyi and four other prizes at the Asian Film Awards, held on Thursday in Macau. The Best Actor prize went to Irrfan Khan for the Indian film The Lunchbox, which screened at the Dubai International Film Festival. The Chinese actor Huang Bo won Best Supporting Actor for No Man's Land, while the Malaysian actress Yeo Yann Yann won Best Supporting Actress for Ilo Ilo, which also screened at DIFF. The Asian Film Awards were organised this year by a new regional governing body that includes the awards' previous organiser, the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society, and representatives from the Tokyo and Busan film festivals. – AP

Stones Paris gig sells out in 51 mins

Rolling Stones fans snapped up 75,000 tickets for a Paris concert in June in less than an hour on Friday. The tickets for the belatedly added Paris leg of the 14 on Fire tour on June 13 sold out in 51 minutes. The tour kicked off in Abu Dhabi on February 21 but was suspended after the suspected suicide of Mick Jagger's girlfriend, the fashion designer L'Wren Scott, on March 17. The Paris gig was announced last Sunday after the Stones postponed their dates Down Under following Scott's death. The tour will resume on June 7 in the Netherlands. In Paris, the iconic rock band will play at the Stade de France, a national stadium built for the 1998 World Cup. – AFP

Tiesto cancels Venezuela show

The Dutch DJ Tiesto, one of the world's most popular purveyors of dance music, says he is cancelling a show in Caracas because "it's no time to party". The show had been scheduled for April 4. Tiesto said he would reschedule as soon as possible because he's always played great shows in Venezuela. Tiesto is the world's highest-paid DJ, according to Forbes, earning about US$250,000 (Dh918,000) for a three-hour set. Venezuela has been rocked by anti-government protests for nearly three months. Earlier this week, the Italian singer Jovanotti announced that he was cancelling an April show because of safety concerns. – AP

[ artslife@thenational.ae ]

Stephen Colbert gets into Twitter tizzy about sensitivity and satire

Plus: NY college to offer Miley Cyrus class; Frozen holds throne on top of Billboard; Sinha to get special IIFA honour; Grandmaster wins big at Asian Film Awards; Stones Paris gig sells out in 51 mins; and Tiesto cancels Venezuela show.