There’s nothing funny about Russian president Vladimir Putin’s deadly invasion of Ukraine, which at press time had reportedly resulted in the deaths of hundreds of civilians and a global effort to isolate and financially punish the former KGB boss. But, of course, late night shows are tasked with finding the funny in the horrific and on Monday night (Feb. 28) Stephen Colbert nailed that pop culture triple Lindy with a pitch-perfect Taylor Swift spoof.
The subject was the move to remove certain Russian banks from SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication), a special messaging service that connects global financial institutions and helps to coordinate money transfers as a means of punishing Putin for invading neighboring Ukraine. Instead of a boring explainer, Colbert “acquired” a special message from Swift that broke down the geopolitical financial smackdown.
“Economic pain for invading Ukraine/ That’s how Vlad will pay, hmm mm, Here’s his Wordle today,” the stand-in Swift sang over images of the Russian Ruble’s value collapsing on world markets and a world puzzle that spelled out “Broke” in instantly recognizable green letters. “Financially he’ll grieve, for sending troops to Kyiv/ Nipples please just leave, you’re not Keanu Reeves.”
The 90-second bit, which interspersed pics of a shirtless Putin with shots from the original “Shake It Off” video boldly announced that it’s time for sanctions, excommunication and a hard break from interbank telecommunication.”Cuz I’m cutting off his banks, banks banks, banks, banks/ Til he turns around his tanks, tanks, tanks, tanks, tanks/ Vladdy I’m not gonna take, take, take, take take sanctions off, sanctions off!”
The world has condemned Russia’s aggressive action, with dozens of artists from Green Day to Louis Tomlinson, Yungblud, Health, Frank Ferdinand, Miley Cyrus, The Weeknd and Barbra Streisand either canceling planned shows in Russia or expressing solidarity with the Ukrainian people.
Watch the video below.
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Diljit Dosanjh is set to take the stage at London’s Wembley Stadium on September 12 for what will be the biggest European performance of his career.
The singer will lead a show at the legendary London venue, which can hold around 90,000 fans, making him the first Punjabi artist and the first Indian artist to headline Wembley Stadium. In 2025, Arijit Singh became the first Indian artist to headline a stadium concert in the U.K. when he performed at the nearby Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The Punjabi music icon revealed the news during his concert at Toronto’s Rogers Centre on Sunday, May 31. While sharing the announcement, he noted that he is now part of a select group of performers that includes Michael Jackson, Queen, and Prince, all of whom have headlined the famous stadium. Wembley is also scheduled to welcome major acts such as Harry Styles, My Chemical Romance, Bruno Mars, The Weeknd, and Bon Jovi in the months ahead.
Dosanjh’s most recent performance in London came in October 2024 when he sold out and headlined the city’s 20,000 seat O2 Arena.
Fans will be able to access tickets through an artist presale beginning June 10 at 10 a.m. BST. The general ticket sale is set to start on June 12 at 10 a.m. BST through Live Nation.
At present, Dosanjh is continuing his Aura world tour, with the North American leg having started in Vancouver in April. Since then, he has performed at several major arenas, including two headline dates at New York’s Madison Square Garden. The North American run will wrap up with back to back performances at San Francisco’s Chase Center on June 20 and 21.
In 2025, he released his 15th studio album Aura, and earlier this year he unveiled an updated version of “Senorita” alongside J Balvin. In May, he made his debut appearance at the Met Gala in New York, while in April he returned to The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon for a second appearance to promote his latest EP, The Call of the Panjab.
