Month: February 2021

The Bachelor and its extended online universe is always full of drama in one way or another, but a contestant’s racist past has now officially sidelined show host Chris Harrison. The longtime host of ABC’s reality program apologized twice this week for comments he made about a current contestant, Rachel Kirkconnell, and a racism controversy of her own. On Saturday, in his second apology he announced he would be “stepping aside” from the role of Bachelor host for a period of time.

“The historic season of The Bachelor should not be marred or overshadowed by my mistakes or diminished by my actions,” Harrison wrote Saturday on Instagram. “To that end, I have consulted with Warner Bros. and ABC and will be stepping aside for a period of time and will not join for the After the Final Rose special.”

The controversy comes amid a season of the long-running reality program that was supposed to be a step toward diversity for The Bachelor. Matt James, the current Bachelor, is the show’s first Black male lead in history, and the show touted a much more diverse cast than the white-dominated past seasons. But as the show progressed, many fans on social media called out Kirkconnell’s history of racism and cultural appropriation seen on social media, including photos of her in Native American costumes and attending an Antebellum-themed party in college.

As that controversy grew among Bachelor followers, Harrison addressed it in an interview on Extra between he and the show’s first Black lead, Rachel Lindsay. As People laid out, Harrison essentially defended Kirkconnell and attempted to downplay the racism involved because, among other reasons, it happened in 2018.

“I saw a picture of her at a sorority party five years ago and that’s it. Like, boom. Like, ‘Okay. Well, this girl is in this book now. And she’s now in this group.’ And I’m like, ‘Really?’” said Harrison.

Lindsay went on to explain that the image in question “was from 2018 at an Old South antebellum party … that’s not a good look.”

Harrison proceeded to suggest that perspectives change over time. “Well, Rachel is it a good look in 2018? Or, is it not a good look in 2021? Because there’s a big difference,” said Harrison.

You can watch the full segment between Harrison and Lindsay here. But that argument, and excusing racism that happened just three years ago because it’s a different time now, didn’t sit well with many Bachelor fans. And it quickly prompted a first apology from Harrison that he posted to social media on Wednesday.

Harrison apologized for “wrongly speaking in a manner that perpetuates racism,” but it did little to change the situation. And other Black former members of the cast have condemned both the photos and Harrison’s response to them, which has caused added fuel to the fire and likely caused Harrison to step aside. Tayshia Adams, who stepped in as a midseason replacement for The Bachelorette, was particularly critical according to People.

“I am really hurt and disappointed and confused at the ignorance when it comes to race,” said Adams, 30. “The things that have come to light within the Bachelor franchise this past week have just been eye-opening.”

“The photo that [Kirkconnell] was in is racist; the party she attended, racist. Her actions have been racist,” she continued. “When there are blatant forms of racist acts you cannot be defensive of it. It speaks volumes, and I just have to say I am really hurt by this response.”

It’s an uncomfortable situation for Harrison to be in for a number of reasons. So much of the Bachelor ecosystem relies on controversy and commentary, but the episodes are already in the can and the show knows who James picks here well before it airs. Kirkconnell is widely considered to be the frontrunner to win, and the controversy about her past racism shines negative light not only on the show, but its ability to properly vet contestants before they appear on air. If Kirkconnell made it past that process, either it says the show doesn’t think those images were deal-breakers, or they didn’t do enough research to disqualify her as a contestant.

All of that drama, continued speculation about other incidents in Kirkconnell’s past and statements from people of color in the Bachelor ecosystem forced Harrison to issue a second apology on Saturday, which included word that he would leave the show for an unspecified amount of time.

The remaining episodes of The Bachelor are already filmed, so Harrison will still appear on camera. But so, too, will Kirkconnell, and with speculation growing that she makes it far into the season the show will eventually have to address the controversy in some way, without Harrison involved for now.

It’s possible there has never been a debut album more anticipated than Normani Kordei Hamilton. Okay, I’m exaggerating, but while the former Fifth Harmony member has been working on her solo career for a while now, dropping enormous singles like her Sam Smith collab “Dancing With A Stranger” and “Motivation” (a song co-written by Ariana Grande), fans are still waiting for a full-length. That might have something to do with last year’s music industry shutdown of course, but even before that she was clearly struggling in 2020 when she spoke on how fellow 5Her Camila Cabello’s racist past resurfacing impacted her directly.

Before the impact of the pandemic in March of 2020, Normani was hopeful that a new single would be coming last summer, but COVID-19 changed plans for plenty of artists, not the least of which those who were readying their first album. Maybe, fans are finally going to get that single.

Now Normani is acknowledging that fans haven’t heard from her for a while by sharing a song snippet that deals with the same subject matter. “Know it’s been a while,” she wrote as a caption to a new short video posted on Instagram and Twitter, with a new song playing in the background. Sitting on grass somewhere overlooking a city, Normani reminds us all that she can dance better than almost anyone doing it — while sitting down. Let’s hope we get more info on this slow jam soon, because it sounds like a great follow-up to her upbeat first single.

If we get Normani’s debut album in 2021, then maybe it won’t be such a bad year after all.

Flopping: People don’t like it! NBA players are no strangers to embellishing contact, and it’s not exactly something that is new to the league, either. There are, of course, some dudes who don’t like doing it, but plenty of guys in the league will try their best to trick referees into giving them a whistle.

One such player who understands this is LeBron James, who is among the league’s best at the dark art of the flop. The issue for James is that this is a reputation that follows him every now and then, and on Friday night in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 115-105 win over the Memphis Grizzlies, James’ propensity for seeking out a whistle came back to bite him.

During the second quarter of action, Anthony Davis missed a jumper that was corralled by Grayson Allen. James, however, flailed his arms about and was able to draw a foul on Dillon Brooks, then got to the charity stripe and hit a pair of free throws. As a result, the league hit James with a flopping warning on Saturday.

And now, it is time for a brief defense of flopping. It is unclear why LeBron James should not try to take advantage of the fact that he knows that the referees will have a quick whistle and give him the benefit of the doubt in the moment. Drawing a foul and potentially getting two points at the free throw line gives the Lakers two more points, which means his flopping gets them closer to scoring more points than the other basketball team, which is the thing you need to do if you would like to win a game. As an added bonus, it draws a foul on an opposing player, meaning they inch one step closer to the six fouls that a player is allowed to draw before they are disqualified.

There is a financial penalty for flopping, yes, but for someone like James, it is extremely easy to not care about this. Should he flop and get called on it, the league will respond with a warning, and then, if he keeps doing it, a fine of $5,000 that goes up by $5,000 each time will be assessed. By a quick iPhone calculation, just going off of James’ annual $39.22 million salary (not including the fact that he is, you know, worth at least nine figures due to off-court stuff he has going on), a fine of $5,000 is 0.00012749 percent of what he makes. Perhaps it is a bit silly to waste one of these flopping warnings for a regular season tilt against the Grizzlies as opposed to, say, in a playoff battle with the Utah Jazz, but the point stands: this ain’t a lot to LeBron.

Anyway, in case it was not obvious, I like soccer.

Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial in the US Senate ended the same was as the first: with Senate Democrats unable to get enough votes to convict him on the charges of inciting his supporters to start a deadly riot at the US Capitol on January 6.

After the acquittal on Saturday, one of Trump’s defense attorneys appeared on Fox News for an interview that quickly went off the rails. Michael van der Veen was asked on Saturday specifically about his family’s treatment by the public for defending Trump, asking about a report that his home was graffitied. The response that he gave quickly went viral on Twitter.

That’s because it took a while for him to even respond. He looked down, sheepishly searching for words to answer the question.

“My home was attacked… I’d rather not go into that,” he said. “To answer your question, my entire family, my business, my law firm are under siege right now.”

The attorney then began to claim that Democrats had no case against Trump, which is probably why few people seemed to have any sympathy for van der Veen despite claiming that he’s “under siege” because he’s representing the only president in American history to be impeached twice. And despite Trump supporters claiming victory on Saturday, it seems clear that Trump and Republicans are far from out of the woods here.

The hashtag #43Traitors trended on Twitter at times on Saturday, as people were frustrated that 43 Republican senators voted to acquit Trump. And with criminal charges potentially looming for Trump in a variety of courts as the fallout from his presidency grows, it seems Trump will need more lawyers to defend him and then appear on Fox News to talk about it later.

Days after he gave fans a video for “Asshole” with Oliver Tree, Lil Yachty is back on the visual route with a new one for “In My Stussy’s” with Vince Staples. Yachty keeps things rather isolated this time around as his verse on the song sees him rapping fairly close to the camera that stands in front of him. Elsewhere he raps in front of a trio of magnifying glasses that accentuate the appearance of his mouth and other features on his face. Afterward, Staples steps in to deliver a solid sixteen that finds him grooving to the song’s bouncy production as he shows off his

Both the track and the video appear as contributions that prove the rapper has made an amazing comeback over the last year. It kicked off with the release of his “Oprah Bank Account” track with Drake and DaBaby. Shortly after, he dropped his Lil Boat 3 album, which saw a huge boost in quality compared to his previous albums while bringing a close to the Lil Boat series. The 18-track effort saw additional appearances from ASAP Rocky, Tierra Whack, Young Thug, Future (who appeared on the standout “Pardon Me” track), and more. At the end of November, the Atlanta native shared a deluxe version of the album with eight new tracks, which included In My Stussy’s.”

Watch the “In My Stussy’s” video above.

Lil Boat 3.5 is out now via Quality Control Music. Get it here.

Pooh Shiesty has grown to be one of today’s most popular new rap artists. The 21-year-old Memphis native began making music when he was 18 and just a couple of years later, he became the latest addition to Gucci Mane’s 1017 Records imprint. Following a few appearances on Gucci’s So Icy Summer project, Shiesty stepped out on his own this year with the release of Shiesty Season. The effort has been received well by fans, with many picking his “Back In Blood” collaboration with Lil Durk as their favorite from the album. Just a week removed from the project’s release, Shiesty stopped by Audiomack for a new performance.

The Memphis rapper delivered a medley of “Back In Blood” and “Guard Up” for the platform’s Fine Tined series. Shiesty kicked things off with “Back In Blood” and backed by keyboard player Matt Composure, who is the only instrumentalist in the room, he raps the song up until Durk’s verse arrives. At that point, Composure makes the smooth transition to “Guard Up,” opening the door for Shiesty to begin the second song of his set, one he raps from start to finish.

Prior to his visit to the Fine Tined set, he joined Big Flock in the visual to their “187 Shiesty” track.

You can watch the performance in the video above.

Shiesty Summer is out now via 1017/Atlantic Records. Get it here.

Pooh Shiesty is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

On Saturday afternoon, after five days debates (with some occasional accidental comic relief) and over a month after he was impeached in the House of Representatives, the Senate voted on whether or not to impeach Donald Trump, who was accused of inciting the failed MAGA riot of January 6. And to the surprise of very few, Trump was acquitted, with 57 voting guilty and 43 not guilty.

A two-thirds margin is required for conviction, and it was known going in that there would need to be 17 Republicans to join the Democrats, who were unanimously in favor of impeachment. Only seven Republicans voted guilty, namely Richard Burr, Bill Cassidy, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Mitt Romney, Ben Sasse, and Pat Toomey.

A vote to hold the Senate trial was voted on Monday, and on Tuesday it began in earnest. House Democrats were praised for their passionate presentations, which included plenty of videos, some including new and horrifying footage of the failed insurrection. Some montages juxtaposed the Capitol siege — shown in the very building in which it took place, to lawmakers whose lives were put in danger — with Trump’s speech before it happened, in which he implored his supporters to “fight” and to “never concede.”

Meanwhile, Trump’s legal team was roundly and frequently mocked for their clumsy statements and presentations. One earned comparisons to My Cousin Vinny. Another featured not one but two montages in which Democrats — and Madonna, and Johnny Depp — were shown simply using the word “fight.”

But neither events that endangered them personally nor the clown show that was Trump’s defense could convince more than seven Republicans to punish him, and ensure that he could never run again. In the meantime, Trump is now a private citizen and is under investigation by, among other places, the State of New York.

On the fifth day of the Senate trial of Donald Trump, it appeared the Democrats had grown atypically bold. The party has often been accused, often by their constituents, of being weak-willed, insufficiently brave when it came to taking on their more fearless Republican opponents. And yet Saturday began with them agreeing to call witnesses, to more forcefully highlight what they saw as the former president’s role in the failed MAGA coup of January 6. (That is, after one of Trump’s attorneys made a very funny gaffe.) Mere hours later they changed their mind. There would be no witnesses called. And a lot of people on social media were not happy about that.

House Democrats, who have spent days presenting their case for impeachment to the Senate, had planned to call a number of witnesses, chief among them Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler. On Friday night the Republican lawmaker detailed a raucous phonecall between House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Trump, in which the latter seemed to sympathize with the insurrectionists. A vote for witnesses went though. Among those who voted for it was Republican senator Lindsey Graham, who had opposed witnesses and whose ulterior motives were the subject of much speculation.

But then nothing. A deal had reportedly been brokered between the two parties. Instead the trial would move straight into closing arguments, which a vote expected by day’s end.

The surprise move had many furious with the Democrats.

At least there was one alleged fan: Donald Trump.

Others argued that people shouldn’t be so quick to judge the move — that it may be part of a long con, if you will.

Sources told CNN there were some potentially solid reasons why Democrats caved. Some said they believed further testimony, as per CNN, “would add little beyond her statement and could potentially cost them GOP support, while dragging out the proceedings further.” They also argued that it could backfire, with House Republicans calling in their own witnesses to speak to Trump’s alleged character. It could also stretch things out for weeks on end, jeopardizing other congressional work that needs to be done, from COVID-19 relief packages to the swearing in of Biden nominees for other positions.

Whatever the case, it may not be long until we see if the Democrats’ master plan worked.

(Via CNN)

Lil Durk has collaborated a number of times with Lil Baby, their most recent being “Finesse Out The Gang Way,” off the former’s deluxe re-issue of The Voice from back in January. Now that song has a music video. Durk and Baby link up in Atlanta and hit the road in a luxury vehicle. The two examine some flashy diamonds to purchase while showing off the jewels they already own. Meek Mill and DaBaby also make appearances.

Back in May, Lil Durk dropped his mixtape Just Cause Yall Waited 2, which debuted at No. 2 on the album charts. He later released a deluxe version of the project and a number of videos for it as well. Months after connecting with Drake for “Laugh Now Cry Later,” he dropped The Voice to put a cap on what’s was an impressive 2020.

As for what’s next, Durk is already planning a new project for this month with his Only The Family crew. Their compilation album Loyal Bros is set to drop on February 26.

You can watch the “Finesse Out The Gang Way” video above.

The Voice (Deluxe) is out now via Alamo/Geffen. Get it here.

Meek Mill is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

The New York Knicks will not have the man at the center of their defense for at least a month. According to a report by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, big man Mitchell Robinson is slated to miss the next 4-6 weeks after he broke his hand against the Washington Wizards earlier this week.

Robinson, who had started all 27 games the Knicks played up to that point, appeared to suffer the injury while going up to contest a shot by Washington’s Rui Hachimura, as he was seen holding his hand following the play.

The specific injury is a fracture of the fourth metacarpal, and Robinson will undergo surgery next week to get it all sorted out. So far this season, Robinson is averaging 8.4 points, 8.4 rebounds, 1.5 blocks, and 1.2 steals in 28.8 minutes per game for New York, and while replacing his defensive presence will be difficult, Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau went through some of the ways he might try to fill that hole at the heart of his defense.

“We can play smaller,” Thibodeau said after the game against the Wizards, before bringing up some of the players who might be able to slide in. He then brought up some specific guys, noting that he has a few tricks up his sleeve beyond the most logical replacements in guys like Nerlens Noel and Taj Gibson.

“I like the way Obi [Toppin] is coming on,” Thibodeau said. “He’s given us good minutes, so we have that option. We can downsize and we can play Kevin [Knox] at the four, play Julius [Randle] at 5.

“I like the versatility of our team,” Thibodeau continued. “But any time you lose a player of Mitch’s caliber, we have to make sure we’re playing hard. You don’t replace a guy like that individually, we have to do it collectively, and everyone’s gonna have to step up.”