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The Bears ‘QB1’ Tweet About Andy Dalton Did Not Go Over Well With Their Fans

The Chicago Bears entered this offseason knowing they needed to make a serious upgrade at quarterback. Former No. 2 overall pick Mitchell Trubisky had run his course in Chicago, and Nick Foles proved a year ago that he wasn’t the answer. With Russell Wilson requesting a trade and listing Chicago among his preferred landing spots, the stars finally seemed aligned for the Bears to acquire a top flight starter in the league, which, when coupled with their stout defense, would have made them a contender in the NFC.

However, the Seahawks refused to deal Wilson and the Bears didn’t seem to want to chase Deshaun Watson in trade talks with the Texans, and so they went out and signed a quarterback on the free agent market. The problem is, this wasn’t a very strong quarterback class in free agency — which, it rarely is as no one likes to let a top QB just walk — and they ended up inking Andy Dalton to a 1-year, $10 million deal. Some Bears fans tried to rationalize this as a stop-gap measure that would allow them to still possibly deal for Wilson or someone else, or draft someone this year and have them not have the immediate pressure to start.

Dalton made clear he signed under the assumption he was going to be the starter, and on Wednesday, for some reason, the Bears decided to make an emphatic statement acknowledging that on Twitter.

It was an odd thing to just fire off at 7 p.m. local on a Wednesday, but they went for it and, unsurprisingly, their fans were not pleased with the post.

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Man’s through-the-wall piano duet with a mystery neighbor became a beautiful love story

Sometimes the right two people come along at the right time in each other’s lives, and a story for the ages is born. But it’s rare that we get to see such stories captured in real-time.

This time we’re lucky. In a silent saga befitting a Pixar short film—complete with soundtrack—a TikToker and his mystery neighbor have taken us all on a beautiful journey of music, love, longing, and loss.

Giorgio Lo Porto is an Italian living in London, and on February 6, he shared a video of his new neighbor playing piano. The music is muffled behind their shared wall, but clear enough to hear. Lo Porto wrote that he left a note for the mystery neighbor, telling them he loved their music and asking if they could play “My Heart Will Go On.” And so they did.

Lo Porto left another note suggesting that they play something together, each in their own apartments. A call-and-response duet of sorts. He didn’t know if they’d do it, or if they’d forget when the time came. He also said he himself hadn’t played in months. But he started playing at 2pm, and as soon as he stopped, the neighbor began.

Their duets became a weekend “meet up,” playing back and forth through their shared wall. Seems like a perfect meet-cute in a romantic comedy, doesn’t it?

On Valentine’s Day, they played a duet and Lo Porto wrote “It’s Valentine’s Day. We’re in lockdown. This was our way of saying, I don’t know who you are but I’m here. You’re not alone.”

Then it came time for them to meet.

“Well, today I have met my neighbor,” Lo Porto wrote in a video shared on February 21. “It was better than expected.”

“His name is Emil…”

@giorgio_lp_ I wasn’t surprised – I knew there was a special soul behind that wall ##fyp ##foryou ##music ##neighbour ##love ##piano ##foryoupage
♬ original sound – Giorgio Lo Porto

“He is 78 years old, originally from Poland. This is his temporary accommodation while he waits for his house to be sold.”

“He lost his wife in December due to COVID,” Lo Porto shared. “And all he has left is the piano. And the reason why he plays at 2pm every weekend is because his wife loved it.”

“He thanked me for keeping him motivated and less lonely. And I promised that I’ll play with him until he moves out.”

“He is camera shy,” he added. “But I’ll try again when he’s ready.”

Lo Porto shared that Emil is “a special soul” and that “he is fine now, healing.” And his piano playing is just gorgeous.

Playing with Emil inspired Lo Porto to write his own song. “I woke up with 3 notes in my head,” he wrote on February 27.

He added some string orchestration to it and called it “Dear Emil.” It’s the first song he’s ever written.

“When I wrote this piece I started picturing Emil’s life,” he wrote. “A 78 y.o. widower who lost his wife due to this stupid virus. Spending days at home alone due to lockdown. Looking forward to play her favourite piano songs at 2pm every weekend, until a note appeared on his door. A letter showing he was heard and not alone. And a new friendship started. Two pianos between a wall, not knowing who was playing. But it didn’t matter.”

“You can be the light of somebody else’s darkness. So keep shining.”

On February 26, Lo Porto announced that Emil was moving out the following week, and shared their last weekend duet—the much requested “Moonlight Sonata.”

He said Emil still didn’t want to be on camera, but said he was much happier and thanked everyone who had been watching their duets. Lo Porto promised he would keep playing for him on the weekends.

It would be lovely if the story ended there, but it doesn’t. (May need a tissue now if you haven’t already grabbed one.)

Lo Porto shared on March 14th that he’d received word that Emil had passed away in his sleep: “And now he is reunited with his wife.”

“Dear Emil,” he wrote. “I knew very little about you, but you changed my life. You gave me back my passion, and we shared that with the world. You’ll be in my heart. I’ll keep playing, thinking of how powerful music can be. You said I was your light, but you’ve been mine too. Bye, Emil.”

If you needed a good cry today, hope that helped. And if you needed a reminder that humans can be wonderful and life can connect us in beautiful and mysterious ways, now you’ve got one.

Lo Porto says he will have a full version of “Dear Emil” up on YouTube soon. You can listen to it on Spotify as well.

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The NCAA Got Mad At A Syracuse Donut Shop That Put Buddy Boeheim’s Face On A Donut

Syracuse, by virtue of getting a double-digit seed and somehow always doing this when they are given a double-digit seed, is on to the Sweet 16 in the 2021 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. The star of the show has been the coach’s kid, as junior guard Buddy Boeheim has exploded during the first two games the Orange have played.

Boeheim dropped 30 points in Syracuse’s opening round tilt against San Diego State and followed that up with 25 against West Virginia. The thing that has stuck out, outside of his last name, is how insanely hot he’s gotten from three, going 13-for-23 from behind the arc and generating just enough buzz that he can possibly bring his ability to shoot to the next level.

But unfortunately, a small business decided to commit the unforgivable sin (in the NCAA’s eyes, at least) of having some fun with this. Syracuse donut shop Glazed & Confused created donut that had the younger Boeheim’s face on them, but according to a post on their Instagram account, the NCAA swooped in and told them this wasn’t cool, because god forbid a donut shop in Syracuse, New York put Buddy Boeheim’s face on food and raised money for charity, right?

“Unfortunately our ‘Buddy’ donuts have been bounced for the original #35 Coach B.,” the caption read. “To be compliant with the NCAA rules players images are not to be used. We know Coach B. is not as charming as Buddy but rules are rules. Limit 6 per person. Percentage of profits will go to Boys & Girls club. Limited quantity, first come , first serve. See you Saturday.”

Fun fact: I used to live two blocks away from Glazed & Confused! It’s really good. This, however, is really stupid, and it is the most NCAA thing imaginable to get riled up about this after it did not pay nearly enough attention to making sure the teams in its women’s tournament were given any sort of proper facilities at their hotel.

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Pop Smoke’s Debut Album Broke A ‘Billboard’ Chart Record That Eminem Held For A Decade

Pop Smoke ended 2020 with one of his biggest records, “Dior,” landing a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Performance. While Megan Thee Stallion and Beyonce would eventually take home that award, the nomination was proof of the impact he made in his tragically short career. Another example can be seen in the success his posthumous debut album, Shoot For The Stars, Aim For The Moon, which recently broke a Billboard record Eminem held for the last decade.

The record in question is the longest-running No. 1 Rap Album, after it tallied its 20th non-consecutive week atop that chart. The previous record holder was Eminem’s seventh album, Recovery, which spent 19 weeks there between 2010 and 2011. On its way to the top, Pop’s posthumous debut also passed Drake’s Take Care (16 weeks), Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’ The Heist (13), and Kendrick Lamar’s DAMN. (11).

Should Shoot For The Stars, Aim For The Moon can keep up its chart-topping streak going, it will break another Billboard record. If it reaches 29 nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1, the album will break MC Hammer’s record for most weeks atop the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Album chart. It also recently passed Michael Jackson’s Bad and Prince’s Purple Rain for most weeks on the chart, which is cool, too.

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MLS Announced Its Full Schedule For The 2021 Season

Like every sports league last year, Major League Soccer had to figure out its 2020 campaign despite the COVID-19 pandemic. While the league originally planned to use the year to celebrate its 25th season, the pandemic meant things had to be postponed for several months. From there, the league put on the MLS is Back Tournament at Disney before resuming play in local markets for the remainder of the season.

Things should, of course, be quite a bit less hectic this season, and on Wednesday afternoon, we learned exactly what this season will look like. MLS announced its full slate of regular season games for the 2021 campaign, which is slated to begin on April 16 in a double-header that portends a full weekend a footy and runs through November.

While select MLS clubs will begin playing on April 6 as part of CONCACAF Champions League — you can see those games here — here’s the league’s opening weekend schedule, which will include all 26 clubs competing (all times EST):

Friday, April 16

San Jose Earthquakes at Houston Dynamo FC, 8 p.m.
Minnesota United FC at Seattle Sounders FC, 9:30 p.m., FS1

Saturday, April 17

Toronto FC at CF Montreal, 2 p.m.
Atlanta United at Orlando City SC, 3 p.m.
Austin FC at Los Angeles Football Club, 5:30 p.m., Fox
Colorado Rapids at FC Dallas, 8 p.m.
Sporting Kansas City at New York Red Bulls, 8 p.m.
New York City FC at D.C. United, 8 p.m.
FC Cincinnati at Nashville SC, 8:30 p.m.
New England Revolution at Chicago Fire FC, 8:30 p.m.

Sunday, April 18

LA Galaxy at Inter Miami CF, 3 p.m., ABC
Philadelphia Union at Columbus Crew SC, 5:30 p.m., FS1
Portland Timbers at Vancouver Whitecaps FC, 10 p.m.

Head here to check out the entire schedule for the 2021 MLS season.

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The Great Grape-Nuts Shortage Of 2021 Has Ended

The great Grape-Nuts shortage of 2021 is finally over and the cereal will be returning to store shelves nationwide at full capacity. We know what you’re thinking. It’s something along the lines of “Whaaaaaaat?” It seems that in these strange times the Grape-Nuts shortage hasn’t really penetrated the mainstream consciousness.

However, the brand’s devotees have certainly noticed. And they’ve been so torn up that they’ve been buying boxes from third-party sellers who have been greatly inflating the price. In fact, the Grape-Nuts aftermarket is such a problem that Post is actually offering people who dropped $10+ on a box between Nov. 1, 2020, and March 15, 2021, a partial refund of up to $115, so long as they have a valid retailer receipt (paper or digital) that shows they paid an inflated price.

Though our food editor was very keyed in on this shortage because he apparently likes the texture of gravel and sand, most of the Twitter chatter surrounding the news could be filed under “bemused surprise.”

Anyyyyway, Grape-Nuts are now available at grocery stores nationwide. If this makes you happy, don’t let the haters spoil it. It’s far better than cereal with shrimp tails and you deserve simple pleasures. “Any port in the storm,” as the saying goes.

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Guy Fieri Reflects On His Legacy, Dining Post-Covid, And His Style Ethos

It’s been 15 years since Guy Fieri’s very first appearance on the Food Network (please, for the love of God, watch his audition tape). In that span of time, the blond-tipped people’s champ has gone from relative unknown to mega-stardom. Along the way, he’s dealt with shade from the culinary cool kids, seen the teen who stole his Lambo treated like a goddamn folk hero, and been torched by food critics acting in bad faith.

But over the past half-decade, the world has had something of a Fieri-ssance. His charity efforts have spoken far louder than even the harshest donkey sauce burns, reminding the mainstream that the celebrity chef is a restaurant industry icon, its “last unproblematic” star, and maybe even Santa Claus. Meanwhile, Fieiri’s commitment to “Triple-D food” — typified by big flavors, executed with expertise — has profoundly affected the look and feel of modern American dining. When you see high-end chefs falling over themselves to make a fried chicken sandwich that can compete with Popeye’s, you’d better recognize that the dude in the wraparound Oakleys deserves some credit.

Through it all, the Mayor of Flavortown has remained 100% himself — a tactic that’s worked wonders against the slings and arrows of the celebrity-driven media machine. Whether he’s launching a ghost kitchen or aiding firemen, he’s always just Guy being Guy. And even in our long, lonely quarantine, he’s kept active, raising over $20 million for the restaurant workers who were hit hardest by COVID-19.

Twenty. Million. Dollars. That number says far more about the man behind the shades than even his wild trashcan nachos do.

As the king of chill in an industry that famously adores comfy footwear, it’s no tremendous surprise that Fieri’s other big pandemic project was developing a collaboration with a flip-flop brand. Even without ever really seeing his feet on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, “Guy Fieri likes flip-flops” feels like a no-brainer. To mark the announcement of this link-up, we chatted with the legend himself about his personal style ethos, his status as a beloved cultural character, and, of course, his feelings on the fried chicken sandwich craze.

***

Before we get into anything else, I want to ask: What’s your personal style ethos? What kind of statement, if any, are you trying to make when it comes to your personal wardrobe?

I wish I had some great answer to give you, but I don’t really have a personal style. Mine’s more about how comfortable and how usable it is. Being a chef and doing all the things that I do, having it work is more important than if it looks cool. I guess that’s kind of the first and foremost. I mean, a lot of the stuff we have to wear in kitchens isn’t usually the most fashionably oriented. But I like to have stuff that I can count on. I like dependability and I like what I wear to be cool.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like I’m going to just go wear anything and then look stupid. There was a pair of shoes someone got me the other day for a shoot. And I’m wearing them and they looked… Oh my gosh, it was for the Tournament of Champions and they looked cool. Oh my God, they looked great and everybody complimented them. Then about two minutes before we started that episode, I’m like, “Get these things off me. Go get me some better shoes!” Because I’m not going to stand there for 10 hours in something that looks cool but doesn’t work.

I don’t know if that’s really the answer you’re looking for. I’m a little bit of… what you see is what you get.

You mentioned looking “cool.” The idea of cool shifts a lot, as you know. What does that word mean to you?

I don’t know what cool is. It’s got to be functional, it’s got to somewhat sit inside of the trends of what has been established. I don’t know that wearing logging boots to a volleyball game is cool. I think you just got to sit within — somewhat — the spectrum of what people are wearing, and using, and doing.

Like my kids, OOFOS [the brand that makes Fieri’s flip-flops] sent a great care package to the family, because we’re all getting ready to go to Hawaii this week. And what do my kids order? Slides. They ordered the slides. I’m wearing the flip-flops and they’re wearing the slides. And they’re trying to give me a whole education on the slippers. And I’m like, “No, flip-flops. That’s what you wear when you go to the beach.” “Nah, slides.”

So between the generations, there’s definitely some question.

Okay, you mentioned OOFOS. How did the deal come about and, more importantly, how have you not endorsed a flip-flop before?

Well, I’m going to tell you, and you’re not going to believe it. But I had a brand of flip-flops I wore all the time, loved them. They were great, couldn’t have said enough about them, and never talked to that brand about a deal or any of that kind of stuff. So I’m in Hawaii getting ready to go on a fishing boat and I had forgotten my flip-flops. And so we stopped in a tiny little surf store and I have two of my Hawaiian buddies with me, Reno and Nikoha, and I said, “Hey, I need to get some flip-flops. What are the best? I got to have arch support. They have to be a good flip-flop. I can’t just have something that is only protecting the bottom of my feet.” And my buddy Nikoha says, “You got to try these.” And I said, “Well, those look a little too comfortable and a little too loungey for me. I think I’m going to need something that’s a little bit –”

He goes, “No, no, no, no, no, no, no, you try them on, brotha.” Of course, he’s got to follow it up with a “brotha.”

I put them on… I love them. They’re super — great arch support, really comfortable, durable, the whole thing. Fast forward about four months later, and I’m walking down the hill at our cabin, going to the lake. And as anybody will tell you, flip-flops and water aren’t always the best combo.

And so my OOFOS are a little wet and I slide and I rip the toe tongue, or whatever you call that thing, I rip it out. I didn’t want to throw it away because I got a good one, but I’m not going to wear just one. So I get back after my time at the cabin, and I go to my assistant, I said, “Do me a favor, take these flip-flops, and contact this company, and tell them what happened.” And she does, and that’s it, I don’t hear another thing about it.

About two weeks later, there’s a new pair of OOFOS sitting there. And I said, “Did you buy me a new pair?” She says, “No, they sent them.” I said, “What? Why didn’t they just send one?” I was so taken by that. I was so like, “Wait a second, in today’s world, nobody sends you anything. Nobody ever listens.” And they really pride themselves on customer service.

So fast forward to the whole thing, I said to one of my agents… We were talking about different shoe endorsement ideas. And I said, “Man, there’s this flip-flop company that I want you to call.” I wasn’t pronouncing it right for the longest time. They made a call, everybody had a little chit-chat, and it’s just a cool little organic relationship that we were able to form.

We haven’t started my Guy Fieri-style of the platinum flip-flops yet, but these guys are pretty open-minded. I think you’ll see something coming one of these days soon.

You’re at a really interesting place in culture right now. The rest of the world has finally caught up to your brand and style. I think about your earlier career, how you were kind of the subject of food snob criticism. But that type of food you love — that greasy American vibe — you elevated it. And now even high-end chefs want to make the best chicken sandwich. Your food rules the internet.

Did you see that coming? How did you feel about that kind of return to favor in certain circles?

Well, I’ll tell you, of course, you like to see whenever the tides change and things go in that positive direction. I go to the beat of my own drum and wasn’t doing anything different to be different, and wasn’t doing anything outside of what I wanted to do because it was to garner attention or awareness, other than “that’s what I wanted to do.” Being raised the way I was raised, and with the parents that I had, and what they taught me, I’m pretty comfortable in my own skin and do what I want to do. So the fact that now the world is mellowing out a little bit about food criticism, and food appreciation, and so forth… and granted, this pandemic has really kind of just grounded everybody more, thank goodness.

All I can say is, we have so many other things in this world to be worried about and to focus on than to be criticizing people, unless they’re really doing something to hurt you, or hurt them, or hurt the world. But you know what? It’s awesome, I still love doing what I’m doing as much as when I started doing it on day one. It’s the same thing: it’s fun. What I do helps people. I get to shine the light on mom-and-pop joints all around the world. I used to say, “the country,” but we have done stuff outside of the country. So now we say, “the world” — sounds really cool. But that’s a great opportunity to have, to be able to produce positive and produce opportunity, versus not.

You did a lot for restaurants during COVID. And now as we’re starting to open up a little bit, what does the restaurant industry need to do to move forward? What should we, as consumers, be doing? What kind of assistance do restaurants need? How do we help build our restaurant space back up after this huge loss that they’ve suffered?

Well, awareness is always the most important. We can’t do anything if we’re not aware, so being aware, as you just stated, thank you. We are still in a very dire situation. Restaurants have forever been operating on shoestring budgets, and don’t have a lot of reserve capital, and on, and on, and on. So realizing that’s the state of affairs. How can you help as a consumer? Eat out more often, get more delivery, get more to-go, buy gift certificates, tip big, all these things.

You know, people say, “Gosh, I hope I don’t lose my favorite restaurant.” Well, maybe you only eat there once a week or twice a week. Go eat three times a week. We have a lot of people with a lot of needs. And the restaurant industry is so much more connected to our livelihoods and our communities than we can ever imagine. So many people work inside of restaurants that you may not even know that, or work their second job, or are single parents, or college students. So we need to give them all the support we can.

And what can restaurants do? Do what we’ve always done, continue to adapt, and overcome. There are all these regulations, and stipulations, and expectations, and all this bunch of –tions. And I’ll tell you what, restaurants are learning to do delivery if they never did it or to-go if they never did it or they’re learning to make prepackage if they never did it. That’s what we do in the business, we adapt and we overcome.

I think that we’re going to continue to grow. And I’m happy to see that the delivery services are available and helping the industry. And I’ll just say, we have no precedent to work from. This is an unprecedented time for everybody. But in the restaurant business, we’ve never seen this. So I think it’s just going to be learning curves, it’s going to be a tough learning curve this next year. But as you’ve already seen with restaurants figuring out how to build little temporary shelters in the middle of a parking lot and make people happy, it’ll work.

Just to end things out here, my editor would kill me if I didn’t ask you something related to chicken sandwiches because they’re having a neverending moment. Is there any chicken sandwich out there that impresses you? How do we, at home, unlock the secret to making a delicious chicken sandwich?

Well, I have a chicken sandwich concept called, “Chicken Guy!” And we are very hardcore about our chicken. I have been to probably more chicken restaurants than anybody, having traveled and hit over 1,500 locations, or 1,500 restaurants in the United States. So I’ll say this to you, great chicken sandwiches start with great chicken — not frozen, make sure it’s antibiotic-free. The better the chicken’s raised, the better the chicken is going to be. A brine is always really critical. A good brine to a chicken is different than a marinade. A great batter or a great breading, that’s not more breading than chicken, is always really important.

And then, as we say at Chicken Guy!, “sauce is the boss.” We offer 22 different sauces in our concept, more than anybody. And we’re just talking fresh-made, hand-battered, or hand-dredged, scratch-made sauces. What you see is — again, a common theme for me — what you see is what you get. If you’re going to sell chicken, it’s got to be honest, it’s got to be real, it’s got to have great flavor, it’s got to be cooked properly, it’s got to be treated properly, and it’s got to be backed up with dynamite sauce.

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Ron Livingston Is Set To Replace Billy Crudup As The Flash’s Dad For The Hero’s Long-Awaiting Solo Movie

If you were one of the many devotees who plowed through all four hours of the “Sndyer Cut” of Justice League, you may have enjoyed one supporting performer in particular: Billy Crudup swung by twice as the imprisoned father of Barry Allen, aka Ezra Miller’s Flash. He didn’t have much screentime but he made the most of it, with lively line readings and a big, goofy congrats to his son during the lengthy epilogue. Well, hope you enjoyed it because, thanks to scheduling conflicts, Crudup isn’t returning for Barry’s long-promised solo movie. But that’s okay because at least they scored a good replacement.

As per Variety, Ron Livingston will be stepping into Crudup’s shoes after the latter was stuck shooting the next season of Apple TV Plus’ The Morning Show. They’re very different actors; where Crudup’s most famous work is in Almost Famous, Livingston has Office Space. But they scratch a vaguely similar itch, and the recasting shouldn’t cause too much commotion among the tetchier people on the internet.

Crudup had to stick by the role for a very long time, having filmed his Justice League stuff some five years back. The Flash movie has been in the works ever since, and it’s run into untold complications — and that was before there was a once-in-a-century pandemic.

This current version, which seems to be ready to go, finds It director Andy Muschietti at the helm, Birds of Prey scribe Christina Hodson doing the script, and a cast that includes Y Tu Mamá También’s Maribel Verdu as Barry’s mom, Derry Girls’ Saoirse-Monica Jackson, internet personality Rudy Mancuso, and Young and the Restless’ Sasha Calle as Supergirl. One Justice League performer they did get back — on top of Miller, of course — is Kiersey Clemons, who was the subject of a memorable rescue scene involving slo-mo hot dogs.

(Via Variety)

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Steven Yeun’s First Order Of Business Post-Oscar Nomination Is To Team With Ali Wong For A Show About Road Rage

Things are pretty great for Steven Yeun right now. A few years ago, he was one of many Walking Dead alums. Today, he’s the first Asian-American to ever receive an Oscar nomination for Best Actor, for the much-liked Best Picture nominee Minari. And his first order of business after that milestone is to team with comedian and actress Ali Wong for a Netflix series about road rage.

It’s called Beef, and as per Variety, it’s a comedy-drama that “follows two people who let a road rage incident burrow into their minds and slowly consume their every thought and action.” It’s stretched over 10 episodes, so that’s a lot of rage for Yeun and Wong to exhibit.

In addition to her work on sitcoms like Fresh Off the Boat (where she was a writer) and American Housewife (where she’s a cast member), Wong is a Netflix regular, co-starring with Randall Park in the popular Always Be My Maybe and appearing as one of the voices on Big Mouth.

As for Yeun, he’s one of the stars of a very good I Think You Should Leave sketch, and as of this writing, you can still watch the role that served as his major breakthrough to where he is now: the South Korean art film Burning, where he exudes haunting ambiguity as a rich guy who may or may not be a weirdo sociopath. And, of course, it yielded this incredible gif.

(Via Variety)

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Dr. Dre Opted Out Of ‘Verzuz’ After A Previous Guest’s Sound Issues

Swizz Beatz and Timbaland’s Verzuz was a breakout hit last year, featuring performances from a plethora of big-name stars that made it must-see entertainment for folks stuck at home during the ongoing pandemic. The duo was even able to sell the show to Triller and offer their prior guests equity in the sale. However, despite scooping up some of hip-hop and R&B’s most iconic entertainers for the show, Swizz and Tim unfortunately missed out on securing one of their peers due to one of their shows turning out differently than expected.

Dropping by The Breakfast Club on Hot 97, Swizz and Tim revealed that Dr. Dre, who was in negotiations to participate in a Verzuz battle of his own, canceled on them after seeing the sound issues during the battle between Babyface and Teddy Riley. Swizz explained, “When Dr. Dre wasn’t feeling the sound from Teddy Riley and Babyface, that hurt our heart. I was like, ‘Oh my god.’ If you go back, Dr. Dre was at the Teddy Riley one. He came at the end, but he was supposed to come at the end and announce he was doing Verzuz that night.”

Unfortunately, seeing the shambles that became of the episode when the sound on Teddy’s elaborate at-home display cut-out, Dre decided that a similar fiasco would hurt him more than it helped. “He got on the phone and was like, ‘Man, I can’t be a part of nothing that look like or sound like that,’” Swizz explained. “‘My legacy is quality. My legacy is this, that.’ I was like, ‘Ohhhh we just lost Dre over that. That one felt pretty crazy but since then, the energy has been really good.”

Most recently, Wu-Tang Clan members Ghostface Killah and Raekwon The Chef engaged in a friendly tet-a-tet while the Verzuz heads announced Earth, Wind & Fire and The Isley Brothers would participate on Easter Sunday.

Watch the Verzuz collaborators’ interview with The Breakfast Club above.