Month: April 2021

That “blanket pardon” Matt Gaetz definitely didn’t ask Donald Trump for would probably be really good right now. That’s because news broke this morning that Gaetz, who is currently under investigation by the Department of Justice for allegedly having a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl and paying her in hotel and travel accommodations, might be the subject of seemingly another sex trafficking probe. Investigators are looking into a trip Gaetz took to the Bahamas in late 2018 or early 2019 with marijuana entrepreneur and hand surgeon Jason Pirozzolo. Apparently, Pirozzolo, who seems to have some kind of mutually beneficial friendship with Gaetz, paid for the travel, the accommodations, and female escorts, according to CBS News.

Rumors about politicians and sex workers are nothing new, but the problem for Gaetz is that these escorts may have been illegally trafficked across state lines in order to have sex with the congressman. Worse, now that the Feds are interested in Gaetz’s relationship with Pirozzolo, some questionable behavior is coming to light.

According to CBS News, in July 2018, Pirozzolo made comments on a podcast, suggesting he knew key details of a bill Gaetz was working on to help facilitate more research into medical marijuana. That legislation, the Medical Cannabis Research Act, was introduced in April 2018, and again in January 2019 but failed to pass both times. Gaetz has also spoken at medical marijuana conferences chaired by Pizzolo, using them to hype up his own fundraisers with Pizzolo donating funds to his campaign arm in the process. If it turns out Gaetz was accepting trysts with escorts and trips in exchange for introducing legislation on Pizzolo’s behalf, that would be a federal crime.

Of course, Gaetz’s comms team has denied any and all allegations, calling the probe a “general fishing exercise” and describing Gaetz’s interactions with these women as being “consensual relationships with adults.”

That said, we don’t think this is the last we’ve heard of all this.

The NBA got a pretty feisty fight earlier this week when the Los Angeles Lakers squared off against the Toronto Raptors. OG Anunoby and Dennis Schröder got tangled up, which led to the former picking up and dropping the latter and the two teams exchanging pleasantries. In the aftermath, both Anunoby and Montrezl Harrell were ejected for their roles in the fracas.

On Thursday, the league announced suspensions and fines for the run-in, and funny enough, neither Anunoby or Harrell will miss any time despite being sent to their locker rooms. The league will levy fines to both — Anunoby will be out $30,000, while Harrell’s fine is $20,000.

The suspensions will go to a pair of Raptors and one Laker, all for their decisions to leave the immediate bench area while things were going down. Both DeAndre’ Bembry and Fred VanVleet will miss a game, while Talen Horton-Tucker will be sidelined for one tilt involving the Lakers. According to the league, both Bembry and Horton-Tucker will serve their suspensions right away — Bembry will miss Thursday’s game against the Chicago Bulls and Horton-Tucker is going to sit out Thursday’s tilt against the Miami Heat. As for VanVleet, who has missed two games in a row (including the one against the Lakers) with a hip injury, he’ll sit out the next game he’s eligible to play.

Ahead of her controversial “Back the Blue” speaking appearance at Clemson University on Thursday night, conservative commentator Tomi Lahren appeared on the Hollywood Raw podcast to discuss her relationship — or lack thereof — with Jay Cutler.

The smokin’ former-NFL quarterback, who apathetically tossed bombs for the Denver Broncos, Chicago Bears, and Miami Dolphins during his 12 season career, was romantically linked with Lahren following his split from ex-wife Kristin Cavallari. They both denied the rumors (“Only lady in my life. Be better internet,” Cutler wrote on Instagram, along with a photo of his beloved cow), but Lahren feels “really bad” for him.

“So Nashville is a very small town. Jay and I happened to be at the same bar. We talked a little bit on Instagram, just completely friendly… But as soon as someone sees you with somebody, and especially if you’re me, you’re going to catch flack for it,” Lahren told the podcast hosts. She alerted Cutler about the reports the day they came out, unlike Madison LeCroy, a star of Bravo’s Southern Charm, who chose to “[put] the receipts out there,” as Lahren said. “I’m like, ‘Girl, really, would you really do that?’ I thought that was so cheap, and stupid, and embarrassing. So, I feel really bad for the guy.”

Unlike a generation of Bears and Broncos fans, who feel “really bad” because of Cutler.

It’s been a few months since Julien Baker released her radically honest third album Little Oblivions. Like most musicians this past year, Baker marked the release by sharing her music on various late-night performances. But since the vaccine rollout continues to ramp up across the US, the singer officially unveiled an extensive 2021 and 2022 tour. Celebrating her tour announcement, Baker brought her track “Favor” to a moving performance on The Late Late Show With James Corden.

Ahead of her set, Baker told Corden that she’s beyond excited to get back on the road for the first time in over a year. “It is indescribable to say how much I am looking forward to playing some shows in front of a real live audience,” she said. “What I am looking forward to most is the electricity that happens in a live setting. So I’m just happy to get to perform in front of people and have that back-and-forth again.”

Previously speaking about the album, Baker said it was difficult not to have her music reflect a certain cynical outlook she has recently adopted about the world:

“I’ve been thinking a lot about how this record isn’t as positive, or that I didn’t try so hard to have a thesis statement at the end of it that was about something good and meaningful and redemptive. And I’m afraid that the attitude that’s become more prevalent, especially over 2020, is that people are relating and bonding over cynicism. Like what we just did, I feel like that’s the conversation that makes people immediately accessible to each other.

When I go into a coffee shop and they’re like, ‘How are you,’ and I’m like, ‘Good, except for…’ You know, and that’s how people bond about things being sh*t. I don’t know if that’s good or bad; I think it’s good, to be honest about it in my own life, but I don’t want to be cynical.”

Watch Baker perform “Favor” on The Late Late Show With James Corden above.

Little Oblivions is out now via Matador. Get it here.

Shelley — FKA DRAM — has a new album dropping in April, his first in over four years. Since then, he’s gone through a musical reinvention, a physical transformation, and a couple of name changes, but the biggest change to his life was the passing of his mother last year. The duo was close; in 2017, they released a holiday EP together, dueting on the Christmas classics “Silver Bells.” According to Shelley, she’s also the reason for his upcoming album’s release date, April 29.

Posting a photo of the pair on Instagram, Shelley explained that he pushed back the release date of his album to his mother’s birthday in honor of a favor she did for him before her death. As he expands in the caption, “Before she passed I played her my upcoming album and I begged her to promise she wouldn’t play it for anyone else. She held her promise and took the music with her beyond this life.”

For Shelley, the new release date is his way of paying her back. “Her birthday is April 29th, so I’m pushing my album Shelley FKA DRAM’s release date to April 29th as not only my gift back to her, but my promise to play it for the world.”

To promote the upcoming album, fittingly titled Shelley FKA DRAM, Shelly has presented the rollout in the form of a mock late-night talk show, which provided a smooth framing device for the videos for singles “Exposure” and “Cooking With Grease.”

Shelley FKA DRAM is due 4/29 on Atlantic Records.

Until late 2020, Darkside, the experimental project of musicians Nicolás Jaar and Dave Harrington, had been silent since finishing a wildly successful tour behind their 2013 album Psychic. But at the end of last year, Jaar and Harrington revitalized the moniker by releasing a live EP of archived audio from a 2014 concert. But that’s not all. Darkside marked their impending return with the brand new single “Liberty Bell” and revealed that a new album, Spiral, was incoming, although they didn’t say much about it at the time.

Now, several months after releasing their lead single, Darkside are following up “Liberty Bell” with a new single and formal album announcement. Their new, hypnotic track “The Limit” officially heralds their upcoming LP Spiral, which will be their first album in 8 years when it releases on July 23.

In a statement about their return, Jaar said Darkside has always been a side project. “From the beginning, Darkside has been our jam band. Something we did on days off. When we reconvened, it was because we really couldn’t wait to jam together again,” he said. Echoing Jaar’s statement, Harrington said, “It felt like it was time again. We do things in this band that we would never do on our own. Darkside is the third being in the room that just kind of occurs when we make music together.”

Listen “The Limit” above and find Darkside’s Spiral album artwork and tracklist below.

1. “Narrow Road”
2. “The Limit”
3. “The Question Is To See It All”
4. “Lawmaker”
5. “I’m The Echo”
6. “Spiral”
7. “Liberty Bell”
8. “Inside Is Out There”
9. “Only Young”

Spiral is out 7/23 via Matador. Pre-order it here.

In 2010, Prince announced his “Welcome 2 America” tour, and he also recorded an album of the same name that was never released. Now, though, over a decade later, Prince’s estate is releasing the album, which is set for July 30. Accompanying the announcement is the title track, a spoken-word tune that’s critical of mass media, social media, and other issues in American life.

The album features 11 Prince originals and a cover of Soul Asylum’s “Stand Up and B Strong.” As Rolling Stone notes, these songs haven’t been released before, but some have been either performed by Prince live or appeared on webcasts and one-off radio premieres. The deluxe edition of the album features a concert video filmed on April 28, 2011 at The Forum in Inglewood, California.

In a 2010 statement, Prince said of the album, “The world is fraught with misin4mation. George Orwell’s vision of the future is here. We need 2 remain steadfast in faith in the trying times ahead.”

Listen to “Welcome 2 America” above and find the Welcome 2 America art and tracklist below.

1. “Welcome 2 America”
2. “Running Game (Son Of A Slave Master)”
3. “Born 2 Die”
4. “1000 Light Years From Here”
5. “Hot Summer”
6. “Stand Up And B Strong (Soul Asylum cover)”
7. “Check The Record”
8. “Same Page, Different Book”
9. “When She Comes”
10. “1010 (Rin Tin Tin)”
11. “Yes”
12. “One Day We Will All B Free”

Welcome 2 America is out 7/30 via SMG. Pre-order it here.

Inside a sprawling expose from The Hollywood Reporter detailing Ray Fisher’s allegations of abuse against Justice League director Joss Whedon (and producers Geoff Johns and Jon Berg) is a section on how Johns reportedly passed over Bridgerton star Regé-Jean Page for a role in the SyFy series Krypton. The allegation was included as part of a larger narrative accusing Johns of racial insensitivity while the DC Comics writer continues to have an active hand in producing projects for Warner Bros. Via THR:

Multiple sources tell THR that the show’s creators were passionate about doing some nontraditional casting and that Regé-Jean Page, who would go on to become a breakout star of Bridgerton, had auditioned for the role of Superman’s grandfather. But Johns, who was overseeing the project, said Superman could not have a Black grandfather. The creators also wanted to make one superhero character, Adam Strange, gay or bisexual. But sources say Johns vetoed the idea.

Within hours of the expose hitting on Wednesday, Page sub-tweeted after the report alleged that he lost a Krypton role because of his race. “Hearing about these conversations hurts no less now than it did back then. The clarifications almost hurt more tbh,” Page wrote. “Still just doing my thing. Still we do the work. We still fly.”

While the initial THR report included a denial from Johns that the Krypton casting decision was based on race, a rep for the DC Films exec emailed an additional statement to E! News explaining that the producers wanted to connect the show to the Zack Snyder films.

“Geoff never said Superman can’t have a Black ancestor or be Black—there have been diverse versions of Superman throughout the comics for decades so he does and can be diverse,” the statement read. “However, the expectation for KRYPTON was that it would initially be perceived as a possible prequel to Man of Steel by the fans, and the lead was expected to invoke a young Henry Cavill.”

(Via Regé-Jean Page on Twitter, THR, and E! News)

It’s been a strong week of firsts for Florida rapper Rod Wave. Earlier this week, Billboard confirmed his first No. 1 album, SoulFly, and Wednesday night, he made his late-night debut on The Tonight Show performing the emotive album single “Tombstone.”

The pre-recorded performance appears to take place at a boathouse on the Everglades, which provides a sparkling background as Rod and his band play a stripped-down, moody rendition of the reflective track. With just a piano and a trio of backup singers, Rod wrings every last drop of emotion from the heart-swelling single, wisely letting his voice — the true star of SoulFly — take center stage.

SoulFly — Rod’s third album after Ghetto Gospel and Pray 4 Love — reached No. 1 behind a massive streaming push, which included singles “Street Runner,” “Tombstone,” and the Polo G-featuring “Richer,” which accumulated the bulk of the streams on the album. Another likely factor was his placement on XXL’s 2020 Freshmen cover, exposing him to the wider audience that helped him make the jump from Pray 4 Love‘s No. 4 debut to SoulFly‘s chart-topping first week. One thing’s for sure: Rod Wave is now a bona fide star.

Watch Rod Wave’s “Tombstone” performance for The Tonight Show above.

SoulFly is out now on Alamo Records. Get it here.

Greg Gutfeld of Fox News’ The Five is apparently doing the late-night comedy thing as of this week on his new show, Greg Gutfeld’s Gutfeld! It’s not going too well and, in fact, the whole thing is very strange, but at least the show is delivering on its promise to be an alternative to what’s currently out there in the late-night-talk and late-night-cable landscape. There’s truly nothing else like this show out there, so perhaps the novelty counts for something.

Gutfeld has been described as a a “hard-edged satirist,” although that’s a confusing take because even satire is supposed to be funny. The trainwreck continued on the show’s third night, and as Vox’s Aaron Rupar noted, Gutfeld is repeating the same jokes (like this bizarreness about CNN), and in this case, he’s done it three times. There’s something here involving… “racist” grandmas and a bear? it makes no sense at all.

Choice replies included, “Just like my drunk neighbor. Always telling me the same story” and “They’re really leaning on their greatest misses” And so on.

Then there was a skit making fun of Jen Psaki using Rorschach blots. Hoo boy.

Previously, the Daily Beast spoke with some comedians who’ve offered their own criticism of Gutfeld’s show. They’re not impressed, including how Jena Friedman (formerly of The Daily Show and now of Borat Subsequent Moviefilm) stated, “It’s like watching a guy going through a divorce doing an impression of Bill Maher.” Ouch, and as Michael Ian Black noted on Twitter, the real humor can be found in the show’s Garfield-esque logo.