Month: October 2021

Dave Chappelle may be enjoying the uproar caused by his trans jokes in his sixth Netflix special, but there are plenty who’ve disagreed with him. One was Terra Field, a Netflix who took to Twitter over the weekend to denounce the comic, saying his dehumanization of trans people like her leads to violence. On Monday, it was announced that Field was suspended, though Netflix claimed it was for another matter, not her tweets. A day later, Field and two colleagues suspended for the same reason were reinstated.

As per Deadline, Field and her two co-workers were suspended after attending a meeting intended only for senior executives at the company. Field dropped part of the letter she received from top brass in a tweet bearing the news. In it, the company informed her that “our investigation did not find that you joined the QBR meeting with any ill intent and that you genuinely didn’t think there was anything with seeking access to this meeting. Additionally, when a director shared the link it further supported that this was a meeting that you could attend.”

“At the very least, I feel vindicated,” Field wrote.

When news broke of the suspensions on Monday, Netflix said it was “absolutely untrue” that Field’s had been over her tweets regarding Chappelle. “Our employees are encouraged to disagree openly and we support their right to do so,” they said in a statement.

In Chappelle’s latest — and reportedly last — Netflix special, entitled The Closer, the comic dedicates the final stretch to yet another round of anti-trans jokes. His defenders have claimed that pushback for such humor leads to unnecessarily destroyed careers, but just ask Chappelle, who did six specials for the streamer in four years, a number of them riddled with LGBTQ+ jokes, for which he was paid a princely sum.

(Via Deadline)

Find someone who loves you as much as Jim Jordan loves getting owned on social media for saying dumb things. The Ohio representative is mostly famous for being the best buddy of federally investigated colleague Matt Gaetz. You could say he’s the Beavis to Gaetz’s Butt-head. But every now and then he breaks out on his own, tweeting something simple and moronic about, let’s say, the founding fathers. On Tuesday, he decided to tweet something moronic about vaccine mandates.

Mandates to force people to get a humanity-saving cure that could finally bring an end to the pandemic: No, Republicans don’t like them. Jordan especially doesn’t like them, although it’s not clear if he understands them. “Ohio should ban all vaccine mandates,” he tweeted out. It was short and sweet, but not so short that people couldn’t dissect it for all its idiocy.

For starters: which vaccine is he talking about? Is it the flurry of mandates that most people, Jordan included, have had no problem with for the majority of their lives? Or is he against required vaccines for diseases like polio, measles, chicken pox, rubella, etc., etc., etc.?

Whatever the case, people pointed out that Jordan seems to be arguing for a resurgence of many diseases that were long ago considered conquered.

Some thought Jordan demanding the government prohibit businesses from enacting mandates didn’t sound terribly Republican.

Others made jokes about his involvement in the sex abuse scandal at Ohio State University, for which he’s still never been held accountable.

Although things could always be worse.

A recent concert in Atlanta has landed Boosie Badazz in some new legal troubles. According to HipHopDX, the rapper was reportedly arrested for inciting a riot and destruction of property following a brawl that occurred at the show. The event was the opening stop for the Legendz Of The Streetz Tour (previously titled Feed The Streetz Tour), which also features appearances from Rick Ross, 2 Chainz, T.I., Yo Gotti, Lil Kim, DJ Drama, and Jeezy. It was at the October 1 show that the brawl broke out during Boosie’s set, and in a video obtained by TMZ, a man left the DJ booth to confront another man. It was then that Boosie began throwing punches.

At around 12:41 am, the Atlanta Police Department was called to the venue for vandalism and upon their arrival, officers were told that Boosie and his crew damaged items that belong to the production company responsible for the tour. The rapper and his entourage were also accused of destroying property owned by the arena. On October 11, more than a week after the incident, the club promoter allegedly pressed charges against the rapper for the incident, after which Boosie turned himself into a Fulton County jail. He posted an unknown amount in bond and was released on October 12.

https://mobile.twitter.com/BOOSIEOFFICIAL/status/1444819846722633734

After the Atlanta brawl, Boosie was removed from the Legendz Of The Streetz Tour and he voiced his frustration about it in a Twitter post. “THIS IS THE MOVE THEY PULLING OFF ON THE TOUR SO U CANT GET REFUNDS,” he wrote. “READ IT CLEAR LOL LIKE PEOPLE GO READ A SIDE DOOR LOL SH*T OUT TO ALL MY BALTIMORE FANS LOVE YALL.”

Jay-Z’s continues to fight for social justice and reforms. Towards the end of last year, his Team Roc group covered the legal fees for protestors in Wisconsin. His and Meek Mill’s REFORM Alliance helped bring forth a new California bill that limits probation sentences to one year for misdemeanors and two for felonies. Now Jay-Z and Team Roc helped raise $1 million to investigate wrongful convictions in a Kansas county.

According to the Kansas City Star, Team Roc raised the funds for the Midwest Innocence Project (MIP) to investigate wrongful convictions in Wyandotte County, Kansas. “It’s a huge investment,” MIP’s executive director Tricia Rojo Bushnell said in a statement. “The ability to look at these cases is really going to continue to shine a light on what we need to do to actually provide a just criminal legal system in Wyandotte County.”

So far MIP has received 40 applicants through the initiative. Recently Wyandotte County had to overturn a conviction of one of its inmates a few years ago in a notable case. Lamonte McIntyre, who spent 23 years in prison for two murders he did not commit, was released in October 2017 after evidence surfaced of widespread misconduct that led to his undeserved conviction.

Jon Gruden is no longer the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders, tendering his resignation following a report uncovering offensive remarks used in emails while he was an employee of ESPN. While the discussion first swirled on Gruden’s comments directed at NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith, the public scope quickly widened, but not to the point at which any other individuals were spotlighted. In fact, other than Bruce Allen, who received the emails from Gruden, the ongoing investigation into Washington Football Team’s organization and workplace has not revealed additional details about team employees.

For many, that is a strange occurrence, particularly with word that the investigation included more than 600,000 documents across ten months of discovery. On Tuesday, a report emerged from The Washington Post indicating that the NFL “does not plan to release more information about the investigation into the workplace of the Washington Football Team,” acknowledging that this realization comes “despite calls for more transparency after the emergence of emails sent to a former team executive that included racist and homophobic language and lewd images.”

Several entities have formally encouraged the NFL to reveal more of its findings, including the NFLPA and attorneys representing former Washington Football Team employees. In fact, attorneys Debra Katz and Lisa Banks called for the findings to be made public in a statement.

“It is truly outrageous that after the NFL’s 10-month long investigation involving hundreds of witnesses and 650,000 documents related to the longtime culture of harassment and abuse at the Washington Football Team, the only person to be held accountable and lose their job is the coach of the Las Vegas Raiders,” they said. “Our clients and the public at large deserve transparency and accountability. If not, the NFL and Roger Goodell must explain why they appear intent on protecting the Washington Football Team and owner Dan Snyder at all costs.”

The NFLPA indicated to The Washington Post that it plans to prompt the league with a request to receive the emails from the investigation. Given the NFL’s apparent stance, it seems possible, or even likely, that this request will fall on deaf ears, but the lack of transparency will almost certainly result in growing frustration and skepticism about what the league could be shielding.

Perhaps you’ve heard of this Squid Game program. The world (and that includes subtitle-phobic America) has been losing their minds for the grim and gory South Korean show about a dystopia in which the cash-strapped enter deadly games to win money. It’s so incredibly, absurdly popular that Netflix was sued in the show’s native country over the massive spike it caused in online traffic. So this news isn’t exactly shocking: According to Deadline, the (alleged) numbers are in and Netflix is claiming it’s even bigger than Bridgerton.

The British bodice-ripper was (again, as per Netflix only, with no independent verification) the streamer’s biggest hit. That wasn’t so long ago. But it’s already been (reportedly) usurped by Squid Game, which Netflix claims is the biggest launch in their streaming history. They’re alleging that the new show has been watched by 111 million households in its first 28 days on the service, handily defeating Bridgerton, which “only” had 82 million over the same period.

Mind you, these numbers are a bit (potentially) skewed. Netflix includes anyone who watched as little as two minutes in their tally, so “viewers” could comprise people who bailed after a few minutes, or never even made it past the pilot. Still, the show (Netflix says) hit number one in as many as 90 different countries, including the one that just barely made the South Korean Best Picture-winner Parasite a moneymaker at the box office, despite it being in a non-English language. Again, this is all per Netflix, who only report on numbers when they’re allegedly through the roof.

(Via Deadline)

Kyrie Irving has no plans to join the Brooklyn Nets any time soon. According to a new report, Irving will not receive a vaccine to protect himself and those around him from COVID-19 even though the team announced on Tuesday that he will not be allowed to participate in any activities until he does.

As explained by Shams Charania of The Athletic, Irving is the only remaining person with a Tier 1 distinction to not receive the vaccine in the Nets’ organization. But despite that, his mind appears to be made up on not receiving one at any point in the foreseeable future, something that is understood by those in the locker room.

Nets general manager Sean Marks acknowledged Tuesday that Irving is not vaccinated for COVID-19. The All-NBA star and the Nets had received some good news on Friday when New York City Hall ruled that the team’s practice facility, HSS Training Center, is a public office building — clearing Irving to return to practice on Sunday. But as of now, Irving has no plans to be vaccinated, sources say. Within the franchise and the players in the locker room, it is understood that Irving’s decision is what it is.

The Nets determined that Irving will not be allowed to join the team in any capacity until he is vaccinated. It was recently determined by New York officials that Irving could practice at the Nets’ facility, but instead, Charania reports that “the Nets did not want to deal with the distraction of Irving being a part-time player and wanted him to fully commit to the team — or stay away.”

Irving’s decision to stay unvaccinated is apparently because “he is upset that people are losing their jobs due to vaccine mandates” and he “wants to be a voice for the voiceless.” At least 716,000 Americans and 4.55 million people worldwide have died as a result of COVID-19, while billions of people are vaccinated worldwide.

The last time we checked in with Black Country, New Road, the London band was covering ABBA’s “Mamma Mia” in their unique style of chaos punk. Today, they seven-piece band has announced their much-anticipated second album, Ants From Up There, out early next year.

Along with the album announcement comes the single “Chaos Space Marine.” The track opens with a cacophonously controlled saxophone, before unfurling into a thrilling blitz of violin, piano, and drums. Frontman Isaac Wood calls it “the best song we’ve ever written” and offered some additional thoughts on the tune:

“We threw in every idea anyone had with that song. So the making of it was a really fast, whimsical approach – like throwing all the s*** at the wall and just letting everything stick.”

Ants From Up There arrives on February 4, 2022 via Ninja Tune. Pre-order it here, check out the album art and tracklist below along with their rapidly selling North America tour dates.

1. “Intro”
2. “Chaos Space Marine”
3. “Concorde”
4. “Bread Song”
5. “Good Will Hunting”
6. “Haldern”
7. “Mark’s Theme”
8. “The Place Where He Inserted the Blade”
9. “Snow Globes”
10. “Basketball Shoes”

02/18/2022 – DC9 Nightclub, Washington, DC (SOLD OUT)
02/19/2022 – The Sinclair, Cambridge, MA (SOLD OUT)
02/22/2022 – Sultan Room, Turk’s Inn, Brooklyn, NY (SOLD OUT)
02/23/2022 – Elsewhere, Brooklyn, NY
02/25/2022 – Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA (SOLD OUT)
02/26/2022 – Bar Le Ritz, Montreal, QC
02/28/2022 – Third Man Records, Detroit, MI
03/01/2022 – Lincoln Hall, Chicago, IL
03/03/2022 – Barboza, Seattle, WA – US (SOLD OUT)
03/03/2022 – Polaris Hall, Portland, OR
03/05/2022 – The Miniplex, Richard’s Goat Tavern, Arcata, CA
03/06/2022 – Great American Music Hall, San Francisco, CA
03/08/2022 – Zebulon, Los Angeles, CA (SOLD OUT)
03/09/2022 – Regent Theater, Los Angeles, CA

Lil Uzi Vert has been busy. Eternal Atake arrived earlier this year, followed by its deluxe reissue Lil Uzi Vert Vs. The World 2. He then followed that with the Future collaboration Pluto Vs. Baby Pluto. The Philly native has teased plans to return with a new project at some point this year, but he’d yet to specify when. All of that changed over the weekend, when Lil Uzi delivered an update during a traditional Cambodian weddin.

During the event, one of the attendees approached the rapper with a camera and asked when they could expect his new project. “Probably in like three weeks, before Halloween come out,” he replied in the video. He also said that the album would be titled The Pink Tape.

Previously Vert discussed the album during a Jay-Z’s anniversary event at the 40/40 Club in August. “Well, it’s going through its mixing process right now,” Uzi said during a brief interview on the event’s blue carpet. “Because last time I dropped an album, it did really well. It was actually my highest-selling album, but it was experimental on the mixing part, not the actual music, so this time I went experimental with the music and traditional on the mixing.”

Lil Uzi Vert is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

In an unexpected move by one of the entertainment industry’s biggest music festivals, Coachella has reversed its mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy for its upcoming April 2022 festival dates. The move comes just two months after Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), which owns Coachella’s promoter Goldenvoice and is the second-largest concert promotion company in the US behind Live Nation, ruled that vaccinations are required at all their US venues starting in October. Along with Coachella, the August policy also affected showcases like Stagecoach, Lovers & Friends, and Day N Vegas. However, with six months left until Coachella 2022 commences, its organizers look to head in a different direction.

“After seeing first-hand the low transmission data and successful implementation of safety protocols at our other festivals this past month,” Coachella wrote in a post to their Instagram page. “We feel confident we can update our health policy to allow for: Negative Covid-19 test taken within 72 hours of the event OR Proof of full vaccination.”

Variety reached out to Goldenvoice with questions about the change in policy, but they did not immediately receive a response.

At the end of 2019, Coachella announced that Rage Against The Machine, Frank Ocean, and Travis Scott would headline the festival, which was originally intended to be held in 2020 before the pandemic forced its postponement. Coachella’s co-founder later announced that Frank would miss the 2022 showcase and instead headline in 2023. As for the full lineup for Coachella 2022, it will not be revealed until some point next year.