Month: October 2021

On September 28, 1998, Pokémon Red and Blue hit shelves in North America. A week later — on my fifth birthday — I would get my very own Game Boy Light, a copy of Pokémon Red version, and at long last set off on my very first Pokémon journey. From that point on, my life and interests shifted dramatically, and I can pretty safely say if it weren’t for that clunky grey system and that little Red cartridge, I most likely wouldn’t even be sitting in this chair typing away about games every day. In short, Pokémon kinda sorta changed my life — and I know I’m not alone.

I am one of millions of kids who grew up alongside the series and fell completely in love with the wonderful world of Pokémon, and perhaps what’s even more fun to think about is the fact that our generation was just the beginning. In the 23 years since the Pokémon video game series launched in North America, the franchise has gone on to become the greatest-selling of all time at a whopping $105 billion in total revenue. Just to put that into perspective, that’s bigger than the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Star Wars combined. On top of much of this being attributed to Pokémon‘s nearly unwavering quality, so much of this is seems to be because series’ wasn’t made to start and stop with we kids who grew up in the 90s or early 2000s, but rather is one that speaks to both adults and children of every generation and pulls them in with simple gameplay and sweet creatures you oh-so-desperately wish were real.

So, in order to celebrate the series’ the world simply can’t get enough of, here’s a completely subjective (but hopefully fair!) ranking of all eight generations of the game from worst to best. As always, feel free to comment with your own ranking below because quite frankly I love hearing ’em.

8. Generation 6: Pokémon X and Y
Region: Kalos
While it might be at the bottom of the list, I feel I should state X and Y aren’t bad games as much as they just don’t do quite as much as the rest of ’em do for me. While the series’ first trek into 3D and the game’s lovely, French inspired map makes gen six memorable, when it comes to its storyline and added pokémon there is a lot to be desired. By and large the best things this game did was introduce fairy-type pokémon, allowing for a better counter against dragon-types, and create mega evolutions, one of the series’ better gimmicks in recent years.

7. Generation 7: Pokémon Sun and Moon, Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon
Region: Alola
For many people, generation seven is, well… their least favorite. And you know, I get it. Gen seven tried a lot of new things (arguably too many things), and ultimately I would agree that not all of it worked. Hell, it seems even Game Freak agreed, hence the pivot back to gyms for generation eight However, I do respect the fact that they tried new things and I think some of their ideas were a bit brilliant. Personally, I loved the team looking at evolution in the more scientific sense and introducing variant types of pokémon. I also think that by-and-large the Alola region is so unique and well thought-out. It feels cohesive and lived-in in a way previous areas don’t, which was a welcome breath of fresh air. While the trials felt inspired but ultimately fell flat and z-moves felt uninspired and were simply “okay,” overall there was enough charm to these games to at least bump it up from last place.

6. Generation 8: Pokémon Sword and Shield
Region: Galar
While the Nintendo Switch might not be the mightiest console on the market (by a lot, really), Nintendo and its developers have seemingly made a very concentrated effort to do the absolute most they can with the lil’ guy. More and more, we’re seeing classic Nintendo series embrace an open world design, and I gotta say, I think Pokémon‘s eighth generation did it with flying colors. The wild areas, cutsey camps, and cities that make up the Galar region create a world that feels massive and like a natural step forward for the series, and the line-up of new pokémon felt like a call back to the first game in the series in a really charming way. While a lot of people had a lot of gripes with Pokémon Sword and Shield‘s limited Pokédex at launch, to me it felt like a very valid way for newcomers to not be completely overwhelmed by the sheer number of pokémon we’ve now accumulated and encouraged longtime fans to mix it up and try new party dynamics. The game also had such unique character dynamics, it’s overarching story felt fairly different from any previous entries.

5. Generation 4: Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum
Region: Sinnoh
I know gen four is incredibly beloved and I promise I’ll be the first one scolding myself if I go back to it when Shinning Pearl and Brilliant Diamond come out later this year and realize I should have placed them higher, but this is ultimately where I landed for now — sorry! All that said, the mechanical importance of gen four cannot be understated. Thanks to Diamond and Pearl, we got the physical and special stat split, a mechanic used in every game since that forces player to be more thoughtful about the stats and abilities of their party. It also was our first tease of the jump to 3D which was incredibly cool to see at the time and made the Sinnoh region even more fascinating and seemingly endless than it was. Last but certainly not least, when it comes to what generation had the most baring on future games, fourth might just take the cake. The legends and myths woven in the game are ones that are still important and talked about in games today, and make me all the more excited to replay it this winter and right before Pokémon Legends: Arceus.

4. Generation 5: Pokémon Black and White, Pokémon Black and White 2
Region: Unova
In my opinion, generation five doesn’t get as much love as it deserves. I think part of that is because of the the fairly valid criticism that a lot of the pokémon the game added to series weren’t incredible (thought I’d argue ghost and psychic-type fans were eating well), but regardless, I think it’s largely overlooked. When it comes to which Pokémon games have hand-down the greatest, most nuanced, and most emotional plot, Black and White win in a landslide for me. Characters have arcs in these games, and I’d argue N is one of the series’ greatest characters period. Whereas most Pokémon games have a story as a vessel to take you through the game, Black and White‘s gameplay is a vessel to take your through its story. In addition, the land of Unova feels incredibly dynamic, with the most robust soundtrack the game has ever had, beautiful art direction, and the added element of seasons for you to traverse through.

3. Generation 1: Pokémon Red, Blue and Yellow
Region: Kanto
Perhaps the greatest argument that can be made for how wonderful the first generation of Pokémon games were is quite simply the state of the series now. Quite frankly all of these games and the entire “Pokémpire” would quite simply not exist if the first Pokémon games wasn’t such a stellar introduction to the series. Now, being the first in the series its safe to say — and natural — that gen one quite simply doesn’t offer everything later entries later added to it. However, this doesn’t feel like a lack as much as it feels like the game is simply streamlined and incredibly accessible — like a first entry should be. It introduced the now iconic battle mechanics of the series, created arguably still the most versatile roster of critters we’ve ever gotten in a Pokémon game, established the game’s main players (gym leaders, a professor, a rival…), and had an open enough world with a loose enough story to where folks truly felt they were beginning their own Pokémon adventure when they began. I tried my hardest writing this entry to make sure the nostalgia goggles were off, but truly it just deserves all the heaps of praise it gets.

2. Generation 3: Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire
Region: Hoehn
Much like generation four, generation three did some serious work for making Pokémon — primarily pokémon battles — a whole lot more interesting. In gen three, the Pokémon battle system got next to a complete overhaul as abilities, natures, and the game’s EV/IV system was implemented. These changes ultimately transformed the series’ into one that required way more thinking than ever before, created an incentive for folks to truly be the best and try to take down every trainer in the Battle Frontier, and, by large, added a competitive edge folks had been wanting. However, as we all know, fighting is only a small part of what makes a Pokémon game great. Gen three also triumphed in creating a world that felt almost fantastical and interwoven with nature in a way previous entries were not. It didn’t feel like you were in a human world inhabited by pokémon as much as it felt like you had been transported to a type of living you’ve never known.

1. Generation 2: Pokémon Gold, Silver, and Crystal
Region: Johto
To this day, there isn’t a Pokémon generation around that makes the world of Pokémon feel as interconnected as it’s second — which is probably why I was utterly obsessed with it as a kid. With its direct link to Kanto (which also makes for a fantastic post-game full of borderline emotional moments) and eventual ties to Sinnoh, this is the title that really start to put how the games relate to one another into perspective and creates a world, not just a place. At the same time, the Japanese-inspired Johto region in itself also feels complete, beautiful, vast, and freeing. The second gen titles also did a stellar job of taking the same sort of loose story and push towards exploration that made the first one so popular, and doubling down, making the player feel less like they were on a straightforward quest and more like they were on a journey. Last but not least, the 100 pokémon the game added were a perfect mix of ones with connections to the previous generations’ and ones that felt entirely new. In short, the game did everything a sequel should do, on top of firmly planting down Pokémon‘s roots as a powerhouse series that was destined to go places.

This week, Krispy Kreme finally dropped an official cinnamon roll for the first time in the chain’s over 80 year existence, albeit for a limited time. The fact that Krispy Kreme has been around for the better part of a century and hasn’t thought to make a cinnamon roll is shocking to us, but sometimes iconic brands don’t do what’s in their best interest in the name of being true to the brand or whatever. Just think of how amazing In-N-Out would be if they would let us put some damn bacon on a Double Double…

Anyway, Krispy Kreme is rectifying things now. Even better news: they’re giving us two options — an Original Glazed Cinnamon Roll made from yeast-risen dough, hand-rolled with cinnamon and featuring Krispy Kreme’s signature glaze; and the Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal Roll, which is the same thing but topped with a few loose Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal squares and cereal milk-flavored icing swirl. The bad news is that these aren’t really cinnamon rolls (hear us out!)

Let’s dive in and talk about the good and the bad of Krispy Kreme’s first cinnamon rolls!

How Does It Compare To A Cinnabon?

I get it, you heard “Krispy Kreme Cinnamon Roll” and the gears started spinning, but this cinnamon roll doesn’t really exist in the same lane as the great mall and airport delicacy that is the Cinnabon. Whereas a Cinnabon has warm gooey layers of dough drenched in syrupy cinnamon and topped with thick ribbons of icing made from real cream cheese and vanilla, the Krispy Kreme Cinnamon Roll features… well, none of that.

It doesn’t even try to have any of that. This is, for better or worse, more of a cinnamon roll doughnut than an actual cinnamon roll. It doesn’t have that super gooey texture that a Cinnabon has, the bread here is more akin to your typical fried doughnut dough. I have no idea how they prepare this behind the scenes, maybe they’re still baking these things, but the texture is a lot closer to an average doughnut than any cinnamon roll I’ve ever had — so I’m pretty sure they’re just frying these things in the same doughnut frier as all their other pastries.

Original Glazed Cinnamon Roll/Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal Cinnamon Roll

Now that I’ve delivered the bad news we can talk about the strengths of this… let’s just call it a doughnut. While I was disappointed to discover that this wasn’t a legit cinnamon roll, it still delivers on flavor, and that’s all that matters. Think of it less like a cinnamon roll, and more of a regular Krispy Kreme doughnut that goes HAM on the cinnamon and offers a form factor that is at least a little bit chewier than the average Old Fashioned.

I prefer it to an original Krispy Kreme.

While Krispy Kreme’s usual glaze would never work on a more traditional cinnamon roll, it works perfectly in service of this doughnut. The glaze to bread ratio is well-balanced here and the sections that don’t feature the glaze are still well flavored with cinnamon. Each bite follows a simple but effective pattern: glaze, then cinnamon, then bread. It all hits you in waves of deliciousness.

The Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal Cinnamon Roll, on the other hand, is just lazy.

The only thing that differentiates this doughnut is the inclusion of a few squares of Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal and a sad squirt of cereal milk icing to top it off. It doesn’t impact the flavor in any way, the cereal milk icing is a welcome addition, but it’s used so sparingly it’s practically a garnish and the cereal itself is stale.

It makes sense that it would be stale, even if Krispy Kreme made the doughnut the morning I ate it (which they did) unless they’re keeping that cereal in a bag, it’s going to go stale within an hour of hitting air. That’s just common sense, but I guess I shouldn’t expect any cereal freshness innovations from a successful doughnut company that took 80 years to make a cinnamon roll, amirite?

Anyway, this feels like some unessasary brand synergy that is a step down in experience.

The Bottom Line

As long as you’re aware that Krispy Kreme’s cinnamon roll isn’t actually a cinnamon roll, it’s pretty damn good and offers a great cinnamon-infused snack. But don’t bother with the Cinnamon Toast Crunch — it’s got more stuff but it’s less satisfying.

The Ted Lasso Power Rankings are a weekly analysis of who and/or what had the strongest performance in each episode. Most of the list will feature individual characters, although the committee does reserve the right to honor anything from animals to inanimate objects to laws of nature to general concepts. There are very few rules here.

Season 2, Episode 11 — “Midnight Train To Royston”

HONORABLE MENTION: Higgins (I need the entire team to perform the play he wrote, perhaps as a web extra for me and me alone); Phoebe’s teacher (love her); Mae (runs her pub with an iron fist and I respect it); Will (doing the best he can); Colin (ditto); free champagne (one of the only lessons I’ve learned in life that has actually stuck is “never say no to free champagne”); a little room in the crotch (more valuable than plutonium); my sweet prince Dani Rojas (somehow, somewhere deep in my brain, before this episode even aired, I knew he could nail the ‘N Sync choreography); snakes (get them outta here); Henry (STILL ON THE PHONE); Banksy (I’m sorry but Banksy jokes will never not be funny to me)

10. Rebecca

Everything kind of went to — or is headed toward — hell this week, with Sharon leaving and Ted having feelings about it and Trent Crimm preparing to publish a story about Ted’s panic attacks and Keeley telling Roy about Jamie’s declaration of love and Sam getting wooed by another club and Nate kind of becoming the Joker. We’ll get to all of that soon enough. But first, the Rebecca-Sam thing.

I haven’t known what to make of this for a while and I do not think I’ll know what to make of it for another week or two, at least. It’s all strange. Part of me wants Trent Crimm to start sniffing around, if only because “owner of sports franchise begins torrid fling with star player” is just about as juicy a sports story as you’ll ever see. The tabloids would go nuts. I do not wish Sam or Rebecca any ill will (quite the opposite), but still. Picture that happening in the real world. It would be anarchy.

But there’s no time to focus too deeply on that because my brain has latched onto something else and won’t let it go. Follow me down this path:

• This episode is titled “Midnight Train to Royston”
• This resulted in the song “Midnight Train to Georgia” by Gladys Knight and the Pips getting stuck in my head all weekend
• That song is about a woman who leaves her life and everything she knows to be with a man she loves who is leaving town, featuring the line “I’d rather live in his world than live without him in mine”
• Sam is considering leaving Richmond to return home to Africa to play for a super-team in Casablanca
• DO YOU SEE?
• DO YOU SEE WHAT MY BRAIN IS DOING TO ME?
• YES I KNOW ROYSTON IS STILL IN ENGLAND BUT COME ON

Do I think, honestly, that Sam will leave for Casablanca and Rebecca will follow him there? No, I do not, for a bunch of reasons. I just want to lay this all out so you can get a window into how my brain works. I think it explains a lot, but especially how these rankings work. You are welcome and I’m very sorry.

9. Trent Crimm, The Independent

I do not believe for a single second that Trent Crimm, a serious journalist with glasses, would give up a source to the subject of a damning article. Like, I got mad when it happened. It makes Trent one of the least ethical journalists in all of film and television, slotting in somewhere below Eddie Brock, probably, depending how you feel about a journalist and his symbiote literally biting off the head of the subject of a story.

This brings me an interesting point, though. What if season three of Ted Lasso opens with Venom inhabiting the body of Trent Crimm? Trent Crimm eating people and talking to a space monster. And the rest of the show stays exactly the same. Think on that for a few minutes this week.

8. Dr. Sharon

I will miss Dr. Sharon if this is indeed the last we see of her. Dr. Sharon is cool. And, Lord in heaven, do we ever need her back to deal with the Nate thing. That’s a problem. She should at least write him one of those letters.

Speaking of the letter… I’m glad we didn’t find out what it said. I’m curious, and it’s killing me a little because I am a nosy child with no patience, but I think this way is better. It makes it all more personal and touching. And it meant that no one on the show had to go to the trouble of actually writing something out that delivered the emotions it needed to. I’m sure laziness wasn’t their primary motivation with any of this but I do respect it anyway.

7. Nate

Hoo boy. Things are not going great for Nate, who is teetering over into supervillain territory to such a degree that I kind of expect him to show up next week sitting in a hollowed-out mountain and cackling in the dark. Some highlights:

• Complained loudly about receiving credit
• Kissed Keeley, the partner of his fellow assistant coach
• Leaked sensitive medical information about his boss — the man who elevated him from Kit Man to strategic wizard — to the press

Not great. Far from ideal. And he did this again, too.

The takeaway here is probably that Nate is going through a personal crisis about his self-worth and how he can square the competing factors of professional success and staggeringly low self-esteem, but, knowing and accepting all of that and being as understanding as I know how to be, I need him to stop.

6. Roy

Weird week for Roy and Keeley with each of them getting tempted by former and/or suitable other partners and confessing it all to each other in the middle of a photoshoot with cameras pointed straight at their faces. It says a lot about both Roy and Nate that he just kind of laughed off the impromptu kiss. But it also says a lot about Roy and Jamie that the little muscle in his neck bulged out so far that it looked like a mountain range on a topographical map when she told him that part.

Here, look.

There is a chance this muscle always does this and is not, in fact, a result of him clenching his teeth so hard he risks grinding them into dust. I don’t know. I have not and will not research it. It’s more fun to pretend it’s true. I want to see him and Jamie fight, just because I still want to know who would win. Sportsbooks should set odds on this so people can wager. I am being serious here. Kind of.

5. Ted

This Trent Crimm article is going to be a problem, and not having Dr. Sharon in the building when it drops and the feeding frenzy begins isn’t going to help too much either. I am genuinely not looking forward to it all, at least in the kind of way where I also intend to smash “Play Episode” very hard on the season finale very soon. I’m conflicted, is my point. This whole season has done a number on my emotions.

But let’s leave that for next week. For now, let’s all stop and give a hand to Jason Sudeikis for that silent display of face acting when he read Dr. Sharon’s letter. That was pretty great. I have no idea how actors do that, the summoning of emotions at the drop of a hat. It’s borderline sorcery, really. Especially considering Sudeikis comes from sketch comedy, not exactly a field known for tears. Good for him.

4. Sam Richardson

While this section could (and probably should) focus on the idea of a young billionaire who wants to dismantle his father’s empire and use the remaining money to create an African superteam in Casablanca, which is cool and something more billionaires should consider, I would rather stop here and mention that Sam Richardson rules.

He really does. And has for a while. He ruled as Richard Splett on Veep and he ruled in the wildly underappreciated Detroiters and he rules whenever he pops up in sketches on I Think You Should Leave and he ruled as a burgeoning action star in The Tomorrow War. He’s one of those actors who makes everything he appears in a little bit better, every time, without fail. He’s the greatest.

It all leaves me deeply torn, in a way. On one hand, I want him to finally land a big juicy leading role in a hugely successful show that launches him into the superstardom he has deserved for a while. On the other hand, I like that he keeps popping up in my favorite shows out of nowhere to steal scenes and entire episodes. I want him to show up in The Righteous Gemstones next, maybe as a charismatic rival televangelist. He would be perfect. You can see it all crystal clear if you close your eyes for a second. But you can’t finish reading this with your eyes closed, so maybe hold off until we’re done here.

3. Keeley

In the past two weeks, Keeley has had two world-famous athletes profess their love for her and had an assistant coach on the team she works for misread signals and slap a smooch on her out of nowhere, all while her career takes off in ways that get you photoshoots and interviews with fancy publications. She’s got a lot on her plate. Too much, probably. I imagine it’s all quite stressful.

It’s also nice to be appreciated. I guess that’s the silver lining here. Everyone just telling you that you’re great and that they love you. Again, it’s not ideal, as it’s creating a huge stinky pile of personal and professional crises, but also, like, it’s better than the alternative, you know? Plenty to consider here.

2. Sam

After a great deal of thought, analyzing the situation from every angle, with his relationship with Rebecca in a weird state of flux and this fascinating offer on the table to return to Africa to try to do something cool and none of it being compatible in any way that lets him have an ideal version of both at once, I have come to the following conclusion…

I just want Sam to be happy. I have no useful advice beyond that. He’s a good man. I do not expect him to take the offer in Casablanca because I do not know exactly how that would work for the show to have a main character on another continent, but it would still be cool if he did and became a huge star and national hero. Again, his happiness is most important to me here, though. Arguably too important. It’s probably not healthy to worry this much about fictional characters from the television. I’m fine.

I’m fine.

1. Coach Beard

This was going to be about three paragraphs on Beard doing the eyebrow grooming in the GIF above, but then I saw this tweet from my colleague Steve Bramucci.

And then I went to the Wikipedia page for that book and read this.

The book looks at fungi from a number of angles, including decomposition, fermentation, nutrient distribution, psilocybin production, the evolutionary role fungi play in plants, and the ways in which humans relate to the fungal kingdom. It uses music and philosophy to illustrate its thesis, and introduces readers to a number of central strands of research on mycology. It is also a personal account of Sheldrake’s experiences with fungi.

And then I had three thoughts crash into my head at once:

• It is perfect that Coach Beard is reading a book about fungi at work
• I would like an entire episode about Beard running a secret book club, possibly in another country, possibly that he takes a private jet to and from once a week under the cover of night and tells no one else about
• I can’t decide if I want to see him hallucinating on mushrooms or if he’s actually just been on mushrooms every second he’s been on screen since the first episode and the show just never bothered to tell us

It would explain a lot.

Girls just want to have fun in Wale‘s colorful new video for “Poke It Out” featuring J. Cole. After dropping the latest single from his upcoming album, Folarin II, Wale furthers his Q-Tip homages by reproducing some of the Queens rapper’s iconic video moments. As “Poke It Out” samples Q-Tip’s J Dilla-produced debut solo single “Vivrant Thing,” it makes sense that Wale borrows and updates shots such as the infamous head bob as he cruises the streets in a jeep full of women.

Women are the primary focus of the video, as Wale and his female entourage end up at a lakeside campsite (reproducing the beach run from the “Vivrant Thing” video), where the ladies hike, play football, and have a late-night bonfire. Then, Wale and his running buddy J. Cole trade verses against a plain backdrop that lets Cole’s words take center stage as he praises women with bodies ranging from “Meg Thee Stallion” to “Coi Leray” — both of whom Wale’s worked with in the past (click those links).

So far, Wale’s released three singles from his upcoming Folarin sequel, including “Angles” and “Down South,” which features Maxo Kream and Yella Beezy. The classic hip-hop references have been in full effect, promising a rap album that pays even more homage to the past while advancing Wale’s sound and stature in the future.

Watch Wale’s “Poke It Out” video above.

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

Folarin II is due 10/22 via Warner Records.

Last week, a video went viral on the internet of a dude doing everything he could to catch an alligator that appeared to show up on his lawn. A man by the name by Eugene Bozzi saw an gator and decided the best way to handle it was to grab a garbage pail, use it to back the animal into a corner, and once it had nowhere to go, scoop it up. If you missed it, here’s how the whole thing went down:

While the video took place in Florida, Bozzi is originally from Philadelphia, and because all news has a local spin, the local CBS station in the City of Brotherly Love had him on to ask him about what went down. Bozzi, apparently viewing this as an opportunity to get a joke off, decided to use his 15 minutes of fame to roast Sixers guard Ben Simmons.

“I just jumped into action, and I said, ‘You know what? I’m not gonna be Ben Simmons, I’m gonna go get me this basket,’” Bozzi said.

Simmons, of course, drew the ire of Sixers fans when he passed up a dunk in the waning moments of Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals of the Atlanta Hawks, which Philly went on to lose. Currently, he is away from the team after requesting a trade, and despite the fact that the Sixers withheld $8.25 million worth of salary from him over the weekend, Simmons is reportedly steadfast that he will not play another game for the franchise.

On a recent episode of The Sarah Silverman Podcast, host Sarah Silverman discussed Jewish representation in Hollywood, specifically how non-Jewish actors and actresses are frequently cast as Jewish characters. “There’s this long tradition of non-Jews playing Jews, and not just playing people who happen to be Jewish but people whose Jewishness is their whole being,” she said, adding, “One could argue, for instance, that a Gentile playing Joan Rivers correctly would be doing what is actually called Jewface.”

Silverman is referring to Kathryn Hahn, not a Jew, being cast as legendary comedian Joan Rivers, a Jew, for a Showtime series. She continued, “It’s defined as when a non-Jew portrays a Jew with the Jewishness front and center, often with makeup or changing of features, big fake nose, all the New York-y or Yiddish-y inflection. And in a time when the importance of representation is seen as so essential and so front and center, why does ours constantly get breached even today in the thick of it?” Silverman pointed out other recent examples of Jewface, include Felicity Jones as Ruth Bader Ginsburg in On the Basis of Sex and Rachel Brosnahan in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.

The School of Rock actress pointed out common anti-Semitic tropes that so often get thrown around like “Jews run Hollywood,” “Jews are rich,” and “Jews are powerful,” which she said then “renders people very righteously unsympathetic toward Jews.”

“I wish they would realize that that is by design,” she said.

Silverman doesn’t have an answer for “how to fix this,” but “representation f*cking matters, so it has to also finally matter for Jews as well. Especially Jewish women.” You can watch a live taping of The Sarah Silverman Podcast above.

(Via Mediaite)

If you’re among the countless superhero movie fans who think DC needs to lighten up a bit, we’ve got some good news for you. Following Jason Momoa sharing how full of laughs the Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom script is, another (and pretty unexpected) DC star has come forward singing praises of the studio’s upcoming line-up of caped-crusades: Ben Affleck.

While Affleck has been pretty vocal about his struggles with portraying the Dark Knight, ultimately revealing he dropped out of The Batman movie out of worries the dark script would lead to further alcohol abuse, for the first time in quite a while the actor seems pretty happy with the state of the DC Universe and his role within it. According to an exclusive interview with Variety, Affleck stated he had a ‘really fun’ time playing reprising the role of Batman in the upcoming DC film The Flash.

“It was a really nice way to revisit that as the prior experience had been difficult. This was really lovely. Really fun [..] I had a great time. I’m probably under some gag order that I’m not even aware that I probably just violated and I’m now going to be sued.”

This interview and Affleck’s newfound sunny disposition come a year and a half after the actor opened up about how difficult filming Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, Suicide Squad, and Justice League had been for him. According to Affleck, following the back-to-back filming of these movies he largely lost passion for the character and telling superhero stories.

“We had a script. I liked the script, I wrote it with Geoff Johns, who I have a lot of respect for. It just so happened that I had done a couple of those movies, and I kind of lost my passion for it. You know what I mean? I kind of lost my passion for telling those stories, I got interested in telling stories more like [The Way Back], and it just seemed like very clear to me that if it’s not the most important thing in the world to you, you’re not going to make a very good movie. The movie deserves to be made by someone whose dying to do it and can’t wait, and that wasn’t me at the time, so I moved on.”

Of course, we now know ultimately Robert Pattinson would take up the mantle left by Affleck and star as Batman in Matt Reeve’s The Batman, which the director claimed will be the “most emotional Batman movie ever made” in a recent interview. The Batman hits theaters March 4, 2022, followed by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s Black Adam on July 29 and The Flash on November 4, in which we’ll see Affleck and Ezra Miller team up once again to save the universe.

It’s been about three years since Mitski released her latest album, 2018’s Be The Cowboy. This represents the longest between-albums gap of her career so far, so fans are hungry for new Mitski. Fortunately, Mitski revealed that she’s dropping some fresh material soon, although we don’t know much about it yet.

She’s releasing a song tomorrow at 10 a.m. ET, and while there’s a YouTube premiere link live now, it doesn’t reveal the name of the song, as it’s simply titled, “New Song Tomorrow – 10AM ET.”

In the promo image of the song, a person seen from the back (presumably Mitski) is wearing a cowboy hat, perhaps indicating the material is somehow related to her 2018 album Be The Cowboy. Or, perhaps she’s teasing a country influence in her new material, like she had on her This Is Where We Fall song “The Baddy Man” from earlier this year. It’s also possible that neither of those speculative guesses are the case at all. Whatever the case may be, fans are excited, as Mitski became a trending topic on Twitter following the announcement.

Fans haven’t been totally starved for new Mitski content, though. As aforementioned, she recorded the soundtrack for This Is Where We Fall, a graphic novel.

Lizzo is no stranger to controversy, but her latest brush with the ire of social media was sparked by different circumstances than her usual experiences. Instead, she’s being questioned for her musical tastes — especially her love for the controversial Chris Brown. Backstage at Bow Wow and Omarion’s Millennium Tour kickoff at The Forum in Los Angeles, Lizzo encountered Brown and asked for a photo, gushing that “you’re my favorite person in the whole f*cking world.” Unfortunately for Lizzo, fans who observed the moment thanks to a video on Twitter didn’t share her enthusiasm

The sticking point was Brown’s problematic history with women. The most well-known incident was in 2009 when Brown pled guilty to abusing fellow singer Rihanna. Brown beat Rihanna during an incident early that year, punching her and allegedly threatening to kill her for reporting the incident to authorities. When images of the horrific damage he’d done to her face hit the internet, his then-family-friendly image crumbled and he was ostracized from many radio stations for a year. However, he’s since regained much of his popularity, charting again last year with “Go Crazy” from his collab album with Young Thug, despite most recently being accused of threatening his ex-girlfriend Karreuche Tran within the last four years.

Lizzo’s fans apparently disapproved of her loving embrace of Brown despite his history. However, she also had her fair share of defenders. Ultimately, the moment seemed to prove that even the biggest stars on the planet can’t help but keep some problematic faves. You can see more responses below.

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

Urban Meyer and the Jacksonville Jaguars narrowly lost to the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday Night Football last week. In the aftermath, the conversation surrounding the fact that the Jags did legitimately look like they have made some strides since Week 1 ended pretty quickly, as videos and photos of head coach Urban Meyer at his steakhouse in Columbus, Ohio ended up attracting a whole heck of a lot of attention.

The various things that went viral over the weekend show Meyer, while wearing Ohio State gear, cozying up to various women who are not his wife, and led to tons of questions about what, exactly, Meyer was doing. On Monday, the former Buckeye coach had his weekly press conference, and from the jump, he was asked about what he was doing.

“I just apologized to the team and staff for being a distraction,” Meyer said. “It was stupid. So I explained everything that happened and owned it, just stupid. Shouldn’t have put myself in that position.

“I stayed to see the grandkids and we all went to dinner that night at the restaurant,” Meyer continued. “There’s a big group next to our restaurant, and they wanted me to come over and take pictures and I did. Try to pull me out on the dance floor, screwin’ around, and I should’ve left.”

Meyer went on to say that he’s spoken to leaders on the Jags, his owner and general manager, and the entire team, and while he said that “they’re good” in reference to the response he got from the roster, he made it a point to stress that “the coach should not be a distraction.” Meyer also mentioned that he had discussed this with his family, saying that “they were upset.”

After spending essentially his entire coaching career at the college level and winning nigh everything a head coach can win during his stops at Bowling Green, Utah, Florida, and Ohio State, the 57-year-old Meyer decided to try his hand at coaching an NFL team when the Jaguars came calling this year. It’s been a rocky start to the season on the field, though, as the team finds itself 0-4.