Month: October 2021

Last Week Tonight deep-dove into the controversial subject of Taiwan, and in the process, John Oliver took aim at John Cena for his May 2021 apology to China. That was a strange pop-culture moment for sure, and Cena’s video-recorded statement carried surreal vibes as he attempted to squash an international incident. His perceived offense occurred when he (during F9 promotion) referred to Taiwan as a country, which greatly upset China. Since the Chinese box office is a vital source of cinematic revenue (and was particularly seen as such in early spring as Hollywood desperately wanted to return to the big screen), the apology isn’t too surprising in retrospect.

Yet it was still an unsettling video to witness. “I must say now, [it’s] very, very, very, very important [that] I love, and respect even more, China and the Chinese people,” Cena declared. All of this happened because China, despite Taiwan being a self-governed (not to mention Democratic) island for seven decades (and counting), refuses to recognize Taiwan as independent. And here’s what John Oliver thinks about Cena’s video (shortly after the 2:00 minute mark above):

“Every part of that is so weird. It’s weird John Cena apologized to China. It’s weird he did it for calling Taiwan a country. And it’s weird to see him do it in pretty decent Mandarin. That’s just too many weird things.”

Fair enough. Oliver later concluded that it’s BS that the commercial and governmental powers that be are allowing this vibe to continue unchecked. He’s definitely not taking Tucker Carlson’s angle in this criticism, though. Carlson’s stance was the usual far-right argument against China because of communism. Oliver’s perspective is that pretty much everyone who is not Taiwanese needs to step out of the argument altogether because “people who are not Taiwanese making decisions for Taiwan is a bit f*cking played out, historically.”

Also, Oliver would like to point out that Taiwan shouldn’t be treated like a “poker chip” any longer, not by any political party or by Hollywood. Nor should people feel as though it’s “some sort of island-sized Viagra to rejuvenate the Chinese nation.” Rather, Oliver argues that the 23 million people of Taiwan have “built a free, Democratic society and very much deserve the right to decide their own future in any way that they deem fit.” To be continued, no doubt.

Everyone knows Scorpio season kicks off with Drake’s birthday. As the mogul rapper turns 35 today, his longtime friends had to come through with a gift that fit the occasion. Obviously, the celebration kicked off with a massive, themed party, this year it was a Narcos theme and guests like Future, YG and Offset all stopped by to celebrate.

But one friend, Future The Prince, had an extra special gift for The Boy, a Rolls Royce Phantom like the one a young Drake used to rent in order to keep up appearances. He even paid $5,000 a month just to rent the thing! Check out his heartfelt gratitude and reflection on the gift below, he explains it better than I ever could.

“Back in 2007 we used to finesse this Rolls Royce Phantom rental to convince people in the city we were destined to make it. I used to scrape together 5k a month somehow to keep up appearances. We whipped this to Ottawa to see @belly and @cashxo and to Montreal for my first show ever. I used to pick up @ovoniko and roll every day or wait outside @nebzilla class for her. Park outside 15 Fort York while me and @ovo40 and @oliverelkhatib would be upstairs cooking what would eventually become So Far Gone. Even though I don’t recommend putting yourself in financial trouble for material things I realize now that this was just my way of extreme manifesting. I needed to see it and feel it and have it to believe that I could see and feel and have anything I wanted. Today in 2021 my brother @futuretheprince tracked down the exact car I use to stress over and gifted it to me…it’s mine now. Manifestation complete. Thank you for all the love and appreciation and gifts and texts and dm’s…more than just loved I feel truly appreciated and that is the only gift I ever needed. TREY FIVE EASY MONEY DRIZZY let’s get this shit. BLICK EMMMMMM ”

That plus a No. 1 single with “Way 2 Sexy” off his new album Certified Lover Boy should make 2021 a pretty good year for Drake.

Republicans have been trying for months to sabotage the technically bipartisan committee investigating the lead-up to Jan. 6, some even ignoring subpoenas (at their peril, of course). But at least a few people involved with the protest that mushroom clouded into the storming of the Capitol building are playing ball. In a new report, Rolling Stone spoke anonymously with three sources who are communicating with the committee. Among the many explosive tidbits is that one top Trumpist sought help in staging the doomed protest by dangling “blanket pardons” in front of their faces.

Two of the sources — one identified as a “planner,” the other an “organizer” — alleged that a number of representatives partook in “dozens” of briefings planning the protest. Their names oughtn’t be surprising: They include Paul Gosar, Lauren Boebert, Mo Brooks, Madison Cawthorn, Andy Biggs, and Lauren Boebert. One remembers Marjorie Taylor Greene “specifically.” In the weeks before what should have been a smooth certification of the election, these elected officials helped organize demonstrations around the country.

But it was Gosar who “allegedly took things a step further”:

And Gosar, who has been one of the most prominent defenders of the Jan. 6 rioters, allegedly took things a step further. Both sources say he dangled the possibility of a “blanket pardon” in an unrelated ongoing investigation to encourage them to plan the protests.

“Our impression was that it was a done deal,” the organizer says, “that he’d spoken to the president about it in the Oval … in a meeting about pardons and that our names came up. They were working on submitting the paperwork and getting members of the House Freedom Caucus to sign on as a show of support.”

The organizer claims the pair received “several assurances” about the “blanket pardon” from Gosar.

The sources, who say they still stand by Trump’s agenda, say they have more dirt where that came from:

While it was already clear members of Congress played some role in the Jan. 6 events and similar rallies that occurred in the lead-up to that day, the two sources say they can provide new details about the members’ specific roles in these efforts. The sources plan to share that information with congressional investigators right away. While both sources say their communications with the House’s Jan. 6 committee thus far have been informal, they are expecting to testify publicly.

“I have no problem openly testifying,” the planner says.

They also claim Katrina Pierson, who worked on both of Trump’s presidential campaigns, served as a “key liaison between the organizers of protests against the election and the White House,” and their “go-to girl.”

The sources point out that they themselves weren’t planning on a violent insurrection. The original plan was for a rally at the Ellipse, where speakers, Trump among them, would present “evidence” of voter fraud (which, several months later, we know no one had). But things got out of hand — which wasn’t that surprising. They claim people approached former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows with concerns about the potential for violence, but that he did nothing.

One source blamed what wound up happening on “a lot of bad actors” who “set out to create chaos.” They added, “They made us all look like s*it.” One of those “bad actors” was Trump himself:

“The breaking point for me [on Jan. 6 was when] Trump starts talking about walking to the Capitol,” the organizer says. “I was like. ‘Let’s get the f*ck out of here.’ ”

“I do kind of feel abandoned by Trump,” says the planner. “I’m actually pretty pissed about it and I’m pissed at him.”

The organizer offers an even more succinct assessment when asked what they would say to Trump.

“What the f*ck?” the organizer says.

There’s plenty more in Rolling Stones’ report, including Stop the Steal protest leader Ali Alexander, who, in a now deleted livestream broadcast, basically “told on himself” about all the wrongdoing, including ratcheting up the violence. “They knew that they weren’t there to sing “Kumbaya” and, like, put up a peace sign,” one source said. “These frickin’ people were angry.”

(Via Rolling Stone)

J Balvin released his sixth album Jose last month, but its promotional rollout did not come without some controversy. Earlier this month, the singer released a video for “Perra,” with Dominican rapper Tokischa, and he was quickly hit with criticism over the way the visual portrayed Black women. In the video, Balvin is seen walking Black women around on leashes while they wore dog ears. Among its critics was the singer’s own mother, who spoke to Cosmovisión, a Colombian news station, about it. “When I found out [about “Perra”], I called him … [and asked], “Where is the Josésito that I know?” she said. “That song is not … I don’t even know what to say. I did not see my José anywhere.”

Weeks after the controversy, J Balvin has issued an apology on his Instagram story. “I want to say sorry to whomever felt offended, especially to the Black community,” he wrote. “That’s not who I am. I’m about tolerance, love, and inclusivity. I also like to support new artists, in this case Tokischa, a woman who supports her people, her community and also empowers women.”

Balvin added, “As a form of respect, I removed the video eight days ago. But because the criticism continued, I’m here making a statement.” He concluded with an apology to his mother. “Mom, I’m sorry too,” he said. “Life gets better each day. Thank you for listening to me.”

You can watch Balvin’s full apology video here.

Jose is out now via Universal Latin. Get it here.

James Michael Tyler was the actor with the most appearances on Friends aside from the main cast. He played Gunther, the forever lovelorn manager of Central Perk, the coffeehouse that briefly employed his unrequited crush, Rachel (Jennifer Aniston). And on Sunday, it was revealed that he had passed away after a battle with prostate cancer. He was 59 years old.

Tyler had gone public with his illness back in June, telling Today that he had stage 4 prostate cancer, and it had spread to his bones. He had been diagnosed back in 2018, during a routine physical.

“My goal this past year was to see my 59th birthday. I did that,” he said only a few months back. “My goal now is to at least save one life.” By that, he meant that people should get a PSA blood test as early as 40 years old.

As per The Hollywood Reporter, Tyler passed away on Sunday morning at his home in Los Angeles. He is survived by his second wife, Jennifer Carno, whom he wed in 2017.

Fittingly, Tyler was discovered while working as a barista. He was working at a coffeeshop near Hollywood when he was asked to stand in the background of one of Friends‘ first Central Perk scenes and work the levers. Then they kept him on. He didn’t get his first line of dialogue until two seasons and 38 episodes in. Tyler wound up appearing in 150 of the show’s 236 episodes, more than any other supporting player.

Gunther kept a lid on his infatuation with Rachel over the show’s run, not confessing his feelings until the series finale, “The Last One,” in 2004.

During this summer’s Friends reunion on HBO Max, Tyler only appeared via Zoom. It was his decision to skip the show. “I didn’t wanna bring a downer on it, you know?” he said.

An actor in student plays at university, he earned a degree in geology and a Master of Fine Arts. Friends was his first screen gig, and he went on to appear in such shows as Just Shoot Me!, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Scrubs, Modern Music, and Episodes, alongside his Friends colleague Matt Le Blanc.

On Friends, Gunther usually stayed in the background, but he played such an integral part of the show that when news broke of his passing, the outpouring of love on social media was effusive and passionate.

Some used the occasion to raise awareness of prostate cancer.

RIP James Michael Tyler.

(Via THR)

Fresh off the release of their ninth studio album, Music Of The Spheres, Coldplay has gone full-on pop — so what makes more sense than collaborating with another icon from the British pop world? This weekend during their performance at Audacy’s 8th annual We Can Survive show at the Hollywood Bowl, Chris Martin and his crew welcomed a member of the pop group to the stage for the UK pop crossover moment of the year. After letting fans know it’s been a dream of his to perform with the Spice Girls for years now, Martin surprised the audience with a performance of “2 Become 1” with Mel C.

According to Martin, he only asked the former Spice Girl that morning if she’d join him onstage, but she did oblige, and sounded pretty fresh for such short notice. During the show at the Hollywood Bowl, Shawn Mendes and The Black Eyed Peas, Doja Cat, Maroon 5, Saweetie, and The Kid Laroi also gave performances. But did any of them have a Spice Girl showing up just to do one of the band’s most beloved hits? Well, no, they didn’t. Check out the unexpected duet above, and if you haven’t yet, definitely listen to Coldplay’s collaboration with BTS on “My Universe.”

ASAP Rocky’s rap career received a huge boost in 2011 when he released his debut mixtape Live.Love.ASAP. It was celebrated as one of the best mixtapes from that time period, boasting fan favorites like “Peso” and “Purple Swag.” It also helped him secure a record deal with RCA and Polo Grounds, leading to his debut album, entitled Long.Live.ASAP, which he released two years later and which spawned hits like “F*ckin’ Problems,” with Drake, 2 Chainz, and Kendrick Lamar. Nearly ten years later, Rocky announced something big for its upcoming anniversary.

HighSnobreity reports that the mixtape will hit platforms like Apple Music, Spotify, and Tidal on October 29, just two days before its tenth anniversary. Rocky joins a cadre of artists who have uploaded their old mixtapes or unofficial releases to streaming platforms years after they were released. The most recent example is Mac Miller’s Faces, which debuted at No. 3 on the albums chart nearly two weeks after it was re-released. Others include Drake, who added his mixtape So Far Gone to DSPs. Joey Badass (1999), Chance The Rapper (Acid Rap), Wiz Khalifa (Kush & OJ), The Weeknd (House Of Balloons), and more have also done similar things.

The news comes after Rocky connected with Houston rapper Maxo Kream for “Streets Alone.”

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

The Detroit Lions came into Sunday as the NFL’s lone winless team after seeing the Jaguars pick up a win last week in London. As two-touchdown underdogs in L.A. against the Rams, few expected them to put something up in the win column this week, but the Lions came out fighting and dug deep in their playbook to do everything they could to take down the Rams.

Dan Campbell has made it clear this season that he will not be playing just to lose by a little, but will take big swings to try and win games. It’s almost worked twice, as Detroit’s been close in games on a couple of occasions only to see opponents hit late field goals swipe away a victory, and Campbell upped the ante against the Rams by going all out with the special teams guile against Los Angeles.

After scoring a touchdown on their opening drive, the Lions sprung a surprise onside kick on the Rams and stole another possession with it.

That drive didn’t go far, but rather than punt the ball away, Detroit dialed up a fake punt pass that caught the Rams off guard.

Surely at this point the Rams would be locked in on special teams looking for any kind of fake or shenanigans, but in the third quarter, the Lions got another fake punt to succeed, this time on a direct snap to the upback who took it for a big gain to set up a go-ahead field goal.

While I can’t be certain of this, I feel pretty confident saying this is probably the first time any team has managed this feat in one game, and kudos to Campbell for absolutely going for it at 0-6. You need to steal every possible advantage you can if you’re the Lions to get a win, and punting the ball away isn’t going to help you do that.

Last week, the House of Representatives did their job: They held someone who had ignored a congressional subpoena in contempt, much to the ire of the party of law and order. That person is Steve Bannon. The committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack wanted him to provide certain documents and answer some questions. He didn’t comply and now he’s in big trouble. This made the GOP furious, among them Marjorie Taylor Greene, who made a big huff out of confronting Liz Cheney, one of the only nine Republicans who voted against Bannon, only to get summarily owned.

Cheney wasn’t the only person to push back against Greene. CNN’s Jim Acosta caught up with the congresswoman after the vote, and managed to get some predictably unhinged comments out of her. The first time he approached her, she kept on walking, responding tersely. When Acosta asked Greene why she came for Cheney, Greene responded, “She’s a traitor.” When asked how she could say that, Greene replied, “Pretty easy.”

The second time Acosta confronted Greene, she was more forthcoming about why she refused to hold Bannon in contempt. “The rationale behind my vote is I’m not self-absorbed like the rest of these jerks in Congress,” she replied. “They’re all ignoring inflation — people can hardly buy food. Gas has gone up.”

This has been a common go-to line with die hard Trumpists, including Matt Gaetz: that there are bigger fish to fry than finding out how democracy was almost toppled by its outgoing president and company. It’s their attempt to dodge the issue. Acosta, though, asked why she thought her colleagues were “jerks.”

“Because they’re self-absorbed,” she repeated. “All they care about is Congress. They don’t care about the American people who pay all the taxes.”

Greene then came for Acosta. “All you want to talk about is your Trump Derangement Syndrome, and all you want to talk about is January 6 where there was a riot here,” Greene railed. Acosta then asked why she wants to protect Bannon, to which she cryptically replied, ““Because I care about American PEOPLE.”

It was at this point that fellow Republican representative Pete Sessions interrupted them, dragging her away from Acosta and his crew. As she left, she left him with an even more mysterious statement: “What about all the people rotting in jail? Why don’t you worry about them.” Presumably she means the perpetrators of the Jan. 6 riot, whom people like her and Gaetz have been calling “political prisoners.” But of course, very little of what Greene said answered any of the questions Acosta asked her.

You can watch Acosta’s chats with Greene over at CNN.

Riding high off the success of his debut album, Montero, Lil Nas X is everywhere these days. And this weekend, everywhere included an appearance at Electric Daisy Carnival in Las vegas, where the young rapper was a surprise guest during Diplo’s set. Of course, with all the great press comes some backlash too — Boosie Badazz issued a bizarre homophobic rant against Nas yesterday after the “Call Me By Your Name” singer playfully suggested he had a song with Boosie.

Since he was too busy getting on stage in front of a massive crowd at EDC — where he performed “Industry Baby,” “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” and his first big hit, “Old Town Road” — he hasn’t said much in response to the rapper’s attack. Nas is a very progressive artist and one of the most openly queer performers to hit mainstream music for quite some time, making out with a man onstage at the VMAs and constantly advocating for LGBTQ acceptance.

Diplo previously remixed “Old Town Road” and was joined by Nas and Billy Ray Cyrus to perform the remix when he performed a DJ set at the country music festival Stagecoach. Lately the producer has been in the news for sexual battery and assault allegations, which he’s dismissed as extortion.

Check out the appearance from Lil Nas X during Diplo’s set at EDC above.