Month: January 2022

The Orlando Magic have had a tough season thus far, currently holding the worst record in the league by 2.5 games at 7-34, including nine consecutive losses. This wasn’t exactly unforeseen as they’re without some key contributors like Jonathan Isaac and Markelle Fultz, and shifted gears into rebuilding mode last year at the trade deadline when they dealt Aaron Gordon and Nikola Vucevic away.

Even for a team that will almost assuredly have a share of the best lottery odds by the end of the season, how they started their game against the Wizards on Wednesday was jarring, as Orlando managed to miss eight shots on their first possession of the game, getting six offensive rebounds in the process before the Wizards finally cleared a board after 59 seconds of the Magic missing.

It’s honestly an amazing possession, because it’s not like Orlando was jacking up awful shots, they were just missing on some decent looks and doing a great job crashing the glass to keep the possession alive, albeit in vain. The box score play-by-play of that opening possession is incredible, as four different starters missed shots (only Gary Harris went without an attempt on the opening possession), with Robin Lopez missing three separate shots.

Their drought, unfortunately, continued for two more possessions and the Wizards, once they finally got the ball, went 3-for-3 to open the game with a 7-0 lead. It only got worse from there as Washington pulled away to a 33-16 lead after one quarter of play, and its safe to say this game won’t help Orlando’s season-long field goal percentage.

With celebrity status comes lots of great things: money, access, power, a platform to speak, and yes, artistic freedom. But it can also bring other, terrible things — like stalkers and obsessive fans. Lana Del Rey has dealt with stalkers before, back in 2018 a stalker even tried to kidnap her, which is a different level of scary.

That incident from the past might be part of why Lana and her team have responded legally to a woman who has been stalking the pop star this year. TMZ reports that Del Rey was granted a restraining order against a woman named Janeen Lee Stratton who has been harrassing her. The woman, who reportedly goes by the nickname “America,” has been continually contacting Lana’s team, including her managers, with requests to meet in person. According to court docs, Stratton believes she is Lana’s “muse” and that Lana communicates with her via songs and dreams.

Stratton tracked down Lana’s private home and trespassed on the property at least three times last month, armed with pocket knives, where she was intercepted by the security guards. After hearing what’s happened so far, a judge did grant Del Rey a temporary restraining order today, and a hearing for a permanent order will take place later in January.

Kanye West was responsible for one of 2021’s most popular albums, Donda. The project had a very dramatic rollout, with West performing unfinished versions of it during livestream stadium shows in Atlanta and Chicago. It arrived at the end of August complete with features from Jay-Z, Young Thug, Playboi Carti, Kid Cudi, Don Toliver, Lil Baby, The Weeknd, and many more. Less than three months later, West returned with its deluxe version, which featured five more songs and additional guest appearances from Andre 3000 and more. Now he’s giving the album a sequel.

Moneybagg Yo posted a screenshot of a text message between him and West after the two were spotted in the studio together. West begins by greeting Moneybagg and commenting on some songs they worked on together in the studio. He then adds, “I got to lock in with you on Donda 2,” before adding, “Money in front of us, bullsh*t behind us.”

The news comes after West shared a video for “Heaven And Hell,” which aired on ESPN during the College Football National Championship game.

You can read the text message conversation above.

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

Earlier this month, Stephen Colbert blew humanity’s collective mind by showing a video of a female orangutan driving a golf cart. Not only was the monkey an accomplished motorist but she drove in style with just one hand on the wheel, looking as cool and confident as any human.

While Colbert joked that the orangutan was in Florida, it was actually part of a menagerie in Dubai belonging to Sheikha Fatima Rashed Al Maktoum, the daughter of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the prime minister of the United Arab Emirates.

The orangutan is named Rambo and has been driving various vehicles since she was young.

A YouTube user by the name of SmelfordDip noticed the monkey’s cool one-handed driving technique and something clicked. She drives just like Tony Soprano in the iconic opening credits of “The Sopranos”! So he edited the video to mimic the sequence and added the show’s theme song “Woke Up This Morning” by Alabama 3.

Smelfordip named the video “The Zoopranos” and asks “What if Tony Soprano was [a] monkey?” in the video’s description.

Zoopranos

The only thing that could take this incredible mashup of an unbelievable video to the next level would be to invite Rambo to New Jersey, throw her behind the wheel of a Cadillac, give her a very large cigar and let her cruise the turnpike in a Cadillac.

For nearly all of U.S. history, the only people to have their likeness on the face of U.S. coins were men. In 1979, the Susan B. Anthony dollar coin honored the suffrage activist, Sacagawea was featured on a dollar coin in the 2000s and Hellen Keller got her own Alabama state quarter in 2003.

The U.S. Mint was established in 1792, so in 230 years, we’ve had just three women represented on our coins. But that ratio is about to change dramatically.

On Monday, the U.S. Mint launched its American Women Quarters Program with the release of a quarter bearing the likeness of poet Maya Angelou. It’s the first time a Black woman has been on any American currency. The image shows Angelou with her arms spread wide in front of the wings of a soaring eagle.

Angelou’s long-time assistant told journalist David Begnaud that Angelou “would be over the moon” about the honor.

The coin is the first of 20 that will be released in the next four years, with five women from various backgrounds, careers and institutions being featured each year.

After Maya Angelou, physicist and teacher Sally Ride will be featured on the quarter. Ride made history by being the first American woman in space when she flew in the Space Shuttle Challenger in 1983.

Maya Angelou was in the news today because the U.S. mint confirmed that it has starting shipping out quarters with her name & likeness on it.nShe is the first black woman honored this way. nHer longtime assistant told me tonight, u201cshe would be over the moonu201d.nI miss her. Dearly.pic.twitter.com/uDnLKX25LB

— David Begnaud (@David Begnaud)
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The remaining three women for 2022 will be Wilma Mankiller, the first woman to be elected as principal chief of the Cherokee Nation; Adelina Otero-Warren, a leader in New Mexico’s suffrage movement and the first woman superintendent of Santa Fe public schools; and Anna May Wong, the first Chinese woman to star in Hollywood films and an activist who raised funds and advocated for Chinese refugees during World War II.

“Each time we redesign our currency, we have the chance to say something about our country — what we value, and how we’ve progressed as a society. I’m very proud that these coins celebrate the contributions of some of America’s most remarkable women, including Maya Angelou,” said Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, according to Voice of America.

The initiative initially came from California Democratic Representative Barbara Lee, who has been working on legislation to get it passed since 2017. Lee told The 19th, “I wanted to make sure that women would be honored, and their images and names be lifted up on our coins. I mean, it’s outrageous that we haven’t. Hopefully the public really delves into who these women were, because these women have made such a contribution to our country in so many ways.”

The first coin of the American Women Quartersu2122 Program is hereu2014the Maya Angelou Quarter! Learn about honoree Maya Angelou and #HerQuarter in our press release at https://bit.ly/34pX5vlu00a0. Look for it in your change. @USTreasury @smithsonian @womenshistory @DrMayaAngelou @WCPInstpic.twitter.com/GVUpcnbszq

— United States Mint (@United States Mint)
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Some people have pointed out the irony of having a Black woman on one side of the coin and the country’s first slaveholding president on the other, but that’s perhaps the most honest representation of the U.S. when you think about it. Others have pointed out that Harriet Tubman being featured on the $20 bill has not happened yet, despite the announcement being made nearly six years ago. And due to bureaucratic and anticounterfeit hiccups, we may not see that bill before the 2030 deadline.

Progress can be slow and is rarely perfect, but putting 20 women on quarters in the next four years is a heck of a lot better than our three in 230 years coin record up to now.

Megan Fox and MGK have become one of the world’s most talked about couples in the short time they’ve been dating. Whether it’s Megan’s bonkers quotes about being in love with MGK, his assertion “I am weed” during their first meeting, or the fact that Machine Gun Kelly, born Colson Baker, had a poster of Megan in his bedroom before they were together, this pair continues to take the cake. There’s no one like them — and most of us consider that to be a good thing.

So if you were thinking there was a chance their performance of coupledom was going to end any time soon, guess again. Today Megan shared a video of Colson proposing to her under a Banyan tree, noting that the couple had sat under the tree in July of 2020, around the time their relationship began, and “asked for magic.” She also concludes the proposal caption by noting “and then we drank each other’s blood.” So there’s that. Check out the video and her full caption below.

“In July of 2020 we sat under this banyan tree. We asked for magic. We were oblivious to the pain we would face together in such a short, frenetic period of time. Unaware of the work and sacrifices the relationship would require from us but intoxicated off of the love. And the karma. Somehow a year and a half later, having walked through hell together, and having laughed more than I ever imagined possible, he asked me to marry him. And just as in every lifetime before this one, and as in every lifetime that will follow it, I said yes. …and then we drank each other’s blood. 1.11.22.”

The term “Dems in disarray” has been used a lot over the last year, largely due to two (2) Democratic lawmakers who keep gumming up the works. But the Republicans aren’t doing too hot either. Donald Trump, the man who hijacked the party back in 2016, continues to lord over it, despite being a failed one-term president who failed as a blogger and now lives in resorts. But sometimes some prominent GOP member will dare to cross him. On Wednesday, that person was Ann Coulter.

Earlier in the day, Trump gave an interview with OAN, the network largely dedicated to fawning over the 45th president. During his talk, he took what seemed like a veiled swipe at Florida governor Ron DeSantis, who a few weeks back dodged a question about whether or not he’s boosted with an extra dose of a COVID vaccine.

“I watched a couple politicians be interviewed and one of the questions was, ‘Did you get a booster?’ Because they had the vaccine and they’re answering like — in other words, the answer is ‘yes’ but they don’t want to say it, because they’re gutless,” Trump said. He didn’t say DeSantis’ name, but Coulter decided to comment on it in her typically sarcastic style.

“EXCLUSIVE: Trump is demanding to know Ron DeSantis’s booster status, and I can now reveal it,” she tweeted. “He was a loyal booster when Trump ran in 2016, but then he learned our president was a liar and con man whose grift was permanent. I hope that clears things up.”

This is far from the first time Coulter torched Trump. Last fall, she called him “abjectly stupid” and accused him of “not keeping his promises” and “directly betraying his base.” She even slammed him for skipping out on his taxes. (To those who can’t believe they agree with Ann Coulter on an issue, keep in mind she has a lot of other views you probably don’t share.)

In the meantime, some longtime Trump confidants — who are no longer confidants — speculated that he has no intention of running in 2024 and is merely trying to fleece his supporters out of their hard-earned money.

Antonio Brown became a free agent in just about the weirdest way imaginable. Last week, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers cut the productive wide receiver on the heels of a highly-publicized incident in which Brown, after an argument on the team’s sideline during the game against the New York Jets, ripped off his pads, ran through the end zone without a shirt on, interacted with the crowd, and left the stadium altogether.

Calling it bizarre is an understatement, and that’s before we get to the part where Brown straight up just got a ride from someone into New York City after it all happened. There is a pretty major disagreement about what happened — Brown, who is adamant he was cut and did not quit on the team, claimed he was too injured to play despite being cleared, while the Bucs claim he never said anything about being injured that badly. But a few days removed, Brown concedes that the manner in which things went down was a bit much.

“It probably wasn’t necessary or professional,” Brown told TMZ as he was about to embark on an evening of doing stuff with Kanye West.

It’s unclear if Brown will get another shot in the NFL. As for the Bucs, they’ll begin their postseason on Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Gunna is really trying to make “fetch” happen with his new single “Pushin P” featuring Future and Young Thug. The three Atlanta rappers sell their newfangled slang term as hard as they can in the NSFW-ish video, even inserting little interludes of them using it in everyday life while they party at a strip club. Whether or not it’ll catch on remains to be seen, but the song itself has proven to be one of the fans’ favorites from Gunna’s new album DS4EVER, which just dropped last Friday and is on track for a No. 2 debut on the Billboard 200 next week.

In addition to “Pushin P,” Gunna’s campaign for the album has included the singles “Too Easy” and “Livin Wild,” as well as a video for the remix of “Too Easy” featuring frequent collaborator Roddy Ricch. Gunna also released a deluxe edition of the new album just days after the original, sprinkling four new songs in amidst a tracklist that featured 21 Savage, G Herbo, Kodak Black, Lil Baby, Nechie, Yung Bleu, and Gunna’s possible girlfriend Chloe Bailey on the Jon B-sampling “You & Me.” And for fans who just can’t get enough of Gunna this week, he’s also listed as a feature on Cordae’s upcoming album, From A Bird’s Eye View.

Watch the “Pushin P” video above and stream DS4EVER, out now on 300 and Atlantic, here.

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

Damian Lillard is headed under the knife. According to a report by Brian Windhorst of ESPN, Lillard, who has been dealing with a lingering case of lower abdominal tendinopathy that has sidelined him for stretches this season, has decided to turn to surgery as a way to get the situation resolved.

Despite the fact that he will undergo a procedure, though, Windhorst reports that Lillard might not be shut down for the remainder of the year, with his return to action to be determined.

Per Chris Haynes of Yahoo, Lillard will be re-evaluated in 6-8 weeks post-surgery.

Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups recently floated the possibility that Lillard might need to have some sort of extended time off to properly recover from the injury, telling the press “I think what we’re gonna do is just kind of meet, put all our heads together soon and then talk through some of those things. I think that’s probably gonna be the route that we go if he doesn’t get some kind of relief there.”

Lillard has played in 29 of the Blazers’ 40 games this season, which includes each of Portland’s last five. The Blazers currently sit at 16-24 on the season. Even when he has played, though, Lillard hasn’t quite looked like himself, as he’s averaging 24 points and 7.3 assists per game this season while connecting on a career-low 32.4 percent of his attempts from three.