Month: March 2022

The start of 2022 marked six years since Rihanna released her last album Anti. The project is often heralded as a favorite among her fans, and it’s left them itching for more. However, Rihanna is quite a busy person these days. Most of her time is consumed by handling her Fenty empire and fulfilling a series of philanthropic efforts. She’s also expecting her first child with ASAP Rocky. As for that long-awaited ninth album, we’ll have to continue the wait for it. In the meantime, Rihanna took a moment to reflect on two songs that she’s proudest of from her career.

During an interview with social media influencer and make-up artist Mikayla Nogueira, Rihanna was asked which records from her career was she the proudest of. Before the singer revealed her answer, the two shared a laugh after Nogueira said her favorite song by Rihanna was “Unfaithful.” “I love ‘Needed Me’ and I also love ‘Diamonds,’” Rihanna said while showing off her diamond rings.

Despite her pregnancy, Rihanna promises that her first child will not stop her from making new music. She shared the comments during a recent interview with ET’s Rachel Smith. It’s there’s that she also spoke about how her pregnancy has been so far. “It’s all an exciting journey so far,” she said. “I’m just taking it as it comes every week. There’s always something new and I’m just taking it and I’m enjoying it.”

You can watch Rihanna’s response in the video above.

It may be hard to imagine this now, but before comic book movies became almost the only game in Hollywood, there weren’t that many of them. In 2003, the year of the Matrix sequels and the last Lord of the Rings film, there were only two: X2 and Daredevil. The first was a monster hit. The second just did alright. Starring Ben Affleck as the blind crime fighter, it was a critical dud whose grosses sharply declined after its opening weekend. Alas, its rep doesn’t appear to have improved.

As per The AV Club, Charlie Cox — who played the character in the much-liked Netflix series (soon bound for Disney+), and who’s back to playing the role in fare like Spider-Man: No Way Home — was in Abu Dhabi at this year’s Middle East Film & Comic Con. He was asked about the Daredevil movie, which also featured Jennifer Garner, Colin Farrell, and Michael Clarke Duncan and did not spawn a franchise (though Garner did get a spin-off movie, which tanked). And Cox did not hold back.

“I watched it once, and then I wanted to go and do my own thing,” Cox said. He admitted he hadn’t seen it when he got the role a decade-plus after it came out. But when he watched it, it didn’t impress him much. “I don’t love the movie. I feel like the movie tried to do too much and it was a little tonally confused.”

One problem was it, if anything, tried too hard. “They had everyone in that movie — they had Kingpin, they had Bullseye, they had Elektra, they had Karen Page, they had Foggy,” he said. “It was saturated, and it’s two hours. So that was part of that problem. And the suit sucks!”

Did Cox have some kinder words to say about it? He sure did. He said Affleck was “a really good Matt Murdock,” adding, “I like his Matt Murdock.”

This isn’t Martin Scorsese-level dissing. Not even Affleck likes his Daredevil movie. Besides, Cox was at least nicer to Affleck than the Razzies.

(Via AV Club)

Not that long ago, after months and months of one blockbuster after another underperforming in theaters, something funny happened: A movie made a ton of money. That film was Spider-Man: No Way Home, and it didn’t just end a dry spell. It’s already the fourth highest grossing movie in American history (not adjusted for inflation, that is). Could the pattern repeat itself, perhaps very soon? Benedict Cumberbatch seems to think so.

In a new interview with Empire, the actor, currently Oscar-nominated, got a big head about his next movie: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. “It’s a big, big movie,” Cumberbatch told the publication. “It’s going to be an absolute riot. And if it brings off the level of ambition it’s got, we’re going to have a success on the level of Spidey. There you go, I’ll put my flag in the sand.”

It’s not an empty boast: He’s also in No Way Home, which ends with him setting up his character’s own solo sequel. Not only that, it promises even more multiverse madcappery. What it doesn’t have, that No Way Home had, was a two decade back catalogue of action on which to draw. Apart from a 1978 TV movie featuring Jessica Walter as a villain, there hasn’t been much live-action Doctor Strange cinema (though fans are already speculating that it will rope in other guests). On top of that, the character has never engendered the intense love that Spidey has.

Then again, it is a Marvel movie, from aughts-era Spider-Man director Sam Raimi. Besides, as we know way too well, stranger things sure have happened.

(Via Empire)

It hasn’t been too long since we received new music from Lil Baby. Less than a year ago, he teamed up with Lil Durk for their joint album, Voice Of The Heroes. That project topped the albums chart and gave Lil Baby his second No. 1 album. His first was 2020’s My Turn, which stands as his most recent solo album. My Turn grew to be one of the most popular albums of 2020 and it helped to launch Lil Baby into a new tier within the rap game.

More than two years later, Lil Baby is ready to give us his third album and the music on it has him very excited to share it with the world. In a series of posts that he shared on Monday, Baby shared his excitement with the world. “It’s Gone Be A Nastyyyyy Summer,” he wrote in one tweet, before adding in another, “My turn again” with fire emojis. In a third tweet, he continued, “Drop a video every few weeks until [exploding head emojis].” As if the tweets weren’t enough to bring more anticipation towards his upcoming album, Baby took to his Instagram Story to share a short message. “The summers mine,” he wrote in a post.

Lil Baby’s posts come after he delivered collaborations with Nicki Minaj (“Do We Have A Problem?” and “Bussin“), 2 Chainz, and Polo G.

You can view the posts from Baby above.

Phoenix Rising, the Evan Rachel Wood documentary directed by Amy Berg, is nearly upon us. The two-parter (which premiered at Sundance) will further detail Evan Rachel Wood’s allegations of grooming and sexual abuse against Marilyn Manson. These claims include Wood’s allegations that Manson “essentially raped” her on the “Heart-Shaped Glasses” video set (which he has denied), and the project follows up on Evan’s advocacy for legal protections for sexual assault victims.

In early March, Manson sued Wood over her abuse claims. In doing so, Manson accused Wood of “malicious falsehood” in her claims. He also alleged that she’d “hacked into the singer’s computers and social media” and fabricated an FBI letter to sway more accusers against him. Wood has now visited The View, where (around the 3:00 minute mark above) she responded by saying that Manson’s denial of raping her on that video set should bd compared to his 2007 statements, which she summed up like this: “Oh, it does look real, doesn’t it? [wink wink]”

Wood also declared herself to be unafraid of Manson’s lawsuit, which she suggests was timed in accordance with the documentary’s release and meant to intimidate her as a survivor. Via Variety:

“I can’t obviously speak about any of the specific allegations of the lawsuit, but I’m not scared. I am sad, because this is how it works. This is what pretty much every survivor that tries to expose someone in a position of power goes though, and this is part of the retaliation that keeps survivors quiet. This is why people don’t want to come forward. This was expected.

“I am very confident that I have the truth on my side and that the truth will come out. This is clearly timed before the documentary… I’m not doing this [film] to clear my name. I’m doing this to protect people. I’m doing this to sound the alarm that there is a dangerous person out there and I don’t want anybody getting near him. So people can think whatever they want about me. I have to let the legal process run its course, and I’m steady as a rock.”

About halfway through the Phoenix Rising production (in 2021), Wood came forward to name Manson as the previously unidentified domestic abuser that she spoke of while testifying to legislators. That testimony aimed to help pass California’s Phoenix Act, which (as detailed in the documentary) sought to extend the statute of limitations for rape cases.

Phoenix Rising debuts March 15 on HBO.

In less than two weeks, Machine Gun Kelly will deliver his sixth album Mainstream Sellout. It’s the follow-up to his 2020 album Tickets To My Downfall, an album that featured heavy contributions from Travis Barker who will also work with MGK on Mainstream Sellout. Kelly’s upcoming album was originally titled Born With Horns, but he decided a name change was in order for the project. However, this decision was made after he and Barker got matching “Born With Horns” tattoos. Nonetheless, Mainstream Sellout is locked in for a March 25 release date, and as date approaches, MGK took a moment to share some new information about it.

In recent posts on social media, Kelly revealed the list of collaborators who will appear on Mainstream Sellout. Thanks to singles that MGK already released for the album, we know Willow, who appeared on “Emo Girl,” and Lil Wayne, who can be found on “Ay!,” both have moments to shine on the album. Additionally, Pete Davidson, Young Thug, Gunna, Blackbear, Iann Dior, Bring Me The Horizon, and a second appearance from Lil Wayne will be found elsewhere on Mainstream Sellout. Despite sharing the lists of guests on the album, Kelly did not unveil the official song titles on Mainstream Sellout.

You can view Kelly’s post about Mainstream Sellout above.

Mainstream Sellout is out 3/25 via Bad Boy/Interscope. You can pre-save it here.

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

Puppies are cute, rambunctious and have a way of worming themselves into your heart, and that’s exactly what happened to Roman Duncan when his family fostered a sweet pit bull mix named Maggie. Roman’s mom stepped up to foster Maggie and get her accustomed to what family life would be like. Being a puppy is hard—it requires learning all the rules that you’re not familiar with and a patient human to teach them to you.

The Duncan family helped Maggie learn the ropes of puppy life to prepare her for her new post-rescue family. The Duncans live in Louisiana and the rescue shelter, North Shore Animal League America, is in Port Washington, New York, which meant Roman’s new cuddle buddy would have to be transported a long way. Six-year-old Roman wanted to do what he could to make sure his best friend was adopted, so he devised a plan. He decided to write letters to Maggie’s potential adopters to let them know that she’s the goodest of girls.

Maggie sleeping.Photo Credit: North Shore Animal League America

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The letters were a way for Roman to express his grief over having to say goodbye to his best friend. The Duncans explained to the 6-year-old on several occasions that Maggie was a foster and would eventually have to go to a new family who would love and care for her forever. Though Roman understood, it didn’t stop him from getting attached to his new friend.

Roman’s letters and drawings were a pleasant surprise to the Animal League rescue transportation team—the boy had slipped them into Maggie’s paperwork without their knowledge. North Shore Animal League America made sure that the letters—which included information about how good Maggie is, her manners and the important fact that she absolutely loved to cuddle—got into the hands of the puppy’s adoptive family.

One of the notes talked about how cute she is, that she loves to play fetch and is the best dog ever. The letter is finished off with a hand-drawn picture of a fuzzy Maggie. It’s clear that in the short time the puppy was with the Duncan family, Roman grew really attached and wanted to make sure her new owners knew about her best traits.

Photo Credit: North Shore Animal League America

North Shore Animal League America revealed that they hope by sharing Roman’s letters about Maggie it will encourage other families to consider fostering pets until a forever home is located. Often local shelters have fostering programs for families that are willing to take on a temporary pet. It’s clear that Roman has set the bar high for other families and that Maggie was well loved while she got to snuggle with her best friend.

If you want to learn more about NSALA’s work or fostering pets, you can visit the website.

The World Nature Photography Awards announced the winners of its 2021 photo contest and Amos Nachoum from the United States won the top cash prize award of $1,000 for his image of a leopard seal about to capture a defenseless gentoo penguin.

Getting the photo was no easy task. Nachoum had to wait for hours on the remote island of Plano, off the Antarctic Peninsula, for the right moment at low tide when the seals entered a lagoon to catch their prey.

Unfortunately, the photo is one of the last moments of the young penguin’s life. “The terrified penguin tried to escape as the game continued. But soon, the end came,” Nachoum said in a statement.

Other winners include a remarkable shot of a humpback whale just outside New York City, a majestic photo of an orangutan in a river and an arctic fox braving the frozen tundra in Iceland.

The photographs are a wonderful example of the dedication and care taken by nature photographers, but they’re also a reminder of our duty to care for the environment.

“The World Nature Photography Awards were founded in the belief that we can all make small efforts to shape the future of our planet in a positive way and that photography can influence people to see the world from a different perspective and change their own habits for the good of the planet. 2021’s competition saw entries come in from 20 countries across 6 continents,” the World Nature Photography Awards said in a press release.

Here are all 13 of the photographers who won gold in the 2021 contest.

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World Nature Photographer of the Year and Gold Winner in “Behavior – Mammals” — Amos Nachoum, USA

“For hours, I waited for the low tide to arrive along a shallow lagoon on a remote island off the Antarctic Peninsula. Like clockwork, the leopard seal arrived in the lagoon just before low tide. It put its head in the water and looked just like a rock sitting in the receding water. The young Gentoo penguins only dare to enter the water when it is shallow and when they got close enough to the seal, it turned its head at lightning speed, catching one of the penguins by its feet and taking it to deep water. Once the seal reached open water, I followed it and swam parallel to it, observing its actions. To my surprise, it let go of the penguin twice. Each time, the seal chased after the penguin again, as if it was enjoying the game. The terrified penguin tried to escape as the game continued. But soon, the end came.”

Gold Winner in “Animal Portraits” — Tom Vierus, Fiji

“Long-tailed macaques enjoy the warmth of each other during a hot day in Bali, Indonesia. These animals show very similar behaviour to us humans including enjoying each other trusting company. The macaques are used to humans and are commonly found around temples where they tend to feed on food sacrifices by the locals.”

Gold Winner in “Behavior – Amphibians and Reptiles” — Shayne Kaye, Canada

“This shot came out of a ‘nothing’ outing to a local park. It was the middle of a sunny summer day with harsh light and little activity. After going out with low expectations, I came across this tiny Pacific Tree Frog on a flower. After waiting for it to move into a more photogenic position on the flower, and trying repeatedly to catch the mottled light through the tree’s leaves above it at exactly the right spot, I got exactly what I was hoping for. It proved to me that there’s really no bad time to head into nature with a camera!”

Gold Winner in “Behavior – Birds” — Ashok Behera, India

“A wildebeest’s eyes being gorged by an African vulture, keenly watched by an African fox for an opportunity to scavenge. Taken at Masai Mara, Kenya.”

Gold Winner in “Behavior – Invertebrates” — Chin Leong Teo, Singapore

“The common red ant is ingenious at traversing terrain. When front scout ants encounter a water obstacle, they intuitively form an “ant-bridge” with their bodies, so that their ant-mates at the back of the party can cross.”

Gold Winner in “Nature Art” — Federico Testi, Italy

“The natural creativity of San Quirico d’orcia, in Tuscany, Italy. Waves, shapes and tone created by light, in harmony with the universe.”

Gold Winner in “People and Nature” — Sabrina Inderbitzi, Switzerland

“I crawled into this ice cave on the totally frozen Lake Baikal in Russia. First I didn’t like the fact that the car and the people were in the middle of my picture, but then on a second view I found it just perfect.”

Gold Winner in “Plants and Fungi” — Gautam Kamat Bambolkar, India

“Entrance to a room inside an abandoned house in Goa, India. It is fascinating how mother nature takes over from where man has left.”

Gold Winner in “Urban Wildlife” — Matthijs Noome, USA

“Finally got the shot I wanted: a humpback’s fluke with the New York City downtown skyline in the distance. As water quality measures and conservation efforts have started to show real results over the last years, humpback whales are becoming a common sight more and more in New York waters.”

Gold Winner in “Planet Earth’s Landscapes and Environments” — Sam Wilson, Australia

“Travelling down random dirt roads can be so rewarding when you are greeted with scenes like this. Taken on South Island, New Zealand.”

Gold Winner in “Black and White” — Vince Burton, United Kingdom

“A recent trip to Iceland where we were lucky to view and photograph the rare ‘blue morph’ Arctic fox. The weather conditions were extreme, but that didn’t seem to bother the fox.”

Gold Winner in “Animals in Their Habitat” — Thomas Vijayan, Canada

“Mature male orangutans have large flappy cheek-pads, known as flanges, a throat sac used to make loud verbalisations called long calls. Once they reach maturity, they spend most of their time alone, about 90%. I was lucky enough to get this fully-grown, matured orangutan giving me the best pose possible.”

Gold Winner in “Nature Photojournalism” — Alain Schroeder, Belgium

“Sibolangit, SOCP Quarantine Centre, North Sumatra, Indonesia. The whole SOCP team works together to prepare Brenda, an estimated 3-month-old female orangutan (she has no teeth yet), for surgery. A sedative is administered, the arm is shaved, her temperature is taken, while others hold her head or her hand out of compassion for the baby. During the three-hour procedure, Dr. Andreas Messikommer, a renowned orthopaedic surgeon invited from Switzerland, will place a pin and screws to secure the damaged humerus. Brenda was confiscated from a villager in Blang Pidie on the west coast of Aceh who was keeping her as a pet.”

Back when Shaun White was just 19 he won a gold medal at the Winter Olympics in Turin and quickly became a household name. White, then known as the “The Flying Tomato” due to his red hair, quickly became a household name for his high-flying antics on his board and laid back Southern California cool.

White would go on to win three Olympic gold medals in halfpipe snowboarding and appear in five Olympic Games. He also holds the record for the most gold medals won in the X Games. White recently performed in the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing where he, unfortunately, didn’t win any medals.

After winning his first gold medal, White appeared on CNN, flashing his hardware and talking about all of the perks that come with his newfound fame. He recalled a recent flight where he was showered with attention from the flight attendants.

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White: “[They] had all seen the Games and they were just so excited to see me and they’re like ‘you have the gold?’

And I mean, like, I had unlimited, like, service after that. I was getting drinks and I was getting snacks and I was taking photos in the back with all the stewardesses…”

Interviewer: “Wait a minute. Drinks? You’re 19 years old?”

White: “I’m talking about Mountain Dews, baby.”

It’s unclear whether he was actually served Mountain Dew, a sponsor of his at the time, or if he made the most brilliant recovery in live TV history. But what we do know is that White was jazzed about his incredible accomplishment and watching him celebrate is seriously infectious all these years later.

The rescue workers of Borneo Orangutan Survival are going viral for their hands-on teaching approach.

As their adorable pupils learn important lessons at Jungle School, like using tools and building nests, perhaps no bit of wisdom could be quite as important as snakes = danger. So, to really drive it home, the caretakers lean into a bit of theatrics, along with a healthy dose of exposure therapy. And boy, does it work.

To be clear: No real snakes were harmed in the making of these now viral TikToks.

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Instead, plastic pythons get placed under branches, mimicking real life. The workers walk with the baby orangutans along the path, and BAM! Fake snake attack!

@bos_deutschland The #orangutans we #rescue need to learn that #snakes are dangerous… this is how #conservation works #animalrescue #wildliferescue #ngo ♬ original sound – BOS_deutschland

A female worker screams, flails her arms and falls to the ground. Clearly this woman has done her research. It is a performance worthy of a horror movie. The snakes might be fake, but that drama is 100% real.

Up the trees the terrified orangutans go. Traumatized? Maybe. But also more aware? Most definitely. The conservation group reassured viewers that, despite their shock, “the little guys are fine and learning.”

Snake awareness is a vital life-saving skill for orangutans, but it isn’t necessarily a natural one. According to the Smithsonian, being able to recognize snakes comes instinctively for orangutans, however fearing them is entirely learned. And without parents to teach these little ones about life threats, the workers of BOS have stepped up in the sweetest way.

And hey, it’s not all trauma, the workers are definitely having nonmalicious fun while pulling antics. In a follow-up video, a worker laughs as she sets down a tricolored fake snake on the ground near some orangutans enjoying a midday lunch.

Once the snake is spotted, the orangutans quickly flee. The ones who don’t immediately climb all huddle behind a tree, comforting each other. Seems the lesson plan is working!

Kudos to the team at BOS, who have used amazing creativity to educate these adorable creatures about important safety habits. And also educate the world about how we can be allies to the natural world.

If you’re in the mood for more Jungle School antics, you can watch even more videos here.