Month: April 2022

While discussing Dr. Anthony Fauci‘s recent interview with Chris Wallace where he opened up about having his COVID messaging constantly undermined by then President Donald Trump, The View‘s Sunny Hostin revealed that her family has looked into filing a lawsuit against the Trump administration for causing the death of her husband’s parents.

During the panel, The View co-hosts agreed that the administration attempted to use Fauci as a “scapegoat,” which prompted former White House communications director Stephanie Grisham to share what she saw on her end after raising concerns about COVID messaging, and it was not good.

Via The Wrap:

“I actually had a problem putting some of the information out, and when I raised those concerns, all messaging, if you can imagine this, all messaging about COVID got taken away from me, the press secretary, me, the director of communications, and the entire West Wing communications team of about 40, and it was transferred to the vice president’s team,” Grisham revealed.

After hearing Grisham’s anecdote, Behar asked Hostin, a former attorney, if the administration is liable for causing deaths because of examples like Grisham’s where the Trump White House attempted to downplay the virus and hamper public health initiatives.

“My family has thought about this a lot, especially because Manny’s parents died from COVID,” Hostin said. “And I blame the Trump administration for that. We’ve explored it. We’ve explored it, we’ve thought about it.”

Hostin did not elaborate on if her family is still pursuing legal action or if a lawsuit is possible.

(Via The Wrap)

Mark Wahlberg, who famously rises from sleep at about 2:30 am to squeeze in the first of his many daily workouts, took quite a turn for his upcoming movie, Father Stu. In the film, he portrays the real-life Reverend Stuart Long, a boxer-turned-priest, and as such, Wahlberg couldn’t portray the role with his usual swole physique. Such career sacrifices demand body transformations, and instead of hitting the gym like most actors do in order to achieve change, he had to, uh, stop that routine.

This movie’s release (it now arrives in theaters on April 13) got pushed back because of the global situation, and so, Wahlberg now has to supplement the details that he already discussed, such as how he ate up to 11,000 calories per day, which resulted in him pulling off this stunning transformation in only three weeks:

That doesn’t seem like a great boomerang routine for the bod, but it gets worse. While speaking to E! Online, the former Marky Mark revealed his menu, which included a daily glass of olive oil. Major yikes:

“I wasn’t eating anything that you would think, ‘Oh my God, I get to sit on the couch and eat ice cream and pizzas.’ I tried to do it in a healthy way. It was a dozen eggs and a dozen pieces of bacon, two baked potatoes, a Porterhouse steak, two bowls of white rice, and a glass of olive oil. The first two weeks were high proteins. The second two weeks were a lot of carbs. The last two weeks starches, and then sodium, just to kind of get as bloated as possible.”

Yeah, even if Wahlberg thinks that this was the “healthy” way, one’s arteries still can’t be happy with an excess amount of the “good” fat that comes in olive oil. Also, it sounds pretty disgusting to have to chug any type of oil. Previously, Wahlberg called the diet “fun for about an hour” and more difficult than losing weight would be for a role. Neither one sounds like a great time, but awards, man.

(Via E! Online)

As has become her custom, Alicia Keys has released a solo version of her recent single, “City Of Gods.” While the original “City Of Gods” features both Kanye West and Fivio Foreign, on “City Of Gods Part II,” Keys strips back the production, turning her latest ode to the Big Apple into a tender ballad. The new video features Alicia showing off a Mercedes-Benz concept car, as well as being coronated by a New York rap icon. Slick Rick appears in the video, bequeathing a large and heavy-looking collection of chains to Alicia, who stoically regards the camera as her neck gets chunkier and chunkier.

Included in that collection is one of Keys’ own chains, which she commissioned from famed New York jeweler Elliante And Co. to commemorate her latest album, KEYS. The glittering neckpiece features a rendition of a set of piano keys with the singer’s signature and received praise from both her husband Swizz Beatz and Jay-Z. Jay-Z was Alicia’s collaborator on a prior record celebrating New York City, “Empire State of Mind,” which she also remixed after its initial success. Whether “City Of Gods II” leads into another body of work for 2022 remains to be seen.

Watch the video for Alicia Keys’ “City Of Gods Part II” above.

The Los Angeles Lakers are not making the playoffs, and as a result, the team has a number of huge decisions to make as this summer rolls around. Atop the list is the future of Russell Westbrook, who the team acquired last offseason in a monster deal with the Washington Wizards. Despite that, Westbrook never quite seemed to fit alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis, saw his name get kicked around in trade rumors at the deadline, and has a player option in his contract for next season that would cost the team a little more than $47 million.

Assuming they do not want to run it back next year, the obvious path is to canvas the league and see if a trade can be found anywhere, something that could be a bit easier than it was at the deadline because L.A. could now attach an additional first-round pick. But if they decide that giving up their selections in 2027 and 2029 is too tough a pill to swallow, Marc Stein reports that waiving Westbrook and using the stretch provision is very much on the table.

“A straight release of Westbrook that essentially transforms his mammoth player option for next season into what lives on their books as a three-year deal in the $15 million range annually would move the Lakers out of luxury-tax territory and make it far easier for them to retain free agent-to-be Malik Monk, who at times has unexpectedly appeared to be the Lakers’ most dependable player not named LeBron James throughout a nightmarish 31-48 campaign,” Stein wrote in the latest edition of his newsletter.

There are very obvious drawbacks to this plan — having to pay Westbrook $15 million over the next three years while he does not play for the team is not exactly an ideal scenario. But having said that, the Lakers are in a situation where any path would have some sort of downside, and ultimately, this might be the best one to travel.

Ahead of the release of her third studio album, Familia, Camila Cabello says she is now in “a better place” compared to when she first began laying the groundwork for the album. Cabello began writing and recording Familia while quarantined during the COVID-19 pandemic with family. She opted to work with very few collaborators in order to demonstrate vulnerability and intimacy on each track.

In an interview with Reuters, she said she was in “really kind of sh*tty place, like mental health wise” during the album’s inception.

“Obviously, I want to make good songs,” she continued, “but to me, it’s just like, I just want to have a good time today in the studio and feel safe and feel relaxed and feel like I’m being true to myself.”

Cabello says Familia will allow fans to hear her in a “more well-rounded space.” The album boasts a few impressive collaborators, including Ed Sheeran and Willow, the latter of whom appears on “Psychofreak.” On “Psychofreak,” Cabello addresses her 2016 departure from girl group Fifth Harmony, which formed on the short-lived American version of The X Factor in 2012.

“I don’t blame the girls for how it all went down,” Cabello sings on the track.

In a 2017 interview for Billboard (per Entertainment Weekly), Cabello revealed she hadn’t spoken with Normani, Lauren Jauregui, Ally Brooke, or Dinah Jane since leaving Fifth Harmony. Now, she says she maintains “limited but positive” contact with them.

“We have been like supportive of each other through like DMs and stuff,” Cabello said. “I’m like, in a really good place with them.”

Familia is out 4/8 via Epic. Pre-save it here.

We’ve now reached the part of The Slap where former Oscars host Billy Crystal is weighing in on Will Smith slapping Chris Rock live on stage after the comedian told a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith. Of course, Crystal brings a unique perspective to the situation given his background as a fellow comedian, and the fact that he’s hosted the Academy Awards nine times. He’s also a three-time Grammy host, so it’s safe to say Crystal knows a thing or two about how these productions go down.

While appearing on Bob Costa’s HBO Max show, Back on the Record, Crystal offered his blunt assessment of The Slap. “[A] most disturbing incident, for sure. It was an assault,” Crystal said. “I’ve had experiences. I hosted the Grammys three times and I’ve been thrown things.”

According to Crystal, The Slap is a prime example of why it’s always good to have a host for these awards shows to move things along and/or capitalize on the moment. Via Deadline:

Crystal maintained that having a host brings an element of control to an event.

“I sort of set myself up to host the show, really host the show, so you can tie it together. So, whenever I see shows that it’s a no-host show, yeah, it went faster, but there’s nobody there to capitalize on anything and give the audience the feeling of there’s somebody in charge.”

What Crystal is describing is essentially what Rock did even though he wasn’t technically one of the three hosts for the evening. Rock has received praise from Whoopi Goldberg, who often hosted the Oscars alongside Crystal, for being “the adult” in the room and not escalating the situation. In fact, Goldberg believes Rock’s cool demeanor saved Smith from even further trouble.

(Via Deadline)

Doja Cat had what is surely the most famous music urination in recent memory, when she nearly missed the chance to accept her Grammy Award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance because she was in the bathroom. Fellow Grammy nominee Japanese Breakfast (aka Michelle Zauner) had a unique perspective on that bit of Grammys history as she was actually in the bathroom with Doja during that fateful pee.

Zauner broke down different parts of her 2022 Grammys experience in a new Pitchfork feature and she noted of Doja:

“I went out during a commercial break and I was in the bathroom. Doja Cat came in, and I was like, ‘OMG, it’s Doja Cat! She’s going to pee next to me.’ Then some woman came in and was like, ‘Doja Cat! Doja Cat! Doja Cat!’ And all of sudden she was, like, yanking her by the wrists past me, and her skirt flew up and she flashed her ass to everyone running in to go and accept her award. They close the door and hold them during a commercial break, and once the show starts, they don’t let anyone back in, and so she was running with Doja Cat because she had just won.”

We now have a look at basically every part of that moment, as Zauner’s story comes shortly after video of Doja’s sprint from the bathroom to the stage surfaced.

She also discusses getting a photo with BTS and more, so check out the feature here.

Whoopi Goldberg might not be thrilled with her Tesla this week (a missing safety feature will do that), but Ted Cruz is singing another song. Specifically, he’s praising the song of flatulence, which is one way to temporarily drown out the Cancun jokes that won’t stop until the end of time.

Ted got onto this strange fart-tangent while discussing Elon Musk’s new stake in Twitter, which many people hope will yield an “edit” button, and thank goodness if that happens. However, far-right lawmakers like Lauren Boebert see this as a free-speech victory (even though Twitter is still a private company and can ban however they please) and a vindication of the “take back what is ours” mentality, and Ted feels that way too. But he’s equally excited about fart noises. Here’s what he said on his podcast, The Verdict With Ted Cruz, while bantering with co-host Michael Knowles.

“Look, I am so happy about it, I may go out and buy a damn Tesla,” Ted declared. He then forged into fart-talk:

“You know why the girls love the Tesla? Because the central computer makes fart noises in each of the seats. And for an 11 year old and a 13 year old, that is the coolest feature. And I gotta admit, as a 51 year old, that’s a pretty cool feature, although I probably shouldn’t admit that publicly.”

Sure, let’s watch this in video format:

There’s not much more that can be added to this information besides, damn, it would be awful to go on a road trip with Ted Cruz while he’s giggling about fart noises. That’s even more reason for him to book that flight to Cancun.

Happy Thursday! The latest trailer for Netflix’s trippy comedy Russian Doll has arrived, just two weeks before the second season drops.

The second season of the acclaimed comedy picks up where the first season left off, with Natashia Lyonne trying to piece together her life, but this time instead of dying, she time-traveling in the most horrifying location — the New York City subway system. The series also stars Greta Lee, Charlie Barnett, and Yul Vazquez, with Schitt’s Creek’s Annie Murphy being introduced in season 2.

Here is the official Netflix synopsis:

Discovering a fate even worse than endless death, this season finds Nadia and Alan delving deeper into their pasts through an unexpected time portal located in one of Manhattan’s most notorious locations, the New York City subway. At first, they experience this as an ever-expanding, era-spanning, intergenerational adventure, but they soon discover this extraordinary event might be more than they bargained for and, together, must search for a way out.

The first season of the series aired in 2019 and became an instant hit, with four Emmy nominations and inspiring many early COVID lockdown memes (remember when we were all living the same day over and over and over?). After numerous production delays, the second season finally began filming last spring. The second season is set to premiere Wednesday, April 20th. Check out the trailer above.

During his first presidential campaign, Donald Trump made the bold claim that he could “stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody,” and he wouldn’t lose any voters. Well, if you’re wondering whose loyalty he was so sure of, it’s that of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Mitch gave a damning interview (with Axios reporter Jonathan Swan), in which he doubled down on his support of the ex-president, who he once labeled as “morally responsible” for the Jan. 6th insurrection. After the attack on Capitol Hill, McConnell blasted Trump for inciting the mob saying that Donald Trump’s actions preceding the Jan. 6th insurrection were “a disgraceful dereliction of duty” and that he was “practically and morally responsible” for the damage done to our country’s democracy on that fateful day. Just two weeks later, McConnell pulled an about-face, shocking everyone by issuing his support of Trump should the twice-impeached former president run for office again. That kind of fairweather loyalty is pretty confusing for voters. so Swan quizzed McConnell on how he could go from dragging Trump in the press to pledging his loyalty to him just a few days later — and McConnell had a predictably cryptic answer.

“Well, as the Republican leader of the Senate, it should not be a front-page headline that I will support the Republican nominee for president,” McConnell said when asked if he’d support Trump’s 2024 run. “I think I have an obligation to support the nominee of my party.”

Swan was understandably gobsmacked asking, “Is there anything they could do? You seem to hold two concurrent conflicting positions.”

“Not at all inconsistent, I stand by everything I said,” McConnell interrupted. “Because I don’t get to pick the Republican nominee for president. They’re elected by the Republican voters all over the country.”

So, in McConnell’s mind, you can do everything including trying to overthrow our government, and, as long as you’re a Republican, you get his vote.

(Via RawStory)