Month: June 2022

While Britney Spears has shared several celebratory moments on Instagram recently — including getting married, recreating her iconic kiss with Madonna, and moving into her new home — she, like many of us, admits she still sometimes feels insecure seeing other people’s photos and videos on the platform.

In a video set to Katy Perry’s “Firework,” Spears shared a video of her recreating a viral dance. Although she appeared happy in the video, the accompanying caption indicated that she’s worked hard to find that happiness.

“Do you know how many times I literally wanted to crawl in a hole and feel like an idiot while looking at social media ???” said Spears in an Instagram post. “These women with a style game and hot bodies … sh*t !!! The excitement of fast shooting with edits these days … In my conservatorship, each shot in my videos was like 4 years !!!”

Also in the post, she admitted she feels she doesn’t have it all together, saying, “I lose my phone 3x a day, can’t find my shades when they are on top of my head … I’m human and I do my best !!! I know I completely suck most of the time but I still try my best.”

Stars — they’re just like us.

Vladimir Putin’s so steamed over the world rejecting Russia amid his Ukraine invasion that the Kremlin’s been rolling out massive sh*t lists of Americans who are no longer welcome to visit his country. That includes expected. names like Joe Biden and his colleagues, but also semi-random names like Morgan Freeman. None of them, probably, are losing any rest over never entering Russia, but Putin’s still going. The Russian president, who’s leadership is said to “no longer absolute” is continuing to bring the (ineffective) hammer down, and he’s got a new list.

According to Forbes, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has finally landed upon Putin’s list of those who not “indefinitely” worthy of Russia. This is amusing, considering that (back in 2019) Mitch groused on the Senate floor after critics dubbed him “Moscow Mitch,” and the Washington Post called him a “Russian asset.” Yet Forbes unrolls the list of Putin-banned names, which includes part of Biden’s family and these U.S. lawmakers:

A host of high-profile politicians have also been targeted, including McConnell, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), Sen. Benjamin Sass (R-Neb.), Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.).

What did Mitch do? He criticized far-right congresspeople (including Madison Cawthorn and Marjorie Taylor Green), who he accused of being part of the “Putin wing of the Republican party” as well as “a few lonely voices off to the side” who should be ignored. Surely, Putin’s also steamed about this lack of Mitch support during the Russia-Ukraine war, all while the U.S. continues to pile on economic sanctions. Well, Vlad the Bad really told him who’s boss, not to mention who’s the biggest Botox addict of them all.

(Via Forbes & Salon)

A couple nights ago, on June 26, Halsey played a show in Phoenix, Arizona. Since abortion and Roe v. Wade is on minds everywhere right now, Halsey took some time during the show — after “Nightmare,” towards the end of the setlist — to speak out about the issue. At one point, they noted, “If you don’t like it, you can go home right now, I don’t care. If you don’t like it, I don’t know why you came to a Halsey concert, because I’ve never been shy that this is how I feel.”

According to some fan reports online, it turns out that a decent number of attendees took Halsey up on that and did in fact leave the show: One fan tweeted, “The amount of people who just walked out of the Halsey concert after Nightmare when she spoke about abortion was sickening.” Halsey, though, remains unbothered, as they shared that tweet and added, “downside of doing outdoor venues: no door to hit them on the way out [hand waving emoji].”

This came a couple days after Halsey tweeted, “I have been advocating for abortion, reproductive rights, and bodily integrity for as long as I’ve had a platform and I’m running out of ways to word and frame the severity of the impact that fundamentalism has on our country. I know some of you look to my page for information or guidance but I need a little bit of time to speak to some people with more authority and experience than me and gather my thoughts. I don’t want to just contribute to antagonistic noise. I’m just defeated at the moment.”

For the past 48 hours, Rudy Giuliani has been trying to make hay of being “attacked” at a Shop-Rite in New York while campaigning for his son, Andrew Giuliani. However, despite Giuliani’s claims that he could’ve died if he was a “weaker 78-year-old,” the so-called assault looked like nothing more than a pat on the back to most observers. With Fox News not really covering the story, Giuliani took his harrowing tale to Newsmax where he expected a more sympathetic audience. Instead, even pro-Trump anchor Greg Kelly’s first reaction is the same as anyone with eyes.

“I’ve got to be honest, it doesn’t look that bad,” Kelly said during the bizarre interaction where it sounds like Giuliani is next to a lawnmower.

While Kelly’s initial reaction pretty much says it all, the Newsmax anchor gave Giuliani some wiggle room, and America’s Mayor immediately used it to claim that the anchor was looking at the wrong person. Via Insider:

As the video showed the man slapping his back, Giuliani claimed that Kelly was looking at another person in the video.

“That was the woman who was rubbing my back, not the guy who hit me,” said Giuliani.

Kelly didn’t challenge this, saying: “That makes sense. Well look, I’m sorry you were roughed up but the campaign trail is crazy.”

It also doesn’t help Giuliani’s case that a judge has already downgraded the charges from felony assault to a misdemeanor because, again, the video clearly shows a pat on the back. MSNBC anchor Chris Hayes went full Zapruder on the footage, playing it slow motion, and it is nowhere near the potentially deadly assault that Giuliani has been touting since Sunday.

(Via Aaron Rupar on Twitter)

As outrageous as it sounds considering the laundry list of crimes for which R. Kelly was convicted, the disgraced R&B star still has plenty of hardcore fans — some much harder than others. According to Billboard, one who recently went way out of his way to show his support for Kelly was arrested after threatening federal prosecutors involved in Kelly’s New York case (his Chicago case is still pending). Bolingbrook, Illinois resident Christopher Gunn was arrested Saturday and faces up to five years in prison if he’s convicted.

Appearing in court yesterday, he was detained without bond. A detention hearing was scheduled for Wednesday, and the Department of Justice wants him moved to New York for trial. Gunn allegedly posted a video to his YouTube page flashing a photo of the prosecutors’ Brooklyn office building and sharing his plan to “storm” it. “[I]f you ain’t got the stomach for the shit we bout to do, I’m asking that you just bail out,” he says in the video. Prosecutors say Gunn also accepted payments via Cash App for ammunition, including transactions with messages such as “30 rounds on the haters.”

While there’s plenty of idle talk on social media, it appears that Gunn may have been planning to carry out his threats; a log book from the courthouse where Kelly’s trial was held contains Gunn’s signature on September 3, 2021. Incidentally, there’s no indication that Kelly actually knows Gunn, and there are all kinds of things you can say about that. According to court documents, Gunn is charged with “knowingly and intentionally transmit[ing] in interstate and foreign commerce communications containing threats … that would result in the death or serious bodily injury” of three Assistant US Attorneys who participated in Kelly’s prosecution.

Kelly, meanwhile, awaits sentencing after being found guilty of racketeering and sex trafficking, with prosecutors recommending over 25 years in prison under the belief that if released sooner, he’d be up to his old tricks rather than reformed.

Did you think the summer of video game announcements was over? Not at all! While PlayStation, Xbox, and most AAA publishers got their announcements out of the way earlier in the month, Nintendo decided that it wanted to have a Nintendo Direct right towards the end of June. Don’t worry if you missed it, because while it’s always exciting to get some new games, Nintendo made it very clear that this was going to be a showcase for only third-party publishers. That means no Breath of the Wild 2, Metroid, or Mario news.

It was still a fun showcase though! We got some updates on a few games we already knew about, saw a couple of new games, a legacy collection, and a surprising remake! It was a fun way to round out a month that’s always filled to the brim with announcements. Let’s break down what we learned from today’s Nintendo Direct Mini: Partner Showcase.

Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope

We already knew Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope was coming thanks to its reveal during last Summer’s E3 showcases, but we were given a fun little teaser for the upcoming game during this year’s Nintendo Direct.

The trailer itself didn’t have too much new info to show us, although the inclusion of Bowser is always a good time when it comes to Mario spin-off titles, and we even got to see some gameplay. The big announcement everyone wanted to know though was a release date and we can excitedly expect it to come out on October 20. Hopefully, this doesn’t end up getting delayed, because a bunch of Rabbids dressing up as Mario characters sounds like the perfect way to get into the Halloween spirit this fall.

Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection

Mega Man Battle Network on the surface looks a lot like if you combined Mega Man with Pokemon and in some ways it is, but simplifying it as just a Pokemon clone doesn’t do the franchise justice. These games are all filled to the brim with content thanks to enjoyably simple stories, addictive gameplay, and a lot of chance for variety in how you approach battles. There’s a lot of justified nostalgia for this franchise.

During the Nintendo Direct, it was announced that every single Battle Network game would be released in one package together in the Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection. That’s technically 10 whole games in one package! That said, it’s actually six games but a few of them have alternate versions so that’s how they’re able to advertise it as a 10-game package. It will include a couple features beyond the game such as a music collection pack as well as a cool resolution filter to make the GBA pixels not so harsh on high resolution TV’s and Switch screens.

Pac-Man World Re-PAC

Pac-Man might be best known for his adventures on arcade cabinets, but there was a brief period of time where he was a full on mascot character that received his own adventures and party games. These games usually ranged from bad to mediocre, but there was one adventure that a lot of fans really enjoyed and that was Pac-Man World for the PlayStation. It was a full on 3D adventure with worlds to unlock, items to collect, and enemies to defeat.

In what may have been the biggest surprise of the entire direct, Pac-Man World is getting a remake! Pac-Man World Re-PAC was announced during the direct with a trailer showing us a modern remake of the original game. Was anybody out there begging for a remake of Pac-Man World? Unlikely, but that doesn’t mean those of us who played the original and loved it are going to say no to a chance to re-experience that adventure. It’s also a great opportunity for younger players who never got to play the first game to jump into it.

Portal Companion Collection

When Portal Companion Collection was first announced back in February it was oddly not given a release date. We knew it was coming out in 2022, but that was about it. So imagine our surprise and delight to see the game show up in this Nintendo Direct to let us know that later today, June 28, the game would be officially released on the Switch!

Portal and Portal 2 are of course considered by many to be two of the best games ever made. These puzzle games are incredibly well made, extremely unique, and so well written that fans continue to quote them to this very day. Now they’re available to us on the go and we couldn’t be happier. Got a long flight coming up? Pick up this collection and watch time fly by as you experience two of the best puzzle games ever. This is great news for Switch owners.

Harvestella

Ya know what’s fun? Farming games. Everybody loves farming games like Stardew Valley, Harvest Moon, or My Time at Portia, because they’re delightful and relaxing. Now what if you took that relaxing concept, added some JRPG stakes to it, and through in some combat? Well, then you would get Harvestella.

This new game from Square Enix combines the JRPG and Farming Sim genres to create a really intriguing concept. Is that concept going to work well together? We have no idea, but it’s going to be really exciting to give it a try once the game releases in November. Switch fans in particular should be really excited since it looks like the game is a Switch and PC exclusive. Another potentially strong RPG for the Switch library.

After a tumultuous first season in Los Angeles, Russell Westbrook will be returning to the Lakers (at least barring a trade this summer) after deciding to pick up his $47 million player option.

Westbrook seemed excited about player option day, as he posted a video of him joyfully singing in the car prior to the news coming out.

Westbrook, who could’ve become a free agent on July 1, unsurprisingly made the decision to finish out the last year of his contract rather than hit the open market, leaving the Lakers in the expected position of needing to fill out their roster around their three max stars with veteran minimums and the taxpayer mid-level. The only other Lakers under contract currently are LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Talen Horton-Tucker, and Kendrick Nunn (who likewise picked up his player option for $5.25 million after missing all of the 2021-22 season with injury), which means there are 10 roster spots potentially to fill out — although Austin Reaves, Stanley Johnson, and Wenyen Gabriel all figure to be brought back and second round pick Max Christie is expected to make the roster in some form.

New Lakers coach Darvin Ham offered a public vote of confidence for Westbrook in his introductory presser, but did indicate that he’s aware the only way Westbrook, James, and Davis can work together is if they commit on the defensive end. That message seemed particularly pointed towards Westbrook, who struggled on that end a year ago and will have to be better at the point of attack for the Lakers to bounce back as contenders. There is always the possibility the Lakers decide they can’t run it back, but as the months have gone by since there was considerable trade deadline buzz about Westbrook, the indication has been the team doesn’t want to mortgage the future by dealing a pick away alongside the former All-Star.

If the name Yesli Vega isn’t familiar to you, don’t worry… but do pray that it doesn’t become more familiar. The former police officer is now a Republican congressional candidate in Virginia who is currently making Marjorie Taylor Greene-sized waves regarding her absolutely baseless—and painfully idiotic—response to a question about rape-related pregnancy.

On Monday, Axios Richmond caught audio footage of the cop-turned-politician discussing the overturning of Roe v. Wade—a decision she’s clearly championing. When asked about exceptions, such as in the case of rape, Vega responded in a way that would have some small children who just learned that storks don’t deliver babies questioning her thinking.

Voicing her support for the decision, Vega explained that “The left will say, ‘Well what about in cases of rape or incest?’ I’m a law enforcement officer. I became a police officer in 2011. I’ve worked one case where as a result of a rape, the young woman became pregnant.”

Well, if she’s only seen it once then surely it must be a rarity.

When one equally clueless onlooker relayed hearing that “it’s harder for a woman to get pregnant if she’s been raped,” Vega admitted that while she hadn’t “you know, seen any studies,” the logic (!?!) behind that statement seemed pretty sound to her.

But wait, it gets worse…

“It wouldn’t surprise me. Because it’s not something that’s happening organically. You’re forcing it. The individual, the male, is doing it as quickly—it’s not like, you know—and so I can see why there is truth to that. It’s unfortunate.”

So because the sex isn’t happening “organically” and the man is doing it “quickly,” the penis must somehow be equipped with an internal rape monitor that instructs the sperm to avoid insemination? Yes, that makes total sense.

Meanwhile, the peer-reviewed American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology conducted a three-year study back in 1996 that found that the national rape-related pregnancy rate was approximately five percent among women ages 12 to 45, which they estimated to be approximately 32,101 pregnancies per year—and 32.4 percent of those women did not learn they were pregnant until they were in their second trimester. In cases of rape-related pregnancy, the study found that 50 percent of the victims opted for abortion while 32.2 percent of women chose to keep the baby; 5.9 percent of women placed the child up for adoption while 11.8 percent had spontaneous abortions.

Those numbers led the researchers to state that “rape-related pregnancy occurs with significant frequency,” but sure—listen to Yesli Vega instead.

(Via Axios)

Last night (June 27), The Late Late Show kicked off its week of episodes in London, and one of the episode’s guests was Billie Eilish (alongside Stranger Things’ David Harbour and a Lizzo “Carpool Karaoke” segment). London actually has a special place in Eilish’s career history, as her first-ever show as a headliner was at the city’s The Courtyard venue, on July 10, 2017. During the conversation, James Corden brought that up and Eilish reminisced about what it was like playing her first show and the confusing experience of meeting a fan in real life for the first time.

Eilish said:

“It was the first time I had ever been in Europe and I was with my whole family. I remember pulling up to the venue and it’s this tiny little door. Like you would never even know… it says ‘The Courtyard.’ There was this girl standing outside and she was with her mom. I was like, ‘What are they doing here? Who is that?’ I pulled up and she kind of looked at the car funny and I remember thinking, ‘This is weird. Why… who is that? Why would there be somebody standing there?’ And I opened the door and she looked at me and she looked so happy and surprised and I was like… [looks around] ‘What are you f*cking looking at?’ And she was the first person to ever stand in line to meet me ever in my life. And I gave her the biggest hug and I took a picture with her and I just held her. She was so sweet. It was really magical.”

She went on to note of the concert itself, “That night was just the most amazing thing. I think we only had, like, seven songs total that we even had. We had no other songs, we played every single song we had written, my brother and I, and I remember the crowd of a hundred and something sang along to ‘Ocean Eyes’ and I, like, swelled up and I got all, just… it was amazing. And then after the show, I went outside and I met every single person who came to the show, and I just talked to them all, every single person, and it took like two hours.”

Check out clips from Eilish’s Corden appearance above and below.

Weeks away from her upcoming second major-label album, Special, Lizzo stopped by The Late Late Show With James Corden for the show’s “Carpool Karaoke” segment.

Lizzo and Corden kicked off the karaoke session with a performance of her hit single, “Good As Hell,” which was released in 2016 but reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2019. Later, the two sang “Juice” from Lizzo’s 2019 major-label debut album, Cuz I Love You. Corden then surprised Lizzo, a well-trained flautist, by pulling out a flute from the back seat. Lizzo, who has been playing flute since she was 12, then shows off her flute skills. Lizzo that she calls her own flute “Sasha Floot,” named after her fellow Houstonian Beyoncé’s alter-ego, Sasha Fierce.

“When I was shy, or when I didn’t think I was cool, and when I was getting picked on, I would listen to Beyoncé in my bedroom, and it would transport me,” Lizzo said. “I would feel something. I would feel like my life is going to be better. There’s hope for me. When I dropped out of college and I was really depressed, I listened to [Beyoncé’s sophomore album] B’day on repeat. I would just sing B’day all the time, and I was like, ‘I’m gonna be a singer, I’m gonna be a singer.’ The way she makes people is how I want to make people feel with music. She’s been my north star.”

The two then sing Beyoncé’s hit single, “Crazy In Love.”

Other high points in the episode include Lizzo previewing the album’s title track, before she revealed that she grew up in The Church Of God In Christ and wasn’t allowed to listen to secular music growing up.

“Would you have been allowed to listen to Lizzo’s music?” asked Corden

“Early on Lizzo, yes,” Lizzo replied. “But when Lizzo started cussing, no. I’ve pissed a few family members off.”

Toward the end of the episode, the two perform Lizzo’s most recent hit single, “About Damn Time.” They are later joined in the park by Jaeden Gomez, who created the song’s TikTok dance, as well as a large group of people, creating a flash mob.

Check out the full segment above.

Special is out 7/15 via Atlantic. Pre-save it here.

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