Month: June 2022

People have used plenty of words to describe Rudy Giuliani. Most recently, and memorably, Liz Cheney’s description of the former New York City mayor as being “apparently inebriated” on Election Night 2020 is the phrase currently ringing through people’s ears. But Arizona Republican House Speaker Russell “Rusty” Bowers had a more poetic description of Rudy when he described him as a “tragic parody.”

As Insider reports, this on-point descriptor came about on Tuesday, as Bowers recollected his interactions with Giuliani and other members of #TeamTrump in the wake of the 2020 election. He testified that Rudy floated a lot of bonkers conspiracy theories by Bowers which he claimed to have proof of, yet when asked to provide said proof could not. Bowers likened the whole thing to something out of The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight.

Bowers testified that Giuliani eventually told him “We’ve got lots of theories, we just don’t have the evidence.” Bowers admitted that he didn’t know if that statement was “a gaffe,” but that he and his fellow election officials “kind of laughed about it.”

Laugh at Rudy? Never!

Bowers explained that Giuliani was attempting to convince him that thousands of dead people had voted in the Arizona election, but neither Rudy nor fellow Trump lawyer Jenna Ellis could provide any proof to back up their claim. Ellis even traveled to Arizona to plead her case to Bowers, yet again brought no evidence of their theories.

Ultimately, Insider reports, the Trump team filed—and lost—more than 40 lawsuits attempting to contest the results of the election in Arizona.

(Via Insider)

Marjorie Taylor Greene‘s actions never make much sense. With the January 6 hearings putting the insurrectionist attacks back in the headlines, the last thing Greene should want is to shine a spotlight on her suspicious actions before and during the attack. So, of course, she did the exact opposite of that by posting a weird video of herself walking through the tunnels of the U.S. Capitol building.

As for the meaning of the odd, six second clip, your guess is as good as ours. However, people on Twitter have been having a field day parsing through its cryptic meaning, which has reopened speculation into what role Greene may have planned during Trump’s insurrection. Again, that’s exactly the type of heat Greene doesn’t need right now, but brains have never been her strong suit.

One user noted the connection between Greene’s tour of the Capitol building prior to the January 6 attack.

While another user was more pointed and wrote, “More prep?”

Another delved into some extremely wishful thinking by suggesting “Maybe she’s leaving.”

And then there was one user who, we gotta be honest, is probably right on the money with this theory: “She just wants to show off that badonkadonk.”

Of course, peppered throughout were numerous dunks that are still pouring in. You can check out just a small taste of the Greene disses below:

(Via Ron Filipkowski on Twitter)

Vladimir Putin’s reportedly stuffed full of Botox (his supply-chain problems are apparently solved) to the point where he looks embalmed, and rumors of his ill health are one reason why U.S. intelligence officials stumbled onto a report that said his “rule is no longer absolute.” And for months (particularly following Russia’s ill-advised Ukraine invasion), speculation won’t stop regarding Putin’s demeanor during news clips and how that could all reflect upon whether he should be, you know, trusted to wage war.

Well, a Kremlin spokesperson wants everyone to chill. Diplomat Dmitry Peskov spoke to NBC News (via Page Six), and in response to questions about Putin “limping, shaking and gripping a table,” here’s what Peskov said with a chuckle:

“What I suggest is that you watch his performance,” he said, insisting Putin spoke and answered questions for more than three hours on Friday. Peskov even chuckled as he insisted, “Yesterday in the afternoon, actually, he played hockey.”

Putin has for months been plagued by rampant rumors that he suffers from cancer, Parkinson’s disease or early-stage dementia. His love for hockey even played a part in raising speculation after he skipped an annual game in May as he was seen with a blotchy face.

Sky News has a video clip of Peskov’s quotes, and it sure looks like he’s not concerned about his boss, at least right now. Then again, Putin’s propaganda machine runs so fast and furious that they might send him out on a shirtless fishing trip this weekend, just for show. Something to look forward to, no doubt.

(Via NBC News, NY Post & Sky News)

Lil Tjay, per TMZ reports, has been rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery after being shot multiple times in the early morning of June 22. Though the severity of his wounds and current condition are unknown, the reports say the shootings occurred at two locations in Edgewater, New Jersey — a Chipotle restaurant and an Exxon gas station.

TMZ also adds that there is a second victim whose identity is unknown, but the said victim was also shot multiple times at the same locations as Lil Tjay. No suspects have been identified or arrested, but the police are actively on searching for them. The internet has been offering prayers and well wishes to the 21-year-old rapper all throughout the morning.

It is unfortunate how often reports like these come out; the community is already trying to process multiple losses that have occurred this year, whether within music or the several mass shootings that have occurred, but it is difficult to do so when yet another shooting occurs. For Lil Tjay’s unfortunate situation, no motive is known for why the suspects opted to shoot him.

Recently, Tjay collaborated with Kaash Paige on “24 Hrs” in May. Last November, he and French Montana linked up for “Bag Season.”

It’s a wild time to be Kate Bush right now: Thanks to “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)” making an appearance in Stranger Things, the 1985 single shot to the top of the charts in the UK and the top-five in the US. As the song’s resurgence has unfolded, Bush has offered some messages about it on her website, but now she has given her first interview since the new season of Stranger Things.

On BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour, Bush spoke about how surprised and excited she is by the whole thing, saying (as Billboard notes):

“It’s just extraordinary. I mean, it’s such a great series, I thought that the track would get some attention, but I never imagined that it would be anything like this. It’s so exciting. It’s quite shocking really, isn’t it? The whole world’s gone mad [laughs]. […] What’s really wonderful is that this is a whole new audience who in a lot of cases haven’t heard of me, and I love that. The thought of all these young people hearing this song for the first time and discovering it, well, I think it’s very special.”

She added, “I think they put it in a really special place. I thought, ‘What a lovely way for [‘Running Up That Hill’] to be used,’ in such a positive way. As a kind of talisman almost, for Max. I think it’s really touching, really.”

Find the full interview here.

It has been a strong first half of 2022 for the R&B genre, and one name that has come up a lot in the conversation of best projects is Ravyn Lenae. It’s one thing to listen to her debut album Hypnos and witness the talent audibly, but she took things to another level visually with today’s (June 22) Tiny Desk Concert as part of NPR’s Black Music Month celebrations.

The Chicago talent was glowing as she took attendees and listeners through a multitude of emotions, opening with her track “Venom” before descending further into the feels with “Skin Tight” and the self-love ballad “Inside Out,” then kicking things up a notch with the closer “Sticky.” In a day and age where R&B is labeled too slow, moody, and not fit for upbeat settings, the 23-year-old firmly displayed she can provide all of those sounds and do so in a live setting.

Three of the four songs performed come from Ravyn Lenae’s aforementioned debut album Hypnos, which was released toward the end of May and features Steve Lacy, Mereba, Smino, and Fousheé. Prior to Hypnos, she released EPs Crush, Midnight Moonlight, and Crush in 2016, 2017, and 2018 respectively.

Watch Lenae’s dazzling Tiny Desk performance above.

Last week, members of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert team, including Triumph the Insult Comic Dog voice and puppeteer Robert Smigel, were arrested at a U.S Capitol building while filming a skit. They were charged with unlawful entry, which Tucker Carlson noted is “the exact same charge” awarded to the January 6 rioters. The Fox News host compared a cigar-chomping toy dog making a comedy video to the MAGA-loving patriots who wanted to hang the vice president, an equivalency that Colbert called a “shameful and grotesque insult to the memory of everyone who died.”

Carlson responded to Colbert during Tuesday’s episode of Tucker Carlson Tonight, accusing the late-night host of having “zero sense of humor” and that he “ought to step aside and let some young person who still gets the joke to have the job, but he won’t.” Carlson then imagined a hypothetical dinner party with Colbert.

“Chances are you somehow offend him over the course of a typical dinner by saying something he finds offensive. What are the chances of that? 100 percent. Stephen Colbert is a Karen. He’s a brittle, middle-aged woman who’s always lecturing you about something. In fact, he’s Elizabeth Warren. They even look alike. Have you seen them in the same room recently? No.”

Carlson also accused Colbert and Smigel of being less funny than the QAnon Shaman, the conspiracy theorist who was sentenced to 41 months in prison (where he’s “wasting away”) for his role in the riot, and the doofus who put his feet on Nancy Pelosi’s desk.

“Who’s funnier: Robert Smigel, or the guy who took pictures of himself at Nancy Pelosi’s desk on January 6? Be honest, it’s not even close. The guy at Pelosi’s desk is hilarious compared to the guy with the talking dog and none of them is half as funny,” he said. “Again, sorry it’s true as Donald Trump and how do you know that? Show us the late night host who said anything half as amusing as Trump’s Taco Bowl tweet.”

I hate to agree with Tucker, but… he might be correct (although it’s unclear whether Trump was trying to be funny — I doubt it). You can watch the Carlson clip below.

Chris Hemsworth apparently spent so much time building up his guns for Thor: Love And Thunder that his body double struggled to maintain a convincingly equivalent physique. Yet looks can be deceiving when it comes to actual physical mettle, and really, is there anything more comical than Thor getting one-upped? Hell, even Thor enjoys it. Remember how thrilled he was when Captain America settled a long-running Age Of Ultron question by scooping up Mjölnir and going to town on Thanos?

In this film, Jane Foster will do that, too (as the trailer revealed). And if you were wondering if there were any endurance competitions among the cast, I’ve got some good news for you. Actually, this comes from Hemsworth speaking to ET Online. He was pleased, actually, to reveal that there was an ice-bath competition, and Tessa Thompson totally smoked his first effort:

“We had a big ice bath there, which we’d rotate through, and that became… the real test of strength,” he recalled. “I’d done it a bit, but I sort of was keeping my time in there to a minute or two, and [Tessa] came in the first day and did three and a half minutes. So then we all had to try and do three minutes.”

Ever since Valkyrie drunkenly stumbled out of an aircraft in Thor: Ragnarok, I knew Tessa Thompson could rule them all. All hail the new King of Asgard.

(Via ET Online)

Throughout Tyler, The Creator’s career, which has seen him evolve from highly controversial to mature and versatile, one resounding theme is his unbridled honesty. Whether it comes through in his raps or his interviews, the former Odd Future leader always tells it like it is. Thus, it only makes sense that the Call Me If You Get Lost artist took a liking to the honesty on one of the biggest releases of this year, Kendrick Lamar’s Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, per his recent conversation at the 2022 Converse All Star Series in Paris.

The initial conversation was about vulnerability and Tyler took it a step further by highlighting the two-disc LP that was released in May. “I love that album, but I feel like he touches on sh*t that’s so, like, open and honest that some people can’t listen to it because they probably feel like he’s looking at them in their eyes and they’re like ‘Oh, I can’t panic. Uh, I can’t listen to this. Put on something else so I can hit my dougie.’ And keep forgetting and numbing the sh*t he’s talking about.”

Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers generated a lot of conversation for tracks like “Savior” where Kendrick attempts to remove himself from the pedestal he was put on, “Father Time” where he addresses how Drake and Kanye West’s reconciliation came off as odd to him due to his need to mature some more, and of course, “Auntie Diaries” where he unloads the clip of a certain queer slur while also addressing his family members’ gender transitions in a way that split the LGBTQIA+ community.

Our community, specifically within the internet, often struggles with accepting someone else’s truth, especially when delivered in a way they don’t like (not to justify the use of the aforementioned slurs.) Still, K. Dot overall received some positive reviews and Tyler is understandably within that camp.

Check out Tyler, The Creator’s full interview at the Converse All Star Series above.

Last summer, Lorde released Solar Power, her third album that was more polarizing than her previous two LPs, which received near-universal praise. The album strayed from the more pop-leaning sound of Lorde’s previous albums and achieved less chart success, as it only managed a peak at No. 5 in the US, worse than 2013’s Pure Heroine (No. 3) and 2017’s Melodrama (a chart-topper).

Lorde now says that as the album was making its way out into the world, the initial response to it was jarring for her. In an email newsletter sent to fans yesterday, Lorde wrote:

“It’s been a year since I announced the release of Solar Power. I can honestly say it has been the year with the highest highs and lowest lows I think I’ve ever experienced. It took people awhile to get the album — I still get emails every day from people who are just coming around to it now! — and that response was really confounding and at times painful to sit with at first. I learnt a ton about myself and how I’m perceived by making and releasing this album, and I feel significantly more connected and alive in my art practice and life than pretty much ever before. Sounds dry but it’s true!!!”

She went on to describe the album as one “that gets made between peaks,” saying, “I was sitting with a friend recently drinking chai at a country house in England, she’s an artist too, and we got on to the topic of the album somehow. She said, it’s clearly one of those works that gets made between peaks, the kind that’s necessary for makers sometimes, no less precious, in fact, there can’t be peaks at all without such works. I think this is true of the record. I needed to go low, to roll a neon ball through tall grass and see what happened. Playing songs from SP live each night in what is undoubtedly my best live show ever is also an incredible feeling — it all makes sense there, both to you and me, in a new and vivid way. And thanks to SP, I’ve been able to work through some big personal stuff that was making it pretty difficult for me to do stuff like travel or play shows without getting completely overwhelmed. I used to sit alone in my hotel room on show days, binge watching Bake Off, Ambien and Vitamin D on the bedside, my skin pale, my stomach knotted in fear. These days, I’m out the door in every city, walking for miles, eating gelato after dark, finding tiny wine bars, trying on vintage clothes down secret streets, laughing with friends, and playing better and better shows for you as a result. So yeah. Thankyou for all of it.”

Check out the full email below.