Month: October 2022

This article originally appeared on 02.20.20

As a soccer match between German teams Preussen Munster and Würzburger Kickers went into its final minutes, a defender from the Kickers, 23-year-old Leroy Kwadwo, stopped to point out a problem in the stands.

A Munster fan was making monkey noises at Kwadwo, a black player of Ghanaian descent. It was a clearly racist heckling—an issue that has publicly plagued the international sport in various venues, even as recently as last week. But this time, the response from the crowd far outshined the racist in the stands.

First, the man was quickly identified by his fellow Munster fans and ejected from the game. While stewards escorted him from the stadium, the crowd chanted, “Nazis out! Nazis out!”

Some fans also stood and applauded Kwadwo and the player received supportive pats on the back from opposing team members as well.

u201cChills.nnIn Germany, a fan hurled racist slurs towards Leroy Kwadwo, a Ghanian football player.nnWhen other fans saw it, they alerted security, who escorted the man out.nnThen, as opposing players came to hug Kwadwo, the entire stadium stood up and chanted “Nazis Out!”u201d

— Muhammad Lila (@Muhammad Lila)
1581795227

This is how it’s done, folks.

Kwadwo thanked fans via social media the next day for their “exemplary” reaction, the Associated Press reported:

“I was racially abused by one single spectator. It just makes me sad. I indeed have a different skin color, but I was born here in this wonderful land that has given my family and I so much and made so much possible. I am one of you. I live here and can live my calling as a professional with the Würzburger Kickers.

Something like yesterday just makes me sad and angry because everyone has to know, racism does not belong in OUR world. We all have the opportunity to oppose it and stop it if it happens.”

Munster said it would seek to ban the racist fan from all German stadiums for three years, which is the toughest sanction the sport itself can implement. However, the man also faces legal consequences and is being charged with incitement.

“As repulsive as the monkey noises against the player were, the subsequent response from the rest of the spectators were so impressive,” the Preussen team said in a statement.

According to CNN, Preussen Munster president Christoph Strasser said of the heckling: “It is not something that belongs on the soccer field and certainly not in our stadium. We don’t want and need people like that here. We clearly distance ourselves from such statements and I apologized to the Würzburgers immediately after the game.”

If we have to live with nasty racists in our midst, it’s at least encouraging to see a huge crowd reject it with such immediacy and fervor. Nazis out, indeed.

This is how it’s done, folks.

Kwadwo thanked fans via social media the next day for their “exemplary” reaction, the Associate Press reported:

“I was racially abused by one single spectator. It just makes me sad. I indeed have a different skin color, but I was born here in this wonderful land that has given my family and I so much and made so much possible. I am one of you. I live here and can live my calling as a professional with the Würzburger Kickers.

Something like yesterday just makes me sad and angry because everyone has to know, racism does not belong in OUR world. We all have the opportunity to oppose it and stop it if it happens.”

Munster said it would seek to ban the racist fan from all German stadiums for three years, which is the toughest sanction the sport itself can implement. However, the man also faces legal consequences and is being charged with incitement.

“As repulsive as the monkey noises against the player were, the subsequent response from the rest of the spectators were so impressive,” the Preussen team said in a statement.

According to CNN, Preussen Munster president Christoph Strasser said of the heckling: “It is not something that belongs on the soccer field and certainly not in our stadium. We don’t want and need people like that here. We clearly distance ourselves from such statements and I apologized to the Würzburgers immediately after the game.”

If we have to live with nasty racists in our midst, it’s at least encouraging to see a huge crowd reject it with such immediacy and fervor. Nazis out, indeed.

Most of us who fly on commercial airlines with any regularity at all have heard the preflight safety presentation so many times we tune it out. Emergency exits forward and back, seat cushions act as flotation devices, put your oxygen mask on first before assisting others, and so on. Once you’ve heard it a couple of times, you feel like you’ve got it down.

However, we’ve seen evidence that most people actually don’t have it down. In 2018, a Southwest flight had an emergency midflight and passengers were asked to put on their oxygen masks. Photos from the flight showed that the majority of passengers put them on incorrectly, indicating that people actually do need to be paying attention to the flight crew’s standard safety spiel.

Let’s face it, though. Even most flight attendants appear to be robotically going through the motions in those presentations, and who can blame them? They have to do the same thing over and over hundreds if not thousands of times.

But occasionally a flight attendant comes along and breathes new life into the routine with some unexpected humor and flair.

Case in point: A WestJet flight attendant whose physical comedy was nearly impossible to ignore. Watch how he makes a standard safety demonstration into a hilarious comedy routine:

u201cThis guy is truly living his best lifeu201d

— Giles Paley-Phillips (@Giles Paley-Phillips)
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According to Narcity, the flight attendant’s name is Michael McAdam and videos of his hilarious safety presentations have been circulating since at least 2011.

Here’s a longer version of the above video. This is a guy who truly makes the most of his job.

While McAdam’s dramatic antics are entertaining, they could actually make passengers on his flights safer if an emergency actually happened. Instead of zoning out while he demonstrated the aircraft’s safety features, people were giving him their rapt attention. Who’s going to forget his goofy face when he pulls on the straps of the oxygen mask? Humor is a clever way to get people to actually tune in, which may make it easier for people to remember what to do in case of an actual emergency.

Getting passengers to laugh is also a wise way to influence the overall emotional tenor of the flight. Travel can be stressful, and the COVID-19 pandemic has only added to passengers’ stress levels. Setting a light, jovial tone at the beginning of a flight and getting everyone’s feel-good chemicals flowing with some collective laughter might preemptively fend off conflict between cranky flyers or conflicts with crew members.

Finally, some people are very nervous to fly. Hurtling through the sky at 500 mph with nothing between you and the Earth 30,000 feet below you but few layers of sheet metal and a fairly uncomfortable chair can do that to a person. Having a flight attendant put on a mini comedy show might put them at ease, lessening the likelihood of panic setting in as the crew explains what to do in an emergency.

While we can’t expect all flight attendants to be this entertaining, it is a treat when you get a funny one. Thanks, Mr. McAdam for giving us all a good giggle.

Indie music has grown to include so much. It’s not just music that is released on independent labels but speaks to an aesthetic that deviates from the norm and follows its own weirdo heart. It can come in the form of rock music, pop, or folk. In a sense, it says as much about the people that are drawn to it as it does about the people that make it.

Every week, Uproxx is rounding up the best new indie music from the past seven days. This week we got new music from Alvvays, Sharon Van Etten, Weyes Blood, and more.

While we’re at it, sign up for our newsletter to get the best new indie music delivered directly to your inbox, every Monday.

Alvvays — Blue Rev

This Canadian band’s new album Blue Rev is a comeback of sorts, seeing as their last LP arrived over five years ago. They picked a perfect time to share the lush, 14-track project since it arrived just in time for sweater weather. Tracks like “Very Online Guy” and “Tom Verlaine” makes it clear the band is holding on to the fuzzy, dream-pop sound fans know and love, but updated for the year 2022.

Sorry — Anywhere But Here

Fontaines DC lead singer Grian Chatten called this UK post-punk group “genius,” and their sophomore album Anywhere But Here proves why. It flows between moody, dark jams like “Key To The City,” stripped-back ballads like “Quit While You’re Ahead,” fuzzy jams like “There’s So Many People That Want To Be Loved,” and joyous anthems like “Let The Lights On.”

Dayglow — People In Motion

It might be the time of the year when we begin to break out the blankets and cozy up, but Dayglow just dropped a celebratory album fit to soundtrack sunnier days. His third LP People In Motion is groovy, danceable, and aptly titled since it makes you want to get up and move. With tracks like “Then It All Goes Away” and “Radio,” Dayglow’s new release is exactly the kind up upbeat music we need to stave off seasonal affective disorder.

Disq — Desperately Imagining Someplace Quiet

Buzzy Wisconsin-based five-piece Disq first set themselves ahead from the pack with their 2020 debut LP, but now, they are showing off their playful and dynamic approach to songwriting with their sophomore effort, Desperately Imagining Someplace Quiet. The album as a whole combines driving riffs, pastoral anthems like “Prize Contest Life,” and simmering power chords on tracks like “(With Respect To) Loyal Serfs.”

Jean Dawson — Chaos Now*

Jean Dawson has already positioned himself a pop-punk innovator with his 2020 album Pixel Bath, but this week’s new LP Chaos Now* cements his trailblazing status. The album is filled with biting hooks on tracks like “Glory*” and revved-up hits like “Pirate Radio*” that carry both a swaggering and vulnerable edge.

Will Sheff — Nothing Special

It might come as a surprise that Will Sheff dropped his moniker Okkervil River two decades after his initial debut, but his new album Nothing Special‘s haunting, stripped-back sound gives a clear reason for the name change. The album is a sprawling reflection on past ambitions and realigning a sense of self, complete with heart-tugging prose and atmospheric production.

Sharon Van Etten — “Never Gonna Change”

Sharon Van Etten released her standout album We’ve Been Going About This All Wrong earlier this year, but now the venerable indie musician is readying a deluxe version with a few new singles. One of those is “Never Gonna Change,” a cathartic ballad that shows off the singer’s ability to create an enveloping and emotionally charged tune.

Sigur Rós — “Untitled #7”

Icelanders Sigur Rós are breathing new life into their past songs and celebrating the 20-year anniversary of their breakthrough album () by remastering it. The new version of the album includes b-sides and never-before-heard singles alongside new versions of the classic album tracks, including the stirring number “Untitled #7.” The 12-minute epic takes the band’s boundary-pushing catalog to soaring new heights and is a reminder of the group’s cutting-edge sound.

Weyes Blood – “Grapevine”

Weyes Blood, aka songwriter Natalie Mering, has a unique ability to translate social ills into gripping ballads. Her 2019 LP Titanic Rising took aim at climate catastrophe, but her latest song “Grapevine” leans on her recognizably poignant vocals to unpack stubbornness in a relationship. “Technology is harvesting our attention away from each other,” she says of the song. “We all have a ‘Grapevine’ entwined around our past with unresolved wounds and pain. Being in love doesn’t necessarily mean being together. Why else do so many love songs yearn for a connection?”

Fever Ray – “What They Call Us”

Karin Dreijer, the pioneering mind behind Fever Ray, returned this week with their first new music since 2017. The single, “What They Call Us,” mixes an industrial beat with a reverberating cello and, like Fever Ray’s previous works, is enchanting, eccentric, and just a touch unsettling.

Ed Sheeran likes to push boundaries when it comes to gift-giving. Last year, he spoke about the leather gimp masks he regularly gets for pal Courteney Cox, and now a different Sheeran buddy has spoken about a present they got from the pop star.

In a new interview on The Kelly Clarkson Show, Sam Smith revealed Sheeran bought them an inconveniently large marble penis. Smith said, “It’s actually wild. I thought it was a joke: It’s a 6-foot-2 marble penis that is… it’s two tons! It’s two tons, and I’m going to have to get it craned into my house.”

An incredulous Clarkson replied, “What… where? What… in your foyer? Like, what’s going to happen?” Smith continued, “Well, I want to turn it into a fountain, which I think will be hard to do,” which got a big throw-your-head-back laugh from Clarkson.

Smith continued, “He gives people concrete penises, yeah, yeah. I’m not the first: Elton [John] got the first.”

The pair then decided they ought to name the statue, eventually settling on Duke Of Hastings, a reference to the Bridgerton character, and not once mentioning other names more commonly referenced in scenarios such as these, like Richard, Dick, and so on.

Check out the interview above.

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

G Herbo is ringing in his 27th year in style. His birthday was Saturday, October 8, but Survivor’s Remorse: A Side arrived last Friday (October 7). Monday (October 10) brought us the B Side. Smash them together, and you get the 25-track Survivor’s Remorse (Complete Edition). The Chicago artist celebrated by sharing a cinematic video for “No Guts, No Glory,” a B Side track.

Directed by Jerry Production, the visual begins with Herb smoking up outside of a church. Throughout, scenes oscillate between inside the church and the club while Herb reflects on people from his past “like the Reaper, tryna take my soul,” but they can’t shake his hard-won confidence. “They call me the humble one, but I know I’m the GOAT,” he asserts with effortless flow. “Yeah, I’m calm / I’m still a tickin’ bomb / I’ma blow.” (There’s a brief but adorable cameo from Herbo’s son, Yosohn, who is also featured on the album’s opener “FWM.”)

“No Guts, No Glory” reasserts that G Herbo can hold his own — even on an album that boasts features from A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, Benny The Butcher, Conway The Machine, Future, Gunna, Jeremih, Kodak Black, Offset, Young Thug, and (somehow) more.

Previously released singles include “Blues” featuring Future and “Me, Myself & I” featuring A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie.

Watch the video for “No Guts, No Glory” above.

In early October, Elon Musk was roundly criticized after tweeting out a peace plan to end the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Notably, the plan involved ceding Crimea to Russia, which earned Musk a blunt rebuke from a Ukrainian ambassador. “F*ck off is my very diplomatic reply to you,” Andrij Melnyk tweeted at the Tesla CEO. In essence, Musk’s proposed plan was a little too conciliatory to Russia, who could very easily end the war by calling off the invasion.

According to a new report, there’s a reason why Musk was a little too differential to Russia. He had spoken to Vladimir Putin before writing his now maligned peace plan. Even more noteworthy, Musk appears to have proposed virtually everything that Putin wanted during their conversation, which is obviously not great. Via Vice:

In a mailout sent to Eurasia Group subscribers, Ian Bremmer wrote that Tesla CEO Musk told him that Putin was “prepared to negotiate,” but only if Crimea remained Russian, if Ukraine accepted a form of permanent neutrality, and Ukraine recognised Russia’s annexation of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.

According to Bremmer, Musk said Putin told him these goals would be accomplished “no matter what,” including the potential of a nuclear strike if Ukraine invaded Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014. Bremmer wrote that Musk told him that “everything needed to be done to avoid that outcome.”

Here is Musk’s peace plan, which again, matched closely to Putin’s wishes:

What’s concerning is not only Musk’s massive reach on Twitter, which he’s now used to push Putin talking points, but a day after the Tesla CEO was mocked for his peace plan, he restarted his purchase of Twitter after spending all summer trying to back out of the deal. Pundits pointed out the coincidental timing, and there were theories floating around that Musk was receiving cash from Russian sources. However, that deal has yet to be completed, and the likelihood of Musk completing the purchase is once again in flux.

Regardless of what happens with Twitter, Musk pushing a peace plan that benefits Putin is concerning in and of itself.

(Via Vice)

It’s likely that no one in hip-hop is more excited for the spooky season than the Halloween Hottie herself, Megan Thee Stallion. The self-declared horror movie superfan kicked off the month of October with an Instagram post wearing a Jack-o’-lantern over her head, and now, she’s got a new horror movie to look forward to — Megan, the latest offering from Malignant‘s James Wan and Blumhouse. The trailer dropped today and Megan (Thee Stallion) couldn’t wait to see the latest creepy doll flick, even going so far as to dump all over the old favorite, Annabelle.

“Not being biased but I think they made this movie for me,” Meg wrote on Twitter, winking at her obvious connection to the new film. “I will be the THEE FIRST in line to see M3GAN !!!” She followed up a few minutes later with the coup de grace: “Annabelle bitch your OVER,” she joked. (Having rewatched Freddy Vs. Jason myself yesterday, I have a great idea — Blumhouse, hit me up.)

As for what Megan (thee movie) is about: Think something between the recent Child’s Play remake and Ex Machina, where a highly advanced android companion for a lonely child becomes both self-aware and extremely belligerent. The doll also shows off some wickedly charming dance moves in the trailer, likely contributing to Thee Stallion and other fans’ instant approval. January 13 can’t get here soon enough.

Check out the trailer above.

Kendrick Lamar, one of hip-hop’s most fascinating and enigmatic figures, opened up to W Magazine in a recent interview, sharing how the album challenged him as he trekked through life’s lessons and fatherhood on his latest album, 2022’s Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers.

“It’s stuff that I’ve written that’s just now seeing daylight because I wasn’t secure with myself in order to do it… It was really about not being insecure [or] tormented by opinions,” the rapper told W. “When I did this, it was kind of the marker and the growth of everything I’ve always wanted to say. I think that was my purpose of writing my way out of things that I was feeling, from when I was nine years old, all the way up to 35.”

It’s been five years since Lamar’s last project, 2017’s Damn, which spawned hits like “DNA,” “Loyalty,” and his Billboard No. 1 single “Humble.” Since then, the artist has been busy, winning seven Grammys and a Pulitzer Prize and having two children.

Throughout the interview, the Compton rapper noted how crucial it was for his development as an artist to not have anyone influencing him, even his family.

“The reason why I had to make that decision, whether they was for or against it, I just didn’t want the influence. I could have cut corners and got flashy with it and worded my words a certain way — nah, I had to be in the rawest, truest form I could possibly be in order for it to be freeing for me, in order for me to have a different outlook and the perspective on people I’m talking to,” Lamar said. “I had to reap whatever consequences came behind that, and also be compassionate and show empathy if they were hurt by it.”

The Big Bang Theory was one of the biggest sitcoms on cable at one point, inspiring both a spinoff series and various catchphrase t-shirts that felt integral to the years 2007-2013. The group of science nerds was accompanied by the quirky Penny, played by Kaley Cuoco, and the show ran for 12 seasons, which is basically unheard of for a sitcom that isn’t animated.

The series is the inspiration behind the new book The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive Inside Story of the Epic Hit Series, which was first detailed byVanity Fair and chronicles the show’s varied history, including one terrifying incident that almost caused production to stop together.

During the show’s third season in 2010, Cuoco, an avid horse competitor, was riding on her horse when she fell off, spooking the horse which then landed on her leg. She was quickly rushed to the hospital, where the doctors were not optimistic. “That was the darkest, most frightening time in all twelve years [of the show],” showrunner Chuck Lorre said in an excerpt from the book. “Kaley could have lost her leg. It was a series of miracles that allowed us to get through that and for her to come out the other end of that healthy.”

Originally, doctors didn’t think Kaley would be able to walk for months, and there was a chance she would lose her leg. According to Cuoco, via Vanity Fair and People:

Before I went into surgery, they made me sign something that said, ‘We don’t know until we get in there and see this leg, and it could come out that you don’t have it anymore.’ That wasn’t the case, obviously, but I had to sign something that said, ‘OK, you can.’ Everything ended up fine, and I was up and working a week later, but the doctors acted like I was never going to walk again. It’s still too much for me to go into, and it sounded way worse than it was. And of course, it was spiraling and everyone was freaking out, which I get. It scared people.

Cuoco was back on her feet after only two weeks. She was subsequently written out of two episodes, though Lorre believes that there was a chance that the show would never go on if Cuoco wasn’t on board.

“It was an absolutely miraculous intervention that I ran into Dr. Steve,” Lorre said, referring to the surgeon who helped repair Cuoco’s leg. “Every time I see him, I say, ‘Thank you! You saved Kaley! On a lesser level, you saved The Big Bang Theory!’” And on an even lesser note, he indirectly helped Cuoco get involved withThe Flight Attendant and for that we are grateful!

(Via People and Vanity Fair)

The Las Vegas Raiders fell to 1-4 on Monday night in an incredibly frustrating loss to the Chiefs in Kansas City. After going up 17-0, the Raiders saw the Chiefs come back take a 30-23 lead in the fourth quarter.

Vegas would get a touchdown to give them a chance to tie or go ahead on a second bomb from Derek Carr to Davante Adams on the night, but a two-point conversion attempt failed to leave them down one. After getting a rare second half stop, the Raiders got near midfield but had another attempted deep ball on a 4th-and-1 to Adams fall incomplete after teammate Hunter Renfrow ran over Adams on his route, letting the Chiefs kneel out a one-point win.

Afterwards, Adams was very frustrated, slamming his helmet on the sideline and then shoving a photographer to the ground who walked in front of him as he exited the field to the tunnel. While Adams apologized after the game, the photographer went to the hospital to get checked out and filed a police report, leading to this statement from Kansas City police which are investigating the incident for possible assault.

A fine from the league felt almost assured for Adams, but he may face a legitimate legal situation from the incident. Hopefully the photographer is alright, but it appears that this situation is not fully resolved and the Raiders receiver might face some charges and/or a civil suit for the incident.