Month: November 2022

Matthew McConaughey has been open about his love of words. Just this year he wanted to take the word “unbelievable” and “wipe it from the dictionary.” But he has also been very purposeful with the words he uses when talking about the increase in gun-related violence and school shootings.

After a school shooting in the actor’s hometown of Uvalde earlier this year, McConaughey has been dedicating his time to advocating for the families of the victims and even held a press conference at the White House in order to raise awareness. While pleading with elected officials and Texas residents, McConaughey has been actively pushing for “gun responsibility” as opposed to “gun control,” which he explained to People:

It became very clear to me early on, as a lover of words, that to the right, so-called staunch Second Amendmenters — these are my people in the South, I know them well — “control” is a dirty word. It’s like a mandate. Whoa, whoa, whoa, don’t you tell me what to do, I got my right to bear arms. So that word, out of the gate, is shutting about 80 percent of their ears. . . . I flipped it to “responsibility.” Responsibility is to give the person the power of choice. It’s forward-moving. It’s affirmative. I’m responsible. Don’t tell me I ain’t responsible.

Despite the alarming number of shootings this year alone, the actor believes that the country can evolve as long as people are willing to listen to each other. “I think there’s incremental changes, there’s breakthroughs,” he added. “I do believe that with time, inevitably we can improve, we can ascend, we can evolve as people.”

(Via People)

Over the years, Sufjan Stevens has gifted us with an incredible selection of holiday music. His catalog boasts over 100 holiday-themed songs, as well as box sets like Songs For Christmas and Silver & Gold. Despite having a robust discography with holiday songs, Stevens admitted in an interview with Vulture that Christmas actually isn’t his favorite holiday.

He shared that his favorite holiday is actually Fourth Of July, though not for any patriotic reasons.

“My birthday is July 1, and I am a pyromaniac. I love fireworks,” he said. “Every year, I drive to Pennsylvania and drop like $2,000 on illegal fireworks, cross them into New York state, and we do a big show.”

Most of his Stevens’ Christmas music was recorded between 2000 and 2010, which he said was a more isolated period in his life, “usually in November-December, where I would get together with some friends for a week or two and we’d create without much forethought and improvise and jump into the Christmas catalog and try and create something as quickly as possible. Sort of like first thought, best thought.”

He revealed that this was also the reason he abandoned his “50 states” project, in which he planned to record an album inspired by each of our country’s states.

“I go on all these excursions and I feel they’re indulgent and slightly megalomaniacal in their approach,” he said. “At some point, I realize how absurd and unhealthy and unsustainable it is, so I am fine moving on.”

Cardi B and Atlantic Records are being threatened with legal action over her Halloween costume, according to Vibe via a report on Artnet.com.

Late last week, Italian pop artist aleXsandro Palombo issued a statement reading, “Cardi B has illegitimately appropriated the work of aleXsandro Palombo for mere business purposes in defiance of the most elementary rules on copyright and Instagram policies, with the consequent serious risks, both of compensation and of discredit for her public image.” Palombo also reached out to Atlantic Records, which he said replied via a publicist who said they’d gladly add a credit on the original post. However, the artist said he wanted a “remedial post” from Cardi, as well as the photographer and stylist, who also posted the photos to their own Instagram accounts.

In the image, Cardi cosplays as the iconic matriarch of the long-running animated sitcom The Simpsons with poses and styling inspired by Palombo’s 2013 project Marge Simpsons Style Icon, which reimagined Marge in ensembles from pop culture. Palombo’s project was inspired itself by a photograph of a model wearing a revealing dress designed by the late Thierry Mugler in 1995, as well as other iconic images including Breakfast At Tiffany’s, the Spice Girls, and Playboy. Cardi’s costume shots duplicated the Mugler look right down to the original photo hanging on the wall behind her.

While Palombo has not formally issued a lawsuit, he is demanding a response to his request for a follow-up post linking to his own work and compensation. He says he has yet to receive a response.

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

Mayim Bialik has settled nicely into co-hosting duties of Jeopardy! Despite all of the drama surrounding the succession plan following Alex Trebek’s death, the author and actress has found a rhythm in juggling multiple projects and sharing the host podium with Ken Jennings.

And that’s mostly because the two seem entirely uninterested in fans picking favorites or nitpicking outfits or pronunciations despite the attention the show has gotten in recent years. Bialik and Jennings have made it clear that there’s no drama between themselves despite rotating hosting the show and its various spinoffs. But the rigors of the show’s filming schedule are tough for everyone. Jeopardy! films five episodes a day,

Which, according to Bialik, is why getting really good at taking short naps has become essential to her process. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Bialik explained why napping is so important to her routine. So much of her life is now spent on set filming, which means little things that once happened at home like putting on makeup or recharging after a stressful day now takes place behind the scenes at the studio. Thankfully, she’s had some co-workers help make her comfortable, too:

I try and nap and meditate every day, even if it’s only 20 minutes on my lunch break. Cheyenne Jackson, my co-star [on “Call Me Kat”], got me this amazing blanket that’s really cozy, and I have a pillow that I got from a group of fans online. I just lay on my couch and turn off the lights.

Given how stressful running a Jeopardy! game on camera can be, it’s kind of incredible she’s able to power herself down like that with so little time between episodes. But Bialik said getting even a few minutes of sleep between episodes is important.

“The shortest nap I’ve done and been able to feel refreshed was seven minutes,” she said.

Not everyone sleeps the same way, but a seven-minute nap may be all that’s possible during a busy filming day. Whatever it takes to get the job done, I suppose.

[via WSJ]

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has emerged as a surprise challenger to a possible Trump 2024 presidential run in recent months but, according to insiders, the self-appointed crusader of wokeism is not a fun hang.

In fact, a new The Atlantic article featured a handful of GOP pundits skewering DeSantis for seeming out-of-touch and robotic, to the Mitt Romney degree. DeSantis, who has made headlines recently for bulldozing the rights of transgender teenagers and shipping hundreds of migrants off to Martha’s Vineyard, is seen as less of an attack dog and more of a wet blanket among Republican circles, something that may hurt him when he eventually squares off against his former idol, Donald Trump.

“I’d rather have teeth pulled without anesthetic than be on a boat with Ron DeSantis,” former GOP lobbyist Mac Stipanovich said, adding that he gave off major “step away from the vehicle” vibes. Another Republican media consultant claimed DeSantis was “a strange no-eye-contact oddball,” while former GOP congressman Carlos Curbelo — who served with DeSantis — said the governor has “this robotic quality that he has to shed.”

“I think he is going to run into some challenges,” Curbelo explained. “It’s that question that often comes up in politics—the question of ‘Would you want to have a beer with him?’” Also this: “I’d rather have teeth pulled without anesthetic than be on a boat with (him).”

Even supporters of a DeSantis 2024 run are worried the governor won’t hold up against Trump on the debate stage. One critic described DeSantis as “dour” and said he “doesn’t improvise particularly well.” Critics point to his lackluster performance in his run against Democratic hopeful Charlie Crist as evidence he’s just not ready to face off against Trump in primetime while others worry his preference to isolate himself from other GOP members won’t gain him the support he needs to make headway in states that aren’t Florida.

In other words, the guy who snapped at high school kids for wearing masks and gave himself a gold star for trafficking vulnerable men, women, and children sounds like he’s just not a fun time. We are shocked.

(Via The Atlantic)

WARNING: Spoilers for The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special below.

With The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special now streaming on Disney+, writer/director James Gunn has been fielding questions and reactions from fans as they devour the Marvel presentation that also serves as a neat little appetizer for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Of course, when you’re dealing with rabid fandoms like the MCU (or even the DCU which Gunn is now overseeing), there’s going to be controversy over how their favorite comic book characters are portrayed. In short, no one’s ever happy.

This time around, some Marvel fans were none too pleased with a scene between Rocket Raccoon and Nebula. Going all the way back to the first Guardians movie, Rocket has been a hilariously problematic collector of prosthetic body parts. Overcome with the holiday spirit, Nebula decided to get her furry friend an object that caught his eye in Avengers: Infinity War: Bucky’s robot arm.

Despite being a solid callback, Gunn’s mentions started filling up with angry Marvel fans who refused to believe that Nebula could best Bucky (a.k.a. The Winter Soldier) even though his arm was easily detached by Ayo in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Gunn defended the creative choice by emphasizing that Nebula is an alien cyborg who was routinely enhanced by her cruel and powerful as heck father Thanos. Cap’s old pal didn’t stand a chance.

“I’m so sorry, but it already happened,” Gunn responded to a now-deleted tweet. “Nebula thinks of Bucky as wet crepe paper. That said, she couldn’t help tearing off the arm because she was just feeling so freaking Christmasy! PS No one forced me to include alien cyborgs.”

(Via James Gunn on Twitter)

Camilo has taken over LA this past week. On Monday night (November 28), Camila Cabello appeared as a surprise guest at the Colombian pop star’s concert. Last night, Camilo also performed with his wife, Evaluna Montaner, on Jimmy Kimmel Live!.

Camilo closed out the US leg of his De Adentro Pa Afuera World Tour at the Microsoft Theater on Monday night. The tour was in support of his new album of the same name that features the duet “Ambulancia” with Cabello. He stopped the show for a moment to introduce a special guest. “I still can’t believe I have a song with her,” Camilo said in Spanish right before Cabello emerged. For the first time ever, they performed the sultry, bachata-infused track together. The fans were screaming as the two artists sang and shared a dance onstage.

Another stop in Camilo’s tour of LA was Jimmy Kimmel Live. Kimmel invited Camilo to perform his sweet duet “Indigo” alongside the singer’s wife, Evaluna Montaner. The Latin pop power couple brought the loving lyrics of their song to life during the feel-good performance.

Camilo is nominated for Best Latin Pop Album for De Adentro Pa Afuera at the 2023 Grammy Awards. He and Evaluna appear in the Disney+ original series The Montaners that’s now streaming on the platform.

Sometimes it’s hard to believe, given all the trouble she’s caused, that Marjorie Taylor Greene has been in Congress for less than two years! But if we’ve learned anything about the newly christened Fart Queen in that time, it’s that she seems to live in her own sort of reality — one in which Ivermectin won the Nobel Peace Prize and truthfulness might be considered a character flaw. She also seems wholly unaware that the internet never forgets, which is part of the reason why she’s currently being brutally trolled after insisting that “of course” she denounces noted Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes… when, earlier this year, she was the “surprise guest” at his America First Political Action Conference in Orlando, which is essentially a white nationalist prom.

As Mediaite reports, MTG’s bit of performative outrage came in response to a tweet from PBS NewsHour White House correspondent Laura Barrón-López, who claimed that there is no public evidence of Greene denouncing Fuentes or his beliefs. What the kooky Georgia congresswoman didn’t seem to count on was just how many people might remember her cozying up to Fuentes and posing for the cameras back in February:

Fart Queen Marjorie Taylor Greene has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?

(Via Mediaite)

Doja Cat took to Twitter yesterday to interact with some fans… and it didn’t fully go as planned. In response to one user who shared an excerpt from Doja’s recent remarks, specifically an interpretation that the singer was anti-cosmetic surgery, she replied and revealed that she would be getting work done in the next few months.

“Now, to me, beauty is going against it,” the original excerpt from her Dazed interview read. “I love when you take something that is maybe classically beautiful and twist it and make it your own. For me, it’s more of an ‘are you happy?’ kind of thing. I want my fans to learn they don’t have to be like anyone else and the thing they want is already there.”

It seems Doja felt her words were taken out of context as a message that she would (and has) never had surgery, and so she went out to correct the narrative.

“I’m literally about to get surgery this winter lmao.” Doja replied. The Planet Her musician added as a reply to a separate fan’s post, “I just want my titties pulled up cuz some of my tops don’t fit the way i want them to.”

While most fans supported Doja’s upcoming intention, not everyone was impressed by her impending breast augmentation. “If you get surgery I’m no longer your fan,” one stan account wrote.

And Doja simply wasn’t having any of it. “and I don’t give a f*ck,” she fired back.

Every December, like clockwork, social media is flooded with hundreds of colorful graphics plastered with Spotify’s staple #SpotifyWrapped branding. Prestigious award shows like the Grammys center the artists — focusing on the artistic technicalities surrounding the music released for the year. Spotify Wrapped focuses on music lovers — highlighting what songs, albums, and artists they enjoyed listening to.

As one of the most anticipated musical moments of the year, it is hard to remember a time when the user-generated data sharing moment wasn’t around. So when did Spotify Wrapped start? According to a spokesperson for the company, Spotify’s Wrapped concept was first introduced in 2013 under another name, Year in Music. In 2016, the platform allowed all users to join in on the fun. Then in 2017, rolled out the personalized listening statistics and user-specific interactivity.

Another major changed took place in 2020. The graphics generated for users to share across social media got a major face lift. Former intern and visual artist, Jewel Ham claimed responsibility for the revamp. Ham took to Twitter to reveal the she pitched #SpotifyWrapped’s visual rebranding during her final days at the company but did not receive credit. Ham later went on to discuss it further during an interview with Refinery29.

However, representatives from Spotify deny Ham’s claim stating, “While ideas generated during Spotify’s internship program have on occasion informed campaigns and products, based on our internal review, that is not the case here with Spotify Wrapped. It’s unfortunate that things have been characterized otherwise.”

Either way as avid music lover we are grateful for everyone involved in formulating #SpotifyWrapped. If you have Spotify account, you can generate a #SpotifyWrapped list based on your streaming history. Click here to learn more.