Year: 2022

With Tucker Carlson grabbing regular headlines, it’s sometimes easy to forget that ol’ Fish Sticks is not the only so-called “journalist” on Fox News who is regularly assaulting their viewers’ ears and eyes with bad takes, random conjecture, and straight-up bullsh*t, and presenting it all as “the news.” Case in point: Jesse Watters, yet another of Fox News’ many resident stooges, who—when he’s not being kind of racist, sexist, or encouraging his viewers to “ambush” Dr. Fauci—is generally just making an ass out of himself. For Watters’ latest act of buffoonery, he’s claiming that it is Joe Biden—not Vladimir Putin, the man who actually attacked Ukraine—who is responsible for Putin’s attack on Ukraine, and it’s all because of Hunter Biden’s laptop! Yep, we’re going all the way back to that.

Just when you thought Hunter’s laptop was finally a thing of the past, Watters had to go and not just boot it up again, but put it at the very center of the Russia Ukraine War. As Raw Story reports, Watters chatted up John Paul Mac Isaac, a.k.a. “Hunter’s Laptop Repairman,” and his jaunty hat on Tuesday, where his questions were more like attempts to push through some wild conspiracy theories that Isaac (nor his hat) seemed 100 percent comfortable agreeing with.

After asking for Isaac’s thoughts on the situation happening right now in Ukraine—because presumably a computer repairman would also be an expert on geopolitics—he responded that: “It’s hard to tell. I mean, last time Ukraine was in this, or close to this situation, Joe Biden was in charge [as vice president]. And last time, Hunter Biden profited greatly off of his dad’s involvement in Ukraine. I think this time Joe needs a distraction more than he needs money.”

This was a golden opportunity for Watters, and he seized the moment by making a huge leap by asking: “Do you think this was engineered as a distraction, or do you think this just kind of happened because of Vlad and this rush to war?” (Vlad!)

Isaac seemed uncomfortable with the whole question, and replied that ” I would hate to think that the Ukrainian people would have to suffer the way they’re suffering now because Joe needed a distraction.”

You can watch the exchange—which isn’t too far from how The Daily Show’s Desi Lydic saw this whole thing playing out—below.

(Via Raw Story)

At this point, if you are an actor and you haven’t been asked to join a Marvel film, it’s probably a little embarrassing. The superhero franchise has been churning out content faster than humanely possible lately, and they just announced their newest Marvel addition: Euphoria’s breakout star Sydney Sweeney.

Sweeney will join Dakota Johnson in Madame Web, the upcoming Sony/Marvel superhero film directed by S.J. Clarkson. For those of you who are having a hard time following, Sony Pictures’ Marvel installments include Spider-Man and Venom, and it’s slightly different than the MCU, which includes The Avengers, etc., though Spider-man is technically both MCU and Sony. Also, The X-Men fit in there somewhere, though they are owned by Fox. It’s a little hard to keep track.

Madame Web is depicted as an older woman with telekinetic powers who is hooked up to a machine that looks a lot like a web, hence the name. She uses her mind to fight the bad guys and help others, similar to Doctor Strange. Since Johnson, who is definitely not an elderly woman, was cast as the lead, it is looking like Madame Web might be some sort of origin story. As per the original description: “Traditionally depicted as a blind, paralyzed old woman, she is surrounded by a web-like machine necessary to keep her alive, meaning that she stays away from direct conflict, favoring the option to send others to do the physical stuff on her behalf.”

It’s unclear who Sweeney will be playing in the movie, though we know she has some great dramatic acting experience.

Trevor Noah devoted a substantial chunk of time (on Tuesday night’s The Daily Show episode) to discussing the ongoing trainwreck of the Kanye West/Kim Kardashian/Pete Davidson situation. By now, you’ve surely noticed the back and forth, including how Kayne has thrown obstacles into Kim’s divorce filing (which was granted by a judge) and depicted an act of physical violence against Pete in a music video, and Noah has warned this very publicly rendered obsession could take a terrible turn.

Noah, who had discussed how his own mother endured an abusive relationship before being shot in the head (Patricia Noah did, miraculously, survive), did carefully make sure that he wasn’t accusing Kanye of physical violence. Still, Noah expressed worry and wondered, “Do we wish to stand by and watch a car crash when we thought we saw it coming? Or do we at least want to say, ‘Slow down, let’s all put our hazards on, because there’s a storm coming and sh*t might go down.’”

Before long, Kanye posted (as noted by both TMZ and Us Weekly) a response on his Instagram page. He’s since deleted the racial slur-filled post, but here’s a screenshot:

Noah stepped up and responded in the comments to that post. Of course, the post and the comment are now deleted, but Noah (via The Wrap) declared (of the racial slur), “Clearly some people graduate but we still stupid.” He added, “Don’t ever forget, the biggest trick racists ever played on black people was teaching us to strip each other of our blackness whenever we disagree. Tricking us into dividing ourselves up into splinters so that we would never unite into a powerful rod.”

Earlier on in the comment, Noah expressed concern for Kanye’s well-being, too:

“There are few artists who have had more of an impact on me than you Ye. You took samples and turned them into symphonies. You took your pain and through the wire turned it into performance perfection. I thought differently about how I spend my money because of you, I learned to protect my child-like creativity from grown thoughts because of you, shit I still smile every time I put on my seatbelt because of you.

“You’re an indelible part of my life Ye. Which is why it breaks my heart to see you like this. I don’t care if you support Trump and I don’t care if you roast Pete. I do however care when I see you on a path that’s dangerously close to peril and pain.”

As of now, there’s been no additional response from Kanye.

(Via The Wrap, TMZ, Us Weekly)

Prince’s 1986 album Camille was so rare that Jack White once bid close to $49,375 for one of the 25 known copies. White apparently tried to purchase another one at a 2017 auction but was outbid by Questlove. Now, Jack White and his label Third Man Records have gotten the rights to the mythical album that Prince recorded as his feminine alter ego, and will be releasing Camille out into the world.

“We’re finally going to put it out,” Third Man Records co-founder Ben Blackwell was quoted as saying in a Mojo print profile of White. “Prince’s people agreed – almost too easy.” In recording the album, Prince had pitch-shifted his vocals to sound like the album’s titular alter ego, but decided to scrap it shortly before its release. The album’s eight tracks have all been released in some way shape or form in the past, and you can hear the pitch-shifting effect by punching in the album titles into a streaming service. “Rebirth of the Flesh,” which appears on the Sign O’ The Times deluxe edition, is a good place to start.

The exact release date for the album has yet to be set, but Camille is due out via Third Man Records. Check out the complete tracklist below.

1. “Rebirth of the Flesh”
2. “Housequake”
3. “Strange Relationship”
4. “Feel U Up”
5. “Shockadelica”
6. “Good Love”
7. “If I Was Your Girlfriend”
8. “Rockhard in a Funky Place”

Do you support making Daylight Savings Time permanent? Then good news! You agree with Republicans Marco Rubio and Rick Scott. You also agree with Jonah Ryan, the monstrous yet easily mockable (and fictitious) liaison-turned-politician played by Timothy Simons over seven seasons of Veep. (A lot of other sensible people are for this, too, so don’t worry.) The day after the Senate unanimously passed the Sunshine Protection Act, Jonah emerged on Twitter, heaping praise upon a bill that’s so popular that it’s made strange bedfellows of many.

“Our long national nightmare and daymare is over,” declared Jonah in a statement attributed to him and shared by David Mandel, the show’s showrunner from Season 4 on. “No longer will innocent Americans show up hours late or hours early to their jobs, their J-dates or their court-ordered counseling appointments for weeks on end just because of the whims of ‘Big Clock.’”

In the statement, Jonah also made sure to air some of his less popular thoughts, such as supporting Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill and, of course, outing himself as anti-vaxx.

“The recent COVID-19 pandemic has proven that my views about vaccines which were once dismissed as ‘fringe’ or ‘anti-scientific’ or ‘insane’ were, in fact, correct,” Jonah writes. “In case you’ve forgotten, my own father died of Chicken Pox that I gave him in order that decent Americans everywhere might be spared from vaccinations that are filled with chemicals.”

On top of that, Jonah also derided the U.S. metric system as well as the “lack of nudity” on the most recent season of Euphoria.

But many on both sides of the aisle can at least come together on this: that the nation shouldn’t move clocks back in the fall, thereby giving us another hour of light during the bleak midwinter. It’s cruel to those who like daylight and, besides that, it’s awkward — even more awkward than Jonah Ryan.

(Via The Hollywood Reporter)

A clip from The Goldbergs went viral this week, and not in a good way, as people started realizing how the show has been handling Jeff Garlin’s absence after he left the show. Wendi McLendon-Covey, who plays Beverly Goldberg on the ABC sitcom, has responded with details about what the show has been dealing with behind the scenes.

In the now-viral tweet showing the extremely awkward methods being used to massage Garlin into scenes, journalist Noel Murray wrote, “They should either cancel The Goldbergs or kill off Jeff Garlin’s character because the workarounds they’ve been using this season ain’t working.” Apparently, McLendon-Covey couldn’t agree more and proceeded to lay out the difficulties the production has been having with Garlin, complete with a dollop of sarcasm.

“Thanks for the great suggestion Noel!” McLendon-Covey replied. “This season threw us for a loop because a.) it’s hard to incorporate someone who doesn’t want to be there and wants to leave mid-scene, and b.) we werent about to re-write the 2nd half of the season. We’re doing our best.”

As you can see in the Garlin video, it’s jarringly obvious that he’s not filming with his co-stars. His character, Murray Goldberg, appears on the opposite side of the room or he’s only shown from the shoulders down to hide the use of a stand-in. When Garlin does appear with the other characters, the end result is basically horrifying.

Garlin exited the series in mid-December following the reporting of several allegations of on-set misconduct, which also revealed his lack of interest in filming The Goldbergs. Unfortunately, the other actors on the show like McLendon-Covey are forced to bear the brunt of Garlin being completely checked out of the show both mentally and now literally, and it seems like they’re done being quiet about it.

(Via Wendi McLendon-Covey on Twitter)

On Tuesday night, Baker Mayfield posted an open letter to Cleveland Browns fans on his Twitter account in which he addressed the “many uncertainties” surrounding him right now and expressed the love that he has for the city.

The letter comes as the Browns have become a potential suitor for Deshaun Watson as the Houston Texans are looking to trade their starting quarterback. While there is no guarantee that Watson ends up in northeast Ohio, it does seem like Mayfield’s tenure with the team is in its final days. According to Chris Mortensen of ESPN, the two sides are headed towards a breakup.

“I believe they’re breaking up, regardless of whether or not Deshaun Watson ends up in Cleveland,” Mortensen said. “And one thing I was told is that, it’s just not a match emotionally. Whereas Baker Mayfield’s passion and emotional leadership was embraced at Oklahoma, and even in the beginning with the Browns, things have changed, and they want what they consider ‘an adult’ at that position, and Baker Mayfield is probably going to be moved.”

Mortensen went on to mention a guy like Jimmy Garoppolo could potentially be an option if the Browns want to go in a different direction. Furthermore, Jake Trotter of ESPN reported that Mayfield hasn’t asked for a trade yet and is not expected to get sent to Houston, even if a deal comes to fruition for Watson. He also added the nugget that Mayfield learned that Cleveland was pursuing Watson via social media.

Mayfield has only suited up for the Browns in his NFL career, as the team selected him with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft.

EA has made it clear that it is against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Not only has it said so through public statements, but the company has also chosen to remove itself from Russia in multiple ways. One of the ways it did so previously was by removing Russian and Belarus teams from its FIFA and NHL series of games.

On Wednesday, EA took another step in distancing itself from Russia by stating that Russia and Belarus would no longer be considered eligible countries for its esports programs. This means that any team, or player, that participates in their esports leagues such as the Apex Legends Global Series or the EA Sports FIFA 22 Global Series is now unable to compete.

“We have made the decision to remove Russia and Belarus as eligible countries in our esports programs. Effective immediately, players and teams in Russia and Belarus are ineligible to participate in the Apex Legends Global Series and the EA Sports FIFA 22 Global Series.”

The statement continued to echo the same feelings as EA’s previous statement, that it is shocked and saddened by Russia’s continued invasion of Ukraine and calls for peace. EA’s choice to mark players from Russia and Belarus ineligible also echos the response of other organizations involved in gaming, such as the streaming site Twitch.

At the time of XXXTentacion’s death at 20 years old in 2018, the controversial rapper had yet to resolve or apologize for the domestic abuse he allegedly admitted to committing against his ex-girlfriend Geneva Ayala. He was still awaiting trial when he was shot to death in June of that year for both aggravated battery of Ayala and witness tampering, with which he was charged after Ayala wrote a note to the court asking to have the charges dropped.

These events and others are the subjects of the upcoming documentary, Look at Me: XXXTENTACION, which will stream on Hulu later this year after premiering today at SXSW. According to The Daily Beast’s Cheyenne Roundtree, who reported from the premiere, the documentary does delve into X’s alleged abuse of Ayala, while including footage of the rapper’s mother, Cleo Bernard, who believes that her son would have eventually apologized for his actions.

“I would have liked to think he would have gotten there,” she says during her interview for the film. “He just never had a chance.” In lieu of that chance, the film reportedly features a meeting between Bernard and Ayala, during which the rapper’s mother says she feels “like it’s up to me now to make amends and try to right his wrongs as much as I can.” She admits that although X attempted to hid his actions from her, she acknowledges, “Jahseh was wrong for what he did. There’s no excuse for that, period. But I just want the world to know that he wasn’t that same person anymore, but the past is still part of his story.”

Look at Me: XXXTENTACION will stream on Hulu beginning June 10.

The Walking Dead is coming to an end soon, but The Walking Dead Universe is still shambling along. Tales of the Walking Dead, with its stacked cast, premieres this August, while Daryl and Carol are getting one spinoff and Negan and Maggie are getting another that finds them taking Manhattan, not unlike the Muppets.

The previously announced six-episode series “will see the two characters traveling into a post-apocalyptic Manhattan long ago cut off from the mainland. The crumbling city is filled with the dead and denizens who have made New York City their own world full of anarchy, danger, beauty, and terror,” according to Variety. The part that’s left unspoken in the description is that Negan and Maggie, as played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Lauren Cohan, apparently make it through The Walking Dead unscathed.

Based on comments made on a recent episode of The Rich Eisen Show, Dean Morgan would have preferred for that to not be spoiled. “I guess we don’t need to die. Spoiler alert, folks. Sorry!” the Supernatural star and weed gummy enthusiast said. “I’m still not sure why we announced that already. It was sort of a shocker to me.”

It only counts as a spoiler if you pretend every character who has ever appeared on The Walking Dead won’t get a spinoff at some point. And that includes the dead characters who we haven’t seen since the early seasons of the show. I, for one, think it’s time to learn what T-Dog was up to before the outbreak.

(Via TVLine)