Year: 2022

While many had hoped Mad Men’s Jon Hamm would grace the stage at the 2022 Oscars, it looks like Hamm might have removed himself from the race to host the ceremony.

According to Variety, the hosting duties will go to Amy Schumer, Regina Hall, and Wanda Sykes. The official announcement will take place Tuesday on Good Morning America, but sources tell the site that the three comedians have won the coveted hosting gig.

The trio has never worked together, but could have some great chemistry due to their comedy backgrounds. Schumer had her own sketch show, Sykes has had dozens of guest appearances on sitcoms, and we all know Hall can kill it with comedic timing from her role in the iconic Scary Movie franchise.

Over the years, the ceremony has been hosted by a slew of comedians, late-night hosts, and also Neil Patrick Harris. For the last three years, the award show has gone host-less, probably because of the pressure and how easily the internet can ruin someone’s life by announcing the wrong thing. Perhaps a group of three will make the gig a little easier. Or, if two of them drop out, there is still an understudy. The show must go on!

Unless you’ve been living blissfully off the grid the past couple of months, you’ve undoubtedly seen the world become enamored with Wordle.

Completing the simple word game with a delightfully wholesome origin story has become a daily routine for millions of us who appreciate the collective challenge and the limit of only playing once per day. (I don’t actually have stats on how many people play it, but considering the fact that The New York Times paid the creator seven figures for it, I’m assuming it’s millions.) We share and compare scores. We whine together when it’s hard. We keep the answer secret as part of an entirely new social contract that the game engendered and get annoyed when people think they’re sharing a clue that doesn’t give it away but actually does give it away.

In an era where so many things divide and polarize us, Wordle has brought people of all walks of life together in a weird and wonderful way.

So while some may be tired of seeing people’s Wordle scores on social media, the Wordle sensation is a good thing. And we need more good things.

To sum it all up, the Holderness family created a Wordle-themed parody of Aladdin’s “A Whole New World” and it’s hilarious. They nailed so many elements of the Wordle phenomenon, from why we play to how we try to convince our loved ones to play to everyone groaning over the word “MOIST.” (I have never understood people’s issue with that word. It makes me think of chocolate cake. Nothing but yumminess.)

So kick back, relax and enjoy “A Whole New Wordle.”

“Let me share my Wordle score with youuuu…” So cute and clever.

To be honest, I’m feeling a bit salty today after experiencing my first Wordle loss this morning. It was bound to happen sometime, but for a person who works with words for a living, the failure hits hard. The fact that this video made me laugh out loud several times is a testament to the Holderness family’s ability to entertain. It’s healing my wounded Wordle heart. Well done, Penn and Kim.

The Olympics are upon us again and as we all gather around the television, or keep track of the medals won via our mobile device, there now seems to be a bit of a shadow. Not only are athletes having to contend with the COVID-19 crisis and strict protocols, resulting in no fans to cheer them on, and losing some team members to quarantine, they’re also contending with a new doping scandal.

Fifteen-year-old Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva tested positive for a restricted substance, which should have disqualified her from competing. This disqualification would have cost Russia the gold, but as the world awaited the decision, we were left with more questions than answers. Valieva would be allowed to continue to compete.

Shau2019Carri Richardson was prohibited from competing at Olympics due to out-of-competition positive of drug unrelated to sport performance.nKamila Valieva is being allowed to compete at Olympics although she had in-competition positive of drug clearly related to sport performance.pic.twitter.com/pz8upIWQXs

— Neal Rogers (@Neal Rogers)
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Last summer we saw a different scenario play out with Sha’Carri Richardson, a young American runner who was poised to medal in the summer Olympics but was disqualified for a failed drug test shortly before the games were scheduled to start. Richardson tested positive for marijuana, which she admitted after finding out her mother died during an interview. The committee knew what transpired that led to the lapse in judgment, and Richardson took accountability for her mistake, yet she was still disqualified in an effort to keep the Olympic games drug-free and the rules fairly applied across the board.

With the news of Kamila Valieva failing her drug test for a substance called trimetazidine, people are scratching their heads, including Richardson. Trimetazidine is a heart medication that can be used as a performance enhancer due to its ability to increase blood flow to the heart, which then pumps more blood to the muscles enhancing one’s ability to compete. Richardson posted to Twitter calling out the decision-makers, saying “Can we get a solid answer on the difference of her situation and mines? My mother died and I can’t run and was also favored to place top 3. The only difference I can see is I’m a black young lady.”

Can we get a solid answer on the difference of her situation and mines? My mother died and I canu2019t run and was also favored to place top 3. The only difference I see is Iu2019m a black young lady.https://twitter.com/usatoday/status/1493190527348449289u00a0u2026

— Shau2019Carri Richardson (@Shau2019Carri Richardson)
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While Valieva is young, and the drugs found in her system were likely the result of the adults around her hoping to give her an edge over the competition, it still doesn’t fall in line with the anti-doping rules of the Olympic Committee, yet the Court of Arbitration for Sports has given the green light for Valieva’s continued participation. This decision not only seems to disregard the athletes working to compete in a way that is fair, but also those who have stayed clean of any and all performance-enhancing substances. The decision is also one in stark contrast to the one swiftly handed down to Richardson, so one must ask what the difference could be?

Marijuana isn’t known for enhancing anyone’s ability to do anything other than watch a marathon of your favorite show on Netflix while eating your weight in chips and queso, but that didn’t seem to matter when it counted most for Richardson. This is a tale of two athletes. One, a white child with adults around her likely making the poor decision to violate the anti-doping rules, and the other, a Black young woman who made a poor choice in her grief after she found out she lost her mother from a reporter during an interview on live television. Why is one the exception to the rule?

There seems to be a fairly clear answer to this question, but according to the Court of Arbitration for Sports, it would have caused Valieva “irreparable harm” to be disqualified. If irreparable harm is the factor that keeps Kamila Valieva in the games, then we all owe Richardson a heartfelt apology. Her mother passed away, and she was informed in a way that would’ve crushed anyone, and yet she had to sit out a career-changing and life-altering moment because she grieved in the way that brought her a moment of relief.

“We Don’t Talk About Bruno,” the biggest success story of the Encanto soundtrack, became the biggest-ever hit from a Disney animated movie, in terms of chart performance, when it spent a second week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart last week. Now, it’s just running up the score: On the new Hot 100 chart dated February 19, “Bruno” is on top for a third week.

In late January, Lin-Manuel Miranda (who wrote all the Encanto songs) appeared on The Tonight Show and was asked if he could have predicted the success of “Bruno.” He responded, “No, mainly because group numbers never get the same kind of love that the ballads get or the comedy songs get. But I did know it was catchy, because when I was first writing it, I would catch my kids singing it just from overhearing me writing it.”

Meanwhile, Nicki Minaj and Lil Baby’s new single, “Do We Have A Problem?,” scored a big debut, making its first appearance on the chart at No. 2. That makes it the 20th top-ten song for Minaj and the ninth for Baby.

Outside of the top ten, King Von and 21 Savage’s “Don’t Play That” debuted at No. 40, giving Von his first top-40 hit.

Dehd, the self-described mutt rock trio from Chicago, has just announced the new album Blue Skies. It’s the follow-up to 2020’s radical Flower Of Devotion and represents the band’s debut release on the Fat Possum label. If the mutt rock designation is lost on you, think of Dehd as somewhere between the harmonious vocal shrieks of the defunct Wu Lyf with the post-punk maturation of Cymbals Eat Guitars. In short, they shred and vocalist Emily Kempf has a head-turning delivery.

The band also announced a headlining US tour and shared the new single “Bad Love,” which offers an alternate take on the saccharine Valentine’s Day malarkey. It’s a track about embracing what makes you unique, despite feeling like a loser sometimes. Surely we can all relate.

Watch the delightfully racy video for “Bad Love” above and check out Dehd’s full tour dates below.

1. “Control”
2. “Bad Love”
3. “Bop”
4. “Clear”
5. “Hold”
6. “Memories”
7. “Window”
8. “Palomino”
9. “Waterfall”
10. “Dream On”
11. “Empty In My Mind”
12. “Stars”
13. “No Difference”

04/30 — Atlanta, GA @ Shaky Knees Festival
04/30 — Atlanta GA @ The Masquerade (Shaky Knees Aftershow)
05/02 — Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theater
05/03 — Salt Lake City, UT @ Metro Music Hall
05/05 — Seattle, WA @ Neumos
05/06 — Vancouver, BC @ The Imperial
05/07 — Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom
05/09 — San Francisco, CA @ The Chapel
05/10 — Los Angeles, CA @ The Regent Theater
05/11 — Tucson, AZ @ Club Congress
05/13 — Austin, TX – Antones
05/14 — Dallas, TX @ Trees
05/15 — Houston, TX @ Warehouse Live Studio
05/16 — New Orleans, LA @ Toulouse Theatre
05/18 — Asheville, NC @ The Grey Eagle Tavern & Music Hall
05/19 — Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle
05/22 — Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
05/24 — New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
05/26 — Boston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall
05/27 — Montreal, QC @ Theatre Fairmount
05/28 — Toronto, ON @ Lee’sPalace
06/04 — Chicago, IL @ Metro
06/11 — Queens, NY @ The Governors Ball Music Festival

Blue Skies is out 05/27 via Fat Possum. Pre-order it here.

Today’s Valentine’s Day, but you wouldn’t know it from some of today’s headlines. Fortunately, Atlanta rapper Deante Hitchcock has arrived to put the focus back on romance in his own cheeky way. Dropping the “Neck Up” video, Hitchcock shouts out all the throat GOATs out there with a subtly raunchy visual that focuses on the spicier side of Cupid’s day. The clip sees Deante heading to an appointment and displays his and his potential partner’s preparations, including lighting candles at a shrine with photos of Nancy Reagan, Karrine Stephans, and Andy King… If you know, you know.

The single is the first from Hitchcock’s upcoming EP, Every Day The 14th, which is due February 14 on RCA Records. The EP will be Deante Hitchcock since 2020’s Better, his debut album on ByStorm Entertainment/RCA. Since then, he’s been steadily releasing both smooth singles and witty freestyles in an effort to keep his momentum going. He’s put his own spin on tracks like Drake’s “What’s Next,” SpottemGotem’s “Beat Box,” Outkast’s “Roses,” and Spillage Village’s “Baptize,” which also earned him a spot on the official remix of the song. Most recently, he popped up on the deluxe edition of Isaiah Rashad’s album The House Is Burning, and he’s established himself as one of the Atlanta rappers to watch in the coming year.

Every Day The 14th is due 2/17. You can pre-save it here.

There might not be a bigger star these days than Dwyane “The Rock” Johnson. The former football player turned WWE star turned movie star is everywhere, from blockbuster films to video game movies to the Super Bowl. Yes, even an organization as giant as the NFL understands that letting The Rock introduce the teams for the biggest sporting event of the year is an easy win. He’s a notable name and face that everyone will recognize.

At least on TV, that’s the way it works. In the world of the internet, The Rock is seen a little differently by the NFL. The demographic for places like YouTube is way younger than the average NFL fan and that means the people stumbling across a video of The Rock’s pregame speech might not immediately recognize him as WWE superstar The Rock. Instead, they might know him for something he appeared in such as the guy from Jumanji, or Moana, or Fortnite. Maybe that’s why, when the NFL posted the YouTube video for The Rock’s speech he was labeled as the “Guy from Fortnite.”

For people of a certain age, this is a really funny description for someone as famous as The Rock. Here is arguably the biggest movie star in the world and he’s been labeled down to being a character in a game where players can also use a giant lifelike banana, Spider-Man, or LeBron James. But for younger audiences, that might be an easier way to realize that’s who he is.

Fortnite is one of the most popular games in the world and everyone of all ages plays it. While The Rock may be more famous for everything he did that got him into Fortnite, there’s no question that Fortnite is even more famous than he is. So in this moment, he can be known as “The guy from Fortnite” because there is guaranteed to be someone out there that knows him more for being in the game than for his movies.

In February 2021, it was reported that Kanye West (aka Ye) and Kim Kardashian had filed for divorce, and months later, Kardashian spoke more about the reasons behind the split. While West has attempted to revive the relationship on multiple occasions since then (including earlier today), he has also gotten back out there and tried the dating scene.

Ye’s recent romantic history has been lively since the Kardashian break-up, so let’s break down the timeline of who he has dated post-Kim.

Irina Shayk (June 2021)

Although West and Shayk’s time as a couple only started in 2021, she’s been on the rapper’s radar for a while (as Glamour notes): He name-dropped her on 2010’s “Christian Dior Denim Flow” and she later appeared in his video for “Power” and walked in Yeezy fashion shows.

The two first went public with their relationship in early June 2021, when they were seen together at a luxury French hotel for Ye’s birthday, as TMZ reports. In July, reports surfaced that West and Shayk’s relationship was slowing down, but a source called those reports inaccurate. Either way, in August, People reported West and Shayk had broken up.

Mystery woman (January 2022)

West had a busy January 2022 and he got started right away: On New Year’s Day, he was spotted with a mystery woman at a Miami hotel. This came right around the time Ye started seeing…

Julia Fox (December 2021)

Also on New Year’s Day, West and Fox had dinner at Carbone in New York City. Fox later described the date in Interview, noting she and Ye met in Miami on New Year’s Eve and that they flew to New York City together to see a Broadway production of Slave Play. Then they went to Carbone, which was followed by a trip to a hotel suite decked with an entire new wardrobe for Fox.

From there, the two popped up in headlines regularly, like when Fox gave her and Ye a celebrity couple name (“Juliye”) and when it was reported a few days ago that they were in an open relationship. Now, it appears they’re in no relationship at all, as Fox seemingly confirmed their breakup on social media, writing, “Kanye and I are on good terms! I have love for him but I wasn’t in love w the man Jesus Christ what do u guys think I am 12 years old?!” A representative for Fox also told E! and Page Six, “Julia and Kanye remain good friends and collaborators, but they are no longer together.”

As for what’s next for Ye, he’s still interested in reconciling with Kardashian, as he wrote on Instagram today, “I DON’T HAVE BEEF WITH KIM I LOVE MY FAMILY SO STOP THAT NARRATIVE IM NOT GIVING UP ON MY FAMILY […] I HAVE FAITH THAT WE’LL BE BACK TOGETHER.”

Look anywhere on the internet and thirsty aspiring rappers are everywhere. They thrive in the margins of comment sections, anxiously trying to get someone, anyone, to check out their album, song, or freestyle. You get the idea. So how does a rapper cut through the white noise of the internet? Trespass onto Diddy’s property and hand him a demo in person, of course!

That’s exactly what rapper Isaiah Smalls (no relation) did over the weekend. TMZ (who else?) posted a video of Smalls shouting rather haphazardly at the security gate of Diddy’s Los Angeles mansion in hopes that the Bad Boy Records boss would hear his cries. Unbeknownst to Smalls, Diddy wasn’t even home, and his security guards refused to let him in, obviously. But this didn’t stop the 23-year-old from hopping the gate and getting onto the property in hopes that he could personally hand-deliver a copy of his demo to Diddy. According to TMZ, security immediately apprehended the hungry lyricist and held him until the police arrived. He was charged with trespassing and was released within the hour.

And yes, I do realize that his stunt led to outlets like us shouting this dude out for what he did, but ya gotta love his determination. Hip-hop is a hustle and sometimes, you just gotta hop a fence and see what happens. Isaiah Smalls, remember that name.

Cut to Feb 10, as Jackman prepares to take the stage as con man Harold Hill. Jackman reveals in a hilarious tongue-in-cheek Instagram post that among the blessings of “gorgeous flowers, champagne and heartfelt wishes,” he also received Ryan’s gift … if you can call it that.

See on Instagram

In Jackman’s dressing room are two black-and-white portraits of Reynolds, one a sketch of him looking dapper while leering with arms crossed and the other a photo while he leaps in the air, sort of the same move Jackman does in the show. Perhaps one to intimidate, and the other mock? Who knows why mad men do what they do.

Attached is a note, with a passive aggressive pep talk from Reynolds.

“Hugh, good luck with your little show. I’ll be watching.”

Despite the jabs, however, Reynolds gave nothing but glowing reviews, calling the show “actually perfect.” But what he had to say about Jackman in particular was even more noteworthy.

“I don’t generally like to speak about @thehughjackman. Particularly in a positive light,” Reynolds wrote. “But his performance in @musicmanbway is one of the most electric things I’ve ever seen him do. The chemistry between [him] and @suttonlenore is off the charts.”

I mean, if even Jackman’s infamous nemesis enjoyed it, this show has to be really something, right?

During an interview in 2020, Jackman told The Daily Beast, “It’s gone back so long now … God, this is a classic sign where your feud has gone too long, where you don’t even know why or how it started,” regarding the playfully tumultuous relationship he shared with Reynolds.

But ask anyone, and I think they’ll tell you that we never want this delightful trolling to end.