Year: 2022

Madison Cawthorn just can’t get out of his own way. The North Carolina congressman has been in office for just a little over a year now and has already become a household name, and most definitely not for any good reasons—unless you count setting a record for most votes missed by a newbie congressperson to be a positive. After 13 months of nothing but damning lies, conspiracy theories, siding with insurrectionists, fighting with fellow lawmakers, and marrying (then quickly divorcing) a woman who might very well be a Russian spy, the state of North Carolina has had enough of Cawthorn. And now he’s apparently had enough of them, too.

Given his already-polarizing tenure, a group of North Carolinians have been pressuring state officials over the legitimacy of Cawthorn’s ability to run for a second term in office. As the AP reports, they’ve pointed to many ways in which the 26-year-old has violated the 14th Amendment, which states that no one “who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress … to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same.”

As Politico reports, Cawthorn—perhaps not thinking all that clearly about the optics of it all—decided that the best way to respond to these voters (a.k.a. his constituents) would be to [checks note] sue the state! On January 10th, nearly a dozen voters filed a formal challenge to Cawthorn’s candidacy for reelection.

As Politico writes:

Cawthorn’s lawsuit, filed on Monday, denies that he participated in an “insurrection or rebellion” and maintains he is eligible to run for office under state law. The lawsuit also disputes the assertion that under the 14th Amendment he is ineligible for candidacy because of his involvement in a Jan. 6 rally.

“Running for political office is quintessential First Amendment activity and afforded great protection,” Cawthorn’s lawsuit read.

Suing the state you hope to continue representing is certainly an unusual political tactic. Only time will tell how it works out for him.

(Via Politico)

To be very clear here: both Lily James and Sebastian Stan are phenomenal in the gloriously trashy Pam & Tommy on Hulu. The show takes viewers back to the days of the fledgling Internet, where it was practically unheard of for a newlywed couple’s stolen sex tape to be viewed by the masses, all at the click of a few buttons. This was a devastating development for them, and especially for Pam, and it all happened due to disgruntled contractor Rand Gauthier doing a truly bad thing and two men attempting to settle a beef while a woman’s agency transformed into collateral damage.

The show, however, does a fine job of toeing the line of being serious when appropriate but otherwise being a blast. Pamela Anderson did not co-sign this limited series that dramatizes and imagines what came after Gauthier’s heist, but the masses are already watching the first three episodes on release day. And while Lily’s receiving mad respect and accolades from critics, Bucky Barnes/The Winter Soldier fans were ready for this dumpster fire with Community-styled anticipation.

Sebastian’s Tommy is nearly as skeevy-hot as the original. And people were captivated by two key moments so far, including, well, this gross display of him licking Pam’s face upon their first meeting.

Clearly and as one Twitter user noted, Sebastian relishes “playing complete a**holes,” which he definitely does during MCU downtime. Not only did he play the corrupt sheriff in Devil All The Time and Jeff Gillooly in I, Tonya to a tee, but now, he’s having so much fun as the baddest dude in rock ‘n’ roll.

However, the other moment that people can’t stop watching is a doozy. Yep, we’re talking about the animatronic penis voiced by Jason Mantzoukas. No one can cope.

Again, these are early moments as people gobble up episodes, so expect more wildness in the coming weeks. In the meantime, let’s rock out.

‘Pam & Tommy’ is currently streaming three episodes on Hulu.

Atlanta R&B singer Summer Walker ended 2021 on a high note, releasing her second studio album Still Over It and watching it debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, becoming the first album from a female R&B singer to do so in five years. In 2022, it looks like she wants to get a fresh start, which she did by following the time-honored tradition of acquiring a radical new hairstyle. Naturally, once she debuted it on social media, fans had thoughts, jokes, memes, and expressions of both horror and praise.

As you can see, the singer went for a high queue, shaving the majority of her hair off and leaving enough for a ponytail of braids. Declaring that she “legit wanted this hairstyle my whole life,” she popped several photos from different angles on her Instagram, opening the floodgates for fans’ comments. One of the more positive reactions on Twitter read, “One thing about Summer Walker… shawty gone do whatever the hell she want to. Hate it or love it, I gotta respect it. I love seeing black folks with agency. Even when we make think it’s ridiculous, as long as no one is harmed, do your thing.”

However, others found some comedic value in the unusual cut, comparing her to pop culture figures who’ve worn the style over the years including the sub-boss Goro from the Mortal Kombat video game franchise and the disgraced prince Zuko from the animated series, Avatar: The Last Airbender. It seems that whether fans approve or not, Summer Walker will keep giving them reasons to talk in 2022. She also has more room for tattoos now, so don’t be surprised if she pops up with some new ones in the available space. Check out more fan reactions below.

A few days ago, Lucy Dacus debuted a new single, “Kissing Lessons.” Fans could listen to the song on their phone, not via their preferred streaming service, but via an actual telephone call. Dacus shared an image of one of the fliers she put up out in the world and tweeted, “I went out to get a single tomato from the bodega during a blizzard and happened to see this taped to my local Subway station?!? I was like no way this is a LD promo that would be too coincidental.. BUT IT IS CALL (804) 409-4451 TO HEAR KISSING LESSONS RIGHT NOW!!”

That was a fun way to promote a new song, but now, the tune has gotten a proper premiere on streaming platforms, as Dacus officially released the track today. It’s a brief one, clocking in at under two minutes, and Dacus uses that time to tell a story about learning the ins and outs of smooching from a childhood friend. The tale begins, “Rachel was a year older / When I was in the second grade / I thought she might know everything / I took her word like a golden ring / I asked her how to win my man / And she said, ‘I know just the thing’ / Gave me lipgloss and a hair toss / And, after school, a lesson in kissing.”

Watch the “Kissing Lessons” video above.

Next month will mark two years since Dua Lipa released her sophomore album, Future Nostalgia, which became her most successful release, peaking at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart. It also gave the singer her first Grammy Award after she won in the Best Pop Vocal Album category in 2021. All that was left to do for Future Nostalgia was to hold a tour. After the COVID pandemic pushed that back, Dua Lipa will finally kick off the Future Nostalgia Tour in March.

Who is opening the Dua Lipa tour?

Back in September, Dua Lipa announced that Megan Thee Stallion, Caroline Polachek, and Lolo Zouaï will serve as the opening acts on the Future Nostalgia Tour. Megan will have two albums’ worth of music to perform across North America, thanks to her platinum-selling debut album Good News and her most recent release, Something For Thee Hotties. Polachek has been fairly quiet over the past couple years as she’s sporadically released singles since her last album, Pang, arrived in 2019. As for Zouaï, she released a pair of singles in 2021, but her most recent release, Highs Highs And Lows Lows, also arrived in 2019.

You can view the full tour dates for the Future Nostalgia Tour below.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

WARNING: Spoilers for The Book of Boba Fett below.

Right from the start, The Book of Boba Fett Chapter 6, “From the Desert Comes a Stranger,” is already jam-packed with Star Wars cameos as the episode opens with Timothy Olyphant‘s Cobb Vanth before surprisingly continuing The Mandalorian story that started in Chapter 5. (Which brought even more cameos.) But just when you think The Book of Boba Fett can’t pull another trick out of its sleeve, a last minute character arrives in the final moments of Chapter 6, and his arrival will undoubtedly go over huge with Star Wars: The Clone Wars fans. But who the heck is this nameless blue alien in a cowboy hat?

It’s none other than the notorious bounty hunter Cad Bane.

First introduced in The Clone Wars animated series, which is set between the events of the prequel films Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, Cad Bane became the deadliest bounty hunter following the death of Boba Fett’s father, Jango Fett. Unlike Jango, Bane went toe-to-toe with the Jedi Knights and lived to tell the tale. He also has a sordid history with Book of Boba Fett‘s Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen). The two crossed paths in The Clone Wars spinoff, The Bad Batch, where Bane was shown to still be a force to reckon with after effortlessly gunning down one of the enhanced troops from Clone Force 99.

Cad Bane’s quick draw skills were once again on full display in The Book of Boba Fett, where he showed up to issue a warning to Olyphant’s Cobb Vanth on behalf of the Pyke Syndicate, who are making a move on Boba Fett’s territory. Despite being a seasoned gunslinger, things do not go well for Vanth, which puts Bane on a collision course with Boba and Mando going into the season finale.

(Via Wookieepedia)

For better or worse, Drake is a walking, talking meme — and he knows it, which means he often leans in, enjoying the chaos that results from his every facial expression or finicky habit. And because he’s such a huge hoops head, many of his finest moments are generated during NBA games while he’s supporting his precious Toronto Raptors or giving their rivals a friendly haranguing during games.

His latest is no exception. During last night’s game against the Miami Heat, Drake was caught by the TV broadcast’s cameras scrolling through his phone with a sourpuss expression on his face — which, of course, offered the perfect opportunity for speculation on what he was staring at that made him so grumpy. The timing — just a day after Rihanna announced her pregnancy with ASAP Rocky — was especially delicious for Twitter’s jokesters.

Drake notoriously had a huge crush on Rihanna and even dated her for a bit, but unfortunately for him, it seemed the burgeoning mogul preferred a “Rude Boy” after all. After dating Saudi billionaire Hassan Jameel for three years, Rihanna appears to have settled into a life of domestic bliss with “Fashion Killa” collaborator ASAP Rocky. The couple announced their baby blessing earlier this week with photos revealing Rihanna’s expanding bump, prompting many fans to tweet, “Someone check on Drake.”

In doing so, fans have found that the results are just about as funny as could be imagined — although plenty of the Drake jokes revolved around other potentially disappointing scenarios, as well. You can check out more Drake memes below.

Model and former-Miss California Carrie Prejean Boller received nationwide attention over her response to a question about marriage equality during the 2009 Miss USA pageant. When asked (by Perez Hilton, because 2009) whether same-sex marriage should be legalized, she infamously replied, “I believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman, no offense to anybody out there. But that’s how I was raised and I believe that it should be between a man and a woman.”

That’s when Prejean Boller became a “right-wing hero,” as Los Angeles Magazine called her. She now shares her conservative views to her 11,000-plus followers on Instagram, where she has recently pivoted to offering money to people at Target if they remove their masks. (Her bio includes an American flag emoji followed by the number “45.”)

Rolling Stone reports that Prejean Boller, who married former-Baltimore Ravens quarterback Kyle Boller in 2010, encourages “people to defy indoor mask policies and go mask-free in big-box stores in exchange for money. In this series, Prejean Boller and fellow anti-mask activist Patrice Reynolds, who identify themselves as the ‘muzzle-free patrol,’ stand in front of a Target sign mandating face coverings indoors before going up to people who are not wearing masks inside Target and giving them $1 bills.”

Have we learned nothing from “stranger danger”? Do not accept money from randos.

According to her Stories, Prejean Boller has been speaking at conservative rallies, hobnobbing with far-right influencers like Lauren Boebert and Madison Cawthorn at Mar-a-Lago, and, with Reynolds, has been actively campaigning for people to violate mask policies at big-box stores. In a video from three weeks ago, they went into a Home Goods in Encinitas, California, giving the “muzzle-free” (adult) shoppers $5 bills with smiley faces on them and offering money to people to take off their masks. “I love seeing all the normal people who do not comply with tyranny!” she said in a caption.

Prejean Boller, who had her Miss California title revoked for failing to fulfill her contractual commitments (there were many “you’re fired” headlines at the time), went viral for her comments at a school board meeting in California. “I’m a mama bear and I know there’s a lot of mama bears here tonight, and no one’s gonna mess with our cubs,” she said. “I’m simply here to tell you to unmask our children. We’re done begging. In fact, we’re done asking for permission. We are gonna be unmasking our children today.” She also claimed that the pandemic was “over.” This was in August 2021.

(Via Rolling Stone)

The View moderator Whoopi Goldberg generally keeps the show’s conversation from getting too out of line. Yet she went off the deep end in her own way on Monday with unfortunate remarks about the Holocaust, which she declared “isn’t about race,” despite the Nazi regime’s systematic and targeted extermination of Jews. Whoopi ended up apologizing three times for her remarks, but that wasn’t enough. Reports that Whoopi was in huge trouble turned out to be accurate, and on Tuesday night, ABC News suspended her for two weeks with ABC News president Kim Godwin declaring that Whoopi will “take time to reflect and learn about the impact of her comments,” which Godwin described as “wrong and hurtful.”

Godwin added, “The entire ABC News organization stands in solidarity with our Jewish colleagues, friends, family and communities.” Well, former co-host Meghan McCain made her thoughts known by condemning Whoopi’s major slip-up. And she’s not the only one who’s graced that soundstage and is now weighing in, but in a different way. The Daily Beast reports that “co-hosts Sunny Hostin, Joy Behar, and Ana Navarro are furious with the network’s decision.” Not only that, but Navarro spoke directly to The Daily Beast:

“I love Whoopi Goldberg. I love The View,” she said on Tuesday evening. “This was an incredibly unfortunate incident. Whoopi is a lifelong ally to the Jewish community. She is not an antisemite. Period. I am sad. And I have nothing else to say.”

And the show will go on. Wednesday’s program will feature guests including fashion designer Christian Siriano and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, who will discuss how he’s slashing drug prices and using his billionaire powers for good.

(Via The Daily Beast)

Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift have been good friends for years and now it looks like the pair is getting ready to drop a new collaboration, as fans think a new Instagram post from Sheeran indicates.

Sheeran shared what looks like an autographed CD case, the art of which is modeled after a playing card and features a “queen” that looks suspiciously like Swift, an observation also made by virtually every user who commented on the post. Sheeran wrote, “Signing some cds for something coming in a bit, keep an eye out.”

There’s context here. The Daily Mail notes that in late 2021, Sheeran said of the song in an interview, “That is my next single, I’m super excited about it. I’ve done a collaboration for it that will come out in the new year with someone I just love.” Furthermore, the publication also notes (as does a Reddit thread from October) that Sheeran’s “Overpass Graffiti” video contains apparent hints at the collaboration, like references to Swift in a newspaper and a patch on his jacket. There has also been speculation that Swift included a visual reference to Sheeran’s = album in her “I Bet You Think About Me (Taylor’s Version)” video.

It hasn’t been that long since the pair’s previous collaboration, as they recently popped up together on Red (Taylor’s Version).

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