Month: January 2023

Hollywood is often written off as a bastion of unfettered liberalism, but it’s more diverse than one would think. In the comic book movie world alone there’s room for not one but two vaccine skeptics. Now it appears there might be a third: Shazam! star Zachary Levi.

Late Saturday night, Levi quote-tweeted someone who asked if Phizer, one of the companies responsible for COVID-19 vaccines, is a “real danger to the world.” Levi responded, “Hardcore agree.”

The tweet sparked a huge backlash, with people expressing horror that the guy from Chuck, who has a big, pricey comic book movie due in a month-and-a-half, could be a vaccine skeptic. It’s not clear he is, even after he followed that up hours later with a slight clarification: a post directing to a 2009 Justice Department settlement, in which the pharmaceutical company had to pay $2.3 billion for misbranding and defrauding Medicare with its arthritis medicine Bextra.

“Just one example of what I’m referring to…,” Levi wrote. As of this writing he hasn’t clarified any further.

Amidst the backlash, some shared Levi’s recent appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience, in which he praised weepy “intellectual” Jordan Peterson and didn’t push back when Rogan deadnamed and misgendered Elliot Page.

And of course there were lots of jokes, some about what this means for the ongoing DCEU makeover.

Levy’s post comes mere days after Shazam! Fury of the Gods dropped its latest trailer, which boasts a Game of Thrones reference and Lucy Liu and Dame Helen Mirren as evil sisters. Even if it winds up being true that Levy is among Hollywood’s elite anti-vaxxers, it might not matter at the box office, at least. Letitia Wright’s antics didn’t torpedo Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and Ant-Man 3 will probably do fine despite Evangeline Lily getting called out by her own colleagues.

(Via The Daily Beast)

Pascal Siakam has followed a career trajectory lots of his peers would trade for in a heartbeat: winning a championship in year three, All-Star appearance the next season, and two All-NBA nods before age 29. Siakam may not be among the rarefied few NBA players who can put a championship team on their back, but he is an obvious answer for the many teams searching for a costar. As the Raptors look to their next chapter, it may be worth considering Siakam’s future, and at least a half-dozen playoff teams could improve their fortunes by bringing Siakam in for the remainder of his prime.

Siakam has turned into a bona fide point center, and this is by far the best offensive season of Siakam’s career. He’s posting career bests in points and assists per game on a career-high usage rate while also slicing his turnovers to a career low. Despite handling the ball and shooting more, Siakam’s scoring efficiency is in line with career norms, and the Raptors’ offense is 6.4 points better per 100 possessions with him on the floor.

This puts him in elite company: His per-game counting stats this season are matched only by Luka Doncic, Steph Curry, LeBron James, and Nikola Jokic. He has started to play more like them, too. After years of playing off of creators like Kawhi Leonard, Kyle Lowry, and Fred VanVleet, Siakam gets the seventh-most touches per game in the league, his first season in the top 10. Siakam’s 28.1 percent usage rate is also the highest of his career and places him near the top 20.

Yet Siakam only has the one All-Star bid to his name (though another is surely coming here in 2023) in his seventh season, and is rarely talked about among the best players in the league. Surely NBA decision-makers know how good Siakam has become, but his name is rarely the first one to come up when executives opine to NBA reporters about teams’ pursuits of another star.

Part of what makes Siakam so special is that he has excelled and improved despite poor floor spacing and a young Toronto roster. Siakam’s defensive impact has graded out worse in recent years as he has taken on a larger offensive role, but the league knows he can be a great two-way player as part of a winning cast because he did it for the Raptors’ 2019 championship squad, finishing second in minutes in that six-game Finals series.

It would be incredibly easy to see Siakam as an elbow playmaker and switchable defender in a place like Phoenix, Golden State, or Miami. He could be a great partner in the two-man game for Luka Doncic in Dallas or Tyrese Haliburton in Indiana. Siakam, however, is not nearly the hot commodity that his strengths on the court would indicate. Part of the reason is that Toronto’s asking price — Matt Moore of The Action Network said other teams’ executives described Toronto’s asking price as “insane” for Siakam. Another straw poll described the price as being “a three-for-one plus picks.”

Siakam’s contract pays him $35.4 million this season and $37.9 million next season, so any team going big to trade for him would have to anticipate re-signing him on a raise in 18 months. Assuming he makes it in this season, Siakam will be locked into supermax criteria by making All-NBA in the two years preceding his contract year. A supermax extension, which he only qualifies for if he stays in Toronto, would pay Siakam $205 million from 2025-2030 (when he turns 36).

Though they can’t match the supermax salary, a team like the Mavericks or Suns could see that as a worthy investment if it means giving Donic or Devin Booker a championship-caliber number two for their upcoming prime years. It could also turn out that the NBA doesn’t see Siakam as worth quite that much and he gets a smaller extension or hits unrestricted free agency in 2024. If Siakam is dead set on that contract, it makes sense that he’s staying quiet and riding out his time in Toronto, where he’s played his entire career. It is also worth mentioning that he reportedly would be happy to stay north of the border alongside Scottie Barnes.

This potential ballooning of Siakam’s market has to impact how Toronto operates now, too. If it’s unclear whether teams in title contention would pay up for him, it would be an even bigger surprise to see the Raptors do it.

Toronto has admirably kept and developed its draft picks through their primes and continued to make the postseason long after the Lowry-DeMar DeRozan era. The reason Siakam, VanVleet, and OG Anunoby have as much value now as they do has a lot to do with the Raptors’ structure and pipeline. However, their hopes for a quick reset and reload after bottoming out in 2021 and bouncing back in 2022, seems to have hit a snag, and paying an elite secondary star top dollar usually requires having a primary star in place, which Toronto does not.

Even with an optimistic view of Barnes, the 2021 No. 4 pick who is averaging 18-7-6 on 51 percent shooting in January and has elite defensive tools, you find a player who at his best is going to occupy the same spaces and do many of the same things on the court as Siakam. Maybe from a talent perspective, a team built around Barnes and Siakam (not to mention Anunoby) would have enough to compete deep into the playoffs. But for two years running, the Raptors have been better with Siakam on the court and Barnes off than with just Barnes on or both on. Both Siakam and Toronto could benefit from a trade, especially because their supporting cast figures to take a hit soon, with VanVleet and Gary Trent Jr. both becoming free agents this summer.

Last summer, apart from the bizarre Rudy Gobert trade, the two biggest moves were upstart teams in Atlanta and Cleveland going after young All-Star guards. There might not be players like that available this summer, but it’s clear Siakam is somewhere in the middle. The Raptors might just be victims of their own patience, waiting too long, until Siakam got older and far more expensive before seriously considering trading him.

Still, teams should be willing to spend money and assets on great players. Paying Siakam (who has never missed more than 16 games in a season) nearly $40 million has to be seen as a reasonable investment for a team like Dallas, compared with giving that same money to Tim Hardaway Jr., Davis Bertans, and JaVale McGee, as they are now. The same could be said of the Suns paying Deandre Ayton and Landry Shamet a combined $40-plus million, or Golden State eyeing down a potential raise on Draymond Green’s $25.8 million salary alongside $10ish million for James Wiseman. And salaries, especially for All-NBA-caliber players, are expected to keep shooting up as the business of the NBA grows in the coming years.

For now, Siakam remains in a less than ideal spot as he embarks on his prime. A star capable of so much on a roster not built to maximize his talents, with a team full of redundancies, and a trade market that seems unwilling to make him a priority.

It looks like Rihanna‘s reign won’t be coming to an end anytime soon. The Barbadian hitmaker continues to reach career highs, despite not releasing music in several years. According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), Rihanna has extended her record as the highest-certified female singles artist in the organization’s history.

“Rihanna extends her record as the highest certified female singles artist in RIAA history with 161.5 million units,” Pop Base reported.

Her last project, ANTI, which was released in 2016, spawned chart-topping hits like “Work,” “Needed Me,” and more. The project even landed her several Grammy nominations the following year, including one for Best Urban Contemporary Album.

With a career spanning almost two decades, Rihanna has cemented herself as an icon. Yet, she continues to break the mold and transcend the labels placed upon her. Whether it’s managing her billion-dollar business or motherhood, Ri can handle whatever comes her way.

While fans have patiently awaited her highly anticipated ninth album, they’ll presumably be waiting a bit longer. The “Pon De Replay” songstress has been quite elusive about her forthcoming project or its possible release date. That said, she hasn’t entirely left music behind. Recently, Rihanna recorded “Lift Me Up” for Black Panther 2: Wakanda Forever, scoring her first Oscar nomination. She’s also gearing up to perform at the Super Bowl LVII halftime show on February 12.

On Saturday, some two-and-a-half months after announcing his third presidential campaign, Donald Trump finally sprang into action. His first event was held at [checks notes] a high school auditorium. His second, at the Capitol in South Carolina, wasn’t much bigger. But during the day, as per Mediaite, he managed to do one of his favorite tactics: trash his perceived enemies.

One of them was Ron DeSantis, the Florida governor and Trump clone, who hasn’t formally thrown his hat in the ring but is expected to. “Ron would have not been governor if it wasn’t for me, and that’s okay,” Trump told reporters on his private plane. “Number one, he wouldn’t have gotten the nomination. Number two, he wouldn’t have beaten his Democrat opponent. So when I hear that he might run, I consider that very disloyal. But it’s not about loyalty, but to me it is. It’s always about loyalty.”

It was a classic fit of Trump word salad, filled with contradictions and passive aggression that’s not so passive.

Trump was a little nicer when speaking about Nikki Haley, South Carolina’s former governor. “I talked to her for a little while,” Trump explained. “But I said ‘Look, go by your heart, if you wanna run.’ She’s publicly said, ‘I would never run against my president. He was a great president.”

As it happened the same day as Trump belatedly did campaign stops, Haley, as per Newsweek, released a video in which she effectively urged Trump to step aside.

“And when you’re looking at the future of America, I think it’s time for new generational change. I don’t think you need to be 80 years old to go be a leader in D.C.,” Haley said in the video. “I think we need a young generation to come in, step up, and really start fixing things.”

Well, if this whole third presidential campaign doesn’t work out, Trump can always go back to fiddling with the rules of a golf tournament so he wins.

(Via Mediaite and Newsweek)

The new Beyoncé wax figure at Madame Tussauds in Berlin was recently unveiled, and the hive doesn’t look too happy about it. But this wouldn’t be the first time, the famous wax museum has had several iterations of the Houston hitmaker throughout its several locations, and many of them have fallen flat. In 2017, fans accused the wax gallery of “whitewashing” Queen Bey and pointed out that figure looked more like Lindsey Lohan than the “Break My Soul” songstress.

Fast forward six years later. While things have gotten better, it looks like Madame Tussauds still has a ways to go, at least according to members of the hive.

While there were quite a few to agree that the figure did share some similarities to Bey, some folks weren’t sure if the figure was supposed to be a Black woman, let alone Beyoncé.

“Baby, that’s Keke Palmer,” one person hilariously wrote.

“At first, I thought it was Beyonce, then zooming, that’s a white woman,” another person tweeted.

One fan jokingly implied that Beyoncé had metamorphized into Shakira. Now that would be something to see, wouldn’t it?

While Beyoncé deserves wax figurines in honor, it would help if the ones created at least looked like her. Hopefully, we’ll see even more change in the future.

Sam Smith loves to push boundaries. But if you thought their music video for the No. 1 single, “Unholy,” was the limit, that was just the tip of the artistic iceberg. With the release of their new album, Gloria, Smith has shifted their attention to dropping supporting music videos starting with the latest single, “I’m Not Here To Make Friends,” featuring Jessie Reyez and Calvin Harris.

Originally teased but in November, the boisterous dance track is Smith’s way of asserting as well those who sing along are also sexual being and their intimacy needs will no longer be ignored as they repeatedly sing, “‘Cause I’m not here to make friends / No I’m not here to make friends / ‘Cause I’m not here to make friends / I need a lover, I need a lover.”

When discussing the inspiration behind the track, the singer told television host Graham Norton, “I went on a date with this guy, and he just — people friend-zone me a lot of dates. And I went in the studio the next day, and I was like, ‘I’m sick of it. I’ve got enough friends. I don’t need any more friends.’ And so the song is about that.”

Smith’s demand to be desired is also at the core of the track’s official music video directed by Tanu Muino. Filmed inside King Henry VIII’s Hampton Court Palace castle in East Molesey, United Kingdom, Smith refuses to shrink themselves to fit into the monocracy’s standards of respectability. With custom wardrobing by designer Christian Cowan, Smith is undoubtedly the belle of the ball.

From dancing on top of pianos to swinging on chandlers, Smith will no longer be ignored. Smith may not be a drag performer, but the video opens with the Queen of Drag, RuPaul reciting his famous quote and features several cameos from them sprinkled throughout epic dance numbers choreographed by (La)Horde and starring dancers Rio Allison (of The Allison Brothers), Sakeema Peng Crook, and Daniel Alwell.

Yes, Smith can belt out a breathtaking ballad, but as they sing, “I’m just being honest, baby I just need a partner when the lights come on / Thirty almost got me, and I’m so over love songs,” that’s not what this track is for they are rebelling from that early career pigeonholed. The UK media isn’t too happy about Smith’s new video, but Smith totally embraces the backlash they had received from the video, telling Graham Norton, “It was the best headline I’ve ever received.”

Pushing back to say despite what the video depicts, they ensure, “Nothing seedy went on. it wasn’t weird,” adding, “Weirder things have happened in that castle. Let’s be honest.”

If this level of rambunctiousness is plastered throughout Smith’s music videos, just imagine what type of experience their upcoming Gloria tour will present.

Watch the full video above.

Gloria is out now via Columbia Records. Stream or purchase it here.

As Ice Spice‘s meteoric rise continues, so do the opportunities. Recently, the “Munch” rapper was featured in Beyonce’s new Ivy Park collection with Adidas. Now she has plans for the big screen, she says. Ice Spice stopped by HOT 97 to chat with hosts Ebro Darden, Laura Stylez, and Peter Rosenburg about her upbringing, plans for the future, and more.

During the broadcast, the New York rapper revealed that acting was not only her first passion but that she has plans to pursue it in the forthcoming future. She admitted that while she loved writing poetry and making music, as a child, she didn’t imagine herself being the Gen Z rapping sensation she is today.

“I didn’t ever really like see myself being a rapper,” she said. “I always wanted to be an actress. That was my first passion.”

The “Gansta Boo” viral hitmaker shared a story about joining an acting class when she was younger but noted that she was timid amongst her peers. However, when Ebro asked if she would try acting again, she seemed more inclined.

While nothing has been officially announced yet, Ice Spice seems to be hiding something under her sleeve. On the heels of the release of her debut EP, Like…?, it’s going to be interesting to see where the young rapper is headed. But don’t worry, the “Munchkins” will be along for the ride.

Watch the full video above.

Three weeks ago, the Georgia Bulldogs put the biggest beatdown in bowl history on the TCU Horned Frogs, winning the 2023 College Football Playoff National Championship in a 65-7 romp in Los Angeles.

It was the second title in as many years for the Dawgs and quarterback Stetson Bennett, who cemented his place as an all-time Georgia football legend with an incredible performance and opened some eyes to his potential at the next level. Bennett, who famously made a Good Morning America appearance after Georgia’s first title still very clearly drunk from the night before, has been enjoying this second title just as much, and that appears to have gotten him into some trouble on Sunday morning.

Bennett was arrested for public intoxication at around 6 a.m. on Sunday in Old East Dallas after police responded to calls of a man “banging on doors in the area,” per police, via WFAA in Dallas. Bennett was found and booked on public intoxication charges, although police did not specify if he was the one banging on doors, ultimately being released shortly before 11 a.m.

On the whole, getting drunk and banging on doors is pretty low on the list of crimes that are bad, but it’s still not great decision-making from Bennett. For one, you’re in the city of the team you beat by 58, which means you’re not getting the benefit of the doubt from residents or law enforcement — if he did this in Athens or really anywhere in Georgia, he’d be driven straight to the nearest Waffle House to sober up and someone would pay for his meal. It’s also poor timing considering NFL teams are always watching and looking for things to knock a player down the board ahead of the Draft. Given Bennett’s profile is that of a game-manager without the elite arm talent or size of a top QB, he figures to be a later round pick anyway, and adding an arrest to his record isn’t ideal. At 25 years old, he’s not a young college kid either just being dumb, so Bennett will have a little explaining to do to teams when it comes to the interview round.

It’s been a while since we’ve heard from Shrek and maybe more importantly Eddie Murphy’s Donkey. The last time we heard from the little guy was in 2012’s direct-to-video compilation Shrek’s Thrilling Tales. But the franchise is still kicking. The spinoff sequel Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is still the second highest grossing movie in America, behind only the money-gobbling Avatar 2. Indeed, its success appears to have made Murphy a little jealous.

In a new interview with Etalk (as caught by Deadline), Murphy was asked if he’d be up for returning to one of his most beloved roles.

“I’d absolutely be open if they ever came with another Shrek, I’d do it in two seconds. I love Donkey,” Murphy said. Then he threw some shade. “You know, they did Puss in Boots movies. I was like, ‘They should have did a Donkey movie. Donkey is funnier than Puss in Boots.’ I mean, I love Puss in Boots, but he ain’t funny as the Donkey.”

Granted, he said he loved Antonio Banderas’ feline hero, whose incarnation originated in Shrek 2. Besides, it’s not that controversial to say Donkey is funnier than Puss in Boots, who’s simply not as prone to wisecracks as his donkey colleague. So bring back Donkey. He’d fit right in with the current trend for donkeys, including The Banshees of Inisherin, Triangle of Sadness, and the Oscar-nominated, Obama-approved EO.

(Via Etalk and Deadline)

Honestly, there’s no wrong time of year to be a beer drinker, as there are styles that fit every season and temperature. But if you’re asking us, there might be no better beer season than winter. While you can continue to drink lighter lagers and IPAs, winter is also the perfect time of year to tuck in doppelbocks, barleywines, stouts, winter warmers, and other bolder, maltier winter beers.

This glut of beer choices during the winter months has led us on a journey to find the best options to drink from now until the eventual spring thaw. To find them, we went to the professionals for help. We asked a few well-known craft beer experts and brewers to tell us the absolute best beers to drink this winter. Keep scrolling to see all of their picks.

New Glarus Weizen Doppelbock

Ryan Schmiege, director of brewing operations at Cascade Lakes Brewing Co. in Redmond and Bend, Oregon

ABV: 9%

Average Price: Limited Availability

The Beer:

New Glarus Weizen Doppelbock is a fantastic beer when you find yourself in Wisconsin in the winter. This beer is all about our often-underappreciated friends malt and yeast.

Tasting Notes:

It’s filled with fruity esters and banana notes layered in cinnamon and clove. It’s a masterpiece to enjoy fireside under a star-filled canopy.

Great Divide Hibernation Ale

Sam Cruz, co-founder of Against the Grain in Louisville, Kentucky

ABV: 8.7%

Average Price: $11 for a six-pack

The Beer:

I love Hibernation Ale produced by Great Divide out of Denver, Colorado. Hibernation is an English-style Old Ale. I love this beer with a piece of sharp cheese and some rustic bread or as a nightcap by a fire on a cold night.

Tasting Notes:

It’s dry, with graham cracker, cocoa, and robust coffee-like flavors, with a touch of raisin-like sweetness. I think it comes in at 8.7% alcohol by volume, so it’s definitely a winter warmer.

Sierra Nevada Celebration

Joshua Bartlett, founder and CEO of Learning to Homebrew in Tuscaloosa, Alabama

ABV: 6.8%

Average Price: $11 for a six-pack

The Beer:

Probably my favorite winter seasonal is Sierra Nevada’s Celebration Ale. Although it is a West Coast IPA, this beer is steeped in wintry tradition as it is brewed to celebrate the yearly Cascade and Centennial hop harvest in the Pacific Northwest – an event that feels like winter to me.

Tasting Notes:

Classic West Coast hop flavors include citrus, pine, and floral notes and the hops in this beer are at their flavor peak.

Anchor Christmas Ale

Judy Neff, founder and brewer at Checkerspot Brewing Company (winner of Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream 2022 Experienceship) in Baltimore

ABV: 7%

Average Price: $12 for a six-pack

The Beer:

Christmas might be in the rearview, but Anchor Christmas Ale is my go-to winter beer as it’s available into January. They make a different one each year with different art and I’ve been drinking it every year for the past 25 years! It’s become a tradition in our household. All of them are roughly the same style, but each has its unique style and blend of ingredients.

Tasting Notes:

The 2022 version featured notes of dried fruits, caramel, chocolate, toasted marshmallows, and gentle wintry spices.

Harpoon Winter Warmer

Jessica Eaton, assistant taproom manager at Exhibit ‘A’ Brewing Company in Framingham, Massachusetts

ABV: 6%

Average Price: $12 for a six-pack

The Beer:

Winter Warmer from Harpoon Brewery. First released in 1988, this winter warmer has been an annual tradition ever since. It’s a warming mix of wintry spices.

Tasting Notes:

The spice aroma and notes of nutmeg, ginger, and clove make this a delicious winter warmer. I enjoy the dry, spicy finish on this beer.

Revolution Fistmas

Peter Bruno, head brewer at Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales in Dexter, Michigan

ABV: 6.5%

Average Price: $12 for a six-pack

The Beer:

Fistmas by Revolution Brewing, as it brings back memories of bringing the beer to holiday parties. Even though the holidays are over, this holiday-spiced beer is just as warming in January as it is in December.

Tasting Notes:

With its bready caramel flavors, it makes for a great food pairing beer for heavier winter foods.

Anchor Old Foghorn

George Hummel, grain master of My Local Brew Works in Philadelphia

ABV: 8-10%

Average Price: $15 for a six-pack

The Beer:

Sometimes you have to go with a classic and Anchor’s Old Foghorn is the original American Barleywine. I first had one in a small “sometimes” craft brewery in San Francisco. They served it by the pint. My wife drove the rest of the way.

Tasting Notes:

This memorable beer is just an explosion of dried fruits, citrus, and a rummy kind of booze note.

Deschutes Jubelale

Bryan Donaldson, brewing innovation manager at Lagunitas Brewing Company in Petaluma, California

ABV: 6.7%

Average Price: $12 for a six-pack

The Beer:

Jubelale from Deschutes fits the bill for me. Not as high in alcohol as some others, it lets the flavors lead the way. It’s spiced like a holiday cake. You get warmth by association.

Tasting Notes:

There’s a bit of toffee and chocolate rounds it out, leaving you feeling jubilated (is that a word? I say it is a word).

Big Time Old Wooly

Fal Allen, brewmaster at Anderson Valley Brewing in Boonville, California

ABV: 9.9%

Average Price: Limited Availability

The Beer:

Many brewers think it is a good idea to throw everything but the kitchen sink into big beers but a winter beer like a barleywine needs to be balanced, even though it is a really big beer. And barleywines are not stouts – they can have some color, but they shouldn’t be black beers. Old Wooly from the Big Time brewery in Seattle has always been one of my favorite winter beers.

Tasting Notes:

It has ample body without being too sweet, and it is balanced, not an overblown hop bomb.

More Winter Fields

Garth E. Beyer, certified Cicerone and owner and founder of Garth’s Brew Bar in Madison, Wisconsin

ABV: 4.6%

Average Price: Limited Availability

The Beer:

In a season that feels like every brewer is trying to make the biggest, baddest, booziest beer, Winter Fields by MORE Brewing is a wonderful winter reprieve.

Tasting Notes:

It’s an English-style brown ale that provides toffee, walnut, and light earthy chocolate notes. Better yet, it clocks in at 4.6% ABV, making it an extremely sessionable winter warmer.