Month: February 2023

You Season 4 hasn’t been universally loved by fans, and that includes myself, since Joe Goldberg and the show have been hit by a severe case of ennui. That wasn’t my main criticism of this season, but that lack of fire does extend to a corresponding lack of super fiery intimate scenes for Penn Badgley’s character. There is a lewd scene (that’s going viral) starring Lukas Gage’s character, but again, Joe keeps things pretty tame.

As Badgley revealed on his Podcrushed podcast, this was a fully intentional move. As relayed by the New York Post, Badgley was frank about the subject: “I asked Sera Gamble, [the] creator, ‘Can I just do no more intimacy scenes?” Penn also added that this has been a subject on his mind since the beginning of You, although certainly it was hard to avoid not getting busy at all when Joe’s very nature revolves around his fatal obsession with women (and the people who get in his way of being with said women).

“This was actually a decision I had made before I took the show,” Penn admitted. “I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned it publicly, but one of the main things is, ‘Do I want to put myself back on a career path where I’m always [the] romantic lead?’” Penn then related how doing sexy-time scenes made him feel uncomfortable, given that he’s married to Domino Kirke, and it sounds like he doesn’t want to compartmentalize in that way. This is fine and all good, apparently, with the makers of You.

There’s likely also the added edge of Penn being reminded that the Internet lusts after his character, even after he pointed out that being a killer isn’t sexy. All one has to do is visit Twitter to confirm how people aren’t done with that vibe yet. Penn Badgley, on the other hand, is more than happy to not take it off on TV anymore.

(Via Page Six & Podcrushed)

Matisse Thybulle was one of the players who got a change of scenery at the NBA trade deadline. Thybulle, who the Philadelphia 76ers selected with the No. 20 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, got sent to the Portland Trail Blazers as part of a three-team transaction that included the Charlotte Hornets.

This will mark the first time that Thybulle will play for a team other than the Sixers, and on his way out of town, he found a unique way to say goodbye to the city. There’s a mural of Thybulle outside of the bar Garage Fishtown, and the artistically-inclined forward decided to go grab a can of spray paint, make his way over to the bar, and spray paint a goodbye message to the City of Brotherly Love, which he posted to his Instagram account.

“It’s such a sweet comment, and the response has been pretty loving towards Matisse,” said Jason Evenchik, the owner of the bar, per Nick Vadala of the Philadelphia Inquirer. “It was a nice little goodbye.”

The mural was painted back in 2021 as part of a partnership that the Sixers have with Red Bull. While Thybulle is on his way to Portland, Philly managed to acquired Jalen McDaniels as part of the trade.

Super Bowl Sunday is fast approaching, so you’re probably getting into daily arguments with whomever you’re planning your party with over where to pick up the pizzas. Sure, you could go deal hunting and just buy whatever gets you the most amount of food for the least amount of money, but if you truly love food, the obsessive way that we love food, you’re probably a less concerned with the money and a lot more concerned with the flavor.

Yes, pizza is hard to f*ck up, even the worst slices are often delicious (it is melted cheese over bread after all) but great pizza is a whole other thing. Why just eat… pizza, when you can find a slice that makes you savor every bite relatively easily. You know, the sort of pizza that stops you in your tracks and leaves you musing on its various elements — “this sauce is soooo bright” “I love the crispy edges of this pepperoni!” “my god in heaven, can you believe this crust?!”

I don’t know about you, but that’s the kind of pizza I want to eat. But who makes the best pizza?

Well, if you live in a big city there’s probably a local spot or two that absolutely dunks on all the big brands, but for the sake of universality, we decided to find out by grabbing a pepperoni pie from the three most popular national pizza chains: Pizza Hut, Domino’s, and Papa Johns, and putting them to the blind taste test against our two favorite frozen pies — Screaming Sicilian’s Holy Pepperoni (which won our Frozen Pizza ranking), and Digiorno Crispy Pan Pizza, a frozen pie that my editor swears by. Like our recent burger and chicken sandwich blind taste test, I took this process incredibly seriously so let’s talk methodology before we talk pies:

PART I — Methodology

I push back against my editor about blind fast food taste tests a lot because I feel like for the food to have a fair chance, it needs to be hot. Even pizza. I’m aware that there are people who love a slice of cold pizza but I’m of the belief that pizza tastes best when it’s still hot enough to scald the roof of your mouth. With food that is famous for being deliverable, you’d think that would be easy, and yet… it wasn’t. I logged on to each respective pizza chain’s website and attempted to place an order for a hand-tossed medium pepperoni pizza from each but got wildly different estimated delivery times.

That wasn’t going to fly for me, so I decided to order carry out which gave me an estimated time of 9-19 minutes at each chain, and considering all three pizza places were located within blocks of one another on the same street, I could send my girlfriend to round them all up faster than any of the chains could deliver to me. Problem solved. ‘

And then came the frozen dilemma. The Screaming Sicilian pizza requires an oven temperature of 425 degrees, and a cook time of 17-19 mins but the Diogiorno needed to be cooked for 20-22 mins at 400 degrees. To be fair to each pizza, I couldn’t cook them in the same oven, so I knocked on my neighbor’s door, and explained to them the situation (twice — they didn’t really understand but stopped asking questions once I offered them a bunch of free pizza and a shout out in an article).

RELATED: Shout out to Liz!!

Less than 30 minutes later, all the fast food pizzas arrived and the frozen pizzas finished cooking, so I had each slice served to me under cover of a blindfold and took a bite or two (or three, or four, or just finished the slice) of all five pizzas. Here were the results!

PART II — The Tasting

Taste 1:

It’s a frozen pizza. I know this because of the way the crust is like a cracker. It doesn’t have that spongey doughy quality that a fresh pie has, there is an airiness and sort of hollow quality to it. Each ingredient feels like a separate component, the sauce has a good amount of brightness, with a simple tomato-forward flavor, the cheese has an interesting blend of salty and creamy flavors, but the real star of this slice is the pepperoni. It’s thick, savory, and slightly spicey with a pepper-forward flavor that lingers on the palate.

Unfortunately, as good as these flavors are on their own, they just don’t come together harmoniously. It tastes like it was made by a machine.

Taste 2:

Very interesting. There is a salty garlic flavor to this slice, it’s a bit overpowering but not to the point of being unenjoyable. The sauce is herb-heavy and robust, I’m tasting oregano and some dried basil hovering over rich tomato flavors. The cheese is surprisingly creamy, and the mix of a crispy exterior and chewy innard of the crust makes the mouthfeel of this pizza excellent.

The pepperoni is a bit thin and lifeless in flavor, but everything else about this slice just works.

Taste 3:

This slice has a lot of what made Taste 2 good without that garlic salt flavor. The crust is foldable and has a delicious gummy texture to it with a slightly sweet taste that plays well with the sauce. The sauce here is brighter than Taste 2, less herbal but also less distracting. I like a simple pizza sauce, and this pie has that going for it. The pepperoni also tastes better to me, it’s zesty with a strong pepper-forward bite more akin to Taste 1 and has a thinner cut, making it crisp up on the edges and providing a little crunch in the mouthfeel.

The cheese isn’t quite as creamy as Taste 2, it has a saltier aftertaste to it and isn’t quite as melty, it’s a bit more solid but that might be time working against it. Overall, this pizza manages to be thin without turning into a crispy cracker. So far it’s the winner for me by a mile.

Taste 4:

Ew, there is a middle-school lunch vibe to this pizza. Everything about it tastes so loud and obnoxious, the sauce is way too bright and distracting, it’s almost ketchup-esque. The cheese is good but it’s spread a bit too thin, the pepperoni is crispy and zesty but the crust is bland. I was starting to wonder if somehow my tastebuds had become exhausted so I took a few sips of water and nope, this pizza just doesn’t have anything going for it really.

It comes across as tasting incredibly cheap. The only thing that makes it better than Taste 1 is the sponginess of the dough.

Taste 5:

This one was a bit of a surprise. It was incredibly greasy to the touch, almost wet, but when I bit into it I instantly fell in love with the big fluffy crust. It has a great chew to it, but the toppings just aren’t really working for me. The flavor of the cheese isn’t present enough, the pepperoni has a meaty texture but lacks that peppery zest of the other slices, and the sauce is fairly standard stuff, bright and a bit herbal, but nothing really outstanding.

Part 2: The Ranking

5. Screamin’ Sicilian — Holy Pepperoni! (Taste 1)

This won our frozen pizza ranking so it might surprise you to see it ranked at the bottom of the list but it doesn’t really surprise me. It’s frozen pizza, one of the best your money can buy, sure, but frozen pizza nonetheless. You can source the best ingredients in the world, but at the end of the day, once you freeze them they lose a certain amount of life and flavor. Screamin’ Sicilian is fine on those days you have a hangover and can’t be bothered to look at a screen and order a pizza, or answer the door and tip a delivery driver, but on Super Bowl Sunday?

If you show up with Screamin’ Sicilian you’re going to be kicked out of the party.

The Bottom Line:

One of the best-tasting frozen pizzas, but still… a frozen pizza.

Find your nearest Screamin’ Sicilian here.

4. Pizza Hut — Handtossed Pepperoni (Taste 4)

As far as I’m concerned, Pizza Hut might as well be frozen pizza. It’s only saved by the crust — which tastes a heck of a lot better than the weird dry cracker-crust texture of frozen pizza. For that reason alone, it isn’t at the bottom of this list but still, Pizza Hut seriously needs some work.

The worst part about this pizza was the sauce, it was so cheap and sweet that it reminded me of ketchup. Pizza sauce shouldn’t taste like ketchup. Ever. EVER.

The Bottom Line:

The dough is spongey and chewy in the best way, that’s about all this pizza has going for it.

Find your nearest Pizza Hut here.

3. DiGiorno — Crispy Pan Pizza (Taste 5)

I’m shocked that this was frozen pizza. The crust had this nice chew and gumminess to it that frankly blew me away. I don’t know what sort of alchemy DiGiorno has done to this pie to make it taste so fresh, but it’s working!

Unfortunately, the toppings are what hold this one back from truly being great. Now if you want to top it with your own layer of cheese and some more meats, you’re going to end up with a great pizza and this thing is small enough that you can probably fit about four in an oven at a single time, so it’s perfect for Super Bowl Sunday.

Unfortunately, that’s not how we tasted this pizza. So as it stands, it’s getting the bronze medal.

The Bottom Line:

A surprisingly fresh-tasting frozen pizza. Easily the best crust of any frozen pizza ever.

Find your nearest DiGiorno Crispy Pan Pizza here.

2. Domino’s — Hand-Tossed Pepperoni (Taste 2)

Domino’s came very close to snagging the first-place spot but I’m just not a fan of that garlic-salt crust. Why does Domino’s do that? Seriously, this pizza is full of salty-ass ingredients already: sauce, pepperoni, cheese, why did they feel the need to add more to the crust? I just don’t get it.

This pizza has a lot of flavor, everything single topping is pulling its weight and combining to something greater than the sum of its parts, and then the crust comes in and makes the whole thing taste like a sodium bomb.

The Bottom Line:

So close to being a perfect fast food pizza, but that single garlic-crust ingredient held it back for me. Maybe you’ll like that, but I think it throws the balance of flavors off.

Find your nearest Domino’s here.

1. Papa John’s — Hand Tossed Pepperoni (Taste 1)

Remember when I said the best pizza you can find is probably from a local joint? Well, Papa John’s comes the closest to tasting like a corner pizzeria. This pizza just tastes like a freshly baked pie should, the shape is slightly imperfect, the toppings are thrown on haphazardly, the dough has a great chew and a slightly sweet aftertaste, the cheese has a great balance of creamy and salty qualities, it almost tastes, dare I say, homemade and wood fired.

During the tasting, this one stood out as the best and none of the subsequent slices ever took its place. Of the five, this is the only one I had the desire to go back to for more.

The Bottom Line:

This Super Bowl Sunday, if you’re bringing pizza to the party, our vote is for Papa John’s.

Find your nearest Papa John’s here.

Rihanna may have changed her setlist for Super Bowl LVII’s halftime performance 39 times but Coldplay’s Chris Martin has no doubt she her performance no matter what songs she performs. Today (February 10) during an interview with Apple Music 1, Martin shared his thoughts on the “Lift Me Up” singer’s pending set.

In conversation with host Zane Lowe, Martin sang the Barbados native’s praises, saying, “I don’t know Rihanna very well. I’m mainly just a fan, and we have performed with her a few times, and you’re right, it is rarer and rarer for her to just sing, which is what makes it even more special, and in a strange way, it shows that she really, really wants to do it. No one can make Rihanna do anything at this point.”

The performance will mark Rihanna’s first show in seven years. But Martin isn’t concerned saying, “You have to be an idiot not to recognize that she’s the best singer of all time.”

Martin has collaborated with the singer in the past and isn’t denying his professional bias, telling Lowe, “I’m very biased because I’m such a big Rihanna fan. I mean, I think she could just walk out in sweatpants and sing, and that would be just great.”

Given that Martin has already performed at the Super Bowl, back in 2016 bringing out Beyoncé and Bruno Mars, his opinion might hold some weight. Just seems ironic, that Rihanna is returning to music while Coldplay is planning their retirement in 2025.

Bruno Mars is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Just days after shooting down a Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina, the Biden Administration has confirmed that another “high-altitude object” was shot down over Alaska on Friday. Little is known about the object’s origins, but it is reportedly smaller than the spy balloon and was reportedly destroyed out of an “abundance of caution” because it posed a potential threat to civilian aircraft. Like the spy balloon, it was taken out while still over water to minimize a risk of property damage or injury.

National Security Council coordinator John Kirby provided the White House Press Corps with details. Via CNN:

“We’re calling this an object because that’s the best description we have right now. We don’t know who owns it – whether it’s state-owned or corporate-owned or privately owned, we just don’t know,” Kirby said.

He added: “We don’t have any information that would confirm a stated purpose for this object. We do expect to be able to recover the debris since it fell not only within our territorial space, but on what we what believe is frozen water. So a recovery effort will be made and we’re hopeful that it will be successful and then we can learn a little bit more about it.”

Kirby also revealed that the object was roughly the size of a small car and President Biden was “absolutely” involved in the decision to shoot it down. However, despite Biden acting quickly this time around, Fox News somehow found a way to make this development a negative for the president even though he did exactly what conservatives criticized for not doing with the Chinese spy balloon.

The Fox News reporter who tried to spin the incident was quickly roasted on Twitter:

(Via CNN)

Three is the magic number, but it looks like Nas isn’t keeping his King’s Disease album series to a trilogy. At least, not if you believe 50 Cent, who says he’s working with his fellow Queens native and former G-Unit rival on the next installment of the series. As noted by Okayplayer, 50 told Billboard in his new cover story, that he’s slated to feature on King’s Disease IV, although there’s not that much detail included.

In the 2000s, to say that 50 and Nas didn’t quite get along would be an understatement. Although Nas had helped 50 early in his career, their relationship soured as 50 became more popular. 50 told MTV, “Nas was the first person to do something for nothing for me. He allowed me to go on his promo tour [for Nastradamus in 1999]. He said, ‘The way you came out with that record [‘How to Rob’], it felt like when I came out [with ‘Illmatic’].” Given how much he makes on tour now, he probably appreciates it.

When Nas called out 50 and G-Unit onstage in 2004, deploring their commitment to violent, stereotypical imagery (something Nas had been guilty of himself, although he later refocused on promoting a more positive aesthetic), 50 found a way to get back at him. On his 2005 Ja Rule diss “Piggybank,” 50 mocked Nas for getting a tattoo of Kelis, whom he had just married. “Kelis said her milkshake bring all the boys to the yard
/ Then Nas went and tattooed the bitch on his arm,” he rapped.

This led to a short feud between the two that only produced a handful of diss records before they squashed things at Summer Jam 2014. They haven’t collaborated yet, but fans will undoubtedly be excited to hear them do so on King’s Disease IV whenever it arrives.

Marc Lasry, one of the co-owners of the Milwaukee Bucks, is reportedly looking to sell his stake in the team. According to The Athletic, Jimmy Haslam and Haslam Sports Group are in talks to take him up on that offer, which would lead to Haslam joining forces with Wes Edens.

Per Eric Nehm, Shams Charania, and Sam Amick, Lasry “has spent recent weeks contemplating the decision to potentially sell his Bucks stake to Haslam Sports Group.” This would not mark Haslam’s first foray into sports ownership, as he and his wife, Dee, are owners of the Cleveland Browns, while the two are part of the ownership group of the Columbus Crew.

Via The Athletic:

Sources who were granted anonymity so that they could speak freely tell The Athletic this process with Haslam began after Lasry considered selling his stake in the Bucks to American businessman Mat Ishbia before Ishbia bought controlling interest of the Phoenix Suns. Haslam entered the conversation after Ishbia moved on to the Suns and joined Edens courtside for the Bucks’ 123-114 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Dec. 30, 2022.

Lasry and Edens, the latter of whom would keep his ownership stake in the team if the deal went through, purchased the Bucks from Herb Kohl in 2014. In the years since they took over the team, Milwaukee has turned into one of the most successful franchises in basketball, as the team has made the postseason in seven of their eight years at the helm. In 2021, the Bucks won the second NBA championship in franchise history and their first in 50 years.

Who is in it for the right reasons? Will someone’s head turn? Is Tom capable of answering any direct question with anything other than, “I don’t know?” Wait, what is this season’s euphemism for getting, um, handsy? These are all questions that arise when tuning into ‘Love Island UK‘ Season 9. Follow along here as Uproxx (hopefully) answers your questions about the 2023 winter season and decides which couples we think are strong enough to last to the finale.

(WARNING: Spoilers for up to episode 25 of Love Island UK season nine will be found below.)

Thursday night’s episode (February 9) kicked off with a recoupling, and that decision was up to the boys. Newcomer Jordan seemingly took Shaq’s advice and chose to couple up with Ellie, sending OG member Tanyel packing in a teary-eyed send-off. Surprisingly, Jordan’s decision wasn’t the most shocking moment of the night. Later on, Kai admitted there were some boys in the villa who had never cooked a full meal in their lives. I mean, come on. We’re talking about adult men in their mid-20s here. The real drama from Episode 25, though, came in the form of a rift between the OG boys Shaq and Ron, which will likely drag out for at least another episode.

Tanyel’s departure squashed any lingering potential of Ron and Tanyel ending up in a romantic couple together — a possibility the producers (and fellow islanders) had been hinting at — but also gave Lana a chance to finally get to share a bed with Ron for the first time since week one. The recoupling ultimately means there are some new couples in the running, so it’s time for us to put our matchmaking skills to the test and rank this week’s couples from least to most compatible. — Carolyn Droke

Moving Mad: Bottom Tier

7. Ellie and Jordan

Ellie and Jordan are placed at the bottom of the scale in terms of compatibility. I would rank them higher based on the few on-screen conversations aired, but any spark detected was diffused when Jordan essentially friend-zoned Ellie during his recoupling speech. Bold move there — and not too sure what his aim was, but Ellie made it clear she’ll be taking a step back after that comment. — Carolyn Droke

6. Olivia and Kai

Olivia and Kai have both had interesting journeys to where they are currently in season nine of Love Island UK. Kai has found himself in couples with Olivia (for a mere 2 minutes), Tanyel, and Samie. The latter two proved to be unsuccessful, and soon enough, Kai completed his journey around the block and found his way back to Olivia. She was previously unsuccessful in finding a match with Will, Tom, Haris, Tom, Spencer, and Tom. The two claim that they’re the one for each other, but it’s not so convincing on camera. It’s good that they’ve both found someone, but winning this season of Love Island? Eh. Additionally, Olivia continually finds minor issues with the girls and amplifies them to insane proportions as we’ve already seen with Zara (we miss you), Tanyel (we also miss you), and Samie. All in all, we’re not sold on this pairing just yet. — Wongo Okon

5. Lana and Ron

Lana and Ron have been on the rocks for the past few weeks. Between Ron briefly hitting on Ellie and Samie and Lana choosing to partner up with Casey only to both run right back into each other’s arms, watching the rollercoaster of these two has been tiresome. While their relationship seems to have settled down, save for Ron’s lack of dishwashing pissing off the other men, Casa Amor is right around the corner. Time will tell if a head-turning dude can change his ways. — Lexi Lane

On Job: Mid-Tier

4. Samie and Tom

I’ve got to give it to Tom. Being in a couple with Samie has improved his stock a bit. After his fallout with our beloved Zara, I saw no potential for Tom to finish within the top three – especially when it seemed like he was going to enter a couple with Olivia. Others may feel different, but hey you can’t blame us, his player ways with Zara and Ellie led to that conclusion. Nonetheless, Tom and Samie are a nice pairing who seem to complement each other pretty well. Contrary to Tom’s shaky time on the show, Samie seems like a really sweet girl. If Tom doesn’t let his head wander too much, there’s a chance the two could move up in our rankings. It’s still early for them, as it appears that they’ve only been together for a week or so, but the future is promising. — Wongo Okon

3. Claudia and Casey

I’m a big fan of this couple. Casey deserved to find a connection after being brutally friend-zoned by Lana — and it’s undeniable these two have chemistry. Claudia is upfront about the fact she’s looking for something long-term and Casey seems like the kind of guy to be a committed partner. Plus, Casey can’t pronounce “culinary” and Claudia can’t pronounce “Tulum,” so they’re clearly made for each other. However, judging from the way Claudia was off-put when Casey asked the likelihood of her head being turned (dude, it’s been one day), I think Claudia would, at the moment, entertain the idea of getting to know somebody else. But that doesn’t mean these two aren’t totally compatible. — Carolyn Droke

All Eggs In One Basket: Top Tier

2. Tanya and Shaq

Tanya and Shaq have great potential to win the show, they’ve been together since day one, but they need to stay out of the other islanders’ businesses. Shaq has repeatedly called Ron out for his treatment of Lana, and though he made some points, it’s grown to be a bit much. You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make them drink it, right? More recently, Shaq and Tanya, with support from Olivia, seemingly convinced Jordan to give up on pursuing Tanyel because things were not moving fast enough in their eyes, despite it just being a couple of days. Though Shaq and Tanya have been the most successful at finding and keeping love, they are not the ministers of romance. It’s best that they kick back and watch the drama unfold before someone else’s mess becomes theirs — something to keep in mind with Casa Amor just around the corner. — Wongo Okon

1. Jessie and Will

Will and Jessie have won over the hearts of literally the entire globe, which also earns them the top spot on our current Love Island couple rankings. The now-beloved sheep farmer was at first off to a tough start, as most of the girls only saw him as their bestie — until Jessie, the Aussie bombshell, showed up in week two (I’ve personally rooted for him from day one). Since then, they’ve earned a date in the hideaway and have made it clear they only have eyes for each other. Plus, if they stay together, it means we get to see even MORE of Will’s cheerful dance moves and a couple that steers clear of drama. Who doesn’t want that? — Lexi Lane

‘Love Island UK’ airs daily on the ITV channel at 9pm GMT/4pm EST/1pm PST.

(Major spoilers for You will obviously be found below.)

It turns out that killing your wife, abandoning your baby, and growing a beard is a pretty surefire way to give a show the quick 4th season refresh it needs. That’s what Joe did at the end of YOU season three, and the fourth season picks up across the pond for a whole new arch of scheming and stalking. But this time, instead of being the one following, Joe is the one with his own shadow stalking him throughout the entire first half of season four.

As Joe attempts to blend in with his new peers as a professor in London, he intertwines himself with a new group of shady characters: there’s Phoebe, the influencer, and her boyfriend Adam, fellow professor Malcolm and his girlfriend Kate, writer Rhys, plus artist couple Simon and Sophie. Of course, as the season progresses, Joe is back in his violent ways, and he is being watched by someone who seems to know all of his (very dark and bloody) secrets and begins to frame him after Malcolm ends up dead.

As more people die, Joe’s new friends rightfully begin to suspect he is not who he seems, and he receives texts from a mysterious stranger. But at the climax of the season, Roald, who suspects Joe is the killer, and Joe are both kidnapped by Rhys, who is (gasp!) the one who was stalking and framing Joe, who also happens to be in love with Kate, Joe’s new interest. These murderous love triangles can be so tricky.

He manages to escape and vows to bring down Rhys, who now plans on running for office, which is probably where the next half of the season will take us. The next five episodes will be released on March 9th, and while it’s not clear if this will be the end of Joe’s story, we will certainly get some more there will certainly be some sort of stalker v. stalker showdown here.

(Via Time)