Month: February 2023

I don’t know if you’ve heard but Rihanna is doing the Super Bowl Halftime Show. Seems like kind of a big deal, but I’m not sure. Anyway, today, Apple Music held a pre-game interview with the long-absent star, where journalist Nadeska Alexis asked her all about the upcoming performance, doing her best to get Rihanna to give away some spoilers.

And while there weren’t many — Rihanna did say the show is jam-packed and was also exhausting — Rihanna did reveal some interesting details about the preparations for the show. For instance, she says that she and her time have changed the setlist 39 times, which, considering her extensive catalog and all the hits she has to choose from and cram into a 13-minute set, is understandable.

So, here’s the thing: I was joking earlier when I said “it seems like kind of a big deal.” It really, really is. Here’s why: Rihanna hasn’t performed live since the tour for her 2016 album Anti. So, that’s about six years between performances. Needless to say, people are really excited about her music return after she took several years off to start a beauty company, start a lingerie line (that recently expanded into sportswear), and have a baby with ASAP Rocky.

But more than that, her return could presage a full run of new Rihanna content, including an album and a tour. And although Rihanna herself denies that either is in the works just because she’s performing at the Super Bowl, that isn’t stopping fans from holding out hope that 2023 becomes the year of Rihanna.

You can watch the Rihanna Super Bowl interview from YouTube above.

Pete Davidson’s BDE is a boon to his ever-evolving romantic entanglements, and apparently good for business, too. As CNN Business reports, Taco Bell’s attempt to make breakfast a thing for the brand has been a huge success — thanks largely to the former SNL star.

In October, the quasi-Mexican fast-food chain hired Davidson to promote the fact that, yes, Taco Bell serves breakfast, too. And it’s just the kind of greasy, cheese-filled slop that a stoner comedian can really sell the masses on. During a Wednesday earnings call for Yum Brands, Taco Bell’s parent company, it was announced that breakfast sales jumped an impressive nine percent in the fourth quarter of 2022 — clearly a direct response to Davidson’s spots. This helped the brand’s sales grow 14 percent last year.

Davidson’s role in the campaign was to “apologize” to Taco Bell customers for the chain’s tendency to overthink its early-morning offerings, which is a message that came directly from the company.

“We honestly over-innovated in breakfast,” Taco Bell’s chief brand officer, Sean Tresvant, told CNN in 2022. “When you look at today’s consumer and the [fast-food] breakfast business, it’s about familiarity and it’s about comfort.”

Yum Brands CEO David Gibbs seems excited about sticking with this simple breakfast menu and message for Taco Bell, and says that they’re making “encouraging progress” with this segment of the business. Whereas previously breakfast made up only six percent of Taco Bell’s total sales, the morning meal is responsible for 25 percent of McDonald’s earnings in a given year.

Now if only Taco Bell could make a commercial explaining Davidson’s appeal to women.

(Via CNN Business)

Matisse Thybulle’s name has popped up in trade rumors in the lead-up to Thursday’s trade deadline. With a little more than two hours to go before 3 p.m., we finally learned that the former University of Washington standout is returning to the Pacific Northwest, as the Philadelphia 76ers agreed to a deal to send him to the Portland Trail Blazers.

The Charlotte Hornets will reportedly be pulled into the deal, as Philly will acquire the services of Jalen McDaniels. Svi Mykhailiuk, meanwhile, is on his way with North Carolina.

There are also picks on the move in the trade.

Thybulle’s abilities on the defensive end of the floor have led to him getting playing time during his career in the NBA, but he’s been limited on offense, which has restricted the amount of run he’s gotten. This year, Thybulle has averaged a career-low 2.7 points in 12.1 minutes per game while hitting 33.3 percent of his threes. He’s the second move the Blazers have made at the deadline, as the team acquired Cam Reddish and a pick from the New York Knicks for Josh Hart on Wednesday.

McDaniels has taken a step forward as a scorer during his fourth year in the league, all of which have come as a member of the Hornets. McDaniels has started 21 of the 56 games in which he’s appeared, averaging 10.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.2 steals in 26.7 minutes a night.

Chelsea Handler likes a man who knows what he wants. Especially if what he wants is to tell shady congressman/possible con man George Santos that he’s an “ass.” Which is why she is publicly declaring her sexual attraction to Mitt Romney.

On Wednesday night, The Daily Show guest host shared some of her favorite moments from Joe Biden’s State of the Union address, which has turned out to be this week’s version of must-see TV. Of course, the comedian had a LOT to say about Marjorie Taylor Greene’s tacky white fur coat, which — like its unfortunate owner — refused to be ignored. But for Handler, the real surprise of the night came before Biden had even uttered a word. When, in the moments before the speech began, Mormon Mitt brought what Handler described as a “bit of a UFC/junior high cafeteria vibe” to the proceedings by approaching the freshman congressman/serial fabulist and allegedly telling him that “You ought to be embarrassed, son” and “You’re an ass.” Handler couldn’t help but think it was kind of hot:

I would like to go on the record tonight and say that I’m sexually attracted to Mitt Romney. It’s not the first time, and it won’t be the last time. I don’t even care that he’s a Republican or a Mormon. In fact, since he’s a Mormon, he’ll be open to another wife. And if not, he’s a Republican, so he’ll be open to having an affair. Problem solved.

While Handler allowed that Romney’s rebuke was rather PG-rated, she correctly equivalated that “You ought to be embarrassed, son” is “the Mormon equivalent of ‘Suck my f***ing dick, you p***y a** b*tch.’”

You can watch the full segment above, beginning around the 1:40 mark.

Ben Affleck’s Grumpy Grammy Face was the biggest non-music-related moment of the evening. He looked truly “miserable,” as people observed, and this reminded everyone of his expressions as captured by the paparazzi. This is likely due to his resting face, no doubt (it happens to the best and worst of us), and Affleck has made clear that he’s aware of those Sad Batman memes and people chuckling at his sad faces while he fetches the Dunkin’ coffee bounty that actually makes him happy.

In response to Ben’s apparent sadness in front of the Grammy’s audience, lip readers speculated aplenty while claiming that JLo — in regard to an apparent exchange of tense words on camera — was telling Ben to perk up. A source also claimed that Ben was simply exhausted and out of his element as a homebody who doesn’t really dig events. However, a more telling account has gone down, courtesy of a Grammys Seat Filler, who (via Buzzfeed News & The Daily Beast) took to TikTok with her story.

Using her @AlmostAnna handle, the TikToker reported that JLo actually showed Ben the live memes of his pained expression, which did not help the situation. “J.Lo showed Ben Affleck the phone and was like ‘Oh my god honey look at this meme circulating about you,’” Anna revealed. “[Ben] was like, ‘Oh god this again.’”

If Anna’s claims are true, then Ben’s live response to the memes only made him look grumpier, which amplified the memes, and this is Peak Internet stuff. Oh boy. I won’t tell Ben to cheer up, but I’m glad that he’s got a sense of humor about everything.

(Via Buzzfeed News & The Daily Beast)

Ahead of the release of the Fast X trailer, Empire published an interview with the film’s director, Louis Leterrier, who replaced Justin Lin after The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift filmmaker stepped down less than a week after shooting began.

“I’m more practical than other directors, and I brought it back to earth,” Leterrier said. “We went for real stunts, which we’re enhancing with visual effects. We shot in LA, London, Rio, Portugal. We blew up Hummers flying around Rome. There’ll be some iconic imagery in this one. You will see: as long as Dom Toretto is behind the wheel of a car, there’s nothing he cannot do.” Words to live by, right there.

Leterrier also teased Jason Momoa’s “very sadistic and androgynous” villain character, Dante. “[He’s] 1,000 percent Momoa,” he said, as if Momoa could be anything less than 1,000 percent himself. He even rides a motorcycle.

“When you have fought so hard to keep your faith and protect your family, and literally change the world, which is the case of Dom Toretto, there is a price to pay,” the director warned. “[Dom’s] enemies are coming after him.” Well, maybe not ALL of his enemies.

Fast X opens on May 19. The trailer comes out tomorrow, Friday, the 10th.

Jessie Ware’s critically acclaimed fourth studio album What’s Your Pleasure? was a major release of 2020, and she later gave it its own deluxe edition. Now the singer is ready to follow it up; today, she announced her new LP That! Feels Good! arriving this spring, and the luxurious lead single “Pearls” is out now.

Ware describes it as a track inspired by divas. She said of the catchy and glamorous song in a statement:

“‘Pearls’ is a record that doesn’t take itself too seriously but demands you to have a dance. It’s inspired by divas like Donna Summer, Evelyn Champagne King, Teena Marie and Chaka Khan and I guess attempts to show — in lightness — all the hats I try to wear (usually at the same time). It’s the second song you will hear from my collaboration with Stuart Price and Coffee — with the wonderful addition of Sarah Hudson — and hopefully gives you a taste of the fun we have working together.”

She continued, “That! Feels Good! stems from over 10 years of understanding who I am, and who I enjoy being as an artist and the thrill of performance.”

Listen to “Pearls” above.

That! Feels Good! is out 4/28. Pre-order it here.

You languished practically unnoticed on Lifetime throughout its first season run, and few would have suspected that this dark little show would ever be binged by the masses. However, the first season streamed on Netflix over a holiday season, and the rest was Stalker Joe history with Netflix grabbing the reins and greenlighting more mayhem. For three seasons, the show retained momentum, given its soap operatic treatment of Joe killing (mostly) insufferable people who got in the way of him growing close to his real targets. You turned out to be a dangerously addictive series, full of absurdist humor when Joe’s taste for bad behavior went off the rails.

A favorite moment of mine happens to be the below Season 1 moment, which shows the fallout after Joe killed Peach Salinger (Guinevere Beck’s good friend). In addition to being an obstacle, Peach committed the grave offense of being related to J.D. and still not really giving a sh*t about first-edition books. Joe only disguised himself with a baseball cap, and no one even noticed him committing a Central Park murder in broad daylight. (There are a lot of layers there!) The kicker: Joe’s face in this scene as he sprinted away from her lifeless body while his inner monologue went wild.

Little gems like this quickly boosted You into an ultimate guilty pleasure, emphasis on the “guilty.” Here’s the thing: we’re not supposed to enjoy watching Joe stalk his love interests. The full effect is that one should fully realize how unsettling it is to watch a stalker pleasure himself on the street while staring into his obsession’s apartment. Still, this show is as much of a trainwreck-bingewatch as, say, Pam & Tommy, which managed to entertain despite involving a world of hurt caused by the theft and sale of a private home video. Likewise, You was genuinely funny, and it dragged Joe hard rather than (as some might interpret without watching) glorifying him.

Also, feelings are weird. When You took off, part of the audience became obsessive, too. Even Penn Badgley was freaked out about people tweeting that he’s their Daddy and that, as Joe, his sexiness reached a “whole new level.” That was messed up, but I got into the appeal of the show itself. You never forgave Joe, even as he got away with murder after murder. Yet as Season 3 closed, I remembered that I’ve unscientifically witnessed how Seasons 3-4 can be the make-or-break time for a show’s central conceit. Sadly, You does not gracefully nail the transition into Season 4.

There’s more, though. I was alternatively prepared for Season 4 to be, you know, too much, and I’m about to hint at real talk but only because it’s relevant to why I’m so surprised that this season didn’t meet the bar of the others. [Deep breath] Let’s just say that a lot of women have experienced at least part of what Beck went through in Season 1, and man, it is not a real-life guilty pleasure. Yet still, the first three seasons of this show worked because this is not a show about Joe, per se, but about how easy it is for anyone to be able to stalk others in the Internet age. In fact, this show is somewhat educational in that regard. Paranoia-inducing as well? Perhaps, but deservedly so.

You more than achieved its goals, and the show lit society’s collective obsessive tendencies on fire in a satisfying way. As well, it’s actually a testament to You‘s sleight of hand that it’s been so entertaining despite carting along a ton of triggers. Leading up to Season 4, I imagined that the show could go bigger and better, as one does. Joe could be a lone wolf again, and up the ante with his revolting and disturbing behavior laced with pitch-black humor. As it turns out, any worry about being triggered was for naught, and I’d have preferred the triggers compared to what actually materialized.

There’s a monster in Season 4, oh yes, but unfortunately, his name is Ennui.

The gimmick this season is that the “tables turn” on Joe. Sure, he’s still got some targets, including the one that got away, Marianne (Tati Gabrielle), and there’s something about his mysterious neighbor, Kate (Charlotte Ritchie). He’s now a London-based “professor” named Jonathan Moore, who is surrounded by a crop of wealthy a-holes (one played by Lukas Gage) linked to the university crowd for some reason. Joe soon learns that someone knows who he really is, and they’re stalking him. It’s supposed to feel fresh and novel, but the thing is, this show has kind-of gone there already with Love. When she showed up in Season 2, Joe figured her as a mark, but she proved to be equally as capable of homicide and raging jealousy (even more so, since she wasn’t as methodical about bloodshed) as Joe.

Joe ended up killing Love in the Season 3 finale and saving himself. Now, there’s really not much left for him to accomplish other than existing and flying under the radar. He’s yearning for Marianne but listless with no outlet, and the show suffers for it. And I’m actually flummoxed at how You has hit a wall. Joe went from being Grade A, smarty-pants-who-does-idiot-things stalker to finding “Love” literally turn on him. He also endured suburban hell with a Mr. And Ms. Smith vibe, and that worked. Yet Joe in the wind is, strangely, not fun. He’s essentially a sentient bearded lump.

It’s a nice beard, mind you, but that’s the sole highlight of this season.

The show thusly falls into a languid sense of treading water while stretching out like the longest serial novel that one could imagine but as a binge. And tellingly, binging was not how much 19th-century British literature, which litters this season, was intended. Nope, those puppies arrived chapter by chapter. People awaited developments, but with the first half of You Season 4, we receive a glob of episodes that basically stares at Joe facing the greatest antagonist that he’s ever known: boredom. There’s apparently no way to make that exciting. Further, Joe gleans little insight from the experience of being stalked, which would at least make a point. Nor does he do much about the situation.

Joe Goldberg is now a caged animal whose stripes now seem less vivid behind bars. There’s nothing else to his personality but his bad acts, and there’s no more joy to be found here, like when we could watch him getting stuck in a shower after a woman came home too early. It’s sad, really, because the best part of this show was watching Joe Goldberg sh*t his pants. Penn Badgley is adept at going from controlled to panicked in the blink of an eye, but now, there’s no chance for him to do so. He can’t do much about his stalker because, hey, he’s not really Jonathan Moore and can’t raise authorities’ flags. So he waits. And we watch him wait. And You turns into a completely different show.

(This brings me to a diversion while thinking about shows that do successfully achieve longevity: for all the criticism lobbed at The Walking Dead franchise, it has generally kept its conceits, gimmicks, and momentum going in a convincing way. We can talk about that more when those spinoffs arrive, so I’ll drop the subject for now.)

Back to You: I’m gonna level with you here. You‘s fourth season contains 10 episodes. Five arrive this week. I’ve watched 8 so far, and unless something drastically changes in those final two rounds, I will remain bummed out by this season. Even that luscious beard can’t save Season 4, although it does remind me of John Stamos’ Dr. Nicky. You are missed, my dude.

Netfilx’s ‘You’ starts streaming Season 4 on February 9.

In Rian Johnson’s new crime show, Poker Face, Natasha Lyonne plays Charlie, a Columbo-type who possesses the unique ability to tell when everyone is lying. Using her skills and signature raspy voice that makes everyone want to talk to her, Charlie solves weekly crimes and is often visited by fun guest stars. The series is a fun departure from the binge-it-all-at-once model that has become much too common as of late. And now, the show has its own prime-time ad just in time for the big game.

For her snazzy Super Bowl ad, Charlie is seen being asked about various ads and their lies: the friends from the beer commercials aren’t really friends, and, worst of all, the M&M spokescandies being fired was all an elaborate hoax. Who could have possibly thought that?!

But then the ad gets a little meta and shows a commercial for Poker Face, to the star of Poker Face. Don’t you just love Super Bowl ad season? Anything is possible!

Of course, Charlie insists that everyone should watch the show because that’s quite literally the purpose of the ad, but hopefully, this will mean more viewers and therefore more seasons of Poker Face. It’s not like Rian Johnson is busy right now, anyway.

Poker Face airs Thursdays on Peacock. Check out the Super Bowl spot above.

The Brooklyn Nets have unquestionably been the most active team at the trade deadline, having shipped Kyrie Irving to Dallas and then, stunningly late Wednesday night, sent Kevin Durant to Phoenix.

In that Durant trade, the Nets brought back Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, and Jae Crowder, as they suddenly found themselves with a glut of wings and 14 hours to find trades to balance out the roster and continue restocking their cupboard of draft picks. While Bridges is expected to stay in Brooklyn barring something unforeseen being offered for his services, Crowder was very much on the market and Johnson apparently could be had for the right price.

Three hours before the deadline hit, the Nets found Crowder a new home in Milwaukee, as the Bucks have pursued him for much of the year. The price tag for the veteran forward is a boatload of second round picks — five to be exact — as Milwaukee brings in a player they hope can be a PJ Tucker-like addition at the deadline.

Jordan Nwora and a pair of those second rounders will be routed to Indiana to help facilitate the deal financially.

The Pacers will also acquire Serge Ibaka and George Hill from the Bucks, as it appears Milwaukee is setting up a second move by clearing more roster and cap space.

We haven’t seen Crowder play at all this season, as he was allowed to stay home amid a trade request after being told he’d go from being a starter to the bench behind Johnson. His top-end value will be determined by which Crowder show up from behind the three-point line, as he’s had seasons where he’s been a near-40 percent shooter from deep, but was at just under 35 percent a year ago. Still, he’s a floor spacer and willing shooter, which the Bucks need, as well as a strong wing defender, allowing Mike Budenholzer to have some more lineup flexibility and not be quite as reliant on the likes of Grayson Allen for big minutes come playoff time.