Don Lemon and most of his fellow CNN hosts don’t get boozy on TV anymore, but that doesn’t prevent all instances of stepping in it. Lemon dropped himself into a well of controversy, which has nothing to do with claims from George Santos, while discussing Republican 2024 presidential candidate Nikki Haley on CNN’s This Morning. Last week, things got heated on the subject of Haley questioning the mental competency of Donald Trump, and then, yeah, something bad happened.
As revealed in the below clip, Lemon declared (although he attempted to couch the remarks as “not according to me”) that Haley “isn’t in her prime,” and he stated as much given her age of 51 years. He continued to unfortunately ramble while adding that women are “considered to be in their prime in 20s and 30s and maybe 40s.” As one might expect, this didn’t go over kindly with Lemon’s co-hosts, Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins. Also, Meghan McCain weighed in on Twitter:
This caused plenty of backlash, of course, from all political ends of the spectrum with the Left expressing disappointment and the Right expressing contempt for apparent hypocrisy from Lemon. The former Don Lemon Tonight host didn’t appear on Monday or Tuesday morning’s edition of his new stomping grounds. Yet as CNN itself reports, Lemon will return to the air on Wednesday, and he’ll participate in “formal training” for why he shouldn’t, you know, say these things. Yikes. Here’s more from CNN with quotes from CEO Chris Licht via a companywide email:
“I sat down with Don and had a frank and meaningful conversation,” Licht wrote in a memo. “He has agreed to participate in formal training, as well as continuing to listen and learn. We take this situation very seriously.”
“It is important to me that CNN balances accountability with … fostering a culture in which people can own, learn and grow from their mistakes,” Licht added. “To that end, Don will return to CNN This Morning on Wednesday.”
As for Lemon, he apologized to his colleagues on Friday. “When I make a mistake, I own it,” Lemon admitted. “And I own this one as well.”
Character Actress Margot Martindale has been busy wrangling cocaine bears and maybe stalking her neighbors, and next up, the actress will concoct an elaborate heist in order to steal nearly 18 million dollars worth of maple syrup. Otherwise known in Canada as just another Tuesday! Just kidding, this is a real show based on a real thing that happened, much like Cocaine Bear and The Watcher. Just think of Martindale as a very hands-on historian.
The Sticky will follow Martindale as Ruth, a quaint Canadian maple syrup farmer whose farm is threatened by Big Maple, also known as the Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers. The half-hour Amazon comedy will be produced by Jamie Lee Curtis and also star real-life Canadian Chris Diamantopoulos, who you might know from Silicon Valley, Arrested Development, or The Office… or as the voice behind the modern-day Mickey Mouse. But it’s probably for one of the other things.
As per the official synopsis:
The Sticky is a half-hour series revolving around Ruth Clarke, a tough, supremely competent middle-aged Canadian maple syrup farmer who’s had it with being hemmed in by the polite, bureaucratic conventions native to her country’s identity. Especially now that that very bureaucracy is threatening to take away everything she loves: Her farm, her comatose husband, and her right to manifest destiny. With the help of Remy Bouchard, a pint-sized local blockhead and an aging and Mike Byrne, a low-level mobster, Ruth changes her fate—and transforms the future of her community with the theft of millions of dollars’ worth of maple syrup.
Filming is expected to begin this summer, but if you need your maple syrup fix before then, you can check out the Netflix documentary about the whole ordeal. But be warned that it does not feature Character Actress Margot Martindale, so it might not be worth it.
If you were presented a mystery list of cities leading the world in innovative transportation, Los Angeles — with its endless traffic and maddeningly minimal light rail service — would probably not come to mind. But would you think of the flourishing desert oasis, Dubai? Home to the world’s tallest skyscraper and vast swaths of engineered coastal real estate, Dubai continues to make its case as one of the most innovative, efficient, and sought-after places to live in the world.
One piece of their dynamic strategy includes becoming a global leader in sustainable urban air mobility transportation. Simply put, they want flying cars. To start, the city plans to implement a fully functioning Air-Taxi system by 2026. Yes, air taxis. Like in The Fifth Element.
His Royal Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum dropped this bombshell on Twitter:
If you ever played Call of Duty, you might be aware of a feisty little vehicle known as a VTOL Jet — the one that hovers around in one place and “helps you out.” The allure of VTOL flight (vertical take-off and landing) is it doesn’t require much space to take off or land, pretty much like a helicopter. But Dubai’s not trying to use powerful, gas-guzzling helicopters, think more of a smart car or a supersized Air-hog.
The city has partnered with Eve and Falcon Aviation systems to introduce a line of 35 all-electric VTOLS to serve as their first green fleet of air taxis.
With a top speed of just under 200mph and a maximum range of 150 miles before needing to recharge, these are the perfect vehicles to taxi people short to medium distances. That’s the idea: For now, the plan is to connect Dubai’s four main hubs, Downtown, The Dubai Marina, Dubai International Airport, and The Palm Jumeirah (the engineered palm tree-shaped coastline). Once implemented, Dubai will be the first city in the world with an interconnected system of Vertiports (obviously this is all theoretical at this point, but Dubai does seem to be in the lead).
The vehicles will be large enough for a pilot and four passengers andwill basically function the same as any taxi or Uber — the only difference being you’re freaking flying. The cost will eventually be the same as an uber, but initially… prices might be a lot higher, as it usually is for new technology. (Remember, flat screens used to cost thousands of dollars.)
WHY AIR-TAXIS?
It’s not just Air-Taxis. Dubai has been working to completely vamp up its cityscape in all aspects from commerce, to infrastructure to governance. This is all outlined in a project known as Smart Dubai where they aspire to lead the world in digital governance, happiness, and sustainability.
For transportation, aside from flying taxis, they plan to build a supersonic transit system connecting Dubai with Abu Dhabi, Sky Pods, and even a 93km indoor, air-conditioned walking track. The bottom line is this: in a bustling, dynamic city, anything that dissuades congestion is a step in the right direction for the world (especially if it’s energy efficient) and that’s where the city seems to be heading. As Dubai keeps innovating, city planners around the world may look to the Emirates Capital as a bastion of modern progress.
Within weeks of his first audition, the musical savant became a viral sensation—wowing judges and audiences alike with his almost supernatural musical abilities.
Though legally blind and diagnosed with autism at an early age, Lee easily masters multiple styles of music and has been blessed with a rare “audio photographic” memory, meaning he can recall music he hears after just one listen, according to his website.
Lee has once again returned to the stage for “AGT: All Stars” with a cover of David Bowie’s “Heroes,” and it’s nothing short of spectacular.
The lyrics to “Heroes” were inspired by a real-life couple Bowie would see every day outside his apartment window in Berlin in 1976. The Thin White Duke had become creatively burnt out in Los Angeles, but after witnessing the lovers meet every day to share a kiss under a gun turret on The Berlin Wall, his mojo was recovered, and he went on to create what would be one of his most enduring songs. Though originally intended as a love story, “Heroes” encapsulated much bigger themes of the time, even becoming forever linked with the dismantling of the infamous Berlin Wall.
Similarly, judge Simon Cowell remarked that Lee’s rendition gave the lyrics “whole new meaning” after his performance.
“You have this real gift and every time you perform there’s just silence. Everyone’s focused, and then they’re listening to every word and then we’re wondering what you’re gonna do with the song. And then you hit those big notes, and you’re so cool, and just so brilliant,” he said.
Howie Mendel echoed the sentiment, saying, “The lyric is ‘We can be heroes just for one day,’ and Kodi, you are a hero every day.”
Watch the All-Star performance that received a standing ovation below. Somewhere, David Bowie is smiling while listening to this.
When it comes to the controversy over her documented history of anti-transgender remarks, Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling apparently isn’t losing sleep on how she’ll be judged in the future. Despite castmembers like Emma Watson and Daniel Radcliffe publicly denouncing Rowling’s views, she’s only concerned about the present.
“I do not walk around my house, thinking about my legacy,” the author said during the first episode of The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling podcast. “You know, what a pompous way to live your life walking around thinking, ‘What will my legacy be?’ Whatever, I’ll be dead. I care about now. I care about the living.”
According to Variety, the podcast is an attempt to claim that Rowlings views on transgender women are “misunderstood.” It also attempts to equate the criticism of those views with Christian claims that the Harry Potter books are witchcraft, which is one heck of a take:
[Host Megan] Phelps-Roper is looking for commonality between the intolerant right-wingers who wanted to ban and burn the Harry Potter books and trans activists who have threatened Rowling over her comments. “What is it about this woman and her work that has captured the ire of very different groups of people across time?” Phelps-Roper says in the intro to the premiere episode.
Despite constant claims that she’s being “canceled,” Rowling contains to maintain a lucrative relationship with Warner Bros. In fact, after the studio merged with Discovery, it’s become increasingly eager to make more Harry Potter movies with Rowling even though the Fantastic Beasts prequel films — which she personally wrote — failed to match the success of the original franchise. That’s not the kind of thing that happens to someone who’s been “canceled.”
DreamDoll has come a long way since bursting onto the scene via reality tv.
Whether you got to know Tabatha Robinson on season 16 of Bad Girls Club or as her musical persona on season eight of Love & Hip Hop: New York, there’s no denying her passion for music has been the driving force behind her on-screen appearance. However, along the way, the Bronx native’s unruly behavior has, at times, overshadowed her music career.
On her single, “Misunderstood,” DreamDoll clears the air about the public’s opinion of her as well as a few lingering rumors floating around. The “Wiggle” rapper stopped by Uproxx to clarify one bar on the tracks that the public seems to be confused by.
The line in question, “I ain’t never asked for a favor or beg for your pardon / Been the motherfucking star since you seen me at Starlet’s / Once you sell out, it’s the Barclay or Garden / And if you want it, I got it / Lil engine that could / Is she a misfit / Or just misunderstood?”
Watch DreamDoll’s bar breakdown and explanation for the stanza below.
Outside of her bar breakdown be sure to catch DreamDoll’s UPROXX Sessions performance of “Misunderstood.” Click here to watch it now.
DreamDoll is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
After announcing his 2023 Glockoma Tour and releasing his first single “Work,” Key Glock has revealed the tracklist for his upcoming third studio album, Glockoma 2.
The album will be the Memphis rapper’s first since 2021’s Yellow Tape 2 — and his mentor Young Dolph’s death. Dolph’s passing is a subject expected to be one of the subjects of the album, especially after dropping such singles as “Long Live Dolph.” However, Glock will apparently maintain his insistence on rejecting outside help, as evidenced by “F*ck A Feature.” You can see the tracklist below along with the tour dates.
3/5 – Atlanta, GA @ Coca-Cola Roxy
3/9 – North Myrtle Beach, SC @ House of Blues
3/10 – Charlotte, NC @ The Fillmore Charlotte
3/11 – Raleigh, NC @ The Ritz
3/12 – Greensboro, NC @ Piedmont Hall
3/15 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Fillmore Philadelphia
3/16 – Washington, DC @ Echostage
3/18 – Queens, NY @ The Knockdown Center
3/19 – Boston, MA @ Big Night Live
3/22 – Cincinnati, OH @ The Andrew J Brady Music Center
3/23 – Cleveland, OH @ House of Blues
3/24 – Louisville, KY @ Mercury Ballroom
3/25 – Indianapolis, IN @ Egyptian Room at Old National Centre
3/26 – Detroit, MI @ Saint Andrew’s Hall
3/29 – Chicago, IL @ Radius
3/30 – Kansas City, MO @ Uptown Theater
3/31 – Minneapolis, MN @ The Fillmore Minneapolis
4/2 – Denver, CO @ Fillmore Auditorium
4/4 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The Complex
4/6 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox SoDo*
4/8 – Portland, OR @ Roseland Theater
4/11 – San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore
4/14 – San Diego, CA @ SOMA
4/15 – Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Palladium
4/16 – Phoenix, AZ @ The Van Buren
4/21 – San Antonio, TX @ The Aztec Theater
4/22 – Houston, TX @ Bayou Music Center
4/23 – Dallas, TX @ South Side Ballroom
4/26 – New Orleans, LA @ The Fillmore New Orleans
4/27 – Birmingham, AL @ Avondale Brewing Company
4/28 – Nashville, TN @ Marathon Music Works
*Not A Live Nation Date
The Shade Room has agreed to pay a settlement to 50 Cent rather than going to court in his lawsuit against the gossip blog, according to Complex via Los Angeles Magazine reporter Meghann Cuniff. Cuniff posted a copy of an email notice of settlement that was sent out confirming that 50 will continue to pursue his suit against the other defendants, which include plastic surgeon Angela Kogan and her Miami-based practice, Perfection Medical Spa.
In other rap-related legal news out of Florida, 50 Cent has settled his claims against @TheShadeRoom in his lawsuit against a plastic surgeon who implied he had penis enlargement surgery. Email notice of settlement just received. All other defendants remain. pic.twitter.com/r0oIotGCEh
50 filed suit in September 2022 after Kogan used a photo of the two of them together to promote penis enhancement surgery — the unwritten suggestion being that she’d performed said surgery on 50 himself. In August 2022, The Shade Room published a post listing 50 Cent as one of Kogan’s clients, which lends credence to 50’s complaint about the photo. A trial was set for July 3, 2023, but with The Shade Room removing the post and agreeing to a settlement after mediation, it appears 50’s beef is only with Kogan and her practice now — which is bad news for Kogan, considering how zealous he is pursuing his grievances.
On January 15, Jamea Jonae Harris was shot and killed in her car in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, with two men being arrested and charged with capital murder: Michael Davis and Darius Miles. Miles was a member of the Alabama basketball team and was immediately dropped from the squad after his arrest, but according to police testimony in Tuesday’s hearing, he was not the only member of the team at the scene of the shooting.
Police claimed in their testimony that Miles texted star freshman Brandon Miller to bring the gun that was ultimately used in the shooting, and that Miller’s windshield was struck by two bullets — another player, Jaden Bradley, was also at the scene as well. [via AL.com]
Miles contacted Miller and asked him to bring his gun to where they were, according to police.
When Miller got to the scene, Miles told Davis, “The heat is in the hat.” Det. Branden Culpepper said that meant a gun was present. Miles added, “There’s one in the head.” That, Culpepper said, meant a round was in the chamber.
Miller was not charged with a crime, and when asked why, Tuscaloosa chief deputy D.A. Paula Whitley told AL.com, “That’s not a question I can answer. There’s nothing we could charge him with.”
Alabama has apparently been aware of this development for some time, as head coach Nate Oats told reporters on Tuesday when asked about Miller’s standing with the team following the testimony from police. [via AL.com]
“We’ve known the situation since [it happened],” Oats said. “We’ve been fully cooperating with law enforcement the entire time. The whole situation is sad. The team closed practice with a prayer for the situation today, knowing that we had this trial today. We think of Jamea and her family, Kaine. Really think about her son, Kaine, that was left behind. So it’s sad.
“We knew about that. Can’t control everything anybody does outside of practice. Nobody knew that was going to happen. College kids are out, Brandon hasn’t been in any type of trouble nor is he in any type of trouble in this case. Wrong spot at the wrong time.”
Miller, who is averaging 18.7 points and eight rebounds per game to lead the top-ranked Tide in both categories, is a projected high Lottery pick in the upcoming NBA Draft, but teams will undoubtedly have plenty of questions regarding his role in the tragic January shooting and whether Oats’ “wrong place at the wrong time” commentary adequately explains his presence at the scene.
Name a better side order than French fries. Go ahead, we’ll wait. Still nothing? Yeah, we’re not surprised, because nothing beats French fries — they’re the quintessential fast food side order. That’s why just about every fast food brand (even Taco Bell, when they feel like it) has French fries on the menu. That and the fact that potatoes are dirt cheap and freeze easily.
Since our favorite part of a fast food meal is often the fries, we’ve written about French fries a lot. We’ve ranked as many as we could, we’ve sought out the best-dressed fries and we’ve argued about whether or not In-N-Out’s spuds are good or not. We’ve even made fries — a couple of different ways. But the one thing we haven’t done is put fast food French fries to a blind taste test.
Until today! We’re pitting five of the most famous fast food French fries against each other (blind!) to see which are the best and which fries should never be ordered by human beings ever. Does that sound harsh? Good! If a fast food brand f*cks up fries — the easiest food ever (you need potatoes, hot oil, salt, and literally nothing else) — then that’s a big red flag. Let’s get into it!
PART I — Methodology
Dane Rivera
Because the fast food universe has a lot of different types of French fries — you’ve got salted fries, seasoned fries (curly, cajun, Rally’s), and the natural sort you’d find at fast-casual spots — we decided to filter it down to the most famous form, salted. I’m obsessed with making these blind taste tests as fair as possible and since I live in a place where a Carl’s Jr, McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, and Jack in the Box are all relatively close to each other (hell, I live in hell), I knew I could pick up all five French fries and test them without them getting too cold.
Have you ever had French fries cold? They’re inedible! Four of these fast food restaurants are across the street from one another, making this test easy, but Wendy’s was the exception. So I drove to my nearest Wendy’s, placed an order for a small fry, alerted my girlfriend to hit up Carl’s Jr, Jack in the Box, McDonald’s, and Burger King (all ordered simultaneously via each brand’s app), and meet me back at home. From when I left my apartment to when we arrived back in my kitchen, 15 minutes had passed (beat that Uber, Door Dash, and Postmates — which all take an average of 45 minutes for some reason). Each bag was still warm.
I had my girlfriend serve me one random plate of fries at a time, ate a handful, and moved on to the next plate (I also mixed all the fries together at the end into a single bag, and ate them all. This was a bad idea, unfortunately). Anyway, here are the results”
PART II — The Tasting
Taste 1
Dane Rivera
God damn, I love French fries. These fries are perfectly salted, bright, and crispy. The outer portion of the fry provides the right amount of crunch, and the inside of the fry is soft, fluffy and flavorful. They’re the sort of fries you can eat without any sort of dipping sauce.
Taste 2
Dane Rivera
Eck, texture like cardboard. These fries have a sort of dirty flavor to them, like the skin wasn’t properly scrubbed, and have a strange stale aftertaste that sits on the tongue. They are in desperate need of some sauce.
Not inedible, but aside from the dirt flavor, way too bland to be enjoyable.
Taste 3
Dane Rivera
Addicting. These fries offer a similar experience to Taste 1, they’re crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside, but there is just something about the flavor here that tastes elevated. There is a sort of buttery aftertaste on the back end and a tinge of sweetness that hovers just above the primarily salty flavor. I could not stop eating these, I didn’t want to give up the plate.
Taste 4
Dane Rivera
Taste 4 offers what I think Taste 2 was trying to go for but failed at — a natural flavor. These French fries taste like someone actually cut a potato in-house and fried them soon after. They don’t have that neutral flavor that peeled fries have, I’m getting a lot of earthy bitterness… but in the best way.
These fries are also a bit thicker than the others, I’m tasting a lot more potato here overall but they can’t quite hit the heights of Taste 3. These are very good, but not addicting.
Taste 5
Dane Rivera
I had my girlfriend try a few of these because I thought my taste buds were fried. I drank water between bites and even had some sips of soda and I’ve come to the conclusion that these are absolutely flavorless (she confirmed). All I’m tasting is straight oil! All this fry offers is texture, they’re crunchy on the outside and mushy on the inside, like someone breaded mashed potatoes in cornstarch.
If you love mashed potatoes that might sound good to you, mashed potatoes are great, but these fries don’t have any of that buttery and creamy mashed potato flavor, just the texture. Fries should be fluffy inside, not mushy. I wish I could say these taste bad, because I don’t like them, but they simply don’t taste like anything.
PART III — The Ranking
5. Burger King (Taste 5)
Ashley Garcia
If you’ve ever had Burger King this shouldn’t come as a surprise to you. Burger King sucks. I’m sorry to say that — though I’m not really sorry to anyone because there’s no one who likes Burger King enough to be bothered by me saying “Burger King sucks.”
Anyway, Burger King fries generally have one of two problems — either they’re over-salted to the point of burning off your taste buds or they aren’t salted at all and therefore taste like nothing. With this trip to BK, I got the latter. I’m not sure which I would’ve preferred.
The Bottom Line
This blind taste test’s worst French fries and quite possibly the worst fast food French fries of all time.
Wendy’s is having a bit of an identity crisis when it comes to its French fries. Most recently the chain launched a new recipe of fries they call “Hot and Crispy,” and claimed that the fries would hold up in heat and flavor longer than the competition. We took that claim to the test and didn’t find them to be particularly enjoyable after 20 minutes or so.
There is also no consistency with these fries, in my experience, sometimes they taste good, and sometimes they just don’t. For this blind taste test, I got a set that tasted particularly dirty. Maybe that was the oil, perhaps the fries were sitting around for too long under the heat lamp, maybe the quality of the potatoes just wasn’t very good — I’m not sure, but what I can tell you is that if you get fries from Wendy’s, you never really know what you’re going to get. And for that, it’s going to have to rank fourth.
I was surprised by how highly Jack in the Box ranked, I almost gave this one the second-place spot. They have that same bright and buttery taste that makes McDonald’s famous, but they taste a little bit too much like oil. Still, it’s very hard to not enjoy these and whether you like them or not will come down to how much you’re turned off by greasy fries.
For me, the greasier the better! If only Jack in the Box fried these in quality oil (doesn’t have to be peanut, but at least clean it out every few hours) they’d have something truly magical on their hands.
The Bottom Line
If you always reach for the curly fries instead, give the salted fries a chance, they’re better than you remember. While it ranked third, this was the biggest surprise of this blind taste test. I’ve been sleeping on JiB.
Carl’s Jr. gets the award for having the most natural-tasting fries in fast food. These taste like real potatoes in the best way possible. They’re earthy, salty, fluffy, and perfectly crispy on the outside. I’ve long been a fan of Carl’s Jr’s criss-cut fries, but after having the Natural Cut I may have to switch over permanently.
These don’t hold a candle to our number one spot, but depending on what you look for in French fries, these can easily be your personal favorite.
The Bottom Line
The most natural-tasting fries in fast food. If you want your French fries to have a bit of that bitter and earthy skin-on flavor, this is your best bet.
It feels a bit basic to give McDonald’s the number one spot but the blind taste test made it clear as day. These are far and above the best French fries you can get from a drive-thru. I don’t know what McDonald’s is doing to their fries to make them so addicting (I suspect it’s a pinch of sugar???) but whatever they’re doing… it’s working.
It’s telling that of the five fast food chains we tasted in this blind taste test, McDonald’s is the only one that hasn’t really changed their French fry recipe. Sure, there was a time when McDonald’s fried their potatoes in beef tallow, and we desperately long for those days, but aside from that, they haven’t f*cked with the recipe at all. Even with the rise of fast-casual chains like Five Guys — a brand so serious about their potatoes that they list what farms they come from daily — McDonald’s has stayed unwavering in its fry recipe.
These fries didn’t just land the number one spot, they absolutely dunked on the four other tastings. I didn’t know it was McDonald’s when I tasted it blind, but it didn’t surprise me that it landed at number one.
The Bottom Line
McDonald’s is the sort of place you eat at for the fries. Even the burgers and nuggets don’t have anything on these golden spears of perfection. The real question is, how do these fries stack up against a place like Five Guys? We’ll let you know when we put them head to head.
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