Month: March 2023

After absolutely dominating 2022 with her Mariah Carey-sampling dance hit “Big Energy,” Latto looks to expand her burgeoning empire in 2023. Her latest move (which looks… familiar) is partnering with Apple Music Radio for her own show, 777 Radio. Latto announced the show’s impending debut with a slick video trailer depicting her as a flight attendant giving an announcement. “Welcome aboard 777 Air,” she says. “Make sure to put the BS on airplane mode and leave all your baggage at home.”

The similarity of concepts between Latto’s show — which has been in development for a year, according to one contributor’s tweet — and another former Apple Music production quickly caught fans’ eyes, leading to a flurry of comments comparing and contrasting the two (if anything, it might explain the roots of their conflict given the timeline). Meanwhile, some others attributed Latto’s flight attendant look to Saweetie’s “Closer” video with HER (which, if those fans were being honest, they kinda let flop. Funny to get angry about it now, especially after they cooked Saweetie for doing the same alleged thing to Rico Nasty just like two years ago).

Still, other fans noted that Lil Kim preceded many of her successors into the radio space, trying to short-circuit the inevitable stan war brewing on the horizon. It didn’t work — when have stans ever been convinced by piddling things like facts? — but you have to appreciate the effort.

The first episode of 777 Radio will debut Thursday, March 30 at 11 AM PT on Apple Music with guest Chloe Bailey — another frequent target of controversy from Stan Twitter. Tune in.

A couple weeks ago, it was revealed that Lil Yachty will be the musical guest on the April 1 episode of Saturday Night Live, joining the program alongside host Quinta Brunson. Now, SNL has offered a clearer look at what their April slate will look like by unveiling more upcoming musical guests. Today, they revealed that Molly Shannon and Jonas Brothers are set for the April 8 episode, while Ana de Armas and Karol G are gearing up for April 15.

The upcoming episodes will mark the debut appearances of Brunson, de Armas, Karol G, and Lil Yachty. Shannon, of course, was an SNL cast member from 1995 to 2001 and also hosted an episode in 2007. Meanwhile, Jonas Brothers previously performed on the show in 2009 and 2019.

Karol G is fresh off the February release of her album Mañana Será Bonito, her first No. 1 album in the US (and the first all-Spanish-language album by a woman to ever top the Billboard 200). She’s also one of this year’s Lollapalooza headliners.

Meanwhile, Jonas Brothers are in the midst of continuing their comeback that started with their No. 1 2019 album Happiness Begins. Their sixth album, dubbed The Album, is set for May 12, and the trio just played a five-night Broadway residency earlier this month. They also recently recruited superfan and White Lotus favorite Haley Lu Richardson to star in their “Wings” video.

Gwyneth Paltrow delivered a viral quote for the ages while testifying in court. The actress-slash-wellness guru, who’s been serving up cozy winter looks during the proceedings, took the stand to describe her experience during the ski accident that’s prompted back and forth lawsuits.

Optometrist Terry Sanderson is suing Paltrow for allegedly crashing into him at a Park City ski resort and causing several injuries before fleeing the scene in what he calls a “hit and run.” In response, Paltrow is counter-suing Sanderson for one dollar and legal fees. She claims that it was the retired optometrist who crashed into her from behind, and during cross-examination, Paltrow said she initially thought the incident was a sexual assault.

Via Page Six:

“Was he grinding or thrusting?” [Sanderson’s attorney] asked. “What made you think it was a sexual assault?”

Paltrow simply said that “it was a quick thought that went through my head,” adding, “There was a strange grunting noise and a body behind me so I was trying to make sense of what was going on. My mind was going very quickly.”

However, once it was determined that Paltrow was not being sexually assaulted, Sanderson’s attorney asked what “losses” she experienced because of the collision, and a viral hit was born.

“Well, we lost half a day of skiing,” Paltrow responded via The Independent.

Thanks to a viral clip of Paltrow’s response, people started having a field day with the response, and even Busy Philipps got in on the act. The actress posted an Instagram photo of her and a friend holding espresso martinis with the caption, “Well, we lost a half day of skiing.”

Meanwhile, folks had a field day on Twitter. You can see some of the reactions below:

(Via Busy Philipps on Instagram, The Independent)

Dare I say that there’s still time for you to bingewatch the entirety of AMC’s existing The Walking Dead universe if you have somehow remained immune to Walkers for all this time? If you get started now — and tear through 11 seasons of The Walking Dead (on Netflix), 2 seasons of The Walking Dead: The World Beyond (on AMC+), and the 7 Fear The Walking Dead (on Hulu) seasons thus far — there is no reason why you won’t be prepared for the May 14 return of Fear The Walking Dead.

Then there’s the June 18 premiere of The Walking Dead: Dead City, in which unlikely partners Maggie (Lauren Cohan) and Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) venture into New York City.

That premiere date is official as of this past weekend, and the show has dropped a first bit of footage as a teaser ^^ that confirms the mission: to rescue Maggie and Glenn’s son, Hershel Rhee, who (as Comic Book relays) is at least 12 years old at this point. How did he end up in NYC? No clue yet, but let’s just say that cities remain a bad idea, long after Rick Grimes took his first franchise joyride on a horse.

As Negan declares, “Walkers are falling from the sky,” which does not sound like a good time at all. As well, showrunner Eli Jorne has also boldly promised to unleash “one of the most awesome, disgusting, terrifying walkers that I’ve seen in the history of the show.”

The show’s synopsis points towards definite trouble in “a post-apocalyptic Manhattan, long ago cut off from the mainland.” In this “crumbling city,” there will be a special breed of “anarchy, danger, beauty, and terror.”

Following this limited series, we’ll see Daryl Dixon will wash ashore in his own France-based spinoff, and then we will eventually see Rick Grimes and Michonne reunite and get bloody in their own return to the franchise.

Additionally, AMC released the first railer for the eighth and final Fear the Walking Dead season (back on AMC in time for Mother’s Day), which picks up with Morgan and Madison feeling demoralized on the island, and only Mo (daughter to Morgan) can possibly make this “a better world” one day.

Fear the Walking Dead returns on May 14; Dead City premieres on June 18.

Kendrick Lamar might have completed his Top Dawg Entertainment record deal, but TDE isn’t done yet. If anything, it looks like the Southern California-based label will be doubling down on its remaining roster and increasing its album release cadence this year. Top Dawg himself revealed as much today on Twitter during a fan Q&A that found him addressing everything from a potential Black Hippy project to which of the label’s artists have tours planned this year.

When one fan asked which albums are on the docket, Top Dawg reeled off a list including new acquisitions like Doechii, Ray Vaughn, and Reason, as well as longtime mainstays Jay Rock, Schoolboy Q, and Zacari. However, he also mentioned a condition that needs to be met: “if everybody do their part,” he wrote. “when they turn them in I will release em.”

We’ve seen that process take upwards of four years — just look at Ab-Soul’s last project, as well as Isaiah Rashad’s and SZA’s — but even so, that gives TDE fans plenty to look forward to in 2023. Some of the roster’s newer additions could use the extra exposure and momentum from a potential compilation, while the veteran members’ fans have been waiting a while to hear from them (Jay Rock’s last album, Redemption, was in 2018; Q’s was 2019’s Crash Talk).

In a strange turn of events, Logan Roy’s biggest adversary in Succession’s season four premiere isn’t one of his three conniving children but a Martha Vineyard-dwelling girl boss with a taste for cheap wine and “an appalling headache” she’s managing to push through in order to squeeze the Roy dynasty of every last cent.

Everyone, meet Nan Pierce (Cherry Jones).

Actually, scratch that. We’ve already met Nan Pierce. She was the high-powered matriarch of another legacy media company, PGM, that caught Logan Roy’s eye back in season two. PGM, like Waystar-Royco, is a family-owned company that’s in direct competition with the Roy’s empire but it’s got a more liberal bent which makes it particularly appealing for acquisition. By buying up PGM, the Roys will essentially be taking out the biggest threat to their continued dominance over the airwaves. (Also, Logan just really hates the pretentious, WASPy f*cks that nickname their palatial estate Tern Haven the “city on a hill.”)

But why is Nan such a thorn in Logan Roy’s side?

Who Is Nan Pierce?

Like Logan, Nan Pierce is in charge of her family’s media company, Pierce Global Media. She’s a blue-blooded, old-money elite in New England coastal linens who’s every bit as rich and removed as her boorish adversary — she’s just better at camouflaging her upper-crust upbringing. In season two, Nan entertains the idea of selling PGM to Waystar Royco, using PGM’s CEO Rhea Jarrell (Holly Hunter) as an intermediary to launch negotiations. She invites the Roys to her family’s estate, uncomfortably probing Logan on who his successor might be and making it fairly obvious how much she distains Waystar Royco’s values.

Nan seems to favor Shiv above the other Roy siblings but when Logan refuses to name his daughter as the company’s next CEO, negotiations stall. Things further deteriorate when hit pieces about the company’s attempts to cover up crimes in its cruises department run during a global tech conference that was intended to be the neutral ground for Nan and Logan to revisit their acquisition talks. Since firing Jarrell and cutting communications with the Roys, Nan and company have been pretty quiet — until Succession’s season four premiere, that is.

Why Is Nan Pierce So Important To The Roys?

Succession returned for its final run with a birthday party from hell and a hostile asset takeover by the Roy siblings. Before officially selling his company, Logan wanted to buy out PGM to make sure Waystar-Royco had a firm grip on the market. To screw over their old man, Kendall, Roman, and Shiv abandoned their plans to create a new media company and instead, bid on PGM themselves. They visited Nan Pierce at her place on Martha’s Vineyard and promised billions in exchange for Nan’s company — which they eventually purchased for way over asking price, to the disbelief and disgust of their father.

Thanks to Nan — who managed to bankrupt the Roy siblings and ensure her lifelong enemy couldn’t get his hands on her family’s legacy — Kendall, Shiv, and Roman are now positioned as the co-CEOs of Waystar-Royco’s biggest market competitor. Their plan is to make their father’s life as miserable as possible, likely by building PGM into an organization that steals money and viewers from ATN. Whether they’ll ultimately be successful with their very expensive f*ck you is still in doubt, but either way, Nan Pierce will stay winning.

Sebastian Lletget is coming clean after being caught in the middle of an affair. In a post shared to his Instagram account, Lletget apologized to his fiancée, singer Becky G, for his infidelity.

Amid the scandal, the FC Dallas midfielder revealed he will be attending a mental wellness program. “If I am the man I aspire to be, I have to do better,” he wrote.

While Becky has not publicly commented on the matter, Lletget says he is working on earning the “Mamiii” singer’s trust back.

“Instead of honoring that love every day, I have done the opposite, hurting you, and disrespecting the one person I love more than anything,” he said.

Find the full statement below.

“As an athlete I have always tried to hold myself to a higher standard, recognizing the blessings & privileges in my career. When I reflect on the last 7 years of my life, I know in my heart that I couldn’t have achieved a lot of my personal & professional growth, let alone navigate the challenges in my life without the love & support of Becky by my side.

Yet behind this abundance, there is a reality I’ve hid from everyone around me. I have struggled with personal trauma and acute anxiety compounded by my own denial, pride, and bad decisions.

Over the last several weeks, during a moment I regret deeply, a 10-minute lapse in judgment resulted in an extortion plot. Since this person did not get what they wanted it has now become a public social media spectacle filled with more lies than any truth and false posts aimed at the love of my life, the one person I should never take for granted or put at risk. While this anonymous stalker — who I never met, unlike they claimed — had an ultimate goal that was not clear, for me, it has been a wake-up call. The loudest alarm of my life. I can’t keep running from demons. I know that any actions made that put us here should have never happened to begin with. Pushing right up to the very boundaries of lines that should never be crossed only hurts me and the people I love the most.

This past week of chaos & pain has forced me to face the consequences of my actions, my fears & my lapses from the past. [I] have half-heartedly been participating in therapy knowing I have deeply rooted anger and mental health issues that require the same commitment and treatment that I devote to my physical well-being. If I am the man I aspire to be, I have to do better. I have decided to commit myself to a mental wellness program to work on the parts of me that deeply need healing…

To Becky, you have been the light in my life, my strength, who has always shown me unconditional love. Instead of honoring that love every day, I have done the opposite, hurting you, and disrespecting the one person I love more than anything. I am so sorry and know I have to do whatever it takes to earn back the trust and love you deserve.

To my FC Dallas family, my fans, friends & family, thank you for your love and support. I will do my best to be my best.”

For the first time since 2005, WWE is bringing the Showcase of the Immortals back to Hollywood this weekend. As WrestleMania goes Hollywood again, the promotion has rolled out a series of vignettes, taking a WWE-style spin on cult entertainment similar to what they did for WrestleMania 21.

After rolling out The Miz and Maryse in Top Gun and Rhea Ripley in Stranger Things, Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns, the Bloodline, and their wise man, Paul Heyman, joined together to put their twist on Goodfellas in a trailer that will debut during tonight’s episode of Raw. Check out a first look of that vignette below:

In the build to WrestleMania 21, WWE produced a series of parodies with stars like John Cena starring in A Few Good Men, Triple H in Braveheart, and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin in Gladiator among others.

Both nights of WrestleMania 39 will take place from SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, on April 1 and April 2. Three of the four members of the Bloodline will be featured prominently at the show, with The Usos defending their Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships against a recently reunited Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens. Reigns will also defend his Undisputed WWE Universal Championship against Royal Rumble winner Cody Rhodes in what’s expected to headline one of the two nights.

Succession just premiered its final season, and even though the fictional Roy family might have their ups and downs (and way downs), the actors who play them sure do love each other! Allegedly.

Now that the final season has begun, everyone can enjoy the upcoming wave of intriguing cast interviews so we can learn how they really feel about the show’s end. Some of them aren’t too upset about it! On the other hand, Kieran Culkin opened up to Esquire about how hard it really hit him once they realized they’d never be filming together as siblings.

Culkin recalled a moment when he went up to his co-star/on-screen sibling Sarah Snook at the 2022 Emmys and she teased him about never being cast together again. “Hey, Kieran, you’ll love this,” she remembered saying. “When we finish this show, you and I will never work together again.” Culkin snarkily replied, “I went, ‘Why the fuck would you say that? F**k, I want to cry,’” We can assume he cried later on, but in private, so he wouldn’t be bullied by his loving family.

Snook admitted that the comment must have affected him more than expected, “It hit him much more than I thought it would,” she told the mag. It seems like he got too used to playing Roman and cursing up a storm in real life that he didn’t think it would end. Has anyone taught him how to use a chair?

Even though they will always be (fictional) family, Culkin admitted that keeping up with the rest of the crew will be nearly impossible. “I’m not really going to keep up a proper relationship with anybody just because of logistics,” he told the mag. The cast resides on different sides of the globe, with Snook in Australia, Matthew McFadyen residing in London, and Jeremy Strong mostly living in Denmark. “It’s a big, big loss,” Culkin added. But surely they can plan a sibling slumber party at some point, even if it’s only for a quick Carly Rae Jepsen singalong. It’s what the people need.

(Via Esquire)

Seeing the northern lights is a common bucket list adventure for many people. After all, it ticks a lot of boxes—being a dazzling light show, rich historical experience and scientific phenomenon all rolled into one. Plus there’s the uncertainty of it all, never quite knowing if you’ll witness a vivid streak of otherworldly colors dance across the sky…or simply see an oddly colored cloud. It’s nature’s slot machine, if you will.

Traveler and content creator Pency Lucero was willing to take that gamble. After thorough research, she stumbled upon an Airbnb in Rörbäck, Sweden with an actual picture of the northern lights shining above the cabin in the listing. With that kind of photo evidence, she felt good about her odds.

However, as soon as she landed, snow began falling so hard that the entire sky was “barely visible,” she told Upworthy. Martin, the Airbnb host, was nonetheless determined to do everything he could to ensure his guests got to see the spectacle, even offering to wake Lucero up in the middle of the night if he saw anything.

Then one night, the knock came.

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In a video Lucero posted to TikTok, which now has over 12 million views, we hear Martin ushering her out to take a peek. Then we see Lucero’s face light up just before seeing the sky do the same.

“I thought it was a prank,” the onscreen text reads in the clip. “And then I see it….”

Watch:

@penslucero Replying to @PatriotFamilyHomes ♬ Golden Hour: Piano Version – Andy Morris

“I was mostly in awe of what this Earth is capable of,” Lucero recalled. “I never expected it to be THAT beautiful for the naked eye.” This is a hopeful sentiment against the widely accepted notion that the northern lights are often better looking in photos than they are in real life.

As Lucero asserted in a follow-up video, “Our video doesn’t do it justice at all…I would argue it’s even better for the naked eye.”

Others were quick to back Lucero with anecdotes of their own experience.

“It’s definitely possible to see it like in the pics. I saw it this winter in Norway, there was bright green, purple and so much movement.”

“They’re so much better in person, the way they dance and move around is insane and beautiful.”

Of course, if you ask Martin, who everyone agreed was the best host ever, seeing guest reactions of pure wonder and joy is even “better than the lights themselves.” But still, he can’t deny that there’s a breathtaking magic to it all. He shared with Upworthy that “Sometimes it feels like it will pull you up in the sky like you are in the middle of it. I wish everyone would have the chance to witness it.”

When it comes to tips for actually seeing the northern lights, Martin admits it still mostly comes down to being in the right place at the right time. Luckily, his Airbnb listing can help with that.

Nature has a great way of reminding us that beyond the distractions and distresses of modern life, there is sublime beauty waiting for the chance to capture our hearts.