Month: April 2023

Taylor Swift has been through a couple cities on her massive Eras Tour already — and there’s a lot of moments that have become a mainstay in the (over) three-hour concert. One of which is Swift’s stage dive that takes place just after her surprise song section, which finds her playing two selections that aren’t already on the traditional setlist. Once it’s over, she wanders the stage, taking in the crowd, before abruptly diving down into a gap that opens in the floor.

The first night Swift played in Arizona, many fans were perplexed by the sudden movement. And even more so as it makes it look like she’s swimming underwater back to the standard stage from the catwalk. (She’s not.)

So, how does she do it? Some fans have wondered if she lands in an inflatable mat or slide, as any sort of dive to a backstage area would easily need something to safely protect her landing. Others have tried shooting videos from different angles just as attempts to see what’s under there.

In one video, the space where Swift dives can be seen shifting from red (as in stop, not Taylor’s Version) to green, signaling that it’s safe for her to land. There is also some sort of striped inflatable being moved around down there, although it’s still unclear whether that is a slide or just a mat.

Continue scrolling for some fan reactions and videos of Taylor Swift’s aquatic-themed antics.

When you think of Nick Cannon, when he’s going to release new music is perhaps the last thing that comes to mind. The first might be his large family and incessant need to debate monogamy publicly. The second might be his lengthy career as a television host. Next might be his awareness work around the immune disease lupus. Or even his marriage to Mariah Carey. But never new music.

However, in an interview with HipHopDX, Cannon revealed that he kind of wants it that way. When asked about his time in rap music, he responded, “To define me is to confine me. I never thought I was a rapper. That’s why I think I just kind of never — I wouldn’t say I didn’t take it seriously, but I was more focused on being a producer, a musician.”

Later in the discussion, Cannon (whose latest album, The Explicit Tape: Raw & B, was released in 2022) addressed the naysayers that poke fun at his rap career.

“So when people make fun of me, I don’t care — anybody can do that. I’m not impressed by anybody who can rhyme words together. TikTok has proven anyone can do it,” replied Cannon.

He added, “I commend and salute all poets and storytellers. Those are the greats. But just being able to put some words together over a beat, anybody could do that. Literally, Dr. Seuss has turned us all into rappers.”

50 Cent is one of the people that have gone on to make fun of his rap skills. During an interview with The Breakfast Club, the mogul was asked why he never responded to a diss Cannon said in a song, to which 50 Cent at first simply laughed off. He then took a moment to respond, saying, “I don’t know why he’s so passionate about [rapping]…You suck, bro. You suck.”

His next line went on to take on a life of its own through memes. “Like there was never a moment where we was like, ‘Ooh, bars,’” joked 50.

However, Cannon still believes that the impact he had on music is underappreciated.

“I think in hindsight when people look back, they’ll be like, ‘Yeah, he was on his music grind the entire time,’” said Cannon.

(WARNING: Spoilers for The Mandalorian episode “Guns For Hire” below.)

As The Mandalorian nears the end of Season 3, the latest episode “Guns For Hire” went surprisingly huge on cameos. Unlike last week, which featured an appearance from Rebels character Zeb Orellios, The Mandalorian pulled from the celebrity world this time around, and social media was here for it.

While searching for her old crew, Bo-Katan (Katee Sackhoff) and Mando (Pedro Pascal) arrive on Plazir-15 where they’re quickly summoned by the planet’s leaders. Not exactly thrilled by this diplomatic interruption, the Mandalorian fighters don’t exactly have a say in the issue and find themselves whisked off to a regal dinner where they’re greeted by The Duchess and her husband Captain Bombardier.

To Bo-Katan and Mando, the two are just another wealthy couple in the Star Wars universe, but to viewers at home, it was Lizzo and Jack Black. It was a surprise treat filled with Jack Black energy and Baby Yoda jumping into Lizzo’s arms thanks to his unabashed love of always stuffing his adorable face.

But the cameos didn’t stop there. As Bo-Katan and Mando investigate a scourge of malfunctioning droids, they meet the planet’s head of security, Commissioner Helgait, who’s played by Back to the Future legend Christopher Lloyd. This Mandalorian episode really went all out, and the fans loved it.

You can check out some of the reactions below:

New episodes of The Mandalorian stream Wednesday on Disney+.

Scarlett Johansson is not on Twitter. Or Instagram (which is breaking news to the 4.1 million people following a fan account that think it’s her). Is she on Facebook? I have no idea, because lol Facebook. Johansson stays off social media, god bless her, because she’s “too fragile” to handle all… that.

“I honestly am too fragile of a person to have social media,” she said on The Skinny Confidential Him & Her podcast. “My ego is too fragile. I can’t deal with it. My brain is too fragile, I’m like a delicate flower. I have enough anxiety.”

Johansson was on Instagram “once for three days,” but then deleted it. “”When I started realizing that I’d spent 20 minutes looking at somebody’s Instagram page who worked for a friend of mine — I now know you have a pit bull, two daughters, and live in Burbank — I was like, I just wasted 17 minutes of time,” she explained. “I now feel like I should move to California, get this specific dog, and change my life in all these ways. I felt so bad, like I was missing out on this random person’s life. I can’t do this. I’m too fragile.”

A lot of people use Instagram to look at cute exotic animals. If Johansson wants to look at cute exotic animals, she can just buy one. She’s got Zoo money.

(Via People)

Much speculation has been had about Vladimir Putin’s health, given his frequent disappearances from public view as well as his odd, uh, defecation habits. There’s the whole pooping-in-a-suitcase thing and the clumsy poop incident, both of which makes one wonder if something is secretly amiss. As well, Putin’s ultra-paranoid state of mind has been reported upon multiple times, the latest of instance of which came from an ex-Russian intelligence officer and Federal Guard Service captain, Gleb Karakulov, who explained the the Russian president is “pathologically afraid for his life” and won’t touch the Internet or cell phones.

Karakulov had more to say while speaking with the Dossier Center for Investigative Journalism (via The Daily Beast) about his belief that Putin no longer qualifies as “sane” by any definition. Karakulov explained how he escaped from Putin’s clutches while the pair visited Kazakhstan last fall, and he hopes that other Putin underlings will do the same and “break the silence” surrounding Putin’s behavior. As for an indication that Putin will not voluntarily end his war on Ukraine, that would likely be because “He only values his own life and the lives of his family and friends. The lives of your family and friends are of no interest to him.”

Here’s more from Karakulov about the Putin paranoia:

“Our President has lost touch with the world. He has been living in an information cocoon for the past couple of years, spending most of his time in his residences, which the media very fittingly call bunkers … He surrounds himself with an impenetrable barrier of quarantines and an information vacuum.”

In addition to sending tens of thousands of Russians to their deaths in Ukraine, Putin sounds like a real barrel of fun, alright. Perhaps the only joy he has in his luxury bunkers can be found in that pickle hoarding habit of his. Will Karakulov’s cry for more associates and underlines to join him be heeded? One can only hope.

(Via The Daily Beast)

Two of hip-hop’s predominant ric(c)h-named rappers, Roddy Ricch and Rich Homie Quan, have been beefing recently. Now, though, Quan says the situation has been resolved and everything is cool.

Last night, Quan wrote in an Instagram Story post, “Just got off the phone with @roddyricch everything is smooth we settled it like men and I want to apologize for my position at the moment and take this opportunity to show everyone that through conversations we can have solutions.”

As for what happened, Quan claimed he was intended to have a verse on DJ Drama’s new album, I’m Really Like That, but explained, “I f*ck with Gucci. My verse harder than Gucci Mane. Wayne killed that mothaf*cka. Man, my sh*t was harder than Roddy. Then, they say, ‘We ain’t trying to start no industry sh*t. Roddy Ricch wanted you off the song.’ I ain’t even met Roddy!”

He continued, “Roddy got that ‘Box’ song. I bet his catalog can’t f*ck with mine. That’s on all the money he got in the bank. Since you wanted me off the song, man, let’s go back and forth, catalog to catalog. You ain’t got nothing but the ‘Box’ sh*t because all that other sh*t wack.”

Roddy Ricch is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

After flying to Manhattan to become the first president ever to be indicted, Donald Trump returned to Mar-a-Lago where he gave a “frankly disgusting” speech. That’s according to one of his former employees, who criticized Trump for his verbal attacks against the judge presiding over his case, Judge Juan Merchan, and his unfairly dubbed “Trump-hating wife and family.” (Trump is flailing, obviously, but he still handled it with more grace than his sniffly son.)

Sarah Matthews, who served as the deputy press secretary for Trump, told CNN, “I thought that it was a speech we’ve heard him give a million times before, he kind of ticks through his personal laundry list of personal grievances and slights. And on top of that, I thought that it was ill-advised and quite frankly disgusting for him to attack not only the prosecutor and the judge, but the judge’s family despite a warning from the judge about his rhetoric.”

Judge Merchan warned Trump that if he continues acting like a maniac on social media, including talk of “death and destruction,” he’ll issue a gag order.

Matthew also believes that Trump’s speech “last night shows his state of mind that he’s more worried about the cases that are down the line, especially the classified documents case, he seemed to focus a lot on that one,” she said, adding, “Him and his team should be quite worried.”

(Via Raw Story)

Yesterday was significant in American history: Donald Trump was formally arrested and became the first former or current president to ever face criminal charges. After pleading not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree, Trump hopped on a private jet and headed to Mar-a-Lago, where he gave a speech.

Before Trump took the stage, though, a number of warm-up songs played, including David Bowie’s 1974 single “Rebel Rebel.” While Bowie himself is sadly no longer with us to address the situation (he died in 2016), his son, director Duncan Jones, is. He’s not thrilled.

After catching wind of his dad’s song’s use, Jones took to Twitter to tweet, “Pretty sure this f*cker keeps on using my dad’s music just to annoy me personally. (Joke. I’m way below his radar.).” In another tweet, he also called Trump a “shifty, grifting, lying sociopath who has lost more money than he’s ever earned.”

This is far from the first time Trump has made use of Bowie’s music at events. Just this past November, Trump played “Heroes” after announcing he was running for president in 2024. Jones tweeted at the time, “Pretty sure he’s just doing that now to wind me up,” and added in another tweet, “We’ve been though this before. He used the same track 6 years ago. Ive been told there is little we can do about it.”

Revisit Bowie’s “Rebel Rebel” below.

With nearly thirty years in the game, Lil Wayne has earned his spot as a hip-hop heavyweight track by track. But the success hasn’t gone to his head. If anything, it is a constant reminder to use his platform to shine a light on the next generation of musical talent. His latest collaboration in the works will do just that, as the Louisiana native plans on jumping into the studio with Louisiana State University’s basketball star Flau’jae Johnson.

This is by no means a random venture. The pair bonded over their love of basketball, Wayne even Facetiming the current national champion on her big win. But just as the student-athlete balances her obligations with the team, she pushes herself just as hard when it comes to her rap career.

During Lil Wayne’s appearance on ESPN’s The Bird And Taurasi Show, when asked did he ever connect with Flau’jae, he replied, “Actually, me and Flau’jae — we’ve spoken,” before adding, “But, we’re about to connect musically soon. So, be looking out for that.”

“And shout out to Miss Kim too,” referring to the head coach of LSU’s women’s basketball team. The Young Money boss said, “Miss Kim told me, ‘You must do something with my girl Flau’jae.’ I was like, ‘Say less.’” The host added, “Flau’jae is about to have a legit music career. I’m so proud of her.”

Responding to the clip, Flau’jae tweeted, “Imagine winning a national championship your freshman year! Then getting a Lil Wayne feature right after?! What is life.”

No further information has been released regarding the collaboration, but we’re sure the duo will share more information once it is ready to hit streaming platforms.

The circumstances appear pretty swell for the Los Angeles Lakers these days. After opening the 2022-23 NBA season 2-10, they’re now seventh in the West at 41-38, half a game back of fifth and have clinched a spot in the Play-In Tournament, at worst. They’re 15-6 over their last 21 games.

Following the team’s thrilling 135-133 overtime victory against the Utah Jazz on Tuesday, LeBron James spoke with media in the locker room, at which point a swelling sound of goat noises intervened from the background in an ode to his status among the all-time greats. Apparently, this has become a post-game trend among James’ teammates and reached its current high-water mark Tuesday night.

While James didn’t seem rattled by the loud “bah” noises around him, reporters were a little less unfazed, at least briefly. The sly grin on James’ face as he prepares to answer a question indicates he gets a kick out of his teammates’ antics.

James and the Lakers return home to square off against the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night. If they win that one and move into a tie for the No. 5 seed, those goat noises might top Tuesday’s decibel levels. There’s still much that can shift and change over the next half week, but spirits seem pretty bright for James and his teammates at the moment.