Month: June 2023

The WGA strike has been going on since early May, and in that time the picket lines have been graced with its share of celebrities. Some, like Pete Davidson, have merely shown solidarity (by bringing strikers top shelf south Brooklyn pizza). Some, like Mandy Patinkin, have struck alongside them. On Friday, as per Deadline, the Simpsons team — past and present — showed up. And boy, were their signs excellent.

The Simpsons has been home to its share of legends, some of whom were there. The one who started it all, Matt Groening, showed up. So did co-honcho (and excellent filmmaker in his own right) James L. Brooks. Arguably its most famous former staff writer, Conan O’Brien, was present, as were Dana Gould, Al Jean, and current showrunner Matt Selman.

And the signs — they mined from a long history of Simpsons excellence. Selman, for instance, recreated Kirk Van Houten’s misbegotten attempt to draw “dignity,” which Selman’s caption turned into a dig at Warner Bros. Discovery top dog David Zaslav.

There were appearances from familiar faces, like Moe and Disco Stu.

Also the chain-smoking monkeys trying — and failing — to write the greatest novel known to man (but only succeeding in creating a failed ripoff of A Tale of Two Cities).

And references to other classic Simpsons bits.

There were good pins.

And classic Simpsons merch.

And famous faces.

And, of course, donuts.

(Via Deadline)

A Taylor Swift fan has reportedly been arrested after stalking, harassing, and intimidating the “Karma” singer for months.

According to a report from CNN, 36-year-old Mitchell Taebel was booked into LaPorte County Jail last Friday (June 2), on charges of stalking, intimidation, invasion of privacy, and harassment.

Taebel was alleged to have sent threatening messages to Swift, her team, and management, dating back to this past March.

CNN notes that the affidavit, which they obtained from LaPorte County Jail, does not directly mention Swift herself, however, there are several mentions of the Eras Tour, Swift’s management team, 13 management, Joe Alwyn, who is one of her most recent exes, and a song from Swift’s Midnights album.

The affidavit also reportedly notes that Taebel sent a voice message to Swift via Instagram back in March, claiming that “he would happily wear a bomb if he cannot be with his soul mate.”

Taebel reportedly also sent messages to Swift’s father, as well as her dancers.

In May, Taebel is said to have traveled from Long Beach, Indiana, to Swift’s home in Nashville, and was immediately escorted off of the property. Later that day, he reportedly showed up to Nissan Stadium, where Swift was performing that night.

According to CNN, the affidavit notes that Taebel was placed on a security threat/concern list, barring him from purchasing a ticket, however, he was reportedly able to purchase a ticket through a third-party seller. The venue’s security reportedly recognized him as he entered the stadium and escorted him offsite.

13 Management’s legal counsel requested a temporary restraining order on May 11, which was then served to Taebel on May 13. However, Taebel is said to have violated the restraining order, as he reportedly continued to send messages to Swift up until the 18th.

Taebel was reportedly arrested with a $15,000 bond in place, and is set to appear in court on July 27 at 8:30 a.m.

Kid Rock and Donald Trump go way back. In the early days of his presidency, Trump invited the rap-rocker, real name Robert Ritchie, to the White House. There, Ritchie alleged, Trump busted out a bunch of probably classified maps, asking him how to handle North Korea. Ritchie told this story last year in a chat with Tucker Carlson. Now that Trump has been federally indicted for his handling of classified documents, people are wondering if Kid Rock will one day be asked to take the stand.

On Friday, the Department of Justice unsealed their indictment of the former president. Among the shocking details is that Trump allegedly showed a “classified map related to a military operation” to an unnamed member of his political action committee at his Bedminster, New Jersey golf club who did not have security clearance.

This person, obviously, was not Kid Rock, who is neither a representative of Trump’s PAC nor was, far as we know, at Bedminster in 2021. But because Ritchie’s story also involves Trump showing classified materials to someone without clearance, it came back in the news.

Indeed, and again, Ritchie told the story — with clear bewilderment — last year to Tucker Carlson, while Trump was still holding onto hundreds of government documents.

Ritchie’s story is not part of the federal indictment, so it’s unlikely he’ll be called to testify about his longtime bud. And yet people still fantasized about that happening.

Buried under the lede is another shocking story: That the voice of reason between a president of the United States and Kid Rock is Kid Rock.

(Via The Daily Mail)

City Girls have dropped their much-anticipated single, “Piñata,” just in time for the summer. Yung Miami and JT first previewed the song during their set at Rolling Loud in California back in March. Now, they are gearing up for the release of their third album, having released a two-pack of songs over the course of 24 hours.

Hours after dropping “I Need A Thug,” the girls surprise-released “Piñata.” On the song, the girls rap with some Spanish-inspired flair.

“I’m wet like agua / got him bussin’ like a choppa / P*ssy make him do the cha-cha / He wanna hit it like a piñata,” rap the girls on the chorus.

In an interview with Complex published earlier this week, the girls spilled the tea on their new era. While they have several playful hits in their cannon, Miami and JT are determined to deliver a classic with their third album.

“It’s just a perfection thing right now,” said JT. “I don’t want to put out nothing corny. I feel like we’ve been here too long, and I don’t even want to play how we used to. I want the music to be good and hit. It’s still p*ssy rap, like it’ll be fun, but much more elevated. It’s elevated p*ssy rap.”

You can listen to Piñata above.

David Byrne and the Local 802 musicians’ union have reached an agreement to hire live performers for his upcoming musical, Here Lies Love. Co-written by Byrne and Fatboy Slim, the play centers around Imelda Marcos — a former first lady of the Philippines.

“After negotiation, we have reached an agreement that will bring live music to Here Lies Love with the inclusion of 12 musicians to the show. Broadway is a very special place with the best musicians and performances in the world, and we are glad this agreement honors that tradition,” Local 802 wrote in a statement.

Producers from Here Lies Love also shared their own thoughts about coming to an agreement.

“We look forward to welcoming audiences to experience the revolutionary musical experience that is Here Lies Love at the Broadway Theatre beginning on Saturday, June 17,” they said per Deadline. “Here Lies Love has always had three actor-musicians and a musical director in every production. The show’s integrity and the musical concept remains the same.”

According to a past report from The New York Times (via Rolling Stone), Byrne’s producers had been attempting to classify it as a “special situation” with the Broadway League that would’ve allowed for fewer musicians needed. There were also disagreements about using prerecorded music, given 19 musicians are a required rule for the theater.

Previews for David Byrne’s Here Lies Love play start on June 17, with a full opening on July 20.

The Denver Nuggets are 48 minutes away from the first championship in franchise history. Denver went into Miami on Friday night for Game 4 of the 2023 NBA Finals and took down the Heat, 108-95, to open up a 3-1 lead in the series.

Unlike the first three games against Miami, Nikola Jokic didn’t carry the Nuggets, as he dealt with a little foul trouble and went for 23 points on 8-for-19 shooting with 12 rebounds, four assists, three steals, and two blocks. But the magic of this Denver squad is that it has guys who can fill the void when Jokic isn’t playing like the best player in the world, and on Friday, Aaron Gordon stepped up and put forth one of the best games of his career.

Gordon was relentless, as he repeatedly attacked Miami’s defense and even added three made shots from behind the three-point the line. His 27 points were the most he scored in a single game this postseason, and it came on an ultra-efficient 11-for-15 shooting with six rebounds, six assists, and two steals.

One other Nugget scored more than 20 points, and much like Gordon, it came from a player who isn’t always expected to have a big from the field. Bruce Brown had 11 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter, providing a much-needed spark for the Nuggets while Jokic was on the bench with five fouls.

Miami ran into a problem it has ran into time and time again on its playoff run: the threes weren’t falling and the offense suffered as a result. While Jimmy Butler (25 points, seven rebounds, seven assists) and Bam Adebayo (20 points and 11 rebounds, although he also had eight turnovers) did most of what they’re expected to do on offense, the Heat only went 8-for-25 from three. With the Nuggets essentially playing them to a draw from the free throw line, the two main avenues through which Miami has been able to make games competitive were cut off, and as a result, the offense struggled to get much going.

Game 5 between the Nuggets and Heat will take place on Monday night at 8:30 p.m. EST on ABC.

Schoolboy Q seems to have confirmed that he’s finishing up on a new album that fans will be able to hear soon enough. He retweeted a video of the Back On Figg podcast hosts revealing that they were working with him on the record.

“We been in the mixing process of Schoolboy Q’s album. That sh*t is coming very very soon,” the podcast hosts said. “The album sounding fire. We just now letting y’all know. This is something big right now. We have been in the studio with my brother every week. The album sounding fire. Fire, you know what I’m saying?”

They continued: “It’s crazy to be in those processes because I’ve never really been in the mixing process. It’s also an experience, you feel me. And we kind of documenting the whole process… The album is there.”

Following the news, some fans questioned whether it would actually be arriving this time. Schoolboy Q had been talking about a new album dropping since 2020, and then eventually it moved to 2021, but neither drop date happened.

“Whaaaaaat you ain’t cappin this time?!” one wrote.

“I’m actually not,” he responded.

While there isn’t a title or much else known about the album and the release date, here’s hoping Schoolboy Q and his team release it soon.

Game 4 of the 2023 NBA Finals was critical for the Miami Heat, as the team had to defend its homecourt or else it was going to head to Denver for Game 5 with elimination on the line. Things were unsurprisingly tense in the Kaseya Center as a result, but fortunately, everyone got the chance to take a little break in the third quarter because the referees wanted to see if Bam Adebayo messed the rim up.

With the Heat trailing by eight points, Adebayo attempted to throw down over Nikola Jokic, but his attempted dunk wasn’t successful and he was hit with a basket interference for hanging on the rim while the ball was still doing its thing. Apparently, this caused the rim to bend in the slightest way possible, which caused the game to stop so the officials could check on it, even though Jokic tried to prevent this by pulling down on the opposite side of the rim.

Ultimately, they busted out some ladders, checked the level of the rim, and everything appeared to be fine, even if someone did have to tighten up a screw or two. And after things were delayed for several minutes, which included someone getting medical attention behind the Heat bench, the game was able to resume.

Zara Larsson recently did an interview with Pop Crave, where she revealed some fun news about a recent part she tried out for.

While the pop star is still set to appear in Netflix’s A Part Of You next year, she also shared that she auditioned to be in the running for Madonna’s biopic.

“I’ve been wanting to act for a really long time, but I’ve never really took the matter into my own hands,” she said. “I did audition for Madonna, though. I did actually do that! But yeah, they’re not doing that movie anymore, so whatever! That is kind of the only role I would have done, because everything else that I’ve been asked to do has been like, ‘You’re gonna play a pop star,’ which I kind of want to stay away from.”

“If anything, Madonna, I would do it every day of the week,” Larsson added. “But besides that, I think I would like to do something completely different. I would just want to do drama. I want to try something else.”

Last March, she also tweeted at the superstar to let her play her, although it’s unclear if this was brilliant manifestation or after her audition. “Hello @Madonna let me be you in the movie,” she wrote.

However, while Julia Garner had reportedly been casted as Madonna, the movie has also apparently gotten canceled.

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

Flavor Flav is going to have a blast tonight and he’s already off to a great start. He posted a new picture to social media where he declared he’s in his “RED (Taylor’s Version) Era and makin new friends” while attending Swift’s Eras Tour show in Detroit.

His outfit matched the era with a “I Knew She Was Trouble” t-shirt, a red hat, and of course, a red bedazzled clock around his neck. He also showed off his large stack of friendship bracelets that are usually traded between fans — but he probably received some for free from the VIP tent.

“Had to check myself and what version ya boy was reppin,,, artists supporting other artists,” he added.

Over the past few months, he’s been a serious supporter of her. So much so, that Swift and Flavor Flav posed for a sweet pic together at the iHeartRadio Music Awards earlier this year. “I always loved Taylor Swift’s music,” he said at the red carpet that night. “I’m here to support her. I’m here to support my girl.”

Swifties are loving Flav’s posts from the show and are wishing him nothing but the best time.

Check out Flavor Flav’s post above. Continue scrolling for some more Swiftie reactions.