Month: June 2023

Richard Simmons broke a six-year silence last year when he spoke out following the documentary’s release about his sudden disappearance from the spotlight. A spokesperson put it simply: “He is happy, healthy and living the life he has chosen to live.”

But that doesn’t mean we don’t miss him.

Simmons was a mainstay on American television for 4 decades, either “Sweating to the Oldies,” selling his Deal-a-Meal program or appearing on countless daytime TV talk shows, including his own. The effervescent Simmons was part of the fabric of American culture.

He was also hilarious.

Twenty years ago, he appeared on “Whose Line is it Anyway?” and it is one of the funniest moments in the show’s history. According to IMDB, it’s the most-watched episode on YouTube. While playing the Living Scenery game with Ryan Stiles, Colin Mochrie, and Wayne Brady, Simmons transforms into a host of inanimate objects on a cruise ship, including a telescope, a deck chair, a jet ski, a tree, and a raft.

As a jet ski, Simmons makes a rather suggestive motion with his head toward Mochrie’s crotch, to which the improv legend responds by smoking a fake cigarette.

The sketch is hilarious because Simmons seems to enjoy being in close contact with the three male actors, leading many to believe that he was not-so-subtly commenting on his sexuality. Simmons never publicly talked about his sexuality, even though he is seen by many as a gay icon.

Regardless who Simmons was in his private life, the sketch is joyous for the same reason he was so beloved. He was always himself, and there was no one in the world quite like Richard Simmons.

Latto is currently overseas touring Europe, where fans are showing their appreciation in some interesting ways. During her recent stop at the Open’er Festival in Poland, near the performance walkway got Latto’s attention with his sign, which prompted her to stop and give him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. What did it say? “Latto, sign my ass!”

So, the “Put It On Da Floor” rapper did just that, inviting him over the barricade and kneeling down with a marker to sign his butt, which was conveniently exposed by his thong-style underwear (it was not, however, leopard print, which would have made the whole thing perfect). They also twerked together, to the apparent delight of concertgoers nearby.

The response is an interesting and frustrating contrast with what’s been going on at pop shows stateside. Singers Bebe Rexha, Kelsea Ballerini, and Steve Lacy have all recently been hit with objects being thrown by fans, leaving Rexha with a black eye and Lacy with a reputation for destroying fans’ property.

Meanwhile, even when fans aren’t chucking things at stars, they’re offering up other wildly inappropriate “gifts”; a fan at a Pink show dumped their mother’s ashes on staged during her set, while another handed her a wheel of cheese. It’s clear that during the pandemic, a lot of us forgot (or just never learned) our concert etiquette… maybe we should all be more like the Polish.

YouTuber Colleen Ballinger, better known online as her childlike alter ego Miranda Sings, is facing troubling allegations of interacting inappropriately with her younger fans, nearly two months after attending the 2023 Kids’ Choice Awards.

HuffPost published a lengthy investigative report on June 24, following fans publicly coming forward with “screenshots of their private communications with Ballinger to evidence claims that she ‘groomed’ them throughout their adolescence,” and the publication confirmed the phone number featured in said screenshots belonged to Ballinger. Several of those fans went on the record with HuffPost.

Adam McIntyre alleged, among other things, that “Ballinger would bring up sex during their conversations back when he was still 14 or 15 years old,” including asking about his virginity and his favorite sexual position. The story delves into a private group chat that was named “Colleeny’s Weenies,” where Ballinger allegedly continually crossed the line.

NBC News also cited McIntyre, drawing attention to a 25-minute 2020 YouTube video posted by him to “tell my side of the story” as it pertained to his past with Ballinger. Roughly two weeks after McIntyre’s video, Ballinger posted a 13-minute video to her YouTube channel titled “Addressing everything.”

History is repeating itself this week, as Ballinger posted another vlog on Wednesday, June 28, to deny all of the allegations circulating about her behavior. The 10-minute video begins with the 36-year-old seated on her couch, looking despondent, and then inexplicably picking up a ukulele.

“Hey, it’s been a while since you saw my face,” Ballinger sings (sort of) while strumming. “I haven’t been doing so great, so I took a little break. A lot of people are saying some things about me that aren’t quite true. Doesn’t matter if it’s true, though, just as long as it’s entertaining to you. Right? You guys having fun? All aboard! The toxic gossip train, chugging down the tracks of misinformation.”

Ballinger states that her team “strongly advised me to not say what I want to say,” so that’s why she’s singing. She claims that she’s only made this video to relay “the facts,” admitting that she would message her fans “many years ago” but “not in a creepy way.” She attributed her desire to connect with her fans to “wanting to be besties with everybody” and called herself a “weird aunt.”

Ballinger additionally says that she “changed,” “took accountability,” and no longer interacts with fans in the same way, continually singing about how the allegations have negatively impacted her and dismissing them as “mob mentality.”

The description of Ballinger’s YouTube video reads, “I do not condone or support any kind of online bullying or hate towards anyone. ever.”

McIntyre tweeted in response to Ballinger’s YouTube video, writing, “as much as colleen discredited & made fun of me, im glad her video did ONE thing, show you all EXACTLY the type of evil woman she is, that a lot of us have experienced over the past few years behind the scenes, the mask has slipped…everyone meet the REAL colleen ballinger.”

Watch Ballinger’s video in full above.

The 2024 Grammy Awards are still months away, but as we enter the second half of the year, some buzz is starting to build over who will be honored during music’s biggest night. The Recording Academy added a spark today (June 29) when they answered some major questions about next year’s ceremony. For example: When will the nominations for the 2024 Grammys be announced?

The answer for when the 66th Annual Grammy Award nominees will be unveiled is November 10, 2023. More news about how that process will go down should be revealed closer to then.

There are some other key dates to keep in mind as well. For starters, the eligibility window for works to be considered is from October 1, 2022 to September 15, 2023. After that, the first round of voting for Academy members will run from October 11 to 20, while the final round of voting will take place from this December 14 to January 4, 2024.

Then, there’s the actual show itself, which is currently scheduled for February 4, 2024 at Crypto.com Arena.

This news comes after the Academy shared some changes to the 2024 awards. For one, they’ve added three new categories: Best African Music Performance, Best Alternative Jazz Album, and Best Pop Dance Recording. They also revealed that the big four categories will have fewer nominees, and they outlined policies on music made using AI technology.

Rootin’ tootin’ Lauren Boebert has stayed busy lately in spite of that little House floor dust-up with Marjorie Taylor Greene. The congresswoman from Colorado also found time to trash New Zealand and file articles of impeachment against President Biden. From there, she’s kept her Twitter streams alive with a steady dose of distaste for Democrats.

As part of that crusade, Boebert has decided to blame a recent AMTRAK derailing and the I-95 collapse upon Democrats (presumably Biden and Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg). “Stuff like this is going on constantly in America,” Boebert tweeted. “We’re sending our money all over the world but our own country is falling down around us.”

Hmm. The aforementioned AMTRAK derailment occurred because a water truck was on the tracks when it clearly should not have been on the tracks. The I-95 collapse was the result of an unforeseen accident involving approximately 8,500 gallons of gasoline on fire. Further, Colorado’s own Durango Herald newspaper recently wrote about how Boebert voted against Biden’s Infrastructure Investment And Jobs Act because she saw the legislation as “wasteful” and “garbage.”

Boebert went on to ask Buttigeieg to allocate $33.1 million for a bridge construction project in Glenwood Springs, Colorado. Further, she introduced her own infrastructure act and called it a “real solution” to funding the issue.

Let’s just say that people are calling BS on Boebert’s attempt to blame what could be considered freak accidents on Democrats. And no one wasted a moment before reminding her of her infrastructure-vote shenanigans.

(Via Durango Herald)

Beyoncé is currently touring all over the world, but the “Break My Soul” singer hasn’t forgotten about her hometown. Beyoncé is collaborating with former Destiny’s Child bandmate Kelly Rowland to give back to Houston by creating 31 permanent housing units for Harris County’s unhoused population, according to the Houston Chronicle.

This initiative was revealed on Tuesday (June 27). County leaders will use $7.2 million in American Rescue Plan funds to develop housing at the Bread of Life gymnasium at 2019 Crawford Street. Judge Lina Hidalgo added that an “even bigger launch” on the housing units will be divulged in September when the Renaissance World Tour is stopping by the Texas city.

“Harris County and the city of Houston, jointly with the coalition for the homeless, have reduced homeless in the middle of the pandemic by 20 percent, and we’ve been able to hold that reduction,” Hidalgo said in a press conference. “We just did the homeless count again, so it’s initiatives like this one I certainly will be supportive of it no matter whose behind it, but it’s especially interesting, I think, because there are these names of Beyoncé and Kelly Rowland, who, of course, have been supportive of the community for a very long time.”

Gather ’round, Barbz. I have some good news and some bad news. The bad news is: Nicki Minaj pushed back her album release. The good news is: She announced not just a new date but also the album’s title.

Unsurprisingly, it’s going to be called Pink Friday 2, harkening back to her 2010 debut album, which contained hits like “Fly,” “Your Love,” and “Moment 4 Life” (“Super Bass” appeared on the deluxe edition). The new album release date is November 11 — well after the release of the upcoming Barbie movie to be a little disappointing, but at least she has “Barbie World” on the film’s soundtrack to hold her fans over ’til then.

Nicki made the announcement via Instagram, sharing one of the photos from the Pink Friday packaging and writing:

Dear Barbz, I’ve been trying to find the right time to tell you this for a few days. Due to some really exciting news that I’ll share with you guys @ a later time, I’ve shifted the album date just a tad bit. Trust me, it’ll be WELL WORTH THE WAIT…but since I AM shifting the date just a tad, I’d like to give you guys a tiny SIP of some more album tea so that I don’t have to get cussed out so…here it goes:
MY NEW ALBUM WILL BE RELEASED ON 11.17.23-

and she shall be called:
Pink Friday 2

I love you guys so much. I am so grateful for the years of support & love you guys have given me. At times maybe I didn’t even deserve all that you have poured into me. Nonetheless, you. will. love. this. album. I will give tour deets closer to that time, but obviously the tour will start around the first quarter of 2024. I’ll also share the REAL album cover at a later date.

Pink Friday 2 is due on 11/17. Stay tuned.

Drop the name Wilt Chamberlain to anyone, and they probably know one or two things about him. The scoring thing, or the other scoring thing.

Showtime Sports‘ docuseries Goliath wants to arm you with more information (and appreciation) about the dynamic basketball legend and humanitarian.

Here’s the official synopsis:

“Utilizing groundbreaking artificial intelligence to recreate Chamberlain’s voice to narrate his own words and archival footage provided by the Wilt Chamberlain Estate, GOLIATH tells the definitive story of Chamberlain’s remarkable life and how he fits into the fabric of American history. The series invokes a variety of voices from sports, media, entertainment and academia to place Chamberlain’s life in both historical and contemporary contexts, highlighting his unparalleled athleticism, trailblazing achievements, personal magnetism and introspective nature.”

The trailer feels like an even balance between archival footage, although the use of AI to recreate the voice of a man whose been dead for over 20 years is a bit questionable. As for those talking heads, they include Kevin Garnett (who also executive produced), Pat Riley, Rick Barry, Jackie MacMullan, Bob Ryan, Tom Meschery, Dr. Todd Boyd, Jemele Hill, Jerry West, and clinical psychologist Orna Guralnik.

The first episode of the 3-part Goliath lands on Paramount+ for Showtime subscribers on July 14th and then on Showtime proper July 16th.

Chris Christie unloaded on Ron DeSantis following the Florida governor’s recent cowardly remarks about the January 6 attack.

Despite being Trump’s greatest threat in the Republican presidential primary, DeSantis has been taking great pains to not be too critical of the former president so he doesn’t lose the support of Trump’s MAGA base. However, that often leads to mealy-mouthed moments like this response to whether DeSantis believes Trump “violated the peaceful transfer of power” with his “Stop the Steal” rally that led to the breach of the U.S. Capitol building.

“I wasn’t anywhere near Washington that day,” DeSantis told a crowd in New Hampshire. “I have nothing to do with what happened that day. Obviously, I didn’t enjoy seeing, you know, what happened, but we’ve gotta go forward on this stuff. We cannot be looking backwards and be mired in the past.”

Christie wasn’t having it. While talking to CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on Wednesday night, the former New Jersey governor blasted DeSantis for refusing to condemn the attacks.

“He wasn’t anywhere near Washington. Did he have a TV? Was he alive that day?” Christie retorted. “Did he see what was going on? I mean, that’s one of the most ridiculous answers I’ve heard in this race so far.”

Via Mediaite:

You don’t have an opinion about January 6th except to say, I didn’t particularly enjoy what happened? People were killed. People were killed, Kaitlan, as you know that day, on Capitol Hill, defending the Capitol. We had members of Congress who were running for their lives. We had people trying to hunt down the Vice President of the United States, chanting ‘Hang Mike Pence.’

Christie also made sure to save gas in the tank for Trump.

“And Donald Trump the entire time sat outside the Oval Office,” Christie said. “That little dining room of his, eating a well-done cheeseburger and watching TV and doing nothing to stop what was going on until it got to the point where even he could no longer stand it.”

(Via Mediaite)

Benee teamed up with Mallrat for “Do It Again,” the official song of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023, which will be hosted across Australia and New Zealand, Mallrat and Benee’s homelands, respectively, from July 20 to August 20.

“Do It Again” arrived on Wednesday, June 28, alongside a colorful lyric video that appropriately begins with green letters floating above an animated soccer field (or football field, depending on who you ask).

The empowered, pulsating anthem is a guaranteed summer earworm even outside of its World Cup placement, as Benee sets the self-assured tone with the infectious hook, “Do it, don’t quit / No stress, don’t miss / Don’t overthink and do it again.” Mallrat delivers anecdotal texture to make the song even more compelling, reminiscing on “a dream when I was younger” that felt “more like a hunger” and basking in the reward of seeing it through.

FIFA provided context upon its release:

“‘Do It Again’ will also become a lasting reminder of a milestone in the history of women’s sport, as the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 is on track to become the most attended standalone women’s sports event ever.

“With over 1.1 million tickets already sold for the ninth edition of the tournament, fans from over 150 different countries will be descending on Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, making the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 a global celebration of women’s football.”

Benee also issued a statement (as relayed by Stereogum), saying, “Being a small part of this incredible celebration of women’s sport is an absolute dream come true for me. As a keen young football player, I just couldn’t have imagined this! I’ve loved the experience of writing a song which I hope reflects my excitement at having the world’s biggest women’s sports event held on my home turf, and I can’t wait to perform ‘Do It Again’ live with Mallrat at the opening ceremony.”

The opening ceremony is scheduled for July 20 at Eden Park.

Listen to “Do It Again” above.