Month: June 2023

The Houston Rockets are the official team of chaos this summer, as they can get to nearly $60 million in cap space, with no other team in the league coming close to that figure. As such, they are the team every free agent has been tied to, because they are among the very few teams that could give a free agent a significant contract this summer, but as Friday approaches the players Houston is serious about pursuing is becoming a bit clearer.

The James Harden reunion rumors have subsided, with the growing expectation being that he will return to Philadelphia, which has led to the Rockets shifting their attention on the point guard market. Fred VanVleet has become the new leading target for Houston by all accounts, with Marc Stein being the latest to tie the Rockets to the Raptors point guard. In his latest newsletter, Stein echoed Jake Fischer’s reporting that Houston is preparing a 2-year max deal worth north of $80 million to try and pry VanVleet out of Toronto.

I wrote extensively Monday night about Houston’s interest in signing Fred VanVleet away from Toronto. This has led to a flurry of informants advising me to give strong credence to projections that the Rockets want to sign VanVleet, who shot just 39.3% from the field this past season and 34.2% on 3-pointers, to a max two-year deal projected at $83.6 million.

That’s a lot of money for VanVleet, who Stein notes is coming off of a down shooting year. However, that’s the tax a team like Houston has to pay to get solid veterans to come play for them. We’ve seen teams use this playbook in the past — Philadelphia once gave JJ Redick a massive two-year deal to be the first solid veteran to play for the post-process Sixers — and for a team that’s nowhere close to the salary floor and has most of its players on rookie deals, it’s a good use of money that doesn’t clog up the books for the long-term when extensions need to start getting paid out. Now, its fair to wonder if VanVleet is the right guy to use that on, but the options this summer are pretty limited and he would be an adult in the room who has played on championship teams and plays at their biggest position of need. That checks a lot of boxes, even if he is coming off of a bit of a rough year shooting the ball.

The other well-reported rumor with Houston right now is that they’re the most-known suitor for Dillon Brooks, as they clearly have identified the defensive end as where they need to improve. Brook Lopez is still a possible target for Houston, per Stein, but is expected at this moment to go back to Milwaukee.

Earlier this week, Fall Out Boy announced that they’d be putting a modern twist on Billy Joel’s “We Didn’t Start The Fire.” While updating the events to current times has been something many have tried to do, the band thought they would add themselves to the list.

In the song, FOB run through all the events from 1989 (when Joel released the song) to 2023. They swap Joel’s JFK assassination line for one about 9/11, “World Trade – Second plane / What else do I have to say?.”

On the lighter side, they toss in fun references to My Chemical Romance’s The Black Parade, Pokémon, Twilight, Spongebob, the Taylor Swift VMA debacle, Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, Michael Keaton’s Batman, and more headline-ready rhymes.

And, just in case anyone was wondering, they do keep Joel’s catchy original chorus in their version.

“I thought about this song a lot when I was younger. All these important people and events — some that disappeared into the sands of time — others that changed the world forever. So much has happened in the span of the last 34 years — we felt like a little system update might be fun. Hope you like our take on it.” they wrote on Twitter.

Check out Fall Out Boy’s “We Didn’t Start The Fire” spin above.

Kelly Clarkson isn’t holding back. Her latest album, Chemistry, offers unfiltered accounts of the events leading up to her divorce from Brandon Blackstock. But she’s also getting candid in her interviews during her press run for the album.

Many of us first met Clarkson in 2002 during the inaugural season of American Idol, where she was crowned the winner. However, during an appearance on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen, Cohen asked Clarkson about a time when she revealed on her talk show that some celebrities were rude to her following her American Idol win.

When Cohen asked Clarkson if she’d be willing to name a few of these celebrities, however, she opted to plead the fifth.

She did, however, offer a slight hint, and managed to throw some slight shade in the process.

“I will say, a lot of them ended up on shows like the one I’m from,” she said. “It’s funny what money does.”

Clarkson did not specify whether she meant if these celebrities went on to audition for shows like American Idol or as judges. You can see a clip from the interview above.

Chemistry is out now via Atlantic. Find more information here.

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

Against the wishes of both his mommy and daddy, Elon Musk has reportedly started training to fight social media rival Mark Zuckerberg in a UFC cage match. Ever since the prospect of the cage fight emerged last week, Musk has mostly cracked jokes about the whole thing. The Twitter CEO is fully aware that Zuckerberg has been honing his jiu-jitsu skills, and Musk has openly acknowledged that, should the fight go down, it “could go badly” for him.

However, Musk has seemingly started to take the pending bout more seriously. After joking that he’ll rely on his signature move, The Walrus, “where I just lie on top of my opponent & do nothing,” Musk apparently worked on his fighting skills with Lex Fridman. The podcaster recently shared a photo of the two men sparring, or at least looking like they’re sparring.

“I did an impromptu training session with @elonmusk for a few hours yesterday,” Fridman tweeted. “I’m extremely impressed with his strength, power, and skill, on the feet and on the ground. It was epic. It’s really inspiring to see Elon and Mark doing martial arts, but I think the world is served far better if they train martial arts but not fight in the cage. That said, as Elon says, the most entertaining outcome is the most likely… I’m there for them, no matter what.”

While Musk seems to be mostly messing around with Fridman, the Twitter CEO does have a UFC leged waiting in the wings. According to the New York Post, Georges St-Pierre offered to train Musk, who accepted the offer on Twitter. Whether the training sesh, or the actual fight itself, will happen is anyone’s guess.

In the meantime, Musk’s father isn’t thrilled with his son’s latest stunt. Errol Musk recently told The Sun that the fight is a “no-win situation.”

“If Elon beats this guy, Elon will be called a bully, being so much heavier and taller,” the elder Musk said. “While if he loses the humiliation would be total.”

(Via Lex Fridman on Twitter)

Back in 2021, Young Thug had a concert at the New York Fairgrounds that was canceled after allegedly not being promoted fairly, according to HipHopDX. This resulted in a lawsuit from the promoters, who claimed it failed because of “racial animus,” against the State of New York, per The New York Law Journal.

“Defendants’ failure to fulfill their contractual obligations was allegedly grounded on racial animus toward plaintiffs, to the race of Young Thug, to the concert, and to the perceived race of the anticipated concertgoers,” the publication stated.

Since then, US District Judge Brenda Sannes allowed the State of New York to dismiss the lawsuit — claiming the state is not a person, but a corporation. This doesn’t mean it isn’t continuing, though, as HipHopDX got court documents that show the plaintiffs “filed for leave to re-file the lawsuit on additional tortious grounds.”

The publication also points out that while Young Thug isn’t directly implicated in this lawsuit, he is facing another one after failing to perform at Atlanta’s State Farm Arena last June because he was incarcerated. The concert’s promoter claimed that the $150,000 advance was never returned.

“Due to his arrest and the nature of the felony criminal charges against Williams, it was immediately apparent in May 2022 that he would not be able to perform as required in the agreement,” this lawsuit’s filing said. “To date, A-1 Concert has not received any reimbursement of the $150,000 owed to it.”

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

The Idol is coming to an end this Sunday, but the discourse will last forever. The HBO series has been met with mockery for its cringe and “worst” in TV history sex scenes (and weird pronunciations of “carte blanche”), but star Lily-Rose Depp believes the criticism is unfair.

“For me, whole character and the show and her arc was really a collaboration through and through. We know that we’re making something provocative and we are not shying away from that. That’s something I knew I was setting out to do from the beginning. I was never interested in making something puritanical. It’s okay if this show isn’t for everyone and that’s fine,” she told Vogue Australia in a co-interview with singer and co-star Troye Sivan.

Depp “never felt more respected and more safe on a set, honestly. And I think the trust that we all built with each other, you [Sivan] and I, and [creator Sam Levinson] and I, and Abel [Tesfaye] and I, that can only make for a really safe-feeling set. So when it comes to the nudity and the risqué nature of the role, that to me was really intentional. That was really important to me and something that I was excited about doing.” She added, “I think we live in a highly sexualized world. I think that’s an interesting thing to explore.”

She’s right. That is an interesting thing to explore — as long as this isn’t the explorer.

(Via Vogue Australia)

Pete Davidson doesn’t think that he dates that many women, and he’s not thrilled with jokes on the subject. Deserved or not, he does have a reputation, due to not only that Ariana Grande exclamation but also the high-profile status of the women that he frequently dates. A running quip, quite often, is that a divorcing female celebrity might soon be hooking up with Pete, and Howard Stern of course ran with that ball.

Enter Kelly Clarkson, who has been rather busy with her talk show and a new album (Chemistry) and is newly single after divorcing Brandon Blackstock in 2022. Stern could not resist broaching the subject around the 0:45 mark above: “How long will it be before I see you dating Pete Davidson?”

Clarkson immediately burst into laughter. “Here’s the thing,” she offered. “Pete is cute, and he’s funny.” She added, “I don’t picture us dating, but people always give him such sh*t … Pete Davidson, you are wonderful, but no, I am not looking.”

Nothing against Pete, but good on Kelly. And in response to inquiries about Tom Brady, Clarkson countered that no one wants to follow in Giselle’s footsteps, which is a fair point. Also very important: “I think I’m over the trauma [of the breakup], I just really enjoy me right now.”

No really: “I just don’t want to [date] right now. It just seems, like, exhausting.”

You heard the woman. Enjoy some naps, Kelly!

Tom Hanks‘ niece, Carly Reeves, did not take getting eliminated from a reality show well. Reeves was part of the Season 2 cast of Claim to Fame, the ABC reality series that tasks contestants with guessing which famous relatives their opponents are related to while concealing their own. For Reeves, that fateful moment came during the season premiere.

After getting outed by her fellow contestant, Hugo, an emotional Reeves couldn’t contain her shock that she was already going home after just one episode. While she handled the loss as best she could on camera, Reeves exploded as soon as she left the elimination ceremony.

Via PEOPLE:

“I didn’t even get to do any challenges. I don’t deserve this. I should have more camera time. I should be here longer!” she could be seen yelling out in frustration as she grabbed clothes to pack.

Several of her castmates appeared shocked as they overheard her meltdown from inside the house, which prompted cast member Karsyn to note, “I did not have that level of drama for my first guess-off on my Claim to Fame bingo card.”

However, in a follow-up interview with Entertainment Weekly, Reeves fully admitted that she “over-reacted” and copped to being a “very dramatic person.”

“I was just angry in general at myself, and at the fact that I was going home,” Reeves said. “And then that turned to complete despair and sadness. I even say, like, ‘I should get more camera time!’ That’s just so silly of me to say. But I also was just saying things out of my mouth.”

(Via PEOPLE, Entertainment Weekly)

Salma Hayek is living the good life. Here she is chilling in a bikini on a yacht (it’s the one yacht that the orcas aren’t allowed to touch). Here she is dancing while promoting Black Mirror. And here she is making friends with a duck (her fancy wine-sipping pet owl that puked on Harry Styles must’ve been jealous).

How can you minimize stress, the Salma Hayek-way? By lounging naked in a sauna, apparently.

“Embracing the healing power of the sauna and sweating out the stress this #WorldWellbeingWeek,” the actress wrote on Instagram, along with photos from inside the sauna where she’s naked, save for two tastefully placed towels. You can see the Instagram post below.

“I like to change – that’s my goal,” Hayek told Marie Claire UK earlier this year. “What don’t I know about myself that I’m going to discover? I believe in change – that’s the only form of evolution. I don’t like to be put in a box and I chose the perfect profession for that.” She continued, “I always enjoy the satisfaction of saying, ‘I still can do it’. Once you’re in it, you have to commit and be that character. There is no space for fear. I’m not afraid to be afraid. I don’t know if I’m fearless. I was fearless before I had children. Then I became somebody who worries about everything.”

(Via Instagram)

This past weekend on The Eras Tour, Taylor Swift performed “Dear John,” which is widely believed to be about her relationship with John Mayer, for the first time in over a decade. Before playing the song, though, she asked fans for their “kindness and that gentleness to extend onto our internet activities,” and with Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) coming out, fans shouldn’t “feel the need to defend me on the internet against someone you think I might have written a song about.”

Unfortunately for Mayer, that appears to have backfired.

For the past few months, amid news of the Speak Now rerecording, there have been some Swift-focused comments on Mayer’s Instagram posts. They seem to be far more prevalent since Swift’s request, though. Many of the comments from the past few days actually address that, comments like, “mother said to be kind but i’m in my reputation era,” “mother scolded us because of you,” “we got grounded because of you. count your days johnny,” and, “Are you holding her cats hostage or something how did you get her to say that.”

Taylor Lautner, it seems, saw this coming. When asked about Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) in a recent interview, he said, “I think it’s a great album. Yeah, I feel safe. Praying for John.”