Month: July 2023

(And Just Like That… spoilers will be found below.)

People are watching And Just Like That… even if they’re not universally loving it (as suggested by the 30% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes), given what it’s done to some Sex And The City characters. This includes Miranda Hobbes, who is a shadow of her former ass-kicking-attorney self while following Che Diaz to the ends of the U.S. and essentially doing nothing but losing her phone on the beach while Che Diaz tries to be great. And mind you, I kind-of enjoyed Che as a character and how they didn’t care about being liked. Yet a little bit of them goes a long way, and man, there’s a lot of Che Diaz in Season 2.

On a related note, what the show did to Steve was one of several reasons why I semi-jokingly likened Season 1 of the spinoff to a secret horror show. “Aw, geez, poor freaking Steve Brady” was how I non-eloquently described the situation, but Steve might be living his best life now.

This is an improvement because the Steve situation was not great. He was suddenly a shouty mess and pathetic doofus. Still, his biggest offense was to kill Miranda’s sex drive by washing his hands in order to avoid giving her a UTI. As well, he was newly partially deaf (the affliction found inspiration from David Eigenberg’s real-life experience, though the execution was not kind), and this apparently made him annoying. Mind you, he was still the same stand-up guy who will deftly take apart plumbing to rescue Carrie’s ring. He was relegated to, as I previously wrote, being that horror movie character who “would have been the first character knifed by a serial killer, right after he dutifully and thanklessly set up everyone’s tents in the woods.”

Well this week, the writers finally let Steve Brady have his day in the sun. As Decider’s Meghan O’Keefe has aptly phrased things, Steve is now the displayer of a “Revenge Bod.” I think people liked it, too.

The bod was always there, most likely, just hidden away well. Yet the shirtless aspect is now happening while Che and Miranda’s relationship is starting to disintegrate. Please please please do not let Steve take Miranda back again. He deserves to be treated so much better! Dang it, now I’m all invested in this show again. Nice work, HBO Max.

And Just Like That…‘s second season is currently progressing on Max.

Teen music journalist Jazlyn Guerra — aka Jazzy’s World — has landed her fair share of big-name interviews. Over the last few years, she’s spoken with Jay-Z, J. Cole, Cardi B, Kendrick Lamar, and Nicki Minaj, to name a few. But what happens when the burgeoning star reporter meets one of the personalities who paved the way for her particular brand of on-the-spot artist interviews?

Well, now we know, thanks to “Nardwuar vs. Jazzy,” in which the Human Serviette gets interviewed by — and interviews — the kid journalist, leading to one of the most wholesome discussions in the business. Jazzy even dresses up as Nardwuar, complete with his signature plaid pants and matching bonnet. Nardwuar actually credits the look to Sebastian Bach of the ’90s hard rock band Skid Row, who stole his skullcap one day.

The two journalists go back and forth about the craft and their origins, from Jazzy’s Panamanian roots to Nardwuar’s punk band, the Evaporators. And of course, Nardwuar lavishes Jazzy with lots of gifts, including unusual chip flavors, a J. Cole double LP, and more. Jazzy even sings a little of her own theme song (someone get her into the studio, immediately!).

You can watch the full interview above.

In May, it was reported that Rihanna and ASAP Rocky‘s baby’s name is RZA, after the Wu-Tang Clan member. RZA has finally responded to this news — and of course, it’s with excitement.

The rapper told CNN that it’s “a great honor to know that there’s another generation that’s not even of my own household that feels the strength and the inspiration of that name.”

He continued, “RZA [isn’t] only a name, it’s a title. So it’s an honor and I salute her and ASAP and their family. All the blessings in the world from me.”

Rumors are still circulating that the pair are married, especially after ASAP Rocky dedicated his performance of “DMB” to Rihanna during a performance in Paris, describing her as “my beautiful wife in the motherf**king building! I love her.”

She recently revealed that she has stepped down from her position as the Savage X Fenty CEO. “It’s been beautiful to see our vision for Savage X Fenty impact the industry at such an incredible magnitude over the last five years. This is just the beginning for us, and we’re going to continue to expand in ways that always connect with the consumer,” she said.

Jack in the Box is, without a doubt, stoner food. Curly fries? Those weird tacos that are repulsive to think about but delicious to eat? Oreo f*cking milkshakes? All stoner food! If you’re ordering those completely sober, you’re not doing it wrong, but you’re not doing it right either! Jack in the Box knows this, it’s why they have a whole category of combos known as ‘Munchie Meals,’ and now they’ve teamed up with the most stoned stoner of all time: Snoop Dogg for a celebrity-branded Munchie Meal known simply as ‘Snoop’s Munchie Meal.’

Conceptually speaking, I love it! I loved it before I even knew what was in it! As soon as I saw the first Snoop’s Munchie Meal poster on the JiB window as I was driving by, I immediately bookmarked it in my mind as perfect work material. I cover a lot of different areas at Uproxx, fast food, cannabis, tequila — but never before have two of my beats overlapped so perfectly. So I couldn’t just try the Munchie Meal, I had to try Snoop’s Munchie Meal the way it was intended to be tried: completely stoned.

So I did just that, I picked up Snoop’s Munchie Meal, took a handful of hits of this weed through a Pax 3 vaporizer, and recorded my initial thoughts as I ate each element.

The weed in question is CBX’s Blewtooth, an Indica strain with 30% THC content that is no f*cking joke. I have a lot of thoughts about the different elements, but I’ll begin each with my initial stoned impressions, which I recorded into my phone.

Before we do that, a bit of info on Snoop’s Munchie Meal: The meal is available now at participating Jack in the Box restaurants nationwide until August 6th and sells for $14. That’s a lot of money for a single meal from Jack in the Box, but this meal features four different items and is easily shareable between two people, so our best advice is to split it unless you’re incredibly hungry (or high).

Snoop Dogg’s Munchie Meal

Spicy Sauced And Loaded Chicken Sandwich

Stoned Thoughts and Tasting Notes:

It’s a hot dog! Oh, no, I’m wrong, it’s a chicken strip in a hot dog bun. Why is it so creamy? Why does it smell so damn sour? Have I made a horrible mistake? Nothing about this makes me want to eat this… thing, even after being stoned out of my mind. Or maybe it’s because I’m stoned. I can keep talking if it means not having to eat this thing.

Biting into it, there is a lot going on. It’s dry, as you might expect a chicken strip in a hot dog bun to be, but JiB loads it up with white cheese sauce, Good Good sauce, and Ranch which helps to make it more palatable but very salty and tangy.

Bacon bits provide a smokey top note and as a whole the sandwich ends with a lingering spicy finish.

Sober Thoughts:

There is a lot going on with this Spicy Sauced and Loaded Chicken Sandwich, which as far as I know, is a menu item exclusive to this meal. Props to JiB for making something new for Snoop’s Munchie Meal!

I like that this sandwich (yes, I consider a hot dog a sandwich, even if said hot dog bun has a chicken strip inside of it) presents itself as what it is — it’s spicy, sauced, and loaded. I was too stoned to notice that the sandwich also has some of JiB’s regular fries thrown in between the bun. A nice touch, even though I didn’t notice.

Crunchy Taco

Stoned Thoughts and Tasting Notes:

Snoop Dogg and JiB could’ve given me a box of these and I would’ve been happy. Sick to my stomach, but happy! What can I say about the JiB Taco that hasn’t already been said? It’s weird, features some sort of mystery meat that I’m not sure is even technically meat, there is a slice of American cheese in here, which somehow feels insulting at this very moment, and features a weird watery taco sauce along with lettuce that tastes like it has straight up been microwaved, which is to say, warm, flavorless, and slime-y.

Do I actually like these things? Yes, one thousand times yes. Biting into this greasy taco I’m reminded that it just hits a spot like no other cheap taco in fast food. Aside from, you know Taco Bell. And Del Taco. F*ck it, give me all the bad tacos, I’ll eat them all!

Sober Thoughts:

I don’t know why I said a box of these would make me happy, it wouldn’t have. JiB’s Crunchy Tacos are impossible to look at fondly when you’re of sober mind. Everything in me tells me, don’t eat that taco. Just to be clear, the Munchie Meal only comes with one taco, not two, and I still think one is one too many!

I’m sure I’ll order JiB’s tacos again in my life, but if I have the option to pick anything on this Jack in the Box menu, this would be my last choice and if I was eating this meal sober I think I’d ask if I could substitute it for something else.

Curly Fries

Stoned Thoughts and Tasting Notes:

Hell yea! Onions, garlic, black pepper, fun shape, I love curly fries. Couldn’t have chosen a better side to these other two indulgent menu items.

Sober Thoughts:

I was too stoned to remember to take a photo of the curly fries and the taco. Don’t do your job high, folks! We all know what curly fries look like though, so I’m not too broken up about it. These were great, and hands down one of JiB’s best menu items.

Every munchie meal should come with an order of curly fries!

Baked Brownie

Stoned Thoughts and Tasting Notes:

Holy shit, this is a straight-up hot brownie that feels freshly baked. Contrary to its name, it is not a “baked brownie,” in the sense that this brownie isn’t high. Why doesn’t every fast food restaurant have hot brownies on hand? The chocolate chips are melted and the brownie is moist and packing waves of rich chocolate-y goodness.

The perfect way to close out this Munchie Meal, the most munchie worthy!

Sober Thoughts:

I’m pretty sure JiB just threw this brownie in a microwave, I don’t know why I thought because it was hot it was freshly baked. It was a damn good brownie though.

The Bottom Line:

Snoop Dogg’s Munchie Meal doesn’t disappoint, it delivers on the concept, this is perfect stoner food.

It’s way too much food though, I think when you’re stoned and you have the munchies, your eyes tend to be bigger than your stomach. Even high out of my mind, I found eating the entire meal incredibly difficult.

So I think this is perfect to share, but if you’re stoned and flying solo, you’re probably better off picking up a large order of curly fries, and that delicious brownie.

Find your nearest Jack in the Box here.

After MF DOOM’s cause of death was revealed earlier this week, St. James’s Hospital in Leeds has issued an apology to the late rapper’s family for giving him substandard care. According to The Guardian, the Leeds teaching hospitals NHS trust, which operates St. James’s, said there were “missed opportunities” to properly treat his allergic reaction to a blood pressure drug he’d been prescribed.

DOOM’s wife Jasmine Dumile said that DOOM had been going through a litany of health problems including type 2 diabetes, heart failure, and kidney failure, and that after taking a drug prescribed for blood pressure, his lips, tongue, and throat swelled. On October 23, 2020, he was given adrenaline, steroids, and oxygen, appearing to improve, then rapidly deteriorating. After being put on a ventilator, he died on October 31.

During an inquest into the incident, the assistant coroner who examined DOOM said the hospital’s care plan was “not sufficiently detailed” and that when the rapper said the swelling was getting worse, a review should have taken place. While that may not have prevented his collapse or death and his adverse reaction to the drug was rare, the doctors should have noted that allergies were more common in people of African-Carribean descent and smokers — both of which applied to DOOM.

The chief medical officer of Leeds teaching hospitals NHS Trust, Dr. Hamish McLure, apologized to DOOM’s wife, who was following the inquest via video link. “I would like to offer our sincere condolences to Daniel’s family, friends, and fans at this difficult time,” he said. “I apologize that the care he received was not to the standard we would expect. Following his sad death we undertook a serious incident investigation and the report has been shared with Daniel’s family. As a result, we have put in place a number of actions and the wider learning from what happened is to be used as a teaching topic in a number of different clinical specialties. We also support the coroner’s recommendation for clearer national guidance and awareness in this area.”

Everything Taylor Swift touches turns into diamonds. Even her current tour, The Eras Tour, is on track to become one of the highest-grossing live music experiences. These accomplishments are certainly worth celebrating, but for the Grammy-winning singer, it’s truly all about making impactful songs. That’s at the core of Swift’s song “Castles Crumbling” with Paramore leader Hayley Williams.

Initially written for the entertainer’s 2010 album, Speak Now, the song was ultimately tucked away in Swift’s vault of goodies. Thanks to the release of Speak Now (Taylor’s Verison), the song is finally seeing the light of day with a new recording. “Castles Crumbling” is a moment of reflection where the ladies examine their meteoric rise to fame and all of the pressures that come with this sudden spike in popularity.

As the pair sings, “And I feel like my castle’s crumbling down / And I watch all my bridges burn to the ground / And you don’t want to know me, I will just let you down / You don’t wanna know me now,” you can’t help but to turn your attention to Swift’s massive Swiftie army. While they’ve poured endless support into the musician, what would their divestment look like? According to Swift, it is all only as solid as sand.

While the track marks Swift and Williams’ first musical collaboration, they’ve maintained a longstanding friendship over the past decade. After Swift revealed that the song would make the album’s rerecording, Williams took to Instagram to pen a note to her friend, writing, “Taylor was the first industry friend I ever made and hung out with outside of work things. When Speak Now dropped, I bought my friend’s record (as you do!) and listened to the whole thing in my first car, sitting still in the driveway. It’s my favorite Taylor Swift album for so many reasons.”

Listen to the full song above.

Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) is out now via Republic. Find more information here.

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

Just when the White House cocaine story couldn’t be milked any further by the right-wing media, Rudy Giuliani has entered the scene. Donald Trump’s disgraced former attorney and America’s Mayor stopped by Newsmax where he basically vowed to use his unique crime-stopping skills to hunt the culprit to the ends of the earth.

“You give me a couple of New York City detectives, we’ll get this thing figured out,” Giuliani boasted before offering to work pro bono. “Bernie Kerik and I will be willing to do it for nothing” (As of this writing, the White House hasn’t put Rudy on the case.)

Despite the fact that former Trump press secretary Kayleigh McEnany reported that the area where the cocaine was found is “heavily trafficked,” making the task of finding the culprit even harder, Giuliani isn’t buying that story. He even went so far as to call McEnany a liar.

Via Mediaite:

Why don’t they appoint me and give me a couple of um, of um, lie detector analysts, and a couple of— couple of forensic experts, and I’ll catch them. First of all, we’ll first figure out everybody that went through that area. It is not heavily trafficked. That’s absurd. That lying press secretary made it sound like it’s Grand Central Station. Of course there are people that come in there, it’s the waiting room, but it’s not heavily trafficked.

Giuliani ended his rant by blasting the Secret Service for not finding the culprit already.

“If you can’t figure out who did this, the entire Secret Service should resign and new people should come in,” Giuliani said. “This is a relatively narrow group of people. It’s not the whole world we’re investigating.”

(Via Mediaite)

Taylor Swift just shared Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) and it’s full of highlights. There’s the polarizing updated version of “Better Than Revenge,” and the powerful revamped ballad “Dear John.” There are also two collaborations on the record; one is with Paramore’s Hayley Williams for “Castles Crumbling,” and the other is “Electric Touch” with Fall Out Boy.

“Electric Touch” showcases the musical chemistry between Swift and Patrick Stump, who both have impressive, mesmerizing vocals. The chorus captures the special magic of Speak Now: “All I know is this could either break my heart or bring it back to life / Got a feelin’ your electric touch could fill this ghost town up with life,” they sing.

This crossover is years in the making, as the “Anti-Hero” singer performed with Fall Out Boy all the way back in 2013 at the Victoria’s Secret show where they played “My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light Em Up)” together. In 2015, the band mentioned wanting to collaborate with her: “We did this Victoria’s Secret show with Taylor and she sang ‘Light ‘Em Up’ with us. She is very in demand, though, isn’t she? I wouldn’t hold my breath. She was so sweet,” Pete Wentz said.

Listen to “Electric Touch” above.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

A few years after Marjorie Taylor Greene was stripped of all committee seats, the trend appears to have started anew. This week, Greene was officially booted from the MAGA-loving House Freedom Caucus. This may have been the long-game result for the far-right after Greene appeared to have lost some of her commitment to the group while siding with Kevin McCarthy. The final motivation, however, appears to be Greene’s very public beefing with Lauren Boebert, who she called a “little b*tch” straight to her face on the House floor.

That, of course, followed a bathroom fight in 2022, and the two incendiary congresswomen can’t seem to agree on who should receive (dubious) credit for bringing articles of impeachment against President Biden.

If you were wondering how Greene took the ousting news, she would like everyone to know that she’s doing just fine. In fact, she’s “[a]voiding distractions” because that’s “the key to staying focused.”

Enter a trip to the mini-golf course:

Well, people are getting a kick out of this, and the resulting vibe really fits a summer Friday vibe. It’s political but still so silly. How many times did Greene film that shot? Then again, she has a bit more time on her hands these days.

Officially, Greene (as reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution‘s Tia Mitchell) is not wigging out over the booting. As Mitchell paraphrases, Greene insists that “she has bigger fish to fry.” So there.

One of the stranger stories of the NBA offseason happened earlier this week: Britney Spears reportedly filed a police report after alleging that new NBA star Victor Wembanyama’s security hit her. Now, both Spears and Wemby have shared their perspectives about what happened.

At the Spurs’ first Summer League practice yesterday afternoon (July 6), Wemby told his side of the story, saying that he doesn’t know much about the actual physical contact between Spears and his security, and that he only realized hours later that it was Spears trying to get his attention. He said:

“So, what happened last night is… I saw the news, obviously, this morning. I woke up to a couple of phone calls. So yeah, something did happen a little bit when I was walking with some security from the team to the restaurant. We were in a hall, there was a lot of people, with people calling me, obviously. And there was one person who was calling me, but we talked before with the security, ‘Don’t stop because it’s going to make a crowd,’ so I couldn’t stop.

So that person was calling me, ‘Sir, sir,’ and that person grabbed me from behind. So, I didn’t see what happened ’cause I was walking straight and they told me, ‘Don’t stop.’ But that person grabbed me from behind, not on my shoulders, she grabbed from behind, so I just know that the security pushed her away. I don’t know with how much force, though, but security pushed her away and I didn’t stop to look, so I kept walking and enjoyed a nice dinner. […]

So actually, I didn’t know for a couple hours, but when I came back to the hotel, I has forgotten about this event… I didn’t forget about it, but I thought it was no big deal. […] At first I was like, ‘No, you’re joking,’ but it turns out it was Britney Spears [laughs]. I didn’t know because I never saw her face, I just kept walking straight, and that’s it.”

Not long after that, Spears shared a long text post on Instagram and Twitter. She refuted Wemby’s claim that she “grabbed” him, claiming she just “tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention.” Spears also called the story “super embarrassing.”

There’s actually a slight difference between the versions of Spears’ statement shared on Instagram and on Twitter. The Instagram version includes an extra paragraph that reads, “I also don’t appreciate nor do I think this is a laughing matter. Watching the player smile and laugh was cruel and demoralizing with the situation that took place. I am 5’3 and he’s 7’4…”

Spears’ full statement reads:

“Traumatic experiences are not new to me and I have had my fair share of them. I was not prepared for what happened to me last night. I recognized an athlete in my hotel lobby as I was heading to dinner. I later went to a restaurant at a different hotel and saw him again. I decided to approach him and congratulate him on his success. It was really loud, so I tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention. I am aware of the players statement where he mentions ‘I grabbed him from behind’ but I simply tapped him on the shoulder. His security then back handed me in the face without looking back, in front of a crowd. Nearly knocking me down and causing my glasses off my face.

I get swarmed by people all the time. In fact, that night. I was swarmed by a group of at least 20 fans. My security team didn’t hit any of them.

This story is super embarrassing to share with the world but its out there already. However, I think it’s important to share this story and to urge people in the public eye to set an example and treat all people with respect.

Physical violence is happening too much in this world. Often behind closed doors. I stand with all the victims and my heart goes out to all of you!!! I have yet to get a public apology from the player, his security or their organization. I hope they will…

I also don’t appreciate nor do I think this is a laughing matter. Watching the player smile and laugh was cruel and demoralizing with the situation that took place. I am 5’3 and he’s 7’4…

I cherish the tremendous amounts of love and support I am receiving at the moment. Thank you to the Las Vegas PD and the detectives for their support [heart emojis].”

Spears’ husband Sam Asghari also shared a statement about the incident in an Instagram Story, writing, “I am opposed to violence in any form, especially without justification in the defense of yourself or someone else who is unable to defend themselves. Self-defense can be unavoidable, but the defense of any woman, especially my wife, is not debatable. I consider my reaction subdued considering what occurred, and I hope the man in question learns a lesson and changes his disregard for women. Thank you for the support.”