Month: July 2023

The last time Cardi B and Offset shared the stage at Rolling Loud, the circumstances were a bit different. Back in December 2018, Offset crashed Cardi B’s set at Rolling Loud in Los Angeles after she’d reportedly filed for divorce. Although the move was criticized at the time as it came in the wake of the #MeToo movement and vocal critiques of “love bombing,” the bid was succesful; since then, Cardi and Set have been one of hip-hop’s highest-profile couples.

This time around, Cardi joined Offset at Rolling Loud Miami, where they performed the Migos hit “Motorsport” and their collab, “Clout.”

While the couple’s relationship has turned around in more recent years, that isn’t to say that it’s without its bumps — which are just as often generated by nosy fans looking for signs of new fractures. In June, fans believed that Offset accused Cardi of cheating, although from this writer’s perspective, it looked very much like a misinterpretation of Offset’s use of AAVE. The couple is due to appear together again along with their kids Kulture and Wave in Baby Shark’s Big Movie reprising the fishy versions of themselves from a previous episode that aired in the show’s last season. From what it looks like, their bond is as strong as ever, and the collaborative album they’ve been talking about releasing doesn’t seem to be in any particular danger of cancellation.

Doja Cat sometimes has a bit of a combative relationship with her fans. Over the weekend, for example, she took exception to her fans adopting the name “kitten” or “kittenz,” posting on Threads, “If you call yourself a ‘kitten’ or f*cking ‘kittenz’ that means you need to get off your phone and get a job and help your parents with the house.” Now, some fans are fighting back: Pop Crave notes that some Doja fan accounts on Twitter, some of which have tens of thousands of followers, are now deactivated, seemingly in protest.

This comes after one fan requested, “I wanna hear you say (I do love you guys) As usual you say to your fans,” and Doja replied, “i don’t though cuz i don’t even know yall.” Somebody else responded, “and we don’t know you. but we have supported you through thick and thin. mind you you’d be NOTHING without us. you’d be working at a grocery store making songs on f*cking garage band miss high school drop out…” Doja replied, “nobody forced you idk why you’re talking to me like you’re my mother b*tch you sound like a crazy person.”

Meanwhile, Doja reportedly blocked fans who criticized her over a relationship.

Gen V, the first official spinoff for The Boys, just dropped a new teaser trailer that offers the deepest look yet at the highly-anticipated series. Centered around a group of college-aged Supes, the show will follow Marie Moreau (Jaz Sinclair), an ambitious young freshman who hopes to become the first Black woman in The Seven.

As just one of the students attending Godolkin University under the watchful eye of Vought International, Marie will ideally hone her powers in hopes of one day working side-by-side with Homelander. Of course, giving a bunch of hormonal college students superpowers is never a good idea. Marie soon finds herself ensnared in the bloody underbelly of what being a Supe is really like.

Here’s the official synopsis:

From the world of The Boys comes Gen V. Young, aspiring heroes have their physical and moral boundaries put to the test while competing for Godolkin University’s highly coveted top ranking. When the university’s dark secrets come to light, the students must come to grips with what type of heroes they are going to become.

In addition to Sinclair, Gen V also stars Chance Perdomo, Lizze Broadway, Shelley Conn, Maddie Phillips, London Thor, Derek Luh, Asa Germann, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Sean Patrick Thomas, Marco Pigossi, Clancy Brown, Alexander Calvert and Jason Ritter. The Boys stars Jessie T. Usher, Colby Minifie, Claudia Doumit, and P.J. Byrne will also drop in to check on the college-based mayhem.

Gen V premieres September 29 on Amazon Prime Video.

According to the National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO), more than 200,000 moviegoers will attend same-day viewings of “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” across theaters in North America this weekend.

There are several reasons contributing to this cultural phenomenon. For one thing, viewers are pretty much guaranteed to not get bored. Whether you choose to wash down Christopher Nolan’s darkly captivating biopic with Greta Gerwig’s all-pink meta fever dream, or reverse that order, you’ll go on a cinematic ride.

Plus, the aggressive marketing of both films, the memes that have taken over the internet and the fact that there’s an opportunity for costumes has transformed the twin debut from a movie premiere into a bona fide moment viewers can get creative participating in, adding more to the thrill of it all.

And while Barbenheimer’s popularity might appear to be a lightning in a bottle situation, maybe it’s not. Maybe it’s something we’ve been collectively yearning for for quite a while.

---

Double features first made their debut in the 1930s to counter the box-office slump of the Depression-era. Theaters attempted to attract financially strapped moviegoers with all kinds of gimmicks like trivia, bingo nights and special giveaways, but ultimately it was two tickets for the price of one that got people into seats.

Those going to a double feature would start off the night seeing trailers, news, a cartoon or short film, then a big-budget A-film followed by a low-budget B-film. Again, guaranteed variety.

Eventually, double features became too complicated to pull off—it was hard to create a lineup that pleased a wide audience, not to mention there were ever-evolving legal woes with distribution rights—and by the 1960s, they were already part of a bygone era.

That said, there have since been some epic double features that made box office history, such as “Elf” and “Love Actually” during the holiday season of 2003, “10 Things I Hate About You” and “The Matrix” and the ultimate prelude to Barbenheimer: “Dark Knight” and “Mama Mia.”

Mamma Mia and The Dark Knight (July 18th, 2008) pic.twitter.com/8exLLzj4cN

— POP CULTURE (@notgwendalupe) July 14, 2023

This doesn’t take into account all the times you might have snuck into a neighboring theater as a kid to enjoy your own customized double viewing experience.

All this to say: Even in a world (and yes, please imagine this sentence being read by Don LaFontaine) where it’s so much easier to stay at home to stream a film, moments like Barbenheimer, and all the other modern-day double features mentioned, still bring people to the theater.

Why? Because they remind us what makes moviegoing so magical in the first place.

via GIPHY

The sensation of being in a packed theater with other friends, new and old, each buzzing with excitement. Feasting on popcorn and those “aha” moments that come from seeing two entirely different stories. Going through a quick costume change to stay within the movie theme. Gathering afterwards to dish on which flick was everyone’s favorite. Being so tired at work the next day but regretting nothing. These are experiences that can’t be duplicated through social media.

It seems clear that people are not tired of theaters but of mediocrity. What we are wanting instead is originality, novelty, an escape from reality and real connection. If an afternoon of period dramas and fantasy comedies can help with this, why not have more of these opportunities?

A cute video shared on TikTok by Spontanouslad shows how dogs and humans are a lot alike, especially when it comes to sibling relationships. The video starts with the brother dog sitting on the couch, looking somewhat oblivious, while his sister chews on his tail.

What’s bizarre is that the dog doesn’t seem to be bothered by having his tail munched on. Anyone with a dog knows that if you accidentally step on one’s tail, they let out an incredible shriek because they have a lot of pain receptors back there.

---

But this guy doesn’t seem to be bothered one bit until a woman gives him a heads-up about what’s happening. “She’s chewing on your tail, man!” the woman calls out. Then, like he’s been awakened from a deep sleep, the dog springs into action and stares at his sister.

@spontaneouslad

This dig had reaction like a human 😂 #spontaneouslad #dogs #dogsoftiktok

The best part is how the sister dog tries to play it off like she wasn’t doing anything, like when you catch a child with their hand in the cookie jar and they remove it and shove it in their pocket.

It’s like she’s saying, “Who, me? I wasn’t doing anything.”

The video made many people remark that the dogs acted like humans.

“Wow! You wonder if pets can understand us; this proves they surely do,” carpenterjosephone commented on Instagram.

Others joked that the woman who alerted the brother was being a snitch.

“Why u snitching woman???” iam_ds_v2.0 said.

“’Mum’s such a snitch!’ That’s what the little one said,” Katjerry added.

Sometimes it feels like there’s an ocean’s distance between the way humans should act toward one another and the way we do. So when we see a good example of good behavior—especially in a situation where things so often go the wrong way—it’s notable.

Such is the case with Ronny, a young man caught on a doorbell security camera dropping off a young woman who had been drinking. The footage is only 20 seconds long, but people are holding it up as a perfect example of how a guy dropping off a drunk girl should go. The TikTok video has nearly 30 million views, and the comments are filled with people praising Ronny for how he handled the situation.

---

First of all, Ronny walks the girl to the door and opens it for her. Very gentlemanly.

After she says, “Mommy, I’m so sorry!” into the doorbell camera and goes inside, Ronny addresses the camera himself.

“My name is Ronny, I am sober. I drove her home,” he says. As he starts to walk away, he turns around and adds, “My girlfriend’s in the car.”

Watch:

@achi.1122

Lord its me again 🥴 #TheSecondChild #ThanksRonnie #RingDoorBell #DontDrinkAndDrive #MyWildChild #Sissa #oldfiles

So this guy stays sober at a party, serves as a designated driver, makes sure the girl gets into her house safely, assures the girl’s mother that he drove her there sober and even adds that his girlfriend was with them so she doesn’t have to wonder if she was in the car with him alone.

“Shout out to all the Ronnies!” wrote one commenter on Instagram. “I married one. My friend died her senior year of HS, because she was hit by a drunk driver. In my 20’s when I was out, I would ask my boyfriend (now husband) to take some very intoxicated females & males home who had no other ride. He NEVER said no. Now I’m raising young men and this is so so important!! #mothersagainstdrunkdriving”

“Everything about this,” wrote another. “Props for her not driving. Props for the gentleman taking the girls home. Props to the adults in his life that modeled that behavior, and in her parents that taught her not to drive after drinking!!!!”

“This is fabulous. I love it. Way to go sorry girl and Ronnie,” wrote another. “I did however literally lol at the 100% tired sigh quality in Ronnie’s voice. #Good ol’ Ronnie- doing the right thing even when he’s sick of your nonsense.”

Ronny did sound a bit exasperated, but that’s all the more reason to give him kudos for doing all the right things.

However, after the video went viral, Ronny took the opportunity to share that he didn’t think he deserved praise—he only did what his parents had raised him to do.

“I want to take the 10 minutes of fame I have right now to spread the message, be kind,” he wrote in a follow-up TikTok caption. “If at any point, you are in a similar or relevant position where you know you have the ability to help, help. There are certain things in life that sadly not all of us were told and I think that’s why the world is the way it is. I am really grateful for my parents for raising me the way they raised me. And to be quite honest, I don’t think I would’ve acted the same way if they would have taught me otherwise. All I’m trying to say is, although I greatly appreciate the attention and the compliments what I did shouldn’t be something exceptional.”

@ocqv

to be quite honest, I got tired of re-recording this video, I feel like I got my point across enough to be understood. However, if you did not understand what I was trying to say, I’m going to further explain it. I want to take the 10 minutes of fame that I have right now to spread the message, be kind. If at any point, you are in a similar or relevant position where you know you have the ability to help, help. There are certain things in life that sadly not all of us were told and I think that’s why the world is the way it is. I am really grateful for my parents for raising me the way they raised me. And to be quite honest, I don’t think I would’ve acted the same way if they would have taught me otherwise. All I’m trying to say is, although I greatly appreciate the attention and the compliments what I did shouldn’t be something exceptional. It should be the normal thing in my opinion, I believe that everybody’s in a position to help at some point in their life some people just don’t take that opportunity so let this just be a little reminder, help, be kind. Thank you guys 🫶🫶

Well, if there was anything that could endear people to Ronny any more than they already were, it’s his giving credit to his parents and encouraging everyone to be kind and helpful.

Well done, Ronny. And well done, Ronny’s parents.

NBA legend-turned-analyst and unquestionable American treasure Shaquille O’Neal was recently in Honolulu, Hawaii, for a DJing gig at The Republik. During his downtime, he relaxed at the pool, but that didn’t stop him from giving a group of kids a moment of a lifetime.

A video uploaded to TikTok by Daniel Chavez shows the giant horsing around with some kids at the hotel pool. Can you imagine being a 4-foot-tall kid and staring up at the 7’1”, 325-pound Lakers legend? It must have been like meeting a god from Mount Olympus.

---

But Shaq was humble with the kids and pretended to be having a heart attack in the pool and acted like he was drowning. A group of about seven kids came to the rescue and saved the four-time NBA champion.

@incatico

Shaq is such a cool guy tho #shaq #hawaii

@incatico

The kids brought back Shaq! 😂 #shaq #hawaii

In a follow-up video, Chavez said he was hesitant to film the wholesome scene. “Part of me was like, hmm, should I film this?” he said. “Or, number 2, should I just enjoy the moment? Number 3, I’m like, he’s relaxing, he’s on vacation, why am I gonna bother this guy’s privacy? But the journalist in me said, ‘No. No, this guy’s being real right now. He’s being such a cool guy. I’m sure people would love to see this side of him.’”

However, in the end, the outpouring of love and good vibes that the video received on TikTok made Chavez feel like he made the right decision.

“Shaq loves kids so much it’s so wholesome,” Celestial Sylvia wrote.

“Shaq is a national treasure and must be protected at all costs,” Kyle Caldwell added.

Few celebrity friendships are as wholesome as the one shared between Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga. The icons would release two Grammy-winning, chart-topping albums together and perform two sold-out concerts at Radio City Music Hall, but they were much more than creative collaborators.

Bennett, who passed away on July 21 at age 96, previously told Parade that he first met Gaga, whom he lovingly called “Lady,” at a charity concert, where she performed the jazz standard “Orange Colored Sky”.

Struck by how she could captivate a crowd, Bennett immediately went backstage to meet her (a huge and pleasant surprise, Gaga would recall) and suggested they do an album together, which would later be titled, “Cheek to Cheek.”

---

This interaction had a profound effect on the pop idol, who at the time had been disillusioned with the music industry and “didn’t even want to sing” anymore. But recording together reignited her passion.

“All of a sudden, I’m singing in the studio with Tony and my childhood is flashing before me. All of those moments singing Ella Fitzgerald, being in the jazz band in high school and jazz being my first love. It’s been really exciting to revisit everything again and go back to my roots,” she told USA Today.

Because of that reaffirmation, Gaga credits the crooner for “saving her life.” According to People, she would even end up getting a tattoo of a trumpet, drawn by Bennett, “just so I would always remember this time together.”

The duo’s friendship would continue to deepen throughout the years. Gaga became an advocate for Alzheimer’s after Bennett’s diagnosis in 2016. In an interview with 60 Minutes in 2022, she shared how “beautiful” and “challenging” it was to watch someone she cared about change, but at the same time have his talent be unaffected.

Tony Bennett (battling with Alzheimer’s) said Lady Gaga’s name for the first time at their last concert together. this was a special moment for both of them. #RIPTonyBennett pic.twitter.com/62oXbXekB6

— ‏ً (@keaaaaley) July 21, 2023

“When that music comes on … something happens to him,” she said. “He knows exactly what he’s doing. I think he really pushed through something to give the world the gift of knowing things can change and you can still be magnificent.”

Though Gaga hasn’t commented on Bennett’s death, her sentiments are likely akin to what she said of “Love For Sale,” their last album made together: “The celebration of jazz, and us as musical companions, will live on with me forever.”

See on Instagram

Fueled by a deep love of music, Tony Bennett wholeheartedly shared the spotlight (and his infectious joy) with singers across virtually all genres, singing duets with everyone from Barbara Streisand to Paul McCartney to Amy Winehouse to John Legend. He even sang with country superstar Carrie Underwood.

Besides God-given talent, Bennett had a childlike spirit that brought out the best in others, and he will be missed.

Social media continues to be a gift and a curse for our favorite entertainers. While having the ability to communicate directly with fans (and vice versa) has boosted the careers of many artists, there are drawbacks — and some stars have begun to hit back. Doja Cat recently lashed out at over-invested fans, and now, Kid Cudi is calling out internet bullies. In a late-night Twitter session, he blasted trolls who questioned his sexuality all because he posted a pic of himself grinning online.

“U know whats crazy and really makes me question the world we live in?” he mourned. “Is when I post a picture of me smiling on ig and theres mad comments questioning my sexuality floodin my page w insults. I feel really bad for yall man. Its sad out here. Man cant even smile and be happy no more. Smh.” In a follow-up, he wrote, “Its like ‘oh he smiling TOO hard!! He DEF sucks a dick!’ Its like word?? Thats what we on now?? Homophobic and sad and will be miserable their whole lives.”

Of course, Cudi’s online experience hasn’t been all bad. In May, he was able to use fan feedback to determine which single to release from his upcoming album — something that wouldn’t have been possible 20 years ago. So, a little good, a little bad.

Harry Styles can fully exhale for the first time since September 2021. After 173 shows staged worldwide, Styles’ Love On Tour concluded at RCF Arena in Reggio Emilia, Italy, on Saturday, July 22.

Fan-shot videos captured Styles getting emotional while acknowledging the end on stage, and Styles continued his emotional farewell on social media.

On Monday morning (July 24), Styles posted an Instagram reel recapping Love On Tour through his fans’ eyes. “To the most inspiring people I know. Goodbye for now. Love On Tour forever,” he captioned it.

Around the same time, Styles shared a lengthy Instagram Story message. Read it in full and see Styles’ posts below.

“Love On Tour.

It’s been the greatest experience of my entire life. Thank you to my band, and all the crew who made the last few years so special. It’s been an absolute pleasure.

To everyone who came out to see us play, thank you. I feel so incredibly full and happy, it’s all because of you. You have given me memories that will last a lifetime, more than I could have ever dreamed of.

Thank you for your time, your energy, and your love. It’s been an honor to play for you, I hope you had as much fun as I did.

Look after each other, I’ll see you again when the time is right. Treat People With Kindness. I love you more than you’ll ever know.

– H”