Month: September 2023

Few owners in American sports are more strongly disliked than James Dolan. The owner of the NBA’s New York Knicks and the NHL’s New York Rangers, Dolan’s tenure at the helm of both teams has been defined by a lack of championships and, especially with the Knicks, controversial actions that have led to fans wanting him out.

Dolan has been extremely sensitive to calls that he should sell his teams — people have famously been removed from Knicks games for expressing their belief that he should do this — but if there’s any solace for folks who want him out, it doesn’t seem like he loves being in the sports ownership business. In a recent New York Times piece, Dolan actually expressed that while he loves the Knicks and the Rangers, sports ownership isn’t exactly a passion of his.

He considered expanding his sports portfolio, perhaps by buying a baseball or soccer team. But while the Knicks and Rangers are “near and dear to my heart,” he said, “I don’t really like owning teams,” calling the economics of major league sports “kind of sleepy.” He ruled out that option.

Since Dolan took over the Knicks and the Rangers in 1999, neither team has won a championship. The Rangers have come close on several occasions and are a perennial playoff team in the NHL, while the Knicks have not been nearly as successful, as the team hasn’t made it to the postseason in consecutive years since 2013. Previously, Dolan was the owner of the WNBA’s New York Liberty, which moved farther and farther away from being a championship contender during his tenure. They are now owned by Joe Tsai, whose portfolio of teams includes the Brooklyn Nets.

Taylor Swift continues to make headlines. Next month, a film documentary of her critically-acclaimed Eras Tour will hit AMC Theaters. Additionally, she will release 1989 (Taylor’s Version), a re-recorded version of her fifth studio album, 1989. But while fans are excited for new material, they also seem to be speculating about her love life.

Swift has recently been romantically linked to Travis Kelce, and while many fans are knowledgeable of the NFL star, some Swifties are dying to learn more.

Who is Travis Kelce?

Travis Kelce is a tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs. He also holds two Super Bowl rings for the 2020 and 2023 games.

He hails from Cleveland Heights, Ohio, and his brother, Jason, plays as the center for the Philadelphia Eagles.

While neither Kelce nor Swift have confirmed the dating rumors, Kelce has apparently been trying to shoot his shot at Swift for a while.

Back in July, Kelce revealed on his New Heights podcast that he attempted to give Swift a friendship bracelet during a stop at her Eras Tour.

“I was disappointed that she doesn’t talk before or after her shows because she has to save her voice for the 44 songs that she sings, so I was a little butthurt I didn’t get to hand her one of the bracelets I made for her,” Kelce said. “She doesn’t meet anybody — or at least she didn’t want to meet me, so I took it personal.”

If the rumors are true, it looks like Kelce’s effort certainly paid off.

Following a series of antisemitic comments, Kanye West has fallen out of favor with the general public — and with many of his collaborators. After the comments, Adidas, who was carrying West’s Yeezy shoes and fashion line, cut ties with West. Despite the dissolution of this partnership, Adidas CEO Bjørn Gulden had nothing but positive things to say about West.

During an interview on Nicolai Tungen’s In Good Company podcast, Gulden spoke highly of West, lauding his creativity.

“I think Kanye West is one of the most creative people in the world,” said Gulden. “And both in music and what I call street culture. So he’s extremely creative and has together with Adi created a Yeezy line that was very successful… I don’t think he meant what he said and I don’t think he’s a bad person, it just came across that way.”

Gulden mourned the end of the Yeezy collaboration but expressed gratitude for the partnership.

“That meant we lost that business,” said Gulden. “One of the most successful collabs in history — very sad. But again, when you work with third parties that can happen. It’s part of the game. That can happen with an athlete, that can happen with an entertainer. It’s part of the business.”

You can see a clip from the interview above.

Things have gone from bad to worse for Rudy Giuliani. The one-time “America’s Mayor” is getting sued by a friend, and now he’s been accused of groping a former Trump aide on January 6th, of all days.

In her new book, Cassidy Hutchinson, who worked as an assistant to Chief of Staff Mark Meadows during the previous administration, claims that Giuliani put his hand “under my blazer, then my skirt” while backstage during Donald Trump’s pre-Capitol riots speech. “I feel his frozen fingers trail up my thigh,” she writes in Enough, according to the Guardian. “He tilts his chin up. The whites of his eyes look jaundiced. My eyes dart to John Eastman, who flashes a leering grin. I fight against the tension in my muscles and recoil from Rudy’s grip… filled with rage, I storm through the tent, on yet another quest for Mark.”

The Guardian has more:

“I find Rudy in the back of the tent with, among others, John Eastman,” she continues. “The corners of his mouth split into a Cheshire cat smile. Waving a stack of documents, he moves towards me, like a wolf closing in on its prey.

“‘We have the evidence. It’s all here. We’re going to pull this off.’ Rudy wraps one arm around my body, closing the space that was separating us. I feel his stack of documents press into the small of my back. I lower my eyes and watch his free hand reach for the hem of my blazer.

“‘By the way,’ he says, fingering the fabric, ‘I’m loving this leather jacket on you.’ His hand slips under my blazer, then my skirt,” Hutchinson writes.

Giuliani has previously been accused of calling his assistant “big t*ts” and claiming that “Jewish men have small c*cks because they can’t use them after they get married. Whereas the Italian men use them all their lives so they get bigger.” No wonder his life is falling apart and that he’s reportedly “penniless.”

(Via the Guardian)

Last night (September 19), Taylor Swift and Sophie Turner were photographed leaving a restaurant in NYC — locking arms like besties just a few weeks after news broke that Turner was getting divorced from her husband, Joe Jonas. After the images surfaced on social media, fans were laughing about the move.

“Not picture me thick as thieves with your ex wife,” one person joked, referencing Swift’s “Vigilante Sh*t” lyric.

“She’s listening so intently while sophie was giving her the tea,” another user captioned another photo of Swift, that was reportedly taken of her at the dinner.

A few weeks ago, Turner was in the headlines after news broke of her divorce from Joe Jonas. The couple share two children. Sources had claimed that the two had different lifestyles, with Turner liking to party — despite past interviews where she self-described being an “introvert.”

However, Turner has stayed relatively quiet about the rumors, except for a standard divorce announcement.

“After four wonderful years of marriage we have mutually decided to amicably end our marriage,” the two previously shared in a joint statement. “There are many speculative narratives as to why but, truly this is a united decision and we sincerely hope that everyone can respect our wishes for privacy for us and our children.”

Upon the news, fans joked that one of Jonas’ other famous exes, Taylor Swift, had the opportunity to do the funniest thing ever. As it turns out, she followed the advice and did it.

Continue scrolling for some more reactions to Taylor Swift and Sophie Turner’s night out.

With four indictments now filed against him, and the majority of them filled with damning evidence, Donald Trump probably should be worried about going to prison. The former president is facing a litany of charges for mishandling classified documents, meddling with the state of Georgia’s election results, and sparking the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol building.

In public, Trump has maintained his innocence, and even recently told new Meet the Press host Kristen Welker that he doesn’t even think about going to prison. In private, he’s reportedly freaking out.

According to sources for Rolling Stone, Trump has spent the past several months asking his lawyers and top aides what it would be like if he’s sent to prison. The former president is particularly concerned about his appearance and if he’ll be forced to wear “one of those jumpsuits.”

Would he be sent to a “club fed” style prison — a place that’s relatively comfortable, as far these things go — or a “bad” prison? Would he serve out a sentence in a plush home confinement? Would government officials try to strip him of his lifetime Secret Service protections? What would they make him wear, if his enemies actually did ever get him in a cell — an unprecedented set of consequences for a former leader of the free world.

In a more concerning move, Trump has also repeatedly gamed out what would happen if he’s convicted, yet wins the 2024 presidential election. A possibility that should be unthinkable, but the guy was already elected once, so never count out American voters and their ability to make a mess like you’ve never seen. It’s practically our superpower.

(Via Rolling Stone)

Selena Gomez has accomplished a lot in her expansive career. Her hit murder mystery series Only Murders In The Building premiered its third season last month on Hulu, and she also recently dropped a buzzy new single, “Single Soon.” Earlier this year, she released a documentary on Apple TV+ called Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me.

In the documentary, Gomez opens up about her mental health, her relationship with fame, and living with lupus. Yesterday (September 19), Gomez spoke about the documentary during the Music & Health Conference in Los Angeles (per The Hollywood Reporter). She admitted that she was hesitant to release the documentary, due to its raw, unfiltered nature.

“There was a very long period of time where I just didn’t know if it was a good idea,” said Gomez. “I knew, eventually, one day I wanted to maybe just be an actress for a while, and I didn’t know if it would jeopardize things in my life. I don’t know what I’m doing, letting people into my life. And then the moment it was released…I had no choice at that point. And I was relieved. I felt like a huge weight was lifted.”

While Gomez said she felt relief watching the documentary, she admitted she probably won’t rewatch it anytime soon.

“I felt like I got to say things that I’ve been keeping in for years,” Gomez said. “It’s very hard for me to watch. I will never watch it again, but I’m very proud of it. I couldn’t have been luckier to have the people that worked on it with me.”

In a move nobody could have seen coming, Samuel L. Jackson stars in a delightfully random new commercial for the British bakery Warburton’s, and it’s quite possibly one of the greatest ads to ever exist.

In the clever commercial for Warburton’s Toastie loaf, Jackson assumes the rule of the bakery’s chairman Jonathan Warburton as the Pulp Fiction star proceeds to go off on a nasty tweet about the company’s bread. “What gives?!” a fiery Jackson responds. “What gives tweety pie is me – Jonathan Warburton. I GIVE! And hell hath no fury like a baker scorned, Steve.”

Jackson then launches into a highly entertaining romp through the company’s bread-making process that also includes paying a visit to Steve’s mom. You can watch the full Warburton’s commercial below:

When you randomly cut Samuel L. Jackson loose in a bread commercial, people are gonna notice. The Warburton’s ad is already blowing up social media where people can’t believe what they just saw. The spot is particularly melting the minds of UK residents who are familiar with Warburton’s Toastie loaf, which is probably the last product they’d associate with Jackson.

However, international audiences are absolutely loving the ad because, again, it’s Samuel L. Jackson being Samuel L. Jackson in a bread commercial. That’s not something you see every day, and kudos to the ad team who pulled it off. This isn’t their first rodeo.

You can see some of the reactions below:

(Via Warburtons on Twitter)

Author Michael Wolff has a new book coming out called The Fall: The End of Fox News and the Murdoch Dynasty. It’s about, well, the end of Fox News and the Murdoch dynasty, including how much Rupert Murdoch hates Donald Trump. The real-life Logan Roy often wishes the former president was dead.

“Of all Trump’s implacable enemies, Murdoch had become a frothing-at-the-mouth one. His relatively calm demeanor from the early Trump presidency where, with a sigh, he could dismiss him merely as a ‘fucking idiot’ had now become a churning stew of rage and recrimination,” Wolff writes in an excerpt published in New York magazine, adding, “Trump’s death became a Murdoch theme: ‘We would all be better off…?’ ‘This would all be solved if…’ ‘How could he still be alive, how could he?’ ‘Have you seen him? Have you seen what he looks like? What he eats?’” We have, and honestly, it sounds good.

Fearing a repeat of 2016, Murdoch decided that the only man who could defeat Trump was Florida governor Ron DeSantis, who he called a “professional.” Tucker Carlson, Fox News’ then-biggest star, wasn’t as convinced. However, in spring 2023, “the DeSantises [were invited] to lunch at the Carlsons’ home in Boca Grande, an exclusive community on Florida’s Gasparilla Island. And certainly, for DeSantis, this was a significant moment — an opportunity to reach out, to break bread, to make nice, to suck up to a plausible kingmaker.” All Meatball Ron and his wife Casey had to do was win over Tucker’s wife, Susie. Let’s see how it went!

They failed it miserably. They had a total inability to read the room — one with a genteel, stay-at-home woman, here in her own house. For two hours, Ron DeSantis sat at her table talking in an outdoor voice indoors, failing to observe any basics of conversational ritual or propriety, reeling off an unself-conscious list of his programs and initiatives and political accomplishments. Impersonal, cold, uninterested in anything outside of himself. The Carlsons are dog people with four spaniels, the progeny of other spaniels they have had before, who sleep in their bed. DeSantis pushed the dog under the table. Had he kicked the dog? Susie Carlson’s judgment was clear: She did not ever want to be anywhere near anybody like that ever again. Her husband agreed. DeSantis, in Carlson’s view, was a “fascist.” Forget Ron DeSantis.

There’s a scene in the cult comedy Clifford where a fed-up Charles Grodin demands that Martin Short, playing a 10-year-old rascal, look at him “like a human boy.” This would be impossible for Ron DeSantis, who can’t do anything, not eat pizza or laugh or pet a dog, like a normal human.

(Via New York)

Lana Del Rey did an interview with The Hollywood Reporter for their new cover story, and she had a lot to say. For those who don’t know, over the past few months, Del Rey made waves online after she was spotted apparently working a shift at a Waffle House in Alabama.

In the conversation, she opened up about the backstory of her wearing the uniform and all. Del Rey had been at the chain restaurant for a few hours when the workers offered her a shirt.

“This guy, a regular, comes in every day and orders two things, so they were like, ‘Just go get it for him!’” Del Rey explained. “I brought him a Coke. No ice. And an empty cup.”

“I didn’t see anyone take a video of me,” she added.

But someone did, and Del Rey at the Waffle House has continued to be an internet joke (in a good way).

“I wish my album had gone as viral,” Del Rey laughed. “I woke up to, like, 10,000 texts the next morning — some from folks I had not heard from for 10 years. ‘Saw your picture at the Waffle House!’ I was like, ‘Did you hear the new album?’”

Check out the original video of Lana Del Rey at the Waffle House below.