Month: November 2023

Somehow, James Austin Johnson‘s freakishly accurate Trump impression seems to get better with each ‘SNL’ performance. This week saw Johnson’s Trump walking on stage at this past week’s latest sh**show of a GOP debate — the one in which Nikki Haley called swarmy pharma bro Vivek Ramaswamy “scum” live to his face (the shoe definitely seems to fit) — and mocking his remaining opponents mercilessly while they stood frozen behind him.

Some of the notable cracks include:

“Can you believe it, folks? Ninety-one indictments, four trials and I am still the best choice.”

“I’m very, very busy. I’m going from trial to trial. I’m basically doing House Hunters but with courtrooms.”

“How adorable. They actually think they’ve got a chance. Sad in some ways, but in other ways, funny.”

“They are all stuck behind me and there is nothing they can do about it, just like in real life.”

“I call (Nikki Haley) ‘bird brain,’ but only in public. She made some terrible points in that debate — I think. I don’t know, I have trouble hearing women over 25.”

And perhaps the best crack was about Ron DeSantis, who was played by John Higgins.

“Poor Ron DeSantis. Even SNL doesn’t think he has a chance. If they did it’d be like Paul Rudd or something in there.”

You can watch the full skit above.

In their second performance of the night on the Saturday Night Live stage, Boygenius delivered an intimate performance of “Satanist” from their debut album, The Record.

While on stage, Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker, and Lucy Dacus wore their signature suits, once again, with Baker front and center. She kicked off the song, taking command vocally, with the other ladies joining in, adding their special touches. About halfway through the song, a devilishly red light shone upon the group. At the conclusion of the song, Baker tossed her guitar off stage in a rockstar rite of passage.

It feels like Boygenius is on top of the world, following a year of critically-acclaimed music, incredible performances, and pure camaraderie. In an interview with British GQ, the ladies shared that they do fear an inevitable hiatus of the group, as they each return to making their respective solo music. But note that nothing compares to the feeling of magic when they create together.

“When I’m working by myself, it feels a lot like this weird, individualist quest to create something grand,” said Baker. “And when I’m working with y’all, by necessity, because y’all are contributing to it, it feels unpredictable, unknown.”

You can see the performance of “Satanist” above.

In his second time hosting Saturday Night Live, Timothée Chalamet brought back an old favorite. Reprising his Soundcloud rapper role, SmokeCheddaThaAssGetta, Chalamet spoke on a special panel honoring the 50th anniversary of hip-hop.

During the sketch, a moderator named Nunya Business, played by Ego Nwodim, hosts a group of hip-hop experts at the Museum Of Hip-Hop. On the panel are Mary J. Blige (Punkie Johnson), Dr. Cornel West (Kenan Thompason), Rick Rubin (James Austin Johnson), and SmokeCheddaThaAssGetta.

Evidently, SmokeCheddaThaAssGetta has broken the streaming record, which, according to Nunya, makes him “the most successful hip-hop artist of all time.”

While on the panel, Johnson’s Blige posits that hip-hop has thrived for more than 50 years, given the pure emotion in the music. Meanwhile, SmokeCheddaThaAssGetta is confused, as he initially thought hip-hop was discovered in 2014. However, he simply sums up his reasoning for Hip-Hop’s longevity, saying, “the opps gonna slide, but DMs be popping regardless.”

Elsewhere in the panel, SmokeCheddaThaAssGetta opens up about his struggles, hilariously noting “My dad made me get braces when I wanted Invisalign.” He also mentioned his sidekick in the rap game, Guaplord, who, in SmokeChedda’s first sketch, was played by Pete Davidson.

“He gotta lay low in Turkey for a minute,” SmokeCheddaThaAssGetta said.

You can see the sketch above.

It’s been a hell of a year for musical trio Boygenius. Back in March, the group — comprised of Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus, and Julien Baker — released their debut album, The Record — and it was only up from there. The group has since headlined Coachella, embarked on a North American tour, and earned six Grammy nominations for the 2024 awards.

Tonight (November 11), Boygenius took to the Saturday Night Live stage in what felt like highlights to a very exciting year for the band. In their first performance of the night, the ladies performed “Not Strong Enough” — a fan favorite from the record.

During the performance, Boygenius donned their signature suits, tapping into the pure, raw emotion of the song, as they prepared for the end of a breakthrough year.

And the ladies have certainly earned the right to rock out. Yesterday, “Not Strong Enough” earned Grammy nominations for Best Rock Song, Best Rock Performance, and Record Of The Year. The Record itself is nominated for Best Alternative Album and Album Of The Year.

To say they’ve become a household name would be an understatement, but this is simply the beginning for Boygenius.

You can see the performance of “Not Strong Enough” above.

In the first Saturday Night Live episode since the end of the SAG-AFTRA strike, this week’s host, Timothée Chalamet wasted no time. Tonight (November 11), the actor hosted the show for the second time.

The first time Chalamet hosted was back in 2020, amid the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. While both of his hosting gigs thus far took place at weird times, Chalamet fully embraced the newfound freedom to talk about his work. During tonight’s episode, Chalamet was excited to promote his upcoming projects, Wonka and Dune: Part II.

He broke out into song, singing to the tune of “Pure Imagination” from the original Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory.

“Come with me / and you’ll be / in a world of shameless self-promotion / It’s okay / That my new film Wonka is out in theaters December 15,” Chalamet sang.

He was then interrupted by SNL actor Marcello Hernandez, with whom, Chalamet established that they both have baby faces. The two then broke out into a hilarious rap about the reality of living with baby faces.

They were joined by fellow SNL actors Punkie Johnson and Kenan Thompson, the latter of whom jokingly claimed to be 63 years old, but maintained a youthful appearance due to his baby face.

You can see Chalamet’s opening monologue above.

NEW YORK — Alex Pereira (9-2) knocked out Jiří Procházka (29-4-1) to win the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship at UFC 295 from Madison Square Garden in New York.

Procházka opened the strikes with a swift upper cut, before a leg sweep from Pereira sent him to the mat. Pereira continued to chip away with leg kicks while Procházka found his range. Procházka shot and pushed Pereira against the cage before sweeping him and taking him to the mat. Procházka moved into side control and looked for openings in Pereira’s guard. Pereira was able to get back to his feet, evading Procházka‘s wild strikes to end the round.

Procházka was much more aggressive to open the second, finding his range with a combination of varied kicks. Pereira followed with leg kicks of his own. Procházka backed him against the shots of his own as the two traded big blows before Pereira wrapped him up. Pereira continued to work the legs and this time it was Procházka wrapping up. Procházka walked down Pereira before a counter shot dropped the former champ. He tried to get to his feet, but elbow strikes sent him backward and Pereira finished him for the win.

Procházka had only fought three times since joining the UFC, earning two knockout wins before submitting Glover Teixeira to win the Light Heavyweight belt in June 2022. He vacated the belt after undergoing major shoulder surgery with a near-yearlong layoff.

Pereira entered Madison Square Garden seeking his second UFC title after moving from Middleweight to Light Heavyweight in July. Pereira won the Middleweight title in a knockout over Israel Adesanya before dropping the belt in their UFC rematch. He was open about how difficult the weight cut was ahead of their rematch, leading to the jump to a more manageable weight class. In his Light Heavyweight debut, he earned a decision victory over Jan Blachowicz as part of UFC 291’s co-main event before facing off against Procházka.

In the post-fight press conference, UFC president Dana White announced Jamahal Hill will get the next title fight when he’s ready.

NEW YORK — Tom Aspinall (14-3) knocked out Sergei Pavlovich (18-2) to claim the interim UFC Heavyweight Championship at UFC 295 from Madison Square Garden in New York.

Aspinall opened the first round with a swift leg kick to mix things up as Pavlovich circled him. Pavlovich countered with a heavy one-two, hit him again, then Aspinall laid Pavlovich out with a gigantic four-punch combination before finishing him with a hammer fist on the mat.

The repositioned UFC 295 card came together after Jon Jones tore his pectoral muscle two weeks before he was slated to face off against Stipe Miocic. In place of the highly-touted bout came a matchup of young, hungry fighters looking for their first taste of UFC gold in Aspinall against Pavlovich.

Aspinall’s lone UFC loss came 15 seconds into his fight with Curtis Blaydes, when he suffered an ACL, MCL, and meniscus injury on a leg kick that put him out of action for just under a year. He returned earlier in 2023 to earn a first-round knockout against Marcin Tybura.

With the shortest average fight rate in the UFC, Aspinall faced off against Pavlovich, who boasted the third-fastest fight time heading into Saturday night. Aspinall also ended Pavlovich’s UFC finish rate, shutting him off at six-consecutive finishes.

Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour touched down in Argentina this week, after a two month pause. And as Swift is known to do, she’s kept the surprises coming for this Latin American leg.

One of the notable surprises came in the form of an adorable lyric change in one of her Midnights hits.

During a performance of “Karma,” Swift made a special shout-out to her beau, Kansas City Chiefs tight end, Travis Kelce.

While singing the song’s bridge, Swift sang, “Karma is the guy on the Chiefs / Coming straight home to me,” alluding to Kelce.

The song’s actual lyrics are “Karma is the guy on the screen / coming straight home to me,” which, at the time of release, were thought to be about her then-boyfriend, actor Joe Alwyn.

While neither Kelce or Swift have directly commented on their buzzy relationship, the pair has everyone talking.

Over the past few weeks, Swift has been spotted at several Chiefs games cheering Kelce on. Kelce was also spotted supporting Swift at the first Argentina show of the Eras Tour.

Later in the night, the two were seen sharing a passionate kiss after the show. This marks the first time the two were seen kissing in public.

Needless to say, Swifties are losing it.

You can see the clip of the “Karma” above.

According to a report by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Philadelphia 76ers forward Kelly Oubre was hit by a car while walking near his residence in the Center City neighborhood. He’s now at a hospital in Philadelphia and is considered to be in stable condition.

Wojnarowski says that the injuries are not expected to keep Oubre out for the remainder of the year, but early indications are that he’ll spend “significant time” sidelined.

It’s good to hear that Oubre is expected to be able to return this year, and here’s hoping that his injuries are not the sorts of things that he’ll struggle to get past. Oubre has been a revelation on the floor for the Sixers this year, as he’s established himself as a member of the team’s starting lineup in the aftermath of the James Harden trade and has fit like a glove alongside Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey.

After spending the last two years as a member of the Charlotte Hornets, Oubre joined the Sixers this offseason on a 1-year veteran minimum contract. He’s started five of the eight games in which he’s appeared for the team, and is averaging 16.3 rebounds and 5.1 rebounds in 29 minutes per game. Oubre is putting up career-best marks in field goal percentage (50 percent) and three-point percentage (37.8 percent).

It’s no secret that Donald Trump likes to bray about his “very, very large brain” a lot. He also loves to remind everyone how he “aced” a very simple cognitive test given to senior citizens to check for signs of dementia when he was president. (It’s almost like he’s … insecure about his brain?) Donald Trump also loves to bray about Joe Biden’s brain, specifically how the brain of “Sleepy Joe” is basically a bowl of mashed potatoes (while also being some sort of criminal mastermind helming the “Biden Crime Family”). But lately, it’s been the “stable genius” Trump whose brain appears to be rapidly rotting, what with his insistence that Biden was leading us into “World War II” while also repeatedly referring to Obama as the current president.

Well, today he did it again, this time in a speech at a rally in New Hampshire in the course of praising the authoritarian leader of Hungary. Here’s the disgraced former president once again confusing who the current president is.

But the head of Hungary. Very tough, strong guy. Viktor Orban, did anybody ever hear him? Probably, you know, considered very powerful, very powerful within his country and outside of his country, not exactly loved by some of the European nations…But they were interviewing him two weeks ago and they said, “What would you advise President Obama? The whole world seems to be exploding and imploding.” And he said “It’s very simple. He should immediately resign and they should replace him with President Trump, who kept the world safe.”

The DeSantis campaign was quick to pounce on the gaffe.

While the state of Biden’s brain is certainly a source of legitimate concern, Trump definitely doesn’t seem to be playing with a full deck these days either. But then again, Trump is facing close to triple-digit felony charges. That would cause one to lose some sleep, surely.