Month: November 2023

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been unfolding for nearly a century now, and ultimately, it’s a complex situation. It’s become particularly intense in recent months, and now, Halsey, who has previously spoken out in support of the Palestinian people, has shared some thoughts. In a new post, she revealed how her previous speech forced her to take significant measures to ensure her personal safety.

In a pair of Instagram Story text posts shared yesterday (November 14), Halsey explained she hasn’t spoken out in a while due to “cowardice,” because she’s “exceptionally anxious about navigating my responsibility as a career activist as it pertains to my daily life off of social media.”

She went on to note:

“During my last tour I had a volume of violent and threatening events occur that resulted in my home being swatted multiple times and required the presence of snipers in the sky during most of my shows that summer. After that happened, I made a conscious decision to protect my family from people who plan to enact violence towards me in disagreement of my opinions.”

She concluded the post by reaffirming her “stance regarding the liberation of the Palestinian people” and wrote, “I am making a series of size-able donations to relief and support organizations. My politics are uncomplicated and remain unchanged. I condemn any organized body of power unleashing acts of violence against innocent civilians. The rise of Antisemitism and Islamophobia is undeniable. I stand against hate speech in all forms. I stand for freedom and the right to live safely.”

Find Halsey’s full statement below.

“Lately I have been asked why I haven’t spoken about the conflict in Israel and Palestine for this great length of time. Especially after my supremely vocal support of the Palestinian people the past few years. A few people have suggested that it’s cowardice. And to be completely honest, it is.

I am, truthfully, exceptionally anxious about navigating my responsibility as a career activist as it pertains to my daily life off of social media: Being the mother of a small child and a member of my community, in addition to the contribution of my greater voice and platform. The global conversation has reached a level of volatility that I’m having a hard time navigating here AND offline.

During my last tour I had a volume of violent and threatening events occur that resulted in my home being swatted multiple times and required the presence of snipers in the sky during most of my shows that summer. After that happened, I made a conscious decision to protect my family from people who plan to enact violence towards me in disagreement of my opinions.

However. It doesn’t sit right with me that a decision I made for my own family is in turn keeping me from vocalizing support for families enduring far worse violence. Families caught between the brawling hands of a militarized government and a terrorist organization, and the diaspora of both parties trying to get through each and every day.

I have no meaningful statement or excuse to make that could justify my weeks of silence this time around. And I deeply despise the culture of deflecting responsibility to save face in front of the audience demanding comment. So instead I’m coming here to call it for what it is, admit my regret, and reaffirm my stance regarding the liberation of the Palestinian people.

I am making a series of size-able donations to relief and support organizations.

My politics are uncomplicated and remain unchanged. I condemn any organized body of power unleashing acts of violence against innocent civilians. The rise of Antisemitism and Islamophobia is undeniable. I stand against hate speech in all forms. I stand for freedom and the right to live safely.”

In the two years since the Astroworld Festival disaster, in which 10 people were killed and hundreds more were injured, Travis Scott has said very little about the incident. Part of that was out of necessity; aside from an interview in the immediate aftermath (which didn’t go well for him), he spent much of the next year out of the spotlight, and this year, he focused on rolling out his album Utopia and its promotional tour as efficiently as possible — perhaps to avoid a media furor over Astroworld.

But he had to address the disaster eventually, and it appears he chose a friendly forum to do so: GQ‘s Men Of The Year cover story. During the interview, he talked about taking a break from music due to the festival disaster and its mental impact on him.

“Making music, you think about things that go on in life and things that happen in your life, and you dial in on things. That moment for families, for the city, you know, it was devastating. And when it came to making, like even finishing the album…I got back into it probably like, I don’t know, months and months and months after. And the idea of just even getting back into music, working on music and just even getting into that, was therapeutic of being able to channel some of the energy into production and sounds and finishing it.”

Travis also said he was “overly devastated” by the deaths, comparing the fans to his own family. “I always think about it,” he admitted. “Those fans were like my family. You know, I love my fans to the utmost… It has its moments where it gets rough and…yeah. You just feel for those people. And their families.”

He’s still addressing the fallout from the festival, as well. While a court ruled he would not be charged with any criminal offenses in June this year, a massive combined lawsuit against him and Live Nation from the hundreds of victims and survivors is still ongoing.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been unfolding for nearly a century now, and ultimately, it’s a complex situation. It’s become particularly intense in recent months, and now, Halsey, who has previously spoken out in support of the Palestinian people, has shared some thoughts. In a new post, she revealed how her previous speech forced her to take significant measures to ensure her personal safety.

In a pair of Instagram Story text posts shared yesterday (November 14), Halsey explained she hasn’t spoken out in a while due to “cowardice,” because she’s “exceptionally anxious about navigating my responsibility as a career activist as it pertains to my daily life off of social media.”

She went on to note:

“During my last tour I had a volume of violent and threatening events occur that resulted in my home being swatted multiple times and required the presence of snipers in the sky during most of my shows that summer. After that happened, I made a conscious decision to protect my family from people who plan to enact violence towards me in disagreement of my opinions.”

She concluded the post by reaffirming her “stance regarding the liberation of the Palestinian people” and wrote, “I am making a series of size-able donations to relief and support organizations. My politics are uncomplicated and remain unchanged. I condemn any organized body of power unleashing acts of violence against innocent civilians. The rise of Antisemitism and Islamophobia is undeniable. I stand against hate speech in all forms. I stand for freedom and the right to live safely.”

Find Halsey’s full statement below.

“Lately I have been asked why I haven’t spoken about the conflict in Israel and Palestine for this great length of time. Especially after my supremely vocal support of the Palestinian people the past few years. A few people have suggested that it’s cowardice. And to be completely honest, it is.

I am, truthfully, exceptionally anxious about navigating my responsibility as a career activist as it pertains to my daily life off of social media: Being the mother of a small child and a member of my community, in addition to the contribution of my greater voice and platform. The global conversation has reached a level of volatility that I’m having a hard time navigating here AND offline.

During my last tour I had a volume of violent and threatening events occur that resulted in my home being swatted multiple times and required the presence of snipers in the sky during most of my shows that summer. After that happened, I made a conscious decision to protect my family from people who plan to enact violence towards me in disagreement of my opinions.

However. It doesn’t sit right with me that a decision I made for my own family is in turn keeping me from vocalizing support for families enduring far worse violence. Families caught between the brawling hands of a militarized government and a terrorist organization, and the diaspora of both parties trying to get through each and every day.

I have no meaningful statement or excuse to make that could justify my weeks of silence this time around. And I deeply despise the culture of deflecting responsibility to save face in front of the audience demanding comment. So instead I’m coming here to call it for what it is, admit my regret, and reaffirm my stance regarding the liberation of the Palestinian people.

I am making a series of size-able donations to relief and support organizations.

My politics are uncomplicated and remain unchanged. I condemn any organized body of power unleashing acts of violence against innocent civilians. The rise of Antisemitism and Islamophobia is undeniable. I stand against hate speech in all forms. I stand for freedom and the right to live safely.”

Following the death of Matthew Perry, his Friends co-stars have been coming forward with tributes to the late actor by sharing touching moments and beloved memories. As the other half of the show’s iconic Chandler and Monica relationship, Courteney Cox revealed her favorite outtake when the couple’s romance was first revealed during the episodes leading up to Ross’s wedding in London.

According to Cox, the relationship was only supposed to be a “one night fling,” but because audience’s loved the pairing so much, the two got married and welcomed twins as they stayed together all the way to the Friends finale.

“When you work with someone as closely as I did with Matthew, there are thousands of moments I wish I could share. For now here’s one of my favorites,” Cox wrote on Instagram while sharing a behind-the-scenes moment where she and Perry filmed Monica and Chandler’s big reveal. “In this scene, before we started rolling, he whispered a funny line for me to say. He often did things like that. He was funny and he was kind.”

In the clip, the audience can not stop laughing after Cox emerges from under the blankets after Ross leaves Chandler’s London hotel room. The laughter goes on for so long, that Cox has to wait to say the joke that Perry gave her. When she finally delivered the line, the two ended up breaking character and cracking up in the uproarious outtake.

“I am so grateful for every moment I had with you Matty and I miss you every day,” Cox wrote in the tribute.

You can watch the touching moment below:

(Via Courteney Cox on Instagram)

The trailer for Madame Web, the fourth film in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe (and first since Morbius), has a few things going for it:

1. The cast includes Dakota Johnson (who plays clairvoyant Cassandra Webb a.k.a. Madame Web), Sydney Sweeney, and Adam Scott, as well as Isabela Merced, Emma Roberts, Celeste O’Connor, Tahar Rahim, Mike Epps, and Zosia Mamet.

2. Sweeney makes her debut as Julia Carpenter, who goes on to become Spider-Woman in the comics. It’s a quick shot, but you can see the Euphoria star in the black-and-white costume.

3. With a straight face, Johnson delivers the line, “He was in the Amazon with my mom when she was researching spiders right before she died.”

The first two are more important, but the third hints that maybe Madame Webb will be Venom-level fun. You can watch the trailer above. Here’s the official plot synopsis:

“Meanwhile, in another universe…” In a switch from the typical genre, Madame Web tells the standalone origin story of one of Marvel publishing’s most enigmatic heroines. The suspense-driven thriller stars Dakota Johnson as Cassandra Webb, a paramedic in Manhattan who may have clairvoyant abilities. Forced to confront revelations about her past, she forges a relationship with three young women destined for powerful futures… if they can all survive a deadly present.

Madame Web, which is directed and co-written by S.J. Clarkson, opens in theaters on February 14, 2024.

André 3000 is finally releasing a solo album and it’s called New Blue Sun — but there’s a catch. André’s upcoming solo album, which marks his first album of any kind in 17 years, isn’t a rap record, but rather an instrumental record showcasing his flute stylings.

But nonetheless, fans are still excited to finally get new music from the Outkast alum.

“I’ve been interested in winds for a long time, so it was just a natural progression for me to go into flutes,” André said in a statement. “I just like messing with instruments and I gravitated mostly toward wind.”

We’ve put together a guide to New Blue Sun and what to expect from the record.

Release Date

New Blue Sun is out 11/17 via Epic. Find more information here.

Tracklist

1. “I Swear, I Really Wanted To Make A ‘Rap’ Album But This Is Literally The Way The Wind Blew Me This Time”
2. “The Slang Word P(*)ssy Rolls Off The Tongue With Far Better Ease Than The Proper Word Vagina. Do You Agree?”
3. “That Night In Hawaii When I Turned Into A Panther And Started Making These Low Register Purring Tones That I Couldn’t Control … Sh¥t Was Wild”
4. “BuyPoloDisorder’s Daughter Wears A 3000 Button Down Embroidered”
5. “Ninety Three ‘Til Infinity And Beyoncé”
6. “Ghandi, Dalai Lama, Your Lord & Savior J.C. / Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, And John Wayne Gacy”
7. “Ants To You, Gods To Who?”
8. “Dreams Once Buried Beneath The Dungeon Floor Slowly Sprout Into Undying Gardens”

Features

Due to the fact that New Blue Sun is an instrumental album, no vocal features have been announced, and it seems likely there won’t be any.

Artwork

You can see the New Blue Sun artwork below.

Singles

So far, no singles have been announced from New Blue Sun.

Tour

André 3000 has not yet announced a tour in support of New Blue Sun.

Just a few days after Nicki Minaj was announced as one of the headliners for Rolling Loud California’s 2024 festival, it seems she has some other surprises tied to her upcoming Pink Friday 2 album.

Today on Twitter, Minaj teased that she’s planning to release the lineup for her upcoming tour on Friday, November 17. “This will be incorporated into the tour lineup… the tour lineup that you guys will have in 3 days,” Minaj posted, pointing out that her shows will at least be held in March if her festival appearance is included among her dates.

While it’s still unknown who exactly Minaj’s tour opening acts will be, this does confirm that she will have (at least) one. Depending on what she intended with the post, her openers could be other Rolling Loud California performers. Some of the other top-billed women — Summer Walker, Sexyy Red, or Flo Milli — could be potential contenders for Minaj’s Pink Friday 2 shows.

Upon hearing the news, fans are also thrilled about the chance to hear Minaj’s new album at the California festival. Others are worried about if it will be her only show in Los Angeles for the tour.

View Minaj’s teaser post above, then continue scrolling for some fan reactions.

We’re now in the final weeks of the year, and it’s around this time that new music releases tend to slow down as artists set their sights on 2024. Cardi B, though, seems to be at least considering unveiling something new before 2023 comes to an end.

During a Twitter Space live event on November 13 (audio of which was preserved by HipHopDX), Cardi thought out loud, saying, “But I was thinking about, you know, being really quiet, being private. But I don’t know. Maybe I should just… I don’t know, maybe I should put a lil’ something something out before the year ends. It depends, though, because… hmm, would y’all mind if I just do, like, a video? I don’t know, if I do a music video that’s just probably in my kitchen because I don’t really have nothing planned for, like, right now. I don’t know. I’ll think about it by the end of the day. I don’t know, I don’t know. I just feel like I gotta talk my sh*t a little bit. You know what I’m saying? I don’t know, I don’t know.”

As for what Cardi’s been up to lately, she dropped “Bongos” with Megan Thee Stallion and made a memorable Hot Ones appearance.

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

If you dig far enough into most people’s social media history, you’re likely to find something they wish they had deleted. Which reminds me [deletes a problematic tweet where I called Mr. Deeds the best Adam Sandler movie… time to fire up a Notes app apology]. But Travis Kelce is clean, as Taylor Swift fans have discovered.

Swifties have been going through old tweets from the Kansas City Chiefs tight end/rumored boyfriend of Swift, many from 2010 and 2011, and they’ve been delighted by what they found. Here’s one, from April 2011: “I just gave a squirle a peice of bread and it straight smashed all of it!!!! I had no idea they ate bread like that!! Haha #crazy.” Meanwhile, Taylor Swift was writing her masterpiece, “All Too Well.” Here’s another: “Ay you ain’t nothin.. always gone be a peice of cheese witout the corners! you’ll never be a slice b*tch!! LMAO!!!”

One more: “That nap was un-needed but i definitely woke up feeling GREAT!!! I have too much time on my hands down here!!” You said it, buddy.

Kelce also frequently but consistently misspelled Chipotle:

As @ivytorch joked, “celebrities’ old tweets being vile stuff full of bigotry and then you get travis kelce spelling squirrel as squirle.” But if something problematic is ever uncovered, Kelce will pay the ultimate price: the wrath of Swifties. Here’s hoping it doesn’t come to that, though. #crazy

Congress turned into a WWE (or AEW, if you prefer) match on Tuesday when Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma challenged International Brotherhood of Teamsters president Sean O’Brien to “stand your butt up” and fight. “This is the time, this is the place. If you want to run your mouth, we can be two consenting adults. We can finish it here,” he said while appearing to take his ring off. Senator Bernie Sanders, the voice of reason, shut things down before these two adult babies started throwing haymakers.

But The Daily Show guest host Leslie Jones wishes he hadn’t; she was ready to see them to fight.

“Bernie, shut up! They was about to fight! I want to see that!” she said with a popcorn bucket at her side. “But you know what? I knew this dude was trouble from the moment I heard his name, ‘Markwayne,’ all one word. His parents didn’t even love him enough to pick one single name for him. They just shoved two names together and called it a day.” Jones added, “‘Calm down, Markwayne’ isn’t some shit I want to hear on C-SPAN. It’s what you hear when you watch an episode of Cops.”

The former SNL cast member proceeded to listen to the three senators she wants to fight. “Is that what America has come to? People fighting in the Senate? Because if it is, I want in!” she said. “Lindsey Graham, I want you in the ring! Ted Cruz: bring your weird-ass beard so I can beat your ass!” Her third pick was Mitch McConnell, “but somebody already hit him.”

You can watch The Daily Show clip above.