Month: January 2024

Sofía Vergara had a great response to an interviewer who seemingly made fun of her accent. During a recent episode of the Spanish-language talk show El Hormiguero, host Pablo Motos asked the Griselda actress about her experience on the mega-hit sitcom Modern Family. At one point, he asked, “How do you say modern family?” with what InStyle described as a “heavy exaggeration of Vergara’s distinct Colombian delivery.”

Vergara replied, “I say it wrong? Oh, because you speak better English than me? Ah.” She then added, “How many Emmy nominations do you have in the United States? How many times did they nominate you at the Golden Globes?”

I’ll answer that! Vergara has eight combined Emmy and Golden Globe nominations; Motos has zero, but he does have a controversies section on his Wikipedia page with entires for “Worst comedian award” and “Sexism on El Hormiguero.”

Previously, Vergara spoke about trying to change her accent and has even been accused of faking it… Eventually, she accepted that she sounded a certain way and embraced it. She told WWD, “When I would go to auditions I would get super self-conscious of what I was saying, and I couldn’t concentrate on the acting. I was just concentrating on the pronunciation. One day I said, ‘This accent is never going to change … I’m going to keep trying the way I am and, if it doesn’t work, I’ll go back to the Latin market.’”

You can watch the clip below.

(Via InStyle)

American Dream, 21 Savage’s new album and first solo release since 2018, boasts a stacked roster of featured artists, including (but not limited to) Burna Boy, Doja Cat, Lil Durk, Metro Boomin, Travis Scott, and Young Thug.

The fourth track on the album is “N.H.I.E.,” which presumably is being used as the acronym for the game Never Have I Ever, featuring Doja Cat. I would do almost anything to witness Doja participate in Never Have I Ever, but, luckily, all we have to do is click play on YouTube.

The smooth trap beat complements 21 and Doja’s flows. 21 Savage goes first, rapping about his now-resolved immigration status (“Green card, green tips in the strap / Keep talkin’ ’bout where I was born / Like a n***a won’t still get clapped”), his never-ending romantic options, and general wealth.

“That ain’t something I would do,” 21 Savage asserts in the chorus. “Hell nah, let you slide like it’s cool / N***a, hell nah, fake the truth / Play by rules / Play with you / That ain’t something I would do.”

And then, it’s Doja’s turn. Her list of non-negotiables is quite lengthy yet unsurprising, given her track record of doing exactly what she wants and giving approximately zero you-know-whats. Her verse is so perfectly Doja that it deserves a blockquote:

“Yeah, I would never lie / I would never try / I would never holler at you, I would never cry / I would never start no petty beef, that do not fly / I would never put myself beneath one of my idols / I wouldn’t submit (Money), I’d make you submissive / I can’t f*ck nobody man, but old girl need that assistance / I don’t beeline to no D, like, I don’t be like none these b*tches / If I feel like havin’ free time, hit the seaside with them fishes.”

Listen to “N.H.I.E.” above.

American Dream is out now via Epic Records. Find more information here.

It looks like Jay-Z’s new thing is packing a year’s worth of rhymes into his sporadic appearances via really long songs. In 2022, he dominated the eight-minute DJ Khaled track “God Did,” taking over half its runtime for an epic verse that got a spirited breakdown on MSNBC.

Today, he appears on a nine-minute track from the Book Of Clarence soundtrack, contributing a vibey, almost spoken word-ish verse to a spacey, funk-soul voyage also featuring the elusive neo-soul icon D’Angelo. It’s very groovy, black-lights-and-incense style P-Funk, complete with epic guitar solos and overlapping harmonies; Jay’s verse, while it might not be what people would expect from him, fits right in and has all the hallmarks of Aquemini-era Outkast.

The soundtrack, which is out today via Universal, also features appearances from dancehall staples Buju Banton and Shabba Ranks, who appear with Lil Wayne on “Hallelujah Heaven,” Kodak Black and Doja Cat on “Jeezu” with Adekunle Gold, Jorja Smith, Alice Smith (no relation), and Kid Cudi.

The film itself is also out in the theaters. It follows a poor citizen of Jerusalem, Clarence, who is inspired by a contemporary Jesus Christ to start his own religion in the hopes of rising out of poverty. He inadvertently starts a revolution.

The New England Patriots are hiring a former linebacker to take over for Bill Belichick, and in a twist, it won’t be Mike Vrabel. According to Adam Schefter of ESPN and Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, New England will hire from within, as inside linebackers coach Jerod Mayo is in line to become the franchise’s next head coach.

Rapoport brought word that the Patriots actually have a contractual obligation to give Mayo the job, as it explicitly says in his contract that he would be the one to take over for the six-time Super Bowl winner.

Mayo is a Patriots lifer, as the team selected him 10th overall in the 2008 NFL Draft. He was part of the team that won Super Bowl XLIX over the Seattle Seahawks and earned a first-team All-Pro nod back in 2010. In 2019, three years after announcing his retirement from his playing days, Mayo joined the Patriots’ as their inside linebackers coach, a role that he’s held ever since.

While he’ll walk into a franchise that has sky high expectations, Mayo will inherit a roster that has fallen on hard times in recent years. New England went 4-13 last season, the worst mark in the AFC, and will have a major decision to make this April, as the team holds the No. 3 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Even Lil Nas X’s commitment to his “Christian era” couldn’t wash him of his former troll ways. But his recent online post might’ve been justified. As the rapper claims to be studying theology (but probably isn’t), he’s already begun to implement one Christ-like principle, and streaming giant Spotify learned this the hard way.

On January 12, the platform took to its official X (formerly Twitter) page to shade Lil Nas X’s new single, “J Christ.” “LNX is back with more mid-music [shrugging emoji],” read the note about the track. Well, Lil Nas X got wind of the diss and decided to embody the Biblical lesson, “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

Lil Nas X leapt into troll mode without missing a beat, replying to their message with one of his own. Using the viral clip from when an inmate attacked a Nevada judge, Lil Nas X wrote: “Me at the Spotify headquarters tomorrow.”

Some of his followers pointed out that the online exchange was probably something both Spotify and Nas were in on (the streaming platform typically doesn’t launch unsolicited social media attacks on popular artists), and it was likely just part of the single rollout. “Lol, people thinking this Spotify tweet wasn’t planned [crying laughing emoji],” wrote one user.

Others (like most people on the internet) just sat back and enjoyed the messy interaction. Given Lil Nas X’s history of outrage marketing, whether it was staged or not, this is all a win in his eyes.

You can watch Lil Nas X’s official video for “J Christ” here.

Perhaps Jared Leto’s mind was still at that infamous 2020 silent meditation retreat, or perhaps he was simply going full Leto (i.e. enormously method while preparing for a role), but at least he wasn’t holding up a production while refusing to pee like an able-bodied person because “It’s Morbin’ Time.” Who knows? Maybe Leto was pretending to play an unsatisfied customer in the third season of The Bear, but Chef Carmy will probably not play that game.

Comedian Mae Martin, while co-hosting their Handsome podcast (alongside Tig Notaro and Fortune Feamster), put Leto on blast for another alleged stunt. This apparently took place at an event where Leto was emitting “the vibe of a sort of cult leader” at the same table as Mae, “[a]nd he was in his shades and his long hair. And it was like, there was this amazing chef, like a Michelin star chef. And the food was amazing.” Then, as relayed by Entertainment Weekly, Martin described how Leto was sorta like, “Nah” to the chef:

“So the chef comes out at one point and is like, ‘I hope you’re enjoying the meal’ and Jared Leto goes ‘Uh, I’m not going to eat it,’ and we’re all like ‘Oh, okay, yeah.’” Leto explained his rationale: “he goes, ‘Yeah, cuz I got food poisoning at one of these things once,’” Martin recalled, “and the chef is like, ‘Oh sir, I assure you you would not get food poisoning from my food.’”

At that point, Leto decided to whip out an energy bar with no subtlety to be seen. “And [Leto] reaches in his jacket and he pulls out a power bar, like an energy bar, and he’s like ‘That’s why I always bring these,’” Martin revealed. “And he opens it and starts eating it in front of the chef.”

Is the guy who (according to Aubrey Plaza) “took that head off way too soon” at it again? Perhaps so, but the lesson here is this: don’t ever invite Jared Leto to your dinner party. Maybe let him know about another silent retreat instead.

(Via EW)

2024 has truly arrived. New music is finally starting to flow, and one of the artists leading the charge this week is Ariana Grande, who just dropped her new single, “Yes, And?.” She quickly followed that up with a video for the song, which is out now.

The video starts with a bunch of Grande’s haters congregating in one place, chatting about her perceived shortcomings. The group then turns up to a mysterious presentation, which turns out to be Grande and a bunch of dancers putting on a performance of the song, a performance that ends up changing some minds.

The song, which was inspired by the Madonna classic “Vogue,” sees Grande exuding confidence and self-reliance, as she sings in the chorus, “‘Yes, and?’ / Say that sh*t with your chest, and / Be your own f*ckin’ best friend / Say that sh*t with your chest / Keep moving like, ‘What’s next?’ / ‘Yes, and?’”

When the track was released, fans also took notice of this lyric: “My face is sitting, I don’t need no disguise / Don’t comment on my body, do not reply / Your business is yours and mine is mine / Why do you care so much whose **** I ride? / Why?”

At the end of 2023, Grande reflected on the year, which she called “one of the most transformative, most challenging, and yet happiest and most special years” of her life. She also got fans excited by noting, “i cannot wait for next year.”

Watch the “Yes, And?” video above.

Have you seen Jeremy Allen White’s Calvin Klein underwear photos? They’re hard to miss (but stop showing them to his co-workers, especially Ayo Edebiri). If you’re visually impaired, however, the Royal National Institute of Blind People has you covered.

“We’ve written image descriptions to help blind and partially sighted people decide which thirst trap is their favourite,” @RNIB wrote on X this week, along with two photos of The Bear actor in his skivvies.

The alt text for one photo reads, “A film photo of Jeremy Allen White standing in front of a red sofa on a rooftop in New York City, wearing only white Calvin Klein briefs. His curly hair and lean, toned physique is silhouetted against the pale evening sky. He stands with his arms by his side, smiling off-camera.”

The other: “A film photo of Jeremy Allen White standing behind scaffolding on a rooftop in New York city, wearing only white Calvin Klein boxers. His curly hair, blowing in the wind, and his toned, lean physique are lit up by the sun of golden hour. He has one hand on a rung of scaffolding at shoulder height and the other on a rung above his head, as if he’s about to climb. There’s a look of intense concentration on his face.”

That is the most accurate description of Allen White I’ve ever read.

(Via the Daily Mail)

Kevin Hart almost hosted the Oscars back in 2019 but was forced to step down after homophobic remarks he made on stage and on social media caused an outcry. Since then, Hart has refused to host the ceremony, and he’s now warning other comics to steer clear of the event.

“Whatever little hope you had, I want to destroy it right now,” Hart recently told Sky News while promoting his new Netflix movie Lift. “Those gigs aren’t good gigs for comics. It’s no shot to the Oscars, no shot to the Globes or anything else. Those just aren’t comedy-friendly environments anymore.”

While Hart is clearly disillusioned by the notion of comics hosting award ceremonies, he does have tremendous respect for the ones who pulled it off:

“Shout out to those that have cracked the code and done it right early on, you know, the Chris Rock’s of the world, the Billy Crystal’s of the world, the girls we’ve had like Tina Fey, Amy Poehler. Ricky Gervais. There’s a lot of people that understand that if you’re not an industry comic, meaning a comic that has the relationships of all [the guests], then those rooms are very cold.”

Hart also had sympathy for Jo Koy, who got raked over the coals for his Golden Globe performance particularly for cracking a joke about Taylor Swift.

“It’s too much pressure on the idea of a comic and what’s jokes and not jokes,” Hart said about working award crowds. “So, it’s tough.”

(Via Sky News)

Before Steven and Ian get into this week’s episode, they had to hash out a longer-than-usual Sportscast about their respective football teams (the Packers and the Eagles) making the playoffs and the absolutely insane and hateful video Stephen A. Smith dropped about Jason Whitlock this week. Sports media in general is melting down this year, and the guys can’t get enough. After that, they revisit their predictions made at the beginning of last year about 2023, and check to see how right (or wrong) they were.

Then it’s on to a new fantasy albums draft for the first quarter of 2024. Who landed the just announced Waxahatchee record, sure to be one of the year’s most acclaimed? Who pulled the jazz record with mainstream appeal that critics are guaranteed to love? Did anyone dare draft the new Scott Stapp record ironically? Let’s find out.

Finally, the guys follow up on Steven’s column this week taking an early look at the contenders for album of the decade from the first 40 percent of the 2020s. This is not a conversation about personal favorites — it’s wild speculation on critical consensus based on what music writers have embraced so far.

In Recommendation Corner, Ian goes for the hardcore band Infant Island while Steven plugs the forthcoming album (due in March) from Rosali.

New episodes of Indiecast drop every Friday. Listen to Episode 171 here and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. You can submit questions for Steve and Ian at [email protected], and make sure to follow us on Instagram and Twitter for all the latest news. We also recently launched a visualizer for our favorite Indiecast moments. Check those out here.