In December, Diesel was sued by a former assistant who accused the Fast & Furious star of sexual battery while filming the Fast Five in 2010. The woman also accused Diesel of firing her in retaliation for refusing his advances. In a statement to Vanity Fair, Diesel’s attorney “categorically denied this claim in its entirety” and claimed to have “clear evidence which completely refutes these outlandish allegations.” The lawsuit is still active as of this writing.
After news of the allegations broke, Diesel has kept a low profile until now. In a new Instagram post, the actor got to work touting the final installment in the Fast & Furious series and, more notably, confirmed his participation.
“Just finished our end of the week Fast meeting with the writers and the whole team,” Diesel wrote. “To say the excitement for our finale was incredibly powerful is an understatement. Wow. So exciting…”
While everyone was heading into the weekend amped and excited, I thought of you all… reminded of the countless moments when your enthusiasm and passion became the driving force behind our creative journey. Your commitment to our saga has had a unique impact on its success and evolution… as my youngest daughter would say, it’s profound.
Thank you for being the backbone of this global saga that because of you, transcends the screen.
This grand finale is not just an ending; it’s a celebration of the incredible family we’ve built together.
Diesel signed off by saying, “Hope to make you proud!” You can see his Instagram message below:
Fast XI is currently set to hit theaters on April 4, 2025.
A signature band of 21st century indie announced their return this month with two new songs from a forthcoming album, Only God Was Above Us, due in April. They are decidedly different from one another — “Capricorn” is a lurching shuffle undergirded by an acoustic guitar strum that sounds borrowed from a late-’60s Kinks record, while “Gen-X Cops” is a surf-rock rave-up with a screechingly overheated slide-guitar riff. But taken together, they offer a clear indication that the California crunchiness of Father Of The Bride has been set aside for now. This will no doubt please fans of VW’s NYC-centric pre-FOTB output, though as a FOTB fan I’m also pleased to hear that this band’s careful songcraft and exquisite production taste remains as unerring as ever.
2. DIIV, “Brown Paper Bag”
On my weekly indie-rock podcast and elsewhere, I have been bullish on the future of this somewhat star-crossed shoegaze band. In the 2010s, they weathered personal issues and changing musical tides while amassing a quietly excellent discography of three albums, including their most recent effort, 2019’s Deceiver. They have a devoted following, but they still seem a little unsung. And this was all before I heard their upcoming album, Frog In Boiling Water, due in May. I’m going to keep my specific thoughts on the record to myself for now, but I’ll just say that ranks among the very best albums I have heard so far in 2024. The single “Brown Paper Bag” is the lead-off track, and it’s a good indicator of the record’s quality.
3. Liquid Mike, Paul Bunyan’s Slingshot
I knew I was going to love this album when I got to the sixth track and noticed that it quoted my favorite scene from the 1999 documentary American Movie. For those that haven’t seen it: American Movie is about an aspiring filmmaker from Milwaukee who is trying to overcome forces external (his unsupportive family, his lower-middle-class circumstances) and internal (alcoholism, a tendency to self-sabotage) to make his cinematic masterpiece, Northwestern. It makes sense that Liquid Mike — a band that hails from Michigan’s remote Upper Peninsula — would relate to this movie. Principal songwriter Mike Maple is another talented Midwestern striver who is simultaneously fascinated by the mundane particulars of small-town life and scared-to-death that it might swallow him whole. Oh, and I have mentioned the music yet? I doubt you will find a sharper power-pop record this year, particularly if you wish Guided By Voices sounded more like Everclear.
4. Jessica Pratt, “Life Is”
So many album announcements this month from acts who haven’t put out new music since the Trump administration! This is the first single from Here In The Pitch, which will be out in May, and it’s exactly what you would expect from this enigmatic, out-of-time master — it sounds like she’s singing in a lonely room situated inside of an ancient hotel populated by poets, junkies, and immaculately debauched rock stars from 1967. In other words: Perfect.
5. Amen Dunes, “Purple Land”
Who wants another new album from a respected indie act that was last heard from several years ago? Back in 2018, Amen Dunes put out one of the great indie-rock albums of the last 10 years, Freedom. On that record, Damon McMahon seemed like he was transitioning to a more mainstream sound, displaying a penchant for anthemic guitar jams that soared to exhilarating pay-offs. But on his upcoming LP due in May, Death Jokes, McMahon pivots back to a more experimental and introverted style that’s as unsettling as the title suggests. I’m still wrapping my head around it, frankly, but it’s been a fascinating journey.
6. MGMT, Loss Of Life
These brilliant pranksters always wait four or five years between albums, which is just long enough for people to think, “Oh, these guys are pretty good” and then immediately forget about it until the next album. To me they are the Steely Dan of blog rock — a very smart duo who met at an elite East Coast college and then stumbled into unlikely pop success, after which they grew even more perverse. Loss Of Life actually kind of sounds like Steely Dan at times — there are a lot of soft rock moves and tons of fretless bass. It is another Congratulations-style curveball after 2018’s Little Dark Age, which was their straightest album since Oracular Spectacular. MGMT once again is acting like a band who had two huge hits right out of the gate, and now gets to play with house money.
7. Real Estate, Daniel
As is the case with MGMT, acknowledging that Real Estate is now a legacy act that has put out albums in three different decades creates a shock of mortality akin to the “Matt Damon ages into an old man at the end of Saving Private Ryan” meme. Wasn’t it only yesterday that these New Jersey dream-poppers were writing nostalgic tunes about the suburbs during the Obama administration? With Daniel, Real Estate once again clarify that their M.O. is refining rather than revolutionizing their sound. Martin Courtney writes very pretty guitar pop songs, and his band plays those songs like The Feelies after downing a pleasant edible. Daniel evinces all of the good things about growing older, and none of the bad ones. If you like Real Estate, the album delivers.
8. Hovvdy, “Forever”
This Texas duo makes strummy folk-rock songs that feel like cozy back-porch hangs. It’s the kind of music that you can easily waste an afternoon listening to over and over. So it’s good that their forthcoming record is a self-titled double album, which drops on April 26. The single is called “Forever,” and it’s lovely.
9. Memorytown, It Takes Forever
Speaking of cozy jams, this Philadelphia band is a side project for Matt Schimelfenig, who also plays in the band Gladie along with producing scores of other groups. With Memorytown, he makes chunky heartland rock music that’s perfect for an unseasonably warm winter. Their latest It Takes Forever is a winner.
Country superstar Reba McEntire has been a judge on NBC’s The Voice since last year after she replaced Blake Shelton. According to Newsweek, she was initially offered the role in 2011, turned it down, but then returned to be a “Mega Advisor” during Season 23. Since joining the judging panel, she has helped pick and help singers who choose to be on her team.
Recently, however, fans had been wondering if she was leaving the show, following some articles that were apparently making the rounds. It also is just ahead of Season 25 of The Voice starting this weekend, which raised questions if this would be McEntire’s last.
Here’s what to know.
Is Reba McEntire Leaving The Voice?
Following some of the rumors, McEntire hopped on Twitter (now X) to set the record straight — both regarding her future on The Voice… and that companies were apparently using her to sell types of “gummy products” for some reason.
“Please do not click on any articles that say I am leaving The Voice,” she wrote. “This is not true. These are fake websites to lure people in with clickbait where they claim I have a company to sell weight loss gummy products. This is false. I do not sell or promote any type of gummy product.” So, it looks like McEntire has no plans to leave the show just yet — or sell you bogus weight loss products.
Please do not click on any articles that say I am leaving The Voice. This is not true. These are fake websites to lure people in with clickbait where they claim I have a company to sell weight loss gummy products. This is false. I do not sell or promote any type of gummy product.
Tory Lanez is currently in prison, serving a sentence for shooting Megan Thee Stallion. He still has his supporters, though, and it would appear fellow Toronto rapper Drake is one of them.
In late 2022, Drake caused a bit of controversy with a lyric that seemingly went after Megan. On Her Loss song “Circo Loco,” Drake raps, “This b*tch lie ’bout getting shot but she still a stallion,” which was widely interpreted to be about Meg. Shortly after the song was released, Megan tweeted, “Stop using my shooting for clout b*tch ass N****s! Since when tf is it cool to joke abt women getting shot ! You n****s especially RAP N****S ARE LAME! Ready to boycott bout shoes and clothes but dog pile on a black woman when she say one of y’all homeboys abused her.”
For years, there was beef between Drake and Lanez, but the two ultimately made up in 2017. Drake brought Lanez out during a performance and said, “This guy right here, we had problems with each other and we hadn’t even met each other. I met the man and he’s a great guy.”
Megan Thee Stallion is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
As the head of the Republican Party, Donald Trump stopped by CPAC over the weekend where he let voters know that his second presidency will be focused on the issues that deeply affect ordinary American. Namely, deporting Prince Harry because he wasn’t nice to the Queen or whatever.
“I wouldn’t protect him,” Trump boasted to the Daily Express U.S. “He betrayed the Queen. That’s unforgivable. He would be on his own if it was down to me.”
Trump’s remarks stem from a lawsuit filed against the Department of Homeland Security by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, that’s convinced Prince Harry lied about his past drug use to obtain a visa. The Biden administration has kept Prince Harry’s visa application confidential, which is apparently a hot button issue for conservatives who want Harry out of the country. Why? Well, his wife Meghan Markle criticized Trump, so he’s gotta go.
But deporting British royalty wasn’t the only thing on Trump’s mind this weekend. The former president also lashed out at another kitchen table issue: All the criminal charges against him.
The Very Strict Rules and Regulations of the Department of Injustice STATE CLEARLY that you can’t prosecute a Political Opponent, or anyone, RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF HIS/HER CAMPAIGN. Why didn’t they bring these FAKE Charges THREE YEARS AGO? That would have solved all of their problems. (The answer is that they AIMED for the various trials to come up during my campaign for President, 2024!). This includes DOJ subservient “subsidiaries” like local D.A. & A.G. Offices. In other words, all of these FAKE POLITICAL PROSECUTIONS (PERSECUTIONS!) OF CROOKED JOE BIDEN’S POLITICAL OPPONENT MUST BE IMMEDIATELY HALTED!
Remember a vote for Trump is a vote for kicking Prince Harry out of the country and total 100% immunity from all crimes, but only for Donald Trump.
The next time you see Martha Stewart at the farmer’s market or hanging outside the dispensary, you should know that she’s probably not wearing underwear. The lifestyle icon told Page Six that she only wears swimsuits under her clothes “just in case” she “wants to go swimming.”
You never know when inspiration for a thirst trap will strike.
While attending the the Old Bags Luncheon in West Palm Springs, Florida (likely place for her to be), Stewart said, “Bathing suits are my underwear. I don’t wear any of that structured stuff. No tight lace, no Skims for Martha. But I love Skims. I think they serve a very good purpose — but I don’t wear those. I only wear Aerie bathing suits under my clothes.” She isn’t worried if Skims founder Kim Kardashian is going to be mad at her because a) she’s Martha Stewart, and b) “she knows I don’t wear Skims.”
The 82-year-old grandmother-of-two — who is about to publish her 100th book — already has a vast business portfolio herself, of course. But she tells us she’s also had a business boost from her relationship with her buddy Snoop Dogg.
“We work on a lot of projects together, like with Bic lighters, wine,” Martha said. “We are also working on Skecher shoes. He’s more than a rapper to me. He is an excellent businessman.” No wonder Trump doesn’t like Snoop. He sees him as competition.
Britney Spears isn’t stopping from throwing any shade toward her ex Justin Timberlake, even if she winds up deleting the posts in her usual fashion. Spears’ latest Instagram found her including Janet Jackson into the mix, as she showered the musician with praise.
“Thank you to this beautiful lady for keeping my dreams and heart alive,” Spears captioned after posting a photo of Jackson’s album cover for Janet.
“She’s always been the deepest and brightest woman at the same time. She went through so much but I feel she is someone I will look up to for the rest of my life. Thank you for your music and your divine way of untangling intelligence to a far more clear view than anyone could ever imagine.”
For those wondering how this might have been interpreted as some subtle shade, part of what Jackson went through was the moment while performing with Timberlake at the Super Bowl that involved a wardrobe malfunction.
Spears has also been tossing jabs in Timberlake’s direction over the past few weeks. “Someone told me someone was talking sh*t about me on the streets!!!” Spears previously captioned another Instagram photo. “Do you want to bring it to the court or will you go home crying to your mom like you did last time ??? I’m not sorry !!!”
The Los Angeles Clippers have spent years trying to change the perception of their franchise. Once the laughingstock of the NBA, the Clippers have been a consistent playoff contender in the West for the last decade. Seven of those seasons have come under the ownership of Steve Ballmer, who uses his status as the NBA’s richest owner to give the Clippers every advantage possible.
That means going into the tax each year to bring in star players and financing his own new arena in Inglewood, the Intuit Dome, which will open next year and further help the Clippers get out of the shadow of their more famous and successful neighbors, the Lakers. To go along with the move into a new building, Ballmer had the team go through a complete rebrand to try and further elevate their public image, getting rid of their widely loathed current logo set from when he initially bought the team.
The Clippers unveiled their new logo set on Monday, along with three of their uniforms for next season, and the entire look is a considerable upgrade for the franchise.
LA Clippers
LA ClippersLA Clippers
The Clippers are moving away from black as one of their primary colors and moving to navy, along with red, light blue, and gray, with a new logo that features a Clipper ship (albeit, one that also could maybe double as a mega yacht) in the middle of a C with compass lines. Considering how many teams and brands in general are going towards a completely minimalist approach to logos and branding, I appreciate that the Clippers went with something with a bit more character.
As Zach Lowe of ESPN reported, Ballmer considered a name change but learned from focus groups that fans were vehemently against it, which led to them embracing the nautical theme rather than running from it as they had in the past.
The new uniforms are also an improvement, as they cleaned up the script on their lettering and have a much cleaner trio of uniforms than their current set.
LA Clippers
LA ClippersLA Clippers
The red uniform is my personal favorite, as I think the navy looks much better as lettering on red than vice versa (I would have just gone white lettering with red trim on the navy uniforms). The white is a classic, clean look, but I like the little touches on the red uniform, like the nautical flags on the piping on the sides of the jersey. All three are at minimum solid options, which is an improvement for a team that’s had some truly awful uniforms, and moving away from the dreadful block logo is a huge win for them.
All told, the Clippers being taken seriously depends on what they do on the court — and this year they look like the most dangerous version of this team we’ve seen. That said, the “look good, play good” mantra exists for a reason and they’ve upgraded in that department considerably with this new rebrand.
Nick Offerman won another award for his performance on HBO’s The Last of Us. During his acceptance speech at the Independent Spirit Awards over the weekend, the Parks and Recreation (and Super Bowl ad) star called out the “homophobic hate” the episode received for depicting a gay couple.
“Thank you so much, Film Independent. I’m astonished to be in this category, which is bananas,” Offerman said. “Thanks to HBO for having the guts to participate in this storytelling tradition that is truly independent. Stories with guts that when homophobic hate comes my way and says, ‘Why did you have to make it a gay story?’ We say, ‘Because you ask questions like that.’”
He added, “It’s not a gay story, it’s a love story, you asshole.”
Offerman won Best Supporting Performance in a New Scripted Series over his The Last of Us co-star Murray Bartlett, as well as Billie Eilish (Swarm), Jack Farthing (Rain Dogs), Adina Porter (The Changeling), Lewis Pullman (Lessons in Chemistry), Benny Safdie (The Curse), Luke Tennie (Shrinking), Olivia Washington (I’m a Virgo), and Jessica Williams (Shrinking). The Last of Us also won Best Breakthrough Performance in a New Scripted Series for Keivonn Montreal Woodard, who played Sam in another season-highlight episode.
Jack Harlow has a major hit on his hands with “Lovin On Me,” as the single has so far spent six weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. A common way to keep a big song’s momentum going is to release a new remix featuring another artist, but is that something Harlow is looking to do?
Will Jack Harlow Release A “Lovin On Me” Remix?
It doesn’t look like it: Over the weekend, a TMZ staffer approached Harlow and asked, “You have the biggest song in the world, obviously. Are you going to do a remix?” He responded, “Uh, probably not, probably not. I gotta go.”
The original song itself is a bit of a remix, in a sense, as it’s built on a sample of Cadillac Dale’s 1995 song “Whatever (Bass Soliloquy).”
Harlow has had a relatively quiet 2024 so far, mostly just enjoying the success of “Lovin On Me,” which was released in November 2023. That year, he also released his latest album, Jackman. The project was well-received and he wrote at the time, “2 weeks have passed and I just wanna say the love & respect I’ve felt from not only my peers… but from YALL…the fans…the folks that have supported me from the beginning…it feels f*ckin amazing… I have never felt so connected to the people listening to my music…thank you.”
Jack Harlow is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
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