Month: March 2024

Looking around at the current state of affairs in the world can quickly lead to feelings of sadness or despair, especially when news media primarily focuses on the worst of humanity.

While we can’t pretend that the serious problems we face don’t exist, we also need to balance our perspective with reminders that people are more good than not, and that human atrocity is the exception, not the rule. We have countless examples of human beings being wonderful to one another in ways large and small, but those stories rarely make the headlines.

Part of our mission at Upworthy is to show that people are a force for good, and what better way to do that than to share people’s stories of kindness, hope and faith in one another?

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For all of its pitfalls, social media can be a great place to find those kinds of real-life stories, so we asked our Instagram audience to share a moment that restored their faith in humanity and people generously delivered. Here are some responses that might just restore your faith in humanity as well.

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“Stuck in Thailand during the 2006 coup with my wife and our two-year-old in a carrying backpack, airline would not accept credit card to purchase last flight out of the country, ATMs were not working to get cash, after 30 minutes a random Indian man and his family stepped forward and handed us an envelope full of all the cash we needed to purchase two airline tickets from Thailand to Singapore. He did not want or expect a payback (we eventually did).” – joshinsd

“We awoke to a 5.7 earthquake in 2020 in our old historic Victorian home. The earthquake blew out our foundation. Everyone on our street was affected. My husband and I had retired. We ended up rebuilding which took almost two years with Covid and supply chain issues. Two houses down we have a lovely family with two young boys. They came up with an idea on their own to empty out their savings and insisted in giving it to us to help us. While we did not need the money, it was the gesture of sacrificing their hard earned money at such a young age, 8 and 10 that touched us deeply. With young people in our world with hearts such as this, we will see great things happening.” – gmholm

“My boy wanted to play with a stick that an older girl had. She was so kind & gave him the stick. He took it, then went back to her, broke it half, & gave her half. I watched it all from the side & held back tears. Look to the children – they will show you pure kindness 🤍” – ripottsy

“I recently took my daycare littles on a library outing. One of my two year olds was looking for a Paw Patrol book. A sweet little girl (about 5 years old) overhead and dug into her book bag and gave it to the two year old. In return he offered her one of his books❤️. Such a simple, yet meaningful, act of such pure sweet innocence!” – richelleamyd

“I was wrangling my kids into their car seats for a trip to the grocery store one day. I put my wallet on the bumper of my car as I was walking from one side of my car so the other trying to get them buckled. I got in my car and left my house, totally forgetting to grab my wallet. I realized my mistake when I got to the grocery store. I retraced my route, but had no luck finding my wallet. It had cash, credit cards, gift cards, and my family’s social security cards. I basically kept all my important things in there (it was a big zip up day planner kind of wallet). I went home and just cried and cried. I was on the computer trying to figure out how to order replacement social security cards when there was a knock on my door. A very sweet man who didn’t speak English very well was standing there with my wallet. I immediately embraced him and said, “oh THANK YOU!” He was a bit taken aback and said, “oh…you sad?” I will forever be grateful that that man took time out of his day to do the honest thing. It would have been so easy for him to either ignore my wallet, or take it. I try to remember him when I see an opportunity to be honest.” – julieletner

“My grandma passed, and at her funeral, I was telling a friend of hers how hard it would be to return to her home after her interment. For as long as I could remember, Grandma had waited on the front porch for me whenever I came to visit. Later that afternoon, when we did return to Grandma’s, her friend was standing on the porch waiting, just as Grandma always had. ‘I didn’t want you to have to return to an empty porch after laying her to rest,’ he kindly explained. His thoughtful gesture makes me tear up whenever I remember it. – lynnecook77

“I had just lost my little sister to suicide. i was in deep grief and had not eaten for a few days. i was craving a burger so i went to The Counter. sat there. cried the entire time and tried to get that burger down. apparently Two men in UPS uniforms were on their lunch break and when i asked for the bill. my server told me that those ups guys bought my lunch. i never even saw them there. it was the first time i didn’t feel completely alone during the darkest days of my grief. 💕” – clarkaosb

“I was 20+, sitting in a church and crying very hard. A very elderly woman came up, sat next to me, said it was going to be ok. She just sat there holding my hand, in silence. I could see her looking at me and well up. A moment full of love, tolerance and empathy for a total stranger. It changed me.” – atirufo

“We had pizza delivered once and my 3 year old son wanted to give the delivery guy the tip. He handed it to the guy and he asked if he had a piggy bank and then he gave my son a $1 back to put in his bank ❤️” – kgwhit_

“I was sitting with my friend at Balboa Park and one of the vendors just walked over and handed us each a large slice of watermelon. It was a hot day and it was just so generous and kind.” – lorimitchellart

“A man stopped his car in the middle of a very busy intersection, to get out and help a family of geese get across the street. It was a sight that my description does no justice.” – christollbertson

“A few years ago I was at the vet’s office with my dog. I overheard a guy telling the vet that he couldn’t afford his dog’s surgery. The vet told him that he was not going to let his dog die and that he would perform the surgery even if he couldn’t pay him back.” – norms1111

“I work at a grocery store as a cashier and one time the food stamp card system was down in NYS. People were having issues all day and everybody was getting understandably frustrated. This man was trying to pay but of course it wasn’t working. I asked him if he had another way to pay and he said no. The lady behind him handed him some cash and told him not to worry about it. She bought a week’s worth of his groceries, no big fuss made about it. Almost made me cry on a very tricky day❤️ – paytonncotter

“When we lived in Iran, we would escape to a green city (no fly zone) when the war would get really active. During one of these times, we had to drive over the mountain in the snow and fog (dead of winter) and with my Mum sick with bronchitis. When we got to the other side, my father and uncle decided to rent a hotel so Mum could rest, but we were in a random town and didn’t know what was around. Eventually, around 2.30 am, we came across what looked like a motel and went inside.

“There was one man there. He gave us a dingy, tiny room to share, looked at my Mum a couple of times, then quietly told my father to take her to hospital (this is all relayed by my Mum. I remember bits and pieces only). My uncle and dad decided to take her while my three-year-old sister and I stayed back. Once they got to hospital, doctors pulled my mum aside and asked first if she had been abused or was in danger (because of how sick she was, they thought she might have been drugged or beaten and had internal bleeding), then once she confirmed she was safe, they took her inside and started treating her. While they were there, the man sat with my sister and me and told us to go to sleep. My sister fell asleep straight away, but I couldn’t, so he sat with me and reassured me everything would be okay. He asked about school, what my favourite subject was. Normal talk during scary times.

“I fell asleep at some point, and when I woke up, my father and uncle were bringing Mum back into the room. The motel owner made a pot of hot tea and brought bread, butter, jam and cheese for us to eat. For those who don’t know, most of us could only shop with vouchers and coupons during the war (rations), so this man was literally sharing his food with us during a time when food was scarce to begin with. Around 5.00 the next evening, we went to pay that man, and he put his hand to his heart and said he couldn’t accept our payment. No matter how much my family insisted, this man refused and said he was honoured to have helped us and to please be safe on our way to the green zone. I am an Atheist, but truly believe this man to be an angel on earth. Kindness is a currency you can never forget.” – lucid_nomad

If you enjoyed these stories, you’ll love Upworthy’s upcoming book, “GOOD PEOPLE: Stories from the Best of Humanity,” which includes 101 stories of human decency, kindness and compassion. Pre-order now on Amazon.

As a participant in the Amazon Associates affiliate program, Upworthy may earn proceeds from items purchased that are linked to this article, at no additional cost to you.

Apparently, there isn’t enough Taylor Swift to go around. Well, her The Eras Tour dates, to be specific. The “Bad Blood” singer’s time on the road is in high gear. After spending two weeks traveling across Australia, including stops in Melbourne and Sydney, Swift is heading to Southeast Asia. Unlike her other performances, Singapore will be the sole destination in the region, reportedly due to an exclusivity deal inked with AEG.

Today (March 3), Swift will kick off the first of six shows. While local Swifties are in high spirits, one neighboring lawmaker isn’t happy. According to Inquirer, on February 28, Philippines politician Joey Salceda slammed the deal in a statement to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA). Atop the Albay’s 2nd District representative list is it simply isn’t “what good neighbors do.”

Salceda accused Singapore officials of throwing around its financial weight to selfishly block other nations from cashing in on the superstar’s presence. “Some 3 million USD in grants were allegedly given by the Singapore government to AEG to host the concert in Singapore,” he said. “The catch was that they do not host it elsewhere in the region. I give it to them that the policy worked. Regional demand for Singaporean hotels and airlines was up 30 percent over the period. I estimate that the exclusivity term caused an increase in industry revenues by USD 60 million. So, the grant produced 30 times more in economic activity.”

The public figure urged the body to take action to prevent something similar from happening. “But it was at the expense of neighboring countries, which could not attract their own foreign concertgoers and whose fans had to go to Singapore,” he said. “I doubt the exclusivity terms were on the grant contract itself. But I don’t think we should just let things like this pass. We should still officially register our opposition. It also runs contrary to the principle of consensus-based relations and solidarity on which the ASEAN was founded.”

Thailand’s Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin initiated the examination of the policy during the iBusiness Forum 2024 in Bangkok. “The Singapore government is astute,” he said. “If she came to Thailand, it would have been cheaper to organize it here, and I believe she would be able to attract more sponsors and tourists to Thailand. Even though we would have to subsidize at least 500m baht (or $13 million), it would be worth it.”

Taylor Swift hasn’t discussed the matter.

Cassie’s explosive lawsuit against Diddy was the first domino to fall in what became a string of allegations aimed at industry bigwigs. After the singer’s November 2023 filing, several others came out to accuse other label executives, including Interscope Records’ co-founder Jimmy Iovine, of similar egregious acts.

Former Epic Records CEO and X-Factor judge L.A. Reid was also named in a sexual assault lawsuit filed by past colleague Drew Dixon. In court documents, Dixon alleged that during her time as an executive at Arista Records in 2001, Reid assaulted her on two separate occasions: on a company trip and after a work event. According to AllHipHop, the parties’ case could come to a resolution by way of a pre-settlement.

The outlet reported that on Friday, March 1, the United States District Court Southern District of New York courts received paperwork — namely a joint discovery status report — signaling that both parties are set to begin mediation on March 29. At that time, legal representatives for both Reid and Dixon will reportedly discuss potential settlement terms.

Also included in the documentation are subpoenas issued by Dixon’s legal representative to her former employer Artista Records, Sony Music Entertainment and Bertelsmann Music Group (BMG). Reid’s attorneys have issued subpoenas focusing on Dixon’s medical records, including MedStar Washington Hospital Center, Amarilis Rivera, and Dr. Valerie Bryant.

During an appearance in Netflix’s documentary series Ladies First, Dixon spoke about her experience working in the industry.

This story is developing.

The Hawks had a rough Saturday night in Brooklyn, as they dropped their second straight game to the Nets to fall to 26-34 on the season. As was the case on Thursday night, Atlanta’s offense was stuck in the mud, only able to muster 102 points as they deal with the challenge of filling the void during Trae Young’s absence.

Much of that responsibility falls on the shoulders of Dejounte Murray, who had 20 points and 11 assists on the night but was just 8-of-19 from the field. Making matters worse for Murray was a bizarre exchange on the bench during a timeout when referee Tony Brothers walked over to have a conversation with the guard. Murray did not want to talk, waving Brothers off, which then led to the veteran official handing out a hilariously soft technical foul to Murray.

After the game, Murray could only laugh off the interaction and technical foul, noting on Twitter how absurd it was he got T’d up for not talking to a ref.

Even the NBA agreed that Brothers was being ridiculous in hitting him with a T, rescinding it quickly on Sunday afternoon to keep Murray from having to pay the fine associated with it and having it count towards his season-long technical foul total.

It’s good Murray won’t have to pay a fine for this, but the NBA might need to also have a conversation with Brothers regarding what should and shouldn’t be a technical foul.

Remember when comic book movies were a sure bet at the box office? It wasn’t that long ago. A decade or so ago Hollywood went all in on the genre, predicting that audiences would never tire of interconnecting movies and shows about people with superpowers. Well, they did. Last year only one of them (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3) made bank. The rest either underperformed or outright tanked. The trend hasn’t stopped with the new year. But is that a bad thing? One of the stars of a rare recent superhero smash doesn’t think so.

That person is Paul Dano, acclaimed actor, filmmaker, and a chilling Riddler in the Robert Pattinson-led The Batman. In a chat with The Independent (in a bit teased out by IndieWire), he prefers to think of superhero fatigue as an opportunity, not a crisis (or, as Homer Simpson would put it, “crisitunity”).

“It’s an interesting moment where everybody has to go like, ‘OK – what now?’” Dano said. “Hopefully from that, somebody either breathes new life into [comic book movies], or something else blossoms which is not superheroes. I’m sure there will still be some good ones yet to come, but I think it’s kind of a welcome moment.”

Dano sees this as part of a larger shift in the entertainment industry. “As soon as the word ‘content’ came into what we do – meaning making movies or TV – it meant quantity over quality, which I think was a big misstep,” he said. “And I certainly don’t need that as a viewer or as an artist.”

So what could replace superhero movies? Could it be another genre? Or perhaps people will instead go back to craving variety, demanding Hollywood give them all manner of films rather than just two or three. After all, one of the biggest hits of the last few months was a rom-com. A return of the mid-budget film — which don’t need to make a billion dollars to turn a profit — is one way to keep audiences going to the movies.

(Via The Independent and IndieWire)

The rules of vacation are simple. For Uproxx cover Chlöe, one stands far above the rest—sun’s out, buns out. In a series of hot new photos shared on the “FYS” singer’s official Instagram profile, Chlöe showed off a lot more than her latest tropical stay.

While the caption: “Wake up and stream ‘FYS’ ,” urged followers to listen to her latest single, users online’s attention was focused on something else entirely.

As Chlöe soaked up some rays dressed in a creme one-piece bathing and black coverup, she wanted to ensure the tan was even across her body, letting her glorious backside out to enjoy the yacht festivities.

Fans poured into the comment section, thirsting over the Chlöe’s glowing buns.

“Double cheeked up on this Sunday,” wrote one user.

“If this was 1910, I’d definitely pick cotton for you in the field,” joked another.

“I am no better than a man. Cause…yes…and yes,” wrote another.

“Cakes n it’s not eve yo birthday,” wrote one user.

“Now, girl…I’m in church,” chimed another.

To borrow a line for Chlöe’s breakout single, “Booty so big… Lord have mercy.”

Chlöe loves to share clips and snippets from her Caribbean excursion, and we, the general public, are forever grateful for that thoughtful act of kindness.

Sydney Sweeney hosed SNL Saturday, and she used her opening monologue to make light of her fame. She even joked about Madame Web, the probably already forgotten comic book movie in which she’s second-billed. She can do that in part because she had herself a hit movie: the rom-com Anyone But You, which spent over two months in the box office Top 10, handily outgrossing her Marvel movie. She and her co-star Glen Powell had themselves quite the press tour, too, and they get along so well that he swung by for a cameo during her SNL stint.

Said appearance occurred during the sketch “Loud Table,” in which Sweeney and Andrew Dismukes play a couple out for a date night at a restaurant. Alas, they’re flanked by two loud tables: one packed with a bunch of bros basically screaming at each other; the second with three braying women. Luckily, Dismukes’ character knows how to make men shut up: get them to profess their love for each other. And Sweeney’s character knows how to do the same to women: get them to think about their moms.

The punchline? That Sweeney was planning to break up with Dismukes because she’s sleeping with her boss. Enter her boss, played by Powell.

“Wanna get out of here?” he asks her.

“Yeah,” she replies, then addresses Dismukes: “Sorry.”

During their Anyone But You press tour, Sweeney and Powell were so cute together that they had to address rumors that they were hooking up. Surely this sketch will end those rumors once and for all.

You can watch the sketch in the video above.

Last week Mitch McConnell, the longest serving party leader in the Senate’s history, announced he was stepping down. The move wasn’t unexpected. His party has been moving ever Trump-ward, and those two sure do not get along. (Not that McConnell won’t still support him, not even after he made racist jokes about his wife.) What’s more, he kept freezing up in public. But there are at least two people who aren’t sad to see him go: the hosts of SNL Weekend Update.

During their latest segment, Michael Che and Colin Jost took turns doing something they always enjoy doing: introducing a figure they dislike with a photo of them “seen here” doing something unflattering. For McConnell, they did that four times. Here’s what they had to say over a McConnell freeze frame:

• [over a photo of him smiling] “seen here catching up on news from the Middle East”
• [over the same photo] “seen here walking out of a theater after watching 12 Years a Slave”
• [same photo, once more] “seen here after rearranging a blind woman’s furniture”
• [over a different photo of him smiling and giving a thumbs up] “seen here watching a single mother sell her blood for diaper money”

The two had other jokes at McConnell’s expense. “McConnell has been leader for almost 20 years,” Che said, “but he first got involved in politics back in 1968 when he lost a fiddle contest to the devil.”

Jost later joked that when McConnell officially leaves, he’ll be replaced by a “frozen embryo holding an assault rifle.”

You can watch the latest SNL Weekend Update in the video above.

Joe Biden’s pretty old. He’s even older than the guy whose brain is broken and who’s threatening to be a dictator who’ll help start World War III. But yeah, 81 is old, and if re-elected, he’ll be 82 by the time his second term begins. SNL usually reserves their Cold Open for the broken brain guy and/or his cronies. But on the most recent episode, they decided to come for the other presidential candidate.

The sketch found one Biden associate after another making over-the-top claims about his vim and vigor. Michael Longfellow’s Gavin Newsom was first, going on CNN to tell Heidi Gardner’s Dana Bash that the president wasn’t just responsible for a strong economy, but also Beyoncé going country and the return of the Shamrock Shake. Newsom even had an answer for the “Sleepy Joe” nickname.

“Even when he’s sleeping he’s on,” he claimed. “The other day he was taking a nap and I whipped a baseball at him, and he caught it like De Niro in Awakenings.” (It’s worth noting that that 34-year-old reference was to a film that came out when Biden was in his late 40s.)

Ego Nwodim’s Karine Jean-Pierre was next, calling Biden “the most vigorous man I’ve ever known.” She laid out his morning schedule, which included a 7am Soul Cycle class — not one he takes but one he leads. She also tried to make his age a perk not a bug.

“He was 30 years old before Roe vs. Wade was instated, so you know he was smashing,” she said. “He dealt with those restrictions then as a young, handsome man, and he can deal with them now as an old, even more handsome man.”

Then there was Marcello Hernández as nearly impeached Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, who called him a “dynamo.”

“This weekend we both went down to the border town in Brownsville, Texas. And Joe went into beast mode,” he said. “He said we’re going to tighten this border. Look how easy I can cross it. Then he parkoured up to the top of the border wall, pro-flipped into the Rio Grande and came back up with a fish in his mouth. But you didn’t report that because it doesn’t fit your little narrative.”

Anyway, so Joe Biden is old! The other guy is, too, and he’s also the one who doesn’t understand how magnets work.

You can watch the SNL Cold Open in the video above.

The Terminal List, starring Chris Pratt, exists within Amazon Prime‘s fine collection of TV shows about ex-military and/or government operatives who happen to be jacked and/or handsome. The series is currently in production for a second season to continue adapting the story of Jack Carr’s conspiracy-stuffed novels about Navy SEAL James Reece’s tragedy-inspired death list meant to avenge his family and teammates’ murders.

More satisfactory news has arrived, too. As with Rainbow Six of Jack Ryan fame, Amazon decided that a second The Terminal List series should exist, too. Wheels are in motion, and Pratt will co-star again along with several other crossover and newly announced cast members. Let’s get down to business on what else to expect, shall we?

Plot

Via Jack Carr’s website, Chris Pratt made the initial announcement of the new series, The Terminal List: Dark Wolf, with a different leading man: “[F]or those who are fans of Taylor Kitsch’s Ben Edwards, I’m happy to say that we’re also working on a spinoff series that will delve deeper into his story and follow his journey from a Navy SEAL to a CIA operative.” Pratt added that he will also appear in this prequel show, “[T]o make it even more exciting.”

As viewers recall, Ben Edwards is James Reece’s old buddy and also a former SEAL who has turned CIA operative. The Dark Wolf description promises “an elevated espionage thriller that takes viewers on Edwards’s journey from Navy SEAL to CIA paramilitary operator, exploring the darker side of warfare and the human cost that comes with it.” Expect the events of this show to begin five years prior to the main course, and Kitsch is looking forward to exploring his character’s “pivotal moments” from the past. He further added, “[T]o bring ‘Ben’ back is an honor… and bluntly just a damn fun character to play.” Oh, and “the bromance continues.”

The new show should, like its founder, include skillfully choreographed fight scenes, although no there has been zero confirmation that any The Terminal List–style underwear fighting will be present. As far as plot goes, Jack Carr clued in viewers about how thrilled he was that The Terminal List writers “envisioned… a much more nuanced character than I had created in the novel and once Taylor Kitsch brought him to life on screen, he elevated Ben Edwards beyond all expectations.” After noting that Kitsch’s character deserved more, Carr revealed that Dark Wolf will not be based on any existing book, and the author helped create the story that will drive the prequel:

The next step was coming up with the DARK WOLF story. So, showrunner and executive producer David DiGilio, along with actor, writer, executive producer and former Navy SEAL Jared Shaw flew to Park City, Utah where we convened with the white board in my office, beaming in writer, executive producer and former Army Ranger Max Adams via Zoom from an undisclosed location to start mixing it up!

Cast

Taylor Kitsch will be front and center as CIA operative Ben Edwards with Chris Pratt on hand as James Reece along with Jared Shaw as Ernest “Boozer” Vickers. Additionally, Tom Hopper (The Umbrella Academy) will join the prequel’s cast as Raife Hastings with Luke Hemsworth (Westworld) signing on as Jules Landry. Another incoming arrival: Dar Salim (The Covenant) as Mohammed “Mo” Farooq, “An Iraqi Special Operations Forces (ISOF) officer, formerly trained in the CIA Scorpions program.”

Release Date

Presumably, Amazon will be alternating The Terminal List‘s flagship series with the prequel, in which case, we can hope for both shows to arrive in 2025.

Trailer

As the wait for a trailer begins, here’s a refresher of Kitsch discussing behind-the-scenes peeks at Ben Edwards.