Month: October 2024

Billie Eilish has been open when it comes to her sexuality: On the remix of Charli XCX’s “Guess,” for example, she sings, “Charli likes boys, but she knows I’d hit it.” At the same time, though, she doesn’t seem to love that part of her life being a public focus: After being “outed” in a red-carpet interview in 2023, she wrote on Instagram, “thanks variety for my award and for also outing me on a red carpet at 11 am instead of talking about anything else that matters i like boys and girls leave me alone about it please literally who cares stream ‘what was i made for’ [disguised face emoji].”

Ultimately, Eilish wishes her sexuality and dating life weren’t a part of her public persona, she revealed in a new Vogue interview.

With “visible frustration,” Eilish said, “I wish no one knew anything about my sexuality or anything about my dating life. Ever, ever, ever. And I hope that they never will again. And I’m never talking about my sexuality ever again. And I’m never talking about who I’m dating ever again.”

This doesn’t mean she’s completely averse to fame, though. Eilish also spoke about attending Charli XCX’s 32nd birthday party in Los Angeles, an event that featured stars like Addison Rae, Glen Powell, Nelly Furtado, Tove Lo, Lorde, Sabrina Carpenter, Rosalía, and other stars. It was an experience Eilish relished, saying, “I need small doses of that. I’ll have one of those experiences maybe once a month. That many people and that many cameras on you can be a lot, but that night, I was so happy. It was really fun.”

Check out the full feature here.

Has Nicki Minaj and Megan Thee Stallion beef sneakily made its way into an entrepreneurial venture? Well, that’s what hip-hop head seemed to think. Earlier in the month, a campaign for Nicki Minaj’s sneaker line, Loci, went viral after users online noticed that it featured Megan Thee Stallion’s former friend, Kelsey Nicole.

However, on October 6, Nicki used downtime from Pink Friday 2 World Tour to address the growing backlash. In a post uploaded to X (formerly Twitter), Nicki slammed The Shade Room for promoting “a lie.”

“She posted a photo in my sneakers,” she wrote. “Me, nor my company knew anything about it until she posted it. So she did what many ppl did when they received my sneakers, they posted a photo in them.”

Nicki did extend compliments to the image. “Kelsey def went all the way out with this professional looking backdrop tho,” she wrote “But she is in no way professionally connected to my sneaker brand…Btw, did Kelsey not tell them she wasn’t modeling for the line Barbz? Did she just let them think that? I gotta get caught up y’all.”

Kelsey Nicole has since deleted the post. But that hasn’t stopped fans of both Megan Thee Stallion and Nicki Minaj from blasting her for seemingly attempting to add more fire to their longstanding feud.

ESPN’s basketball coverage has undergone some serious changes over the last few weeks. After Adrian Wojnarowski announced he was leaving to take over as the general manager for St. Bonaventure basketball and the network decided to lay off Zach Lowe, ESPN decided to hire Shams Charania, the NBA insider for The Athletic who was a free agent.

It wasn’t a surprising move considering Charania’s reputation for being the best in the business now that Woj retired. However, the two have had a long and tumultuous relationship dating back to when Wojnarowski mentored Charania at Yahoo — there is an entire Wikipedia page dedicated to their rivalry.

Now that Woj is out of the game, though, it appears that things have settled between the two. During an appearance on The Jim Rome Show, Wojnarowski wished Charania the best of luck, and revealed that Charania sent him a text after he left ESPN.

“Shams texted me after I announced my retirement, and you know, what I told him is what I would say today, that I hope he has as fulfilling and as rewarding of a career as I’ve had,” Wojnarowski said. “And I certainly wish that for him, and he’s right about the incredible group of colleagues that he’s going to find at ESPN — the best of the best, incredible reporters, on-air talent. For me, that was always the best part of working at ESPN, were the colleagues who elevate you. You’re around the best of the best. And that was true on the NBA, and that was true being around [Adam] Schefter, and [Pete] Thamel, and [Jeff] Passan, and those guys. So, wish him the best, and he’s got a great team around him at ESPN. I miss those guys already, but I’m still talking to those guys a lot.”

Whether or not Charania is going to donate to St. Bonaventure basketball sometime soon remains to be seen.

Over the past few weeks, Cardi B’s family has been a trendy topic online. First, the “Like What” rapper’s pregnancy announcement shocked fans. Then, news of Cardi B & Offset’s pending divorce rocked supporters. But, the birth of their youngest daughter seemed to temporarily cooled things down. Well, until their headed back-and-forth war of words.

Today (October 7), followers of Cardi B learned another tidbit of information about her family. Over on X (formerly Twitter), Cardi B introduced users online to the latest member of the Almánzar-Cephus clan, an adorable cat. “Meowwwwwww,” she wrote. “New family member. Guess her name .”

The vibrant photo that accompanied the uploaded showed Cardi B propping up a yellow-eyed smokey gray cat as the musician sports a snow leopard print dress. Fans found themselves so memorized by the feline that they didn’t even attempt to pick out a name for the fur baby. So, shortly after, Cardi B revealed that the cat is named ‘Wet Ass Pussy,’ after her controversial and raunchy chart-topping single “WAP” with Megan Thee Stallion.

In a fun animated video (viewable here), Cardi B’s new pet dominates the household. However, as odd as it may sound, this isn’t the first animal Cardi’s named WAP. Back in 2021, Cardi received a pitbull puppy as a Christmas gift, which was as named WAP. Cardi B can’t get enough of her WAP.

Late in the third quarter on Monday night in Kansas City, the Chiefs were marching deep in the red zone looking to put a dagger in the New Orleans Saints. Leading 16-7, Patrick Mahomes threw a slant to JuJu Smith-Schuster that would’ve put them up 16 — a near insurmountable lead given how the Saints offense had been playing.

However, Smith-Schuster was unable to handle the pass and it popped up in the air, where Saints defensive tackle Khalen Saunders reached out and snagged it with one hand in the end zone. Most tackles would fall down for a touchback, content with coming up with a huge turnover, but Saunders had dreams of so much more and returned it all the way out to the 37 on an incredible run back.

That is a large man scooting, showing off all kinds of athleticism in hauling in the pick with one hand and then tucking it like a natural running back and taking off. My favorite part is him pushing one of his defensive back teammates out of the way because he was slowing him down and keeping him from really opening it up.

What made the play even more incredible was it came directly after ESPN ran a video package about Saunders and Travis Kelce, because Saunders’ brother is a dancer on Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour — which is why Joe Buck exclaimed “and there he is!” when Saunders got the ball. Saunders earned his trip to the oxygen tank on the Saints sideline with that play, and got to show off that he’s more than just a big body on the interior of the line.

The Kansas City Chiefs entered Monday night’s game with the New Orleans Saints missing some key players on offense, most notably Rashee Rice who is likely done for the season after his knee got injured when he took friendly fire from Patrick Mahomes after an interception last week.

That meant the Chiefs would need to find someone else to lean on in the passing game, as Rice was their leading receiver (by a lot) through the first four weeks of the season. Unsurprisingly, the person that stepped into that role was Travis Kelce, who had eight catches for 67 yards in the first half, as he’s gotten himself much more involved the last two weeks after a surprisingly quiet start to the season.

The biggest play by Kelce in the first half came on a 3rd and 22, as the Chiefs picked up 21 of those yards when Mahomes hit Kelce across the middle and the star tight end just drifted sideways across the field to draw defenders before lateraling it to Samaje Perine, who ran close to the marker.

The Chiefs would pick up the 4th and 1 on the ground before ultimately kicking a field goal later in the drive, but given Kelce’s history of laterals, both planned and impromptu, many (including Joe Buck and Troy Aikman in the booth) were wondering if that was a designed play or some improvisation from Kelce when he saw Perine over there. At halftime, the great Lisa Salters made sure to get that answer from Andy Reid, who confirmed they work on that “every day” in practice, but will not divulge the play’s name.

Given they once won a Super Bowl scoring two touchdowns on a play called “Corn Dog,” I hope this has an equally silly name, but we won’t learn that until at least the offseason. For his part, Kelce has long been determined to make the lateral more of a regular occurrence, rather than a tool of desperation. Last year, his lateraling Mona Lisa — a TD to Kadarius Toney that would’ve beaten the Bills — got wiped out because Toney lined up offsides, but this time around he got it to work and I doubt this will be the last time we see Kelce pitching the ball mid-play this season.

Riot Fest 2024 was filled with noteworthy performances by Fall Out Boy, St. Vincent, Slayer, and more. However, one family’s memory of the multiple day event (September 20-22) is quite somber.

On October 4, organizers of Riot Fest confirmed that a ticket holder tragically died after attending the musical celebration in a post on X (formerly Twitter). According to Chicago Sun Times, 58-year-old Stephen Shult passed due to substantial head trauma. Now, Shult’s daughter Jen Eaton has launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise fund for a “Cremation And Celebration Of Life services.”

Rumors online alleged that Shult was injured in the most pit during Slayer’s headlining set on Sunday, September 22. However, a spokesperson for Riot Fest shut down the claim. “Our deepest condolences go out to his family, friends, and loved ones during this incredibly challenging time,” wrote the rep. “The health, safety, and well-being of our fans and community have always been our top priority. We are aware of the various speculations surrounding this tragedy, including claims that it may be linked to the Slayer crowd. However, we want to clarify that this is not the case. The on-site medical team responded to this medical incident, near the Ferris Wheel area, prior to Slayer’s performance. Out of respect for the family’s privacy, we will not be sharing further details.”

On the GoFundMe webpage, Shult’s daughter did confirm within the fundraiser’s description that officials are “still investigating” that matter. Shult’s family is looking to raise $8,000. As of today (October 7), they are a few hundred away from that goal (currently raised $7,149).

The Flaming Lips are working to mobilize their fan base. No, the “In the Morning Of The Magicians” musicians aren’t teasing a new tour.

Sadly, Steven Drozd’s daughter, has been reported missing. According to an image posted to Instagram (viewable here), Charlotte “Bowie” Drozd was last seen on Saturday, October 5 at Space Needle, a landmark observation tower in Seattle, Washington. In a collaborative post between a fan and The Flaming Lips’ frontman Wayne Coyne, they shared descriptors about Bowie.

Their caption stressed the time sensitive nature of the matter, writing: “URGENT! Please help if you can! Steven’s daughter (she is 16 years old) is missing! She was last seen at the Space Needle early on Saturday. I’ll post more info as soon as I can .”

In the comment section of the post, Steven expressed her gratitude for the help in spreading the nerve-racking news, writing: “Thank you, Wayne for posting. We don’t know what to do .”

At this time, nothing else is known about the status of the investigation. But, Steven, Wayne, and The Flaming Lips supporters are making use of the resources available to them including their various social media platforms.

If you have any information about Bowie’s disappearance, please contact the Seattle Police Department by phone at 206-625-5011 or call Bowie’s mother, Becky at 405-831-6795.

Sadly, another entertainment legend has gone on to glory. According to a family spokesperson, Dr. Emily “Cissy” Houston, the mother of Whitney Houston and two-time Grammy Award-winning singer, and gospel music pioneer has died at the age of 91 years old.

In a statement shared with the Associated Press, Cissy’s daughter-in-law Pat Houston, confirmed that heartbreaking news.

“Our hearts are filled with pain and sadness,” she said. “We lost the matriarch of our family,” Pat Houston said in a statement. She said her mother-in-law’s contributions to popular music and culture are ‘unparalleled.’ Mother Cissy has been a strong and towering figure in our lives. A woman of deep faith and conviction, who cared greatly about family, ministry, and community. Her more than seven-decade career in music and entertainment will remain at the forefront of our hearts.”

The outlet reports, Cissy’s death was tied to her battle with Alzheimer’s disease. Outside of monumental role she played in the vocal shaping of Whitney Houston, Cissy’s individual career and time with The Sweet Inspirations was also noteworthy.

As a singer, Cissy’s award-winning voice can be heard on Aretha Franklin’s “Think” and ”(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman,” as well as Van Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Girl” and Dusty Springfield’s “Son of a Preacher Man.”

Dr. Cissy Houston is preceded in death by her daughter Whitney Houston and granddaughter Bobbi Kristina Brown. Cissy’s niece, Dionne Warwick has not yet released a public statement.

Reacher isn’t technically an anthologized series but does (mostly) swap out casts with each passing season as the Big Guy lives his vagabond life. Viewers probably wouldn’t be mad, however, to see a certain first-season character, Roscoe Conklin, again. Willa Fitzgerald portrayed the fan-favorite spitfire and has since stolen the show in Mike Flanagan’s The Fall Of The House Of Usher and recently did the same in Strange Darling from Magenta Light Studios.

The twisty horror film, which shares producers from Late Night With The Devil and Barbarian, is best digested without even watching a trailer and with only knowing that Fitzgerald portrays a character known as The Lady with Kyle Gallner (Smile) stepping in as The Demon. Also, this brief description from Magenta Light Studios can’t hurt: “Nothing is what it seems when a twisted one-night stand spirals into a serial killer’s vicious murder spree.” The film is currently available on VOD and Amazon Prime for rental, but does Strange Darling have a streaming date yet?

Sadly, nope. The J.T. Mollner-directed film enjoyed a brief theatrical run with stellar critic reviews contributing to enduring positive word of mouth, but those who want to watch the movie as part of a streaming service package will have to hang tight for further word. In the meantime, however, Fitzgerald can be seen (of course) on Prime Video/Amazon in Reacher. Hint hint.