Category: News

SNL50: Homecoming Concert was filled with viral moments. However, Ana Gasteyer and Will Ferrell comedic cover of Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” was probably the most discussed performance. But according to Ana Gasteyer, the set was closed to being scrapped.

During an interview with People, Gasteyer revealed that they felt conflicted about singing the controversial chart-topping diss track against Drake.

“We went back and forth,” she said. “We were like… it’s song of the year, obviously. The thing about the Culps is they’re just trying to stay current and they want to reach their students where they are. So, song of the year.”

She continued: “And we always kind of start with the premise, which is Valentine’s Day and love, and then naturally, because of the feuding, it was sort of like, you have to have the contrast. So, it was just fun to write and ridiculous.”

Although Drake probably isn’t a fan of the set users online certainly were.

“I didn’t know how much I wanted to see this until it came true before my eyes,” wrote one user.

“I think Drake would have indeed turned the tv off at this point,” joked another.

The SNL 50: The Homecoming Concert is exclusively available on Peacock. Find more information here.

Over the weekend, Travis Scott gathered his famous friend for his third annual Cactus Jack HBCU Celebrity Softball Classic game. Unfortunately, for the “4X4” rapper that wasn’t the only thing his name would be tied to.

According to TMZ, Travis Scott has been named in a new lawsuit. Today (February 17), the outlet claimed that a fan, Omar Muhanna, accused Travis Scott’s security guard of “violently assaulting him” in legal documents.

In the paperwork, Muhanna said on August 17, 2024, he was near a New York City venue Scott was scheduled to perform at. During that time, he had a run-in with one member of Scott’s protection detail. Although the name of this location was not revealed within the filing, Scott did attend Fanatics Fest NYC 2024 at the Javits Center around that time.

Muhanna accused Scott’s team of having “violent physical contact” with him without cause. As a result of the security guard’s alleged assault, Muhanna was left with “serious and permanent injuries.”

In a statement to TMZ, Travis Scott’s representative referred to the lawsuit as “bogus” and “frivolous.” The rep also claimed that Scott could not have been present for any alleged assault as he was dining at a local restaurant during the supposed incident.

The spokesperson closed by saying Scott should not be held responsible for the alleged claims as he didn’t do “anything wrong here other than hiring a security company.” According to the insider, the security guard was not Scott’s personal protection rather an employee of the firm.

Omar Muhanna is reportedly suing Travis Scott in civil court on behalf of his security guard for assault and battery.

Kali Uchis’ latest album, Orquídeas was a major success last year (it was named one of the year’s top 50 albums on the 2024 Uproxx Music Critics Poll). So, good news: Its follow-up is not only on the way, but it’s finished.

On Instagram today (February 17), Uchis shared a gallery of photos and videos and wrote, “just turned in my album so let me get these pics off to celebrate the end of orquídeas.”

In a February 2024 interview with Cosmopolitan, Uchis revealed she had already started work on her new album, which was described as her most “sad girl” project. She said of it, “There’s gonna be no collaborations. I want to do a whole album that’s just really, really vulnerable. It’s the most existential I’ve ever been.” She also hinted at a joint project with Toliver and said, “My intention is just to keep creating from the heart and making whatever I want to make. What I always aspire to do with my music is to be unpredictable. That’s what makes what I do fun. I want to keep people guessing.”

2024 was a pretty stellar year for Uchis outside of Orquídeas: In January, she announced she was pregnant with her and Don Toliver’s first baby together.

One of the highest-grossing movies ever came out this year. No, not Paddington 3, unfortunately.

The record-breaking blockbuster is Ne Zha 2, a Chinese animated fantasy-adventure film that was released on January 29 and is already the world’s highest-grossing movie of all-time in a single market, with over $1.6 billion in ticket sales in China alone. The sequel to 2019’s Ne Zha made an additional $7.2 million during its debut weekend at the North American box office.

All told, Ne Zha 2 will soon surpass 2019’s The Lion King to become the 10th top-grossing movie ever. By this time next week, it should leapfrog Jurassic World, Inside Out 2, and maybe even Spider-Man: No Way Home, as well.

“But where can I see it?” you might be wondering.

How To Watch Ne Zha 2

The easiest way is to go to your local cinema: Ne Zha 2 is playing in over 600 theaters across the U.S. and Canada (you can see the full list here). If it’s not screening anywhere near you, however, you’ll have to wait until it’s on streaming. There’s unfortunately no streaming information available yet.

Here’s the plot synopsis for Ne Zha 2:

After the heavenly lightning, although Ne Zha and Ao Bing survived by becoming Spirits, they would soon dissipate completely. Taiyi plans to rebuild Ne Zha and Ao Bing’s mortal bodies with the Seven-colored Precious Lotus. However, during the process of reconstruction, numerous obstacles arise. What will become of the fate of Ne Zha and Ao Bing?

Check out the trailer below.

Poor Drake. He just can’t seem to get away from the fallout of his recent skirmish with Kendrick Lamar. Despite being on tour in Australia, it seemed some cheeky Aussie thought it’d be a good idea to troll the Canadian rapper with a gift from his homeland: A camouflage Toronto Raptors jersey. However, upon unfurling the jersey and seeing the name on the back, the performer threw it back into the crowd in apparent disgust. It looks like Drake still hasn’t forgiven DeMar DeRozan for supposedly siding with Kendrick during the two rappers’ beef.

I’m sure in Drake’s mind, he has good reason for feeling betrayed that DeRozan opted to appear in the video for fellow Comptonite Kendrick Lamar’s Drake-thrashing single, “Not Like Us” (and onstage during the rapper’s Kendrick & Friends Pop Out concert in LA). After all, when DeRozan was in Toronto playing for the Raptors, Drake was a fixture at the games, and the two entertainers developed what appeared to be an amiable relationship. Of course, that was before the Raptors unceremoniously traded him to the San Antonio Spurs after nine years of service for Kawhi Leonard (a move that worked out for the Raptors, leading to the franchise’s first-ever NBA Championship).

I asked DeMar how he felt about the trade a couple of days after, and while I won’t print what he said here, suffice it to say, he wasn’t exactly thrilled. While he insisted his appearance in the “Not Like Us” video was more of a favor for his fellow citizen than a shot at Drake, Drake clearly took it personally. If his reaction here is anything to judge by, it doesn’t look like he’ll be getting over it anytime soon.

You can check out a video of the mid-concert moment here.

Blackpink member Rosé has a relatively young solo career, but she had a breakout single last year by teaming with Bruno Mars on “APT.,” which was a top-three song on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. She also released her album Rosie, was was also top-three on the Billboard 200.

After all that, she’s not slowing down.

In a new interview with The Cut, Rosé declared, “I’ve made new music. I was in the studio last week. What better to do with my life than be in the studio?”

She also discussed how she got connected with Mars and what she learned from him, saying:

I told my label I was a big fan. And then, me with my celebrity privilege, they said, ‘Would you like to get in a meeting with Bruno Mars?’ I was like, ‘Wow, I should say ‘no’ to this because I feel a little embarrassed.’ But I could not say ‘no.’ When I met him, I felt like he read through me, and I was like, ‘Oh my God, I feel scared.’ […] Because of his intuition. He’s so awake. Of course, if you’re going to be him, you’ve got to be.

Let me think about how I should say this … Creative ideas only come to you at the right time and in the right moment, but sometimes with music, there are timelines. I’d always feel like, ‘It’s my fault; I should have an idea by this time,’ or ‘Maybe I’m just not good enough.’ Bruno showed me that, as a creative, you have to listen to your intuition and your timing, and you’re allowed to trust in it. I’ve become more confident in what feels right to me and in doing whatever it takes to have that come to life.

Stephen King’s constant readers are rarely lacking in adaptations coming on the horizon, but at least two-thirds of this year’s drop (aside from Life Of Chuck starring Tom Hiddleston) should be particularly terrifying. Oswald Perkins will soon deliver The Monkey, which will cement James Wan as the executive producer who cannot give up demonic toys, and Welcome To Derry will bring back Bill Skarsgård as the demonic entity most commonly known as Pennywise the Clown. So many demons, so little… you get the picture.

It might feel as though the latter project has been on the way for too many years, but that feeling could partially be because Derry has been such a haunted fixture in King’s work for decades. Also, It published in 1986, and unturned portions of the novel formed the basis of the upcoming series from Andy and Barbara Muschietti along with Jason Fuchs. So, it’s been a long wait even though the series was only announced a few years ago, and if you are feeling impatient then you are not alone.

When Will It” Welcome To Derry Come Out On HBO?

HBO’s latest press release on the series only specifies “2025,” but whenever the show does debut, it will simultaneously stream on on Max.

Additionally, HBO shared several stills from the series, although they are still sneakily withholding a renewed look as Bill as Pennywise.

As noted above, the Muschiettis are filling in the blanks on Pennywise’s earliest visits to Derry as chronicled by the It novel’s Mike Hanlon-focused interludes and other interludes that relate more about the demon’s lore. The show will also take place mainly in the 1960s but will take some trips into the past.

The cast includes Skarsgård as well as Taylour Paige, Jovan Adepo, Chris Chalk, James Remar, Stephen Rider, Rudy Mancuso, and Madeleine Stowe. It: Welcome To Derry will arrive in a season with nine weekly episodes, and HBO hasn’t revealed yet whether this is a limited series or if possible future seasons are in the cards.

Welcome to the Crumbl Cookie report! This is the second week in a row that Crumbl has reduced its lineup from eight cookies to seven. As staunch advocates of a smaller lineup (please Crumbl, go back to the six-cookie-a-week lineup) we’re pretty psyched about this — in theory. We say “in theory” because while we appreciate this week’s truncated lineup, what we are getting is a little boring.

This is one of the few weeks when we suggest you double up on a few flavors if you’re building out a six-pack box. Our suggestion would be to double up on each of our top three or triple up on the top two. For weekly Crumbl eaters, this might be the week you finally cash in on those Crumbl Rewards and pick up a few favorites for free.

Without further ado, here are all the cookies dropping at Crumbl this week, ranked from least to most essential.

7. Key Lime Pie Cookie

Thoughts & Tasting Notes:

I’m not sure the form factor here is working for this flavor. The Key Lime Pie Cookie features a super soft graham cracker base topped with tart lime filling, a dollop of whipped cream, and a dusting of graham cracker crumbs. The cookie is chilled, which I also think works against it.

The only thing I liked about this cookie is that its sweet and tart flavor is a bit refreshing. But is refreshing something you really want in a dessert? Because of that, I’m going to say the Key Lime Pie Cookie is this week’s most skippable dessert.

The Bottom Line:

It’s an interesting curiosity, but it would’ve worked better as a pie or cake.

6. Wafer ft. Kit Kat

Thoughts & Tasting Notes:

Crumbl hasn’t yet cracked how to make Kit Kat’s work in a dessert. This cookie features a buttery cookie base topped with a thin layer of milk chocolate and crushed Kit Kat’s on top. It’s good, but the Kit Kat’s don’t really add much to the flavor, all they do is provide the occasional burst of crispy texture.

They feel like an afterthought and aren’t properly integrated into the flavor of the cookie. Kit Kat’s need a softer textured treat — we suggest either a tres leches cake with Kit Kats or some kind of Kit Kat pie.

The Bottom Line:

I rather just have a Kit Kat.

5. Iced Oatmeal

Thoughts & Tasting Notes:

I know this cookie is incredibly tempting for oatmeal fans, but consider skipping this one as it’s a little boring compared to the rest of this week’s lineup.

The Iced Oatmeal features a cinnamon-rich chewy oatmeal base with a thin layer of cream cheese glaze across the surface. It offers a well-balanced mix of sweet vanilla and spicy cinnamon flavors but leans heavily on the sweeter end of the flavor spectrum.

The Bottom Line:

A decent oatmeal cookie, but far from Crumbl’s best. If oatmeal is your favorite cookie, consider it, but if you’re lukewarm on the flavor, this won’t change your feelings.

4. Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chunk

Thoughts & Tasting Notes:

A toasted butter and brown sugar base loaded up with rich, semi-sweet chocolate chips and the lightest dusting of sea salt. This cookie is dessert perfection, and I’d rank it higher if it wasn’t available every other week.

So I’ll say what I always say about this cookie: if you’ve never been to Crumbl, this is a must-order. If you’re a regular, consider using your Crumbl Rewards on this one to pick it up for free.

The Bottom Line:

One of the best chocolate chip cookies you’ll ever have.

3. Tres Leches Cake

Thoughts & Tasting Notes:

Crumbl has several Tres Leches Cakes, one of which includes Lotus Biscoff cookies, this tres leches cake is not that, but it’s pretty similar. All that’s missing is the Lotus Biscoff crumbles and cookie butter topping. This simplified version features a fluffy, sweet, and delicate floral vanilla cake moistened with tres leches and topped with sweet whipped cream and a gentle dusting of cinnamon.

It’s a pretty standard Tres Leches, but the cinnamon topping is a bit of a tease. We wish the actual cake had more cinnamon. It’s a small complaint though, this cake is moist, sweet, and delicious.

The Bottom Line:

Not quite as good as Crumbl’s Tres Leches ft. Lotus Biscoff, but still a must-order dessert.

2. Chocolate Cake Batter

Thoughts & Tasting Notes:

The Chocolate Cake Batter cookie might just be Crumbl’s richest cookie. The base is a sweet and soft chocolate cake batter topped with a layer of sweet fudge frosting and a layer of chocolate cake batter crumbles and rainbow sprinkles.

This cookie is incredibly soft and moist, almost cake-like, and will hit your taste buds with an overload of different complex chocolatey tones. I’m getting bitter cocoa, sweet milk chocolate, rich fudge, and decadent devil’s food. Unfortunately, this cookie is a bit one-note (chocolate obviously) so if you like shifting and complex flavors, look elsewhere.

The Bottom Line:

Rich, chocolatey, indulgent, and decadent. Excessive sweetness at its finest.

1. Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie

Thoughts & Tasting Notes:

One forkful of this Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie is a flavor bomb of toasty, rich, and creamy peanut-butter-forward flavors. The pie features a sweet and delicate cookies and cream pie crust topped with a layer of soft peanut butter filling, whipped cream, crushed peanut butter cups, and cookies and cream crumbles.

Those crumbles are purely decorative, but the crushed peanut butter cups add a lot of chocolatey flavor to the mix and a considerable amount of texture, as the majority of the pie is soft and airy. If you feel lukewarm about peanut butter, this dessert is not for you. The peanut butter flavor is intense, in the best way.

The Bottom Line:

A true treat for fans of Peanut Butter. Toasty, creamy, nutty, and rich!

Find your nearest Crumbl here.

Kiki Rice and the UCLA Bruins are the top-ranked team in the country thanks to a 25-1 record this season, as they have been a dominant force in the Big Ten. The point guard has played a big role in the Bruins’ success, averaging 12.9 points and 4.5 assists per game for UCLA in 22 games played this season.

Earlier this month, Rice stopped by the UPROXX Studios for our new Shot Clock challenge presented by McDonald’s, where she answered as many rapid fire questions as possible in 24 seconds to move closer to the hoop for a buzzer-beater. We got to learn Rice’s favorite player to study, her favorite basketball movie, the shooter whose form she loves the most, her pick between Jordan/LeBron and A’ja/Stewie, the WNBA player she’d most want to play with, her favorite album of all-time, and much more about the Bruins star guard.

Rice gives shoutouts to Napheesa Collier as the player she’d most like to play with, Kyrie Irving as the player she studies the most, Klay Thompson as the shot form she’d like to steal, A’ja Wilson for her great sneakers, Don Toliver for making her favorite album, and more as she worked her way closer to the hoop and drilled the shot.

Be sure to check back for more Shot Clock videos on Dime socials and UPROXX’s YouTube channel.

It was reported last week that Kendrick Lamar had passed Drake to claim the all-time record for the most monthly listeners in Spotify history among rappers. However, that ignored Post Malone and Bad Bunny (both of whom had higher all-time peaks than Lamar) and their contributions to hip-hop.

Now, though, Lamar has hit a more clear-cut superlative: He currently has 100 million monthly listeners (100,052,025, to be precise), which makes him the first rapper to reach that milestone in Spotify history.

The list of other artists to ever hit 100 million is a short one (per data from Kworb): Bruno Mars (151 million), The Weeknd (125), Ariana Grande (123), Lady Gaga (123), Taylor Swift (116), Billie Eilish (108), Justin Bieber (104), and Mariah Carey (100). That makes Lamar just the ninth artist to ever reach 100 million.

The next closest rappers behind Lamar are Post Malone (98), Bad Bunny (95), Drake (86), Eminem (86), Kanye West (78), Doja Cat (76), and Travis Scott (75).

Lamar has plenty to celebrate aside from this. This weekend, he achieved another hip-hop first by becoming the first rapper to have three simultaneous top-10 albums on the Billboard 200: GNX returns to No. 1, Damn rises to No. 9, and Good Kid, M.A.A.D City rounds out the list at No. 10. With SZA’s SOS hitting No. 2 this week, she and Lamar’s achievements mark the first time two Super Bowl Halftime Show performers take the top two spots on the chart following the game.