Category: News

(WARNING: Spoilers for The Mandalorian episode “The Foundling” below.)

As the actor who played Jar Jar Binks in the Star Wars prequels, Ahmed Best did not have the best experience with fans following the release of those films. In recent years, Best has opened up about receiving death threats and constant insults that he “destroyed” people’s childhood. The fan backlash was so intense that, at one point, Best contemplated suicide. It’s one of the most glaring examples of Star Wars fandom at its worst.

Fortunately, the tide has significantly turned. While Best has continued to work with the franchise by voicing Jar Jar in The Clone Wars animated series and hosting Star Wars: Jedi Temple Challenge for Disney+, The Mandalorian just made one of the actor’s dreams come true in a huge way.

Over the past three seasons, executive producer Dave Filoni has hinted that he knows who rescued Baby Yoda (or Grogu, if we must) from the Jedi Temple during the Order 66 attack that took place during Revenge of the Sith. A brief glimpse of Baby Yoda witnessing the Jedi massacre was shown in Season 2, but it The Mandalorian Chapter 20, Star Wars fans finally get to see his escape.

In the action-packed episode, Baby Yoda makes a run for it as clone troopers breach the temple. His odds of getting out aren’t looking great until another Jedi comes to his rescue. That Jedi? Kelleran Beq played by none other than Ahmed Best, who helped develop the character for Jedi Temple Challenge.

It was a huge moment for Best, who finally got to live his dream of playing a canonical Jedi (and a pivotal one at that) and Star Wars fans are absolutely here for it. Shortly after The Mandalorian episode started streaming, Twitter exploded with love for Best. The actor’s name has been trending all Wednesday morning as Mando fans geeked out over his badass rescue.

You can see some of the reactions below:

New episodes of The Mandalorian stream Wednesdays on Disney+.

Pat Sajak has been hosting Wheel of Fortune since 1981. And yet even after over 7,000 episodes with co-host Vanna White, he’s still finding ways to keep things fresh, like faux-attempting to wrestle contestants.

During Tuesday’s episode of Wheel, Fred, a drama teacher who also works as a bar trivia host and wrestler, had a “perfect game”: he correctly answered every puzzle, including the bonus. “Just because he’s a professional amateur, you want me to body slam him for you?” Sajak asked the other contestants, while Fred flexed. Speaking of flexes: Fred took home a grand total of $75,800.

During the post-game celebration, Sajak walked over to Fred like he was going to shake his hand before putting some amateur “wrestling” moves on the contestant. Orange Cassidy, he ain’t. But Fred did a good job of selling Sajak’s patented armlock-hand over mouth combo, probably because he just made more in one game of Wheel of Fortune than he has in years of wrestling.

When the show cut back, Pat having said nothing during the actual act – Vanna said to him: “I had no idea you were a wrestler.” Pat replied: “Yeah I used to do that professionally,” to which one lone audience member laughed loudly and Pat stared them down. “Like you’ve never heard of ‘The Masked Sage?’ Come on…” he joked, giving himself a wrestler pseudonym.

You can watch the Wheel of Fortune clip above.

(Via the Sun)

It’s never fun when one of your favorite shows ends, especially if it’s unexpected. But we all know that the end of Succession has been coming because how long can that family realistically survive each other? There are only so many baseball caps on the market these days, anyway.

Even though the end is coming, the first batch of Succession reviews for its final season are promising a steady flow of drama, wit, and enough family bickering to make your own relatives seem like angels in comparison.

The HBO series will return this Sunday for its season four premiere, but critics have reviewed the first four episodes. While they are mostly spoiler-free, it seems like the build-up for this season will be even more earth-shattering than promised. Check out the reviews below:

Brian Grubb, Uproxx:

This show is fun and preposterously watchable but it’s also a show about broken people walloping each other with the scraps of a personality they have left. Buckle in.

Ben Travers, Indiewire:

“Succession” won’t rest on its laurels. No, the final season is here to annihilate you.

Angie Han, The Holywood Reporter

What I will say is that the biggest difference this year is the knowledge that we’re in the endgame. In earlier seasons, no matter how dramatically the sands shifted, we’d be waiting to see how they’d shift again. This season, though, they’re almost out of runway, at least as far as the viewers are concerned. That raises the stakes just a bit with each passing episode.

In the meantime, though, Succession hasn’t lost any of the hilarity or darkness we’ve come to expect from it. Love the colorful insults? We’ve got some real bangers, including my personal favorite: “I’m going to take you apart like a human string cheese.”

Nick Schager, The Daily Beast

Succession’s forthcoming shocker [still not to be spoiled here!] will undoubtedly be the talk of the entertainment world. In the end, though, it’s both a fitting turn of events for a show on the way out, and conclusive proof that, when it comes to the Roys and their various associates, accomplices, and hangers-on, strategically conspiring for the crown isn’t merely a full-time job—it’s a way of life.

Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone,

Logan knows the end is coming, and so does Succession. Without spoiling what happens in the episodes sent to critics, the way that events unfold, and the impact that they have on Logan and everyone else, never plays like a rehash of what’s come before. Significant choices are made, by both the characters and the creative team, that cannot be taken back. It is full steam ahead to the end. Much of what happens is shocking and/or shockingly poignant, especially since it is a show about the absolute worst human beings alive.

Richard Lawson, Vanity Fair:

The show’s ultimate point may not be a comforting one, nor one with any kind of actionable entreaty. But just as Shakespeare and the Greeks tended to have something heavy to say about their ruinous and ruined royals, so too might Armstrong.

Joshua Alston, Variety:

While the season takes a bit longer to catch fire than its predecessors, once the shady dealing begins in earnest, “Succession” is more intense than ever. And with the series finale in sight, the show has a full tank of gas and an 800-pound gorilla’s foot on the pedal. Better than ever doing business with you, “Succession.”

Bob Strauss, The Wrap:

It all settles into a superb array of the show’s signature strengths: Machiavellian plotting, comic rationalizing and withering put-downs. The whole gang is at their calculating best, with a survivalist urgency to the business and emotional stakes at hand.

Meghan O’Keefe, Decider:

Succession Season 4 also happens to be Armstrong and the writers’ most ambitious season yet. Huge swings are made from the jump and every one of them lands with creativity, nuance, and grace. The most impressive thing about the writing in Succession Season 4 is how major emotional moments are amplified by the smallest of details: a hand tentatively reaching for another hand, a shoulder jerked away, or even a Sudoku game.

Succession returns to HBO this Sunday, March 26th. Good luck holding it together.

J. Cole‘s album, 2014 Forest Hills Drive, was well acclaimed — enough to earn him a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Album in 2016. He lost to another beloved project in Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp A Butterfly, though.

However, in a new interview on ESPN’s Lead By Example With Bob Myers, the musician opened up about while the accolade was important to him at the time, just making the record great meant more in the long run.

“It was so important to me,” J. Cole said. “Had I had won it early on, I think it would have validated all those feelings I had for it. Maybe it would have felt like a championship at that point, I’m not sure. The fact that it didn’t happen and then it didn’t happen and it didn’t happen, it allowed me to reflect.”

“There was an album that felt like a championship,” he added. “The making of this album I got called Forest Hills Drive, and the releasing of it and the tour. That was a championship run in a way I would look at how the Bulls look at The Last Dance. That was the feeling. Guess what, that album didn’t win a Grammy. A Grammy didn’t increase my enjoyment or decrease my enjoyment. If that album had won a Grammy, it wouldn’t have changed my experience. The fact that it didn’t win didn’t change my experience. That was what a championship felt like to me.”

Cole eventually did go on to win a Grammy for his “A Lot” collab with 21 Savage in 2020.

Chlöe and Halle Bailey are having a big year — both as a group and as individuals. We are just over a week away from Chlöe’s solo debut album, In Pieces, and in May, we will see Halle take the big screen in Disney’s The Little Mermaid.

While we are excited to see what the sisters bring to us individually, fans wonder what their future as a duo entails.

While promoting her new campaign with Zyrtec (per PopSugar), Halle revealed that she and Chlöe are excited about this new era in each of their lives. But she also made it known that fans haven’t seen the last of them as Chloe x Halle.

“This journey has been a really beautiful one,” said Halle. “My sister and I are so close, she’s like my arm. […] And she’s my biggest supporter. I’m her biggest supporter. We’re just really excited to be able to be doing all of this together and for this all to be happening. I’m so proud of her. And her album comes out March 31, In Pieces, and everyone should be so hyped for it. But people should definitely know that we are not finished making music together.”

In Pieces is out 3/24 via Columbia and Parkwood. Find more information here.

The Little Mermaid is in theaters 5/23.

Doja Cat’s third studio album, Planet Her, continues to make streaming history, but fans are desperate for another body of work as the project approaches its two-year anniversary. Although the recording artist has been having a ball as one of the newest fashion it girl, she hasn’t abandoned music just yet.

Taking to Twitter, Doja shared that progress has been made when it comes to her forthcoming album. In a tweet, the musician wrote, “DC4 has a title now,” confirming that her upcoming album has been given an official title.

Before fans could guess what the title would be for her fourth album, Doja appeared to have spilled the beans, tweeting out the hashtag, “#hellmouth.”

But some fans weren’t buying it, replying to her initial post to share their skepticism.

On the other hand, some fans excited about the news began to fish for more information about the album’s directions. As they inquired about the project’s sound many were shot down as they took a guess at the genre.

One fan tweeted that it would be a rap album, and although Doja Cat didn’t confirm the fan’s guess, by liking the tweet, that was enough to send fans into a spiral.

In a conversation with Elle that the record will be “predominantly rap.” The last update the musician gave fans was that she was heading in “a more masculine direction,” i.e. punk. But it looks like based on her tweets, she’s landed back on rap… for now, at least.

This past weekend, Amanda Byrnes pulled out of a scheduled booking at a 1990s-based convention event, where one of her All That co-stars, Kel Mitchell, sent prayers her way without providing further details. On Monday, TMZ reported that a distressed Bynes had flagged down a pedestrian in Los Angeles, where she had wandered the street unclothed. TMZ further detailed how Bynes declared that she was “coming down from a psychotic episode” and called 911 of her own volition, and she was placed on psychiatric hold while doctors evaluated her condition. Additionally, her parents were reported to have ruled out pursuing a new conservatorship while also expressing their concern for the situation.

TMZ now follows up with word that doctors will keep Bynes on 5150 hold for now, and this will possibly be the case for up to two weeks. The outlet also details her whereabouts in the days leading up to her call to 911:

Sources close to Amanda tell us they’re still putting the pieces together, but at this point believe she could’ve been living on the streets for several days. We’re told Amanda’s car was towed on March 15 in Long Beach, about 40 miles from her home … and 25 miles from downtown L.A., where she popped up Sunday.

From Long Beach, our sources believe Amanda hitchhiked or took public transport to get around. She was spotted in Hollywood on March 18, appearing out of it but still clothed. At one point, we’re told, Amanda got a ride to Beverly Hills from a stranger but then asked to return to Hollywood.

TMZ adds that doctors are reportedly noting “improvements” in Bynes’ condition, although they did see fit to extend the psychiatric hold beyond the initial 72 hour phase. Prior to this incident, Bynes was reportedly making strides after her conservatorship (related to her bipolar diagnosis in 2014) ended one year ago and had been attending (via Page Six) cosmetology school after stepping away from Hollywood several years ago.

(Via TMZ)

Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler have known each other since they were babies. OK, they were actually in their early 20s when they met at a Los Angeles deli, but as a mid-30-something, all 21 year olds are children to me. Anyway, in the decades they’ve spent tonight, has Sandler — make that Mark Twain Prize for American Humor winner Sandler — given Aniston any advice?

“If I get anything from him, it’s ‘what are you doing?!’ Usually based on someone I’m dating,” she told host Jimmy Fallon on Tuesday’s episode of The Tonight Show. “But I very much likes to take care of him. He’s so concerned with taking care of everybody else, which he really does, and he doesn’t take care of himself. I’m sorry for calling you out on national television, but you have to know this.” I don’t know, I’d say Sandler is treating himself just fine.

Aniston continued, “I have a little arsenal of herbs in my trailer and I make him smoothies when I can and give him all sorts of Chinese herbs when he’s exhausted.” If Sandler had been murdered during the making of Murder Mystery 2, Aniston, with her “mobile pharmacy,” would be the top suspect.

You can watch The Tonight Show clip above.

At least once every few weeks, it seems, there’s some sort of news about a potential Oasis reunion, whether or not the news makes one seem more or less likely. There’s now somewhat of a new update on that front, this time via Liam Gallagher making an accusation against brother Noel.

In a tweet shared today (March 22), Liam wrote, “Here’s how I see it the little fella aka potato has done a lot of damage to Oasis as a band / brand he’s got a lot of making up to do not just to me but to you the fans the people that put us where we are tday as you were LG x.”

As for where the possibility of a reunion stands now, it seems to have gone back and forth lately. Last October, Noel said, “As funny as this sounds, Oasis sell as many records now per year as we did when we were together. We’re as popular now in the eyes of the people as we ever were, and I’m happy with it. If we got back together, it would be a circus and there’s no point.”

Then, in January, both brothers individually suggested they’re open to the possibility of a reunion. So, it’s hard to say what they’re thinking now.

In 2018, an 8-year-old girl named Isabella McCune was badly burned in an accident and was hospitalized at Phoenix’s Arizona Burn Center. She had hoped to see Taylor Swift perform in Glendale but was unable to. She had a plan, though: She recorded a video that April calling out to Swift, saying, “I heard you were here, and I wanted to visit you but maybe you can come and visit me. So maybe that can happen.”

A few days later, Swift actually did visit, and while there, McCune told Swift how her music has helped her through the tough times she had faced. Swift wrote a message for McCune: “Isabella! I hope you feel better soon and I’m honored you’ve been listening to my music. You’re so awesome and I can’t wait to have you at a show!! Stay strong, gorgeous.”

Swift did have to wait to have McCune at a show, nearly five years. Now, though, Swift has made good on her promise by gifting McCune four tickets to the second of her Glendale Eras Tour concerts this past weekend.

McCune, who is now 13, told Arizona’s ABC 13, “Not only the fact that I’m able to go and I got these tickets gifted to me, they’re from Taylor Swift and her team and they remembered me, and thought of me to give me these tickets.”

Watch McCune tell the story herself in the video above.