Category: News

Earlier today, Rolling Stone published an article detailing some of the production changes to the anticipated HBO drama The Idol in which members of the crew deride the production as a “sh*tshow” and criticize its new direction, which has been reportedly guided by co-creators Sam Levinson and The Weeknd, who also stars.

Well, The Weeknd clearly wasn’t going to take that criticism lying down and the perfect response ready to go, straight from the show itself. On Twitter, he posted a clip of the show in which his character calls the publication “irrelevant,” with the caption, “@RollingStone did we upset you?” The clip depicts Daniel Levy’s publicist pitching a cover story to his client, Lily-Rose Depp’s Jocelyn, only to be shut down by The Weeknd’s Tedros.

Of course, in the context of the show’s premise, this doesn’t quite scan as the harsh put-down of legacy publications it may seem at first blush. After all, according to HBO’s own publicity for the show, secret cult leader Tedros is a harmful influence on Jocelyn; in Rolling Stone‘s report, his actions toward her are described by the show’s own staff as “sexual torture porn.”

While it seems unlikely that The Weeknd has completely misunderstood the premise of his own show, reports have speculated that the reason for the controversial new direction stemmed from his distaste for the original director, Amy Seimetz’s, treatment of the material, which focused more on Jocelyn’s character than on Tedros.

Seimetz departed the nearly complete show last spring, replaced as director by Levinson, and most of the negative comments were focused on his new treatment, which turned the show from “a dark satire” into “the thing it was satirizing.” This tends to corroborate prior statements made about Levinson’s other HBO show, Euphoria, which has drawn criticism for its explicit content.

Is it possible that this is all some elaborate form of guerilla marketing? Maybe. But considering the show isn’t even completed yet — it doesn’t even have a release date, although HBO is still aiming for sometime in 2023 — it seems we won’t find out for a while… and the show we ultimately get might be completely different than either of the two shows described in Rolling Stone‘s report.

It seems like every star in music has their own music festival these days. J. Cole’s got Dreamville, Tyler The Creator’s got Flog Gnaw, and Usher has taken over the Lovers And Friends Fest. Well, another contender has thrown their name in the ring, and like Usher, he’s a millennial favorite who’s named his event after one of his biggest hits and stocked its lineup with a bunch of his contemporaries.

Nelly‘s Hot In Herre festival is aimed for June 24 at Toronto’s Downsview Park with a lineup consisting of millennial favorites like Akon, Chingy, Fat Joe, Ja Rule, Keri Hilson, Ne-Yo, Rick Ross, and T.I. Not bad for a one-day festival that isn’t in any of the booked artists’ usual stomping grounds. You’d think it’d be in St. Louis, right?

In the press release, Nelly sort of explains the location. “Toronto is one of my favorite cities to perform in, and the fact that I get to come back and bring all the people that came up with me in the industry means everything,” he says. “We have a lot of surprises in store for you, Toronto, and the Hot in Herre team can’t wait for this summer.”

General admission tickets are already online starting at $170. You can find more information on the official website.

Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly might not be each other’s Bloody Valentines much longer. The romance between the actress and the rapper has quickly spiraled over the last few weeks after rumors surfaced that MGK might have cheated on his fiance — rumors Fox lent credence to when she wiped her social media of all photos of the couple and posted a Beyonce lyric that referenced infidelity in the singer’s own marriage. Fox’s Instagram cull — which included unfollowing everyone save for Eminem, Harry Styles, and Timothee Chalamet — happened over Super Bowl weekend and since then, the couple has been working to get their relationship back on track.

Their latest attempt? Couples therapy. Via Zoom.

After the paparazzi snapped the pair leaving a marriage counseling office, the couple is now taking their therapy appointments at home. A source told Page Six that Fox and MGK are “talking to a couples therapist every day via Zoom,” which is probably as exhausting as it sounds.

“Megan feels that they must give therapy a shot before making any permanent decisions,” the source continued with an insider previously telling the site “They are broken up, but Megan is seeing where they stand. She wants to see what they can salvage.”

Page Six was one of the first to report that infidelity might have led to the split after a source alleged Fox had found “DMs and text messages” which led her to believe MGK had been unfaithful. But once the story broke, Fox was quick to shut down those rumors, posting on Instagram, “There has been no third party interference in this relationship of any kind. That includes, but is not limited to… actual humans, DMs, AI bots, or succubus demons.”

Still, something serious must’ve happened for Fox to remove her engagement ring — especially since MGK has bragged about designing the piece of jewelry in a way that would make it painful for Fox were she to ever remove it — and for both to subject themselves to this digital hail mary.

One day you’re planning your dream goth wedding and drinking each other’s blood, the next you’re spilling your guts to a white woman named Donna via your laptop’s shitty front-facing camera. Love truly is dead.

(Via Page Six)

After The Mandalorian proved to be a massive hit with Star Wars fan, Dave Filoni received a mountain of praise for “saving” the franchise from the Sequel Trilogy, which had an extremely rough landing thanks to The Rise of Skywalker. The animation veteran worked directly under George Lucas on The Clone Wars animated series, which Filoni later expanded on with the spinoff series Rebels. The guy knows his stuff, and his love for Star Wars was evident when he made the jump to live-action and joined forces with Jon Favreau on The Mandalorian.

However, Filoni’s path to live-action filmmaking actually started years before The Mandalorian even existed. When Disney bought Star Wars in the early 2010s, new Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy immediately started shipping Filoni off to film sets after George Lucas raved about him. According to Filoni, his most useful experience was on the set of The Last Jedi where Rian Johnson took him under his wing more than any other director. In fact, Filoni still seeks his advice to the day.

Via The Hollywood Reporter:

I visited J.J. [Abrams] on The Force Awakens, I visited Gareth Edwards [on Rogue One] and I visited Rian on [The Last Jedi]. But Rian was the one who shoved me up front, sticking lenses in my hand and really getting me immersed in it. And so I still talk with him to this day. He’s obviously a very talented filmmaker, and I was just very fortunate to be in such an environment where I could sit and listen and learn.

What makes Filoni’s admission fascinating is there’s a vocal contingent of Star Wars fans who think Johnson “ruined” the franchise with The Last Jedi and that Filoni is the only creator who “gets” Star Wars. Turns out, Johnson has been a valuable sounding board for Filoni this whole time as well as being Filoni’s biggest mentor in helping him transition to live-action. It’s certainly a twist that Star Wars fans probably didn’t see coming.

New episodes of The Mandalorian stream Wednesday on Disney+.

(Via The Hollywood Reporter)

Marjorie Taylor Greene does it again, and by I mean “does it,” she’s complaining about something and proving her opponents’ points. This was the case when she didn’t realize that Chris Stapleton’s mutual “wokeness” ended up being a key reason why he participated in the Super Bowl’s Black National Anthem showcase. More recently, Greene has been making numerical flubs, one that people suspect is more than a typo, given that she had accused Biden of allowing a majority of the world’s population (“billions” rather than the more accurate “millions”) to flood across the U.S.-Mexico border.

The congresswoman from Georgia has now moved onto lamenting the “horrific” loss of math literacy, which she believes all happened during Covid-19 induced school shutdowns. As seen in the below clip, Greene can be seen declaring that “math levels dropped by 7 points, reading levels dropped by 2 points,” and then she began to stumble over her own words: “There is one million five hundred and twenty-four, five hundred and twenty-four and four hundred eighty-one thou– this is over one million.”

She of the “Jewish space lasers,” “gazpacho police,” “Marshall law,” and “peach tree dish” mentions strikes again. As one can imagine, people are having a field day this this hot mess. Nope, no notes:

Megan Thee Stallion may have been laying low since testifying at Tory Lanez’s assault trial, but when you’re Jeopardy! famous, you’re never far from the public’s memory. One of the Houston rapper’s most controversial projects was a clue on last night’s episode of the popular quiz show, as noted by the reporter who kept the public informed throughout the trial, Meghann Cuniff — aka Meghann Thee Reporter, as fans fondly dubbed her for her coverage.

“I try not to think about work when I watch @Jeopardy,” she explained on Twitter. “I didn’t succeed tonight.” The clue in question referenced Megan’s 2021 project, for which she went to court with her label, 1501 Certified Entertainment. “Her 2021 album Something for Thee Hotties is a compilation of her freestyles and some previously unreleased songs.”

That’s a characterization of the project that 1501 may take issue with. After Megan sued to have a. court declare Something For Thee Hottie an album rather than a mixtape under the terms of her contract, 1501 countersued, arguing that because it was a compilation of freestyles, it didn’t meet the eligibility standard.

The album/tape, which is 45 minutes long only constitutes 29 minutes of “original” material according to 1501, meaning Megan would still have one more album on her contract term after Traumazine, which she wants to count as her final album. The contentious debate continues but at least 1501 founder Carl Crawford has vowed to make it a more agreeable in future by no longer discussing it on social media.

However that turns out, perhaps Meg will find comfort in knowing that even with her taking a break from the spotlight, she’s never far from fans’ thoughts.

Megan Thee Stallion is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Travis Barker’s recent finger injury has cast some doubt over the status of Blink-182’s upcoming tour, their first since Tom DeLonge rejoined the band. Well, it’s official: Some dates are getting postponed.

The band made the announcement today (March 1), noting that their leg of Latin American shows that was supposed to start on March 11 will be pushed back to 2024. In a video shared on his personal Instagram account, DeLonge described Barker’s injury as a “freak accident” and explained in part, “Travis needs to go in and have surgery on his finger, and we have to get that well, and we have to get that strong before we can do anything else.”

As of now, the North American shows are still set to go on as originally scheduled, with the run beginning in St. Paul, Minnesota on May 4.

Find Blink-182’s upcoming tour dates below.

05/04/2023 — St. Paul, MN @ Xcel Energy Center *
05/06/2023 — Chicago, IL @ United Center *
05/07/2023 — Chicago, IL @ United Center *
05/09/2023 — Detroit, MI @ Little Caesars Arena *
05/11/2023 — Toronto, ON @ Scotiabank Arena *
05/12/2023 — Montreal, QC @ Bell Centre *
05/15/2023 — Toronto, ON @ Scotiabank Arena *
05/16/2023 — Cleveland, OH @ Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse *
05/17/2023 — Pittsburgh, PA @ PPG Paints Arena *
05/19/2023 — New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden *
05/20/2023 — Belmont Park, NY @ UBS Arena *
05/21/2023 — Boston, MA @ TD Garden *
05/23/2023 — Washington, DC @ Capital One Arena *
05/24/2023 — Brooklyn, NY @ Barclays Center *
05/26/2023 — Baltimore, MD @ Baltimore Arena *
05/27/2023 — Hershey, PA @ Hersheypark Stadium *
05/28/2023 — Atlantic City, NJ @ Adjacent Festival
06/14/2023 — Phoenix, AZ @ Footprint Center *
06/16/2023 — Los Angeles, CA @ Banc of California Stadium *
06/17/2023 — Los Angeles, CA @ Banc of California Stadium *
06/19/2023 — San Diego, CA @ Pechanga Arena *
06/20/2023 — San Diego, CA @ Pechanga Arena *
06/22/2023 — San Jose, CA @ SAP Center *
06/23/2023 — Sacramento, CA @ Golden 1 Center *
06/25/2023 — Seattle, WA @ Climate Pledge Arena *
06/27/2023 — Vancouver, BC @ Rogers Arena *
06/29/2023 — Edmonton, AB @ Rogers Place *
06/30/2023 — Calgary, AB @ Scotiabank Saddledome *
07/03/2023 — Denver, CO @ Ball Arena *
07/05/2023 — Dallas, TX @ American Airlines Center *
07/07/2023 — Austin, TX @ Moody Center *
07/08/2023 — Houston, TX @ Toyota Center *
07/10/2023 — Tampa, FL @ Amalie Arena *
07/11/2023 — Ft. Lauderdale, FL @ FLA Live Arena *
07/13/2023 — Atlanta, GA @ State Farm Arena *
07/14/2023 — Charlotte, NC @ Spectrum Center *
07/16/2023 — Nashville, TN @ Bridgestone Arena *
09/01/2023 — Glasgow, UK @ OVO Hydro ^
09/02/2023 — Glasgow, UK @ OVO Hydro ^
09/04/2023 — Belfast, UK @ SSE Arena ^
09/05/2023 — Dublin, IE @ 3Arena ^
09/08/2023 — Antwerp, BE @ Sportpaleis ^
09/09/2023 — Cologne, DE @ Lanxess Arena ^
09/12/2023 — Copenhagen, DK @ Royal Arena ^
09/13/2023 — Stockholm, SE @ Avicii Arena ^
09/14/2023 — Oslo, NO @ Spektrum ^
09/16/2023 — Berlin, DE @ Mercedes-Benz Arena ^
09/17/2023 — Hamburg, DE @ Barclays Arena ^
09/19/2023 — Prague, CZ @ O2 Arena ^
09/20/2023 — Vienna, AT @ Stadthalle ^
10/02/2023 — Lisbon, PT @ Altice Arena ^
10/03/2023 — Madrid, ES @ Wizink Centre ^
10/04/2023 — Barcelona, ES @ Palau Sant Jordi ^
10/06/2023 — Bologna, IT @ Unipol Arena ^
10/08/2023 — Amsterdam, NL @ Ziggo Dome ^
10/09/2023 — Paris, FR @ Accor Arena ^
10/11/2023 — London, UK @ The O2 ^
10/12/2023 — London, UK @ The O2 ^
10/14/2023 — Birmingham, UK @ Utilita Arena ^
10/15/2023 — Manchester, UK @ AO Arena ^
10/21/2023 — Las Vegas, NV @ When We Were Young Festival
10/22/2023 — Las Vegas, NV @ When We Were Young Festival
02/06/2024 — Perth, AU @ RAC Arena !
02/09/2024 — Perth, AU @ RAC Arena !
02/11/2024 — Adelaide, AU @ Entertainment Centre!
02/13/2024 — Melbourne, AU @ Rod Laver Arena !
02/14/2024 — Melbourne, AU @ Rod Laver Arena !
02/16/2024 — Sydney, AU @ Qudos Bank Arena !
02/17/2024 — Sydney, AU @ Qudos Bank Arena !
02/19/2024 — Brisbane, AU @ Entertainment Centre !
02/20/2024 — Brisbane, AU @ Entertainment Centre !
02/21/2024 — Brisbane, AU @ Entertainment Centre !
02/23/2024 — Auckland, NZ @ Spark Arena !
02/24/2024 — Auckland, NZ @ Spark Arena !
02/26/2024 — Christchurch, NZ @ Christchurch Arena !
02/27/2024 — Christchurch, NZ @ Christchurch Arena !
03/01/2024 — Auckland, NZ @ Spark Arena !
03/04/2024 — Christchurch, NZ @ Christchurch Arena !

* with Turnstile
^ with The Story So Far
! with Rise Against

Blink-182 is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Rocky IV is the highest-grossing movie (domestic box office only) in the Rocky series, but it didn’t have the biggest opening weekend. That honor belongs to 2018’s Creed II ($35 million), at least for now. Creed III — the third Creed film with star Michael B. Jordan and ninth overall in the franchise — is on track for a $38-40 million three-day debut weekend. That’s a major(s) achievement.

Previous Creed pics played during the Thanksgiving frame in 2015 and 2018, respectively opening to $29 million and $35.5 million off of A CinemaScores. Already, Creed III is 90 percent certified fresh with Rotten Tomatoes critics, which is higher than Creed II‘s 83 percent fresh and a bit lower than Creed‘s 95 percent.

Creed III is the first Rocky movie to not star Sylvester Stallone, who explained his absence in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter. “That’s a regretful situation because I know what it could have been. It was taken in a direction that is quite different than I would’ve taken it. It’s a different philosophy — [producer] Irwin Winkler’s and Michael B. Jordan’s,” the Tulsa King star said. “I wish them well, but I’m much more of a sentimentalist. I like my heroes getting beat up, but I just don’t want them going into that dark space. I just feel people have enough darkness.”

Creed III better still check in on the turtles, though.

(Via Deadline)

Conference tournament season is upon us, and with the elevated stakes of playing for your ticket to the Big Dance comes raised tensions on the court.

In the SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament, we saw that lead to a brawl between Florida and Kentucky, sparked by an incident between Florida’s Tatyana Wyche and Kentucky’s Ajae Petty. After a Kentucky bucket, Petty caught the ball coming through the hoop and stuck it in Wyche’s face as she turned to run back up the floor, which unsurprisingly did not sit well with Wyche. The Florida big then turned and launched the ball at Petty’s head, missing as Petty seemed to not even realize she was almost the recipient of a basketball to her dome as she jogged back on defense.

Wyche was not satisfied with that effort, so she chased Petty down the court to try and fight her, leading to the benches clearing as players and coaches tried to settle everything down.

This would’ve been even wilder, one would think, if Wyche had connected on her throw at Petty’s head, so it’s probably for the best that she missed because that thing was moving with some heat. Instead, it turned into the usual basketball kerfuffle with players pulling each other apart and pointing and yelling. Ultimately, the game was stopped for a considerable amount of time to go over the replays and figure out who left what bench areas and instigated things, with eight players getting tossed — including Wyche and Petty — for their involvement in the fracas.

Cardi B and Offset’s McDonald’s meal is as big a hit as the duo’s musical collaborations. Whatever your judgment of the meal’s quality, there’s no denying that it’s selling like gangbusters along with the cutesy merch that accompanied it. Meanwhile, even strip clubs are getting in on the meal’s popularity; one apparently hosted a themed event with staff dressed up in signature red and yellow outfits with Cardi & Offset signage.

Cardi shared some photos from the event on Twitter, writing, “This is sooo dope !!!!! A club did a Cardi & Offset meal theme ….Why I ain’t thought about this?! I love this ….I love cheeseburgers and bad bitches.”

While things are going great on the business side of Cardi’s life, she’s found the bright side of one of her personal setbacks. Ordered to complete community service in lieu of jail time for her late 2018 strip club brawl, Cardi said that it’s “the best thing that has happened to me.” She described the service as “almost like a spiritual journey because sometimes I leave these centers in tears .Those people that we leave behind they just need somebody to talk and a lil push and YOU might be able to change their life forever.”

Cardi B is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.