Category: News

Julia Roberts has finally been doing some TV of late, getting raves for Homecoming and this year’s Nixon saga Gaslit. But for ages she didn’t do it, at least not after becoming a star. (She’s one of a whole slew of familiar faces who guested on Miami Vice in the ‘80s.) It took a lot to entice her to the small screen, as Matthew Perry discovered a quarter century ago when he wanted her to play his love interest on a star-studded double episode of Friends.

Perry has a new memoir, Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing, in which he details both his long stint on one of the most enduring sitcoms of the ‘90s and his terrifying struggles with drug addiction, which he says he just barely survived. On a much, much more lighthearted note, there was that time he helped get the star of Pretty Woman to appear the 1996 episode “The One After the Superbowl, Part 2.”

“Julia had been offered the post-Super Bowl episode in season 2 and she would only do the show if she could be in my story line,” Perry wrote, in an excerpt published by The Times U.K. (as caught by Entertainment Weekly). “Let me say that again — she would only do the show if she could be in my story line. (Was I having a good year or what?) But first, I had to woo her.”

At first, Perry tried a more traditional route: He sent her roses. But she demanded something else, something more specific, something more difficult: She wanted him to explain quantum physics to her. So he did what we all do when Julia Roberts asks us to explain quantum physics: He hit the books.

The following day, I sent her a paper all about wave-particle duality and the uncertainty principle and entanglement, and only some of it was metaphorical,” Perry wrote. “Not only did Julia agree to do the show, but she also sent me a gift: bagels — lots and lots of bagels. Sure, why not? It was Julia f*cking Roberts.”

They quickly developed a fast friendship — partly via fax, this being 1996 — and soon enough, she was playing Chandler Bing’s former classmate, whom he humiliated as a child. They reunite and seem to hit it off, or at least Chandler thinks they did…

The onscreen romance led to an off-screen one as well, although Perry wound up being the one to call it off, perhaps prematurely.

“Dating Julia Roberts had been too much for me,” Perry wrote. “I had been constantly certain that she was going to break up with me. Why would she not? I was not enough; I could never be enough; I was broken, bent, unloveable. So instead of facing the inevitable agony of losing her, I broke up with the beautiful and brilliant Julia Roberts. She might have considered herself slumming it with a TV guy, and TV guy was now breaking up with her. I can’t begin to describe the look of confusion on her face.”

But at least they’ll always have his quantum physics paper. And some faxes.

(Via The Times U.K. and EW)

This article originally appeared on 02.11.19

Most abusers don’t start their relationships by hitting their partners. That’s why early warning signs are vital to recognize.

I know two women who recently left abusive partners. Both men seemed sweet and likable—even gentle—each time I saw them. Both had some lovely qualities as people and even as partners. And both turned out to be controlling, increasingly abusive partners behind closed doors.

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The thing about domestic violence is that most people don’t enter into relationships with someone who abuses them from the get go. It’s often like the analogy of the frog in boiling water. If you place a frog into a pot of boiling water, it’ll jump right out. But if you put it in a cool pot and gradually increase the temperature, the frog won’t recognize that it’s being slowly cooked until it’s too late.

Abuse usually comes on gradually, with plenty of opportunity to manipulate and forgive and justify the water getting warmer. That’s why many stay in abusive relationships far longer than they should.

A domestic violence counselor suggests a simple test to help identify potential abusers early in a relationship.

Rob Andrews is a domestic violence counselor in Australia. He told ABC News that he advises people to use what he calls the “No Test” to identify potential red flags early on in a relationship.

“The No Test is basically to watch out for the way your partner responds the first time you change your mind or say no,” Andrews said.

“While expressing disappointment is OK, it’s not the same as annoyed. Annoyed is ‘how dare you,’ a sign of ownership or entitlement.”

Ownership, entitlement, control—these are red flags that often lead to increasingly abusive behavior. And though women can definitely be abusers, the reality is that women are much more likely to be the victims of domestic violence and male abusers tend to be more dangerous to their partners.

“A lot of the women who will present to services will see themselves as part of the problem,” Andrews said. “They’ll ask themselves why they’re always attracted to abusive men, blame themselves for not being assertive enough, blame themselves for pushing their partner’s buttons, causing their anger.”

“With the No Test, we’re not trying to give women knowledge that they didn’t already know,” he said, “but when they see it in black and white in front of them like that, they realize they of course have the right to say no, that they aren’t to blame.”

Andrews describes our patriarchal history as “the nut of the problem.”

Andrews said that some people erroneously tell women that they should just be more assertive with their partners, letting them know they won’t stand for controlling or abusive behavior, but that’s not always the best tack to take.

“Being assertive with a man who’s threatening to bash you is not a very good idea,” he said. “It almost comes from what I’d call ‘deficit thinking,’ that somehow these women need to be trained up so that the people won’t abuse them. The only person who can stop the abuse is the person who is doing the abusing.”

Andrews works with men who are struggling with their own behavior and want to change. He has them think about what kind of man they really want to be and work with them to align their behavior with that vision.

“I hear a lot of people saying how it’s so hard for men now, it’s all so confusing,” he said. “It’s very easy to be a man. Just be polite and respectful to people, it’s not that difficult really.”

“But in saying that,” he added, “we are to some extent dealing with 2,000 years of history of women being a second-class citizen. That’s the nut of the problem and we’ve got to keep chipping away at it.”

Abuse usually comes on gradually, with plenty of opportunity to manipulate and forgive and justify the water getting warmer. That’s why many stay in abusive relationships far longer than they should.

A domestic violence counselor suggests a simple test to help identify potential abusers early in a relationship.

Rob Andrews is a domestic violence counselor in Australia. He told ABC News that he advises people to use what he calls the “No Test” to identify potential red flags early on in a relationship.

“The No Test is basically to watch out for the way your partner responds the first time you change your mind or say no,” Andrews said.

“While expressing disappointment is OK, it’s not the same as annoyed. Annoyed is ‘how dare you,’ a sign of ownership or entitlement.”

Ownership, entitlement, control—these are red flags that often lead to increasingly abusive behavior. And though women can definitely be abusers, the reality is that women are much more likely to be the victims of domestic violence and male abusers tend to be more dangerous to their partners.

“A lot of the women who will present to services will see themselves as part of the problem,” Andrews said. “They’ll ask themselves why they’re always attracted to abusive men, blame themselves for not being assertive enough, blame themselves for pushing their partner’s buttons, causing their anger.”

“With the No Test, we’re not trying to give women knowledge that they didn’t already know,” he said, “but when they see it in black and white in front of them like that, they realize they of course have the right to say no, that they aren’t to blame.”

Andrews describes our patriarchal history as “the nut of the problem.”

Andrews said that some people erroneously tell women that they should just be more assertive with their partners, letting them know they won’t stand for controlling or abusive behavior, but that’s not always the best tack to take.

“Being assertive with a man who’s threatening to bash you is not a very good idea,” he said. “It almost comes from what I’d call ‘deficit thinking,’ that somehow these women need to be trained up so that the people won’t abuse them. The only person who can stop the abuse is the person who is doing the abusing.”

Andrews works with men who are struggling with their own behavior and want to change. He has them think about what kind of man they really want to be and work with them to align their behavior with that vision.

“I hear a lot of people saying how it’s so hard for men now, it’s all so confusing,” he said. “It’s very easy to be a man. Just be polite and respectful to people, it’s not that difficult really.”

“But in saying that,” he added, “we are to some extent dealing with 2,000 years of history of women being a second-class citizen. That’s the nut of the problem and we’ve got to keep chipping away at it.”

Adam Silver is not a fan of tanking. This is one of the constants from his time as the NBA’s commissioner — Silver does not like when teams are purposely uncompetitive in an effort to increase their odds in the upcoming NBA Draft Lottery. And in a recent meeting between Silver and employees of the Phoenix Suns, the commissioner apparently floated one example of how seriously the league takes the issue.

According to Baxter Holmes of ESPN, Silver claimed that tanking has sparked “hundreds” of meetings and expressed that the NBA is “going to be paying particular attention to the issue this year.” The 2023 NBA Draft is viewed as a potentially all-time great draft, with a pair of players at the top in Victor Wembanyama and Scoot Henderson who are viewed as franchise-changing prospects.

An extreme way to try and change this, per Silver, is the adaptation of a concept that exists in European soccer: promotion and relegation. And ultimately, Silver expressed that using the G League like this would be a bad idea for the NBA.

“It would so disrupt our business model,” Silver said, per Holmes. “And even if you took two teams up from the G League, they wouldn’t be equipped to compete in the NBA.”

It is funny to imagine a scenario where the NBA, so desperate to get rid of tanking, replaces the Los Angeles Lakers with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants or something like that. At the same time, that exact, plausible scenario is why this will never happen, but regardless, if Silver is throwing out promotion and relegation as the sort of idea the NBA would consider, it seems like a safe bet that something big is coming down the line.

Following a series of heavy-hitting singles, including “Aston Martin Truck” and “Stop Breathing,” Roddy Ricch has finally announced the release date for his hotly-anticipated album, Feed Tha Streets 3. The album is set to arrive next month, just in time for Thanksgiving. The Mustard protégé took to Instagram today to reveal the cover art and the release date.

Following the release of Roddy’s polarizing sophomore album, Live Life Fast, Roddy took a brief hiatus from social media earlier this year. He later released an EP called The Big 3.

This past August, Roddy took to Instagram and wrote an open letter to his fans. In a now-deleted Instagram post, Roddy thanked the fans who have stuck by his side through everything, and promised fans that they will get a look at the life of Roddy, as well as the creative process behind Feed Tha Streets 3.

“I want to be closer to my fans and show all the sides no one ever sees,” Roddy said. “I want to show my album process, my new journey of fatherhood and all the things that comes with the life of being RR.”

Check out the cover art for Feed Tha Streets 3 below.

Feed Tha Streets 3 is out 11/18 via Atlantic. Pre-save it here.

Roddy Ricch is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group

Following the cancelation of the When We Were Young festival, fans took to social media to express their disappointment. While many were understanding that the cancelation was a result of inclement weather, they were also very upset to have to miss out on the festivities.

“Unfortunately, just like high school when your parents grounded you from going to warped tour. You run to your room, slam the door & throw on some My Chemical Romance & cry yourself to sleep. Today will be no different with the cancelation of day 1 of When We Were Young festival,” said one Twitter user.

“For [the] When We Were Young festival to be canceled an hour before it starts is literally so saddening especially the people that flew out and drove hours and spent so much money on the tickets and plane tickets and hotels gas just wow,” said another.

Some fans had a sense of humor about the situation, and even referred to one of My Chemical Romance’s signature songs.

“Just read that they canceled the first day of the When We Were Young festival because of strong winds. Imagine the Vegas strip tonight with a bunch of angsty emos… wow lol. An authentic Black Parade,” said another Twitter user.

My Chemical Romance themselves took to Twitter to express sympathy for fans who wanted to attend the festival today.

“we are so sorry that dangerous weather caused the show to be canceled,” they said.

The festival is still set to take place tomorrow, and next Saturday on October 29.

My Chemical Romance is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

The Portland Trail Blazers and the Phoenix Suns needed overtime to determine a winner on Friday night. Ultimately, Damian Lillard was able to carry his team across the finish line, as Portland picked up a 113-111 win in overtime behind a 41-point, 7-rebound effort by their All-Star guard.

Avoiding a second overtime was not guaranteed. With that exact score and a little more than a second remaining in the game, Phoenix big man Deandre Ayton, a career 75 percent free throw shooter who his only other attempt from the charity stripe on the evening, got fouled and sent to the free throw line for a pair of shots.

Before that could happen, though, cameras caught Lillard trying to get into Ayton’s head, as he told the big man that he doesn’t think Phoenix trusts him at the free throw line in this sort of situation.

Lillard got asked about the exchange after the game, and made clear that he thought he got to Ayton due to his lack of a response.

Ayton had an otherwise good night, scoring 26 points on 12-for-22 shooting with six rebounds, three assists, a steal, and a block. But before the biggest moment of the night, Lillard was able to throw him off his game just enough to give the Suns their first loss of the year.

Dwayne Johnson is in the midst of his biggest solo opening ever. The film is Black Adam, and it introduces the movies to arguably the most powerful figure in the DC-verse: a semi-hero with the powers of an Egyptian god. Often depicted in comics as a villain, he’s none-too-pleased to have been locked away for ages. But how long will his first big film be kept away from streamers?

The answer is still up in the air. Black Adam is a Warner Bros. Discovery product, and the company is no longer doing what they did last year and dropping new films in theaters and on their streamer, HBO Max. Instead, they tend to stick to a 45-day window, which means Black Adam could drop online on or about Dec. 4.

However, Warner Bros. Discovery isn’t always consistent. Elvis, their hit musical biopic about The King, took a whopping 71 days to hit HBO Max. If they decide to take the Baz Luhrmann route, that means subscribers might not be able to stream Black Adam until January of next year.

In the meantime, those wishing to see the erstwhile The Rock kill a bunch of people — an anomaly for comic book movie fare — can always do so the old-fashioned way: By purchasing a ticket and sitting in a darkened room with total strangers talking along to the Nicole Kidman AMC ad à la The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Due to inclement weather conditions in Las Vegas, the first day of the When We Were Young festival has been canceled. The city is currently under high wind warnings. Fans were expecting to see a variety of punk, alternative, emo, and pop acts, including Avril Lavigne, My Chemical Romance, Paramore, and Taking Back Sunday.

The festival’s organizers issued a statement today via social media.

Fans will be refunded for the tickets purchased for today.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

The Russell Wilson experiment has not worked out the way the Denver Broncos wanted. The team paid a hefty price — both in terms of the amount of stuff they sent to the Seattle Seahawks and the amount of money they gave to Wilson when he signed a contract extension — to make him the franchise signal caller, but through six games, the Bronco offense has scored the second-fewest points in the league and Wilson has really struggled.

Now, an injury will force a change in the plans for who lines up under center during the team’s game against the New York Jets on Sunday afternoon. According to multiple reports, Wilson attempted to get himself ready to play this week but is not healthy enough to go. As such, backup quarterback Brett Rypien will serve as his replacement.

The Broncos eventually confirmed the news.

Rypien, who played his college ball at Boise State, went undrafted in 2019 but has been with the Broncos ever since. He has appeared in four games, with his only start coming during the 2020 campaign against the Jets. Denver won that game, 37-28, with Rypien completing 19 of his 31 pass attempts for 242 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions. The last time he threw a pass came on Jan. 2, 2022 when he had a pair of attempts against the Los Angeles Chargers.

Episode nine of Pod Yourself The Wire is now available early at Patreon.com/frotcast. Episode eight is now available for free.

“A show about the Eastside would be boring because Prop Joe is running it well.” -Cullen Crawford.

On the latest edition of Pod Yourself The Wire, Matt and Vince invite writer, podcaster, and host of the Football Friends Who Are Gambling podcast, Cullen Crawford to be a basketball friend who is not gambling, but rather, discussing The Wire season one episode nine, “Game Day.”

Every day is game day for Avon, Stringer, and Prop Joe, but especially today, because the boys have hoop dreams. The annual East vs. West basketball game has everyone coming together. Prop Joe is there with a fake clipboard and Avon in a very aughts visor. Herc & Carv are in the stands chopping it up with Poot and Bodie, watching a 37-year-old JuCo baller cross up a collection of normal guys from the Eastside. Even Lt. Daniels stops by to try to get his peepers on the head of the Barksdale syndicate. Daniels gets the peek he wants, but is met with a Mutumbo-esque finger wag from Avon. …That reference was for the real sport heads, you’re welcome.

Herc asks a very important question while watching a payphone from a roof, how do the pebbles get up there? Let us know your theories in a five-star review on Apple Podcasts

Email us at [email protected]; leave us a voicemail at 415-275-0030

Support the Pod: become a patron at patreon.com/Frotcast to get more bonus content than you could ever want. Sign up for the Pod Yourself a Shoutout tier to hear Vince give you a corner nickname on the podcast.

-Description by Brent Flyberg