Category: News

To the surprise of no one, Donald Trump reportedly told aides and administration staff that he was simply going to not leave the White House after losing to Joe Biden in the 2020 election. The revelations come from New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman‘s upcoming book, Confidence Man: The Making of Donald Trump and the Breaking of America, which details the chaos in the Oval Office following Trump’s loss.

According to an excerpt provided to CNN, there was a brief moment when Trump acknowledged that he lost to Biden and appeared to be embarrassed by the outcome. “We did our best,” Trump reportedly told junior aides, “I thought we had it.”

However, the situation quickly turned as Trump committed himself to his election fraud narrative and started telling people, “We’re never leaving. How can you leave when you won an election?”

Trump began soliciting advice from anyone and everyone on how to reject the results of the 2020 election including his personal soda valet (who he summoned via a button). Via CNN:

Haberman writes that Trump’s post-election period was reminiscent of his attempts to claw his way back from dire financial straits three decades earlier, in which he tried to keep all options open for as long as he could. But Trump couldn’t decide which path to follow after his 2020 defeat. Haberman writes that he quizzed nearly everyone about which options would lead to success — including the valet who brought Diet Cokes when Trump pressed a red button on his Oval Office desk.

Haberman also revealed that Jared Kushner refused to confront Trump about the election loss and told people that those conversations were like visiting someone on their deathbed. “The priest comes later,” Kushner would say when asked to talk some sense into Trump.

(Via CNN)

Like a groundhog in rural Pennsylvania, Ray J appears once a year. Except instead of informing us how many more weeks of winter to expect, he popped up to talk about his sex tape with Kim Kardashian.

Last week, Kris Jenner appeared on The Late Late Show, where she was hooked up to a lie detector and asked by host James Corden whether she helped her daughter release her sex tape, Kim Kardashian, Superstar. A very normal thing for a mother to do. “No,” Jenner firmly replied. Kardashian’s scene partner, Ray J, isn’t convinced.

“YOU f€Cked with THE WRONG BLACK MAN krisjenner @kimkardashian — I DONT GIVE A F*CK HOW OLD THIS SH*T IS!! WHAT YOU TRYING TO DO TO ME IS ALMOST INHUMANE AND FOUL AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL— F*CK THIS BEING JUST RACIST — THIS IS WRONG TO DO TO ANYBODY— YOU THINK YOU. CAN JUST F*CK PEOPLE OVER AND GET AWAY WITH IT FOREVER!!!” he wrote in a rambling Instagram post. Ray J also called out the guy who administrated the lie detector test, John Grogan, calling him a “fake” and a “polygraph parasite.”

IT WAS YOUR MOMS IDEA — YOU WANNA TAKE A FAKE LIE DETECTOR TEST WITH JOHN.GROJAN — ALL YOU GOTTA DO IS GOGGLE HIM AND LOOK AT WHAT COMES. UP! — CLOWN SH*T!! John Grogan is a fake. He is not a polygraph examiner. He is quite accurately known as the polygraph parasite. He’s been convicted of twenty-six counts of fraud and had his P.I. license pulled from him, and he simply became a world-known polygraph examiner. It’s all B.S. He never graduated from a polygraph school, and everyone knows him for what he is, and I can’t believe he has the things to go on a radio show, have people like me listen, and expect not to be disclosed. THIS IS THE DUDE KRIS JENNER HAD TAKENHER LIE DETECTOR TEST TO MAKE ME LOOK LIKE A LIAR! AND WHATS MORE SAD IS THE NETWORK ALLOWED IT TO HAPPEN!! EVERYBODY IS GETTING SUED BC 4 DEFAMATION!! YOU THOUGHT KIM AND KRIS STORIES WAS TRUE SO YOU RAN THE STORY!! FACTS ARE ITS COMPLETELY FALSE

Ray J ended the post by claiming that “no one CAN STOP ME IM OVERSEAS AT A VILLA IN #dominicanrepublic,” which I’m going to co-opt as my personal sign off, the way Tom Hanks signs tweets with “hanx.” You can read the Instagram message below because no one CAN STOP ME IM OVERSEAS AT A VILLA IN #dominicanrepublic.

“In the criminal justice system, sexually based offenses are considered especially heinous. In New York City, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the Special Victims Unit. These are their stories.” [Dun dun!] – Dick Wolf’s Law & Order: SVU

Everyone knows that introduction, but as it turns out, most real-life investigations of sexually-based offenses (or any offenses) aren’t neatly tied up in a narrative that runs about an hour. That doesn’t stop the Law & Order universe from being so wildly popular that the three current running series are holding a massive crossover event this month. I dig the shows as much as anyone else and very much enjoy Organized Crime bringing back Elliot Stabler, who’s deftly nabbing the bad dudes and receiving comeuppance at the same time. Yet as it turns out, there’s a lot of dark fantasy (including House of the Dragon, Lord of the Rings: The Rings Of Power, and The Sandman) on TV right now, but the literal dark fantasy might be taking place in the Dick Wolf TV universe.

For example, an overwhelming percentage of Law & Order episodes sees the perp being readily apprehended and put to swift justice. Here’s how John Oliver sums things up (with a swing at the Dragnet-obsessed Dick Wolf) on the most recent Last Week Tonight episode:

“[I]t blasts that fantasy at you in endless reruns and marathons in the guise of very well-produced, extremely entertaining TV. But underneath it all, it is a commercial (a commercial produced by a man who is, in his own words, unabashedly pro-law enforcement.”

And everyone who’s tangled with the real-life justice system knows that the wheels get caught in molasses. Hearings get continued, dockets are crowded, law enforcement isn’t perfect (nor is anyone else), and there are a million circumstances outside of everyone’s control. Oliver’s not really having it, though, and he explained why:

“Obviously, Law & Order cannot reflect that reality. It would be unwatchable. Nobody wants to watch a show where 97 percent of episodes end with two lawyers striking a deal in a windowless room and then you get to watch the defendant serve six months and struggle to get a job at their local Jiffy Lube… the person who is responsible for Law & Order and its brand is Dick Wolf, and he knows exactly what he wants his shows to do and, importantly, not to do.”

A fair point. However, that won’t stop anyone (even those who are frustrated by the slow, overwhelmed justice system) from watching the Law & Order crossover event on September 22. Yet maybe we can watch these shows with a more critical eye, like the Last Week Tonight deep dive does, as seen above.

One thing about Cardi B is she keeps a finger on the national pulse and always has a response that reflects how the average person might be feeling about current events. Although she has stopped talking about politics, she’s still a news junkie at heart, just as likely to ask for empathy in the wake of a heartbreaking tragedy as she is to illuminate fears of an impending global pandemic.

Naturally, the “WAP” rapper had a pretty salient take on a pair of related crises in a live stream over the weekend. Taking on inflation and the housing crisis, Cardi gave a pretty apt breakdown of the problem while sharing her relatable response. Clicking her signature nails on her table, she recalled how she helped two cousins get apartments months apart, only to discover that rent prices had skyrocketed in the time since. “The way that the prices soared up… how are people surviving?” she wondered. “I wanna know!”

She pointed out how not everyone has a Cardi B in their life to help them out. She also flexed a little bit, shutting down critics who want to blame this global crisis on US President Joe Biden. “I wanna tell y’all that I get it,” she stressed. “Don’t ever think I’m one of these rich people that don’t get it and don’t give a f*ck… but I can’t do sh*t about it.” You can check out Cardi’s full video below.

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

The 2022 Primetime Emmy Awards is the first major entertainment awards show since The Slap at the Oscars — except for the Grammys, and the MTV Video Music Awards, and the Palme d’Or ceremony at the Cannes Film Festival, and the equally important Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards, and… OK, so there’s been a lot of awards shows since Will Smith slapped Chris Rock for not keeping his wife’s name out of his f*cking mouth, but the Emmys are trying the hardest to avoid another “traumatized” moment.

“If I go to a party where someone’s going to rip me to shreds, I leave the party. So, we’re making a place where you feel inclusive,” Emmys producer Ian Stewart told the Hollywood Reporter when asked whether hosts and presenters should be nice to nominees, or roast them. “We want funny as hell and everyone celebrating together. Why be snarky to these people? We want people buoyed up by the excitement, like when Hannah Waddingham won last year. Everyone was thrilled for her!”

You know what people are also thrilled by? Watching one of the world’s most famous actors slap a respected comedian on live TV over a G.I. Jane joke. Just a thought.

The Outstanding Drama Series nominees are Better Call Saul, Euphoria, Ozark, Severance, Squid Game, Stranger Things, Succession, and Yellowjackets, while Abbott Elementary, Barry, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Hacks, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Only Murders in the Building, Ted Lasso, and What We Do in the Shadows are up for Outstanding Comedy Series. You can find the full list of nominees here.

Brendan Fraser‘s comeback streak is showing no signs of slowing down. While bringing Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale to the Toronto International Film Festival, the actor grew emotional when presented with an award at the prestigious event. The film had already received a stirring standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival, and it received the same treatment at TIFF as well. But Fraser was not prepared to be handed a TIFF Tribute Award statue. He’s usually on the other side of that transaction.

“This is new for me. Normally I’m the guy who hands these things out, and I got really good at it. The trick is: Left hand, hold; right hand, shake,” Fraser said before revealing this was his first trophy in a very long time. Via Entertainment Weekly:

“Apart from being a part of some impressive and talented ensemble casts, I think the last time that I waited to hear my name called aloud to receive an award was in grade 4, and it was from the peewee bowling league… My mom said it was a major award. Also, engraved on the plaque was the name ‘Brian Fusher,’ so, Brian, if you’re in the house, you can pick up your trophy after the show. This one’s mine.”

Much like its reception in Venice, The Whale received a rousing standing ovation at TIFF, which caused Fraser to fight back tears according to Variety. In fact, the moderator at the event had the same problem, and Fraser came to his aid with some tissues as the crowd praised the film. The people are clearly ready for the Brendanaissance.

The Whale should be big during awards season.

(Via Entertainment Weekly)

Following the release of The Little Mermaid trailer two days ago, a mother named Candace shared a video to Twitter and TikTok, of her young daughter as she watched it for the first time. “You look so beautiful,” the girl reacts to Halle Bailey appearing as Ariel. In a heartwarming moment, she also comments on the turtles before soon discovering that Bailey is playing a mermaid.

“Who’s your favorite mermaid?” the mom asks off-screen, to which the daughter immediately names Ariel and connects the two. By the time Bailey performs the first notes of “Part Of Your World,” her facial expression is one of being blown away by seeing “the real her” version of the 1989 Disney cartoon mermaid.

As the video has gained over three million views, Bailey herself stumbled upon it and took to Twitter to share her own reaction to Candace’s daughter. “k i just sobbed watching this,” the actress and singer wrote. “she’s so sweet”.

Candace went on to reply to Bailey, sharing some personal details that make the girl’s reaction all the more powerful. “She lost her father in December, and will be turning 4 in a few days, this is the happiest I’ve seen her in months. Thank you so much for this,” she said. In the additional replies to Bailey’s post, users also included videos that other parents took of their young Black daughters watching The Little Mermaid clip in awe.

Watch Bailey in the first official trailer for 2023’s The Little Mermaid above.

It’s not looking good for Vladimir Putin or his troops (who have already reportedly been shooting themselves in recent months in order to leave hell) as Ukraine’s army regains territory. This past week has seen notable advances on that front, and over the weekend, the Russian position looked so dire that even Putin’s state TV propagandists were admitting that things are going badly, and Russian bloggers merrily blasted the president for botching the entire war from its inception.

Russia may not last much longer, all when it looked like over 6 months of war would continue with no end in sight for what ultimately looked like a stalemate. Ukraine now reports that it’s recaptured over 20 settlements from Russian troops. The Financial Times revealed that this adds up to 3000 square kilometers that’s back in Ukraine’s hands. Likewise, Washington Post reports that the Ukrainian army is advancing upon “territory with shocking speed,” and one woman was quoted as waving her broom and shouting, “We are all ready to go into battle!”

Both outlets report that Russian troops are taking any possible measure to get out of dodge, with Washington Post relaying how another woman described the frantic soldiers, who were disguising themselves to avoid detection by Ukrainian forces and even drones. “They came into our houses to take clothes so the drones wouldn’t see them in uniforms,” she explained. WaPo also quotes a military analyst that explains why, even though this is reason for optimism, Ukraine shouldn’t expect overnight results:

It has the potential, at least, to change the course of the war, military experts said.

“This is a significant event,” said Rob Lee, a military analyst at the Foreign Policy Research Institute. “It doesn’t mean Russia will be forced out of Ukraine anytime soon. But they keep not learning lessons right, keep not doing basic things right.”

In the meantime, Putin’s doing his best to avoid reality at home. He’s already apparently brought the hammer down on local officials who wanted to overthrow him for his abomination of a war in Ukraine. Although Russians are also fleeing their country in mass quantities, their president appears to want to hang onto his illusions until the bitter end. He might even be distracting himself by hitting the Botox even harder these days. Gotta keep up that facade.

(Via Washington Post, France24.com & Financial Times)

Earlier this year, Madonna expressed interest in going on a joint tour with Britney Spears. However, that seems unlikely, as Spears wrote in a now-deleted Instagram post shared yesterday (September 11) that she “probably” won’t perform live again.

In the post, Spears writes about her dissatisfaction with promotional photos of her during her conservatorship and with her team hiring what she thought was too many backing dancers for her Las Vegas residency. She continued, “JUST SAYING … you think I’m being silly you try being up there and feeling like that … anyways … anyways … I’m pretty traumatized for life and yes I’m pissed as f*ck and no I won’t probably perform again just because I’m stubborn and I will make my point.”

Spears also notes that of the music videos she made during her conservatorship, the only one she likes is the one for “Work B*tch.”

Find an archived version of Spears’ post below.

“I will be honest in the beginning 13 years of conservatorship like 8 videos I only like one – Work B*tch … the most offensive SO CALLED professional pictures on every tour. I mean they could have at least cheated and retouched them for me … just saying … 2 day shoots for new show in Vegas literally the worst ever … and me excited for the pictures for 5 months on tour … they never showed me any … I’d rather quit shit in my pool and shoot photos of myself in studios over working with the most offensive people in my life … I’m sure I gave my husband the best eye [candy] in the world my shows in Vegas … I’m extremely short lady but of course my team always hired the tiniest girls to be on stage with me … like 8 girls talk about humiliation good god … and tours WITHOUT conservatorship I only had 4 girls or 2 on stage with me !!! JUST SAYING … you think I’m being silly you try being up there and feeling like that … anyways … anyways … I’m pretty traumatized for life and yes I’m pissed as f*ck and no I won’t probably perform again just because I’m stubborn and I will make my point … so as we listen and hear … “MY MIND AND ME … let’s stay positive and focus on my awesome fans for their awesome picture’s they made themselves for making me feel pretty … anyways all good though … in the mean time I will be SITTING on my HORSES !!!

Psss … and father the beautiful picture you guys put up of me in New York City for Pepsi making me cry looking 80 years old … see this picture right here … kiss my God damn mother f*cking ass you f*cking bastard.”

House of the Dragon‘s fourth episode had plenty of steamy moments that made the show live up to its “HotD” abbreviation. Then there was the not-so-sexy visual of King Viserys I getting it on with his wife, (poor) Alicent, while the audience got a good bad look at the open sores on his back. Not only that, but he’s lost fingers, and it’s clear that not even maggots can help cure what ails him. Wounds from the throne are nothing novel in Westeros — King Aerys II, the Mad King, was also known as King Scab for a reason — but Viserys appears to be downright rotting away, so what gives?

Our own Jessica Toomer’s been doing a weekly wound watch, and this week, she notes Viserys’ discolored arm in addition to those missing digits and whatever’s going on with his back. It’s clear that Viserys’ body refuses to heal, and he’s simultaneously struggling to figure out how the Targaryens can hold onto the throne. By the end of the episode, he’s furious with Daemon for putting Rhaenyra’s virtue in jeopardy, a move that appears to be borne from genuine attraction but, even more so, from Daemon’s desire to set himself up for the throne. We obviously know that the Targaryens won’t remain in power, and the throne actually appears to be judging the hell out of the man who’s currently sitting in it. So is the throne, you know, killing Viserys?

Plenty of theories abound. There’s a question of whether the chair’s actually the source of all that ails the king. Sure, maybe he’s got diabetes or gout, or maybe something more magical is happening. Whatever the case, the symbolism is thick, given that the throne may have not only cost Viserys his fingers but caused also the sores on his back. It sure feels like the throne doesn’t want him to be king, and that’s doubly the case since the Targaryens are thought to be more resistant (due to dragon’s blood) to illness, including greyscale and so on. Since this king is growing so very ill, we can presume that there’s hefty foreshadowing going on for his entire house.

Whatever’s going on has led social media to indulge in speculation. One of the more interesting theories: is Otto Hightower a fan of poison, and if so, will the wounds begin to heal now that he’s out of the picture? Let the guessing game begin.

HBO’s House of the Dragon airs on Sundays at 9:00pm EST.