Category: News

This past weekend was major for 78-year-old Joni Mitchell, as she popped up at Newport Folk Festival for a 13-song set, constituting her first full-length performance since 2002 (and her first time at the Rhode Island festival since 1969).

The performance was especially noteworthy given the health journey Mitchell has been on. In 2015, she had a brain aneurysm and her recovery was long and tough: She said in a 2020 interview, “I couldn’t walk. I had to learn how again. I couldn’t talk. Polio didn’t grab me like that, but the aneurysm took away a lot more, really. Took away my speech and my ability to walk. And, you know, I got my speech back quickly, but the walking I’m still struggling with.”

So after all that, while Brandi Carlile played a role in making this comeback happen, she wants to make sure Mitchell gets the credit she deserves.

Charles L. Hughes, author of the books Country Soul: Making Music And Making Race In The American South and Why Bushwick Bill Matters, tweeted yesterday, “i want to say something *gently* about the Joni Mitchell performance at Newport. While it’s wonderful & necessary to credit Brandi Carlile for all her work in making this possible, please don’t reiterate ableism by de-centering Mitchell’s importance in making her own way back.”

Carlile shared that tweet and added, “I think this is important and true. watching her get herself to this point has changed my whole outlook on life.What she’s accomplished with her body belongs to @jonimitchell and Joni alone.All the rest of us can do is love her..and that’s been nothing but a pleasure.Go joni.”

In recent years, Carlile has become a major friend and supporter of Mitchell. In 2021, for example, she performed Mitchell’s classic album Blue in 2019 and 2021. Carlile and Mitchell became friends after meeting at a 2018 tribute concert in honor of Mitchell.

The late night TV desk, like the cockroach, will seemingly never die. Some hosts have tried to escape the desk, but it never seems to work out. Just ask Conan O’Brien, Desus, Mero, and now Samantha Bee, all hosts of late night shows that pushed against the norms and who no longer have shows (for various reasons). Is this evidence of some kind of curse or does it say something about the futility of trying to push an audience out of their comfort zone? I’m not sure, but the loss of those particular shows certainly makes late night less interesting and hints at an ominous future.

I don’t think desk shows are bad, by the way. Colbert, Kimmel, Seth, and Amber Ruffin do great things and showed immense creativity in surviving and thriving creatively during the pandemic. This is more a sorrow song for the lack of alternative options, the shows we’ve already lost, and what feels like a muted industry response.

Conan is gone now with the O’Brien deciding to leave TBS a little more than a year ago after 28 years of groundbreaking esoteric comedy that aimed for the light of silliness. This after a 2019 format change to lose the desk and give more time for conversation. Which was quickly followed by the pandemic, remote records, and then a stripped-down live model. At the time, the plan was for some kind of HBO Max series to follow, but we’re still waiting for more details on that. In the meantime, O’Brien seems to be having a blast growing his podcast network and its crown jewel, Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend. On that show, the longer form interviews are the whole meal as O’Brien gleefully indulges his want in having the kind of real, uncanned conversations that serve as a challenge within the structure of a late night show, even if you push the bounds of that structure.

As with Conan, the end of Desus & Mero does not appear to be due to network pressure, as far as we know. But who really does know? The palace intrigue of late night isn’t as on display as it was when that messy bitch Jay Leno was a part of the mix. Maybe this era will get its own Bill Carter (noted late night historian) book that exposes a bunch of secrets like the Leno/David Letterman wars and the Leno/O’Brien wars did. But for now, we go on face value alone, which is to say Daniel Baker aka Desus Nice and Joel Martinez aka The Kid Mero don’t want to be Desus AND Mero anymore. The brand is… broken, sad to say.

These talents leave behind their own legacy, not as lengthy as O’Brien’s, but one that demands a lot of respect. Desus & Mero modernized the idea of a late night talk show, bringing hip-hop culture into late night in an authentic way (a feat wonderfully memorialized by Uproxx hip-hop editor Aaron Williams) while also creating a comfortable space that allowed guests to let their shoulders rest and let the stories flow. The pair also brought a healthy disrespect for authority and institutions, including the institution of late night comedy and what it’s supposed to be. Same as Letterman (who blessed the show early in the middle of its Showtime run), O’Brien, Craig Ferguson, and Jon Stewart, who took a different kind of desk show with The Daily Show and turned it from a kind of news and pop culture Sportscenter clone to something that melded comedy and purpose.

Full Frontal with Samantha Bee is, of course, from the Daily Show branch of the late night tree, with Bee playing a key role in that show’s potent run, but her just-canceled TBS show was a different thing, with a greater depth in its reporting and a unique perspective/tone. It might be a symptom of the different times each show existed in, but I saw Stewart as an idealist progressively made angrier by the world and his inability to change it despite being anointed as the most trusted name in news. And with Bee, I saw a realist and someone with no illusions about the shittiness of the world. Someone who just wanted to tell stories that mattered about forgotten people while punching up and getting under the skin of the people most responsible for that shittiness.

This is probably an unfair generalization, but it feels like Jon Stewart wanted (or wants, in his current Apple TV+ show) to fix the system, and Sam Bee recognized that we probably need a new one.

As I wrote yesterday, the timing for Bee’s cancelation couldn’t be worse. We can debate all the live long day the actual power of any of these more politically inclined shows, but it’s better to keep people engaged and motivated on issues that don’t get nearly enough steady attention. And Full Frontal kept people engaged and motivated better than any other late night show, all while making us laugh along the way.

That’s what we’ve lost in the last year — bold comics and fighters, all with their own portfolios of greatness and passionate fan bases. Over the last few years, however, we’ve also lost shows from an array of super interesting and skillful hosts in Hasan Minhaj, Wyatt Cenac, Larry Willmore, Lilly Singh, and Chelsea Handler. That’s a pretty jarring bit of evidence that we’re stuck in a moment where late night has become less interesting and seeing a pullback on the long-needed push for more diversity in late night. So this is much more than a stylistic problem, though both the lack of creative diversity and representation create a similar issue: a limit on who is going to be compelled to watch and/or talk about these shows because they don’t feel like they appeal to their tastes or speak to their perspectives. Cultural homogenization, in other words.

So, do TV bosses care about that or the loss of all this talent? We aren’t really seeing a swell of new shows and new talents that would lead you to assume that they do. Maybe the late night evolution of a near decade ago with its greater focus on YouTube and social relevancy was their last stand and they can’t stomach another change, this time toward a generation that’s more democratic in where it gets its comedy clips, turning to TikTok and even further from the idea of sitting on a couch at midnight watching television.

Maybe we’re in late night’s death spiral and we don’t even know it because we’re in a self-perpetuating cycle convinced that the outpouring of sad tweets and flowery show obituaries indicate the loss of these huge and valuable franchises when, in all actuality, number crunchers don’t seem to be sweating it despite that immense cultural relevance. But they should, everyone should, because of late night’s influence on culture and comedy through the years, but also because it just makes more sense from a business standpoint to create more product over only leaning on a shrinking collection of stalwarts.

Go to TikTok and recruit the next Lilly Singh. Mine The Daily Show (for the love of God, give Roy Wood Jr. a show!) and writer’s rooms to find the next Amber Ruffin. Make the Corden time slot into a comedy lab where you let talented performers play and maybe strike gold, ala the great Pally/Schwartz one-off. Take risks that, oh, by the way, will cost next to nothing, especially in comparison to the salaries of more established stars.

In 2016, I wrote an article here begging for a late night revolution that saw a greater commitment to leaving the studio and bringing in new voices (I also advocated for virtual interviews, whoops!), and while gains toward those ends have happened (and now largely been undone), this is the time to recommit and continue finding ways to break the mold. It certainly isn’t the time to sit on hands and do nothing, accepting that late night is doomed to be less interesting and less bold. After all, the solution to fading relevancy isn’t retreat, it’s attack. I just hope we see evidence of that in the near future.

There’s no denying Cordae’s success in music. At just 25 years old, the DMV rapper packed plenty of accomplishments on his resume. He’s a Grammy-nominated rapper thanks to his debut album, The Lost Boy. He’s worked with celebrated artists like Eminem, Chance The Rapper, HER, Robert Glasper, Common, Nas, and more. He also has two top-15 albums to his name thanks to The Lost Boy and From A Birds Eye View. All of these accomplishments and more are at the center of his new single, “Multi-Platinum.”

Cordae’s latest release is quite the celebratory effort as he takes a moment to relish in his success, something he has every right to do especially at his young age. Thanks to production from Kid Culture, Cordae uses the track to narrate this very success from start to now. The track also stands as his first official release since sharing From A Birds Eye View earlier this year.

Months after releasing From A Birds Eye View, Cordae admitted that the project was not better than his debut. “Yo so l just drove on a lil 4 hour road trip and listened to both my albums front to back,” he wrote. “And f*ck I must say it’s most definitely “The Lost Boy > FABEV lmaooo. My bad y’all. Ima do better next time. I got sumn to prove.”

You can listen to “Multi-Platinum” in the video above.

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

This fall, Wild Pink will release their fourth full-length album, ILYSM. ILYSM was co-produced by the band’s vocalist and guitarist John Ross, along with with Justin Pizzoferrato (Pixies, Body/Head, Speedy Ortiz) and Peter Silberman of The Antlers. The album will contain appearances from J Mascis, Julien Baker, Ryley Walker, Yasmin Williams, and Samantha Crain

Ahead of the album, Wild Pink have revealed the title track.

“This song, like a few others on this record, takes place where I live and the field next to it,” Ross said in a statement. “A full moon will light up all the rooms here in a way I’ve never really seen and I feel like this song wrote itself a little bit. This album is about love in its many forms and this song in particular is a metaphor for love and obsession.”

To support ILYSM, the band will embark on an international tour, beginning shortly before the album’s release.

Check out “ILYSM” above and the album’s cover art and tracklist, as well as the tour dates, below.

1. “Cahooting The Multiverse”
2. “Hold My Hand” Feat. Julien Baker
3. “Hell Is Cold”
4. “ILYSM”
5. “St. Beater Camry”
6. “Abducted At The Grief Retreat”
7. “War On Terror”
8. “Simple Glyphs”
9. “See You Better Now”
10. “Sucking On The Birdshot”
11. “The Grass Widow In The Glass Window”
12. “ICLYM”

10/12 — Boston, MA @ The Middle East (Upstairs) *
10/13 — Portland, ME @ Sun Tiki Studios *
10/14 — Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Made *
10/15 — Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brendas *
10/16 — Washington, DC @DC9*
10/17 — Pittsburgh, PA @ Spirit Hall*
10/18 — Toronto, ON @ The Drake*
10/20 — Montreal, QC @ L’escogriffe*
10/21 — Burlington, VT @ Foam Brewery*
11/08 — Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso
11/09 — Brighton, UK @ The Hope & Ruin
11/10 — Bristol, UK @ The Exchange
11/11 — London, UK @ Pitchfork London
11/12 — Manchester, UK @ Yes Basement
11/13 — Glasgow, UK @ The Hug & Pint
11/14 — Dublin, IE @ The Workmans Cellar
11/16 — Paris, FR @ Supersonic
11/17 — Luzern, CH @ Schuur
11/18 — Prague, CZ @ Cafe V Lese
11/19 — Berlin, DE @ Marie Antoinette
11/20 — Copenhagen, DK @ Rahuset
11/21 — Hamburg, DE @ Aalhaus
11/22 — Munster, DE @ Pension Schmidt
11/25 — Kingston, NY @ Tubby’s*
11/26 — Syracuse, NY @ Funk N Waffles*
11/27 — Detroit, MI @ Loving Touch*
11/28 — Chicago, IL @ Sleeping Village*
11/29 — Minneapolis, MN @ 7Th Street*
12/01 — Denver, CO @ Globe Hall*
12/02 — Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court*
12/03 — Boise, ID @ The Shredder*
12/04 — Spokane, WA @ Lucky You Lounge*
12/05 — Seattle, WA @ Barboza*
12/07 — Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios*
12/09 — San Francisco, CA @ Bottom Of The Hill*
12/10 — Los Angeles, CA @ The Airliner*
12/11 — San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar*
12/12 — Phoenix, AZ @ Valley Bar*
12/14 — Austin, TX @ Mohawk*
12/15 — Dallas, TX @ Three Links*
12/17 — Nashville, TN @ The Basement*

* with Trace Mountains

ILYSM is out 10/14 via Royal Mountain. Pre-save it here.

In 2000, President Bill Clinton signed the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act into law. The federal statute, which provided protections for undocumented immigrants who were victims of human trafficking, has been readily renewed by every president since, from Bush to Obama to Trump—political affiliation be damned. Because what sort of monster would be against helping victims of severe abuse? Well, on Tuesday, we found out the answer to that question.

As Insider notes, the statute’s renewal—known as The Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act of 2022—passed the House by an overwhelming majority of 401 to 20. Yet 20 Republicans had the temerity to vote against an anti-trafficking law, including Matt Gaetz. What makes this so noteworthy? Well, as you likely remember, Gaetz is currently under investigation for ties to a sex trafficking ring (and reportedly proudly keeps an article about his alleged misdeeds that Trump autographed in his office). While Gaetz has repeatedly denied all the allegations, one might think the best way to get people to believe that you are not guilty of these charges is to side with the victims of the very crime you’re being accused of. But nope, the Florida congressman—who Twitter recently nicknamed #RapeyMcForehead—couldn’t even bring himself to do that. Which does beg a lot of questions.

Insider did reach out to Gaetz to ask about the reasoning behind his “no” vote, but has yet to receive a response. Gaetz has not yet been officially charged with any crime.

(Via Insider)

In the less than 12 months since Young Dolph was gunned down in his native Memphis, his Paper Route Empire cohorts have made a point of honoring their fallen brother. In January, the Paper Route Empire Presents: Long Live Dolph compilation album dropped featuring PRE rappers Key Glock, Big Moochie Grape, and others. And today, PRE has leveled up with “Hall Of Fame,” the first track from Young Dolph to be released following his death.

“Hall Of Fame” is accompanied by an animated video, which is a loop of a boy admiring a shrine to the late rapper. A Dolphin logo/Paper Route Empire branded sports car rolls down Memphis’ Adolph “Young Dolph” Thornton Jr. Avenue to a hall where Dolph’s legacy is honored. The iced-out doors open and the boy looks upon a wall of Dolph’s records, framed in jewel-encrusted borders. A bust of Dolph with his diamond-studded PPE necklace around it sits in the center.

Produced by Bandplay, Dolph floats on the track, rapping swiftly like he always did, spitting: “They say I’m showing out, they say I should be ashamed, I don’t do it for the clout, b*tch, I do it for the gang. You can walk in any trap and I bet they know my name, Frank Matthews of the South, put me in the hall of fame.”

Watch the video for “Hall of Fame” above.

It took French Montana all of seven months to give the world a brand new project. That was the case with Montega, his fifth album which doubled as a joint project with producer Harry Fraud. Montega arrived with 14 songs and guest appearances from Babyface Ray, Benny the Butcher, Chinx, EST Gee, Fleurie, Jadakiss, Quavo, and Rick Ross. In French’s continued effort to promote his latest body of work, he returns with a visual for “Keep It Real” alongside EST Gee.

French and EST find themselves in city streets in their video for “Keep It Real.” Dark and bright skies sit behind the two rappers as they stand proudly with their crew on street corners and on top of buildings all in a successful attempt to show off their fearless demeanor.

The new video for “Keep It Real” joins others that French has released for songs from Montega. They include “Blue Chills,” “Bricks & Bags,” and “Rushmore Pack.” Recently, French Montana collaborated with DreamDoll for her “Ice Cream Dream” collaboration while also having a hand in Drake winning and losing over $25 million through a game of roulette that they played together.

You can watch the video for “Keep It Real” above.

Montega is out now via Coke Boys Records. You can stream it here.

Disclaimer: While all of the products recommended here were chosen independently by our editorial staff, Uproxx may receive payment to direct readers to certain retail vendors who are offering these products for purchase.

Welcome to SNX DLX, your weekly roundup of the dopest sneakers to hit the internet. Last week, Travis Scott sucked all the air out of the room with his Reverse Mocha Air Jordan 1 and now that that’s out of the way, sneaker brands are going hard. Nike is still dominating our 10 entries (yay, we’re back to 10!) but Adidas and New Balance shouldn’t be ignored because they’re also dropping fire.

If you’re a fan of the Air Max 95 this is your week, we’ve included two of Nike’s best Air Max 95 drops this time around, leaving another two on the cutting room floor. Truthfully all four our dope, but this is SNX DLX, not Aix Max 95 DLX, so we’re not about to fill nearly half of our list with Air Max 95s. Jordans? Well, that’s another story.

So without further ado, let’s dive into the 10 best sneakers releasing this week, and where to buy them.

Nike Air Force 1 Mid Washed Teal

This beautiful aqueous mid-rise Air Force 1 recalls the legendary LeBron 8 South Beach with its colorful teal upper but swaps out the pink accents for a classic gum sole and a white midsole and wraparound swoosh. The Washed Teal features a distressed nubuck leather upper, a synthetic leather collar, and a woven tongue label.

It’s the sort of colorful sneaker we expect to drop in the summer season, and we’re loving it.

The Nike Air Force 1 Mid-Washed Teal is set to drop on July 27th for a retail price of $140. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.

Nike Dunk Low Washed Teal and Bleached Coral

Nike had to go ahead and one-up itself by also delivering a Washed Teal Dunk Low. This sneaker takes things up a level by adding a Bleached Coral outsole and swoosh with snakeskin accents on the paneling, offering something altogether more plush and luxurious than the AF-1.

The Nike Dunk Low Washed Teal and Bleached Coral is set to drop on July 27th for a retail price of $120. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.

Nike Zoom LeBron 3 Black and University Red

If the Washed Teal AF-1 and Dunk made you nostalgic for a dope LeBron drop, look no further than this week’s Zoom LeBron 3 in Black and University Red. The sneaker essentially looks like something Darth Vader might wear on the weekend with its patent leather black upper with silver, red, and blue accents. The design is apparently inspired by barbershop poles but… we’re just seeing Darth. This is way cooler than saying “this sneaker is inspired by barbershops,” by the way, if you’re reading this Nike marketing people.

The Nike Zoom LeBron 3 Black and University Red is set to drop on July 27th for a retail price of $185. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.

Adidas Yeezy Slide ONYX/Bone

Is it really summer if you’re not wearing sandals? This summer has been pretty hot statewide, so if you’ve spent more days in slides, Crocs, or Foam RNNRS than you’d like to admit, you’re probably due for a refresh. Why not finally give Yeezy Slides a try?

You know there is someone out there right now who is attempting to cop both the ONYX and Bone Yeezy Slide this week. Are you that person? Of the two Slide colorways the Bone is the better of the two. So if you’re going to cop just one, get the Bone.

The Adidas Yeezy Slide ONYX and Bone are out now for a retail price of $70. Pick up a pair via the Adidas CONFIRMED app or Yeezy Supply.

Nike Air Max 95 Anatomy of Air

I’d like to note that it was a toss-up between cutting this sneaker or the Light Bone version which releases the same day. Ultimately Anatomy of Air won the toss because I think it’s a sneaker that better fits in and represents the season and I’m a sucker for that kind of stuff.

Featuring a bone midsole, this sneaker sports a premium suede upper with thick rope laces, and a gradient colorway that moves top up from deep burgundy to white.

The Nike Air Max 95 Anatomy of Air is set to drop on July 28th for a retail price of $180. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.

Air Max 95 Off Noir and Limestone

The Air Max 95 has always looked like a cross between a hiking and running shoe to me, so I have to call this Off Noir and Limestone colorway the best Air Max 95 of the week. I love the earthy woodgrain tones of the upper, which combines Cobblestone and Limestone with Magma orange accents on the lace loops.

Reflective elements adorn the heel and an open mesh tongue keeps things light while serving as a gentle reminder that the Air Max 95 is NOT a hiking shoe, despite what I think it looks like. Unless you like getting your socks stained with dirt.

The Air Max 95 Off Noir and Limestone is set to drop on July 29th for a retail price of $185. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.

Nike Women’s Air Jordan 8 Taxi Yellow and Black

For legal purposes, Nike can’t just call this shoe “Wu-Tang” but… come on. How do you see this sneaker and not start hearing “Wu-Tang clan ain’t nothing ta f*ck wit?” The Taxi Yellow and Black features a shined black leather upper with yellow accents on the crisscross strap and midsole, with some light camo detailing on the lower heel panel.

The Nike Women’s Air Jordan 8 Taxi Yellow and Black is set to drop on July 29th for a retail price of $200. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.

Nike Air Jordan 3 Desert Elephant

No week is complete without a fire Jordan drop and to close out the offerings from Nike this week we’ve got the Desert Elephant Air Jordan 3. Is this the release of the week? Probably. This colorway features a tumbled black leather upper with brown panels, cement accents, and a crimson red embroidered Jumpman.

It recalls classic Jordan colorways, namely the iconic Black Cement, but still stands as its own unique design that deserves a spot amongst the best Jordan 3s of all time.

The Nike Air Jordan 3 Desert Elephant is set to drop on July 30th for a retail price of $200. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.

New Balance MADE in USA 990v2 Chrysanthemum with NB Navy

New Balance is dropping a v1 and v2 990 this week, both of which are in this beautiful Chrysanthemum with NB Navy colorway, but we’ve got to give the spot to the v2. Featuring a mixed hairy suede, pig suede, and mesh upper, the v2 sports a synthetic suede sock liner, and an ABZORB midsole in one of New Balance’s best in-house colorways to date.

The New Balance MADE in USA 990v2 Chrysanthemum with NB Navy is set to drop on July 28th for a retail price of $194.99. Pick up a pair via the New Balance webstore.

Converse x PLAY Comme des Garçons One Star

Comme des Garçons is finally teaming up with Converse once again for a new heart-adorned sneaker, this time on a different silhouette. The PLAY Come des Garçons One Star features that familiar heart and eyes logo weaved together with the One Star’s familiar cut-out star branding over a premium organic cotton canvas upper.

It’s not quite as iconic as the CDG Chuck but it’s cool to see the brand branch out to a different silhouette.

The Converse x PLAY Comme des Garçons is set to drop on July 28th at Comme des Garçons and Dover Street Market stores globally, as well as the Dover Street Market and Converse web stores for a retail price of $140.

JoJo Siwa has gotten a lot of flack throughout her short but prolific career of being a childhood dancer-turned-actress-turned-gay icon. As a teen, she had her own show that riffed off her wholesome vibe (much to the dismay of her former enemy Justin Bieber) until she came out last year and was suddenly shunned by Nickelodeon.

Now, Siwa has a large TikTok following, and she posts regular videos of various TikTok trends, including one earlier this week that called Fuller House actress Candace Cameron Bure the “rudest celebrity” she had ever met. The clip soon went viral, leaving many of Siwa’s fans attacking Bure, who was also a former child star.

Last night, Bure took to her Instagram to address the TikTok, and she revealed she had a “great” conversation with Siwa. Bure said that Siwa did not expect the clip to make the rounds, calling it a “silly TikTok trend.” We all know how harmful silly TikTok trends can be.

“[JoJo] actually didn’t want to tell me because she said it’s so silly, she felt bad, and that’s why it just wasn’t a big deal to her,” Bure said in an Instagram post. “But then she said, ‘I met you at the Fuller House premiere when I was 11 years old, and we were all on the red carpet. I had come up to you and said, ‘Can I have a picture with you?’ and you said to me, ‘Not right now.’ And then proceeded to do what you were doing and take pictures with other people on the red carpet.”

Siwa then said that Bure “wasn’t even mean” and that she was just an 11-year-old on the red carpet, and she shouldn’t have made it into a “big deal.” But Bure said she felt “crummy” about the whole ordeal. The Fuller House actress added, “Please know that as a mom, it breaks my heart that I made you feel that way and I’m sorry to your mom, too, that I did that to her daughter.” It’s nice that Bure is aware of how her choices as a mother can affect other people around her! Perhaps her former co-star Lori Loughlin will learn too.

While Siwa hasn’t addressed the clip, it seems like the two former enemies (for less than two days) have finally made up. All is well!

Josh Hawley has been having a rough week thanks to the January 6 committee showing footage of him running out of the Capitol building shortly after supporting MAGA rioters with a fist pump. Despite his hometown paper calling him a “laughingstock” and a “fleeing coward,” the Missouri senator has tried to spin the footage into a liberal attack that doesn’t bother him at all. In fact, he loves it. More, please.

Hawley continued that trend on Wednesday when confronted about the footage by CNN reporter Manu Raju. Via Mediaite:

“I don’t regret anything that I did that day,” Hawley said. “It’s a privilege to be attacked by the January 6 Committee, and I want to say thank you for all the help with my fundraising. It’s been tremendous.”

Hawley was referring to how he continues to fundraise for himself by having his office sell merchandise emblazoned with his fist-pump in solidarity with the mob that went on to ransack the Capitol.

While the arrogant remarks fly in the face of the footage that clearly shows Hawley fleeing the Capitol, the senator has already demonstrated that he’s going to pretend the whole thing isn’t as embarrassing as it looks. During a Friday appearance at the Turning Point USA student summit, Hawley tried to reassert his defiant attitude by declaring that he won’t “run away” from liberals despite the January 6 footage of him doing exactly that.

“I just want to say to all of those liberals out there and the liberal media, just in case you haven’t gotten the message yet, I do not regret it,” Hawley told the audience. “And I am not backing down, I’m not gonna apologize, I’m not gonna cower, I’m not gonna run from you. I’m not gonna bend the knee.”

(Via Mediaite)