Category: News

Richard Spencer, the Nazi/white supremacist leader who led a 2017 flash mob (full of brandished tiki torches and everything) in Charlottesville, North Carolina, wants everyone to believe that he’s turned over a new leaf. He’s apparently motivated by a desire to find love again after his marriage dissolved amid allegations of domestic violence on his behalf. Never mind that his far-right fan base has turned on him, and he was greeted by an audience of hecklers while touring universities. He’s also admittedly broke and had his gym membership revoked due to his confrontational nature, but The Spence won’t let that stop him.

A brave Jezebel writer (Laura Bassett) went into investigative mode after receiving a tip that Spencer’s cruising Bumble in the Dallas, Texas area. She gathered screencaptures of a man who remarkably looked like Richard Spencer and claimed to be 6’1″ tall and a Taurus who’s seeking a relationship (not a hookup!). He also, curiously, labeled himself as “moderate” and “vaccinated.”

You might be raising your eyebrows at those last two claims, too. Bassett took the plunge and contacted Spencer after wondering if someone was using his photos as a catfish. And that’s a fair question, given that Spencer’s photos are projecting a man who’s putting on the full “Christmas tree photo” airs (really, you must see these photos), but Spencer (as contacted through his phone number) confirmed that, yes, that’s his Bumble profile, and he’d “appreciate your respecting my privacy.” He texted, “This is obviously not newsworthy. I’m simply living my life.”

Spencer continued to respond to Bassett while declaring (in a series of texts), “I’m not a white supremacist leader any more. The entire right generally hates me. The feeling of [sic] mutual / On basic issues, I’m pretty much a liberal: Gun control, abortion, etc / I don’t lie or deceive anyone.” He neglects to mention his love of Confederate statues, but whaddya gonna do? Man, online dating is full of people pretending not to be themselves, but it sure sounds like this would make for one hellaciously awkward first date.

Ladies, imagine showing up and meeting the man who the Southern Poverty Law Center describes as “a suit-and-tie version of the white supremacists of old, a kind of professional racist in khakis.” He’s also the guy, as SPLC notes, who invented the “alt-right” term to downplay straight-up white supremacist beliefs and make them seem a little more friendly. Yup, that’s a hard Swipe Left!

(Via Jezebel)

Is it time to stop worrying about Kim Wexler?

Probably — but then I read Variety‘s very good profile of Rhea Seehorn, the actress who tragically hasn’t been nominated for an Emmy (let alone Emmys) for her performance on Better Call Saul, and my anxiety soars. It begins:

Rhea Seehorn’s fiancé doesn’t know if Kim Wexler lives. Neither do her stepchildren, who recently became Better Call Saul fans — and now demand similar answers about her fate. There are just six episodes left before the Breaking Bad prequel wraps up its six-season run in August. How it all ends is a closely guarded secret.

Seehorn obviously doesn’t reveal anything about Kim’s fate in the profile, although she does tease, “Death is not the only tragic end.” Bob Dylan was right.

Ahead of the final season, Bob Odenkirk laid out a future in which Kim is “a super-powered lawyer with the white-shoe law firm” and Saul is a “complete scumbag ambulance chaser across town,” and every night, “they go home, take off their disguises and be kind to each other.” But, he added, “I don’t think that’s where we’re going to go.”

Based on Seehorn’s comment, a more likely scenario is that she’s in prison during the events of Breaking Bad, which is why Saul turns into a complete guilt-riddled scumbag. Or Saul and Kim are both free but they can’t interact (or have sex while scheming) out of fear for the other’s safety, for whatever reason. Or Seehorn is messing with us, and Kim is for sure going to die. I don’t like either of these options. Or this ominous teaser.

Better Call Saul returns on July 11.

While some actors really want that monumental Oscar moment (think Leonardo DiCaprio in every movie he was in from 2000-2015) others would rather have fun than play a stuffy old man living in the woods while being stalked by a bear. That includes Samuel L Jackson, who is known for both his serious roles and his…less serious ones.

While Jackson has an honorary Academy Award, the actor recently spoke to the Los Angeles Times and explained that he doesn’t really feel like acting in Oscar-bait movies anymore. After so many years in the industry, he has that authority. And the money. “As jaded as I wanted to be about it, you know thinking, ‘Well, I should have won an Oscar for this or should have won for that and it didn’t happen,’ once I got over it many years ago, it wasn’t a big deal for me,” Jackson said. “I always have fun going to the Oscars. I always look forward to getting a gift basket for being a presenter. [Laughs] I give stuff to my relatives; my daughter and my wife would take stuff out. It’s cool… But otherwise, I was past it.”

While he will probably still kill it in all of his roles, he prefers to do the big-budget superhero movies that barely get Oscar buzz, but get a lot of money. “I was never going to let the Oscars be a measure of my success or failure as an actor. My yardstick of success is my happiness: Am I satisfied with what I’m doing? I’m not doing statue-chasing movies. You know [whispers]: ‘If you do this movie, you’ll win an Oscar.’ No, thanks. I’d rather be Nick Fury. Or having fun being Mace Windu with a lightsaber in my hand.” He is ready for his Star Wars redemption arc!

The actor added that he doesn’t care about Oscars, but he does care about the fans. Specifically, the ones who read lines back to him. “I’m the guy who does the lines that people see on T-shirts. There’s actors who go their whole careers and no one can quote a line they’ve said in a movie. People go to watch my movies to see how crazy I’m going to be or see how many times I say motherf*cker. Whatever gets them in the seats.” And boy those fans sure do get in those seats!

(Via Los Angeles Times)

Gunna might be locked up while he awaits trial on racketeering charges along with Young Thug and YSL, but that isn’t stopping him from promoting his new album DS4EVER. While he may have been booed up with pop-R&B star Chloe Bailey in real life — no matter how much he tried to deny it — he still has an image to maintain as the primary pusher of P, and so in his new video for “Banking On Me,” he projects the consummate image of a coast-to-coast player, keeping a baddie in each major city as he jet sets around the country living that rapper lifestyle.

It helps that the video is self-directed; who wouldn’t want to cast himself as the centerpiece of a nationwide rotation of pretty women? However, the video also fits the song’s subject as well; Gunna has to keep swapping them out — after all, he doesn’t want to get bored.

Unfortunately, Gunna may not get the chance to enjoy the fruits of his labor for a while. In May, he and the rest of the YSL crew were arrested as part of a sweeping RICO case that alleged they were a hybrid gang responsible for dozens of violent acts in the Atlanta area. He goes on trial early next year.

Watch the “Bank On Me” video above.

Britney Spears and Sam Asghari got married a few days ago now, and initial reports indicated that while Spears’ father Jamie Spears, mother Lynne Spears, and sister Jamie Lynn Spears were not invited to the wedding, her brother Bryan Spears was expected to attend. Now, Spears has debunked that, insisting that Bryan was not invited while offering some choice words about her brother.

Referencing a 2020 interview Bryan gave on the As NOT Seen On TV podcast, Spears wrote in a now-deleted Instagram post, “Your podcast interview was so SPECIAL [eyes rolling emoji] !!! I know you and the family had no bad intentions at all whatsoever taking all those years away when I wanted to honestly just be a respected individual with a glass of red wine … but like you said in your interview … Bryan when asked by that incredibly kind man ‘why doesn’t your family just let her be ???’ Your response was …’she can’t even make a dinner reservation …’”

She continued, “You were never invited to my wedding so why even respond ??? Do you honestly think I want my brother there who told me no to a Jack and coke for 4 years … what ???.” Spears later concluded, “I know you’re my blood and yes blood runs deep but no family of mine would do what you guys did to me … Pssss … I liked your post, brother !!! Happy Britdependece Day !!! Congratulations Brit Brit !!! GO F*CK YOURSELF Bryan – F*ck you [middle finger emoji] …”

Read Spears’ full post below.

“I got my happy on y’all !!! Happy, happy, happy !!! My friend watched the video of the party and to be exact Madonna fell 3 times … Selena Gomez fell 2 times and I fell once all because of the rose petals … I’m surprised I didn’t fall every 5 minutes … and no, I didn’t drink one sip of alcohol !!! I can’t drink a lot …

true story – the 13 years of being in the conservatorship I was drug tested at least 3 times a week … I don’t even really like alcohol … meanwhile I heard that my dad would go to bars every night . and my brother had his shrimp salad with a Jack and coke every night in Vegas after my show and even sometimes before !!! He would never even let me have a sip … you let your 5-year-old daughter put her hand in her mother’s wine and be silly yet when I just get off the stage for the 3rd time that week and my little feet have been in heels I walk to the only table in my suit and you tell me no my question is this WHY????

Let’s talk about it … is it the powerful feeling dad got my whole life in literally making me feel like absolutely nothing … I’m sorry but cops are kind of the EXACT same way … just because they wear a star on their shirt every day they think that gives them the opportunity to bully people … end of that story

so I was so excited when I went to Vegas last month … I’m such a badass … NOT !!! But I actually could drink a lot when I was younger … my girlfriend and I could hold 2 bottles of champagne by ourselves at her beach house, then go to dinner that night and I would end up taking care of everybody at night … so in Vegas, I was ready to have my first vodka and Sprite !!! No lie, I literally drank half the cup and suddenly my stomach went into a knot so my friend finished the drink … at the restaurant, I was like ‘OUCH OUCH OUCH OUCH’ my stomach felt like a freaking brick !!! To make a long story short … I basically couldn’t leave my room for 2 days because it upset my stomach … ok, so I’m older and more sensitive now and yes, I’m a little bitter because I used to be able to have fun when I would drink but now I either get too sick or I go straight to sleep !!! It’s pretty funny my family doing what they did to me with drug testing me that whole time and yet I can’t stand most alcohol !!! Nope, I’m not cool … I wish I could play that bad girl my family wants me to play but honestly .. I’m too old for this sh*t !!!

And Bryan … your podcast interview was so SPECIAL [eyes rolling emoji] !!! I know you and the family had no bad intentions at all whatsoever taking all those years away when I wanted to honestly just be a respected individual with a glass of red wine … but like you said in your interview … Bryan when asked by that incredibly kind man ‘why doesn’t your family just let her be ???’ Your response was …’she can’t even make a dinner reservation …’ None of you ever wanted it to end because you all loved telling me what to do and treating me like absolutely nothing !!! What you said right there to that man in that interview said everything, Bryan !!!

You were never invited to my wedding so why even respond ??? Do you honestly think I want my brother there who told me no to a Jack and coke for 4 years … what ??? If we were going to drink together at the wedding and play the classy roles for the children like you and mom do as you people literally hid coffee and alcohol when I would come home … you hurt me and you know it !!!

And I might force myself to drink Jack tonight … look up at the moon and say ‘FUCK YOU [middle finger emoji] !!!’ Psss I have an assistant to make my dinner reservations … DID YOU NOT KNOW ??? I know you’re my blood and yes blood runs deep but no family of mine would do what you guys did to me … Pssss … I liked your post, brother !!! Happy Britdependece Day !!! Congratulations Brit Brit !!! GO F*CK YOURSELF Bryan – F*ck you [middle finger emoji] …”

It’s been nearly 17 months since Donald Trump begrudgingly left the White House—albeit without admitting defeat—and yet the former president still has the ability to surprise us with his unconscionable behavior, particularly toward the very people who have moronically believed his lies. This week we learned that Trump fleeced his supporters under the guise of political justice to the tune of $250 million—a “bombshell” that shook Stephen Colbert.

On Tuesday night, the Late Show host was ready to dig into every dirty detail of the nonexistent entity that allowed the former president to line his pockets with the hard-earned money of the individuals who actually trust him. Colbert admitted that he was still “digesting” the revelation that Trump “demanded his followers donate to something called the Official Election Defense Fund, which raised a quarter of a BILLION dollars. And surprise, surprise: the committee discovered the whole thing was a grift.”

The select committee explained that even though the Trump campaign knew their claims of voter fraud were absolute bullshit, they used the momentum they had going to get the MAGAites all worked up over the possibility of the election being “stolen” from The Donald. They sent out countless emails asking their most ardent supporters to give whatever they could spare to the fund, which the committee further discovered did not actually exist—making it painfully clear that Trump may indeed be playing by George Costanza’s rulebook, as Ari Melber suggested earlier this week. (Remember The Human Fund?) An aghast Colbert broke it all down:

So he duped $250 million from his most passionate supporters, then watched as they all go to prison while he sat in Mar-a-Lago double-fisting coconut shrimp…

So, if there was no Election Defense Fund, where did the money go? Well, according to the committee, there was a $1 million donation to the personal foundation of the former president’s chief of staff, Mark Meadows. Yes, the Meadows Foundation is a charity that raises money to fund research into how much money it can raise.

They also skimmed off over $200,000 for the former president’s hotels, and that was just Giuliani’s bar tab.

But it wasn’t just Trump himself who enjoyed the financial windfall. As we learned earlier this week, Donald Jr.’s fiancée Kimberly Guilfoyle (lucky gal!) scored a $60,000 paycheck for introducing her future father-in-law at January 6th’s stop the steal rally—a gig that took her just about two minutes to complete. (Though Colbert contends that, given her past eloquence, she was probably “worth every dime.”)

Given all the despicable—and presumably criminal—behavior that the committee has discovered, Colbert knows the big question on everyone’s mind is: Who is going to jail, and how quickly will it take to stick ‘em there? The answer to those queries, unfortunately, is “no one” and “no time soon.” As the Late Show host explained, committee chair and Mississippi congressman Bennie Thompson said that “members of the panel will not make any criminal referral of the former president or anyone else to the Justice Department.” To which Colbert responded: “Counterpoint: Why not?”

You can watch the full clip above, beginning around the 2:55 mark.

It is bonkers to think that we’ve only gotten halfway through the year, yet we’ve already gotten an absolutely massive collection of new albums from some of the biggest names in hip-hop. Those names have included Gunna, Cordae, Earl Sweatshirt, Saba, Kanye West, Lil Durk, Denzel Curry, Latto, Vince Staples, Pusha T, Future, Black Star, Jack Harlow, Kendrick Lamar, and Post Malone… and I’ve skipped more than a few of our favorites.

With all that, you’d think we’d be all out of new music to discuss for at least the next six months, but you know what they say about hip-hop parties and stopping. As the weather heats up, you can expect the pace to pick up as well, with even more established stars and rising newcomers staking their claims on our cookouts, pool parties, picnics, and summer basketball leagues. With that said, here are our picks for the ones you should be keeping an ear out for this summer.

Mount Westmore — Bad MFs

Although technically, this album has already been released via the Gala Music platform, fans who aren’t sold on blockchain quite yet can still look forward to enjoying this album from the California supergroup on DSPs sometime soon. With Bay Area pioneers E-40 and Too Short teaming up with their SoCal counterparts Ice Cube and Snoop Dogg, this one is the latest proof in the growing body of evidence that California still knows how to party.

Erica Banks — Diary Of The Flow Queen — Due June 17

Despite the obvious similarities between 1501 Certified’s more recent signing and her immediate predecessor, Erica Banks has managed to distinguish herself thanks to the viral TikTok trend based on her breakout hit “Buss It” and a string of strong performances that show she can more than hold her own and bring something new to the table. It should be fun to see how she continues to set herself apart on her debut project.

Logic — Vinyl Days — Due June 17

For a guy who’s two years past his “retirement,” Logic sure has been busy. His seventh studio album will be his last under his Def Jam contract, and he apparently wants to go out with a bang. Vinyl Days is expected to boast a 30-song tracklist with features from all corners of the hip-hop world. Action Bronson, Blu & Exile, Curren$y, Royce Da 5’9”, Russ, RZA, and more all contribute.

Kevin Gates — Khaza — Due June 17

Gates’ last album, I’m Him, dropped in 2019 — you know, a whole lifetime ago. The intervening years should have given the 36-year-old Baton Rouge rap vet plenty to talk about and lots of time to sharpen up his pen. Plenty of his peers had similar gaps before their 2022 releases and have impressed; can he keep up the trend?

Duke Deuce — Crunkstar — Due June 17

Regular Uproxx readers will know that this site has been following the Quality Control Music artist from Memphis since just about the beginning of his rise to stardom. His 2021 debut Duke Nukem certainly paid off that early support in quality, and we’re looking forward to seeing how he improves on the formula while capitalizing on his No. 3 Heatseekers chart placement with his sophomore effort.

Westside Boogie — More Black Superheroes — Due June 17

Boogie made an impressive entry to the rap game with his mixtapes Thirst 48, The Reach, and Thirst 48, Pt. II. Since then he seemingly slowed down the pace of his releases, taking another three years to drop his Shady Records debut Everythings For Sale. Three years later, he’s back with another serving of his unique, Compton-bred perspective. His low-and-slow approach to the last album paid off, and we fully expect it to do so again.

Joey Badass — 2000 — Due June 17

A rapper’s rapper, the 27-year-old Brooklynite has 10 years in the business, but only two full-length albums to his name. That should be enough to tell you why his new album is one of our more anticipated releases of the year; the quality with which he’s approached every project beginning with his breakthrough mixtape 1999 at just 17 years old bodes well — especially considering 2000‘s title appears very much to evoke a spiritual successor that exciting introduction.

Black Thought & Danger Mouse — Cheat Codes — Due August 12

Let’s keep it a buck. There are few rappers better at rapping than Black Thought. He’s hands-down one of the illest spitters to ever pick up a microphone, and three decades of releases are all the proof he needs to support this claim. Anyone who disagrees should get their ears examined. Meanwhile, Danger Mouse is one of indie music’s most respected producers, even though his output has slowed down a bunch in the last few years. However, during his most prolific era, he produced some of the most groundbreaking, genre-blurring projects in popular music, from the Gorillaz album Demon Days to the MF Doom Adult Swim experiment The Mouse and the Mask to projects with ASAP Rocky, Norah Jones, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Karen O. Basically, this one is as close to a must-listen as it gets.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Newsmax host Chris Salcedo is hardly a household name. But if he’s looking to go the Tucker Carlson route to media infamy, he’s off to a good start. On Tuesday night, as Mediaite reports, the anchor floated a pretty bonkers theory about Nicholas John Roske, the armed 26-year-old who called the police from outside Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s house and informed them that he was having both suicidal and homicidal thoughts.

Last night, while speaking with Illinois congressman Rodney Davis, Salcedo casually slipped in his theory that some part of Nancy Pelosi might have been cheering Roske on.

“A lot of folks are starting to ask some questions out there, congressman,” Salcedo explained. “They’re openly wondering why Nancy Pelosi sat on a bill that was passed by the Senate to protect Supreme Court justices. Now she’s moving after an assassination attempt on Justice Kavanaugh. Are Americans right to question if Pelosi was actually hoping for, or encouraging, violence that could lead to Joe Biden appointing a new Supreme Court justice?”

After seeming momentarily taken aback, Davis attempted to sidestep the inflammatory part of Salcedo’s question and responded that Pelosi and others “need to answer [questions] as to why she thought somehow Justice Kavanaugh, after having an assassin in his backyard, is somehow safe over the weekend. We could’ve gotten to this bill last week, but she chose to hold it up and she needs to answer as to why.”

The bill, which mandates additional security for Supreme Court justices was passed on Tuesday with a vote of ​​396-27. President Biden is expected to sign the bill as soon as it reaches his desk.

Meanwhile, it has been more than three weeks since a teenage gunman walked into Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas and killed 21 people, including 19 children. It’s just one of more than 250 mass shootings that have occurred in the U.S. this year alone. And Republicans are still fighting over whether fewer doors, more prayers, or some other bullshit answer is the best way to tackle America’s mass shooting epidemic.

(Via Mediaite)

Harry Styles has been breaking records musically lately after releasing his album Harry’s House, but on Monday (June 13) he broke another barrier by becoming the first Western artist to appear on the Japanese YouTube series The First Take. The former One Direction member performed a stripped-down, single-take version of “Boyfriends” with the backing of vocalists Sarah Jones and Elin Sandberg and guitarists Ny Oh and Mitch Rowland. The 28-year-old made it look easy.

Though the show’s purpose is to challenge artists to perform similarly to Styles, one-take without any effects, the pop star came in with a bit of an edge as the version he performed on The First Take is identical to his Coachella arrangement from this past April. Prior to Harry, the series welcomed the likes of K-pop artists Tomorrow X Together and Stray Kids plus the Japanese band Chai.

Harry Styles’ aforementioned 2022 album Harry’s House earned the most first-day streams for a pop album in 2022 just two hours after it was made available on Apple Music. It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart with 521,500 units sold in its first week, with 330,000 of which being pure sales. With four songs residing in the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 Songs chart concurrently, he became the first British solo artist to achieve this feat and joined only the Beatles in terms of overall British acts.

Check out Styles’ performance of “Boyfriends” on The First Take above.

James Patterson is walking back his controversial remarks where he claimed that white male authors are the victims of “another form of racism.” The 72-year-old author, and current Dolly Parton collaborator, sparked a flurry of headlines following his interview with The Sunday Times where he essentially said that white writers are being discriminated against in the entertainment industry. Specifically, older writers like himself. (Depending on which Google sources you deem credible, Patterson is reportedly sitting on a net worth of $800 million.)

“What’s that all about?” Patterson told the Times about the alleged racism. “Can you get a job? Yes. Is it harder? Yes. It’s even harder for older writers. You don’t meet many 52-year-old white males.”

However, Patterson is now apologizing for his remarks. In a Facebook post shared on Tuesday, the author wrote that he doesn’t believe white writers are experiencing racism and he “supports diversity” everywhere. Via James Patterson on Facebook:

“I apologize for saying white male writers having trouble finding work is a form of racism. I absolutely do not believe that racism is practiced against white writers. Please know that I strongly support a diversity of voices being heard—in literature, in Hollywood, everywhere.”

During the controversial interview, Patterson also voiced his opinion that Woody Allen’s memoir should not have been canceled by Hatchette. The author appears to be sticking to that sentiment, which in fairness, is not as controversial as suggesting, “Hey, it’s tough for white guys out here.”

(Via James Patterson on Facebook)