Category: News

The first episode of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia aired on FX on August 4, 2005. What else was happening in August 2005? “We Belong Together” by Mariah Carey was at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart; The Dukes of Hazzard was the highest-grossing movie at the box office; and The Gang didn’t include Danny DeVito (yet).

A lot has change over those 17 years (and a record-breaking 15 seasons), but Sunny has remained consistently excellent the entire time. Even star and co-creator Rob McElhenney seems impressed by how long his show has managed to remain relevant.

“This World Cup will be the 5th World Cup played since we started Sunny,” McElhenney tweeted. In a follow-up tweet, he added, “There have been 5 Presidential terms in the United States since we started Sunny.” The World Cups have been held in Germany, South Africa, Brazil, Russia, and this year’s in Qatar (this is important for a guy who owns a soccer team), while Sunny premiered during George W. Bush’s second term and continued through the presidencies of Barack Obama, Donald Trump, and Joe Biden.

Even if Biden wins a second term, Sunny will still probably outlast his administration.

Meanwhile, The Simpsons premiered the same year that George H. W. Bush took office (and if you include the shorts, during the Ronald Reagan era). Sunny has catching up to do.

While love can move mountains, it can also make one feel like they are on top of one. However, as the old saying goes, “The higher they are, the harder they fall” and lost love can send a person right back to the base in a painful manner. Blondshell, real name Sabrina Teitelbaum, captures this narrative in her debut single “Olympus.”

Blondshell sings with a worn-out, pessimistic tone, conveying the internal turmoil she is facing as an acoustic and electric guitar strum in the background. “I wanna save myself, you’re part of my addiction / I just keep you in the kitchen while I burn.” The record crescendoes in the bridge, with the singer full-on screaming out “I’m afraid of your description that I don’t fit in when I’m faded” before lowering to near a whisper. Blondshell’s self-loathing continues with the line “Hate myself ’cause I always blackout.”

Blondshell revels in being true to herself and facing every experience in her life head-on, singing openly about getting saved and accepting her queer identity. Coming out the gate with such vulnerability and structure also stems from the time she spent working with producer Yves Rothman who has contributed to music from Nasty Cherry, Yves Tumor and Porches.

Listen to her Blondshell’s single “Olympus” above.

Despite Matthew McConaughey delivering a powerful and emotional speech calling for bipartisan, common-sense gun laws following the mass school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, it was back to politics as usual as Republicans quickly began to attack the actor for daring to suggest even the slightest restrictions on gun ownership. Well, Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn isn’t having it.

While piggybacking on a tweet from iconic Star Trek actor George Takei, Gunn slammed right-wingers for trying to distract from McConaughey’s urgent message by calling him a hypocrite for starring in movies with guns.

“I think their point is, ‘Look over there!! Hollywood!’” Gunn tweeted. “There are violent stories & video games in most every country in the world. But only in the US is it harder to sell a donut than a gun. Stop conflating fictional guns in movies with common sense gun legislation.”

The Suicide Squad director was just getting warmed up. Gunn expanded on his initial tweet by swatting down conservatives who were attempting to use the accidental shooting on the set of Rust as some sort of “Gotcha!”

“Rust, a case of mind-boggling incompetence on nearly everyone’s part, resulted in the only death from a firearm on a set in years,” Gunn tweeted. “The film industry leapt to make sets safer through increased regulations. Over 1500 children & adults have died from US mass shootings since 2009.”

Gunn wrapped up his thread by pointing out the hilarious and dangerous reality of a statistic tossed out by one Twitter user that 60 percent of gun owners are trained to handle specific firearms.

“As if we’d be proud of, ‘Over 60% of drivers received training before getting on the highway’ or ‘Over 60% of surgeons have gone to medical school’ or ‘Over 60% of airline pilots have flown a plane at least once,’” Gunn wrote.

While Gunn did an expert job shutting down right-wing attacks on McConaughey, unfortunately, these exchanges mark an unfortunate return to how these situations routinely play out following a mass shooting. Good on McConaughey for trying to break through the noise and push for something to actually happen this time around, but judging by the reactions, Republicans still seems hesitant to anger their gun-loving base.

(Via James Gunn on Twitter)

Last week, King Princess announced that her next album, Hold On Baby, will be coming out on July 29th. She explained in a statement how this will be her most outwardly introspective foray yet, noting, “It finally reached a point where I had to turn the barrel on myself.” She added, “This album is for anyone who needs a sanctuary to be vulnerable.”

Now, the budding queer icon shared an excellent double video for “Too Bad/Cursed,” and it touches on those themes of vulnerability and finding the courage to unapologetically be herself. The clip is a tale of a light bulb moment in a dive bar that gets metaphorically sexy as she slows learns to love herself before she in the clip. “Too bad that I hate myself so I can like you,” she sings in the sticky power ballad with gently auto-tuned vocals as the track flips.

King Princess will be supporting Florence And The Machine on tour later this year, and she has also announced a thorough slate of headlining shows for the Hold On Baby tour with support from St. Panther and Dora Jar.

Watch the video for “Too Bad/Cursed” above.

Hold On Baby is out 7/29 via Zelig Records/Columbia Records. Pre-order it here.

The Republican Party is desperate to convince people that the rise in mass shootings is due to anything but the laughably easy access to guns and Representative Pat Fallon has thrown our “dang smartphones” into the ring as a possible culprit.

The lawmaker from Texas rejected the call for gun reform legislation at a recent House Oversight Committee meeting despite his own state being in the news after a tragic school shooting that left 19 children and teachers dead, and dozens more badly injured. Instead of working to prevent the senseless loss of even more lives by enacting a law (any law) that might encourage more responsible gun ownership, Fallon focused his energy on the real problem that he believes connects the massacre in Uvalde to recent mass shootings in places like Buffalo, NY, Philadelphia, PA, and Tulsa, OK: cellphones.

“Guns have always been readily available in this country but mass shootings and particularly mass shootings of schools were non-existent or extremely rare until they became a grisly recent phenomenon,” Fallon said via Raw Story. “So what’s changed in the last 50 years? There’s been a noticeable breakdown of the family, there’s been an erosion of faith and there’s been a seismic drop in social interaction in large measure due to the overuse of these dang smartphones and the proliferation of social media, which is probably better described as anti-social media.”

Of course, a ban on assault weapons being lifted in 2004 and the total lack of any meaningful background checks to keep deadly weapons out of the hands of people with mental health issues or criminal records have no influence whatsoever on this “recent phenomenon.” It’s the phones’ fault, you guys.

(Via RawStory)

There are many different reasons why some people are homophobic. A lot of them are raised in religious households where homosexuality is seen as sinful and they never get over their indoctrination.

A study from 2018 found that people who foster homophobic attitudes are less intelligent than those who accept people regardless of their sexuality. For the study, researchers asked subjects if they agree or disagree with the following statement: “Homosexual couples should have the same rights as heterosexual couples do.”

After comparing data sets, researchers found that the lower a person’s cognitive intelligence, the more likely they are to be homophobic.

An older study from 2016 using an eye-tracking device found that some homophobic men seem to have an impulsive, automatic attraction to other men.

Homophobic attitudes are more prevalent in people with authoritarian personality types. Authoritarians have “submissive attitudes toward strong leaders, a desire to punish all who violate conventional moral codes, and strong fear that conventional morality is breaking down.”

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There are also some who believe that humans evolved to be homophobic because it favors the propagation of the species. “In its simplest form, parents who showed a concern for their child’s sexual orientation may have left more descendants than those who were indifferent,” Gordon Gallup, a human sexuality researcher, wrote.

(It should be noted that Gallup formulated his theory in the ‘80s.)

Regardless of how people become homophobic, the good news is that Americans are slowly becoming more accepting of LGBTQ people. A Reddit user by the name of aestheticbear wanted to prove that everyone is capable of losing their homophobic views by asking the subforum, “What happened that made you stop being homophobic?”

According to the posts, growing up and meeting people who are LGBTQ was one of the most effective ways for people to get over their homophobia. It also helped when they got away from religious parents and began to see the world with their own eyes.

Here are 18 of the best ways that people got over being homophobic.

1. 

“I met some gay people. As it turns out they were just people.” — moolord

2. 

“Not homophobic, but I woke up at about 10 when my mom said my uncle was banned from coming to our vacation condo by my father because he was gay. Before then I kind of let the arguments and both sides bit wash over me, but that was a crystalization point where I started noticing it as pure bigotry. I’m sorry the nicest dude in the family full of domestic violence and white-collar drug abusers cant come to Christmas because he’s gay? You’re both cheating on each other, sanctity of what marriage now?” — Robin_Games

3. 

“My mom slapped me and told me everyone has a right to be happy. That was in 9th grade 13 years ago.” — Bloodllust

4. 

“Homophobia was the norm when I was growing up, then I got older and the political landscape changed which made me question my belief and I came to the conclusion it just didn’t make any sense to be homophobic.” — LuciferIsFallen

5. 

“I came out as gay.” — pethal

6

“Realised that, fundamentally, being gay is just ‘what’ you are. It’s not ‘who’ you are.” — Alternative-Rain-718

7. 

“I wasn’t super homophobic, just a ‘love the sinner, hate the sin’ kind of guy. On my last day in high school, someone said ‘Why do I care? They’re not hurting me.’ Cured me in three seconds. I still remember how magical that moment was for me.” — Dirgonite

8. 

“Stopped listening to my homophobic family and left their religion. Oh and also realized I myself was pretty gay.” — Raidden

9. 

“There are 20 years between myself and my youngest brother. I (and my SO) was raised in an explicitly homophobic/biphobic/transphobic fundamentalist religion (that I left with my SO in my early 20s) so I had a lot of internalized, conditioned, toxic beliefs about the LGBTQ that needed to be deconstructed. My little brother was obviously either gay or bi and it was obvious from the time he was six imho. He came out to my sisters, SO, and I as bi when he was 11 and we were like “tell us something we don’t know lol.” I think watching him just grow up, it was obvious that he hadn’t chosen to be that way, it was just how he was. This false narrative that LGBTQ are somehow defective or sinners became more disgusting to me over time.

I can’t remember exactly when it happened but my SO and I were like ‘if our future child happened to be LGBTQ, could we teach that child the things we were taught about the LGBTQ?” We were like “no, that would be evil.’

Now, we have an 18yo niece that recently came out as a lesbian and we feel honored to be the only family that she trusts enough to introduce to her first GF. Spending time with her just reaffirms the fact that there is nothing wrong with the LGBTQ, it was our upbringing that was defective.” — Jormungandr91

10. 

“I was in the military during the repeal of don’t ask don’t tell. I wasn’t pro-gay whatever that might mean but sitting in those mandatory command meetings really opened my eyes. There were some legit homophobes trying every trick in the book to justify everything from moving sleeping arrangements to outright violence out in the open with gay people in the room.

I may not have been super sympathetic before that but after I realized just how difficult it was for a gay person just to go to work. Or how many precautions they were taking on a daily basis to keep in the closet. It pushed me from disinterested in the subject to siding with the obviously pragmatic stance of pro-gay marriage and gays in the military.” — Pencilowner

11. 

“Went off to college, started meeting gay people, quickly realized that their awesomeness was no different than any straight person’s awesomeness, stopped bothering to “otherize” them as I had in high school.” — hailnaux

12. 

“I became good friends with someone who came out to me a year or so after we got to know each other. Turns out he wasn’t the abomination that my Christian parents/church had taught me all gays were. Indoctrination of children is a bitch.” — Vefantur

13. 

“Honestly I think it was Lady Gaga. I was young and impressionable and she was cool and so LGBT+ friendly that I just started accepting people. And then it turned out I was a lil gay too so things worked out well lol.” — plutoforprez

14. 

“I grew up and met some openly gay people.” — polkavert

15. 

“I became an atheist. Through a painful experience of getting through serious depression, I came out the other side with a different worldview. As soon as I shed religion I began to question a lot of things including how I really feel about LGBTQIA people vs what I’d been indoctrinated to believe. They are just people trying to go about their normal routine like myself. There’s no vast conspiracy or ‘gay agenda.’

Years later, I suspect I’m one of them now. I might be asexual but I’m not sure yet.” —HonestSummer

16. 

​“As a teen I loved to make fun/bash gay people and listen to heavy metal. Then one day Rob Halford from Judas Priest came out as gay. Well, he is fucking Rob Halford and he can do whatever the fuck he wants. He is Rob Halford and being gay did not make him any less amazing in my eyes. After that I stopped caring about people being gay or not. Who am I to second guess or mock Rob Halford’s life choices?” — cambeiu

17.

“I looked for logical reasons to be and couldn’t find any.” — theyellowmeteor

18. 

“I grew up.” — jthomas287

I love it when artists show up to do UPROXX Sessions with props — even when they’re something as small and basic as a red plastic cup. It just signifies a different level of confidence and charisma. Those are two things that OVO Sound rapper Smiley has in abundance, which is even evidenced by the title of his song, “Grammy.” He knows how high to aim; all that remains is to get there.

He’s off to a decent start. It helps being signed to Drake’s label, for sure, but as we’ve seen, that’s no guarantee of the sort of commercial success and notoriety that awards show voters and fans look for in their favorite artists. Smiley certainly has an interesting look and a wise outlook. “I’m not just an artist, I’m a product — sell me,” he raps on the song. The worst salesman in the world could make that one move.

Watch Smiley’s UPROXX Sessions performance of “Grammy “above.

UPROXX Sessions is Uproxx’s performance show featuring the hottest up-and-coming acts you should keep an eye on. Featuring creative direction from LA promotion collective, Ham On Everything, and taking place on our “bathroom” set designed and painted by Julian Gross, UPROXX Sessions is a showcase of some of our favorite performers, who just might soon be yours, too.

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

If you thought that Lauren Boebert tweeting about Magic Mike was the end of the rootin’ and tootin’ for the day, well, there is always room for more. And things are rather astronomical here in the sense that she allegedly made up an un-Earthly amount of mileage (more than our planet’s circumference) to deduct as campaign expenses, apparently associated with her Colorado district.

Even if Boebert had driven around all of the Rocky Mountains (many times apiece), she likely could not have achieved this number, but this is also a lawmaker who used campaign expenses to pay rent and utilities, which is also quite illegal. The New York Times dug into the newest potentially fraudulent set of financials, which revealed how Boebert inflated 2020 mileage expenses and used campaign reimbursements to sort out tax liens on Shooter’s Grill. Raw Story summarizes the gist of this situation:

“Utilizing an illegal source of funds or ill-gotten funds to pay off a tax lien is illegal in Colorado and under federal law,” reads a complaint sent to the Colorado attorney general’s office by the the American Muckrakers PAC. “That is the very definition of ill-gotten funds.”

The allegations against Boebert were first reported in February 2021, claiming that Boebert had cashed two checks from her campaign totaling $22,259 for mileage reimbursement, but that figure worked out to 38,712 miles — which is significantly further than the planet’s 24,901-mile circumference.

Again, it’s wild to believe that Boebert believed that the mileage figures would pass muster, especially when she wasn’t running a nationwide campaign, but alright! The New York Times did confirm that the mileage/tax lien situation is being further investigated by an interagency group, and it’s a subject that will likely be of interested for those former Boebert employees who already alleged plenty of financial shenanigans before the freshman congresswoman even ran for office.

(Via New York Times & Raw Story)

Azealia Banks is usually involved in some sort of beef with somebody, and a couple days ago, she set her sights on Cardi B, calling her an “industry plant,” although she did go on to praise Cardi for how well she has managed her career. So, there’s not really an actual feud here. In fact, Cardi returned the favor by offering some (cautious) praise for Banks, saying she wants to direct a photoshoot with her.

In a recent live broadcast, Cardi said of Banks, “I would love to direct a photoshoot with her, for her, because she’s a very pretty girl and I feel like she gets it. I feel like she gets it, but I feel like nobody… not a good team has had a hand on her. […] I would love to direct a photoshoot for her, but, you know, I’m a little afraid of her [laughs]. She can turn left real quick, but I would love that.”

Banks responded to the video, writing on Twitter, “SIS, come thruuuuu let’s re-do Salchichon one time for THE REAL UPTOWN MAMIS.” She added in another tweet, “I really never actually turn left. I’m really naive and think people have my best interest alot of times , then when my dumbass discovers the person has been actually ki’king in my face .. I gotta roast. Because a lot of ppl think they’re funny but I’m MAD FUNNY.”

Of course, it would seem Cardi is in a prime position to make a Banks photoshoot happen, considering she got involved with Playboy back in December.

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

Snoop Dogg has a full-time blunt roller. Full stop. Where was the job posting for this dream job when it became available? Because I’m pretty sure I missed my calling. At any rate, a few years ago, Snoop Dogg was on The Howard Stern Show alongside Seth Rogen and the three of them spent some time talking about this dream job.

Snoop said the impetus for the hiring was that he simply didn’t have the time to do it himself anymore. “If you’re great at something that I need, Im gonna hire you,” the new Death Row Records honcho said. “He’s a PBR: Professional blunt roller.”

He then indicated that he made, “Somewhere between $40,000 and $50,000 a year… and all paid expenses.” He added, “Everything free I get, he gets. So if I’m gonna go get some free clothes, I’m gonna give him some.”

Not a bad deal right? But that was in 2019 and looks like the price for a PBR has gone up. In response to a tweet from factoid aggregator Twitter account UberFacts about Snoop Dogg’s blunt roller making “between $40,000 and $50,000 a year,” Snoop quote retweeted and added, “Inflation. Their salary went up!!”

The PBR job description just keeps getting better. And look, if Snoop Dogg can adjust his professional blunt roller’s salary to account for the mounting cost of living in today’s modern world, then certainly corporate American can do the same.