Category: News

Neil Gaiman is known for giving a f*ck about the finer details that really matter, like what would happen if a werewolf bit a goldfish. When it comes to casting the long-awaited live-action adaptation of The Sandman (for a Netflix series), however, Gaiman is perfectly comfy with telling people to shove it over casting complaints. The recently revealed principal cast includes Patton Oswalt as Matthew the Raven (and Gaiman’s explanation for that decision is something that comic book fans will dig), along with several other revelatory names, as you can see below.

Of relevance here would be the casting of Kirby Howell-Baptiste as Death and Mason Alexander Park as Desire. On social media, some people predictably (and sadly) freaked out because they can’t conceive of how Death, who is drawn in the comics as a pale, spiky-haired, ankh-sporting goth, will be portrayed by a Black actress. They also apparently take issue with Mason Alexander Park, who identifies as non-binary, playing Desire, a genderfluid character in the comics. Granted, Death is portrayed by Kat Graham in the Audible version of The Sandman, and she is so good in the role, but there’s no reason at all why Death — a member of the Endless, none of which have a specific race — can’t be portrayed by the actress who is best for the live-action portrayal.

As Gaiman previously wrote in a blog entry, “[W]e saw Kirby Howell-Baptiste’s (she/her) audition and we knew we had our Death.” And Gaiman is defending the casting of both Baptiste and Park while tweeting, “I give zero f*cks about people who don’t understand/ haven’t read Sandman whining about a non-binary Desire or that Death isn’t white enough. Watch the show, make up your minds.”

The author continued tweeting about how people who believe that the Endless “have any specific human race or form” probably didn’t read The Sandman too closely. Gaiman added, “I’m astonished to find that, for some people, what they thought she was, was a white woman, and just a white woman.” He finished with a reference to “shouty people” who “might not have read Sandman” at all.

Previously, Netflix announced that Gwendoline Christie would rule Hell as Lucifer, and yet, no one seems to be complaining that Gwendolyn Christie’s portraying the same role that Michael Sheen embodied in the Audible version. Selective outrage is definitely a thing, man.

Last week, Billie Eilish announced she had a new song on the way. She later suggested that song would be “Lost Cause” with an Instagram post that she captioned, “nothing but a lost cause.” Eilish has since confirmed that “Lost Cause” is indeed her next single, and as the song is out now, along with a new video.

Ahead of the video’s release, Eilish posted a teaser for it on social media. That caught the attention of Kim Kardashian, who shared the clip on her Instagram Story and pointed out that people in the clip were wearing clothes from her Skims line. Eilish seemingly confirmed that by re-sharing Kardashian’s Story and adding a heart eyes emoji.

With “Lost Cause,” Eilish is presumably hoping for a chart hit to follow “Your Power,” which has so far only achieved a relatively low peak (by Eilish’s standards, at least) of No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. Meanwhile, her first two Happier Than Ever singles, “My Future” and “Therefore I Am,” peaked at Nos. 6 and 2, respectively.

As far as Happier Than Ever, Eilish hasn’t spoken much about specifics of it. In February, though, she told Stephen Colbert that in terms of her vocals, she “[pulls] some tricks out.” She also noted the pandemic’s influence on the album, saying, “I made an album in it, and I just don’t think I would have made the same album, or even the album at all, if it weren’t for COVID. That doesn’t mean it’s like about COVID at all. It’s just that when things are different in your life, you’re different. That’s just how it it. I have to thank COVID for that, and that’s about it.”

Watch the “Lost Cause” video above.

Happier Than Ever is out 7/30 via Interscope. Pre-order it here.

While stopping by Jimmy Kimmel Live! last night to promote his new show The Underground Railroad, William Jackson Harper opened up about what it was like to go viral when Twitter fan-casted him as Superman in the upcoming film from Ta-Nehisi Coates and J.J. Abrams. After reports confirmed that the film would feature a Black Superman, Harper’s name quickly hopped to the top of the list on social media (and he is no stranger to being jacked), and Kimmel couldn’t hide his jealously.

“Even if you don’t play Superman, it’s kind of awesome that people hear ‘Superman’ and think, yeah, you should be Superman,” the late night host said. “I don’t think there’s a single person in the world that goes, like, ‘Oh, they’re going to make a new Superman. You know Jimmy Kimmel would be great at that.’”

After laughing at Kimmel’s joke, Harper revealed that he was completely caught off guard by the Twitter reactions:

No, dude, it definitely blindsided me. It came up, I was doing another another interview, and this guy was like, ‘Yeah, this guy got 55,000 likes,’ and I was like, ‘What? Why?’ Who knows me? You know. But, yeah, I mean, that would be dope. That would be the best thing that could happen to me to be able to play Superman.

But I don’t want to do the diet and the exercise.

Kimmel then asked if Harper’s role as Chidi on The Good Place led to the fan-casting because he was always wearing glasses, and Harper agreed that has to be it. “That’s gotta be the only explanation,” he said. “I mean, otherwise, I’m just a nerdy professor dude.”

While the glasses thing probably helped, Harper and Kimmel are avoiding the (ripped) elephant in the room, and that’s the fact that Chidi is jacked. Just absolute muscle and practically demanding to be clad in tights, despite not wanting the “diet and the exercise” part of the role. Harper’s used to being jacked already, so how much further would he need to go for Superman?

Whether its through donating a percentage of merch items or setting up donation pages, many celebrities have given to charity in the last year. But singer/songwriter Mike Posner decided to take things one step further and summit the world’s tallest mountain in the name of charity.

Posner has been on the journey for well over a month, and he’s just now made it to the top. His aim was to raise money for the Detroit Justice Center, an organization that works alongside communities to create economic opportunities, transform the justice system, and promote equitable and just cities, and he’s already nearing his $250,000 goal.

Taking to Twitter Tuesday morning, Posner announced he had successfully made it to Mount Everest’s summit. “This morning at 4:35 am, Dawa Chirring Sherpa, Jon Kedrowski, Dawa Dorje Sherpa and Mike Posner summited Mt Everest,” he announced. “That’s what I call a sunrise.”

Posner has been documenting his long journey on social media. He shared videos of him serenading at lodge camps with his acoustic guitar, talking to local Sherpa people, and being chased by mobs of adorable dogs.

Posner explained his inspiration for wanting to summit Mount Everest in his GoFundMe page‘s description. The singer said he was devastated by the loss of his father, who was a Detroit criminal defense attorney. After trekking across the US, the singer was motivated to climb the world’s tallest mountain:

“After my dad passed away, I felt stuck under the weight of my own life. In 2019, I walked across America in order to find out who I was when I wasn’t ‘Mike Posner, Grammy nominated singer-songwriter.’ The journey changed my life and when I crossed the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, I decided what I wanted to do next… Two weeks after I finished walking, I began training with my Coach Dr. Jon Kedrowski. While the Walk Across America was about myself, I want my climb to be about others. My father, rest his soul, was a criminal defense attorney in Detroit for 40 years before he died. That’s why I’ve decided to dedicate my climb to raising funds for the Detroit Justice Center – the only organization of its kind doing criminal justice reform work that would make my dad beam with joy – and it’s led by Black women. I couldn’t be more honored and humbled to support them. I need your help. Please donate whatever you feel called to do. If you aren’t in a position to donate, please post or share this link. I thank you. I love you. Keep Going.”

After months of wondering who would be showing up at E3, what their plans were for the event, and what the digital-only format would look like, we’re finally starting to get some clarity on how E3 is going to go down this year. Xbox and Bethesda will host their own event, Ubisoft got in early and announced a showcase of their own, and now, we have Nintendo on June 15.

On Wednesday, Nintendo announced that they will not only host a Direct to show everyone some new and upcoming titles, but they will also host a Treehouse event afterwards to show off some them off. They’ve also used that as a chance to sneak in an announcement every once in awhile, but it’s usually the place to see actual gameplay demos.

Nintendo is always in a weird place. In the last two years, they’ve released major titles for franchises people love such as Animal Crossing, Paper Mario, Fire Emblem, and Pokémon, but because of the wide variety of beloved IP’s, there is always someone wanting more in that group of fans. There is also a clamoring for new hardware, and if reports are true, then we should be getting a new one this fall.

If we really are getting a new Switch this fall, then Nintendo will likely want a strong release to go alongside it, giving this the potential to be a strong E3 showing from Nintendo. The perfect E3 would be an event showing a number of new, exciting games and telling us they’re coming to a new Switch.

When a video of hit-covering R&B singer Jacquees attacking a man in Mexico surfaced online recently, it amassed a significant number of views in a relatively short time. Jacquees’s girlfriend, Chicago rapper Dreezy, quickly logged onto Instagram to explain the situation on Live. In Dreezy’s words, Jacquees was defending her after an altercation between the two men escalated, with the unknown man striking Dreezy, prompting Jacquees to take action.

“A grown man put his hands on me yesterday,” she said. “That man y’all seen on the floor punched me in my face yesterday over some stuff he had going on with Jacquees. They had their little altercation, I walked up to see what was going on, and I got swung on. Jacquees did what he had to do. He bodyslammed that n****, kicked him in his face… that’s why he was on the floor. I didn’t even get to touch the n****. That’s why y’all see me get mad and throw my shoe because security was pulling me back, y’all know how it is when it’s an altercation.”

The scuffle was captured on video by a fan who was watching from a balcony. You can see the altercation and Dreezy’s explanation above.

Last updated: June 1, 2021

While long days and rising temperatures used to mean it was time to fire up the grill and soak up some sun, in recent years we’ve been given a very tempting reasons to stay indoors this Summer: nonstop game shows and livestreams. With dozens of expos, conferences, streams, and festivals to watch, we decided to whip up a list to help you make sure you catch all the ones you don’t want to miss.

Indie Live Expo (June 5, 5 AM ET)

Based in Japan, the Indie Live Expo bills itself as the largest indie games showcase in the country, with over 300 games lined up for the upcoming show. The event starts pretty early over here in the states, 5 AM ET to be exact, and will be broadcast in English, Japanese, and Chinese to an estimated 18 million viewers.

The Indie Live Expo will be broadcast from the expo’s official YouTube channel.

Guerilla Collective – Day One (June 5, 11 AM ET)

Over the first two Saturdays in June, the Guerrilla Collective digital games festival is taking place and will be showing off games of all shapes and sizes. Additionally, the stream will also have a special section presentation from Black Voices in Gaming. As of right now, 26 games have been revealed on June 5, including Aeon Drive, Omno, Fire Tonight, and Run Die Run Again, though more are expected to “unexpectedly” make an appearance.

The Guerilla Collective will be broadcast from the festival’s official Twitch channel.

‘Battlefield 6‘ Showcase (June 9, 10 AM ET)

Summer Game Fest Kick Off Live (June 10, 2 PM ET)

Join Geoff Keighley as he kicks off his second annual Summer Games Fest with a live showcase packed with world premieres and a performance by Weezer. In addition to a first look at some brand new games, this event should give us a look at some of the many digital conferences and livestreams coming this summer, just in case you thought this list wasn’t long enough already.

Summer Game Fest Kick Off Live will be broadcast from the event’s official YouTube channel.

Netflix Geeked Week (June 11, 12 PM ET)

As a part of Summer Game Fest, Geoff Keighley is joining up with Netflix to debut several of the streaming service’s original shows and films based on popular favorite video games. While Castlevania might be over, Netflix has plenty of video game-inspired content coming, including season two of The Witcher, a live-action Assassin’s Creed series, a Mega Man movie, an anime based on Beyond Good and Evil, Splinter Cell, Tomb Raider, and Cyberpunk 2077.

Netflix Geeked Week will be broadcast from the Summer Game Fest’s official YouTube channel.

IGN Expo (June 11, 4 PM ET)

As a part of IGN’s Summer of Gaming, the outlet is hosting IGN Expo 2021, a livestream event featuring both new game announcements and some closer looks at upcoming games. When it comes to what games will be showcased, it’s looking like we’ll have a clearer picture following Summer Game Fest’s Kick Off Live event on June 10, as IGN has confirmed they have partnered with Keighley​ and some of the newly announced games will be making an appearance over at IGN Expo as well.

The IGN Expo will be broadcast from the official IGN website.

Koch Primetime Gaming Stream (June 11, 3 PM ET)

With the cheeky caption “we know something you don’t know” accompanying all of the social media posts about the showcase, we can assume big news is coming from the Koch Media, the parent company of the studios responsible for games such as Saints Row, Kingdom Come Deliverance, and TimeSplitters. All things considered, it’s likely we’ll be getting news on a new Saints Row announcement here, making it one to put on your radar.

The Koch Primetimes Gaming Stream will be broadcast from the Summer Game Fest’s official YouTube channel.

E3 (June 12-15)

While E3 seems to be playing fast and loose with its designated dates, June 12-15 are the official dates of the expo. During this time, we can almost certainly expect to see showcases from some of the biggest names in gaming, such as Sony, Square Enix, and Nintendo. Will we finally see that Super Nintendo Switch? Fingers crossed!

The entirety of E3 will be broadcast on the expo’s official Twitch, YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook channels.

Devolver Showcase (June 12, TBA)

We’re never sure just what to expect from Devolver — other than chaotic fun, of course. However, the Hotline Miami publisher has stated this conference will mark a radical shift for the future of Devolver — an acquisition, perhaps? — so you might want to give it a watch.

Stream time and location TBD, but you can most likely catch this stream over on the Twitch Gaming​ channel.

Ubisoft Forward (June 12, 3 PM ET)

Part of E3, the Ubisoft Forward event highlights all of what the studio behind Assassin’s Creed, WatchDogs, The Division, Far Cry, and, of course, Just Dance is currently working on. We’re expecting to see more footage from the upcoming Far Cry 6 here, as well as some DLC previews for Watch Dogs: Legion and Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla.

The Ubisoft Forward will be broadcast from E3’s official Twitch channel.

Wholesome Direct (June 12, 1 PM ET)

Do you like cozy, feel-good games like Animal Crossing? Then Wholesome Direct is a must-watch for you. This fairly newly founded expo is all about offering folks a slice of comfort in the form of video games, with heartfelt stories, soothing aesthetics, and minimal aggression. This year’s showcase will feature 75 indie titles, all presented in a fashion very similar to a Nintendo Direct.

Wholesome Direct will be broadcast from Guerilla Collective’s twitch channel.

Guerilla Collective – Day Two (June 12, 11 AM ET)

The second day of the Guerrilla Collective digital games festival takes place on June 12 and is jam-packed with even more games than the first, with 32 games scheduled for presentations and plenty more coming. Among these games are some pretty hot titles, such as Hello Neighbor, Ghostrunner, Sable, Slime Heroes, and Kitsune Tails.

The Guerilla Collective will be broadcast from the festival’s official Twitch channel.

Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase(June 13, 1 PM ET)

In one of the biggest power plays of the last year, Xbox’s parent company Microsoft purchased game publisher Bethesda and this year’s E3 is going to be one of our first looks at how this merger plays out. If you’re into Halo, Gears of War, Doom, The Elder Scrolls Games, Fallout, Dishonored, Prey, The Evil Within, Wolfenstein, Deathloop, OR GhostWire: Tokyo, you should probably check this one out.

The Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase will be broadcast from E3’s official Twitch channel.

PC Gaming and Future Games Show (June 13, TBA)

PC Gamer and GamesRadar are joining forces to bring the PC Gaming and Future Games Show to this year’s E3. Whereas the PC Gaming Show will focus entirely on the latest hardware and games available for PC gamers, the Future Games Show highlights big AAA titles from various developers across many platforms, meaning this 150-minute double-header has a little bit for everyone.

The PC Gaming and Future Games Shows will be broadcast from E3’s official Twitch channel.

Limited Run Games Presentation (June 14, 4 PM ET)

If you’re a video game collector, you’re probably familiar with Limited Run Games. Limited Run is a company all about releasing gorgeous physical versions of popular digital games, such as Katana Zero and GRIS.

The Limited Run Games Presentation will be broadcast from E3’s official Twitch channel.

E3 Game Awards Show (June 15, TBD)

This is a new and unexpected event from E3, and is perhaps inspired by Geoff Keighley’s various award shows — including the one he held last summer. This awards show is all about hype, with staff members from various gaming outlets voting on the most anticipated titles shown during E3.

The E3 Game Awards Show will be broadcast from E3’s official Twitch channel.

Steam Next Fest (June 16-22)

Formerly known as Steam Game Festival, Steam Next Fest is a week-long event in which publisher Steam is revealing hundreds of new games over the course of several livestreams. In addition to announcing games, Steam will also release hundreds of free demos for folks to play over on the digital game distribution service.

Steam Next Fest will be broadcast from the service’s official YouTube channel​.

Sonic the Hedgehog 30th Anniversary Symphony (June 23, TBA)

To help celebrate Sonic’s 30th birthday, Sega is hosting a free live orchestra event on June 23 as a part of Summer Game Fest. In addition to a symphony, the event will feature performances by rock band Crush 40, famous for its contributions to various Sonicsoundtracks, and Sega composer and DJ Tomoya Ohtani.

The Sonic the Hedgehog 30th Anniversary Symphony will be broadcast from the Summer Game Fest’s official YouTube channel.

Summer Games Done Quick (July 4-11)

While Games Done Quick won’t have any new game announcements to toss your way, if you’re a video game fan and love good causes I highly recommend you tune into a least a few of the nearly countless streams taking place on the Games Done Quick Twitch channel between July 4-11. The event features a marathon of speedrunners (or folks who can beat games fast using professional techniques and amusing glitches) with all the proceeds raised going to charity. As of right now, the event is currently the largest fundraising event globally for both Doctors Without Borders and the Prevent Cancer Foundation

Games Done Quick will be broadcast from the organization’s official Twitch channel.

More events to come as announced.

Back in 2020, Lady Gaga announced a brief run of concerts dubbed “The Chromatica Ball.” That announcement came just days before the first shelter-in-place orders were put into place, so not too long after that, she postponed the trek to 2021. Now, though, it looks like those dates won’t stand either: Variety reports that Gaga has once again postponed the tour, this time to the summer of 2022.

Gaga said in a statement, “While some parts of the world are moving quickly to open up, others are not yet ready. So until we can confirm all global dates, we have to postpone The Chromatica Ball shows to the summer of 2022.”

As of this post, Gaga has yet to make an official announcement and her website still shows the postponed 2021 dates.

When postponing the 2020 dates, Gaga wrote, “We’ve been working hard to figure out the safest and soonest way to bring this show to you, but most importantly want everyone to be healthy and able to dance together at the shows as we always have. If you’ve purchased a ticket already, you’ll find all of the new information in your email inbox. I can’t wait to see you there! Keep dancing at home in the meantime.”

After a week’s delay to make room for late legend DMX, Lil Baby and Lil Durk’s joint album Voice Of The Heroes will drop this Friday, June 4. After releasing lead single “Voice Of The Heroes” over the weekend, they followed up this morning with the official tracklist. Coming in at 18 tracks, the project is set to feature Meek Mill, Rod Wave, Travis Scott, and Young Thug, but fans of their chemistry on tracks like DJ Khaled’s “Every Chance I Get” will be delighted to see that they will handle the other 14 tracks themselves with no outside help.

Outside of their group project, the duo has been ridiculously busy in recent months as solo artists, as well. Lil Baby featured on more DJ Khaled tracks, including “Body In Motion” and “I Did It,” contributed to the upcoming Space Jam soundtrack with Kirk Franklin via “We Win,” and recently teamed up with Megan Thee Stallion for a remix of “On Me.” Meanwhile, Lil Durk popped up on his own video with Meg, “Movie,” amid a prolific feature run that included Pooh Shiesty’s breakout hit “Back In Blood,” a remix of Coi Leray’s breakout hit “No More Parties,” and an appearance on Moneybagg Yo’s “Free Promo.”

Check out the Voice Of The Heroes tracklist below and listen to the album when it releases on 6/4 on Quality Control Music.

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