Category: News

After Borat Subsequent Moviefilm set the political world on fire by publicly humiliating Rudy Giuliani and racking up a series of award nominations, Sacha Baron Cohen and Maria Bakalova are back as Borat and his daughter, Tutar, in a new “multi-part special” for Amazon that will feature deleted scenes and outtakes from the hit film.

Based on the official trailer, the special will included new before seen footage from Borat’s time living with two conspiracy theorists during the quarantine, outtakes from babysitter Jeanise Jones‘ interactions with Tutar, and a behind-the-scenes look at the dangerous moment when filming had to be stopped as Cohen and his crew fled a Three Percenter rally once his cover had been blown. There’s also more of Bakalova’s Oscar-nominated role who gets a few dunks in on Donald and Melania Trump. Via Variety:

In another brand new clip, Bakalova poses as a political journalist and interviews a couple over Zoom. “Is social distancing the reason Melania never stands close to Donald?” she asks. The couple replies, in earnest, “She was doing that before COVID ever came out.”

For fans of Borat, this might be the last time they get to see Cohen’s now-classic character. The actor recently revealed that his disguise days are over after nearly getting shot while filming the sequel. “At some point, your luck runs out,” Cohen said during an interview where he recalled how he knew had to stop his guerrilla film methods after an exchange with his makeup artist.

“I remember asking the makeup guy, ‘Do you think I’m going to get shot today?’ Cohen told NPR. “And he’s like, ‘No, no, no, no.’ I said, ‘Well, why am I putting on the bulletproof vest then?’ And he didn’t really have an answer.”

(Via Variety)

Community is everything to LA-based performance artist and activist Daphne Von Rey. After leaving the conservative Southern California suburb of Orange County 10 years ago for nearby Los Angeles, Von Rey found a welcoming queer community that helped her find comfort in her own skin, eventually leading Von Rey to pay that support forward by helping to put together an all-inclusive strip night at the Hollywood club Cheetah’s called “Jolene,” which created a safe space for trans women, female-identifying and non-binary dancers, to come together to perform.

“As a SWer [sex worker] and an Asian trans woman, constantly seeing the violence towards the Asian elders and obituaries of trans women is so heavy,” Von Rey tells us via email. “With Covid and the pandemic hitting, we all lost our sense and any semblance of community. Now with opening everything back up, I wanted to not only solidify but plant the seed for community to ease back in, because, with everything I’ve done, I’ve only been able to do because of community care as both a SWer and trans woman.”

Following the horrific 2021 Atlanta spa shootings and the rise of Asian hate crimes across America, a strong sense of community is needed now more than ever, which is why Von Rey and other performers and activists from the West Coast nightlife scene are coming together virtually this weekend for a special community-building and fundraising event to be live-streamed this Sunday, April 18th.

“The hate crime in Atlanta struck so deeply, not only because of the racist targeting but also for the targeting of assumed SWers,” Von Rey tells us. “It’s very known to anyone in the Asian diaspora that if you’re anything out of the norm, are any identity that can possibly bring shame to the family, the judgment runs so deeply.”

Dubbed Journey to the West, this Sunday’s virtual event will raise money for Red Canary Song — a grassroots collective of Asian & Migrant sex workers that assist migrant workers and provides mutual aid via a labor rights framework — and will see Von Rey joined by six west coast trans, queer, and API groups including Send Noodz, QNA.LA, Sacred Wounds, XOXO, Asia SF, and Other Womxn.

“Everyone in this show is Queer identified in one form or another, and many of us are also SWers,” writes Von Rey, “By us all organizing, I hope that this can be a reminder for others in the Asian community to look at their own implicit bias, the colorist, the queerphobia, and start to see the intersectionality of how we are all connected. If it can start here in this side of the country, then hopefully we will see this continue across the country.”

Red Canary Song is a New York-based organization that started in 2017 following the death of a Flushing massage worker named Yang Song who was killed during a police raid of the establishment she was employed at. It is, to date, the only grassroots Chinese massage parlor worker coalition in the U.S., which itself is home to 9,000 workplaces similar to the one that employed Song. These are workers that have no political representation or access to labor rights or collective organizing.

Von Rey closes by saying, “We need to look out for the most vulnerable in our Asian diaspora; the migrant workers, elders, SWers, and Queer identified individuals. Which is why we designated Red Canary Song to be the grassroots organization we would like to support as they have been doing the work advocating for the Asian migrant and SWers. In order to come together as a community, we have to unlearn the colonized mindset we have been engrained with, unlearn these implicit biases of race, gender, sexuality, and colorism. And then from there we can truly see the human within each other and come together closer as a community.”

Be sure to grab tickets here for Journey to the West: A benefit for Red Canary Song on Sunday, April 18th beginning at 5 pm-8 pm PST.

Darren Rovell has long been one of the most loathed people on the sports internet, as his insistence on viewing everything through the business of sports often leads him to some truly awful posts about how much money someone made or lost when something serious happens — or, like, posting video of JFK getting shot to Twitter at 7 in the morning on the anniversary of his death.

Johnny Manziel has also spent much of his post-Texas A&M career earning himself the title of one of the least liked athletes, so it is somewhat fitting that the two of them have been locked in a lengthy feud. Manziel’s fall from Heisman winner to out of the NFL was fascinating (or for Browns fans, frustrating) to watch, and in the time since, he’s played a lot of golf and suited up in the Fan Controlled Football league. Rovell has been insistent on reminding Manziel of his fall from grace at every turn and the two are simply not fans of each other.

A year ago, a Manziel signed card that said “F*ck Rovell” sold for $1,200, with Darren himself trying to get in on the bidding, and as a consolation prize, Manziel made sure he got his own piece of Johnny Football memorabilia, this time a Browns helmet signed “To Darren Rovell, F*ck You.”

I’m not sure whether this is an olive branch or not, as Rovell is obviously thrilled to have this but Johnny might’ve genuinely just wanted to say “f*ck you.” Either way, their bizarre feud keeps spinning and the Medill man is now in possession of a unique collectable all his own.

Following the police shooting and killing of Daunte Wright, there have been explosive confrontations between Fox News talking heads, and over on the Christian Broadcasting Network, Pat Robertson is struggling to understand what happened. Wright, 20, was killed in a Minneapolis suburb when officer Kim Potter reportedly meant to deploy her taser and then “accidentally” (according to Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon via ABC News) shot Wright. This has led to multiple nights of civil unrest and discussions about issues including policing in general, including training and defunding.

The 700 Club host, however, chose to confront the issue head-on, leading to a striking visual as he grasped both a gun and a taser.

Robertson simply couldn’t understand how Potter could claim to have not known she was holding a gun, rather than a taser. “There’s just no comparison,” he pointed out. “If you can’t tell the difference in the feel of those things, it’s crazy.” He then added, “You know I am pro-police, folks. I think we need the police, we need their service, and they do a good job, but if they don’t stop this onslaught, they cannot do this.”

This prompted comedian and United Shades of America host W. Kamau Bell to tweet a clip while asking, “Who had ‘Woke Pat Robertson’ on their 2021 bingo card?”

It’s a valid question and really something to behold. And despite the serious subject at hand, people really could not believe they were seeing Pat Robertson not only wielding a gun on TV but also going against the GOP grain on the policing issue.

And yes, there were a few jokes, too.

On the heels of her Emmy nomination for original song “Build It Up” from the hit series, Little Fires Everywhere, Ingrid Michaelson has tapped ex-One Direction member Zayn for a new track. Their collaborative single “To Begin Again” is a soulful ballad that sheds light on the importance of remaining hopeful in the face of uncertainty.

Directed by Marykate Schneider, the “To Begin Again” video offers a snapshot of everyday people in New York City. It reminds viewers that the past year has been hard on everyone, but we’re truly in it together.

In a statement about the track, Michaelson said she originally penned “To Begin Again” the night Joe Biden won the election and it felt like everyone around her was rejoicing:

“I wanted to create a love letter to my city. To celebrate the hope that is slowly coming back to the people of New York. And to remind people all over the world that we are stronger when we work and rejoice together. I wrote ‘To Begin Again’ the night that Biden won. There was so much joy in my neighborhood. Pots and pans being banged out of windows. Horns and whistles. Clapping. Singing! The collective sigh of relief resonated with me in such a way that I had to get it out musically. I knew the song had to be a duet. I love ZAYN’s voice, especially when he goes high and sweet and sad. It was the perfect fit. The song is a song of hope and of release. Of beginning again…”

Echoing Michaelson’s statement, Zayn said he related to the song’s sentiment: “When Ingrid sent me the song, I felt exactly the same way she did. The song is talking about the way life is right now, a nod towards maybe it will get better soon and we’ll get a chance to start again and begin again as a whole collective human race. Whether it is politically, whether it is COVID related, or anything, there’s a real sense we needed something new, something fresh.”

Listen to Michaelson and Zayn’s “To Begin Again” above.

Staten Island standout CJ wisely keeps the “Whoopty” content coming, breaking down his viral hit’s video for Uproxx in Behind The Video. Surprising practically no one, he admits there was no concept for the video when he shot it and recalls that the shoot was a relatively quick one, taking place on a hot summer’s day. What may be surprising is the content of his behind-the-scenes rider, which consists of mostly water and trail mix — “no Hennessy or Patron or stuff like that,” he says.

When it comes to the comments, a truly astonishing number of them focus on his muttonchop sideburns, drawing comparisons to the X-Men‘s Victor Creed (BKA Sabretooth) and photos of Civil War soldiers. CJ takes the comments in stride, though, accepting the Sabertooth comparison and contending that the sideburns are popular with the ladies. When one commenter notes that “pointing at people is rude,” CJ agrees: “I guess I’m rude,” he chuckles.

The rapper also acknowledges the popularity of drill music in the UK, makes a recommendation for Hot Cheetos dusted elote (roasted corn!), and does little to clear up the question of his ambiguous ethnicity.

Watch the latest episode of Behind The Video above.

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

Lil Nas X’s Hell-themed video for “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” has gotten under the skin of some folks, and perhaps nobody is taking more delight in that than Lil Nas X himself. He has long been a master troll and now he has taken it to the next level with some new “Montero” merch: A pair of hilarious text-heavy t-shirts.

One shirt reads, “I [heart] Jesus and that one part in the ‘Montero’ music video by Lil Nas X when he gets nasty with the devil because it was a cool form of self-expression and art.” The other reads, “I WATCHED THE “Montero” VIDEO BY LIL NAS X AND ALL I GOT WITH THIS LOUSY SHIRT AND NOW I’M ALSO GAY AND LOVE SATAN.”

Meanwhile, the rapper recently expressed concern that the song would be removed from streaming services for some reason he didn’t disclose, writing on Twitter that the song “may no longer be available tomorrow and there’s nothing i can really do about it.” Lil Nas X is clearly prone to making jokes on Twitter, but his label later backed up the claim. As of now, the song appears to still be available on streaming services.

Find Lil Nas X’s new merch here.

Things have not been going particularly great for the Chicago Bulls this season, but if there has been a consistent bright spot on the team, it’s been the wonderful play of Zach LaVine, who has blossomed into an All-Star. Unfortunately for the Bulls, they’ll now have to navigate the next couple of games without his services.

According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, LaVine has to enter the NBA’s health and safety protocol, meaning he’s going to be on the sideline for an indefinite amount of time. The news was confirmed shortly after by KC Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago.

LaVine is averaging career-best marks across the board as the focal point of the Bulls’ offense. He’s averaging 27.5 points, 5.1 rebounds, 5.1 assists, and 0.8 steals in 35.2 minutes per game, and whenever Chicago is in a close game, LaVine has the ball in his hands and is asked to make something happen.

The timing of this could not be any worse for Chicago. The team has lost four games in a row after going all-in at the trade deadline to make a push for the postseason by acquiring Nikola Vucevic from the Orlando Magic. The team currently sits 22-32, which puts them in 10th place in the Eastern Conference and one game ahead of both the 11-seed Toronto Raptors and 12-seed Washington Wizards.

Because self-owns are his speciality, Ted Cruz spent Wednesday evening getting roasted on Twitter after he tried and failed to dunk on beloved veteran journalist Dan Rather. The former news anchor has taken on an elder statesman-like role in recent years, but he’s not above getting his hands dirty and taking a few shots when necessary. One of those shots included a dig at Cruz and his fellow Republican Senator Tom Cotton.

“When Cotton or Cruz trends on Twitter it should come with a trigger warning,” Rather tweeted, which clearly got under Cruz’s skin because he fired back at Rather a few hours later. “I’m sorry your sensitive soul is triggered,” the Florida senator snapped back. “You’ve spent 60 years being a professional liar.”

As mentioned earlier, Rather has become a beloved and soothing presence during the tumultuous years of the Trump administration, so it didn’t take long for people to come out of the woodwork to put Cruz in his place.

At this point, Cruz should be used to getting stomped on every time he tweets. Not even two days ago, he got called out by Lebron James after trying to take a shot at Michael Vick PSA for voting rights. He’s also been the recent target of former Speaker of the House John Boehner, who’s been dropping profanity laced remarks about Cruz throughout his entire book tour, which has already caused the Florida senator to lash out. Naturally, Cruz’s outburst didn’t stop Boehner, who later dropped by The View to call his rival “Lucifer in the flesh.”

(Via Ted Cruz on Twitter)

Since the release of her anticipated debut album Nightmare Vacation, Rico Nasty has stayed busy. She’s already shared a visual component to a handful of the album’s tracks like “OHFR?,” “P**sy Poppin,” and “Let It Out.” But now, she’s called on claymation artists to envision an eerie world for her “Check Me Out” video.

Animated by the studio Open The Portal, the rapper’s “Check Me Out” video sees her armed with Edward Scissorhands-like fingers. She haunts the suburbs, keeping her eye out for her next victim. Rico Nasty eventually stumbles upon a family of wolves, but instead of turning them into a tasty meal, she simply offers her haircutting services.

Ahead of the release of Nightmare Vacation, Rico Nasty sat down with Uproxx to explain how she’s able to easily brush off haters:

“They just always saying something about somebody that’s different, but they still listen to them,” she observes. “It’s just like a new flavor. If I go to a restaurant and they tell me it’s a new dish I never ate before, I’m going to ask questions. ‘What is in this? What’s in this? Where did you make it? How did you make it?’ I’ve never had it before, so I’m going to ask questions. That’s how the audience is. They always ask questions. I feel like they’re never going to be satisfied because there’s no such thing as a perfect human being.”

Watch the “Check Me Out” video above.

Nightmare Vacation is out now via Sugar Trap/Atlantic. Get it here.

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