If Florida residents somehow weren’t aware of the rapidly growing scandal around Matt Gaetz, they probably are now. A new billboard has gone up in Crestview alerting drivers that “Matt Gaetz wants to ‘date’ your child.” According to Northwest Florida News Daily, the sign sits along the “heavily traveled State Road 85 near the Hub City” and was paid for by the Mad Dog PAC in an effort to alert voters that their sitting congressman is under investigation for allegedly paying for sex with a minor.
Unsurprisingly, Gaetz has refused to comment on the new billboard, which can be seen below in a tweet from Mad Dog founder Claude Taylor:
A similar tactic is being used in Ohio, where activists are displaying a billboard to alert voters of Congressman Jim Jordan’s scandal involving the sexual molestation of wrestlers during his time as a coach at Ohio State University.
Matt Gaetz’s buddy, Gym Jordan, is just as bad as he is. Jordan knew boys were being molested, and he said nothing. Your RT and small donation makes sure Ohioans know about it in 2022. https://t.co/PlmHAiEnHA
The billboard is just the latest in the mounting series of troubles for Gaetz. On Thursday evening, a new report revealed that he allegedly sent money to an accused sex trafficker named Joel Greenberg through Venmo, and none of the receipts look good. After Gaetz sent payments totaling $900, Greenberg turned around and sent payments to three young women totaling, you guessed it, $900. Via The Daily Beast:
The memo field for the first of Gaetz’s transactions to Greenberg was titled “Test.” In the second, the Florida GOP congressman wrote “hit up ___.” But instead of a blank, Gaetz wrote a nickname for one of the recipients. (The Daily Beast is not sharing that nickname because the teenager had only turned 18 less than six months before.) When Greenberg then made his Venmo payments to these three young women, he described the money as being for “Tuition,” “School,” and “School.”
The Daily Beast report arrived on the heels of news that Greenberg is likely to accept a plea deal, which could involve flipping on Gaetz.
Boebert (who co-owns Shooters Grill in Rifle, Colorado) is predictably unhappy about President Biden’s newly announced gun control measures that include cracking down on “ghost guns.” The list of measures is relatively limited but seeks to respond to a recent wave of mass shootings in the U.S. Yet Boebert is lashing out on Twitter in line with her usual pro-Second Amendment stance that doesn’t recognize that the Bill of Rights provision is considered to be a fluid one by scholars (with lots of “well regulated Militia” discourse surfacing of late on social media). Still, here’s Boebert’s take, including a quote from Bill of Rights proponent (and slave owner) George Mason.
“‘To disarm the people is the most effectual way to enslave them.’ – George Mason,” Boebert tweeted. “Democrats & their allies seek to enslave and control the people of the United States and every aspect of their lives. Only learn what they approve of, say what they agree to & work when permitted.”
“To disarm the people is the most effectual way to enslave them.” – George Mason
Democrats & their allies seek to enslave and control the people of the United States and every aspect of their lives.
Only learn what they approve of, say what they agree to & work when permitted.
Naturally, Boebert got dragged here, for either ignoring (or not realizing) that George Mason owned more than 100 slaves during his lifetime. She also got called out for suggesting that guns are being confiscated rather than being subject to responsible gun legislation. Still, the “slavery kink” reply might be the hardest hitting one.
Nearly four years removed from her latest studio album You Make It Feel Like Christmas, Gwen Stefani is ramping up for a comeback with Let Me Reintroduce Myself. After teasing one of its new songs, “Slow Clap,” on Instagram, she released the video today, complete with a guest appearance from pop-rap princess Saweetie.
The new song flows in the same vein as Stefani’s previous tracks with Eve: It’s got a dancehall/reggae vibe, upbeat lyrics, and a call-and-response chorus that encourages listeners to sing along. Even the video, which finds the two stars taking over a high school gym for some pep rally-style shenanigans, may remind fans of the video for “Hollaback Girl.”
Although Gwen hasn’t released much new music over the past few years, she’s been a hot commodity as a collaborator, working with her fiance Blake Shelton on “Nobody But You” and with dance-pop star Dua Lipa on the remix version of her album Club Future Nostalgia.
Meanwhile, Saweetie has been an in-demand guest star as well, popping up on Lil Tjay’s recently released albumDestined 2 Win, and preparing to feature on Demi Lovato’s next album. Her fans also believe a collab with Nicki Minaj is in the works.
Watch Gwen Stefani’s “Slow Clap” video featuring Saweetie above.
Saweetie is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Perhaps the most memorable music moment on Saturday Night Live from the past few years was when Phoebe Bridgers smashed her guitar while performing “I Know The End.” Now, that same now-destroyed guitar is up for auction. The auction is organized by GLAAD and so far, the guitar has received two bids, with the top bid at $6,000. The auction page also shows a couple photos of the guitar in its current state and it looks like some large creature took a giant bite out of the side of it.
During a recent CNN appearance, Bridgers said, “I’ve always wanted to do it, and when I mentioned it to the show, they built me this whole monitor that would look like it was exploding even if I wasn’t hitting it that hard. So yeah, [it was] just a bucket list thing.”
Bridgers found her way onto CNN because her smashing a guitar became a bit of a controversy among some. It sparked a feud between her and David Crosby, who didn’t care for Bridgers antics. Bridgers was unfazed by the criticism and fired back by calling Crosby a “little b*tch.” Dave Grohl showed Bridgers some support, though, as he praised her performance and declared, “It feels f*cking good to” smash a guitar.
As a proud native Texan, I could wax poetic all day about why our state’s whiskey is worthy of the world’s attention. To a certain extent, I already have. I raved about Texas bourbons for a solid 2000 words last year and would have happily gone on longer. Though the Texas whiskey industry is younger than those of Kentucky or Tennessee, don’t you dare call it inferior.
Why do I find Texas whiskey so special?
As this past winter proved, Texas can experience four seasons in one week. Depending on the weather pattern, we sometimes get four seasons in a single day. These extreme climate changes cause the expansion and contraction of the wood grains along the staves used in whiskey barrels. They shape the state’s terroir, too. Then there’s the bigness of Texas to consider. As a result of our climate and geographical diversity, you can get a wide array of delicious whiskeys from the Lone Star State. There’s no one flavor profile or mash bill that defines the state’s output.
So what does make a Texas whiskey “Texas?”
Since people like to capitalize off of Texas this and Texas that in their marketing, the Texas Whiskey Association launched the Certified Texas Whiskey Program to help people identify the whiskies that are actually produced here. To qualify as an authentic Texas whiskey, the spirit must be produced at a licensed distillery within the state, produced from cereal grains and Texas-sourced water from mash to fermentation to distillation to barreling, plus matured and bottled within the state. Furthermore, Texas whiskey needs to be compliant with the Tax & Trade Bureau (TTB) designations of whiskey in class and type before it’s independently verified by an officer of the Texas Whiskey Association compliance team.
Whew. That was a mouthful. But now that we have those logistics out of the way, let’s get into my work this year as a judge for the Texas Whiskey Festival (featuring a lineup of whiskeys that all followed those aforementioned parameters).
Jake Clements, co-founder, whiskey sommelier, creative director, and planner of the festival, is extremely passionate about Texas whiskey. He spreads its gospel at every opportunity, especially through this event. The fourth annual festival is taking place next weekend, April 16th and 17th, at Star Hill Ranch near Bee Cave, Texas (right outside of Austin). There will be 29 Texas-based brands represented with over 60 whiskeys available to try. Each year the Texas Whiskey Festival hosts a competition to determine who has the best Texas bourbon, rye, and malt whiskey. Festival attendees will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite distillery to decide on the people’s choice winner.
As for the official judging, this year’s panel of judges included yours truly, alongside Marianne Eaves, Kentucky’s first female master distiller, curator of Eaves Blind, and founder of Eaves, LLC Whisk(e)y and Spirits Consulting; and Tom Koerner the former GM and spirit guide of Seven Grand Whiskey Bar and Las Perlas Mezcaleria and current brand ambassador for Mezcal Unión.
Here’s us, tasting and debating whiskey:
Jake Clements
Now you might be wondering, “What goes into blind judging?”
There are several components that you’ve probably seen in other Uproxx whiskey or spirits pieces — the nose, palate, complexity, and finish — that we all were asked to rank individually. While everyone has their own way of judging whiskey, I like to focus heavily on the hue along with the aforementioned criteria. The color of the whiskey can give you a hint of what you’re about to taste, in terms of how long it’s been in the barrel, which will inevitably contribute to its flavor.
Next, I like to spend my time engaging with the aroma. This is one of the most underrated parts of the whiskey tasting experience among novices (and even some experts). Many are too quick to gulp down the whiskey, thinking it’s all about the palate. When you do that, you’re missing out on a crucial part of the overall experience — and who wants to be cheated out of one part of a thing when they’re paying full price for it, right?!
Now comes the time to take a sip (not a big one). I like to roll the whiskey around in my mouth, picking up each nuance that resonates with me the most. Plus, it opens up my taste buds even more and I’m able to compare notes with that of the aroma.
Lastly — my favorite part of the tasting experience — is the finish. I think of the finish as a vacation to an unexplored land. You either fall in love and want to return or… you don’t. The same goes for the close of a whiskey sip. You either love it and want to revisit another nosing and taste or you discover you’d rather not. If you’d like to explore another sip, add a couple of drops of water to release even more aromas and flavors.
Trying whiskey doesn’t have to feel like a graded pop quiz, but it can feel that way when you’re in a group setting. One person tastes star anise, while another person gets stone fruit (such as plum, peach, cherries, etc.) and so forth. But not all palates are the same (and they’ve all developed differently), so it’s likely that you won’t share the exact same tasting experience as your friend or family members.
What we taste is also based on our frame of reference. For example, if you’ve never smelled or eaten stone fruit, you won’t know the exact flavor notes you’re picking up on the nose or palate. Think of it like this: You can’t say you love France, yet have never visited. How can you love a place you aren’t familiar with? The same applies to your sensory bank. It helps to smell different candles, spices, and fruits when you’re at a local farmer’s market or grocery store. When you smell and taste (don’t eat the candle though) these examples, your palate will be more attuned to what it’s experiencing when you taste something (in this case, a whiskey) that’s reminiscent.
Here’s what my notes look like:
Gabrielle Pharms
Though we’ve picked this year’s winners of the Texas Whiskey Festival, as Clements puts it, “The best whiskey is the one you like.” So my final encouragement to you is this: Experiment. Play. Find something you don’t like so that you can better appreciate what you do. You be the judge of your next favorite whiskey.
As for me, when I blindly tasted Austin 101 Light Whiskey, I knew I’d found a winner for my particular palate. The other judges agreed and we gave it first prize in its category. That dram surprised me and I love it when I find myself surprised by a spirit. Get to tasting and find something that surprises you!
The 2021 NBA Draft is more than three months away, but the majority of eligible prospects have taken part in their last competitive game before the big night. That coincides with the end of the 2021 NCAA Tournament, with Baylor bludgeoning Gonzaga on a Monday night in early April.
Many intriguing prospects took the floor in Indianapolis, headlined by Gonzaga’s Jalen Suggs appearing in six games, and as always, there were prospects that seemingly rose on draft boards over the course of the small sample of the NCAA Tournament. With that as the backdrop, it is time to check in with the first mock draft that includes the full season of college tape and statistics.
A lot can (and will) change as measurements, workouts and intel come to light in the coming days, but it’s time for draft season.
This remains an easy pick, and it would be hard for anything to change that at this stage. Honestly, Cunningham will be the recommended pick (at least for me) no matter which team wins the lottery, and he would be a heck of a prize for Houston as they kick-start a rebuilding process.
Things become a lot less clear at No. 2 overall, and I could make a coherent argument for multiple players here. Candidly, I have Mobley at No. 2 on my board, but it is somewhat difficult to see the Wolves taking a center-first prospect to pair with Karl-Anthony Towns. Minnesota is highly invested in D’Angelo Russell but, simply put, that shouldn’t be enough to scare them off Jalen Suggs, who happens to be from the state.
3. Detroit Pistons – Evan Mobley (C, USC)
Detroit is a big winner here with my No. 2 prospect. There are concerns on whether Mobley has the instincts to be consistently aggressive offensively, and that might be the swing point in his ultimate projection. He’s a monster defensively, though, and his total package of skills is incredibly enticing.
4. Orlando Magic – Jalen Green (G, G League Ignite)
The Magic are fully pivoting to the future, and Green has the potential to be a No. 1 scorer in the NBA. The questions with Green come from what else he can do at a high level, but Orlando doesn’t have an offensive centerpiece on their roster, and swinging on a potential star is the move here.
5. Cleveland Cavaliers – Jonathan Kuminga (F/G, G League Ignite)
Kuminga isn’t a flawless fit with the Cavs, particularly after Cleveland invested in a shooting-challenged player (Isaac Okoro) in last year’s lottery. Still, he is very clearly the best prospect available and, if Kuminga figures out his jump shot, he could be a star. Even if he doesn’t, there are multiple paths to NBA success given his tools and motor.
6. Oklahoma City Thunder – Keon Johnson (G/F, Tennessee)
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There is some uncertainty in the order of the top five, but that should be the top five. At No. 6… good luck. Johnson is a polarizing prospect, but he has tremendous tools, and seems to check all of the boxes that Oklahoma City historically looks for. Also, the Thunder have so many picks that they can lean into the upside a bit more than most teams.
7. Washington Wizards – Scottie Barnes (F, Florida State)
Barnes does have some real concerns, but he is a very impressive defender. The Wizards certainly could use an infusion of talent on that side of the floor, even with some potential overlap from drafting Rui Hachimura and Deni Avdija in back-to-back lotteries. He’s going to need to shoot to justify this level of investment, but there is a path to success even if he doesn’t, particularly if he can play center.
8. Orlando Magic (via Chicago) – Jalen Johnson (F, Duke)
After a roller coaster at Duke, Johnson is another player with no real consensus. On tools alone, he could be No. 6. If you want to be skeptical, he could fall into the late teens. However, he is 6’8 with play-making potential, and the Magic can take on some risk in exchange for upside.
9. Sacramento Kings – Kai Jones (C/F, Texas)
This is higher than I’m comfortable with for Jones, but he has a ton of helium right now. In addition, the Kings have Richaun Holmes hitting free agency and, with all due respect to Marvin Bagley, he doesn’t project as a long-term starting center. Jones may not be either, but his upside is really intriguing. He moves in a way that most players don’t at his size and, if you buy his defense, look out.
10. San Antonio Spurs – Franz Wagner (F, Michigan)
Wagner is one of a handful of potential lottery picks that had brutal showings in their final college sample. Candidly, he was dreadful against UCLA in an Elite 8 loss, and that probably scared people. If there is a concern with Wagner, it is a tendency to float offensively, and his jump shot has been inconsistent at times. In the NBA, though, he projects as more of a do-everything role player, and his defense is very intriguing. It would be unwise to overreact in the negative direction.
11. Toronto Raptors – Jaden Springer (G, Tennessee)
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The Raptors picking this high is very interesting, and it may happen after the way they dug a hole this season. Springer is not a “Kyle Lowry replacement” because that isn’t fair to anyone, but he has sky-high potential in the backcourt and would be a theoretical fit with what the Raptors do. There is downside for sure, but at this point in the draft, that is almost a given.
12. New Orleans Pelicans – James Bouknight (G, UConn)
The Pelicans are very strange to project, particularly with Lonzo Ball dangling in free agency and an already unbalanced roster in some ways. However, this could also be sold as a “best player available” pick, as Bouknight is a ready-made shot creator that could become a long-term starting shooting guard if things break right.
13. New York Knicks – Davion Mitchell (G, Baylor)
This is higher than I have Mitchell on my personal board but, with the way people have been discussing him during Baylor’s title run, it may end up being lower than he actually goes, and this is a good time to remind everyone that mock drafts and big boards are different ventures. It’s easy to love Mitchell’s defense, and he can certainly initiate offense. From there, the pivot points are his age (turns 23 in September) and shooting. Mitchell was unconscious this season, hitting 44.7 percent of his threes, but he was a career 31 percent three-point shooter before 2020-21. He is also a career 66 percent free throw shooter, leaving some real questions about how sustainable his recent marksmanship actually is.
14. Golden State Warriors – Moses Moody (G/F, Arkansas)
In my view, this would be a heist for the Warriors. Like Franz Wagner, Moody put some poor play on tape in the NCAA Tournament, and that caused what I view to be an overreaction with his stock. For me, he’s a clear top-10 prospect in this draft, and his potential two-way impact is highly enticing as a high-end role player.
15. Indiana Pacers – Corey Kispert (G/F, Gonzaga)
It’s another player who struggled mightily on the big stage! There is no sugar-coating how overwhelmed Kispert looked in the title game against Baylor, and that likely will have an impact on his stock. On the other hand, it would be smart to take a step back and evaluate the whole picture, especially with what he’ll be asked to do in the NBA. The Joe Harris comparisons probably undersell just how good Joe Harris is, but if Kispert can hold up defensively at an adequate level, his shooting will do the rest.
16. Charlotte Hornets – Isaiah Jackson (C, Kentucky)
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This is going to be a popular mock pick if Charlotte stays in this range. Jackson was a fast-rising prospect near the end of the season and, even with Kentucky not playing into late March, he’ll stay on the radar. He’s an intriguing athlete and the Hornets don’t have a player on their roster that can replicate his long-term skill set.
17. Memphis Grizzlies – Ziaire Williams (G/F, Stanford)
Williams’ stock is exceptionally difficult to pin down. Coming into the year, he was in the top-five mix for some, but he was not very good this season at Stanford. His tools are very, very interesting, though, and Williams could be a workout wonder. Memphis seems to capitalize on prospects that fall too far, and this could be another example.
No team is in asset accumulation mode quite like the Thunder, and they could do just about anything. Giddey is a 6’8 playmaker that scouts are really enjoying in Australia, and there is always room for the skill set he has. OKC can also take it slow with him, which is probably for the best.
19. Boston Celtics – Day’Ron Sharpe (C, North Carolina)
I would probably go in a different direction here, but that isn’t because of Sharpe necessarily. He’s a center-only prospect and, while there is some intrigue with his ceiling, it’s not immense. Sharpe’s passing and athleticism are appealing, however, and the Celtics may want a long-term complement to Robert Williams. Many scouts seem to like Sharpe.
20. Atlanta Hawks – Tre Mann (G, Florida)
The Hawks are a bit of an odd team to pick for in that they don’t have major holes anywhere after a bunch of lottery picks and free agent additions. Still, Atlanta could certainly use another backcourt creator and Mann is rising quickly. He is reportedly 6’6 at this point, growing notably since arriving at Florida, and the Hawks could view him as a long-term sixth man type that can back up Trae Young while also playing with him.
21. Houston Rockets (via Portland) – Sharife Cooper (G, Auburn)
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Evaluators are absolutely all over the place on Cooper but, by this point in the draft, most would probably agree the value is solid. He is an exceptional playmaker with elite passing and a strong handle. He’s also quite small, leading to pretty ugly defense on a regular basis, and Cooper’s perimeter shooting is a giant question mark. Houston is a good landing spot for him.
22. New York Knicks (via Dallas) – B.J. Boston (G/F, Kentucky)
The Kentucky Knicks! It didn’t go well at all for Boston this season with the Wildcats, but there is still some late first round buzz. He has real tools, as evidenced by his top-five preseason projection, and this is the point in the draft where it’s more than okay to invest. I’m joking about the Knicks and Kentucky… but I’m also not.
23. Los Angeles Lakers – Chris Duarte (G/F, Oregon)
Duarte is very old, and that will scare people. I get it. For a Lakers team that couldn’t be more in win-now mode, that doesn’t matter as much, and he is a legitimate 3-and-D weapon. It isn’t smart to overstate how much a rookie can help a contender but, if there is a player in this class that could be drafted in the 20’s and be playable right away, it’s probably Duarte.
24. Houston Rockets (via Milwaukee) – Greg Brown (F, Texas)
Continuing with the Rockets being in a position to take swings (see Cooper, Sharife), they snatch a hyper-athletic forward in Greg Brown. At one point, Brown was getting lottery buzz but, after a shaky season in Austin, that is largely gone. He does have the athletic package to return value here, and the slate is largely blank with the Rockets.
25. Denver Nuggets – Aaron Henry (G/F, Michigan State)
I’ve long been on the Aaron Henry train, and he started to turn the corner this season at Michigan State. In the NBA, he won’t need to take on the primary creation responsibilities he had under Tom Izzo, but his defense is legitimate and he fits well in a small offensive role. Denver could use another wing that doesn’t need the ball to be successful.
26. L.A. Clippers – Ayo Dosunmu (G, Illinois)
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It was a bad ending for Dosunmu in the NCAA Tournament, but he was a tremendous player this season. He’s not an elite prospect by any stretch, but grabbing a potential third guard at this late stage of the draft is valuable. Dosunmu is also mature enough to potentially help a good team quickly, albeit in a small role.
Some view Robinson-Earl as a second-round prospect, and this might be a touch high. Brooklyn is such a bizarre team that it is easy to justify this, because Robinson-Earl can (and will) defend at a high level and he doesn’t need the ball. He could also help to unlock some switchy lineups, which is helpful when you are building with James Harden on the team.
28. Philadelphia 76ers – Jared Butler (G, Baylor)
There is a lot to like about Jared Butler as a third guard type. The 76ers do have Tyrese Maxey already, but Butler is more in the George Hill mold long-term. Philadelphia just can’t have too many guards who can shoot and defend. Butler can do both.
This is a bit of a shot in the dark, and Mathurin may not even declare for the draft. He is fantastically interesting, though, and Suns owner Robert Sarver is famously an Arizona alum. Personally, I have Mathurin in my top 30, but scouts are admittedly split.
30. Utah Jazz – Alperen Sengun (C, Beskitas)
Sengun is a very strange evaluation. He’s been absolutely awesome overseas, and players his age aren’t usually as productive as he’s been. At the same time, he doesn’t project as a super-modern NBA big man. Scouts still seem to have him as a first-round talent, and the Jazz have fallen in love with backup centers in the past. More than anything, this would be a best player available selection, and Utah could look at Rokas Jokubaitis, Usman Garuba, Terrence Shannon or others in this slot.
After a nearly four-year hiatus, Miguel returned to the spotlight a few weeks ago, releasing the first three volumes of his Art Dealer Chic EP series on DSPs along with a new song, “Funeral.” Then, on New Music Friday this week, he followed up with Art Dealer Chic, Vol. 4 and the video for “So I Lie.” Some fans believe he reveals that he’s about to be a father through a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo from a very pregnant-seeming woman who looks a lot like his wife Nazanin. If so, it’d be a surprise to fans who follow the couple on social media, where they’ve given no hint of such a life change taking place.
Of course, the deception of social media fits with the theme of “So I Lie,” in which Miguel reflects on the fickle nature of fame. “Laugh and the world will laugh, too,” he mulls. “Cry and the world laughs at you, girl / So I lie to myself / Let’s be real, I’m afraid of how I feel / So I lie to the world.”
Appearing on Apple Music’s R&B Now Radio to talk about the new EP, Miguel told host Nadeska, “I want to make stadium R&B… I want to make big, ‘We Will Rock You’ R&B songs.”
According to a new industry report, Spotify has quietly deleted controversial episodes of “The Joe Rogan Experience.” As of this writing, 42 episodes of Rogan’s podcast have reportedly been scrubbed from the platform, and they include everything from right-wing reactionary figures like the Proud Boys who were present during the January 6 insurrection to comedians accused of sexual misconduct with minors. Via Huffpost:
Episodes that have been removed include interviews with far-right figures such as former Breitbart News editor Milo Yiannopoulos and Proud Boys founder Gavin McInnes, as well as four episodes with comedian Chris D’Elia, who last year was accused of “grooming” underage girls and soliciting child pornography. Three episodes with Bulletproof Coffee founder Dave Asprey were also deleted from the platform, DMN reported.
Asprey calls himself the “father of biohacking,” and it appears Spotify didn’t want to host his “high-fat diet” that has been roundly criticized for its unscientific methods. However, Spotify did not remove Rogan’s highly controversial interview with Alex Jones from October 2020, which caused significant backlash after Jones spent hours spouting anti-vaccination and anti-mask theories.
Yet while the platform didn’t port over Rogan’s prior interview with the conspiracy theorist, not giving him any trouble over the new episode in the fall was a good sign for the podcast host. During a recent episode in March, Rogan revealed that he’s not concerned with Spotify refusing to host certain episodes as long as they don’t get in his way. “There were a few episodes they didn’t want on their platform, and I was like ‘okay, I don’t care,” Rogan said. “But other than that, in terms of what I do in the future, the big test was having Alex Jones on.”
SPOILERS for ‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’ will be found below.
Man, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier switched gears this week in a huge way and far away from the “buddy comedy” vibe of the introductory phase. I wouldn’t be surprised if that tone came back, but this week turned into a very blunt examination of what happens when heroes go villainous and vice versa. The most prominent and obvious example of this happening would be the climactic moments of Episode 4, called “The Whole World Is Watching,” where the new Captain America, John Walker, basically loses it and vengefully starts pummeling one of the Flag Smashers with the shield.
Disney+
This confrontation turns fatal with Walker standing over his foe and ruthlessly letting him have it. This ends up being a cold-blooded killing while a crowd films the brutality with their smartphones. So, we’re left with the face of America (and replacement for Steve Rogers) standing there with a bloodied shield for all to see. Not a good look!
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The altercation that led up to this moment was an all-out brawl between Sam and Bucky, John and Lemar, and several Flag Smashers. I can’t say that the conflict between the groups has been entirely clear because the Flag Smashers’ cause has remained nebulous with many wondering if they’re villains at all. Well, Karli Morgenthau clashed with Lemar and ended up hurling him into a pillar, instantly killing him. It appears to have been an inadvertent (although inevitable) outcome, and John’s reaction — after all his talk about wanting to be the best runner-up Cap who doesn’t even need the serum to save the world — screwed the proverbial pooch after he decided to inject himself with the damn serum and go mad with power. And yeah, the U.S. government is going to have a lot of explaining to do, after they signal-boosted their own systemic racism by deciding to hand the shield to what seemed like any Rando white dude (although, given US Agent’s history in the comics, this was never going to turn out well).
It’s seriously dark stuff. I would argue that it’s the darkest moment ever in the MCU, which has seen a ton of bleak moments. After all, it’s only been a handful of MCU years since Thanos killed half the universe. Before that, we saw Tony Stark’s parents die, Killmonger take down T’Challa, and many more horrible things. We even saw Thor behead Thanos, although no one could possibly blame him for that. Yet now we are seeing a hero (and someone holding the shield) turn villainous. And it’s also a direct callback to the Captain America: Civil Warfinal battle between Steve and Tony Stark, where Steve used the shield to render Tony powerless and defeat him, but he stopped far short of what John Walker did.
Marvel Studios
The fallout next week should be enormous, and I’m looking forward to seeing how the show handles dealing with John Walker’s major f*ck-up in front of the world. Before that, we got a few other indications that The Falcon and the Winter Solder might turn into an action-packed meditation on the fine line between hero and villain. One of these scenes — a flashback to Bucky’s time in Wakanda — was incredibly touching. Until now, we’ve only seen glimpses of that period in Bucky’s life, although we know that he was allowed to take refuge in Wakanda and even emerged with a new (vibranium) arm. Yet in this episode, we got to see the moment where Ayo freed Bucky from HYDRA’s Winter Soldier programming. (All of the tears, people.)
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Clearly, Bucky’s still been on the road to redemption since that time, and he’s still a work in progress. A ton of lingering trauma is only to be expected after his decades as the homicidally-programmed Winter Soldier, although we saw how he was able to resist Zemo’s attempt to turn him back into a HYDRA-hired gun. Seeing what actually happened to Bucky in Wakanda has been a revelation that the MCU held back for years, and it says a lot that Kevin Feige reserved the moment as a juxtaposition to what’s happening with John Walker. Heroes turning into villains, and villains turning into heroes.
Then there’s the biggest unanswered question for this series to resolve: are the Flag Smashers actually villains or nah? It’s something that the show’s played with to degrees of varying success, and hopefully, we’ll see more followup on whether Karli Morgenthau is a terrorist or a revolutionary. This was a telling moment, though, when Sam pointed out to Karli that she’s a “supremacist,” and she was totally surprised to hear that coming her way. The real-life parallels here are astounding, and I hope we’ll see more.
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Disney+ streams new ‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’ episodes on Fridays.
Concerts can be long events, sometimes running as long as two or three hours. During this time, human biology doesn’t take a break, and whether or not it’s convenient, the call of nature must be answered. A few months ago, Phoebe Bridgers told a story about the time she pooped herself on stage. Now, Kelly Clarkson has shared a similar tale, which didn’t end well for a “poor trash can,” as she put it.
On a recent episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show, Clarkson was chatting with country music legend Clint Black about his talk show Talking In Circles, and he teased an episode in which country singer Sara Evans talks about peeing on stage. That prompted this instant-classic anecdote from Clarkson:
“Well, I’ll tell you right now, there was one time… it wasn’t pee, my friend! I got some kind of wrecked up from some kind of food and I literally… we were in an arena, and I shouldn’t tell this story, but like I said, my man: I don’t have a filter. I had to run backstage to my quick-change. I grabbed this poor trash can and boy, I destroyed it. It was bad. It was bad, Clint. It was… and we might have to edit this out, but I’m just saying: It happens! What are you supposed to do?”
Watch Clarkson tell the (bowel) moving story above.
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