Category: News

If you’ve watched HBO’s documentary The Vow, you’re familiar with Keith Raniere. The 60-year-old founded and ran NXIVM (pronounced “nexium”), a sex cult that masqueraded as an expensive, exclusive self-help group, but which appears to have served as a way for Raniere to get his rocks off while controlling and manipulating young women.

Raniere was convicted by a jury in July of 2019 of a host of crimes that include racketeering, sex trafficking, and sexual exploitation of a child, according to CNN. On Tuesday, he was handed a sentence of 120 years in prison by a federal court in Brooklyn. U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis also forbade Raniere from having any contact with NXIVM associates and fined him $1.75 million for his crimes, which Garaufis described as “cruel, perverse, and extremely serious.”

The Daily Beast described the bizarre NXIVM cult as “an ultra-secretive organization that preached personal growth through sacrifice” and that had amassed an estimated 17,000 members since it started in 1998. Raniere was a charismatic leader who used the lure of the organization to indoctrinate women, pressure them into have sex with him, and engage in various forms of abuse. In a disturbing twist, the organization was largely run by women, and five of them—including Smallville actress Allison Mack and heiress to the Seagram’s fortune Clare Bronfman—were charged along with Raniere, some pleading guilty to the racketeering and forced labor charges.

More than a dozen victims either spoke out or issued statements at Raniere’s sentencing, including a woman who was just 15 years old when Raniere began having sex with her—or more accurately, raping her, based on her age. She said psychologically and emotionally manipulated her, leading her to cut herself off from her family. He also took nude photos of her, which led to his child pornography charge.

“While he hid our sexual relationship from others, he explained it to me by telling me that I was very mature for my age. And I know now that it was false—I was a child,” her victim impact statement read. “He used my innocence to do whatever he wanted with me—not just sexually but also psychologically.”

Another woman who spoke out, Kristen Keeffe, has a 13-year-old son with Raniere. She worked in NXIVM’s legal department for a decade, and once she broke away from Raniere’s grip, she went into hiding with her son for four years. “My child will never get back the years we spent in hiding,” she said.

Testimonies included stories of “women’s empowerment group” within NXIVM, which victims allege was a master-slave program in which women were forced to obey, have sex with Raniere, and to brand his initials into their skin with a cautery pen without anesthesia. Followers referred to him as “Vanguard,” and saw him as an “evolved” guru of sorts, according to NPR. He promised women that he and the organization would help them get control of their lives, but then ended up controlling their lives.

“You’re a liar and a sadist for getting pleasure watching our skins burn,” India Oxenberg, daughter of Dynasty actress Catherine Oxenberg and NXIVM member for seven years, said to Raniere at the sentencing. “I may have to live the rest of my life with Keith Raniere’s initials on my skin.” She also called Raniere a “racist” and a “sexual predator,” and said that he had forced her to lose so much weight that she stopped menstruating.

For his part, Raniere maintains that he is innocent of the charges. Prosecutors wrote that in his communications with his supporters (yes, he still has some), Raniere “repeatedly attempts to cast himself as a victim of persecution and harassment from the government and from unknown enemies.”

According to CNN, Raniere wrote in a November 2019 email shared in a prosecutors’ memo “It is tragic the current organization has been stymied by a few envious men abusing position of power in government, media, and film; some women who didn’t live up to their sacred honor and vows; and people in general who just feel threatened by this idea.”

At Tuesday’s sentencing, Raniere expressed vague remorse for the pain of his victims, yet still maintained his innocence. “I am deeply sorry and I see that where I am is caused by me I am deeply remorseful and repentant,” he said. “It is true I am not remorseful over the crimes I do not believe I have committed at all. But I am deeply remorseful of all this pain.”

The pain runs deep and the descriptions of the victim’s statements here are just the tip of the iceberg. “I can still hear his voice in my head” one victim said in her statement as her voice shook. “He robbed me of my youth. He used my innocence to do whatever he wanted with me.”

With 120-year sentence, Raniere thankfully won’t have the opportunity to victimize any more women for the rest of his life.

Back in 2018 (a billion years ago), Spotify pulled The Alex Jones Show podcast from its platform “for violating our hate policy.” The move followed a threatened boycott from Spotify users, and the music streaming giant wasn’t alone in its move. Almost in unison, YouTube and Facebook banned and/or pulled the far-right conspiracy theorist’s content from their platforms for violating community standards, and now, Jones is causing a ruckus for Spotify again. This time, it’s down to Joe Rogan (who recently transplanted to Austin while moving to Spotify as part of a reported $100 million deal) inviting Jones (who also lives in Austin) onto The Joe Rogan Experience.

Naturally, this shindig turned into three hours of Jones spewing theories to millions of Rogan fans. This wasn’t the first time these two had met, of course, although when Rogan first ported over to Spotify, the far-right threw a fit over the Infowars host’s previous visits going missing from the archive. With Jones making an appearance for Rogan, it seems like the far-right is probably happy right now. Here’s a telling visual from comedian Tim Dillon (wearing a “Free Ghislaine” t-shirt in support of Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged madam), who was also in attendance.

The trio chatted about Jones’ anti-vax-and-and-mask stances, and at the very beginning of this three-hour video, Rogan and Jones both state their belief that Rudy Giuliani was “set up” in Borat 2. Rogan then stated that “nothing happened” while diving into his theory that Giuliani might have a “bad back,” which is why he reclined on the bed while reaching down his pants. What?

Giuliani stuff aside, people are pretty steamed to see Jones, who has remained unrepentant for his harmful Sandy Hook conspiracy theories, receive such a large platform for his misinformation. The backlash has started anew:

There’s been no official statement from Spotify on the matter, although months ago, Jones claimed that he had spoken to Rogan about the missing episodes from his back catalogue on Spotify. As Jones told his audience, those episodes are (according to Rogan, says Jones) staying on YouTube for a strategic reason:

“Here’s the key. Joe Rogan’s favorite 100 episodes of the last 10 years or so will be left on YouTube starting December 31 when he goes exclusively to Spotify. For this couple months no man’s land the content will be on both platforms and will be migrating over. And so that’s why the Alex Jones interview is not there. That’s why some of the other interviews are not there, because those are going to be the exclusive interviews that are left on YouTube where, in Joe’s words, they’ll probably get more views than if they were on Spotify.”

As for whether the new Joe Rogan-Alex Jones meetup will be left to stand on Spotify, only time will tell.

In recent days, there have been rumors that UK music stars Adele and Skepta are officially dating. For example, People published a report today in which they cite a source who says, “Things have been heating up. They run in the same circles in London and she’s having fun.” Now, Adele (who filed for divorce from her now-ex-husband in 2019) has addressed the situation, and she indicated that she isn’t currently dating Skepta or anybody else.

Adele shared a photo of herself during her recent opening monologue on Saturday Night Live and wrote a message thanking everybody on the show for helping her have a positive experience. Towards the end, she referred to herself as a “(single) cat lady”:

“Had the best time on SNL! Thank you to the most wonderful cast, crew, writers and producers. What a sublime bunch of people you are. Lorne thank you for believing in me! Lindsay my sister for life, Maya my comedy and Mama hero! Plus the so up for it audiences at both the dress rehearsal and live show! I did it for the joy of it and I hope you got some from it too! Good luck with the election America I love you so much. Look after each other and go easy on yourselves. Happy Halloween! I’m going back to my cave now to be the (single) cat lady that I am! Peace out til next year.”

The last sentence of her caption is also worth addressing (“Peace out til next year”), as that could be taken as a hint that Adele will drop new music in 2021. Before the pandemic, there were multiple indications that Adele would have a new album in 2020, but that has yet to happen.

Despite the celebration around the Dodgers’ first World Series victory in 32 years, many of the headlines in the aftermath of Game 6 on Tuesday night centered around the peculiar handling of All-Star third baseman Justin Turner’s infection with the coronavirus. Now, it appears MLB will investigate Turner’s actions as the Dodgers celebrated their win.

A new statement from the league shows that Turner was instructed to isolate from Dodgers players and staff in order to keep others safe once it became clear Turner tested positive for COVID-19. Rather than doing so, Turner openly violated league policy, with reports suggesting he intentionally disregarded rules agreed on between MLB and its players in order to be on the field celebrating with his team postgame.

“When MLB Security raised the matter of being on the field with Turner, he emphatically refused to comply,” the statement says.

While it was shocking to many watching the festivities to see Turner without a mask next to his teammates as they posed for photos, or kissing his wife on-field, MLB’s statement shows that Turner seemed to clearly break league protocols on top of being unsafe. That could be the grounds for a more serious punishment given from MLB to Turner or the Dodgers.

Fortunately, as the statement above notes, nobody from the Dodgers or Rays seems to have showed signs of the virus in any of the tests administered in the hours since Los Angeles’ Game 6 win.

The NBA’s Board of Governors is currently working through a plan and proposal for the 2020-21 season that would bring the start of the season back to December 22, saving the coveted Christmas Day slate, which is a major revenue driver for the league.

That proposal must be approved by the NBPA, and the pitch to them seems centered around a pair of things: they get to keep their summers off and keeping Christmas Day brings a lot of money into the fold. Still, there’s going to be pushback from some players in the league, particularly those that just finished a long playoff run in the Orlando Bubble and would be asked to restart play less than three months later — with less than two months from the end of the Finals to the start of training camp.

On Wednesday, Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports brought word that a number of stars and players will be pushing for an MLK Day start date on January 21, with free agency pushed back to Dec. 1. It had previously said that free agency could be as early as Nov. 20 with a December start date.

It’s going to be very interesting to see how the negotiations between the league and players go, because it’s clear that players are going to need to be sold further on a Christmas start date. This is, of course, all part of players using their leverage in this situation, given that next year’s salary cap is still up in the air and just about everything is on the table. If the league is insistent on a Christmas start, which is clearly a play for a big financial windfall, the players will need to be sold on that by way of assurances that money from the Christmas Day games would find its way back to the players in the form of buoying the cap for next season.

We’ve already heard from Danny Green that he wouldn’t expect Lakers vets to play immediately if the season started in December, and now it seems other players are not too keen on such a quick turnaround. For those hoping for a resolution on all of this to come soon, this seems to indicate there might be more of a fight — or at least some serious discussion and back and forth — that might drag on into November.

While Charli XCX has been working in music since she was a teenager, the singer’s 2013 track “I Love It” with Icona Pop is what really put her on the map. While the song served as her breakout, Charli recently revealed she didn’t even like it when she was writing it.

Charli sat down with Red Bull in one of her last in-person interviews before the pandemic. During the nearly hour-long conversation, Charli discussed her career, influences, and songwriting processes. The singer described how she penned “I Love It” in just 20 minutes while sitting in a hotel room and thought the track was the “worst song ever”:

“I actually really thought ‘I Love It’ was the worst song ever. I honestly didn’t even know what it was about when I wrote it. I wrote it in like 20 minutes in a hotel room with my boyfriend sitting there. He was like, ‘What are you doing?’ And I was like, ‘Oh I wrote this song. I don’t really get it, but whatever.’ He was like, ‘Yeah it sounds bad.’ So then I was like, ‘Okay. I’m going to stop making this.’ And then I spent hours making this other song.”

Elsewhere in the conversation, Charli said that when she first broke into the music industry, she wanted to be the next Britney Spears. “When I was younger, I think it was Britney Spears [who] really blew my mind, especially the ‘Hit Me Baby One More Time’ video,” she said. “I remember being at home and just thinking that I’d never seen somebody so glamorous and cool and fun. It was real, but I really bought into the dream.”

Continuing to talk about how Spears influenced her artistic vision, Charli said, “When I entered the music industry, I was like, ‘I want to be Britney.’ I didn’t really know and there was no other route for me. I was like, ‘This is what happens when you sign a record deal. You become Britney. That’s the only path.’ And then I signed the record deal and I was like, ‘Oh. I’m not Britney.’ But before being in the music industry, I didn’t realize there was so many different paths.”

Watch Charli discuss writing “I Love It” in a conversation with Red Bull above, around the 24-minute mark.

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

We write about bourbon a lot. We have our favorite bottles by price, value, and mash bill. That’s not to say we don’t absolutely love scotch, rye, Japanese whisky, and pretty much every other spirit from vodka to rum. We do. But we always seem to return to the honeyed notes of a well-made bourbon. It’s the whiskey style we talk about the most with our friends, especially as fall settles in.

The same goes for bartenders. But which bourbons do barkeeps recommend to their pals? Antonio Lumbrazo, bartender at Richard’s in Chicago opts for a hard-to-find classic.

“Van Winkle Special Reserve 10-Year,” he says. “It’s hard to find these days. I remember when it wasn’t and what times I had. The best whisky ever.”

While Lumbrazo has pretty expensive tastes, other bartenders are prone to recommending more affordable expressions. Check out their picks below.

Pinhook Country Cask Strength

Alec Kass, bartender at The Aviary in New York City

I’ve had some pretty amazing bourbon whiskey, including the extensive catalog of rare and vintage spirits I got to work with at The Aviary and The Office. I believe there is a time and a place for that, but in truth, give me a glass of Pinhook Cask Strength and I won’t fight you for any other.

It holds up to everything out there.

Clyde May’s

Seth Falvo, bartender at The Hotel Zamora in St. Pete Beach, Florida

Clyde May’s Straight Bourbon is an excellent, underrated bourbon that I’d be more than happy to drink exclusively. Fruity, nutty, spicy, and smooth, this bourbon has had a spot in my home bar for years. Plus, it’s a very affordable straight bourbon, making it an ideal daily drinker.

Wild Turkey Decades

Chris Zulueta, bartender at Sylvain in New Orleans

If I could have one bourbon with no price issue, I’d go straight to the top with the Wild Turkey Decades. I always grew up drinking Wild Turkey… big fan of their flagship 101, always enjoyed its sweet entry and long, spicy finish. This whiskey is a masterpiece — so much depth of flavor, and pretty close to barrel strength with 10-20-year whiskeys in the blend.

Maker’s Mark

Josh Curtis, bar director at Carbon Beach Club in Malibu

Maker’s Mark bourbon is my go-to when drinking whiskey because it’s a smooth experience in the flavor and feeling it gives you. It’s filled with rich caramel and vanilla hints. Also, there’s never much of a hangover.

Blanton’s Single Barrel

Patricia Verdesoto, head bartender at Jams in New York City

If I was stuck on a desert island somewhere and could only bring one bourbon along, it would be Blanton’s Single Barrel. It’s always been one of my favorites, and throughout the years, it has received much well-deserved praise. The familiarity of baking spices and butterscotch makes Blanton’s so drinkable and comforting that I find myself craving it a little too often.

Old Forester 100

Ben Potts, owner, and bartender at The Sylvester in Miami

I would stick to my Old Forester 100 Proof Bourbon. It’s fantastic. While high in alcohol content, it remains surprisingly smooth. Perfectly suited for a classic old fashioned or Manhattan, it’s also a great sipper.

Heaven Hill Old Style

Lee Noble, head bartender for Art in the Age in Philadelphia

As a Philly guy, I have to say Heaven Hill Old Style, which is the near-ubiquitous counterpart to our famous ‘City Wide’ beer and shot combo. If I didn’t serve it, I might get killed and eaten by a ravenous mob.

Four Roses Single Barrel

Andy Printy, beverage director at Chao Baan in St. Louis

If I have to pick one, it’s Four Roses Single Barrel. Maybe it’s all that dark fruit and the literal smell of the rickhouse on the nose that reminds me of long chats with brand ambassador and keeper of Kentucky bourbon lore, Dan Gardener. The palate is chocolate, graham cracker, and just a touch of leather. The proof is in the mid-high range, so cocktail it up or raise a glass of this juice neat to celebrate this whiskey legend.

Wild Turkey 101

Blake Jakes, director of beverage at The Kennedy Bar in Pensacola, Florida

Wild Turkey 101, it’s just so good. Everything about it — it’s bold, it’s in your face, but it’s also just so damn smooth. Honestly, it’s great by itself but it shines in a cocktail. Any whiskey cocktail. It’s made with care and passion by an amazing family, and I just can’t say enough great things about what they do.

W.L. Weller 12

Hayden Miller, head bartender at Bodega Taqueria y Tequila in Miami

Weller 12 is my pick. It’s almost dangerously drinkable and versatile for each season. It also can shake well with citrus, sip straight or stir into a nightcap.

Angel’s Envy

Roberto Berdecia, bartender at La Factoria in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico

Angel’s Envy. I visited the distillery once and tasted the unaged juice. It’s out of this world. The bottled version is aged in port casks giving it a great combination of sweet, mellow, and rich with hints of dried fruits, caramel, and cinnamon.

W.L. Weller Antique 107

Juan Fernandez, bartender at The Ballantyne, A Luxury Collection Hotel in Charlotte

For me, I enjoy a variety of whiskeys driven by the time of year. For spring and summer months I love sweeter bourbons, then in the fall and winter, I enjoy a more rich and spicy whiskey. Though if I was stuck with one all-purpose whiskey, I would choose W.L. Weller Antique 107. It has the whole package, 107 proof, a unique floral flavor but with sweet vanilla on the nose, strong vanilla, and sweet stone fruits on the palate mixed with a distinctive cinnamon tone.

Hirsch The Horizon

Kelly Smith, bartender at Pins Mechanical in Nashville

If I could only drink one bourbon, I would choose Hirsch The Horizon. It is just so perfectly versatile. It’s great for cocktails, on the rocks, or just neat. It delivers everything I want in a bourbon.

HBO Max just dropped its first look at Two Weeks to Live, the new dark British comedy starring Maisie Williams in her first post-Game of Thrones role. In the official trailer, which gives off some strong Hanna vibes but with a much more humorous twist, Williams is the daughter of an intense doomsday prepper played by Fleabag‘s Sian Clifford. After Williams’ character escapes her life of relentlessly preparing for the end of the world, she finds herself getting caught up in a world of drinking, boys, lies, and brutal fights with deadly killers.

If you missed Williams as the badass Arya Stark, Two Weeks to Live will certainly scratch that itch as the trailer is loaded with action sequences that look like Williams could go toe-to-toe with freaking Jason Bourne and come out on top. The series is also punctuated with moments of dry British wit for fans of comedies from across the pond.

Here’s the official synopsis:

“Two Weeks to Live” tells a comic tale of love and revenge born from a seemingly harmless prank that goes terribly wrong. Kim Noakes, an early 20-something oddball who, since the murder of her father, has been sequestered away in the wilderness with her doomsday-prepping mother for most of her life. Feeling compelled to go on a belated coming-of-age adventure, Kim sets out to find her dad’s killer and along the way ropes mismatched brothers Jay and Nicky into her scheme.

Two Weeks to Live starts streaming November 5.

(Via HBO)

Sam White may only be six years old, but he’s got skills that surpass most adults.

The Tennessee youngster and his dad, Robert White, have swept social media and stolen people’s hearts in their “YouCanBeABCs” rap collaboration. With dad beat boxing in the background, 6-year-old Sam expertly takes us through the entire alphabet in order, naming careers kids can aspire to with short, clever, rhyming descriptions of each one.

You can be a “A”—You can be an ARCHITECT

Catch a building to kiss the sky

You can be a “B”—You can be a BIOCHEMIST

Makes medicines, save lives

You can be a “C”—COMPUTER SOFTWARE DEVELOPER

With programs and systems and files

You can be a “D”—You can be a DENTIST

Cuz everybody loves to smile

Sam’s ease in front of the camera, skill in rapping the lyrics, and obvious joy in performing are a delight to witness. And dad in the background, backing him up with a beat, makes for both a sweet backdrop and a metaphor for strong, steady, supportive parenting.

It’s all the more impressive when you learn that Sam memorized the whole thing. Robert shared on Facebook that the kiddo is looking at the camera, not a teleprompter, while he raps. He added that Sam also did his own choreography.

Just watch:

It’s common for young kids to explore careers in school, but this list is much more specific than many kid lists of jobs. From gastroenterologist to mobile app developer to quantum physicist, the careers they include and their simple descriptions are both entertaining and educational. The list is diverse, from highly academic jobs like quantum physicist to hands-on skilled jobs like truck mechanic. They even include “YOUR OWN BOSS” for “Y” and wrap it up with “ZEALOUSLY STRIVE” for “Z,” since no matter what a kid decides to be or do they’ll need to work hard and do their best. Finally, “Don’t be a ZOMBIE and let the world pass you by” is the perfect ending to darn near perfect video.

Seeing dad’s burst of joy when they finish and Sam’s sweet smiling face is almost too much to take. So dang sweet. So dang cute. So much respect for this family.

The video has gotten huge reach, with 275,000 people sharing it in just three days. The son and dad have a YouTube channel and an Instagram account, which Robert White wrote on Facebook that they “are just starting to build it out with content that reflects why Sam has kept us smiling and full of joy since the day he was born.”

Hopefully we’ll see more from this dynamic duo. Thanks for the smile, White family!

Around this time in 2009, Them Crooked Vultures (Dave Grohl, Josh Homme, and John Paul Jones) released their self-titled debut album. Aside from the record and the Grammy-winning single “New Fang” (which earned Best Hard Rock Performance honors in 2011), the making of the album also yielded a fan-favorite Grohl moment. In 2010, the band uploaded a video titled “Dave Grohl in FRESH POTS!” to YouTube, and since then, it has racked up nearly 7 million views. In the sketch, Grohl plays an exaggerated(?) version of himself that is addicted to coffee and often yells out for “fresh pots” of it to be made.

It’s a moment Grohl fans look back on fondly, and now, ten years later, “Fresh Pots” has returned.

Out of nowhere and seemingly not in promotion of anything in particular, Foo Fighters have shared a follow-up sketch for a fake new drug called “FreshPotix.” The video begins with Grohl saying in a voiceover, “Ten years ago, I was in the grips of a debilitating caffeine addiction. My ability to maintain personal relationships and solid bowel movements were compromised by crippling sleep deprivation and noxious coffee breath.”

From there, he goes on to promote FreshPotix, but not without outlining its side-effects, which include “severe monkey peen, violent fits of rage towards left-handed people, extra toe, urge to found your own colony, bald ass, Cyrusvirus (your voice changes to that of Billy Ray or Miley), stomach tail, peptic waltzing, stool entirely made of corn (just a cob), oxford commas, weeping taint, echola, nose chickens, uncontrollable tattling, back fro, plaid lung, acid washed jeans, tinselscrote, (break out of Chistmas tree tinsel on balls), and Pauly Shore.”

The band has even set up a website for FreshPotix and are offering merch, which only consists of a FreshPotix pen.

Watch the video above and revisit the original “Fresh Pots” skit below.