Category: News

It’s not often that Outkast member Andre 3000 is in the headlines. So when he was spotted last year walking around an airport and serenading passengers with his flute, people on the internet lost it over the heartwarming story. Now, it seems as though the rapper has returned to the hobby in quarantine as Andre was once again spotted out and about with his flute on hand.

Visual designer Jeff Staple was linking up with Andre in LA over the weekend for lunch. Staple pulled out his phone to record their greeting as he noticed Andre was toting his infamous flute around in public.

The video follows last year’s report from journalist Antonia Cereijido, who tweeted that she saw a man “walking around my terminal playing a flute for 40min” before realizing the flautist was Andre 3000. This was just the first instance of a fan reporting they saw the musician practicing his flute game but later on in the year, several more fans shared photos of Andre playing the instrument out in public.

In other Andre 3000 news, the rapper recently opened up about not attending protests due to concern over contracting coronavirus:

“I saw a lot of rappers getting pressured by people, with fans saying, ‘You need to be out here, where are y’all,’ but you have to think about it: How much of it is just for the people to say, We saw a celebrity there? What if your favorite rapper goes out — I’m not even talking about me, ‘cause I’m from the ‘90s, but the kids’ favorite rapper now, say they go out and catch corona and die? Were they more effective and valuable to all of us at home writing music, and doing what they do best?”

Watch Andre 3000 with his treasured flute above.

After getting run off of the floor in Game 1 of the series, the Nuggets bounced back in Game 2 with an incredibly impressive showing to beat the Clippers and even the series at 1-1. Many, including myself, felt after the opener that Denver was in serious trouble, but their turnaround in Game 2 was night and day, particularly on the defensive end.

With Game 3 looming on Monday night, it seems like we might have a much more competitive series on our hands than initially thought, but the expectation is that the Clippers will come out aggressively in Game 3 to reassert themselves as the dominant team in the series. That means Denver has to match their energy level from Game 2 and lean on some of the lessons learned from their game plan’s success — along with being ready for L.A. adjustments — to attack the Clippers on both ends of the floor. Here are three keys for the Nuggets as they look to shock the Clippers again and take an improbable lead in this series.

1. Continue applying defensive pressure to Kawhi Leonard

The Nuggets didn’t hide the fact that they were gassed in Game 1 coming off a grueling seven game series with the Jazz, and they looked much better in Game 2 in terms of stamina and effort. The offensive output in the first quarter stole headlines, but it was the defense of the Nuggets that made the difference, particularly with what they did on Kawhi Leonard. After a dominant Game 1, Leonard went just 4-of-17 from the field for 13 points, with 10 rebounds and eight assists. Considering he hadn’t scored fewer than 29 in seven playoff games to that point, it was a wildly impressive defensive showing on him to make him look as uncomfortable as he did.

Now, no one expects Leonard to repeat that poor shooting performance even if Denver can replicate the same defensive strategy, but making him see different looks and see length and hands at all times is critical to the Nuggets chances of slowing him down. T.J. McBride of Mile High Sports offered a great detailed look at what Denver did defensively in Game 2, but the biggest thing was the pressure from Jerami Grant and Garry Harris, as well as a much improved effort from Paul Millsap, as they sent bigger, longer defenders at Leonard due to his ability to rise up and hit jumpers.

The Nuggets defense did a really good job of pressing up on Leonard to make it more difficult for him to rise for those jumpers without having to feel their presence, and they were able to keep him off the free throw line and away from the rim. He’ll likely hit more shots than he did in Game 2 no matter what, but keeping Leonard out of rhythm and making him feel the defense is really the only shot at making him marginally inefficient. To do so, they’ll have to continue to play with incredible effort, not just on Leonard, but in chasing out to shooters when he kicks the ball outside when they trap or stymie his initial move. For a team not known for defense, the adjustments in Game 2 and the effort they showed was tremendous, but that has to show up every game.

2. Can guys around Murray and Jokic keep making shots?

The Nuggets couldn’t miss to start the game, but once the Clippers defense settled in, they made life very difficult on Denver. Happily for the Nuggets, they had built up enough of an early lead — and played good enough defense themselves — to make up for the cooling off that happened in the second half as they scored just 38 points. The Clippers have made clear that their goal is to make life difficult for Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray on the offensive end and dare anyone else to beat them. Those two got loose early but it was an absolute grind late. The good news in Game 2 was that Gary Harris was able to provide them with some timely three-point shots that kept the Clippers at arm’s length.

I wouldn’t expect anything different from the Clippers defense in Game 3, and if anything they’ll look to be more aggressive on that end in the first quarter. They’ll dare Harris and Millsap and Grant to knock down threes — the latter of whom struggled to be much of an offensive factor given the task of defending Leonard on the other end. Denver getting production from those guys is going to be crucial for the Nuggets offense to produce points consistently against this L.A. defense that will likely look to swarm Murray and Jokic early and often in this game.

3. Good Joker vs. Bad Joker

On both ends the Nuggets have to be able to at minimum match, if not outwork, the Clippers. They did that in Game 2 and it starts with their stars in Murray and Jokic. The former has been sensational this postseason, happily stepping into the spotlight and taking over when needed against Utah, but he can’t be expected to put up 50, 42, and 50 in three straight games this series. The big question is whether Jokic is willing to sustain the effort level needed, particularly on the defensive end, to keep Denver in this series.

Jokic is an otherworldly talent on the offensive end, and his rhythm on that end is all his own. From the Sombor Shuffle to off-hand passes, he does things to a beat few can hear and even fewer can move to. The patience to his game is necessitated, as he noted after Game 2, by his inability to run fast. Defensively, no one expects him to become a fearsome rim protector that deters opponents from entering the paint, but he has to be present, which isn’t always the case. Draymond Green, serving as an analyst on Inside the NBA for Game 1 of this series, broke down how Jokic’s passive nature on defense can sink the Nuggets team defense.

In Game 2 he wasn’t suddenly Gobert at the rim, but his activity level was much better, he cleaned the glass spectacularly to the tune of 18 rebounds, and when it was his time to rotate and contest at the rim, he was far more willing (as you can see in the video in the Kawhi section). A key for Jokic is staying out of foul trouble, because when he picks up early fouls it only exacerbates his issues of attentiveness and aggression on defense. He’ll become so concerned with foul calls that he will refuse to contest shots at the rim to stay on the floor for offense. That should be a focus of the Clippers, because it’s the easiest way to take him out of the game on that end almost completely, and Jokic has to be at once smart about contact but present in the paint to keep the Clippers from waltzing to the rim.

Jason Mantzoukas has a lengthy list of acting credits to his name in some very funny shows and movies, but on Labor Day weekend he became the central figure in a drama unfolding online that he definitely did not audition for. A Reddit relationships thread posted on the site quickly went viral and spread to other social media sites after a poster claimed that he had catfished his own girlfriend by pretending to be Mantzoukas.

The whole thing is a bit complicated, and first of all we should make clear that Mantzoukas is not involved in any way. Yet. But the thread really is worth reading in full, as I have many times this weekend.

It sounds very strange and, well, it is. Apparently the man in question and his wife have a “hall pass” situation and his wife picked Mantzoukas, among whose credits are Derek on The Good Place and a lengthy run on The League. The man found out that the actor actually went to the same college as his wife, though, and that this “hall pass” situation isn’t as pie in the sky as his pick of Beyonce. And so he did some digging, created a fake college email account and event, and wound up emailing with his wife asMantzoukas.

Now, there are a lot of ways this is extremely questionable behavior on his part, as basically every Reddit relationship post contains. But this one in particular really captivated people, who mostly wanted to also get hot and bothered about Jason Mantzoukas.

As we should probably mention again, this is not actually Mantzoukas trying to blow up a relationship. Apparently the gentleman in question is doing that all on his own. But it is becoming clear that the man of basically everyone’s desire will eventually find out about it. The many podcasts he’s appeared on over the years will make sure of it.

There’s just one week of WNBA regular season action left, which means that we’ve almost got a full playoff picture, a look at the race for the eighth seed and plenty of awards talk. It also means that fans of the New York Liberty and Atlanta Dream should really relish these last couple games since their teams will definitely not be advancing to the postseason this year. On the flip side, everyone else should be getting pretty excited about watching the 2020 WNBA playoffs in the wubble, where Diana Taurasi can curse out the referees on the court one night and see them in the dining room eating breakfast the next morning.

Here’s what we learned from week six in the WNBA:

1. Jewell Loyd for the win

On Saturday, the Seattle Storm were down 87-89 against their West coast rivals, the Los Angeles Sparks. With 0.8 second remaining, it looked like the team in gold would prevail. But then Jewell Loyd did what Jewell Loyd does. She sprinted to the corner, caught the inbound pass from Sue Bird and sank a three-point shot to win the game for Seattle. And the best part? She had absolutely no doubt that it was going in.

With the return of Bird to the court this season, Loyd’s ability may be overlooked by some but the real ones know that the former Notre Dame guard (remember her, Muffet?) is an All-Star player. This season she’s averaging 14.6 points, 3.1 assists and 2.4 rebounds per game while shooting 44% from the field and 40% from three. The Storm may be stacked with big names like Bird, Breanna Stewart and Natasha Howard, but on Saturday, Loyd made sure that her name was not forgotten.

2. The Indiana Fever have gone cold

Coming into the 2020 WNBA season, the Indiana Fever had realistic hopes of playing in the postseason. But with one week left in the regular season, the team looks set for a fourth straight year of missing out on the playoffs, and they have no one else to blame but themselves.

After miraculously defeating the Seattle Storm on August 25, Indiana has lost seven straight games pushing them back to 10th place in the league standings. Injuries — losing Victoria Vivians for the second consecutive season is brutal — and the absence of star guard Erica Wheeler have certainly hurt the team, but questions might also be asked of head coach Marianne Stanley. On the plus side, the way rookie Julie Allemand has acclimated to the league — she’s averaging 8.1 points and 5.6 assists while playing 33 minute per game — is an encouraging sign for the Fever. But it looks like their rebuild is still in the works.

3. Who is the real top dog in the WNBA?

The Seattle Storm may have edged the Los Angeles Sparks — sans Nneka Ogwumike though, it should be noted — but the top three teams in the WNBA have never looked closer. It’s going to be insanely hard to predict which teams will emerge victorious in the WNBA Finals this year because the Storm, Sparks and Las Vegas Aces are all so dominant that you’d be wild to count any one of them out in a five-game series.

This year, the Storm have the best record led by Breanna Stewart, Jewell Loyd, Natasha Howard and the rest of their crazy deep roster but the Aces have been a real force this season behind possible league MVP A’ja Wilson and the resurgence of Angel McCoughtry. Vegas leads the league in points (88.1), rebounds (37.2) and points in the paint per game (42.7), highlighting their strengths — hint, it’s definitely not their three-point shooting. When talking about the top teams though, it’s probably not fair to dismiss the Minnesota Lynx, who have definitely surpassed expectations and currently sit in fourth place, just one game behind LA.

4. It’s awards season

With the regular season winding down, everyone is eyeing the WNBA awards. If I had to choose today, here are my picks:

Most Valuable Player: A’ja Wilson (Las Vegas Aces)
Rookie of the Year: Crystal Dangerfield (Minnesota Lynx)
Sixth Woman of the Year: Dearica Hamby (Las Vegas Aces)
Defensive Player of the Year: Napheesa Collier (Minnesota Lynx)
Most Improved Player: Myisha Hines-Allen (Washington Mystics)
Comeback Player of the Year: Breanna Stewart (Seattle Storm)
Coach of the Year: Cheryl Reeve (Minnesota Lynx)

5. I’m here for all the WNBA Twitter beef

As awards season approaches and the playoffs loom, teams have been getting feisty on social media. From fiercely advocating for their own players to win awards to trash talking their rivals, teams have taken the Twitter beefs to an entirely new level in the wubble and I approve.

Here’s the Sparks stepping on the Mercury’s DPOY hopes:

Megan Rapinoe standing up for Jewell Loyd was pretty great:

And this entire thread between the Mercury and the Lynx has been incredible to follow:

When Mac Miller passed away in 2018 the late rapper left an incredible legacy. His extensive catalog, including his posthumously Grammy-nominated record Swimming continues to uplift and inspire. Now, exactly two years after his tragic death, Miller is still remembered lovingly by fans and members of the music industry.

Thundercat shared an old photo of SZA and Miller performing together on stage. “You have two families, the family you’re born with and the family you choose,” Thundercat wrote. “The family I chose, Not a day goes by I don’t feel it. I know y’all feel it too.” SZA re-tweeting the message, adding a similar sentiment: “I love you both so much and miss my family every day,” SZA said. “thank you for allowing me in your space to discover myself and believing in me the entire time..I could never repay you.”

Juicy J, Wale, and Mustard also paid their respects to the rapper, with Wale sharing an uplifting video of the late rapper.

Just a few weeks ago, Miller’s estate graced fans with two new unreleased songs. “Ayye” and “Back In The Day” arrived on the deluxe version of his K.I.D.S. mixtape, celebrating ten years since Miller first released the project.

See SZA, Thundercat, Juicy J, and more pay tribute to Miller above.

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

While life amid the still-ongoing coronavirus pandemic hasn’t been great for anyone in the movie-making industry, one of the first films to resume operations seems to be going just swimmingly. Robert Pattinson’s reported COVID-19 positive on the set of The Batman has been a harsh reminder that the highly-contagious disease can infiltrate any set, but thus far there haven’t been any reported problems on the set of Jurassic Park: Dominion.

And now we know what some of the Jurassic Park crew have been doing in their spare time inside the dino bubble: singing songs. Labor Day brought us a lovely duet between Sam Neill and Jeff Goldblum, posted on the former’s very lovely Twitter account. Simply given the message “I remember you,” the two then pull off a jazzy rendition of the Frank Ifield classic, with Goldblum on keys and Neill leading the way.

“I remember you, you’re the one who made my dreams come true,” the song goes. It was a delightful little tune, and it certainly got some fans very excited about the reunion of the Jurassic Park characters we’ll likely see on-screen once the movie is done filming. I mean, some people got really excited about this.

We’ll have to see if there’s a musical number in the next Jurassic Park, but now we know that it certainly is in the wheelhouse of two of the movie’s big stars.

Twitter is the go-to platform for communication for millions of people, including actors and politicians. And that’s made for some interesting sparring matches when politically-aware celebrities interact with politicians currently serving the American people. A good example of this is Ted Cruz letting his fandom of The Princess Bride put him in the crosshairs of some very personal attacks from those involved in the cult classic after he expressed criticism of a reunion in the form of a Democratic fundraiser in Wisconsin.

Another is what happened over the weekend when Supergirl actor Jon Cryer tweeted a lengthy thread criticizing Florida congressman Matt Gaetz, a fervent supporter of Donald Trump. Cryer was apparently upset about reported comments Trump made about dead American soldiers, and choose the weekend to send out a series of tweets critical of Gaetz and his connections to a white supremacist, a Holocaust denier and other questionable statements he’s made over the years. The tweet also amplified a campaign for someone running against Gaetz in his Florida district.

Eventually, Gaetz got wind of the thread and fired back with a much more subjective retort: that Charlie Sheen, not Cryer, was the star of Two And A Half Men.

That sparked an exchange between the two about the merits of Cryer’s work on the show, perhaps changing the narrative about the fight a bit but certainly giving it more attention as the exchange went viral.

It’s clear that Cryer choose facts over subjective burns in this exchange, but it certainly was not what most people were expecting to see on Twitter over Labor Day.

Wildfire season has been particularly painful for California this year, as complications due to COVID-19 have left the state short of the prison labor workforce it in part relies upon to fight the multiple fires that have spread across various areas and burned thousands of acres. But one fire in particular drew outrage online when authorities revealed it was started because of a smoke bomb used for a gender reveal party.

These parties — where parents gather friends and family and do some sort of pink or blue related stunt to learn a child’s assigned gender at birth — have become extremely popular in recent years. Countless videos of parents creatively trying to make a spectacle of the baby’s gender have gone viral, as have parodies of these videos as well. But one in California’s El Dorado Ranch Park over the weekend apparently sparked a brush fire that’s responsible for a blaze that as of Monday was only a fraction of a percentage contained.

According to authorities, what’s now being called the El Dordo Fire was “caused by a “smoke generating pyrotechnic device, used during a gender reveal party.” The fire apparently started around 10:30 in the morning on September 5 in El Dorado Ranch Park in Yucaipa and has since spread to cover thousands of acres nearby.

You’ve probably seen one of these videos where pink or blue smoke is used for the gender reveal, but those are pyrotechnic devices that can spark wildfires. And according to authorities, that’s exactly what happened. Videos on Twitter show the extent of the fire, which has already burned thousands of acres and was just five percent contained on Labor Day.

As many pointed out, this isn’t the first time that a gender reveal party sparked a wildfire.

According to CNN, no one has been charged with any crimes related to the incident as of Monday. But those responsible for similar fires have seen charges in the past. Furthermore, large parties are already frowned upon in the a still-ongoing coronavirus pandemic. But using explosives in a park during wildfire season is an especially needless tragedy to add to an already large pile in 2020.

Kanye West has been hosting Sunday Service performances for about a couple years now. While the core aesthetic remains mostly the same — Kanye and his choir in some sort of matching outfit — the rapper has gotten creative with his presentation styles over the years. This past weekend, for example, he hosted a Sunday Service in Atlanta, where he was joined by Joel Osteen. During the service, they took to a pond and created the illusion that they were walking on water, likely by making use of a transparent platform that sits just under the water’s surface and is difficult to see.

Regardless, this feat is visually much like the Jesus Christ miracle from the Bible. Kim Kardashian shared videos and photos from the event, which show Kanye and his choir performing in the middle of the pond.

The stunt has been criticized on Twitter since video of it surfaced. Some have accused Kanye of not taking the word of God seriously, while some believe this is an example of Kanye deifying himself.

This visual likely cost some money to put together, of which Kanye has spent a lot on Sunday Service: He revealed recently that he put $50 million towards Sunday Service in 2019.

Check out some more reactions below.

The second round of the NBA Playoffs has had a touch of a different feel during games as the arenas have dozens more people in them now thanks to the addition of family members to the Bubble.

There are moms and babies, spouses, and parents now sitting socially distanced courtside for games, which has led to some heartwarming moments — like Marcus Morris Sr. going to hold his baby after a great first half — and also some awkward ones as now when players start yelling and jawing into the general void of the fanless arena, they are, in fact, yelling at players’ families. LeBron James is among those that welcomed in a loved one this week as his wife, Savannah, is now in the Disney Bubble, but the James Gang did not travel en masse to Orlando, as Bronny, Bryce, and Zhuri are all still at home in Los Angeles.

Given the presence of many children in the Bubble — albeit, most of them very small children — LeBron was asked about the decision not to have his kids join him in Orlando, and explained that there’s simply not enough things for them to do.

“There’s nothing for them to do,” James said, matter of factly. “I mean, I’ve got a 16-year-old. I mean, he’s going to sit in the bubble and do what? I’ve got a 13-year-old. He’s going to do what? Five-year-old girl. There’s nothing for her to do. The park isn’t open. I mean, there’s only so many times she can go to the pool. My kids are too adventurous and they love to do so much stuff. It makes no sense for them to be here. There’s nothing for them to do here. Go outside, come back in, go outside, come back in. They can stay in L.A., and they’re great. There’s literally nothing for them to do here. This is not a kid-friendly place, let’s be honest.”

Given that James plans on staying in the Bubble through mid-October for a Lakers run to the Finals, it makes sense that he wouldn’t want to drag his kids on a month-and-a-half long excursion to a hotel. The amenities of the Orlando Bubble likely don’t match that of the James residence in L.A., and while LeBron would love to see his kids and have them around, he’s not exactly in a position right now to entertain them constantly with his focus on the Lakers playoff run.