Category: Trending

As Ron DeSantis and the Walt Disney Company continue their bitter feud, the Florida governor’s attorneys have made a bold move by trying to goad the entertainment giant into giving up on its lawsuit against DeSantis.

The lawsuit alleges that DeSantis retaliated against the House of Mouse for its opposition to his controversial “Don’t Say Gay” law. The governor has used the full power of the state to go after the special district where Disneyworld Resort resides, and the entertainment giant has argued that the legislative moves are a violation of its first amendment rights. It also hasn’t helped DeSantis’ case that he and state Republicans have publicly stated their intentions to punish Disney for going “woke.”

However, DeSantis’ attorneys have repeatedly argued that he has “absolute legislative immunity,” and that was once again the lynchpin of their recent motion.

“The Governor welcomes Disney’s surrender on all of its claims challenging his legislative acts,” DeSantis legal team wrote, according to CNBC:

The state’s attorneys claimed that Disney, in a filing last month, effectively conceded that much of its initial complaint amounted to little more than “a glorified press release.” That’s because Disney “now claims that it is challenging only the Governor’s executive actions,” not his legislative actions, the attorneys for DeSantis argued.

Disney, however, has argued in court filings that DeSantis is not as immune as he thinks he is.

“Because this suit seeks to enjoin the Governor from performing executive acts, legislative immunity does not protect him from suit,” Disney wrote.

DeSantis’ legal team has also previously argued that Disney has failed “to state a claim on which relief can be granted,” which is not true. The Disney lawsuit essentially seeks to restore the “status quo” that existed before DeSantis and state Republicans start ripping up decades-old agreements in their “anti-woke” crusade.

(Via CNBC)

Phil Mickelson’s love of gambling is well-known. He’s never been secretive about his desire to have some action on games and his money matches in practice rounds on Tour (and now with LIV Golf) are legendary — and LIV even makes videos of them for the public.

However, that love of gambling has gotten Phil into some issues and is part of why he joined LIV, with a reported $40 million in losses in the early 2010s alone. That number is apparently only scratching the surface, as legendary sports gambler Billy Walters released an excerpt from his new book in Golf Digest that includes two chapters on Mickelson, as the two had a partnership for a few years, offering up detailed records of Phil’s wild betting. There’s a lot to take in and I highly suggest reading the full excerpt, as it alleges Phil tried to bet $400,000 on the 2012 Ryder Cup he was playing in — which would’ve lost — but Walters refused. It also includes a full on accounting of how much Phil was betting and how often, with some absolutely stunning figures.

They said it was nothing for Phil to bet $20,000 a game on long-shot, five-team NBA parlays. Or wager $100,000 or $200,000 a game on football, basketball, and baseball. Based upon my detailed betting records and additional records provided by the sources, here is a snapshot of Phil’s gambling habit between 2010 and 2014:

• He bet $110,000 to win $100,000 a total of 1,115 times.

• On 858 occasions, he bet $220,000 to win $200,000. (The sum of those 1,973 gross wagers came to more than $311 million.)

• In 2011 alone, he made 3,154 bets—an average of nearly nine per day.

• On one day in 2011 (June 22), he made forty-three bets on major-league baseball games, resulting in $143,500 in losses.

• He made a staggering 7,065 wagers on football, basketball, and baseball.

Based on our relationship and what I’ve since learned from others, Phil’s gambling losses approached not $40 million as has been previously reported, but much closer to $100 million. In all, he wagered a total of more than $1 billion during the past three decades.

The only other person I know who surpassed that kind of volume is me.

I enjoy spraying the board with bets as much as anyone, as having a little action definitely keeps me a little more locked in on games, but to have that much volume with that much at stake is truly insane. And this isn’t just hearsay, as Walters kept detailed records of bets made during his partnership with Mickelson and knows firsthand how much Mickelson was heaving. Part of the reason his partnership with Walters ended was the sportsbooks realized Phil was winning too much and his betting was “too disciplined” which raised red flags that he wasn’t just making the bets himself.

It’s hard to decide what the most jaw-dropping part of this excerpt is, as I’m torn between $20,000 5-team long-shot NBA parlays and likely betting $1 billion in total, but I think the funniest one is making 43 MLB bets in one day and losing six figures in the middle of June. Mickelson’s gambling debts were allegedly part of what led him to chase the LIV Golf money, and if Walters’ estimate is right and the $40 million report was not even close to the amount he’s lost, it’s no surprise he was chasing that payday.

Before Tory Lanez was sentenced to a decade in prison for shooting Megan Thee Stallion, it was reported that Iggy Azalea wrote a letter to the judge on behalf of Lanez, which she later addressed. Now, we have the full letter.

Meghann Cuniff, a legal affairs journalist who has been covering the trial and sentencing, obtained a copy of the letter, which was written in February. Azalea wrote, “I deeply appreciate the person he is and have never witnessed him loose his temper or raise his voice at a woman. He’s always been incredibly respectful of me and I refuse to believe that he would do anything in malice especially to a woman.”

She also noted, “I must make note of the things ive suffered through so that you understand definitively: I would not write to you on behalf of an abuser.”

Read the full letter below.

“Dear Honorable Judge Herriford,

I’m writing to you in regards to a case in your court.

My name is Iggy Azalea and I’ve been a successful musician for the last decade.

Ive sold over 65 million records throughout my career, had number 1 hits on the billboard hot 100 and broken records previously held by ‘The Beatles’.

My music has been nominated for 6 Grammys and I have a multitude of other musical awards.

Throughout my career I’ve toured with some of the biggest acts in music: from Beyonce to Pitbull.
Ive also collaborated with everyone from Britney Spears to Jenifer Lopez. In short, like yourself, I’m great at what I do and I’m well respected by my peers.

Becoming successful is incredibly hard to do and maintaining success is even harder.

The music industry is not designed to empower Artists – especially not women.

You learn to expect misogyny at every turn, no matter how much you’ve personally achived.

Sadly I’ve spent my entire career battling sexism and bad behavior behind the curtains.

One unfortunate consequence of that is I am victim of abuse myself.

I must make note of the things ive suffered through so that you understand definitively:
I would not write to you on behalf of an abuser.

In fact, its the very reason I felt it imperative I share my viewpoint as a woman in music: in regard to Daystar Peterson.

You are presiding over his case and It would mean a great deal to me if you’d please let me share with you why ‘Tory Lanez’ is far from your average entitled rap star.

I believe in justice and I know you do too. You’ve dedicated your life’s work to it and I respect that deeply.

Thats why im taking my time to do this, because I know the person you are understands in order to truly conclude what a fair sentence is, You need better understanding of who the person you’re sentencing IS at their core.

Judge Herriford, I was elated when I saw your name in relation to this trial because you have a reputation of being a very fair judge.

In fact its one of the reasons I was sadnned Daystar had subpar legal counsel and did not take the stand at his own trial.

We’ve all been frozen in fear before. The unfortunate side effect of his choice is he’s been painted in the most unrecognizable way: to you, the jury and the public.

Daystar Peterson is not the pest you’ve heard about, he’s a gardener. He helps others bloom. Any leniency you may afford him would be something you could be proud of.

You see, daystar has been helping me from the moment I met him. Our paths crossed in 2018 while working in the same recording studio. Although he was writing music for another artist, he took the initiative to come to my room in his break time and play song ideas he’d written for me too.

This resonated with me because it’s highly unusual for someone who’s already very successful to want to help others.

Music is competitive in that way.

We’ve remained friends since and what I’ve come to understand about Daystar is: he’s genuinely passionate about helping others. He will go out of his way to help someone he sees even a glimmer of greatness inside.

Although he’s an incredible songwriter, it’s my belief this is his true gift.

Seeing what could be, and becoming the driving force to make it happen.

He battled and overcame some incredible odds on his pathway to success, in many ways he’s still battling now.

I think that’s one of the reasons he always fights hard to elevate others.

One of my favorite examples of this is the story of how he came to hire his personal assistant; Mario.

Daystar was stopped at a red-light with his window down when a guy in his early twenties yelled from the sidewalk:

‘Im chasing a dream too and ill do anything to work with you! Im working for postmates! Please let me give you my resume.’

Shockingly Daystar took his number, called the next day and interviewed him for a job.
He wasn’t in need of another employee. Still he created an internship and later a full time job for Mario. Ive seen him silently help people empower themselves in this way time and time again.

He creates space for others to be great.

I deeply appreciate the person he is and have never witnessed him loose his temper or raise his voice at a woman.

He’s always been incredibly respectful of me and I refuse to believe that he would do anything in malice especially to a woman.

Ive witnessed him defuse so many sticky situations with kindness and humor, he is the last person to loose his cool.

I’ve never encountered this jealous, rage filled person he’s accused of being. I know him to be someone who’s always bursting with happiness. In the moments you want to cry, if you call daystar, he will find a way to make you laugh.

Since Daystar remains in jail, many of his employees are left without work. I took it upon myself to hire six of his staff members, full time.

I did this not only because they are great hardworking people, but so that they remain in a position to transition back into running his business when he’s completed his sentence. Im doing all I can to make sure he’s in a position to come home and get back to work.

I hope that you’ll consider a sentence that allows for this to be transformational and not life destroying. Not only for Daystar – but for his family, son and the countless others who depend on him & are committed to helping him reach his full potential.

If daystar is able to remain in the United States after he has served his time, I would employ him without hesitation as an executive producer on my next album.
In fact – I already hired him for the job prior to his conviction!

I guarantee to you he has significant income and work awaiting him upon release if you would kindly consider a sentence that does not require deportation.

I have remained in close contact with him during his incarceration and I am confident he has already gained positive insight in regard to this experience. He leads a prayer circle nightly and is already empowering others during his time in Jail.

In fact when we spoke last week, told me he’s glad God put him in jail. He said this is an opportunity to humble himself and soften his heart – ironic to hear one of the kindest people I know strive to become even kinder.

Im not shocked – Its who he is!

Watering and shinning light on others until something beautiful grows.

Thank you for taking the time to hear what I have to say in relation to Daystars character.

Kind regards,

Iggy Azalea.”

Megan Thee Stallion is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Barbie is so good, it’s making a believer out of notorious buzzkills.

PETA, the animal rights organization with a history of stunts that even vegans think are over the top, praised the Greta Gerwig film for “keeping animals’ skins out of the mojo dojo casa house.” (Imagine explaining that sentence to someone four months ago.) Now, Neil deGrasse Tyson is joining the fun, a word not often used with the astrophysicist. Instead of pointing out some pedantic inaccuracy in Barbie, he figured out where Barbie Land (which he erroneously referred to as “Barbie World”) would be located in the real world.

“In @BarbieTheMovie, the Moon’s orientation places Barbie World between 20 & 40 deg North Latitude on Earth. Palm trees further constrain latitude between 20 & 30 deg. The Sun & Moon rose & set over the ocean. If it’s in the US, Barbie World lands somewhere in the Florida Keys,” he tweeted.

At any moment in Florida Keys, there are hundreds of guys who are dressed like this, so Tyson’s claim checks out.

The StarTalk host also shared his thoughts on the -enheimer in Barbenheimer. “August 9, 2023. On this, the 78th anniversary of the plutonium fission bomb dropped on Nagasaki, I teared multiple times while watching the film #Oppenheimer. Bearing witness to my physics brethren, some reluctant, some enthusiastic, create weapons of mass destruction,” he tweeted. Tyson stopped there and mercifully didn’t “well, actually…” the sex scene.

Lorde is coming off the relatively underwhelming release of her 2021 album Solar Power: It received less critical acclaim than her first two LPs, didn’t perform as well on the charts, and yielded no hit singles. Now, though, it appears something new could be on the way, per a new teaser.

Sharing some photos of herself swimming in a pool, Lorde wrote on Instagram last night, “After the show we went swimming.. these times are beautiful and they freak me out and there’s so much to tell you. No this is not the start of anything out there, just want u to know there’s a light on inside me .. show it to you soon.”

This post followed performances at the All Together Now Festival in Ireland on August 6 and at Øya Festival in Oslo, Norway on August 9 (as NME notes). During those shows, Lorde presented the “the ‘Night Vision’ edition of the Solar Power tour,” featuring an updated stage aesthetic and more pop-oriented versions of Solar Power songs. Naturally, this sparked speculation about new material from Lorde, which was fueled further by her post.

Speaking of swimming, Lorde had a bit of a viral moment around this time last year, when she performed in Washington DC and told her audience about swimming in the Potomac River. The waterway is infamous for not being super clean, so her audience laughed and made noises of disgust when Lorde delivered the news. Lorde later learned why everybody was so grossed out, though, and was a good sport about it.

Earlier this month, Taylor Swift announced a run of The Eras Tour concerts in the US for 2024. As far as this year, though, the final Eras concert went down at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium last night (August 9). Swift made sure to make the event special by dropping a major piece of news: Her next re-recorded album will be 1989 (Taylor’s Version).

Between songs, Swift spoke about how special her fans have made The Eras Tour and how good it’s felt that they’ve embraced the Taylor’s Version albums. She continued, “And so now here we are, on the last night of the US leg of The Eras Tour, in the eighth month of the year… on the ninth day.” At this point, the crowd was in an uproar when they realized what was happening. Swift dragged it out a little bit longer before pointing to an on-screen graphic revealing that 1989 (Taylor’s Version) is set for release on October 27.

She even had the album title projected on the SoFi Stadium roof.

In her social media announcement, Swift wrote, “Surprise!! 1989 (Taylor’s Version) is on its way to you [soon]! The 1989 album changed my life in countless ways, and it fills me with such excitement to announce that my version of it will be out October 27th. To be perfectly honest, this is my most FAVORITE re-record I’ve ever done because the 5 From The Vault tracks are so insane. I can’t believe they were ever left behind. But not for long!”

1989 (Taylor’s Version) is out 10/27 via Republic. Pre-order it here.

In April, Miguel returned after a long hiatus with the song “Give It To Me,” followed by “Sure Thing” in June. It’s only getting better from here after the announcement of another new single featuring an artist who this year has been on a lot of people’s minds.

“Number 9” is arriving Friday, August 11, and it features Lil Yachty, whose January record Let’s Start Here was a polarizing release. Miguel shared an alluring teaser to Twitter that previews a catchy harmony and shows the blue single art with a scorpion on it.

At the Let’s Start Here listening event, Lil Yachty explained why the record was important to him. “This album is so special and dear to me,” he said. “I think I created it because I wanted to be taken seriously as an artist. You know? Not just some SoundCloud rapper. Not some mumble rapper. Not some guy that just made one hit. I wanted to be taken seriously because music is everything to me, and I respect all walks of music. Not just rap and hip-hop but everything. I wanted to make something that showed the world that shows it, just how great music is to me.”

“Number 9” is out 8/11 on Sony Music. Find more information here.

Barbie may be a money-gobbling behemoth, but not everyone’s a fan. Greta Gerwig’s follow-up to her prized adaptation of Little Women has proven unexpectedly controversial, at least among far-right dorks. (That Joe Rogan has been the voice of reason here shows how weird things have gotten.) But haters in America have some company abroad: Its proven controversial in some Middle Eastern countries, with one banning it outright and another thinking of doing so.

As per The Hollywood Reporter, the frothy yet feminist movie about a doll escaped being banned in the region’s two biggest markets, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. It wasn’t so lucky in Kuwait. The same fate may befall it in Lebanon, which may seem strange given that it’s among the region’s more liberal nations.

Still, Barbie’s caught the ire of the country’s culture minister Mohammad Mortada, who’s claimed that it “promotes homosexuality” and “contradicts values of faith and morality,” allegedly by diminishing the role of the family unit.

The latter charge is a bit perplexing; it’s a movie about sentient dolls. (It also features a mother and daughter as prominent characters, though maybe Mortada doesn’t like that dad’s not in the picture, much less all that dragging of the patriarchy.)

As for the “promotes homosexuality” charge, the film doesn’t have any clear gay characters (though one of the Barbies is played by trans actress Hari Nef and another by Kate McKinnon, who’s gay). In fact, star Margot Robbie has pointed out that all the doll characters don’t have any sexuality in part because none of them have genitals. Maybe they’re just mad that it’s extremely pink.

And so moviegoers of Lebanon — and Kuwait — will be deprived a movie so good it broke the brain of Ben Shapiro. Way for the leaders of both nations to choose the wrong side.

(Via THR)

Last year’s Elements Music & Arts Festival was a major success, featuring performers like Kaskade (redux), Rezz, Fisher, Sofi Tukker, Zeds Dead, Claude Vonstroke, and more. Taking place in Long Pond, Pennsylvania, the event is set to unfold this year from August 11 to August 13, with artists like Skrillex, Porter Robinson, John Summit, Elderbrook, Ganja White Night, Lotus, and more.

The festival has five stages — the Air Stage, the Earth Stage, the Fire Stage, the Water Stage, and the Wub Hub — and all of them have an array of amazing musicians over the course of the weekend.

You can find the set times for the festival below.

Friday, August 11

Air Stage

2:00-3:00 — Jø
3:00-4:00 — DJ Prophet
4:00-5:00 — Mustafa Faheem
5:00-6:30 — Max & Dana
6:30-8:00 — Black Diamond
8:00-9:30 — Gab Rhome
9:30-11:00 — Qrion
11:00-12:30 — Eli & Fur
1:00-2:00 — Elderbrook

Earth Stage

12:00-12:45 — Lu Filthy
12:45-1:45 — Rafeeki
1:45-2:45 — Jon Casey
3:00-4:00 — Manic Focus
4:30-6:00 — Pigeons Playing Ping Pong
6:30-7:30 — Mersiv
8:00-9:15 — Lotus
9:45-11:00 — STS9
11:30-12:45 — Ganja White Night

Fire Stage

4:00-5:00 — Castor & Pollux
5:00-6:00 — Jungle Punk
6:00-7:00 — Olaf
7:00-8:00 — Sommer
8:00-9:15 — Tres Mortimer
9:15-10:30 — Sam Blacky
10:35-12:05 — Tchami
12:15-2:00 — John Summit

Water Stage

12:00-1:00 — Berger & Beezy
1:00-2:00 — DJ Dayoh
2:00-3:00 — DMTR
3:00-4:00 — N2N
4:00-6:00 — SNBRN

Wub Hub

4:00-5:00 — Trowl
5:00-6:00 — Shotgun Knights
6:00-7:00 — LEUTHERO
7:00-8:00 — Festival Finesser
8:00-9:00 — Masta Plan
9:00-10:00 — Crawdad Sniper
10:00-11:00 — Nikademis
11:00-12:00 — SAVAS
12:00-1:00 — Barnacle Boi
1:00-2:00 — Skeler

Saturday, August 12

Air Stage

2:00-3:00 — Diossa
3:00-4:00 — Ohad Baruch
4:00-5:00 — Joey Greiner
5:00-6:00 — Drew Proud
6:00-7:30 — Rïa Mehta
7:30-9:00 — Tony Y Not
9:00-10:30 — Tinlicker
10:30-12:00 — Will Clarke
12:00-2:00 — David Homme

Earth Stage

12:00-1:00 — HGods
1:00-2:00 — Villa
2:30-3:30 — Giant Panda Guerilla Sub Squad
4:00-5:00 — Elephant Heart
5:10-6:10 — Moore Kismet
6:20-7:20 — Zingara
7:30-8:30 — Daily Bread
8:40-9:40 — Peekaboo
9:50-10:50 — LSDream
11:00-12:20 — Subtronics

Fire Stage

4:00-5:00- Dante Saverio
5:00-6:00 — ISME
6:00-7:30 — Massane
7:30-9:00 — Lane 8
9:15-10:15 — DOT
10:15-11:15 — Coco & Breezy
11:15-12:30 — Gorgon City
12:30-2:00 — Skrillex

Water Stage

1:00-2:00 — Riva & Bianca
2:00-3:00 — Kaleena Zanders
3:00-5:00 — LP Giobbi

Wub Hub

2:00-3:00 — Bellatrxx
3:00-4:00 — Wusta
4:00-5:00 — Kitty Pack
5:00-6:00 — LYQD
7:00-8:00 — Soukii
8:00-9:00 — Tunic
9:00-10:00 — Mikayli
10:00-11:00 — Gurf B2B Runnit
11:00-12:00 — Tsimba
12:00-1:00 — Cyber G
1:00-2:00 — kLL sMTH

Sunday, August 13

Air Stage

11:00-12:00 — Lightcode by LSDream
2:00-3:00 — Joy Supply
3:00-4:00 — DJ Shango
4:00-5:00 — Billy Bevevino
5:00-6:00 — Koopmusik
6:00-7:30 — Dastan
7:30-9:00 — Nala
9:15-10:30 — Joplyn
10:45-12:00 — TOKiMONSTA
12:30-2:00 — Giolì & Assia

Earth Stage

12:00-1:00 — Camnah
1:00-2:00 — Mantra Sounds
3:30-4:30 — Splintered Sunlight
5:00-6:00 — Yam Yam
6:30-7:30 — Doom Flamingo
8:00-9:00 — Level Up
9:00-10:00 — Of The Trees
10:05-11:15 — Rezz
11:30-12:45 — Porter Robinson

Fire Stage

4:00-5:00 — Johnny Mahon
5:00-6:00 — Shek
6:00-7:00 — Skillathon
7:00-8:00 — Lauchness
8:00-9:00 — Papyon
9:00-10:00 — Golden Pony
10:00-11:15 — Honeyluv
11:15-12:30 — Noizu
12:30-2:00 — Chris Lake

Water Stage

1:00-2:00 — Jackal Jyve
2:00-3:00 — RNÉ

Wub Hub

2:00-3:00 — Android Dreaming
2:00-4:00 — Second Nature
4:00-5:00 — JiV
5:00-6:00 — Lavier
6:00-7:00 — Curra
7:00-8:00 — VIDE
8:00-9:00 — Madi
9:00-10:00 — Melodelic
10:00-11:00 — XL
11:00-1:00 — Queen City Takeover
1:00-2:00 — Chef Boyarbeatz

The first episode of this season of Hard Knocks featured an awful lot of Aaron Rodgers, which is not surprising as he is the biggest reason HBO selected the New York Jets as the team they’ll follow this season.

The episode highlighted Rodgers first week of camp in New York, his love of Hard Knocks narrator Liev Schrieber (who flew in for a practice to meet the star QB), and his budding relationships with young stars like Garrett Wilson and Sauce Gardner. There was also the secondary storyline of Zach Wilson trying to embrace being demoted to Rodgers’ backup and making the most out of his opportunity to learn from an all-time great as he will look to revitalize his young career once Rodgers ends his.

However, while all of that was fairly entertaining, it did not hold a candle to the best moment of the first episode which took place during a very brief check in with the defensive line. Solomon Thomas was trying to get his fellow linemen to join him for a Broadway show, but had some concerns about whether all of them could behave appropriately at the theater. His chief concern was with Tanzel Smart, who was offended that his etiquette would be questioned when he was just trying to broaden his horizons by going to a Broadway show and eating a “car-coochie” board.

Look, charcuterie is a tough word and we’ve all fumbled saying something before, but “car-coochie” is an all-timer and sent his fellow linemen into hysterics. This really was the most entertaining part of the show. Thomas insisted they’d like going to Broadway but the rest of the big fellas had concerns about seat size and if it’d hurt their knees to be crammed in a theater seat. Only Smart was into it, but he was the one Thomas had reservations about. I really hope the second episode features all of them going to a show and getting their reviews of it. I also hope they get Smart a charcuterie board.