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The latest right-wing freakout — over Barbie, of all things — caused a Newsmax host to snap on camera and flat out admit that she’s tired of boycotting seemingly every single thing that makes her fellow conservatives mad. It’s too many things!

During Thursday night’s episode of Chris Plante’s The Right Squad, Mercedes Schlapp started to weigh in on the Barbie controversy, which has evolved from complaints that the film promotes communist propaganda to accusations of being anti-men. Right out of the gate, Schlapp tipped her hand that she’s always been open to Barbie being smarter than Ken, but when she tried to parrot Ginger Gaetz’s criticism of the film, Schlapp just couldn’t do it.

“I gotta say I have to laugh at the Ken scene because I always did, when I was a young girl, I thought that Barbie was a lot smarter than Ken. You know what I mean?” Schlapp said. “I’m gonna take a page from Ginger Gaetz, Matt Gaetz’s wife who’s basically says, ‘Don’t go watch the movie because– when I was growing up about Barbie was about feminine empowerment, it was about limitless opportunities.’”

However, that’s when Schlapp broke and flat-out admitted that, screw it, she’s taking her daughters to see Barbie.

“I will say, I think it seems like it’s gonna be a fun movie,” Schlapp said. “I think for my girls who don’t really play with Barbies. They really didn’t even when they were younger. If they want to go see it, why not?”

With the truth out in the open, a clearly exhausted Schlapp threw the whole right-wing outrage machine under the bus.

“I just think at this point I’m boycotting so many things, I’m running out of things to boycott,” she said.

(Via Jason S. Campbell on Twitter)

With all due respect to Tom Cruise riding a motorcycle off a cliff and parachuting into a moving train, the only movies anyone can talk about this week are Barbie and Oppenheimer. Maybe not everyone should, though.

Arizona senator Kyrsten Sinema, who voted against raising the minimum wage and has been accused of being more concerned with the perks of her job than the job itself, attempted to capitalize on “Barbenheimer” fever. “Get you a Senator who can do both,” she tweeted, along with one photo where she’s wearing a pink dress and another in black and white. Get it? Like the movies?

The tweet is getting a big thumbs down from the internet.

“I think it’s perfect that the senator’s idea of doing something boils down to wearing a color and/or applying a black and white filter,” @nycsouthpaw tweeted, while @RBReich noted, “By ‘both’ do you think she means letting rich hedge-fund managers get away with massive tax breaks while also pushing millions of children into poverty by blocking expansion of the Child Tax Credit?” Or as succinctly put by @the_transit_guy, “You and Barbie can both be bought, so it makes sense.”

To be fair to Sinema, at least she didn’t record a video where she’s holding a hot dog like a maniac?

I will not for any politician who vows to never meme. This is a promise.

Earlier this year, the Jonas Brothers showed love to Waffle House with their song named after the beloved breakfast chain: “No, don’t get stressed, it’s gon’ get figured out / Oh, deep conversations at thе Waffle House,” they sing.

Now, another pop act is showing love to Waffle House: the one and only Lana Del Rey. Clips have been circulating of the singer working at the joint and donning an employee name tag behind the counter. She took a photo with a fan as well. This took place in Alabama.

In an interview earlier this year, she surprised many fans by revealing she shops at TJ Maxx, though it’s because of her dad, Rob Grant. “He’s the only f*cking reason why we get stopped at TJ Maxx,” said Lana. “If I’m with you, then there is zero chance that we’re having a calm day at Marshalls.”

The “Born To Die” performer also made many headlines when she performed at Brazil’s MITA Festival, her first concert in three years, and was vocal about losing her vape on stage. “And also if you see my vape on stage, can you find my vape on stage?” she said. “You did? Where, though? Oh, all the way in the pit?”

Let’s say you are starting a record label. Money is no object, and every artist and band in the world is a free agent. Who would you pick? That’s the premise of this week’s episode. This wholly original idea involves selecting acts that fall into five categories: prestige (they don’t stream big but they get great reviews), popular (they don’t get great reviews but they stream big), solo artist under the age of 28 (an up-and-comer you can lock in for a long time), band with three or fewer albums (ditto), and sacred cow (an act you sign because you love them).

Before Steven and Ian get to the draft, they talk about this weekend’s Pitchfork Festival — Ian is going and Steven is not — and their favorite performances from previous festivals. They also address some non-indie rock topics: The terrible new Jason Aldean song and the history of reactionary country hits that crossover into the mainstream for culture war reasons, and the forthcoming “Summer Of ’99” cruise featuring a reunited Creed plus a head-scratching mix of post-grunge and radio-friendly pop rock from the late ’90s.

In Recommendation Corner, Ian talks about the new book by Thursday frontman Geoff Rickly, while Steven chats up the new album by Texas surf-punks Being Dead.

New episodes of Indiecast drop every Friday. Listen to Episode 147 here and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. You can submit questions for Steve and Ian at [email protected], and make sure to follow us on Instagram and Twitter for all the latest news. We also recently launched a visualizer for our favorite Indiecast moments. Check those out here.

Stefani Germanotta went double method acting for Joker: Folie à Deux. The singer and actress, who you know better as Lady Gaga, made everyone call her “Lee” while filming the Joker sequel.

“I didn’t know Stefani at all. Strangely, I felt like I never even met her, even during the makeup/hair tests. Maybe it was my philosophy of not trying to get in their space,” Oscar-winning cinematographer Lawrence Sher told The Trenches Talk podcast, according to Variety. “I remember for a week being like, ‘God, I feel like we are disconnecting. Not even connecting. We are like on opposites.’ And I would say to my crew, ‘Jesus, I can’t crack it. She either hates me or we hate each other. There’s something weird going on here.’”

Sher barely said anything to “Lee,” other than minor things like, “Stefani, this is where your second team was.” Then, at one point, the assistant director told him, “Oh you know, Stef would like if you just called her Lee on set.” That’s when it clicked. “And I was like, 100 percent. The next thing I said was something ‘Lee,’ and it was like everything changed. From that point on, it was like she was… our whole connection changed. I was like, alright, cool,” he said.

“Lee” is presumably a reference to “Harley,” as in Harley Quinn. But if Lady Gaga doesn’t get an Oscar nomination for her performance in the movie, it’s because she didn’t make everyone call her Lady Haha.

You can listen to the podcast below.

(Via Variety)

Tony Bennett (real name Anthony Dominick Benedetto) is dead at 96 years old. Publicist Sylvia Weiner confirmed the iconic singer’s death to The Associated Press, saying he died in his hometown of New York today (July 21). A cause of death has not yet been confirmed, but Bennett was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2016.

Bennett’s career as a recording artist began in the 1950s. His debut single was released in 1951 and it topped the charts in the US. He released his signature song, “I Left My Heart in San Francisco,” in 1962. He maintained a successful career for decades and in later years, he became known for his two collaborative albums with Lady Gaga: Cheek To Cheek in 2014 and Love For Sale in 2021. All in all, Bennett ended up winning 19 Grammy Awards (in 2022, he became the second-oldest person to ever win a Grammy). His final live performances were shows with Gaga at Radio City Music Hall in 2021.

In a 2021 interview on The Late Show, Gaga got emotional speaking about Bennett and Alzheimer’s, saying in part, “I love him very deeply, and watching him begin his journey with Alzheimer’s years ago, I remember I wanted to make good on a promise I made to him. […] He goes, ‘Hey Lady!’ That’s what he calls me, he calls me ‘Lady.’ ‘Hey Lady, we need to make a Cole Porter record, all Cole Porter songs, all love songs.’ […] Then a couple years later, his Alzheimer’s just started to set on and I said, ‘Let’s go into the studio now,’ and we did. And when I tell you that when jazz begins, this man lights up in a way that is such magic. It just reminded me that anybody that has a family member or somebody that they love that’s suffering from Alzheimer’s or dementia, music is… music is magic. Music is a miracle.”

It seems like most people have thoughts on Jason Aldean’s allegedly racist and pro-violence song “Try That In A Small Town” and its accompanying video. Now, the hosts of The View have also chimed in.

Whoopi Goldberg kicked off the discussion on yesterday’s (July 20) show, saying (as Entertainment Weekly notes):

“He talks about life in a small town, and it’s different, and he chose these images. He’s got folks from the Black Lives Matter movement, and he’s talking about people taking care of each other, and I find it so interesting that it never occurred to Jason or the writers that that’s what these folks were doing: They were taking care of the people in their town because they didn’t like what they saw.”

Just like you talk about people taking care of each other in small towns, we do the same thing in big towns. You just have to realize that when you make it about Black Lives Matter, people kind of say, ‘Well, are you talking about Black people? What are you talking about here?’”

Sunny Hostin also noted, “What was evoked for me was…. those sundown areas. My mother and father, because they were an interracial couple, were run out of South Carolina by the KKK. My father is still scarred from that experience… so don’t tell me that not only was he aware of what he was doing by using that imagery: he embraces that imagery. Unfortunately, this became the No. 1 song on US iTunes. We have a problem in this country about race, and the biggest problem is we refuse to admit that it exists.”

Check out the segment above.

Rihanna and ASAP Rocky have a baby together and another on the way. Given their relationship status and the fact that they’re both respected musical artists, it would make sense that at some point, the two could do something like their own version of Jay-Z and Beyoncé’s Everything Is Love and make some music together. Now, the question is: Do they have a song coming?

Rocky seemingly teased one on his newly released single “Riot (Rowdy Pipe’n),” which includes the line, “Luxe balm up in my palm / New collab’ with my baby mom.”

While lyrics are of course open to interpretation and aren’t always 100-percent reflective of reality, Rocky did just tell Complex that he and Rihanna do have some things on the way, but not necessarily music. He said, “I’m always down to collab with my partner. She’s a phenomenal creative. Yeah, there’s a lot of things we’re going to collaborate on, from products for children, there’s a lot of things to look forward to.”

He also spoke of his partnership with Beats, saying, “[Beats] is a heritage brand at this point, and I think that they really advocated to have me display my different talents. They also showed love and made sure that the [new] music was in video; they were just open to the ideas that I wanted to do. And I think that’s what made them a great partner, for just allowing me to really take the wheel.”

Jaxon Carter is an incredible example of turning tragedy into triumph. The 6-year-old boy lost his mother, Taryn Marie Gainey, in an accidental apartment fire in Harrison Township, Michigan, when he was 5, a few weeks before he started kindergarten.

Even though his life had been turned upside down by tragedy, young Jaxon excelled at his school, New Dawn Academy, a public STEM-focused charter school. He won his class spelling Bee, received honors in nearly all of his subjects and graduating valedictorian of his class.

In June, his teacher asked him to give his class a valedictory address, and he delivered a 4-minute speech from memory that he wrote with his grandma. “When I started kindergarten at New Dawn Academy in August 2022, I was a little 5-year-old who had lost my beautiful mother a month before,” Jaxon said.

@blackdollarntwk

♻️ lG/blackinformationnetwork 6-year-old Jaxon Carter delivered an emotional speech dedicated to his late mom at his graduation ceremony. Jaxon lost his mom, Taryn Marie Gainey, last July in an apartment fire. Jaxon started kindergarten at a new school in Sterling Heights, MI

But he persevered and put all of his efforts into his studies. “I learned to play with other kids, read books, answer or ask questions like how or why, use correct grammar and use my school tablet,” he continued. “My kindergarten year helped me grow braver, smarter, kind-hearted and more grateful.”

He ended his speech by paying tribute to his beloved mother. “I dedicate my speech, good grades, all school awards, and my kindergarten graduation to my beautiful mommy, who I will always love and miss so very much. I know she will always be with me in my heart,” Carter said.

He also thanked his grandmother, uncles and dad for their support. “You are the best daddy ever, and I love you so very much,” Carter said to rapturous applause.

A new era of Zayn is upon us. Two years after his third album, Nobody Is Listening and with a freshly signed deal with Mercury Records, Zayn is back with his new single, “Love Like This.”

On his new song, produced and written by Jon Bellion and songwriting collective The Monsters & Strangerz, Zayn and his special love are going through a rough patch. But regardless, his heart still beats only for her.

“I just wanna take your time / and everything is on the line / but I would rather be dead / If it’s gonna mean a life that’s lived without you, baby / I guess that’s love like this,” he sings on the song’s chorus.

Earlier this month, Zayn made an appearance on Alex Cooper’s Call Her Daddy podcast, which marked his first interview in six years. Though he’s maintained a steady flow of music, Zayn admitted he felt it was necessary to take a break from the spotlight in order to home in on who he is as an artist.

“You don’t want to be sat there saying the same sh*t on repeat,” Zayn said. “I mean, day in and day out, I think this should be a good, healthy break in-between — and that was my approach to it. ”

You can see the video for “Love Like This” above.