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Every day for the past month-plus, there’s been one, two, sometimes three bizarre allegations about George Santos. The newly sworn-in GOP representative has been busted embellishing or lying about his résumé, his history, even his mom’s death. He’s also been accused of some truly alarming, leftfield deeds. On Tuesday, a story alleged that he stole money from a GoFundMe to save a dying dog’s life. (The dog later died.) Now it’s alleged one of the latest members of the anti-drag queen party used to be…a drag queen.

MSNBC contributor Marisa Kabas took to Twitter Wednesday, saying she spoke with a Brazilian drag queen named Eula Rochard. She claims to have been friends with Santos when he used to in near Rio. But “George Santos” is not what she — or, she said, anyone — called him.

“She said everyone knew him as Anthony (*never* George), or by his drag name, Kitara, and confirms this photo is from a 2008 drag show at Icaraí Beach,” Kabas posted, alongside a fuzzy picture of two drag queens, one believed to be Santos, if that is his real name.

Rochard told Kabas that she first befriended Santos when he was a teenager “because they were both gay and enjoyed drag.” When Santos became a prolific news fixture due to the many, many, many allegations against him, she realized it was the same person. No one believed her, so she dug into her old photos and found the one since posted by Kabas on social media.

When the story was made public, the news left some thinking they wouldn’t be surprised by any Santos story, no matter how creatively leftfield, at this point.

Some were impressed by how prolific the guy is.

Others noted that the revelations come at a time when the party to which he belongs has been on not only an anti-LGTBQIA+ tirade, but had singled out drag queens as some kind of menace — even after far right domestic terrorists had shot up places holding drag queen performances.

Santos will probably do what he’s done after every single other of the many allegations against him: Nothing. Ditto GOP highers-up, who have placed him on committees despite his alleged deceptions.

Still, some noted, the guy sure has a lot of aliases at this point.

At least there’s finally a picture of Santos not wearing a sweater.

Some were even impressed that he now has a drag queen story to his rap sheet.

There’s a good argument to be made that Eric Ripert is among the preeminent seafood chefs in world. Certainly in the world of Western cuisine, though I’m virtually certain he would disclaim any such accolade. His flagship restaurant, Le Bernardin, in midtown Manhattan, has been at the top of the seafood game for decades—its three Michelin stars make it, by at least that one measure, among the very best restaurants in New York City.

Owing both to his own substantial success as a chef and his connection with the late Anthony Bourdain—their friendship was featured in caricatured form over more than a decade on the late chef and TV host’s shows—he has achieved a level of fame to which most of the world’s top chefs will only ever aspire. Which is why when this landlubber (pirate sic) had the opportunity to sit down with Ripert at the Ritz Carlton in Grand Cayman—home to his other seafood-forward joint, Blue—to talk food, fish, and more, I leaped at the opportunity.

Seafood holds an interesting place in my life — I grew up in eastern Oklahoma and although my father is an excellent cook and a seafood lover, and I’ve since lived all over the world, mostly near an ocean, the gene seems to have skipped a generation. I’ll almost always reach for anything but an animal that once lived in the water. But when Eric Ripert is excited about something it’s very easy to share that buzz — so I came at him ready for a very seafood-focused chat.

One more note — at the time of my interview with Ripert, I’d spent the morning kayaking around the mangroves accessible right outside the back of the Ritz. I was late coming back, so I ran to my room for a lightning-fast shower and shave, then ran down to the bar to wait for the chef who found me sitting at a table with my notepad, dabbing vodka on my neck.

I know this looks really weird. I don’t have any aftershave, so I just bought a shot of vodka and … well, that’s why I’m dabbing a shot of vodka on my neck.

Quite fine….

Old traveler’s trick….

Yeah….perfect…..

How was your afternoon?

My afternoon is good. I was just in the kitchen and came up to see you.

Do you have a favorite knife?

[Long pause.] No. I do not. I have many different knives that I enjoy very much. But knives are very different depending on what you are doing, depending on the use. So I have some Takamura knives, which are made in Japan by the Takamura brothers, where I went to take my knives from the factory. It takes them three to four years to make a knife. The blade is all sculpted. So those knives could be my favorite, but they are not, because I don’t use them that much — though they are very special to me.

I use a lot of a brand called MAC. It’s Japanese, made in Japan as well but it’s designed for Westerners. The way Western chefs use the knife is very different from the Japanese. The cuts are different. I like MAC a lot but at home, I have some Wüstoffs for the family and myself, which I think are my favorite to share with the family. And again I have many, many different obscure Japanese names, so… I have a lot of knives.

What is your process for creating a new dish, evaluating progress, and coming up with ideas?

Creativity is very difficult. It’s not difficult in itself, but it’s very difficult to know when you can be creative and when you’re not gonna be creative. I mean, you cannot push a button and say, “I’m creative” and push a button to say “I’m stopping to be creative.” So you basically have to create a certain soil for creativity where your ideas are going to come out, like seeds.

I have the luck to live in New York, which is, as you know, a melting pot of cultures. It’s basically the UN in the street. And I interact with a lot of chefs from other countries. I see different products from other countries. I learn different techniques; new flavors. And I have the luck to travel. I go to Asia or the Caribbean or Europe. I was in Italy this summer. I basically absorb a lot when I go in the streets. I don’t necessarily force myself to come up with ideas. It’s the period when I’m absorbing.

And when I come back, I carry a paper with me very often, or next to my bed, and ideas for me come whenever they want. It’s a visual flash for me. It’s hard to say that I see the flavors and I see the dish—it comes as a visual flash. And a lot of friends of mine have a different way of getting creative. Some of them are very particular and very organized and take notes on plants. And me, I wait for the flash.

Can you describe that visual flash in detail?

I’m gonna describe for you something interesting. I was in Sweden a long time ago and I was eating with a friend of mine, who is creative too, he is a chef, and we were eating in a restaurant and they gave us, I remember, deer, rare, cooked very rare. And it was flat on the plate and it was an appetizer, and I had a flash of tuna carpaccio with foie gras. But it hits me in the head so strongly that my friend could feel it. And he told me, he said, “I know what you’re thinking of?”

I said, “What am I thinking of?”

He said, “You’re thinking of tuna carpaccio.

I said, “How do you know!?”

He said it was so strong. He said, “I’m gonna do it before you.”

At the time he was a chef in San Francisco, at Aqua, a two-star Michelin.

And I said, “Well I’m gonna do it before, I know how to make it. I had the flash.”

So I took some notes and went back to New York, and in one shot the dish came out. Sometimes I have a flash and the dish never comes out because it’s a mediocre idea—intellectually it makes sense but when you put it on the table or start to work with the ingredients, it doesn’t work. Sometimes it takes me years and years from the idea to create the dish. Sometimes it takes a week. Sometimes in one shot. But that one was one shot and that is exactly the perfect description. And that dish became a signature dish of Blue and Le Bernardin.

What do you like to cook for your friends and family?

Depends on the season…

Or I should start by asking, do you like to cook for your friends and family?

Yes, haha, I do. I do on the weekend because during the week I am at the restaurant. And I try to always go out one day and the second day I cook. So like I said it depends on the season. I have a country house in Long Island. Two hours from New York, next to Montauk. We have a lot of farms there in the summer, so I have a tendency to go to the farm stands in the morning and buy way too many things. My cooking is a lot about vegetables. And I do a lot of different preparations and recipes.

We put it in the middle of a long table and we invite friends. It’s very convivial, we share. It’s casual but very, very vegetable oriented. In the winter, a lot of braised meats, and coq au vin, chicken braised in red wine. And sometimes I just want to cook fish like at the restaurant. But my cooking is very different from at the restaurant — it’s never like fine dining type cooking, it’s more like home food. Home cooking.

Speaking of vegetables, I wonder if you feel like a vegetable stock can ever achieve the depth of a—

Yes

of a meat stock?

Yes. absolutely. Absolutely it can. You have to use ingredients that have a lot of umami, or that brings a lot of flavors that are, like, coming from the soil. For instance, if you do a broth and you want to have meat flavors, a little bit of soy sauce, some mushroom, dried, fresh. And then if you really want to make it even richer and really seal those flavors and make it meaty, you put a little bit of lentils. The starch of the lentils and the iron that is in the vegetables—the lentils have the characteristic of bringing some artificial, natural obviously, meaty flavor, like coming from a beef flavor. So you can do that, absolutely.

Maybe a somewhat related question. Has Buddhism influenced your cooking at all? Or influenced you as a chef?

Yes, in many ways. Also it’s a conflict for me because I have a seafood restaurant so we kill animals to feed happy people, but I decided that I have two possibilities. I go completely vegan with the restaurant, and I believe it would be very challenging for us to do that after being so famous for seafood, and we could take the risk of closing and not making a difference in the world because nobody would care. So what I did, I created a vegetarian menu that changes with the seasons or when we have good ideas.

I also did a book, a cookbook called Vegetable Simple to basically compensate a little bit for what I’m doing with the rest of the ingredients, which are many seafoods. So I’m a little conflicted, but yes. Buddhism has changed the way I cook. Because I understand more the meditative process when I’m cooking, which is to be in the present, not think about the past, and not think about the future. It’s very much in this moment now. And the respect of cooks for all animals the respect for the planet and even plants and so on. I have much more appreciation today than when I started my career when I was not a Buddhist. And also cooking at the restaurant is different than cooking by myself, and Buddhism helps me to interact with my team, and—in a very secular way, I’m not trying to convert the team to Buddhism, that would be wrong—but whenever I think it’s something that makes us a better person or makes a better ambiance for a person to blossom, I basically used the teaching, find ways to deliver the message in a different secular way and that has changed my way of also cooking with my team.

The stereotype of a kitchen is that there’s a militaristic, regimented hierarchy; a lot of negativity from chefs, anger, throwing pans around, and that sort of thing.

Yes. Until you realize that anger is not a quality, it’s a weakness, you’re in trouble. And your team will not like you and will not enjoy their experience. If you come by tonight at Blue, come by at any moment at your leisure, you’re gonna see a kitchen that is very peaceful. [NOTE: I did. It was.]

Doesn’t mean that we don’t have stress, because of course we have stress, but we manage it. We make sure that the ambiance in the kitchen is good because even if you are just selfish and you want your team to be very efficient, a cook who is shaking like that and is afraid is not gonna cook better than a guy who is very precise and inspired and enjoys what he’s doing. Yeah, kitchens are by definition a hostile environment because sometimes it’s wet it’s very humid, it’s very hot, there are a lot of sharp objects, but we are in this field because we love what we do and with all the adrenaline and the rush that we have during the service and so on. You can be in this environment and direct a kitchen in a kind way. When I say in a kind way, it doesn’t mean that you don’t have to be firm. And it doesn’t mean that if someone burns the fish three times you gonna say, “Listen it would be very nice if you don’t burn it.”

You have to be firm, you are in the leading position as a chef but it’s understood that it’s a lot of kindness between us, a lot of respect, and obviously compassion. But compassion doesn’t mean that you have to close your eyes and accept everything. A compassionate attitude is a respectful attitude and thinking about the well-being of the cooks or waiters.

I grew up in Oklahoma, in the middle of the United States, not eating very much seafood and for the longest time, I just thought I didn’t like seafood at all. There’s that fishy taste in particular that some fish has that to me is extremely off-putting. But the other day here at the Ritz in Grand Cayman I had this red snapper that is, I think, local to here, and I’ve had it at every meal since, and it’s like a revelation.

So, fish, first of all, should never smell fishy, and should never taste fishy. When fish is very fresh it’s basically like smelling—it’s almost like smelling, but also in the form of eating, it’s like high tide in the ocean when you are walking, and it’s like pure waters, and it’s windy, and you walk and the salt and the wind brings the smell of the ocean to you. It’s very pleasant. That’s what you should recognize in a fish.

As soon as a fish starts to get older fishiness increases and very fishy fish is a very old fish. So very often people don’t have access to very fresh fish, so, therefore, they think fish is fishy but fish is not fishy.

What is fresh to you?

It all depends. Usually fresh is within 24 hours — when you catch the fish and keep it in very good conditions. Keeping it in good condition means understanding that it has to stay cold temperatures and many other techniques that we use to make sure that in a quick manner we process the fish and it’s served to you. But some fish, like if you eat skate, for instance, you eat the muscle of the wing. If you eat it too fresh, they are too tough, you cannot eat them, so you have to let them relax for a few days.

But most of the time within 24 hours.

Is there a particular fish that you like to cook?

It’s like asking a father what’s your favorite child. So I do not really. Every fish has different characteristics. I love lobster. I love scallops. Those are not fish but they are in the seafood category. I love tuna, but the snapper you had is delicious. I don’t really.

Is there something at Blue, in particular, you’d be excited about me experiencing?

Tonight I want you to try the carpaccio of tuna with foil gras. Make an effort. If you don’t like it we’ll give you something else. But that way you can relate to my story. I think you should take that shot.

As everyone knows from the Terminator franchise, you can’t keep homicidal AI down. The same applies to M3GAN, who didn’t fare well (in her physical form, at least) by the end of the James Wan and Jason Blumhouse-produced January 2022 release, but she’ll “be back.” Wan does have a way with murderous dolls, as he proved with The Conjuring franchise, where Annabelle gave Chucky a run for his overall-stuffed, well, you know.

In other words, running over the murder doll isn’t as easy as it sounds. Variety reports that M3GAN will live, or reboot, or further upgrade, in a 2025 sequel. The film appears to be called M3GAN 2.0, at least until she makes some changes to the programming:

Screenwriter Akela Cooper is returning to pen the sequel. Plot details haven’t been revealed, though Allison Williams, whose character helped bring to life the chaotic AI-like doll, will be back for “2.0” as will M3GAN’s pint-sized bestie, played by Violet McGraw. Gerard Johnstone directed the first film, but a director has not been announced for the sequel.

As The Hollywood Reporter notes, the film’s still cranking away in theaters with $91.9 total gross worldwide, which is a fantastic turnaround from a film with a $12 million budget. Horror still knows how to keep things cheap and effective. Really, just ask Skinamarink, if you dare.

(Via Variety, Hollywood Reporter & Deadline)

Over the last handful of years, Aubrey Plaza has turned into one of our most versatile actresses. On The White Lotus, she’s great as a self-hating member of the nouveau riche, just as she’s fantastic as a desperate woman embracing her dark side in Emily the Criminal. But the world first got to know the former April Ludgate thanks to her fearless, unhinged comedic chops. That side of her will surely be on display when she finally hosts SNL for the first time this weekend. And it’s already there even in the new promo for her big episode.

It finds this week’s host talking shop with cast member Chloe Fineman, who turned heads late last year for her spot-on take on Plaza’s White Lotus colleague Jennifer Coolidge. In the ad, Plaza compliments Fineman some of her other impersonations, including her top shelf Drew Barrymore. So Plaza shows Fineman some of her own.

Fineman isn’t as blown away by Plaza as Plaza is with her, but mostly because she’s chosen some, shall we say, unlikely people to impersonate. Like Marcia Gay Harden’s Oscar-winning work in Pollock, Ed Harris’ 23-year-old biopic about painter Jackson Pollock. Who was expecting a Pollock reference in the year 2023? Ditto Annette Bening in American Beauty. They’re predictably unpredictable choices on Plaza’s part, as is the moment when she leans in for a leftfield smooch with the SNL regular.

You can watch the promo in the video above. Plaza’s SNL episode, featuring musical guest Smith, airs Saturday night on NBC starting at 11:30pm.

Anna Kendrick stars in Alice, Darling, which arrives in theaters on January 19. The Up In The Air star previously disclosed how she had serendipitously received the script amid the wreckage of an abusive partnership, and the film’s unnerving trailer checks out. The story follows a woman who’s struggling to survive within an emotionally abusive relationship, and her friends (played by Wunmi Mosaku and Kaniehtiio Horn) start to realize that things are tragically amiss during one of their birthday weekends.

The movie promises to be an intense (and likely triggering) viewing experience, and Kendrick surely relived some agony while filming. She previously revealed how her own friends (including Aubrey Plaza) helped her see the light, despite the nature of how these types of relationship make one not want to see the light. And as Anna spoke with IndieWire, she made an admission: this press tour has been as much if not more of a grueling experience as the work itself. In particular, she discussed a rapid-fire day of interviews that left her feeling completely “sh*tty.” Here’s what happened:

“I’, actually finding that the press is the thing that has been a little trickier to navigate, making sure that I’m OK and feeling safe in my body…. There was a thing early on where I was doing like a junket-style day for ‘Alice, Darling’ where it’s like six minutes per person and you kind of run through like 30 interviews really quickly, and I went home and was in the shower and was like, ‘Why do I feel so shitty right now?,’” Kendrick said. “And I sort of told everyone, ‘I don’t think I can do another thing like that.’”

Those types of junkets are exhausting when promoting a lighthearted project, so one can only imagine how draining it was to relive emotional abuse over and over again within one day. Yikes. Some films are best promoted in a 1-on-1, carefully scheduled setting. With naps. Lots of naps. I’m perhaps sounding too “dark” while discussing this subject, too, but sometimes, looking for sleep is all that one can do to cope. Hopefully, Anna’s on the mend for real, and she can recover while moving onto her directorial debut, which is also about grim subject matter. Again, naps!

(Via IndieWire)

Welcome to SNX DLX, your weekly roundup of the best sneakers to hit the internet. Things are starting to heat up in the sneaker world as we get our first big-name collaboration of the year and no, it’s not from Nike. In fact, Nike is playing things frustratingly safe and we’d be mad about it if other big brands weren’t picking up the slack.

The big release this week comes out of Adidas who have teamed up with Beyonce for the latest IVY PARK release, the nostalgic Top Ten 2000. The Y2K era has a stranglehold on the world of fashion right now so if you’re all about that retro aesthetic, you’re going to find a lot to love in this new collaboration. With Ye a thing of the past when it comes to conversations about hot footwear, Adidas is still going strong thanks to linking up with Beyonce, you know, one of the biggest pop stars on the planet, as well as Bad Bunny, the literal biggest pop start on the planet. So if you’re worried about the three stripes brand, don’t be, they’re in great company.

Elsewhere, our favorite Chicago designer, Joe Freshgoods, is teaming up with Vans for a radical platform Sk8-Hi that shows the designer pushing the envelope at a brand that loves to play it safe.

Nike Dunk Low Montreal Bagel

A bagel-inspired Dunk? Sure, why the hell not? It’s not like we’ve never loved Dunks inspired by food before (The Chunky Dunk comes to mind) so sure, slap some sesame seed graphics on the leather paneling and call it a day, we’ll take it!

This low-top Dunk features shades of beige with a contrasting Montreal blue swoosh and heel tab over a classic gum sole. Nike is phoning it in for sure, but they’re keeping things fun.

The Nike Dunk Low Montreal Bagel is out now for a retail price of $120. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.

Air Force 1 x Slam Jam Black and Off Noir

A classic silhouette meets classic Italian construction, this Air Force 1 was made in collaboration with Slam Jam and sports a softened premium leather upper with suede detailing (peep that Swoosh), an upside-down Nike Air logo, and Slam Jam branding at the toe, all dressed up in a stealthy triple black colorway.

It’s simply a dope-looking AF-1 made by one of the most renowned streetwear boutiques. A winning combination.

The Air Force 1 x Slam Jam Black and Off Noir is out now for a retail price of $180. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.

Nike Air Penny 2 Black and Faded Spruce

Penny Hardaway fans stay winning! Ever since Nike brought back the Air Penny 2, the design has gotten all sorts of dope new colorways including this week’s Black and Faded Spruce.

Featuring a leather upper with a mix of black and green colors, the Air Penny 2 sports a sculpted foam midsole in Sail, with a visible air unit, and that swirling design that makes the Penny such an attractive and unique silhouette.

The Nike Air Penny 2 Black and Faded Spruce is set to drop on January 20th at 7:00 Am PST for a retail price of $200. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.

Joe Freshgoods x Vans Sk8-Hi Reissue Platform VLT LX/Slip-Hiker LX

Joe Freshgoods’ latest Vans collaboration is all about celebrating the Black travel experience. Dubbed the Chocolate Valley Resort collection, this sneaker and apparel drop features a Midwestern log-cabin aesthetic with warm and earthy colorways.

The sneakers featured in the collection include the Sk8-Hi Reissue Platform VLT LX and the Slip-Hiker LX. The former features a coral almond and camel colorway with the latter sporting a quilted nylon upper with an all-weather MTE outsole. It’s a dope and thoughtful collection and the best Vans has looked in a while.

The Joe Freshgoods Vans Sk8-Hi Reissue Platform VLT LX and Slip Hiker LX are set to drop on January 21st for an unannounced retail price. Pick up a pair at the Vans or Joe Freshgoods web stores.

Adidas Sean Wotherspoon Orketro

Sean Wotherspoon is putting his loud and busy touch on a forgotten Adidas silhouette. The Orketro doesn’t get a lot of love, but Wotherspoon has given it a new and vibrant look while still putting sustainability at the forefront.

Made from repurposed materials, this Orketro combines 2000s design details with Adiprene+ cushioning, a bright pink, white, orange, and blue colorway, and an angular three stripes repositioning that makes the sneaker look brand new.

The Adidas Sean Wotherspoon Orketro is set to drop on January 19th at 7:30 AM PST for a retail price of $160. Pick up a pair via the ADIDAS Confirmed App.

Adidas IVY Park Top Ten 2000

If you’ve been following fashion, you know that the y2k aesthetic is back. Feel however you want about that, if you’re over the age of 30 you probably either hate or are confused by it. Get over it, it’s back and it’s not going away. How do we know for sure? Because even Beyonce is into it. Are you saying your taste is better than Beyonce’s? Get real.

The Top Ten is a classic 00’s era Adidas silhouette, and Beyonce is giving it the Ivy Park treatment with a slight reimagining/ Featuring a mesh, nubuck and suede upper, this Top Ten sports a form-fitting neoprene collar, a molded heel piece, and a Cream White and Pulse Mint colorway that recalls Bey’s very first Ivy Park drop.

The Adidas IVY Park Top Ten 200 is set to drop on January 20th at 7:30 Am PST for a retail price of $200. Pick up a pair via the Adidas CONFIRMED app.

Earlier this month, BMF made its return for season two after being off the air for a little over a year. The show follows the rise of Demetrius “Meech” Flenory, Terry “Southwest T” Flenory, and their Black Mafia Family drug organization. The first season of BMF followed the Flenory brothers’ early days in Detroit while season two details their efforts to expand as well as the highs and lows that come with it. While we’ll certainly have to wait a bit to see what’s in store for season three, we now know that there will indeed be a season three of BMF.

STARZ announced today that BMF will indeed see a third season, and the news comes just two weeks into the show’s second season. “BMF captures the essence of Detroit through elevated, gritty storytelling and our fans have passionately responded to this show more than ever before,” STARZ’s President of Original Programming Kathryn Busby said in a press release. “Following such a strong debut with season two, we’re thrilled to continue to expand on the incredible story of the Flenory brothers as they change the game by writing their own rules. We can’t wait to see what our extraordinary producers and cast deliver next.”

In addition to the season three renewal, BMF was also ranked as the #1 most socially engaged drama across all networks over its premiere weekend (January 6-8) according to Talkwalker’s SCR.

Make sure to check out our season two, episode two recap of BMF here.

New episodes of ‘BMF’ are available on the STARZ app on Fridays at 12:00 am EST and on the STARZ TV channel at 8:00 pm EST.

Stephen A. Smith might be a loudmouth with occasionally boneheaded opinions but he’s no fool. Just hours after risking the ire of two of music’s biggest fan bases, he’s already walking back his comments negatively comparing Rihanna to Beyoncé. In a video posted on his Twitter account, Stephen A. apologized to Rihanna and admitted that “I need to be more careful” in the future.

“I’m gonna own it,” he said, before tossing a little shade at the outlets that highlighted his faux pas. “I know what y’all trying to do. But I’m gonna own it because I get paid to speak for a living so I need to be more careful.” He then turned his attention to clearing the air with Rihanna, saying, “I want Rihanna to know: You’re a superstar. You’re sensational. You’re spectacular. You’re no joke, and you’re a worthy person to be doing the Super Bowl Halftime Show.”

He also elaborated on what he meant by “she ain’t Beyoncé.” “I’m a Beyoncé fan,” he explained. “I think Beyoncé is not only a phenomenal performer; she’s thee phenomenal performer. The only reason any kind of comparison came into play is because Beyoncé performed at the Super Bowl… and I thought those were two of the greatest shows I’ve ever seen. Anybody has to measure up to that.”

He also pointed out that he compared last year’s Dr. Dre performance with Snoop Dogg, Eminem, and Mary J. Blige to Beyoncé’s before going full Stephen A. and asserting that even a Michael Jackson reprise would have to measure up to her and… well. It’s Stephen A. Smith. You couldn’t have been expecting a totally contrite response.

Smith made sure to show love to both Bey and Rih before saying he wished no disrespect to either, encouraging Rihanna to “do your thing.”

A class-action lawsuit against Mark Cuban and the Dallas Mavericks may end up featuring Rob Gronkowski as a defendant. According to The Athletic, Gronkowski’s work as a brand ambassador for Voyager Digital, a cryptocurrency lender in the midst of bankruptcy proceedings, could potentially lead to him being pulled in alongside Cuban and the Mavs, which were both sued for their decision to promote the company.

Gronkowski was subpoenaed last month, per court documents, and an email indicated that brand ambassadors for Voyager could be pulled into the lawsuit.

Via The Athletic:

“We have set the depositions of Rob Gronkowski,” Adam Moskowitz, the plaintiffs’ attorney, wrote in the email.

Asked if the retired tight end is likely to be a defendant, Moskowitz wrote to The Athletic, “He is not a named defendant yet, but the court gave us until Feb. 24 to file an amended complaint against Voyager (such as adding defendants, claims and plaintiffs), we know he was a ‘Brand Ambassador’ for Voyager who ‘promoted’ the unsecured securities (the ‘interest accounts’). We served him with a third-party subpoena, and we have named all of the FTX ‘Brand Ambassadors’ in our pending federal class action.”

Gronkowski, Cuban, and the Mavs are far from the only big names (in the world of sports and culture at large) to get pulled into crypto-related lawsuits. As The Athletic article details, those efforts may have a tough road ahead due to previous rulings. If nothing else, though, it’s easy to imagine that being linked to these lawsuits may give celebrity endorsers cause to think twice before jumping onto the next bandwagon.

Could Rui Hachimura be one of the names that gets moved before the NBA trade deadline next month? According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, the Washington Wizards are holding conversations with opposing teams about finding a new home for the No. 9 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft.

As Charania reports, there are teams in the Western Conference that would be interested in acquiring Hachimura and his ability to provide a scoring punch. He is not the only wing who has apparently drawn interest on Washington’s roster, as teams would like to acquire the services of Kyle Kuzma. But apparently, the Wizards would like to keep Kuzma around beyond this year.

Whether to trade Hachimura and Kuzma is among the difficult decisions the Wizards have to make as the trade deadline approaches on Feb. 9. Kuzma will not sign an extension and has a $13 million player option for next season that he expects to decline. Team officials value Kuzma highly and would like to re-sign him over the summer. If the Wizards trade Hachimura, it could signal that team officials are confident they will be able to retain Kuzma.

Hachimura is slated to become a restricted free agent at the conclusion of the 2022-23 season. All 28 of the former Gonzaga standout’s appearances for the team this season have come off of the bench, and he’s averaging 12.9 points in 24.2 minutes per game while connecting on 49.2 percent of his attempts from the field.