Category: Viral

This weekend, Jake Paul was in Saudi Arabia for his boxing match against Tommy Fury, a fight that Paul ended up losing in a split decision. However, there might be an asterisk on Paul’s first professional boxing L: Drake bet $400K on Paul to win, and as we know, the “Drake Curse” (the apparent tendency for teams and athletes to lose after Drake publicly supports them) is real. After the fight, Paul himself addressed this.

In a post-fight press conference, a reporter mentioned Drake’s bet and ask if Paul thinks the “curse” impacted him. He laughed and said, “F*ck, This is Drake’s fault! Drake, bro! Why you do this to me?!”

He continued, “Nah, it’s my fault, but $400,000 is nothing to him, so… he’s won a lot of money betting on me before, so he’s probably about even now. Sorry, Drake. I’ma get that W in the rematch.”

Drake’s $400K bet was for Paul to win the fight by knockout. As TMZ notes, had that happened, Drake would have found himself about $1.4 million richer. Apparently, though, that wasn’t part of God’s plan. Drake performed better with his Super Bowl gambling, though, taking home $1.4 million after placing around $1 million in bets.

Brendan Fraser was not impacted by SNL spoofing The Whale, and in fact, he’s still collecting awards for his performance as a morbidly obese gay father attempting to fight his way back to, well, everything. It’s a movie that (as our own Vince Mancini wrote) is a rare case where art-house stunting truly works, and Fraser was informed early on — and grew emotional as a result — that people are rooting for him during this “comeback.” He’s remained tearfully grateful, and that trend continued at the SAG Awards.

The George of the Jungle star beat Adam Sandler, Austin Butler, and Colin Farrell to win Outstanding Performance By A Male Actor In A Leading Role, and he took the mic with his speech-plan, courtesy of a Gods and Monsters co-star: “Ian McKellen told me to be good, be brief, and be seated.”

From there, though, the tears start to roll again, and Brendan did mention that he finally felt like he belonged to a tribe when gaining his SAG-AFTRA card during the early 1990s. And here’s Fraser’s still-shocked reaction to have made a Hollywood “comeback”:

“I never would have believed I would have been offered the role of my life in this character, Charlie in The Whale, he’s someone who is on a raft of regrets but he’s in a sea of hope. I’ve been at that sea, and I’ve rode that wave lately and it’s been powerful and good and I’ve also had that wave smash me right down to the ocean floor and drag my face along there and wind up on some strange beach in a different world, wondering ‘where am I now?’”

Watch the full speech below and maybe look forward to more at the Oscars. Fraser will also be seen in Martin Scorsese’s Killers Of The Flower Moon.

(Via The Hollywood Reporter)

Aubrey Plaza, along with the rest of her The White Lotus co-stars, took home Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series at the 2023 SAG Awards. But that wasn’t the most eventful thing to happen to the actress.

Plaza presented an award with Wednesday star Jenna Ortega, her fellow “disaffected, witchy Latina,” as @catrcardenas joked. The pairing made almost too much sense. After nearly 10 seconds of silence standing at the podium while presenting the award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series, Plaza finally said, “I don’t know why they paired us up together.” Ortega replied, “I know, we have nothing in common.”

Plaza suggested finding the people who did this, and both her and Ortega — doing their best April Ludgate and Wednesday Addams — said at the same time, “And curse their families and watch as misfortune follows their bloodline for the next seven generation.” Suddenly, them presenting together made sense.

Later in the ceremony, Plaza seemed to nearly suffer a wardrobe malfunction.

Aubrey, who plays leading character Harper, stood in the background of the ensemble cast as F. Murray Abraham delivered his speech — and she looked visibly annoyed the entire time… Firstly, Aubrey appeared particularly angry right after her costar Jon Gries, who plays Greg Hunt, held onto her arm and whispered something in her ear that prompted her to readjust her cutout dress. Some people theorized that Jon was warning Aubrey of a potential wardrobe malfunction, which might’ve thrown her off and left her feeling super uncomfortable.

Plaza did look annoyed, but it could have been a bit, because, well, it’s Aubrey Plaza. Judge for yourself below.

(Via BuzzFeed)

Ozark favorite Julia Garner was set to play Madonna in a biopic about the pop legend. However, after Madonna decided to go on a world tour, the movie was canceled. Earlier in the casting process, though, it turns out that Snail Mail’s Lindsey Jordan was asked to audition for the starring role.

In a recent interview with Inked, Jordan spoke about her involvement in the upcoming movie I Saw The TV Glow, which also features Phoebe Bridgers, Fred Durst, and Sloppy Jane’s Haley Dahl. She explained, “They hit me up. The same week I got asked to audition to be Madonna in the bio flick. I mean, I didn’t get it, but it was still just weird. I was never asked to be in anything but that week, things came rolling in.”

She then spoke about the Madonna movie audition process, saying:

“I’m a huge Madonna fan. I had to come up with a dance routine based on one of her music videos — I had to look at what she was doing but not imitate it, but be inspired by it. She’s a dance legend. I watched a documentary. I was watching interviews with her. I was taking notes and I had to do three scenes. It was a good learning experience. I didn’t think I’d get the role, but if I didn’t work hard I’d feel bad for not giving it my all.”

Read the full interview here.

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

Only Murders In The Building star Martin Short seems like a real nice guy, and that was certainly Chance The Rapper’s takeaway after his recent run-in with the actor, who did a nice thing for his daughter on a flight.

In a tweet shared yesterday (February 26), Chance explained, “So I just got on this plane with my daughter, and found out our seats weren’t next to each other. I really ain’t wanna inconvenience anyone by asking them to swap seats, but before I could say anything this kind older gentleman offered his seat to Kensli so we could sit together. We both said thank you and as he stands up, I realize it’s THE Martin Short!! So cool and Kensli freaked out cause she’s obsessed with The Santa Clause 3. What an awesome person! SHOUTOUT TO JACK FROST.”

A Twitter user asked Chance if Short knew who he was and he responded, “Definitely not, which made it way cooler. He just a nice dude ig.” Somebody else joked (or perhaps not), “My daughter could have sat by herself. Marty would have been a delight.” Chance replied, “‘Oh thanks so much but the little girl will be fine where she is… *opens laptop* ANYWAYS this a lil script I’ve been working on it’s called ‘Four Amigos!””

This article originally appeared on 04.16.19

This is Briana “Bree” Wiseman, a pastry chef and restaurant manager from Tennessee.

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The 22-year-old shared a photo of her dog on Facebook next to a plate of food and it went viral — but not just because her dog is really, really cute. In the caption, Wiseman made a powerful statement about sexual assault, using her dog, and the plate of food, as a metaphor.

To the people that say women get raped due to the way they are dressed. This is my dog. His favorite food is steak. He…
Posted by Bree Wiseman on Wednesday, July 19, 2017

Wiseman wrote:

To the people that say women get raped due to the way they are dressed. This is my dog. His favorite food is steak. He is eye level with my plate. He won’t get any closer because I told him no. If a dog is better behaved than you are, you need to reevaluate your life. Feel free to share, my dog is adorable.

So far, over 325,000 people have shared the post. And thousands have left comments, most of them in full support of both the message, and the dog.

Wiseman told the Huffington Post she decided to share the post to take a stand against victim-blaming, in part because of her own experiences with sexual assault. She said:

The only person to blame in a rape offense is the rapist. It was their decision to rape. People shouldn’t have to worry about what they chose to wear for fear of rape. I want people to see that this is a problem, and to stand together against victim-shaming.

She continued:

If a 4-year-old pit bull understands the word no,’ even though he is looking at something he wants so bad he is literally drooling, then adults should understand ‘no,’ no matter how the other adult is dressed… How is it that a simple-minded animal has the ability to understand better than a large part of the adult population?

Good question. Although we already knew dogs are better than people. That being said, kudos to Wiseman for speaking up, and to her dog, for being such a good boy.

This article was originally published by our partners at someecards.

This story was originally published on The Mighty and originally appeared here on 07.21.17

Most people imagine depression equals “really sad,” and unless you’ve experienced depression yourself, you might not know it goes so much deeper than that. Depression expresses itself in many different ways, some more obvious than others. While some people have a hard time getting out of bed, others might get to work just fine — it’s different for everyone.

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To find out how depression shows itself in ways other people can’t see, we asked The Mighty mental health community to share one thing people don’t realize they’re doing because they have depression.

Here’s what they had to say:

1. “In social situations, some people don’t realize I withdraw or don’t speak much because of depression. Instead, they think I’m being rude or purposefully antisocial.” — Laura B.

2. “I struggle to get out of bed, sometimes for hours. Then just the thought of taking a shower is exhausting. If I manage to do that, I am ready for a nap. People don’t understand, but anxiety and depression is exhausting, much like an actual physical fight with a professional boxer.” — Juli J.

3. “Agreeing to social plans but canceling last minute. Using an excuse but really you just chickened out. It makes you think your friends don’t actually want to see you, they just feel bad. Obligation.” — Brynne L.

4. “Hiding in my phone. Yes, I am addicted to it, but not like other people. I don’t socialize, I play games or browse online stores to distract myself from my negative thoughts. It’s my safe bubble.” — Eveline L.

5. “Going to bed at 9 p.m. and sleeping throughout the night until 10 or 11 a.m.” — Karissa D.

6. “Isolating myself, not living up to my potential at work due to lack of interest in anything, making self-deprecating jokes. I’ve said many times before, ‘I laugh, so that I don’t cry.’ Unfortunately, it’s all too true.” — Kelly K.

7. “When I reach out when I’m depressed it’s ’cause I am wanting to have someone to tell me I’m not alone. Not because I want attention.” — Tina B.

8. “I don’t like talking on the phone. I prefer to text. Less pressure there. Also being anti-social. Not because I don’t like being around people, but because I’m pretty sure everyone can’t stand me.” — Meghan B.

9. “I overcompensate in my work environment… and I work front line at a Fitness Centre, so I feel the need to portray an ‘extra happy, bubbly personality.’ As soon as I walk out the doors at the end of the day, I feel myself ‘fall.’ It’s exhausting… I am a professional at hiding it.” — Lynda H.

10. “The excessive drinking. Most people assume I’m trying to be the ‘life of the party’ or just like drinking in general. I often get praised for it. But my issues are much deeper than that.” — Teresa A.

11. “Hiding out in my room for hours at a time watching Netflix or Hulu to distract my mind or taking frequent trips to the bathroom or into another room at social gatherings because social situations sometimes get to me.” — Kelci F.

12. “Saying I’m tired or don’t feel good… they don’t realize how much depression can affect you physically as well as emotionally.” — Lauren G.

13. “Answering slowly. It makes my brain run slower, and I can’t think of the answers to the questions as quickly. Especially when someone is asking what I want to do — I don’t really want anything. I isolate myself so I don’t have to be forced into a situation where I have to respond because it’s exhausting.” — Erin W.

14. “Sometimes I’ll forget to eat all day. I can feel my stomach growling but don’t have the willpower to get up and make something to eat.” — Kenzi I.

15. “I don’t talk much in large groups of people, especially when I first meet them. I withdraw because of my anxiety and depression. People think I’m ‘stuck up.’ I’m actually scared out of my mind worrying they don’t like me, or that they think I’m ‘crazy’ by just looking at me…” — Hanni W.

16. “Not keeping in touch with anyone, bad personal hygiene and extremely bad reactions to seemingly trivial things.” — Jenny B.

17. “Being angry, mean or rude to people I love without realizing it in the moment. I realize my actions and words later and feel awful I had taken out my anger on people who don’t deserve it.” — Christie C.

18. “Purposely working on the holidays so I can avoid spending time with family. It’s overwhelming to be around them and to talk about the future and life so I avoid it.” — Aislinn G.

19. “My house is a huge mess.” — Cynthia H.

20. “I volunteer for everything, from going to PTO meetings to babysitting to cleaning someone else’s house for them. I surround myself with situations and obligations that force me to get out of bed and get out of the house because if I’m not needed, I won’t be wanted.” — Carleigh W.

This article originally appeared on 09.22.17

What can we learn from letting seventh graders take the SAT?

In the 1960s, psychologist Julian Stanley realized that if you took the best-testing seventh graders from around the country and gave them standard college entry exams, those kids would score, on average, about as well as the typical college-bound high school senior.

However, the seventh graders who scored as well or better than high schoolers, Stanley found, had off-the-charts aptitude in quantitative, logical, and spatial reasoning.

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In other words, they were gifted.

In the 1970s, Stanley and his team launched a full-scale study, identifying many of America’s gifted kids and tracking them throughout their lives.

The study, called the Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth never ended and is now nearly 45 years in the making. It has followed countless kids from middle school into their careers as some of America’s top politicians, scientists, CEOs, engineers, and military leaders.

Stanley passed away in the mid-2000s, but psychologist David Lubinski helped bring the study to Vanderbilt University in the 1990s, where he now co-directs it with Camilla P. Benhow.

It’s not a stretch to call this the biggest and most in-depth study on intellectual “precociousness.” The results of the study thus far are equal parts fascinating and genuinely surprising — a deeply insightful look into the minds and lives of brilliant children.

1. Some of what we used to think about gifted kids turned out to be wrong.

Ever heard the saying “early to ripe, early to rot”? It basically means doing “too much” to foster a kid’s special talents and abilities at too young an age could actually cause harm in the long term.

That’s not even remotely true, at least not according to Lubinski.

That might be an outdated example. But Lubinksi says there are plenty of other misconceptions still alive today, like the idea that gifted kids are so smart that they’ll “find a way” to excel even if those smarts aren’t nurtured and developed.

Not so fast. “They’re kids,” he explains. “They need guidance. We all need guidance.”

2. Intelligence is not the same as passion.

Quick, what’s the “smartest” career you can think of. Doctor? Scientist?

While you do have to be pretty brilliant to work in medicine or science, those are far from the only career paths gifted kids choose later in life.

“Quantitatively, gifted people vary widely in their passions,” Lubinski says. Many of the students in the study did end up pursuing medicine, but others went into fields like economics or engineering. Others still were more gifted in areas like logical or verbal reasoning, making them excellent lawyers and writers.

“There are all kinds of ways to express intellectual talent,” Lubinski explains.

When it comes to doing what’s best for a gifted student, it’s just as important for parents and educators to know what the student is passionate about rather than pigeonholing them in traditionally “smart” fields and registering them in a bunch of STEM courses.

3. Hard work definitely still matters.

Measuring a student’s aptitude, their natural abilities, is only one part of the equation when it comes to determining how successful they’ll be in life. Aptitude scores can identify a particularly strong natural skill set but tell us very little about how hard that person might work to excel in that field.

Effort, Lubinski says, is a critical factor in determining how far someone’s going to go in life. “If you look at exceptional performers in politics, science, music, and literature, they’re working many, many hours,” he says.

(And for the record, there are a lot more important things in life than just career achievement, like family, friends, and overall happiness.)

4. Regardless of aptitude, every kid deserves to be treated as though they were gifted.

The study’s focus is specifically on kids within a certain range of intellectual ability, but Lubinski is careful to note that many of its findings can and should be applied to all students.

For example, the kids in the study who were given an opportunity to take more challenging courses that aligned with their skills and interests ultimately went on to accomplish more than the students who were not afforded the same opportunity.

“You have to find out where your child’s development is, how fast they learn, what are their strengths and relative weaknesses and tailor the curriculum accordingly,” Lubinski says. “It’s what you would want for all kids.”

It may sound a bit like a pipe dream, but it’s a great starting point for how we should be thinking about the future of education in America.

If you’d like to learn more about the Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth, check out this short film on the project created by Vanderbilt University:

Quick Learners; High Achievers: Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth

Damian Lillard etched his name further into the NBA record books on Sunday night, as he became the eighth player in league history to score 70 or more points in a game, as he poured in 71 on Houston in a 131-114 Blazers win at home.

Lillard had it going early and never relented against the young Rockets, piling up an outrageous 41 points in the first half, setting a new career-high for 24 minutes of action, drilling eight threes in the first two quarters.

The highlight of the first half was on that eighth triple, when he pulled up from 39 feet and found nothing but net.

He would add nine points in the third quarter to reach 50 going to the final frame, but Houston was hanging around, which proved to be a gift to all of us. There, in the fourth quarter, Lillard painted his masterpiece, helping keep Houston at arm’s reach as he buried bucket after bucket, starting with his 10th three of the game shortly after checking back in.

Later, he’d knock down his 11th three of the game and the most surprising highlight of his night, an and-1 dunk that had the Moda Center crowd losing its mind.

Two more threes got him up to 69 points — with some free throws in between — as he cruised past his old career-high of 61.

Finally, he’d crest the 70-point mark for the first time with a floater in the paint.

Lillard’s final stat line read 71 points on 22-of-38 shooting, 13-of-22 from three-point range, with 6 rebounds and 6 assists, and with the Rockets cutting the lead down to single digits in the fourth, the Blazers needed most all of those before eventually running away with a comfortable win. He is now third on the NBA’s all-time list for 60-point games in a career with five, behind Kobe Bryant (6) and Wilt Chamberlain (32, lol).

It was an incredible night and one that Blazers fans will remember for a long time, as one of this era’s great scorers authored the best game of his career to date.

The Mavericks pulled off something no team had all season on Sunday against the Lakers, as they became the first to blow a 27-point lead, as all other teams were a combined 138-0 when taking a 27-point advantage this year.

It was a dreadful second half performance from Dallas, which is still trying to figure out how everything is supposed to work in the post-Kyrie Irving trade world. At times, the Irving and Luka Doncic pairing looks sensational, but when those two aren’t firing on all cylinders, the remaining roster issues can rear their ugly head as they did Sunday when Anthony Davis dominated the small Mavs frontcourt to lead the comeback bid.

What’s been almost as fascinating as the Mavs’ play on the court recently is the commentary of head coach Jason Kidd, who has outright said they’re not going to be very good defensively and will need to outscore teams to win most nights. However, after their fourth loss in five games, this time in rather historic fashion, Kidd shifted the blame almost completely to the guys in the locker room.

It’s not often you see a coach toss the whole team under the bus like this, but it’s also not exactly the first time Kidd’s chosen to go this route of calling out his team, as that was part of his “tough love” method in Milwaukee as well. The problem with that method is, of course, that it’s the coach’s job to get players to do play the right way, compete on the defensive end, and close out games, otherwise, there’d really be no reason to pay someone what Kidd makes to just sit and watch the game, as he put it.