Category: Viral

Last summer, The Weeknd announced a new show with HBO called The Idol. The series is co-created and co-executive produced with Reza Fahim and Euphoria’s Sam Levinson and the six-episode show is “set against the backdrop of the music industry and centers on a self-help guru and leader of a modern-day cult who develops a complicated relationship with an up-and-coming pop idol”. A little over a year after the show was announced, The Weeknd has now shared a new trailer for it. The 90-second clip features The Weeknd and Lily-Rose Depp, who both star in The Idol, as they go through chaotic moments at a mansion, out in the city, and more.

The road towards The Idol hasn’t been entirely smooth. Back in April, HBO announced that the series would undergo an overhaul due to the decision to head in a “new creative direction.” In a statement, HBO wrote, “The production will be adjusting its cast and crew accordingly to best serve this new approach to the series.” Three months after that update was shared, the series’ cast now includes Troye Sivan, Jennie Kim, Debby Ryan, Rachel Sennott, Steve Zissis, Hari Nef, Juliebeth Gonzalez, Melanie Liburd, Tunde Adebimpe, Elizabeth Berkley, Nico Hiraga, and more.

You can watch the trailer for the upcoming show, which does not have a release date yet, in the video above.

It’s been kind of a stressful summer, hasn’t it? The Supreme Court went on a tear a few weeks ago. Mass shootings keep happening, with no end in sight. Homophobia and transphobia are getting worse. There’s that Joe Manchin creep, doing more bad stuff. You know what you need right now? Tracy Morgan singing “With or Without You” in an airport.

The performer was caught in an airport in Omaha Saturday, sitting among the throngs, waiting on a plane. Unlike everyone else, he was belting out a rendition of “With or Without You,” the classic U2 song off their album The Joshua Tree. He wasn’t performing for the crowds. He was just a regular dude sitting in a seat, singing like he didn’t care who was around him. It’s a good song, too. Good for him entertaining people in an Omaha airport and, thanks to the video taken of him, all of us.

Morgan himself could use a break, too. Back in March, he broke down in tears during a stint on Conan O’Brien’s podcast while recalling the difficulty of doing his first stand-up set after suffering through a car accident thanks to a Walmart truck. He’s got a lot of pain. We all do. Again, stuff is bad, man. So take a little self-care break and listen to the guy sing some U2.

Former number One overall pick and current breakout star for the Las Vegas Aces, Kelsey Plum, has re-signed with the franchise on a multi-year contract extension the team announced today, with the length of the contract reported by Rachel Galligan.

With Plum now extended, the Aces have officially re-signed all five of their starters through the 2023 WNBA season.

Under first year head coach Becky Hammon, Plum’s game has blossomed, progressing from Sixth Player of the Year this past season to an All-Star Game MVP, all but guaranteed All-WNBA selection this season, and MVP buzz. Ahead of today’s nationally televised matchup with the Connecticut Sun, Plum is second in the league in scoring average and is amidst one of the most prolific distance-shooting seasons in W history. According to Her Hoop Stats, only five players have eclipsed a season shooting 40+% from deep on six or more attempts per game: Katie Smith (2004), Becky Hammon (2007), Diana Taurasi (2009), Sugar Rodgers (2026), and Plum this season. She’s on pace to be only the third player in league history to average three makes or more from deep, joining Arike Ogunbowale and Diana Taurasi (4 times).

While her distance shooting sets the table for Plum’s game, her growth as a playmaker this season has been arguably even more important in her growth and further development. She excels pushing the pace, attacking odd advantages, and running ball screen continuity concepts, something the Aces thrive upon.

Upon the signing in the Aces’ official release, General Manager Natalie Williams said, “Kelsey Plum is a generational talent, and one of the hardest working athletes I have ever known. Her preparation and work ethic are second to none. Kelsey has the ability to impact the game in so many facets, and with the great mentorship of Coach Becky Hammon, she is proving herself to be one the best guards in the WNBA. We are thrilled to re-sign her, and strengthen our incredibly talented core group.”

This move is sizable for Las Vegas, as well as the entire league. While it’s entirely possible that trades can happen moving forward, maintaining the core of a team that has been at the top of the W for much of the season, and in the upper tier since the turn of the decade is substantial.

All five starters are under 30, have made at least one All-Star team, and are scoring in double figures this season. Sitting at 17-7 and 2nd in the WNBA standings with 12 games remaining this season, the Aces are primed to make noise this season and for the foreseeable future.

While Yo Gotti’s birthday was in May, the rapper took to the FedEx Forum in Memphis for his annual Birthday Bash concert. Gotti has held the event yearly since 2012, but it was canceled in both 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID pandemic. The concert featured appearances from Boosie Badazz, Lil Durk, SleazyWorld Go, Lil Uzi Vert, EST Gee, Blac Youngsta, Big Boogie, Mozzy, and more. The night went smoothly as planned, but afterward, a man was arrested after he threatened to kill everyone coming from the FedEx Forum.

Fox 13 Memphis reports that the suspect, Elijah Hyman, was distraught due to a recent breakup that he experienced with his girlfriend. Police say that Hyman said he was going to commit suicide and kill everyone that exited Gotti’s concert. Hyman was apprehended by police and taken in for medical treatment and evaluation. The suspect was also found with several weapons in his possession, and as a result, he was charged with commission of the act of terrorism.

Afterward, Gotti thanked the Memphis PD for the work in stopping the potential shooting. “Thank you to the fans, artists and everyone involved behind the scenes for making Birthday Bash a smooth, secure and successful event,” he wrote in the first of three tweets. “We were informed of a potential threat regarding an individual seeking to harm attendees leaving Birthday Bash that occurred 3 hours after our show ended.” He added, “I would also like to thank the Memphis Police Department for their swift and proactive action in ensuring that all attendees returned home safely.”

You can view Gotti’s tweets above.

For the last year-and-a-half, the Democrats have controlled the White House, the House, and the Senate. So why can’t they get anything done? In part thanks to two stubborn Democratic senators: Arizona’s Kyrsten Sinema and West Virginia’s Joe Manchin, who are both very popular with Republicans. The latter recently scotched yet another crucial bill, this one concerning climate change and tax loopholes. It came as no surprise to anyone paying attention, but one of his fellow senators was even more incensed than most.

Bernie Sanders went on ABC’s This Week on Sunday, and when host Martha Raddatz claimed Manchin had “abruptly pulled the plug” on the bill, he took umbrage with her choice of words.

“No, Martha, he didn’t abruptly,” Sanders shot back, interrupting her. “He didn’t abruptly do anything. He has sabotaged the president’s agenda. If you check the record, six months ago, I made it clear that you have people like Manchin, [Kyrsten] Sinema to a lesser degree, who are intentionally sabotaging the president’s agenda, what the American people want, what a majority of us in the Democratic Caucus want. Nothing new about this.

“The problem was that we continued to talk to Manchin like he was serious. He was not,” he continued. “This is a guy who is a major recipient of fossil fuel money, a guy who has received campaign contributions from 25 Republican billionaires.”

When Raddatz quoted Manchin, who said he was concerned about inflation, Sanders gave a sarcastic, drawn-out, “Really? Is that right?”, calling it “the same nonsense that Manchin has been talking about for a year.”

Sanders also talked about how Manchin’s state is one of the poorest in the country. “You ask the people of West Virginia if they want to expand Medicare to cover dental, hearing, and eyeglasses. You ask the people of West Virginia whether we should demand that the wealthiest people and large corporations start paying their fair share of taxes. Ask the people of West Virginia whether or not all people should have healthcare as a human right, like every other country on Earth, that’s what they will say,” he said. “In my humble opinion, Manchin represents the wealthiest people in this country, not working families in West Virginia or America.”

In the meantime, Manchin continues to insist he’s still a Democrat, not a DINO (Democrat in Name Only). He also unconvincingly claimed he was shocked that far right judges he helped elect to lifetime positions lied when they said they wouldn’t overturn Roe v. Wade.

You can watch Sanders go off on Manchin in the video above.

When he suddenly passed away at age 28, Jak Knight seemed about to break through. He’d already accomplished so much. He was a writer on Big Mouth, on which he also voiced a few characters, including Devin’s ex-husband DeVon. He’d co-created the Peacock comedy Bust Down, on which he also starred, alongside Chris Redd, Sam Jay, and Langston Kerman. And he’d been an increasingly acclaimed and visible stand-up.

“Whenever I was on a lineup with Jak Knight, I knew it was going to be a wildly funny night,” wrote fellow comic James Adomian on Twitter after news of his death was reported.

To honor a comic whose rising star was cut short, Comedy Central has put together a best-of compilation, which shows how much we lost.

“I call white women ‘swans.’ They’re white, they’re majestic, and people get upset when I chase them through parks,” he jokes in the opening bit. He proceeds to talk about many things: sex, female presidents, the idea of a male Melania (who he describes as basically like having Kevin Federline in the White House), and, of course, Trump.

“Trump’s my president the same way my stepdad is my stepdad,” he says in one segment. “I didn’t see it coming. He’s really annoying on Twitter, and he’s only here because a woman didn’t do a good enough job.” The reaction is a mix of laughs and gasps.

You can view it all in the video above. In the meantime, the cause of Knight’s death remains unknown.

Alan Dershowitz may be the most hated Democrat amongst Democrats. The celebrity lawyer has a habit of making the worst bedfellows, be they Donald Trump or Jeffrey Epstein. That’s ostracized him from his party, to the point that he’s persona non grata whenever he spends his summers on the wealthy playground that is Martha’s Vineyard. This year he hasn’t been yelled at by Larry David (yet), but he’s still getting nothing but cold shoulders. How is Dershowitz making things better with his fellow rich vacationers? By going on Newsmax to complain about it.

“I have essentially been excluded from the Democratic Party,” Dershowitz whined. “There was recently an event on Martha’s Vineyard for Jewish Democrats – who would be the first person you would think of as a Jewish Democrat on Martha’s Vineyard – me, but I wasn’t invited because I’m now cancelled essentially from the Democratic Party.”

Dershowitz — who defended Trump at his second impeachment trial, which could have banned him from ever running for president again — detailed the extent of his ostracization:

“The library won’t allow me to speak on Martha’s Vineyard, the Community Center, the major synagogue, all of them have canceled me because I had the chutzpah to defend the constitution on behalf of a president of the United States that they all voted against – the fact that I voted against him, too — and then I remain, in my mind a Liberal Democrat doesn’t much matter … If I don’t follow the party line down to the extreme, I am cancelled. People refuse to attend events if they know I’m gonna be there and that’s why several friends of mine have who have invited me for years to events in their home or concerts that they’ve sponsored have apologetically said, ‘We’re sorry we can’t invite you because if you come everybody will leave.”

Alas, going on a Trumpy network doesn’t seem to have calmed things over with fellow Democrats.

(Via Raw Story)

You cannot mess with Beyonce in any way. Whether it comes to music or anything, really, the Lemonade artist manages to rise above it all. While feelings about her acting career tend to be polarizing, her success is beyond undeniable. Yet, Beyonce Knowles is not afraid to acknowledge moments where she isn’t presented in the best light.

Vulture recently revisited Austin Powers In Goldmember and learned that the film’s makeup artist, Kate Biscoe, said the 40-year-old felt she looked too skinny on the movie’s poster. Biscoe, asked someone on the crew, after Beyonce walked away: “Is that the first time that you’ve ever had an actress ask to make her body bigger?”, to which he replied “Yes. It’s going to cost me thousands of dollars, but I am going to do it.”

Though this was an unfortunate situation, Beyonce has provided much entertainment throughout her acting career. Prior to Austin Powers In Goldmember, she first entered the cinematic universe with Carmen: A Hip Hopera in 2001. Since then, the “Irreplaceable” artist has had major roles in Dreamgirls, Obsessed, and The Lion King. As for music, Queen Bee released “Break My Soul” in June and Renaissance is set to release on July 29th.

LeBron James has worn Nike throughout his basketball career after wearing Adidas while he was in high school. James famously signed a contract with Nike right before he entered the NBA, although much has been made of the fact that legendary Adidas executive Sonny Vaccaro wanted his company to offer James a 10-year contract worth $100 million.

That ended up being too rich for some decision makers’ blood, and Nike was able to swoop in and offer James a more lucrative deal that has turned into a lifetime contract. All of that serves as the backdrop for Saturday afternoon’s Drew League game in which James played — the league’s uniforms are made by Adidas, and as noted by several people on Twitter, James looked like he covered up the Adidas logo on his jersey before he played.

Here are some of James’ highlights from the game — it can be hard to see, but you can notice that most of his teammates have an Adidas logo at the center of their chest.

Saturday’s game was the first time James played in Drew League, the annual summer pro-am in Los Angeles, since the 2011 NBA lockout. He teamed up with DeMar DeRozan, who is a fixture at the Drew and also appeared to not have the Adidas logo on his jersey (DeRozan, like James, is a Nike athlete). James was outstanding, earning player of the game honors in a thrilling 104-102 win. James scored 42 points, pulled down 14 rebounds, and registered four steals in his first organized basketball game since April.

Mental health has evolved from a stigma to an everyday conversation over the years. Now more than ever, it is important to have public figures with a lot of influence raising awareness about the issues many people encounter on a daily basis. Selena Gomez has been one of the many celebrities to use her platform to advocate for mental health, and Britney Spears wasn’t shy about her admiration.

Today (July 16), the “Gimme More” artist took to Instagram to offer Selena Gomez praise with a picture and a lengthy caption. Spears first mentioned how Gomez surprised her at her wedding: “She came to my wedding … the three most beautiful women in hollywood … @drewbarrymore, @parishilton … I had no idea !!! I was SO HAPPY !!! She told me “I just want you to be happy” three times.”

The 40-year-old then went on to acknowledge Selena Gomez’s work on the mental health side, saying “I appreciate ALL the mental health speeches she does for our generation … Two hour specials with representatives … You’re such a special person and I had to share this picture … I thought it would make her happy”

It is always big to get recognition from major acts in your field that came before you, but this must be twice as good given how committed Gomez is to this cause.

Check out Britney Spears’ Instagram post above.