Category: Viral

J.K. Rowling’s spat with, well, just about everyone but Prager University over her anti-trans comments and fear-mongering has taken a new turn this week. What was mostly online rhetoric and back-and-forth over her trans-exclusionary comments about gender has seen some impact on her work, mainly actors from the Harry Potter movie franchise and those inspired by her books actively distancing themselves from Rowling and denouncing her comments.

Some Harry Potter fan sites have denounced her as well, and comments from authors like Stephen King and others have made her return a humanitarian award she won in 2019. But the latest controversy about Rowling is something very different, as critics say her anti-trans thinking has now directly influenced her writing. Word spread over the weekend that Rowling’s latest book — notably published under her male pseudonym Robert Galibraith — has a notably anti-trans plotline, in which a murderous, cisgendered man dresses up like a woman to kill other women.

The Telegraph published a tepid review of the 900-page novel, Troubled Blood. The review notes both the plotline and that it is likely to further anger those already aware of Rowling’s concern trolling about similar issues regarding trans rights. As many pointed out online, one common trope of anti-trans logic is that men will pretend to be women to gain access to spaces like women’s restrooms in order to commit violent crimes. As word spread about the review, many people expressed their outrage online that Rowling had included these tropes in her work.

The news may actually explain why some at the publishing house working on the new book reportedly threatened to stop working on it earlier this year when she began making a series of comments online that drew considerable attention. Given the actual plot and material in the book, their frustration makes more sense. And social media was soon flooded with critiques of the work, as well as sadness and frustration that Rowling continues to reinforce stereotypes many in the LGBTQ+ community find harmful.

A lot of people had Harry Potter references to make.

Some just had very online jokes to make.

The reaction online was so intense that Twitter had to issue a correction when a hashtag, #RIPJKRowling, started trending. The site actually wrote “No, JK Rowling isn’t dead” under it on its What’s Happening board.

And as many pointed out, this isn’t the first time the author has been accused of anti-trans writing in the series. Troubled Blood is the fifth book in series called Cormoran Strike, which has had other instances critics have pointed to as unfairly depicting trans characters. In the series’ second book, The Silkworm, a trans character is described as “unstable and aggressive” and stalks Strike, eventually trying to stab him. There are other comments made by other characters about Pippa, the trans character, that several critics found offensive.

[via PinkNews]

The second weekend of DC FanDome, dubbed “Explore the Multiverse,” wasn’t as eventful as the first. There were no new trailers for Wonder Woman 1984, the Snyder Cut of Justice League, or The Batman, and no Sinbad jokes, either. But it wasn’t a total dud, either, because it had Margot Robbie discussing an “insane sequence” from The Suicide Squad that she called one of the hardest things she’s ever done.

About the James Gunn-directed film, the Birds of Prey star said, “I don’t want to give it away. When you watch the movie, it’s probably about halfway through. There’s an insane sequence that Harley does which was one of the most difficult things I’ve ever shot on-screen. And we shot it in like four days and I remember looking at the schedule and being like, oh my god, we’re not going to be able to do this. This is gonna be impossible.” She survived working with Peak Method Actor Jared Leto — nothing is impossible:

“And we did it, but it was hard and I was really beat up by the end of it. James was texting me before and said, ‘That scene looks amazing.’ That whole sequence apparently looks really cool. When you see the movie, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about.”

Please let King Shark be involved, please let King Shark be involved, please let…

The Suicide Squad is scheduled to open on August 6, 2021.

(Via Syfy)

Queendom Come is the leading lady on BeatKing‘s viral TikTok hit “Then Leave” and it isn’t the first time Queen has set off a record with her infectious hook either. Clubgod Zilla and Queen bubbled on the Billboard charts with their rump-shaking anthem “U Ain’t Bout That Life” back in 2012 and years later their magical twerking formula still seems to work as evident by the love Cardi B, Lizzo, and countless other celebrities have shown to her hook dealing art.

In fact, she gives credit to Cardi for shooting the songs streaming numbers up towards tremendous proportions after the Grammy award-winning rap star posted a TikTok of her reciting “Then Leave”‘s hypnotizing hook, “Get that head, get that bread, then leave. Peace out!,” before Offset bogarts his way into the frame to rap BeatKing’s part. The moment consequently went viral.

“We just start hitting those mills on YouTube every week,” she recalled during our Fall Music Preview Instagram Live Q&A on Friday (September 11). “We would go up like an extra mill. Even her post got more than 14 million views on her post just from seeing that from people who may have never heard it maybe. Then they really tapped in after that.”

Now as everyone has their eye on Queen, the Houston-based rapper is getting ready to share her solo talent with the world and is preparing to release a freestyle on Tuesday (September 15) in the form of a music video with cameos from YBN Almighty Jay and Lil Jairmy. Of course, this song will be backed by another BeatKing production.

“BeatKing has been saying in a lot of his interviews, ‘Queen, she can rap, rap so don’t get it twisted,’” she said. “She’s the hook dealer but she’s also pretty good on the music and I appreciate that. So, we were in the lab again and he cooked up a track and he was like, ‘Nah this you. You need to get on this, you need to rap.’ Shout out to him again, he can pull the best out of you when you’re in there vibing and I stepped on it.”

Check out the full interview with Queendom Come below.

Chris Hemsworth has declared that he won’t be done playing Thor after Thor: Love And Thunder, but before the MCU gets production underway again, he’s (fortunately) down under where wise people are getting cases of you-know-what under control again. He popped up over the weekend on a weather report for Australia’s The Today Show, for which he forecast a mostly-sunny day with (sadly, given the context) no thunder to be found. While meteorologist Lauren Phillips may have been aware that he was on the scene, her colleagues clearly had no idea.

“I’m in the horse capital of Australia, but I was yet to find a horse, so I thought I should open it up to one of the horse studs,” Phillips told hosts Rebecca Maddern and Richard Wilkins before Hemsworth popped into view. Wilkins stayed understated while observing the demi-god before his eyes, but Maddern was clearly stunned, and who could blame her? Nothing can spice up an otherwise uneventful bout of weather like an A-lister.

According to News.com.au, the booking happened with almost zero notice, to the point where a group of competitive cheerleaders got sidelined and rescheduled for a later date. One father of two cheer members wasn’t pleased, but one can’t blame Hemsworth for the scheduling mess-up. According to Entertainment Tonight, he had been attempting to spread the word for a conservation cause, and producers ran with that ball. Hopefully, they’ll make good with the cheerleaders soon, too.

Aside from acting, Jason Momoa has also been known to slap some bass. He celebrated his 41st birthday in August, and to mark the occasion, Fender sent him a custom Fender Precision Bass. Now he’s living out the dream of any bass player who is serious about their craft: Momoa recently spent some time with Primus leader Les Claypool, who is commonly regarded as one of the best bassists to ever play the instrument.

Over the weekend, Momoa shared a gallery of photos and videos of himself hanging out with Claypool, writing, “I AM MADLY IN LOVE WITH THIS OHANA. mahalo nui loa for taking us in and sharing your home. truly been the most amazing week so many beautiful things to come creating some amazing works of art with friends can’t wait to share our stories. #ontheroam. aloha j.” In the photos and clips, the pair was fishing, going on nature walks, and of course, playing some music.

Momoa had a big rock and roll weekend even beyond the Claypool hang. He also posted photos of himself with legendary guitarist Slash, revealing that he interviewed Slash for Gibson, and that he was nervous to do it: “my first interview. f*ck i was nervous but it was so epic and chill hanging with this legend SLASH AND ME when it’s hand crafted and made in the USA i’m in. i’m so proud to support Gibson they stepped it up with their tribute to #ambassador Slash @slash and I got to talk to him about his core collection.”

Check out the photos and videos above and below.

It’s been incredible for music lovers to experience the recent resurgence of women in rap. This particular episode of Obsessed is dedicated to the “vast ocean” of bold women expressing themselves in a range of styles and moods.

Obsessed co-hosts Taylour Chanel and Britt Ellis start out the episode discussing their favorite women in rap, including “WAP” duo Megan Thee Stallion and Cardi B. Both hosts have strong opinions about “WAP,” including the manner in which the colorful, Willy Wonka-themed video bolstered its appeal. Ellis notes that the track itself “is cool, but the music video is so visually appealing and fun… it contributed to [the song] going completely viral.”

Speaking of fun and appealing, the Obsessed ladies also speak with Blimes And Gab, the vibrant West Coast-based act who recently released their Talk About It album. The duo dish about their creative process, how their respective hometowns of San Francisco and Seattle shape their art, and which rap legends gave them kudos for their breakout “Come Correct” track. They also give disparately insightful answers about how they categorize the different subgenres of rap.

Check out the full episode above for more, including which artist Blimes credits for initiating the shift to honesty in mainstream rap.

As is always the case with a sports game, the first week of NBA 2K21‘s release was an opportunity for developers to gather feedback on the game from a much wider audience and then seek to address bugs and gameplay issues. The results of that arrived in the form of the first full patch for the game on Monday — there was already a shooting hotfix put in place on release weekend — that hopes to address some of the more significant issues people have had with the game thus far.

The biggest changes in the new patch are in regards to the Pro Stick shooting mechanics, starting with offering the ability to choose between the new aiming mechanic and the traditional shot timing mechanic.

New Pro Stick Aiming/Shot Timing selector. On your first boot, you will now have the option to choose between using the new Pro Stick Aiming mechanic or the traditional Shot Timing mechanic. Your settings file will be updated with the appropriate selection. As always, you can visit your settings at any time to update your shooting preference.

Enabled the ability to use Pro Stick Shot Aiming with the Shot Meter setting turned off.

Ideal Shot Aiming point now determined by how slowly or quickly the Pro Stick is initially deflected when starting a shot. A slow flick will move the ideal aim point to the left, while a fast flick will move the ideal point to the right, giving players more consistency with Pro Stick shooting.

There are a number of other gameplay tweaks in the new patch, which is available on Xbox One and PlayStation 4 today, including some animation changes (like getting rid of the double team indicator) and also allowing for floaters from further away and eliminating forced fadeaways after certain dribble moves. They also looked to fix weird hangs that were reported in various modes when entering and exiting areas in an effort to make gameplay smoother.

My personal favorite update listed (and you can check all the updates here) is this one: Andrew Wiggins now appears with updated facial hair to more accurately represent his appearance.

There will surely be more patches to come, but for now this will hopefully improve gameplay, particularly for those who have been frustrated with the new Pro Stick mechanics — and whoever was upset with Andrew Wiggins not looking enough like Andrew Wiggins.

HBO will remain in the Last Week Tonight business until at least 2023. The network has renewed the comedy news show for three more seasons, and host John Oliver is taking the renewal with a healthy dose of realism given the state of, well, everything.

“We’re all extremely happy to be able to continue to do our show on HBO for another three years, or until the end of the world, whichever comes first,” Oliver told The Hollywood Reporter.

Here’s the official statement from HBO chief content officer Casey Bloy:

“For the past seven years, John and his incredibly talented team have taken on topics that are both in the public mind and off the beaten path, always managing to shed new light on these subjects with intelligence and searing humor. We are beyond thrilled to continue this relationship for three more years.”

Like his counterpart Trevor Noah on The Daily Show, Oliver and Last Week Tonight have been a welcome voice of sanity and reason during the pandemic, which has seen everything from nationwide protests against police brutality to the rise of QAnon conspiracy theories in the lead-up to the 2020 presidential election.

But while Oliver has been making headlines with his scathing takedowns of Fox News personality Tucker Carlson, who recently defended white teen vigilante Kyle Rittenhouse, the Last Week Tonight host has also brought some levity to the proceedings. Most notably his “feud” with Danbury, Connecticut. After he made an off-handed joke about the town, the mayor threatened to rename a sewage plant after Oliver, who was immediately on board with this hilarious rivalry. Oliver even went so far as to promise a donation to charity if the town went through with it, and sure enough, the John Oliver Memorial Sewer Plant is now waiting for the host to show up for a ribbon-cutting.

“Come up to Danbury and sit on your throne,” the mayor told Oliver in a video roasting the late night host.

(Via Hollywood Reporter)

NLE Choppa wants fans to skip the McDonald’s Travis Scott meal in favor of a plant-based diet, tweeting “go eat some vegetables” as the burger chain sees a surge in Quarter Pounder sales thanks to the “Sicko Mode” rapper’s most enthusiastic fans. The 17-year-old Memphis rapper is turning over a new leaf just as the 28-year-old Houston rapper is flexing with his McDonald’s collab, claiming he will no longer rap about violence and tweeting a lot like Jaden Smith once did at the same age.

The 2020 XXL Freshman made his opinion clear over the weekend, posting tweet encouraging fans to switch up their diets. “Eat healthy man,” he wrote. “That food y’all eating can f*cc with your mental too.” He followed up by recommending followers “Put them Travis Scott burgers down go to the farmers market go eat some vegetables! Eat plant based foods!”

Of course, Travis Scott fans — and fans of fast food in general, I guess, took none too kindly to NLE Choppa’s suggestions. His replies were quickly swamped by a backlash from Twitter jokesters who promptly compared the sandwich to his music. However, there were also plenty of supportive tweets, proving that folks on Twitter can argue about just about anything.

See some of the responses to NLE Choppa’s diet advice above and check out the best, worst, and weirdest items from the Travis Scott/McDonald’s collab collection here.

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

Concrete Cowboy, which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival, falls into that category of movie where the subject matter is so interesting I just want to know more. In this case – and we’ve seen examples during the protests over the last few months – Black cowboys in the middle of large cities. It’s something, admittedly, I just didn’t know much about and the site of people riding horses in heavily populated urban areas seems unusual, but it has a long history and Ricky Staub’s Concrete Cowboy does a good job of filling in that history.

Based in part on the book Ghetto Cowboy by Greg Neri, Cole (Caleb Washington, who you probably know best from Stranger Things) is headed down a bleak path after one too many run-ins with trouble and the police. His mother, at her wits’ end, decides Cole should spend the summer in Philadelphia with his father, Harp (Idris Elba). Harp is part of a local group, the Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club, who own and tend horses in Philadelphia. (Many of the actual members of Fletcher Street Riding Club appear in the film to varying, understandable degrees of acting talent that range from, “well, that’s nice they are in this,” to, “oh, I would have bet money that was an actor.”)

The plot of Concrete Cowboy itself doesn’t offer a ton of surprises, and it probably plays out a lot like you think it will. Cole still winds up finding trouble in Philadelphia. Idris Elba’s Harp takes the tough love approach, demanding Cole stop hanging out with certain friends. Then, later, he encourages him to start taking care of the horses in the stables and learn some responsibility. When one of the horses escapes to a local softball field – with a couple of dozen very surprised white, softball playing city-dwellers standing around, not knowing quite what to do – it’s Cole who approaches the scared and feisty animal to bring it back.

So, yes, it’s a movie about a somewhat estranged father reconnecting with his son over their eventual shared love of the horses. A particular scene stood out, as members of the urban horse riding community are all hanging out in a city field, drinking beers and sharing tales of the past. This is also when we meet Leroy (Method Man), a local sheriff who is very much a part of the local community. And his character just underscores how important it is for members of the police to actually know and live in the community they serve – a point that comes into play later in the film. But it’s during this scene that we hear about the history of the Black cowboy and how Hollywood erased their legacy. That even the Lone Ranger was a Black man (Bass Reeves), but as we know became a white guy in hundreds of radio and television installments. But it’s this legacy of the Black cowboy that’s still alive today with these urban cowboy clubs.

Concrete Cowboy is a nice movie about fathers and sons and humanity and the legacy of why there are people riding horses in places you wouldn’t expect to see any horses. In fact, there should probably be more horses in cities. “Less cars, more horses” sounds like a pretty good campaign slogan. During the credits, the real-life members of the club share their personal stories about how the riding club changed their lives. One man can’t walk anymore, but he can still ride. (In the movie his character says this happened during an altercation over a street corner, a street corner that now hosts a Starbucks. “I’ll be in a wheelchair the rest of my life, all for nothing,” he says. I can only assume this story he tells in the movie is a true story.)

A movie like Concrete Cowboy seems to fit the theme of this particular Toronto Film Festival. It’s a movie that, probably, would get swallowed up a bit by all the usual huge films. But this year, thankfully, it’s getting some nice attention. And it’s further proof that, even in this virtual form, it’s a great thing that film festivals continued to push forward as best they could.

You can contact Mike Ryan directly on Twitter.