Category: Viral

Duke head men’s basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski criticized the NCAA on Tuesday night for “just plowing ahead” with a college basketball season in spite of players’ mental and physical health.

Rather than directly calling for a cancelation or pause of the season while the coronavirus pandemic worsens around the country, Coach K instead called on the association to come together and find a solution. Throughout the opening weeks of the college basketball season in both the men’s and women’s game, the sport has been plagued by positive cases, spontaneous outbreaks, and ethical questions.

“I would just like for the safety, the mental and physical health of players and staff to assess where we’re at,” the Duke coach said.

At the same time, Coach K made a point of noting he’s “not sure who leads college basketball” and said any sport run by a complicated committee with various priorities is inherently “not agile,” which made Krzyzewski, whose voice carries powerful weight in the sport, strike a pessimistic tone about anything improving.

Coach K acknowledged the virus is already a scary and dangerous challenge to the sport, even because of something as simple as players being prevented from returning home to visit their families during the holidays. With vaccines looming and expected to cut down transmission and hospital problems across the nation, Coach K alluded to the idea that even waiting until further into the winter could make college basketball a significantly less risky endeavor. He is not the only coach to bring up this point, as Iona’s Rick Pitino shares this sentiment.

Prior to the start of the season, Coach K had partially endorsed a Bubble for the NCAA Tournament (though he questioned the logistics of such a big event), and while it seems the association is forging ahead with plans for some sort of single-site March Madness, there may be increasing pressure for individual conferences to put together Bubbles for conference play, as Villanova coach Jay Wright has called for.

There’s also the fact that Krzyzewski is 73 years old, and after college football coaches like Nick Saban have become infected, it’s become increasingly concerning to see people whom doctors consider health risks during the pandemic coaching games inside while teams find positive cases left and right.

It’s hard to say what may be the impetus behind Coach K coming out vocally against the current situation. Maybe he was just frustrated after playing a home game in front of an eery, empty Cameron Indoor Fieldhouse. Either way, Coach K is clearly correct in his assessment and this could signal momentum behind changes to how this college basketball season operates.

Thanks to her bizarre, slurring testimony during an election hearing in Michigan last week, Rudy Giuliani’s “star witness” Mellissa Carone has become an internet sensation, but for all of the wrong reasons. While Carone’s over-the-top testimony has been a comedy gold mine for Saturday Night Live and Amy Schumer, it’s also shone a light on her personal life, which is starting to answer a whole lot of questions about how she ended up working with Giuliani. According to a new report, Carone used to work as a dancer at the Bada Bing strip club in Lincoln Park, Michigan, and yes, it got its name from The Sopranos. While there’s nothing wrong with being a stripper, like all things Carone, the story quickly takes a turn. Via Daily Mail:

Mellissa Carone, 33, used to dance at the venue in 2010, which has the same name as the infamous strip club featured in HBO’s hit show The Sopranos. The seedy joint even takes after the mobster strip club, having its own history of violence. It finally shuttered following a string of incidents, including an attack in 2010 where four men, including the manager, were arrested and charged with torturing a man in the basement, drilling through his hand with an electric drill.

The Mail reports that people from Carone’s hometown are enjoying her recent fame because her dancing days were the “worst kept secret in our little town.” They’re also enjoying the schadenfreude of Carone’s testimony dredging up her sordid legal history of repeatedly sending sex tapes to her husband’s ex-wife. “She was never easy to get along with, always stuck up and thought she was the hottest thing around,” a source said.

(Via Daily Mail)

If you are or have been a sneakerhead at any time in the past five years, you’ve undoubtedly had your heart broken by a hot shoe’s release date. Thanks to bots and increased hype, it’s darn near impossible for a regular working stiff to get their hands on the latest Nike collabs. However, the latest was even harder to get ahold of, as J Balvin’s Air Jordan 1 sneakers reportedly sold out in under a minute worldwide, according to the man himself.

Celebrating the success of his collab with the footwear giant, Balvin posted to his Instagram, reporting they were “Sold Out Global” and thanking fans for scooping up the outrageous tie-dyed colorway of the first Michael Jordan signature. “Se fueron en un minuto de lo que yo conté jejej,” he wrote. “Los Amo GRACIAS GRACIAS GRACIAS.” (Translation: “They were gone in a minute, by my count. I love them. Thank you, thank you, thank you.”)

Meanwhile, Billboard reports that although Nike does not share sales information, Balvin did make history by becoming the first Latino artist to collaborate with the Jordan brand. Balvin designed the sneakers with inspiration from his albums Colores and Vibras, ensuring they live up to those titles with a vibrant burst of rainbow colors, pink soles, and interchangeable patches based on his personal branding — smiley faces and lightning bolts.

Although they’ve sold out online, you may be able to grab them in person at select retailers. They’re going for $190. Good luck.

Stefflon Don’s outspoken nature isn’t the only reason why she’s transformed into a global rap star — it’s also her daring sense of style. The Birmingham, UK-born, Netherlands-raised artist has been on the rise since 2017’s breakout “Hurtin’ Me” single and her seductive looks have grown along with her. After collaborating with artists like Mariah Carey, Halsey, and Jeremih (as well as securing her first songwriting credit on Ty Dolla Sign’s new album Featuring Ty Dolla Sign), Stefflon is returning with a new project and called on stylist Toni Blaze to help redefine her style.

Blaze grew up with a grandmother who had her own tailoring company in Nigeria and a mother who “was very creative in terms of the ways she would dress me.” Inspired by fashion greats like the late Alexander McQueen and John Galliano, Blaze attended London College Of Fashion and Central Saint Martins. She then landed a position at London-based style publication Wonderland magazine. “I assisted a stylist called Matthew Josephs when he used to work there for about two years or so,” Blaze tells Uproxx. “When he left, I stayed on and progressed my way up. I went from assistant to the fashion director, then my next title was fashion editor.” Now she’s the editor-in-chief who helped bring covers of Migos, Nicki Minaj, and Emilia Clarke to life over the past two years.

After Stefflon’s manager reached out to Blaze, the pair connected this summer to frame the artist’s new aesthetic. “Move” and “Can’t Let You Go” are Stefflon’s first new music of the year, and the looks that go along with them reflect two sides of her: Bad Jamaican Gyal and Girly Romanticism. Uproxx caught up with Blaze and Stefflon about their collaborations, designer taste, and what’s next for this dynamic duo.

When did you first begin working with Stefflon Don?

Blaze: So we did [the “Move” video] back in July. Anytime you work with someone who loves fashion, it just makes your job so much easier. She’s not afraid to take risks. I can bring her a pair of shoes that she might think is a bit wild, but she’ll go for it. The main aim for her is to look very editorially stylized. Obviously, we all love a big-name brand, but I could put a designer on the mood board that might’ve just graduated or just coming up in London and she’s very open to trying.

Are there any go-to designers that you use with her?

Blaze: The main one is Melissa Simon-Hartman who did a lot of stuff for Beyoncé’s Black Is King. She worked on the “Can’t Let You Go” gold cowrie shell look — it’s just enough to signify that African influence. Steff is of Jamaican origin, and I’m of Nigerian origin. So we wanted to celebrate that, but not in a cliche way. In the scene where she’s got this green leotard, that’s from Lisa Folawiyo. She’s a Nigerian designer who does these amazing prints. We used a lot of people of color and I thought that was quite important, especially during this time.

Many people have finally opened their eyes to inequality this year.

Blaze: When I was at St. Martins, I was the only person of color in my 20-person class. So it’s nice to have this full-circle moment where my work has been recognized and I can now have conversations with the British Fashion Council’s diversity committee. My long-term goal is to do brand partnerships where I can bring people from disadvantaged families who want to get into fashion but don’t have that middle-class background where they can intern for free.

Getting back to “Can’t Let You Go,” the pink dress was such a romantic touch that complemented the song’s subtlety.

Don: My boyfriend is Nigerian and sings in Yoruba, so I guess being around his family for the last two years has inspired me. The Yoruba language is very spiritual. I don’t get the same feeling when I sing English. But even though I’m doing something different by mixing that with the Jamaican dialect throughout the song, the root is still Stefflon Don.

Blaze: That dress was from this designer called Selam Fessahaye. But even if you look at her glam, it was very stripped back for her. You’re drawn to her and it just felt very angelic. It was nice to see her in that way.

On the flip side, the “Move” video reminds me of ‘90s Lil Kim as well as Steff’s dancehall sound.

Don: I’m definitely inspired by a lot of the Jamaican dancehall scene, especially women like Lady Saw and Patra. I’ve never seen that look before with the metallic hat and the matching waistband. I think that was dope.

Blaze: That was super fun, too. For the mood board, I was looking at all these really old Beenie Man videos. So I thought about how to bring that to Steff, but in an elevated way. That dancehall scene was just so amazing — even down to the hairstyles. With the metallic look, she was supposed to [represent] this running joke with Caribbean restaurants where you have the woman who’s the boss. I really just wanted it to feel like when I was going to bashments in London growing up. You’ll see these girls dressed to the T with their fishnets and bling, and they’re there until 6 a.m. It’s ghetto fabulous in a great way.

The two-piece blue mesh outfit also represents that bashment style.

Blaze: That was from Auné. She designs these really weird, great prints. I don’t think I even met Stefflon then but I already had it on my mood board. That bandana felt very “Island Gyal” but very expensive at the same time. With the way the camera cuts on that look — because the trousers are so see-through — it gives the illusion of being hyper-sexual.

Even the way that I accessorize the chains, I used Mr. T as a reference. There was a point where she was like “You’re choking me!” when I was adding more chains. [laughs] When it comes to videos, you want to be in that fantasy. It’s about feeling that level of escapism when you see that person’s look.

Are there any other places that you draw inspiration from?

Blaze: My favorite designer is John Galliano. I have this really big book at home, so when I’m stuck on a project, I just go through all the old Dior shows he designed. Whether it’s the way a corset has been layered or a leopard print that clashes with a billowing dress. It shouldn’t work, but then it does. Also, one of my favorite photographers is David LaChapelle.

So I always draw from those references. I think it is because of my university background. We always lived in archives — you can find every single magazine in their library. I like the idea of hyper-realism and things that you wouldn’t expect from certain artists — like a Marie Antoinette-style dress on a rap girl.

Steff, what is the vision you’re taking with your next project?

Don: It’s totally different from what I’ve done before. I’ve learned how to take people more on a journey and have records that cement my sound. I came with a lot of island vibes this time. I feel like as we get older, we change and have different outlooks on life. This project will show my growth and I’m super proud of it.

Seeing you elevate from “Hurtin Me” and being the first British rapper to cover XXL to where you are now, you’re not part of the rap conversation as much. Do you feel the same way?

Don: I agree. When I came up, it was just me and my manager — we had a little bit of label help but there wasn’t really a solid team. To make something globally successful and remain there, you have to have all these different avenues with people really riding for you. If I had the team doing the right things back then, then I guess I would be in the places that you think I should have been in. But it’s not too late. We’ve switched up the team now, learned from the mistakes and we’re going to come harder than ever.

Great performances come in all shapes and sizes, big and loud or small and understated or anything in between. It’s more of a feel thing. A great performance just jumps off the screen. It’s hard to put into words but you can tell when it’s happening because it leaves you transfixed, eyes glued to the action, watching each little movement and hanging on every word that gets delivered. It’s fun when it happens, when all the stars align between performer and role and writing. You should try to recognize it whenever you can.

So, that’s what we’re doing. We’re recognizing some of the best performances on television in 2020. We’ve got huge lead roles and smaller supporting roles and even a cartoon voice role. Again, a great performance can pop up anywhere. Here are some of the ones that excited us throughout this year

Rhea Seehorn, Better Call Saul

It’s not exactly a secret at this point but it’s still worth saying, out loud, with gusto, for the benefit of the people in the back row and the Emmy voters: Rhea Seehorn is putting in work on Better Call Saul. Every episode, too, surrounded by heavy-hitter Breaking Bad veterans like Jonathan Banks and Bob Odenkirk. She’s the heart and soul of the show at this point, to the degree that the biggest question of the show has evolved from “When does Jimmy become Saul?” into “WHAT HAPPENS TO KIM WEXLER?” Some of that is the writing, yes, sure, Peter Gould and Vince Gilligan are pretty good at this, too. But the weight of the character is on her shoulders and she’s been hauling it around pretty good for a few seasons now, finger guns and all. — Brian Grubb

Jurnee Smollett Bell, Lovecraft Country

Jurnee Smollet Bell had a hell of a year, and while her Birds of Prey performance – particularly that hair-tie moment in the film’s climactic fight scene – will always hold a special place in our hearts, it’s about damn time we talk about her other starring turn, this time on the small screen. Sure, Jonathan Majors was the obvious protagonist of HBO’s genre-bending Lovecraft Country. His Tic is heir to a magical inheritance that puts him on a collision course with monsters and witchcraft and time-travel devices and racist poltergeists. But it’s Bell’s Lettie, a young woman chafing at the prejudice and limitations put on her by society – even by those she loves most – that feels like the true hero of the show’s first season and that’s due, in large part, to the performance of the person playing her. Bell captures Lettie’s anger and frustration, but she never lets it command the whole of what the character is, bringing a compassionate, courageous side to Lettie that proves to be the lynchpin of the show’s bittersweet ending. And that Beyonce-channeling car-bashing scene? That will be living in our minds rent-free for years to come. — Jessica Toomer

Ethan Hawke, The Good Lord Bird

Do yourself a serious favor and indulge in this fire-spewing performance, and be amazed when you remember that Ethan Hawke specialized in playing slackers back in the 1990s before moving onto romantic leads and so much more. He does it all too well, as evidenced by four Oscar nominations, but he damn well deserves an Emmy nod for his portrayal of loose-cannon abolitionist John Brown. It’s an unusually brash turn from Hawke, who I’m still convinced prepared for this by playing horror protagonists who lose their sh*t. He’s also adept at taking his audience along with him, that they, too, lose their sh*t. It’s a blast to watch people lose their sh*t and share in the communal sh*t-losing experience, right? Well, you can’t go to the movies now, but you can enjoy Hawke burning so brightly that he’s incandescent. It’s clear that he had a blast playing a controversial figure of U.S. history, and his showy and forceful turn cannot be downplayed. What’s super telling about the John Brown role is that it was envisioned for Jeff Bridges, but after watching the series, it’s impossible to imagine another actor as such a ridiculously behaved but good-hearted character, who set some wheels in motion to ignite the Civil War. It’s a hell of a portrayal, and Hawke should scoop up all the awards for this his embodiment of an imposing, intense, and invaluable figure like John freaking Brown. — Kimberly Ricci

Michaela Coel, I May Destroy You

As creator, writer, and star of one of our Best Shows of 2020, Michaela Coel told a story that landed from a perspective — a rape survivor who’s not singularly defined by her trauma — that we seldom see in any entertainment medium. We definitely haven’t seen a triple threat like Michaela also step into leading actress shoes to work out her own closure with alternate endings that allowed her to fully process that trauma and let it go. As Arabella, Michaela managed to throw off both relatable and aspirational vibes while unapologetically dancing through an exploration of sexual consent that should have felt uncomfortable to watch, but Michaela kept things so candid that viewers got sucked into the narrative without a second thought. As an actress, too, her performance was absolutely sublime, including that frenetic finale where Arabella took back her power. I truly can’t wait to see what the Chewing Gum star will do next. — Kimberly Ricci

Donald Sutherland, The Undoing

I haven’t decided if this is a note in praise of Donald Sutherland’s performance in The Undoing or his eyebrows’ performance in that show. I guess they are technically one and the same. Certainly, the eyebrows, chaotic and overlong, had a hand in our view of Sutherland’s character. They might be 75% responsible for our belief that he was some kind of secret villain. (The rest being attributed to Donald Sutherland’s many, many villainous turns across his career). But overall, I guess the untamed forehead caterpillars (and our preconceived notions based on Sutherland’s past works) stand out as items in the toolbox of a master character actor who shined in the periphery of a show about murder, infamy, and fine winter jackets. So protective was he of his daughter that we imagined the possibilities. So devious his grin that we wondered if he had a connection to the victim. So surgical in its intimidation was his breakdown of the word “cocksucker” that we believed those eyebrows might reach out and grab that private school dean and hold him up by the lapels, shaking him until he caved. An awards-worthy performance. The eyebrows, all of it. — Jason Tabrys

Salvatore Esposito, Fargo

I will concede that Salvatore Esposito’s performance in Fargo was not for everyone. As Gaetano Fadda, the large ornery rhinoceros son of the local mob boss, he was all exaggerated movements and bulging eyes. It was something to see. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen someone go that big every single second he was on screen. It was borderline theatrical, almost like a silent film actor had been plopped into the action and given lines. I could not have loved it more. Look at that GIF up there. Look at his entire face. It was transfixing, a performance that filled the whole screen, from corner to corner. It wouldn’t work on every show, but it worked in this one, for me, which is the important thing. — Brian Grubb

The entire cast of The Baby-Sitters Club

All I knew about The Baby-Sitters Club before watching the Netflix adaptation is that it was about babysitters, and they have a club. The beloved book series was not part of my rotation as a kid (I was too busy reading Goosebumps for the 12th time, or whatever), but the reviews for the series were surprisingly strong, so I gave it a shot. I recommend you do the same because The Baby-Sitters Club is one of the more low-key progressive and entertaining shows this year. And much of its charm is due to the show’s young cast: Sophie Grace as bossy Kristy Thomas; Momona Tamada as artistic Claudia Kishi; Shay Rudolph as exquisitely-dressed Stacey McGill; Malia Baker as shy Mary Anne Spier; and Xochitl Gomez as zenful Dawn Schafer. They are a delight, as is the show. — Josh Kurp

Da’Vine Joy Randolph, High Fidelity

I am really mad, still, months later, that Hulu canceled its take on High Fidelity after one season. Part of that is because it was good, surprisingly so, in a fun and charming way that twisted the original about 40 degrees to the left and updated it for the present day. A bigger part of it is because season two was allegedly going to focus more on Cherise, the character played by Da’Vine Joy Randolph, and I really wanted to see that. She was so good in the role, a brash and loud exterior serving as armor for a vulnerable soul, strutting through the record store as “Come On Eileen” blasted over the speakers, the whole thing. It’s tough to land that kind of performance, to make it resonate without becoming a caricature. She pulled it off, though, well, throughout the entire season. And now I’m mad because I won’t get to see where it goes next. Happy I got to see it at all, sure, but still a little mad for the appropriate reasons. — Brian Grubb

Jessie Buckley, Fargo

This was, I am sad to admit, not my favorite season of Fargo. Still good! But not the best… unless Jessie Buckley was on screen. She was the spark that lit season 4. Buckley played Oraetta Mayflower, an articulate nurse who ignores the first two words in the “do no harm” oath, with a devilish slyness — she’d charm you with her Minnesota niceness, while shushing you for making too much noise while you’re choking on the floor from her poisoned macaroons. The good nurse (in that she’s good at sadism) is simultaneously funny and chilling, like the best Fargo characters. Oraetta Mayflower and Lorne Malvo would make quite the pair. The last two years have been big ones for Buckley: she broke out in 2019 with performances in HBO’s Chernobyl and Wild Rose, and she kept the momentum going in 2020 with Netflix’s I’m Thinking of Ending Things (one of our favorite movies of the year) and Fargo. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Buckley on this list next year, too, dontcha know? — Josh Kurp

Anya Taylor Joy, The Queen’s Gambit

I’m not entirely sure Anya-Taylor Joy is human. Not after watching her performance in Netflix’s surprise hit miniseries, The Queen’s Gambit. There’s an otherness to her and her siren-like stare as she shakes down grown men from across a checkered battlefield that feels uncanny, a bit other-worldly. Whatever spell she’s casting, it works for Beth Harmon, the orphaned chess-prodigy she brings to life in Scott Frank’s latest outing. Not only does she confidently mop the floor with egotistical men who underestimate her playing prowess because of her age and gender, she’s able to convey the inner-turmoil of a woman battling addiction and remnants of parental neglect, often just with a penetrating gaze or carefully-timed glance. She’s quiet, stealthy in her command of the screen, drawing everyone into her orbit by leaning into Beth’s strangeness, her anti-social attitude and untouchable genius. The show just doesn’t work if Joy can’t tap into that, while also making an ancient board game seem exciting and fresh. Thankfully, she’s more than up to the challenge. — Jessica Toomer

Josh O’Connor, The Crown

We know Prince Charles, or we think we do thanks to decades of tabloid reporting. But Josh O’Connor made him come to life, drawing compassion from us at the start for his life in a plush cage. As a teenager last season, Charles had grand ideas about who he was and how he’d bend the world to accommodate that. I wanted that for him despite knowing the inevitable turn would come. And this season we saw it as The Crown mined the details and speculation of Charles and Princess Diana’s burnt fairytale with O’Connor rising to the occasion as Charles grew up and into the role of royal brat and bastard. A remarkable journey that I would have loved to see continue if not for the addition of god damn Jimmy McNulty (Dominic West) to takeover the role next season. — Jason Tabrys

Maya Rudolph, Big Mouth

It feels like cheating to put Maya Rudolph on here for her voice work on Big Mouth. It’s so straightforward, so obvious, like, yeah, no duh, Maya Rudolph is good as Hormone Monstress Connie, with all of her pronunciations and inflections and big brassy line readings. Everyone knows that. We could just put her on this list every time a new season of the show comes out. And guess what: We might just do that! Sometimes things are obvious because they’re just undeniably true, facts, like “the ocean is very large and wet.” But that doesn’t mean they’re not worth saying sometimes. Let’s go ahead and say it. Maya Rudolph is terrific in Big Mouth, all the time. There. That felt good, right? — Brian Grubb

Robert Sheehan, The Umbrella Academy

This guy’s such a delightful weirdo that one might assume that playing a delightful weirdo like Klaus Hargreeves would come naturally. Well, if so, then Robert Sheehan’s even more talented than I’ll give him credit for, which is a lot. He pulls off the most tortured superhero sibling who’s not only tormented by the dead, but one of them is his brother, Ben, who no one else can see. So when Klaus and Ben end up fighting in the street, and we see a tremendous instance of physical comedy by Sheehan, who’s tasked with essentially fighting himself to all who pass by and witness. He then seamlessly transitions into a few other incarnations over the course of the season. One of them is heartbreaking: Klaus suffering a homophobic attack and finding refuge in a liquor store, so bye-bye sobriety. The other is wonderfully comical: Klaus transforms into a doomsday cult leader who soars through time. Overall, it’s a nuanced performance that’s gallantly portrayed by a gregarious Irishman who clearly adores his character, all in the service of halting another apocalypse. — Kimberly Ricci

The National Enquirer, a tabloid newspaper best known for outrageous all-caps headlines like “EXCLUSIVE: HILLARY CLINTON LESBIAN LOVERS NAMED IN SECRET EMAILS,” was set to publish an article about January Jones’ friends being “worried” about her “attention-grabbing bikini pictures” on social media. Which is to say, the National Enquirer just discovered her very good Instagram. The publication reached out to the Mad Men actress hoping for a comment — instead, they got trolled.

In a big “I… worked on this story for a year… and… he just… he tweeted it out” move, Jones published the email on her Instagram. “To Whom It May Concern: The National Enquirer is preparing to publish a story which reports January Jones has worried friends with her series of attention-grabbing bikini pictures and social media posts,” it read. “Sources claim her content smacks of a ‘desperate cry for attention’ and note how her acting work appears to have dried up before then pandemic took hold.” The Enquirer gave Jones until 5 p.m. EST on Wednesday, December 9, to “comment” on the bullsh*t allegations. In response, she wrote, “Sh*t. They’ve discovered my secret. Consider this my public apology to my ‘friends.’” She also took a new “attention-grabbing” bikini photo.

“Had to do it,” she wrote, adding the hashtag #DESPERATE. In actual news: January Jones rules.

(Via Insider)

Caroline Polachek dropped her first post-Chairlift solo album, Pang, over a year ago now, but there’s still some life left in the album, because she’s not done with it yet. Today, she has dropped a group of remixes from the album and recruited an interesting collection of collaborators to help out.

She dropped four remixes as individual singles (that also feature the original versions of the songs), and the most attention-grabbing of them is the new spin on “Hit Me Where It Hurts. It was remixed by Toro y Moi and features new vocals from Deftones’ Chino Moreno, and it takes on a darker and more electronic tone than the original.

Aside from that track, Polachek also shared “Ocean Of Tears (Umra Remix),” “Hey Big Eyes (George Clanton Remix),” and “Door (Oklou Remix).” The remixes are a preview of Standing At The Gate: Remix Collection, which is set for release on April 16, 2021 and will also feature the previously released A.G. Cook remix of “So Hot You’re Hurting My Feelings,” a handful of other remixes, and a cover of The Corrs’ classic single “Breathless,” which she has regularly performed live.

Listen to the Moreno-featuring Toro y Moi remix of “Hit Me Where It Hurts” above and check out the other remixes below.

Standing At The Gate: Remix Collection is out 4/16 via Perpetual Novice.

A lot of people were giddy when when the Supreme Court unanimously threw Trump under the bus (and that included no dissent from Amy Coney Barrett) with a refusal to even hear the GOP’s bid to overturn the election. The celebratory group, though, does not include Parler users, and they’re dragging a dead dictator into it. Yep, Fidel Castro died in 2016 at age 90, but that hasn’t stopped members of the online MAGA utopia from apparently blaming Castro for bribing the highest court in the land?

Parler’s a real strange place, and it’s a place that has apparently also sent frustrated conservative users back to Facebook, where they’re complaining about Parler after trashing both Facebook and Twitter for “censorship” against hate speech and harmful conspiracy theories. So, there’s not a lot of logic going on there, and that also applies to this SCOTUS stuff. As a result, Fidel Castro is now a Twitter trending topic because of Parler-based temper tantrums and conspiracy theories, which include accusing Trump Elite Strike Team members Rudy Giuliani and Jenna Ellis of faking their Covid-19 positive statuses, so they can give up the (fruitless) fight.

Parler appears to have truly lost it, so The Walking Dumb jokes are happening. Not only are users coming for Rudy and Jenna, but they also appear to truly believe that the three Trump-appointed justices — Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett — accepted a bribe from the late Cuban revolutionary dictator to swing the election for Biden (who truly won the election, fair and square, by way of the electoral college).

This stuff is so wild that you truly can’t make it up, unless, of course, it’s possible that people are embellishing additional details to make Parler users seem even nuttier? Like, it’s genuinely impossible to know whether they’d believe what the below tweet has to offer about Barrett “OnStage wearing a Strap-On at a Marilyn Manson Concert!” (Marilyn Manson did not ask to be dragged into this mess, and that much is true).

Between this and Parler’s porn problem, the snake is truly eating its own tail.

Cardi B has always been honest about her body image, regularly showing fans her bare face and admitting to undergoing surgery to look curvier. As it turns out, the “WAP” rapper always had aspirations to look how she does now but growing up, she didn’t have access to the funds and opportunities she has as an international rap sensation. On Twitter, she reminisced how she would get around that shortcoming in high school to convince her classmates she had more body (-ody-ody-ody) than she really did.

Her trick for adding curves was a simple one but it turned out to be one her fans could relate to. “It’s the fact that I used to put 2 thick ass tights under my jeans in Highschool to make my ass look fatter,” she revealed to her followers. “And nobody ever clock the tea.” Fans quickly began replying with their own hacks for playing up their attributes, including using shoulder pads from their moms’ blouses or socks to push up their tops. Pants with butt pads were also a go-to.

Cardi’s arsenal of relatable stories is just one of the many reasons she reached her current level of stardom and it doesn’t look like she plans to change any time soon. But on a more serious note, maybe we can promote a little more body positivity in pop culture — wearing two pairs of tights under jeans doesn’t sound very comfortable at all.

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

Hayley Williams dropped her debut solo album Petals For Armor this year, and while it was a solo album, she wasn’t completely alone on it. On “Roses/Lotus/Violet/Iris,” for example, she was joined by Boygenius members Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus, and Julien Baker. Now there’s been a bit of a Williams/Boygenius reunion: Williams has performed a new NPR Tiny Desk Concert and she got Baker to perform as part of her backing band.

The set features the live debuts of three Petals For Armor tracks: “Pure Love,” “Taken,” and “Dead Horse.” After playing the first song, Williams noted, “I’ve never done this without Paramore. Also part of the band was Becca Mancari — a Tiny Desk alum who, in addition to a solo career, is part of Brittany Howard’s band Bermuda Triangle — as well as Aaron Steele and Joey Howard.

Indeed, this was the first time in a while Williams has performed with a band, as her pandemic-era performances have been mostly just her with a guitar. This Tiny Desk set comes after a busy year for Williams, who released new music what for a while seemed like every week.

Watch the Tiny Desk performance above.

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