Category: Viral

Lana Del Rey celebrated the physical release of her Violet Bent Backwards Over The Grass poetry book earlier this week. She previously released its audiobook version through Simon & Schuster at the end of July. Giving fans an opportunity to meet her and get the poetry book autographed, she held a book signing event in Los Angeles on Friday night. But while the event may have been a big moment for Del Rey, it was not the poetry book itself that brought her the most attention. Instead, it was the very questionable mask she wore as she greeted fans and took pictures with them.

Rather than wearing a N95 or surgical mask, which have been the two recommended masks to wear in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, Lana Del Rey opted to wear a mesh mask at her book signing event. Her mask was filled with holes and provided no protection from potentially spreading COVID-19, leaving fans to hop on social media to respond and question her decision to wear the mask.

One fan posted a picture of Lana with her mesh mask and said, “lana del rey has reached her full karen form HELP.” In other posts, a pair of fans used her mesh mask to make a reference to her 2012 album Born To Die with one saying, “Lana Del Rey wearing a net mask during the Covid-19 pandemic because according to her: We were born to die.”

You can find more reactions to Lana’s mesh mask below.

On this week’s episode of People’s Party, Jasmin Leigh and Talib Kweli chopped it up with comedian, writer, and all-around renaissance man Orlando Jones. In this clip, Jones details how he wore multiple hats on American Gods — acting, writing, and creating the “show bible” for the character of Anansi (Mr. Nancy) before being fired from the series. He attributes his departure to new American Gods season three showrunner Charles Eglee.

According to Jones, Eglee didn’t like the radical politics of Mr. Nancy, whose speeches had gone viral multiple times. Two of these iconic speeches were by Jones himself.

“Dude thinks he’s the blackest dude in the game, hats, style, the way he carries himself, he’s from Boston, this is a Boston white dude… what was really crazy to me was that there was a studio, a network, and a cast full of black people and people of color who were not willing to stand up and call this dude out for being a culture vulture, particularly on a show that is so multicultural.”

It wasn’t just Eglee’s treatment of Mr. Nancy that got under Jones’ skin, it was his disregard for the universe that had already been established by the previous American Gods team.

“We established these characters before you got here, at least be respectful enough of human beings to have a conversation with them and allow them to be in the discourse, whether you keep the character or not keep the character is not the point, but it was coming in like ‘oh you’re going to tell me what black is, and he’s gonna tell all ya’ll what it is and you’re just going to go along with it?’ Then let me do a pushback from this show altogether because there is simply no way that this white dude from Boston can possibly write these two Muslim gay characters. He knows nothing about what it means to be disenfranchised… nor does he care!”

‘People’s Party with Talib Kweli’ featuring Orlando Jones airs Monday, October 5th, at 9am ET at YouTube.com/UproxxVideo.

Titans-Steelers is now just the first NFL game that won’t be played this weekend as Cam Netwon’s positive coronavirus test has led to a second postponement. According to reports, the New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs won’t play Sunday following Newton’s test results as well as other reports that at least one member of the Chiefs had tested positive.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter, who broke the story that Newton had tested positive, reported Saturday that Chiefs-Patriots, scheduled for Sunday afternoon, will not be played.

It’s unclear if the Monday or Tuesday timeline is even possible, both regarding safety concerns for players as well as keeping the schedule for the rest of the season intact. The Chiefs are scheduled to play a Thursday night game in a few weeks, and compressing the NFL schedule isn’t as easy as other sports like, say, baseball can manage.

Sunday’s scheduled Steelers-Titans game will not be played due to several positive coronavirus cases in Tennessee of both Titans players and staff. Days after their first cases closed the team’s practice facilities, cases continue to pile up and delay when the team will be able to return to prepare for games. It’s unclear how serious the situation is in both New England and Kansas City, but it’s a concerning health situation that continues to complicate the NFL’s attempt to play during a pandemic.

The United States government is currently reeling from a wide swath of coronavirus cases in the White House, starting with president Donald Trump. But the NFL is currently dealing with a COVID-19 outbreak of its own, and Saturday morning brought word that it had hit the New England Patriots as well.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Saturday that Patriots quarterback Cam Newton had tested positive, presumably for COVID-19 though he did not initially report it specifically. According to the tweet, Newton would not play against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.

It’s unclear if there is a true outbreak in New England like the Tennessee Titans are experiencing, which has forced the team to postpone its game against the Pittsburgh Steelers from Sunday to later in the season. The Patriots soon put out a statement about the reported positive case, saying that player — presumably Newton — was in quarantine.

As Schefter reported Saturday, the Patriots were scheduled to fly to Kansas City on Saturday but delayed the trip due to more testing.

Word soon came that Newton wasn’t the only Patriot who had tested positive.

It’s unclear the status of Sunday’s game: despite some NFL reporters insisting initially that the case was “isolated,” that’s simply not how coronavirus works and starting with that assumption can be dangerous as community spread of the virus may not create new, detectable cases until several days after exposure. That’s exactly the situation that appears to be playing out in the White House as well as with the Titans, who saw their rash of cases postpone a game earlier in the week. On Saturday, more cases on the Titans team and staff were reported, further putting into doubt their next scheduled game against the Buffalo Bills next Sunday.

The Miami Heat are in trouble. Despite a valiant effort in Game 2 on Friday night, the Lakers were able to get the 124-114 win and go up 2-0 in their NBA Finals series. Jimmy Butler did his best to put the team on shoulders as they went in to the contest undermanned after a slew of injuries, but ultimately, it wasn’t enough.

Butler powered through his own ankle strain in Game 1, but it was Goran Dragic and Bam Adebayo who got the worst of it, each of whom were forced to sit out on Friday. Adebayo suffered a neck strain, which initially was thought to affect the same shoulder he injured in the conference finals, and that prognosis was certainly more optimistic than Dragic, who was diagnosed with a plantar fascia tear and whose time table for return remains unclear.

But the Heat got some good news late on Friday night when Adebayo announced that he plans to suit up when Miami takes the court in Game 3 on Sunday.

Via Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports:

Miami Heat star Bam Adebayo, who suffered a neck strain in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, told Yahoo Sports on Friday night that he plans to return for Game 3.

“Yes, I believe I’ll be in the lineup,” Adebayo told Yahoo Sports after missing the Los Angeles Lakers’ 124-114 victory that gave them a 2-0 series lead. “I’m feeling better. I believe I’ll play.”

Adebayo exited the first game of the series with eight points and four rebounds in 21 minutes.

Adebayo has been one of the key reasons the Heat have advanced this far in the postseason, averaging better than 17 points, 10 rebounds, and four assists during his time in Orlando. Miami was able to keep the game close on Friday, despite being shorthanded, and Adebayo’s return should give them the confidence they need to be competitive going forward.

(Yahoo Sports)

The LeBron James and Anthony Davis pairing has been every bit as good as advertised. They’ve steamrolled their way through the postseason so far, and after another dominant performance in Game 2 on Friday night, they find themselves just two wins away from an NBA title.

It would be a first for Davis and a fourth for LeBron, but a historic 17th championship for a Lakers franchise that has returned from a 10-year Finals absence with a bang and is looking to add yet another banner to its already-crowded rafters at Staples Center when all is said and done.

Of course, the LeBron-AD partnership has been drawing inevitable comparisons to another Lakers duo from the past, as they continue a long tradition that dates all the way back to Elgin Baylor and Jerry West, to Magic and Kareem, and culminates in arguably the most dominant one-two punch of them all in Shaq and Kobe.

Asked about those comparison on Friday night after Game 2, LeBron couldn’t help but feel flattered.

“To be in the conversation with those two guys… is very humbling.”@KingJames on the comparisons he and @AntDavis23 have gotten to the Shaq & Kobe duo. pic.twitter.com/Hx9DvJCwft

— NBA TV (@NBATV) October 3, 2020

LeBron, for his part, has been part of a few other fairly dominant and successful duos during his previous NBA stops, including ones featuring Kyrie Irving in Cleveland and Dwyane Wade in Miami, the latter of whom even had to admit on Friday that his buddy’s pairing with Davis might complement him even more than the one he won two championships with during the Heatles days.

Naturally, this whole exercise is unavoidable, even if a little premature given the sustained success Kobe and Shaq enjoyed during their time together. But for now, LeBron is clearly happy to take it for what it is and stay focused on the task at hand.

It was a disastrous start for the Miami Heat in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, and the prognosis didn’t look much better heading into Game 2. Even before they were hobbled by injuries to several key players in their opener, the Lakers had dominated them on both ends of the court, leading by as many as 32 at one point en route to an easy win and a 1-0 series lead.

Goran Dragic and Bam Adebayo were both sidelined for Game 2, compounding an already difficult situation for the Heat, who had no answer for the dominant play of LeBron James and Anthony Davis, the latter of whom had one of the best Finals debuts in NBA history.

Despite a valiant effort from Jimmy Butler and company, it was more of the same in Game 2, as the Lakers held on for a 124-114 win behind another monster outing from their superstar duo, giving LeBron his first-ever 2-0 lead in an NBA Finals series. Here’s what we learned from Friday night’s action.

The Lakers’ Jekyll And Hyde Offense Continues

The Lakers were able to race out to such big lead in Game 1 in no small part thanks to their lights-out shooting from deep. That high-volume output was mostly a product of the Heat’s zone defense, which clearly wasn’t banking on the Lakers being able to knock down 11 first-half three-pointers, building a lead from which the Heat were never able to recover.

Rather than making too a drastic an adjustment in Game 2, Erik Spoelstra decided to make the Lakers prove they could replicate that success, and the result was a Finals record 47 three-point attempts for Los Angeles. Though they came back down to Earth a bit, starting 0-of-5 from downtown, the Lakers managed to make them in bunches, withstanding a third-quarter drought that nearly allowed the Heat back in it.

Yet despite opting to shoot over the zone at such a high clip, the Lakers were also able to exploit holes in the Heat defense by maneuvering their way into the paint and creating opportunities from there, as L.A. went for 30 points in the paint in the first half. That was mostly courtesy of LeBron and Rajon Rondo, who combined for 19 assists in the game. LeBron just missed a triple-double as he put up 33 points and nine rebounds, to go along with nine dimes.

Mid-air dish from the King.
Big slam from the Brow.

(: ABC) pic.twitter.com/P4KTtG4xrv

— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) October 3, 2020

Man on a mission

(: ABC) pic.twitter.com/xIyCLFiFfn

— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) October 3, 2020

Rondo stays a few steps ahead

(: ABC) pic.twitter.com/y3JhsLpVfa

— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) October 3, 2020

The Lakers offense, however, stalled out at points in the second half, missing several consecutive shots from downtown in third period, allowing the Heat to hang around until they finally rediscovered their stroke again down the stretch and put Miami away for good. Ultimately, they were able prop up their offense and counter that streaky high-volume shooting by mixing it up with a healthy dose of inside-out action to pick apart the Heat zone.

Anthony Davis Is On A Mission

The Heat simply have no answer for Anthony Davis. Not that there is an answer to begin with. Davis started the game 10-of-11 from the field and scored nine straight points to start the second half as the Lakers built a 17-point lead. He showed the full arsenal — against multiple defenders no less — putting the ball on the floor and finishing at the rim and simply shooting over smaller defenders on the perimeter. He also hit the boards for six (!) offensive rebounds that turned into easy second-chance points, six of which came on consecutive possessions during one sequence in the third quarter.

FINALS AD

(: ABC) pic.twitter.com/JBDL9NVDZf

— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) October 3, 2020

The Lakers had a total of 21 second-chance points on Friday, thanks to 16 offensive rebounds on the night.

The Overshadowed Heat Offense Kept Them Alive

Despite starting the game 3-of-12 from three-point territory, scoring didn’t end up being the central problem for Miami on Friday night in Game 2. By the final buzzer, they’d shot better than 50 percent from the field and over 40 percent from downtown, with five players scoring in double figures.

The Heat needed Jimmy Butler to come up big with both Dragic and Adebayo out, and he did just that, leading the way with 25 points, 13 assists, and eight rebounds, but no amount of offense was going to be able to offset their woes on defense in Game 2 as the Lakers ran roughshod over them all night.

Heat are working on an Offensive Rating of 125.4. Very few issues on that end of the floor, where they have 21 assists on 25 buckets. They just happen to be giving up an Offensive Rating of 146.0.

— Couper Moorhead (@CoupNBA) October 3, 2020

Kelly Olynyk was a breath of fresh air off the bench for Miami, particularly in third period, scoring 16 points on 6-of-9, including 3-of-6 from downtown. He finished with 24 points and nine rebounds.

KELLZ IS COOKING pic.twitter.com/aLVzTiPzGy

— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) October 3, 2020

Battling pic.twitter.com/pMIKNjgQms

— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) October 3, 2020

As a team, they shot 12-of-14 from the field and 4-of-5 from downtown in the third quarter and made all 11 free throws. Combined with a Lakers dry spell, they trailed by just 10 going into the fourth quarter.

Miami got to the free throw line 34 times in this one, converting 29 in a row at one point. They were also able to goad the Lakers into foul trouble in the fourth, with Los Angeles picking up their fifth team foul by the midway mark of the final period and finding themselves in the penalty.

But their inability to withstand the Lakers’ offensive onslaught will continue to be their biggest problem as the series moves forward, even if they are able to get Dragic and Adebayo back in time for Game 3 on Sunday, where they will try to avoid a historically-insurmountable 3-0 series deficit. Tip-off is at 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC.

Shortly after Rilo Kiley announced a reissue of their seminal 1999 debut album, several indie artists who attribute their career to the group decided to pay homage to the iconic band. Musicians like Sad13‘s Sadie Dupuis, Adult Mom, Mannequin Pussy, and more announced a benefit compilation project covering Rilo Kiley’s The Execution Of All Things album.

Announcing No Bad Words For The Coast Today: The Execution Of All Things Covers Comp on Friday, Dupuis shared the album’s lead single, which is her fuzzy reimagining of Rilo Kiley’s track “Paint’s Peeling.” In a statement alongside the single, Dupuis discussed how Rilo Kiley has influenced her own music:

“I bought the Execution of All Things over Saddle Creek’s mail order, and remember listening over and over again to ‘Paint’s Peeling’ on my tiny bedroom CD player, blown away by the song’s final explosion into all-consuming distortion. Years later, when Speedy Ortiz was mixing Twerp Verse with Mike Mogis in Omaha, I was very amused to see a trophy the band had made for him in the studio, awarding him ‘For Outstanding Achievements as a True Devastator of the Recording Arts.’ I wanted to pay homage to that ‘devastato’ heaviness by slowing the song down and, for the most part, putting it in a waltz time–almost like Sleep covering Rilo Kiley. But I couldn’t help myself from incorporating some of the poppier Mogis production trademarks, like Casio-ish beats and cavernous backing vocals. As a teen, RK was one of my biggest songwriting influences, and Jenny Lewis (who Speedy has been lucky enough to open for/go out dancing with) continues to inspire me with each of her projects, so it was a treat to return to the record that first drew me into their world.”

Along with praising Rilo Kiley’s influence, the album will also benefit a charity organization. Proceeds from the project will be donated to G.L.I.T.S., a NYC-based social justice, advocacy, and service organization that addresses the health and rights of transgender sex workers.

Listen to Sad13 cover Rilo Kiley’s “Paint’s Peeling” above and see the No Bad Words For The Coast Today: The Execution Of All Things Covers Comp cover art and tracklist below.

1. “The Good That Won’t Come Out” by Gladie
2. “Paint’s Peeling” by Sad13
3. “The Execution of All Things” by Mannequin Pussy
4. “So Long” by Eric Slick
5. “Capturing Moods” by Diet Cig
6. “A Better Son/Daughter” by Verdigrls
7. “Hail to Whatever You Found In The Sunlight That Surrounds You” by Sailor Boyfriend
8. “My Slumbering Heart” by Dump Him
9. “Three Hopeful Thoughts” by Gay Meat
10. “With Arms Outstretched” by Adult Mom
11. “Spectacular Views” by Lisa Prank
12. “Emotional” by Riverby
13. “Jenny You’re Barely Alive” by Aftercrush
14. “Glendora” by Anika Pyle

No Bad Words For The Coast Today: The Execution Of All Things Covers Comp is out 11/6 via Bandcamp. Pre-order it here.

Japanese quartet Chai have already garnered quite the following. Their sophomore album Punk soared to success in the US and afforded the group the opportunity to play festivals like last year’s Pitchfork. Now, Chai announce an exciting record deal with infamous indie label Sub Pop and share their whimsical “Donuts Mind If I Do” video.

The “Donuts Mind If I Do” video, directed by Hideto Hotta, show the women dining together against stunningly-scenic backdrops. The four women relax and enjoy donuts, proving their friendship will span generations as the visual cuts to show Chai as aging adults.

In a statement, director Hotta explained the concept behind the visual:

“In order for various concepts of society, societal structures to have been built up and exist today, there had to be changes to those concepts, to those structures in every era to continue to lead to the next society…with that said, in this music video we explore the Chai you know today, and then Chai as elderly women. On an all-white table cloth, eating donuts, sits Chai. They can even sip on the tea in the teapot if they’d like! Ultimately time passes, and the elderly Chai is still there, enjoying their last supper in the middle of the meadow, white-table cloth and all eating their donuts. Chai changes physically, but one thing that does stand still is them living in their truth. If finding true happiness is one of the goals the human race is constantly in search of, then conveying this in this visual, spreading what happiness means to Chai, to me, is something I feel is important in us living in our truths.”

Watch Chai’s “Donuts Mind If I Do” video above.

From the moment that the Los Angeles Lakers acquire Anthony Davis from the New Orleans Pelicans, much was made about how he would fit next to LeBron James. In many ways, Davis fits like a glove next to James, to the point that it was very fair from the jump to wonder if The Brow was a better Robin to James’ Batman than anyone with whom he’s ever played.

James has had many great teammates in his career — Chris Bosh, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love, etc. — and during Game 2 of the 2020 NBA Finals, the best of the bunch chimed in on Davis’ partnership with him. Dwyane Wade agreed with a tweet sent out by Kendrick Perkins in which Perk called Davis the guy who “compliments LeBron better than any other player he’s ever played with.”

Of course, that is a much different conversation than “who is the best player to ever play next to LeBron,” and one can make a very strong case that distinction goes to Wade. But when it comes to how an individual’s skill set fits next to James, the stuff that Davis can do on both ends of the floor really do fit next to him perfectly. And fortunately for the Lakers, this partnership was a fruitful one during Game 2 of the 2020 NBA Finals — Wade sent this tweet in the game’s third quarter, right after Davis scored his 24th point of the evening on 11-for-12 shooting and as the Lakers led by double-digits.