Category: Viral

The U.S. Surgeon General credits the new surge in COVID cases to “pandemic fatigue,” but it’s nothing compared to what healthcare workers on the frontlines are going through. TIME recently reported that nurses are experiencing burnout, but it often goes unseen. A nurse recently employed a social media trend to draw attention to the behind the scenes fatigue.

An ICU nurse posted her own “how it started/how it’s going” photo on Twitter, and long story short, it’s not going that great. The before photo of Kathryn, an ICU nurse in Nashville, was taken in the middle of April right after she completed nursing school. The after photo revealed just how much literal sweat and tears healthcare workers put in while treating people during the pandemic.

Some people refuse to wear masks for even 10 minutes in the grocery store because it’s “not comfortable,” but it’s nothing compared to the safety measures Kathryn and other nurses have take on a daily basis. Kathryn’s photo displayed a sweaty face and facial marks from her PPE. “I mean just the physical effects of wearing all that PPE (personal protective equipment) for so long,” she told CTVNews. “We’re dehydrated all the time because we’re sweating so much and because with the masks on, you can’t drink until you leave the floor or go into the break room to take your mask off and drink.”

Kathryn posted the photo because she wanted to draw attention to what nurses deal with on a daily basis. “It’s exhausting,” Kathryn told CTVNews. “People don’t see it. They don’t. They don’t see what we see. They don’t see the reality of this every day.”

Ultimately, Katherine wants people to take the pandemic seriously. “There’s still no definitive treatment for this disease and so to see my patients, these people that I provide care for, suffer so intensely and then see other people acting like that’s not happening, or like they couldn’t cause that to happen to someone else, is infuriating,” she told CTVNews.

Katherine stressed that the best way to ease the burden on tired nurses is to take care of yourself. “There isn’t any cavalry coming to relieve us or take our place if we fall, and things are only going to get worse,” she told Scary Mommy. “We will do everything we can for as long as we can to help as many as we can, but the public has to do their part to limit the spread of covid or the healthcare system and the people who work in healthcare will collapse under the weight of it.”

The nurse received a lot of positive support on Twitter.

Katherine also encouraged other nurses to share photos of their haggard looks and mask marks. “Healthcare workers, drop your covid unit pictures and stories in this thread. People need to see the reality of what this disease does and we may not be able to film inside the hospitals, but we can show people what it’s done to us. They have to see,” she Tweeted.

Staying at home, wearing a mask out in public, and washing your hands frequently is a walk in the park compared to what nurses are going through. And honestly, it’s the least you could do support healthcare workers.

Isaiah Thomas has had one of the most compelling arcs of any other player of his generation. After getting picked dead last in the 2011 Draft, the 5’9 point guard went on to become a lethal scoring threat and back-to-back All-Star in 2016 and 2017. But his meteoric rise was met by an equally steep decline.

After the Boston Celtics traded him to the Cavs for Kyrie Irving, a nagging hip injury has completed derailed what looked to be such a promising career, and more important, a story of inspiration for underdogs around the world. Despite being one of the shortest players in league history, Thomas is a fierce competitor and has proved time again that he can exceed his perceived limitations.

He’s hoping to do so once again as he looks toward his next opportunity to get back into the league. Thomas has been working out and playing pick-up games lately in the hope that an NBA team might come calling during the free agency moratorium, and according to him, he’s back in the best shape of his life.

Via Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe:

Late last month, former Celtics point guard Isaiah Thomas went to Los Angeles to work out with his former Wizards teammate, John Wall. While they were training Wall learned of some high-level pickup games taking place in the city, headlined by Nets stars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. Wall asked Thomas if he wanted to join, and Thomas did not hesitate to say yes.

***

“Those guys were like, ‘Damn, welcome back. You really look like yourself,’ ” Thomas recalled. “That only gave me more confidence to be able to play the game again. I mean, I was blowing by people. I haven’t blown by anybody since I had a Celtics uniform on. When I was able to blow by MVP-caliber players, that told me my burst and power and speed are there. I really feel like I’m back.”

Earlier this year, Thomas underwent another procedure on the problematic hip that has been at the center of his physical decline but has been training full-time for the past several months as he continues his rehabilitation. Whether an NBA team believes he can come in and be a contributor remains to be seen.

(Via The Boston Globe)

Ever since her song “Bodak Yellow” blew up in 2017, Cardi B has seen herself pitted against fellow rap superstar Nicki Minaj by fans and media eager for drama and intolerant of two women simply coexisting. Despite their very different rap styles, the two have been compared and debated ever since it became clear that Cardi was able to take advantage of opportunities Nicki never could — mainly because Nicki had to create those opportunities and didn’t pull the ladder up behind her.

But fans still can’t resist taking every chance to disparage one in favor of the other and both seem pretty much over it. However, when one fan received a celebrity cosign from one of their male peers, Cardi wasn’t about to let his transgression slide. The fan, who seemed miffed about the recently announced 2021 Grammy nominations, replied to Wiz Khalifa’s observation on the nominations and when Wiz quote-tweeted the reply with a cryptic comment of his own, Cardi was quick to pull receipts to show how quickly people in the industry can switch up.

“As a grammy nominated artist, I know how it feels,” Wiz wrote. “N****s always think its unfair until they get their turn. Just keep workin and that time’ll come through.” However, one fan’s response was much less gracious. “Cardi wining a Grammy when nicki minaj didn’t is the biggest proof that they don’t know a shit bout music,” the fan replied. Naturally, the terms “Nicki” and “Barb” both appeared in the fan’s handle.

When Wiz responded “Most self-made artists have this problem,” Cardi caught wind and interpreted the tweet as shade. While Wiz likely didn’t mean to shade Cardi, the implication that she was “an industry plant” has dogged her for her entire career, so it makes sense she’d infer this meaning, especially considering the wording of the quoted tweet. She questioned, “I don’t understand why n****s entertain tweets that pit successful women against each other? Ya not tired of that? Specially when ya was rooting hard when a bitch was at the bottom.” She then also posted a screenshot of Wiz sending encouragement to her through her Instagram DM back in 2016.

Cardi has a point. Even if Wiz wasn’t actively trying to shade Cardi, he did amplify yet another tweet stoking a sexist feud between the two women and some fans could have interpreted it as validating the argument as well. While Wiz’s larger point — that the Grammys are largely a political exercise and that the artists who are most visible at Academy functions are the ones they’ll recognize come Award season — is right, there were far better ways to make the point. And in any case, Nicki’s hard work made it possible for Cardi to flourish at the awards. Both women have acknowledged that Nicki opened doors that were previously closed to female rappers. Rather than pushing for them to bicker and fight, we’d all be better served looking forward to their rumored collaborative reunion.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

There’s committing to a bit, and then there’s Julia Louis-Dreyfus smearing hair dye all over her face to roast Rudy Giuliani. In a very clear and hilarious reference to Giuliani’s disastrous press conference where he oozed from the face, quoted My Cousin Vinny, and spouted conspiracy theories that were so crazy even Fox News denounced them, Louis-Dreyfus busted out her America’s Mayor impression to promote a new Veep reunion that will raise money for the upcoming senate runoffs in Georgia.

“Over the last few weeks, many brave and patriotic Americans have come forward having witnessed similarities between our ongoing election and the TV show Veep,” Louis-Dreyfus says as the Instagram video shows clips from Veep that eerily match the events of presidential election. “And not just a singular example, but a pattern that repeats itself over and over. Literally thousands or hundreds of thousands of cases. To any experienced investigator or prosecutor this would suggest there was a plan from a centralized place, specifically focused on Veep.”

After laying out the clear and obvious “conspiracy” involving the critically-acclaimed HBO show, Louis-Dreyfus drops a My Cousin Vinny reference in this video.

She then gets into the details of the Veep reunion. Via The Daily Beast:

On Sunday, December 6th at 8 p.m. ET, the entire Veep cast plus some special guests will reunite in the event to benefit America Votes. A donation of any amount to help turn out voters for the two Georgia Senate runoffs at ShowUpforGeorgia.com gets you access to the show.

“Be forewarned, we shall release the Kraken,” Louis-Dreyfus concludes with a smile.

(Via Julia Louis-Dreyfus on Instagram & The Daily Beast)

Jennifer Lopez’s breakout role as an actress came in 1997’s Selena where she played Selena Quintanilla-Pérez, the Queen of Tejano music (that also was the year she was in Anaconda, a movie now mostly known for the scene where Trump’s biggest fan winks after getting thrown up by a snake). Lopez received a Golden Globe nomination for her performance in the film, which catapulted her into a level of fame that she still attains today, and she’s hoping the same level of recognition comes for Christian Serratos.

The Walking Dead actress was cast as the “Como la Flor” singer in Netflix’s Selena: The Series, which has Lopez’s support. “Guys, I don’t know if you’ve heard about this new Selena series on Netflix,” she said on Instagram. “Playing Selena was kind of a landmark moment in my career and I was so excited when I saw the trailer and heard about it. It’s a great way for this generation to get to know Selena. I love Selena. It’s a big part of my life and my career. And I can’t wait to see it. It’s on Netflix.” Lopez doesn’t mention Serratos by name, but the passing-of-the-Texas icon torch is implied.

Part one of Selena: The Series premieres on December 4.

(Via Entertainment Weekly)

It’s been a tough stretch for the Golden State Warriors these past 18 months. After falling to the Toronto Raptors in the 2019 NBA Finals and subsequently losing Kevin Durant in free agency, serious injuries to their two remaining All-Stars torpedoed the entire 2019-20 season before it even really got started.

But they were looking forward to a return to form this season, with Klay Thompson and Steph Curry both healthy and some new firepower added to the arsenal. Then tragedy struck again in the form of a ruptured achilles for Klay, his second major injury in as many years which will cause him to miss all of next season.

As you might imagine, it was a significant blow to morale among the Warriors, none more so than his backcourt mate Curry, who said he was devastated when he first learned the news during a call with Steve Kerr and GM Bob Myers.

Via Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated:

“He’s the best 2-guard in the league,” Curry said. “To get that call was a gut punch for sure. A lot of tears. You don’t really know what to say because a guy like that is having to go through two pretty serious rehabs now. But at the end of the day, we have to have his back. We hope that he is around and a part of what we do through his rehab and staying connected with us.

“He can come back strong. He’s a guy that loves the game so much. He is going to do whatever it takes to get back out there on the floor and be himself. That’s what we hope and the confidence that we have. Two-and-a-half years of rehab is tough for anybody. We’re hoping for the best.”

Prior to the injury, the Warriors had every intention of working their way back in championship contention this year, a goal that now seems nearly far-fetched without their second-best player. Still, it’ll be interesting to see how they respond. Golden State has added some intriguing young talent in recent months Andrew Wiggins and Kelly Oubre Jr., along with draftee James Wiseman. The question is whether they can put all the pieces together at the right time.

(Via The Undefeated)

Pioneering Queens hip-hop collective A Tribe Called Quest just gave fans something to look forward to in the new year. Despite being officially disbanded following the death of group founding member Phife Dawg in 2016 and the group’s final outing that same year, Tribe’s social media has remained active, giving updates on merch and special announcements. Today, it offered up both in the form of a tweet honoring Phife’s 50th birthday.

“To honor and celebrate his life and legacy, the estate on behalf of his family just released limited-edition ‘Phife Forever’ tees,” the tweet announced before following up with the real kicker. “Also know that early next year you will all get to hear a new Phife album.” That’s truly impressive news considering his last full-length release came out over 20 years ago in 2000. Ventilation: Da LP received mixed reviews at the time — mainly, I think — because it was not the Tribe reunion album fans hankered for. It reached 175 on the Billboard 200 (by way of comparison, Q-Tip’s solo album Amplified from the year before debuted at No. 28 and spawned the Hot 100 hits “Breathe And Stop” and “Vivrant Thing”).

Interestingly, Phife’s widow Desha Head Taylor had previously teased the album to drop in 2017, but with no new announcements since, it seemed we’d heard the last of Phife Dawg on the Tribe farewell album We Got It From Here… Thank You 4 Your Service. Now, it looks like we can expect a new collection soon.

The Washington Wizards are the latest NBA team that gets to experience having a member of the Lopez family on their team. The franchise came to terms on a one-year deal with Robin Lopez, who will leave the Milwaukee Bucks and join the seventh team of his 13-year career in the Association.

Getting Robin Lopez inherently means that your NBA team is going to be a little sillier. Your interior defense will get a bit of a boost, too, as Lopez is happy to anchor a back line, and can give a team a little help on offense, too. But above all else, Lopez is a different breed of cat, which makes him an extremely fun person to be around.

An example of this came during his introductory press conference as a member of the Wizards on Tuesday afternoon. Beyond the normal discussions about basketball, Lopez was excited to present a list of his three favorite wizards — not, like, Gilbert Arenas and Jerry Stackhouse, but the magical kind.

Technically Granger (who is referred to by Remus Lupin in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban as “the brightest witch of your age I’ve ever met,” which is paraphrased by Lopez here) and Price were witches, while Galadriel was an elf. Still, we support praising any and all magical beings in any NBA press conference, so shout out Lopez, who also isn’t sure if he’s ready to bury the hatchet with his nemesis, Wizards mascot G-Wiz, just yet.

Lopez’s impact on the court for Washington remains to be seen, but if nothing else he will bring a levity to press conferences that they’ve been missing.

Despite his The Mandalorian character’s presumably villainous intentions, Giancarlo Esposito has come to the rescue of Baby Yoda. In a new interview to promote the back half of the bounty-hunting series’ second season, Esposito defended his green co-star from accusations that the tiny Jedi committed “genocide.” In the now-controversial episode “The Passenger,” Baby Yoda hilariously scarfs down eggs from a tank being transported by the Frog Lady. (Super original naming, Lucasfilm.) However, the internet went to town on the ethical implications of the little guy’s snacking considering the Frog Lady is the last of her species, and well, Baby Yoda is seemingly eating her kids. While a Lucasfilm exec has clarified that the eggs were not fertilized, and therefore no different than eating chicken eggs, you know how social media can be.

Esposito, on the other hand, will hear none of the negativity. Here’s his response when asked if Baby Yoda is “terrible” for eating the eggs. Via Entertainment Weekly:

No, I don’t think so. Baby Yoda is a very pure spirit, and yet 50 years old, so he’s someone who’s very highly intelligent, but also has to survive. And we need to keep that baby happy. We’ve all fallen in love with The Child and The Child has some compassion and is funny and is absolutely the cutest thing you’ve ever seen.

Of course, this is coming from a guy whose character is hell-bent on harvesting Baby Yoda’s blood, but Esposito isn’t alone in coming to Baby Yoda’s defense. Daisy Ridley stood by her fellow Jedi in a recent interview with IGN. “I’m like, ‘Yoda, do your thing,’” Ridley said. “The creature [Frog Lady] got to be where she needed to be with the eggs. It’s all good. It was beautiful.”

(Via Entertainment Weekly)

With the Recording Academy releasing its nominees for the 2021 Grammy Awards today, the reactions have been flying thick and fast on Twitter about the respective merits of the nominees, the mysterious absence of The Weeknd, and the most egregious snubs. However, rather than addressing this year’s batch of nominees, one person used the opportunity to revive an old grievance against the Academy. Nicki Minaj reminded her fans that she was once nominated for Best New Artist in 2012, but lost to Bon Iver.

“Never forget the Grammys didn’t give me my best new artist award when I had 7 songs simultaneously charting on billboard & bigger first week than any female rapper in the last decade- went on to inspire a generation,” she wrote. “They gave it to the white man Bon Iver.” As usual, there’s a point to her pettiness — pun intended. The Grammys have long had a history of overlooking and underrating accomplished artists in traditionally Black genres like rap and R&B — especially women, who have rarely won albums of the year in either category and are even more seldom even nominated for general categories like Album Of The Year.

In fact, this year, there are no women nominated in the Rap category at all and only Jhene Aiko and Chloe X Halle are nominated in the new spinoff R&B category, Best Progressive R&B. Also, remember the year they gave Best Rap Album to Macklemore despite Kendrick Lamar being nominated for Good Kid, MAAD City?

So this time, we have to side with Nicki. Incidentally, though, the Academy does have the chance to clean up that eight-year-old mistake; this year’s Best New Artist category includes Chika, the breakout Alabama rapper who starred on Netflix’s Project Power and collaborated with Stevie Wonder, Doja Cat, the compelling R&B/hip-hop hybrid who racked up a No. 1 with Nicki earlier this year, and Megan Thee Stallion, who garnered two No. 1s with Beyonce and Cardi B, competing against a field that includes D Smoke, Ingrid Andress, Kaytranada, Noah Cyrus, and Phoebe Bridgers.