Category: Worldwide

Smash Mouth’s former frontman, Steve Harwell, retired from music in 2021. In a bizarre video clip dating back to the time, Harwell is seen onstage disorientated as he attempts to get through a song. Since then, he has kept a relatively low profile.

According to a report from Variety, his fade from fame’s birth light was partly due to Harwell’s health. Today (September 3), TMZ has dropped a bombshell update on his condition. The outlet has shared that Harwell is allegedly near death, or as the publisher stressed, “[Harwell] is on his death bed with only a few days to live.”

A source claiming to be the manager of Harwell went on record to share that his past alcohol abuse has taken an intense physical toll. They added that Harwell is in the final stage of liver failure. Harwell also dealt with cardiomyopathy, heart failure, and Wernicke’s encephalopathy over the years.

After announcing his retirement in 2021, he issued a statement about his time spent with his bandmates.

“Ever since I was a kid, I dreamed of being a Rockstar performing in front of sold-out arenas and have been so fortunate to live out that dream. To my bandmates, it’s been an honor performing with you all these years, and I can’t think of anyone else I would have rather gone on this wild journey with,” Harwell gleefully declared.

When Harry Met Sally… may be considered one of the great rom-coms of the ‘80s, but it’s best remembered for one scene. Yep, that one. It takes place at Katz’s Delicatessen, home to arguably NYC’s finest pastrami. (Although let’s not sleep on Pastrami Queen or 2nd Ave. Deli, off of 3rd, or David’s Brisket House, in beautiful Bed-Stuy.) Meg Ryan’s Sally doesn’t have the pastrami, instead favoring some monstrous OCD concoction she mostly doesn’t eat. What she does have is cinema’s loudest, most epic fake orgasm, all while Billy Crystal’s Harry patiently looks on. But not everyone’s a fan of the iconic faux-O.

Ryan recently did a fun little interview for Interview with Carol Burnett. In a bit teased out by Entertainment Weekly, the chat turned to the Katz’s outburst.

“It’s funny, my son just called me this morning and he’s in New York staying at a hotel that’s right across the street from Katz’s Deli,” Ryan said. “My daughter was here and everybody was on speaker, and they were like, ‘Mom, this is a very unique embarrassment.’”

Ryan added, “He said, ‘You know you can go into that deli and there’s an arrow pointing down to the table where you shot that scene.’” (This is true.)

Ryan has been mostly absent screens for a way too long, but that’s about to change. She teamed up with David Duchovny for What Happens Later, a rom-com about two ex-lovers who run into each other at an airport and proceed to sort out why on earth they broke up in the first place.

What Happens Later hits theaters on October 13. When Harry Met Sally…, meanwhile, currently streams on Max.

(Via Interview and EW)

A week-and-a-half ago the world was gifted with a truly wretched image: Donald Trump’s glowering mugshot photo. The pic inspired yuks. It even inspired arousal. And it inspired the Trump campaign to quickly slap the photo onto merchandise and hawk it to a ton of money. But by doing that, the guy who can’t do much right may have once again shot himself in the crotch.

As per Raw Story, SiriusXM radio host Dean Obeidallah penned an op-ed for MSNBC, in which he argues that by selling merch emblazoned with the mugshot, Trump may have violated copyright laws:

But as various legal experts have noted, Trump’s sale of that mug shot, taken by the Fulton County sheriff, may violate U.S. copyright laws. This could mean that theoretically, the millions he is making off that photo may rightfully belong to the Fulton County sheriff — an entity that just happens to be in desperate need of funds to address the horrific conditions in the Fulton County Jail.

Obeidallah points out that mugshots taken for federal criminal cases are considered in the public domain. Those taken as part of state and local proceedings are not. And Trump’s mugshot was taken in Georgia.

While it’s true that the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office did release Trump’s mugshot — and the ones for the 18 other defendants in the Fulton County case — that doesn’t mean anyone has the right to reproduce and sell the image for profit.

In the meantime, Don Jr. is begging MAGA heads not to only buy possibly illegal Trump mugshot merch from him and not from grifters.

(Via MSNBC and Raw Story)

Fans are still awaiting an official release date for Drake’s forthcoming solo album, For All The Dogs. But on Saturday, September 2, during his It’s All A Blur Tour second night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, the rapper treated one concertgoer to something arguably even better.

Amongst the crowd, one attendee help up a sign reading, “I spent my furniture money on tickets to your two shows, OVO [October’s Very Own (Drake’s record label)] For Life.” It caught Drake’s attention, prompting him to read it out loud. He then vowed to make it up to him.

“My manager is my DJ… You know what, my man, your furniture money,” exclaimed Drake before he continued, “I’m going to give you 50 bands (thousand dollars) tonight because I love you.” He then turned his attention to his DJ, saying, “Make sure he gets his money tonight.”

As the crowd erupted, Drake took a moment to share a life lesson with his supporters. “You never know what the next person is going through,” he said. “You never know what the person in front of you, to the left, right, or behind you, is going through. So, I want to take a second in Las Vegas tonight. And the same way I just did what I did, I want you to open up your heart for a second and turn to someone you do not know to give them some love or a compliment. I want you to make somebody’s night in Las Vegas tonight.”

Millions worldwide struggle financially to afford their basic necessities, including furnishings for their home or concert tickets. Also, it won’t make a dent in Drake’s pockets as his current tour’s gross earnings are well into the millions.

Festival lovers are willing to endure some tough weather conditions purely out of the sheer admiration they have for their favorite acts. For others, the advertised ambiance is the biggest selling point (see Fyre Festival). Each year, this passion shows as thousands of brave fans make the voyage to Nevada’s Black Rock Desert to attend the multi-day event Burning Man.

Unfortunately, no one could have foreseen that a freak rain storm on September 1 would leave attendees stranded in muddy terrain, which eventually led to road closures. Musician Diplo and comedian Chris Rock were able to make the 5-mile hike to a getaway ride, which escorted them to safety. Not everyone else was as fortunate. According to AP, local authorities are currently investigating a death take took place at the festival.

The outlet cites KNSD-TV’s initial report, which quotes the Pershing County Sheriff’s Office. In their authorities’ statement, they did not share the name of the deceased or the potential cause of death, just simply confirming that someone had tragically passed away.

The Bureau of Land Management, as well as the Sheriff’s Office, have advised the nearly 70,000 attendees that to ensure their safety, all access points for the event have been closed.

Read the note shared on X (formerly Twitter) yesterday (September 2) below.

“Due to recent rainfall, the Bureau of Land Management and the Pershing County Sheriff’s Office officials have closed the entrance to Burning Man for the remainder of the event. Please avoid traveling to the area; you will be turned around. All event access is closed.”

No matter how severe the situation media mogul 50 Cent (real name Curtis Jackson) finds himself in, he will let out his inner troll. Although Jackson could potentially face felony battery charges for unintentionally causing bodily harm to an attendee of his The Final Lap Tour, he found a way to joke about the gruesome incident in an Instagram post.

Instead of directly addressing the microphone-tossing incident during his Los Angeles tour stop on August 30, Jackson shifted the focus to the technical issues he faced, looping fellow rapper Lil Wayne into the fracas.

On Friday, Jackson uploaded a screengrab of Radar Online‘s report on Wayne’s audio hiccup during his opening performance at Beyonce’s Renaissance World Tour stop in Inglewood, California. He captioned it, “Damn, the only thing left is Taylor Swift show. I fired everyone involved in the audio department. If the mic don’t work, your ass don’t work here.”

Lil Wayne was slated to take the stage before Jackson at the now infamous show. While the joke was at his expense, rather than Jackson’s alleged microphone victim, Power 106‘s host Bryhana Monegain, but fans still believe that Jackson should issue a public apology to Monegain for the reported injuries she faced.

However, due to the legal parameters surrounding this incident, it’s probably best for Jackson to exercise his right to remain silent.

Gender Reveal Parties can be nice, but they’ve also taken strange turns, but over the weekend one ended in tragedy. As per The Daily Mail, one such event held in Sinaloa, Mexico on Saturday was supposed to be big, complete with a plane — which unfortunately suffered a fatal misfunction.

Video of the sad incident went viral, showing a small Piper PA-25-235 Pawnee aircraftflying over the crowd of reveler, as well as a giant sign reading “Oh Baby.” The plane was what was meant to reveal the gender, dumping either blue or pink spray. It dumped pink — only for one of its wings to suddenly fall off, causing the plane to sail wildly over the guests, crash landing behind them.

The crowd didn’t seem to notice the crash, at least at first, continuing to party. The pilot, Luis Angel N., who was the only person in the aircraft, was rushed to the nearest hospital, where he later died of his injuries.

It’s far from the first time a gender reveal party has ended in death. In October 2019, a party in Iowa went south after a homemade pipe bomb that had been made to spray out pink or blue wound up shooting out shrapnel, killing a grandmother.

(Via The Daily Mail)

On Friday, September 1, news that “Margaritaville” singer Jimmy Buffett had died shook the world, including musicians like Paul McCartney, Elton John, Blake Shelton, and more. Even President Joe Biden issued a statement expressing his condolences to Buffett’s family.

In a note posted to Buffett’s official website, a representative wrote, “Jimmy passed away peacefully on the night of September 1st surrounded by his family, friends, music, and dogs. He lived his life like a song till the very last breath and will be missed beyond measure by so many.”

No further information, including cause of death, was shared. However, on Saturday, September 2, TMZ revealed how Buffett allegedly died. An anonymous source, who alleges they were friends with Buffett, told the outlet that Buffett’s cause of death was the result of a prolonged battle with skin cancer and lymphoma. The individual suggested Buffett had been diagnosed with cancer nearly four years ago.

The source was quoted saying, “He lived his life in the sun, literally and figuratively,” referring to his love of the boats, having been seen vacationing many times on massive yachts.

The Boston Globe reported that in Buffett’s obituary, the official cancer type was listed as Merkel cell skin cancer.

For 13 seasons, The Great British Bake-Off has been the most pleasant show about stressed-out bakers improvising impossible dishes. But last year that placid veneer was broken by, among other things, a “Mexican Week,” in which contestants from the U.K. butchered one dish after another while the hosts made cringey puns. The episode earned the show some rare controversy (though it wasn’t the first time). But when it returns, viewers can rest easy that they won’t to endure British bakers messing up pico de gallo.

The Guardian recently profiled the upcoming season, and, in a bit teased out by Entertainment Weekly, producer Kieran Smith responded to the backlash the show faced last time.

“We’re not doing any national themes this year,” Smith said. “We didn’t want to offend anyone, but the world has changed and the joke fell flat.”

Episode 4 of last season’s GBBO was the main offender, not only due to the bakers’ ignorance of Mexican culture, but its use of stereotypes and bad puns, such as this one.

But there were other dodgy moments throughout the season, including the time co-host Prue Leith made the bizarre remark that not “many people make spring rolls.”

What’s more, previous seasons have contained disastrous themed episodes. Season 11 contained a “Japanese Week,” in which bakers used Indian and Chinese spices for Japanese dishes, and co-host Matt Lucas referred to katsu curry as “cat poo curry.”

Though GBBO producers may vow not to indulge in cultural cringiness, there may be bigger problems afoot here. As Uproxx‘s Carrie Whitmer put it in a piece about last season:

Alas, this all seems to be a result of the series deal with Netflix. Since 2018, the series has had a deal with Netflix. New seasons air in the U.K., and the episodes are available to stream on Netflix stateside days later. A few years into the deal, and Netflix’s signature and exhausting gimmicky meme-thirsty influence is all over The Great British Bake-Off. An attempt to make the show younger and goofier has worked against it. What was once a relaxing, reliable, and already goofy time, is now a vaguely depressing and exhausting one for all involved from hosts to judges, contestants to the audience.

(Via The Guardian and EW)

Since The Jonas Brothers broke into the music business as teens, each of the sibling stars have been seen as heartthrobs. Fast-forward to the present, and each of the three singers — Kevin, Nick, and Joe — have traded in their bachelor days for loving families. Unfortunately, according to TMZ, Joe Jonas‘ time as a married man could be coming to an end. The outlet alleges that Joe and his wife, actress Sophie Turner, are preparing to divorce.

Sources who spoke directly with the platform said that despite having been seen in public on several occasions, the pair have, for the last six months, been quietly dealing with problems behind closed doors. The insider did not provide specifics about the marital spats, but they shared that regardless of their rocky relationship, Joe has not let it interfere with the time he spends with their two small children. (However, he is still currently on the road touring with his brothers, so it’s not clear how much time he’s spent with them.)

Joe and Sophie’s romance first began back in 2016. By the following year, they were engaged, and their wedding took place in May 2019. The couple welcomed their first child in 2020. Last year, they had their second.