Category: Worldwide

In a business filled with a good number of, well, let’s say, phonies, it’s hard not to be immediately won over by John David Washington’s (as he puts it) “gosh, gee willy, gee whiz” answers. There’s something very human and appealing about someone who loves their job this much and someone who appreciates his job as much as Washington does. There are probably obvious reasons for that. Washington tried his hand in the NFL, making the Rams practice squad, then played in the now-defunct United Football League. So maybe this stems from him knowing what it’s like to shoot for something and not quite get to the level he was hoping. But, good gosh, that is not the case with acting. John David Washington is a movie star, but there’s a good chance he doesn’t quite realize that yet. Or, more likely, isn’t allowing himself to realize that.

Washington’s new film is Beckett (which will be on Netflix later this week). It was, kind of surprisingly, filmed before Tenet and filmed just after BlacKkKlansman had its debut at Cannes. (But with every release thrown into flux, this probably shouldn’t be that surprising anymore.) Directed by Ferdinando Cito Filomarino, Beckett is kind of a ’70s throwback as Washington’s Beckett, just a guy on vacation in Greece, is thrown into a world of government conspiracies and a whole lot of danger.

In interviews, John David Washington often brings up his father, as he does here, which almost feels like a defense mechanism. Like a way to cut off that aspect before it’s asked. The more I think about it, in his position I’d probably do the same thing. I’d be worried that’s what people were thinking. This is also very human (which, as said earlier, is endearing). So I do ask him about this, but only because he brings it up so much himself. And, again, his answer kind of feels like he’s worried someone is going to take this job that he loves so much away from him. (I feel pretty confident saying that John David Washington isn’t going anywhere.)

With release schedules all messed up, I’m assuming Beckett was filmed after Tenet? But I don’t know if it was or not.

No, no. This was way before Tenet‘s time.

Really?

Yeah, it was right after we had gone to Cannes for BlacKkKlansman. It was 2018. No, actually, technically I knew I was going to do it in 2018. We started in ’19. So yeah, it was months before I started Tenet.

So you film Tenet, it comes out. And then you film this before Tenet, and now you’re doing press for it…

I mean, it worked out the way it did. But, I mean, I just shot another movie, Malcolm & Marie, and that came out before this as well. So, you never know. I’m still learning the business and learning the process of rolling the film out and what the best months are for a film and all that stuff. But the stuff I can control is the work and the approach to the film – and that’s what I remember the most. And it feels good to be able to work, I’ll say that. It feels good to be able to even talk about a film that I was able to do. So that’s good. That’s a positive.

So my first question is ruined. Because I’m watching this thinking, “Oh, he did this because after Tenet, which is such a concept movie and the driving force of an action film, you wanted a character that’s a little more a guy on vacation.” But, that’s not what happened.

[Laughs] Well, I mean, I did want to play a guy on vacation. I mean, it was interesting because I had one more season of Ballers left. I did BlacKkKlansman. I played two cops…

The Old Man and a Gun, too.

The Old Man and the Gun… so three cops. Well, I mean, if you blink you miss me, but yeah, you’re right. So three cops and an obnoxious wide receiver. So I was looking for something different and Beckett was different than all those guys.

You just said you’re happy to be working and figuring stuff out. I’m sure like everyone my whole concept of time is so screwed up, but I think of you as someone who has been doing this a while now and is a huge movie star and it’s weird to still hear you being like, “Ah, I’m just figuring this crazy business out.”

Well, I appreciate it. Look, I mean, I am lucky. I’m sorry to give you these, “gosh, gee willy, gee whiz,” answers, but it’s true. I am so lucky. You know why I probably talk like that and feel this way? Because I wanted to do it my whole life. You know what I’m saying?

I do.

And what am I talking about? Just acting. I wanted to perform. My parents are performers. The business of it, I’m learning now and I learned later through my folks. But just the pureness of taking something, creating something with other people from different backgrounds, and saying something that you both agree on is really cool. And it’s really interesting and it’s invigorating. It really gives me life. And so I look at it as every time I get to step on set, I’m lucky. It’s a blessing. I don’t take this job for granted at all. And so I’m just looking to continue that feeling. And that might be a boring answer, but it is the truth because I really love what I do. It doesn’t feel like a job.

Look, even my job, I feel the same way. I get to sit here and talk to you and I still, to this day, don’t take that for granted. What you just said, I think, is important. Because once you start taking it for granted, I don’t know if you’re enjoying it anymore, right?

Right, right. And everybody does what we do for different reasons, you know? And God bless them. I’m not saying my reasons are different or more pure or more righteous than any other, I should say. But it is the source of my happiness and probably why you get some of these golly, gee whiz answers from me.

Well, the thing I’m curious about, and the obvious answer is probably, “Because I was good at it,” but why did you even go and try to play professional football before you went into acting? Since acting’s something you obviously wanted to do from the get-go immediately? What if you were still in the NFL, would you be happy?

[Laughs] Ohhhhhhh, now we’re getting to it. Well, what I was saying to you before about performance is that’s what I love. I didn’t realize that people’s reactions to the performances sometimes could dictate how you can live your life for the rest of your life.

Okay.

And when it becomes the business, fame, and all that – that’s what was unattractive to me at the time, you know? And it was very intimidating. So I felt like I saw my relationship to the world becoming different because my dad’s relationship to the world was becoming different based off of what I love and what I think he’s very special at doing, which is acting. And so I wanted to protect myself. And football was that protection. I felt like I could be my own person. People are literally wearing a helmet, so they’re not going to know what I look like. I can’t be seen. They won’t know I’m related to him because I’m just another African-American playing football. They won’t know, you know what I’m saying? And that’s what drove me. But, I ultimately wanted to be an actor. I wanted to do that my whole life. But I had to bury that because of my father’s popularity. That’s what shifted. But knowing that when I was able to feel comfortable about really doing what I wanted to do, I went for it.

You’ve mentioned your family a few times. When I first saw BlacKkKlansman, I didn’t know that. For me, it was like, what’s a good example? Like maybe Matt Damon does The Rainmaker and then Good Will Hunting. And I had seen him in some stuff before, like you were in Ballers, and it’s like, “Ah, wow, he’s breaking through.” And it was only later when I read an interview you did where you mentioned your dad. I honestly think people know you for your own stuff now and don’t think about who your dad is.

Well, I appreciate that. Yeah, it’s not a big deal or anything. It’s just, you guys understand my relation to the world, just me. Just sometimes when I encounter people, it’s usually that a lot of times. So it’s nice to hear you say, “No, actually, John David, the real world’s telling you that it’s all good.” So you saying that is great and I appreciate it. That’s the goal. Just like, oh, if I’m that guy from that movie that I liked, then that’s cool, too. You know what I mean? I’m just trying to show different sides of my craft.

So the David O. Russell movie you’re in is moving to 2022. How does that work for you? Do they call you? Are you in the loop? Because now you have to wait another year for something I’m sure you’re anxious for it to come out…

Right. Well, it depends on the relationship I have to the director or the studio or whatever. There are some movies I’m kept in the loop, some not. This is one of those I’m not in the loop. I have no idea what they’re doing. I know nothing. They yelled, “Wrap. That’s a wrap on John David.” And that was it. So I think that must be good. They have their reasons. I don’t know if it’s a good or a bad thing, but they have their reasons. Actually, honestly, I didn’t think we were going to come out this year anyway. I mean, it’s a huge film and it’s an all-star weekend cast, so it’s like, there are so many performances. It’s all your favorite actors killing it and they’re at their best in this. And so I’m like, that’s going to take time to make sure they get all that right, I know. So I anticipated this already. But I have no idea.

To be fair, after last year’s situation with Tenet, you have to be the king of “I don’t know when my movie is coming out.”

[Laughs] Facts! True. That is true. Well, that and Malcolm & Marie too, I never knew. I was out of the loop. You’re right. That seems to be the way my career is right now. I don’t know. I just do the movie.

‘Beckett’ begins streaming via Netflix on August 13th. You can contact Mike Ryan directly on Twitter.

This week in the best new pop music saw several stars kick off album roll outs. The Weeknd dropped an addictive single, Finneas officially announced his debut album, and Lady Gaga shared a first look at her second collaborative album with legendary singer Tony Bennett.

Each week, Uproxx rounds up the best new pop releases. Listen up.

The Weeknd — “Take My Breath”

Following up on his wildly successful 2020 LP After Hours, The Weeknd ushered in a new era of music this week with the trance-like track “Take My Breath.” The club-ready tune showcases into the synth-heavy style The Weeknd first perfected in After Hours, resulting in a driving single perfect for late-night listens.

Finneas — “A Concert Six Months From Now”

Finneas may be best known for his production work on Billie Eilish’s music, but he’s also an established songwriter of his own. This week, the musician announced his debut album Optimist with the tender ballad “A Concert Six Months From Now.” The acoustic guitar track hones Finneas’ stripped-down sound, melting his far-ranging vocals over wistful and subdued instrumentals.

Lady Gaga, Tony Bennett — “I Get A Kick Out Of You”

Lady Gaga may have dropped her hyperpop-leaning LP Chromatica last year, but this week, the singer showed off her versatility with the Tony Bennett collaboration “I Get A Kick Out Of You.” The swooning single blends the two iconic singers’ loungy vocals over a jazzy beat and offers the first preview of their joint project Love For Sale.

Aventura, Bad Bunny — “Volví”

Global superstar Bad Bunny continues dishing up hits this week with “Volví,” a collaborative single with Dominican-American bachata group Aventura. The summer-ready song combines reggaeton and pop sensibilities for a pumped-up tune that’s sure to get anyone up and moving.

Blackear — “@ My Worst”

Though it’s been less than a year since Blackbear released his 2020 album Everything Means Nothing, the musician is already gearing up for yet another release. His vibe-heavy track “@ My Worst” marks his latest compelling single and offers another preview of his forthcoming EP Misery Lake, which is set to drop next week.

Black Eyed Peas — “Hit It” Feat. Saweetie, Lele Pons

Serving up a club-ready banger, Black Eyed Peas teamed up with Saweetie and rising star Lele Pons for the fiery track “Hit It.” The up-tempo tune boasts a sultry bassline and clever verses, marking Black Eyed Peas’ first song of the year following their 2020 Shakira collaboration “Girl Like Me.”

Victoria Monét — “Coastin’”

After releasing her debut LP Jaguar last year, R&B star Victoria Monét returns with another irresistable tune with the carefree song “Coastin.’” Though the tune was actually written in the winter time, the funk-forward beat combines with Monét’s honeyed vocals for an undeniably sunny single.

Adam Levine — “Good Mood”

After a tough year all around, Maroon 5 vocalist Adam Levine is here to put his listeners in a “Good Mood” with his latest song. Penned to be a part of PAW Patrol: The Movie‘s original soundtrack, “Good Mood” is a happy-go-lucky jingle reminding us of the importance of sticking by your loved ones.

Glaive — “1984”

Prolific 16-year-old hyperpop songwriter Glaive showed off his hitmaking skills on his All Dogs Go To Heaven EP. The 8-track effort gives a snapshot of the rising star’s life: angst, heartbreak, fallouts with friends, and everything in between. “1984” opens the EP, detailing the story of a painful goodbye over deliciously distorted synths and a hyped-up beat.

Holly Humberstone — “Please Don’t Leave Just Yet”

Breakout songwriter Holly Humberstone returned this week with the resonating tune “Please Don’t Leave Just Yet.” The radically honest and intricately layered single officially announces her upcoming EP The Walls Are Way Too Thin, which Humberstone said is inspired by the feeling of being lost. “This EP represents a feeling of being lost,” she said. “It’s the kind of lost that makes you question who you are and where you belong. So lost that someone might need to find you again because you can’t find yourself.”

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

Beyonce has been a successful and busy artist for a long time: Destiny’s Child formed (as Girl’s Tyme) before Beyonce was even a teenager. Not long after things started to take off, though, Beyonce suffered an injury that she thought would derail her singing career.

Beyonce is the subject of a new Harper’s Bazaar feature, and in it, after speaking about her introversion during her early childhood, she continued:

“I started taking voice lessons from an opera singer at nine. By 10, I had already recorded at least 50 or 60 songs in the recording studio. This was before Pro Tools, when you recorded to tape. I had my first vocal injury at 13 from singing in the studio for too many hours. We had just gotten our first record deal, and I was afraid I had developed nodules and destroyed my voice and that my career could be over. The doctors put me on vocal rest all summer and I was silent once again.”

She also talked about how seriously she took her music career as a teenager, saying, “I committed to always being a student and always being open to growth. No one in my school knew that I could sing because I barely spoke. My energy went into Destiny’s Child and the dream of us getting a record deal and becoming musicians. If something wasn’t helping me reach my goal, I decided to invest no time in it. I didn’t feel like I had time to ‘kiki’ or hang out. I sacrificed a lot of things and ran from any possible distraction. […] I knew I was given this amazing opportunity and felt like I had one shot. I refused to mess it up, but I had to give up a lot.”

Read the full feature here.

It’s hard to argue with Popeyes’ Spicy Chicken Sandwich. It was a sensation when it dropped and had a huge impact on fast-food culture by revitalizing an old and often-overlooked category of fast-food alternatives to the regular old burger. Still, Popeyes didn’t invent the spicy chicken sando and, arguably, did not perfect it either.

Personally, I’ve always found the sandwich to be overrated. My main gripe has always been that the “spicy” just comes from a very mildly spicy mayo on a plain piece of fried chicken breast. Why isn’t that spice built into the brine of the chicken breast and/or the damn breading of the cutlet? For me, spots like Wendy’s and Culver’s get this and always stuck out in my mind as having the better, spicier option built into the chicken on the sandwich and not just the sauce.

So, I decided to put this theory to a test. While in Sioux Falls recently, I had access to both Culver’s and Popeyes. It was a two-lunch Tuesday for Zach as I hit them both for a taste test of each chain’s spicy fried chicken sandwiches.

I’m also doing more than just tasting the sandwiches and declaring a winner. I’m going deeper than that by looking at five categories for this adjudication: The bun, the dressings (sauces, lettuce, etc.), the chicken, presentation, and the heat. There’s just no way to judge these sandwiches without breaking them down by their components to find a clearer sense of the whole.

Okay, preamble over. Let’s get to tasting and judging some spicy fried chicken sandwiches!

Round One: The Bun

Popeyes:

No one goes to Popeyes because they have amazing buns. It’s pre-toasted and kept warm for the build. There’s more of a vegetable oil taste to the toasted vibe than a buttery one, which is fine. I guess…

Overall, it’s not sweet or buttery. It’s just white bread with almost no discernable flavor besides white bread and vegetable oil.

Culver’s:

The potato roll on this has a slight heft to the softness of the milk-inspired bun. There’s a sweetness to the crumb on this bread and it feels like there’s something there besides a soft sponge.

The bun is also buttered and has a buttery toasted vibe. It’s almost lush.

Winner:

Culver’s by a mile.

Round Two: The Dressing

Popeyes:

So this is where things diverge dramatically. Popeyes is dressed with their spicy mayo and a few pickles. The spicy mayo is on the top and bottom bun, providing good distribution of mildly spicy sauce and moistness to the overall eating experience.

The pickles kind of get lost in the mix. They add a nice crunch every now and then but don’t live up to the crispy outer crust of the fried chicken. I tried a bit with and without pickle and there wasn’t really any difference.

Culver’s:

Culver’s sando comes with shredded iceberg, tomato, and pickles but no sauce. It’s mind-blowing that there’s not a spicy mayo or just plain mayo on this sandwich. Culver’s has a massive, interchangeable menu yet they don’t have sauce on this entry. Granted, you can ask for them to add anything to this. So you can just have them put some mayo on there or a slice of cheese. But, still…

As for the lettuce, tomato, and pickle, they’re not bad. They all 100 percent add to the textural experience of eating this sandwich. Culver’s also has very distinct pickles with an old-school deli saltiness and pickle crunch that stand the test of time.

Winner:

Popeyes because at least there’s a sauce element.

Round Three: The Chicken

Popeyes:

This is where things get prickly. Popeyes assembles your sandwich to order from pre-cooked pieces. I watched mine get made. The bun was pre-toasted and kept warm and the chicken cutlet came out of a warmer tray.

Here’s the thing, my chicken was pretty dry and not seasoned all that well. There was a nice crunch to the coating but that was made a little mushy by all that sauce.

Overall, it was underwhelming and I was reminded of something our own Dane Rivera said while ranking spicy fried chicken sandwiches. “Popeyes also sells a non-spicy version with mayo. It’s good but not great.” And, yeah, that kind of sums it up on the quality of the chicken at play here.

Culver’s:

This isn’t hard to give the win to because this chicken breast was juicy, well-seasoned thanks to the spice being built into the chicken and not the sauce, and fried fresh.

Look if we’re talking moister chicken breast and better seasoning, I have to give it to Culver’s. Plus, this piece of chicken actually tasted of something.

Winner:

Culver’s, easily.

Round Four: Presentation

Popeyes:

That is a thing of beauty. Look at it up there!

Culver’s:

This looks like it was served at a college cafeteria and I’m not mad about it.

Winner:

Popeyes in a walk.

Round Five: The Heat

Popeyes:

Is a simple, even non-descript “spicy” enough to push Popeyes over the top? I don’t know. The spice is certainly there, but it’s tame and a little blank. It sort of dissipates within less than a minute, leaving you with the mayo and dry chicken, and there was a lot of sauce on my sandwich. Any note of spice was already gone by the time I put the wrapper in the garbage can and headed to the car.

The actual spiciness was fine but felt very entry-level, which is probably the point since we’re not talking Nashville hot chicken here.

In the end, my memory of this non-descript spice on this sandwich being just “okay” was still accurate.

Culver’s:

The spice of this is built into that chicken breast cutlet. That’s a plus already. But what really helped this edge out Popeyes wasn’t the intensity, it was the staying power.

I had a 15-minute drive from Culver’s and Popeyes between eating these two sandwiches. During the whole drive from Culver’s to Popeyes, I could still feel the slight tingle of spice on my tongue and mouth. It wasn’t an overpowering chili-spice bomb. It was more a pleasant, peppery, and chili-forward tingling spice sensation. It was a nice feeling that stuck with me. Comparatively, the spice from the Popeyes sandwich barely made it out the door, much less a 15-minute car ride.

Winner:

Culver’s all the way.

The Winner

That’s three to two for Culver’s, folks.

It probably sounds crazy to rank a fried chicken sandwich from a burger joint from Wisconsin over the same sandwich from a fried chicken joint from Louisanna, but here we are.

That dry chicken breast and extremely mild spicy sauce just weren’t enough to put Popeyes over the top. In theory, Culver’s should lose for having no sauce at all. Still, no sauce and plenty of spice on a moist piece of fried chicken are better than sauce with “okay” mild spice sauce and dry chicken. So, there you have it! Culver’s wins this round.

As the pandemic raged in late 2020, Warner Bros. made the controversial announcement that it would release its entire 2021 film slate on HBO Max simultaneously with theater release dates. The move angered not only top filmmakers like Christopher Nolan but also the theater industry, which has been hit significantly hard since the pandemic started. Things were looking up as both F9 and Black Widow performed well, and made it seem like theatrical movie-going was roaring back. But just a few weeks later, the Delta variant rapidly spiked cases, and The Suicide Squad felt the brunt of it as box-office sales cratered.

However, even as the fall movie season looks unpredictable, Warner Bros. has made a serious commitment to theatrical releases in 2022. The studio has agreed to a 45-day theatrical window with AMC, which will effectively end the HBO Max day and date release strategy. Via Deadline:

“We’re especially pleased that Warners has has decided to move away from day-and-date releases and commit to theatrical windows as well,” said [AMC Entertainment CEO Adam] Aron. “We’re having conversations with other movie studios in Hollywood.”

Aron said that studios’ experimenting with the theatrical window was as a result of the pandemic, adding, “We’re seeing the consensus that exclusive theatrical window is a good way to build major motion picture franchises.”

While the HBO Max release strategy was controversial thanks to being sprung on filmmakers with little to no warning, The Suicide Squad director James Gunn seemed to come around to it in recent days. For the record, he’s absolutely committed to the theatrical experience, but he’s not sweating how or where his movies are viewed.

“Listen, movies don’t last because they’re seen on the big screen,” Gunn told Variety. “Movies last because they’re seen on television. ‘Jaws’ isn’t still a classic because people are watching it in theaters. I’ve never seen “Jaws” in a movie theater. It’s one of my favorite movies.”

(Via Deadline)

Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson announcing that they tested positive for COVID-19 on March 11, 2020, was the day many Americans (although not enough…) started taking the coronavirus seriously. The Oscar-winning actor said that he had “crippling body aches” and that he was “fatigued all the time and I couldn’t concentrate on anything for more than about 12 minutes,” so a rational person might assume that Chet Hanks, the couple’s son, would be sympathetic to what they went through and be pro-vaccine.

Counterpoint: there is nothing rational about the former-Chet Haze.

The video posted to Hanks’ Instagram account started promisingly enough, with the rapper saying, “I’ve been on the fence about this for awhile, that’s why I never spoke on it, but with the amount of people I know recently that have gotten COVID, and with the numbers rising, I think it’s important for me to say I got the vaccine, I think everybody should. It’s really important that we all do this.” Then came the turn.

“I suggest to all my followers, you guys, set an appointment and get the vaccine first thing… PSYCH. Bitch! If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it! I never had COVID. Y’ain’t sticking me with that motherf*cking needle! It’s the motherf*cking flu. Get over it, OK?”

Hanks, who appeared to be screaming at his phone from a gas station, also advised his followers, “If you’re sick, stay inside.” That’s good advice! Even better advice: get the dang vaccine. Otherwise, you’ll be spending your “White Boy Summer” in the ICU.

Balcones is at the forefront of the American single malt whisky movement. Their Texas single malts continue to wow whisky drinkers, win awards, and push the envelope on what American single malt whisky can be.

Their latest release, Pilgrimage Texas Single Malt Whisky, is the first in a new series of whiskies from the Waco, Texas craft distiller. Their aim with this new series is to explore a “dynamic flavor experience” with a unique finishing for each expression released going forward.

Overall, this sounds very exciting, so we’re tasting the very first drop in the new Pilgrimage line below. Let’s get into what’s in the bottle!

Balcones Pilgrimage Texas Single Malt Whisky

ABV: 58.5%

Average Price: $76

The Whisky:

This single malt starts with Golden Promise malted barley in the mash with proprietary ale yeast and local Texas water. The distilled juice is then loaded into used barrels like all of the world’s great single malts. After a few years of aging under the hot Texas sun, the whisky is transferred into French Sauternes casks, bringing a distinct dessert wine vibe to the juice. Finally, the whisky is bottled at cask strength from very small, one-off batches.

Tasting Notes:

The nose is all sweet honey, soft white grapes, stewed peaches in syrup, light leather, ripe pear, and a touch of salted caramel candy. There’s also this fleeting moment of milk chocolate. It really draws you in.

The taste starts off a bit slow with an initial moment of sweet grains that translate to very clear pear notes by the mid-palate before ascending towards honeyed malts, Caro syrup roasted pecans, apple blossoms, and a small dusting of egg nog spices. All of that sweetness and fruitiness completely hides the ABVs under a wall of lusciousness.

The end does have a spicy edge but it’s still tied to the sweet honey and orchard fruits and leaves you with this sense of a refined apple soda and more milk chocolate at the very end.

The Bottle:

Balcones puts all of their expressions in an old-school port bottle and it works. These bottles always stand out on a bar cart or whiskey bar shelf thanks to the stout size. The label on this one pops as well, albeit with a hard-to-see, gold-embossed logo of a barrel in the background.

Bottom Line:

This opens very close to one of my favorite single malts from last year, Aberfeldy 20, which was also finished in Sauternes casks. Overall, this is a winner, especially for lovers of sweet single malts. It’s complex, super easy to drink, accessible, and unique.

The overall finish is very warming as well. You’re left with a soft fruit and honey sweetness with zero burn or alcohol astringency. It’s just … nice.

Rating:

92/100 — This is a masterful dram of whisky. Still, it’s not a 20-year-old from Speyside but that’s okay. This is a great bottle to introduce someone to both Sauternes finishes and Texas single malt in general.

If there’s one position you don’t want to find yourself in, it’s being the governor of New York in the midst of pandemic and the a sex scandal. If there’s a second worst position to be in, it’s being the brother of that governor and a television news personality tasked with reporting on people like him, which is exactly the situation that CNN’s Chris Cuomo finds himself in at the moment as the number of sexual harassment cases against his big bro, governor Andrew Cuomo, continue mounting. And just when Chris didn’t think things could get worse for him, the unimaginable happened: Tucker Carlson came to his defense! Sort of…

On Monday night, the usually predictable Fox News host made an uncharacteristically unpredictable statement about Chris Cuomo, in which he sided with the CNN anchor for digging his heels in and sticking by his bro “in total sincerity” (Carlson’s words):

“One, you’re not responsible for the misbehavior of your relatives. Sorry, you didn’t choose them. In fact you’re not responsible for anyone else’s misbehavior. Only your own. That’s just true. It’s the basis of American justice and it’s the basic of human decency. Don’t blame people for things they didn’t do.”

Now, one would like to think that Carlson somehow grew a heart or conscience without anyone even noticing, but it’s hard not to detect some inauthenticity here. Yes, even with that “in total sincerity” remark, especially when you look at the graphics going on in the background while Carlson’s talking (see above). And while the silly graphic could be chalked up to a zero-dollar Photoshop budget, the second part of Carlson’s statement (and yet another illustration) calls that “total sincerity” even further into question:

“The other point to make is Chris Cuomo’s coming under a lot of fire for helping his brother in the middle of this crisis. Now, we can’t evaluate how true that is. But if it is true, let’s be real for a second: It’s understandable. It’s his brother. Your loyalty should be to your family above all else. Not joking at all. Maybe above your job. Maybe even above [CNN president] Jeff Zucker. If your brother calls and says, ‘I need help,’ if you don’t give him help — because you’re pretending to be a news anchor on some stupid cable channel nobody watches — you’re betraying your brother. And that’s a greater sin than any of the dumb politics they espouse on that channel. Totally true.”

You can watch the clip above and discern for yourself how much of Carlson’s “total sincerity” was total bullsh*t.

(Via The Wrap)

Billie Eilish is fresh off the release of her latest album, Happier Than Ever, which debuted atop the Billboard 200 chart. Last night, she got the word out with a visit to The Tonight Show, during which she performed the album’s title track.

Joined by Finneas and a drummer, Eilish sang the song on a large stage backed by a cloudy sunset-colored backdrop. When the song got into its more intense latter half, the lighting and everybody’s movements became increasingly kinetic and dramatic.

Elsewhere during the show, she chatted remotely with Jimmy Fallon. She explained that she didn’t know what the aesthetic theme and other elements of Happier Than Ever would be until she was pretty much finished making the album, saying, “It really just happened. I, like, didn’t know what I was going to do at all until really almost when the album was over. I didn’t even know what it was going to be called, I didn’t know what the vibe was going to be, I didn’t know what the artwork should be. I knew, though, that I wanted it to feel very specific, you know? I wanted it to have a real… feeling to it and a real aesthetic to it.”

Watch Eilish perform “Happier Than Ever” above and check out her Tonight Show interview below.

The Gulf Stream is in danger of collapse, and some people are very, very upset about the idea of putting on masks to help bring the pandemic to an end. In celebrity-land, though, a dividing line (with much lower, although still controversial, stakes) is shaping up: to bathe or not to bathe. Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher started the discussion by admitting that they don’t bathe their kids (nor does Ashton prefer to fully shower) very often. Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard joined the club while explaining that only visible dirt should earn a trip to bathland. Jake Gyllenhaal, as well, has expressed his finding that bathing is “less necessary” to him than it was in previous years.

Well, not every famous-type person’s on that train. Jason Momoa stepped up to point out that he’s freaking Aquaman, and he insisted, “I shower, trust me.” I can count myself on the lucky list of people to confirm that, yes, Momoa does smell like he showers, and now, The Rock is joining the shinier club. Here’s what he wrote on Twitter:

Nope, I’m the opposite of a “not washing themselves” celeb.
Shower (cold) when I roll outta bed to get my day rollin’.
Shower (warm) after my workout before work.
Shower (hot) after I get home from work.
Face wash, body wash, exfoliate and I sing (off key) in the shower

Not only does The Rock bathe, but he does so three times per day, and he exfoliates, so there. Maybe he’s going a little bit overboard? I’d safely say that most people are once-per-day fans when it comes to showering, and that happens either in the morning or at night. Yet of course The Rock goes a few extra miles in this regard, which makes sense, given that he works out about eight times per day. To each his own, but at least we all know that The Rock (allegedly) smells as fresh as a daisy.