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Who is Tucker Carlson? Is he a sincere conspiracy theorist earnestly feeding his millions of viewers misinformation? Or is he a grifter cynically flinging red meat to his base while secretly bearing different beliefs? The truth gets even murkier in a new piece by The New York Times’ Ben Smith, in which he — a proud member of the “fake news media” — alleges to not only be really good texting buddies with the Fox News stalwart. He’s also, Smith claims, he’s widely considered a great source for unflattering Trump gossip.

In a new piece, the paper’s premier media columnist confesses he has a frenemy-style relationship with the media figure who was roasted the very same day by CNN’s Brian Stelter. While Stelter had solemn questions for Carlson, Smith was a bit more savvy and Inside Baseball, alleging that it’s an “open secret” that he’s a big time gossip hound — the “go-to-guy for sometimes-unflattering stories about Donald J. Trump,” as well as dirt about his home network. Smith names over a dozen colleagues (none at the Times) that they get dirt from him. Three of those called him “a great source.”

Smith writes:

“In Trump’s Washington, Tucker Carlson is a primary supersecret source,” the media writer and Trump chronicler Michael Wolff writes in his forthcoming collection of essays, “Too Famous.” Mr. Wolff, who thanked Mr. Carlson in the acknowledgments of his 2018 book, “Fire and Fury,” explained, “I know this because I know what he has told me, and I can track his exquisite, too-good-not-to-be-true gossip through unsourced reports and as it often emerges into accepted wisdom.”

Stelter even admitted that one “can see Tucker’s fingerprints all over the hardcover” edition of his 2020 book Hoax. But times have changed. When it came time to release the paperback edition, he’d found he “couldn’t stomach” talking to him anymore, presumably because of how increasingly deranged his show has become since Trump’s 2020 loss.

It’s no shock Carlson would be a great source for gossip. Born into a world of insiders, he’s also powerful enough a figure in rightwing media that he has the former president’s ear. What’s more, one source speculates, Carlson’s habit of keeping non-Trumpist media fat with fun stories may explain why he hasn’t suffered the same fate of another Fox News conspiracy theorist, Glenn Beck, whose notorious reign in the Obama era came to a premature end. Had Carlson not made himself useful, the idea goes, journalists would treat him even worse than they do.

Carlson, for the record, denied to Smith that he was a notorious leaker to the “liberal media.” “I don’t know any gossip,” he texted back. “I live in a town of 100 people,” referring to his life in remotest Maine. Then again, in our brave new tech world, gossip doesn’t need to have a zip code to get around.

(Via NYT)

Tucker Carlson has spent much of 2021 miraculously finding one new low after another. He’s compared COVID-19 protocols to Jim Crow. He’s floated a white supremacist conspiracy theory. He’s asked viewers to harass people who wear masks. He’s unleashed weird laughs. And he’s alternated between downplaying the Jan. 6 insurrection and trying to explain it away. Last week he spent a lot of time blabbing about a surreal (and debunked) theory that puts the blame for the Capitol siege on the FBI. Most people have laughed at him. But CNN’s Brian Stelter actually did some homework to prove him wrong.

The host devoted a segment Sunday to some important questions about Carlson’s latest cuckoo obsession, which posits that unindicted co-conspirators are government agents. After noting that the deranged theory is “everywhere now,” having been picked up by far right politicians and media, Stelter questioned Carlson’s journalistic bona fides.

“Presumably he asked questions of the FBI and of prosecutors and sources?” Stelter asked, almost certainly rhetorically. He then said he went straight to Carlson’s employers. “So I asked Fox PR executives, did anyone vet Tucker’s reporting? Did the Fox newsroom go through his reporting?”

He had other questions:

“Why haven’t they followed up on it since? Carlson alleged these explosive stories, claiming this is an incredible bombshell. Where is the Fox newsroom? Why isn’t Special Report with Bret Baier covering this story every day? Why isn’t Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace covering this incredible claim right now?”

Predictably, Stelter had yet to receive a response from Fox News. But he thought he had his answers anyway. Carlson, he theorized, is “out there on his own,” doing whatever he wants. And when real journalists question the veracity of his claims, the network, he said, can simply claim it’s “an opinion show and everyone knows it’s an opinion show.”

But, Stelter said, Carlson’s fans don’t think it’s just one guy’s opinion. They “think it’s news,” he said. “They trust Tucker more than they trust real reporters. So what was the betting? What was the process? Why isn’t Fox following up? Why isn’t the newsroom digging into his claims? Why isn’t the newsroom at Fox trying to prove Tucker’s theory?”

These are all valid questions, even if, again, the answers are probably obvious. Indeed, Carlson’s show is the only place where you see this incredible — and, again, already discredited — claim taken seriously. And Stelter surely knows full well that if he wants Fox News to give him honest answers, he shouldn’t hold his breath.

You can watch Stelter’s segment in the video above.

(Via The Daily Beast)

The final round of the 2021 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines in San Diego was a wild one, as the day started with a bunched up leaderboard that only got more crowded as the day wore on — at one point with 10 players within one shot of the lead. As the round continued, a lot of the expected contenders began to fall by the wayside as the grind of a U.S. Open started to yield the types of scores and frustration that we have become accustomed to at golf’s most grueling major.

Among those who were at the top of the leaderboard before backing out was 2020 U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau, who was 5-under and in solo first briefly, before suffering a rather wild collapse on the back nine. After bogeying the 11th and 12th to fall to 3-under, DeChambeau blew his tee shot right on the par-5 13th and again found himself in trouble. As he waited to hit his second shot, things got extra weird as a fan ran out onto the fairway with a golf club and some golf balls and started launching shots off the cliff to the left, dancing before trying to evade security who made an incredible tackle from a golf cart.

Shouts to Rich Beem for capturing this moment the TV cameras wouldn’t show, because “idiots on the course” is a rarity in golf, but if it were ever going to happen, it was going to be on a hole where Bryson was. DeChambeau has become golf’s greatest villain, most notably feuding with Brooks Koepka who has not been shy about how much he hates Bryson, which has led to DeChambeau getting heckled with “Brooksy!” chants constantly.

The fake basketball shot into a juke on security was rather incredible, but the most impressive part of this is the guy that cuts him off with a golf cart, hops out, and tackles him in one motion, an absolutely phenomenal moment in great sports security work.

Taylor Swift has been re-recording her old albums. The first was Fearless (Taylor’s Version), released back in April. Now she’s set to do another. The singer revealed her 2013 album Red would be her next re-recorded record. Her fans were excited after hearing the news. One of them was Taylor’s dad, as she revealed in a Father’s Day post for him on Sunday.

“Happy Father’s Day to all the dads but mostly mine, who called me yesterday to remind me he still has guitar picks from the Red Tour, ‘if they’re needed,’” she wrote in a Twitter post.

“In the land of heartbreak, moments of strength, independence, and devil-may-care rebellion are intricately woven together with grief, paralyzing vulnerability and hopelessness,” she wrote. “Imagining your future might always take you on a detour back to the past. And this is all to say, that the next album I’ll be releasing is my version of Red.”

Taylor is surely due for success with Red (Taylor’s Version) as she saw previously saw Fearless (Taylor’s Version) top the album charts. Her next redo is set to be released to the world in November, so hang tight.

Red (Taylor’s Version) is out 11/19 via Republic. Pre-order it here.

The GOP has long loved to accuse Democrats of insufficient patriotism. It’s reliable red meat to toss their supporters when they have nothing else to say, or if they need to distract them from their own shortcomings. Sometimes they’re weird about it, as in Ted Cruz’s recent, inexplicable video in which he for some reason recites the Pledge of Allegiance. And sometimes they screw it up, as when former Florida governor Rick Scott recently confused the aforementioned Pledge for the National Anthem.

Scott was one of many big time Republicans who spoke at this weekend’s Faith & Freedom Coalition conference. He spent part of his speech angry over the Pledge, which he claims today’s kids don’t know. But then he got the streams crossed, lumping in an entirely separate matter: football players kneeling in support of Black Lives Matter during the National Anthem at football games.

After leading the crowd in their own recitation of the Pledge — which he briefly screwed up — he then screwed up bigly. “We’re living in a nation where these woke, rich, pampered football players are kneeling for the Pledge of Allegiance,” Scott thundered.

Scott didn’t seem to notice his mix-up, continuing to whip up the crowd, telling them that they all have to spend “part of our day” fighting against “this woke mob and radical Democrats who are trying to destroy this country and the values that we grew up with.”

But his error didn’t escape the notice of social media. Many people pointed out that a notorious Republican ex-governor doesn’t seem to know the difference between a song and a spoken recitation.

Others thought it belied his lack of interest in true freedom and democracy.

After putting away the Utah Jazz on Friday night in Game 6, the Clippers headed to Phoenix on Sunday for Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals against a well rested Suns team. Both squads were down a superstar, as Kawhi Leonard continues to miss time with a knee sprain and Chris Paul finds himself still in COVID-19 protocols at the worst possible time.

That meant all eyes were on their star teammates to step up in a big spot, and both Devin Booker and Paul George delivered for their teams on Sunday afternoon. In the end, Booker and the Suns came out ahead in a 120-114 victory that has everyone hoping for six more games like what we saw on Sunday in what was a game of punches and counterpunches, with both All-Stars putting on a shot-making exhibition.

Booker got his first career triple-double on Sunday, taking over as a scorer and playmaker in Paul’s absence, scoring 40 points on 15-of-29 shooting to go along with 13 rebounds and 11 assists. Booker did much of his scoring damage in the third quarter, dropping 18 on the Clippers as he abused the drop coverage they kept showing him with Ivica Zubac in the pick-and-roll game, with Patrick Beverley picking up way too high and being in no place to recover and really bother Booker. Like Chris Paul did in Game 4 to close out the Nuggets, Booker went to the same play and the same spot over and over again, scoring at one point 16 straight for the Suns, mostly in the midrange.

Paul George nearly matched Booker shot for shot in the third, scoring 14 of his own as he got hot from long-range, finishing with 34 points on 10-of-26 shooting, five assists, and four rebounds.

In the fourth quarter it was more of the same early for Booker, as George went to the bench for a rest and the Suns pounced on the L.A. bench, this time going to his right to force the Clippers to change up their coverage.

When they did and sent more bodies at him, he started to facilitate in the halfcourt and on the break, with his 10th assist coming in spectacular fashion on a give-and-go with Mikal Bridges for what felt like the early dagger.

The Clippers made a valiant effort at a late rally, with Rajon Rondo and Terance Mann hitting threes to cut the Phoenix lead to two.

But once again Booker had the answer, slipping free for a dunk to push the lead to four and then icing the game with free throws after a Nic Batum missed three on the ensuing Clippers possession. Also stepping up for the Suns was Deandre Ayton, as he has all postseason, with 20 points and nine rebounds, helping the Suns punish the L.A. small-ball lineups in key moments by attacking the rim.

All five Suns starters hit double figures, along with Cam Johnson with 12 points off the bench, as they played a simply magnificent game start to finish. The Clippers were excellent as well. Reggie Jackson once again gave them a needed lift with backcourt scoring with 24 points on 10-of-19 shooting, and DeMarcus Cousins provided a surprising boost off the bench in the first half with 11 points — although this second stint was far less impactful.

In the end, the Suns had more juice, more legs, and the better superstar for the night. George couldn’t score at the same rate in the fourth quarter and without his steady input, and the rest of the Clippers going cold for much of the quarter from three, things slipped away to a point where their late rally was just too little too late. It’s a huge confidence booster for a Suns team that is riding an incredible wave right now from their first two series wins, and has been incredibly composed in key moments, led by their young superstar in Booker. Game 2 will come on Tuesday night and after an instant classic in Game 1, it’s hard not to be excited for the possibility of another banger in Phoenix.

Celebrity boxing matches are all the rage these days. We’re a couple weeks removed from Floyd Mayweather and Logan Paul’s matchup. Former NFL wide receiver Chad Johnson and MMA fighter Brian Maxwell duked it out as well. And we can’t forget Nate Robinson and Jake Paul’s fight at the end of last year. That being said, there are some other names around the celebrity world who want to square off in the ring, two of those being newly-inducted XXL Freshman rappers Toosii and DDG.

Toosii hopped on Twitter to share his desire for a fight, writing, “I need a boxing match set up.” The tweet came to DDG’s attention after it was reposted by a hip-hop page on Instagram. In response, DDG wrote, “Did somebody say box?” to which Toosi replied, “Let’s set it up.” It appears that there isn’t any bad tension between the two rappers, so if the fight becomes a reality, it should all be in good fun.

This comes days after Toosii and DDG were inducted into the 2021 XXL Freshman class. They joined Blxst, Pooh Shiesty, 42 Dugg, Toosii, Iann Dior, Flo Milli, Coi Leray, Lakeyah, Rubi Rose, and Morray as the other acts on the annual list.

Pooh Shiesty is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Father’s Day 2021 was a big make-up for Father’s Day 2020, when the nation was at the height of the pandemic, forcing many to call off an annual visit. But as always, it was a big deal on social media. There were the usual posts of appreciation for dads, and the requisite posts of younger photos of hot fathers. (There was also a Ryan Reynolds-crafted cocktail.) The love also extended to father figures, for people who may have never sired any offspring but whose roles in people’s lives have been nonetheless parent-like.

One of those people is George Takei. The Star Trek alum has been married for about as long as California has allowed same-sex marriage — he and his husband, Brad Altman, were the first gay couple to apply for a marriage license in West Hollywood back in 2008 — but they’ve never had kids. And on the big holiday, Takei took to Twitter to lament that fact.

“One of my biggest regrets was never becoming a dad,” Takei wrote. “In my generation, coming of age in the 50s and 60s, it just wasn’t something very available to gay men, even those in couples. But I’m happy I could still be ‘Uncle George’ to so many.”

Takei received a lot of love for his post, with many pointing out that “Uncle Georges” are important, too.

Others wished him a happy Father’s Day.

And some shot their shot and tried to get adopted by the erstwhile Sulu.

So Happy Father’s Day to all, from George Takei to anyone else who’s been dad-esque.

Even if Billie Eilish songs seem to get better on repeat listen, that’s not going to happen for the pop star herself. Why? Because Billie doesn’t listen to her songs once they’ve been released. In a new cover story with Rolling Stone the singer unpacked her relationship to her own music, and it’s not what fans might expect. According to Eilish, the music feels like such a specific moment in her life that she doesn’t want to go back. Though she realizes that listeners will be getting the music in a totally different moment than the one she wrote it in.

“It’s not because I don’t like it anymore, she said. “I don’t know how to explain this, but all the songs on the album feel like a specific time, because they feel like when I wrote them and made them. It’s so funny that to the rest of the world it’s going to feel like a certain moment for them, and it’s going to be so different than mine. That’s such a weird, weird thing to wrap my head around. And I will f*cking love it. I love it. That’s the reason you do this. It’s for that.”

Check out the full covery story here.

Maria Bartiromo doesn’t get the level of attention of a Tucker Carlson or a Sean Hannity, but it’s not for lack of trying. After all, the Fox News host is one of the people who got her employer sued for billions of dollars by Smartmatic. Formerly a fairly respected financial analyst, she rebranded as a Trump mouthpiece, repeating falsehoods about things like the 2020 election and about the Jan. 6 insurrection. Well, she’s finally had enough…of people calling her out for lying.

On Sunday, Bartiromo did an interview with Ron Johnson, the Wisconsin senator so far right that he’s gotten temporarily suspended by YouTube for spreading COVID-19 misinformation. They were discussing the Capitol storming, which both have tried to downplay. In the past, Johnson has tried to put the blame on Nancy Pelosi, not the then-president who egged his supporters on.

Bartiromo was angry that Pelosi keeps calling the deadly event as an “armed insurrection,” and Johnson was right there with her, claiming that no guns were recovered from the scene. (As per NBC News, there may not have been that many guns, but 39 defendants have been accused of wielding weapons such as “tomahawk axes, crowbars, flagpoles, a knife, an ice axe, a firecracker, a stun gun, baseball bats, fire extinguishers, a wooden club and chemical spray.”)

Baritromo then pivoted to a defense of her show in general, which has been routinely called out for spreading non-truths. “I am so incredibly proud of this team on Sunday Morning Futures and of working alongside you,” Bartiromo said. “We have been telling every story. We’ve been on the right side of it for seven years going. I’ve been trashed every day along the way.”

Then she twisted the knife. “Keep trashing me!” she shouted. “I’ll keep telling the truth.”

It was a moment eerily reminiscent of a certain classic Dril tweet, and while the second part is up for debate, the first only helped inspire many to do what she asked.

Some worried that Bartiromo was somehow getting even worse.

Others pointed out that, yes, there were weapons in the Capitol siege.

Others reminded people that she helped get her company sued.

And some thought she should be worried about her legacy, which ain’t looking good.

You can watch a clip from the segment in the video above.

(Via Raw Story)