Phoebe Bridgers debuted her highly-anticipated sophomore record Punisher during the pandemic lockdown. Since the singer wasn’t able to tour behind the album, she was forced to get creative about sharing her music via livestreams, like when the singer sang from her bathtub on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and hosted a “world tour” with stops in her kitchen, bathroom, and bed. So when Bridgers was asked to bring her music to an at-home NPR Tiny Desk concert, the singer found the perfect location to accompany her wistful ballads — the White House’s Oval Office (a decent replica, anyway).
Poised infront of a green screen, Bridgers and her band projected themselves behind the Oval Office’s iconic desk for their performance. Bridgers dressed up in her best power suit while her backup band sported secret service-like attire, complete with black suits and ear pieces. After giving a rendition of her Punisher single “Kyoto,” Bridgers introduced herself with: “I hope everybody’s enjoying their apocalypse.”
Along with singing “Kyoto,” Bridgers and her band performed the lovelorn track “Moon Song” and closed the set with her doomsday-ready song “I Know The End.” For the closing track, Bridgers and her band crowdsourced videos of fans dancing along to the track in their cars, homes, and even a graveyard.
Watch Phoebe Bridgers perform from the “Oval Office” in her NPR Tiny Desk Concert above.
September is National Bourbon Heritage Month. This means that there’s no better time to finally purchase that bottle of bourbon whiskey you’ve been wanting to try and get to know the corn-based American-born spirit. But before you go out and grab a bottle of the first bourbon you see, you should learn a little about the spirit.
Like just about anything that causes you to have fuzzy memory, the origins of bourbon are hotly debated. Most stories of its genesis begin with Elijah Crag back in 1789. The Baptist minister opened a distillery in Georgetown, Kentucky. While he might not have technically invented bourbon, he’s the first on record to age corn whiskey.
Besides the origins of bourbon, you should also know the technical guidelines. To be called a bourbon, the spirit must be made up of at least 51 percent corn, it must be distilled to no more 160 proof, it must be aged in new, charred American oak casks for a minimum of two years, and it can’t be added to the barrel at higher than 125 proof.
Whew. Now it’s time to have a drink (or two). Since you’re new to the bourbon game, I decided to list my personal favorite gateway bourbons. Get acquainted with these classic bottles and you’ll be well on your way to embracing this truly American spirit.
There’s likely no better bourbon to get yourself acquainted with the style than Maker’s Mark. The iconic red wax-dipped bottle is easy to find at your local liquor store and for good reason. Made with corn and red winter wheat (instead of the usual rye), this consistently great bourbon is mellow and supremely easy to drink whether you’re new to whiskey or a seasoned veteran of the style.
Tasting Notes:
From the first nose, Maker’s Mark is exactly what you hope your bourbon is going to be. Your nostrils will be filled with the aromas of rich, toasted oak, sweet vanilla, and caramel. The first sip brings forth epic corn sweetness, sticky toffee, and subtle dried fruit flavors. The finish is long and warming, with subtle wheat and honey flavors.
Bottom Line:
If you’re only going to pick up one bottle to get started on your journey, make it Maker’s Mark. You won’t be disappointed with your selection.
One of Maker’s Mark’s biggest rivals is Wild Turkey. Once you’ve sipped on the aforementioned Maker’s Mark, it’s time to graduate to Wild Turkey 101. That’s because, while the latter was full of winter wheat, this whiskey starts with corn, but ends with a solid hit of spicy rye. It’s aged in charred American white oak barrels and bottled at 101 proof for a bold, rich flavor perfect for cocktails or slow sipping.
Tasting Notes:
This is a high-proof whiskey and its quite noticeable of the first nose. On top of the spicy ethanol scent, you’ll find vanilla and rich, toasted oak. The first sip yields toffee, caramel, and gentle cinnamon. From there, you’ll find hints of butterscotch and subtle rye spice. The finish is long, dry, and full of more peppery spice that’s extra pleasing a cool fall day.
Bottom Line:
This is a great slow sipper for a cool, fall evening. The higher alcohol content should warm you up, even if you forgot your jacket at home.
The flagship bourbon from Buffalo Trace Distillery, this iconic bourbon has been made the same way for more than 200 years. While there’s no age statement, it’s believed that this juice is at least eight years old. It’s low in rye grains, made up of no more than 40 barrels at a time, and aged in the middle of rickhouses in order to benefit from the most moderate temperatures. These reasons and its low-price tag should guarantee that this bourbon permanently finds a spot in your liquor cabinet.
Tasting Notes:
This whiskey deserves a nosing before you taste it. You’ll be met with toasted oak, dried leather, and sweet vanilla. The first sip brings forth hints of butterscotch, more vanilla, sweet corn, caramel, and just a hint of cinnamon. The finish is mellow, long, and dry, with flavors of oak and dried fruits.
Bottom Line:
Great for sipping or mixing into your favorite cocktails, you’ll go back to this well-rounded bottle year after year.
Often times, Evan Williams doesn’t get the respect it deserves and that’s likely because it’s so cheap. Even if we don’t try to, we sometimes equate quality with price. True bourbon fans know that even though this is a bargain bottle, it’s a perfect gateway bourbon. Named for Evan Williams — the man who opened the first-ever distillery in Kentucky — the brand’s single barrel offering has won numerous awards and is made from casks hand-selected by the master distiller.
Tasting Notes:
From the first nose, you’ll be met with toasted oak, sweet vanilla, and subtle baking spices. The first sip brings you hints of sweet corn, rich caramel, sticky toffee, candied orange peels, and cinnamon apples. The finish is long, smooth, and ends with just a wisp of peppery spice.
Bottom Line:
Sure, you could grab a bottle of Evan Williams Black Label for under $20, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a better single barrel offering with this level of quality at this price point.
Another offering with no age statement, Four Roses says that its small-batch is aged between 6 and 7 years. It’s made from four original bourbon recipes that were picked by master distiller Brent Elliot for their mellow, easy to drink flavors. It’s super high in corn content (75%) and is made from two different mash bills and five yeast strains.
Tasting Notes:
From the first sniff, you’re met with vanilla, toasted oak, and cinnamon. The first sip brings forth the high corn content with sweet corn flavor followed by dried fruits, cooking spices, and toffee. The finish is very long, warming, and full of sweet vanilla, butterscotch, and just a hint of spice at the very end.
Bottom Line:
When it comes to small-batch bourbons, it’s hard to top Four Roses. It’s perfect for your favorite whiskey-based cocktail or on the rocks while you sit by an end of season campfire.
This high corn bourbon is the original small-batch whiskey. It’s been made longer than the term has even existed. It carries no age statement, but it’s so mellow, sweet, and sippable that you shouldn’t even care. It’s made up of barrels selected from the middle of Heaven Hill’s barrelhouses, it’s always high-quality, and has earned its stripes as one of the best bargains in the bourbon world.
Tasting Notes:
The first nose yields Christmas spices, toasted vanilla, and pecans. The first sip brings forward cinnamon, sweet caramel, honey, and charred oak. The finish is long, dry, sweet, with hints of nutmeg final flourish of peppery spice.
Bottom Line:
Don’t waste this bottle on cocktails. Its high corn content and expertly selected casks makes it one of the best beginner sipping bourbons on the market.
Christopher Osburn has spent the last fifteen years in search of “the best” — or at least his very favorite — sips of whisk(e)y on earth. In the process, he’s enjoyed more whisk(e)y drams than his doctor would dare feel comfortable with, traveled to over 20 countries testing local spirits, and visited more than fifty distilleries.
Chika may not love playing the Industry Games she lamented of on her debut EP, but the XXL Freshman continues to make all the right moves as all eyes watch to see what she does next. Just weeks after making her film debut in Project Power — where she also contributed to the soundtrack and to the lead character’s vocabulary-twisting rhymes — Chika hits the small screen for a stirring performance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
The stripped-down performance features nothing more than Chika standing center stage in a darkened performance space surrounded by her usual band, rapping and singing her way through a medley of “High Rises” and “Crown.” “High Rises” was Chika’s first commercially available single after going viral with a freestyle video criticizing Kanye West for his support of Donald Trump while “Crown” is taken from Industry Games, where it provides an inspirational closer and sets the table for her upcoming full-length debut.
The Alabama star has come a long way since being shouted out by Cardi B, going from bedroom freestyles to collaborations with Charlie Wilson and planning country songs with Snoop. Her superpower seems to be the ability to manifest success and unlike the film where she made her acting debut, it looks like her powers will last a lot longer than five minutes.
Chika is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Okay, that is a lie. As I write this I am sitting on a couch in my apartment in Manhattan, a couch I’ve sat on a depressingly large amount of time over the last, oh, six months or so. But, yes, for the last nine years this would be the first day of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). Which, professionally, is my favorite day of the year – knowing I have a week ahead of me of watching some of the best movies of the year in a climate that feels a lot like the first day back at college, seeing a lot of familiar faces pass by in the halls on the way to whatever theaters we are all headed to at any given moment.
My first TIFF was in 2011, just a couple weeks after I was hired at Huffington Post. It was my first film festival I ever covered and, being there, really gave me my first feeling of, oh, wow, I’m really doing this job for real. What’s weird is, over the next nine years, that feeling never went away on that first day. I never take this job for granted and knew, each year, it could be my last and that’s why I always soaked up each and every moment of being there. And as it turns out, in 2019 I was right to do so because, now, I’m not there, for reasons that are pretty obvious.
Anyway, yes, this year’s Toronto Film Festival is a hybrid of drive-in outdoor screenings (for people already in Canada, us Americans aren’t really allowed in the country) and virtual online screenings. So, yes, I have to admit, it was a little depressing realizing I had to watch my first big festival movie of the year, Regina King’s excellent One Night in Miami…, at my apartment instead of at the Princess of Wales or Scotiabank (okay, I just made myself sad again thinking about that), but this movie is so good, those forlorn feelings went away rather quickly.
Based on Kemp Powers’ play (he also wrote the screenplay), One Night In Miami… is about the night in 1964 when young Muhammad Ali (who, then, and in the film, was still going by Cassius Clay) beat Sonny Liston to become boxing’s heavyweight champion. What the film depicts is what happened after the fight, as Ali (Eli Goree) went back to his hotel and hung out with Jim Brown (Aldis Hodge), Malcolm X (Kingsley Ben-Adir, who is also fantastic as President Obama in The Comey Rule) and Sam Cooke (Leslie Odom Jr.). This evening, with these four historical figures, really happened (and here’s Jim Brown talking about that night recently).
It probably doesn’t come as a huge surprise that, since it’s based on a play, there’s a lot of talking in this “imagined” account of what transpired that night. Often in one setting. But the conversations are pretty fascinating as the four men grapple with their own fame and how that translates what they can and should be doing for Black people in America. Most of the tension and drama surrounds Malcolm X, as the other three men all have their own ideas of what they should be doing.
Jim Brown just kind of wants to retire and become a movie star and doesn’t always quite understand why they (all gifted athletes and/or performers) are listening to Malcolm X in the first place. And he certainly thinks Ali changing his name is a bad idea. (Brown retired from football at age 29, which is probably a big reason he’s still alive today. This is not lost on the film, as Ali says he wants to box until he’s way past his prime, which in reality had devastating effects.) Sam Cooke is berated at times for his perceived tendency to want to impress white people (also, at least in this film, Cooke is not a fan of Jackie Wilson). Ali is the most impressed with what Malcolm X has to say, at least until Malcolm reveals he’s leaving the Nation of Islam to start a new organization, which makes Ali feel used and even more tension breaks out.
This is Regina King’s directorial debut. She has an eclectic filmography as an actor that spans from Boyz n the Hood to Jerry Maguire to Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous to her Oscar-winning performance in If Beale Street Could Talk. Look, I’ve never directed a movie, but taking on something like this as a first film at least seems pretty difficult because so much rides on getting performances out of the actors. Without that, the story itself doesn’t hit because the story is from what everyone is saying. Oh, yeah, and add in that the four people being portrayed are four of the most important figures from the 20th century.
But what a debut film it is. She gets just the right amount of tension and angst out of these four actors in a way that still makes it believable they might all still be friends or want to hang out together in the first place. It’s a movie about agendas. Of course, Malcolm X has an agenda for these three famous performers – a particularly tense scene is when one of Malcolm’s security guards tries to tell Jim Brown what to do – but they, too, all have their own agendas. And over the course of the film, they all find out of any of their own personal agendas overlap in any way for a greater purpose.
Here’s the upside of the state of film festivals during the 2020 pandemic. I have no doubt One Night in Miami… would be getting a considerable amount of buzz, even in a normal awards and festival season. But it’s a movie that hasn’t sold yet. And at a normal Toronto Film Festival, it would be competing for that buzz against all the money from the big studios. Don’t forget, even something like Joker played at festivals last year. But now, with both a lot of the studio movies either eschewing the festival circuit (like all of Netflix’s movies) or just not being ready yet since productions had to stop back in March, a movie like One Night in Miami… actually, and rightfully, gets center stage.
There’s a scene midway through Unpregnant that sums up the new HBO Max teen road trip movie’s peculiar, pitch-perfect blend of political commentary and wildly riotous comedy. Barbie Ferreira and Haley Lu Richardson, the film’s leads, are racing across a dusty desert, being chased by a Bible-thumping pro-lifer in a souped-up RV camper. It’s Travis from Clueless, a grown-up Breckin Meyer trying to shame Richardson’s Veronica out of her decision to get an abortion with pancakes and some light kidnapping. If that doesn’t work, he’ll just drive them off a cliff.
It seems surreal, extreme, improbable, as does most of the action in this movie which follows Richardson’s Veronica and Ferreira’s Bailey — two former best friends on a cross-country trek to deal with their own respective personal issues – as they outrun the cops, make pit-stops at fairground drag races, and recruit the services of Giancarlo Esposito’s paranoid libertarian limo driver on their journey to freedom (from an unplanned fetus). But despite the chaotic, dangerous, darkly comedic odyssey for these two — a Thelma & Louise / Mad Max: Fury Road crossover adventure that taps into the social discourse in a way few teen movies have done before — there’s a lot of truth rooted in their absurd mishaps.
It’s that truth that persuaded Ferreira, last seen on HBO’s breakout teen drama Euphoria, to chose it as her feature film debut, despite not having a driver’s license and generally disliking real-life road trips. We chatted with Ferreira about making smart content for Gen Z, the timely message behind the film, and yes, that Euphoria-inspired One Direction fanfiction debacle.
This is a really unique teen road trip comedy. Was there something in particular that you hadn’t seen before in a movie like this?
I was drawn to how it tied in something that we’re all familiar with — a teen movie or a road trip movie — with this uncharted territory of reproductive rights and healthcare access. It was beautifully blended and balanced. It shows the perspective of these two girls who go on a crazy adventure with lots of obstacles, just for a simple procedure that should be accessible for everybody. It makes it so light and also, at times, heavy and at times really funny — the whole spectrum of emotion that is to be a teenager on an adventure of any sort.
You play a rebellious teenager on Euphoria. What makes Bailey different?
I love to use humor to deflect a lot of emotions and I think I brought that to Bailey. [She’s] someone who’s quick-witted and inappropriately joking all the time. [She] has her own opinions that are very, very strong, and [there’s] also the vulnerability of a teenager who is lost and doesn’t know how to process anything.
Were you aware of how stigmatized abortion and women’s reproductive health are before taking this thing on?
I’ve been privileged enough to live in New York and LA, which I think has more facilities and more medical care for reproductive things, for birth control, for testing, for all these things. I didn’t take it for granted, but I really thought that it wasn’t as hard as it was. You have to go across state lines in a lot of states. A lot of people don’t have that option, they don’t have enough money to do that, they don’t have enough time, they can’t tell their parents. Really, we should all have access to safe and legal abortions, and we should all have access to reproductive care at any time.
I think it’s really important to say because these things are incredibly difficult already to access and it’s only getting worse, there are so many laws coming out that are like the “six-week rule.” It’s really putting Planned Parenthood and a lot of these facilities out of practice and they’re painting these facilities as these evil organizations. I’m like, “That’s where most people can afford to get tested, to get ultrasounds, to get so many things.” We’re so ashamed about sex that we can’t even talk about healthcare for it. You know what I mean? It’s just like, “Don’t ask and don’t talk about it.” All these things.
There are some wild moments in the girls’ abortion journey. There’s a kind of Get Out scene with Breckin Meyer, the dude who played Travis in Clueless. It’s all so surreal, but there’s some truth rooted in it, no? These crazies really do exist.
Yeah, I think that whole situation with the family was a horror movie. Those crisis centers absolutely exist. It’s when people pretend to be abortion clinics, but they’re just basically harassing people to not get abortions and telling them straight-up lies. It’s a big problem because they’re spreading misinformation and they’re shaming people and there’s already a lot of guilt with sex and pregnancy and abortion. We don’t need any more of that. So that was unfortunately a little bit realistic. I don’t know about the car chase though.
I’m sure it’s happened, but even so, I appreciate the humor. I also think it’s interesting that this isn’t a movie about a girl crying because she has to get an abortion.
Right? It doesn’t always have to be highly traumatizing. I think it’s pretty common for people to feel relief or to feel like they have a weight off their shoulders. Those stories are also as valid as these really emotional stories. I think it paints abortion in a weird way if the only thing you see is women crying on the floor for three hours about these decisions and being on the fence and not knowing what they want. A lot of people find out they’re pregnant and they’re like, “I don’t want this right now. I’m going to make this decision. I’m unwavering in that decision and that’s my choice. And I’m not feeling all these emotions towards it, if anything, it’s more anxiety.”
Speaking of car chases, were you behind the wheel for any of those Fast and Furious moments?
[Laughs] Well, I don’t have a driver’s license. I don’t drive. I’m from New York. I had a permit. I tried desperately to get my license before. I got to drive a little bit. I pulled into a lot of parking lots, but the crazy driving is by no means me.
There’s also a pivotal scene on a fairground ride. I won’t spoil it, but how the hell did you guys film that?
That was one of the toughest days. God, we went on it eight times. It’s one thing if it’s just us screaming but when you’re saying things… it was extremely hard. It was a lot of Dramamine. Lots of breaks.
With Booksmart, Euphoria, and now Unpregnant, it feels like maybe teen movies and TV shows are finally catching on to how smart their audience is. Do you think the genre’s changing?
I think a lot of times people dumb things down or water things down for teens and young adults. In this day and age, if you’re still doing that, it’s really tired and old. Kids are well-informed, they know a lot. I think this movie shows two characters that are very strong-willed and opinionated, and it does not revolve around their love life, it does not revolve around talking about boys or whatever these stereotypes are. And I think they’re incredibly lovable and also deeply flawed. And I think that’s what people are.
I’ve heard of it. I don’t know any information on it though, honestly.
We can’t talk about teen fandom without mentioning that One Direction fanfiction scandal from season one. Do you still get messages from fans about that?
[Laughs] Yeah, I do. The fans are really protective of the band. I personally saw nothing wrong with it. Literally millions of people write fan fiction about these two people and all we did was animate it, similar to South Park or to an SNL skit. It’s a parody of real things, it’s not like we made it up. It’s something that I don’t see a big problem with, but I do respect people’s opinions. These kids are young, and they really love One Direction. And I respect that because I was young and loved One Direction at one point as well.
Despite finding himself in the crosshairs of criticism after the Milwaukee Bucks suffered a defeat at the hands of the Miami Heat in round two of the playoffs this week, head coach Mike Budenholzer’s job is not in jeopardy, according to a report from Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Rival executives expect guard Eric Bledsoe could become available as the Bucks retool their roster, but they are reportedly not willing to move on from Budenholzer yet.
From Charania:
As for head coach Mike Budenholzer, he is safe, according to sources. This much is certain, though: Across the Bucks‘ leadership group, there’s an understanding everyone must learn from this season and be better. They need to continue building a winning mentality, stocking the roster with key decision-makers.
Much of the criticism toward Budenholzer came because of his rotations and the restrictive minutes load he placed on his star players, especially Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton, and yet the final straw for Milwaukee in the series was an injury to Antetkounmpo.
It seems that rather than being reactive toward a coach who has led Milwaukee to incredible regular-season success the past two years, the Bucks will aim to put together a roster better suited to compensate for the weaknesses that the team currently has.
Despite multiple crises happening in America and the release of damaging interviews with Bob Woodward (including details of him lying to the public about a deadly virus) for his new book, Rage, President Donald Trump fired off a celebratory tweet on Thursday morning praising the health of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.
“Kim Jong Un is in good health,” Trump tweeted. “Never underestimate him!”
Like many of the president’s tweets, the praise for Kim is spectacularly ill-timed. In addition to revealing that Trump was fully aware of the danger of COVID-19 and deliberately chose to downplay its severity to the public, Woodward’s book also portrayed a concerning relationship between Trump and Kim, which included at least 27 “love letters” between the two men. Via Washington Post:
Trump was taken with Kim’s flattery, Woodward writes, telling the author pridefully that Kim had addressed him as “Excellency.” Trump remarked that he was awestruck meeting Kim for the first time in 2018 in Singapore, thinking to himself, “Holy shi*t,” and finding Kim to be “far beyond smart.” Trump also boasted to Woodward that Kim “tells me everything,” including a graphic account of Kim having his uncle killed.
Trump did not share his letters to Kim — “Those are so top secret,” the president said — but Woodward obtained them independently. He writes that Trump sent Kim a copy of the New York Times featuring a picture of the two men on the front page. “Chairman, great picture of you, big time,” Trump wrote on the paper in marker. (Trump falsely boasted to Woodward: “He never smiled before. I’m the only one he smiles with.”)
With the revelations from Woodward’s book in the air, along with raging wild fires in California, the reactions to Trump praising Kim were swift and fierce.
Oh thank God! I was so worried about him. So glad he’s doing well. Also you helped kill 200,000 Americans https://t.co/lrYOOVkRvX
Doja Cat‘s come a long way since “Mooo!” After the quirky star introduced herself to the world with the goofy, viral track, her second album, Hot Pink, received way more buzz than her equally excellent debut, Amala, spawning a No. 1 hit single and launching her into the upper echelon of pop-hip-hop stardom. She’s since been working on — and teasing tracks from — her third album, which she recently revealed in an interview with Fat Joe is complete. There is, however, a catch.
The “Say So” star dropped by Fat Joe’s livestream to reveal why she can’t just drop the follow-up to Hot Pink. “It’s all ready,” she said in the clip. “I hate that I’m holding onto it right now.” But she says she has a good reason for doing so. “Every time I go on Twitter or go on Instagram, I see everyone saying, ‘Put it out.’ You have to plan things accordingly and there’s a lot going on. So, to just drop everything tomorrow — yeah, I’d love for you to hear it, but you can’t just be doing stuff like that. It’s not the same that it used to be.”
.@DojaCat reveals to @FatJoe her third studio album is complete but she’s waiting for the perfect time to drop:
“It’s all ready. I hate that I’m holding onto it right now….I see everyone saying ‘put it out.’ You have to plan things accordingly.”
As Doja notes, her fans, especially those who’ve been following her since her SoundCloud days or who have become accustomed to watching her oddball livestreams where she often previews new music long before it releases, are likely used to her usual M.O. of putting out new material on her own schedule. But she’s also right about having to make sure it’s truly ready and presented in a way that fans have also gotten used to. She does have an encouraging consolation for those impatient with the wait, though:
“They are gonna get an album that I 100 percent am ready to drop and am overly excited to put that out.”
Watch Fat Joe’s full interivew with Doja Cat above.
Though he’s admitted that he’s never voted because he didn’t think he could, Snoop Dogg isn’t afraid to speak out against the president. Last year in January, Snoop laid out his views about the partial government shutdown, calling Trump a “punk motherf*cker.” Now, Snoop is back at it again, this time detailing the long list of people the president has mocked, disrespected, or recently called “losers.”
In a video posted to Instagram, Snoop slammed Trump as “a racist” and called upon the next president to “show up and deliver.” The rapper said the president has been disrespectful towards transgender people, women, Black people, and now, veterans. “Who else is missing from the presidents list,” Snoop asked in the caption to which a fan replied: “U forgot Muslims & Arabs.”
“So me and my homeboys, we up here talking about all the people that Trump disrespected: women, gays, trangenders, Blacks, Mexicans, Asians, and now, veterans. Hm, seems like he disrespecting every color in the world and everything that ain’t what he is, which, is a racist. So, with that being said, people that voted for him got exactly what they wanted. He gave them what he said he was going to give them. So the next motherf*ckin’ president, tell us what we gon’ get for your vote and you better show up and deliver. Period. We just want some peace, love, equality, and tranquility for everybody. All lives.”
Tom Hanks has been clear enough after his COVID-19 experience. America’s dad came for people who refuse to wear masks before declaring that he’s got zero patience left on the subject and questions the patriotism of anti-maskers. A lot of people are onboard with his stance, but it’s also apparent that a lot of people don’t feel the same way. That latter group tends to be highly vocal and (from my experience, at least) even pushes back, publicly, while somehow feeling offended by seeing people wearing masks. And that’s what Kaley Cuoco, TV’s Harley Quinn voice, is dealing with, bizarrely enough, simply for posting a video of herself wearing one in an enclosed setting: the gym.
Here’s the video (and the comments section is a nightmare). I already respect that she’s able to jump rope for 20 minutes because, let’s face it, that’s always a demanding (and arguably miserable) workout. Adding a mask makes things even more difficult, but Cuoco doesn’t seem fazed to the slightest degree.
Plenty of commenters are very here for her masked efforts and called Cuoco both “responsible” as well as a “great example and role model.” However, there’s a vocal contingent that’s rage-typing that she should “Take off the mask !!” It’s a strange statement to toss at someone who’s simply doing their thing and not hurting anyone, but “[w]ith mask workout is very dangerous” or something. Never mind that athletes often wear masks for other reasons, like while they’re outside in cold climates or attempting to simulate altitude training effects. Cuoco ended up stepping into the comments with a self-defense, as quoted by People:
“For everyone and their mask comments. I wear a mask when I’m in an enclosed space around others, which I was. I also wear a mask when I’m outside around others. I’m protecting myself and everyone around me That’s why I choose to wear a mask. Thanks for playing.”
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(@GimmeObama) 
