During the initial run of Breaking Bad, and for several years after, Anna Gunn was exposed to a shocking amount of sexist hate for her portrayal of Skyler White. The actress famously wrote an op-ed for The New York Times detailing the extreme amount of vitriol she received up to and including death threats. Series creator Vince Gilligan is still haunted by the reactions all because Gunn’s character had the wherewithal to question her husband’s actions as he became a meth dealer, which ended badly for him by the way.
However, Gunn has recently revealed that the situation has improved as TV audiences are becoming more sympathetic to the female characters caught in the maelstrom of their male partners. While promoting her new role in Sugar, Gunn said that she’s noticed a change in the reactions she gets to Skyler.
And now, when people come up to me, it’s incredibly different because of all the seismic changes that have happened. There’s still a long way to go, but we really have made seismic changes since then. So people come up to me now and say, “You were the linchpin for me. You were the conscience of the show. You were what pulled me into the show.” Or they say, “The first time I watched it, I hated that character. But the second time I watched it, I realized, ‘Oh my God, that poor woman.’”
For the most part, Gunn is proud that she called out the sexist reactions with her op-ed, but she also gets why those reactions happened.
“It’s a weird phenomenon. People love the antihero,” Gunn said. “They want to be the one saying, ‘Screw you,’ to their boss, and, ‘I’m going to do what I want.’ But Skyler was the only one calling out the lie.”
The detectives are out in full force as Taylor Swift has released her latest album, The Tortured Poets Department. Here’s one question they’ve devoted some time to:
Who Is Cassandra From Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department’ Album?
“The ravishing Cassandra, literally ‘she who entangles men,’ was the daughter of Priam and Hecuba, king and queen of Troy. The god Apollo, enamored of her, granted her the power of prophecy but, when she rejected him, sabotaged that power with a curse that no one would believe her predictions. During the legendary Trojan War, she foresaw the Greek strategy of the Trojan horse, but her warnings were scorned. Cassandra later married the Greek hero Agamemnon and had visions of trouble for both of them. Her husband paid no heed and the two of them were murdered by Clytemnestra, Agamemnon’s first wife.”
Indeed, that does line up with the song’s chorus, on which Swift sings, “So, they killed Cassandra first ’cause she feared the worst / And tried to tell the town / So, they filled my cell with snakes, I regret to say / Do you believe me now?”
The Tortured Poets Department is out now via Republic. Find more information here.
Netflix’s Baby Reindeer might have seemed like it came out of nowhere for the streaming masses, but for creator and lead actor Richard Gadd, he’s been living the nightmare for several years. The story revolves around Gadd’s real-life experiences being stalked by a woman for for years, and the situation was not only disturbing in and of itself but stirred up trauma from a sexual assault that he had experienced a few years prior. As you might expect, the show has triggering sections, but it’s also peppered with dark humor. For those and other reasons (including its brilliance), the show is reminiscent of Michaela Cole’s I May Destroy You that aired on HBO in 2020.
That limited series received viewer calls for a second season, which did not materialize because it was a limited series and probably also because Coel had wrapped up the story with such imperfect perfection that it would have been impossible to top. And now, there are questions swirling about whether similarly themed Baby Reindeer (which echoes Gadd’s stage show) will return for more, and the answer will likely be the same as with Coel’s series.
Will There Be A ‘Baby Reindeer’ Season 2?
With that said, Netflix hasn’t definitively answered whether the series is finished. However, this has been considered a limited series, so do not expect that to change. As Gadd previously told Tudum, “All I ever wanted to do was capture something complicated about the human condition. That we all make mistakes. That no person is ever good or bad. That we are all lost souls looking for love in our own weird way.”
Gadd also related how his original conception of the stage show turned into a force unto itself:
“I remember during a particularly long night of unrest; the idea came to me. To stage this whole ordeal, one day, when the time was right. What an opening, it might be, to layer the voicemails on top of one another and shoot them around a stage in a wash of projected light. A cacophony of oscillating words and sounds bending and mutating along with her different emotional states. Mirroring her madness. Mirroring my madness. I mean… what better way to start a show than to plunge the audience straight inside the horror of it all?”
Honey Bxby prefers to be blunt and get straight to the point. Beating around the bush is a waste of time and sugarcoating her truth isn’t the sweet life she imagined. This philosophy is present throughout her 2023 EP 3 Words, 8 Letters. Whether it be through provocative requests for the continuation of an addicting love on “Poseidon” or simply boasting about her sexual prowess on “P*ssy Power.” We also have the thrill of a spontaneous one-night stand as depicted on “Touchin’” which received the remix treatment from Kalii and Busta Rhymes. The point is: Honey Bxby always cuts to the chase.
Almost a year later, the game plan is the same as she gears up to release the deluxe version of 3 Words, 8 Letters. Look no further than “Fkn Him Too,” the SWV-sampling single that Honey Bxby uses to not only brag about sleeping with another woman’s man, but to make it clear that she and the unnamed woman are sharing the man in question. Talk about no f*cks given.
In her announcement for the deluxe of 3 Words, 8 Letters, Honey Bxby shared a message with her fans that was wrapped in her trademark honesty. “I’m officially out of my soft girl era, the old me? I deaded the b*tch as well as all ties to anyone who did me wrong,” she wrote. “I know it sucks for my sh*tty ass exes to watch me flourish when they wished bad on me [giggling emoji] REST IN PIECES. Honski is coming.”
In the spirit and keeping it real, we caught up with Honey Bxby to learn a little more about her and discover her influences, inspiration, aspirations, and more.
What is your earliest memory of music?
Probably 4/5 being in the crib with my father and listening to him and watching him make music.
Who inspired you to take music seriously?
Myself. I always wanted to make music and be someone, watching other people do it just gave me the motivation, especially when I found Kehlani. But it something I was always gonna do.
Do you know how to play an instrument? If so, which one? If not, which instrument do you want to learn how to play?
No I dont! I wanna learn how to play piano and guitar.
What was your first job?
Working at a daycare, I was a senior in high school. Those kids were stressful & I was getting paid pennies!
What is your most prized possession?
Everything I have!
What is your biggest fear?
Losing everything or getting stuck in a wild natural disaster like a tsunami.
If you could appear in a future season of a current TV show, which one would it be and why?
Honestly… it’s not a current show but Once Upon A Time if it was still on air because it’s my favorite show!
Which celebrity do you admire or respect for their personality and why?
Cardi B or Sexyy Red because they’re super raw and authentic. They don’t care nor do they try to fake anything when it comes to who they are.
Share your opinion on something no one could ever change your mind about.
Don’t wear open toe shoes when your feet aren’t done!
What is the best song you’ve ever heard in your life and what do you love about it?
Oh my God, I have no idea! There are so many! Right now, I’ve been blasting old PartyNextDoor and my favorite is “Sex On The Beach,” it just feels so good and reminds me of being young. That as well as “Latch” by Disclosure & Sam Smith, you can’t play one without the other.
What’s your favorite city in the world to perform, and what’s a city you’re excited to perform in for the first time?
I loved Toronto, I would love to go overseas though! Like London or Tokyo.
You are throwing a music festival. Give us the dream lineup of 5 artists that will perform with you.
Rihanna, Drake, Kehlani, PartyNextDoor, and Kanye West.
What would you be doing now if it weren’t for music?
I’m not sure.
If you could see five years into the future or go five years into the past, which one would you pick and why?
Five years in the future, just to make sure I’m 100% where I’m at. My past self already knew I was gonna overcome everything.
What’s one piece of advice you’d go back in time to give to your 18-year-old self?
Your time is coming when you least expect it. Continue to be 18 and figure yourself out.
It’s 2050. The world hasn’t ended, and people are still listening to your music. How would you like it to be remembered?
As that fire ass R&B queen! An icon, a legend, and a sweetheart.
3 Words, 8 Letters (Deluxe) is out 4/26 via Atlantic Records.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Despite riding a considerable amount of hype thanks to director Zack Snyder embarking on a massive marketing push, Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire arrived on Netflix to a barrage of negative reviews. Heading into the release of Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver, the marketing campaign has been far more reserved. However, the outcome is still the same: Another round of brutal reviews.
Much like A Child of Fire, The Scargiver appears to be plagued by all of the same problems (nonsensical plot, dull acting, too much slo-mo), and in some areas, even worse (the hair and makeup get a notable call-out). More than anything, the critical reactions mostly share a similar theme: The sequel doesn’t do much to justify Snyder making such an obvious clone of Star Wars.
Much as I might have hoped that the second and more concentrated half of Snyder’s sci-fi “Seven Samurai” would somehow atone for the sins of its previous chapter, I wasn’t exactly shocked to discover that it lacks any trace of a pulse from the moment it starts. Five months in the morgue can have that effect. Be that as it may, the sheer lifelessness of this Sora-like spectacle still manages to defy even the lowest of expectations.
What is more noticeable here than the previous film is the makeup and hair are given little attention to detail. This is surprising because at least in Snyder’s content, the actors look stunning. Here, everything looks caked and glued on. Almost as if the budget had run low in that department. In fact, the entirety of this movie reads like the budget ran low and everything that’s halfway comprehensible was put in the first part because that’s where the money is—based on visuals alone.
If you thought the previous installment was all build-up, you may be distressed to learn that the follow-up is…a lot more build-up. Although this time it’s a little faster-paced and leads to an extended battle sequence comprising roughly the film’s second half. It’s hard to tell, however, since Snyder employs so much of his trademark slow-motion that you get the feeling the movie would be a short if delivered at normal speed.
Ed Skrein’s antagonist performance stands out amid a sea of uninspired filler in Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver. Zack Snyder’s unsatisfying conclusion to his bombastic space opera is filled with flimsy character studies, exposition overload, and largely half-baked action sequences that rarely live up to the sci-fi classics it emulates. This finale is the cinematic equivalent of finishing a second-hand jigsaw puzzle only to find several pieces missing.
Set to Tom Holkenborg’s bombastic score, Gregorian chanting, and endless pew-pew-pews, Rebel Moon—Part Two: The Scargiver roars and rampages, yet its drama can’t match its aesthetic pomposity. A depressingly thin and lifeless saga of underdogs triumphing in the face of insurmountable odds, it trades only in formula and phony corner-cutting.
Rebel Moon almost certainly didn’t need to be two multiple-cut movies. It probably could have gotten by as zero. But as a playground for Snyder’s favorite bits of speed-ramping, shallow-focusing and pulp thievery, it’s harmless, sometimes pleasingly weird fun. (That said, the first part is better and weirder.) The large-scale pointlessness feels more soothing than his past insistence on attempting to translate Watchmen into a big-screen epic, or make Superman into a tortured soul. Even Rebel Moon’s shameless attempts at serialization – The Scargiver essentially ends with another extended sequel tease, this time for a movie that stands a decent chance of never happening – feel freeing, because they excuse Snyder from the uncomfortable business of staging an apocalyptic showdown, or, worse, imparting a mournful philosophy.
Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver is available for streaming on Netflix.
More than just about any musician today, Taylor Swift is known for working elements of her personal life into her lyrics. So, with her new album The Tortured Poets Department out now, fans have been combing through the tracklist. Some lyrics have been identified as potentially being about Travis Kelce, so let’s check them out.
“So High School”
“I feel so high school every time I look at you
I wanna find you in a crowd just to hide from you.”
“Are you gonna marry, kiss, or kill me?
It’s just a game, but really.”
Swift has been spotted in crowds with Kelce on multiple occasions, whether they’re celebrating the Super Bowl or enjoying Coachella. The “marry, kiss, or kill” line could also be a sly reference to an old video of Kelce playing that game with Swift, Ariana Grande, and Katy Perry.
“The Alchemy”
“So when I touch down
Call the amateurs and cut ’em from the team.”
“These blokes warm the benches
We’ve been on a winning streak.”
These lyrics make references to sports terms, an apparent nod to Kelce’s NFL career.
“But Daddy I Love Him”
“I’ll tell you somethin’ right now
You ain’t gotta pray for me
Me and my wild boy, and all of his wild joy.”
It didn’t take much convincing for some fans to believe that “wild boy” refers to Kelce and his exuberant nature.
The Tortured Poets Department is out now via Republic. Find more information here.
Jimmy Kimmel has pulled some evil pranks over the years on Jimmy Kimmel Live, but this one might be the most sinister. During Thursday’s episode, Kimmel and his man-on-the-street team tricked Swifties into thinking they were releasing to a brand-new Taylor Swift song. But it was actually the latest single from Lara Trump, the wife of Donald Trump’s sweaty son Eric.
“Taylor Swift’s album isn’t the only major release this month,” Kimmel said. “It’s the biggest, but we also got a new single a couple weeks ago from RNC co-chair and former first daughter-in-law Lara Trump.” The song, “Talking to That Little Girl,” begins with, “Talking to that little girl / Riding on the pegasus / In this hurricane life / You still gotta spread your wings and fly.”
A Taylor Swift song, this ain’t.
After calling Trump “Taylor Not Too Swift,” Kimmel shared his opinion of the song (“terrible”), but admitted that maybe he’s biased (he and Lara’s father-in-law have a, uh, history). “I recused myself from this jury and I turn it over to the people,” he said. “We went to the farmers market here in Los Angeles, and we told shoppers strolling by that we had a sneak preview of a new album from a big artist.” They thought they were hearing a song from The Tortured Poets Department, but boy, they were in for a surprise. The nicest thing anyone had to say was that it sounds “really, really robotic — more like AI.”
You can watch the reactions in the video above around 8:50.
Let’s run through the lyrics of “Thank You Aimee,” but first, it’s important to note that the song title is stylized “thanK you aIMee,” with the capitalized letters spelling out “Kim.”
The track starts, “When I picture my hometown / There’s a bronze spray-tanned statue of you / And a plaque underneath it / That threatens to push me down the stairs, at our school.” This line perhaps alludes to Kardashian’s history with tanning.
Soon after that is the chorus, on which Taylor sings, “All that time you were throwing punches, I was building something / And I can’t forgive the way you made me feel / Screamed ‘F*ck you, Aimee’ to the night sky, as the blood was gushin’ / But I can’t forget the way you made me heal.” This would seem to be a reference to the whole “Famous” situation.
Some have interpreted the official Taylor Nation account posting the “f*ck you Aimee” lyric with a Reputation-era Eras Tour GIF as a Kardashian reference.
Perhaps the most notable alleged Kardashian reference is this bridge towards the end of the song:
“And maybe you’ve re-framed it
And in your mind, you never beat my spirit black and blue
I don’t think you’ve changed much
And so I changed your name, and any real defining clues
And one day, your kid comes home singing
A song that only us two is gonna know is about you.”
Swift appears to be nodding to the fact that she’s singing about a figure named Aimee and not Kim, while the “your kid” bit may be a reference to the time North West shared a video of herself and Kardashian dancing to a Swift song.
The Tortured Poets Department is out now via Republic. Find more information here.
What Does Taylor Swift Say About Charlie Puth On The Tortured Poets Department?
At the start of the song’s second verse, Swift sings, “You smoked, then ate seven bars of chocolate / We declared Charlie Puth should be a bigger artist.”
Once the track dropped, social media was filled with memes about Charli being pleasantly surprised by the mention:
Charlie Puth when he wakes up in the morning & sees a ton of streams on his music pic.twitter.com/uJUvfux7fi
That’s not the only name-drop in the song, as Swift sings in the chorus, “I laughed in your face and said, ‘You’re not Dylan Thomas, I’m not Patti Smith / This ain’t the Chelsea Hotel, we’re modern idiots.’”
The following line is also believed to be about Lucy Dacus and Jack Antonoff: “Sometimes, I wonder if you’re gonna screw this up with me / But you told Lucy you’d kill yourself if I ever leave / And I had said that to Jack about you, so I felt seen / Everyone we know understands why it’s meant to be.”
Listen to “The Tortured Poets Department” above.
The Tortured Poets Department is out now via Republic. Find more information here.
Charlie Puth is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Steven and Ian begin this week’s episode by talking about shows they plan on seeing this weekend — Ian is going to check out the buzzy retro-pop master Cindy Lee while Steven is venturing to Las Vegas to see Phish play the Sphere. They also briefly touch on the iffy-looking Taylor Swift album out today, The Tortured Poets Department, which has high “unintentional comedy” potential.
From there they follow up on last week’s Coachella discussion to cover some of the festival’s viral performances, which also happen to be the biggest trainwrecks of the opening weekend: Blur’s indifferently received spot and Grimes’ glitch-filled DJ set. Then they review two albums out today by veteran rock acts: Pearl Jam’s Dark Matter and Cloud Nothings’ Final Summer. Do they still have the juice? The guys hash it out.
In Recommendation Corner, Ian recommends Chanel Beads and Steven raves about the new single by Ben Seratan.
New episodes of Indiecast drop every Friday. Listen to Episode 185 here and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. You can submit questions for Steve and Ian at [email protected], and make sure to follow us on Instagram and Twitter for all the latest news. We also recently launched a visualizer for our favorite Indiecast moments. Check those out here.
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