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The Eras Tour has Swifties down under, losing their minds. But Taylor Swift’s presence has attracted attention from far more than fans. Beginning on February 16, Swift kicked off the Australian wing of the critically acclaimed tour. Given that the performance run marked the “Karma” singer’s first time in the country since 2018, and celebrities like Katy Perry were in attendance, the paparazzi were eager to grab a few images of the star.

Unfortunately, it appears that one photographer got a little too close for comfort. According to TMZ, Taylor’s dad, Scott Kingsley Swift, is reportedly under investigation for allegedly being involved in an altercation with a working pap. The outlet reports that the New South Wales police are looking into Ben McDonald’s claims that Swift allegedly assaulted him on February 27 (NSW time) at Neutral Bay Wharf in Sydney.

In the video obtained by TMZ, two figures shove each other to make clear space as they navigate with umbrellas. The footage doesn’t identify either party clearly, as an umbrella covers the lenses. A representative for Taylor reached out to TMZ to provide a statement regarding the incident.

“Two individuals were aggressively pushing their way towards Taylor, grabbing at her security personnel, and threatening to throw a female staff member into the water,” read the note.

The team provided an additional statement to Rolling Stone; they emphasized multiple individuals were vying to get closer to Taylor, causing an unsafe environment.

It’s not that FX tends to think small, but they do think grounded. Some recent shows include Reservation Dogs, about Indigenous teens in Oklahoma; The Bear, about Chicago restauranteurs; Justified: City Primeval, where U.S. Marshal Rylan Givens bounces around Detroit. With Shōgun, though, they’re going epic. It’s the latest small screen take on James Clavell’s 1975 doorstop, previously adapted for a much-watched 1980 miniseries (back when they called them that). It has the size and maybe also close to the violence of an HBO blockbuster, like Game of Thrones (to which it’s already been compared).

But when can one watch this fool thing?

The answer is: starting Tuesday, February 27. That’s when FX will drop its first two episodes. There are 10 in all, meaning the show will conclude by April 23.

Here’s how Uproxx previously described Shōgun’s plot:

The expansive story follows the outbreak of a 1600s civil war and also revolves around the accounts of an English ship captain, John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis), whose shop becomes marooned, which is the first step in him becoming pivotal in the conflict, particularly on the side of Lord Yoshii Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada), whose rule has been dragged into chaos by an opposing Council of Regents (i.e., “vultures”). However, Blackthorne and Toranaga must rely upon a translator, Toda Mariko (Anna Sawai), who is no mere impartial party.

The first time American TV adapted Shōgun, it turned Richard Chamberlain — already a fixture of TV films, to say nothing of his beloved ‘60s show Dr. Kildare — into the king of miniseries. Three years later he’d star in the far trashier The Thorn Birds, playing a horny priest who struggles to love God more than the young woman he once hooked up with.

Will the same happen to Cosmo Jarvis? Or what about Hiroyuki Sanada, a regular of Hollywood blockbusters — in the last two years alone he was in Bullet Train and John Wick: Chapter 4 — finally getting a splashy co-lead role? You can start finding out very soon, when the show airs on FX and streams on both Hulu and Disney+.

In the meantime, you can watch the trailer for Shōgun below.

Even though humans are biologically hard-wired to form strong attachments to our parents, in many cases, these relationships become estranged as the children age. A recent poll found that nearly 1 in 4 adults are estranged from their families.

Six percent are estranged from their mothers and 26% have no contact with their fathers. It’s believed that these days, more children are comfortable distancing themselves from their parents because it’s good for their mental health.

“I think it relates to this new desire to have healthy relationships,” Rin Reczek, a sociology professor at the Ohio State University, said, according to The Hill. “There might be some cultural shifts around people being allowed to choose who is in your family. And that can include not choosing to have the person who raised you be in your family.”

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The interesting thing is that when a mother finds herself estranged from a child, they are more likely to blame a third party, such as another family member or a spouse, than themselves.

But, studies show that when an adult child chooses to no longer have contact with a parent, it’s directly related to how they were raised and is most likely due to abuse, poor parenting, or a lack of support.

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A post shared by Erin O’Regan (@thecalmmother)

Erin O’Regan, known as TheCalMother on Instagram, shared the cold, hard truth of this lesson for estranged parents in an Instagram post that inspired passionate responses.

“Hard parenting pill to swallow: How your kids treat you when they are no longer in need of food and shelter, is a direct reflection of how you made them feel when they needed you to survive.”

In other words, parents who enjoy a positive relationship with their adult children probably did a good job when their kids were young. So, even though their children don’t need them to get by, they’re still around because they value their relationship and think they are great parents.

It was about love, not about a quid-pro-quo relationship.

This wasn’t the greatest news to parents who don’t have a relationship with their adult children and some responded with very hard feelings. “I don’t agree and as a Mother, I’m tired of the blame. What would I tell my grown child? Toughen up Buttercup,” Mimi Davis responded. The world is a tough place. Stop blaming people.”

However, a mother on TikTok took the message to heart as it related to her relationship with her parents as well as her children. Crystal Allon, a trauma and addiction recovery coach, discussed how her current relationship with her kids caused her to reflect on what she missed as a parent.

@fiftiesrediscovery

#stitch with @6ftofPureBrownSugar #intergenerationaltrauma #healyourself #healyourshit #speakyourtruth #parenting #estrangedparents #adultchildren

“How my children treat me now is a direct reflection of how I treated them when they were younger and needed me. This is very hard for parents to come to terms with. I think a lot of parents go, ‘That’s not true,’ this is where the disconnect comes,” she said. “As my kids grew up and they started to distance themselves from me, I kind of went, ‘What’s happening here?’ I looked at myself and now that I’m looking back on my children’s childhood, I’m recognizing some stuff that I really missed the mark on.”

There are countless reasons why parents and their children become estranged when they get older, and according to research, a big one is emotionally distant parenting. While this may be hurtful to some parents who aren’t in close contact with their children. The lesson is positive for all parents out there who are close with their adult kids. If your children are still in your lives and you enjoy a close relationship, it’s a great indicator that you should be positive about the job you did as a parent.

In November 2023, Sean “Diddy” Combs’ former girlfriend and Bad Boy Records singer Cassie accused the executive of several egregious acts. Although Diddy and his attorneys have vehemently denied Cassie’s claims, that hasn’t stopped others from making similar allegations. On Monday, February 26, another person has come forward.

According to paperwork secured by NBC News, Rodney “Lil Rod Madeit” Jones, Diddy’s former producer on The Love Album: Off The Grid, has named him in a new lawsuit. In the suit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Jones accuses Diddy of sexually harassing, drugging, and threatening him with physical harm between September 2022 and November 2023.

Diddy’s son, Justin Combs; chief of staff Kristina Khorram; Universal Music Group CEO Sir Lucian Grainge; and former Motown Records CEO Ethiopia Habtemariam are also listed as defendants in the case. According to Jones, several of the entities allegedly conspired together to aid Diddy in these alleged acts or, per the filing, “failed to adequately monitor, warn, or supervise.”

NBC News reports that as part of the suit, Jones is seeking punitive damages of upwards to $30 million, with him alleging that his personal and professional life have been “detrimentally impacted ever since.”

Jones is credited on the album tracks “Deliver Me,” “Homecoming,” “Need Somebody,” “Reachin,” and “Stay Part 1.”

Diddy’s attorney, Shawn Holley, released a statement denying Jones’ claims. “[Jones is] reckless[ly] name-dropping about events that are pure fiction and simply did not happen is nothing more than a transparent attempt to garner headlines,” said the rep. “We have overwhelming, indisputable proof that his claims are complete lies. Our attempts to share this proof with Mr. Jones’ attorney, Tyrone Blackburn, have been ignored, as Mr. Blackburn refuses to return our calls. We will address these outlandish allegations in court and take all appropriate action against those who make them.”

Post-credits scenes are nothing new. Even The Muppet Movie, from 1979, has Animal swinging by at the very end, telling audiences to scram. But for the last decade-and-a-half or so they’ve been all the rage. That’s mostly thanks to Marvel, who used them to get fans pumped for future MCU installments. Now it’s de rigueur to at least ask if a blockbuster will have one.

For instance, Dune: Part Two — does that one have a post-credits scene?

The answer: Like the first one, no. It could have one, though. While director Denis Villeneuve is taking a break from Frank Herbert’s agonizingly dense sci-fi futurescape, he does plan on returning for a threequel, when he would tackle the series’ second tome, Dune Messiah. (After that, he says, the books get, well, pretty weird. Besides, he’s a serious auteur, let the guy make some different movies. Six words: Hot human-sandworm hybrid who f*cks.)

The first Dune could have had a post-credits scene, too — a little something to keep audiences interested in a second half that hadn’t even begun filming at the time. (That’s partly because Warner Bros. wasn’t sure audiences would go for Dune, as the first time Hollywood tried to turn the doorstop into a movie, they got an underperforming future cult fave.)

Anyway, Dune: Part Two is already pretty long as is — some 167 minutes long, over 20 minutes longer than Goodfellas, which is itself really long. Feel free to bolt soon after it ends, which you can start doing when it hits theaters on March 1.

Could the wait be over? The wait for Cardi B’s long-awaited sophomore album that is. Today (February 26), the “Wap” rapper’s time of anxiously dragging her feet might have come to an end, and her fans couldn’t be more excited.

Cardi pulled out the good ‘ol social media wipe to lure followers in. A screenshot captured by news aggregator Pop Base revealed that Cardi replaced her profile images from Instagram and X’s (formerly Twitter) page. She even took it a step further by blacking out her banner image on X as well.

Immediately after the blackout, Cardi’s devoted superfans, Bardi Gang, began to flood X, which led the phrase, Bardi Blackout, to trend across the platform. Back in December, supporters pushed We Want Cardi into the app’s algorithm after buzz for Cardi’s collaboration with Megan Thee Stallion (“Bongos“) started to die out.

Despite her promise to release a follow-up in 2023, it’s been radio silent. But she could be on the verge of making it up to fans very soon. According to her husband and fellow rapper Offset, Cardi’s forthcoming music will put her back on top.

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

The Sex and the City sequel And Just Like That… has proven a more popular revival than others. But there’s been one character who’s scored lots of uproar: Sara Ramirez’s Che Diaz, the non-binary stand-up and podcaster who gets into a relationship with Cynthia Nixon’s Miranda Hobbes. The two broke up at the end of Season 2, and in January some of Ramirez’s Palestine-related posts got some speculating that they weren’t going to return.

Whatever the case, Che Diaz will not be back for Season 3.

Entertainment Weekly reported the news, though so far there’s no explanation for why Ramirez has been nixed. It could simply be that the show no longer has room for them now that they’re not hooking up with Miranda. Or, EW wonders, it might be related to Ramirez’s social media activity, much like how Melissa Barrera was let go from the Scream franchise for posts attacking Israel’s response to the Hamas terrorist attacks.

In January, Ramirez posted words similar to what Barrera had written. “While they give awards away, casting directors and agents are making black lists of actors and workers who post anything in support of Palestinians and Gaza to ensure they will not work again,” they wrote on Instagram. “While they lift up some of their own clients who have spoken up against this genocide, they are firing and letting others who have smaller platforms go.”

At the time a source close to Ramirez denied rumors that they had been let go.

But for now, pour one out for Che Diaz, a character who caused the person who plays them a fair amount of grief.

(Via EW)

Star Wars appeals to people of all stripes, even those the films’ creators would definitely say were more on the Dark Side than not. Case in point: A while back a Russian embassy account — part of an aggressor nation invading a less-equipped neighbor that has valiantly fought back — tried to paint themselves as the goodly Rebels. They even tried to dunk on Mark Hamill. Alas, they got dunked in return.

It all started in late 2022 when the aggressor nation’s embassy in South Africa got steamed about the Star Wars vet had supplied 500 drones to Ukraine to help them fend off their invaders. In a Twitter/X post, they claimed “Luke Skywalker has joined the Dark Side.”

It took nearly a year-and-a-half for Hamill — hardly on the side of Vladimir Putin or his good pal Donald Trump — to respond, but respond he did. “Hey @EmbassyRussia,” he wrote, “tell me you don’t understand #StarWars without telling me you don’t understand #StarWars. (hint: the Ukrainian people are the Rebels-YOU are the Evil Empire) Swing and a miss Russkies, but thanks for playing!”

Hamill added remains “profoundly honored to have answered the call from President Volodymyr @ZelenskyyUa to become an Ambassador of Drones to protect his country from your criminal invasion.”

George Lucas has long been very clear that the original Star Wars films were political works. They focus on rebels fighting a tyrannical government — the Galactic Empire in the original trilogy, the copycat First Order of the most recent one. Lucas has even said when he was writing the movies, his heroes were modeled after the Vietcong, the whole thing being an allegory for the Vietnam War.

Of course, lots of people can see themselves as the heroes of Star Wars, even when they have more in common with Palpatine and gang. Heck, broken brained Donald Trump seems to think he’s a “dissident” and not some ousted despot who may return to power while talking like a comic book villain.

(WARNING: Spoilers for the most recent Love Is Blind episode will be found below.)

Through nine episodes of Love Is Blind season 6, it’s clear that this season of the show could be one the most dramatic Love Is Blind has offered yet. Five couples made it out of the pods, and by the time episode nine concluded, there were only four left — Laura & Jeramey, Clay & AD, Jimmy & Chelsea, and Johnny & Amy. Kenneth and Brittany made it out of the pods, but after returning home from their honeymoon, the two decided to go their separate ways. Things aren’t perfect for the remaining couples though.

Jeramey and Laura ended episode nine on a sour note after a late-night interaction with Sarah Ann — who he made a connection with in the pods — was discovered by Laura. Clay and AD struggled a bit to get on the same page about how to delegate their free time while Jimmy and Chelsea seem okay now that they’ve met each others’ friends, but that was after Jimmy called Chelsea “clingy” which, of course, led to a huge argument. That leaves Johnny and Amy who, despite having a great and drama-free connection, have the seemingly unlikely acceptance from Amy’s parents looming over their hands. Now that you’re caught up on this season’s events. Here’s when the next

When Do Love Is Blind Season 6, Episodes 10 & 11 Come Out?

The tenth and eleventh episodes of Love Is Blind season six, titled “What Could Have Been” and “Rollercoaster Of Love,” respectively, will be available to stream on Netflix on February 28 at 3am EST/12 am PST. Episodes 10 and 11 and the last new release before the Love Is Blind season six finale which airs on Netflix on March 6 at 3am EST/12 am PST.

‘Love Is Blind’ season 6, episodes 10 and 11 will premiere on Netflix on February 28 at 3 am EST/12 am PST.

Emmy Russell, granddaughter of country music icon Loretta Lynn, proved that she was an artist in her own right during a recent episode of “American Idol.”

The 24-year-old singer-songwriter from Nashville auditioned in front of judges Lionel Richie, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan during the show’s Feb. 25 episode, during which she opened up about wanting to not live in her grandmother’s shadow.

“She’s one of the biggest country music singers of all time, but to me she’s just Grandma,” she said, adding “I think I am a little timid, and I think it is because I want to own my voice. That’s why I want to challenge myself and come out here.”

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Russell then went to the piano and sang an origin song titled “Skinny,” featuring raw lyrics about living with an eating disorder. All three judges were floored by her storytelling and soft, but powerful voice.

“You’re an A+ songwriter. So was your grandma. You got the gift. I don’t think you need to compare yourself to what Grandma was. You’re totally different. You shouldn’t give yourself all that pressure,” Perry said just before Russell was given the unanimous approval to go through to the show’s next round.

Viewers online seconded the sentiment. One person wrote, “apples don’t fall far from the tree. Her Grandma passed on the gift of songwriting, and now Emmy needs to take that gift and add her own special gifts to it. It’s your time to shine – enjoy the ride.”

Another added, “She definitely has a talent, and can tell a story in a song. With the right mentoring, and encouragement from people outside the family, she should fulfill the promise she shows, and step out of the Lynn shadow.”

Watch the full performance below:

Besides being a captivating performer, Loretta Lynn was known for writing deeply personal and honest lyrics. Russell does well by her role model, in a way that’s uniquely her own.