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If you haven’t heard, men are really mad about Taylor Swift attending NFL games, even though she is hardly shown on the broadcast, and the biggest crime she is committing is minding her business and enjoying her life. Meanwhile, Eminem flipped off San Francisco 49ers fans during Sunday’s (January 28) NFC Championship Game between the Niners and Em’s beloved Detroit Lions, and — I know this is wild — the NFL didn’t immediately crumble.

Unfortunately for Detroit, the Lions did crumble. Detroit thoroughly dominated the first half, holding a 24-7 lead at halftime in Santa Clara, California, before San Francisco made the unlikeliest comeback and won 34-31 — and it was cruel, even by Detroit Lions’ standards.

Eminem took the loss in stride, writing on X (formerly Twitter), “So proud of the
@Lions Thanks 4 an amazing season!!!! We’ll b back!!!”

For context, the Detroit Lions have, by many metrics, been the sorriest franchise in North American professional sports for the entirety of my life (and probably much of yours, as well). Earlier this month, in the NFL’s Super Wild Card Weekend, the Lions won their first playoff game in 32 years by defeating the visiting Los Angeles Rams (and former Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford), 24-23. Eminem would have been happy to suit up to help the Lions in their Divisional Round matchup against Tampa Bay, as he said in a satirical Instagram video, but the Lions actually could have used him in San Francisco.

At any rate, Super Bowl LVIII will be played by the 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, February 11, at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.

Lately, “Rap Twitter” has been in shambles over the genre’s latest high-profile feud between Megan Thee Stallion and Nicki Minaj. Today, Minaj released “Big Foot,” in which she disses her “Hot Girl Summer” collaborator after Megan deftly referenced her marital woes on “Hiss” last Friday (January 26). While fans fuss and fight over which of the two is on top (so far), here’s a timeline of how we got here.

Megan And Nicki Release “Hot Girl Summer” — August 2019

As Megan enjoyed her breakout year, she coined the phrase “Hot Girl Summer” to lay claim to the warmer months when her lively music would reign supreme. Naturally, when it came time to release a song of the same name — and its music video a month later — she recruited the woman who has arguably been the biggest influence on the modern wave of rap it-girls that have exploded onto the scene since 2017.

Unfortunately, it looks like love fest was short-lived, as things apparently soured between them rather quickly (you might notice that this is a common occurence with Nicki’s collaborators). A livestream in which the two women met for the first time could be the reason, as Nicki later cited Meg plying her with alcohol as one of her reasons for changing course on Thee Stallion.

Megan And Cardi B Release “WAP” — August 2020

So, a couple of things here: When Megan decided to accept Cardi’s invitation to collaborate on “WAP,” she surely must have known about Cardi and Nicki’s longstanding beef — and Nicki’s policy about picking a side and staying on it.

While Meg choosing to ignore Nicki’s dictate to shun Cardi almost certainly got under the elder rapper’s skin, the success of “WAP” in comparison to that of “Hot Girl Summer” might have been the factor that sent her over the edge. While “Hot Girl Summer debuted and peaked at No. 11 on the Hot 100, “WAP” not only started at No. 1 but it also spent four non-consecutive weeks there and became the hottest topic of discussion in that span, for good or ill.

Nicki Minaj Airs Out Megan On Queen Radio — September 2022

During Nicki’s September 11 episode of Queen Radio, she took the opportunity to declare a few of her latest rap beefs via a series of “blind items,” lashing out at Latto for praising rap’s newfound parity for women and insinuating that Megan had encouraged her to get an abortion while plying her with liquor during her “drive the boat” era.

Although Megan herself was skeptical that Minaj accused her of anything (bless her; she always looks for context before believing the tweets, which is a good policy for all of us, honestly), she was eventually forced to accept that Nicki had pulled a Nicki and decided her friend was actually her enemy. She’s basically the Joseph Stalin of the rap world.

Nicki Releases “Red Ruby Da Sleeze” Taking Shots At Megan — March 2023

When Nicki returned to the spotlight in early 2023 to release her single “Red Ruby Da Sleeze,” sharp-eared fans quickly noted a line that appeared to be a shot at Megan Thee Stallion. “700 on them horses when we fixing to leave / But I’on f*ck with horses since Christopher Reeves,” she raps, seemingly alluding to Meg’s rap name, which is slang for for “tall, thick woman.”

She also seemingly cited Meg’s recent brand deal with a certain snack brand, sniping, “Dorito b*tches / Mad that they nachos (not chose).” The previous year, Meg had appeared in a Super Bowl ad for the flavored tortilla chips, making “Red Ruby” a pretty clear shot across her bow.

Megan Releases “Hiss” — January 2024

They say revenge is a dish best served cold and nearly a year passed before Megan got hers. In the meantime, she cleared her calendar, freeing herself of her label deal, and waiting for the outcome of the assault trial against Tory Lanez for shooting her in the foot. With favorable outcomes in both cases, she finally turned her attention back to rap beef, taking inspiration from a cold-blooded predactor on “Hiss.”

In addition to smacking down a bunch of her biggest detractors, she aimed a haymaker at Minaj, rapping, “These hoes don’t be mad at Megan, these hoes mad at Megan’s Law.” The line refers to a mandate requiring sex offenders to register with local governments and preventing them from living near schools — a law that applies to Nicki’s husband, Kenneth Petty. Nicki and Petty have been locked into a legal battle with his alleged victim over claims they’ve been harassing her to retract her 1995 testimony so he can get off the sex offenders registry.

Nicki Strikes Back With “Big Foot” — January 2024

All of which brings us to today. After Nicki spent the three days since the release of “Hiss” going off on Twitter — you can see a sampling of her tweets below — she responded with a diss track of her own, “Big Foot.” Lashing out with abandon, she repeats some of the most common complaints about Megan’s shooting ( “F*ck you get shot with no scar?”), the younger rapper’s label deal (“‘Fore I hit Carl and buy your catalogue”), and sales (“still ain’t topped ‘Red Ruby’”). This won’t be the end of the drama; all anyone can say for certain is, if you’re already tired of seeing Nicki and Meg on your timeline, it might be time to log out for a good long while.

Tribute videos were once a gesture typically reserved for players that had a lengthy tenure with a team, but now just about any player that has more than a cup of coffee in a city is greeted with a cutup of highlights in their first game back after joining a new team via trade or free agency.

Sometimes they are absolutely warranted, but we’ve jumped the shark a bit when it comes to who gets honored on the Jumbotron, as teams feel almost compelled to denote any former player’s return. What makes it even stranger is that the players themselves aren’t always the ones who want that treatment.

As the Phoenix Suns get ready to make their first trip to Brooklyn to face the Nets since trading for Kevin Durant, the future Hall of Famer wants to make it very clear that he does not think he should get a tribute video from the franchise he spent four years with. As Nets fans debated on Twitter whether he should get one, KD hopped in the replies to plead his case to the Nets to pass on the video tribute, noting it will make the night better without it.

Durant knows the video is likely to draw a mixed reaction at best, with some cheers but plenty of boos considering how the Nets Big 3 era crumbled before it ever even got started. The Nets never made it beyond the second round of the playoffs while Durant was there, despite coming KD’s big toe away from the conference finals in 2021, and he knows that he didn’t deliver on the hopes of what could’ve been. Injuries, locker room turmoil, and trade requests were more frequent in Brooklyn than playoff wins, and KD is at least self-aware enough to know that group didn’t live up to the billing and, as such, there shouldn’t be an attempt at a touching video remembrance of his time there.

Donald Trump‘s hair functions like a mood ring: it changes colors based on how he’s feeling.

“The hairdressers get mad at him, but can’t show it, as Trump can’t sit still as he needs at least to sit still for at least 30 minutes for [his hair color] to take,” an insider told Page Six after people noticed Trump’s hair looked different than usual during a recent appearance at a Manhattan federal court.

The stylist continued, “Trump’s hair color can vary wildly from dark blonde to light — to bright orange — depending on how long his hairdresser can get him to sit still and let the color do its job.” The former president is “so impatient that he rarely gives the stylist the 30 to 45 minutes… The shorter time he gives them, the more orange his hair gets, as it takes time to get the darker blonde locks he associates with his younger years.”

The 30-45 minutes that Trump is forced to sit still is probably when he does most of his posting on Truth Social.

We further hear that, “The former president hates sitting with the dye on his hair, and is always rushing the hairdresser thus his color can change every few weeks. And it gets lighter every time he washes it.”

Trump cares so much about his ridiculous hair, but it sounds like he treats the people who maintain it like crap. McDonald’s employees know what that’s like.

(Via Page Six)

The holidays have been over for quite some time now, but that hasn’t stopped the sudden swirl of interest in a mystery from Home Alone that has apparently bothered people for decades: Where did the McCallister family get their money?

In the classic film that instantly launched Macaulay Culkin into the top-tier of child star fame, young Kevin not only lives in a massive Midwestern mansion, but his family is seen taking an extravagant trip to Paris and sitting on wads of cash, which they use to pay for the pizza that causes the infamous ruckus that kickstarts Kevin’s dream (and very near future) of living alone.

The topic of the McCallister’s money has become so persistent, that Catherine O’Hara was asked about the viral mystery during a recent interview to promote her role in Argylle.

Here’s what she told PEOPLE while talking about the iconic McCallister home:

“I was aware of how beautiful it was, but no, I never thought of their money. That’s not where my head was when I was doing [the movie]. Of course, they all went to Paris, didn’t they?” she says.

“I guess Peter had his own religion,” she quips of her on-screen husband, played by the late John Heard. “Church of the McCallisters.”

Jokes aside, O’Hara tried to put the issue to rest by offering a definitive answer.

“People have these theories, where’d they get their money?” she said. “Maybe he inherited it… they inherited it.”

There you have it, folks, the actual mom from Home Alone says the family money was inherited. You can stop accusing poor Peter McCallister of being in the mob now.

(Via PEOPLE)

The New York Knicks picked up their sixth straight win on Saturday night when they dominated the Miami Heat in a 125-107 win at Madison Square Garden. Unfortunately the focal point after the game wasn’t on yet another strong two-way showing from the Knicks, but instead was concern over the status of star forward Julius Randle.

Late in the fourth quarter with the Knicks up 115-98, Randle drove to the basket when Heat rookie Jaime Jaquez tried to slide in for a charge, getting underneath Randle as he went up to the basket. Randle landed hard on his right shoulder, suffering a dislocation and had to exit the game.

Ever since, Knicks fans have been waiting on the results of further testing and an MRI to reveal a timetable for Randle’s absence from the team, and on Monday morning Adrian Wojnarowski and Shams Charania brought some relatively good news on that front. Randle hasn’t suffered significant damage to his shoulder and is apparently expected to be back in a few weeks time, rather than missing months of action, which is about as good as the Knicks and their fans could have hoped for.

It does help that the All-Star break is coming up in a few weeks, and the Knicks will not play a game for a full week as their last game before the break is on February 14 and their first game after it is February 22. While this injury will preclude Randle from participating in All-Star Weekend, it’s possible he could return not long after the Knicks resume their season — with the caveat that it’s all dependent on how his shoulder heals and if he’s dealing with any pain.

It also helps that the Knicks have been sensational of late and have built themselves a bit of a cushion in the race for a top-6 spot in the Eastern Conference. Their win on Saturday pushed them a full five games ahead of the Heat for 7th in the East, and while they might not be able to keep up their torrid winning pace of late without Randle, if they can tread water in his absence they should be able to keep a solid hold on playoff position until he returns.

When Taylor Swift returned to the stage of the MTV Video Music Awards in the summer of 2022, it was clear she came with a mission. Although, at the time, many didn’t know what it would be. Her crystal chain dress had fans convinced that it was finally time for Reputation (Taylor’s Version) — a fitting return to the place that had been the origin point for all that drama. Yet, the pop star had other plans.

While accepting the award for Video Of The Year for her “All Too Well” short film, Swift revealed that she wasn’t putting out a re-recording at all. Over the past few years, she has been working to regain control of her original first six albums, of which only two more are left. Instead, she would be dropping her tenth studio album, Midnights, just a few months later.

During the pandemic, Swift’s surprise releases of Folklore and its sister project, Evermore, allowed new audiences to discover just how strong of a songwriter she was. By leaning into the inspiration of The National (who appeared on “Coney Island”) and the rise of Phoebe Bridgers-esque songwriters, she was able to tap into a vulnerable and seemingly fictitious level of creativity. Because of this new influence and shift in the culture, it’s no surprise that Bridgers would also go on to collaborate with Swift on “Nothing New.”

Although she had put out Fearless (Taylor’s Version) and Red (Taylor’s Version) in 2021, Swift needed a bridge to lift the energy from her past non-re-recorded albums. Before she announced the Eras Tour, fans had wondered how she would tour for two slow and somber albums, while also somehow incorporating the bubblegum energy that fueled 2019’s Lover — as her “Lover Fest” shows scheduled in 2020 were subsequently canceled.

Midnights was the answer to this problem. Described initially as “13 sleepless nights scattered throughout [her] life,” Swift utilized the growth she had as a songwriter during quarantine to apply it to darker pop melodies. Lyrically, she added that she viewed the record as “a collage of intensity, highs and lows and ebbs and flows.”

It prompted some of Swift’s most heartbreaking tracks, whether she took listeners through an isolating journey on “You’re On Your Own, Kid,” a track five pick that rivals the Red era, or found herself grappling with the loss of innocence on the 3 a.m. Deluxe Edition’s “Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve.” Yet, as promised, it also provides moments of respite through the romantic highs of “Paris” and the standard version’s closer, “Mastermind.”

Swift also directed the music videos for “Lavender Haze,” “Karma,” “Bejeweled,” and the “Anti-Hero” lead single, continuing to grow in her relatively recent artistic medium from behind the camera, of which she tested the waters as a solo director with 2019’s “The Man.”

For most artists, it is rare to put out arguably their best work sixteen years in and ten records later. But it’s become clear that Swift does not fall into the rules placed upon most artists.

Commercially, it also is Swift’s most successful era to date. She became the first artist to take up all top ten spots on the Billboard Hot 100 with songs from it. At the time, she beat her own record from 2017’s Reputation for the biggest US sales week in only four days. And it is up for six awards at this year’s Grammy Awards.

Midnights is in the running for Best Pop Vocal Album, “Anti-Hero” for Song Of The Year, Record Of The Year, and Best Pop Solo Performance, “Karma” for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, and the coveted Album Of The Year. If Swift nabs a win for the latter, she would be the only performer (non-engineer) to take home the title four times. She is currently tied at three as the only woman, alongside Frank Sinatra, Stevie Wonder, and Paul Simon.

Considering Swift soared to new heights in 2023, it will be a question of whether the Recording Academy voters will continue to let everything she touches turn to gold. Even when looking at some of the other categories, it seems Swift’s influence has shined through.

Although they would have made it on their own otherwise, considering their individual waves last year, it is worth noting that two of the Best New Artist nominees received at least some sort of boost from being in the pop star’s orbit. Ice Spice appeared as a feature on Swift’s “Karma” remix, as the two performed it during one of the New Jersey Eras dates. This move also allowed Swift to keep Midnights in people’s minds months after its initial release. Gracie Abrams, who is also in the running, was among the tour’s opening acts.

And no matter how you might feel about it, Swift, and The Eras Tour, were inescapable this past year. Kicking off in March, Swift’s show devoted segments to each of her albums (except for her 2006 debut), as she played for three hours nightly. She creatively opened the show with selections from Lover, then Midnights as the grand finale, allowing for a perfect pop sandwich, if you will. The highest highs of 1989 and Red arrived in the middle, and then fans could take a breather during her quieter moments.

After the North American leg alone, Swift’s tour was well on track to become the first to generate over $1 billion, with even more shows scheduled in Europe this year. Her new relationship with football star Travis Kelce has placed her in direct eyesight of sports fans with each Chiefs game appearance. Swift has embraced the rise in attention — even accepting the cover award for Time’s Person Of The Year in the process.

The shift is such a stark contrast to the years she spent shying away from public outings, and instead feels like a return-to-form that was last truly present during 1989. And a lot has changed in the culture since 2014. With the rise of TikTok, Swift leaned into it for Midnights, allowing her to continue to reach new, younger listeners, and re-introduce her pop side to those who were tuned out during the Reputation, and even Lover, eras. In a sense, the album is a blend of the two.

Now that Swift’s contract allows her ownership of all master recordings, she has also moved away from the traditional album cycle. Instead, she releases what she wants, when she wants. When some demos from the Lover era leaked, she gave fans a studio version of one with “All Of The Girls You Loved Before.” And months after the Midnights release, she reignited the excitement by putting “You’re Losing Me” out on a show-exclusive CD in May 2023, leaving the rest of the fans using shared files to play the Joe Alwyn breakup anthem on repeat. Swift did not put the song on streaming until November.

It’s this free-flowing nature of Swift’s release schedule that has fueled the intensity for fans to try to find any theories or easter eggs to what might come next. Are we still in the Midnights era? Or, most recently, does Swift’s inner circle having B&W profile pics signify that it’s time for the Reputation re-recording?

This non-chronological form has worked out in Swift’s favor, particularly when it comes to sales. In the case of “You’re Losing Me,” fans first had to buy a ticket to The Eras Tour, be at a show where the CD was sold, and then buy that. And for the initial release of Midnights, the back covers formed a clock, so many opted to purchase all four — and the shelves the vinyl copies could rest on.

Swift has also seemingly recognized that no matter what she puts out, the majority of fans will now buy, without her needing to do much. Since she has been on tour, save for the Time cover, the release of Midnights saw her last few promotional appearances.

“I’m beside myself,” Swift told Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show after he pointed out that she broke Spotify’s record for the most-streamed album in a single day. “I’m feeling very overwhelmed by the fans’ love for the record. I’m 32 so we’re considered geriatric pop stars. So I’m just happy to be here.” (She would later beat her own record with 1989 (Taylor’s Version) — without any additional music videos or late-night interviews.)

Even if Swift does not happen to take home the Album Of The Year Grammy for Midnights, this era served as more concrete proof that she could play by her own rules and still be wildly successful, now that the perceived barriers that were present for pop stars during the early aughts have been practically knocked down. Or, who knows, she just might have another trick up her sleeve and ready to go.

Nicki Minaj just released “Big Foot,” a new diss track that goes after Megan Thee Stallion and doesn’t pull a single punch. Minaj really went all out, addressing a lot of personal and sensitive things about Meg.

What Did Nicki Minaj Say About Megan Thee Stallion On “Big Foot?”

Minaj said a lot about Megan on “Big Foot.” So, let’s break it down topic-by-topic (all lyrics via Genius).

Nicki Minaj On Megan Thee Stallion Getting Shot By Tory Lanez

“Bad b*tch, she like six foot (Ooh), I call her Big Foot (Brr)
The b*tch fell off, I said, ‘Get up on your good foot.’”

“Like a body builder, I keep raisin’ the bar
F*ck you get shot with no scar? (Brr).”

“Now listen up, Big Foot
You know I got a lotta tea
I went easy on you
Um (Glass fragment foot ass, b*tch).”

Nicki Minaj On Megan Thee Stallion’s Late Mother

“How you f*ck your mother man when she die?
How you go on Gayle King and can’t cry?
Chile, bye
Big foot, but you still a small fry
Swearin’ on your dead mother when you lie (Ay, yo).”

“‘Cause she was lyin’ on your dead mama (Ooh), on-on your dead mama (Ah-ah-ah-ah)
Lyin’ on your dead mama (Ooh-ooh), on-on your dead mama
Lyin’ on your dead mama (Ooh-ooh), on-on your dead mama
Lyin’ on your, lyin’, lyin’, lyin’ on your dead mama (Brr, ooh).”

Nicki Minaj On Megan Thee Stallion’s Dispute With Carl Crawford And 1501 Certified Entertainment

“B*tch, you better stop that dialogue (28 sh*t)
‘Fore I hit Carl and buy your catalogue
(Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha, ha-ha-ha-ha-ha) Sigh.”

Nicki Minaj On Megan Thee Stallion’s Rapping Abilities

“Your flow is such a bore
Drinkin’ a bottle of Henny through a straw.”

“Uh, still ain’t topped ‘Red Ruby’ (No, no, mm-mm)
Tryna steal the sauce, I said, ‘Get up out my cook book’ (Brr).”

“They got you all them Grammy’s, but your flow’s still a no.”

Nicki Minaj On Future Megan Thee Stallion Diss Tracks

“I don’t think you want the next installment of this song
I know it’s the most attention you’ve ever gotten.”

“Now, since you think it’s funny to speak about people’s families
We’ll all join in
We’ll all play the reindeer games
Soon as your new nose heals
And soon as your…
Well, let’s leave that for the second installment.”

Megan Thee Stallion is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Things are getting rough between Nicki Minaj and Megan Thee Stallion right now, and Minaj just escalated the beef with a new diss track, “Big Foot.”

On just the song’s introduction, Minaj addresses Megan’s contract dispute with Carl Crawford and 1501 Certified Entertainment, the death of Megan’s mother, and Megan’s Gayle King interview in which she cried but didn’t appear to shed actual tears. According to Genius, those lyrics are:

“Your flow is such a bore
Drinkin’ a bottle of Henny through a straw
B*tch, you better stop that dialogue (28 sh*t)
‘Fore I hit Carl and buy your catalogue
(Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha, ha-ha-ha-ha-ha) Sigh
How you f*ck your mother man when she die?
How you go on Gayle King and can’t cry?
Chile, bye
Big foot, but you still a small fry
Swearin’ on your dead mother when you lie (Ay, yo).”

Elsewhere, Minaj accuses Megan of lying about getting shot by Tory Lanez (“F*ck you get shot with no scar?), criticizes her rapping abilities (“They got you all them Grammys, but your flow’s still a no”), and claims Megan copies her (“Tryna steal the sauce, I said, ‘Get up out my cook book’”).

Listen to “Big Foot” above.

Megan Thee Stallion is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Suits came back in a big way in 2023.

The USA Network series, which aired from 2011 and 2019 and once made Prince Harry super uncomfortable, was the surprise hit of the summer, with millions of minutes viewed once it was available to watch on Netflix. Actually, make that billions: Variety reports that Suits “racked up 57.7 billion total minutes watched in 2023, putting it just ahead of the 57.1 billion minutes of viewership accumulated by The Office” in 2020.”

It’s the most minutes ever for a show in the streaming era — and a lot of background viewing while people were doing the dishes or folding laundry.

When comparing total time watched, though, projects with more episodes and/or longer episodes stand at an obvious advantage. The entirety of Suits runs for about 83 hours, which would mean it had an easier time reaching that 57 billion-minute mark than The Office did with about 73 hours of content.

For 2023 only, Suits tops the overall streaming list, followed by family favorite Bluey (43.9 billion), procedural NCIS (39.4 billion), ubiquitous medical drama Grey’s Anatomy (38.6 billion), and nightmarish Cocomelon (36.3 billion). Apple TV+’s Ted Lasso (16.9 billion) is number one among original streaming programs (a.k.a. not acquired), then four Netflix shows, The Night Agent (14.4 billion), Ginny & Georgia (13.8 billion), Virgin River (13.7 billion), and Love Is Blind (13.1 billion).

Hm, the data must be wrong. I know there’s 15 billion minutes of I Think You Should Leave viewed from me alone.

You can see the full lists here.

(Via Variety)