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Tonight (January 20) marked a very special night for Reneé Rapp. Hot of the premiere of the movie-musical adaptation of Mean Girls, in which, she reprised her role of Regina George from the Broadway adaptation, Rapp made her debut on Saturday Night Live as the first musical guest of 2024.

In her first performance of the night, Rapp delivered a raw, emotional performance of “Snow Angel,” the title track from her debut album.

During the performance, Rapp laid flat on the floor, letting her vocals take charge. Dressed in a white corset and a matching leather coat, she rises up maintaining an ethereal presence throughout. White fog adds to the the icy, cold feeling of the emotional, gut-wrenching ballad.

Last September, Rapp opened up about the songwriting and production process on Jay Shetty’s On Purpose podcast and revealed that it was written after a traumatic experience. It was one of the final songs she recorded with producer Alexander 23.

“We started writing it, and it was just the two of us. And the entire time I was writing it, I felt nothing,” Rapp said. “Until we recorded the song and the whole thing was done and I played it for my friends and my manager and everybody was like, ‘This is insane.’ But for me, that whole year of my life was inherent resilience.”

You can see a clip of the performance of “Snow Angel” above.

The Green Bay Packers will spend the next eight months haunted by squandered opportunities from Saturday night’s Divisional Round game against the 49ers, as they were the better, more consistent team for most of the night but also made the most costly errors.

The Packers trailed 7-6 at the half after scoring just six points on three red zone drives in the first half before trading touchdowns with the Niners early in the third quarter. However, they seemed to finally take control of the game when Keisean Nixon returned a kickoff deep into Niners territory, with Eric Wilson saving the day with a diving fumble recovery to set up a go-ahead TD and two-point conversion from Jordan Love.

The defense would continue to do yeoman’s work against Brock Purdy and a 49ers offense that looked flustered, but then Love suddenly started to look like a young quarterback as it came time to finish the game. First came an interception at midfield after he rifled a ball high and behind his tight end on third down, bouncing into the hands of Dre Greenlaw.

That set up a Niners field goal to close the gap to four, and after back-to-back drives ending in punts, the Packers would find some life thanks to Aaron Jones and drive down into San Francisco territory. However, they would come up empty for the third time on the night after a Anders Carlson 41-yard field goal pulled just wide left of the uprights, and that was all the invitation the Niners needed to walk through the door.

After a dreadful night for the first three-plus quarters, Brock Purdy finally found a rhythm to move San Francisco down the field, where Christian McCaffrey punched in his second TD of the game to give the Niners a 27-24 lead.

The Packers would get a first down on their final minute drive trying to tie or win the game, but with just under 50 seconds left, Love made a terrible decision to just huck the ball up into the middle of the field, where Greenlaw came away with his second pick of the night to seal a Niners win.

It’s about as bad a throw as you’ll see in that situation, as the Packers had timeouts and it wasn’t fourth down, so they would’ve been perfectly fine with a throwaway. Instead, he forced it into triple coverage, throwing across his body in the rain with no juice on the ball, and it fluttered into Greenlaw’s arms to put the game on ice.

Love was great for much of the game, including a pair of touchdown passes in the third quarter, but red zone stallouts and his two miscues in the middle of the field will haunt him for months to come. He and the Packers will hope they become learning experiences for the future, but given how well the Packers played and how poorly Purdy and the Niners offense looked for much of the game, it will be a long time before Green Bay comes to terms with losing this game.

San Francisco meanwhile will feel like they escaped one, and after their injury luck a year ago, they might feel they were owed this kind of win. Deebo Samuel’s injury status will be a big story going into next week as he left with a shoulder injury early on, but San Francisco played about as poorly as they have all year and managed to come out with a win, allowing them to now try to settle in for the NFC title game back at home.

The Green Bay Packers looked like the better team in the first half on Saturday night in their Divisional round matchup with top-seeded San Francisco, but the 49ers managed to take a 7-6 lead into the half.

The Packers scored just six points on three red zone trips in the first half, while the Niners got a big play touchdown to George Kittle as they never even had a red zone possession but still managed to be on top. In the third quarter, the offenses on both sides started to heat up, as the Packers finally got in the end zone but were immediately answered by a long Christian McCaffrey TD run to keep San Francisco up by one.

That lead would only last a few minutes as the ensuing kickoff saw a wild sequence where Keisean Nixon broke free to the left side of the field and ran deep into San Francisco territory, before fumbling at the end and almost giving it away if not for an incredible effort by Eric Wilson to dive on the ball.

It’s an incredible play by Wilson to get on the bouncing ball while running full speed and control it before the Niners special teams unit could jump on the pile and try to rip it away. There are so many ways for this to go wrong with a bouncing oblong ball, as it’s just Wilson and four 49ers around him, but he was able to grab it and control it and save the Packers possession.

That return by Nixon and recovery by Wilson became a go-ahead touchdown for Green Bay, as Jordan Love hit Romeo Doubs over the middle to move the ball to the 5 and then hit Tucker Kraft for a TD (and Aaron Jones for the two point conversion) on pick plays on the goal line.

The touchdown was a legal pick play, as the contact was made at the line of scrimmage, and Love threaded the needle to get the ball to Kraft in traffic for six. After dominating much of the game, Green Bay finally found themselves in control, but if not for the heroic effort of Wilson on the kick return unit to get on the ball, they would’ve been left kicking themselves for another squandered opportunity.

Life’s too short to be tied into unnecessary rap beef. If “Heaven’s Galaxy” musician Kid Cudi could repair his previously rocky relationship with Kanye West, mending things with Lupe Fiasco was a piece of cake. Shortly after Fiasco’s abrasive comments on X (formerly Twitter), the pair seems to have ironed out their issue. Unfortunately, that moment of peace didn’t last long.

However, on January 20, Cudi revealed that after a tense conversation, their beef had officially come to an end. “Just talked to Lupe,” he wrote on X. “[We] had a great talk. I know I was wrong and told him I shouldn’t have done that fuck sh*t I did. I called myself looking out for the fans in the moment, but in reality, I was just hating. I apologized, and he accepted it. Which I appreciated for real. I understand the anger and vitriol he had for me all these years, and I wasn’t mature enough to step up and just have a conversation and admit I was wrong.”

“We, as black men, need to be united.,” he added. “He always had love for me. Always supported me. I shouldn’t have done him like that. I wanna thank my guy Ibn for setting the call up, and u, the fans, for being real with me and urging us to speak. We are good now. Brand new journey.”

During Cudi’s interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, he revealed the origins of their friction, which triggered Fiasco’s online remarks. The beef between the two music had been brewing for a long while.

When everyday folk are knocked off their feet by a new cinematic work, they rave about it amongst their friends and family. Typically, it doesn’t travel much further than that. However, nothing is standard about “Water Under The Bridge” singer Adele. Instead of hiding behind an anonymous Rotten Tomatoes account, the global superstar used her latest Weekends With Adele residency show to give attendees a new movie recommendation.

On January 19, Adele took a moment out of her set to profess her love for Zac Efron and his latest role in The Iron Claw. The film, directed by Sean Durkin, follows the tragic life of the famed pro-wrestling family, the Von Erichs. Like most critics and viewers alike, Adele is obsessed with the picture and wants everyone to dive into it.

“Obviously, there were a lot of good movies this year,” she said. “But if you haven’t seen it yet, ‘The Iron Claw’ was my favorite of the year. I loved Zac Efron in that movie. It’s the best movie I’ve seen this year. You have to see it.”

The sold-out The Colosseum at Caesars Palace crowd erupted in agreement with Adele’s public declaration. Efron hasn’t responded to Adele’s compliments. But on January 14, he took to his official Instagram to show love to the world of wrestling.

“I have so much admiration and respect for the world of Professional Wrestling,” he wrote. “And to the sacrifice and dedication of the athletes. These guys tour for months, putting their bodies on the line every day to perform. [It] was an honor to step into the ring and learn from one of the best Chavo Guerrero Jr.”

The Iron Claw is showing in theaters now.

Donald Trump’s brain hasn’t been so hot for a long while, but over the last half year it’s actually appeared to get worse. He’s not sure who’s currently president. He forgets World War II already happened. Magnets: How do they work? At a rally Friday he repeatedly mixed up two people whose first names begin with N: former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and former employee-turned-rival Nikki Haley. That inspired the latter to do the unthinkable: become a Republican who notes that Trump’s brain is now mush.

“We see that [President Joe] Biden has changed so much in two years,” Haley told a crowd while in New Hampshire, per The Daily Beast. She then recalled how Trump blamed her, not Pelosi, for allegedly not agreeing to calling the National Guards for the Jan. 6 riot he helped incite. (Mind you, Pelosi was never in charge of the National Guard and this is a lie Trump keeps repeating.)

“They’re saying he got confused, that he was talking about something else, he’s talking about Nancy Pelosi,” Haley told the crowd. “He mentioned me multiple times in that scenario. The concern I have is — I’m not saying anything derogatory — but when you’re dealing with the pressures of the presidency, we can’t have someone else that we question whether they’re mentally fit to do this. We can’t.”

Haley’s takedown was done with kid gloves; note how she reassured everyone she wasn’t saying anything “derogatory” about the guy who somehow still rules the GOP. But few else are pointing out the obvious: that the emperor has no brain.

Here’s what Trump said about Haley Friday: “You know, Nikki Haley, Nikki Haley, Nikki Haley, you know they– do you know they destroyed all of the information and all of the evidence? Everything. Deleted and destroyed all of it. All of it because of, lots of things. Like, Nikki Haley is in charge of security. We offered her 10,000 people.”

All of that, and not just slamming Haley when he meant to attack Pelosi, is bull.

It’s not revolutionary news that smoking wreaks havoc on your body in different ways. More often than not, however, the focus of anti-smoking campaigns is on your internal health, citing emphysema, heart disease, and lung cancer, to name just a few consequences.

While the superficial effects may not be as lethal, appealing to people’s sense of vanity can have a powerful effect as this clever gallery below shows. Twins, only one of whom smokes, sit side by side, showing the profound damage smoking can cause to your face, hair, and teeth.

The twins’ circumstances vary in each set of pictures, but the differences and effects are undeniable. In some instances, one of the twins never smoked. In others, the “smoking” twin had smoked for at least five years longer than the other “non-smoking” twin.

Though they’re not common knowledge, the effects of smoking on your appearance are predictable and consistent. You can identify a smoker with ease if you know what you’re looking for. Harmful smoke, dehydration, and even the heat from a burning cigarette can damage your complexion, hair, and eyes. The photos below helpfully point out the symptoms and effects on the smoking twin.

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The photos here were taken from those of 79 pairs of identical twins at the Twins Days Festival in Twinsburg, Ohio. Though they weren’t taken with this use in mind, that allows them to serve as an even more powerful testament to the effects as perceived by casual observers.

1. The eyes are a strong “tell” if someone’s a smoker or not. In this photo, the smoker is the man on the right. He has smaller, more sunken eyes and carries more wrinkles throughout his face than his twin on the left. You’ll also notice his hairline has receded further than his brother’s. That’s a little-known though hardly surprising effect of smoking habitually.

2. Here, the difference is profound. Though they’re the same age, they look almost like they represent different generations. The smoking twin on the right has done so for 16 years, and it’s manifested in a number of ways. Most noticeable is the pervasive discoloration of her skin compared to her twin on the left. Less noticeable, but still apparent, is the damage done to her lips, eyes, and even her hair. It’s difficult to believe they’re even related, let alone twins.

3. This comparison is less glaring but still apparent. The twin on the left is the smoker. You can see many more pronounced wrinkles on her forehead, under her eyes, and around her nose. There are also pronounced bags under her eyes.

4. In this comparison, the smoking twin only smokes about two cigarettes per day, so the difference will be less profound. The twin on the right is the smoker. The differences are on the subtle side, mostly the more damaged hair and the squintier eyes.

5. Based on what you’ve read in the earlier side by side pics, you might be able to ID the right twin as the smoker due to the discolored and receding hair as well as the aged skin.

6. These two twins are both elderly, so the differences are slightly less pronounced. Though the left twin has more graying hair, it’s the right twin that’s the smoker. She’s got a droopier face, especially on the outside of the eyes. The wrinkles are also more pronounced in the brow and upper lip.

7. Though the two sisters here are also older, it’s easier to distinguish the smoker. The left sister bears the hallmarks all over her skin. Her cheek, outer eye, and neck all look weathered from her habit. Not only is she more wrinkled, but the skin has begun to discolor from the fair tone her sister has.

8. Here it’s pretty difficult to tell. The woman on the left is the smoker. She sports slightly discolored lips that are upon inspection, more wrinkled than her sister’s. Since the lips are the most proximate to the smoke, they are a pretty telling feature when it comes to identifying smokers.

The pics above show a lot of singular traits that can call out a smoker, but it can be a lot more simple than that. Speaking to the NY Daily News, dermatologist Elizabeth Tanzi from George Washington Medical Center dispenses with the jargon, stating, “Smoking makes you look old. That’s all there is to it.”

This article originally appeared on 11.01.16

As part of an experiment, a man asks for help translating a Facebook message he has received.

There’s a man in Lithuania who speaks only English. The message is in Lithuanian. He can’t read it, so he asks some locals to translate it for him.

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As he asks one person after another to translate the message for him, two things become obvious.

1. He’s received a message full of hate speech.

2. Translating it for him is breaking people’s hearts.

It’s nearly more than these people can bear.

There’s a sudden, powerful connection between the translators and the man they’re translating for. They want to protect him, telling him not to bother with the message.

They apologize for the message.

They look like they want to cry.

Words hurt.

Most of us would never think of saying such horrible things. This video shows people realizing in their gut what it must feel like when those words are pointed at them — it’s all right on their faces. And so is their compassion.

The Facebook message is horrible, but their empathy is beautiful. The video’s emotional power is what makes it unique, and so worth watching and passing around.

Here it is.

The video’s in English, subtitled in Lithuanian. Just watch the faces.

This article originally appeared on 04.10.15

Even though I don’t wear very much makeup, every few days or so SOMEONE…

(friends, family, internet strangers)

…will weigh in on why I “don’t need makeup.”

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Now, I realize this is meant as a compliment, but this comic offers a hilariously truthful (and slightly weird) explanation of the “too much makeup” conundrum.

Not everyone is able to turn into a badass lizard when someone asks about their face-painting hobbies. Don’t you kinda wish you could? Just to drive this hilarious comic all the way home, here are four reasons why some women* wear makeup:

*Important side note: Anyone can wear makeup. Not just women. True story.

Four reasons some women* wear makeup:

1. Her cat-eye game is on point.

2. She has acne or acne scars.

3. Pink lipstick.

4. She likes wearing makeup.

While some people may think putting on makeup is a chore, it can be really fun! For some, makeup is an outlet for creativity and self-expression. For others, it’s just a way to feel good about themselves and/or enhance their favorite features.

That’s why it feels kinda icky when someone says something along the lines of “You don’t need so much makeup!” Now, it’s arguable that no one “needs” makeup, but everyone deserves to feel good about the way they look.

For some people, feeling good about their appearance includes wearing makeup. And that’s totally OK.

This article originally appeared on 05.28.15

Menstrual taboos are as old as time and found across cultures. They’ve been used to separate women from men physically — menstrual huts are still a thing — and socially, by creating the perception that a natural bodily function is a sign of weakness.

Even in today’s world women are deemed unfit for positions of power because some men actually believe they won’t be able to handle stressful situations while mensurating.

“Menstruation is an opening for attack: a mark of shame, a sign of weakness, an argument to keep women out of positions of power,’ Colin Schultz writes in Popular Science.

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The big problem with menstrual taboos is the way that males are educated on the subject leaves them with a patchwork of ideas that don’t necessarily add up to the whole picture. First, there’s the information they get from growing up with women in the house.

Then, there are the cryptic descriptions of menstruation seen in advertising and the cold, scientific way the topic is taught in sex education.

“Boys’ early learning about menstruation is haphazard,” a 2011 study published in the Journal of Family Issues reads. “The mysterious nature of what happens to girls contributes to a gap in boys’ knowledge about female bodies and to some negative views about girls.”

Unfortunately, the gaps in the average man’s understanding of a complex female health issue can put women in a difficult position. Whether it’s denying them positions of power or a failure to understand their discomfort.

That’s why it’s so important for men to become better educated about menstruation.

A group of women on TikTok are helping the men in their lives better understand the subject by showing them how tampons work on the inside of their bodies by dousing them in water. They call it the Boyfriend Challenge. Some of the guys’ reactions are clearly over-the-top, but it’s also obvious that many of them have no idea how tampons function.

A video by the Demery family has gone viral attracting nearly eight million views. It’s fun to watch, but it also shows men how tampons function and what women go through during their monthly cycle.

@thedemeryfamily22 His reaction is priceless😂 #cutecouple #pregnant #prego #viral #InLove #couplegoals #trend #tampon ♬ original sound – Kolby&Jas❤️

Rachel’s man just uttered the phrase “vagina parachute.”

@mrshillery829 Of course I had to make my husband do this! I will forever call tampons “vagina parachutes”! LMAO!! #tamponchallenge #husbandpranks #funny #fyp ♬ original sound – Rachel Hillery

Paulina’s man was completely flummoxed by the inner workings of a tampon. “You’ve been carrying this like, inside of you?” he asks. “The whole day?”

@paulinat showing him how a tampôn works😭 @fabioguerrrraa ♬ original sound – Pau Torres

This guy thinks it’s “like a butterfly.”

@amanialzubi showing my boyfriend how a tampon works 🤣😳❤️ ( @originalisrael ) #comedy #couple #couplegoals #foryou #trend #tiktok ♬ original sound – amani

Ryley just blew her BFF’s mind.

@thekelleyfamily lmaoooo why 😂😭 #tamponchallenge #trend #hilariouscomedy #couple #married #foryoupage #fyp #xyzbca ♬ Quirky – Oleg Kirilkov

This guy was amazed by the absorbancy.

Let’s hope this challenge gave some men out there a better understanding of what women go through every month and a little more sympathy for the women in their lives.

Hopefully it also makes them feel a little more comfortable around period products and inspires them to pick up the correct box of tampons next time they’re at the grocery store.

This article originally appeared on 01.27.21