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Like most years these days, 2023 sure was a bumpy one. Some of it was good, some of it was creatively awful, and we head into 2024 with great uncertainty, some of it pertaining to You Know Who. While everyone tries to end the year on an up-note, the best Kathy Griffin could muster is finding humor in some truly awful news.

Late last week it was revealed that the comic had filed for divorce from Randy Blick, her husband of four years. The two started dating in 2011. Nine years later, mere minutes into New Years Day 2020 — i.e., right before all that started — the two tied the knot in a ceremony officiated by Lily Tomlin.

Alas, it was not to be. Just shy of their four-year anniversary, the two are splitting, with Griffin citing “irreconcilable differences.”

After the news broke, Griffin took to Instagram to sum up her feelings about calling it quits. “Well…sh*t,” she wrote. “This sucks.”

What else can one say? Divorce blows, especially during the holidays, and especially when one’s anniversary is right around the corner. But hey, a new year is a chance for new beginnings, and at least Griffin knows how to be funny about sh*t that absolutely sucks. Here’s hoping for a better 2024 for all of us, with some exceptions. Happy New Year, y’all!

(Via HuffPost)

There’s always something very touching about receiving a gift from your child, especially when you know it’s something that they really put their heart into creating. A video posted to TikTok by Aaron Gouveia shows that sometimes a child can give a gift that’s so surprising it’s almost too much to handle.

Gouveia, 43, is a Massachusetts father of three who posts videos as “Daddy Files” on TikTok about the joys and challenges of family life. On March 26, he posted a video featuring his son Sam, 9, that was so heartwarming it has received over 12.4 million views.

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According to Today.com, Sam is a neurodivergent fourth-grader who’s been teased by classmates for wearing nail polish. His father believes he struggles to get along with kids his age because they “don’t understand him or his interests.”

A year ago, Sam began taking a sewing class at school, and in the video, he showed his dad the blue patterned shirt he made for him.

“I got a shirt that I made at sewing class,” Sam said, holding the shirt in his hands.

“You made that?” his dad asked, astonished.

@daddyfiles

Sam made me a shirt! Wow. #sewing #sewingtiktok #samsewgood #boyswhosew #parenting #raisingboys

“I did the buttons, and I did the button holes,” Sam continued. “I got some help, but I did most of it by myself.”

Gouveia then tried his son’s creation on and looked at himself in the mirror. The shirt fit him perfectly. He seemed astonished that his young son was able to make something so well-crafted with so little experience. Gouveia pored over all of the details of the shirt, especially the ‘70s-style lapel.

“The collar is so unique,” he noted. He was also impressed by the box pleat on the back of the shirt that Sam admitted was “hard” to stitch together.

At the end of the video, Sam said he had his father’s style in mind while designing the shirt.

“Why did you choose this pattern?” Gouveia asked.

“Why I chose the pattern is, it just looks cool to me. It stands out to me,” Sam replied. “And it goes with jeans like you usually wear.”

The proud father then asked if he could wear the shirt out to dinner that night.

“Uh yeah,” Sam replied, beaming with pride.

In a follow-up video posted on March 27, Sam thanks people for the support he’s received and says that he’s now taking orders for shirts and dresses. The transformation in Sam is delightful because he was a little insecure when he first handed the shirt to his father. But after the overwhelming support he’s gotten in the 92,000 comments the video received on TikTok, he’s excited to share his talents with the world.

@daddyfiles

Bus stop interview with my celebrity child. 🤣 Good news: Your overwhelming support made him open to doing commissions! 🪡 Thank you for 8.5M views! #sewing #sewingtiktok #samsewgood #sewingforyoupage #parenting #fashion #fashiontiktok

“That caught me off guard,” Gouveia told Today.com. “He hasn’t wanted to make things for people. You can even see in my first video, he’s nervous. He has a lot of anxiety and doesn’t want to disappoint anyone. But after reading all the positive comments, he was like, ‘Well, I can do it!’”

This article originally appeared on 3.29.23

It’s obvious to most people that being financially unstable or living below the poverty level is a struggle. Figuring out meals that you can afford outside of ramen can be hard, especially if you have to make it last for days. In fact, cheap foods are generally really processed and unhealthy, but when that’s all you can afford, you make do with what you have.

But one creator on TikTok has made it her mission to provide content that will help people who are struggling to make healthier food on a tight budget. Rebecca Chobat runs the TikTok account Dollar Tree Dinners and creates meals using only the ingredients she can find at Dollar Tree, including meats. She shows recipes for breakfast, lunch and dinner with an emphasis on stretching a tight budget.

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“There are plenty of people in the world who don’t have access to regular grocery stores or even fresh food. They may only have a Dollar Tree near them,” Chobat explains in a video before continuing. “My videos are here to show people that they can make the best use out of ingredients that are available to them.”

Living in a food desert or having to rely fully on food pantries for your meals is the reality for a lot of Americans. Chobat is hoping her videos help people in these sorts of situations make the best out of what they have access to. While some wouldn’t consider her meals the gold standard of healthy, when you look at the alternative, the meals she cooks are a much better option.

@dollartreedinners

$35 Budget Dollar Tree Grocery Shopping #dollartreedinners #shopwithme #shopwithmeatdollartree #dollartreegroceryhaul #dollartreefood #groceryshopping #grocerybudget #eatingonabudget #savemoney

Chobat uses a lot of frozen vegetables in her recipes to not only add color but to add nutritional value. Even while being sure to incorporate vegetables, she’s also aware that not everyone has access to a refrigerator, so she makes some meals that don’t require frozen or refrigerated foods.

@dollartreedinners

Making a $5 One Pot Taco Chili #dollartreedinners #5dollardinner #eatingonabudget #feedinglargefamilies #norefrigeration #pantrymeals #easyrecipe #weeknightdinner #cheapmeals #fivedollarmeal #onepotmeals #20minmeals

The budget-friendly TikTok user also shows you how to meal prep and make grab-and-go lunches for work as well as no-reheat lunches for kids. Every option is low cost and can help people who may only have $10 to buy enough food to hold them over until their next payday.

In one video, she made creamy spinach pasta with meatballs that not only look delicious but makes enough to feed more than one person or to have leftovers for the next day. With the way grocery prices have gone up over the past year, her recipes may help families who are having trouble making ends meet.

@dollartreedinners

$5 Dinner Idea: Creamy Spinach Pasta with Meatballs #dollartreedinners #dollartree #dollartreefood #5dollardinner #eatingonabudget #howtoeatcheap #foodbudget #dollartreegroceries #makeitcheaper

Budget-friendly recipes don’t often come with videos that show you how to cook the meals and much of the time the ingredients come from bigger grocery stores. But with Chobat, no matter where you live or how little money you have, there’s a recipe on her page for you. She even did a series on how to cook while staying in a hotel.

Chobat’s TikTok page isn’t for everyone and she knows that. In fact, she is very deliberate in her word choice and items purchased because she wants to ensure that the people who need her videos the most don’t feel shamed. It may seem like a small thing to some, but what Chobat is doing is likely changing lives.

This article originally appeared on 2.28.23

Christie and Wesley Werts have taken the idea of a blended family to the next level. When the couple fell in love five years ago and married, they brought together her children, Megan and Vance, and his children, Austin and Dakota.

As of January, the Ohio family has five children after adopting young Levi, 2. Levi is the son of Wesley’s ex-wife, who passed away four days after the child was born. The ex-wife had the boy prematurely, at 33 weeks, and died soon after from drug addiction and complications of COVID-19.

When Levi was born, he was a ward of the state with no first name or birth certificate.

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“When I heard about Levi, without hesitation, I said we should take him,” Christie said, according to The Daily Mail, and her reason went far beyond the fact that the child was the half-brother to two of her recently adopted children. “I myself was a foster kid and, although for the most part, I had a great experience, I did not want him going to foster care,” Christie said.

@cjthemom5

Replying to @Journey♥️ Yes, they will always know of her and ill be there for every emotion good or bad. But im also mom, ive been to every game, every doctors appt, sat with them if they needed an ear loved unconditional . I am mom also. #adoption #srorytime #siblings #foryou #loveislove

Before the family knew of Levi’s birth, Christie had a recurring dream about a blue-eyed, blonde-haired boy.

“Before Levi, we had wanted to try to have a child of our own,” she told Newsweek. “I’m in my forties, so we knew that we would probably need fertility treatment, so I thought let’s just think about it and what will be will be.”

The problem was that Levi was in Texas, so the family sold their house and moved to the Lone Star State to go through the arduous adoption process. The situation was further complicated because Levi’s biological father had parental rights even though he had substance abuse problems. The family couldn’t move out of Texas until his rights were legally terminated.

But after a 16-month process, in January 2023, Levi became a legal family member. Christie understands that adopting her husband’s ex-wife’s baby may seem unusual to some people. “It’s a lot to process for a lot of people, but honestly, it seems a lot crazier than it was. At the time, it just made sense,” she said.

@cjthemom5

Our adoption is official !!! after 17 months!!! #adoption #son #loveyou #ourstory#foryou #fyp

Even though Christie knew in her heart that she must adopt Levi, she wasn’t without reservations. “’If I said I did not [have concerns beforehand], that would not be honest,” she told The Daily Mail. “This was different—I was going to walk into a child I never met and was worried the circumstances would hinder this instant love. But […] he stole my heart. I also felt this intense need to protect him.”

These days, Levi fits right in with the family, and the rest of the kids are happy to be back to living an everyday life without any caseworkers or inspections.

“He’s great, he is the king of the house! We are all very close. He won’t understand the journey right now, but someday, I will let him know we fought for him!” Christie said.

This article originally appeared on 8.31.23

People feel very strongly about their condiments. No matter what condiment there is someone either loves it or hates it but one of the biggest debates on the food toppers is how to store them. Yeah, that might sound a bit strange because everyone knows open condiments are stored in the pantry, unless its hot sauce, right? Whoa, calm down. I’m only kidding. I don’t make the rules Heinz does, apparently.

They do make the condiments so it would be assumed that we would look to them to know how to store the products they make. But the people of Twitter are daring to argue with Heinz after the condiment giant posted a controversial tweet that declared ketchup does in fact belong in the fridge. This bold tweet is dividing the internet.

“Heinz don’t even know where their product should be stored,” one person declared. While another claimed, “Never, ever has it gone in my fridge, nor anybody else’s.” Who’s going to tell these people to read the back of the bottle?

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It wasn’t Heinz but some hero came with receipts in the form of a photo of the back of a Heinz ketchup bottle that clearly reads, “refrigerate after opening.” You would think this would end the debate but people are very invested in being right about the way they store their condiments with wide ranging arguments.

People made points about cold ketchup making their food cold and restaurants keeping ketchup on the tables. While others argued that it tastes better cold but if you thought Heinz was done antagonizing the internet, you’d be mistaken. They responded to several comments with sassy humor while still asserting the tomato based condiment belongs in the refrigerator.

pic.twitter.com/dMvcZsl9wq

— N. Malone🏳️‍🌈| Etani Book 8 coming October 2023! (@NMalone8) June 27, 2023

Someone named Dave asked, “so why is it on the shelves in supermarkets & shops then?” To which Heinz replied, “Where do you keep your soft drinks, Dave?”

I mean, Heinz does have a valid point. Most soft drinks are kept on the shelf in the grocery store but you wouldn’t catch many people drinking a warm can of Coke. But that logic didn’t stop team ketchup belongs in cabinets. A person named Mike responded to the thread with his thoughts on Heinz bringing soft drinks into the conversation.

“I’m not pouring my soft drinks on hot food. Cold ketchup nullifies hot food which some of us like better than cold food. Get your preservative cookbook out and make the stuff safe to keep in the cupboard.”

Where do you keep yours? It has to be… in the fridge!

— Heinz (@HeinzUK) June 28, 2023

In an attempt to either continue to antagonize the internet or quell the chaos (it’s hard to tell which), Heinz created a poll asking where ketchup belongs. Currently the Fridge has the cupboard beat by a pretty decent lead but with as heated as this debate has been, there may be room for team cupboard to catch up. Even if they’re wrong. There’s no right and wrong in where to store your ketchup as long as you don’t read the label.

Maybe you’re someone who likes to keep a bottle in their sock drawer for emergency late night snacks, who knows. Tell us, where do you keep your ketchup?

This article originally appeared on 6.30.23

Conor McGregor will return to the UFC to fight Michael Chandler during International Fight Week in Las Vegas on June 29 he announced on social media on New Year’s Eve.

While the UFC has not officially announced the bout, or even an event at this point, McGregor shared that the fight will take place at 185 pounds. McGregor’s news comes after the two were coaches on the Ultimate Fighter and follows months of speculation about his eventual return.

McGregor has been out of action since breaking his leg in the first round against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in 2021. The former two-division champion has lost three of his last four fights, including a submission loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov followed by a knockout win against Donald Cerrone, and two consecutive losses to Poirier.

Chandler’s luck hasn’t been much better since joining the UFC after dominating Bellator. After knocking out Dan Hooker in his debut, he’s suffered three losses in four fights, with a a knockout loss to Charles Oliveira in a title fight, a decision loss to Justin Gaethje, a knockout win over Tony Ferguson, and a submission loss to Dustin Poirier.

Despite their rough runs of recent, both fighters are clearly still a draw, and there’s no better setup to set things back in the right direction than International Fight Week.

In 2017, the #MeToo movement rocked Hollywood. Survivors banded together to shine a light on the industry’s underbelly. Following Cassie’s explosive rape and repeated physical abuse lawsuit against Diddy, people feel another reckoning is on the horizon. One of the latest entertainment professionals to come forward in the court of law is “Opposites Attract” singer, choreographer, and television host Paula Abdul.

On December 29, Abdul filed a lawsuit against Nigel Lythgoe in Los Angeles Superior Court.

Why Is Paula Abdul Suing Nigel Lythgoe?

According to documents obtained by Rolling Stone, Abdul accused Lythgoe of sexually assaulting her on multiple occasions. The pair worked together on competition shows, American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance. Abdul alleges that near the beginning of American Idol, Lythgoe assaulted her. Although she did not provide a specific timeline for the alleged attack, Lythgoe served in a producer role on American Idol off and on between 2004 and 2012 as documented on IMDB.

However, Abdul did claim in her legal paperwork that Lythgoe assaulted her again in 2014 when she served as a judge on So You Think You Can Dance. Lythgoe maintains his innocence in the matter. Read his full statement provided to TMZ below.

To say that I am shocked and saddened by the allegations made against me by Paula Abdul is a wild understatement. For more than two decades, Paula and I have interacted as dear — and entirely platonic — friends and colleagues. Yesterday, however, out of the blue, I learned of these claims in the press, and I want to be clear: not only are they false, but they are deeply offensive to me and to everything I stand for.

While Paula’s history of erratic behavior is well known, I can’t pretend to understand exactly why she would file a lawsuit that she must know is untrue. But I can promise that I will fight this appalling smear with everything I have.

You don’t hear from Kellyanne Conway much these days, which is probably for the best. Before the holidays, the comic-turned-Trump stooge made a surprise return, in which she wildly speculated that Democrats are obsessed with Jan. 6 while driving electric cars to get abortions. (Guilty as charged!) But let’s not forget about her daughter Claudia, who famously does not agree with her mom, to put it lightly.

On Saturday, amidst news that Maine had, like Colorado, at least temporarily removed Donald Trump from the ballot over that whole overturning democracy jawn, Clauda dropped a tweet that seemed to celebrate the move.

“Guys my two favorite states are Maine and Colorado right now buttttt I’m not sure why,” Claudia wrote, accompanied by a plethora of celebratory emojis.

The decision to boot Trump from the ballots on those states, with more sure to follow, has been controversial, and not only amongst Republicans (including, oddly, those challenging him for the nomination). Some have charged that not only will the blockage be overturned, but it could also further inflame his base, who see him as martyrs. On the other hand, there’s the 14th amendment, which prohibits anyone who engaged in insurrection from holding the most powerful office in the land.

But for now, Trump is banned from ballots in two states, who don’t want anything to do with some guy who has straight-up vowed to be a dictator if re-elected, which sounds like it should be disqualifying, too.

(Via Newsweek)

On December 29, Paula Abdul filed a case of her own in the courts against former American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance producer Nigel Lythgoe, as well as the show’s production companies. In documents obtained by Rolling Stone, Abdul accused Lythgoe of sexually assaulting her on several occasions during her time hosting each show.

Yesterday (December 30), Lythgoe reached out to TMZ to deny the allegations made by Abdul. Read his full statement below:

To say that I am shocked and saddened by the allegations made against me by Paula Abdul is a wild understatement. For more than two decades, Paula and I have interacted as dear — and entirely platonic — friends and colleagues. Yesterday, however, out of the blue, I learned of these claims in the press and I want to be clear: not only are they false, they are deeply offensive to me and to everything I stand for.

While Paula’s history of erratic behavior is well known, I can’t pretend to understand exactly why she would file a lawsuit that she must know is untrue. But I can promise that I will fight this appalling smear with everything I have.

The Dallas Cowboys escaped Saturday night with a controversial 20-19 win over the Lions after Detroit went for two and the win after a touchdown in the final minute. Their initial two-point conversion try was a pass to lineman Taylor Decker that seemingly won them the game, but he was flagged for illegal touching, as referee Brad Allen said he had failed to report as eligible.

However, as ESPN’s cameras showed, both Decker and Penei Sewell — who was also lined up as an eligible receiver — went over to Allen prior to the play, with Dan Skipper also running over to Allen at the same time. Allen thought Skipper was reporting as eligible, as he had a few times previously, and told the Cowboys that was the case, flagging Decker for catching the ball and Skipper for being covered up on the play. It appears it was a massive misunderstanding of who was reporting eligible, and on Sunday morning, FOX’s rules expert Dean Blandino broke down exactly what happened and why he felt the Lions and Allen both shared some responsibility for the mistake.

As Blandino notes, players have to clearly identify as eligible, usually by wiping the front of their jersey along with a verbal indicator, and while Decker and Sewell go over to Allen, they don’t make an obvious gesture. At the same time, he says Allen can’t be in a rush in this instance and has to get this right given the situation, as he seems to almost assume 70 is reporting eligible because he runs over — which may have been a bit of gamesmanship to keep the Cowboys a little confused as to who was actually going to be eligible.

In a postgame pool report, Allen explained his view of the situation and didn’t feel Sewell and Decker were declaring themselves as eligible, even with the video showing them clearly coming over to him prior to the play.

While the Lions certainly could’ve made things a bit clearer, it’s a poor job by Allen of not paying close enough attention to what he was being told that quite possibly cost Detroit the game — it must be said that if Allen had gotten it right and had 68 and 58 as eligible, he would’ve told the Cowboys and they would’ve likely defended the play a bit differently. The entire saga won’t help the view of many that NFL officiating has gotten worse recently, as making that kind of mistake in that moment is pretty dreadful.