The way we come across long-lasting friendships is often unexpected. But when you’re part of a military family. You learn to grab hold of the good people you meet and carry those friendships across states and oceans. You mark your friendships based off of what base you were stationed at when you met them and know those friendships can withstand just about anything because they’ve been tried.
So for an American family stationed in Japan, there was no doubt at least one lifelong friendship would be made. It just may have been surprising that the friend wasn’t affiliated with the military. Instead, the friend was an older Japanese man who didn’t speak English and lived next door to the young family in Yokosuka, Japan.
But this isn’t the first time this unique story went viral. In 2013, Reddit user Theresa52 posted a picture of a note that she received from her neighbor-turned-friend. People loved the letter and sweet story attached. Theresa explained that after moving to their new neighborhood in Japan, she and her husband passed out beer and chocolate to their neighbors. A few hours later, they met, Hiroshi Yamashita, their new neighbor and one of the recipients of their gift.
When Yamashita knocked on the family’s door, he presented them with gifts of his own—toilet paper, stuffed animals and a note. In the thread Theresa noted, “Things that are consumable and household necessities are popular gifts. We have heard lots of stories about people getting laundry soap,” after someone asked if toilet paper was a common housewarming gift in Japan. The stuffed animals were for their infant daughter at the time.
But the note is what keeps going viral. It starts out, “I can’t speak English. Thank you for the present. My name is Hiroshi Yamashita. I’m 52 years old. [I’m divorced] and I live alone.” Since Yamashita didn’t speak English, the note had some spots that were difficult to understand but the intent was clearly pure.
Theresa wrote in the comments of the post that it appeared that he was asking if her husband was in the Navy. While the sentences are out of order a bit, if you reorganize them a little, it seems Yamashita is attempting to say, “I have stuffed animals and toilet paper. You can use it if you’d like.”
The man concludes the letter with “Thank you for your friend operation.” It seemed that he was thanking the family for their hospitality, but Reddit users surmised that he was referring to Operation Friendship in 2011 when the United States aided Japan after an earthquake. Either way, it was still friendship operation because what says friendship like taking time out of your day to write in a language you don’t speak just to make sure your neighbors feel welcomed?
“It was adorable! We had brought him a six pack and some chocolate and tried to introduce ourselves to him. A couple hours later he brought over this letter with a pack of toilet paper and some stuffed animals for our daughter,” Theresa wrote in the comments while joking that their initial introduction probably amused Yamashita.
Further explaining within comment threads, Theresa said that they used pointing and Google Translate when they initially met Yamashita, and in turn, he used a translator app to write the note.
Theresa shared an update in the comments about six years after the story originally went viral saying, “We all exchanged gifts and food regularly for the four years I lived there. We would go to neighborhood festivals and have dinners together as well. I miss them all and think about them often.”
You never know when being kind will turn into a life long friendship. We certainly hope Yamashita and Theresa are doing just as well today and are continuing to spread their kindness around.
Weddings come in many different shapes and sizes. And species, apparently.
Ask actor and vintage video cassette tape collector Matt McCarthy what the weirdest footage he’s ever uncovered was, and he’ll give you the same answer every time: the dog wedding.
Not just any dog wedding, but a truly elaborate affair—complete with a throng of party guests, two-tier wedding cake and an Elvis impersonator.
In a video posted to his TikTok account, where he entertains over 149,000 followers with his obscure discoveries, McCarthy shows a cassette labeled “Gigi and Barney’s Wedding, Beagles Love” dated June 5, 1994.
“Can you believe this summer will be their 29th wedding anniversary? I wonder what they’re up to now,” he quips while dropping the cassette into a VHS player.
At first, we see grainy static that eventually clears to reveal the blushing bride and dashing groom, dressed in a veil and tux.
There are, of course, some rules to this shindig, which an officiant of some sort shares with the guests, sparing no doggy puns: No tears allowed, just barking. And all hush puppies (shoes, apparently) must be removed. Giggles ensue.
Joining paws, Gigi and Barney then exchange vows. “For better or worse, for fleas or no fleas, for shedding or no shedding.”
“By the power invested in me by the puppy law foundation, I now pronounce you a canine couple,” the officiant says. “You may lick your bride, Barney.”
And then…party! The camera quickly cuts to an Elvis impersonator, who surely must consider this to be one of his stranger gigs, followed by wedding guests congratulating the lovepups. Barney even gets to cut the cake…with a little help from their human companions.
“VHS tapes,” McCarthy says at the end of the clip. “The possibilities are endless.”
It might be the strangest footage McCarthy has ever dug up, but it’s also the most loved, going by the TikTok comments.
“I didn’t expect when I opened up TikTok today I’d be witness to a vintage dog wedding 🥰 Life is beautiful,” one person wrote.
“I am forever changed,” added another.
McCarthy literally has hundreds of obscure VHS finds. A good lot of them are tapedtelevision programs (Remember when we had to do that?) featuring old commercials that thrust you down memory lane so fast you’ll get whiplash.
You can find McCarthy and his impressive videotape collection on TikTok. And to Gigi and Barney: Congrats. You two were clearly loved, and we hope your marriage was joyous and flea-free.
When Justin Fox gave his bride, Raven, her engagement ring, she noticed it had an odd feature. Sitting under a glittering array of diamonds, just under the head of the ring, was a tiny white rock—or what appeared to be a rock—where it looked like a diamond should be.
Raven asked Fox if it was a mistake, and he said, “No, that’s the way it’s supposed to be.” He told her that one day he would explain the significance of that little rock.
That “one day” turned out to be their wedding day, smack dab in the middle of their vows in front of all their friends and family. And the meaning of the “rock”? Well, that turned out to be one of the oddest but sweetest engagement ring stories ever.
In a video that has gotten over 4 million views on TikTok, Fox shared how—and why—his bride’s ring has the surprise feature.
As Fox explains, it all started when the couple went hiking together and Fox jumped over a waterfall. Raven followed him, but she didn’t quite make it across as smoothly as he did.
“Not even close,” said Fox. Raven fell flat on her face on the rocky embankment—we’re talking total, legs-in-the-air-scorpion-style faceplant.
“I just remember thinking that ‘this girl has literally fallen for me,'” Fox quips. “She is literally head over heels in love. There is no place on Earth that I could go where she won’t follow, where she won’t be by my side.”
But the next part of the story is where it gets really good. Watch Fox’s “wedding vows remix” in which he reveals where the “little rock” in her engagement ring came from.
It’s the long awaited follow-up video! Including a look at her wedding ring AND footage of her famous “leap of faith”! @GetRippedWithRaven @Smitha Lee #fyp #foryoupage #viral #funny #wedding
People in the comments went nuts over both the unique love story and the groom’s genuinely thoughtful and funny approach to his wedding vows.
“THIS IS HOW YOU DO WEDDING VOWS,” wrote Arielle Lillian.
“Her chipped tooth inside the ring is SO FUNNY and so significant to yalls story. So thoughtful!” shared Jasmine Rene.
“If his vows ain’t like this I don’t want him,” wrote NCsquared.
“This is how you tastefully roast your partner in vows,” wrote Lol.
People also shared that they love the way he talked about her and her personality and what he loves about her, not just what she does for him.
Best wedding vows ever? Perhaps. But one thing’s for certain—Raven is guaranteed that her ring is truly one-of-a-kind.
Sometimes the best new R&B can be hard to find, but there are plenty of great rhythm-and-blues tunes to get into if you have the time to sift through the hundreds of newly released songs every week. So that R&B heads can focus on listening to what they really love in its true form, we’ll be offering a digest of the best new R&B songs that fans of the genre should hear every Friday.
Since the last update of this weekly R&B and Afrobeats column, we’ve received plenty of music and news from the genre’s artists.
Brent Faiyaz teamed up with producer Marshmello for “Fell In Love,” a record that Brent uses to point out his lover’s misconceptions about him. He also announced his F*ck The World, It’s A Wasteland Tour. The Weeknd announced a new coffee line that paid homage to his heritage, and Ashanti and Nelly got back together after nearly a decade apart.
Here are some more releases on the new music front that you should check out:
Jidenna — Me You & God
It’s been nearly four years since Jidenna last released an album, but the “Classic Man” himself is back with his third album Me You & God. It’s an independent effort that comes years removed from his mainstream success, but it’s still a body of work that is true to everything we’ve known Jidenna for. Its 13 songs include features from Roman GianArthur, Gardens & Villa, Sensei Bueno, and Bootsy Collins.
BJ The Chicago Kid — “Forgot Your Name” Feat. Cory Henry
Fresh off a deal with RCA Records, BJ The Chicago Kid is ready to start a new era that will hopefully lead to his third album very soon. The first step toward that comes with “Forgot Your Name” featuring Cory Henry. It’s a sweet and honest record that captures the early moments of romance between BJ and an unnamed companion. A night filled with music, dance, drinks, and smoking has BJ caught up in the moment, so much so that he forgets his new companion’s name, but he uses that as an opportunity to share his feelings about this person with them.
Sevyn Streeter — “It’s A Man’s World”
Ladies and gentlemen, Sevyn Streeter is back! Though she returns with a cover of James Brown’s 1966 classic record “It’s Man’s Man’s World,” it’s still a more than enjoyable track to hear from her. She takes on the track with equal amounts of authority and grace that make it a captivating experience altogether. It’s always risky taking on a classic, but Sevyn does right by it no doubt.
Q — Soul, Present
Though he doesn’t have the most search-friendly name, Brooklyn singer Q is worth a look into and a listen at the very least. He arrives with his debut album Soul, Present, and through its 10 songs, Q presents a masterful blend of soul, funk, R&B, and alternative music. It’s a project crafted to impressive levels and it comes with a feature from Baby Rose too!
Phabo — “Casamigos”
Take this as another warning to hop on the Phabo wave while you still can. The singer is gearing up to release a new project, one that will be a follow-up to 2021’s Soulquarius, and ahead of that, he checks back in with “Casamigos.” The chilled-out single is a perfect snapshot of Phabo’s composed and confident demeanor, as well as, his excellent songwriting and composition skills. Case in point, Phabo’s next album isn’t one to sleep on.
Amaarae — “Co-Star”
Next month, Ghanaian-American singer Amaarae will release her second album Fountain Baby, the follow-up to 2020’s The Angel You Don’t Know. After the release of its lead single “Reckless,” Amaare delivers her second offering from Fountain Baby with “Co-Star.” The energetic record is perfect for the dance floor regardless of your skills, and at a bare moment, it’s an energy-pumping tune that’ll give your day an upbeat boost.
Reggie Becton — Sadboy, Vol. 1
Two years after his Californication album, Reggie Becton serves up a new batch of songs with his Sadboy, Vol. 1. Its eight songs, which are inspired by cinematic efforts like Kill Bill and The Dark Knight trilogy, feature a more somber Reggie who delivers records about the struggles and down moments in love while still finding brief pockets to have fun in.
Amari Noelle — “For The Girls” Feat. Kodie Shane
At the end of March, Gary, Indiana singer Amari Noelle shared her Take II project which arrived with seven sweet songs to dive into and experience everything that makes the singer a fulfilling listen. Now, she’s back with an update on that project thanks to the addition of “For The Girls” with Kodie Shane. Both Amari and Kodie use the record to boast about their qualities and the things that make them an attractive person to have by your side.
Nil Bambu — “Runnin’ Plays”
Miami singer Nil Bambu continues her return to the music landscape with her second single of the year, “Runnin’ Plays.” This bass-thumping number presents Bambu as the ride of die companion who’s ready to treat her partner to a relaxing and sensual end to their night to cap off a hard day of work. It’s a record that follows her January release, “Incomplete.”
Taylor Belle — “Say My Name”
With her new EP Star Girl on the way, Los Angeles singer Taylor Belle is back in action with “Say My Name.” It’s a record that toes the line between sultry and passionate. The song arrives a little over a year after Belle’s last project, Out Of Body.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
For some people, fast food is an everyday occurrence. It’s cheap and it’s convenient. If you spend most of the day working and get a brief lunch break, have a long commute that carves into kitchen time, or don’t have the space to whip up a meal on the regular (like sexy pasta), fast food can get you fed and do it fast. But that isn’t everyone’s reality. Whether you’re on a strict diet, love to cook, or live for the meal prep, you might see fast food as a special treat.
A once-a-month (or week) occurrence where you put sensible eating behind for one big indulgent flavor bomb of salty, greasy taste-bud-tingling sensations.
We respect that, but with so much fast food out there we imagine it’s incredibly hard to choose where to spend all your calories and cash. That’s why we’re breaking down five of the most popular and unhealthiest menu items in all of fast food to reveal which are actually worth all the extra calories and sodium. Our food lineup is as follows:
Burger King’s Triple Whopper With Cheese
KFC’s Famous Bowl
McDonald’s Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese
Taco Bell’s Nachos BellGrande
Wendy’s Baconator
These dishes are popular, calorically dense, and full of fat and sodium. But god damn are they good. So we broke down their nutritional stats and ranked them from least worth it to most, to help you find the greatest fast food indulgence your money can buy. Let’s start with the least worth it of the bunch.
5. Burger King — Triple Whopper With Cheese
Burger King
Stats:
Calories: 1,220
Fat: 82g
Sodium: 1,470mg
Tasting Notes:
Dry city. The Triple Whopper slips three quarter-pound charbroiled beef patties inside a sesame seed bun with three slices of ultra-thin cheese that strangely doesn’t melt, tomatoes, watery lettuce, mayo, thick-cut pickles, and sliced white onions. Biting into this thing is hard — you need to have a gigantic mouth — and aside from that it doesn’t deliver the indulgent experience you might be hoping for.
Instead of a big juicy mouthwatering burger, you get a mealy texture that requires a laborious chew and has a burnt, dirty grill flavor. The bun doesn’t help — it’s big and bready, structurally sound enough to hold the ingredients, but since it’s such a big bun it only adds to the dryness. The mayo on the top bun wants to be some sort of lubricant to the whole experience but there isn’t nearly enough.
I’ve never eaten a burger and thought “needs more mayo,” but this burger is just built different, I guess.
The Bottom Line/ What You Should Order Instead:
A Bacon and Cheese Whopper. If you love that Whopper char, this burger adds some extra crunch and smokey flavors to the mix (satisfying your craving for a lot of meat) while still allowing space for the other ingredients, like the spicy white onions and briney pickles, to shine. It’s a better burger in every way and while I wouldn’t go as far as calling it healthy, it’s significantly less insane than the Triple Whopper.
The Bacon and Cheese Whopper clocks in at 790 calories, 51 grams of fat, and 1,560 milligrams of sodium. Yes, that’s more sodium, we didn’t say it was a perfect option, just a more delicious one.
You know how Taco Bell makes watered-down Mexican food for the masses? I’m not criticizing the brand for this, Taco Bell scratches a certain itch but let’s be real, it is what it is. Well, no single menu item botches the core idea behind Taco Bell like the Nachos BellGrande. The dish features crumbles of beef, nacho cheese sauce, sour cream, beans, and tomatoes. All of these ingredients are scattered over a bed of stale chips and it’s impossible to experience all of them with every bite. You spend most of your meal navigating how you’re going to get a sufficient amount of beans, beef, and tomatoes on a single chip.
And there is no payoff — the chips are stale, the beans are weirdly powdery and flavorless, the tomatoes are never ripe, and the cheese sauce and sour cream are a salty mess. Have you ever had real nachos from a taqueria? You get house-made chips, cilantro, onion, tomatoes, beans, layers of melted cheese, meat, salsa, and guacamole — you don’t even need f*cking sour cream, but you can have that too! Nachos BellGrande comes across as slightly elevated movie theater nachos. It’s edible, but is this how you really want to spend your money at Taco Bell? You could close your eyes and pick a better dish at random.
The Bottom Line/ What You Should Order Instead:
Get the Beefy Melt Burrito. With beef, rice, nacho cheese sauce, sour cream, a three-cheese blend, and fiesta strips. it has almost all of the same flavors and thanks to the fiesta strips you get almost the same textural mouthfeel while avoiding those truly awful beans. Also, you can get it grilled, who doesn’t love a grilled burrito?
The Beefy Melt has 620 calories, 29 grams of fat, and 1,190 milligrams of sodium, again, yes, that’s more sodium, but there is an easy workaround to this that’ll give you a better burrito. Ditch the sour cream and nacho cheese sauce.
Thanks to the three-cheese blend you’re still getting cheese in your burrito, but it’s much better tasting and more complex, and I know it might be hard to ditch sour cream but you can always get a cup of hot red sauce on the side and be left with a more flavorful burrito. And if you truly don’t care about the nutritional stats, you can add fries into this baby!
That’s right, fries inside the burrito. This is the kind of stuff Taco Bell should be selling, I shouldn’t have to dream it up for them.
For people who have never been to KFC (they’re out there) I always advise them to order a Famous Bowl. It is a collection of all of KFC’s best foods (chicken nuggets, mashed potatoes, and gravy, corn with some shredded cheese for good measure) in a single bowl. If you don’t like the Famous Bowl, it’s safe to say you don’t like KFC. Even if you haven’t had a Famous Bowl in a minute, it might be worth a trip to KFC, since the bowl has been slightly reworked and is better for it.
The OG famous bowl featured bits of popcorn chicken on top, but now that KFC has launched Original Recipe nuggets, they just toss those into the mix instead. The nuggets are incredibly well seasoned with a mix of black pepper, garlic, onion, thyme, paprika, and oregano — it’s earthy, herbal, and has quite possibly the juiciest chicken in all of fast food. The nuggets alone are worth it, but then to be able to dip each one in a scoop of buttery mashed potatoes and savory gravy? Come on, it rarely gets better than this!
The Bottom Line/ What You Should Order Instead:
You can’t top the Famous Bowl!
Why would you want to? Oh right, the insane amount of sodium. 2,160mg of sodium is a lot of sodium, more than most people should consume in a single day. If you ditch the gravy and shredded cheese you’re looking at 490 calories, 17 grams of fat, and 1,460 mg of sodium — it’s still a lot of sodium and the change up causes you to lose out on a lot of flavor so we say: f*ck it. Go big or go home!
2. McDonald’s — Double Quarter Pounder With Cheese
McDonald
Calories: 740
Fat: 42g
Sodium: 1,360mg
McDonald’s best cheeseburger on the menu?
Yeah, we don’t even have to get to the bottom line, this is a buy. The Double Quarter Pounder sports two delicious beefy and juicy meat patties, two slices of American cheese, ketchup, pickle slices, onions, and mustard, and offers savory bite after savory bite of beefy perfection.
The onions are bright and crisp, the ketchup and mustard combination is a McDonald’s staple flavor, part tangy, part sweet and bright, and the way it all comes together is a proof of concept for why McDonald’s is the biggest fast food chain of all time. Burger King please take note, this is how you make a burger!
The Bottom Line/ What You Should Order Instead:
Look, I love the Double Quarter Pounder, but hear me out for a second. Get the OG Quarter Pounder instead. Sure you’re getting one less meat patty, which drops the nutritional stats to 520 calories, 26 grams of fat, and 1,140mg of sodium, but you’re still getting two slices of cheese which offers a better meat-to-cheese ratio than the Double, making each bite come across as just a bit saltier. In a good way.
Plus it’ll make you feel a lot less guilty about getting that side order of fries, and let’s be real, are you really going to go to McDonald’s and not get fries?
Against all of the giant national fast food chains, the Baconator is the best burger. Equal parts beefy and smokey, this burger features two layers of beef and two layers of perfectly cooked smokey bacon. It’s a savory flavor bomb, offering rich beefy notes and a slightly sweet pork flavor. Because the beef isn’t frozen, it’s so juicy and tender you honestly don’t even need the mayo or ketchup to cover up the dryness. The sauce mixture adds a hint of tang and umami flavor which truly helps to elevate this simple but perfect burger.
Wendy’s just does beef and bacon better than all of the big fast food brands, and while this burger lacks the typical accouterments like onions or pickles, it puts emphasis on the complex flavors of its well-prepared meats allowing them to shine in a way few burger chains are brave enough to do.
The Bottom Line/ What You Should Order Instead:
I can’t sing the praises of the Baconator enough but, I’m going to be real with you, the Baconator is too big. Double quarter-pound beef patties and double bacon? It’s a lot. So I’m going to suggest you order that Son of Baconator. The build is exactly the same, you’re still getting two beef patties and two layers of bacon, all the cheese, and ketchup and mayo, but the meat patties and bun are both smaller.
The result is all of the same flavors with 630 calories, 40 grams of fat, and 1,210 mg of sodium. The only reason to get the Baconator over the Son of Baconator is an intense level of hunger. If that’s what you got, you’re going to be happy with the Baconator, but if you struggle to finish this behemoth of a burger, the Son of Baconator gives you everything you need with a change-up that doesn’t feel like a compromise.
Rap fans haven’t heard from Gunna much since he was arrested a year ago as part of the sweeping racketeering indictment against Young Thug’s YSL Records. After being denied bondmultiple times over the course of the next six months, Gunna was offered a plea deal in which he pled guilty to his one count of racketeering in exchange for his release.
Unfortunately, some rap fans have looked at his admission of guilt unkindly, and accusations of “snitching” have circulated online. While he’s repeatedly denied that he offered any information to authorities that could affect the outcome of the remaining YSL defendants’ trials, some observers have criticized him anyway, since despite giving a so-called “Alford plea,” his admission could still be used against Young Thug and the other members of YSL still locked up. Still, that hasn’t stopped hardcore Gunna fans from wondering when or whether he’s planning to release new music.
When a fan account posted the question “Gunna, where TF are you?” he popped up in the comments to reply, “I’m OTW [on the way].” While that’s an answer that could be charitably described as “vague,” it’s still more information than fans had before his reply. The more crucial question — will fans accept him back when he returns? — still remains to be answered.
For the first time in three seasons, someone other than Nikola Jokic was named NBA MVP. While Jokic was able to come in second place — an impressive honor in its own right — the MVP award made its way to Philadelphia, as Joel Embiid was able to become the seventh player in franchise history to be named the best player in the league.
The pair had gone 1-2 in each of the last three seasons, with Jokic beating out Embiid in 2021 and 2022. But this year, Embiid finished first, and unsurprisingly appeared on every ballot that was submitted. This also applied to Giannis Antetokounmpo, as the third-place finisher got on every ballot as well.
But that wasn’t the case for Jokic, who only appeared on 99 of the 100 ballots that were cast. It made folks wonder who, exactly, left the Nuggets star off, and on Thursday afternoon, we learned that ESPN analyst Mark Jackson was the only person to not include Jokic. Here’s his entire ballot:
This, funny enough, was almost exactly the same as the All-NBA First Team this year, with the difference being Luka Doncic made it over Mitchell. Anyway, the NBA put out full awards voting results on Thursday, and if you’d like to check them out, you can do that here.
Just because someone does something for a long time, it doesn’t make them good at it. For instance, Vanna White has been a co-host on Wheel Of Fortunefor over 40 years, but does she know the logistics of buying a vowel in this economy? It sure doesn’t seem like it.
Unfortunately, White was a contestant on the most recent episode of Celebrity Wheel Of Fortune, where she competed against Jeopardy! hosts Mayim Bialik and Ken Jennings. While one might think White would have a home-field advantage nothing can stop those smarty-pants Jeopardy hosts from spelling words!
The host was raising money for St. Judes Children’s Hospital and managed to rack up only $2k while competing. She also didn’t seem to pay attention too much, as she called out letters that had already been used. After learning that maybe she has spent the last four decades misunderstanding the rules, she exclaimed, “I’m terrible at this game!”
Even though she didn’t win (Bialik won the first, while Jennigs took the second) White was proud of herself for doing something out of her comfort zone. Coincidentally, her comfort zone was just a few yards to the right by the puzzle board, where Pat Sajak’s daughter Maggie took over co-hosting. Aren’t family businesses great?
White might not be a pro, but maybe Pat Sajak will have his time to shine and take a wheel spin. After all, he frequently gets frustrated when contestants don’t know the rules, so maybe he’ll crack under the pressure too.
Less than 24 hours after Donald Trump was found liable for sexually abusing and defaming E. Jean Carroll, the former president participated in a CNN town hall where he proceeded to repeat the exact same attacks that lost him the civil trial. During the CNN event, Trump once again claimed to have never even met Carroll (before admitting that, okay, he posed for a photo with her) and proceed to call her a “whack job” that only won because of a “rigged deal.”
“Physically, she’s not my type, and now that I’ve gotten indirectly to hear things about her, she wouldn’t be my type in any way, shape, or form,” Trump joked to the crowd, which actually laughed at his jokes about Carroll thanks to CNN inexplicably stacking the audience with MAGA voters.
Trump’s smears were so bad that The View‘s Joy Behar wondered the next morning if Carroll could sue Trump for defamation again. Co-host Sunny Hostin, who’s also an attorney, said she could sue again, and according to a new report, Carroll just might.
E. Jean Carroll is weighing whether to file a new defamation lawsuit against former President Donald J. Trump in the wake of his diatribe against her during a CNN town hall Wednesday night, when he said her claim of a decades-old sexual assault was “fake” and a “made-up story,” her lawyer said on Thursday.
Mr. Trump’s comments on CNN came one day after a federal jury in Manhattan awarded Ms. Carroll $5 million in damages after finding Mr. Trump liable for sexually abusing her in the mid-1990s and liable for defaming her last year when he described her claim of assault as a “complete con job,” a “Hoax and a lie” in a social media post.
In a comment to the Times, Carroll said she was asleep during Trump’s town hall, but her attorney sent her a transcript, which does not bode well for Trump.
“I am upset on the behalf of young men in America,” Carroll said. “They cannot listen to this balderdash and this old-timey view of women, which is a cave-man view.”
Last month, Killer Mike announced his first solo album in over a decade with the release of “Don’t Let The Devil.” The song, produced by his longtime partner in rhyme El-P and veteran Chicago beatmaker No I.D., finds Mike warning listeners not to “let the devil coerce you.”
This week, Mike followed up with a two-part music video release. The first part, which is for “Don’t Let The Devil” follows the Atlanta rapper as he unpacks his formative memories — literally, as he peruses a box of old photos — then attends a party where he plays cards with a group of OGs. However, he begins to reflect, remembering his relationship with his late mom, sparking the connection to Part 2: the video for “Motherless.”
In the second video, which features Eryn Allen Kane, Mike recalls his mom’s passing as he views dramatized scenes from her life. The video ends with a scene of benediction by a riverside, echoing the gospel elements in the song’s instrumental. In a statement, Mike revealed that “Motherless” was the last song he recorded for the album at No I.D.’s behest.
“It was the last song made for the album because I hadn’t uttered these words out loud since her transitioning. When I tell the story of my mother the tales told include one when I walked in on her attempting to take her own life- it gets to the heart of how deeply sensitive an artist and human she was. She survived, was diagnosed bi-polar and depressed; she fought that until the day she died. She lived a beautifully rich outlaw of a life and I am honored to show her as the total beautiful badass she was…
These aren’t meant to be sad videos or eulogies. This is a celebration of a BAD ASS BLACK GIRL from the westside of Atlanta. She’s been affectionately called OG Mama Niecy by the many people she helped stay on their path.
He also explained the inspiration behind the two videos. “El’s heard me talk about these bohemian-artsy-disco infused parties my mom used to throw when I was kid,” he said. “I’d hear everything there- that’s where I first heard Grandmaster Flash, Kurtis Blow & Whodini. So when we were trying to figure out what the video for ‘Don’t Let The Devil’ should be – Jaime came back with this treatment written out and I cried at the end. What’s even crazier is he didn’t know what we were doing for ‘Motherless’ either but that’s the magic I guess.”
Watch Killer Mike’s videos for “Don’t Let The Devil” and “Motherless above.
Mike’s album, Michael, is due 6/16 via Loma Vista Recordings. His tour for the album begins 7/10. You can find the tour dates here.
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This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
