The Phoenix Suns‘ season came to an unceremonious end on Thursday night. For the second year in a row, Phoenix got blown out at home in an elimination game, with Thursday’s loss being a 125-100 defeat at the hands of the Denver Nuggets to send Nikola Jokic and co. to the Western Conference Finals.
Outside of a big night from Cameron Payne, basically nothing went right for the Suns on the day. That especially applied to Kevin Durant, as the team’s All-Star forward started the evening 1-for-10 from the field and ended with 19 rebounds, five rebounds, and five assists. And after the game, Durant expressed his disappointment in the manner in which Phoenix got taken down.
“It sucked,” Durant said, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPN. “It was a bad feeling. Embarrassing.”
The Suns were short handed in their question to knock off the 1-seed in the Western Conference. Chris Paul suffered a groin injury earlier in the series that held him out, while Deandre Ayton was unable to play in Game 6 due to a rib injury that he suffered a game prior. Regardless, trading for Durant at the deadline was the sort of all-in move that comes with an eye on winning a ring as soon as possible. The good news for Phoenix is that Durant is under contract until the end of the 2025-26 campaign, while Devin Booker has one more year on his current deal before his supermax extension kicks in and will keep him under contract through the 2027-28 season.
Lauren Boebert was recently taken to task by a constituent after she proposed legislation to enshrine the AR-15 as the “national gun.” Now (and via other legislation), she is climbing aboard the Meatball DeSantis train as he continues his (ironically anti-Republican in a way) stance of attacking a business that brings billions of dollars annually to the Florida economy. Disney CEO Bob Iger reacted by suggesting that he could pull future investments (up to $17 billion over the next decade), and this arrives after Disney sued DeSantis for essentially being a d*ck over his state’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law.
Along the way, DeSantis has threatened to erect a prison next to Mickey’s home turf in the state, which are more than fighting words to a business that’s helped keep Florida financially afloat for five decades. And Lauren Boebert is making it known — by adding her voice to an anti-Disney bill introduced by Rep. Troy Nehls of Texas — that she is down with Ol’ Pudding Fingers.
Nehl initially introduced this bill in 2022, and he’s now reintroduced it in light of his party’s increasing anti-Disney sentiment, largely due to the conglomerate’s support of the LGBTQ+ community. Boebert, who has raised hell over drag queen storytimes in her district, was all too happy to join.
The legislation proposes removing the decades-old no-fly zones (put into place for national security reasons due to the Iraq War) above Disney theme parks. Here’s Boebert’s quote from a press release:
“Woke corporations shouldn’t get any favors from the government,” said Congresswoman Boebert. “The FAA has no business granting a no-fly-zone over Disney parks. Universal Studios, Hershey Park, Six Flags, and other theme parks don’t have no-fly-zones over them, and it’s time for Disney to get the same treatment. No corporation should get preferential treatment from the government—especially when it is grooming children. Go woke, go broke.”
I’m not sure what this alignment says about Boebert’s Trump devotion, but regardless, it’s wild to see Republicans declaring war against business, all for getting in jabs against “wokeness.” And last week, Boebert rambled through a hearing about “woke corporate activism” from Disney, as seen below.
Boebert: The hearing today will help us better understand what congress can do so that activist stakeholders will not encourage woke corporate activism as we have seen recently with Anheuser-Busch, Disney, and even Nike pic.twitter.com/bY4x4iyKwM
Yes, part of the GOP is on an anti-business bender. MAGA diehard Kid Rock literally shot up cans of Bud Light to protest the Dylan Mulvaney matter, which also inspired Boebert into her own Bud Light-themed self-own.
Meanwhile, Boebert rival Adam Frisch (who nearly defeated Boebert in 2022 and will run against her again in 2024) wants to know why Boebert is ignoring her own district and focusing upon Florida. “Yet another display of NOT focusing on our district by Lauren Boebert,” Frisch tweeted. “These culture war distractions don’t fool the hard-working folks of Colorado. They know she’s not right for Western and Southern Colorado.”
Last time I checked, Disney World was not in #CO03…
Yet another display of NOT focusing on our district by Lauren Boebert. These culture war distractions don’t fool the hard-working folks of Colorado. They know she’s not right for Western and Southern Colorado. pic.twitter.com/5LNB2TuN6R
— Adam Frisch for CD-3 (@AdamForColorado) May 11, 2023
Lil Durk earned his musical nickname, “The Voice,” because of his vivid lyrical depictions of growing up in Chicago’s tumultuous South Side. His new single, “All My Life,” featuring J. Cole, shows he isn’t taking his platform for granted. The song marks the first release from his forthcoming album, Almost Healed, due out later this month.
Produced by Dr. Luke, the rapper detours from high-energy drill music sound for a more subdued production style. Trading in his over-the-top percussive elements for an angelic choir filled with local youth. As Durk raps, “I decided I had to finish, but the media called me a menace / I done sat with the mayor and politicians, I’m tryna change the image / You can’t blame my past no more, I come from the trenches,” it’s clear that he’s heard the criticism of his recent advocacy work.
In the accompanying visual directed by Steve Cannon, Lil Durk and J. Cole join in with the young people on the set to unify into one collective voice. The video serves as a touching reminder that while the youth are indeed the future, it takes efforts from their elders to clear the way for them.
Watch the full video above.
Almost Healed is out 5/26 via Alamo Records/Sony. Find more information here.
The team was attempting to make a documentary about Santos, who burst into his first year in Congress on a world of lies that were exposed almost immediately after he took office. Just for a small sample, Santos claimed to be Jewish, a college volleyball champ, and a savior of dying animals, none of which proved to be true. He also had some highly questionable campaign finances that have now led to federal charges, and that apparently wasn’t his only cash grab.
In the audio, which was reportedly recorded during conversations between [filmmaker Blake] Zeff and Santos in January and February, Santos can be heard asking what the project will mean for him “monetarily.” “Look, I don’t have a number in my head,” Santos says in the clip aired on MSNBC’s The Beat with Ari Melber on Thursday night. “Like, the fact that I’m having these conversations, these are conversations I never in a million years thought I would be having. But when in Rome, you know, let’s have the conversations.”
According to Zeff, asking for money to appear in interviews is not “unlawful,” but despite Santos’ claim to the contrary, it’s “not common” for politicians to request payment. But then again, nothing about Santos has been common.
Dolly Parton has been teasing a rock cover album for a while after she was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. She recently announced that the title will fittingly be Rockstar and the tracklist includes features from Kid Rock, Miley Cyrus, Lizzo, Paul McCartney, and more.
Now, she’s shared the single “World On Fire,” which is one of few original tracks. It narrates the apocalypse, not hesitating to dive straight into current events: “Don’t get me started on politics / Now how are we to live in a world like this / Greedy politicians, present and past / They wouldn’t know the truth if it bit ‘em in the ass,” she sings.
She teased the rock album at the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame 2022 induction ceremony. “Well, I’m excited, I’m doing a rock and roll album,” she said. “I thought, ‘Well, the time is right.’ Timing’s everything. I had always thought I might do one, but I hadn’t thought about doing it right now. But I thought, ‘Well, why not right now, with all the hoopla and all the craziness that went on around this?’ So I’m gonna do it. I’m gonna do a lot of classic songs. I’ve written a few rock songs, and I’m gonna have a lot of the icons sing with me.”
Listen to “World On Fire” above.
Rockstar is out 11/17 via Butterfly Records. Find more information here.
Welcome to our Yellowjackets Sting Meter. We’ll measure the erratic, unexplainable behavior of the show’s main lineup, ranking them according to how dangerous, deadly, and certifiably insane they appear in each episode. Who’s just a whacky worker bee and who gets crowned Mad Queen of episode seven’s “Burial”? Let’s find out.
The brakes have blown. The rails are gone. And Yellowjackets is just careening wildly into a hallucinatory hellscape filled with jazz numbers, teenage fight clubs, and baby goats named Bruce. We couldn’t be happier.
After the devastating finale of episode six, the show returns this week with some light-hearted fare (still of the f*cked-up variety). As the snow begins to thaw and the girls emerge from the tragedy of Shauna’s stillbirth, new tensions arise within the group and one team member looks to end it all. In the present, a bit of forced self-care brings deep-buried issues to the surface and delivers a shocking twist we probably should’ve seen coming.
Episode seven’s “Burial” is asking all kinds of disturbing, self-reflective questions of our favorite cannibals — and there’s not a mudbath in sight.
Ralph Ordaz
Queen Bee – Misty Quigley
Showtime
Misty Quigley has officially lost it. She may have never had it. But if she did, it’s gone now. And by it, we mean her sanity. When we chatted with Sam Hanratty about the show’s curly-haired wildcard, the actress revealed that the loss of Crystal (Nuha Jes Izman) would send her spiraling to new depths, and in episode seven’s “Burial,” we’re beginning to once again catch glimpses of the power-hungry teen so desperate for attention, she destroyed her team’s only chance of being rescued back in season one. In the past, Misty is covering up her tracks, faking concern for her dead bestie so that the other girls don’t suspect her of foul play. She does a good thing in the process by convincing Coach Ben to hobble away from the cliff’s edge, but does saving one life serve as penance for taking another? (At least she kept those flesh-eating mean girls from snacking on another girl’s bones.)
In the present, try as she might to escape the water coffin designed to penetrate her damaged psyche, Misty ends up floating through a bird core song and dance routine that might just be the whackiest thing we’ve seen on this show. John Cameron Mitchell singing rag-time tunes in a giant Parrot costume accompanied by a top-hat-wearing Elijah Wood? We’ll have whatever psychedelics the writer’s room was dosing with when they penned this beautiful monstrosity.
Ralph Ordaz
Shauna
Showtime
All of the Yellowjackets need therapy, but no one needs it more than our favorite mini-van murdering mom, Shauna Shipman. The loss of her baby has finally hit her — in the past and in the present — and as it often does, grief twists her into a warped, angry shell of the person she used to be. She unleashes some of her anger on her teammates, beating Lottie to a pulp while the rest of the girls look on, shocked and terrified. In the present, despite dismembering a human being just a few episodes ago, Adult Shauna is having an existential crisis over the idea of killing a baby goat. No one’s told her she’ll have to slit Bruce’s furry little throat, but she agonizes over the possibility all the same until finally coming to the realization that yes, losing a baby so young and so tragically has actually stunted her emotional development and erected a barrier in her relationships with her husband and daughter. Maybe this whole “self-care” thing works after all?
Lottie
Showtime
We’re sorry to say this, but Lottie Matthews is a hot mess. In the past, she’s sacrificing her face to Shauna’s fist – for the wilderness we guess? — despite knowing that she won’t be receiving any medical attention (or anti-inflammatories) after the fact. In the present, she’s been having conversations with her imaginary therapist and basing her entire approach to her glaring mental health issues on advice from her own hallucination. Girl, leave the self-help Goop-ing to Gwyneth Paltrow and go see a professional.
Ralph Ordaz
Coach Ben
Showtime
Ben is disassociating so much that even his hallucinations are like, “Bro, wake up.” And things only get worse when he has to be talked off a cliff – literally – by the child who tried to roofie him into not being gay. Maybe we should just let Ben end it all.
Ralph Ordaz
Van
Showtime
Van has lost belief – in Lottie, in the mysticism of the wilderness, in herself. She’s convinced Tai there’s a purpose in all of this and misplaced that same ideology in the process. In the present, she’s foraging herself a bottle of liquor and revealing a terminal cancer diagnosis before making out with her married high school sweetheart. Van’s not crazy, she’s just depressed.
Taissa
Showtime
Without her sleepwalking alter-ego to stir up some chaos, Tai’s been fairly low-key in both the past and the present. She’s trying to keep everyone’s spirits up, to be a pillar of support for a grieving Shauna and a deflated Van. She’s painting sheds with makeup brushes and admitting she needs help — though she won’t be getting any from Lottie’s delusional cult-leading self anytime soon. She’s sharing her feelings and encouraging others to do the same, finding belief where there isn’t any proof, and protecting the weak (read: Misty Quigley). What do we call that, people? Growth.
Ralph Ordaz
Nat
Showtime
Nat is a full-on convert of this heliotropic-simping intentional community and as happy as we are to see her mental health (supposedly) flourishing, her blind loyalty to Lottie is troubling. To say the least. What are the writers doing with Juliette Lewis this season? Somebody explain it to us.
Citizen Detective Thread
What happened to Lottie’s actual doctor, who most definitely did not go on sabbatical?
Is Van really sick, or is this just another way for her to put distance between herself and Tai?
Why would Coach Ben’s hallucinations rebel against him now?
And why the hell would he let Shauna destroy Lottie’s face like that?
Iconic electronic duo Daft Punk called it quits in 2021, but we’ve been hearing from them a lot lately. That’s because it’s the tenth anniversary of their final album, 2013’s Random Access Memories. Daft Punk marked the occasion today (May 12) by releasing a deluxe anniversary edition, which features about a half hour of previously unheard material from the era.
The highlight is “Infinity Repeating,” a song with The Strokes’ Julian Casablancas that didn’t end up making their album (“Instant Crush,” their other collaboration, does appear on the original LP, though). It’s a slow-burning effort, carried by keyboards and synths as the intensity gradually picks up over the course of the song.
Elsewhere in the bonus tracks are a couple of early looks at the album’s two Pharrell collaborations, “Get Lucky” and “Lose Yourself To Dance.” There’s an “early take” of “Get Lucky,” which runs for just half a minute and features the songs opening. They’ve also included “vocoder tests” for “Lose Yourself To Dance,” which sees the band and Pharrell trying out some different vocal settings.
Listen to “Infinity Repeating” and the “Get Lucky” early take above.
Random Access Memories (10th Anniversary Edition) is out now via Columbia Records. Find more information here.
“People are criticizing CNN for giving me a Forum to tell the TRUTH. I believe it was a very smart thing that they did, with Sky High Ratings that they haven’t seen in a very long time,” the former president wrote on Truth Social. “It was by far the biggest Show of the night, the week, and the month!”
The town hall drew 3.3 million viewers on Wednesday night, so Trump is half-right about one thing: CNN was the most-watched cable news network of the evening. But it was the not “the biggest Show” of the month. Or even the night. A random-ass episode of Chicago Med was viewed by 5.5 million boomers at the same time as Trump was calling Kaitlan Collins a “nasty person.”
Was it worth it for CNN to give guy who (the day before) was found liable for sex abuse and defamation (and might be sued again)? Chairman Chris Licht thinks so. “We all know covering Donald Trump is messy and tricky, and it will continue to be messy and tricky, but it’s our job,” he said, adding, “I absolutely, unequivocally believe America was served very well by what we did last night.” Trump agrees, and that’s why it was so “shameful.”
BTS may be serving mandatory time in the South Korean military, however, this isn’t stopping the boys from keeping fans fed. Tonight, they have shared a new single, “The Planet.”
On “The Planet,” the band celebrates love and unity, as they encourage listeners to team up in the name of love for the planet.
“Let’s rock the world / If we want it we can have it / We’ll save this planet / We love this planet,” sings the group on one of the song’s verses.
“The Planet” serves as the theme song for Bastions, an upcoming animated South Korean series.
In addition to new music, BTS is also gearing up to release a new memoir. Beyond The Story: 10-Year Record of BTS arrives in the US on July 9 via Flatiron Publishing. The book will feature personal accounts from the group’s members, as well as exclusive photos. The book’s publishing date coincides with the 10-year anniversary of the formation of the group’s dedicated fanbase, the Army.
Individually, the boys have been giving the Army their fill of music. Last month, Suga released his debut solo album, D-Day. Jimin also scored a Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 with his single, “Like Crazy.”
It’s been a busy few weeks for Jack Harlow. At the end of April, he released his third major label album, Jackman, to critical acclaim. Last week, he launched his charity, The Jack Harlow Foundation, which entails the hitmaker giving back to his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. Tonight (May 11), he celebrated the premiere of his movie, a remake of White Men Can’t Jump, which marks his acting debut.
In attendance at the White Men Can’t Jump premiere was Harlow’s collaborator and dear friend, Lil Nas X. While on the carpet, Lil Nas X wore a t-shirt featuring an image of Harlow, wearing a t-shirt featuring an image of Lil Nas X.
Lil Nas X attends the premiere of “White Men Can’t Jump” starring Jack Harlow wearing a t-shirt of Jack Harlow wearing a shirt of him at last year’s BET Awards. pic.twitter.com/VFjABIuEmc
This precious fashion statement arrives as a full circle moment after Harlow wore the t-shirt featuring Lil Nas X at the BET Awards after Lil Nas X was not invited to attend.
Harlow is featured on Lil Nas X’s 2021 hit, “Industry Baby,” which is taken from his debut album, Montero. Perhaps we can expect another collab in the near future, as Lil Nas X is gearing up to release his second album.
In the meantime, you can see a clip shared from the White Men Can’t Jump premiere above.
White Men Can’t Jump premieres 5/19 on Hulu.
Jack Harlow is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
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