For the past few days since last weekend, Frank Ocean’s headlining performance at Coachella 2023’s first weekend has remained on people’s minds. His set was a bit of a disaster, and later, reports surfaced that Ocean’s plan for the show had to be changed last-minute because he sustained an injury days before the performance. Then, it was confirmed yesterday (April 19) that Ocean is no longer scheduled to headline the upcoming second weekend of Coachella.
That news was confirmed via an official statement, and in that statement, Ocean reflected on his ill-fated first-weekend performance. In the statement, provided by an Ocean representative to publications including Billboard and Variety yesterday, Ocean said:
“It was chaotic. There is some beauty in chaos. It isn’t what I intended to show but I did enjoy being out there and I’ll see you soon.”
The statement also included a message not directly attributed to Ocean. It offers some context about the situation, reading, “After suffering an injury to his leg on festival grounds in the week leading up to weekend 1, Frank Ocean was unable to perform the intended show but was still intent on performing, and in 72 hours, the show was reworked out of necessity. On doctor’s advice, Frank is not able to perform weekend 2 due to two fractures and a sprain in his left leg.”
(WARNING: Spoilers for this week’s episode of Snowfall will be found below.)
Snowfall concluded not only its sixth season today, but the series as a whole as well. The show, which was created by the late John Singleton as well as Eric Amadio and Dave Andron, went on for six years and put out an equal amount of seasons that created a strong fanbase all over the world. Led by Damson Idris, who played the series’ main character Franklin Saint, Snowfall dramatized the story of the crack era in Los Angeles by showing how the Black community was involved and eventually hurt while outsiders, like the government, profitable from them.
In the season six finale of Snowfall, viewers watched Franklin hit rock bottom. The cocaine-turned-real estate empire that he built was snatched from him when Teddy, a CIA agent, stole $73 million from his account. Franklin nearly got the money back, but his mother Cissy shot and killed Teddy right when the money transfer was about to happen. This week, we watch Franklin go to the furthest lengths to get any money and keep whatever bit he has left of it. He asks for $3 million from his best friend Leon, he scolds and nearly assaults his girlfriend Veronique for attempting to sell one of the real estate properties, and he tries to convince Cissy to sign over her house to him so he can sell it. It all ends with Leon refusing to give him the money, Veronique packing up her things and cleaning their accounts to run away, and Cissy damn near disowning Franklin as her son.
From that point on, Franklin spirals to a new low. He goes to great lengths to break into a safe, thinking that there is $5 million in it. When he finally does, he only sees that $12,000 was left there. A couple more time jumps in the episode show that after that, Franklin is nothing more than an alcoholic who keeps to his mother’s house in fear that the CIA is watching him while scolding at a movie crew for shooting a film.
The series finale of Snowfall left fans absolutely gutted to see Franklin at rock bottom and they took to Twitter to share their reactions.
You can read those reactions below and read our recap of the season six finale here.
“Ain’t no chains on me, I’m finally free from this shit, not your way, not their way, but I’m free…” #SnowfallFX man I almost lost it. pic.twitter.com/eagPb5vRGa
After the Lakers ran away late in Game 1, Memphis found itself needing a win without Ja Morant to even the series before they head on the road to Los Angeles. On Wednesday night, they did just that, jumping out to an early lead and never giving it back in an impressive showing, led by their frontcourt of Xavier Tillman (22 points, 13 rebounds) and Jaren Jackson Jr. (18 points, nine rebounds, three blocks).
It was a night where Memphis’ defense shined, holding the Lakers to 41.9 percent shooting, doing a particularly strong job on Anthony Davis (13 points on 4-of-14 shooting) inside. LeBron James had 28 points and 12 rebounds to do his part to keep the Lakers in the game, but he needed 23 shots to get there and was not able to fully put the team on his back to carry them to a win on a down night for Davis. As has been the case all series, Dillon Brooks (12 points, 5-of-14 shooting) took on the assignment of defending James, and the two got into it in the third quarter, with James appearing to call Brooks a “motherf*cking bum” as the two teams went into a timeout.
After the game, Brooks was asked about the jawing and had plenty to say about James, first noting “he’s old” and proudly declaring he “pokes bears” and doesn’t “respect someone until they give me 40.”
Classic Dillon Brooks on his confrontation with LeBron James: “I don’t care. He’s old. … I poke bears. I don’t respect someone until he gives me 40.”
This is now the second time Brooks has prodded James, saying prior to the Playoffs that he hoped L.A. would win the first Play-In game because he wanted to face LeBron and send him home in the first round. Doubling down here is bold, but unsurprising by Brooks. It’ll be fascinating to see if LeBron takes Game 3 as an opportunity to try and eclipse that 40-point number required by Brooks to earn his respect.
And now, ahead of Swift’s The Eras Tour performances in Houston on Friday, April 21, and Saturday, April 22, NRG Stadium shall be known as “NRG Stadium (Taylor’s Version).” If you know, you know.
The temporary rebrand was announced by Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo on Wednesday, April 19, and she impressively squeezed in some Swift song titles like Swift’s signature knack for well-placed Easter eggs:
“Hi, Taylor. I’m Lina Hidalgo. I’m the county executive in Harris County, and I can’t wait to welcome you this weekend,” she says in the video. “I don’t want there to be any bad blood between us and your fans, so we’re pulling out all the stops. I know all too well that other areas have done huge things. They’ve lit up the town, they’ve renamed streets, they’ve even made you mayor for a day.”
She continued, “But we’re gonna do something even better. I know if I did any of that, folks would say that I am the man. But here’s what we’re doing: Long story short, we’re renaming NRG Stadium, where you’ll be performing, to ‘NRG Stadium (Taylor’s Version).’ With the name change, I know it’ll never go out of style. And plus, it’s not only the young that enjoy your music. I hope your stay here is beyond your wildest dreams, and for everybody in Harris County, let’s get ready for it.”
(WARNING: Spoilers for this week’s episode of Snowfall will be found below.)
There are many acceptable answers for what the theme of season six of Snowfall could be. In a Rolling Stone interview, Damson Idris himself said the theme was the “fracturing of the family,” which I can’t argue against. Some may say it’s the slow fall of the empire and its king, which again, I have no pushback against. However, to go a little bit further, we have to ask, what caused this once-impenetrable family to fracture? What caused this empire to fall? The answer is greed and not being able to say enough is enough.
A post on Twitter called for fans’ favorite scenes from the Snowfall series, and one user shared a clip of a season five conversation between Franklin and drug and weapons dealer Avi. Speaking about Franklin, he says, “This young man can do anything he wants, and that’s the biggest curse a man can have.” A befuddled Franklin questions Avi’s choice to call it a curse and Avi explains that Frankin’s unlimited skill set allows him to be and do anything he sets his mind to. He could be a teacher, a businessman, a rabbi, or a drug dealer. Avi has only been and will only be a weapons and drug dealer so that is what he set his mind on as he journeyed from war to war. As for Franklin, he predicted that the many things he can be would spark a war inside his mind.
That war is on full display in the season six finale of Snowfall. Truthfully, it’s something that dates back to season five. In a perfect world, Franklin could be the breadwinner for his family, a great father, a successful businessman, and a drug dealer who took his earnings and left the dangerous life. However, as we’ve seen in the final episodes of Snowfall the conflict within those aforementioned positions didn’t allow him to be successful at all of them. In the final episode, that theme of not knowing when enough is enough is more alive than ever. In his endless search to recoup some of the $73 million that the now-slain Teddy took from him, Franklin disrespects his best friend Leon in a way he hasn’t before, he threatens his wife and nearly assaults her, and he belittles his mother who sacrificed herself to save him. In the end, Franklin finds himself at a low point that few of the main or recurring characters on Snowfall have experienced. From being at the top of the world to beneath the bottom. It’s not the ending many of us had in mind for Snowfall, but it’s also one that we should’ve seen coming.
Here are some of the biggest takeaways that we have after season six’s final episode, “The Struggle”:
Franklin Forgot It Was Never A One-Man Show
In the series finale of Snowfall, Franklin goes to great lengths to retrieve whatever bit of money he can from people around him. It’s all in an attempt to recover from the $37 million loss that he experienced in episode nine. His attempts to get money turn into a rampage tour in which he visits friends and family members to try and force them to give him money or not make him lose anymore. He starts with Leon, by asking him for $3 million in exchange for a stake in his real estate business that he would later be bought out of for 5-10 times the price. Then it was with his girlfriend Veronique who he threatened and nearly assaulted for taking offers to the Spring Street building in order to make some money for themselves. Lastly, it ended with his mother Cissy, who he lashed out at for refusing to sign over ownership of the house he bought her so that he could sell it. In each case, Franklin reminded them that everything they received was from him which meant that he could take it away as fast as they got it. What he did forget is that he didn’t receive all these things through his own solo doing. Leon, Veronique, and Cissy helped him in different and important ways. It was never a one-man show for Franklin and it’s unfortunate that he forgot that at his lowest point.
Leon Loved Cissy Like A Mother, And She Loved Him Like A Son
One of the most beautiful parts of this finale came during conversations between Leon and Cissy. Leon seems to be the only one who has some understanding of why Cissy shot Teddy and stopped him from transferring $37 million to Franklin. It’s this understanding that’s behind Leon’s decision to not give Franklin money when he demands it from him. “She didn’t want you to have that money and I ain’t gonna disrespect what she did by giving you something she didn’t want you to have,” he says in the episode. At that moment, the respect Leon has for Cissy couldn’t be any clearer, and a few scenes later, their love for each is put on full display. Leon stops at the L.A. County Jail to visit Cissy and give her an update on the outside world and see if there’s anything she needs. She begs him to go to Ghana and reunite with Wanda and figure out what he wants to do with his life. She also calls him her “greatest surprise,” a compliment that speaks to Leon’s maturity over the six seasons of Snowfall. With tears running down their eyes, Cissy and Leon say “I love you” to each other and depart from each other with Cissy knowing she has someone that treats her like the true mother she is and with Leon knowing that someone loves him like a son.
Ray Micksaw/FX
Franklin Is A Lot More Like Teddy Than We Might’ve Thought
When Franklin looked Leon in the eye and said, “I’m the reason y’all n****s got this f*cking money in the first place,” I couldn’t help but think, “Wow, that sounds a lot like what Teddy said to Franklin as he was tied up.” When Franklin looked Veronique in the eye and said, “I built it, right? And if I want to tear it all down then that’s what the f*ck I’m gonna do,” I couldn’t help but think, “Wow, that sounds a lot like what Teddy said to Franklin as he was tied up.” When Franklin visited Cissy and second time and said, “You ended my f*cking life after everything I f*cking did for you,” I couldn’t help but think, once again, “Wow, that sounds a lot like what Teddy said to Franklin as he was tied up.” When Teddy told Franklin that he could take all his money away from him because he allowed Franklin to have it, Franklin looked at him with absolute disgust and questioned him in more ways than one about his thought process. Lo and behold Franklin has that same mindset and approach to his family. To his family and us on the outside, it’s clear that Franklin is drowning, and though there’s a small boat he can get on to save himself, Franklin is insisting on waiting for the expensive yacht. Veronique, Leon, and Cissy have all accepted their fates in the small boat, but they aren’t going to wait for Franklin to do the same so they make their exit and save themselves. Franklin thought he owned these people, just as Teddy believed he owned Franklin, however, this entitlement means nothing when you can’t stay afloat and fend for yourself. At that point, you become just as “weak” as the people you think you’re above.
No One Wanted It To End This Way, And It Didn’t Have To
I thought Snowfall would end with Franklin salvaging some aspects of his empire and escaping to a new life where he reminisced about what could’ve been. Some people thought he would be killed and really bring a true end to everything that was built in Snowfall. Louie is gone, Jerome is dead, Cissy is in jail, and Leon flees the country. Franklin’s death would’ve marked the absolute end of an era. Instead, we watch the Franklin that we once knew and fell in love with spiral into something unrecognizable at the end of 6 months, then 1 year, and finally 2 years. Franklin turns into an alcoholic with nothing left to his name except his mother’s house, a few clothes, a bottle of liquor, and his pride. The thing is, it didn’t have to end this way. Franklin could’ve escaped this life with less than $73 million $37 million to his name. Veronique wiped his accounts of $800,000 and ran off after he put his hands on her, but if not for him threatening her like that, he could’ve started all over with that $800,000 to his name. There were many exits for Franklin on this journey, but he refused to take them as he believed that the light at the end of the tunnel lay his pot of gold. In the end, there was nothing left for him. The snowball (or snowfall) effect came ran its full course by the end of Snowfall, and still, Leon came back to extend one last hand to help Franklin pick himself back up. Once again, denied the help. No one wanted it to end this way, and truthfully, it didn’t have to.
All seasons of ‘Snowfall’ are available to watch on Hulu.
Fox News may not have to apologize for or even admit to knowingly spreading voter fraud lies after the 2020 election, but thanks to the Dominion Voting Systems settlement, everyone else can call them out on that. (Besides, there’s always the Smartmatic lawsuit.) Among the Fox News stars who deceived their viewers was Maria Bartiromo. Not only is she a journalist who’s been caught being bad at her job, but she’s also pretty crap at Jeopardy!
As per Mediaite, on Wednesday Anderson Cooper interviewed one of Bartiromo’s former colleagues, Gretchen Carlson, one of the Fox News employees who helped take down Roger Ailes and who was very much for Dominion taking her old employers to the cleaners. (She wasn’t the only alum slamming them.) She wasn’t sure if some of the stars who spread those lies will ever face consequences, though she pointed out they did deep-six Lou Dobbs.
Cooper zeroed in on one host in particular: “Maria Bartiromo, her behavior during all of this, what she said on air her hosting of Sidney Powell, it is really, I mean, just journalistically, it’s shameful.”
He then added a personal aside. “I mean, she I don’t know her personally,” he said. “I was on Jeopardy! with her once and she did not do well.”
It’s true, Cooper and Bartiromo — back in her “Money Honey” CNBC days, long before she went to the dark side — appeared on a 2004 episode of Celebrity Jeopardy! Cooper was the champion while Bartiromo, the finance wiz, ended the game with $0. Since she was playing for charity, Alex Trebek took pity on her and awarded her $1,000. (You can read all about it here.) And yet that wouldn’t be the nadir of her career.
But the City Girls rapper didn’t need Caresha Please to spark intrigue today, April 19, as she was unveiled as the cover star of a “special issue” of The Cut:
“I never said he was the one I did that with. Sex is a part of life. I’m grown, and maybe I talk about it too much, but everybody’s got their personal experiences,” Yung Miami told the publication. “Some people get sh*tted on. Some people live life on the edge, some people boring as f*ck. I watch a lot of porn, b*tches get peed on. If we grown and we in the house just chilling and want to talk about sex, what’s wrong with that?”
Later in the interview, Yung Miami was asked when fans can expect a new City Girls album from her and JT. “Girl, I ain’t even gonna tell!” she replied. “I don’t know, like, it is coming, and it will be sometime this summer — for real, for real, for real. When you doing a project, it takes time. We’re trying to sit through it and make sure that that’s what we want to put out. It’s gonna hit different.”
City Girls performed at the 2023 Dreamville Festival at the start of this month, just as Hulu’s RapCaviar Presents premiered on March 30. (City Girls are the subject of the docuseries’ second episode.)
Republicans have always been anti-LGBTQIA+, but their latest target is bizarre even for them. They’ve decided that, on top of hating trans people, they also hate…drag queens. (No, not that one.) Specifically they hate drag queens holding “storytime” events for families, which they’ve accused of “grooming” — an old school homophobic line of attack dusted off for the modern era. Lauren Boebert went so far as to warn her constituents from holding such events in her district. They aren’t listening.
As per Raw Story, Cook Inclusive Company, which holds “storytime” events, defied Boebert and held one in Glenwood Springs, Colorado, Boebert’s district. The result? A rousing success. According to The Post Independent, the all-inclusive gathering featured tiaras, arts, crafts, flags, and more.
“Diva picked the stories they told, and they were all centered on self-love, inclusivity and even some of the origins of Pride and backstories of queer heroes, like the story of late California politician Harvey Milk.”
Contrary to what openly bigoted far right politicians and pundits say, drag queen “storytimes” are about preaching tolerance and acceptance.
“The goals of drag storytimes are to inspire a love of reading while teaching deeper lessons on diversity, inclusion, self-love and an appreciation of others,” said Kaleb Cook, the group’s founder.
Boebert has spent the bulk of her time in Congress being one of the loudest and most obnoxious of the MAGA sect, second only to Marjorie Taylor Greene (and maybe tied with Matt Gaetz). She is, however, the only one of the group, or indeed in the entirety of the House, to have a husband who exposed himself at a bowling alley.
Jokes were made at Latto’s expense because people believed that she photoshopped a photo of the crowd during her Coachella set last weekend. At first glance, certain audience members appeared more than once, but Latto’s fans questioned why Latto would feel the need to duplicate her audience when the crowd for her set was packed.
“Never photoshopped a crowd lmao,” Latto wrote to Instagram Stories (as captured by Billboard). She explained, “I expanded it so it would fit in my Instagram swipe without getting cut off but it was clearly f*cked up so I didn’t end up using it & just posted the wrong version by accident on Twitter babes.”
Latto undeniably photoshopped her cover art for “Put It On Da Floor,” a single arriving this Friday, April 21:
Latto’s announcement today, April 19, coincided with an announcement by TiaCorine that her “Freaky T” remix featuring Latto will also drop on April 21.
The two debuted the track during Latto’s Coachella set:
“Latto brought all the energy out to her star-studded set at the Sahara tent. The rapper was able to hype up the crowd and feed off their energy, even inviting one lucky fan on stage to get up close and personal with her dancers. She kept everyone engaged with hits like ‘Soufside,’ and ‘Big Energy’ and brought out several guests; She invited TiaCorine to perform their unreleased ‘Freaky T’ remix, then Lola Brooke came out for their collab ‘Don’t Play with It.’ Finally, Saweetie surprised the crowd to deliver her verse in ‘B*tch From da Souf’ and give a short, heartwarming speech, giving Latto her flowers and leading the crowd in an ‘I love Latto’ chant.”
See footage from Latto’s Coachella takeover below.
Foo Fighters are set to headline this year, and now we know exactly when. Boston Calling revealed all set times for the May 26-28 event at the Harvard Athletic Complex in Boston, if the latter detail wasn’t already obvious enough in the festival’s title.
Foo Fighters will be preceded on the Green Stage by The National (5:55-6:55 p.m.), Leon (3:45-4:40 p.m.), and The Beaches (2:20-2:55 p.m.).
The Happy Valley Red Stage will be handled by Alisa Amador (1:45-2:15 p.m.), Celisse (3-3:50 p.m.), Chelsea Cutler (4:45-5:45 p.m.), and Yeah Yeah Yeahs (7:05-8:35 p.m.). The Blue Stage will feature Zolita (2:15-2:50 p.m.), GA-20 (3:20-4:05 p.m.), Talk (4:35-5:20 p.m.), Teddy Swims (5:50-6:50 p.m.), and Niall Horan (7:40-8:40 p.m.)
Saturday, May 27, will stage the likes of The Lumineers (9 p.m.), Alanis Morissette (7:15-8:45 p.m.), The Flaming Lips (7:35-8:50 p.m.), and Fletcher (5:50-6:50 p.m.).
Paramore (9 p.m.), Maren Morris (6:15-7:15 p.m.), 070 Shake (4-4:55 p.m.), Queens Of The Stone Age (7:25-8:50 p.m.), Bleachers (5:05-6:05 p.m.), The Lindas Lindas (3-3:50 p.m.), and more will bring it home on Sunday, May 28.
View the full set time list below, and find more Boston Calling information here.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
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(@big_business_) 
(@TheJayBurns) 
(@mlyred) 
(@_melanincoco) 
PRIDE
Nah…nope!!! I can’t believe they ended it like this 
…. Luv me some 
(@citygirls)
FRIDAY! 
(@Latto) 
