GoneTrending

Taylor Swift launched The Eras Tour last weekend, and it turns out that one of the most physically impressive concerts JJ Watt has ever seen isn’t the only thing Swift is bringing to the cities she’s visiting.

Before Swift’s concerts in Glendale, Arizona last weekend, she made a donation to the Arizona Food Bank Network (as People notes). Terri Shoemaker, vice president of external relations at the organization, told AZ Central, “It’s not every day that you get a call from someone who works in PR for Taylor Swift, so we were dubious at first, but happily, it turned out to be absolutely real.”

Shoemaker also noted that according to Swift’s PR agent, the singer “planned to make a positive impact in the communities where she was touring.”

Indeed, that seems to be true: On March 22, Three Square Food Bank in Nevada, where Swift is set to perform this upcoming weekend, revealed they also received a donation from Swift, writing on Instagram, “We don’t know about you, but we’re feeling grateful on this day, March 22! @TaylorSwift has made a generous gift to Three Square, allowing us to provide thousands of meals to families and individuals struggling with hunger. Thank you to Ms. Swift for supporting our mission and the local community.”

Read our review of Swift’s tour opener here.

The Los Angeles Lakers could get LeBron James back sooner rather than later. Despite missing the last 12 games with a foot injury, James is apparently eyeing up a return to action before the postseason starts, which would give the Lakers a much-needed boost as they enter the play-in tournament or the playoffs.

Even with James out, though, things have been going pretty good in Laker Land lately, as the team has gone 7-5 in his absence. Anthony Davis has unsurprisingly been terrific, but a pair of guards — Austin Reaves and D’Angelo Russell — have stepped up in a big way with James on the sideline. Reaves, in particular, is playing the best basketball of his young career, and on Thursday’s episode of Keyshawn, JWill, & Max, ESPN’s Jay Williams told Keyshawn Johnson and Max Kellerman that he has some reservations about how James coming back will impact their play.

“Everybody keeps saying, and I’m the one that said it first and so I started digging down into it: ‘Well, if you bring back LeBron, this team can get to potentially the Western Conference Finals,’” Williams said. “How do you bring back LeBron? The more I sit there and think about it, the more I think about, when you bring back LeBron in this short period, how in the hell is Austin Reaves supposed to continue playing at this level? The ball is in Austin Reaves’ hands a ton, you guys know the kind of lather, the kind of rhythm that you get when the ball is in your hands? You increase the amount of possessions, the volume of possessions, I feel way more comfortable with the rock now.

“When LeBron comes back — and Austin Reaves has been ballin’, D’Lo has been ballin’,” he continued. “But now you bring LeBron James back, are you gonna play LeBron James off the ball if you’re Darvin Ham? You really gonna do that when it comes time for playoff basketball? There’s almost a part of me, Key, that somewhat believes that, yeah, bringing back LeBron, if you had 10 games left in the regular season, 15 games left, it gives him time to get more acclimated. But with what, a week left in the regular season, if that’s the time frame, with two games left, maybe the play-in, maybe into the playoffs, that’s almost maybe working against Austin Reaves and D’Lo.”

When asked by Kellerman if bringing James off the bench is a viable option, Williams, who has praised Lakers guards on TV before, said, “You try to, but still, LeBron is ball-dominant,” while Johnson agreed that he’ll come off the bench as he works to figure out his rhythm.

“That’s what I’m saying, find that rhythm, the ball needs to be in his hands to find a rhythm, right?” Williams responded.

After a conversation about the aesthetics of Reaves as a basketball player, Williams tied a bow on the conversation.

“All I’m saying is, you drop LeBron James in with two games left, man, Austin is doing his thing, D’Lo,” Williams said. “Now, I don’t know how you make guys not defer to maybe one of the greatest players the game of basketball has ever seen.” When Johnson asked if James is sitting and watching and decides it is best to fit into how the Lakers are currently playing, Williams posited that it’s “easier said than done, because at the end of the day, in clutch moments, you’re gonna look at the dude, you’re gonna look at the guy.”

Williams does have a point that bringing James back very well could have a negative impact on guys who are blossoming in larger roles, although it is easy to argue that the trade-off is worth it because James is the kind of player who can win you a championship, even if having players around him performing at the levels we’ve seen out of Reaves and Russell recently is an important piece of the puzzle.

When was the last time you heard a “that’s what she said” in the wild? Five years ago? A decade? Longer? It was stale by the time Michael Scott said it for the first time on The Office — and that was in 2005. The entire point of Michael’s enjoyment of “that’s what she said” was to show how desperately unfunny he is. Speaking of desperately unfunny…

In response to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) tweeting, “House Dems are fighting hard for the American people. Right-wing extremists are fighting each other,” Elon Musk wrote, “That’s what she said.”

First off: huh? Is the “that’s what she said” referring to the use of the word “hard”? Or is it a meta non-joke? It’s certainly not an actual joke. Also, it’s 2023. Elon needs to update his material — or go back to “borrowing” memes.

This isn’t the first time that Musk has dropped a “TWSS,” either.

It appears to be one of Musk’s stock replies, along with “looking into it” and the rolling on the floor laughing emoji. You’re one of the world’s richest person, Elon. Hire someone like Henry Winkler, who is good at Twitter, to write your tweets. Or post photos like Clint Eastwood. Anything but “that’s what she said.”

Anyway, Twitter can’t get enough of this EPIC win.

A local reporter at Hometown Life shared a unique and heartfelt story on March 16 about a mother struggling to find shoes that fit her 14-year-old son. The story resonated with parents everywhere; now, her son is getting the help he desperately needs. It’s a wonderful example of people helping a family that thought they had nowhere to turn.

When Eric Kilburn Jr. was born, his mother, Rebecca’s OBGYN, told her that he had the “biggest feet I’ve ever seen in my life. Do not go out and buy baby shoes because they’re not gonna fit,’” Rebecca told Today.com. Fourteen years later, it’s almost impossible to find shoes that fit the 6’10” freshman—he needs a size 23.

---

None

— (@)

The teen’s height doesn’t stem from a gland issue; he comes from a family of tall people. Both his parents are over 6 feet tall.

Eric plays football for Goodrich High School in Goodrich, Michigan, but doesn’t wear cleats, which led to a sprained ankle. He also suffers from ingrown toenails that are so severe he’s had two nails on his biggest toes permanently removed.

Last year, the family was lucky enough to stumble upon five pairs of size 21 shoes at a Nike outlet store. It was discovered they were made especially for Tacko Fall, the NBA player with some of the most enormous feet in the game. To put things in perspective, Shaquille O’Neal wears a size 22.

However, Eric soon grew out of those as well. The family was left with one more option: have orthopedic shoes made for Eric at the cost of $1,500 with no guarantee he won’t quickly grow out of those as well.

After his mother’s heartfelt plea to Hometown Life, the family got much-needed help from multiple companies, including Under Armour and PUMA, who are sending representatives to Michigan to measure his feet for custom shoes.

CAT has reached out to make him a custom pair of boots. Eric hasn’t had any boots to wear for the past five Michigan winters.

None

— (@)

Kara Pattison started a GoFundMe campaign on behalf of the family to help them purchase custom shoes for “the rest of the time Eric has these feet.” It has raised nearly $20,000 for the family in just over a week.

“The success of this fundraiser is well beyond what was ever expected,” Pattison wrote on the site on March 18. “The Kilburns plan to open a bank account dedicated to Eric’s future footwear and some specialized sports equipment. He can use this to get a helmet that fits for football along with pads. They will also look into a football and track jersey for him.”

The sense of relief felt by Rebecca, Eric and the rest of the Kilburn family must be incredible. It has to be frustrating to be unable to provide your child with something as basic as footwear.

“It’s been overwhelming,” Rebecca told Hometown Life. “I have been this puddle of emotions, all of them good…It’s the coolest thing to be able to say we did it! He has shoes! I am not usually a crier, but I have been in a constant state of happy tears…We are so grateful.”

Road rage is something that I pointedly choose to avoid as an affliction. That is a good thing because I fail to avoid plenty of other rabbit holes that aren’t as readily vanquished by self control over here. Beef, on the other hand, lets all of the road rage hang out. The series’ trailer previews the lay of the land, in which Ali Wong’s character flips the bird at Steven Yeun’s already maxed-out character, and then… it. is. on.

All due to one near collision and mutual temper tantrums, these two essentially appear to destroy each other’s lives. It ain’t worth it! And even though the show does look like voyeuristic wish fulfillment for some audience members, Wong and Yeun recently spoke at SXSW and admitted that they didn’t know that this series would take a physical toll on them as well. Given that Yeun has been through some really horrible sh*t onscreen, it’s saying a lot that this show made him break out in hives after filming concluded, and the same result came for Wong, as reported by Variety:

“Our bodies shut down,” Yeun said.

“Steven and I both broke out in hives after the show. Mine was on my face. His was all over his body because he’s weak like that,” Wong said, to wide audience laughter. “It definitely took a toll on us, but we didn’t even realize until after the show ended. I mean, I won’t even talk about what happened to your elbow.”

Wong suggested that she might not have taken this job if she would have known how grueling the stressors of this show would be, although she is “really glad” that both she and Yeun took the plunge. Maybe it’s time for Wong to mentally relive her Keanu Reeves on-set moments as a stress reliever? It couldn’t hurt do that for any reason at all.

Netflix and A24’s Beef streams on April 6.

(Via Variety)

When people talk about fashion styles that deviate from current norms, reactions tend to be polarized. For example, back in 2020, Harry Styles made headlines for months after he wore a dress. Now, Shawn Mendes has said something that’s also stirring divided responses.

Mendes spoke at a Tommy Hilfiger event in London on March 21, and during the conversation, he said, “I think the crop tops, they’re just… they’re super beautiful. They look great on men. They look great on men, so don’t be afraid to pick them up, guys. They look good.”

In a recent interview with Evening Standard, Mendes also spoke about friend and music producer Mike Sabath wearing a crop top from Hilfiger’s female line, saying, “We put the crop on him and were like — hot. That’s it. Like, yes. He would look amazing in anything. I think it’s just a representation of what clothing is today, you know, that masculine-feminine thing.”

Naturally, Mendes’ comment got a variety of reactions.

Some haters disagreed with him. One Twitter user wrote, “Ew. Why must we continue to make our men feminine?” Another tweeted, “bring back real men please.”

Others are on Mendes’ side, though, like one person who commented on the original TikTok video, “Honestly I wish crop tips would catch on tbh. Would make a good workout shirt , they used to be in , in the 80s I think.” A Twitter user shared a similar comment, writing, “crop top shirts was originally created by MEN for MEN and was part of men’s fashion for years before women began wearing them… short-shorts too. Just saying because the audacity of people to mock men and boys who wear it is just ridiculous when their grandad prob rocked it.”

Either way, multiple styles of cropped shirt, and other pieces from Mendes’ Hilfiger collaboration, can be perused and purchased here.

When I heard that Noma — widely considered the world’s best restaurant — was closing, I was ~generally~ surprised. In a wildly volatile segment (fine dining) of an already volatile industry (restaurants), Noma is as close to an enduring institution as you’re ever going to get. It’s won that dinky little “best restaurant on the goddamn earth” award five times and has three Michelin stars. It’s been covered by everyone from Anthony Bourdain to David Chang and there are two full documentaries Noma, My Perfect Storm and Ants On Shrimp about chef René Redzepi. (By the time the inevitable “Last Year at Noma” doc is complete the restaurant will have had its lifecycle presented for public consumption more thoroughly than the mid-tier Kardashians.)

That said, I didn’t believe for a hot second that the closure was related to the critique of fine dining offered in The Menu. Anyone who’s spent time around restaurants understands how difficult the model is, especially in its highest-end incarnations. One of the great incongruencies of the food world is this idea that the public has of how much good food costs to procure and prepare. We’ve been trained by McNuggets and boxed mac & cheese (and the general exploitation of migrant labor) to think that things like wild foraged limpets and the adrenal glands of cows that are only fed pasture-raised goat’s milk or whatever must also be sort of affordable. Quite simply, they’re not (even regular old organic produce is more costly than we’ve been led to believe). And while restaurants like Noma rely on stages — who work for free or mostly for free (a practice which has been maligned of late) — the fact is that these sorts of places are incredibly expensive to run. You think those monkfish livers are just smoking themselves?

Plus they’re grueling, especially for anyone who has a family. You can’t expect chef René Redzepi to run a restaurant forever when he could probably walk away with $30K per night doing private dinners for the mega-rich and corporate sponsors. Does that frustrate you? Blame late-stage capitalism, not a chef who actually wants to enjoy his life.

Anyyyyyyyway…

What did surprise me was that the team from Noma would begin using their test kitchen to create CPG (consumer packaged goods) products. Covering grocery extensively, I knew that we are in the heart of the CPG boom — a golden age when chili crisp and hot sauce can be advertised on digital platforms for pennies and don’t ever have to fight for IRL shelf space. But seeing one of the most renowned restaurants in the world shift to that model? It definitely made my eyebrows bounce.

I suppose it makes a lot of sense, though. High-end dining establishments like Noma are famous for having dishes that require 20 ingredients or maybe 100 ingredients which they refine until the final presentation seems simple. Much of the flavor and complexity comes from the fact that they are making wildly ornate sauces, vinegars, oils, etc. which they are then using in limited capacities. This is all to say that creating things like elevated sauces and flavor enhancers has… sort of been their stock in trade all along.

The only difference is that now they won’t make the final dish. You will.

Curious to see what Noma would come out of the gate with, I ordered their first product — “Smoked Mushroom Garum” (they now have four products in the market). “Garum” is fermented fish sauce, so what we’re talking about is a fungus-based flavor enhancer. They could have called it “Vegan Fish Sauce” but how pedestrian is that? Regardless of the name, this is an elixir that you might substitute or use in tandem with MSG, yeast flakes, shiitake salt… all the stuff you shake into the pan to ramp up umami flavors.

Like most flavor enhancers, the Noma Smoked Mushroom Garum proved incredibly malleable — so it’s no surprise that I went through the whole bottle over the past month. And like most everything associated with Noma (so I’ve heard!!!), it balances surface simplicity with deceptive depth. This leads us to:

NOMA PROJECTS SMOKED MUSHROOM GARUM, REVIEWED

Before writing this, I did a brief perusal of Instagram to see how other people are using this product. It’s mostly the same — a capful at a time. Though some folks are using a bit more (Lucky them! The product itself isn’t too expensive but shipping pushes it up to $50/ bottle.) The creamy noodles above make a lot of sense because, combined with yeast flakes, you’re getting almost a parmesan flavor. The noodles above are udon and the recipe also features cashew butter but I think it would have worked equally well with olive oil and spaghetti.

That’s the great thing about products like this — their versatility. The application below — stewed collard greens — seems a lot more traditional but I love it and did my own riff on it multiple times:

Here’s how I used my bottle of mushroom garum before it ran out:

• A capful in taco meat.
• A capful in ground beef for smash burgers (which my nephew deemed “Better than Mcdonald’s!”)
• A capful in carbonara sauce.
• A capful in chicken soup.
• Two capfuls in stewed dandelion greens.
• Three capfuls in Thai beef larb.
• Three capfuls in ramen broth.
• Four capfuls in vegan “cheesy” potatoes.

You get the idea. I tried it with everything. Sometimes vegan; sometimes not. I often paired it with other flavor enhancers, like MSG or actual fish sauce. And of course, I also tasted it plain for the sake of this review:

NOSE:

Don’t wedgie me, but.. this smells like the inside of a pizza oven that has been used a few hundred thousand times. You get the meaty notes and the earthiness. There’s a little bit of funk but it’s light enough that it could as easily be from a few stray mushrooms and some cheese that slid into the oven’s deepest reaches as it could be from some super scientific process invented by Noma Projects.

PALATE:

It tastes mostly like mushroom broth with… a bit more. There’s some smokiness. There’s some funk. It’s a less funky fish sauce but certainly doesn’t taste un-fishy. There’s a meatiness. That’s the flavor this product seems to cultivate the most “meatiness without real meat.” There’s a light fermented note.

After sipping a spoonful I wrote this down: “Yet another reminder that we don’t need ‘fake meat’ to imitate beef and pork. We already have mushrooms.”

It’s also pungent and pronounced enough that once you’re used to it you can kinda-sorta discern its presence (like fish sauce), rather than just using it because you believe my review or have faith in Noma’s prowess. I like that it doesn’t just fully vanish into a dish.

BOTTOM LINE:

This is a fantastic flavor enhancer. If price was no object, I’d call it a must-have. Especially if you, like me, want your burgers and tacos and lasagna all taste “mysteriously and inexplicably” better than everyone else’s. Noma’s smoked mushroom garum deepens the umami notes in most any dish (especially slow-cooked dishes) and creates enough intrigue on the palate that you want to go back for more.

I personally think it’s best with other flavor enhancers too — MSG, fish sauce, etc. But that’s because I’m an umami fiend.

If you’re vegan but crave the meaty depth that cheese and beef offer, you just found your north star. It’s a natural substitute for oyster sauce, fish sauce, and other Thai cooking essentials, as well as the cheeses and sardine sauce used in Italian cooking.

Is it cheap?

Not exactly, once you calculate shipping. But it’s the cheapest way to experience René Redzepi’s genius that you’ll ever get.

BUY IT HERE: $24

John Wick cannot be stopped. Keanu Reeves’ unretired assassin has spent the past near-decade igniting the box office, one action-packed movie at a time. But Hollywood pundits are predicting that the fourth installment in the hit series, John Wick: Chapter 4, will sell a record number of tickets for the franchise.

As Deadline reports, box office prognosticators are guessing that the newest film in the series — which officially opens on Friday, March 24, with previews beginning on Thursday afternoon — will rake in a whopping $115 million worldwide in its opening weekend. Broken down even further, the movie is estimated to bring in $65 to $70 million in the U.S. and Canada with an additional $45 million from foreign audiences.

According to Deadline, the film is already booked to play in 3,800 theaters with just under half of those (1,675) being “IMAX, premium large format, and motion-enhanced seats (Dbox, 4DX, MX4D)” theaters.

According to Box Office Mojo, each subsequent chapter in the John Wick series has nearly doubled the box office take of its predecessor. Worldwide, John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum made a total of just over $328 million. So if the trend continues, the newest film — and what is presumably Reeves’ last go at playing Wick (save for a rumored appearance in the upcoming spin-off) — could be looking at a pretty massive release.

Adding to interest in the film is Ballerina, the upcoming spin-off starring Ana de Armas, and the recent death of Lance Reddick, who played Charon, the concierge at New York City’s criminal-friendly Continental Hotel, in all four films. The movie’s end credits have already been altered in order to dedicate the film to The Wire actor.

(Via Deadline)

Sabrina Carpenter isn’t dating Shawn Mendes, according to Shawn Mendes, but people fascinated by her romantic life were semi-satisfied by a fictional kiss between her and Charlie Puth to tease their upcoming collaborative single.

Puth’s “That’s Not How This Works” featuring Carpenter is due out April 14, but who wants to wait that long for new music? No need! Carpenter dropped her “Nonsense (Remix) with Coi Leray today, March 23.

They teased the remix hours before with a clever snippet featuring both of their vocals, “This song harder than keepin’ a secret / He said my head’s crazy, I’m a genius / What’s better than one pop star? It’s two, b*tch / It’s Coi Leray and ‘Brina on the remix.”

In the full track, Leray complements the song’s infectious, lovesick hook with a dizzying flow: “This boy got me goin’ crazy / We just started dating, now he say he want a baby / He said, ‘Coi, you so amazing / ‘You a freak in the sheets, in the streets, you such a lady.’”

“Nonsense” is the breakout single from Emails I Can’t Send, her album from last July — peaking at No. 56 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early February, peaking at No. 18 on the Pop Airplay chart earlier this month, and currently sitting at No. 42 on the Radio Songs chart.

Carpenter and Leray attended the Billboard Women In Music 2023 event earlier this month. Carpenter presented TWICE with the Breakthrough Award, while Leray presented SZA as Woman Of The Year.

Listen to “Nonsense (Remix)” above.

Charlie Puth is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Jeopardy! fans are reeling after a Final Jeopardy wager brought back memories of Cliff Clavin, the beloved mailman barfly from Cheers.

During an episode of the iconic sitcom, Cliff (John Ratzenberger) got a chance to showcase his know-it-all skills by competing on Jeopardy! Going into the final round, he was sitting pretty at $22,000. All Cliff had to do was not dip below $400 where the second place contestant was sitting. Unfortunately, he gambled his entire winnings and lost it all in a hilarious TV moment that’s giving Jeopardy! fans serious déjà vu.

During Wednesday night’s episode, leading contestant Karen Morris made a massive Final Jeopardy wager that left fans stunned, especially when it blew up in her face costing her the win.

Via TV Insider:

In Final Jeopardy, Morris still had the lead with $11,400. Klapper was in second with $8,700, and Wissner-Gross was in third with $7,200. The category was “American Novelists,” the clue being, “He served with an airman named Yohannan in World War II & despite what readers might think, he said he enjoyed his service.” The correct response was, “Who was Heller?”

Wissner-Gross gambled nothing, but answered correctly, remaining at $7,200. Klapper was also correct, wagering $8,000 and bringing her to $16,700. Morris answered incorrectly, wagering $6,001, taking her from first to last place after dominating for most of the game.

Even host Ken Jennings couldn’t help but comment on the risky gamble.

“Karen Morris had a big lead before tangoing with that final Daily Double,” Jennings noted from the podium. Meanwhile, on Twitter, Jeopardy! fans dubbed the moment a “modern day Cliff Clavin blunder.”

You can see some of the reactions below:

(Via TV Insider)