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Live event conglomerate Ticketmaster isn’t having a good quarter. Last month, President Biden jumped onto the company’s hate train, calling them out for the unnecessary, or as he called it, “junk” fees it tacks onto each transaction. Eventually, proposing his plan for the Junk Fee Prevention Act, which aims to chip away at this. Since then, Ticketmaster has allegedly begun work internally to mandate transparency in its pricing at checkout for patrons to get a better understanding of what they are paying for.

However, for many artists, that is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to their anger with the company. The Cure’s Robert Smith is the latest in a long line of musicians calling out the company on social media. After fans of the band began flooding Twitter with complaints as they noticed something off about ticket prices for The Cure’s forthcoming North American tour.

Smith joined in on the conversation to drag Ticketmaster for interfering with ticket prices for their upcoming tour. Yesterday (March 14), he took to his personal profile to write, “WE [The Cure] DIDN’T AGREE TO THE ‘DYNAMIC PRICING’ / ‘PRICE SURGING’ / ‘PLATINUM TICKET’ THING… BECAUSE IT IS ITSELF A BIT OF A SCAM? A SEPARATE CONVERSATION.”

One fan generated some attention on Twitter after they showed that they bought four tickets for $80 total, but after Ticketmaster’s fees, they ended up paying $172, well over double the base price.

Today (March 15), the rocker returned to Twitter to double down on his original statement, writing, “WHAT I MEANT BY THIS BIT WAS… I HAD A SEPARATE CONVERSATION ABOUT ‘PLATINUM’, TO SEE IF I HAD MISUNDERSTOOD SOMETHING… BUT I HADN’T! IT IS A GREEDY SCAM – AND ALL ARTISTS HAVE THE CHOICE NOT TO PARTICIPATE… IF NO ARTISTS PARTICIPATED, IT WOULD CEASE TO EXIST.”

Fans jumped in to cheer the musician on in calling out the company for taking advantage of fans.

Ezekiel Elliott was, at times, the face of the Cowboys in his seven seasons in Dallas, rushing for 8,262 yards and 68 touchdowns (along with 2,336 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns) as their lead back.

That tenure has now come to an end, as Elliott has become a cap casualty in Dallas, with the Cowboys releasing him this week (with a post-June 1 designation for financial reasons) to allow him to become a free agent.

Elliott is certainly not the same back he was when he burst onto the scene as a rookie with over 1,600 yards and 15 touchdowns in 2016, as he is now almost exclusively a bruising power back, and it’ll be interesting to see where he lands next. As for his time in Dallas, there were some incredible moments, but the way his Cowboys career ended will always be one of the strangest the league has ever had. Elliott didn’t end his career with one final carry as a Cowboy, but instead his final touch came as the center, snapping the ball to Dak Prescott on a disastrous desperation play against the 49ers in the playoffs.

Of all the ways for a key player’s time with a franchise to end, this has to be one of the worst (and from the outside, funniest). Hopefully Elliott will find a new team that won’t ask him to ever play center, no matter the situation.

There are instances where despite your best efforts or intentions, you end up watching a movie by accident. Maybe it was just on while you were working, or Netflix auto-played it without asking your permission (classic), or maybe you were sitting in the waiting room of the dentist and had to choose between watching X-Men: First Class or reading a copy of Women’s Day from 2017. These things happen to everyone.

But let’s say that you were cast in a superhero franchise. In theory, you’d want to see all of the past material in order to provide important context and depth to your knowledge of the universe. You wouldn’t just go into the sequel with very limited knowledge… right? I’m directing this question to Oscar-winning actress Helen Mirren, who is currently starring in Shazam! Fury Of The Gods, though she might not have seen the first movie. It’s a little unclear at this point.

While on the red carpet for the DC film, Mirren was asked by The Hollywood Reporter how she decided to get involved in the project when she admitted, “Honestly, I’m not familiar with the superhero world. But I did sort of almost accidentally see the first one, and I thought it was so charming. It completely took me by surprise.” The movie sure is charming, thanks to Zachary Levi’s quirky superhero moments, but let’s get back to the “almost accidentally” part. Can you “sort of almost” do something by accident? Did she or did she not watch this movie? Or was it just something Harrison Ford put on while they were hanging out in Montana?

As proven by her past remarks, Mirren doesn’t really know what Shazam is about, but she also doesn’t have to! She’s Helen Mirren. When she was approached to star in the sequel, she just went for it. “When the second one was suggested, I immediately said yes. And then when they said you’ll be playing a goddess, I said, well, of course.” This is also what they said when she was cast in The Fate Of The Furious, probably.

Of course, the world would want to see Dame Helen Mirren as a goddess. It doesn’t even matter if she is a little lost when it comes to the plot. To be fair, she chose the least-complicated superhero universe to dive into. Has anyone told her about all of the multiverses over at Marvel? Keep them away from her.

(Via The Hollywood Reporter)

Months after it was announced that Halsey would be starring alongside Euphoria‘s Sydney Sweeney and Paul Walter Hauser in an upcoming film, Americana, the first video glimpse of the project has been revealed.

The film’s plot centers around Sweeney (playing Penny Jo) and Hauser (playing Lefty) planning to steal a “mythical Native American artifact” from criminals, according to Deadline. However, Halsey’s character, Mandy, winds up stealing it herself.

In the clip, Mandy and Lefty are having an awkward conversation at a gas station, after he pulls his truck up to them filling up the car.

“Beautiful day today,” he says, donning a big cowboy hat. “Still, they say it might rain. Any big weekend plans?”

Mandy, aka Halsey, interrupts. “Hey buddy, today is not the f*cking day,” she says. Their outfit is definitely rock-inspired, including a Joan Jett-era wig. Then, Sweeney’s Penny Jo comes out of nowhere, sticking a gun to Halsey’s back.

“Do you have the artifact?” she asks.

After several witnesses come out of the gas station into the parking lot, Mandy is able to easily get away in her car. “F*ck you,” they reply. “Shoot me.”

Directed by Tony Tost, Americana is set to premiere at SXSW this Friday (March 17). “It’s one of my favorite scenes because none of these characters are smooth, experienced criminals in the slightest, and I love how Sydney, Paul, and Halsey all play their desperate intentions and discomfort to quietly comedic effect,” Tost told the publication.

Watch the first clip of Halsey in Americana above.

Ja Morant has received a suspension from the NBA following an investigation to an Instagram Live broadcast in a Colorado nightclub in which he brandished a gun. There is, however, a catch: According to a statement put out by the league on Wednesday afternoon, the 8-game suspension Morant received is retroactive, meaning the All-Star guard is eligible to return to action on March 20.

The league announced the results of its investigation, which was unable to conclude whether the gun Morant held up in the video belonged to or was brought into the nightclub by the Memphis Grizzlies’ star. Additionally, it could not determine if Morant brought the gun with him on the team’s road trip or to any NBA facilities, which would violate the league’s Collective Bargaining Agreement.

“Ja’s conduct was irresponsible, reckless and potentially very dangerous,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in the statement. “It also has serious consequences given his enormous following and influence, particularly among young fans who look up to him. He has expressed sincere contrition and remorse for his behavior. Ja has also made it clear to me that he has learned from this incident and he understands his obligations and responsibility to the Memphis Grizzlies and the broader NBA community extend well beyond his play on the court.”

Earlier in the day on Wednesday, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Morant met with Silver in New York after leaving a counseling program in Florida.

Season 23 of “The Voice” features blind auditions where the judge’s decisions are made solely on the singer’s voice, not their looks or stage presence. The judges cannot see the performers thanks to rotating chairs, and if they decide to choose an artist to join their team, they press a button to see the whole package.

The fact that the judges couldn’t see ALI’s performance of “Killing me Softly with His Song” by Roberta Flack on Monday, March 13, makes it all the more impressive. Because after her outstanding, soulful performance, she revealed she was born deaf.

“What?” judge Kelly Clarkson said, shocked. “I wear two hearing aids. I was born deaf. I’m so blessed to be able to share this,” ALI said.

Blake Shelton couldn’t believe that she had a hearing impairment. “If you had lined up all the singers that we’ve heard so far and then said, ‘Pick one which is hearing-impaired,’ you would probably be the last one that I would say,” Shelton said. “That vocal was just incredible. The only reason I didn’t hit my button is because that’s so far out of my lane musically. Outside of that, wow.”

ALI received two chair turns from coaches Kelly Clarkson and Chance the Rapper but ultimately chose Clarkson as her coach.

“I sing for the little girl with the sparkly hearing aids, in Walnut, California, singing along to Kelly Clarkson songs my Uncle Rich burned onto CDs for me,” ALI wrote on Instagram. “I sing for the people who have the same kind of story as me, for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community. I sing… I sing for You, Lord. I sing because I love it. This is me. This is my story.”

The BTS Army was heartbroken when news broke that the beloved K-pop group was being forced into a musical hiatus due to South Korea’s mandatory military service policy imposed on each of the group’s seven members (RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook). While members Jimin, Suga, and J-Hope have all released or at least announced solo music, the impression has been that after they’ve fulfilled their military obligations, an epic BTS reunion would take place around 2025.

However, following Bang Si-Hyuk’s (CEO of the band’s agency HYBE) appearance at the Kwanghun Forum, the future of the band seems to be up in the air. In quotes gathered by The Kpop Herald, when asked about the band’s future return, Bang said, “We said we ‘hope’ the members can resume in 2025, not ‘will’,” adding, “BTS and the firm will both work for it, but it doesn’t mean we can target [the date of 2025].”

Bang went on to add that HYBE hasn’t yet renewed the band’s contract. stating that they “still ha[s] time left.”

“We’ll discuss [contract renewal with the members] within the time, and I believe it will be right for us to speak about it after the discussion ends,” said Bang.

As for when fans can expect the band to have satisfied their military obligation, Bang said, “The enlistment schedules are private information, so I cannot speak about it here. But we will disclose the dates in order transparently once their schedules are confirmed.”

So far, only member Jin has begun has enlisted and fans have overwhelmed the South Korean military with fan mail. Although J-hope is currently working on new music, having recently dropped a single “On The Street,” with J. Cole, he is expected to enlist soon.

Tiger King star Joe Exotic might be in prison, but why should that stop him from running for president? Is murder-for-hire a crime? Actually, yes, hence the prison stuff, but that’s beside the point. Exotic (real name: Joseph Maldonado-Passage) is an American, dammit, and as an American, it’s his right to launch a presidential campaign that will go absolutely nowhere. It won’t even be close.

According to his official campaign page, Exotic wants everyone to know that his campaign is “not a joke” despite seeming very much like one, and yes, he’s aware that he’s in federal prison. “It is my Constitutional right to do this even from here,” Exotic will have you know.

Exotic also made it a point to mention Carole Baskin, the woman he tried to have murdered, which right off the bat does not seem like the best campaign tactic. Maybe don’t invoke the name of your potential victim? Just something to think about for the debates. Via Mediaite:

“So put aside that I am gay, that I am in prison for now, that I used drugs in the past, that I had more than one boyfriend at once and that Carole hates my guts. This all has not a thing to do with me being able to be your voice. The best thing you have going for supporting me is that I am used to fighting my whole life just to get by. I am broke, they have taken everything I ever worked for away, and it’s time we take this country back.”

Of course, there may be another motive for Exotic’s campaign. The Tiger King subject was famously denied a pardon by Donald Trump, so this could be his way of getting revenge. Somehow. Look, we never said it was a good plan.

(Via Mediaite)

We are just days away from Yves Tumor’s new album, Praise A Lord Who Chews But Which Does Not Consume; (Or Simply, Hot Between Worlds). Ahead of their new album, Tumor has dropped a new song called “Parody.”

“Parody” is a more downtempo track compared to the previously released “God Is A Circle.” On this particular song, Yves delivers soft-tinged vocals over a slow, smooth guitar-and-drum-driven track.

“Send your face and name on a postcard / a parody of a pop star / you behaved like a monster / is this all just makeup / imagine the thrill / when we couldn’t find our way back,” they sing.

Yves is known for their outspoken nature and their eccentric music and fashion stylings. In a recent interview with Courtney Love for Interview, Yves revealed that they don’t mind being othered.

“I honestly don’t really think about how I’m being perceived that much,” they said. “I just don’t want to ever be in the middle ground of anyone’s thoughts. I’d rather that someone really, really doesn’t f*ck with me, or have them drooling.”

Check out “Parody” above.

Praise A Lord Who Chews But Which Does Not Consume; (Or Simply, Hot Between Worlds) is out 3/17 via Warp Records. Find more information here.

Somewhere along the line, Star Wars became about Jedi. The first three movies established this whole galaxy where these super powered monks don’t exist anymore and everything is broken down and interesting. Oh sure, in the first Star Wars we meet an ex-Jedi (Ben clearly says, “I was once a Jedi Knight”), but technically the movie is Jedi-free and became, at the time, the most successful movie of all time and got an Oscar nomination for Best Picture*. In the first Star Wars, sure, Luke is whiny, but he’s still compelling. In the sequel, The Empire Strikes Back**, Luke is at a crossroads and is at his most interesting. And in Return of the Jedi, Luke is mostly stoic and at his least interesting. It’s here that it was decided, going forward, let’s just focus on characters who are stoic.

*I’ve made an argument before that a debate can be made in the first Star Wars if the Force even exists or not. Compared to all the other movies, it’s, at the very least, very subtle. It’s here that the Force was actually a pretty interesting concept. It truly was a religion that could have detractors who made good points. Once stuff starts flying across the room in the next movie, it’s a little more difficult to call it baloney.

**Yoda in The Empire Strikes Back isn’t boring. But at this point he’s also an ex-Jedi and spends the first five minutes we meet him putting on an all-out comedy routine.

My point is, for the life of me I don’t understand why Star Wars spends so much time on superpowered characters who have very little emotion when this is a galaxy filled with interesting characters. In the first Star Wars, Ben Kenobi is interesting because he spends his time with people who aren’t Jedi. In Star Trek, Spock is a compelling character because of his interactions with Kirk and McCoy. An entire series of Spock just hanging out with Vulcans would get old pretty quickly. Yet, that’s the direction Star Wars steered into. In fact, it’s gotten to be so much of that, that when we watched the Original Trilogy with someone a few months ago who hadn’t seen it, she was shocked at how little of all that there was. She expected the whole thing to be about boring (my word, not hers) Jedi Knights and their lore. Instead, the first Star Wars is about some knuckleheads just trying to do their best and mostly failing until they finally don’t.

That’s what’s been so enjoyable about The Mandalorian and Andor. Yeah, sure, The Mandalorian has a main character with Force powers, but Grogu isn’t a Jedi. Oh, to be clear, he took one look at the Jedi lifestyle and said, “thanks, but no thanks,” and peaced out pretty quickly. (Or, maybe two years later. That’s up for debate, but don’t try to figure it out, it’s a fool’s errand.) If Grogu had met the Luke from Star Wars or The Empire Strikes Back, yeah maybe that works out. But the boring drip from Return of the Jedi? No thanks.

No episode exemplifies this quite as well as this week’s episode of The Mandalorian does, even though we don’t get all that much of Mando himself this time. (As an aside, how often now do we thing Pedro Pascal is really in the suit? I know the official line is, “sometimes,” but I’m going to guess this season, “hardly ever.”) You know who an interesting character is? Doctor Pershing. And we spend a lot of time with Doctor Pershing, just going about his life on Coruscant – our first look at what life is there post-fall of the Empire – trying to acclimate himself to life under the New Republic. And guess what, it still kind of sucks. The wealthy dignitaries don’t seem to notice much of a difference and try not to “get involved,” while unnecessary bureaucracy still rules the day.

See, this is fascinating. After Return of the Jedi, it’s easy to think, well, with the Empire gone, everyone will live their life now in peace. But as we see now, for most people, it’s “the same shit,” just with a nicer tone. Dr. Pershing is truly trying to be a good person, and for his troubles he basically gets lobotomized. Look, on its own, this is just a great hour of Star Wars. And, yes, I realize this is probably some first step into trying to redeem The Rise of Skywalker, which is a little annoying. I swear, if I hear one more time about how if I only, “read three full-length novels and make my way through the Viewmaster reels (deeper cut just for you), you know, The Rise of Skywalker makes perfect sense,” I will break my The Rise of Skywalker Blu-ray I don’t even own in half. I will buy one and destroy it just so there is hopefully one less person on thos planet who had to suffer through that like I did. Anyway.

Having said all that, if the path to redeeming The Rise of Skywalker (it will never happen) gives us more episodes of Star Wars like this, I’ll still take that over more adventures of Jedi. As it’s been from the beginning, just normal everyday non-Jedi powered people, trying to make thier way through this crazy, broken galaxy, is what makes Star Wars interesting in the first place.

You can contact Mike Ryan directly on Twitter.