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In the final minutes of this year’s The Batman, viewers were treated to a surprise (that wasn’t that surprising): the (distorted) appearance of yet another screen incarnation of Joker. Granted, he was billed as “Unseen Arkham Prisoner,” but you had to be pretty thick not to get it. The lucky actor was Barry Keoghan, the eccentric scene-stealer of movies like The Killing of a Sacred Deer and last year’s The Green Knight. And though it was hard to make out his face, even in a later-released deleted scene, Keoghan’s newly dropped audition video shows his (unused) idea of how he’d like the clown that fights Batman to look like.

The video, which runs a little over two minutes (and was caught by Deadline), is pretty simple: Keoghan all gussied up, in a suit and suspenders and a little bowler hat, plus a cane. He doesn’t say anything. Instead he struts down a hallway to Saint-Saëns’ classic tone poem “Danse Macabre.” This, the caption posted by British GQ, was what “got him the role of Joker,” even though they wound up going with a different vibe.

Keoghan told British GQ that he actually wanted to play Riddler, but that gig had already been handed to Jonah Hill, who later passed it on to Paul Dano. He described his take on Joker as a “broken-down boy.” He’s not sure when he’s set to play it again (or does know and can’t tell journalists), but he says he’s ready to get back in clown mode “as soon as that call comes.”

(Via British GQ and Deadline)

The Cleveland Cavaliers are among the teams hoping to take a leap forward in 2022-23, coming off of a strong season a year ago that saw them drop a pair of play-in games to just miss out on the playoffs.

This year, they’re hoping the addition of Donovan Mitchell will provide some much-needed juice to their offense, while looking to continue to be a dominant defensive team, led by their talented frontcourt. Jarrett Allen became an All-Star in his second year with the Cavs, while Evan Mobley had a sensational rookie campaign, narrowly missing out on Rookie of the Year honors.

Along with adding Mitchell, Cleveland is hoping to stay healthier this year, as they saw a number of their stars miss time with various ailments a year ago. Unfortunately, Mobley’s sophomore campaign is off to a rough start before it even really begins, as he picked up an ankle sprain during their first preseason game and will miss 1-2 weeks, potentially sitting out until the start of the regular season.

The hope, of course, is that it’s a mild sprain and Mobley is able to return by the start of the season without any lingering issues, but there will be some concern of aggravating it later on in the season.

(For You)r Consideration is a weekly column breaking down the rappers and singers doing it RIGHT on TikTok and the viral TikTok music trends and top songs taking over your FYP.

#ExplainingMyCameraRole

Creators successfully brought Instagram’s photo dump trend to TikTok with Future’s heartbreak anthem “Solo” as background noise. Using #ExplainingMyCamera, TikTokers are giving the FYP a peek into their lives through carefully curated photo swipes on the app. Populated with low-exposure photos of food, fits, and everything in between, the toxic king’s moody track from HNDRXX fits the vibe. Check out the trend here.

Sway Had The Answers

Ye has finally admitted that Sway Calloway actually did have the answers. In a recent interview with GMA, Kanye referenced his 2013 rant after the radio host asked him why he doesn’t push his namesake brand independently. His initial response to Sway’s assertion that Kanye should do his own thing? “You ain’t got the answers, man! You ain’t got the answers, Sway!” But now, after years in the industry and a soured deal with Gap, the rapper confesses: “You know what? I will go ahead and say that Sway had the answer.” TikTokers are running with this switch-up and merging the two soundbites to showcase when they’ve ignored sound advice, to realize they were steered in the right direction. The best of the trend? Teenagers now recognize the value of college after ignoring their parents and the hot girlies looking for a healing, disregarding the advice of their therapist.

2 Million Up

Peezy and his song “2 Million Up” have quietly dominated the FYP since July. The soulful track from the Detroit rapper has backed hair tutorials, skits, and workout videos. The record is similar to fellow viral hits like NLE Choppa’s “Shotta Flow” and King Von’s “Crazy Story,” with its vivid storytelling and addictive beat. Our favorite City Girl, JT, hopped on the trend, jokingly explaining why she went to jail in 2018. With just under 10k videos to the sound, there is potential for the track to continue to rise in popularity.

Some Cut

Singer-songwriter and all-around baddie Victoria Monet is leading a new dance trend to Trillville’s “Some Cut.” The choreography originates from a dance breakdown in one of her festival sets, and she later demoed the challenge step by step with her dancers on TikTok. This isn’t the first time the song has gained popularity on the FYP. In 2020, creators showed off their jaywalking skills to the 2000s classic. Catch the video below for Victoria’s original dance breakdown.

Kanye West has had the internet abuzz today, as he shared an image of himself wearing a shirt reading “White Lives Matter” at his Yeezy Season 9 fashion show. Ye added more fuel to the fire after he shared another image of himself with conservative commentator Candace Owens wearing a shirt with the same text.

Jaden Smith, who has previously collaborated with Ye and has even appeared in some of the Yeezy fashion shows and campaigns has seemingly responded to the shirt in a series of tweets.

“I Had To Dip Lol,” he said in a tweet, suggesting that he may have been present at the fashion show, but chose to leave after seeing the shirt. At the time of writing, no photos of Jaden at the show have surfaced

He quickly followed with another tweet, saying, “True Leaders Lead,” then said “I Don’t Care Who’s It Is If I Don’t Feel The Message I’m Out.”

Afterwards, he tweeted “Black Lives Matter, then said, “We Demand A More Progressive Future.”

While Ye has maintained a polarizing presence on social media over the years, it’s unclear whether or not he’ll respond to Jaden’s tweets. When asked about his relationship with social media in a recent interview with Good Morning America, Ye responded, saying, “We could use a car to rush somebody to the hospital, or we could use a car and accidentally hit somebody while we’re rushing somebody to the hospital. It all in how we use it.”

While preseason begins around the NBA, two games played in Las Vegas between non-NBA teams will be a focal point for many this week.

The G League Ignite and Metropolitans 92 will play a pair of exhibition games in Vegas on October 4 and 6 to provide talent evaluators, front offices, and fans a chance to see the presumptive top 2 prospects in the 2023 NBA Draft go head to head, as Scoot Henderson and Victor Wembanyama take center stage. On Monday, Wembanyama’s Metropolitans 92 squad held an open practice and the young French star met with the media afterwards, with his length as always providing some incredible visuals as he was nearly as tall as the PR guy standing next to him while sitting down.

For anyone wondering what Wembanyama’s level of Dog In Him is, he answered that with one of the greatest responses possible to being asked about his talented opponent this week. Wembanyama made sure to compliment Henderson’s talent and abilities as a player, noting he’s No. 1 pick material and would be considered that in the 2023 class, “if I was never born.”

It’s a tremendous response and wasn’t a dig at Henderson at all, he’s simply stating what pretty much every scout and draft analyst has said. Henderson’s an elite prospect, and his presence in this class is part of why the tank race this year figures to be stronger than we’ve seen in some time, because not only are you chasing a generational prospect in Wembanyama, but the consolation prize for landing the second pick is as strong (on paper) as we’ve seen in a long time.

Chadwick Boseman’s sudden death in 2020 hit people really hard. It obviously hit those closest to him harder than most. That includes those who worked with him, and were planning on doing so again. For Ryan Coogler, who directed him in Black Panther, it not only made him almost turn down helming the sequel, but it almost made him drop out of Hollywood completely.

“I was at a point when I was like, ‘I’m walking away from this business,’” Coogler recently told Entertainment Weekly. “I didn’t know if I could make another movie period, [let alone] another Black Panther movie, because it hurt a lot. I was like, ‘Man, how could I open myself up to feeling like this again?’”

Obviously he didn’t go through with that, and he did return for what looks like a very moving and very gorgeous-looking — and very long — sequel, Wakanda Forever, which deals with a T’Challa-less future. But it still took some doing. Coogler said he found himself checking out lots of Boseman footage and interviews, in which he would talk about how much the franchise meant to him. That got him motivated to get back into the swing of things.

“I was poring over a lot of our conversations that we had, towards what I realized was the end of his life,” the director explains. “I decided that it made more sense to keep going.”

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever hits theaters on November 11.

(Via EW)

Last summer, Donald Trump threatened to sue CNN. Why not? Seems like he could probably use the scratch. The former president doesn’t always make good on his threats, but this time he has: As per Raw Story, Trump is seeking a whopping $475 million from the news network, which he accuses of defaming him by allowing guests to call him mean names.

The lawsuit, which was filed in Florida on Monday, claims tha “beyond simply highlighting any negative information about the Plaintiff and ignoring all positive information about him, CNN has sought to use its massive influence — purportedly as a “trusted” news source — to defame the Plaintiff in the minds of its viewers.”

Some of those “defamatory” and definitely not accurate things Trump says he’s been called include “‘racist,’ ‘Russian lackey,’ ‘insurrectionist,’ and ultimately ‘Hitler.’”

The suit seeks to save Trump’s honest name and “to vindicate his reputation as a dedicated public servant and to establish CNN’s liability for the harm it has caused to his reputation by the false, defamatory, and inflammatory mischaracterizations of him.”

As it happens, the lawsuit comes shortly after Trump was torched by many for calling Mitch McConnell’s wife — and former Trump administration employee — Elaine Chao “Coco Chow.” It sounds like this one’s gonna sail through the court system.

(Via Raw Story)

This week the world of hip-hop is loving the new episode of People’s Party with Talib Kweli with special guest, Yasin Bey. The world has been in love with the iconic artist, actor, and activist since Black Star blew up the scene in 1998. The legacy of the duo’s innovative beats, rhymes, and business deals have made them a favorite of hip-hop fans all over the earth.

Since the group announced their relationship with Luminary for the release of the block rockin’ No Fear of Time , as well their Midnight Miracle podcast with Dave Chappelle, the art and business worlds have taken note. These decisions have been made by them, as artists to ensure that Black Star gets the best earning potential for their work. Unfortunately, not all fans understand this. So for the People’s Party season two finale, Talib Kweli asked Yasiin how he feels about the minority of naysayers and trolls who complain online from time to time.

While discussing the importance of these deals Yassin Bey said emphatically, “People say one thing, but their response and their attitude really reveal what they value. Then you know who is really riding with you. Everybody has to take the action that is best suited for them.”

Pointing to Kweli he adds, “That’s what I really respect about what we’ve done — not only creatively but in terms of how the work is getting delivered. You’re gonna get it in a way that we don’t get destroyed and completely compromised. We want it to get out there to as many people as possible, but not at any cost!

For more real wisdom from one of the best hip-hop minds of his generation peep Yasiin Bey on People’s Party with Talib Kweli and co-cost Jasmin Leigh on Luminary and Youtube.

The list of celebrity cameo appearances on The Simpsons is mind-boggling. The cartoon series has had guests on the show in legendary athletes like Magic Johnson, Ken Griffey Jr, and Joe Namath, actors like Meryl Streep and Jeff Goldblum, and even artists in U2, Smashing Pumpkins, and The Ramones. And that’s just a selection of guests from the first nine seasons (the ones that really matter; don’t @ me) because in the decades since, The Simpsons has leaned even more heavily into its celebrity cameos. So much so, that executive producer and writer Al Jean says that it “astounds” him how many celebrities say yes to being on the show.

But that doesn’t mean that Jean and the rest of the team behind The Simpsons don’t have dreams of who they could and could’ve once had on the show. As reported by Bloomberg, Jean told PA Media that, “Many of the ones that I’d say would be a dream are never going to be on, like John Lennon or Neil Armstrong.” He also added that they had tried to get, “…A few US presidents, not recently, and they said no so that was the sort of like the Holy Grail we never found.”

Armstrong died in 2012 and Lennon in 1980, explaining the impossibility of any future appearances from either. But considering Paul McCartney made an appearance on The Simpsons (enlightening Lisa to the finer points of being a vegetarian) and Ringo Starr had an entire episode centered around Marge’s paintings of him (which also saw George Harrison make a cameo) it’s understandable why the fourth Beatle would seem like a Holy Grail of sorts for Jean too. For now, we’ll have to get by on Barney Gumble’s interpretation of the John Lennon way in the classic Homer’s Barbershop Quartet.

Kanye West’s Paris Fashion Week show for YZY season nine was already controversial thanks to his confusing and infuriating fashion statement but as it turns out, it gets worse. Not only did Kanye make the appalling choice to wear a shirt reading “White Lives Matter” on it but the decision got even more heinous when new photos emerged online showing who Kanye was matching with: conservative commentator Candace Owens, who Kanye previously accused of “using” him to promote her problematic “Blexit” campaign.

The duo’s previous run-in lead to Kanye’s name being attached to the “Blexit” clothing line, which encouraged Black voters to leave the Democratic Party (y’know for the other party that has pained us as criminals and “welfare queens” for the past 50 years). However, just a couple of days later, Kanye backpedaled on the Blexit gear, writing on Twitter, “My eyes are now wide open and now realize I’ve been used to spread messages I don’t believe in. I am distancing myself from politics and completely focusing on being creative!!!”

Of course, just two years later, he ran a sloppy, unhinged, probably-technically-illegal Presidential campaign as a spoiler candidate backed by Republicans who probably overestimated his popularity with “the Blacks” after two-plus years of MAGA hat-embracing shenanigans. As for his ongoing association with Owens, it seems they’ve made up after their falling out in 2018, and his previous concerns about being used to make disingenuous political messages didn’t stop him from doing the exact same thing, six years later.