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The Kremlin’s undoubtedly not feeling great about how Vladimir Putin attempted to swagger into Ukraine as though he could settle his imperialistic beef within days, after which the country would instantly fold. Over six months later, President Zelensky and his people keep standing firm while making stunning advances against Russia. Putin’s troops are now disguising themselves and fleeing while Putin’s regime isn’t sitting down for criticism. Rather, they have decided to punish local lawmakers (in Russia) who dared to call for overthrowing Putin over this war that’s hurting Russia’s economy, possibly to a point where it can’t come back.

So, removing Putin isn’t an option unless it’s an inside job. And you never know what will happen after the war is over, but the Putin gang is now hitting Russian State TV, where propagandists recently admitted that this war is a giant “failure” while asking Putin to abort mission. Fast forward less than a week, and The Daily Beast details how Putin’s mouthpieces are calling for increased bloodshed in “another phase” of the conflict in the hopes of continuing and maybe ending this thing by December. Yikes:

Konstantin Zatulin, deputy chairman of the committee of the State Duma for the CIS, said on 60 Minutes: “This military operation–or this war–is entering another phase… The idea that we could achieve a victory with little blood or one massive strike is now in the past… Last week, there was a widespread message–everywhere, except for our television– that this is no time to celebrate, while we’re experiencing difficulties and failures at the battlefront, while we’re retreating… We are pondering what they will do. We need to overcome that… because victory is our only option.”

From there, a military expert named Igor Korotchenko called for Putin’s troops to be “acting quickly, harshly and uncompromisingly.” He called for Russia’s army to “scale up our strikes against critical infrastructure in such a way that one region after the next, one district after another, Ukraine is plunged into darkness.” This, he believes, will cause all remaining Ukrainians to abandon the country, and this also seems like an admission that Russia’s army can’t win the war by fighting; rather, they have to play dirty with resources. Whatever happens, though, it’s clear that Putin’s war isn’t going as planned. The conflict is drastically affecting millions of lives, both in Ukraine and Russia, and it all appears designed to only serve one man’s ego.

(Via The Daily Beast)

In mid-August, Michelle Branch accused husband and Black Keys drummer Patrick Carney of infidelity and Branch was arrested for hitting Carney shortly after. Then Branch filed for divorce, the domestic assault case against Branch was dismissed, and it was revealed just a couple days ago the two are putting their divorce on hold as they try to save their marriage. A lot has been happening there and now Branch has talked about it in a new interview on Tamron Hall.

During the conversation, Hall notes there was a lot of paparazzi outside the studio to see Branch that day before briefly explaining what happened between Branch and Carney. She asked what Branch wants her fans to know and Branch responded:

“My husband and I have started therapy recently, and I wish that we had started it six months ago. I wish we had gotten help and talked to someone sooner. I think it’s made such a huge difference in such a short amount of time, and so if there’s anyone out there who’s watching, this is your sign. If you’ve been thinking about it, go talk to somebody. It’s helped us immensely.

The night, what went down was so… unfortunate [laughs]. It was like the worst night of my life. And then, you know, to have to have that out in the world as I’m getting ready to put out a record has been a lot, but all I can do is be honest about what I’m going through and what’s going on. I’m not the first person to have gone through this.”

Hall then mentioned Branch’s original tweet accusing Carney of infidelity and the police report indicating Branch hit Carney. Hall noted the “allegations” of Branch slapping Carney but Branch owned up to it, laughing as she corrected Hall, “They are not allegations.” Taking a more serious tone, she continued, “Violence… I don’t condone violence. I slapped my husband. Not the finest moment of my life.”

Hall also asked what Branch is learning in therapy so far and she said:

“I mean, here I am, I’m only seven months postpartum from having a baby… Every parent in the audience knows this, you know: sleep, stress, life stress, marriage stress, work stress… definitely didn’t… and also we had been out at a birthday party that night, I had had a few drinks. All of the blocks were stacked in a way that, you know, I didn’t have time to think about really what I was doing. And it was one of those things that I was like, ‘Is this really happening? Did this really just happen?’ And you’re realizing in real time, ‘Oh, I probably shouldn’t have treated that, I probably… definitely shouldn’t have, you know, let my anger get the best of me.’

Yeah, it’s unfortunate that it took this horrible, traumatic event to hopefully… my husband and I are like, ‘Maybe this… how we were going was unsustainable, so maybe this will give us the tools to have a stronger marriage than we’ve ever had.’ So, you know, we’re rolling up our sleeves and doing the work, which [laughs] never sounds like fun, but we’re doing it.”

Check out the interview above.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Billie Eilish is down in Australia at the moment for a run of Happier Than Ever: The World Tour concerts in the country. Her first show there was at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney on Tuesday the 13th and fans were treated to an unusual and candid moment from Eilish thanks to a production mishap.

A fan-shot TikTok video shows Eilish on stage, sitting on a stool as she sings “When The Party’s Over,” with a simple stage set-up of just a spotlight shining on her from above. For a couple seconds, a video of a car (that appears to be a Mercedes-AMG One, as some commenters on the video pointed out) unexpectedly plays on a giant screen. Eilish, presumably noticing the change in the light coming from behind her, turns around. She sees what’s going on and shouts, “What the f*ck,” and laughs.

Meanwhile, also while in Australia, Eilish spoke about what it was like meeting the UK’s royal family, saying, “I had it all ready to go. I was studying what the etiquette was supposed to be. I was ready to curtsy, I was ready to not shake a hand, I was ready to not ask questions, and [laughs] not speak unless I was spoken to. I was so worried about it, too, I was like, ‘Oh, I’m not going to know how to do it.’ And they all walked and they were like [does handshake gesture], ‘Hey, what’s up, how are you, how’s it going?’”

Britney Spears’ wedding this summer had quite the guest list, including Donatella Versace, Paris Hilton, Madonna, Selena Gomez, and Drew Barrymore. In an Instagram post shared late last night/early this morning (September 15), she took time to honor one of those attendees, Barrymore, with a message of gratitude.

Spears starts the post by talking about enjoying her time in Hawaii and her recent interest in carrot juice before continuing, “@drewbarrymore – thank you for bringing light to my wedding !!! Yes there was so much light in the room !!! We have both been through so much and you declaring my cry for freedom in a country where we are all equal is not only in verb with HUMANITY !!! It calls for every person who fought for me in a time where just a silly and childish ‘Free Britney’ shirt actually had more meaning to me than just that !!! You reminded me of the night of my wedding to just one and one thing only !!! A smile with my eyes closed !!!”

While Spears doesn’t mention why she decided to show love for Barrymore last night, the post did arrive not long after Barrymore was on The Tonight Show talking about the bond she and Spears have built over the past year-and-a-half.

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

It has been said that “behind every strong man is a woman,” yet often times the latter doesn’t get the full credit they deserve. John Legend and his wife Chrissy Teigen regularly love each other out loud, but his latest video for “Wonder Woman” may be one of the most heartwarming things he has ever done for her.

In the video, the R&B veteran stands shirtless in a room and stares through a window at Teigen through weeds. In later scenes, she is shown caring for their two children poolside while Legend looks at her and smiles.

Switching between his charming tenor and captivating falsetto, Legend sings “You make me wonder, woman, how do you do it? / Some superpower, I don’t understand / You make me wonder, woman, how do you do it? / You’re superhuman, and I’m just a man.”

In a world of toxic R&B and male hedonism, this type of reverence toward one’s partner is refreshing. It can be found on John Legend’s latest LP Legend, released this past Friday. The album features Saweetie, Rick Ross, Free Nationals, Amber Mark, and more.

Check out the video for “Wonder Woman” above.

Legend is out now via John Legend Music and Republic. Listen here.

This year’s Emmys didn’t have anything approaching a certain shocking Oscars moment. But the night wasn’t without controversy. The thing that most people talked about — along with Sheryl Lee Ralph’s passionate, musical acceptance speech — involved another Abbott Elementary win: Quinta Brunson getting slightly upstaged by Jimmy Kimmel pretending to be dead even after she won for Writing for a Comedy Series.

As it happens, Brunson was already scheduled to be on Jimmy Kimmel Live! a mere two days later. On Wednesday night, the two hashed it out. First, she jokingly interrupted Kimmel’s opening monologue. Then, during their formal chit-chat, he formally apologized.

“I feel like I just saw you,” he cracked as she sat down opposite him. About her speech, he joked, “I missed it. How did it go?” He then got serious, calling what he did a “dumb comedy bit.,” adding, ““I’m sorry I did do that, actually. And also, the last thing I would ever want to do was upset you because I think so much of you. And I think you know that — I hope you know that.”

Brunson accepted Kimmel’s apology, saying, “It is very kind of you to say that,” and adding that she was “wrapped up in the moment” of having won her first Emmy and “just having a good time.” She then added, “I had a great night!”

Kimmel then blamed it all on Will Arnett, his co-presenter, to which Brunson said, “Screw Bojack Horseman.”

Brunson addressed Kimmel’s antics after her win, saying that it “didn’t bother me and pointing out that he was one of the first person to see Abbott Elementary and had long been a supporter of hers. “Tomorrow maybe I’ll be mad at him,” she added.

As for Sheryl Lee Ralph, well, she wasn’t as forgiving.

(Via THR)

Nav has been applying heavy pressure ever since the release of his latest album Demons Protected By Angels. In an effort similar to Drake’s 2015 smash diss record “Back To Back,” he has shared new videos over the last two days for “One Time” featuring Don Toliver and Future, and one of the lead singles “Never Sleep” featuring Lil Baby and Travis Scott.”

“One Time” opens with Toliver sitting on the roof of a Buick in the desert while singing the hook. Women walk past him and enter a desolate bar before the video transitions to Nav sitting in a motel room with a woman laying on the bed next to him. Future later appears on television, rapping in front of a beaten-down home.

“Never Sleep” follows the Toronto rapper through a fun night in Las Vegas. Scott appears in place of Abraham Lincoln on the back of a penny while performing his portion of the record, before appearing on a jumbotron and on a playing card. Nav shrinks his size and raps atop the blackjack table with chips scattered around him before Lil Baby appears, sitting atop a stack of chips while getting his bars off. The Weeknd also appears in the video, laughing next to Nav as they play blackjack.

These records follow Nav’s video for “Lost Me” featuring Realest K which was released on Saturday, just a day after Demons Protected By Angels was shared with the world.

Check out the video for “One Time” above and “Never Sleep” here.

Demons Protected By Angels is out now via XO and Republic. Listen here.

The Fast and Furious franchise has this habit of casting one actor then adopting them into Dom’s ever-growing family. Even the villains tend to stick around, sometimes even joining the team. So who’s new with Fast X, the 10th in the main series and the 11th overall (counting the spin-off Hobbs & Shaw)? Glad you asked.

As per CinemaBlend, there are five big new additions to the next film’s increasingly large ensemble. There’s Jason Momoa, on tap to play the, as he describes him, “sadistic” and “very flamboyant bad boy.” (It’s unclear if he’ll be teaming up with Charlize Theron’s Cipher, who’s also back.) There’s Daniela Melchior, who played Ratcatcher 2 in James Gunn’s bloody The Suicide Squad, though it’s not clear who she’ll be playing. Ditto one of the biggest gets: Brie Larson, who confirmed her role in the new film via a photo with Vin Diesel in July.

Then there’s Alan Ritchson, known for playing the title character in Amazon’s show Reacher, taking over a character previously embodied by Tom Cruise. As it happens, he shares something with fellow new cast member Momoa: He’s also played Aquaman, albeit ages ago, on the aughts CW show Smallville.

Oh, and they also got the legendary Rita Moreno. Why not!

They’ll be joining the returning cast, which includes [deep breath]: Vin Diesel and Michelle Rodriguez and Tyrese Gibson and Ludacris and Nathalie Emmanuel and Sung Kang and Theron and Jordana Brewster and John Cena and Jason Statham and Helen Mirren and Michael Rooker and Cardi B. Alas, Dwayne Johnson is sitting this one out.

Fast X hits theaters on May 19, 2023.

There’s a chance — a small one — that Donald Trump could have won re-election. Had his response to the COVID-19 outbreak been good, or even competent, or even barely-assed, he might have wormed his way into the hearts of more than simply his rabid and sometimes violent supporters. Alas, he’s Donald Trump, and his response was to mostly ignore it, to mock masks, to give absurdly bad medical advice. Maybe things would be different had he listened to his own wife.

As per CNN, a new book — The Divider: Trump in the White House, 2017-2021, by New York Times’ Peter Baker and CNN’s own Susan Glasser — claims that Melania tried to talk some sense into him as cases and deaths skyrocketed.

“‘You’re blowing this,’ she recalled telling her husband,” Baker and Glasser write. “‘This is serious. It’s going to be really bad, and you need to take it more seriously than you’re taking it.’ He had just dismissed her. ‘You worry too much,’ she remembered him saying. ‘Forget it.’”

And so, cases and deaths stayed high, in part because half the country — the Trump-voting half — were convinced by the president and his cronies that it wasn’t worth taking seriously. Even when vaccines became available, many didn’t take them. When Trump advised getting vaxxed, they booed him, even as deaths overwhelmingly affected his supporters.

As for Trump, he now rants to strangers in a resort where he now lives, all while fending off an ever-growing number of headaches that may leave him broke and/or in prison. But at least he can still run a third time from jail.

(Via CNN)

Eminem is decades into his historic rap career and showing no signs of slowing down. With such a storied and prominent career, many details still remain unknown to most. The Detroit rapper, in celebration of XXL‘s 25th anniversary, penned a personal story recounting all he has been through and how drug addiction spanning over multiple years affected his 2004 album Encore.

“My drug usage started at the beginning of that first album,” Eminem said, in reference to 1999’s The Slim Shady LP. “I didn’t take anything hard until I got famous. I was experimenting. I hadn’t found a drug of choice. Back then you went on tour and people were just giving you free drugs. I managed it for a little while. And then, it just became, I like this shit too much and I don’t know how to stop.”

He continued: “Encore took a whole f*ckin’ different trajectory because Encore was during my addiction. I was realizing I’m getting addicted to these f*ckin’ pills. I was just coming off The Eminem Show and the 8 Mile soundtrack and I started recording and had about seven or eight songs that were very much in the vein of what I do. But we ended up putting them out as a f*ckin’ bonus disc because the songs leaked. If those hadn’t leaked, Encore would’ve been a much different album.”

The rapper explained how “We As Americans,” “Love You More,” “Bully,” and “Evil Deeds” all leaked, with “We As Americans” originally intended to be the album’s opening song. “If that would’ve been on Encore and the other couple songs that leaked,” he wrote, “to me it would’ve been right there with The Eminem Show as far as its caliber.”

In having to start the recording process all over again, Eminem’s addiction grew and he was soon in a “goofy mood.” Said mood caused a change in the music he was making. “So now, I go make ‘Ass Like That,’ ‘Big Weenie,’ ‘Rain Man,’ all those silly songs, which I’m writing in f*ckin’ seconds at that point in time,” he wrote. “I was just writing high and feeling good about what I’m doing because I got f*ckin’ 20 Vicodin in me and this is fun to do, and I’m having fun, so f*ck it.”

Eminem had a hard time coming to grips with the fact he didn’t do his best after the album was released. Worst of all, for him, was the critical reception. “I released what I had at that point in time, and I feel that put a kind of a mark on my catalog,” he said. “Encore did some decent numbers, but I was never that concerned with numbers. I was more so worried about what people think about the album. Critics and fans were important to me, and they were always at me about that project.”

Check out Eminem’s full story on XXL here.