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During his near-20-year football career, Brett Favre and the people around him always tried their damndest to present the legendary quarterback as the kind of guy who wore Wrangler jeans and drove an old-school pick-up with a mutt riding shotgun. Then he started playing golf with Donald Trump and endorsing him for re-election, and everything went to shit. (OK, he was also accused of being a dick pic-sending fiend in 2010, but even that story quickly died down.)

But it turns out that the Hall of Famer might not be as all-American as he has portrayed himself over the years. Unless the new definition of “patriotism” is committing welfare fraud — in order to build a volleyball arena, of all things.

Earlier this month, news first broke that Favre was at the center of an investigation into possible welfare fraud. According to reports, the athlete conspired with nonprofit founder Nancy New (who was arrested alongside her son Zach in early 2020 and pleaded guilty) and former Mississippi governor Phil Bryant to re-route at least $5 million of state funding earmarked for welfare recipients into the building of a new volleyball stadium at the University of Southern Mississippi, where Favre’s daughter attends college and plays the sport.

Now, Mississippi Today’s Anna Wolfe is reporting that recently reviewed text messages show Bryant coaching Favre on how to write a proposal that would get him funding from the Mississippi Department of Human Services in order to build the new facility. Messages between Favre and Nancy New, meanwhile, indicate that he was aware of the potential for blowback should the press ever discover where this money came from, and that he took precautions to insulate himself from any media scrutiny:

Bryant, meanwhile, has spent years denying these claims — even though he apparently floated the idea of having his name on this fancy-schmancy new volleyball Mecca.

While neither Bryant nor Favre have so far been charged with anything regarding the scheme, New pleaded guilty to 13 felony counts, so the walls are closing in.

When asked by Mississippi Today whether he had spoken with the governor about the new volleyball stadium in 2020, Favre responded with a simple “no.” Bud Holmes, Favre’s lawyer, has also staunchly denied it as well, stating that: “Brett Favre has been honorable throughout this whole thing.” (Alleged dick pics excluded.)

It’s also worth noting that Favre’s alleged net worth is $100 million.

(Via Mississippi Today)

In late August, the world learned that Leonardo DiCaprio and Camila Morrone, his model/actress girlfriend of more than four years, had called it quits. But rather than lament the end of yet another one of the serial monogamist’s long-term relationships, people started to notice an odd trend: DiCaprio, who is pushing 48, seems to regularly tire of his significant others once they hit the big 25 and can legally rent a car.

DiCaprio clearly heard all the jokes about his Menudo-esque girlfriend rotation (including Dionne Warwick’s), and is here to tell you you’re wrong. And he’s willing to prove it. How? By dating an older woman… well, older for Leo at least. As Page Six reports, DiCaprio has been seen getting cozy with supermodel Gigi Hadid, who is practically a grandma at 27. (Perhaps he didn’t realize that Gigi’s sister and fellow supermodel Bella Hadid is two years younger?)

According to an insider, the couple is reportedly “taking it slow,” which is probably a good idea given Hadid’s advanced age. While DiCaprio might see it as a way to show that he’s no ageist when it comes to love, most of the rest of the world is laughing even harder now.

(Yes, searches for Gigi’s age really did skyrocket when word leaked that she and Leo might be a burgeoning item.)

Still, old habits die hard — at least for some social media editors:

Also worth noting: Gigi’s mom, former Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Yolanda Hadid is just 58 years old — making her just 10 years older than Leo versus Gigi and the actor’s 21-year age gap.

(Via Page Six)

When news broke on Tuesday, September 13 that Kenneth Starr had passed away at the age of 76 from complications due to surgery, the bulk of the headlines failed to mention his role as former U.S. solicitor general under George H. W. Bush and instead focused on his investigation into Bill Clinton’s Whitewater real estate investments, which eventually led to the then-president’s impeachment.

Of course, it was also Starr’s investigation that led to the very public discovery of Clinton’s affair with Monica Lewinsky, a former White House intern who was 24 years old when her relationship with the president was splashed all over the media. Lewinsky, like so many victims before her, was demonized at the time. But instead of being happy to quietly fade from the spotlight, she has used her name to become a powerful social activist who regularly speaks out against bullying with honesty, grace, and humor. She also served as a consultant on Impeachment: American Crime Story, the 2021 installment of Ryan Murphy’s anthology series, which recounted the story of the aftermath of Lewinsky’s relationship with Clinton.

So it was only natural that people would be curious about what Lewinsky had to say about the death of Starr — the man who turned her twenty-something life into a tabloid spectacle. And her response was a lesson in maturity and grace:

When questioned about what the first draft of that statement looked like, Lewinsky was honest that it was pretty much the same:

Yesterday, Cardi B stopped by her old Bronx middle school, Morris Park’s IS 232, to give back to her beginnings. Cardi donated $100,000, with the hopes of the pledge being used for developing arts education and after-school programs. She was joined by New York City schools chancellor David Banks, Community Capacity Development founder K. Bain, and principal Desiree Resto, as she also gave students an inspirational speech.

“I’m hoping we can have amazing after-school activities. Maybe like tutoring or maybe something fun like a music program. Y’all like music, y’all like to dance?” she asked, as students appeared for the donation announcement as well. “Maybe we can have an amazing after-school program. But I will be donating $100,000 to the school.”

“We are thrilled to welcome Cardi back home to IS 232 in the Bronx, and we are so grateful for her generous contribution to her alma mater,” Banks said. “Cardi B’s commitment of $100,000 for the arts will help the school’s kids soar to their highest heights. Thank you, Cardi.”

The Bronx musician has given back in the past. Just last week, Cardi surprised kids at the non-profit Community Capacity Development’s school event. She is continuing to spread messages about human justice work, by also visiting schools in Queens and Brooklyn. Throughout the pandemic, she donated $1 million to families in need of assistance in April 2020. She would also donate 20,000 meals to New York City hospitals and matched fan donations to various charities in December 2020.

“Any charity or foundation drop your receipts under the comment I will match what you donated and match your donation to that same charity or foundation. Lets match energy,” Cardi wrote on Twitter at the time.

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

The RX is Uproxx Music’s stamp of approval for the best albums, songs, and music stories throughout the year. Inclusion in this category is the highest distinction we can bestow and signals the most important music being released throughout the year. The RX is the music you need, right now.

If there’s one thing we know about Ari Lennox, it’s that holds on tight to her independence and freedom. The room to operate as she pleases and exist as she is has become a foundational aspect of the music she creates, and it’s received well by her listeners. “New Apartment,” from her debut album Shea Butter Baby, was championed by women all over because it perfectly encapsulated a fresh start and that moment of peak independence. Unlike the world beyond the four walls of this living space, everything that happens within them occurs at your discretion. Within them is a judgment-free zone. Ari’s quirky moments roam just as free as her soulful and confession moments.

On her second album Age/Sex/Location, Ari looks to build this same world for herself beyond those four walls. Prior to the album’s release, J. Cole shared a text message he received from Ari where she detailed what the project meant to her. In her lengthy response, she unveils her desire to block the negative she’s experienced in love and dating while allowing and accepting the positive that she very much deserves. While all of this is a working progress, something she refers to as the transitional phase to her current “eat pray love” journey, Age/Sex/Location puts those desires to work in what feels like a virtual testing ground of sorts, all before enacting them in the real world.

Right out the gate, Ari steps forth with an unforgiving authority on Age/Sex/Location. The intro track “POF,” which is sprinkled with background vocals from J. Cole, strikes as a tense and confrontational conversation over dinner at a dimly-lit fancy restaurant. Voices are low and anger is kept internally for the sake of not making a scene, but Ari’s words pierce like the knife that lays on the plate in front of her. “The audacity to lecture me about your Christianity / Then turn around and try to f*ck on me / Like it was gon’ be easy,” she sings with a dismissive layer wrapped around her words. Just a few songs later, on “Pressure,” the aforementioned tension is swapped for a gleeful double entendre that confidently instructs a man exactly what she wants. Ari yanks the tie of her love interest and pulls him close while daring him to boldly declare his bubbling desire for her.

Elsewhere on the 12-song project, she closes the door on love in some instances with the same conviction that she opens it in others. “Waste My Time” is driven by fun and lighthearted production that would be welcomed on a girl’s night out playlist. Once again, Ari dares her companion to put their words to action. “Use that mouth, blow this back out,” she quips on the record. While it’s similarly titled and contextually reminiscent of Brent Faiyaz and Drake’s “Wasting Time,” the male duo’s record lives in a bit of toxicity while Ari’s is seductive, inviting, and consenting of a no-strings-attached one-night affair.

Nonetheless, Ari isn’t a one-for-all woman and Lucky Daye is unfortunately the man who has to learn that. His slick-talk and player-esque lines on “Boy Bye” fail to do enough to earn him the same night that the individual on “Waste My Time” received. It’s not to say that Ari’s interest isn’t piqued as she gives an ear to the aftermath of Lucky’s initial cat calls, but she reads his approach as bland and formulaic. Whether it be his lack of authenticity or validity behind her claims of having a man, Ari leaves Lucky to accept that he came up short despite his efforts.

While many use the title track for their album as a moment to expand on the project’s central theme, Ari creates a skit that does just that in 37 seconds. “​​When you’re back in the game / That’s how you would greet someone, A-S-L,” she says calling back to the album’s title. “Playing on chatrooms, internet, meeting people / Like, this is dating.” Age/Sex/Location is Ari’s ideal forays into the dating world with each one beginning with the simple details of one’s age, sex, and location. While these forays can end in steamy, sweaty, and passionate bedroom magic, as detailed in “Leak It” with Chloe – a euphoric and dreamy duet that sees both singers ready to reveal (or leak) an unfiltered side of love that will only leave them leaking in satisfaction – its conclusion could also be one more aligned with “Blocking You.” Once that “a/s/l” prompt is answered, there’s no telling where things can go. With Age/Sex/Location, Ari hopes to leave with something with every roll of the dice.

On Age/Sex/Location, Ari Lennox signs into a virtual world that could easily be her reality. Where Shea Butter Baby begged and hoped for reciprocation by seeking an in-person connection as opposed to a digital one (“Facetime”), reassurance (“Speak To Me”), or a vow of continued love (“Pop”), Age/Sex/Location demands that reciprocation while promising a cease in communication and interaction without it. As she navigates the twists, turns, risky climbs, and unprotected freefalls of her current “eat pray love” journey, it’s with more discipline and increased wisdom from past missteps.

Age/Sex/Location is out now via Interscope and Dreamville. You can stream it here.

At one of her shows earlier this year, Lucy Dacus invited her dad onstage to help her cover Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing In The Dark,” which she released her own rendition of in 2019 to celebrate the legendary singer’s birthday. Yesterday, to celebrate her dad’s birthday, she had the crowd at her Colorado show join her in singing “Happy Birthday” to him.

A fan shared a clip of the moment, adding the caption: “Wholesome @lucydacus dad content at Red Rocks.” The “Night Shift” performer quote-tweeted it, writing, “got 10,000 people to sing happy birthday to my dad :’).” It was obviously a special moment; her dad looks overjoyed.

Dacus’ live shows are known to be intimate, heartwarming experiences. In February, she announced that she would be playing Detroit’s Majestic Theatre while laying on a couch due to significant back issues. “I am both sorry and also pleased to offer this most humiliating and hilarious moment to you good people of Detroit,” she wrote in a tweet at the time. “I am telling myself I am punk for this please do not say otherwise I’m fragile.” While this might sound uncomfortable or strange, her open-minded fans were supportive and grateful for her persistence, and it turned out to be a great show.

Always the loyal MAGA foot soldier, Sean Hannity rushed to Donald Trump‘s aid during his Fox News broadcast earlier this week. However, the longtime supporter of the former president deployed an unusual tactic that doesn’t seem to be going as planned. In an odd move, Hannity decided to list all of the lawsuits and investigations that Trump is facing including the damning search of Mar-a-Lago that former attorney general Bill Barr believes will end in an indictment. (The reported finding of nuclear documents probably didn’t help.)

“Instead of trying to fix the economy or dare talk about it or the border or the fentanyl or opioid crisis or the crime crisis, Democrats have been wasting almost all of their time and billions of your tax dollars with one investigation after investigation into all things Donald Trump,” Hannity said. “And this has been going on now for years.”

Hannity then scrolled a massive list of Trump’s alleged misdeeds in an effort to prove his point that the Democrats are “wasting” the government’s time and resources. Instead, Hannity provided a damning portrait of Trump’s current predicament.

You can see the full lis that Hannity rattled off below, which The Washington Post notes isn’t even complete. Hannity actually forgot a few items, but once you get past the 20th investigation, does it even matter?

Crossfire Hurricane investigation.
D.C. investigates inaugural funds.
New York investigates inaugural funds.
New Jersey investigates inaugural funds.
Emoluments clause investigations.
Ways and Means tax investigation.
Trump hotel lease investigation.
Foreign gifts investigation.
Fulton County D.A. 2020 election investigation.
NAACP Michigan Voting Rights Act investigation.
Mar-a-Lago search.
House Oversight classified materials investigation.
Jan. 6 committee investigation.
D.C. attorney general investigation into Jan. 6.
Jan. 6 impeachment investigation.
Ukraine phone call impeachment investigation.
Hush money payments investigation.
Michael Cohen pardon investigation.
Save America PAC investigation.
White House security clearance investigation.
Trump’s net worth investigated in House.
Use of private email by Jared and Ivanka.
Investigation into communications with Putin.
Possible money laundering investigation.
Saudi Arabia nuclear venture investigation.
New York A.G. Trump property values.
Manhattan A.G. Trump property values.
Westchester A.G. Trump property values.
Trump SPAC/Truth Social investigated.
Bank officer sought Trump job investigation.

We follow Trump pretty closely, and we didn’t even know about some of these. Thanks, Sean!

(Via The Washington Post)

St. Vincent returned to The Late Show with Stephen Colbert last night… or did she? While the video of her performing “Down” off her 2021 album Daddy’s Home was uploaded to YouTube this morning, some have wondered whether it was filmed at an earlier date.

As Colbert introduces her, he seems to be wearing a different suit than he’s in for the rest of the episode. It is the same suit, however, that he wore in a July episode, where St. Vincent was filling in as a temporary replacement for Jon Batiste. On July 27, Stranger Things star Brett Gelman and St. Vincent performed a cover of Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition,” which served as an inspiration for her album. It’s possible she also filmed “Down” during that time as well.

As St. Vincent noted during one of her other Late Show appearances back in July, she also hopes to also perform “The Star-Spangled Banner” at a hometown Dallas Cowboys game. “Cowboys: You’re passing up an enormous opportunity here. You can save money because she can accompany herself on the guitar, and if you don’t let her do this, she’s going to go off and sing the National Anthem for whatever Austin’s football team is,” Colbert joked.

Prior to her residency on The Late Show, St. Vincent had an incredibly busy last year, promoting her Grammy-winning album. She launched a 1970s-themed show on Apple Music. She headlined the All Things Go festival, alongside Haim and Charli XCX. She was credited on Olivia Rodrigo’s debut album Sour and performed with collaborator Jack Antonoff. Outside of music, she even found time to premiere The Nowhere Inn, a film she starred in that Carrie Brownstein directed.

This year, St. Vincent is currently continuing her tour with Roxy Music, and previously appeared at a Red Hot Chili Peppers show. The remaining Roxy Music tour dates are available below.

09/15 – Philadelphia, PA @ Wells Fargo Center *
09/17 – Louisville, KY @ Bourbon & Beyond 2022
09/19 – Chicago, IL @ United Center *
09/21 – Austin, TX @ Moody Center *
09/23 – Dallas, TX @ American Airlines Center *
09/26 – San Francisco, CA @ Chase Center *
09/28 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Forum *
10/02 – Dana Point, CA @ Ohana Fest 2022

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

The Ted Lasso crew might still be glowing from their Emmys win, but fans are already trying to get info on the hit show’s next season — and find out if it will be the last. The cast and crew have been leaving hints about the future of the series for some time, though it seems like we won’t have concrete answers until the show actually comes back. Until then, here is what the creators and cast have said so far about the upcoming season, and a potential fourth season.

Season two of the much-loved series premiered last July to lukewarm reviews, with the show tackling darker storylines than its signature wholesome debut season. Still, the crew took home the Emmy for Oustanding Comedy Series and Jason Sudeikis snagged his second Emmy for Lead Actor in a Comedy Series.

After their big win, Sudeikis was asked if the upcoming third season will be the last. “I think you’ve been misled,” Sudeikis said, referring to the rumors that swirled earlier this year. “I don’t know. It’s up to more factors than myself.” Season three currently does not have a release date, though the crew finished up filming over the summer.

Sudeikis told some more jokes while tiptoeing around the season four question. “The response to the show has been overwhelming. We have a tremendous group of writers, actors, and people in production. All of those things are thrown into the jambalaya of possibility. So I couldn’t say yes or no.”

Earlier this year, writer and star Brett Goldstein was asked if the show would end at season three, and he seemed to be certain. “We are writing it like that,” the actor told Sunday Times. “It was planned as three. Spoiler alert — everyone dies.” Assuming (and hoping) that the last part was a joke, it seems like he is set on the series ending after the upcoming season.

Sudeikis on the other hand seems to think that it’s not as straightforward as a yes or no. “I do know that this part of the show is what it’s supposed to be, and it will be what it was fortunate to become,” he said. “But as far as Season 4, I apologize for not giving you a more direct answer because I understand that’s helpful for headlines.” One thing’s for sure: we will see Lasso and his mustache sometime next year for season three on Apple TV, it’s just a matter of when!

(Via ComicBook)

In August, eccentric pop star Björk announced her new album Fossora, which arrives later this month. She unleashed the chaotic lead single “Atopos” last week, and now she’s back with a much calmer track called “Ovule.”

Her vivid, idiosyncratic storytelling is the centerpiece of the song: “Whеn I was a girl I felt love was a building / I marched towards our deadly demonic divorces demolished the ideal,” she sings, drawing out each syllable and hypnotizing the listener. In typical Björk fashion, “Ovule” comes with a mesmeric video full of unsettling imagery and massive, colorful outfits. The emotion is intensified through her vehement movement as she performs to the camera.

On Instagram, she shared a statement about the song:

“ovule for me is my definition of love
it is a meditation about us as lovers walking around this world
and i imagine 2 spheres or satellites following us around
one above us that represents ideal love
one below us representing the shadows of love
and we ourselves walk around in the third sphere of real love ,
where the everyday monday-morning meet-in-the-kitchen-love lives in.”

Watch the video for “Ovule” above.

Fossora is out 9/30 via One Little Independent. Pre-save it here.