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Recently, Megan Thee Stallion reiterated her belief that beef between female rappers is often instigated by fans in online stan wars after calling out another group responsible for plenty of the friction between women in hip-hop: the press. “Countless times, people have tried to pit me against Nicki Minaj and Cardi B, two incredible entertainers and strong women,” she wrote in a 2020 op-ed for The New York Times. “I’m not ‘the new’ anyone; we are all unique in our own ways.”

Over the weekend, another example of this phenomenon popped up, courtesy of another Big Apple-based publication, The New York Post. Seizing on a search optimization opportunity provided by Nicki’s Video Vanguard Award at the then-upcoming MTV VMAs, the Post published a history of Nicki’s feuds. However, the story included one iffy addition, Iggy Azalea, who was quick to call out the publication on Twitter in response to its link tweet. Seeing that the featured art for the story included Iggy, Cardi B, Mariah Carey, and Miley Cyrus, Iggy wondered, “Why am I on this? We’ve never said anything bad about one another. Y’all weird.”

Of course, a Barb account tried to offer video evidence of her dissing Nicki in the form of an old video interview in which Iggy was asked to choose between Cardi and Nicki’s music. In the video, which appears to be from 2018, when media were actively stoking a competition between the two rappers, who both dropped albums that year, Iggy admits that the reporter has put her in a tough position but honestly answers that she likes Cardi’s records more. Surprisingly, though, it was another Barb account that shut the instigator down, writing, “She didn’t pick based off ‘beef’ she picked off music she vibed the most that year…please be fr.”

Iggy replied graciously to her defender, writing, “That part. I can like whatever music i want lmaoooooooooo. A song is a song, I’m not part of y’all weirdo wars lol.”

So, yeah, the fans and the media both contribute to conflicts between female rappers — who, to be fair, sometimes just genuinely don’t like each other — and a lot of times, they’re just stretching the truth to fit a convenient narrative for attention. It’s okay to let more than one woman be successful in hip-hop, as we’re seeing right now. But that probably won’t stop fans fighting for their faves. Let’s just all do it responsibly, without resorting to putting down others.

Not much went right for Russell Westbrook during his first year in Los Angeles. After joining his hometown squad to much fanfare by way of a gigantic trade with the Washington Wizards, Westbrook struggled to fit in with the rest of the Lakers roster as the team missed out on the play-in tournament.

Part of the reason that was the case beyond Westbrook was the fact that both LeBron James and Anthony Davis missed extended periods of time due to injuries. James appeared in 56 games and Davis appeared in 40, while Westbrook played in a team-high 78. This, according to Jeanie Buss, made Westbrook worthy of praise in a recent interview she gave to Sam Amick of The Athletic, where she originally referred to him as the team’s best player.

“All I can say is that, from my point of view, (Westbrook) was our best player last year,” Buss said. “He played pretty much every single game, showed up, worked hard. You know, I would have loved to have seen what this team would have looked like if they stayed healthy. It’s really tough to win when Anthony Davis isn’t on the court. LeBron was hurt a lot of the season. But Russ showed up every game and played hard every night. And, you know, I just really appreciate him for who he is and what he brings to the team.”

Buss went on to correct herself and told Amick that “the word I should have used was ‘consistent.’” Regardless, the timing of Buss’ praise for Westbrook is interesting, as it has come in the midst of an offseason where newly-hired Lakers coach Darvin Ham has made clear that he has a plan for how he wants to use the former league MVP this season. But despite that, there have been a bevy a rumors indicating that Westbrook is likely to be traded before the season begins.

House Of The Dragon‘s breakout star Milly Alcock has been acting since she was a teenager, but she had never experienced anything like entering the Game of Thrones fandom. “It felt like that I had been literally picked up from Australia and someone had just dropped me in the middle of like the ocean with nothing around,” the actress recently explained to The Hollywood Reporter.

“I’d done Aussie television where our whole show’s budget is less than one episode [of Dragon]. I’d never been on a hundred-million-dollar set like that before,” she said, explaining that she shares traits with her character Rhaenrya, who is also going through a monumental life change. “Me and Rhaenyra had similar trajectories in our story — the way that we kind of navigated an unforeseen world we really expected to be in, and learned how to face those challenges.”

Despite the newfound responsibility, Alcock quickly became a fan favorite as the head-strong princess who is determined to do things her way. But, at some point in the season, Rhaenyra will be portrayed by Emma D’Arcy, as her older self. The two actresses wanted to meet, but they were discouraged from doing so thanks to director Miguel Sapochnik.

“Me and Emma were like, ‘Let’s meet up.’ We wanted to have a meeting with [Sapochnik] and have a discussion about Rhaenyra’s progression as a character,” Alcock explained. “And Miguel didn’t want us to meet — which was really interesting! So we never had that discussion. Miguel was like, ‘Just trust that you that you both have it.’ I think he was aware we would be trying to mimic each other.” Sapochnik was instead determined to keep them separate in order to make sure they didn’t feed off each other too much when it comes to the character.

It’s unclear if Alcock will continue to be shown in flashbacks once D’Arcy takes over, but hopefully, the two actresses were able to interact outside of their royal duties. Despite not meeting her other counterpart, Alcock was able to meet Emily Carey and Fabian Frankel before beginning filming. Plus, there are so many dragons to meet, it must be hard to keep track of everyone!

House of the Dragon airs on Sundays on HBO.

(Via The Hollywood Reporter)

One of the biggest talks of this year’s VMAs night came in the form of Taylor Swift’s 10th studio album announcement. Upon accepting her award for Video Of The Year, for All Too Well (10 Minute Version), she revealed that her new album would arrive on October 21 and that she would share more details “at midnight.”

At midnight Eastern time, following the MTV Video Music Awards, Swift took to Instagram to reveal the cover art and title for the album, Midnights.

“This is a collection of music written in the middle of the night,” said Swift in her Instagram post, “A journey through terrors and sweet dreams. The floors we pace and the demons we face. For all of us who have tossed and turned and decided to keep the lanterns lit and go searching – hoping that, just maybe, when the clock strikes twelve … we’ll meet ourselves.”

She continued, saying “Midnights, the stories of 13 sleepless nights scattered throughout my life, will be out October 21.”

Since Swift’s announcement, fans have been scrambling to figure out what this all means, as Swift is famous for dropping Easter Eggs in her posts, visuals, and album and single art. Some Swifties have theorized that Midnights may not be entirely composed of brand new recordings, but rather previously unreleased recordings from various eras of her 17-year-long career.

One Swiftie, who goes by lunarsneeze on Reddit, asked, “Do we think these are songs she’s written throughout her career and not just in the past few months??”

At the time of writing, Swift hasn’t announced any news regarding a single, or whether or not she collaborated with her go-to producer, Jack Antonoff, with whom she’s worked on her previous five albums, as well as the 10-minute version of “All Too Well.”

However, this Swiftie may, in fact, be onto something. With last year’s re-releases of her albums, Fearless and Red, she included re-recorded versions of the album’s original tracks, as well as tracks “from the vault,” which were recorded during those respective eras, but previously unreleased

If this Swiftie’s theory is correct, the album’s material may not be newly written, but more than likely, they are newly recorded, given the fact that Swift only owns her master recordings from her seventh album, Lover, on.

Either way, it looks like we’re gearing up for a sad girl autumn, with none other than Swift at the helm.

First of all, most people don’t realize Weekend at Bernie’s shares a director, Ted Kotcheff, with that of the movie that first introduced us to Sylvester Stallone’s John Rambo, First Blood*. So, yes, the director who brought us Rambo for the first time also gave us Bernie Lomax. This is mentioned because Weekend at Bernie’s is, surprisingly, a competent film that has an actual plot. This is something I’m always reminded of when I watch Weekend at Bernie’s (which I just did this past Friday because it’s set the weekend before Labor Day through Labor Day weekend) in a sort of, “Wait, why am I enjoying this more than I should?” kind of way followed by, “You know, this movie is actually pretty good,” kind of way.

*First Blood is another movie that is, now, kind of hard to get people to watch because it gets lumped in with all the other, more over-the-top sort of dumb Rambo movies. If you’ve never seen First Blood, it is not what you think it is.

When my partner and I host movie nights – in 2019, I turned our small Manhattan second bedroom into a movie room with a 95-inch screen, a projector, and 7.1 sound … that we never used; then in late March of 2020 we started using it a lot – the rule is “fun canon movies that the guest or guests have never seen.” And Weekend at Bernie’s, surprisingly, gets brought up a lot. But usually as a throwaway, “I’m joking but wouldn’t it be funny if we watched this punchline of a movie,” to which I have to say with a straight face, “It’s actually a lot better than you think it is,” and then after we watch it I’m told I’m right.

The movie is a punchline because the concept is ridiculous and the sequel is terrible. But what’s interesting about the concept of “two guys hang out with a dead body” is that doesn’t happen until about halfway through the movie. And Weekend at Bernie’s does a pretty good job of meticulously setting up why two numbskulls hang out with a dead body.

A thing people forget is the entire first act of Weekend at Bernie’s takes place the week before Labor Day in New York City. It’s very hot out. So hot that when a criminal tries to mug Larry and Richard (Andrew McCarthy and Jonathan Silverman) in Central Park, the criminal is told it’s too hot for that and the criminal kind of shrugs and agrees. Larry is lazy and Richard is ambitious, but the two spend their pre-Labor Day weekend on top of a Manhattan walk-up building trying to keep cool in a kiddie pool. (Not only is it set during Labor Day, it’s also a good “working stiff” Labor Day movie.)

Richard discovers an egregious accounting error at the insurance company they both work at and the duo think this is their big ticket toward advancement at their company. They bring it directly to the CEO, Bernie Lomax (Terry Kiser, who is (a) still alive today and (b) gives an actual masterclass is physical comedy in this movie), but Bernie is embezzling money and now needs these two idiots out of the picture. Bernie meets with the mob (at this point, our friend who watched it with us this past Friday exclaimed, “holy shit, this is a mob movie?! Yes!”) and asks them to off both Richard and Larry at his house in the Hamptons. After Bernie leaves, the mob decides it’s best to just get rid of Bernie and they kill him at his beach house with an overdose of heroin.

So our two idiot heroes find Bernie dead, and eventually figure out Bernie wanted them killed and the instructions were to do it when Bernie wasn’t around. So, Larry and Richard take Bernie’s dead body everywhere in an effort not to be killed by the mob. In reality, Bernie was killed, but now his hitman thinks he failed so Larry and Richard actually are being trailed by a hitman, but only because they have a seemingly alive Bernie Lomax always with them. This is an actual good comedic setup! It’s funny! And it kind of/sort of makes sense why two morons are hanging out with a dead body for half the movie. (I also want to point out there’s a really funny throwaway scene where Larry and Richard are running for a ferry and both jump for it over the water, crashing and tumbling onto the ferry, only to find out the ferry is docking.)

Originally I wanted to declare Weekend at Bernie’s the best movie set during Labor Day weekend, because off the top of my head there aren’t a whole lot of movies set during Labor Day. Then looking at a number of “Best Labor Day Movies” lists, they are all about working. But I knew there had to be something I wasn’t remembering, and then did remember Stand By Me is set over Labor Day weekend and I quickly withdrew my hyperbole. But! If you haven’t seen Weekend at Bernie’s – I am more and more learning a lot of people even in their 30s have not seen Weekend at Bernie’s – or haven’t seen Weekend at Bernie’s in a long time and are looking for a pretty solid comedy set during Labor Day weekend to end your summer.

Am I supposed to write something like, “Well, Weekend at Bernies’s is the movie for you!” or something like that here? It should be pretty clear by now what movie we’ve been discussing. Although I will point out that you shouldn’t watch the sequel. It’s truly terrible. You’re welcome!

You can stream ‘Weekend at Bernie’s’ via Hulu. You can contact Mike Ryan directly on Twitter.

Charli XCX has had one of the more unusual careers in recent pop memory. She had a lot of success early on in the 2010s, with her and Iggy Azalea’s “Fancy” topping the charts, while “Boom Clap” and Icona Pop’s “I Love It” were both top-10 in the US. Charli later shifted into an experimental phase, though, with albums like Charli and How I’m Feeling Now, both of which were critically esteemed. She got back into a more straightforward pop lane with this year’s Crash, and that worked out well: It was her first top-10 album in the US and her first No. 1 in the UK.

Now that Crash has proven to be a hit, Charli is left not quite sure how to move forward.

In a new BBC Music interview, she said of the album’s success:

“It’s still a shock to me — and it’s quite stressful because I’m like, ‘Oh crap, what do I do now?’ I feel like the narrative around my work has often been, ‘She’s one step ahead,’ or, ‘She’s pushing the boundaries and no one ever quite gets her.’ So to achieve these things feels really special and unique, and it’s something I feel like I’ve achieved with my fans. But at the same time, what does it mean for me?”

In that same conversation, she also revealed she used to request her dressing rooms be intentionally trashed.

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

During the last season of The Goldbergs, the ABC sitcom ran into a significant problem when Jeff Garlin exited the show in December 2021 after being the subject of several HR investigations into his on-set conduct. As Garlin portrayed Murray Goldberg, the family patriarch, this put the series in a significant bind, considering the ninth season featured the oldest daughter, Erica, getting married. With Garlin gone, the show had to quickly get creative, which unfortunately resulted in a weird CGI abomination that went viral for all the wrong reasons.

Despite Garlin’s claim that his exit would lead to the end of the show, The Goldbergs is officially returning for Season 10, and the showrunners already have a solution to their Murray problem: Kill him off-screen. In a new interview, Alex Barnow and Chris Bishop confirm that Garlin’s character will have died off-screen, and the characters will be going on with their lives. Via Entertainment Weekly:

The family has already grieved, unlike Pops [George Segal] and the premiere of season 9 where they’re dealing with it sort of very freshly. This is going to be a family that has not reconciled the fact that their father’s gone but has sort of moved on and has dealt with a lot of that. So we’re starting with optimism about a baby coming and looking forward to the future. It’s an opportunity for this interesting emotional basis for the way people are behaving. But Jeff won’t be in the series this year, and so far the stories have been largely about looking forward rather than looking back.

While Murray’s sudden death will no doubt be awkward, Garlin’s co-stars were not exactly shy about the fact that he clearly checked out of The Goldbergs a long time ago. After the CGI scene went viral, Wendi McLendon-Covey defended the creative team and threw Garlin under the bus for throwing the season into turmoil.

“This season threw us for a loop because a.) it’s hard to incorporate someone who doesn’t want to be there and wants to leave mid-scene, and b.) we werent about to re-write the 2nd half of the season,” McLendon-Covey tweeted. “We’re doing our best.”

The Goldbergs Season 10 premieres September 21 on ABC.

(Via Entertainment Weekly)

Earlier this month, it was reported that Verzuz founders Swizz Beatz and Timbaland had sued Triller for not making payments after they sold their idea to the video app in 2021. Now, according to Rolling Stone, Triller is being sued by another business partner who says the app’s administrators refused to pay music licensing fees. Sony Music Entertainment has filed suit for millions in damages after Triller allowed users to continue posting videos with music from Sony artists after the label ended its deal with the app.

The lawsuit accuses Triller of “brazen contempt for the intellectual property rights of Sony Music, its artists, and others” after Triller “historically failed to make payments in a timely manner,” then completely stopped making its monthly payments entirely in March. Sony says attempts to contact Triller resulted in “near-total radio silence.” It terminated its licensing agreement on August 8, but despite warning Triller that “its continued use of Sony Music Content would constitute willful copyright infringement,” Triller has continued to make Sony Music artists’ music available for use on the app. The Sony roster includes artists such as Beyonce, Mariah Carey, Michael Jackson, Rosalía, Tyler The Creator, and more.

Meanwhile, as Triller apparently refused to pay Sony or the Verzuz founders, it acquired other platforms such as Fangage, a platform that helps creators to host and sell content. Triller previously called the Verzuz lawsuit a “legal shakedown,” maintaining that the producers had already been paid “$50 million in cash and stock.” Meanwhile, other high-profile stars are beginning to eschew proposed Verzuz battles; Diddy recently said, “We’re not f*ckin’ with Triller until they take care of Swizz and Tim for Verzuz.”

We are just days away from the latest fantasy series that will likely take over the internet. Amazon Prime’s Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power will make its debut this week, so now is the time to learn what the heck the show is even about.

Because Tolkien’s text is so rich with characters, many fans are concerned about who is showing up in the new series. Though Rings of Power will take place in the Second Age before the events of our good friends in the fellowship, there are still some familiar faces and names that will pop up in the series. The show will follow over 20 (!) main characters with interweaving storylines that take place in Middle Earth. To keep track of who’s who, here is a rundown of who to expect in the upcoming series.

In terms of familiar faces, Robert Armayo will portray a young Elrond, who was originally played by Hugo Weaving. Armayo also starred in season six of Game Of Thrones, so we know he can use a sword. Isildur will also make an appearance, portrayed by Maxim Baldry, along with Celebrimbor, an elf who eventually teaches Sauron how to make rings, who will be played by Charles Edwards.

Swedish actress Morfydd Clark, from 2019’s trippy religious horror film Saint Maud, will be the younger version of Galadriel, who was portrayed by Cate Blanchett in Peter Jackson’s trilogy. She will embark on a journey to find those responsible for defeating Morgoth (the bad guy pre-Sauron). She will be joined by Prince Durin IV, portrayed by Welsh stage actor Owain Arthur. Then there is Sophia Nomvete, who will play the dwarven princess Disa, who will also be the first female dwarf in a Tolkien adaptation. Also, there will be female orcs!

Then there is the elf known as Arondir, portrayed by Ismael Cruz Córdova, who is known for his role on both Ray Donovon and Seasame Street. THAT is range! He will embark on a relationship with Bronwyn, a human played by Nazanin Boniadi.

Of course, no Tolkien work is complete without two lovable harfoot hobbits named Poppy Proudfellow and Marigold Brandyfoot, who will be portrayed by Megan Richards and Markella Kavenagh, alongside Largo Brandyfoot, portrayed by Dylan Smith. Simon Merrells, who portrayed Julius Ceasar in DC’s Legends of Tomorrow will play a mysterious new character names Trevyn.

Finally, Anson Boon is set to portray some type of evil character that fans have been speculating has something to do with Sauron, though it has not been confirmed and we likely won’t know until he somehow acquires a giant evil eye. As for the rest of the cast without confirmed characters, we have Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Lenny Henry, Geoff Morrell, and Augustus Prew, who have all been kept under wraps.

Overall, there are a lot of names to remember and then eventually forget once the show starts. It might not be a bad idea to use subtitles for this one!

Amazon’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power debuts on September 2nd.

Taylor Swift may have stolen the spotlight from literally every other artist this past weekend by announcing her new concept album Midnights, which arrives in October, but there were still a ton of great releases from acts like Joji, Rina Sawayama, and more. Plus, the highly anticipated collaboration between Britney Spears and Elton John finally came out.

Each week, Uproxx rounds up the best new pop releases. Listen up.

Elton John, Britney Spears — “Hold Me Closer”

Let’s kick it off with the obvious pick: “Hold Me Closer” by Elton John and Britney Spears. It’s her first song in six years — and of course those six years were publicly tumultuous — but it shows how she hasn’t lost any of what makes her special. Her voice is as powerful as ever while the track pulsates with an infectious rhythm that only gets better as it goes on.

Madison Beer — “Dangerous”

Madison Beer’s new piano-driven song “Dangerous” floats magically. Her vocals are strong and stunning as she tells a visceral story full of imagery and feeling, all made more powerful by a stunning string section that brings the track to a heavenly state.

Oliver Malcolm — “Martian Man”

“Martian Man” by Oliver Malcolm, who just announced his forthcoming project Act Two, is undeniably infectious and groovy. He’s known for producing for acts like MF DOOM, Tinashe, and Glass Animals, and those experiences definitely helped him craft such a catchy, idiosyncratic sound of his own that shows on this track.

Sasha Alexa Sloan — “As It Was”

This year has been full of great Spotify Singles, from Snail Mail covering Superdrag to Remi Wolf covering Frank Ocean. Like those renditions, Sasha Alexa Sloan’s take on Harry Styles’s “As It Was” is creative and compelling. It’s much slower and has a twinkle to it, and her vocals are mesmeric.

Joji — “Yukon (Interlude)”

It’s likely not easy to follow up a massive TikTok hit — such as Joji’s “Glimpse Of Us,” which catapulted into fame off the bat because of its vulnerable lyrics and masterful storytelling. But “Yukon (Interlude)” picks up where it left off and is even imbued with a catchy rhythm that keeps it interesting.

Rina Sawayama — “Phantom”

We’re only a few days away from the release of Rina Sawayama’s Hold The Girl, an album whose anticipation has been increasing exponentially with the unveiling of every single. “Phantom” continues this pattern of excitement, serving as a sentimental track that explores how to keep boundaries with others in order to take care of ourselves.

Gayle — “God Has A Sense Of Humor”

Gayle’s new song “God Has A Sense Of Humor” is an intense but comforting exploration of grief and mortality as she reckons with being human. “Life’s not right or wrong / It’s just a little complicated,” she sings while reflecting on memories of loss, pain, and conflict that resonate deeply.

Ingrid Andress — “Feel Like This”

Off the bat, Ingrid Andress’s “Feel Like This” establishes itself as a nuanced confrontation of toxic relationships: “It’s crazy how manipulation feels like / A soft blanket holding you tight / And every night sleeping next to someone’s / Just as warm as the gaslight,” she sings, but she’s not resentful. In the chorus, she sings gleefully about finding a healthy love that gives her hope, and it’s inspiring.

Karol G, Maldy — “Gatúbela”

Of course we had to include Karol G and Maldy’s massive “Gatúbela,” which is the perfect catchy anthem for the end of the summer. It clings to the excitement of parties and endless sunlight before fall settles in within the coming weeks, and it makes those moments feel infinite.

Rema, Selena Gomez — “Calm Down”

This collaboration between Rema and Selena Gomez for “Calm Down” is a crossover we didn’t know we needed. Their vocals work amazingly together on the same track, intensifying the bittersweet atmosphere that leaves the listener with all different kinds of emotions.

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