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With the MTV VMAs airing on August 28, MTV has been slowly revealing the performers to build hype for the show. The first batch was revealed earlier this month and included Anitta, J Balvin, and Khalid, while the latest group was announced today and features Blackpink, Jack Harlow, and Lizzo.

In addition to the performers, MTV previously announced the full list of nominees, which is led by Jack Harlow, Kendrick Lamar, and Lil Nas X, who have seven each. Artists of the Year include Bad Bunny, Drake, Ed Sheeran, Harry Styles, Jack Harlow, Lil Nas X, and Lizzo, while the coveted Video of the Year category sees Doja Cat, Drake, Ed Sheeran, Harry Styles, Lil Nas X, Olivia Rodrigo, and Taylor Swift nominated for their biggest videos of the year.

Of course, not everyone is excited about the award show. During an interview last year, Ed Sheeran noted that American award shows have “a horrible atmosphere” compared to their British counterparts. He blamed it on a sense of resentment driven by artists’ entourages, saying “It’s just lots of people wanting other people to fail and I don’t like that. It’s a really horrible atmosphere to be in. I always walk away feeling really sad, and I don’t like it.” Let’s hope this year’s VMAs can break that tradition.

The 2022 VMAs are on 8/28 at 8 pm ET.

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

Marvel’s latest streaming series, She-Hulk: Attorney At Law, will have its premiere this week, and while fans are excited to see the titular hulk in action, both in court and beyond, there is one burning question that has yet to be answered: when exactly does this show take place?

While sometimes Marvel gives concrete hints about specific eras and timelines (remember when Captain Marvel visited a Blockbuster?) it’s been pretty close-lipped regarding where in the timeline She-Hulk, who is played by Tatiana Maslany, will reside. Fans have pointed out that some stills from the series feature the original Hulk Bruce Banner wearing his sling from his arm injury post-Avengers: Endgame, while in other shots he seems fine. So, when does this series actually take place?

Writer and executive producer Jessica Gao confirmed that the show does do a good job of explaining where it lands on the timeline, though it is set “not too far” after the events of Shang-Chi. Gao told TVLine, “It’s not, like, years later. It’s a relatively short amount of time.” The timeline is supposed to be made a bit clearer after episode two.

To put this into a little more perspective: Shang-Chi takes place after the series Wandavision and Falcon and the Winter Soldier but before Eternals, and the last two Spider-Man installments. This is confirmed on Disney+, where you can sort the titles by chronological order.

She-Hulk: Attorney At Law also stars Jameela Jamil, Josh Segarra, Ginger Gonzaga, Jon Bass, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Tim Roth, the Hulk himself Mark Ruffalo, and Benedict Wong. The series begins streaming on August 17th on Disney+, with new episodes weekly through October 12th.

(Via TVLine)

As is usually the case in July and August, the sports calendar has slowed down considerably after the end of the NBA and NHL seasons, with football just now starting to ramp up alongside the MLB and WNBA playoff races. In that time, ESPN has still had to fill the hours, but they’ve been unable to turn to their most reliable innings eater to do so, as Stephen A. Smith has been out after having shoulder surgery after the NBA Draft — he did make an impromptu appearance prior to free agency because he couldn’t resist a chance to discuss the Kevin Durant trade request, but otherwise has stayed off air for six weeks.

That’s as long a time as Smith has ever taken away from the airwaves, as he is notorious for always being on — often calling in from vacation to get takes off when a big story breaks. However, on Monday, Smith made his triumphant return to First Take amid great fanfare, as ESPN celebrated having their star back by putting the show on a boat in New York City for some reason — with Stephen A. apparently raiding Derek Dooley’s old closet for his finest Tennessee orange suit.

While Stephen A., Michael Irvin, and Molly Qerim rode around the Hudson on a boat, ESPN made sure to welcome Smith back with some help from some of the biggest names in sports. From the NBA, ESPN tapped none other than commissioner Adam Silver — who had some questions about the legitimacy of Smith’s “shoulder surgery” — and Warriors owner Joe Lacob to welcome him back to the show.

Silver wasn’t the only one with jokes about Smith’s return from injury, as Nick Saban also recorded a message for Stephen A.’s return and made sure to note that when he had hip surgery, he was back at work the next day, questioning Smith’s commitment to the game.

You can tell how much Stephen A. loved all of this, and also how the folks they had record messages enjoyed getting a chance to poke at the man who is always the one that gets the final word on TV.

At the moment, Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak are in the midst of a Silk Sonic residency at Las Vegas’ Park MGM. Those boys apparently really love performing, as they were just spotted on stage at a surprise concert immediately after one of the residency shows, which wasn’t the only shock of the night. At the Vegas club Barbershop (which is owned by the folks who own Park MGM), the duo busted out a rendition of, of all songs, Papa Roach’s 2000 nu metal favorite “Last Resort.”

Fan-shot footage shows .Paak donning a long blond wig singing the song with more rock-style vocals, which don’t really sound like .Paak’s voice as we know it, as the crowd sings along with him.

Elsewhere during the show, they also covered Outfield’s 1986 classic “Your Love.” Stereogum notes they also performed the Police’s “Roxanne,” although video of that does not appear to be available online.

As Stereogum also points out, the Papa Roach cover isn’t entirely unprecedented in relation to Mars and .Paak’s musical tastes: In 2018, Mars noted he was listening to Nine Inch Nails, System Of A Down, and Incubus. Then, in 2019, .Paak was seen moshing as one of the handful of attendees at a local hardcore band’s concert.

Check out clips from the show above.

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

Lauren Boebert can’t stop stirring the pot on social media, so it’s no surprise that she and her family keep the chaos going at home. Last week, we heard about how Boebert’s husband, Jayson (who has previously tangled with the law in an obscene way while Boebert blamed the woman on the receiving end of his display) went on a temper tantrum in their neighborhood.

Initially, we heard vague details about the incident, which was to be expected as the dust settled. Denver Post reported that Jayson had grown irate about complaints that his son was one of multiple kids racing a dune buggy at dangerous speeds. He reportedly got in people’s faces, wanting to fight, and then the 911 call surfaced. Details of the transcript indicated that Jayson was “probably drunk” and was roundly considered a “jackass” and “dumb as a post” while also speeding through the neighborhood on a rampage. The neighbors also, as Business Insider further points out, panicked on the 911 call over the Boeberts’ lust for guns:

“It’s the Boeberts, if you know who the Boeberts are,” the neighbor added to dispatchers, asking for the sheriff. “Our wonderful congresswoman,” another voice was heard saying in the background, per the audio.

“I’m sure he’s loaded to the hilt. Do you know who his wife is? Lauren Boebert. She’s loaded. They all have guns,” a neighbor said in a 911 call obtained by the Post. “He just got chest to chest, face to face, looking to fight.”

The Denver Post reports that Jayson did run over a neighbor’s mailbox while wildly careening down the street, and he was reportedly getting in people’s faces, and it’s sure not looking great. No charges were pressed, but that doesn’t preclude some sort of civil suit over property damage. Meanwhile, Boebert has not commented on the incident and is wildly tweeting about everything else in the world. She’s still terribly wound up about the FBI’s Mar-a-Lago raid, and in the below tweet, she doesn’t seem to realize that Trump could release that warrant if he really wanted people to see it.

(Via Denver Post & Business Insider)

Bryce Dallas Howard has shed some light on the pay disparity between her and Chris Pratt for their work in the Jurassic World sequels. Back in 2018, several industry reports claimed that Howard was making $2 million less than Pratt for the first sequel, Fallen Kingdom, but the actress has now revealed that it was “so much less.” Not only that, but the situation only improved when Pratt stepped in and used his clout to negotiate other franchise opportunities.

“The reports were so interesting because I was paid so much less than the reports even said, so much less,” Howard told Insider. “When I started negotiating for ‘Jurassic,’ it was 2014, and it was a different world, and I was at a great disadvantage. And, unfortunately, you have to sign up for three movies, and so your deals are set.”

According to Howard, Pratt learned of the situation and made sure she got an equal cut of the theme park and video game deals that were separate from their film contracts. Via Insider:

“What I will say is that Chris and I have discussed it, and whenever there was an opportunity to move the needle on stuff that hadn’t been already negotiated, like a game or a ride, he literally told me: ‘You guys don’t even have to do anything. I’m gonna do all the negotiating. We’re gonna be paid the same, and you don’t have to think about this, Bryce,’” Howard said.

While Pratt couldn’t do much for her film salary, the side deals he negotiated ended up being surprisingly profitable. “And I love him so much for doing that,” Howard said. “I really do, because I’ve been paid more for those kinds of things than I ever was for the movie.”

(Via Insider)

Last month, Kodak Black was arrested on drug charges in Florida after police said they found 31 oxycodone pills in his Dodge Durango after pulling him over for his illegal window tinting. Kodak was put on house arrest for violating his probation, but his lawyer claims that the pills police found were indeed prescribed to the rapper for pain from a string of unfortunate incidents for him.

Now, his lawyer is asking the court to push police to return the rapper’s confiscated SUV and $74,960 in cash, which was seized during the arrest, according to TMZ. Bradford Cohen, Kodak’s attorney, filed a motion, saying that he’s already given the police the prescriptions, so there is no reason for them to hold the vehicle or the cash. Kodak also railed against the arrest on Twitter, writing in a now-deleted series of tweets:

This Sh*t bogus Af I feel like This a character assassination issue Kuz theirs no way I should be getting harassed bout my tag being expired , that’s no reason to even search my car in the first place and going to jail about having my medication in the car is insane. Ima Sue these people for every dollar I gotta spend bout this sh*t !

I’m being racially profiled and as a black man in America I deserve my freedom especially with everything I do for my community I should be getting love , respect and support from the authorities ! To move freely , not getting arrested for expired tag and dark windows. This a self inflicted wound that coulda been prevented ! My people posta made sure my tags stay up and my tints Just right but @ da same time I should have a pass to drive with tints due to my status AT LEAST !!! I show all this love round here just to get slapped in the face.

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

With Jeopardy! on hiatus until next month, Celebrity Family Feud is proving to be the summer’s must-watch game show. Where else can you watch Jean Smart face off against Quinta Brunson, Boyz II Men blow it in spectacular fashion, and Our Flag Means Death star Rhys Darby repeatedly use the word “carked,” all while host Steve Harvey looks like a million bucks in his tailored suits? Nowhere, that’s where.

Sunday’s episode had Hocus Pocus 2 star Kathy Najimy vs. Broadway and Pushing Daisies legend Kristin Chenoweth, who Harvey called an “exceptionally nice person.” She also has an exceptionally dirty mind, based on her answer to, “We asked 100 women, after the lips, what’s your favorite part of a man to kiss?” Chenoweth buzzed in and replied, “Rhymes with [BLEEP].” It’s unclear the exact word she used, but you don’t need to know it, because of the implication. And Harvey’s reaction:

After walking away from the podium in shame, Chenoweth returned and told Harvey, “I’m sorry. I’m a good Christian girl. Forgive me.” The thing is, it’s a pretty good guess! But apparently not to the 100-person survey. The top-six answers: neck, cheek, furry pecs, ear, back, and shoulders. “Furry pecs” is a much weirder answer than “[BLEEP].”

You can watch the Celebrity Family Feud clip above.

It was first rumored in late July that Britney Spears was making her post-conservatorship musical comeback with an Elton John collaboration, a new rendition of “Tiny Dancer.” Shortly after that, Paris Hilton confirmed she had heard the song, and last week, John officially announced the track (titled “Hold Me Closer”), although he didn’t directly mention Spears by name. All this time, Spears hadn’t publicly acknowledged the song, but she finally did this weekend.

In a now-deleted Instagram post, Spears shared fan-made cover art for the song (by Instagram user @monalisaney81) and noted, “name of song is HOLD ME CLOSER.” She added, “And thank you so much for this incredible art @monalisaney81. I appreciate this and all of your support it means so much to me !!! I can’t wait for you all to hear what we’ve been working on [winking emojis].”

Before mentioning the song in the post, Spears wrote about expressing herself, saying, “Conservative Diplomatic Voice … I had everything but broken inside !!!!! I never wanted to be the girls who show their bodies !!! BULLSH*T !!! Try being covered for 4 months with no keys !!! I have the right to express my body, mouth, eyes , heart, and feet and show whatever I want !!! My body was manipulated, abused, and torn by people not my friends !!! I have beautiful friends who give me joy and lift my ass higher everyday … if my shallow smile approach offends anyone which I only have learned to COPY !!! So sorry !!!”

As for when “Hold Me Closer” is coming out, reports from Metro and South African radio station 5FM indicate it’s set to be released this Friday, August 19.

Megan Thee Stallion’s new album Traumazine is out now and with it, her latest single offering from it, “Her.” An uptempo track that borrows heavily from the Miami bass scene and fits right in with the current dance wave sweeping hip-hop, “Her” is also in line with Meg’s usual boastful perspective, as she upholds her own greatness while telling ” hater kiss both cheeks, ciao, bella.” In the new video for the single, Meg struts confidently in designer, turning herself into a work of art.

“Her” was one of two songs Megan performed in Central Park for Friday’s episode of Good Morning America. She also performed Traumazine lead single “Pressurelicious” sans the Future feature. Other songs she’s previously released from the album include the defiant “Plan B” and the bouncy “Sweetest Pie”; both are included on the final release. In addition to featuring on GMA for the album’s surprise rollout, she appeared on The Tonight Show to co-host alongside Jimmy Fallon, revealing that she cut the album’s 18 songs down from 50 and teasing Stranger Things actor Natalia Dyer over her character Nancy Wheeler’s fickle nature.

Watch Megan Thee Stallion’s “Her” video above.

Traumazine is out now via 1501 Certified/300 Entertainment. Get it here.

Megan Thee Stallion is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.