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There are a lot of great bourbons out there. And while we cover a lot of it here, a fair share of those bottles are pretty hard to find if you’re not in a specific region of the country (or able to visit distilleries themselves). Craft bourbons do make it out of their states but it’s often a real crapshoot. A famous Texas whiskey might only also be available in New York and, say, Florida. That’s why today we’re going to call out the best bourbons that you can generally find nationwide.

Before we dive in, we’re saying “generally find nationwide” because there are few bottles that are actually in all 50 states. Utah alone has so many laws and regulations that even ubiquitous bottles often don’t make it to those shelves. These are the bottles you should be able to find at your liquor store but there may well be one or two that are not heavily stocked in your local region for a million different reasons — America is freakin’ vast.

All of that aside, these are all bottles that are affordable as well. They all ring under $50, meaning you don’t have to fret over whether these are “worth” the price of entry. Sound good? Let’s dive in!

Also Read: The Top 5 UPROXX Bourbon Posts Of The Last Six Months

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• The Best Ten-Year-Old Bourbon Whiskeys, Tasted Blind And Ranked
• We Tasted Bourbon Whiskeys ‘Double-Blind’ And Tried To Guess Each Bottle
• All The Double Gold-Winning Straight Bourbons From This Year’s San Francisco World Spirits Competition

10. Jim Beam Black Extra-Aged

ABV: 43%

Average Price: $22

The Whiskey:

This Beam expression replaced the old Black Label 8 Year. The juice in this bottle is aged longer than your average four-year-old Beam, but there is no age statement letting us know exactly how long that is. The best way to think of it is that it’s aged for as long as it needs to be, according to the distilling team, and then vatted, proofed, and bottled.

Tasting Notes:

There are core notes of vanilla, caramel, popcorn, and soft oak with a hint of orchard fruit that leans cherry. Those notes are further refined on the palate as the vanilla gets creamy the caramel and popcorn blend into a fairground treat, a hint of apple peel arrives and the cherry is just touched by tobacco. The end isn’t too long but sticks with you as the soft oak and cherry tobacco take on a moment of winter spice.

Bottom Line:

This is a great place to start. You can generally find Beam products everywhere you go. And this is the elevation of the standard White Label Beam you should be looking for. This is complex yet accessible while still having a nice and easy depth. It works nicely on the rocks too.

9. Gentleman Jack

ABV: 40%

Average Price: $34

The Whiskey:

Gentleman Jack is classic Jack — 80 percent corn, 12 percent malted barley, and eight percent rye — that’s twice filtered through sugar maple charcoal. First, the hot spirit drips through ten feet of sugar maple charcoal and then goes into barrels for a long rest. Then, the aged whiskey goes through another filter, this time through three feet of sugar maple charcoal before vatting, proofing down with de-ionized water, and bottling.

Tasting Notes:

This is like candy on the nose with cherry coughdrops, banana cream pie with a lard crust and plenty of soft vanilla whipped cream, white cotton candy, apple Jolly Ranchers, nutmeg and clove, and a hint of cedar. The palate layers that cedar with spicy cherry tobacco with a good dose of dark chocolate powder next to more vanilla, leather, and apple candy. The finish rolls between the leather and spiced cherry tobacco and the super soft and lush vanilla creaminess.

Bottom Line:

This is one of those bottles that shouldn’t taste as good as it does thanks to that 80 proof, but here we are. This is smooth with a nice depth of classic flavor notes. Overall, this is a great option for both cocktails and on the rocks sipping that takes standard Old No. 7 Jack to the next level.

8. Four Roses Small Batch

ABV: 45%

Average Price: $47

The Whiskey:

Four Roses Small Batch Bourbon is a blend of four whiskeys. The blend is split evenly between the high and mid-ryes with a focus on “slight spice” and “rich fruit” yeasts. The whiskey is then blended, cut with soft Kentucky water, and bottled.

Tasting Notes:

Soft and sweet apple and cherry woods greet with a good dose of sour red berries dusted with brown winter spices, especially clove and nutmeg. The palate leans into soft and salted caramel with a hint of those berries underneath while the spices get woodier and a thin line of green sweetgrass sneaks in. The finish is silky and boils down to blackberry jam with a good dose of winter spice, old wood, and a hint of vanilla tobacco.

Bottom Line:

This is a very easy drinking bottle of whiskey. I like to use it for simple yet delicious cocktails mostly, but it works perfectly well on the rocks too. The only reason it’s not a little higher is that there are slightly cheaper and slightly better whiskeys to come.

7. Evan Williams Small Batch

ABV: 45%

Average Price: $19

The Whiskey:

So this is a “small batch” in theory. The expression is a marrying of 200 barrels of bourbon from Heaven Hill’s warehouses. That juice is then proofed down to 45 proof and bottled as is.

Tasting Notes:

Vanilla and leather lead the way with a distinct note of fresh and warm cornbread that’s just touched by an oak note. The palate holds onto that caramel apple flavor profile while the cornbread makes a very buttery and honey-forward return with a light hint of egg nog spices. The end is short-ish and dances through that honey-soaked and buttery cornbread, rich vanilla, caramel apple, and oak towards a final touch of brown spice.

Bottom Line:

This might be the best expression of Evan Williams there is. It certainly gives Evan Williams 12-Year, Bottled-in-Bond, and Single Barrel a run for their money. What I know for sure is that this is the best bottle under $20 on this list. This is just good, standard, classic bourbon with no frills but plenty of depth. You can’t beat it.

6. Buffalo Trace Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

ABV: 45%

Average Price: $45

The Whiskey:

This is the whiskey that heralded a new era of bourbon in 1999. Famed Master Distiller Elmer T. Lee came out of retirement to create this bourbon to celebrate the renaming of the George T. Stagg distillery to Buffalo Trace when Sazerac bought the joint. The rest, as they say, is history, especially since this has become a touchstone bourbon for the brand.

Tasting Notes:

Classic notes of vanilla come through next to a dark syrup sweetness, a flourish of fresh mint, and a raw leather that veers towards raw steak on the nose. The palate cuts through the sweeter notes with plenty of spices — like clove and star anise — next to a hint of tart berries underneath it all. The end is long, velvety, and really delivers on the vanilla and spice.

Bottom Line:

This is probably going to be the most hit-or-miss bottle on the list in two ways. One, I’m not a huge fan of that raw leather nose but I can get past it. Two, this is going to be a little more fleeting a find in some markets. In some regions, this will be stacked in cases on the floor while in others there’ll be an empty spot on the shelf where this was.

Overall, this is worth grabbing when you see it stocked at your local shop thanks to it having a great and classic bourbon flavor profile.

5. Knob Creek 9 Bourbon

ABV: 50%

Average Price: $46 (one-liter)

The Whiskey:

This is Jim Beam’s small batch entry point into the wider world of Knob Creek. The juice is the low-rye mash that’s aged for nine years in new oak in Beam’s vast warehouses. The right barrels are then mingled and cut down to 100 proof before being bottled in new, wavy bottles.

Tasting Notes:

The nose is a balanced mix of bourbon vanilla, cinnamon spice, and fresh popcorn just touched with browned butter all next to a hint of mild cherry. The palate is a soft mix of almond shells, orange oils, and fresh cinnamon rolls cut with plenty of vanilla icing. The mid-palate has an old wicker chair vibe with a hint of must to it next to a touch of old leather that ends up on a dry cherry tobacco leaf.

Bottom Line:

This might be the most classic of the classic bourbons on the list. This is the easy-going and elevated sibling of standard Jim Beam with a serious depth and nuance to it. Pour this over a rock and you’ll be set.

4. Maker’s Mark Whisky

ABV: 45%

Average Price: $24

The Whisky:

This is Maker’s signature expression. It’s made from red winter wheat with corn and malted barley and then aged in seasoned Ozark oak for six to seven years. This expression’s juice is then built from only 150 barrels (making this a small batch, if you want to call it that). Those barrels are blended, proofed, bottled, and dipped in red wax.

Tasting Notes:

This has a super soft nose with mild notes of sour cherry next to light touches of dry grains, supple vanilla, and a hint of caramel. The palate is classic with a salted caramel vibe leading to apple pie filling cut with plenty of dark spices (think cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves) next to smooth dark fruits and a whisper of wet granite. The end lessens the palate toward a thin/light finish with notes of dark cherry, soft spices, and a hint of dry sweetgrass.

Bottom Line:

Standard Maker’s Mark is a killer bottle at a great price. This might not be the mind-blowing whiskey in the world, but it gets the job done as both a great on-the-rocks pour and the perfect Manhattan base.

3. Wild Turkey Longbranch

ABV: 43%

Average Price: $40

The Whiskey:

A few years back, Wild Turkey brought on Matthew McConaughey to be the brand’s Creative Director and create his own whiskey. The product of that partnership was launched in 2018. The juice is a wholly unique whiskey for Wild Turkey, thanks to the Texas Mesquite charcoal filtration the hot juice goes through. The bourbon then goes into oak for eight long years before it’s proofed and bottled.

Tasting Notes:

Christmas spices meet oily vanilla and subtle caramel up top. The palate adds orange oils and buttery toffee to the mix, as the spices edge upwards on the palate, next to a creamy vanilla pudding body. That velvet texture builds throughout, with toasted oak and cedar notes as a hint of sweet firepit smoke arrives on the long and satisfying finish.

Bottom Line:

This is the most unique bottle on the list. This could have easily been standard Turkey 101 for $25. In fact, go and buy that. It’s great. But this list needed a bourbon that does something different on it in the top three. There’s a variation on a theme in this whiskey that just works. It’s also the perfect campfire whiskey for all-night sipping, which is ideal for summer.

2. George Dickel Bottled-In-Bond Spring 2007

ABV: 50%

Average Price: $40

The Whiskey:

Nicole Austin has been killing it with these bottled-in-bond releases from George Dickel. This release is a whiskey that was warehoused in spring 2007. 14 years later, this juice was bottled at 100 proof (as per the law) and sent out to the wide world where it received much adoration.

Tasting Notes:

This is fairly mild with dashes of woody maple syrup next to pecans, Hostess Apple Pies, old boot leather, and a hint of cherry protein powder. The palate has a rich and lush vanilla pudding vibe that leads to a marrying of that pecan and apple pie before dry cherry arrives with hints of dark cacao powder and black licorice Necco Wafers create a counterbalance. The finish gets creamy with a line of browned butter and baked vanilla pudding drizzled with brandied cherry sauce and dusted with that dark cacao powder before a final hint of dry yet soft and sweet cedar comes in on the very end.

Bottom Line:

Honestly, these last two could have been tied for first place. Each one offers something unique. So … it’d be up to you which one to pick. Overall, this is a very lauded and beloved bourbon from Tennessee that lives up to every bit of hype and award it receives.

1. Michter’s US*1 Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

ABV: 45.7%

Average Price: $40

The Whiskey:

Michter’s really means the phrase “small batch” here. The tank they use to marry their hand-selected eight-year-old bourbons can only hold 20 barrels, so that’s how many go into each small-batch bottling. The blended juice is then proofed with Kentucky’s famously soft limestone water and bottled.

Tasting Notes:

The nose opens with a hint of ripe peach next to maple syrup, vanilla pancakes, and a hint of cotton candy. The palate leans into the vanilla cakes as the stonefruit takes on a grilled vibe next to peppery spice, fatty cream, and a touch of singed marshmallow. The finish leans into wintry spices as the stonefruit almost becomes smoked while toffee and vanilla cake counterpoint everything. The end has a nice layer of old cedar next to maple/vanilla tobacco leaves.

Bottom Line:

This whiskey feels like it’s a quintessential Kentucky bourbon. It’s the sort of bourbon that gets a Scotch drinker hooked on the American style. In the end, it’s just really good juice that transcends by having a perfect profile on the palate. But there’s no fussiness or overzealousness.

This is easy and fun while still feeling rewarding to your palate. It shouldn’t surprise anyone that it scored our #1 slot.

Norman Lear, creator of beloved sitcoms such as “The Jeffersons,” “All in the Family” and “Good Times,” turned 100 on July 27. It might have been his birthday, but we’re the ones receiving a gift, because the legendary television writer celebrated by sharing some words of wisdom with all of us.

A video posted to Instagram showed Lear recalling his “breakfast thoughts” as his daughter, Kate Lear LaPook, held the camera. He started off by singing “That’s Amore,” a tune by Dean Martin, who Lear once worked with and seemed to remember fondly.

It set the theme nicely for Lear’s message, which was all about taking in the simple joys of “living in the moment.”

“I guess my breakfast thought at the moment… is the moment,” Lear noted. “The moment between past and present, present and past, the moment between after and next. The hammock in the middle of after and next.”

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Authentic gratitude rang through his voice at the thought of turning another year older, not to mention a distinctly endearing sense of humor. “I mean, my God, the miracle of being alive with everything that’s available to us, and me turning 100 tomorrow. Do you hear me? Tomorrow I turn 100. That’s as believable to me as ‘Today I’m 99,’” he chuckled.

See on Instagram

His video ended with a simple piece of advice. “The moment: treasure it, use it with love.”

Not taking any of life’s moments for granted and instead looking at what’s right with the picture seems to be a well-known recipe for living a long, happy life, especially to those who have succeeded at it.

Fellow comedy icon Betty White echoed this sentiment in her 2018 interview with Parade, saying “accentuate the positive, not the negative. It sounds so trite, but a lot of people will pick out something to complain about, rather than say, ‘Hey, that was great!’ It’s not hard to find great stuff if you look.” The “Golden Girls” star passed away just before her 100th birthday on Dec 31, 2021, but was still the epitome of good cheer and optimism.

Or, thanks to a mainstream increase in mindfulness, perhaps this is a skill one can cultivate over time. After all, we have more tools than ever before—entire books have been written on the subject, like Eckhart Tolle’s “The Power of Now” and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s “Flow,” there are numerous meditation apps available, journals with prompts geared toward gaining awareness, and more access to a wide range of therapeutic modalities. The hustle and bustle of modern living might make being present a challenge, but with it comes numerous strategies for overcoming those challenges.

And, of course, when all else fails, we can take a page from Lear’s book, and simply choose to cherish what’s in front of us.

Happy Birthday, Norman. You always manage to give us something to smile about.

Talk about getting the most out of an instrument. The four members of Barcelona Guitar Trio (Xavier Coll Quetglas, Luis Robisco, Alí Arango, and drummer Paquito Escudero Sevilla) played a stunning version of Michael Jackson’s 1982 megahit “Billie Jean” all on one guitar.

Sevilla used the body of the guitar to play the rhythm, Robisco played the lead melody, Arango played the keyboard part and Quetglas rocked the iconic bass line.

The performance really takes off 48 seconds in, at the part where Jackson sings, “People always told me be careful of what you do/And don’t go around breaking young girls’ hearts.”

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“Billie Jean” was written about a woman who falsely claims Jackson is the father of one of her sons. Jackson says that the character was a composite of the numerous women who had made such claims about his family.

“The girl in the song is a composite of people my brothers have been plagued with over the years. I could never understand how these girls could say they were carrying someone’s child when it wasn’t true,” he said according to American Songwriter.

The song’s producer, Quincy Jones, wanted the song to be called “Not My Lover” so that people didn’t think it was about tennis star Billie Jean King. But Jackson refused to change the song’s name.

“Billie Jean” was released as a single in January 1983 and would stay at the top of the charts for seven weeks. It was the most popular track on Jackson’s “Thriller” album, which went on to sell 66 million copies worldwide.

As if Johnny Depp and Amber Heard‘s defamation trial wasn’t a big enough circus thanks to an aggressive (and possibly manufactured) amount of social media activity and celebrity cameos, rumors began swirling that Depp and his attorney Camille Vasquez were getting a little “touchy-feely” during the legal proceedings. While talk of a brewing romance mostly contained itself to online chatter and tabloids, Gayle King surprisingly broached the topic during an interview with Vasquez on CBS Mornings.

For her part, Vasquez admitted she was aware of the rumors, which she noted are not true. She also wasn’t exactly thrilled about the whole thing. Via Mediaite:

“It was disappointing to hear them, but I think they started because people like love stories,” Vasquez said frankly. “They like to make things up. Right? Um, doesn’t mean they’re true. And obviously in this case, they weren’t true. Never have been true.”

“I think people thought, well, you know, they are kind of touchy-feely,” King pushed.

“Sure, but I’m touchy-feely with everyone. I mean, that’s just who I am. I’m naturally described as a warm person,” Vasquez insisted. “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with caring for your clients. Right? I was fighting for his life, his name.”

Vasquez noted that the entire legal team was hands-on with Depp in an effort to make him feel “protected,” which she described as “perfectly normal.”

“We all were that way with him,” Vasquez told King. “Each other and with him. Just supportive and protective.”

(Via Mediaite)

When Zion Williamson has been on the court for the New Orleans Pelicans, he has been nothing short of a sensation, getting to and dominating at the rim at a rate we’ve not seen since prime Shaq — which is impressive given Williamson stands just 6’6.

However, staying on the floor has been an issue, as he’s played in just 85 career games across three seasons, including missing the entirety of last year with a foot injury. There has been concern within New Orleans that Williamson’s weight has at the least exacerbated some of his injury issues, and when they inked him to a new 5-year max extension to keep him with the Pelicans long-term, that was addressed in writing.

Per Christian Clark of NOLA.com, Williamson will have regular weigh-ins with the Pelicans throughout his contract, and stay below a target number with his weight and body fat percentage.

According to league sources, Williamson’s contract stipulates that he will have weigh-ins periodically throughout the entirety of his new deal. The sum of his weight and body fat percentage must be below 295. If it is not, the amount of guaranteed money in Williamson’s contract can be reduced.

Williamson is naturally a very big man, and he’s currently listed at 284 pounds, which means his body fat percentage would need to be 10 percent or less to hit this benchmark at his listed weight. The star reportedly topped 300 pounds last year when he arrived in camp while rehabbing his foot injury, and that seems to have served as the impetus for the clause in his new deal to ensure that he stays in shape for the entirety of his contract, or risk losing some of his guarantee.

Now, the only way the Pelicans would ever trigger that clause is if Williamson is unable to play and is not hitting these benchmarks. If he creeps above that threshold but is playing and playing well, they wouldn’t ever take away money from him, but it does provide them a bit of insurance for if injuries persist and weight plays a role in them. The Pelicans and Williamson will hope this clause is never talked about beyond this offseason, because the only way it comes up is if something’s gone wrong.

The good news is that Williamson’s foot has looked fully healthy in social media updates we’ve seen of the star on court this summer, and he’s also shown off the work he’s been doing in the weight room as well as on the court to be in top shape as he gets ready for a big season in New Orleans with a team that reached the playoffs without him last year.

House Of The Dragon will get its long-awaited debut next month on HBO, though many fans seem unsure of if the show will live up to Game Of Thrones’ enormous hype. The series has been in the works since before Game Of Thrones even ended, so the stakes are high for both fans and HBO.

One of Dragon’s stars Gavin Spokes, who plays Lord Lyonel Strong, believes that the series won’t be for everybody. “Some are going to love, and some are going to hate [it],” Spokes told People while at the premiere of the new series. “You can’t please all the people all the time,” Spokes explained. “I think we have just tried to put as much work and love into it as we can. If people aren’t gonna like it then that’s their opinion.” This seems to be the common mantra that the show’s cast and crew are going with.

Despite the hesitation that some fans may feel, Spokes says the show does a great job of bringing you into the Game Of Thrones world we all know and love. “It’s not a green screen. They built a full castle,” he added. “[Series co-creator Ryan Condal] was showing me around, like this is the chamber, and I said, ‘Wouldn’t it have been cheaper to buy a castle?’ They built a whole castle north of London, and it’s extraordinary. And then extras arrive in beautiful costumes and amazing props, and you are sitting in Westeros.”

With the new set comes the new and mysterious new characters that will each get their own backstory as the show develops, something that Spokes says is one of the most exciting parts of the series. “I don’t want to sound derogatory to Thrones at all because I thought it was an incredible series,” Spokes said. “But there’s a slow build in [House Of The Dragon]. And it’s deliberate. Particularly to find out about who those characters really are.”

Considering the events of House take place a few hundred years before our familiar friends in Game Of Thrones, fans might get some fun ancestorial backstories of their favorite GoT characters. Or perhaps it will exist all on its own, as a separate entity from its predecessor. Only time will tell!

House Of The Dragon will premiere August 21st on HBO and HBO Max.

(Via People)

A few years ago, a young man named Decoldest Crawford became a favorite of college football fans when he started to emerge on the recruiting circuit because of his objectively incredible name.

The wide receiver out of Shreveport, Louisiana is now a member of Scott Frost’s Nebraska Cornhuskers squad, signing earlier this year as a 3-star, and is entering his freshman season with the team. In the new and exciting world of Name, Image, and Likeness deals in college athletics, Decoldest’s name provided him a unique lane to find some sponsorship deals in the Nebraska area. The best of those is with SOS Heating and Cooling in Omaha, where Decoldest is now telling Huskers fans where they can find the coldest HVAC company in Nebraska.

Some things are just meant to be, and a man named Decoldest doing local TV and print ads for an air conditioning company is written in the stars. For starters, good for Decoldest for capitalizing on the ability to ink an NIL deal, but also good on SOS for recognizing an opportunity to get their name out there and make a buzz with one of the best NIL deals we’ve seen so far in the first year-plus of college athletes finding endorsement deals.

I also am excited for what could be a new golden age of low-budget local television commercials, now featuring college athletes. I’m particularly a fan of Decoldest’s red t-shirt that just has the number 1 on it, because it’s way too much for actual Nebraska licensing, but you get the idea here. As someone who grew up in Wolfman and Donna country, I’m thrilled that we might get back to our roots of semi-awkward commercials that end with “and tell them [insert college athlete] sent you.”

Oh, Goop. She’s something else, and her latest adventure will make you roll your eyes as hard as you’d expect when it comes to her. The topic of the day is nepotism, and Gwyneth Paltrow is arguing that even though she grew up monied and privileged, that her circumstances were actually rough because she was expected to be great. Let’s back up for a moment with an example.

I’m pretty sure that if you or I decided to fashion and name a candle in tribute to our private parts, we wouldn’t automatically get a pass. And if these candles exploded for any reason, this would not be tolerated, no ma’am. Gwyneth, on the other hand, gets to peddle her strange “aspirational” products and act in the occasional movie and earn a lot of money to pose in sweaters, and she walks off with millions.

Yet Bruce Paltrow and Blythe Danner’s daughter truly believes that she’s had to work incredibly hard, much harder than civilians. In a visit with Hailey Bieber (daughter of Stephen Baldwin), for the Who’s in my Bathroom? YouTube series, Goop attempts to make her case. Via E! Online

“As the child of someone, you get access other people don’t have, so the playing field is not level in that way. However, I really do feel that once your foot is in the door, which you unfairly got in, then you almost have to work twice as hard and be twice as good. Because people are ready to pull you down and say ‘You don’t belong there’ or ‘You are only there because of your dad or your mom.’”

Hailey didn’t argue with her and even seemed to agree, but then again, neither she nor Gwyneth really know anything different than their own experience. Yet to argue that privileged life is tough is a little rich in a time when people are struggling to avoid skyrocketing rents and gasoline. Maybe reel it in a little bit? Then again, this is a person who took the Food Stamp Challenge and largely blew it stocking up on limes. Priorities!

(Via E! Online)

Despite the 9/11 terrorist attacks happening two decades ago, and in his own city, Donald Trump still can’t figure out who’s responsible for them. The twice-impeached president recently made the gobsmacking decision to host the controversial Saudi-backed LIV Golf series at his Bedminster course this week despite currently being under investigation for launching his own attack on America with the Jan. 6th insurrection. But, instead of playing dumb Trump doubled down on his defense of the tournament’s Saudi sponsors.

“They’ve been friends of mine for a long time,” Trump told reporters at the tournament. “They’ve invested in many companies and, frankly, what they’re doing for golf is so great. Nobody ever knew there was going to be a gold rush like this.”

The Saudi golf league is being touted as an alternative to the PGA tour, something Trump also talked about, but while the money seems to be a big factor in players (and Trump) making the switch to this new league, Trump pretty much refused to hold his “friends” accountable for their role in the 9/11 attacks which is the reason so many families of the victims are protesting the tour.

“Nobody’s gotten to the bottom of 9/11, unfortunately. And they should have,” Trump continued. “As to the maniacs that did that horrible thing to our city, to the country, to the world. So nobody’s really been there, but I can tell you that there are a lot of really great people that are out here today, and we’re gonna have a lot of fun, and we’re going to celebrate. Money’s going to charity, a lot of money’s going to charity, and you have really the best players in the world.”

He had a similar, nonsensical response when The Wall Street Journal quizzed him on the ethics of hosting the tour too.

“I don’t know much about the 9/11 families, I don’t know what is the relationship to this, and their very strong feelings, and I can understand their feelings,” Trump said. “I can’t really comment on that because I don’t know exactly what they’re saying, and what they’re saying who did what.”

It’s a truly bizarre explanation that’s even more puzzling when you remember what Trump had to say about the Saudi’s involvement in 9/11 during his 2016 presidential run. Back then, Trump fought against the Republican party’s insistence that the attacks were orchestrated by Al-Qaeda forces with help from Iraq, telling supporters “It wasn’t the Iraqis that knocked down the World Trade Center. You may find it’s the Saudis, okay?”

In fact, 15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudi nationals and our government suspected members of Saudi Arabia’s government of helping to facilitate the attacks on the World Trade Center. So, in a way, Trump was right — which you’d think he’d still be shouting from the rooftops 20 years later — but it sounds like a good-paying day on the green is enough to get him to switch allegiances and have selective amnesia about one of the worst days in America’s history.

(Via Mediaite)

Donald Trump bullied his way into Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, but that was still a more pleasant experience than what happened on The Wolf of Wall Street set.

In an interview with the Independent, Cristin Milioti was asked about the scene in Martin Scorsese’s 2012 film where her character, Teresa, slaps her husband Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio) after she catches him cheating on her with Naomi (Margot Robbie). “That was a wild night. We shot from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. and we did that scene over and over and over,” the Palm Springs star said, including a “bunch” of takes where she accidentally slapped DiCaprio. Milioti wishes she could have slapped a set visitor, too.

“I just kind of slapped the hell out of him for 12 hours. I always had a real attachment to that scene, because you get to see this character, who has swallowed a lot of her feelings down, really get to let loose.” The scene was shot outside Trump Tower, and yes, he did make an appearance. “Ugh,” sighs Milioti. “He crashed the set and he was a complete and utter buffoon, as we all know.” She doesn’t want to give him any more airtime than that.

Trump is the kind of guy who sees chest-thumping capitalist scumbag Jordan as the hero of The Wolf of Wall Street. Basically, he’s the worst person you went to college with (except for the whole “billionaire former-president” thing.)

Milioti’s new show, The Resort, is out now on Peacock.

(Via the Independent)