GoneTrending

Alex Jones is off his f**king rocker. This is, of course, nothing new for Jones. But in the Fourth of July speech he gave on Infowars, Jones made it clear that he believes there are evil aliens among us—or that someone spiked his holiday punch with some sort of hallucinogen.

As Raw Story reports, Jones seemed to be channeling Bill Pullman’s fictional President Thomas Whitmore from Roland Emmerich’s Independence Day movie when he warned Infowars viewers about the dangers we’re currently facing:

I declare this July 4, 2022 to be a Declaration of Independence against the alien force on this planet today waging war against humans and our biology and our very future. [It] is attempting to exterminate the majority of us and force the minority that’s left to merge with AI computers and become cyborg sex slaves of Satan.

While not quite as rousing as Pullman’s “We will not go quietly into the night!” address—which, oddly, was recently played for Marjorie Taylor Greene during the hearing to determine whether she could lawfully seek reelection, and Donald Trump once stole, much to Pullman’s annoyance—Jones does deserve some credit for finding a way to shove aliens, technology, and Satan into one conspiracy theory. Way to go, Alex.

As Sarah K. Burris wrote for Raw Story, “It’s unclear where Jones got this information as it hasn’t appeared on the QAnon message boards yet nor has anyone posted photos online of UFOs or alien invasions.” There’s also the possibility, of course, that he thought Independence Day was a news report. According to Burris:

An actual documentary done by CNN on Alex Jones cited some of those he grew up with. One of his childhood friends recalled Jones being obsessed with Satan, and at times, he claimed, seemed like he was possessed.

“He would talk in tongues a lot and get into these trances,” said Bo Durham, who grew up with Jones outside of Dallas, Texas. Jones was later forced to move from the city after he nearly killed another student, the documentary said.

Randy Talley, a teacher and football coach at the school, was also interviewed for the same documentary. While he claimed he does not believe in “witchcraft,” he did note that Jones “could turn his tongue black and mouth black and he would stick his tongue out and shake his head as though he were possessed.”

(Via Raw Story)

Keanu Reeves being a lovely, wholesome dude is the stuff of legends, so it’s no surprise that folks are lining up in droves for his latest act of kindness. While arriving in New York City on July 4th, the actor was approached by an exciting young fan who couldn’t help but pepper Reeves with questions. According to TV producer Andrew Kimmel, who snapped a photo of the sweet moment, Reeves was nothing but pure class as he answered every single question, and even fired back some of his own.

Kimmel provided a play-by-play of the wholesome moment, and he wasn’t kidding around when he said Keanu handled a barrage of questions, and couldn’t have been nicer about it:

Kid: Why were you in London?

KR: Filming a documentary.

Kid: I saw online you were at the Grand Prix (pronouncing the x)

KR: Yes, the Grand Prix (in a French accent, without correcting him). F1! Race cars!

Kid: Do you drive?

KR: Not F1, but I like riding motorcycles.

Kid: Do you live in NY?

KR: I live in LA.

Kid: How long are you gonna be in New York?

KR: Four days! No… five. Five days!

Kid: Why are you in NY?

KR: Gonna see a broadway show!

Kid: What broadway show?
KR: American Buffalo! Mamet!

Kid: Where are you staying in NY?
KR: Midtown!

By this time the kid was running out of questions, so Keanu started grilling him Why were you in Europe? What galleries did you go to in Paris? What was your favorite?

Reeves even stopped to take a photo with Kimmel who, like any human being with a soul, couldn’t pass up a chance to snag a selfie with Keanu:

After Kimmel posted the sweet Keanu moment on Twitter, people went absolutely nuts as the interaction went instantly viral. Keanu’s kindness was just the salve folks needed during some, let’s be honest, pretty dark times:

(Via Andrew Kimmel on Twitter)

The only thing better than a new James Cameron movie is a James Cameron quote about a new James Cameron movie. The director of two of the three highest-grossing movies ever vowed that his Avatar sequels will make you “sh*t yourself with your mouth wide open.” He also called it a “certainty” that the original Avatar would re-claim its top spot over Avengers: Endgame on the all-time box office hit (he was correct).

The latest memorable James Cameron quote:

“The trolls will have it that nobody gives a sh*t and they can’t remember the characters’ names or one damn thing that happened in the movie. Then they see the movie again and go, ‘Oh, okay, excuse me, let me just shut the f*ck up right now.’ So I’m not worried about that.”

That’s Cameron speaking to Empire about people who saw Avatar when it was released in 2009, claiming that they can’t remember anything about Avatar because it’s not good, or something. I’m an Avatar defender (not that a movie that made $2.8 billion needs defending), but to be fair, I had to look up that Sam Worthington played Jake Sully, and of course Zoe Saldana was Neytiri. It’s been 13 years since Avatar — a lot’s happened since then. I saw Jurassic World: Dominion three weeks ago, and I can barely remember that Chris Pratt’s character name is… I want to say Chad? That sounds right. Chad.

Avatar: The Way of Water comes out on December 16

(Via Empire)

Earlier this year, Joe Rogan caused a situation in the music world, as artists like Neil Young, David Crosby, and others finally had enough of Rogan’s controversial podcast on Spotify, so much so that they took their music off the streaming platform.

Over the weekend, though, some fans noticed that Crosby, Stills & Nash music had returned to Spotify. As for why that happened, Crosby says it’s about money and there wasn’t anything he could do about it. A fan on Twitter asked Crosby about CSN’s Spotify return and Crosby answered, “I don’t own it now and the people who do are in business to make money.”

Billboard notes that according to a source, the band will donate proceeds from streaming to COVID-19 charities “for at least a month.”

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young’s discography is also currently on Spotify, although certain songs from the band’s albums appear to be unplayable. Young’s solo albums remain off of the platform entirely.

Meanwhile, Crosby recently shared the music he most enjoys while on the road, tweeting, “What do I listen to in the car ? Alison Krauss and Union Station …a lot. James Taylor …constantly. Marc Cohn …Join The Parade. CPR. Solo stuff. Beatles, Stones , Who. Weather Report. Miles. The Puppy.”

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

Over the weekend, The Strokes brought their talents to Denmark’s Roskilde Festival. The showcase kicked off on June 25 and concluded July 2 with performances from Dua Lipa, Post Malone, Tyler The Creator, Haim, Megan Thee Stallion, St. Vincent, Idles, and more. While many hoped that The Strokes’ performance would be smooth sailing, that didn’t seem to be the case as the band’s lead vocalist, Julian Casablancas, was hit with criticism for his part of the set. Concerns and criticism about Casablancas’ performance were shared all over social media, and after a while, he caught wind of it and took to Instagram to respond.

“I’m not tuned into twitter things enough to know what some confused fan thinks or pretends they know, but i’m fine… far as i know,” Casablancas wrote in a now-deleted post according to Stereogum. “People been asking me weiiird questionnns – ahh the dumb side of social media… Lame-Os running around so hard and free.”

He continued, “PS the concerns and questions are kind and fine! it’s the strangers announcing /acting like they know some sh*t that’s dumb. (weird questions not the dumb side haha).”

Casablancas’ Roskilde Festival performance comes after he sold his share of The Strokes’ catalog to Primary Wave for an undisclosed amount. His solo material and work with The Voidz were not included in the deal.

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

Politico has released the first trailer for Unprecedented, Alex Holder’s upcoming three-part documentary about Donald Trump and his family during the 2020 presidential campaign, including footage from the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol that was subpoenaed by the House Select Committee. You can watch it below.

In the trailer, Donald Trump Jr. vows to “make liberals cry,” Ivanka Trump jokes about borrowing a dog to draw attention away from a line on her dress, Eric Trump is just kind of there, and Donald Trump is obsessed about a glass of water on a table next to him. (What is it with him and water?) “Witness the 3-part documentary event… With exclusive access… To the most controversial family in the world… Gaining power is easy… Surrendering it is not,” it reads. (The Trump / Succession parallels are unmistakable.)

Here’s more:

Holder’s cameraperson joined the crowd as it marched on the Capitol. “We’ve got to get the roaches out, all of them,” a protester yells straight to camera as he appears to motion toward Congress. Next up is a montage of scenes from the frontlines as the rioters breach the Capitol and police in riot gear are attacked.

The trailer ends with Trump asking, “Do you miss me yet?” (No.)

Unprecedented (which is reportedly making the Trumps very anxious) premieres on Discovery+ sometime the summer.

(Via Politico)

The past month has been an unprecedentedly prosperous time for Kate Bush, whose 1985 single “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)” has become a hit thanks to Stranger Things and so far peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The newfound popularity is nice and it turns out it’s also yielded quite a payday for Bush: CBS News reports that according to data from Luminate, between May 27 (when the first seven episodes of Season 4 premiered) and June 23, Bush has generated $2.3 million in streaming royalties.

Luminate CEO Rob Jonas told CBS, “While we’ve seen a notable increase in catalogue music streams in recent years — with an annual 20-percent growth alone in 2021 — the Kate Bush story has taken the phenomenon to a new level.”

Since the season’s final two episodes were just unveiled on July 1, it’s possible/likely there will be continued interest in Bush’s music. She’s still riding the wave of the current resurgence, even: On the latest Hot 100 (dated July 2), “Running Up That Hill” ranks at No. 9.

As for Bush’s thoughts on the two latest episodes, she recently wrote in a post on her website, “I’ve just watched the last two episodes of Stranger Things and they’re just through the roof. No spoilers here, I promise. I’d only seen the scenes that directly involved the use of the track and so I didn’t know how the story would evolve or build. I was so delighted that the Duffer Brothers wanted to use RUTH for Max’s totem but now having seen the whole of this last series, I feel deeply honoured that the song was chosen to become a part of their roller coaster journey. I can’t imagine the amount of hard work that’s gone into making something on this scale. I am in awe. They’ve made something really spectacular.”

A number of hip-hop and R&B acts took their talents to London for this past weekend’s Wireless Festival. The bill promised performances from big names like J. Cole, ASAP Rocky, Tyler The Creator, Playboi Carti, Roddy Ricch, Don Toliver, Trippie Redd, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, and more. Lil Uzi Vert was also among the performers at Wireless, and while his set was certainly an electric one, it appeared that things got out of hand and resulted in a fan getting injured.

A woman took to TikTok, under the username @ccornonmycob, and claimed in a pair of videos that she was hit in the head with a phone that Lil Uzi threw into the crowd during his Wireless set.

“So as some of you guys may know, there is a video of Lil Uzi Vert throwing a phone into the Wireless crowd 2022 on Friday,” she said in the video. “I am sadly that chick that got their head smashed in by the phone. There was someone else but I don’t really want to mention him in case it is not permitted, but yes, there was some damage caused. But the guy got his phone back and everything is being dealt with.”

She continued, “For those who are asking why I didn’t move out the way, if you have been to Wireless Festival before, you will know how packed the crowd is. There is no space to move, and even if there was, I think the reaction time with the phone landing wouldn’t have been enough to actually move out the way in time. And even if I did, it would have hit someone either way. It wouldn’t have hit the floor first — it was head to head.”

A source close to the situation shared a statement with XXL. “During Uzi’s set at Wireless Fest, fans threw multiple cellphones onto the stage and inadvertently struck him,” they said. “He merely attempted to clear the phones from the stage, avoid slipping and safely continue his performance — he never intentionally directed it at a specific individual.”

You can watch the fan’s TikTok above.

Lil Uzi Vert is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Stranger Things 4 was mighty fun — but it was also mighty long, leading to criticisms of streaming bloat. The runtimes for the fifth and final season won’t be as butt-numbing, at least until the The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King-length finale.

“I think we’re aiming for eight [episodes] again,” co-creator Matt Duffer told Collider about the final season. “We don’t want it to be 13 hours. We’re aiming for more like 10 hours or something. I think it’s going to be longer than season one because we just have so much to wrap up, but I don’t think it’s going to be as long as season four.”

On the Happy Sad Confused podcast, he added:

“For the first time ever, we don’t wrap things up at the end of four, and so it’s going to be moving. I don’t know that it’s going to be going 100 miles an hour at the start of five, but it’s going to be moving pretty fast. Characters are already going to be in action, they’re already going to have a goal and a drive, and I think that’s going to carve out at least a couple hours and make this season feel really different. I’m sure the wrap-up will be a lot longer, it’s going to be Return of the King-ish with, like, eight endings.”

Duffer was laughing when he referenced Return of the King, but considering the season four finale is nearly two-and-a-half hours long, maybe it wasn’t a joke.

As for when season five might premiere, David Harbour told GQ UK, “I think we’ll [shoot] next year. They’re finishing writing it this year, and they need to prep and stuff, so hopefully it’ll be this year. But I think that’s the plan. So it’d probably come out mid-2024, based on our track record.” No wonder the Duffers are considering using a time jump — Joe Kerry, who plays teenager Steve Harrington, will be in his early 30s by mid-2024. He could realistically have six lil’ nuggets by then (but seriously, make this spin-off series).

(Via Collider, Comic Book, GQ UK)

The Botox-loving Vladimir Putin defending his dismal Ukraine war (he has declared victory in a Ukraine province), but he’s also growing wildly defensive about his shirtless horseback jaunts. What a strange combo, so let’s back up a bit.

Before his imperialistic lust took over, Putin was also infamous (worldwide) for the above shirtless photo shoot from 2009. He’s also known to take “macho” photos of his martial arts exploits, but he’s apparently feeling the pain of a rock-bottom approval rate (his lowest in 20 years). The global pariah also became the subject of chiding at the recent G7 summit, where British PM Boris Johnson declared that Putin’s war on Ukraine is the “perfect example of toxic masculinity” while trashing his “crazy, macho war of invasion and violence.” Johnson added that maybe everyone should take off their shirts to “show that we’re tougher than Putin.” And Canadian PM Justin Trudeau suggested that Western leaders should band together for a “bare-chested horseback riding display,” too.

This was a pointed callback to the 2009 photos, and that’s exactly how Putin read it. He’s now furious and lashing out, via the NY Post:

“I don’t know how they wanted to get undressed, above or below the waist,” he said. “But I think it would be a disgusting sight in any case.”

The 69-year-old president added, “Everything in a person should be harmonious: both body and soul, but for that to happen it’s necessary to stop abusing alcohol and other bad habits, do physical exercise and take part in sports.”

Well, at least he’s got this U.S. lawmaker on his side? Oh nevermind. Putin’s running short on allies, and there’s word of a secret successor in the works while he’s reportedly at risk for a “hammer to the head” from someone in his inner circle, all while he can’t even get a little respect for those shirtless photos. It’s rough out there for an autocrat.

(Via CBS News)