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The number 23 is a legendary one in the NBA, with two of the all-time greats wearing it in Michael Jordan and LeBron James — the latter of whom did so because of MJ.

Unsurprisingly, when the folks at 2K were figuring out what to do for NBA 2K23, they wanted to embrace that legendary number and do something special for it. On Tuesday, they announced a special Michael Jordan Edition of the game and a Championship Edition (which will include a League Pass subscription) that will feature Jordan on the cover — along with the news that pre-orders will be available starting this Thursday, July 7.

Along with Jordan being on the cover, 2K23 will be bringing back the Jordan Challenges from NBA 2K11, with the 10 original challenges of replicating legendary Jordan moments getting remastered for the new game, while five others will be added, per IGN. There’s also a trailer showing off what this next-gen version of Jordan looks like, as it’s the fourth time MJ has been on a 2K cover, but the first since 2K16.

We’ll find out later who is the cover athlete for the main edition of the game, but fans wanting the Jordan Edition will likely need to be ready to fork over $99.99, while the Championship Edition will cost even more considering the League Pass subscription that comes with it.

In the beginning of an extensive festival run this year Travis Scott performed at the Coney Art Walls in Coney Island this past weekend. Opening for Meek Mill, he took the stage, and in a near repeat of events from a 2017 show at New York’s Terminal 5, chaos ensued.

A video shared by TMZ shows fans climbing up a lighting truss as Scott was performing. One fan can even be seen wearing a Spider-Man costume. Avoiding a repeat of the infamous Astroworld disaster from last November, Scott stopped the show and ordered fans to get down from the truss, and also asked security not to push fans.

Scott was set to perform at Coachella this year but was removed from the line-up, presumably due to the Astroworld events. He was also set to perform at Day N Vegas Festival in Las Vegas this fall, but the festival has since been canceled due to technical issues. He is still set to perform at Primavera Sound Festivals in Brazil, Argentina, and Chile this November, about a year after Astroworld.

The Astroworld events resulted in nearly 5,000 claims of injuries. Scott is currently facing several lawsuits following Astroworld, including a wrongful death suit filed by a woman who suffered a miscarriage.

Irish whiskey has been one of the biggest success stories of the current whiskey and wider spirits boom. That means that there are more expressions than ever coming out of the Emerald Isle, which, in turn, means more great Irish whiskey on the shelves at your local liquor store.

To that end, I thought it was high time for a blind tasting of a mix of new and classic Irish whiskeys.

For this blind tasting, I’m pulling some very new bottles that just came out last month or at least this year and putting them up against bottles that came out last year or are just gold standards by now. I’ve also left out the big-hitting bottles. Putting seven bottles up against, say, a Teeling 30-year-old at $2,000 a bottle is unfair to the rest of the lineup, in my opinion. That said, I did leave the rage pretty wide — the prices below range from $30 to $300. That’s the core price range of bottles that you can actually get fairly easily at good liquor stores or whiskey bars without getting into the super cheap stuff on the bottom end or the $2,000+ bottles on the top end.

Our lineup today is:

• Gold Spot Aged 9 Years Limited Edition (new)
• RedBreast PX Edition (new)
• Midleton Very Rare 2021
• Bushmills Prohibition Recipe Peaky Blinders Shelby Edition (new)
• Egan’s Conviction Aged Ten Years (new)
• Teeling Small Batch
• Jameson Black
• Red Spot Aged 15 Years

Let’s dive in and see where these bottles rank!

Also Read: The Top 5 UPROXX Irish Whiskey Posts of the Last Six Months

• The 100 Best Whiskeys Our Head Drinks Writer Tasted In 2021
• We Blind Tasted A Dozen Irish Whiskeys And Crowned A Winner
• Jameson Vs. Bushmills: The Results Of Our St. Patrick’s Day Blind Tasting
• All The Brands From The Jameson ‘Family’ Of Irish Whiskeys, Ranked
• International Single Malt Whiskies, Blind Tasted And Ranked

Part 1: The Tasting

Taste 1

Tasting Notes:

The nose is super lush with hints of kiwi skins next to the woody core of a pineapple, soft vanilla oils, stewed apples, and a little bit of holiday spice mix. The palate is creamy yet light with a sharp sense of cloves and allspice next to a tropical fruit salad with a touch of black pepper, more of that super soft vanilla, a smear of Nutella, and a twinge of sour sherry-soaked oak. The end simmers all that tropical fruit down with the spices to create a sweet, tart, spicy, vanilla-laden jammy feel with a line of spiced malts lurking underneath it all.

This was fantastic. Right out of the gate, this is the pour to beat.

Taste 2

Tasting Notes:

Christmas treats come to mind on the nose with shelled nuts, dark brandy-soaked fruits, old leather, rum-raisin mince meat pies, and a twist of orange zest. The palate has a waxy dark cacao nib vibe that leads to marzipan with vanilla cookies and a hint of salt. The maltiness stays subdued as most and spicy Christmas cake full of nuts, candied fruits, and plenty of dark spice gets rummy and topped with a scoop of rich vanilla ice cream.

Again, this is delicious. I had to go back to taste one and try these first two side by side again. They’re both stellar.

Taste 3

Tasting Notes:

Soft grain notes lead to a hint of apple candy dissolving into freshly fried apple fritters with a thin line of lemon pepper and wet lawn grass. The palate adds floral honey to the mix that pairs well with the apple and spice that leads to a savory hint of pear stewed in saffron with a bit of that wet grass mingling with grape skins. The end leans into a subtler fruit with a kiwi skin vibe next to more grape must, a hint of wet cinnamon stick, and a whisper of honey-soaked oak.

F*ck off! This is another killer. There’s no way that these first three aren’t the top three. They’re all delicious.

Taste 4

Tasting Notes:

This opens with a mix of light apple candy with a honeyed sweetness next to a line of dry wood with some floral vibes and maybe a little straw. The palate largely delivers on those notes while adding a nice layer of spice — allspice, cinnamon, clove, some ginger — alongside a hint of vanilla cream and more of that dry straw. The end is short-ish while delivering more apple and honey alongside a warm/spiced maltiness.

This was pretty good. It was certainly in a different league than the first three, but perfectly nice.

Taste 5

Tasting Notes:

This opens with a nice mix of old leather, dried almonds, dried apricot, and floral honey on the nose. The palate moves from that toward rich marzipan touched with orange oil, vanilla sauce, a light wet graininess, and a mix of ginger and lemon zest. The end builds on those sharper notes and lets the spiciness of the ginger peak before fading through more honey and apricot on a lush end.

Damn, this is pretty freakin’ good too. It’s not as refined as the first three but it’s pretty damn close. Maybe I just really like Irish whiskey.

Taste 6

Tasting Notes:

It takes a minute to find the nose on this one but there is a hint of rum-raising, vanilla, and spiced malts in there. The palate has a slight mustiness to it with a thin line of vanilla tobacco that leads to a potting soil echo. The end is a bit warm on those malts and spice with a little bit of earthiness.

This was fine but felt like a mixing whiskey, not a sipping one.

Taste 7

Tasting Notes:

There’s a sense of vanilla and toffee on the nose with a hint of dark chocolate powder, old leather, and maybe some fresh mint. The palate has a hint of plum next to holiday spices, a touch of almond paste, and a hint of floral honey. The end is creamy with a vanilla backbone next to caramel-covered almonds just hit with a flake of salt.

This, again, was nice. But, again, it felt like the perfect cocktail foundation to build a great drink on the back of.

Taste 8

Tasting Notes:

Leathery notes meet Amarena cherries with a hint of apple pie and mince meat pies all mingling on the nose. The palate is full of nutty holiday cake with dark spices next to cherry bark, apple cores, soft cedar, and a hint of black pepper. The end comes around with a sweet spiciness akin to eggnog with a creamy sense of dark chocolate mixed with cherry tobacco and crushed almonds.

This was so distinct and tasty. We have another winner.

Part 2: The Ranking

8. Teeling Small Batch — Taste 6

ABV: 46%

Average Price: $40

The Whiskey:

Teeling was the first distillery to reopen in Dublin after nearly a century of tough times for Irish whiskey. The craft distillery ages its juice in bourbon barrels before transferring that whiskey to Central American rum casks. Those barrels are then batched, proofed, and bottled in Teeling’s big, dark bottle.

Bottom Line:

This was so clearly a mixing whiskey from the nose to the finish that it’s hard to rank it amongst these pours. It’s fine but not even the best cocktail base whiskey on this list.

7. Jameson Black — Taste 7

ABV: 40%

Average Price: $41

The Whiskey:

This is Jameson’s take on double barreling. The whiskey is first matured in old bourbon barrels. That juice is then transferred to another bourbon barrel that’s been doubly charred with a deep alligator skin char. Those barrels are batched and proofed all the way down to 80 proof.

Bottom Line:

This was squarely in the “that’s nice” column. That said, I was left thinking about the Manhattan I wanted to make with this and not going back in for another neat sip.

6. Bushmills Prohibition Recipe Peaky Blinders Shelby Edition — Taste 4

ABV: 46%

Average Price: $32

The Whiskey:

This new release from Bushmills celebrates the sixth and final season of Peaky Blinders. The juice in the bottle is a classic Irish whiskey blend of ex-bourbon casks (aged three to five years) bottled without chill-filtration, hence its higher proof.

Bottom Line:

This was good and really leaned into the classic vibe of apple/honey Irish whiskey, Bushmills specifically. Though, this did feel like a cocktail base more than a sipper, especially on this list of whiskeys.

5. Egan’s Conviction Aged Ten Years — Taste 5

ABV: 46%

Average Price: $70

The Whiskey:

Egan’s Conviction is a new ten-year release from the fan-favorite bottler. The whiskey in that black bottle is a blend of ten-year-old single malt and single grain whiskeys. Those barrels and vatted and re-filled into XO Cognac casks for a final rest before bottling without chill filtration.

Bottom Line:

This was pretty damn nice. I think this is where we squarely get into the “sippers” on this list. I can see enjoying this over a rock or two without hesitation. It’s not as complex as the next entries, but it’s good. And, sometimes, that’s enough.

4. Red Spot Aged 15 Years — Taste 8

ABV: 46%

Average Price: $154

The Whiskey:

This is a high-water mark of Irish whiskey distilling and blending. The whiskey is aged for 15 years in a combination of ex-bourbon, ex-sherry, and ex-Marsala casks. The spirit is then married and proofed down to a very approachable 92 proof.

Bottom Line:

I was shocked this wasn’t number one. But its sibling was, so I guess it all came out in the wash. Anyway, this was among the “well, this is great. Now, I how the hell do I rank this” part of the tasting.

All of that aside, this is a great bottle to have on your home bar cart. It’s spectacular.

3. Midleton Very Rare 2021 — Taste 3

ABV: 40%

Average Price: $298

The Whiskey:

The 38th Very Rare release from Midleton is a marrying of single pot still and grain whiskeys that spent 15 to 36 years aging in ex-bourbon barrels. The barrels were specifically chosen for their very light char. Those whiskeys were masterfully vatted and then proofed down with that iconic Cork County springwater to a very accessible 80 proof.

Bottom Line:

This was light and playful. Honestly, these top three all could have been number one depending on the day, time of year, and my mood. This is delicious but wasn’t quite as lush as the next two. But that’s me really reaching/splitting hairs trying to rank these.

2. RedBreast PX Edition — Taste 2

ABV: 46%

Average Price: $133

The Whiskey:

This is the latest installment of The Redbreast Iberian Series, which aims to highlight barrels from Portugal and Spain in the Irish whiskey. The juice is finished in Pedro Ximenéz casks after spending years in both ex-bourbon and ex-Olorosso sherry casks.

Bottom Line:

This was just stellar. It was a little Christmas-y and it’s about 90 degrees in my apartment right now. Had it been a little lighter, this might have been in first place. But today, in the middle of summer, this Christmas-in-a-glass whiskey was delicious but just not what I wanted right now.

1. Gold Spot Aged 9 Years Limited Edition — Taste 1

ABV: 51.4%

Average Price: $125

The Whiskey:

The latest release from Mitchell & Son’s beloved “Spot” line of whiskeys is a nine-year-old blend of ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks. The juice is finished in Port casks and Bordeaux wine casks for the final blend/maturation.

Bottom Line:

This was the first sip and nothing really beat it. It’s a luxurious sipping experience that I immediately wanted to take part in again.

Part 3: Final Thoughts

I’m still shocked that Red Spot landed at four. That’s one of my “go-to” Irish whiskeys that I rave about. I guess that’s the point of these blind taste tests — what you think you know can be turned on its head pretty easily.

In the end, the top four whiskeys on this list were all killers. I’d even say numbers five, six, and seven are worth your while for sipping and mixing. The only whiskey I didn’t care for was the Teeling Small Batch. It just felt out of place on this list (which is on me since I chose these bottles).

Still, if you’re looking for a great bottle of Irish whiskey, hit up those top four. You will not be disappointed.

The first act of the first Star Wars film follows two droids who hate each other but are stuck together. The even goofier Star Wars prequels include characters like Jar Jar Binks, a diner owner named Dexter Jettster, and the incredibly annoying lightsaber collector General Grievous. The Last Jedi is the most harrowing, darkest, and (most importantly) horniest entry in the Star Wars franchise, but it includes Porgs and Kylo Ren in high-waisted pants. Even in its darkest moments, Star Wars has always had a campy undercurrent that makes it unique amongst other sci-fi and other film franchises.

In the ultimate lightsaber battle in the Obi-Wan Kenobi finale, Obi-Wan Kenobi faces Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker. Obi-Wan strikes Vader’s face and his iconic helmet breaks, revealing one-half of Anakin’s face. For the first time since Obi-Wan Kenobi left Anakin Skywalker for dead on Mustafar in Revenge of the Sith, Obi-Wan sees that Anakin truly is Darth Vader. The boy Obi-Wan trained for so many years and lost to the dark side is lying right there in front of him, desperate for revenge on his former master. Darth Vader continues to shout threats at Obi-Wan, but now, his helmet’s voice distortion feature (I don’t know what it’s called) is broken. His voice weaves between sounding like James Earl Jones and Hayden Christensen, from monster to boy.

For years, Obi-Wan, ignorant of the medical marvels Emperor Palpatine had at his disposal, assumed that Anakin was dead at his own hands. He spent a decade drowning in grief and guilt, feeling responsible and punishing himself for not only Anakin’s downfall, but the downfall of the Republic. Once Obi-Wan discovers Anakin’s new identity as Darth Vader in Obi-Wan Kenobi, he is in denial that they could possibly be the same person. Looking into Anakin’s eye and hearing Anakin’s real voice emotionally affects an already emotionally affected Obi-Wan. But moments later, Obi-Wan, as he did many years ago, abandons a helpless Anakin Skywalker by riding off in a ship, leaving his former padawan with a cold but confident, “Goodbye, Darth”. Obi-Wan’s snappy exit embodies the character, but not the moment. Almost is the theme of Disney+’s Obi-Wan Kenobi. This lightsaber battle was almost iconic. “Goodbye Darth” was almost funny. Obi-Wan Kenobi was almost a good show. But ultimately, the entire thing fell flat because it did not allow itself to be fun.

Despite its best moments including that lightsaber battle and Ewan McGregor’s facial hair, Obi-Wan Kenobi feels very fleeting. We got almost six hours of storytelling but learned nothing new about characters we already knew, and also learned absolutely nothing about new characters. Obi-Wan Kenobi was sad. Darth Vader was violent. Obi-wan was sad. Leia Organa was feisty. And Reva, the former padawan who was on a mission to avenge her peers Anakin Skywalker murdered has a narrative arc that’s shaped more like a twig and adds nothing to Obi-Wan’s journey.

The Obi-Wan Kenobi finale is peppered with attempts at quick references to Obi-Wan’s sly, slightly rude but ultimately very charming (and hot, sorry) attitude. None of the lighter, sillier moments work because Obi-Wan Kenobi, like the rest of the Disney+ shows, thinks Star Wars is not camp. Even “Hello there,” an Obi-Wan moment that one could argue is the reason why this series exists in the first place (that’s a blog for another day when I am way less tired), was crammed into the final episode out of desperation, a studio note in visual form.

Star Wars should be fun. Obi-Wan Kenobi should have been the most fun, with so much potential for a good, weird time in space. But the franchise has quickly become a soul-sucking bore. The last time Star Wars was fun, really, was when we as a society were first introduced to baby Grogu during the first season of The Mandalorian. Since the appalling Rise of Skywalker and the middling, Skywalker Saga-focused second season of The Mandalorian and The Mandalorian-focused first season of The Book of Boba Fett, the initially promising Disney+ Star Wars shows have all but eliminated the goofy soul from Star Wars by taking it too seriously.

While Joe Rogan‘s political views in recent years have been closely aligned with America’s right-wing, namely on topics like the COVID vaccine and transgender issues, the controversial podcaster wants it known that he’s not a fan of Donald Trump. Rogan stopped by Lex Fridman’s show where he revealed that he’s had numerous opportunities to have Trump as a guest, but he turned them all down.

“I’m not a Trump supporter in any way, shape or form,” Rogan said via Mediaite. “I’ve said no, every time. I don’t want to help him.”

It’s a surprising admission considering Rogan has a low opinion of President Joe Biden, who he constantly refers to as a “dead man” that’s not getting enough criticism from the media. “Biden, shakes hands with people that aren’t even there when he gets off stage,” Rogan quipped. “I think he’s seeing ghosts.”

But even though he thinks Trump will get a chance to run again in 2024, Rogan wants nothing to do with him, which Fridman had a hard time understanding given Rogan’s penchant for sitting down and talking to anyone. Fridman argued that, ultimately, Rogan will have Trump on his show at some point, but Rogan held strong.

“You’ve had a lot of people that I think you might, you may otherwise be skeptical,” Fridman said. “‘Would I have a good conversation?’ Which I think is your metric, you don’t care about politics … And I think you had like Kanye (West) on, for example and you had a great conversation with them.”

“Kanye doing well, or not doing well, doesn’t change the course of our country,” Rogan fired back.

(Via Mediaite)

A Drake impersonator who apparently had the real Drake’s approval was banned from Instagram, despite having the star’s co-sign for his activities. “Izzy Drake” recently gained attention for his resemblance to the Canadian rapper/singer and capitalized by making public appearances. He’s even gone as far as cutting Drake’s signature heart-shaped design into his hairline while Drake bore the look to promote his 2021 album Certified Lover Boy. Most recently, Izzy Drake gained more notoriety after challenging the real one to a boxing match with a $1 million prize.

It looks like the impersonator’s antics violated Instagram’s terms of service, which forbid impersonating public figures — apparently even if said impersonators have the originals’ blessings.

If there were a star whose life you’d want to live lately, it’s Drake. Despite taking some flak from fans about his recent work including fellow rapper Denzel Curry, Drake appears to be living the dream. Although he’s known for making sadboy anthems for the clubs, he’s was all smiles as he crashed Backstreet Boys recent Toronto show and met Haim at a “random restaurant” in his hometown (of course Drake’s a big fan of both boy bands and girl groups). He also has lots of other reasons to grin; his new album, Honestly, Nevermind, recently became his 11th Billboard No.1 with every song charting on the Hot 100. Oh, and he just made a lot of money selling one of his houses and betting on UFC.

Who wouldn’t want to be Drake?

The Boys‘ very first scene began with a great trauma — Hughie stood outside with his lady love, Robin; A-Train zoomed by and pulverized her; Hughie was left holding her detached and bloodied hands, ain’t that romance? — and charged straight into amplified mayhem and raunchiness galore. Amid that chaos, the show’s digging deep into great characterization, and two backstories are finally coming to the forefront in Season 3. All of this is making me reflect back upon what Slipknot’s Corey Taylor (speaking about the band’s “Solway Firth” making a first-season video tie-in) told us about Season 1:

“[W]ith Butcher’s character in there, the catastrophe that happens with him, the catastrophe that happens with Hughie, the fact that there is a real hatred that develops for the abusers, towards the abusers. And that’s reflected in that song. It is your moment to spit back in the face of the people who have taken advantage of you and abused you and harmed you and controlled you.”

Three seasons into this show, and I’m chuckling about how, prior to The Boys launch, the comic book-movie-loving TV audience endured a more innocent time. There was definitely something lacking, given that fans couldn’t forever make do with jokes about Captain America being the Language Police of the MCU while Zack Snyder attempted the “dark and gritty” thing with DC/Warner Bros. Yet The Boys (as those rarely successful satires tend to do) blew all of that out of the water. After one season, the show went weekly, which made some people very angry, but the episode-by-episode “digestion” phase also brought some stunning character rollouts. And those developments are much more impactful (and insightful) when absorbed weekly.

One major example of this: Antony Starr’s raunchy rooftop solo act landed as much more than a jerk-off session, and Starr has subsequently veered further into a terrifyingly layered performance. The show’s weekly pacing has allowed for the incremental reveal of exactly how flailingly desperate he is for true connection (even if he arguably isn’t capable of it), and as the show still follows Hughie, he’s obviously not handling his traumatic sh*t well by putting as much Compound V into his veins as possible.

Yet there are two more profound backstories now rising in Season 3. These stories provide the perfect opportunity to talk about how this show piles on the comically disgusting moments like no one else’s business, but showrunner Eric Kripke does not forget that the whole project is rooted in catastrophe and trauma. One story, in particular, resonates with me as an anxious person. I’m talking about Mother’s Milk (Laz Alonso), who differs from the comics (where he literally got Supe powers in utero from his mother) and whose backstory (on the show) remained murky until this season. He’s also (and this has been alluded to plenty before now) nursing some hefty anxiety that manifests itself in obsessive-compulsive disorder, and this season, we find out why that’s the case.

Now, I’m not going to go into DSM-5 depths of OCD here, but let’s just say that the show worked out how to have (appropriate) fun with this affliction, too, and it does so in a way that’s consistent with the spirit of the show. Poor Mother’s Milk is not only obsessed with keeping things orderly, but he’s also the guy who got attacked by Love Sausage last season, and — this had to happen to someone — he had the worst time during the “Herogasm” episode. Not only did the Ant-Man-sex guy ruin MM’s jacket, but then another hero really ruined it. This Twitter reaction says it all.

Not only is there an unspoken “Father’s Milk” joke in there, but this horror would be more horrific to an OCD sufferer (who’s prone feeling immense anxiety about disorder and/or having germaphobia in the mix) than anyone else. And the miraculous thing is that The Boys is roasting this affliction, something that can really affect one’s quality of life, and it actually works. It’s funny (and I can say that, having experienced with the disorder), but the origins of MM’s OCD are much more serious. In fact, he’s arguably got the most tragic backstory in all of The Boys (the show and the group).

As this season informs us, MM feels pure hatred toward Soldier Boy while Butcher and Hughie are keen to recruit him to take down Homelander. That hatred is perfectly justified, given that Soldier Boy killed members of MM’s family. And that’s what sparked the OCD, as MM described while speaking of his compulsion to check the stove burners over and over again, out of fear that Soldier Boy will come back and keep killing his family. As MM phrases things, “I gotta get this motherf*cker out of my head,” but as we see leading up to the finale, Butcher shuts down the realization of that vengeance. Yet all scenarios are on the table for the season’s ending.

In addition to MM’s story, this season’s also been filling us in on Black Noir. He is, of course, the completely silent, never-unmasked ninja who received the backstory that we never knew we needed. Imaginary friends!

My goodness, the show’s leaping to such creative heights this season, after putting Kimiko and Frenchie into a musical scene, and now, we’re meeting Black Noir’s imaginary cadre of animated best friends. It’s a little bit Snow White (with some Roger Rabbit), and these creatures (who have apparently been keeping him company for the entire show) told the audience why Black Noir cut and ran from The Seven after hearing of Soldier Boys’ unfrozen-hero arrival. That realization upset Black Noir enough that he ripped the tracker out of his arm and left the tower. There’s a deep fear and trauma there that no one realized existed, and the way that The Boys introduced this was stunning and perhaps the only believable way that Noir’s backstory could be told.

Those cartoon characters told Noir’s backstory in a way that stayed consistent with the character, but Noir did not passively sit by and listen. Instead, Nathan Mitchell acted the hell out of these scenes without showing us a facial expression or uttering a word. Sure, there was a sigh here and there, but the heavy lifting came from Mitchell’s body language. And we learned why he feared Soldier Boy, given that Noir was once part of Payback, which worked together to put Soldier Boy down, given that he’s an awful, jingoistic, loathsome Supe. And we don’t know precisely why Noir’s mind is inhabited by these animated creatures, but there are clearly some serious layers at work.

Where those layers go, we may soon find out in the season finale. Soldier Boy’s arrival stirred up much of what we learned about both MM and Noir this season, and there’s surely more to come this week, given the emotional heft of both their backstories. Yet what I’m very much appreciating is how The Boys is not only committed to giving us all of the unbelievable scenarios when it comes to the show’s outrageousness, but the essences and motivations of these characters always feel believable through the show’s writing. Like I said earlier, The Boys was born from trauma, and it never let up. There’s no reason to believe that the show’s traumatized characters will ease their pain, but at least we know that the show will do their stories justice. The season finale’s a satisfying one, too, so gather ’round to see how everyone will deal with the Soldier Boy problem.

Amazon’s ‘The Boys’ releases new episodes on Fridays.

(Spoilers for Season 3 of The Boys will be found below.)

People have strong feelings after The Boys (er, Vought International) posted a Fourth Of July tribute to Homelander. And some of those feelings are difficult to parse, after far-right fans of the show actually did have a raging meltdown after finally realizing that Homelander’s a villain. That kind of confusion and back-and-forth to be expected when the show manages to be a rarely successful satire that skewers superhero culture. Homelander has always been a dirty dog and pure evil; he sent an entire plane full of people to their deaths. Now that he’s facing off with Soldier Boy (that time-capsuled MAGA prototype) about who’s the “upgrade,” laughter has ensued after the far-right’s dismay that a rapist and a murderer would dare to be publicly homicidal and do something bad like make a woman commit suicide because it’s his birthday.

Homelander ain’t the good guy, obviously. Most of the show’s viewers get this, and on Twitter, people are having quite the reaction to a tweet from a The Boys‘ sub-account, Vought International, which made a Fourth of July declaration. During a year when the Supreme Court has made it difficult for a lot of people to feel patriotic, this tweet feels like an intentionally pointed barb:

“It’s our patriotic duty to trust those who can get the job done. And there’s no one better at defending American values than Homelander. Don’t listen to anarchists and the lamestream media, this country is PROSPERING! Happy Independence Day, and thank you, Homelander!”

People who watch the show decided, “Heck, why not?” and joined in on the joke while pretending to be on Homelander’s side after his breakup with Starlight. As fans know, however, Annie January is the one who torched Homelander while quitting The Seven and exposing their leader’s real nature to citizens of The Boys universe.

Not everyone was onboard for the holiday spirit, and here’s an enormously valid point (note: not an actual response to Vought) from Joanna Robinson of The Ringer.

And there were people who pushed back at the Vought tweet, too.

For the moment, Vought seems to have the last (officially timelined) word. In a tweet, they accused Annie January of being “a glory hound who became hysterical after Homelander ended their relationship.” They also declared that she had headed “into insurrectionist territory and made a reconciliation impossible.” Man, the season finale can’t come soon enough this week.

The Boys is currently releasing weekly Season 3 episodes on Amazon.

Olivia Rodrigo completed the North American section of her Sour Tour at the end of May, and after a brief break, she journeyed across the pond to pick things up for the European section of the tour. So far, she’s performed at Glastonbury while also doing shows in Germany, Switzerland, Italy, France, and more. After her Glastonbury set, Rodrigo stayed put in the United Kingdom, as she is set to perform four shows across five days. On July 3, she was scheduled to perform in Manchester, but prior to taking the stage, she decided to stop by a dive bar in this city to deliver a surprise performance with her band.

“I’m dead sober,” Rodrigo said before launching into a cover of Natalie Imbruglia‘s 1977 pop record “Torn” at Bunny Jackson’s, a dive bar in Manchester. The record proved to be a hit for Imbruglia, but it was also one for Rodrigo at dive bar as folks in attendance absolutely loved her performance. Unsurprisingly enough, they also shared videos and posts about her performance on social media.

“Why yes Olivia Rodrigo, of course you can turn up at Bunny Jacksons on a bloody Sunday evening and play a song for a laugh before our 3rd set,” one person wrote. According to Billboard, they later added, “Mate, it was wild. They just showed up after playing the arena and her TM asked to jump on between our sets! They were all very lovely.”

You can watch Rodrigo’s dive bar performance in the video above.

The hit Harry Styles single “As It Was” has spent a lot of time at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart this year, but it hasn’t had a ton of consecutive weeks on top. It spent its first week (the chart dated April 16) on top; got knocked out by Jack Harlow’s “First Class;” spent two more weeks at No. 1; got dethroned by Future, Drake, and Tems’ “Wait For U,” later enjoyed another four frames atop the chart; and last week got ousted by Drake and 21 Savage’s “Jimmy Cooks.”

Well, it turns out “As It Was” is one of the most resilient songs in chart history: On the new Hot 100 chart dated July 9, the Styles single is one again back at No. 1 for an eighth total week.

This is the fourth total stint at No. 1 for “As It Was,” which actually ties the all-time record for most separate trips to the top. In that regard, it now stands alongside Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You” (from 2019 to 2022), 24kGoldn and Iann Dior’s “Mood” (in 2020 and 2021), and Drake’s “Nice For What” (2018).

Meanwhile, new to the top 10 is Beyoncé’s “Break My Soul,” which debuted at No. 15 last week and now, in its first full week of tracking, has risen to No. 7. Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)” is also sticking around, as it rises from No. 9 last week to No. 6 this week.

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