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As a result of being one of music’s biggest stars, Drake has been able to do a lot of random and interesting things in his life. He created the Sanctuary Basketball League (SBL) that runs games in his mansion, and so far, he’s a 2-time champion. He threw a dinner party on the 50-yard line at SoFi Stadium after he won artist of the decade. In his latest act, Drake took to a concert stage in his hometown of Toronto to perform with a legendary pop band: Backstreet Boys.

Drake accompanied the band for a performance of “I Want It That Way” at a recent concert in Toronto. However, before they began the song, Drake shared how impactful “I Want It That Way” was for him. “I really wanted to come out here tonight — I saw my brother at a restaurant the other night, and I was telling him that when I was in high school — I wasn’t even in high school yet, it was junior high and I was 13 years old,” Drake said. “I was an awkward kid. I was in love with this girl at the time…and she paid me no mind. But at 13 years old, I had a thing called a bar mitzvah…and at my bar mitzvah, for the first time in my life, this girl who I was in love with came up to me while one of the greatest songs of all time played.”

He continued, “She asked me if I would dance with her to the song. It was the first time I ever felt acknowledged — like I had a shot at being cool. The song that she wanted to dance with me to was one of the greatest songs of all time — it’s one of the greatest songs ever made.”

You can watch clips from Drake and Backstreet Boys’ performance together in the posts above.

Since Roe v. Wade was overturned, there’s been moderate exhalation on the right and righteous anger on the left. (Democratic leaders, meanwhile, don’t seem to have any ideas on how to fight it.) Already we’re starting to see the grim consequences. On Saturday, it was reported that a 10-year-old girl from Ohio who had been raped by her uncle had to travel to Indiana after being denied an abortion. Now anti-abortion politicians are being asked point-blank about what they think about this horrific situation, and their answers are, to put it mildly, not great.

Kristi Noem, the very MAGA governor of South Dakota, went on CNN’s State of the Union, where host Dana Bash brought up the story of the 10-year-old. “Because this was a trigger law that was passed before you became governor,” Bash asked Noem, “I want you to be clear, will the state of South Dakota going forward force a 10-year-old in that very same situation to have a baby?”

Noem not only avoided the answer but did her best to change the subject. “What’s incredible is that nobody’s talking about the pervert, horrible and deranged individual that raped a 10 year old,” Noem replied. “What are we doing about that?”

Bash tried to get her back on track, asking if she was “okay with a 10-year-old girl having to have a baby.” But Noem was vague, saying, “No, I’m never okay with that. That story will keep me up at night. It breaks my heart.”

Bash tried again, asking if she would “change the law to have an exception for a situation like that?”

At this point Noem finally offered a kind of answer, buried in a torrent of words. “I can’t even imagine. What I would say is I don’t believe a tragic situation should be perpetuated by another tragedy,” Noem finally said. “And so there’s more that we’ve got to do to make sure that we really are living a life that says every life is precious, especially innocent lives that have been shattered like that 10-year-old girl.”

In other words, yep, Noem would force a 10-year-old who was raped to give birth, despite what they might do to her own body. As George Carlin once said about the anti-abortion crowd, “if you’re pre-born, you’re fine, if you’re preschool, you’re f*cked.”

After taking about a month off following the Mavericks’ Western Conference Finals loss to the eventual champs in the Golden State Warriors, Luka Doncic is back on the basketball court playing for Slovenia in the FIBA World Cup qualifiers in Europe.

The Mavs star playing in the FIBA qualifiers has turned some heads stateside as he appears to be in terrific shape, exciting Mavs fans who have seen Luka elect to play his way into top shape in recent seasons. That certainly doesn’t seem like it’ll be the case this year as Doncic is staying busy with national team obligations this summer.

On Sunday, Doncic’s Slovenian squad faced off with Sweden, and early in the game Doncic couldn’t help but laugh as Swedish fans serenaded him with “overrated” chants. What made it even funnier is that Luka’s mentor and friend Dirk Nowitzki joined in on the heckling courtside.

Luka calmly knocked down the free throws as he chuckled about the chants, and Dirk couldn’t help himself but prod at his young protege. This came after Luka snuck up on Dirk in the tunnel prior to the game for a big hug and dapping up Dirk’s kids before running out for warmups, as the two Mavs stars of past and present continue to bless us with wholesome video content.

Nicki Minaj has had quite an eventful 2022 year so far. She put her comeback into full swing at the top of the year with two tracks alongside Lil Baby: “Do We Have A Problem?” and “Bussin.” She later returned alongside Fivio Foreign for “We Go Up” and lent a guest verse to Coi Leray for “Blick Blick.” Next for Nicki in her 2022 year was a headlining performance at the 2022 Essence Festival, something she delivered on Friday night. Her set made headlines thanks to some comments she seemingly made about Kanye West on stage.

After a 45-minute delay, Nicki hit the stage and performed “Do We Have A Problem?” before switching off to fan favorites like “We Go Up,” “Did It On ’em,” and “Beez in the Trap.” Next, the DJ play “Monster,” Kanye West’s highlight 2010 single that features Minaj, Jay-Z, Rick Ross, and Bon Iver, but Nicki had other plans. “A monster though!” Nicki said to the crowd. “A monster though! But we don’t f8ck with clowns.” After that comment, the DJ got the message and went to the next song.

The moment left many wondering if there’s an ongoing issue between Nicki and Kanye, and if so, what it could be about. Many believe that it has to do with Kanye’s recent collaboration with Cardi B for “Hot Sh*t” as Nicki and Cardi have been at odds for quite some time. Others noted that Nicki’s frustrations with Kanye shelving their celebrated “New Body” track with Ty Dolla Sign might have been a factor behind her comments.

You can watch Nicki Minaj seemingly throw shade at Kanye in the video above.

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

When studio execs told Tom Cruise they were thinking of dumping Top Gun: Maverick on a streaming service, he put his foot down. He was adamant that they wait for the pandemic to cool down, to release it when the masses finally felt safe sitting in theaters packed with strangers. You know how that worked out. Now it’s working out for another, very different movie.

As per Variety, Minions: The Rise of Gru is the last of the big holdouts from the early days of the pandemic to belatedly hit theaters. In another timeline, it would have been released in the summer of 2020. Instead, Universal waited two whole years, and now look what’s happened: It’s shattering July 4 weekend records, is on track to open to a whopping $127.9 million. For perspective, Top Gun: Maverick grossed $126 million in only its first three days of release (and $160.5 million over its four days).

The previous record holder for Independence Day weekend was Transformers: Dark of the Moon, which opened to $115.9 million in 2011. It’s also bigger than the opening weekend for its predecessor, Minions, which grossed $115 million in 2015.

There was fear, as the pandemic kept theaters under-utilized for over a year, that the moviegoing experience may be over, that the future was people sitting on the couches at home, watching films on streamers. That seems to no longer be the case, and few are happier about it than Tom Cruise himself.

(Via Variety)

Last week, the hearings for the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot went next-level. Cassidy Hutchinson, a former aide to Donald Trump’s then-chief of staff Mark Meadows, testified on live television, offering one explosive claim after another. It drove Trump to have a meltdown on his rinky dink Twitter clone, and several days later he was still at it.

Tellingly, Trump didn’t offer direct refutations to Hutchinson’s claims, nor did he say anything new. It was a rehash of what he said on the day. “So Cassidy Hutchinson was all set and ready to go to Florida with the Trump Team long after January 6th. She knew I did nothing wrong. She was a big Trump fan – but my people didn’t want her,” he wrote. “What happened? Why did she so dramatically change? All lies. I guess even she didn’t believe her own bull….!”

Perhaps Hutchinson’s wildest allegation — that Trump tried to choke a Secret Service agent who wouldn’t drive him to the Capitol, so he could join his violent supporters — did receive some real pushback. The agents in question have said they would testify that things didn’t go that far. Hutchinson has stood by her claims.

Meanwhile, all Trump has done is rant and rave and offer vague defenses and insults. After all, perhaps Hutchinson was one of his true believers who eventually saw the light. He has pushed back against the claim that he attacked a Secret Service agent, if only by claiming that he’s too weak to have done so. Others have said he’s too fat.

(Via Raw Story)

Since the end of last month, a number of artists have used their platform to speak out and lend a hand of support to women all over the country. It comes after the Supreme Court made the decision to overturn Roe V. Wade which guaranteed abortion rights for women in the U.S. One of the artists who has been quite vocal is Halsey. They took a moment to speak about abortions in a personal response they wrote for Vogue and it’s here that Halsey also shared some insight about an abortion they had in the past.

“Many people have asked me if, since carrying a child to term after years of struggling to do so, I have reconsidered my stance on abortion,” they wrote. “The answer is firmly no. In fact, I have never felt more strongly about it. My abortion saved my life and gave way for my son to have his.” Halsey gave birth to their first child, Ender, in July 2021. They added, “Every person deserves the right to choose when, if, and how they have this dangerous and life-altering experience. I will hold my son in one arm, and fight with all my might with the other.” Next, Halsey explained how an abortion saved their life.

“I miscarried three times before my 24th birthday,” they said. “It seemed a cruel irony that I could get pregnant with ease but struggled to maintain a pregnancy. One of my miscarriages required ‘aftercare,’ a gentle way of saying that I would need an abortion, because my body could not terminate the pregnancy completely on its own and I would risk going into sepsis without medical intervention. During this procedure, I cried. I was afraid for myself and I was helpless. I was desperate to end the pregnancy that was threatening my life.”

They went on to explain how their experience caused them to rewrite their will during the third trimester of their pregnancy with Ender.

“I was prepared for the worst,” Halsey wrote. “I gave detailed instructions regarding the donation of my organs should I die or be declared brain-dead, meaning if my heart beat on but my brain wasn’t functioning, the state would have permission to cut into my warm and still flush flesh and take my organs to save other lives.” They added, “How funny that while my own heart would amount to nothing more than a series of involuntary movements on an operating table, a beating heart in my womb could mean I couldn’t consent to saving my own life.”

Halsey’s message comes after they responded to fans leaving a recent concert of theirs because of a Roe V. Wade speech they gave during it.

You can read Halsey’s full message with Vogue here.

A cloud of concern came over the music industry last week when it was learned that Travis Barker was hospitalized for what was an unknown health issue at the time. Shortly after the news arrived, Travis’ daughter, Alabama Barker, took to social media and wrote, “Please send your prayers,” and prior to the announcement, Travis had tweeted, “God save me.” Both messages added to the worries of many. It was later revealed that Travis’ hospitalization was for pancreatitis (an inflammation of the pancreas), and now, thanks to a statement he shared on Twitter, we know more details about the matter.

On Saturday, Travis took to Twitter to update fans on his well-being. “I went in for an endoscopy Monday feeling great,” he wrote in on tweet, adding, “But After dinner, I developed excruciating pain and have been hospitalized ever since.” He added in a second post, “During the endoscopy, I had a very small polyp removed right in a very sensitive area, usually handled by specialists, which unfortunately damaged a critical pancreatic drainage tube. This resulted in severe life-threatening pancreatitis.”

Travis concluded his update with a final tweet, writing, “I am so very very grateful that with intensive treatment I am currently much better [prayer hands emoji].”

You can view Travis’ tweets above.

Israel Adesanya (23-1) had another stellar showing, earning a decision victory over Jared Cannonier (15-6) to retain the middleweight title at UFC 276 from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Before the fight could begin, Adesanya entered to the Undertaker’s music, with an urn that had “Jared” written on it and everything.

While neither fighter attempted to touch gloves before the bout started, both Adesanya and Cannonier were patient to find their openings in the first round. Adesanya tried to find his angles, but Cannonier was well scouted in evading the champ. Adesanya worked early on at chipping down the much stockier Cannonier with snapping leg kicks, happy to stay outside of the grasp of the challenger.

In the second, Adesanya used his length to walk Cannonier backwards, popping jabs and tossing the occasional head kick. Every time Cannonier tried to find his way inside, it was Adesanya sending him back with a slew of strikes. Adesanya continued to earn points with his shot snap leg kicks before opening it up a bit more and tossing a few combinations together.

The third saw Cannonier go for his first takedown of the fight, but Adesanya easily dispatched that attempt and toss his opponent into the Octagon. Adesanya was successful keeping his distance, with Cannonier lunging and looking for opportunities to get inside of the champion. Late in the round, he used a takedown shoot to get inside of Adesanya and chip away against the cage with strikes to the head and body. Cannonier had to deal with eating shots to get inside, but began to exchange more evenly with Adesanya with about a minute left in the round.

If the third was a breakthrough for Cannonier, the fourth was a momentum swing back in Adesanya’s direction. While Cannonier looked for opportunities in the way he did in the third, Adesanya kept him at bay for the most part, refusing to let the challenger get the same looks he did in the prior round.

Cannonier walked right across the Octagon and moved inside against Adesanya to open the fifth. He ate a handful of jabs immediately and never really got it going to make any significant damage to the champ.

After dropping a decision victory against Robert Whittaker in 2020, Cannonier earned his way into the title picture by knocking off Kelvin Gastelum via decision and knocking out fellow title contender Derek Brunson.

Following an unsuccessful move to light heavyweight in 2021, Adesanya has maintained his dominance over the middleweight division with decision wins over Martin Vettori and Robert Whittaker. After the fight on Saturday night, he mentioned his desire to fight Alex Pereira next. Earlier in the evening, Pereira — who has beaten Adesanya in kickboxing matches on multiple occasions — picked up a first round knockout over Sean Strickland.

After falling in two consecutive decision losses to Alexander Volkanovski (25-1), Max Holloway (23-7) had to earn his way back into UFC featherweight contention. He needed decision victories over Calvin Kattar and Yair Rodriguez to show he could still hang with the top of the division. But Saturday night at UFC 276 from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, it was Volkanovski all over again as the featherweight champion successfully defended his belt via unanimous decision.

Holloway and Volkanovski spent much of the first round feeling each other out, testing their range and trying to find openings. Late in the opening round, the champion began to let his hands fly, waiting for Holloway to attack before ripping combinations. The last minute of the frame saw Volkanovski gain confidence, but Holloway quickly woke up and started to chip away at the champ.

Holloway never quite adjusted to Volkanovski‘s pace, despite walking his opponent around the cage. Volkanovski‘s counter strikes continued to pick apart Holloway late in the round, with a short hook opening a cut on Holloway.

The third was much of the same, with Holloway simply unable to cope with Volkanovski‘s hand speed and counter strike ability. Volkanovski peppered Holloway with jab after jab, putting combinations together as the challenger jumped in with strike attempts and opening up the gash above his left eye even further. Toward the end of the round, Holloway caught Volkanovski with a nice slew of shots of his own to open a cut in the center of the champ’s head.

Knowing he was down in the fourth, Holloway came out aggressively in the fourth, but still had trouble making the champ uncomfortable. Volkanovski again and again wore down Holloway with blistering jabs and punishing hooks and uppercuts.

In the fifth and final round, Holloway attempted a takedown early, but ended up in a body lock against the Octagon. For his part, Volkanovski Didn’t just coast through the final round, but continued to stand in and toss hands with Holloway until the final buzzer en route to all three judges scoring the fight 50-45 in his favor.

Heading into the main event Saturday night, Volkanovski had successfully defended the title twice outside of his win over Holloway, with a decision win over Brian Ortega and a TKO against the Korean Zombie. With his third defeat of Holloway, it’s hard to imagine the challenger getting a fourth shot at Volkanovski anytime soon.