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Yesterday, Halsey took to TikTok to vent their frustrations about an issue they’re having with their record label: In a video, Halsey (whose last two albums were released by Capitol Records) claims they have a new single ready to go, but their label is preventing them from releasing it unless they “can fake a viral moment on TikTok.”

The video was actually a bit of a viral moment in itself, as it currently has over 7 million views and is one of Halsey’s most popular videos on the platform. It doesn’t appear it has resolved anything, though, as Halsey is still frustrated.

Hours after that video was shared, Halsey wrote on Twitter, “Talked to my label tonight after my tiktok tantrum. They said ‘wow the tiktok is going really strong!’ I was like ok cool so can I release my song now? They said ‘we’ll see!’ [upside-down smiling face emoji] tell me again how I’m making this up.”

In response to a fan suggesting they “drop it anyways,” Halsey noted, “I can’t they own the master.”

They continued, “I’ve been minding my own business on tour taking care of my baby. Four albums deep. Coasting. I’m way too established to stir something like this up for no reason or resort to this as a marketing tactic but now I’m in too deep so there’s no going back [shrugging emoji].” Halsey added, “the music video is literally already done lmao like.”

They capped off the thread, “I love y’all I’m watching tame impala right now living my best life [white heart emoji] thank u for all your love.”

Halsey also shared a follow-up video on TikTok, in which they listen to somebody off-camera talking to them about a potential strategy for rolling out the single. Halsey’s expression is clearly frustrated the whole time and when asked what’s wrong, they say, “I just hate this.” The person off-camera empathizes and Halsey adds, “It sucks.”

Find Halsey’s posts below.

Madison Cawthorn’s definitely a “sore loser” after losing his North Carolina primary last week. He then weakly promised, “The best is yet to come,” but John Oliver couldn’t resist giving the incendiary, far-right representative a final push out the congressional door. “[S]tates held their primaries resulting in, among other things, Madison Cawthorn losing his,” the Last Week Tonight host declared to begin this week’s episode on HBO. “Meaning he has now officially set a record for shortest term to ever be served by a little b*tch.”

Madison, of course, fell from swift grace after a conservative PAC (which also wants to unseat Lauren Boebert) took it upon themselves to campaign him out of office, and his reaction to his naked humping video sealed his political fate more than the footage itself. He’s since vowed to go “Dark MAGA,” and no one’s quite sure what that means, but in the meantime, Oliver would like to alert everyone to another Ultra-MAGA candidate in Pennsylvania. Nope, we’re not talking about Senate hopeful Dr. Oz or Kathy Barnette (who is out of the running) but a gubernatorial candidate, Doug Mastriano, a January 6 attendee who won his race’s primary, and here’s what Oliver had to say about the guy:

“Yeah, he marched on the capital on Jan. 6, something which has become a weird point of pride for Republicans. It’s like hearing someone brag they were on the boat the night Natalie Wood died. I don’t know what’s more troubling there: that you think that makes you sound good or that some people might actually agree with you.”

From there, Oliver pointed out that Mastriano promised to install a secretary of state who’s “world-class person,” but as our host points out, “the only truly world-class people on the planet are Dolly Parton, and end of list.” Yup, Pennsylvania’s sure enduring a clown show this election season, and that Senate race remains one to watch. The GOP side is still subject to a recount and might go to Dr. Oz, but on the Democrat side, John Fetterman is sure to shake things up and (literally) tower over everyone. The world’s a dumpster fire, yes, but at least November won’t be boring.

Multiple times per week, our TV and film experts will list the most important ten streaming selections for you to pop into your queues. We’re not strictly operating upon reviews or accrued streaming clicks (although yes, we’ve scoured the streaming site charts and ratings) but, instead, upon those selections that are really worth noticing amid the churning sea of content. There’s a lot out there, after all, and your time is valuable.

TIE: 10. The Lost City (Paramount+ movie)

Here comes an updated version of Romancing The Stone with Channing Tatum as the doofus and beefcake who’s up against Sandra Bullock’s wildly successful romance-adventure novelist. Brad Pitt gets involved as a mercenary who’s tasked with saving everyone’s tush after a billionaire decides to turn into a kidnapper. Get ready for both gross-out and sexy scenes and, most importantly, look forward to some fun with this one.

TIE: 10. Ozark (Netflix series)

It’s the end of a Byrde family era, at least before they head back to Chicago, and there’s a lotta loose ends to tie up, especially where Ruth Langmore is concerned. The end of the show is savage and shattering with Killer Mike making a poetic turn in a short cameo that matters a lot when the finale episode rolls around. Yes, this show’s always strongly resembled Breaking Bad, but don’t expect the ending to match up to any previously established patterns.

9. The Northman (Focus Features film streaming on Amazon Prime)

Alexander Skarsgård’s in full-on viking mode here in a film that’s got Shakespearean swing along with a lot of heavy-metal furor. Robert Eggers is once again crushing his subject matter, and thank goodness that Anya Taylor Joy’s onboard. Actually, the cast is stacked and includes Nicole Kidman and Ethan Hawke, but perhaps one can most look forward to ripped Skarsgård pulling off a glorious fight scene atop a volcano. After all, you don’t see that every day.

8. Flight Attendant (HBO Max series)

Kaley Cuoco is no mere hired gun, and she’s miles beyond The Big Bang Theory territory while executive producing and playing the lead mess in this series. Her Cassie is newly sober and working a side gig as a CIA asset, so expect even more international intrigue alongside the obligatory murder business. Griffin Matthews and Zosie Mamet return while Rosie Perez does important things, and I’m really digging what Mae Martin’s doing as a newcomer.

7. We Own This City (HBO limited series on HBO Max)

Creator David Simon is back with Not-The Wire as he dives deep into the depths of Charm City’s sordid police force. As expected, the source material’s quite heavy and revolves around Justin Fenton’s book about Freddie Gray’s death in 2015. In other words, the cops are very bad, and that’s an interesting twist when one considers that Jon Bernthal (who portrayed The Punisher) is right in the middle of all the law enforcement shenanigans. Brace yourselves for everything to get ugly, and cross your fingers for the dogged investigator (Treat Williams) who wants to expose the layers of this rotten onion to the world.

6. George Carlin’s American Dream (HBO Documentary Film streaming on HBO Max)

Judd Apatow and Michael Bonfiglio direct this exploration of the iconic and legendary comedian whose life and works will continue to inspire generations to come. The film bumps right up against Carlin’s 2008 death and the decades that stretched before while an expansive career included countless comedy specials and hundreds of nightly talk show appearances. His highly influential nature arrived with some controversy, and take a glimpse behind the curtain as family and substance abuse struggles reared their heads and things get awfully bare here. Also expect interviews from Chris Rock, Stephen Colbert, Bill Burr, Jerry Seinfeld, Patton Oswalt, Bette Midler, W. Kamau Bell, and more.

5. Hacks (HBO Max series)

Don’t get on Jean Smart’s bad side. Or at least, watch out when you cross the line with many of her character, especially Deborah Vance, who’s a curmudgeon for the ages and picks up a chainsaw at one point this season. Don’t forget, though, that Hannah Einbinder holds her own while her Ava dodges those narrative bullets and the two go on tour together. Everything’s more dramatic on the road, and this time, they can’t leave it all behind in Vegas.

4. The Staircase (HBO Max series)

Toni Collette fills in a lot of shading about Kathleen Peterson’s life before her death, for which her husband, Michael, ended up serving hard time. Collette is as magnificent as always, and Colin Firth puts on a master class of a layered performance while this show dramatizes the ground already laid by the O.G. true crime docuseries. The ensemble cast also includes Sophie Turner and Parker Posey (who is chewing every shred of upholstery in the courtroom), all while we wait for a certain theory (hopefully) for the birds.

3. Angelyne (Peacock series)

Emmy Rossum spent hours upon hours getting wigged and big bosomed to portray the Los Angeles billboard queen of decades past. Everything is incredibly pink here, and the show does explore Angelyne’s early years to enlightening effect although it ultimately does get lost in a sea of unreliable narration along the way. It’s a structureless, meandering yet purposeful hot mess that is at least worth the novelty of seeing Emmy move far beyond her longest role (Fiona Gallagher of Shameless) to date.

2. Barry (HBO series on HBO Max)

This masterpiece of Bill Hader-fronted dark comedy is still kicking and dedicated to staying silly along the way. Assassins rarely go out of style, and since we waited three long years for this season, let’s savor it until the very end. Besides, no one can ever say no to more Henry Winkler and Anthony Carrigan, unless you’re an absolute monster.

1. Better Call Saul (AMC series on AMC+)

Is Kim Wexler still alive? Yes, for now at least. Rhea Seehorn’s character clearly woke up (years ago) and chose chaos, and it’s anyone’s guess whether she’ll survive the impending collision with the Breaking Bad timeline. Meanwhile, all of the bad decisions are being made, and there’s a code to be cracked while the mid-season hiatus arrives. Also, the show gives us some cute doggies while we grip the seat handles and wait for all hell to break loose. Great TV!

The Western Conference Finals shifted to Dallas on Sunday night, as the Mavericks were desperate for a win to get into the series and make things interesting against the Warriors. After letting a 19-point lead evaporate in Game 2, all eyes were on Dallas to see if they could put together a complete performance against a Golden State team that simply does not offer much margin for error over 48 minutes.

Early on, it was the Warriors that landed the first punch, jumping out to a quick 12-point lead as they seemed to finally be tired of slow starts this postseason, piling in threes while the Mavs came out cold.

Dallas would hang in, as they started to turn up their defense and got a boost at the buzzer when Luka Doncic turned a missed Stephen Curry three into an answered prayer on the other end to cut the Warriors lead, somehow, to just three going to the second quarter.

It was there that the Mavs built on that positive momentum, taking a 9-point lead of their own, as Jalen Brunson got going and their defense tightened up considerably.

However, Golden State would close the second quarter with a flurry, with Stephen Curry reeling Dallas back in as they’d eventually take a one-point lead (with Curry getting a bit of a scare at the end of the half when he tripped over a waiter courtside).

Once again it was the Warriors who dominated the third quarter as they did in Game 2, as Draymond Green led the defense in putting the clamps on Dallas, who had just 21 in the quarter.

On the offensive end, the Warriors started to percolate, led by Curry who had 11 in the third quarter, headlined by this deep stepback in the final minute, as the Warriors pulled away against the ice cold Mavs to take a 10-point lead going to the fourth.

In the final period, the Mavs showed some signs of life, but, after struggling for much of the game, Klay Thompson showed up right on time to drill back-to-back threes — the first off yet another offensive board — to keep the Warriors ahead by double digits.

Luka came alive for Dallas in the fourth after a fairly quiet third quarter, keeping the Mavs attached despite Thompson and Poole both finally starting to find the bottom of the net from three.

However, the Mavs role players simply could not buy a three in Game 3, as Maxi Kleber, Reggie Bullock, and Davis Bertans combined to go 0-for-14 from deep. While Dallas continued to scuffle from beyond the arc, the Warriors continued to attack downhill, with Andrew Wiggins delivering the moment of the game with a monster dunk on Luka Doncic — that was initially and egregiously ruled an offensive foul and overturned after a Golden State challenge.

Wiggins was sensational for the Warriors all game, scoring 27 points and, maybe more importantly, pulling down 11 rebounds, including six on the offensive end as he and Kevon Looney continued to punish Dallas on the glass. The Warriors would never run away but the Mavs would also never make a real run, as Dallas once again had the same problem as Game 2 of being unable to get stops once their offense finally woke up after a third quarter lull.

The closest the Mavs got was within five with under a minute to go on a three by Doncic, but that was immediately answered by a Jordan Poole three in the corner to effectively put the game on ice, as Golden State would cruise from there to a 109-100 win.

Curry led the Warriors with 31 points, hitting 5-of-10 from beyond the arc, and 11 assists, with Wiggins stepping up to be the second-leading scorer as he was tremendous on both ends of the floor once again in this series, and Klay adding 19 with timely shots amid a rough shooting night. Kevon Looney had nine points and 12 rebounds, including four on the offensive glass, as he once again punished Dallas’ small-ball lineup as the Warriors advantage on the boards continues to win them games even as they struggle to knock down shots against the initial strong effort from the Mavs defense.

Dallas’ shooting woes and inability to clear the boards were once again, too much to overcome, as they shot 13-for-45 from three (28.9 percent). They continue to struggle to create consistent offense to avoid giving the Warriors the 8- and 10-point spurts that they use to bury teams (even when they themselves aren’t shooting great as a team). Luka had 40 points and 11 rebounds, while Spencer Dinwiddie gave them 26 points off the bench and Jalen Brunson had 20 points, but it was a three-man band as the rest of the team combined for 15 points. That’s not the recipe against a Warriors team that has as much floor balance as they do, and the result is a never-before-climbed hill facing Dallas.

With Golden State taking a 3-0 series lead, it is now a matter of when not if they advance to yet another NBA Finals, but Dallas will feel like they’ve had real chances at the last two but have failed to put together a full 48 minutes. Against this Warriors team, you can’t have long offensive droughts as Dallas has in the third quarters, because Golden State will steadily pull away on you, and then having to come back from a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter thins the margin for error down to nothing — and Dallas is yet to put forth a perfect close to a game on both ends.

The Mavs now will look to avoid a sweep on Tuesday night at home, and the Warriors have shown they’ll sleepwalk through a road closeout game this postseason, but it seems inevitable that Golden State gets a crack at ring number four.

The first half of Game 3 between the Warriors and Mavs in Dallas was hotly contested, with both teams making big runs only to end up with a 48-47 Golden State lead at the break.

The Warriors ran out to an early advantage, only for the Mavs to go on a late first, early second quarter run to take a lead of their own, with Golden State then clawing their way back in front by a point, thanks in large part to the efforts of Stephen Curry. The future Hall of Famer had 16 points to lead all scorers at the break, including one of his patented turnaround threes from the corner, but it was on a defensive closeout in the final seconds that disaster almost struck.

After running out to contest Reggie Bullock’s last-second three that rimmed out, Curry ended up on the sideline and tripped over a waiter crouched down taking a courtside fan’s order.

Luckily, Steph seemed fine, rubbing at his knee where he hit the floor a bit but otherwise not looking the worse for wear, and once it became clear everyone was alright, folks immediately had flashbacks to the Curb Your Enthusiasm episode where Larry David tripped Shaq and blew out his knee at a Lakers game.

Luckily this wasn’t a repeat, but we should maybe reconsider having people taking orders from on the sidelines and look to do that from behind in the future.

The Dallas Mavericks will host the Golden State Warriors in a pivotal Game 3 matchup on Sunday night in the Western Conference Finals, as the Mavs look to get on the board in the series, but before tipoff, Mavs forward Reggie Bullock received a special honor as he was named the recipient of the 2022 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Award from the NBA.

Bullock was selected from a group of finalists that included Jrue Holiday, Jaren Jackson Jr., Karl-Anthony Towns, and Fred VanVleet, and with the award comes a $100,000 donation in his name to the organization of his choice — the other four finalists each got $25,000 to donate to an organization. Bullock chose Kinston Teens, a youth organization in his native Kinston, North Carolina that is focused on community development and youth empowerment. Bullock received the award for his work with the LGBTQ+ community, as he has become an advocate after his sister was murdered eight years ago.

After his sister, Mia Henderson – a transgender woman – was murdered in 2014, Bullock dedicated his life to honoring her legacy and fighting for increased visibility and acceptance for the LGBTQ+ community. Upon joining the Mavericks ahead of the 2021-22 season, Bullock immediately connected with organizations in the Dallas area, including Abounding Prosperity, Dallas Southern Pride, House of Rebirth, The Black-Tie Dinner, the Resource Center and the Muhlashia Booker Foundation, to take action in support of their work.

“We are all one, and I believe love lies in everybody’s heart,” said Bullock. “It’s incredibly important to me as a cisgender athlete to stand in support of the trans and LGBTQ+ community.”

Bullock joined Ernie Johnson and the Turner crew for an interview prior to the game to speak on the importance of connecting with the right groups and being an advocate and ally by using his platform to speak out on violence against trans women and other marginalized groups.

Charles Barkley has made his allegiance in the Western Conference Finals crystal clear, as the Inside the NBA analyst has picked the Mavs to beat the Warriors and spent most of his time in San Francisco getting into it with fans on and off of the TNT set.

As the series shifted to Dallas for Game 3 on Sunday, Barkley was in a far more friendly environment and arrived in style to the TNT set outside American Airlines Center, riding a horse while Shaq and Kenny heckled him the entire time.

The dismount really was the best part of all of it, as Kenny and Shaq rooted their hardest for him to fall off the horse, with Kenny correctly pointing out there was no way he was going to be able to get that right leg up and over the horse without some serious difficulty. To Chuck’s credit, he managed to get off of the horse without crashing to the ground, a considerable win given he was in front of thousands of people and being watched on national television.

I do love the defiance as he insisted he could really ride a horse while he hung onto the pommel for dear life while the two horse trainers led the horse through the sea of people. The TNT crew was really feeling the Texas spirit on Sunday night, as Shaq and Kenny then greeted Chuck once he finally got up to the stage with a little do-si-do.

We’ll see if the mood is as celebratory after Game 3 as the Mavs try to make this a series and get on the board for the first time.

The Trump family has never paid for their alleged crimes, but those who’ve worked with them sure have. Donald won’t bail out Rudy Giuliani, who’s facing a billion dollar lawsuit for spreading voter fraud lies. And now a hunting guide who helped Don Jr. illegally bag a bear is facing serious jailtime.

As per The Salt Lake Tribune, Wade Lemon, a Utah guide of some renown, hosted the then-president’s son for an outing in May of 2018, during which he killed both a bear and a cougar. The bear, however, wasn’t killed fair and square. According to the Utah Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Lemon helped Jr. kill it by illegally baiting it with “a pile of grain, oil, and pastries.”

Jump four years and Lemon is facing a felony charge and five years in jail. Trump Jr. is not named in the case documents, but DNR confirmed that he was the one who ultimately pulled the trigger, after the bear had been baited for him. It’s not clear if Jr. knew about the illegal ruse. In fact, a lawyer for the case said that whoever killed the bear (i.e., Jr.) “was actually a victim and a now a possible witness in a fraudulent scheme to lead the hunter to believe it was actually a legitimate Wild West hunting situation.”

Trump Jr. did post about his trip to Instagram, though he didn’t include pictures of his kills.

The Don Jr. of 2018 is a little different from the Don Jr. of now, who spends less time shooting wildlife and more time posting amped-up rants that tend to be either motor-mouthed or slurry.

(Via The Salt Lake Tribune)

Last night’s episode of Saturday Night Live was also the last ever for Pete Davidson. Before the episode aired, the comedian announced that he would not be returning for the show’s 48th season along with other cast members including Kate McKinnon, Aidy Bryant, and Kyle Mooney. For his last appearance on SNL, Davidson went out with a bang. He conducted one last rap parody sketch, which was eventually interrupted by Eminem who asked demanded that he stop them. He also stopped by Weekend Update to deliver a sweet and self-deprecating farewell to SNL, but not without mentioning a couple of music names he’s been tied to.

Davidson sat with Weekend Update co-hosts Colin Jost and Michael Che and kicked things off by acknowledging the “millions of people only watching to see if I bring up Kanye.” This is of course in reference to his new relationship with Kim Kardashian following her divorce from Kanye West whom she was married to for seven years. Next, Davidson ran through some events that took place in his life during his time at SNL. One of them includes a phone call he made to SNL producer Lorne Michaels about his engagement to Ariana Grande.

“He always gives the best advice,” Davidson said. “I said, ‘Lorne, I just got engaged to Ariana Grande after dating for two weeks.’ He said, ‘Oh, hold on for dear life!’ It’s a true thing he said.”

You can watch Davidson’s appearance on Weekend Update in the video above.

Kendrick Lamar fans waited five long years to receive his new album Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers. The project finally arrived earlier this month, and it’s safe to say that it was far from what fans expected from him. Similar to how To Pimp A Butterfly was a big change in direction from Good Kid M.A.A.D. City, Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers was quite the shift from Damn. Nonetheless, Lamar’s fifth album has still received favorable reviews from critics, and now, he can add another No. 1 album to his resume as Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers topped the Billboard 200 charts.

For the Billboard 200 dated May 28, 2022, Kendrick Lamar’s Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers debuted at No. 1 thanks to 295,000 album units sold. That number is comprised of 258,500 streaming equivalent album units thanks to 343.02 million on-demand official streams of the album’s songs. Elsewhere, Mr. Morale also posted 35,000 pure album sales. Altogether, this feat gives Lamar the fourth consecutive and overall chart-topping album of his career.

Lamar’s fifth album put up the largest overall week in 2022, breaking a record set last week by Bad Bunny’s Un Verano Sin Ti. Bad Bunny’s album still had the biggest streaming week of 2022 with Mr. Morale coming in at a not too distant second place. Mr. Morale also had the largest sales
week for a digital album in 2022 and the biggest overall week since Adele’s 30 posted 839,000 units back in November.

You can revisit our review of Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers here.

Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers is out now via PgLang/TDE/Aftermath/Interscope. You can stream it here.