Paging Joe Biden. As was previously reported earlier today, ASAP Rocky was arrested at LAX airport in connection with a November shooting. Rocky was coming off of a plane with Rihanna returning from a trip to her native Barbados. But what happened at ASAP Rocky’s home shortly thereafter is raising just as many eyebrows.
LAPD officers used a full-on battering ram to try to get into the security gate of the rapper’s house. They had a search warrant for the property in connection with the case and TMZ secured some crude video of the incident, as well as photos of boxes filled with papers being carried out of ASAP Rocky’s home. In the footage, a group of at least a half dozen cops stands in front of the gate and one of them bangs at it with a battering ram three times. When the strategy doesn’t appear to be working, another cop tries to pry it with what might be a crowbar and falls backward onto the ground when he realizes that it’s a pull-to-open gate and it swings open. [cue the circus music]
This seems like a fairly over-the-top way to serve a search warrant when you know that the owner of the home is already in custody. But this wouldn’t be the first time that police used excessive measures when it comes to an alleged crime involving a rapper. The victim of the shooting claims that ASAP Rocky opened fire on him last November three or four times and grazed his hand in the process.
Ahead of her Coachella weekend one performance this past weekend, Megan Thee Stallion was itching to give fans a live preview of her new single before its release. “I got this song that I recorded and every time I play it for a woman they start jumping and clapping,” she tweeted. “I think I wanna perform it at Coachella for the first time before I actually drop it.”
She debuted the racy “Plan B” at the festival, with the lyrics “D*ck don’t run me, I run d*ck.” And now, the single art for the release is just as provocative. “Plan B out Friday, pre-save it now!” she tweeted. In the tweet, Megan included the single art of her lavishly lying naked in a bathtub, covered in soap foam and smoking a slim cigarette.
“Plan B” is the first track Megan Thee Stallion is releasing since her “Sweetest Pie” collaboration with Dua Lipa last month. It’s also her first solo single (not counting her Super Bowl song for Flaming Hot Cheetos) since “Thot Sh*t” came out last year and went on to be nominated for a Grammy award.
Megan Thee Stallion’s “Plan B” single is out on 04/22 via 300 Entertainment. Pre-order it here.
Megan Thee Stallion is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
The long-awaited trial between Amber Heard and Johnny Depp is underway. The couple’s tumultuous relationship was written about by Heard in a 2018 op-ed, where she caused Depp of physical and emotional abuse. Depp sued for defamation. While Depp took the stand today, Heard is expected to speak later in the trial.
Depp brought out recordings of conversations, which can be heard on Mediaite, between himself and Heard while they were still married. In the recordings, which Depp secretly set up, Heard admits to hitting Depp while she was on Ambien.
“I feel that I want to say something to you, that it was ok, that’s, that’s the promise you gave me a little while ago. I’m — I’m telling you, if you lost memory last night of kick — you kicking the bathroom door and hitting me in the skull,” Depp says in the recordings. Depp is heard prompting Heard to recall “those memories.”
“I was upset, there was a lot going on and I was on an Ambien.” Heard says in the recording. “Why are you obsessing over the fact I cannot remember the way you are remembering it. I said I was sorry…I’m not denying it.” The actress is then heard telling her then-husband that he “avoids working it out.” “You don’t escape the fight, you escape the solution!” Heard continues. “You escape figuring out. We cannot work it out if you run away to the bathroom every time.”
Depp later recalled the infamous fight while he was in Australia shooting Pirates Of The Caribbean when Heard allegedly threw an empty bottle of vodka at him and severed his finger. “Blood was pouring out,” Depp said. “I think I went into some sort of… I don’t know what a nervous breakdown feels like, but that’s probably the closest that I’ve ever been.”
Last week, People reported that the couple’s therapist testified that they engaged in “mutual abuse.” The trial is expected to continue through May.
After living through what the media often described as “unprecedented times” for the last couple of years, remaining present in day-to-day life can be a difficult task. Gospel-trained musician and activist A.J. Haynes knows this all too well. Not only does she make music as bandleader of celestial trio Seratones, but she also works as a counselor in one of Louisiana’s last-standing abortion clinics.
For Seratones’ third studio album Love & Algorhythms, which is due next Friday, Haynes redefines what it means to be consciously optimistic in the age of information. Armed with dreamy chords, feel-good grooves, and Neo-soul-inspired songs, Seratones’ album examines themes of Black feminism, Afrofuturism, astrology, and the many paths towards revolution throughout its 11 tracks.
Ahead of the release of Love & Algorhythms, Haynes reflects on recent concerts, drawing inspiration from herself, and her great grandmother’s delightful cooking in our latest Indie Mixtape Q&A.
What are four words you would use to describe your music?
How about 3? I like that number. Interstellar soul synthesis.
It’s 2050 and the world hasn’t ended and people are still listening to your music. How would you like it to be remembered?
The world is always ending. That said, in my imagined 28 years from now, the music business as we know it and how artists survive will shift to community-based models and collective song. Touring as we know it will be unsustainable, replaced by more possibilities of emergence in both digital and analog forms. I hope that our music is remembered as part of the inspiration for this, to remind people of the possibilities of joy. I hope our songs remind them of small and big personal moments.
What’s your favorite city in the world to perform?
One of my favorite performance experiences was in Paris at the Bataclan.
Who’s the person who has most inspired your work, and why?
Myself. I am very proud of the person I have shaped and am shaping. To quote Lucille Clifton: come celebrate with me that everyday something has tried to kill me – and has failed.
Where did you eat the best meal of your life?
My great grandma’s kitchen.
What album do you know every word to?
Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On and Fiona Apple’s When The Pawn….
What was the best concert you’ve ever attended?
It’s hard for me to think of concerts in terms of best/worst. One of my favorite concerts was seeing MIA at FunFunFun Fest in Austin when she was touring the Matangi record. Being with amazing friends and taking the perfect amount of MDMA was also an added bonus.
What is the best outfit for performing and why?
I love rocking my new stretchy silver onesie. It is tailored to my body and has room for my booty and belly.
Who’s your favorite person to follow on Twitter and/or Instagram?
What’s your most frequently played song in the van on tour?
The classic “Move B*tch” by Ludacris.
What’s the last thing you Googled?
Recipes for arrabiata sauce.
What album makes for the perfect gift?
Any Alice Coltrane album.
Where’s the weirdest place you’ve ever crashed while on tour?
To be honest, we crashed a lot of weird places when we were first getting started as a band, but that time was so traumatic that I can’t remember specifics.
What’s the story behind your first or favorite tattoo?
My favorite tattoo is my baby gator on my left thigh. I love alligators sooo much. That’s it, that’s the story.
What artists keep you from flipping the channel on the radio?
SZA
What’s the nicest thing anyone has ever done for you?
My amaaazing partner and also current Seratones bassist is always doing sweet things for me. He makes me coffee every morning when we’re home at the cabin and gives me hugs when I’m anxious without me having to ask him.
What’s one piece of advice you’d go back in time to give to your 18-year-old self?
Start a savings account and dump your boyfriend.
What’s the last show you went to?
Japanese Breakfast at Luck Reunion
What movie can you not resist watching when it’s on TV?
I don’t have a TV on ever really and it’s hard to commit to a whole movie when I’m home, but when I need to sit still in front of a screen, the series Big Mouth is my go-to.
What’s one of your hidden talents?
I’m a kitchen witch b*tch, so I can make a delicious meal out of just about anything.
Love & Algorhythms comes out 4/29 via New West Records. Pre-order it here.
Wow, it sounds like 2022 is going to be the year of Dove Cameron. After she burst out of the gate back in February with the dramatic queer anthem “Boyfriend” and its accompanying steamy video, now the emerging pop star is back with a BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge performance for the books. Opting to cover Lil Nas X’s inescapable pop hit, “Montero (Call Me By Your Name),” she starts the song off incredibly slow and shivery, taking it more into the realm of seductive ballad than rap-adjacent banger.
But, by the time she’s done with the first low and slow verse, Cameron brings the energy up a bit, backed by her drummer and guitarist, who have no problem turning up the heat. Dove performs the whole song seated on a stool, but her vocal chops are impressive enough that she keep the energy high and the attention focused on her even when she’s starting off slow. Check out the performance up top and keep an ear out for another new single from the young musician coming soon.
A few weeks ago, she teased the song “Breakfast” on TikTok, and it’s already close to four million streams. And based on the string of emojis in the pre-save link, “Breakfast” will likely be the next thing we hear from her, that is, unless she’s got some more incredible cover songs up her sleeve. Speaking of, if you want to catch a live version of “Boyfriend” check it out below.
Sean Penn has long been one of Hollywood’s most political stars, and when Russia invaded Ukraine, he jumped on a plane and found himself on the ground. He filmed a documentary about the war for Vice. He talked about it, mostly civilly, with Sean Hannity. He’s threatened to “smelt” his two Oscars if this year’s chaotic show didn’t include an appearance from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. (They didn’t, and he hasn’t, at least not publicly.) He even considered fighting alongside them.
But now Penn’s back in the States. In an in-person panel discussion for Fox News (via IndieWire, he discussed how he left the nation over safety concerns.
“I just heard from [Former National Security Adviser] Robert O’Brien and he said to get the f*ck out,” Penn recalled.
Indeed, in the early days of the invasion, he was advised not to go there at all. “Our government is extremely good at caution,” Penn told the crowd. “American diplomats had been pulled out of and other Foreign Service officers pulled out of Kyiv. [People said,] ‘Don’t go. There’s nobody there. There’ll be no calvary,’ and so on.”
And yet he persisted, after an abundance of caution. “I was speaking to Robert [O’Brien] the whole time here. He knows the region much better than I do, and I made it,” he said. “We calculated that it would be fine, whatever happened. I don’t think anybody wanted to give up a level of denial that [the war] would happen because they would be giving up hope that [the invasion] wouldn’t happen.”
The Ukraine government was glad to have Penn there. In a statement, they praised him for being there “to record all the events that are currently happening in Ukraine and to tell the world the truth about Russia’s invasion of our country.” They added, “Our country is grateful to him for such a show of courage and honesty.”
But Penn may be back, he told Hollywood Authentic, if not right away. “I’m not an idiot, I am not certain what I can offer,” he said. “I don’t spend a lot of time texting the president or his staff while they’re under siege and their people are being murdered.”
For years, Piers Morgan has proudly boasted that he’s chummy with Donald J. Trump. Every now and then, the Meaghan Markle-hating British journalist criticizes him, but he’s more loath to do things like repeatedly tweet a cartoon image of him giving the former president a rim job. Perhaps that’s why Trump granted him an interview, and though the chat won’t air in full until April 25 (airing on Fox Nation in the U.S.), we already know it didn’t go so swimmingly.
A brief preview of the one-on-one was dropped on Wednesday, but it spoiled what will surely be the most explosive part: Trump walked out. What did Morgan do to earn such ire? He dared point out that he didn’t win re-election in 2020.
“I think I’m a very honest man… much more honest than you, actually,” Trump told Piers in response to his correct accusations. At one point, Morgan reminded him it “was a free and fair election,” then added, “You lost.” Trump shot back, “Only a fool would believe that.”
“You think I’m a fool?” Morgan replied.
“I do now, yeah,” Trump told him.
When Morgan pointed out that Trump hasn’t “produced the hard evidence” of his tall claims, Trump told him, quasi-psychedelically, “I don’t think you’re real.”
As Trump stood up, abruptly ending the interview, he repeatedly called him “dishonest,” adding that he was “a fool! And you haven’t studied.”
As per The New York Post, that wasn’t quite the end of the interview. Morgan said that, despite also calling him a “fool” six more times than seen in the preview, he did return to his seat to remind him of a much more provable claim: that he scored a hole-in-one a few weeks back, news so important it warranted one of his rinky-dink press releases. Having done that, he shot Morgan a “hateful” and then split.
The interview will air on April 25 on Piers Morgan Uncensored,” which will air in the U.S. on Fox Nation. Who knows? Maybe it’s a pleasant chat between old pals with strange opinions that suddenly goes off the rails. Till then, you can watch the 30-second preview in the video above.
Meanwhile, can we talk about Trump’s pancake makeup?
Over the next two weekends, glitter-bedecked scenesters from all over the world will flock to the Southern California desert for the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. Just like the music, the art, and many of the experiences between stages, the food is curated with a keen eye for top-caliber talent and unforgettable productions.
With three days each weekend and three meals each day, that leaves (*back of the envelope calculation*)… nine meals to make the most of the experience. The problem? There are more than 50 food purveyors, making figuring out what to eat as challenging as deciding between two of your favorite musicians performing at the same time.
Fortunately, many of these culinary delights can be found in restaurants outside the festival. But what about those ephemeral options that can only be enjoyed during the event? These are true once-in-a-lifetime tastes. We can’t live your life for you, but we can do our best to break down eight Coachella food offerings that you won’t want to miss.
That ninth one? That’s your freebie. Roll the dice on something and report back to us.
SUSHI SPEAKEASY — Sushi by Scratch
Easily the most talked-about food offering this year is Chef Phillip Frankland Lee’s 17-course sushi meal served in an Omakase speakeasy, hidden behind an unmarked door. Planned as a new spin on the traditional sushi counter experience, there are a mere 12 seats for each serving, to enhance the intimacy of the experience.
Dinner will set you back $375 plus fees, but the memory of this meal will probably live on in your dreams forever.
PLANT-BASED VIP DINNER — Outstanding In The Field
For a laid-back, family-style four-course meal along a 275-person long table, head to Outstanding in the Field. Here, 11 of the top chefs in the world will converge for a different dining experience each evening. Chefs Ayinde and Makini Howell, will host a fully plant-based meal. Chef Burt Bakman (SLAB) and Chef Eric Greenspan will be hosting a Passover Seder. Each dinner celebrates local farmers, and the backdrop of Coachella’s VIP Rose Garden will make the occasion that much more special. Rates are $295 plus fees.
RESERVATION-ONLY… CHIPS TASTING? — Lay’s Fresh 4D
Lay’s, the potato chip company, is joining the party too. This year they’re unveiling a mysterious, reservation-only “Fresh 4D” tasting, which promises 100% sustainably-sourced potatoes from farm to face in under 24-hours. Under a structure they’ve described as “Potadomes” in a press release, it’ll be a multi-sensory snacking experience complete with “three elevated bites that are an ode to the familiar Lay’s flavors consumers know and love.”
OYSTERS IN THE DESERT — Broad Street Oyster Co
Foodsteez
If lobster rolls are your religion, the Broad Street Oyster Co pop-up at Coachella is going to be church. This year guests of this reservation-only experience can look forward to burgers, shellfish, anchovy toast, shrimp galore, lobster, and a heavenly round of everyone’s favorite sea-born aphrodisiac, the eponymous oyster. The multi-course meal otherwise top caliber seafood experience.
HAND ROLLED FESTIVAL SUSHI — KazuNori
Thanks to a world-class team-up between The Sushi Nozawa Group and California’s renowned sushi restaurant Razorfish, sushi is affordable and accessible again at Coachella. Try it at the Rose Garden with your VIP wristband. Their signature “hand-rolled bar” combines convenience and decadence with a fancy-made-casual flair. Plus, you can eat it with your hands!
EGGSLUT X UMAMI — Umami Burger with Alvin Cailan
Foodsteez
Californians know Umami, but there’s almost nowhere else to get a chance to be served by the dynamic and beloved Alvin Cailan. Known for his exceptional Filipino food, Cailan has served the likes of Seth Rogen and Padma Lakshmi. He’s also celebrated for founding the now hailed breakfast spot, EggSlut in Los Angeles. Now that he’s teamed up with Umami, leaving it off your must-do list would be a faux pas for any self-respecting foodie.
ICE CREAM WITH ADAPTOGENS — Salt & Straw
Surprisingly owned in part by pro wrestler and actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Salt & Straw is famous for their “curiously delicious” ice cream shops. This year, Wunderground Coffee teamed up with Salt & Straw to take the science of ice cream even further. They’re slated to serve a totally different adaptogenic ice cream flavor for each day of the festival! Miss a day and you may never have the chance to try that flavor again.
CELEBRITY-DESIGNED BURGERS — Love Hour
In a rare partnership with six artists from the music lineup, popular Smash Burger icon Love Hour will be serving up collaborative (and secret) items. Artists like Louis the Child, Carly Rae Jepson, Eyedress, Omar Apollo, and more all weighed in to make these unique flavors sing. Each artists’ burger is available for one day only though, so get ‘em while you can.
In 1992, a new canned iced tea brand arrived in convenience stores throughout the U.S. The large, Southwest-themed can of AriZona iced tea would set you back $0.99, nearly the cost of a gallon of gas.
I was in high school in 1992. I now have adult children, gas prices are more than quadruple what they were back then and that same can of iced tea costs … $0.99.
The folks at AriZona Iced Tea haven’t changed their recommended selling price in 30 years, through various periods of inflation, economic upheaval and a global pandemic. Even now, as COVID-19 and war in Europe is squeezing inflation to uncomfortable places, as even the cost of the aluminum to make the cans is going up, AriZona is refusing to budge on its base price.
Unlike many popular drink brands that are owned by large parent companies such as Coca-Cola or PepsiCo, AriZona is privately owned. That gives the people in charge the ability to make radical financial choices like this.
“I’m committed to that 99-cent price,” AriZona co-founder and chairman Don Vultaggio told the Los Angeles Times. “When things go against you, you tighten your belt.
“I don’t want to do what the bread guys and the gas guys and everybody else are doing,” he added. “Consumers don’t need another price increase from a guy like me.”
PSA: Our recommended selling price for AriZona in the USA is still 99c! The can on the right is from Canada, where $1.29 converts to around 99c!nnDonu2019t worry fam, we still got you https://twitter.com/GOD_SPEEDXVII/status/1350244559519838208u00a0u2026
“A guy like me,” to be clear, is a company founder worth $4.3 billion who sells around three billion cans of tea per year. So yeah, he really doesn’t need to pinch the average American to maximize his profits at this point. However, “don’t need to make more money” isn’t often a real-world reason for businesses to not try to make as much as they possibly can, regardless of how it impacts consumers.
Of course, most of us don’t expect prices to remain steady forever. We expect incremental price increases over time, and don’t generally mind as long as we don’t feel any drastic changes. But it’s definitely refreshing to see businesses that insist on keeping prices low, especially when so many take advantage of inflation news to gouge people unnecessarily.
Take Costco, for instance. You can buy a ginormous hot dog, top it with all the ketchup, mustard, relish and onions your heart desires, and wash it down with a 24-oz soda for a ridiculous $1.50. The meal combo has been the same price since 1985, which resulted in an absolutely epic (and also totally true) tale of Costco founder Jim Sinegal telling Costco CEO Craig Jelinek, “‘If you raise the [price of the] effing hot dog, I will kill you.” Rather than raise the price, Costco created its own hot dog manufacturing plant.
AriZona isn’t just sitting back and taking the hit, though. One way it’s cutting costs is by narrowing the can at the top to use less aluminum, the price of which has gone up due to tariffs in addition to overall inflation.
“If you keep doing those things, you can kind of offset costs and rising costs, and get the consumer value and the ability to buy your product and everybody’s happy,” Vultaggio explained to TODAY.
“Everything (people are) buying today there’s a price increase on,” he said. “We’re trying to hold the ground and hold for a consumer who is pinched on all fronts. I’ve been in business a long time and candidly I’ve never seen anything like what’s going on now.”
In a world that’s experienced so much change and upheaval in recent years, it’s nice to know that at least one thing is holding steady—even if it is just a can of iced tea.
(Also nice to now they have a sense of humor about it. Check out their April Fool’s Day tweet with their 9 cent mini-can.)
Inflation has gotten out of control and though we cannot control the economy, we can control our products. So we decided to make The 9 Cent Mini Can! NOW AVAILABLE! https://drinkarizona.com/products/green-tea-2oz-tiny-canu00a0u2026pic.twitter.com/4spTL5Bfxx
From a viral sensation on Dr. Phil to a platinum-selling rapper to a straight-up star on OnlyFans. This is the Bhad Bhabie experience. In a recent Instagram Live video, Bhad Bhabie (whose real name is Danielle Bregoli) spoke candidly mainly about why she’s sick of being referred to as “the cash me outside girl.” And in the process, revealed a lot about how much money she’s made on OnlyFans.
“We don’t call people in the real world… celebrities, our family members…we don’t call them oh, ‘the girl who spilled the milk,’ or whatever,” she said in the video in between puffs from her vape pen. “We call them by their real name… So you call them by how you found out about them? Why does that only happen with me?”
The seven-minute diatribe went on, and while she was clearly peeved, there was never a moment where she lost control. This was just airing out grievances and it was actually a fairly decent commentary on celebrity internet culture.”It’s like y’all have to degrade who I am? If there is a way that you could put me down in a tiny way or a huge way, y’all will find a way to do it. I’m not saying it’s the end of the world, but you know it’s being ignorant.”
Then, as she offers alternatives to what she could be referred to instead, she spewed out an alarming figure: “Call me the youngest female artist to go platinum… call me some sh*t like that… the girl who got a million-dollar make-up deal, the girl who made over f*cking $50 million on OnlyFans… When you try to find a way to be annoying about something, it’s just kinda weird.”
Watch a video of Bhad Bhabie’s Instagram live video above.
Bhad Bhabie is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
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(@hedlike_a_hole) 
