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For the first time since 2017, the 2022 Oscars will have a host. For the first time since 2011, there will be multiple hosts. Hopefully Regina Hall, Amy Schumer, and Wanda Sykes, who will reportedly each emcee one hour of a three-hour (hopefully) telecast, have a better time than Anne Hathaway did with her co-host, James Franco.

Hosting the Oscars seems like a lot of work, especially considering how little (relatively speaking) they’re getting paid. “I was really excited about [the Oscars gig], but then I realized that out of all the jobs that I have, this one is actually gonna cost me money,” Sykes told two-time Oscar host Jimmy Kimmel on Monday’s episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live. The comedian wouldn’t say exactly how much she’s getting paid (“It’s like scale, probably”), but Kimmel revealed his salary: $15,000. But, as he pointed out, there was “only one of me. You guys will probably have to split all that… It sounds like a lot for one night, but it’s months of work leading up to it. You’re getting robbed.”

You’re not helping, Jimmy.

Sykes has a plan to get back at the Academy, though. “I’ve already decided I’m just gonna steal an Oscar,” she joked (?). Maybe she can “borrow” one of the Oscars that went to La La Land instead of Moonlight from the first time Kimmel hosted.

You can watch the Jimmy Kimmy Live interview with Sykes above.

Last night, 2022 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame nominee Beck was in Nashville, playing an intimate show at Basement East. Jack White was there, too, and to fans’ surprise, White briefly took the stage before Beck for a bit of fun.

White’s Third Man Records shared footage of the moment on Instagram, which starts with White getting the stage and declaring, “Hello ladies and gentlemen, I’m Beck. I’m gonna play you one of my favorite songs from the 1990s that I wrote.” White doesn’t particularly look like Beck, especially with his new blue hair, so his lie wasn’t a convincing one.

As for the ’90s song, White, wielding an acoustic guitar, started with Chumbawamba’s “Tubthumping” (aka the “I get knocked down” song), a 1997 single that Beck most certainly did not write (at least, he’s not officially credited for writing it). He then transitioned into “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” by The Proclaimers (another song not penned by Beck).

Beck (the real Beck) then got on stage and asked, “What are you doing, Jack?” White feebly responded he was tuning Beck’s guitar and that pretty much concluded the bit, which was surely a delightful diversion for those in attendance.

Watch the video above.

CMG rappers 42 Dugg and EST Gee have demonstrated natural, fan-pleasing chemistry numerous times over the last couple of years, so why not a full album? After sharing the tracks “Rose Gold,” “Cold Gangsta,” and “5500 Degrees” in the past few months, the two Midwesterners announced their joint project, Last Ones Left, at a CMG press conference last month. While they overshot their initial projected release date, they offered a promising sign of the album’s impending release today with the high-flying video for “Free The Shiners.”

The first inkling of the duo’s scintillating chemistry came on EST Gee’s I Still Don’t Feel Nun single “Members Only,” on which 42 Dugg contributed a verse to the Louisvillian’s breakout 2020 mixtape. That was also the tape that attracted the attention of CMG founder Yo Gotti, who scooped both rappers for his label. Gee then returned the favor on the Detroiter’s Free Dem Boyz mixtape in May of 2021. The duo went on to share the mic another two times, which helped spark the idea of putting both together as their waves crested at the same time, a la Lil Baby and Gunna in 2018. It sounds like a solid strategy, too; if it works out as well as it did for the two aforementioned Atlantans, EST Gee and 42 Dugg could end up being the next big names in rap.

Watch the “Free The Shiners” video above.

Less than a week after Young Dolph’s autopsy results showed that the Memphis rapper was shot 22 times with a Draco AK-47 assault-style machine pistol, one of his murder suspects has been attacked in jail. According to a TMZ report, alleged shooter Justin “Straight Drop” Johnson was on the phone in the visitation room of Tennessee’s Shelby County Jail when a fellow inmate walked past him and punched him in the head.

Johnson and Cornelius Smith are both in custody as the alleged shooters in the case who drove past the Makeda’s Cookies shop that Young Dolph was at and opened fire from their Mercedes Benz. Another suspect, Shundale Barnett, was mistakenly released from police custody and is still at large. While there are also two other “persons of interest” in the case, Johnson claims he’s innocent and has been behind bars for the November 17th murder since his arrest in January.

The lawyer for Justin Johnson got in touch with TMZ to outline the incident, and the report says that no motive is known. Considering what Johnson is in jail for to begin with, it’s an easy guess that he is not a well-liked figure in the jail. Photos linking Johnson to Dolph surfaced shortly before his arrest in January and Johnson apparently shot a music video in the past at the house where the murder getaway card was found. The latter seems like very circumstantial evidence, but for now Johnson remains at Shelby County Jail.

Hours after posting a 10-minute-long YouTube video dedicated to her son, Kylie Jenner announced that her son’s name has been changed.

The baby formerly known as Wolf Jacques Webster was born on February 2nd, one day after Jenner’s daughter Stormi’s fourth birthday. Wolf is the second child Jenner has with rapper Travis Scott. Yesterday, Jenner announced on an Instagram story that she and Scott had decided to change the newborn’s name. “FYI our son’s name isn’t Wolf anymore,” she posted on her story.

“We just really didn’t feel like it was him.” Jenner didn’t reveal what his new name would be. “Just wanted to share because I keep seeing Wolf everywhere,” she added. Though, it makes sense that she would see that name everywhere…since she was the one who announced it.

Either way, many fans had criticized the name in the last month, making funny but harmless memes about the peculiar name choice.

It seems like Kylie didn’t like that! And now, Wolf is no more. Honestly, it’s better to change his name now than to wait until he can actually understand words. Notably, Stormi was born days after the Stormy Daniels/Trump scandal, and yet she still kept that name, and it’s probably too late to change it anyway.

Following Arby’s and Pusha T’s scathing diss track toward McDonald’s Filet O’ Fish sandwich, fans are questioning a line from Jay-Z’s Blueprint cut “U Don’t Know.” On “Spicy Fish Diss Track,” Push proclaims, “I could sell water to a whale,” directly referencing “U Don’t Know.” Although the song’s lyric video confirms Push says “whale,” the clip has left fans asking if Jay originally says “I’m a hustler baby, I sell water to a whale,” or “sell water to a well.”

Hip-hop journalist Sowmya Krishnamurthy reached out to Just Blaze, who produced “U Don’t Know,” for clarification. Blaze asked Jay, who kept it open to interpretation, saying it could be either “well” or “whale.”

“Haaaa!!!! Well/whale,” said Jay, by way of a text message from Blaze. “It’s never a coincidence when these things happen. I try to make things work on multiple levels every time I sit down to create. It keeps me engaged.”

Push and Arby’s diss track follows the “Diet Coke” rapper’s claims that he wrote McDonald’s iconic “I’m Lovin’ It” jingle, alongside his brother and fellow Clipse member No Malice, Justin Timberlake, and Pharrell Williams. Push was apparently paid a one-time fee for his contributions and has not been paid any royalties for the almost two decades McDonald’s has been using the jingle.

“I did it at a very young age at a very young time in my career where I wasn’t asking for as much money and ownership,” Push told Rolling Stone. “It’s something that’s always dug at me later in life like, ‘Dammit, I was a part of this and I should have more stake.’ It was like half a million or a million dollars for me and my brother — but that’s peanuts for as long as that’s been running.”

Trust me, I enjoy a well-made West Coast IPA, a craft lager, a barrel-aged stout, or a fruited sour beer as much as the next beer snoot. But sometimes, maybe when it’s really hot out or I’m just looking for something crushable, I love to crack open a classic light beer. You know the ones I mean: the kind available at every supermarket, grocery store, and bodega from Temecula to Tampa Bay.

These light lagers — from big, macro U.S. breweries — are known for their low-alcohol content (“sessionability,” in beer nerd parlance); crisp, light flavor; and refreshing, no-frills taste. These are beers designed for crushing, not for savoring, but even acknowledging that, there is a flavor profile there, even in the cheapest beers. And that’s why I’m here today, to find out which one has the best all-around flavor via the classic blind-taste test.

Today’s Lineup:

• Bud Light
• Coors Light
• Michelob Ultra
• Busch Light
• Amstel Light
• Miller Lite
• Natural Light
• Keystone Light

The Ranking

8) Keystone Light — Taste 2

ABV: 4.1%

Average Price: $11 for a fifteen-pack

The Beer:

You might have heard news months ago about the demise of Keystone. Luckily, the brand only dropped Keystone Ice and some other lesser versions. Keystone Light, with its nostalgic taste reminding drinkers of college parties with each sip, is alive and well. Available since 1989, this crisp, crushable, 4.1 percent ABV beer is still at your neighborhood grocery store.

Original Notes:

Yeasty, grainy, metallic, skunky, and sour. The nose on this beer really didn’t leave me craving a sip. But I dove in anyway and found a crisp, very watery, light beer with muted flavors of corn, bready malts, and maybe some rice sweetness but honestly not much else. Overall, this is a pretty terrible beer.

Bottom Line:

Honestly, I wasn’t surprised to see Keystone Light land in the last spot in these rankings. Even when I was in college, I remember thinking this was a fairly awful beer that I tried my best to stay away from.

7) Michelob Ultra — Taste 7

ABV: 4.2%
Average Price: $7.50 for a six-pack

The Beer:

Launched in 2002, this beer was created for athletes and healthy drinkers who want to drink a low carb, low-alcohol, low-calorie beer. Sometimes even marketed like it’s a sports drink, this 4.2 percent beer has only 95 calories per 12-ounce can or bottle. It’s known for its light, drinkable flavor, but I don’t suggest you chug one before going for a run.

Original Notes:

The nose is all sweet grains, corn, and slight citrus zest. But all of the aromas are fairly muted and hard to find. Sipping it revealed more sweet, malty corn sweetness and maybe a little lemon zest, but mostly it just tasted like fizzy water. If someone replaced this with lemon seltzer water, I probably wouldn’t even notice.

Bottom Line:

I’ve never understood the appeal of Michelob Ultra, so I’m not even a little bit surprised that it tastes just as bad as I imagined. Why drinkers don’t just buy something with slightly more calories, a lower price tag, and way more flavor I’ll never know.

6) Bud Light — Taste 4

ABV: 4.2%

Average Price: $7 for a six-pack

The Beer:

There’s no light beer more well known than Bud Light. You can’t watch a televised sporting event without seeing at least five Bud Light commercials. The 4.2 percent, lighter version of Budweiser is usually the cheapest beer at the bar, and for good reason.

Original Notes:

This beer doesn’t smell the way beer should smell. It’s sugary sweet on the nose with a ton of rice and sweet corn and nothing else. The flavor is more of the same with some sweet corny, rice-like, bready flavors with a little bit of caramel malts and a slightly skunky and artificial taste throughout. This is not a good beer.

Bottom Line:

I’ve had my fair share of Bud Lights over the years. It’s always cheap and available everywhere. But it is yellow, very fizzy, overly sugary-water and should be avoided if possible.

5) Amstel Light — Taste 5

ABV: 3.5%

Average Price: $9 for a six-pack

The Beer:

Amstel Light is a bit of a mystery to me. I’ve never purchased a six-pack or ordered it at a bar, but it seems like the only beer you can find at a golf course. Amstel and specifically Amstel Light have carved out a nice niche in the light beer world.

Original Notes:

This beer smells surprisingly sweet. There are notes of bread yeast, honey, a lightly-skunky aroma, and maybe some hops. The flavor is just as sweet as the nose with more honey, caramel malts, sweet corn, and more of that skunky flavor from earlier. There’s a slight hops presence, but not much. Not a great beer, but not a terrible one either.

Bottom Line:

I didn’t really have any expectations with Amstel Light as I couldn’t remember the last time I tried it. It wasn’t horrible, but it wasn’t good either if that makes any sense.

4) Miller Lite — Taste 1

ABV: 4.2%

Average Price: $7 for a six-pack

The Beer:

Miller Lite’s whole existence (at least in terms of commercials) has been to convince drinkers that it’s “less filling and tastes great” and is a better option than other light beers.

Original Notes:

This beer smells like the kind of beer that you’ll crush without really tasting. There’s corn, some bread-like malts, maybe some honey, and not much else. The flavor is lightly corny, has some sweet grains, and sugary, syrup-like sweetness. Even with that said, it is what it is. It’s a refreshing, crushable, sweet beer that does its job.

Bottom Line:

Miller Lite is always one of the better-rated light beers on the market, so I wasn’t surprised to see it land on the lower half of the list. It wasn’t at all exciting, but it served its purpose.

3) Busch Light — Taste 8

ABV: 4.3%

Average Price: $6 for a six-pack of 16-ounce cans

The Beer:

You don’t have to “head for the mountains” to enjoy a Busch or Busch Light, but it would probably be a good idea to be really thirsty when you drink one. It’s 4.1 percent ABV, only 95 calories, and claims to have the same flavor as the original Busch. Although we can’t be certain that that beer has all that much flavor either.

Original Notes:

The nose is old hay, sweet corn, bread-like malts, grains, and that’s about it. But that’s to be expected in a light beer. The palate followed suit with more bread-like malts, a yeasty, almost skunky/funky flavor as well as corn sweetness. It had a nice malt presence, but overall, it’s fairly thin in the flavor department. It was, however, very crisp, refreshing, and went down very easy.

Bottom Line:

I didn’t have high hopes for Busch Light and it really surprised me. Not with its aroma or flavor per se, but with the fact that it went down easier than some of the other beers on this list.

2) Natural Light — Taste 6

ABV: 4.2%

Average Price: $5.50 for a six-pack of 16-ounce cans

The Beer:

If there is such a thing, Natural Light is the light beer for young drinkers. At least that’s absolutely how it’s marketed. The brand touts the beer as a well-balanced “American-style” light lager for college kids. Brewed since 1977, it’s a crushable 4.2 percent ABV and only 95 calories.

Original Notes:

The nose was surprisingly citrus-centric with some grapefruit as well as dry hay, grains, and the expected sweet corn syrup aroma. The flavor was slightly skunky with sweet corn, rice, bready malts, and some yeast. Like all light beers, the flavor isn’t over-the-top. But it is easy to drink and fairly well-balanced.

Bottom Line:

I’ve had Natural Light before, but I didn’t have any memory of what it tasted like. So I had no expectations for this beer. I definitely didn’t imagine it landing so high on this list. It’s more complex than some of the other beers (at least slightly), so here we are.

1) Coors Light — Taste 3

ABV: 4.2%

Average Price: $7 for a six-pack

The Beer:

Coors Light is advertised as “cold as the Rockies.” This 4.2 percent ABV light beer gets its flavor from being cold lagered below freezing. This is designed to give the beer a crisp, crushable, and easy-drinking flavor. It’s also cold filtered. Everything is cold with this beer. Definitely don’t drink it at room temperature.

Original Notes:

On the nose, I found sweet corn, grains, bready malts, wet hay, and maybe some honey. While the palate is expected from a light beer with a more adjunct-like corn flavor as well as grains and a slight mineral flavor, this beer is balanced with slightly floral hops and a nice malty backbone.

Bottom Line:

In a world of flavorless light beers, Coors Light stands above the rest if only barely. It’s crisp, thirst-quenching, and slightly more balanced and complex than the other watery, light beers on this list. And that’s just enough to edge out all the competition in this blind tasting.

Disney has a not-so-great situation on their mouse gloves right now after CEO Bob Chapek stayed stunningly distanced about Florida’s controversial “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which has prompted employee pushback that has now turned to protests and walkouts. All of this is happening because Chapek hesitated to get political in the state housing Disney World, where Governor Ron DeSantis scoffs at any mention of “wokeness” and supported the bill that hopes to remove any mention of “sexual orientation or gender identity” from public schools.

Many Disney employees have made it clear that they view this bill (formally known as the “Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Bill”) as anti-LGBTQIA+, and last week, Marvel Studios (a Disney subsidiary) decided that enough was enough. The Disney division came forward with a blistering condemnation, and at the start of a full-day walkout by Disney employees in Florida, several of the company’s divisions made their stances known, all around 9:00am EST on Tuesday.

Prominently, this included Disney+, which Instagrammed a statement:

“Disney+ stands by our LGBTQIA+ employees, colleagues, families, storytellers, and fans, and we strongly denounce all legislation that infringes on the basic human rights of people in the LGBTQIA+ community — especially legislation that targets and harms young people and their families. We strive to create a service that reflects the world in which we live, and our hope is to be a source for inclusive, empowering, and authentic stories that unite us in our shared humanity.”

Hulu made a similar call to all “Hulugans,” which they called to come together with nearly identical language.

FX and ESPN echoed similar words.

These news followed reports that Disney planned to hold a town-hall meeting for employees on Monday, all while DeSantis is expected to put his signature on the bill and make it Florida law.

Rachel Zegler has finally been invited to the Oscars. Yes, it took the internet rallying to her side following the news that she was being left out of the awards show despite being the lead in West Side Story, which is nominated for Best Picture. But better late than never, probably. According to reports, the Academy has asked Zegler to be a presenter and wheels are in motion to make that happen ahead of Sunday’s ceremony. Via The Hollywood Reporter:

The 20-year-old Latina actress is currently in London shooting Disney’s live-action remake of Snow White. THR hears that efforts are being undertaken to rearrange the film’s shooting schedule to enable Zegler to be at the Oscars.

As for why Zegler was never invited to the Oscars in the first place, the fault reportedly lies with Disney/20th Century Fox. According to Variety, The Walt Disney Company should’ve provided her with a ticket, but for some reason, chose not to include the actress even though West Side Story was up for Best Picture. However, the scramble to get Zegler from the London set of Snow White to the awards ceremony would suggest that Disney is attempting to remedy the situation.

Zegler’s lack of an invitation also reached a boiling point on Monday when the Academy revealed a new list of presenters, which oddly included Tony Hawk, Shaun White, and DJ Khaled. That news only further intensified the anger over Zegler not being invited, and apparently, the Academy (and Disney) finally realized it had a situation on its hand.

(Via The Hollywood Reporter)

Nicolas Cage is a bit of an enigma who offers bizarre, one-off details of his life which just makes you want to know more. Cage’s next film, The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent hits theaters next month, and as the release gets closer, we are offered more in-depth glimpses into Cage’s mind through his wonderfully candid interviews. And there are so many questions!

In his cover story with GQ, Cage ‘explained it all,’ by saying everything he has done is always on purpose. “I had some moments that I went off and did some wild stuff, but a lot of that was by design,” the actor told the mag. “I think many people in the public got swept up with an idea of me being kind of a wild madman, which was fun in the beginning.”

Cage insists that he’s actually very down-to-earth: “The misconception that I’m crazy, which people seem to enjoy, the madman or whatever—to which I simply say you can’t survive 43 years in Hollywood or star in over 120 movies if you’re crazy. You’re not going to get bonded. They’re not going to work with you,” he says, adding, “You’ve got to be healthy. My doctor says I have the liver of a 13-year-old choir boy, you know.” We didn’t know, but now we do!

Despite his shenanigans, Cage is also a talented actor who just wants to act, saying he wanted to make “every movie as if it were his last.” Death seems to be on Cage’s mind a lot, and it wouldn’t be a Nic Cage interview without a spectacular story, as he recalls bringing his father’s ashes through security after his death. “Now I’m like a live wire. I don’t want anything to go wrong. I’ve got to accomplish this. And I’m in full-on grief.” When asked to be inspected by security, Cage insists, “No, it’s my dad. It’s not a bomb. It’s my dad.”

Finally, when asked if he would want to host Saturday Night Live, Cage didn’t seem that into it. He has only hosted the show once in 1996, but he has made cameos over the years, most famously alongside Andy Samberg’s impression of his National Treasure persona. Cage revealed the show has asked him to appear this spring, though he seemed on the fence about it. “I feel like saying, ‘Well, why don’t you call Andy Samberg? I mean, I hear he’s available.’” Maybe to be fair the two should host together.