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While filming Suicide Squad, Jared Leto famously went full Joker. You never want to go full Joker. He gifted Margot Robbie “the biggest black rat you could imagine,” and while promoting the movie at CinemaCon 2016, the actor said he presented “anal beads” and “used condoms” to “everybody” on set to “create a dynamic.” Leto now claims that he never did that (“99.9 percent of what people read is bullsh*t,” he told Entertainment Weekly as if he wasn’t the one who started the rumor), which would be easier to believe if Leto didn’t always take method acting to the extreme, including for Morbius.

“I almost never saw [Leto] getting into the role, it was more that Michael Morbius was on set,” director Daniel Espinosa told GamesRadar. “The moment he would exit his trailer, it would no longer be Jared Leto, and he would not want to be spoken to as Jared Leto.” He went on to praise Leto for being a “very committed actor” who’s “right in many ways.”

One such way: giving the best performance in House of Gucci, even with the most cartoonishly exaggerated Italian accent you’ve ever heard. He didn’t deserve a Razzie; he should have been nominated for an Oscar (I am being 97 percent serious here). Leto, as they say, understood the assignment.

After years of delays, Morbius finally comes out this Friday, April 1.

(Via GamesRadar)

As promised, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has launched a formal review of Will Smith slapping Chris Rock on stage at the Oscars shortly after the comedian made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith. The incident has caused a significant amount of concern due to it overshadowing the other nominees — because one of the biggest movie stars in the world smacked a man on live TV and in front of hundreds of in-the-room eyewitnesses. On top of that, he was allowed to stay and give a speech, later after winning Best Actor. It was all very surreal.

To assuage concerns, the Academy sent a letter to members on Tuesday, which took a strong stance against Smith’s actions tarnishing the Oscars ceremony. The letter also confirmed a formal review is in process, but it’s gonna take a minute. Via The Hollywood Reporter:

To be clear, we condemn Mr. Smith’s actions that transpired Sunday night. As outlined in our bylaws, the Academy’s Board of Governors will now make a determination on appropriate action for Mr. Smith. As governed by California law regarding members of nonprofit organizations like the Academy, and set forth in our Standards of Conduct, this must follow an official process that will take a few weeks.

The letter also asks members to “respect your Board, Academy staff and the process,” which no doubt stems from the internal rift over how The Slap was handled. While some members feel the matter is best left to Smith and Rock to resolve personally (which, according to Diddy, they have), others have voiced their opinion that Smith should’ve been escorted out of the building immediately.

“Someone else should have accepted his award,” Academy branch member Rutanya Alda told THR. “Why did he get a pass?”

(Via The Hollywood Reporter)

(Moon Knight spoilers will be found below.)

Moon Knight is upon us, and as promised by Kevin Feige, it’s far more “brutal” than anything we’ve ever seen before in the MCU. It’s also, overall, very unlike any other Disney+ show in its stunning depth, evident already in the first episode. It’s truly the “Oscar Isaac power hour,” which is how our own Mike Ryan put it, and my goodness, what a showcase of Isaac’s talents that show’s turning out to be. The show’s full of chaos and trippy moments, and Oscar Isaac might be Space Daddy, but he’s really going through the paces here while playing a character with dissociative identity disorder.

Ethan Hawke, so far, is also (unsurprisingly) captivating as his David Koresh-esque cult leader/villain whose full intents are (of course) not yet clear, but there’s one character who people already can’t get enough of.

I’m not talking about the two main Isaac splits (so far), mild-mannered Steven Grant and mercenary Marc Spector, although that dynamic is highly memeable with the mirror thing going on, which provides for some of the more stunning visuals (not actually Kermit).

Nope, I’m referring to the character who’s mocking the hell out of poor Steven and clearly preferring Marc. You know, that character with the booming voice (F. Murray Abraham) who happens to be an Egyptian deity. That would be Khonshu. He’s already far more intriguing than many MCU antagonists and feels like he’d be right at home next to a miffed Wanda Maximoff. Khonshu is a god, sure, but he’s also an outcast, and he has no patience whenever Steven’s in charge of Oscar Isaac’s body instead of Marc.

The effect of Khonshu calling Steven an “idiot” and a “worm” and a “parasite” is quite funny, although he’s not used as mere comic relief. There’s much more behind the exasperated tone, but for now, people are having a hell of a time with Khonshu hating on Steven. You gotta feel for Steven while the mystery begins to unfurl, right? But Khonshu’s scoring tons of points already for providing the momentum and the mockery.

There’s also this suggestion of more alters to come, with even Khonshu appearing a little bit confused in brief moments. As far as debuts go, this show has ’em hooked.

Disney+’s Moon Knight is currently streaming on Disney+

Donald Trump is not known for his subtlety. Despite the fact that he has a very long string of failed and bankrupted businesses on his resume (sorry, Trump Steaks), he still approaches each new venture with gusto—and the bravado of a man who hasn’t declared bankruptcy a whopping six times. Such was the case with TRUTH Social, the social network created for Trump by Trumpers that he loudly and proudly announced in October 2021.

Nearly six months and several disastrous “launches” later, the shady AF website—which Don Jr. promised us was “gonna be awesome”—seems to hurriedly be digging its own plot in Trump’s graveyard of failed businesses. While it certainly doesn’t help that even Trump has only posted on it a whole one time, general interest in the network has pretty much disappeared, too. As The Wrap reports, the laughably named TRUTH has seen a dramatic 93 percent drop in signups since its official launch in February.

As Antoinette Siu writes for The Wrap:

After going live on President’s Day, the Twitter-lookalike app saw installs decline by more than 800,000 since its launch week, according to Sensor Tower. Installs on the Apple app store this month have fallen to about 60,000 per week, based on early estimates.

“This is down 93% from its launch week, when it saw 872,000 installs during the week of Feb. 21,” Stephanie Chan, mobile insights strategist at Sensor Tower, told TheWrap. “We estimate that Truth Social has so far reached approximately 1.2 million installs since its launch.”

While there’s no official data on how much traffic the site is actually getting, The Wrap looked at stats from Similarweb, which showed that at its height, 6 million people visited the site during its launch week (some of them presumably lookie-loos just wanting to see how the site was running and what people were talking about). That traffic has dropped to less than 2 million visitors per week.

While Team Trump did not respond to a request for comment on The Wrap’s story, Trump himself has reportedly been complaining about the site’s abject failure. The Daily Beast learned from sources that the former president has been heard “on the phone swearing gratuitously and asking things like, ‘What the f*ck is going on’ with TRUTH Social?”

What the f*ck indeed.

(Via The Wrap)

What’s the Russian word for ‘Oops’? Less than one week ago, Donald Trump filed a civil lawsuit against Hillary Clinton, the DNC, and others for purportedly “destroy[ing] his life” by “weav[ing] a false narrative” that the former president “was colluding with a hostile foreign sovereignty” (a.k.a. Russia). Meanwhile, yesterday Trump publicly asked Putin to dig up dirt on the Biden family, and, as The Daily Beast’s Julia Davis shared, popular Kremlin TV personality Evgeny Popov is urging his viewers to convince Americans that our country needs a regime change “and to again help our partner Trump to become President.”

Help. Partner. Trump. President. Again?!?

The urgency of the request, which was made on Russia’s propaganda TV, is presumably a reaction to some off-the-cuff comments President Joe Biden made this weekend while addressing the world about the Russia Ukraine War, as Mediaite reports.

After describing Vladimir Putin as a “dictator bent on rebuilding an empire,” Biden expressed his goal of the world having “a different future—a brighter future rooted in democracy and principle, hope and light, of decency and dignity, of freedom and possibilities.” But Joe got a little wrapped up in the moment, and added in a little “For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power,” which some people understood as a call to remove Putin by whatever means necessary—which the White House later walked back.

As NPR reports, the White House issued a statement clarifying that, “The President’s point was that Putin cannot be allowed to exercise power over his neighbors or the region. He was not discussing Putin’s power in Russia, or regime change.”

No such walk-back has so far been made by the Kremlin or their “partner” Trump’s team over Popov’s comments about coming to the former president’s aid—again!

(Via Mediaite)

Following a series of concerning posts over the past week, rapper Chika has announced via Twitter that she will take a hiatus from social media. In a series of tweets, she shared she plans “to take some time away to get better.” This Twitter thread comes after the “Industry Games” rapper shared via her Instagram Story plans to end her life.

After sharing the Instagram story, several of her peers in the industry, including Latto and Monaleo, expressed their support for Chika. Before her taking a break online, she took to Twitter this morning to apologize for worrying her fans and “lashing out to people who tried to send love.”

“the mind has a sick way of making you feel like everyone is against you when they are not,” she said. “i’ve felt alone for such a long time- so the feeling of arms wrapped around me, trying to uplift me is foreign. i know i triggered many of you, and i am sorry for that as well. i wish less people could relate. it doesn’t feel good to be the person unearthing so many people’s unspoken pain.”

Chika said none of the feelings she shared over the past few days were related to social media, but also feels “being online absolutely does not help.” She admitted she still doesn’t feel better, but thanked her fans for their support.

“no more sharing for now,” she said. “i know i need tangible help and support, so that is my priority right now. please take care of yourselves and each other. life is not fun or easy, but hopefully it can be at least ‘doable.’ love you. see you soon.”

Find Chika’s tweets below.

Chika is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Donald Glover has kept busy with Atlanta and various other acting endeavors in recent years, and all the while, Childish Gambino fans have been wanting more new music. Glover’s latest album was 2020’s 3.15.20 and now he tells Jimmy Kimmel he’s been working on new music since then.

Towards the end of the conversation, Kimmel asked Glover if he was working on a new Childish Gambino album. After pausing for applause, Glover replied, “Uh, no,” before quickly indicating he was joking. He continued, “I’m making a lot of music. I really love doing it. I’ve made a bunch of it. It’s just really about how to experience it at this point.”

Glover didn’t specifically say he was making music to be released under the Childish Gambino name, which is noteworthy given his recent history: He suggested on multiple occasions he would be retiring the moniker but has since indicated he may not be finished with Childish Gambino after all.

Meanwhile, he also noted that his process of making music has changed since becoming a father, saying:

“It used to just flow, but now I have kids. Nothing flows anymore. […] Nothing’s as easy as it used to be. So I do block off time now because I’m like, ‘Oh, I want to be here for them at this time, and I want to make sure I see his game, and I want to make…’ So that takes a lot of scheduling. But I have this kind of farm, I call it, where it’s like an art farm, where I just like… when I go there, then I get to be as ADD as I want.”

Watch the full interview above.

The reactions to Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars continue to roll in. Judd Apatow called it “embarrassing” and “dangerous,” Jim Carrey was “sickened” by the post-slap standing ovation Smith received after winning Best Actor, Zoe Kravitz referred to the Oscars as a “show where we are apparently assaulting people on stage now,” Alec Baldwin got involved because of course Alec Baldwin got involved, and so on.

The Slap has even made its way to the White House, where Joe Biden’s communications director Kate Bedingfield was asked what the president thinks about “the biggest story right now.”

“You saw the level of violence that was unleashed on Chris Rock. Is that something that the White House condones — that type of violence? Do you condemn it? And do you do anything to support comedians who have been attacked and other artists?” Today News Africa’s Simon Ateba asked Bedingfield, who’s filling in Jen Psaki while she recovers from COVID-19. She replied, “I don’t have any official comment from the White House on the altercation. I know the president was not able to watch the Oscars. Didn’t see it. So I don’t have any official comment from him or from the White House on this.”

Anyone hoping for Biden to call Smith a “jackass,” like Barack Obama did with Kanye West 10 years ago, sorry but you’re out of luck. Instead, most people are disappointed that a multi-millionaire slapping another multi-millionaire was referred to as “the biggest story right now” when there are much bigger stories happening.

In the days since the untimely passing of Foo Fighters member Taylor Hawkins, people from all over the music landscape have taken time to pay tribute to the drummer. Now one of the biggest artists in the history of popular music, Paul McCartney, has chimed in by reminiscing about the times he’s worked with Foo Fighters and paying Hawkins some major compliments.

The former Beatle shared a photo of himself with Hawkins and wrote:

“Taylor’s sudden death came as a shock to me and the people who knew and loved him.⁣
⁣
Not only was he a GREAT drummer but his personality was big and shiny and will be sorely missed by all who were lucky to live and work alongside him.⁣
⁣
I was asked by the Foo Fighters to play on one of their tracks. It turned out that they wanted me to play drums! — on one of Taylor’s songs. This request came from a group with TWO amazing drummers! It was an incredible session and cemented my relationship with Taylor and the guys. Later they asked if I would induct them into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I sang with them on ‘Get Back’. Taylor provided a powerhouse drum part. I’ll never forget that night. All of which made it much more of a desperately sad shock to hear he had died. So thanks Taylor for sharing some glorious minutes with me. You were a true Rock and Roll hero and will always remain in my heart.⁣
⁣
God bless his family and band – Love Paul X.”

Find McCartney’s post below.

Kelly Lee Owens’ 2020 album Inner Song expanded the possibilities of what electronic music is capable of. The British producer wove in her interstellar vocals into highly danceable productions that were forged deeply in IDM and it vaulted Owens as an artist. So much so, that she was tabbed to create the song for the 2023 Women’s World Cup, in “Unity.”

Now Owens has announced her follow-up to Inner Song in the form on LP.8, which comes out on April 29th. She has also shared the first two tracks from the album in the hypnotic “Olga” and the frenetically-paced “Sonic 8.”

Written and recorded during the pandemic in snowy Oslo, Norway, Owens worked with producer Lasse Marhaug on the album for subconsciously-inspired creations that toe the line between ambient music, Celtic chants, and avant-garde noise productions.

“For me, 8 meant completion — an album that will ripple infinitely with me personally,” Owens said in a statement.

Listen to “Olga” and “Sonic 8” above. Check out the album artwork and tracklist for LP.8 below as well as Kelly Lee Owens’ upcoming Europe and Australia tour dates.

1. “Release”
2. “Voice”
3. “Anadlu”
4. “S.O (2)”
5. “Olga”
6. “Nana Piano”
7. “Quickening”
8. “One”
9. “Sonic 8”

06/03 — Melbourne, AU @ Rising Festival Hub
06/04 — Sydney, AU @ Motorik [DJ Set]
06/15 — Milan, IT @ Magnolia Fest
06/19 — Dublin, IE @ Body & Soul Festival
06/25 — Bristol, UK @ Bristol Sounds
07/02 — Roskilde, DK @ Roskilde Festival
07/08 — Bilbao, ES @ Bilbao BBK Live Fest
07/10 — Modena, IT @ Artivive Festival
07/22 — Macclesfield, UK @ Bluedot
07/23 — Hertfordshire, UK @ Standon Calling Festival
07/30 — London, UK @ South Facing
07/31 — Sicily, IT @ Ortigia Sound System Festival (DJ Set)
08/20 — Hasselt, BE @ Pukkelpop
08/21 — Biddinghuizen, NE @ Lowlands Festival

LP.8 is out 4/29 via Smalltown Supersound. Pre-order it here.