GoneTrending

The Russian invasion of Ukraine continues to tragic effect on our TV screens as one man, Vladimir Putin, pushes to move back into 19th century imperialism. Early on during this war, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy displayed instant folk-hero status by refusing a ride out of the country, and a Ukrainian grandmother became a legend while showing off her own molotov cocktails that she fashioned for when “those Russian sh*ts” arrived. There’s been some levity involved as well, like when people rediscovered that Zelenskyy once voiced Paddington, but some people on social media went too far by dreamcasting Jeremy Renner as Zelenskyy.

Sure, Twitter is gonna Twitter, but it’s something that Last Week Tonight took on while John Oliver saluted the people of Ukraine and declared, “Maybe wait for the actual war to end before we start casting the f*cking movie.” Specifically about Renner, though, Oliver did hand out a barb:

“Spare a thought there for Volodymyr Zelenskyy, he has got enough going on right now without being described as a ‘Jeremy Renner type.’ That’s not a nice thing to say about someone.”

Ouch. Oliver did, however, suggest that Renner could at least step into a future movie while picking up a role in this Kremlin propaganda clip. Soooo, yeah, we can gather that John Oliver is not a Hawkeye fan, but I’m already curious to hear him slip back into TV critic mode with his thoughts on Bridgerton‘s second season when it arrives later this month.

Here’s a clip of Oliver, who also expressed his appreciation for “Molotov Grandma,” proclaiming that “Ukraine citizens have continued to show incredible signs of resistance, proving that they truly are the ‘f*ck around and find out’ country of Eastern Europe” while “total f*cking d*ckhead” Putin continues to push his troops to overtake the country.

In early 2019, Britney Spears canceled her “Britney: Domination” residency in Las Vegas. At the time, she noted she was going to “devote all of her time to her family and their efforts to care for her father during his recovery from a life-threatening illness.” Then, that April, it was reported that Spears checked into a mental health facility. Shortly after that, though, other reports indicated Spears allegedly entered the facility against her will.

Spears ultimately ended up spending about four months there, which she has mentioned before. Now, the pop star has spoken more about that time in an Instagram post from over the weekend.

In the post, she indicates what the experience was like, writing:

“In a world where it’s okay to lock your daughter up and make her work 7 days a week … 8:00 am to 6:00 pm … no days off … 105 people are in and out of a small trailer home weekly … No private baths … seen naked when changing … drugged … can’t even speak or talk … has to be available to the treatment people and show up every day for 10 hours a day … if not will have to stay longer … never given a date on when you can leave … 9:00 pm bed every night … like 8 gallons of blood weekly … this happened to me for 4 months after I worked for my dad and my family for 13 f*cking years … I gave my all when I worked only to be literally thrown away … I was nothing more than a puppet to my family yet to the public I just performed on stage and did what I was told to do … but it was worse than that because it was accepted and approved by the people I loved the most [broken heart emoji] … Looks are deceiving …. I must have it nice on vacations lol !!!! After 13 years damn straight I should go !!!”

She concluded by noting she wants “justice” and that she “won’t stop until something is done to those who harmed me.” Spears wrote, “I was treated less than, demoralized and embarrassed … nobody should ever be treated the way I was …. The reason I bring this up is because ending the conservatorship is a huge deal but come on … THAT’S IT ??? They all got away with it !!! If you’ve ever been in shock for 4 months … threatened for your life … you would be upset too … I’m not done … I want justice and won’t stop until something is done to those who harmed me … and YES I was harmed !!!! This is a message to all who have been threatened for their life … You are NOT ALONE !!!!”

In another post (a video of her dancing), Spears also wrote, “I know I’m not the best dancer, a lot of people make fun of the way I move but honestly as long as I’m moving and expressing my body outwardly in someway at this point … that’s healing to me !!! Therapy is all mind work … I did that 10 hours a day, 7 days a week when I was abused … there’s nothing worse than torture of the mind … I’d rather someone slap my face than f*ck with my mind !!!”

Nicki Minaj took to the comments of that post, writing, “Not the best dancer? BRITNEY! PUT YOUR CROWN BACK ON & LEAVE IT THERE BABY!!!!!! you ARE the best dancer!!! Settled that, what’s next? BIG SAG ENERGY.”

Find Spears’ posts below.

The Nuggets trailed the Pelicans 98-89 with 10 minutes to play when Nikola Jokic re-entered the game, at that point, having a solid but borderline pedestrian performance for the reigning MVP, with 16 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists. From that point forward, Jokic scored 30 points in the next 15 minutes of gameplay to almost single-handedly drag the Nuggets to a win over the surging Pelicans — who had already gotten a bit of divine intervention with a wild Brandon Ingram halftime buzzer-beater.

It was one of the most incredible runs of play you’ll ever see from a player, as he put the Nuggets on his back and carried them past a Pelicans team that played another terrific game and refused to go away. No matter what the Pelicans defense did with Jokic, he found a way to beat them. When left on an island, he went to work and found a bucket. When doubled, he either found an open shooter or cutter, or kicked out to reposition himself on the block or pop out for a three-pointer. In the pick-and-roll game, he popped and dove, finding pockets of space to work in and make himself available to teammates. In transition, he attacked before the Pelicans defense could get set.

Down the stretch, it wasn’t just his scoring that helped the Nuggets close the gap on New Orleans, but he came up with a crucial block as well.

Jokic, fittingly, got to send the game to overtime with a pair of pressure-packed free throws that he calmly knocked down — and then stole the ball and nearly set up a game-winner from Jeff Green, who airballed a hurried push shot in the paint.

In overtime, it was more of the same from Jokic, who hit shot after shot, with the Pelicans ultimately just not being able to keep up with his onslaught.

Jokic finished the game with 46 points, 12 rebounds, 11 assists, four blocks, and three steals on 16-of-22 shooting (3-of-5 from three) in one of his finest performances of another MVP-caliber season. The win keeps the Nuggets 2.5 games ahead of the surging Timberwolves for the 6-seed in the West, while the Pelicans slide to just 1.5 games up on the Blazers for the final play-in spot, suffering their first loss since the break.

The Cleveland Cavaliers picked up a very important win on Sunday night against the Toronto Raptors, as it moved them three games clear of Toronto for the 6-seed in the East and gave them the tiebreaker for the season series with the Raptors.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t all good news for the Cavs as they saw their All-Star center Jarrett Allen leave the game in the first half with a quad contusion that kept him out for the rest of the night. After the game, everyone awaited word on the severity of the injury and whether it’d keep him out for an extended period of time, but Shams Charania of The Athletic brought word of a different injury Allen suffered in the game. Apparently Allen suffered a fractured finger at some point before exiting that had not been previously reported, and per Charania, it will keep him out indefinitely.

Cleveland is already trying to manage a back injury to their other All-Star, Darius Garland, who has returned the the lineup but still has that issue lingering and the Cavs will be looking for spots to get him rest to further heal up. Finding spots to rest Garland gets more difficult if Allen’s out, as Cleveland wouldn’t want to have two of its top players sidelined.

Hopefully Allen is able to make a fairly quick recovery and be back at full strength for the playoffs, but the road to the postseason is significantly bumpier now than the Cavs had hoped for coming out of the All-Star break. In his absence, Ed Davis figures to see an expanded role off the bench, while the defense will lean on Evan Mobley to be the chief anchor in the middle.

The New Orleans Pelicans have been surging of late, winning four in a row entering Sunday to climb solidly into the 10th and final play-in position in the West, two games ahead of Portland.

Leading the way for the Pelicans are Brandon Ingram and trade deadline acquisition CJ McCollum, who have become a terrific 1-2 scoring punch early in their partnership. With Zion Williamson finally making some positive progress in his rehab from foot surgery after a few setbacks, there’s real optimism in New Orleans about this team having a puncher’s chance to snag a playoff spot in the play-in tournament.

Ingram’s growth as a player this season has been particularly notable, as he’s taken serious strides in being a better facilitator and offensive engine, not just serving as a bucket-getter, but as a table-setter for his teammates, posting a career-best 5.5 assists per game. Still, he’s a terrific scorer and sometimes buckets just find him, as happened at the end of the first half in Denver as New Orleans was trying to claw back into the game after a dreadful start.

After getting stripped near midcourt, Ingram fumbled around and finally was able to pick up the ball as the clock ticked towards zero and literally flung the ball, hook shot style, towards the rim. Somehow, he found nothing but net.

The smile at the end tells the whole story as it is one of the funniest successful shots you will ever see on an NBA court. Ingram and the Pelicans will welcome the found money, as it got them three points closer to the Nuggets at the break.

Sunday was a great day to be in the TD Garden in Boston, as Jayson Tatum and Kevin Durant put on a show, dueling for four quarters in what became a 126-120 win for the Celtics.

Tatum’s 54 points were the second-most of his young career, while Durant had 37 as he tried to will the Nets to a win in his second game back from a knee sprain. It was the ideal showdown for the first game of ABC’s Sunday Showcase, as a national spotlight always begs for the best from the league’s stars. However, stealing the show (and some seats) briefly was Glen “Big Baby” Davis, who the cameras cut to courtside for a closeup during the action.

The problem was they went over to Davis at the absolute worst time, as he was getting booted from some baseline seats by the actual owners of them in a rather hysterical moment that the hot mics under the hoop picked up.

Who among us has not tried to slip down into some better seats during a game, and when you’re a former Celtic you have added cover to do so as no one would bat an eye at you having seats with your feet on the floor for a game. Davis played it off like a pro — “Oh these aren’t our seats?” — and stepped on back, but the timing simply could not have been worse for him to get some national TV time.

Thursday night saw a thrilling performance from some of the wide receivers at the NFL Combine in the 40-yard dash, where a quick trigger on the unofficial clock on the NFL Network broadcast briefly made it appear as though we had seen some record-breaking performances.

The official laser times for Baylor’s Tyquan Thornton and Ohio State’s Chris Olave were higher than the 4.21 and 4.26 the unofficial clock showed, and as such John Ross’ record of a 4.22 remained untouched. It appears as though as the weekend has gone on, the NFL Network has erred on the side of caution with their unofficial times, and Sunday a pair of defensive backs broke into the top-5 fastest runs in Combine history after seeing unofficial times bumped up when the official results came through.

Whoever is coaching up the young men in Waco on how to run the best 40s deserves a raise, because Baylor’s Kalon Barnes put up a blistering 4.23 officially (unofficial showed 4.28) to come up one-hundredth of a second shy of Ross’ record.

Tariq Woolen of UTSA wasn’t far behind with a 4.26 official (the unofficial clock had 4.3) as he likewise joined Barnes with one of five fastest times in NFL Combine history.

It put a capper on an impressive weekend of speed in Indianapolis, and while Ross’ record survived another year, it certainly seems like he’ll be under pressure every year as players come in faster and faster.

Nicki Minaj and Drake have collaborated numerous times, especially during their time as artists on Lil Wayne’s Young Money imprint. Their records together include “Moment 4 Life,” “Make Me Proud,” “Up All Night,” “Only,” “No Frauds,” “Seeing Green,” and more. Their most recent collaboration came when Minaj made a brief appearance on Drake’s “Papi’s Home,” off his sixth album, Certified Lover Boy. If another collaboration were to come soon, it would probably be housed on Nicki’s upcoming fifth album. During a quick Q&A with fans on Twitter, Minaj hinted at what a reconnection with Drake might look like.

“We getting a champagne papi collab on this new album?” one person asked Nicki on Twitter. “We actually discussed him EP’ing this new album,” she replied. “That was b4 Seeing Green even came out.”

It remains to be seen whether or not Drake will executive produce Nicki’s next album, but considering that “Seeing Green” was released in May 2020, it appears that the rappers have given the idea some thought. If it does happen, it would be the first album, outside of his own, that Drake’s executive produced in his career.

As for Nicki’s upcoming album, so far she’s given us two tracks that could appear on it: “Do We Have A Problem?” and “Bussin.” Both songs include a guest appearance from Lil Baby.

Taron Egerton had a rocky start to his latest stage appearance. The Rocketman and Kingsman actor (who was AWOL for the latter’s recent prequel) is currently starring in the play Cock in London’s West End. But on its first night, he collapsed towards the end of the show, leading to him being quickly replaced for the remainder. But don’t worry: He says he’s doing fine.

It’s not been revealed what caused the incident, but on Saturday night at Ambassadors Theatre in London, Egerton suddenly fell on stage. According to The Independent, a doctor who was among the audience rushed forth to help. Only 15 mintues remained in the night’s performance, and after a hiatus Edgerton was replaced by his understudy, Joel Harper-Jackson.

After a 40-minute break, Edgerton said he felt “absolutely fine.” On Sunday, the actor took to Instagram to offer elaboration and assurance.

“As some of you may have heard, I passed out during the first performance of COCK last night,” Egerton posted in his Instagram stories. “I am completely fine. Slightly sore neck and a bruised ego but I’m fine. I’ve decided to put a positive spin on it and I would appreciate it if anyone who was in the theatre last night just said that I gave such a committed, electrifying performance that my body couldn’t handle it and checked out.”

He added, “That being said, apparently you’re meant to actually do the full show and not just three quarters of it. So I’ll be back with a vengeance tomorrow night.”

The plot of Cock, written by Mike Bartlett, goes like this, as per Entertainment Weekly:

Bartlett’s Cock centers on a gay man named John (Bridgerton’s Jonathan Bailey) who grapples with his sexuality after he meets and falls in love with a woman (Jade Anouka), upending his relationship with his longtime boyfriend (Egerton). Opening night is set for March 15, with a limited run scheduled through June 4.

(Via The Independent and EW)

March has arrived, which means it is time for college basketball shenanigans to go to another level. Sunday saw a pair of crazy finishes on the men’s and women’s side in the span of half an hour, as the Kentucky women completed a 12-point fourth quarter comeback against No. 1 South Carolina to stun the Gamecocks and win their first SEC title since 1982.

Shortly after that, on the men’s side, things got really weird out in Tulsa, where a missed UCF free throw gave way to the kind of moment that March dreams (and nightmares) are made of, when Jeriah Horne pulled up from well beyond halfcourt with the Golden Hurricane down two, launching one from the “S” in Tulsa, and found nothing but net for a game-winner at the buzzer.

It’s an incredible shot and an incredible call from this announce crew, as the color commentator can only muster a primal scream rather than words to describe what he’s just seen. For Tulsa, who won’t be dancing later this month barring something unforeseen in the AAC tournament, this is the biggest moment of the season and they celebrate as such, as they served up quite the appetizer for the rest of the pandemonium that March provides.