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We all know the story of Kanye West gifting not just his new girlfriend Julia Fox a Birkin for her birthday, but also gifting several more to her friends. That’s a grand gesture if I’ve ever heard of one, and like most epic shopping stunts, it took a professional to pull it off. Anyone with even a slight familiarity with Birkins knows they’re hard to come by, especially the rare ones, so style reporters immediately wanted to know the story behind the bags. Complex Style editor Aria Hughes tracked down Michelle Lovelace, aka Style By Meech and @meechthestylist on Instagram and got the story of her birthday Birkin quest.

Meech was having a tough year already due to Instagram shutting down her account with 100K+ followers, and imposters immediately trying to take over her name afterward. As she was trying to face down the monster task of starting over from scratch, a call from Kanye turned her 2022 around fast. Working at lightning speed to source and vet the rare Birkins that Kanye wanted in just a matter of four days, Meech told Hughes that she flew to several different states to retrieve the bags herself (!) and then personally delivered them to Kanye in New York. But after she lined them up, at first Ye didn’t realize how much work went into Meech’s delivery.

“I lined them up and he was basically like, ‘Cool. Thanks,’” she told Complex. “But then later we were in the lobby with Julia and his assistant was like this is who got the bags, and Julia was like, ‘Oh my God, how did you make this happen? I know these bags are so hard to get.’ And then Kanye looks at me and is like, ‘Wait. These are hard to get and I just dismissed you like that?’ And I was like ‘Yeah.’ And he just gave me a big bear hug. I was freaking out. I was like ‘Oh my God. Kanye just hugged me.’”

We love a happy ending! Check out the full story here and go support Meech by giving her a follow on her new Instagram page right here.

Despite being a disgraced former president reduced to ranting at strangers in resorts in which he now lives, Donald Trump continues to lord over the Republican party. Highers-up still jet down to Mar-A-Lago to kiss his ring; lawmakers being federally investigated over ties to sex trafficking rings still sing his praises. Then there are all those MAGA-fied candidates — cut-rate imitators fighting for his endorsement. But one is perhaps too out-there even for Donald Trump.

As per The Daily Beast, that person is Josh Mandel, a Rand Paul-approved candidate gunning for the Ohio Senate seat soon to be vacated by departing Republican Rob Portman. It’s a crowded race and Mandel — a former representative and state treasurer who BoingBoing dubbed “the most idiotic robot running for Senate in Ohio” — was once the frontrunner. But Trump has wavered on whether or not to formally give him his blessing, in part because people opposed to Mandel keep feeding him dodgy rumors about his “f*cking weird” sex life.

Sources tell The Daily Beast that Trump, a lover of gossip, has “privately regurgitated, often in disgust, a wide range of unverified, often completely unvetted, and lurid rumors about the MAGA candidate.” One source told the publication that Trump “has used the term ‘f*cking weird’ to describe Josh Mandel more than once,” and that he “has talked about [Mandel] and sex in the same sentence more times than I would have liked to hear.” (Reminder, by the way, that Trump has also been credibly accused of sexual misconduct by over two dozen women.)

Details about what those rumors are remain unknown, but it’s not just Mandel’s allegedly salacious sex life that have turned Trump off:

Mandel doesn’t have the right “visuals” or “look,” and could come off poorly on TV. Having met with and talked to Mandel, Trump felt there was just something about Mandel and his personality that rubbed him the wrong way. Also, the former president and current leader of the Republican Party has sensed a conspicuous dearth of “charisma” coming from this particular GOP Senate hopeful.

Still, Trump is known for his unpredictable changes of heart. There are still four months left before the Ohio primary, so who knows if he’ll go with one of the other many Trumpist hopefuls, or if he’ll suddenly decide those questionable rumors about Mandel are actually a plus.

(Via The Daily Beast)

Skrillex has, for the most part, been one of music’s beloved figures. As an early star of the dubstep movement, and a former post-hardcore kid, Sonny Moore has worked with everyone from Diplo to Ellie Goulding, and achieved a lot of success all on his own, but his most recent collaboration has the internet up in arms. Last night, notorious quack “Dr.” Jordan Peterson — whose various, controversial claims have been repeatedly debunked by real scientists and doctors — posted a photo of himself and Skrillex posing together with the caption “Guess who.”

Now, this doesn’t necessarily mean that Skrillex condones everything that Peterson stands for, but it is certainly not the friendship most people would choose to make public. Though Dr. Jordan Peterson was a professor at University Of Toronto up until recently, he retired from the role in January 2022 citing “the appalling ideology of diversity, inclusion and equity” that is “demolishing education and business.” This is from an op-ed he himself wrote, and that is up in the dek, so needless to say it encapsulates his views to a T. So yes, Skrillex fans are pretty unhappy, but some are just here to get the jokes off. Check out some the reactions below.

Last fall, the usually very articulate Awkwafina struggled to answer a question about perhaps the only controversial thing about her: her use of what’s been dubbed a “blaccent.” In movies like Crazy Rich Asians and Ocean’s 8, the actress and rapper partook in the sketchy tradition wherein non-Black people adopt a stereotypical Black voice. Now, a handful of years later, she’s finally addressing it.

In a lengthy statement dropped on her Twitter feed Saturday morning, Awkwafina began by addressing the “historical context of the African American community in this country.” She wrote about how “a group that is disproportionately affected by institutionalized policies and law enforcement policies – all the while having historically and routinely seen their culture stolen, exploited and appropriated by the *dominant* culture for monetary gain without acknowledgment nor respect for where those roots come from.”

Awkwafina then tried to clarify her position in all this. “But as a non-Black POC, I stand by the fact that I will always listen and work tirelessly to understand the history and context of AAVE [African American Vernacular English], what is deemed appropriate or backwards toward the progress of ANY and EVERY marginalized group,” she wrote. “But I must emphasize: To mock, belittle, or to be unkind in any way possible at the expense of others is: Simply. Not. My. Nature. It never has, and it never was.”

She continued:

“My immigrant background allowed me to carve an American identity off the movies and TV shows I watched, the children I went to public school with, and my undying love and respect for hip hop. I think as a group, Asian Americans are still trying to figure out what that journey means for them – what is correct and where they don’t belong. And though I’m still learning and doing that personal work, I know for sure that I want to spend the rest of my career doing nothing but uplifting our communities. We do this first by failing, learning, acknowledging, hearing and empathizing… And I will continue, tirelessly, to do just that,”

A couple hours later, Awkwafina returned with another announcement. “”Well, I’ll see you in a few years, Twitter – per my therapist,” she wrote. “To my fans, thank you for continuing to love and support someone who wishes they could be a better person for you. I apologize if I ever fell short, in anything I did. You’re in my heart always.”

She then clarified that she was not retiring from the entertainment industry, just from the “ingrown toenail that is Twitter,” and that she will “avail” herself “on all other socials that don’t tell you to kill yourself!”

So we’ll be hearing from Awkwafina again, and we don’t mean a postcard.

(Via People)

Towards the end of 2020, Wizkid released Made In Lagos, his long-awaited fourth album, which produced “Essence,” his collaboration with Tems that went on to become one of the big songs of the summer of 2021. The track was later remixed with a verse from Justin Bieber, which further boosted the song’s appeal. That remix appeared on a deluxe reissue of the album, which also featured another fan-favorite record: “Mood,” with rising Nigerian singer Buju.

Months after sharing the deluxe album, Wizkid and Buju bring their talents together in a new video for “Mood.” It’s a vibrant effort that features Wizkid and Buju having a grand ol’ time together as they show off some dance moves. Wizkid also gets whisked away by a woman who does a great job of grabbing his attention.

Wizkid’s newest video comes after he and Burna Boy connected for one for the celebratory track “B. D’OR“. He’s also set to bring his talents to Puerto Rico’s 2022 Afro Nation festival, which is set to go down next month. Megan Thee Stallion, Burna Boy, Tems, Ckay, Koffee, Naira Marley, Rema, Tekno, and more are expected to perform.

You can watch the video for “Mood” above.

Made In Lagos (Deluxe) is out now via RCA Records. You can stream it here.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

The majority of Republicans haven’t been participating with the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. But they haven’t been content with simply doing nothing. Some have spent months either downplaying the violent attack, even publicly condemning the investigation. On Friday they went even further still, censuring the two lone Republicans on the committee and actually declaring that the Capitol storming was “legitimate political discourse.”

As per The New York Times, the Republican National Committee, when faced with a former leader who continues to spread the voter lies that led to the attack (and is now even slamming his ex-veep), decided to go after party members who are trying to ensure such a thing never happens again. They voted to formally censure Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, both die hard Republicans and both people who have refused to whitewash over Trump’s actions. (Cheney was infamously stripped of some of her power by her own party last year.)

In a statement, they condemned Cheney and Kinzinger for collaborating with Democrats over what they called the “persecution of ordinary citizens engaged in legitimate political discourse.”

After the vote, certain Republicans attempted to clarify their language to make it seem like they weren’t condoning the violent assault, which left five dead and dozens of police officers injured. That didn’t go so well.

“Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger crossed a line,” said Ronna McDaniel, the Republican National Committee chairwoman. “They chose to join Nancy Pelosi in a Democrat-led persecution of ordinary citizens who engaged in legitimate political discourse that had nothing to do with violence at the Capitol.” (Mind you, the investigation is largely focused on the violence at the Capitol.)

The GOP’s extraordinary statement, which found the party further aligning itself with a loose cannon who was gorging on McDonald’s while sick with COVID, did not go unnoticed by several people in power, among them Cheney herself.

Others treated it with gallows humor.

And so the party that a very long time ago ended slavery are now parroting the dubious claims of Tucker Carlson.

(Via NYT)

On Friday, Nicki Minaj released her first single of the year, “Do We Have A Problem?” with Lil Baby. The track arrived with quite the cinematic music video, which showed the rappers as criminals who trick their enemies to complete a crime. The video also featured an appearance from Joseph Sikora, who plays Tommy Egan on Power and Power Book IV: Force. Prior to the song’s release, Nicki was a guest on the DJ Buck & Friends podcast, where she spoke about her son and how motherhood has changed her life.

“When I look at my son, sometimes when I’m stressing about something, I look at my son and I realize, ‘What are you mad at? Look at what God blessed you with,” Nicki said. “This is the ultimate blessing of the universe. There’s no greater blessing. There’s none. You can’t think of one greater blessing that the universe gives us as human beings. So I will just say that it’s been a great experience.”

She later made note of one thing she won’t let her son do in the future. “I’m learning a lot, I’m laughing a lot,” she added. “He’s a show-off, but I’m not letting him rap. I’m not letting him do nothing about no music.”

Nicki’s comments come after she delivered a pretty impressive Adele impression during an appearance on The Late Late Show With James Corden

You can listen to the full episode of the here.

On Friday, former vice president Mike Pence did the unthinkable: He dared say his ex-bestie Donald Trump was “wrong” about something. At a Federalist Society gathering in Florida, Pence addressed Trump’s dubious claims that he had the power to decertify the 2020 election on Jan. 6 of last year. He did not, so he did not, and he said as much very clearly. Did Trump resist the temptation to angrily respond? Of course not.

At the event, Pence addressed the elephant in the room: Trump’s recent comments about him, including as he put it, that in his old gig he “possessed unilateral authority to reject Electoral College votes.” Not so, he correctly stated. “President Trump is wrong. I had no right to overturn the election,” Pence said. “The presidency belongs to the American people, and the American people alone. Frankly, there is almost no idea more un-American than the notion that any one person could choose the American president.”

Hours later, Trump responded by way of his poorly copy edited press releases.

“Just saw Mike Pence’s statement on the fact that he had no right to do anything with respect to the Electoral Vote Count, other than being an automatic conveyor belt for the Old Crow Mitch McConnell to get Biden elected President as quickly as possible,” Trump wrote. “Well, the Vice President’s position is not an automatic conveyor if obvious signs of voter fraud or irregularities exist.”

Trump then doubled down on his dodgy claim that because certain lawmakers are trying to clarify certain laws, it’s an admission that Pence could have overturned the election:

“That’s why the Democrats and RINOs are working feverishly together to change the very law that Mike Pence and his unwitting advisors used on January 6 to say he had no choice. The reason they want it changed is because they now say they don’t want the Vice President to have the right to ensure an honest vote. In other words, I was right and everyone knows it. If there is fraud or large scale irregularities, it would have been appropriate to send those votes back to the legislatures to figure it out. The Dems and RINOs want to take that right away. A great opportunity lost, but not forever, in the meantime our Country is going to hell!”

Another chipper missive from everyone’s favorite optimist.

For Pence, his address on Friday was the strongest rebuke he’s yet made to his former president. Mind you, he’s never rebuked him publicly, even after his violent supporters wanted to hang him outside the Capitol building.

(Via The Hill)

Rolling Stone is taking a step into the music festival world. The publication recently announced that it purchased a majority stake in Las Vegas’ Life Is Beautiful festival. The estate of Zappos’ ex-chief executive officer Tony Hsieh, who founded the Vegas festival, will retain a piece of the business and the terms of the deal have not yet been revealed. The publication’s CEO, Gus Wenner, made the purchase in order to curate an events business to complement the editorial side of the company. Wenner reached out to Hsieh in June 2020 and the two worked out a deal before Hsieh died later that year.

The festival will retain the name Life Is Beautiful, but Rolling Stone will look for ways to incorporate the company into the showcase. One example includes naming one of the festival stages after the publication. David Oehm, the new CEO of Life Is Beautiful, will continue to run the festival with his team. “Live events and experiential are so much a part of the future of publishing,” Wenner said in an interview, according to Bloomberg. He hopes to build the business in a way that will allow Rolling Stone to be as relevant to music fans today as it was in the past.

Life Is Beautiful was originally founded in 2013 as a part of Hsieh’s plan to revitalize downtown Las Vegas. The Killers and Kings of Leon headlined the first edition, and since then it’s grown to be a three-day event. The most recent edition of Life Is Beautiful was held in September of 2021.

It’s been quite a week-and-a-half for Joe Rogan. The NewsRadio alum-turned-controversial podcaster is singlehandedly responsible for a growing exodus from the streamer Spotify, with artists demanding their music be removed over his repeated spreading of dangerous COVID misinformation. (Staffers are also very unhappy.) He’s done the unexpected and apologized for his actions, and on Friday night he was on mea culpa duty again, this time for another infraction.

As per Page Six, a video went viral on Friday showing a compilation of Rogan dropping the N-word — said in full every time — over and over again on The Joe Rogan Experience. It was even shared by India.Arie, one of the artists who joined the likes of Neil Young and Joni Mitchell in demanding Spotify erase their work.

It prompted Rogan to again take to Instagram to record a video apology. In it, he called the video “the most regretful and shameful thing I’ve ever had to talk about publicly.” Though he pointed out the clips were “out of context” bits spanning “12 years of conversations,” he did admit it “looks f*cking horrible. Even to me.”

He continued: “I know that to most people, there is no context where a white person is ever allowed to say that word, nevermind publicly on a podcast, and I agree with that now. I haven’t said it in years.”

Rogan did claim that he never used the word in a racist manner, that he was only using it in the context of whatever conversation he was having. But, he admitted, it was a mistake not to censor himself: “Instead of saying ‘the N-word,’ I would just say the word. I thought as long as it was in context, people would understand what I was doing.”

The word, he said, was fascinating to him. “It’s a very unusual word, but it’s not my word to use,” Rogan said. “I never used it to be racist, because I’m not racist, but whenever you’re in a situation where you have to say ‘I’m not racist,’ you’ve f–ked up, and I clearly have f–cked up.”

He also addressed a clip of him discussing visiting a Black neighborhood in Philadelphia, which he described as “Planet of the Apes.” “I was trying to make the story entertaining,” Rogan said. “I did not, nor did I ever say that black people are apes, but it sure f*cking sounded like that.” He added, “It wasn’t a racist story, but it sounded terrible.”

After Rogan’s first apology on Sunday, artists continued to leave Spotify in protest. He’s had a few defenders, though, most prominently Jon Stewart.

(Via Page Six)