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When Trey Parker and Matt Stone inked a cartoonishly lucrative deal to keep making South Park for Paramount through 2027, they didn’t set themselves an easy task. They didn’t only promise new episodes; they agreed to do a whopping 14 movies exclusive to the company’s newish streamer. The first one dropped over Thanksgiving, ending on a cliffhanger. But fans won’t have to wait much longer to see how it turned out.

As per Deadline, the follow-up to the special known as Post Covid — entitled, naturally, Post Covid: Covid Returns — was due some time in December. If you thought it wouldn’t be released till Christmas, you were wrong. It’s coming out a bit sooner than that, on Thursday, December 16.

South Park Studios went on hiatus at the start of the pandemic, making no new episodes, save a pair of specials, which, of course, dealt with the once-in-a-century public health crisis that continues to upend our world. Post Covid jumped 40 years into the future, revealing that our perpetual elementary students because, in some cases, angry, bitter middle-aged men. The most successful of the group was either Kenny, who became a brilliant scientist but who appears to be dead. Or maybe it’s Cartman, who inexplicably went from a raving anti-Semite to a godly rabbi, to the shock of many.

Here’s how Paramount+ describes Covid Returns: “If Stan, Kyle and Cartman could just work together, they could go back in time to make sure Covid never happened and save Kenny’s life. In South Park: Post Covid: Covid Returns, traveling back to the past seems to be the easy answer until they meet Victor Chaos.”

Will the world of South Park wind up living in a world that nipped COVID in the bud at birth? Is Cartman actually, as Kyle suggests, faking being a reverent Jew to “f*ck” with him? Find out on December 16 on Paramount+.

(Via Deadline)

Wizkid and Tems have been riding the success of their hit record “Essence” for more than a year now. The song, which appears on the former’s album Made In Lagos, was released in late 2020 and since then, the duo has pushed the song to heights that few afrobeats records have reached before. In a matter of months, “Essence” became the first Nigerian song to chart on the Billboard Hot 100. It would enter the top ten of the chart thanks to a remix from Justin Bieber, which helped to boost the song’s popularity. Now, the two have brought their talents to late-night TV.

The pair stopped by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to dazzle with the latest performance of their breakout song. Per usual, they were excellently dressed for the performance, which took place on a big concert stage draped in blue and purple lighting.

Their latest rendition of the track comes after last week, when Wizkid invited Tems to take the stage with him at London’s O2 arena in front of a massive crowd.

Their The Tonight Show performance comes after Wizkid and Tems signed on to perform at Portugal’s Afronation festival next summer. They’ll be joined by Burna Boy, Megan Thee Stallion, Ckay, Koffee, Rema, Tekno, and more.

You can watch Wizkid and Tems perform “Essence” above.

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

It’s been two months since Dave Chappelle released The Closer, and the fallout over some of its content — namely, his undying penchant for trans jokes — can still be felt. The special, his latest (and perhaps last) for Netflix, has been condemned since it dropped. It inspired a walkout from the streamer’s trans employees. It led to one of them being suspended, unsuspended, then resigning. Chappelle bragged about loving the controversy, and had no qualms about trashing a bunch of high schoolers when they called him out.

Now he’s received another, very passionate deconstruction of exactly why people worry that Chappelle’s trans jokes are so dangerous. It comes from Wil Wheaton, alum of Star Trek: The Next Generation and Stand by Me. The actor and writer is no stranger to sharing heartwarming and/or heartbreaking things over social media. When he opened up about the Chappelle controversy, it was a combination of heartbreaking and heartwarming.

On Facebook, Wheaton posted a lengthy entry about why he feels “strongly” about “people like Chapelle making transphobic comments that are passed off as jokes.” To do so, he shared a story from when he was 16. He played hockey every night at a local rink and one night he befriended a bunch of fellow players. In the locker room, the young, not terribly enlightened (yet still sensitive) Wheaton unthinkingly made a homophobic joke — not realizing that everyone around him was gay.

To his credit, Wheaton quickly realized the error of his ways:

I was so embarrassed and horrified. I realized I had basically said the N word, in context, and I didn’t know what to do. I wanted to disappear. I wanted to apologize, I wanted to beg forgiveness.

The hockey players attempted to set him right, but Wheaton fumbled that attempt, trying to lie his way out of it, to save his “pride and ignorance.” In the end, the hockey players didn’t say another word to him and he hurried and left without saying a word, ashamed of himself then, ashamed of himself now.

One reason Wheaton made that homophobic joke? Because he’d learned it by watching comedy specials. In particular, he learned it from Eddie Murphy Delirious, the comic and actor’s legendary, barnburning — and also incredibly homophobic — HBO comedy special from 1983. Today, Wheaton acknowledges that the show’s gay jokes are “just f*cking appalling and inexcusable.” But he didn’t think that when he was young and impressionable:

Young Wil, who watched this with his suburban white upper middle class friends, in his privileged bubble, thought it was the funniest, edgiest, dirtiest thing he’d ever heard. It KILLED him. And all of it was dehumanizing to gay men. All of it was cruel. All of it was bigoted. All of it was punching down. And I didn’t know any better. I accepted the framing, I developed a view of gay men as predatory, somehow less than straight men, absolutely worthy of mockery and contempt. Always good for a joke, though.

Let me put this another way: A comedian who I thought was one of the funniest people on the planet totally normalized making a mockery of gay people, and because I was a privileged white kid, raised by privileged white parents, there was nobody around me to challenge that perception. For much of my teen years, I was embarrassingly homophobic, and it all started with that comedy special.

Wheaton sees much the same thing happening with Chappelle’s trans jokes:

So this stuff that Chapelle did? That all these Cishet white men are so keen to defend? I believe them when they say that it’s not a big deal. Because it’s not a big deal TO CISHET WHITE DUDES. But for a transgender person, those “jokes” normalize hateful, ignorant, bigoted behavior towards them. Those “jokes” contribute to a world where transgender people are constantly under threat of violence, because transgender people have been safely, acceptably, dehumanized.

It’s a beautiful post, which you can read in full on Wheaton’s Facebook page.

Disclaimer: While all of the products recommended here were chosen independently by our editorial staff, Uproxx may receive payment to direct readers to certain retail vendors who are offering these products for purchase.

Welcome to SNX DLX, our weekly roundup of the best sneakers to hit the market. There are only three SNX DLXs left in this calendar year and I’m sorry to say that at this point we’re totally scrapping the bottom of the barrel. There are still some key sneaker releases that are worth your time, but for the most part, 2021 is done as far as dope sneaker releases go. And generally, the big sneaker brands don’t come running out the gate as soon as the calendar switches years so if your wallet has been starved due to the holiday season, good news! We’re all going to get a bit of a break for about a month.

Unless of course, you’re a big Jordan, Yeezy, or Nike Dunk fan… Oh, that’s everybody? You don’t say. Even though the big release season is over this week still brings some pretty fresh pairs, like the Cool Grey Jordan 11, a new Casablanca New Balance collaboration, and the latest Yeezys. We’ve got all that and more in this week’s SNX, so let’s dive in!

Nike Women’s Dunk Low Golden Gals

If you’re wondering why Nike is dropping a handful of sneakers this week under this Golden Gals name, we couldn’t tell you. I have no idea why Nike is going with this name, it isn’t, unfortunately, a tie-in with the ‘80s sitcom Golden Girls, even if I think Betty White could totally rock these kicks.

The Golden Gals series is inspired by today’s makeup trends, according to Nike. Whatever, I’m into it, they look like the perfect pair of Dunks to rock if you’re attending a casual New Year’s Eve party. They sparkle without being too flashy.

The Nike Women’s Dunk Low Golden Gals is set to drop on December 9th for a retail price of $110. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.

Nike Women’s Air Max 97 Golden Gals

I didn’t even bring up the weirdest thing about our previous entry, the Golden Gals Dunk. The fact that it’s not gold. See what I mean about these weird naming conventions? Why Didn’t Nike just call it “The Sparkle Collection” or something? Whatever, if we sit here and think about why Nike does any of the weird things they do we’ll be here all day.

If you’re missing the gold, Nike delivered with this Golden Gals version of the Air Max 97. Featuring reflective gold flake leather, this Air Max 97 is the most glamorous iteration of the sneaker to date. It combines the dad-shoe design of the Air Max 97 with a bit of glitz and glamour. We’re here for it.

The Women’s Air Max 97 Golden Gals is set to drop on December 9th for a retail price of $180. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.

Sacai x KAWS Blazer Low Purple Dusk

Famed designer Chitose Abe has been hard at work this year dropping a handful of waffle-style kicks and Abe’s Sacai is back this week with a new linkup between the brand, Nike, and the Brooklyn artist KAWS.

Featuring the typical waffle design Abe is known for, this Purple Dusk Blazer uses contrasting hues reminiscent of KAWS URGE art series, over one of Nike’s most recognizable sneaker silhouettes. The result feels like a true balance between Abe, KAWS, and Nike itself.

The Sacai x KAWS Blazer Low Purple Dusk is set to drop on December 10th for a retail price of $140. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.

Yeezy 700 V3 Copper Fade

Ye is the master of making sneakers that resemble the Earth — yes, that’s a weird statement, and it’s not like Kanye’s signature aesthetic is facing any competition, but seriously, how else can we describe the new Copper Fade Yeezy 700 other than saying it looks straight-up molten? Molten… but dope.

It looks less like a sneaker and more like hot lava in the midst of hardening. You can feel any way you want about Yeezys, but you have to admit, at least Kanye is doing something different than anyone else in the modern footwear space.

The Yeezy 700 V3 Copper Fade is set to drop on December 10th for a retail price of $200. Pick up a pair at Adidas, Yeezy Supply, or via aftermarket sites like GOAT.

Air Jordan 11 Cool Grey

The Jordan 11 is getting a winter makeover for the season. Featuring a Cool Grey colorway, this makeup of the Jordan 11 was one of the sneaker’s OG colorways and it’s been refreshed to mark the sneaker’s 20th anniversary.

The Cool Grey 11 features a premium patent and nubuck leather upper over an icy outsole.

The Air Jordan 11 Cool Grey is set to drop on December 11th for a retail price of $225. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app or aftermarket sites like GOAT or Flight Club.

New Balance Casablanca XC-72

New Balance and Casablanca have consistently produced some of the best sneaker collaborations the New Balance brand has delivered. This week’s XC-72 collaboration is by far my least favorite collaboration the pair have ever done, but it’s still a release that’s worth your time.

The XC-72 is one of New Balances’ stranger silhouettes, it features a low-cut profile with a hard to ignore outsole that extends into the sneaker’s toe box and features shifting traction patterns. Casablanca keeps things simple by dressing the sneaker in varying shades of white with green and yellow accents on the vintage-inspired tongue with gold-tipped laces.

The Casablanca New Balance XC-72 is set to drop on December 11th for a retail price of $149.99. Pick up a pair via the New Balance website.

We’re a nation hopelessly divided, as we’re constantly reminded. Both sides hate the other. Both sides blame the other for why they hate the other. But a new report by Axios reveals that young people on one side, the left, is a lot less willing to break bread — or, for that matter, go on dates — with the other. And now the party whose leaders don’t understand how cancer works or keeps telling them to put themselves in harm’s way is furious that people they regularly demonize, or worse, don’t want to make out with them.

The poll was conducted exclusively with college students, so it’s not necessarily indicative of Democrats or Republicans of all ages. Still, it seems to confirm what two decades of culture wars — and just straight-up wars, launched primarily by Republicans — has done to those who’ve spent their whole lives living with it.

The numbers show that, while the number of young Republicans who would fraternize with the other side is not exactly high, it’s astronomical compared to how young Democrats feel about them:

5% of Republicans said they wouldn’t be friends with someone from the opposite party, compared to 37% of Democrats.

71% of Democrats wouldn’t go on a date with someone with opposing views, versus 31% of Republicans.

30% of Democrats — and 7% of Republicans — wouldn’t work for someone who voted differently from them.

But there’s more! Women appear to feel more strongly about this than men. And no wonder: Republicans have spent the last 20 years trying curtail women’s rights, most recently by naming enough far-right justices to the Supreme Court that Roe v. Wade is very likely to be overturned after almost four decades.

The report enraged one side more than other, which is to say it pissed off Republicans, who felt it confirmed that Democrats aren’t quite the party of tolerance for not wanting to hang with people who keep voting for a guy who doesn’t like beer.

Others lamented the end of an era that may have definitively ended, after a long, slow decline, sometime around 2016.

Others said the quiet part loud, which is that they were most worried about losing dates with people they strongly dislike.

To those on the left, however, it made total sense.

Others were shocked that young Republicans didn’t feel the same way about Democrats.

Then again, young Republicans always have that hip dude who drops videos in which he looks like crap.

(Via Axios)

Chelsea and Juventus squared off on Wednesday in a gigantic game in Group A of the UEFA Women’s Champions League. While the game ended in a scoreless draw, one moment involving Chelsea standout Sam Kerr is drawing headlines, largely because no one seems to be sure why, exactly, it happened.

Kerr — who recently finished in third place in the Ballon d’Or Féminin, given annually to the best women’s footballer in the world — was standing on the pitch when some dude thought it’d be fun to run around and try to get a selfie with one of her teammates, Magda Eriksson. The fans in attendance very obviously thought he was a doofus, but he wouldn’t leave and it didn’t seem like anyone was trying all that hard to get him off the pitch.

So Kerr decided, when he got near here, to just hip check the guy and and flatten him, which made it easier for security to come and get him off the pitch. The crowd, unsurprisingly, loved it.

Despite their cheers, Kerr got a yellow card.

As for the game itself, Chelsea outshot Juventus, 25-2, but was unable to break the deadlock. They sit atop their group on 11 points while Wolfsburg and Juventus both have eight. With the top-2 qualifying and Chelsea taking on Wolfsburg on the final match day in group play — Juve play Servette FCCF, a Swiss club that has a -19 goal differential and hasn’t registered a point — a result should see the Blues through. Hopefully there are no pitch invaders this time.

Tomorrow night, Ye and Drake will take over the Los Angeles Coliseum for their benefit concert for Larry Hoover, a Chicago gang founder currently serving a 150-200 year sentence for a 1973 murder. The show will be available on Amazon platforms and in IMAX theaters. However, it wouldn’t be happening without the rappers’ decision to set aside their differences, ending the beef they’ve had for the past three years. Rap-A-Lot Records CEO J Prince had a huge hand in helping Ye and Drake patch things up, but in a new interview with Billboard, he sets the record straight on how it went down.

“I painted the bigger picture to Drake,” Prince explained when he was asked why he thinks the two rappers met at Drake’s Toronto mansion late last month. “I let him know that this is a moment and movement that can save lives. I believe by Drake and Kanye being an example, as two of hip-hop’s top artists, that lives would be saved.” He continued, “I believe this is going to be imitated and it’s important to be an example to those that look up to you and that meant something to Drake — just the life-saving event wrapped around putting the spotlight on injustice, prison reform, and my brother Larry Hoover. Everything is icing on the cake after that, because he never envisioned things like that.”

Prince also made sure to note that he did not pressure or “force” Ye into setting aside his differences with Drake for the benefit concert. “It was an interesting conversation, but the furthest thing from the truth regarding any kind of force,” he said. “I heard all kinds of rumors, and that was the furthest thing from the truth To me, that moment was what I called an ‘anointing moment’ — because none of it was planned. It wasn’t planned where we had that meeting in that particular church, but me being a man of God, I couldn’t deny the invitation to actually meet him.”

The concert will kick-off at 11pm EST / 8pm PST on Thursday and stream on Prime Video, the Amazon Music app, and the Amazon Music Twitch channel in addition to IMAX theaters.

You can read J Prince’s full sit-down with Billboard here.

Peet Montzingo and his mom have the most delightful relationship, as evidenced by their joint videos on Montzingo’s social media platforms. And one viral video sums up the sort of fun Montzingo and his unique family engage in.

The video is a compilation of clips of Montzingo following his mom around with a trombone, making silly sound effects as she goes about doing chores and normal daily life things. It’s simple and silly, which is what makes it so wholesome. People can’t get enough of their gentle bantering.

Watch:

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The impromptu Star Wars duel is the best, isn’t it?

Montzingo has millions of followers on YouTube and TikTok, where he regularly shares videos about life in his family. At 6 foot 1 inch tall, Montzingo stands out—literally—from his parents and siblings.

As his mini bio from IMDB reads:

“Peet is from Seattle, Washington. He is the only average height member of his family (his mom, dad, brother and sister are little people), which immediately put him in the media spotlight growing up. In February of 2019, he scored a spot as a touring/recording artist in the band 5WEST, touring South Africa, Spain, and Europe. They did their first arena tour as the supporting act for Boyzone autumn of 2019. During the pandemic in 2020, Peet cultivated a massive presence on Tiktok and continues to post his wholesome videos alongside his singing career.”

Montzingo advocates for little people in a way that is humorous and light-hearted in addition to being educational. For instance, watch him and his mom illustrate how to (and how not to) talk with short people:

“I actually get this question all the time so hope this helps!!!” he wrote in the caption of the video demonstrating various cringey ways to talk to a little person before ultimately showing that you should just stand normally.

Montzingo addresses lots of questions people have in his videos, including whether or not he’s actually adopted. This makeover video with his mom is surefire proof that he’s got her genes, as the resemblance at the end is uncanny.

What makes Montzingo’s videos so popular is the way he and his family use humor to destigmatize dwarfism and normalize the lives of little people. His mom’s house is designed for little people living, with short counters, sinks and furniture, and Montizingo laughs at his challenges as a tall person when he visits her. It’s what he grew up with, however, and he shows how much he loves his family and the physical differences between them.

Montzingo’s unique role in his family means he can help bridge gaps as an advocate for little people, and it’s great to see him doing so in such a wholesome and entertaining way.

You’ve been hearing a lot about Mark Meadows lately. Perhaps too much. The former White House chief of staff under Donald Trump has a new book out, which has enraged his former boss. Among his damning revelations is that the former president tested positive for COVID earlier than claimed. He also almost turned on now-Supreme Court justice Brett Kavanaugh because he sang the praises of beer.

Meadows has something else going on these days, though: He’s wanted by the Jan. 6 committee. Last week, he’d agreed to sit down for a deposition with the bipartisan group, which is investigating the lead-up to the Capitol siege that ended Trump’s presidency in disgrace. Then he flip-flopped. Now he’s suing them.

As per The Daily Beast, Meadows’ lawyer, in a suit fled Wednesday, claimed his client has been “illegally coerced into violating the Constitution” by being asked to provide documents and information, via a sit-down, to the group. How is that illegal? Because the Jan. 6 committee, as per the filing, is seeking to “violate longstanding principles of executive privilege and immunity.”

If that excuse sounds familiar, it should. “Executive privilege” is the same one used by Trump himself. Only problem? That line should only apply to sitting commanders-in-chief. Trump hasn’t been president in just over a year. And yet it’s the same excuse he’s been telling all his close allies to employ.

Thing is, Meadows has already supplied some information to the committee, handing over thousands of documents, including some unflattering texts. He put the kibosh on cooperating further because, his lawyer claimed, the panel wanted intel on some privileged matters. Meadows would have been one of over 300 witnesses the committee has already interviewed, many of them who did so willingly.

Among the information the committee seeks from Meadows is what he knows about, as per the Beast, the “previous administration’s conspiracy-drenched “Stop the Steal” campaign, the scheme to use the Justice Department to perpetuate fake election fraud claims, and “efforts to pressure state and local officials and entities… to challenge the results of the presidential election.”

They also want to know if Meadows indeed used an encrypted apps on his phone and computer to communicate about government issues during his final stretch in the White House.

But perhaps Meadows will only wind up having a rather smelly cellmate.

(Via The Daily Beast)

“It’s not their fault masculinity makes intimacy so hard.”

This was a line from a recent “Saturday Night Live” sketch, aptly titled “Man Park.” The premise: A girlfriend is so concerned that her male partner has no friends, that she takes him to the “Man Park” to socialize. ”It’s like a dog park, but for guys in relationships.” Like a cute clumsy puppy, the boyfriend (Pete Davidson) plays with other “breeds” as the women cheer from the sidelines. Finally, the boyfriend gets to bond with his fellow males over Dave Matthews, Marvel, and Rick and Morty. You know … guy stuff.

That sketch might be hilarious, but it is touching on the very real loneliness that men experience. If you have any doubts, just take a look at some of the comments to the video:

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“I feel personally attacked but also kind of disappointed this isn’t a thing. How do you make new friends as an adult? … my girlfriend is also my only friend lmao.”

“This really hits home. It’s incredible how men fall into this state of loneliness of friendships apart from their partners. I had lots of friends when I was young and have a lot of old time friends, but as an adult it’s been pretty hard forming these new bonds. It’s a mix of a lack of time, social events and COVID has kept us isolated and at home.”

“Jesus’s biggest miracle was he had 12 close male friends at age 30.”

Loneliness. A problem…

Avrum Weiss, Ph.D., wrote a brilliant article on the subject in Psychology Today (it even references the SNL sketch). In it, he pointed out how in heterosexual relationships, men often rely on their female partners to maintain friendships. And that boys start out with as many close relationships as girls do, but often start to neglect their personal relationships to “pursue external success.” Basically, the skill of making friends is not like a bicycle. You do forget if you don’t keep at it.

Add to that a culturally taught association between vulnerability and weakness, and it’s no wonder that so many men find themselves lost.

Though SNL makes light of it, Weiss notes the serious toll isolation takes, stating that “loneliness is not only an unpleasant feeling; it is an interpersonal impairment that causes significant harm.” This includes less satisfaction in their intimate relationships, and even extends to a steep decline in physical health.

…and a solution

Billy Baker, author of We Need to Hang Out, has become a bit of an expert in overcoming loneliness. His now famous article for The Boston Globe retells him getting asked to write a piece about being middle aged and having no friends. Which is, as Baker shares, quite typical.

Baker eventually solved the puzzle of the elusive male companionship with a simple, yet radically effective strategy: He made engagement a regular activity. Wednesday nights were, and still are, planned friend nights.

Meeting new people could be as simple as taking a class or even volunteering (doesn’t hurt that the last one also appeals to a masculine drive for service and purpose). The real challenge, however, is maintaining those connections once they’re established.

Though regular social interaction is important for anyone, sociologist Rebecca G. Adams notes that regular activities might be particularly important to men, who tend to use friendship to escape reality, while women tend to use friends to face reality.

…and an invitation

Perhaps the biggest takeaway though, was that Baker reframed his outlook on masculinity. As his article expresses, he learned that admitting loneliness does not make you a loser. Nor does showing affection—even to another man—imply a lack of strength. Circling back to the SNL sketch, it’s not men’s fault that many of them have been taught to think that emotion = burden. The only way to change this belief, however, is to put themselves out there and move through the discomfort of potential awkwardness or rejection.

Sounds like a pretty classically labeled male trait when you think about it: a willingness to persevere through a difficult circumstance, in order for something better. That inherent determination serves to create emotional well-being, too.

Though finding friends might not be as easy as a walk through the “Man Park,” the results are well worth the effort. And men deserve to experience the type of emotional fortitude that comes from knowing people are out there when times are hard.