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After a barrage of headlines claiming that he exited the Mighty Ducks: Game Changers series on Disney+ because of the second season’s COVID vaccine requirements, Emilio Estevez has set the record straight that he is not “anti-vaxx,” and he is leaving the show over a “good old fashioned contract dispute.” Although, it appears to be messier than that.

In a lengthy statement to Deadline, Estevez revealed that he contracted COVID-19 in the very early days of the pandemic. After finally convincing doctors to test him back in March 2020, he suffered from “long haul symptoms” for much of 2020, including during the filming of Game Changers first season. While producers knew about his diagnosis, Estevez never told the public, which he now regrets. He also regrets not fighting back harder against producers’ insistence on still filming the show during a pandemic, which contradicts recent headlines that he wouldn’t comply with safety requirements:

The show producers tried their best to assuage my fears of coming back to work. “You have natural immunity!” “You’ll be the safest one on set,” I was repeatedly told. Additionally, I was warned by my former reps about possible consequences and legal jeopardy I could face for not reporting to work as ordered.

So, I returned to Vancouver. I followed the Canadian quarantine mandate as well as the strict “Zone A” on set Covid protocols. I did not complain, nor did I release my diagnosis to the public. I wanted to try and preserve the show morale and be a leader, however, while still suffering from Long Haul Syndrome. The legacy of the franchise was more important to me than my own health.

In retrospect, I wrongly chose to protect the show over being transparent about having contracted Covid-19. I may have provided another public example to wit, how we are all vulnerable to this deadly disease.

According to Estevez, his reasons for leaving the show have nothing to do with being anti-vaccination, which he again asserts that he is not. He says the much bigger issue is that he’s “anti-bully.”

(Via Deadline)

Released in June, Polo G’s Hall Of Fame marked the Chicago rapper’s first ever number 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart. Along with the titanic single “Rapstar,” the 20-track album featured collaborations with Nicki Minaj, Lil Durk, The Kid Laroi, Roddy Rich, and more. But he’s not resting his laurels on the success of that release and has just announced a new deluxe version entitled Hall of Fame 2.0 that features 14 new tracks.

“Hall Of Fame…That was me beating my chest, really coming into my own as an artist and showing I’m gonna stay,” he starts in the new album trailer. “But before I just close out this chapter, I feel like we should turn up this one more time.” The trailer also offers a preview of the December 3rd deluxe release’s first single in the breakneck beat and tongue-twisting lyrical maelstrom of “Bad Man (Smooth Criminal).” A flip on the Michael Jackson’s classic “Smooth Criminal,” the track officially drops this Friday, November 12th.

Watch the Hall Of Fame 2.0 album trailer above. And check out Polo G’s remaining Hall Of Fame tour dates below.

11/19 — Kingston, RI @ Ryan Center
11/23 — San Francisco, CA @ Warfield
11/28 — Los Angeles, CA @ Novo
11/30 — Denver, CO @ Mission
12/02 — Minneapolis, MN @ The Armory
12/03 — Chicago, IL @ Aragon Ballroom
12/06 — Detroit, MI @ Fox Theatre
12/09 — Washington, DC @ Echostage
12/10 — Bangor, ME @ Cross Insurance Center
12/19 — Atlanta, GA @ The Roxy

Hall Of Fame 2.0 is out on 12/03 via Columbia.

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

It’s the most wonderful time of the year and is there any better way to spend it than curled up in a cozy sweater with some great company and a fantastic game? If so, we here at Uproxx Edge can’t think of one. However, what we can think of are the oh-so-many games we recommend you try out while you’re staying indoors and keeping warm.

In today’s episode of Uproxx Recon, AJ and I are playing Santa Claus and making a list of fantastic games that we think will help every type of player fall in love with gaming — and don’t worry, we already checked it twice. First up, we talk about games you can play even if you don’t own a console or PC: mobile games! While they might have started off pretty simplistic, mobile games are so much more than match-threes and micro-transactions. From deck builders like Magic the Gathering to emotional indies like Florence, there are countless games worth playing on the smallest and most portable device you most likely already own.

And speaking of worth, in our next segment we talk a bit about value and just what that means when it comes to gaming. While it can be argued that massive, open-world games like The Witcher 3, Persona 5, and Ghost of Tsushima are great values purely by the amount of hours you can pour into them, we also take into account the games that move us and keep us coming back for more, like Inside and Hades. We also reminisce about couch co-op games and just how meaningful games are when shared with others. Whether it’s It Takes Two, Portal, Mario 3D Land, or your favorite party game (Mario Kart, anyone?), these are the games that bring us together and are definitely a staple of the holiday season.

Last but not least, we also list off some of the games still coming out this year that we can’t wait to play. With new Pokemon, Halo, Battlefield, and plenty of artsy indies such as Solar Ash right around the corner, 2021 is shaping up to be an incredible year for gaming. Be sure to let us know what game you are most excited about in the comments and stay warm!

It can be daunting to change careers, especially during a pandemic, but Atlanta artist Talecia Tucker is finding her way through that transition just fine.

After high school, the Georgia native went from studying fashion to putting that knowledge to work while establishing Pretty Major, a unisex clothing brand. In 2018, however, a new passion flared, with Tucker taking an interest in photography and the idea that they could pursue that professionally.

Tucker went to grad school to sharpen their skills, but unfortunately, the pandemic got in the way, causing her to leave the program she had enrolled in. Tucker isn’t stuck at a crossroads, though; they’re combining their two primary talents, leaning on the belief that her background in fashion can give her an edge when it comes to photography.

“I like pops of color,” Tucker says, “so even when I’m photographing, I’m thinking about colors and the moods that are associated with color. It’s the same with my fashion.”

Regardless of the medium, for Tucker, it’s all about forging connections while making work that represents their community and intersections of their identity.

“I’m an artist first, and being an artist, I like to connect to other people through my art, whether that be through a lens, through fashion, or through zine-making,” Tucker says. “I think what gives me a unique perspective is wanting that connection and that being a through-line in all my work.”

As any artist will attest to, rejection is part of the process, but Tucker isn’t letting it slow them down.

“I face rejection when I’m seeking funding, whether it be through grants or trying to find investors for my company,” Tucker says. “I’ve also been able to retain my artistic voice through it all. It’s set me back in some ways, but in other ways, it has helped out.”

When facing setbacks, Tucker finds both support and inspiration from her mother.

“My mom is my biggest inspiration,” she admits. “She has gone through a lot more trauma, and she’s still able to be a positive person and to encourage me to go after my dreams. In those moments when I’m feeling down or encounter a setback, I think my mom is my biggest supporter and I don’t want to let her down in those moments.”

When it comes time to emerge from those moments, Tucker finds a way to focus. “I don’t want to discount the fact that it does knock me down,” Tucker says, “but I always think back to the big picture: That one setback, one ‘no,’ one rejection letter, is not going to stop my vision. Even if I get down, I have to pick myself back up and look at the big picture.”

The Weeknd is in a collaborative mood right now. In October, he linked up with Swedish House Mafia for “Moth To A Flame” and just a few days ago, he and Post Malone dropped “One Right Now.” Now, he has yet another joint effort on the way, and this time, he teaming up with a familiar face in Rosalía, who he recruited for a remix of “Blinding Lights” in late 2020. This time, the two are meeting up on “La Fama,” a new song that’s set for release this Thursday, November 11.

A brief trailer for the song’s video was shared today, and in it, Rosalía sings and dances in a club while The Weeknd looks on and the pair eventually capture each other’s attention. Furthermore, Danny Trejo makes an appearance in the clip, playing the role of an MC of sorts and introducing Rosalía by exclaiming, “So get ready for some heat: La Fama!”

As for the song itself, it has a Latin-influenced beat and sees The Weeknd singing in Spanish, as he did on Maluma’s “Hawái” remix that was released almost exactly a year ago today.

Check out the trailer for The Weeknd and Rosalía’s upcoming “La Fama” video above.

In space, no one can hear you flush — because the toilet isn’t working.

The team aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Endeavor, composed of mission commander Shane Kimbrough, pilot Megan McArthur, and mission specialists Akihiko Hoshide and Thomas Pesquet, have been chilling at the International Space Station since April. That’s a long time. The good news is that they’re scheduled to return to Earth on Monday night, but (here’s the bad news) “all of that is dependent on the weather,” NPR reports. For those poor astronauts, it can’t be soon enough: the toilet aboard the ship is broken, so the crew will have to wear diapers when they, ahem, splash down. Not ideal.

In this weekend’s press conference, McArthur confirmed that the toilets on board Dragon Endeavor are broken. “Of course that’s sub-optimal, but we’re prepared to manage,” she said with a smile. “Space flight is full of lots of little challenges, this is just one more that we’ll encounter and take care of in our mission.”

The lengthy mission has been a successful one — the crew grew green chiles and enjoyed the “best space tacos yet” — but I’m sorry, all I can think about is the bathroom aboard the multi-billion dollar spaceship with an “Out of Order” sign, like the world’s (universe’s?) most expensive 7-Eleven. Apparently, space toilets are a frequent nuisance: “An alarm went off on SpaceX’s all-tourist flight earlier this year, signaling a problem with the onboard waste management system.”

This explains why we never see the bathrooms aboard the Enterprise. Picard is wearing a diaper.

(Via NPR)

Growing up, the kinds of toys you play with can make all the difference. When I was a child, I always felt like the way I looked was wrong because there were no dolls, cartoon characters, or actresses that looked like me. Thankfully, things are changing. Bigger companies like Mattel are now producing dolls in different shapes, genders, and skin tones.

But gaps in the market still exist, especially for kids with special needs, physical disabilities, and skin disorders. That’s where Amy Jandrisevits comes in. With her A Doll Like Me line, Amy makes it her personal mission to make custom dolls for kids who typically don’t see themselves on store shelves. For some of these children, seeing themselves in human likeness is life-changing.

Photo courtesy of Amy Jandrisevits

As a former pediatric oncology social worker, Amy used play therapy in order to help children adjust to situations that felt out of their control. This was difficult to do when none of the dolls she had access to looked like the children she worked with.

“Play therapy is how kids work through all of that, and dolls are an integral part of the process,” Amy says. “For someone who doesn’t have the privilege of seeing him or herself in the places that matter, a doll that looks like them can be so validating.”

Amy’s childhood love of dolls combined with her passion for social work have allowed her to turn her A Doll Like Me campaign into a nonprofit, something she never could have imagined. She’s sure that her 8-year-old self would be thrilled at the thought of using dolls to change a narrative for so many children.

Photo courtesy of Amy Jandrisevits

“I am a doll-maker who feels that every child, regardless of gender, ethnicity, age, medical issue, or body type, should look into the sweet face of a doll and see their own,” she writes on the GoFundMe page for her project. “I talk a lot about changing the narrative, changing who we see and how we see them. Imagine what representation and inclusion look like from a child’s perspective. When they see themselves in the places that matter, that becomes an inclusive message, and that is what shapes a child’s self-concept. Diversity and representation in dolls can be a game changer for children.”

Amy is doing her part to make sure every child – ones with limb differences, albinism, cancer, birthmarks, scars, burns – feels valued. Her goal is to normalize, represent, and validate, and at a very basic level, to offer something that is soft and cuddly and provides comfort when a child needs it most.

Photo courtesy of Amy Jandrisevits

To date, Amy has made over 450 dolls and every single story is as heartwarming as the next. Dolls are typically requested by parents or caregivers, but in recent years, Amy has received requests from doctors and teachers, because they realize the therapeutic value in play. And thanks to its nonprofit status and donations from GoFundMe, not one family has had to pay for their own doll.

“Sometimes I know that the child who is about to receive the doll is living on borrowed time and when he or she dies, this is going to be even more important for their family.”

Amy says that she never takes this doll-making opportunity for granted and she often uses her platform to talk about what inclusion and representation look like for a child. She believes that it is her personal obligation to advocate for the children that she is privileged to know.

“We all bring a skillset to the table and we need to understand that sometimes small gestures impact other people in ways we cannot begin to fathom. We have a multitude of reasons to NOT do something – ‘I’m too busy, broke, old, young, sick, afraid’ – but there are even more reasons why we CAN, and should, do something.”

Photo courtesy of Amy Jandrisevits

Donate to Amy’s GoFundMe and help a child see themselves as they are through a hand-crafted doll.

Helping someone in need is as easy as a click away. Check out our fundraising toolkit and start a GoFundMe that gives back to your community.

It’s been a huge year for Duckwrth. The LA-based R&B punk did an NPR Tiny Desk Concert in April before his latest project, SG8, dropped in September. Then, just as he was wrapping up a sold out US tour, he was announced as the direct support act for Billie Eilish’s massive 2022 tour. Pat yourself on the back, sir.

Now Duckwrth has just dropped the visual for “No Chill” (off of SG8), filmed on the streets of Paris during Fashion Week. A designer himself, he dances through the Tuileries and sips espresso in the clip, while donning a pair of fringe pants that he personally designed for Levi’s. “In the haze of couture and Parisian energy, I felt like this would be the perfect landscape for an easy listening song with a simple message: celebrate life,” he said in a statement. “As it goes ‘My God, tell the models / Keep the bottles on ice’ !”

Watch the video for “No Chill” above. Check out Duckwrth’s upcoming European tour dates and support slots for Billie Eilish below.

01/20/2022 — Dublin, Ireland @ The Academy
01/21/2022 — Glasgow, UK @ SWG3 Warehouse
01/23/2022 — London, UK @ Scala
01/24/2022 — Brussels, Belgium @ Orangerie Botanique
01/25/2022 — Paris, France @ Petit Bain
01/26/2022 — Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso Tolhuistuin
01/27/2022 — Berlin, Germany @ Gretchen
03/08/2022 — Birmingham, AL @ Legacy Arena*
03/09/2022 — Nashville, TN @ Bridgestone Arena*
03/11/2022 — Louisville, KY @ Yum! Center*
03/12/2022 — Detroit, MI @ Little Caesars Arena*
03/14/2022 — Chicago, IL @ United Center*
03/15/2022 — St. Paul, MN @ Xcel Center*
03/16/2022 — Omaha, NE @ CHI Health Center*
03/19/2022 — Denver, CO @ Ball Arena*
03/21/2022 — Salt Lake City, UT @ Vivint Arena*
03/24/2022 — Vancouver, BC @ Rogers Arena*
03/25/2022 — Seattle, WA @ Climate Pledge Arena*
03/26/2022 — Seattle, WA @ Climate Pledge Arena*
03/29/2022 — San Francisco, CA @ Chase Center*
03/30/2022 — Sacramento, CA @ Golden 1 Center*
04/01/2022 — Las Vegas, NV @ T-Mobile Arena*
04/02/2022 — Phoenix, AZ @ Gila River Arena*
04/03/2022 — Phoenix, AZ @ Gila River Arena*
04/06/2022 — Los Angeles, CA @ The Forum*

* supporting Billie Eilish

In just a few short years, Billie Eilish has gone from an ocean-eyed dancer with a dream to one of the most influential artists of her generation. Her professional and personal lives work in tandem, showcasing a young woman who has successfully cemented her place as a full-fledged icon —all by disrupting the stereotypical idea of what it takes to be one.

Thanks to a catalogue boasting unique soundscapes, vivid storytelling, and unparalleled self-assurance, the not yet 20-year-old — with the help of her brother and producer/collaborator Finneas — has reconfigured the music scene as we know it. From her sound to her image, Billie’s rejection of the ordinary is what has made her an extraordinary emerging cultural force.

Eilish’s ascension to the scene’s throne began atypically. After uploading her debut single “Ocean Eyes” to the website Soundcloud at age 14 — a strikingly different route into the pop scene, but a similar one into the rap game — she became one to watch. In hindsight, this technique was entirely befitting and benefitting of an artist who is consistently revered for going against the grain.

Perhaps what makes Eilish’s reign over the industry so impressive is the rather unorthodox creation and presentation of her work, which illustrates her derision for convention. Billie set herself apart thanks to tunes carrying a sinister, twisted energy, a far cry from the bubblegum-flavored pop sonics booming from speakers at the start of the 21st century.

She encapsulates the brooding teenage stereotype through morose imagery and unexpected production inspiration in her first two lauded efforts: the electropop-soaked 2017 EP Don’t Smile At Me and her horrorcore-tinged Grammy-winning debut album, 2019’s When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? The content in these bodies of work highlight topics from heartbreak to drug abuse, and her songs — which pull inspo from a variety of genres — are accompanied by audible accoutrements like heavy breathing and the slurping of saliva.

Her latest album, 2021’s Happier Than Ever, ditches the sinister for something slightly more sophisticated. However, her personal musings regarding the ins and outs of fame and growing up are triumphant — likely a byproduct of her generation’s ability to be more open, aware and vulnerable than the age groups preceding theirs. “I thought that I was special, you made me feel like it was my fault,” she coos on the acoustic ballad “Your Power,” which pertains to “[witnessing] or [experiencing]” abuse of all sorts. “You were the devil, lost your appeal…”

The way she crafts her compositions and album visuals similarly display her antithetical artistic approach. Rather than being hampered by typical label interference, Billie became famous for her DIY way of making her hits. (All components of her songs are created alongside her brother in their childhood home’s recording studio.) Her music videos, often self-conceptualized and occassionally self-directed, inspire shock and awe from a visual standpoint, but still urge deeper contemplation of her message. The eerie “All The Good Girls Go To Hell” forces viewers to think about climate change and the follies of men, while her inky black tears in the haunting “When The Party’s Over” video is symbolic of mourning the end of a relationship.

“From the start, Eilish’s appeal has relied on combining her taste for the radical with her strong sense of the classical,” wrote The New York Times in 2020. “All this reflects an entertainer’s conscious strategy to inspire titillated repulsion in audiences—to seduce and ensnare fans the way a horror auteur does…But it also connects to [Eilish’s] tendencies toward melancholy and depression, which [she] says songwriting helps her to navigate and, ideally, helps listeners relate to her music that much more profoundly.”

Much like in her career, Eilish isn’t defined by her fashion choices, which subvert typical femininity and the notion of what a pop star looks like aesthetically. Outside from the typical teenage act of changing her hair color often, Billie regularly sports baggy, oversized clothing, which she dons in order to place a focus on her art rather than her appearance. However, after debuting a sultry look for the cover of British Vogue in 2021, detractors quickly had something to say about her provocative look.

Most young women in the public eye believe a more “grown-up” look is an obligation. However, Billie made the decision to wait to dress “adult” until she was comfortable, without making any radical changes to her sound or persona. Her choice to dress up or dress down speaks to the chameleonic nature of her essence—the same essence that made her a star in the first place.

The many levels of Billie Eilish’s consciousness and expression have emboldened not only her generation, but fans of all ages. There have been a handful of artists in the last few years that seem to loosely follow Billie’s blueprint through the creation of atmospheric, experimental bedroom pop, or poignant yet punchy compositions detailing nuanced perspectives of the world. However, she continues to drive in her own lane, and it appears that the industry is poised to follow her lead wherever she goes.

“The weirdness of Billie Eilish’s music, and the apparent improbability of her success, are marketing hooks that have helped pull her star upward,” veteran journalist Ann Powers wrote of Eilish in 2019. “She’s become a role model for kids who don’t fit… and that’s why Eilish’s appeal works within the mainstream, rather than opposing it.”

Eilish’s refusal to conform and her ability to challenge the norms of sound, genre, and femininity make her not just a staple in contemporary pop, but a young legend whose importance should reverberate for years to come.

By the time Stranger Things 4 premieres on Netflix, it will have been a whopping three years since the third season first started streaming, so needless to say, fans are starving for any little tidbit about what’s next for the Hawkins crew. Well, they’re in luck because over the weekend, Netflix dropped a new trailer for Season 4, and it’s jam-packed with little clues on where the story is heading next.

Most notably, Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) has moved to California with the Byers family: Joyce (Winona Ryder), Jonathan (Charlie Heaton), and Will (Noah Schnapp) who has significantly grown. That kid sprang up thanks to the pandemic putting a significant delay between seasons. Also, it looks like he’s still doing creepy drawings from his time in the Upside Down, but hey, art is like therapy. Or a telepathic connection to another dimension. Either one!

More importantly, Eleven has been diligently writing to Mike (Finn Wolfhard) who’s on his way to California for spring break, and clearly, it’s not going to be a normal teenage experience.

As the trailer kicks into overdrive, we see government agents, an underground facility that look eerily like the one from Season 3 where another Upside Down portal resided, and explosions. Were they caused by Eleven’s mind? Maybe!

Joyce also receives a Russian doll in the mail, which is almost certainly tied to Chief Hopper (David Harbour) getting teleported to Russia where he’s now bald, freezing, and definitely not becoming the Red Guardian. David Harbour wants you to chill with that talk.

On top of the new trailer, Netflix also released a tease for the Season 4 episode titles, and a release window, which may not go over so hot. It appears Stranger Things 4 will not debut until Summer 2022. Hate to be the bearer of bad news!

(Via Netflix)