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If you can’t laugh at yourself, get Steve Bannon and his closet full of skeletons to laugh at you, too. That’s the mantra Rudy Giuliani seemed to be employing on Monday, when he appeared as a guest on Bannon’s War Room podcast. After Rudy shared his opinion that Christopher Columbus gets a bad rap, Raw Story reports that the longtime Trump allies spent part of their interview mocking the House committee that’s investigating the January 6th insurrection on the Capitol that left five people dead because… hardy har har—death and delusion and traitorism are funny.

Rudy—who looked as if he was calling in from the TARDIS, or the afterlife—was telling Bannon about a mobster he once prosecuted: “I convicted him, he got 100 years in jail, but he got one of those mafia suites, where he could conduct business, get Italian food, and he was conducting his business from prison. And it was all tape-recorded.”

While it’s entirely possible that Giuliani is conflating real life with that famous Italian-dinner-in-prison scene from Goodfellas, Bannon couldn’t help but jump in with some jokes, and ask if that was the suite Rudy would be occupying when the Jan. 6 committee locked him up. Rudy—seemingly oblivious to the fact that he could very well end up being on the inside of a prison cell looking out—joked right back to Bannon:

“I don’t intend to go without you. I mean, I’m going with you and a couple other guys that sound interesting. And I’m counting on your being able to get it hooked up. We’ll do radio and television all day.”

Sadly, that could be a best-case scenario for Giuliani, New York City’s disgraced former mayor.

(Via Raw Story)

Wyoming has had a major role in Kanye West’s recent history due to the time he’s spent recording his latest projects there. Now, though, it looks like he’s moving on from his first Wyoming property, Monster Lake Ranch: TMZ and People report that West has listed the property for $11 million, which is $3 million less than he paid when he bought it in September 2019.

A realtor.com listing for the property (which went up 21 hours ago as of this post) notes the lot has 3,888 acres of land in Cody, Wyoming. The listing also notes, “The once in a lifetime property contains a BLM lease, equipment sheds, equine facility, livestock corrals, and hay meadows. The lodge, commercial kitchen, go cart track, and trophy trout fishing bring commercial opportunities. The views of the sandstone cliffs and Absaroka mountains make it a premier Wyoming ranch investment.”

This doesn’t mean West is done with Wyoming, though. Shortly after buying Monster Lake Ranch, in November 2019, he purchased another Wyoming property, Bighorn Mountain Ranch. The 6,713-acre property had a listing price of $14.495 million and is located outside of Greybull, less than 100 miles away from the Cody ranch. At the time, he reportedly also bought a warehouse in Cody.

In 2018, West recorded a handful of projects as part of what became known as the “Wyoming Sessions”: his own Ye, Teyana Taylor‘s KTSE, Pusha T‘s Daytona, Nas’ Nasir, and his and Kid Cudi’s Kids See Ghosts. Later, West’s most recent album, Donda, was partially recorded at Bighorn Mountain Ranch.

Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson’s feud has been a non-stop source of entertainment (and an excuse to use the “come at me, bro” photo from Fast Five above) for five years now, ever since The Rock called out his male Fast and Furious co-stars for being “candy asses.” He was referring to Diesel specifically, who… you should just read the feud timeline here. It’s messy and involves Tyrese referring to himself as “just a passionate film critic.” I love it. Recently, Diesel claimed his “tough love” approach with Johnson was akin to method acting, to which The Rock replied, “I laughed and I laughed hard.”

Vanity Fair spoke to the Jungle Cruise actor about his definition for “candy ass” (“A candy ass is something you don’t want to be. And the best way that I can describe a candy ass is: Life is so much easier, I have found, when you are not full of sh*t. And a candy ass is completely full of sh*t”) and whether something happened on the set of The Fate of the Furious in August 2016 for him to post what he did.

“Nothing specific happened, just the same old shit,” he says. “And that just wasn’t my best day.”

Because of what happened, I ask, or because he chose to share it on Instagram?

“Chose to share it.”

Johnson continued, “It caused a firestorm. Yet interestingly enough… [it was] as if every single crew member found their way to me and either quietly thanked me or sent me a note. But, yeah, it wasn’t my best day, sharing that. I shouldn’t have shared that. Because at the end of the day, that goes against my DNA. I don’t share things like that. And I take care of that kind of bullsh*t away from the public. They don’t need to know that. That’s why I say it wasn’t my best day.” He clarified that “I meant what I said,” but “to express it publicly was not the right thing to do.” I respectfully disagree.

But these days are probably over:

(Via Vanity Fair)

Today is Indigenous Peoples Day, and to honor the occasion, Oregon-based indie rockers Portugal The Man partnered with a member of the Umatilla Tribe in Northeastern Oregon, Acosia Red Elk, to help inspire their audience pay attention. “Our friend and PTM Foundation Community Advisory Board member Josué Rivas was telling us about his friend, Acosia Red Elk, who is practiced in the art of movement and sound and how it heals the body,” said Zachary Carothers of Portugal The Man. “We then got to hear, see and experience her and her work firsthand and were blown away. Acosia Red Elk is an incredible person and we are really honored that we get to help tell her story this year for Indigenous Peoples Day.”

Along with the Portugal The Man Foundation, the band is sharing a short film called Movement Is Medicine that features Acosia Red Elk, and was created in partnership with directors Josué Rivas and Aaron Brown. They’re also sharing a new edition of their “Water Is Life” Grant Program Tee that features Acosia Red Elk, and 100% of the proceeds from the sale will support their foundation’s Water Is Life grant program. Past grant recipients include DigDeep’s Navajo Water Project and the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs in Portugal. The Man’s home state of Oregon.

Check out the short video above and pick up a shirt right here.

On Monday, word broke that Ben Simmons and the 76ers were “working on a resolution” that would bring the three-time All-Star back to the team, ending his holdout before the regular season got started.

It was a pretty significant change of heart from Simmons, who had reportedly been adamant he was done in Philly, but as the reality of missing out on game checks and getting fined set in, he seemed to recognize a trade wasn’t coming in the immediate and he was about to lose out on a lot of money — with no option to get that money back. While reports said the two sides were progressing in talks, nothing seemed imminent with the Sixers set to host the Nets on Monday night for preseason action, but in the middle of the game, Simmons apparently arrived in town to take a COVID-19 test and enter himself into the necessary league protocols to return to the team.

That was a surprise to many, including the Sixers, who according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski had no indication Simmons was going to show up in Philly on Monday night until he strolled up for his test.

It would be really funny if Simmons just rolled up, George Costanza style, pretending none of the drama of the last few months ever happened and just jumped right back in. That seems unlikely, as part of the discussions between the two sides has reportedly been about whether the star will actually play or not once back with the team. Still, Simmons is, suddenly, back in town for now and this saga figures to only get stranger from here.

Demi Lovato is no stranger to the struggles of addiction, and they’ve been open about their struggles with the disease, both in their music and in a recent documentary that shared shocking details about their recent relapse. This past weekend, they released a new song that takes a look at the other side of the issue — losing someone you love to addiction.

Their new track, “Unforgettable (Tommy’s Song),” is dedicated to Tommy Trussell III, a close friend who lost the battle with addiction. The song was released on Saturday because it marked the two years anniversary since Tommy passed. In a press release, Lovato said that all the proceeds from the song will go to the Voices Project founded by Ryan Hampton. Check out their full statement on the new track below and hear it for yourself up top.

“Two years ago I lost someone who meant so much to me. His name was Tommy and he was such a beautiful, special man. I wrote this song the day after I found out that he had lost his battle with addiction. This disease is extremely cunning and powerful… I’m beyond grateful and proud to announce all net proceeds of this song will be going to the Voices Project founded by Ryan Hampton. If you know anyone who is struggling please call 1-800-662-HELP.”

What if the handle you came up with years ago suddenly shares the same title with the world’s most popular new TV show? That’s what happened to a Twitch streamer who just happens to be named “squidgame” — and who found herself locked out of her Instagram account just as the Netflix show of the same name has taken over the planet’s eyeballs.

As per Insider, back in 2012, one Lydia Ellery chose what happened to be two random words that don’t seem to go together for her Instagram account. After all, what even was a squid game back in the innocent days of the Obama era? Since then, she’s become a big deal on Twitch, amassing over 42,000 subscribers on the self-streaming service. She even became part of the streaming collective known as Yogscast, which boasts over 7 million subscribes on YouTube.

But on Friday, Ellery found herself locked out of her Instagram account, which bears the same name as Squid Game, the postapocalyptic South Korean show, about cash-strapped people who enter deadly games to get big money. She had some theories why she was booted. “Ermm I think so many people have been trying to log into my account or reporting it (squidgame) that instagram have banned me,” she wrote on Twitter. “Very not cool.”

Ellery later wrote that she was being “inundated” with messages from fans of the show soon after her ordeal became big news on Reddit.

She later told Insider that she’d gotten back into her IG account, only to discover that her account violated its policies, claiming it was “impersonating someone else.” As of Monday night, Ellery had no yet publicly revealed whether or not she’d corresponded with them further. On Sunday, she thanked people for drawing attention to her issue and that she was not “sure what to do about my SquidGame name.”

The lesson? If you come up with a clever handle fusing two unrelated words, many years later Netflix may create a hit show of the same name. Or just keep living your life in case something that random and freaky never happens.

(Via Insider)

You may never have heard of President and CEO of the Black Women’s Health Imperative (BWHI) Linda Goler Blount, but for over 25 years, she’s been doing the arduous and yet vital work of assuring that Black women achieve health equity and reproductive justice.

Sometimes working behind the scenes securing funding, and other times in front of the cameras or on Capitol Hill fighting what can feel like a Sisyphean feat to move her organization forward in its mission. Blount is resolute in her battle against two of the greatest risk factors to the health of Black women are racism and gender discrimination.

UP: What are some of the biggest challenges facing Black women today — vaccine hesitancy, preventative health, maternal mortality, diet, stress… etc?

LB: Stress is the number one health issue for Black women. Obesity-related syndromes such as hypertension, diabetes, and heart disease have their roots in stress — and microaggressions trigger stress. We know there’s a causal relationship between stress and weight. Black women have about 15% more cortisol in their bloodstream than white women. It changes their metabolism. If you give Black women and white women the same low-fat diet, Black women will lose weight more slowly and if both groups eat a high-fat diet, Black women will gain weight more quickly. We can see this in the DNA level. So, we focus our programs on asking women how they feel about being a Black woman in this environment at this moment. Because if we don’t understand that and more importantly, if providers, policymakers, and corporate leaders don’t understand that, then we’re not going to make the kind of progress we need to improve health outcomes for Black women. And equity is a long way off.

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UP: Talk about the connection between racism and the health of Black women.

LB: In 1992, Arline Geronimus published an article on “weathering” where she discussed that Black women are literally aging faster than white women. Between two women, one Black and one White, both age 65, although they may look the same, Black women can be five to seven years older biologically because of the effect of racism and gender oppression. Fleda Mask Jackson found a causal relationship between experiences of racial and gender discrimination and low birth weight and premature deliveries and maternal deaths. We understand the biological response and what that does to the body, but not the psychological impacts. And I’m really interested in the everyday experiences of Black women and what that does [to the body]. When you have to have that talk with your 16-year-old son about driving and when the police stop him. When you see people not getting promoted or things said at work that are just out and out racist. When you go to a store and you’re followed around because you’re Black and they assume you’re going to steal something. We don’t have a full understanding of what that does to us.

UP: What are some of the changes in the health of Black women from when the organization started versus today?

LB: Our roots are in self-care. BWHI started 38 years ago with groups and sister-circles talking about health. Then over time with reproductive health, in particular, the organization needed to deal with policy and structural barriers that prevented us from practice to self-care. The changes have been on evidence-based strategies and calling it out when Black women are not included when drugs, therapeutics, and devices developed without the involvement of Black women as both as participants and as researchers.

More recently, we began working to change the narrative around how we talk about data, gender, and race, and how we tell the story. If we don’t start changing the way we use language, then we’re never going to understand Black women’s health. People will say, ‘Black women die 42% more from breast cancer than white women.’ But, that doesn’t tell the whole story and what a reader is left believing is that this data is the way it is because these women are Black or Latina. It’s not biological or genetic, it’s the lived experience.

UP: What can Black women do today to change their health outcomes?

LB: We talk a lot about meditation or prayer, and breathing. Breathing is critical. The 5-7-9, where you breathe in for 5 seconds, hold for 7 seconds and breathe out for 9 seconds. This can literally reduce cortisol in your bloodstream. We’ve got to take time for ourselves. Be intentional about separating yourself from stuff that isn’t good for you. For me and my team, we try to make it a point to take breaks. This work can be overwhelming. When you’re talking about dealing with hundreds of years of oppression and people who want to keep things exactly as they’ve always been, but who say things that are very different. I try to keep perspective. But it’s hard because there’s exactly one organization to do this work and if we weren’t here to do it, I don’t know what would happen.

UP: Can you give a couple of anecdotes where the health outcome of a Black woman was impacted by one of the BWHI programs?

LB: I would say around screening and mammography. In 2015, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) had this brilliant idea to raise the age of mammography for women from 40 to 50 years old. So, in 2016 we worked with several members of Congress on the PALS Act aka Protecting Access to Lifesaving Screening to get a moratorium on recommendations for women to begin screenings at 40 years old. Because if this became policy then insurers would stop paying for mammograms under 50. I attended at least 30 meetings, testified in front of Congress, I met with HHS, and other than the one Black person who’s on the USPSTF, I was the only Black person in the room. It was disheartening, but not surprising. But, these recommendations are based on science. So, here I am face-to-face with my former colleagues at the American Cancer Society who want to raise the age. So, I told them, ‘I know the data.’ These studies were done in Sweden and Canada and there’s not a Black woman in them. Black women get breast cancer 5 to 10 years younger than white women. This highlighted a Black woman’s organization and science and that we know the data just as well as you. While you may interpret it one way, let’s look at the complete story. You’re talking about applying a body of evidence to a group of people who had nothing to do with its creation in the first place.

UP: Do you feel a sense of pressure because, at this moment, the door of interest is open concerning the health and wellness of Black Americans?

LB: It’s an exponentially greater level of stress. We talk all the time about having this open window and being afraid it’s going to slam shut. Like, white people are going to be over this. ‘Okay, you’ve had your moment. We invested millions of dollars and you all need to be happy. So, let’s get back to the way things were. Just shut up and dribble.’ But, while feeling that pressure, there’s not a whole lot that can be done in the six months, nine months or even in a year, so we have to keep the conversation going. Right now, we’re creating a corporate index so that people can look at corporations and say, ‘Well, here’s your statement from last year. Now, what are you really doing?’ If we don’t keep pressure on these folks they get to ignore and pretend they never said what they said.

UP: Are there celebrities or well-known figures you would love to partner with BWHI? Any specific initiatives?

LB: Having Serena [Williams] talk about maternal health would be amazing. We need women across the lifespan. We need Oprah and Alfre Woodard. All these women for whom health is critical and understand the significance of the health of Black women. If we are successful, I think we also need to get Black men involved in this work.

UP: What can people who’re reading this do to move the needle forward on the health of Black women in their lives and/or communities?

LB: They can learn about BWHI and the issues as they really are not what they read, but understand the context in which Black women live and what that means for their health. So, they don’t fall into the trap of blaming the obese Black woman or blaming the woman with hypertension and being mindful of the language they use when they’re talking about race, gender, and health. It takes understanding to get to a level of compassion. And for those who have resources, they can contribute.

UP: Who are some of the women you look to for inspiration?

LB: I’d say Civil Rights activist Gloria Richardson. She’s always been the symbol of what can be done by a Black woman. I want to be the Gloria Richardson of epidemiology and I can say to these scientists, ‘Talk to the hand,’ in the same way she did holding off a national guardsman with a bayonet in his hand and [a fierce side eye].

Four-time NBA champion John Salley is a true renaissance man. He’s who you’d be if you were bright, thoughtful, charming, intellectually curious, and had millions of dollars at your disposal and the experience with which to make savvy business investments. He’s also a vegan chef, restaurateur, philanthropist, health coach, a girl-dad of three daughters, actor, TV host, technology freak (we’ll talk more about that), owns a cannabis company with his 25-year-old daughter Tyla Salley, and he’s met the Dalai Lama. Did I mention he was charming?

We Zoom’d with Salley about his busy life and plethora of pursuits while he sat patiently waiting for his wife of 28 years, Natasha Duffy, to finish an appointment with her ophthalmologist. Most people of his stature would likely have canceled the interview, but Salley’s not your average celebrity.

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Upworthy: What was your interest initially in becoming vegan?

John Salley: My mother was a kosher caterer in Brooklyn growing up. She got together with a bunch of other folks from South Carolina and created a farm in the backyard of an old house. They grew cabbage, cucumbers, okra, collard greens, peppers, and I was always that kid growing up around this. I was a vegetable kid. My treat was a cucumber and ice tea. Then in 1992, my cholesterol was 271. There were guys on the team [Miami Heat] who were 12 years older with lower cholesterol than mine. They wanted to put me on a pill and it had a side effect of erectile dysfunction. So, I said there has to be a better way. I went to see a doctor, had my first colonic, I lost like 30 pounds, I was so impacted. Then I started off macrobiotic. I was jumping higher. I was happier. My libido was through the roof and my cholesterol was nowhere to be found. To this day I don’t eat any oil. I only eat algae oil and I saute vegetables using water, onions, or garlic.

UP: What are your other keys to staying healthy?

JS: Walking 45 minutes a day. Stretching. I add trace minerals and one teaspoon of baking soda to my water and drink about 12-16 ounces first thing in the morning. When I get up I try not to moan.

UP: Why did you get into the cannabis business?

JS: For starters, it was the wild wild west. And the fact that so many people were in jail because of a weed that was set up for them to have. They’re not growing weed in the hood. They don’t make machine guns in the hood. They don’t make heroin or cocaine in the hood. But now there were going to be people making billions in the weed business and it was open. I’m the first NBA ballplayer to be in the cannabis business. Obviously, the NBA didn’t hire me to do any more appearances and I was fine with that. I got in [to cannabis] because I could be an entrepreneur. I wasn’t grandfathered in. But, it’s still not equal. They give you a license, but when you find a building, the landlord won’t rent to you if you’re growing. They’re still redlining as many Black folks as they can. I didn’t want another industry where my people were kept out. I realized the future was female. So, when we started Deuces 22 my daughter became the CEO at 19-years-old. We wanted to get in and make a difference. We’re focused on destigmatizing the cannabis industry, and want to emphasize the science that is within it. This benefits the entire sector. We’re also doing a reality TV show. And I film everything we do to destigmatize the industry and show the world what Tyla is doing.

UP: Tell me about your interest in IKIN, the San Diego-based hologram technology company.

JS: As soon as I saw what they were doing and after I heard the CEO and founder Joe Ward, I texted my partner and said move everything to the side. We’re in! I’m a tech kid. I graduated from Georgia Tech because I love that kind of engineering. I drive a Tesla, not because it’s cool, but because it’s the future. When I saw the hologram, the first person I told about was my friend [actor] Will Smith. I said these guys have figured out how to bend light. If you can bend light, you can bend time. If you can bend time, you can see the future. All these things we’re seeing in movies, the team at IKIN are making into a reality.

* According to IKIN,the technology turns all smart phone content into 3D experiences, including games, video, photos, driving directions, social media, etc. It becomes a much more immersive experience.Business use cases include teleconferencing, remote healthcare, warehousing, hospitality and online shopping.

UP: Talk about your upcoming Disney flick “Sneakerella.”

JS: I’m a huge movie buff. One of my favorite movies is “West Side Story.” I know every song. So, when I got to be in a musical, a Disney musical, I was excited. I love that the director [Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum] is an editor and allowed me to try a lot of different takes. Seriously, I was with the next Denzel Washington [Chosen Jacobs] and Angela Bassett.[Lexi Underwood] and I told them that. And I get to play this great role, who’s a lot like me. He has daughters and I have daughters. When people ask me about not having sons, I say, ‘I don’t have time for dummies.’But, seriously, this movie is one of the best things I’ve ever done.

UP: Who was the best coach you’ve ever worked with and why?

JS: In my life, I would say Ted Gustis. He started working with me at 12. And now I’m his health coach. He became a vegan five years ago. Chuck Daly was my favorite and first NBA coach. He never talked down to me. I’d also say Barney Davis who literally taught me fundamentals, Joe Reynolds who made me tough, and Phil Jackson gave me two shots. Although he didn’t allow me to continue with the Lakers, he allowed me to jump two feet into entertainment. Because when I didn’t have a chance to go back to the Lakers, he told me in June he ‘didn’t have any real estate for me,’ in September I had my own late-night talk show on BET. As the Dalai Lama says, “Sometimes not getting what you want is an unbelievable stroke of good luck.”

UP: Talk about meeting the Dalai Lama?

JS: I’ve always been enamored with India. So when a friend offered to do a documentary with me in India, I said, ‘when do we leave?’ I had the most terrifying ride for five hours up to Dharamsala. I’m understanding that this is big, but I’ve had championships, so I understand the pressure. You get to the palace. You get to the first floor and people are looking at you and bowing and whispering. Then you go to the second floor. And again, they’re looking at you and whispering. They’re checking your energy. When you get to the third level, there’s one dude. He tells you don’t touch him [Dalai Lama] , don’t bum-rush him, and be very respectful. Then he walks in and everyone’s bowing. I look at him and he says ‘you’ve got a very nice smile.’ And I say, ‘I was thinking the same thing.’ He tells me to come up and sit with him. He says you’ve got two questions. So, the first thing I ask him is to sign my shirt. Which he does in Tibetan. Then I asked him, ‘How did you know you were the one?’ And he says, ‘How did you know you were the one?’ And I said ‘when I was 12-years-old I knew I’d be a pro and it all came spurting out.’ And he said he had the same feeling when he was 6-year-old. Look, I’ve jumped out of a plane, and meeting him was the same feeling. He was ultra-human.

UP: Who do you think are the top 5 greatest NBA players? Why?

JS: They should be judged by decades. Michael Jordan was the best in the 90s. Kobe Bryant was the best in the 2000s. LeBron is the best after 2010. Now you have Kevin Durant who is the best of 2017. The best big man ever is Wilt Chamberlain and then you have Magic and Bird who changed the way we look at sports.

In early July, James Blake confirmed that his next album was done, and a few weeks later let fans know that Friends That Break Your Heart would be here by the fall. His fifth full-length album came out via Republic Records just a few days ago, and includes guests like SZA, along with more of the yearning, eerie production that has long made him an influence on the rest of the music world.

Today, Blake has shared a rework of one of the songs on the album, “Funeral,” and this new version features the UK rapper Slowthai. The pair also appear in a black-and-white video accompanying the track together, which you can watch above. Finally, they will both appear on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon tonight to perform the collaboration. Perhaps Blake’s girlfriend and collaborator Jameela Jamila will also join the pair at the performance, as she has plenty off experience on stage as a working actress and TV show host, and was also credited with helping produce nine (!) out of the twelve songs on the album. Of course, sexist skeptics questioned the validity of her contributions, but she slammed them back on Twitter in true Jameela fashion. Keep an eye out for that performance tonight and check out the video above.