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The Golden Globes have long been a staple of awards season. It’s the less respected, far drunker answer to both the Oscars and the Emmys. But last year they ran into a major pickle. Long-simmering frustrations about the Hollywood Foreign press Association’s lack of diversity, even outright racism finally came to a head. Talent boycotted it. NBC dropped it from its 2022 slate. But next year’s awards are still happening — even though there’s currently no network to air them.

As per Variety, the organization, whose voting body comprises the Golden Globes, is still planning a show of some sort. “The HFPA plans to recognize the performances of 2021 to celebrate the great work of the industry this past year at the 79th Annual Golden Globes,” a source told the publication. In other words, it’s business as usual, minus, currently, the part where drunk celebrities gather in a large auditorium while a host like Ricky Gervais makes fun of them in front of a national audience.

That could still happen, potentially, in some form. A reporter at Puck speculated that the 2022 iteration of the Globes could take the form of a press conference. That doesn’t have the same appeal as yet another glitzy awards show, though those have suffered over the last handful of years, hitting a nadir during the height of the pandemic, when such shows struggled for ratings.

Since NBC dropped the Globes in May, the HFPA has been quick to make reforms, hoping to patch up the relationship. (The network has said they’d be open to picking things back up in 2023.) Among the changes was adding 21 new members, including 29% Black journalists, forbidding its members from collecting gifts and trips, and adding new directors to oversee ethics and diversity changes. That may be too little, too late for 2022, but maybe 2023 will be the year they hit big.

(Via Variety)

On Friday, as part of the investigation into the Washington Football Team’s toxic culture, an email from Jon Gruden to former Washington executive Bruce Allen that used racist tropes to describe then NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith was uncovered that became one of the biggest talking points in the NFL.

Gruden continued to coach on Sunday, but the Raiders and the NFL were expected to look into the matter further this week. On Monday night, more emails from Gruden to Allen emerged that showed a pattern of offensive language, as he used homophobic slurs, misogynistic language, and more on a number of occasions. It is some horrific, inexcusable language and the conversation shifted from “will the Raiders fire him” to “when will the Raiders fire him” very quickly.

The answer came quickly, as Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reported Gruden told his staff that he would be resigning immediately following the leak of the latest emails — with more potentially to follow. Adam Schefter of ESPN confirmed the news shortly after.

It brings Gruden’s tenure with the Raiders to an end and should also be the end of Gruden being part of any NFL team or anyone’s NFL coverage ever again. Gruden went 22-31 in his three-plus seasons back in charge of the Raiders, who will now have to find a new head coach as they look to move forward after a 3-2 start to this season.

UPDATE: Gruden issued a very brief statement regarding his resignation and the emails that came to light.

After a report from the Wall Street Journal uncovered Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden using racist language toward NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith in 2011, Gruden issued an apology, stating he is “really sorry” and “used a horrible way of explaining” a comment about Smith’s lips. Just days later, additional emails have been uncovered by Ken Belson and Katherine Rosman of The New York Times and they are of a troubling nature, as well.

The report indicates Gruden “casually and frequently unleashed misogynistic and homophobic language over several years to denigrate people around the game and to mock some of the league’s momentous changes.” An example of that highly inappropriate and indefensible language was shared in reference to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and former Missouri Tigers star Michael Sam.

In the emails, Gruden called the league’s commissioner, Roger Goodell, a “f*****” and a “clueless anti football p*ssy” and said that Goodell should not have pressured Jeff Fisher, then the coach of the Rams, to draft “queers,” a reference to Michael Sam, a gay player chosen by the team in 2014.

The emails point to Gruden’s apparent regular use of homophobic slurs, which is particularly notable given he is currently coaching the NFL’s first active player to come out as gay in Raiders defensive end Carl Nassib. Gruden also reportedly indicated that Eric Reid should be fired following his demonstrations during the national anthem. His comments were also not limited to the NFL, as he reportedly shared inappropriate sentiment about former President Barack Obama and current President and then-vice president Joe Biden.

Gruden also criticized President Obama during his re-election campaign in 2012, as well as then-vice president Joe Biden, whom Gruden called a “nervous clueless p*ssy.” He used similar words to describe Goodell and DeMaurice Smith, the executive director of the N.F.L. Players Association.

At the very least, Gruden’s comments put his job in significant jeopardy, even with a massive contract to lead the Raiders organization on the field. While his words in these emails were uttered when he was an ESPN analyst and not a representative of the Raiders, the mounting evidence is impossible to ignore or excuse. Gruden’s previous apology certainly won’t cover the additional revelations here and, in addition, it is possible there is even more to parse as his emails continue to be investigated by the league and team.

Two days ago on Instagram, the brand new @calivibesfest account posted a cryptic video with a caption that said “Something is on the horizon.” It didn’t take long for us to find out what that “something” is, as the lineup and dates for Goldenvoice’s brand new California Vibrations Festival (Cali Vibes) has now been announced. Wu-Tang Clan and a very special Bob Marley Birthday Celebration with Ziggy, Damian, Julian, Stephen and Ky-Mani Marley are highlighting a loaded lineup of reggae, rock, roots and hip-hop. The Bob birthday celebration is especially intriguing with The Marley Brothers playing songs from their father’s timeless discography.

The festival takes place from February 2 — 4, 2022 at Marina Green Park in Long Beach and the lineup also includes Rebelution, Sean Paul, Stick Figure, Slightly Stoopid, Sublime With Rome, Dirty Heads, Atmosphere, Barrington Levy, Sean Paul, The Grouch & Eligh, Pepper, Long Beach Dub All-Stars, Koffee and more. Tickets go on-sale this Friday, October 15 and 3-day passes begin at $285 for GA, $420 for VIP and $999 for Beach Club Passes. Single day tickets are also available.

You can view all of the ticket options here. Which also includes single day tickets and payment plans. Visit the festival’s site for more info on everything and check out the full lineup poster for the 3-day festival below.

The GOP is for the most part ride or die against masks and vaccines, despite the best efforts of leaders like Mitch McConnell. (And every great now and then Trump, who is partly responsible for the latter.) Things are so bad even those who’ve actually caught COVID, and suffered, aren’t convinced. Such is the case with Allen West, the former congressman and possible future Texas governor, who tweeted out a deranged anti-vaxx screed…while in the hospital for the disease against which he’s not vaccinated.

West — who isn’t one of the most famous members of the Trump-era GOP but who has nonetheless been an unhinged firebrand since the Tea Party era — used his preventable stint in a Texas emergency room to encourage others to be like him and render hospitals even more clogged than they are. He wasn’t against treatment for the virus. He actually quite enjoyed the alternative, namely monoclonal antibody treatments, which is more time-consuming, costlier, and not as effective.

“I can attest that, after this experience, I am even more dedicated to fighting against vaccine mandates,” West tweeted. “Instead of enriching the pockets of Big Pharma and corrupt bureaucrats and politicians, we should be advocating the monoclonal antibody infusion therapy.” (Spoiler: Monoclonal antibody treatments are also supplied by “Big Pharma.”)

West also made sure to slip in a tenuous jab at non-Americans. “Instead of jabbing Americans, and not illegal immigrants, with a dangerous shot which injects them with these spike proteins . . . guess what? I now have natural immunity and double the antibodies, and that’s science,” he wrote. Although, is it?

He promised, if he replaces the also questionable Greg Abbott, he will “vehemently crush anyone forcing vaccine mandates in the Lone Star State.” He added, “Our bodies are our last sanctuary of liberty and freedom, I will defend that for everyone, even the progressive socialist jackasses who must be saved from themselves.”

West — who in the past has praised such unproven COVID remedies as invermectin, hydroxychloroquine, and anti-malarial medication — also thanked the hospital staff for making him grits.

When West’s thread went viral, some didn’t agree 100% with his police work.

As social media dog-piled on West, he did the smart thing: He turned off the replies to his tweets.

(Via The Daily Beast)

The New Orleans Pelicans enter the 2021-22 NBA season with a sense of urgency. There were some positive signs from New Orleans a season ago but, after the season, the Pelicans moved on from Stan Van Gundy, flipped Lonzo Ball and Steven Adams, and remade the roster around Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram. However, Pelicans president of basketball operations David Griffin shared a curveball at the team’s Media Day in September, revealing that Williamson suffered a fracture in his right foot that required surgery in the offseason.

At the time, Griffin indicated that Williamson was on track to be ready for the regular season, but with the Pelicans beginning their 82-game journey in fewer than 10 days, it seems as if the team’s franchise player isn’t quite game-ready.

In addition to indicating that Williamson has been relegated to only some light shooting and dribbling, head coach Willie Green shared that his status won’t change, at least when it comes to running, until his scan results are in. “We’re holding him back on running until we know further from his tests coming up,” Green said, via Andrew Lopez of ESPN.

It isn’t impossible that Williamson could function in a regular season setting in the near term, but New Orleans plays their opener on Oct. 20. That leaves a very short timetable for Williamson if he isn’t running at this stage, and that is before taking into account any extra caution the Pelicans might exercise with their centerpiece. New Orleans does have other weapons, headlined by Ingram, but the Pelicans are clearly built around Williamson, and this is a situation that is worth closely monitoring as the season looms.

The obsession with Machine Gun Kelly and Megan Fox’s romance has made its way to the cover of British GQ, with the inimitable Molly Lambert tasked with documenting the new couple in their element. And she does not disappoint, prompting Megan to recall some of her earliest impressions of falling for MGK, aka Colson Barker, aka rapper-turned-pop-punk-revivalist and strange beef instigator. Though they really connected on set of their recently-released film, Midnight In The Switchgrass, the pair actually met once before at a GQ party. Yet, that night, the pair didn’t really connect, beyond one epic line from MGK.

“I don’t remember your face… And I definitely would have remembered his face,’” Megan said. “I just remember this tall, blond, ghostly creature and I looked up and I was like, ‘You smell like weed.’ He looked down at me and he was like, ‘I am weed.’ Then, I swear to God, he disappeared like a ninja in a smoke bomb.”

Megan shared more of her thoughts about that night: “I think we weren’t allowed to see each other yet,” she continued. “We weren’t supposed to run into each other that night, so our souls, our spirit guides, were luring us away from each other, because you literally had no face, like that thing from Spirited Away. It is hard to see his face in general, but really he had no face that night.” To MGK: “Thank God, [because] what torture had I known you were there and I couldn’t get to you. It was better that I didn’t know.”

If that doesn’t make you want to read the whole feature, I don’t know what will! Check out the full cover story here.

Though recent months have been filled with controversy and drama for Jeopardy! it was the run of Matt Amodio that brought new life to the syndicated game show. As fans and critics spoke out about its hosting crisis, Amodio cruised to victories reminiscent of James Holzhauer, putting up big numbers on his way to more than $1 million in earnings.

But Amodio’s historic run on Jeopardy! came to an end on Monday when the Ph. D student from New England lost to a newcomer after struggling in the Double Jeopardy round. Amodio’s 38-game winning streak has featured many of the same qualities that past mega-champions have replicated: getting out to big leads early, hitting on Daily Doubles to expand that lead and making Final Jeopardy an afterthought because they simply couldn’t be caught.

But on Monday’s episode, newcomers Jonathan and Jessica made life on stage much tougher for Amodio than he’d seen in recent weeks. Though he had his usual lead after the Jeopardy round, Jonathan found both Daily Doubles back-to-back (getting all three on the day). And though he got the first one wrong and lost $2,000, he took the lead with the third Daily Double and didn’t look back.

Headed into Final Jeopardy, Amodio was trailing ($10,600) compared to Jonathan’s $14,600 and Jessica’s $14,400. Needing both contestants to ultimately get the question wrong, Jonathan actually wagered everything and got it right, doubling his total and dethroning Matt as the new Jeopardy! champion.

Amodio’s run finishes with $1,518,601 in winnings, good for third all-time. His 38 day win total is second in the show’s history behind Ken Jennings.

He’s been stealing movies since he was 14. Starting with Son of Rambow, English actor Will Poulter has been an always welcome presence on the big screen, enriching everything from comedies like We’re the Millers and intense fare, like The Revenant, Detroit, and Midsommar. (Sadly, he had to pull out of the Lord of the Rings series, but with good reason.) Now he’s set to bring life to one of Marvel’s most enigmatic characters.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Poulter has been cast as Adam Warlock in James Gunn’s third volume of Guardians of the Galaxy. Who’s Adam Warlock? Initially called simply “Him,” he’s an artificial being created in a lab who winds up lighting out into the cosmos on his own, getting into adventures. He’s pretty powerful, too: He’s been known to alter his own timeline to get rid of people he doesn’t like. In one timeline, he helps the Avengers and Captain Marvel defeat Thanos.

This iteration of Adam Warlock is obviously too late for that, but surely Gunn has something nifty in store for him, especially considering the pandemic gave him a lot more time than expected to plan the threequel. Luckily, Gunn probably won’t give Warlock the same treatment he gave several characters in The Suicide Squad. Then again, not even Gunn could grant Poulter a fate worse than the one he received in Midsommar.

(Via THR)

There are plenty of kids with great talent out there, but sometimes a child comes along that blows your mind with what they can do.

Miles Bonham is 5-years-old. As in he’s only been on this planet for five years. At least one or two of those years were spent not walking or really talking much, so what he can do with musical instruments and music mixing software at age 5 is…hmmm, how shall I put this…friggin’ mind-blowing.

Let me just add here that my daughter is a music composition major, and music software has been the thing that’s been hardest thing for her to learn. Maybe you have to start when you’re 3 or 4 like Miles? Maybe. I just showed her this video and her exact words were “WHAT IN HECK.?!?”

Behold, Miles the Music Kid doing his thing:

Coldest vid I’ve seen today! #ReturnOfTheMack 🙌🏽 https://t.co/JS0b3UYgUp

— Rondel B. (@greengoinmyeyes)
1633804557.0

Yeah, so that happened. The real winning moment here was the zoom-in on the sippy cup, followed closely by the question of how to spell “harmony.” He can do it, he just can’t spell it.

Also this:

Miles plays guitar, bass guitar, drums, and goodness knows what else. But it’s the putting-it-all-together that wows the most.

Miles’ parents run the Instagram account where videos of his musical prodigiousness are shared. This one shows more of the mixing process, complete with 5-year-old dancing for joy and more lessons on spelling. (And pronouncing as well—it’s “harpsichord,” not “harpsicle,” son.)

He really is quite delightful to watch, and he’s begun to catch the eye of big-name musicians. Lenny Kravitz commented on his most recent video, saying “Love everything about this.”

Oh hey, wanna see him figure out “Stairway to Heaven”? Just, like, figure it out. At 5 years old.

Keep on rockin’, Miles. And keep on sharing your kiddo’s awesomeness, Miles’ parents. Can’t wait to see what this kid can do with another five years on Earth.

You can see more of Miles on Instagram and YouTube.