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R. Kelly is currently on trial facing charges including sex crimes, human trafficking, child pornography, racketeering, and obstruction of justice. After the prosecution had several alleged victims come forward to detail the reported abuse they faced at the hands of the R&B singer, Kelly’s defense team is now making their case. But just after the singer failed to produce one of his own witnesses, Kelly is now reportedly opting out of testifying on his own behalf.

During his hearing on Wednesday, Kelly told the judge that he won’t be taking the the witness stand to defend himself, per a report from Billboard. “You don’t want to testify, correct?” US District Judge Ann Connelly asked during the proceeding, to which Kelly replied: “Yes, ma’am.” Apparently, Kelly’s main reason is that he wants to avoid cross-examination from prosecution.

Kelly’s defense team is expected to rest their case on Wednesday evening, making way for closing arguments. Kelly’s defense case has been relatively brief and primarily relies on employees and other associates who agreed to discredit the sex crime allegations on the singer’s behalf. Per Billboard‘s report, most witnesses claimed they never saw Kelly abuse anyone, with one mentioning they only ever saw the singer being “chivalrous” to his love interests. Another witness, however, admitted on the stand that they owed Kelly for their career success and hoped to see him win the case.

On the other hand, the prosecution in Kelly’s case have brought a number of witnesses to the stands. One witness claimed they saw Aaliyah, who was under age when she met Kelly, in a sexual situation with the singer. Another woman accused Kelly of horrific and abusive sex crimes, including a forced abortion.

A controversial post by the Winter Haven Police Department in Florida has dredged up a unique debate over whether it’s acceptable for a seemingly desperate father to steal from a multi-billion dollar corporation.

On Saturday, the police department posted security camera footage of a man pushing a shopping cart with his two young children at a local Walmart. According to the police, the man attempted to buy diapers and baby wipes but his card was declined at the self-checkout.

The man left the store then returned without the children to buy the products with a different card which was also declined.

The man then left the store with the items without paying.

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The police department posted a photo of the man on its Facebook page with a snarky comment. “So when your card is declined and you try another one with the same result, that is NOT license to just walk out with the items anyway,” the department wrote.

(The original post by the Winter Haven Police Department did not obscure the man’s face.)

The police department posted the images and description of the crime in an attempt to find the man and charge him with shoplifting. According to Winter Haven police, Walmart has a zero-tolerance policy and wants the man to be arrested.

This post rubbed a lot of people the wrong way because the man was caught stealing necessities for his children. He wasn’t stealing alcohol or a television set. Diapers are not cheap and there are a lot of people struggling to make ends meet during the pandemic.

The post received well over 1,000 comments with many offering to pay for what the man stole.

via Facebook

via Facebook

via Facebook

via Facebook

There were also a lot of people who thought the police department acted in poor form by shaming a man who committed a crime to provide necessities for his children. Many called the department directly to say they believe the charges should be dropped.

via Facebook

via Facebook

via Facebook

It’s impossible to know what type of pressure the man was under when he decided it was better to steal the diapers and wipes instead of paying for them. If he had access to money at home but didn’t feel like making a second trip, then stealing the diapers was clearly wrong.

But if the man was down on his luck and had no other options then one can understand his decision. If he didn’t, he would have been forced to neglect the health of his young children which is also morally reprehensible.

Regardless if you agree with the man’s actions or not, his children shouldn’t have to go without clean diapers.

Some in the comments said that there are community resources available to parents who need help affording diapers and he should have reached out to one of those organizations before he decided to steal.

Whether the man was right to steal or not, comes down to all of our personal values. But the positive thing that has come out of the story is the number of people who were willing to help the man by paying for his diapers. It shows that there are a lot of kind-hearted people out there that are looking for ways to help those in need.

It was also heartening to see the number of people who criticized the police department for shaming a man that committed a crime out of what appeared to be desperation. The police have a duty to uphold the law, but that doesn’t mean it’s right for them to shame parents who are in need.

The last we heard from Flint, Michigan native BFB Da Packman, the jokester rapper was preparing his debut release, Fat N****s Need Love Too. Today, he becomes the latest guest on UPROXX Sessions, bringing his unique, off-kilter lyrical sensibilities to a boisterous performance of “Weekend At Solomon’s,” a standout from the album. Rocking a Day-Glo Balenciaga long-sleeved shirt, BFB swaggers through chuckle-inducing bars like “I had a fat mama, dawg, I dare you n****s blame me.”

BFB is part of a wave of rappers emerging from Michigan by embracing a behind-the-pocket flow marked by smirking, tongue-in-cheek punchlines. He stands apart from them with his externally-facing outlook; while rappers like Babyface Ray, Icewear Vezzo, Rio Da Yung OG, and Sada Baby are more insular, preferring to work within their tight-knit but growing circle, Packman has stretched out beyond the Great Lake State, pulling rappers from all over into his orbit on Fat N****s Need Love Too. While the album does feature locals like DDG, Payroll Giovanni, and Sada Baby, it also employs appearances from Buffalo brick rap powerhouse Benny The Butcher, XXL Freshman Coi Leray, the stoner avatar Wiz Khalifa, and maniacal standup comic Zack Fox. Packman also recently featured on Guapdad 4000’s “Alpha” remix, popping up in whiteface to represent a pernicious Permit Patrick.

Watch BFB Da Packman perform “Weekend At Solomon’s” for UPROXX Sessions above.

Ted Lasso is a good show, no matter what the dreaded Discourse says. But it’s also done a lot of good for this world for introducing Brett Goldstein to a wider (non-British) audience: me. Ted Lasso introduced Brett Goldstein to me. I wish I had known about the actor and comedian, who won an Emmy over the weekend for his performance as lovable grouch Roy Kent on the Apple TV+ series, sooner because then I could have flown to Europe in 2017 for the express purpose of seeing him perform The Muppets Christmas Carol in six minutes. It would have been worth every cent.

As spotted by Twitter user Bryant Covelli, Goldstein sang his way through a medley of the holiday classic’s finest musical moments, including “One More Sleep ’til Christmas,” “Marley and Marley,” “Thankful Heart” (his Michael Caine impression is solid), and my personal favorite, “It Feels Like Christmas.” He even brought props, much to the delight of the woman recording the video who’s losing her freaking mind. I do not blame her.

“So. For Parkinson’s UK, Amusical made my Muppets dream come true at their excellent gig. I wasn’t going to post this video, but then I thought, if you watch it and like it, please feel free to donate to Parkinson’s UK as they do excellent work,” the YouTube video description reads. “As for the wonderful night, I have to thank the amazing Dave Cribb for putting the music together, Kiri McLean and Jayde Adams for being hilarious and kicking the roof off and to the house band for keeping up with all sorts of mixed signals, and to Hannah Martin for making sure my sister Tara Goldstein didn’t hurt anybody and to the audience for letting me get away with it. So here it is. The Muppet Christmas Carol in 6 minutes. Thank you very much. Please give generously and Merry Christmas.”

I need to hear Goldstein say “Muppets dream” in his Roy Kent voice.

Anyway, this video was uploaded four years ago, but you can still donate here. Come on, don’t be a Scrooge. And as always, please remember: light the lamp, not the rat.

Netflix greets the brisk air of fall with the realization that summer didn’t really happen this year, so they’re going to keep the home-party going for us while we avoid state fairs. Also, the witching season is upon us, which means that there’s a few fistfuls of spooky offerings, including the Penn Badgley-starring You, now entering its third round of stalker antics. The tables have truly turned on Joe, though, and that’s a serendipitous counterpoint to the sophomore season of Sexy Beasts, which is landing as a surprise.

For fans of zombie pictures (and their prequels), Zack Snyder returns with his speedy followup to Army of the Dead, and that promises fewer members of the dead but more heisting. On a sadder note, Margaret Qualley stars in a series adaptation that might send some award rumblings in her direction, and for a still somber but more uplifting selection, a Princess Diana musical is coming, too. If you’re still not satisfied, there’s plenty more to browse through below, including the final Shameless season.

Here’s everything coming to (and leaving) Netflix in October.

You: Season 3 (Netflix series streaming 10/15)

Nothing says (twisted) family bonding like two parents digging a grave for their murder victims while an infant sits in his car seat and does his best to amuse himself. Yikes. From the looks of things, this show somehow manages to sustain its own gimmick after a second season of barely containing its own crazy (and careening off a cliff). Near the end of that sophomore round, Stalker Joe (Penn Badgley) found himself trapped in a relationship with a woman, Love Quinn (Victoria Pedretti), who’s just as homicidal (if not more) as he is. Naturally, it seemed that Joe didn’t quite learn his lesson by the end of the season, and we saw him noticing that he’s got an attractive neighbor that perhaps he might stalk. This sounds like a good time for the ghost of Beck to deliver a lecture, and who knows what shall happen there, but in the Season 3 trailer, Joe appears to be scared out of his mind. (Good!) Love definitely has the upper hand, or so it appears, but Joe’s awfully nervous that his kid will follow in his parents’ footsteps.

Army of Thieves (Netflix film streaming 10/29)

Netflix bet on dead with Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead, and that bet apparently paid off handsomely, which is a good thing because there’s already a prequel in the can and on the way to your queue. Matthias Schweighöfer returns to the franchise as Dieter, a then-bank teller who’s recruited by a very convincing Nathalie Emmanuel (who promises “a life less ordinary”) to begin his heisting career. Of course, this prequel isn’t entirely devoid of zombies. The outbreak already existed, given that this is Snyder’s zombie universe, and soon enough, the safes start cracking, or rather, Dieter gets to cracking them. In the process, he gets sucked into a lot more action that he probably bargained for, including a speedboat chase.

MAID (Netflix series streaming 10/1)

Margaret Qualley (Once Upon A Time In Hollywood) stars in this heartbreaking adaptation of Stephanie Land’s New York Times best-selling memoir, Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive. This will, clearly, be a difficult watch, but Qualley’s raw portrayal (of a woman who flees an abusive relationship to go through exceedingly difficult times to break the cycle for her daughter) yields a burgeoning star.

Sexy Beasts: Season 2 (Netflix series streaming 10/7)

Well, no one expected this show to return so soon, so I guess that one could consider it a… force of nature? It’s a nightmare of a concept, and one can’t look away from the trainwrecky aspect of people going into hours of prosthetic work to go on a date. And I’m not sure, really, if these contestants find it more or less hurtful to be rejected without any consideration of looks? That’s either so much better or so much worse than the usual dating hell out there. Yet obviously, someone did this poor rabbit dirty. Will Rob Delaney return as well? Surely, he can’t let the bunny down.

Diana: The Musical (Netflix special streaming 10/1)

On the heels of even more The Crown Emmy wins (it’s almost cruel to other contenders at this point), here’s the streaming debut (which undoubtedly also finds inspiration in Hamilton success on Disney+) ahead of this production’s official Broadway debut to shine even more of a light on Princess Diana’s legacy. Unfortunately, the secrecy so far means that we can’t make promises on quality, but this is almost guaranteed to get a rise out of Piers Morgan, so that’s a virtue in its own right.

Coming Soon
A World Without
An Astrological Guide for Broken Hearts
Call My Agent: Bollywood
Encounters: Season 1
House of Secrets: The Burari Deaths
Inspector Koo
The Raincoat Killer: Chasing a Predator in Korea

Avail. 10/1
A Sinister Sect: Colonia Dignidad
Diana: The Musical
Forever Rich
The Guilty
MAID
Paik’s Spirit
Scaredy Cats
The Seven Deadly Sins: Cursed by Light
Swallow
A Knight’s Tale
An Inconvenient Truth
Are You Afraid of the Dark?: Season 1
As Good as It Gets
Awakenings
B.A.P.S.
Bad Teacher
The Cave
Desperado
The Devil Inside
Don’t Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood
Double Team
The DUFF
Eagle Eye
Endless Love
Ghost
Gladiator
Hairspray
The Holiday
Jet Li’s Fearless
The Karate Kid
Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life
Léon: The Professional
Malcolm X
Observe and Report
Once Upon a Time in Mexico
Project X
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
Rumor Has It…
Seinfeld: Seasons 1-9
Serendipity
Spy Kids
Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams
Spy Kids 3: Game Over
Step Brothers
The Ugly Truth
Till Death
Titanic
Tommy Boy
Unthinkable
Waterworld
Zodiac

Avail. 10/3
Scissor Seven: Season 3
Upcoming Summer

Avail. 10/4
On My Block: Season 4

Avail. 10/5
Escape The Undertaker

Avail. 10/6
Bad Sport
Baking Impossible
The Blacklist: Season 8
Ella Fitzgerald: Just One of Those Things
The Five Juanas
Love Is Blind: Brazil
There’s Someone Inside Your House

Avail. 10/7
The Billion Dollar Code
Sexy Beasts: Season 2
​​The Way of the Househusband: Season 1 Part 2

Avail. 10/8
A Tale Dark & Grimm
Family Business: Season 3
Grudge / Kin
​​LOL Surprise: The Movie
My Brother, My Sister
Pokémon the Movie: Secrets of the Jungle
Pretty Smart

Avail. 10/9
Blue Period
Insidious: Chapter 2

Avail. 10/11
The Baby-Sitters Club: Season 2
Going in Style
The King’s Affection
Shameless (U.S.): Season 11

Avail. 10/12
Bright: Samurai Soul
Convergence: Courage in a Crisis
Making Malinche: A Documentary by Nacho Cano
Mighty Express: Season 5
The Movies That Made Us: Season 3
Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go For It
Smart People

Avail. 10/13
Fever Dream / Distancia de Rescate
Hiacynt
Love Is Blind: Brazil
Reflection of You
Violet Evergarden the Movie

Avail. 10/14
Another Life: Season 2
​​In the Dark: Season 3
One Night in Paris

Avail. 10/15
CoComelon: Season 4
The Forgotten Battle
The Four of Us
Karma’s World
Little Things: Season 4
My Name
Power Rangers Dino Fury: Season 1
Sharkdog’s Fintastic Halloween
The Trip
You: Season 3

Avail. 10/16
Misfit: The Series
​​Victoria & Abdul

Avail. 10/19
In for a Murder / W jak morderstwo

Avail. 10/20
Found
Gabby’s Dollhouse: Season 3
Love Is Blind: Brazil
Night Teeth
Stuck Together

Avail. 10/21
Flip a Coin – ONE OK ROCK Documentary
Go! Go! Cory Carson: Season 6
Insiders
Komi Can’t Communicate
Life’s a Glitch with Julien Bam
Sex, Love & goop

Avail. 10/22
Adventure Beast
​​Dynasty: Season 4
Inside Job
Little Big Mouth
Locke & Key: Season 2
Maya and the Three
More than Blue: The Series
Roaring Twenties

Avail. 10/24
We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks

Avail. 10/25
King Arthur: Legend of the Sword

Avail. 10/26
Roswell, New Mexico: Season 3
Sex: Unzipped

Avail. 10/27
Begin Again
Hypnotic
Nobody Sleeps in the Woods Tonight Part 2
Sintonia: Season 2
Wentworth: Season 8
Luis Miguel – The Series: Season 3
The Motive

Avail. 10/29
Army of Thieves
Dear Mother
Mythomaniac: Season 2
Roaring Twenties
Thomas and Friends: Season 25 A
The Time It Takes

Here’s the full list of titles leaving Netflix in October:

Leaving 10/1
Death Race: Beyond Anarchy
Tales From the Hood 2

Leaving 10/3
Angel Has Fallen

Leaving 10/6
Real Steel

Leaving 10/14
Cheech & Chong’s Still Smokin

Leaving 10/15
The Creative Brain

Leaving 10/17
U Turn

Leaving 10/20
Containment: Season 1
Free Fire

Leaving 10/21
The Hummingbird Project

Leaving 10/23
The Mist: Season 1

Leaving 10/27
Rango
Shine On with Reese: Season 1

Leaving 10/28
Pup Star

Leaving 10/29
The 12th Man
Zack and Miri Make a Porno

Leaving 10/1
60 Days In: Season 5
Angels & Demons
Battle: Los Angeles
Beowulf
Billy on the Street: Seasons 1-5
Catch Me If You Can
The Da Vinci Code
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
Forged in Fire: Season 6
The Heartbreak Kid
The Impossible
Inception
Legally Blonde
Mile 22
Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You
Reckoning: Limited Series
Snowden
Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny
Yes Man

In news that Rihanna fans are painfully aware of at this point, this singer’s most recent album is 2016’s Anti, which was released nearly six years ago now. In the years since, Rihanna has periodically offered statements on either when she expects to release the album or what her upcoming music is sounding like. Her latest dispatch on this front falls in the latter category, as she’s teasing an experimental new project.

In an interview with the Associated Press (on the red carpet of her latest Savage X Fenty fashion show), Rihanna said:

“You’re not going to expect what you hear. Just put that in your mind. Whatever you know of Rihanna is not going to be what you hear. I’m really experimenting. Music is like fashion: you should be able to play. I should be able to wear whatever I want, and I treat music the same way. So, I’m having fun and it’s going to be completely different. That’s it.”

This expands upon what she noted at the end of 2020 when she said, “2021 is a little unknown for everybody and nobody is sure what restrictions there are going to be. My creativity is within my control, though, and I want to take my music and my brands to a different level.”

Watch the interview below.

As Succession Season 3 gets ready to make its long-awaited premiere next month, creator Jesse Armstrong wants to save fans the trouble of parsing through the show’s opening credits for clues about where the story is heading next. While speaking at a Television Critics Association panel, Armstrong addressed the online theory that the title credits highlight which character is the main focus of the current season. Essentially, that’s not how Succession does things, but Armstrong did his best to let Easter egg hunters down easy. Via The Wrap:

“We look carefully at the titles, we’re not in the habit of trying to really ferret away little clues, but it’s nice when things join up in the show,” Armstrong said Wednesday during the show’s Television Critics Association press tour panel. “We all have quite a detailed knowledge of this business in this world, and sometimes fragments fit together for people. But we’re not a super Easter Egg’y operation. That’s a cool thing some people do. It’s not especially what we do.”

On a related note, Armstrong also told the same TCA panel that the writers don’t necessarily sit down with the intention of making each season about a specific character. Case in point, there’s speculation that Season 3 will focus on either Cousin Greg or Connor Roy, which Armstrong was quick to dispel.

“In terms of is it a ‘Greg’ season or a ‘Connor’ season, it is mouthwatering to write for all of these brilliant colleagues,” Armstrong said (via Variety). “Maybe sometimes you look at the wall towards the end and you go, ‘Wow, this season’s really come together for Connor or for Greg,’ but going in, we try not to have those thoughts of, ‘OK last season was the season for Character X, so now we need to do a season for Character Y.’”

Of course, the most pressing question is whether Succession viewers will finally get to see a Tomlette made in real time. Giving the fans what they want is never a bad move. Just throwing that out there.

Succession Season 3 premieres October 17 on HBO.

(Via The Wrap, Variety)

Updates about Britney Spears’ conservatorship have been dominating the news in recent months, and with her father stepping down from his role as co-conservator and filing a petition to end the legal arrangement, many are hopeful that #FreeBritney’s mission will eventually become a reality. It now looks like Spears’ freedom could come sooner rather seeing as her lawyer has reportedly filed official court documents seeking an end to the singer’s conservatorship this fall.

According to a report from TMZ, Matthew Rosengart, Spears’ personal attorney, is looking to expedite an end to the singer’s legal situation. In new court documents, Rosengart claims there have been a change in circumstances that should allow Spears to have complete control over her life. The fact she was able to select her own lawyer, Rosengart says, means she has the “capacity and capability to identify, engage, and instruct counsel of her own choice.”

The newly filed court documents also reportedly mention Jamie Spears’ recent statements on the matter. “If Ms. Spears wants to terminate the conservatorship and believes that she can handle her own life, Mr. Spears believes that she should get that chance,” the documents state. Spears herself asks for a “termination plan” to be put in place that will act as a guide to end her conservatorship.

Spears does have a court date set for next week that will discuss her father’s removal as her co-conservator, something Rosengart claims should be done immediately. The attorney gave a list of reasons why Jamie should no longer have control over Spears’ finances, saying he has no background in finance or economics and has a history of problems with managing his own money. “The Kafkaesque nightmare imposed upon her by her father so that her dignity and basic liberties can be restored,” Rosengart said.

A new book coming from Washington Post reporters Robert Costa and Bob Woodward has been spilling all kinds of tea about the final weeks of Donald Trump’s presidency, but the latest truth bomb is a pretty explosive one.

During an interview with MSNBC, the two authors shared an excerpt from the book detailing how Trump henchman Steve Bannon had organized a “war-room” type meeting the night before the Jan. 6th insurrection. According to Costa and Woodward, both Bannon and Rudy Giuliani camped out at the Willard Hotel, just a few blocks from the White House, and met with several close allies of the president before his rally incited a violent mob to attack Capitol Hill.

“Bannon had actually been in close touch with President Trump for days before January 6th,” Costa alleged. “Based on our reporting, he privately told President Trump to have a reckoning on January 6th. And he said to the president, ‘It’s time to kill the Biden presidency in the crib.’”

A fairly ominous and damning statement you’d think Bannon would want to distance himself from after seeing how things turned out for Trump after the riots but, apparently, the former political strategist has no qualms about tying himself to a treasonous uprising. On his conservative broadcast Wednesday morning, Bannon played a clip of the two journalists detailing his involvement in the Jan. 6th insurrection before proudly taking credit for the chaos Trump caused with his baseless voter fraud allegations.

“Yeah, because [of] his legitimacy,” Bannon said after Costa’s allegation that he wanted to kill Biden’s presidency before it began. “Just look at what this illegitimate regime is doing. It killed itself. OK? But we told you from the very beginning, just expose it, just expose it, never back down, never give up and this thing will implode.”

Ahh, to have the confidence of an aging white man who knows he’ll probably never have to face the consequences of trying to topple our country’s democracy.

After five years of being shuffled around various studios, the American television adaptation of Let the Right One In is finally seeing the light of day… or rather the dark of night. According to Deadline, the critically-acclaimed vampire drama has been welcomed into Showtime’s home and is currently in production for the network.

The ten-episode order and will go into production in New York City in early 2022 with Andrew Hinderaker (Penny Dreadful) aboard as the project’s showrunner and Seith Mann as the series’ director. In addition, Demián Bichir, known for his roles in The Nun, Land, and The Hateful Eight, is set to star in the series alongside Anika Noni Rose (Dreamgirls, The Princess and the Frog), Grace Gummer (Dr. Death, Mr. Robot), Madison Taylor Baez (Selena: The Series), Kevin Carroll (Paid in Full, Snowfall), Ian Foreman, and Jacob Buster (The Christmas Project).

Inspired by the best-selling 2004 novel by John Ajvide Lindqvist and its 2008 Swedish film adaptation, the upcoming Let the Right One In series follows Mark (Bichir) and his forever 12-year-old daughter Eleanor (Baez) as they are forced to grapple with the young girl’s vampirism. Throughout the heartbreaking drama, Mark tries his best to give his daughter a happy and safe life, going to dark and drastic lengths to provide her with the human blood she needs to live.

Let the Right One In is being developed by Tomorrow Studios, the same studio that’s been working on the series since 2015 and throughout its moves from A&E and TNT to its final location at Showtime. As of right now, there is no set release date for the series, though filming is set to begin early next year.