Mike Richards was the host and executive producer of Jeopardy! for one day — now he’s neither. Last week, Richards stepped down as Alex Trebek’s replacement on the legendary game show following accusations of discrimination and resurfaced offensive comments made on a podcast. He was still employed as an executive producer… until today when he was fired from both Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune.
“I’m writing to let you know that Mike will no longer be serving as EP of Wheel and Jeopardy! effective immediately,” Suzanne Prete, executive vice president, business and strategy, for Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! wrote in a message to the show’s staff. “We had hoped that when Mike stepped down from the host position at Jeopardy! it would have minimized the disruption and internal difficulties we have all experienced these last few weeks. That clearly has not happened.”
Richards’ firing comes after a damning Wall Street Journal report that basically no one enjoyed working with him. “Many longtime staffers have not taken to him since he succeeded the beloved Harry Friedman, who ended his long run as executive producer in 2020,” it reads. “Mr. Richards has a force-of-nature type of persona, with sharp elbows that rub many of the Jeopardy! veterans the wrong way, people close to the show said.”
A full-time host for Jeopardy! has not been announced yet.
Oh boy. I’m not sure where to start here because two 1980s pop-culture figureheads began fighting (Monday) on Twitter, and it’s still going strong with a losing party in full view. Let’s back up a little bit.
The situation in Afghanistan’s a disaster, straight-up, and there’s no debate on that fact, but people disagree on where to place the overall blame. Clearly, President Biden didn’t handle the withdrawal aspect well, although pop-music-sensation/hair-icon Richard Marx found himself pointing out (to Happy Days actor Scott Baio, who has “Chachi” in his Twitter bio) that the War in Afghanistan spans several administrations. The right wing would love to blame Biden for all of it, somehow (and Don Jr. has been gloating over the timing), although the right-wing doesn’t want to talk about the dodgy Trump deal that contributed to the catastrophe.
For whatever reason, Baio decided to call out Marx while asking of celebrity leftists to ask, “Where are you now?” about a Fox News headline about reported Taliban targeting of U.S. allies. This led Marx to ask, “When your racist draft-dodging hero was calling our own military servicemen and women ‘losers and suckers’ where the f*ck were you? You disingenuous [redacted] little twerp.” This led to a “Dick Marx” comeback, of course.
The shitshow in Afghanistan has lots of multi-administration blame to go around. When your racist draft-dodging hero was calling our own military servicemen and women “losers and suckers” where the fuck were you? You disingenuous rapey little twerp. https://t.co/hcwDG7GHw6
And this eventually led Marx to explain that what he’s been doing lately is tending to a family tragedy, which is a significant one. Marx’s mother, singer Ruth Marx, has passed away. She’s been beautifully eulogized by the LA Times‘ Maureen McDonnell.
RIP singer Ruth Marx, who sang backup for son @RichardMarx & jingles for her composer husband Dick Marx. When #TomHanks asked what she did, she sang ‘Ask any mermaid you happen to see, what’s the best tuna?’ & Hanks said ‘Chicken of the Sea!’ https://t.co/g9HAxAoy76 via @SunTimes
Scott Baio didn’t stop firing back after Marx’s mention of a tragedy. He went on to call Marx “the barely 5’3 lil man that allegedly f*cked another woman while being married, sh*thead! Your 4 inch feathered hair didn’t fool anyone lil guy……”
“Rapey”? I’ve never raped or assaulted anyone. (Accusations, that were proven wrong, are not facts) You’re the barely 5’3 lil man that allegedly f*cked another woman while being married, shithead! Your 4 inch feathered hair didn’t fool anyone lil guy…… https://t.co/A0aOd0KQDX
In response, Marx wrote, “People actually get divorced without cheating, little Nazi. Multiple sexual assault claims against you, both male and female. All liars? No wonder you love Trump.” He added, “You mocked parents of murdered children, you degenerate fuck. You’re what scum scrapes off the bottom of its shoe.”
People actually get divorced without cheating, little Nazi. Multiple sexual assault claims against you, both male and female. All liars? No wonder you love Trump. You mocked parents of murdered children, you degenerate fuck. You’re what scum scrapes off the bottom of its shoe. https://t.co/J0mvKniCjp
Then Marx addressed the height-obsession coming from Baio. “Google also says the great Sammy Hagar is 5’ 10. But seriously…this is some childish-ass sh*t,” Marx remarked. “And Scott Baio is absolutely a guy who would mock the height or appearance that his lord and savior chose for people. Cuz…he’s a ‘Christian.’”
Google also says the great Sammy Hagar is 5’ 10. But seriously…this is some childish-ass shit. And Scott Baio is absolutely a guy who would mock the height or appearance that his lord and savior chose for people. Cuz…he’s a “Christian.” https://t.co/gkOGBbp1QNpic.twitter.com/W4TvwBDLzp
Well, let’s just say that people are here for it, meaning that they’re here for Marx handily winning this feud (even if cheap shots are being taken by both of them).
I didn’t know I wanted a flame war between Richard Marx and Scott Baio until it fell in my lap https://t.co/9xRQljaa9f
— Classically Liberal Thoughts feat. G-Bro (@GaryBro02198750) August 31, 2021
All of the people who criticized and mocked Elizabeth Warren are very, very quiet about Kevin McCarthy claiming Native American heritage to rack up $7 million. https://t.co/jCV3OOHct8
Seeing Richard Marx own the shit out of Scott Baio in a public forum isn’t something I ever expected as a young boy in the 80s. It’s a wonderful time to be alive.
Jpegmafia has unveiled a run of fall tour dates, kicking off in October in Santa Ana, California. On top of that, the Brooklyn-born, Los Angeles-based rapper has shared a jittery new single and video for “Trust!,” which is set to appear on a new, currently untitled album. At its peak, the “Trust!” shares similar everything-all-of-the-time vibes to Bo Burnham’s “Welcome To The Internet.” Check it out above.
Last year, Jpegmafia shared a handful of singles, which eventually were grouped into this year’s EP2!. Have a look at Peggy’s tour dates below.
10/08 — Santa Ana, CA & The Observatory
10/09 — San Diego, CA @ The Observatory North Park
10/10 — Phoenix, AZ @ The Crescent Ballroom
10/14 — Dallas, TX @ Trees
10/15 — Austin, TX @ Emo’s
10/16 — Houston, TX @ Warehouse Live
10/19 — Miami, FL @ The Ground at Club Space
10/20 — Orlando, FL @ The Abbey
10/22 — Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade (Hell Stage)
10/23 — Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle
10/26 — Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
10/27 — Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel
10/29 — San Francisco, CA @ Outside Lands Festival
10/31 — Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
11/02 — Baltimore, MD @ Baltimore Soundstage
11/03 — Boston, MA @ Royale
11/06 — Pontiac, MI @ Crofoot Ballroom
11/07 — Toronto, ON @ Phoenix Concert Theatre
11/09 — Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall
11/12 — Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
11/14 — Denver, CO @ Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom
11/18 — Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom
11/19 — Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom
11/20 — Seattle, WA @ Neptune Theatre
11/24 — San Francisco, CA @ Regency Ballroom
12/04 — Los Angeles, CA @ The Belasco
03/12/22 — Stockholm, Sweden @ Fryshuset
03/13/22 — Copenhagen, Denmark @ Amager Bio
03/14/22 — Berlin, Germany @ Säälchen
03/16/22 — Cologne, Germany @ Club Banhof Ehrenfeld
03/17/22 — Antwerp, Belgium @ Zappa
03/19/22 — Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Paradiso (Main Room)
03/20/22 — Paris, France @ Le Cabaret Sauvage
03/23/22 — Birmingham, UK @ O2 Institute Birmingham
03/24/22 — Brighton, UK @ Concorde2
03/27/22 — Bristol, England @ SWX
03/28/22 — London, England @ 02 Forum Kentish Town
03/30/22 — Glasgow, UK @ Barrowlands
03/31/22 — Manchester, England @ 02 Ritz
04/02-03/22 — Dublin, Ireland @ Academy Dublin
Jpegmafia’s new album doesn’t have a release date yet, but a press release promises that it’ll arrive in the fall on EQT/Republic. Pre-order it here.
This week, the music world was eclipsed by a single release: Kanye West finally dropped his much delayed album Donda. But of course, it wouldn’t be a Kanye album rollout without at least a little controversy, which he delivered when he invited accused abuser Marilyn Manson to the stage. That still didn’t stop the rapper’s fans from listening to the album so much that it’s dominating on both Spotify and iTunes. Apparently, Kim Kardashian has also been boosting the album’s streaming count without actually listening to it.
Kim tried to show support for her soon-to-be ex-husband’s new work by promoting it to her over 249 million Instagram followers. She screenshotted a few of his tracks like “Hurricane” and “Lord I Need You” and posted them to her Stories. But one fan pointed out that she had the volume turned all the way down on her phone, meaning she wasn’t really listening to Kanye’s music.
Though Kim might be streaming Donda on mute, there is a lot of evidence that she has actually heard the album at one point or another. She has been spotted at all the Donda listening parties that Kanye hosted, and she recently shared a video for his “Come To Life” track which featured audio from one of the events.
Soulja Boy — who is apparently still ticked off at Kanye West about being left off of Donda‘s final tracklist, despite Kanye’s protests that Def Jam released the unfinished album without his permission — has escalated his trolling campaign against the producer, now resorting to throwing jabs over Kanye’s impending divorce from his wife Kim Kardashian. While Soulja Boy tagged Kardashian in a tweet during yesterday’s tirade against Kanye, today, he’s outright suggesting that, like Ray J, he hit it first. He posted a throwback photo on Twitter posing with Kim from what looks like sometime in the late 2000s, captioning the photo: “I was the first rapper wit @KimKardashian not u.”
Aside from being, well, gross, the post is just the latest from Soulja Boy expressing his anger at being omitted from the Donda release that hit DSPs over the weekend, whether it was by Kanye’s design or not. He previously posted an in-studio video from his and Kanye’s recording session playing back his verse and has been retweeting fans’ posts decrying Kanye for leaving him off the album. In an interview with TMZ, he said that his frustration stems from not being told personally that he wouldn’t be on the album and only finding out when it dropped.
#souljaboy says he is still willing to make music with #kanye but he should have called him personally to let him know he would not be on #donda!
Still, that’s no excuse for the sophomoric stuff he’s doing right now. Women aren’t props for men’s petty grievances, and nobody cares if you hit it or not, dude — except for, probably, Kanye, who is almost certain to never work with Soulja Boy again after this, if his current feud with Drake is a measure of his own vindictiveness.
Ever since Madden 18, the presence of college football has been a significant part of EA’s Madden series. Anyone that took part in their Face of The Franchise feature would get the opportunity to play out a short college career at a college of their choice, as the star QB. The mode wasn’t super in-depth, it really just amounted to two games of Madden with pre-built characters wearing college football skins, but it was a welcome sight for fans missing out on EA’s former college football series.
That feature did not go away in Madden 22, with players still able to take part in the college football playoff, but the shine of the mode has largely worn off, especially with a new college football game on the way. However, on Tuesday, EA Sports announced that they will be expanding their use of college football in the game. Superstar KO will be adding a limited-time college football legends feature where players will be able to play as up 10 college football teams with actual former players.
The NEW Campus Legends event is now live, ft. historic programs to challenge your friends with!
“Throughout the football season, we deliver new content and enhancements to our Madden players and we’re really excited to bring the fanfare of college football to the millions of players already enjoying Madden NFL 22 to one of our most accessible ways to play in Superstar KO,” said Seann Graddy, Executive Producer, EA SPORTS Madden NFL.
The college legends mode will allow players to play as teams such as Florida, Miami, USC, and Texas. However, unlike previous years where the teams were filled with generic names and players, this time it’s going to feature all-time college greats like Vince Young, Reggie Bush, Tim Tebow, and Ed Reed. It will also use college rules such as only needing to get one foot in bounds on a catch. While it’s not a full-on college football video game, it’s the closest we’ve had to one since NCAA 14.
One of the benefits of having a mode like Superstar KO is that the developers of Madden can have cool limited-time events like this. However, while this is exciting, it’s still not the college football game that many are likely hoping it will be. This is still a game in Madden’s engine with Madden’s physics. While the names, uniforms, helmets, and everything else look like college football it still isn’t going to feel like college football. Those of us who want that are going to have to wait for the game currently in development.
However, this mode does point to some positive signs. For starters, a lot of this shows the potential for what a new college football game can look like. While everyone involved is a current or former NFL player, it’s still a full roster of actual players. One of the most challenging parts of EA Sports College Football is going to be the roster. Even with NIL rules in effect, college players don’t have a union that EA can work with to get real players in the game. This game is a sign that, even if getting current college players in the game is going to have its challenges, we should be able to use legends at least. Maybe even some teams that we missed out on over the last decade.
As Tame Impala prepares their upcoming US tour dates, leader/multi-instrumentalist Kevin Parker has announced that all show attendees must show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test. “My beliefs on this matter align closely with the word of science, which is that the vaccine undeniably helps prevent serious illness and death from covid 19,” he wrote in a lengthy post on Instagram. “If this isn’t your view I urge you to re-evaluate.”
Parker continued, explaining how they arrived at this decision: “I have talked about this with my cohorts extensively and whilst the last thing I want to do is divide people based on what they believe and don’t believe, now is not the time to be putting everyone at risk for the sake of being nice.”
Tame Impala have not yet had the chance to tour their 2020 album, The Slow Rush. The psych-pop outfit had originally intended to hit the road in April 2020, but had to postpone for obvious COVID-related reasons. Now, the tour is scheduled to kick off in September, starting with Bonnaroo in Manchester, Tennessee.
“There’s still time to get fully vaxxed before most of the shows (and a single J&J jab before all of them),” Parker wrote. “So get a move on if you’ve just been putting it off.”
No Time to Die, the 25th James Bond movie (and last with Daniel Craig), was one of the first movies to be affected by the pandemic — and that wasn’t even its first delay. The film was originally scheduled to come out in November 2019, then February 2020, then April 2020 after original director Danny Boyle left the project. He was replaced by Cary Joji Fukunaga, but the April premiere was delayed until November due to COVID. Got all that? I’m not done: November 2020 became April 2021, which turned into October 2021. That’s the FINAL release date, as the FINAL trailer for No Time to Die makes clear.
Put another way, in the time since No Time to Die was originally supposed to come out and now, we’ve gone through an entire Ana de Armas (who plays the mysterious Paloma in the film) and Ben Affleck relationship and the resurrection of Bennifer.
Here’s the official plot synopsis:
In No Time To Die, Bond has left active service and is enjoying a tranquil life in Jamaica. His peace is short-lived when his old friend Felix Leiter from the CIA turns up asking for help. The mission to rescue a kidnapped scientist turns out to be far more treacherous than expected, leading Bond onto the trail of a mysterious villain armed with dangerous new technology.
No Time to Die, which also stars Rami Malek, Léa Seydoux, Lashana Lynch, Ben Whishaw, Naomie Harris, Jeffrey Wright, Christoph Waltz, Ralph Fiennes, Billy Magnussen, Rory Kinnear, David Dencik, Dali Benssalah, opens (for real this time) on October 8.
Halsey officially debuted her fourth studio album If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power this week alongside an accompanying IMAX film. Though the album was produced by Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross and has contributions from notable rock musicians like Dave Grohl, the album still features some undeniable pop moments. Her track “I Am Not A Woman, I’m A God” expertly combines a driving beat with empowering lyrics to create an infectious pop-leaning anthem.
Big Red Machine — “Birch” Feat. Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift collaborator Aaron Dessner teamed up with Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon to release the album How Long Do You Think It’s Gonna Last? as the duo Big Red Machine. Swift lent her vocals to a couple of tracks on the LP, including the shuffling song “Birch.” The heart-tugging tune delicately combines each singer’s soaring vocals, leaving both pop and indie lovers everywhere in their feels.
Kacey Musgraves — “Justified”
Kacey Musgraves returned this week to drop the ultimate breakup anthem “Justified.” The song arrived days after Musgraves announced her upcoming album Star-Crossed, which she said is a modern-day Greek tragedy. “Justified” reminds listeners that “healing doesn’t happen in a straight line” and previews the country-pop crossover that is expected to be heard on her LP.
BTS, Megan Thee Stallion — “Butter (Remix)”
Megan Thee Stallion infused some hot girl magic into BTS’ hit song “Butter” this week. The K-pop group implored the rapper to lend a verse on their No. 1 track, and Megan brought the heat. Though the remix was the source of some brief drama with her label, Megan adds with some boastful verses charting her rise to fame on top of the disco-twinged beat.
Selena Gomez, Camilo — “999”
A few months after the release of her Spanish-language album Revelación, Selena Gomez returns to link up with Colombian songwriter Camilo for the rhythmic pop tune “999.” About the romantic and breathy single, Gomez sung Camilo’s praise in a statement. “Camilo is a fantastic songwriter and singer who proudly wears his heart on his sleeve which is something we connected on immediately,” she said.
Kim Petras — “Future Starts Now”
It’s been a while since we heard from pop star Kim Petras, but her new single “Future Starts Now” proves it was worth the wait. The dancefloor-ready tune launches her new era of music, tapping into a maximalist sound for an addictive tune about letting the music take control of you.
Griff — “One Night”
On the heels of her coveted Rising Star Brits award, Griff shares the compelling track “One Night.” Starting off slow, the song transitions into a euphoric pop tune highlighting Griff’s impressive vocal range. “’One Night’ is about feeling like you’re always carrying this darkness or burden,” Griff said about the song in a statement. “I think in the daytime we can feel distracted because we’re around people and we’re busy, but that moment between going to bed and falling asleep, there’s just enough silence for those burdens to get louder.”
J Balvin, Tokischa — “Perra”
J Balvin is just two weeks away from the release of his anticipated album Jose. This week, the Colombian superstar shared a preview of the LP with his Tokischa-featuring single “Perra.” The energetic tune is a hard-hitting effort by the Reggaeton musician, offering a pumped-up contrast to his recently released lovelorn track “Que Locura.”
Julia Wolf — “Falling In Love”
Pop head-turner Julia Wolf is way past “Falling In Love” with her latest track. The glitchy and heart-tugging single contemplates being over the idea of love and offers a taste of her upcoming EP Girls In Purgatory, which celebrates the two-year anniversary of Wolf’s first song.
Amber Mark — “Foreign Things”
Amber Mark is unbothered in her latest single “Foreign Things.” The irresistible and wildly-fun tune makes it impossible not to get up and dance. Along with saying the single is about the “thrill of newness,” Mark says: “This marks the start of my journey towards self discovery and serves as a precursor to the enlightenment and self love that’s achieved in previous singles ‘Worth It’ and ‘Competition.’”
Some of the artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
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