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As of this post, Usher is the No. 1 trending topic on Twitter in the US, but not for a good reason: He stands accused of giving a stripper fake dollar bills with his face on them (as opposed to real money).

A Las Vegas-based dancer who performs under the name Pisces shared an image of three distinct Usher-themed dollar bills, in denominations of $1, $20, and $100. The bills promote Usher: The Vegas Experience, his upcoming residency that is set to launch in July, and were clearly designed to look like real money. Pisces asked a question on her Instagram Story, writing, “Ladies what would you do if you danced all night for usher and he threw this??” She added in another post (a screenshot from her private personal account), “& the money does not have a trade in value what so ever! Lmao don’t y’all think he should be blasted on social media for this sh*t?”

A friend of Pisces shared Pisces’ personal page posts and added, “My GF posted this !!! I’ve never seen this level of f*ckery!!!! exactly why we stay away from celebs most of the time they suck!!!!!!!! cheap asf. So disrespectful, this is foul! Working so hard to get nothing in return! This is a joke!! Their job is to entertain, take your cheap ass back home!!!!!”

Usher has offered what may be a response to the controversy (or at least shared a post that seems relevant to the situation): Last night, he shared a photo of himself wearing a bucket hat made of actual $1 bills.

Usher has indeed been getting “blasted on social media,” as Pisces attested he should. Check out some Twitter reactions to Usher’s alleged antics below, along with screenshots of the posts from Pisces and her friend.

“I might not be Cap, but I can be America’s Ass in Greece” – Not a real Sebastian Stan quote

Where to begin with this story? Oh boy. Sebastian Stan, best known (fairly or not) as the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s James “Bucky” Buchanan Barnes, is promoting a romantic drama, Monday, which arrives on VOD and in limited theaters on Friday, April 16. Let’s just say that this is definitely not a Disney flick, and although Sebastian is no stranger to sexy dark comedies (like 2016’s The Bronze), this one contains, well, a special treat for fans. I shall not spoil what actually happens (this movie is more dramatic than comedic), but Sebastian is giving a lot away ahead of release, and let’s just say that he’s willing to do anything that he can possibly do to promote this movie. (Dude is a team player.)

That includes one-upping Chris Meloni by going full-on booty out while posting a photo from the Athens, Greece set.

It is amusingly worth nothing that this is happening after his highly emotional scene in last week’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, which has left some Marvel fans calling for him to win an Emmy. Hey, the guy can act and show things off, too. Naturally, social media lost it with reactions on Instagram ranging from “sir my mom is on this app” to “Sebastian baby, it’s too early.” And one Twitter user made a clever play on one Netflix account’s declaration that “Sebastian Stan ALWAYS understands the assignment.”

In general, people kinda lost their minds over the image.

Sebastian Stan wants you to remember that Monday arrives on April 18.

On Sunday, 20-year-old Daunte Wright was shot and killed by a police officer in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota during a traffic stop. The officer has claimed that she fired her handgun accidentally when she meant to use her taser, but that excuse has drawn skepticism from some and, even if true, doesn’t change the fact that Wright was killed whether it was an accidental shot or not.

That Wright was killed not far from where the trial into Derek Chauvin, the Minneapolis police officer who killed George Floyd by kneeling on his neck for nearly nine minutes, is ongoing has not been lost on many, and after demonstrations on Sunday night, more are expected on Monday in response the latest instance of a police officer shooting and killing a Black person in America.

The Minnesota Twins were scheduled to play the Red Sox at Target Field on Monday night, but announced they would be postponing the game after talking with MLB, local, and state officials, offering their sympathies to the family of Daunte Wright in the statement.

The Twins are not the only Minnesota team with a game scheduled for Monday at home, as the Timberwolves are scheduled to play the Nets on Monday night, and as of now that game is still ongoing but that could potentially change. Wright’s tragic death at the hands of the police once again underscores the ongoing fight for racial justice, and if the Nets and Wolves do proceed with the game, one would expect some form of statement made by the two teams on the court.

Back in 2017, comedian and filmmaker Hari Kondabolu’s documentary The Problem with Apu caused a long overdue reckoning with The Simpsons’ use of Hank Azaria, a white voice actor, to portrayal a stereotypical depiction of an Indian-American character. While the show and creator Matt Groenig initially handled the controversy poorly with a thinly veiled jab at the Apu documentary, eventually Azaria walked away from the character altogether in February 2020.

In an interview with the New York Times where Azaria confirmed that he’s done voicing Apu, the actor said “it just didn’t feel right.” Azaria also made it clear that he believes the conversation around Apu’s depiction on the show is necessary. “What happened with this character is a window into an important issue. It’s a good way to start the conversation. I can be accountable and try to make up for it as best I can.”

While Apu’s fate on The Simpsons is still up in the air, Azaria recently revealed that he’s still doing the work on reckoning with the character’s legacy. During an appearance on Dax Shephard’s Armchair Expert podcast, Azaria opened up about the conversations he’s been having about the damaging effect of Apu’s legacy. Via The Hollywood Reporter:

“I was speaking at my son’s school, I was talking to the Indian kids there because I wanted to get their input,” Azaria said. “A 17-year-old … he’s never even seen The Simpsons but knows what Apu means. It’s practically a slur at this point. All he knows is that is how his people are thought of and represented to many people in this country.”

The boy, “with tears in his eyes,” Azaria said, asked the actor to tell Hollywood writers what they do matters and has ramifications on people’s lives.

Azaria says he continues to have this kind of interaction and he can’t apologize enough for what he’s done. “Part of me feels like I need to go to every single Indian person in this country and personally apologize,” he said. “And sometimes I do.”

Azaria’s words have already caught the attention of Kondabolu, who tweeted his support for the voice actor. “@HankAzaria is a kind & thoughtful person that proves that people are not simply ‘products of their time,’ but have the ability to learn & grow,” Kondabolu wrote. “Nothing. But. Respect.”

(Via The Hollywood Reporter)

Non-fungible tokens are all the rage these days, and the rush to mint these blockchain-based tokens has seen some interesting pieces of internet history return to the modern landscape. The latest is Chris Crocker’s infamous Leave Britney Alone rant, which was in many ways a precursor to the full-fledged #FreeBritney movement regarding media attention and control of Britney Spears.

The NFT, currently up for auction on the Foundation platform, is the video that was uploaded in September of 2007 that featured a long rant about Spears, filmed under a bedsheet, from a crying Crocker who was pleading for people to “leave Britney alone.” As of Monday, the auction for the NFT is running for 10 Ethereum, which is about $21,000 in American currency. Here’s the description of the NFT on Foundation.

Leave Britney Alone was uploaded to YouTube on September 10, 2007, within 24 hours it had garnered over 2 million views, by 2009 it was the second most discussed video on the platform. It was the first viral video to get mass mainstream coverage.

I made this video as a gender-bending teenage high school dropout in my grandparent’s bedroom. I had no idea the impact its message would have, years later, maybe society is finally starting to get it 🙂

Own a part of internet & pop culture history!

As of Monday afternoon, a single bid has been placed on it to purchase it at its original listing price, with the auction slated to end on Monday night.

Billboard has revealed this week’s Hot 100 chart and it looks like Lil Nas X left the door open for this week’s No. 1: Silk Sonic (Anderson .Paak and Bruno Mars) and their debut single as a duo, “Leave The Door Open.” Silk Sonic’s song jumped up from No. 3 thanks to 21.5 million U.S. streams and 28,600 copies, downloads, and CDs combined over the past week. It marks .Paak’s first-ever No. 1 on the Hot 100 and Bruno Mars’ eighth after his most recent, “That’s What I Like,” in 2017.

Silk Sonic’s gain is Lil Nas X’s loss as his controversial cut “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” drops to No. 2. Justin Bieber’s “Peaches” with Daniel Caesar and Giveon similarly moves down one slot to No. 3, while Cardi B maintains her hold on the fourth position with “Up.” Meanwhile, teen star Olivia Rodrigo secures two spots this week: one for her former No. 1 “Driver’s License,” and a No. 8 debut for her newly released track “Deja Vu.” The Weeknd’s “Save Your Tears” (No. 5) and “Blinding Lights” (No. 9), Dua Lipa’s “Levitating” with DaBaby (No. 8), and newcomer Masked Wolf’s “Astronaut In The Ocean” round out the top ten.

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

Last week, Sufjan Stevens announced a new album, Convocations, which quickly follows the pair of projects he just released in 2020. This new record is a big one, as it’s a five-volume album, with each volume dealing with the five stages of mourning (Stevens’ father died just days after his 2020 album The Ascension. Before releasing Convocations as a whole, Stevens is releasing each volume individually. Meditation came out last week while this week will bring Lamentation. He has prefaced that portion of the album with “Lamentation II,” which features airy synths contrasted by harsher, lower tones.

Convocations was previously described in a statement, “The album is divided into five sonic cycles, each replicating a different stage of mourning. Convocations occasionally soothes and sometimes hurts; when it’s done, you’re left with a renewed sense of wonder for being here at all. In fact, Stevens made Convocations in response to (and as an homage to) the life and death of his father, who died in September last year, two days following the release of The Ascension. It is, then, ultimately an album about loss, and an album that reflects a year in which we have all lost so much.”

Listen to “Lamentation II” above.

Convocations is out 5/6 via Asthmatic Kitty. Pre-order it here.

In one scorching hot sentence, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki completely shut down Republican Senator John Cornyn’s suggestion that President Joe Biden isn’t “really in charge” because he’s not tweeting enough. On Monday morning, Cornyn appeared to copy and past a Politico article and passed the excerpt off as his own words in an attempt to paint Biden’s non-Trump-like approach to the press as proof that he’s not really in charge of his own administration. Via Twitter:

The president is not doing cable news interviews. Tweets from his account are limited and, when they come, unimaginably conventional. The public comments are largely scripted. Biden has opted for fewer sit down interviews with mainstream outlets and reporters. Invites the question: is he really in charge?

Later that day, a reporter asked Psaki to comment on Cornyn’s tweet, and she gladly confirmed that President Biden has better things to do than be on Twitter.

“I can confirm the president does not spend his time tweeting conspiracy theories, and spends his time working on behalf of the American people,” Psaki said, effectively shutting down the topic right then and there.

Psaki has proven herself to be a seasoned pro at smacking down Republican talking points. The White House Press Secretary stopped by The View at the end of February where she efficiently cut Meghan McCain off at the knees after McCain attempted to accuse the Biden administration of putting kids in cages.

“We are absolutely not doing what the former president did,” Psaki said after delivering a point-by-point rebuttal. “What frankly the current president and the current vice president objected to, which is ripping kids from the arms of their parents. That is not the policy of this administration and not something we would do.”

(Via Aaron Rupar on Twitter)

Adam McKay has remade himself into an Oscar-winning screenwriter, but his greatest accomplishment remains Step Brothers. The comedy, starring Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly as feuding man-child step-siblings, is endlessly quotable — there’s also been endless speculation about a sequel. Reilly has said unless there’s a “better version or [improvement] on” the original, it’s not going to happen. But in an interview with the New York Times, McKay may have inadvertently pitched a great sequel idea.

When asked whether Ferrell and Reilly’s characters, Brennan and Dale, would be into QAnon, McKay replied, “No question about it. They’d be way into it, and they’d be torturing [Richard] Jenkins and [Mary] Steenburgen’s characters with it, and they would eventually be having meetings at the house and somehow QAnon would drift into Jenkins’s work life and the Q Shaman would show up at Jenkins’s workplace.” The Succession producer also said that they “would have loved Trump. I don’t want to speak for Ferrell and Reilly, but I think you could safely assume they would agree with that.”

Step Brothers 2008: “Dane Cook. Pay-per-view. Twenty minutes. Let’s go!”
Step Brothers 2021: “Tucker Carlson. Fox News. Twenty minutes. Let’s go!”

Maybe it’s a good thing that there’s no sequel…

(Via the New York Times)

In the wake of DMX’s death Friday, the rapper’s music is not only once again the center of discourse among hip-hop fans, but his autobiography has returned to bestsellers lists. DMX first released E.A.R.L.: The Autobiography of DMX, in 2003 with The Source‘s Smokey D. Fontaine, receiving a glowing review in Publishers Weekly on publication. Today, it’s No. 1 on Amazon in Rap & Hip-Hop Musician Biographies and according to Billboard, has reached the Top 50 chart of biographies overall.

DMX is no stranger to the top of the charts, but it’s usually the music charts. In 1998, he became the second rapper to have consecutive albums released in the same calendar year reach No. 1 on the Billboard 200 twice in the same year when his second album Flesh Of My Flesh, Blood Of My Blood entered the chart at the top spot, just seven months after his debut It’s Dark And Hell Is Hot accomplished the same feat. The first was one of DMX’s inspirations, Tupac.

Over the weekend, news of DMX’s death was met with an outpouring of loving posts from NBA players, tributes and jokes on SNL, and reminisces from fans about his endearing presence in the 2003 fighting game Def Jam Vendetta.

Read Uproxx’s DMX obituary here.