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T.I. and Tiny Harris, who were recently accused of sexual assault by a lawyer seeking criminal charges on behalf of a group of women who say the couple drugged them on separate occasions, fired back in a statement shared with Billboard after a new group of women made accusations via claims made in a statement to Page Six.

The three women joined the “dozens” of women currently employing Tyrone A. Blackburn as he urges authorities in multiple jurisdictions to pursue criminal charges against the couple. One of the women recounted a 2010 incident in Miami in which she says she was forced to swallow a pill, taken to a hotel in South Beach and forced to engage in sex with the couple, despite being unable to consent. The other two describe similar accounts of being drugged, with one claiming she was “sex trafficked in Nevada, California, and Florida.”

T.I. and Tiny previously denied the accusations, calling them a “shakedown” by Blackburn and blaming the slew of new allegations on one initial accuser, Sabrina Peterson, who they say they “have had difficulty with” for “well over a decade.” In response to the new spate of accusations, they doubled down, telling Billboard: “The Harrises are still waiting for the accusers to reveal themselves publicly. By continuing to hide behind anonymous allegations, the unnamed accusers effectively render themselves not credible and unworthy of belief. We say: Let the light shine on their identities so we can go about disproving these scurrilous accusations.”

The league was far different when the Sacramento Kings drafted Brian Grant No. 8 overall in the 1994 Draft. At 6’9 and 250 pounds, players his size didn’t face the same expectations that they do today in terms of putting the ball on the floor and stepping out beyond the three-point line. Guys like Grant were brought in to do the blue-collar work, like hitting the boards and playing hard-nose defense.

He was exactly the type of player everyone wants on their team, and that’s how Grant carved out his niche in the NBA over 12 seasons with five different organizations. It was a journey that gave him the opportunity to play under legendary coach Pat Riley and saw him rise to the enormous challenge of defending all-time greats like Shaquille O’Neal.

But Grant’s basketball career isn’t the only thing that defines him. During his NBA journey, Grant had already turned his attention to several philanthropic pursuits, becoming a spokesperson for the Ronald McDonald House and holding free summer basketball camps in Portland and his hometown of Georgetown, Ohio.

In 2008, Grant was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Ever since, Grant has used his money, his influence, and the Brian Grant Foundation to spread awareness, to ease the suffering of those living with the illness, and to work toward finding a cure. In his new autobiography, Rebound: Soaring in the NBA, Battling Parkinson’s, and Finding What Really Matters (out April 6), Grant shares his experiences of how he’s learned to thrive through healthy habits and the lessons he’s learned from a pro sports career that spanned more than a decade.

We caught up with Grant recently to discuss the book, his former team in Portland where he still resides, and much more.

I was curious about what the process of writing a book was like for you. It’s been a little over a decade since you retired from basketball and first received your diagnosis. What was it like looking back on your life and career now that you’re a bit more removed from those experiences?

It was sort of re-educating myself on the things that I’ve been through, things that I tend to forget or am not willing to think about. It kind of forced me to take a look at some things: relationship with my ex-wife — I should say ex-wives — my kids, my basketball career. Because it seems like the farther out I’d get, the more it seems like a dream, like it didn’t happen. And starting the process with (co-author) Ric Bucher, kind of digging up things, trying to remember things, just kind of brought everything back to the forefront. And at times, it was very rewarding, and at other times, it was emotional to think that I’ve got a certain way or I acted a certain way in different times in my life, which I regret. And then there’s some things that I don’t regret and I don’t take back.

So much of the book is about not just learning to live with Parkinson’s, but to thrive as well. When you think about people who are newly diagnosed and facing the daunting task of how to move forward in their lives, what was the impulse for you in terms of what you wanted to impart from your experience onto people who are just figuring out how to live with it?

I think I was trying to figure out how to live anyway, because I had retired from basketball. I was about to start going through a divorce. And there were just other major life changes that were going on that kind of softened the blow a little bit when I went to OHSU and was diagnosed with young onset Parkinson’s. It was kind of one of those things like, “What next? Come on. That’s three. We can find a fourth thing to deal with.” And once I kind of got through that little phase, which was short lived, then I was kind of left with, “Okay. What do I do? How do I approach this?” And just from my career and everything, I was able to lean on people like Michael J. Fox and Muhammad Ali’s wife, getting advice.

And then not just those two because they’re famous, just other people, regular people who were suffering from the disease and were going through similar issues, symptoms, or who had been through them and telling me what I might expect to happen. Those people also helped me a great deal because I realized that I had a platform and to have this platform and just let it go to waste and hide in the darkness was not my way of doing things. And so me knowing Michael J. Fox, the Ali’s, and then everybody else just gave me the strength to step out and say, “All right, let me see what I can do for the Parkinson’s community with this platform that I’ve been given.”

You’ve mentioned how easy it is to fall into the mindset of how much Parkinson’s takes away from your life, but you’ve also talked about all the different ways it’s added to your life. Why was it important for you to shift that perspective?

Look, I mean, at the time I was thinking that I was losing so much, which I was. But every man or woman who goes through change, goes through loss. And being able to open up into this new world that I didn’t ask for, I didn’t want, and being able to embrace it and then having the people around me embrace it gave me a sense of purpose. And once I was diagnosed with that and I accepted it, then I knew that at least one part of my life was going to be committed to helping other people with this disease.

Being an NBA player, you have to fight so hard for everything, you have to be so mentally and physically tough. How do you think the rigors of being a professional athlete helped you for this fight?

From one aspect, it helped me to have the courage to just know that you can do this, you’ve done things that I would consider way tougher than this. So it kind of gave me the courage to know that I could work hard and fight. But at the same time, I had to grow into knowing that this isn’t a quick battle, this isn’t like going up against Shaq or Tim Duncan for a night and then they go away. This is a battle for the rest of your life. And I’ve had to take my lumps because of that. Because this isn’t a sprint. This is a lifelong marathon.

Sometimes, you’re going to be ahead, sometimes you’re going to be behind, but you got to stay in the race. And a couple of times, I felt like dropping out of the race because I felt like I was doing everything right, getting everything together, and this would happen or a new symptom would pop up, and then it just kind of set me back. And sometimes you can get like, “Well, what the hell? What am I doing?” And what you’re doing is, you’re just staying in the race. You’re staying in the fight.

In the book, you talk about your time with Pat Riley and the Heat. He was notorious for those grueling workout regimens, and just kind of an interesting character, in general. What was it like thinking back on those experiences?

They were good and bad. The good was that he pushed me to a limit that I never thought I could go to and be at. And that was a good side. And the bad side for me was just thinking that … I don’t know how to say it. Thinking that it wasn’t beneficial at the time because you’re going through so much pain and so much like, “Wow. I can’t believe I’m really working this hard.” But that bad also turned back into a good because he was somebody who would push you, but he’d also do things to celebrate the team for their hard work and be there for you. And once he trusts you and knows that he can count on you, he’s going to be there for you for life. I mean, he is definitely the best.

I played for some really good coaches and respect them all, but my experience with him, it was special. It was tough, but he showed me that I could be tough. Not doing a couple of little drills here and there, but doing it for four straight hours, and we putting in extra work and coming back doing it each and every day.

That kind of intensity obviously takes a toll on the body, but you also talk in the book about how it helped you discover naturopathic medicine. How has that influenced the way you approach your health now?

Well, I’ll tell you. There’d be days where I’d come home, and before I met Felipe [Grant’s naturopathic doctor], I couldn’t sleep, I was so sore from working out. And a lot of players go through the same thing. But once I met Felipe and he convinced me to let him work on me with needles and massage therapy, that was it for me because he was the real deal. I mean, he knew his stuff. And so after working with him, it made me more open to newer ideas rather than just the old school stuff.

And then he was the first one that diagnosed me way before anybody ever did. When I found out that I had Parkinson’s at OHSU with Dr. Neff, who was the head of neurology, I told him I was doing some naturopathic work. He kind of discouraged me from doing it. But then after a while, when I’d come back, [he was] telling me I wasn’t progressing. I was digressing. I looked better than I did three or four months ago, the last time I went in. And so he kind of just went along with it, allowed me to do it. That particularly was a good thing because like I said, most doctors won’t even work with you if you continue to doing stuff like that. But I think it’s a good mixture between both that really helped.

There’s a benefit to doing both things, but to take one or the other out completely, I think, would be a mistake. When anyone who has any type of a disease, neurological or what have you, just explore Eastern medicine versus Western medicine and take the best from both and use them. See what happens.

This is something us mere mortals can’t even begin to imagine, but you had the unenviable task of defending Shaq in his prime. What are your memories of that, and how do you think he would fair in today’s game?

Are we talking about the Shaq in Orlando?

I guess Orlando up until early 2000s, as well.

He came to the league one year before me. And I thought those were unstoppable years because Shaq was the seven-footer who thought he was a point guard. He thought he was agile and he was. To be seven-feet and be so strong, when he wanted to take off on you, he was going to take off on you. He didn’t get winded. He could run for days, and he’d break back boards. And it was just one of those days where you just try to say, “Alright. I just don’t want to get embarrassed.”

But then when he went to L.A., he had more of a team around him. We all tend to get … now I wouldn’t say lazy, but trying to put on muscle, things like that, that can slow you down. Then it gave me a little bit of an avenue to at least try to not stop him, but make stops throughout the game by running in and doing things like that. When he thinks he’s unstoppable, he is unstoppable. When he’s got his way in and he wants to make a move, best to just let him make that move or he’s going to post you. That’s how I look at it.

If you ask him, he might be like, “Nah, you can’t stop me.” And he’s right, I couldn’t stop him at the time. I could take one or two stops and be like, “I had two out of 20.”

Right. That’s a good day.

Yeah.

What do you think about the way the game has evolved for players your size and the demands we put on them in terms of being versatile? How has that changed from your era?

It’s changed a lot, in my view. I mean, I’m not somebody who watches games every day, but when I do watch them it blows my mind that I see seven-footers stepping out, taking threes confidently and hitting them. I think I took six three-pointers in my whole career and maybe made one or two of them. But I wouldn’t even dream of going outside that three-point line because I know if I did, more than likely I was coming out of the game. But it was a different game. It was more power.

I don’t know how well I would’ve thrived in today’s league. Maybe I would’ve made the adjustments. Maybe somebody would’ve worked on me and worked on my shot and what have you. But from what I see, I’m like, man, I’d have been fouled out by the third quarter, for sure. I don’t think I could’ve thrived in today’s game, but that’s not to say that it’s not an interesting game because I think it puts the demand on one through five to all be versatile. It’s not like I can just sit in the middle and bang a little bit and go down every once in a while. You got to be able to step out, get that three-pointer or that long jumper that they’re going to give you.

Sesame Street was my first favorite TV show. It’s been the first favorite TV show for millions of kids since premiering in 1969, because Sesame Street is not only educational, but it’s got great characters and hits for days. Ernie didn’t have to go that hard with “I Don’t Want to Live on the Moon,” but he did that, he did that for us.

Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street, a new documentary from director Marilyn Agrelo (Mad Hot Ballroom), takes a look at the show’s history, featuring “more than 20 interviews with many of the minds behind the show, as well as archival behind-the-scenes footage from its earliest days,” according to EW.

You can watch the trailer above. Here’s the official summary:

In the late 1960s, socially conscious media executive Joan Ganz Cooney and Sesame Workshop co-founder Lloyd Morrisett took on a revolutionary experiment: To harness the burgeoning power of television and create an educational, impactful, and entertaining show that could reach children nationwide. Cooney recruited visionary Muppets creator Jim Henson and acclaimed children’s television writer and director Jon Stone to craft the iconic and uplifting world of Sesame Street. Inspired by the civil rights movement, Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street focuses on the first two experimental and groundbreaking decades of Sesame Street, highlighting this visionary “gang” that audaciously interpreted radical changes in society and engaged children in ways that entertained and educated them like never before.

Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street hit theaters on April 23 and VOD on May 7.

There’s a well-documented history of musicians deciding to alter their name after realizing it is problematic in nature. Last year, the Dixie Chicks became The Chicks, Lady Antebellum became Lady A (although the controversy didn’t end there), and rapper Mulatto has been leaning more into her Big Latto nickname. Now, independent record label Young Turks has opted to drop the “Turks” from their title over an association with the 1915 Armenian genocide.

The label was founded by Caius Pawson in 2005 and named after his then-nightclub of the same name. As a part of the umbrella label Beggars Group, Young is now a home to artists like FKA Twigs, The xx, Sampha, and more. In a statement about the name change, Pawson said it’s been a long time coming:

“From today, Young Turks will become Young. The name change follows a long period of reflection and I wanted to explain the origins of the Young Turks name and the reasons for the change.

We originally named Young Turks after the Rod Stewart song of the same name. When I first heard the song, it took a week of 2005-era internet searches to find out what it was and even longer to understand its meaning. The name intrigued me, evoking the solidarity of youth. In 2005, it seemed to perfectly sum up what we were: teenagers, wanting and waiting to do something, anything.

However, we were unaware of the deeper history of the term and, specifically, that the Young Turks were a group who carried out the Armenian Genocide from 1915 onwards. Through ongoing conversations and messages that have developed our own knowledge around the subject, it’s become apparent that the name is a source of hurt and confusion for people. We loved the name for what it meant to us, but in retrospect should have listened more carefully to other voices and acted more quickly. We have always tried to affect positive change and knowing what we do now, it’s only right that we change our name”

Alongside announcing the name change, Young said that they would be making a donation to the Armenian Institute in London, an organization dedicated to preserving Armenian history and culture through research and the arts. Their charitable act is also a way of recognizing Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day, which falls on April 24.

A family of kittens in western Turkey has won people’s hearts with an emergency visit to a hospital.

Not an animal hospital—a human hospital. And it wasn’t a pet owner who brought them in, but the mama cat herself.

According to Gulf Today, staff had previously left food and water for the stray orange tabby outside the Izmer, Turkey hospital, but that morning she kept meowing outside. Finally, she fetched one of her kittens and carried it right into the hospital, clearly on a mission. She wasn’t scared or shy as hospital personnel cleared the path for her. With her baby in her mouth, she trotted through the hallways, seemingly looking for someone to help.

Medical personnel examined the kitten along with its siblings and consulted with a veterinary clinic.

As it turned out, the kittens had an eye infection. Mama kitty’s maternal instincts are really something else. Just look at this sweetness caught on video:

According to the Daily Mail, one of the hospital workers told local media: “We were giving food and water to the mother cat living on the street with other people living in this area. However, we did not know that she gave birth to kittens.

“As we began to receive patients in the morning, she showed up with her kittens. She asked for help, meowing for a long time. We were shocked.

“Upon careful examination, we saw that the kittens were not able to open their eyes due to infection.

“We consulted with veterinarians and gave medicine as described. When the kittens opened their eyes a short time later, we were thrilled.

“Later, we sent the mother cat and kittens to Uzundere for further care. This is the first time something like this has happened to us. We were emotional and delighted to see that they recovered well.”

This isn’t the first time that a mama cat has made news for bringing her kittens into a hospital in Turkey, however. Last spring, a different cat brought her kitten into an emergency room at a hospital in Istanbul. Merve Özcan described the scene in Twitter posts that went viral at the time.

“Today we were in the hospital emergency, a cat rushed to the emergency with her baby she was carrying in her mouth,” Özcan wrote. “Her baby is a little mischievous, her mother grabs it where she finds it.”

Medics looked over the kitten for obvious signs of illness, while mama cat was given milk and food. Then they were sent to a vet.

“The Turks have long been known for their love and care for stray animals,” Bored Panda reported, “with many leaving out food and water for them on the streets.”

No wonder these cats felt so comfortable bringing their kittens into human hospitals for help.

While we can’t know for certain what prompted these mama kitties to bring their babies to these medical professionals, it’s clear that their maternal instinct to protect and keep their kittens healthy is strong. And the fact that they seem to trust the hospital personnel to take care of their babies says a lot about how humans have treated them. Good for these Turkish medical workers for setting an inspiring example of kindness to animals.

Normally, The View descends into chaos and heated exchanges as the panel tackles the controversial topics of the day, but on Tuesday, things got uncharacteristically horny as the co-hosts went completely off the rails talking about Regé-Jean Page not returning for Season 2 of Netflix’s Bridgerton. Apparently, co-host Sunny Hostin “burns” for Page’s character, The Duke, and as she attempted to work through her feelings on him leaving the show, Whoopi Goldberg chose chaos by offering to send Sunny a vibrator. At that point, the entire panel discussion descended into laughter, and none of the co-hosts could rein it in.

After co-host Sara Haines revealed that she had to apologize to her husband that Page wasn’t coming back, Joy Behar immediately wanted to know what that’s all about. Haines admitted that, like a lot of married couples, they’ve been trapped inside with toddlers during a pandemic, so Bridgerton helped… set the mood.

After Whoopi tried to work in an aside about how the show has sent corset sales skyrocketing, she threw the discussion to Meghan McCain who attempted to steer the conversation away from Bridgerton, which she doesn’t watch, to her favorite show, Yellowstone. Although, she did say she’d give Bridgerton a try if her co-hosts checked out Yellowstone, and Haines seemed game.

But even McCain couldn’t help getting caught up in the hysterical mood and joked that everyone comparing their sex lives to Bridgerton wasn’t what she signed up for in the morning. “That was not what I agreed to talk about on air. Meghan does not want any more topics like this,” she said as Whoopi jumped back in to say they’ll post info on where to buy vibrators on ABC.com.

When Cardi B released her No. 1 single “Up” in February, fans were convinced it meant her sophomore album was right around the corner. However, Cardi is still a ways away from dropping the LP as she’s got a lot on her plate, including a new haircare line. That’s why she says she’s planning on taking a break in order to focus all of her energy on putting the finishing touches on her anticipated album.

In an interview with XXL for their Spring 2021 cover, Cardi talked fame, the “WAP” controversy, and what’s in store for her next album. The rapper revealed that she put her sophomore album on hold during the pandemic because she was having difficulty staying creative, but she plans on “going away for a very long time” in order to hunker down and finish the LP:

“I feel like at this point, it’s like a timeline that I created. Because last year, I was like, I gotta put out my album this year. But, then I just stopped working on my album out of nowhere because I feel like the whole COVID thing discouraged me to put out my album. Because I want to put out an album, and I want to tour. […] I got like, a week of making sure I handle all my business, making sure everything is good, go to meetings. And then, I’m going away for a very long time to finish my album.”

Elsewhere in the conversation, Cardi said that it disappointing her when people assume she talks politics only for clout. The rapper reminded haters that she’s been interested in politics for as long as she can remember, and she now has a responsibility to use her voice. “But when it comes to things that’s going on in the environment and government, I like to say what’s on my mind,” she said. “And, sometimes I hate it because I’m not saying it to get attention. I always feel like if God gave you a voice, use it. And people who say that I’m doing it for attention, it’s like, attention my ass. I really like to get to the bottom of sh*t. I don’t need attention.”

Cardi B is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Lady Gaga earned herself a No. 1 album last year with Chromatica, which was released back in May 2020. Now it’s starting to look like there’s more to come on that front, as a remix album may be on the way (or is at least being considered).

BloodPop, one of Gaga’s main collaborators on the album, has hinted at this on Twitter recently. Over the weekend, he tweeted, “In theory – which artists would y’all want to see on a Chromatica remix album (and on what song)?” He then offered a hint at who may be on such a project, or at least who he’d like to see, by following up, “CC @rinasawayama.” Rina Sawayama shared a screenshot of the tweet and added a smirking face emoji.

Dorian Electra then made her case to appear on the album, responding, “random thought : I happen to love the song replay by lady Gaga its rly sick.” Ashnikko also replied, “me please i would pass away.” Bloodpop gave positive responses to both of them. Grimes also chimed in with an off-the-wall suggestion, tweeting, “Nicolas cage freestyle shouting over rain on me.”

Another user suggested that the recently deceased Sophie, who collaborated with Gaga on material that didn’t end up making the album, be included. BloodPop responded, “I agree but it’s up to her family and its imperative to respect their privacy at this time.”

Gaga herself hasn’t made any mention of a Chromatica remix album, but with the artists she would probably be able to get involved, it would likely be a fascinating project.

Last year, Ray Fisher, who played Cyborg in Justice League, came forward last year with allegations that Joss Whedon and other WB execs had created a toxic work environment (which were subsequently backed up by some other actors who had worked with Whedon). But this week, Fisher gave an in-depth interview to Kim Masters at The Hollywood Reporter and her report creates an even more detailed picture of what actually happened. And oh what a picture it is!

It’s a long piece with a lot to cover, from Fisher’s allegations that Warner’s “investigation” into the matter was mostly an ass-covering effort by execs, to the racial dynamic, to all the different parties fighting for control over the Justice League script, but what seems to stand out most is the sheer absurdity that seems to define the contemporary movie business. It is gloriously absurd.

Case in point: there was apparently controversy over the fact that WB execs wanted Fisher’s character, Cyborg, the sullen robot man, to say “Booyah.” That’s right, “booyah,” the Stuart Scott Sportscenter catchphrase from the late 90s. Oh yes, there were meetings about “booyah.” According to the piece, the notorious BOOYAH DIRECTIVE came from Geoff Johns, Chief Creative Officer of DC from 2010 to 2018, who had tried to get Zack Snyder to put BOOYAH in the movie:

The tension only escalated when the issue of having Cyborg say “booyah” arose. That phrase had become a signature of the character thanks to the animated Teen Titans shows, but the character had never said it in the comics or in the original script. Fisher says that Johns had approached Snyder about including the line, but the director didn’t want any catchphrases. He managed the situation by putting the word on some signs in his version of the film, as an Easter egg. But Johns’ rep says the entire studio believed the booyah line was “a fun moment of synergy.”

“Zack, Zacky baby, Zackster: I’m tellin’ you, Booyah could be big! I’m seeing Booyah mugs, Booyah pajamas, Booyah-themed parties — the entire executive team is Booyah crazy over here!”

Clearly, a big part of the movie business is trying to placate executives without telling them that their pet idea is the dumbest idea in the world, but also keeping them from ruining your project with it. Zack Snyder, it seems, was able to perform this dance. But when Snyder left the project, Joss Whedon stepped aboard, and he turned out to be a much less adept Booyah deflector.

With reshoots underway, Fisher says Whedon raised the issue again: “Geoff tells me Cyborg has a catchphrase,” he told him. Fisher says he expressed his objections and it seemed the matter was dropped — until [Jon] Berg, the co-chairman of DC Films and a producer on the project, took him to dinner.

“This is one of the most expensive movies Warners has ever made,” Berg said, according to Fisher. “What if the CEO of AT&T has a son or daughter, and that son or daughter wants Cyborg to say ‘booyah’ in the movie and we don’t have a take of that? I could lose my job.” Fisher responded that he knew if he filmed the line, it would end up in the movie. And he expressed skepticism that the film’s fate rested on Cyborg saying “booyah.”

That’s right, there was a come-to-Jesus meeting, probably over a fancy dinner paid for by an expense account, over the word “booyah.” And there were probably other, previous meetings about how to set up the best meeting to convince Ray Fisher to say the word “booyah.” A VERY SERIOUS BOOYAH MEETING.

“Listen, Ray, I get it. I don’t like it, you don’t like it, but at the end of the day, I got kids. And if you don’t pronounce all seven syllables of WAAAAZZZZAAAAAAAAA like my boss wants, they might have to go to public school.”

But not so fast, let’s give Berg and Johns a chance to respond.

Berg told Variety it was “categorically untrue that we enabled any unprofessional behavior.” He added that Fisher was upset about saying “booyah,” “a well-known saying of Cyborg in the animated series.”

Cyborg says “booyah!” This is canon! Thus spaketh the book of “Robot Man Vs. Octopus Lady,” written by the prophet Jack Horndorfer in 1954 for 25 cents a word while he was trying to afford his child support.

Meanwhile, Geoff Johns seems to have taken another tack in responding to the criticism.

Johns’ rep denies that he ever dismissed any comments, adding that Fisher knew Johns — whose spokesperson requested that he be identified as Lebanese American — “had evolved traditionally all-white DC properties like Shazam, Justice Society of America and others into diverse groups of heroes” in his extensive work as a comic book author. […]

Johns’ spokesperson says: […] Geoff has personally seen firsthand the painful effects of racial stereotypes concerning hair and other cultural stereotypes, having been married to a Black woman who he was with for a decade and with his second wife, who is Asian American, as well as his son who is mixed race.”

Pour one out for Geoff Johns’ spokesperson today, who probably deserves a purple heart for injuries sustained in the act of trying not to tell his boss that his ideas are bad.

On July 1 — the day that Fisher tweeted about Whedon’s behavior — Deadline published an exclusive saying Warners was making a live-action Frosty the Snowman movie with Aquaman star Jason Momoa “voicing the iconic snowman.” A few weeks later, Momoa pushed back in an Instagram post. “I just think it’s fucked up that people released a fake Frosty announcement without my permission to try to distract from Ray Fisher speaking up about the shitty way we were treated on Justice League reshoots,” he wrote. “Serious stuff went down. It needs to be investigated and people need to be held accountable.” (Warners says the “Untitled Snowman Comedy” remains in development.)

“Untitled Snowman Comedy” remains in development. God I love the movie business. What a Lebanese-American controversy this has been.

(The Hollywood Reporter)

After a year of living through a pandemic, everyone could use a little more positive energy to propel them towards the bright light at the end of the covid-19 tunnel. The good news is that folks in Toronto are having their spirits lifted after finding positive, hand-written signs placed around the city.

An anonymous group of friends known as Greetings Toronto has been placing notes in random places thought the city with sayings such as “Hey you, I hope you have an amazing day,” “It’s okay not to be okay,” and “You are the universe experiencing itself.”

The notes are being left in high-traffic areas such as Queen’s Quay along Harbourfront and the University of Toronto campus. They appear in busy areas as well as quiet areas such as park benches and bus stops.

“The idea is that we want to spread love with anyone and everyone in the city. So whether you’re on a busy road commuting to work or you’re simply looking for some peace and quiet in a park, we hope that you’ll come across our messages and feel uplifted either way,” the anonymous founder told blogTO.

The idea came to its anonymous founder after she was inspired by a positive affirmation she saw posted on social media.

“I was going through a bit of a rough patch during the pandemic where my mental health took a decline and my days began feeling dull,” she said.

“While scrolling through social media one day, I came across a post that spoke about the benefits that positive affirmations can have on your mindset,” she continued. “I decided to give it a try, and as I began practicing saying kind and positive things to myself, I noticed instant changes in my overall mood.”

So she asked two childhood friends to join the campaign and Greetings Toronto was born.

The notes have the campaign’s Instagram handle written on them encouraging people who find them to tag Greetings Toronto in their posts.

The founder says a tourist from Brazil who was having a hard time found a note and it really made her day. “I hope that people’s days are instantly brightened when they see our notes and hope that they may even feel inspired to pay such kindness forward, making the world a better place!” she said.

Running across a positive note is bound to put a smile on one’s face, but the effects of positive affirmations can go much deeper than that. Research shows that positive affirmations — when practiced on a regular basis — are like a healthy form of brainwashing. The more you repeat self-affirming statements, the more your brain accepts them as part of your self-concept.

Research shows that repeating positive affirmations can decrease health-deteriorating stress, improve academic achievement, bolster feelings of self-worth, and help people respond more constructively to threats.

The founder hopes her campaign will help keep people’s spirits up in the final stretch of a long, arduous journey.

“It is important that now, more than ever, we remind each other that better days are ahead and to keep the faith while we get through this,” she said.