GoneTrending

During the Texas Senate race in 2018, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, as voiced and performed by SNL legend Robert Smigel, interviewed Beto O’Rourke, a Democrat, and his Republican opponent Ted Cruz, who ended up winning the red state. If you’re still trying to figure out what Cruz meant when he told Triumph, “It wasn’t the Republicans, it was the Democrats that took you into the vet to get fixed,” you’re not the only one.

“I don’t even know exactly what it meant,” Smigel told The Last Laugh podcast, “but it got a huge laugh among everybody around him. And he’s just got a big smile, shoulders are starting to vibrate and he’s nodding and… checkmate. But it turned out it was actually a softball.” Triump’s response: “I support spaying and neutering, just like Trump did to you,” which, to Cruz’s credit, “he actually went, ‘Ahh!’ Like, you got me,” Smigel said. The comedian, who co-wrote the best Happy Madison movie, also shared one of the “crasser” jokes he didn’t make during his interview with the world’s #1 Simpsons fan:

One of the “crasser” jokes that Smigel considered but ditched was something along the lines of, “When Trump hugged you at the rally… was he technically grabbing another p*ssy?”

You can relive the glory of Triumph dunking on Cruz below.

(Via the Daily Beast)

Last month, Swae Lee launched a (non-explicit) OnlyFans to promote the launch of a new single, “Reality Check.” The hook of the song goes, “Who needs a reality check? I got a check in reality.” Now, he wants to give some of his fans a check in reality: Lee has launched the #RealityCheckChallenge, in which four winners will get a nice “reality check” for $1,200.

Explaining the contest in a video from his driveway, Lee said, “The more creative you get, the better. The more fun you get, the better. Include your friends, you can do it solo, just get creative with it. Four lucky winners… have fun.”

He also shared the written official rules for the contest, which read, “Swae Lee knows times are hard with the current state of the economy and wants to issue four (4) Reality Checks for $1200 each (US Only) to (2) two male/male group and (2) two female/female group with the most creative video to his new song ‘Reality Check’.” The rules go on to note that videos can be posted on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, TikTok, and Triller, and must include the hashtag #RealityCheckChallenge and a tag for @swaelee.

Meanwhile, he’s been productive working on new music, as he apparently sent 733 songs to Mike Will Made-It for his new album.

Kendrick Lamar’s Good Kid, M.A.A.D City is one of the most successful albums in all of hip-hop (and of music overall), and the numbers prove it. In fact, the 2012 album has just made history: Chart Data notes the album has now spent 400 weeks on the Billboard 200, which makes it the only hip-hop studio album to do so.

That, of course, makes the release the hip-hop studio album with the most time spent on the chart, ahead of Eminem’s The Eminem Show (383 weeks) and Drake’s Take Care (382). Those two albums are also both currently on the chart.

However, Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City isn’t the longest-charting hip-hop album overall on the Billboard 200. Eminem’s 2005 compilation album, Curtain Call: The Hits, has spent 494 weeks on the chart. That’s good for sixth all time among all releases, behind Pink Floyd’s Dark Side Of The Moon (950 weeks), Bob Marley And The Wailers’ Legend (632), Journey’s Journey’s Greatest Hits (622), Metallica’s Metallica (578), and Guns N’ Roses’ Greatest Hits (499). Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City comes in at 16th on the all-time, all-genre list.

Interestingly, despite Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City‘s extended run on the chart, it never actually topped it. On the chart dated November 10, 2012, Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City debuted at No. 2 and was kept out of the top spot by Taylor Swift’s Red, which also debuted that week. Lamar would later guest on a remix of Swift’s 2015 single “Bad Blood.”

The death of Carl Reiner on Tuesday brought an outpouring of grief in the entertainment industry, starting with a loving tribute from his longtime friend Mel Brooks. Reiner’s death was not a shock by any means — all of us should be so lucky to live 98 years and be as successful and memorable as he was in his comedic career. But that longevity and breath of influence meant many shared tributes to his life and how it impacted them.

One of the most interesting was from The Good Place creator Mike Schur, who wrote up some thoughts for The Hollywood Reporter on Tuesday. The tribute touched on his impact on Schur and his career but mostly centered on the time Reiner appeared on the show in a Season 4 episode written exclusively with the comedic legend in mind.

At the time, Parks protagonist Leslie Nope was running for city council and the show wanted to make an elderly character who held considerable sway over others in the community. That role was designed for Reiner, and when he said yes Schur said the cast and crew basically geeked out over his appearance on set.

Carl saying “yes” made us feel like we’d been knighted, or something – like the emperor of comedy had decreed us worthy of his attention. I’m not sure if he understood that power he had – though we told him, certainly, when he showed up on the set. We bowed and scraped and genuflected, and in my memory he was lovely and self-effacing and thought we were being a bit silly. But we didn’t care. Adam Scott brought in a movie poster of The Jerk for him to sign. I asked him to tell me stories about The Dick Van Dyke Show, which when I was a kid taught me both what a writers’ room was and how to make one funny.

Schur talked about some of the things he learned from Reiner — including some very nice things about his childhood crush Mary Tyler Moore. But once he got on set, the showrunner was blown away by how sharp and effective the 90-year-old was at delivering his lines. One example given was a time when he was supposed to say that Leslie reminded him of his brother, who was also named Leslie. It was taken as a good sign before he was supposed to say “He lost a third of his body in a motorcycle accident.” But both Reiner and director Dan Goor did a bit of on-the-spot improv that really made the moment shine.

Dan Goor, who was directing, asked him if he wanted to improvise a little. His eyes lit up. Dan pitched him the joke: “He lost a third of his body in a motorcycle accident – the middle third.” The absurdity of it made him laugh out loud. I’m endlessly jealous, eight years later, that Dan made him laugh and I didn’t.

That wasn’t the end of the improv, though. And the result was so funny that some surprise laughs from off camera had to later get edited out to make the take useable.

He added the joke, and then just kept going – “He lost a third of his body in a motorcycle accident. The middle third. But they sutured the hell out of him. He’s – he’s fine now. Much shorter. But a good-looking, young, flat man.” Everything about it is wonderful. “They sutured the hell out of him.” What 90-year-old man pulls that sequence of words out of thin air? And the way he hits flat man at the end is like Simone Biles nailing a balance beam dismount. We used it all, naturally, though only after editing out both Adam and one of our camera operators giggling off screen. It’s just one tiny moment in his oeuvre – a couple scenes in one episode of one show, 70 years deep in his career — but good gravy was he funny.

It’s a touching tribute to Reiner in many ways, including a point that many have made in the way of his passing: not many people have been that funny for that long and have seen their comedy endure despite changing mores and tastes. In many ways Reiner and his brilliance was timeless, and those who watched Parks and Rec even today can get a glimpse of that from a 90-year-old who still knew how to steal the show.

[via THR]

Racist jokes are one of the more frustrating manifestations of racism. Jokes in general are meant to be a shared experience, a connection over a mutual sense of humor, a rush of feel-good chemicals that bond us to those around us through laughter.

So when you mix jokes with racism, the result is that racism becomes something light and fun, as opposed to the horrendous bane that it really is.

The harm done with racist humor isn’t just the emotional hurt they can cause. When a group of white people shares jokes at the expense of a marginalized or oppressed racial group, the power of white supremacy is actually reinforced—not only because of the “punching down” nature of such humor, but because of the group dynamics that work in favor of maintaining the status quo.

British author and motivational speaker Paul Scanlon shared a story about interrupting a racist joke at a table of white people at an event in the U.S, and the lessons he drew from it illustrate this idea beautifully. Watch:

Speaking up in a group setting where people have an unspoken sense of solidarity is difficult. Giving up social capital and being seen as a breaking a code of sorts is uncomfortable. But that that difficulty and discomfort are not excuses for staying quiet. As Scanlon points out, our silence is not benign, it’s malignant. Keeping quiet while a racist joke is being told and laughed at is harmful because it allows racism to go unchecked and white supremacy to remain secure.

An important point Scanlon makes is that not only do white folks allow harm to take place when we remain silent in the face of a friend, family member, colleague, or acquaintance making a racist joke, but we are actually rewarded for saying nothing. We maintain a sense of solidarity, we gain social capital, we’re seeing as agreeable and establish a sense of belonging. Those rewards are an insidious form of racism that many white people aren’t even aware we participate in. And we have to decide ahead of time that we’re going to give up that reward and embrace the inevitable awkwardness in order to do the right thing.

We have to decide that ending racism is more important than embarrassment. The more people who stand firm in that decision, the less awkward it will become and the sooner we can redefine what social capital and solidarity really mean.

There has been a rash of incidents in the news about nosy white people summoning the powers of the state to stop Black people from doing everyday activities.

One of the most notorious was “Permit Patty,” a woman who called the police on a young Black girl who was selling bottled water on a San Francisco sidewalk.

Seven-year-old twin entrepreneurs Kamari and Kamera from Savannah, Georgia had the legality of their lemonade stand questioned by a white woman on social media after a photo was posted of their new business.

Instead of celebrating two children with entrepreneurial spirit, she attempted to question the viability of their business.

via WSAV

“A lady came in and was like, ‘I bet they don’t have a license.’ And other people were like, ‘how do you know that?’ and she was like, ‘I seriously doubt it,'” the girls’ father, Quentin Lawyer said.

Lawyer believes that the woman’s comment was an example of blatant racism.

“I didn’t even comment back to her,” he said. “What she tried to do, it caused the opposite, really. She helped us more than she hurt us.”

So, instead of closing up shop, a friend of the family helped the twins apply for a business license from the city so they can sell their lemonade without facing any harassment from law enforcement or nosy white people.

Now, their business, Twin-Monade, is fully licensed in the city of Savannah and they’ve expanded their menu to include more flavors. “Our flavors are strawberry-kiwi, blue raspberry, cotton candy, coconut, banana,” Kamari said.

Over just a few days, they made over $5,000. “That’s the whole purpose of it,” Lawyer said. “To create generational wealth.”

On Juneteenth, they had a line down the block and it was an hour wait for the lemonade.

via CBS

“We were talking today about it being Juneteenth and ways to support Black businesses,” customer Aimee Baxter told CBS News. “So we thought this was the business that we wanted to make sure we supported today.”

The girls’ mother, Charnise Anderson, hopes this is just the beginning of something much greater. “It’s really great and we’re just looking to just push it forward,” Anderson said.

On a deeper level, it’s a little ridiculous that young children should have to get permission from the state or city just to serve up a cold glass of lemonade to a thirsty customer. Lemonade never killed anybody and anyone who stops by to pick up a cold glass understands the risk they may be taking.

In rare circumstances, if the lemonade is too cold, you could experience momentary brain freeze.

Burna Boy continues his stellar 2020 with the video for his recently-released single, “Wonderful,” the first single from his forthcoming album, Twice As Tall. After racking up an impressive Grammy nomination (for Best World Music Album), Burna kicked off the drive for his new album with the lyrics video for “Wonderful” just ahead of the weekend, over which he also picked up a BET Award (for Best International Act).

In the video for “Wonderful,” Burna again displays the rich cultural history of his native Nigeria, performing in the midst of a cadre of dancers in traditional tribal garb. The African Giant artist previously paid homage to his heritage in the colorful video for “Odogwu.” Meanwhile, his more contemporary videos, such as “Secret” and “Money Play” have helped contribute to his international popularity as one of the most prominent producers of the genre sometimes called Afrobeats (or Afropop).

With both video styles, Burna seeks to amplify a vision of a united Africa. As he said during his BET Award acceptance speech on Sunday night: ““I’d like to use this opportunity to say that sometime around 1835 there was a mission to turn the nation of Africa into a dominated nation. Now is the time to overturn that and go back to the royalty that we were because in order for black lives to matter, Africa must matter.”

Watch the video for “Wonderful” above.

Burna Boy is a Warner Music artist Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

As the NBA prepares to resume the 2020 season at the end of July, there is still plenty of uncertainty. Last week, teams started their initial round of testing for COVID-19 before everyone heads to Orlando, and several players have since come back positive. Still, that reportedly won’t stop many of them from joining their teams and taking the court once they’ve recovered and gone through quarantine.

For some, however, the risks have outweighed the benefits. DeAndre Jordan, Wilson Chandler, Avery, Bradley, and Davis Bertans, among others, are opting out of the trip to Orlando. And that doesn’t just extend to players. Other league personnel have decided against participating in the restart.

On Tuesday, longtime NBA announcer Marv Albert announced that he won’t be heading to the Disney World Resort to call the games for TNT, citing health concerns as the determining factor in his decision.

Via Andrew Marchand of The New York Post:

Albert, 79, has been the longtime lead voice for Turner, but will not be a part of the coverage with the NBA planning to have its national announcers on site in the league’s bubble.

***

Albert told The Post that he was growing more excited about participating on-site, but that was dampened with the recent surge of cases in Florida.

“I had second thoughts,” Albert said.

Albert will reportedly still provide periodic commentary from a remote location. At 79, Albert is in a much higher risk category for COVID-19. So far, the rest of the TNT broadcast crew plans on calling the games in Orlando, but Albert’s iconic voice will be a noticeable absence for NBA fans.

(The New York Post)

One of the main goals of the nationwide protests for social justice is to give Black people a voice in a way they’ve never had before. Around the country, professional athletes are helping lead the charge and using their platform to spread awareness of their experiences living in an America where they are treated unequally.

Stephen Jackson, Damian Lillard, DeMar DeRozan, and many other current and former players have used their money, time, and influence to bolster this cause. They’ve also taken the opportunity to remind us that, before their stardom, they went through the same hardships that all Black people face, and that despite their fame and wealth, they are still subject to the racism and hatred that is so insidious in our country.

Matt Barnes has been a vocal leader in the movement, and this week, he spoke to Taylor Rooks of Bleacher Report about a number of topics related to race in America. Most poignantly, he talked about how his father told him to fight anyone at school who called him the N-word and how he was eventually able to use sports to earn respect and find common ground.

“I was by myself, I was on an island,” Barnes said. “Until I really got a chance, I think, through sports. These kids, once they were finally tired of getting beat up, they finally allowed me to play with them. Then, once they allowed me to play with them, I was the best — football, basketball, baseball, kickball. Sports was what allowed them to the chance to get to know me as a person. That was kind of the turning point.”

Barnes also talked about what he sees as unfair treatment of Black coaches in the NBA and his perception that white coaches are given more chances and more leeway. Having played for the Clippers during the Donald Sterling sterling era, Barnes went on to say he would try to do things differently today and urge his team to sit out in protest.

Although he hasn’t directly advocated for players to opt out of the Orlando bubble, Barnes has helped amplify concerns about how the NBA restart could distract from the Black Lives Matter movement. However, many see it as an opportunity to use the platform to bring even more awareness to the fight for social justice and police reform that has gripped the nation for the past month.

The Queer Eye reboot spent their fifth season in Philadelphia, and while they’ve been busy doing makeovers from all over town — from Fishtown to West Philly to Germantown and even far-flung-ish Wyomissing — they would be remiss if they didn’t at least try to take on Gritty. It’s been almost two years since the googly-eyed mascot for the Flyers went, in the span of a day or two, from nightmare fuel to beloved figure. How can even the Queer Eye guys improve on perfection?

Spoiler: They didn’t quite, despite the old college try. In the special, released by Netflix as a YouTube extra, Jonathan Van Ness took a look at his orange mane and threw up his hands, correctly surmising that Gritty is “synonymous with perfect eyebrows.” Tan France, challenged with dressing a 7-foot behemoth who only has one outfit, tried out different colors, even a Santa Claus outfit, but the original remained best. (He also admitted Gritty has a “great a**.”) And instead of getting him to change his cheesesteak-heavy diet, food and wine guy Antoni Porowski wound up gorging on the deeply unhealthy but sinfully delicious foodstuff himself.

The video ends with lifestyle guru Karamo Brown arranging a meeting of the minds with the city’s other whatzit mascot, the Phillie Fanatic, which ends with the latter reminding Gritty that he quickly became beloved by the fans. So, they accomplished something.

You can watch the full video above.