Category: News

Go big or go home: Shaquille O’Neal clearly lives by these words. The gregarious NBA legend has seemingly never met a money-making opportunity he didn’t jump into in full force. Lately, he’s been headlining New Year’s Eve festivals under his DJ Diesel moniker, getting put through two tables in a pro wrestling match, and diving into the crypto-currency game so deeply, that his Twitter display name is no longer SHAQ, it’s SHAQ.ETH (a nod to the Ethereum blockchain.)

Now he’s getting ready to throw another edition of his wild Super Bowl weekend party that might just rank near the top of the insane-o meter. Dubbed Shaq’s Fun House, his Super Bowl Weekend… pardon… Big Game Weekend event at Los Angeles’ Shrine Auditorium will feature musical guests like Lil Wayne, Diplo, and Zedd, plus DJ sets from himself and his son Myles O’Neal.

Did we mention that it’s open bar? That’s right, folks. Each ticket holder is entitled to a six-hour open bar, plus bites from “LA’s most iconic restaurants” like Roscoe’s Chicken And Waffles, Pink’s Hot Dogs, Diddy Riese Ice Cream, and LA… err…. institution, Papa John’s. The party is also a carnival, with the enormous FTX ferris wheel and circus performers. Shaq, who also happens to be dropping a collab track with Steve Aoki on Friday, laid out on his website that this is clearly an “over the top” affair:

“Los Angeles – I am back to win another Big Game Weekend championship! Part festival, part carnival, I recruited Lil Wayne, Zedd, Diplo and more to perform, plus will be building out a massive carnival experience. Get ready for LA’s most over the top party and celebrity filled event ever!”

This is a very of-the-moment function, with every attendee guaranteed to go home with free NFTs and even features an “Ultimate Giveaway” for $10,000 in Bitcoin among other prizes. The VIP area is hosted by Wynn Las Vegas and I’m not sure what parties you might be planning over Super Bowl weekend, but Omicron not withstanding, Shaq has you topped.

Ticketing pre-sale begins Thursday, January 6th at 10 a.m. PT here, with general on-sale starting the following day at the same link.

It’s not too difficult to spot when an actor is just doing something for the money. And look, this is no judgement on doing “things for money.” (Full disclosure: I, too, like money and I, too, have done things to earn said money.) And sometimes everyone gets lucky and a job someone likes also comes with ample compensation. Now, I have no idea what Andrew Garfield got paid to be in Spider-Man: No Way Home. But I would guess both (a) Garfield didn’t come back as Spider-Man only for the money and (b) he probably wasn’t paid as much as another actor, who also came back, and I would guess was more influenced by the money. (By the way, this isn’t a dig. Everything about the Magurie Spider-Man was pretty well wrapped up and well regarded and there was no real personal reason for him to reprise the role, as opposed to Garfield.)

The way I’ve been looking at this is trying to put myself in Andrew Garfield’s shoes. He’s not even 40 yet and has already had a great career, yet that has to gnaw on someone like Garfield that he’s the one who had the, let’s say, “lackluster” Spider-Man movies. So much so that Sony finally just gave up on them and called Disney for help. Now, absolutely none of this is Garfield’s fault. He’s genuinely good as Spider-Man and when people talk about The Amazing Spider-Man movies that’s usually the first thing people mention. But if it were me, oh, yes, that would annoy me to no end. No matter what success I had as an actor, that would always be in the back of my head, You’re feeling pretty good about yourself huh? Hey remember those Spider-Man movies people didn’t seem to enjoy? Too bad THAT still happened.

The thing about Andrew Garfield is he genuinely enjoyed being Spider-Man. I remember interviewing him at San Diego Comic-Con before the release of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and the guy was just beaming. I’ll never forget, Sony had this weird conference room and each “talent” from the movies they were promoting was set up and spread out at these round conference tables. Garfield had one in the corner and when I interviewed him he was kicked back and had his feet up on the table and was holding court like he was the king of the world – just going on and on about the possibilities of where these movies were going and how this might all tie in with a Sinister Six battle. (If I recall correctly, right before this particular Comic-Con Sony had announced, or at least leaked, not just a third The Amazing Spider-Man movie, but also a fourth. So Garfield, at this point, thought this would be his job for the foreseeable future.)

Also, besides the inherent problems those two The Amazing Spider-Man movies have (Jamie Foxx mentions quite a few of these in No Way Home), they end on such a bummer. Peter can’t save the love of his life and then it just pretty much ends. The third film would have been about Peter coping and trying to become a hero again and actually sounds pretty interesting. But, as we know, that third movie never happened so it just ends with Spider-Man depressed. But, now, and I’m sure in Garfield’s mind, there is a third movie and it completely redeems Garfield’s Spider-Man.

Going back to the whole idea of actors doing parts only for the money, look, Andrew Garfield is a great actor but he’s absolutely beaming in Spider-Man: No Way Home and no amount of acting talent in the world can quite pull off just how happy he looks. Also, as discussed, Garfield always got praise for his portrayal of Peter, but it’s quite something to see Andrew Garfield as Spider-Man in a well-made, capable movie that actually makes sense. As much as I loved him in No Way Home, it’s also kind of frustrating because we are getting a glimpse at what could have been. Three good Spider-Man movies starring Andrew Garfield could have been dynamite. But, before, we had to just kind of assume that was true. Now we can see it with our own eyes and we know it’s true: Andrew Garfield made it crystal clear to everyone he’s a terrific Spider-Man. And what many people thought would be a cameo became a full-on third-act lead role, where his character actually gets to have a catharsis from the events of The Amazing Spider-Man 2.

(By the way, as an aside, it’s kind of hilarious Garfield had to do two press tours this past fall – one for The Eyes of Tammy Faye and another for Tick Tick… Boom! – so he was bombarded with questions about No Way Home while Tobey Maguire just got to hang back and play poker, or whatever else it is he does in his free time. I do hope no one gives Garfield too much grief for his constant denials that he was in No Way Home. The back no one ever believed him made the whole this endearing.)

There are already some rumblings that people would love to see Garfield’s Spider-Man back in some capacity. At this point, I’m curious what Garfield would say to that? On one hand, it’s pretty obvious he loves playing Spider-Man again. But on the other, put yourself back in his shoes: for the past seven-plus years Garfield has had to live with questions about why his series, considered a failure, ended. Now, for the first time, he’s playing with house money. Everyone loves his Spider-Man. If he never makes another people will now think of his Spider-Man as successful. If he decides to make another? Who knows what could happen? Movies like this are difficult and if a news one doesn’t turn out well… it’s back to the way it was. It’s like being down money at a casino and putting everything on red in some last-ditch effort to salvage the night and somehow it hits. You can walk out right now a winner. But, yes, it’s tempting to let it ride one more time…

You can contact Mike Ryan directly on Twitter.

Ever since losing the 2020 presidential election, Donald Trump has been crowing about election fraud to the point where it boiled over into a full-blown insurrection on January 6 that made even his best friend Sean Hannity say, “Hey, maybe calm down.” While evidence of widespread voter fraud has yet to materialize, what has been repeatedly found are residents of the MAGA-loving Villages retirement community in Florida getting busted for voting in multiple states. Whoops.

This time around, it’s 64-year-old Charles Franklin Barnes who has become the fourth resident to get arrested for voter fraud after he allegedly voted in Florida and his original home state of Connecticut. As for how The Villages residents keep getting picked up for voter fraud, well, it appears someone ratted them out with a super subtle email. Via ClickOrlando:

Anonymous emails sent to Florida’s Secretary of State in May by someone using the pseudonym “Totes Legit Votes” prompted the voter fraud investigation, court records obtained show. The self-described “citizen election integrity analyst” reportedly used publicly available voter registration data to identify numerous Florida voters who may have also cast ballots in other states.

“I believe that if hundreds of people sign sworn affidavits that they saw election irregularities, people should at least try to check into it,” the anonymous tipster told News 6. “You can’t claim ‘the system is working’ if random internet people have to find the violations for you.”

Despite Trump’s repeated claims to the contrary, little to none of the few instances of voter fraud in the 2020 election were in Joe Biden’s favor. In fact, they were the opposite, but who’s going to let a little thing like facts get in the way of a good coup, right?

(Via ClickOrlando)

Ed Sheeran has been placing the health of the environment at the top of his list of priorities lately: The singer wants to “re-wild” as much of the UK as he can, and he apparently wants an electric camper for his next tour, too, as he revealed on this past weekend’s episode of CBS’ Sunday Sitdown.

In an unedited version of the conversation that was shared on the Sunday Sitdown podcast, Sheeran said (as NME notes):

“We’re going to spend time in each city. We’re going to try to do it on the train or… I’m talking to VW about an electric campervan. I want to travel to every show as electric as possible. […] The baby is coming with me on tour. It was really a slog at the beginning of my career. You would play five shows in a row and have one day off. But the luxury of playing these large venues is no one goes mid-week so they have to be at weekends. So it’s Friday, Saturday, Sunday every week. We’re going to take time in each city.”

He also noted that he sees his next tour going on for a long time: “I feel quite lost not being on stage because that’s so much of my purpose. And I have been on stage since I was like 11 years old, just constantly. Any stage that there is, I would hop up and play. I really like that gigs are back on and we’re finding a way to do shows, and I can’t see the tour stopping. I’m going to be going for a while.”

Watch the interview here.

Ed Sheeran is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

In the new video for “Already Dead” by Juice WRLD, the late Chicago rapper battles his dark side in an epic duel to the death. Directed by Steve Cannon, the latest video from Juice’s posthumous album Fighting Demons is heavily influenced by his love of animation.

Borrowing from such Japanese anime as Dragon Ball, Rurouni Kenshin (Samurai X for you non-weebs out there), Akira, and more, the video turns Juice into a roving samurai who finds himself in a sword fight with his evil doppelganger. While the two get their respective licks in, neither side can truly gain the upper hand, leaving them at a stalemate by the video’s conclusion. It’s clear that the video aims to illustrate Juice’s internal struggle with his own self-destructive habits, although its draw outcome paints a more optimistic ending than the one Juice really got.

In addition to “Already Dead,” Juice’s team also released his collaboration with Justin Bieber, “Wandered To LA,” as a single, as well as sharing a video for “Burn,” which illustrates an apocalyptic ending for the world at large. With these posthumous concepts reflecting Juice’s tormented worldview, it looks like the Chicago rapper’s vision is at the very least being preserved by these video collaborators, even without being able to feature him personally.

Watch the “Already Dead” video above and stream Fighting Demons here.

Generally taking place in the thick of summer, the Lousiville, Kentucky-based Forecastle Festival will be going down over Memorial Day Weekend in 2022. Taking place at Louisville’s Waterfront Park, the long-running fest is noted for being on the edge of the Ohio River, but also offering sweeping views of the downtown skyline. Now coming into its 20th anniversary, Forecastle has always featured a stellar lineup to match its unique setting, and this year’s fest is no different.

Headliners for each of the three days day include Jack Harlow on Friday, Tame Impala on Saturday, and Tyler The Creator on Sunday. Joining them on the eclectic bill of top notch rock, electronic, and hip-hop acts, are Phoebe Bridgers, Porter Robinson, Earl Sweatshirt, Rüfüs Do Sol, Clairo, 6lack, Wale, Black Pumas, Still Woozy, and a lot more.

Besides going down on a new weekend this year, Forecastle is introducing a reshaped footprint. The Ocean Stage is now fully tented and located on the Wharf. The new-look site overall promises smoother transitions from stage to stage as attendees course through the grounds. Also keeping with year’s past, $3 of every weekend pass sold will benefit the Forecastle Foundation, which preserves and protects threatened ecosystems in Kentucky and beyond.

Tickets are available now via an SMS presale here and general on-sale begins this Thursday, January 6 at noon ET at the same link. Check out the full lineup poster below.

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

Former President Donald Trump has angered some of his closest allies today by canceling a scheduled press conference that was supposed to be held on the anniversary of the Jan. 6th insurrection.

On his WarRoom podcast (via The Daily Beast), host Steve Bannon and Trump advisor Peter Navarro raged over the ex-president’s decision to call off a meeting with the press that was supposed to take place on the one-year anniversary following the deadly riots on Capitol Hill. The two men urged Trump to reconsider while ranting about the personnel Trump has been surrounding himself with lately, people Navarro claims aren’t true believers.

“The person who should be holding a press conference tomorrow, above anybody, pounding on the frickin’ table–particularly given [the] cesspool in Georgia, the cesspool of Arizona—is Donald John Trump,” Navarro told Bannon. “There are still too many people around Donald John Trump that are not Trumpers. He is surrounded by people who just go against his gut, and he just doesn’t trust his gut.”

Bannon, for his part, seemed to be in agreement with Navarro, bizarrely chanting “Trump, Trump, Trump, Trump” as his guest went on a tirade about how the event has been mishandled. While the two men blame bad personnel for the decision to cancel the press conference, Trump is blaming everyone from the “Fake News Media” to the “Jan 6 Unselect Committee of Democrats,” and “two failed Republicans” for his choice not to go through with the gathering.

“In light of the total bias and dishonesty of the Jan 6 Unselect Committee of Democrats, two failed Republicans, and the Fake News Media, I am canceling the January 6th Press Conference at Mar-a-Lago on Thursday, and instead will discuss many of those important topics at my rally on Saturday, Jan 15, in Arizona—It will be a big crowd!” Trump said in a press statement.

According to Axios, close friends like Senator Lindsey Graham and Laura Ingraham advised Trump to call off the event to focus on “election reform” at later planned rallies.

It sounds like Sean Hannity might have some company in the Trump dog house soon enough.

(Via The Daily Beast)

By the time Coachella music festival opens its gates in 2022, it will have been three years since the last time the event took place. Fans have been looking forward to the massive California festival for quite some time, which is why tickets to this year’s event have already sold-out despite their full lineup not being announced yet. What we do know is that Swedish House Mafia announced they will be one of the three headlining performers this year, and it looks like Billie Eilish might be the second confirmed headliner.

According to a report from TMZ, Eilish is signed on to perform at the festival in support of her 2021 album Happier Than Ever. If TMZ’s sources are correct, it would mark Eilish’s second time performing the festival following her 40-minute set in 2019.

News of Eilish’s potential headlining spot arrives following reports that Travis Scott was dropped from the 2022 lineup. Coachella’s canceled 2020 event was slated to have Frank Ocean, Rage Against The Machine, and Scott as headliners. Ocean has already confirmed he’ll play the festival in 2023 and RATM reportedly backed out of this year’s event, meaning Scott was presumably left as a headliner this year. But a recent report might prove otherwise. News outlet KESQ claimed Coachella organizer Goldenvoice dropped Scott from the bill following the Astroworld tragedy, which left several concertgoers dead and thousands of lawsuits filed against the rapper.

Zion Williamson was supposed to come into the 2021-22 season and build off of a sensational sophomore campaign where he established himself as the NBA’s most dominant rim scorer. The former No. 1 overall pick battered defenses last season in New Orleans, posting one of the best seasons in league history as a finisher at the rim, factoring in efficiency and frequency.

However, over the summer he had surgery for a foot injury that the team did not make public until the start of training camp. At the time, they said he was expected to be ready for the start of the season, but as camp wore on and the season approached, that deadline was quickly pushed back. In early December, Williamson was supposed to return to practice, but a week later he suffered a “regression” in his rehab and was scaled back.

It is now January and Williamson has yet to step foot on the court for the Pelicans this season, and the latest update from the team is not encouraging. On Wednesday, the Pelicans announced that Williamson is still not doing any weight bearing activities, as has been the case since mid-December, but he would now be doing his rehab “away from the team.”

“Since we notified everyone on December 16 of his latest imaging, it was decided then by our medical team to dial his rehab back to only partial weight bearing activities. He continues along that path,” stated Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations David Griffin. “We also agreed that in order to put Zion in the best position to succeed, he will rehab away from the team at this time so he can focus on the task at hand.”

It’s not all that uncommon for players to rehab on their own with some supervision from team doctors, but that is typically the protocol for a serious injury that would keep a player out for considerable time. For Zion to be moving to that stage this far into the season certainly seems to indicate that he is not returning to the court any time soon and, it stands to reason, that this could just be a completely lost season for the 2019 top overall pick.

In case you can’t tell that we’ve all been trapped inside for way too long, the internet is losing its mind after recently discovering that John Oliver’s twin and lovable Muppet Elmo has been trapped in a brutal feud with Zoe’s pet rock, Rocco, on Sesame Street. To put it mildly, Elmo would fire the damn thing into the sun if he had the chance. As for how social media latched onto the battle of the ages, it’s all thanks to a random clip from the children’s program that shows Elmo losing his Muppet mind after Zoe refused to give him a cookie because Rocco wanted it. Elmo flipped, y’all.

According to USA Today‘s For The Win, the feud between puppet and rock has been simmering for ages, and when it comes right down to it, poor Elmo is being gaslit:

Why does Elmo hate this rock?

The rock is always getting in Elmo’s way, man. Zoe treats the rock like it’s an actual person on the show when we all know it’s not. It’s not a real person. It doesn’t need people things.

We know that. The kids know that. Elmo knows that. The only one who doesn’t know it is Zoe. She’s tripping, y’all. Elmo is right.

Despite Elmo clearly being psychologically tortured by an inanimate object, the internet had a freaking field day watching the little guy mentally die inside after being repeatedly forced to pretend that a pet rock is real. Who would do this to such a sweet, lovable friend like Elmo? Yes, his voice is annoying and conjures up images of murder, but he knows what’s real and what isn’t, dammit.