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On Tuesday morning, both new and old co-hosts of The View paid tribute to the late Barbara Walters who famously created the iconic daytime talk show all the way back in 1997. While the mood was definitely reverent as original hosts like Meredith Vieria and Debbie Matenopoulos stopped by to share their experiences learning from the veteran newscaster, there were also very on-brand moments of hilarity as the co-hosts recalled unforgettable moments of Walters’ raucous humor.

One such moment came from former co-host Sherri Shepherd, who will never forget the advice that Walters gave her. The two were particularly close and often met for dinners, which led to Walters personally planning Shepherd’s bridal shower where her trademark wit was on full display. Via The Wrap:

“She said, ‘You always get with these men who take your money! All the time! Stop getting married to men that take your money. You need to be a lesbian,’” Shepherd recalled. “‘But with your luck, they’d take your money, too.’”

The story got huge laughs from both the audience and the women at the table, as the hosts all agreed that Walters was known to be honest like that.

The scene was definitely better than the treatment that Walkers received from Megyn Kelly. While the former Fox News host was sure to credit the late Walters for blazing the trail that made her career possible, Kelly launched into an odd and seemingly random attack on Walters’ parenting. While citing passages from her memoir, Kelly decided now was a good time to criticize Walters for being an absent mother.

Needless to say, The View did not go that route, and even one of its more grating former co-hosts had the wherewithal to pay proper respect to Walters:

(Via The Wrap)

James Blake made a recent appearance on comedian Theo Von’s This Past Weekend podcast, where he interestingly opened up about his thoughts regarding musicians not being the greatest people to talk to.

“When it comes to musicians, we’re not… we don’t tend to be the most articulate people, for some reason,” Blake said at 6:39 into the episode. “I think we’re not the best people to have conversations with. So, I had to branch out. Not because I’m such a great conversationalist, but because I noticed a lot of my conversations with musicians tended to be more one-dimensional.”

Blake goes on to compare musicians’ way of speaking to Pavlov’s conditioning psychology, as he notes that while singers and songwriters are capable of communicating their emotions through music, they tend to be more anxious and struggle with other forms of conversation. He also admitted to having the same problem.

“I’m just saying as a general rule, musicians… I had to find my words, really,” he continued later in the video (at 12:36). “If you’d met me maybe seven or eight years ago, I probably wouldn’t have sustained a friendship, for starters. I think I would have been intimidated or not socially comfortable enough.”

While the conversation between Blake and Von lasts for over two hours, fans of both performers were entertained in the comments section by the crossover and their friendship.

Find the full This Past Weekend episode above.

While we might never see the day when Radiohead performs an NPR Tiny Desk Concert, we will happily “settle” for the next best thing from The Smile. After recently completing a month-long tour of North America in support of their debut album, A Light For Attracting Attention, The Smile’s live performance from NPR’s offices in Washington D.C. came out today.

The band presumably stopped off for a session behind Bob Boilen’s desk on their tour stop in the nation’s capital in November, because they were clearly in top touring form. Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood, and Tom Skinner were also joined by saxophonist Robert Stillman as they coursed through a three-song set of “Pana-vision,” “The Smoke,” and “Skrting On the Surface.”

Donning a purple skullcap a la the dude in the “Paranoid Android” music video, Yorke was in especially shape-shifting form during the performance. He moved from piano to bass to guitar in each of the songs, while singing blissfully through it all. The set’s greatest moment was easily the closer, “Skrting On the Surface,” when Yorke and Greenwood both just went crazy on their guitars as Skinner tapped away hypnotically on his drum set.

Watch The Smile perform their NPR Tiny Desk Concert above.

The Bills and Bengals met on Monday night in what was supposed to be the game of the week in the NFL, but after Bills defensive back Damar Hamlin collapsed, going into cardiac arrest after making a tackle in the first quarter and needing CPR on the field, the game was ultimately postponed due to the emotional toll on players on both sides.

At that point, football became secondary to the health of Hamlin, who remains sedated and in critical condition at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center as of Tuesday afternoon when his family released its first statement. The Bills flew back to Buffalo (with some players staying back to be with Damar), indicating there would not be a quick resumption of play. On Tuesday the league confirmed the game will not be resumed this week, with no determination on whether it would be continued at a later date or cancelled completely.

The NFL also noted that there are no changes to the Week 18 schedule as of now, with the playoffs set to begin on Saturday Jan. 14. The need for time off between games means rescheduling games is nearly impossible, and the league will have to eventually make a decision on whether to adjust the playoff schedule or cancel the game outright. As the NFL’s statement notes, that all is of far less importance than Hamlin’s health and one would expect the league to hold off on scheduling decisions as long as possible in hopes that there will be a positive update on Hamlin’s condition on the horizon.

The league also sent a longer memo to teams that provided the option for additional mental health resources and counseling as players around the NFL try to deal with the terrifying visual of seeing a player collapse and go into cardiac arrest on the field.

Even though Yellowstone is one of the biggest shows among your midwest relatives (and the whole country for that matter), but the stars still seem pretty shocked at the impact the series has. What other show has a spinoff starring Helen Mirren and Harrison Ford, a bunch of cute cows, and some pesky republican accusations?

The mid-season finale aired this week, and while there were some cliffhangers that won’t be resolved until the series returns this summer, one mystery from the finale has been solved, and that’s who the heck Clara, Dutton’s new ally played by Lilli Kay, was smooching.

Kay spoke with Deadline to reveal the mystery person behind the kiss, and the story is actually quite amusing. The actors were under strict Covid-related precautions while filming, which inspired a last-minute change: “It was written that Clara is making out with someone in the background behind John and Summer. And we were trying to figure out who was easy and comfortable [to cast] who was also in the testing cycle,” Kay explained. The series was filmed over the summer in Missoula.

“My partner, Juli Kocemba, was there with me in Montana so they said, ‘oh, let’s just have you guys make out in the background.’ My partner’s non-binary, se were like, ‘well it’s a gender fluid make out in the background.’” Kay explained, adding that they didn’t think much of it. “We thought, nobody’s gonna make a big a big deal about it. And then a lot of people made a very big deal about it.” As it turns out, some people did notice, and they weren’t happy with the (single, quick, and harmless) kiss.

Kay continued, “It was very funny because I did not expect anyone to even really catch it. And then people were like, lesbians on the range! It was very, very funny. But it was a fun little evening.” Despite the backlash from various unnamed Twitter users, Kay and her partner weren’t fazed. “We got to listen to some really good music and hang out and quietly make out in the background. Lesbians on the ranch!” Lesbians on the ranch! Let’s go lesbians on the ranch!

(Via Deadline)

Donald Trump is scared of running out of Diet Cokes, toilets that don’t flush properly, and “Tiffany (Daughter)” appearing on his phone’s caller ID. Also, sharks. Don’t forget sharks. But there’s only one thing — or, more accurately, one person — he fears.

Back in November, Kellyanne Conway appeared in front of the House select committee investigating the January 6th Capitol riot. The transcript from her testimony was released this week, and in it, Trump’s former counselor (the two are on the outs) reveals that she didn’t contact the president on that fateful day — she got in touch with his wife, Melania.

“I texted her, please — something to the effect of, you know, please talk to him, because I know he listens to her,” Conway told the committee. “He listens to many of us, but he reserves fear for one person, Melania.” Donald Trump is like a doofus husband from a 1950s sitcom who’s afraid that his wife (who reportedly called him out for “blowing” the response to COVID-19) is going to kabong his head with a frying pan.

Conway said the first lady “didn’t have her phone,” however, and [was] “preparing for the end of term.” Melania said so herself in a July 2022 Fox News interview — claiming ignorance to the fact that the Capitol was breached. “She didn’t know what was going on,” Conway told the panel. “And I’m offended that nobody ran in there to tell the First Lady of the United States that, I mean, she and her teenage son may be, I don’t know, at risk.”

As a reminder, this is Melania’s alleged response to the violence on January 6th:

These two deserve each other.

(Via the Huffington Post)

It’s an understatement to say that Wednesday is a major hit for Netflix. The show also impeccably timed itself to avoid the October rush of spooky content while aiming for the binge-friendly Thanksgiving weekend, and after three weeks, the show reached the one-billion streaming-hours mark. Still, Netflix seems to be sitting in an odd spot lately, kind of a holding pattern, before they rapidly greenlight followup seasons. We’re still waiting to hear about Season 6 for crowd favorite series Cobra Kai, and The Sandman fans endured a nightmarish wait for Season 2 news, given that the show’s quite expensive, according to Neil Gaiman.

Where does that put Wednesday, though? The notoriously poker-faced Jenna Ortega gave the world an updated title character (following her The Addams Family predecessors) that’s keeping viewers invested, but there’s been no official update as of yet from Netflix. On a speculative note, however, a recent Deadline article (on Amazon closing its deal to acquire MGM) has prompted NME to read between the lines while reflecting on Netflix’s silence:

This, teamed with the recent purchase of the show’s studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) to Amazon, hint that Netflix may lose the rights to the show for any potential second season.

However, Deadline report that Amazon’s MGM deal doesn’t automatically ensure that all content from the producer becomes exclusive to Amazon Prime Video, so Netflix may yet retain the rights for Wednesday season two.

Granted, this could all simply be about Netflix waiting to see how their new year shapes up before making any major Wednesday calls, but the merger aspect is something to consider. Whatever the case, it would be a strange development if we didn’t hear something soonish about Season 2, so that Ortega can get ready to not blink during another dance scene because (let’s get real) there’s gotta be one.

(Via NME & Deadline)

Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago bash was clearly the place to be this New Year’s Eve. First, there was the former president ringing in the new year with a truly rousing speech in which he attempted to blame the winter storms for MyPillow King Mike Lindell and Rudy Giuliani being the only people who showed up to his party. Then, Mr. Four Seasons Total Landscaping himself took the time to record and post what might be the most inspiring message he’s ever delivered — only because you couldn’t hear a word he said.

While toasting 2023 with the rest of the MAGA elite (all two of them), Giuliani turned his phone inward and recorded a message for all to hear… but all anyone could hear was whatever band actually agreed to play at Mar-a-Lago busting out a banger rendition of “Footloose.” While Giuliani surprised everyone by having enough sense to actually delete the post after being brutally roasted over it (sorry!), The Independent fortunately kept a copy of it for posterity — and helpfully tried to caption what words could be heard, including “I’m.” If Melania Trump had to guess how that sentence might have ended, she might have gone with: “I’m hoping to catch Melania in her robe a little later.”

Unfortunately, the world will never know what sage words Rudy had for us, but you can watch his message hilariously being rendered moot — and mute — while everybody cuts (everybody cuts) footloose here.

(Via The Independent)

If it comes out that GOP serial bullshit slinger George Santos has offered one big whopper of a lie about anything else in his life, Donald Trump might start getting jealous. The incoming congressman from New York is still scheduled to be sworn in today, despite the fact that he is currently under criminal investigation for lying about pretty much everything about his accomplishments and life in general, including his mother being killed on 9/11. But lying might be the least of his worries.

According to CNN, Santos’ bizarre/brazen/idiotic decision to throw himself into the congressional spotlight with a resume full of lies has led authorities in Brazil to carry on with a more than decade-old fraud investigation into the (supposedly) 34-year-old. Police are requesting a “formal response” from Santos regarding a 2008 incident in which the shiny new congressman — who would have been 19 years old at the time — reportedly spent $700 at a clothing store using a fake name and stolen checkbook. The New York Times reported that Santos originally copped to the caper, and was charged with embezzlement, but never showed up to court.

The case was eventually all but abandoned as Brazilian authorities could not locate Santos. Cut to: a successful congressional campaign in 2022. With Santos’ whereabouts not well known to authorities, Maristela Pereira, a spokesperson for the Rio de Janeiro prosecutor’s office, told CNN that they will be reaching out to the DOJ in order to notify Santos of the outstanding charges against him.

When asked about the charges, Santos told The New York Times: “I am not a criminal here – not here or in Brazil or any jurisdiction in the world. Absolutely not. That didn’t happen.” And if there’s one thing we have learned about Santos, it’s that you can absolutely believe every word that comes out of his mouth.

If convicted, Newsweek reports that Santos could face up to five years in prison.

Meanwhile, his GOP colleagues apparently want nothing to do with Santos, which says a lot.

(Via CNN)

Hip-hop is a culture, but thanks to decades of promotion, it has become a viable career path for many. Rapper Westside Gunn can attest to this. From the release of his music to producing for other acts and even entry into acting, the co-founder of the independent record label Griselda Records has seen his share of success. According to the producer, he is ready to hang it all up.

In a series of tweets, the musician shared, “2023 [will] definitely be my last year doing this sh*t.” His reasoning was, “I don’t have nothing else to prove.”

As a proud Buffalo, New York native, he wrote, “I put my team on. I put my city on. I worked with everybody I ever wanted to work with. Plus, m*therf*ckers still don’t even understand 1-10, FLYGOD, Awesome GOD, or Pray for Paris.”

As fans of the genre know, not many rappers genuinely retire from the music industry. But Gunn assures he is serious about his upcoming plans, writing, “I know I say I’m a retire all the time, so people might be like ‘he always says this.’ Seriously, I’ve been through so much with this sh*t behind closed doors that y’all would never know. It’s brought more pain than joy. I’m just so G that I make it look super easy, but I fight these devils every day.” One of those battles included health complications. The other is lack of support.

After listing out his rather extensive professional resume, Gunn stands on his claims of being the greatest rapper of all time, writing, “I only brought y’all the best art. I elevated the Hip-hop culture. I bridged the gap. I showed people how you could make money. I showed people to never change and do it your way. I’ve literally showed you all […] at an elite level, no compromising!”

Gunn closed out the series of tweets by thanking musicians who have supported him, including Roc Marci, Action Bronson, Alchemist, Skyzoo, Danny Brown, and more.