Category: Viral

Things aren’t that great between Doja Cat and her fans right now. Well, some of them: After she recently lost hundreds of thousands of social media followers after a rant against her fans, she wrote, “Seeing all these people unfollow me makes me feel like I’ve defeated a large beast that’s been holding me down for so long. And it feels like I can reconnect with the people who really matter and love me for who I am and not for who I was. I feel free.”

Now, the saga continues. There are apparently some folks out there who thinks Doja disses other rappers. Doja set the record straight on that, insisting that it’s just “the f*ckin phonies in my comment sections” she’s going after.

In a series of now-deleted Instagram Story posts shared today (September 1), she wrote:

“people don’t wanna accept im dissing them so they try to pin it on cardi nicki and meg and every other female rapper. I don’t diss rappers I diss critics. Stay bored. Stay reaching.

i don’t diss people i’m inspired by i don’t diss people i look up to. i don’t diss people who don’t attack and harass me every day. YALL do. SHE doesn’t. THEY dont. Y’all are the problem.

TO BE 100% CLEAR because I know you all need me to talk REEEEEAL SLOOOOOW for you; I’m not dissing anyone but the f*ckin phonies in my comment sections.”

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

Metallica shared their new album 72 Seasons earlier this year, so now, the legendary band is currently on a massive tour. The other weekend, Jason Momoa jumped in the mosh pit at their Los Angeles show, and now more unreal things are transpiring at their concerts.

Also at LA’s SoFi Stadium, a dog snuck into the event all by herself and has gone viral after photos were shared of the wholesome, happy canine. On social media, Metallica posted about the wild situation, not without the delightful pun “Master of Puppies.” They wrote:

“You might have heard we had a four-legged fan join us for #M72LA! Despite reports to the contrary, our friend Storm snuck out of her home adjacent to @SoFiStadium and made her way to the gig all by herself.

After a full night taking in the show with her #MetallicaFamily, Storm was safely reunited with her actual family the next day. She had a great time listening to her favorite songs, including ‘Barx Æterna,’ ‘Master of Puppies,’ and ‘The Mailman That Never Comes.’

And in case you were wondering, no. You definitely shouldn’t bring your furry friends to the #M72 World Tour. But this dog sure did have her day…”

As for the “reports to the contrary,” a Facebook post from the The Animal Hope & Wellness Foundation (the source of the photo from the Metallica tweet) initially indicated the dog was brought to the concert and “abandoned” there. The post also noted, “He was taken to the local shelter, which at the moment we are trying to pull her from. Regardless of what people think, no dog should be taken to a rock concert. It was extremely loud, and that poor pup was definitely scared. The dog looks to be a Akita Shephard mix. Very friendly and sweet.”

Check out the Metallica tweet below.

If you’ve been keeping up with Winning Time (which runs Sundays at 9PM on HBO) you know that things reached a head last week between burgeoning icon Magic Johnson and Iccarus in a sport coat head coach Paul Westhead over Johnson’s ill fit with “The System” playbook and Westhead’s view of the hierarchy. A trade demand was issued and now both men are set to see who has more sway with team owner Jerry Buss.

If you know basketball history on a base level, you know which of these two big personalities and talents is about to have a bad day in this next episode. But outside of this standing as an interesting point in the history of the Showtime-era Lakers, it also connects to this moment in sports culture. In the mid-80s, Magic Johnson was a trailblazer. Now, most athletes are paid more than the coaches and GMs who draw up the game plan and build the rosters and some superstars have a seat at the table when it comes to personnel moves. It’s fascinating watching Magic come into his power like this, but it’s also really interesting watching everyone else kinda freak out when he’s consulted on trades or wins a power struggle.

Actor Jason Segel is a big part of that palpable freakout as his character, Lakers coach Paul Westhead, tries like hell to keep the status quo, using his players as pawns in his grand scheme whether they like it or not. And forget about letting a player dictate who is on the roster. It goes against everything he stands for, especially as he cultivates an image of himself as an outside-the-box mastermind.

Before that image gets tested, though, we spoke with Segel and with Solomon Hughes, the actor who plays Kareem Abdul Jabbar, a legend from a different era who is often caught in conflict with Johnson’s brand of office politics and on-court play. In the conversation, which took place before the SAG strike, we discussed Segel’s insights on Westhead’s ego bloom, Hughes’ thoughts on Kareem and Westhead’s alliance against Magic, and the wonderful world of short shorts, bad wigs, whether we can make the word “gams” come out of retirement, and Segel’s pitch to come back in the future to play Phil Jackson.

What were you most looking forward to playing with these characters specifically, this season?

Solomon Hughes: Just further exploration of these great people’s lives, right? Beyond just what we saw on the basketball court, the ups and the downs, the tensions, the things that they were dealing with off the court. I think they all really kind of build on this incredible story of what they were able to accomplish as a group for such a long period of time.

Jason Segel: I knew that Paul Westhead was going to show up a little bit sassy this year and that was exciting for me.

It’s obviously not a documentary, it takes some liberties with the Paul Westhead character this season. Sassy is a word you could use. There are definitely some elements of his personality that come through in this season that someone might not love if that was them being portrayed. Any apprehension on your part about that?

Segel: No, I feel as though no human being would want to see themselves portrayed on screen in all of their full colors. So even if it was completely accurate, even if it was dead on accurate… I think we’re uncomfortable with ourselves and we never get to see ourselves clearly. That’s one of the weird things about being yourself, and so that is an unwinnable test. I think that what I always try to do when I’m acting whether a character is real or not real is I try to play them as though they’re me and I try to love them.

And so really early on I decided that Paul Westhead was a Shakespearean scholar and this was heightened reality and I was going to try to draw a Shakespearean arc and hope that as long as I loved the character and tried to be honest about each and every scene that it was going to be okay. And I really hope that’s true and if it’s not, I’m certainly sorry. I would hate to hurt anybody’s feelings, but I tried to do right by the story we were trying to draw, especially as an archetype.

I’m curious about what it is you think drove that conflict and at times rivalry between Westhead and Pat Riley? That need for Paul to put Pat in his place essentially. What it was about the characters that kind of motivated that conflict?

Segel: I think that Westhead is battling some severe imposter syndrome because he is not getting the credit he thinks he deserves for season one’s championship because it’s under the shadow of McKinney getting injured. And I think that probably there is a subconscious sense that Pat Riley is a better basketball mind than he is, and so he is sort of trapped in this position of the guy before him is considered a better basketball mind and he’s going to get found out real soon and he’s going to go back to where he came from.

Solomon, the alliance between Kareem and Paul, I wouldn’t say it’s buddy-buddy at all times, but it definitely feels like there’s an alliance there. Are they unified because both characters aren’t necessarily fully enamored with Magic?

Hughes: Well, I think it’s more that there’s familiarity. (They’re from) similar eras in terms of their perspectives on the game. I think Kareem, the Real Kareem, talks about his reverence for his coaches, John Wooden, et cetera. And to see that balance upended, I think it’s new and I think it speaks to a lot of the changes that were happening in the game in terms of just its visibility in terms of its star power. And so I think whenever familiarity is disturbed, interesting things happen.

You’re older than the other players, the other actors that are playing players. Is that helpful for you in terms of feeling somewhat, I mean, I get exasperated by younger writers sometimes. I’m sure you get a little exasperated from time to time by some of these 25-year-olds running around jumping and bouncing all over the place. Does that help to inform the portrayal?

Hughes: Yeah, but in addition to that, I remember playing being a senior and how you deal with incoming freshmen that might have a lot of talent, but not a ton of maturity, those dynamics. It was helpful to experience that. But yeah, I think for sure, I mean you’re looking at life a little bit differently for sure, and I think all that helps.

Jason, the mullet was on point. I’m curious how delighted you were to see yourself with that look and also the wardrobe. Some of those choices are pretty, again, I think sassy is the word of the day on those. Can you talk a little about bringing the character to life in his glow-up phase when he’s trying to embrace the Hollywood thing a little bit?

Segel: I made a decision, which is, in season one I was wearing a wig and I would be doing acting that I was really proud of and then I would turn and I would see a mirror and I would think, oh, it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter. I’m wearing this wig.

Oh, so is that real mullet? That was all you this year?

Segel: Season one was a wig and then I decided after that if we do a season two, I’m using my own hair. And so I told them on Shrinking that I was going to be growing my hair out during the season. And so they were very kind and let me grow my hair out. So it was a lot more comfortable to be working with my own hair.

It’s a beautiful mullet. I’m surprised you didn’t keep it. You didn’t want to just stick with it?

Segel: Well, it’s starting (again). Look at this.

Yeah, it’s a little there.

Segel: It’s a little bit, yeah. And this is not in prep for anything. This is just a strike hairdo.

Yeah, that’s right. In terms of the name for “The System” (Westhead’s on-court strategy), any thoughts on an alternate name? Because it is a pretty bad name.

Segel: I stand by the name of the system. Maybe it’s because I have to, but I think it is a very definitive and grandiose name. This is The System.

There’s no other like it.

Segel: People are focusing too much on “System” and not enough on “The,” which is what’s doing the heavy lifting.

Hughes: Timing is everything.

Segel: (Laughs) Yes.

Solomon, I don’t want to leave you out of the wardrobe conversation with the shorts of the era. Is there ever a moment where it’s like, can we just maybe extend it just a little bit? It might be just a little too short. Is that a thought that you ever expressed to the wardrobe department?

Hughes: I’m sure that was one of a number of conversations I had with the wardrobe department. I mean, I loved the gear, don’t get me wrong, but yeah, the shorts took some getting used to for sure. You had to wear tighty whities underneath. You couldn’t wear biker shorts, anything like that. So yeah, that was interesting. But the other thing is everybody else is wearing them, so there’s this sense of normalcy and you don’t feel as exposed. Everybody’s gams are just out there.

Segel: That’s how you know we’re old, by the way. He just said gams.

Hughes: I feel like the young folk are bringing it back. They’re bringing it back.

Jumping back to hair, Kareem’s more fully balding era, is that something you’re looking forward to or dreading?

Hughes: If that means that we get to work together again?

So that’s the price you’ll pay. But Jason, you won’t obviously be on the show at that point.

Segel: I may come back if this show goes long enough. I’m going to lobby to play Phil Jackson. I’ll wait it out, the timing will line up. I’ve done the math. (Laughs)

Or John Paxson, and then you can get in those short shorts. You get your gams out.

Segel: Yes. There you go.

New episodes of ‘Winning Time’ air at 9PM ET on HBO and on MAX

Country music star Morgan Wallen has found himself in a steady mix of career success and controversy. While the singer’s chart placement remains strong, the same can not be said about his touring schedule. However, after taking some time off the road for vocal rest, it seemed like everything had worked itself out.

But yesterday (August 31), as Wallen was showing off his vocal runs during his show at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, concertgoers’ bathroom emergencies show how escalated into a full-on porta potty brawl. In clips captured by fans, several attendees were involved in a fight that was equally parts gross and entertaining.

A woman claiming to be involved in the brawl spoke with Barstool’s Dave Portnoy about what led to the fight. The now-social media dubbed Blonde Assassin explained that it all started from her accidentally jumping the line for the bathroom. “I didn’t realize that I cut in front of this girl to use the bathroom, and my mom was standing in front of the [porta potty] door,” said the woman.

She then added, “[When] I walked out and saw two girls ganging up on my mom, I just did what I think any daughter would’ve done, I just beat the f*ck out of them.”

Billboard reports that according to a representative from Pittsburgh’s department of public safety, no arrests were made, but there were “plenty of ejections for intoxication” and that “the parties involved in the incident dispersed” before police learned about the incident.

If this wasn’t already on your list of greatest concert experience fears, it should be.

Going all the way back to 2019, when he was barely out of elementary school, Quinn Mitchell has been asking questions of political candidates whenever they stop by his home state of New Hampshire. The exchanges have routinely been welcomed by politicians who appreciate the opportunity to meet a young man who describes himself as a “political independent who loves history and politics.” The fact that it plays great for the cameras doesn’t hurt either.

Unless, of course, you’re Ron Desantis.

During a town hall event in June, the now 15-year-old Mitchell asked the Florida governor a simple question about January 6. “Do you believe that Trump violated the peaceful transfer of power, a key principle of American democracy that we must uphold?”

Any normal candidate with a knack for retail politics would’ve handled the softball question by defending the importance of a peaceful transfer of power. DeSantis opted to wave off the question by saying American’s shouldn’t “get stuck in the past” and then mockingly asked Mitchell, “Are you in high school?”

The exchange did not play well for the governor, which prompted his campaign to take aggressive measures to make sure Mitchell never got near DeSantis again. Which is ironic, because the 15-year-old actually felt bad about embarrassing DeSantis and apologized to the governor, who shook the boy’s hand at a Fourth of July parade. That’s when Mitchell learned he was on a watchlist.

Via The Daily Beast:

Right after the handshake, Mitchell recalled his shock when he felt a firm tug on his shirt, pulling him away from DeSantis. Suddenly, all he could see were the outstretched arms of security guards and plain clothed aides.

“Usually what they do is they don’t push you or anything, but they put their hands out and kind of body you, so you just don’t move, basically,” Mitchell said, describing a shuffling motion more akin to an offensive line on a football team than a presidential candidate’s security detail.

If that were not startling enough, right after the fracas, a DeSantis security guard cornered Mitchell and ordered him not to move from the spot for another five minutes.

Understandably frightened by the encounter, Mitchell texted his mom, who wanted answers from DeSantis’ security. What she got instead was a personal visit from the candidate’s wife, Casey DeSantis, who initially accused the boy of lying before promising to “get to the bottom” of the situation. The Florida first lady then told Mitchell to come to DeSantis’ next event.

Feeling the matter was resolved, Mitchell attended a campaign stop in August. When he got there, not only did the governor’s security team flank him and block him from getting close to DeSantis, but staffers for the Never Back Down PAC were taking photos of the boy. Reporters later informed Mitchell that the staffers were sharing photos of him on Snapchat with the ominous caption “got our kid.”

The whole thing is a political blunder that only Ron DeSantis could make.

(Via The Daily Beast)

Whenever you watch a Wes Anderson movie, it’s immediately clear that you’re watching a Wes Anderson movie. The director has a distinct visual style and rhythm that’s hard to miss. However, he recently revealed at the Venice Film Festival that he actually does try to make each of his movies look and feel different.

While promoting his new Netflix short film, an adaptation of Roald Dahl’s The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, Anderson responded to a question about whether he acknowledges the look that so many memes and fake trailers have tried to replicate.

“I’m sure this doesn’t sound plausible, but I don’t really feel like I choose a style,” Anderson said via The Hollywood Reporter. “I guess a style is so many different [choices] and most of those choice[s] are just me doing what I want. In a way, it’s like asking, would you like to do a movie not the way you want? And ideally I’d want to do it the way I want.”

That said, Anderson eventually admitted that he’s aware people can detect his sensibilities affecting his films.

“But every time I do a movie I feel like I’m doing something completely different,” the director said. “I’m going to a new territory and telling a different kind of story with a new set of characters and different mix of actors, but I know there are so many things that link what I’m drawn to in general and I guess it is a thing you can see… it’s me.”

(Via The Hollywood Reporter)

The efforts to ban TikTok haven’t slowed down the social media network’s impact, especially in the music industry. In July, the app officially entered the game by launching a music streaming service of its own. While many recording artists have the platform to thank for their newly found success not, not everyone is pleased with its algorithm’s push for constant content.

During a conversation with Metro, rising pop star and past Uproxx cover star Griff expressed her frustrations with TikTok’s influence over record labels and, at times, its intrusive nature. Despite having opened for artists such as Ed Sheeran, Coldplay, and more, the singer still has to fight it out with others to shift their users’ attention toward her music.

“It’s very strange. My ratio of job is more social media now than it is about music, which is kind of sad,” said Griff.

She added, “You kind of just have to do it. Do I love it? No. But it can be really useful if you’re really diligent with it.”

Griff then stressed that it’s all just one big guessing game to see what sticks when she stated, “Not even maybe — absolutely. I’m not really sure record labels know what they’re doing. No one knows what they’re doing. It’s kind of amazing because it’s made music a little bit more democratic. But it also is really frustrating because everyone is revolving around an algorithm that no one knows how it works.”

Other acts, such as Halsey, even accused labels of pressuring talent on their roster to manufacture viral moments to push new releases.

While Griff stressed that TikTok does provide users with great networking opportunities, she shared, “Anytime there’s a camera on my face, I don’t feel very comfortable.”

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

(WARNING: Spoilers for the most recent Power Book IV: Force episode will be found below.)

Tommy Egan is back on the prowl in Chicago in the season two premiere of Power Book IV: Force. In the episode, titled “Tommy’s Back,” he’s still reeling from Liliana’s death and vows to avenge it to the fullest extent possible. This eventually leads to the pursuit of the Flynns who are in hiding following the shootout that led to Liliana’s death at the end of season one. Though the Flynns as a whole are at war with Tommy, they’re also at war within themselves as Claudia and Vic Flynn aren’t seeing eye to eye with their father Walter. Still, taking down Tommy is the least of their worries as Walter has to figure out how to right the deaths of the men from Dublin that he asked for to help him (unsuccessfully) take out Tommy. On the flip side, Vic and Claudia attempt to work together to take down their father and re-establish their position in the city drug game. Things eventually go left for Claudia as the formula for Dahlia gets leaked on the internet (thanks to Tommy). Claudia then decides to kill her chemist after she wrongfully concludes that she leaked the formula. This leads to Vic’s decision to end his partnership with Claudia as she killed the chemist without consulting him first.

Closer to Tommy’s world, we also see that the beef between Diamond and Jenard is very much alive. In the season one finale, Diamond forced Jenard to split the CBI territory in Chicago in half in exchange for not killing him. With this agreement, Jenard and his crew are still deadset on taking out his new competition while Diamond views his brother and his crew as another enemy on their list. Between the two crews, we can see who has their things together and it’s clear through their respective interaction with their drug connect Miguel. Jenard approaches him and asks for an extension on the funds for a re-up on product while Diamond and Tommy arrive with a duffel bag filled with cash to pay for their own re-up. With all this going on, the episode concludes with federal investigators finally identifying Tommy Egan and making a connection to his past in New York.

With all that being said, he’s a look a the top Power players based on this week’s episode of Power Book IV: Force. Left off the list this week is the entire Flynn family as they’re unable to pick themselves and progress after the shootout that ended season one. Jenard is also off the list as gets off to a slow and shaky as he tries to re-establish himself as a worthy leader in the Chicago drug game now that he has his own territory. He shows up to product re-ups short on cash and he gets beat up for failing to remove Tommy as a player in the Chicago drug game.

So without further ado, here are the top five Power Players we have based on “Tommy’s Back”:

5. D-Mac

At the No. 5, we have D-Mac, Tommy’s nephew who is hungry to return to the streets despite recovering from a gunshot wound from last season. This was a high and low episode for him, but his star moment comes when he informs Tommy of a way to move product discreetly through social media. Through a series of emojis that appear on a post or video completely detached from the main objective, viewers can know what is being sold and where to get it. Tommy allows D-Mac to set this up for him and Diamond’s crew, so long as he does it from the couch. It proves to be a success which leaves Tommy smiling from ear to ear at the money coming his way.

4. The Feds

As fans of Tommy Egan and his crew, we don’t want to praise the police too much as we ultimately want Tommy to win, but this week they get a position on the Power Players list. They’re finally able to identify Tommy and uncover his past in New York and connection to James “Ghost” St. Patrick. It’s about time that they’ve been able to identify Tommy, which should’ve been the simplest task on their list. This move could prove to be problematic for Tommy, and it’s because of that they get a spot on the list. However, if it took them this long to identify him, I can only imagine how long it will take for them to take him down, or much simpler, find out where he lives.

3. Miguel

This week, we’re introduced to a new character. Miguel Garcia is a ruthless and volatile Mexican cartel leader who is the connect for both Tommy and Diamond as well as Jenard’s crews. He earns the third spot on this list simply because Tommy, Diamond, and Jenard’s CBI mess doesn’t affect him as he’s the connect for both sides which means double the money for him. Sure, Tommy has a goal of taking out him to claim the connect position, but that won’t be for a while. So for now, Miguel can continue reaping the benefits of two clients in the same city under the same group.

2. Diamond

The runner-up on this week’s list is Diamond as his position beside Tommy proves to be beneficial to him. Between him and Tommy, the two seem to have a good partnership. Tommy brings things to the table, as does Diamond, which helps the crew overall. This week, Diamond is the one who orchestrates the meeting with Miguel to re-up on product and introduce Tommy to Miguel now that their partnership is official.

1. Tommy Egan

Coming in at No. 1 this week, unsurprisingly, is Tommy Egan himself. He makes numerous plays in this week’s episode to keep him and Diamond ahead of the competition while refusing to let their enemies interrupt their progress. He leaks the formula to Dahlia to ruin Claudia’s plans and he enlists D-Mac to help him and Diamond’s crew move product more discreetly and to a wider audience. Even his connection with Mireya proves to be beneficial as it helps D-Mac get medical help quickly after his gunshot wound gets infected. He also makes minimal progress in his mission to avenge Liliana’s death. It’s a good week to be Tommy Egan, we’ll just have to see how many good weeks he has for the rest of the season.

New episodes of ‘Power Book IV: Force’ are available on the STARZ app on Fridays at 12:00 am ET/PT and on the STARZ TV channel at 8:00 pm ET/PT.

With anticipation for Drake’s album For All The Dogs ratcheting up every passing day, there are certainly some fans wondering which of the Toronto rapper’s A-list friends will make appearances on the tracklist. While he’s had quite the run with 21 Savage lately, he’s also had some impressive runs throughout his career with the likes of Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, and Travis Scott.

But there’s one artist he’s close with we haven’t seen him collaborate with for a long time: Nicki Minaj. While the two Young Money artists rose in parallel with each other, in recent years, they’ve worked together less than they did when they were starting out. So, understandably there are plenty of fans wondering whether they’ll reunite on one of their upcoming albums (Nicki’s Pink Friday 2 is due in November).

Fortunately, they’re getting some good news on that front. During an interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, Nicki revealed that she’ll have a guest appearance on Drake’s upcoming album. “You know, I have a song on Drake’s album coming out soon too,” she said. “I love the song so much. I’ll just say I really love the song. I know my fans are going to love the song. I know the world’s going to love the song. And that’s all I will say about that.” As far as whether he is planning to return the favor, Nicki joked, “Barbz, make sure y’all let Drizzy Drake know that Pink Friday 2 is coming out November 17th as well. And we are waiting on his contribution.”

You can check out the full episode here.

Nearly 12 percent of the U.S. population lives in poverty. That’s more than one in ten Americans—and the percent is even higher for children.

If you’re not up on the current numbers, the federal poverty line is $12,760 for an individuals and $26,200 for a family of four. If those annual incomes sound abysmally low, it’s because they are. And incredibly, the Trump administration has proposed lowering the poverty line further, which would make more poor Americans ineligible for needed assistance.

---

However, debates over the poverty line don’t even capture the full extent of Americans struggling to make ends meet. For many people, living above the poverty line is actually worse. These are the folks who make too much to qualify for aid programs but not enough to actually get by—a situation millions of working American families find themselves stuck in.

Amy Jo Hutchison is a single mother of two living in West Virginia, and a community organizer for West Virginia Healthy Kids and Families and Our Future West Virginia. She has also lived in poverty and been part of the working poor herself. In an impassioned speech, she spoke to the House Committee on Oversight and Reform about what poverty really looks like for working families—and even called out Congress for being completely out of touch with what it takes for a family to live on while they’re spending $40,000 a year on office furniture.

Watch Hutchison’s testimony here (transcript included below):

Ms. Hutchison Testimony on Proposed Changes to the Poverty Line Calculation

“I’m here to help you better understand poverty because poverty is my lived experience. And I’m also here to acknowledge the biased beliefs that poor people are lazy and the poverty is their fault. But how do I make you understand things like working full-time for $10 an hour is only about $19,000 a year, even though it’s well above the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour?

I want to tell you about a single mom I met who was working at a gas station. She was promoted to manager within 30 days. She had to report her new income the DHHR within 60 days. Her rent bumped from $475 to $950 a month, she lost her SNAP benefits and her family’s health insurance, so she did what poor people are forced to do all the time. She resigned her promotion and went back to working part-time, just so she and her family could survive.

Another single mom I know encouraged her kids to get jobs. For her DHHR review she had to claim their income as well. She lost her SNAP benefits and her insurance, so she weaned herself off of her blood pressure medicines because she—working full-time in a bank and part-time at a shop on the weekends—couldn’t afford to buy them. Eventually the girls quit their jobs because their part-time fast food income was literally killing their mother.

You see the thing is children aren’t going to escape poverty as long as they’re relying on a head of household who is poor. Poverty rolls off the backs of parents, right onto the shoulders of our children, despite how hard we try.

I can tell you about my own with food insecurity the nights I went to bed hungry so my kids could have seconds, and I was employed full time as a Head Start teacher. I can tell you about being above the poverty guideline, nursing my gallbladder with essential oils and prayer, chewing on cloves and eating ibuprofen like they’re Tic Tacs because I don’t have health insurance and I can’t afford a dentist. I have two jobs and a bachelor’s degree, and I struggle to make ends meet.

The federal poverty guidelines say that I’m not poor, but I cashed in a jar full of change the other night so my daughter could attend a high school band competition with her band. I can’t go grocery shopping without a calculator. I had to decide which bills not to pay to be here in this room today. Believe me, I’ve pulled myself up by the bootstraps so many damn times that I’ve ripped them off.

The current poverty guidelines are ridiculously out of touch. The poverty line for a family of three is $21,720. Where I live, because of the oil and gas boom, a 3-bedroom home runs for $1,200 a month. So if I made $22,000 a year, which could disqualify me from assistance, I would have $8000 left to raise two children and myself on. And yet the poverty guidelines wouldn’t classify me as poor.

I Googled ‘congressman salary’ the other day and according to Senate gov the salary for Senators representatives and delegates is $174,000 a year so a year of work for you is the equivalent of almost four years of work for me. I’m $24,000 above the federal poverty guidelines definition of poor. It would take nine people working full-time for a year at $10 an hour to match y’all’s salary. I also read that each senator has authorized $40,000 dollars for state office furniture and furnishings, and this amount is increased each year to reflect inflation.

That $40,000 a year for furniture is $360 more than the federal poverty guidelines for a family of seven, and yet here I am begging you on behalf of the 15 million children living in poverty in the United States—on behalf of the one in three kids under the age of five and nearly 100,000 children in my state of West Virginia living in poverty—to not change anything about these federal poverty guidelines until you can make them relevant and reflect what poverty really looks like today.

You have a $40,000 dollar furniture allotment. West Virginia has a median income of $43,000 and some change. People are working full-time and are hungry. Kids are about to be kicked off the free and reduced lunch rolls because of changes y’all want to make to SNAP, even though 62 percent of West Virginia SNAP recipients are families with children—the very same children who cannot take a part-time job because their parents will die without insurance. People are working full-time in this country for very little money.

They’re not poor enough to get help. They don’t make enough to get by. They’re working while their rationing their insulin and their skipping their meds because they can’t afford food and healthcare at the same time.

So shame on you. Shame on you, and shame on me, and shame on each and every one of us who haven’t rattled the windows of these buildings with cries of outrage at a government that thinks their office furniture is worthy of $40,000 a year and families and children aren’t.

I’m not asking you to apologize for your privilege but I’m asking you to see past it. There are 46 million Americans living in poverty doing the best they know how with what they have and we, in defense of children and families, cannot accept anything less from our very own government.”

In addition to Hutchison’s testimony, a coalition of 26 patient organizations, including the American Cancer Society Action Network, American Heart Association, and United Way, wrote a joint letter opposing the proposed lowering of the poverty line, stating:

“The current Official Poverty Measure (OPM) is based on an old formula that already does not fully capture those living in poverty and does not accurately reflect basic household expenses for families, including by underestimating child care and housing expenses. The proposed changes to the inflation calculation would reduce the annual adjustments to the poverty measure and therefore may exacerbate existing weaknesses, putting vulnerable Americans – including those with serious and chronic diseases – at great risk. Further lowering the poverty line would also give policymakers and the public less credible information about the number and characteristics of Americans living in poverty.”

This article originally appeared on 03.10.20