Culture

Whether in the neighborhood or onstage, DMX made us feel seen
I first found out about DMX falling into a coma last Saturday, April 3. My immediate family had gathered at my mother’s house for the first time in a year to celebrate her birthday. Most of us had been vaccinated, which gave us something to be…
By Starr Rocque

Movies & TV

Inside the Olympics' nasty track record of ignoring human rights abuses
By Kara Weisenstein
We're just 10 weeks out from the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Games, and the Olympics discourse has been zeroed in on whether or not Japan should still hold them, as the country faces another COVID-19 surge. But human rights groups are focused on the…
Farewell, "Charlie bit my finger": The NFT gold rush is destroying digital history
By Kara Weisenstein
People who don't "get" the current NFT craze usually have the same question: why would someone shell out six figures to own something that's free for anyone to view online? The family behind one of the most popular YouTube videos ever uploaded…
Jaden Smith is opening a restaurant that'll serve free food to homeless people
By Kara Weisenstein
Almost two years ago, on his 21st birthday, Jaden Smith launched a charitable food truck initiative to serve people in need "healthy, vegan food for free." When the pandemic curtailed the I Love You food truck's ability to serve meals safely, he…
Tom Cruise is in a space race with Russia, because nothing surprises us anymore
By Kara Weisenstein
Almost exactly a year ago, Tom Cruise unveiled his ambitions to star in the first movie made in space. In May 2020, NASA confirmed they were partnering with SpaceX to send the superstar actor along with director Doug Liman to the International Space…
Cara Delevingne minting her vagina as an NFT is peak 2021
By Kara Weisenstein
Goop tycoon Gwenyth Paltrow nearly broke the internet when she began hawking a candle that smelled like her vagina, supposedly. But supermodel Cara Delevingne just one-upped the queen of bougie wellness by auctioning an NFT of her vagina. While that…
Riiiiiiight, Ellen DeGeneres is ending her talk show because she's bored
By Kara Weisenstein
Those Dakota Johnson GIFs all over the timeline signal the end of an entertainment era: Ellen DeGeneres is ending her talk show in 2022. Next season, Ellen's 19th on television, will be its last. But DeGeneres had a rather curious explanation for…
A male actor dubbed Laverne Cox's voice in the Italian version of 'Promising Young Woman’
By Kara Weisenstein
When the Italian-language trailer for Promising Young Woman debuted on May 6, fans of Laverne Cox were shocked to hear her character had been dubbed with a masculine voice. Universal Pictures Italy had hired voice actor Roberto Pedicini to play her…
Tom Cruise flaunted his selective morality by sending back his Golden Globe awards
By Kara Weisenstein
It’s been a rough few months for one of Hollywood’s most influential and shadowy organizations. I’m talking about the Golden Globes, of course, and the random assortment of international “journalists” who vote on how to dole out statuettes…
Seth Rogen isn't sticking up for James Franco anymore. Is it too little, too late?
By Kara Weisenstein
Their twin careers grew out of co-starring in the cult sitcom Freaks and Geeks in the late 1990s. In the next 20 years, Seth Rogen and James Franco would star in eight different movies together. There was stoner romp Pineapple Express in 2008 and…
Elon Musk's first foray into comedy was a strange, satirical website called Thud
By Amanda Silberling
When Saturday Night Live announced last month that Elon Musk would host the May 8 show, reception was mixed — including from fan-favorite cast members like Aidy Bryant and Bowen Yang, who shared Instagram stories suggesting they were less than…
The world's first meme manager explains why everyone is cashing in on viral content
By Kara Weisenstein
When David DeVore, Sr. filmed his seven-year-old son high on anesthesia in 2008, he probably wasn’t thinking the video clip would be worth a literal fortune a little more than a decade later. But David After Dentist, uploaded to YouTube in early…
10 delightfully horny films to watch tonight
By Nicholas Russell
If Twitter is good for anything other than micro-dosing outrage, it’s exposing people’s moral and ethical hangups. In recent months, an old cinematic argument has rekindled: Are sex scenes in movies necessary? There have been many off-shoots from…
Caitlyn Jenner's campaign is off to a great start!
By Rafi Schwartz
Ordinarily I am opposed to random celebrities who think they can parlay their vast wealth and fame into a career in politics. If someone's sole achievement is having been in movies or on TV, and they think that that's enough to write legislation or…
Barry Jenkins explains how awards show racism has lasting effects on Black creators
By Kara Weisenstein
It’s been more than four years since the Oscars mistakenly gave Best Picture to La La Land, only to kick all those filmmakers off the stage and award Moonlight instead. Director Barry Jenkins knows the televised chaos of that moment is etched into…
The creators of MF DOOM tribute comic on his legacy: "DOOM is pop culture"
By William E. Ketchum III
When MF DOOM passed away last year, comics publisher Troy-Jeffrey Allen felt he had lost one of the most important artistic influences on his life. “He was one of those dudes that made me feel like it was okay to want to create stuff,” he tells…
20 years later, Stacey Abrams's first romance novels are finally being rereleased
By Kara Weisenstein
When voting rights champion Stacey Abrams isn't busy saving democracy and dunking on white Republican politicians who think voter suppression is a good thing, she also writes books. And not just political nonfiction, though she's penned best-sellers…
We're obsessed with Lil Yachty's gender neutral nail polish
By Kara Weisenstein
Back in December, a West Texas teenager was punished with in-school suspension for going to class with painted fingernails. You see, the Clyde High School student handbook prohibits boys from wearing makeup and nail polish. Trevor Wilkinson took his…
How “stoopers” turned New York City sidewalks into trendy, sustainable thrift shops
By Jasmine Vojdani
Shelby Veazey confidently maneuvers her Ford Transit LXT onto a narrow side street in Greenpoint. “Oh, there’s something!” she says, gesturing toward where a wooden mid-century sideboard sat on the sidewalk. She jumps out to inspect the drawers and…
The future of anime is Black, and ‘Yasuke’ is just the latest example
By Terrence Sage
Netflix’s newest animated series, Yasuke, showcases a trio of superstar Black talent: LaKeith Stanfield voices of the Black servant-turned-samurai protagonist, LeSean Thomas directs the series after leadership roles in shows like The Boondocks and…
Elliot Page opens up to Oprah about the moment he decided to come out as trans
By Kara Weisenstein
An interview between Oprah Winfrey and Elliot Page premieres on Apple TV+ this Friday. It’s the first buzzy celebrity sit-down with the unimpeachable talk show queen since her bombshell special with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in March, when they…