his new song he wishes that “Someday We’ll All Be Free.”
Launched on conspiracy theorist Alex Jones‘ Infowars website, the song samples the 1973 Donny Hathaway song of the same name and hears him reference his vow to abstain from sex before marriage, among other things.
“Wakin’ up to ‘I can’t do this anymore’ texts (Woo)/And the Bible said I can’t have any more sex ’til marriage (Woo, woo). No drip ’til Paris (Paris)/The meek shall flourish (Flourish)/So where’s my heiress?” he raps.
He also makes mention of the antisemitic comment he posted on Twitter in early October.
“I ain’t never rocked with none of y’all, no way (No way)/And I’m pullin’ up in that white OJ (Ayy),” he rhymes. “Used to wear watch filled with the O’Sheas/Jackson if you nasty/Tweeted ‘death con,’ now we past three(It won’t be long, take it from me, someday—)/Tweeted ‘death con,’ now we past three.”
At the end of the song, he includes an audio clip of his interview with Jones, during which he said he loves Adolf Hitler.
Ye’s new song was met with mixed reviews. “Kanye West put out a song saying ‘someday we’ll all be free’ after praising Nazis… the least free society to ever exist. Something is not right with Donda’s son,” one person tweeted.
Another Twitter user, who appears to be a fan of the track, tweeted, “Kanye west just dropped the hardest song of 2022 after getting ‘cancelled.'”
Jerrod Carmichael has signed on to host the 2023 Golden Globes.
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced Thursday that the comedian will host the awards show ceremony, which will be held January 10 at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California.
“We’re so excited to have Jerrod Carmichael host the historic 80th Golden Globe Awards,” HFPA President Helen Hoehne said in a statement. “His comedic talents have entertained and thrilled audiences while providing thought-provoking moments that are so important in the times we live. Jerrod is the kind of talent this show calls for to kick off the awards season.”
Carmichael is best known for his sitcom The Carmichael Show and for his three HBO comedy specials — the most recent of which, 2022’s Rothaniel, featured him coming out as gay and won him an Emmy.
The nominations for the 2023 Golden Globes will be announced December 12 by father-daughter duo George Lopez and Mayan Lopez.
It was announced in September that the Golden Globes would be returning to television in 2023 after being sidelined this year due to allegations of racism within the HFPA.
The 2022 ceremony was held as a private event in January after NBC refused to air the awards show following a 2021 report from the Los Angeles Times that found there were no Black members in the HFPA, an 87-person group of international journalists who decide the nominees, as well as the winners.
The HFPA promised “transformational changes” to the organization in the wake of the controversy, vowing to boost minority membership and representation and to have more transparency within the organization.
The 80th annual Golden Globes will take place January 10 beginning at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT, airing live on NBC and streaming live on Peacock.
Stevie Nicks usually takes to social media to comment on world events, politics or major personal news. For example, she mourned the loss of her bandmate Christine McVie in a lengthy post. But now she’s been moved to do a special post praising the acceptance speech delivered by Lizzo at the People’s Choice Awards earlier this week.
While accepting The People’s Champion trophy, Grammy winner Lizzo told the crowd, “I don’t need a trophy for championing people … to be an icon isn’t about how long you’ve had your platform. Being an icon is what you do with that platform.”
She then brought a group of female activists onstage — 17 in all — and individually highlighted their work, which encompassed transgender and female rights, the rights of Indigenous peoples, anti-gun violence organizations and more. Images of each woman were also shown on video screens around the stage.
“Give them their flowers,” the “About Damn Time” singer concluded. “Power will always be to the people … follow them and support them.”
Stevie was so moved by Lizzo’s speech that she wrote on her socials, “Dearest Lizzo … your presentation … was not only so beautiful and so needed, that you get the award for being a great woman of our time.”
“I was so impressed and so touched that you put that together and pulled it off,” Stevie continued. “It was stunning, and everyone heard you. You have given all women soundbites forever — flute player, singer, songwriter, future politician…?”
Stevie concluded, “Your name is in the stars now.”
So far, Lizzo hasn’t responded to Stevie’s kind words.
Pete Davidson, arguably Hollywood’s biggest scorer, has coupled up with another superstar. But this time it’s a two-time Super Bowl champion.
Davidson and Eli Manning just launched a joint Instagram account, an occasion marked — as Pete often does with new relationships — with a tattoo. The small New York Giants helmet was inked just to the right of Davidson’s belly button, and both dudes happily showed it off for the social media service.
“Hello, Instagram. I have decided to come back, but only with a GOAT,” Pete says in a video, before panning to Eli. “What’s up! Your bed is so comfortable,” Manning replies.
“Aw, thanks, man. We’ve been having a good time on my bed,” Pete replies.
Another video sees Davidson and Manning answering whether they prefer the big spoon or the little spoon, which Manning misunderstands as a soup-related question. “I’d say big spoon … because I like to eat a lot of food,” the athlete responds, cracking Pete up. He clarifies, “No, like with your girl, when you snuggle,” before covering his face laughing, exclaiming, “You’re adorable, that’s hilarious. That’s so cute. You’re such a nice guy.”
The reason behind the team-up is anyone’s guess, though the account, pete_eli10, notes neither had an Instagram account, so they started one together.
Iggy Pop is causing a “Frenzy” on the Billboard charts.
The Godfather of Punk’s latest single enters the Mainstream Rock Airplay tally this week at #38 and, in doing so, sets a new record for the longest gap between appearances on that particular ranking.
Pop last charted on Mainstream Rock Airplay in 1991 with his song “Candy,” a collaboration with Kate Pierson of The B-52‘s. It took him 31 years, nine months and two weeks to get back on the chart.
The previous high-water mark for longest gap in between Mainstream Rock Airplay appearances was actually just set earlier this year by Jeff Beck. The guitar virtuoso waited 28 years and four months in between charting in 1994 with a cover of Jimi Hendrix‘s “Manic Depression” with Seal and returning in 2022 with his guest spot on Ozzy Osbourne‘s “Patient Number 9.”
“Frenzy” is the lead single off Pop’s upcoming album, Every Loser, due out January 6. The Andrew Watt-produced record features Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, Guns N’ Roses bassist Duff McKagan, Blink-182‘s Travis Barker, Jane’s Addiction‘s Dave Navarro and Eric Avery, Pearl Jam guitarist Stone Gossard, ex-RHCP guitarist Josh Klinghoffer and late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins.
If Iggy is celebrating his Billboard achievement, it probably won’t be with his signature move. In a recent interview with NME, the 75-year-old rocker shares he’s now “too rickety” for stage dives.
(WASHINGTON) — In celebrating WNBA star Brittney Griner’s release, President Joe Biden made a point on Thursday to say the prisoner swap was “not a choice” between Griner and Paul Whelan, the American former Marine who is still detained in Russia.
“We never forgot about Brittney. We’ve not forgotten about Paul Whelan who has been unjustly detained in Russia for years. This was not a choice of which American to bring home,” Biden said from the White House.
“Sadly, or totally illegitimate reasons, Russia is treating Paul’s case differently than Brittney’s, and while we have not yet succeeded in securing Paul’s release we are not giving up. We will never give up,” he said.
Whelan has spent four years in detention since he was seized in 2018 by Russia’s domestic intelligence agency, the Federal Security Service, while visiting Moscow for a friend’s wedding. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison on espionage charges but the United States and his family say they were fabricated in order to take him as a political bargaining chip.
The Biden administration remains in close contact with the Whelan family, Biden said, adding they must have “such mixed emotions today.”
“We’ll keep negotiating in good faith for Paul’s release. I guarantee that. I say that to the family. I guarantee you. I urge Russia to do the same to ensure that Paul’s health and humane treatment are maintained until we are able to bring him home. I don’t want any American to sit wrongfully detained one extra day if we can bring that person home,” he said.
Whelan’s twin brother, David, released a statement just ahead of Biden’s remarks calling the swap for Griner “the right decision.”
“As the family member of a Russian hostage, I can literally only imagine the joy she will have, being reunited with her loved ones, and in time for the holidays. There is no greater success than for a wrongful detainee to be freed and for them to go home. The Biden Administration made the right decision to bring Ms. Griner home, and to make the deal that was possible, rather than waiting for one that wasn’t going to happen,” he said.
He said officials let them know in advance “that Paul would be left behind,” unlike in April, when news broke of former Marine Trevor Reed’s return.
“This is the event we wish for so much for our own family,” the Whelans said in April, and again on Thursday. “She will be reunited with her family. Brittney is free. And Paul is still a hostage.”
The Whelan family is unsure if Whelan himself is aware of Griner’s release, his brother said, but they expect to speak with him soon, as they approach the fourth anniversary of his detention.
Griner will be back in the U.S. within 24 hours, according to officials.
“She’s safe. She’s on a plane. She’s on her way home,” Biden said alongside Brittney’s wife, Cherelle, Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Blinken, in a written statement, praised Griner’s release but lamented that Whelan and his family “continue to suffer needlessly.”
“Despite our ceaseless efforts, the Russian Government has not yet been willing to bring a long overdue end to his wrongful detention. I wholeheartedly wish we could have brought Paul home today on the same plane with Brittney,” Blinken said.
Former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, who for months tried to help negotiate a trade for Griner and Whelan and travelled repeatedly to Moscow for meetings, said his team is thrilled Griner is now free but called for the Biden administration to now make Whelan’s return a priority.
ABC News’ Cindy Smith and Justin Gomez contributed to this report.
The band has canceled the remainder of their Deuces Are Wild Las Vegas residency — two shows, scheduled for Thursday night and this Sunday — due to frontman Steven Tyler‘s ongoing illness. “On the advice of doctors, Steven has to sit these out,” the band wrote on Instagram. Tickets will be refunded.
The band had already scrapped the December 2 and 5 shows of the residency at Dolby Live theater at Park MGM due to Tyler’s undisclosed illness. At the time, Tyler, 74, said on Instagram, “On the advice of my doctor, I’m taking more time to rest… there is nowhere we’d rather be than on stage surrounded by the greatest fans in the world.”
In May, Aerosmith canceled their June and July Las Vegas residency shows so that Tyler could “voluntarily” enter rehab, with the band explaining at the time that he’d relapsed after using pain medication following foot surgery.
Following their successful North American stadium tour this past year, Def Leppard and Mötley Crüe are ready to rock the entire planet with their co-headlining 2023 The World Tour — and they’ve just announced that the U.S. will be a part of it.
As previously reported, the two bands will start 2023 with two shows in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in February, and will then launch a series of European and Latin American dates. They’ll bring the tour to the U.S. starting August 5 in Syracuse, New York, and wrap up August 18 in El Paso, Texas. Alice Cooper is the special guest on all dates.
“We had an incredible time playing The Stadium Tour in North America this summer and we truly can’t wait to take the show around the globe with The WORLD Tour in 2023,” Mötley Crüe said in a joint statement. “Crüeheads get ready because we have a few amazing U.S. dates set for you!”
The general onsale date is Friday, December 16, at 10 a.m. local time via motley.com and defleppard.com. Citi cardmembers can access a presale starting December 13 at 10 a.m. local time via citientertainment.com.
The global outing follows Mötley Crüe and Def Leppard’s 2022 U.S. Stadium Tour, which also featured Poison and Joan Jett & the Blackhearts on the bill.
Crüe guitarist Mick Mars announced in October that he’s retiring from touring. Rob Zombie guitarist John 5 will take his place for the upcoming shows.
In one of their first big moves as new DC heads, James Gunn and Peter Safran have scrapped plans for Patty Jenkins‘ Wonder Woman 3, according to Deadline.
Sources tell the outlet that Jenkins — who directed and co-wrote the previous two movies, released in 2017 and 2020 starring Gal Gadot — recently submitted her treatment, which the bosses found “unsuitable” at this time.
No decision has been made about next steps, though one insider told the outlet that Jenkins could very well hand in another take on the superhero, but it’s not evident that will happen.
The news follows a Tuesday tweet in which Gadot wrote, “A few years ago it was announced that I was going to play Wonder Woman. I’ve been so grateful for the opportunity to play such an incredible, iconic character and more than anything I’m grateful for YOU.The fans. Can’t wait to share her next chapter with you.”
While the first Wonder Woman was a box office hit, earning $820 million, Wonder Woman 1984 was roundly panned and made under $170M worldwide. In spite of that, Warner Bros. wasted no time in announcing Wonder Woman 3.
(NEW YORK) — Recession fears have mounted in recent weeks, as inflation continues to strain household budgets and the Federal Reserve appears set to raise interest rates and further slow the economy.
As if blissfully unaware, however, the job market has thrived. Hiring last month exceeded expectations and defied warnings of a downturn.
But the good jobs news could ultimately imperil the economy. Wages last month grew a blistering 5.1% compared to a year earlier, offering welcome relief for workers but also sobering news for Fed officials fearful of runaway inflation driven by income gains.
In turn, a lesser known data point has drawn outsized attention: the share of the adult population not working or actively looking for work. If workers are in ample supply, it gives the labor market some slack and limits wage growth. However, workforce participation came in at 62.1% last month, markedly lower than the pre-pandemic level of 63.4%.
The scant supply of workers keeps the labor market taut and helps fuel rising wages, which risk exacerbating inflation and pushing the economy into a recession, economists told ABC News.
Americans “should be worried about it,” Stephanie Roth, a senior market economist at J.P. Morgan Private Bank, told ABC News. The firm predicts a recession as the most likely outcome for the economy, she said, adding that “a continued tight labor market and high wage inflation would be a key reason.”
The alarm raises a key question at the heart of the economy: How can millions of missing workers stay on the sidelines while affording to pay their bills?
Here’s how unemployed people have kept up their lives and why it matters:
Retirement rates increased
The top explanation for why so many people have stayed out of the workforce centers on people who retired during the pandemic, economists said.
Over the past three months, there were 3.6 million more Americans who had left the labor force and said they didn’t want a job, compared with the same period in 2019, Aaron Sojourner, an economist at the Upjohn Institute, told ABC News. Among those 3.6 million people, individuals aged 55 and above made up about 90%, he added.
A stock market tear during the pandemic ballooned the assets of some older Americans, allowing them to subsist without income. Meanwhile, the heightened risk of severe illness faced by older Americans amid the COVID outbreak left them fearful of exposure at the workplace, Sojourner said.
“They had their finances in a position that enabled them to make the choice to stay out,” he said.
A stock market downturn this year has buffeted that financial stronghold for retirees, however, said Roth, of J.P. Morgan. Still, the reluctance of many older Americans to reenter the workforce owes to the endurance of their pandemic-era savings and the difficulty in reverting back to a bygone lifestyle.
“Now they’ve settled into their lives in retirement and they’re less inclined to come back into the labor force,” Roth said.
Savings strengthened
Another financial lifeline for unemployed Americans is the stockpile of savings that many built during the pandemic, economists said.
The COVID era strengthened household savings as government stimulus and high-flying asset prices combined with a lockdown lifestyle that did away with expenses like travel and eating out.
U.S. households amassed about $2.3 trillion in savings in 2020 and 2021, a Federal Reserve study showed last month. Moreover, households in the lower half of income distribution were still holding a combined $350 billion in excess savings as of the middle of this year, the study found.
Those savings afforded workers the flexibility to make major changes like quitting their jobs and cutting expenses to afford the lost income, Jesse Wheeler, an economic analyst with the research firm Morning Consult, told ABC News.
“The lifestyle choices that people made during the pandemic to move to a different place, work a little less and enjoy time with family – those sorts of choices are sticky,” Wheeler said.
Recently, however, savings for many have dwindled, Wheeler said.
Last month, the personal savings rate fell to 2.3%, the lowest rate in nearly two decades, according to data from the Commerce Department.
With persistent inflation hovering near a 40-year high, shoppers have drawn on savings to preserve a steady level of consumption while weathering elevated prices, he added.
“Clearly, it’s not going to be sustainable over the long term,” Wheeler said. “People eventually need to pull back on spending or reenter the labor force to increase their earnings.”
Informal work and self-employment
Data reporting a shrunken workforce likely overlooks some Americans who’ve continued to work, especially at self-run businesses or informal jobs, economists said.
During the pandemic, new business applications soared and they have remained above pre-pandemic levels, Census Bureau data showed. The Bureau reported nearly 433,000 new business applications in October, a marked increase from 313,000 in December 2019. In July 2020, new business applications reached as high as 552,000.
The government survey that calculates monthly U.S. hiring may leave out some self-employed people, said Roth.
Some people working gig jobs describe themselves as employed while others don’t, said Wheeler, of Morning Consult.
Typically, people who work formal gig jobs in delivery or ridehail service describe themselves as employed in response to queries. However, people who rely on jobs like babysitting, house sitting or dog walking often do not call themselves employed, Wheeler said.
The increase in gig work across the economy likely accounts for some of those missing from the workforce, said Sojourner.
“There are slightly more people who see informal work as an option for how to sell some of their time and skills,” he said.
Relying on a spouse or other family for support
The savings boom and rise of remote work during the pandemic led some married households to drop from two incomes to one, and pushed some workers to move in with family members, allowing previously employed people to subsist on support from loved ones, economists said.
While this shift likely accounts for a small portion of those outside of the labor force and data remains limited, the phenomenon highlights a lifestyle change enjoyed by some who have prioritized childcare or other activities above work, they said.
“People have changed up their lifestyles, maybe moved to the suburbs or consolidated households, maybe switched from one income to two,” Wheeler said. “They’ve realized that they like that lifestyle better and don’t want to go back.”
For instance, the workforce participation rate for women aged 25-34 fell nearly 5 percentage points after the outset of the pandemic, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. While employment in that group has rebounded, it remains below pre-pandemic levels.
The choice to give up work for childcare made up a key obstacle for women during the pandemic. While the problem remains, it has largely eased, Roth said.
“I wouldn’t say it’s the most important driver of wage inflation today but it’s an important piece of the puzzle,” Roth said.
