entertainers Archives

LSU star Angel Reese’s glow-up continues with cameo in Latto, Cardi B’s new music video

June 2, 2023

Angel Reese’s cameo in Cardi B’s new music video

LSU women’s basketball phenomenon Angel Reese’s glow-up continued this week, as she made a cameo appearance in Latto & Cardi B’s “Put It On Da Floor Again” music video. Even for a split-second appearance in a grocery store for a rap video, it’s a big deal. It’s a mainstream level of acceptance where her stardom can break through and cater to the masses. Reese appears while Cardi raps the phrase “I’ve been ballin’ so damn hard, could’ve went to LSU” with her arms folded.

Having plenty of friends and family rooting for Maryland, I’ve been seeing Reese’s rise to stardom before her transfer to LSU. She was fantastic in her sophomore season in College Park, but clearly made the right decision for her to enter the portal. As great as Brenda Frese is, there’s no shot Reese would’ve matched this level of publicity by staying in the Big Ten. With the NCAA women’s tournament being much more compelling this season compared to its male counterpart, Reese appears to have leveraged that spotlight as well as anyone. She’s far from the first athlete to make a cameo in a music video for a popular musical act. Michael Jordan appeared in Michael Jackson’s “Jam” and several popular athletes were in MC Hammer’s “2 Legit 2 Quit” including Jerry Rice and Wayne Gretzky.

Reese made headlines for her “taunt” of Iowa’s Caitlin Clark during the NCAA title game, but you know who didn’t have a problem with the display of confidence? Clark, and Reese’s celebratory nature will continue, especially since the Tigers have reloaded with the addition of Louisville transfer Hailey Van Lith this offseason. Reese isn’t going anywhere and that’s a good thing for women’s basketball.

Deadspin watches the NFL Draft so you don’t have to

April 27, 2023

Welcome to the Deadspin 2023 NFL Draft tracker. If you love the NFL, but hate sitting through the NFL Draft, you’ve come to the right place. Maybe you’re out playing pickleball, or you can’t stand Roger Goodell, or the annual traditions of super-cringey interviews with players and family put you off.

Either way, we’ll be here tracking both the picks and the drama all throughout Round 1. Make sure to check back!

We start out with a cringey video package featuring Brian Baumgartner — who we love — and Rob Riggle, who loses points for too many bad NFL on FOX sketches, but wins back points for letting Dwight steer the boat.

He (allegedly) tried to live the gimmick

April 20, 2023

Ted DiBiase Jr. (l.) has been charged in connection to the Mississippi welfare scandal.

Former WWE superstar Ted DiBiase Jr. has been charged in connection with the now-infamous Mississippi welfare scandal. As revealed in an unsealed federal indictment from the Department of Justice, the 40-year-old DiBiase Jr. was charged with the misappropriation of millions diverted from families in need in Mississippi. If that sounds familiar to you, it’s the same scandal that Brett Favre is alleged to be part of. (Favre has denied any wrongdoing.)

DiBiase’s alleged misdeeds revolve around awarding “sham contracts to various individuals and entities purportedly for the delivery of social services, including at least five sham contracts that were awarded to DiBiase’s companies, Priceless Ventures LLC and Familiae Orientem LLC,” per the DoJ release. DiBiase has not responded to the charges — one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and commit theft concerning programs receiving federal funds, six counts of wire fraud, two counts of theft concerning programs receiving federal funds, and four counts of money laundering — and has not tweeted in over a month.

According to the release, DiBiase allegedly used federal funds to put a down payment on a house as well as buy a car and a boat. With 13 counts against DiBiase, a conviction would likely lead to a long jail sentence. There’s a maximum of 20 years in prison for each of the six wire fraud counts, as well as 10 years for six other counts involving money laundering and theft of federal funds. DiBiase’s conspiracy charge comes with a five-year maximum sentence.

Last month, his brother, Brett DiBiase, pleaded guilty to a federal charge related to misspending of welfare money.

Members of DiBiase’s family have previously denied the allegations and asked for a similar civil lawsuit to be dismissed.

In their infinite wisdom, the Cavinder Twins turn to… Jake Paul?

April 19, 2023

I don’t know what part of “Down with influencers” landed me on the Cavinder Twins beat, yet here I am, writing my third story on Haley and Hanna as if my only motivation in life is engaging with their content. I’d rather throw myself to the wolves or discover what “YouTubers” are than bring you up to speed on what they’re doing.

Nobody fucking cares, but since you can’t watch porn at work, you’re stuck clicking smut adjacent material like this. So, today I’m here to inform you about their new partnership with a like-minded piece of shit I never want to think about in my free time, Jake Paul.

The Cavinder Twins are partnering with Jake on Betr, a social media/gambling platform that sounds as legit as the next app that’s dropped a few vowels and is promising to be the future of the internet (and a congressional investigation). I literally just read the headline and first couple of sentences from the TMZ story about it to make sure this news is true and my facts are straight, so if you’re looking for a thoughtful angle or more information about their prospects in the WWE or on Betr, you won’t find it here.

Jake is a scumbag whose exploits are easily findable on Google, and young women should be wary of who they associate with, lest they end up cleaned out. However, “exploitation” seems to be steps 1 through 10 of the Cavinders’ business plan.

They’ve already been on Dave Portnoy’s podcast and signed up for Vince McMahon’s WWE, so a Jake Paul-backed venture is the next logical step. Are you morally problematic and/or a cash-hungry captain of industry? If so, start writing up a business proposal for this dynamic duo.

So good luck, I guess, to the Cavinders on their post-influencer, post-basketball careers. Ideally, this is the last time I’ll ever have to write about them.