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1. Leslie Jones may retire from Olympics commentary
Enjoy Leslie Jones' live commentary of the Olympics while you still can. The Saturday Night Live alum has been providing her usual hilarious play-by-play of the Olympics on Twitter this year, something she started back in 2016. But she said Monday she's "starting to feel like this should be my last Olympics I live tweet" because she's "tired of fighting the folks who don't want me to do it." This group seemingly includes the network airing the Olympics, as Jones bemoaned the fact that her videos apparently keep getting blocked and told fans confused about the issue, "It's NBC." On Instagram, actor Holly Robinson Peete suggested Jones should be providing her commentary in an official capacity like Kevin Hart and Snoop Dogg, who offer highlights on Peacock. But she shot back, "You think Kevin and Snoop give a f--- about athletes and Olympics? Honestly I think this should be my last one. [It's] frustrating." She also retweeted a number of fans who offered their support, including one who bluntly wrote, "Hey NBC f--- off with that trash."
2. Razzies introduce new category for worst Bruce Willis performance
And the Razzie for worst Bruce Willis performance of 2021 goes to ... what do you know, Bruce Willis! The nominations for this year's Golden Raspberry Awards, a parody award show that "honors" the worst films and performances of the year, were unveiled Monday, and the group decided Willis delivered so many bad performances he needed his very own category: "Worst Performance by Bruce Willis in a 2021 Movie." The nominees, drumroll please, are …. Bruce Willis for American Siege, Bruce Willis for Apex, Bruce Willis for Cosmic Sin, Bruce Willis for Deadlock, Bruce Willis for Fortress, Bruce Willis for Midnight in the Switchgrass, Bruce Willis for Out of Death, and Bruce Willis for Survive the Game! For those who don't frequent the discount DVD bin at Target, yes, those are all real movies released in 2021. To be fair, the Razzies also nominated Ben Affleck for The Last Duel even though critics really liked that performance, as well as Jared Leto for House of Gucci, a role that might actually earn him an Oscar nomination tomorrow. Either way, we wish Bruce Willis luck, but who knows — maybe Leto could still pull off a write-in upset.
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3. Billie Eilish stops concert to get fan an inhaler
She's the good guy. Billie Eilish stopped her Atlanta concert for several minutes over the weekend to get a fan an inhaler after learning they were having difficulty breathing. Videos showed the "Bad Guy" singer asking fans how they were doing before responding to someone in the crowd, "You need an inhaler? Who needs an inhaler? Do we have an inhaler?" Moments later, Eilish said "we got one," urging concertgoers not to "crowd" and telling them, "We're taking care of our people. I wait for people to be OK until I keep going." She sure seemed to be throwing shade at Travis Scott, who continues to face scrutiny after 10 people died in a crowd surge at his Astroworld music festival last year. A video of Eilish stopping to make sure fans were OK and giving one a water bottle previously made the rounds following Astroworld. "What can I do to help?" Eilish asked fans. "I need you to be OK."
4. Awkwafina quits Twitter after addressing 'blaccent' criticism
Awkwafina popped up on Twitter over the weekend to announce she'll be quitting for "years" after facing criticism over her "blaccent." The Crazy Rich Asians star has long been accused of "making a mockery of Black people and Black culture" through her use of African American Vernacular English, as critic Carolyn Hinds wrote. In a statement on Twitter, Awkwafina said"to mock, belittle, or to be unkind in any way possible at the expense of others is: Simply. Not. My. Nature." She also promised that "as a non-Black POC," she will "always listen and work tirelessly to understand" what is "deemed appropriate or backwards toward the progress of ANY and EVERY marginalized group." After dropping the statement, which was quickly criticized for not including an apology, she said she's sorry "if I ever fell short, in anything I did" and announced she'll be "retiring from the ingrown toenail that is Twitter" — though she hadn't tweeted since 2019 anyway. "Well," she said, "I'll see you in a few years."
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5. Steven Soderbergh can't direct a superhero movie because 'there's no f---ing' in them
Tired: hating superhero movies because they're like theme park rides. Wired: hating superhero movies because "nobody's f---ing" in them. Ocean's Eleven and Magic Mike director Steven Soderbergh shared with The Daily Beast his take on the superhero genre, explaining he never really gets approached to direct franchise blockbusters and probably wouldn't direct a film like this. But that's for a specific reason: "I'm not a snob," Soderbergh explained, and "it's not that I feel it's some lower tier in any way." Instead, he said he's an "earthbound" filmmaker, whereas in superhero films, "There's no f---ing. Nobody's f---ing! Like, I don't know how to tell people how to behave in a world in which that is not a thing." Soderbergh presumably didn't see Marvel's Eternals or just doesn't count that film's sex scene because it was so lame — which, yeah, fair.
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
