Saucy Santana has been showing out over the last few months while celebrating the success of his viral single, ‘Quiet On The Creek.’ But things got real loud on the internet as old controversial clips began to resurface. Recently, Santana sat down with Angela Yee for an episode of ‘Lip Service,’ where they discussed the controversy, TikTok, his career, and more. 

RELATED: Uh-Oh! Saucy Santana & Deshae Frost Have Internet Users Crackin’ UP After Running From Apparent Alligator During Livestream (WATCH)

Saucy Santana Addresses Recent Controversies

Getting into the controversies, Yee brought up backlash Santana faced after reposting a White House video that featured ‘Quiet On The Creek.’ The video reportedly used his song alongside content involving ICE, which sparked criticism toward Santana for sharing the post. Santana explained that he initially reposted the video because he was excited to hear his song being used. He said he later learned more about the context surrounding the post and realized it may have been “rage bait.” 

“And so I found out later. I’m like, ‘Oh, okay. This is a rage bait thing maybe…’ I’m like, ‘I’m saying I didn’t mean to.’ And I said this out loud. I said, ‘I didn’t mean to offend anybody.’ I was like, ‘I was just excited that they used my song.’ Went and reposted in real time, unreposted on the live, apologized, and I went about my day,” the rapper said.

Santana then spoke about the internet’s “weird kink””with believing it has the power to cancel him and other celebrities. The artist made it clear that behavior involving children has never been in his character and pushed back against the online narratives. He expressed disgust over what people online are trying to make others believe about him and said that has never represented his character. Santana added that he will not spend his time trying to prove himself to critics already stuck on believing otherwise. In response, Santana shared an older video showing himself shutting down a group of children who appeared to flirt with him.

He suggested the clip challenged the narrative surrounding him and further showed that he has never condoned inappropriate behavior involving children. Santana then defended ‘Quiet On The Creek,’  making it clear that the song has nothing to do with children or child molestation.

“What’s happening right now is God. This is nothing y’all can strip from me. ‘Quiet On The Creek’ is not a song calling on to kids. It’s not about no child molestation, none of the weird sh*t, the stuff y’all talking about on the internet.”

Santana went on to say that he believes his current success is part of a bigger purpose that critics cannot take away. “Y’all want to feel like, ‘We finna take this from him. We finna strip this from him.’ This ain’t luck, it’s purpose, and this what God had destined for Saucy Santana. I have me another hit.” 

Social Media Reacts

Many gathered under The Shade Room Teens’ post to react to Saucy Santana addressing the resurfaced clip. Some felt Santana needed to take accountability instead of making excuses for his comments. Others came to his defense, attempting to clarify what they believed Santana meant when he made the remark.

Instagram user @astraaaaea_ wrote, “Uhn uhn it’s too many people making excuses. That was a beyond weird thing to say. It doesn’t matter what he meant, words matter”

Instagram user @jusslikeayanna added. “Lmaooo those were your words tho… just take accountability and move on simple”

While Instagram user @ostacks_4eva wrote, “If he was straight yall would of cooked him 😂but people is finding all the excuses”

Instagram user @jakaylatobler wrote, “I get what he mean but it still ain’t a read to O have said it 😭😭 love Santana though”

Instagram user @pr3tty_brwn_creole added. “Anybody from the age of 21 to 34 is a kid to • me, I honestly don’t think he meant it literally”

While Instagram user @thee.mostbaddest wrote, “When people clear things up yall still have something to say that’s all imma say”

Instagram user @mr_grindhard4 wrote, “He can’t clear that up 🤢🤢🤢”

Instagram user @miraadenisee added, “should’ve just said, you were and just saying crazy shit. u didn’t mean it that would’ve been more sufficient idk wtf this is.”

While Instagram user @sydnee.arielle wrote, “so y’all still quiet on the creek?”

The Story Behind Saucy Santana’s Viral ‘Quiet On The Creek’ Success

Despite the controversies surrounding Santana, the success of his viral hit ‘Quiet On The Creek’ has continued to reach new heights. The song was inspired by a livestream clip where Santana discussed fishing with his family and why he had to remain quiet.

After the clip began trending online, Santana turned the viral moment into a song that quickly took on a life of its own. ‘Quiet On The Creek’ has since been used in more than 4.2 million TikTok videos, with celebrities also joining the viral trend.

Santana kept the momentum going by releasing a music video inspired by his experience at Kai Cenat’s Streamer University. Santana was kicked out after Lizzo snuck him into her class on campus, a moment he later recreated for the visual. The music video also featured familiar content creators, including the Taylor Girlz, Nupe, and more, keeping the viral momentum going.

Additionally, Santana recently had even more reason to celebrate after ‘Quiet On The Creek’ reached No. 45 on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The milestone marks Santana’s first appearance on a Billboard chart since 2022.

RELATED: Too Loud On The Creek? Kai Cenat Speaks Out After Saucy Santana Sneaks Onto Streamer University Campus (VIDEOS)

Editor’s note: The below contains spoilers for Reacher’s Season 4 premiere.

Wherever Jack Reacher (Alan Ritchson) goes, trouble always seems to follow him. Prime Video’s highly anticipated action thriller Reacher officially returns for Season 4, this time in Philadelphia. Like every other season, the Army veteran never intends to attract attention or get pulled into an investigation. However, as luck would have it, Reacher seems to have a knack for finding himself in exactly those situations.

Just when Reacher thinks there’s no more personal baggage left to weigh him down or drag him into trouble, his time in Philly appears as though it might be different. But Season 4’s major change to the established Reacher formula proves otherwise. No matter which city he finds himself in or who surrounds him, Reacher will always step into the middle of danger — not because he chases after it, but because he can’t turn away from someone who needs help, even when he has no business getting involved.

What Is ‘Reacher’ Season 4 About?

Reacher is based on the books by Lee Child, with each season inspired by one specific novel. Before Reacher became a wayward drifter with nothing but the clothes on his back (and his toothbrush), he served 13 years as a major in the U.S. Army. Wanting to spend his post-Army life in peace, taking buses from one place to another, he instead finds himself pulled into a new case every season, each with unexpectedly personal ties.

In Season 1, his trip to Margrave, Georgia, is interrupted when police accuse him of murder, with the victim turning out to be his older brother Joe. In Season 2, Reacher returns to action after members of the 110th Special Investigations Unit he founded, led, and cared for are being murdered one by one, prompting him to conduct an investigation stretching across New York and Atlantic City. Season 3 sees Reacher in Abbottzville, Maine, where undercover work unexpectedly reunites him with an old military enemy-turned-arms dealer responsible for the death of his protégé, Dominique Kohl (Mariah Robinson), a loss Reacher carries considerable guilt over.

Season 4 Gives Reacher His Most Dangerous Fight Yet

Season 4, which is based on Child’s thirteenth Reacher novel, Gone Tomorrow, introduces major stakes when the titular character boards a Philadelphia subway after a casual night out. In the nearly empty car, he notices a woman who appears visibly upset and is exhibiting all the signs of a potential suicide bomber. When he tries to talk her down, he fails, but instead of a bomb, she pulls out a gun, ultimately taking her own life. While Reacher has no involvement in her death, he is the sole witness and is taken in for questioning. However, Reacher quickly realizes that the woman from the train, a Pentagon employee named Anna Merrick (Karen Kwong-Chip), may have been holding onto some highly classified government information.

After learning that Anna allegedly withheld a flash drive containing sensitive secrets before her death, Reacher becomes caught up in a conspiracy that puts him in the crosshairs of local police, the CIA, and thugs hired by the mysterious mother-daughter duo Amisha (Anggun) and Lila Hoth (Agnez Mo). The deeper he digs, the more dangerous the case becomes, with the conspiracy potentially reaching Congressman John Sampson (Marc Blucas), a former Delta Force operative suspected of supporting the bloody 1998 Indonesian riots.

Season 4 Officially Breaks One of ‘Reacher’s Biggest Traditions

Image via Prime Video

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Across the show’s first three seasons, Reacher’s cases have always had some direct connection to him. Season 4 changes that formula, proving that the titular hero needs no personal reason to save someone. For the first time in Prime Video’s adaptation, Reacher isn’t fighting because someone he loves or cares about has been hurt. Instead, he gets involved simply because he sees a stranger who needs help. He doesn’t know her, owe her anything, or have any personal stake in what happens to her, but his instinct to help is unconditional. That simple act of compassion pulls Reacher into what could very well be his biggest case yet.

Season 4’s formula change also emphasizes that Reacher’s greatest strength isn’t always his intellect, eagle eye for detail, or brute strength, but his moral compass and inexhaustible willingness to protect anyone who needs help, even when there’s nothing in it for him. That’s one reason Reacher continues to gain momentum after four seasons, with a fifth season already underway. You can have all the skills in the world to save others, but at the end of the day, the real difference between a hero and a villain is whether you choose to extend that protection to anyone, anywhere, anytime.

New episodes of Reacher Season 4 premiere Wednesdays on Prime Video.

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Reacher

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Release Date

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February 3, 2022

Network

Prime Video

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Showrunner

Nick Santora

Directors

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Omar Madha, Carol Banker, Julian Holmes, Lin Oeding, M.J. Bassett, Norberto Barba, Stephen Surjik, Thomas Vincent

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Brielle Biermann is celebrating her final days as a fiancée before saying “I do.”

The reality star, 29, showed off her pre-wedding style lineup in a series of photos from her bachelorette trip to Turks and Caicos, during which her squad rang in the special occasion with a beach-themed party.

In new photos she shared via Instagram on Thursday, August 13, pink and white balloons filled the room, which also included a light-up “Mrs.” sign in honor of Brielle’s upcoming nuptials to Minor League Baseball player Billy Seidl.

Brielle kicked off the festivities in a series of custom bridal-themed looks, rocking a white corset top paired with flowy white pants, topped off with a veil that draped down her back.

Related: Brielle Biermann and Fiance Billy Seidl’s Relationship Timeline

Courtesy of Billy Seidl/Instagram Brielle Biermann has been romanced by several baseball players since gaining fame on Don’t Be Tardy — and Billy Seidl stepped into the batter’s box in spring 2023. The Real Housewives of Atlanta alum Kim Zolciak-Biermann’s eldest daughter previously dated Chicago White Sox pitcher Michael Kopech for two years before calling […]

She also brought the personalization to another look with a white bikini featuring a custom “Mrs. Seidl” detail on the bottoms. The bride-to-be paired the two-piece with an oversized white bow that featured her future initials: “B.S.”

Brielle shared yet another snapshot wearing a white crochet mini dress layered over the bikini, rocking the same bow with her hair tied up into a tousled pony as she stood in front of a sign that read, “Brielle’s Beach Bach.”

She kept the theme going into the evening, also modeling an ivory sequin-covered mini dress with glittering embellishment paired with a pearl choker-style necklace and open-toe heels.

“ya know, casual dress code for night 1 😝,” Brielle captioned a video on her grid.

Her sister Ariana Biermann showed love in the comments section, replying, “I CANT BREATH [sic].”

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Brielle and Billy, 26, announced their engagement in February 2024 after he popped the question during a trip to Arizona.

Last month, Ariana, 24, exclusively told Us that she’s looking forward to her sister’s big day.

“I cannot wait. I’m her maid of honor, and I’m pumped, and I feel, like, so honored,” Ariana said, revealing that she helped Brielle’s fiancé with the proposal. “It was surreal. I was like, ‘I can’t believe you’re getting married, and, like, you found your person.’ It gives us hope.”

When Will Smith assaulted host Chris Rock at the 2022 Academy Awards, it was the slap seen ’round the world. Smith took home the Academy Award for Best Actor that evening for his role in ‘King Richard’ and his co-star in the film, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, recently defended his Oscars’ slap during a new interview.

RELATED: Oop! Will Smith Sounds OFF About Slapping Chris Rock At The Oscars & His Marriage To Jada Pinkett In New Album (LISTEN)

Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor Defends Will Smith Slapping Chris Rock During Oscars

In an interview with The Daily Beast, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor recalled the Oscars’ slap. Additionally, she defended Smith for standing up for his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.

The ‘Bad Boys’ star smacked Rock across the face in a shocking moment on live television after the host made a joke about Jada’s bald head. The ‘Set It Off’ actress has alopecia, and she was rocking her shaved head as she sat with Smith in the audience. The Oscars’ slap was debated for months afterward, and now, Ellis-Taylor has shared her two cents. The actress said that Smith protected his wife, and she stood with him.

“I know that he wanted to protect his wife, and I stand by that,” she said. “I stand with him for that. I think that this idea that First Amendment rights should protect everybody—I don’t think it should necessarily protect a*sholes…. I really don’t.”

Ellis-Taylor added that she enjoyed working with Smith while noting his protective treatment of everyone on the set. She also said Smith “took money out of his own pocket” to double the pay of the entire cast.

“Will certainly took care of everybody,” she added. “He just would not allow anybody to be treated poorly in his presence. He just would not allow it.”

“I cannot tell you how rare that is in this job,” the actress continued, adding that number-one stars on the call sheet use it as a reason “to be a*sholes and for them to be method and just not give a f*ck about anybody. They see it as permission to do that. They see it as their right to do that. And that’s not how he was at all. So I will always have a great deal of affection and care for him because he acted that way, and not just with me, with everybody.”

In addition, the actress told The Independent that Smith got her pay doubled for ‘King Richard after she told him her salary. Not only that, but Smith “doubled the pay of everybody on the cast. And he took money out of his own pocket to do that, he didn’t go the studio route.”

Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor Prompts Discourse Online

Taylor’s comments prompted fans to react on social media, and several folks agreed with the ‘Lucky’ actress while others criticized her remarks.

On Threads, User @kiki_forevermore30 noted, “Look I understand where she’s coming from with this. I really do and to a very certain extent I agree with her. However by slapping Chris Rock, Will Smith made the entire Oscar night selfishly about himself. he made a complete a*s out of himself by attacking someone smaller than him.”

On X, @aunjanuejlt wrote, “No ma’am. No violence is worth that -especially in that setting. Will had the chance to use that podium to enlighten the world to what his wife was going through making Chris look like the a*hole in everyone’s eyes but his insecurities got in the way.”

X user @TypeLambily disagreed. Furthermore, the user double-downed on the Oscars slap. “We all stand by Will Smith❤️ it’s protect Black women until one actually does. Chris rock is not funny and has few moments where his been funny. Matter of fact he needs another slap.”

@TavyTavy86 added, “So she defends resorting to violence because of a joke. What a disappointment.”

@Rick Wong added, “The irony in her statement .”

Will Smith’s Oscar Slap Revisited

As Smith sat next to his wife at the 2022 Academy Awards, host Chris Rock made a joke about Jada that went over well…. at first. “Jada, I love you,” said Rock. “GI Jane 2. Can’t wait to see it.” 

Evvvvverybody laughed at the joke, including Will Smith. Jada even seemed to crack a smile for a split second before rolling her eyes when all of the sudden, Smith jumped up on stage as a surprised Rock joked, “Oh oh!” Rock continued to laugh right up until Smith slapped him across the face… hard.

“Oh wow,” Rock exclaimed. “Wow! Will Smith just smacked the sh*t out of me.”

After that, Smith popped off again as audience members clutched their diamonds and pearls.“Take my wife’s name out of your f*ckin’ mouth,” he yelled from his seat. “Keep my wife’s name out your f*ckin’ mouth!” Amazingly, Rock went on with the show, and Smith took home the Best Actor Oscar. However, Smith was later banned from the Oscars for 10 years.

RELATED: Syleena Johnson Shares Why She Thinks White People Aren’t Concerned About The Buffalo Mass Shooting Like They Were About The Will Smith Oscars Slap 

According to The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition, a satire is “A […] work in which human foolishness or vice is attacked through irony, derision, or wit.” Far from being a simple parody or mockery, satire plumbs the depths of the human condition and isn’t afraid to acknowledge the truths and faults of a given topic. Ever since movies were invented, satires have played an important role in cinema’s broader contribution to the arts.

Throughout the history of film, there have been some truly great satires, and they cross over into many genres. From pop culture hits like Barbie to horror-themed flicks like The Menu or What We Do in the Shadows, these movies have their finger on a pulse that makes society tick. Out of this rich canon of films, these 10 stand apart. They deserve to be appreciated for their excellence and impact on cinema and are some of the best satires of all time.

10

‘Borat’ (2006)

Image via 20th Century Studios

Borat, also known as Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, is a movie that you either love or hate. It is undoubtedly one of the most divisive and controversial comedies ever done, and it has lost none of its potency, 20 years later. Sacha Baron Cohen plays the role of Borat Sagdiyev, a journalist from Kazakhstan who journeys to America to experience the culture and document what he discovers.

Blending a mockumentary style with scripted and improvised scenes, Borat is a collage of filmmaking techniques. The movie created something altogether different than anything done before, and the line between fiction and reality was fluid. Borat leaves nothing off the table, and everything from politics to racism to religion is fair game. Several of the real people filmed in the movie had no idea they are interacting with an actor, and Cohen is so solidly in character that the setup works hook, line, and sinker. Made on a shoestring budget of $18 million, the movie grossed almost $300 million worldwide. It continues to be quoted by devotees and earned an Oscar nomination for best adapted screenplay. Borat is a potent satire that takes no prisoners. It does not try to be palatable and instead exposes the ethnocentric behaviors that it wants to.

9

‘The Truman Show’ (1998)

Image via Paramount Pictures

Jim Carrey is one of Hollywood’s leading men when it comes to comedy, but he is also able to carry a dramatic performance very well. One of his best, more serious film roles is in The Truman Show. In The Truman Show, Carrey plays Truman Burbank, a man who has no idea that his entire life has been a TV show. Everyone Truman knows — his family, his friends, his neighbors are all actors, and everything in his world is a masquerade.

The Truman Show was years ahead of its time. Before reality TV had dominated airwaves, influencers filmed every minute of their lives, or The Matrix envisioned a simulated reality, The Truman Show tackled all of these subjects and more. From blatant product placement to the public obsession with celebrity, The Truman Show ticks every mark and has a lot to say about publicity and privacy. As time moves forward, The Truman Show has only increased in relevance. It is a touching and poignant satire that has one of the most satisfying movie endings of all time.

8

‘Shrek’ (2001)

Image via DreamWorks Animation

Satire is inherently bold, and one movie that sent shockwaves through its own genre and the larger moviemaking community alike was Shrek. In 2001, no one had dared to make fun of Disney’s animated kids movies on such a pointed scale. DreamWorks was founded in part by a former employee of Disney, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and this background would become a driving force of the animated ogre’s raison d’être.

Raising stark contrasts about what audiences had come to expect from fairy tales, Shrek blew romantic fantasy tropes apart. Striking underlying notes about self-confidence and beauty standards, Shrek was its own layered onion, tackling surface-level topics as well as more nuanced ones. Bold enough to take on the highly influential studio, Shrek became the defining satire of kids’ films and changed the game forever.

7

‘Monty Python and the Holy Grail’ (1975)

Image via EMI Films

“And now for something completely different.” Debuting in 1969, Monty Python’s Flying Circus was a TV series that broke the mold. Its droll, dry, and absurdist humor gave the series an affect all its own. Spearheaded by Graham Chapman, John Cleese, and Terry Gilliam, Monty Python was truly original and became a blueprint for modern sketch comedy.

In 1975, the creators debuted their second feature-length project entitled Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Made on a meager budget of £300,000, the film became the first ever to satirize King Arthur and his quest to find the Holy Grail. The movie had all the hallmarks of the fan-favorite TV show and did not disappoint devotees. In fact, Monty Python and the Holy Grail found new audiences and gained even more popularity in the years that followed than the original series. This unique triumph continues to influence filmmaking today and proves that low-budget projects are often the best.

6

‘Young Frankenstein’ (1974)

Image via 20th Century Fox

Mel Brooks is the king of comedy, and his parodies are universally renowned. In Young Frankenstein, Brooks aims his magnifying glass of satire at old Hollywood horror. Young Frankenstein pays tribute to the genre and includes all of the well-established tropes cinema buffs appreciate. There is the unsure but never at fault hero, the ditsy, seductive female, and the exaggerated oddities of townsfolk and side characters. It is a delightful dissection of vintage fright flicks and endlessly entertaining.

Young Frankenstein was a huge success that continues to be a favorite for many. The cast includes stellar talents such as Gene Wilder, Peter Boyle, Teri Garr, Marty Feldman, Madeline Kahn, and Cloris Leachman. Every performance given is phenomenal, and Young Frankenstein has the best acting in any blockbuster comedy ever.

5

‘Modern Times’ (1936)

Image via United Artists

The title of Charlie Chaplin’s Modern Times makes its point unmistakable. In his last silent movie before moving on to the new talkies, Chaplin tackled industrialization and modernization in one brilliant film. As a character simply known as A Factory Worker, Chaplin is seen absentmindedly pulling on levers and operating switches that seem redundant to him. A small figure against a towering room full of buttons and knobs is an instant visual depiction of how users feel out of touch with technology, and we don’t really understand how and why it works.

Modern Times continues to offer hilarious commentary on everything from human laziness to job security. In one scene, a feeding machine shoves food into Chaplin’s mouth. Of course, things start well, and even though ridiculous, the invention seems somewhat useful; then things go spectacularly awry. This example and so many more within the movie illustrate how, even in 1936, humanity was trying to negotiate and examine its dependency on gadgets.

4

‘Network’ (1976)

Image via Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Written by Paddy Chayefsky and directed by Sidney Lumet, Network is a classic 1976 dark comedy that continues to have an impact on the Zeitgeist. Decades ahead of its time, Network seems eerily prophetic in its commentaries about social hysteria and mass media manipulation. Years before “fake news” became a commonly used term, Network aimed to portray what was going on behind the scenes of powerful information distributors.

Network does a superb job of pairing its overall message with more subtle looks into the lives of the people who run large media corporations. It is both a power-behind-the-throne exposé and an observation on the allure of power and popularity. Network took home four Academy Awards in 1977 and continues to be more and more applicable as time goes on.

3

‘Get Out’ (2017)

Image via Universal Pictures

Aptly described by Collider’s Anja Djuricic as “a social satire wrapped in a thriller,” Jordan Peele’s Get Out is a perfect blend of commentary and modern horror. The story follows Chris Washington (Daniel Kaluuya) as he travels with his girlfriend Rose Armitage (Allison Williams) to visit her parents. Chris feels uneasy at Rose’s family home, and there is something about her parents he doesn’t fully trust. As Chris experiences stranger and stranger occurrences at the quiet country estate, the movie slowly reveals that there is an infinitely more sinister and widespread conspiracy at work.

Get Out is absolutely brilliant. Not only are the horror elements spot-on, but the underlying current of uneasy racial tension and cultural appropriation is thought-provoking. Get Out is one of the few horror movies to win the Oscar for best screenplay. It is a masterpiece in every sense of the word and will no doubt influence filmmakers for years to come.

2

‘Jojo Rabbit’ (2019)

Image via Searchlight Pictures

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In Jojo Rabbit, viewers get a rarely explored viewpoint to consider: that of an indoctrinated Hitler Youth. Jojo Rabbit (Roman Griffin Davis) is a 10-year-old boy who, like many young children in his town, has become enamored with Adolf Hitler (Taika Waititi). Jojo’s fascination with Adolf has reached the point where he sees and talks to him as an imaginary friend. Into this interesting dynamic comes a complication for Jojo. He discovers that his mother Rosie (Scarlett Johansson) has been hiding a young Jewish refugee named Elsa (Thomasin McKenzie) in their home.

Jojo Rabbit is a witty, tender, and heartbreaking inspection of one of humanity’s darkest hours. As movies and satires are designed to do, they try to unstring an untangleable knot. They dive deep into a topic and attempt to make sense or discover some pebble of rationality, however minute. Jojo Rabbit is an important piece of cinema that masterfully depicts how powerful media representation, structural racism, and public campaigns of propaganda can be. Jojo Rabbit serves as both a lesson and a warning that should never be forgotten.

1

‘Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb’ (1964)

Image via Columbia Pictures

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If there is one satire that has left an indelible impact on the cinema, it is Stanley Kubrick‘s Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. In this classic masterpiece, a rogue official launches an unauthorized strike on the Soviet Union, and the US leaders panic and try to decide what to do next. The cast and performances in Dr. Strangelove are exemplary, and Peter Sellers delivers a tour de force caliber in all three of his separate roles.

Although Dr. Strangelove aims its derision against the Cold War, the movie’s insights about fear tactics, hypocrisy, and political disillusionment is still incredibly relevant. It blends subversive comedy with satire and became a model for future films to follow. Dr. Strangelove walks the fine line that the best satires do of jesting about a topic while making pointed remarks that land with the audience. By using the armor of wit, Dr. Strangelove and other satires can deliver a message that few would have been interested in receiving otherwise.

Chile, if this is what 60 is looking like, we might need to rethink everything we thought we knew about aging! Halle Berry had the internet taking notes as she celebrated the major milestone with a series of sultry birthday flicks that showed she was very much in her own lane and feeling herself.

RELATED: Halle Berry Seemingly Claps Back At David Justice For Saying She Didn’t Cook Or Clean During Their Marriage (PHOTOS)

Wait…Halle Berry Is How Old?

Halle Berry kicked off her birthday festivities on Thursday, Aug. 13, sharing photos of herself lounging on a sunny patio while rocking a mostly open lace robe, enjoying chocolate-covered strawberries and sipping a drink. Her fiancé, Van Hunt, also joined her for the intimate shoot, with the couple sharing a kiss on the couch as Berry held a piece of fruit. “Today….don’t give a f–!” she captioned the post. The Academy Award winner had already teased the milestone earlier in the week with photos of herself in a floor-length black mesh dress, writing, “60 here I come….”

The Actress Is Clearly Living Her Best Life

On Friday, Aug. 14, Berry officially celebrated her 60th birthday with another post. The actress shared a selfie of herself cheesing while holding a card that read, “Happy 60th.” In the caption, she thanked everyone for the birthday love and well wishes, adding, “I’m grateful to still be here!!” ❤️

Halle Berry Had The Gworls Questioning The Math

Folks ran to The Shade Room’s Instagram comment section and ran it up over Halle Berry’s birthday flicks. Some were confused by the “60” and questioned how she could possibly be hitting the milestone, while others said Halle had really been fine all her life. Meanwhile, a few fans said she’s been glowing since being with her man, and they absolutely love that for her.

One Instagram user @bryttain_ said, “I automatically start singing “Baow, baow, baow-baow-baow”…Happy birthday Queen 💐”

This Instagram user @astarrwasborn_ added, “She got that freshly folded like a lawn chair look and I love that for her!! 😍🔥”

And, Instagram user @x_jaddaaaa commented, “She gone be 100 years old , still fine 🥹💚”

Meanwhile, Instagram user @shidrika wrote, “& im no better than a mannnnn😍😍”

While Instagram user @1of1_llbigmatt shared, “I never wanted to be a strawberry so bad in my fkn life 😂😍❤️🔥”

Finally, Instagram user @marishalatreese claimed, “She is absolutely beautiful!! Baby 60 where?!! 😍😍”

RELATED: Happy Birthday! Celebrating Halle Berry & 5 Moments That Had Our Jaws On The Floor

The Department of Justice has charged nearly a dozen people with participating in a multimillion-dollar scheme. In this scheme, hundreds of Chinese nationals fraudulently obtained green cards through sham marriages to U.S. citizens, officials said Wednesday.

RELATED: Luigi Mangione Pleads Guilty To Federal Stalking Charges In The Killing Of UnitedHealthcare CEO

How Much Money Was Earned During The Scheme?

American citizens were paid as much as $30,000 to enter into bogus marriages with immigrants. The immigrants sought lawful permanent resident status as part of the scheme orchestrated from New York, according to court papers. The defendants charged up to $100,000 per green card. Ultimately, they brought in tens of millions of dollars over the course of the decade-long scheme, according to officials.

“This scheme was not a quick, fly-by-night operation but rather a yearslong, multibillion dollar cottage industry to criminally assist people who would not, or legally could not, otherwise become citizens of the United States,” Attorney General Todd Blanche told reporters.

Details About The Scheme

Authorities say they believe the group arranged more than 1,000 sham weddings. This makes the scheme one of the largest marriage fraud prosecutions in U.S. history. After recruiting U.S. citizens, the defendants would arrange fake weddings and in some cases stage photos of families at places such as restaurants afterward to make them look legitimate, according to officials. The defendants would then help the immigrants through the lawful permanent status application process.

11 People Charged For The Sham Marriages

The charges come against the backdrop of the Trump administration’s restrictions on both legal and illegal immigration that have sought to crack down on who is able to enter the country or become a citizen.

“These schemes have real cost. They rob our country of its ability to know who should be and who should not be allowed in America,” Blanche said.

The 11 defendants, including people accused of officiating the sham weddings, are charged in an indictment filed in New York. It was not immediately clear Wednesday whether they had lawyers to speak on their behalf.

RELATED: Not Pressed?! Tyler Lepley Seemingly Responds After Viral Cheating Allegations Surface Amid Marriage To Miracle Watts (PHOTOS)

Associated Press writer Alanna Durkin Richer contributed to this report via AP Newsroom. 

After bringing Upstead’s romance to life on Chicago P.D., Tracy Spiridakos and Jesse Lee Soffer formed a connection off screen.

Soffer was previously linked to Sophia Bush and Torrey DeVitto before sparking romance rumors with Spiridakos. Soffer and Spiridakos met on the set of the Dick Wolf police drama while playing Hailey Upton and Jay Halstead, respectively. Their fictional characters had a slow-burn romance that led to them tying the knot on screen.

The actor, however, shocked fans in 2022 when he announced his exit from the show.

“I guess the word is out. Jesse, what can I say, you’re the absolute best. Thank you for your kindness, your guidance and your friendship,” Spiridakos wrote via Instagram at the time. “You’re the greatest onscreen husband a girl could ask for. I’ll miss being on set with you every day. I can’t wait to see what the world has in store for you next. #upsteadforever.”

Related: One Chicago Stars Who Left the Franchise: Where Are They Now?

The One Chicago franchise is known for its frequent exits at this point, but Sophia Bush and more stars have not slowed down since walking away from Chicago P.D., Chicago Fire or Chicago Med. Bush, for one, spoke out about her departure from Chicago P.D. after season 4. “I realized that as I was thinking […]

News subsequently broke in October 2023 that Spiridakos was leaving Chicago P.D. after season 11.

“I decided at the end of my sixth season (a.k.a. season 10 of the series),” she told Variety in May. “Which is when I had reached out to [showrunner] Gwen [Sigan] and to everyone at Wolf to let them know that I just wanted to do one more year.”

Spiridakos called the decision “very, very hard,” adding, “I was just curious what was out there for me and wanted to switch it up, and that was it.”

On screen, Upton and Halstead went through a divorce to adjust to Spiridakos and Soffer’s individual exits. While the costars no longer share the screen, Spiridakos and Soffer have continued to spend time together.

Rumors surfaced in January 2024 that Soffer and Spiridakos have been secretly dating for years. Neither actor has addressed the romance speculation publicly but have remained together out of the public eye.

Keep scrolling to relive their romance:

2017

Tracy Spiridakos joined Chicago P.D. in the second half of season 4 after Jesse Lee Soffer was with the NBC series since the pilot. Their characters were paired off — and a romance ensued. Upton and Halstead ultimately got engaged and married during their Chicago P.D. journey.

2018

Jesse Lee Soffer and Tracy Spiridakos arrived on the red carpet for the 4th Annual OneChicago Press Day in Chicago.

2019

Tracy Spiridakos and Jesse Lee Soffer attended the press day for One Chicago again one year later.

2021

Jesse Lee Soffer spoke exclusively to Us Weekly about filming a sex scene with Tracy Spiridakos, saying, “I don’t have time for TV, so if you tell me it was intense, then OK. It was intense.”

Soffer added: “We’ve been playing partners and love interests for so long, that it’s second nature. Also, I was on a soap for a while and she’s worked a ton! It’s like, ‘All right, sex scene? Got it.’ It’s been easy. She’s a great scene partner to have.”

2022

Jesse Lee Soffer announced his exit from the show first — with Spiridakos following one year later. While Soffer returned to direct episodes, Upton and Halstead’s fictional connection took a hit and they divorced before Upton’s exit.

2023

Tracy Spiridakos gushed when Jesse Lee Soffer came back to direct the show before her departure, writing via Instagram, “Tonight’s episode was directed by the one and only, our very own @jesseleesoffer 🥳🥳🥳!! And you guys, it’s a realllllllly good one. You don’t want to miss it.”

Soffer, meanwhile, took to social media to celebrate Spiridakos’s legacy. “I got to watch Tracy’s last episode of Chicago PD (airing tonight) and she’s FANTASTIC in it! 🙂 you should all go check it out!” he wrote via Instagram at the time.

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Related: One Chicago’s Most Heartbreaking Exits

If there’s one thing Dick Wolf isn’t afraid of, it’s killing off a beloved character. A fact that fans of the One Chicago universe know all too well. The franchise kicked off in 2012 with Chicago Fire. Chicago P.D. was added in 2014 and Chicago Med debuted in 2015. The cast of each show has […]

August 2024

The pair went on a European vacation together to Portugal, which they shared photos of on social media.

“Europe is kinda cool 😘😘,” Jesse Lee Soffer wrote via Instagram alongside snaps that included Tracy Spiridakos

February 2026

NBC announced that Tracy Spiridakos and Jesse Lee Soffer were reuniting in the three-part One Chicago crossover special. According to the synopsis for the March 2026 episode, Upton “returns to her former stomping grounds, but this time on the federal level as a Special Agent of the FBI.” She “joins her former P.D. allies after a drug enforcement task force case out of her Detroit field office leads her back to Chicago.”

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Halstead, for his part, “took a job with the Army in Bolivia, tracking drug cartel targets.” Most recently, “he’s been deep undercover that leads him on a path to the same case that Upton is investigating.”

February 2026

“You guys, this is Cali 🙂 She was surrendered to a city shelter in California by her owner with a degloving injury, (when the skin is separated from the jaw bone) and was listed as an at risk pup. When my wonderful friend @kingaphilipps told us about her, Jesse and I knew right away we were adopting her,” Tracy Spiridakos wrote via Instagram.

August 2026

In a profile on Spiridakos pegged to her new show, Anna Pigeon, Soffer was referenced as her partner.

A decade is long enough for hype to die. That helps. Movies arrive with festival standing ovations, awards campaigns, box-office records, and declarations of instant greatness. Then people live with them. Scenes get revisited. Performances deepen. Weaknesses become harder to ignore. The truly great ones somehow keep gaining weight despite all that. The Godfather is a great example of that.

And the six films on this list have already survived that first test. They represent radically different ideas of modern cinema, from historical epic and social horror to queer romance, intimate character study, class satire, and full-throttle action. Every one feels complete enough to define a career and ambitious enough to represent its era. Ranking them hurts. But this is a good problem to have. Let’s get started.

6

‘Oppenheimer’ (2023)

Image via Universal Pictures

Christopher Nolan built Oppenheimer around J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy), the theoretical physicist who led the Los Alamos laboratory during the Manhattan Project and later faced political humiliation as his security clearance came under attack. That gives the movie an enormous historical canvas, but the actual drama lives inside one man’s relationship with knowledge. Oppenheimer wants to understand the universe, wants recognition for understanding it, and eventually has to live in a world permanently altered by what that brilliance helped create. The Trinity test is only one part of the story. Power after the bomb becomes just as important as the bomb itself.

Three hours move with the nervous momentum of something half the length. Ludwig Göransson’s music score rarely lets the mind settle. Not to mention the fragmented chronology turns hearings, conversations, scientific breakthroughs, and political grudges into pieces of one accumulating psychological portrait. Cillian Murphy sits at the center of an absurdly deep ensemble, and Lewis Strauss (Robert Downey Jr.) gives the political material real venom. Seven Academy Awards followed for this film, including Best Picture. Fair enough. Oppenheimer is massive filmmaking about the terrifying possibility that intelligence can outrun wisdom.

5

‘Get Out’ (2017)

Image via Universal Pictures

At first, Get Out is about Chris Washington (Daniel Kaluuya) spending a weekend with the wealthy white family of his girlfriend, Rose Armitage (Allison Williams). He is already uneasy about whether she told them he is Black. Her parents respond with excessive friendliness, strange compliments, and the kind of racial reassurance that somehow makes everything less reassuring. Then Chris notices the Black employees around the property behaving in ways he cannot explain. One awkward family visit begins sliding toward something far more calculated.

This was also Jordan Peele’s first feature as director and it turned social discomfort into horror mechanics with almost frightening precision. The Sunken Place became an instant cultural image because it captures helplessness without needing a monster costume. The teacup, the camera flash, the garden party, and the casual fetishization of Chris all work because the danger grows from recognizable behavior before the movie pushes it somewhere extreme. Daniel Kaluuya’s face can carry entire stretches of the film with tiny changes in fear and disbelief. Peele won the Oscar for Original Screenplay. The film effortlessly remains entertaining while dissecting race, liberal self-image, ownership, and desire.

4

‘Portrait of a Lady on Fire’ (2019)

Image via Pyramide Films

Portrait of a Lady on Fire takes place on an isolated island in eighteenth-century Brittany, where painter Marianne (Noémie Merlant) has been hired to create a wedding portrait of Héloïse (Adèle Haenel) without Héloïse knowing she is being painted. Marianne therefore studies her during walks and reconstructs those details in secret. Observation slowly becomes intimacy. The entire premise is built around looking at another person, then discovering the difference between seeing someone and merely recording their appearance.

Marianne notices Héloïse because her work requires attention. Héloïse begins noticing the ways Marianne sees her. Their conversations gradually change who controls the gaze, and the portrait itself becomes part of the argument about memory, ownership, and how women are represented. Both the characters spend long stretches communicating through pauses and glances that would collapse in a less precise film. Music is used sparingly enough that its arrival feels almost physical. Romance this control should feel cold. Somehow it burns. Portrait of a Lady on Fire is the movie to choose when you want longing treated as something intelligent. It’s like the films in Before Trilogy but the two people involved are an artist and her subject.

3

‘Moonlight’ (2016)

Image via A24

Chiron (Alex Hibbert, Ashton Sanders, and Trevante Rhodes) grows up in Miami across three chapters of Moonlight, first as a bullied child called Little, then as a guarded teenager, and finally as an adult who has rebuilt himself into someone almost unrecognizable from the boy we met. His mother struggles with addiction. His sexuality leaves him vulnerable in an environment obsessed with masculine performance. Juan (Mahershala Ali), a local drug dealer, offers him tenderness and guidance while carrying an uncomfortable connection to the conditions hurting Chiron at home. Nothing about this life fits into an easy coming-of-age shape.

Barry Jenkins adapted Tarell Alvin McCraney’s In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue into a film where identity develops through accumulated moments rather than explanatory speeches. Water, touch, food, music, silence, and the way people address Chiron all become part of his emotional history. Three different actors portray him at different ages, yet the same watchfulness somehow survives across all three bodies. Mahershala Ali won an Oscar for Juan despite appearing only in the first chapter, which tells you how deeply that relationship lands. Moonlight eventually won Best Picture, but trophies barely explain its power. This is one of those films that makes gentleness feel enormous. Give it quiet. It gives plenty back.

2

‘Parasite’ (2019)

Image via NEON

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The Kim family lives in a cramped semi-basement in Seoul, folding pizza boxes for money and searching for usable Wi-Fi wherever they can find it. Then Ki-woo (Choi Woo-shik) gets an opportunity to tutor the daughter of the wealthy Park family. His family recognizes an opening. One by one, they find ways into the Park household under fabricated identities, creating an ingenious little ecosystem where the rich family believes it has hired several unrelated professionals. Parasite could already survive as a brilliant con movie. It has much more loaded underneath.

Bong Joon Ho turns architecture into class analysis without ever making the movie feel like homework. The Parks live high above the street behind walls and glass. The Kims are constantly climbing upward to reach them and descending when they return home. Smell becomes a class marker more brutal than money because it cannot be convincingly performed away. Comedy keeps the film loose, suspense gradually tightens the space, and every genre shift exposes another part of the same economic structure. Parasite won the Palme d’Or and later became the first non-English-language film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. Those milestones are historic. The movie itself is simply electric.

1

‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ (2015)

Image via Warner Bros. Pictures

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Talking about electric, this film is the king of adrenaline that never drops. Mad Max: Fury Road has one of the cleanest premises imaginable. Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron) steals a war rig from tyrant Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne) and escapes across the desert with the women he has kept as reproductive property. Max Rockatansky (Tom Hardy) becomes attached to the convoy almost by accident. Joe sends his War Boys after them. Most of the movie is movement. Yet inside that movement sits an entire civilization built around water, fuel, fertility, mythology, disability, worship, and control.

George Miller returned to Mad Max after three decades and somehow revived it in the most physically exhilarating blockbuster of the modern era. The vehicles were built. Stunt performers actually swung from poles. The geography stays readable even when dozens of machines are tearing across the frame. Charlize Theron’s Furiosa has enough history in a few looks to carry another movie entirely (and the character did have that later) while Max gradually learns that helping other people may be more useful than simply surviving them. It is angry, beautiful, ridiculous, sincere, and almost indecently entertaining. Witness it again.

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Mad Max: Fury Road

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Release Date

May 15, 2015

Runtime

121 minutes

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Director

George Miller

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Writers

Brendan McCarthy, George Miller, Nico Lathouris

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Ryan Lochte‘s ex-wife, Kayla Reid, has made candid comments about their failed marriage of eight years.

In a new interview, the 35-year-old realtor, who finalized her divorce from the Olympic swimmer last year, revealed how she learned he was dating her former close friend, Molly Gilihan.

However, Ryan Lochte and Gilihan have pushed back on Kayla Reid’s allegations, insisting their romance only blossomed after the marriage was over.

Reid had thought she was leaving behind a toxic marriage when she filed for divorce from Lochte on March 26, 2025, only to discover later on that a supposed friend of hers had been circling her soon-to-be ex-husband.

“I’ll use the term ‘friend’ lightly,” Reid said of Gillihan during a chat with People Magazine, pointing out that both of them had exchanged invites to happy hours and Mother’s Day parties, and even discussed business plans together.

According to Reid, she had at one point helped Gillihan “with some real estate work,” noting that they had “a ton of mutual friends. She followed me on every social platform and would often send me encouraging messages and want to hang out.”

Unfortunately, those friendly gestures went down the drain when she discovered Gillihan was seeing her husband, and doing so while offering Reid emotional support over her marriage struggles.

At the time, Lochte and Reid were already facing serious challenges and had a fraught relationship.

Kayla Reid Says It’s ‘Quite Sick’ How Her Former Friend Comforted Her During Her Divorce From Ryan Lochte

Reid went on to claim that Gillihan was very aware of what she was going through, and even made an effort to comfort her while encouraging her to move on from Lochte.

The real estate agent shared that her ex-friend spoke negatively of Lochte, claiming she “deserved better” than the famous swimmer.

“It’s honestly quite sick when I think about it,” Reid told the publication, remembering how Gillihan, when they were friendly, was “encouraging me (after filing for divorce) that I will find an amazing man and complimenting how beautiful and lucky I was, and how he, Lochte, was a coward and how I deserved so much better.”

According to Reid, she even “confided” in Gillihan early on in her divorce process, and before the public had caught wind of the split from Lochte.

“We had an hour and a half conversation on the phone,” Reid recalled. “She knew a lot of the struggles that I was dealing with. And she had gone through some similar stuff. … And lo and behold, she was dating my husband.”

Kayla Reid’s Bitter Texts With Molly Gillihan

Reid and Gillihan have had very bitter exchanges over the alleged timeline of Gillihan’s romance with Lochte.

Last June, while celebrating son Caiden’s eighth birthday in Las Vegas, the real estate agent had sent a text to Gillihan calling her a “desperate piece of sh-t.”

“Want to explain?” Gillihan replied at the time, adding a question-mark emoji: “Or just wanted to send that.”

This prompted Reid to furiously respond, “No need. I think you have a few brain cells.”

About two weeks later, Gilihan called Reid, which led to another tense exchange: “Wrong Lotche,” Reid texted back the next morning, to which Gilihan replied, “Nope, but let’s stop this back and forth”

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The texts are just a fraction of the evidence she had collected, with the aim of narrating her own side of the story.

Molly Gilihan Has A Different Story To Tell

Gilihan, however, is having none of it with Reid’s narrative. She told People that Lochte reached out to her while he was still married, and she made it clear to him that she had no interest in pursuing a married man.

“After that, I never spoke to Ryan during the course of his marriage,” she noted.

In 2025, Gillihan recalled Reid calling to ask if Lotche had been seeing her. “I mostly just listened because I know how painful divorce can be”

“Looking back, I wish I had never taken that phone call,” Gillihan added. “At the time, I felt for both her and Ryan, and I wanted to be certain their relationship was truly over before I allowed myself to even consider anything.”

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Molly Gillihan Says Ryan Lochte Has Become A ‘Strong’ And ‘More Honest Man’

Regarding her romance with Lochte, Gillihan praised the Olympian for being able to learn and grow from his past mistakes, noting she was initially “incredibly hesitant” to date him.

“Behind closed doors, we’ve had many difficult conversations and didn’t know if I could be with someone with his past actions in his marriage, but it honestly made him and I stronger and lean on each other.”

“I’ve watched him put in the work to become a stronger, healthier, and more honest man,” she said of her fiancé.

Lochte proposed to Gilihan in June 2025, and after he was done with his divorce process with Reid in early July, he shared with People that he was excited for their wedding plans.

“It’s so crazy this is happening so fast, our connection, but we can’t hide it,” Lochte said at the time.

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Reid, on the other hand, is also moving on from her bitter split with Lochte as she is “rebuilding her life.”

Unlike Lochte and Gillihan, who have relocated to Missouri, Reid remains a resident at Gainesville, Florida, and has primary custody of the children she shares with the swimmer.