PHOTO OPS
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Source: Prince Williams / Getty / Shannon Sharpe
Shannon Sharpe will have to explain to the higher-ups at Disney/ESPN what happened during a live session on his Instagram page.
The former NFL pro turned ESPN First Take co-host, and now popular podcaster has taken all the attention off Lil Wayne not performing at the Super Bowl, Donald Trump getting smoked by Kamala Harris at the debate, and PS5 Pro’s price.
Shannon Sharpe’s Instagram followers had no idea that when they clicked on his Instagram Live session, they would get a front-row seat to a pound session.
While you can’t see Sharpe and the woman in the video, you can hear someone who many believe sounds like him handling business.
Sharpe’s phone rings off the hook during the “accidental live session.” A friend or someone in his close orbit was likely calling him to let him know what was going on his Instagram page.
We won’t be sharing the clips here, but they have since gone viral on X, formerly Twitter. Folks are already saying he is about to suffer the same fate as Paul Pierce, who is currently giving god-awful sports takes on Fox Sports after he was let go by ESPN after he went live on his IG page with strippers.
Nobody Is Buying What Shannon Sharpe Is Selling
Sharpe has since responded, claiming his account was “hacked.”
“Beware, my @Shannonsharpe84 page was hacked this morning, my team and I are working vigorously to figure this out. — UNC.”
Unfortunately, social media does not buy what Sharpe is selling.
Another hilarious post on X read, “Shannon Sharpe was in there grunting and growling like a Cane Corso but wants us to believe he got hacked. ”
Welp.
We are very intrigued to see how this will play out. You can see more reactions in the gallery below.
2. Howling
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Source: Jamie Squire / Getty / Brittany Mahomes / Taylor Swift
Following Taylor Swift’s swift endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, Brittany Mahomes caught all of the strays.
Taylor Swift is letting the world and her millions of followers know that she wants to be on the right side of history and do her part to help get Kamala Harris to become the 48th President of the United States.
Swift made her very loud announcement after VP Harris was finished clowning the orange menace on the debate stage, writing in her post on Instagram:
I will be casting my vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the 2024 Presidential Election. I’m voting for @kamalaharris because she fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them. I think she is a steady-handed, gifted leader and I believe we can accomplish so much more in this country if we are led by calm and not chaos. I was so heartened and impressed by her selection of running mate @timwalz, who has been standing up for LGBTQ+ rights, IVF, and a woman’s right to her own body for decades.
Swift’s endorsement of the Harris/Walz ticket comes after she faced “backlash” for fraternizing with Brittany Mahomes, the wife of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who outed herself as a Trump supporter.
Social Media Is Roasting Brittany Mahomes
Following Swift’s endorsement, Mahomes immediately became the subject of conversations on X, formerly Twitter, with users clowning her.
It also doesn’t help that Donald Trump expressed his admiration for Mahomes, telling Fox & Friends Wednesday morning, “I actually like Mrs. Mahomes much better if you want to know the truth,” Trump said. “She’s a big Trump fan. I was not a Taylor Swift fan,” when asked about Swift endorsing VP Harris.
Trump reacts to Taylor Swift endorsing Kamala Harris: “Well, I actually like Mrs. Mahomes much better … I was not a Taylor Swift fan … she’ll probably pay a price for it in the marketplace.” pic.twitter.com/J9Nk56nhEB
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) September 11, 2024
Congratulations, Brittany Mahomes, on getting that shining endorsement.
You can see more reactions in the gallery below.
2. Accurate
3. She brought this on herself
4. More than likely
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Source: PlayStation / PS5 Pro
Sony’s worst-kept secret, the PS5 Pro, is officially here, and it’s sparking a social media discussion that the PlayStation 3 missed out on when it was first revealed.
During a very brief technical presentation, PS5 lead architect Mark Cerny proudly helped unveil the mid-gen refresh, which he boasts will give players the high frame rates they have been longing for on a console.
The PS5 Pro features a much larger GPU, improved Ray Tracing, and custom hardware for PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution. The companies take on machine learning.
The technical presentation confirmed the PS5 Pro leaks design-wise. It is a taller version of the latest PS5 Slim model, but it has three stripes on both sides of the console.
Via the PlayStation Blog, Hideaki Nishino, CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment’s Platform Business Group, broke down the console’s performance specs:
Upgraded GPU: With PS5 Pro, we are upgrading to a GPU that has 67% more Compute Units than the current PS5 console and 28% faster memory. Overall, this enables up to 45% faster rendering for gameplay, making the experience much smoother.
Advanced Ray Tracing: We’ve added even more powerful ray tracing that provides more dynamic reflection and refraction of light. This allows the rays to be cast at double, and at times triple, the speeds of the current PS5 console.
AI-Driven Upscaling: We’re also introducing PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution, an AI-driven upscaling that uses a machine learning-based technology to provide super sharp image clarity by adding an extraordinary amount of detail.
The PS5 Pro is also a disc-less console and includes a 2TB SSD, a DualSense wireless controller, and a copy of Astro’s Playroom pre-installed. The vertical stand is sold separately.
Source: PlayStation / PS5 Pro
These Games Will Be Enhanced For PS5 Pro
We also what games will be getting the “PS5 Pro Enhanced” designation, and they will be Alan Wake 2, Assassin’s Creed: Shadows, Demon’s Souls, Dragon’s Dogma 2, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, Gran Turismo 7, Hogwarts Legacy, Horizon Forbidden West, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, The Crew Motorfest, The First Descendant, The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered, and more.
How Much Does It Cost?
As expected, the PS5 Pro won’t be cheap; it’s going to cost you a lot of money if you want to play with improved graphics and frame rates.
How much, you ask? The PS5 Pro will cost $699.99 / £699.99 / €799.99 / ¥119,980.
Well damn.
As you can imagine, the reactions to the price have many looking at PlayStation with a “you bugging” face and asking why they priced the console so high.
“The PS5 Pro has lines across the middle of the console which are a nod to the lines Sony executives were doing when they priced the thing,” one post on X, formerly Twitter, reads.
Another user on X wrote, “YOU GUYS ARE SELLING THE DISC DRIVE SEPARATELY FOR A $700 DOLLAR CONSOLE!?!? WE HAVE TO PAY OVER $800 TO GET THE FULL PS5 PRO EXPERIENCE!?! THERE’S JUST NO WAY THEY THOUGHT THIS WAS OK!!!”
Some folks are defending the console’s price.
“Dudes who spent 1500$ on a graphics card are telling you that a more compelling ps5 with better hardware is not worth 6-700$,” a post on X read.
Another post defending the console’s steep price reads, “Get yourself a PC if you got it like that. I just spent $423 on a CPU alone to fix a microcoding issue. Yet, $700 gaming console is just too bonkers for you – cmon now lol.”
Still ahead of the console’s November 7, 2024 release, the general consensus is PlayStation is bugging. You can see more reactions in the gallery below.
4. Peep this
5. Howling
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Source: Handout / Getty / Tory Lanez
The short Canadian rapper who was found guilty of shooting Megan Thee Stallion can no longer make music from his prison cell.
TMZ Hip Hop exclusively reported that Tory Lanez’s weekly release of “Prison Tapes” came to an end after prison guards raided his cell block and relieved him of his studio equipment.
Tory Lanez is currently serving out his 10-year prison sentence at California Correctional Institution for shooting Megan Thee Stallion and, somehow, found a way to continue his music career while being behind bars.
The artist, born Daystar Peterson, confirmed the terrible news (we’re being sarcastic) to his loyal fans in a statement via his Instagram account. He blamed the “higher-ups” for taking his equipment, claiming it was in retaliation for using the “Prison Tapes” to help his fellow inmates obtain lawyers and reopen cases using royalties he was receiving from music he was making behind bars.
Here is his statement in full:
The rumors are true. ‘The Prison Tapes’ will be discontinued until further notice. However, I think it’s important that my fans know the truth about the crooked a** sh*t that’s REALLY going on here. My cell was not raided and trashed because I learned how to record myself in prison or because I created ‘The Prison Tapes. I was shut down because the ‘HIGHER UPS’ figured out what I was really doing with ‘The Prison Tapes’ and how many inmates were being helped in a life changing way because of them.”
Since the first day I-was incarcerated, all I’ve seen is blacks and other minorities receive the most cruel, illegal, and unfair punishment/treatment. For so many nights, I asked God to reveal his purpose in making me go through the ills of the prison system. I was later shown that purpose. I was placed in jail to suffer, to feel, and to witness firsthand the pain and oppression being inflicted upon the young black and brown men and women of my generation.
I knew I had to change this injustice. So, I made a plan that when I got to prison, I would figure out a way to record music and put all the proceeds towards the legal representation of my fellow inmates, giving them a once in a lifetime chance to go home to their families on appeal and resentencing.
Although the ‘HIGHER UPS’ have stopped ‘The Prison Tapes’ temporarily, they were too late to stop my overall plan. Since the month of July, l’ve afforded legal representation for 472 inmates and actively reopened 476 cases. With the help of legal firm ‘UNITE THE PEOPLE, so many inmates will be returned to their families and loved ones. I’m naming this ‘The Hands of God Project. Lastly, they know I’m a threat and they don’t want me saying or doing this so if ANYTHING happens to me, just know I went out in the blaze of glory trying to revolutionize the end of a mass incarceration era on our people.
Social Media Has Thoughts
To be expected, Lanez’s fans, aka his “Umbrellas” are eating this story up and are praising the “Say It” crafter for going above and beyond for his fellow inmates, while blaming the two biggest boogy men in the industry right now, Jay-Z and Roc Nation.
“Tory Lanez is gonna be a way bigger artist when he comes home. Then he and others can take care of this Roc Nation problem,” one person on X, formerly Twitter, wrote.
Others feel no remorse for the convicted felon. Another person on X wrote, “You don’t get to shoot a black woman over a minor fight and then claim that you’re fighting for black and other minorities in our prison system. Tory is a disgrace and literally set black men back with his antics. He should rot in jail. I don’t care.”
Welp, we guess that’s the end of Lanez doing his best impression of Lucious Lyon from Empire.
You can see more reactions in the gallery below.
1. Interesting how that works
3. Is it Megan? JAY-Z? or Roc Nation?
5. Roc Nation you will pay for your crimes
6. Tory Lanez’s dad will never live this moment down
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Source: Jessica McGowan / Getty / Colt Gray / Colin Gray
It didn’t take long into the school year to remind us that America has a gun problem, thanks to another school shooting at Apalachee High School in Atlanta, Georgia. The 14-year-old suspected shooter is in custody, and now his father has joined him behind bars.
Spotted on Raw Story, the father of the suspected shooter Colt Gray, who shot and killed two classmates and two teachers, was arrested this week, authorities said.
Per The Georgia Bureau of Investigations’ official account on X, formerly Twitter, Colin Gray was taken into custody and “faces four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder and eight counts of cruelty to children” in connection to the shooting carried out by his son.
If convicted, the 54-year-old is looking at 180 years in prison, meaning he will never see the light of the day, just like his son.
Colin Gray getting cuffs slapped on his wrists came after CNN reported that Colin Gray brought the AR-15 his son used in the shooting for Christmas.
That’s not the only news that paints a picture of a troubled family. Colt Gray’s mother also has some baggage.
Per Raw Story:
The report comes after news emerged that Marcee Gray, the suspected shooter’s mother, had a lengthy criminal record dating back more than two decades in four counties.
She faced prosecution on allegations of domestic violence, drug possession, property damage and traffic violations in Barrow, Fulton and Forsyth counties, and also faced civil fraud charges related to a vehicle purchase.
Bruh
Social Media Weighs In On The Charges Against Colin Gray
Reactions to the news are as expected: no sympathy and utter disgust that Colin Gray purchased such a weapon for a 14-year-old child, who is now facing adult punishment for his heinous act.
“Just months after Colt Gray was investigated by the FBI for threats, his father Collin Gray bought him the AR weapon used to kill other children. There’s no possible excuse for this,” one person on X wrote.
Comedian D.L. Hughley wrote on X, “Any parent that buys a 14 year old a AR15 is a shitty parent!!.”
Where’s the lie?
You can see more reactions in the gallery below.
1. Exactly
2. Absolutley sick behavior
3. A must watch
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Source: Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty / Beau DeMayo
This might be one of the most ridiculous ways ever to respond to sexual misconduct allegations.
X-Men 97 showrunner Beau DeMayo vowed to address the serious allegations Disney/Marvel Studios dropped after DeMayo accused the studios of taking away his writing credit on the popular Disney+ animated series.
That day has finally come, but for whatever ridiculous reason, DeMayo locked his response behind his OnlyFans account.
Deadline exclusively reports that DeMayo claims “These allegations of egregious misconduct are false,” calling out Disney and Marvel for its “toxic environment” and “near criminal working conditions” that “turns individuals against one another, stokes paranoia to ensure compliance.”
DeMayo’s claims come after Disney/Marvel Studios revealed they fired him after a misconduct probe’s “egregious nature of the findings” after claiming his firing was due to him sharing risque fan art of himself.
According to reports, word on the Disney streets is that DeMayo allegedly sent nude photos of himself to X-Men ’97 colleagues and got handsy with some of them.
Per Deadline:
Today, as attorney Bryan Freedman filed an expedited jury trial seeking complaint in LA Superior Court to have an allegedly “illegal non-disparagement provision” removed from the writer’s exit package documents, DeMayo took to OnlyFans to call BS on the Kevin Feige-run Marvel and Bob Iger-led Disney.
“The rumors being spread around me online are lies, and they are offensive, but more concerning is that they’re a smear campaign designed to discredit my credibility in order to cover up the egregious prejudicial misconduct stretching from select crew members on X-Men ’97, all the way all the way to the top at Marvel Studios,” DeMayo declared in his nearly 30-minute remarks to camera on the often explicit subscription social platform.
Admitting that “personality conflicts happen, especially in creative environments like Hollywood, DeMayo also acknowledged that he has long known he is “not everyone’s cup of tea.”
Yet, in a nutshell, DeMayo asserted today that him “being gay, Black and open about it at Marvel Studios” and was the real issue the company had with him and why he was tossed out and later saw his credits for the upcoming second season of the mutant saga removed. In fact, spotlighting the timeline of his departure, DeMayo says that it was only after his intial conversation with company HR that he “no longer felt safe at the studio as a gay Black man” that he was shown the door.
Very interesting.
Social Media Reacts To Beau DeMayo Directing People To His OnlyFans Account
Users on X, formerly Twitter, are still skeptical and don’t understand why DeMayo directed people to his OnlyFans account to see his reply.
Again, this is a bizarre way to “bring the receipts and try to clear your name.
You can see more reactions in the gallery below.
3. Howling
4. Questions that needs answers
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Source: PlayStation / Firewalk Studios / Concord
This news shouldn’t surprise anyone, but it’s also still shocking. Concord is going offline… for now.
In a stunning move, Sony announced Firewalk Studios’ hero shooter Concord is no longer available for purchase following a disastrous launch on PS5 and PC on August 23.
Ryan Ellis, game director at Firewalk Studio, announced the decision in a post on the PlayStation Blog. In it, he tells players that “aspects of the game and our initial launch didn’t land the way we’d intended.”
“Concord fans — we’ve been listening closely to your feedback since the launch of Concord on PlayStation 5 and PC and want to thank everyone who has joined the journey aboard the Northstar,” Ellis wrote in the post. “Your support and the passionate community that has grown around the game has meant the world to us.”
“However, while many qualities of the experience resonated with players, we also recognize that other aspects of the game and our initial launch didn’t land the way we’d intended. Therefore, at this time, we have decided to take the game offline beginning September 6, 2024, and explore options, including those that will better reach our players.”
The writing was on the wall for Concord due to its shockingly low player count at launch and poor reception. Per Polygon, less than 700 people were playing the game during launch weekend.
According to SteamDB, the number of concurrent players only went down, and as of Tuesday, only 30 people were playing the game.
Concord Players Are Getting A Rare Refund From PlayStation
The game is no longer available for purchase today, and PS5 and PC will be issued a full refund.
“If you purchased the game for PlayStation 5 from the PlayStation Store or PlayStation Direct, a refund will be issued back to your original payment method,” Ellis said in the post.
Refund instructions:
Steam Store – Steam Store will refund players who bought the game over the coming days. Steam will send confirmation of the refund once it has been processed.
Epic Games Store – Epic Games Store will refund players who bought the game over the coming days and will contact each customer directly to confirm that the refund has been processed.
Other retailer refunds – For customers who have purchased a physical copy at a retailer location outside of PlayStation directly, please refer to the refund process of the retailer you purchased it from to obtain your refund.
Per IGN, Concord sold around 25,000 copies, according to estimates.
PlayStation notes that players can no longer access the game once getting a refund.
As you can imagine, video game X is reacting to the news. Reactions range from shock to not being surprised to compassion for the team at Firewalk Studios.
Damn.
We hope Firewalk Studios can get the game in playing shape and turn this colossal mess into a success story.
Until then, you can see more reactions in the gallery below.
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Source: PATRICK T. FALLON / Getty / Chase Bank
If it sounds too good to be true, chances are very high it is. Opportunists and scammers are finding out the hard way that check fraud isn’t wavy.
People are suffering heavy financial consequences after attempting to take advantage of the Chase Bank glitch, aka commit check fraud.
Per Complex’s reporting, many are now seeing their bank accounts overdrawn by thousands after trying to expose the glitch that went viral on TikTok by depositing fake checks for large sums of money and immediately withdrawing the funds or seeing money immediately reflected in their accounts because Chase is not flagging the deposited check or large loan applications.
The financial institution caught on quickly to the “glitch” and is now leaving the people who thought they got a come up with a large receipt, rendering their bank accounts useless.
If you typed in “Chase Bank glitch” on X, formerly Twitter, you would see actual videos of people running to Chase Bank locations, lined up at ATMs, trying to get their hands on what they thought was “free money.”
You will also see many people sharing screenshots of their accounts and reacting to being financially in the red.
This is not the first time a glitch similar to what Chase experienced over the weekend was exploited, leaving many people jammed up. Cash App users could transfer large sums of money they did not have.
Doordash users could order whatever they wanted without being charged. Both companies caught on to what was happening, and people had to pay their large debts.
Let this be a lesson to those looking for fast money.
The gallery below shows more reactions to the “Chase Bank glitch,” leaving people in financial ruin.
2. Ridiculous
4. Howling
7. It’s too late for a lot of these people
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Source: NurPhoto / Getty /PS5 Pro
The PS5 Pro is PlayStaion’s worst-kept secret, and now an alleged leak is giving gamers their first look at the powerful console.
It’s been four years since the PS5 hit store shelves. At the time, it was one of the most sought-after devices in the world and ridiculously hard to get due to supply chain issues and annoying resellers.
With those issues now behind us and plenty of stock for everyone, word on the video game streets is that Sony was cooking up a PS5 Pro model, following the same console lifecycle as the PS4. Now, a new alleged leak is providing specs and a look at it.
Per an article on Deallabs, reliable leaker billbil-kun reports the name of the forthcoming console will be the PlayStation 5 Pro and shuts down any rumors of a PlayStation Showcase coming to announce the console formally.
According to the report, the PS5 Pro will arrive sometime at the end of 2024, with billbil-kun getting eyes on the packaging and design for the console.
While not sharing the leaked material due to copyright issues, a sketch of the console was shared. The PS5 Pro will keep the PS5 Slim design but feature three black stripes on the shell to help differentiate it from the core PS5 Slim model.
Other rumored leaked information includes:
Reveal is expected on the 6th of September 2024
Disc and Digital variants – Disc $699.99 – Digital $599.99 –
Detachable disc drive
1 TB Storage
IGN shared details on the PS5 Pro’s CPU performance:
In March, alleged PS5 Pro specs leaked online, specs IGN understood to be legit. The headline improvements are to the CPU, which is said to be identical to the standard PS5’s CPU but with a ‘High CPU Frequency Mode. That reportedly amounts to a 10% increase to 3.85GHz. The GPU, meanwhile, is said to enable faster rendering and higher quality ray tracing powered by 33.5 teraflops. The standard PS5 offers 10.28 teraflops. However, a direct PS5 to PS5 Pro comparison would work out at around 10.28 vs 16 to 17 teraflops.
Of particular interest, the PS5 Pro is said to have an upscaling/antialiasing solution called PSSR (PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution Upscaling), custom machine learning architecture, and an AI accelerator.
IGN also reports that Sony hopes the PS5 Pro’s arrival will boost interest in the PS5 before the release of Grand Theft Auto 6, adding that a lot is riding on the highly anticipated game, which will arrive sometime in 2025.
Gaming X is reacting to the leaks and that eyebrow-raising price. You can see those reactions in the gallery below.
10. More rumored specs
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Source: Kaitlyn Morris / Getty / Megan Thee Stallion
The leader of the Hot Girl movement is seemingly no longer on the market.
You read that correctly: Megan Thee Stallion is allegedly in a relationship. The Houston rapper seemingly confirmed she and Chicago Bulls’ hooper, Torrey Craig.
The alleged relationship was revealed in the cutest way possible after Thee Stallion shared a video of herself in bed with Craig, sharing laughs while participating in a couples challenge.
In the video, the couple answers questions like “Who’s most likely to get arrested?” “Who’s the better kisser?” and “Who said I love you first?” with Thee Stallion and Craig both pointing to each other, but if Craig was the one to blink first we totally understand.
Megan Thee Stallion’s New Boo Is Catching Flack On X
As expected, the news of Thee Stallion having a new boo has rocked social media. Reactions range from shock, confusion, happiness, and lame a** Tory Lanez jokes.
“Yes, please leave the rap / singing nggas alone for a lil bit. I hope he treats her well!” one user on X, formerly Twitter, wrote.
Another user wrote, Y’all spazz every time this lady gets a boyfriend but no damn well your goofy ass would be in this video if you could.”
Where’s the lie?
Of course, the Tory Lanez fans had to chime in, believing that the “Hiss” rapper is obsessed with the currently incarcerated rapper because Thee Stallion has moved on with a man named Torrey, a professional athlete.
Some folks are even bringing up Craig’s stats in the league but are glaring over the fact he is getting paid professionally to play basketball, and they’re not.
Well, if Megan Thee Stallion is happy, we’re happy, and that should be all that matters. Megan has been playing the field since she kicked Pardison Fontaine to the curb.
She was romantically linked to professional footballer and fellow Roc Nation management member Romeo Lukaku.
The pair were photographed looking real couple-ish at the wedding of Lautaro Martinez, one of Lukaku’s former Inter Milan teammates, in Italy.
You can see more reactions in the gallery below.
1. Lol, fight for your love
2. Not the NBA 2K rating, lol
10. He still hooping professionally though.