HOT: Sucking Up to The Boss
Bruce Springsteen is an Emmy away from the EGOT, having already scored an Oscar, many Grammys and, now, a Tony. Kinda. In a very obvious effort to have Springsteen show up and perform at the ceremony, Billy Joel presented The Boss with what was only described as a “Special Tony Award” for his one-man stories-and-songs show, Springsteen on Broadway. So he has a Tony trophy in his possession, but it’s kind of like an honorary doctorate degree — you can display it in your house, but if you get one you probably shouldn’t go around doing surgery (or, in Springsteen’s case, taking over the lead in SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical).
WARM: Kanye’s Latest Feud
Kanye West’s recent appearance on Celebrity Family Feud will go down as one of the odder pop culture moments of the decade. Despite his recent seemingly erratic behavior of late, West came off as very affable and even a little shy — far from his controlling, egomaniacal reputation (though he did smilingly suggest his in-laws on the opposing team should’ve been disqualified for inappropriately discussing answers). The highlight was during the final “Fast Money” segment, when West and teammate Kim Kardashian both instinctively answered “10” to the question, “On a scale of 1-10, how sexy are you compared to the people you work with?” Kardashian further showed she thought the survey was of 100 Kim Kardashians and not regular folks when she immediately answered “Name a part of the body you’re always banging into things?” with “butt” (exactly zero of the non-Kardashians surveyed felt their butt always banged into things).
COLD: Takin’ Shots for Shots
Eminem caught some flack after seeming to use realistic gunshot sound effects during his headlining appearance at Bonnaroo. Some video from the fest grounds shows people screaming and diving to the ground as the rapper performed his song “Kill You.” The frayed nerves are understandable with the rash of public mass shootings lately (including at a concert in Las Vegas last year), but Eminem’s representatives said the sound was actually just a boom from the pyrotechnics used during the concert.