The Culture

Hot Takes: Drake, Kendrick Go to War & More

Happy Monday! I've got something exciting to announce. Now you can start and end your week with H. Alan Scott's Hot Take, delivering an unfiltered take on the latest pop culture news and gossip. This is a subscriber-exclusive audio experience, so make sure you're subscribed to get these special episodes every Monday and Friday. You'll still get a taste of the hot takes here in the For the Culture newsletter and, of course, you can still listen to all my celebrity interviews on the Parting Shot podcast, but for the full Hot Take experience, you'll need to subscribe. You can subscribe to every episode of H. Alan Scott's Hot Take at newsweek.com/voices and on my author page. Trust me, this is going to be worth it and lots of fun. I look forward to seeing you there.

And for today's Hot Take, we're starting things off with all the buzz around season three of HBO's And Just Like That. Last week stars of the series like Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis all posted to social media teasing the start of production for the new season, which sent the internet and this writer into a full-on frenzy. As if that wasn't enough, out of nowhere Rosie O'Donnell posted the same thing. (Excuse me while I pick my face up off the floor.) IS ROSIE O'DONNELL ON THE NEW SEASON OF AND JUST LIKE THAT?!?! Yes, yes she is. We don't know anything about her character or her level involvement in the new season, but wow I am counting down the days for it. One thing I am wondering is will her character have anything to do with the exit of the controversial character Che Diaz, played by Sara Ramirez?! I don't know, but I think that's a safe bet to expect some connection. Now, the bad news: We must wait until 2025 for the new season. Ugh.

Here are some other Hot Takes this week...

• Everybody is talking about the beef between rappers Drake and Kendrick Lamar. It's been a back –and-forth of personal attacks, with the latest coming last night from Drake. Last week, Lamar released a series of tracks that allege Drake has a love child, accuses the rapper of sexual assault, and even wrote an open letter to every member of Drake's family. Taylor Swift's name was even dropped! Drake responded by releasing his own diss tracks, accusing Lamar of physical abuse and saying that he planted information to purposely trick Lamar. This is certainly the biggest feud in hip hop in a long time, and it's gotten so big that even Live's Weekend Update addressed it. Don't expect this one to end any time soon.

• Speaking of SNL, this past Saturday's episode had the rare experience of having the same host and musical guest, Dua Lipa. Honestly, she did better than I thought she would. You can watch it on Peacock.

• Turns out Tom Brady can take a hit on the football field, but apparently, he can't take a joke. He was the guest of honor for Netflix's The Greatest Roast of All Time. (Read more about it here.) During Jeff Ross's set, the comic referenced the time Brady said to Patriots team owner Robert Kraft, "I'm the best decision your organization has ever made. Would you like a massage?" This quote could be read as a reference to Kraft's 2019 charges—which were later dropped—for solicitation of prostitution. Well, big, strong Tom Brady couldn't take a little joke, literally got out of his seat and told the comic, "Don't say that s*** again." Awkward.

• Also, on Netflix this weekend, Kat Williams' new comedy special Woke Foke was released to thunderous shrugs of shoulders. Seriously, people—especially on social media—weren't impressed. It was a mix of comedy, viral videos, and topical humor about things like Hunter Biden and reparations. Considering the controversy, he's been stirring up recently, this highly anticipated special felt very not special.

Keep scrolling for more entertainment news! I'll see you Wednesday.