Frank Ocean attends The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the "In America: An Anthology of Fashion" exhibition on May 2, 2022, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)
From a Coachella controversy to a comeback kid, here are your top entertainment headlines.
Frank Ocean Fallout
Frank Ocean has been feeling the backlash for his 2023 Coachella performance — or lack thereof in the opinion of some attendees — but now he's getting some uplifting support from Justin Bieber.
The Biebs took to Instagram to offer some kind words to his former Bigger collaborator and said he was "blown away" by the performance. "His artistry is simply unmatched, his style, his taste, his voice, his attention to detail… I was deeply moved. It made me want to keep going and get better as an artist. He continues to set the bar high and gave me a night I will never forget," he said.
Fans had not seen Ocean take to the stage in about six years so the hype around the set was high. The overall takeaway from his performance apparently was that it was low energy, lacked crowd engagement as he performed a significant portion of his set with his back turned to the crowd, and got started way too late.
Apparently the singer made a number of changes to the set just hours ahead of the live show, which was because he suffered an ankle injury, according to Rolling Stone. There is a chance that fans that plan to attend the Coachella festival this upcoming weekend will have a different experience as Ocean is slated to headline once again.
Writers Authorize Strike
Would you be able to cope if some of your favorite shows like Euphoria, Snowfall, or The Last of Us were delayed? Well, there is a possibility that scripted TV and films could experience a production stoppage.
The Writer's Guild of America, the union that represents TV and film writers, has voted to authorize a strike in an effort to pressure Hollywood into offering better contracts. Nearly 98 percent of its membership voted on it with their current three-year contracts coming to an end.
The union is looking to negotiate better pay, regulate the use of artificial intelligence, and standardize the compensation and residuals for feature scripts regardless of if they were released in theaters or sent directly to a streaming platform, among other demands.
Hamlin Cleared
For the first time since suffering cardiac arrest earlier this year, Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin has been cleared to make his return to the football field. The star athlete was thrust frighteningly into the spotlight after collapsing in the middle of a game. Hamlin noted that experts agree the cardiac arrest resulted from commotio cordis, which occurs when the chest suffers a severe impact timed at the right moment of a heartbeat.
In an interview with ABC's Michael Strahan, Hamlin said he'd be making his way back to playing.
"Eventually. That's always the goal, but I'm allowing that to be in God's hands."
Hamlin was present at the Bills' offseason voluntary workouts on Monday, according to ESPN.
Nikhilesh De, managing editor of global regulation and policy at CoinDesk, joins Cheddar News to discuss Bitcoin's slump and corporations' growing interest in NFTs.
Thrive Market is a health-first membership for conscious living, with a mission to make healthy and sustainable living easy and accessible. Nick Green, CEO and co-founder, chatted with Cheddar's Baker Machado about the company's approach and new ventures in 2022. "I grew up outside of Minneapolis, middle class, middle America, and really saw firsthand how hard my mom had to work to put healthy food on the table, on a budget, without a health food store nearby," he said. "Twenty-some years later we looked around and just thought it was crazy that millions of Americans are still struggling with the same thing, and we decided to change it." Recently the brand released a line of organic frozen products and will be introducing new beauty and home brands.
In what could be the biggest deal in video games history, Microsoft's purchase of Activision Blizzard underlines the company's aggressive push in gaming and beyond into its long-term vision of being top dog in the metaverse. Adam Hollander, former director of gamification at Microsoft and founder of Hungry Wolves NFT, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss. “Microsoft always plays chess, not checkers," he said, describing the price tag as an opportunity cost. "It's about integrating Activision Blizzard in with Azure and Windows and Xbox and Hololens and Minecraft and everything else that they're doing for the inevitable goal of being the major player in the next phase of the internet."
Jordan Zakarin, Media Producer at A More Perfect Union, joined Cheddar News to break down the latest from Colorado, where at least 8,700 Kroger employees walked off the job in demand of increased benefits and wages.
Food waste is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. Strella Biotechnology is trying to solve the problem by introducing new technology to a business that's been around for generations -- farming. The 24-year-old CEO created hi-tech sensors that interpret the shelf life of produce and alert farmers when fruits and vegetables are ready to be sent to supermarkets. The company says the process can help farmers make money, reduce food waste and increase the quality of produce. Strella Biotechnology's co-founder and CEO Katherine Sizov and co-founder and COO Jay Jordan joined Cheddar Climate to discuss.
Norbu Tenzing, Vice President of the American Himalayan Foundation and the son of the first Sherpa to ever summit Everest, joins Cheddar Reveals to discuss how Sherpa's put themselves in danger for clients, and the dangers of Everest's 'Death Zone.'
Gordon Janow, Director of Programs at Alpine Ascents, joins Cheddar Reveals to discuss how to get mentally and physically prepared to climb Mount Everest.
Netflix may not be staying at the top of the streaming wars, according to some wary investors, as competition heats up and it raises prices yet again. Tuna Amobi, director and senior equity analyst at CFRA Research, spoke with Cheddar about what investors should be considering should they stick with the streaming pioneer or drop the investment. "I think it's always mostly about the subscriber growth for the Q4, which is going to be an indicator of how the company has been navigating the speed bumps that we saw early in the year," said Amobi.
