People have a deep, inexplicable love for Starbucks, and so many of them will lose their damn minds over a new beverage. That's a fact, and it's always been a fact, but it's been proven again this week with the release of a new limited edition drink, the fabled Unicorn Frappuccino. If you've been on social media at all in the past few days, you've likely seen reaction videos, reviews, fancy filtered pics of this thing. People are obsessed with it, for whatever reason, and they're lining up at their local Starbucks to try it for themselves. And for one barista, the pressure was simply too much. Braden Burson works at a Starbucks in Colorado, and on his way home from work yesterday, he was so frazzled by the Unicorn Frappuccino that he felt the need to make a video about it. It's enthralling, alarming … it's so many things. He kicked things off in a pretty calm way, explaining that the drink had just come out that day, and that it's a mango-based cream drink with a sour twist — most reviews say it's disgusting, by the way. He said that it's the most popular drink in Starbucks history, which is true, and that people have been clamoring for it. But then, and this is where things get interesting, he has the breakdown. “Please don't get it!” he screamed. “I have never made so many frappuccinos in my entire life. My hands are completely sticky. I have unicorn crap all in my hair and on my nose.” “I have never been so stressed out in my entire life,” he lamented. “If you love us, as baristas, don't order it.” Poor Braden said that the drink is just so difficult to make, and to make one right after the other is tough. It's clear the pressures of the job have gotten to him — seriously, we weren't joking when we said that he loses his mind. We feel for him, but, interestingly enough, you know who else is showing sympathy for him? Starbucks itself! Some people have expressed concern that Braden would get fired over such a rant, but TMZ is reporting that Starbucks is actually reaching out to him to try to figure out how to make things easier on baristas. A happy ending — who would have thought? See the video that started it all below:
In recent years, the name Duggar has gone from a synonym for a certain brand of squeaky-clean family-friendly entertainment to something very different. These days, the name is polarizing at best, or at worst, a byword for the sort of hypocrisies and scandals often found at the heart of the most secretive cults. It’s impossible to separate the family’s controversial religious beliefs from their rise to the the near-top of the reality TV totem pole. After all, a great many of the practices that have made the Duggars fascinating to millions of outsiders are rooted in their faith. Of course, it wasn’t so long ago that the same belief system nearly brought the Duggar empire tumbling down like the walls of Jericho. For as much as we know about some specific details of the Duggar creed (sex is for procreation between man and wife only; women are forbidden to wear pants or hold jobs, etc.), a lot of the larger questions regarding their religion remain sources of debate and speculation. For example, the biggest Duggar-related mystery of all may be a simple but profound one, and have more than one answer: What religion do they even practice exactly? The family has been accused of giving misleading answers when asked the simple question of what faith they belong to. Remarkably, it’s a question that you’ll never hear the Duggar kids – even the grown, married adults – fielding publicly. Instead, they defer to Jim Bob, who’s stated (on the rare occasions he’s addressed the issue himself) that he and his family are Independent Baptists. Despite their name, Independent Baptists are an ultra-conservative lot with little tolerance for personal freedom. They exist on the fringes of American Christianity, and are not a recognized sect, so much as a loose network of individual congregations. Ultra-conservative televangelist Jerry Falwell abandoned the Independent Baptist Church for the more moderate Southern Baptists. That should tell you all you need to know about how extreme the IB belief system is. Amazingly, the Tontitown, Ark., family falls far to the right of even the most conservative Independent Baptists on most issues. This has led many to the conclusion that Jim Bob is taking his cues from somewhere other than the leadership of the IB Church. To answer the question of where the most extreme Duggar beliefs and practices originate, we need to turn our attention to the Quiverfull movement. There’s debate as to who founded the movement, but it’s widely agreed that Quiverfull was popularized by the Reverend Bill Gothard in the late 1970s. In 2015, Gothard resigned in disgrace from his post with the Quiverfull-centered Institute for Basic Life Principles amidst a flurry of sex assault and harassment allegations. He and his organization have shelled out an undisclosed amount of cash to keep the accusers at bay, but dozens of new allegations have surfaced. In just the past couple of years, the movement’s extreme right-wing beliefs have received such negative attention that the Duggars are keeping their distance. At least to the point where they’re hesitant publicly associate with the Quiverfull movement, though there’s no question that they adhere to Gothard’s teachings. First and foremost, the Duggars use Quiverfull teaching materials in homeschooling their 19 children (and counting). They also refer to the spiritual teachings of this movement when addressing topics such as sex and sexual abuse: After the first of Josh’s two sex scandals, which involved the molestation of five young girls, including his sisters, the family tried to deal with it “in-house.” When they sent Josh Duggar to rehab after he was outed as an Ashley Madison client, they chose a faith-based facility with the approval of Gothard’s IBLP. The Duggars cut ties with Gothard (publicly, at least) following allegations that he groped and assaulted dozens of young male and female employees. Prior to that, they called the religious leader a close family friend and “an inspiration” as recently as 2014. The most telling sign that the Duggars are Quiverfull devotees, however, is the fact that it was Gothard who first espoused the notion that defines them: That it is the duty of Christians to have as many children as physically possible. Explains USC assistant professor of religion Cavan Concannon. “In the Quiverfull movement, your kids are blessings from God and they are also weapons in the culture war.” “Some people in the movement would say that part of having a lot of kids is an attempt to birth more conservative Christians in a world that doesn’t have enough of them.” Some have wondered how the Duggars can reconcile their wealth and fame with their devotion to a religion that preaches the importance of poverty and humility. (Recently, Jessa Duggar teaching a seminar on how to dress and act modestly – while charging $20-50 a ticket – illustrated this disconnect.) Simply put, they see themselves as soldiers in an apocalyptic culture war, and they believe that TV is the most important weapon in their arsenal. View Slideshow: 15 Disturbing Things BANNED By the Duggar Family Jesus Christ famously said, “The meek shall inherit the earth.” But Bill Gothard basically said, to read between the lines: There’s power in numbers, so let’s tailor my beliefs to help me expand my following through procreation and mass media to boot . While they often talk about putting God first, the Duggars have left little mystery as to which of these messages they value more.
Rasheeda Frost Reveals She Struggled With Post Partum Depression Rasheeda has long been one of the most BEAUTIFUL, SWEET, LIKABLE cast members of ‘Love And Hip-Hop: Atlanta,’ so we were saddened to hear that in addition to all of her issues with her husband Kirk Frost , she also had to contend with some serious issues following the birth of her son Karter , who is now 3-and-a-half-years-old. Fortunately Rasheeda is doing much better these days. She penned a blog for People.com describing her experience with postpartum depression. In her blog Rasheeda describes how when her youngest son Karter was born, she immediately loved him, but almost as soon as he arrived she was stricken with pneumonia and unable to form the same breastfeeding bond with him that she had with her older son Ky. When I was finally released from the hospital, a few days went by and I began to realize that something wasn’t exactly normal with me. I wasn’t that fierce, strong, happy Rasheeda that I used to be. My mind was cloudy. I was tired. I felt down and lost, and would cry all the time. It came to a point that I would retreat away from my family and avoid my friends. As a woman, I was trying to cope and be a great mom and wife. I didn’t look or feel my best. I was over 200 pounds and there were days I would tell Kirk, “Listen, you need to take care of Karter,” and I would just lie around. I was in such a weird space and he didn’t understand what was going on with me. My husband became collateral damage. He was left confused and feeling alone. He could not figure out what happened to his wife. In 20 years, he had never witnessed me in distress, and I had never been in such turmoil. All of a sudden, there was a significant reduction in the quality and frequency of couple time. I was in complete social isolation, and withdrew from personal interaction. My husband did not know how to handle what I was going through, and I did not understand what was happening with me enough to tell him what I needed or even know what I needed. I knew something was wrong, but I really didn’t want to believe something was wrong with ME. I’m RASHEEDA: a tough cookie! Upsetting right? It definitely sounds like Rasheeda’s issues were causing major problems in her marriage and her personal life. Still, Rasheeda had yet to discover what the issue was. When I looked in the mirror, I did not resemble myself whatsoever. I felt worthless, and would get horrible headaches and bad anxiety. When I couldn’t take it anymore, I spoke to my doctor and found out I had postpartum depression. For me, the discovery was RELIEF to finally be able to put a name to what was happening with me — something that had been affecting every area of my life. It was time to figure out my next course of action. While Rasheeda’s doctor offered to prescribe medication to help her combat PPD, but she opted to go the natural remedy route instead. Developing a routine was extremely helpful for me to create balance. Being outside became essential; I learned to take in nature’s beauty, and even the sun against my skin gave me peace of mind. Diet and exercise were a significant part of my recovery. To help regulate my hormones and support my neurotransmitters, I changed my eating habits to healthier choices. I was a known gymnast, having trained with Bela Karolyi as a young girl, and took it upon myself to take a few classes to shed the weight and would walk five miles. WAYMENT! Did y’all know Rasheeda was a gymnast? We had no idea. Kudos to you girl. Besides pushing her to get in shape, Rasheeda’s diagnosis also helped her face her issues head on: Finding out that I had postpartum depression and understanding what that meant became more freeing than I realized. I learned what was going on with me and knew remaining isolated would only make matters worse for me mentally, so I began to communicate with my family and close friends. My mom and Kirk immediately stepped in, and not only did they take care of baby Karter, they allowed me to get the rest I needed through the night. I was able to create the routine I needed to balance life so I could do everything I desired, to feel like the Rasheeda I recognized. Rasheeda closes out her blog by saying she decided to speak up about her struggle because it’s a global problem that doesn’t discriminate. But do you think that’s the only reason? The timing of this admission seems awfully convenient considering her and Kirk’s current storyline on LHHATL. Do you think Kirk used Rasheeda’s PPD symptoms as an excuse to creep outside of their marriage? Is Rasheeda giving Kirk an out for his bad behavior? WENN
Are you watching RHOP??? Monique Samuels Shades Her Mother In Law New housewife of Potomac Monique Samuels is stirring up drama this season, but not with her castmates. Monique who’s is a rapping, four-home owning, wife to Chris Samuels formerly of The Washington Redskins, was seen on Sunday’s episode facing off with her mother in law. While at dinner, Mama Shirley Samuels called Monique a “heffer” and told Monique she should get a job before she has any more kids. “You gotta get a job! You gotta get a job!” said Mama Samuels. “No I don’t,” said Monique. “He [Chris] did so good [in the NFL]. And the way Chris is so frugal, we’re good for the next 100 years to come.” “I need to get a job? I’m wifey,” she later says in her confessional. “Wifey ain’t going to get no job. We’re good.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXxAsZ7aVjc Bloop! Monique is now shading her mother in law on social media. https://twitter.com/iammrssamuels/status/853790451895341057 https://twitter.com/iammrssamuels/status/853789016675799041 Is it fair or foul to air out the mother of your husband on social media??? More on the flip. BravoTV https://twitter.com/iammrssamuels/status/853792585097383937 https://twitter.com/iammrssamuels/status/853790024407633922 https://www.instagram.com/p/BSSo0dZh2L2/?taken-by=mrsmoniquesamuels&hl=en https://www.instagram.com/p/BSkGpfSjRGc/?taken-by=mrsmoniquesamuels&hl=en
Mel B’s Husband Accused Her Of Cheating On Him With Simon Cowell As if Stephan Bela-faux-ante hadn’t made himself look like enough of a b!t¢# with his “allegedly” abusive behavior, The Sun is not revealing that one of the estranged couple’s many massive blowups happened when he accused Mel B of bustin’ it open for her X-Factor boss, Simon Cowell. Prior to the season finale of the singing competition show, Stephan leveled his claims against Mel and the two reportedly spent all night in a fight that became physical. It is said that this fight is the reason she missed a day of shooting, overdosed on pills and had her MUA cover the bruises and scars for taping the following day. A source said: “Stephen’s jealousy at that point was causing massive problems in the marriage – and he was convinced something was going on between her and Simon. “He did not like the fact Mel obviously looked up to him and spoke about him a lot. “He thought she was up to all sorts at the time – but accusing her of sleeping with Simon was a real low point. “He just couldn’t control his jealousy and anger when she was appearing on such a high-profile show with successful people that he didn’t know. AND he want’s spousal support ??? SMFH. Image via WENN
Farrah Abraham doesn’t get along with her Teen Mom OG costars. It’s a constant battle of Farrah vs. Amber Portwood, Catelynn Lowell and Maci Bookout, and we all know that. It’s pretty established at this point. For the past couple of weeks leading up to tomorrow night’s season premiere of the show, the feud has been heating up, with the other girls bashing Farrah in the press. Farrah responds with a statement about how she’s better than the other girls and how she’s above engaging with them, but she inevitably throws in an insult, proving that she’s not above it. It’s been a wild ride. But late last night, Farrah threw herself back into the fray, totally unprovoked. And it was … well, it was a little confusing, what with her complete inability to form a coherent thought . It was also very, very messy. “It’s Hilarity how I single handily made more views & ratings then all three stooges on @TeenMom,” she wrote on Twitter. “And make more ratings then 1offs sh!” … Girl . For one, we’re loving the phrase “It’s Hilarity,” and she should trademark it immediately in an attempt to pretend it was intentional (the reality is that she just doesn’t understand how words work). Two, if she does “single handily” get more views than Amber, Catelynn and Maci, AKA the Three Stooges, it’s because people can’t look away from a good trainwreck . Three, why is she calling the other moms one-offs? Is it because they haven’t expanded their reality show fame into porn stardom? Four — hey, we told you this is messy — she shared this message along with a photo of poor little Sophia’s Easter basket. Why? It’s hard to say. Why does Farrah do any of the things she does? But while her message was convoluted and dumb and generally just terrible, her followers still got the gist of it. And they were not down for Farrah’s Easter ego party. Some brave person gave her the cold, hard truth, writing “Nobody’s watching you because we think you’re talented, nice or a good mom. You’re more like a trainwreck. Bad but we can’t look away.” Many people told her that while they did watch Teen Mom OG, they skipped Farrah’s segments altogether. “Ratings are all you’ll ever be,” another person explained. “You’re just a pawn in MTV’s eyes. Drama brings ratings, so thank you for giving us great footage!” Then someone asked the real question of the evening: “Wtf does this have to do with your child’s Easter basket!?!” Honestly, the odds are that we will never know the answer to that. But don’t worry, we’re sure Farrah will do another dumb thing soon to take our minds off this nonsense. View Slideshow: Farrah Abraham: A Ridiculous, Sometimes X-Rated Life in GIFs
Kylie Jenner and Tyga broke up over a month ago … but you know they can’t quit each other. For some inconceivable yet really disturbing reason, these two keep coming back to each other, against all odds. (The odds, in case you forgot, being that they got together when Kylie was still legally a child and also that thing where Kylie’s brother shares a child with Tyga’s ex .) It’s hard to watch, but still, we can never look away. But sadly, we’re learning now that there may be a more sinister reason for Kylie and Tyga’s constant back and forth romance . And that is that — surprise! — their relationship is actually pretty unhealthy. According to a source who spoke with People, Kyga’s relationship, when it’s in play, is always a “complicated” one. “When Kylie is happy, they’re happy — but it’s never that simple,” the source says. “There’s always some kind of drama with Kylie and Tyga.” Understatement of the year , right? But more troubling than the drama that constantly surrounds their relationship is that “When he’s around, that’s all that matters in her world.” “And she’s in such an incredible position right now — poised to have such incredible success.” It’s true, you know. There’s her insanely popular cosmetics line, and her new Keeping Up with the Kardashians spin-off that’s coming up soon. The world is her oyster, but alas, “When things go awry between those two, Kylie loses focus and turns into a different person.” “She won’t listen to anyone — it’s like nobody can talk sense into her until they work things out.” The source concludes this tragic tale with “If they could ever get to a mature point where it was more of a functional relationship, things would be amazing.” “But until then, it continues to be a sore subject.” What a great big troubling mess. The thing is that Kylie began dating Tyga when she was so young, and with him being considerably older than her, not to mention the fact that he was already a father when they got together … They’ve just never really had a chance to have a healthy relationship. That’s been proven with this latest breakup, which, according to various sources, happened because Tyga cheated on her and she feels she can’t trust him, because she wanted him to propose and he wouldn’t, or because she simply got bored. Kylie, honey, there’s nothing wrong with being single. Take advantage of the stupid amount of fame you got by literally doing nothing, set yourself up for the future, have the kind of fun a 19-year-old girl should be having, and forget about this douchebag. It’s really not that difficult. View Slideshow: Celebrity Break-Ups: Who Called It Quits in 2017?
Jenelle Evans has quite the story to tell. Because hey, you know the story of United Airlines and David Dao ? David is a doctor, and he boarded a flight on United Airlines from Chicago to Louisville earlier this week. Everyone hopped on the plane before it was announced that the flight was overbooked, and five passengers would have to leave. After no one volunteered, five people were chosen at random, and while four of them left willingly, David, the fifth passenger, refused because, as a doctor, he has several appointments the next day and couldn’t reschedule his flight. United called the police, they violently removed David from the plane, and the story immediately went viral . It’s pretty much all anyone’s been able to talk about for the past several days. “OK,” you may be thinking, “but what does any of this have to do with Jenelle Evans, everyone’s favorite Teen Mom trainwreck?” And the answer, friends, is that is has everything to do with Jenelle. See, Jenelle and her boyfriend, David Eason, went on yet another vacation this week. They left their new baby , Ensley, and Jenelle’s two-year-old son Kaiser behind so they could take the oldest kids, Jace and David’s daughter Maryssa, to an Ariana Grande concert. They flew American Airlines, and we know that because on April 13th, Jenelle tweeted the following message: “After letting the manager know at @AmericanAir I was rudely treated. Was assaulted at the airport. Tried to grab my phone out of my hands!” It’s hard to know exactly what she means here because Jenelle isn’t the best at communicating — was the phone thing the assault here? Was being “rudely treated” the assault? Was she actually assaulted? Considering her criminal record , you’d think she’d be a little clearer on this point. American Airlines responded to her tweet, telling her “Your comments concern us, Jenelle. Please DM us with your record locator and details.” We assume she did DM them, because we haven’t heard anything else about the situation, and she even deleted the original message. But someone did tell her “Sounds like you were on United Airlines” and she responded with “Lmao for real… people need to stop the madness!”, and that exchange is still up. OK, now look, we don’t want to say that Jenelle could be lying for attention … But her followers are more than willing to say so. When one of her less assuming fans told Jenelle to let everyone know how things turn out, another replied “What happened is that she lied. She lies about everything.” Another theorized “Jenelle just needs to make sure she has income after MTV fires her so this will be her new job of suing companies!” “She does this same exact thing every single time she flies,” one person wrote. “By the way it’s karma because she treats everyone badly.” View Slideshow: Teen Mom 2: 19 Things You Don’t Know About The Moms! If Jenelle really was assaulted at the airport, then we feel for her and hope that she gets justice or acknowledgement or whatever it is she wants from this. And we’ll just leave it at that.
Black Twitter “Scammer” Files, Vol. 8574029 Everybody gather around for another deliciously spicy scammer saga starring a cash-showering sugar mama/chef who just wants to be loved and an alleged scamfish casanova who smashed his way to her all-you-can-blow money stacks and pushed her to “expose” him in a hilariously messy spectacle that swerved all the way left into the Twitter abyss. Hit the flip to peep YET ANOTHER deliciously messy Twitter tale. Of course the alleged super scammy scamfish clapped back and things got even spicer… Oh my Just twice, huh? Twice as in only exactly 2 times? Hmmm. He even summoned his lawyer (who looks a lil too much like he robs old ladies in church parking lots to be legal counsel) who attempted to explain the difference between loans/gifts… https://twitter.com/Stone_Marley/status/852888533387935744 Morehouse School of WHAT? PRE bo-WHAT? Nah. NOPE. Oh, there’s more… AND MORE! At this point, the plot is thicker than cold grits And yes, Black Twitter did what it does best… https://twitter.com/Qing_Dewey_2nd/status/852874513897459713
It's been a rough few weeks for people who like their political news delivered in the most ear-piercingly shrill fashion possible. Two of the most strident stalwarts in the world of far-right cable news have been silenced this month, but for very different reasons. Bill O'Reilly appears to have left the No Spin Zone following revelations that the longtime Fox News personality shelled out more than $13 million to silence numerous women who accused him of sexual harassment in the workplace. As more accusers continue to come forward, it's unclear if O'Reilly has been fired or simply suspended by the network. Similarly murky is the future of The Blaze news-shouter Tomi Lahren. Lahren says she's been fired by her network's weepy CEO, Glenn Beck, but she's still drawing a paycheck, and Beck claims she's simply on leave … indefinitely. The disciplinary action comes after dared to express an opinion that doesn't perfectly jibe with Beck's ideology, by stating on The View that she's pro-choice. Lahren clearly has no patience for Beck's equivocation, and in a new Nightline interview, she chews out her (former?) boss for taking the “decisive” out of decisive action: “This is not about politics,” she says. “This is about someone who had an opposing viewpoint that has been silenced and sidelined and thrown away.” Lahren adds: “I'm a human being at the end of the day and something has been stripped from me and that's my ability to work, that’s my ability to have a voice.” “That's been taken from me wrongfully. So I’m upset by it, and I’m hurt by it and I feel betrayed by it.” She concludes with a blistering “final thought” that no doubt has the tears welling up in Beck's eyes at this very moment: “I'm not the kind of girl that sits in the corner and cries about things. And that's another message I really want to get across,” Lahren said. “I don't consider myself a feminist but boy I will not lay down and play dead ever.” Check out Lahren's full interview below. It's even better if you picture Beck sobbing into a pint of Ben & Jerry's while he watches it:
