Bobby J. Brown, who played Officer Bobby Brown in the last two seasons of The Wire, died at the age of 62 after injuries from a barn fire in Maryland, TMZ reports. His daughter confirmed that he died from smoke inhalation on February 24. The Maryland Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled his death an accident. He was reportedly trying to jump-start a vehicle when a fire broke out; his wife alleged sufferd burns trying to help him. ”Bobby J. Brown was a formidable talent and a true professional who brought a rare intensity and authenticity to the screen,” his agent Albert Bramante said in a statement. “From his early days as a champion in the ring to his standout performances in projects like The Wire, Bobby was a ‘character actor’ in the truest sense — someone who elevated every scene he was in. We were proud to represent him and will miss his presence and his passion for the craft deeply.”
“My dad was an amazing human being,” his daughter Reina told People. “He was super awesome. He was a pillar in the community, and he’s going to be missed by a lot of people.”
Elon Musk reinvented the blue checkmark Wednesday night, regressing to an old Twitter policy where anyone with a certain amount of status gets a check. Now, accounts with more than 2,500 verified subscriber followers automatically received a blue checkmark for free Thousands of influential X users were devastated to find out they’d been marked with Elon’s stamp of approval, so they ran to X to clarify they did not pay for this.
Mr. Tweet Fumbles Super Bowl Tweet
“Yo, Elon, take this blue check and scratch your t***t with the long end of it,” said David Simon, creator of the award-winning TV show, The Wire. “Does anyone out there know how to turn this f****r off?”
“What happened? I didn’t pay for this. I would NEVER pay for this,” said one user.
“I didn’t ask for a blue check,” said another. “I need to make this abundantly clear.”
The revival of free blue checkmarks comes over a year after Musk started asking users to pay for verification services in 2022. Users with less than 2,500 followers can still pay for premium features today, but it’ll cost you $8 a month and your dignity. As of Wednesday, X users with over 2,500 followers automatically get X Premium features, while users with over 5,000 followers get Premium Plus features.
The blue checkmark’s reputation was tarnished when Musk made it a paid feature. While Twitter’s verification used to be a status symbol, it quickly became a mark that you were writing Musk a monthly check for increased reach. That has, potentially, forever changed the internet’s association with the blue checkmark, so many popular users are racing to remove it.
“Twitter’s current lords & peasants system for who has or doesn’t have a blue checkmark is bullshit,” Musk said in 2022 when he made people start paying for verification. “Power to the people! Blue for $8/month.”
Users can still turn the blue checkmark off by simply navigating to the “profile customization” page within X’s settings. You’ll still get all those free features without any of the embarrassment.
This decision puts influential X users in an odd predicament. For one, some popular X users have been paying for premium features for the last two years. Now, they’re supposed to stop paying, simply because Elon decided this experiment wasn’t working out. Not to mention, the blue checkmark may not be the gift it once was.
So why the change? The free blue checkmarks and premium features could be a sign Musk is looking to increase engagement on X. Drastically more users will get access to features such as longer posts, bookmark folders, Musk’s AI chatbot Grok, and access to an ad revenue sharing program. It’s unclear exactly why Musk is reversing his stance on verification, but it’s the latest unexplained policy reversal on the confusing hellscape of X.
Lance Reddick, the actor known for his work on The Wire and in the John Wick film franchise, died Friday morning. He was 60.
“Acclaimed actor Lance Reddick passed away suddenly this morning from natural causes,” his publicist confirmed to Vanity Fair.
Reddick was a prolific actor who worked across both film and television, with roles on HBO’s Oz, Amazon’s Bosch, and Netflix’s Resident Evil. But he was perhaps best known for his role as the ambitious and tough Lieutenant Cedric Daniels on The Wire.David Simon’s police drama introduced him to many television viewers. “It really became a worldwide phenomenon through people sharing the DVDs all over the world,” Reddick told GQ in 2019, adding, “It’s an iconic piece of history and I feel very fortunate and proud of the work we did with that.”
More recently, Reddick appeared in the John Wick movies as Charon, a concierge at the Continental Hotel in New York. The fourth movie in the franchise, John Wick: Chapter 4, premieres March 24, and Reddick had recently been doing promotional work for the film. He was also expected to reprise his role in Ballerina, the John Wick spin-off starring Ana de Armas.
Reddick was born in Baltimore and developed a passion for music at a young age. He played piano and studied classical music composition at the University of Rochester’s Eastman School of Music. But after suffering an injury while working as a struggling musician in Boston, he turned his attention to acting. He studied at Yale School of Drama and began booking television roles in the mid-1990s. Over the years, he appeared in projects as varied as Lost, Fringe, and Comedy Central’s Corporate.
Throughout his career, Reddick remained devoted to music, even releasing an album, Contemplations & Remembrances, in 2007. He also lent his talents to video games such as Destiny and Horizon Zero Dawn. In addition to his work in the upcoming John Wick: Chapter 4 and Ballerina, Reddick is expected to appear posthumously in the White Men Can’t Jump remake out in May and in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series for Disney+.
Reddick is survived by his wife, Stephanie Reddick, and children, Yvonne Nicole Reddick and Christopher Reddick.
