Pop Culture Mondays/1.30.23
The “LASHGATE” Edition
Happy LAST Monday of January, everyone. It feels like January 79th am I right? WHY DID THIS MONTH FEEL SO LONG?? Well, we are almost through it you guys. Hang in there.
On a serious note, we were all brought together again by yet another tragedy and this time due to a senseless murder of a young black man by cops, in Memphis. The news teased the video of the murder for an entire news cycle and frankly, I don't get it. Why this was something we all needed to see is beyond me…I mean it was a horror show and tbh I couldn't watch the whole thing. But how it became a ratings thing was a lot to take. Everyone on Friday was on edge waiting til the video dropped and what the reactions from the public would be. BUT…we are not here to talk about this. Others have. We need an escape, so this is what this week is about. An escape.
Moving on. If you were Cincinnati or San Francisco football fans, I am sorry. Today is a tough Monday, I know. If you are NYC residents, then you are all very confused that the the Empire State Building had the AUDACITY to do THIS:
AND then they did this perhaps to TRY to recover from their Eagles slap in the face to NYers but still…did NOT help:
Just simmer down Empire State Building. Just simmer down.
So for those of you new here…welcome. I do my best to summarize some of the things that happen in pop culture each week. That can include viral moments on social media platforms and EACH of those platforms has its own worlds and bubbles. It can be a moment, a trend, or a person. There IS no rhyme and reason and I won’t be able to cover everything BUT and this is a BUT, if there is something you want to see in PCM…just send me a note. I scour the socials each week and listen to the different voices in ALL the Gens as they have their own worlds.
And with that…let’s dig in. If you missed last week’s pod where I quiz my 25-year-old PA, Bree Ellis, check it out here as it’s a funny one:
Grab some headphones, some gummi bears, some Twizzlers (not Red Vines, we are not animals) and enjoy…
Xx,
Brooke
LASHGATE:
The world of influencers is a big and vast and complicated one. We have always had them, just in different forms. All celebs are basically influencers. If your favorite star was wearing a dress or a pair of shoes or a lipstick, we wanted them if we could. The thing that is now more of a thing because of Instagram and TikTok is the rise of THE Influencer. That is the person who is not famous for acting or singing or even being a reality star. They just have built an audience on their chosen platform. It could be interior design, fitness, nutrition…or makeup.
These makeup influencers have a lot of power when they become big. They get SO much product and they have an audience feeding off of them to find out what is the magic foundation or lipstick or mascara out right now they need to know about. And this has been around for a long time. From the beginnings of YouTube to Insta to TikTok, some of the most popular content comes from make-up tutorials and reviews.
Enter Mikayla. I have highlighted her before and she was canceled before and here we are again. She is a young woman from Boston with a VERY strong accent (some say it is not her real accent but I digress…) ANYWAY, here is an example of one of Mikayla’s TikToks:
So you see here how she does her makeup for her audience, and showcases a product or two and with a thick accent. We have followed her journey for years from an Ulta Beauty sales person to a prominent influencer and her celeb partnerships and her depression and eating disorders and dating and engagement and wedding planning. We have been along for the journey.
Her last dramatic moment was when she was accused of being out of touch and mean when she complained about how hard it was being an influencer and said something along the lines of, “I work until 5 PM.” But this was taken out of context and people started to pick up on that but what it showed was that people were gunning for her.
She weathered that drama but the audience was just waiting like prey waiting for their next kill. And she delivered.
Last week, Mikayla did what should have been an innocent review of a new L’Oreal mascara in response to another creator talking about how much they loved it. She showed her audience one eye without the mascara and then showed us as she lathered up her lashes with this new “miracle” mascara and it did SEEM amazing. She seemingly had NO lashes and then voila…magical lashes.
And then hell broke out. First of all, this was an AD. A paid partnership with L’Oreal which was not at first clear tbh. But then the TikTokers started questioning the video, and as I have said all along, these kids should be in the CIA. They are top-notch investigators and people began analyzing the video in ways you cannot imagine and claimed to have uncovered that she was indeed wearing falsh lashes and her ad was bullshit. A BIG no no in the influencer community.
There are so many of these. People were coming after her.
ENTER formerly canceled influencer, Jeffree Star. Star made a name for himself on YouTube as an OG honest make-up reviewer and he turned that into success on other platforms. And he weathered his own scandals from antisemitism to racism to assault. Sigh.
And he went away for a bit. There were rumors he and Kanye were a thing. Now THAT would be something. But for the most part, he was quiet and def not doing makeup stuff for a while. But like all vampires…they always come back. While he made his name on YouTube, he decided to make a comeback on TikTok in reaction to the Mikayla review and he saw an opportunity and he jumped on it. Not dumb tbh but just created more of a gang up on Mikayla and these people can be vicious. You know how Swifties get? Multiply that by a thousand.
The TikTok is not shareable but here you go via Twitter:
There are SO many videos on this…on every platform. There are influencers doing their own analysis of this and some of these videos are like 15 minutes long so I will spare you. But MAN oh MAN has this taken off.
Admittedly, some of the creators had fun with the Mikayla drama:
Look, it’s a dumb situation, and some had fun with it. But Jeffree Star using it as a way for him to come out of “retirement” on the coattails of Mikayla’s scandal is just not my jam. He and another male makeup influencer, James Charles, using it to bully and inspire others top bully is the problem with this whole world. I just say, leave this poor girl alone. And BRANDS? DO BETTER.
PS. Jeffree Star used the attention he was getting to disclose he has a new man in his life and called him “his NFL boo” which has the INTERNET SLEUTHS going WILD.
I shall leave this for another day…
But back to lashes for JUST a second. My friend Sahara has a brand that can solve this whole LASHGATE drama and it’s called Lashify which makes beautiful false lashes you put on yourself that look amazing and bond in a way that is natural and beautiful. SO, leave the mascara drama alone and just grab some beautiful false lashes.
BUT WAIT…..We are NOT done with “mascara” actually and this is on a more serious note. Right before the Mikayla LASHGATE happened, mascara was trending on TikTok for a very different reason. Women have started to use the term as code for SEXUAL ASSAULT.
According to THIS Cosmopolitan article:
Mascara = sex or sexual partner
Mascara wand = penis
Wandless mascara = sex with women/people with vulvas or sexual partners who aren’t men/have penises
Lipgloss = women (“I’ve never really used mascara, I’m more of a lip gloss person” would be someone saying they prefer dating/sleeping with women, for example)
This apparently started as a way for creators to discuss these things on TikTok and not have the videos removed due to certain language or not seen because the algorithm does not promote certain language.
And as happens with all of these trends, what started serious turned into something people used to be funny:
If you still have questions, LET ME KNOW!
A LITTLE THIS, A LITTLE THAT:
And some highlights (and lowlights) of pop culture-y things this week in case the young are talking about something like HARRY’S PANTS you will know what they are talking about.
- Dylan Mulvaney, the TikTok creator who has gone through her transition on TikTok and famously was invited to the White House to interview the President, unveiled her facial feminization surgery. She has been very open about her journey and this was no exception.
And here is the reveal. Look…it brings the DRAMA. Some might feel it is a bit much but to each their own and with all the hate going on around this topic, it is nice to see someone so open and honest with people despite the hate she must receive.
And she is beautiful. AND honest. UNLIKE our beloved Martha Stewart who for SOME reason decided to post a bunch of selfies with her incredible face that looks like someone in their 30s NOT their 80s. And admittedly when you lean your head back, gravity is not able to do its thing BUT and here is the BUT…girlfriend used these pics to proclaim she has never had a face lift or uses filters…that her visage is ALL due to great facials and derms and DIET and EXERCISE. But the thing is, we have seen her before face…it is literally a different face. Always beautiful but not always the same. I hope Martha is OK but this is wild to me.
In this one you can see my comment on her Insta which I stand by.
- HARRY AND HIS PENIS!! But nope…this time we are not talking about the Royal (though if you drink everytime he says “penis” in his book, “SPARE”, you WILL be drunk btw.) But our beloved Harry Styles who I briefly put aside for my new obsession with Pedro Pascal, but he is allowed out of the corner at the moment. He had canceled some LA shows during his tour so he was back in LA for a couple of shows as make overs for the ones he cancelled. And boy did he deliver. May I present:
Thank you Harry. We 💓 you.
- This one really got us Gen Xers and Boomers alike tbh. I saw this all over my Twitter and dare I say even my FACEBOOK feed which I visit every so often like visiting the Natrual History Musem. Not saying that to be mean to everyone who posts on Facebook…it just feels like an archaic experience these days. In a now deleted Tweet from the AP:
For those who might not know, the Associated Press (AP), has long put out an AP Stylebook that helps writers use proper formats. In PR 101 when I started, we had to know that book inside and out. Press releases had to follow it to a tee and I still glance at it every so often. So, apparently they made THIS strange up date in an even stranger tweet and the socials went nuts.
Some of the responses were amazing:
The AP stepped it back:
🥳
- So we have seen a few TikTok trends this week…and another one has arisen and that is LAY OFF TIKTOK where creators are sharing their layoff stories. Theya re mostly Googlers tbh and all will go on to have amazing gigs I am sure:
- Marie Kondo brought joy and relief to many a parent this past week. The organizational queen who has taught millions to clean out the clutter and MARIE KONDO their home no matter at what cost emotionally or financially admitted recently:
“My home is messy, but the way I am spending my time is the right way for me at this time at this stage of my life,” Marie said in a webinar.
People got realllllly sanctimonuous over this one I will say. But Twitter delivered:
And the media had….fun:
- As you may or may not know, New Zealand suffered horrifying rains this past week. Its largest city, Auckland, had an entire summer’s worth of rain fall in JUST one day. And more is coming this week. It has caused devastation and death and creators are showing it as it all unfolds:
- Brands being funny again on Twitter. Or trying to be. After a few months off of the Twitter, McDonald’s made a return:
And brands responded:
I don’t know why this amuses me so much. Maybe it’s like videos of animals who are best friends but should actually kill each other. Like inter-species love. It SPARKS JOY am I right Marie Kondo???
I’m not crying, YOU’RE crying.
- OK lastly, I saw this trailer and I just couldn’t stop laughing. I mean, THIS CAST!!! Thank you Netflix for WE HAVE A GHOST:
THAT IS IT, my darlings…
I hope you have a beautiful week. I will leave you with this little number, the felon Anna Delvey who I know personally, was asked by VOGUE to give an apartment tour whilst she us under house arrest and wearing her ankle monitor. 2023 my darlings. 2023:
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Xx,
Brooke
