Pop Culture Mondays/10.17.22
The “SUNFLOWER” Edition
Happy Monday, my darling pop culture junkies. It has been a wild week since we last saw one another. From Elon MAYBE buying Twitter to Kanye/Ye now seemingly committed to buying the right-wing social platform, PARLER…it’s one of those weeks if you have kids that you have to say to them, “Sometimes the bully wins a match.”
We just have to wait and see I guess. But honestly, if I never hear the name Kanye or Ye again it will still be too soon. The guy has doubled…no, triple downed on his anti-semitic narrative this weekend on a podcast. I am not going to re-publish his hate here but he continues to rant and it is both unnerving and infuriating to see.
But let’s move on to some OTHER things we have going this week that might not all be fun, but a lot better than Kanye bullshit.
This week we have: Van Gogh sunflowers getting some unnecessary hate and we have ALL things Bravo(Con) and some great and terrible content that’s out there and some TikTok trends you might need to know about or are already hearing about but are confused (I got you), to the Herschel Walker memes to green couches and bleached brows. THIS IS PCM.
Xxx…
THIS IS NOT A PARODY:
When I first awoke to the news and the photos, it really felt fake to me. Like none of this was actually real. These two protestors throw Heinz Tomato Soup onto one of Van Gogh’s famous SUNFLOWERS paintings and then glued their hands (one hand each) to the wall. Yeah SO trying to unpack this protest for their org, JUST STOP OIL, I have no firm answers. Were they protesting the oil good old Vincent had used in the 1800s? Were they protesting SUNFLOWER oil? Or promoting sunflower oil by abusing the sunflowers? Were they protesting HEINZ? IS their soup oil based? LIKE WHAT IS HAPPENING LADIES??? Apparently, these activists have been protesting in London the last couple of weeks “in response to the government’s inaction on both the cost of living crisis and the climate crisis.” So apparently they were trying to make a statement that we care more about art than the climate….which is not IMMEDIATELY obvious by their actions but OK. The GOOD news is the painting was unharmed…HOW you might ask? BECAUSE IT WAS PROTECTED BY A GLASS SHIELD OVER THE FRAME. So, lots of eye-rolls for this one. But the social response was amazing. But first, the video of them doing it…It is all so weird and British to me like KEEP CALM everyone…
And the responses:
School friends of the protestors began sharing their stories of their former friends like this one:
And we heard from one o of the protestors who was very blasé about the entire thing:
God bless having a voice….just NOT sure this will have any impact they are so hoping for other than making us Americans aware that Heinz has a tomato soup.
BRAVOCON & ALL THINGS BRAVO:
We all have someone in our lives who is a Bravo obsessive. Maybe more than one. IN my case, it’s a lot. And I am GUILTY of loving me some Housewives that is for sure but I have not gotten into Bravo’s other programming like Summer House or Below Deck which really upsets some of my friends. But Andy Cohen is a genius. I have never met him but once, before he had kids and he had his dog, my dog Potato and his dog had a butt-sniffing moment at the corner of Jane Street and Greenwich Street in the West Village. Andy was wearing a tie-dyed hoodie with a STEAL YOUR FACE on it as he is a Grateful Dead-obsessed fan. IN case you are not aware of what a STEAL YOUR FACE is…I got you. You all have seen it. Now you know:
In the 10 seconds our dogs smelled each other’s butts, I envisioned Andy and I striking up small talk which would lead to him being like you are awesome let’s go have coffee and croissants and then he would be like why are you not on my shows and we would be best friends and I would hang out with him and SJP and Anderson Cooper. But alas, Andy didn't look up from his phone. I was standing there…just a girl, asking a boy to love her. And he…didn’t…look…up.
I was crestfallen. Though in last week’s pod I do discuss why I would be a ONE SEASON HOUSEWIFE and I know this with my whole heart and I am ok with this:
So, grab your NEGRONI SPAGLIATO (that’s with Prosecco in it) and buckle up for some BRAVO-ELBRITY content. And apologies in advance.
Let’s first talk about Bethenny Frankel, the controversial NY housewife who has been on and off and on again. She is one of the most successful housewives in terms of launching a brand, Skinny Girl, that went on to sell for $$$ ten years ago. She got married on the show, yet her divorce played out 3x as long as the marriage did. Also on TV and social media. LUCKY us. ANWAY, she has taken to Instagram and TikTok as a sort of TRUTH TELLER where she gives realistic reviews on things LIKE beauty products and calls out BS on ones she deems ridiculous (warning, we have KARDASHIANS coming…). She does do the TikToks I will give it to her in an unfiltered way. She is not made up or using filters or special lighting. It is just her. Like:
And she comes for Kylie Jenner and I am actually here for it:
She is using Instagram MORE at the moment as she is now seeing TikTok for allowing her videos to be used in ads for other products.
Whether it is Instagram, TikTok OR Twitter, she has begun to make it a full-time gig to go after the Kardashian family. There is so much drama here but I am already bored so here is just one example:
But Bethenny loves dishing it out. SHE CANNOT TAKE IT.
So basically a creator called Bethenny and her company out for trademarking sayings that she had been using in her social media and Hashtagging like #itsascam and Bethenny went nuts on the creator.
SO…so much drama…
AND….moving onto BravoCon which is taking over people’s minds and souls apparently…this is an in-person gathering of screaming, paying fans who come together to listen and meet their FAVE BRAVO-lebrities. And this year, ANdy has STRUCK gold, mainly because of the massive success of the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills which THIS season has seen sisters Kyle Richards and Kathy Hilton meltdown and once fan faves stars like Lisa Rinna and Erika Jayne aka Girardi fall from grace. fans cannot get enough and I mean these fans come in all different packages. I have Gen Z-obsessive friends and Gen X-obsessive friends who can think of nothing else but the Reunion show. And of course, it is all unfolding on socials…the drama from bravoCon.
Lisa Rinna has become the villain of the show which she clearly loves (look, she has followed in the footsteps of her nemesis, Yolanda Hadid who launched her daughter’s modeling careers on the show. Bella and Gigi Hadid have become the biggest models of the day. Lisa’s daughters Amelia & Delilah are also on their way to being well-known models. So the formula works for sure. Along with eating disorders, substance abuse, and surgery BUT I DIGRESS.
Here is Lisa getting booed last week at BravoCon and her giving the finger to the audience. SIGH.
And a sign of the times that Kathy Hilton who is the mother of Paris, is the fan favorite these days.
As I said on my pod last week…it really blows my mind that these women who have money and big lives choose to put all this shit out on TV and allow them to be shown in an incredibly unflattering light just because fame is so addictive? IT BLOWS MY MIND. And with that…the NEW NYC cast has been announced as they fired everyone as the show had fallen into hard times. Now, a shiny new cast of whom I know a couple of them and GOD SPEED ladies. PS: Go from running JCrew to being a Real Housewife? OK.
OK moving on….
AND NOW FOR SOME OF MY FAVORITE THINGS (OR SOME OF THE DESPICABLE ONES…)
I know this week was painful for some of you who couldn't care less (please stop saying “COULD CARE LESS” because you are LITERALLY saying you could ACTUALLY care less which is not what you are trying to say…) about Bravolebrities. So, let’s show some fun and terrible things.
- Harry’s tour is still raging along and he did his part for the women of Iran. I mean tbh I think he is doing more than this but holding a sign is a big thing tbh as it IS HARRY.
- GUYS…ZADDY STABLER has entered the building. Thanks to the relic, PEOPLE MAGAZINE, we have more Chris Meloni than we could ever hope for. He is the cover story:
…and while I have not read a People Magazine in years, I def got into their TikToks.
YUM. Ok…moving on.
- You MAY recall how I mentioned a few weeks ago how sad the artist Sam Smith must have been that his highly anticipated music drop was not trending on TikTok as the MIAMI BOYS CHOIR had videos from 15 years ago take over the socials instead? Well, he can smile now as his song IS the trending sound on TikTok. Though not everyone is a fan of his new lewk…as they say it is NOT original or unique…it is just re-purposed Madonna…what do you think?
The SONG is about a VERY badly behaved husband who is stepping out on his unsuspecting wife…but it is a sexy song that is taking over people’s brains and I love some of the creators’ takes:
WOO BOY…
- HERSCHEL WALKER. We try to stay away from the MAGA crazies here as we all need a break but sometimes a gift is a gift and that’s what we have with Mr. Walker’s meme-able moment when he pulled out his “badge” that was like a toy badge apparently given to him for being friends with some local police.
There are SO many more it’s just too funny. Watch this guy will get elected so who’s laughing then but for now…we have this.
- If you have a green velvet couch you should know….
- If you have a teen, I don’t know what you need to tell them to make them very aware their eyebrows should be protected at all costs! I am from the generation where the skinnier the better (for all things including brows) and I am STILL trying to get those eyebrows back. We went through a phase of big bushy brows, laminated brows, tattooed brows…and NOW…bleached brows. Like this…
and this…
It’s not my fave look.
- CONTENT ALERT. Some good, some not so good, some OMG I CANNOT WAIT.
SO, let’s start with the not-so-good. I was obsessed with the story around THE WATCHER. This was a real nightmare story that happened to a NJ family and we were RIVETED BY it. And SPOILER ALERT, it remains UNSOLVED. For that story, you MUST read:
So the new show is out on Netflix…and I love the cast I mean Naomi Watts and Bobby Cannavale and Mia Farrow AND Jennifer Coolidge?? But the writers…the writers did this show DIRTY. First here is the trailer:
OK…compelling. Well…I watched this so you don't really have to. You will just laugh or throw things at your TV. Here is an example:
- But thanks to Jason Hirschhorn, I watched “Reboot” on Hulu and it is AMAZING. I love it SO much:
- MUCH has been talked about with regards to Mila Kunis and her new movie on Netflix, Luckiest Girl Alive. MANY people are upset over the nature of the story which they felt they should have been warned on. And that is it centers around a brutal rape and a brutal school shooting. I found the film to have a fascinating premise and Mila was perfectly cast and the cast was impressive. I definitely say it’s worth a watch but not with those under 18:
AND….coming out TODAY is the SECOND SEASON OF HBO’s NXIVM docuseries, The Vow. And I cannot wait.
THAT IS IT MY DARLINGS…
Stay cool, stay kind, stay calm despite all this madness. Don’t get a Jeffrey Dahmer costume for Halloween. That’s my guidance for you.
Have a most magical week. If you aren’t already a subscriber (PLEASE PLEASE SUBSCRIBE!!!) and please do SHARE this with all your friends…and IF you want this in your inbox, please send an email to:
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