Pop Culture Mondays/11.15.21
The “SWIFTIE” Edition
Happy Monday my darling pop culture junkies! I am sitting here listening to Taylor Swift’s “new” album (more on that below because it is A LOT) but I just wanted you to know this PCM is written to TSwift because it IS the Swiftie edition and if you have no idea what is happening then YOU ARE IN THE RIGHT PLACE. So, we will just get TO it but first I want to say I was in a room this weekend with so many pop culture ICONS I could barely catch a breath. From Kate Hudson to Vanessa Bryant to PCM patron saint (he doesn’t know this) JEFFREY Bezos, the Baby2Baby gala was an incredible event and I was SO fortunate to learn about the amazing things this female-founded organization is doing. FEMA (yup FEMA) reached out to Baby2Baby during the early days of the pandemic to help them get essentials like diapers because FEMA COULD NOT DO IT. So they have done an incredible amount of good and raised over $8 million in one night (HONESTLY JEFFREY, think you could have given more but you be you boo). ANYWAY, read more about this amaze org HERE.
OK, in other news BIG BIRD was trending last week but it is in relation TED CRUZ and like, I cannot bring myself to write about that guy so I have chosen to ignore though if you have NO idea what I am talking about, click HERE. But since PCM is TRUMP-FREE I feel like TRUMP-ADJACENT falls under that so that’s that. SAFE PLACE.
Grab your headphones and enjoy…
XO.
TAYLOR SWIFT HAS THE LAST LAUGH:
Full disclosure, I am likely missing some parts of this whole story because trust me it’s A LOT of moving pieces with all the things but let’s get to it.
SO back in 2012, Taylor Swift released her album “Red” to much fanfare of course. Like many Taylor Swift songs, a few deal with heartbreak and break-ups and she writes from her experiences so her fans map back and analyze every song to determine who it’s about. There has been Harry Styles, Joe Jonas, Tom Hiddleston, and Jake Gyllenhaal (among others and all I can say is YES GIRL). SO, if you have heard rumblings this weekend of Jake well I am here to explain it all to you. But first, let’s discuss how we got here talking about an album that came out almost 10 years ago.
YOU MAY recall the drama around Taylor having her music sold out from under her to Scooter Braun which led to an outcry from the public, her fans, and Taylor herself. There was a He said/She said component to it but the fact was someone else other than Taylor now owned her music and would profit from her hard work. She claims she was not given the opportunity to buy it (she could have easily) and Scooter and team dispute this. BUT what’s done is done. Now, the TSWIFT fans are a VERY loyal and devoted bunch. And they went after Scooter and it was a lot and some scary moments too as some of the fans went overboard. But life goes on and we all moved away from it and Taylor started releasing new music that she owns moving forward. BUT clearly, she was plotting all along as to what she can do about the music she didn’t own. So what did she do? RE-RECORDED it. The entire album. “Red by Taylor Swift” means that anytime a song is played from THIS album she gets the money from and most will default to this version moving forward I imagine. There are also some new editions to this album like lyrics and the reviewers are saying it is even better the 2nd time around. She also released the entire album on TikTok with the hashtag #SWIFTTOK which has already racked up billions of views. OK now for more of the tea (and TikToks)…
ALL of TikTok has turned into SWIFTTOK over the weekend it seems. Most people’s FYPs (FOR YOU PAGES) have been served countless Taylor Swift-related TikToks. MOST are around poor Jake Gyllenhaal who apparently was a total cad when they dated 10 years ago. BUT Taylor added new lyrics to the song that has always been tied to him. A LOT more…she released the 10-minute long version…a 10-minute song. With a mini-movie. AND she performed the entire 10-minute song on SNL (more on that shortly.) And the world seemingly has exploded and Jake is now the most disliked human, like UP there with dictators and it’s a LOT. but the Swift army is FIERCE. In this updated version of the song, she has included lyrics around a scarf she left at “his sister’s house and he still wears” and let me tell you the TikTok detectives have had a field day showing pics of her wearing a scarf that he was pictured wearing years later. It also BRUTALLY talks about the guy in question claiming age was a factor in his ending it but then he has gotten older and his girlfriends have stayed that age (25) which maps because his current girlfriend is 25. OK let’s first show you the mini-movie and I mean it is 14 minutes so kick back and enjoy (also it already has almost 30 million views since this weekend and it kicks off with a PABLO NERUDA QUOTE SO….):
SO…this is apparently meant to be documenting the brief and passionate relationship between her and Jake. OUCH. And man when I say TikTok HAS HAD it with him well here you go:
I mean this is from a club in LA this weekend…👀👀👀
THEN a plot twist. APPARENTLY the actor in the “movie” at the end…not the star but the guy who has now become known as the BACK OF THE HEAD guy as they used a different “actor” at the final scene though we never see his face…turns out HE himself is a gaslighter terrible human or SO says his ex…MAN THIS story has a lot of twists and turns…
OK so let’s move forward from the Jake G (I guess all Jakes?) hate as we could literally watch 1,000 hours of Jake G/TSwift TikToks and not even scratch the surface. Onto other things…brands are FUN on social media, and they got into it with the album:
I mean cute right? When will Taylor have to ask the Swiftie army to back off on the Jake thing? Maybe never? SNL gave her a platform to sing the 10-minute version WHILST showing the movie behind her which look, if you have another 10 mins, here you go:
But SNL didn't let her totally off the hook as after she performed, “Weekend Update” had their turn:
I mean it IS the dream though right? I remember a particularly bad breakup of mine long ago and I FANTASIZED that I would become famous JUST so I could go on Letterman and destroy this guy while talking to Dave…I would theoretically be there to promote something but in my fantasy that was not important. I was just going to become famous for the simple goal of DESTROYING EX BOYFRIEND. So, Taylor, you are living many a person’s fantasy BUT I will say it’s a lot for poor Jake.
I will end on the TikTok of all TikToks for Swiftie fans and that is of Taylor and her bestie Selena Gomez backstage at SNL. Though many fans feel like they both look “off” like they're played by people who sort of LOOK like them. But it’s them:
ANYWAY, for more on this check when album and socials responses check this out:
THANKS TO TIKTOK:
Thisis Sam Fender is a British singer and songwriter and also apparently an actor. If you have a TikTokker in the house then you have heard a song of his this past week which was released this summer but MOST people have heard it for its involvement with a new trend on TikTok. I will get to that but the reason I am highlighting this is to show the power of the TikTok platform. It has the power to make an artist with just one lyric, one moment of a song. First, here is the song:
And this past week, the only other TikToks I was seeing thru the SWIFTIE madness, were these. A trend where people either showcased their ABUSER or just acknowledged they were abused, started emerging where it was to this one line:
I was far too scared to hit him, but I would hit him in a heartbeat now…that’s the thing with anger, it begs to stick around…
And here are a few of these which are pretty tragic and powerful. In some cases where the creator talks about the abuse and doesn’t showcase who, it is revealed in the comments. IN some cases the creator shows what they used to look like before the abuse and how they changed post abuse:
And this guy….
So, while I know there is a lot of fear around TikTok because it is basically a spy tool for the Chinese…which I am sure it is…LET’S PUT THAT TO THE SIDE FOR A WUICK MOMENT… and see there is GOOD that comes from it. The platform allows people to share and seek help and support which I am all in favor of. Not using it as a place to spread misinformation or whatnot so there is a fine line.
And the artist himself ended up commenting on this trend so I will close out with that:
AND JUST A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS (AND SOME DESPICABLE ONES TOO…)
There were a lot of things that grabbed our attention this week DESPITE most of it all going to TSwift. So I have grabbed a few.
- Obviously, the Britney news came out. The Conservatorship has ended and people rejoiced. And Brit Brit has come out swinging and her legal team which is led by the amazing Matthew Rosengart who we LOVE said this:
“She spent years afraid of her father but she’s not afraid anymore. She’s confident and ready for vengeance and with her new team around her, that’s exactly what she is going to get.”
I cannot truly verify this other than gossip news but let’s just pretend it’s real and we have some revenge drama better than ANY narcissistic toe-sucking writer/director could ever make. (Sorry, had to.)
Anyway, Brit Brit is free and what started off as a weird sub-culture fan movement of “FREE BRITNEY” is fully mainstream and endorsed and acknowledged by Britney herself who now calls it “FREEDBRITNEY”.
And lastly, a weird article on her fiancee appeared in the Sunday Styles section of the New York Times. While the timing for the writer seems awfully lucky, it really felt like it belonged more in a Gawker or gossip site than the New York Times, to be honest. While it showcases the fiancee, the reason for that is he is engaged to Britney, nothing more. He has handlers who very much BECAME the story as I am guessing…there wasn’t much else to tell (despite the headline):
Anyway, you all freed Britney. now you must PROTECT her from all the madness around.
- ADELE. She has a new album that is getting a huge amount of attention…this is her “divorce” album and was the biggest story for a minute before SwiftTok but she DID OPRAH YOU GUYS and honestly, this whole Oprah outside in amazing outdoor furniture is my jam. BUT the whole special is incredible with the backdrop of my backyard basically, the Hollywood Hills and her performance for friends like Lizzo mixed in with Oprah interview. And a little detail I am obsessed with: her tattoos and matching earrings. DETAILS YOU GUYS. before I post the link to the ENTIRE 90-minute special which I highly recommend here are a few TikToks:
And the whole show/interview:
- If my friend wore this dress to my wedding, I would lock myself in my room and never leave. So I will never invite Kendall Jenner…
- Reason 1,652,356 why I will never run a marathon? Being outrun by a duck. LOVE to see it:
- A growing trend on TikTok in case you hear this sound coming from somewhere in your house. MISO SOUP:
- And another one…
- And lastly, hot soup Karen. Despite people knowing there are cameras everywhere these days, bad behavior is at an all-time high. THIS is some of the worst behavior I have ever seen.
THAT IS IT my darlings. Lots of amazingness this week. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned I say.
Have a beautiful week my lovelies. Be safe. Be kind.
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