Pop Culture Mondays/2.27.23
The “GOLDENEYE Edition”
Hello, my darling pop culture junkies! I missed everyone last week, but I figured you were all skiing some exotic mountain or trying to navigate your private jets into St. Barts or whatever it is you crazy kids do. I am coming to you from my happy place, Goldeneye in Jamaica, which, if you are NEW here, is a place I talk about often. THIS IS NOT SPONCON, I assure you. I just love it here so much and always tell people if they want an elevated low-key experience where shoes are not required and the natural beauty of Jamaica from the brilliant creative mind of Chris Blackwell, well then you have Goldeneye, and it is perfection. And if you have not read his memoir, I cannot URGE you enough. It is a page-turner.
You can buy it here:
But let’s get to it. We missed a week, so there are some things that happened the week before I am going to throw in here. It is awards season, which means another year of the entertainment world dressing up and awarding each other fancy prizes. I tend to ignore these unless something BIG or amusing, or beautiful happens. And usually, there is something!
Am I ignoring Woody Harrelson’s Anti-vax SNL opener? Sure am. Sure am. But I am not ignoring some other brain cell-killing things like the rising drama around Selena Gomez, Hailey Bieber, and Kylie Jenner. OY. We have to talk about the Don Lemon situation and ANGELA BASSETT did a thing. The South Park guys REALLY did it this time, which we will discuss some TikTok trends and viral sensations and my new goal of becoming best friends with Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade, who gave the most incredible joint speech I have ever seen.
So buckle up, grab some jerk chicken or Gummi bears or green juice, whatever your THING is, and put your headphones on and enjoy. As always, we are TRUMP and TRUMP-adjacent FREE.
Xx,
Brooke
ANGELA BASSETT DID A THING!!!
As I mentioned, it’s award season, so a lot is happening, and we are bound to see some viral moments. And thanks to the BAFTAs, we have the first one of the season. First, let me set the stage for the spectacular Angela Bassett, WHO, let’s be clear, is 64 years old and HOLY MOTHER OF GOD is she the most stunning woman? No words really.
BUT I digress.
Angela was nominated for a BAFTA for her role in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which I liked a lot, didn’t love but LOVED some of the performances, especially Angela’s. IN case you missed it, here is a clip from it with music added by a TikTok creator for IMPACT:
She was incredible. BUT let’s get down to what happened that night, last week in London at the BAFTAs. Ariana DeBose is an incredible actress and dancer and singer. She won the Oscar for her role in Spielberg’s West Side Story and she is just an incredible performer. But sometimes we all have an off day and this turned into a meme-able moment for the star. She was performing an original “rap” highlighting all the female nominees. And well, take a look for yourself:
Was she a bit breathless? Yes. Was this a Madonna Vogue 90’s throwback? I guess? It reminded people of this funny SNL skit:
I liked the concept to be clear, but the execution was a bit rough. BUT that’s not the thing that has taken off, OH no no no. It was the line, “ANGELA BASSETT DID A THING” that took the world by storm. Let me show vs tell:
Our girls Ziwe and Emrata (Emily Ratajkowski) got into it:
And our darling Lizzo:
And then, the queen herself, Angela Bassett, DID the thing at the NAACP IMAGE AWARDS:
I love it so much. What I don’t love is the bully of Ariana DeBose, who was so overwhelmed she got off social media. I think Jamie Lee Curtis is a legend for this:
And lastly, Angela herself on a final note:
PS: To end this post which ultimately is BAFTA related, I want to should out to my darling friends Charlie Mackesy and Matthew Freud for their BAFTA win for the incredible animated short: “THE BOY, THE MOLE, THE FOX AND THE HORSE” and if you have NOT seen it for some reason, run to Apple TV + and watch it asap.
HARRY AND MEGHAN GET SOUTHPARKED:
Well, this was a surprise. And honestly, I found it very funny. Here is the deal, it’s tricky. I think there is a fine line. When a famous media personality writes a horrible and misogynistic and violent opinion piece about Meghan Markle, I found it unacceptable and hateful. When the South Park creators who roast everyone from Obama to Trump decide to get in on it in their own way — it’s funny. To a point. There is a moment where Meghan is referred to as a bitch and for me I found that gross. But the point they are making is these are two people out there telling everyone they can that their privacy has been taken and the irony is entirely lost on the couple. I am not sure if you read “Spare,” but I did, and I just have to believe these two have NO ADVISORS willing to tell them the truth. Now, according to many, those people lose their jobs if they do so there is that. But the lack of self-awareness these two have is remarkable. My favorite part of that book, besides all the penis stuff and Freudian mom stuff, was when Harry, in trying to paint a picture of sweet Meghan, decides to tell a story and gets into the weeds on how the palace withheld her rightful tiara. Yes, guys, way to make your audience RELATE to you. But the thing about that book was…there was NO ONE who was likable in the whole damn book. Not a one. So that’s ultimately the problem.
Enter South Park. In case you missed it, here are some clips (Harry and Meghan are the Prince and Princess of CANADA):
I mean guys, it’s funny. There were rumors that NATURALLY made the top story of The Daily Mail, which claimed that Harry & Meghan were considering suing, which IN MY MIND would have been a bad idea…but their spokespeople have denied this:
A LITTLE THIS, A LITTLE THAT:
Let’s look at some highlights (and lowlights) of some OTHER pop culture-y things that have gone down this week. I cannot cover everything because there is a LOT — there is ALWAYS a lot, but here are some of my chosen ones.
- This past weekend, Gabrielle Union and her husband, Dwyane Wade, were honored by the NAACP at the Image Wards, and they dedicated their award to their Trans daughter Zaya, and the whole LQTBQ+ Community. Their joint speech was truly spectacular, and I ask everyone to take the time to watch. Dwyane starts and speaks directly to his daughter, and it is a moment that is so full of love and pride it’s astonishing. Gabrielle then goes on to really give a call to action, unlike any other I have seen. IT IS SENSATIONAL:
- And moving on to a topic for which if you have teen or tween kids, you LIKELY have heard rumblings about, so let me break it down for you. There has LONG been stuff between Selena Gomez and Hailey Bieber simply because Selena and Justin Bieber were the IT teen couple for years and when they broke up, Justin went on to marry Hailey Bieber a mere months later. The Selena Gomez fans which there are HUNDREDS of millions, have gone after Hailey ever since. Regardless, Hailey has forged her way into becoming an IT girl…she is a model I think and has a skincare brand, NATURALLY. AS does Selena with her amazing Rare Beauty. Hailey’s is called Rhode which I know-nothing about. And Kylie Jenner, ALSO a brand with all her Kylie cosmetics and skin and blah blah blah omg we are ALL CONSUMERS. ANYWAY…. something has happened to make Selena Gomez become the MOST followed woman on Instagram with an astonishing 388 MILLION followers:
As she has knocked the previous title owner from her throne, Kylie Jenner, who continues to lose followers along with Mrs. Bieber:
Let’s get into it. Again there have been a bunch of things in the past but we are here now, and Hailey (and Kylie to an extent) are being branded mean girls, and the kids are OVER IT. Selena took down her OG TikTok, but here is a quick look. She posted a TikTok, making fun of herself for over laminating her eyebrows. NOW…let’s stop there for a quick second,we as you MIGHT not be familiar with this new eyebrow trend. Again, if you have a teen or tween or 20-something child, you might be familiar but let’s start there:
OK, so now you will start seeing people with these eyebrows everywhere. So let’s talk about Selena. She over-laminated her eyebrows and posted a TikTok. Cute, relatable, we love her. But THEN Kylie Jenner posts a TikTok seemingly posting shade towards Selena by showing her OWN eyebrows and asking if THEY were, in fact, a mistake.
THEN to take it to another level, there is now another post this time showing Kylie and Hailey Bieber face timing each other’s eyebrows. So, this got everyone fired up:
So while Kylie Jenner then commented that this was all silly and not true, and initially Selena then commented saying she agreed and she loves Kylie, Selena comes back to kill. And this was regards to an OLD video showing Hailey Bieber mock Taylor Swift, Selena’s bestie so Selena choose NOW to make this comment:
This is not the first beef between Hailey and a Jenner with regards to Selena. A few months ago, a tabloid posted some “unflattering” pics of Selena in a bathing suit and shortly after the ladies posted this TikTok which fans jumped to connect to the Selena pics. The TikTok was taken down quickly.
Selena addressed the attention around her body…this poor girl:
ANYWAY, while Selena has taken the high road, it DOES appear that she is fighting back and the TikTok world is VERY much on her side as they continue to highlight Hailey as a mean girl and every celebrity who stops following Hailey/Kiley on socials is being highlighted. Sigh, you now have fewer brain cells:
- Everyone’s favorite new TikTok star starts off all her videos with the line, “Everybody’s so creative,” as creator Tanara, known as tanaradoublechocolateproceeds, walks us through some other creator's horrifying recipe travesty. She is highlighting a growing trend of absurd food TikToks people are clearly doing JUST for views. It is SO funny:
My fave line of hers though has to be:
Uh oh! It ain’t gonna slide down easy if it ain’t cheesy!!
- Don Lemon. BLAHHHH. Please CNN, can we be done with him? Or like put him at 4PM or whatever, no one needs to start the day with his out-of-touch misogynistic views. The problem is they won’t. They just signed him to another contract so like it or not, seems like we are stuck with him. He has been here before…a few months ago he got in it with his female co-hosts Kaitlan and Poppy where he said that male soccer players got paid more than women soccer players because it was more exciting to watch. OK. I am sure Don Lemon gets paid more than his co-hosts but I assure you HE IS NOT MORE FUN TO WATCH. Anyway, the latest idiotic thing to come out of his mouth infuriates me EVEN more because it is forcing me to defend the horrible Nikki Haley:
He went on to say it was NOT according to him, but according to GOOGLE. OK, sir. It actually got worse.
“Don’t shoot the messenger I am just reporting the facts. Google it.” — Don Lemon
I CANNOT.
His attempt at an apology aka nonapology:
Well, he is being forced to go through “Sensitivity training,” so yay for us. 🙄
- In other asshole news, the tech investor who has been accused of drugging men in order to make them find him appealing enough to go home with him, tweet attacked a young female investor simply for tweeting her observation that she had only met one founder building in Miami. The tech investor who has made his platform be entirely about leaving SF and moving to Miami and going to Barry’s Bootcamp was PISSED. His tweet got a lot of attention and he deleted it. The investor, Nichole Wischoff, responded beautifully:
- There are always trending filters on TikTok, but this TEENAGE one really got me emotionally:
- AND lastly, on a feel-good note…this woman’s dad had written a book that no one was buying. He had spent 14 years or so writing it, and he was so proud but also sad as no one was buying it because it was self-published and no one knew it was there. His daughter took to TikTok and amazing things happened.
Go check this book out…I have ordered myself a copy!!
THAT IS IT, my darlings…
I need to get out and enjoy my final full day in paradise before I head back to the ice age of Los Angeles, where my neighborhood was LEGIT out of power for 48 hours. Seems fun. Oy.
And if you ever get a chance to go on a Jamaica holiday, do check out:
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Xx,
Brooke
