Pop Culture Mondays/8.8.22
The DOG DAYS OF SUMMER Edition
Happy Monday my darling pop culture junkies. We are in the THICK of the last days of summer. I know some kids in places like Florida are ALREADY going back to school whereas other kids are JUST now heading off to camp. I have said it before and I will say it again…these things make no sense. Kids should all be in school at the same time. Daylight savings time should not exist. Alex Jones should not be allowed to broadcast. You know…the basics. Anyway, this is a weird week with a bunch of random things that have dominated the pop culture zeitgeist, so it’s a quick PCM as I try to touch on a few of them!
If you’re new here, welcome welcome. We are a pop culture newsletter to bring you up to speed on all the things pop culture you wanted to know…and all the stuff you were too embarrassed to ask about. It kills brain cells but in the most fun of ways. Grab headphones and enjoy.
AND…please check out last week’s pod with the amazing HOLLYWOOD TITAN and my favorite Sweatpant Boho, Brad Weston. Brad is the founder and CEO of Makeready which makes AMAZING films and shows and docs and last week I write about my new fave Hulu movie, “NOT OKAY.” Well, listen to Brad talk about making that…and so much more:
THE WORST MAN IN THE WORLD:
It’s a strange moment we are in. I am sure there are actual experts in sociology who can explain why we are in this moment. Perhaps it’s a pendulum shift from the Me Too movement? Maybe we can trace it back further to the women’s rights movement way back. Or maybe it’s as simple as the one we do not like to mention here….TRUMP. I just don’t know. Most pop culture doesn’t match this. If you listen to any pop song for example…every song sung by a guy is about how much they love their girl or misses their girl or would do anything for their girl. Let’s test my theory for a second:
Here’s our boyfriend Harry’s hit song, “As it Was” which is a sad song about love:
Or we have Shawn Mendes who broke my heart when he and Camilla broke up as they lived across the street from me and that brought me great comfort. NOTHING LASTS FOREVER. But anyway, another heartbreak song:
So let’s switch gears. The women pop stars have anthems out that are like FUCK YOU DUDE for hurting me. Like pop darling Olivia Rodrigo…
And another one from Camilla ABOUT her breakup with Shawn…and their house. SAD. But STRONG.
The point is, all the music we are served in pop shows us MADLY in love men singing their hearts out for their love and STRONG AF women being like fuck off dude.
YET….yet…we are confronted with terrible misogyny all over the place from well-known men to men who WANT to be famous more than anything. We have Joe Rogan, Matt Gaetz, Elon Musk, and various social media dudes and the king of those is ANDREW TATE.
But before we get to Mr. Tate, let’s look at another example. This guy Kyle is part of the NELK boys (Nick, Elliot, Lucas and Kyle) and they are like the 21st-century “Jackass” guys with a hugely popular YouTube channel. They have also launched a brand of HARD SELTZER (naturally) called HAPPY DAD. I have met Kyle over dinner and he is actually a lovely person at least he was at dinner. Is he a MAGA guy? Apparently…they love Trump and have interviewed him on their podcast and even traveled with him. And then this past week they scored the one guy every business journalist is killing themselves to get…ELON. AND PROPS TO THEM FOR GETTING HIM for real.
Yet this is the thing that was the focus…it’s the “I AM A MAN WHO’S ONE JOB IS TO BANG” mentality that is just exhausting.
Look, I am all for boys being boys and the pod is actually very good. The cohost is my friend John who I have loved and adored for years and years. But, the fact is…it’s like frat boy stuff that has become full-on mainstream.
SO, that’s my pre-amble to THIS guy, Andrew Tate. I had never heard of Andrew Tate until this past week, though he claims to be the most famous person on Earth. THOUGH, he apparently is more searched this past month than Kim Kardashian.
BUT…I digress.
Andrew is a Romanian/British/American (who’s to say) kickboxer who appeared on the UK show, “Big Brother” years ago and has made a name for himself as a loud-mouthed asswipe who promotes beating women for cheating or even talking to other men. He is referred to by SOME as the NEW Alex Jones…just what we need. He claims to be the most famous man alive (lolz) and shows off the multiple Bugattis he claims to “own” and fancy watches and he is the head of an MLM (Multi-Level Marketing scheme) called HUSTLER’S UNIVERSITY. I SHIT YOU NOT.
Sit back and enjoy a few examples of this guy:
YEAH…so there are so many of them. It would be funny if it weren’t so terrifying. He has millions of followers and these people worship him. He is allowed to be on these platforms: TikTok, YouTube, Twitter Facebook/Instagram….and perpetuate this mindset and it is so awful. The clout-chasing need for fame is at an all-time high…but it’s not new. A new doc on Netflix called “The Most Hated Man on the Internet” will infuriate you to no end. This guy invented REVENGE PORN where men were encouraged to post pics and videos of women in their lives (naked or performing a sex act most commonly) they were getting back at for whatever reason. It’s even worse tbh, but watch it to see. Again, this is a PLATFORM issue and the only people really doing anything about it are private citizens. MOMS that have had enough and are protecting their daughters.
Not the CEOs of Facebook, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube…NOPE.
And as someone who has worked in tech her entire professional career, it’s like WTF guys. The quote on quote Utopian world you claim to have believed in…it never was. There are MANY bad people out there. And even more who are ready to be influenced by the bad people. THIS IS NOT NEW. Yet here we are.
So if you have sons, keep a close eye and don’t let them become these guys.
AND NOW FOR SOME OF MY FAVORITE THINGS (OR SOME OF THE DESPICABLE ONES…)
As I said, this week is like a hodge podge of good, bad and ugly. So I have done my best to compile a few of the things.
- Mr. Jones…we have your number. It’s nice to see SOME punishment come to the Alex Jones of the world. This showstopper of a trial was amazing. This was an unusual trial as the jury was not there to determine guilt or innocence…that had already been established (GUILTY obvs.) It was to determine the COST of his guilt in terms of dollars. And the Jury came back swinging on behalf of the parents who were accused by Alex Jones of faking their children’s deaths and being actors in Sandy Hook. I really cannot imagine the hell these parents have been in. But the priceless interaction between the prosecutor and Alex Jones was when it was revealed the defense attorney and team accidentally shared ALL the messages from Alex Jones's phone with the prosecution. PRICELESS.
And of course the memes…
- Kelis is taking the music industry to task. Not only was she vocal about Beyonce sampling some of her music without her consent (though technically allowed due to rights and so forth) but she also was calling out the BIZ for how music publishing works. Beyonce has since removed her sample. I agree with Kelis though…like she would have been COOL she says if B had just reached out to her directly about using the sample.
- Addison Rae has not been far from controversy as of late. The famous TikTok star has had her own share of family drama which is so boring I won’t get into (her dad who is married to her mom has been sleeping with a whole host of young influencers yadda yadda yadda…). But this week, the TikTok community went after her HARD for her new bikini collab with Addidas. Here was the ad:
YEP. The HOLY TRINITY BIKINI. It’s lame in so many ways most especially in that it’s not even clever. BUT ok.
- I love Dublin with my whole heart and soul. And the center of Dublin is Grafton Street where I have spent so many maddening hours over Christmas dashing around doing all my Christmas shopping at the last minute I believe I know every inch of the area. Grafton Street is the heart of shopping and locals and tourists inter-mingle. And they have some famous buskers FOR SURE. Around Christmas you can usually find Bono and the Edge doing their thing…times are tough for them you know. No no,I joke. AND they actually bring JOY TO THE WORLD. And it is pretty special to see.
This past weekend, Lewis Capaldi (the unlikely heartthrob) and Niall Horan (formerly of One Direction) take to Grafton Street for their own surprise performance.
- RushTok is BACK. Last year, no one could be on TikTok and not be inundated with Alabama Rush videos. Things have cooled down thankfully but it’s still very much a thing in Alabama and throughout the Greek system. Girls rush videos and OOTD (outfits of the day) videos still making the rounds.
Never needed a “LONG CHAMP” (rhymes with RAMP) bag before now… And this is the LATEST Rush Bama TikTok trend…”WHAT’S IN MY RUSH BAG Y’ALL!?”
- Teresa Giudice, maybe one of the BEST housewives of the REAL HOUSEWIVE franchises, got re-married over the weekend in what can only be described as a made to be memed experience. Teresa is from the NJ franchise and is famous for turning over a table and calling another housewife “PROSTITUTION WHORE” in the early days of the show. Anyway, she has since gone to prison for tax evasion where she became a body builder and yogi. She watched her husband go to prison for tax evasion, and then divorced him and then proceeded to get engaged to another Jersey dude who gives off BAD VIBES and there is NO PRE-NUP YOU GUYS so you KNOW Bravo is high-fiving in the control room. There is also drama with Teresa’s brother and sister-in-law, also stars of the show. They were NOT in attendance at the wedding in NJ which was like 100 degrees and high humidity but this did not stop the men from wearing full black suits or Teresa from wearing 200 lbs of Marge Simpson hair.
- MORPHEUS8. No no not from “The MATRIX”. Morpheus8 is the latest viral beauty machine everyone is rising to their doctors after Kim K posted about it. A clever diversion by the brilliant Kim K who was trying to throw off the vultures around her and Pete Davidson (they broke up which is sad as I am a big believer of the older woman younger guy trend tbh but I digress…) Once she posted about Morpheus, everyone I know started talking about it. I mean I DMd my doctor so fast you could not have seen straight. Painful? Apparently bananas. Expensive? WOO BOY. Will that stop us? NOPE. But let’s be clear…this is all due to our messed-up views of age…but whatever.
- And finally, we end on some TikTok trends this week. Now this one…dear lord I have not stopped listening to the song. This sound is amazing and people are posting videos to it that include famous people they aren’t attracted to or shows they grew up watching as kids.
How the kids find this music that ends up going viral I have NO idea. This is the OG song which is OBSCURE.
AND the final trend is to this sound which creators use to post a storytime around the craziest (saddest, most dramatic/traumatic) things they have experienced. And they are doozies…
THAT IS IT, my darlings…
Have a wonderful week and enjoy the last moments of summer.
Don’t get Monekypox…get the VAX if you can.
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