Dear Gossips,

Gwen Stefani’s new album, This Is What The Truth Feels Like, was released today. So far the reviews I’ve read have been OK. Like it doesn’t suck but it’s nothing remarkable. A few music-first outlets are positing that, with this record, the story has been Gwen herself, and not the music. Which is why she’s been on such heavy promotion with celebrity magazines like PEOPLE Magazine.

The latest article about Gwen – as of this writing – over on People.com is about her relationship with social media. Most stars talk about social media with cautionary tones. Like how they use it but pretend to not get caught up in it. Few of them admit that it fuels their narcissism, their need for constant appreciation and validation. Not Gwen, sort of:

"When [social media] first started, it felt really embarrassing, like you're shouting out yourself so much. [Before social media], the people that we loved, they were very mysterious. Society has changed a lot. I think that people feel real good about tapping into everybody's life [with social media], and there's something comforting about that."

You know what I think might be weird for celebrities? It used to be that before social media – and reality television preceding it – they didn’t have to share. Now it’s very possible for a social media star to “matter” more online than a movie star. So now then, when they minimise the influence of social media, when they front like it can be dangerous to put too much stock into it, is part of that because if they conceded it would undermine the hierarchy?

Have a great weekend!

Yours in gossip,

Lainey