Britney Spears is once again the center of the pop culture conversation. Yesterday Lainey wrote about her, and our, complicity in the framing of Britney Spears. There are snippets of that conversation happening online but a lot of it is focused on media. At the time of the Britney uproar, I was not writing in entertainment but I was interested in it and consumed it. I was a fan of Britney (still am) and thought the virgin stuff was nonsense and generally really liked her. I didn’t question the coverage of her though, not once. And I wasn’t a totally uninformed consumer but I think that, growing up seeing the coverage of Michael Jackson (pre molestation accusations) and the remnants of the “fat Elvis” coverage, or jokes about Dolly Parton’s large breasts on the cover of tabloids, or Oprah’s biological family story painted as scandal in the Enquirer, I thought it was par for the course. Billy Eichner tweeted about our consumption and people are big mad, with one response arguing it’s not the drug users’ fault that the drug dealer sells. But has the failed war on drugs taught us nothing? Supply and demand go hand-in-hand. They supplied but we demanded. And if we don’t reckon with that demand, can things really change?
Why does stealing AirPods feel so good? I always steal my husband’s, as a treat.
PEOPLE’s story about Robin Thicke probably won’t get a lot of attention but I found it interesting because of his career trajectory from a well-regarded musician to the Blurred Lines guy, then a very contentious divorce from Paula Patton, a public custody battle, remarriage, three children and now a kind of a comeback. During all that, Robin’s father Alan Thicke, his manager Jordan Feldstein (Beanie and Jonah Hill’s brother), and his musical mentor Andre Harrell have passed. His house burned down as well, and there was the Blurred Lines lawsuit. That’s a lot to happen to someone in seven years.
This is breaking today: Fenty Fashion House at LVMH is being put on pause. This is not totally surprising it was such a new brand and, right now, luxury clothing is taking a massive hit on all fronts. But this isn’t to say it’s done – they could revive it when the market picks up. Rihanna could also buy it out to take it independent or partner with another conglomerate, like Kering. That seems like a long shot though as it looks like she’s in it with LVMH for the long haul: Women’s Wear Daily (the bible for this kind of stuff) notes that the company is focusing on Fenty Skin and Fenty Beauty and that a private equity firm, L Catterton, led a $115 million round of funding to expand Savage x Fenty’s retail presence. (LVMH has a stake in L Catterton.) It also notes she’s been looking for a partner for a possible athleisure line. As Rihanna fans know, her work is thorough so she’s not slapping together an athleisure line just because we want it right now. This is not licensing her name out to a fast fashion brand. She is detailed and hands-on and the quality she produces requires a huge investment from her, both in time and money. Not every investment works out but I do hope she revisits Fenty Fashion House again.
There’s another rumour that Brooklyn Beckham and Nicola Peltz got married and I’m not sure about this one. On the one hand they are young and in love and might not want to wait, but on the other, there will definitely be a huge party at the Beckhams’ country house.
Aaron Rodgers and Shailene Woodley have confirmed their engagement to PEOPLE, and the sources seem to predominately be from his side. Also, some fans noticed he thanked Jodie Foster in his MVP speech and people are wondering if it’s THE Jodie Foster? She and Shailene worked together on a film and apparently Jodie is a huge Packers fan. Did she set them up? Now I’m curious.
OK I’m on Clubhouse if anyone wants to find me. It’s like a social media maze, I feel like so lost.
