Dear Gossips,
We’re big fans of Brian Tyree Henry here and it’s great to see him taking the lead in Apple TV’s Dope Thief. He’s also an executive producer on the show and, now that the final episode has aired, he’s currently campaigning for Emmy consideration. He’s been nominated before, for Atlanta, and of course he’s also an Oscar nominee. Brian, to me, is on his way to occupying a place in Hollywood similar to Jesse Plemons – every casting director will consider him for almost every project, and he is gradually showing up in everything.
Most of his time this year, so far, has been spent in London working on Sam Esmail’s new film Panic Carefully, starring Julia Roberts, Elizabeth Olsen, and Eddie Redmayne. Even in that ensemble, I guarantee you Brian Tyree Henry will stand out. If you’re familiar with his work, you know I’m not wrong. He is an incredibly compelling performer.
Last week Rolling Stone published a great profile of Brian that ran just ahead of the Dope Thief season finale where he gets deeply personal talking about his connection to the character. He and the cast of Dope Thief were at an FYC event earlier this week making sure the show gets its fair share of heat among the other contenders since there’s been so much high quality television this year. As you can see, Brian’s skills aren’t limited to acting – we have been loving on his style for a few years now, especially during his Oscar run in 2023 – and he looks superfine in this Valentino jacket over the trouser jeans.
I specifically chose the word superfine because the Costume Institute’s exhibit this year is Superfine: Tailoring Black Style which is what the Met Gala on Monday is supporting. Let me remind you of how Brian rocked up to the Met Gala, his first, in 2023:
Brian Tyree Henry is a f-cking DANDY. I really hope we see him on Monday night.
In other BTH news, turns out he’s a Sussex stan. And so is Elizabeth Olsen. Brian was recently on Kelly Clarkson’s show and shared how he and Elizabeth have bonded over With Love, Meghan. You can watch that clip here. What happens when you’re on a press tour, though, is that when you say one thing in one interview, it comes up in subsequent interviews. So last week Variety asked Brian if it was true that after his revelation on Kelly, Meghan send him and Elizabeth the jam.
“She did! She sent me and Elizabeth Olsen wonderful, wonderful as ever boxes. The care that goes into what this woman does is not missed on me at all. I started my day off with a wonderful hibiscus tea that she sent. I believe a hand calligraphy note was on the box. And let me tell you something, those jams be jamming. Like, the preserves are where it’s at. And, of course, there’s flower sprinkles, which I don’t know why I’m being so cautious using! Because I want to use them right. Like, I don’t just want to put it on fries, you know what I mean? It has to be the right thing, I don’t know why. But I’m going to support this woman. She has found her niche, and it’s delightful. In a word, it’s delightful. It’s really, really kind for her to do that. And when I got back from London and saw this, I immediately called Elizabeth and was like, “Did you get your box?!” We’re both incredibly grateful, and it’s really cool.”
Brian and Lizzie are on the jam list!
A couple of months ago, I wrote an essay for our Substack, The Squawk, titled “Meghan & Harry: Influence & Service” and one of my points was that Meghan Sussex lives most naturally as an Influencer. Meghan is a great influencer by its modern definition, and she’s had to hold back that skillset since 2016. Now that she’s allowed herself to lean into it, we are seeing her activate this power – and the jam is the best example of it. The jam has become a character, a fixation even. It’s admired and it’s also mocked. And she’s smart enough to know that the admiration and the mockery can both be advantageous. The more they talk about the jam, the more the jam becomes coveted, the more the jam becomes worthy of capitalisation. The Jam is covered endlessly, not a week goes by where the Jam isn’t being talked about and when someone new gets added to the Jam List, it prompts another headline. Remember when Beyoncé was sending Ivy Park wardrobes to select celebrities who then posted their unboxing videos on socials and how viral that was. This is what’s happening with the Jam List, only the runtime of Meghan’s Jam Listing has exceeded the wardrobes. It started slow last year when she first started sending them, building the intrigue slowly, and now getting on the Jam List has become a flex and, most importantly for Meghan, the Jam keeps selling out.
Yours in gossip,
Lainey
