The Cut (part of New York Magazine) does a series called “How I Get It Done,” where they profile journalists and various powerful or influential women to see what their daily lives are like. This week’s “How I Get It Done” is with journalist Taffy Brodesser-Akner, who has made a name for herself in recent years for her excellent magazine profiles of various celebrities. She was the one who profiled Tom Hiddleston for GQ just months after the Tiddlebanging imploded into messiness and regret. It was during that multi-day interview that she was photographed on the streets of London with Hiddles, and various outlets called her Tom’s new “mystery brunette.” In her profile in The Cut, they asked her about the Mystery Brunette thing and it was hilarious:
On being a “mystery brunette”:
I was driving my kids home from basketball and I get this all-caps text from Caity Weaver that says, “YOU’RE A MYSTERY BRUNETTE.” I pulled over, called her and said, “What?” She just started reading me the story. We were so excited; I couldn’t believe I was someone who could be photographed with an actor. But I’ll tell you this: Tom Hiddleston called me and he said, “I’m so sorry this is going on. This feels so disrespectful and I hope your husband does not have the wrong impression.” I stopped him and I said, “Tom, this has been the best week of my life. You should try to enjoy this more. I know it was tough with the Taylor stuff, but this is really amazing.”
This IS amazing on so many levels. First of all, Taffy’s profile of Tom was notable because he was so sad and earnest and damaged from the Tiddlebanging. Seriously, go back and read that interview – he really didn’t know that it would be so messy with Taylor Swift. Then, the fact that an entertainment journalist is sitting there on the phone with him, telling him to please enjoy how wild and crazy and FUN it is to be a celebrity… well, it feels like she was giving him some much-needed therapy. We should all be so lucky to be an actor’s Mystery Brunette.
Happy one-year anniversary to my mystery brunette status. Also happy one-year anniversary to me asking Tom Hiddleston how he spent Thanksgiving. Good thing I get to write the stories, not them, right? pic.twitter.com/1Tpcaaeush
— Taffy Brodesser-Akner (@taffyakner) January 3, 2018
Photos courtesy of WENN.
I like Tom more now and Taffy is now on my list of writers articles to read.
She’s fabulous! And she does occasional non-celebrity stuff, too. She did a piece for Outside on spa treatments/colonics (sounds weird I know) but it made me laugh out loud.
Her goop article a month or two ago was a great read.
I enjoyed the Goop article. She wrote a piece on Tom Ford a few years ago that was also very good.
Her goop piece was brilliant! I am a huge fan of both Taffy and Caity and will read anything they write. I love them both and I love this story!
She should sell “Mystery Brunette” t-shirts and it was nice of him to make the call.
TH seems like a very nice person. I like his lowkey style.
I feel like writing “I see what you did here!” but am unsure.
[Lowkey – Loki]
Brilliant indeed, if intended.
Part of his appeal is how kind and sweet he seems. How many celebrities would be nice enough to make this call? I’ll be his mystery brunette if he needs one
I was also sad and damaged from the Tiddlebanging. I still don’t know what happened there.
She used him and then gaslit him is what happened there.
We’re serving bolognese for lunch on the veranda in honor of Mystery Brunette.
Should I bring Chianti?
Just bring yourself and a glass of Chianti will be waiting for you. We’ve been stocking up on provisions since LEGS has been on a break.
Thanks LP!
Would I have had time could have whipped up some mock tiramisu.
Anyone bringing mimosas?
We always have mimosas. Colin will deliver yours momentarily
Ha, now there is a difference between English and American in English momentarily means for just a few seconds, in American it means straight away.
Homely is a word that always gives me pause when I’m reading English (country not language) magazine or newspaper articles. In America it is a mild insult and I would be super-offended if you called my home – or me – homely.
Hi spidee!!! and everyone. 🙂
I’m late to the party as I missed this post yesterday. But I’m glad I found it cause it’s very sweet.
spidee I replied to your reply on the other thread before I saw this. It’s nice to both be on LP’s veranda for a delightful Legs story.
Ha! She seems cool, and a nice gesture on Hiddleston’s part.
Why do I have the growing impression that Hiddles is a really nice, innocent guy in the hands of greedy and manipulative people? I want to protect him. he’s too good for his own sake.
yes, me too. There was definitely much of this scenario happening in his management up to and during tiddlesbang. He was definitely blindsided.
I love him. I just simply love him. He is so strangely endearing, and as horrible as the Swift debacle was, at least he got out fast, and he has behaved as a gentleman over it – which is more than can be said of her (LOL).
I wonder if Tom would have apologised if he had read the article first? I have no respect for her off the record comments from that interview, she certainly did him no favours. But then many journalist are not high on my respect list.
I have no idea how she is hailed a great writer here. The article made overt fun of him, he endured it and was a good sport.
Moreover, she monetises on this story again by revealing yet another detail where she is 1) a person Hiddles calls at home, 2) trending on the web, 3) the savvy person who tells puppy dog Hiddles to enjoy life.
Urgh. Celeb culture is vile.
And before someone reminds me that I am on a gossip site, I will re-write the tagline: “escapism can be smart”.
We’re the smart ones outsmarting celeb culture. In my head. At least.
Yes, she has got more mileage out of this one interview than she has from her car!!
And she through him under the bus, if you will forgive the auto references.
“We’re the smart ones outsmarting celeb culture.”
hahahahhahahhaahhahhahahahahahhahah.
Oh, you actually believe that?
Oh, my.
@Sonia, Look at you all, cynical, grown-up. I’m proud.
She’s a fantastic writer. I think most celeb pieces are just blowing smoke up the famous person’s ass-and she’s able to give a look that’s so not that, but not mean either. I’m not sure if you’re just some die-hard Hiddleston fan that this hurt your feelings on his behalf (I’m sure he’s fine-he seems like a smart, reasonable person) but maybe try another piece written by her. Her Goop piece is brilliant.
Yep, you took the words right out of my mouth. Or should that be the letters from under my fingers? I thought the piece was okay but it felt as though she really stuck the knife in at the end. She absolutely implied that he was halfway to her hotel when he called her ridiculously early in the morning which she couldn’t have known. Perhaps he started from somewhere that was not his house? And, it felt like that whole piece about discussing being brokenhearted at ridiculous o’clock in the morning was not something he would have thought would have ended up in the piece. That last bit made him seem incredibly needy. But, surely, then again, he understands how on and off the record works? And yes, she is absolutely flogging the proverbial deceased equine for her own benefit by celebrating this “anniversary ”
ETA I will try the Goop piece, having just seen @MaryContrary’s comment. I do have a close friend whose opinion I respect, who also thinks she is a fantastic journalist so maybe it’s just this piece that strikes a slightly bum note.
@MaryContrary
I’ll try the Goop one. I’m curious. I’m not a fan – much less die-hard fan – of anyone.
He didn’t phone her, he sent an email the evening after they parted asking if he could come over because he’d forgotten something, and she didn’t see it till the next morning, but decided to reply saying yes anyway. He was at her door 15 minutes after she replied. Maybe he happened to be out running or something when she replied to it and thought, well as she’s said yes come over, I have to. Honestly if I noticed someone had emailed me the night before asking if they could come over, I wouldn’t assume the request was still active if you get my drift.
Also nowhere in London reliably takes 20 minutes. Journey time in London varies hugely depending on time off day. And did she mean 20 minutes walking? 20 minutes by tube? By taxi? At 6am there’s no traffic so of course it’ll be quicker. But he most likely was already out of the house since it was morning.
@The Hench I agree with your take of her TH article. But considering the mayhem of social-media-celeb gossip tirades that descended on Tom, it was a more positive piece.
@Heather. Yeah. From what I understand Tom lives in London (always has) so he can jet about easily enough on the Tube where he’s been sighted (and photographed), on his bike or just jogging about. Not to mention Uber. I have a theory that he’s not very domestic (doesn’t cook much) because he’s regularly sighted at various cafes he frequents. So yes, he’s out about London very easily.
Her comments, which were just her opinions, but people took them as facts. There was a lot of fun stuff in the interview (the bolognese!) but her “off the record opinion” stuff got most of the attention and I thought reflected poorly on her journalism skills. I follow her on Twitter and expect better from her.
For giving the reader insight into what it might be like to spend quality time with Hiddleston, the article felt pretty spot on, but trying to figure out exactly who said what was impossible at first read. I’ve read it a few times now, and I’m still not entirely sure what came from Tom and what was just her assumption.
@Dara a lot of it was her stream of consciousness assumptions
If she knew TH was sad and damaged from the Tiddlebanging publicity, it seems very crass to turn around and say to him, in regard to publicity, “This is the best week of my life. You should try to enjoy this more.” That sounds like a total slap in the face. Like, Tom, I know you’re sad about this, but this makes me happy, so your feelings are invalid and you should enjoy this.”
Also, people really need to stop texting and driving. Including just reading texts.
Pure speculation but I wonder if she asked Tom or his publicist if she could include the off the record stuff and he/they said yes? Because the major blowback/bad press that he got about the whole Swift situation was that it was a publicity stunt and that part of the article–combined with stressing his earnestness–suggested that it was real and real feelings were involved?
He did send her a thank you tweet after the article was published. Then he deleted it – maybe since he was getting into his “tweet nothing remotely personal” phase (followed by his “tweet nothing at all phase – which since people were piling on him for tweeting thanks for birthday wishes and saying he’d had a run in the rain and a slice of cake – makes a lot of sense for him)
I feel more sorry for him for posing in those awful underwear photos in W Magazine than I do for the whole Taylor debacle.
And what kind of silly name is Taffy? I went to summer camp with a girl named Bambi and I thought that was bad. This is just as bad.
My grandmother had a very annoying white dog, Pomeranian I think, named Taffy. Then when that one died she found an even more annoying dog and named it Taffy Two. Thank god she wasn’t able to get another dog when that one went.
I’m sure it’s a childhood nickname that stuck. (Get it?)
That’s so sweet (get it) lol
Her real name is Stephanie – I can easily see how “Steffie” could become “Taffy” . Actually makes me think of Welshmen “Taffy was a Welshman, Taffy was a thief” etc. That comes from Davey – a common Welsh name.
Haha, we probably aren’t allowed to say that any more!! 😀
She did end her profile piece by saying the world wasn’t ready for earnest Hiddles (but would be better for it)…perhaps post Trump and #metoo, that may have changed.
Tom may be the only celebrity I see a story about and feel immediately happier. In the world of #MeToo and Trump, indeed, Tom’s kindness, respectfulness, and intelligence are so incredibly appreciated. He’s one of the good ones.
I was over it with Tom for a while for various reasons (not even Taylor-related necessarily, I just found him exhausting lol), and I remember coming across an interview he did for Ragnarok where he was upset with himself for forgetting his stunt coordinator’s last name. The fact that he was even mentioning a stunt coordinator to begin with was sweet, and on top of that, he was kicking himself for not remembering his full name. And I remember thinking that even with his quirks, he was definitely a keeper.
100% right. You should see Lizzie Olsen interview from last week, where she was gushing about Hiddles. She said he is a role model for her as an actor.
That he is not only talented, but he is incredible on set – so kind to everyone (indluding every not so important person), remember everyone names, give goodbye gifts after they finish shooting.
She said that it isn’t so common for actors, that they even care about some random people on set. And she really love it about him. It was really sweet what she said.
say what you want about the Swift debacle and bad judgement, thirst or whatever. In an era where we have to hear the Penns and the Damons mansplaining and downplaying the metoo, hear that the Gibsons and Afflecks, Singers and CKs getting chance after chance after chance like they never did nothing wrong. In this era Hiddleston acts and sounds like a gentleman, polite and respectful of women. Posh or not, fake or not, he is a palate cleaner of all the trash we have to endure from the male specimens.
As his demeanour since the debacle has proved
Reading texts while driving = ahole
Reading texts while driving your children = bad parenting
Maybe next time Tom calls her he could explain that distracted driving is not ok and she could kill someone.
Settle down sanctimommy. How do we know that she doesn’t have a car equipped with a media screen and voice activation, like many people do these days. Like I do? Seriously, taking to social media to throw shade at someone’s parenting when you’ve never met, and are never going to meet said person is so small. It’s hard enough being female and in the spotlight – we don’t need to be throwing knives at our own to appease our own insecurities.
Sigh. Not that I think it’s going to make a difference in your life but you might want to take a look at these links for a start:
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/hands-free-texting-is-no-safer-to-use-while-driving/
https://www.nsc.org/road-safety/tools-resources/infographics/hands-free-is-not-risk-free
Listen, if someone wants to do some distracted driving down on a closed course, go nuts.
But when there are other people on the road or on the sidewalk, or in the car, you don’t have the right to endanger them just because you can’t bring yourself to ignore your phone while commuting.
Someone chosing to engage in behaviour that could harm others is not the same as a women simply making lifestyle choices you and Imay not personally agree with.
How many times are you going to regurgitate this story?
Till she die. Taffy is milking this story like crazy last 2 years. Someone like attention. Girl just move on 🙂
On tumblr someone separated all the actual Tom quotes from Taffy’s comments and it read like a different piece. Sometimes sentences said by Tom actually had a Taffy statement interjected in the middle, but one wouldn’t even notice. Writing in that way is purposely misleading. I mean EVERYONE read the entire sentence as Toms unless you carefully dissected the quotation marks.
Thats interesting, do you have a link?
I do not know how I missed that GQ pice when it originally came out…I must have been busy. Taffy double-barrelled last name that I’m too lazy to scroll up and remember (sorry) is an EXCELLENT writer. The only beef I have with the piece is the suit that they put him in for the cover.
“Tom Hiddleson is here to conquer America” says the cover.
Not in that suit he’s not.
Seriously, Hiddleston can wear the s**t out of a suit like nobody’s business, and manages to do so in the shoot, yet GQ managed to find the one, boring brown, heritage-tweedy looking thing for the cover that would make him look like some fusty toff at an antiquities show? Boo.