Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department debuted at #1 on Billboard’s top 200 charts. TTPD is already breaking records. [Just Jared]
Why is Justin Bieber crying in these new selfies? [Socialite Life]
Review of Challengers, Zendaya’s first big starring role. [LaineyGossip]
Kourtney Kardashian celebrated her b-day at IHOP. [Hollywood Life]
Review of The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare. [Pajiba]
What’s up with the Hollywood Con Queen series? [OMG Blog]
Zendaya looked like a tennis ball on Jennifer Hudson’s show. [RCFA]
Christina Hendricks got the girls out for brunch. [Seriously OMG]
Jessel Taank is Bravo’s first Indian Real Housewife. [Starcasm]
What it’s like to date someone really rich. [Buzzfeed]
See? TS can receive less than glowingly adoring reviews and still be fine. No surprise the album will sell.
I enjoy this theme of British boyfriends for this album. Also love the reference to the female fantasy of British romances set around the 1830’s like Bridgerton, Wuthering Heights, Emma, Jane Eyre. It’s a shame the internet thinks she is referring to the 1830’s in America in an album about British boyfriends.
@Cara – White supremacy was also a major theme of the British Empire in the 1830s and plenty of terrible things happened outside of America. Bridgerton is not really meant to be an accurate depiction.
@originalLeigh, right? who do you think the people were that enslaved people and brought them to the Americas?
William Wilberforce was the key figure supporting the cause within Parliament. In 1806-07, with the abolition campaign gaining further momentum, he had a breakthrough.
Legislation was finally passed in both the Commons and the Lords which brought an end to Britain’s involvement in the trade. The bill received royal assent in March and the trade was made illegal from 1 May 1807. It was now against the law for any British ship or British subject to trade in enslaved people.
On August 1, 1834, Britain passed the Slavery Abolition Act, outlawing the owning, buying, and selling of humans as property throughout its colonies around the world. While this did not free enslaved people in the United States, it was a source of inspiration and hope for abolitionists. It outlawed slavery in Canada, which became a haven for refugees.
@cara
I’ve never observed a fandom so hellbent on attacking those with differing opinions of their fav like swifties do.
It’s an interesting take, but Swift didn’t personally say that. If we had to go with that line of reasoning, being American, she really should not aspire to be a different nationality, time period notwithstanding. Is that a thing? To be nostalgic about a culture that’s not yours?
“Predictably”. Nice diminishment of a woman’s success.
But “predictably” is telling no lies here.
Yes predictably. Name the last Taylor Swift album that was not a chart topper and failed to move units. If she were to release an album that didn’t sell or top the charts, that would be surprising.
I didn’t realize it till I saw stats this week, but folklore and evermore did not bust records on sales. Neither did Lover. Her re-releases and Midnights have and since that’s been the last few releases it does feel like it’s a trend, but it’s not a given that her stuff will top the charts.
May not have broken records but Lover debuted on the Billboard charts at #1. Folklore broke streaming records on its first day. Evermore debuted at #1. They may not have broken sales records, but predictably, and yes predictably, they did very well
I give up. How is that diminishing in any way?
@michelle
Why is whenever someone says something that swifties don’t like about their idol, they default to misogyny? ‘Predictably’, as in nobody thought the biggest pop star in the world wasn’t going to top the charts. Would it be a diminishment if somebody said ‘predictably Meryl Streep is nominated for an Oscar ’ – you see? It’s not an insult, or diminishing of her success in any way – it’s ACKNOWLEDGMENT of her success! As in nobody would ever bet she wouldn’t, because her success is undeniable. Just because you interpret something that way, or don’t see people fawning or worshiping your idol, doesn’t mean it is misogyny. A chunk of swifties need to re-learn what that word means. Swift has dealt with misogyny before but thinking the ‘predictably’ part = misogyny is wildly incorrect.
And here the “Swifties stop claiming any less than fawning comment is misogyny” challenge #48573 failed, yet again 😂
@bella
I’m here for Meghan, not Taylor Swift. I googled the historical facts because I don’t like to swing at the air. Better to swing at the enemy. Taylor Swift is not the enemy. Ask Meghan.
@Cara – No one said Taylor is the enemy. Your insisting that British colonialism and imperialism in Asia, Africa and the Caribbean in the 1830s was no big deal is on you – not Taylor. You can celebrate Taylor’s success without minimizing historical white supremacy.
The same thing is said about BTS (7 member boy band), sports teams that win over and over again, that annoying kid in my 5th grade who won every award. When anyone is so good that they dominate their industry and win every possible award every time, yes, it’s predictable, and frustrating. That’s not sexist, it’s human.
I like the reviewers at RogerEbert.com. They gave Challengers 3 1/2 stars out of four with a far more detailed analysis, if you’re discouraged by Lainey’s take.
Wow I’m surprised Lainey gave it a bad review, I haven’t heard a negative thing about challengers. I wanted to go this weekend but was slammed. Hopefully I can make it this week I’ve been excited for this one since last summer.
Consider the source
It’s Sarah, not Lainey’s review. I haven’t had a chance to see it yet. I’ve found the reviews split based on if they found it sexy or not. Those who did loved it, those who didn’t felt it was a miss. Which seems fair.
Blake Thornley on sm, who is gay, gave the review that he thinks he’s bi for Zendaya and he loved it. He’s been spot on for a lot of my taste 🤷🏼♀️.
I’m not especially interested in the plot of Challenger’s, but because of Zendaya I had planned to watch it on streaming. I’m not crazy about the idea of her playing a Nicole Kidman level ice queen, but she’s a wonderful actress so maybe she pulls it off? Her intensely emotional role on Euphoria would’ve been annoyingly melodramatic with the wrong actor, but mygawd does Zendaya play it brilliantly.
I wonder what’s going on with Justin (and Hailey) Bieber. First there was her dad’s weird request for prayers for them, then they looked like they were fighting, now this – and Hailey keeps acting like it’s a joke. He hasn’t been well since his facial paralysis.
I have a story for the Buzzfeed article! I’m not dating someone rich but my cousins are mega rich – private jet, multiple million dollar homes jet. Last Christmas they asked me to go join them for the holidays, all on their dime, skiing in the Alps. I hate skiing, I don’t get the fun in it at all, but I figured might as well try it out: being on vacation with the rich has to be some kind of experience right? After a week: no wonder the rich love skiing. All the fun without the hassle. I had an instructor with me every day, the hotel handled all my rentals and drove me and my gear to the chair lift every day, picked me up when I was done. Of course there was champagne and oysters between runs when I wanted to rest up. Let’s not even get into the size of my hotel room (fire place with fresh wood every day, all set up for me just to light it up, my own Christmas tree, etc), and of course the food was exquisite. When I saw the bill, I lost my mind. The cost, just for me and my partner, was like 6 months rent. Crazy.
I’d almost wonder if we were related, except my uber rich vacation home in Aspen cousins never invite me.
This was the first time they ever invited me! I was floored
I like quite a few songs on the album
Music never has to be EVERYONE’s groove, that is why there is so much diversity across the map for people to listen to. The tragedy to me is stereotyping YOURSELF into one particular form, or just listening to the same old tired stuff endlessly. Branch out! Give stuff a listen, you might be very pleasantly surprised. People make fun of Jamband fans such Phish or String Cheese Incident or Carolyn Wonderland or the Grateful Dead, but these fans have a surprising amount of diversity in the music they listen to.
as I said the other day, knowing that Christina is a goth makes pretty much all of her fashion make sense.
those are some hunky footbaw dudes. I hope they will be ok.
LOVE the “my crotch itches” pose on the album cover and the “watch me ALMOST break my own neck” nonsense on the Anthology cover.
I know I’m getting old because I’m referring to more and more things as “nonsense”.