In this week’s handle with care, jam-gate and Oscar nominations!!! Plus, my January favorites.
Everyone has descended upon Paris for Fashion Week, and I really wanted to highlight the three moments that have been living rent free in my brain this week.
Doja Cat being red all over in this Schiaparelli haute couture look… something absolutely shifted in the universe. Make-up artist Pat McGrath revealed that Doja was covered in over 30,000 hand-applied Swarovski crystals. It was done in just less than 5 hours.
Anne Hathaway is living, laughing, and loving in Valentino. I saw someone online saying that we are living the alternate ending of The Devil Wears Prada. She’s owning it!!
Finally, we have Ziwe, the iconic comedienne. She walked in the Mugler show for her runway debut! And I’m not a Housewives watcher, but she had a funny moment with Lisa Rinna, who was sitting front row.
Speaking of high fashion:
Vogue has announced the co-chairs of this year’s Met Gala. Joining Anna Wintour are Michaela Coel, Penélope Cruz, Roger Federer, and Dua Lipa.
If you’ll recall, the theme for the first Monday in May is “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty.” That means we could see Margot Robbie in her best worst Chanel look! I think she should’ve been a co-chair too.
Welcome home cheater!!
Shakira and professional soccer player Gerard Piqué publicly ended their marriage last summer, but they’re currently going through a huge custody battle. The singer then released an iconic diss track, and then, there was this:
I knowwwwww I’m late on this, but it’s so funny. Who is eating her damn SMUCKERS!!
Piqué also hard-launched his new girlfriend, 23-year-old Clara Chia Marti on Instagram this week. Men continue to be nasty, so that’s that.
If you’ve been keeping up with the news recently, you know that there were multiple mass shootings in my home state, California. The Monterey Park shooting was the largest one in county history, and claimed 11 lives. This Twitter thread has links to support and donate to organizations and the families of the people affected if you want to help.
On Friday night, a video of Tyre Nichols being beaten to death was released to the public, and while I won’t share that one, I will share this one:
I also cried reading this story in the AP about Nichols; it really humanized him. I’ll also leave links below if you want to support or donate to the family.
Tyre Nichols Memorial Fund, organized by his family. (Warning: graphic imagery)
Donations for protestors in Memphis.
Thoughts on the 2023 Oscar nominations
Riz Ahmed and Allison Williams announced the nominees for this year’s Academy Awards, and I was pleasantly surprised for the most part. I mean, I went to bed the night before thinking, “I will probably wake up tomorrow morning and see a nomination that will destabilize me for the rest of the day.” And while that was also true, I was so happy to see Everything Everywhere All At Once get so much love!! Especially Stephanie Hsu, who was overlooked most of awards season in favor of Jamie Lee Curtis in the supporting actress pool. Hsu gave a much more layered performance, and that’s the popular opinion. The film leads with 11 nominations.
I’m putting together my watchlist as we speak! I’ve been on team Paul Mescal since Normal People, and have yet to watch Aftersun, his Best Actor-nominated performance. Irish people are up this year, including him and everyone in The Banshees of Inisherin (also Niall Horan, in my heart). Also at the top of my watchlist is Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio. I need to see why it’s beating Turning Red at these ceremonies…
The Andrea Riseborough of it all
The best actress nominee could potentially be disqualified from the race due to “aggressive” campaign tactics, according to Variety. The Academy released an all-encompassing statement days after the nominations were announced, saying that the nomination was “under review.”
Riseborough stars in the indie film To Leslie, and her A-list friends were particularly vocal about her performance. Gwyneth Paltrow, Charlize Theron, Kate Winslet, and others basically joined her For Your Consideration campaign. Cate Blanchett even gave her a shout out during her Best Actress acceptance speech at the Critics’ Choice Awards two weeks ago.
The nomination was especially controversial because Viola Davis and Danielle Deadwyler — of The Woman King and Till, respectively — seemed to be locks for nominations after receiving praise and accolades this season. There are no Black women in the Best Actress category this year. While it’s possible that Riseborough’s nomination could be rescinded, there wouldn’t be a new nominee to take her place.
GRAMMY Sunday is approaching
The Recording Academy announced the first “wave” of performers for next week’s ceremony:
Bad Bunny
Mary J. Blige
Brandi Carlile
Luke Combs
Steve Lacy
Lizzo
Kim Petras
Sam Smith
My January Favorites
I feel like I’ve mentioned the fact that I watched Everything Everywhere All At Once already, but I don’t remember lol. Guys. What a perfect movie! It really is all about love and family and being there for each other. I really can’t put into words how much I enjoyed it! The accolades are deserved. I also watched The Menu on HBO Max the same weekend, and I really liked it too. The mixed reviews were a surprise to me. Anya Taylor Joy does a “not like other girls” thing in this, but I didn’t care because I couldn’t stand Nicholas Hoult’s character. My one note: needs more Judith Light.
I desperately needed an inane show to watch at the beginning of the year before The Bachelor came out, and luckily a new season of The Circle was released on Netflix. I thought this was a good season, with a bit of an unexpected winner. I especially loved Raven and her interpreter Paris! I need Paris to play during the next season, because he seems so high-energy and fun. I had a soft spot for the season’s himbo, Marvin. Normally, I like when the players are cutthroat, but they were very likable this season, and didn’t want to hurt each other’s feelings.
Finally, for my favorite songs of the month, I cannot start this list with anything but “Flowers” by Miley Cyrus. It deserves the attention it's getting, but wow, I wish Plastic Hearts got this love too. Nonetheless, I’m excited to hear her new album in March! You can already tell this is going to be a life-changing time for her. I’m already predicting GRAMMY treatment in 2024. I’m slowly getting into K-pop, and those NewJeans girls… they put something in “Ditto.” I’m also spinning “Where Do We Go Now?” by Gracie Abrams (who I’m seeing this year!!) and “True Blue” from boygenius.
Hi! Sorry I didn’t send a newsletter last week, time got away from me. I’ve been resetting this month, and I’m so excited for spring and warmer weather and fun times with friends. I hope you’re all doing okay 💚💕 Thanks for reading, and see you next week!