Betrayal: British Crime Story
Jesy and Nicki v. Little Mix
In this week’s handle with care, the Netflix mess and an update on Timothée Chalamet.
At one point in time, there was love between the former quartet, Little Mix, and American rapper Nicki Minaj. The girl group’s first performance on “The X Factor” was to “Superbass,” and they finally got the chance to work with her in 2018 when they released “Woman Like Me.” Pop music fiends will recall Nicki dragging Little Mix into drama with Cardi B, after the latter said the group came to her with the song first. Little Mix released a statement at the time saying:
“We went with Nicki because like we’ve said over and over for years, it’s been a dream of ours to work with her since the beginning.”
Now we’re in 2021, and Jesy Nelson has since left the group and collaborated with Nicki on her own. Last week, I briefly mentioned the ongoing tension between the artists due to Jesy’s Blackfishing and lack of accountability, but things have gotten… messier since then. Unverified screenshots of Instagram DMs were leaked with Little Mix member, Leigh-Anne, calling Jesy a “horrible person” and a “blackfish.” Nicki, who is currently being sued for intimidating Jennifer Hough — the woman accusing Nicki’s husband of rape — came to Jesy’s defense on Instagram Live with her this past Monday. She insinuated that Little Mix were jealous of Jesy’s solo career, and said that they should support her instead.
It’s difficult to watch the only Black member of the group be targeted by Nicki’s large following. Leigh-Anne has been outspoken about her experience with racism in the entertainment industry, and had little support from Jesy along the way. Seeing an ex-bandmate create a career off of a culture that does not belong to them must be disappointing, and even more so when they haven’t tried to make a sincere effort in standing up for them. And of course, I always want better for Little Mix.
Say it with me: “Corporations are not your friend!”
Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos sent a memo defending Dave Chappelle and his transphobic comments in his new special. The streamer also suspended three employees, including one trans person — who has since been reinstated — for interrupting their quarterly business review. On Friday, it was also reported that Netflix fired the Black and pregnant organizer of an upcoming trans employee walkout. Netflix simply isn’t an LGBTQ+ ally, no matter how many Pride posts they publish in the future.
One of my best friends in the world just dropped a single
Adele released “Easy On Me” this week, and we can finally start Sad Girl Fall. I also wrote about it for United By Pop if you want to read more about it!
More manis in sports please
I don’t watch sports often at all, so I never noticed that catchers in baseball paint their nails so the pitchers can see their fingers easier. Has this always been a thing? Men famously have nasty nails, so they should do this in general.
Also congrats to the Los Angeles Dodgers, who are currently competing in the NLCS after narrowly defeating the San Francisco Giants on Thursday. Shoutout to the first base umpire at that game!!!
Coachella 2022
Coachella is no longer requiring attendees of its 2022 festival to be fully vaccinated. I will watch the livestream at home like I do every year.
This was going to happen eventually, but there was a lot of Timothée Chalamet content this week! Let’s review:
The first official photos of Timothée as Willy Wonka were released shortly after I sent last week’s newsletter. And among set photo leaks, this video of them filming was also leaked, and I don’t know what to say other than 2023 cannot come any sooner.
His TIME Magazine cover story came out, which is a nice read if you haven’t been charmed by him yet. I love the picture of him sitting on the stool… it’s giving, it’s giving Gumby.
Finally, we have the Entertainment Weekly cover story and digital content, where Timothée posed with Zendaya en plein air. I’m writing this section on the last day of Hispanic Heritage Month, and this photoshoot did look like the typical telenovela opening credits I’m afraid.
Short newsletter this week! Probably because there was no “Bachelor” content this time, but Michelle Young’s season starts on Tuesday, and I’m stupidly excited for it because she just seems so cool. Thanks so much for reading!!!