In this week’s handle with care, Leonardo DiCaprio and his girlfriend break up, and Adele is almost at an EGOT!! Plus, a Bachelorette recap.
In my honest opinion, the MTV Video Music Awards haven’t been good since the 2013 ceremony, when Harry Styles was caught peeling a clementine while sitting behind Rihanna. I decided to watch this year’s show last Sunday because of a rumored Taylor Swift appearance. Also, it seemed obvious she was going to win Video of the Year for “All Too Well: The Short Film.” Well… she showed up!!!
And she showed out in this beautiful Oscar de la Renta dress (just remembered the brand’s page posting and deleting a video of the dress, and Swifties saying it couldn’t possibly be hers because it was too pretty lol), sang along to “Pink Venom” by BLACKPINK, disappeared after Nicki Minaj’s Video Vanguard performance, and returned for Video of the Year, which she won!!!
During her acceptance speech, she started to utter the words: “I thought it’d be a fun moment to tell you..” and I screamed “NO!” at my TV. At that moment, I thought she was about to announce a new re-recorded album. Instead she said, “My brand new album comes out October 21, and I’ll tell you more at midnight.”
Her landmark tenth studio album! It was the slowest 40-minute wait of my life, and I incessantly refreshed her Instagram page to see this:
13 new Taylor Swift songs await us in 13 weeks!! Predictions on what genre the album will be are currently being posited, but I really want it to be indie pop reminiscent of the early 2010s’ Tumblr era. Anyway, I’m over the moon to have something to look forward to soon.
Another one bites the dust
Camila Morrone is the latest ex-girlfriend of Leonardo DiCaprio to get dumped as a freshly-26-year-old. Morrone turned 26 on June 16. The Los Angeles Times wins best headline for this story.
He’s literally going to date a Gen Z-er next! Someone who watched him in Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet in their ninth grade English class. Someone who doesn’t have a fully developed prefrontal cortex. I’m having a difficult time trying to wrap my head around this.
An unsolved mystery
Lea Michele is addressing rumors claiming she doesn’t know how to read in a New York Times profile ahead of her Funny Girl debut.
“I went to ‘Glee’ every single day; I knew my lines every single day. And then there’s a rumor online that I can’t read or write? It’s sad. It really is. I think often if I were a man, a lot of this wouldn’t be the case.”
I don’t know what’s more hilarious… the fact that she is trying to turn this into a sexism thing, or that she still hasn’t denied it! Just say, “I know how to read!”
News Briefs
Serena Williams competed in her last US Open match this week, after losing in the third round. She previously announced her retirement in the August issue of Vogue. Her storied tennis career includes 23 Grand Slam titles.
Jane Fonda was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, and has already started chemotherapy treatments. In her Instagram post, she acknowledged how privileged she is to have access to treatment, while other families are not as lucky.
Adele is close to reaching EGOT status with five wins for “Adele: One Night Only,” including Outstanding Variety Special, at last night’s Creative Arts Emmys. Someone please put her on the West End or on Broadway right now so she can win a Tony!
Timothée Chalamet has something to say: “I think it’s hard to be alive now. I think societal collapse is in the air.” He was talking about social media’s effect on young people, and you can read his full comments here. He also wore a backless top for the Bones and All premiere at the Venice Film Festival.
The Bachelorette Men Tell All Recap
Well… this was certainly an interesting episode! It started with Rachel’s final hometown date with Aven in Salem, Massachusetts. After her last date with Tino, she's hoping Aven’s family actually likes her. Since they’re in the city known for its witch trials, Aven and Rachel are going to see a “love witch” named Lorelai (Gilmore Girls teas!!) for a love spell. Lorelai reads their palms and lights some candles, but as they’re leaving, the table the candles are on falls over. Rachel hopes it’s not a bad omen for later. That evening, they go to a restaurant to meet Aven’s parents. Rachel talks to both of his parents individually, and the chats go smoothly! This marks the first girlfriend of Aven’s that his parents like!! When they leave, Aven tells Rachel that he’s falling in love with her.
Since this two-hour time slot was supposed to be solely for the Men Tell All, Jesse is in the studio. Usually after hometowns, there is a rose ceremony, right? Except Jesse breaks the news that because of time, they won’t show the rose ceremony, but says that all the remaining men received roses. They posted the complete rose ceremony online the next day.
The Men Tell All starts with a discussion about how the men chose which Bachelorette they wanted to pursue. Remember Hayden’s “rough around the edges” comment? And when Jacob said he wouldn’t continue with the process if Gabby were the only Bachelorette? Hayden was not in attendance, but Jacob was, and he apologized for those comments. The first man to go to the hot seat for an in-depth discussion was Logan, who was only asked about switching from Team Rachel to Team Gabby, not about the mysterious disappearance before hometowns. Ultimately, Logan said he wished he switched “in a more graceful way.” Oh, and he’s going to be on Bachelor in Paradise in a few weeks.
Nate is in the hot seat next, and they talk about his breakup with Gabby. Surprisingly, the rumors about him allegedly cheating on women and hiding his daughter from them are also brought up. He says he did those things after going through his divorce and because he wanted to protect his daughter. He apologizes for his actions, and some of the men are supportive of Nate. Questionable! I don’t think Nate should be the next Bachelor TBH… I would rather see Tyler C. for the mess! There is also a preview of the next season of Bachelor in Paradise, and it looks like they’re stealing Casa Amor from Love Island, so this ought to be good.
Gabby and Rachel are brought out to the hot seat to confront their exes. Rachel sees Jordan V. for the first time since dumping him on her first one-on-one date of the season, and he is surprisingly not bitter about it. Jacob apologized to Gabby for his comments, and he cries I think, but the apology is accepted. Logan apologizes to Rachel for switching so late in the game as well. Tyler only has nice things to say to Rachel after she broke up with him during hometowns, and Gabby questionably says Nate treats women well… hm. The last part of the episode is an ad for Billy Eichner’s new movie Bros, and I have to be honest, this part isn’t really worth recapping!! This upcoming week are two nights of Fantasy Suite dates before a two part finale.
I have been battling the worst itchy eyes all week, and we’re in the middle of a heatwave in Southern California… this hasn’t been my week I fear. But I will pop a Claritin every day if I have to because September is my favorite month, and I will not be stopped!!!! I hope everyone is staying hydrated and having a good weekend. Thanks for reading, and see you next week.