In this week’s late night edition of handle with care, the Grammy Awards!!
The GRAMMYs went off without a hitch today in Las Vegas. Trevor Noah returned to host for a second year, and the ceremony was chock full of incredible performances and a surprise Album Of The Year win!
The big 4 awards (Best New Artist, Album, Record, and Song Of The Year) were contentious as ever. I predicted the winners on Twitter earlier today and only got half right! My finger is almost on the pulse!! Everyone correctly predicted Olivia Rodrigo would win Best New Artist; it was the only prize that was a shoo-in. Rodrigo took home three awards tonight. Record and Song Of The Year went to “Leave The Door Open” by Silk Sonic, who ended up winning all four awards they were nominated for. Album Of The Year went to “We Are” by Jon Batiste, which I was not expecting at all. I thought “Sour” by Olivia Rodrigo would take the top honor (although I wished “evermore” by Taylor Swift would win). Batiste’s win is actually preventing stan arguments that would’ve taken place had Rodrigo, Swift, or Billie Eilish won. The full list of winners is available here.
The very best performance came from BTS, who performed their hit “Butter.” It was a spy-themed event, with each member taking their individual places in the audience before going into their choreo. Jungkook was able to participate after recovering from COVID and testing negative yesterday. Taehyung even had a cute moment with Olivia Rodrigo at the start of the performance.
The GRAMMYs also secured something the Oscars and Amy Schumer couldn’t: a video from Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He addressed viewers before a performance from John Legend, who shared the stage with three Ukrainian artists. In another moving moment from the ceremony, Lady Gaga performed for Tony Bennett and was giving true artistry. Like I was on the verge of tears by the end, she sold it.
GRAMMY Fashion: Donatella did it
After being a little underwhelmed fashion-wise at the Oscars last week, I was expecting people to turn out looks for the GRAMMYs. It wasn’t as fun as I would’ve liked, but still, I picked out four favorites that I feel very strongly about!!
I am so into Lil Nas X’s intricately beaded outfit, which is custom Balmain. There are quilted panels, a wide leg pant, and a few very sweet needlepoint butterflies. The butterflies remind me of the embroidered napkins my grandma makes. I also love the chunky matching shoes and the blue eyeshadow in the inner corners of his eyes. He’s my best dressed attendee for sure! Dua Lipa also looked stunning in a black Versace gown and blonde hair!! I liked the black harness over the bustier, and the gold jewelry.
Michelle Zauner of Japanese Breakfast wore a yellow ruffled Valentino mini dress. Just know that I love kooky outfits like this, and I would absolutely wear it. Her nails also have hanging persimmons, just like on the “Jubilee” album art. The attention to detail is immaculate. Doja Cat was one of the first people to arrive on the red carpet, and she looked beautiful in a full mint green ensemble. The Versace gown is a corset and sheer, sparkly overlay. I love a good chunky platform heel, and I loved the early 2000s-inspired spiky hairstyle.
And finally: Chelsea’s GRAMMY ✨highlights✨
Dua Lipa and Megan Thee Stallion presenting Olivia Rodrigo with Best New Artist.
Dua Lipa and Megan Thee Stallion’s Mariah and Whitney moment.
CBS trying their absolute darndest to censor Justin Bieber’s “Peaches” performance.
Billie Eilish performing “Happier Than Ever,” with a tribute to Taylor Hawkins.
Doja Cat and SZA winning Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for “Kiss Me More.” Doja ran from the restroom to accept the award, while SZA hobbled over to the stage on crutches.
Fallout from The Slap
Throughout the week we’ve heard from too many celebrities that had nothing to do with The Oscars. From Judd Apatow alleging that Will Smith “could have killed” Chris Rock in a hastily deleted tweet Sunday night, to Zoe Kravitz’s quirky Instagram captions taking her from March’s Internet It Girl to persona non grata in less than two hours. Even Harry Potter was wise enough to not contribute to the neverending discourse.
Smith apologized to Rock, The Academy, the Williams Family, his “King Richard” family, everyone at the Oscars, and everyone who watched the day after the ceremony, calling himself a “work in progress.” On the other side, there’s been quite a bit of back and forth from The Academy in the days after the ceremony. Their first statement on the matter said, “The Academy does not condone violence of any form,” and then it was announced that there would be a formal review and a meeting with The Academy’s Board of Governors, which would take place much sooner than usual post-show. After Wednesday’s meeting, another statement was released claiming that Smith “was asked to leave the ceremony and refused.” If this were the case, why wait until three days after the Oscars to say it?
Will Packer, one of the Oscar producers, said that Rock didn’t want the situation to get worse. The LAPD were apparently on standby, and Academy leadership were ready to “physically remove” Smith from the Dolby Theater. I don’t need to say there is a lack of organization within The Academy as a governing body, but their PR nightmare was poorly handled with mixed messaging. And having this stretch out over the course of the week just doesn’t look good.
On Friday, Smith officially resigned from The Academy:
“I have directly responded to the Academy’s disciplinary hearing notice, and I will fully accept any and all consequences for my conduct. My actions at the 94th Academy Awards presentation were shocking, painful, and inexcusable. The list of those I have hurt is long and includes Chris, his family, many of my dear friends and loved ones, all those in attendance, and global audiences at home. I betrayed the trust of the Academy. I deprived other nominees and winners of their opportunity to celebrate and be celebrated for their extraordinary work. I am heartbroken. I want to put the focus back on those who deserve attention for their achievements and allow the Academy to get back to the incredible work it does to support creativity and artistry in film. So, I am resigning from membership in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and will accept any further consequences the Board deems appropriate.
Change takes time and I am committed to doing the work to ensure that I never again allow violence to overtake reason.”
The Academy accepted the resignation, and the Board of Governors will meet again later this month to talk about disciplinary action against Smith. Rock also performed his first stand-up show since the slap in Boston, Massachusetts, promising to talk about it eventually because he is “still kind of processing what happened,” as heard in the audio clip from Variety. And we did also get this very funny video of Andrew Garfield reenacting it.
Dr. Taylor Swift has entered the chat
Taylor Swift is getting an honorary doctorate degree from NYU in May, and will speak at their 2022 commencement at Yankee Stadium. Her graduation merch collection suddenly makes way more sense…
Being a Swiftie has made me heightened my paranoia around everything she does. One of NYU’s school colors is purple (“Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)” teas), but it’s also famously located in New York (“1989 (Taylor’s Version)” teas).
Pour one out for Kimberly Finkle today
Gavin Leatherwood, who plays Nico in HBOMax’s “The Sex Lives of College Girls,” is not returning for the second season, telling Us Weekly that he is “branching off and going in a different direction.” The previous to-do list honoree will be exploring different roles to become a stronger artist.
If it’s recast, I’m actually curious to see Dylan Sprouse, who was originally cast as Nico before departing the project, in the role. Someone get Mindy Kaling on the phone!!!!!!!! With “Riverdale” likely ending within the next year, I need at least one Sprouse twin on my TV at all times.
Harry Styles released the first single from his upcoming album, “Harry’s House,” this week. “As It Was” is an 80s-synth-sad-boy bop with a bridge that will perpetually be stuck in my head. The music video sees Styles dressed in red, with his co-star in a blue outfit, mimicking the red pill, blue pill scene in “The Matrix.”
Speaking of new music releases, I was working on the GRAMMY fashion graphics on Friday while listening to Miley Cyrus’ new live album. If only y’all heard my scream during “7 Things” into “See You Again.”
Thanks for reading, friends!! handle with care will return to inboxes at noon next week. With awards season ending, and me having no regular “Bachelor” content until July, let me know if there’s anything you want to see from me!! I’m so grateful for all the support 💗