What a chaotic week, y'all! Daysia's yearning for what Taika Waititi, Rita Ora, and Tessa Thompson have and Hannah writes about how plastic surgery, injections and photo editing is a stark reminder that celebrities are not like us. Plus, MAJOR LORDE NEWS!

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Daysia and Hannah

This Week's Fixations

Daysia: Listen, everyone is talking about Taika Waititi, Rita Ora, and Tessa Thompson’s romp this past week. But everyone seems to have missed that the mystery man (not a mystery actually, it’s Zac Stenmark who is apparently a twin model) Thompson was later seen with was also on the balcony with the three celebs. See:

No, I don’t believe that these people are in a polyamorous relationship. I don’t even think Waititi and Ora are in a committed relationship. The two of them are famous for doing a bit of trolling and having fun. It’s not that serious, babes! I would be shocked if their fling lasted through the summer (it would fuel an interesting Rita Ora song for once, though). But these four people def probably had a **really fun** evening together. And you know what? I am living for it. If it was totally safe to go out in the US again, I 100% would be fucking around just like this. That’s exactly how we should all be starting the summer off! Alas, we cannot all be in Australia, but I am living vicariously through them.

Another thing I couldn’t stop thinking about this week: Ariana Grande is married! She looked so beautiful, and Vera Wang designed her dress. Wang promised to outfit Grande on her big day after dressing her at the “Heavenly Bodies” Met Gala in 2018. At the time, she was dating Pete Davidson, who she was engaged to one month later. Alas, the wedding dress would not come for that union, but now—three years later—Wang has made good on her promise.

Hannah: This week my mom asked me, “Hannah, is Khloé Kardashian even Khloé Kardashian anymore?” She was referring to recent photos of Khloé where she looks very different from how she did a few years ago, or even a few months ago. All you have to do is scroll through her Instagram. (And trust me as an avid watcher of Keeping Up with the Kardashians and all the spin-offs as a teenager when I was a teenager, my mom is very familiar with how Khloé looks since she was on our TV every week for several years.) This is by no means breaking news but it is something that I have been thinking about. I do my best not to judge people, especially when it comes to choices with their bodies but it is hard to come to grips with the severity of the changes Khloé (and other celebrities) make to their appearance. The bigger issue for me is when celebs try to deny that they’ve had cosmetic surgery or edit their pictures. I think in general more celebs are willing to be upfront about if they’ve had work done, or injections, or edit their pics. It’s interesting how this issue tangles up with the body positivity movement (which has its own flaws). I highly recommend Lexi McMenamin’s piece in Bitch, “Beyond Skin Deep: Khloé Kardashian, Madison Beer, and Social Media’s Unwinnable Beauty Game” for more about this.

And recently, Kelly Osbourne has also said that she hasn’t had any plastic surgery but has said that she has had injections. Looking at recent images and videos on her Instagram it’s startling to realize what an effect that injections and makeup can have on a person’s appearance. As I said, I don’t think there’s anything inherently bad or wrong about plastic surgery/injections/etc but it makes me uncomfortable to think about how these images are projected to millions of people and the underlying hypocrisy of it all. Like, yes, you can look just like your favorite celebs if you have the money and the access and so many of us don’t. Social media, especially Instagram, has caused a shift in the barrier between celebrities and their fans: they seem more approachable and accessible than ever before. But for the most part, this is an illusion and to me, images like those on Khloé and Kelly’s Instagram are just a reminder of how much celebrities are not like us.

Has Lorde Dropped a new album?

IT’S COMING BABES!!!!!!!! Lorde is one of the headliners for Primavera 2022 which means the album is near… We can FEEL it in the air. We’re guessing it’ll come out sometime in the winter, but who knows? Well, besides her and record label:

 In the meantime, keep the Hot Girl energy going with the City Girls’ full version of “Twerkulator.”

Too Many Tabs

For PAPER, Shaad D'Souza breaks down the significance of Jo Calderone—Lady Gaga’s drag alter ego during the Born This Way era—including the importance of his appearance and performance at the 2011 VMAs.

Vox’s Constance Grady is launching “The Purity Chronicles” a series that examines the misogyny of 2000s pop culture. The first moment Grady tackles is Paris Hilton’s sex tape and why Hilton hasn’t been treated with the same recent sympathy as others from that era (like Britney Spears).

Since the events of 2020, police procedurals have faced a reckoning and taken many different paths to address (or not address) issues of racism and police brutality. NCIS: New Orleans which is in its final season is doing its best to change the status quo. Kathryn VanArendonk examines how the show is achieving this for Vulture.

Plus… Bad Bunny is a busy man, fans are recreating SOPHIE’s music, Seth Rogen discusses cancel culture and comedy, the end of the Jackass era, a conversation with Sleater-Kinney on now being a duo and their new album, and you know you love it… a new trailer for the Gossip Girl reboot has dropped.