Fans protect Liam Payne's Dad & Trump sued by the Central Park Five

+ BEL CHIMES IN all about failure.

Before we get into it, this is a reminder that I’m currently running a 50% off sale for anyone wanting to get all our free goodies or simply support the media they love. I’m running this because the cost of living crisis is kicking all our asses, and I want as many of you to have access to all our cute bonuses as possible. Love you! Luce xxxx

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Hello darlings!!! I am back in the land of the living after a gorge week in Sydney (even though my flight home to NZ got cancelled due to a literal BOMB THREAT - god the world just loves to give me content doesn’t it???) Anyway, since being home I have ridden my bike, spent lots of time with the cutest 2-week-old baby in the world, and coloured in my colouring in books. Life is about to get super crazy for me (you’ll see why because obv I’m taking you for the ride) but I am lapping up every single moment of quiet I’m getting at the moment. I love my little life!!

I’ve also been weirdly into watching true crime (I have never been a true crime girlie - but I blame Criminal Minds for the new fixation) so lately to put me to sleep I’ve watched Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, and now I’m watching that Ted Bundy one with Zac Efron. If this feels incredibly off-brand for me it’s because it is, but hey, I’m just rolling with it.

LOVE YOU ALL, NEWS TIME!

⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖ IN THE NEWS⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖

Trump is being sued by the Central Park Five

Ok I know I literally just said YESTERDAY that I was trying to dial back the Trump in these newsy’s, but I felt like this story deserved a spot.

A little refresher on the story of the Central Park Five

The Central Park Five (or as they now call themselves, the "Exonerated Five)" are five men who were wrongfully convicted of assaulting and raping a jogger named Trisha Meili in New York's Central Park in 1989. Each of the boys spent between 6-13 years wrongfully imprisoned before their exonerations.

How was Trump involved?

Trump added fuel to the fire in a very public way during the trial by doing things like taking out FULL PAGE ADS in four major NYC newspapers calling for the death penalty. The ads said things like, “BRING BACK THE DEATH PENALTY. BRING BACK OUR POLICE!” which stoked public outrage against the five teens, even though they hadn’t been convicted yet.

Though he wasn’t directly involved in putting them in prison, his actions heavily swayed public opinion against the boys.

And they’ve now been freed?

Yep, they were all exonerated in 2002 after the real perpetrator, Matias Reyes, confessed to the crime and DNA evidence confirmed his involvement. But even after they were exonerated, Trump didn’t stop. He called the settlement a “disgrace” and continued to argue that the men were guilty, despite all the evidence that they weren't.

Why is this important now?

Well, fast forward to today: during a debate with Kamala Harris, Trump made some false claims about the men. He said they had killed someone and pleaded guilty, which isn't true because (1) no one was killed in the case, and (2) they never pleaded guilty, and as we know now they were actually cleared of any wrongdoing.

So, the Exonerated Five are suing Trump for defamation - basically saying that Trump is still spreading false info about them, which damages their reputation. They're asking for more than $75,000 in damages, but that number could go up depending on how the trial goes.

Trump's team is calling the lawsuit a "frivolous" attempt to mess with his campaign, and they're blaming Harris and her allies for trying to distract voters from her policies. Because of course he is. God this man is awful.

a non-exhaustive round-up of trump's insane behaviour lately

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☆⋆｡𖦹°‧★ ON THE WEB ☆⋆｡𖦹°‧★

One Direction fans protect Liam Payne’s Dad’s privacy

I’m not going to lie, I was hesitant to write about this - I don’t ever want to come across as invasive to anyone at such a rough time, but there were two things about this story that actually brought me a bit of comfort and I wanted to offer the same to you in case you were in need of it.

For context, Liam Payne’s Dad Geoff visited Argentina, and while he was there ha paid respect to tributes that had been laid out by fans outside the hotel where his son died on Wednesday.

Geoff Payne read letters and messages left by fans and paused next to flowers, photographs and candles placed around a tree near the hotel. He also thanked fans for the tributes before leaving.

The first little moment of comfort among all of this is that to protect his privacy, fans who were there paying tribute used their hands and bodies to protect the paparazzi from getting too close to Geoff. The second little comfort is that Geoff was accompanied by Paul Higgins, the adored bodyguard of the One Direction boys, who is beloved by the fandom, and I’m sure by the boys’ families for keeping them safe for their time away from home. It’s just nice to see that someone who knew Liam so well is still there, now looking out for the family.

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✿⊰𖡼𖥧𖤣❀ BEL CHIMES IN: On Failure ❀𖤣𖥧𖡼⊱✿

This section is written by the refreshing-as-a-house-chardonnay-on-a-steamy-day (and co-author of our debut book Make It Make Sense) Bel Hawkins. Each week Bel comes here to chime in about the things she’s been loling at, yearning for, or totally mystified by. Luckily for us, she also writes our Sunday advice column ‘Wait, But What?’ for all our paying supporters who want to make sense of the world!! Upgrade your plan to get her newsy here!

Show me your museum of failures plz x

Hi crushes,

Coming to you from one of those Mondays where you pulled the clutch out for a week straight and are sauntering around your morning pulling your brain cells together for reality... lol. BUR THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO CAME TO OUR LISBON LAUNCH! J'adore you, it was such a fun eve (described by Alex, the owner as 'one of the chicest, rowdiest crowds yet,') and even though Luce wasn't there she was in spirit <3

This week, I wanted to Chime about this mini-trend I've been seeing called 'My Museum of Failures,' which is basically where you introduce yourself, your age, and all the things you feel like you've failed at in life so far:

It's bound up in this concept of 'antifragility,' which is very in right now — this idea of seeking out stressors and challenges to grow stronger and better. I wonder, too, if it's a reaction to us living in the permacrisis, trying to make sense of the constant chaos and reaching for extreme vulnerability to make sense of it all.

I was about to write down my own Museum Of Failues list to show you, because I generally operate under a 'wild transparency' rule with writing (whilst also protecting my mystery cos that's also hot and cool), but then decided it's probably too far for me? There's only a certain number of close people in my life I want to know my deepest regrets and anxieties. But, on the other hand, I've found whenever I've written about the hardest stuff on here is when it's felt like it's resonated the most. Where's the line? (Said in Carrie Bradshaw voice whilst staring wistfully out my bedroom window, ciggie burning).

So, I'm curious as to what you think? A new level of internet cringe where we feel like we have to excavate the darkest depths of our own lives just so others can connect with us more online? Or do you think it's kinda revelatory that we're at this stage of the internet now where we can all stop pretending we're perfect and connect over how strange life can be for us all? This week, I'm not claiming to know all the answers but I'm wondering if you have them instead.

J'adore you! Can’t wait to see all our paid supporters over the weekend for some notes on taking your power back after heartbreak. xoxo

PS! I keep getting heaps of DMs about our Making of  book podcast, which you can listen to here!

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