Liam Payneful 🙃
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It’s Friyay!! And Liam Payne is FEEDING us atm, so I don’t want to hold you up too much (because you should go and read about it below), but I do have a few housekeeping things:
Monday is a public holiday, so you won’t be getting a newsy in ur inbox (sorry), BUT… I DO HAVE GOOD NEWS FOR YOU!
So many of you have been asking us whether we’re going to be doing a Love Island debrief like we did last year, and I am happy to inform you that… YES, WE ARE! It’s not gonna be the same long-form HUGE rundown as it was last year (not enough hours in the DAY) but it is going to be a mini wrap-up within Culture Vulture where once a week we briefly unpack each Love Island ep - and we COULDN’T BE MORE EXCITED (don't worry, you'll still be getting your normal weekly Culture Vulture episodes too.)
So keep your damn eyes peeled for that (and don't say we never give you anything…)
PS, like the rest of the world I am obsessed with 'Running Up That Hill' by Kate Bush rn, so naturally it's been added to my playlist (which you should come and listen to coz it's a WHOLE vibe.)
Liam Payneful
The 1D Bot wasn't a bot and my day is ruined
New episode of the Shit Show
Johnny and Amber update
The Queen's Jubilee is happening
Tucker Carlson came for BTS
Do you wash the bread knife or just put it away?
Liam’s Payneful Few Months
So there’s a lot to unpack with Liam Payne at the moment. First, there’s his whole NFT thing, then there was the whole he-cheated-on-his-girlfriend-saga, but now there is the him-throwing-everyone-under-the-bus-on-Logan-Paul’s-podcast drama - and we should talk about it.
I want to caveat this by saying… I get the vibes he’s… not doing okay? I come at everything with a mental health lens (as you know because you listen to me and Liv on Culture Vulture each week unpack Kanye and Amber Heard etc) and something about Liam Payne’s behaviour feels to me like… he’s going through something. Regardless, his behaviour lately has been unique and his latest ‘tell-all’ on Logan Paul’s podcast (of all places) is brimming with things for us to unpack.
So the podcast (and yes, I listened to the entire thing):
He starts off by talking about how he fought Quavo shirtless in a bar???? And that they sold a billion records together??? (Fact check: their song has have 800m streams - very different things.)
Other notable things that he said:
Simon Cowell had dinner with him and his Mum after he was kicked off X-Factor for the first time, and told him to get his education and come back in two years
He was the ‘inception’ of One Direction and it was built around him, “according to Simon”
He and Louis ‘hated each other’ within the band, like ‘come to blows’ vibes
But then he actually spoke quite nicely about Louis, saying that even though he didn’t really sing on the X-factor he was still really important, found his voice later on etc etc etc)
He kinda bragged about doing illegal things and never getting caught doing them
He says a bandmate “threw him up a wall” and apparently said “if you don’t remove those hands there’s a high likelihood you’ll never use them again”
He said he “outsold everybody within the band,” (even tho (according to Vulture) he “hasn’t yet sold out Wembley like Harry Styles or had a No. 1 on the Billboard 200 like Zayn Malik and Niall Horan”
In One Direction he would ‘enjoy the mini bar and smash up the hotel room’
He has perfect pitch, like Charlie Puth, and reckons his son does too
He’s got ‘a lot of companies’ and he’s ‘big in biotech’
And then there was the chat about Zayn:
So Logan brings up a time when his brother Jake had an altercation with Zayn, and Liam kinda starts audibly sighing as soon as he realises it’s Zayn they’re chatting about. Liam caveats the Zayn chat with this:
“There’s many reasons why I dislike Zayn, but there are many reasons why I’ll always, always be on his side.”
“If I had had to go through what he went through, his growth and whatever else… My parents are overly supportive to the point where it’s annoying at times. Zayn had a different upbringing in that sense.”
“I don’t agree with any of his actions… and I can’t be on his side about any of that, but what I can say is I understand… and my only hope is that the person on the other end of the phone wants to receive the help that you’re willing to give them.”
This conversation is what has made fans really angry - and I get that, a lot of people have really fair and understandable criticism of the racist undertones that come with glossing over someone’s upbringing because it’s 'different' to your own.
I do think though - after listening to the whole podcast - that his conversation about Zayn wasn’t malicious. He definitely shouldn’t be speaking about any of the other dudes’ private business (especially when they’ve chosen not to) but I think the quote when looked at in context, isn’t as bad as the way I'm seeing it being treated on Twitter and TikTok (I'm not surprised - these platforms are designed to cause outrage.)
There's no denying that this was a chaotic and cringe interview, but I really hope that's all it was and that he's not going through something bigger behind the scenes. Guess we're not getting a reunion after all!!
Speaking of One Direction, the ‘bot’ I talked about yesterday… wasn’t a bot
Much to my dismay, I was duped by a TikTok PR stunt. That ‘bot’ I linked to yesterday that wrote a ‘One Direction style’ song, was actually just a dude promoting his own song. I don’t like being duped, so I’m not gonna link to it, but thank you to everyone who let me know that I WAS WRONG 😖
New episode of The Shit Show!!
An update on Uvalde & Jacinda visits the US - The Shit Show — open.spotify.com
This week we discuss the aftermath of the horrific shooting in Uvalde (including WTF the police were up to as it all unfolded), as well as a timeline of Jacinda Ardern's trip to the US, and most importantly, a chat about Binley Mega Chippy.
A little bit more context on the Amber Heard/ Johnny Depp trial
So yesterday I sent out the newsy as soon as we heard the first jury announcement, that Johnny Depp had won his defamation case against Amber Heard, and that he was awarded $15m in compensatory and punitive damages.
Then it was announced that Amber Heard, also won one of three counter-claims against Depp, and was awarded $2m in compensatory damages.
Now, as I said yesterday, Liv and I are going to do a Culture Vulture episode on how the trial finished up next week - but I just wanted to say that this whole case - playing out so publicly - has been hard to watch, and there are really no 'winners and losers' here.
The least we can do - now that it's been broadcast for the world to see - is LEARN SOMETHING FROM IT. Whether it's in the way we talk about abuse on the internet, or the things we've learnt about mental health and how childhood trauma can impact relationships - we just need to learn something.
📚Shit You Should Read About📚
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What supporters are saying about the book list:
Louise: "Omg there are so many books and little write-ups! I was literally expecting a list (which would have been totally cool) 🥺 but you guyssss 💕
Taylor: "So excited to watch this list grow. From one book lover to another, thank you for this and everything else you do!"
Jessi: "Already loaded three recs onto my Kindle so safe to say early on that this perk is the move. 😍"
🎶SYSCA Playlists🎶
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What supporters are saying about the playlists:
Michelle: “Luuucee anybody with Can’t Fight the Moonlight on their playlist is immediately my best friend. I don’t make the rules, I just follow them.”
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Hannah: “This is the greatest thing. Of all things. At this moment right now. I've been CRAVING new music (cheers Hazza for helping me out) but I don't trust spotify playlists because the ones they recommend to me I never seem to enjoy!!! So thank you. Off I go to listen!”
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Tucker Carlson Slams BTS’s White House Appearance
Why, in 2022, would anyone be out here messing with the BTS Army?? Yesterday, after I wrote about BTS speaking at the White House, I warned that James Corden should stay quiet on it (because last time he made a joke about all their fans being 15-year-old girls and it did NOT go down well.)
Anyway, Tucker Carlson must have skimmed over that part of yesterday's newsy, because he decided to run his mouth about their visit, saying:
“Things have gotten very bad for Joe Biden, both public-facing and internally,” Carlson told viewers of his eponymous Fox News show. “What are they doing about it? Well, they broke glass in case of emergency and invited a Korean pop group to speak at the White House today.”
“Yeah, so we got a Korean pop group to discuss anti-Asian hate crimes in the United States. Okay. Good job, guys.”
Now we wait for the Army to do what they do best.
The Queen's Jubilee is happenning
Full disclosure, I have nothing against the Queen, but I don't really care about the Jubilee. I figured some of you might though, so I'm giving you a link to live updates of it! (Selfless, I know.)
Also, Prince Andrew has covid, so won't be attending.
After you cut bread do you wash the bread knife?
Yesterday's poll (which was inspired by a TikTok Rubes sent to me) was: after using a serrated bread knife (to cut bread) do you wash it, or just wipe it off and put it back?
26% of you fully wash it
74% of you wipe it and put it back (MY PEOPLE)
PS, happy pride!!! 🏳️🌈
An update on Uvalde & Jacinda visits the US (The Shit Show)
The DeuxMoi subreddit is rebelling (Embedded)
A conversation with friends about Conversations With Friends (Culture Vulture)
Memorial Day weekend marked by more than a dozen mass shootings in the U.S. (CNN)
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Our HUGE SYSCA reading list! (✨Supporters only✨)
