Roe V Wade V The Met Gala
First of all, the amount of messages I got from you yesterday wondering where the newsy was was SO CUTE! For some reason, a bunch of yesterday’s emails went to spam/ junk (it might happen again today tbh) but it was a unique edish so you should totally go back and read it!
Also, Liv and I listened to you all (as usual) and today’s Culture Vulture episode is all about explaining the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard situation (so far) bringing you as much context as possible, and just like the Kanye West episodes, we are aiming to explain, not excuse. I would highly recommend giving it a listen (PS, peep the new art)
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Roe Vs Wade might be overturned
The Met Gala happened
I AM WORRYING, DARLING
An ‘Is Mayo Aioli?’ update:
Do you care about the Met Gala?
Roe Vs Wade might be overturned
I just want to preface how MASSIVE of a deal this is. Yesterday Politico broke the story that the Supreme Court are planning on overturning Roe V Wade AKA the landmark decision that made it a constitutional right to get an abortion in the US.
Let me repeat myself - this is huge. Since 1994, less than a handful of countries have moved backwards on abortion rights (Poland, El Salvador and Nicaragua) while 58 have moved forward. The US is SO close to joining that handful, and we do NOT want this group to become a powerful fist.
A leaked draft of the majority opinion says that a majority of the Supreme Court voted to strike down the 1973 Roe V Wade decision which “guaranteed federal constitutional protections of abortion rights” and a subsequent 1992 decision – Planned Parenthood v. Casey – that largely maintained that right. “Roe was egregiously wrong from the start,” according to the Supreme Court.
Another quote from the doc?
“It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives.”
Uh, no, I think it is time to return the issue of abortion to the person requesting an abortion.
I want to be super clear here - if this draft - which was written in Feb - is similar to the decision that they come to (expected next month), then reproductive rights will be ‘rewritten almost immediately.’
The New York Times answered some key questions, which I think are important to add in here:
If Roe is overturned, would abortion become illegal everywhere?
No. Individual states would decide whether and when abortions would be legal. Many states would continue to allow them, and some have even begun making provisions to help serve women who live in states that are likely to restrict abortion. Right now, abortion remains legal in every state.
Where would abortion access be most likely to change?
Abortion would likely become illegal in about half of states, although some of the forecasts differ.
According to the Center for Reproductive Rights, a group that fights abortion restrictions in court and closely tracks state laws, 24 states are likely to ban abortion if they are allowed. Those states are: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
When would this happen?
The leaked document was described as a draft, not a final opinion. It may be a month or more before the Supreme Court officially rules in the case, and that decision could differ from the draft that is circulating.
If the Supreme Court does rule against Roe, clinics in some states would likely begin closing within days. In other states that ban the procedure, the process may take several months.
The New York Times (sorry for all this quoting, but as IF I am going to do better reporting than the Times on something like this) also posted some info on who might have leaked this doc:
One theory was that it could have been a clerk for a liberal justice seeking to bring public pressure upon the court before its decision was final.
Another was that one of the conservatives orchestrated putting it out, seeking to soften the impact of the decision by getting Americans used to the idea before it happened — and clouding the importance by raising the distraction of a debate over the propriety of the leak.
Yet another theory was that one of the other four jurists that Justice Alito has thought was with him is wavering, and the leaker wants to force that justice back into the fold by making it clear that it would be inferable that he or she went wobbly at the end.
Politico broke the story, saying on its site that it received the draft opinion from a person familiar with the court and the document
I should say that there IS a chance that this opinion will change by the time the final decision comes around (and public pressure may help that), so we shouldn’t lose hope, but we should add whatever pressure we can.
At the end of the day, the overturning of Roe V Wade does not mean the end of abortions. It means the end to safe abortions.
Meanwhile, the Met Gala happened, here are some takes
I’m sure you’ve already seen all the looks and made your own assumptions, and tbh my mind was filled up with the above story, but I got my trusted flattie Flo to give me some takes on the Met Gala, and it turns out we have the exact same views, so here they are:
Blake Lively is everything
She understood the actual assignment. The theme this year was 'The Gilded Age' (a period of time from the 1870s to the early 1900s) so she went as an ode to the Statue of Liberty (constructed in 1885.) Here's an article in The Cut about how it actually worked, but more importantly, here's how it looked:
Kim K wearing Marilyn Monroe’s dress was cool
Some facts about this look:
it's the 'happy birthday Mr President' dress
it's owned by Ripley's believe it or not
it's worth about US $5mil
she only wore the actual dress for a manner of MINUTES - she wore a replica for the rest of the night
This is a great article about all of the admin around her wearing it - though I absolutely despise the part about her going on a strict diet regime to fit into the dress, so maybe skip that part. It's not good for anyone to read XD
Kylie’s outfit… WHAT?
Phoebe Bridgers, Paul Mescal, and Daisy Edgar Jones have definitely had a threesome and tbh can we make that a foursome?
Emma Chamberlain looked amazing and is an INCRED interviewer on the red carpet
Why? Celebrities love her - she’s perfectly straddled the line between Youtuber and full on celeb, so they're trying to impress her, and she's trying to vibe with them, and it's just good. Notable moments for her were both Jack Harlow AND Shawn Mendes flirting with her, and her and Billie defs being besties.
🏄♀️ Calling all sports fans! 🛼
If you’re into sports but don’t have time to catch up on all the headlines, let the Gist do it for you. The Gist is a women-led (& women written) newsletter that comes out 4 x a week - it’s kinda like the sports version of SYSCA!! If this sounds like something you’d be into, you should defs sign up here!!
Making Sense Of Johnny Depp and Amber Heard
New episode of Culture Vulture! — open.spotify.com
For this week's episode of Culture Vulture we discuss the trial taking the internet by storm - Johnny Depp vs Amber Heard. We give a whole lot of context, explain why this trial is being filmed and broadcast, and go into the background of each person involved, to try and help explain how we got where we got today. We talk a lot about mental health, the complexities of abuse, and why we should take this opportunity to watch and learn from this trial, without feeling the need to take a side. I highly encourage tuning in if you want a well-rounded view of what we know so far.
Along with the Met Gala and the stripping of our right to choose, we were also blessed with the Don’t Worry Darling trailer yesterday
I’m nervous to watch Harry Styles acting but at the same time at least he’s not required to put on an American accent I guess. Also, I just love Florence Pugh.
An ‘Is Mayo Aioli?’ update:
You know that one of my fave parts of the newsy is that we all come from different jobs/ backgrounds/ bring different skills and stories to the table - well, the other day we had Jess, a mayo/aioli expert in the inbox to answer our burning questions. Here’s what she said:
“Kia ora Luce!
Just on the mayo/aioli thing - I work in the food industry and last year I started at a company that makes a lot of emulsified sauces (read: mayos and aiolis).
I have done SO MUCH research and there’s no real legal difference between the two (at least in the FSANZ). And having made a bunch of recipes for both mayos and aiolis, the only real difference is that aioli has more garlic and crushed mustard seeds in it. But otherwise they’re pretty much exactly the same thing.
It was a disappointment to me, because most of my life I’d been saying ‘eww mayo’ and ‘hell yeah aioli’. But I guess we all gotta be wrong sometimes right
Anyway! I love teaching people about food and the science of it. I feel like we could all find a lot of use in being more educated about our food and how it works and how it’s put together. Sooooo… sorry for my little ‘did ya know’ but also it’s a big passion of mine!!”
Do you even care about the Met Gala?
This was our poll yesterday and:
18% don't like it
68% just like seeing the fits
13% low key love it
None, except you need to listen to Culture Vulture ok?
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