the dead tortured poets society department
taylor swift continues to clown us all + the grammys and other news of course 𓆩♡𓆪
MY BESTIES!! Hi, hey, hello! First of all, I cannot tell you how BLOODY excited I am to have Bel back in our inboxes each weekend with her new advice column ‘Wait, But What?’
There’s honestly no one I’d rather learn life lessons from, so don’t feel afraid to drop your deepest, darkest, juiciest (or most mundane) questions for her to answer (they’ll be anon - don’t worry!)
Introducing our new weekend newsy: Wait, But What?
The world. Life. Work. Friends. Moving away. Moving home. Death. Cozzie Livs. Mob Wives. New Crushes. Running out of time. Trying to touch grass. Trying to keep up. Trying to cut bangs. It’s all a bit… much. We know.
Scheduling note!!
It’s a public holiday in New Zealand and then I’m out of town for work, so you won’t be getting the newsy for a few days. Love you and see u soon! 𓆩♡𓆪
☆⋆｡𖦹°‧★ ON THE WEB ☆⋆｡𖦹°‧★
We all thought we were getting Reputation (Taylor’s Version) instead we got clowned
And a whole new album.
Taylor Swift really Tayor Swifted yesterday by hijacking the Grammys to announce her 11th studio album ‘The Tortured Poets Departement’ (catch me NEVER getting that album title correct.) This came as a shock to us all, as earlier in the day she’d turned all her profile pictures black and white and her website had gone down (there’d been a Glitch) and every Tom Dick and Harry was SURE that this meant we were getting a Reputation TV announcement. But nooooo. Taylor Swift couldn’t possibly let the Swifites get a theory correct, and so a new album it is.
Of course, as with anything Taylor does, there are more theories. My first and favourite theory is that the album title is a direct response to a Whatsapp group that Joe Alwyn (her ex), Paul Mescal, and Andrew Scott have called the ‘The Tortured Man Club.’ To which I say - you leave my hot priest out of this Taylor!
The next theory, which I also wouldn’t be mad about, is that this is going to be a collab album. I think this theory is based mostly on the fact that she said she was ‘chairperson’ of the ‘Tortured Poets Department’ and the fact that (if we’re taking it incredibly literally) it’s a department of poets which means there is… more than poet?
Personally, all I hope is that the album is nothing less than slutty folklore, because if we can’t move into our Reputation era, slutty folklore seems fun right?
And finally, if you personally don’t care about this, instead of commenting, plz go and read my piece about the ‘What About Me’ effect)
As for the rest of the Grammys
Full list of winners here, but these were my personal highlights:
Laufey won for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album
Boygenius won 3!!!
Taylor Swift made history but becoming the first person to ever win album of the year four times (she won it for Midnights this year)
Miley Cyrus won her first Grammys for Record of the Year & Pop Solo Performance (albeit for Flowers a song I personally hated)
Blue Ivy took the stage with JAY-Z to accept the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award They took this opportunity to call out the Grammys for snubbing Beyoncé. “I think I’ve seen this film before” etc etc etc
Tracy Chapman sang Fast Car with Luke Combs and it shot back up in the charts (deserved)
Women won all four of the major categories!!!
⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖ IN THE NEWS⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖
Danielle Smith unveils sweeping changes to Alberta's student gender identity, sports and surgery policies
“Doctors are criticizing Alberta Premier Danielle Smith for her medically "false" statements about transgender youth care and gender reassignment surgery, saying her plan risks harming the vulnerable group.”
Alberta doctor says Smith's new gender policies based on 'ideology, lack 'medical expertise'
“Alberta policies on trans youth most anti-LGBTQ2 in Canada:” Trudeau
At least 99 people dead in Chile forest fires
“At least 99 people have been killed by forest fires in Chile's Valparaíso region, local authorities have said.
It is believed to be Chile's deadliest forest fire on record. Many of those affected were visiting the coastal region during the summer holidays.”
Jacob Elordi allegedly grabbed a reported by the throat in Sydney?
Jacob Elordi has been accused of grabbing the reporter behind a radio prank gone wrong by the throat.
Joshua Fox, from Australian station KIIS FM, said he tracked the Saltburn star to a bar in Sydney when he heard the actor was in the city.
But Mr Fox claimed the 26-year-old became angry when asked to fill an empty container with bathwater, in reference to a famous Saltburn scene.
The boycotts are getting to McDonald’s
Power of the people baby!
“McDonald’s reported its first quarterly sales miss in nearly four years on Monday, squeezed by weak sales growth in its business division that includes the Middle East, China and India.
The burger giant is among several western brands that have seen protests and boycott campaigns against them over their perceived pro-Israeli stance…”
So many of us have grown up having everything available and accessible to us all the time - which is AMAZING for so many reasons, but there is a cost to free things - even if you can’t see it.
In a world that feels more mystifying by the day, where journalists are constantly being laid off, and misinformation spreads faster than a leaked Harry Styles song, finding media that you trust, understand and actually want to read is so important.
I know you value what I do - so many of you email me saying how much you love the newsletter, thanking me for explaining topics you might not have heard of, and telling me how much it means to you that you’ve got a friend on the other side of this thing (🥺🥺🥺) If you believe in paying for the media (or the person???) you love, then please consider becoming a supporter.
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this is where I heard about the new album bc I'm not on socials so thank you for that!! and the "if you personally don’t care about this, instead of commenting, plz go and read my piece about the ‘What About Me’ effect" made me laugh :))
what do you think about taylor bringing lana onstage? heard lots of differing opinions x