After a long break, Weekly Debrief is back with an update from the past three weeks! In pop culture news, Drake and Kendrick continue to beef, the Met Gala occurs and more. Read to find out the lore:
Massive celebrity blockout occurs
Following the 2024 Met Gala and many fans' pent-up frustration of celebrities' lack of speaking out about political issues, many fans declared a celebrity “blockout”—where they block numerous celebrities. This blockout originated from the lack of many famous celebrities using their platforms to speak about the genocide currently happening in Palestine, such as Taylor Swift, Zendaya and the Kardashians.
As the list of celebrities to block circulated social media, some fans saw it as an opportunity to show celebrities that their fame is because of their fans. Some influencers began to speak on their platforms about Palestine, but some fans called them performative and only wanting to avoid being blocked. Some fans have called the entire blockout performative, saying that fans' time could be better spent actually sending aid to Palestine.
Another movie about Harry Styles is released
“The Idea of You,” a new film starring Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galitzine, has been speculated to be about Harry Styles. The movie (available on Prime) follows a middle-aged mother as she falls in love with a boyband member—one she met at Coachella because her daughter was a fan. If you have ever watched “Starstruck” (2010), the plots are incredibly similar, with “The Idea of You” simply having more kissing scenes.
While it hasn't been officially confirmed that the movie is actually about Harry Styles, fans have speculated that it is based off a popular Harry Styles fanfiction trope—a singer falling in love with a fan, flying her all over the world and essentially doing anything for her. It's notable that there already have been several films rumored to be about Harry Styles, specifically, the “After” movie series.
Someone check in on Harry Styles, please!
The 2024 Met Gala sparks mixed reviews
As mentioned previously, the Met Gala occurred on May 6. The Met Gala takes place at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute in Manhattan, and the event funds go to the institute. The event has become a highly-regarded event, as you can only attend if you are invited by Anna Wintour, the editor-in-chief of American Vogue.
The theme of the exhibition was “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion,” and the dress code theme was “Garden of the Time.” Attendees seemed to take the theme either very seriously or very loosely, with some decked out in flowers and others in black dresses. Notably, some fans noticed that Zendaya's first outfit (she had two) seemed like something that would've been worn in the Hunger Games, which started a conversation about the Met Gala's occurrence in the first place.
Overall, many fans seemed disappointed with the outfits. Some notable outfits were Tyla's, as she had to be carried up the stairs, Kim Kardashian's, as it hugged her waist so tightly that fans were worried she couldn't breath, and Lana Del Rey's, who had tree branches on her head. Additionally, Stray Kids (K-Pop group) fans were upset at a photographer who was yelling insults during their walk across the red carpet. Two Stray Kids members are Australian, so the group does understand English; this made a lot of fans upset.
Billie Eilish releases a new album
Billie Eilishes new album, “HIT ME HARD AND SOFT,” was released on May 17. The album has 10 tracks and has received positive feedback from fans. Notably, “Lunch” seems to be a fan favorite, and “Birds of a Feather” already has a TikTok trend and will be featured in the upcoming season of “Heartstopper.”
Fans were particularly excited about this album because Billie Eilish recently came out as queer, and a lot of the songs are about how much Billie Eilish likes women.
Kim Kardashian is boo-ed during Netflix's Tom Brady roast session
The new Netflix comedy, “The Roast of Tom Brady,” has had an interesting launch with the first episode on May 5. Kevin Hart was the host, and a bunch of celebrities had a roast session to try to be the “best.” Kim Kardashian participated in the roast, and the audience boo-ed her during her beginning. This clip has since been edited out of the Netflix version, but there are still clips circulating.
Additionally, comedian Tony Hinchcliffe decided to roast Kim Kardashian even though it wasn't her roast session. He said, “She's had a lot of Black men celebrating her end-zone. Kim, word of advice, close your legs. You have more public beef than Kendrick and Drake.” This comment has received a lot of criticism, calling out Tony Hinchcliffe for disrespecting and slut shaming Kim Kardashian in front of a crowd.
Drake and Kendrick exchange diss tracks
Over the last few weeks, Drake and Kendrick Lamar have refueled their beef. In March, Kendrick was featured on Future and Metro Boomin's “We Don't Trust You” album, where he threw shade at Drake and J. Cole. Drake and J. Cole had previously made the song “First Person Shooter” in October, where J. Cole essentially asked who the best rapper was.
After Kendrick's initial diss at them in March, Drake addressed the diss during his tour, saying that he doesn't really care. In April, Drake released “Push Ups,” a diss track against Kendrick. He then released a second diss track against Kendrick titled “Taylor Made Freestyle,” where he cited Taylor Swift and implied he was disappointed Kendrick hadn't responded to his previous diss.
Late April, Kendrick finally struck back with a six-minute long song called “Euphoria.” He then released another diss track in early may called “6:16 in LA.”
That same day (May 3), Drake released a diss track titled “Family Matters,” where he claimed Kendrick's relationship with Whitney Alford was filled with infidelity.
The next day (May 4)—almost mere minutes after, Kenrick replied with another diss track, “Meet the Grahams.” Kendrick called Drake a deadbeat father and alleged that Drake is hiding another child. He also said that there are pedophiles inside OVO Sound (a record label Drake founded). That same day, Kendrick dropped another diss track, “Not Like Us,” where he called Drake and his friends pedophiles. The lyrics went viral on TikTok, saying “Certified lover boy? Certified pedophiles.”
The next day (May 5), Drake addressed these allegations in “The Heart Pt. 6.” He claimed that he was baiting Kendrick into believing that he had an alleged child. He then suggested that Kendrick's girlfriend Whitney Alford was having a baby with a different man.
On May 13, Kendrick's “Not Like Us” topped the Billboard Hot 100. The feud left fans divided on whose side to pick and whether these claims were true or false.
It's notable to also say that Barack Obama said in a 2016 interview that Kendrick would win in a fight against Drake.
Harrison Butker's commencement speech receives heavy backlash
Harrison Butker, Kansas City Chiefs' kicker, gave a commencement speech at Benedict College on May 13. In his speech, Butker expressed his disagreement with abortion, Pride Month, COVID-19 lockdowns, DEI and women's rights.
Butker specifically addressed women graduates in the crowd, telling them to embrace motherhood.
“I want to speak directly to you briefly because I think it is you, the women, who have had the most diabolical lies told to you, how many of you are sitting here now about to cross the stage, and are thinking about all the promotions and titles you're going to get in your career,” Butker said. “Some of you may go on to lead successful careers in the world. But I would venture to guess that the majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world.”
Butker also referenced Taylor Swift, referring to her as his teammate's girlfriend (Travis Kelce is on the Chiefs). Since the speech, Butker has received heavy criticism for his comments, with one Taylor Swift fan starting an online petition to remove him from the team. The petition has received over 95,000 signatures so far.
Red, White & Royal Blue announce upcoming sequel
A sequel to “Red, White & Royal Blue” has been announced, with both Nicholas Galitzine and Taylor Zakhar Perez returning to their lead roles. The sequel is said to be based on the epilogue chapter of the novel.
