Music and the Olympics are reigning in the minds of pop culture fans this week. This past week, there has been Olympic beef, a continuing saga of bad Clinton Kane vibes and more.
Turkey blocks access to Instagram
The Turkish government has blocked Instagram throughout the country this past week; however, they haven't disclosed why. According to Turkish media, there are over 50 million users of Instagram—not anymore, of course.
Some users speculate that the reason behind the ban of Instagram was because posts related to the death of Ismail Haniyeh, Palestinian political figure who was the political leader of Hamas, were being removed from the app.
Fahrettin Altun, the head of Turkey's presidential communications, criticized Instagram and accused it of censorship.
Brooke Schofield's old racist tweets resurface
Brooke Schofield, cohost of the ‘Cancelled' podcast and recently involved with the Clinton Kane drama, has been under fire with her old racist tweets resurfacing. People were most upset and disappointed at her tweet regarding George Zimmerman shooting and killing Trayvon Martin, in which she said that Zimmerman was acting in self defense. Zimmerman was originally charged with second-degree murder but was acquitted, and the incident sparked a lot of backlash at his actions.
Additionally, Brooke made tweets making jokes about Mexicans, Black hair and more… including some containing homophobic slurs. While these tweets were from 2012–2015, fans have expressed their disappointment to Brooke. She recently made a video addressing her old tweets, stating that she grew up in a conservative household with her grandparents and that she has since grown to disagree with her old opinions. Her apology has appeased some fans, but many still remain skeptical—even some calling for her to leave the podcast.
But, what exactly would leaving the podcast do? If Brooke was forced to leave, surely cohost Tana Mongeau would also have to, as she has made a considerable amount of problematic comments in the history of her career as an influencer.
Clinton Kane releases a new single
Speaking of Brooke Schofield, her ex Clinton Kane just released a new song. The song is called ‘MAKE ME YOUR MONSTER' and seemingly referred to himself as Frankenstein—saying that he was made into a monster. But, does anyone remember the plot of “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley? Frankenstein was, in fact, the scientist that made a creature, not the other way around.
Fans have caught onto this and have quickly called him out on it, with some comments on the YouTube lyric video saying:
“I would probably really like this track if I had no idea it was a pathetic response to a real world scenario. At least my man doesn't own a ukulele”
“Love the Aussie representation!! except… you aren't Australian.”
Lollapalooza 2024 seeps of success
This year's Lollapalooza, a Chicago music festival, occurred from August 1–4. The festival has had a lot of success, with its daily capacity at 115,000. Not only did attendees see a stacked list of artists, such as Chappell Roan, Stray Kids, Megan Thee Stallion, SZA and more, but fans could also livestream the event through Hulu.
The two most notable performances seemed to be Chappell Roan and Stray Kids. Chappell Roan's crowd was one of the biggest ones ever seen at the festival. Some fans have even compared Chappell Roan to Freddie Mercury of Queen, comparing her ‘Hot To Go!' song and dance with Queen's ‘Radio Ga Ga' at the Live Aid concert. Additionally, Stray Kids reportedly brought a fiery, unforgettable energy to the stage that left many fans speechless.
Both Chappell Roan and Stray Kids—like the rest of the artists they were on stage with—are undoubtedly making history through their Lollapalooza performances.
Simone Biles wins again
Simone Biles, the most decorated gymnast in history, has been winning at the 2024 Olympics. While her husband and fans are happy for her, her ex-teammate certainly isn't. MyKayla Skinner apparently blocked Simone after she posted about Team USA's Olympic win.
MyKayla previously made negative comments in a now-deleted YouTube video about the 2024 Olympics team, calling their ‘work ethic' low. MyKayla apologized for the comments and claimed they were misrepresentative of how she really felt, but it didn't go unnoticed by Simone.
After the team won gold at the Olympics, Simone captioned her Instagram post: “lack of talent, lazy, olympic champions”. MyKayla seemingly blocked Simone after that. But, Simone remained unbothered, captioning her later Instagram post with “oop I've been blocked”.
The 1975 is sued
Malaysia's Good Vibes Festival organizer has reportedly filed a lawsuit against The 1975 and all of its members individually. The festival is seeking $2.4 million after the band caused the festival to shut down. The band was paid $350,000 to perform.
Why did the festival shut down, you ask? Matty Healy attempted to protest against the country's anti-LGBTQ laws during the event, and the band broke several guidelines they agreed to in order to perform. Some guidelines they broke were swearing, smoking, drinking, taking off clothes and talking about religion or politics. According to the court documents, The 1975's management team were aware of these rules, and the band was reminded of them prior to the concert.
Most notably, however, was Matty Healy kissing his fellow band member—by which they broke a different guideline surrounding kissing on stage.
According to the lawsuit, Matty Healy made a long, provocative speech and acted against the guidelines, including damaging a festival drone. After the kiss, the festival ordered the band to stop their performance, which certainly didn't make Matty Healy happy—who apparently had to be restrained by his managers because of how mad he was.
The day after their performance, the organizer's license was revoked, meaning that the two remaining days of the festival had to be canceled.
While this situation may seem blown out of proportion, it really isn't. Malaysia is incredibly hostile toward LGBTQ+ individuals, criminalizing any gay/lesbian or transgender people. Aside from that, Malaysian culture is quite conservative, meaning that it's often considered inappropriate to kiss or hug in public spaces.
The 1975 fans in Malaysia knew about Matty Healy's often-provocative antics, and they posted on social media asking him to respect the rules for the betterment of the festival. Because of this, many were disappointed and frustrated that the band disregarded the potential consequences seemingly just for a political statement. While the band got to quickly fly out of the country, the festival organizers, musicians and fans faced the consequences of the bands' actions.
One might argue that what Matty Healy did was admirable—standing up for LGBTQ+ rights in a conservative country—but was it really admirable, especially when he's likely just doing it for show? What Matty Healy seems to love most is a good show, particularly one that will make people shocked. While it can often be chalked up to his ‘stage persona' of being a rude frontlining artist, there were negative effects to their actions in Malaysia.
Will The 1975 apologize? Likely not. We can only watch how the lawsuit plays out.
Imane Khelif sparks unnecessary controversy
Imane Khelif, Algerian boxer who is participating in the Olympics, has been getting attacked online for winning a boxing match. Individuals like Elon Musk, JK Rowling and Logan Paul are all giving their much needed input on the boxer, who they are convinced is really a man.
It all started when Angela Carini, Italian boxer, resigned from a match with Imane Khelif after it barely began. There were barely any punches thrown, and afterward, Angela refused to shake hands or even acknowledge Imane—instead, she cried in the ring and claimed the match was unfair. This began the spiral of people accusing Imane of really being a biological man, with some even going as far as to call the match “a man beating up a woman.”
However, Imane was born a female and has always identified as one. She does have differences of sexual development (DSD), but this is quite different from being transgender. Some individuals with DSD can have XY chromosomes and still develop as female.
Conservatives have been using Imane to push anti-transgender rhetoric, specifically claiming that the Olympics are allowing men to compete in women's sports. However, the Olympics require a series of qualifying tests to even compete, which Imane passed. Moreover, Imane has even lost to several other women in boxing matches.
But, whose business is this, really? The short answer is no one. The longer answer, in my personal opinion, is that this entire blown-out-of-control narration about Imane Khelif has shown what extremist anti-trans individuals are really trying to do: push traditional, Western gender norms.
Imane is not white and does not have what Western culture would define as a feminine face; it wouldn't be surprising if individuals like JK Rowling spun this narrative of Imane being a man just because she may seem less feminine than what has been normalized in the U.S. and UK. Is this really about “protecting women”, or is this just an opportunity to push anyone who doesn't fit the mold of a “feminine woman” out of the picture?
Additionally, this entire discourse has caused nothing but harm for the trans community, who has been facing extreme backlash in the U.S. for simply existing. There has always been a fear in conservatives that transgender individuals—really, just trans women—are going to encroach on women's spaces and “push biological women out”, such as in the bathroom or on the court.
One must ask, though, are trans women really transitioning just to piss off conservatives? Possibly, they're doing it because of personal reasons that have nothing to do with politics at all.
Imane has recently spoken out about the backlash the internet has given her, reiterating that she is a biological woman and that bullying needs to be stopped in sports spaces.
My recent media enjoyments
- Kill Your Darlings (2013)
- “Giovanni's Room” by James Baldwin
- Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022)
- ‘Death & Romance' by Magdalena Bay
- “The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes” by Suzanne Collins
