Weekly Debrief: October 14–November 3

What an eventful three weeks it's been for your pop culture connoisseur! I worked at the Wisconsin Book Festival, watching many awesome author events and acquiring some free books. But, the ending of the festival signified another exciting thing for me: the end of my midterms. That's right; I am back, fully in my pop culture swing. You'll never have to go on Twitter again. 

Any UW–Madison student similar to me might be excitedly (or stressfully) looking at classes for the upcoming spring semester. Maybe, you're looking for a distraction from your midterms or the election… Or, you're setting your spookiness aside post-Halloween… Regardless, this column certainly has your back. 

Liam Payne passes away

Liam Payne, member of the beloved boy band One Direction, passed away on October 16. He died in Buenos Aires after falling from a third-story hotel balcony. While his death was ruled not a suicide, it hasn't really been confirmed how he died—which likely isn't necessary for the public to know. 

The toxicology report showed that Liam had various drugs in his system, including cocaine, ketamine, pink cocaine, benzodiazepine, MDMA and others. 

Fans and his friends have been paying respects to him both on social media and outside the hotel he passed in. One Direction will remain an iconic group, especially to people (like me) who grew up with them.

Former CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch arrested for sex trafficking

Former CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch, Mike Jeffries, has been arrested on sex trafficking charges. He, his partner and their alleged “middleman” were arrested in Florida. 

Prosecutors allege that the three were coercing young men into attending “sex events” under the disguise of model opportunities between 2008 and 2015. They alleged that the three forced these men into sexual acts with them, in addition to forcing them to be injected with a substance that induces erections. 

The three have all pleaded not guilty. There currently is no set trial date.

Nick Jonas leaves stage during concert

Nick Jonas abruptly ran off stage at a recent Jonas Brothers' concert. Why, you may wonder? A fan pointed a laser at him. While some fans may think his action was unwarranted, it should be remembered that celebrities aren't automatically safe just because they're on stage. Just look at Ariana Grande… Christina Grimmie… Better safe than sorry. 

SM Entertainment terminates Taeil's contract

Former NCT 127 member Moon Taeil is officially out of contract with SM Entertainment. The singer is currently facing an investigation of quasi-rape, and SM Entertainment had removed him from the K-Pop group as soon as they discovered the case. 

But, terminating an individual's contract can sometimes be muddy. While it took a while to reach a negotiation, SM officially cut off all ties with Taeil. As for his case? We'll still have to wait. 

Shawn Mendes shares his sexuality (?)

Any Shawn Mendes listener—no matter causal of a listener or obsessed you may be—knows that Shawn Mendes stans love to speculate on his sexuality. But, fans don't have to guess any longer; Shawn just opened up about his sexuality at his recent concert. 

“The real truth about my life and sexuality is that, man, I'm just figuring it out like everyone. I don't really know sometimes, and I know other times. It feels really scary because we live in a society that has a lot to say about that,” he said. 

Now… should fans really need to know this information? 

Bad Bunny endorses Kamala Harris after Trump rally speaker insults Puerto Rico

At a recent Donald Trump rally at Madison Square Garden, Tony Hinchcliffe made a series of controversial jokes while speaking. Most controversially, he said that there was a “pile of trash in the ocean” and called it Puerto Rico. Additionally, he said that Travis Kelce “might be the next O.J. Simpson.” 

Following Tony's insult, Bad Bunny endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for the 2024 Presidential Election. While some have been questioning why he is endorsing… Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory. Also, no one cared when Charli xcx endorsed Kamala Harris, so why is it such a big deal Bad Bunny is? 

Additionally, many other Puerto Rican iconic celebrities, such as Nicky Jam, have been endorsing Harris as well, including ones who had previously endorsed Trump. 

G-Dragon returns to K-Pop 

On Halloween, G-Dragon released his first single in seven years. G-Dragon rose to fame as the leader of K-Pop group BIGBANG and as an iconic solo artist. 

Prior to this release, G-Dragon kept a low profile. He was discharged from his mandatory military service in 2019, and before the release of ‘POWER', he hadn't released music since 2017. 

This could be because of his prior bandmate Seungri's crimes, who was convicted for prostitution mediation and embezzlement… Or, it could just be because G-Dragon wanted a break after being in the music industry since 2006. 

In addition to releasing his single, G-Dragon also signed to a record label. Previously, he had been a part of one of the big K-Pop entertainment companies, YG Entertainment. Now, he's signed with Galaxy Corporation and EMPIRE. 

Fans have been thoroughly excited at this release, but for more than one reason. Not only are they excited that G-Dragon has returned to music, but they also have been praising him for signing with an independent music label that is Palestinian-owned. 

What a return, am I right? 

Armie Hammer plays on his cannibalism allegations in new podcast

Armie Hammer is making his return to the public eye with a brand new podcast, The Armie HammerTime Podcast. His YouTube description describes the podcast as “Armie sits down with extraordinary people from all walks of life as he rebuilds his own. Don't worry… we feed him before every episode.” 

Is Armie finally addressing the cannibalism allegations, you may wonder? In short, no. He's still not addressing it, although he is seeming to now make a joke out of it. One should also remember that Armie still has allegations of sexual assault and abuse, alongside the cannibalism allegations. 

His first episode starred Tom Arnold, actor and comedian, who talked about his addiction and rehabilitation. 

So far, the podcast has about 1.5 thousand subscribers on YouTube, with its first video getting 9.5 thousand views. Will Armie gain traction for his new avenue? We'll just have to wait and see. 

Russian court fines Google in the decillions

A Russian court has fined Google for blocking content on YouTube. For how much, you may wonder? $2.5 decillion. Yup, you heard that right. The number is higher than the world's GDP, showing up as $2,500,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000. 

Hybe gets blasted by K-Pop fans

Just when the controversies in K-Pop couldn't get worse, Hybe decided to take the cake. Hybe, a South Korean company that was originally Big Hit Entertainment, is most known for its top group: BTS.  

But, this controversy doesn't have to do with BTS; it has to do with almost everyone else. 

South Korea's National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee carried out an audit on Hybe on October 24, and it particularly took notice in Hybe's “Weekly Music Industry Report.” Spoiler that isn't really surprising: the documents were then leaked. 

The weekly reports essentially contained summaries of what was happening in the industry, in addition to some employees' opinions. When I say “what was happening in the industry”, I mean everything… Fanwars, controversies, fandoms, fanfiction… They shared their opinions on artists getting plastic surgery, compared artists under their labels' looks to others, compared height and read fanfiction about various ships. 

One who has ever set foot in stan Twitter knows it's catastrophic to upset an entire fandom; imagine how disastrous it would be with numerous fandoms. Because Hybe didn't just go after one company or one group, they name dropped a lot of well-known artists in K-Pop. Here's just a list of some (translations could be incorrect!):

• Hybe considers AESPA a “visual downgrade” from past SM Entertainment groups
• Hybe made fun of Stray Kids' heights in comparison to TXT (a group under Hybe) 
• Hybe dissed YG Entertainment's ability to promote Blackpink 
• Hybe dissed Le Sserafim's Coachella performance, saying they can't sing
• Hybe had decently-extensive notes about the top fanfiction ships, specifically BTS and NCT ships
• Hybe shaded a girl group for referencing a “feminist book” 
• Hybe made direct comparison between BTS's Jungkook and EXO's Baekhyun, pitting them against each other

…and so, so much more. 

Due to these leaks, Hybe is getting flamed by the K-Pop masses. Which, for long-time K-Pop fans, is pretty warranted. The “Big Three” companies, JYP Entertainment, SM Entertainment and YG Entertainment, have been competitors since the start of K-Pop, but they have never publicly attacked other artists' looks. Talent is compared but definitely not looks. 

Will Hybe recover from this? One will have to wait and see… 

My recent media enjoyments

• Mashumi (Remix) [feat. TWICE] – Megan Thee Stallion
• The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
• While You Were Out by Meg Kissinger
• Forest of Noise by Mosab Abu Toha