Share: There is a common question asked in the pop-culture world: Can art be separated from the artist? It is an important question to ask in the age of cancel-culture and accountability, but it is time we shift the question; what we really should be asking is: Should art be separated from the artist? There are a few cases that can help shape the understanding of this altered question and why we ultimately should not separate the two. This conversation has resurfaced after the controversy …
Trisha Paytas’ insensitivity isn’t iconic, but brands don’t care
Share: Trisha Paytas is suddenly everywhere again, from Broadway and Dancing with the Stars to commercials for Arby’s, Crocs, and Benihana. Trisha Paytas has become one of the most marketable influencers online, leaving many people questioning why companies are so comfortable hiring someone with such a long history of controversy. It’s simple: Trisha Paytas gets attention, and brands care more about what gets them views, not about past behavior. She has managed to stay relevant in almost every era of the internet. She started with …
10 cents per fast food bag is starving my wallet
Share: As a society, we’ve easily moved past the mysterious ingredients in fast food and the cold food they hand you after waiting in line for twenty minutes. However, what we cannot move past is the bag charge that’s being added to your bill without proper acknowledgement. Although we’ve utilized paper and plastic bags for a couple of decades, it wasn’t until 2014 that the California Assembly approved and passed Senate Bill 270. A bill that banned single-use plastic and paper shopping bags and imposed …
Legislative theater: The billionaire battle for the end of the world
Share: For someone so well-versed in the field of being a billionaire, it is baffling that Musk couldn’t see through Sam Altman’s facade. The two are now locked in a court battle, draining each other’s endless amounts of money in the process. In 2024, Elon Musk filed a lawsuit against the CEO of OpenAI, Sam Altman, for allegedly changing the original goal of developing AI for the greater good of humanity to make money instead. This court battle has become a high-stakes display of legislative …
Show out or don’t show up to the Met Gala
Share: This year’s MET Gala theme was “fashion is art,” celebrating craftsmanship and construction of garments as well as paying homage to art throughout history, from paintings to statues. Despite a theme so broad yet specific, the outfits looked like unfinished garments or a sketch that should go back to the drawing board. Too many showed up dressed for a regular gala, but not the MET gala. Fashion’s biggest night, which takes place every year on the first Monday in May in New York City, …
Trump duels with the truth in ’60 Minutes’ standoff
Share: President Trump’s 60 Minutes interview following the White House Correspondents’ dinner shooting took a disrespectful turn as the President felt he needed to become defensive over the alleged shooter, Cole Allen’s manifesto. The President relied on his typical derogatory and dehumanizing responses towards the interviewer, Norah O’Donnell, when questions were too much for his fragile ego to handle. Trump called O’Donnell a ‘horrible person’ for reading a part of the manifesto, which seemed to be directed at him but did not mention him by …
At Cinemacon, the movies watch you
Share: Movie theatres are cracking down on anti-piracy measures, but this antidote for bootlegging is the same poison killing the industry for attendees. During this year’s Cinemacon on April 15, Disney previewed the first trailer for Avengers: Doomsday, a movie that will hopefully bring audiences back to the theatres en masse. Attendees were excited to get an exclusive sneak peek at the upcoming blockbuster, but something grabbed their attention during the preview: green lasers periodically beaming across disturbed audience members. “At first, we thought: ‘What …
AI brought Kilmer back from the dead, and it’s killing the film industry
Share: In an era where AI has become so powerful, now entering the entertainment industry, it poses a huge threat to real actors and artists. Willingly using AI for a film is a big slap in the face to actors who are more than capable of playing a role in a film. Val Kilmer’s estate signed off the rights for ‘As Deep as the Grave’ to star an AI version of Val Kilmer, who was unable to be on set due to his chronic illness …
Artists’ platforms can be bigger than the performance
Share: People with power or a large platform should use it to spread awareness about social and political issues, happening not just in the U.S. but globally too. When there are injustices affecting any kind of community, that should always be addressed. Even when there is censorship or obstacles preventing celebrities from speaking out, it is important that they try to. What many saw when Becky G spoke up for immigrants at Coachella this year was that the camera cut away from her, which was …
Another conservative busted for being a hypocrite
Share: The link between Anti-LGBTQ+ ideologies and internalized queerphobia gets connected even tighter as Kristi Noem’s husband’s bimbo fetish cross-dressing pictures were leaked. Despite actively working towards taking away queer and trans rights, he hid a double life behind plastic, not just from years of his wife’s cosmetic surgery. “As the governor of South Dakota, Kristi Noem was a prominent proponent of legislation restricting transgender rights, including bans on transgender girls taking part in school sports and on gender-affirming care for minors. She signed the …