Culture & Criticism

The Grammys’ Biggest Award Should Have Gone To Beyoncé Or Bad Bunny
Awards shows routinely ignore groundbreaking Black or brown artists in favor of seemingly apolitical white ones.

I Love The Idea That Ben Affleck And Jennifer Lopez Hate Each Other
A clip from the Grammys showed the couple seemingly fighting. Cue the memes and TikTok theories (and schadenfreude).

Keke Palmer Is Using A “Sims” Childbirth Simulator To Get Ready For Motherhood
The multi-hyphenate can add metaverse show host, Twitch streamer, and expectant mother to her long list of accomplishments.

Wearing A Bear Onesie For A Week Made Me Forget About My Need For Physical Touch
It does not take a therapist to look at this bear onesie and think, “fabric cuddle.”

The Terminally Online Version Of New York Magazine’s Etiquette Rules
From liking someone’s photo posted in 2017 to getting asked about joining an MLM, here’s our social media take on New York Magazine’s etiquette guidelines.

This College Ignored Their Cheer Squad On National Women In Sports Day So They Refused To Cheer In Protest
“Seeing this sport swept under the rug on a day where we should be honored is heartbreaking. This sport is so much more than what everyone thinks.”

SZA’s “SOS” Has Been No. 1 For 7 Weeks. Her Success Is No Surprise.
The singer’s latest genre-bending album has stayed atop the charts for seven weeks, cementing her as a superstar.

I Tried TikTok’s Viral Pink Sauce And Hated It But Was So Determined To Give It A Go That I Made Two Other Recipes With It
The infamous sauce is now sold at Walmart.

MrBeast Built A YouTube Empire On Being Mr. Nice Guy, But His Stunt Helping 1,000 Blind People Divided Viewers, Who Called It "Demonic"
Is it stunt philanthropy or self-funded charity in the YouTube age?

When They Got Pregnant, Their Kinky Sex Lives Changed
“I used to call him ‘Daddy’ — I still do that, but now sometimes there’s that weird moment of, ‘Oh, but you are one now.’”

The “No Love” Challenge Brought Majorette Culture To TikTok
“You’re not just using your body, you’re using your soul. People feel when you’re dancing, and I feel like that’s one of the differences between majorette and every other style of dance.”

Y'all Already Know Who He Is: It’s Topher
Meet the fourth-grader who is going viral on TikTok for his country twang introduction, “Y’all already know who I am.”

An Iranian Couple Has Reportedly Been Sentenced To Over 10 Years In Prison After Posting A Video Dancing On Instagram
The fashion and lifestyle influencers have nearly 1 million followers each. Iranian's state media disputed the length of their reported prison sentence.

They Used To Skate With Tyre Nichols In Middle School. They Gathered Together To Grieve Him.
“Nobody wants to leave. What are you supposed to do after this?”

Netflix's Pamela Anderson Documentary Is Surprisingly Sad
Pamela Anderson’s new Netflix documentary is part ’90s nostalgia romp, part emotional meditation.

Jinger Vuolo Hates Conflict. But She’s Speaking Up About Her Childhood.
In her new memoir, Jinger Vuolo becomes the first Duggar child to publicly speak out against her parents’ beliefs. It seems like she’s still working out what that means.

“The Last Of Us” Is Based On A Real “Zombie” Fungus. Here’s How It Works IRL
“For decades, science fiction writers have taken basic ideas to an extreme. That’s part of the fun.”

After A Woman Saw Men Messaging Each Other About Her Looks During A Work Call, She Called Them Out And Posted It On TikTok
Whitney Sharpe said she still hasn’t received an apology from any of the men who were sending “unfavorable” messages about her.

“The Last Of Us” Shows Us New Shades Of Nick Offerman
The actor’s latest guest role is beautifully against type. (Mild spoilers for the latest episode.)

The “Vanilla Girl Aesthetic” is TikTok’s Latest Popular — And Exclusionary — Fashion Trend
Dressed only in neutral tones like white, beige, or a very light brown, she might favor a loose comfy knit sweater over leggings with short Uggs.

Tom Brady Faces The Classic Dilemma Of The Overachieving Athlete
For a high-performing athlete, the decision of when to call it quits is fraught: Would you rather go out on top, or go out knowing you have nothing left to give?

"The Widow’s Children" Is A Masterclass In Compression
What’s most remarkable about this novel is how many perspectives Paula Fox inhabits seamlessly.

Here’s What I Tried On While Shopping At The Snapchat AR Store
This week, social media made me do this.

Why Sam Smith’s Reinvention Matters
Sam Smith staged one of pop music’s most groundbreaking queer reinventions. The confident Gloria doesn’t quite live up to that.

People Are So Worked Up About Mikayla Nogueira's Mascara Scandal That Even Jeffree Star Is Getting Involved
“ITS NOT THAT DEEP ITS JUST MASCARA.”

Yeeting Your Ashes To The Moon Is Surprisingly Cheap
To some, launching ashes into space might seem nontraditional or even extravagant. But more and more people are choosing this method of handling their remains.

After Winning “Jeopardy” Three Times This Month, Yogesh Raut Declared The Beloved Show “Not Good” And Fans Are Absolutely Furious At Him
Professional smart people are fighting about public displays of intelligence.

Quitting Social Media May Actually Help Calm Your Broken Online Brain
“I am so happy with my decision — it was one of the best forms of self-care I practiced with myself this year.”

“I’ve Just Spent $14,000 On One Egg”: Five People On Their Egg Freezing Experience
“I think it’s definitely scarier when you need to do it versus just doing it preventatively.”

Why "Thanks Pfizer" Memes Are Going Viral
“I haven't been the same since I got da jabby jabby. now i only do the stankiest of legs.”