All posts tagged: taylor swift

The VMAs Are Cooked | GQ

The VMAs Are Cooked | GQ

Published by Jenni Sidey

In the second of her three acceptance speeches during last night’s MTV Video Music Awards, Madonna remarked that she opened the very first VMAs some 43 years ago and inadvertently distilled the problem with this once-great broadcast. In theory, a Madonna opener in 2026 is a cute and potent callback to consistency and legacy—“mother,” as they say, showing her pop offspring how it’s done. (The special guests in Madonna’s set ranged from Debi Mazar and Fab 5 Freddy to Sabrina Carpenter, Charli xcx and Sombr, a little something for everyone). Two-and-a-half hours later, though, Madonna not only had one of the better performances but netted three of the night’s biggest awards. It’s not that she isn’t deserving, but more that Madonna being the focal point of a show—hosted by… Snoop Dogg—that purports to have its finger on the pulse of What’s Hot Right Now says a lot about what the VMAs have become. The VMAs used to signal the official end of summer like Punxsutawney Phil heralds the end of winter, sending us back to …

Decoding Taylor Swift’s Showgirl Encore, From “Cleveland!” to “Babylon”

Decoding Taylor Swift’s Showgirl Encore, From “Cleveland!” to “Babylon”

Published by Sam Flores

Taylor Swift’s July wedding to Travis Kelce dominated headlines for weeks—but now, she’s changing the conversation. In four new songs—bonus tracks from her most recent album, The Life of a Showgirl—Swift travels from the ancient city of “Babylon” to middle America, “Cleveland!” She sings of both Kelce’s hometown (where the couple recently purchased a $5 million home) and his podcast with his older brother, fellow NFL player Jason: “He already took me to Cleveland, and showed me The Heights / so hate all you like, this is the love of my life,” Swift says, embracing the cheesy, cringe-but-free lifestyle she vowed to keep embracing on her last album. In a refrain toward the end of the song, Swift sings, “He already took me to Cleveland, now I’m wearing white / So hate all you like, this is the love of my life.” That, of course, references her and Kelce’s Adam Sandler–officiated Madison Square Garden nuptials, which divided the internet over the summer. According to Swift, Kelce has been handling the scrutiny beautifully: “You only need …

7 photos of billionaires still in education before they were rich

7 photos of billionaires still in education before they were rich

Published by Daniella Wilson

Although today the likes of Oprah Winfrey, Kim Kardashian, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg are all billionaires, at one point they were in full-time education just like us. So while they now control empires with fortunes beyond our imagination, in the past they also would have sat through the same lessons as many of us, including the dreaded double maths. But if you saw photos of them while they were still in education, how many do you think you’d actually be able to recognise? Scroll down to find out… © oprah/Instagram Oprah now has a vast media empire Oprah Winfrey Oprah is now worth over a cool $2 billion thanks to her media empire, but in this adorable photo, the star still had pigtails! With her serious expression, we wonder if this young Oprah knew what she would go on to achieve… © Corbis via Getty Images Bill is one of the world’s most successful billionaires Bill Gates Despite dropping out of Harvard, Bill became the world’s youngest billionaire in 1987, and although that record …

A Dior Couture Gown by Jonathan Anderson

A Dior Couture Gown by Jonathan Anderson

Published by Daniella Wilson

There were many — many — predictions about which luxe label Taylor Swift would choose when she married Travis Kelce on July 3. She wore a striped Ralph Lauren dress for her engagement photos. She has also worn gowns by Monse and Oscar de la Renta, both designed by her friends Laura Kim and Fernando Garcia, who recently departed Oscar to focus on Monse. Other contenders floated by fashion obsessives included Stella McCartney, a close friend of Swift’s for a decade who has dressed her for many major occasions; Gucci, a label Swift has long favored for black tie; Louis Vuitton by Nicolas Ghesquière; and Givenchy by Sarah Burton. But The Hollywood Reporter, thanks to some very well informed sources, called it: Dior Couture by Jonathan Anderson. Of course, we had our doubters, Page Six chief among them. “[THR] claimed Swift’s “winning dress” might be a custom Dior Haute Couture design by Jonathan Anderson, noting that A-listers like Jennifer Lawrence, Rihanna, Charlize Theron and Anya Taylor-Joy regularly wear his work,” wrote Page Six‘s style editor, adding, …

Toy Story 5 First Reactions

Toy Story 5 First Reactions

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the tissues out, Pixar has done it again! The first reactions to Toy Story 5 have hit social media after the film’s world premiere at the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles on Tuesday night, and the early consensus suggests the feted animation studio has crafted another classic that will hit you right in the feels. While official critics reviews for Andrew Stanton and McKenna Harris’ animated feature are embargoed till June 16, Disney/Pixar allowed premiere attendees to release brief social media reaction after the screening. The plot of the fifth Toy Story movie takes on the real world concern of parents and their children’s addiction to tablet computers, an intriguing concept given Pixar was co-founded by the late Steve Jobs, the man who would usher in the age of the iPad when he ran Apple. In the film, now eight-year-old Bonnie receives a sleek, frog-like tablet called “Lilypad” that consumes all her attention. Buzz (Tim Allen), Woody (Tom Hanks), and Jessie (Joan Cusack) must race to save playtime from the disruptive device. Lilypad …

‘There’s not enough time in the day’

‘There’s not enough time in the day’

Published by Daniella Wilson

Olivia Rodrigo finally opened up about her alleged feud with Taylor Swift. The 23-year-old singer addressed the online speculation about her relationship with the “Bad Blood” songstress. Olivia’s third studio album, you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love, is set to be released on June 12. On her press tour, she was asked about her allegedly strained relationship with Taylor, 36, especially moments they may cross paths at Hollywood events. “I don’t really read too far into it. I think it comes with the territory and it’s par for the course,” Olivia said on the New York Times’ Popcast. “If I dove into every internet detective sleuth that, like, got things right or wrong about my life, or any of my relationships, I think I’d just go crazy. Like, there’s just not enough time in the day.” © InstagramOlivia is enjoying life, she recently celebrated her 23rd birthday party So, that’s that. But what happened between the two Grammy award winning singers? What happened between Olivia Rodrigo and Taylor Swift? In 2021, Olivia …

The dirty laundry that dethroned Hollywood’s golden couple

The dirty laundry that dethroned Hollywood’s golden couple

Published by Sam Flores

No one was expecting Blake Lively to appear on the Met Gala red carpet – in sparkling pastel Versace, no less – just hours after the lawsuit against Justin Baldoni, her co-star on It Ends with Us, was settled out of court. Lively’s appearance may have been intended as a victory lap, but she has little to celebrate. The two-year-long legal battle, in which she accused her co-star of harassment, sexual misconduct and orchestrating a smear campaign against her, has backfired spectacularly. The film, based on the bestselling novel by Colleen Hoover, was a great commercial success. It made $351m (£259m) from a budget of $25m. However, that was immediately overshadowed by the nastiness of the dispute between Lively and Baldoni. Baldoni claimed that Lively tried to control the film by rewriting and editing scenes herself. Lively, meanwhile, always maintained that her lawsuit was a necessary stand against “pervasive retaliation I faced, and continue to, for privately and professionally asking for a safe working environment for myself and others”. Critics, however, have seen it as …

The Official Release Party of a Showgirl’ Review

The Official Release Party of a Showgirl’ Review

Published by Miika Tikkanen

There is a line that tends to get trotted out whenever some big-budget, high-profile piece of IP flops hard. “I made this for the fans, not the critics,” they’ll huff, conveniently dividing the lovers, who’ll eat up anything they’re given, from the haters, who want only to complain. I doubt if Taylor Swift, an artist who reacted to Reputation’s Grammys underperformance with a firm “I just need to make a better record,” has ever earnestly tried to float this excuse. To the contrary: Her new album, the short, upbeat, Max Martin-produced The Life of a Showgirl, feels almost as much like a reaction to complaints about 2024’s The Tortured Poets Society being too long or too mopey or too Jack Antonoff-y as it does a spontaneous outpouring of love for arena tours or Travis Kelce. Taylor Swift: The Official Release Party of a Showgirl The Bottom Line A nice but underwhelming time. Release date: Friday, Oct. 3Writer-director: Taylor Swift 1 hour 29 minutes Taylor Swift: The Official Release Party of a Showgirl, on the other …

Travis Kelce Shared His Best Love Is Blind Impression – And It’s Absolutely Incredible

Published by Sam Flores

The Kansas City Chiefs tight end and boyfriend to Taylor Swift confessed that he’s a fan of the Netflix reality show in which contestants date without being able to see one another. Once they find a strong connection in the ‘pods’, they quickly get engaged, meet in person and see if their love is strong enough to go all the way to their wedding day – where they either say “I do” or jilt their lover at the altar. Speaking to his New Heights podcast, the American football star tried to convince brother and co-host Jason Kelce to watch the show. “It is the worst trash ever. It’s worse than [his own reality dating show] Catching Kelce. But it is so f****** good,” he said. When Jason insisted that he’s not going to watch it, Travis replied that he just wants his brother to “hear” one girl. Travis then proceeded to give his best impression of season 6 contestant Chelsea Blackwell in a whining voice: “You think I’m clingy? I’m clingy? Really?” Chelsea herself has …