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The Pop Culture We’re Most Thankful For This Year

This is a preview of our pop culture newsletter The Daily Beast’s Obsessed, written by senior entertainment reporter Kevin Fallon. To receive the full newsletter in your inbox each week, , which manages to excavate new lows of human behavior. We learn about a woman in her early twenties who was brainwashed into staying in a room for two years as “punishment” for kissing a man other than Raniere. She did it, even though the door was unlocked the whole time. How terrible. And then I watch the next episode.

– Adam Manno

Britney Spears’ Full Year of Freedom

I know some haters and conspiracy theorists and body shamers will keep arguing that Britney Spears’ social media presence is too weird, too unstable, and too messy to believe everything’s OK in her world. Who knows if that’s true, but as a forever Britney fan, I’m choosing to celebrate the wins from her full year as a free woman following the end of her 13-year conservatorship last November. She got married this year! She scored a book deal this year! She danced to one of her best deep cuts, “Get Naked,” this year! And, for heaven’s sake, she released new music this year (“Hold Me Closer” with Elton John, which is her highest-charting single in a decade)! May 2023 be even better and brighter for Brit—she deserves it.

– Madeline Roth

The r/Deuxmoi Subreddit

Deuxmoi is over—or at least, “she” should be. The celebrity gossip Instagram account, which posts user-submitted, anonymously sourced rumors and sightings, is a lesson in how not to do journalism. Not that the woman behind Deuxmoi is a journalist; she’s just a no-name with incredibly boring cultural taste and a terrible podcast. But I need to get my gossip fix somewhere, which is why I’m thankful for Deuxmoi’s unaffiliated subreddit. Also known as r/Fauxmoi, r/Deuxmoi is a place where users can critique the account’s badly curated posts while also having intelligent, provocative, and snarky conversations about what’s going on in celeb culture. It’s a well-run rumor mill as much as it is a gigantic group chat with your savviest friends—the real Deuxmoi could never.

– Allegra Frank

The Bonafide Lohanaissance Over a Decade in the Making

Exactly 10 years ago, those of us who grew up falling in love with the onscreen charms of Lindsay Lohan were strapping in for her her latest film. It was a little Lifetime network stinker called Liz & Dick that premiered the Sunday after Thanksgiving 2012. There was a point when we all genuinely thought it was due to be her major comeback after years of public-facing personal and legal woes. Needless to say, it was merely an awful campsterpiece. We watched Lohan attempt this again and again through the years, her re-ascension never quite taking off because of her proclivity to get in her own way. But after stepping away from the public eye in 2019, Lohan made a genuine return with Falling for Christmas. It might be a cheesy Netflix film, but its press tour—with Lohan looking healthy, happy, and serving look after designer look styled by celeb stylist Law Roach—was the holiday miracle we’ve (OK, maybe just me) been waiting on for a decade.

– Coleman Spilde

“Lavender Haze” by Taylor Swift

Call me basic! I’m grateful for one of the most popular songs on the most popular album on the planet right now, Midnights. I’m slightly embarrassed that “Lavender Haze” is my favorite track on the album—which I believe has 57 songs in total—given that it’s the first song. It makes it seem like I haven’t listened to the entire LP multiple times. But something about the distorted ad libs, Swift’s subtly impressive vocal performance, and the way the song pulsates makes me return to it more than either other track. The lyrics “get it off your chest/get it off my desk” also enter my brain randomly at least three times a day. Despite some of the flack she receives, I love the sound of hip hop/R&B-influenced, Reputation-era Taylor Swift, and I hope she sticks to it for the next four albums.

– Kyndall Cunningham

What to watch this week:

Welcome to Chippendales: A wilder story than you’d expect! (Now on Hulu)

Gossip Girl: Don’t make fun of me, but I actually like this reboot. (Thurs. on HBO Max)

Bones and All: Timothée Chalamet is a very sexy cannibal. (Now in theaters)

What to skip this week:

Wednesday: Just watch Addams Family Values instead. (Now on Netflix)

Willow: Yet another disappointing revival. (Wed. on Disney+)

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November 2022
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