This is a preview of our pop culture newsletter The Daily Beast’s Obsessed, written by editor Kevin Fallon. To receive the full newsletter in your inbox each week, in Sunday night’s Season 3 premiere, after she quit the show following the first season. Beyond being a kook whose lack of filter grants full access to the off-kilter workings of her brain—and being notorious for marrying her step-grandfather following her grandmother’s death—there are dark and disturbing reports about the church she runs that make laughing along with her a queasy experience. (You can read about some of that here.)
As is the case with the likes of Beverly Hills housewife Erika Jayne and Cosby’s former Salt Lake City castmate Jen Shah, who both made headlines for respective controversies, it can feel uneasy to delight in Cosby’s goofiness as entertainment, given those reports. On the one hand, you feel complicit in something problematic. On the other hand…she’s really freaking funny.
But I’m grateful that the best comedic moment from the RHOSLC premiere, while involving Cosby, actually centered on Lisa Barlow. Asked about her last correspondence with Cosby, Barlow reads off a slew of text messages in which Cosby hurls ludicrous insults at her:
“You’re the biggest idiot. You’re a black widow.. You’re the biggest liar in Utah.. You’ll kill people with your nasty tequila. You remind me of a witch. You evil person.. You’re not interesting 8. You’re a horrible human being.”
Barlow’s delivery is hilarious, and that series of insults? I’m getting them printed and making copies, to hand out to all future dates and boyfriends who betray me.
Jimmy Buffett’s Perfect Cameo
Jimmy Buffett should be admired for so many reasons. I’ve always appreciated that something he preached that seemed simple was actually quite profound: You can, should, and deserve to make paradise wherever you are, however you can. (The number of hangovers suffered because of that philosophy, on the other hand…)
Universal Pictures
If there is one great thing that happens in the wake of a celebrity’s death, it’s that so many great moments from their lives and careers resurface, some of which you may never have seen. For example, I had no idea that Buffett had a cameo in Jurassic World. A clip of it went viral following the singer’s death over the weekend: The dinosaurs are wreaking deadly havoc on the patrons of the park, and they’re all fleeing in panic. Buffett, in a blink-and-miss-it appearance, can be seen stalling his own escape to pick up his giant margarita and take another swig before running. It’s perfect.
I Got You, Babe
I guess this is how I break it to my family that I have other plans this holiday season.
Thanks for the invite, Cher! See you soon XOXO
More From The Daily Beast’s Obsessed
Studio Ghibli co-founder and director extraordinaire Hayao Miyazaki’s final film, The Boy and the Heron, opened this year’s Toronto International Film Festival. To commemorate the milestone, our staff looked back on moments from Ghibli movies that meant the most to us. Read more.
Want to know what the 40 most hotly anticipated movies of the fall are? We’ve got ’em here. Read more.
And how about the 45 biggest and best TV shows? Got those too. Read more.
What to watch this week:
Sitting in Bars With Cake: Surprisingly, this is not a documentary about how I spent my summer. (Now on Prime Video)
The Morning Show: Quite simply the only TV series that could fill the And Just Like That-sized hole in my life. (Wed. on Apple TV+)
Dreaming Whilst Black: One of the year’s biggest comedy surprises. (Sun. on Showtime)
What to skip this week:
The Changeling: We still love you, LaKeith Stanfield. Just not in this. (Now on Apple TV+)
