Last week, Dakota Johnson was suspended due to an earthquake. She was in the middle of a promotional interview for her new Spider-Man spin-off movie. madame web, the ground began to shake.It was so chaotic moment It felt like a metaphor for her entire press tour.
a few days ago, madame web In a trailer that went viral online for its absurdity, Johnson made headlines for refusing to go along with an interviewer. She could have laughed it off, but instead she gave a sarcastic response that sounded somewhere between her deep wisdom and a Lana Del Rey album title.
Online, my timeline is clearly skewed toward women and gay men, whose weekly screen time coverage has most people gasping, but I'm obsessed with Johnson's media appearances, and she “This press tour deserves an Oscar,” he declared. When it comes to promoting superhero movies, Johnson had some refreshingly candid answers.Every month we talk about French fashion L'Officiel'', she described the current gloomy situation in Hollywood as follows: They want to do the safe thing, but the safe thing is really boring. ” Johnson admitted in another interview that he dislikes filming CGI scenes. Late Night with Seth Meyersshe described filming her cameo appearance in the series finale. office 2012 was the “worst time” of her life.
Mr. Johnson's press tour, and her interviews in general, such as when she infamously taunted Ellen DeGeneres on Mr. Johnson's show, struck a nerve. Because it's very rare to hear celebrities tell us what they really think. We are stuck in a vicious cycle. In an increasingly media-trained and AI-saturated world, our desire for authenticity continues to grow, but social media and angry clicks are discouraging celebrities from saying anything too candid. Masu. All it takes is one clumsy comment, or something taken out of context, to spawn an entire stream of content: threads, infographics, memes, thought pieces, etc. that dominate the news cycle for days.
See what happened in 2019, when Emma Watson described herself as a “self-couple.” The moment spawned hundreds of articles, posts, and even radio and television segments, but far more lengthy conversations ranging from trans-inclusive feminism to Britain's colonial history to Watson's awakening as an activist. Few people pointed out that it was an excerpt. When an interview is serialized in multiple publications and then heavily discussed on social media, the discussion tends to fall flat. People don't actually understand the whole story, they feel like they've seen enough snippets to follow the conversation. (This also happens in celebrity revealing memoirs.)
Dakota Johnson isn't the only one feeling like a breath of fresh air in this environment.Last month, on the 2024 promotional tour. mean girls Renee Rapp stars in musical remake Watch what happens live. The 24-year-old openly said she was “very ageist”, much to the consternation of host Andy Cohen. She said, “Are you saying that!?'' she said. real housewife To star Gizelle Bryant, Rapp said, “No!”
The rapper clarified that he was just kidding (or so he thought?) and was mainly talking about millennials who say bad things about him. But, as expected, articles about the “split” and so-called “backlash” among fans were soon published. Bring back celebrities with no media training! I thought to myself with a sinking heart, imagining the rap guy locking her up in her room and training her to give boring answers.
Speaking of which mean girlsTina Fey, the mother of the franchise, confronted the issue on last week's show. Las Culturistas Podcast. In a portion of the interview where guests were asked to rant about their opinions, Fey dished out some of his sharp wisdom about the industry. she told her co-host Bowen Yang, who stars in the film. saturday night live He also had a successful acting career and is now “too famous” to have a real opinion on movies. “You have a problem salt burn? Shhh. It’s a quiet luxury,” Fay said. “Keep that to yourself. I mean, what are you going to do when Emerald Fennell calls you about her next project, where you play Carey Mulligan's colleague in the bridal section of Harrods?” But then it gets sexually violent in the third act and I have to pretend to be surprised. In that order?!”
Fay is right that fame and success can soften criticism. “Learn from Ayo,” she told Yang and her co-host Matt Rogers. This was an allusion to actor and comedian Ayo Edebiri, who a few years ago poked fun at Jennifer Lopez on his podcast and described J. Lo's career as a “long fraud.”The comments resurfaced a few days before Edebiri hosted SNL— where Lopez was the musical guest.
Faye knows that words have consequences. In 2019, she called the Met Gala a “jerk parade” and hasn't been invited since. Many celebrities will remain silent for fear of having their red carpet invitation revoked, even if she didn't actually enjoy the party. That's why it's so surprising when celebrities express their opinions so openly – like Hugh Grant, when asked about filmmaking, he said: Wonka, replied, “I couldn't hate everything more.” Or when Cillian Murphy went on a press tour. oppenheimeradmitted that he only “endures” to appear on talk shows because he is “contractually obligated” to appear on them.
As a journalist, I have often wondered whether authenticity is possible in conversations between interviewees and interviewees, conversations between roles that incorporate elements of filtering and performance. Ta. The desire for more authentic encounters may be the reason why people prefer “unfiltered” and irreverent spaces like podcasts. Watch what happens liveor Amelia Dimoldenberg's chicken shop date YouTube series have become a very popular promotional tool.Many fans enjoy watching celebrities sob in pain after eating spicy wings hot ones Because such a space feels more real, at least until it becomes too large or too smooth. (Or, as Faye warns, their hosts become too famous.)
It's not like, “Can someone please think of someone famous!” But it's understandable why so many people would rather eat hot chicken wings than share a sizzling dish with us. Imagine people on the internet analyzing everything you say and making blanket judgments about your personality. This tends to be particularly difficult for women as well. Look at Jennifer Lawrence. At first he was considered charming and friendly, then dismissed as annoying, and now he's back to being everyone's favorite at breakneck speed.
However, dealing with constructive criticism is part of an artist's job, so there needs to be a balance. The 2021 profile is inheritance star Jeremy Strong has urged a team of celebrities, including Jessica Chastain, Adam McKay, Aaron Sorkin and Anne Hathaway, to publicly defend him. Is this what they are so angry about? That's what I thought when I read the interview. The reaction felt disproportionate, as if the stars had forgotten that interviews should be cultural analysis, not flattery.
Faye's reaction Las Culturistas In an interview, Edebiri later commented, “Let me tell you.” But the conclusion I drew from the awkward situation with J.Lo isn't that we need to learn to evaluate comments in their intended context, but rather that more people should censor themselves. If that's the case, that would be unfortunate. Did Edebiri really need to be “held accountable” or tearfully apologized for making a joke about one of the world's most famous and successful women? If you want celebrities to be more authentic, especially when, like Edebiri, what they did was embarrassing but didn't have any lasting harmful effects, be prepared to meet them halfway. Have to.
The long memory of the Internet can have a significant impact on cultural criticism. It's not just fan backlash. There's a whole other side behind the curtain, and celebrities and journalists don't want to say or write anything that might offend someone they might want to work with one day. That's all understandable, but the result is that the media ecosystem often feels a little too specialized and uninteresting. That's why, like the negative reviews, it was so refreshing. madame web Johnson claimed that “substantial changes” were made to the script and film after the deal was signed. As a viewer, that's the kind of dirt I actually want to hear.
upon Las Culturistasboth hosts responded with gay shrieks when Fey dropped a quote that quickly became canon. “The real thing is dangerous and expensive.” The question is, do you need to do that?