Well hello again, friends; here’s your Monday Pop Culture Fix!
+ This X-Men New Mutants spin-off has turned into a real big woof. I mean it was kind of already a woof; it’s been in progress for half a decade. Three hundred years ago, back in March, Maisie Williams confirmed that her character, Rahne Sinclair, has a big lesbian love story with Blu Hunt’s Danielle Moonstar. Hunt says it’s “love at first sight.” Hurrah? But damn, every time director Josh Boone opens his mouth, it’s infuriating; and last week he may have finally sealed the deal on this movie just disappearing from public consciousness.
Gizmodo published an interview with him in which the interviewer asked about his choice to cast a non-Black actor (Henry Zaga) to play Afro-Latinx character Roberto, who actually deals with anti-Black racism in the comic books. Boone’s answer is so gross: “I didn’t care so much about the racism I’ve heard about in Brazil, about light-skinned versus dark-skinned. To me, it was I wanted to represent Brazil in a positive way and I wanted to find somebody who seems like he could look like a guy who’s had the silver spoon in his mouth, who has like a really rich dad and [Henry] just exemplified all these things.”
New Mutants co-creator Bob McLeod is pissed; not only did they whitewash a character he created, they also misspelled his name in the credits. Vulture has a run-down of what’s been going on with this disaster of a movie for the last five years.
+ Wynonna Earp in WaPo: Queer fans saved the show; showrunner Emily Andras is returning the favor with the gayest season yet.
+ Caity Weaver profiling Keke Palmer is exactly what I needed to kick off this week.
+ MJ Rodriguez has joined Janet Mock in HBO’s adaptation of Between the World and Me.
+ Buried in this excellent Robin Thede interview, Natalie found this gem: “And then Brittani Nichols sold a show to Quibi, so she’s executive producing and starring in that.” Guess I’m going to have to figure out what Quibi is!
+ Allison P. Davis’ profile of Mariah Carey in New York Magazine is glorious and also surreal. They touch on the 2008 segment on Ellen’s show when Ellen basically forced Mariah to announce her pregnancy, which she miscarried soon after: “‘I was extremely uncomfortable with that moment is all I can say. And I really have had a hard time grappling with the aftermath,’ she says. ‘I wasn’t ready to tell anyone because I had had a miscarriage. I don’t want to throw anyone that’s already being thrown under any proverbial bus, but I didn’t enjoy that moment.’ Carey goes on to say that there is ‘an empathy that can be applied to those moments that I would have liked to have been implemented. But what am I supposed to do?'”
+ TV Line ranked Buffy‘s top 25 characters because they want to fight you again.
+ In case you didn’t know, your girl Holland Taylor is in Bill and Ted Face the Music. She told Variety she’s aware of the fact that she gets typecast as “all-powerful figures” — she doesn’t mind.
+ Ryan Murphy says American Horror Story season ten will begin filming in October.
+ Here’s what happened at last night’s MTV Video Music Awards.
+ The NBA players strike broke television — and television needs to stay broken.
When a comment starts with “I didn’t care so much about the racism…” you don’t need to see the rest to know how garbage the person is.
That Buffy thing rated HARMONY better than TARA and OZ better than DRUSCILLA, my god
It rated Faith less than Spike. But it did get it right in that she’s better than either Angel or Xander.
I…legit don’t even remember who Harmony is lol.
X-Men = yikes, do better. Also, the Buffy list is OBJECTIVELY wrong. Absurd. @Heather would love to see your and/or the team’s rankings!
Can I give an extra shout out to ‘Just Shoot Me!’ and ‘Frasier’ star Wendie Malick still crushing at age 69?