Peace and love to nepo babies everywhere

By Fran Hoepfner

The term gets thrown around like it's a bad thing, but the world runs on nepo babies

Despite what you may have read, there is no recent “rise” of the nepo — short for “nepotism” — baby. For as long as there have been babies, there have been nepo babies. Lest we forget some of the most iconic actors over a few generations — Carrie Fisher, Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Laura Dern, Tracie Ellis Ross, Scott Caan — are nepo babies. I would go forth to say that Hollywood’s nepo babies are, for the most part, good. Does that mean that I think the industry is equitable? No, it mostly means that I don’t think that the children of celebrities should feel forced to become civil engineers or baristas, though it certainly would be cool if they did.

Just think: if you’re raised in “the industry,” you’re probably granted a greater understanding of how to navigate it, and therefore have more time to dedicate to acting and laughing at Jimmy Fallon’s jokes that would otherwise be spent figuring out if your lawyer is screwing you over.

In fact, I would argue that many of Hollywood’s young nepo babies that aren’t Brooklyn Beckham are actually great: charming, amiable, smart, with strong taste and interesting performances across a wide variety of streaming television shows and arthouse films. Should your faith in nepo babies be wavering, here are a handful that have more than proven their worth. Continue reading

By Olivia Craighead

They have everything they could ever want, except for a cheap snow globe

Swifties, as a community, have everything they could ever ask for. Their fave releases more albums than anyone, she’s going on tour next week, and she’s stayed hyper-visible in the past few weeks in order to secure an Oscar nomination for Best Short Film. So what do you get the Swiftie who has it all? I have a few suggestions. Continue reading

By Sarah Hagi

Bah humbug

I’m a simple woman in that I always need something to look forward to in order to avoid thinking about all the things currently happening. One thing I regularly look forward around this time of year? Luxury fashion retailer SSENSE’s holiday sale, in which deep discounts are given to clothing that’s not even out of season. For weeks leading up to this event, I spend large parts of my day curating a wishlist of things I don’t need, but will make me feel cool.

SSENSE is known not only for its taste-making editorial presence, but also for its suspiciously fast shipping rates. There have been times when I’ve ordered things and they’ve arrived at my door within 36 hours. It is generally a well-oiled machine. That is, until the holidays roll around and shit completely hits the fan.

And so, in addition to the SSENSE holiday sale, I now also look forward to another seemingly inevitable holiday tradition: scrolling through the SSENSE Instagram account and reading people yell at them about how they are not receiving their items in a lightning-fast manner. Continue reading

By Hannah Strong

Brendan Fraser’s performance prevents the film from becoming a grim exercise in rubbernecking

Perennial miserablist Darren Aronofsky seems like just the guy to adapt a play about the final week in the life of a morbidly obese man coming to terms with his imminent death. In one fashion or another all of his projects have been harrowing, and he courts controversy both on and off-screen (the firestorm surrounding mother! was behind the J-Law and Aronofsky split back in 2017). Nevertheless, his latest project has been the subject of particular speculation and trepidation since it was announced in January 2021, owing to concerns that The Whale would be little more than a pitiful spectacle about fatness — an arthouse episode of My 600-Lb. Life. Continue reading

By Claire Carusillo

Joyeux Noel! Kate’s got skinny jeans, and Camilla’s got a dangerous hat

I just got my Chrimbo card from my coworker Prince William and his work wife Kate Middleton. Have you seen it? It sends a direct message about the state of the Wales nuclear family and, in turn, a message about the entirety of the British Empire: It’s casual! Continue reading