Weekend: Soft Jock Haircut Controversy 💈

EDITOR’S NOTE

Happy Sunday. Here I was, minding my own business, when I stumbled upon one of the spiciest food fights, over who created butter chicken. I’ll let the courts decide, but thank you to whoever it is — because it’s delicious. I’m not sure the same will be said for Coca-Cola Spiced. For now, I’ll raise a glass to being “boysober,” because who needs a man when you can just cuddle up to Build-A-Bear’s “After Dark” collection?

Rasheeda Campbell / News Writer / Chevy Chase, Maryland

👰‍♀️ Would you ever wear a “free the nipple” wedding dress? Talk about something new.

❤️ Two Valentine’s Day ideas we kind of love: 1) vegetable bouquets; 2) turning your ex’s crappy love letters into toilet paper.

🧩 In this week’s edition of ‘tell me you can’t relax without telling me you can’t relax’: competitive speed puzzling.

🍹 Calling all “fruit bats,” “sloppy steaks,” and “civilians” — bartenders are stirring up a whole new vocab.

🧘‍♀️ In things we didn’t know we needed: Lil Jon’s reportedly releasing a guided meditation album. Turn down for what?

It’s hard to keep up with all the Travis Kelce headlines, but there’s one getting a bit more buzz. No, not the one calling the Kansas City Chiefs tight end the ultimate “Soft Jock,” though apparently that’s a thing. We’re talking about the one suggesting he popularized the buzz cut fade — or, as the New York Times put it, “the Travis Kelce.” Sure, he might have contributed to the current uptick in requests, but many were quick to call out the paper for giving “zero cultural context” and failing to recognize the haircut’s longstanding connection to Black culture. Others noted that media has a long history of whitewashing Black culture, especially hairstyles. In the words of one X user, it’s “the haircut tens of millions of Black men have been getting since the ‘80s.” Even Kelce rejected ownership, calling it “absolutely ridiculous” during a press conference and insisting he “didn’t invent the fade” in the most recent episode of his “New Heights” podcast. If only he’d be so clear about that rumored engagement…

Two students meet on graduation night, sparks fly, and then we see them on the same day every year for nearly two decades, charting a will-they-won’t-they love story complicated by the ups and downs of navigating adulthood. If the plot of Netflix’s “One Day” sounds familiar, that’s probably because you either (a) read the bestselling David Nicholls book or (b) saw the film adaptation starring Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess. This time, though, the lovers in question are played by Leo Woodall, who was last seen trying to help his “uncle” in “The White Lotus,” and Ambika Mod, from “This Is Going to Hurt,” which is actually fitting for this show, too.

Fur Ingrown Eliminator Mitts

TheSkimm’s very own Caroline Goldstein has made it a life mission to figure out what to do about ingrown hairs. The closest thing to an answer? These serum-soaked mini mitts. Slip one over your finger, run it along the ingrowns in question, and according to Caroline, the trapped hairs will be freed almost before your eyes — nearly as satisfying as watching one of those pimple-popping videos.

Should we all be testing the limits of Costco’s famously generous return policy? That’s what TikToker Jackie Nguyen did when she successfully returned a two-and-a-half-year-old couch. Without a receipt. And simply because she “just didn’t like it anymore.” Some called the move downright savage, while others chimed in with their own aggressively late success stories — including one person who apparently returned a five-year-old mattress (yes, a mattress). Who knows what the right answer is, but as Jackie said, “Buy your furniture from Costco, girl!”

A Florida compound with a roughly 11,500-square-foot main house

What could end up being America’s most expensive home has hit the market at $295 million. If you’re wondering what Katy Perry’s reported net worth will get you: A 9-acre Florida compound with a roughly 11,500-square-foot main house, a 5,800-square-foot guesthouse, and, for good measure, a second guesthouse that’s just about as large. Plus, plenty of space for even more guesthouses, three pools, 1,650 feet of waterfront, and a private yacht basin. You know, for all your yachts.

“I honestly forgot”

— Britney Spears on making out with Ben Affleck. So much for being “technically excellent.”

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