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While stars, celebrities and Anna Wintour ascended the steps at the Met Gala on Monday night, protesters began assembling on the streets just surrounding the museum. In Central Park, a small group of protesters, accompanied by an A.C.L.U. observer in a blue vest, gathered with cardboard signs reading “No Met Gala While Bombs Drop in Gaza” and “No Celebration Without Liberation,” mixed in among signs that mostly dealt directly with the war in Gaza. Representatives of the group declined to answer questions or say how many protesters they were expecting. Another larger group made its way along Fifth Avenue, with many participants waving Palestinian flags and chanting “Gaza!

Persons: Anna Wintour, ” Organizations: New York Police Department Locations: Central, Gaza, Gaza .

Although the Met Gala serves as a branding event for Vogue, it has long accepted sponsorships from the tech giants that have threatened the very survival of legacy media publications. Jeff Bezos, the Amazon founder, appeared as the ball’s honorary chair in 2012. Four years later, when Apple was a Met Gala sponsor, its chief executive, Tim Cook, showed up in tux and tails. And Instagram supplied cash in 2022. In the wake of that political firestorm, Shou Chew, the 41-year-old chief executive of TikTok, is expected to join dozens of celebrity guests at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Manhattan on Monday evening.

Persons: Jeff Bezos, Apple, Tim Cook, TikTok, goliath, Condé Nast, Biden, Shou Chew Organizations: Vogue, Amazon, Metropolitan Museum of Art Locations: United States, Manhattan

☆ A Brief Guide to Who’s Who on Taylor Swift’s ‘Tortured Poets’
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-19 | by ( Madison Malone Kircher | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

When Taylor Swift released “The Tortured Poets Department,” on Friday at midnight, her fan base quickly got to work decoding the album, looking for layers of meaning and insight into Ms. Swift’s life. Of course, that includes the pop singer’s romantic history. Like many of her past works, the songs on this album — which features over a dozen additional tracks as part of an extended album called “The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology” — are laden with names and references, many of which appear to be to real people from Ms. Swift’s universe and the literary canon. At least two poets, Dylan Thomas and Patti Smith, are mentioned. Here’s a look at some of those characters.

Persons: Taylor Swift, ”, Dylan Thomas, Patti Smith, Matty Healy Organizations: Poets Department

☆ Harvard’s Taylor Swift Scholars Have Thoughts on ‘Tortured Poets’
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-19 | by ( Madison Malone Kircher | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Fans of Taylor Swift often study up for a new album, revisiting the singer’s older works to prepare to analyze lyrics and song titles for secret messages and meanings. “The Tortured Poets Department” is getting much the same treatment, and perhaps no group of listeners was better prepared than the students at Harvard University currently studying Ms. Swift’s works in an English class devoted entirely to the artist. The undergraduate course, “Taylor Swift and Her World,” is taught by Stephanie Burt, who has her students comparing Ms. Swift’s songs to works by poets and writers including Willa Cather, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and William Wordsworth. On Thursday night, about 50 students from the class gathered in a lecture hall on campus to listen to Ms. Swift’s new album. Mary Pankowski, a 22-year-old senior studying history of art and architecture, wore a cream sweatshirt she bought at Ms. Swift’s Eras tour last year.

Persons: Taylor Swift, Department ”, Swift’s, “ Taylor Swift, ”, Stephanie Burt, Willa Cather, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, William Wordsworth, Mary Pankowski Organizations: Department, Harvard University

Within days, millions of TikTok videos using music from Universal artists went mute, and since then guessing which side would blink first has become a media-business parlor game. Backing this up, one study found that TikTok users reported experiencing higher levels of flow than Instagram users. Corey Basch, who analyzed 100 popular TikTok videos with the hashtag mentalhealth for a 2022 study, emerged concerned about the looping effect of the algorithm. Cerave Sales increased by more than 60 percent in 2020 after skin care became a lockdown pastime and TikTok users discovered the drugstore mainstay. Cat Crack Catnip It briefly sold out in 2021 after TikTok users posted videos of their cats going crazy for it.

Persons: randos, TikTok, you’ve, Sydney Sweeney, Glen Powell, ”, “ Wonka, Barbie, “ Oppenheimer, —, goofing, cavorting, Sue Fleishman, Z’s Walter Cronkite, Spehar, Donald J, Trump, he’s, Caitlin Clark’s, Joe Biden, Justin Bieber, Abbie Richards, Richards, Britney Spears, Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, Lil Nas X, Fleetwood Mac, Rodrigo, Billie Eilish, Drake, Swift, ByteDance, can’t, Mark Warner, hasn’t, Al, ear on, Li Organizations: Fleetwood Mac, Facebook, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, White, Pew Research Center, YouTube, The New York Times, Kansas City Chiefs, Media, Colgate, Universal Music Group, ByteDance, Intelligence Committee, e Locations: United States, Beijing, Biden’s, TikTok, Singapore, View, Calif, China, American

☆ Partying on a Tuesday With Elon Musk and His 3-Year-Old
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-03 | by ( Madison Malone Kircher | Nina Westervelt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The future looked bright despite the rain on Tuesday evening at the Museum of Modern Art, where guests — including Elon Musk and Seth Meyers — gathered for a screening of a new PBS documentary series, “A Brief History of the Future.”Mr. Musk, flanked by security, came with a preschooler in tow, his 3-year-old son, X Æ A-12, who is better known simply as X. (Same as Mr. Musk’s social media platform.) X’s mother, the musician Grimes, is featured in the documentary series, which follows innovators who are trying to tackle some the world’s most pressing problems, like climate change and pollution. The documentary, as the title might suggest, centers on futurism. Its adherents approach these obstacles and challenges with a distinct sense of optimism.

Persons: Elon Musk, Seth Meyers —, Mr, Grimes Organizations: Museum of Modern Art, Elon, PBS

Outdoor Voices, an athletic apparel company, is closing all its stores on Sunday, according to four employees at four different stores who were granted anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the news. In an internal Slack message reviewed by The New York Times, some employees were notified on Wednesday that “Outdoor Voices is embarking on a new chapter as we transition to an exclusively online business.” Products in stores are going to be discounted 50 percent, according to the Slack message. The news came as a surprise, two of the employees said, adding that they were not offered severance. Outdoor Voices, which lists 16 retail locations on its website, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Organizations: The New York Times, ”

☆ Champagne. Caviar. Bora Bora. Are You Not Entertained?
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-05 | by ( Madison Malone Kircher | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A group of influencers are on a private jet to Bora Bora. They sip Veuve Clicquot, sample caviar and dance in their seats to Fergie’s “Glamorous.”Welcome to Trippin’ with Tarte, a promotional extravaganza sponsored by the beauty brand Tarte Cosmetics, a company known for regularly inviting social media influencers on lavish trips. For those not on the guest list, TikTok and Instagram have provided a front-row seat to the spectacle of influencers having a glorious time, and the Tarte excursions have become social media’s version of a hit reality TV series. The Fergie-underscored video, posted on TikTok by the online creator Abby Baffoe, has been viewed 1.3 million times since Friday. The reaction has been decidedly mixed, with some commenters expressing annoyance with the conspicuous consumption on display and suggesting that they may be suffering from influencer fatigue, a weariness with content that has become the stuff of social media cliché.

Persons: Fergie, Abby Baffoe Locations: Bora

☆ Swifties on Political Conspiracy Theories: You Need to Calm Down
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-02 | by ( Madison Malone Kircher | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Taylor Swift often encourages her fans to devise fanciful theories about her music, but this week a very different type of wild speculation sprung up around her: political conspiracy theories being peddled by Fox News, Trump surrogates and the extended MAGA universe. The theories range widely, but include outlandish claims that Ms. Swift is secretly working for the United States government and that her relationship with Travis Kelce, a tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs, is part of a lengthy political scheme. ends with the Chiefs winning the Super Bowl and Ms. The attacks may be intended to embolden a right wing base, and perhaps change a few minds in other parts of the political universe, but Swifties, predictably, remain indifferent.

Persons: Taylor Swift, Swift, Travis Kelce, Kelce, Biden, ’ ”, Raven Mosley Organizations: Fox News, Trump surrogates, United, Kansas City Chiefs, Chiefs Locations: United States, Vancouver, Wash

☆ The Day the Music Died (on TikTok)
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-02 | by ( Madison Malone Kircher | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Things were going well for Cody Fry, a singer-songwriter and producer known for his lush pop songs. And on Monday his management team called him with exciting news: One of his songs, “Things You Said,” a romantic duet with Abby Cates, was gaining TikTok traction in China. More than 750,000 videos were created with that song in a single day, Mr. Fry said in a TikTok video. The sudden TikTok silence came about after Universal Music Group, the world’s largest music company, pulled its catalog from TikTok after its contract with the platform expired. In addition to Mr. Fry, who is signed to Decca Records, one of the company’s many labels, Universal artists whose videos went silent include SZA, Taylor Swift and Ice Spice.

Persons: Cody Fry, Ben Rector, ”, Abby Cates, Fry, Said ”, Taylor Swift Organizations: Colorado Symphony, Universal Music Group, Decca Records, Universal Locations: Denver, China

☆ She Gave Birth Two Weeks Ago. Now She’s in a Beauty Pageant.
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-30 | by ( Madison Malone Kircher | Bridget Bennett | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Two weeks after giving birth to her eighth child, Ms. Neeleman, 33, said she no longer needed to wear postpartum diapers. That was convenient, since she was about to take part in the swimsuit round of the Mrs. World beauty pageant, an annual competition for married women from around the globe. “A lot of us have kids, and I don’t think there’s any shame in showing I just had a baby,” Ms. Neeleman said. “Like, I’m not going to have a perfectly flat stomach.” The beauty team draped a blanket over the infant, Flora Jo. “She’s breathed in a lot of hair spray,” she joked, “but other than that she’s stayed safe.”

Persons: “, ” Hannah Neeleman, Neeleman, Ms, I’m, Flora Jo, “ She’s, she’s Locations: Las Vegas

☆ Party Like ‘Saltburn’ — Bathwater Optional
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-29 | by ( Madison Malone Kircher | Amir Hamja | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The theme of the night was the movie “Saltburn,” which, based on the number of attendees who arrived dressed in costume, is quickly garnering cult status. It was like hopping in a time machine to 2007. The same tone set the mood for the evening’s festivities. There were “bathwater” cocktails — made with pineapple juice, rum and coconut milk for extra, soapy froth — for sale at the bar. (The drink tasted fine, even if its inspiration, a scene in the film where Barry Keoghan laps up Jacob Elordi’s leftover bathwater, is perhaps less than appetizing.)

Persons: partygoers, Fergie, Justin Timberlake, Sophie Ellis, Bextor, —, Barry Keoghan, Jacob Elordi’s Organizations: Veronicas Locations: East Williamsburg, Brooklyn, ”

☆ What Do A.A., Burning Man and the Talmud Have in Common? This Guy.
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-26 | by ( Madison Malone Kircher | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

SUBCULTURE VULTURE: A Memoir in Six Scenes, by Moshe KasherAbout three-quarters of the way through his new memoir, “Subculture Vulture,” the writer and comedian Moshe Kasher warns that, right about now, readers might want to bail and head to YouTube: He’s about to explain the Talmud. The Mishna is a written version of collected oral law, he explains. If that sort of joke isn’t to your taste, he’s right: Abandon ship now. Talmudic studies à la Kasher offer the same solid balance he demonstrates throughout the book. You’ll probably learn something — unless you’ve lived an identical life to his, which seems statistically impossible — and laugh in roughly equal measure.

Persons: Moshe Kasher, Kasher, ”, à, You’ll, you’ve Locations: Oakland, Calif, Brooklyn

☆ She Redecorated Her Boyfriend’s Apartment. TikTok Hated It.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( Madison Malone Kircher | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Soon after Emma Ganzarain moved into her boyfriend’s apartment in Oslo, the couple got to work on a redesign. They added light-colored herringbone floors, with radiant heating to combat the Norwegian chill, and taupe kitchen cabinets. When the work was just about done, Ms. Ganzarain, 26, posted some before and after photos on TikTok. “All men need a woman in their life,” she wrote in the caption. Many people have accused Ms. Ganzarain, who had about 3,000 TikTok followers at the time of the post, of ruining her boyfriend’s space, replacing its warmth and character with a more sterile look.

Persons: Emma Ganzarain, Ganzarain, ”, commenter, “, Patrick Bateman Locations: Oslo

☆ A Dedicated Taylor Swift Reporter Faces Swift Criticism Online
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Madison Malone Kircher | More About Madison Malone Kircher | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

But before Mr. West, 35, had the chance to file his first story on his new beat, he was getting criticism from two sides: journalism watchdogs and Ms. Swift’s fans. The objections started rolling in shortly after Variety broke the news of his hiring on Monday. The article included an interview with Mr. West, which provided newsroom ethicists and Swifties alike with grounds for complaint. At the same time, the singer’s fans debated whether he was a big enough Swiftie to capture their beloved star. Some people in both camps said the job was better suited to a woman.

Persons: Bryan, Taylor Swift, Taylor, ” Organizations: Bryan West, Gannett, USA, Variety, Mr Locations: United States, Phoenix

☆ On TikTok, Gen Z Beatles Fans Share Thoughts on ‘Now and Then’
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Madison Malone Kircher | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Eloise Smith, 23, posted a reaction video on TikTok immediately after listening to “Now and Then,” the Beatles song released on Thursday. “Can’t believe it’s 2023 and I get the joy of hearing a new Beatles song for the first time ever,” she wrote in the video’s caption. In an interview, Ms. Smith, a civil servant who lives in Manchester, England, said she was a third-generation fan: Her grandmother introduced her father to the Beatles, and her father introduced them to her. “I was 1 when George Harrison died,” she said. Ms. Smith, who has a forearm tattoo of the band’s “Abbey Road” album cover, said she was “thrilled” weeks ago when she heard about “Now and Then.” The ability to immediately react and connect with other fans of the band through social media has made the experience of hearing a new Beatles song richer, she added.

Persons: Eloise Smith, TikTok, “ Can’t, ”, Smith, “, George Harrison Locations: Manchester, England

☆ A YouTube Gossip Spills a Secret of Her Own
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Madison Malone Kircher | More About Madison Malone Kircher | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For the last five years, Spill Sesh, a popular YouTube channel, has covered the world of social media stars, providing detailed recaps and tart commentary on their scandals and beefs du jour. But even as the Spill Sesh channel racked up more than 700,000 subscribers, the person behind it kept her identity secret. Or someone related to a famous YouTuber? Or maybe a famous YouTuber, doing gossip on the side? On Friday, the mystery was solved when the person behind Spill Sesh revealed her secret in a new video.

Persons: Sesh, Kristi Cook Organizations: TMZ, The New York Times Locations: Florida, Los Angeles

Earlier in the evening, Ms. Klum revealed her highly anticipated costume: a giant human peacock constructed with the help of 10 Cirque du Soleil acrobats. In a booth upstairs, the rapper Ice-T sat with his wife, Coco Austin, who was clad in fishnets. As she leaned over the back of the booth and chatted with some other guests, Ice-T snapped pictures of her. The club, filled with about 500 guests, was decorated for the holiday, with fun house mirrors lining the entryway and cobwebs draped from the ceiling. Across the room, the costumes were elaborate.

Persons: Heidi Klum’s, Klum, Coco Austin Locations: Chelsea, Manhattan

☆ The Hot New Thing in Social Media Is Here. Again.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( Madison Malone Kircher | More About Madison Malone Kircher | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The history of social media platforms is littered with apps that had their moment before fading. And in 2015 there was Beme, which was marketed as an online space for sharing everyday life as it really is. Much like Dispo, Lapse encourages people to take pictures the way they did in the analog days, when disposable cameras were all the rage. When the photos are ready, several hours later, their takers can decide if they want to post them for their Lapse friends or archive them for private viewing. All photos posted on Lapse must be taken in the app and cannot be altered in any way.

Persons: Gen Organizations: Apple Locations: United States

☆ It’s a Bird. It’s a Dame. It’s Heidi Klum’s Halloween Costume.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( Madison Malone Kircher | More About Madison Malone Kircher | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

She picked a peacock because she thought the dynamic way the birds are known to show off their feathers would lend itself well to the performance. Ms. Klum wore a stretchy velour unitard in a shade of bright cobalt speckled with subtle sparkles to simulate the neck and head of the bird. Her hands were painted in blues and greens and decorated to conceal any trace of human skin. She wore shoes that looked like ballet slippers, which blended into the costume of the man whose thighs she stood on. The shoes were a little too tight, she said, but “you need a good grip” — something she had learned from the circus members.

Persons: Klum Organizations: du

☆ To Go Viral on TikTok, Do This
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( Madison Malone Kircher | More About Madison Malone Kircher | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

If this story were a TikTok video, the writer would be applying lip gloss right about … now. Unscrewing the cap on a tube of mauve goo and giving it a generous swipe across puckered lips. And once you see it, you won’t be able to unsee it. A clip of the “Laguna Beach” star Kristin Cavallari sitting in her car lip-syncing. A nutritionist offering tips on how to curb your cravings.

Persons: won’t, Kristin Cavallari Locations: Erewhon, Los Angeles

☆ The Tabi Swiper vs. TikTok’s Vigilantes
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( Madison Malone Kircher | More About Madison Malone Kircher | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

This week, I found myself breathlessly refreshing TikTok and Twitter — still not ready to call it X, sorry — for the latest updates in the saga of the Tabi Swiper. The story goes like this:After a second date, a man named Josh went home with a woman named Alexis Dougé for the evening. The following morning, after Josh left, Alexis discovered that her Tabi Mary-Janes — a pricey shoe from the brand Margiela with a polarizing cloven toe — were missing. It didn’t take the internet hive mind long to identify Josh, who had just given his girlfriend a pair of the same shoes. After a protracted public shaming, Josh came clean and gave Alexis her shoes back.

Persons: Twitter —, Josh, Alexis Dougé, Alexis, Mary, Janes, Jessica Roy, I’m Organizations: Twitter

☆ Grown-Up Theater Kids Run the World
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-20 | by ( Madison Malone Kircher | More About Madison Malone Kircher | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Muttering “thank you, five” under their breath when you swing by their cubicles to remind them about a team meeting happening in five minutes. Performing slightly too well at office karaoke after protesting slightly too much about getting onstage. Former theater kids. What happens to theater kids when we grow up? There’s, of course, the dream scenario: The theater kids who are driven and talented and lucky enough become working theater adults.

Persons: it’ll, Ben Platt, Tony, Evan Hansen, ” Locations: “

☆ Hawaii-Tok Wants Tourists to Stay Home
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-18 | by ( Madison Malone Kircher | More About Madison Malone Kircher | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

TikTok’s algorithm shows you videos based on other videos you’ve interacted with. So this week, after I watched a video or two about the fires sweeping through Maui, my For You Page was nearly all content from creators in Hawaii. One central topic kept coming up: Should tourists stay away from the island of Maui after last week’s deadly fires? Kate Ducheneau, a TikTok creator from Lahaina whose family evacuated during the fires, told me it had been hard seeing tourists around the area. “I was in line, just trying to get a Starbucks coffee,” she said, when she spotted a couple who appeared to be tourists.

Persons: Kate Ducheneau, ” Organizations: Target Locations: Maui, Hawaii, Lahaina

In the throes of responding to the Maui wildfires that razed the celebrated town of Lahaina and claimed over 110 lives, Hawaii remains mostly open for tourism, despite the misgivings of both residents and tourists. “Do not come to Maui,” Kate Ducheneau, a Lahaina resident, said in a TikTok video that has been viewed more than two million times since it was posted on Sunday. Last week’s tragedy has intensified long-simmering tension over the archipelago’s economic reliance on tourism, a dependency that sparked anti-tourism protests in recent years and brought the state to its knees during the pandemic. Many residents, particularly in Maui, are furious over the uncomfortable, contradictory scenario of visitors frolicking in the state’s lush forests or sunbathing on white-sand beaches while they grieve the immense loss of life, home and culture. Others believe that tourism, while particularly painful now, is vital.

Persons: Kate Ducheneau, “, ” Locations: Lahaina, Hawaii, Maui

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