Met Gala Hot Takes
I don’t pretend to know a lot about fashion (*wipes coffee stain and cat hair off Old Navy sales rack sweater*), so as much as I love a celebrity red carpet moment, the Met Gala always kind of evades me. For those similarly out of the loop, the Met Gala is an annual fundraiser for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute in New York City. It also marks the opening of the Costume Institute’s yearly fashion exhibit. Celebs and fashion types show up every year in extravagant costumes that fit the theme, which usually flies right over my head. For example, last year was “Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons: Art of the In-Between.” So.
But this year as a good old Cincinnati Catholic, I actually got the theme! “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination” (which is on view at the Met through October) had all my faves serving papal realness. A week later, I still can’t stop fawning over the photos. Here’s a look at what you might have missed:
Sarah Jessica Parker balanced a full nativity scene on her head; 2 Chainz proposed to his girlfriend on the grand staircase; the witchy Olsen twins showed up to continually haunt our dreams; Scarlett Johansson wore Marchesa, which was ~controversial~ because designer Georgina Chapman is married to (but separated from) accused sexual assaulter Harvey Weinstein; Katy Perry wore some giant ass angel wings that put the Victoria’s Secret fashion show to shame; former arch enemies Nicki Minaj and Cardi B were seen being cordial; Jaden Smith brought his framed gold record as a date (past plus-ones included his sister Willow and a fistful of his cut off dreads); Frances McDormand did not show up in a burlap sack; new it-couple (?) Elon Musk and musician Grimes made their public debut; and Met Ball co-chair Rihanna looked like a glittery, slutty pope. Very much my vibe!
The only thing that was missing was an epic Ocean’s 8 moment. The lady-leading spin-off film, which I am truly unironically excited about, features a jewelry heist at the Met Gala. Many of its stars, including Mindy Kaling, Queen Riri, Sarah Paulson and Anne Hathaway, were there. It seemed like a missed opportunity. Then again, if Anna Wintour — chair of the gala — caught wind of some tawdry movie publicity stunt, they might end up at the bottom of the Hudson River.
When Harry Met Meghan
The #RoyalWedding is coming up this weekend, when Prince Harry will marry American actress Meghan Markle in what will be the last marital event of its caliber until George, Charlotte or Louis tie the knot in another 20-30 years. This means loads of magazine covers, campy royal wedding swag, interviews with anyone remotely connected to the couple and, of course, a Lifetime Original Movie! Harry & Meghan: A Royal Romance aired Sunday night and it was actually…not terrible? Lifetime’s dramatized flicks are often criticized for failing to even find actors that look the part, but their Meghan (Parisa Fitz-Henley) was actually quite the Markle doppelganger. On the other hand, their balding Prince William (Burgess Abernethy — helluva name) fell a little flat in the look-a-like department. The movie introduced the verb Botswana’d, featured a CGI lion and revealed that Meghan put Harry in his place for being 40 minutes late to their first date. The couple dressed as Hillary Clinton and a frog for Halloween. And, of course, there was the engagement roast chicken. Inaccuracies abounded, but I was surprised to see the movie delve into some of the more serious racial and cultural aspects of their relationship. Is Lifetime woke now? (Spoiler Alert: Probably not.)
The flick ends with a cut to the IRL Harry & Meghan and damn it if it didn’t make me excited for this Saturday. The only downside: The wedding starts at 7 a.m. our time with coverage beginning at 4 a.m. Do I wake up early on *gasp* a Saturday or just pull an all-nighter?
Mom Mum Mommy
Curling up to a Lifetime movie about a real life prince falling in love with an American woman on a Sunday night is a total mom move, which was perfect because Sunday was also Mother’s Day. While you were making your wife breakfast or taking your mom out to brunch, the internet celebrated with so many throwback family photos you would have thought it was Thursday. Seriously, vintage mom Facebook posts are the new macaroni necklaces — Andre 3000 even attached his old-school mommy and me pic to a couple of new singles. If you don’t shout out to your ma’s hot ’80s hair on Instagram, did you even celebrate Mother’s Day? In fact, the whole social media element has kind of turned the holiday into a celebration of all women, acknowledging women who can’t or don’t want to have children, people who have lost a child or mother, even nannies and caregivers that help moms out. Yas, queens!
Saturday Night Live kicked the day off early with what’s now a tradition of cast members inviting their moms onstage. The women fawned over their famous children — and requested less politics and more comedy on the show. Classic moms!
TV Is Cancelled
Networks axed a bunch of TV series this week. Did your shows make the cut? ABC killed off Alex Inc., The Crossing, Deception, Designated Survivor, Kevin Probably Saves The World, Marvel’s Inhumans, The Mayor and Quantico. NBC pulled the plug on The Brave, Great News, The Night Shift, Rise, Shades of Blue and Taken. Fox cancelled Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The Exorcist, The Mick, The Last Man On Earth and Lucifer. But then NBC grabbed Brooklyn Nine-Nine and performed mouth-to-mouth, which is to say the network revived the Andy Samberg cop comedy. Also, Fox’s Lethal Weapon series might get a third — that’s right, third — season if they can replace the recently ousted lead. And good news for conservatives: Last Man Standing, the only GOP-approved sitcom they’re allowed to watch, is also being revived after cancellation. *Cue Tim “The Toolman” Taylor grunt sound*
Contact T.C. Britton: [email protected]