'RHOBH' Premiere Night Takeaways on Kyle and Mauricio
Plus, how I'm feeling halfway through Britney's book
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What a week in pop culture!
Between Britney Spears’ memoir “The Woman in Me” record-breaking release, “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” highly-rated return and Taylor Swift dropping “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” today, there’s been a lot of content to consume over the last several days.
The experience of reading Britney’s book as tidbits from it make countless headlines has reminded me of what it was like reading Prince Harry’s book in full after it leaked ahead of publishing and made similar headlines on the back of cherrypicked details from “Spare.” While some of the revelations from either memoir are genuinely noteworthy and occasionally shocking, in context they feel much less salacious, as they help to tell the story of who the author is and why they are they way they are.
I’m about halfway through “The Woman in Me,” and I’ve felt myself toggled between feeling like I’m getting some real, emotional insight into Britney’s life through her own voice and questioning whose voice I’m really hearing or how much she really wanted to put this book out into the world. The book moves forward at a brisk pace, skips over a lot of notable moments in Britney’s career and jumps between quick anecdotes that often feel unrelated to one another. All of which, if we were talking about anyone other than Britney, would feel sloppy or unfinished or incomplete. And, on the one hand, that’s totally valid here. But on the other, isn’t that kind of how we know Britney to be? How she writes on Instagram every day and has always been in interviews? Like, the same qualities of her memoir that people seem to be taking issue with online are actually what make it feel even more her in my eyes.
RELATED: Let Britney Tell Her Story The Way She Intended
My overall gut feeling with Britney’s memoir is that it seems as though Britney was initially really into the idea of writing it and getting her side of the story out there, but that she also then got disillusioned with the whole ordeal and, at some point, her heart was no longer in it. Everything TMZ reports about Britney should be taken with a grain of salt, as they’ve notoriously been pro-Jamie Spears over the years, but the outlet stated as much this week:
Our sources say the unsung hero in the success of the book is Britney's best friend/manager Cade Hudson. Multiple sources tell TMZ, Hudson repeatedly pushed Britney to write and finish the book. There were times she wanted nothing to do with it, but Hudson pushed her and eventually -- belatedly -- it happened.
This makes sense to me, and it explains why there are certain portions of the book with so much vivid detail and certain periods that are completely glossed over. It gives you the impression that Britney didn’t finish telling her story to whoever was helping her getting her words written down onto the page, but at some point she was breathlessly spilling her guts. There’s a lack of connective tissue, but there’s still enough flesh there to make reading “The Woman in Me” worth it.
The New York Times ran this piece analyzing why Britney hasn’t done a press tour to promote it, why she’s not the one reading the audiobook, why she’s just using her own Instagram account to sporadically talk about it, and it’s like — what do people expect out of this woman? She truly owes us nothing, and we should be grateful about the fact that we even got a book to begin with, quite frankly. When discussing Britney in 2023 — and, in particular, in regards to this book — people seem to be projecting what they want onto what she’s giving or not giving us. Like, would we all love a sit-down between Oprah and Britney? Of course we would. Does it make sense to get anything of the sort from her given that she literally says in her book that her emotional 2003 interview with Diane Sawyer was a massive negative turning point in her life? Of course not. *sigh*
Anyways… keep scrolling for my new podcast announcement, some initial thoughts on the “RHOBH” premiere, a quick opinion on “1989 (Taylor’s Version” and, as usual, some recommendations for your weekend.
Self-Promotion
“Gabbing with Gib” is here!
Moving this section up top for one time only…
I was so excited this week to finally be able to share the side project that I’ve been working on for the past several months: My new podcast, “Gabbing with Gib,” which will release two weekly episodes going forward. Everyone’s been so supportive this week, and I couldn’t be more appreciative. It’s a little scary unveiling a project like this, so it’s been a massive relief seeing how well this has been received so far. If you could take a minute to subscribe to or rate the show at one of the links below, I’d be so grateful:
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts (5-star ratings and reviews help so much!)
Larsa Pippen on “Gabbing with Gib”
For my first episode, I interviewed Larsa Pippen about all things “Real Housewives of Miami” ahead of next week’s season 6 premiere. We talked about her relationship with Marcus Jordan, where she stands with Dr. Nicole, Adriana and Guerdy, that fight between Kiki and Lisa, “The Traitors” season 2 and that group dinner with Bethenny Frankel. Shout out to Us Weekly and Page Six for already picking it up! Watch it above or listen to it below:
Read
This deep dive into the rise and tumble of Cameo was fascinating — my favorite detail is that Sonja Morgan was in the top 5 all-time earners, having made over $1 million on the platform. (Erin Griffith and Sapna Maheshwari for the New York Times)
Loved this unpacking of Michelle Williams’ amazing narration for the audiobook version of Britney Spears’ memoir, which has gone viral more than a few times since coming out on Tuesday. (Daniel D’Addario for Variety)
Taylor Swift has been on an all-out New York City restaurant tour while gearing up for the release of “1989 (Taylor’s Version),” and this writer followed in her footsteps, going to a bunch of the restaurants she’s been to recently and asking the employees that work there about the night’s she showed up. There are some great details in here — but I found the ending, where the writer somehow shows up to a restaurant the same night as Taylor yet doesn’t tell us what restaurant it was, to be a bit odd. (Rachel Handler for Vulture)
It’s been a big year for celebrity memoirs — here’s why. (Louis Staples for Harper’s Bazaar)
Watch
“The Golden Bachelor” (ABC/Hulu)
I stopped watching all of the Bachelor Nation shows a few years ago — I just couldn’t do it anymore. But with the introduction of “The Golden Bachelor” this fall, I’m slightly back into the fold. It’s as good as everyone says it is. In addition to being less of a time commitment (it’s an hour instead of the usual two hours for “Bachelor” episodes), this iteration of the ABC reality show brings heart and real emotion back to the franchise. I’ve cried during every single episode so far, especially when the women hoping to win over Gerry’s heart open up about losing their spouses or feeling like they’d have to give up on finding love. Even if you’ve resisted “The Bachelor” in recent years like I have, get on the “Golden Bachelor” train now — you won’t regret it.
RELATED: ‘Golden Bachelor’ Brings Something New to The Mansion: Grief
RELATED: America’s New Favorite Hunk is A 72-Year-Old Widower
Coleen Rooney: The Real Wagatha Story (Hulu)
Maybe it’s because I’m extremely online or because I religiously listen to “Who? Weekly,” but the story of Coleen Rooney and Rebekah Vardy has been living rent free in my mind for the past several years. I’m surprised by how many of my pop culture-obsessed friends in America don’t know about it, though! This delicious new three-part docu-series does an incredible job at tracking the entire ordeal, gives great background on what led to the internet-breaking moment and features an exclusive first-hand account of everything from Coleen herself. If you loved “Beckham,” especially the celebrity drama portions, then you’ll eat this one right up.
Listen
“1989 (Taylor’s Version)”
My quick thoughts after a few listens through Taylor Swift’s latest re-record: These are (unsurprisingly) some of her best vault tracks, but some of her least effective re-records. Some of the big hits (especially the ones produced by Max Martin, who isn’t helping her with the Taylor’s Versions) are hitting differently, and not necessarily in a good way. The Max songs on the “Red” re-record had the same initial impact on me, too. Makes you think!
Bravo, Bravo, Fucking Bravo
“The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” and Kyle Richards on “WWHL”
The new season of “RHOBH” is finally here, and it feels like we’re getting closer and closer to the truth about what’s happening between Kyle Richards and Mauricio Umansky, their separation and what Morgan Wade has to do with it all. This has been one of those rare celebrity scandals that my opinion of changes with each passing day. Some days it feels as though everyone is trolling us by being so public with one another, some days my hunch is that they’re saving some big reveal for the show and some days it feels as though there are no lines to read between — that the situation is exactly as they say it is.
The final scene of the “Beverly Hills” premiere, during which Kyle and Mauricio have an annoyed and stilted conversation about their schedules and Kyle’s tattoos, felt like a clear indication that there’s a genuine rift in their marriage. It feels like, at the base of some of this, they’re a couple of adults who want to do what they want to do — I don’t mean that sexually or romantically, I mean that just life- and career-wise — and they don’t want their partner to get in the way of that. For Kyle, especially, it makes sense to me.
On “Watch What Happens Live” following the episode, my impression of Kyle was that she was being completely honest as Andy Cohen asked her question after pressing question about the entire situation. She’s been doing this for so long that she’s almost compulsively honest; she can’t help but say what’s on her mind, especially when she’s sitting in that chair next to Andy. She’ll occasionally try to play it coy, but how many times have we seen Kyle blurt out the truth on “WWHL” even when she knew it would get her into trouble or complicate one of her relationships? She’s really not known to lie to us, and that’s one of the reasons why she’s been on this show for thirteen years and counting.
Watching that episode, I’m prone to believe that, yes, her and Morgan are indeed just really good friends and people are just implying that there’s something more there because she has all of those tattoos (that’s what Kyle said to Andy). Do I think the truth is that simple? No. Will my opinion on this change after we see episode 2? Probably. But that’s where I stand right now, and I think Kyle should be commended for the masterclass in Housewife-ery she put on at Andy’s show. She knows what is expected of her, she knows how this works and she knows that there’s no point in being dishonest in her position, especially when you’re at the center of the biggest Housewives story of the year. The truth always eventually comes out and, if the story you’ve been telling contradicts that, she knows that you end up looking foolish. She’s savvier than to put herself in that position.
Currently
I’m at home in D.C. for my best friend’s wedding! Listening to “1989 (TV)” as much as possible and trying to finish Britney’s book by the time I get back to New York.
Congrats on the podcast—so excited to listen!