'RHOSLC,' 'The Traitors,' Angela Bassett's Acceptance Speech and More

Recommendations for your weekend

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Keeping it short up top today — I’m sure I’ll have plenty of thoughts to share at some point up here as we get deeper into this season of “The Traitors,” but for now just keep scrolling for some recs for your winter weekend. Enjoy!

Read

• If you’re a “Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” watcher, this group interview with a Bravo exec, a VP from the show’s production company and its showrunner is an absolute must-read. They share some behind-the-scenes info about how the finale unfolded, what they knew when, where they stand right now in terms of whether or not to bring Monica back and more. (Rebecca Keegan for The Hollywood Reporter)

• I completely disagree with this article arguing that “The Traitors” should bring “normies” back into the mix of its cast of reality stars, but I’m sharing it because I’m curious if there are more people who miss that element of the first season. I personally think it works much better to have a cast completely made up of reality stars and public figures, and I’d venture to guess that most people feel the same way. (Nicholas Quah for Vulture)

• Justice for Venita! The “Southern Charm” star continues to find her voice on the Charleston-set Bravo show, but this op-ed does a nice job at arguing that she deserves more, especially when you consider all that she’s up against as a Black woman on a predominantly white cast the films in the South. Worth the read! (Taylor Crumpton for Essence)

• An interesting peek into how the Ozempic era is impacting food marketing. (Kim Severson for The New York Times)

• Stanley fever has resulted in kids being bullied in school for not having the in-demand water bottle, but the intense reaction to the craze around the coveted brand irks me — how is this any different from previous crazes around a consumer good or a toy or another must-have item? Substitute in Livestrong bracelets for Stanley water bottles and it’s the same thing that happened when I was the age of the pre-teens featured in this article. To me, the condemnation of the people who feel passionately about Stanley, a group that skews towards young women, is just another example of people not taking the interests of females seriously. (Julia Reinstein for The Cut)

• How AI is proving to be a huge headache for celebrities — and how it could impact us next. (John Herrman for The Intelligencer)

• I loved and related a lot to this essay about the prevalence of group chats in our lives. (Sophie Haigney for The New York Times Magazine)

• This deep dive into Britney Spears’ debut single “…Baby One More Time” is from October (the song’s 25th anniversary!), but it just crossed my feed this week somehow. There are some great fun facts throughout that I found really fun. (Nicholas Hautman for Page Six)

Listen

“Summer House” star Sam Feher on “Not Skinny But Not Fat”

Bravo fans has been assuming that Sam Feher, who was on the last season of “Summer House” and the just-wrapped season of “Winter House,” and Kory Keefer, who she met on “Summer House,” had broken up. Neither of them had addressed the speculation, though — until now. I really loved this deep dive she did about their relationship, the embarrassment she felt watching “Winter House” back and their recent breakup. I found Sam to be bravely forthcoming and refreshingly frank about the whole situation.

Fantasia Barrino on NPR’s “It’s Been A Minute”

I’ve been very open about how much I’m enjoying this much-deserved moment in the spotlight that Fantasia Barrino is experiencing right now as a result of her starring turn in the new adaptation of “The Color Purple,” and this interview is definitely a standout from her press tour. She’s incredibly wise, her story is inspiring and her candor is to be commended. She’ll always be my American Idol.

“The Call” on NPR’s “This American Life”

This episode was on a year-end list of the best podcast episodes of 2023, and I can absolutely see why. It’s a harrowing, emotional look at a “never use alone” crisis hotline for drug users, using one call in particular as a window into how they operate and the effects calls like it have on everyone involved. Listen to it here.

Watch

“The Traitors” Season 2 (Peacock)

Yes, I recognize how obvious this recommendation will be for many people reading this newsletter, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t take a moment early on in this classic-in-the-making season of reality TV to tell everyone to watch it.

We’re four episodes into this season of the mashup reality series, whose cast is one of the most stacked in reality TV history. There are legends from “Big Brother,” “Survivor,” “Real Housewives,” “The Challenge” and more who are all competing in a Mafia-like game of figuring out who the Traitors amongst the rest of the Faithfuls are. One of the best parts of the conceit is that they all come in as absolute icons within their respective fandoms, but many of them don’t know who one another are (or don’t respect the area of reality TV that they operate in) so they all experience some sort of hit to their ego, giving them something to prove. Because they also don’t have that much actual proof or evidence to go off of in determining who the Traitors are, they’re also all wrong most of the time. They get hunches based off of arbitrary hints and blink-and-you-miss-them moments of “odd” behavior, many of which actually mean nothing.

It’s hilarious. It’s reality TV theater. It’s campy. It’s genuinely entertaining. Alan Cummings is an expert host. They chose a perfect group of Traitors this time. If you’re not watching this show, you’re missing out — big time.

Regina King and Angela Bassett at The Governors Awards

During my rewatch of Niecy Nash’s instantly iconic Emmys acceptance speech this week, I was directed to the recent 14th annual Governors Awards, where honorary Oscars are given to titans of the industry. It’s where Angela Bassett finally got her due, delivering a rousing 15-minute acceptance speech during which she reflects on her career, pays homage to those who came before her and addresses those who are following in her own footsteps. It’s an incredible watch — as is Regina King’s great introduction of the award.

Self-Promotion

Britney Spears, Taylor Swift and Celebrity Profiles with Vanessa Grigoriadis on “Gabbing with Gib”

Vanessa is a legendary writer who has profiled some of the biggest pop stars and celebrities of the 21st century. She followed Britney around in 2008, went to Taylor’s home when she was 19, got flowers from Kim K. after writing about her and more. She has some of the best stories and her perspective on celebrity culture is essential. Listen to our chat below!

Talking “RHOBH,” “RHOSLC,” “The Traitors” and more with Ryan Bailey on “Gabbing with Gib”

Ryan Bailey is the host of the daily pop culture podcast “So Bad It’s Good With Ryan Bailey,” and he’s one of the best in the biz. I’ve been on his show a couple of times, so I was thrilled to have him on my show to talk all things “Housewives” and Bravo and “The Traitors.” Listen below!

Currently

Completely done with the cold and the snow in New York City, but will be braving the weather tonight to go to a dinner commemorating the 25th anniversary of “The Sopranos” on HBO. Also going to finally see “All of Us Strangers” and start the new season of “True Detective” this weekend!