Succession was actually spoiled in 2021
Tom Wambsgans eliminated three opponents at once because of his last name.
Keep scrolling for an investigation into tween fashion.
Did a viral TikTok accurately predict the end of Succession?
As Succession ended this week, one TikTok went viral for accurately predicting the final twist. After some investigation, however, it seems this theory first dates back to a Twitter post from 2021.
After seasons of questioning who will be the next Waystar Royco CEO, we finally have our answer: Tom Wambsgans, played by Matthew Macfadyen, weaselled his way into the position over the three Roy children - the obvious heirs to the media empire.
A TikTok account for a baby naming website, @NameBerry.com, posted a video last week discussing the significance of the family name "Wambsgans" and its potential connection to the plot.
"The real reason [Tom] was given the last name Wambsgans is because of this guy... Bill Wambsgans - an MLB player in the early twentieth century. He is remembered for one thing, and that is completing the only unassisted triple play in World Series history," NameBerry Editor-in-Chief Sophie Kihm explains.
However, Twitter user Jordan Ellenberg (@JSEllenberg) made the same connection on November 10, 2021.
Tweeting that Bill Wambsgans was famous for "eliminating three opponents at once," he predicted that Tom would do the same.
Even though Jordan was one of the first fans to come to this conclusion, other social media accounts that shared the theory - like @NameBerry.com - neglected to credit him.
"Oh, I think lots of people noticed this independently, but I do want props for, as far as I know being first!" he tweeted.
All that to say, the name was reportedly chosen because a Succession writer was related to someone with this surname.
Read the full breakdown via The Daily Dot.
FaZe Clan embroiled in controversy as founding member attacks new recruit Grace Van Dien
Grace Van Dien has been the target of misogynistic attacks all week after the Stranger Things actress, who also streams on Twitch as bluefille, announced she was joining FaZe Clan.
Grace revealed she had signed with the gaming collective in a YouTube video posted on May 25th.
Days before, however, founding member FaZe Rain ruined Grace’s ability to announce the news herself when he responded to a tweet made by the group’s account.
Since then, Rain has been going after Grace on Twitter for his 3.1 million followers to see.
Grace clapped back at Rain’s criticism during a May 26th live stream.
“I’m sorry sir, were you in the meeting with us? Were you there? No, I’ve never fucking met you and [being in Stranger Things] is not why FaZe signed me,” she said. “That is definitely how I got the meeting, yes, I will give that credit. That is how I got the meeting. But, that is absolutely not why I’ve signed. The things that we spoke about in the meeting are why I have. So, get fucking wrecked to everyone saying that, to Rain saying that. Like, you weren’t there, you have no idea.”
Rain continued to come after Grace on Twitter in various posts before taking it a step further on a live stream, where he went on a rant attacking the actress.
“Grace, I’m sorry. All I want to say is you […] made Stranger Things your entire personality even though you were only on one episode, you found out about Twitch through Tumblr. Not only have you not hit a trickshot, but you don’t even know what the fuck that is. When you were still playing with Barbies I made my first million off of this industry. And on top of it, you’re excruciatingly mid who I’d never let touch me even on my drunkest night,” he screeched.
Rain faced backlash from the wider community for this rant for the comment about her appearance (calling her “mid”).
Grace clapped back during a stream of her own, calling his insult about her looks “a very classy joke considering you were in the organisation the same time as a man who was accused of sexually harassing multiple women when they are intoxicated,” referencing allegations against former FaZe Clan member Mew.
Grace went on to say that the reason she joined FaZe was to help change this toxic behaviour, but after her interactions with Rain, she doesn’t know if that’s possible.
She also brought up Rain’s history of drug use and his overdose, for which she has received an onslaught of criticism as many felt it was a low blow and out of place.
Rain later said he “feels bad” about his rant and wanted to apologise to Grace.
On May 31st, Rain uploaded a video with Grace in which he explains that Grace got caught in the middle of him trying to make a point about the way FaZe has been managed by the executive team in recent years.
Grace revealed that Rain’s fans have been sending her death threats and found her phone number.
Despite this, he insisted that his public attacks were not sending “hate” her way. He then pressed her on why she joined FaZe when she knew that was not what the fans would have wanted.
Grace called him an internet troll and called him out for his past derogatory tweets. Rain responded by saying she brought the hate on herself by reacting to his trolls.
Shortly after, the official FaZe Clan Twitter account tweeted in support of Grace.
Grace has been forced to put her Twitter account on private due to the harassment from FaZe fans and has removed FaZe from her bio, leading people to believe she may have left the group before she even started with them.
Read the full story via Centennial World.
Where did all the tween fashion go?
A new piece by Aiyana Ishmael for Teen Vogue investigates the tween fashion world and questions why 12-year-olds are dressing the same as 24-year-olds.
Ishmael spoke to brands, pre-teens, and teens on the state of youth fashion and how TikTok has impacted the space.
Social media has changed how nine to 15-year-olds shop and, in turn, has almost completely obliterated the tween fashion market— once a staple in the retail realm.
She notes that all the “cores” articulated on TikTok (cottagecore, Barbiecore, preppycore etc.) have given young people a “one-size-fits-all” approach to style during an age when they should be exploring who they are for themselves.
Fashion historian Shelby Ivey Christie tells Ishmael she believes the shift in tween fashion is due to social media algorithms.
“It's that algorithm,” she says. “It's wanting to belong and be positioned as cool. It's fed to tweens. I think also now, with the rise of these ‘cores,’ they are not just pressured into choices, they're almost over-pressured into identity. You have to belong to a core. What is your aesthetic? Who are you? I think a lot of teens are just a cog in a bigger wheel. That want and pressure to belong to a specific aesthetic also serves the needs of retailers, brands, and ads without them even realizing it.”
Ishmael also suggests that social media has encouraged adults to put tweens and teens together into a single cohort, impacting how brands create styles and market to tweens.
“The unwavering thought now is: Who is the tween girl, and what does she like? Because it’s no longer glitter graphic tees with positive affirmations across the chest, nor is it something radically adult. The in-between and constant fluctuation of self is what has young people abandoning these staple stores and hence tween brands precipitously declining.”
Read the full investigation via Teen Vogue.
How a media company cashed into the Gen Z entertainment space by posing as a girl named Anna Oop
A new deep dive by The Right Opinion explores how a media company secretly created the popular YouTube drama channel Anna Oop and amassed over 2 million subscribers by pretending to be a single creator.
Anna Oop is a drama channel that launched in 2019. The content primarily covers Gen Z-related entertainment news like TikTok and YouTube drama.
The channel features an animated avatar as “Anna” and the videos are narrated by a girl who claims to be her. Anonymous channels are common in the drama space.
“Anna” often inserts opinions into her videos and engages with viewers on Twitter and in comment sections to convince audiences that she is a real person.
The channel grew to over 1 million subscribers in a year.
At its height, Anna Oop was putting out around 6 videos a week— a nearly impossible task for a single person given her videos are entirely animated.
In 2022, commentary creator Paige Christie dropped a video providing evidence that Anna Oop was created and managed by a media company instead of an individual creator. This was after several controversies in which Anna Oop had been called out for copying and plagiarising from other drama channels.
Paige released a similar series about another wildly popular animated drama channel, Spill, in 2019.
The Right Opinion’s video explores how the company behind Anna Oop, called Crealon Media, uses a content farm approach to pump out high-quality YouTube channels related to what is trending online at the time.
The company hires editors, animators, researchers, writers, and voice artists to bring channels together. They then publish their content under the guise of being a single creator to gain audience trust.
Crealon Media appears to be running several commentary/news channels across different genres that all claim to have an independent creator behind them.
This system makes it significantly more difficult for actual independent creators to keep up
He also looks at what makes Anna Oop unique as a channel run by a media company— noting that the strategy seems to hinge on building out Anna’s persona over creating informative content. This makes the truth behind Anna Oop feel even eerier.
Anna Oop has continually refused to address accusations that the channel is run by Crealon Media, despite the pile of evidence.
Watch the full exposé via YouTube.
‘Bama Rush’ review: Everything the documentary didn't show you
This week's infinite scroll podcast reviews the highly-anticipated Bama Rush documentary. We first cover the premise of the documentary, why it was made, and what audiences were led to believe it would explore vs. what the documentary *actually* explored. We also dive into The Machine as well as the misogyny, sexual assault, and history of racism at the Univeristy of Alabama that the documentary failed to cover. And of course, we share all of our honest opinions.
Listen to the full episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube.