Keep scrolling for the platform giving Gen Z “the ick.”
Psych Advice w/ Julie Theis feuds with Kylie Jenner over Balenciaga silence
Kylie Jenner is involved in a public feud with psychology and pop culture TikTok creator Julie Theis over her silence on the Balenciaga ad campaign saga.
On Monday, Kylie posted an Instagram carousel that included photos of her never-before-seen son. While his face was covered in each photo, fans were excited to finally get a glimpse of her second child.
Julie posted a TikTok featuring these photos, accusing Kardashian matriarch Kris Jenner of “telling her kids to release the good photos [Kylie’s carousel] after the Balenciaga scandal”.
Kylie commented on Julie’s TikTok defending herself against the insinuation that she would post photos of her child to distract from Balenciaga’s scandal.
"uh whyyyyyy would i post my child to cover up for balenciaga ? this is why i don’t do this. always something to say”
Julie clapped back at the beauty mogul in a TikTok video, criticising Kylie for choosing to comment on her video while remaining silent about issues like Astroworld and Balenciaga’s recent ad campaigns.
"It was a joke. But yes, a joke made at the expense of your silence. But of all the times you choose to use your voice, you don’t use it to call out Balenciaga’s glamorization of child pedophilia, you use it to comment on my video. Why? Because the video directly affected you. Unlike the victims who died in Astroworld—because you still haven’t spoken out about that. And that’s why people are mad at you and your family, because of your silence and the half-ass statements you guys put out that aren’t rooted in honesty but just sound like something nice to say.”
The reception to Julie’s videos has been mixed. Some TikTok users have applauded Julie for calling the Kardashians out, while others have said she’s putting unfair expectations on Kylie.
The feud has also sparked discussion about the Kardashians’ tendency to protect the identity of their boy children while “exploiting” their girls.
Watch Julie’s full response on TikTok.
Stylist Lotta Volkova accused of orchestrating the shocking Balenciaga ads
Speaking of Balenciaga, internet sleuths (very loose term here) have dog-piled on fashion stylist Lotta Volkova for her alleged involvement in Balenciaga’s ad campaign. Spoiler: She wasn’t.
Users are pointing to Volkora as the source of Balenciaga’s creepy campaigns in an unfounded conspiracy theory that perfectly illustrates how quick people are to believe viral social media posts.
The theory started after a viral Twitter thread called Volkora the “main stylist” at Balenciaga and posted a photo of a woman holding two dolls that appear to be covered in fake blood, claiming this was her.
Shortly after, a tweet by another user went viral calling her the “Chief Designer” at Balenciaga alongside the same photo.
ICYMI, Demna Gvasalia has been the creative director— the closest thing to “chief designer”—at Balenciaga since 2015.
This prompted internet users to dig into Volkora’s Instagram account, which allegedly contained disturbing content, like scenes of violence and Satanic imagery.
Users began flooding her comment section with these accusations and Volkora put her account on private.
Volkora’s team issued a statement to Newsweek, clarifying that she has not worked with Balenciaga since 2018.
"Lotta Volkova has not worked with Balenciaga or its team since 2018 and she has in no way participated in the brand's recent Instagram or advertising campaigns.”
On December 1st, Reuters confirmed that the viral photo circulating “of” Volkora is actually not the stylist, but rather an unnamed model from China Fashion Week in 2016.
See the fact-check via Reuters.
TikTok users are competing to become the world’s first dabloonionaires
In recent weeks, TikTok users are trading, collecting, and spending fictional currency called ‘dabloons’ in exchange for imaginary quests and goods.
‘Dabloons’ is a play on ‘doubloon’, the Spanish gold coins that were used as money for centuries.
This fictional currency is delivered to TikTok users via videos on their FYP by mysterious cats dressed in costume and using Medieval speak.
The concept of dabloons finds its origins in a meme— specifically, a 2021 meme of a cat extending its paw with the caption “4 dabloons”.
While dabloons are completely fictional and unrelated to other digital assets like cryptocurrency or NFTs, users are already building dabloon portfolios— keeping track of the number of dabloons they’ve received, spent, and traded to build their imaginary wealth.
Read the full story via Centennial Beauty.
Viral “female gaze” TikTok creator exposed for past misogynistic content
TikTokker ‘Strange Kevin’ is facing backlash after multiple videos resurfaced of him pretending to abuse women.
Kevin amassed millions of followers over the past two years for his sketch comedy and reaction videos.
However, his fame skyrocketed in recent weeks when he participated in the ‘female gaze trend’ on TikTok.
This TikTok trend has men looking at the camera with the smouldering gaze they’d use to pick up a woman from across a room.
After Kevin shared his rendition of the female gaze, thousands of women— mainly white women— made duets and stitches of his video saying he had mastered this trend. He quickly became known for “understanding what women want.”
Weeks later, Kevin is now facing intense backlash after videos from his early TikTok days have resurfaced in which he pretends to abuse women.
There are also concerns about the moderation (or lack thereof) in Kevin’s Discord server.
Kevin set his TikTok account to private on November 29th.
Watch the video exposing his past content on TikTok. Trigger warning: depiction of domestic violence.
Instagram is giving Gen Z “the ick”
A new piece by Kate Lindsay for The Atlantic explores Gen Z’s relationship with Instagram and what this means for the future of the platform.
A new survey found that only 20% of U.S. teens named Instagram their favourite app—trailing behind TikTok and Snapchat.
While Gen Z might still be on Instagram, they don’t engage with it like previous generations.
“Gen Z’s relationship with Instagram is much like millennials’ relationship with Facebook: Begrudgingly necessary,” Casey Lewis, a youth-culture consultant who writes the youth-culture newsletter After School, told me over email. “They don’t want to be on it, but they feel it’s weird if they’re not.”
“People who aren’t influencers only use [Instagram] to watch other people make big announcements,” Lee Tilghman, a former full-time Instagram influencer, told me over the phone. “My close friends who aren’t influencers, they haven’t posted in, like, two years.”
Instagram is not dead, but “its transformation from cool to cringe” can be explained for three main reasons:
This is a natural evolution for social media platforms— times change and platforms go in and out of “style”.
Instagram has become a platform for “performance media” rather than a platform to connect with friends. This has given rise to influencer culture and advertising which has soured the experience for users.
The company’s attempts to compete with other trending platforms have led to questionable algorithm changes and feature implementations.
Read the full piece via The Atlantic.
Balenciaga & The Future Of The Kardashians
Centennial Beauty’s podcast, Renegade w/ Lauren & Jordyn, discusses how the Balenciaga ad campaign saga has impacted Kim Kardashian's public reputation as their biggest celebrity ambassador. They also recap ‘The Kardashians’ season 2 and explore the major question on everyone’s lips– why was it so boring? What does this mean for the future of the Kardashian family as media moguls, celebrities, and business women?
Listen to the full episode of Renegade w/ Lauren & Jordyn on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.