FREE BRITNEY, RICKROLLING & TEFI
On the heels of a documentary, a viral #FreeBritney movement, and a rare court appearance by Britney Spears, her father, Jamie Spears, has finally agreed to step down from the conservatorship he has overseen for 13 years. The decision was announced in a legal response yesterday, which said that while he is the “unremitting target of unjustified attacks” from Britney’s fans, he will be working with Britney’s new attorney on “an orderly transition to a new conservator.” Matthew Rosengart, Britney’s attorney, called the decision a “vindication for Britney.” In practicality, it’s a small step in the direction of giving her back the freedom and agency we all deserve.
In other news regarding the internet coming together to do good, Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up” has hit an eye-popping 1B+ views on YouTube. Thanks for this feat go to everyone who engaged in ”Rickrolling” of any kind in the past decade and a half. This is, of course, the wide-spread internet prank that entails pranking friends and followers by linking the music video in unexpected places.
If you find yourself wanting to do a deep dive on pretty much anything ‘90s or ‘00s pop culture, let me stop you right there and instead direct you to @hellotefi on TikTok, who has most likely already done the work for you. Now, when I am on TikTok, I usually swipe through my FYP instead of my following tab, because I’m usually looking for that spontaneous, viral content that I share with you all every week. But Tefi is one creator who I purposely seek out on the platform, because of her undeniably fun storytelling. Most of her recent content focuses on iconic Hollywood relationships and drama, which are her bread and butter for a reason. But, she’s got range—I also loved her hometown confession crowd-sourced series. I warn you, though, you’ll fall down a rabbit hole on this one.
And of course, I couldn’t leave you without my two favorite videos from this week! This one has been circulating the internet for a while—it’s an inside look at Greta Gerwing directing a scene from LADY BIRD, and it is so special and beautiful. And I am sharing this calming ocean video as well, to hopefully bring you peace if you’ve had as hectic of a week as I have.
—Darlene Kenney, Digital Strategist
