Culture Digest 3.3.26
The '90s are BACK baby!
JFK Jr., Gay panic defense, Jim Carrey, war in the Middle East in the headlines. The ’90s are definitely back. Oh, and a father-son OnlyFans duo, so that’s miserably modern. Here’s stories that caught my eye this week.
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Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette (Hulu)
NGL, I was so ready to hate this show. But I’m four episodes in and it’s growing on me like Naomi Watts’ Jackie O impression.
Love Story is a meditation on the cost of fame. Not the “woe is me, I can’t go to the grocery store without getting mobbed” part, but how fame impacts the interpersonal: our relationships with our loved ones, ourselves, and even our memories. JFK Jr. and his mother were early victims of the brutal surveillance we all live under now. Even Daryl Hannah catches strays for her fame-related damage.
The show is nailing 1990s cool, embodied by Sarah Pidgeon’s Carolyn and an amazing soundtrack. Much of it takes place in the Calvin Klein offices, so fashion lovers must be soaking their seats. Ryan Murphy productions are notorious for falling apart in their last acts, but we already know the tragic ending here, so I’m hoping they, um, land this (ugh, sorry, it’s already been a long week).
Jim Carrey’s Mask
Sigh. I was trying to ignore this, but it keeps getting bigger and weirder. Jim Carrey appeared at an awards show looking a little… different. To me, it looked like a standard bleph lift and fillers, but the internet ran with the most batshit theories: he was replaced by a clone and he’s been possessed by the spirit of Val Kilmer. Then makeup wizard and provocateur Alexis Stone added fuel to the dumpster fire by claiming it was actually him in disguise, posting what looked like an AI-generated mask of Jim’s face.
I’ve written at length about plastic surgery, celebrities, and our unhealthy ownership of their faces. It feels like the real story here is how very intelligent and media-savvy people fell for Alexis’s post. We are all waking up to the fact that we can no longer trust anything on our screens. That’s bound to come with a sense of loss. Are we easing that grief with the unifying comfort of conspiracy theories?
Gay Panic
I can’t believe we’re still talking about this lil’ douche, but he won’t get off my feed, giving unhinged podcast interviews about his meltdown during Mardi Gras, three blocks from my house. Shia LeBouf isn’t the story. He’s just a violent, washed-up sideshow who can’t shut the fuck up. What really matters here is his claim that Gays touching his chicken legs scared him into a rampage.
Shia is invoking the classic “Gay Panic” defense, which has historically set the stage for so much violence against Queer people.
Matthew Shepard’s murder trial is one of the most recognized cases featuring the LGTBQ panic defense. About 20 states have passed laws banning Gay/Trans panic strategies in court. Queers and allies should focus on how the legal system handles Shia’s case, the narratives the algorithm pushes and straight discourse around it.
The erosion of Queer rights isn’t always legal; it’s also in the culture’s permission to cause bodily harm.
The Father, The Son and The…OnlyFans?
A biological father and son are going viral for their OnlyFans. If that sentence isn’t a recession indicator, I don’t know what is.
Dad is 41, son is 18. Dad was an adult performer; the son wanted in on the family business. They make X-rated content separately, then collab on teasing videos, like wrestling or sniffing each other’s shoes.
Daddy role-play is a big part of gay culture, but the actual incest taboo, combined with the massive OnlyFans attention economy, feels volatile. Becoming an adult entertainer, especially with a platform this size, can be a permanent decision. This all gives me pause for someone as young as 18. And the other mind-fuck: people are producing AI-generated content that is much more explicit than what they post, and the dad-son duo are even encouraging this. What a time to be alive.
I collaborated with The News Movement on an interview with the dad and son. Check out the short clip below.
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