Last week, I made a mental ranking of people I would text back were they to locate me on my remote, technology-free sabbatical. I don’t usually order my friends by importance in such a flagrant, probably selfish way, but this would likely be my only vacation for some time! I needed to control the flow of information from the outside world in some manageable way, lest I abandon my time off and needlessly check my phone. I’m sure very busy women like Katy Perry and Taylor Swift would understand!
In a new interview with magazine-I’ve-never-heard-of Stellar, Katy “Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson” Perry discussed her lukewarm friendship with Taylor Swift after reconciling their feud last year, claiming: “We don’t have a very close relationship because we are very busy, but we text a lot.” Obviously, Perry doesn’t mean they have long, attentive text-chains back and forth, sharing advice and gossip and pictures of their pets. No, I’d imagine that Perry will occasionally send something like: “Hey, TayTay! Saw you on the television today. Keep it up, girlfriend! Stay strong xoxo.” A week later, Swift will deign to open the message and send a solitary “<3” in response. No wonder they’re not close friends! I can’t blame either of them for their lack of time or patience to open the phone and see what new platitudes have been exchanged. Me? I actually like my friends—love them, even!—and I can barely manage to text them back. At least once a week, I’ve sat down and firmly explained this, and still, I do it! Imagine if I had millions of dollars, access to private planes, people to drive me around, 13 assistants and managers and housekeepers like these two. Nobody would get a text back, ever! [Just Jared]
Megan Thee Stallion claims her label, 1501, is fucking around with her release of new music in the midst of her newfound success. In a story shared Instagram Live Sunday, Meg alleged that after attempting to renegotiate her contract, the label clamped down on the flow of new music, seemingly as retribution.
Having been in this contract since she was 20, she didn’t fully understand the fine print in her deal with 1501 until she signed with Roc Nation, which acts as her management company. TMZ reports than when Meg approached 1501, the talks went “left,” resulting in the absence of any new music.
Unfortunately, this scenario is all too common for hopeful artists, stuck in bulky contracts signed at very young ages, with all sorts of stipulations about the number of albums required and the time frames in which they will be released. Not to mention the astronomical fee that labels like 1501 (and managers like Roc Nation) skim from new talent. Tinashe, who had critical success early in her career, found herself in similar straights with RCA Records. Coincidentally, she also signed with Roc Nation last year. [TMZ]
- Brooks Laich is still exploring his sexuality. [Us Weekly]
- Prince Andrew made a series of bad and confounding choices. [Page Six]
- Leave JoJo Siwa alone. [Hollywood Life]
- Public Enemy is standing with Bernie Sanders. Flavor Flav is not standing with Bernie Sanders. Public Enemy, therefore, is no longer standing with Flavor Flav. [TMZ]
- Don’t wear leather condoms as clothes, Kim. [Daily Mail]
- Here are some pictures of Jennifer Aniston’s house. [Daily Mail]