Emily Allgair, Editor

Via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Idol.png) 

1. Travis She’s Pregnant

On June 16, Kourtney Kardashian broke the news to her husband Travis Barker that she was pregnant at his band, Blink-182’s, concert. Holding up a sign that said “Travis I’m Pregnant” in reference to the 1999 Blink-182 video for their song “All the Small Things. This pregnancy announcement followed the couple’s first wedding anniversary, as well as a well-documented IVF journey on Keeping Up With the Kardashians.

2. Barbenheimer

On July 21, both Universal and Warner Bros. released their highly anticipated films “Oppenheimer” and “Barbie”. Bringing in over $500 million worldwide in a four-day time span, these two movies signified that movie-going might make a comeback. For most during that weekend, theaters were packed and audiences reacted together, just like the good old days. For more about these movies, please read “Barbenheimer: Review”. 

3. Threads

Meta’s take on Twitter, Threads, launched earlier this summer on July 5. After 24 hours, the site had more than 95 million posts and 190 million likes. Having gained such traction so early on, Meta creators were excited to see how the future of Threads would turn out. Unfortunately, the site saw a 70% decline in daily users just two weeks after its peak on July 7. Following this news, the popular social media app Tik Tok has announced text-only posts, in addition to the photo and video post options. 

4. The Idol

On June 4, HBO released the first episode of “the sleaziest love story in all of Hollywood,” as said by the show’s leading lady Lily-Rose Depp. Created by Sam Levinson, the creator of Euphoria, and Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye, The Idol portrays the complicated relationship between a contemporary cult-leader and female pop icon. Viewers were so taken aback by the controversial plot line and almost pornographic scenes, they created a rumor that the show had ended abruptly, scratching the fifth episode and releasing the finale early.

5. Matty Healy

Matty Healy made headlines a couple of times this summer. The first of which occurred right after news broke that Taylor Swift and Joe Alwyn had separated. Shortly after, rumors about Swift and Healy dating began circulating, to later be confirmed by one of Swift’s friends and producers, Jack Antonoff. Although Antonoff confirmed the relationship to be a casual one, Healy was seen at and even in some of Swift’s Eras Tour shows, opening with Phoebe Bridgers. Healy had a few weeks of radio silence after he and Swift broke things off, until he performed at Malaysia’s Good Vibes Festival in mid-July. Following an aggressive rant about Malaysia’s anti-LGBTQ+ laws, Healy grabbed bandmate Ross MacDonald for a kiss.Not only did the remaining three days of the Good Vibes Festival get canceled, but The 1975 also canceled their upcoming shows in Indonesia and Taiwan. Although Healy likely thought he was performing an act of protest and solidarity, many queer Malaysians are critical of Healy’s actions, calling it an act of his “white savior complex.”