'Tis the season for holiday shopping and — if you’re anything like my procrastinating self — being suuuuper stressed about what to get everyone. The pressure to find gifts for all your tias and primas can be overwhelming, especially if you’re looking to switch up your gift-giving game this year. Our approach: to shop with your giftee's personality in mind, instead of going the gift-card route yet again (hey, no judgment).
When you’re trying to find the best gifts for beauty lovers, consider their overall aesthetic first. Are they a no-makeup minimalist? Do they wear a red lip religiously? Is their smoky eye the best you’ve ever seen? Zero in on which products they use on the reg to inspire your search. You want to treat them to a gift they’ll actually incorporate into their routine, because nothing’s worse than splurging on a product only for it to be abandoned in their drawer or cabinet until they inevitably toss it.
So, to ensure that your gift doesn’t face that tragic fate, we curated a list of products from Latinx-owned brands (because, support) at Ulta Beauty that work for every beauty personality type. Click through and shop our gift picks, so you get back to focusing on more important things — like watching your favorite holiday rom-com for the millionth time.
For: The sister who likes to steal your brushes and tools
Why they’d love it: Because being hermanas doesn’t mean you have to share everything — including (and especially!) makeup applicators. Give your sis a not-so-subtle hint that it’s time for her to have her own blender for contouring and touch-ups.
Beautyblender Original Beautyblender, $, available at Ulta BeautyDesign by Elaine Ahn
For: The coworker who almost exclusively wears a no-makeup makeup look
Why they’d love it: This luxe, ultra-hydrating lip balm functions more like a gloss, giving your minimalist-leaning colleague a touch of glam without being over-the-top. Plus, papaya seed oil and acai berry oil naturally exfoliates and nourishes dry, chapped lips.
Elaluz by Camila Coelho 24K Lip Therapy, $, available at Ulta BeautyDesign by Elaine Ahn
Why they’d love it: When she wants a splash of color but doesn't want to commit to a full-on lipstick, a lip tint offers the best of both worlds. This vibrant shade is an instant head-turner that easily transitions from day to night — and even better, it can double as a blush.
Ere Perez Beetroot Cheek & Lip Tint, $, available at Ulta BeautyDesign by Elaine Ahn
Why they’d love it: Every hug from your tia is a treat — not just because you love her, but because she always smells like she just walked through the most aromatic garden. This trio of travel-sized roller perfumes will upgrade her already impressive fragrance collection.
Carolina Herrera Good Girl Rollerball Trio Gift Set, $, available at Ulta BeautyDesign by Elaine Ahn
For: The BFF who’s never not watching skin-care regimen videos
Why they’d love it: Your friend is obsessed with skin-care TikTok and is in constant pursuit of the ultimate glowy face. This lightweight oil locks in hydration and leaves skin feeling super soft and radiant, so it’s sure to become one of her new everyday faves.
Elaluz by Camila Coelho Beauty Oil, $, available at Ulta BeautyDesign by Elaine Ahn
Why they’d love it: Part detangler, part refreshing mist, this spray is a versatile essential for anyone dealing with daily curl maintenance. Infused with frizz-reducing coconut oil and moisturizing shea butter, your curly-haired prima will wonder how she went so long without it.
Rizos Curls Refresh & Detangle Spray, $, available at Ulta BeautyDesign by Elaine Ahn
For: The influencer friend who wishes she was on a beach right this minute
Why they’d love it: It’s winter, so for most people, pool and beach time have been drastically reduced. Achieving that sunkissed glow year-round is possible with this bronzer that works overnight, and is infused with eucalyptus leaf essential oil and rose scent (no gross self-tanner smells here).
Elaluz by Camila Coelho Overnight Facial Glow, $, available at Ulta BeautyDesign by Elaine Ahn
For: The beauty queen who is a master at the smoky eye
Why they’d love it: For the makeup pro whose smokey eye is truly unmatched, a classic black eyeliner is a thoughtful gift you know they’ll use all the time. Plus, the soft pencil comes in five different colors and has jojoba oil, which nourishes skin along the lashline for a gentle, high-impact finish.
Ere Perez Jojoba Eye Pencil, $, available at Ulta BeautyDesign by Elaine Ahn
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Take one look at Karrie Martin Lachney today, and you’d assume she always knew this would be her path: a Honduran-American from Louisiana making a name for herself in Hollywood, starring in the hit Netflix showGentefied, and launching her own production company.
But when I ask Lachney if she had lifelong dreams to work in entertainment, she lets out a hybrid laugh-sigh. “Interesting story,” she says. “I should have known then what I know now.”
It’s not so much regret; rather, it’s respect for the journey and an understanding that you might end up somewhere radically different from the life you planned for yourself. For Lachney, 32, the original trajectory looked like it does for lots of people, especially children of immigrants: You go to college, find a good job, get married, buy a house, and have kids. These are the general expectations.
“In the South, it’s small towns, and you kind of grow up in little bubbles,” Lachney says. “The agenda is already made up for us.”
She attended Louisiana State University with the initial hopes of becoming a lawyer. “I wanted to be like Elle Woods,” she jokes. “I should have known then that all I really wanted to do was portray all these characters in film or TV and tell beautiful stories.”
In college, one of her sorority sisters was a theater major. It was Lachney’s first exposure to a creative career. “I kid you not, I was like, ‘You can do that,’” she recalls. After attending her friend’s shows, she felt inspired. Lachney swiftly enrolled in an English drama course and was hooked. She wanted to take acting classes, but she wasn’t sure who or what to look for on this newfound journey. So, like most curious millennials searching for answers, she turned to Google. Online, she found Judd Lormand, then an acting coach and now a series regular on the show SEAL Team, and began taking classes at his studio.
When Lachney didn’t land an internship after graduating college with a nutritional science degree, she took it as a sign that acting was more than an enjoyable pastime—it was a road she needed to follow. “That’s when I was like, ‘OK, I’m just going to surrender to this.’” She continued to take acting classes in New Orleans, and in 2012, she felt ready to take what she had learned to Los Angeles. “We were like, ‘We’re just gonna try this for six months,’” Lachney recalls of the big move she took with her sister. Time passed, and she eventually landed a job at Betty Mae Casting, a casting center where actors film self-tapes, practice auditions, and take photoshoots, while filmmakers book casting sessions and production meetings. “Honestly, it all came to life and into fruition when I started working there,” she says. “That place changed my life as an actor and as somebody just in this industry. I was able to see every side of it.”
Nearly a decade after climbing up the casting world ladder, Lachney landed her first lead role in Netflix’s Gentefied, playing queer Chicana artist Ana Morales. The hit comedy-drama follows three Mexican-American cousins chasing their careers while dealing with the realities of gentrification in East Los Angeles and the U.S. immigration system. Season 2 starts streaming on November 10.
“Ana is not afraid and is not ashamed of being unapologetically herself,” Lachney says of her role. “She takes that into season 2 by allowing herself to experience all the messy emotions of life, but she honestly hones that all in and focuses on keeping the family together. She’s taking the lead in her family this season.”
America Ferrera is an executive producer on the show, and she directed two episodes in season 1. For Lachney, a longtime fan of the fellow Honduran-American multi-hyphenate, working with the icon has been somewhat of a full-circle moment.
“I was such a fan of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants books, and when they came to life and Ferrera was Carmen, it was so incredibly special,” Lachney says. “Working with her, it’s a dream. She was no-nonsense, but she also let us live in our space for every scene and allowed us the time to really drop into our characters.”
Off screen, the casting intern-turned-leading lady is injecting her Louisiana heritage into her latest venture. She just started a new production company named—what else?—Southern Ave.
“Street names in Louisiana are always super special, especially out of the French Quarter,” she says. “You have Magazine Street and Bourbon Street. It’s always been a thing here, and I love that. It felt right, it felt homey, and it felt like Karrie.”
For Lachney’s first producing project, an adaptation of the That Boy literary series by Jillian Dodd, she’s partnering with one of the executive producers of Gentefied, Teri Weinberg, who also produced Ugly Betty and The Office. “I’m so honored to work alongside Teri,” Lachney says. “She’s such an OG in this industry and really knows everyone.”
A bookworm at heart, Lachney is also looking forward to launching a book club on her social media accounts—tentatively titled The Bookshelf—where she’s hoping to stumble upon stories that she can both produce and act in.
“So many inclusive stories should be told in live-action form,” Lachney says. “Instead of us constantly repeating or doing remakes, let’s get some fresh stories out there. I love when my characters come to life. That’s what I’ve always loved about books: They’re adventures you go on without really leaving your home.”
From casting and acting to producing and book clubbing, Lachney is building a résumé to rival any A-list starlet. And who knows what’s still in store? She doesn’t feel like she needs to have it all figured out. After all, look where wandering down the unfamiliar path has taken her.
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It’s no secret that Black Friday has pretty much taken over the entire month of November. Sales are starting earlier than ever, and the deals and discounts are getting tougher to keep track of — but we’re here to sort through all the madness so you don’t have to. An essential stop on our holiday shopping journey? H&M. H&M’s Black Friday sale always delivers deals that seem way too good to be true — so good, in fact, you’ll have a hard time not shopping for yourself, too. Here’s everything you need to know to navigate H&M’s major promotions like a pro.
The deals come in waves, and it's already time to surf the Pre-Black Friday sale. From now through November 24th, you can score up to 50% off thousands of styles including track pants, Zoom-approved tops, faux-leather dresses, and so much more. Plus, enjoy free shipping on orders above $40. To give you a head start all the amazing H&M cyber weekend deals as soon as they come in, we'll be updating the curated selection of items ahead to reflect the retailer's latest and greatest deals — beginning with the already marked-down styles that are already filling up our carts.
At Refinery29, we’re here to help you navigate this overwhelming world of stuff. All of our market picks are independently selected and curated by the editorial team. The product details reflect the price and availability at the time of publication. If you buy something we link to on our site, Refinery29 may earn commission.
Modern shapewear — Spanx specifically, which will mark its 20th anniversary on February 15 — was born into a very specific era with a very specific vision of the ideal woman. It was the era of low-rise jeans, peek-a-boo thongs, bodycon dresses. Everything had to be tighter, smoother, more taut and toned, and often more overtly sexual. If you didn’t meet this ideal, shapewear presented itself as a solution to your “problem.”
Today, more than a decade later, the world has changed, but many of those problems are still around. Although the body positivity movement has made significant progress in the effort to love ourselves and our bodies better, even the most confident people struggle with what they see in the mirror. Since its inception, shapewear has been marketed as a quick fix for those moments of frazzled frustration, i.e. “This just doesn’t fit right!” or “How can I look…smoother?” And that strategy has paid off — big time.
Industry estimates suggest the compression and shapewear market size is expected to climb to $6.4 billion by 2024. When I purchased my first pair of Spanx in the early 2000s, Spanx was the major — if not the only — player in the game. Things have changed quite a bit since then. Brands like Heist and Shapermint have entered the space, aiming to revamp shapewear’s image. The goal? Make it less about “fixing” a problem and more about doing whatever makes you feel good and comfortable.
A post shared by Heist Studios (@heiststudios) on Feb 7, 2020 at 1:45pm PST
“We wanted to give women freedom by giving them something better,” Fiona Fairhurst, vice president of innovation at Heist, said last fall after the brand released a new bodysuit that purportedly removes “the struggle, sweat, and squeezing” typically associated with shapewear. “While intimate apparel is the fastest growing market within apparel, there is very little catering to the comfort of women.”
Physical comfort, though, means nothing without being comfortable mentally and emotionally. And for many people, that’s not always easy when shapewear is involved. When you’ve got Kim Kardashian calling her SKIMS shapewear brand “solutionwear,” is it even possible to be both body positive and a shapewear user?
Well, before we can answer that question, it’s worth considering what constitutes shapewear to begin with.
“What is shapewear? Anything that alters your shape makes sense to be considered shapewear,” model Precious Lee, who was featured in Kardashian’s campaign launch for SKIMS, told Refinery29. “I personally feel bras and shoulder pads are shapewear. Broader shoulders, lifted boobs — what’s the difference between shoulder pads and bras and spandex bodysuits under thin fabrics? Beauty standards are such bullshit, I’m exhausted from hearing the term to be honest.”
But, to be fair, she’s also tired of bras — at least some of the time.
A post shared by PRECIOUS LEE (@preciousleexoxo) on Jan 5, 2020 at 12:11pm PST
“Not worrying about your slinky dress clinging to your tummy may feel more free, but have you ever spent a whole day in public bra-free?” Lee said. “It’s amazing. It all depends on the moment, the garment, and the woman that’s wearing it. Do I feel less beautiful without it? No. Do I feel more comfortable wearing a strapless dress on the red carpet with a strapless bra? Yes. It’s not a make or break. It’s a preference.”
That’s a sentiment Denise Bidot supports. The model recently starred in a Shapermint campaign titled, “Feel Like the Masterpiece You Are.” According to a company press release, it wanted to show that although women do work to achieve “ultimate body confidence” through shapewear, they’ll have days when they opt to “magnify their inherent beauty.”
“I want to encourage women to embrace shapewear and know there is nothing to be embarrassed about in trying it,” Bidot said. “I always talk about shapewear. I’m an open book. I’m not using it for any ill reasons. When I was posting about Shapermint, someone in the comments came at me, and I had to immediately respond to that because [smoothing out] my lines has nothing to do with my confidence or my body positivity.”
A post shared by Denise Bidot (@denisebidot) on Dec 4, 2019 at 10:45am PST
For the campaign, Shapermint pulled from the real-life “key moments” of its consumers, identifying those instances when they need an extra boost of confidence: following childbirth, in response to medically induced weight gain, before a wedding or big event, at work, and as they reach common milestones in their body’s evolution.
“We wanted to break with this notion that women aren’t allowed to have ‘off’ days where they feel less confident,” said Shapermint’s head of brand, Stephanie Biscomb. “We all have insecure or self-conscious days, weeks or months, and some of us wear shapewear to feel confident again during those trying times. There shouldn’t be shame in that.”
It’s an ambitious thought: let women do and wear what they want, when they want, without any shame or backlash. But what does that look like in practice? Can consumers buy and wear shapewear without perpetuating unrealistic beauty expectations and standards in the first place?
“To be honest, I’m not sure that we can,” said Brianna Huntsman, a consultant and blogger. “My struggle with shapewear of any kind has been that it is designed to make the wearer’s body more acceptable. As a feminist, I struggle with my decision to wear shapewear to change my body to fit patriarchal beauty standards.”
Huntsman also has polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a hormonal disorder that can dramatically affect weight. Between 2012 and 2019, she gained about 100 pounds. Shapewear entered the picture.
“This radically changed my relationship with my body,” Huntsman recalled. “I started wearing Spanx because I desperately wanted my body to be smaller, sometimes wearing two pairs. I was very self-conscious about having a lot of this weight gain in my stomach.”
Although Huntsman said she believes “there is no wrong way to have a body,” it can sometimes be tough staying connected to that belief, especially in a world constantly reminding you of what you need to fix or change.
“I know that I don’t need a solution for my cellulite, but feel almost cornered into wearing shapewear by society,” Huntsman explained. “When it comes to perpetuating beauty standards, I’ve made a commitment on my platform to share when I am and am not wearing Spanx. I’d like to see more creators do this, in the same way some brands are transparent about Photoshop use.”
In other words, the solution to this particular problem area might just be revealing what we’ve been working so hard to hide all along.
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One Missouri lawmaker is working to make it harder for women to get abortions, while simultaneously redefining what an abortion actually is. Mike Moon, a Republican Missouri state representative, has introduced a bill that would classify a fertilized egg as a “person” with constitutional rights. In doing so, police would be required to enforce the proposed law, which would essentially make abortion akin to murder.
According to The Guardian, Moon has dubbed the bill the “Right to Due Process Act.” He introduced it into the Missouri state legislature last month, but it was reportedly pre-filed back in December. The bill’s text says that “law enforcement officers, officers of the court, and any licensed or state-regulated entities in the state shall affirmatively enforce” the bill’s provision barring abortion in the state. The worse-case scenarios of this playing out in real life would involve cops preventing people from getting abortions, or punishing anyone who does get an abortion, which would be considered murder under the proposed legislation.
One of Moon’s colleagues, state representative Ben Baker, told The Guardian that “the legal focus was right to be on conferring rights to fetuses.”
“The main thing for me, is understanding again — if it is a life and we believe it is a life then it should have rights just like the rest of us,” Baker said. “But how we go about that line of where we would forcefully deal with that situation — I think we have to take a lot of things into consideration.”
In 2017, Moon garnered national attention when he filmed himself beheading a chicken as a way of protesting against the Missouri governor’s refusal to ban abortion outright. Regardless, the state is certainly making some troubling progress on that front. Last year, Missouri nearly became the first state without a standalone abortion clinic since Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973. Rewire.News reports that Missouri’s health department has attempted to close the last abortion clinic in St. Louis by “using a vast web of anti-choice restrictions that are medically unnecessary and can be harmful to sexual assault survivors.”
The case of two missing children in Idaho has taken a bizarre turn as a tangled web of conspiracy theories and unusual number of family deaths have complicated the investigation.
The suspects in question are Lori Vallow and her recent husband, Chad Daybell. Vallow’s children, seven-year-old Joshua “JJ” Vallow and 17-year-old Tylee Ryan were last seen in September 2019. In November, after authorities received a search warrant for their home and storage unit, Vallow and Daybell fled to Hawaii. This week, the East Idaho News published security camera footage from the Self Storage Plus facility that shows Vallow putting away items belonging to her children, causing further speculation about her involvement in their disappearance.
According to the East Idaho News, Vallow left behind a storage unit “full of children’s items, photos, clothing, and other things.” Surveillance footage indicates that she and a man who appears to be her brother, Alex Cox, made multiple visits to the storage facility in October and November. The publication reports that cameras show a man, also presumed to be Cox, coming by to store an assortment of items, including gun cases. On October 28, two men moved bikes into the unit. And on November 24th, in her final visit to the storage facility before fleeing to Hawaii, Vallow and an unnamed man stayed for just four minutes before leaving.
The hunt for Vallow and Daybell officially kicked off when the credit card she had on file at Self Storage Plus was denied several times. The facility contacted authorities who tracked down the couple in Hawaii, where they had been living since late November. On January 25th, Vallow and Daybell were stopped by investigators there, and served with a court order to present her missing children to Idaho authorities on January 30th. Vallow failed to meet this deadline, clearing the way for prosecutors to have her extradited from Hawaii to Idaho for contempt of court.
Family members suspect foul play in the children’s disappearance. Last week, JJ’s grandmother, Kay Woodcock, opened up about her worst fears in a press conference. “The only word coming to mind right now is ‘monster,’” Woodcock said, according to The New York Times. “All this has just been very disheartening. I’m a lot less optimistic at the moment.”
Vallow and Daybell have been inconsistent in statements about their children’s whereabouts, initially saying they were with relatives in Arizona. But Daybell allegedly told someone that Vallow didn’t have kids, while Vallow herself allegedly told someone else that her daughter had died more than a year earlier, reports The Times.
And in another bizarre twist, there have been an unusual number of deaths on both sides of the couple’s families that have occurred in a short period of time since the children’s disappearance. Cox, Vallow’s brother, shot and killed his sister’s estranged husband, Charles Vallow, last July, claiming it was in self-defense. And in December, Cox himself died of “unknown causes.” On Daybell’s side of the family, his previous wife, Tammy Daybell, died in October of 2019, reportedly of “natural causes.” But when Daybell and Vallow got married just two weeks later, authorities had Tammy’s remains exhumed.
In addition to the strange string of deaths, the couple is now believed to have radical “doomsday beliefs,” with ties to “Preparing a People,” a doomsday preparation group that is now dubbed a “religious cult.” Divorce documents filed by Vallow’s late husband say that she believes she is “a god assigned to carry out the work of the 144,000 at Christ’s second coming in July 2020.” And Chad Daybell has authored apocalyptic novels “based loosely on Mormon religious theology.”
The missing children’s grandmother and her husband are now offering a $20,000 reward for information that could lead to a break in the case and bring to light the children’s whereabouts.
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US President Donald Trump takes the stage at the American Farm Bureau Federation Annual Convention and Trade Show in Austin, Texas on January 19, 2020. (Photo by Nicholas Kamm / AFP) (Photo by NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images)
Just like that, the impeachment trial of Donald Trump is done. If it seems like the process came and went pretty quickly, that’s because it did. Last week, Republican senators blocked a vote that would’ve introduced more key evidence into the trial, including key witnesses and documents. On Wednesday, in an unsurprising move, senators voted in an almost party-line vote to acquit Trump of the two charges against him — abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
But, Trump wasn’t acquitted on a huge majority. The results, which were 47-53 and 48-52 on each count, included one Republican vote to convict Trump on abuse of power — Senator Mitt Romney was the lone Republican who broke from party ranks. It was a surprise twist that’s certain to make him a target within the GOP, but it was Democratic women like presidential hopefuls that remained strong in their votes to charge from from the beginning.
Amy Klobuchar and Elizabeth Warren — as well as Kamala Harris, Kirsten Gillibrand, Tammy Duckworth, and other women senators — who have advocated for Trump’s impeachment and removal from office all along, and don’t plan to stay silent now that he will remain in office.
“I am sickened by what my Republican colleagues have been saying,” Klobuchar said in a recent MSNBC interview. “I think this is a search for the truth. Regardless of how they will vote on impeachment, I think one of the most critical moments was when we had that 51-49 vote on witnesses. They didn’t want to hear the truth.”
On Twitter, Warren applauded Romney for his vote to convict, but condemned the majority of Republican senators who refused to do the same. “Donald Trump pressured a foreign government to interfere in our election,” Warren said. “He undermined our diplomatic relationships and put our national security at risk. He exploits our government for his personal gain — and Republicans just voted to protect him.”
Donald Trump pressured a foreign government to interfere in our election. He undermined our diplomatic relationships and put our national security at risk. He exploits our government for his personal gain—and Republicans just voted to protect him.
She added that these are “hard times,” but that giving up isn’t the way forward. The Massachusetts senator encouraged her followers to hold onto hope. “People are frustrated and angry — but we must not be discouraged,” Warren said. “Now more than ever, we must choose courage and hope over fear. Now is our moment to fight back. We have defeated corruption before, and we will do it again.”
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who dropped out the 2020 election also spoke out against the Republican-led vote, coming after weeks of Democrats demanding that witnesses in Trump’s investigation be allowed to testify. Gillibrand, who referred to the House’s investigation findings as “disturbing,” has advocated for serious action against Trump from the start.
Those who lack courage in this moment—those who are unwilling to do what they know in their conscience to be right—will be remembered as complicit.
Now, for the first time ever, an impeached president is running for re-election. Some social media posts have suggested that since the Senate did not convict Trump, he can now run for two additional terms. However, fact-checkers at the Poynter Institute have confirmed that those claims aren’t true. Still, he can certainly be re-elected for one more term, a reality that the American public shouldn’t overlook when they head to the polls in November.
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It was the paper-shredding moment that sent shockwaves across the world (or at least on social media). At last night’s State of the Union, Nancy Pelosi ended the evening with an act of shade-throwing that took over everyone’s Twitter feeds: She ripped up her copy of Trump’s speech when it was all said and done, igniting yet another meme that is sure to become a cultural touchstone this year.
But the Speaker of the House wasn’t the only woman taking a stand against Trump. Several Democrats walked out before Trump finished his State of the Union address on Tuesday night, including Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Jackie Speier, who both left the room before Trump’s speech wrapped up. Rep. Norma Torres gave a visible thumbs down (pictured before) action in the middle of the SOTU, which summed up how a lot of people were feeling about Trump’s now highly fact-checked speech.
Tlaib, who is a member of the progressive Democratic “Squad,” explained on Twitter why she walked out mid-SOTU. “The lies, the bigotry, and the shameless bragging about taking away food stamps that people depend on to live — it was all beneath the dignity of the office he occupies,” She wrote.
“Shame on this forever impeached president.”
I walked out of that speech. The lies, the bigotry, and the shameless bragging about taking away food stamps that people depend on to live—it was all beneath the dignity of the office he occupies. Shame on this forever impeached president.
But before Tlaib, who later said that the sound of Brett Kavanaugh’s name triggered her unplanned walk-out, said that her actions were really a stance for all women. “As a woman in America, the fact that he rightfully was accused, and having an incredibly strong woman come before the public and the world and tell her story of sexual assault by this person that was appointed to the Supreme Court is just — I couldn’t stand still and not do anything about it, and I needed to walk away from that,” she told Rachel Maddow on MSNBC.
Tlaib’s walkout wasn’t the only statement she made that night. Alongside fellow Squad-member Rep. Ilhan Omar, the first two Muslim women elected to U.S. Congress both decided to wear traditional Palestinian and Somali clothing to the event. This action was not necessarily a protest to Trump’s entire speech, but a small and impactful way to push back against the bigotry both two women have faced since elected to office.
These two congresswomen weren’t the only one who took action to protest Trump’s speech, either — others opted to skip the whole thing altogether, including Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley, and Maxine Waters. On Twitter, Pressley announced that she would not be attending, saying, “The State of the Union is hurting because of the occupant of the White House… I cannot in good conscience attend tonight’s sham #SOTU.”
As for AOC, she called her decision not to go “deeply personal.” It was her way of not legitimizing “Trump’s lawless conduct and subversion of the Constitution,” which seemed to mirror what Pelosi ultimately said about her decision to rip his speech at the end.
After much deliberation, I have decided that I will not use my presence at a state ceremony to normalize Trump’s lawless conduct & subversion of the Constitution.
None of this is normal, and I will not legitimize it.
Consequently, I will not be attending the State of the Union.
The fact that all four members of The Squad chose their own paths of protest against Trump’s SOTU is significant. After all, he’s literally called out each member and told them to go back to the countries they came from. Many Trump supporters have belittled their legislative achievements and have worked overtime to tear down their reputations.
Last year, they were among the Democratic women legislators who wore white to Trump’s SOTU. That tradition continued this year as well, as many of them are commemorating the 100th anniversary of the 19th amendment being ratified, which gave women the right to vote.
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Make way for Mayor Pete. Pete Buttigieg is currently leading the pack of Democratic presidential hopefuls in the Iowa caucus, which has faced all sorts of scrutiny in recent days for being too complicated and inefficient (and still, somehow, lacking final results). But so far, the results that have come in are working in Buttigieg’s favor — which means the mayor’s political star is on the rise and he may very well be the Democratic nominee in 2020. Although his list of celebrity endorsements isn’t quite as robust (or diverse) as, say, Bernie Sanders, with this momentum from Iowa, it’s likely to continue growing well into the primary season.
Considered somewhat of an underdog in the race due to his lack of political experience, Buttigieg has carved out an interesting niche for himself within the Democratic party. He’s an openly gay, elder millennial who hangs out in ultra exclusive wine caves, all of which has made him appealing to celebrities of all varieties. According to The Cut, Mayor Pete has racked up an extensive list of celeb donors, ranging from fashion heavy-hitters like Anna Wintour and Tom Ford, to Hollywood icons Jennifer Aniston and Kevin Bacon.
Clearly, Buttigieg doesn’t shy away from working the celeb circuit. Now that he’s got this big lead in Iowa, it’s only a matter of time before his circle of famous friends widens. Ahead, we’ve rounded up some of the big names that are backing the former South Bend, Indiana mayor.
Ellen DeGeneres
DeGeneres appears to be all in for Buttigieg. She’s had him on as a guest on her talk show and has helped him fundraise in Hollywood. Last April, she tweeted: “These words make me very, very happy. ‘My name is @PeteButtigieg. They call me Mayor Pete. I am a proud son of South Bend, Indiana. And I am running for President of the United States.’” Photo: Steve Granitz/WireImage.
Mandy Moore
The This Is Usstar has been one of Buttigieg’s main surrogates, even joining him on the campaign trail ahead of his win in Iowa. “I don’t think that Hollywood even knows what to do with him,” Moore recently told CNN. “He’s that much of an original right? He’s a Midwestern mayor who took office at 29 and turned around a city on the brink. He’s a Navy veteran who saw firsthand the cost of endless war. But he’s also just this brilliant, plain spoken millennial who speaks half a dozen languages.”Photo: Lester Cohen/Getty Images.
Gwyneth Paltrow
The Goop goddess herself is so far on the Mayor Pete train that she’s even hosted a fundraising event for him in the comfort of her crystal-laden home. According toVariety, the private reception, which took place last May, brought out nearly 100 people, including Bradley Whitford and Martin Sheen (essentially a mini The West Wing reunion), and several former U.S. ambassadors. Photo: Daniele Venturelli/WireImage.
Emmy Rossum
While it’s not clear if the Shameless star has held any fundraising events at her home for the mayor, she has shown her support for him on social media. Last August, she shared a snapshot of her and the presidential hopeful with her 3.5 million followers. The caption? A short, simple message accompanied with a heart emoji: “@pete.buttigieg Link in bio to help!” Photo: Angela Weiss/AFP/Getty Images.
Seth MacFarlane
The comedian and Family Guy creator defied Twitter’s character limit by sharing a lengthy endorsement for the mayor that was typed up in his Notes app. “[Buttigieg] is quietly one of the best presidential candidates I’ve seen in my lifetime,” MacFarlane said. “A lot of these candidates are flashy, noisy, and put on a good dinner show, but that’s not what we need once the real work begins. Whether he wins this round or not, it’s likely this guy will be president one day.”Photo: Steve Granitz/WireImage.
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Miss Americanaopens with a scene where we see the superstar tinkering on her piano and reading a journal entry that she wrote when she was 13. “My entire moral code as a kid and now is a need to be thought of as good,” Swift says. “Do the right thing, do the good thing. And obviously I’m not a perfect person by any stretch, but overall the main thing that I always tried to be was a good girl.”
But as the film explores, that moral code got a bit mixed up somewhere along Swift’s meteoric rise to the upper echelons of stardom. Feeling a fulfillment by the approval of her fans, Swift says she “became the person who everyone wanted me to be.” That person, for a long time, avoided any political conflict, sparking millions of fans to ask her the same question: why? In the 2016 presidential election, Swift did not endorse any candidate for office, and many saw this as the public figures silent support for right-wing policies — particularly raised in the South on more traditional values.
“You’ve been very secretive about how you vote, what you’re voting for,” she is asked around the time of Barack Obama‘s re-election campaign against Mitt Romney. “I just figure I’m a 22-year-old singer. I don’t know if people really wanna hear my political views. I think they just kind of want to hear me sing songs about breakups and feelings.”
But in Miss Americana, Swift reveals why she was so “secretive” when it came to politics for most of her career — and it had less to do with Donald Trump than many thought. “Part of the fabric of being a country artist is don’t force your politics on people,” she explains. “Let people live their lives. That is grilled into us.”
She specifically references the Dixie Chicks, who were effectively cancelled for criticizing President George W. Bush at a London concert in 2003. “We’re ashamed that the president of the United States is from Texas,” Natalie Maines said at the time, in response to Bush’s invasion of Iraq.
Swift describes being constantly compared to the Dixie Chicks and their “mistake” through their career. She felt she was implored to seem “nice,” and all that entails. “A nice girl doesn’t force their opinions on people. A nice girl smiles and waves and says ‘thank you.’ A nice girl doesn’t make people feel uncomfortable with her views. I was so obsessed with not getting in trouble. I was like, ‘I’m just not gonna do anything that anyone can say anything about.’”
But that all changed when two big moments collided in Swift’s life: first, she went through a trial for her sexual assault case against DJ David Mueller, which Swift said really changed the way she saw inequality in the U.S. legal system. And second, was a particular poll in the midterm election that triggered those same feelings.
“I just thought to myself, ‘Next time there is any opportunity to change anything, you had better know what you stand for and what you wanna say’,” she says in Miss Americana.
As Republican candidate Marsha Blackburn led Tennessee polls in the 2018 midterm elections, Swift felt a major shift in how she could use her voice. Blackburn stands for everything Swift hates: she opposes Violence Against Women Act, anti-LGBTQ, and doesn’t support nearly any policies that promote gender or sex equality.
In her first break to political silence, Swift posted on Instagram to endorse Blackburn’s Democratic opponent, Phil Bredesen. But it was the heated back-and-forth leading up to her Instagram post that really revealed why Swift remained silent all these years. She’s pictured crying, desperately pleading to her team why Blackburn’s nomination hurts her so much after all she’s gone through.
A post shared by Taylor Swift (@taylorswift) on Oct 7, 2018 at 4:33pm PDT
And her team pushes back: “For 12 years, we’ve not gotten involved in politics or religion,” one of the men says. Another brings up that, from a security standpoint, Swift could be at risk of going against a larger adversary. They tell her to imagine the headline: Taylor Swift Comes Out Against Trump. And that’s when she broke.
“I don’t care if they write that,” she says. “I’m sad that I didn’t two years ago, but I can’t change that. Right now, this is something that I know is right. I need to be on the right side of history.”
From that moment, Swift becomes a force of politics: she is unswayed by her management team’s repeated request that she reconsiders vocalizing her beliefs, but she will no longer budge. “If I get bad press for saying, ‘Don’t put a homophobic racist in office,’ then I get bad press for that,” Swift says.
Although Blackburn was ultimately elected to office in 2018, Swift’s efforts were not for nothing: youth voter turnout in Tennessee increased substantially in 2018 over the previous midterm election in 2014, with over 50,000 last-minute registered young voters, according to the documentary.
“If I get bad press for saying, ‘Don’t put a homophobic racist in office,’ then I get bad press for that,I really don’t care.” Swift says. And in that same turning point, Swift’s mom sees that light that the pop superstar can bring to create real political change. “So for the next two years, we have to build on what started here,” her mom tells her.
In the two years following Swift’s first political endorsement, she released “You Need To Calm Down,” an anthem for LGBTQ+ rights with a message to vote for equality at the end. She’s repeatedly implored young people to vote, and from the looks of it, she has no intention to slow down.
“I feel really good about not feeling muzzled anymore,” she shares near the end of the film. “I’ve educated myself now, and it’s time to take the masking tape off my mouth. I wanna love glitter and also stand up for the double standards that exist in our society. I wanna wear pink and tell you about how I feel about politics. And I don’t think that those things have to cancel each other out.”
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BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES – 2019/11/01: Hundreds of protesters took over a subway platform in Brooklyn. Over a thousand people filled main avenues as they marched through downtown Brooklyn to voice their outrage at the conduct of the NYPD, protesting what they see as police brutality. The march came several days after a video emerged on social media showing NYPD officers fighting with teenagers inside city subway stations. (Photo by Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images)
A group of protestors known as “Decolonize This Place” took to the streets of New York City on Friday to speak out against the MTA’s plan to add 500 new police officers to the NYC subway system. The additional police measures come at a moment when tensions from incidents of police brutality are at an all-time high. One station wall was tagged with the demand: “Cops out.” Meanwhile, some card readers at turnstiles were filled with glue, leaving people unable to pay their fares.
According to ABC 7 New York, emergency exits at certain Upper West Side stations were chained open and liquid was sprayed on OMNY readers, MTA’s new contactless fare payment system. The group also revealed oversized banners in two locations across the city with a straightforward message: “Fuck your $2.75 fare. Strike today.”
So, why exactly are these protestors out here and what do they hope to gain? Protestors say their end goals are to eliminate the strong police presence in the subway system and provide free public transit for all. In a video shared on Twitter, the group invited people to join their effort.
“We encourage you to link up with your friends, your family, and think of the ways you can move in affinity to build and fuck shit up on J31 all day long,” the masked protesters said, referring to the code name for Friday’s protest, which falls on January 31. “The mood for J31 is simple: Fuck your $2.75. No cops in the MTA. Free transit. No harassment, period, and full accessibility. We hope that you come through and move with us on J31.”
The streets are ours. The trains our ours. The walls are ours. This moment is ours. How will you and your crew build and fuck shit up for #FTP3 on #J31 (THIS FRIDAY)? Issa mothafuckin’ movement. pic.twitter.com/CoEjRSvmDX
Decolonize This Place began organizing similar protests after the violent treatment of 15-year-old Benjamin Marshall in Downtown Brooklyn was caught on camera last year. The officer in that case was ultimately placed on desk duty while an investigation takes place. Marshall and his family have since filed a lawsuit against the city. Previous protests have taken place in Brooklyn and Harlem, but this marks the group’s first time taking Manhattan by storm.
More than 2,500 police officers currently patrol New York City’s subway, according to The New York Times. Governor Andrew Cuomo’s plan to add 500 officers at an estimated cost of $50 million a year isn’t sitting well with many free transit and anti-police brutality activists who argue that the last thing the failing subway system needs is more cops. The Times reports that the total number of major felonies within the system decreased in 2019 from the year before, according to police statistics.
Refinery29 has reached out to Decolonize This Place for comment.
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Content warning: The following posts contains depictions of physical & sexual violence.
In Taylor Swift’s new documentary, Miss Americana, the pop star is giving inquiring viewers a peek behind the veil of her life. The Netflix film, which is now available to stream, first played at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival on January 23 and has garnered a wide range of reviews so far. Directed by feminist filmmaker Lana Wilson, Miss Americana follows Swift through unique coming-of-age experiences in the spotlight, and details some of the more challenging moments of her career.
“We talked about doing a documentary that felt raw and intimate and complex and messy,” Wilson told Vox. “She wanted to keep making work and going out into the world, but she wanted to do it in a way where she wasn’t caring as much about getting everyone’s approval and getting everyone to like her.”
One of those complexities includes Swifts 2017 lawsuit against DJ David Mueller, who Swift accused of groping her before her Denver concert in 2013. In the film, viewers learn about Swift sexual assault case that started almost seven years ago and lasted for over four years of her life.
Amid those years, Swift’s career saw a lot of ebbs and flows: Miss Americana shows her openness about yearning for public validation, dealing with negative body image, and being politically vocal. While the candid and messy parts of her life are put on display, certain things — like her very public battle with Scooter Braun over her masters — are not mentioned. Still, the case of Swift and Mueller is a major jumping off point in what seems to give her strength to make larger decisions in the future. Swift recants the harsh messaging she received throughout the court case in Miss Americana. “Why didn’t you scream? Why didn’t you react quicker? Why didn’t you stand further away from him?” she said. “I was so angry. I was angry that I had to be there, I was angry that this happens to women, I was angry that all the details had been twisted.”
The prevailing message of Miss Americana is that an industry built a pop star who could please everyone, but what does that mean for the pop star herself? As we learn in the film, the only way for Swift to become her own person is to burn that image down and create something entirely new, and that is what she did when she decided to sue David Mueller. Ahead, we’ve detailed the timeline of Swift and Mueller’s case, breaking down the alleged assault and the lawsuit’s outcome from start to finish.
June 2, 2013: Mueller gropes Swift
Taylor Swift had a concert in Denver at the Pepsi Center on her Red world tour. During a meet and greet before the concert, David Mueller groped Swift as they were posing for a photo. According to Swift, while posing for a photo, Mueller reached under her skirt to grope his hand on an intimate part of her body. Immediately following the photo, Swift’s security team was informed of what happened and confronted Mueller.
June 4, 2013: Mueller loses his job
A member of Swift’s security team informed Mueller’s employer, KYGO radio station, of the incident at her concert. Mueller was banned for life from Taylor Swift concerts and on June 4, he is fired from KYGO radio station.
September 10, 2015: Mueller accuses Swift of defamation
Three months later, Mueller filed a lawsuit against Swift in the U.S. District Court in Denver for defamation. The lawsuit claimed that “Mueller lost his job and other prospective business opportunities because of the allegations.” The lawsuit sought $3 million in damages from Taylor Swift. Swift said in Miss Americana that at the time, Mueller’s story and lawsuit was full of lies. “There were seven people who saw him do this, and we have a photo of it happening,” she states.
October 28, 2015: Swift sues Mueller back
Swift files a federal counterclaim against Mueller for assault and battery, specifically for “reaching under her skirt and groping her” before her 2013 Denver concert. The lawsuit is for a symbolic $1, and the counterclaim said that Mueller waited too long to deny that he groped Swift after the original incident was reported. The lawsuit also detailed that the assault occurred without Swift’s permission and against her will. According to Swift’s filing, the singer said she “knows exactly who committed the assault — it was Mueller.”
August 7, 2017: Jury selection begins
Taylor Swift appears in court while jurors are questioned. Judge William J. Martinez, Swift’s lawyers, and Mueller’s lawyers questioned 60 potential jurors over the course of four hours. No jurors were officially selected on that Monday, but many were dismissed. Ultimately, eight jurors (six women and two men) were selected and would decide the outcome of both opposing lawsuits through each defendant’s testimony.
August 10, 2017: Swift and Mueller both testify
Swift testifies against Mueller saying the encounter was “despicable and horrifying and shocking.” Over the course of her one-hour testimony, Swift said that Mueller reached his hand under her skirt and “stayed attached to my bare asscheek as I lurched away from him.”
Earlier in the day, Mueller also testified about the alleged sexual assault. He described the photo opportunity as “weird and awkward.” Mueller denied touching Swift’s buttocks and said that the experience following this accusation was “humiliating” for him. “It cost me my career, the thing I love to do, my passion,” Mueller testified.
But, when Swift was asked about the defamation charges that caused Mueller’s “humiliation, she said, “I’m being blamed for the unfortunate events of his life that are a product of his decisions, not mine.”
August 11, 2017: Mueller’s lawsuit against Swift is dismissed
Judge Martinez dismissed Mueller’s defamation lawsuit against Swift, saying she “did not act inappropriately” in contacting KYGO radio to inform them of the incident. The judge did not make a ruling on Swift’s lawsuit against Mueller to determine whether or not he would be charged with touching her buttocks.
August 14, 2017: Mueller is found guilty
Jurors ruled that Mueller was guilty in Swift’s assault and battery lawsuit against him. Swift was awarded a requested sum of $1 and pledged to donate “an unspecified amount” to organizations aimed at helping sexual assault victims. “You don’t feel any sense of victory when you win, because the process is so dehumanizing,” Swift said in Miss Americana. “This is with seven witnesses and a photo. What happens when you get raped and it’s your word against his?”
2018 – Present: Where is David Mueller?
In 2018, Mueller reportedly took on a new DJ name in Denver: Stonewall Jackson. Mueller still maintains that Swift “ruined” his life and takes no responsibility in what happened. Beyond his radio resurgence, it seems Mueller is mostly off-the-grid.
At the end of Miss Americana, Swift is seen one year after the ruling speaking to a sold-out stadium on her Reputation album tour. “I think about all the people who weren’t believed, or the people who are afraid to speak up because they think they won’t be believed,” she said. “I just wanted to say that I’m sorry to anyone who ever wasn’t believed. I don’t know what turn my life would have taken if people didn’t believe me.”
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