Model Anok Yai sparked quite the debate on social media after she said she was "exhausted" and proceeded to call out the British Fashion Council after they awarded the 2024 Model of the Year award to trans model Alex Consani.
Consani, the first out trans model to ever win Model of the Year, expressed her excitement on Instagram, sharing celebratory photos and videos accompanied by the captions:
"IM SCREAMING I J WON MODEL OF YHE YEAR"
"Thank you so much @britishfashioncouncil and everyone that made this possible!"
"I cant even begin to process this"
Consani's popularity soared over the course of the last year, beginning with her online presence on TikTok.
She was also one of the first trans women to walk the Victoria's Secret runway before being featured on magazine covers, music videos and walking for Chanel, Alexander McQueen, Burberry, and Jacquemus... just to name a few.
But one other supermodel who has been in the limelight the last couple of years is Anok Yai, who many believe was the only person who could have beat out Consani for the 2024 title.
After Consani was announced as Model of the Year, Yai took to social media, dropping a photo that launched some heated discourse.
The model tweeted a photo of Ye on stage at the 2009 VMAs—you know, the moment he interrupted Taylor Swift's acceptance speech to tell the world "Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time! One of the best videos of all time!"
Viewers of the post immediately called out Yai, and quickly she took to the platform once again to follow up.
"Alex, I love you and I’m so proud of you"
"British Fashion Council, thank you but I don’t want it anymore"
She then explained:
"If you have seen the effort that I’ve seen Alex put in; you would understand how proud I am of her."
"But Alex can be proud and I can be exhausted at the same time."
"It doesn’t take away how much love we have for each other"
Many on social media, however, felt the damage had already been done.
Others, however, feel Yai has every right to feel frustrated, with many pointing out that her original message was not targeted at Consani.
Consani hasn't commented on Yai's posts yet, but in her acceptance speech, she did express her gratitude for other models who paved the way for her, especially Black trans women.
“I can’t accept this award without thanking those who came before me, specifically the Black trans women who really fought for the space I’m in today.”
“Dominique Jackson, Connie Fleming, Aaron Rose Philip, and countless more who fought for the space that allowed me to flourish today.”
Most of us have applied for at least one dream job, only for it to be offered to someone else. But sometimes the story doesn't end with the job offer; in fact, we might get another chance at that job or even something better.
And according to Veronica Mars actor Jonathan Bennett, this concept can be applied to acting gigs, as well.
Before anyone knew who he was, and he was still working at Abercrombie & Fitch folding shirts and sweaters, he tried his luck at getting the part of lead guy Aaron Samuels in the iconic Mean Girls, which would become his big breakout role.
Though Mean Girls is what he's still most known for today, he almost didn't get the part!
During a Hallmark panel event, Bennett explained to the audience in a "Cliffnotes edition" that when he'd gone in to audition, he made Lyndsey Lohan, who had already been cast as the lead in the movie, blush at the perfect moment. The director, crew, and his casting agent believed he would get the part.
However, the studio ended up going in a different direction, because the then-president of Paramount Pictures, Sherry Lansing, wanted him to have a different look. Another guy who had auditioned had the look already without doing hair and makeup, the blonde hair and blue eyes that were so popular in the '90s and early 2000s, so Lansing demanded they go with the other guy.
Fortunately, the story didn't end there for Jonathan Bennett. Asking about October third was still in his future.
Bennett went on to explain that when the other actor went to Canada to table-read his part, he showed up in "baggy sweatpants and a baggy hoodie," he didn't know who the more prominent people in the room were, and he didn't attempt to slip into his role.
Instead, he mumbled his way through it.
Two actors on set, Tim Meadows and Lorne Michaels, who were both well-known for Saturday Night Live, were also used to clean and precise table-reads that would give everyone at the table a good sense of what they would get from each performer in front of the camera. Based on the table-read, all they would get from this guy was "mumbling," even after feedback about it.
Cringing, Bennett admitted that the other guy was "fired by the time he got back to his car."
Then laughing, Bennett explained that he was working a shift at Abercrombie & Fitch when his casting agent tried to call him. When he finally answered on a fifteen-minute break and was told he had a second shot at the part, he was excited but said he had to get back to work and hung up the phone.
Calling back, the agent yelled at him and said he didn't have a shift; he had a plane to catch. So Bennett walked out on Abercrombie & Fitch on the spot, caught the flight, and stepped into the role that would change his life.
You can watch the video here:
@bahamasholly Directly from the source…thank you @Hallmark Channel for a fun holiday weekend
Some were distracted, wondering who originally fumbled the role.
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Other viewers couldn't get past Bennett's amusing and questionable concept of a "Cliffnotes version."
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This story is a great reminder that things can still work out, even when they seem to have already been decided.
Since Bennett also said that the other guy is "famous now," that reminds us, too, that we can always improve to match the opportunities we want to receive.
Actions may speak louder than words, but that is not to say that words do not carry power.
In a single moment, how we feel about someone can totally change because of something surprising they have said.
What they said could turn them into someone totally undateable, or it could make them the most attractive person we've ever met. Only time, and listening, will tell.
Redditor Expensive_Adagio6607 asked:
"What's something your partner or ex-partner has told you that changed the way you look at them?"
"Not gonna lie, one time my ex straight-up told me he didn't actually believe in tipping servers because 'they should find better jobs.'"
"After that, I just couldn't see him the same way."
- BabyyChloee
"My boyfriend at the time proudly declared that he'd never read a book cover to cover. He was 27."
- dixlapped
"That's... not the flex he thinks it is."
- Boogzcarp
"Even in school?! Like, isn't reading one of the things we usually do when we're kids, or like a test on a book you read in class? Never, one one? That's alarming."
- WafWouf
"The moment she dismissed my anxiety as just an ‘excuse for being lazy,' it was like a switch flipped in my brain."
"I had been dealing with panic attacks and struggling to explain what life with anxiety really felt like. Then she just reduced it all to laziness."
"That’s when I knew she would never understand the battles I fight inside my own head. It wasn’t just unsupportive, it was invalidating my entire experience. Trust me, I wasn’t looking for sympathy, just a little empathy."
"It was a sobering reminder that not everyone can walk a mile in another’s shoes, nor even take a single step, and that was a deal-breaker for me."
- GeorgiaLaughs
"My soon-to-be ex-husband has said a lot of things that made me change how I see him, but I think the one that really did it was when he told me 'I don't love you, I only married you for your passport, and I want a divorce.'"
"He was drunk and, to this day, claims he just wanted to be nasty and didn't mean it... but that's a line you don't cross."
- Burtonish
"That's an awful thing to say. But that he thinks 'I was drunk and wanted to be nasty' is an EXCUSE and not a massive red flag of its own?? Ooooof. I'm sorry. You don't deserve that."
- secamTO
"An old ex got unreasonably upset at me when I was late coming over after work because I helped a female coworker put her spare tire on."
"We were the only people there, and she didn't know how. She otherwise would have been stranded. When I saw that lack of empathy for another person, I was out of there."
- landlockedyeti
"She thought you were cheating."
- FBI-AGENT-013
"You're right, but there were literally pictures of me changing the tire, lol (laughing out loud)."
- landlockedyeti
"Dang. That's messed up. She also not justified to think that you're cheating, it's just the common one thing everybody thinks so it's actually wise for you to take photos. Sounds like you dodged a very insecure and jealous bullet."
- FBI-AGENT-013
"Yup, you're right, and I did dodge a bullet! My now-wife coached her for a year and had nothing but bad things to say about her (she didn't know we had dated), and now looking back on it, it's hilarious that I ever would have dated her."
- landlockedyeti
"Well, after he drank too much again, and was late to work again, and pitched a tantrum because it was all my fault apparently, he said that if he got fired, he would call my boss and get me fired."
"Yup, that was it. I never talked to him again after I shuffled him out of MY house."
"He was the only s**tty boyfriend I ever had, but he was a doozy!"
- BnCtrKiki
"My ex was feeling under the weather and was telling me he needed to get over the counter medication and he had no idea what to get."
"I was a nurse and recommended something, including how and when he should take it."
"He scoffed, 'You’re a nurse, a doctor’s assistant. You’re not even a pharmacist.'"
"I realized he didn’t respect me, or nurses, at all. We broke up a month after."
- luckygreenleaves
"Ugh. That one hit. My ex scoffed and rolled his eyes and said, 'No, I mean a real job,' when I said being an administrative assistant/executive assistant was a career."
"I said, 'Who do you think does all the work?'"
"That was the least of the s**tty things he said to me but it was the first and I wish I had known that minute to leave. Lesson learned."
- UpstairsTomato3231
"My ex once casually mentioned that they 'don’t believe in apologizing' because they 'never do anything wrong.' That one sentence changed everything. I realized I’d never get accountability or real empathy from them."
- Outside-Flow-9510
"Yeah, I am currently separated from my wife of 18 years (a 21-year relationship) because she refuses to apologize."
"I discovered she cheated through texts I found where she was describing everything in detail to her best friend. It never escalated beyond one or two instances of kissing, I’m pretty sure, but then other dude backed out after because he felt guilty for cheating on his wife."
"The fact that she refuses to apologize because she doesn’t believe she did anything wrong boggles my mind and I feel is way more disrespectful than the actual cheating."
- cracker707
"They said I deserved to be cheated on. This was after we'd had a very long and VERY in-depth conversation regarding my concerns for how close they were growing with my best friend at the time."
- localwageslave
"I'm so sorry. I had an ex tell me that, too."
"I honestly regret not breaking up with him then and there. What a waste of time that clown was."
- izzy_e
"I started dating my boyfriend four months ago, but it got pretty serious pretty fast. I am traveling across the country to see my family for the holidays and have mentioned how much I would love for him to join us."
" He just celebrates with friends so I didn’t think it would be a huge deal for him to miss a year. He dodged the question the first time it came up but told me last week, 'I really want to, but if I go with you for Thanksgiving, Steve won’t have anyone to celebrate with.'"
"Steve is his 70-year-old coworker. My boyfriend has had him over for Thanksgiving for the last seven years because he doesn’t have family to spend it with, and he cannot bear the thought of leaving him here to celebrate alone."
"I have always admired my boyfriend’s commitment to the village he has made for himself but that conversation really put it into perspective for me. I have a feeling he won’t be coming to my family’s Thanksgiving for as long as Steve is around… and honestly, I love and admire him so, so much for it. He is such an incredible person."
- NurseryManager
"For me, I guess it’s more confirmed than changed. My husband and I were at an amusement park recently with friends and their eight-year-old daughter who had gone through cancer treatment."
"She got on a daring ride that did loops and they told her she had to get off, even if she took off her prosthetic."
"She just looked at her parents and said, 'Does this mean I can never go on upside-down rides?' They didn’t know what to do."
"My husband said, 'F**k this, I’m not going to let her think that, time to be a 'Karen.'' And he looked up the ADA and safety regulations on his phone, talked to every manager at the park, and then, even though he gets extremely motion sick, rode the ride with her after they agreed it actually was safe for her to do it."
"It was the sexiest thing I have ever seen a person do."
- Raginghangers
"My ex once acknowledged that they never expected to find someone who accepted them for who they are. That changed my perspective on them, and it brought us closer together and taught me the value of kindness."
- JenBro1978
"I'm with a new partner. We've only been together maybe 3-4 months, but everything's going really well."
"She told me yesterday that she's never felt as attractive before in her life as I make her feel. And of course that made me incredibly happy... but also kinda sad?"
"She's absolutely gorgeous, and one of the most generous people I've ever been with (even accounting for the fact that I know we're still very much in the honeymoon phase), and it makes me sad to think that neither her family nor her previous boyfriends have made her feel like what she just effortlessly is."
- secamTO
"He said to me, 'I love that you don't need me to feel entire.' This impacted me hard since it was the first time I felt understood and supported in my independence."
- Lucyymonn
"Before we got married my MIL was making oblique comments about changing my last name to my husband's."
"We had talked about it, and I was leaning toward keeping my maiden name due to sheer laziness. His parents are pushy and can be weird about this sort of thing so the prodding was getting annoying and my husband noticed."
"He told his mom, 'I fell in love with FirstName - MaidenName, I don't have any idea who FirstName-HisLastName is, I'm marrying the woman I fell in love with.'"
"When I tell you that I SWOONED. I wasn't expecting a declaration, and it was so validating, supportive, and just generally gave me this overwhelming feeling of, 'D**n, I loved this guy before but he SEES me!' It made me feel like a partner, an equal, like my agency was the most important thing to him and that he would actively protect and advocate for it in the marriage..."
"From then on, I had strong feelings about keeping my name and even stronger feelings for him. It was a small thing, but hearing how he considered me in that moment was the most attractive thing he's ever done, and he's lived up to that standard since. And it's also been an inspiration for me to meet him at that high bar, as well."
- Angsty_Potatoes
"She said, 'You need glasses.'"
"She was right. She looks so much clearer now!"
- My1stWifeWasWife
"I got my first distance glasses a couple of years ago, and at the optician, as I put them on and looked out of the window, I said something like, 'I don’t think these are going to make much difference because my eyesight is still pretty - OH MY GOD!'"
"I had forgotten that I used to be able to see distant things pin-sharp."
- BiggestFlower
It's no surprise that these were moments that changed these Redditors' relationships. While some were serious red flags, others intensified the good things they already saw in the person.
What all of these incidents have in common is the time that has passed. While there are many conversations in a lifetime that we will forget, these are the types of moments that will last.
The right-wing panic about masculinity continues apace, and the latest chapter in this very weird obsession comes via an unlikely villain: the bubble bath.
Fox News' Jesse Watters had an on-air rant about a government employee who shared a photo of himself working from home in his bathtub.
So what? Couldn't tell you, but if you're Watters and the assorted weirdos who sit in front of Fox News all day, the problem is that men aren't supposed to take baths, apparently.
Watters contends that males "age out" of taking baths at age five. Okay! Slow news day over at Fox, Jesse?
Watters ranted:
“What kind of man takes a bubble bath? Men age out of bubble baths at 5. If you’re a guy and you’re alone in a bubble bath, that’s a problem. You have to have someone with you.”
Ah there we go—baths are only for sex if you're a man, apparently. If you've ever tried to have sex in a bathtub you'll know that it really only works well in movies, but whatever.
The uproar came after far-right Iowa Republican Senator Joni Ernst shared the photo as part of a report she compiled targeting remote-work policies for government employees, which Republicans have of course decided they hate now. (Mainly because Elon Musk told them to.)
Watters then had Trump staffer Stephen Miller on his show to get his hot take on whether or not men should be taking bubble baths.
Miller agreed that "grown men should not be taking bubble baths" and that they shouldn't do their work from one either. He of course put air-quotes around the word "work" to imply that government employees don't actually do anything.
IDK man, this is an awful lot of interest in men's bathing habits for two supposed paragons of heterosexual masculinity!
And on social media, most people just found this whole thing ludicrous.
Anyway, it's worth noting that there are no bubbles visible in the photo. It's just a dude in a bathtub. But it's good to know the right is on the case and will soon free us from the scourge of *checks notes* men bathing. MAGA!
Netflix has sparked outrage for casting a cisgender male actor to play a trans female character in the second season of the popular survival thriller Netflix series, Squid Game.
In a meet-the-cast special, South Korean star Park Sung-hoon revealed he would play Hyun-ju, a.k.a. Player 120, a willing competitor in the murderous reality game show for a chance to win the grand cash prize to help pay for her gender-affirming surgery.
Squid Game is a Korean drama centered on the premise where financially strapped contestants from different backgrounds participate in a series of deadly children's games until a remaining survivor wins approximately $40 million.
Sung-hoon, known for playing leads in popular South Korean TV series like The Glory and Queen of Tears, described his Squid Game character in an interview, saying:
“Hyun-ju is a former special forces soldier and a transgender woman. She joins the game because she’s short on money for her gender-affirming surgery."
We should be moving past cis actors playing trans roles.
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— Queer Skies Ahead (@queerskiesahead.bsky.social) December 6, 2024 at 10:09 AM
The 39-year-old actor continued:
“Even though she faces prejudice and tough situations, she shows incredible strength, decisiveness and natural leadership. Through her resilience, she breaks down stereotypes and shines as an aspiring character.”
The casting of a cisgender male to play a trans woman in 2024 caused significant internet backlash.
Many users noted that actors from marginalized groups in countries like South Korea are never given opportunities in an industry that tends to lean towards heteronormative casting.
Honestly, it would have been amazing to have an actual trans person play the role. But let's be honest, it's South Korea, where same sex civil union illegal. I'm relieved they even made the small step of showing a pre-op trans woman in a positive way. Hopefully they will continue forward.
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— AskAubry 🦝 (@askaubry.com) December 5, 2024 at 6:51 AM
Heart absolutely sank reading that they're putting a cis man playing a trans woman in this show 😞 I liked the first season and this one is going to be awful the whole way now isn't it
— Katy Montgomerie 🦗 (@katymontgomerie.com) December 5, 2024 at 7:29 AM
Bleh. It's a step but damn, how dismissive of transpeople and that character too really.
— azombieee.bsky.social (@azombieee.bsky.social) December 5, 2024 at 7:46 AM
So.... And please, someone correct me if I'm wrong or off the mark or anything.... But how is this different than someone doing blackface to fill the role of a POC?
— Papahrf (@papahrf.bsky.social) December 5, 2024 at 7:07 AM
Also, it's a bit sensitive: LGBTQ actors don't want to be cut out of cis or straight roles. However, trans women in acting have had very few opps even as trans stories (not written by us) got popular, hence the criticism, that's the context. Also, the representation has been... not good.
— Flxible (@flxible.bsky.social) December 6, 2024 at 6:31 AM
The controversy was also addressed on the Trans subReddit.
Redditor melancholymeows, a trans ally, argued the move was still a positive step toward representation in South Korea, "a very conservative country" that "doesn't have any laws in place for queer people let alone trans people" even though they noted there had been "some positive movement recently" towards change.
The original poster also asked their trans friends their thoughts on the controversy, writing:
"I saw a post from a influencer i follow (who’s a trans woman) and she was upset about how the character is played by a cis man and not a trans actress."
"I understand this point of view but i see it as more just representation in general that many people will see, i mean squid game is the most popular k-drama, it’s super global too."
"I think representation is important no matter who plays the character. but im super curious what other trans people think."
They noted, "Obviously the show has not come out yet so we don’t know how the character is portrayed, so this could totally be different."
One Redditor wrote:
"I'm concerned that the writers and directors may struggle to treat a trans character with kindness and respect. I think if the performer did research for the role and is actually allowed to present a thoughtful, nuanced performance, then fine. But I'm not holding my breath."
Another said:
"Caring isn’t enough. Unless you have lived experience with trans people, anything you portray is going to be a thought experiment."
"Cis actors don’t have a great record at playing trans roles, and they don’t care because cis audiences aren’t experienced enough to tell."
A third user said they had one minor problem with it.
"The only issue I have with cis men playing trans women is the media around the play or the movie; the actor remains a cis man, and it reinforces the idea that a trans woman is 'really' a kind of man."
However, one Redditor minimized concerns by replying:
"Personally I don't mind. It's acting. We've seen gay actors play straight characters and vice versa. I'll be more interested to see how they write the character and how the actor plays her."
Other fans said they didn't mind the casting of Sung-hoon, especially since his character hasn't received gender-affirming surgery yet.
One social media user pushed back against that argument.
“People in the quotes insisting that it totally makes sense to cast a cis man for this role because she’s trying to fund her gender-affirming surgery, no it doesn’t," they wrote, adding:
"Transition is more than the surgery and Park Sung-hoon isn’t doing any of it. Cast a trans actress,” demanded one person.
Disapproving users on X (formerly Twitter) continued weighing in.
One fan defended against the criticism by explaining the lack of South Korean talent who are actually trans in real life.
“How do you expect them to find the trans actress who is willing to out herself to get the role, who hasn’t done any gender-affirming surgery, who can act the role and who is willing to withstand transphobic comments from people from [South Korea] and all over the world?” they wrote.
Several social media users agreed.
In South Korea, gender-reaffirming care is legal for people over 20.
And while a 2019 study found that public opinion regarding transgender people was more positive than negative, LGBTQ+ rights are still facing legal roadblocks.
You can watch a trailer for Squid Game season 2 here.
- YouTubeyoutu.be
While the first season became a global phenomenon after its 2021 premiere, Squid Game, which was subtitled in over 30 different languages, had a controversial influence on its audience.
One of the children's games featured on the show became a TikTok challenge that should never have been attempted at home.
A 14-year-old boy from Australia sustained first-degree burns on his hand as well as deep burns and nerve damage to his leg after he tried what's called the "honeycomb challenge."
The game involved making a thin sheet of honeycomb and carving out a shape using a pin. In Squid Game, the consequence of cracking the candy in the process led to execution.
The boy had found a honeycomb recipe on TikTok and tried to melt the water, bicarb soda, and sugar mixture in a non-microwavable plastic cup in the microwave instead of in a pot on the stovetop.
When he went to retrieve the mixture, it allegedly exploded in his hand.
Three other children in Sydney were reportedly severely burned from attempting the same dangerous challenge.
The second season of Squid Game will be released on December 26, 2024.
