Out of Scope Issue 58: The Slap Heard Round the World
Even though you’re probably tired of talking about it, we’re going to talk about it
This week, we’re kicking things off with the story you couldn’t possibly have missed this week - but hopefully with a fresh perspective for you. Next, we’re tackling Bridgerton’s corsets, Disney’s latest take on the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, an attempt to close Wikipedia’s gender gap with artificial intelligence, and more.
Editor’s Note: HL is jumping on the corporate wellness wagon and collectively taking Friday, April 1 off. (Don’t worry, we’ve double-checked that it isn’t an April Fool’s Day joke). We’ll see you back here next week!
💡ON OUR MINDS
Will Smith & the Endless Stream of Takes
Unless you’ve been fully offline since the Oscars on Sunday, you’ve likely seen the wildfire of Internet chatter on the slap heard around the world when Will Smith walked onstage to confront Chris Rock in response to a joke he made about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith’s, shaved head.
The ensuing heated debate has generated hundreds of thousands of different “takes” with commentary ranging from mental health to racism to domestic violence to celebrity culture at large – and so many more.
Beyond the fact that this event took away from the show, it’s been exhausting watching the media narrative take shape in full time. The topic’s discourse has taken over every corner of the Internet, creating content fatigue (even some celebrities like Daniel Radcliffe are over it) with brands and everyday Twitter users all trying to insert themselves into the conversation.
While Will Smith ultimately issued a public apology directed to both Chris Rock and the Academy (which both the Academy and Chris Rock responded to), the fact that this occurred on such a high-profile stage likely contributed to the scale of escalation, despite the incident being relatively self-contained.
No matter what your take is or who’s side you’re on, it’s clear that a reputation can turn on a dime, and all it takes is one moment to change a lifetime curated public perception…
…or does it? Plenty of celebrities have had mishaps and scandals and come out ahead – especially if they are as beloved and iconic as Will Smith. Only time (and the court of public opinion) will tell.
📡 ON OUR RADAR
As communications professionals, we firmly believe a well-crafted message is always best… Which is why the White House PR was likely just as surprised as we were to hear President Biden’s ad-libbed remark closing out his Warsaw address about the U.S. efforts to support Ukraine when he ended with, “For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power.” Probably not the most strategic move in such a delicate situation that led to a tailspin of media commentary and speculation of what his comments really meant.
Gawker did a deep dive on some of the editorial practices at top media outlets, including The Cut, to poke holes in double standards and inconsistent implementation of policies that allow (or prevent) editors from accepting gifts or payment from brands they write about. This calls into question what it means when a journalist is also their own “brand,” and the blurred lines of sponsored content.
With season two of Bridgerton now on Netflix, the Corset Myth has re-circulated the internet – or “the idea that all historical corsets were oppressive, painful devices of torture forced upon women for centuries.” But extensive research actually proves that pain and injuries were not a common experience for regular corset wearers and that waist reduction was not the garment’s primary function. Instead, corsets were worn for support in the same way a bra is now and also offered perks like warmth and smooth dress appearances.
Everyone can likely agree that they had high hopes for post-pandemic social lives. But now that we can socialize, many folks are being selective with how they output their energy. Whether it’s office water cooler talk or chatting at a bar, we all seem to have lower social bandwidth and feel more “out of social shape” than before.
As we all know, Kim Kardashian sparked fierce backlash online when she recently shared her advice to women in business in an interview with Variety’s chief correspondent Elizabeth Wagmeister. Kim recently apologized for her comments, insisting they were taken out of context and that her tone and attitude were a reaction to being asked about being “famous for being famous.” Following her apology, Wagmeister confirmed that the “famous for being famous” question came after the “women in business” question. Kim has yet to respond to Variety’s latest statement.
After initially declining an official stance on Florida’s "Don't Say Gay” bill, Disney CEO Bob Chapek has publicly stated the company’s opposition to the bill, suspending all political donations in Florida. Whether it was a genuine change of heart or bowing to increased pressure on CEOs to weigh in on political issues of the day is up in the air. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis response? “I don't care what big corporations say.” Touché.
Is the bachelor-to-influencer pipeline dead? It used to be that if you went on The Bachelor and became a finalist or made a big impression, you were. But nowadays, recent contestants are struggling to break through with lackluster social media followers.
As if navigating the medical system couldn’t be more difficult, a round-up of first-hand stories and studies indicate women and people of color are more likely to have their symptoms dismissed by medical providers. To combat the systemic issue, doctors suggest their peers seek more training and that patients bring a friend or relative to appointments to ensure concerns are heard appropriately.
Believe it or not, Congress has failed to pass anti-lynching legislation more than 200 times since 1900. But on Tuesday, President Biden signed the Emmett Till Antilynching Act, officially making lynching a federal hate crime.
Can AI-based research help rectify the Wikipedia gender gap? Meta researcher Angela Fan is releasing an AI model as open-source software to automatically create high-quality biographical articles about important real-world public figures based on information found on the web. Only 20% of bios on Wikipedia are about women - and this software could be the edge needed to change the equation.
Over 500 editorial, video, and production staff at Condé Nast are forming a union to call attention to low pay, hiring practices, a lack of diversity, among other issues. In line with the union’s launch, employees shared a powerful video on @condeunited, “73 Answers with Condé Workers,” voicing their concerns. A spokesperson for the publisher responded with the following statement, “We plan to have productive and thoughtful conversations with them over the coming weeks to learn more.”
Facebook is playing dirty - the social media giant paid a GOP firm Targeted Victory to malign TikTok, pushing messages calling TikTok a threat to American children. Why even bother? A leaked internal report from Facebook last year said teens were spending “2-3X more time” on TikTok than Instagram, and Meta is attempting to gain back valuable ground in the fight for attention.
🥊QUICK HITS
In case you missed these stories this week.
This summer, Meghan Markle is launching a podcast series called “Archetypes,” where the Duchess of Sussex will speak with historians, experts, and special guests to uncover the origin of these stereotypes and how they shape narratives in the culture.
Feeling unprioritized by Etsy, sellers are going on strike in April and asking shoppers to boycott due to increasing transaction fees.
According to the WSJ, well-known brand names and flashy ad campaigns are no longer enough to command U.S. consumers’ loyalty in grocery stores.
We’ll see you here next week! 👋
HL
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The fine print: This week’s newsletter is brought to you by the extremely timely launch of covid.gov.