I Wanna Be A Star: How Famous Can A Woman Be?

TW: Murder, and SA mentioned.

What goes up must come down, and for women in Hollywood, the turnaround is worse than the ruthless law of physics.

When Chappell Roan pointed into the sea of photographers, telling one to “shut the fuck up!” at the 2024 VMAs, we could have predicted it as the end of her being on the good side of the general public. In the moment, many applauded her public display of boundary-setting in the face of invasive paparazzi. Her behavior throughout the rest of 2024 until now has seemed to ruffle every feather across the Internet.

This came shortly after she took to her TikTok and created two videos discussing how she views her encounters with fans and/or people who just want a picture. Discourse around Roan floated around the Internet for months, calling her a performative activist or an ungrateful pop star, claiming that she “hates” her career (making music and performing it). It all follows the typical timeline of an all-too repetitive cycle in the entertainment industry, where a woman skyrockets to fame and must experience every negative part of the comedown. 

Musicians have a particularly niche struggle with this, as they are the product. They are attempting to sell who they are for your listening pleasure. In July of 2023, it was announced that 1) Ariana Grande and her now ex-husband had been separated for months, and 2) that Grande was now dating her Wicked costar Ethan Slater, who also had been through a sudden divorce.

The Internet was quick to find any piece of evidence that further pushed the notion that Grande was a serial homewrecker. She and Slater faced immense hate right up until about the time that the actual film came out. By then, the masses were obsessed with the screen adaptation, and her “Eternal Sunshine” world tour sold out in minutes. As of now, she is back! But this only comes after she faced her many, many ups and downs of fame.

Actresses tend to fall into a similar fate, depending on their rise to fame. Jennifer Lawrence, one of the youngest to ever win an Academy Award for Best Actress, star of acclaimed franchise films such as X-Men: First Class and The Hunger Games series, and much more, was hated by the general public for being too quirky.

Yes, abusers and known bigots walk around Hollywood, still grabbing prestigious awards and leading box office hits, but liking pizza a little too loudly was just enough for audiences everywhere to get to know Lawrence. Her image of relatability worked until people decided it didn’t; she was accused of performing her ordinary traits to just appeal to mass audiences, because how could a woman actually remain humble after being the highest paid actress in Hollywood? 

The term “media training” unfortunately became every user’s favorite buzzword to describe the behavior of any public-facing person, usually in the place of entertainment. The phrase had its big run when Broadway, movie, and pop star Renee Rapp was on her Mean Girls (2024) press tour. Her unfiltered humor quickly went viral for the fact that she “wasn’t media trained.” She cussed in the junkets and called out bus drivers, and many were obsessed with this presentation of authenticity from a famous actress. While many who work in public relations and communications know that literally everyone has this so-called “media training,” this display of what seemed to be a lack of it had the usual “charming-until-it wasn’t” effect for Rapp, and some turned to call her behavior obnoxious and too abrasive for Hollywood.

The same standard never seems to be in place, however, for men. New HBO star of Heated Rivalry, Hudson Williams, has many fawning over his sarcastic personality and "lack of media training”. From throwing up middle fingers on red carpets to his somewhat crass answers in interviews, he has won over the hearts of millions of fans in the span of just a few months. The difference in treatment is glaringly different to anyone paying any type of attention. 

Rachel Zegler had a spotlight on her from the age of seventeen after making her feature film debut in Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story (2021). Her impressive vocals and humble high school theater background were enough to be on the good side of the public. Of course, this didn’t last long as she made a joke about how doing a film like Shazam was for the money, or how Snow White maybe needed a revamp after nearly a century for the live-action remake.

This massive campaign against her was also propelled by her outspoken support of Palestine and her public condemnation of the genocide. Her use of literal free speech led the film to underperform at the box office, which is just wildly ridiculous. Although her talent speaks for itself as she continues to succeed, the harm that comes with mass hatred needs to be acknowledged. 

In June of 2015, musician and actress Christina Grimmie was shot and killed at a meet and greet in Orlando, Florida. While the investigation that followed the tragedy pointed to signs of an obvious motive for murder, her killer was found to have had an “unhealthy and unrealistic infatuation” with Grimmie.

A musician, excited to hug and share a moment with someone she thought to be a safe fan of her art, ended her life on account of an obsession and a lack of protection. While this tragedy holds no direct correlation to any of the cultural moments or women above, it calls into question just how much the Internet and the general public care for the safety of women.

The horrific events and revelations that have come out of elite Hollywood’s sexual abuse rings (i.e., Epstein's Island, Diddy’s house)  are trivialized and desensitized for mass consumption via algorithm. 

Jokes have flooded mine and many others’ feeds about Roan’s security and her relationship to her fans in public, and while it can be fun to point and laugh now, we have to wonder what may be next for her. Will someone try to break that boundary in a way that no one is prepared for? What will she have to do to ensure her safety? She is quite literally banned from performing at Todo Mundo by the mayor of Rio de Janeiro. Chris Brown has a recorded history of abuse toward women, and yet every year without fail, his albums sell, and fans push for him to perform at the Super Bowl. All Time Low is still headlining Warped Tour. And to be frank, it's exhausting.

It's exhausting to see this onslaught of smear campaigns against women constantly, and to find casual misogyny in every conversation around women.

The everyday woman posting a slice of her family life on the Internet or a bit of her relationship unwillingly becomes the center of what could be a Vogue think-piece. A makeup routine becomes a comment section of suggestions. A documented fitness journey becomes a forum for body-shaming.

There is no answer or right way for a woman to be famous, because it's nearly impossible to just exist at times. 

To be a woman in this age is hard enough, so I say, let Chappell Roan be as (allegedly) rude as she wants to be. Who cares?

Bad Bunny Was Always Projected to Win the Super Bowl

Bad Bunny Was Always Projected to Win the Super Bowl. Team Benito was awarded spectacle and earnest passion amidst a foreshadowed game and political diversions.

Weeks before the Super Bowl teams were determined, one team was already preparing: Team Benito. Bad Bunny fans took to TikTok when answering the question everyone has been asking for years: “who are you rooting for in the Super Bowl?”. The content did not disappoint… from flags with his beautiful face on them, to Dominican spreads and buffets and Benito pre-planned concert clip marathons during the football gameplay, the signs of Bad Bunny’s triumph were there all along. Even though last year’s halftime show also made a splash amidst the Kendrick Lamar x Drake feud heating up online, and Kendrick’s ode to his America through the legendary set list and visuals, this year’s performance was rooted in unity rather than spectacle, with both artists ultimately making a beautifully bold statement at the games. 

It’s no secret that art has always been a mode of protest, and within the last few years of Trump’s run in America, things have gotten back to getting spicy on the field. It’s always been a common theme amongst these intermissions to the games, with performances like Michael Jackson’s 1993 halftime show to note. But what made this year different is that politicians fought back both proactively and following the games. By featuring symbols like the light blue Puerto Rican flag (associated with independence) and "ICE out" rhetoric, the performance tapped into a widespread public "horror and disgust" regarding immigration tactics, which some analysts believe could lead to a realignment in U.S. politics. This was met with a call from the House Republicans on the Federal Communications Commission to investigate Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime performance, suggesting the content and lyrics of the Puerto Rican star's show were "illegal.” If I’m not mistaken, it seems as though they were already holding grudges about invisible competition with pointless battle of the bands framing. Turns out America is in need of a Grammy-winning tune about family over a lip sync performance by Kid Rock that would’ve gotten him voted off this season of Rupaul’s Drag Race faster than DD Fuego (RIP </3). 

However if there is one thing we know about Team Benito it’s that their growing, loyal fanbase  are fed by resistance and deliciously punky bachata beats, so despite the baseless demand for investigations, Democratic leaders like Senator Patty Murray and Rep. Jim McGovern praised the show for its message of "unity and love over division”. Celebrities took to socials and award show press moments to praise Bad Bunny (who also was already a winner in his own right, bringing his fresh Grammy to the game in the most cinematic way possible). Apart from the worsening situations involving ICE and immigration blocking and abuse in the U.S. this year, it would seem to anyone (not just members of Team Benito) that many were just as startled by the artist’s stardom as they were his messaging and influence on the viewers of this year’s Super Bowl. But Bad Bunny (and many others) predicted this, stating to Billboard in the preparation of the event: “I’m just a normal guy that makes music”.

Speaking of views, Team Benito was not playing around when they said they were coming for one thing, and one thing only. While the Seattle Seahawks' 29-13 victory over the New England Patriots averaged 124.9 million viewers on NBC, Peacock, Telemundo, NBC Sports Digital and NFL+, according to Nielsen's Big Data + Panel rating system (ESPN Reports),  Bad Bunny's halftime show averaged 128.2 million viewers from 8:15 to 8:30 p.m. ET. And for those pretending it didn’t happen… the All-American Halftime Show, headlined by Kid Rock, has just over 21 million views on YouTube. Meanwhile, Bad Bunny’s has more than 79 million views on YouTube and climbing. 

Even with the bizarre events that unfolded because of the Benito Bowl of 2026, some things never change, which is part of exactly what he meant to say in the finale of his performance in SoFi Stadium. Although there was no shortage of buffalo chicken dip and impulsive downloads of FanDuel this year, it is increasingly hard to play jovial about patriotism. For a country that seems divided every other day of the year, it was such a joy to root for a Super Bowl team that smartly addressed the nation, made us proud to be American, and even had us shaking some ass while shedding a few honest tears (thx Benito xx). 

Working the Roots, Healing the Past

This past Summer, I had the opportunity to complete a fellowship with The Women’s Institute of Historic Hudson Valley. In my application, I proposed a research project and explained how I planned to use the library’s archives and resources to support it. I initially set out to study the medical practices that enslaved women in the Hudson Valley incorporated into their daily lives. However, what began as a focused project quickly expanded into a series of interconnected ideas.

In the paper I wrote, I examined the herbal knowledge enslaved women carried with them from their homelands and how they adapted that knowledge to an unfamiliar landscape with unfamiliar plants. While working through the stack of books given to me for this research, one text in particular stood out: Working the Roots: Over 400 Years of Traditional African American Healing by Michele E. Lee. The book compiles interviews with African American healers and documents traditional medicines and remedies passed down through generations.

Chapter 9 caught my attention most, as it explored conjuring and hoodoo remedies. In another article I wrote: From Communion to Questions My Shift Away from Catholicism, I reflected on growing up Catholic and eventually letting go of my religious identity after completing my confirmation. Since then, I haven’t identified with any organized religion; the only spiritual practice I have consistently kept is manifestation. At the same time, I have been on a personal journey to learn more about my West African roots. My fellowship offered the perfect opportunity to explore hoodoo and voodoo/vodou, not only for my project, but for myself. One of the first questions I had was: What exactly is the difference between hoodoo, voodoo, and vodou?

Voodoo originated in West Africa, particularly among the Fon and Ewe peoples in regions that are now Benin, Ghana, Nigeria, Togo, and Guinea. Enslaved Africans brought it to the Americas, especially Haiti, where it blended with Catholicism to form Haitian Vodou (note the difference in spellings, as ‘Voodoo’ is used in New Orleans, and ‘Vodou’ is in regard to the Haitian religion). Followers of Haitian Vodou believe in an unknowable supreme creator, Bondye (from the French Bon Dieu, “good god”), while priests and priestesses communicate with Loa, spirits that mediate between humans and Bondye.

The three main families of Loa—Rada, Petro, and Gede—serve distinct roles: Rada spirits are calm and benevolent, Petro are fierce and powerful, and Gede, often associated with zombies, represent the dead who obey the living. According to the Universal Life Church, the concept of zombies in Haitian Vodou emerged as a spiritual means for enslaved people to cope with the “deadness of being a slave,” reflecting Vodou’s role as a force of endurance and resilience.

Hoodoo, however, is a mix of Indigenous herbalism and European folk magic that emphasises the practical uses of magic for purposes such as healing or protection, and is not a formal religion like Vodou. Hoodoo also blends different religions into its traditions, and often calls upon Roman Catholic saints, as some hoodoo practitioners consider themselves catholics who believe in both catholic saints and African gods.

Hoodoo was developed in the American South, as enslaved Africans carried their spiritual knowledge across the Atlantic out of necessity and faith. Practitioners of hoodoo often use materials such as roots (hence hoodoo also being known as rootwork), herbs, crystals, animal parts, and sometimes even bodily fluids for ritual purposes. Hoodoo also may reference religious texts such as the bible, or more specifically, the Book of Psalms, for help from saints or others to guide the use of roots or other talismans as a part of the ceremony. 

One deity–or god–of hoodoo I especially became interested in was John the Conqueror, also known as High John the Conqueror. As detailed by Lee in her book, before the name was associated with the medicinal plant, it evolved in the African slave trade and the enslavement of African people in America. Stories often depicted High John as an African prince who was captured and put into slavery, but outsmarted his enslavers through cunning and nerve. It is said that when he was supposed to leave earth, he left his powers in the root of the Ipomea Jalapa plant, so that whenever used, his powers could be accessed by those with knowledge and faith to invoke his spirit.

This is the same plant that Fredrick Douglass, an American social reformer, abolitionist, and writer born into slavery, was given by the enslaved conjurer, Sandy Jenkins, for protection against slaveholders. He later escaped from his life of slavery. High John is said to provide protection, good luck in love and money, to command any situation, and is also used for success in court cases.

The presence of spiritual practices in African and African-American communities illustrates how traditions evolved under the weight of displacement and enslavement. Vodou preserved a structured religious framework rooted in West African cosmology and shaped by Haitian Catholic influences, while Hoodoo developed as a flexible, practice-based system that drew on African, Indigenous, and European knowledge. One key takeaway from my research was that these traditions and practices offered–and continue to offer more than belief; they provide strategies for healing, protection, and endurance.

Despite their depth and complexity, hoodoo and voodoo/vodou are often misunderstood. One of the most persistent misconceptions about voodoo/vodou, in particular, is that it is based on devil-worship or human sacrifice. This narrative has been amplified by sensationalized media portrayals. A notable example is The Princess and the Frog. Set in New Orleans, the film depicts Dr. Facilier, a voodoo priest, as the villain who uses his spiritual practices to manipulate and harm others. The Loa he communicates with are even portrayed as sinister forces. Although the film was groundbreaking for presenting Disney’s first Black princess, it still reinforces negative stereotypes about voodoo in subtle but harmful ways.

In response to these misconceptions, it felt important to highlight what hoodoo/voodoo/vodou are, and what they are not:

What It Is:

-A system of spiritual, herbal, and ritual practices rooted in African traditions.

-Practices that combine ancestral knowledge, ritual, and natural elements.

-A tool for survival, resilience, and resistance, historically providing enslaved Africans with ways to protect themselves and care for their communities in times of extreme oppression.

-A living, evolving tradition that continues to influence African American culture, contemporary spirituality, wellness practices, music, art, and community rituals today.

-A source of empowerment and community cohesion where social bonds, support networks, and collective identity are formed.

What It Isn’t:

-Devil-worship or inherently evil.

-Synonymous with human sacrifice.

-A cartoonish or ‘magical curse’ system as often depicted in movies and television.

-A monolithic tradition–practices vary by region, community, and individual practitioners.

-Inherently tied to misfortune or malevolent magic–it includes healing, protection, and positive intention.

-Superstition–these practices involve complex knowledge systems and should be coherent and purposeful.

The misrepresentation of hoodoo, voodoo, and vodou in popular culture often obscures the resilience, knowledge, and creativity embedded in these traditions.

My research this summer became more than an academic project; it became a way to engage deeply with the histories and practices that shaped African diasporic survival. From exploring herbal medicine and rootwork to learning about hoodoo and voodoo/vodou, I witnessed how knowledge was preserved, adapted, and carried forward despite enormous hardship.

This work not only expanded my understanding of history but also connected to my own journey with ancestry, spirituality, and self-expression. By uncovering these stories and challenging misconceptions, I hope to honor the ingenuity and endurance of those who came before me, and to carry lessons of care, resilience, and empowerment into my own work.