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Twitter rolls out paid verification and it’s already a disaster
On Wednesday, Twitter rolled out its new Twitter Blue subscription service under the direction of unhinged billionaire Elon Musk.
Musk revealed his plans for Twitter Blue in late October, saying the subscription would give users features like verification, priority in replies, mentions, search, and “half as many ads” for $7.99 USD a month.
As expected, allowing users to pay for verification has been a high-key nightmare for the platform.
As noted by Vox: “In the hours after blue checks were put up for sale, Twitter was flooded with all kinds of verified impersonators, from Jesus to a fake (but verified) LeBron James announcing he wanted to be traded away from the Lakers. Brands were also hit, with a fake (verified) Nintendo account tweeting an image of Mario flipping the bird.”
Despite Musk’s insistence that fake verified accounts would be dealt with quickly to mitigate any issues or confusion they may cause, several of these impersonator accounts stayed up for hours.
Twitter has since added additional context to a profile’s verification, which can be found by clicking on the blue tick.
One of two options may appear now— letting users know if the account is verified “because it’s notable in government, news, entertainment, or another designated category” or because “it’s subscribed to Twitter Blue.”
Read the full story via Vox.
TikTok is convinced that creator Chris Olsen is behind the Pleasing account rebrand
Over the past two weeks, TikTok has been flooded with videos speculating that popular creator Chris Olsen is running the account for Harry Styles’ beauty brand, Pleasing.
Pleasing launched in 2021 with Harry Styles at the helm (theoretically, at least). The brand is best known for selling a range of nail polishes housed in its signature triangular bottles with circular caps.
The company’s TikTok account underwent a massive rebrand last month, going from highly curated, aesthetically pleasing content to hilarious and off-the-cuff content posted from a mobile phone in someone’s home.
This has been wildly successful and has garnered a lot of attention for the account.
Users believe Chris is behind the changes for several reasons:
Similarities between Chris’ home and where the Pleasing TikToks are shot.
Similarities between Chris’ humour and the humour displayed in the new Pleasing content.
Chris has been posting a lot about Harry Styles recently.
While neither Chris nor Pleasing have confirmed the validity of this theory, there is no denying that this is a fantastic case study of how a brand can see tangible results quickly by enlisting the help of those who know its target audience best.
Read the full story via Centennial Beauty.
Taylor Swift superfan Mikael Arellano lands a feature in Rolling Stone
The king of SwiftieTok was interviewed by Rolling Stone this week, proving that wholesome content can still make headlines.
Mikael Arellano started blowing up on TikTok in August for lip-syncing to scenes of Euphoria.
An avid Taylor Swift fan, Mikael naturally took to the platform to express his excitement when ‘Midnights’ came out, creating easy-to-replicate dances in his bedroom to the album. (Big OG TikTok vibes.)
With over 500K followers and counting, Mikael’s dance for ‘Bejeweled’ went viral. YouTuber Colleen Ballinger even included his dance in one of her Miranda Sings live shows.
“When the ‘Bejeweled’ dance began to take off I was like ‘Oh my God!’ It felt like a dream when people started to do my dance. I was honestly so shocked.”
There are now over 150,000 videos set to the song, most of which are using Mikael’s dance.
Read the full interview via Rolling Stone.
Trans influencer Nikita Dragun placed in men’s unit amid Miami arrest
Nikita Dragun was arrested on November 8th at The Goodtime Hotel in Miami for causing a disturbance and disorderly conduct.
The trans YouTube star and beauty mogul had allegedly been walking around the pool area naked, where she disregarded orders from security to respect the hotel’s rules.
Police were called and Nikita allegedly opened a bottle and sprayed water in their face.
Reports reveal that Nikita was arrested on charges of battery on a police officer, misdemeanour disorderly conduct, and misdemeanour battery.
Hours later, TikTok user @potatothuginnn shared an alleged clip from a Zoom court hearing in which it appears Nikita asks a judge if she must remain in the men’s unit at the jail.
“Do I have to stay here in a men’s unit still?” Nikita asks, to which the judge responds, “Yeah, I don’t make the rules up there.”
Nikita posted a $5,000 bond and was released.
On being confined to a men’s unit, her publicist spoke to Miami’s Local 10 News.
“The situation with Nikita, who is legally female, being placed in a men’s unit of a Florida jail is extremely disturbing and dangerous […] This decision made by the Miami-Dade County Corrections Department directly violates their protocol, which mandates that transgender inmates are classified and housed based on safety needs and gender identity. Nikita has been released and is now safe. Thank you for respecting her privacy during this time.”
Watch the video on TikTok.
Is Bella Poarch an industry plant?
TikTok star Bella Poarch shocked fans this week when TMZ revealed she filed for divorce from her secret husband of four years.
On November 6th, Bella filed for divorce from a man named Tyler Poarch.
The couple got married in January 2019 and Bella has kept him off her social media platforms, never once mentioning that she was in a relationship, let alone married for the entirety of her career.
Bella addressed the situation in an Instagram post.
“I will address my divorce when I am ready to speak about it. In the meantime, please respect mine and Tyler’s privacy. My team will be taking over my socials and posting certain obligations that need to be fulfilled.”
There are so many mysteries about Bella and her instantaneous fame — including questions about her real name, her actual birth date, her first viral video, the success of her music career, and now her secret husband — which has all led to speculation that she’s an industry plant.
Read the full story via Centennial Beauty.
Jeffree Star announces he is quitting YouTube
In the second installment of Shane Dawson’s new YouTube docuseries, Jeffree Star reveals he is quitting YouTube after nearly 10 years.
Last week, Shane released the first episode of a new multi-part series on his relationship with Jeffree Star and their lives post-cancellation. The creator posted the second episode to his YouTube channel on November 8th titled, ‘The New World Of Jeffree Star.’
In the episode, Jeffree speaks to the rise of short-form video and the death of beauty YouTube, citing this as his reason for leaving the platform.
“People don’t go to YouTube anymore to see [makeup collection] reveals. They just go on TikTok. It’s like YouTube for beauty is being ‘Myspace’d'” he goes on to say. “I’m not in love with it [TikTok]. It’s not inspiring, but I think it can be fun, but I actually did enjoy long-form content.”
While many long-time viewers of Jeffree stopped engaging with his content after his cancellation, his decision to quit YouTube is significant. Being one of the most prominent creators of the golden age of the beauty community, Jeffree leaving YouTube truly marks an end of an era.
Journalist Kat Tenbarge started a series debunking all of Shane and Jeffree’s lies throughout this new documentary, which you can watch on TikTok.
Did we actually learn anything from Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me?
Centennial Beauty’s podcast, Renegade w/ Lauren & Jordyn, reviews Selena Gomez’s new documentary. In opposition to nearly every other review online, they argue that the documentary fell short of expectations, leaving out tons of important context and painting Selena Gomez in an unflattering light.
Listen to the full episode of Renegade w/ Lauren & Jordyn on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
One final thought: