TokTails and Lynchheads

get rich quick

Yara Shahidi stars in Gucci's new campaign; Suni Lee is Hoka’s latest brand ambassador; Chappell Roan says she’d be more successful “if I wore a muzzle”; and meet the American teenager who pulled off a tennis upset for the ages.

INSTAGRAM COURTS TIKTOK CREATORS WITH BIG CASH BONUSES, theinformation
Even though TikTok’s back like it never left, Instagram is throwing resources at luring people over to their short-form video app: In additon to rolling out some new TikTok-y features — longer clips, a new CapCut dupe, etc. — the team at Instagram has been working to recruit creators with large TikTok followings by offering cash bonuses ranging from $10,000 to $50,000 a month to come over to Reels. These bonuses require creators to post their videos exclusively to Instagram first before they can share on other social networks. Looks like Charli D’Amelio couldn’t say no to such a large payout.

THESE INFLUENCERS HELPED GET TRUMP ELECTED. NOW THEY’RE READY TO PARTY, rollingstone
At the Power 30 Awards, a pre-inauguration party sponsored by TikTok for the content creators who helped usher Trump back into the White House, the crowd — “a mix of vaguely conservative recent college grads there to pop bottles and dance, a handful of old school D.C. politicos and lobbyists, and a grab bag of influencers,” wrote Taylor Lorenz — sipped TokTails (tequila, ginger beer, lime juice), danced to Waka Flocka Flame, and toasted to the future. I’m going to be thinking about this for awhile:

Ginsberg says that he hopes Trump will institute things like a Bitcoin national reserve, make election day a national holiday, ban trans people from the military, and deport the CEO of YouTube. “Send him to an island, Guantanamo,” Ginsberg says of YouTube CEO Neal Mohan, as retribution for banning right wing creators. He then asks his girlfriend if she has any opinions. She bows her head. “She doesn’t think women should vote,” Ginsberg says.

BUMBLE FOUNDER WHITNEY WOLFE HERD RETURNS AS CEO AMID A DATING APP DECLINE, theverge
After just over a year on the job, Lidiane Jones resigned from her role as Bumble CEO and will be replaced by founder Whitney Wolfe Herd. Since Herd left in early 2024, Bumble has seen a drop in average revenue per user and total revenue, alongside a 50% share price decline that followed a 2024 app redesign allowing men to initiate conversations, going against the original ethos of the app.

GEN Z AND THE REBIRTH OF THE LONDON SUPPER CLUB, ft
A new wave of Gen Z-focused supper clubs popping up across London, reflecting this generation’s preference for meaningful, offline connections over the fleetingness of dating apps and nightlife. The resurgence of supper clubs — “a well-established and often affordable form of social dining” — highlights Gen Z’s community-driven mindset, shaped by widespread isolation (which I mentioned last week) and dissatisfaction with largely digital relationships.

DAVID LYNCH’S ENDURING LEGACY, EULOGIZED BY 7 YOUNG LYNCHHEADS, teenvogue
”A boy I liked when I was around 14 talked to me about Mulholland Drive,” said Lucila Safdie, 27. “I pretended I knew what he was talking about, so I went to my dad and asked him about it. He said I would actually love David Lynch, and we watched it that night, followed immediately by Blue Velvet. I think that moment changed my brain chemistry forever.”

SHOULD KIDS REALLY LEARN ABOUT GETTING RICH?, thecut
Exposed to glamorous depictions of “self-made” millionaires across social media, many Gen Alphas now believe that success comes from manifesting wealth rather than through hard work. Kathryn Jezer-Morton writes:

Just as much as we should be teaching our school-age kids how to handle small amounts of money, we should be explaining how influencers get paid, and how algorithms favor certain kinds of content over others, and how the attention economy works to juice up provocative points of view while ignoring information that is weighed down by the burden of nuance and moderation.

One last thought: