Ariana Grande and Starbucks teamed up for a new drink, Baby Cheesing is sweeping the internet, Kourtney Kardashian’s highly-hyped business Poosh could be coming after Goop, and more stories shaking up the web this week…
1. Ariana Grande and Starbucks Are Serving Up A New Drink
Ariana Grande and Starbucks are a match “made in marketing heaven.” The brand that Gen Z & Millennials consistently rank as a favorite and one of their best-loved celebrities have debuted a new drink: the Iced Cloud Macchiato. For the uninitiated into the world of the #Arianators (Grande’s Next Level Fandom), the singer loves clouds: she even has a cloud tattoo and a cloud perfume. The new drink comes in caramel and cinnamon variations, and according to Rolling Stone, is a whipped-up, beer-foam-like concoction complete with enough caffeine and sugar to “provide a sustained, numbing headache.” Starbucks themselves describes the drink as “a cloud in a cup.” But the reason the drink achieves its light and fluffy consistency is because it uses egg whites—a fact that’s triggered backlash among Grande fans that know the star is a vegan, reports Teen Vogue. But true fans will have noticed a Twitter post from the woke young singer where she’s drinking the macchiato with a hashtag #trythesoyversion.
2. People Are Literally Throwing Cheese At Babies
Parents are “cheesing” their babies, and it’s exactly what it sounds like. One dad’s Facebook video showing him tossing a slice of American cheese on his son’s betrayed face has gotten over 41 million views and is credited with inspiring the the Cheesing Challenge which Eater reports “is spreading like wildfire” on social media. Now, videos of people surprising their babies with a well-placed cheese to the forehead is a trending prank according to Rare, with videos like @sambremmer’s getting creative by cheesing dogs and racking up over 30 million views. Of course, some are calling out the challenge for being morally questionable, like @chrissyteigen, who tweeted, “I love a prank as much as anybody but I cannot get myself to throw cheese at my adorable, unsuspecting baby who has all the hope and trust in the world in me.”
3. Could Poosh Be Kourtney Kardashian’s Goop Competitor?
The internet is very excited about Kourtney Kardashian’s new business venture—even though no one knows what it is yet. An Instagram post of a mostly-nude Kourtney with the simple caption “C O M I N G. S O O N. @poosh” has over 2.4 million likes and the Instagram account it links to already has 2.3 million followers. Publications like Cosmopolitan are speculating that Kourtney is leading up to the launch of a lifestyle brand that could compete with Goop. (If nothing else, the names are undeniably, perhaps questionably, similar.) Eager fans and followers can click on over to Poosh’s website, where they can share their email address to “be the first to know” about the brand. Meanwhile, her sister Kylie Jenner is going viral for Forbes calling her “the youngest self-made billionaire ever.” Not everyone agrees with the self-made part, but her company Kylie Cosmetics is an undeniable money maker—and if Kourtney sees similar success, you can expect Poosh to become a household name.
4. Divorce Videos Are Trending On TikTok
Social media has changed the way many announce their divorce. YPulse found that nearly one-third of Millennials & Gen Z say they may get divorced one day and The Outline reports that if and when that day comes, many post about it instead of tediously calling every friend and relative. Sometimes the act can go sideways, as couples use the web to “air dirty laundry,” but when done with tact, posting on social media “opens the door for a different kind of communication that can be easier” and can be a channel of support. But the practice has progressed beyond announcements among friends on Facebook—now, some couples are using an app known for its seconds-long, lip-syncing clips to announce their big news and details about the split. A Twitter thread with 26 million likes and over 3.5 million views of the first video recently called the internet’s attention to “divorce TikTok,” which @Mikeala_wild calls “the most underrated Tik Tok [sic] category.” The Daily Dot reports the genre is full of videos of people dramatically taking off their rings, setting rings down on divorce papers, and even (unfortunately) having usually-private talks with their children about what the breakup between mom and dad means.
5. Links to Pass:
The first official Game of Thrones trailer has 31 million views on Twitter and counting, Gigi Hadid has another controversial shoot to answer for, a Parisian street is overcrowded with influencers so its residents are fighting back, one Uber driver’s creative way of making conversation has everyone laughing, demonic summoning circles made of emojis and dreams are all over Twitter, and a new meme is making the rounds that anyone who has ever been a third wheel will relate to.
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