SCREENSHOT weekly roundup: Keith Urban makes Phoebe Bridgers’ hit list and the Irish win big

By SCREENSHOT

Published May 19, 2023 at 01:22 PM

Reading time: 2 minutes

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Image courtesy of Keith Urban from Instagram

Keith Urban, aka country music star and the world’s biggest fan of hair straighteners, recently hard launched secret couple Phoebe Bridgers and Bo Burnham at a Taylor Swift concert. On 16 May 2023, Urban and wife Nicole Kidman took a video of themselves dancing and singing along at the Swift ‘Eras’ concert in Philadelphia.

What might’ve appeared to be a seemingly sweet clip of the loved-up pair enjoying themselves quickly shifted into an internet sensation—one that gen Zers will be likely obsessing over for at least three to five working days. In the background of the video, eagle-eyed netizens spotted none other than Bridgers and Burnham engaged in what can only be described as a passionate make-out sesh.

While the pair had been previously romantically linked, nothing had been confirmed. That was until Urban decided to share their love with the entire world… Oops.

According to the BBC, Facebook parent company Meta has begun rolling out a paid verification service in the UK. Similar to Elon Musk’s Twitter Blue, the service gives Facebook and Instagram users a blue tick for ‘only’ £9.99 a month.

Anyone who applies for the verification service must be 18 years old or over and must have a government ID. I don’t know about you, but the idea of being ‘Meta verified’ doesn’t sound all too appealing to me.

The decision for these platforms to introduce more tiered payment options reiterates the financial struggles which have faced the tech industry over the past few years. Google layed off 12,000 employees at the beginning of 2023, and was followed by similar companies such as Spotify, Amazon and Microsoft.

During the 2023 BAFTAs, one thing became abundantly clear, recognition of Irish talent (both off-screen and on) has skyrocketed recently. At this year’s awards, six Irish stars were nominated within the acting categories, and blockbuster The Banshees of Inisherin was also up for Best Film.

In fact, all award season, including during the Golden Globes and the Oscars, Irish films and acting talent have been at the forefront. Derry Girls star and Northern Irish actor Jamie-Lee O’Donnell spoke on the red carpet at the BAFTAs about the recent uptake in recognition: “I think it’s always had the talent, it’s just getting the recognition now. I think Ireland in general, you’re seeing it all over the world now where there’s a lot of Irish talent both in front of the camera and behind. I think it’d be hard to find an Irish family that doesn’t have somebody who is a good singer or a good dancer or has good craic.”

On Monday 15 May, Home Secretary Suella Braverman attended the National Conservatism conference in London and delivered an overtly offensive speech regarding immigration in the UK. Within her address, Braverman insisted that it is “not racist” to want border controls, told the audience that we “must not forget how to do things for ourselves,” and that white people should feel no guilt for the crimes committed by other white people in the past.

In effect, the politician is practically implying that in no way, shape, or form should present day white individuals take any responsibility, or even acknowledge, the extensive history the UK has in regard to upholding and sustaining institutionalised racism and societal racism. The idea of acknowledging white privilege has always been a problem for those on the right, so is anyone truly surprised by these statements?

It’s also unsurprising that Braverman went on to note that those on the left “are ashamed of our history and embarrassed by the sentiments and desires expressed by the British public,” as reported by The Guardian.

The only small piece of pleasure any of us can take from this speech was the fact that Braverman was disrupted and heckled by a group of protestors from activist group Extinction Rebellion.

While I would love to simply drop the infamous Urban hard launch TikTok in here for viral social media post of the week, that would technically be cheating. So, instead, here’s a stunning video of Halle Berry at the The Little Mermaid premiere in London.