There were two main takeaways from Monday night’s episode of The Bachelorette: (1) Tyler Cameron is uncomfortably attractive, and (2) Luke Parker needs to calm down. Luke, who established himself as a front-runner in the first two episodes of the season, fell into a common franchise trope this week: Man Who Can’t Deal With Other Dudes Kissing The Bachelorette Even Though That’s Literally the Show. We’ve seen this happen a million times, both on The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, but Luke’s frustration over other guys’ flirting with Hannah was next-level. He acted like a spoiled child every time he saw Hannah give someone else attention, and what’s worse: He got aggressive—so much so that Hannah had to tell him to chill out.
But Luke didn’t take Hannah’s warning at first. He kept cutting into other guys’ time at the group date cocktail party and, at one point, actually waited outside the door for Hannah, who was talking to someone else. It was perplexing, to say the least, and Bachelor Nation had thoughts:
Luke Parker is obviously tuned into fans’ reactions, because he took to Instagram shortly after the episode aired and owned up to his questionable behavior.
“I just want to address the elephant in the room here really quick,” he posted alongside a photo of himself and Hannah. “First I want you all to know how hard it has been for me to watch myself this season so far. Regardless of what is aired AND IF @alabamahannah and I are together or not my behavior in all situations has been and will continue to be exposed.”
He continued, “I have learned a lot and I am continuing to learn about my flaws as a man. I’m the first to admit I am far from perfect. This journey has giving me a great opportunity to grow and mature as a man, for that I am grateful. For those of you who are on this journey with me I am grateful for your support and hope you get to learn and grow from my mistakes with me!”
ABC
I, for one, applaud him for copping to what he did in the episode. But based on this Instagram post and what we’ve seen in the Bachelorette teaser trailers, we still have a lot more Luke drama in store.
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The Bachelorette airs Monday nights at 8:00 P.M. ET on ABC.
I played field hockey throughout high school and was ecstatic to earn a spot on my Division One team in college. That spot turned out to be on the bench—I saw a full one minute and eighteen seconds on the field my entire time there—but I learned some invaluable lessons. The first and most important was never to fart if I was wearing one of those huge team parkas on colder game days. The parkas were so thick and absorbent that a fart would remain forever in its fibers. The second, not quite as important, but close, was that new team members must pay their dues. I’m a huge fan of newcomers paying dues. When you’re the most recent addition to a team or a job or a wedding you weren’t technically invited to, it’s so crucial to be quiet and listen. I don’t think people do that enough these days, and it bothers me. Obviously, I don’t mean that newbies should be doormats—but if you’re not fully informed or acclimated, take a minute to observe and learn.
When I joined the cast of The Office in 2009, I was the newcomer. As such, I was quiet, obedient, and I tried really hard not to fart. (Only two of those things felt easy to pull off, by the way.) This cast and crew had already created five seasons of a hit sitcom together, so they knew what they were doing. I was quite aware that I had won the lottery by landing a job on this show; my primary goal was, appropriately, not to derail the train.
I have a tendency to confuse speaking up with being rude, but the two actions are completely different.
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt was a new situation for me, because I was the lead. While the actual stars of the show are its creators, Robert Carlock and Tina Fey, I was playing the title character. I had gone from being number 18 on the call sheet to number one. (A call sheet is the piece of paper that gives all cast and crew their call times for that day’s work, and cast members are all assigned a number.) We filmed the pilot of Kimmy in March 2014, and I felt that I had earned this job. I had worked on a television show for four years and paid my dues. Still, owning this feeling of entitlement and confidence was, honestly, a pretty unfamiliar sensation for me.
I once read that if you put a smile on your face even if you feel depressed, you will actually feel better. Somehow that smile sends a signal to your brain that you are feeling good, so your brain then releases happy hormones or what have you, and voilà! Look, I’m not a scientist. I might have glossed over some of the details. But my point in bringing up this example is that sometimes, pretending to feel confident in a situation where you don’t actually feel confident can be just as effective.
And so, when we started work on Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, I told myself to be confident. If I didn’t understand a scene or feel comfortable with a certain line, I spoke to Robert or Tina. If I didn’t like the way my hair looked, I asked if we could do it differently. I learned that I could be assertive without being obnoxious. I have a tendency to confuse speaking up with being rude, but the two actions are completely different. It’s not bad manners to make your voice heard. It’s essential.
Ellie Kemper with Jon Hamm on the set of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Universal Television/Getty Images
At the end of Kimmy’s first season, we meet Reverend Richard, who was played by our national prince and hero Jon Hamm. I’ve mentioned this before, but Jon Hamm taught me theater in high school; he had attended our high school, and then returned to teach for a year after he graduated college. I tossed and turned the night before my scene with him. I was a wreck. There could not, in the world, be a nicer person than Jon Hamm. To me, though, he was and forever will be my teacher. Oh, he is also Don Draper. I felt intimidated. It makes sense to me that I was experiencing some, ah, anxiety.
So what happened? I showed up to work, I got a big hug from Hamm, and then I promptly flubbed my very first line. “I’m sorry,” I said, turning red and looking away. “I thought—I’m sorry.” Jon Hamm smiled. Jon Hamm didn’t mind. “I’m really nervous!” I blurted out. Jon Hamm said, “Well, you shouldn’t be.”
Jon Hamm was right. I didn’t need to be nervous! I had earned my spot. And with that, I made the decision to focus not on my nerves, but on my work. (I still flubbed some lines. He’s Don Draper, people!!! But I flubbed those lines very, very confidently.)
I will trust my instinct, I will listen to my gut, and I will be clear about what I want.
Now that the show is ending, I feel sad—but I’m so proud of the work we have done. The biggest compliment any of us receives about the show is when fans tell us it’s helped them through a difficult time. To be a part of something that helped someone is the very highest honor. Robert and Tina created a comedy that has a heart, something I feel is nearly impossible to do.
As I move forward to the next project, I’ll take a lot of lessons with me. The most important one will be to bet on myself. I will trust my instinct, I will listen to my gut, and I will be clear about what I want. After all, if I don’t bet on myself—who will? (Besides Jon Hamm, I mean. True prince.)
Once you “make it” as a celebrity—especially one known for your sense of style—the natural next step of 21st-century fame is to start a fashion brand. And, well, sometimes celebrity-backed fashion ventures (ones that will remain nameless) simply don’t pan out. But other times, the transition from actress or singer into fashion designer and budding multi-hyphenate is seamless—and it shows, with brands that make headlines for their runway shows or lines that are essentially gifts that keep on giving for more than a decade. Whether it’s powerhouse Rihanna‘s headline-making lingerie line Savage x Fenty, or Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen‘s dual-threat fashion lines, The Row and Elizabeth and James, there are plenty of success stories out there. Scroll down for our favorite celebrities turned designers.
For the first time in history, the most uncomfortable people on a red carpet weren’t women; they were Ryan Seacrest and Giuliana Rancic. Last night, the 75th annual Golden Globe awards tore through Hollywood with the brute force of the Molotov cocktails launched from the hands of Frances McDormand in Three Billboards. The show was packed with powerful feminist speeches, caustic digs at the lack of nominated female directors, and inspiring sisterhood. But while the show undoubtedly differed from previous Golden Globes ceremonies, the most conspicuous difference from years past was the red carpet. For as long as I can remember, I’ve never seen women as transparently happy, at ease, and proud on a carpet. After years of begging to #AskHerMore, the pre-shows finally reflected an alleviating tonal shift. Women held correspondents to a higher standard, and the result was a gripping and educational show aligned with a long overdue celebration of female voices.
But Golden Globes are often dubbed “Hollywood’s biggest party,” so with such grim undertones and all the fraught conversation leading up to Sunday night, why were women so relieved? For women like Meryl Streep and Nicole Kidman, who have been doing this for decades, I’m sure it was mollifying to answer questions outside of, “How do you balance your career with motherhood?” Beyond that, though, they were finally able to speak about social causes that matter so deeply to these women—and to women around the world.
When it comes down to it, sexual harassment is men’s problem too.
Many actors gave up their own time reserved for speaking on their nominations and breadth of work to instead give voices to the activists they brought as dates—like Michelle Williams, who brought Tarana Burke, the #MeToo founder and Senior Director at Girls for Gender Equity. Or Emma Watson, who brought Marai Larasi, the Executive Director of Imkaan, an organization that aims to protect black women and girls from violence. It was interesting to watch red carpet correspondents like Ryan Seacrest or Carson Daily grapple with this new standard—as a feminist, there was something inherently voyeuristic about watching them learn about a breadth of intersectional feminist causes and organizations, live on TV. They were not just there to celebrate fashion and excellence in film and television, they were also expected to uphold a certain level of journalistic integrity.
Actually, journalistic integrity was a running theme this year. Jodi Kantor, one of the journalists who broke the Harvey Weinstein story in October, represented the New York Times as a red carpet correspondent. Activism aside, many red carpet institutions were visibly divergent and sometimes even gender-swapped. While women were busy giving voices to major activists or answering tough questions about social issues, male actors were left treading water. Actors like Milo Ventimiglia and Joseph Fiennes were asked to speak about the most buzz-worthy shows. That’s not abnormal, of course—what was abnormal was that all of these shows were led by women. Ventimiglia, for example, declared that his favorite show this year was The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel; Fiennes’ spoke on the brilliance of The Handmaid’s Tale, in which he plays a supporting role. Not only were women centered and elevated on this year’s red carpet, but their male counterparts were put in a position to obsequiously praise them. When have we ever seen that happen before?
Overall, there was a soothing blend of activism and celebration. GLOW’s Alison Brie gave an interview in which she flawlessly swung between speaking on the strength of female stories and the issues that plague women in the workplace everyday. It’s a perfect example of why women were so happy last night: They were being rewarded and admired for their brilliant work while giving marginalized women an opportunity to shine a light on causes that are both personal and global. Meanwhile, Seacrest asked Neil Patrick Harris time-filling fluff like, “What’s your New Year’s Resolution?” To which Harris declared, “Better posture.”
With that being said, the carpet wasn’t perfect. I do wish men were held to a higher standard, and a little corner of my soul acerbically cackled every time one was asked about something petty (like the New Year’s resolution question above). Still, when it comes down to it, sexual harassment is men’s problem too. Since the beginning of our cultural reckoning with harassment and assault, women have been responsible for changing the culture. It was women who broke the story, it was women who came forward, it was women who organized #MeToo and Time’s Up, and it was women who banded together to make this powerful blackout statement on the red carpet.
“The statement of solidarity shone bright last night, brighter than I
had expected.”
Men were left twisting in the wind to answer questions about their attempts at solidarity—like wearing a Time’s Up pin—but their lack of participation was their choice. While I appreciated the male actors who gave women the opportunity to speak louder than them last night, the pervasive problem of workplace harassment and assault will never change until men begin holding each other accountable too. Take Justin Timberlake: He made a pre-carpet Time’s Up statement on social media, but was never asked about his role in Woody Allen’s latest film Wonder Wheel on the carpet. Overall, the men last night looked to be along for the ride—and maybe they are. Eventually, though, we will have to demand more and hold them to the standard we held women to last night. At its core, women and men are victims of these crimes; there’s something inherently victim-shaming in forcing women to deal with it on their own.
But enough about men. The real winners last night weren’t just the women who brought activists as their dates, but rather the brazenness and unapologetic manner in which they attacked the carpet. Debra Messing, Laura Dern, and Eva Longoria called out E! for the gendered pay gap that led Catt Sadler, the network’s former correspondent, to quit—while live on E! Their audacious lash outs against the culture that has stifled them for decades echoed the characters we celebrated last night, like Mildred Hayes in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing or Molly Bloom in Molly’s Game.
Admittedly, part of me was skeptical about the blackout statement. In a time when women are breaking free of our chains and calling out misogyny in brutal ways, it felt icky to be told what to do or wear. But the statement of solidarity shone bright last night, brighter than I had expected. Because the fashion on the carpet was so uniform, it took the pressure off dressing to impress. There were no statement dresses or standouts to distract from the unified message of the night—something I could’ve never predicted.
Obviously, the work here isn’t done. But with the very promising announcement of the Time’s Up legal defense fund and the activists that swept the carpet last night, this looks like just the beginning.
