Latest news with #AvanJogia
CBC
08-04-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
Autopsy (of an Ex-Teen Heartthrob) by Avan Jogia
Avan Jogia grew up as a teen idol. He stumbled into the spotlight during the birth of the internet, the early days of Instagram and Twitter, before everyone online was a star. He spent his time in that spotlight writing, observing the cult of celebrity, the hilarity, the absurdity, and sometimes sinister side of being idolized before you've even had the chance to decide for yourself who you are. Now, in his most revealing and honest work to date, he has assembled a book of poems as an act of self-dissection. Part boozy lovesick rage and part personal reflection on the nature of fame, Autopsy (of an Ex-Teen Heartthrob) is a sharp, tantalizing collection of poems examining Avan's relationship with ego, idolatry, love as an act of worship, rage as an act of prayer, and sadness as confession. Through vivid imagery (and sometimes startling honesty) Avan cuts himself open and observes the false gods he has worshipped, the ways he has sinned, and exhumes a version of himself that looks like someone we all know: a person searching for the means to cure pain, mend the wounds of insecurity, and satiate cravings for love.
Buzz Feed
14-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Buzz Feed
Halsey Shut Down "Body Cops" Criticizing Her Posting NSFW Photos On Instagram
Halsey has a word or two for the haters. On March 10, the "Without Me" singer shared a series of posts on their X account about reactions to Instagram photos from earlier this week, and I'm glad they're speaking up. On Instagram, Halsey initially shared a photo of her in a black knit sweater and red plaid skirt. Halsey serving face. Halsey in thought. Halsey being cheeky. Halsey in a Pepper Zero-G Wirefree Lift Up bra. And Halsey serving body-ody-ody. At first glance, all the fans, including Halsey's fiancé, Avan Jogia, appeared obsessed with their photos. But where there is fun and body positivity, there are always haters. On their X account, Halsey shared, "I can't believe how angry everyone is that I wore a push up bra. Damn I really still got it like that." When an X user asked, "Wait who's angry? The straights?" Halsey responded, "The body cops." Whether it's her very revealing cameo in the 2024 film Maxxxine... ..or their music videos for " safeword" or " Graveyard," Halsey's always been about showcasing sensuality, sexuality, and their body.
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Halsey lists historic home for $5.5 million
Halsey has listed her Los Feliz Spanish colonial revival home for $5.5 million (£4.35 million). The news of the listing comes less than two years after the Without Me singer bought the historic home in September 2023. The singer-songwriter, who announced her engagement to actor Avan Jogia in September, paid about $5 million (£3.96 million) for the elegantly restored house at the time. The grand residence has certified Historic-Cultural Monument status. It was built by architect Arthur W Larson in 1928 for restaurateur Clifford Clinton, the founder and namesake of the theatrical Clifton's Cafeteria near Downtown Los Angeles, which closed in 2018. The singer's LA home comes complete with a home cinema, a swimming pool, and a bucket-load of original 1920s charm, including many Spanish Colonial accents such as a wrought iron staircase, decorative archways, vaulted ceilings and stained glass windows. Prior to buying the Los Feliz home, Halsey lived in a Calabasas mansion that she bought from Liam Payne for $10.2 million (£8 million). She lived there for two years before moving into the Los Feliz property. Last week Halsey announced her For My Last Trick tour that will kick off in Concord, California, on 10 May. "My funeral was cancelled, so I'm taking the show on the road instead," she declared as part of the video trailer.
CBC
18-02-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
Former Nickelodeon star Avan Jogia reflects on the dark side of being a teen actor
As a former Nickelodeon star, Avan Jogia had to grow up fast. The Canadian actor got his breakthrough role playing Beck Oliver on the teen sitcom Victorious, which thrust him into the spotlight and turned him into a heartthrob. Now, he's released a new book of poetry, Autopsy (of an Ex-Teen Heartthrob), which takes aim at the artifice of Hollywood and the crushing pressures that young actors face. "I've been writing poetry since I was 15 years old," Jogia tells Q 's Tom Power in an interview over Zoom. "A lot of that poetry was about my frustrations about being on a show that I don't think really represented me creatively." During his time on Victorious, Jogia says he felt like he was simply performing "adolescence and purity," while not actually experiencing much of an adolescence himself. Not only that, but he felt more like a product or a brand than a real person. "Part of being a teen idol is being sort of shapeless as a person and not really having that strong an identity," he says. "There's really a desire for the 'hot guy' to just be a non-person…. You represent a comfort and a perfect thing." Jogia's poem I am on set getting yelled at is about his experience being chastised while filming a Season 2 episode of Victorious. Last year, a five-part documentary series, Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, revealed how Nickelodeon failed to protect its child actors from abuse and misconduct. "I think that there's sort of a mock sympathy, especially around documentaries like Quiet on Set," Jogia says. "It's ambulance chasing and tragedy porn masquerading as sympathy. I'm very distrustful of public interest about this subject because I think it's clickbait-y and it's for media outlets and studios to make money. I don't think the sympathy that they're getting from the audience is real." The reason Jogia turned to poetry as a creative outlet to unpack his feelings and observations about the sinister side of fame is because it's very personal, immediate and independent. "Directing a film takes a lot of time and a lot of money and a lot of people," he explains. "Acting requires a gig. It's cathartic, but you're also saying other people's words…. Painting is messy, a lot of paint. But writing is one of the most immediate impulses that I have."
USA Today
14-02-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Avan Jogia dissects the dark side of Nickelodeon and teen stardom in 'Autopsy'
When Avan Jogia turned 17, his life changed in two ways. He moved to Los Angeles after landing his first acting job as teenage heartthrob "Beck Oliver" on Nickelodeon's "Victorious," and his mom was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Abruptly thrown into Hollywood, Jogia faced an unsettling juxtaposition — he was at the start of a promising career, simultaneously navigating newfound independence amid his mother's cancer diagnosis. But before he could establish his identity, an idealized version of himself was being fawned over in Tiger Beat and J-14 magazine spreads. 'I was having a more serious experience than I probably should have been,' he says. 'There's an unreality that orbits Nickelodeon. Everyone's like, 'Wow, these kids got picked out of obscurity and they're going to be stars, and all of their backstories are normal and everyone is healthy.' It doesn't allow for reality, for humanity to occur.' Jogia turned 33 on Sunday. On Tuesday, he released his second book 'Autopsy (of an ex-teen heartthrob),' a collection of poetry and prose chronicling his coming of age under the spotlight. Ahead of his sold-out launch party at The Strand in New York, Jogia and I spoke over Zoom. His voice — pensive and composed — has hardly changed since his Nickelodeon days, which he says he also realized while rewatching old interviews from "Victorious." Behind him, an abundance of black, silver, and gold birthday balloons still decorated the walls. He turned the camera to show me a display of decadent mochi donuts, and it seemed like one celebration had bled into the next. Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle. Unlike the festive décor, "Autopsy" is pretty serious. It doesn't shy away from themes of death, exploring suicidal ideation and mortality bluntly alongside the perils of fame. Teen fame creates a 'weird fantasy relationship' Jogia says the illusion of unconflicted success is what creates a 'weird fantasy relationship' between the 'teen idol' and the audience member, or the fan, and ultimately disconnected his experience of fame from reality. Jogia always felt like an outsider — even with a front-row seat at parties in Hollywood Hills. "Hollywood is a fraternity, a boys' club I've never felt comfortable or included in," he writes in "Autopsy." 'I'm a poor kid from Vancouver who grew up in government housing, who, as soon as the show started, my mom got cancer,' he says. 'When you remove that context, I think it's a disservice to both myself and to the audience member experiencing me.' 'I imagine Jennette (McCurdy) must have felt the same way about her life," he adds. 'I'm Glad My Mom Died':How Jennette McCurdy escaped her narcissistic mother's 'excruciating' abuse Jogia got creative with his promotional videos for "Autopsy." In one, he sits in a sterile room as an old interview of him is projected onto a white sheet, draped over a gurney. He lip-syncs to his younger self: "What I love about my job is that I get the chance to hopefully brighten people's day." In the interview, Jogia is indistinguishable from his "Victorious" character Beck, who also had aspirations of being an actor. 'I was Beck at that time," he says. "Those are little Avan's dreams that I'm saying. It was part of the nauseating amount of promo they made us do at that time.' In 2023 Jogia made his directorial debut with a Canadian film "Door Mouse," and finally "found his role" in the industry. However, "place is a different thing," he says. "I think that what's changed for me is the delusion, or the (idea) that the work that I want is out there for me. I don't feel that anymore. I feel like if I want to be a part of it, I'm going to have to make that personally." Avan Jogia on filming 'Victorious': 'We weren't seen as the kids we were' The second to last piece in the book, 'I am on set getting yelled at,' takes place in 2010 during the filming of 'Ice Cream for Ke$ha,' a Season 2 episode of 'Victorious." 'I am still a teenager, and I am shaking with rage. The kind of quiet anger that makes you change… I am tired, I am hungover, and I am bored,' Jogia writes, detailing his frustration as he continuously mispronounces Kesha's name. 'There's a famous 'Victorious' blooper of me messing that line up. That was a horribly embarrassing day for me,' he tells me with a slight laugh, like he is still masquerading the discomfort the reel brings. And while in past interviews Jogia has said he doesn't look back on 'Victorious' fondly, he wanted to be very clear in our interview that it was 'so much fun on set.' His co-stars — Ariana Grande, Elizabeth Gillies, Leon Thomas, Daniella Monet, Victoria Justice, Matt Bennett and more — are his 'college friends,' and the most important part of his Nickelodeon experience. This week, there's been an outpouring of love between the former co-stars. Grande commented on Jogia's Instagram that she 'couldn't resist' ordering a copy of his book ("i love you," she wrote), and Jogia previously shouted out Thomas' latest album 'MUTT,' which entered the Billboard Top 100 on Feb. 8. The years spent filming 'Victorious' were 'some of the best years' of Jogia's life, spent with his best friends, but it was also 'grueling' and ultimately a job that required 'long, exhausting hours.' Often, he 'felt alone in L.A.' 'We weren't seen as the kids we were,' he says. 'When I look back at those moments that were embarrassing for me and joyful for others, I'm more interested in how that kind of dichotomy can exist. That my reality and someone else's reality can be so disparate.' 'Autopsy' examines mortality, remembrance and celebrity death Writing 'Autopsy,' Jogia didn't realize how often thoughts of death landed on the page — the word appears 15 times throughout the book's 225 pages. In the poem 'it's important to die in a cool way,' he writes: 'They say fame is immortality / But it's not really … In order to matter after your death / Firstly, your death must be untimely.' 'A book about self-dissection and looking at an old version of yourself sort of requires you to talk about and look at death for two reasons,' Jogia explains. 'One being, you have to kill off the older version of yourself… and two, your legacy is so closely tied to your mortality.' But Jogia doesn't believe in immortality, and he's not scared of being forgotten. That's inevitable, he says. But when I ask him if the thought of being remembered as a former Nickelodeon star scares him, he says yes. 'We encapsulate people in general for a single portion of their life,' he says. 'When something really human happens (to a celebrity), like their death, you boil down their entire life to an aspect of their life, and in doing that, you remove their dignity.' Poetry and what it means to Jogia At the end of our call, we talk about how a sector of poetry has taken a dark turn towards appeasing the masses — Instagrammable squares that refuse to ignite discomfort. 'It's losing a tiny bit of teeth,' he says. I tell Jogia to read 'Self-Portrait Against Red Wallpaper' by Richard Siken, who he hasn't heard of. There's a line I cite from 'Birds Hover the Trampled Field' that resonates: 'The enormity of my desire disgusts me.' 'Autopsy' wasn't written as an act of healing, or in hopes of virality, but rather as an act of self-discovery and self-dissection, Jogia explains. He attempted to be entirely honest with his lived experience — facing the enormity of his desires and fears as a naïve actor at the start of a burgeoning career, and as a young man who was trying to find his way in the world, just like anyone else. If his writing makes you uncomfortable or forces you to look inward, that means it's working.
