Latest news with #TheHouseBunny
Newsweek
a day ago
- Politics
- Newsweek
Sorority Girls Are the Right's Latest Obsession
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. If you've taken a quick glance at social media over the last few weeks, you'll likely have spotted two things. The first, viral posts of sorority girls dancing, part of the #RushTok trend that's been picking up steam as university life kicks off in August. The second, equally viral posts that the left is mad about it. Social media is inundated with posts claiming that the videos of sorority girls are proof that America is "back," a return prompted by the election of President Donald Trump and a cultural shift toward conservatism. If the narrative online is to be believed, the comeback has come much to the dismay of the left. But how mad is the left really? While posts outlining their outrage in response to sorority girls receive millions of views online, the outrage itself is harder to find. Sorority Girls Are The Right's Latest Obsession Sorority Girls Are The Right's Latest Obsession Newsweek Illustration/Getty/AP Newsroom As the right zeros in on sorority girls as evidence of a changing political culture, they are ushered into the echelons of the conservative hot girl, a new-age political pin-up, that this time comes complete with choreographed dances and coordinated outfits. But are these videos actually having a political impact outside of the right, or is the idea that they are an invented issue to fan the flames of a culture war? Newsweek spoke with experts to find out more. The Viral Phenomenon of the Sorority Girl Standing in front of red, brick buildings, adorned by circular columns and Greek lettering, sorority girls dance in unison. The movements are synchronized, the smiles are wide, and the energy is infectious. And millions of pairs of eyes fall upon the videos. Sororities and fraternities have been a cornerstone of pop culture for decades, in part thanks to movies like Legally Blonde, The House Bunny and Neighbors. Videos like this have been going viral over the past few years, but they have largely been divorced from political conversations, until now. This interest, though, isn't surprising, according to Diana Z. O'Brien, a professor of political science at Washington University in St. Louis. "For years, there's been extensive media coverage of how both universities and young women tend to lean left politically," O'Brien said. "Against that backdrop, young women at universities participating in activities perceived as more conservative—such as joining certain sororities—is going to spark the interest of some observers." The direct response to these videos is often positive. The comment sections are filled with fire emojis, compliments on their outfits and replies like "go girls!" But with great virality comes great visibility, and there is a significant amount of negativity in response to this trend. According to a recent report from The Independent, some sorority girls have stepped away from posting, and some sororities have advised against posting, or, speaking to the press. Some sororities regularly going viral include Alpha Chi Omega, University of South Carolina; Kappa Kappa Gamma, Oklahoma State University; Alpha Chi Omega, University of Tennessee; Delta Gamma, University of Tennessee; and Delta Zeta, University of Georgia. Newsweek has contacted these sororities for comment via social media message. Looking at the content, it appears there is little either tangentially or tangibly political about it. But that hasn't stopped it from becoming a political symbol. Joe Kinsey, of the outlet Outkick, wrote in a post on X: "The purple hair lesbians have to be furious that SEC sororities ARE BACK." As of press time, that post has been viewed 37 million times. In an email shared with Newsweek, Kinsey said: "After years of being told that biological males should be in the pool winning national championships over U.S. Olympic female swimmers, and that it was the fair thing to do, this country is back to a place where sorority girls & Sydney Sweeney now run the show, and a huge swath of America seems to love that cultural shift." He continued: "Have sorority girls always been doing their thing since TikTok was invented? Sure, but pop culture narratives were being run by fanatics on the coasts with the help of their sympathetic friends in the left-wing media. This country has clearly experienced a shift in the dominant voices with sororities and Sweeney appearing ready to lead the way." Kinsey's comments reference first the discourse over trans women competing in women's sports, something that has been a hot button issue in online culture wars for years. In February, Trump signed an executive order blocking trans women from participating in women's sports, which has been condemned and criticized by advocacy groups and the LGBTQ+ community. A post on X from Fox News about the phenomenon reads in part: "The viral 'RushTok' trend is making waves once more, with some calling it proof that "America is back," describing sorority girls as "warriors on the frontline of TikTok" pushing back on lockdown-era culture and showing renewed Gen Z patriotism." The post has been viewed more than 450,000 times as of reporting. On the other side of the coin, though, are people arguing that there isn't a real political connection here. One post shared a video of the sorority Texas Aephi, University of Austin, and was captioned "MAGA Texas girls are beautiful." The post was shared by an account that highlighted that the sorority is in Austin, which is in Travis County, which voted for then-Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024. Generally speaking, when it comes to politics, young women tend to identify as liberal. Polling from Gallup shows that an average of 40 percent of young women identified as liberal between 2017 and 2024, an increase from 32 percent for 2008 to 2016, and from 28 percent for 2001 to 2007. Newsweek spoke with pop culture content creator Morgan Harris, aka @Yaptrapped, about this trend. "The schools that are famous in Rushtok and really gave rise to it are mostly located in the South, I think these sorts of videos can act as a sort of advertisement for who conservative young women are even though in reality you have no idea of the political leanings of everyone that is in that video," Harris said. O'Brien echoed this, telling Newsweek that the conversations should center on the sorority members themselves, rather than "just the political meanings outsiders attach to them." New Chapter in the Culture Wars Playbook Amid the disparate online discourse about the trend lies a question: Why are social media trends like this used in online culture wars, and what role do they play? Dr. Mary Anne Franks, Eugene L. and Barbara A. Bernard professor in intellectual property, technology and civil rights law at George Washington University Law School, told Newsweek via email: "Fabricated controversies are the currency of the online culture wars, and that is why the right tends to win them." "Outrage bait like "liberals HATE this new trend!" doesn't just activate tired stereotypes and trigger negative emotional responses, it also serves to distract us from true outrages and exhaust the psychological resources we need to process and respond to them," Franks said. Newsweek also spoke with Dr. Stacey Kerr, an independent researcher, and Mardi Schmeichel, an associate professor in the College of Education and Human Sciences at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, who shared joint responses about the trend. "The political right's framing of sorority videos as "making the left mad," despite no evidence of widespread outrage, is a classic right-wing tactic: manufacturing a fake conflict as a way to signal dominance," they said. "The truth of the claim doesn't matter; in fact, the falsity is part of the point. By claiming that feminists and liberals are furious, right-wing commentators get to perform a win on two fronts: they cast themselves as lighthearted defenders of "fun" and "tradition" and they invite their audience to savor the imagined spectacle of their opponents seething." "Part of why this works so well in the context of RushTok is its sheer popularity: the videos draw huge audiences and have become an easy cultural reference point," they added. Newsweek also spoke with Deen Freelon, a professor at the Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania, about the trend. "This seems to be the latest iteration of a broader phenomenon in which conservative individuals accuse left-leaning people of holding views the latter deny holding," Freelon said. "I think it shows how little the right understands the left [although the opposite may be true as well], and how much popularity and money there is to be gained in stoking division around even the most trivial of matters," Freelon added. A Trump supporter wears a MAGA hat outside the Stellantis plant in Sterling Heights, on the outskirts of Detroit on October 16, 2024. A Trump supporter wears a MAGA hat outside the Stellantis plant in Sterling Heights, on the outskirts of Detroit on October 16, 2024. CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty Images Pom-poms, Pep, and Politics The online obsession with sorority girls comes at a time when conservative politics has become obsessed more generally with women. Whether it's the rise of the conservative hot girl, the proliferation of the trad wife, or the conservative female influencer, the face of right-wing politics is changing. There's a new political poster girl in town, and she's putting on her MAGA cap with a manicured hand. While the actual politics of sorority girls is blurry, the aesthetic plays into the shift and new gendered era of politics that has been unfolding online in recent years. This may be playing a part in why conservatives have latched onto this content. Catherine Rottenberg of Goldsmiths, University of London, told Newsweek: "These images of sorority girls dancing and ostensibly celebrating 'America'—are part of a larger MAGA gendered aesthetic." Rottenberg said that the celebration of these clubs and organizations, and the way they are framed, reinforces a gender binary: "The idea that we need women to be women and men to be men." Rottenberg added that while distraction might be "part of the strategy," with this trend, it is also indicative of a wider promotion of "ideas of gender and femininity." Kerr and Schmeichel echoed this, telling Newsweek: "Women's bodies and choices have always been a political battleground, and the women participating in these hyper-feminized sorority performances are primed to serve as avatars for a "victorious" traditional America, with young, white, conventionally attractive women joyfully embracing old-school femininity in open defiance of what the right paints as liberal efforts to stamp it out." The content creator @yaptrapped highlighted a similar theme, telling Newsweek: "Conservatives need beautiful young conservative women to sell the dream of the traditional family to young conservative men and so I can see how those videos would be a powerful advertisement for that, even though it is a false advertisement based on details you couldn't possibly know about people in an internet video."
Yahoo
31-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
What to watch on Netflix Canada: New TV shows and movies, plus what's being removed in June 2025
We can't wait for the return of Ginny & Georgia, America's Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders and the final season of Squid Game. But Netflix is also removing some beloved franchises from its Canadian site in June. The Jurassic Park movie collection will be leaving Netflix next month. Along with the Transformers movies that are on the streaming platform. Additionally, both How the Grinch Stole Christmas and Dr. Seuss' The Grinch will no longer be available on Netflix. For comedy fans, Bridesmaids will unfortunately be removed from Netflix next month, in addition to The House Bunny, Grown Ups, Spy and My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2. After the bombshell Season 2 finale where Georgia (Brianne Howey) was arrested at her wedding, we get to dive into whether or not she will actually be convicted of murder, and how that impacts her family. Luke Brunner (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is back after his last mission where he saved his own daughter. Now he faces new villains, including an 'old flame' who 'threatens to destroy the world.' The late Toronto Mayor, Rob Ford, is the subject of an upcoming Netflix Trainwreck story. Directed by Shianne Brown, we look back at the 2010 Toronto mayoral race and the scandals that followed. Starring Holt McCallany, Maria Bello, Melissa Benoist, and Jake Weary, inspired by true events, The Waterfront is a family drama about the Buckley family in North Carolina as their fishing empire begins to crumble. The series was written and executive produced by Kevin Williamson (Scream, Dawson's Creek). Everyone's favourite cheerleaders are back as we get a glimpse into setting the 2024-25 Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders squad, from the auditions all the way to the NFL season. Some fan favourite cheerleaders return, with some newbies added to the mix. We're just weeks away from the third and final season of the beloved show Squid Game, a series that has captivated people around the world. After the devastating Season 2 finale, Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) is at "his lowest point yet," as the players face even deadlier games. Meanwhile, Front Man welcomes "mysterious VIPs" and his brother continues his search for the island. Watch TV shows, movies on Netflix June 1 100 Days with Tata Baby Shark's Big Show Bridesmaids Bumblebee Central Intelligence The Fast Runner Geronimo: An American Legend Gran Torino Grown Ups The House Bunny How Do You Know How the Grinch Stole Christmas The Hungover Games The Intern Jurassic Park Jurassic Park III The Lost World: Jurassic Park Muster Dogs The Outfit Rhymes for Young Ghouls The Snow Walker That's My Boy To Do List Transformers: Age of Extinction Transformers: Dark of the Moon Transformers: The Last Kight Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Truth or Dare June 3 Blacklight June 4 Doubt Girls Will Be Girls June 5 Dr. Seuss' The Grinch June 6 My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 June 8 The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones Spy June 9 2020 June 11 Baby Driver June 19 Loving Annabelle June 25 Stateless June 26 Signs
Miami Herald
18-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Miami Herald
Angara Collaborates With Actress Rumer Willis on Exclusive Mother's Day Jewelry Edit
A sentimental yet stylish selection of gifts, thoughtfully chosen by Rumer, to celebrate motherhood. LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA / ACCESS Newswire / April 18, 2025 / Leading international fine jewelry brand Angara has partnered with actress, singer, and entrepreneur Rumer Willis to launch a heartfelt and stylish Mother's Day Jewelry Edit. This exclusive collaboration celebrates motherhood through Angara's timeless designs, thoughtfully curated by Rumer, marking one of many key moments in her journey as a creative and the founder of her new lifestyle brand, Rumer Has It. The Angara X Rumer Willis collection features meaningful and elegant designs inspired by Rumer's own journey into motherhood, and the bond she shares with her daughter, Louetta. For Rumer, jewelry has always been more than just an accessory. "I've been a treasure hunter since I was a little girl - always searching for that feeling more than the perfect look," she shares. That emotion runs through every piece, chosen to resonate beyond style and speak to the heart. This Mother's Day special edit features 14 carefully selected designs, each embodying timeless elegance and meaning. From a symbolic two-stone piece that honors the bond between a mother and child to interlocking circles that represent unity and unbreakable love, this collection is rich with sentiment. In addition to the meaningful designs, the selection also includes pieces that reflect Rumer's signature style-modern, effortless and sophisticated. "I partnered with Angara to curate a collection that feels like an extension of my heart. Becoming a mother cracked me open in the most beautiful way, and my love for jewelry has only deepened - not just as adornment, but as heirlooms that hold emotion, memory, and meaning," Rumer reveals. "Each piece in this collection is a tribute to the tenderness, the strength, the wild transformation of motherhood. A celebration of the moments we carry - and the ones we pass down." Now available on this exclusive edit offers a beautiful way to honor motherhood with jewelry that carries both deep meaning and beauty. For more information about Angara, updates and exciting announcements, please visit and follow @AngaraJewelry on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. About Angara:Angara is an online DTC fine jewelry retail brand, offering handcrafted jewelry dressed in natural colored gemstones, high-quality diamonds and pearls, with every piece made to order. Founded in 2005 by husband-wife duo, Ankur and Aditi Daga, Angara has grown to become the leading source for fine gemstone jewelry. About Rumer Willis:Rumer Willis is an acclaimed actress and singer, and the daughter of Hollywood icons Bruce Willis and Demi Moore. She has made her mark in both film and television, with notable roles in Empire, The House Bunny, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Sorority Row. She also won Season 20 of Dancing with the Stars, earning widespread praise for her talent and stage presence. Most recently, Rumer launched her lifestyle brand, Rumer Has It, to help people discover beautiful things that speak to their soul. Contact InformationAngara Inc. press@ 527-4367 SOURCE: Angara Inc. press release
Associated Press
18-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Associated Press
Angara Collaborates With Actress Rumer Willis on Exclusive Mother's Day Jewelry Edit
A sentimental yet stylish selection of gifts, thoughtfully chosen by Rumer, to celebrate motherhood. LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA / ACCESS Newswire / April 18, 2025 / Leading international fine jewelry brand Angara has partnered with actress, singer, and entrepreneur Rumer Willis to launch a heartfelt and stylish Mother's Day Jewelry Edit. This exclusive collaboration celebrates motherhood through Angara's timeless designs, thoughtfully curated by Rumer, marking one of many key moments in her journey as a creative and the founder of her new lifestyle brand, Rumer Has x Rumer Willis Collaboration The Angara X Rumer Willis collection features meaningful and elegant designs inspired by Rumer's own journey into motherhood, and the bond she shares with her daughter, Louetta. For Rumer, jewelry has always been more than just an accessory. 'I've been a treasure hunter since I was a little girl - always searching for that feeling more than the perfect look,' she shares. That emotion runs through every piece, chosen to resonate beyond style and speak to the heart. This Mother's Day special edit features 14 carefully selected designs, each embodying timeless elegance and meaning. From a symbolic two-stone piece that honors the bond between a mother and child to interlocking circles that represent unity and unbreakable love, this collection is rich with sentiment. In addition to the meaningful designs, the selection also includes pieces that reflect Rumer's signature style-modern, effortless and sophisticated. 'I partnered with Angara to curate a collection that feels like an extension of my heart. Becoming a mother cracked me open in the most beautiful way, and my love for jewelry has only deepened - not just as adornment, but as heirlooms that hold emotion, memory, and meaning,' Rumer reveals. 'Each piece in this collection is a tribute to the tenderness, the strength, the wild transformation of motherhood. A celebration of the moments we carry - and the ones we pass down.' Now available on this exclusive edit offers a beautiful way to honor motherhood with jewelry that carries both deep meaning and beauty. For more information about Angara, updates and exciting announcements, please visit and follow @AngaraJewelry on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. About Angara: Angara is an online DTC fine jewelry retail brand, offering handcrafted jewelry dressed in natural colored gemstones, high-quality diamonds and pearls, with every piece made to order. Founded in 2005 by husband-wife duo, Ankur and Aditi Daga, Angara has grown to become the leading source for fine gemstone jewelry. About Rumer Willis: Rumer Willis is an acclaimed actress and singer, and the daughter of Hollywood icons Bruce Willis and Demi Moore. She has made her mark in both film and television, with notable roles in Empire, The House Bunny, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Sorority Row. She also won Season 20 of Dancing with the Stars, earning widespread praise for her talent and stage presence. Most recently, Rumer launched her lifestyle brand, Rumer Has It, to help people discover beautiful things that speak to their soul. Contact Information Angara Inc. [email protected] (844) 527-4367 SOURCE: Angara Inc. press release
Forbes
11-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
A Moving Conversation With Anna Faris On Beauty, Comedy And Inner Growth
It has been more than two decades since actress Anna Faris' breakout performance in Scary Movie left audiences eager for more. Ever since, her prolific film career has defied stereotypes around women in comedy; forever disproving the notion that beautiful women are not funny, or able to laugh at themselves. 'Being in the world of comedy, you're forced to make an ass out of yourself all the time,' Faris tells me on a video call. 'That's the only way to do comedy [is] with sincerity. It has given me liberation in my identity as a female.' In spite of her fame, there is an easy relatability to Faris. One element of her comedic charm stems from the fact that she is disaffected by conventional perceptions of femininity. Still, she is undeniably beautiful. In films like The Hot Chick and The House Bunny, her sex appeal is intentionally juxtaposed with her goofy and self-deprecating humor. Her caricature-like depictions of blonde bombshells and sorority girls poke fun at the demeaning stereotypes and labels ascribed to women. In a word, it's satire. She is also quite humble—particularly when it comes to her looks. Though she admits she was not a 'tom boy' growing up, she reacts in absolute shock when I ask her whether she is a girly-girl. 'No, not at all. I think I'm [definitely] not a girly girl,' Faris says emphatically. But she is a 'girl's girl' in that she champions and uplifts other women. This is obvious in the warm way that she speaks of her castmates, actresses Leslie Mann, Isla Fisher and Michelle Buteau, in her current project, Spa Weekend. The actual beauty of Anna Faris is multi-layered and paradoxical. Her performances bring levity and laughs, yet she is deeply introspective. She describes herself as always having been 'serious and quiet.' Photo by Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic FilmMagic She is adamant that the poised and put-together feminine archetype is not one that she identifies with. Instead, Faris she compares her own bathroom to a sorority house's—a cluttered mess of beauty products competing for counter space. 'As an adult, I'm one of the sloppiest, messiest people. I'm the kind of person whose stuff is everywhere. I have globs of toothpaste and foundation in the sink,' she tells me. She then jokes that she 'sometimes' flushes the toilet. The sorority reference brings to mind her role as the good-hearted Shelley Darlingson in The House Bunny. In the film, she teams up with campus outcasts to help topple the social hierarchy of Greek Life. 'One of my most joyous [film] experiences was definitely The House Bunny. That was such a labor of love,' Faris reflects fondly. 'When you're playing someone whose intentions are so good and who has such generosity of spirit, it can't help but infiltrate who you are a bit.' I bring up a scene from the movie in which her character—a playmate— repeats names in a deep, overtly masculine voice to the shock of her onscreen sorority sisters, including the actress Emma Stone. I realize a moment too late that I have just engaged in one of the most cliché exchanges between a celebrity and fan. Faris, a seasoned professional, not only knows the exact scene I am referencing, but performs it for me, telling me, 'Oh, well, nice to meet you, Jessica,' in the same voice she used in the film. On the surface, the scene might seem like a simple moment of surreal humor to elicit laughs. But the film, like many of her roles, highlights the absurdity of such divisive social dynamics. Faris' warmth and kindness could not be further from a person that buys in to this type of pretense. Even her confession of her untidy bathroom eschews the pedestal of celebrity. Anna Faris partners with Scrubbing Bubbles Easy Clean. Anna Faris The irony is that our conversation is taking place thanks to her partnership with the bathroom cleaning brand, Scrubbing Bubbles. Not only is the A-lister not above cleaning the bathroom, it was one of her household chores growing up. Jokingly describing her mother as a 'Debbie Downer, but in cleaning form,' Faris recalls spending her formative years painstakingly 'using an old toothbrush to scrub all the nooks and crannies of the bathroom.' As an adult, she went in the polar opposite direction. She calls her reactive sloppiness 'some kind of rebellion in me, I guess.' Her partnership with the bathroom cleaning company thus has a humorous, personal connection. As she reflects on her experience working with the brand, I marvel at her ability to be so gracious when she is clearly so busy. For one thing, she is multitasking. Faris is taking our call while away filming her latest movie. She describes how the close-knit cast of women have created a supportive environment on set, bonding over shared experiences like motherhood. Photo by: Lloyd Bishop/NBC via Getty Images Lloyd Bishop/NBC via Getty Images This frenetic work schedule is also occurring in the wake of a personal tragedy. Faris tells me that she lost her home in the devastating Los Angeles wildfires. Just five days later, she was already back to work filming the promotional video for their collaboration. Her sense of gratitude is touching as she tells me that she appreciates the partnership on 'multiple levels,' recalling the way that they relocated her into a hotel. In fact, her gratitude seems to trace back to her sense of wonder at where her career has taken her; in one moment, I sense past traces of imposter syndrome. 'For a long time, I never thought I could make money acting anyway. I didn't really understand why I was in the world of comedy because I was never a comedic person,' she says. 'But it's given me so much personal joy in the simple ability to be able to laugh at myself.' It is almost as if personal tragedy has brought her sensitive heart has been brought to the surface. Faris' most touching insights come as she reflects on the personal growth she has found and cultivated through comedy itself. 'Comedy has helped me develop a better sense of myself. I know it seems a little unrelated, but I always had trouble laughing at myself. That feeling of being embarrassed was the worst feeling and cut to my sense of pride so deeply,' she explains. 'But being in the world of comedy, you're forced to take those risks' Photo by Raymond Hall/GC Images GC Images Through a process of repeated exposure and inundation, Faris confronted her deepest insecurity—and made an incredible career out of it. It touches on the very crux of what it means to be human and evolve. 'I'm really grateful that I could fall flat on my face at a red carpet and just be fine—I could be okay with that, I really could,' she comments. '[Although] I don't quite know how that wraps its head around the idea of what it's like to be feminine.' Faris' inner beauty stems from the fact that as the world has witnessed her remarkable career trajectory from the outside, she was engaged in personal growth within. Even as a global celebrity she is not exempt from the human experience, whether falling victim to a community-wide tragedy or doing inner work. Too often, conversations with stars barely scratch the surface. Yet Faris bravely and authentically shows up as herself. In providing this glimpse of what is typically kept hidden from the world, she revealed her most beautiful role yet. Generosity of spirit, indeed.
