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Iran denies role in cyberattacks on French supermarket refrigerators

10 November 2026 at 16:54

PARIS — Tehran denied accusations by Paris that it was behind the recent series of cyberattacks targeting supermarket refrigerators in France, calling the claims “baseless and biased.”

The Iranian foreign ministry said in a statement Tuesday that it “strongly condemns” France’s “worn-out policy of making accusations against Iran.”

French Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-Noël Barrot on Monday said Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was responsible for the “unprecedented” cyberattacks against several supermarket chains last month. On Tuesday, Barrot said Paris would not “rule out anything” in its response to the attacks, which affected 700 food distribution sites.

“We’ll take all measures, including those we will not disclose publicly, which we ourselves consider proportionate and necessary to deter any further attacks and punish those responsible for this unacceptable aggression,” he said.

Iran’s ambassador to France has been summoned to the foreign ministry after French prosecutors said that they were opening an investigation into the hacks.

According to French investigators, Iran’s cyber unit linked to the IRGC, Shahid Kaveh, carried out the destructive attacks.

The French investigation will focus on the unit’s head, the Paris prosecutor’s office said in a statement, adding that about 20 fires had been started because of the cyberattack.

“The attackers took remote control of the equipment via web interfaces to trigger abnormal defrost cycles of unlimited duration, while disabling the security alerts on the sensors that were supposed to activate once a certain temperature was exceeded,” it added.

On Monday, European Council President Kaja Kallas said that the topic of alleged Iranian hacks would be discussed at next week’s European foreign affairs council. If the attribution is confirmed, she said, “[Europe’s] response should be strong.”

The European Commission is also looking into these cyberattacks, which European Agriculture and Food Commissioner Christophe Hansen described as a “deliberate attempt to disrupt our food supply chain.”

Remember This Forgotten ‘Gossip Girl’ Rival That Lasted Just One Season?

7 November 2026 at 15:26

When Gossip Girl premiered in 2007, it didn’t take long for audiences to become obsessed with the scandalous lives of the Upper East Side elite. Between designer wardrobes, vicious social rivalries, and messy romantic entanglements, the CW struck television gold. Naturally, the network wanted to recreate that success. Enter Privileged, a forgotten teen drama that arrived in 2008 with wealthy teenagers and family secrets.

Starring JoAnna Garcia as Megan Smith, the series followed a Yale-educated aspiring journalist whose career takes an unexpected detour when she loses her job and accepts a position tutoring two wealthy teenage sisters in Palm Beach, Florida. Rose (Lucy Hale) and Sage Baker (Ashley Newbrough) are the rebellious granddaughters of cosmetics mogul Laurel Limoges (Anne Archer). Megan’s assignment is simple enough: get the girls into Duke University. Unfortunately, convincing two spoiled socialites to open a textbook proves considerably harder than navigating the New York tabloid scene.

Before ‘Pretty Little Liars,’ Lucy Hale Starred in This Forgotten CW Teen Drama

Based on Zoey Dean’s novel How to Teach Filthy Rich Girls, Privileged had all the ingredients of a quintessential teen CW production. There were sprawling mansions, attractive young people, complicated love triangles, and enough designer clothing to make Paris Hilton jealous.

However, unlike Gossip Girl, which reveled in the cruel politics of Manhattan high society, Privileged took a slightly softer approach. Its central character was an outsider looking into a world of extraordinary wealth rather than another socialite fighting to maintain her position at the top.

Ally Maki as Breckyn, Melissa Ordway as Jordanna, Lucy Kate Hale as Rose, and Ashley Newbrough as Sage in PRIVILEGED on The CW Network. Photo: Vivian Zink/The CW

That distinction gave the show some unexpected charm. Garcia brought an approachable, occasionally neurotic energy to Megan, while Hale and Newbrough made a convincing pair of privileged teenagers who could turn practically anything into a competition. The series also benefited from its connection to the creative team behind Gilmore Girls, giving its otherwise familiar premise a little more heart and humor.

Unfortunately, charm and expensive-looking production design weren’t enough to keep viewers around. Despite a promising premise, Privileged struggled to find an audience and the CW canceled it after just one season. It’s 18 episodes wrapped up in February 2009, leaving plenty of unanswered questions about what might have happened next.

Television networks were desperate to find the next Blair Waldorf, but their failure in doing so proves just how one-of-a-kind Leighton Meester really is. Privileged’s Palm Beach mansions and spoiled teenage protagonists captured the same fascination with wealth that made Gossip Girl a phenomenon, even if it never quite reached the same heights.

The post Remember This Forgotten ‘Gossip Girl’ Rival That Lasted Just One Season? appeared first on VICE.

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'Privileged' tried to follow in the footsteps of 'Gossip Girl’s success but was canceled after just one season.

The Strange Story of ‘Bridalplasty,’ the Reality Show That Gave Away Plastic Surgery

7 November 2026 at 15:15

There was a time when reality television seemed determined to find new and increasingly unhinged ways to exploit women’s insecurities for entertainment.

We had The Swan, Extreme Makeover, Bridezillas, and Addicted to Beauty, but just when you thought television had exhausted its supply of ways to make women feel bad about themselves, E! came along with an idea so ridiculous it almost sounds like a parody: What if you made plastic surgery the grand prize of a wedding competition?

Enter Bridalplasty, one of the strangest reality shows to emerge from the golden age of early-2010s television.

Premiering in November 2010, the 10-episode series brought together 12 brides-to-be who were willing to compete for the ultimate wedding-day makeover. Hosted by former Miss USA and Meet the Barkers star Shanna Moakler, the show followed a group of engaged women living together in a mansion as they battled it out in a series of wedding-themed challenges. The catch? They weren’t competing for a honeymoon or an expensive wedding dress. They were competing for plastic surgery.

Each contestant met with celebrity plastic surgeon Dr. Terry Dubrow (Botched), who helped them compile a wish list of procedures. Breast augmentations, nose jobs, liposuction, tummy tucks — nothing was off the table. Every week, the winner of a challenge earned one of the procedures on her list. Then, remaining contestants voted to eliminate one of their fellow brides. It was essentially The Bachelor meets The Swan, with a little bit of Survivor thrown in.

Naturally, the challenges were just as bizarre as the premise. Contestants were tasked with writing wedding vows, planning honeymoons, and proving their bridal expertise, all while navigating alliances, arguments, and the occasional post-surgery recovery.

But the show’s biggest selling point was arguably its finale. The last bride standing would receive every remaining procedure on her wish list, along with a lavish, celebrity-style wedding reportedly worth $100,000. Even stranger, her fiancé wouldn’t see her newly transformed appearance until she walked down the aisle. Nothing says happily ever after quite like surprising your future husband with an entirely new face.

This Forgotten E! Reality Show Had One of the Most Disturbing Premises in TV History

The series also attracted plenty of criticism. Medical professionals questioned by ABC News said the ethics of turning surgical procedures into competition prizes, with concerns that the format trivialized the risks of cosmetic surgery. At a time when makeover television was already encouraging women to view their bodies as projects in need of constant improvement, Bridalplasty took that message to an uncomfortable extreme.

Ultimately, Illinois native Allyson Donovan emerged victorious, receiving her collection of cosmetic procedures and dream wedding. The show wrapped its first and only season in January 2011, with its finale attracting just 600,000 viewers.

While the show might seem laughably excessive today, its underlying premise feels a little less dated than we’d probably like to admit.

The post The Strange Story of ‘Bridalplasty,’ the Reality Show That Gave Away Plastic Surgery appeared first on VICE.

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In 2010, E! aired a competition where brides won cosmetic surgery, with one contestant earning a dream wedding and a dramatic reveal.

AI is the new dating dealbreaker

6 November 2026 at 18:00
a hand holding a phone open to a dating app with a robot as the profile picture

When Irene moved to San Francisco last year, she started using dating apps as a way to meet new people, get to know her new city, and connect with others who care about the things she does. After the 25-year-old analyst downloaded Hinge and started swiping, she noticed a trend.

"Hinge has a prompt where you can say, 'We'll get along if''," she recalls. "Sometimes people will be like, 'Fuck AI.'"

Usually, the people who include this kind of value statement on their profile work in the arts, nursing, maybe graphic design. Within the span of a few minutes of sitting down and swiping, Irene shows me a second profile where this happened once mo …

Read the full story at The Verge.

The midterms were a youth revolt

5 November 2026 at 18:35
Abdul El-Sayed, in a black T-shirt and sunglasses, poses for photos with young supporters.
Democratic US Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed greets supporters on the campus of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on November 3, 2026. | Jeff Kowalsky/AFP via Getty Images

One of the most consequential subplots of the 2026 elections is that young voters swung back toward Democrats — hard. 

Early data shows that 66 percent of adults under 30 voted for a Democrat for the House of Representatives, compared to just 31 percent who voted for a Republican — a gap of 35 percentage points — according to an analysis of exit polls from the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) at Tufts University. 

That’s a stark shift from 2024, when young voters backed Democratic House candidates by only a 14-point margin (and the Democratic candidate for president, former Vice President Kamala Harris, by 4 points). Prior to that, in 2022, voters under 30 supported them by 28 points, all according to CIRCLE.  

The stunning shift back toward Democrats wasn’t necessarily a surprise, given that Gen Z can’t afford the culture war Republicans were running on and are fed up with the rising cost of living, fearful about AI and the job market, horrified by actions taken by ICE agents, and worried about war abroad. But this week’s decisive results blew even those expectations out of the water. The fall 2026 Harvard IOP youth poll had Democrats outperforming Republicans by 37 points among young voters.   

The results are the latest confirmation that Gen Z is a voting bloc that can be swung, one that neither party will be able to take for granted moving forward, which makes sense for a generation who rejects political labels and identifies as 56 percent independent, according to Gallup data from earlier this year. In fact, Gen Z is more independent than millennials when they were their age. 

“I don’t look for anything different depending on the party. Lower prices, gas, like I just want a better quality of living and I expect that from both parties,” a 19-year-old man from New York told me in a focus group on Wednesday. 

Zooming out (pun intended), this generation grew up moving at the speed of the internet, and they vote that way too. 

Beyond the overall swing, though, there were a number of notable data points in the early analysis of Gen Z’s enthusiastic role in routing Republicans on Tuesday. Here’s what we learned about what young voters wanted from the midterms and where they might be headed next. 

The vibe shift is real

Much was made — probably too much — of Gen Z’s woke backlash, and the rise of manosphere podcasters and tradwife TikTokers in 2024 as Republicans made major gains with younger voters. 

But the election was also the latest sign that these trends may be exhausted a bit in the Trump era, and that energy is moving toward outsider politicians on the other side, like New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. 

Exit polls found that 9 percent of 18- to 29-year-old voters in Tuesday’s midterm elections identified as “MAGA.” But a whopping 34 percent said they considered themselves a “democratic socialist.” Now that doesn’t mean they’re signing up for the DSA or memorizing quotes by Marx, but it does signal that they increasingly identify more with the left wing’s more active approach when it comes to addressing issues like health care and housing costs — and willingness to buck the status quo. 

Now, of course, this is just a poll of the voters who showed up — and it’s possible young conservatives were especially reluctant to turn out this election, in part because they’d grown disillusioned with Republicans over issues like the Iran war, which is its own sign of the new mood. Fifty-three percent of voters ages 18–29 in exit polls said they previously voted for Harris, versus just 25 percent who said they voted for President Donald Trump (this fall’s Harvard IOP youth poll signaled that fewer non-MAGA conservative youth planned to vote). And a whopping 82 percent of young voters said they disapproved of Trump’s performance.

The gender gap isn’t really closing

Much ado was made about the young men who propelled Trump’s 2024 campaign victory — supporting him by a 1-point margin. They too moved left last night, backing House Democrats by 35 points, according to CNN’s voter polls. 

But even after young men’s massive shift toward Democrats, the gender gap isn’t closing — in fact, it’s still 22 points wide. And young women are a huge part of the story, too. 

Gen Z women backed House Dems by 57 points, according to CNN’s 2026 voter polls, which is a 34-point jump from 2024. Time and time again, Gen Z women continue to be some of Democrats’ most loyal supporters, in ways that can create some uncomfortable social and political divides within this age group.

The candidates matter too

But it wasn’t just dissatisfaction with the status quo that blue-pilled young people this week. Candidate quality matters too — and there are certain candidates who really outperformed with this voting bloc. 

While the party succeeded across the board, Senate candidates like Jon Ossoff in Georgia and James Talarico in Texas put up huge numbers with young voters. Ossoff won voters under 30 by 72 points, and Talarico by 60, per CNN voter polls. Both understand how to reach young voters online and in person, and talked about issues Gen Z cares about.   

They’re also both millennials (Talarico is 37 and Ossoff is 39) — two of many in a slate of next-generation candidates generating headlines this week. Across the country, from Rep.-elect Manny Rutinel in Colorado, who’s 31, to Gov.-elect Rob Sand in Iowa, who’s 44, and Sen.-elect Annie Andrews in South Carolina, who’s 46, millennial and Xillennial candidates are having a moment. 

A craving for civility

Something pretty fascinating that surfaced in many of my recent Gen Z focus groups is an appetite among young people for candidates with “character.” They’ve only known politics to be hostile, toxic, and violent (they watched Charlie Kirk get assassinated on a college campus and saw Trump get shot a year prior) — and they’re ready to turn the page on that chapter. 

“People are fatigued, especially with this administration’s alienation of certain groups and trying to spew hatred and fear. People are sick and tired of that,” a 22-year-old woman from Nevada told me last month. She pointed to Talarico’s campaign as refreshingly civil. “When a candidate like Talarico comes in and has this campaign that’s centered around hope and similarity and unifying, that just seems so new and refreshing in this period.”

Indeed, a big theme of the midterms in Texas and around the country was that Republican attacks focused on fear, culture war, and bullying — in Talarico’s case, his masculinity was attacked relentlessly — didn’t seem to help at all. And in many cases, these messages were specifically designed to fire up young men. 

And a hunger for results

There’s plenty of mysticism about Gen Z voters, but my research indicates they’re actually pretty practical. They’re looking for results, and we saw that manifest in how they voted this week. But the biggest mistake Democrats (and Republicans) could make is assuming that just because they shifted back left, they’re now Democrats. It’s just not the case. They are, perhaps, more up for grabs than ever before. 

Above all else, young voters aren’t as complicated as everyone makes them out to be — they’re looking for results. And they moved away from Trump and the Republican Party in 2026 for the same reasons they supported him and his allies in the first place — frustration with the economy, a fear of war, and a rejection of the establishment which the president spent years railing against and now has come to represent. 

This election’s first-time voters were just 8 years old when Trump was elected in 2016. Thirty-seven percent of 18- to 29-year-old voters who showed up to the polls were voting in their first midterms. They only know a political ecosystem dominated by this one man — and they’re ready for something different.

Taika Waititi’s Instagram crash out is a Trumpian sore loss

5 November 2026 at 15:00

For all the horrible things Donald Trump has wrought upon the world — and there are so, so many — he’s also taught us some important lessons. Trump is proof of several truths: A red-meat-and-stress-addled heart can withstand otherwise unthinkable conditions with the federal government’s medical secrets; reality television ruined the world; and, if we’re not careful, we’re all liable to become parodies of ourselves one day, crying about it online.

That latter bit is certainly true for filmmaker Taika Waititi, whose otherwise tacky-yet-progressive veneer cracked last weekend when he took to Instagram to condemn the poor reviews of his latest film, “Klara and the Sun.” After a torrent of bad press and worse box-office performance, the film’s distributor, Sony, opted to scale back the movie’s wide release, reducing the sci-fi dramedy’s reach from 2,000 theaters nationwide to 800, most of which returned a meager profit. Never one to take his mediocrity on the chin, Waititi deflected the negativity outward, which, as we know, always paints someone in a good light!

Waititi’s childish outburst is straight from the MAGA playbook. And while refuting film critics isn’t akin to Donald Trump’s most damning sins, Waititi’s mockery is a symptom of a problem that won’t be washed away by one blue wave, no matter how sizable.

Waititi reposted a graphic claiming that “Klara and the Sun” was “rebounding” with a 78% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, a 53-point gap from the film’s 25% critics score. (For what it’s worth, neither number should ever be used to accurately measure a film’s quality.) “I haven’t read a review of anything aimed at me or my peers in 15 years,” Waititi captioned the post. “But I do listen to the people . . . Let’s spare a thought for those sad, lost souls who couldn’t achieve their dreams of becoming artists, and thus settled, and became critics. Irrelevant. Out of touch. Obsolete. In the bin.”

Reading Waititi’s emoji-peppered caption, I was surprised to find it so carelessly evoked the Trumpian crybaby approach to social media. Whether on X or his own Truth Social, Trump’s favorite way of addressing critics and opponents has long been to toss out adjectives at will. Tack a “SAD!” at the end of Waititi’s caption, and it could easily pass for one of Trump’s poetic musings. (If only Waititi had gone so far as to parrot my personal favorite Trump quip about Barney Frank by saying, “The critics looked disgusting, nipples protruding, in front of my movie. Very very disrespectful.”)


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Ironically, all those admonishments in Waititi’s caption are also fitting descriptors for the state of Donald Trump’s agenda, the one imitated by his legions of Republican cronies spread out across America, hoping to be elected in Tuesday’s midterms. But judging by the results, MAGA’s influence is waning fast. Seven Senate seats flipped, historically red states turned blue and a spate of monumental wins popped up nationwide. The MAGA bubble popped in real time. Americans have seen firsthand what little good fascist ideology does for the average, working-class person. And though the country may not become great again overnight, it appears the last 12 years of freefall have finally been suspended — at least for now.

Not to be all, “Oh, won’t someone think of the celebrities?” about it, but such overwhelmingly positive election results left me wondering what happens to someone like Waititi, whose childish outburst is straight from the MAGA playbook. For over a decade, Trump has used social media to peddle broadly disparaging, dangerous rhetoric that has legitimate impact outside the phone screen. The reckless hatred comprising MAGA ideology is so potent that it’s bled into the ways even otherwise progressive people wield their power, like crude oil painting an ocean black. And while refuting film critics isn’t akin to Trump’s most damning sins, Waititi’s mockery is a symptom of a problem that won’t be washed away by one blue wave, no matter how sizable.

One would think that Waititi would know better. For one, the guy is 51 years old, certainly experienced and well-established enough to let a flop roll off his back. How fitting that his biggest success is the anti-fascist yet aesthetically tasteless political satire, “Jojo Rabbit,” which won the Oscar for best adapted screenplay in 2020, just as the Trump era was revving up for its second leg. That film, about a 10-year-old Hitler Youth who begins to grapple with the realities of life in 1940s Germany, examines propaganda’s influence and the power of hegemony, even if it often lacks the nuance and perspective such a satire warrants. For better, or more often, for worse, Waititi’s writing displays a self-possessed vulgarity that gets in the way of his more salient observations. Case in point: It’s downright ludicrous to stake your name on a film renouncing hate, then take aim at critics — people not exactly matched in influence to someone like Waititi — just six years later.

But this is the rot that social media creates. Whether it’s Instagram, X, TikTok, or YouTube, these sites have incentivized and monetized incendiary opinions. Their algorithms push small people into major power. What was designed to ostensibly be a great equalizer has only divided the world more, making animosity easily accessible to anyone who gets their rocks off on sewing discourse through cruelty. 

For some time now, arts critics have been easy targets on these platforms. Gone are the days of the critic playing dilettante, having intellectual conversations over martinis and cigarettes at the month’s salon for like-minded individuals. To be a critic today — to pursue one’s passion for art and writing and learning, all rolled into one — is to subject oneself to a pretty bleak existence. In most cases, the pay is meager. The hours are long. The job is demanding. And virtually no one has the patience or attention span to read an entire article anymore, let alone engage with its ideas. A legitimate critic doesn’t stumble into the job just to point and laugh; they write because they have real passion for what they cover. Surely someone like Waititi would say the same when he begins a new project after a string of flops.

If living in MAGA-world for a decade has taught us anything, it’s that things aren’t just good because one person says so. Uniformity is the enemy of art, and blind trust is the scourge of politics. There is no future without recognizing the subtleties existing between the lines.

What Waititi fails to realize is that he’s not punching up or down, but laterally. This is artist versus artist. If the context is right, a good piece of criticism can be as life-altering as a good film. But that’s hard to see when the internet has built such a wide chasm between people, reducing the impact of writing in favor of scrolling. Along with social media’s effect on human behavior, it’s had a heavy hand in blunting the journalism industry. If everyone’s a critic, then no one is, and that’s precisely why monitoring Rotten Tomatoes scores like they’re poll numbers is futile and ridiculous.

But it’s not just Waititi who’s vulnerable to this unique form of MAGA-tinged, social media-brained psychosis; critics can fall prey to it, too. Whether it’s a filmmaker, a film critic, or just your average filmgoer, social media has confined us all to its machine. No one is exempt from consumer tech’s sway. And if a writer or filmmaker wants to make a splash, tossing out an inflammatory opinion aimed at a peer is a surefire shortcut. I’ve seen this affect critics’ prose over time, with certain writers (or their outlets) favoring button-pushing pull quotes and headlines for attention. But in most cases, no critic is happy to spend two hours watching something they find insufferable. No matter how gleeful Siskel and Ebert used to look sparring over movies, their industry was built on intellectual debate in pursuit of cinematic resonance, not schadenfreude.

 

What’s most concerning in Waititi’s response is his foul self-importance, which is the real stain of MAGA politics. While an artist should avoid burdening themselves with hypothetical responses to their work before it’s even out in the world, considering the eventual reaction is worthwhile. Engaging with other people’s perceptions is a practice we could all stand to do with more grace and tact. Contemplating a differing opinion shows maturity and humility, not absolute agreement. Pointing a finger won’t do anything for a person’s growth, artistic or otherwise. America’s politicians are only just beginning to relearn that lesson, understanding the value in trying to address problems, rather than gesture toward them with a shrug.

If America’s blue wave is indeed going to usher in a new era where politicians actually act in favor of the people, and Trumpian artists like Waititi make themselves look foolish on Mark Zuckerberg’s Instagram, we owe some props to one of the century’s most prolific liberals. Aaron Sorkin’s “The Social Reckoning” actually got a few things right. In last month’s companion piece to “The Social Network,” Sorkin posited that the average American would soon be mobilized by their fatigue with MAGA politics and social media. But his director’s eye lacked style and discernment. Sorkin responded to criticisms with pleasant diplomacy, even questioning his own merits as a director versus a screenwriter. “I’m worried that the parts of directing that I’m not good at are those parts you can’t learn,” he admitted.

While there may be truth to his concern, Sorkin’s introspection is precisely the kind of pause this country could learn from. If living in MAGA-world for a decade has taught us anything, it’s that things aren’t just good because one person says so. Uniformity is the enemy of art, and blind trust is the scourge of politics. There is no future without recognizing the subtleties existing between the lines. The only thing that is, to quote Waititi, irrelevant, out of touch and obsolete is the arrogance in thinking anyone could know it all.

The post Taika Waititi’s Instagram crash out is a Trumpian sore loss appeared first on Salon.com.

The Internet Is an Angry, Optimistic Place, Week #9

5 November 2026 at 12:08

Welcome to RATED AND SLATED, the column that’s terminally online so you don’t have to be.

I never thought I’d say this, but Nick Fuentes had the right idea—a warm bath really was the best way to enjoy the US midterm election results.

Nick was a little stressed at first, but after I lit some candles and made us a couple of peppermint mochas, he really loosened up. 

Nick Fuentes shares his evening plans

“Bath, candles, peppermint mocha, GTA VI, a really comfortable blanket and a hoodie, ordering a pizza in.” pic.twitter.com/4VX5SqNF02

— AutisticClips (@AutisticClip) November 3, 2026

Afterwards, I got him a really comfortable blanket and a hoodie, and he was almost got over the big Democrat win before the pizza arrived.

It really was the perfect evening. I don’t know why anyone would say this is gay. We’re just two politics enjoyers coming together across the aisle.

RATED AND SLATED

WOKEMAXXING

the world you grew up in no longer exists https://t.co/SiY3Zdjbkk

— Joseph 🕊 (@CaudilloXIV) November 4, 2026

Hello millennial optimism my old friend. The Senate and the House are woke once more and this might just be the hopecore talking, but if we all put our pronouns back in our bios at the same time then it might just open up a hole in the space-time continuum and take us back to 2016. If we can keep Prince away from the fentanyl and get Bowie on some peptides, then maybe this whole mess can be averted.

JOHNNY DEPP AS SCROOGE

Johnny Depp made a surprise appearance in-character as Ebenezer Scrooge in NYC. pic.twitter.com/DZR6mhIfK6

— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) November 3, 2026

Can we be entirely sure that Johnny Depp is actually in character here and is not in fact being visited by the ghosts of his past (Amber Heard), present (his ruined career), and future (an assisted-living facility where staff spoon meals directly into his once beautiful face).

THE WORLD OF DAVID WALLIAMS

Hearing that "World of David Walliams" existed is like hearing about how hyenas give birth or about the man who died in the Nutty Putty Cave. Your whole impression of the world is darker for the information.https://t.co/jnLwlTHBJb

— Ben Sixsmith (@BDSixsmith) November 3, 2026

Do spare a thought for the poor VICE journalist who was on their way to Alton Towers just as it was announced that The World of David Walliams would be closing. They got as far as the service station at Newport Pagnell when the acid kicked in. Everyone started looking like a character out of Little Britain, and in the toilets, the face of Matt Lucas stared back from the mirror. Better get a Burger King, it’s going to be a lengthy detour. 

NOT HAVING KIDS

Seth Rogen has all the hallmarks of a man who’s going to leave his wife after 20+ years, impregnate someone who was born after their wedding day, and tell you fatherhood has changed his life, given him a new zest and he’s never felt a love like it etc etc etc https://t.co/jsQ5rgtWYZ

— Sarasaurus 🎗🇺🇦 (@sheebadigeebies) November 4, 2026

If a life without children seems like one of woeful self-indulgence and hedonism then think again. I’ve found a healthy outlet for the energy that would otherwise go into making a family—constructing a scale replica of the giant mecha out of Gundam Wing. While my friends busy themselves with school runs and soccer practice, I’m building a fully sustainable armored mobile suit in an abandoned warehouse just off skid row. This wholesome hobby is also environmentally-friendly as I’m only using recycled material: all these used syringes, glass pipes, ziplock bags, and sheets of aluminium foil, which I’d just be throwing away otherwise. Only problem is, I don’t know who to leave my XXXG-01W Wing Gundam to when I die, which is a pressing concern right now as my heart beat is a little off after that last speed ball.

YOU CAN’T ALWAYS GET WHAT YOU WANT

Yes, I fear @JohnLewisRetail have missed the mark this year with their Christmas ad. It seems to be another attack on grandparents.
It might however bring a great Rolling Stones song to #1 thanks to Sam Fender. https://t.co/VI2twjAl44

— Keith Mills (@KeithMillsD7) November 3, 2026

Sam Fender is a man of the people and understands that in the UK right now you can’t always get what you want—freedom of speech, an affordable pint, face-sitting porn—but if you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need from the nation’s premier department store: A new Dual Boiler Automatic Bean to Cup Coffee Machine, which, retailing at £2,249.95, you’d need Rolling Stones royalties to actually afford. 

PURE DEVOTION TO A BIT

Andrew Garfield for GQ’s Men of the Year 2026 issue

📸: Richard Burbridge pic.twitter.com/QmwJJ1wLBL

— Film Updates (@FilmUpdates) November 4, 2026

Overmono called, and they’re gonna need that dog back Andrew.

3 SMALL MERCIES

IT’S GONNA BE OK (I PROMISE)

My Chemical Romance has revealed their plans for their first studio album since 2010.

My Chemical Romance fans have waited this long. What’s another year (or two)? During their Hollywood Bowl show on Friday, Gerard Way told the crowd, “Next year, we want to go make a record, so… pic.twitter.com/N0MGZU2Fqu

— Pigeons & Planes (@PigsAndPlans) November 2, 2026

So you’re telling me that in 2028, Donald Trump will be out of work and we’re gonna get a new My Chemical Romance record? Those Etsy witches really have been busy recently. 

RED PANTS

To the fellas reading this: don’t buy red pants. You can’t pull it off. You’re not Big Ledge https://t.co/jXn1DLBEF1

— Stephen Chungus (@stephen_tweets4) November 3, 2026

Wrong. I am Big Ledge. I could easily rock these on the strip. You won’t be laughing when I’m riding in a limousine with the baddie I pulled after winning big using this deck of marked cards. We’ll be drinking champagne until the casino gangsters strangle me to death with my own flares.

DRAMATIC EXITS

never deleting this app bc wdym your 97yo neighbor made a “dramatic exit” at his birthday party pic.twitter.com/zq6OERXIOH

— Danielle (@DLVermeer) November 4, 2026

Dying at a birthday party after devouring the aesthetic social media cake? That’s my weekend plans sorted. (Only joking, I’ll be having another bubble bath with Nick Fuentes instead). 

Follow Adam on Instagram @yungtolstoi

The post The Internet Is an Angry, Optimistic Place, Week #9 appeared first on VICE.

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