It’s a week of controversy: Rachel Dolezal, the white woman who says she’s black, is back in the public eye thanks to a Netflix documentary, The Rachel Divide. What trauma led to her fraudulent ‘transracial’ identity? And why does Rachel refuse to back down? We called up gal-dem deputy editor and Guardian writer Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff to discuss the documentary - and whether or not Netflix were right to air it.
Also on today’s agenda: the glitzy annual Met Gala and it’s ‘Catholic’ theme, courtesy of Andrew Bolton’s ‘Heavenly Bodies’ exhibition. From Rihanna’s papal mitre to Lena Waithe’s politically charged rainbow cape, via Jared Leto dressed as Jesus (God complex, much?) the dress code might have been crassly interpreted and as camp as Christmas, but does that make it offensive? We run the full gamut of opinions.
Last thing - the Chuckle Brothers have not fallen out. We repeat: rumours of a feud are false.
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Links
The Rachel Divide review by Doreen St Felix for The New Yorker
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/the-rachel-divide-review-a-disturbing-portrait-of-dolezals-racial-fraudulence
The Rachel Divide on Netflix
https://www.netflix.com/title/80149821
Does Anyone Have The Right To Sex? By Amia Srinivasan, for The London Review of Books
https://www.lrb.co.uk/v40/n06/amia-srinivasan/does-anyone-have-the-right-to-sex
Sean Penn interview, by Emma Brockes for The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/may/05/sean-penn-some-of-my-best-laughs-have-come-out-of-the-worst-reviews
You Think It, I’ll Say It, short stories by Curtis Sittenfeld
https://www.amazon.co.uk/You-Think-Ill-Say-Stories/dp/052552777X/ref=nodl_
Patrick Melrose, starts on Sunday on Sky Atlantic
How The Met Gala Guests Tackled “The Heavenly Bodies” Theme, by Osman Ahmed for Vogue.co.uk
http://www.vogue.co.uk/article/how-met-gala-guests-tackled-heavenly-bodies-them
Radio 4 Soul Music on God Only Knows
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0b01jsk
Abi Morgan’s Desert Island Discs
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0b01jsk
An Author Special on The Internet (and The Universe) with Jim Chapman
A Live Episode with Google on #MeToo - and Suing The Entire Kardashian Family
Was James Corden Wrong To Joke About Harvey Weinstein?; And Are YOU Suffering From Culture Overload?
A Deep-Dive Into The Fall Of Hollywood’s Ultimate Sex Predator, Harvey Weinstein
Ding Dong The Hef Is Dead - The Legacy of Playboy; And The Death Of The Celebrity Interview
Is Monogamy Dead? An Author Special with Comedian Rosie Wilby
The Handbag’s Tale and why effective protests needn’t be violent
On speaking out against Woody Allen; and why women are still judged by appearance in the workplace
L'Oreal's Race Row & The Danger With Safe Spaces
That Taylor Swift Song & Macron's €8,000 Make-Up Habit
Zadie Smith On Beauty & Trolling The McCanns
The Response to Charlottesville & The Curious Tale of Chloe Ayling
The Travesty of Princess Diana's Leaked Tapes & The Legacy of Celebrity Big Brother
The BBC Pay Gap, To The Bone & R Kelly's Alleged Sex Crime
A Pop-Culture special feat. Rob Kardashian with author Elizabeth Day
Serena Williams vs. John McEnroe & Celebs vs. Trolls
Corbyn’s Glasto & Why We Should All Strive To Be Average
The Rise of the ‘Silver Splitter’ - and Pandora’s Best Bum Facts
An Author Special with Reni Eddo-Lodge & the return of the Nokia 3310
On Belly Bulges and Privilege (and Not The General Election)
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