icymi: march 2023
news and pop culture updates from last month
as of march 21, the spring equinox has arrived and has made it very clear that she’s the baddest bitch in the room! in march, i comfortably wore a miniskirt in damn near 80 degree weather and celebrated pisces season to the fullest.
this january, i released my new series for this newsletter, icymi (in case you missed it) of things i saw in the news, pop culture trends, and things i read/watched. read february’s edition of icymi here.
here’s march’s fashionably late installation of icymi — enjoy!
disclaimer: these are not in chronological order. also, there will be mentions about multiple assault allegations and the nashville mass shooting in this month’s edition in case you need to click off this post.
michael b. jordan made his directorial debut for the highly-anticipated creed 3, and the film set a record as the biggest opening weekend for a sports film
the stop cop city music festival occurred in the weelaunee forest with performers like faye webster and zack fox. on the final day of the festival, cops brought in tanks and helicopters and made 35 arrests
zaya wade slayed her runway debut at the miu miu fall/winter 23 show in paris, and she shared the cutest video of her and father dwyane wade embracing
the first trailer was released for teenage mutant ninja turtles: mutant mayhem, and i’m obsessed with the animation style that looks pretty similar to miles morales’ into the spider-verse. the cast for the animated movie includes ayo edebiri, ice cube, paul rudd, and seth rogen
the first trailer was released for peter pan & wendy, but everyone was rightfully critical of its dim lighting. bring back colorful movies! what about the magic!!
tennessee passed legislation to restrict drag performances in public or in the presence of children, which came shortly after a bill that bans transgender minors in the state from receiving gender-affirming care
a white student that was expelled from howard university’s law school (you guessed it, for harrassing black students) is suing the hbcu for “emotional, mental, and economic harm.” the initial hearing will be april 21, 2023
keke palmer and teyonah parris both had their babies. they’re mothering!
during this year’s oscars, michelle yeoh won best actress for her performance in everything everywhere all at once, making her the first asian woman to win lead actress
a loss for environmentalists, the willow project has been approved by president biden, regardless of the online petition against it. energy company conocophillips will continue drilling for oil in alaska’s national petroleum reserve
house bill 999 — which will prohibit students from diversity, equity, and inclusion courses/orgs/majors/minors, such as the divine nine, queer studies, and gender studies — was introduced in the florida legislative session
the family of manuel teran released teran’s autopsy, which confirms that they were sitting with their legs crossed and hands in the air at the shooting. the venezuelan environmental activist was murdered by atlanta’s police department at the weelaunee forest on january 18, 2023
after its premiere in august 2022, a league of their own was not immediately renewed for a second season, but instead of receiving a second season, prime video announced that the series would end after four extended episodes
law roach — the well-known fashion designer for zendaya and megan thee stallion — announced his retirement and spoke to the cut allllllllll about it
speaking of zendaya, she posted on instagram (several times). since the zendaya drought is over, that’s worth a news update!
donald glover and janine nabers’ new series swarm aired on prime video. there’s been discourse about dominique fishback’s exceptional performance, chloe bailey’s sex scene with damson idris, donald glover’s track record of being weird toward black women, and the show’s portrayal of queen bey and the hive
soulful r&b artist bobby caldwell, known as the “blue-eyed soul” singer, passed away at 71
michelle zauner’s bestselling memoir, crying in h mart, is receiving a film adaptation, and will sharpe (also known as ethan with the bad hair from the white lotus) is directing the film
bad bunny’s ex-girlfriend carliz de la cruz hernandez is suing the artist for using a recording of her in two songs without her permission. as my friend ruth said, the kardashian karma is in effect!
shazam! fury of the gods allegedly flopped… unsure if zachary levi’s anti-vaccinations remarks just weeks before the movie’s premiere had to do with that (it might have) ((maybe it was his diss toward dwayne johnson)) in semi-related black news, meghan good is being praised for her role in the movie!
jordan peele announced that his next movie will be released on christmas day in 2024. there’s also an untitled monkeypaw film (from peele’s production company) releasing in september 2024
the live-action remake of disney’s princess and the frog is in development, and everyone is listing their delusional casting predictions (someone mentioned jenna ortega and i need y’all to be so serious for a second)
a shooting occurred at a private christian school in nashville, which left three children and three adults dead
lance reddick, an actor notable for his work on the wire and the john wick franchise, passed away at 60. in recent news, his cause of death has been disputed by his family
philadelphia’s drinking water was contaminated after a chemical spill into the delaware river. as of march 28, the water is allegedly safe to drink
thanks to the allegations that it is “a threat to america,” an entire trial threatening to ban tiktok in the united states occurred
in an interesting trial revolving around a ski accident, gwyneth paltrow was found not at fault and awarded $1, as she requested
brandy is returning to her throne as queen cinderella in the new descendants movie. her prince (sorry, king) charming, paolo montalban, is also reprising his role alongside his queen. talk about a fairytale ending!
a lot of very bad (like extremely bad) bills in florida have been introduced in the spring legislative session, including concealed carry without a permit, a six-week abortion ban, and a gender-affirming care ban
npr cut 10% of their staff and halted four podcasts, including invisibilia and louder than a riot
former president donald trump has been indicted for his role in paying $130,000 in hush money to stormy daniels
gal-dem, an independent online publication notable highlighting black and brown women writers, announced that they are shutting down. pour one out!
jt, also known as 1/2 of the city girls, is the new face of poster girl. excited for her fashion era!
jonathan majors was arrested for assaulting a woman (strangulation and harassment as well), which led to his attorney leaking text messages between the two that made everything completely worse
known for keeping their luxury yet accessible status, telfar has introduced a new price model in order to prevent barriers for shoppers. i still don’t understand it completely, so read more about it here!
sheryl lee ralph stated that she was sexually assaulted by a “famous tv judge” at a business event years ago, and she confirmed that it was not judge greg mathis
the cast of scott pilgrim will be reuniting to reprise their roles from the movie to voice an anime series
megan thee stallion, every hot girl’s hot girl coach, threw the first pitch at the houston astros opening day. idk a lot about sports but touchdown — go meg!
things i wrote in march
these women inspired the trends you love, from y2k style to maximalist nails for popsugar
how “the last of us” created a post-apocalyptic set from the 2000s for apartment therapy
in “dot’s home,” players explore housing inequalities and homeownership for apartment therapy
what i loved reading in march
black teen girls are the curators of culture by ile-ife okantah
influencer parents and the kids who had their childhood made into content by fortesa latifi
kelela knows what intimacy sounds like by hannah giorgis
“black panther 2” star dominique thorne talks ironheart and learning to be still by kaitlyn mcnab
graduate unions: why student workers at university of california, temple, more are striking by indigo olivier
live closer to your friends by adrienne matei
an open letter to spelman college: denounce cop city now by eva dickerson
this young farmer is helping to heal her community’s connection to the land by alexis t. reed
link is a gay icon, and zelda fans know it by samantha puc
how television sells the american dream in color — but fails by ruth e. samuel
black queer musicians are pushing the music industry forward — and proving they can exist outside of it by clarissa brooks
what do we really want from chris brown? by mankaprr conteh
black equestrians want to be safe. but they can’t find helmets. by mckenna oxenden
what i loved watching in march
scream 1-6
daisy jones and the six (currently on episode three)
what i loved listening to in march
eat your young (ep) by hozier
voice notes by yazmin lacey
fly girl by flo feat. missy elliott
scaring the hoes by jpegmafia and danny brown
heaven by shygirl and tinashe
clusterfunk by ric wilson, chromeo, and a-trak
reckless & sweet by amaarae
these two podcast episodes
also this playlist by spotify