The Best Halloween Costumes 2019
By Chloe Cornell
Halloween has become an increasingly prominent and over-the-top event with celebrities continually raising the stakes to create extraordinary Insta-worthy costumes. There were seemingly countless Halloween events this year, some of the more notable being Kendall Jenner’s Halloween-themed 24th Birthday party, Heidi Klum’s annual celebrity-filled Halloween bash, and parties hosted by Casamigos, Demi Lovato and La La Anthony. Below are some of our favorite looks which are sure to inspire you for next year’s celebrations!
Kim Kardashian West as Elle Woods from Legally Blonde
In a nod to her studying to become a lawyer, Kim not only dressed up as Elle Woods from the movie, but she also recreated the video that Elle submitted as an application to Harvard Law School and posted it on her Instagram.
Kendall Jenner as a forest fairy
Charlotte Dalessio as Betty Boop
Ciara and Russel Wilson as Beyonce and Jay Z from their video for “Ape $#!%”
Nicki Minaj and her husband as Harley Quinn and the Joker
Jessica Biel Dressed as Husband Justin Timberlake from his NSYNC Days and Timberlake as a Microphone
Sofia Richie as Sleeping Beauty
Kylie Jenner as a fairy and as Ariel from the Little Mermaid
Gabrielle Union and daughter Kaavia James as The East Compton Clovers from Bring It On – winning the cutest award!
Sonia Ben Ammar as Alice from Closer
Selena Gomez Takes A Stand Against Online Bullying
By Chloe Cornell
Selena Gomez is back with new music after a four year hiatus where she dealt with serious health issues and a final breakup with on-off boyfriend Justin Bieber. Her first release was ballad “Lose You to Love Me” which was immediately embraced by fans including BFF Taylor Swift who wrote on her Instagram Story, “This song is a perfect expression of healing & my absolute favorite song she’s put out yet. A triumph. I love you so much @selenagomez.”
Selena explained that the “song was inspired by many things that have happened”. Widely believed to be about her relationship with ex Bieber, she said, “I want people to feel hope and to know you will come out the other side stronger and a better version of yourself.”
Soon after Selena released “Lose You to Love Me,” many of her fans thought that Hailey Bieber was trolling the song by posting Summer Walker’s track “I’ll Kill You” on her Instagram story. They promptly wrote nasty comments to Hailey in defense of Selena. Hailey dismissed that she was responding to Selena’s song, writing and then deleting on Just Jared’s Instagram page, “Please stop with this nonsense. There is no ‘response.’ This is complete BS.”
However Selena addressed the situation with her fans and took an important stand against online bullying. She asked fans to stop attacking Hailey during an Instagram Live appearance saying, “I am so grateful for the response of the song… However, I will never stand for women tearing other women down. I will never, ever be by that. So please be kind to everyone. It doesn’t matter what the situation is, if you’re my fans don’t be rude to anybody, please. Don’t go off and say things that you just feel in the moment.”
Selena then released a second song and video “Look At Her Now” at midnight as a “special gift” for her fans. “And here’s my special gift to all of my ride or dies! I created this with Apple especially for you. Y’all have been through it all with me and I thank you for pushing me to be the best. Look At Her Now is out now. #ShotOniPhone.”
Both Margaret Atwood and Bernardine Evaristo Win the Booker Prize
By Chloe Cornell
The judges for the Booker Prize could not bring themselves to choose just one winner for the prestigious literary prize this year – despite being told three times that the strict rules required a single winner. But after five hours of unsuccessful deliberations, they were ultimately given permission to break tradition and name two winners (both women!): Margaret Atwood and Bernardine Evaristo. Atwood is the author of “The Testaments” the highly-anticipated sequel to her famous classic “The Handmaid’s Tale” which has inspired an award-winning, critic and fan favorite TV series on Hulu, and has taken on ever-more cultural relevance with show-inspired costumes being worn by pro-choice abortion activists. Evaristo, the author of “Girl, Woman, Other” is the first Black woman to be awarded the prize, a distinction that Evaristo said in her acceptance speech, “I hope that honor doesn’t last too long.” Atwood, the oldest winner ever at 79 years old, said onstage to Evaristo, “I would have thought I would have been too elderly, and I kind of don’t need the attention, so I’m very glad that you’re getting some. It would have been quite embarrassing for me… if I had been alone here, so I’m very pleased that you’re here too.”
Although the award was also shared in 1992, the organizers subsequently changed the rules so as not to diminish the honor. “We were told quite firmly that the rules state you can only have one winner,” said Peter Florence, chairman of the Booker judges, at a news conference. But after trying to settle on just one winner during three selection sessions, the “consensus was to flout the rules and divide this year’s prize to celebrate two winners.” Florence explained that the judges could not choose between the two books because they both “have urgent things to say.”
Although the women had to share the prize money totalling $63,000, Evaristo had already doubled the lifetime sales of her book within five days after the award. The Testaments also got a huge boost in sales to compliment the book’s prior success.
The other nominated novels include Lucy Ellmann Ducks, Newburyport, Chigozie Obioma, An Orchestra of Minorities, Salman Rushdie, Quichotte and Elif Shafak, 10 MInutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World.
