Well, it’s right there in the title. As startling as How To Blow Up A Pipeline sounds, the trailer for the Toronto Film Fest hit is even more thrilling, ratcheting up tension to an explosive breaking point. The film features a crew of young, aspiring eco-terrorists who saw Ocean’s Eleven and figured why not put those plans to good use to destroy something they see as a threat to the environment? They squat in a house in Texas while planning, practicing, and potentially pulling off a massive structural disruption.
Neon bought the rights to the film after Toronto, and it seems to fit perfectly into their sweet spot of genre work blended with prestige. How To Blow Up A Pipeline features a stellar young cast, including Ariela Barer (who also co-wrote the script with Goldhaber and Jordan Sjol), Kristine Froseth, Lukas Gage, Forrest Goodluck, Jayme Lawson, Marcus Scribner, Jake Weary, and American Honey‘s Sasha Lane. The film was produced by Goldhaber, Barer, David Grove Churchill Viste, Alex Black, Alex Hughes, Isa Mazzei, and Adam Wyatt Tate.
How To Blow Up A Pipeline is set to hit theaters April 7th and we can’t wait to see it.
“Everytime I see that Vice City image… just a flood of memories pour in! Whatever you got going on with this… I’m interested,” one wrote.
“50 you gotta explain it now! I just bought the rockstar games trilogy with Vice City. What is going on here. And yes I’m gon buy it again,” another added.
Everytime I see that Vice City image… just a flood of memories pour in! Whatever you got going on with this… I’m interested
According to NME, early footage of GTA 6 was leaked online previously — prompting an arrest to be made by British police. The game franchise’s publisher, Take Two, noted that despite that happening, it won’t affect development.
“With regards to the leak, it was terribly unfortunate, and we take those sorts of incidents very seriously indeed,” Take-Two’s CEO Strauss Zelnick said in November. “There’s no evidence that any material assets were taken, which is a good thing, and certainly the leak won’t have any influence on development or anything of the sort.”
On June 21, 2022, a visibly nervous Wandrea “Shaye” Moss and her mother, Ruby Freeman — both longtime election workers from Fulton County, Georgia — sat in front of the January 6 Committee and shared the story of the many ways their lives had changed since the 2020 presidential election.
In the days, weeks, and months following Donald Trump’s embarrassing loss to now-president Joe Biden, the then-still-president and his right-hand toady Rudy Giuliani went on the attack and just so happened to stumble upon Moss and Freeman in the process. Specifically, what they saw was a couple seconds of video in which Freeman handed her daughter a ginger mint — which Donald and Rudy either believed or decided was a USB drive, and publicly accused the two women of hijacking a presidential election.
As CNN reported, Trump referred to Freeman — who is a 63-year-old grandmother — as a “professional vote scammer” and “hustler.” Giuliani described their moment of candy-sharing as looking like they were sharing “vials of cocaine or heroin.” But their false — and blatantly racist — allegations didn’t end there. Despite being endlessly harassed by MAGA ride-or-dies, Moss and Freeman took the extraordinary step of suing Giuliani for defamation, and it could be his undoing.
As The Daily Beast reports, Giuliani managed to get away with NOT answering many of the January 6th Committee’s questions about his direct communications with Trump by citing attorney-client privilege. But that old chestnut may not work as well when it comes to squaring off against Freeman and Moss, who “are turning their defamation lawsuit against Giuliani into a no-limits, fact-finding mission, according to an undisclosed letter from their attorneys reviewed exclusively by The Daily Beast,” writes political investigations reporter Jose Pagliery.
Despite Giuliani’s previous attempts to evade any questions about his personal correspondences with Trump when dealing with the J6 committee, Moss and Freeman’s lawyer reportedly makes it clear in this letter that since it’s precisely their words that defamed the women, they are entitled to be given greater access to the president’s communications with his then-lawyer.
“They’re trying to get to Trump,” a source familiar with the case told The Daily Beast. And oddly may have a better chance at forcing Giuliani, who was reportedly deposed in New York City on Wednesday, to actually answer their lawyer’s questions. One thing they have on their side? Time.
Whereas the January 6 Committee had hard deadlines in which to complete their work, Moss and Freeman’s legal team can take their time to get the information and answers they need.
“Freeman and Moss have no hard deadline,” writes Pagliery. “Their lawyers can patiently litigate until a judge allows them to pierce that attorney-client privilege. And the judge on the case, who already found evidence of what she called a ‘civil conspiracy’ between Giuliani and Team Trump, could greenlight that peek under the hood if she comes to the same conclusion that a federal judge in California did last year: that a crime potentially occurred.”
One grandpa decided to get a little creative when he discovered a set of Peppa Pig toys sneakily hidden away in his luggage by his granddaughter by documenting the entire vacation from their point of view.
A video capturing him in the act has now gone viral, with people absolutely invested in the impromptu Peppa Pig adventure.
Tanya Marie, the man’s daughter, posted the video to TikTok, explaining, “My niece took her favorite toys and packed them into my dad’s luggage.”
“He has been making this story of all their adventures for her, and he’s gonna play it for her when he gets back,” she says as grandpa makes the figures go for a quick dip in the pool.
“Don’t go too far off in the middle!” he warns the toys.
After a little sunbathing, the Peppa Pig family accompanies grandpa to a little fine dining. “We’re going to have a fancy meal here,” he says to them as he films. “We better be on best behavior! Don’t drink too much!”
Cut to another dinner, where grandpa shares how he “can’t wait to go down to the beach with them, bring them out there, bring a little napkin, lay them down.” Clearly, he is having so, so much fun doing this.
Best grandpa award goes to you dad🥹🫶🏾 #storytime #familyvacation #peppapig #familytrip #grandparents
As everyone bids adieu to the Airbnb in the final clip, grandpa places the toys on a small stone wall to give them one last shot. A natural cinematographer, he starts his camera phone close before yelling, “Pan out!” to get a wider view.
“Pan out?! I’m dying,” his daughter quips. In her video’s caption, she also wrote, “Best grandpa award goes to you dad.”
The video has racked up over 11 million views and has people gushing about how freaking adorable, sweet, heartwarming [insert every single positive adjective here] this grandpa was for creating his little passion project.
“Priceless. This could choke anyone up,” one person wrote.
So many people expressed interest in seeing the final product that Marie posted a follow-up video saying that not only would it be shared, but that she was inspired to create an epic Peppa Pig-themed viewing party for her niece, buying “all the pig gear” that she could find to heighten the surprise.
If you wanna tune in on all the epic wholesomeness, you can follow Tanya Marie here.
Parrots are unique animals with their bright colors and ability to mimic what people say. In fact, their impression of people is so accurate that if you’re not looking at them while they make the noise, you just might think an actual person is talking. Usually, when people come into contact with a parrot, they’re adults living in some sort of aviary or in a cage at someone’s house.
Johan Devenier, a South African man, has been raising six blue and gold macaws since birth and it’s certainly a sight to see. The parrot dad has a TikTok page where he shares his journey of raising his feathered babies…and a fox. It’s certainly the place to go if you need a little sunshine added to your day.
In a video compilation posted to Reddit, viewers get to watch as Devenier raises the birds and starts them on a bedtime routine. And yes, the routine is as cute as it sounds. The only thing that could make it any cuter is if they were wearing tiny bird pajamas, but alas, I don’t think there’s a huge market for parrot PJs.
The video clip starts off with the birds looking small and pink with light peach fuzz covering their featherless bodies as he kisses at the air above them. Before you know it, the birds are much bigger and starting to get a bit of color on their wings. They lay in bed awaiting kisses on their beaks. In each clip, the birds are bigger and brighter, but it’s the same cute routine—kisses on beaks before he tucks them into bed.
Devenier appears to enjoy loving on his macaw babies and they seem to love him right back. They tolerate all of his affection and wait patiently for their bedtime story after being tucked in.
The entire video is ridiculously cute. Check it out below.
We are just hours away from Creed III, as well as its promising soundtrack. Last month, Dreamville dropped a JID & Lute collaboration called “Ma Boy” and revealed they would be producing the soundtrack for the third installment of the Creed series.
Today (March 2), Dreamville has revealed the tracklist for the soundtrack, featuring some exciting collaborations. On the soundtrack is “In The Room,” a collab with JID, Tierra Whack, and BJ The Chicago Kid; “Lay Up,” a collaboration with SiR and Syd; and “Anthem,” with Big Sean and Est Gee.
Additionally, the soundtrack also boasts new music from J Cole, Kehlani, Ari Lennox, and more.
You can check out the full tracklist below.
1. “Culture” by Mez, Reason, Symba, and Bas
2. “Ma Boy” by JID & Lute
3. “Anthem (Soundtrack Version)” by Big Sean & Est Gee
4. “Adonis Interlude (The Montage)” by J Cole
5. “Greater” by Ari Lennox
6. “Ogogoro” by Bas & Arya Star
7. “Just Face It” by Blxst
8. “Headhunters” by Westside Boogie, Cozz, and Kevin Ross
9. “Jack” by Earthgang & Buddy
10. “Hate Me Now” by Arina Raye, Mereba, and Omen
11. “Talk 2 Me” by Omen, Ari Lennox, and OG Dayy
12. “Lay Up” by SiR & Syd
13. “Long The Way” by Morray
14. “In The Room” by JID, Tierra Whack, and BJ The Chicago Kid
15. “Shadows” by Kehlani
16. “Burn Bridges” by Lute, Cozz, Reason & Arin Ray
17. “Heavy Is The Head” by Baby Rose
18. “Blood, Sweat, & Tears” by Bas, Black Sherif, & Kel-P
The Creed III soundtrack is out 3/3 via Dreamville and Interscope.
Some of the artists mentioned here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Johnnie Walker is the best-selling whiskey brand in the whole world. It hasn’t hit a plateau either, sales increased again last year with 20 million cases sold worldwide. To put that into context the entireAmerican whiskey market is just over 30 million cases sold in the same time frame (and the vast majority of that is just Jim Beam and Jack Daniel’s). That’s a staggering difference in how big Scotch brands like Johnnie Walker really are compared to their American counterparts. And since Johnnie Walker is the undisputed champion of all things whiskey worldwide, I figured it was high time for a complete ranking of their current core line.
For this list, I’m looking at the 10 core bottles of Johnnie Walker that are available on the U.S. market. I’m not going to add bottles that you can get in Japan or Scotland or Duty-Free. I’m also leaving out the limited edition one-offs, otherwise, this list would be about five times as long. This is about the bottles of Johnnie Walker that you can actually find and enjoy right now and right here in the U.S.
When it comes to the ranking, I’m keeping things simple. This is all about the taste. Johnnie Walker is famed for being an approachable peated blend. That means there’s a thin layer of smokiness on all of these whiskies. But more importantly, some of these expressions simply have deeper and more attractive flavor profiles than others. And spoiler alert, a higher price does not mean a higher ranking.
Okay, let’s dive in and rank some Johnnie Walker!
Also Read: The Top 5 UPROXX Scotch Whisky Posts of The Last Six Months
Johnnie Walker’s entry point expression is also the best-selling scotch expression on the planet. The whisky is a blend of single grain and single malt whiskies from Diageo’s deep stable of distilleries around Scotland that’s specifically designed to be mixed and not taken straight.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose reminds you more of a sweet and citrusy Speyside or Highland whisky.
Palate: The palate holds onto those notes while adding a peppery spice and a hint of orchard fruits.
Finish: The end shifts towards Islay with a wisp of smoke as the sip fades quickly away while warming you with alcohol heat.
Bottom Line:
This is a cheap mixing whisky. It’s not a sipper. Use it for parties in punches, in highballs with Coke, and maybe as a shot with a beer back if you’re feeling spicy.
9. Johnnie Walker Black Label Blended Scotch Whisky Aged 12 Years
The classic Black Label is a blend of over 40 grain and single malt whiskies from three dozen distilleries in the Diageo stable, including powerhouses like Talisker and Lagavulin. The throughline is that all of the whiskies are at least 12 years old when married into this blend.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Citrus meets spicy Christmas cake and a bit of powdery white pepper on the nose.
Palate: Those wintery spices carry on through the taste as creamy maltiness, caramel sweetness, and dry herbs bounce on your tongue.
Finish: The oak comes in late with a dose of peaty smoke that’s cut by an orange zest flourish on the quick end.
Bottom Line:
This was Johnnie Walker’s entry-point sipper back in the days of on the rocks pours when there were a lot fewer options out there. Today, Johnnie Walker has repositioned this as a highball whisky. It works really well with good fizzy water and fun garnishes — think bitter citrus, dried florals, and savory herbs.
This is a newer expression from the brand that also leans into mixing. The blend of wheat and single malt whiskies is aged in American oak barrels, which gives the final blend a much sweeter profile that’s specifically tuned to American whiskey palates.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Sweet toffee candy leads the way on the nose with a counterpoint of bright red berries, soft vanilla, and a hint of oakiness.
Palate: That vanilla leads the way on the palate with more sweet toffee next to dried apple chips and a very mild winter spice malted cookie vibe.
Finish: The finish is pretty short (it’s a mixer after all) that leans into the malted spice and sweet toffee/vanilla with a hint more of the bright berry sweetness.
Bottom Line:
This is the Johnnie Walker you want to be mixing your highballs with. It’s soft and smooth with a good base for building upon, especially simple cocktails with plenty of citrus or bitterness.
7. Johnnie Walker Double Black Blended Scotch Whisky
This is basically Johnnie Walker Black that’s been re-casked in deeply charred oak barrels for a final maturation, making this a classic double cask whisky. The idea is to maximize that peat and amp up the Islay and Island whiskies’ smokiness.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Clove-forward spice and billows of softwood smoke — think cherry and apple trees — greet you on the nose.
Palate: The palate has a vanilla creaminess that’s punctuated by bright apples, dried fruit, and more peat that leans more towards an old beach campfire than a chimney stack.
Finish: The spice kicks back in late, warming things up as the smoke carries through the end with a nice dose of oakiness, fruitiness, and sweet vanilla creaminess.
Bottom Line:
This is actually a pretty solid on-the-rocks pour. It’s not life-changing but it gets the job done. That said, this really shines best as a simple highball base with good fizzy water and a savory and funky herbal/botanical garnish (dried chamomile, dried wild sage, rosemary, juniper berries, etc.).
The blend of this new-ish Walker blend is 40% single malts from Diageo’s stable of distilleries — particularly Cardhu, Glenkinchie, and Caol Ila — and 60% Scottish rye whisky aged in American oak. Those whiskies are vatted, proofed down, and bottled with a look toward the American whiskey palate.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose feels like the best of both worlds as a twinge of rye spiciness mingles with sweet smoky notes cut with orchard fruit and a hint of vanilla.
Palate: The fruit drives the palate with tart apples spiked with clove and anise as a buttery caramel sweetens the sip.
Finish: The finish moves on from that sweet note towards a dry sense of woody spices and a touch of dried and smoked apple slices.
Bottom Line:
This is a great gateway whisky for any American whiskey drinker looking to dip their toe into subtle and approachable Scotch whisky. This is so easygoing and enjoyable as a simple on-the-rocks sipper or straightforward cocktail base.
5. Johnnie Walker Aged 18 Years Blended Scotch Whisky
This blend used to be called Johnnie Walker Platinum, which was also aged 18 years. You might still see some of those bottles on shelves where scotch sells slowly. This is the same whisky and is comprised of 18 whiskies (single grain and single malt) — all of which are a minimum of 18 years old. The primary distilleries in the bottle are Blair Athol, Cardhu, Glen Elgin, and Auchroisk.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Apple chips and toffee mingle with ripe berries, old leather, and supple malts with a hint of dark brown spice mingle on the nose.
Palate: The palate is a mix of salted caramel next to marzipan and vanilla pudding with a touch of canned tangerine.
Finish: The end is sweet with a line of dark chocolate cut with dried chili flakes with an ever so slight smoked edge.
Bottom Line:
This is classic blended Scotch whisky. It’s an easy everyday pour over some rocks or neat. But it’s not really much more than that. In fact, I’d argue that this works better in cocktails at the end of the day, which is why it’s ranked lower on this list.
This no-age-statement blend leans into that signature Walker marriage of Highland and Speyside whiskies with a small dose of Western Scottish whisky for good measure (both grain and malt whiskies are in the mix). The lion’s share of the whisky involved in this gilded bottle is Clynelish, a Highland whisky that adds a modicum of peat to the mix.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose balances old leather gloves and honeyed oats with meaty sultanas, cinnamon-spiced malts, a hint of anise, and an echo of grilled fruit.
Palate: The palate leans into the grilled fruit with a smoky underbelly and a savory edge (almost papaya) next to a lush vanilla cream and a sharp clove/allspice vibe.
Finish: The finish combines the dried fruit and honey with a twinge of florals as a whisper of earthy peat sneaks in late, kind of like a dry moss slowly growing on a tree.
Bottom Line:
This is the first huge step up in flavor profiles. This is the good stuff that’s still affordable and easy to find for the average consumer. Drink this on the rocks or neat. Also, this is the bottle you get when you want an elevated blended whisky experience that still feels like an uncomplicated one.
3. Johnnie Walker Blue Label Blended Scotch Whisky
This is the mountaintop of Johnnie Walker’s whiskies. The blend is a marriage of ultra-rare grain and malt stock from extinct Diageo distilleries around Scotland. That’s just … cool. This expression is all about barrel selection and the mastery of a great noser and blender working together to create something special.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose on this one feels like silk with soft malts, dried plums, good marzipan, old boot leather, mulled wine spices, and a whisper of fireplace smoke.
Palate: The taste layers orange oils into the marzipan as rose-water-infused honey leads to a line of bitter dark chocolate that’s touched with smoked malts and nuts.
Finish: The end has an even keel of velvet mouthfeel next to floral honey, soft smoldering smoke from a fireplace, and old dried fruit.
Bottom Line:
Look, this is delicious, but it is the average bottle you buy to show off more than anything else on this list. And while it is unquestionably a tasty whisky, it’s not the best-tasting one from the Johnnie Walker’s mainline. For me, I keep this on the bar for weekend pours over a rock or when I want a perfect highball with great water, good ice, and nothing else (because it doesn’t need anything else).
2. Johnnie Walker King George V Blended Scotch Whisky
This blend from Johnnie Walker is a celebratory Blue Label variant. Part of what you’re paying for is the extinct Port Ellen distillery whisky in the bottle. Another part is that all the whiskies in the blend are from distilleries that were running when King George V reigned in the U.K., between 1910 and 1936. Then, of course, there’s the bespoke flint glass decanter that has its own serial number (don’t throw it away!).
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with a delicate dance between honeyed almonds dusted with coarse salt, dark chocolate just kissed with vanilla and an orange-honey sweet smokiness.
Palate: The taste builds on that orange-honey vibe with a touch of rose water and marzipan as the dark chocolate sharpens its bitterness and the smoke moves far into the background.
Finish: The end is like pure velvet with a bright fresh rose note next to the final slow fade of smoked oranges and almonds.
Bottom Line:
This is that perfect blend of cool, bespoke, and delicious. Yes, it’s expensive, but goddamn this whisky tastes so good. It’s complex and deep yet 100% understandable, fresh, and vibrant.
Where Johnnie Walker Blue Label hits the tasty/show-off matrix perfectly, this is what the true whisky lovers pour when they want to celebrate (and yes, show off).
1. Johnnie Walker Green Label Blended Malt Scotch Whisky Aged 15 Years
Johnnie Walker’s Green Label is a solidly crafted whisky that highlights Diageo’s fine stable of distilleries across Scotland. The whisky is a pure malt or blended malt, meaning that only single malt whisky is in the mix (no grain whisky). In this case, the primary whiskies are a minimum of 15 years old, from Talisker, Caol Ila, Cragganmore, and Linkwood.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Soft notes of cedar dance with hints of black pepper, vanilla pods, and bright fruit — think red berries, fresh pear, and nectarines — with a wisp of singed green grass in the background.
Palate: The palate really delivers on that soft cedar woodiness while edging towards a spice-laden tropical fruit brightness with grilled peaches covered in salted caramel, honey malt biscuits, and bitter yet sweet marmalade with a dash of winter spiciness.
Finish: The finish is dialed in with hints of soft cedar bark, singed wild sage, bark-forward winter spice, and stewed stonefruit leading toward a briny billow of smoke at the very end.
Bottom Line:
This is the one bottle of Johnnie Walker to always have on hand. One, this is delicious whisky, full stop. Two, this is affordable whisky (a single bottle of Caol Ila 12-year will set you back close to $100). Three, this is rare whisky that true whisky lovers will respect you for recognizing as great. The best part is that you can go and get this right now. Hit that price link and get some delivered!
SZA’s SOS tour has been off to a great start so far. However, it appears it has hit a sudden bump in the road, as her Philadelphia show for tonight (March 2) was postponed for a later date, according to a new announcement from the Wells Fargo Center venue.
“The SZA performance scheduled for today at Wells Fargo Center is postponed,” they posted. “Fans are encouraged to hold onto their tickets for the rescheduled date to be announced shortly. All tickets will be honored.”
The SZA performance scheduled for today at Wells Fargo Center is postponed. Fans are encouraged to hold onto their tickets for the rescheduled date to be announced shortly. All tickets will be honored. pic.twitter.com/bPfn0mnvh4
Because of this, her tour opener, Omar Apollo, revealed he was doing a new “secret show” in NYC instead as a solo act. Tickets for his concert at Irving Plaza promptly sold out. Apollo is expected to take the stage after doors open at 8:30pm.
As some fans on social media have pointed out, the line for his one-night-only show is also seemingly already piling up, with a photo posted about an hour ago.
Yesterday, she attended Billboard‘s Women In Music event in Los Angeles, as she was the recipient of Woman Of The Year — so it’s possible the time and distance could have caused the delay.
SZA’s tour will presumably continue with the next scheduled tour dates, which is a two-night run at Madison Square Garden this Saturday (March 4) and Sunday (March 5). More information on her upcoming concerts is available here.
Omar Apollo is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Emilia Clarke is best known for her portrayal of Daenerys Targaryen in HBO’s fantasy series “Game of Thrones.” Clarke was 24 years old when she took on the iconic role, and during the filming process, she survived two life-threatening brain aneurysms. The actress has since become an advocate for other survivors of brain trauma, not to mention a fabulous role model for relentless optimism.
It is now 12 years after “Game of Thrones” premiered. Understandably, Clarke does not look the same way she did when she was a younger woman (after a lengthy stint in the makeup chair and under well-curated lighting, no less). And yet, a candid selfie that was posted to her Instagram received multiple remarks lamenting that her face looked different than it did over a decade ago.
Fans were quick to rush to Clarke’s defense, and in the process it led to a more universal conversation about how society often views women as they grow older.
The post in question was a photo sharing a gift from Clarke’s mom—a mug which read “You’re doing f**king great.”
“Mum got me a mug. I felt it was important to share this new found wisdom. Use it and reap the rewards 🤌💪🏻🥳❤️” Clarke wrote in the post’s caption.
While many fans shared their appreciation for Clarke’s infectious positivity, a few were, shall we say…not so kind.
Gamer Jon Miller shared a screenshot of Clarke’s post to Twitter, writing, “Lmao wow Daenerys Targaryen didn’t just hit the wall she flew into it full speed on a dragon.” While Miller’s wasn’t the only rude comment, this one in particular went viral.
Lmao wow Daenerys Targaryen didn’t just hit the wall she flew into it full speed on a dragon 🐉 pic.twitter.com/La3nAJbsqt
Many people felt this was further proof that, especially with the rising popularity of cosmetic procedures and extreme beauty filters on social media, we have collectively forgotten that aging is a completely natural process.
One person wrote in a Twitter comment: “The rise of surgical and procedural interventions has seriously warped people’s perception and acceptance of other people…..checks notes….. aging naturally.”
Another quipped: “hitting a wall apparently means your eyes wrinkle a little when u smile now.”
And another added: “This is a normal looking woman?? Do people not know anymore how people outside of edited social media posts look like?????????”
As many pointed out, Clarke is far from the only woman to be criticized for showing a wrinkle or two. “This trend of shaming women for aging (which is uncontrollable and happens to everyone) is really weird,” wrote one person.
Thankfully, plenty of people noted how bonkers this viewpoint is.
One fan wrote: “Emilia Clarke was beautiful when she was 22, she’s still an extremely beautiful woman here. She’s just aged…which hasn’t made her any less beautiful. I fail to see the problem with this picture.”
Another said: “Aging is a privilege and doing it so naturally and with such grace in a world of filters and plastic surgery is even more so.”
Clarke herself has previously shared her own thoughts on aging, telling Elle: “You’ve got this idea of aging, and then you’ve got the idea of what aging makes you look like. At 34, I am wiser, more intelligent, I’ve had more experiences, I’ve done all this stuff, and I’m proud of that. You can only do that because you are the age you are. Time is the only thing that allows you to do those things. So, if my face is gonna reflect the time that I’ve spent on this earth, I’m down for that.
While it seems like the Mother of Dragons is far from fazed by any criticisms of her appearance, many people are impacted (and harmed) by unfair beauty standards. That’s why it’s important to bring these types of conversations to light. For as much progress as there has been, clearly there is still some work to do if we want to collectively move past treating women as though their value comes with an expiration date, and instead, let them just live their lives.
Normally, I’m good with the way my face looks. (One of the gifts of your late 40s is fully embracing your face in all its glory.) But I was surprised to find that the longer I used that filter, the more…well, homely my real face started to feel. There’s just no way for my real face to compare to the model-like one in that video, because this filter isn’t just a faux makeup job. It basically gave me plastic surgery, botox and a Photoshop airbrush to boot, and as overdone as it is, looking in the mirror after making that video really did trigger some insecurities about my real face that I didn’t think I had.
If a beauty filter can make me start to feel “meh” about my looks, I can only imagine what it’s doing to the psyches of young women who don’t have decades of life experience and confidence-building behind them.
Visual artist Memo Akten shared a thread on Twitter illustrating how scary these unreal-yet-too-real filters are, with examples from women illustrating how they do a number on our brains.
“I don’t wanna be known as the TikTok filter guy, but ICYMI after attacking GenX w teenage filter, TikTok just dropped a new filter to take out Millennials & GenZ,” he wrote. “‘Beauty filters’ are not new, but the precision on this is beyond uncanny. This is psychological warfare & pure evil.”
u201cI don’t wanna be known as the tiktok filter guy, but ICYMI after attacking GenX w teenage filter, tiktok just dropped a new filter to take out Millennials & GenZ. “Beauty filters” are not new, but the precision on this is beyond uncanny. This is psychological warfare & pure evil.u201d
Women are sharing how a hyper-real filter like this breeds and fuels insecurity, which is the last thing we need when we are already fighting body image and beauty standard battles on multiple fronts.
Video filters in general can be a lot of fun. My teens and I have a blast playing around with Snapchat filters that make everyone look like they’re crying or turn people into cartoon characters and all kinds of silly things. But this is not that. This is leaning fully into Kardashian-esque beauty culture and creating an illusion that impossible beauty standards might actually be possible. Seeing is believing, after all.
Consciously, we know it’s an illusion. It’s just a filter. It’s not real. But that doesn’t change how our minds process seeing our filtered faces, nor does it change the very real impact they have on our self-image.
“I definitely see a new theme to body dysmorphic concerns,” Dr. Josie Howard, a board-certified psychiatrist who specializes in psychodermatology told InStyle. “People begin to expect themselves to look like their filtered self and can become obsessed with achieving that in the real world, which leaves them depressed, anxious, lonely, and disappointed.”
Experts have been sounding the alarm about the link between augmented reality filters and body image issues. As Harvard Business Review reports, “Physical appearance is a key component of identity and as such it can have a substantial impact on psychological well-being. Studies have shown that virtually modifying appearance can provoke anxiety, body dysmorphia, and sometimes even motivate people to seek cosmetic surgery.”
But we don’t even have to tap professional researchers to tell us all this. Just ask any portrait photographer about the changes they’ve seen in their clientele since the advent of social media filters. Here’s one photographer describing how she sees beautiful women feeling “devasted” by how they look in photos because they want to look like what they see in their filtered social media posts.
This filter is INSANE! Its so real, and i can see how damaging this could be. #filters #women #aging #youth #beauty #reality #photography #womensempowerment #mentalhealth
Photo editing and filters have been around for a long time, but that doesn’t mean they haven’t gotten more ubiquitous and more damaging. A shift in lighting to get rid of unflattering shadows is a very different beast than a filter that changes your entire facial structure and texture to look like a magazine ad.
YESSS! I started noticing it when Snapchat filters hit years ago. The senior girls that I photographed went from LOVING their photos to hating them. I didn’t understand the shift for a while. I stopped doing portraits when it became impossible to please them with their real face.
I would argue that this too-real video filter, which allows you to see yourself in real-time with a model-perfect face, is far more problematic than already-problematic-enough photo filters. Having your face altered that way and having your own movements and your own voice attached to it…it messes with you, even when you know it’s not real. I experienced it myself in just a matter of minutes, and I consider myself fairly immune to such things.
For young women and girls who are just in the early stages of forming their self-image, it’s an extremely dangerous social experiment. Parents, please talk to your kids about the psychological impact beauty filters like these can have, and maybe encourage them to stick to ones that turn faces into horseheads or make flowers fly out of their mouths instead. Those who profit off of women’s insecurities aren’t going to altruistically change, so it’s up to all of us to make sure young people internalize that filters are phony and their faces are fine, just as they are.
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GreenLightGang this shit bigger than POWER trust me. 
BOOM
