10 and a half (!!) years ago, the world was swept up with the Ice Bucket Challenge. I’m sure most of you remember what that was, and, like me, many of you participated in it yourself. If you need a quick refresher, the challenge started in the summer of 2014 as a way to raise money for ALS research. Essentially, someone challenged someone else to either donate money to ALS research or else film themselves dumping a bucket of ice water over their head. It blew the f-ck up thanks to social media (even celebrities got involved in the fun) and most of the time, people did both. There were, of course, detractors who felt that it was just an excuse for attention, but my view has always been that if someone is going to give money to a good cause only to get attention, then whatever. Who cares as long as they’re actually donating the money? That summer, more than $115 million was raised for ALS research while we all got really cold and laughed together.

Well, as it turns out, all of that icing ourselves “for attention” really did make a change. The money raised by the 2014 challenge, as well as subsequent ones in 2015 and 2016, helped fund new research that led to new therapies and a breakthrough in helping to understand the role a certain protein plays in ALS, which helped scientists develop new treatments to “significantly slow down the progression of ALS.”

They developed several new therapies and made critical discoveries in understanding ALS. With any disease, and especially one that’s incurable, you must first understand it in order to treat it. But there was an additional breakthrough.

There are a number of mysterious proteins in the body that aren’t fully understood. One of them is TPD-43. Through Ice Bucket Funding, they’ve discovered this protein is intrinsically related to ALS (most diseases originate from an extremely small origin point). In short, the protein isn’t doing its job correctly (protecting nerves). They figured this out via autopsies of ALS patients, who all showed pervasive dysfunction of TPD-43.

Now, they’re developing treatments that trick these proteins to stop killing nerves. This will significantly slow down the progression of ALS. In fact, the treatments are already working with mice.

This couldn’t have happened without these ice bucket challenges. PR, marketing, and fundraising often get convoluted with attention-seeking tactics, which are, to some extent, necessities of the trade. To designate them all as cheap marketing tactics does a disservice to the diverse set of players.

The Ice Bucket Challenge penetrated every corner of our culture. It was the trifecta of great non-profit marketing: fun, innovative, and monetarily effective. It’s proof that an idea can change the world.

Like HIV, there won’t likely be a cure anytime soon for ALS, but there will be a way to slow its advance. It’ll extend life for people, with more mobility, independence, and time with their families.

[From Yahoo Creators]

This is amazing. I’m not gonna lie – it got really dusty in the room after I read this story. In a world in which science is suddenly under constant attack from the political right and its bad faith actors, it can sometimes feel like the fight for any type of progress is in vain. So, it’s just really moving to hear that something that something we the people took part in actually made a real difference. It feels hopeful that some silly social media challenge we did 10 years ago and then didn’t give much thought to afterward actually saved lives and will continue to save lives. And no, I’m not saying that all scientific research should be crowd-funded. If anything, I hope this news reminds the public that there are good people out there doing incredible, necessary, life-saving work, and they deserve our support and gratitude.

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Sharon Stone had a devastating stroke in 2001 that completely altered the trajectory of her life. She references the stroke a lot, I think because A) it was, to quote our dearly missed president, “a big f–king deal,” and B) because she doesn’t want it to happen to you. Sharon just hosted the American Heart Association Red Dress Collection Concert last week, and once again she took the time to describe what she came back from, reiterating that “I can do it, and I made it, and you can too.” One thing she said in particular that should definitely be amplified, is the reminder that if you’re experiencing any symptoms (like numbness, especially on one side of the body, confusion, difficulty speaking or understanding words), get yourself to a hospital ASAP. Do not wait or hesitate!

“I walked out of that hospital, unable to write my own name,” Stone, 66, tells PEOPLE exclusively while hosting the American Heart Association (AHA) Red Dress Collection Concert on Jan. 30. She said following the stroke, she was “unable to remember anything.”

And yet, the Basic Instinct star tells PEOPLE, “I’m right here hosting this ball on two feet in five-inch heels, and I can do it, and I made it, and you can too.”

After a ruptured vertebral artery bled into her brain for nine days, Stone says there weren’t rehabilitation programs that could help.

“When it happened to me, there wasn’t a program that would help me walk again. There wasn’t a program that would stop my suffering,” Stone explains. “There wasn’t any aftercare, and certainly, insurance companies are f—king us right and left, and there wasn’t any insurance to help me. There wasn’t anything. And I’m sure that there’s probably even less now.”

Her situation was made worse by a turbulent personal life, as her husband Phil Bronstein divorced her during her recovery.

But the Casino alum said she wants people to know they can — and should — fight to survive: “I want to say to people, ‘You can do it.’ And I want them to look at me and know, [I had] a husband that was divorcing me, with everybody fighting to take everything, with the bank, who had taken $18 million all my life savings. I had nothing. I had no money. No career.”

“I was destitute with a 1% chance of surviving,” Stone, who calls herself a “proud survivor,” tells PEOPLE.

The Emmy winner urges people to pay attention to stroke symptoms and to advocate for themselves, warning, “If your face starts to fall in any way or has numbness, if your arm feels strange or numb in any way, if your speech is weird, or you say something and it’s not what you were trying to say, or your speech is slurred — you have no time, call an ambulance.”

“Don’t ask your friends. Don’t ask your husband or someone else, ‘What do you think I should do?’ 911, no questions asked,” Stone continues. “I called people. They hung up on me, left me on the floor, didn’t help me. I was alone for three days on the floor.”

“Get an ambulance and get to the hospital. Walk into oncoming traffic and wave your arms,” she says. “Do not hesitate.”

[From People]

Divorcing your spouse who’s in intense recovery from a stroke is so despicable, this one sentence is the only time I’ll waste on him. I applaud Sharon for raising awareness through her own, hard fought experience, because the advice she shares will be news to someone. The Cleveland Clinic gives the same warning to call 911 immediately. If you’re worried someone is having a stroke in your presence, run through the BE FAST acronym, gauging the person’s facility with Balance, Eyes-Face-Arms movement, Speech, and noting the Time symptoms started. (I’m linking to Cleveland Clinic’s stroke page here, which has more details on how to do BE FAST tests.) I would add that for any suspected head injury, not just stroke, you should go to the doctor immediately. I’ll never forget the lovely Natasha Richardson falling while skiing, but politely declining treatment because she said she felt fine. By the time she felt a headache and finally agreed to go to the hospital, it was too late.

So that’s my PSA courtesy of Sharon Stone with a cameo from the gone-too-soon Natasha Richardson. Now pass it on! (Though maybe not the bit about walking into oncoming traffic; that could end badly.)

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President Joe Biden is looking to make some money now that he’s retired from public service. I haven’t seen anything about a new book deal, but I imagine that’s top of his list, getting a deal for his presidential memoir. But who knows – maybe President Biden is also looking to start a production company or finance some Broadway musicals! CAA will be able to help facilitate it, because he’s just signed up to be represented by them.

Joe Biden has signed with Creative Artists Agency for representation as he begins his post-presidential era.

“President Biden is one of America’s most respected and influential voices in national and global affairs,” said Richard Lovett, co-chairman of CAA. “His lifelong commitment to public service is one of unity, optimism, dignity, and possibility. We are profoundly honored to partner with him again.”

Lovett, along with fellow co-chairs Bryan Lourd and Kevin Huvane, have been among Hollywood’s prominent backers of Biden and Kamala Harris’ re-election campaign as well as other Democratic candidates. The Century City-based mega agency already reps his White House predecessor, Barack and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground Productions, as well as Democratic-leaning pols like Joe Manchin, Susan Rice, Beto O’Rourke and many others across the aisle as part of its speakers bureau.

And the move for the Delaware politician marks a homecoming for Biden and the agency, which had repped him during his post-vice presidential wilderness years from 2017 through his 2020 victory over Donald Trump. In that time, Biden published a book, Promise Me, Dad, reflecting on his eldest son Beau’s battle with cancer, as well as embarked on a nationwide paid tour.

Biden formally oversaw the transition of power on Jan. 20 to the second Trump administration and hasn’t yet unveiled typical post-presidential moves like a book deal or speaking gigs (or any sort of first-look or streaming deal).

[From THR]

Honestly, I would imagine that at this stage of life, Biden is going to be more focused on enjoying his retirement, spending time with Jill and their grandchildren and grilling by the beach. But yeah, this is probably more about getting a book deal and maybe doing some paid speaking gigs. I would imagine that he needs some financial backing for his presidential library too?

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

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I like Pete Davidson. I’ve followed his story since he started on SNL and have always rooted for him. He seems like a generally decent person who suffered personal tragedy at a young age (his father was a firefighter who died on 9/11) and has spent years actively fighting his personal demons. I find it telling that, despite his long list of ex-lovers, no one has ever really come out and talked sh-t or leaked any scandals about him.

Pete is currently starring as the voice of Petey the Cat in the Dogman movie (I saw it on Friday evening with my older son), so he went on Drew Barrymore’s talk show as a part of his promo tour. He was, as expected, charming and quirky, which come to think of it, is also Drew’s whole schtick too. One of the things they talked about was Pete’s strong opinion about men’s feet. It’s absolutely one of those conversations that I have on my 2025 bingo card:

Drew: You think that men should never show their feet?
Pete: You should never see a guy’s feet, never.

Drew: And why do you feel this way? Because I’m not *not* with you.
Pete: Because they’re horrible! They’re just terrible to look at and nobody wants to see them and you should always cover them up.

Drew: So what do you do? How do you avoid the feet showing?
Pete: You gotta just always keep socks on, even at the beach. Unless you go in the water. Then you can take them off, but other than that…”

[From Instagram]

First of all, this is spoken like a true New Yorker and clearly not a man who grew up living life on the beach. (Sure, Staten Island is an island with summertime beach culture, but it is not #beachlife.) I may have grown up on neighboring Long Island, but I am one of those people who only wear socks for shoe-comfort and winter-warmth. Otherwise, I genuinely can’t stand wearing them. I like my feet to be free and am not generally grossed out about any men’s feet around me. In fact, I don’t really ever look at other people’s feet. Am I an anomaly or do people really pay that much attention to other people’s feet?

This brings me to my second thought. It’s also somewhat sweet of Pete to have this kind of consideration. It makes me wonder if attention to details like this is something that helps him attract women. He strikes me as someone who is very thoughtful about how they treat and act around others. I think that’s why I’m always rooting for him.

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It was the easiest thing to predict: of course the Windsors will be a flurry of activity and public appearances over the next few weeks. They’ve timed everything around the Invictus Games, which start on February 8th in Vancouver and Whistler. Prince William and Kate were practically wailing “PAY ATTENTION TO MEEEEE” during the Dusseldorf games in 2023, and William organized a bunch of completely random “events” in an attempt to steal Harry’s thunder. This time, it looks like Kate is being sent out in a big way – she’s launching yet another Early Years busywork program or something. The way it’s being written about, I can’t even tell what is being launched or how it’s different than her other busywork “launches.” It’s Project Kate Is Keen About Early Years.

The Princess of Wales has launched a new initiative aimed at developing the nation’s “social and emotional skills” to alleviate the human cost from a world sometimes filled with “mistrust and misunderstanding”.

Kate said the state of modern life was leaving many feeling “isolated and vulnerable” during troubled periods, resulting in “poor mental health, addiction and abuse” that was “devastating” for those affected and society.

The solution is to “develop and nurture” the social and emotional skills we all possess from the moment we are born which are the “bedrock of any healthy, happy society”, but this must be a priority if we are to “thrive”.

Kate’s Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood has published the Shaping Us Framework aimed at increasing awareness of these soft or life skills to inspire action across society. The future Queen said in her foreword for a report outlining the framework: “Modern society is complex. At times, it can feel like the world is filled with mistrust and misunderstanding, leaving many people feeling isolated and vulnerable during difficult times. The impact of this, poor mental health, addiction and abuse, can be devastating, for individuals and for society.”

“If we are to address this properly, if we are to find real, lasting solutions to these deep-rooted challenges and create a physically and mentally healthier society, we must reset, restore, and rebalance. We must invest in humankind.”

[From The Evening Standard]

People Magazine noted, “In the coming days, Kate will be out and about promoting a new part of her campaign, underlining how she is gradually getting back into her stride with her public work after a year spent largely out of the public eye.” At some point, I do hope someone questions why the Windsors behave like jealous, attention-seeking children whenever they know Harry and Meghan will be out in public.

As for Kate’s appearances, they will be used to promote – I think? – yet another awareness-raising campaign, because Kate’s Early Years & Buttons Institute continues to poll people about their “awareness” of the importance of Early Years. It’s a tremendous waste of time, money and effort, as always. But at least Kate gets to make pronouncements like “Modern society is complex” and “We must invest in humankind.” Anything more specific than that? Which investments should be made, Kate? Universal Pre-K, government funded child-development programs like Head Start? Kate will never get that specific, not when she could “raise awareness” of the importance of the Early Years and present her book report during the Invictus Games. “The early years are important because they’re early, most people don’t know how early or how important, the world is so complex and we must invest in children!”

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

It’s difficult to know which awful story to even highlight and discuss on a daily basis. Should we talk about how Elon Musk now has access to the US Treasury’s payments system? Or how President Musk locked government workers out of their computer systems? Or should we talk about the growing f–king trade crisis between America’s neighbors? This is the stupidest f–king thing in the world, and it’s just Donald Trump inventing a crisis where none exists. As Trump promised on the campaign trail, he’s going through with huge tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods. In response, Canada and Mexico will also impose extreme tariffs on American goods.

President Donald Trump vowed Sunday to move ahead with steep new tariffs on U.S. allies and trading partners, saying the nation has been ripped off and is “not going to be the ‘Stupid Country’ any longer,” while Canada and Mexico prepared financial countermeasures.

“WILL THERE BE SOME PAIN? YES, MAYBE (AND MAYBE NOT!)” Trump posted on Truth Social. “BUT WE WILL MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, AND IT WILL ALL BE WORTH THE PRICE THAT MUST BE PAID.”

Trump commented hours after imposing new levies on imports from Canada, Mexico and China, the nation’s three largest trading partners, bewildering the leaders of Canada and Mexico. The tariffs are set to take effect early Tuesday, when American importers will be assessed a new 25 percent tax on goods from Canada and Mexico and 10 percent on products from China.
Most imports from Canada and Mexico currently face no tariffs, the result of a trilateral trade deal Trump reached with those countries during his first term. Many Chinese products already are assessed tariffs of up to 25 percent. Trump has said he’s adding 10 percent to Chinese products.

Trump has framed the levies as a response to an “invasion” of migrants and fentanyl across the nation’s northern and southern borders.

Canada punched back Sunday, releasing a list of 1,256 U.S. goods to be hit with tariffs starting Tuesday, including oranges from Florida, household appliances from Ohio and South Carolina, and motorcycles from Pennsylvania.

A senior Canadian government official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to brief reporters, said the goal was in part to inflict pain in such a way that it would mobilize Republican politicians to press Trump to drop the tariffs — a tactic that Canada used during the first Trump administration.

“This is disrupting an incredibly successful trading relationship,” Kirsten Hillman, Canada’s ambassador to the United States, told ABC’s “This Week.” “We’re hopeful that they don’t come into effect Tuesday.” She said Canadian officials have been “meeting nonstop” with U.S. border officials and “it’s hard to know what more we can do.”

[From WaPo]

Not content to merely start a trade war over nothing, Trump, JD Vance and other people within the administration are insulting our North American neighbors and denigrating our shared history. From everything I’ve seen, Canadians are beyond pissed and this has inspired a nationalistic fervor within Canada. Good – I hope Canada inflicts a lot of pain on the US. Canadians always say that Americans behave like the methheads in the apartment below. They’re exactly right.

TRUDEAU: “I want to speak directly to Americans — our closest friends and neighbors… yes, this will harm Canadians, but it will also have real consequences for you.” #TrumpTradeWar

[image or embed]

— The Tennessee Holler (@thetnholler.bsky.social) February 2, 2025 at 10:48 AM

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I enjoyed some of the performances at last night’s Grammys, but you could tell that some of those people are not real-deal live performers. That wasn’t the case with Chappell Roan, who did a very good live performance of “Pink Pony Club.” Chappell also picked up the coveted Grammy Award for Best New Artist. The Grammys continue to give BNA to artists who have been around for several years, but whatever. I actually thought BNA would go to Sabrina Carpenter and I hoped it would go to Shaboozey, but here we go. For the red carpet, Chappell wore a 2003 Jean Paul Gaultier piece which… it’s fine. It’s her thing, to be this camp.

Sabrina Carpenter got a lot of attention for her campy vibe too – she wore a custom Jonathan Anderson gown in ice blue, with some very big Chopard diamonds. I thought her look was meh and so was her performance. She did win a Grammy though – Best Pop Vocal Album. Sure.

It definitely looks like Lady Gaga’s latest incarnation is Darth Gaga, or Goth Gaga. I’m here for it! Her red carpet look was Samuel Lewis.

Kacey Musgraves wore Ralph Lauren – she’s so pretty, and there were some cutaways to her when Beyonce won her Grammys – Kacey seemed pretty happy for Bey.

I have yet to form an opinion on Gracie Abrams, but I know she’s being pushed really hard as the next big thing. Is any of this organic? She wore Chanel last night – I wish the dress was longer.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid.

Remember when the Princess of Wales dropped $40K on a DIY craft tiara for the coronation in 2023? That is still one of the most bonkers royal-style moments of the past decade. The headpiece designer made a big deal about how amazing the piece was and how Kate is so stylish and it was so smart for Kate to wear that crafting project on her head. Well, no more. No more talking about Kate’s expensive headpieces or her attempts to homage Diana by wearing Royal Collection jewels. No more talk of buttons or Meghan cosplay or flag-dressing. From now on, Kate demands that no one talk about her clothes or her style. I’m sure this will go over well with the Keen fans.

As one of the most recognised women in the world, the Princess of Wales’s fashion choices have always been closely scrutinised and analysed. Now, in a move signalling her wish for the focus to be on her work not her wardrobe, Kensington Palace will no longer release details of her outfits.

Since Kate, 43, became a member of the royal family when she married in April 2011, Kensington Palace has routinely issued details of the clothes she wears on public engagements to some members of the media. But that will stop now the princess is continuing with her gradual return to work after completing her treatment for cancer last year.

A palace source said: “There is an absolute feeling that it [the public work] is not about what the princess is wearing. She wants the focus to be on the really important issues, the people and the causes she is spotlighting. There will always be an appreciation of what the princess is wearing from some of the public and she gets that. But do we need to be officially always saying what she is wearing? No. The style is there but it’s about the substance.”

Buckingham Palace routinely issues details of the Queen’s outfits for all her public engagements.

The move by Kensington Palace will be seen as part of a shift in Kate’s approach to her public work since being diagnosed with cancer. In a video message in September, confirming the princess had completed a course of preventative chemotherapy, she spoke of how her cancer journey had given her “a new perspective on everything” and the importance on reflecting on the “simple yet important things in life”.

It is understood that the palace may still occasionally issue details of significant outfits or jewellery worn by the princess for the most important family and state events, but not for her other public engagements.

[From The Times]

I’ve been covering Kate long enough where I remember when she tried to make this into a thing many years ago, before Prince Harry even met Meghan. Kate – or someone at Kensington Palace – tried to complain about how much focus there was on Kate’s style over her substance. I believe KP has tried to not ID her clothes before as well. The thing is, all of that was quietly walked back long ago because… there’s not a lot of substance to talk about, and because even Kate’s biggest fans want to talk about her fashion over her “work.” Kate enjoyed those conversations back in 2017-2019, because she was telling everyone that only *she* got to wear Royal Collection jewelry (and not Meghan!) and she had the fashion contacts (Meghan was trying to get them!) and that she could style herself just like Meghan but better than Meghan (because Kate is white!).

This new insistence on “no fashion IDs” reads, to me, like Kate and her people severely misunderstanding her appeal to her biggest fans. It’s also an admission that Kate isn’t a fashionista, which has always been the case. Anyway, this will actually hurt the British fashion industry, even if the “Kate Effect” was always overhyped nonsense. The mass-market labels did get a genuine boost from Kate wearing their clothes, even if the couture houses rarely wanted Kate to wear their stuff.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

Introduction: Minutes 0 to 3:45
I am recovering well from a hysterectomy. Chandra had a stomach virus last weekend which is why we didn’t publish on Sunday. You can listen below or on YouTube.

Oscar nominated movies we watched: Minutes 3:45 to 13:00
There are no spoilers in this section. We both loved Conclave as we discussed in the last episode. I want it to win best picture. I saw Emilia Perez before the controversies and I really liked it. We both saw Wicked. Chandra liked it more than I did. She loved Anora and wishes that Mikey Madison would have done a bigger Oscar campaign. We both hated The Substance and wonder why it’s getting so much buzz. We both saw A Real Pain and liked it. We wonder why Denzel Washington wasn’t nominated for his performance in Gladiator II. Chandra liked Maria and was hoping Angelina would be nominated. She saw A Complete Unknown and thought Timothee Chalamet was great in it. I highly recommend Day of The Jackal on Peacock and am watching Paradise on Hulu. We’re both watching the second season of Severance.

Royals: Minutes 13:00 to 21:30
In early January we got the announcement of Duchess Meghan’s new lifestyle show on Netflix called With Love, Meghan. She’s also back on Instagram. Her show was supposed to premiere on January 15th, but was delayed until March 4th due to the terrible wildfires in Los Angeles.

NGN settled with Prince Harry on the day the trial was supposed to start. If Harry hadn’t taken the settlement, it would have altered the case. This was a win for Harry since NGN admitted guilt. Harry’s security case is still in the courts.

The Invictus Games are going to be February 8th to the 16th in Vancouver. We hope Meghan is there most of the time, but we’ll see.

The Vanity Fair cover story on Harry and Meghan came out a couple of weeks ago. It’s very similar to the British narrative we’ve been hearing about their relationship for years now, and it’s insidious and despicable. Chandra wrote some good analysis about how the piece was meant to tear Harry down before he testified against NGN.

Princess Kate and Prince William have done so many events this week. Kate’s surprise visit to Royal Marsden hospital on January 14th was curiously timed.

Politics: Minutes 21:30 to 29:00
Following the horrific plane collision between a US Army helicopter and a commercial flight, Trump did a press conference and blamed DEI policies. Both the plane crash and the response by Trump were predicted by a University of Maryland political science professor. He tweeted on January 29, a day before, that there weren’t enough air traffic controllers and that Trumpers would blame a crash on DEI. Trump had recently fired the head of the FAA and put a hiring freeze on air traffic controllers.

Here’s a link to the Bluesky post that I mentioned about small acts of resistance. Here’s a link to the segment from Rachel Maddow where immigrants were undergoing training on how to respond to ICE.

We’re frustrated at people asking Democrats to do something. It will probably take some time before people realize that they were wrong to vote for Trump.

Comments of the Week: Minutes 29:00 to end
Chandra’s comment of the week is from SussexWatcher on the post about Prince William visiting a farm.

My comment of the week is from Rai on the post about Chappell Roan. I didn’t delete the comment I was responding to, it was just at the bottom and I missed it when we were recording.

Thanks for listening bitches!

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Beyonce finally did it! Or should I say, the Recording Academy finally did it, they finally gave Beyonce an Album of the Year Grammy. This was Beyonce’s first-ever AOTY – she didn’t win an AOTY Grammy for Lemonade or the self-titled album or Renaissance act i. It’s slightly insane that she won it for Cowboy Carter, her “country album,” but here we are. Beyonce not only picked up AOTY, she also won the Grammy for Best Country Album. Beyonce is now the most nominated and awarded artist in Grammy history.

In case you’re wondering about Bey’s Grammy look, it was a custom piece by Schiaparelli. It didn’t fit her correctly, and she was adjusting it throughout the night. We rarely see Beyonce have any kind of wardrobe malfunction, but the way she kept f–king with the bust of the dress, she was nervous that one of the girls would pop out. That’s poorly done by Schiaparelli. The one nice thing I’ll say is that the dress did have a sparkly country-and-western theme.

By picking up her first AOTY, Beyonce became the first Black woman to win in the top category in the 21st century. The last Black woman to win AOTY was Lauryn Hill. Beyonce now joins Hill, Natalie Cole and Whitney Houston as the only Black women to win AOTY. I’m including her acceptance speeches below – her reaction to winning Best Country Album is already a meme, as is Blue Ivy motioning to her mama to get up and accept the award.

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