you know, i really didn't think she'd do it

am i a swiftie now?

• You know, I really didn’t think she’d do it. But when my alarm went off at 7:30 am this morning, and I sleepily opened Instagram after hitting the snooze button, I knew there was only one reason why Taylor Swift’s face, cat in hands, was looking up from my screen. Your favorite Childless Cat Lady actually came through! Not saying she wouldn’t have done it anyway (and not saying she would), but between Trump’s AI stunts and Brittany Mahomes’ covert endorsement, safe to say her hand was a bit forced here. To say nothing would have been to say a lot. My thoughts on the actual post itself are: 1.) Smart of her to leave her endorsement until after the debate. It gives credence to the whole "I did my research, I’m voting based on policy" thing 2.) Trump is not the only loser here—AI comes in at a close second. 3.) The sign-off was perfect, obviously. In Tree Paine we trust.

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• I’m surprised Vox didn’t mention Clarke Peoples in their article about TikTok Dating Diaries. When I first got the app, I’d watch Clarke’s videos almost religiously, as she recapped her dates with The Rich Guy, The White Guy, The Finance Guy, and a few others. It was the first time I realized the potential of TikTok as a platform that could entirely replace my reality TV diet. As the article pointed out, older women enjoy TikTok dating content because it gives them a window into today’s dating culture, and younger women enjoy it because we can relate. The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives launched on Hulu this month, a spin-off from the whole Taylor Paul Mormon swingers TikTok saga. I think we’re going to see more TikTokers signing reality TV deals in the next few years. The app’s dramatic, multi-player storytelling format is basically reality TV as is.

• The reason why the girls love The Cut is because of content like this: anonymous celebrity beauty brand reviews from their beauty editors. Scarlett Johansson’s skincare brand, The Outset, is surprisingly effective, but no one is convinced she’s the brains behind it. J.LO Beauty is the worst celebrity beauty brand they’ve ever tried. “Two fatal words: olive oil.” Rhode skincare is great. The lip gloss? Not so much. Rare Beauty reigns supreme. And someone finally called out what I’ve been saying— Beyoncé’s brands never hit for the very reason you think they would: she’s Beyoncé.

• According to The New Consumer Trends survey, almost two-thirds of US consumers — and almost three-fourths of Gen Z and Millennials— would pick a health insurance plan that offers them a healthy meal stipend or provides a monthly supply of their favorite “better-for-you” foods, if the cost was the same. This doesn’t surprise me, and if you’ve been paying attention to this newsletter, it shouldn’t surprise you either.

• Sophia Coppola photographed her daughter, Romy Mars, for an interview with Teen Vogue, and it’s very The Virgin Suicides core.

  

  

• I have a certain disdain for people who blame the pandemic for everything that’s gone wrong over the last four years. But Bloomberg has some strong stats, and I’m always willing to be convinced, so now I’m sat. Americans spent as much time alone last year as they did in 2021, and other lasting effects of the pandemic I’d like to share with you:

  • More people were alone and not dating in 2022 than in 2020, after the number of singles first surged.

  • The population of children under 5 years old plunged almost 5% between 2020 and 2023.

  • From 2019 to 2023, there was a 65% surge in new apartments under 1,000 square feet, while units of 1,200 square feet or more declined.

  • The share of drinking at restaurants, bars, and clubs has declined three points since 2017 and is now half the global rate.

  • Time spent "relaxing and thinking" has surged since Covid. Lol what are you guys thinking about?!

  Ofcourse, all this could also be because young people are BROKE!

• HBO has picked up the pilot for a comedy series by Rachel Sennott. Are you not grateful? The show, which follows a codependent friend group navigating how time apart, ambition, and new relationships have changed them, stars Odessa A’zion, Jordan Firstman, Miles Robbins, and True Whitaker. Apparently, it draws inspiration from Girls—always a good sign.

• Old Navy partnered with The Cut for an event celebrating their 30th anniversary. They also relaunched a '90s collection— and, of course, a zine. Brands have been leaning into nostalgia for about two years now. Will they ever lean away? It’s not lost on me that the comeback strategy for mall brands like Gap and J.Crew heavily relies on capturing that nostalgia in a bottle. And when they collaborate with popular indie brands like Doen or Maryam Nassir Zadeh, it gives them a place in the zeitgeist they haven’t had in a long time. There’s an essay in here about culture's obsession with nostalgia and what it all means, but I’m sure it’s already been written. Also, who styled the celebrities for the Old Navy party?

  

  

• It’s a great time to be a consultant—if you’re already employed. Job listings for consulting roles with no hiring activity, or “ghost jobs,” have reached a two year high, according to Greenhouse, while ghost jobs in finance and tech have declined. US consulting market growth slowed to 5.2% last year, down from 14% the previous year, as firms like Accenture, Ernst & Young, and McKinsey have cut jobs or slowed hiring. Wage growth is also slowing, with salary budgets expected to rise just 3.85% next year, down from 5% in 2023. I read somewhere that 40% of McKinsey’s business this year will be generative AI-related, but this article says consultants are scared AI will eventually take their jobs.

• The sad thing about the Morning Shed is that two years ago, we were writing essays and making TikToks about how sad Cassie from Euphoria was for doing what is basically the Morning Shed. And yet, here we are.

• Graza said sales are on track to reach almost $60 million in 2024, a $10 million bump from what the company had been projecting earlier this year, according to an interview with Bloomberg about their package design and that ill-fated #CopyCat LinkedIn post. Graza is a great example of how brand can be a moat, particularly in industries without consistent innovation. The number of times I hear people talk about Graza the product vs. Graza the brand is so funny to me.

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• A few weeks ago, I told you that there was trouble brewing at House Murdoch. It all started when Rupert Murdoch, the rumored inspiration for Succession patriarch Logan Roy, changed the terms of the family trust to ensure that his eldest son and chosen successor, Lachlan, would remain in charge of his media empire. Something about him not being too fond of his other children’s liberal to moderate politics. Now, three of those children are fighting 93-year-old Murdoch in court over the decision, and news outlets are petitioning the courts to make the trial public. Really, they must. The Murdochs own a 14% stake in News Corp, the parent company of The Wall Street Journal, but control 41% of votes at the company through special shares. Activist investor Jeffrey C. Smith, whose hedge fund, Starboard Value, has submitted a nonbinding shareholder proposal that could end the Murdochs’ control, argues that political disagreements among Rupert Murdoch’s children “could be paralyzing to the strategic direction” of News Corp. 2024 has been a rough year for activist investors, and experts say this might be no different. “Most of the time, the minority shareholders vote in favor by a wide margin,” said Brian Quinn, an associate professor at Boston College Law School. “But to no avail.”

• Speaking of The Wall Street Journal, there’s nothing they love more than a good Elon Musk take. This week, they spiced things up with a story about one of his most loyal acolytes instead. “Venture capitalist John Hering bet his career, time, and money on Musk enterprises, seeking a favored seat beside the world’s richest man.” More than half of his fund’s $8 billion in reported assets is parked in Elon’s startups. His firm put $700 million towards Elon’s Twitter takeover and he was one of the largest investors in xAI’s $6 billion round. Co-workers say he’s on a last-minute flight to help an Elon company two or three days a week. In June, he gave $500,000 to America PAC, a pro-Trump super PAC Elon helped create. For all his efforts, he doesn’t hold a board seat at any of Musk’s companies.

• In other news, X hired former Hyundai CMO Angela Zepeda to lead Global Marketing. She’ll be supporting Linda Yaccarino as they try to make advertisers hate X less.