On the one hand Pete Davidson, or Skete to Kanye West, has been admired and, to The Face, ‘is just hot’. Davidson is a lanky, self-proclaimed ‘tired-looking’ comedian who does not fit into the classic and conventional boundaries of male beauty. Yet, mainstream media outlets and influencers have celebrated Davidson, from compliments on his past work to admiration of his relaxed fashion sense. West’s personal attacks towards Davidson’s physical appearance are vicious and awkward and have resulted in West losing several thousand followers; other artists such as Kid Cudi have also distanced themselves from West. However, Kanye’s erratic and momentary Instagram spiels targeted towards the comedian are very much an exception to the mainstream’s love and support.
Whilst one side of Kimye’s new love affairs has been mostly celebrated by the mainstream, with the exception of West, the other has been mocked and ridiculed by the mainstream. Julia Fox, as West’s new lover, has faced relentless criticism and, to Slate Magazine, fulfils the ‘ugly-chic’ title. Shortly after her relationship with Kanye was leaked to the press, Katherine Ryan publicly asked ‘where’s the baby?’ in response to Fox’s birthday Instagram posts with her new lover. Ryan thus falls victim to the toxic trope that fails to grapple with the idea that women can in fact have children and also celebrate their birthdays with friends. Ryan’s comment rings bells of the sexist and outdated assumption that if a mother is not constantly mothering, she fails her one duty in life. Despite proclaiming to be a feminist, Ryan proudly endorses these misogynistic tropes in response to Julia Fox’s birthday.
This criticism has inevitably trickled down into social media discourse. On TikTok, there are several new ‘Julia Fox filters’ that imitate and mock Fox’s appearance with an unattractive, smudged makeup look; while on Twitter, @pjandrzej writes ‘broad shoulders, strong back… water buffalo type broad’ in response to one of the many Tweets describing Fox as a being *built like a firefighter*.
Julia Fox has acted in award-winning films, directed infamous and riveting art shows, worked in New York as a dominatrix, and even written and produced films on sex work. Despite her numerous accomplishments, the most notable things people discuss about her online are her dark makeup looks, recycled leather trousers, and her pronunciation of Uncut Gems. This has somehow driven the internet insane, but what was about it that made us all so angry? At the end of the day, her performance in Safdie’s film was dazzling. Additionally, this media attention has undoubtedly kept Fox’s name on everyone’s lips, further proving she’s been playing us at her own game. Still, the sharp discrepancy in the treatment of the two side characters in the Kim-Kanye feud reveals society’s longstanding obsession with tearing down ‘the other woman’.
Julia Fox’s fast-paced rise to fame has consistently reduced to the basis that she is simple Kanye’s muse, a wannabe Kim Kardashian and gold-digger, riding along the PR high from Kimye’s very public feud. However, Fox has shown us time and again that she is very much a star in her own right. Vogue rightly proclaims that ‘Julia Fox is the moment’. Indeed, she has proven that her fame is rightly deserved by setting the record straight on that infamous Madonna meet-up, claiming she organized it herself. Also quashing media narratives on the ‘goblin mode’ or the supposed tears at LAX after the breakup, turning to her Instagram story to assert ‘I haven’t cried since 1997, and I especially wouldn’t cry over THIS!’. Her LaQuan Smith revenge dress and Juergen Teller shoot certainly showed the world that Julia Fox isn’t going anywhere, and I for one am excited to see what this self-proclaimed ‘hustler’ will do next.
Information obtained from:
https://theface.com/culture/pete-davidson-hot-kim-kardashian-dating-ariana-grande-phoebe-dynevor
https://www.vogue.com/article/julia-fox-is-the-moment