For this week’s Hot Take Friday, we’re once again sharing opinions on controversial issues in pop culture: Sabrina Carpenter and Barry Keoghan’s breakup, Apple Replay v. Spotify Wrapped, and the Bird Flu outbreak in California.
Sabrina Carpenter and Barry Keoghan’s Breakup
Sabrina Carpenter, a singer/songwriter who has gone viral for her Short N’ Sweet Tour, recently ended her relationship with her boyfriend of a year, Barry Keoghan, an actor known for his roles in Saltburn and The Banshees of Inisherin.
The couple sparked dating rumors in December 2023, when the pair was spotted grabbing dinner in Los Angeles, according to People. Since then, Keoghan has been spotted at Carpenter’s Coachella set in April, and even starred in her music video for her song, “Please Please Please.”
Rumors also swirled about a “break” in Carpenter and Keoghan’s relationship back in August, a month before Carpenter’s tour began. According to ELLE, the couple has been “on and off” all year.
It’s funny, honestly, because Carpenter wrote “Please, Please, Please,” for Keoghan, singing, “I beg you, don't embarrass me, m—.” She warned him not to make her look like a fool, which looks like he has as he’s been accused of cheating on her with a social media influencer.
Keoghan is not a stranger to controversy—he’s been in drama this year for allegedly being a deadbeat father, according to Teen Vogue. These accusations prompted fans to warn Carpenter to stay away as he clearly can’t be trusted. Given this and Carpenter’s unfortunate dating history, perhaps it was best for the couple to separate. Although Keoghan publicly supported Carpenter’s music, it doesn’t seem like things were great behind the scenes, as a few times this year the couple has been subject to speculation on their relationship. I think Carpenter needs to focus on herself and her career, as she’s been publicly humiliated by exes, and involved in love triangles one too many times. If Keoghan isn’t a great romantic partner, Carpenter should move on with her life.
Apple Replay v. Spotify Wrapped
This week, both Apple and Spotify released their year-end music “rewind,” showing app users/listeners what their year looked like through the lens of music.
Every year, users of both music-listening platforms predict the day both will be released (usually the end of November or the first week of December). When they’re released, users tend to post their musical infographics to Instagram or Snapchat stories to share with their followers.
This year, Spotify found itself in some controversy. It did not provide users with their top music genres or top albums and also relied heavily on AI for needing more detailed metrics, according to Forbes. Users were also given a “Music Evolution” list (a microgenre for a select month) that had weird names, like “Pink Princess Pilates Princess Hollywood Pop” season and “Pumpkin Spice Duduk Bedroom Pop” moment.
Additionally, Apple Replay has been in controversy in 2023 for incorrect stats. There has been none this time around.
I’ve been a Spotify user since 2017. That’s a long time. I never used Apple Music, and I honestly think Apple ripped off Spotify with the idea. I can’t speak on which I think is better, because I’ve only been a Spotify user. However, in previous years, I’ve gotten mad that my stats were wrong (I remember one year my top song wasn’t my top song), although this year I agreed they were correct.
Apple Replay and Spotify Wrapped are fun to look forward to at the end of the year. It seems like they do the same thing—show you your top songs, artists, genres, etc.—so I don’t think it matters which is better at the end of the day. Whichever one floats your boat, and I can get behind that—as long as the stats aren’t incorrect.
Bird Flu-Infected Raw Milk in California
On Dec. 4, California officially banned raw milk—but probably for a reason you’re not expecting (or maybe you are).
Mark McAfee opened Raw Milk LLC in 1998, intending to build “a healthier world where raw milk is safe, embraced, and easily accessible,” according to Raw Milk LLC’s website. This week, the raw milk products were “voluntarily recalled following multiple detections of bird flu virus in the company’s milk and dairy supply,” according to ABC News.
The farm has been placed under quarantine. Officials suspended the “distribution of its raw milk, cream, kefir, butter, and cheese products produced on or after Nov. 27,” according to ABC News.
In July, Erewhon, a popular (and expensive) grocery store in California, caught the attention of the Los Angeles Times with their “raw animal-based smoothie a concoction of kefir (fermented milk), beef organs, so-called Immunomilk (freeze-dried cow’s colostrum, which is its initial breast milk after giving birth), raw honey, blueberries, bananas, lucuma fruit sweetener, coconut cream, sea salt and maple syrup,” according to the LA Times.
If you’ve been on any form of social media, it seems, for some reason, California’s been on this “raw dairy products” craze for the past year. What’s crazy is that pasteurization was created to kill the harmful bacteria in milk-based products, so raw products are going to make people sick. It’s smart to drink pasteurized milk, regardless of what benefits of raw milk are preached to you on the internet. Don’t buy into this dangerous health fad, period.
Dominique Mercadante is the head editor for The Setonian’s Campus Life section. She can be reached at dominique.mercadante@student.shu.edu.
