Happy Monday!
It’s been quite a while since we’ve had a proper Lore Drop here on Yap Year. I figured there’s no better guest to bring this segment back than Steffi Cao, culture writer, generational pen, and as it turns out, BIRTHDAY GIRL! Her lore does in fact run deep, so this is just the tip of the iceberg. Subscribe to the Yapper tier so you don’t miss it.
Every Monday letter gets a playlist. Here’s one last playlist to soundtrack your final summertime shenanigans.
In this week’s playlist:
Detour - Kim Petras
Backseat - Balu Brigada
Handle - Ravyn Lenae
OLD FLING$ - Slayyyter
AMERICAN GIRL - Tiffany Day
Don’t Leave Me on the Dance Floor - Carly Rae Jepsen
She’s the Best - Troye Sivan
Sun Has Set - beabadoobee
Brief things I want to share with you.
Girl, what is in the water? Two weeks ago, I brought you a round-up of recent fraud news… and now we’ve got not one, not two, but three internet scammers making headlines? In case you missed it, there was:
Angel Victoria Murdock, a Temptation Island contestant who grew a following by claiming she was a physician assistant student at Duke University. She was recently exposed for lying about participating in the program after her name could not be found in any school records.
Daejon Love, who pretended to be a San Francisco 49ers wide receiver to scam dozens of women out of $1.3 million over four years. He, alongside his alleged accomplice Taylor Chan, have been charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud.
Uras Agee IV, who also faked being in the NFL as part of the Dallas Cowboys, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Pittsburgh Steelers. He purported to be a Super Bowl champion, made various public appearances, and charged money for sponsorships as a professional football player.
Christian Girl Autumn has officially commenced.
I love all of the videos from families who have benefitted from Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library sharing how Parton’s philanthropy helped inspire their children’s love for reading. RIP to a legend!
And while Miley Cyrus mourns the loss of her iconic godmother, she has also announced a new era.
Tonight is the Love Island USA reunion and the teaser is already juicy. That Sol Dean and Melanie Moreno fight is about to be a mess!
Culture writer Steffi Cao
Steffi Cao is a culture writer with bylines in The Atlantic, The Guardian, Rolling Stone, Yahoo News, and more. She previously worked for Buzzfeed News (RIP) and Forbes. Steffi regularly writes dating columns and stories for Slate, so if you have relationship woes, hit her line.
She also writes a newsletter, It’s Steffi, which has had viral hits such as “did skinnytok get michelle obama” and “white women want their power back” (deeply ahead of its time). It’s Steffi has been featured on Slate and NPR. If you have ever read her work and thought, “I wonder what media shaped this pen,” keep reading.
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