Moe Diggs is a journalist, cultural commentator, and podcaster. She joins Simone and Danielle to dive into the juiciest pop culture moments of the week, from dissecting the Tony Awards, to Usher’s latest fasting routine, to Ariana Grande’s recent album. And they debate the best rom-com movies of all time.
Hello Sunshine, Hey fam Today on the bright side, it's Friday, y'all, which means we're popping off and talking this week's buzziest pop culture moments. Joining us to dish is journalists, cultural commentator and fellow podcaster Mo Digs. It's Friday, June twenty First, I'm Simone.
Boyce, I'm Danielle Robe and this is the bright side from Hello Sunshine.
Danielle.
I feel like it's tradition. I have to say, we made it to Friday.
Tgif we made it, we made it.
We made it girl.
Okay, we are popping off because it is Friday, and today we're talking the best rom comms of all time, surprise music reunions, and an R and B king who says he never eats on Wednesdays.
How tragic we never skip a meal.
Well, before we dig into the biggest moments of the week, Simon and I want to spotlight our favorite moment of the week, brought to you by our friends at BMW.
Yes, and the spotlight of the week is going to a who will forever be an icon. And I do not use that word lightly. It's Celine Dion. This week she made a rare public appearance at the premiere of her new documentary I Am Selene Dion. And in the documentary, she gives audiences an unfiltered look at her life as she navigates a very rare illness.
It's called stiff persons syndrome.
You know, she's been so open about her battle with stiff person syndrome, which is a rare neurological and autoimmune disorder that causes stiffness in her muscles and sadly, it impacts her ability to move and to sing, and so she's had to cancel performances and stop her successful Vegas show as a result, and it's been hard to watch.
She's our Selene Dion.
I know we all feel this like collective sense of ownership over her because she's been such a huge part of our lives and she continues to be this embodiment of resilience and vulnerability. Not only has she shared this struggle pretty publicly, but she's also been so candid about the challenges of raising her kids as a single mom after the passing of her husband in twenty sixteen.
I mean, talk about resilience.
I am just in awe of her and I cannot wait to spend my weekend blasting Selene bangers and counting down the minutes until I can watch this documentary.
Honestly, it looks so good and I think we're going to get a breath of who Selene Dion is at this moment. The documentary received a standing ovation at the premiere this week, not surprisingly but very exciting to see, and Selene called it a love letter to each of us. So I'm excited to see what she means by that, and I'm excited to see this. It comes out next week on June twenty fifth.
All right, it's time to pop off officially, so let's bring in Mo Dig. She's a journalist, a podcast host with hilarious hot takes, and a good time girl.
Welcome to the bright Side, Mo.
Hi, guys, thank you so much for having me. I'm so excited to be initiated as a bride side bestie.
Ah, you've been a bestimo. We're so happy to have you.
Yay.
Mo. You're usually popping off on pop culture with your podcast. It's called a convot with Mo, where you enjoy spilling the tea and just having great conversations and you actually connect all of this the work that you're doing. Now to your backstory, how so?
So I am a first and Ghanian American girl. I grew up with African parents that were really strect, and so I had to sneak around to get in my MTV, I had to sneak around to get in my E news and my ety Like I was just what I loved pop culture growing up, and I feel like the rebellious side of me was just like I have to be in the know, and so I always connect just like my experiences and growing up first gen African with everything that's going on in the world.
I love that so much.
That means you're going to be very passionate about all the pop culture topics that we're getting into today.
Oh girl, I am too excited.
Let's be in sewet all right, let's pop off.
So first up, the Tony Awards took place in New York City this Sunday. Brookshields turned heads wearing crocs on the red carpet.
Did you see those bright yellow crocks?
I did?
I did? I did?
Is now the time to discuss Brookshields dinner crocks? Or should I wait until the end, because let's pop ey, I need to Okay, let's pop off because I need to unpack this. Was it a comfort thing? I mean, what was going on there?
I am like a Jone Rivers of the Red Carpet, y'all, like I'd be at home in my pajamas on my phone rating everyone's outfits.
I just couldn't understand it, Like I couldn't make sense.
Hit, I'm gonna make the two of you feel so bad after this.
You're ready?
No, No, she has surgery and so she showed up to the Tonys even so.
I love the crocs.
I feel like there's a cuter way to do that. I'm gonna be. I'm gonna be. I just feel like there's a cutter way to do it. Like, I just feel like I'm did the doctor prescribe the crops?
Yell?
It was cute, Danielle. I'm not hated, Danielle.
I don't like Wow, Apple, like Sketchers has something that could have worked a little bit better than the cropping orthopedic from Sketchers.
Do you know what?
I'm Sketcher's collab.
I just think there are other options besides crocs, like I get it, girlfriends and recovery, like I no shade on that front. But Freda Salvador makes really cute braided flats, like there are a ballerina flats, like they are all different kinds of thweat's.
So poor you can't wear a flat post surgery, you know what? Never mind, I'm moving on. I don't agree with the two of you.
We're talking Tony So Angelina Jolie attended with her daughter Vivian. Daniel Radcliffe won for his role and Merrily we roll along and he gave a really moving speech while his co star Jonathan Groff got pretty emotional. But this is the moment that had me on my feet watching and the internet ablaze. There was a surprise reunion and performance with Alicia Keys and jay Z.
Did you guys watch this?
Yes? So good, so good? But why was I still cringing?
Like I still felt like someone was gonna walk on stage?
I know, I think we're all waiting for her Lo Mama to walk on.
Stage, like I was like, oh, like is something gonna happen? Like I'm scared? And then after the end, I had like a deep breath. Okay, great job, guys, Simone.
Will you give everyone a background in case they don't know about.
The Little Mama moment.
Yes, of course.
So the last time that they performed this song together was that the VMA Is in two thousand and nine, and Lot Mama notoriously crashed their moment. I think she just got so overwhelmed and overcome by the lyrics and the emotionality of the song, and she just she walked up into their performance and thought that she was completing their ensemble up there.
It kind of ruined her career. To be honest, yes, I will say.
She's on records saying is the moment that ruined her career?
She has said.
You know what's funny, though, the Internet has totally embraced that moment. I feel like people like love rewatching that moment and talking about that moment. So I'm like, why don't y'all just make it a trio, get Little Mama on the track, you know, bring her up for the next performance. Give the internet what they want, give the people what they want.
But I think what they wanted was a jay Z performance. He's been kind of out and about recently in a way. We haven't seen him in a while. Are they older on stage? Yes, it's not. The Empire state of Mind music video that we saw back in the day, but I love it. There's like so much nostalgia there. So my question to you is, was this what's next? Was the Tony's moment the moment that she was alluding to, or is there a potential collab in the future.
I hope there's a potential collab in the future. Alicia has been trailblazing. I mean, she just had like an amazing tour and she's doing like a bunch of artwork.
Hell's Kitchen, her Broadway show. She was not dominated for thirteen Tonys for that show.
Yes, I'm hoping that there's more with her and jay Z, and I want more from jay Z, Like I feel like we're seeing a lot of him on the business front, but we want more music, Like we're okay, Sean Carter, we want jay Z bring hove back.
Okay.
Another collaboration that is taking over the internet, y'all, and it is striking deep at the core of our nostalgic heartstrings comes from Ariana Grande. So on her most recent album, Eternal Sunshine, Ariana released a track called the Boy Is Mine. Obviously, there are all these immediate comparisons to a nineties classic between Brandy and Monica of the same name. That song lives rent free in my mind. I don't know about you two, but have you heard Ariana's track? What do you think about the overlap here?
I love the overlap. I love Ariana's track.
I just really want to get into the collab of Brandy and Monica, guys, like this is long overdue again obviously, I don't know if you guys know, but there's so much like unspoken between the two of them, and everyone's always kind of pitting them against each other. So I feel like for them to come out and be like the dramas coming from y'all and not ours, Like we are legends, we are coexisting, we are bossing, we are killing it, creating history together. I just I cannot wait. And I loved the music video. Did you guys see the music video?
It was so good and there's a remix dropping now. But here's what I'm curious about, because I'm sitting here trying so hard not to sing the original boy as Mine, like that song is just so in all of us that grew up in that moment. But we keep seeing this nostalgia, Like we just talked about Alicia and jay Z, what do you think it is that we're craving all this? Like what did the two thousands give us that we're not getting right now?
People are craving a simpler time. I mean, we were all either kids or teenagers in the nineties and two thousands, if we're talking about millennials and you know, older gen Z folks, And I think we're all craving that simplest of growing up then having fewer responsibilities. The world seemed like a simpler place back then. I also feel like we just like pure music. We like what makes us feel good, and I'm always resorting to.
What makes me feel good.
Okay, guys, I have a different thought. I think we're getting old. I think that we have crossed over into true adulthood because I remember being in the car with my parents and they would put on like the Rolling Stones or the Eagles, and they would be like, oh it, remember these classics in college? Like that was their music, Tina Turner. Now this is our music, Like we feel these memories connected to this music of our childhood, of high school, of college, of riding around in cars with our friends, of dancing at parties, and we are craving those memories like we are officially old.
Yes, and there is something to be said for the fact that the music of yesteryear was just higher quality.
If you look at it holistically, it was higher quality.
Helly, yes, it was more pure, like MO said, and everything else now that we're getting is derivative from that.
Yes, everyone is sampling.
This is proving my point that you are old because that is what our parents said.
That is exactly what our parents.
Said, because it was correct, because it's true. Okay, I have a question before we move on to our next topic. What are some other Y two K collabs or songs that you would love to.
See remixed with a new perspective.
I need some in sync like I want take me back to the boy bands. I need the remix on the boy bands please. I feel like nobody is tapping into the boy bands and I need the collabs. I need the reunions. That's some other topic, but yeah, take me back to the boy bands please.
I love that.
I need the five part harmonies. Where are the five part harmonies?
I want to hear the boys crying in the songs like I want to hear the emotion and the muse like.
I'm waiting for a Destiny's Child moment. I'm waiting for TLC kind of tried. They brought Lotto in instead of Left Eye. It didn't really work. That's a tough one. Yeah, but yeah I want how about the Nellie Kelly Rowland.
I want a Dilemma reunion. We need something from Kelly.
Yes, yes, I also miss those fat Timberland be like there was a whole era of just like Timberland club bangers that I would love to come back, like the Nellie Fertado area. Yes, come on, Timberland. We need you the people, We need you to bring Sexy back. I don't know, Mo.
We're having so much fun with you, but we have to take a quick break. Stay with us, and we're back to popping off with Mo Digs. Okay, we talked music. I want to talk movies. Are you rom com girlies?
I am a rom com girly on the airplane, especially, like specifically it's a.
Niche like on the airplane. I only watch rom.
Coms me too. Why do you think that is?
I just feel like I'm always if I'm traveling, I'm always just in like a lovely happy mood. So like I don't want to watch like some dark movie on the plane, Like I want to watch something that's.
Gonna make me feel good.
Like give me something like Matthew McConaughey, Like you know what I mean, Like something that's gonna make me feel good.
You know, I haven't always been a rom com girly to be honest, Like I didn't grow up loving them. But now I think I'm softening to them. I'm like opening myself up to them more. I love that Simon, like I love Bridgerton. That's about as rom com as you could get. Is we're just in a rom com. I mean it's kind of yeah, kind of bit. I know, yeah, it's a period rom com. I have to tell you. Rom Coms are my genre. They are the they are what.
I consider cinema. I love the rom com genre. They make me so happy and Moe I agree. I watch them on planes all the time. But there's this new list from the Cut that's all about twenty five best rom coms to watch right now, So I'm not going to go throughout twenty five, but I do want to ask you about the top five to see if you agree or disagree.
Let's hear it, let's hear it. Okay.
Number five is a Knight's Tale. I've never seen that.
I love a night's tale. He fledged, I've also never seen that. Oh my gosh, a Night's Tale is so good.
Simone.
Maybe you're more of a rom com girlly than you let on.
But see it.
They got me with the knights like I love anything medieval, so they got me with like the jousting, and then I was there for the jousting, and then the romance was like a side, like a juicy little side.
Okay, well, speaking of period pieces, P and Prejudice, but the two thousand and five version with Karen Knightley came in at number four.
Love classic.
Am I not a wrong come girl because I've only seen the real pride in Prejudice?
Oh wait, hold on, maybe I'm not a.
Row I'm going to give you the next three and then you let me know. Number three is ten Things I Hate about You. Number two is my best friend's wedding, and number one I have to be honest, I haven't seen this either. It's called Sabrina, released in nineteen fifty four with Audrey Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart.
I think I've seen the remake of Sabrina same. I don't think i've seen the you remember that one. I don't think i've seen the original with Audrey. I've never watched anything while Audrey Heppern loved her Double.
Fashion, I can don't want to see the old ladies.
Yeah, like my movie's gotta be in color. I just I like list.
This is my thing with Lis. I just feel like, who is making these lists? If you're going to pull a list out, I need to know who's making them. I need to know their social security. I need to know where they grew up. I need to know what kind of music they listen to, what gives them the credigious How many rom coms have they watched their entire life? Because like Sabrina's number one, cause way it's a classic, Like I don't I've never seen it.
You know, where is love in basketball? Where's love? Actually?
Like where are some of the Maybe they're on this list, they're just deeper, but they those belong in the top ten.
To me, I want to give you my new list because I agree with you. I don't think this person was credentialed everything. Julia Roberts notting Hill, Pretty Woman, Runaway Bride. If she's in it, it's a rom com to me, Sweet Home Alabama, classic rom com, How Stella Got Her Groove Back? Simone, you hit on one of my favorites. Love in basketball when Harry met Sally, He's just not that into you.
What about You've Got Mail?
Classic?
Yes, all the Nancy Meyers movies, Crazy Rich Aisans is so low on this list. This Crazy Rich Asians is like a top five movie of all time for me. I'm so sorry, Like, that movie is amazing. I can watch that movie backwards. That movie is so good.
I feel the same with what we need to do, Danielle.
We need to let's release our own bright side version of the best twenty five rom coms and we'll post it on our social media.
I love this so much. We could do it right now. It's so easy.
Up next is a story that I'm really having a hard time digesting. A major celebrity is making news about fasting. And I'd love to make this feel like it's a news story, because yes, it was a conversation in the Wall Street Journal. But I'm just gonna put this out there. Usher doesn't eat on Wednesdays. I don't understand Usher is claiming that he's intermittent fasting. Let me start by saying, there are several different types of fasting that you can do. Intermittent fasting is one of them where you only eat during a certain window of time during the day.
But he doesn't eat all Wednesday.
Yeah, so this is a more extreme form of fasting. A lot of people are turning to fasting these days because of alleged anti aging properties or longevity properties that you can gain from these eating habits. I saw this story, and it's concerning to me, honestly, because he's talking about this drink that he makes. The drink has lemon juice, cayenne water, perhaps a couple of other ingredients. But does anyone remember that this drink was around during like the early two thousands, like during like the Heroin Chic skinny craze, and celebrities were drinking this detox drink and not eating much else. I just worry about this creating this new cycle of like really unhealthy eating habits and body image issues for women.
Yes, and I also feel like, you know, Kim Kardashian couldn't come out and say that she was doing this or Beyonce could not come out and say that she was doing this or Qy. Literally, any woman could not come out and saying that they do not eat on Wednesday without getting ripped to shreds by the media. So I just feel like I understand and fasting I do, especially like spiritually, I think it's a great way to like discipline yourself. Point yeah, like discipline yourself. But it doesn't seem like there is any spiritual reasoning to this. It's more like I want to be skinny, you know what I mean, That's what it seemed like.
I just feel like about six months ago, there was rhetoric online about Simone you mentioned, like nineties heroin chic, like that moment coming back in time. People were starting to talk about how we're valorizing thinness again. After I think we did like ten years of unlearning that, like we finally embraced real bodies, and I'm bummed to hear that. It feels like it's back in the cultural zeitgeist. What's interesting to me is that it's back with men too. Like in the nineties it was just women. Now it's everybody. I mean, at least we're doing equal opportunities than here, but I don't appreciate this movement.
Yeah, I really hope that this is not indicative of like a larger, more widespread trend. We're we're reverting back to those really toxic eating habits and body image perceptions. The thing with fasting is that men and women our bodies are wired completely differently, and our hormonal cycles are completely different. So if this works for Usher, great, I hope that he's consulting with his doctor about a healthy way to do this. This is not going to work for women, So I just hope that women don't copy this and try to do this, because if we don't eat for an entire day, our hormones are going to be completely out of whack.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I agree.
There's so many dangers that come with all of these fast, skinny dieting trends, and so many long term harmful effects that come with this. So let's just do what works for our bodies, and let's just be our best selves and be healthy and have long, healthy lives.
I love how you said that so much because I keep repeating to myself, my body is not a trend.
My body is not a trend.
And I know it's like a little bit of a platitude, but it helps me remind myself not to buy into any of these trends. As you said, Mo, like my body is not a trend.
Yeah, all right, we have so much more to talk about, but we got to go to a short break.
Stay with us. We'll be right back, and we're back with Moe Diggs.
So I'm a single girl.
Moe and Simone are both married, and this next story is all about.
An engagement ring.
We love engagement rings, sagas. On the bright side, I am dying to know what you think about this. You have to bear with me a little bit. I'm gonna take you on a journey of this story. Okay, okay. So a man went on Reddit to talk about how he told his girlfriend she wasn't worth a ten thousand dollars ring. Guys, so he's been talking about proposing to his girlfriend. He starts sending her rings in the fifteen hundred to eighteen hundred dollars range. She starts sending him more expensive rings between like the six thousand to ten thousand dollars range. He says that is way too expensive, that no one is worth a ten thousand dollars ring. So let me ask you, can you put a price tag on love?
Certainly? Not that is that is insane? Insane?
True or insane?
Bad?
No?
No, no, okay. So I have a couple thoughts on this. This is my expertise. I love some of my relationships.
Guys.
I just feel like, if a man can come out of his mouth to your face and tell you that you are not worth anything in this life, not even a ring, just anything, you need to let him go.
Just let him go. That's yeah, that's it, see you later, see it. Never how about that?
Hm?
But on the topic of who is worth what? And I just feel like, if.
She's telling you she wants a tenth or six thousand dollar ring, she obviously knows, and you guys are talking about marriage. She knows where y'all stay at financially, She's women are we are not crazy. So I feel like you obviously can somewhat afford something around that rage.
And I just feel like if you can afford, can't even afford. Does he talk about how much he makes out all.
Danielle, No, we don't know how much he makes.
Okay, Well, I just feel like, if you love this woman and she knows your podcast, and she knows how much you can make. I am also not against like moist nights and of more affordable rings, like, I'm not against it.
I don't have one. My man didn't get me one. But I'm not against it. I just feel like for you.
To tell her that, for you to just tell her that she's not worth xyz, it's insane like for you to even want to marry her. She's poured so much into you, so for you to say she's not worth a ten thousand dollars ring.
No, woman, let me say. You don't want to know how much my ring calls been, like my husband won't tell me how much firing costs. I wish. I that's interesting.
Why the mystery? They want to keep the mystery. I think it's cute. I think it's cute that he doesn't want to tell me. But for me, I got to agree with mo it's the sentiment behind the statement that you're not worth a ten thousand dollars ring that really bothers me. I don't think that we should be putting outsized pressure on the man to produce a ring that's out of his means. That's just going to I think create a lot of stress in the relationship. It's really not it's not about the ring. It's not about the price of the ring, but it is important to consider what this ring represents to your fiance, and it's clearly something that's really important to her. She wants it to be something that she's happy with, and it's going to be this permanent symbol, hopefully of your everlasting love. So to just outright say you're not worth a ten thousand dollars ring, that tells me everything I need to know about this man, And I'm sorry, like this conversation that would kind of be a deal breaker for me because it's not Again, it's not about the price of the ring. But if a man said that to me, I would be like, hmmm, I think I'm making a mistake.
I'm gonna walk away.
Absolutely, you should not be able to tell me that I am not worth anything. You should be telling me that I'm priceless to begin with. There's no cost to my you know what I mean, Like, there's no cost to my who I am and my being. And for you to be like you're not worth a ten thousand dollar ring, I don't think anybody's worth ten thousand dollar ring, no thing.
You know what you can say, you can say I would love to get you a ten thousand dollars ring. I can't afford it right now. I'm going to get you this ring, but let's upgrade it in five years. Let's upgrade it at our ten year anniversary. Like I want to get you, I want to work towards your dream.
Communication, I feel like is a lost art form in the relationships of today, Like this is something that could be easily solved with one conversation, with transparency and just sharing your emotions about how you feel about what right. The girl conveying how she feels about the ring. The man conveying I understand how you feel, and I understand what you want, but this is what works for me. This does not signify how much I love you. I do love you, and I want you to have what you want. I just feel like for him to come out of his mouth and say that on to the next girl, he did you a favor. MO.
That brings us to the end of our popping off segment. It has been so much fun.
Having you here. I hope you come back.
All you gotta call me, you call me, beat me if you want to reach me, y'all, I had a blast.
Thank you guys so much for having me.
Mo Diggs is a journalist, podcast host, and cultural commentator.
And that's it.
For today's show on Monday, the founder and editor of cherrybamb magazine, Carrie Diamond is here. She tells us how she learned to listen to her gut and so much more. Listen and follow the bright Side on the iheartrate video app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The bright Side is a production of Hello Sunshine and iHeart Podcasts and is executive produced by Reese Witherspoon.
Production by Arcana Audio. Courtney Gilbert is our associate producer. Our producers are Steph Brown, Jessica Wank, and Olivia Briley. Our engineer is PJ. Shahamatt and our senior producers are Izzy Keithania, Jenis Yamocha and Amy Padula.
Arcana's executive producers are Francis Harlowe and Abby Ruzka. Arcana's head of production is Matt Schultz.
Natalie Tulluck and Maureen Polo are the executive producers for Hello Sunshine.
Julia Weaver is the supervising producer, and Ali Perry is the executive producer for iHeart Podcasts. Tim Palazzola is our showrunner. This week's episodes were recorded by Graham Gibson, Carl Catel, Jessica Crinchitch Bahie Fraser.
Our theme song is by Anna Stump and Hamilton lighthauser special thanks to Connell Byrne and Will Pearson Simone Voice.
You can find me at Simone Voice on Instagram and TikTok.
And I'm Danielle Robe on Instagram and TikTok. That's r O b A.
Y See you Monday, fam. Keep looking on the bright side.