Red Talk 002: Mielle! Oxtail! Lori Harvey!
Curate Red Social & Digital Trends Digest January 8 - January 15, 2023
Week 2 of Red Talk! I’m so happy you’re here. Thank you.
I got excited and did a recap of last week’s *Black* Golden Globes here, so it is not in this issue of Red Talk. But for those who want to keep count, the potential reach Black Golden Globe Awards conversation is now at ONE TRILLION. While massive, so much beyond the globes went down last week. Let’s dive in!
Whoa, a Mielle Sell! (Potential Reach: 24.6B)
Black women know things, and you should listen to us. (Lost? Stop here and read Red Talk 001 for more context.) Last week, Mielle sold to Procter & Gamble almost immediately after Black women, their target consumers, expressed concern about Rosemary Mint Growth Oil going viral. Naturally, these deals don’t happen overnight, but the timing is poetic.
News of the acquisition led to 56% negative sentiment in online conversation. Many Mielle users are concerned that the product initially created for their unique hair texture will be changed to appeal to a broader audience.
While there was a strong sentiment opposed to the acquisition, there was also a healthy amount of support and celebration. Mielle’s founders, Monique and Melvin Rodriguez were applauded for making such a monumental move for their business. The opportunity for more research, funding, resourcing, and reach with the acquisition should be promising for consumers.
The acquisition and its emotional aftermath sparked exciting dialogue about marketing as a black-owned business, black entrepreneurs and their obligation to black consumers, and the scarcity of black hair care products and beauty ownership despite our undeniable influence. I’ll remain optimistic and hope this means more of [the same] Mielle for all! Because I’m not a beauty expert, I’ll redirect you to this well-formed opinion from beauty, culture, and political reporter and author Darian (23.3K Instagram Followers), the current beauty editor at large at LA Times Image:
Oxtails are Gross (Potential Reach: 42B)
#BoycottOxtails appeared in my feed last week, accompanied by jumpscare-level “facts” about the potential adverse side effects of consuming the cut of meat. Even popular account @FatKidDeals (660K Twitter Followers) chimed in to warn everyone against the dangers of oxtail.
Online conversation about oxtail began when Twitter users began replying and quote-tweeting the video below from Insider Food shared on January 7th. The potential reach of oxtail conversation was 42B last week, and 64% was negative.
While observing the chaos as it unfolded, I couldn’t help but empathize with Doyinsola Olidapo, the poor journalist who reported on such a controversial topic. I couldn’t help but wonder, why the backlash?
Similar to the adverse reaction given to the increased popularity and acquisition of Mielle, the audience was trying to protect a cultural staple, so I assumed there was a wee bit of gatekeeping going on, but then I uncovered some real tea.
Enter @ChefWay__ (Twitter Followers 2.8K). On January 7, 2023, Mr. Way shared a video making oxtail pasta. Unfortunately, that was not his *first* mistake.
While the video is innocent, the quote tweets shed light on older hateful and colorist tweets. Chef Way apologized for his past tweets, but that was not enough to protect his partnership with Anova Culinary.
I choose not to share the tweets that lost him this partnership on Red Talk because I do not wish to promote that messaging on my platform. A day after sharing his video making oxtail pasta on January 8, 2023, Chef Way endorsed Doyin Olidapo’s Insider Food video, likely contributing to the mere 14% positive sentiment oxtails received last week.
Now I’m not going to say it’s Chef Way’s fault Doyin Olidapo's video got some much negative response, but he certainly did not help!
Act Like Lori, Think Like Lori (Potential Reach: 15B)
When I saw Lori Harvey trending, I safely assumed it was about her dating life. In the past, she dated rapper-producer Future and actor Michael B. Jordan, and while she says very little, these relationships were often at the top of my feed. As someone whose father forced her to read Steve Harvey’s Act Like a Woman, Think Like a Man, I get kind of giddy seeing Lori’s love life consistently make headlines. It’s fascinating how such a simple post can cause so much drama. This is the image that got her trending last week:
I’m sure when actor Damson Idris shared this to his Instagram story, he knew it would get attention, but I can almost guarantee he didn’t anticipate rapper Meek Mill being thrown under the bus! Just a few hours after Idris shared this, Meek Mill tweeted the following:
Unfortunately, due to his adding and removing Lori Harvey from his wish list years ago, many assumed this tweet was an attack on Lori Harvey and *not* a lyric from PartyNextDoor’s newly released single and came to her defense. According to Meek Mill, the tweet was not even about Lori Harvey. The subsequent social media attacks against Meek Mill inspired online attacks on Lori Harvey’s character by individuals upset that she has dated anyone at all.
This is not the first time the private it girl has made headlines. Most recently, she was the featured cover story of the Jan/Feb 2023 Black Love issue of Essence as a testament to her commitment to self-love. In the article, Lori asserts, “I know my worth, and I know my value. I’m not going to compromise that, or settle, or accept anything less than what I know I deserve. That’s where I’m at in my life right now. I’m not compromising my peace and happiness for anything or anybody.” I’m bummed her dating life is what had her trending during her birthday week! Also bummed that this news overshadowed Meek Mill’s recent pardon.
TLDR? A timeline!
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