Five Stories Of 2012 We’ll Still Be Talking About In 2013

Thanks to NBC’s Today Show for having me on to talk about my take on these big stories of 2012.  Seems like the big stories of 2012 are still going to be the buzz stories of 2013. Here’s where I stand on the year of weird. VIdeo of the Today Show Segment first, then some more below!

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The Year of Honey Boo Boo

I wonder if Snooki looks at her television and says to herself ‘That used to be me!’ I used to be that famous! Honey Boo Boo is the Snooki of 2012! In fact, just take out the Italian “Guido” sterotypes of Jersey Shore and replace those characters with “Redneck” stereotypes and you have ‘Here Comes Honey Boo Boo.” (Okay, perhaps moreso, the upcoming MTV series ‘Buckwild.”) But back to Honey Boo Boo. It has never been hotter to be a redneck. Whether you love her or hate her, we’ll be seeing a lot of Alana and June this year. I think people find their unvarnished, unpolished (and that is pretty much the biggest understatement of the year) to be refreshing in a world of skinny models and TV celebabes with plastic surgery, fish lips and implants. This family is the ANTITHESIS of that – and aside from all the antics – this is a family that truly loves and accepts one another just as they are – and that is really refreshing. I think people actually really like that – I guess they like that AND the farting. (Ugh.)

 Fifty Shades of Grey Makes Me 50 Shades Of Uncomfortable

Everything thing about this phenomenon makes me Squeamish! But I think that’s what makes it all so interesting. Generations of grown up women are acknowledging that they aren’t prudes… that they like a little sauciness in the bedroom! The funny thing is, almost everyone I speak to that has read the book admits that it is HORRIBLY written – but many women bought it JUST to see what the fuss is about… and then they’re hooked. Oddly enough, romance novels have never gone away – they’ve been there forever – but f*or some reason – this struck a chord! I just don’t want to know when the women in my family are reading it – having a family member reading it is like having to admit that your parents have a sex life – we all know it happens but none of us want to talk about i! I DON’T want to know!

But if you thought the talk of this tale would die down – think again… the books are being made into a film. Even though there’s no release date, the casting rumors are in full force.

The Breakup & Makeup of Rihanna & Chris Brown

If there anyone ever doubted that Love is complicated, I give you Chris Brown and Rihanna. This is the couple pretty much no one wants to see together… except perhaps for the two of them! I know that we don’t know the ‘whole’ story, but I think we all recognize that it sends a really bad message for Rihanna to go back to him. Please say it aint so. I can say this – a lot of people had written Chris Brown off completely after he beat up Rihanna back in 2009 – and I assure you a lot of people are going to be watching him really closely now. It’s easy to imagine that some people are probably losing some respect for Rihanna right, but one thing is for sure, if Chris so much as touches this woman in the wrong way, it’s all over for him. His career and public image will be completely destroyed forever.

PSY’s ‘Gangnam Style’ Phenomenon

This video is unstoppable! It is the first YouTube video to reach 1 Billion views – in less than six months! Take THAT Justin Bieber! (Although its interesting to note that Justin’s manager was smart enough sign PSY to a record deal too!) For years to come, anyone who wants to make a viral music video will probably look to Gangnam Style for inspiration. I’m sure some college student is doing their dissertation on it because the whole thing is pretty amazing. Especially considering how popular it is in the US and no few people even know what the song really means. It just goes to show, if you have a catchy hook and a great video, you can have a hit – it doesn’t even matter what you’re saying!!!!

Examining The Past and Predicting the Future of Lindsay Lohan

I would love to sit on the Today Show set in a year and say that 2013 was the year of Lindsay Lohan’s comeback. But I’m more and more doubtful that this will be the case. Liz And Dick was pretty much a disaster, and with the exception of a cameo In Scary Movie 5 this year, the biggest thing Lohan can look forward to this year seems to be the possibility of more jail time!

I hope someday she makes a Drew Barrymore style recovery. Once upon a time Drew was the girl everyone was worried about and now she’s a successful actress and producer. I can only hope Lohan gets it together in the same way … but in a business like showbiz, and with parents who seem to be even crazier than her, the odds are stacked against her. Then again, America loves a comeback story!

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