POP CULTURE THIS WEEK: ICE PINS, 'MELANIA' REVIEWS AND A TAYLOR SWIFT VIDEO
- Melissa Fleur Afshar
- Feb 10
- 4 min read
Newsweek Exclusive Feature
This week, pop culture ran hot. Here is Newsweek’s round-up of everything on the scene that you may have missed.
The zeitgeist rarely moves quietly, but this week pop culture felt like it was running on pure adrenaline!
From awards-show speeches that doubled up as political rallying cries to fashion engineered for outrage, the entertainment cycle delivered frenzy, shock and applause online, offline and in equal measure.
The 2026 Grammy Awards set the tone. Alongside high-energy pop performances and predictable trophy moments, the ceremony leaned heavily into domestic politics, with millennial and Gen Z stars using the stage to make pointed statements—an awards-night maneuver that has become as expected as the red carpet itself.
But the Grammys were only the opening act.
Over the course of the week, politics bled into pop culture across multiple fronts: a high-profile documentary release led to film critics sharpening their knives coughs pens, and a children’s television reboot wandered into adult territory.
From red carpets to Rotten Tomatoes, celebrity, politics and internet outrage collapsed into the same timeline.
What emerged was a week in which pop culture ran hot.
Protest PINs and Podium Speeches Share the Grammys Spotlight
At the Grammys, artists wore "ICE Out" pins, and winners including Bad Bunny and Billie Eilish used their acceptance speeches to address immigration and belonging, with Bad Bunny declaring, "ICE OUT," and Eilish saying, "No one is illegal on stolen land."
Beyond the headlines, quieter moments from the arena captured some attention online, with a stripped‑back Justin Bieber's performance of "Yukon" drawing praise.
Bieber’s set—in which he hard-launched an enormous new back tattoo—has been framed as ushering in a "Proof of Human" era emphasizing verifiable live performance.
Coming in Hot With Nothing
Chappell Roan’s Mugler look—hooked to nipple hoops over a nude bodysuit—threw the internet into a frenzy after red carpet images of her in the sparse getup began to circulate online.
Roan, not one to shy away from publicly expressing her feelings, responded on Instagram: "I don’t even think this is THAT outrageous of an outfit."
Heidi Klum’s meticulously molded leather "naked dress" became another flashpoint, with behind‑the‑scenes details of the body‑matched construction process being shared by the designer.
Even Bieber turning up to his set in nothing but boxers and a pair of socks felt like a curated and logical endpoint to a week obsessed with
entwining fashion statements with birthday suits.
‘Melania’ Drew Audiences—and Harsh Reviews
Melania opened to an estimated $7 million in the U.S., the strongest non‑concert documentary debut in 14 years, even as critics widely panned it and Rotten Tomatoes scores diverged sharply from those for Michelle Obama’s Becoming, awarding Melania a miserable 5 out of 100.
Our roundup cited scathing reviews, from The Hollywood Reporter’s "expensive propaganda doc" critique to Variety’s "cheeseball infomercial" assessment and Empire’s "cynical, pointless, and very, very boring," while documenting Amazon’s reported $40 million acquisition and $35 million marketing spend.
The Muppets Returned—and a Sabrina Carpenter Joke Split Viewers
Disney’s Muppets special with Sabrina Carpenter prompted complaints over a promo exchange. Kermit said: "We’re still working out a few kinks," Carpenter replied: "That’s OK. I like a kink, too." Pushback from fans noted the franchise’s prime-time, all‑ages roots, Newsweek reported.
Tributes Poured in for Catherine O’Hara
After Catherine O’Hara died at 71 following a short illness, Newsweek covered the fans encouraging new Schitt’s Creek viewers to "stick with it," underscoring the series’ late‑season emotional reward and O’Hara’s lasting impact across film and TV.
Tributes had poured in from several celebrities from Seth Rogen to Macaulay Culkin for the late actress, perhaps best known for Home Alone and Beetlejuice.
New Content for Swifties To Dissect
Taylor Swift dropped the music video for "Opalite" on February 6, and it is a glossy, wink‑heavy mini‑rom‑com that doubles as a self‑help manifesto in 80s-style sequins.
The clip is stacked with familiar faces—Domhnall Gleeson plays her lonely counterpart, Graham Norton pops up as a scene‑stealing salesman, with cameos from Lewis Capaldi and even Cillian Murphy.
The use of a loaded garbage can to represent exes serves as a reminder of the star's turbulent and high-profile past relationships, hinting to her fans that exes belong firmly in the trash.
This Week’s Interview: an Afternoon With Claire Foy
We recently caught up with Claire Foy, the British actress best known for taking on the role of Queen Elizabeth II in Netflix's acclaimed The Crown, and the conversation took a playful turn when interviewer H. Alan Scott joked that, after years spent in serious drama and brooding roles, she might be overdue a rom‑com.
Foy laughed along, proving she is as sharp and self‑aware as ever. It was an easy, charming exchange that showed a lighter side of the actor—and left the distinct impression that audiences would absolutely show up if she ever did take that romantic‑comedy detour.
Watch the interview here.
What Happens Next
All eyes now turn to the Super Bowl this weekend, where Bad Bunny’s halftime performance—framed by supporters as a global play and by critics as a language‑politics flashpoint—will test the NFL’s strategy to court younger, more diverse audiences by platforming entertainment's leading stars while absorbing predictable backlash.
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