The Substance starring Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley has fast become the most talked-about horror of the year, with audiences divided on whether it’s a feminist masterpiece, or a ‘vile and disgusting’ exemplar of the male gaze. We get into how the film taps into our own fears around ageing and how Demi’s role was influenced by career-long toxic media scrutiny. Also this week, we deep-dive into the horrific allegations and rumours that have come to light since Diddy’s arrest, from his ‘freak offs’ and disturbing relationship with a young Justin Bieber, to the music mogul’s careful curation of a ‘legit’ celebrity persona. Is all of Hollywood as dark and sinister a place as it seems? As part of our conversation about male sexual assault, we also discuss the No1 show on Netflix right now, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.

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We're also thrilled to be partnered with brand new quarterly newspaper The Pass, the only publication bold enough to ignore food influencer hype and give us properly honest London restaurant reviews. ⁠Subscribe here⁠ to receive the new issue and find out what to cross off, and put on, your list.

DM us your thoughts on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠@straightuppod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or email us at ⁠hello@straightuppodcast.co.uk⁠ and as ever please, please, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and a rating on Spotify, lysm!

Reccs/ Culture discussed

• The Substance (in cinemas)

• I’m a 50-something woman and nothing about Demi Moore’s anti-ageing body horror rings true, Telegraph

• ‘We can be violent to ourselves. Brutal’: Demi Moore on body image, reinvention and her most shocking role yet, Guardian

• Real Ageing is scarier than what’s going on in The Substance, The Cut

• Helter Skelter by Ninagawa Mika (2012)

• Once More From The Top by Emily Layden

• Blink Twice (2024), Apple TV

• I Survived Diddy’s White Party, YouTube

• Yummy, Justin Bieber (YouTube)

• The staggering fall of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs – from music mogul to criminal charges, Guardian

• The Powerful Celebs Who Acted as Diddy’s Human Shield, Daily Beast

• Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, Netflix

• The Wild, True Tale Behind Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, Vanity Fair

• Behind every Al-Fayed and Diddy there is a small army of enablers, Guardian

Jacqueline Wilson's GIRLS books were a defining part of our childhoods, so how does the author's 20-years-on sequel (for adults!) match up? We discuss whether the books were a good influence and how her real life inspired her writing. Also this week, we dissect all the juiciest bits from Anna Wintour's Vogue doc, and question how 'guilty' Matthew Perry's long-time assistant was in his death. Plus, a round-up of our fave TV shows, and whether star ratings matter.

Huge thanks to our sponsor Yonder, the incredible lifestyle credit card packed with rewards you’ll actually *want* to use, from points to use towards your bill at the trendiest restaurants and bars in the UK, to experiences from the theatre to flights. Find out more at yonder.com/straightup

Subject to eligibility. 18+ and UK Residents Only. T&C's apply.

We're also thrilled to be partnered with brand new quarterly newspaper The Pass, the only publication bold enough to ignore food influencer hype and give us properly honest London restaurant reviews. Subscribe here to receive the new issue and find out what to cross off, and put on, your list.

DM us your thoughts on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠@straightuppod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or email us at ⁠hello@straightuppodcast.co.uk⁠ and as ever please, please, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and a rating on Spotify, lysm!

There are still virtual tickets to our event next Thurs (26th) with the Trouble Club! Use our code STRAIGHTUP50 for 50% off!

Reccs/ culture discussed:

• Think Again by Jacqueline Wilson (the ‘Girls’ series follow up)
• Jacqueline Wilson: the children’s author who’s now writing graphic sex for adults, The Times
• Jacqueline Wilson’s girls seem depressingly unable to grow up, The Telegraph
• In Vogue: The 90s, Disney+
• In Vogue: The 90s review – Anna Wintour and pals offer up hour after hour of fabulous nothingness, Guardian
• In Vogue: The 90s review — proof of Anna Wintour’s pulling power, The Times
• Anna Wintour: The Biography, by Amy Odell
• Confessions of former Vogue assistants, Amy Odell’s Back Row (Substack)
• Did Matthew Perry’s Assistant Have a Choice? Hollywood Veterans Aren’t So Sure, Vanity Fair
• Why being a celebrity assistant is truly the worst job in Hollywood, Telegraph
• The Assistant, BFI Player
• Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, Disney +
• How To Die Alone, Disney +
• We Might Regret This, BBC
• Nightsleeper, BBC
• Colin from Accounts, BBC
• Slow Horses, Apple TV
• English Teacher, Disney+
• Cooking for People, Mike Davies
• Cook As You Are, Ruby Tandoh

Nicole Kidman’s badly-behaved-billionaires thriller The Perfect Couple is no1 on Netflix but we are divided! Kathleen loved it, Ellie didn’t, so we hash it out…(no spoilers!) and look forward to Kidman’s VERY racy film Babygirl. On that note, is The Times right to say that women’s ’dirty talk’ has become big business in pop culture? Gillian Anderson might agree: the star has just published an anonymous collection of sexual fantasies from women around the country, and Ellie reads out her, um, favourites. Plus: we dissect whether that viral Travis/Taylor ‘breakup contract’ can possibly be real, and Kathleen recommends a heartbreaking but empowering new podcast about fertility from our fellow pod hunnies at Shameless.

Reccos

• Kaos, Netflix
• Jeff Goldblum is a tracksuit-wearing Zeus in Netflix’s Greek myth series, Financial Times
• Shifters, Duke of York theatre
• Little Violet Door, Soho
• The Bear S3, Disney +
• How Kylie Jenner Won At Fashion, Family And Dating On The DL, British Vogue
• The Perfect Couple, Netflix
• She just unravels so beautifully’: how Nicole Kidman conquered the world – then kept on going, The Observer
• A Family Affair, Netflix
• Babygirl (out Jan 10)
• Substance (out Sept 20)
• WANT by Gillian Anderson
• Kinky sex — what a turn-off! Gillian Anderson’s sexual fantasy bookCat Brushing, Jane Campbell
• How women talking dirty became big business, The Times
• Submit, anon
• All Fours, Miranda July
• Cleavage, Cleo Watson
• Erotic audio platforms Quinn and Dipsea
• Living With Yourself, Netflix
• Glass podcast, Shameless Media

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