Lenny Kravitz to headline the UEFA Champions League Final
Today Pepsi and UEFA announced legendary rock musician Lenny Kravitz as the headliner for this year’s UEFA Champions League Final Kick Off Show presented by Pepsi on the 1st of June.
The Grammy-award-winner will be performing fan favourites in addition to debuting songs from his brand new album, Blue Electric Light, for the first time in front of a live audience.
The global star has commented that he feels “energised” ahead of his performance in front of 90,000 live fans and a predicted broadcast audience of 100M worldwide.
The performance will take place during the Kick Off show on Saturday 1st June at Wembley Stadium, ahead of the highly anticipated Champions League final football match between Dortmund and Real Madrid, one of the biggest sporting events in the world.
Kravitz commented: “I’m really looking forward to my performance for the UEFA Champions League Final Kick Off Show presented by Pepsi in London, a city which holds a special place in my heart. It’s going to be such an exciting event ahead of a final that means so much to so many. We can’t wait to show you all what we have in store.”
Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes - The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live _ Season 1 - Photo Credit: Gene Page/AMC
Sky has announced that the highly anticipated spinoff series, “The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live,” will be exclusively released on Sky and NOW starting Friday, May 31st. Fans of the franchise can also binge-watch all eleven series of the original post-apocalyptic horror, “The Walking Dead,” beginning Sunday, May 19th. Additionally, spin-offs including “The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon” and “The Walking Dead: Dead City” will be coming to both Sky and NOW later this year.
Starring Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurira, “The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live” follows the epic love story of “Rick Grimes” and “Michonne” as they navigate a changed world, separated by distance and an unstoppable power. Can they find each other and rediscover themselves in this unfamiliar environment?
The series also features Pollyanna McIntosh, Lesley-Ann Brandt, Terry O’Quinn, Matthew August Jeffers, Craig Tate, Breeda Wool, Andrew Bachelor, and more. Executive produced by Showrunner Scott M. Gimple, Lincoln, Gurira, Denise Huth, Brian Bockrath, and Greg Nicotero.
Lucy Criddle, Sky Director of Acquisitions and Strategic Projects, expressed excitement about the news, stating, “The Walking Dead Universe has a huge and ardent UK fanbase and we know audiences on Sky and NOW will be buzzing to see Rick Grimes and Michonne reunited in The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live, as well as being able to dip into the wider universe, enjoying all 11 seasons of the original The Walking Dead series, as well as new spin-offs Daryl Dixon and Dead City.”
Mike Pears, executive vice president of distribution and content sales for AMC Networks, added, “We are delighted to have found a new home for The Walking Dead Universe in the UK. As we enter an exciting new chapter in the evolution of this franchise, with three new eagerly awaited, character-driven series, Sky is the perfect, premium home for UK viewers to embrace all things Walking Dead. The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live is the most successful series in the history of AMC+, even including the original series, so it is fitting that it will lead the way as Sky brings this entire universe to U.K. fans in the coming weeks and months on Sky and NOW.”
The Walking Dead Universe will be available on Sky and NOW from the following dates: All 11 series of The Walking Dead will be available on demand on Sky and NOW from Sunday, May 19th.
Gearing up to lift off higher than ever, global pop sensation aespa releases their much-anticipated new single ‘Supernova’ out now.
With an intergalactic blast of genre-defiant bliss, ‘Supernova’ showcases aespa at the height of their powers. The opening line, “I’m like some kind of supernova,” sets the scene perfectly. Emboldening the soundscape, a frenetically funky bass line thumps beneath steady claps. The momentum twists and turns as deft rhymes take hold before rushing straight to the dancefloor with no time to waste. It blurs the lines between pop, dance, hip-hop, and electronic, fusing everything into a vision that’s undeniably aespa.
Hailed by NME as one of their most anticipated album releases of the year, “Armageddon” lands in the wake of the 2023 EP, “Drama – The 4th Mini Album”. The latter not only piled up hundreds of millions of global streams, but it also bowed at #2 on the Billboard Top World Albums Chart and in the Top 40 of the Billboard 200. Fittingly, CLASH praised it as “a welcomed expansion to the aespa universe.”
Prior, “MY WORLD – The 3rd Mini Album” bowed at #9 on the Billboard 200 and marked their second #1 debut on the Top Album Sales Chart. Its predecessor, “Girls – The 2nd Mini Album”, catapulted into the Top 3 of the Billboard 200 and clinched #1 on the Top Album Sales Chart.
Pre-Save and Pre-Add Armageddon – The 1st Album with new song Supernova from aespa.
aespa is a fierce K-Pop group with a unique concept. Each of the four members has a correlating avatar in the virtual world created from their personal data. The group made unprecedented history with their 2020 debut single ‘Black Mamba’, which was the fastest debut video for any K-Pop group in YouTube history to hit 100 million views. The group’s 2022 EP, “Girls”, debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart and crashed the Top 3 of the Billboard 200 – their highest to date.
Their third EP, “MY WORLD”, also debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Top Album Sales Chart. All of these milestones have led to aespa’s recently released EP “Drama” – aespa has now achieved three consecutive million-seller debuts with these projects, reaffirming their powerful presence.
They continue to receive global recognition, including being named among TIME Magazine’s Next Generation Leaders in 2022, and one of Financial Times 25 Most Influential Women Of 2023. Recently, the group made history as the first K-Pop artists to play at music festivals The Governors Ball in June and Outside Lands in August amidst their global tour.
Every year claims to be the most controversial year in the Eurovision Song Contest’s history, but it will take a lot to beat the 68th contest.
The 2024 Eurovision contest, which took place in Malmö, Sweden, was marked by conflict, boycotts, protests, harassment and disqualification. Ironically, it was also the year the organisers, the European Broadcasting Union, chose to establish a permanent slogan: United By Music.
Upon announcing the slogan in late 2023, Eurovision’s executive supervisor, Martin Österdahl, said:
By establishing a permanent slogan, we will have consistency in our message that music unites us all. It’s the perfect slogan to underline our values of inclusivity, equality, universality and celebrating diversity through music.
But the backdrop of the October 7 attacks by Hamas on southern Israel and the ongoing war in Gaza have cast a long shadow over Eurovision 2024.
Calls for Israel’s exclusion
Despite the implicit politics of Eurovision’s new slogan, the contest maintains it is a non-political event. Participating broadcasters and artists are required to ensure the contest is not
[…] politicised and/or instrumentalised and/or otherwise brought into disrepute in any way.
But is it possible for a contest of nations to be non-political?
The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel, a founding member of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, called for “all participating broadcasters, national competitors, finalists, production crews and viewers” to boycott the event.
Numerous openletters, co-signed by members of the creative industries, were also published in the lead-up to the contest. Some called for Israel to be excluded and/or the event to be boycotted, while others expressed support for Israel and for the contest as a “celebration of unity”.
Many compared the situation to 2022, when Russia was excluded from the contest following its invasion of Ukraine. In response, the European Broadcasting Union emphasised “the Eurovision Song Contest is a competition for broadcasters” (not states), and the Russian broadcasters were suspended from the organisation and contest for “repeated violations of membership obligations and violation of the rules of the public media”.
So as long as KAN, the Israeli broadcaster, adhered to the membership and contest rules, it would be permitted to remain in the contest.
Some suggest the broadcasting union’s decision itself has brought the contest into disrepute, while an anonymous X account has dedicated itself to documenting allegations against KAN regarding adherence to the rules.
Netherlands gets disqualified
Further controversy emerged in the 24 hours ahead of the grand final broadcast. The Dutch act was disqualified for inappropriate behaviour towards a member of the Swedish production team. The European Broadcasting Union said it maintained
a zero-tolerance policy toward inappropriate behaviour […] and are committed to providing a safe and secure working environment for all staff at the contest.
With this affirmation of policy in mind, prior to the dress rehearsal, Irish artist Bambie Thug lodged a complaint
against the Israeli commentators over remarks made during their performance, claiming they breached the rules of the contest. Bambie Thug also said they had been harassed by Israeli fans.
The 2024 grand final opened with two powerhouse countries: Sweden and Ukraine. Sweden was represented by Norwegian twins Marcus & Martinus and their song Unforgettable, while Ukraine’s alonya alyona & Jerry Heil sang the powerful Teresa & Maria.
Together with Luxembourg, which returned to the contest for the first time since 1994, Ukraine is the only country to maintain a 100% grand final qualification record.
Victory for Switzerland
Israel performed fifth. Eden Golan’s song, Hurricane, was entered into the contest following two revisions of the lyrics to remove political references, including its original title, October Rain (a reference to the October 7 attack).
The crowd’s fractured response was audible in the broadcast, and footage posted by audience members on social media provides evidence of widespread booing. Despite this reaction in the arena, Israel placed second in the public televote.
Israel was surpassed in the popular vote by crowd favourite Baby Lasagna, from Croatia. Rim Tim Tagi Dim is a catchy metal song about the impact of economic emigration on young Croatians, their connection to family and their cultural identity.
However, despite leading the betting odds for most of the contest season, Croatia was pipped at the post by jury favourite, The Code, by Nemo from Switzerland. They are the first non-binary artist to win the contest, notably with an artistically impressive and engaging celebration of their non-binary gender identity.
I hope this contest can live up to its promise and continue to stand for peace and dignity for every person in this world.
With Nemo’s victory, next year’s hosting duties are passed on to Switzerland, the home of the European Broadcasting Union. The country last won the contest in 1988, when it was represented by a little-known French-Canadian artist named Celine Dion. It also hosted (and won) the first Eurovision contest in 1956.
Many are questioning Eurovision’s future. Österdahl was almost drowned out by audience boos while verifying the results. A planned skit dedicated to him was cut from the final broadcast, as was the use of the Dutch song title, Europapa, to introduce him.
The audience response to Österdahl is illustrative of the growing disquiet among fans and member broadcasters with the union’s management of the contest. This includes concerns about its partner sponsors (such as Israeli company Moroccanoil), whether it’s effectively safeguarding freedom of the press, and doubts about its capacity to maintain the contest as “non-political”.
The stakes are now high for the union, in collaboration with the Swiss broadcaster SRG SSR, to convince the world it can be united in music after all.
“Breaking” is the only new sport making its debut at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Breaking is probably better known to most of us as breakdancing. So why is the sport officially called breaking, and how is something so freestyle and subjective going to play out as a scored sport in Paris this summer?
The origins of breaking are somewhat debatable, although most agree its roots can be traced to 1970s house parties in the Bronx area of New York hosted by DJ Kool Herc, the founder of hip-hop. Breaking was performed on the dance floor by so-called B-boys and B-girls when the music tracks were “breaking” – meaning all that could be heard was the percussion track.
Throughout the 1980s the phenomenon garnered international exposure via music videos and movies such as Flashdance (1983), Breakin’ (1984) and Beat Street (1984). This is also when the media started to use the term “breakdancing”. However, breakers never add “dance” on the end, as this term came from outsiders rather than the hip-hop community, as one of the breaking pioneers Crazy Legs has pointed out.
While the idea of testing each other in format-free “cyphers” (when people gather in a circle and somebody freestyles in the middle) has always been fundamental to breakers, the importance and the number of organised breaking competitions has steadily grown with commercialisation and codification of the activity.
There have always been two main formats: crew competitions and one-on-one solo battles, which have manifested the individualism, creativity and self-expression of breakers. Still, as with many alternative activities evolving into sports, like skateboarding or surfing, the governance and competition frameworks have remained fragmented until recently.
It was not until 2018 that breaking became officially governed by the World DanceSport Federation. However, major competitions still exist outside the official governance, such as Red Bull BC One and the Battle of the Year, that arguably carry more credibility within the breaking community.
Why the Olympics?
Since the Olympic Agenda 2020 – a road map for the Olympic movement based on the three pillars of credibility, sustainability and youth – the IOC has continued to modernise the Olympic programme to make it more attractive to a wider and younger audience.
Undoubtedly, the inclusion of breaking fits well with that overall strategy – there has been nothing similar to breaking on the programme in terms of its creativity, affordability (no tools or equipment needed) and its urban nature. It is also fair to say though that breaking made it to Paris 2024 thanks to the insistence of the host country.
Apart from the usual core Olympic programme, the host country of each Olympics has five additional slots that they can fill with the sports of their preference. I analysed the Tokyo 2020 Games to find that when it came to its medal tally, Japan benefited from local favourites like karate, skateboarding, baseball and softball.
Los Angeles 2028 will add flag football (a variant of American football), lacrosse, cricket and squash. Bizarrely, Paris 2024 may well be the only time we will see breaking in the Olympics in the foreseeable future, although the World DanceSport Federation (WDSF) is determined to ensure it returns in Brisbane 2032.
What we will see in Paris?
There are a lot of odd new terms to learn if you have never watched a breaking contest, such as “turtle freeze”, “six-steps” and “coin drop”. However, the format of Olympic competition is very straightforward: 16 B-boys and 16 B-girls will battle it out head-to-head under the lights of the Place de la Concorde.
There is a three-part qualifier for the games, so no doubt each of those qualifying athletes will be in the history books. Already qualified through WDSF World and continental championships are some heavy favourites, such as B-boys Victor (US) and Danny Dan (France), and B-girls India (Netherlands) and Nicka (Lithuania).
The last 14 will be decided by the top-ranked 80 breakers at the dedicated Olympic qualifier series in Shanghai in May and Budapest in June. To make the competition diverse, the IOC has limited each country to a maximum of two B-boys and two B-girls, while introducing two universal places that provide opportunities to smaller and emerging nations.
As in any creative sport, there are inevitable questions about scoring in breaking. Indeed, there is always going to be a substantial degree of subjectivity, but not drastically more than in established Olympic sports like gymnastics, synchronised swimming or figure skating.
Traditionally, three or five judges have been used in major breaking contests. However, this number has increased to nine in the Olympic framework, presumably to minimise subjectivity and risk of errors.
The trivium judging system that will be used in Paris was developed by influential B-boy Storm and DJ Renegade for the 2018 Youth Olympics, and has been fine-tuned through the series of WDSF events since.
It is based on six criteria to decide the winner of each battle: creativity, personality, technique, variety, performativity and musicality – this means connecting to a musical track that is not known in advance.
The breaking community has always been very close and informal, and some breakers and judges might find the new formalities of sporting frameworks unusual. However, there is still one unique feature that will hopefully survive the formalisation – it is the only sport where the judges have to perform for the athletes and spectators.
This usually happens before the competition starts and is called “the judges’ showcase”. University lecturer Rachael Gunn, aka B-girl Raygun, (who won the Oceania Breaking Championships and qualified for the Olympics) sees this unique practice as a symbolic gesture, a demonstration that underscores the unity and shared passion between contestants and those judging them.
So don’t forget to tune in early on August 9 and 10 to witness this special celebration before following this exciting contest when we will see the first-ever Olympic breaking champions crowned.
London-based four-piece Ghost Arcadia are ready to reintroduce themselves with their first single since early 2023, with their brand new track ‘UNDER’, set for release on the 10th May 2024.
Looking to go deeper than the stomping hard rock Ghost Arcadia left behind in 2023, ‘UNDER’ is the sound of a band setting out their stall with cacophonous intent. Recorded at Steel City Studios, the enigmatic new single began to take shape as early as 2020, with the group’s demos alluding to a heavier sound than their pop-punk roots. ‘UNDER’ encapsulates the heavy, anthemic sound the budding outfit was gunning for, with an intro and choruses reminiscent of pre-arena tour Sleep Token and verses’ that yearn for a Sam Carter feature. Coming a long way musically from their debut ‘Midnight’, vocalist Reuben Beau Davies’ vitriolic screams are a welcome addition to a noise that will only get louder with every release.
Expanding on the creative process, the band said: “‘UNDER’ is a celebration of all that came before us, and unashamedly Ghost Arcadia. We’ve had hints of a heavier direction laced through our stuff before, so the jump felt pretty close. We’re all big fans of the heavier side of things, so why not start writing more along the lines of what we’re listening to?” They continued, talking about the inspiration behind the track: “It’s [‘UNDER’] is an exploration of the everyday battles we face within ourselves. From addiction to self-doubt, we all face battles at some point in our lives. The song conveys the message that even when you are at your lowest, there is still a way out; there is still a light left to guide you from the “Under”. Sometimes, we must dive into our darkest depths before we can finally find a way out.”
‘UNDER’ is the first insight into Ghost Arcadia’s upcoming EP, What We Become, set for release later this year. Priding themselves on writing adrenaline-fueled tracks and drawing inspiration from all different genres, it is no surprise that the project’s inspiration is the mantra “Genre is dead,” with a diverse back catalogue, proving themselves as a band who refuse to be pigeonholed. Born from a duo, Ghost Arcadia originally consisted of vocalist Reuben Beau Davies and rhythm guitarist Anthony Hollis, soon adding Adam Ford (lead guitar) and Ali McCreadie (drums) to the ranks. With some notable radio play from BBC Introducing and Total Rock (Chris Stevens), as well as picking up Maximum Volume Music’s‘ Band of the Day’, Ghost Arcadia are ready to set the alternative scene alight with both ‘UNDER’ and the forthcoming EP, after opening up discussions to return to Steel City Studios to finish the EP this Spring.
Lebanese singer-songwriter Maria Taktouk today releases her latest single ‘obsessed’ via MOLA Records. Listen below.
Expanding on the themes seen in her debut release, ‘Shadow’, Maria continues to explore the emotional responses that are experienced within the varying phases of a relationship. Her second single, ‘obsessed’, plays out the all-consuming and compulsive behaviour that is often experienced following a break up. Maria promises that she’s only sad because she’s still ‘obsessed’ but once the sadness passes, so will the last ties to the relationship.
Speaking on the single Maria said: “I wrote ‘obsessed’ right after a break up, and just before I could process any of the emotions, and it really helped me look inwards to focus on my relationship with myself. ‘I’m only sad because I’m obsessed’ really reflects the overall message of the song – where I know I’m hurt right now but it’ll get better and I’ll be back with a better perspective. The whole song really colours the feeling of obsession for me.”
Produced by ADP (Dua Lipa, Ed Sheeran, Wiz Khalifa), and in contrast to her soft, vulnerable debut, Maria adopts moodier tones and lyrics, using ‘obsessed’ as a pathway into her darker, and deeply passionate side. To foster her sound, Maria incorporates a distinct mix of dark-pop tones and arabic textures with honest lyricism, vulnerability and her rich feminine vocals. Listeners can immediately identify the authentic blend of influences that only comes from a genuine diversity of experiences, engaging with people and places. Growing up in Nigeria, and attending an American school for 10 years to living in London, Barcelona and France as a teenager, Maria is influenced by both the mainstream pop sensibility around the sounds of Bruno Mars and Rhianna, and the dark moodiness from the alternative pop of Melanie Martinez and Lana Del Rey. She is purposefully bridging her love for her Middle Eastern heritage with her ongoing influence of Western music, and we can expect to see this sound become more prominent.
Maria Taktouk is on a mission to create a safe, inclusive space within her music; by evoking listeners through her songs and relatable messaging. The 24-year old is creating an extension to her wider family. Her work is diaristic and aims for the catharsis of releasing her troubles, hopes and wishes, that she once struggled to admit to the world.
Maria is opening her arms to those who echo her sensitivity and are ready to feel empowered by this expression.
rising New York-based artist Ella Galvin announces her debut EP, ‘The Way It Goes,’ out June 14th, and presents the EP’s title track and accompanying music video.
Combining soulful vocals, catchy pop hooks, and grooving rock instrumentation, “The Way It Goes” upholds Ella’s penchant for eluding genre limitations. “‘The Way It Goes’ is a song about going back and forth between wanting to see your ex and not wanting to reopen those wounds again and risk being disappointed,” says Ella.
The single arrives alongside Ella’s first official music video. Filmed in New York City and directed by Cel Sanel, the video introduces viewers to the different facets of Ella, from her love of fashion to her queer identity.
Taking influence from pop, soul, jazz and rock, Ella’s songs showcase her fondness for experimentation and innovation. Her upcoming EP, ‘The Way It Goes,’ out June 14th, masterfully combines her genre-blending musical influences with diaristic storytelling that explores themes of love, loss, and self-identity. Across the EP’s 6-tracks, Ella captures the charm, growing pains and introspection she’s experienced as a young, queer woman trying to make it in New York City,
Ella Galvin got her start performing in a variety of fusion bands in Boston and New York before branching out with her own solo project in 2022. She’s spent the last few years developing her sound and fine-tuning her live show with performances around New York City. With early support pouring in from tastemakers like Unpublished Magazine and The Honey Pop, Ella Galvin is an artist you’re going to want to keep an eye on.
Listen to “The Way It Goes” (single) on all streaming platforms:
Grammy-nominated global Afrobeats superstar Ayra Starr unleashes her poignant new single ‘Bad Vibes’ ft. Seyi Vibez – out now via Mavin Records. Listen below.
The song follows her feel-good anthem ‘Commas’, which exceeded 100 million streams across all platforms in just two months and spent 5 weeks on top of the UK Afrobeats Chart. Both tracks will feature on Ayra Starr’s much-anticipated new album, “The Year I Turned 21”, which is out on 31 May. Pre-save here.
Arriving ahead of the new album, ‘Bad Vibes’ showcases Ayra Starr’s wise and mature nature alongside her signature, self-assured Afrobeats roots. Produced by Mystro, and featuring renowned Nigerian wordsmith Seyi Vibez, ‘Bad Vibes’ hears Ayra Starr contemplating the pressures that come with success, and doubling down on her commitment to protecting her energy from ‘bad vibes’. Spotlighting Ayra Starr’s contemplative and introspective lyricism, “gave me the world but it’s heavy on my palms”, backdropped to an ethereal, smooth rhythm, Ayra Starr soars across the cosmos, shaking off the ‘bad vibes’ of those coming into her orbit.
The forthcoming album “The Year I Turned 21” is Ayra Starr’s coming of age record, showcasing her most personal storytelling, alongside infectious empowering anthems. Themes of growth, love, heartbreak and realising your power permeate the record, powered by a newfound artistic maturity that came from the whirlwind year the Gen Z singer-songwriter has had.
1. Birds Sing of Money
2. Warm Up ft. Asake
3. Commas
4. Woman Commando ft. Anitta & Coco Jones
5. Control
6. Lagos Love Story
7. Rhythm & Blues
8. 21
9. Last Heartbreak Song ft. Giveon
10. Bad Vibes ft. Seyi Vibez
11. Orun
12. Jazzy’s Song
13. 1942 ft. Milar
14. The Kids Are Alright
Following the release of her defining debut album “19 & Dangerous”, featuring the Grammy-nominated global hit ‘Rush’, Ayra Starr embarked on her first sold-out headline world tour in 2023, which spanned North America, Europe, Africa and Australia. The London show earned praise from The Guardian, which stated: “[The] West African star underlines her superstar potential… despite her age, she has a substantial and varied catalogue, allowing multiple energies and vibes to seamlessly coexist here.”
All the while, the numbers keep climbing with “19 & Dangerous” now sitting at a staggering 500 million streams. Ayra Starr’s position as Africa’s hottest star saw her pick up her first Grammy nomination, making BBC’s Sound of 2024 list, and being nominated for MOBO Awards’ Best African Music Act for the second time.
She has collaborated with some of music’s biggest names including Wizkid, Stormzy, David Guetta, Kelly Rowland, Tiwa Savage, Aya Nakamura, Leigh-Anne and recently, marked her first Latin music collaboration – ‘Santa’ with Rvssian and Rauw Alejandro.
Next, Ayra Starr is set to make her Glastonbury Festival debut on the Pyramid Stage in June.
Baby Reindeer’s phenomenal success has much to do with its writer and lead, Richard Gadd, who plays Donny in a tender semi-autobiographical account of sexual abuse, harassment and stalking. Gadd’s story has brought a fresh perspective on male victimisation, while giving a new voice for others to speak out.
At the same time, the show has set in motion a “horrible sort of sequel” as internet sleuths, with no small amount of help from pernicious media outlets, set out to expose the true identity of Martha.
This public outing is perhaps grimly predictable in an age of social media. But it raises questions of ethical standards among the show’s makers, and highlights how their portrayal of Martha conforms with – rather than challenges – well-worn and often misogynistic media representations of women offenders.
A woman walks into a bar
Baby Reindeer opens on Martha, played excellently by Jessica Gunning, walking into the pub where Donny (Gadd’s fictional version) is working to subsidise a stalling comedy career.
What starts off as a benign crush across the bar transforms into a torrent of daily contact. Over the course of seven episodes, Martha seeps into Donny’s most intimate spaces, and we see the insidious and relentless grip stalkers can have on victims.
The Netflix series has achieved international success. Netflix
In criminology, feminist scholars show how the media taps into and magnifies deep-seated fears of deviant women, while paying much less attention to equally (if not more) serious male offending. In many ways Baby Reindeer is a case in point.
Martha’s character casts the longest shadow in the series, its publicity and the subsequent fallout. Speculation over her real identity that has been trending on social media for days, with Gadd even urging online sleuths to stop.
Richard Gadd plays Donny alongside Jessica Gunning as Martha. Netflix
Mad, bad and sad Martha
As a society, we’re fascinated by “monstrous women”. From the infamous Myra Hindley who murdered five children in the early 1960s with her husband, to Lucy Letby, a former neonatal nurse who was in the headlines last year for murdering seven infants, we have an unconscious fear of feminine evil.
It’s also perhaps dispiriting that we accommodate male offending into our expectations of masculinity. In doing so we perceive male offenders to be independent, rational, autonomous and responsible. In contrast, and as is the case with Martha, women offenders are viewed as dependent, emotional, irresponsible and not entirely adult.
While Gadd has drawn praise for his sympathetic treatment of Martha (indeed, Baby Reindeer could be read as an indictment of the United Kingdom’s mental health services) audiences are repeatedly reminded she is “clearly unwell”.
As with other media representations of female offending, we are quick to remove agency and trap women within a caricature of “mad, bad and sad”.
Martha is shown as an obese and relatively unkempt older woman. Netflix
Women who commit serious offences are already of news value by virtue of their relative rarity. But they become even more newsworthy when they can be further dehumanised by reference to their sexuality and/or appearance.
They are caught between media constructions of sex-craved promiscuity or cold isolating frigidity. They’re either conventionally unattractive, or a “femme fatale” who ensnares victims. We saw the latter in the media’s treatment of Amanda Knox, who was incarcerated in Italy following a wrongful conviction for the 2007 murder of Meredith Kercher. She was given the moniker “Foxy Knoxy”.
There’s a promotional picture from Baby Reindeer that illustrates a similar kind of pigeonholing. It shows Donny trapped in a glass, with an oversized Martha looming behind him.
Baby Reindeer’s promo poster shows Martha having ‘trapped’ Donny.
Yet, in the show itself Donny is not shown as being so “trapped”. Rather, he chooses to engage with Martha time and again, and at times in questionable ways.
The internet starts a witch hunt
While Gadd has repeatedly claimed this is a fictionalised account of true events, many elements of Martha’s crimes were historically held in the public archive – from tweets she sent, to court documents and media articles.
It would be relatively easy for internet sleuths and journalists to put their fingers to keyboards to find the “real” Martha, as has reportedly been done. If this turns out to be true, then it’s clear the real Martha wasn’t afforded enough anonymity.
Meanwhile, Gadd says the identity of the other perpetrator – the powerful TV writer, Darrien, who grooms and repeatedly sexually assaults Donny – is an “open secret in the UK comedy scene”.
Donny acknowledges in the show:
there was always a sense that she was ill, that she couldn’t help it, whereas he was a pernicious, manipulative groomer.
Yet there is a protection afforded to the real Darrien – whether it be through power, means or gender – that isn’t in play for the real Martha. Martha is “unwell” and scraping by week-to-week in a council flat, while Darrien is top of the social ladder and living in affluence.
While Darrien’s crimes are more extreme in nature, he is allowed a level of anonymity Martha doesn’t get. Netflix
As is often the case, Martha’s agency is diminished and she is subject to increased scrutiny, while the greater crimes committed by a man fail to garner the same media attention.
Raising the mirror
The challenge of balancing autofiction with anonymity isn’t new and Baby Reindeer won’t be the last such example. Fundamentally, however, this is less about fiction versus reality and more about how we, the viewers and the content makers, view female offenders.
Martha isn’t the person who groomed, repeatedly sexually abused Gadd and manipulated him into a drug habit, yet she is the centre of the show’s pitch and worldwide promotion. This raises more questions about our own ethics than anything else.
