Pop Culture Roundup: A reckoning for Tyra Banks and Normani Took Over Our Timeline This Week
By Elizabeth Richardson | February 20, 2026 | Celebrity & Culture
AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL, Pictured: Miss J and Tyra Banks (Credit: Monty Brinton/UPN)
Whether you get your news from People magazine spreads, podcasts, or scrolling through Instagram, there’s a lot to keep up with in the celebrity sphere. From dating drama to new drops from artists that have lit up social media all week, we’ve kept up with all the online chatter. We’ve handpicked the gossip-worthy celebrity stories that will get the group chat talking nonstop this weekend.
For the week of Feb 15 to 20:
The Drama: Online critics say there’s no love lost after Normani cancels Valentine’s Day performance
@steilovesburgers Normani cancels her concert in LA last minute. #normani #popculture
Ever since the former Fifth Harmony star made her solo debut in 2018, there’s been a lot of chatter about Normani’s career, but her latest career move (or lack thereof) has a lot of critics cracking jokes at her expense. Videos went viral on TikTok after Normani cancelled her Valentine’s Day performance minutes before she was due on stage.
Cue the comment section wise-cracks. One account under a Popfaction post wondered, “Girly is a flop already.. Why y’all giving her a stage.. Smh.” Another on a viral TikTok post joked, “All 4 fans were refunded.”
But on a more serious note, another well-liked comment under the video said, “Normani doesn’t want it bad enough. That’s why she isn’t making it big and probably will never have a big break again.” In the music business, there can be plenty of work going on behind the scenes, but most fans are interested in the end result on stage and on records, not promises of a big breakthrough coming.
Even with the praise around Normani’s talent and the initial excitement around her solo venture, the comment sections made it clear this week: hype doesn’t last forever.
The Spotlight: The trailer for Slanted gets a split reaction
After premiering at SXSW Festival last year, Bleecker Street’s Slanted is preparing to make its debut in theaters March 13—but the trailer has a lot of potential theatergoers divided over concept and execution.
On one hand, some said they couldn’t wait for the premiere date, with one Instagram comment pining, “Oh how i wish this movie came out when i was in high school.” At least some girls feel this movie will reflect their own complicated experiences growing up.
On the other hand, plenty of people voiced their concerns with the satirical body horror. Many agreed that the film—which follows high schooler Joan Huang after she undergoes a procedure that makes her White, blonde, and popular at school—shares a lot in common with the 2024 film The Substance. With that movie still fresh in viewers’ minds, they say the concept doesn’t feel very original.
Others share a critical view of the movie’s premise, saying that the movie’s message about internalized racism feels muddled since the lead Asian actress, Shirley Chen, “transforms” into White actress McKenna Grace, giving an Asian actress less screen time. Coupled with the title, Slanted, one Instagram account asked, “Why are we trying to showcase that awful mindset rather than lifting UP our asian girls?”
No matter what, one of the most impressive things a film can do is spark a deeper conversation publicly. If director Amy Wang has already managed to do that before her SXSW Grand Jury Prize winner’s national debut, then maybe it’s done something right.
What got fans heated: America’s Next Top Model contestants hit back against Tyra Banks after Netflix’s revealing documentary
Nearly eight years after the final cycle of America’s Next Top Model aired, the ire against producer, host, and model Tyra Banks has reignited, thanks to Netflix’s Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model.
It seems that the internet agrees that much-needed accountability from Banks was missing from the documentary, who drew up dismissive “explanations” for the show’s toxic elements, like eating disorder culture.
The most heated response to Banks’ anemic answers for controversial moments on the show comes from former contestant Tiffany Richardson, who was the unfortunate model at the receiving end of Banks’ intense “we were all rooting for you” scolding. In an Instagram post (now deleted), Richardson accused Banks of saying “the nastiest things about me and my son.” Meanwhile, Banks claims the moment was due to the frustration of “so many people saying [Black girls are] not good enough.”
Model Dani Evans aired her complaints about the show on the documentary itself. She recalled the pressure from production and Banks to close her tooth gap against her wishes, which Banks framed as looking out for Evans’ modeling future.
Evans hit back at that, saying Tyra was “making good TV at my expense.”
A lot of viewers and former contestants just aren’t buying what Tyra Banks is selling here, which could spell trouble for the potential cycle 25. Hopefully the backlash will give Banks her own reality check.
