Vanity Fair, why?
Some sections of the internet have been chattering all week about a red carpet flub involving a podcaster and a musician — one in a growing series of stumbles by influencers and content creators tapped to do journalism by legacy organizations.
“Giggly Squad” podcast host and comedian Hannah Berner was interviewing Houston rapper Megan Thee Stallion on the red carpet Sunday during the Vanity Fair Oscar Party when her excitement got the best of her.
“Your music has literally made me, like, when I want to fight someone, I listen to your music,” Berner said.
Huh?
The comedian seemed so swept up in the moment and Meg’s stardom that she could only muster what maybe should have been praise but what immediately felt to many viewers at home (and me) like a major microaggression (a macroaggression).
The journalist, Black woman and fan in me was put off by it. Lowkey “angry Black woman” references in 2025? Please.
I’ve been a fan of Megan Thee Stallion since around 2016, when she was a young college student freestyling in cars. She has never made me want to fight. She makes me want to dance, be more liberated, stand up for myself and own my womanhood.
Megan, with a quick and graceful retort, replied: “You want to throw that fighting s*** out the window and you want to get cute and be a bad b****.” But Berner went on: “When people are talking s***, I go turn on Megan Thee Stallion!”
Meg again tried to redirect the conversation: “Body-ody-ody. I look beautiful. I look so great.”
Vanity Fair has since scrubbed the clipped interview from its platforms, though it’s still available as part of the longer livestream.
I can’t remember a time when Megan promoted violence. I revisited her catalog, thinking the interview might illuminate something. It didn’t.
On the contrary, she has been a victim of violence on a world stage. The only violence Megan has been publicly connected to has been the violence enacted upon her by other people, such as when she was shot by Canadian rapper Tory Lanez (who went on a gaslighting campaign but was eventually found guilty). Berner even acknowledged that Megan has “been through so many dark things” during the interview, while referencing her Amazon documentary.
Yes, Megan is tall and statuesque. Yes, she is Black. But no, she is not violent.
I’ll say it: It was a clear moment of overfamiliarity by a creator with loose proximity to celebrity. Berner clearly struggled with ethical journalistic boundaries. People online have already taken notice, calling out the interviewer for her “cringe” and “shameful” behavior. Others have placed the blame on Vanity Fair.
READ MORE: How to speak up about microaggressions in the newsroom
It’s just the latest interview flub in a continuation of stumbles by content creators and influencers on red carpets with some of the country’s greatest stars.
Red carpet interviews can have substance. It’s not always: “Tell us what you’re wearing!” People magazine has been reshaping the breadth of red carpet interviews with multiple viral celebrity moments.
The tension comes when creators are thrust into spaces they may not have the practical training, knowledge or experience to handle. For journalists already in a newsroom, the steady drumbeat of reporting sharpens their skills, making the chaos of a celebrity interview feel like second nature when it arrives. For influencers, there’s clearly a learning curve.
While influencers and creators don’t need to attach themselves to an institution to be legitimate, it is important that they develop a foundational knowledge and understanding of how ethical journalism is practiced as they spend more time navigating these spaces.
Too many of these situations have popped up repeatedly in recent years.
They most often involve creators, but not always. Sometimes it’s just a case of an inexperienced reporter being unprepared for the moment, such as the viral Baby Face interview during Black History Month, when he was steamrolled by a red carpet interviewer who wanted to speak with Chappell Roan instead. The interviewer was an Associated Press news reporter, seemingly trained, and I still felt myself asking: Where is the decorum?
Time and time again, I’ve wondered why institutions bring creators (or cub reporters) into these spaces without ensuring they are qualified for the moment. It’s a disservice to the creator — because we all know that the world is watching — a disservice to the institution that elevated them and a disservice to the audience.
I understand red carpets are busy, buzzy and swift. There’s a lot going on and let’s just say it’s easy to get lost in the sauce. But journalists are still journalists in that setting. And they must still uphold ethical standards, values and integrity.
Vanity Fair doesn’t deserve all the blame. Journalistic institutions have long had a track record of making promotions without providing the proper training needed to make them successful. But as these institutions increase partnerships with people who don’t have ethical journalism foundations and give them access to highly visible events, they must consider the pipeline.
There’s been a lot of talk recently about this influencer-to-news creator pipeline. The American Press Institute and Trusting News are among those working to help newsrooms better engage with influencers to connect with audiences while also helping news creators practice ethically through established journalism practices. If these collaborations are part of the future of journalism, we have to give great thought to what the partnerships look like and how we service the creators bringing us into their worlds.
Who gets to be a journalist is shifting, and I’m all for it. I’m also for practicing ethical journalism and putting qualified people in positions they deserve, rather than promoting who we like and hoping they can pick it up.
