Popping culture: Lily Allen wants you to know that it’s hard out there for a bitch

Oh, Lily Allen.

To think that you were one of the first major musicians to rise to fame because of social media sharing (hello, MySpace!). The rise of “LDN” and “Smile” helped Lily Allen become an “it girl” among music bloggers (when such a thing was new). A couple of albums followed, but Allen has been out of the spotlight for a bit. That may change with her recent single “Hard Out Here for a Bitch,” a tongue-in-cheek satire of how women are portrayed and displayed in pop culture, specifically music videos. Kudos to her for knowing her audience and knowing herself enough to put out such a smart satire.

Journalist, writer, blogger, producer.

Keep Reading

A collage with colour images of Cole Escola and Anania, black and white images of Gavin Newsom and Bari Weiss, and the numbers 2025 against an abstract pink and white background

Righteous queens and shady bitches of 2025

Here are the main characters that made, and broke, the year in queer
Collage featuring drag performers and the numbers 2025

The top 10 ‘Drag Race’ lip syncs of 2025

International seasons dominate the list of best performances of the year

Silky Nutmeg Ganache on taking a ‘Slaycation’ with Alyssa Edwards

The ‘Canada vs. The World’ star talks the value of a variety of drag TV and Miss Fiercalicious’ desire to be Galinda

2025 was about finding solace in the human-made slop

AI’s got nothing on good quality dumb entertainment—and only people can make that