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people can be so mean

A Stranger Crashing A TikToker's Big Moment At The Charli XCX Show, And More Of This Week's 'One Main Character'

Darcy Jimenez
Darcy Jimenez
A Stranger Crashing A TikToker's Big Moment At The Charli XCX Show, And More Of This Week's 'One Main Character'
Chappell Roan's comments about the upcoming presidential election have sparked a lot of discussion online.
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Every day, somebody says or does something that earns them the scorn of the internet. Here at Digg, as part of our mission to curate what the internet is talking about right now, we rounded up the main characters on X from this past week and held them accountable for their actions.



This week, we've got Marques Brownlee's cash grab, lively debate about Chappell Roan's politics, Sam Altman's revolutionary note-taking method and a Charli XCX fan who became the internet's enemy number one.


Monday

Marques Brownlee

The character: Marques Brownlee, YouTube tech reviewer, newly-minted app guy

The plot: Brownlee, best-known for some brutal takedowns of bad products, has put out his very own bad product. The slap-dash smartphone wallpaper app, dubbed "Panels," demands a hefty $12-per-month fee for what amounts to be a pretty sub-par experience.

Even worse, it seemingly collects a lot of user data. People aren't happy.


The repercussion: In fairness, Brownlee quickly backpedaled on some of the worst parts of the pitch, but it's clear that this should have never launched in this state. We're certainly not against paying for art under the right circumstances, but we'll probably be sticking with Wallaroo for about $2 a month and a much better experience. Go back to the drawing board, MKBHD.


Grant Brunner



Saturday

Chappell Roan

The character: Chappell Roan, pop star, divisive figure

The plot: Over the weekend, a cherry-picked comment made by singer Chappell Roan in a Guardian interview went viral and sparked a hell of a lot of debate on X.

Roan, who has seen a meteoric rise to superstardom this year, told the British newspaper: "There are so many things that I would want to change. So I don't feel pressured to endorse someone. There's problems on both sides."


The repercussion: It's common knowledge that Chappell Roan is a fierce advocate of LGBTQ+ rights, but many saw her refusal to endorse the left-wing presidential nominee as a failure to truly support and protect that community.

Some X users even accused her of being a secret Republican.

Others, meanwhile, understood Roan's reluctance to endorse Kamala Harris when there are many decisions by the Democratic party that she doesn't support — she is, for example, an outspoken critic of Israel's war in Gaza, which the Dems are backing — and argued that the issue isn't as clear-cut as some are making out.

Roan herself eventually took to social media to clarify her statements, and reassure those in doubt that while she has no desire to endorse any particular candidate, she will not be voting for Trump.


Darcy Jimenez


Tuesday

Sam Altman

The character: Sam Altman, OpenAI co-founder, huge note-taker, inconsiderate notebook owner

The plot: Altman has graced our column previously (the time he wanted to takeover the world with a trillion words) and a clip of Altman's appearance on the "How I Write" podcast recently raised eyebrows after he revealed some of his writing habits and preference for spiral notebooks — because ripping those pages out is much easier, and is something he does quite often.

Altman also casually let it slip how he throws piles of crumpled paper on the floor, and waits for his housecleaner ("when our house cleaner comes in, you know, whenever,") to clear up the pile.


The repercussion: While Altman has been ridiculed many times since OpenAI went mainstream, his lack of media training and refusal to act human was something people couldn't forgive.


Adwait Patil


Tuesday

Charli XCX fan

The character: Charli XCX fan, dancing intruder, excited person

The plot: On the NYC night of Charli XCX and Troye Sivan's "Sweat" tour, TikToker Kelley Heyer, who created the viral dance to Charli's song "Apple," performed the routine under a spotlight and surrounded by screaming fans. It was very much a Main Character moment for Heyer, so people watching the video online were surprised to see someone jumping in to dance alongside her.


The repercussion: Initial reactions to the stage invader, who was not known to Heyer, were extreme, to say the least. Sure, her briefly trying to grab Heyer's arm was a little weird and awkward — but some X users went as far as to say the girl deserved to be hit, while others resorted to cruel, fatphobic comments.

Thankfully, reason appears to have prevailed, with many people coming to the girl's defense. Even Heyer herself addressed the situation and called out those being nasty and abusive to someone who was just excited.

@kelley.heyer

My voice is shot from the concert but I just wanted to get this out there!

♬ original sound - Kelley Heyer

Darcy Jimenez


Read the previous edition of our One Main Character column, which featured an onstage scuffle, a baked abomination, everyone's favorite hippopotamus, a depressing childbirth announcement, a political correspondent who committed the cardinal sin of journalism and an eerie new city in Saudi Arabia.


[Image credit: @kelley.heyer]

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