My Absolutely Accurate Pop Culture Predictions For The Rest Of The Year
And just like that, it’s July.
2024 has served up some absolutely huge pop culture moments thus far. Remember when we all became Royal conspiracy theorists?! From Challengers to Baby Reindeer, Jojo Siwa’s rebrand and The Eras Tour dominance, the celebs have kept us on our toes for six months straight. But what about the next six months?
Here are my pop culture predictions (verging on fanfiction tbh) for the rest of 2024.
The American Election will dominate the algorithm.
The memeification of Joe Biden and Donald Trump is already in full swing, but I reckon this is just the start. Mind you, if all goes to plan, hopefully Biden will be replaced by a more… robust candidate, but for now, it’s 2020 all over again. Good vs. Evil. Sleepy Joe vs. Convicted felon.
This time around, I think celebrities will be urging their followers to vote just as much as they did four years ago, however not personally endorsing Biden. I think it will be a very vague “every voice should be heard” rhetoric, or an extremely frank “we’re all fucked if Trump is reelected” kind of energy. While Biden has been largely supported during his time in The White House, I don’t think any public figure at the moment wants to openly lend their voice to his second-term campaign.
I also predict the debate around age limits for presidential candidates will amp up, and the trendy thing for celebs to do will be lobbying for some sort of policy around this (all whilst navigating the issue of ageism).
We will all obsess over a hot Olympian.
I swear this happens every four years.
We see some swimmer from Germany, a British rower, a French triathlete, and we all get collectively horny. We will all feel a little weird sexualising the Olympians but will ultimately share memes and tweets about how hot one athlete, coach, referee or team is in particular.
And it will bring all nations together.
Taylor and Travis will get engaged.
Engagement rumours have followed these two for months now, with some even convinced Travis was going to propose in February at the Super Bowl. But alas, my friends, here’s how it’s going to play out.
On the very last night of her Eras Tour, Taylor will simply be wearing an engagement ring. Fans will notice it and go crazy but she will play coy and not acknowledge anything. Days later, when she takes to social media to reflect on finishing the tour, she will very casually thank her fiancé and share that she’s excited for this next chapter.
I’m even seeing a Miley Cyrus, Liam Hemsworth-style New Years Eve private wedding at home (cute black and white pictures shared months later).
Alternate Taylor prediction: she will perform at the Super Bowl next year. She’ll finally have time with her schedule opened up and the Swift/NFL synergy is bonkers.
Taylor Swift Travis Kelce engaged?? Image credit: Getty
Justin and Hailey will go rogue with their baby name.
Celebrities naming their babies obscure (and downright terrible) names isn’t new. If anything, it’s more unsettling now when they name their kid something normal. Knowing these two, I’m convinced it will be a hybrid of obscure and normal, and definitely with biblical undertones given their faith. Something like, Joseph Gemini, or Samson Moon.
Thankfully the baby will be so gorge that it won’t matter.
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Wicked will be the new Barbie.
The first instalment of the Wicked movie is set for release in November, and this is gonna be a cultural reset. Like we saw in 2023 with Barbie, I predict this movie is going to be fucking everywhere.
Ariana Grande stans, musical-theatre nerds, lovers of the fantasy genre and those who just wanna peep Ariana and Ethan Slater’s chemistry will flock to the cinema. Cynthia Erivo will enter the next level of her fame. We’ll all agree Jeff Goldblum has aged immaculately. And, the soundtrack will dominate not only Spotify, but TikTok and Reels too.
Get ready to defy gravity, my queens.
Harry and Megs will do something weird.
These two are due for some random publicity stunt.
Megs’ jams were the latest in the ex-Royals misguided attempt at a rebrand, but I’m sensing there’s more to come. My bet is that the Duchess is going to try to leverage her lifestyle brand American Riviera Orchard into a TV show a la Martha Stewart Living.
I also think Harry will do an ill-advised podcast interview with someone like Jay Shetty and make an impassioned plea to brother Wills to come visit them in Montecito to work things out.
It will not end well.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle plotting their next move. Image credit: Getty
The White Lotus will make headlines.
We know The White Lotus Season 3 won’t be on our screens until 2025 (due to thewriters’ strike), and that the cast is already stacked (Parker Posey, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Michelle Monaghan and Leslie Bibb to name a few).
But I reckon creator Mike White is going to bless us with something by the end of the year. Whether it’s a trailer, a teaser, a new cast announcement or a rumour of Jennifer Coolidge somehow being involved, I think we will be rewarded with a little treat for waiting so patiently.
My hope is that we’ll find out there’s a cameo from a previous guest of The White Lotus (could be Jennifer somehow!!) or further cast announcements. My absolute dream additions would be Kim Cattrall, Amy Sedaris or Christopher Walken, which also doubles as my dream blunt rotation.
Image credit: HBO/The White Lotus
Huge shoutout to me if literally ANY of these predictions come true!
Written by Lil Friedmann, a pop culture medium staring lovingly into a crystal ball RN. You can follow her at @lilfriedmann on socials.
Image credit: Punkee