Margot Robbie and Erling Haaland: a bad year for blondes

Except for the most devoted Real Madrid fans — those who can endure at least 10 seconds of Real Madrid TV’s biased broadcasts — Messi is undeniably the GOAT. However, his recent win as the FIFA men’s player of the year predictably sparked an uproar. Indeed, every form of recognition, no matter how seemingly trivial, has the potential to raise the hackles of someone in the vast expanse of the internet.

“Very strange decision — should have been [Norwegian pro soccer player] Erling Haaland,” tweeted Martyn Ziegler, a sports journalist with The Times. Perhaps it should have been, but the devil is carrying the ballot boxes. Perhaps it should have been the Norwegian who played so well in a more competitive league. But perhaps it didn’t seem that way to the FIFA voters and other soccer superstars like Kylian Mbappé, Luka Modrić and Mohamed Salah.

Barbie fans are up in arms because they don’t like that five actresses not named Margot Robbie have been nominated for Oscars. They have stirred up a (somewhat) tongue-in-cheek controversy, claiming that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is sexist and colluded with Ken, Barbie’s boyfriend (played by Ryan Gosling). They picture the nomination process as a secretive cabal of masked fiends, instead of a bunch of actors voting for their favorites. Instead of acknowledging that other performers may have done better work, they prefer convoluted explanations like sexism and point to América Ferrera’s nomination as best supporting actress. Conspiracy theorists can make anything fit their crackpot schemes.

The year 2024 isn’t off to a great start for blondes, but there comes a time for everyone.

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