The Gabby Petito case and ongoing search for Brian Laundrie

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Gabby Petito was a 22-year-old blogger and Youtuber from Florida, who was travelling across the country with her fiance, 37-year-old Brian Laundrie. The pair went on road-trip and documented their travels on a shared Youtube channel called Nomadic Statik, where they often post about their #vanlife. Earlier this month, Petito was reported missing, and the case captured the Internet. Thousands of speculations circulated on social media about what happened to Petito. According to Insider, “​​in the process, the #gabbypetito hashtag has amassed over 820 million views” on TikTok. Just this past week, it was announced that her remains were found in Wyoming, with the FBI saying that the cause of death has been ruled a homicide. Police are currently on the search for Laundrie, who was named a person of interest in the case. According to his family, he allegedly left his home without his wallet or phone. What makes this case even more chilling is that Petito and Laundrie’s travel vlog is still uploaded on their Youtube channel. Speculations from TikTok, Instagram, and Youtube users have suggested that Laundrie was also operating Petito’s social media accounts himself after her death. Many pointed out that the national attention given to the case pales in comparison to the attention given to cases of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls in the United States. 

Tiger King 2 is Coming to Netflix

Tiger King is back and we are still in a pandemic, it’s like nothing has changed. Netflix just announced that Tiger King, the documentary that took social media by storm last year, has been renewed for a second season. The doc followed the life of Joseph Allen Maldonado-Passage, also known as Joe Exotic,and his tigers at his animal facility in Wynnewood, Oklahoma. It also chronicled his entertaining feud with Carol Baskin, the owner of another animal rescue centre in Florida. Maldonado-Passage attempted to hire a hitman to kill Baskin twice, and has been imprisoned since March, 2020 at the Federal Medical Center in Fort Worth. In an interview with Variety, Baskin stated that after the first season of Tiger King debuted, directors Rebecca Chaiklin and Eric Goode reached out to her to try and “clear the air,” but she told them to “lose [her] number because the documentary was not what they had agreed upon. Will the second season be just as juicy as the first? We can’t wait to find out! 

Canada re-elected a Liberal minority government

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After plenty of heated debates and a very controversial federal election, the results were finally in on Monday Sept. 20, and we are back exactly where we started, after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was elected to serve his third term in office. Throughout his campaign, Trudeau focused mainly on COVID-19 mandates and promised $1 billion in funds for provinces that choose to implement vaccine passport systems, as well as an additional $100 Million to study the long-term effects of COVID-19. Other promises he made include $100 million to improve air quality in schools, $70 million to not-for-profits, charities and Indigenous communities, and $4.5 billion over five years in funding for mental health. Critics were quick to point out that the election was a really expensive cabinet shuffle that cost taxpayers $600 million. 

Tory Lames (or Lanez)

The Brampton rapper has been in hot water since last year after allegedly shooting fellow artist Meg Thee Stallion in the foot when leaving a party together in July 2020. In October of last year he was charged by Los Angeles authorities for assault with a semiautomatic firearm. Lanez was trending on social media this past week after a hearing for the case took place on September 23, and he deleted all of his content on Instagram. Many Meg Thee Stallion supporters have tweeted their excitement that Lanez may be going to jail, while Lanez tweeted that he’s doing just fine.

Is Drake a bigger superstar than Michael Jackson?

The internet is divided on whether Drake is a bigger superstar than Michael Jackson, prompted by a debate sparked by Rap TV. Drake’s latest album, Certified Lover Boy, took up nine out of 10 spots on the Billboard Hot 100 list, surpassing Jackson whose record for the most songs in the top 10 is seven, from his album Thriller. Drake also has 10 Number 1 albums, while MJ has six. Is Drake more poppin’ of an artist than the King of Pop himself? Britni Danielle on Twitter wrote “Michael Jackson had people going into full on shock and passing out before he even sang a note. MJ stood on the stage and just LOOKED at the crowd & they caught the Holy Ghost. Drake could never. There will NEVER be another Michael Jackson. So, let’s stop these silly debates.” Do you agree? Be sure to let us know.

That's all for this week! Be sure to follow us on TikTok to join in on the conversation.

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About the author: Manisha is a writer and reporter with previous radio and television experience, who is passionate about connecting audiences to the stories and voices that matter to them most. Check her out on Instagram: @exclusivelymanisha