The Substance starring Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley has fast become the most talked-about horror of the year, with audiences divided on whether it’s a feminist masterpiece, or a ‘vile and disgusting’ exemplar of the male gaze. We get into how the film taps into our own fears around ageing and how Demi’s role was influenced by career-long toxic media scrutiny. Also this week, we deep-dive into the horrific allegations and rumours that have come to light since Diddy’s arrest, from his ‘freak offs’ and disturbing relationship with a young Justin Bieber, to the music mogul’s careful curation of a ‘legit’ celebrity persona. Is all of Hollywood as dark and sinister a place as it seems? As part of our conversation about male sexual assault, we also discuss the No1 show on Netflix right now, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story. 

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Reccs/ Culture discussed

• The Substance (in cinemas)

• I’m a 50-something woman and nothing about Demi Moore’s anti-ageing body horror rings true, Telegraph

• ‘We can be violent to ourselves. Brutal’: Demi Moore on body image, reinvention and her most shocking role yet, Guardian 

• Real Ageing is scarier than what’s going on in The Substance, The Cut

• Helter Skelter by Ninagawa Mika (2012)

• Once More From The Top by Emily Layden

• Blink Twice (2024), Apple TV 

• I Survived Diddy’s White Party, YouTube 

• Yummy, Justin Bieber (YouTube)

• The staggering fall of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs – from music mogul to criminal charges, Guardian

• The Powerful Celebs Who Acted as Diddy’s Human Shield, Daily Beast

• Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, Netflix 

• The Wild, True Tale Behind Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, Vanity Fair 

• Behind every Al-Fayed and Diddy there is a small army of enablers, Guardian

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