In this emergency roundtable report, we discuss how clownery has become a dominant mode of aesthetic and ideological expression, perhaps symbolizing the defeat of authenticity. Recent carnivalesque incidents include the chaotic spectacle of this year’s VMAs, the meteoric rise of the Savannah Bananas, Jay Guapo’s Italian Brainrot Block Party, the political role reversal of the troll and the triggered, Audrey Hobert’s debut album Who’s the Clown, and more.

Links:

Top Clown Town outfits at the VMAs: Conan Gray in Erik Charlotte, Megan Stalter as hot dog vendor, Doja Cat in Balmain, Ariana Grande’s outfit changes, Sabrina Carpenter in Valentino

Sabrina Carpenter Performs “Tears” | 2025 Video Music Awards

“I need to see you spin first, sista” from Sex and the City S4 E18

Chappell Roan Performs “Pink Pony Club” (Live From The 67th Grammy Awards)

“Chappell Roan on the Queer Origins of her Signature Makeup Look” – Gay Times

Flash Mob! The Savannah Bananas Crash The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

“As Savannah Bananas ursue ‘a billion fans,’ are they real competition for MLB?” – The New York Times

Jay Guapo’s Brainrot Block Party

Tyler Robinson’s bullet casing inscription breakdown – PBS News Hour

The story behind FBI Director Kash Patel’s seemingly random ‘Valhalla’ reference

Trump’s presidential portraits from 2017 to 2025

“What Is ‘Dark Woke’?” – The New York Times

“Why has Gavin Newsom gone ‘dark woke’?” – BBC

Mexican influencer Marian Izaguerre dies after posting goodbye video in clown makeup

Audrey Hobert Who’s the Clown interview in Teen Vogue

“The Clown at Midnight: Coulrophobia, Counterculture, and the Decadent Pierrot Mask” by Samuel Love – Sequitur

Passages from Mikhail Bakhtin on the grotesque body and the carnivalesque sense of the world

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.nymphetalumni.com/subscribe