Pop Culture: An Interview with Francesca Bacardi

Source: Francesca Bacardi (Instagram) Chief Reporter at Page Six

When we want to know the latest news breaking in Hollywood or our favorite celebrities, we flock to Page Six. Chances are, senior reporter Francesca Bacardi is the one delivering us all the entertainment news and celebrity gossip. She also co-hosts New York Post’s “We Hear” podcast, which further breaks down the biggest entertainment news stories of the week. She’s been a great guide and source for wisdom and advice to me, and she is an absolute pop culture expert.

As someone who works in entertainment, what kind of impact do you think that TikTok and TikTok stars have had on pop culture?

"TikTok showed up like a bat out of hell! I honestly still can't believe how popular it is - and every day I try to fight against it. I think TikTok itself hasn't affected pop culture as much as its stars have. There have been a few "stars" to emerge from the platform and pivot into other spaces, i.e. the Addison Raes of the world, but I don't think they're necessarily changing pop culture; they're just changing the game of what type of 'famous' a person can be."

What is it about the celebrities coming up off of TikTok (like Noah Beck, Addison Rae, or the D'Amelio's) that make us so obsessed with them?

"Speak for yourself! Maybe it's because of my age (I'll be 32 in December), but I am not obsessed with them in the slightest. In fact, I think Millennials are judging these youngsters because celebrities who became famous at a young age from our generation WORKED for their fame. They sang, they acted, they danced. They did it all, and now these kids come out with a 3-second clip on TikTok and they're famous? It's all so bizarre. From a Gen-Z standpoint, however, I think they're obsessed with TikTokers because they're everyday people. It's a dream that seems easily attainable because before this app came about they were just average kids."

How do you feel about the way that pop culture is so heavily focused on TikTok?

"I hate it."

People are saying that the D'Amelio's are the new Kardashian-Jenners as staple of pop culture. Do you think that's a fair or accurate comparison of their influence?

"They could never! The Kardashian-Jenners are truly one-of-a-kind in the zeitgeist. I totally understand that entertainment corporations (E! for example) want to focus on the next generation of "family talent" because they lost the Kardashians, but no one could ever be them. Try as they might, it's just not the same. The D'Amelios aren't bringing the drama, intrigue and WEALTH the Kardashians gave us."

"TikTok showed up like a bat out of hell! I honestly still can't believe how popular it is."

We’ve seen time and time again that social stars are constantly evolving into new spaces, like Jake Paul’s prize-fighting career, Addison Rae starring in Netflix’s ‘He’s All That,’ or former Sway House member Jaden Hossler touring with Machine Gun Kelly and making music with Travis Barker- do you think that TikTok is really the vehicle to achieve one’s goals?

"I don't think TikTok was the reason Addison Rae scored her "He's All That" role. I think it was her artificially constructed friendship with Kourtney Kardashian that secured her that role (If you noticed, they no longer hung out the second that announcement was made). Now, would she have had that without TikTok? Probably not, so it's safe to say it helped gain her some influence in Hollywood, but I don't anticipate her ever really making it BIG on the silver screen. She's smart for pivoting into fragrances. As for Jake Paul, he keeps himself relevant with his scandals and constant pivots, though I bet a lot of people wish he'd disappear."

As a reporter and journalist, how do you feel personally about writing a piece on TikTok stars versus pop stars or actors? (“real celebrities”)

"Fortunately, I haven't had to for Page Six... THANK GOD! I would be devastated if so haha, but I'm lucky because the Features department of NYPost handles all of that."

If TikTok were to somehow disappear, do you think that the influencers we recognize from the app would stay relevant?

"I think the ones who have successfully pivoted into other spaces would stay relevant, but those still on TikTok would disappear into the internet abyss because they'd lose their main platform."

Do you think that being a TikTok star is the equivalent to being a ‘one hit wonder’? Countless creators go viral and amass millions of views on the app, but don’t necessarily become household names.

"Oh absolutely. It almost seems like unless you 'made it' when TikTok first launched, you're relegated to one-hit-wonder status. It's just another viral video in a long stream of scrolling."

We’re seeing these kids blow up on tiktok, like Charli D’Amelio was only 15 or 16 when she received millions of followers - do you see this new generation of essentially child stars being better equipped to deal with their immense fame than we’ve seen in the past?

"It's a completely different type of fame. The fame the Justin Biebers, the Amanda Byneses, the Britney Spears endured is unlike what these TikTokers are going through. They don't have fans chasing them everywhere, paparazzi documenting their every move - they're just being forced to provide more content to the masses while maintaining their privacy and relatively normal lives."

Page Six is known for breaking news, a lot of the time before any other outlet… how does the increasing trend of celebrities releasing their own news through their accounts (especially now with access to more platforms) affect your role as a reporter?

"Ugh there is no worse feeling than when a celebrity scoops us on a story by turning to social with a Notes App statement, but while it's so easy for them to directly connect with their fans in that regard, a lot of time they might be too nervous to because everything gets picked apart. Mostly celebrities will just ignore the news depending on the story because they'd rather it blow over when the next big thing pops. That being said, every single 'cryptic quote' from Khloé Kardashian or any celeb amid a "scandal" always does WONDERS for us from a traffic standpoint, so we welcome a sketchy Instagram Story anytime."