On Aaron Pierre, that’s Mufassaaaa

Hi friend,

Merry 2025! I hope you’ve had a restful break. The year is off to an intense start already with the ongoing destructive fires in LA and the impending inauguration of you know who so I decided to start this year off a little light with a peak into my TikTok FYP. Since there’s a possibility that TikTok could be gone forever, I’ve allowed myself to spend more time on the app that I normally would and it’s been a fun time to be honest. My favorite aspect of TikTok is being able to see ideas evolve in real-time and it’s been nice to check in and see what the collective I’m part of has been up to. In no particular order, here are some highlights of my FYP and what they’ve brought to mind.

1. Bad Bunny’s latest album and the DTMF trend: Bad Bunny recently released his sixth solo album, DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS, on January 5th which is a love letter to Puerto Rico and the girlies have had me in tears all week. In the title track, Bad Bunny sings about wishing he had taken more photos with his loved ones and given them more hugs and kisses when he had the chance so the TikTok trend features people sharing photos and videos of their loved ones who have passed on from grandparents to pets. I’ve also really loved the videos sharing family member’s reactions to “Nuevayol” which pays homage to the impact of New York specifically in the Latino community. The whole album is amazing and it’s brought up so many beautiful memories for me as someone from Spanish Harlem or “El Barrio.” I was immersed in Latino culture growing up so it has a special place in my heart. Most of my best friends growing up were Puerto Rican and I was lovingly called Paulita by the Latino elders that nurtured me so it’s been really special to witness this moment of joy and celebration for this community while also holding space for the devastating impact of the ongoing gentrification of Puerto Rico which Bad Bunny references in “Lo Que Le Pasó a Hawaii” which translates to “What Happened to Hawaii.” I’m here for all the think pieces and translations of this album that has made me hella homesick and I will appreciate them for as long as I can on TikTok.

2. The mass exodus to RedNote: With the TikTok ban impending, creators on TikTok suggested joining RedNote, the Chinese version of TikTok, as a form of protest. What began as a simple idea has led to the app being the most downloaded app in the App Store and half a million American users being welcomed as TikTok refugees by RedNote users. I think it’s a hilarious and impactful form of protest at a time when it’s very easy to feel powerless with all of the legislation that’s about to be put into place so I’m here for it. I haven’t downloaded RedNote myself yet but I’ll definitely share my thoughts on it if I do. For those considering using the app for the content creation, I would definitely encourage looking at a translation of the terms of use for the app.

3. The Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni saga continues: This story is more complicated but I’ve been wanting to share my thoughts on it for a few weeks because I just find it really interesting. If you don’t know, essentially there’s currently a legal battle taking place between actress, Blake Lively, and actor/ director, Justin Baldoni, over allegations of a series of issues that took place during the production and promotion of the film It Ends With Us that came out over the summer. During the promotion of the film, Lively’s public reputation tanked pretty quickly as fans were dissatisfied with her flippant promotion of a movie that addressed themes of domestic abuse while Baldoni, isolated from the rest of the cast, did interviews where he talked about domestic violence and how important the story was to him. There are a lot of details that I could go into but what I find most interesting about this case is how much it shows how easy it is to be manipulated when you’re only given access to certain information and how important our opinion as consumers is otherwise people wouldn’t be trying so hard to shape it. As of now, Lively has sued Baldoni for sexual harassment while he has countersued for The New York Times and Blake Lively for defamation. It’s hard to say where the truth lies in all of the he said, she said but my feed has been filled with a lot of speculation and updates across the board so I’m just curious to see how things pan out.

4. Aaron Pierre, that’s Mufassaaaa: If you’ve somehow avoided getting this sound stuck in your head, sorry in advance lol. In the past couple of weeks, Aaron Pierre’s spirit tunnel went viral with the staff of the Jennifer Hudson show chanting “Aaron Pierre, That’s Mufassaaa” as he shimmied down the tunnel. Since then, there’s been off shoots of people recreating the video and partners being confused that their partner is playing the sound over and over again. All in all, there’s something nice about everyone thirsting after the same person as a unit 😂 In addition to playing Mufasa in the latest Lion King prequel, Aaron Pierre is also slated to be the first Black live action Green Lantern in James Gunn’s DCEU. Needless to say, he is on a roll and I’m excited for what his career has in store for him.

Thanks for taking this trip down my FYP with me. I’m sending so much love to everyone in LA and everyone grieving the loss of their homes and belongings. If you have the means to donate, I would recommend pouring into the marginalized communities in LA that will have less resources to build back their lives potentially starting with these GoFundMes for Black families in Eaton. 

Starting in February, I will be hosting 20 1:1 energy work sessions for $20 and group events will be back soon. Here’s the link to book an energy work session if you’re interested: https://paulaami.com/offerings/ Thanks for reading!

With gratitude,

Paula