I Played Tennis With Andre Agassi at the US Open—And Walked Away With a Lesson in Life
One morning a few days ago, I received an odd email from someone I’d been writing back and forth with about the US Open: “Could we speak on your cell at 4pm? Something amazing may be possible.” That something, as it turned out, was a chance to hit—one on one—for 30 minutes with two-time US Open champion (and eight-time Grand Slam champion, Olympic gold medalist, Hall of Fame member, and all-around living legend) Andre Agassi the following morning at 7, in Arthur Ashe Stadium, at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, a.k.a. the biggest prime-time stage at the Open—followed by breakfast and a chat in the Emirates Suite in Ashe.
Even thinking about it felt ridiculous: Though I’ve been playing tennis for decades, I’m also decades removed from my brief stint competing on the midwestern boys’ junior circuit. These days, I’m a supremely average once-a-week player perpetually on the verge of, you know, getting myself back in fighting form. I absolutely love to find the groove on a big-swing, big-finish crosscourt topspin forehand, I like playing a few sets against friends, but I loathe the notion of putting myself out there for even a local club tournament. Purely going on natural instinct, every fiber of my body told me to say no to this (admittedly mind-boggling) opportunity.
Emotionally, I realized I was going through some kind of inverse of the seven stages of grief, stuck on an odd kind of anger at this once-in-a-lifetime thing landing on my lap. Not one of the many actors I’ve interviewed ever asked me to step in front of the camera and read lines, or leap through a window as part of a big chase scene; zero of the musicians I’ve talked with over the years have asked me to stand in with them at Madison Square Garden and trade guitar solos or take over lead-vocal duties at their sound check—so why this?
Yet here was the offer: Play tennis, with one of the greatest to ever do so, in the largest tennis stadium in the world. I had 90 minutes to make up my mind.
The first thing I did was reach for a box filled with old photographs on a bookshelf in my living room, where I dug up a picture of Andre and me—in 1994—at a pre-Open Nike party at a restaurant near Gramercy Park. I have no idea what we talked about, and in any case I didn’t want to bother him or take up too much of his time, as he was there with Brooke Shields (they’d then been dating for about a year and would be married a few years later), and it seemed obvious that they adored each other’s company. No—I was just over the moon to even be there: a lifelong tennis nerd now, for the first time, around real tennis legends. (Aside from Andre I also met John McEnroe, who had arrived late, wearing a rumpled jean jacket and a scowl on his face, carrying an armful of vinyl records—a.k.a. exactly the Johnny Mac out of central casting that I wanted to see.)
7 Must-See Exhibitions in France This June
Ah, to be in Paris in the summertime, when it’s almost as pleasant to lounge in a park as it is to venture into the capital’s museums. In fact, the two are often best enjoyed when they’re linked: napping on the grass after discovering a cutting-edge artist in a new gallery is, in our opinion, one of the best ways you can spend a Sunday afternoon.
Whether you’re in France for Vogue World, vacances, or some combination of the two, there are all manner of compelling exhibitions to see this month. From work by self-taught American artist Kelly Beeman to a new Miquel Barceló survey, Vogue has selected the must-see gallery and museum shows in Paris (and beyond) this June.
Franco-American photographer and sculptor Sabine Mirlesse has long made geology the focus of her work. Her installations, both monumental and ephemeral, invite viewers to see the poetry in visions we might consider trivial—take Crystalline Thresholds | Les Portes de Givre, a series of seven frosted structures erected on the summit of the Puy de Dôme at an altitude of 1,465 meters. With “Voyant,” her new exhibition at Galerie Andréhn-Schiptjenko, Sabine Mirlesse continues to pursue her obsessions, unveiling a new series of never-before-exhibited works.
“Sabine Mirlesse: Voyant” is at Andréhn-Schiptjenko (Paris) through July 20, 2024.
Maren Morris Comes Out as Bi, Queering the Yeehaw Agenda
A wise sage by the name of Kacey Musgraves once implored her listeners to “kiss lots of boys, kiss lots of girls, if that’s what you’re into,” and more than a decade later, it seems another pop-country chanteuse has opted to follow those sacred instructions. Maren Morris, the Texas-born-and-bred singer-songwriter whose songs have netted her five Academy of Country Music awards (not to mention a Grammy), came out as bisexual on Monday, writing on Instagram that she’s “happy to be the B in LGBTQ+.”
In a perfect world, a 34-year-old woman coming out as bisexual wouldn’t be news, but unfortunately the world that we actually live in—and Morris’s country-music milieu in particular—can still be hostile to such disclosures. Still, it’s heartening to think of Morris joining the ranks of Orville Peck, Lil Nas X, and other openly LGBTQ+ artists who choose to make their art within (or at the fringes of) the country scene.
If Morris isn’t necessarily surrounded by queer community in the world of mainstream country music, fans are definitely making her feel welcome on Instagram, where the comments section on her coming-out post has become a veritable Pride parade of rainbow-flag emojis and hearts. (A quick dig through the annals of country history shows that Morris is far from the first woman in her genre to be attracted to other women, of course; the late country singer Wilma Burgess, who had over a dozen Billboard-charting singles between 1965 and 1975, was an out lesbian.)
Hopefully, Morris’s candidness about her sexuality will inspire country to get a little more inclusive—and inspire her fans wrestling with their own LGBTQ+ identities to feel a little more comfortable loving who they love…or, at the very least, blast the Chicks’ iconic, deeply sapphic-coded country ballad “Goodbye Earl” at top volume. (I mean…killing an abusive man and then peacefully making jam with your bestie for the rest of your life? Sounds pretty queer to me!)
Who Should Play Whom in a Taylor Swift Biopic?
While there are no public plans for a Swift (or Paine) biopic at the moment, it’s probably only a matter of time, right? To that end, in honor of Swift’s birthday, I’ve taken it upon myself to dream-cast the film; if anyone in Hollywood wants to pay me money for this kind of deranged creative genius, they are welcome to.
At St. Ann’s Warehouse, the Devastating Grenfell: In the Words of Survivors Urges Close Attention
But will Americans want to see this? When New York theater people talk about Grenfell: In the words of survivors, a documentary play (originally staged at London’s National Theatre) chronicling the disastrous fire in a 24-story low-income apartment building in West London that killed 72 people and left countless others homeless in 2017, that is the question. Yes, it’s an enormously crowded season, both on and off Broadway, and one can’t see everything. My thought? Make Grenfell a priority. Playing until May 12 at St. Ann’s Warehouse in Brooklyn, it is a fulfilling theatrical experience, an education in humanity transcending mere entertainment. Tickets are priced reasonably enough, and I don’t think there is a bad seat in the house.
Why will Americans care? Because we should. Never disputed is the brilliance of this heartbreaking, mind-boggling, angering dramatic work. It’s brilliantly staged and directed by Phyllida Lloyd and Anthony Simpson-Pike and magnificently written by Gillian Slovo, who has aggregated, verbatim, the court testimonies and interviews of the surviving residents as well as local authorities, firefighters, and business owners. When it was staged in London, a therapist was on the premises in case any audience member was triggered. In Brooklyn, one is invited to leave the theater, regroup, and return if one can handle the intensity of emotions.
Featuring Lorde, Glen Powell, and a Cigarette Bouquet, Charli XCX’s 32nd Birthday Was a Certified Bratfest
I’m not going to lie: I thought I was pretty cool for serving appetizers at my 31st birthday party last month. I mean, what’s more adult and elegant than giving guests little ham-and-cheese pinwheels to gnaw on while they drink to excess? But, shockingly enough, Charli XCX somehow outdid me at her 32nd birthday fête in Los Angeles on Friday, which drew none other than Lorde in to dance with Charli to their “Girl, So Confusing” remix.
I don’t even know what to focus on first in that Oscar-worthy video snippet, to be honest. Is it Charli’s Brat-green phone case? Her beyond-perfect pantless birthday look? Lorde’s nutso little braids? Rachel Sennott and Molly Gordon dancing next to them? The guy in the crowd who’s clearly being FaceTimed in? Or should we just zoom out to the fact that the Manic Pixie Dream Guy himself, Glen Powell, was there too (well, not necessarily at this specific moment, which seems to have been reserved for the girlies and gays, but at the party more generally)?
As if Powell’s presence weren’t enough, Sabrina Carpenter, Billie Eilish, Finneas, Gracie Abrams, Addison Rae, Tove Lo, Nelly Furtado, Anya Taylor-Joy, and two of the Willis sisters—Scout and Tallulah, to be specific—were also on hand to celebrate the day this world went from being Charli XCX-less to Charli XCX-full, and I certainly hope they brought a vast array of slime green gifts.
Ultimately, though, one specific detail of the birthday party had me astral projecting, and it was the stunning and extremely on-brand cigarette bouquet that singer Rosalía brought Charli for her birthday:
5 Key Moments From the Vice Presidential Debate Between Tim Walz and J.D. Vance
The stakes were high going into Tuesday’s first (and only) vice presidential debate between Democratic Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota and Republican Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio, given the 2024 presidential election is just over a month away. No, the faceoff between two vice presidential candidates was never going to move the political needle quite as much as, say, Kamala v. Trump, but Tuesday’s meeting still had its highlights. Below, find the 5 biggest takeaways from the Walz vs. Vance debate.
The mute button was in use
While the Walz-Vance match-up was significantly more polite than Harris and Trump’s debate last month, it was still sort of satisfying to see two women—in this case, CBS moderators Norah O’Donnell and Margaret Brennan—hit the mute button on both men when they spoke out of turn.
Vance and Walz were both pressed on past missteps
While Walz faced some tough questioning about newly unearthed contradictions to his claim that he was in Hong Kong during the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, Vance was asked about once likening of Trump to “America’s Hitler.” Later on, Walz also directly asked Vance if Trump had lost the 2020 election—to which the senator gave what can only be described as a non-answer.
Walz (wisely) referenced his state’s record of restoring post-Roe abortion rights
“We are ranked first in healthcare for a reason. We trust women; we trust doctors,” Walz said of Minnesota after referencing real-life examples of abortion rights activists like Hadley Duvall being denied necessary reproductive care. Walz signed a bill intended to enshrine the right to abortion into the Minnesota state constitution in January 2023—making the contrast between his record on reproductive rights and the Trump-Vance campaign’s outlandish claims about abortion all the more clear.
Childcare costs were centered, for once
Walz and Vance were able to unite (more or less) on the need for more and better childcare solutions for working families. Although their plans aren’t identical, it was nice to hear the American childcare crisis—an issue that diaproportionally affects women—addressed on the national stage.
The civility of it all was almost creepy
It might be easy to forget, given the novelty of getting through a debate without one candidate calling another “mentally impaired,” but Vance’s artful spin on Trump’s agenda is still…the same agenda.
Here, Vogue’s political correspondent Jack Schlossberg shares his own main takeaways from Tuesday’s debate:
The Best—and Weirdest—Moments of the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards (So Far)
The 2024 MTV Video Music Awards on Wednesday were full of recap-worthy moments: Beyond the distinctive red carpet style, the energy of live performances from the likes of Katy Perry, Chappell Roan, Sabrina Carpenter, Karol G, Lenny Kravitz, and host Megan Thee Stallion made the night feel quite fun. (And we deserve it after that debate, right?)
Below, find all the moments we loved—or felt slightly weird about!—during the 2024 MTV VMAs.
Video Vanguard winner Katy Perry’s QR code lower back tattoo
Let me be clear: I am a lower-back-tattoo evangelist who is staying very silent about whether or not I have one for the sake of my parents, but a scannable hashtag is…a wild thing to ink onto your body. (Actually, maybe it’s temporary, or just some kind of living art piece?) Then again, Charli XCX did dub this the season of “showing off my brand-new little back tattoo.”
Sabrina Carpenter’s alien makout
I Want What They Have: Cher and Alexander ‘AE’ Edwards
Love is a many-splendored thing, especially when you’re gawking at it from the outside. In this column, we’ll be examining the celebrity couples that give us hope for our own romantic futures and trying to learn what we can from their well-documented bonds.
I feel strongly that a May-December relationship is only as mature as the youngest person in it, which is why it so reliably bums me out when the Leonardo DiCaprios of this world are spotted cavorting with women in their 20s. I’m not trying to be a Church Lady—a before-my-time SNL reference I never would have gotten if I hadn’t briefly dated an older comedian, by the way—but if your whole thing is dating people who have only recently gained the legal right to drink, I do have certain questions about your maturity level.
That said, I do think a May-December relationship can work, as long as the balance of power is relatively equal: Just take 78-year-old Cher and her 38-year-old on-again, off-again music-executive boyfriend Alexander “AE” Edwards. I mean, okay, nobody in this world has as much power as Cher—but at least the May component in this case is, you know, a grown adult. On Tuesday, the two were spotted making a date night out of the 2024 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, and forgive me for doing celebrity Kremlinology based solely on paparazzi photographs, but…the romantic vibes have never seemed stronger. (Is demurely kissing your much-older girlfriend on the cheek technically PDA, actually? Unclear, but I like it.)