Candid Is Out, Posing Is Back

You may or may not have heard it, but there’s a new Prettiest Girl in America. And probably in the world.

Meg Stalter, comedian and Hacks actress, has declared that she will now quit acting to “do music.” Prettiest Girl in America is the first single from her upcoming album, and with it comes a string of interviews and red carpet appearances where Stalter shows up as a Kardashian-style celebrity alongside her co-star Paul W. Downs, breathlessly explaining how hard it is to be beautiful, desired, and famous, while wearing outfits inspired by every pop culture icon from Madonna to Kylie Jenner.

She never breaks character, almost in a method-acting kind of way. The whole thing is, of course, a character, and an extremely entertaining one, but it also says something about celebrity, public image, and the way each of us has started showing up, whether on a red carpet or online. Once you look around, it’s everywhere.

On red carpets, Demi Lovato is known all over X (formerly Twitter) for her “lock-in” face: a highly composed, professionally serious expression that snaps into place the moment a camera is in sight. Even Bethenny Frankel, the Real Housewife who built an entire brand on unfiltered authenticity across TV and TikTok, now models for L’Oréal Paris and SI Swimsuit.

On social media, after the era of Instagram dumps, fake-candid photos, and trying to look casual at all costs, Gen Z has abandoned the smile in favour of a more composed and serious self known as the “Gen Z pout” (which Stalter, of course, performs immaculately).

This is the optimisation era, where the goal is to be - and look like - the absolute best version of ourselves. Some are even willing to go the full distance through looksmaxxing (please don’t). And maybe, finally, we’ve stopped being ashamed to admit any of it.

What’s even better, we’re starting to be able to laugh about it like Stalter surely does, the moment the spotlight goes out.