If you still haven’t heard of Troye Sivan, you’re about to. After years of making both music and YouTube videos, the 22 year old Australian pop musician is finally making it big, with his recent single “My My My!” climbing the charts (a new LP is expected to drop really soon).

And, if you know anything about Sivan, you probably know that he’s Jewish; he’s always talked about it openly. But in case you aren’t familiar with his full credentials, check out a few examples of just how Jewish the kid is, some of which he just disclosed in a new interview with the New York Times:

1. He went to Day School. Did you know they have Orthodox schools in Perth? Sivan attended Carmel School, though unfortunately, he was bullied there.
2. His first gig? Kabbalat Shabbat. “I used to try to make all the Jewish mums cry, that was the goal,” he told the New York Times about his childhood performance of yigdal. Then, he graduated to High Holy Day services throughout Australia, until he broke into the secular music business.
3. His boyfriend is a Jewish model. Sivan and Jacob Bixenman have been together publicly for a couple of years, and they’re quite the Jewish power couple. Bixenman is also a multimedia artist; for example, he recently made a film about a friend of his, Adam Eli Werner, entitled How I Learned to Love My Big Gay Jewish Hair. Really.
4. He threw a seder this year— and Ariana Grande was one of the guests. It wasn’t the most traditional Passover—the menu was takeout thai, but the evening was important to Sivan. In attendance in addition to Grande was his friend Hari Nef, a model who’s also a Member of the Tribe.
5. His last name is for the Hebrew month. Sivan’s real last name is Mellet, but Sivan is his given middle name. Why? Because he was born in the month of Sivan, of course! (Happy almost birthday.)
   

And so, you may now go forth and begin your Troye Sivan standom in earnest. (OK, so you might also want to watch the video for “My My My!”)

Image via YouTube.

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You’d think Jeff Goldblum’s shtick would get old by now. But it hasn’t. So if you want to be further delighted by his excitable weirdness, Funny or Die has a new video that stars the Jewish actor: “Cooking With Jeff Goldblum.”

As Goldblum explains to us in the beginning of the video (sitting at a piano for no reason in particular), he doesn’t actually know how to cook, so he recruits another (Jewish) guest to show him the ropes: legendary food critic Jonathan Gold (subject of the documentary City of Gold).

Gold and Goldblum make a great pair as they embark on a journey to make soupe au pistou.

Highlights of the video include Goldblum grocery shopping at Ralph’s (parent company  Kroger co-sponsored the video), finding out what kind of cheese he would be (Swiss), and telling Gold an old Jewish joke.

“I’m not a joke critic,” Gold demures when Goldblum asks for feedback.

Also, is it just us, or is there a shot where the two icons are beating each other with leeks? Could this possibly be a Passover reference (in certain Jewish cultures, seder-goers playfully whip each other with the vegetable)?

Absolutely, this should be a regular series, and not a one-off gag (yes, there was a similar “Cooking with Christopher Walken” way back in 2012, but we demand all Goldblum. All the time.).

But don’t take our word for it. Check out the video for yourself:

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We live in a world where Donald Trump, Jeff Dunham, and Bill Maher all got stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame before Mandel Bruce Patinkin. Such an injustice can never be undone, but at least Mandy now has his own star, in front of 6243 Hollywood Blvd.

The lame-stream media has often had the chutzpah to sum up Patinkin as “Homeland star,” and he was technically a Walk of Fame inductee for television. It’s also annoying when people call him Inigo Montoya, or express surprise that he can sing. But he’s so much more than that! Can acting, singing, and philanthropy count as the new triple-threat?

Patinkin was serving “Hot Jewish grandpa” looks at the ceremony, with his beard appearing particularly luxurious, and wearing New Balance sneakers— because comfort is important. The ceremony was peppered with Jewish references, as is only fitting for the man who released the album Mamaloshen.

First of all, theatrical legend Patti LuPone was also there to speak for her platonic life partner, and while we are obligated to point out (for the fiftieth time) that she’s not Jewish herself, she plays Rebecca’s rabbi on Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, and that should be enough for you.

“If he wasn’t a Broadway musical star he would have been a cantor,” LuPone announced to the adoring masses (told you she’s an honorary Member of the Tribe).

Other highlights of the ceremony included Mandy bragging that he has only had one spouse, announcing that the ceremony was “better than a Bar Mitzvah,” and delivering an anecdote about his parents having an argument with another member of their shul about their son’s career choice.

And so, a hearty mazel tov to Mr. Patinkin. We always knew you were deserving of any accolade out there, and may there be many more to come. (You’re halfway to an EGOT, and surely a Grammy and Oscar are still well within your reach.)

You can watch the whole ceremony below:

Image via YouTube.

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The holiday season is rife with engagements, and Gwyneth Paltrow, actress, vegan, writer, blogger, mother and recent ex-wife of Coldplay’s frontman Chris Martin is next down the aisle (or headed towards the chuppah) with a winter engagement. Settling the rumors, the announcement of the couple’s union comes by way of a black and white cover on the latest cover of Goop, and shows a radiant Paltrow with TV writer and producer Brad Falchuk of Glee and American Horror Story nestled behind her. The newly engaged couple wears jeans and white t-shirts.

The couple met during Paltrow’s tenure as a guest star on Glee and have been dating for three years. Although both bring two children (How could anyone forget Apple?) from their prior marriages to the equation, Paltrow posted a photo of Martin and Falchuk brunching together in November with the hashtag “modernfamily,” so perhaps the fence has been mended. Anyways, Paltrow and Martin didn’t actually get divorced, it was a “conscious uncoupling.” (Don’t worry, everyone is trying to decipher what that term means.)

A sharp eye caught the appearance of Israeli chocolate product (pesek zman anyone?) on the table between Martin and Falchuk either as a physical barrier between the two men or the proverbial olive branch of friendship. Does this mean our Gwyneth is thinking of converting? Will Goop soon expand to include best practice for fish pickling? The lifestyle blogger seems nothing if not vigilant about what she does and does not eat, so only time will tell if kugel and chocolate babka start making appearances at the family table.

Falchuck, who has an impressive head of hair and seems totally smitten, is the son of of former national Hadassah President Nancy Falchuk. Paltrow, a reported follower of Kabbalah, is the daughter of Bruce Paltrow and actress Blythe Danner. Although Paltrow’s father is Jewish, it’s unclear how strongly Gwyneth identifies as Jewish, and the internet shows no consistency in reports about an alleged conversion prior to her relationship with Falchuk.

No doubt if Paltrow does make the move, her conversion will easily eclipse Charlotte’s famed act of love on Sex In The City. Poor Charlotte. Always second fiddle to a more glamorous blonde.  

We wish the new couple all the joy and sufganiyot they can eat.

Image from Instagram

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2017 was an inauspicious year for actress Lena Dunham. In addition to claiming the rape accusations against Girls writer Murray Miller were “misreported,” Dunham sparked criticism for surrendering her rescue dog in favor of two purebred poodles, and even inspired a Twitter account parodying her seemingly daily apologies. And in December, she split from boyfriend Jack Antonoff, E! News reported yesterday.

For the five and a half years of their relationship, Dunham and Antonoff were the Jewish power couple that never was. Antonoff is a talented songwriter, known for his collaborations with Sarah Bareilles, Lorde, and other pop stars, but his tolerance for Dunham’s problematic behavior was endless and concerning. In 2015, for example, she labelled herself a “sexual predator” in jest, then fell into a “rage spiral” when news outlets took her accounts of molesting her sister seriously. She also published an anti-Semitic satire in the New Yorker comparing her Jewish boyfriend (a.k.a Antonoff) to a dog, with the added insult of portraying him as a feeble asthmatic accustomed to being “waited on hand and foot.” It’s surprisingly sexist piece for someone raised by a Jewish mother, stereotyping them as co-dependent and “sucked dry by their children.”

Although Dunham called Antonoff her “life partner” in the past, she was one of the many celebrities to use same-sex marriage as a delaying tactic. (A word to straight couples: that was always a terrible excuse. Skip the “protest” and admit that you weren’t ready to get hitched.) Just before DOMA was repealed, Dunham said she envisioned their wedding party as “our two sisters in tuxedos,” still more eager to be “gay adjacent” than to commit to Antonoff. This fall, she tweeted about mistaking his “talking shit” about her for proposal planning, suggesting that Antonoff may have initiated the breakup. His accomplishments were often overshadowed by his association with Dunham, and as a three-time Grammy Award winner, he deserves better publicity in 2018.

Antonoff has yet to comment on the split, but Dunham recently Instagrammed this quote: “Starting over is the beautiful moment where you choose yourself.”

It’s an ironic statement for the more blatantly narcissistic of the pair, whose insistence on her own perspective has both established and threatened her career.

Better luck next time, Jack.

Images via Wikimedia

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Here’s an early Chanukah present: Jenny Slate and Chris Evans are officially back together! Slate Magazine reported that Slate (how fun is that to say?) is resuming her relationship with Captain America, after the pair met on the set of Gifted and dated for 10 months last year.

Jenny Slate is possibly the nicest and funniest Jewish comedian on the scene, known for her starring role in the “abortion comedy” Obvious Child and her stint on Parks and Recreation as the insufferable Mona Lisa Saperstein. She and Chris Evans, an Avengers actor with superhero abs and a shortage of upper lip, have been flirting over Twitter since early November, sparking rumors that the two were dating again.

Aside from the obvious thrill of having one of the “Four Hot Chrisses” potentially join the Tribe, there are several reasons to cheer on this couple. For starters, Slate makes Evans sound like a real mensch in this Vulture interview:

“Chris is truly one of the kindest people I’ve ever met, to the point where sometimes I would look at him and it would kind of break my heart,” she says. “He’s really vulnerable, and he’s really straightforward. He’s like primary colors. He has beautiful, big, strong emotions, and he’s really sure of them. It’s just wonderful to be around. His heart is probably golden-colored, if you could paint it.”

If anyone deserves the company of the multitalented, kickass feminist Jenny Slate, it’s an earnest 36 year-old who organizes board game nights, owns a singing dog, and appreciates her taste in turtlenecks.

Evans is also helping Slate move on from her ex-husband Dean Fleischer-Camp, an editor-director whose main accomplishment is co-creating “Marcel the Shell” with Slate. In my (potentially unpopular) opinion, it’s time for the talking clam to retire, and Evans may prove distraction enough for Slate and Fleischer-Camp’s collaborative energy to ebb.

Either way, if you have even a shred of support for the “Slevans” romance, please devote yourself to the cause of coming up with a new moniker for the couple. The nickname for these delightful people sounds like a sewer creature or a nose-picking bully, and I’m confident the Jewish community can improve on it. Captain Obvious, perhaps?

Photos via Wikimedia

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Marji, my one year-old rescue cat, was less enthusiastic about the idea. She tolerates most of my obsessive cat parenting—the baby sling, the harness and leash, the automatic feeder—but made clear during this project that she has certain limits.

Menswear Dog she is not. I discovered that Marji hates sleeves even more than loud noises (which is a lot) and prefers sleeping on clothes to wearing them. Dressing her up required plenty of wrestling and a bag and a half of treats.

Still, with a few modifications to the outfits, both Marji and I survived the photo shoot. We also succeeded in paying tribute to some of my favorite Jewish women on TV, which made every minute of cat wrangling worth it.

Abbi Jacobson, Broad City, Season 1: Episode 10

This sexy dress is actually a beanie from the dollar store. Somehow I know the crafty Abbi Abrams would approve!

Rachel Bloom, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, “JAP Rap”

Much to my relief, few stores sell plunging necklines in toddler sizes. This floral number originally had a keyhole at the top.

Amy Schumer, Inside Amy Schumer, “Sexting”

I would never, ever sexualize my cat, unless it involves an adorable onesie. Thank God she can’t read.

Rachel Maddow, The Rachel Maddow Show

Okay, I realize that she identifies as Catholic. But she has a Jewish grandfather… and how cute is my cat in a blazer?!

Images by Emma Davis.

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Taika Waititi is Hollywood’s new darling; the indie filmmaker has gone from making dark comedies in New Zealand to directing Thor: Ragnarok, the latest Marvel mega-flick. And he’s also been in the news as a minority in the film industry; a profile in the New York Times Magazine this past week, for example, talked about his Maori background, an aspect of his identity he publicly emphasizes, and often incorporates into his work.

These profiles often discuss him having a white mother, but few, The Times included, mention that she’s Jewish. Her maiden name is Cohen, and early in his career Waititi even went by Taika Cohen. But don’t expect to see him at shul anytime soon; religiously, the director doesn’t practice any faith, and culturally, he identifies more as Maori.

“I grew up in, thematically, pretty much all of my work is about outsiders and I think growing as neither full Maori nor full Pākehā or white,” he once said in an interview. “I’ve always been an outsider, felt like an outsider in both worlds, even as I identified more with my Maori side.”

And so, Waititi touches on a lot of the issues of the ever-vexing question, “Who is a Jew?” For hardliners who answer this question primarily with matrilineal descent, it’s no question: Taika is a Member of the Tribe, regardless of how he thinks of himself. But when you take into account personal identity, it becomes a bit thornier. Waititi doesn’t really identify as a Maori Jew, but a Maori person with some Jewish ancestry. So what does it mean to “claim” someone as part of your people who’s reticent to do so?

These questions can be thorny, but in the meantime, if you want to privately schep naches from Waititi’s accomplishments, go for it. Because have you seen the trailer for Thor? Jeff Goldblum for days.

Image via Wikimedia

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In the latest edition of “Guess who turns out to be Jewish,” a poignant story of Holocaust survivors, self-invention and self-denial, and a whole lot of pink.

Gary Baum at The Hollywood Reporter wrote a piece so engaging and uniquely Hollywood that you have to picture him with a Fedora and cigarette dangling from his mouth as he huddles over a typewriter. And the story? About one monoynmous Angelyne.

…

Jewcy is on a summer residency! To read this piece, and our others for July and August 2017, go to our big sister site, Tablet Magazine!

The post Angelyne Is Not Who You Thought She Was appeared first on Jewcy.

As the French get ready to celebrate their weird, fraught history today, what better time to remind them of when their military orchestrated a witch hunt against a Jewish officer and essentially framed him for being a spy, causing one of the greatest scandals of the late 19th/early 20th century?

And what better way to celebrate Alfred Dreyfus’s eventual exoneration than a look at who is (and who might be) a living relative of the lieutenant-colonel today?

Spoiler alert: They’re all actors.

…

Jewcy is on a summer residency! To read this piece, and our others for July and August 2017, go to our big sister site, Tablet Magazine!

The post Dreyfus! Dreyfus! Dreyfuss! appeared first on Jewcy.