That's Gossip: Karina Longworth on Louella, Hedda and Gossip

The room is smokey, everything is in black and white, and suddenly we’re all speaking in a transatlantic accent. That could only mean one thing: a new season of You Must Remember This.

A long time favourite of Boshemia, the latest season is spectacular. We all know the odd stories of celebrity gossip, but now we get to gossip about gossip! This season tracks the stories of infamous gossip columnists Louella Parsons and Hedda Hopper. Their stories transcend basically the entirety of the golden age of Hollywood, going through Charlie Chaplin, Ingrid Bergman, McCarthyism and moral panics.

I had the pleasure to chat with Karina and talk about all things Gossip Girl. xoxo

On Louella and Hedda, and making this season of the podcast

I wanted to know more about them! I had a tendency to confuse one for the other, and I thought it was time to fix that.

In terms of casting, I reached out to my friend Julie Klausner, showed her the scripts, and told her I thought she would be hilarious and amazing as either Hedda or Louella. She chose to play Louella. Then I asked her who she thought I should cast as Hedda, and she suggested a few names. One of them was Cole Escola, who I knew from Julie’s show Difficult People. I knew Cole was so, so funny, so I reached out to them about playing Hedda, and I was very lucky they said yes!

On celebrity gossip through the ages:

The obvious changes in terms of how we GET gossip have to do with technology -- now we get gossip from Instagram accounts, which is a very recent development. In Louella’s prime, her newspaper columns and radio shows were the only places to get her stories. Over the course of her career, the options for getting gossip diversified, much to her chagrin.

We all have a tendency to feel as though the things we’re experiencing are happening for the first time. They’re not! If I can give people a better understanding of how gossip has worked historically, they will hopefully be more literate about what they consume in the present and future.

On Stan Culture affecting celebrity gossip:

Obviously, no one would have used the phrase “Stan Culture” in Louella or Hedda’s time (I barely know what it means myself!), but in terms of writing to gossip columnists and requesting nice stories about beloved stars, fans absolutely did that in 20th century Hollywood. Both Hedda and Louella were responsive to their readers and transparently used the letters they received to shape their columns. So I don’t think this is a new thing at all.

What’s Next?

I do know what the next series is going to be, and I can’t share the topic. I’ve been working on another podcast project which will debut later this summer. I can’t share the topic of that either but, similar to the Polly Platt season, it involves me helping someone related to a Hollywood historical figure tell their family’s story. I’m happy to hear what people are interested in, but I can’t devote the 6-9 months of my life to making a podcast series unless it’s something I’m particularly passionate about.

On Current Gossip

I listen to the podcast Who Weekly and read Deux Moi, but I can only follow some of what they cover. I’m too old for Tik Tok or YouTube, and I don’t watch shows like the Bachelor or Housewives, so most people who feature in “celebrity” gossip right now are completely unknown to me. Bennifer is definitely more my speed. As a baseball fan, I always saw ARod as something of a villain, so I approve of Jennifer’s choice!

Check out the latest season of You Must Remember This, available on all podcast apps.

Follow them on Twitter for updates, and Karina Longworth for inside scoops and baseball commentary