Valerie Ettenhofer
@aandeandval.bsky.social
TV critic, writer, fan of little treats. Words at Slashfilm, Film School Rejects, IGN, The Playlist, Nonfics, Certified Forgotten, and the Hey, What Are You Watching? newsletter. Critics Choice + GALECA. Just moved to Scotland.
Pinned
63 Reasons To Quit Your Entertainment Journalism Job in 2025 (NOT Clickbait!)
Number 36 will surprise you!
valerie-ettenhofer.ghost.io
Been trying to figure out how to get all of this down on paper for a year or three. valerie-ettenhofer.ghost.io/quitting/
Reposted by Valerie Ettenhofer
The streets [ie middle aged people on Bluesky] are saying it was not Liam.
February 9, 2026 at 1:50 AM
The streets [ie middle aged people on Bluesky] are saying it was not Liam.
Reposted by Valerie Ettenhofer
Reposted by Valerie Ettenhofer
What made it such a great show is that it was entertaining and layered and explicitly political with excellent music, delightful surprise guests, stunning sets, a clear narrative, a shout out to ALL of the Americas and a cameo from Belcalis.
February 9, 2026 at 1:45 AM
What made it such a great show is that it was entertaining and layered and explicitly political with excellent music, delightful surprise guests, stunning sets, a clear narrative, a shout out to ALL of the Americas and a cameo from Belcalis.
Pedro was really feelin' himself. I need to know how he ended up there!
February 9, 2026 at 1:45 AM
Pedro was really feelin' himself. I need to know how he ended up there!
It really was visually stunning, technically masterful, loads of fun, and earnestly meaningful. All-around great -- and upping the bar for future halftime show direction.
I am blown away by the sheer technical precision evinced by everyone involved in that halftime show, both in front of and behind the camera, and even more impressed they didn’t let the effort in the way of making it so goddamn fun to watch.
February 9, 2026 at 1:44 AM
It really was visually stunning, technically masterful, loads of fun, and earnestly meaningful. All-around great -- and upping the bar for future halftime show direction.
Reposted by Valerie Ettenhofer
We all saw the fellas grindin right? That may be a first for the super bowl.
February 9, 2026 at 1:26 AM
We all saw the fellas grindin right? That may be a first for the super bowl.
Reposted by Valerie Ettenhofer
This thread is lifting my spirits.
Was this very mid-2000s emo person press-ganged into ICE servitude?
February 6, 2026 at 6:01 AM
This thread is lifting my spirits.
Reposted by Valerie Ettenhofer
"All these journalists with meticulously sourced articles and fact checking standards? A mere smear campaign. This random substacker named Balls McGee has conclusively pieced together the truth that exonerates me."
February 2, 2026 at 11:43 PM
"All these journalists with meticulously sourced articles and fact checking standards? A mere smear campaign. This random substacker named Balls McGee has conclusively pieced together the truth that exonerates me."
I read a bunch of that bullshit Substack yesterday so y'all don't have to, and the rando has a section of an "article" about how one of the accusers couldn't have been housing insecure because her cousin rides horses. I wish I was kidding.
A Rando on the Internet, who will not stand behind their work with name & reputation--that person has Gaiman's approval. WOMEN who have done serious reporting on Neil Gaiman?? Oh no, Bad, not Good.
Have pity, they cannot help it, for they are mere hysterical females
Every time you pop up, Neil:
Have pity, they cannot help it, for they are mere hysterical females
Every time you pop up, Neil:
February 3, 2026 at 12:41 PM
I read a bunch of that bullshit Substack yesterday so y'all don't have to, and the rando has a section of an "article" about how one of the accusers couldn't have been housing insecure because her cousin rides horses. I wish I was kidding.
Reposted by Valerie Ettenhofer
furthermore, fuck Neil Gaiman
In Neil Gaiman’s “I did nothing wrong ever” statement he says there’s been no good journalism about him or his assaults. There has been, of course.
Thing is, he said the same thing in 2018 when @moryan.bsky.social reported on issues behind the scenes on American Gods www.moryan.com/a-burn-it-do...
Thing is, he said the same thing in 2018 when @moryan.bsky.social reported on issues behind the scenes on American Gods www.moryan.com/a-burn-it-do...
A Burn It Down video extravaganza, and thoughts on Neil Gaiman, creative gods, American Gods and rotten pedestals
Hello!
Chicago folks, on Wednesday, Aug. 14 at 7 p.m., I’ll be in conversation with my friend Steve Darnall at The Book Cellar in Chicago. The occasion is the reissue of Uncle Sam, a brilliant graph...
www.moryan.com
February 3, 2026 at 1:24 AM
furthermore, fuck Neil Gaiman
Reposted by Valerie Ettenhofer
Famous people who've left bodies under their pedestals can have whatever self image they want. Knock yourselves out, champs. We don't have to validate those distorted and deeply disturbing self-conceptions, not even a little bit.
February 3, 2026 at 2:09 AM
Famous people who've left bodies under their pedestals can have whatever self image they want. Knock yourselves out, champs. We don't have to validate those distorted and deeply disturbing self-conceptions, not even a little bit.
Reposted by Valerie Ettenhofer
my thoughts on chappell's grammys outfits are that I respect how often she looks like she's going to star in a cinemax version of xena: warrior princess. this is genuinely high praise
February 2, 2026 at 4:15 AM
my thoughts on chappell's grammys outfits are that I respect how often she looks like she's going to star in a cinemax version of xena: warrior princess. this is genuinely high praise
Well!
JK Rowling's team invited Jeffery Epstein to the deathly hallows play and to a Harry potter dinner.
www.justice.gov/epstein/file...
www.justice.gov/epstein/file...
www.justice.gov/epstein/file...
www.justice.gov/epstein/file...
www.justice.gov
February 1, 2026 at 8:58 PM
Well!
ICYMI: here's a thread of just a handful of the Soon-Yi and Woody Allen Epstein receipts, which I think are weirder and worse than most coverage is giving them credit for!
I'll be interested to see how some of y'all try to spin Woody Allen palling around with Jeffrey Epstein and emailing him in coded phrases with a bunch of winky faces into something innocent! I'm sure you'll find a way!
February 1, 2026 at 12:38 AM
ICYMI: here's a thread of just a handful of the Soon-Yi and Woody Allen Epstein receipts, which I think are weirder and worse than most coverage is giving them credit for!
Reposted by Valerie Ettenhofer
This thread is worth a read up and down but this part is obviously particularly sickening
Looks like Soon-Yi and Epstein discussed in depth the best way to get positive PR in 2018 in relation to the Dylan Farrow story. www.justice.gov/epstein/file...
www.justice.gov
January 31, 2026 at 11:32 PM
This thread is worth a read up and down but this part is obviously particularly sickening
Reposted by Valerie Ettenhofer
Boy that Woody Allen line about not wanting to belong to any club that’d have someone like him for a member hits a lil different now
January 31, 2026 at 2:04 PM
Boy that Woody Allen line about not wanting to belong to any club that’d have someone like him for a member hits a lil different now
I'll be interested to see how some of y'all try to spin Woody Allen palling around with Jeffrey Epstein and emailing him in coded phrases with a bunch of winky faces into something innocent! I'm sure you'll find a way!
January 31, 2026 at 11:01 AM
I'll be interested to see how some of y'all try to spin Woody Allen palling around with Jeffrey Epstein and emailing him in coded phrases with a bunch of winky faces into something innocent! I'm sure you'll find a way!
If you want to feel hope this morning, scroll through this list of small businesses that are shutting Minnesota down today. bringmethenews.com/minnesota-li...
List of Minnesota businesses closing for Jan. 23 anti-ICE strike
First announced by faith leaders and unions on Jan. 13, Minnesota businesses have begun announcing plans to join the action.
bringmethenews.com
January 23, 2026 at 8:37 AM
If you want to feel hope this morning, scroll through this list of small businesses that are shutting Minnesota down today. bringmethenews.com/minnesota-li...
Reposted by Valerie Ettenhofer
I came to Minneapolis to report on what's going on, and one of the main questions I showed up with is "just what is the scale of the resistance?" After all, we're all used to the news calling Portland a "war zone" or whatever when it's just some protests in one part of town.
January 22, 2026 at 3:58 AM
I came to Minneapolis to report on what's going on, and one of the main questions I showed up with is "just what is the scale of the resistance?" After all, we're all used to the news calling Portland a "war zone" or whatever when it's just some protests in one part of town.
Do any other former FSR writers have an archived copy or screenshot of Neil's post about selling the site? I'm debating writing a bare bones (if that's even possible) "What Happened To FSR?" explainer just so there's *something* on the internet we can point to when people ask about it.
January 11, 2026 at 10:08 PM
Do any other former FSR writers have an archived copy or screenshot of Neil's post about selling the site? I'm debating writing a bare bones (if that's even possible) "What Happened To FSR?" explainer just so there's *something* on the internet we can point to when people ask about it.
Reposted by Valerie Ettenhofer
it is darkly funny to me that American troops are as unprepared to handle the harsh climate of a Minnesota winter as they were in Vietnam or Iraq
ICE officers slipping on ice while trying to terrorize communities is the most accurate metaphor imaginable. No balance. No footing. No moral ground. Just cruelty, incompetence, and gravity doing its thing.
January 11, 2026 at 9:53 PM
it is darkly funny to me that American troops are as unprepared to handle the harsh climate of a Minnesota winter as they were in Vietnam or Iraq
Today I'm emailing HBO Max to try to consolidate my two screener accounts (since the FSR one always had more), and I'm ready to cry about this again. Also, can someone please update the FSR Wikipedia page so we don't all sound like we're making shit up when we say our website died? Thanks.
A couple years after the big fade-out, my Film School Rejects email has finally stopped working. I've been trying to get all PR mailing lists moved over to my main account for ages, but a few things (like HBO screeners!) still inexplicably only showed up in this inbox. RIP to a real one.
January 11, 2026 at 10:00 PM
Today I'm emailing HBO Max to try to consolidate my two screener accounts (since the FSR one always had more), and I'm ready to cry about this again. Also, can someone please update the FSR Wikipedia page so we don't all sound like we're making shit up when we say our website died? Thanks.
Reposted by Valerie Ettenhofer
just get the fuck off twitter what the fuck is your problem. delete your account and uninstall the app. the fuck are you waiting for
January 11, 2026 at 5:29 PM
just get the fuck off twitter what the fuck is your problem. delete your account and uninstall the app. the fuck are you waiting for
In case you need to hear one more person say it: of COURSE it was murder.
January 9, 2026 at 10:50 PM
In case you need to hear one more person say it: of COURSE it was murder.