“Las Culturistas” co-host Matt Rogers surprised longtime listeners of the podcast during the show’s Feb. 17 episode when he revealed that “Wuthering Heights” writer-director Emerald Fennell has become “one of my favorites.” The revelation came exactly two years after Tina Fey infamously shaded the “Saltburn” filmmaker in a viral clip from the podcast’s trademark “I Don’t Think So, Honey” segment.
The revelation came during a conversation between Rogers and co-host Bowen Yang about how hard they feel it is to just “show up” right now with everything happening politically and culturally in America and around the world.
“A million things came out this weekend that I wanted to see or wanted to engage with, and I just haven’t,” Yang explained, pointing specifically to the companion album Charli XCX released for “Wuthering Heights” last week.
Rogers said he not only listened to the album but also saw Fennell’s film, which hit theaters on Friday. He called the film “devastating” and “so sad,” adding, “[It] felt right for the moment because it felt a little cathartic for the moment, like this bleak f—king portrait of tragic romance. I think I loved it.”
Rogers’ comments come two years after “Mean Girls” writer and “SNL” alum Tina Fey appeared on “Las Culturistas” and cheekily told both Rogers and Yang to keep their opinions about contemporary movies and art to themselves. “I don’t think so, honey — Bowen Yang giving his real opinions about movies on this podcast. I regret to inform you that you’re too famous now, sir,” Fey said during the podcast’s rant segment.
Fey’s monologue was seemingly done in response to the Jan. 10, 2024 episode of “Las Culturistas,” in which both Yang and Rogers shared their negative thoughts about Fennell’s 2023 psychological thriller “Saltburn.”
“Are you having a problem with ‘Saltburn’? Shhh. Quiet luxury,” Fey joked. “Keep it to yourself, because what are you going to do when Emerald Fennell calls you about her next project where you play Carey Mulligan’s co-worker in the bridal section of Harrods and then Act 3 takes a sexually violent turn and you have to pretend to be surprised by that turn?”
Fey then concluded her monologue by famously telling Yang, “Authenticity is dangerous and expensive.” The segment quickly went viral and has remained one of the most iconic moments in “Las Culturistas” history. Despite that, while he was sharing his thoughts on “Wuthering Heights” this week, Rogers said that his opinion of Fennell and her work has changed.
“You know, Emerald Fennell is a controversial figure on this podcast because it actually was ‘Saltburn’ and our reviews of ‘Saltburn’ which caused Tina Fey to come in here and do her authenticity-is-dangerous-and-expensive ‘I Don’t Think So, Honey,’” Rogers acknowledged. “When you go see a movie of hers, there is a lot to talk about. You, therefore, leave with a lot of strong reactions.”
“I’ve realized that that is good and maybe makes her one of my favorites,” Rogers continued. “Because I’m leaving now with a ton to say and feel and more. And I think at least that, in the picture of everything that’s going on right now, has been kind of a good thing, because I did go to the theater and for two hours and sixteen minutes, I didn’t think about anything else than what was truly happening on screen.”
“It gave escape, and I think that artistically, creatively, culturally, that is what we need,” the “Las Culturistas” co-host concluded. “Because of what we’re talking about right now — it being incredibly hard to even show up in the bleak a—s f—king reality. I need more of this gushy type of movie, like, fantastical reality stuff.”
Like “Saltburn,” “Wuthering Heights” has proven divisive among both casual moviegoers and critics. Some have praised Fennell for committing to her original vision with it, while others have criticized it for its drastic changes to Emily Brontë’s original novel. Despite its divisive public reception, though, audiences have shown up for “Wuthering Heights.” In less than a week, the film has already raked in over $90 million at the worldwide box office.
