‘Girls Gotta Eat’ Breaks Down This Week’s Most Unhinged Pop Culture Moments

If your algorithm felt especially unhinged this week, you weren’t imagining it. A rejected zoo monkey turned into a global emotional support animal. The Olympics delivered both wholesome joy and locker room controversy. And Love Is Blind gave us a man so bold in his delulu that even the internet detectives clocked him in real time. On this week’s episode of The Snack by Girls Gotta Eat, hosts Ashley Hesseltine and Rayna Greenberg processed it all the only way they know how—loudly and honestly.

Pop Culture Recap on ‘Girls Gotta Eat’: Olympics Drama and ‘Love Is Blind’

The internet’s emotional support animal

The emotional epicenter of the week? Punch—the baby monkey at the Ichikawa Zoo in Japan who went viral after being rejected by his mom and seen carrying around a stuffed IKEA animal. “I care more about this animal than I’ve ever cared about any animal in my life,” Greenberg says. She admitted she was “lay[ing] on the couch just crying, watching videos of this animal,” especially after clips surfaced of him being pushed away by other monkeys.

But amid the spiral, Hesseltine shares a DM from a listener who said she’s a primate behavior scientist, explaining that strict hierarchy behavior in primate troops can look harsh but is often normal—especially for a human-reared monkey being introduced later. The reassurance helps, but the emotional investment remains. Hesseltine says she hasn’t “seen an animal steal our hearts like this since Harambe.” And for a week packed with heavier headlines, Punch became the internet’s unlikely soft spot.

Alysa Liu’s joyful comeback

The hosts found a rare bright spot in Olympic figure skater Alysa Liu. After stepping away from the sport, Liu returned to win gold—and she did it smiling. Hesseltine says what stood out most was her infectious energy: “You don’t always see Olympic athletes perform with so much joy.” When Liu skated off and said, “that’s what I’m f*cking talking about,” Hesseltine admits it “brought [her] to tears.”

The hosts were especially moved by the context. Liu had previously retired young, later deciding to return on her own terms with less parental involvement. Hesseltine frames it as something bigger than a medal. More so a reminder that it’s possible to fall back in love with something after walking away. “I just love that,” she says, pointing to Liu’s visible happiness as proof that ambition and joy don’t have to cancel each other out.

Eileen Gu’s Clapback Energy

The Olympic momentum continues with Eileen Gu—and a press moment that Greenberg clearly relishes. After Gu won two silver medals, a reporter asked whether she sees them as “two silvers won or two golds lost.” Gu didn’t flinch. With what the hosts describe as a smile and a little edge, she responded, “I’m the most decorated person in this sport. That’s a ridiculous thing to ask me.”

Hesseltine says she loves seeing a woman respond with confidence instead of shrinking to sound grateful or humble. Greenberg agrees, pointing out that men speak like this all the time without backlash.

Olympic gold, but make it political

The U.S. men’s hockey team won gold for the first time in decades, an emotional victory made even more meaningful as they played in honor of teammates they had lost. What should have been a straightforward celebration quickly shifted when FBI Director Kash Patel appeared in the locker room, celebrating alongside the team.

Hesseltine says watching the footage makes her uncomfortable, calling Patel “the biggest f*cking loser” and questioning the optics of the moment. Things escalate further when President Donald Trump FaceTimes the team. He jokes that he’ll have to invite the women’s team, “or I’ll be impeached,” prompting laughter in the room. Hesseltine says her “heart sunk” watching it and argues that it immediately undercuts the win.

Love Is Blind’s most aggressive 180 yet

On this season of Love Is Blind, one contestant pulls off what Greenberg calls “the 180 to end all 180s.” Chris, who initially appears supportive and steady, shocks viewers when he tells his fiancée she isn’t his physical type—adding commentary about women who “do Pilates and CrossFit”—and then doubles down with messy behavior that unfolds both on and off camera. Hesseltine says, “I have never been so wrong about anything in the history of this podcast,” admitting she had pegged him as one of the only solid guys of the season.

The situation spiraled into what fans are calling one of the biggest villain turns in the franchise. Hesseltine doesn’t just critique the comment itself—she questions the cruelty and the need to broadcast it publicly, asking what the endgame could possibly be. What starts as a seemingly stable couple quickly devolves into chaos. And by the end of the recap, both hosts agree: this is a masterclass in self-sabotage.

America’s Next Top Model’s reckoning

Recently, Netflix’s Reality Check documentary revisited America’s Next Top Model—and forces a 2020s audience to look at early 2000s reality TV through a much harsher lens. What once felt groundbreaking now reads, at times, exploitative. Storylines that were packaged as “character building” land differently, especially moments involving contestants reliving trauma on camera.

Hesseltine and Greenberg agree the show did open doors and shift beauty standards. But they struggle with how host Tyra Banks responds in the documentary. Hesseltine says it feels like “a masterclass in deflection,” noting that Banks seems to oscillate between claiming credit for the show’s impact and distancing herself from its harm. Greenberg argues that two things can be true: the series created opportunity, and it caused damage. The issue, she suggests, isn’t legacy—it’s the refusal to fully acknowledge the cost.

To hear all of Greenberg and Hesseltine’s pop culture insights from the week, listen to Girls Gotta Eat wherever you get your podcasts.

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