The 2025 Hate List | Defector

"There is no respite from our constant toiling in a dystopian nightmare. Who really cares about Travis Scott and his Gatorade commercial music when you see what's happening to Palestine and Sudan and to immigrants right here at home? But criticism is about forming opinions and maintaining standards on what art should aspire to, and calling things out when that standard is not being upheld. Through the best of times and the worst of them."

"And so we have the 2025 Hate List, my own Hater's Ball about the bullshit and shenanigans of a year that I cannot be silent about. It's a varied collection, a snapshot of the kinds of drivel and dishonesty that has been allowed to thrive mostly unchecked for much of the year. It's also full of pettiness, because sometimes you hate things for no other reason than the love of the game."

"I've also left out the various members of the news and sports media who have gone out of their way to obscure facts or position themselves as celebrities in their own right at the expense of their job to inform people-the starfuckers, access junkies, aspiring influencers, eugenicist freaks, and Pat McAfees alike. Even Bari Weiss's invasion of CBS News fits into this mold. A special exception has been made for two men, and we'll get to why that is in time."

Mass global crises have rendered many petty grievances less compelling, but criticism retains value as a mechanism to form opinions and uphold artistic standards. A curated Hate List catalogs varied examples of drivel, dishonesty, and pettiness that thrived largely unchecked throughout the year. The compilation balances sincere outrage with deliberate pettiness, acknowledging that some hates arise purely for recreation. Clearly detestable actors and already-notorious offenders are intentionally excluded to avoid amplifying their visibility. High-profile media figures, podcasters, and YouTubers are largely omitted, while a specific exemption is reserved for two unnamed men mentioned later.

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