Mailbag for March 27, 2026
Just what we needed: white Mahjong (!!!!) and a Beckham doing K-beauty, Hudson and Connor's work balance post HR, on ranking movie stars, does the drop in HYBE shares mean anything, and more...
Dear Squawkers,
There’s been a big conversation about mahjong this week, because mahjong has become so popular – I read an article that called it the new pickleball – and also because white women are making so much money from selling mahjong sets. And getting profiled in major publications, like the New York Times, about their business, basically positioning them at the forefront of the New Mahjong Culture.
Diet Prada posted about the appropriation, a sequel to what happened in 2021, and the story blew up even more.
It probably won’t surprise you that I hate everything about this, and I’ve been grinding my teeth in my sleep over that quote on the cover:
“Mahjong is becoming this beautiful way of hosting, not just slapping a game on a table.”
The fucking audacity. So it wasn’t beautiful before? It’s only “becoming” beautiful because white women have decided to make it trendy? What do you mean *just* “slapping a game on a table”? It’s the way so many Chinese have done it since our people invented it, how is that suddenly inferior? But that’s how theft works, right? It’s the blueprint for colonisers: steal what doesn’t belong to you under the guise of “improving” it, and thereby taking away its very essence – in the case of mahjong, even the way it sounds.
Associating mahjong with “hosting” makes the game a society activity, which is different from a social activity; the purpose of a social activity is to be social, to connect; a society activity is about status, about flaunting – and hosting has become a competitive sport. Don’t @ me, this is how these women and their business is being marketed, to people who want to Martha Stewart their mahjong nights.
Mahjong is extra personal to me because, as I have said before, and as I wrote about in my book, Listen to the Squawking Chicken, who this Substack is named after, mahjong is in my blood. Not only because I am Chinese but because it was a family business, it is my family legacy. I come from mahjong lineage, my grandmother ran a mahjong den in Hong Kong and my ma, the eldest of six children, managed it as soon as she became a teenager. The Squawking Chicken is a legendary mahjong player. In her prime, when her piercing squawk ruled the village, her skills were almost supernatural. I have vivid memories from childhood, hanging out at the mahjong shoppe (my grandmother’s apartment, LOL) sitting at ma’s feet, playing with a doll or watching television, and I could feel the molecules in the room change when ma powered up during a run of spectacular winds. (A round of mahjong is called a wind – east, south, west, north.) This is related to the fact that her zodiac is Tiger. Tigers are volatile, their hot streaks are hotter than almost any other sign with, perhaps, the exception of the Dragon.
There is so much mythology in mahjong, so much superstition and magic. The most famous superstitious rule is to never discard the fourth West tile, 西, when it’s your turn and the other three were just discarded on the immediate previous turns. Should that happen, all four players might die. But there are so many others – like 南(South) should never follow 發 (Green) unless you want to lose, because the words sound like “hard to win”. I’m not saying every mahjong player has to know the mythology and the superstition, my point is that when mahjong is being represented by these white women, those connections are erased. I’m confident that they’re being erased because as noted in that Diet Prada carousel, there’s an image of a food carton with a pair of chopsticks sticking straight up, a major crime of etiquette that every Chinese kid, mahjong or not, is taught from birth. To us it looks like when you burn incense for your ancestors, meaning you’re fast-tracking your own death.
What that Diet Prada post doesn’t explain is that doing this on a mahjong table is an extra ten levels of bad luck in Cantonese. Because in Cantonese, when we win the hand, we say 食糊 – or “eat rice” …which is a hilarious connection between Chinese slang and current modern English slang since “eat” or “ate” these days is also associated with winning. Stabbing your chopsticks straight up into a bowl of rice or noodles or whatever is being eaten around a mahjong table? You might as well empty your wallet and leave before the game starts, DUMBASSES.
It also makes me fucking crazy how these white mahjong scammers are eliminating actual Chinese characters from their mahjong sets. In mahjong there are two kinds of “honour tiles” – four honour tiles for each wind (or direction – east, south, west, north) and three honour tiles called arrows or dragons. One each in white (usually with a blue border), green, and red. Green and red are actually Chinese characters, the characters for “wealth” and “center”. All three of these honour tiles are rooted in honour, fundamentally, because they represent three Confucian core values: filial piety, sincerity, and benevolence. There is nothing more Chinese than Confucius! HOW ARE YOU DISAPPEARING CONFUCIUS FROM A MAHJONG SET???
Sadly, it’s already happened. These women sell a lot of sets while so many traditional mahjong tile makers are going out of business.
Look how gorgeous and crispy those tiles are – perfect for running the pads of your fingers over. Most skilled mahjong players can identify a tile just by feeling the grooves, and one of the flairs of mahjong playing is how you discard tiles, the OGs like to determine what the tile is just by feel, not sight, and discard confidently without even having looked at it. I knew how to do this by the time I was five years old. The elders thought it was hilarious that the Squawking Chicken was raising a kid whose biggest talent was mahjong tile massage and manual identification. I can’t imagine the mahjong tiles those women are producing have the same feel.
Right now, my favourite scripted daydream is that they’re the Marty Mauser Supreme to my Endo. They can’t be stopped in terms of their business, but I could kick their ass on the table. The Chinese aunties and I will pull up in our oversized visors and burn down the tournament.
While we’re here, on a related note, why is Harper Seven Beckham launching a Korean beauty brand??????????????????????????????
To be clear, I’m not here to dump on a 14-year-old. There are adults in her life who have facilitated this, I’m talking to them. The brand is called Hiku by Harper, it’s meant to target a younger demographic. Because the first name that comes to mind when you’re thinking about K-beauty is…Beckham?
There’s no shortage in the K-beauty industry. And it’s also not financially inaccessible. In fact, so many great K-beauty brands are quite affordable, similar to drugstore prices in the west. And you can find K-beauty brands everywhere now, even at Costco! There is literally no gap that Harper Beckham is filling here – unless you consider it a shortcoming in the K-beauty industry that there’s no white girl who’s the face of the products…that are labelled K-beauty? Someone explain it to me, I am so confused.
I am also confused by this name because Hiku sounds more like a Japanese word, whether you pronounce it “hee-ku”, which is actually Japanese slang for “cringe”, haha, or “high-ku” like a poem.
She is Korean
David and Victoria
Made a K-baby
Mailbag time…
Question from Alexa:
Hi! Would love your take on why Hudson Williams has so many jobs lined up post-HR and Connor seems to have fewer. (Longtime LG reader, first time messager.) Thanks!
Lainey’s Answer:
Thank you for reading us for so long Alexa!
I’m not sure what is giving you the impression that Hudson has more jobs lined up than Connor? If we’re keeping score, which we shouldn’t, but for the sake of simplifying the answer, Hudson is currently shooting a new Crave eight-episode series called Yaga in Vancouver featuring an ensemble cast. And Connor has been cast in the upcoming A24 film Peaked, also featuring an ensemble cast, production begins imminently. It was just announced that Connor will also be in an episode of Criminal Minds: Evolution that will begin airing in May. He completed work on that project before Heated Rivalry blew up.
Crave obviously had a great year last year but it’s still a Canadian streamer, working with a Canadian streamer’s budget. Remember, Heated Rivalry was made for just $15 million, at the high end. This is crazy low in comparison to American television budgets. A24 is in a different budget class altogether, and with the Peaked cast (they just added Dua Lipa), they’re working on a whole different scale. So based on the money alone, Connor is doing just fine in comparison to Hudson…if we have to compare (and I’m not sure we do).
But we’re here so let’s call it even, in terms of bookings outside of HR. They probably don’t have much time for much else once they wrap on these new roles because season two of Heated Rivalry is expected to start production in August.
On the brand side, they both have their own partnerships now: Balenciaga for Hudson and Saint Laurent for Connor. They’ve each covered magazines too: Wonderland for Hudson and VMAN for Connor. Again, from where I’m sitting, it’s parallel.
But are you perhaps seeing so much more of Hudson – like at the Oscars, and partying in New York etc – that it gives the impression that he has more opportunities? To me, this just seems like a matter of choice and not necessarily a question of opportunity. Hudson wants to be outside, and Connor wants to stay more undercover. It’s a slightly different approach to their own celebrity, which is more an indication they want to build profiles that are separate from one another while, of course, being bonded spiritually because of Shane and Ilya. At this point, though, I wouldn’t say the industry is favouring one over the other.
Question from Lucie:
Thoughts on The Town’s ranking of the biggest movie stars? Did people really go see The Housemaid because of Sydney Sweeney rather than because that book is a massive best-seller and therefore came with a built-in audience?
Lainey’s Answer:
I haven’t listened to the episode but I did write about the ranking last year when Puck covered it. They published the lists near the end of April 2025 so, given the time right now of this latest episode of their pod, we might see an updated ranking for 2026 in a few months. I mention this because, to answer your question about Sydney Sweeney, it’s worth going back to the past, and the 2025 list.
A year ago, the youngest actor on the list of top 25 movie stars was Zendaya, at #17, and she was the only one under 30 in the top tier. The second youngest was Margot Robbie. You know who didn’t show up on the list? Her name didn’t appear once: Sydney Sweeney.
I’m not entirely sure what was said on the podcast, but I agree with you in doubting that people went to see The Housemaid for her. The movie was released as counterprogramming during the holidays and, as you noted, it came with a built-in audience. Further, up until The Housemaid, Sydney Sweeney was flopping. Four consecutive films underperformed: Echo Valley, Eden, Americana, and Christy. Most people haven’t heard of the first three and the fourth, Christy, was supposed to result in an award season run for her and…didn’t.
The Housemaid was definitely a bounce-back and it was a good way for Sydney Sweeney to end the year but, like, she shouldn’t be anywhere near Zendaya territory. And if I’m reading correctly what you’re asking since you did listen to the episode, and they were glazing her by putting her in the bankable movie star category, this is yet another example of her privilege. Because if an actress of colour, like Zendaya, put out five movies in one year and all of them shit the bed but for one, she wouldn’t be getting this kind of generosity.
Question from Betts:
If Hulu passed on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot, could another studio pick it up? If they do, how much of this iteration could they keep?
Duana’s Answer:
The short answer is, unfortunately, it’s not very likely. This does happen, of course – shows are developed at one home and, when it turns out they aren’t a good fit, travel to another. But in this case, the issue is that the Buffy IP is owned by Disney… so, like the comic books and novels and other properties related to this franchise (some exec who decided to take a risk on this weirdly-named movie back in 1991 is feeling very smug and wealthy right now), they want to hang onto it because it’s been a moneymaker; in fact, even the initial stories about the show not being picked up hinted that the company would try again to revive the IP in a handful of years. In other words, while the Zhao/Gellar/Zuckerman version of the project may have been the best we were likely to get, it’s probably not the last, or at least, not the last attempt. There have, of course, been situations where IP is loaned or sold to another company, as with the Sony/Marvel Spider-Man shared custody situation, but they’re usually all-but-dead properties, are notoriously messy, and Disney is unlikely to hand over anything that could be a profit once this aborted New Sunnydale attempt fades from our minds.
What is likely, though, is that other studios are reaching out to various combinations of Zhao, Gellar, and the Zuckermans, now that they’re free, to see if there are other projects they’d like to do together – to try to capitalize on some of the magic that may (or may not) have been cooking between them. Whether this is actually likely to net anything depends on an entire cosmos of schedules and the right project and actual enthusiasm aligning, so the possibility of them converging again ranges somewhere from ‘possible’ to truly out of the question. But their phones are definitely individually ringing; what that actually, practically means is functionally nothing until we’re told otherwise. Sorry…
Question from Leah:
Is it worrisome that HYBE shares are supposedly down 15% after the free concert? I think they were anticipating more people than showed up. Are tour sales also strong?
Lainey’s Answer:
It was mentioned in the replies to your question that shares were down across the board in Korea, not just HYBE, because there’s so much volatility in the K-pop stock market – which, of course, the western outlets that reported on it wouldn’t be aware of since…you know. Those headlines and accompanying stories about HYBE, then, lacked context about Korean finance performance trends and this, for me, is the bigger takeaway. That western media wants to cover BTS because BTS brings the traffic but doesn’t want to do the homework to properly report on this band.
Tour sales are very strong, all stops where tickets have gone on sale are sold out. Bloomberg reported the other day that the tour could be in the same neighbourhood as Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour, which is an ambitious forecast. I don’t know that BTS will match Taylor Swift but they’ll be near the top of the record tour earnings list. Also, ARIRANG is projected right now to top the Billboard 200 with between 550-650K units which would be at least 100,000 more than Harry Styles, and that would make it the highest selling album of the year to date. There are probably only three artists who could beat that at the moment: Beyoncé, Adele, and Taylor, of course. Neither Adele nor Taylor are releasing new albums this year, at least we don’t think so. And Beyoncé? Nobody knows if act iii is coming and it’s best not to speculate!
We’ll have to see in a few days when Billboard releases the sales stats where exactly BTS lands with ARIRANG’s first week, but the predictions right now are optimistic. Plus, BTS merch sales on tour are going to be enormous. So much merch that’s already available is already sold out. They will also boost local economies at their tour stops, which is what we saw with The Eras Tour. It is not hyperbolic to say that ARMY is ready to throw all their savings at RM, Jin, Suga, j-hope, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook. So there are no significant downsides coming out of the free concert, really.
Question from Charlotte:
Is Lainey’s new language Korean? What languages other than English do the members of the LaineyGossip team know? Does Jacek know Polish? How is Lainey’s Cantonese? Did anyone’s high school French or Spanish stick?
Lainey’s Answer:
Jacek understands Polish, and could speak it if he practised more, I think, but he’s too shy. And he would say he can’t, but in my opinion, that’s just lack of confidence. In addition to English, I am fluent in French and Cantonese. The French because I went to a school that is considered beyond immersion and for several years studied all subjects in French, my only class in English was just English. My Cantonese is very good for someone who was not born in Hong Kong.
The language course I’m taking is Mandarin. Because even though I’m fluent in Cantonese, I am basically at zero level Mandarin, save for a few common phrases. I can pick out a few words here and there when I’m watching C-dramas, but I can’t even properly introduce myself. And I don’t know how to use Pinyin or Jyutping for that matter. One of the reasons I want to become fluent in Mandarin is actually C-dramas, LOL. I’d like to be able to not have to rely on subtitles and I also want to be able to talk about C-dramas in Mandarin with other Mandarin speakers. And gossip about Chinese celebrities in Mandarin!
The biggest reason, though, is because I would very much like to spend more time in China. I am planning a trip, maybe by the end of this year, maybe next year. And when I get there, I’d like to use as little English as possible.
Jacek pointed something out to me recently, when we were discussing my intended investment in this intensive language class. I’ve always been super connected to my culture, it’s not about discovery. But during COVID, and through some really rough periods in my life the last few years, I have sought comfort and refuge in Chinese tradition, Chinese art, Chinese entertainment. It has been immersive – and I didn’t realise why until Jacek casually clocked it, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. When we are lost, we find safety in our anchors. Learning Mandarin feels like fate for me, I’m not just approaching this with excitement, it’s bigger than that. In fact, there are few times in my entire life where I’ve felt this destined to do something. I’ll check back at the end of the year and let you know my progress.
Thank you for asking – thank you for keeping conversations open and kind and curious. Thank you for another week of community.
Keep squawking and keep gossiping,
Lainey, Sarah, and Duana
I'm going to start this off because I really enjoyed editing this piece. I love seeing my wife get fired up like this even though the subject matter is maddening. So here's my question/comment: It's pretty shocking to me that in 2026 someone didn't tap these Mahjong women on the shoulder when they were coming up with this and go "maybe reconsider?". Or is this a byproduct of the Orange Buffoon's administration's push against "wokeness" whereby even those who might otherwise be left of centre politically go "well, maybe THAT was an overreaction" and decide that this is OK. For instance, would the push to rename offensive sports franchise names get any traction today like it did in 2021? Or has permission been granted to accept a certain level of racism because anything less is a 'woke' overreaction?
Ok this was such a good read for a white lady who has listened to several friends over the last week bemoan that the Sam’s Club floating mahjong set with a lemon motif for swimming pools has sold out and what will they do??? This was my first introduction that Mahjong is now the next Bunko and apparently they would like to play it in a hot tub?? I’m sorry, Lainey. That has to feel really crappy. It’s not your job to educate those of us who don’t understand, but I really appreciate that you do.