Gwen Stefani’s new music video for her latest single, “Let Me Reintroduce Myself,” has been out for a week now and no one’s noticed that she’s holding the Pixel 5 upside down … until now. (I’m sorry Gwen. I have to let the people know.)
To borrow the infamous words of Apple’s antennagate: You’re holding it wrong.
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Picture this: It’s a Friday afternoon after what has been a very draining week (you know, as our country continues to fall apart in 2021). I’m sitting at my desk in my room, typing away on my laptop, doin’ a little wiggle dance as I listen to Gwen’s new song on repeat when I received this earth-shattering text:
If it weren’t for these texts, I would’ve never realized.
Image: screenshot / brenda stolyar
Here’s another look at this “offensive” image:
GWEN, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?!?!?!
Image: screenshot / youtube
For reference, this is what the back of the Pixel 5 actually looks like in proper orientation:
See??? That Google logo is supposed to be on the BOTTOM of the phone.
Image: brenda stolyar / mashable
Look, it’s not uncommon for celebs to take on product placement deals for Android phones, especially if that brand is Google. Take musician John Legend, for example. Not only is he a voice assistant option for Google Nest smart speakers, but he also shot an entire music video on a Pixel 2 and starred in an ad for Google’s video chat app Duo alongside his wife/model/social media queen Chrissy Teigen. And, speaking of Chrissy, she too visibly touted a Google Pixel 2 when she filmed Vogue’s 73 Questions (you can see it around the 1:25 mark).
John Legend even corrected a report from Vogue to make sure everyone knew a photo included in an article about him was taken on a Pixel 3. I mean, the commitment is truly admirable.
One small correction: that was a Google pixel 3. Hence the photo that captured the full brilliance and beauty of my wife and her outfit.
— John Legend (@johnlegend) January 5, 2019
But here’s the thing: Both John and Chrissy tweet from iPhones all the time and Gwen Stefani is no exception.
I attribute my fascination with “fact checking” whether or not celebrities with Android endorsement deals actually use those devices as their primary phones to what I will call #GalGadotHuaweiGate. Two years ago, well-known YouTuber Marques Brownlee called out Wonder Woman 1984 actress Gal Gadot for tweeting about the Huawei Mate 10 Pro from her … iPhone.
Her publicist issued a statement to CNET defending the tweet, claiming she can’t live without her Huawei devices and that, sometimes, she allows her team to post on social media for her from their own devices.
“Some people have asked about my recent post with my new Huawei smartphone, and think I am using an iPhone,” Gadot told CNET through her publicist. “That’s simply not the case. I love my Huawei P20 and Mate10Pro. They are lifelines wherever I am in the world.”
Do I believe it? Absolutely not. So, when I saw Gwen Stefani using a Pixel 5 at the beginning of her new music video — Google Assistant demo and all — I knew it was too good to be true. And reader, I am happy to let you know I was right. I went straight to the source (a.k.a Twitter) only to see the following tweet as of yesterday:
I told ya so.
Image: screenshot / twitter
At first, I wanted to give Gwen the benefit of the doubt. Maybe, just maybe, it’s because she uses both phones — her Pixel 5 could be a work phone while the iPhone is her personal device. But after seeing her hold the phone upside down, I can confidently confirm that is not the case.
Judging by this video (which I’ve only watched roughly 50 times), it’s also obvious that Gwen’s entire team likely uses iPhones too. For her next music video, let’s hope everyone on set figures out how to hold an Android phone the right way.