Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.
How did annoying Hills couple Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt get invited to the White House Correspondents' dinner? (Shown right via Style Crunch.) WWD gets to the bottom of it: "Because Fortune's original guest, Blackstone Group's Stephen Schwartzman, opted out at the last minute, managing editor Andy Serwer offered up the empty seats to the couple." Wait a minute, but why were they invited? "Pratt was photographed reading the magazine while on vacation with Montag. Serwer was alerted to the photo by People managing editor Larry Hackett and wrote a letter to the couple offering them a complimentary subscription." Oh, how editorial has fallen. [WWD, subscription req]
:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/45488452/racked_placeholder.4.0.jpg)
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/3314946/2008_4_heidiflag.0.jpg)