Top five columns of 2019: Siena Yates

Siena Yates. Photo / Michael Craig

As we say goodbye to 2019 and welcome in 2020, it's a good time to catch up on the very best of the Herald columnists we enjoyed reading over the last 12 months. From politics to sport, from business to entertainment and lifestyle, these are the voices and views our audience loved the most. Today it's the top five from deputy head of entertainment, Siena Yates.

Ariana Grande is blackfishing, so what do we do now?

While many celebrities have come under fire for appropriating black culture - think Taylor Swift's "rapping" and Katy Perry's cornrows and grill - there seems to be one pop singer who has escaped this kind of criticism. Ariana Grande, writes Siena Yates, is "blackfishing" for her lif, but the scandalised headlines are few and far between. Is it time to say Thank U, Next to Grande?

Why I actually enjoyed that 'uncomfortable' Game of Thrones sex scene

Game of Thrones is known for its scandalous storylines - from incest to shock deaths and everything in between. But it was a consensual sex scene between two old friends that made headlines in 2019. For Yates, this was the least "weird" and "uncomfortable" thing that's happened on the show yet.

Queer-baiting: What it is and why it needs to stop now

It's the media trope that needs to die - in April, Yates wrote on the phenomonen of "queer-beating". This refers to content creators teasing audiences with promises of queer representation that doesn't end up happening. One example? Harry Potter author announcing Albus Dumbledore was gay - but never actually writing it into a single storyline.

I'm not sad anymore, I'm mad - let's make it right

In the aftermath of the Christchurch mosque terror attack, the social and mainstream media struggled to articulate their feelings in the wake of such a tragic incident. But the one thing that became obvious to Yates was that we needed to hear more from brown voices - and to centre those voices.

Is Miley Cyrus' pansexuality to blame for her split? Of course not

Miley Cyrus made headlines this year - but for her relationships, rather than her music. The singer and actor broke up with her husband Liam Hemsworth in August this year and some blamed the couple's demise on Miley's sexuality. However, Miley herself was not exactly helping matters.