NEW YORK – Taylor Swift and her Super Bowl-winning boyfriend Travis Kelce, along with Sydney Sweeney,Ryan Gosling and Timothee Chalamet, are among the nominees for this year’s Webby Awards, recognizing the best internet content and creators.
The International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences announced the nominees on Tuesday, the result of 13,000 entries from over 70 countries. The Associated Press got an early look.
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Swift's Instagram message encouraging her 283 million followers to register to vote was nominated in the best creator or influencer category. The website she directed her fans to — the nonpartisan Vote.org — recorded more than 35,000 registrations, according to the organization.
Kelce, got a nomination in the best sports podcast category for teaming up with his brother Jason for their “New Heights” show. Speaking of couples, Michelle Obama got a nod for her “The Light Podcast,” while her husband, former President Barack Obama, was nominated for his work with LinkedIn.
The awards are selected by the Academy, while The Webby People’s Voice Award is voted on by fans around the world. Voting for that award is open now until April 18. Winners for all awards will be announced May 13 at a ceremony hosted by “Late Night with Seth Meyers” writer and comedian Amber Ruffin.
Sweeney got a nod for collaborating with Ford Motor Company for a contest with the winner getting a 2024 custom Mustang GT designed by the actor. Paris Hilton was nominated for her 10-minute TikTok post about her family's hotel brand.
“Ted Lasso” star Brett Goldstein got a nod for his podcast “Films to Be Buried With,” in which he brings on guests to discuss the movies that have most impacted their lives. He faces competition in the TV and film podcast category from podcasts about “The Crown,” “The Last of Us,” “Endeavor” and “And Just Like That...”
Chalamet was nominated in the media and entertainment branded content category for his ad for Apple TV+, a follow-up to last year’s campaign with Jon Hamm. The ad shows the “Dune” star enjoying the programming on Apple’s streaming service and wondering if he could do the projects. “Severance' is weird. I could do weird,” Chalamet says.
Chalamet will face off against Ryan Gosling, who admitted his Barbie character, Ken, may have “stolen” one of BTS member Jimin’s signature looks. Gosling gave Ken’s prized guitar to Jimin to apologize.
Music video nominations were handed out to Doja Cat's “Paint the Town Red,” Lil Nas X's “J Christ,” Megan Thee Stallion's “Cobra," Olivia Rodrigo's “Vampire” and new best new artist Grammy-winner Victoria Monet's “On My Mama.”
The category of best overall social presence is stuffed with familiar names — Bravo, “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” “Saturday Night Live,” “Sesame Street” and “The Kelly Clarkson Show.”
The gravitational pull of the hit movie “Barbie” also made it into the Webby nominations, with Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer promoting a dark-haired version of Barbie dressed in a pink pantsuit earning a nod in the public service and activism category and Mattel getting one for its social media movie tie-ins.
The list of nominations also illustrate the impact of Artificial Intelligence, with several new categories for AI apps and experiences, like Burger King's cheeseburger nuggets.
Companies earning the highest number of nominations are PBS with 20, Warner Bros. Discovery with 18, Netflix at 14, CNN with 13, and three tied with 11 each — Paramount, The Washington Post and MTV Entertainment.
Academy members include musician and writer Questlove, writer and actor Quinta Brunson, rapper and actor Tobe Nwigwe, writer and producer Roxane Gay, Pepsi Co. executive Todd Kaplan, and Yann LeCun, an AI scientist with Meta.
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Mark Kennedy is at http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits