Zendaya is currently in Boston. Given the massive amount of attention paid to the mega-presence stars in the city, it’s difficult to be unaware of this fact. It’s up to you to decide how excited you are about this, Boston’s newest and arguably most buzzed-about celebrity residency. And whether we’ll be able to keep up our record of laid-back Boston celebrity moments during her visit.
When she was observed wandering between boutiques on Newbury Street in between scenes for her upcoming film Challengers, the fact that the Euphoria and Spider-Man actress was spending some time in the area became part of Boston’s collective consciousness. What makes her time here even more interesting is that she doesn’t seem to mind being seen in public, so you might hypothetically stumble into her while shopping at MUJI.
Admirers quickly realized this, and we soon saw local TV crews reporting on groups of Zendaya fans, including those from local colleges, organizing mobile Zendaya reconnaissance squads and prowling the Back Bay in search of a sighting.
But that’s not to suggest she’s been followed about like the Beatles in 1964. In truth, the situation has been the polar opposite. When images of a decidedly dressed-down Zendaya and Tom Holland supposedly sipping a mocha frappe at Tatte surfaced this week, the precise mood of the celebrity-in-Boston moment reached its apex.
A snapshot of an A-list power couple having fun together is going to get attention, but for whatever reason, this one fared particularly well: A tweet from the account Zendaya Updates has received over 21,000 retweets (and inspired one of the most incredible takes I’ve seen in months). That, I believe, has a lot to do with the atmosphere. If you’ve been following celebrities’ journeys around Boston in recent years, you’ll recognize it.
Remember when Jennifer Lawrence, star of Don’t Look Up, danced in her pajamas on a Boston sidewalk after the 2020 election? That’s exactly what we’re talking about. Or when Dwayne Johnson came to town to film Central Intelligence and posted exercise videos on the Esplanade, posing with a Wakefield man after sideswiping his pickup truck?
In a few ways, the Boston celebrity moment is unique. Because this isn’t New York or Los Angeles, there aren’t any paparazzi lurking at every corner, and celebrities aren’t expected to be glamorously dressed at all times. Celebrities may loiter in Boston, let their hair down (literally), and be pleasant and calm.
In the South End, we’re talking about Jon Hamm posing with people’s dogs. Or Shaq from the Celtics’ era, inviting Boston fans to just hang out with him at Harvard Square. Or Bruce Springsteen finger-picking in the Public Garden, or Justin Bieber walking barefoot through Boston Common (a strange one, to be fair, but I’m counting it). In my perspective, the veracity of this one is still up in the air, but John Legend hearing a busker perform “All of Me” at Faneuil Hall is at the very least an effort at the Boston celeb moment style.
The most famous individuals in the world will occasionally be hanging out here, frequently for weeks at a time, due to the high volume of movies electing to film here due to the high volume of movies opting to film here. It’s quite cool that they appear to be quite an at ease in our part of the woods while they’re up here.
Then, I believe, has a lot to do with the city’s more laid-back and laid-back reaction to the presence of A-listers—like the guy in the enormous headphones in that Tatte photo, who appears to be lazily typing on his laptop at least for that little instant. Of course, in the instance of Zendaya, this could be undone if anyone sees MJ from Spider-Man at Newbury Comics and turns into a screeching superfan.
But thus far, everything has gone well. Whatever you think of the film tax credit, it has had the unintended consequence of making this city cooler by association, and it shows.
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