The Group Chat: The best stories start with a tweet

ICYMI, we’re BFFs with Flavor Flav — and together, we’re planning the party of the year. SHE Weekend (which begins in Las Vegas on Thursday) will be a start-to-finish celebration of women Olympians and Paralympians who rarely, if ever, get the credit they’re due.

• Wondering how this wild and empowering weekend came to be? Scroll on for a behind-the-scenes look courtesy of The GIST’s very own social media coordinator, Emmy Curtis, and senior brand partnerships executive, Jamie McCormick. Let’s party.

It all started with a tweet: When President Trump remarked that he “had to” invite the gold medal–winning U.S. women’s hockey team to the White House along with their male counterparts, rapper and iconic women’s sports advocate Flavor Flav stepped up. Flav invited the women’s team — and eventually, every female Olympic and Paralympic medalist from Milano-Cortina 2026 — to their very own celebration in Las Vegas.

• Curtis shared Flav’s post from The GIST’s account, and “what happened next really exceeded my expectations. The posts went absolutely viral…It was a single post that evolved into a collaboration that became SHE Weekend.”

Because The GIST amplified the original invite early and helped it go viral, Flavor Flav’s team, whom Curtis describes as “very, very loyal,” brought us on as an official media partner…and suddenly, we were party-planning with Flav. McCormick led the charge, and she speaks of the event as a labor of love:

• “It’s one thing to tweet about a party. It’s another to execute a four-day event, including a public parade down the Vegas strip, in less than five months. Everyone involved has been putting in so much work and joy to make this possible.”

• “As women, we often downplay our fandom or minimize achievements,” she continued. “SHE Weekend is a reminder to throw yourself the party, create the space you want to exist, and celebrate hard work.” And celebrate, they will.

The itinerary is jam-packed, starting with Thursday’s parade through the streets of Las Vegas and a concert starring Flavor Flav’s rap group, Public Enemy. (BTW, these events are open to the public — see you in Vegas?)

• The next three days are for partying and planning for the future. Athletes will chill in the SHE Lounge for party vibes along with access to meaningful tools for building sports careers after their playing days are over, like a headshot station and networking events.

• There’s also a content studio that’ll host live podcast recordings, a pool party, a Backstreet Boys meet and greet (yes, way), and a World Cup Final watch party. “Fun” doesn’t even begin to cover it.

The event has generated some serious buzz. “Suddenly it wasn’t just fans talking about it — there were brands and organizations also wanting to join the conversation,” Curtis said. McCormick noted that of the hundreds of brands in our comments section wanting in, a few stepped up in a major way to help turn it into a reality.

• McCormick said, “SHE Weekend has been built entirely for these athletes, so we’ve tasked participating brands to show up in ways that are genuinely exciting or useful instead of just flashing their logos around.”

At the end of the day, this is so much more than a party. “SHE Weekend turned something so negative into the ultimate celebration,” said McCormick. “Women, both athletes and fans, are tired of feeling pushed to the side. This is a moment to put women’s sports in the spotlight, and to remind these Olympians that there is a huge audience of fans rallying behind them.” Now that’s cause for a celebration.