One of the biggest stories coming out of the Golden Globes, the first official red carpet event of the year, was not about an award snub or surprise, but rather an accessory on Zendaya’s left ring finger.
A week before, on Dec. 31, the pop star Dua Lipa posted a carousel on Instagram that included a photo of her holding a drink with a round cut diamond set on a chunky gold band on her left hand. (Her previous post was a rare pic of her canoodling with the actor Callum Turner. They first sparked romance rumors in January 2024.)
And on Jan. 1, the actress Chloë Grace Moretz posted a photo of what seemed to be her hand interlocked with that of her partner, the model Kate Harrison, both wearing diamond rings. Ms. Moretz has been very private about her relationship with Ms. Harrison, though the two fueled dating rumors in December 2018, when TMZ photographed them in Malibu.
None of these women have spoken publicly about an engagement — there was no flashy announcement nor confirmation. But that has not stopped the internet from going wild. Fan-made compilations and headlines citing confirmation from “anonymous sources close to the couple” swirled on the internet.
Can a celebrity ever just wear a ring on her ring finger without being hounded?
“Absolutely not,” said Moya Luckett, a media historian and professor of celebrity culture at N.Y.U. “We’ve gotten to a point now where everyone is so good at analyzing all these clues, including lots of red herrings. That’s something that just comes with the territory in a digital media age.”
