–Jennifer Aniston covers Variety to promote her new Apple series The Morning Show, and talks about researching Matt Lauer before filming (“It’s such a strange thing; it felt oddly like my dad did something terrible. I trusted him and had been interviewed by him. He was there for so many moments in my life. And when Friends was ending, it was Katie [Couric] and Matt interviewing us”), says that Harvey Weinstein knew not to bully her (“He knew better. I remember, right when [his ex-wife] Georgina’s clothing line Marchesa was starting. That’s when he came to visit me in London while we were shooting. He’d be like, ‘Ok, so I’d like you to wear one of these to the premiere.’ And I went through the book, and at the time, it wasn’t what it is today. It was not for me. He was like, ‘You have to wear the dress.’ That was my only bullying. And I was like, ‘No, I will not wear the dress'”), and explains why the Friends reunion hasn’t happened (“Because our producers wouldn’t want it, wouldn’t let us. Look, it’s not been without our desire to, because our fans have wanted it so much”).
–Ann Curry tweeted about Matt Lauer‘s accuser: “Brooke Nevils is a credible young woman of good character. She came to NBC News an eager and guileless 20-something, brimming with talent. I believe she is telling the truth. And that breaks my heart.”
-Meanwhile, Nevils has responded to his denial: “I am not afraid of him now, regardless of his threats, bullying, and the shaming and predatory tactics I knew he would (and now has) tried to use against me. The shame in this story belongs to him.”
-In Elle, Natalie Portman says she’s glad to have shaken off her “manic pixie dream girl” image from Garden State. “It’s definitely a relief to be out of the phase where you’re supposed to be adorable…It certainly is stifling to be the one who’s enacting someone else’s idea of how a young woman should behave.”
-Also in Elle, Zendaya opens up about her anxiety: “I already know after this interview is over, I’m going to spiral about it for weeks.”
–Drew Barrymore just landed a daytime talk show. I think she’ll be great at it, but with new shows from Kelly Clarkson, Keke Palmer and RuPaul the field is getting crowded.
-Ruh roh. Lindsay Lohan has reportedly been fired from The Masked Singer Australia.
-Now that we’re all pretty much over Chris Pratt, which famous Chris should take his place in the best Chris ranking?
-Do you remember how after Fresh Prince, Will Smith said that he and his manager sat down and studied the top 10 grossing movies of all time to determine their comment elements, and then set out to only make those? This article highlights how his most recent career moves have been just as methodical.
-Suicide Squad’s Jared Leto reportedly felt “alienated and upset” when Warner Bros. decided to move ahead with a solo Joker film starring Joaquin Phoenix. So there might be something redeeming about Joker after all!
-Movie stars continue to jump to Apple’s upcoming streaming service. Clive Owen and Julianne Moore have signed on for a new series.
-Federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh appeared on The Social this week and talked about DMing Rihanna.
–Robert Downey Jr. has asked not to be considered for an Oscar for Avengers: Endgame which is very nice but like, who told him he was being considered?
-I really like this piece on how Succession uses Shiv as a weapon. Everyone is so ruthless on this show that I think audiences automatically gravitate to the female characters like Gerri and Shiv for glimpses of humanity, and last week’s episode shattered that.
-Even though I’m about to get on an Air Canada flight and bracing myself for the worst (because it’s AC and they’re usually terrible), this commercial Sandra Oh did for them about how to travel like a Canadian is very cute. (Speaking of which I’m taking a few days off. Be back next week!)
–Tom Holland and Chris Pratt voice teenage brothers on a quest to meet their dad in the trailer for Pixar’s Onward.