–Lana Condor covers the new issue of Shape and talks about standing up to Asian hate (“Speaking up is important. It’s easy to be a bystander, but you could save a life if you stand up for someone”) and how she chooses projects (“I’m very calculated about the projects I take on now. I want to continue to show people who look like me that they can do whatever they want to, regardless of what someone might have told them”).
-Mad Men alum (and Alexis Bledel‘s husband) Vincent Kartheiser is in the new season of Titans but is not in the poster or the press tour because his stint on the show triggered at least two complaints and two internal investigations, reports Deadline. He was accused of disruptive, juvenile behavior and outbursts, and inappropriate comments on the Toronto set. (His rep denies the claims.)
-The viral exchange between Don Cheadle and Kevin Hart encapsulates the Gen X mood. My favourite part is Hart’s IMMEDIATE and quiet “I’m sorry.” With one look from Cheadle, the man knew he had messed up. (They’re friends so I’m sure it’s a bit, but this is still hilariously awkward.)
-Hart also scored an interview with Cameron Diaz.
–Maggie Q says “I never really dated. I’m so bad at [that]. I’m really shy when it comes to that kind of stuff. I never really get asked out on dates and go on a date. I just don’t do it.” She was previously engaged to Dylan McDermott, and I saw her a few times with a guy when she was shooting Nikita here, but I guess everyone’s definition of “dating” is different.
–Lizzo and Cardi B are giving us something to talk about. The Hustlers costars collab on Lizzo’s new song “Rumours” (her first in two years!), and dropped a video for it today.
-Meanwhile, Lizzo and Chris Evans might finally meet IRL. She said, “He did say he will come to a show, and I was like, okay, shots on me. And he said, ‘no shots on me.’ ”
-The Crown’s Emma Corrin is opening up about gender identity and fluidity. “I think that we’re so used to defining ourselves. And that’s the way, sadly, society works, is within these binaries, and it’s taken me a long time to realize that I exist somewhere in between. And I’m still not sure where that is yet.”
–Kelly Clarkson scored a big win: a judge upheld her prenup.
–Ethan Hawke says he’s joining the Marvel universe because Oscar Isaac recruited him in their neighborhood in Brooklyn. “I was at a coffee shop, he came up to me. He’s like, ‘Hey, I really liked The Good Lord Bird.’ I was like ‘Oh, cool, I really like your work. You’re amazing.’ He’s like, ‘Hey, want to be in the Moon Knight with me?’ I was like … yeah!”
–Kevin Costner participated in the Field of Dreams baseball game. This kind of got to me in a way that I wasn’t expecting.
-In surprise move, Amazon is moving its $1B Lord of the Rings production from New Zealand to the UK for season 2. It will have to give up hundreds of millions in rebates/incentives from the NZ government.
-SNL alum Horatio Sanz was hit with a lawsuit accusing him of grooming and groping a teen fan.
-The mid-season finale of Gossip Girl aired this week (the season’s second half will air in the fall). I gave up on this one a few episodes in because it was burning through storylines faster than I could care about them. The way critics talk, it sounds like I’m not missing much.
-FX ordered American Story spin-offs about love and sports. The first installment of “American Love Story” will tell a scripted tale about John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy (I’m SO curious about the casting of this one), while American Sports Story will focus on former NFL player and convicted murderer Aaron Hernandez.
-Meanwhile, here’s the first trailer for Impeachment: American Crime Story. Beanie Feldstein plays Monica Lewinsky, Edie Falco plays Hillary Clinton, Clive Owen plays Bill Clinton, Sarah Paulson plays Linda Tripp, Cobie Smulders plays Ann Coulter and Billy Eichner plays Matt Drudge.
