Daily gossip: It's a big week for Hamilton, Velma allegedly kept from being 'explicitly gay' in 2002 Scooby-Doo movie, and more

1. Live action Scooby-Doo director says Velma was 'explicitly gay' in movie's initial script

James Gunn, the writer and director of the 2002 live action Scooby-Doo movie, confirmed on Twitter that the brainy detective Velma "was explicitly gay in my initial script" but that "the studio just kept watering [her] down." While a Hollywood studio shying away from LGBTQ representation is sadly unsurprising, The Mary Sue notes Gunn is "not exactly known as a pioneer in female character-crafting" and points to a 2002 article that describes how "explicitly gay" moments in the original script were intended as "gags," like Fred "lustfully" ogling Daphne, followed by a pan to Velma doing the same. Adds The Mary Sue, while Gunn's lesbian Velma likely would've left much to be desired, "I still wish we'd had the chance to meet her."

The Mary Sue TMZ

2. Hamilton finally breaks top 2 on the Billboard Top 200, 250 weeks after entering the chart

How does a bastard, orphan, son of a whore, and a Scotsman ... grow up to be the No. 2 spot on the Billboard Top 200? The original Broadway cast recording of Hamilton: An American Musical hit a new peak this week — some 250 weeks after it first debuted on the charts — in the wake of the premiere of the show on Disney+ on July 3. Almost more incredible is the fact that Hamilton "has never left the tally since its debut at No. 12 on the Oct. 17, 2015-dated list," writes Billboard, noting that the 250 weeks marks "the longest run by any cast album since the highlights edition of the original London cast recording of The Phantom of the Opera, which has logged 331 weeks on the list between 1990 and 1996."

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Billboard

3. Jessica Mulroney's husband shuts down speculation about his wife and Meghan Markle

Canadian stylist Jessica Mulroney has been described as Meghan Markle's "BFF," but that was before being called out for her "white privilege" by lifestyle blogger Sasha Exeter. Some have taken to assuming that the scandal — which saw Mulroney lose her CTV show and Good Morning America gig — took a strain on the women's relationship, with an anonymous source telling Page Six recently that "[the] row has really given Meghan the excuse she was waiting for to cut Jess off for good." But now Mulroney's husband, Ben, has heard enough. On Sunday, he shared The Daily Mail's latest article speculating that Mulroney is "devastated" to have lost Markle's friendship "and is considering writing a tell-all book" with one firm word: "FALSE."

Just Jared The Daily Mail

4. Instagram model claims she's already been invited to pop the NBA bubble

The whole idea of a "bubble" is that it isn't porous, but that apparently hasn't stopped NBA players from inviting outsiders into the sealed-off environment on the Disney World campus where they've been sequestered to prevent a COVID-19 breakout as the league resumes play. One Instagram model, Anna Mya, claims that she "already got invited to the bubble," joking "the season definitely ending early." After being slammed as a "snitch," Mya explained that "it's not known that they can have visitors in like five weeks," an apparent reference to guests being allowed in the bubble by the second round of the playoffs. But don't worry too much about the athletes getting lonely in the meantime: USA Today reports they're busy golfing, fishing, and shotgunning beers.

New York Post USA Today

5. Katy Perry is rumored to want Jennifer Aniston to be her baby's godmother

Katy Perry's due date is fast approaching, which means two burning questions will soon have answers: What will be the baby girl's name, and which celebrity is going to be her godparent? We might have a clue for the latter, now, based on intel a "source" gave British tabloid The Daily Mirror: Apparently Perry and her fiancé, Orlando Bloom, have asked Jennifer Aniston, who is also godmother to Courteney Cox's daughter, Coco. "Katy and Jen are very close," the insider explained. But Dlisted cautions "this story is hard to believe and not only because it came from The Mirror"; the "insider" also used the very British word "chuffed" to describe Aniston's reaction, perhaps suggesting "the Mirror intern who came up with this story" slipped up.

The Daily Mirror Dlisted