The daily gossip: Kevin Federline speaks on Britney Spears' conservatorship, Elvis Costello pointedly defends Olivia Rodrigo, and more

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1. Kevin Federline supports Britney Spears challenging conservatorship
2. Elvis Costello pointedly defends Olivia Rodrigo
3. Watch James Gandolfini's son play his dad in The Many Saints of Newark trailer
4. Ed Sheeran has ordered Courteney Cox 'like 12' gimp masks
5. Bachelor Nation stars defend getting thousands in PPP loans

published 29 June 2021

1. Kevin Federline supports Britney Spears challenging conservatorship

Following Britney Spears' bombshell court testimony, Kevin Federline, too, is expressing support. A lawyer for Spears' ex-husband, with whom she has two children, told People, "Britney has not been served well by the conservatorship and it's not consistent with what she wants. I think that she should be able to challenge that. And if it's what's best for her, Kevin supports it." This came in the wake of Spears' harrowing testimony asking to be freed from her "abusive" conservatorship, which also prompted her sister Jamie Lynn Spears to speak out Monday, saying, "If ending the conservatorship, if flying to Mars, or whatever the hell else she wants to do to be happy ... I support that."

Elvis Costello is apparently a member of Olivia's Army. This week, Olivia Rodrigo weathered a number of plagiarism accusations, including the claim that her song "Brutal" rips off Costello's 1978 hit "Pump It Up." But Costello stepped up to the young singer's defense on Twitter when a user attempted to pile onto Rodrigo for supposedly lifting his sound. "This is fine by me, Billy," Costello replied. "It's how rock and roll works. You take the broken pieces of another thrill and make a brand new toy. That's what I did." Talk about being a class act at a time when Rodrigo could use some love.

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Family: they're the only ones you can depend on. The first trailer for The Sopranos prequel movie, The Many Saints of Newark, dropped on Tuesday, giving fans a first look at the late James Gandolfini's son playing the younger version of his father's famous character, Tony Soprano. According to 22-year-old Michael Gandolfini, he'd never even watched the series until his manager urged him to audition for the film: "It was really hard to watch my dad," he told Vanity Fair. The movie's plot had been kept under wraps but it appears to focus on Tony learning the mafia ropes from his uncle, Dickie Moltisanti, in the 1960s. "Can't wait for the YouTube videos of The Many Saints of Newark audiences going apes--t, Endgame opening weekend style, when Young Tony notices a duck," tweeted comedian Patrick Monahan.

Apparently, Ed Sheeran absolutely refuses to stop buying S&M masks for Courteney Cox. Allow him to explain. The "Shape of You" singer on James Corden's show recalled being over at Cox's house once when he decided to instruct her Alexa to "order me a gimp mask." Alexa obliged him, leaving Cox's assistant quite surprised when it actually showed up. "Now every time I go back there, I order her another gimp mask, and she has maybe like 12," Sheeran said. In fact, Sheeran apparently hides them all around the Friends star's house, and to complete his full show-and-tell demonstration, he actually gifted Corden one on the show. "Thank you for that, Ed," Corden declared. "I will absolutely treasure it."

As many as one-third of small businesses reportedly closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, even as many smaller operations were denied badly-needed Payroll Protection Program (PPP) loans. Nevertheless, several Bachelor and Bachelorette stars apparently received thousands from the program. Lauren Burnham Luyendyk and Arie Luyendyk Jr., for example, received a $20,830 bailout for their company Instagram Husband, while Tayshia Adams, the 2020 Bachelorette, received $20,833 for her one-employee LLC. Dale Moss and Colton Underwood also received loans. Adams and Underwood both attempted to justify their bailouts in statements on Tuesday, but to quote former Bachelor Nick Viall, "Don't know everyone's situation, but my gut tells any alum applying for a PPP is both savvy and sh--ty."

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.