The daily gossip: Kanye West's new song reportedly doesn't diss Kim Kardashian, Megyn Kelly's attempt to mock Naomi Osaka backfires, and more

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1. Don't expect a Kim Kardashian diss track on Kanye West's upcoming album
2. Megyn Kelly attempts to mock Naomi Osaka for appearing on the cover of Sports Illustrated
3. Halsey announces her baby's name — but not the child's gender
4. Paris Jackson turned to Macaulay Culkin for help with her American Horror Story audition
5. The mystery action of Mary's dress in Bruce Springsteen's 'Thunder Road' has finally been solved

published 20 July 2021

1. Don't expect a Kim Kardashian diss track on Kanye West's upcoming album

Kanye West is expected to release an album, likely titled Donda, any day now. Despite his recent split from Kim Kardashian, insulting tweets about her and her family, and rumors that suggest otherwise, don't expect a diss track about his former Mrs. According to Page Six, "Multiple sources confirm that West doesn't rap anything negative about his estranged wife on the new album, and certainly doesn't compare himself to being a prisoner or rap about her taking everything." West reportedly played the song in question for Kardashian herself. It really must not have said anything too bad, as the pair spent the weekend together on a trip with their children.

If you come at the queen, you best not miss. But miss Megyn Kelly did on Monday when she attempted to dunk on tennis star Naomi Osaka. Kelly had piled on after Clay Travis criticized Osaka for being on the cover of the current Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, adding "let's not forget the cover of (& interview in) Vogue Japan and Time Mag!" But in a since-deleted tweet, Osaka replied that "seeing as you're a journalist I would've assumed you would take the time to research what the lead times are for magazines, if you did that you would've found out I shot all of my covers last year" — prior to her public efforts to preserve her mental health. Kelly later revealed Osaka had blocked her, mocking her as only being "tough on the courts," while not realizing that making fun of someone's mental health is what actually reveals weakness.

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Halsey and her partner, Alev Aydin, have welcomed their first child together, the singer announced Monday. "Gratitude. For the most 'rare' and euphoric birth," Halsey wrote, adding the child's name, "Ender Ridley Aydin," and the birth date, July 14. "Neither Halsey nor Alev ... say whether this new baby is a boy or a girl," though, Dlisted points out. And while Aydin is originally from Turkey, and Ender — meaning "rare" — is usually a Turkish boy's name, "the most famous Ripley I know is the one who fought aliens in the Aliens franchise," Dlisted adds. Halsey, who also uses they/them pronouns, has said that pregnancy "leveled my perception of gender entirely. My sensitivity to my body has made me hyper aware of my humanness and that's all."

When Paris Jackson needed acting help, she turned to the godfather. No, not the Oscar-winning film, her actual godfather, Macaulay Culkin. Culkin advised Michael Jackson's daughter to overdo her audition for American Horror Story, she said. "Kind of like, overact and kind of make it theatrical." It worked, as she now has a role in the franchise, which Culkin is set to star in. They've since moved on from audition advice to gruesome makeup selfies. "I sent him a picture of my face covered in blood and then he sent me a picture of blood in his hair. It was cute," Jackson said.

At last, one of the greatest mysteries plaguing mankind has been solved. For decades, fans have fought over the opening lyrics to Bruce Springsteen's "Thunder Road," debating whether The Boss sings "the screen door slams, Mary's dress sways" or "...Mary's dress waves." Even Springsteen seems to conflict himself: "Both on Springsteen's official website and in his songbook, the word is 'waves,'" The New Yorker writes. "And yet Springsteen uses 'sways' on page 220 of his memoir ... and in his handwritten lyrics." The magazine subsequently reached out to longtime Springsteen collaborator Jon Landau, who offered long-overdue clarity: "The word is 'sways,'" he insisted, adding "Any typos in official Bruce material will be corrected. And, by the way, 'dresses' do not know how to 'wave.'"

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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.