The daily gossip: The new Jeopardy! host apologizes, Larry David yells at Alan Dershowitz in a grocery store, and more

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1. The new host of Jeopardy! apologizes for his history of offensive comments
2. Larry David confronts Alan Dershowitz in a grocery store
3. Daniel Radcliffe, who can 'barely drive,' wants to be in a Fast & Furious movie
4. Drake claims his hair is all messed up because he had COVID-19
5. Big Bang Theory actress Kaley Cuoco is trying to buy the horse that refused to jump at the Olympics

published 19 August 2021

1. The new host of Jeopardy! apologizes for his history of offensive comments

What is … your past coming back to haunt you? Mike Richards, the new host of Jeopardy! and the show's executive producer, issued an apology to The Ringer after journalist Claire McNear reported he "repeatedly used offensive language and disparaged women's bodies" in resurfaced podcast episodes from 2013 and 2014. According to the report, Richards complained that one-piece swimsuits make women look "really frumpy and overweight," asked his assistant and cohost if they had ever taken "booby pictures," used the R-word, and made other disparaging and offensive comments. "It is humbling to confront a terribly embarrassing moment of misjudgment, thoughtlessness, and insensitivity from nearly a decade ago," Richards told The Ringer. "Looking back now, there is no excuse … and I am deeply sorry." The new season of Jeopardy! begins taping on Thursday.

Larry David and Alan Dershowitz bumped into each other at a grocery store in Martha's Vineyard recently, and it sounds like it went pretty, pretty, pretty badly. The Curb Your Enthusiasm creator confronted Dershowitz (who notably defended former President Donald Trump during his first impeachment trial) over the lawyer's ties to the former administration. "I saw you with your arm around [Former Secretary of State Mike] Pompeo! It's disgusting!" David reportedly said. Dershowitz supposedly defended himself by saying he greets "all of my former students that way," but David again told him, "It's disgusting. Your whole enclave — it's disgusting. You're disgusting!" Dershowitz confirmed the exchange to Page Six, claiming David "screamed" at him and dubiously alleging that "it wasn't funny at all."

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There's a reason Carrie Underwood didn't call it "Daniel Radcliffe, Take the Wheel." The Harry Potter actor confessed to Hoda Kotb that he'd love to be in an action movie like Fast & Furious, but only so long as he "could have a non-driving part." Explained Radcliffe, "Driving on camera is maybe the part of my job that I hate the most. I barely drive in real life. I have a license. But I really am not good at it and don't really do it." Unfortunately, it's hard to be in a street racing franchise if "trying to hit a mark in a car" is your "most hated" part of the process. But Radcliffe insists he could be useful yet: "I could do some of the admin," he said. "I'm sure they must need a lot of that. There must be an administration guy there. Someone has to look after these guys."

Here's yet another reason to hate the pandemic: it ruined Drake's hairline. Fans had noticed that the heart Drake usually has above his left eyebrow was "looking a little rough," Dlisted writes, with one fan account recently observing "that heart is stressed." Drake, though, actually took the time to reply, explaining that "I had COVID that s--t grew in weird I had to start again." He added defensively, "it's coming back don't diss." Dlisted said that while "suspicious types may think Drake's explanation sounds like a lie to cover up a botched hair transplant or something," temporary hair loss is actually a pretty common side effect of COVID-19. It's unclear how long Drake has been recovering from the disease, though hopefully he tested negative before his last date.

Big Bang Theory actress Kaley Cuoco is absolutely serious about buying the horse that went viral after it refused to jump at the Olympics. Saint Boy was not having it when pentathlete Annika Schleu of Germany, who was in first place, attempted the show-jumping portion of the competition; she dropped back to 31st place after scoring zero points. Upsettingly, though, in a now-viral clip Schleu's coach, Kim Raisner, could be seen punching Saint Boy and urging Schleu to "really hit" him. "I feel it's my duty and heart to comment on this disgrace," Cuoco, who owns "at least 25 horses," wrote on Instagram afterward, calling out the "disgusting, classless, abusive representation of our sport." She added, "I'll buy that horse outright and show it the life it should have. Name your price." As of Thursday, she's apparently still serious, updating fans that she's "still waiting" to hear back.

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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.