The daily gossip: Celebrities pay tribute to Michael K. Williams, Gen Z takes over the Met Gala, and more

1. Tributes pour in for Michael K. Williams

Michael K. Williams' collaborators, costars, and admirers flooded social media with heartbroken tributes after The Wire actor was found dead in his home on Monday. "Michael was a fine man and a rare talent and on our journey together he always deserved the best words. And today those words won't come," wrote The Wire creator David Simon on Twitter. Wendell Pierce, who played Detective Bunk Moreland on the show, called Williams an "immensely talented man with the ability to give voice to the human condition portraying the lives of those whose humanity is seldom elevated until he sings their truth." Mariah Carey took to Instagram to praise Williams as "a beautiful soul, a beautiful person," while director Spike Lee added, "Drinking A Bottle Of Italian Red Wine-Brunello Di Montalcino By Myself. Our Greats Are Leaving Us Left And Right. GOD BLESS."

CNN The New York Times

2. The Gen Z-dominated Met Gala will naturally be live-streamed

In case you didn't get enough time in front of your computer during the pandemic, the Met Gala returns next week with Vogue hosting its first-ever live stream of the red carpet. The feed — which starts at 5:30 p.m. ET on Sept. 13 with commentary by Keke Palmer and Ilana Glazer — will undoubtedly ruffle the already-ruffled feathers of Met Gala traditionalists, who were previously in a tizzy over the inclusion of TikTok stars and Instagram influencers like Addison Rae and Emma Chamberlain. But it's Gen Z's Gala, and we're just living in it at this point: 25-year-old Timothée Chalamet, 19-year-old Billie Eilish, 23-year-old Naomi Osaka, and 23-year-old Amanda Gorman are set to serve as the 2021 co-chairs.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Nylon Couture Is Beyond

3. Phoebe Waller-Bridge exits Donald Glover series over an 'amicable' disagreement

Phoebe Waller-Bridge has reportedly exited a would-have-been-amazing collaboration with Donald Glover on a television adaptation of Mr. & Mrs. Smith due to "different creative [visions] for the series," The Hollywood Reporter writes. Waller-Bridge, who was due to star alongside Glover in the roles previously played by Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, will be recast, with the Amazon show still on track to debut sometime in 2022. According to the Reporter, Glover had been the one to come up with the idea for the television remake, and brought it to his Solo: A Star Wars Story co-star. But despite her eyebrow-raising exit, "sources say Waller-Bridge and Glover remain friends following what was described as an amicable split."

The Hollywood Reporter

4. Monica Lewinsky says she no longer needs an apology from Bill Clinton

Happy Impeachment: American Crime Story day! Monica Lewinsky appeared on NBC's Today ahead of the show's premiere on FX, where she said she was "grateful" to no longer feel the need for an apology from former President Bill Clinton — even though she thinks he should "want to" give one. "There was a long period before my life changed in the last six or seven years where I felt a lot in terms of there not being this resolution," she said. "And I'm very grateful that I don't have that feeling anymore. I don't need it." The new series dramatizes Clinton's affair with then 22-year-old Lewinsky in the 1990s and his subsequent impeachment; Lewinsky added she was "nervous" for audiences to see "a lot of behavior that I regret." But addressing whether the Clinton scandal might have unfolded differently had it played out today, Lewinsky mused, "I don't know that it would be as different as people want to think it would be."

People The Week

5. Caitlyn Jenner grilled on why she has 'struggled to resonate' with California voters

Say what you will about the Kardashian-Jenner clan, those ladies sure know how to stay in the spotlight. That's why CNN's Brianna Keilar is confused that Caitlyn Jenner, who is running as a Republican gubernatorial candidate in California, has "struggled to resonate" with voters. Keilar noted in the interview that the former athlete and reality TV star entered the race "with such a splash" in April but that a recent poll showed her with only one percent support. Jenner responded by arguing that she's "in a good position" — though Keilar later pointed out, "there are no poll numbers that show you in the lead." Jenner likewise defended the fact that she went to Australia to film Celebrity Big Brother in the middle of her campaign, arguing she had to honor an agreement she previously made with the show, though Keilar described the decision to leave the country to film a reality show while running for governor as "bizarre." Then again, maybe one spotlight is as good as any.

CNN The Week