The daily gossip: Netflix employees prepare to walk out over the Dave Chappelle special, Billie Eilish gets her revenge on Jimmy Kimmel, and more

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1. Netflix employees might walk out in protest of the Dave Chappelle special
2. Billie Eilish gets her revenge on Jimmy Kimmel
3. Prince William scolds fellow rich people for spending their money on space travel
4. Daniel Craig explains why he frequents gay bars
5. Queen Elizabeth has reportedly been cut off from drinking her nightly martinis

published 14 October 2021

1. Netflix employees might walk out in protest of the Dave Chappelle special

Netflix employees are reportedly considering a company-wide walkout over Dave Chappelle's controversial new comedy special, The Closer, in which the comedian makes homophobic and transphobic jokes, including telling a story about beating "the s--t" out of a lesbian. Netflix's CEO, Ted Sarandos, doubled down on defending Chappelle's special in a memo that the Los Angeles Times' Mary McNamara describes as "a master class in psycho-villain monologuing," while the media watchdog GLAAD responded by demanding the streamer "commit to living up to their own standards." In documents obtained by The Verge, Netflix's trans employee resource group is planning the walkout for Oct. 20: "Trans Lives Matter. Trans Rights Matter … We can and must do better!" one of the group's leaders wrote in an internal message.

Billie Eilish got her long-awaited revenge against Jimmy Kimmel on Wednesday night after the late-night host made fun of her for not knowing 1980s pop culture references during her last appearance on the show in 2019. "Do you remember the last time I was here? And you made me look stupid?" Eilish asked. She went on, explaining that "I thought it was funny because I was playing along, and everybody thought I was actually serious and didn't know anything." To get back at Kimmel, though, Eilish had made up her own quiz, asking Kimmel "do you know 'Mommy? Sorry. Mommy? Sorry.'" Kimmel looked baffled by the TikTok meme, admitting "I don't know anything." Revenge, indeed, is best served cold.

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You know it's bad when Prince William — whose family once ruled over 458 million people and is today worth an estimated collective $88 billion — tells you that you're being a crummy rich person. The future king of England spoke to the BBC this week about the billionaires' space race, ranting that "we need some of the world's greatest brains and minds fixed on trying to repair this planet, not trying to find the next place to go and live." The prince added that he has "absolutely no interest" in rocketing off to a place that makes people return babbling about "death," and stressed that there is a "fundamental question" about the environmental costs of all those space flights. He isn't wrong, but it's a sorry state when someone whose literal occupation is "Prince of the United Kingdom" is the voice of reason.

Daniel Craig might play the ultimate "symbol of heterosexual male virility," James Bond, in the movies, but he's been "going to gay bars for as long as I can remember," the actor told Bruce Bozzi on SiriusXM's "Lunch With Bruce" podcast this week. Craig, who is married to actress Rachel Weisz, explained that part of his motivation is that "I don't get into fights at gay bars that often," and that "the aggressive d--k-swinging in hetero bars, I just got very sick of as a kid because it was like, 'I just don't wanna end up being in a punch-up.' And I did, that would happen quite a lot." Craig added that he's found gay bars to be a "good place to go" over the years because "everybody was chill."

It seems horribly unfair to live 95 years of your life in a family so stuffy and emotionally stunted that it's nicknamed "the Firm" and then be told you can't even enjoy a relaxing evening cocktail anymore. Alas, Queen Elizabeth has been instructed to give up her daily martini, Vanity Fair reports. The Queen can continue to drink at special occasions, such as her Platinum Jubilee next June, a family friend explained, adding that the doctors' orders are "not really a big deal for her, she is not a big drinker but it seems a trifle unfair that at this stage in her life she's having to give up one of very few pleasures." The Queen has been known to indulge in a dry martini in the evenings, notably a substantial downgrade from the four alcoholic beverages she used to reportedly drink a day.

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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.