The daily gossip: Kristen Stewart mulls reuniting with Robert Pattinson in the Batman universe, JoJo Siwa is single again, and more

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1. Kristen Stewart is down to play a Batman villain opposite Robert Pattinson
2. JoJo Siwa and her girlfriend Kylie Prew reportedly broke up
3. Simone Biles says she's 'still scared to do gymnastics' in emotional interview
4. Billie Eilish used her synesthesia to create her first signature fragrance
5. Warner Bros. claims 'Batwoman' actor was fired for 'workplace behavior' after torrent of allegations

published 21 October 2021

1. Kristen Stewart is down to play a Batman villain opposite Robert Pattinson

Now this would be a reunion for the ages: Kristen Stewart wants to "figure … out" how to play a villain opposite her former Twilight co-star Robert Pattinson during his forthcoming run as Batman. The former on- and off-screen couple hasn't appeared in a film together since The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2 in 2012; in the meantime, they've both become highly respected actors, with Stewart appearing next month in Spencer as Lady Di and Pattinson set to appear in the new Batman movie out next year. Fans have been itching for Stewart to play the Joker, but Stewart waved off that suggestion when speaking to Variety. "It's really been done so well [already]," she said, adding: "Let's figure something else out. I'm totally down to play a freaky, scary person." When asked if that was a firm no to the Clown Prince of Crime, Stewart clarified, "Not 'no' but not the most stoked I've ever been. Let's do something new." Challenge accepted.

Ah, the flame that burns twice as bright burns half as long! JoJo Siwa will no longer be celebrating all four of her monthly anniversaries with her girlfriend, Kylie Prew, since the teen couple reportedly split up two weeks ago, according to a source that spoke with Us Weekly. Siwa is currently competing in Dancing With the Stars, and the source explained that "Kylie stopped attending the show so she hasn't been seen in the audience since they split. JoJo is focusing on the competition and giving her all. While it's a rough time for her, she's handling DWTS very professionally and still putting on a smile and giving 100 percent." Prew, 18, helped encourage JoJo, also 18, to come out in January: "We both want to be together for forever," Siwa said in August, "and we both just want to be there for each other."

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Simone Biles opened up about her withdrawal from the Tokyo Olympics in an emotional interview on the Today show Thursday. Biles has partnered with Cerebral, which offers online mental health care, three months after she withdrew from the Olympics due to her mental health. The gymnast said she's doing "a lot better" but the gymnast became emotional while reflecting on how it's "really crazy" to "do something that I've done forever and just not be able to do it because of everything I've gone through … I'm still scared to do gymnastics." Biles, who delivered a powerful testimony to Congress about being sexually abused by former Team USA gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar, said she suppressed her emotions for years, but at the Olympics, her body "just decided it couldn't do it anymore." "I'm going to be okay with the right help, but it does kind of suck because I'd worked really, really hard for that," she said. "It's just hard."

Sight, sound, smell — all three are intertwined for Billie Eilish. The 19-year-old singer just released her first signature fragrance and said the scent was created using her synesthesia, a rare brain condition where one sense comes through as another, like "seeing" music. "So for instance, every day of the week has a color, a number, a shape. Sometimes things have a smell that I can think of or a temperature or a texture," she previously explained to Jimmy Fallon. That extends to her perfume, called Eilish, which smells of cocoa, spices, vanilla, musk, tonka bean, and sleek woods. Eilish told Paper she'd been "chasing" the scent "for years and years and years," and that her synesthesia helped her hone in on it "because I was very vocal about this scent being amber, and I wanted it to feel caramel — almost like this burnt-out fire." The result? "It's my favorite smell in the world."

There's some serious drama unfolding between Ruby Rose, the genderfluid actor who starred as the title superhero in The CW's Batwoman, and the parent studio, Warner Bros. TV. To the surprise of fans, Rose abruptly left the show in May 2020; on Wednesday, Rose took to Instagram, writing "enough is enough," and alleging that the former head of Warner Bros. TV, Peter Roth, forced them to return to set after having surgery for a stunt-related injury sustained while filming the show. Rose also described additional unsafe working conditions and inappropriate behavior by Roth, adding, "I wouldn't return for any amount of money … I DID NOT QUIT ... they destroyed Batwoman, not me." In a statement, Warner Bros. confirmed Rose was fired, but claimed their account was a "revisionist history" and that that they were actually let go for "multiple complaints about workplace behavior" — complaints that "had long been rumored but not officially confirmed until today," Deadline explains. Read more here.

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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.