The daily gossip: Jane Campion apologizes for 'thoughtless' comment about Venus and Serena Williams, Pete Davidson allegedly texts Kanye photo 'in bed with your wife,' and more

1. Director Jane Campion apologizes for 'thoughtless' comment about Venus and Serena Williams

Did The Power of the Dog director Jane Campion just make the Best Director Oscar race slightly more competitive with one cringeworthy remark? At Sunday's Critics Choice Awards, Campion was accepting the Best Director trophy when she made a strange comment about Venus and Serena Williams, who were there for the film King Richard. "Serena and Venus, you are such marvels," she said. "However, you do not play against the guys like I have to." After backlash, Campion apologized and admitted the remark was "thoughtless" on Monday afternoon. "I did not intend to devalue these two legendary Black women and world-class athletes," she said. "The fact is the Williams sisters have, actually, squared off against men on the court (and off), and they have both raised the bar and opened doors for what is possible for women in this world. The last thing I would ever want to do is minimize remarkable women." Previously, Campion slammed actor Sam Elliott for his "sexist" remarks about her film. As Michael Scott would say, how the turntables...

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2. Pete Davidson allegedly texts Kanye West photo 'in bed with your wife'

Pete Davidson definitely picked the right time to leave the planet Earth. Over the weekend, Davidson's friend Dave Sirus shared screenshots showing an alleged text exchange between the Saturday Night Live star, who's dating Kim Kardashian, and Kanye West. Davidson opens by telling West to "calm down" and "grow the f--k up" after weeks of attacks — and when West asks "where are you right now," Davidson allegedly responds "in bed with your wife," attaching a photo of himself shirtless in bed. Kardashian isn't seen in the picture. Davidson allegedly writes to West that his actions are "embarrassing" before inviting him to meet privately. He also allegedly claims he has stopped SNL from "making fun of you which they've wanted to do" but warns "if you continue to press me ... I'm gonna stop being nice." The texts' authenticity hasn't been confirmed, but West said Davidson did text him "bragging about being in bed with my wife." Meanwhile, Jeff Bezos' rocket company announced Monday it will send Davidson to space next week. Surely the timing is a complete coincidence.

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3. Dolly Parton humbly withdraws from Rock and Roll Hall of Fame consideration

Dolly Parton is begging of you: please don't put her in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The country music star was one of the nominees for induction this year, but is withdrawing from consideration — making the preposterous claim that she doesn't deserve the honor. "Even though I am extremely flattered and grateful ... I don't feel that I have earned that right," Parton wrote. "I really do not want votes to be split because of me, so I must respectfully bow out." She added she hopes she can still be considered in the future "if I'm ever worthy." Last year, Parton similarly asked Tennessee not to erect a planned statue of her, and she also turned down the Presidential Medal of Freedom not once, but twice. But perhaps the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame situation will be for the best, as Parton revealed it inspired her to "put out a hopefully great rock 'n' roll album at some point in the future, which I have always wanted to do!"

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4. Hailey Bieber was hospitalized with 'stroke like symptoms'

Hailey Bieber revealed in a harrowing Instagram post she was recently hospitalized in what she described as "one of the scariest moments I've ever been through." After TMZ reported the model was hospitalized with a "brain condition that doctors think may be COVID-related," she confirmed she was taken to the hospital on Thursday morning. She recalled that while having breakfast with her husband, Justin Bieber, she "started having stroke like symptoms." At the hospital, doctors found she "suffered a very small blood clot to my brain, which caused a small lack of oxygen," but she says she recovered within a few hours. "I'm home now and doing well, and I'm so grateful and thankful to all the amazing doctors and nurses who took care of me," she wrote. On Monday, People cited a source who said Justin is "still very worried" about her. "He can barely sleep," the source said. "He stays up watching her while she rests."

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5. Taraji P. Henson wants Jussie Smollett released from jail

Taraji P. Henson wants to make #FreeJussie a thing. On Instagram, Henson called for her Empire co-star Jussie Smollett to be released from jail after he was sentenced to 150 days for staging a fake hate crime against himself. "I am not here to debate you on his innocence but we can agree that the punishment does not fit the crime," Henson wrote. She argued Smollett should have been placed under house arrest, insisting the fact that "no one in Hollywood will hire" him anymore is punishment enough. "As an artist who loves to create, that is prison," she wrote. Henson also appeared to compare Smollett to Emmett Till, who was "brutally beat and ultimately murdered because of a lie and none of the people involved with his demise spent one day in jail," adding, "No one was hurt or killed during Jussie's ordeal." Jurnee Smollett, Jussie's sister and star of HBO's Lovecraft Country, also shared the #FreeJussie hashtag along with #StopLockingUpOurPeople, claiming, "You don't have to believe in his innocence to believe he should be free."

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