The daily gossip: Jamie Lee Curtis assumed Ana de Armas was 'unsophisticated,' Funny Girl insider spills tea on Feldstein-Michele drama, and more

1. Jamie Lee Curtis admits she assumed Ana de Armas was 'unsophisticated' when they met

File this one under "things celebrities should not just openly admit on the record." In a new Elle profile of Ana de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis tells the outlet she assumed the Cuban-born actress was "unsophisticated" when they met on the film Knives Out. "I assumed — and I say this with real embarrassment — because she had come from Cuba, that she had just arrived," Curtis said. "I made an assumption that she was an inexperienced, unsophisticated young woman." Knives Out was filmed in fall 2018, meaning by that point, de Armas had already appeared in movies like Blade Runner 2049 and Knock Knock, not to mention the fact that she knew Curtis' godson, Jake Gyllenhaal. Despite this, Curtis recalled wanting to help de Armas land a role in West Side Story and asking her questions like, "Oh, what are your dreams?" We'll go ahead and add this into the unforced celebrity error hall of fame, right alongside Liam Neeson's unprompted racist murder fantasy story.

Elle

2. 'Funny Girl' insider spills tea on Lea Michele-Beanie Feldstein drama

Is there anyone who wouldn't prefer watching a dramatization of Funny Girl's behind-the-scenes chaos to Funny Girl itself at this point? After it was announced that Beanie Feldstein would shockingly exit the Broadway show months early and be replaced by Lea Michele, The Daily Beast spoke with an anonymous "senior show source" about what happened. The source said "everything went downhill very quickly" after Gawker reported on Michele's casting late last month, after which tensions became so high, producers weren't permitted to directly speak to Feldstein anymore. Feldstein reportedly felt she was not supported and took issue with social media posts from her understudy — who seemed to be getting better reviews than her — and ultimately, she decided to end her contract early. The anonymous source brutally suggested the drama could have been avoided had Feldstein simply been fired within weeks of the terrible opening night reviews, regretting the fact that "we didn't take swift enough action to remove her."

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The Daily Beast

3. Martin Lawrence refuses to let The Slap kill 'Bad Boys 4'

Bad Boys, Bad Boys, whatcha gonna do? Whatcha gonna do when your star publicly assaults a guy? Martin Lawrence is assuring everyone that a fourth Bad Boys film is still happening, despite his co-star Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars. Another Bad Boys movie was reported to be in development in early 2020 after the third one, Bad Boys For Life, was a surprisingly huge hit, grossing over $400 million. But there was some speculation Sony might get cold feet after the Oscars slap, which sparked massive backlash against the actor. In an interview with Ebony, though, Lawrence dismissed the idea that the film could be caught up in the Slap fallout. "We got one more at least," he said. That being said, Smith is still banned from attending the Academy Awards for a decade, so he'll just have to enjoy Bad Boys 4's inevitable Best Picture win from home.

Variety Ebony

4. Daniel Kaluuya isn't returning for 'Black Panther 2'

Will Daniel Kaluuya reprise his Black Panther role in the upcoming sequel? Nope! The actor has confirmed he isn't returning for this year's Black Panther: Wakanda Forever despite playing a fairly important character in the first film. The news was first reported by Rotten Tomatoes editor Jacqueline Coley, who said Kaluuya told her he's not in the sequel due to scheduling conflicts with Jordan Peele's Nope. In the first Black Panther, Kaluuya played W'Kabi, a close friend of Chadwick Boseman's T'Challa and Border Tribe head of security. For Nope, though, he's got a leading role alongside Keke Palmer working again with Get Out director Jordan Peele, who has called Kaluuya "my De Niro." It's understandable why he may have prioritized the latter, then. But as everyone tries to figure out who will replace Chadwick Boseman as Black Panther, we can officially take one name off the board.

Variety

5. Wendy Williams says 'there was nothing I liked' about the last episode of her show

Wendy Williams' review of the series finale of The Wendy Williams Show is in: it stinks! Williams chatted with The New York Post about the last episode of her long-running talk show, which aired last month — but which she did not actually appear on. Guest host Sherri Shepherd filled in, as Williams had stepped back due to health issues, but the show's eponymous host didn't so much as make one last appearance. When asked by the New York Post why not, she said producers didn't ask her to. "There was nothing I liked about [the final episode of] Wendy Williams Show," she said, adding, "I sat in my apartment and I watched it. And [I was] like, 'Eek!'" Williams' future plans include starting a podcast and opening a restaurant. "If I don't do anything else, including podcast, I would love to fall in love," she said. "I want to f--k. Excuse me, I'm gorgeous. Can I f--k?"

New York Post