The daily gossip: Sydney Sweeney responds to 'absurd' political controversy over mom's birthday, Amber Heard's sister blasts VMAs after 'disgusting' Johnny Depp appearance, and more

1. Sydney Sweeney responds to 'absurd' political controversy over mom's birthday party

Sydney Sweeney's publicists have definitely been happier. The Euphoria star faced backlash over the weekend after sharing photos from her mother's hoedown-themed 60th birthday party, in which someone can be seen wearing a Blue Lives Matter shirt. Other photos from the party showed guests wearing parody MAGA hats that say "Make Sixty Great Again." Fans were absolutely livid over the notion that maybe, she potentially has some possible Trump fans in her family, joking that they all must have been participants in the Jan. 6 riots. But it didn't take long for Sweeney to respond to the "wild" controversy on Twitter. "An innocent celebration for my moms milestone 60th birthday has turned into an absurd political statement, which was not the intention," she said. "Please stop making assumptions." Sorry, not good enough, Sydney … the Internet's gonna need you to disown any family member who has ever worn the color red, pronto.

People TMZ

2. Amber Heard's sister blasts MTV over 'desperate' Johnny Depp VMAs appearance

Johnny Depp's comeback at the VMAs was as bizarre as expected. As had been reported, Depp made an appearance at Sunday's MTV Video Music Awards, where his face was digitally inserted into the helmet of a Moon Man hanging from the ceiling. "You know what? I needed the work," Depp told the audience, showing up again later to declare he's "available for birthdays, bar mitzvahs, bat mitzvahs, weddings, wakes, any old thing you need." It was one of Depp's only public appearances since winning his defamation lawsuit against ex-wife Amber Heard, who accused him of domestic abuse — and Heard's sister wasn't happy. "@MTV you're disgusting and clearly desperate," Whitney Heard said on Instagram. "I really hope that none of the people that made this call have daughters." She also dubbed the ceremony the "DVMAS," with "DV" standing for domestic violence. Wait, you're telling us the network that spends most of the year airing 15 consecutive hours of Ridiculousness might have made a questionable decision?

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

Vanity Fair

3. Britney Spears says her family 'literally killed me' in shocking audio

Britney Spears isn't waiting for a tell-all Oprah interview to tell all. Spears has released a shocking, since-deleted audio recording discussing the abuses she allegedly endured during her 13-year conservatorship. Sounding near tears, she describes the "demoralizing" and scary experience of being placed under the conservatorship in 2008, saying "none of it made sense to me." She alleges her father declared at the time, "I'm Britney Spears, and I'm calling the shots." After discussing that she was allegedly working seven days a week, she says her family "literally killed me" and "threw me away," slamming her sister and mother for not doing "anything" to help. "How did they get away with it, and what the f--k did I do to deserve that?" Spears asks. She also reveals she has turned down "lots and lots of money" for tell-all interviews, including one with Oprah Winfrey. "I don't want any of it," she says. "For me, it's beyond a sit-down, proper interview."

Variety

4. Taylor Swift announces her 1st new album since 2020

'Tis the damn season … spooky season, that is. Taylor Swift dropped a bombshell at the end of her MTV Video Music Awards acceptance speech on Sunday night: "My brand new album comes out Oct. 21." At midnight, she unveiled the details: It's called Midnights, and it's the "stories of 13 sleepless nights scattered throughout my life," a "collection of music written in the middle of the night." This will be her first album of all new material since Evermore in December 2020, and it was a big surprise for Swifties, who have been busy speculating which old album she might re-record next. The announcement was accompanied by an image of Swift hunched over in a hotel room, so in terms of tone, we're not exactly expecting this to be Lover 2. The album drops Oct. 21, less than two weeks before Halloween. Ready for "Monster Mash (Taylor's Version)"?

The Week

5. Michelle Yeoh's Oscar chances are looking good

In every universe, Michelle Yeoh is coming for that Oscar. The actress' Oscar campaign for Everything Everywhere All at Once received a boost in momentum on Monday, as the Toronto International Film Festival announced she'll receive the inaugural TIFF Share Her Journey Groundbreaker Award. As Entertainment Weekly notes, some actors who have received a TIFF Tribute honor in recent years include Joaquin Phoenix, Jessica Chastain, and Anthony Hopkins — all of whom went on to win an Oscar. "Michelle Yeoh is the definition of groundbreaking," TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey said. Yeoh is seen as one of the main Best Actress frontrunners this year, which, believe it or not, would be her first time even being nominated. Some other possible contenders include Margot Robbie for Babylon, Olivia Colman for Empire of Light, and Ana de Armas for Blonde. But does the Everything Everywhere star have what it takes to defeat them all? Hell yeoh.

Entertainment Weekly