The daily gossip: Sean Penn gave Zelensky his Oscar, Jennifer Aniston reveals 'challenging road' trying to get pregnant, and more

1. Sean Penn gave Zelensky his Oscar

Gee, this should help! Sean Penn has brought Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky something that will finally spell an end to the country's war with Russia: An Academy Award. The actor visited Ukraine and presented the president with one of his two Oscar statues (after failing to smelt them both, as promised). "This is for you," Penn said as he pulled the award out of a bag. He described this as a "symbolic, silly thing," explaining, "If I know this is here with you, then I'll feel better and strong enough for the fight." Zelensky seemed reluctant to accept, but to be clear, this wasn't a gift; he's just loaning it out. "When you win," Penn said, "bring it back to Malibu." Yeah, he'll get right on that. Zelensky called this a "symbol of faith," adding the Oscar will "be in Ukraine until the end of the war." Vladimir Putin is shaking and trying desperately to acquire a Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award as we speak.

Vanity Fair

2. Jennifer Aniston reveals 'challenging road' trying to get pregnant

Jennifer Aniston described pregnancy rumors as "hurtful" last year — and now, it's even clearer why. In a new Allure interview, the Friends star revealed she "was trying to get pregnant" in her late 30s and early 40s. "It was a challenging road for me, the baby-making road," she said. Aniston described how she was "going through IVF, drinking Chinese teas, you name it," and just "throwing everything at it." During this time, she added, "I would've given anything if someone had said to me, 'Freeze your eggs. Do yourself a favor.'" But now, the actress says "the ship has sailed," which is actually kind of a "relief." But you can understand why pregnancy speculation "was really hard" on her, and she slammed claims that ex-husband Brad Pitt left her because she wouldn't give him kids and that she "just cared about my career," saying, "God forbid a woman is successful and doesn't have a child."

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Allure

3. 'Black Panther' star Letitia Wright's publicist shuts down vaccine question

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is set to provide a shot in the arm for the box office this weekend, but did the film's star get a shot in her arm? A new Variety story about the Marvel sequel brings up the fact that Letitia Wright, who plays Shuri, came under fire for sharing an anti-vaccine video in 2020 and was reported to have espoused anti-vaccine views on the set. So Variety asked "about the reports surrounding her vaccination status," at which point Wright's publicist immediately "interrupted the call to insist the interview move on to the next question," the report says. Apparently, Wright's representative told the reporter the next day the actress would answer emailed questions about her vaccination status … only for the rep to claim "schedule changes" conveniently prevented her from responding. For what it's worth, though, producer Nate Moore told Variety that during the production, "She never talked about her views either way."

Variety

4. Warren Beatty accused of coercing sex from a minor in 1973

Warren, what did you do? Warren Beatty is being sued for allegedly coercing sex from a minor in 1973, according to The Guardian. The woman, Kristina Hirsch, alleges the actor "used his position and status as an adult and a Hollywood movie star to coerce sexual contact" with her on "multiple occasions, including oral sex, simulated sex and finally coerced sexual intercourse with the minor child," when he was 35 and she was 14 and 15. They met on set in 1973 and he gave her "undue attention," the lawsuit says, and though she was "initially thrilled," she now suffers from "substantial emotional distress, guilt, anxiety, nervousness and fear" due to the "molestation." The lawsuit doesn't mention Beatty's name, though it's not exactly a mystery who the defendant is, considering it refers to a "renowned and well-known actor and producer" … who played Clyde in Bonnie and Clyde.

The Guardian Variety

5. Britney Spears doesn't want a biopic made about her: 'Dude I'm not dead !!!'

Hollywood will make a Britney Spears biopic over her dead body. The "Toxic" singer took to Instagram to slam "people wanting to do movies about my life," telling these unnamed people, "Dude I'm not dead !!! Although it's pretty f--king clear they preferred me dead." While Spears didn't mention her, it's possible this was a response to Stranger Things star Millie Bobby Brown saying earlier this week she'd like to play Spears in a biopic. "I want to play a real person and I think for me, Britney," Brown told Drew Barrymore, explaining that Spears' story resonates with her as someone who also grew up in the public eye. "I see the scramble for words and I don't know her, but when I look at pictures of her, I feel like I could tell her story in the right way and hers only," Brown said. But if such a project happens, Spears has a message for Hollywood: You better not work on it, b---h.

Entertainment Weekly