The daily gossip: Letitia Wright unloads on 'disrespectful' and 'vile' article, Jada Pinkett Smith's ex August Alsina apparently comes out, and more

1. Letitia Wright unloads on 'disrespectful' article referencing vaccine controversy

Shuri is out for vengeance. Black Panther star Letitia Wright is firing back at The Hollywood Reporter over an article discussing how her "personal baggage" will impact the Oscar race. The artwork on the piece shows Wright, who controversially shared an anti-vaccine video in 2020, alongside Will Smith and Brad Pitt, and the article also discusses filmmakers who have been accused of sexual misconduct like Woody Allen and Roman Polanski. So on Instagram, Wright went off on the "disrespectful" and "vile" article mentioning her "alongside men who have been accused of abuse & sexual misconduct." She added that she apologized for the vaccine video "TWO years ago" and accused the writer of having a personal vendetta against her. "Did my performance rattle you that much?" she asked, telling the author to "get a life." For what it's worth, Wright is still declining to say whether she's vaccinated, telling The Guardian, after being directly asked, "I have apologized and I have moved on. Next question. Thanks."

Culture Crave

2. Did Jada Pinkett Smith's ex August Alsina just come out?

August Alsina may have found himself in a new entanglement. On the VH1 reality series The Surreal Life, the rapper appeared to possibly come out as LGBTQ+ more than two years after Jada Pinkett Smith infamously admitted to getting into an "entanglement" — a.k.a. a relationship — with him while married to Will Smith. "This experience has taught me love in so many different forms and facets," Alsina said. "And then, what do you know? Love showed up. But in a new way." He introduced viewers to the person "that I love and that loves me" before a man shows up and sits next to him and they hug. It wasn't totally clear if he really was coming out, and he didn't help clarify things by saying their love "defies all the constructs." But some weren't convinced the guy is actually his boyfriend, so we're still trying to untangle this one.

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3. Helen Mirren still loves Liam Neeson, but 'we were not meant to be together'

As a lover, Liam Neeson has a very particular set of skills. Speaking with AARP: The Magazine, Helen Mirren opened up about her past relationship with the Taken actor, whom she dated in the 1980s. "We loved each other," she said, noting she has personally made a shirt for all of her boyfriends including Neeson. "We were not meant to be together in that way, but we loved each other very, very much." Neeson and Mirren met on the movie Excalibur, and when they reunited on the Graham Norton Show in 2018, she noted they "were a serious item" and lived together for four years. Neeson also recalled being immediately "smitten" the moment he saw her. Mirren later married Taylor Hackford in 1997, and they're still together. But she tells AARP, "I love [Neeson] deeply to this day. He's such an amazing guy." One might even say she's taken with him.

AARP

4. Ice Cube confirms he lost $9 million after refusing to get vaccinated

Will Cube's career be put on ice over his vaccine refusal? On the "Million Dollaz Worth of Game" podcast, Ice Cube confirmed reports he dropped out of a movie that would have paid him $9 million because he refused to get vaccinated against COVID-19. "I didn't want to get the motherf--ing jab," he said. "I turned down $9 million because I didn't want to get the jab. F--k that jab, and f--k ya'll for trying to make me get it." The movie was a comedy ironically called Oh Hell No, which required cast members to get vaccinated. "Those motherf--kers wouldn't give it to me because I wouldn't get the shot," Cube said, and given this, he isn't sure how "Hollywood feels about me right now." Oh Hell No reportedly was set to be filmed in Hawaii, so perhaps this is just a cover for the real reason he turned down the project: He was afraid he'd melt.

Variety

5. Simu Liu fires back at Tarantino for saying Marvel actors aren't movie stars

We regret to inform you another legendary director has been asked for his thoughts on the MCU. Quentin Tarantino has made headlines after arguing actors in the Marvel universe aren't movie stars. "Captain America is the star," he said on the 2 Bears, 1 Cave podcast. "Thor is the star. … It's these franchise characters that become a star." As the quote made the rounds, Shang-Chi star Simu Liu fired back — and dragged Martin Scorsese, who famously said Marvel movies aren't cinema, into the mix. "If the only gatekeepers to movie stardom came from Tarantino and Scorsese, I would never have had the opportunity to lead a $400 million plus movie," he tweeted, declaring these filmmakers "don't get to point their nose at me or anyone." He added, "I loved the 'Golden Age' too .. but it was white as hell." As we speak, the entertainment journalists of America are conducting a séance with Alfred Hitchcock to solicit his Thor: Love and Thunder takes.

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