The daily gossip: Harry and Meghan say they were in a 'near catastrophic car chase,' Billie Eilish and Jesse Rutherford break up, and more

1. Harry and Meghan were in a 'near catastrophic car chase,' spokesperson says

History came close to tragically repeating itself last night, at least according to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's spokesperson. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, as well as Meghan's mother, ​​Doria Ragland, "were involved in a near catastrophic car chase at the hands of a ring of highly aggressive paparazzi," the spokesperson claimed. The incident occurred on Tuesday night in New York City, where they were attending the Women of Vision Awards. "This relentless pursuit, lasting over two hours, resulted in multiple near collisions involving other drivers on the road, pedestrians and two NYPD officers," the spokesperson added. Harry's mother, Princess Diana, died in a car crash while being chased by paparazzi in 1997, and he has often said he fears something similar happening to his wife. The NYPD confirmed "there were numerous photographers that made their transport challenging" but stressed that Harry and Meghan "arrived at their destination and there were no reported collisions, summonses, injuries, or arrests."

The New York Times Deadline

2. Billie Eilish and Jesse Rutherford break up

The party's over. Billie Eilish and Jesse Rutherford have broken up after less than a year of dating, her rep told Page Six. "We can confirm Billie and Jesse did split amicably and remain good friends," the rep said. They were most recently spotted together at Coachella last month. Eilish first sparked rumors that she was dating Rutherford, the lead singer of the rock band the Neighbourhood, last October. But the relationship was immediately controversial among the "Bad Guy" singer's fans considering their age gap. She's now 21, while he's 31. They leaned into the controversy by dressing as a baby and an old man for Halloween, and by November, Eilish confirmed they were together during her yearly "Vanity Fair" interview. "I'm really happy about it," she said, calling Rutherford the "hottest f--king f--ker alive." In that case, perhaps she got overheated.

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3. Taylor Lautner 'praying for John' ahead of Taylor Swift's 'Speak Now' re-recording

John Mayer may be in for a cruel summer, but Taylor Lautner is sleeping well. The "Twilight" star has shared his thoughts with "Today" about his ex-girlfriend Taylor Swift's upcoming re-recording of her album "Speak Now," which features a song believed to be about him. "I think it's a great album," Lautner said. "Yeah, I feel safe." But that's easy for him to say considering he comes across well in the song he apparently inspired, "Back to December," in which Swift seems to blame herself for their split. Lautner, though, added he's "praying for John," apparently referring to John Mayer, who seemingly inspired the more brutal "Speak Now" track "Dear John." Later, Lautner made this literal by dropping to his knees and praying in a TikTok set to "Dear John." He laughs now, but just wait until Swift drops a song about how weird it is for a person's spouse to share their exact first and last name.

Today

4. Johnny Depp arrives 40 minutes late to Cannes press conference

Where's Johnny? Johnny Depp was quite late to the press conference at the Cannes Film Festival for his comeback movie, "Jeanne du Barry." The actor arrived about 40 minutes late, joining the presser while it was already in progress. A source close to his team told Variety he was stuck in traffic, which is also supposedly why he missed a photo call with the director and cast. After he finally showed up, Depp told reporters he doesn't "think about Hollywood" or have "much further need for Hollywood," and he claimed he was asked to leave the "Fantastic Beasts" franchise because of "merely a bunch of vowels and consonants floating in the air," e.g. Amber Heard's domestic abuse allegations against him and his libel loss in the U.K. "Jeanne du Barry" received a seven-minute standing ovation at its Cannes premiere. But critics don't sound too impressed, with The Hollywood Reporter describing the movie as "flat and shallow."

Variety

5. Jane Fonda reveals director claimed he had 'to go to bed with me' for a movie

Pardon your French? On "Watch What Happens Live," Jane Fonda shared a shocking anecdote about the late French director René Clément after she was asked to reveal a man in Hollywood who tried to pick her up. Clément directed her in the 1964 movie "Joy House," and Fonda alleged he "wanted to go to bed with me because he said that the character had to have an orgasm in the movie, and he needed to see what my orgasms were like." Needless to say, Fonda shot him down. "He said it in French, and I pretended I didn't understand," she recalled. While she was spilling tea, Fonda also casually shared that she once "saw Michael Jackson naked" after he suggested they go skinny-dipping, "I think because he knew that he was gonna die young and that I would talk about him being naked." Mission accomplished!

Watch What Happens Live