The daily gossip: Jonathan Majors accused of pattern of abuse in new report, Olivia Rodrigo drops brutal new song 'Vampire,' and more

Today's top entertainment and celebrity news

Jonathan Majors
(Image credit: Lia Toby / Getty Images)

1. Jonathan Majors accused of pattern of abuse in new report

Embattled actor Jonathan Majors has a pattern of "physical, mental, and emotional abuse" going back almost a decade, according to a bombshell new report from Rolling Stone. The damning article was based on conversations with more than 40 people during a three-month investigation, and it alleged the "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" star abused two romantic partners. Majors allegedly strangled a woman he was dating, and another woman reportedly told friends their relationship was "emotional torture." Rolling Stone's sources described the actor as "unpredictable" and "sometimes violent," and he has reportedly made people uncomfortable on set with intimidating behavior. Majors is currently fighting criminal charges after being accused of domestic violence, and his lawyer denied all of these new claims. His attorneys also provided Rolling Stone with six character witness statements — but the outlet said three of these women "say they never gave Majors' team permission to release such statements," while another said the statement credited to her was "not truthful."

Rolling Stone

2. Who is Olivia Rodrigo's brutal new song "Vampire" about?

Olivia Rodrigo's first new music since 2021 definitely doesn't suck. Rodrigo has dropped a brutal new breakup song, "Vampire," in which she sings about a "bloodsucker" and "fame f--ker" who was "bleeding me dry like a goddamn vampire." "Every girl I ever talked to told me you were bad, bad news / You called them crazy / God, I hate the way I called them crazy too," she sings. "... Went for me and not her / Cause girls your age know better." She also sings that she "should have known it was strange you only come out at night," and "you sunk your teeth into me." Fans speculated she could be singing about Zack Bia, whom she dated last year and is seven years older than her, or possibly Adam Faze. But an insider told People that Faze isn't the song's subject. Should we at least consider the possibility that the lyrics aren't metaphorical, and she simply had a brief relationship with Count Dracula?

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

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

Olivia Rodrigo

3. Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie return Tom Cruise's movie ticket favor

Tom Cruise's latest mission is to individually convince every living person on Earth to buy movie tickets, and he got started with Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie. Earlier this week, Cruise shared photos of himself holding up tickets at a movie theater in front of the posters for "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny," "Oppenheimer," and "Barbie," celebrating that "this summer is full of amazing movies to see in theaters." So just two days later, "Barbie" director Greta Gerwig and star Margot Robbie have responded on their movie's Twitter account, sharing similar photos of themselves holding up movie tickets in front of the posters for "Indiana Jones," "Oppenheimer," and Cruise's own "Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One." "Mission: Accepted!" declared the tweet. It was a fun bit of solidarity amid a brutal summer at the box office, and all that's left now is for "Oppenheimer" director Christopher Nolan to do the same — ideally, while cosplaying as Ryan Gosling's Ken.

Twitter

4. John Mulaney recalls harsh celebrity rejections on 'Saturday Night Live'

John Mulaney can handle rejection just as well as he can handle spicy wings. On "Hot Ones," the comedian was asked to talk about the worst reactions that celebrities have had to sketches he pitched on "Saturday Night Live," without naming names — though he decided to name names anyway. Mulaney first recalled walking Josh Brolin through a sketch he was writing, only for the actor to matter-of-factly tell him, "Well, this isn't funny." But Mulaney noted he "wouldn't even call" this the "worst" reaction, as he actually appreciated it. "I found it very refreshing," he said, describing it as a "gentlemanly exchange of ideas" that led him to drop the sketch. He also recalled Mick Jagger shooting down the joke, "I'm Mick Jagger, so mothers, lock up your daughters, or should I say, daughters, lock up your mothers." According to Mulaney, Jagger reacted by saying, "No, I don't like that." The stars … they complain that "SNL" isn't funny anymore just like us!

Hot Ones

5. Oscar-winning actor Alan Arkin dies at 89

Alan Arkin, the beloved actor who won an Oscar for playing the grandfather in "Little Miss Sunshine," has died. He was 89. Arkin's sons Adam, Matthew and Anthony confirmed the death in a joint statement to People. "Our father was a uniquely talented force of nature, both as an artist and a man," they said. "A loving husband, father, grand and great grandfather, he was adored and will be deeply missed." Arkin's extensive list of film credits goes back to the 1950s, and he also earned Oscar nominations for "The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming," "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter," and "Argo," as well as a Tony win for "Enter Laughing" and six Emmy nominations. Jason Alexander remembered him on Twitter as a "wonderful, original voice for comedy," as well as "a kind and generous soul." In Arkin's honor, head into the weekend proclaiming, "Argo f--k yourself."

The Week

Continue reading for free

We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.

Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.

Brendan Morrow

Brendan is a staff writer at The Week. A graduate of Hofstra University with a degree in journalism, he also writes about horror films for Bloody Disgusting and has previously contributed to The Cheat Sheet, Heavy, WhatCulture, and more. He lives in New York City surrounded by Star Wars posters.