The daily gossip: Simu Liu addresses awkward red carpet moment with Ryan Gosling, Ariana Grande slammed by new boyfriend's estranged wife, and more

Today's top entertainment and celebrity news

Ryan Gosling and Simu Liu
That viral clip wasn't what it looked like, according to the "Barbie" star.
(Image credit: Mathew Tsang / Getty Images)

1. Simu Liu addresses awkward red carpet moment with Ryan Gosling

Simu Liu would like to clarify that Ryan Gosling is not his Kenemy. The actor has addressed a viral clip of what looked like an awkward exchange between himself and Gosling on the red carpet of a "Barbie" event. The video showed Liu putting his arm around Gosling while they're taking a photo together, only for Gosling to seem to look down disapprovingly. "That's too tender, you think? Fair enough," Liu says in the video before putting his hand in his pocket instead. As the clip went viral and fans everywhere cringed at the apparent rejection, Liu addressed the video on Instagram, suggesting Gosling was just kidding around. "I'd beach off with this Kenadian again in a heartbeat," he wrote, referencing a joke in the film. "He is the best human in every way, especially when he jokes around with us on the carpet and on set, infecting all of us with his kenergy." Allow this to put the drama to a Kend.

2. Ariana Grande is "not a girl's girl," Ethan Slater's estranged wife says

Ariana Grande is even more of a dangerous woman than she let on, according to her new boyfriend's soon-to-be-ex-wife. Lilly Jay, the estranged wife of actor Ethan Slater, has broken her silence on the news that he is now dating Grande. "[Ariana's] the story really," Jay told Page Six. "Not a girl's girl. My family is just collateral damage." The outlet previously reported that Jay, who welcomed a child with Slater last year, was "completely blindsided" by his relationship with his co-star in the "Wicked" movie. "She's a wreck," a source said. Slater has now officially filed for divorce from Jay, TMZ reported on Wednesday, adding that she "feels he abandoned his brand-new family." An insider insisted to Page Six, though, that Jay is "rightfully upset because her marriage fell apart, but Ariana and Ethan didn't do anything wrong," as they reportedly didn't start dating until Slater and Jay were separated for two months.

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3. Are Selena Gomez and Francia Raisa friends again?

A lot of hatchets are being buried in Selena Gomez's orbit lately. After the singer sought to end speculation of a feud with Hailey Bieber earlier this year, she posted a birthday message to her possibly estranged friend Francia Raisa. "Happiest of birthdays to this special human being," Gomez wrote alongside photos of the two together. "No matter where life takes us, I love you." Raisa donated a kidney to Gomez in 2017, but it seems they may have since had a falling out. Last year, Raisa called out Gomez for saying Taylor Swift is her "only friend in the industry," seemingly snubbing the actress. Raisa also dodged questions from TMZ about the status of their friendship in May. Raisa, though, liked Gomez's birthday post and refollowed her on Instagram, so at last, we can all finally get some sleep.

Instagram

4. Zachary Levi reacts to "Shazam!" sequel getting "insanely unkind" reviews

Is this DC star Zachary Levi's exit interview? On "The FilmUp Podcast," Levi addressed his potential future in the DC universe and looked back on the reception to "Shazam! Fury of the Gods," which bombed at the box office in March. "I don't know what the future holds for it all because, unfortunately, the second movie was not as well received," he acknowledged. "The audience score is still quite good, but the critics score was very oddly and perplexingly low, and people were insanely unkind." The sequel received a 49% score on Rotten Tomatoes, a big drop from 90% for the original. Levi was confused by this, insisting the sequel is a "good darn movie." But he blamed the fact that the world "has shifted so much" since 2019, as "online hate" and "toxicity" has gotten worse since then. "I have no idea where we go from here," he added. With James Gunn set to reboot the franchise, our money is on "nowhere."

The FilmUp Podcast

5. Marvel's "Secret Invasion" finale widely panned by critics

Critics are making no secret of their hatred for Marvel's latest show. The finale of the studio's Disney+ series "Secret Invasion" is being widely panned, and it currently holds a horrible 11% score on Rotten Tomatoes, meaning of the nine reviews currently posted, only one is positive. This is the worst Rotten Tomatoes score Marvel Studios has ever received. The show's overall rating is currently 56%, making it the worst-reviewed Marvel Disney+ series. Fans seemed to generally agree with critics that the show didn't live up to its potential and was never as tense as you'd hope for a story about aliens infiltrating the Earth. It also sounds like viewership for the show wasn't particularly strong, which may be an issue considering the MCU's next film, "The Marvels," has been described as a sequel to "Secret Invasion." So in about three months, expect to see a major spike in Google searches for "what the heck happened in 'Secret Invasion?'"

Rotten Tomatoes

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Brendan Morrow

Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.