The daily gossip: Taylor Swift leads MTV Video Music Awards nominations, Wayne Brady comes out as pansexual, and more

1. Taylor Swift leads MTV Video Music Awards nominations

It must be exhausting rooting for anyone not named Taylor Swift at the 2023 VMAs. MTV has unveiled the nominees for this year's Video Music Awards, and Swift picked up eight nods, the most of any artist this year. She was nominated for artist of the year, and "Anti-Hero" picked up seven nominations for video of the year, song of the year, best pop, best visual effects, best direction, best editing, and best cinematography. SZA earned six nominations, and other nominees included Miley Cyrus, Olivia Rodrigo, Nicki Minaj, Doja Cat, Sam Smith and Kim Petras. Beyoncé, meanwhile, was nominated for artist of the year alongside Swift. Swift won Video of the Year in 2022 for "All Too Well" and announced a new album in her acceptance speech. So might she make a similar announcement if she has another big night in September? Just don't let it be another "Lavender Haze" remix.

MTV

2. Wayne Brady comes out as pansexual

"I love all people equally," Wayne Brady says, "and now that includes myself." The 51-year-old "Let's Make a Deal" host revealed in an interview with People that he is pansexual — or, as he put it, "bisexual — with an open mind!" This means Brady is attracted to people regardless of their sex or gender. In the interview, he opened up about the fact that although he has been attracted to men at times, he has never dated one and "always pushed that aside because of how I was raised, and because I live in today's world, and it's scary as s--t." But he realized that by telling himself nobody needs to know his personal business, he was simply giving himself "license to still live in the shadows and to be secretive." The "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" star, who was previously married, added that he's currently single, "but it's not about being with someone right now. I've got some work to do still."

Subscribe to The Week

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

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

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

People

3. Sandra Bullock's partner Bryan Randall dies at 57

Bryan Randall, a photographer and the longtime partner of Sandra Bullock, has died at 57 after a three-year battle with ALS, his family confirmed to TMZ. They said it was his wish to keep his health battle private, and "those of us who cared for him did our best to honor his request." Bullock began dating Randall in 2015 after he photographed her son's birthday party. In 2021, she said she didn't want to get married again but called Randall the "love of my life," adding that "we share two beautiful children," and "it's the best thing ever." Bullock's sister, Gesine Bullock-Prado, shared on Instagram that after Randall was diagnosed with ALS, he "had the best of caretakers in my amazing sister and the band of nurses she assembled who helped her look after him in their home." In lieu of flowers, she asked that donations be made to ALS Association and Massachusetts General Hospital.

TMZ

4. Bill Maher complains "Barbie" is "preachy" and "man-hating"

You didn't think his show being off the air would keep Bill Maher from dropping a "Barbie" hot take, did you? The "Real Time" host has fired off a lengthy tweet complaining that Greta Gerwig's "Barbie" was "preachy" and "man-hating." Maher argued the film perpetuates something he described as a "zombie lie," something that "USED to be true but no longer is, but certain people pretend it's still true." This, he said, is the case with the movie's depiction of the patriarchy. "This movie is so 2000-LATE," Maher wrote, adding that the "woman in her 30s" who he saw it with agreed she doesn't "know a single woman of any age who would act like" the Barbies do to distract the Kens. "Barbie is fun, I enjoyed it — but it IS a #ZombieLie," he concluded. This comes after Marc Maron declared those who think the film hates men are "insecure babies," which hopefully isn't giving anyone any ideas for a "Siskel & Ebert" reboot.

Twitter

5. Jessica Chastain threw up in her mouth before kissing her co-star

Jessica Chastain will never think about the phrase "I just threw up in my mouth a little bit" the same way again after an incident on stage. On the "SmartLess" podcast, the actress told a "really gross" story about having to kiss a co-star after throwing up in her mouth while performing in "A Doll's House." "I threw up and I swallowed it," she revealed. "And no one knew! I was kinda, like, sobbing and I leaned over and it happened." Afterward, she "had to kiss someone," and it "was a nightmare and I couldn't explain," she added. "That night it was definitely a closed mouth kiss." Although no one knew this happened in the moment, Chastain recalled copping to it just after the curtain came down, telling everyone, "You guys, I'm so sorry, I vomited." Other than that, Ms. Chastain, how was the play?

Entertainment Weekly