The daily gossip: Hugh Jackman and wife Deborra-Lee Furness are separating, Hasan Minhaj admits to fabricating harrowing stand-up stories, and more

1. Hugh Jackman and wife Deborra-Lee Furness are separating after 27 years

Is anyone in Hollywood not getting divorced this year? Hugh Jackman is the latest star whose marriage is coming to an end, as People reports he and his wife, Deborra-Lee Furness, are "amicably" separating after 27 years. "We have been blessed to share almost three decades together as husband and wife in a wonderful, loving marriage," they said in a joint statement. "Our journey now is shifting and we have decided to separate to pursue our individual growth." Jackman married Furness, an actress and producer, in 1996 after they met on the show "Correlli." They share two children: 23-year-old Oscar and 18-year-old Ava. Jackman celebrated their 27th wedding anniversary in April, saying her "laughter, [her] spirit, generosity, humor, cheekiness, courage and loyalty is an incredible gift to me." Their statement said their "family has been and always will be our highest priority," and they "undertake this next chapter with gratitude, love, and kindness." People

2. Hasan Minhaj admits to fabricating harrowing stand-up stories

It's funny because it's not true. Comedian Hasan Minhaj admitted to The New Yorker that many of the stories he has told in his Netflix stand-up specials were fabricated. In "The King's Jester," he describes a white FBI informant infiltrating his family's mosque and claims police arrived and slammed him against a car when he said he wanted to get his pilot's license. He also claims his daughter was hospitalized after he opened a letter and white powder spilled on her. These disturbing stories never happened, but were based on "emotional truth," Minhaj acknowledged. The comedian has "elided or concocted other details" in his stories, the report said, such as by claiming he had a meeting at a Saudi Embassy right before Jamal Khashoggi’'s murder when it was really a month earlier. Minhaj also admitted threatening tweets he displayed on screen in "The King's Jester" weren’t authentic. But he denied "manipulating" viewers, arguing his fans are "coming for the emotional roller-coaster ride." The New Yorker

3. Drew Barrymore responds to strike backlash: 'I deeply apologize to writers'

Drew Barrymore is sorry. The actress has posted a four-minute apology video on Instagram after days of backlash over her decision to bring back her talk show amid the writers strike. "I deeply apologize to writers," she said, growing emotional. "I deeply apologize to unions." She continued by saying she accepts "responsibility" for her actions, which have drawn accusations of scabbing. Barrymore said she didn’t intend to "upset or hurt anyone" and didn’t anticipate "this kind of attention," but she defended the choice by saying there are "other people's jobs on the line." She also questioned why the strikes would "sideline" the show when it was able to go on during the pandemic. But Barrymore said multiple times she feels there's "nothing I can do or say in this moment to make it okay" — other than, perhaps, reversing her decision to air the show, which she notably did not do. Instagram

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

4. Ashton Kutcher resigns as board chair of anti-child-sex-abuse group

Ashton Kutcher has been doing some "personal reflection." The actor and his wife, Mila Kunis, recently faced backlash for writing letters in support of Danny Masterson, their "That '70s Show" co-star who was convicted of raping two women. As the fallout to their letters continues, Kutcher has resigned as chairman of the board of the anti-child-sex-abuse organization Thorn, which he co-founded with Demi Moore, Time reports. In a letter to the board obtained by the outlet, the actor admitted his letter was "yet another painful instance of questioning victims who are brave enough to share their experiences," and he "cannot allow my error in judgment to distract from our efforts and the children we serve." So Kutcher announced his resignation, effective immediately, offering his "heartfelt apology to all victims of sexual violence and everyone at Thorn who I hurt by what I did." Kunis also stepped down. Kutcher and Kunis previously said their letters were only intended “for the judge to read.” Time

5. Amy Schumer again addresses backlash to Nicole Kidman joke

You come at the queen, you best not miss. Amy Schumer has posted another somewhat sarcastic apology after being accused of bullying Nicole Kidman. The comedian recently made fun of the way Kidman was sitting at the US Open, sharing a photo of her on Instagram and writing, "This how human sit." She jokingly apologized "to all the people I hurt" earlier this week, quipping that she "will be asking the cast of ‘That ‘70s Show’ to write letters advocating for my forgiveness." But Schumer posted an additional statement on Friday, clarifying the joke "was the way she was posed didn’t seem like how a human sits," but she "was not making fun of how she looks" because Kidman "is beautiful and one of the most incredible actors of all time." Schumer also urged everyone to take a "deep breath including all of the think pieces written on this." Next time, she may think twice before invoking the ire of the AMC A-List army. Instagram