The daily gossip: Al Roker will 'drop' any 'young punks' who call him old, Naomi Osaka pledges to celebrate herself, and more

Today's top entertainment and celebrity news

Naomi Osaka.
(Image credit: KENA BETANCUR/Afp/AFP via Getty Images)

1. Naomi Osaka says she never feels good enough and wants to celebrate herself more

Tennis star Naomi Osaka has been reflecting. In a social media post Sunday, she revealed despite her obvious successes, she thinks she is "never good enough." Osaka wrote that rather than being humble, she is self-deprecating. But she's switching things up, and encouraging others to do the same. "I'm gonna try to celebrate myself and my accomplishments more, I think we all should," she wrote. "I know I give my heart to everything I can and if that's not good enough for some then my apologies but I can't burden myself with those expectations anymore." Osaka kicked off her new mindset by sharing videos of "some tennis memories over the past year that mean a lot to me." You heard her, go celebrate yourself!

2. Al Roker will 'drop' any 'young punks' who say he's too old for hurricanes

Al Roker is ready to "go after" anyone questioning whether he's too old to stand in the middle of a life-threatening hurricane. As Hurricane Ida slammed Louisiana, the weatherman reported live from New Orleans, and clips spread on Twitter of Roker getting completely drenched. Some wondered whether the 67-year-old truly needed to be out there in the middle of the storm, with Mia Farrow writing, "We get it. Go inside." Roker, though, later came on the air to absolutely blast those suggesting he's perhaps getting too old for this. "Well, hey, guess what?" Roker said. "Screw you! Okay? Try to keep up. … These young punks, I will go after them! I will drop them like a bag of dirt!"

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3. Kanye West claims he didn't approve Donda's release

Kanye West's new album is finally out — much, apparently, to the chagrin of Kanye West. The rapper's tenth studio album, Donda, was finally released Sunday following multiple delays and three listening parties. But hours after it dropped, West took to Instagram to claim he didn't give approval for it to be released. "UNIVERSAL PUT MY ALBUM OUT WITHOUT MY APPROVAL," West wrote, also claiming "THEY BLOCKED" one of the songs "FROM BEING ON THE ALBUM." That song, "Jail pt 2," wasn't initially available when Donda dropped, but it has since been added. West didn't provide any proof to back up his claim that the album debuted without his permission, and Variety cited Universal sources as calling this idea "​​preposterous."

Variety The Week

4. Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson are reuniting

Their Marvel characters may have retired and been killed off, but Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson are back together again. The Avengers alums are both set to star in a new Apple film called Ghosted, which The Hollywood Reporter describes as a "high-concept romantic action adventure in the vein of Romancing the Stone." This will be their first film together since their Marvel send-offs in Avengers: Endgame, though they've already worked together outside of the MCU in 2004's The Perfect Score and 2007's The Nanny Diaries. Johansson opened up earlier this year about growing "very close" with Evans, describing their friendship as not unlike that of Captain America and Black Widow. "We sort of have that same dynamic," she said.

The Hollywood Reporter People

5. How a pizza almost came in the way of Queen and David Bowie's 'Under Pressure'

You've no doubt had the riff from "Under Pressure" stuck in your head at some point. But in 1981, bassist John Deacon, who wrote the notes, had the opposite problem. David Bowie and Queen were drunk during a spontaneous studio session when Deacon played it for the first time. They left to buy pizza, and by the time they returned, Deacon had forgotten the tune. Luckily, drummer Roger Taylor remembered it. It was Bowie's idea to add the snaps, and soon the song came together. "Under Pressure" spent 16 weeks on the top charts, and countless days in your head, thanks to Deacon's talent and Taylor's memory.

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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.