The daily gossip: Brad Pitt is suing Angelina Jolie, Kelly Clarkson files to change her name to Kelly Brianne, and more

1. Brad Pitt sues Angelina Jolie over sale of her interest in their winery

We have another Brangelina legal battle on our hands, which this time pertains to a winery and a ... Russian oligarch? Brad Pitt is suing his ex-wife, Angelina Jolie, for allegedly secretly selling her interest in a winery they owned together. Pitt and Jolie bought the Chateau Miraval winery in France in 2008, and Pitt reportedly says they had an understanding they wouldn't sell their interests in it without one another's consent. But he now alleges Jolie didn't get his approval before selling hers to Tenute del Mondo, a company controlled by Russian oligarch Yuri Shefler, and he's seeking for the deal to be undone. "She sold her interest with the knowledge and intention that Shefler and his affiliates would seek to control the business to which Pitt had devoted himself and to undermine Pitt's investment," the lawsuit said. This comes after years of the two battling in court for custody of their children — and a source close to Pitt claimed to TMZ, "Unfortunately, this is another example of the same person disregarding her legal and ethical obligations."

TMZ Rolling Stone

2. Kelly Clarkson files to change her name to Kelly Brianne

Kelly Clarkson is looking to change her name, and no, it's not to Kelly Skywalker. The singer and daytime talk show host has filed documents seeking to legally change her name from Kelly Clarkson to Kelly Brianne amid her divorce from Brandon Blackstock. Brianne is Clarkson's middle name, and she wrote in the court documents that "my new name more fully reflects who I am." The American Idol alum filed for divorce from Blackstock, with whom she shares two children, in 2020, and she was declared legally single last year. In 2021, she had her name legally changed back to Kelly Clarkson, dropping Blackstock, though she was still using Clarkson professionally before that. If her request is approved, it's unclear whether she'll still professionally go by Kelly Clarkson. If not, presumably her eponymous talk show would need an update, too — unless the plan is for The Kelly Clarkson Show to be permanently hosted by someone not named Kelly Clarkson. Either way, it's safe to say that legally speaking, she's so moving on from that name, yeah, yeah.

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

Los Angeles Times Page Six

3. Kanye West's new album will apparently only be available on a $200 device

If your main complaint about the original Donda album was that you weren't listening to it on a needlessly expensive device, well, Kanye West has the sequel for you. West took to Instagram, not to continue harassing his ex-wife but to announce that his new album, Donda 2, will not be available to stream on Apple Music, Amazon, Spotify, or YouTube. Instead, West said it will "only be available on my own platform," the Stem Player. He appeared to be indicating that fans would have to buy this special device, which costs $200 and allows users to "customize any song," to listen to the album. Fans were pretty annoyed by the news, with one writing on Reddit that "there's not a f---ing chance in hell I'm paying $200 to listen to one of his albums," though some suggested West might just make it available to stream on the Stem Player website and not require the device. Of course, this is all based on the assumption that Donda 2 will actually get released, which given West's reputation for delays is fairly questionable.

Bloomberg The Week

4. Bob Saget shows up posthumously as a chef in a rap video

Bob Saget has made one last posthumous appearance — and there's almost no way you'd have seen it coming. Desiigner dropped a new music video Friday, "Bakin," featuring a surprise appearance by Saget as a chef flipping bacon. Why not? It's not just a quick five-second cameo, either — he's actually in a lot of the video, co-starring with pornstar Kendra Sunderland. The video ends with a tribute to Saget, who died in January at 65, as well as more than a minute of behind-the-scenes footage of him on the set in December. "I'm thrilled to be here," he says. DJ Whoo Kid, who's featured on the song, explained to Rolling Stone, "We needed a chef for the video and I remember thinking, 'Who the f--- is gonna be the chef who can make it weird?'" Desiigner, who said Saget "used to rock me to sleep at night" via Full House re-runs on Nick at Nite, also declared, "We want to turn this up for Bob, you could say this is a going home party for him."

The New York Post Rolling Stone

5. 2022 Oscars to require vaccine — but not for performers and presenters

In classic Oscars fashion, the Academy has walked back a controversial decision, but in a way that no one is really happy with. Last week, The Hollywood Reporter revealed the 2022 Oscars would have no COVID-19 vaccine requirement, news that immediately sparked backlash. But The New York Times now reports the Academy will, in fact, require guests, including all nominees, to show proof of vaccination and two negative tests. But here's the strange part: performers and presenters won't have to show proof of vaccination and will just need to get tested. That exception led former Oscars host Seth MacFarlane to declare, "Seriously, Academy, you're higher than Ted." For those who want to wildly speculate over which (allegedly!) unvaccinated stars the Academy might (allegedly!) be trying to accommodate, it's worth noting the previous year's acting winners usually present, which in this case includes Anthony Hopkins, Frances McDormand, Daniel Kaluuya, and Youn Yuh-jung. The Hollywood Reporter previously wrote that a "few high-profile industry figures," including "at least one of last year's acting winners," wouldn't be able to come unless the Academy was "less stringent" with its COVID-19 rules. Hmm….

The New York Times Variety