The daily gossip: March 9, 2020

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1. Pete Buttigieg is going to be a late-night talk show host for a day
2. Blue Ivy Carter is an adorable mess meeting LeBron James
3. Pete Davidson skips SNL after airing grievances about the show
4. Prince Harry, Meghan Markle attend final event as royals
5. Doja Cat has had enough of coronavirus hysteria

published 9 March 2020

1. Pete Buttigieg is going to be a late-night talk show host for a day

In the storied tradition of failed presidential candidates attempting to stay relevant with appearances on late night television, Pete Buttigieg will be taking over as the host of Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Thursday. The former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, dropped out of the Democratic presidential race on March 1, but had a reputation for being a bit of a jokester on the campaign trail. "If [President Trump] won't leave [the White House], I guess if he's willing to do chores, we can work something out," he joshed reporters earlier this year. Alright, so he's not exactly George Carlin, but Mayor Pete reassured on the Today show Monday that "funnier minds than mine will be doing some writing."

Even the world's coolest eight-year-old, Blue Ivy Carter, couldn't keep calm when meeting LeBron James at the Los Angeles Staples Center on Sunday. Beyoncé and Jay-Z's eldest daughter was at the Lakers game with her dad when she had the opportunity to meet the living legend. "I can't do it," Jay-Z adorably urged his nervous daughter in a video shared by ESPN. "If you want it, you gotta tell him." Blue Ivy finally managed to ask for an autographed ball, which James promised to send her right away. "By the time you get out of school on Monday, you'll have it," James confirmed, no doubt cementing her status as the most popular kid on the playground Tuesday.

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Pete Davidson was conspicuously absent from Saturday Night Live this weekend, "showing up for neither the photocall, the televised show, or its infamous afterparty," Jezebel reports. Davidson's absence comes just two weeks after the 26-year-old told Charlamagne Tha God he's sick of being the butt of his colleagues' jokes. "I personally think that I should be done with that show, because they make fun of me on it," he said in the February sit-down, adding he planned to "have conversations with a lot of people [about leaving]." While SNL hasn't responded to requests for comment, Davidson has already missed a number of SNL episodes this season due to working on Suicide Squad out of state.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle made their last official royal appearance on Monday as Mexit draws ever nigh. The outgoing royal couple attended the annual Commonwealth Service at Westminster Abbey alongside Prince William and Kate Middleton, marking the first time the two couples have been seen together publicly since last November. "This is a transition period they're entering at the moment," ITV royal correspondent Chris Ship told the Today show on Monday. "It's a 12-month period … If it doesn't work out, the door's open, they'll have them back." Harry and Meghan plan to step down from royal duties on March 31, after which they will presumably live happily ever after in Canada.

Doja Cat thinks you're overreacting with your plague bunker. "I'm not scared of a coronavirus or the motherf--king beer version of that sh-t," the rapper said in a profanity-laden tirade against COVID-19 on Instagram this weekend. While the virus has now infected some 110,000 people worldwide and killed more than 3,000, Doja Cat is keeping a level head amid the same hysteria that has her colleagues in the industry canceling shows. "You just take some Mucinex and drink water and tea and sleep — that's all you gotta do," she insisted, adding "y'all are so scared of corona that I need a Corona." Still, might be a good idea to keep washing your hands, regardless of what Doja Cat tells you on Instagram.

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.