The daily gossip: April 9, 2020

(Image credit: Jason Merritt/Getty Images)

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1. Modern Family cast bids an emotional goodbye to the show
2. SNL to return this weekend with brand new sketches
3. Cassie Randolph unexpectedly stars in anti-SeaWorld ad campaign
4. Brandi Carlile and Stephen Colbert pay tribute to legendary songwriter John Prine
5. After 13 years of speculation, Aly & AJ reveal which song was really about Joe Jonas

published 9 April 2020

1. Modern Family cast bids an emotional goodbye to the show

The cast of ABC's Modern Family didn't want to say goodbye either. After the hit sitcom ended its 11-season run with back-to-back episodes on Wednesday night, the actors gathered on Zoom for a virtual group hug. "Thank you to my fake family. I love you," wrote Julie Bowen, who played Claire. Aubrey Anderson-Emmons, who played Lily, added that the "post finale Zoom sesh was good for our hearts." Other actors also took to social media to express their gratitude: "Eleven years of my life spent with these beautiful souls," wrote Jesse Tyler, a.k.a. Mitchell. "You all have played such a huge part in the forming of my being. I will never forget. I'm definitely gonna miss this." Us too.

Live from home, it's Saturday night! This weekend, Saturday Night Live will return with new sketches for the first time since it went on hiatus due to the coronavirus outbreak back in mid-March. While SNL's announcement on Twitter included a screenshot of the cast in a Zoom call, it isn't clear what format the show will actually take, or if it will be performed live. This much does seem for sure, though: There will be a "Weekend Update" segment, hosted by Colin Jost and Michael Che. "Will we get a Tiger King sketch?" tweeted entertainment reporter Jeff Sneider. "Production may be tricky, but how could we not? And will Alec Baldwin's Donald Trump make a remote appearance?" Time will tell!

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Post-Bachelor and Bachelorette careers often involve hawking FabFitFun subscriptions, Bombay hair curling wands, and SugarBearHair vitamins on Instagram. The latest ad campaign by Bachelor winner Cassie Randolph, though, is a little bit ... different. Teaming with PETA, Cassie posed in a cramped plastic box for an ad urging fans not to go to SeaWorld. In an accompanying video, she explained that marine life is important to her because "I live by the beach," and that she was moved to get involved with the animal rights organization because it's important to "stand up for things you really believe in." But just in case you need a virtual workout too, Cassie is also promoting a free trial for Openfit in her Instagram Stories.

The first mixtape Stephen Colbert's wife ever gave him started with the song "Paradise" by John Prine, the Late Show host said Wednesday during an emotional tribute to the songwriter, who died earlier this week. "I love that song, and I loved her for showing it to me," Colbert said. Brandi Carlile virtually joined Colbert to honor Prine on the show too, with a performance of 1971's "Hello in There." She added: "There's so many amazing and powerful messages that John Prine has left the world, and for the people that weren't familiar with his music, they're about to get a whole lotta truth dropped on 'em, which I am really happy about." Watch here.

If you've been haunted every day since 2007 wondering whether Aly & AJ's "Potential Breakup Song" is about Joe Jonas, you can finally find some peace. On Thursday, the singers responded to a tweet that said "ok so you're telling me that i went 13 years not knowing that one of the greatest songs ever written was about joE JONAS THIS ENTIRE TIME" by clarifying that no, the song they'd written about Jonas was an entirely different track on Insomniatic, "Flattery." Jonas and AJ Michalka briefly dated during "the Jonas Brothers' Disney Channel days," PopSugar writes. Knocking Jonas off the list of potential birthday-forgetters leaves us all one step closer to cracking the PBS code.

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.