The daily gossip: May 18, 2020

(Image credit: Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for Roc Nation)

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1. Grimes' mom chews out Elon Musk for his men's rights activist tweet
2. Michael Jordan blames '97 flu game on poisoned pizza
3. Is Megan Fox's husband hinting at relationship woes through cryptic butterfly metaphors?
4. Kim Zolciak Biermann confesses she went straight for Botox after Georgia's lockdown lifted
5. Tributes pour in for director Lynn Shelton

published 18 May 2020

1. Grimes' mom chews out Elon Musk for his men's rights activist tweet

Grimes' mother, Sandy Garossino, is unamused by Tesla CEO Elon Musk's antics after her daughter gave birth to the couple's first child less than two weeks ago. Over the weekend, Garossino slammed Musk for his tweet encouraging followers to "take the red pill," a Matrix reference that has "long been a symbol for … online misogynists." "If your partner went through a challenging pregnancy and childbirth … would you be blaring [men's rights activist] bulls--t on Twitter right now?" Garossino tweeted, with Grimes liking her mom's tweets before they were deleted. Us Weekly has reported that the new parents have had "lots of ups and downs" over the past few months, though they managed to agree at least on their baby's wild name.

The Last Dance, ESPN's "monumental" and "absolutely gripping" 10-part ESPN docuseries about Michael Jordan, concluded on Sunday night, but not without giving us one final MJ grudge for the road. In the penultimate episode, Jordan revealed his belief that his flu during his legendary Game 5 win over the Utah Jazz in 1997 wasn't a regular virus, but intentional food poisoning by a vindictive Salt Lake City pizzeria from the night before. "I ate the pizza all by myself," Jordan confessed in the doc. "Nobody else at the pizza. I wake up about 2:30 throwing up left and right." The admission sparked dozens of memes, though perhaps no reaction was better than frozen pizza brand DiGiorno: "Delivery pizza," the account tweeted. "Go figure."

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There is a whole lot to unpack in Brian Austin Green's latest Instagram post about … butterflies. On Sunday, the Beverly Hills, 90210 actor wrote a caption observing that "eventually butterflies get bored sitting on a flower for too long" and that they might "start feeling smothered" and "want to experience" the "great big world" around them. Naturally, some wondered if the "butterfly" in question was Green's wife, Megan Fox. People notes that Green's post came after Fox and rapper Machine Gun Kelly were spotted picking up food together in L.A. (TMZ says the two "seemed super friendly in the car"). Though Green's post does seem rather, uh, confessional, it is always possible he just wanted to share some lepidopterological facts with his fans.

Forget haircuts — Bravo's Don't Be Tardy star Kim Zolciak Biermann admitted on Sunday night's episode of Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen that she made a beeline for Botox as soon as Georgia lifted its coronavirus lockdown. Kim explained that she and her daughter, 23-year-old Brielle, "were [at my doctor's] first. She did my Botox, touched up my lips a little bit … I mean, I am getting old. I'll be 42 on Tuesday." (Brielle, Kim clarified, just "touched up her lips"). Kim added that the rest of her cosmetics in lockdown were covered by her husband, Kroy Biermann, who's "been coloring my hair. He bought a nail drill and acrylic to do my nails and the girls' because I've had nails on since I was 15."

In an emotional new episode of his podcast WTF released overnight, comedian Marc Maron reflected on the death of his partner, the beloved director Lynn Shelton. Known for films like Humpday and Your Sister's Sister as well as for directing episodes of shows like Mad Men and GLOW, Shelton died suddenly over the weekend from a blood disorder at 54. "I loved her," Maron said, adding: "I've never felt grief like this, or this bad." Tributes have poured in for Shelton from everyone from Reese Witherspoon to Mindy Kaling, and Maron said it's "really helping" that so many have reached out. "I'm so glad that Lynn was so well loved."

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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.