The daily gossip: July 1, 2020

1. Jada Pinkett Smith's reps insist that August Alsina's claims of an affair are 'absolutely not true'

Singer August Alsina claimed Tuesday that he was in a years-long affair with Jada Pinkett Smith — with her husband, Will Smith's, knowledge — but Jada's reps insist the rumor is "absolutely not true." Alsina, 27, told The Breakfast Club that he "actually sat down with Will … he gave me his blessing," and that "I totally gave myself to that relationship for years of my life, and I truly and really, really deeply love and have a ton of love for her." Pinkett Smith, now 48, married Smith in 1997, and has never mentioned the supposed affair. But Alsina said he devoted himself so fully to their relationship "that I can die right now and be okay with knowing that I truly gave myself to somebody."

Page Six Us Weekly

2. Joss Whedon accused of 'abusive' and 'unprofessional' behavior by Justice League star Ray Fisher

Actor Ray Fisher, who starred as Cyborg in 2017's Justice League, alleged in a tweet on Wednesday that Joss Whedon — who directed the reshoots — mistreated the cast and crew on set. Whedon's behavior was "gross, abusive, unprofessional, and completely unacceptable," Fisher tweeted. The actor also accused producers Geoff Johns and Jon Berg of having "enabled" Whedon. Fisher didn't provide further details about Whedon's alleged bad behavior but he'd also blasted the director in a tweet earlier this week, re-sharing an old clip in which he praised Whedon as a "great guy" and "good person" for finishing the DC film after Zack Snyder stepped away as its director. "I'd like to take a moment to forcefully retract every bit of this statement," Fisher wrote.

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3. Russell Crowe chatted up Jared Kushner at a party because 'nobody else was talking to him'

Russell Crowe surprised everyone (including his longtime friend Nicole Kidman) by revealing that he shmoozed with Jared Kushner at Hugh Jackman's 50th birthday party in New York City in 2018. Crowe, who once described former President Barack Obama as "the light and the future," joked that part of the reason he bothered talking to Kushner at all was because "nobody else" at the party "was talking to him." Admittedly, Crowe had other motives for having "a very long conversation" with Kushner; at the time, he was preparing to play the late Roger Ailes in The Loudest Voice. Kushner "had a very direct relationship with Roger," Crowe explained, adding that their talk "gave me that contemporary insight that [The Loudest Voice book] could not give me."

Variety

4. A quarter of a million people are trying to stop Paris Jackson from playing Jesus

More than a quarter of a million people have signed a petition asking that Paris Jackson please, please, please not play Jesus in a forthcoming movie called Habit. The film is described as being about "a street smart, party girl with a Jesus fetish [who] gets mixed up in a violent drug deal and finds a possible way out: by masquerading as a nun." Bella Thorne, who is also in the movie, defended Jackson, writing that people were just mad "because Jesus is a woman" while Sia popped on Twitter to tell Jackson "I love you, keep going." Notably, the petition calls for the movie to be halted on the grounds that it is "blasphemous" and "Christianophobic garbage," and not because it just sounds truly terrible.

Entertainment Tonight

5. Meghan Markle surprises onlookers with her 'very good' Spanish

Meghan Markle is reportedly putting her Spanish-speaking skills to good use in Los Angeles, including during a recent visit with Prince Harry to Homeboy Industries, an organization that provides support for formerly gang-involved or incarcerated people. "She spoke Spanish perfectly with one young woman," the group's founder, Father Greg Boyle, told People. "She just went right into Spanish, which was a revelation — and it was very good." Markle has previously been hesitant to show off her multilingualism, shyly declining to use her French (which she studied for six years) while at London's Canada House earlier this year. Markle likely feels more comfortable with her Spanish, though, having been immersed when she interned after college at the U.S. Embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

People