The daily gossip: July 7, 2020

(Image credit: MARK RALSTON/AFP via Getty Images)

Jump to category:

1. We've let down Tom Hanks
2. Usain Bolt gave his daughter a truly epic name
3. Drama between TikTok royalty spills over onto Twitter
4. Carole Baskin is not going to talk about her missing husband on Cameo
5. Halle Berry apologizes for comments about playing a transgender man, drops out of project

last updated 7 July 2020

1. We've let down Tom Hanks

Tom Hanks isn't mad, he's just disappointed. America's dad spoke to Today on Tuesday morning for what was his first live TV interview since he and his wife, Rita Wilson, recovered from COVID-19 earlier this year. "There was a sensibility [during World War II] that permeated all of society, which was, do your part," Hanks said. "We're all in this together." Hanks added that while a "huge majority of Americans" understand the importance of wearing a mask, social distancing, and hand washing, "there is a darkness on the edge of town here, folks. Let's not confuse the fact: It's killing people … If anybody cannot find it in themselves to practice those three very basic things — I just think, shame on you."

The fastest man in recorded history has given his newborn daughter a name befitting of a future legend. On Tuesday, eight-time Olympic gold medalist Usain Bolt, 33, introduced the world to his daughter, Olympia Lightning Bolt. Bolt and his longtime partner, Kasi Bennett, first announced that they were expecting a child back in January, with Bolt writing: "I just want to say a KING or QUEEN is about to be HERE." But Olympia will leave a mark on the world of her own choosing; her parents won't pressure her to follow in dad's footsteps. "I think it's the hardest thing when you have a dad that is a superstar in a supersport, I don't think you should do that sport," Bolt has mused in the past.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

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.

You can now relive the agonies of high school drama vicariously, through the tweets of teen TikTok celebrities! After the "reigning queen of TikTok," 16-year-old Charli D'Amelio, split from Chase "Lil Huddy" Hudson, 18, earlier this year, prominent TikTok stars began unfollowing Chase en masse. "All of this drama is going on because I kissed [fellow TikTok star Nessa Barrett] when [Charli and I] were both single," Chase vented on Twitter. Charli replied: "Then you shouldn’t have come to my house after without telling me [you kissed her]." She subsequently added: "Want me to talk about how you treated me throughout our relationship or do you just want to continue to play the victim?" This is a walk down memory lane no one needed.

Carole Baskin is reportedly making a killing on Cameo, the app that allows fans to buy personalized videos from their favorite celebrities — just don't ask about her missing husband if you want to get a reply. The self-described "intended murder victim" of Tiger King Joe Exotic, Baskin told TMZ she has received over 600 Cameo requests so far, for which she charges $199 a pop. But "I decline their requests to say things that would make fun of my husband's disappearance because that was such a tragic time in my life, and in that of those who loved him," Baskin explained. Jack "Don" Lewis' disappearance in 1997 remains an active cold case, with many fans of the Netflix show Tiger King believing his wife, Baskin, murdered him.

Halle Berry won't be playing a transgender character in a new movie after all. The actress announced on Twitter that she is no longer considering the role of a transgender man after drawing backlash for comments she made about doing so on Instagram Live over the weekend. "As a cisgender woman, I now understand that I should not have considered this role, and that the transgender community should undeniably have the opportunity to tell their own stories," tweeted Berry, who'd been slammed by activists in part for misgendering her character when speaking about him. "I am grateful for the guidance and critical conversation over the past few days and I will continue to listen, educate, and learn from this mistake."

Explore More

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.