The daily gossip: Kim Kardashian issues rare statement about Kanye's mental health, One Direction teases an anniversary surprise, and more

(Image credit: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for Yeezy Season 4)

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1. Kim Kardashian asks for 'compassion and empathy' for Kanye West
2. One Direction teases fans ahead of 10-year anniversary
3. Phaedra Parks' mortuary biz is booming: 'Didn't you hear about that pandemic, girl?'
4. No one involved with the cringe-worthy #ITakeResponsibility video is willing to talk about it openly
5. Hulu is developing a Hillary Clinton alternate history show

published 22 July 2020

1. Kim Kardashian asks for 'compassion and empathy' for Kanye West

Kim Kardashian West issued a rare statement on Kanye West's struggles with bipolar disorder, asking that "the media and public give us compassion and empathy … so that we can get through this." Her moving statement followed growing concern among fans in recent days after West gave a bizarre political rally and issued a series of strange tweets, including that he's "trying to get divorced." Kim said she'd resisted commenting in the past due to the "stigma and misconceptions about mental health," and stressed that "living with bipolar disorder does not diminish or invalidate" her husband's dreams. She called Kanye "a brilliant but complicated person" and signed off with an expression of "love and gratitude" for those rooting for her family.

One Direction posted to the band's official Instagram for the first time in four years, adding to speculation that the group is going to have an exciting announcement for fans on Thursday, their 10-year anniversary. 1D has been on indefinite hiatus since around the time of their last Instagram post in 2016, and Wednesday's post — a black-and-white image reading "10 Years of One Direction" — reignited rumors that the band is going to get back together for a reunion. Billboard cites as possible evidence the fact that members "Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Niall Horan, and Louis Tomlinson have all openly discussed the likelihood of getting the band back together in various interviews over the last few years," though Zayn Malik, who left the group in 2015, hasn't publicly commented.

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Real Housewives of Atlanta alum Phaedra Parks is having an unexpectedly good business year thanks to ... COVID-19? Page Six asked Parks — who is a mortician, on top of being a lawyer and star of Marriage Bootcamp — how her business was doing. "Oh my gosh, it's going great, didn't you hear about that pandemic, girl?" she replied. "We are booming. Unfortunately." Parks explained that "normally in the summer months, we're waiting for a boating accident or a motorcycle crash" but with the pandemic, "we are working like it's our heaviest season." She added that while some people still think the virus is a joke, "let me put it to you in real terms: I'm getting 17 calls a day for pickups and that's at one location."

It has been 41 days since a bunch of white celebrities overacted in an immensely cringe-worthy Black Live Matter PSA, and still no one is willing to discuss the video on record. The #ITakeResponsibility video — which involved, among other things, Aaron Paul steepling his fingers and squinting, a black-and-white filter, and somber piano music — was slammed for being tone-deaf and epitomizing celebrities' "risk-averse, politically opaque rhetoric." But when The Daily Beast set out to investigate how such a misfire even got made, their reporter found "not a single person directly involved … agreed to discuss it" on record. Some further digging led back to a venture capital investor, for whom the video marked "his first public foray into activism." You can read the full amusing investigation here.

A lot of people would love to live in an alternate universe right now, and Hulu's on the case. The streamer has reportedly picked up a new scripted series based on Curtis Sittenfeld's novel Rodham, which imagines what would have happened if Hillary Clinton never married former President Bill Clinton, thus creating "an alternate-universe 2016 election." Sarah Treem, who co-created Showtime's The Affair, is reportedly on board to write and produce, and The Handmaid's Tale executive producer Warren Littlefield will produce as well. For those keeping track at home, this would be Hulu's second time releasing a project about Clinton after Hillary, the four-part documentary series that premiered earlier this year and has apparently now kickstarted a full-blown Hillary Cinematic Universe at the streamer.

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.