The daily gossip: Tony Hawk renames a trick, Mandarin Duck content is the still point of the turning world, and more

Tony Hawk renames a trick, Mandarin Duck content is the still point of the turning world, and more

Tony Hawk.
(Image credit: Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for MAKERS)

1. Tony Hawk renames iconic skateboard trick to better honor its creator

When Tony Hawk isn't busy going unrecognized in his daily life, he's making the world a better place. Sometimes that requires admitting he's previously messed up. Hawk, 52, took to Instagram on Wednesday to explain that the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 and 2 games will be updating the name of the skateboard trick previously known as the "mute grab" to better honor its creator, Chris Weedle, who is deaf. When the trick was named in 1981, "it became known as the mute air" because Weedle was a "quiet, mute guy," Hawk explained, "and we all went along with it in our naive youth." Weedle is "hearing impaired but not lacking speech," Hawk clarified, so he's renamed the trick "the Weedle Grab." Weedle reportedly is "stoked" about the change.

2. Bette Midler is writing a book about the Mandarin Duck

Good news for fans of the Hot Duck: he's getting his own picture book, authored by Bette Midler. The Tale of the Mandarin Duck: A Modern Fable will tell the story of the rainbow-colored waterfowl that mysteriously appeared in New York City's Central Park in 2018, drawing frenzied crowds, adoring fans, and thirsty pieces in The Cut (the bird is "objectively gorgeous," the publication asserted, not incorrectly). Midler explained that "the real duck's visit to New York was a cause for celebration; everyone who saw him fell instantly in love. I wanted to memorialize his visit, and let readers know that the natural world is full of creatures just like him." The book will include photographs by Michiko Kakutani, and is set to be published in February 2021.

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Broadway World

3. The Princess Diana musical is headed to Netflix

Somewhere in the vault of hilariously bad ideas, tucked away next to "give Sonic the Hedgehog human teeth" and "extreme water," is "make a musical about Princess Diana that includes a soaring final number with her dreaming wistfully about her future post-divorce." Nevertheless, this is a thing! And soon it will be a thing on Netflix, specifically. In a Broadway first, Diana: A New Musical, which shut down prior to its opening night due to COVID-19, will premiere on Netflix ahead of its new opening in 2021. Clearly the streamer wants to steal a page from the Disney+ Hamilton playbook, though Lin-Manuel Miranda this is not: "In today's degraded theatrical marketplace, [Diana] should give fish and chips a run for its money," observed the Los Angeles Times.

Dlisted Deadline

4. Kanye West met quietly with Jared Kushner in Colorado last weekend, for some reason

Kanye West, who may be seriously running for president this year or not, met privately with President Trump's de facto campaign chairman, Jared Kushner, in Colorado last weekend, The New York Times reported Wednesday. West had apparently been camping in Colorado with his family and flew, alone, to Telluride, where Kushner and his wife, Ivanka Trump, were vacationing. When contacted by the Times, West said he and Kushner had discussed a book on Black empowerment. Though West declined to elaborate further on his meeting, he's freely acknowledged that his slapdash presidential campaign might hurt Joe Biden; still, the rapper earned just 2 percent overall in a Politico/Morning Consult poll released Wednesday, including a mere 2 percent among African American voters.

The New York Times The Week

5. Cara Delevingne and Kaia Gerber have matching 'solemate' tattoos

Love might have died after Cara Delevingne and Ashley Benson broke up earlier this year, but at least the former has found a "solemate" in the aftermath. Delevingne celebrated her 28th birthday on Wednesday, with her friend and fellow model, Kaia Gerber, revealing the pair have matching "solemate" tattoos on their feet. Gerber, 18, shared a handful of additional photos with Delevingne, praising her as being "the only person who wears my face on a sweatshirt" and "the best protest buddy." It's unclear if Delevingne and Gerber are more than friends at this point, though The Cut's Hannah Gold noted that "my Pavlovian response to the terms 'Cara Delevingne,' 'tattoo,' and 'matching' is to smell a new relationship on the horizon."

The Cut People

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Jeva Lange

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.