The daily gossip: Taylor Swift puts Shakespeare to shame, no one disrespects Tiffany Haddish, and more

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1. Taylor Swift is releasing a second surprise album
2. Tiffany Haddish turned down 'disrespectful' offer to host the Grammy's pre-telecast ceremony
3. Matthew Morrison went 'bizarrely overboard' with his portrayal of an 'uncomfortably sexual' Grinch
4. Ellen DeGeneres tests positive for COVID-19
5. Tayshia Adams' ex-husband defends himself after the Bachelorette reveals he cheated

published 10 December 2020

1. Taylor Swift is releasing a second surprise album

William Shakespeare may have written King Lear in quarantine, but Taylor Swift wrote two surprise albums. On Thursday, the Bardess of Long Pond shared that at midnight she'll drop the "sister record" to Folklore — which came out in late July — called Evermore. The forthcoming album's standard edition will have 15 tracks, and there will be two bonus tracks on the deluxe physical edition, Swift said. "To put it plainly, we just couldn't stop writing songs," Swift tweeted. "To try and put it more poetically, it feels like we were standing on the edge of the folklorian woods and had a choice: to turn and go back or to travel further into the forest of this music. We chose to wander deeper in." Willy Shakes could never!

Tiffany Haddish knows what she's worth — and it's not paying for her own hair, makeup, and wardrobe out of pocket, with no additional compensation. Nevertheless, that was the offer made to her when she was asked to host the 63rd Grammy Awards pre-telecast ceremony. "I was like, 'The exposure is amazing but I think I have enough. I appreciate you guys asking,'" Haddish told Variety. "And as much as I appreciate the honor of being nominated [for best comedy album for Netflix's Black Mitzvah], that's not okay." Haddish insisted the Grammy's offer was "disrespectful" and "needs to be addressed." As she explained it, "It's like a guy asking you on a date but telling you that you have to pay for it."

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Well, it happened. Matthew Morrison played the Grinch in NBC's Dr. Seuss' The Grinch Musical, and the world collectively shuddered. "Matthew Morrison's uncomfortably sexual Grinch is ruining my life guys," tweeted one viewer while watching the adaptation on Wednesday night, while another claimed: "My sleep paralysis demon is Matthew Morrison as the Grinch." The Washington Post called the production "haunting," and not in a good way, while TMZ observed that "with lots of moaning, heavy breathing, and come hither stares into the camera ... many viewers felt MM went bizarrely overboard with his portrayal." Morrison defended his performance on Twitter, responding to critics with a gif of a Who blowing a kiss. Okay!

Ellen DeGeneres is the latest celebrity to test positive for COVID-19. The comedian announced her diagnosis Thursday in a statement on Twitter, writing that "fortunately, I'm feeling fine right now." She added that "anyone who has been in close contact with me has been notified" (Hamilton star Leslie Odom Jr. appeared in person with DeGeneres on Wednesday's show, the New York Daily News notes). California, where DeGeneres has her studio, is currently experiencing "the largest surge in COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic," the state's public health department said earlier this week. DeGeneres joins a number of high-profile celebrities who have caught COVID-19 throughout the pandemic including Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, and Idris Elba.

Tayshia Adams' ex-husband would like her to leave his name out of it. During the latest episode of The Bachelorette, Tayshia revealed that cheating was "the main reason why my marriage ended." But Josh Bourelle, who was married to Tayshia for two years, defended himself on the Reality Steve Podcast. "It's been a slight mar to my reputation," he said, claiming that the couple had been unhappy for awhile, and his cheating was a one-time incident. But "I feel like she was using that as her sob story," he went on. Bourelle also had words directed at his ex: "It's kind of hypocritical in a way," he said, "because, I mean, you're calling me a cheater, yet you're dating 25 different guys at the same time or whatever."

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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.