The daily gossip: Elliot Page speaks about overcoming 'hate' in powerful interview, Prince Harry is in touch with his father and brother, and more

Elliot Page speaks about overcoming 'hate' in powerful interview, Prince Harry is in touch with his father and brother, and more

Elliot Page.
(Image credit: REUTERS/Mark Blinch/File Photo)

1. Elliot Page blasts 'extremely influential people' spreading 'damaging rhetoric' about transgender people

Elliot Page is opening up in his first interview since coming out as transgender, urging fans to help him fight discrimination. The Juno and The Umbrella Academy star came out as transgender in December, and in an interview with Time published Tuesday, he described feeling "really excited to act" now that "I'm fully who I am, in this body." Page cautioned, though, that "extremely influential people" like some conservative lawmakers "are spreading these myths and damaging rhetoric" about transgender people and "every day you're seeing our existence debated." On Twitter, Page further expressed "gratitude for those who have supported me and great concern for the generation of trans youth," calling on his followers to "join me and decry anti-trans legislation, hate, and discrimination in all its forms."

Time The Week

2. Post-Oprah interview Prince Harry spoke to his father and brother, but no one has reached out to Meghan Markle

A week after that Oprah Winfrey interview aired, Gayle King (Oprah's bestie) has some updates from the Sussexes. King called Prince Harry and Meghan Markle over the weekend to check in. She discovered Harry has spoken with his brother, Prince William, and his father, Prince Charles, since the interview, and while they are happy to be speaking, their conversation was "not productive." No one in the royal family has spoken with Meghan since the interview, King noted. Meanwhile, Michelle Obama revealed on the TODAY Show she was not surprised by the interview, but is hoping and praying for forgiveness and healing within the royal family, "so that they can use this as a teachable moment for us all."

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3. Bachelor Matt James didn't find love, but 2 contestants from his season get their own time as Bachelorette in an ABC first

Bachelor Matt James gave his final rose to Rachel Kirkconnell, but revealed on After the Final Rose he took it back after images surfaced of Kirkconnell attending an antebellum-South-themed party in college. "If you don't understand that something like that is problematic in 2018, there's a lot of me that you won't understand," he explained. While James' journey didn't end in forever love, two contestants from his season will have their own opportunity to date 30-ish people on national television. Fan-favorite Katie Thurston's season will air this summer (sans Chris Harrison), and runner-up Michelle Young's season will air in the fall. Perhaps James' disaster season convinced ABC to pivot to female leads, as 2021 marks the first time the franchise will air two Bachelorette seasons in one year.

Vulture Entertainment Weekly

4. Prince Philip has left the hospital after a month

Prince Philip is out of the hospital. The 99-year-old Duke of Edinburgh and husband of Queen Elizabeth II left King Edward VII's Hospital in London on Tuesday, a month after he was hospitalized on Feb. 16. When Philip was first admitted, Buckingham Palace described it as a precautionary measure that was taken after he felt "unwell." The Duke of Edinburgh was ultimately treated for an infection, and he "underwent a successful procedure for a pre-existing heart condition," according to Buckingham Palace. Philip has been hospitalized several times in recent years, including in 2011 for a blocked coronary artery. But according to BBC News, this was his longest hospital stay ever. He'll have a lot of catching up to do once he's home.

BBC The Week

5. Chess grandmasters can't stop laughing after opening their tournament match with the worst possible moves

Fans of The Queen's Gambit will get a kick out of Monday's match between Norway's Magnus Carlsen and the United States' Hikaru Nakamura at the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour. The game between the grandmasters started with Carlsen moving his king's pawn up to e4, a popular first move; Nakamura mirrored it. Then things got silly: Carlsen next moved his king up to where the pawn had been, an opening known as the Bongcloud Attack, and "one of chess' worst possible opening moves," Vice reports. ("Don't do this!" one of the commentators blurted). When Nakamura saw his opponent's move, though, he burst into laughter and mimicked it. Both Carlsen and Nakamura had already qualified for the next stage of the tournament, and their Bongcloud game, which was just for laughs, ended in a draw.

Vice Chess24

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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.