The daily gossip: Rihanna teases new music, Nick Jonas names a restaurant, and more

(Image credit: Christopher Polk/Getty Images for NARAS)

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1. Rihanna teases that new music is coming 'soon'
2. Nick Jonas startled everyone by having the perfect name for his wife's new restaurant
3. Twitter queen Chrissy Teigen quits Twitter
4. Kristen Stewart is a dead ringer for Princess Diana (again)
5. Oscar nominees push back on the Academy Awards' Zoom ban

published 25 March 2021

1. Rihanna teases that new music is coming 'soon'

Because it is the immense privilege of The Daily Gossip newsletter to keep you, dear reader, informed about when to (FINALLY) expect new music from Rihanna, here is an exciting update: On Instagram on Wednesday, a fan proposed that RiRi "celebrate" becoming the first black female artist to have an album spend five full years on the Billboard 200 by "releasing a song!" Rihanna not only responded, but agreed, teasing "I think I should" followed by the "soon" emoji. She quickly clarified "just 1 tho lol," which apparently means fans shouldn't get hyped about the long-awaited, highly-anticipated follow-up to 2016's Anti just yet. But hey, we'll take what we can get!

On Thursday, New York City gained its newest Indian restaurant, Sona, a collaboration between David Rabin, Maneesh Goyal, and Priyanka Chopra Jonas, who helped with the look and design of the joint. However, it was Priyanka's husband, Nick Jonas, who made the most surprising contribution: the restaurant's name, which means "gold" in Hindi. "We were grappling with a list of names, none of which were speaking to us," Goyal said. "And then from the corner of the table, from a small kind of voice, Nick Jonas said, 'What about Sona?' And we all kind of look at Nick, and Priyanka looks at Nick, and says, 'First, amazing, how do you even know that word?'" Jonas picked up "sona" at the couple's lavish wedding — and saved the day by remembering it all these years later.

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We all talk about it, but Chrissy Teigen actually did it. On Wednesday night, the model announced that she was leaving Twitter: "This no longer serves me as positively as it serves me negatively, and I think that's the right time to call something," she tweeted ahead of her exit. Teigen — who once went toe-to-toe with former President Donald Trump on the platform and got into a very public spat with Alison Roman (of carmelized shallot pasta fame) — said her reputation as "the strong clap back girl" isn't who she is. "My desire to be liked and fear of pissing people off has made me somebody you didn't sign up for, and a different human than I started out here as!" she said. Congratulations on your freedom, Chrissy!

Emma Corrin set an extremely high bar for portraying Diana Spencer on the most recent season of The Crown, even winning a Golden Globe for her depiction of the awkward-yet-beloved Princess of Wales. But never underestimate Kristen Stewart, who will also have a go at portraying Lady Di in Pablo Larraín's forthcoming movie, Spencer. On Thursday, the production company Neon dropped a new look at Stewart in character, complete with the honkin' sapphire ring Prince Charles gave her upon their engagement. Spencer is set in 1991, during Christmastime at the Sandringham Estate, after things have already gone chilly between the couple. "Diana knows the game," the film's official synopsis says. "This year, things will be a whole lot different." See the photo here, and look for the movie this fall.

We can all relate to a little bit of Zoom fatigue after a year of the pandemic, but the producers of next month's Academy Awards may have taken theirs a bit too far. The Academy is now "facing major pushback" after producers declared that nominees cannot attend this year's mid-pandemic Oscars remotely via Zoom. For instance, Nomadland director Chloé Zhao and Promising Young Woman director Emerald Fennell are reportedly both outside of the United States at the moment, meaning they could potentially miss their film winning Best Picture or not be able to give an acceptance speech if they become only the second woman to win Best Director. "The idea of missing it is so awful, and I can't bear to think about it," Fennell told Variety.

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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.