The daily gossip: Daniel Radcliffe to play Weird Al, Rachel Zegler apologizes for dramatic reading of Britney Spears tweet, and more

1. Daniel Radcliffe will play 'Weird Al' Yankovic in a biopic

Daniel Radcliffe is ready to get weird. The Harry Potter star will portray "Weird Al" Yankovic in a biopic about the famed parody musician, Roku has announced. In a cheeky press release, Roku promised WEIRD: The Al Yankovic Story will tell the story of Yankovic's "torrid celebrity love affairs and famously depraved lifestyle." Yankovic, who previously wrote and starred in UHF, will write the film. "I am absolutely thrilled that Daniel Radcliffe will be portraying me in the film," Yankovic said, joking, "I have no doubt whatsoever that this is the role future generations will remember him for." Following his lead role in the Harry Potter franchise, Radcliffe has starred in a number of more offbeat projects, including Swiss Army Man, the 2016 film about a farting corpse — and now, his love of all things weird is being taken to its natural conclusion. Time to brush up on the accordion!

The Week

2. Rachel Zegler apologizes for dramatic reading of Britney Spears tweet

Oops! Rachel Zegler has issued an apology for doing a dramatic reading of one of Britney Spears' recent statements. The West Side Story star drew backlash after performing the singer's tweet blasting her sister Jamie Lynn amid their ongoing feud, which included a denial of the claim that she once locked them in a room with a knife. While thanking "all who held me accountable," Zegler said she's "rooting for [Britney] always" and that "while I meant no disrespect whatsoever, I should have thought about how this could be perceived, and I'm so sorry for upsetting or disappointing anyone." She added, "This is not a situation to be taken lightly, and we should all be lifting Britney up in this pivotal time." It looks like one West Side Story star probably had a better holiday weekend than the other.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

People ET

3. Paul Walter Hauser deletes Twitter account after raging about 'New York Times' Oscar picks

Paul Walter Hauser is having a normal one. The Richard Jewell star has deleted his Twitter account after he completely melted down apparently in response to The New York Times' picks for what should win at the 2022 Oscars. The Times recently published an article in which critics Manohla Dargis and A.O. Scott simply put forth the films they would nominate for awards. This seemed to really, really upset Hauser, who proclaimed that "these lists are psychotic," and after he faced criticism, things escalated quickly as he wrote, "Twitter needs to go shut the f--- up or come say it to my face in public and see how fun it is to wipe their a-- with a broken arm." After complaining that "actors like me get canceled over this kind" of thing, he ended up leaving Twitter entirely. File this one under "never tweet."

The Daily Beast Vulture

4. Javier Bardem inadvertently made a Prince show start an hour late

Javier Bardem has some 'splainin to do to Prince fans. The Being the Ricardos star revealed on The Tonight Show he was once responsible for a Prince concert starting an hour late. Bardem recalled having dinner with Penelope Cruz and their friend before one of Prince's concerts in London, and after eating and having a few drinks, "We were like, 'nobody's coming here to pick us up,'" Bardem said. Prince himself, who was apparently close with Cruz, then came by to ask if they were done, at which point he told them to go down to their seats at the concert and the show finally started. "We were like, 'Oh my god!'" Bardem said. "'They've been waiting an hour for us to finish the dinner!'" Years later, Bardem wanted those concertgoers to know, "I'm so sorry."

Entertainment Weekly People

5. Dakota Johnson put fake hair in men's jacket pockets

If you ever attend a party with Dakota Johnson, look for some hair in your pocket the next day. Johnson sat down with her former Social Network star Andrew Garfield for Vanity Fair, and after Garfield recalled seeing her at a party after the Oscars, she noted that this was back when she used to have "pieces of [fake] hair in my hair to make it look full." And at these parties, she said, "I'd probably get a little drunk and then just take them out and put them in people's pockets, like men's jacket pockets because they're so annoying and I'd just find a place to put them." Garfield floated the idea that this was an attempt to get these men in trouble with their girlfriends when they found mysterious hair in their pockets, but Johnson insisted it was just because men's jacket pockets were "so available," adding, "It would be like, 'Can you hold this for me? I'll get it later.' And then I'd forget." After Johnson previously revealed she lied about loving limes, though, it might be worth taking this hair anecdote with a grain of salt.

Vanity Fair