Names and faces
▪ Emmy-winning actress Zendaya shut down speculation that she and boyfriend Tom Holland are engaged after a recent Instagram selfie showing off a black Golden State Warriors hat and a pearl ring on her right hand sent social media fans into a frenzy. She said in a since-expired Instagram story that the rumors had her feeling like, “I can’t post anything, you guys.” “I posted it for my hat. Not for the ring on my right finger, you guys,” she said and laughed in the video that recirculated on X and Instagram. “Seriously, you think that’s how I would drop the news? What?” Doubling down on the non-engagement, Zendaya shared the uncropped selfie to her Instagram story. “Let me just put the full body back so y’all can relax lmao,” she captioned a since-expired Instagram picture.
▪ Lizzo is at the center of a new lawsuit claiming fat shaming, sexual harassment and racism — this time from her former wardrobe stylist. Asha Daniels, who designed outfits for the dancers on the Grammy winner’s 2023 Special Tour, claims she was the subject of “racist and fatphobic” comments from wardrobe manager Amanda Nomura, and that Lizzo allows this behavior. The lawsuit, filed Thursday, comes shortly after another suit from three of Lizzo’s former background dancers, who accused the singer of sexual harassment, racial harassment and creating a hostile work environment. Nomura is now accused of referring to the performers as “fat,” “useless” and “dumb,” putting on stereotypical impressions of Black women, and forcing them to disrobe while the mostly white, male stagehands “lewdly gawk” at them, court documents obtained by NBC News reveal. Daniels’ filing states that she was forced to endure sexual harassment by Lizzo’s management. One instance cited is a group text with dozens of touring staffers that included graphic images of male genitalia. “Lizzo’s management found the image to be comical, further encouraging an unsafe, sexually charged workplace culture … nurtured and condoned by Lizzo,” the suit says. In a statement to NBC News, Lizzo’s spokesperson, Stefan Friedman, referred to the filing as “a bogus, absurd publicity-stunt lawsuit” from someone who “never actually met or even spoke with Lizzo.”