The daily gossip: April 24, 2020
1.
The coronavirus pandemic has allowed for intimate glimpses inside famous people's homes, and images during the NFL draft on Thursday did not disappoint. Fans and players alike were in awe over Arizona Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury's $4.45 million house, complete with "a backyard fit for an art museum" — or a Parasite remake. Observed Chiefs' safety Tyrann Mathieu, who previously played with Arizona, "No wonder they couldn't afford me anymore." But even Kingsbury was upstaged when the owner and general manager of the Dallas Cowboys, Jerry Jones, showed up. "Is Jerry Jones on a yacht?" asked the Houston Texans' J.J. Watt. Sure enough, Jones appeared to be either holed up on his $250 million megayacht, or in a luxury space station, judging by the pictures. [The Washington Post]
2.
Andy Cohen survived COVID-19, only to be shut down in his efforts to help other by "antiquated and discriminatory guidelines by the FDA." Speaking on Thursday night's episode of Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen, the Bravo host said he'd signed up to donate plasma so his antibodies could be used to potentially save lives. Only then did he learn that "I am ineligible to donate blood because I am a gay man." Cohen explained that while new relaxed rules allow for donations from gay and bisexual men who've abstained from sex for three months, "all donated blood is screened for HIV," a test that takes all of 20 minutes, "so why the three-month rule?" He added: "Maybe because we're valuing stigma over science." [Entertainment Tonight]
3.
Epic Games announced Friday that Travis Scott's "virtual concert" on Fortnite drew 12.3 million concurrent players, a massive new record. "During the opening song a giant Scott stomped around the island, while players could run across the water to catch a glimpse," recounted The Verge. "As the tracks changed, so did the visuals." Polygon called the event "tremendous." Scott was overwhelmed by the raves, tweeting that "honestly today was one of the most inspiring days," although his own participation was cut short by his 2-year-old daughter, Stormi, who adorably interrupted his livestream with a request for a movie. No worries, dad — Fortnite will be replaying the event on Friday night, and has three more concerts scheduled for Saturday. [ESPN, TMZ]
4.
California has tapped celebrities like Larry David and Julia Louis-Dreyfus to make amusing COVID-19 PSAs for the state, but Ben Affleck is probably going to be waiting for his call for a long time yet. On Thursday, paparazzi spotted the actor on one of his now infamous walks with girlfriend Ana de Armas in Los Angeles, only Affleck wasn't exactly practicing proper face mask etiquette while he was out. In the photos, Affleck had lifted the mask up to cover just his nose, allowing him to puff on a cigarette and making everyone else wonder why he'd bothered with the formality of the face cover at all. [Page Six]
5.
Jennifer Coolidge's elaborate Halloween parties in her New Orleans mansion are legendary, but it's apparently somewhat unclear where the decorations end and the paranormal begins. Superstore's Ben Feldman and Nico Santos recalled for Vulture one cast trip to the Big Easy where they ended up at Coolidge's house during the party. Feldman said, "You can't use the downstairs bathroom because the ghost of a little girl is in there, so you have to go upstairs to the bathroom next to [Coolidge's] room for her kimonos." It's unclear if the downstairs bathroom is also occupied on other days of the year, but if you ever find yourself needing to use the loo in Coolidge's house, maybe opt for the one upstairs — just to be safe. [Vulture]
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