This Week in Gossip (April 5)

MAGA scrubs, an Epstein TV show, the newest Bond rumour, and Larsson vs. Swifties.

Is Chilli from TLC MAGA? She Says No, But Nobody Believes Her

Note to Chilli from TLC: We can see your social media likes. And political donations.

The singer, also known as Rozonda Thomas, has been on a squirrelly turn as of late. She shared a gross transphobic conspiracy theory about Michelle Obama on Instagram, which led people to delve into her political donations. It turns out that she made nearly $1,000 in donations to Trump's campaign in 2024. She took to Instagram to let fans know it was all a mistake. "I WANT TO BE CLEAR: I am not MAGA and do not support any of the many policies that are causing great harm to the American people. I made a mistake too many make: I did not read the fine print. I thought I was supporting causes against human trafficking and for veterans."

Case closed, right? Mistakes are often made, and frankly, it’s too easy to accidentally share some nonsense on Instagram thanks to their utterly pointless reshare button that exists solely to drum up their engagement numbers. But then people kept digging, and Chilli has a lot of weird social media likes to her name. Pete Hegseth, Marco Rubio, inauguration day, Trump stuff... she's liked it all.

I think it’s safe to say that more celebrities are MAGA than we’re aware of. It’s an egotistical ideology driven by grievance politics, greed, and an absolute refusal to relinquish power regardless of merit or ability. Of course a ton of has-beens and grifters are super into it. Admit it, you weren’t in the slightest bit surprised when breeder fetishist Nick Cannon went on his recent rant. Fork (and about 17 spoons) found in kitchen. Still, we are surprised when women of colour wade into this so openly, if only because we know the statistics on how they typically vote and how their fans vote. Nicki Minaj’s descent into lunacy was an exception because she’s cruel and broke and needs that pardon for her sex criminal husband and brother.

But Chilli? Why are you here? What’s going on?! Is this what chasing waterfalls gets you?

I’ve seen people claiming that this is the tipping point for Chilli to go full MAGA and start dancing on stage at Erika Kirk’s next pyrotechnic grief bonanza. But I don’t see it. Nicki’s grift is the stuff of a very desperate woman, one who 100% believes what she’s saying but is also (likely) capital-B Broke. And that grift might be profitable in the short term but it’s not sustainable. As with all “why I left the left” wannabe stars, they get cast out eventually. But even those who are neck-deep in this life – your Kevin Sorbos, your Gina Caranos, your Dean Cains – are not seeing a big boost to their cultural or financial caches. There’s always money in the fascism stand but the best long-term strategy is to not chase that waterfall! TLC just announced a tour with En Vogue and Salt N Pepa. That’s a money maker way more than liking a few Instagram posts and hoping Ben Shapiro gives you a call.

And We Have a New Bond Casting Rumour (Not April Fool’s)

I hate April Fool’s Day. It has me on edge, especially as someone who writes about pop culture for a living. Besides, in the fake news age of endless AI slop, it feels like every day is April 1^st and we should just retire this “holiday.” We’re all clowns now, alas. The most common April Fool’s Day joke I saw in the movie sphere was yet another round of James Bond rumours. These things are so regular that you could set your watch to them. We’ve been having this discussion since Daniel Craig’s third movie, and we’re no closer to an answer. It’s best to think of the Bond rumours as a litmus test for who the hot male actor of the second is, or whose agency is pushing their client as such. The most recent rumoured boys have included Theo James, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Mr. Dua Lipa. Now, Popbitch has thrown a new name into the mix.