Let’s give Jenna Bush Hager some points for audacity: On Monday’s episode of the Today show, she asked Keke Palmer, point plank, whether she’s still with Darius Jackson, the father of her child. It’s an especially relevant question given Jackson’s public shaming of Palmer: In July, he tweeted a video of Palmer having fun at Usher’s Las Vegas residency with the caption “It’s the outfit tho.. you a mom.” Hours later, after apparent social media blowback, he doubled down, writing in part: “We live in a generation where a man of the family doesn’t want the wife & mother to his kids to showcase booty cheeks to please others & he gets told how much of a hater he is.”
Rumor had it that Palmer and Jackson split after the comments, though he denied an August report suggesting he had moved on. Palmer made a winking reference to the controversy by starring in the video for Usher’s “Boyfriend,” which dropped in August. More recently, Palmer and Jackson appeared on Instagram Live celebrating her birthday.
During Monday’s Today interview with Palmer, Hager referenced said date, which also included a Beyoncé concert, during which Palmer said she and Jackson attempted the duck walk and some vogueing. “Are you all about him?” Hager asked. Palmer deflected by laughing and said, “Not y’all trying to get into it.” Yes, y’all. Hager followed up: “We want to know if you’re happy.” Palmer answered vaguely—life is good and she has nothing but gratitude. And then Hager just laid it out: “Well, are y’all together?”
And that’s when Palmer explicitly refused to answer: “You know, I’m going to take a page out of Beyonce’s book: Mind y’all’s business.” Together, Hager and co-host Hoda Kotb said, “OH!!!” Hager followed up with, “We will do that,” and Kotb agreed: “We will, we will.” I won’t!
You can watch the exchange in the video below (it starts around 2:40):
If Palmer and Jackson weren’t together, there’d be no business to mind. She might still want to dodge questions about her personal life, but this level of resistance (not to mention their hangs) suggests they are still very much a thing. Sigh.
Madonna’s daughter, Lourdes Leon aka Lolahol, played the Brava Madrid festival on Saturday. And uh, wow, here you go:
See you at Lolahol’s Celebration Tour in 40 years?
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- People talked to friends and family for a meaty piece on the final days of Angus Cloud, in case you need a good cry. [People]
- Not-dead Bachelor contestant Josh Seiter says he’s checking into a mental health facility. [TMZ]
- In a speech, Donatella Versace criticized Italy’s far-right government’s anti-LGBTQ+ policies. Thank you, Mother. [The Hollywood Reporter]
- Speaking of, Jonathan Van Ness cried on Dax Shepard’s podcast during a debate on the way trans people are treated in our culture. [Variety]
- No big surprise here: Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour concert movie is now getting a global theatrical release. [Deadline]
- With a tentative WGA deal in place, The Drew Barrymore Show eyes an October return to air. Can we forgive her? More importantly, will she deliver something that wants to be there being very realistic in very realistic times as promised? [ET]
- Get all the details you didn’t know you needed about Cher’s gelato brand, helpfully called Cherlato, here. [Vogue]