One Way to Minimize Gossip Is to Avoid Talking to Major Media Outlets About It

It’s one of the more “well duh” headlines I’ve seen in recent memory: “Jessica Biel ‘Not Happy’ About Justin Timberlake‘s DWI Arrest Video.” No one’s going to be pleased that the footage of an already-infamous moment in their husband’s life (I will never forget “this is going to ruin the tour.” “What tour?” “The world tour”) is hitting the internet. But it’s the second half of People’s “Exclusive” headline that made me pause: Biel “Remains ‘Supportive’ of the Singer.” Hopefully, in most relationships, that’s a bit of a no-brainer—ideally, you support your partner through thick and thin. 

“There’s a reason they pushed back on the footage being released,” a “source close to Biel” told the magazine. Despite this intriguing phrasing, the reason is the obvious one: The actress apparently finds the video of her drunk husband “stressful and would prefer to move past it. It obviously doesn’t portray him in the best light.”

Another no-brainer: He’s visibly drunk and comments that the sobriety tests he’s given are “hard.” 

FWIW, I actually do agree with Timberlake’s lawyer’s argument that releasing the video is a privacy violation; there’s no public interest in seeing detailed evidence of a celebrity drunk behind the wheel. However, the arrest video was released on Friday, the ideal time slot for news that celebrities want to be buried, and the decision to draw further attention to it somewhat aggressively contradicts Biel’s wish “to move past it.” 

I have no way of knowing what “a source close to” [someone] means here. It’s been speculated in the past that that phrasing can literally mean the person in question; it can also be someone in their inner circle (a good friend, a publicist, etc.); it can even be someone less obviously close but who would have first-hand knowledge of what they’re saying. That this anonymous but “exclusive” tidbit was given to People is also a tell. The magazine is no TMZ (which is almost always right, usually about the darker stories of celebrity gossip), but it is a source known to be friendly to celebrities, one they can trust. 

So this almost certainly wasn’t an accident. Biel’s camp wants us to know that she’s “not afraid to express [to Timberlake] when she’s disappointed” and that this is certainly one of those times—but to what end, it’s hard to say. Yet.

But with this in mind—plus a DeuxMoi report three months ago noting that, behind the scenes, “recent dynamics between the couple have felt more emotionally charged than usual”—I’ll just say none of this is helping the divorce rumors the couple have faced basically since they got married nearly 15 years ago.

• There’s drama (if you can call it that) between Chappell Roan, one of Jude Law’s baby mamas, a security guard, and Brazilian soccer player Jorginho. [AP]
• RIP Chuck Norris. Thanks for the jokes. [Vulture]
• Apparently, Sabrina Carpenter fans have been absolutely brutal to Barry Keoghan since their breakup. [Decider]
• Of course Travis Kelce loves Entourage. [Page Six]
• Perez Hilton is milking his “mystery” hospital stay for content. [Daily Mail]