The daily gossip: May 1, 2020

1. Meghan Markle's tabloid lawsuit is off to a rocky start

Meghan Markle was dealt a disappointing blow in her lawsuit against a British tabloid publisher when the judge dismissed part of her claim on Friday. Markle is suing Associated Newspapers, which owns The Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday, over alleged copyright violations, misuse of her private information, and for supposedly altering excerpts of a letter sent to her father, Thomas Markle, with the intent of portraying her "in a false and damaging light." In Friday's ruling, the judge threw out Markle's claim that Associated Newspapers acted "dishonestly" by only quoting certain sections of her letter or that it intentionally "stirred up" drama between Markle and her dad. Though the lawsuit is ongoing, this is definitely not the way Markle's team had hoped it would start.

The Los Angeles Times Cosmopolitan

2. Parks and Recreation reunion raises almost $3 million for coronavirus relief

Parks and Recreation returned for a glorious reunion special this week that was literally everything fans could have dreamed of — and it raised enough money for charity to make Li'l Sebastian proud. The cast of the beloved sitcom reunited on NBC Thursday night for a special fundraiser episode produced entirely from quarantine, which followed Leslie Knope's efforts to stay connected with her friends during the coronavirus pandemic. On Friday, Variety reported the special had raised $2.8 million for Feeding America's COVID-19 Response Fund, although there's still time to contribute. State Farm, Subaru of America, NBCUniversal, and the cast and crew of Parks and Recreation matched donations up to $500,000. The entire reunion is available to watch for free on YouTube.

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Variety The Week

3. Anderson Cooper announces birth of his 1st child, son Wyatt

Anderson Cooper better start tuning up his dad jokes! On Thursday, the CNN anchor announced he is a new father, having welcomed son Wyatt Morgan Cooper on Monday. On Instagram, Cooper, 52, posted photos of Wyatt, named after Cooper's father who died when he was 10. "As a gay kid, I never thought it would be possible to have a child," Cooper wrote, thanking his surrogate. The anchor added that he wished "my mom and dad and my brother, Carter, were alive to meet Wyatt, but I like to believe they can see him. I imagine them all together, arms around each other, smiling and laughing, happy to know that their love is alive in me and in Wyatt, and that our family continues."

CNN The Week

4. Madonna is off to 'breathe in the COVID-19 air' after testing positive for antibodies

Madonna has been passing her time in quarantine recording bizarre, vaguely Lynchian video diaries, and in her latest, posted Thursday, she revealed that she has tested positive for coronavirus antibodies. "So tomorrow, I'm just going to go for a long drive in the car," Madonna said, "and I'm going to roll down the window, and I'm going to breathe in the COVID-19 air." Madonna is apparently unaware of the CDC warning that "it's unclear if … antibodies can provide protection against getting infected again," and that maybe breathing in "the COVID-19 air" is not such a good idea at this time. Still, it's worth watching her diary entry, if only to hear her say, "go to bed, naughty little candle."

Us Weekly

5. Drew Barrymore is in a massive pillow fight with a luxury textile designer

In what is shaping up to be a pillow fight for the ages, Los Angeles textile studio Rule of Three is suing Drew Barrymore and Walmart for alleged copyright infringement. Rule of Three specifically claims that Walmart's Drew Barrymore pillows (not to be confused with pillows depicting Drew Barrymore, which are also a thing) look identical to a marbled Turkish Plume pattern that it released back in 2015. Barrymore, however, has boasted in the past that "every single one" of the items in her Flower Home collection for Walmart is an "original … print." Rule of Three's pillows retail for an eyebrow-raising $315 to $565, TMZ reports, while the most expensive pillows in Barrymore's Walmart collection go for about $34.

TMZ