Debunking the week’s tabloid stories: Apr. 24, 2020

Matthew McConaughey Hosting Jeopardy?

The National Enquirer reports this week that Matthew McConaughey has been recently “bombarded” with offers to become the host of the long-running game show Jeopardy. The magazine says that network bosses have been “calling him nonstop” to pitch a small-screen gig. “Matthew is smart and has a down-home likability that fans naturally gravitate to. Besides that, people know him from his TV commercials,” a TV insider tells the publication.

While it is true that Alex Trebek is currently battling stage IV pancreatic cancer, McConaughey is not taking over his hosting duties. This all came about after a video of the Dallas Buyers Club actor hosting a bingo night at a Texas senior living center went viral, not because there is interest from either side of this supposed casting decision. Gossip Cop spoke to a rep for the actor, who told us, “While it’s nice, it’s not true.”

This wouldn’t be the first time the Enquirer made a bogus claim about the Magic Mike star. In August 2019, Gossip Cop busted the unreliable outlet for alleging that McConaughey’s drinking and partying was getting out of control. The Enquirer’s sister publication, OK!, was also busted by us in November 2018 when it inaccurately stated that McConaughey’s friendship with Ashton Kutcher was suffering because their wives, Mila Kunis and Camila Alves, didn’t get along.

Tom Selleck, Wife Jillie Mack Living Separately?

A new article published in the Globe reports that Tom Selleck and his wife, Jillie Mack, no longer live under the same roof. An insider says that Selleck moved out of the house and into a hunting lodge on their 65-acre California ranch. Selleck “has always been a loner,” spills the source, while Mack is more of an extrovert. The article centers the uncoupling around their daughter, Hannah, who is now a grown adult and has moved out, allegedly leading her parents to discover that “they really had little in common.”

This story is just silly. First of all, Hannah Selleck is 31, meaning that she’s been a fully-grown adult for many years now. Why would it take them a decade to discover that they didn’t have anything in common? Second, Gossip Cop reached out to a spokesperson for Selleck to clarify the situation. We were told in no uncertain terms that the story is false: Mack and Selleck are not living separate lives. “It is an outright lie on all fronts,” the actor’s rep says. “All is well with them and the whole family.”

Gossip Cop has had to call out the Globe for untruthful reporting in the past. In October, the untrustworthy tabloid predicted that Courteney Cox would be playing Selleck’s love interest on Blue Bloods. Earlier that year, the tabloid’s sister publication, the National Enquirer, wrote that Selleck was leaving Blue Bloods because of illness and even implied that he might be dying.

Ana de Armas Freaked Over Ben Affleck’s Talk Of Marriage, Kids?

The latest issue of the Globe says that Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas have hit an obstacle due to Affleck’s intense talk about getting married and having kids. “Ben didn’t think he’d ever want to get married again and have more kids, but he does with Ana and he’s stuck to her like glue,” an insider says. “She loves the attention,” the source continues, but “starting a family and talking marriage is way too much… Ana’s head is starting to spin.”

This story is totally unsubstantiated. Gossip Cop reached out to a spokesperson for Ben Affleck, who is qualified to speak on his behalf, who told us that the story was “false.” Affleck is not pressuring Ana de Armas to get married and have kids.

This tabloid has a pretty bad track record when it comes to reporting on Ben Affleck: Just over a month ago, Gossip Cop busted a story from the tabloid that claimed he was “begging” Garner to take him back. Given that he was already dating Ana de Armas at the time, it’s clear that the publication has no insight whatsoever into Affleck’s personal life.

The Globe’s sister publication, the National Enquirer, also prefers to make up salacious and often insulting rumors. In the past month, Gossip Cop busted the infamous tabloid for falsely claiming that Affleck’s friends feared his relationship with de Armas would lead to a relapse for him. Perhaps these tabloids ought to give up, as they just can’t seem to get things right.

Gwen Stefani, Blake Shelton Married In Backyard Ceremony?

Star reports this week that Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani got married under quarantine in their backyard. The outlet says that the singers “were stuck together anyway, so we made it official,” and 16 celebrity guests were in attendance, while others watched via Zoom. The accompanying article shares very specific details from the couple’s “super intimate” wedding, such as Stefani’s son being the ring bearer. “They’re both laid-back and spontaneous, and it just made sense,” an insider tells the magazine.

While we’re just as anxious to see the couple of five years tie the knot, it did not happen. The only truth to the story is that the singers are in quarantine together, but everything else the outlet claims are baseless and incorrect. Furthermore, Star has made similar allegations in the past, which were corrected by Gossip Cop.

In August 2018, we busted the phony tabloid for falsely claiming — guess what? — that Shelton and Stefani got married at Shelton’s Oklahoma ranch. The magazine spewed the same story about how the couple “secretly” wed at the ranch with a limited number of family members and friends in attendance. The only thing missing was a current cultural reference, like Zoom, as this one had.

A year later, the publication was debunked by Gossip Cop again for incorrectly stating that Stefani and Shelton were “planning the wedding of the year” at Shelton’s ranch. Both stories use the same location and have so-called insiders giving weird details on the couple supposed nuptials.

Tom Cruise Doing Tell-All Interview With Howard Stern?

In Touch has an article out this week with the headline, “Tom’s Bombshell Tell-All!” The outlet reports that Tom Cruise is finally going to do a tell-all interview with Howard Stern about his family and his involvement in Scientology. Cruise is finally speaking up about everything: his estrangement from his daughter Suri, his divorces from Nicole Kidman and Katie Holmes, and, of course, the Church of Scientology. “The whole world,” a source tells the publication, “has been waiting for this. Tom talking about such personal things makes him more than just an action star. It makes him more human.”

While it’s entirely possible that Cruise may one day let the media back into his personal life, it’s hard for Gossip Cop not to be suspicious of In Touch’s claim. That source, who probably doesn’t really exist, is right: The whole world is waiting for this. Cruise is one of the most enigmatic figures still active in Hollywood, and he never does interviews. So why is In Touch the only publication that seems to know about it? Howard Stern certainly hasn’t said anything, and he’s not exactly known for holding his tongue.

Last November, this same untrustworthy outlet claimed that Cruise was leaving Scientology for Suri. Two months before that, Gossip Cop busted another cover story from the tabloid that insisted that Cruise would be telling “his side of the story” in his split with Holmes.