That's how it began -- a disgusting piece of hate mail some racist coward sent to Lakers owner Jeanie Buss -- and now she's calling him out publicly.
"After 60 years as a huge Lakers fan, I now say to hell with the overpaid n***** traitors and the NBA."
"Go to hell and join **** Kobe Bryant."
The letter was signed by a man named Joe.
Jeanie says she thought a lot about what to do with the letter after receiving it on Monday -- but ultimately decided to post it on social media "so that everyone can see the hate is real and living out there."
"This is happening in our world TODAY. It's real and it exists."
Buss also posted a message to Joe ...
"Did sending this letter make you feel better? Really all you did was waste your time, and energy and your postage stamp. (But thank you for including your return home address) Why don’t you look in the mirror and see your ugliness because I refuse to."
Jeanie says she's received similar letters over the years and always thought it was best to just ignore the haters -- "but not anymore."
"On this day, Juneteenth, I ask my white friends to join together, acknowledge the racism that exists in our country and around the world, and pledge to stop ignoring it. We all must do better."
Jeanie's post is already resonating with LeBron James -- who showed his support for Buss on Instagram.
Well that didn't take long -- a day after AMC Theatres announced plans to reopen without a strict mask-wearing policy in place, it's reversed course ... all of its guests will now have to cover their faces when it reopens.
AMC CEO Adam Aron sparked a major controversy Thursday when he revealed he was trying to do the opposite ... by NOT requiring guests to wear masks when it resumes operations on July 15.
Aron said, "We did not want to be drawn into a political controversy ... We thought it might be counterproductive if we forced mask wearing on those people who believe strongly that it is not necessary."
So, Aron said it would be up to guests in states where mask-wearing is not required to decide if they want to wear one or not. He added ... "We think that the vast majority of AMC guests will be wearing masks. When I go to an AMC feature, I will certainly be wearing a mask and leading by example."
No need to be an example now, though, because AMC announced Friday it had made an error. The theater chain says its lax mask policy "prompted an intense and immediate outcry from our customers, and it is clear from this response that we did not go far enough on the usage of masks."
AMC's 600+ venues have been closed for almost 4 months, but it's set to reopen 450 of those locations in mid-July, and plans to be fully back in business by the time Disney’s “Mulan” is released, on July 24.
Seating capacity will be greatly reduced, however, and eating popcorn ... well, that will simply be more challenging.
12:18 PM PT -- The Toronto Blue Jays have shut down their facility near the Phillies' in Florida after one of their pitchers showed COVID-19 symptoms ... ESPN's Jeff Passan reported Friday.
UPDATE
Passan added the player is awaiting coronavirus test results.
At least 8 people in the Philadelphia Phillies organization -- including 5 players -- have tested positive for COVID-19 this week ... and the number could continue to rise as more results come in.
A group of players and team members have been working out at the Clearwater, FL facility to prepare for the potential MLB season ... and were following strict health precautions to make sure everyone was safe, according to NBC Sports Philadelphia.
The report notes a "significant" amount of players and staffers who have been to the facility are still waiting for their results ... so the outbreak could be even worse than first thought.
The names of the players and staffers have not been made public.
The news comes on the heels of a major spike in positive COVID-19 tests in Florida -- there were reportedly 3,207 cases in one day this week.
The MLB season was already on thin ice given the financial negotiations between the owners and players ... and the league's first COVID-19 outbreak may complicate things even more.
Donald Trump has drawn the battle lines ... if the NFL allows players to take a knee during the national anthem in 2020, POTUS says his days watching pro football are over!
President Trump made his threat during a Friday morning tweet that initially took aim at Dr.Anthony Fauci.
Remember, earlier this week Fauci warned America that a second wave of COVID-19 could impact pro sports -- and said straight-up, "Football may not happen this year."
"It would be very hard to see how football is able to be played this fall," Fauci told CNN. "If there is a second wave, which is certainly a possibility and which would be complicated by the predictable flu season, football may not happen this year."
Enter Trump ... who went to bat for the NFL before issuing an ultimatum in the same breath.
"Tony Fauci has nothing to do with NFL Football," Trump said ... "They are planning a very safe and controlled opening."
Then the warning to the NFL -- "However, if they don’t stand for our National Anthem and our Great American Flag, I won’t be watching!!!"
Looks like Trump might have to bail -- because NFL Commish Roger Goodell put out a video earlier this month admitting the league bungled the way it handled NFL kneelers in the past and vowed to be more tolerant of nonviolent protesters in the future.
Rapper Hurricane Chris -- best know for the hit track, "A Bay Bay" -- has been arrested for murder in Louisiana ... TMZ has confirmed.
The rapper, who's real name is Christopher Dooley, Jr., was arrested and booked for second-degree murder after cops say he shot and killed a man early Friday morning at a Texaco gas station in Shreveport, Louisiana ... according to the Shreveport PD.
Cops say Chris initially told them there was an alleged struggle over his car, so he shot the man multiple times in self-defense. But, cops say surveillance footage painted a much different picture ... resulting in Chris' arrest for second-degree murder.
What's more ... cops say the car Chris was riding in was actually reported stolen out of Texas, which resulted in the rapper also getting booked for illegal possession of stolen things.
The Shreveport native is best known for his 2007 album "51/50 Ratchet" which includes his hit single, "A Bay Bay." That track's music video has nearly 30 million views on YouTube.
Rep. Al Green says there are more reasons than ever for all Americans to celebrate Juneteenth, and a national holiday is just the start of what D.C. can do to honor the spirit of the day.
The Congressman from Texas gave us a brief history lesson on June 19 -- which commemorates the end of slavery in the U.S. -- and explained why the Black Lives Matter movement is making it more special this year.
Green's all for making Juneteenth a national holiday -- it already is in Texas -- but he has his sights set on a bigger mission ... creating a Department of Reconciliation.
The congressman says despite the atrocities in our nation's history, we've never reconciled them. He says it will take a new federal agency -- working directly with the Prez -- to make it happen. Green believes it's crucial if we're serious about stamping out racism and discrimination.
Green points to Germany as a template for doing this and makes a strong case for why Confederate statues gotta go too.
As for President Trump bragging that HE made Juneteenth "very famous" -- well let's just say school's in session ... and Congressman Green is the teacher.
The abandoned bus in the Alaskan wilderness -- made famous in the 2007 film "Into the Wild" -- just hitched a chopper ride out of the wild, because people were literally dying to find it.
The decision to get the bus out of Denali National Park was all about public safety -- it had attracted adventure-seeking fans of the movie, which was based on Jon Krakauer's book. Problem is, it's a very dangerous backcountry ... according to Alaska Natural Resources Commissioner Corri Feige.
The bus is in a very secluded area with no cell service, unpredictable weather and often swollen rivers. If you aren't familiar, Christopher McCandless -- the subject of "Into the Wild" -- died there in 1992. The bus was featured on the movie poster.
Despite the cautionary tale, many people have continued to venture to the bus, which has resulted in multiple rescues ... including of 5 Italian tourists earlier this year. A Belarus woman also died in 2019 while attempting to hike to the bus, prompting local officials to call for its removal.
The Alaska Army National Guard did the job Thursday ... throwing chains around the bus and using a helicopter to airlift it. Fiege says the bus will be kept in a secure location while her department tries to find a new home for it.
The Guard says the crew that removed the bus also ensured the safety of a suitcase with sentimental value to the McCandless family. McCandless died of starvation on the bus after living there for 114 days. He couldn't reach help due to the swollen Teklanika River.
The bus is a 1940s-era Fairbanks city bus that was used by a construction company working on an access road, and was abandoned after their work was complete in 1961.
Being asked to wear a face covering was all it took for this Lyft passenger to unleash a rant chock full of racial slurs ... and the driver captured it all on video.
The racist rider got in the Lyft on May 28 in Reno, and things quickly turned racial and hostile after the driver asked him to wear a mask. ... for obvious reasons.
The passenger starts griping because he doesn't have a face covering, and tells the driver he doesn't believe in the coronavirus, despite the driver explaining he has family members who are infected.
After some bickering over the mask, the virus and the driver's route, the passenger starts making fun of the driver's accent and starts unleashing racial slurs.
The man seems to think he has a binding contract with the Lyft driver to take him home, but the driver takes a stand and ends the ride early, asking the man to get out ... and things keep going downhill.
The passenger calls the driver a "candy a** f****" and threatens to "crush your skull right now." And, he doesn't stop there.
The driver finally threatens to call the cops, and that's enough to get the man outta the back of his ride, but not before threatening to take his beef to Lyft.
We reached out to Lyft who tells us the rider has been banned and they're working with the driver to make sure he's alright. A rep tells us, "The behavior shown by the rider in this video is despicable and has no place on the Lyft platform. Lyft is committed to maintaining an inclusive and welcoming community, and discrimination is not tolerated."
Drake should get more than 3 points for this shot, but it looks like he's playing solo ... so he wins no matter what. Also, he's playing from his 35,000 sq. ft mansion, so he'd already won.
The rapper was practicing cornhole trick shots Thursday night from long-distance -- about 50 feet away from the second-story window of his Toronto palace, and put one right in the hole after a few tries.
He was pretty pumped about it ... as was his lone spectator -- the guy recording the toss for the 'Gram.
Drake captioned his epic next-level shot, "Highlight of summer 2020 so far."
The summer's still young, but with the COVID-19 pandemic still in swing ... this cornhole highlight might be tough to top.
Kid Rock's Nashville honky-tonk will have to operate booze free ... after having its beer license suspended for violating COVID-19 safety guidelines.
The Metropolitan Beer Permit Board -- yeah, it's a thing in Nashville -- gave Kid Rock's Big Ass Honky Tonk & Steakhouse a 5-day beer permit suspension after it, along with 3 other downtown joints, were caught serving patrons at the bar area last weekend.
According to local health guidelines, beer and other alcohol can only be served at tables and booths ... bar areas must remain closed until Nashville enters the next phase of its reopening.
In response to all of this, restaurateur Steve Smith -- who co-owns the joint -- told The Tennessean newspaper, "The Nashville government is, like, communist. They've got us behind a Berlin Wall." He went on to say, "We met with Mayor Cooper and the doctors weeks ago and explained how having bar service is safer than table service. They're doing everything they can to put us out of business. The state of Tennessee is already in Phase 4 and they're talking about holding us in Phase 2. It's against our constitutional rights."
For what it's worth, Kid Rock's bar/restaurant was among 12 recently cited for violating public health orders by exceeding maximum capacity.
Sir Ian Holm -- perhaps best known for playing Bilbo in 'The Lord of the Rings' films -- died Friday morning after a long battle with Parkinson's disease ... according to his agent.
The Oscar-nominated actor died peacefully in the hospital with his family by his side, the agent added.
Holm was born in England in 1931, and got into theater acting at a young age, studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts and graduating in 1950 to the Royal Shakespeare Company ... where he became a star of the stage.
Ian won the Tony Award in 1967 for Best Featured Actor for his performance as Lenny in "The Homecoming."
At the same time, his roles were increasing in film and TV, as well ... including appearances in "The Wars of Roses," "Oh! What a Lovely War" and "Mary, Queen of Scots."
His first major movie role came in 1979 when he was cast as the android, Ash, in "Alien." Then, in 1981, he earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for playing the coach in "Chariots of Fire."
Holm's other notable credits over the years included "Brazil," "Hamlet," "The Fifth Element," "Ratatouille" and of course ... playing Bilbo Baggins in 'The Lord of the Rings' and 'The Hobbit' films.
Ian also took home the 1998 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor for the starring role in "King Lear."
Holm was named a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in 1989, and in 1998 he was knighted for his services to drama.
He is survived by his wife, artist Sophie de Stempel, whom he married in 2003, and 5 children.
There's been a lot of talk about Juneteenth this year, and though President Trump's claim he made the holiday "very famous" is pure hyperbole ... it's true many people might need a cheat sheet.
The holiday -- which is also called Freedom Day, Liberation Day or Jubilee Day -- is the oldest celebration in America of the end of slavery, commemorating June 19, 1865.
That's the date Union General Gordon Granger rode into Galveston, Texas and informed a group of slaves that the Civil War had ended ... and they were free.
Keep in mind, PresidentLincoln's Emancipation Proclamation had abolished slavery 2 and a half years earlier, but Texas was the most remote of the slave states and had a low presence of Union soldiers ... so enforcement was slow.
The first Juneteenth celebration went down in Texas the following year, marking the anniversary of the freeing of the last enslaved people in the Confederate South -- and began to spread across the South in the following decades.
Though popularity of the holiday has risen and fallen over the past century, Juneteenth has remained a constant cause for celebration.
Currently, June 19 is marked as a state holiday or observance by 47 states and Washington D.C., and now there's a renewed push to make it a federal holiday.
If you're looking for a deeper dive into Juneteenth, check out these articles:
Danielle Bregoli -- AKA Bhad Bhabie -- is returning to her regularly scheduled program in the music biz, 'cause she's out of rehab and ready to get back to work.
Sources close to Bhad Bhabie tell TMZ ... the 17-year-old rapper was released Wednesday after completing a 30-day rehab program. We're told she feels great and is happy to be back out and about. We're told her main focus now is her music.
Danielle took to Instagram Thursday and posted a mirror shot, and she looks great ... like rehab really did her well. She also went live to say a little about her time in treatment -- saying she had a lot going on in her personal life and needed to separate herself from some people.
@bhadbhabie / Instagram
TMZ broke the story ... Bhabie received treatment for a combination of things ... childhood trauma and abusing prescription pills. As we told you, our sources told us Danielle, and people around her were aware of the severity of the issue ... and decided it was time to get professional help.
11:36 AM PT -- Bernard's attorney, Michael Simon, tells TMZ, "The lawsuit filed by XXXTENTACION’s half-brother, Corey Pack, against XXXTENTACION’s mother, Cleopatra Bernard, is completely without merit. Contrary to the allegations of the complaint, a court has already determined that Corey Pack is entitled to nothing from XXXTENTACION’s estate or trust.
UPDATE
Cleopatra has not only paid Corey’s living expenses and purchased him a car, but she has gifted to him and his mother, Jodi Kavney, a mortgage free home and paid the current year’s real estate taxes.
UPDATE
We are confident that the courts will conclude, for a second time, that Corey Pack is entitled to nothing from XXXTENTACION’s estate or trust.
XXXTentacion's been gone for 2 years, but there's still fresh family drama brewing -- his half brother's suing XXX's mom, and accusing her of stealing.
Jodi Kavney, the mother of XXX's half brother, Corey Pack, claims XXX's mom, Cleopatra Bernard, concocted a plan to siphon off millions of dollars from her own son's trust -- money the late rapper set aside for Corey ... according to legal docs obtained by TMZ.
9/28/18
WPLG
Jodi, who's suing on behalf of Corey, says in docs, XXX left behind assets in excess of $50 million ... including a trust that lists Corey as 1 of 3 beneficiaries. She claims the breakdown is supposed to be 50% to Cleopatra, 25% to XXX's brother, Aiden Kerr ... with Corey getting the remaining 25%.
But, in the lawsuit, Jodi claims Cleopatra cut a deal with XXX's baby mama which helped her cut Corey out of his portion of the estate. Jodi's now seeking to recover assets she claims were "improperly and surreptitiously transferred" by Cleopatra to herself.
Jodi's suing for $11 million in damages and may try to triple that amount ... if she can prove this was intentionally done. She also claims Corey's entitled to ownership rights to XXX's record label, Bad Vibe Entities.
6/18/18
TMZ.com
Jodi's attorney, Natasha Shaikh, tells TMZ ... they originally sent a demand letter to Cleopatra seeking the $11M but says that fell on deaf ears ... so they filed the lawsuit to let the court decide. We reached out to Cleopatra for comment ... so far, no word back.
TMZ broke the story ... XXX was gunned down back in June 2018 while shopping for motorcycles at a South Florida dealer. Four suspects were arrested and indicted for the rapper's murder.
Here's how you KNOW you're rich -- when you drop $3 mil on a baseball that later plummets in value, AND YOU JUST DON'T CARE!
Case in point ... Todd McFarlane, who's explaining to TMZ Sports why he's not remotely bothered by the fact his Mark McGwire #70 home run baseball is only worth a fraction of what he paid for it.
Remember, Todd -- one of the most successful comic book artists of all time -- bought the record-breaking ball in '99, right after McGwire and Sammy Sosa wrapped up that famous home run chase.
Demand was high at the time -- but the steroid scandal (and Barry Bonds) caused the value to sink like a stone. Multiple experts say the ball is only worth around $300k to $400k these days ... if that.
So, we hit up Todd ... and wow, HE IS UNFAZED!!!
"If you look at it as buying a baseball, dollar in and dollar out, I'm the stupidest guy on the planet. It's a 3 dollar baseball. I overpaid by a million times that amount right so it doesn't make any sense," McFarlane says casually.
"Even as a collectible and again at this point, I didn't know the cloud of steroids were coming. I thought, in best case scenario, I could use it and then I can sell it and get my money back but I'd get all the value of in maybe being able to sell some sports figures."
"[But] even if I get $0 for it, I've made that money back 5 to 10 times over in the last 15 years."
How???
Long story short ... Todd says owning the baseball has unlocked all sorts of doors in the business world just from people curious to see it ... or just meet him.
Todd says he's been able to make a fortune from those deals -- so at the end of the day he's happy with the purchase.
"I keep saying to people, it was my ante to the poker game with the big boys."
"I bought that ball in 1999, it is now 2020 -- 21 years later you and I are still talking about it. Yesterday ESPN was giving me national attention. Every time we talk about that ball, I get to amortize it even further than I've already done it. So, I don't care if I get $20 for that ball. I'm clean on this deal."
When asked if there was a number that someone would offer to take the ball off his hands, McFarlane had a baller answer for that too!
"I don't know. It would have to be a stupid number that I don't think anybody would give and here is why I say that. Never take money that you don't need, right? So, if my businesses are hurting and somebody came in and gave me a low ball offer and I needed some investment capital or my kids were sick and I needed to pay some medical bills or whatever it was right? Even if I wanna buy a Maserati or something stupid, then I might take it. But as I sit here today, I don't know what I would do with the money regardless. It would have to be a dumb one because I'm better off to hold it."
We also asked Todd if there was a dream collectible he'd love to buy ... and you gotta hear his answer.
Georgia born actress Jo Marie Payton gained fame when she landed the role of Harriette Winslow ... the character was first featured as a reoccurring role on "Perfect Strangers" ... but is best known as the mom on the classic '90s ABC family sitcom "Family Matters."
Jo Marie Payton was cast alongside a star-studded cast of actors including Reginald VelJohnson as the police patriarch and husband, Carl Winslow, Kellie Shanygne Williams as the well-liked Laura Winslow, Darius McCrary as the big bro jock, Eddie Winslow ... and of course Jaleel White as the nerdy neighbor Steven Q. Urkel.
Payton's other notable television credits include "Moesha," "Will & Grace," "Small Wonder" and "Silver Spoons."
