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Underneath this big-mouthed man is a sketch comedy king who has been making waves in the Hollywood headlines.

This funny fella is best known for representing his hometown hardcore with his stand-up comedy and in film. You may recognize him more for his crazy characters or parody songs on a late-night television show that's live from New York.

Queen Elizabeth II is as sharp as ever -- this despite laying low publicly due to health concerns -- and she put her famous wit on full display on the eve of a big day.

QE2 was on hand Saturday at her countryside Sandringham Estate with some notable guests, who were there to hang out and watch Her Majesty cut a cake that was done up to celebrate a major anniversary that's happening on Sunday ... namely, her Platinum Jubilee.

It marks 70 years since her ascension to the throne on Feb. 6. 1952 ... so it's a helluva milestone for Liz and the monarchy at large. To usher in the moment, the Queen was given the honors to slice up her own cake -- and per usual, she let the jokes fly.

Check it out ... Queen Elizabeth is brought over to the table where the cake's at, and is then told it's upside down in her direction -- so that the press could see it and get a good shot.

In classic royal timing, QE2 fires back ... "So they can see. I don't matter?" That got a big laugh from just about everyone in the room. But, Lizzie wasn't done quipping just yet!

She made the initial cut into the pastry, and seemed pleased that it went in easy -- but it doesn't sound like she was too keen on finishing the job and dishing out pieces for everyone. She is the freakin' Queen after all ... and she let everyone know by asking that someone else do the deed.

A couple things to note about this -- Queen Elizabeth seems to be in great spirits, and more importantly ... appears relatively healthy too. Her well-being has been in question of late due to her having to skip a number of events and engagements she'd been scheduled to attend in person.

This, of course, was all on the advice of doctors ... but it seems she's doing quite alright for one of the most remarkable times in her life. As they say -- God save the Queen!

Awkwafina has been accused of trying to pose as a Black person in the past -- be it in song or on camera -- and now ... she's sorta owning up to it, but stopping short of an apology.

The actress/rapper/internet personality addressed a long-running criticism that's been years in the making -- acknowledging she's aware that folks have dogged her for using African-American Vernacular English ... but at the same time, denying any mal-intent.

Awkwafina took to Twitter Saturday -- her first post in nearly three years -- with a lengthy statement that touched on the fact that Black culture, including AAVE, is often hijacked and monetized by others ... and then passed off as general pop culture and/or modern slang.

She then says this ... "But as a non-Black POC, I stand by the fact that I will always listen and work tirelessly to understand the history and context of AAVE, what is deemed appropriate or backwards toward the progress of ANY and EVERY marginalized group."

Awkwafina adds, "But I must emphasize: To mock, belittle, or to be unkind in any way possible at the expense of other is: Simply. Not. My. Nature. It never has, and it never was."

She goes on to address her upbringing and how she's carved out her own American identity, and essentially says ... there's some learning she's gotta do in reflecting that publicly and in her day-to-day life ... as do Asian Americans at large, she contends.

Some gave Awkwafina props, while others didn't let her off the hook -- noting she never said sorry. In response, it seems she's putting the bird app up on the shelf for a while ... saying she's retiring from Twitter over what sounds like demands she kill herself. Yikes ...

If you're wondering where the AAVE evidence is, go watch her in "Ocean's Eight" and "Crazy Rich Asians," not to mention her earlier work on "Tawk with Awkwafina," among other works. Basically, many say she talks with a "Blaccent" when hamming it up for the cameras ... and as a result, comes off as a caricature -- and, by extension, disrespectful in some folks' eyes.

Eddie Vedder says he hated Motley Crue in the '80s, and now one of the big-hair band's very own is firing off his thoughts on the matter ... calling Pearl Jam a snore-fest.

Bassist Nikki Sixx tweeted out some zingers Saturday, writing ... "Made me laugh today reading how much the singer in Pearl Jam hated @MotleyCrue. Now considering that they're one of the most boring bands in history it's kind of a compliment isn't it?"

He wasn't done mouthing off just yet though ... in response to one fan saying she'd recommend PJ songs for a friend's newborn baby to get it to go to sleep, NS replied -- "Or just sing to the baby with marbles In your mouth…Very zen."

And, yet to another fan who called him a lame who had 3 mid-level songs at best, Nikki wrote ... "Remember there were zillions of brown haired bands for brown haired fans…..Go find them. You will know them by the bored look on their face."

Now, if you're wondering where the heck all this generational animosity stems from ... it's actually Vedder who technically launched the first arrow across the bow -- taking aim at MC, specifically, in a recent NYT article ... in which he called the 4 fellas and their whole vibe, well, thin on substance.

While answering a question about whether any ripples from the Gen X/alt-culture explosion of the '70s and '80s extended to the present, EV didn't hold back while describing an old gear-loading gig of his.

He said, "I'd end up being at shows that I wouldn't have chosen to go to -- bands that monopolized late-'80s MTV. The metal bands that -- I'm trying to be nice -- I despised. "Girls, Girls, Girls" and Mötley Crüe: f*** you. I hated it. I hated how it made the fellas look. I hated how it made the women look. It felt so vacuous."

Vedder went on to say that thank God Guns N Roses came around to put some teeth back into the genre. And finally, he took a shot at Heather Locklear -- Tommy Lee's ex-wife.

He suggests Locklear was emblematic of how rock and roll portrayed and/or saw women in those days, explaining, "But I'm circling back to say that one thing that I appreciated was that in Seattle and the alternative crowd, the girls could wear their combat boots and sweaters, and their hair looked like Cat Power's and not Heather Locklear's -- nothing against her."

Kanye West has expressed, very publicly, his discontent over his and Kim Kardashian's daughter, North, being on TikTok -- but we're told ... the 8-year-old can't even log on without mom's permission.

Sources close to the former couple tell TMZ ... North doesn't have her own TikTok account, nor does she have the app on her own phone any longer. Instead, we're told North can only access TikTok through a joint account on Kim's phone -- and only uses it in her mother's presence.

Not just that ... but our sources say the comments for North and Kim's account are fully disabled. We've even spoken to sources at TikTok who tell us ... North and Kim's account passes the company's terms and conditions for minors.

Now here's why Ye might be in a tiff over this ... according to another source in the know. We know there was, in fact, an incident recently where North did go live on TikTok from her own phone -- but our sources say Kim disciplined her over that and made the changes then.

We're told Kim, Kanye and his cousins even had a discussion over the incident, and they agreed to the new parameters that North is now confined to ... aka, no social media on her phone, and only being able to hop on through her mom's account with her mom there too.

With that said ... our sources say it's confusing to Kim that Kanye is making a big fuss about North's recent video, because she thought everyone was on the same page from before.

As for why an 8-year-old would even have her own phone ... sources close to Kim tell us it's so she can have a direct line to her dad, and vice-versa. Of course, we're told that phone is fully monitored with all the parental blocks you can imagine -- and to reiterate ... there are no social media accounts on it at all.

Lizzo apparently has a new song in the works -- and the way she's letting us know about it is by stripping down ... and baring it all.

The singer posted both a video as well as a photo of what seems to have been a recent shoot she took part in ... one for which she appears to have been fully nude. In the clip, you see Lizzo seated and working it for the camera -- this as a snippet of what sounds like a forthcoming track plays as the main audio.

It actually sounds pretty damn good -- almost Whitney Houston-esque in the vocals department, if we're being honest. Of course, everyone knows Lizzo can sing ... but this is a bit of a revelation here, because she's belting out a killer tune ... and it's all her, no music.

The brief lyrics go ... "If you love me, you love all of me // Or none of me at all." Good stuff!

The accompanying caption reads, "You dont get to pick and choose. We should be unconditionally loving of one another, starting with being unconditionally loving to ourselves."

She adds, "Take a moment today and think about the conditions we hold so tightly to that keep us from the freedom of true love. Do you really wanna be so tightly wound? Free yourself in love. You deserve it."

Of course, Lizzo is no stranger to expressing self-love -- it's a huge part of who she is as an artist, and she often shows off her body to hit that point home ... including just hours before she posted this clip, where she posed in a 2-piece bikini at the pool with some friends.

That's not to say she hasn't struggled with her body image -- she certainly has, and has grappled with it publicly as well. In the end, though, it seems Lizzo loves everything about herself ... turning heads in the process.

Adele is giving off big time "don't look at me!" vibes -- this as the first clear photos of her have emerged since her Vegas time-out ... with none other than her BF by her side.

The pop star was seen Friday leaving Mr. Chow in Bev Hills with NBA agent Rich Paul -- and despite their best efforts to keep things low-key ... the paps fired away as their car started to pull out of the backlot, capturing some interesting shots as they exited.

As you can see ... Adele is straight up hiding behind her purse in the passenger seat, not wanting the cameras to get a good look at her mug -- and for the most part, she succeeded.

Adele has been hunkering down at Rich's place here in L.A. in hopes that the residency drama would blow over -- and while it seems to have settled down for sure since her tearful apology ... there are still tons of rumors flying about a possible all-out cancelation.

As we reported ... her story about having to postpone things due to COVID and other logistics simply doesn't add up to the folks over at Caesar's -- as we've been told by those in the loop that any COVID issue would've been brought up way earlier than when she did, and not just that ... but we'd heard much different accounts about what was going on BTS.

Long story short, word is ... Adele wasn't happy with the set pieces and stage design when she showed up for rehearsals -- very shortly before her debut performance, for which folks bought tickets and flew in from all over the world to catch in person.

According to our sources ... she just couldn't be satisfied, and ended up blindsiding Caesar's crew with her announcement. By the looks of it, she definitely doesn't wanna talk about it yet ... or even be seen.

Kanye West now has someone in his corner over his very public spat with Kim Kardashian over parenting -- and that'd be one Candace Owens ... whose support he appreciates.

Ye took to IG Saturday to thank the conservative political pundit for voicing support over whether Kanye and Kim's daughter, North, should be on TikTok or not -- and in CO's POV, the kid definitely shouldn't ... because she says it's harmful for young girls.

Candace says Kim's wrong on this issue, going on to say ... "It's actually Kanye that is trying to protect his daughter in this regard and Kim is spinning this as 'obsession' and 'control'" ... adding there are other ways for kids to creatively express themselves besides TikTok.

KW was definitely feeling the love, and made sure Candace knew about it ... posting a lengthy caption that expressed just how much it meant to him that she was standing by his side ... while others, apparently, keep their vote of confidence on the DL with Ye.

He writes, "THANK YOU CANDACE FOR BEING THE ONLY NOTEWORTHY PERSON TO SPEAK ON THIS ISSUE THERE'S A LOT OF CELEBRITIES SCARED TO SAY SOMETHING IN PUBLIC BUT THEY'LL TEXT ME IN PRIVATE AND SAY THEIR ON MY SIDE."

Kanye adds, "I WILL NO LONGER PUT MY HAND THROUGH A BLENDER TO HUG MY CHILDREN MY MOTHER TOOK ME TO CHICAGO WHEN I WAS 3 AND TOLD MY DAD IF HE CAME TO CHICAGO HE WOULD NEVER SEE ME AGAIN SO I BOUGHT THE HOUSE NEXT DOOR I DREAM OF A WORLD WHERE DAD’S CAN STILL BE HEROES."

This latest dustup comes after Kim filmed a TikTok with North ... which pissed off Kanye, as he's made it clear he doesn't want his kids on there. Kim accused him of attacking her, and essentially brushed off the TikTok use as NBD ... especially compared to his behavior.

Hank Williams Jr.'s son wants some of what Britney Spears has -- freedom from a conservatorship ... one he alleges his father quietly placed him in 18 months ago.

Sam Williams -- himself a country singer who's worked with the likes of Dolly Parton -- posted an eerily silent video to YouTube earlier this week ... and in it, he holds up handwritten signs explaining his alleged plight.

Sam claims his father and half-sister, Holly Williams, put him under a conservatorship back in August 2020 ... 55 days after his sister, Katie Williams, was killed in a car accident.

In the video, the 24-year-old singer nervously looks around the room before holding up one more sign that reads, "I want out."

The caption on the clip says, "I've been quiet a long time now. I want out of this, and I don't mind people knowing. They took my grief process, my spirit, my money, my car, my home, and everything possible in order to 'protect me.' Well, I need protection from them."

Interestingly, Sam and his father were photographed together in November 2021 at Nashville's Country Music Hall of Fame -- where they were celebrating Hank's induction -- although, Sam doesn't look all that thrilled to be there.

We've reached out to Hank Jr. and Holly's attorneys and reps multiple times, but haven't gotten any response. However, TMZ has confirmed through court records ... Hank did file a petition for an emergency conservatorship in August 2020, and it was for Sam. We've been unable to confirm the current status of the conservatorship.

Sam released his debut album, "Glasshouse Children," right around the same time the conservatorship docs were filed.

The record features collabs with Dolly and Keith Urban. At the time, he told People it was a difficult record to complete while mourning his sister -- "I definitely broke and went through a really, really, really hard time. I'm still climbing out of it. But, it's the 'still climbing' part that is the most important. That'll just always be a big part of my story."

Sam referenced that pain in his YouTube caption, saying, "I have worked my broken heart to quits since my dear Katie left for Home. I do not deserve this. This is a scary step but I don't see what else to do here. I am ashamed of my family and embarrassed. I am beyond done. I have my spirit back. Get. Me. Out. Please."

Justin Bieber was playing pool Friday night, and he landed a shot in the back pocket -- Hailey Bieber's back pocket!!!

Justin and Hailey hit up the pool room at the Hotel Rock Lititz in Lititz, Pennsylvania, acting super goofy and romantic as they tried their hand on the felt.

They were hugging, dancing (sorta) and then JB smacks Hailey's butt as they erupt in laughter. You gotta listen to the woman who shot the video ... hilarious!

Justin and Hailey hung out for a couple hours as they chilled with a few friends ... under the watchful eye of hired muscle.

The buzz is that Justin's in town to record music with the Clair Brothers. It's interesting ... this is Amish Country, but it has musical roots. The rehearsal facility has seen the likes of Beyonce, BTS, Taylor Swift, U2, Elton John and Billy Joel. It's considered one of the greatest rehearsal spaces in the world.

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West are currently at war in their divorce, with both sides airing out grievances in a very public fashion ... and here are Kim's options to navigate some troubled waters.

The first option -- do nothing. Fact is ... the divorce is on track, and Kim has already asked the judge to restore her single status STAT. That should happen next month, and Kanye's not in a position to stop that.

Once the judge declares them divorced, 2 issues remain -- property distribution and child custody.

As for property -- that one's easy. TMZ broke the story ... Kim and Kanye have a prenup, and it essentially keeps their assets separate from one another. There are some joint interests, but it's already being sorted out and we're told there should be no problem sealing the deal when it comes to property.

Child custody is trickier. Kim said she's the primary caregiver, and from what we've seen, that's simply a true statement. There will almost certainly be issues regarding holidays, making decisions about how the kids are raised, conditions under which the kids can be taken out of state, and on and on. Worst case scenario ... a judge may have to lay down rules if Kim and Kanye can't reach an agreement, but our sources think it's likely they will eventually reach an agreement.

The more likely reason a judge could get involved in the short term all has to do with Kanye. If he keeps going after her on social media, Kim could go to court for a non-disparagement order ... forcing Kanye to zip it when it comes to airing his grievances over Kim. She could go to court now to get such an order, but our sources say so far there are no plans to do so.

Bottom line ... it's not unusual for flare-ups -- even wars -- to surface during divorce proceedings, but most of these settle. The smart money is on this one settling as well.

Joe Rogan is apologizing for repeatedly using the n-word -- the entire word -- in his past, saying, "It looks f***ing horrible, even to me."

A complication of clips from old podcasts shows Rogan using the slur over and over.

Rogan tried explaining it this way ... "There's a video that's out, that's a compilation of me saying the n-word. It's a video that's made of clips taken out of context of me of 12 years of conversations on my podcast, and it's all smushed together."

Rogan said there were times he thought he could use the word during discussions about pop culture ... citing Redd Foxx and Richard Pryor, but there's an obvious difference. Rogan says he was wrong and is regretful.

He says, "Now, I haven't said it in years, but for a long time, when I would bring that word up, like, if it would come up in conversation and instead of saying the n-word, I would just say the word -- I thought as long as it was in context, people would understand what I was doing."

There's another clip shot 11 years ago that's even more problematic ... in which Rogan says a taxi driver dropped him off in a black neighborhood in Philly and it was "like they were in 'Planet of the Apes.'"

Rogan says, "I was just saying there's a lot of black people there. But, then I went on to talk about what a positive experience it was and how much fun it was to go to see this movie in a black neighborhood."

The popular podcaster says he will never use the n-word again, calling this "the most regretful and shameful thing that I've ever had to talk about publicly."

He says he hopes this will be a "teachable moment" for others.

Kanye West's GF Julia Fox is addressing reports that she once dated Drake ... she says "nothing really happened" ... the question, what does "really" mean?

Julia used her "Forbidden Fruits" podcast to address the Drake rumors ... "He's a great guy and a gentleman, and that was it. Nothing really happened, we were just, like, friends hanging out. I wouldn't say that we were dating."

Not hard to read between the lines here ... but it's tricky because of the complicated relationship between Ye and Breezy.

She says when she got together with Kanye, she was an open book ... "Obviously, when I first started speaking to Ye, I told him immediately -- I think on the first day, before it went any further, because I'm just an honest person."

This week just got crazier as it wore on ... from Kanye declaring war on Kim, to ABC benching Whoopi, to Rudy Giuliani unmasked! So, we gotta ask ...

PETA is not a fan of the new "Jackass Forever" film, and is demanding prosecutors launch a criminal investigation, claiming the production violated animal cruelty laws.

A rep for Peta tells TMZ ... the Paramount Pictures movie, which appears to have been filmed at least partially in Los Angeles and San Luis Obispo County, likely broke state animal protection laws with scenes involving all sorts of critters.

PETA says a spider was "provoked" into biting an actor's chest, a turtle "harassed and goaded" to bite an actor's testicles, and a snake "harangued and provoked" into biting someone's nose.

But wait, there's more, allegedly ... a tarantula "trapped" in a tube, and a bull "deliberately agitated" into charging and injuring Johnny Knoxville.

PETA also claims Knoxville and Steve-O provoked honeybees into stinging Steve-O's penis, killing many bees in the process ... and a scorpion was put in the mouth of an unnamed jackass and repeatedly hit until it stung.

The org fired off a couple of letters, obtained by TMZ, to the L.A. City Attorney and San Luis Obispo County D.A. ... urging them to investigate the production and take legal action.

PETA thinks an investigation could lead to charges against Knoxville, Steve-O, Chris Pontius, Eric André, director Jeff Tremaine, producer Spike Jonze ... and others, including those responsible for providing the animals used in the film.

PETA's Senior VP Lisa Lange tells TMZ ... "If Steve-O and Johnny Knoxville want to make a career out of nasty little boy fantasies, they're entitled to, as long as they don't stress, harm, poke, prod, scare, or bother animals who are used as living props for their idiocy."

Lange adds ... "PETA is reminding city and county prosecutors that no one is above the law and that while the rest of the world wants to save bees and recognizes animals as sentient individuals, these jackasses exploit and abuse them for fun."

As we first reported, Steve-O and Pontius are also being sued over a jet ski stunt that allegedly left a man badly injured.

Dana White says he fought like hell to get Tom Brady to play one more year -- and to do it for the Raiders -- telling TMZ Sports, "I was hammering him to come to Vegas."

Dana -- a huge Patriots fan who calls Sin City home -- says the conversations all went down shortly after Brady and the Buccaneers were booted from the playoffs ... and the TB12 retirement talk started to circulate.

The UFC honcho tells us he tried hard to get inside information from Tom about what he was going to do ... and the entire time, he said he was urging the guy to force a trade from Tampa to Nevada.

"I was firing texts to him and he sent very cryptic text messages," White says. "He had me thinking he wasn't going to retire. So, you know what I was doing? I was hammering him to come to Vegas and play for the Raiders."

Tom's initial response was not a "no," Dana said ... but, ultimately, Brady announced Tuesday he wouldn't be a Raider or a Buc or even a football player anymore -- retiring after 22 seasons in the NFL.