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More of Chris Rock's family members are coming to his defense -- including his other little brother who's ripping into Will Smith for the slap ... and calling for the Academy to take back his Oscar.

CR's brother, Kenny, says it hurt to watch the slap during the Oscars broadcast because he felt helpless seeing Chris get attacked. He says the nonstop replays of the violent incident don't help either.

As Kenny told the L.A. Times ... "It eats at me watching it over and over again because you’ve seen a loved one being attacked and there’s nothing you can do about it." He added, "My brother was no threat to him and you just had no respect for him at that moment. You just belittled him in front of millions of people that watch the show."

Here's what Kenny thinks should happen to Will ... he should NOT be invited back to any other Academy Awards ceremonies, and he oughta have his Best Actor Oscar taken back.

Kenny also backs up what TMZ first reported -- Chris didn't know about Jada's alopecia.

As for whether Kenny accepts Will's apology, he said this ... "I might have looked at it differently had he initially apologized when he got on the stage and cried and accepted the award, but he didn’t, so, right there that tells me that it is something else."

Translation: hell no, he doesn't accept it. Kenny also says Will still hasn't reached out to either Chris or anyone else in the Rock family.

One last thing from Kenny ... he says Will shoulda gotten dragged outta there one way or another after the onstage hit. Kenny says, "He should have been escorted out of there,” he said. “I hold them accountable for that. He could have went up there and did anything you wanted to my brother. It could have been much worse than what he did."

Barring a setback between now and Thursday, Tiger Woods says he will play in this week's Masters tournament.

The golf legend just made the announcement at a news conference at Augusta, saying "as of right now" he has plans to tee it up when the tourney begins on Thursday.

Woods added that he wholeheartedly believes he can actually win the event.

"I can hit it just fine," the 46-year-old said. "I don't have any qualms about what I can do physically from a golf standpoint."

Woods said he does have at least a small worry about walking around the course on the surgically repaired leg that he injured in a car accident back in February 2021.

But, as we reported, Woods has played multiple practice rounds at Augusta the last few days in order to make sure he can withstand walking around the course for the duration of the event.

Tiger has only competed once since the car wreck -- when he played in the PNC Championship in December with his son, Charlie Woods.

He had said in the leadup to that event that he'd never return to being a full-time golfer again, though he would "pick and choose a few events a year" going forward.

As for his recent switch from Nike to FootJoy golf shoes, Tiger says he's having problems with mobility following the crash ... and needed to wear something more stable.

He says he's working with the Swoosh on coming up with a product that will fit his needs ... adding the shoe giant has been "fantastic" throughout the process.

Quavo had an epic night as he celebrated his 31st Bday with a huge glow-themed birthday bash.

The star star-studded party went down Monday night in L.A. at Nightingale Plaza, with a glow-in-the-dark theme ... glowing jello shots, glow drink cups, dancers, the works.

Check out the video. The Migos rapper had the spotlight as he took the stage, rapped some songs and helped folks sing happy Bday to him.

There were a whole bunch of glowing accessories like bracelets, glasses, rings and sticks to go along with the theme. In true Quavo fashion, some of his amigos were able to sip on some drunks like the 'Huncho Rita' and the 'Cheat Code'.

Among the celebs there were Travis Scott, Offset and Takeoff ... and yep you guessed it, actress Karrueche Tran. As you know, folks have speculated that Karrueche and Quavo are indeed a thing, after they were spotted having a romantic dinner and taking a vacation to St. Martin back in January.

Of course, Karrueche told us the two are just friends and nothing more ... but we aren't buying it just yet! Either way, she was sure to pull up and celebrate the birthday boy.

Quavo's actual birthday is April 2 ... and he celebrated in the ATL with the Atlanta Hawks, but hey, the party continues.

Thousands of Univ. of Kansas fans swarmed a street near campus to celebrate the Jayhawks' NCAA championship Monday night -- with one fan actually surfing through the crowd in a shopping cart!!

The wild party all went down just moments after Kansas stormed back to win the title over UNC ... with roughly 70,000 people leaving their homes near Lawrence to cheer for the school's men's basketball team.

Video shows the scene was crazy -- people were shoulder to shoulder for what looked like a stretch of a couple hundred yards -- and at one point, a fan got in a cart and crowd surfed in it.

Footage reveals the people below him moved him through with ease, all while fireworks were being set off in the background.

The party, according to reporters on the scene, went well past midnight -- but the Lawrence Police Dept. says nearly everyone was behaved, with preliminary reports showing just three arrests were made and no significant injuries.

Meanwhile, back in New Orleans ... the Jayhawks partied their faces off after winning the game 72-69, showering each other with water and dancing in the locker room.

Ochai Agbaji, who scored 12 points in the win for Kansas, earned Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four honors. The championship was Kansas' fourth in school history.

Kanye West has left Coachella organizers with a massive headliner hole they need to plug in less than 2 weeks ... but organizers aren't pissed -- they just want him to get better.

We've spoken with festival honchos who tell us there's not currently another artist locked in to take Ye's Sunday spot. However, our sources say there's no animosity toward Kanye ... Coachella organizers understand he's been through a lot lately, and want him to take the time to work on himself. We're told if that means having to miss the gig, so be it.

It's interesting ... Coachella producers were blindsided by Ye's withdrawal. In fact, they learned about it from us. Nevertheless, no hard feelings.

The month of March saw Kanye on a social media tear, going after Kim Kardashian, Pete Davidson and others -- eventually resulting in a suspension from Instagram for the racist attack against Trevor Noah.

In fact, just before the suspension, he teased the Coachella performance with a still image of Pete Davidson's head in the "Eazy" music video and caption, "Y'all ready for Coachella?"

Our sources say Kanye's team didn't provide a specific reason as to why he was no longer going to be headlining -- but he's obviously been suffering through personal issues.

TMZ broke the story ... Kanye backed out of Coachella, and in doing so fans will no longer see Travis Scott who was supposed to hit the stage with Kanye during his show.

While he's out of the show, Kanye hasn't gone into hiding ... he was spotted in Beverly Hills Monday glued to his phone.

Farrah Abraham is happy to be out of the treatment center where she recently worked on her past trauma, and she's ready to take the next step in her career ... by becoming a stand-up comedian!

We talked to Farrah, who was with her 13-year-old daughter, Sophia, and "Mob Wives" star Renee Graziano, leaving the SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills Monday ... she says she's proud of herself for getting the confidence to perform, fighting her fears of getting on stage. She wants to have fun with everyone at the end of the day, saying, "comedic relief is everything that we need."

She says her time in the treatment center helped her get to the bottom of her trauma, and thinks her experience was life-changing. Farrah says she's learned how to move past points in her life that caused her pain, and focus on the good things in life.

She also gave an update on her legal battle with Grandmaster Records in Hollywood, saying she isn't suing the security guard that got her face-down in the dirt outside the building ... instead, taking action against the company that hired them.

She says she doesn't worry about "toxic" people -- referring to the female guard -- adding, "that is on her and she can die with that."

Shaun Weiss is back and better ... and now he'll be returning to the big screen ... 'cause the dude's just landed a role in a movie.

The 'Mighty Ducks' star tells TMZ ... he'll be in the film, "Jesus Revolution," starring Kelsey Grammer -- based on the true story of Lonnie Frisbee and the hippies he baptized in the '70s -- and the role is reflective of his own life.

Shaun tells us, someone from Lionsgate actually saw his sobriety story and wanted to offer him the role. He did a read for a director via zoom, and voila!

We're told, he plays a strung-out Vietnam vet who gets saved and sobers up. And, he's really gotten into the role ... even asking his dentist if he could temporarily take out the implants he just got, to look the part.

Well, that wasn't possible but, either way, Shaun says the role has taken him back to his own life and being drugged out ... so much so, he says, playing the role is almost like experiencing a relapse.

As we previously reported, Shaun has struggled with drug addiction for many years ... even losing most of his teeth from drug abuse. He's since turned his life around, gotten a new set of pearly whites and has been sober for 2 years!

Talk about a comeback ...

Erica Campbell is praising Chris Rock for showing restraint in the face of a Will Smith slap to the face ... and his ability to keep calm has only helped draw attention to his comedy tour.

The Gospel singer sat down with Raq on the "It's Tricky With Raquel Harper" podcast ... and shared her take on The Oscars moment, applauding Chris for not fighting fire with fire.

Erica says emotions can cloud judgment and she's proud of Chris for keeping a cool head at the moment ... lifting him up as an example for lots of folks to follow.

It's just one part of the silver lining Erica sees from an otherwise disappointing moment between two celebs she views as important Black figures.

Chris is doing a comedy tour and his shows have been packed -- with a surge in prices on the resale market. Erica believes Chris helped his own case by showing restraint in the moment Will slapped him, and now audiences are drawn to his tour to hear what he has to say about the incident.

Even though Tom Brady's back, Rob Gronkowski says he's not ready yet to commit to playing football again ... telling TMZ Sports he's still truly undecided about his future.

Most thought the tight end would be a shoo-in to return to Tampa Bay in 2022 after his QB unretired ... but Gronk says that's just not the case -- at least not yet.

In fact, Rob says he actually avoided catching footballs at a charity event over the weekend so he wouldn't get an urge to make a decision that he might regret later.

"I knew if I started catching some passes that my head would have started turning, like, 'Oh, crap, I got to get back out on the field,'" Gronk said. "And, right now, I'm not ready to get back out on that field. I'm not ready to commit to the game of football right now."

The 32-year-old does not have a contract yet -- and he said he won't sign a new one until he's 100 percent sure he's ready to get back on the field.

As for what he's doing in the meantime -- he told us he's enjoying his offseason ... and he announced Gronk Beach is making its return this year at the NFL draft in Las Vegas later this month.

Rob says the party will happen on April 29 -- and he promised it'll be a complete rager.

After that, it appears a football decision will ensue.

Musician and American actress Fairuza Balk was just 23 years old when she played Vicki Vallencourt - the girlfriend who's a ride or die for her 'geek' of a boyfriend -- in the 1998 football film "The Waterboy."

Balk was cast alongside some of the greats including Adam Sandler as momma's boy and H20 enthusiast turned all-star player, Bobby Boucher, Kathy Bates as Bobby Boucher's overprotective mother, Mama Boucher, Rob Schneider as the annoying yet supportive "you can do it" character, Townie and Henry Winkler as the convincing coach, Coach Klein.

One of Gwen Stefani's bandmates claims he's having some trouble with a fella who thinks Heath Ledger is still kicking and living on his property -- and he's asked a judge for help.

No Doubt bassist Tony Kanal filed for and received a temporary restraining order against a guy named George Leonardopoulos ... whom Kanal says has terrorized his family for the past few months with unannounced and unwelcome visits.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, Kanal claims Leonardopoulos has swung by his L.A.-area pad repeatedly since late January -- even hopping a gate onto the property on one occasion.

On one such alleged drop-in from just last week ... Kanal claims Leonardopoulos came to their front gate and buzzed the intercom, telling Kanal's wife that he used to live there with the previous owner of the property -- and that person is Heath.

Kanal says he purchased the house from HL in 2005 (before the actor's death) and Leonardopoulos apparently lived at the house in the past and bizarrely told the Kanals he thinks Heath is still on the premises ... and alive.

Even creepier ... Leonardopoulos allegedly said it was gravely important he be let in to pop into their garage so he could "wake" Heath -- telling them if "you know what is good for you, you will let me in." At least that's what Kanal is claiming here in his TRO paperwork.

In addition to the alleged threats, Kanal says they've seen Leonardopoulos wielding a large stick and a knife and that they've called the cops on him in the past. Now, they're asking for legal help in the form of a restraining order ... and they got it.

A judge signed off on Friday, and it's in effect until a hearing can be held later this month. Leonardopoulos has to stay 100 yards from the Kanal family and their grounds until this can be hashed out.

It's business as usual for Kanye West -- despite dropping out of Coachella -- he's apparently still on his work grind ... stopping by a construction site in L.A.

Ye was spotted in Beverly Hills Monday, just hours after we broke the story that he was no longer going to headline the music festival. For the most part, it appears Kanye's got his head buried in his phone ... perhaps reading fan reactions to his cancelation.

What's interesting ... recent reports suggested Kanye was leaving town to get treatment and better himself after his social media outbursts. However, that just doesn't seem to be true.

Coachella organizers have not yet named Ye's replacement ... Billie Eilish, Harry Styles and Swedish House Mafia are all still scheduled to headline.

Mika Newton isn't just using her voice to sing, she's urging folks to step in and help Ukrainians survive the war -- a crisis she says grows more grave each day for her country.

The Ukrainian singer joined "TMZ Live," following her performance Sunday night at the Grammys and shared her thoughts on Putin's ongoing war in Ukraine and what Americans can do to help.

Mika says all help is needed, in whatever form ... whether it's raising awareness or sending donations. She's aware the brutal images from the war can be overwhelming, but she says it's necessary to make sure folks don't forget what is happening every single day.

ICYMI, Mika performed with John Legend and 2 other Ukrainian artists -- Lyuba Yakimchuk and Siuzanna Iglidan. She dedicated her performance to her sister and all soldiers currently fighting in Ukraine.

As we reported, President Volodymyr Zelensky also appeared -- a total surprise to even Mika -- and he urged viewers to "support us in any way you can" and not be silent.

Kristin Cavallari and Tyler Cameron are pretty comfortable around each other ... even willing to have a make-out session in the middle of a photo shoot!

The reality stars were doing a campaign for her Uncommon James line in Joshua Tree Monday ... we're told Kristin asked the former 'Bachelorette' star to be a part of the shoot last month after appearing on a talk show together.

As we reported, Kristin filed for divorce from Jay Cutler in April 2020, but tried going on a few dates with him after filing. The time apart and then together didn't prove helpful for a rekindling, as she called it quits and began dating other people, including country music star Chase Rice in 2021.

In March, she was having the time of her life at "Magic Mike Live" in Las Vegas ...  getting a full-blown lap dance of sorts -- albeit one that had her lying flat on her back -- while the dude went to work on the whipped cream. Nothing like Sin City ...

A Nicole Brown Simpson look-alike surprised O.J. Simpson in his bedroom at 1 a.m. for a prank video -- and you can see in the footage, The Juice was SHOCKED by the impromptu wakeup call.

The clip was posted to TikTok over the weekend -- showing the Nicole doppelganger and several other young women barging into the ex-NFL star's room late at night to try to get a rise out of the guy.

The girls had their phones out -- playing music loudly -- while a man can be heard in the background saying, "Let’s go! It's party time in the house!"

One of the girls can be heard yelling "Wakey! Wakey!" ... all while the Nicole look-alike laughed.

O.J. -- who wasn't wearing a shirt -- appeared to giggle it all off ... and eventually looked like he was going to get up and entertain the guests before the video cut out.

Further details surrounding the prank -- like when it happened, where it happened and who the girls were -- are unclear ... O.J.'s yet to address it publicly.

Cardi B's archenemy, blogger Tasha K, will not have a pass to say whatever she wants about the rapper while she appeals their defamation case ... the judge just saw to that.

On Monday, a federal judge in Atlanta signed off an injunction forcing Tasha to delete a bunch of her old posts which trashed and defamed Cardi. Remember, Cardi won her legal battle with the blogger back in January when the jury ruled in her favor.

Tasha was ordered to pay Cardi about $4 million in damages and attorney's fees ... and had to delete all old posts that include offending statements -- false claims about Cardi and STIs, cocaine, prostitution and "side peen." However, Tasha's appealing that judgment and had yet to remove those posts and/or videos.

According to the new docs, Tasha's now on the clock -- the judge has given her 5 days to scrub her social media platforms and YouTube page of all those shots at Cardi. Both sides agreed to the terms of the injunction.

Now, if Tasha wins the appeal, the judge says she can file to modify the injunction ... so, she could repost her allegations about Cardi.