TMZ.com Home

Taylor Swift gave the commencement address Wednesday at New York University ... and there was an undercurrent to her talk that very subtly takes a shot at cancel culture.

Yankee Stadium was packed to the gills as Taylor took the stage and mused she's now a doctor ... after receiving an honorary degree ... she cautioned folks not to make her the go-to in an emergency.

Then she launched into her speech, which was all about her and her life. You could pass it off as somewhat self-indulgent, but there's a theme that seems to challenge cancel culture.

She talks about her cringeworthy moments over the years, and then drops undeniable knowledge on the grads ... that everyone has cringe moments in their life. It could be as superficial as the clothes you once wore -- something she talks about -- but it can go deeper -- much deeper.

Taylor says everyone makes mistakes, and she's always grown from hers and made her life better.

One way to look at this ... we have to tolerate mistakes and allow people to grow, not shelve them. As she said, there were reporters who suggested to her she might end up in pop star jail ... pop star jail is a form of cancel culture.

In any event, the crowd ate it up. BTW ... there's a class at NYU specifically on T.S.'s music.

Cody Simpson can add elite swimmer to his already impressive accomplishments, 'cause the 25-year-old just earned a spot on the Australian swim team ... and will compete against some of the world's fastest in the pool at the Commonwealth Games.

Simpson -- musician, actor, and former teen heartthrob -- competed against his fellow countrymates down under on Wednesday ... finishing 3rd in the 100-meter butterfly at the Australian Championships.

And, no shame in finishing behind the first and second place athletes ... both guys are Olympians.

It's not a total shock that Cody performed as well as he did. In fact, as a teenager, Simpson was a top-level swimmer. However, after his music career took off and he became a bonafide celebrity, he took a big step back from the sport.

However, Simpson got the itch to swim again ... and rededicated himself to the craft about two years ago.

Fast forward until today ... and Simpson -- who recently dated Miley Cyrus -- will compete against over 70 other nations this summer.

The Commonwealth Games were first held in 1930, and in addition to swimming, also feature a bunch of other sports like archery, basketball, beach volleyball, hockey, rowing, and weight lifting, amongst others.

Simpson is clearly getting better in a hurry. During last year's Olympic trials, he swam the 100m butterfly in 52.94 seconds. He was nearly one second faster during Wednesday's finals.

Perhaps it shouldn't be too shocking that Cody's kicking ass -- he reportedly has Michael Phelps in his corner, coaching him up as he continues to make a splash in the swimming world.

Speaking of the man with 23 Olympic gold medals ... the 2024 Summer Games in Paris are quickly approaching.

A TikTok star's pleasure turned into a real pain in the butt, literally -- she says she got a sex toy stuck up there and had to get it surgically removed.

The woman, who goes by the handle @sophzaloafs and lives in the U.K., shared her horror story ... and even posted the X-ray images of a vibrator inside her body.

The TikToker says things got out of hand when she was using the 3-inch toy, and when she couldn't get it out, she sought medical help.

She says she couldn't go to the hospital the night it happened, so she tried sleeping with the vibrator inside ... but the toy continued to buzz throughout the night. As you'd imagine, that made for some serious tossing and turning.

When she finally went to the hospital the next morning, she says doctors struggled to get it out, and the only option was a surgical procedure.

Selena Gomez has teamed up with President Biden and his administration to put a spotlight on mental health ... with the help of youth who are also speaking up on the issue.

The singer was on hand Wednesday at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. to deliver remarks and help lead a conversation with the newly formed Mental Health Youth Action Forum ... which was put together courtesy of MTV and Rare Beauty's Rare Impact Fund.

Selena was intro'd by Dr. Jill Biden, and then outlined why she was doing this ... and why it was important to empower people to discuss mental health more openly.

The whole idea of this is to end the stigma surrounding mental health, while also propping up young leaders who work in the field ... via advocacy, entrepreneurship or both. It appears some of those folks were actually sitting around as SG spoke -- it was a packed house.

Some of the things Selena and co. are hoping to achieve with this new forum include changing labor laws to be more sensitive to mental health needs -- including getting extra PTO specifically for mental health, which would be treated almost like sick days.

Camille Vasquez is staying tight-lipped about speculation that she and her client, Johnny Depp, might be a thing -- but the answer is already out there.

The actor's hotshot attorney was leaving court in Virginia Tuesday with the rest of the team, head up and looking proud of the intense cross-examination of Amber Heard they'd just put on for most of the day ... particularly Camille, who was leading the charge.

A pap was outside and asked what a lot of people have suspected the past several weeks -- namely, the notion she and JD could, perhaps, be dating.

Watch ... she doesn't offer much of an audible response, but her body language is kinda telling -- a nod/smile, it seems. What it's communicating, though, is up for interpretation we suppose ... but, frankly, we already know what's behind curtain #1 on this non-issue.

As we first told you ... Camille and Johnny are not dating, despite all the innuendo and shipping going on among fans ... of which there is a lot, especially online.

For what it's worth ... Amber's shown her attorney some affection as well, but there's no online buzz about anything going on over there.

Former Kansas Jayhawks soccer player Regan Gibbs died on Monday ... and her husband has since been arrested on suspicion of murder in connection with her death.

The Lawrence Police Department in Kansas says officers were called to Gibbs' apartment at 7:26 PM on Monday ... when they say they found 26-year-old Chad Marek and a "mortally wounded" Gibbs.

Cops say Gibbs -- a former Jayhawks women's soccer goalkeeper -- was declared dead on the scene, and added Marek was arrested a short time later on suspicion of murder.

Police say "domestic violence is being investigated as a contributing factor" in Gibbs' death.

Marek and Gibbs had just gotten married last fall. Gibbs was just 25 years old when she died.

KU women's soccer head coach Mark Francis mourned the tragedy in a statement released by the school on Tuesday, saying, "Our soccer program is heartbroken to hear about the tragic loss of Regan."

"She was a tremendous teammate and young woman, and touched so many during her time at Kansas."

Gibbs played for KU from 2015 to 2018 and had the lowest goals-against average by a first-year goalie in Jayhawks history. The Washington native was also a part of two teams who made NCAA tournament runs.

"We are devastated to hear about the loss of former KU student-athlete Regan Gibbs," Jayhawks AD Travis Goff said.

"Our KU family sends our love, support and prayers to Regan’s family, friends and former teammates as we all mourn her loss."

A GoFundMe has been launched in Gibbs' honor -- with family and friends writing in the fundraiser, "Regan had a precious soul and she was loved by everyone who knew her."

"She is leaving behind her mom and four younger sisters who are heartbroken by this tragic loss."

A person cops believe to be responsible for shooting a Johnny Cash silhouette, causing a hilarious leak, is in custody and facing felony charges.

Officials arrested Timothy Sled on Monday, for shooting the 50,000-gallon water tank in Kingsland, Arkansas. He's been hit with 2 felony charges, one for criminal mischief and another for impairing the operation of a vital public utility.

Chief Deputy at Cleveland County Sheriff's Department Gary Young tells us they were led to Sled after an investigation that included local surveillance ... and there's still a possibility a second person will be arrested.

The alleged Buffalo shooter once detailed a grisly account of beheading a cat -- an incident that left him feeling absolutely nothing at all.

18-year-old Payton Gendron documented the killing in a digital journal entry on Discord -- which was public for a time before being taken down -- in which he describes slicing up a feral gray tabby cat that was apparently attacking his family's own pet cat in their garage.

He goes on to say he spent the next hour chasing it around and stabbing it with a camouflage knife ... until the animal died. Gendron is said to have also logged times on when it went limp, and how it bled from its mouth.

Doesn't sound like the guy was done desecrating the body ... Gendron went on to say he pounded the cat onto the concrete with its tail, and then cut off its head with a hatchet after about 20 hacks -- with blood splattering on his face.

He then wrote, "Honestly right now I don’t feel anything about killing that cat. I thought I would be in pain but I literally just feel blank," adding ... "Well my cat Paige is safe now from that evil feral cat, may you find bliss from consciousness less."

Gendron ended that entry by noting his cat had hung out with him more than anyone in the last few years, and that he hoped his family would care for it when he was "gone."

Here's a whopper of a tale. Everyone knows what goes into a Big Mac from that catchy jingle from the '70s ... but only one man can claim a Big Mac has gone into his stomach every single day for the past 50 years!!!

Don Gorske -- a 68-year-old man from Fond du Lac, Wisconsin -- has been lovin' the double-decker burger creation from Mickey D's ever since May 17, 1972, when he sank his teeth into his first Big Mac ... and he's never looked back.

The Big Mac was first released just 5 years earlier in 1967, but nobody on Earth has consumed as many of them over the last 50 years as Gorske. It's true ... Gorske gobbled down his 30,000th Big Mac way back in 2018 and got himself a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records. He hit 32,672 in 2021 ... and he just keeps going, eating at least one Big Mac (and usually two) almost every day of his life.

And, in case you're wondering about his health, Gorske says the steady burger diet hasn't slowed him down a bit.

Gorske says "I got a comic of somebody saying I was gonna die of a heart attack within 15,000 big macs. Heck, now I'm over 30,000. I'm still alive. It's not really the food you eat. It's your lifestyle. If you're lazy, I probably would have gained a lot of weight. But, because I'm so active, I burn off my only calories.

Sports Illustrated swimsuit model Haley Kalil is going solo following her split from ex-NFL star husband Matt Kalil ... throwing on a bikini and hitting the beach in Mexico after filing for divorce.

TMZ Sports broke the story -- Haley filed docs in Los Angeles County on May 4 ... citing "irreconcilable differences" for the falling out.

Despite the recent news, Kalil looked happier than ever as she made her way to Los Cabos for some R&R this week ... wearing a zebra-print two-piece suit as she snapped selfies in the water.

Of course, Haley does this kinda stuff for a living ... and you can see her trying out a ton of different poses throughout her time at the beach.

Haley eventually had to take a break in the shade -- lounging on a chair as she stayed glued to her phone.

29-year-old Haley and 32-year-old Matt got hitched in Hawaii in 2015 after 3 years of dating.

The family of a 12-year-old boy is suing Apple ... claiming he has permanent hearing loss, after wearing AirPods during an Amber Alert.

The family filed suit Monday ... accusing the company of negligence and fraud, claiming the boy's life has been 'severely altered'.

According to legal docs obtained by TMZ ... Carlos Gordoa and Ariani Reyes claim Apple AirPods ruptured their son's eardrum back in May of 2020, while he was wearing the product and watching Netflix on his phone.

The family says, when an Amber Alert went off, it was so loud it caused tinnitus -- ringing in the ears. They claim he now suffers from dizziness and must wear a hearing aid.

The fam claims the Apple product is defective because it plays alerts at a dangerous level ... no matter what volume the user has chosen.

To take it a step further ... Gordoa and Reyes say Apple had known that the AirPods played extremely loud alerts that did not match the selected volume ... from tons of comments online. They say the complaints date back to 2019.

Kylie Jenner is making a mommy comeback ... showing off her post-baby body, just months after giving birth to her son.

Kylie shared photos for her 338 million followers Tuesday, teasing her latest Kylie Skin bubble bath ... and gave fans little-to-imagine, in a revealing lavender bodysuit.

Of course, this is the first time we are seeing Kylie put her mommy curves on full display up-close, since having her son back in February with rapper Travis Scott.

She did tease her 40-lb weight loss earlier this month, posing from afar while on vacay with her brood in Turks and Caicos.

Kylie has been open about her postpartum struggles, after giving birth to her second child ... and returning to social media.

She told her Instagram followers things were much harder this time around, both physically and mentally. She spoke candidly about feeling pressure over her body, before assuring her followers it's okay not to be okay.

The hottest ticket in Hollywood is 2,500 miles away ... in Fairfax County, Virginia. It's bigger than the Oscars. Bigger than the Grammys. Bigger than the Emmys. It's Depp vs. Heard.

It's been a madhouse at the courthouse ... when the trial first started, fans started to line up around 5 AM outside the building -- but it's now off the rails with Amber on the stand.

Fans started lining up at 10 PM Sunday for Monday's 9 AM start ... just to get a glimpse of Amber ... causing the Sheriff to post a sign the following day that read, "Effective Immediately the Line for the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard Case Spectators are Not Permitted to Loiter or Camp Out on The Judicial Complex Before 1 AM."

As for the process to score a seat, we're told court officials have about 100 wristbands to dole out -- on a first come first serve basis -- for the main courtroom and an additional 100-150 wristbands for the overflow room ... and still dozens of fans are turned away.

Our sources say there have been screaming matches when people cut the line. And get this ... there's even a black market with folks offering cash for wristbands.

The China Eastern plane that went up in flames in March after nosediving out of the sky and right into a mountain may have, in fact, been a deliberate act ... this per a new report.

Black box data from the downed Boeing 737-800 -- crashing somewhere in the mountains between Kunming and Guangzhou -- indicates no mechanical malfunction ... but rather, points to someone torpedoing the plane themselves, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The outlet, citing U.S. officials with knowledge of the investigation, says it'd been relayed to them that the plane "did what it was told to do by someone in the cockpit" -- at least that's what the preliminary assessment of this tragedy suggests thus far.

The fact that there's no indication something was wrong with the machinery has led regulators to look to the actions of the pilot manning the aircraft ... and although it seems likely they may have caused the "near-vertical" descent, WSJ notes officials aren't ruling out the possibility of somebody storming the cockpit and taking over the controls themselves.

With that said, China Eastern seems to have suggested no such storming took place -- their own investigation revealed an emergency alert to that effect was NOT sent as the passenger jet went down.

While all signs seem to point to the pilot, the airline said premature speculation could be detrimental to the investigation and to the air travel industry at large. Still, it appears this may be the most plausible explanation ... there've been ZERO bulletins issued addressing any structural problem from Boeing, so there's nothing wrong with their product.

As we reported ... the plane went into a complete freefall pitch from 29,000 feet in the air and went straight down for nearly 2 minutes -- pulling up briefly -- before ultimately slamming against a mountain range and killing all 132 people onboard.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison is just days away from his possible re-election and might've just earned some serious points with the anti-kid crowd ... tackling one unlucky boy to the ground.

The leader of the liberal party -- who was elected to office in 2018 -- was campaigning in Tasmania Wednesday and took some time for a photo-op with a group of kids playing soccer.

Turns out, dress shoes aren't the best choice for a grassy field, as Morrison finds out the hard way. After prepping himself for a pass, the PM sort of trips over himself, diving straight into an unsuspecting kid and taking him to the ground.

Lucky for all involved in the crash, the kid seemed to be OK ... and Morrison came off as just slightly embarrassed.

Halsey's performance Tuesday night in West Palm Beach came to a grinding halt mid-concert, and it seems something happened in the crowd.

Halsey was center stage at the iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre, 30 minutes into her set, singing "You Should Be Sad."

Suddenly, she stopped the show, apparently telling her crew to stop the music.  You hear the crowd, clearly confused, asking "What's wrong?"

Halsey then kneels down on stage and says something, but there's a critical word we can't decipher -- she says, "I didn't think I was going to have to do that until a couple days into the tour, dammit."

Then she seems to say something happened in the crowd that crossed the line ... She tells them, "While I have you I just want to make a statement ... make a reminder, you know.  I know we've been locked inside for a long time and forgot how to act like f***ing people. But, everybody is here because they love the same thing you do so treat them with compassion, community."

We don't know if there was a crowd swarm, although someone in the crowd tells us there was no obvious evidence of that.

Halsey went on, "All of us are here because we love the same thing, hate the same thing. Because your girlfriend dragged you here, that's fine too. You love your girlfriend. I love your girlfriend. Let's talk about that later in the set. Let's try that one more time."

She then resumed the show, singing "You Should Be Sad," from the beginning.