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English actress and singer Julie Dawn Cole was just 13 years old when she was cast as Veruca Salt -- the spoiled and greedy daughter who demands everything 'now' and the second person to discover the Golden Ticket -- in the 1971 classic film "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory."

Julie shared the big screen with the late Gene Wilder as the colorful and gleeful Willy Wonka, Peter Ostrum as the sweet and humble, Charlie Bucket and Denise Nickerson as the selfish and vain gal, Violet Beauregarde.

"I want it now!"

Kim Kardashian is using her celebrity to bully a small business for the rights to a skincare line, according to a new lawsuit ... but Kim's legal team says it's nothing more than a "shakedown effort."

Kim is being sued for trademark infringement over her new brands, SKKN and SKKN BY Kim, by a company out of Brooklyn called Beauty Concepts, which claims it owns the rights to "SKKN+" and says Kim's use of the moniker on her beauty products is confusing customers.

According to the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, Beauty Concepts says it's a Black and woman-owned business that survived the pandemic, and moved up to a brick-and-mortar store only to learn Kim K was launching her new brand with a strikingly similar name.

In the docs, Beauty Concepts says it reached out to Kim's team after she filed papers trying to lock up rights to "SKKN" ... informing her it already held the trademark for "SKKN+" and asking Kim not to use similar branding. The company claims Kim's team ignored the request and pushed forward, releasing her line anyway.

Kim's attorney, Michael Rhodes, is pushing back, telling TMZ ... "This lawsuit is not what it seems. SKKN BY KIM is a new brand that follows in the footsteps of Ms. Kardashian's successful KKW line of products. Building on independent research and development, her company filed a trademark application for SKKN BY KIM to protect the new branded products. This prompted the current shakedown effort."

Rhodes says, "We applaud Ms. Lunsford for being a small business owner and following her dreams. But that doesn’t give her the right to wrongfully claim that we’ve done something wrong. In its letter, Beauty Concepts claimed to own rights to a logo made up of SKKN+, and had just filed for trademark protection for that logo. The business was a one-person shop offering facials from a single Brooklyn location. The salon had no signage and was by appointment only. To our knowledge, Beauty Concepts sold no products under the SKKN+ name.

He continues, "Beauty Concepts asked that we drop the SKKN name. Of course, we said no. Beauty Concepts then challenged Ms. Kardashian’s trademark applications at the USPTO. Unsurprisingly, the USPTO rejected Beauty Concepts’ own SKKN+ mark saying that “skkn” just means “skin.” Undaunted, Beauty Concepts then tried to make its business seem more than it was – it leased a new storefront, changed its website, etc."

Rhodes says Kim's team tried to work with Beauty Concepts to figure something out, and says he "pointed out running a small esthetician business in Brooklyn does not give it the right to shut down a global skincare line."

It's a dark day for fans of romance and flamingos -- the relationship between two same-sex birds has flown the coop.

Denver Zoo broke the fowl news in a post intended to celebrate pride month, but instead they had to announce Freddie Mercury and Lance Bass are no longer rockin' together.

The zoo's famed same-sex duo had originally gotten together to be "surrogate parents" in case a breeding pair of the birds was unable to raise a chick on their own.

Lance and Freddie were an item for a number of years before they called it quits ... according to the zoo. As ya might expect, coming in the middle of Pride Month ... the announcement ruffled some feathers online.

The zoo assures the public it was an amicable breakup ... but we can't confirm that, yet.

They say the notion of "mating for life" isn't true for all birds -- the zoo's flock of 75 flamingos has seen some couples stay together forever, while others jump from partner to partner ... no shame intended.

One thing ya know about Wendy Williams, she doesn't tiptoe around anything ... which is why she told us -- as only Wendy could -- about her ongoing medical struggles, and starting her new career.

Wendy joined us Tuesday on "TMZ Live" to tell us more about why she's turning her back on TV, for now, and instead, choosing to produce her own podcast -- and, for her, it comes down to time and money.

Sounds like she's been doing some homework, because she told us ... "When you're famous, podcasts will make more money for me, being famous, than doing the Wendy Williams Show."

She made it clear, she's "100 percent retired" from the grind of her daily TV show.

Wendy's still in the planning stages when it comes to exactly what she's going to dig into during the podcast -- although, as we first reported, she has some celeb guests in mind already. But, the biggest revelation she dropped on us was about her battle with lymphedema.

She had no issue holding up her foot to reveal just how swollen it is from the condition -- which is caused by a blockage in the lymphatic system. Wendy says she can only feel "maybe 5 percent of my feet" ... but also explained how she's not letting it slow her down.

To that point, we got video of her out in NYC Monday night, and she seemed to be moving pretty well.

Wendy says it was an amicable split from Debmar-Mercury, her TV show's production company, and while she swears she's done with TV -- she did admit there's one gig she'd still do ... but only as a guest host.

Buffalo Bills owner Kim Pegula is on the road to recovery after a health issue left her hospitalized earlier this month ... with the team saying she is "progressing well."

The Pegula family said in a statement two weeks ago that Kim had been "receiving medical care as a result of some unexpected health issues" ... and on Tuesday, they shared a positive update.

"Kim is progressing well and is resting and rehabilitating from a health issue," the statement reads.

"We are grateful for the medical professionals providing her care and to everyone for their prayers and well wishes."

Pegula was reportedly in the ICU at Baptist Health Boca Raton Regional, according to Spectrum News 1.

Kim, who married Terry Pegula, a billionaire businessman, back in 1993 ... is an integral part of both the Buffalo Sabres and the Bills, two teams the Pegula family owns.

She's the team president of both squads ... and, in fact, is the first female to hold that title in both the NFL and NHL.

Donald Trump was not only in on the January 6th insurrection, he wanted to lead the insurrectionists to the Capitol, and when the Secret Service refused to drive him there, Trump tried to grab the wheel of the Presidential car ... this according to Mark Meadows' right hand aide, Cassidy Hutchinson.

Her testimony is shocking ... the January 6th House Committee called a special session so she could appear and tell her story about the events leading up to the riot.

Hutchinson testified ... Trump became aware on January 6th people in the crowd had weapons and were approaching the Capitol without going through security. She says she overhead Trump respond, "I don't f***ing care if they have weapons. They're not here to hurt me."

She went on to say Trump ordered the Secret Service to remove the metal detector from the area around his speech, presumably so armed protesters would be unfettered to approach the Capitol.

After Trump spoke to the crowd, he got back into The Beast (the presidential limo) and ordered the driver to take him up to the Capitol. The head of the security detail refused to take him, saying it was unsafe. She says Trump responded, "I'm the f***ing President! Take me up to the Capitol now."

When the head of security refused, she says Trump reached forward and grabbed the steering wheel and had to be physically restrained.

She says he then lunged at the head of security and allegedly attempted to go for his throat. Trump was again restrained and the limo proceeded back to The White House.

Hutchinson also testified Trump would often become enraged, throwing plates, pushing over chairs when things didn't go his way.

Trump has taken to his Truth Social platform in an attempt to discredit Hutchinson's testimony ... saying he didn't even know who she was -- and assuming she was only angry with him after being denied permission to travel with staff on a trip to Florida.

Sometimes being the world's highest-paid athlete ain't always easy ... 'cause Lionel Messi had to deal with a SWARM of fans while he was trying to get a little R&R in on a vacation this week.

Messi, fellow soccer stars Luis Suarez and Cesc Fabregas, as well as their wives chartered a yacht in Formentera -- and when they stepped off of it to grab a bite to eat ... a crush of fans mobbed Messi on the sand.

Photos show as the dude was trying to make his way back to the boat following the meal -- people did everything they could to get a close-up of the soccer star.

Some fans snapped pictures, while others reached in for handshakes and hugs.

To his credit, Lionel didn't look to be annoyed ... strolling through the sea of bodies with his head held high.

Eventually, Messi and the soccer stars made it back to the boat -- where they stripped off their tops and got in some sun and swimming.

Ghislaine Maxwell was just sentenced to 20 years behind bars for her role in the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking scandal.

Maxwell was sentenced Tuesday ... learning her fate nearly 7 months after being found guilty by a New York jury. She'll also have to pay a $750k fine and 5 years of supervised release once she's out.

As we reported ... Maxwell was convicted back in December on 5 of the 6 counts she faced in her sex trafficking trial, including a conviction on one count of sex trafficking of a minor.

Maxwell stood accused of soliciting and grooming minors for sex crimes and abuse at the hands of Epstein between 1994 and 2004.

During her trial, 4 women testified Epstein sexually abused them when they were all under the age of 18 ... and they also told the jury Maxwell recruited and groomed girls for Epstein to abuse and sometimes even joined in on the abuse.

At the sentencing, a few of Maxwell's victims spoke. One of the victims, Annie Farmer, said "Maxwell had many opportunities to come clean, but instead continued to make choices that caused more harm. She chose to lie about her behavior, causing additional harm to all of those she victimized."

Maxwell addressed the court as well and apologized to the victims. She said, “Your honor, it is hard for me to address the court after listening to the pain and anguish expressed in the statements made here today. The terrible impact on the lives of so many women is difficult to hear and even more difficult to absorb, both in its scale and in its extent."

"I believe that Jeffrey Epstein was a manipulative, cunning and controlling man who lived a profoundly compartmentalized life and fooled all of those in his orbit. Jeff Epstein should have been here before all of you. He should have stood before you in 2005, again in 2009 and again in 2019. ... All the many times he was accused, charged and prosecuted. but today it is not about Jeffrey Epstein ultimately. To you, all the victims ... I am sorry for the pain that you experienced."

Maxwell pled not guilty to all the charges and her legal team insists she's been made a scapegoat for Epstein ... who committed suicide in custody in 2019 while awaiting his own trial.

The Fury family's relationship with a major Irish crime boss is what's keeping Tommy from entering the United States ... with U.S. officials placing a travel ban on any fighters, managers and promoters with ties to the wanted man.

Daniel Kinahan -- who helped found the MTK Global boxing promotions company that previously repped Tyson Fury -- is accused of running a massive drug and firearms trafficking operation in Europe ... and is currently on the run from authorities.

Law enforcement sources tell us fighters with any association with Kinahan -- even the most tenuous ties with the guy -- are being barred from traveling as part of the federal investigation ... in hopes of getting information on bringing him down.

Here's the thing -- Kinahan is accused of some SERIOUS crimes with the Kinahan Organized Crime Group ... but as far as MTK Global goes, it was legit and well respected in the boxing community.

We're told the feds are even keeping former fighters who are now broadcasters from doing their jobs ... stopping at nothing to get people to cooperate in the investigation.

While Tommy seemingly has ZERO connection to Kinahan, it's Tyson's relationship with Kinahan that kept him from making it to New York for Wednesday's press conference for the Jake Paul fight.

Tyson has clearly avoided questions about his links to Kinahan in the past ... but has adamantly denied any wrongdoing.

The terror of Vladimir Putin firing missiles on innocent civilians is on vivid display in these new videos showing the shopping mall Russia just destroyed.

Monday's missile strike in the central Ukrainian city of Kremenchuk destroyed the mall, sending fireballs into the sky and unleashing a shockwave on a nearby park. In the video, you can see citizens strolling peacefully when suddenly they have to run for their lives.

Some people took cover behind trees, while others jumped into a pond seeking cover from shrapnel and rocks that were sent flying. A massive piece of concrete from a building landed in the park, but luckily it didn't hit anyone.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said there were more than 1,000 people in the mall at the time of the strike -- and the latest death toll stands at 18, with nearly 60 injured and another 36 people still missing.

As rescuers continue digging through the rubble, President Zelensky is labeling the missile strike "one of the most defiant terrorist attacks in European history."

Wendy Williams is already putting television in her rearview, having decided podcasting is a better fit -- but she's already lining up big names to join her ... TMZ has learned.

Even though her daytime show was one of the most popular over its 13-season run, Wendy has no interest in being on TV full time right now ... according to her manager Will Selby.

Will is executive producing Wendy's upcoming podcast, and tells us Wendy recently spoke to Snoop Dogg and Fat Joe about being guests -- as she's planning to focus more on her own personal favorites from the music world.

In addition, we're told Wendy's had convos with the Kardashians, and even a member of the Trump family. Will's not saying which one, but any of them would be a huge get ... considering what's going on in Washington.

We got Wendy in NYC back in May, and she vowed she would be back on TV, but we're told that's no longer her passion. Instead, she's focused on producing a pod that's the full Wendy experience -- all about her favorite artists, fashions, food and celebs.

On the business end of things ... Will says Wendy's trying to decide if she's going to partner with a single platform -- like Spotify or Apple -- or just release it independently.

No timetable yet for the podcast debut. BTW, we're told Wendy's not swearing off TV altogether -- she'd still be open to doing appearances on talk or reality shows like "The View" or the 'Real Housewives' series.

Tommy Fury's fight with Jake Paul could go up in smoke ... after TNT claims he was denied entry into the United States ahead of their scheduled press conference in New York.

Just when it seemed like the bout was FINALLY going to happen, Tommy shared the crappy news on his Instagram on Tuesday ... saying his team showed up at Heathrow Airport to hop over the pond ... but they were shut down.

"As soon as I entered the airport, I was pulled to one side and told by a Homeland Security officer that my ESTA had been denied and that I wasn't able to travel to the USA for a reason I apparently know," Tommy said in a video.

Tommy, boxing superstar Tyson Fury's younger brother, went on to say he's done nothing wrong ... and claims he's totally dumbfounded as to why he's not allowed to travel to the U.S.

"I've been training for a fight this whole time and that's all I've been doing," Tommy said. "I have no clue why I'm not allowed to travel and neither does my team or my lawyers."

"Now I've got to go to the embassy trying to resolve it and I'm in the middle of training. I don't know why this has happened a huge shock to me and my team."

As we reported, Tommy and Jake agreed to fight each other at the world's most famous arena -- Madison Square Garden -- in NYC on Aug. 6 ... but Tommy says the issues he's currently facing are bigger than the fight.

What's interesting -- Tommy was able to travel to California last month without issue ... something his nemesis pointed out.

Of course, this isn't going to sit well with fans who've been clamoring for the two boxers to fight after years of trash talk and failed negotiations.

The presser between Tommy and Jake was originally scheduled for Wednesday ... but it's been postponed, according to Most Valuable Promotions.

Despite the travel mishap, Jake isn't letting Tommy off the hook easily ... tweeting, "Tommy, no matter how hard u try to get out of this fight, I'm going 2 do everything in my power 2 not let u weasel ur way out."

Seems only fitting the star of Khloé Kardashian's 38th birthday party is the woman who brought her into the world -- an event Kris Jenner brought up in a hilarious and boozy fashion.

Khloé popped up Monday in a sexy pink latex dress to celebrate her birthday with a lunch at her mom's $20 million mansion in Hidden Hills, and the drinks were flowing! Well, definitely for Kris who made a half-hearted attempt to reenact Khloé's birth -- something Khlo was NOT down to do.

Thank God Kim Kardashian was recording the whole thing, because, after that scene, Mom admitted during a toast ... "I know I'm a little wasted. But, what I want to say is how much I am so f***ing in love with you, Khloé Kardashian!"

Yeah, it was that kinda speech, but super sweet ... as Kris basically called her third-born the glue that holds the Kardashian-Jenner clan together.

Even with all the drinks, this was a true family affair, and the kiddos got in on the fun too -- Khloé posed with her daughter, True and her 5-year-old niece, Dream ... Rob Kardashian and Blac Chyna's daughter.

The Burger King employee who hasn't missed a day of work in more than 27 years could start a new career if he pleases ... he's getting flooded with job offers.

Kevin Ford, who went viral after posting a video of the mediocre gift bag he got on his work anniversary, tells TMZ ... potential employers have been hitting him up left and right, offering a wide range of career changes.

Kevin says he got a job offer from a company that restores classic cars, but he says it's not his thing so he passed.

While Kevin lives in Vegas, he says one job offer rolled in all the way from Charleston, SC, where a manager at a restaurant told him it would be an honor to work beside him. The manager's pitch, which Kevin also turned down, was working at a beachside restaurant with "unbeatable" tacos.

Kevin tells us he has no plans to leave his steady job at Burger King, but if he ever gets the itch, he's got help ... he says a woman from Texas who specializes in resumes reached out, offering to craft him a new resume gratis.

There is one place Kevin would leave BK behind for ... he says his dream job is making music.

Lewis Hamilton is demanding change after former champion Nelson Piquet called him the n-word in an interview last year ... saying racism of any kind has no place in Formula 1.

Piquet -- a Brazilian F1 legend who won titles in 1981, 1983 and 1987 -- made the comments while discussing an accident in the first lap of the 2021 Silverstone Grand Prix ... when Hamilton made contact with Max Verstappen, leading the Red Bull driver to lose control and crash into the wall.

According to CNN Brazil, 69-year-old Piquet referred to Hamilton as a "little n*****" while speaking with Motorsports Talk ... adding, "The little black guy put the car in and left because there was no way to pass two cars on that corner."

"He made a joke," Piquet continued. "Lucky for him, only the other one [Verstappen] got f***** up."

FYI -- Piquet's daughter, Kelly, is in a relationship with Verstappen.

While the comment was made last year, it is just now gaining attention ... which led the Mercedes superstar to condemn the racist comment.

"It's more than language," Lewis tweeted minutes ago. "These archaic mindsets need to change and have no place in our sport. I've been surrounded by these attitudes and targeted my whole life."

"There has been plenty of time to learn. Time has come for action."

Hamilton, 37, also tweeted a response in Portuguese ... saying, "Vamos focar em mudar a mentalidade" ... which translates to "Let's focus on changing the mindset."

The F1 world is now showing support for Hamilton ... with the sport's governing body releasing a statement Tuesday morning.

"The FIA strongly condemns any racist or discriminatory language and behavior, which have no place in sport or wider society."

"We express our solidarity with Lewis Hamilton and fully support his commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion in motorsport."

F1 also addressed the comment ... saying, "Discriminatory or racist language is unacceptable in any form and has no part in society."

"Lewis is an incredible ambassador for our sport and deserves respect. His tireless efforts to increase diversity and inclusion are a lesson to many and something we are committed to at F1."

Hamilton -- the only black driver to compete in F1 -- has been at the forefront of change in the sport ... and led the organization's anti-racism campaign following George Floyd's death in 2020.

John Hinckley -- the man who tried assassinating Ronald Reagan once upon a time -- is feeling remorse for what he did, and is and is now asking for forgiveness.

Hinckley shared his feelings Tuesday on 'CBS Mornings,' offering up condolences to the families that suffered for what he did. He struggles to recall what happened outside the Hilton hotel in D.C. back in 1981, when he shot then-President Reagan, Press Secretary James Brady, Secret Service Agent Tim McCarthy and D.C. cop Thomas Delahanty.

Reagan came within a hair's breadth from dying, and Brady was shot in the head and was confined to a wheelchair with multiple health issues for the rest of his life.

Hinckley says he's glad he failed in his attempt to kill the President.

He says mental illness was behind the act, and a jury agreed ... Hinckley was found not guilty by reason of insanity. As for his mental state these days, Hinckley says he's been one of the most scrutinized people in the mental health system.

Hinckley says he'd like forgiveness from all the folks he hurt, including Jodie Foster, with whom he had an obsession and fired the shots to get her attention.

Hinckley was confined to a mental institution until 2016 and won unconditional release just this month. He says he did the interview with CBS so people could see he's not a monster.