TMZ.com Home

Sonny Barger, the founder of Hells Angels, has died.

The news broke on his own Facebook page Wednesday night, with a post that read, “If you are reading this message, you’ll know that I’m gone. I’ve asked that this note be posted immediately after my passing."

He says what he enjoyed most from his life was the time spent with his club brothers, family, and friends ... he signs off, saying, "Keep your head up high, stay loyal, remain free, and always value honor."

Born in Modesto in 1938, Sonny had a tough life growing up ... raised by his alcoholic father after his mother left the family when he was only 4 months old. He got suspended from school multiple times for fighting, and ultimately dropped out in 10th grade.

He enlisted in the Army at 16, but was honorably discharged a year later -- the military found out he forged his birth certificate in order to join.

Sonny joined a few biker gangs before starting up the Oakland Hells Angels in 1957 -- the group just hit their 65th year back in April. The next year he became the National President of the org, after his predecessor went to jail. Sonny moved the headquarters to Oakland.

There were stories of racism within the Hells Angels over the year. Sonny said in a 2000 BBC interview, "The club, as a whole, is not racist but we probably have enough racist members that no black guy is going to get in."

He had been arrested and locked up a couple times -- once in 1973 for possession of narcotics and a weapon, and in 1989 for conspiracy ... they found several firearms and explosives in his possession, believing he was set to hurt a rival gang.

In 1979, he and 33 others were indicted on charges that violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act ... the legislation, signed by President Nixon, aimed to get rid of organized crime in the country -- he was acquitted the next year after a split verdict.

Sonny was diagnosed with throat cancer in 1983 due to excessive smoking, forcing him to get his vocal cords removed. He also had surgery in 2012 to have his prostate removed as a result of prostate cancer.

He is survived by his wife Zorana, and several close family members.

He was 83.

Julia Garner -- who has been tapped to play Madonna in her upcoming biopic -- shows she's got the Material Girl vibe ... showing up at a drag show, and even getting in on the action!

Drag Queen Ginger Douglas tells TMZ ... Julia was having a blast at Mickey's in WeHo during a performance of "Showgirls," put on by "RuPaul's Drag Race" star Morgan McMichaels.

Julia, her hubby Mark Foster from Foster The People and the rest of her pals sat front row ... Morgan even pulled her up on stage, congratulating her for her Madge flick ... and the crowd went wild.

Julia stayed for the whole show -- feeling the performances and even tipping the drag queens. She stayed after the show to take pics with members of the audience and some of the performers.

It ain't all just ice cream and lovey-dovey dates with Gisele for Tom Brady while on vacation in Italy ... he's clearly prepping for his NFL season as well -- hitting workouts on a yacht with no shirt on!

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers star was seen this week on a boat in Portofino getting in a serious sweat sesh ... sparring topless and also riding a stationary bike.

Tom threw the gloves on for several minutes -- working up a lather in the 85-degree Italian sun -- before finishing it all off with a ride.

TB12 was later spotted swimming in the ocean water ... nailing some sweet pencil dives off the ship to get his 44-year-old body some more movement.

Of course, we know Brady's mixed in at least a little pleasure on the trip ... cameras caught him sharing a sweet treat with Gisele while in town off the boat earlier this week.

Xzibit is ready to bury the hatchet with MTV parent company Viacom over his "Pimp My Ride" legacy -- but says they first need to acknowledge he got screwed in the first place.

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with the West Coast vet after he unloaded on Viacom, claiming it's essentially erasing him from the show's history, and in the process, digging into his pockets!!!

X to the Z claims Viacom gave him the shaft by cutting his "image and likeness" from the show in order to get around paying him royalties over the years since the show was in production.

He says episodes cut for DVDs and streaming were also re-edited to remove his music, and DVD covers removed his image and likeness. We checked, and that tidbit appears to be true.

Xzibit was in his prime as a rapper when the show was shooting ... laying platinum albums with Dr. Dre and hitting sold-out shows with Eminem and Snoop Dogg, and he says his celebrity boosted the show's visibility.

In the suit, X calls Viacom's actions "petty," but he told us he's willing to move forward and still hopes to conduct business with them down the line.

Ludacris' manager, Chaka Zulu, was scared for his life, and actually fired back, allegedly in self-defense, during the Atlanta shooting that's left the music honcho in critical condition.

We've spoken with multiple sources who have viewed surveillance footage recorded Sunday outside the APT 4B restaurant. We're told Chaka, his assistant and another friend were leaving an event, walking through the parking lot when Chaka was approached by another man.

Our sources say, in the video, Chaka and the other man start exchanging words, but things escalate, and the conversation becomes visually more intense ... all while the other man allegedly keeps his hand on and around his waistband.

We're told at one point, a female bystander pushed the other man away from Chaka, but he didn't back down ... and then things really got intense when Chaka approaches the man again, who seemingly bumps Chaka with his chest, and Chaka grabs the man by the collar.

From there, our sources say, a group of about 3 or 4 other men -- who'd been standing in the parking lot with the man confronting Chaka -- get involved, rushing in, and knocking Chaka to the ground with a punch followed by kicks and stomps.

We're told one guy in the group makes his way between 2 vehicles, produces a gun, and fires at least 2 shots. Our sources say Chaka, who was also armed, can then be seen getting back on his feet and firing at least one shot in return.

TMZ obtained the dramatic 911 call from the scene, where a man claiming to be restaurant security works to help Chaka ... who had suffered a gunshot wound in the exchange.

A source close to Chaka tells us he was shot at least once -- the bullet came close to his heart -- and he's currently in critical condition.

As for what started the verbal altercation ... we're told it's unclear, though it might have been some sort of dispute about the man not being allowed entry to a party.

A brand new summer camp in Ukraine is going strong even though the war rages on ... and it's all about giving the kids something to look forward to in uncertain times.

Co-founders Yulia Grechka and Oxana Volzhina joined us on "TMZ Live" to talk about their summer program, the 7Fields Eco Camp -- located in a safe part of the region of Kyiv.

The mental toll put on the children of Ukraine has been overwhelming ever since Russia began invading their borders -- Yulia and Oxana knew something had to be done.

Their camp aims to provide 300 refugee kids with fun activities and psychological aid at no cost to the families before the summer's over. They've been working educational programs into the camp's activities, too -- the older children will be able to attend anti-corruption lectures.

Since the camp is free, the team is looking to get donations for the program ... those chipping in will get a letter sent to them, with info about the child they helped give a memorable summer to.

Gennady "GGG" Golovkin has no plans to hang up his boxing gloves after his trilogy fight with Canelo Alvarez ... telling TMZ Sports he's "not ready" to retire yet.

In fact, the star pugilist said he'd straight up be down to fight Alvarez for a fourth time!

The news is somewhat surprising -- most thought the 40-year-old would call it a career after he takes on Canelo in September for the third time since 2017.

And, watch the clip, you can tell Golovkin has certainly considered it. But, he says he's still got more gas left in the tank despite having fought in 44 pro fights in his career.

"Not yet," GGG tells us about retirement. "I'm not ready yet."

As for why he'd come back to the ring to take on Canelo for a fourth time as opposed to callin' it a career ... he said that choice is very simple.

"The business side," he said, "it's very interesting."

For now, the 42-1-1 boxer says he's happy his fans want to see him in the ring with the Mexican boxer again -- and he tells us he's going for a KO in the match.

Before this dashing youngster turned into a world-renowned supermodel, she was just a photogenic kid posing with her hair blowing in the wind and growing up in Beverly Hills.

Aside from having two famous parents, this brunette beauty is most known for modeling all across the world, and she has recently been posing with her famous momma for her iconic lip beauty line.

When she's not hoppin' on private jets and showing you her perfectly bleached blonde eyebrows, you can probably find her gracing her presence on the 'Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.'

D.L. Hughley isn't wasting any more time on Mo'Nique after their public spat over her contract ... even though she's tried to make nice with an apology to his family.

We got D.L. at LAX Wednesday, who not-so-coyly pretended he didn't even know who Mo'Nique was, and claimed he hadn't even heard about last week's apology Mo'Nique offered to D.L.'s daughters and wife.

If you missed it ... the comedians recently got into a very public feud over who was supposed to headline the Fox Theater in Detroit last month. Mo'Nique felt she hadn't been paid appropriately for the gig ... and things spiraled from there.

After trading digs online, Mo'Nique then posted an old clip of D.L. recounting how he initially didn't believe his daughter when she said she'd been sexually assaulted.

He called Mo'Nique a "monster" and said the character she played in 2009's "Precious" ... earned her an Oscar for "being exactly who you are."

Fast forward to our convo at LAX, D.L. says arguments like the one he had with Mo'Nique aren't worth his time. D.L. recently came back from a comedy benefit show for those affected by the Buffalo shooting, so it appears he's looking at things from a new perspective.

R. Kelly has just been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison following his conviction for 9 federal charges, including sex crimes and human trafficking.

The disgraced singer was in the federal courthouse Wednesday in Brooklyn when Judge Ann M. Donnelly announced his sentence ... bringing a close to one of the U.S. Attorney's Office's highest-profile criminal prosecutions in years.

Kelly's known he could get 10 years to life since he was convicted last September on all 9 counts. He declined to give a statement during sentencing.

As we reported, federal prosecutors had recommended no less than 25 years in prison based on the severity of Kelly's crimes.

Kelly's trial had taken just over a month, and his attorneys seemed overmatched in court -- federal prosecutors called for more witnesses than the defense.

Kelly's legal team called on a handful of ex-Kelly employees and associates -- all saying, under oath, they never saw Kelly abuse anyone.

Prosecutors, however, brought dozens of witnesses to the stand, poking holes in that claim ... some said Kelly had managers, bodyguards and assistants who rounded up his potential victims before the singer groomed them for unwanted sex, among other things.

Kelly himself never took the stand.

We spoke with one of Kelly's victims, Lizzette Martinez, who told us he's more than earned a life sentence ... she says the guy's proven multiple times he's using his power to get what he wants, and he shouldn't be given the chance to prey on women again.

Nipsey Hussle's alleged killer, Eric Holder, got jumped by other inmates on his way to court ... and the beatdown was so bad he apparently needed stitches to close his wounds.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Holder was waiting Tuesday to catch the bus to court for his murder trial when he got jumped, causing the trial to be delayed.

We're in the courtroom today, and Holder showed up with stitches running up the back of his head. Holder also appears to have a slightly swollen left eye, plus more stitches cutting their way through his hair.

It's interesting ... Holder and his defense attorneys are all wearing face coverings, which they generally have not done in the past.

The jury is in the courtroom too, but no one has so far addressed Holder's injuries ... the judge, prosecution and defense are just moving forward as if nothing happened.

Travis Barker is in the hospital because he has pancreatitis, and doctors believe it was triggered by a colonoscopy ... TMZ has learned.

Multiple sources connected to the family tell TMZ ... Travis' Tuesday hospitalization was a result of the condition -- which is an inflammation of the pancreas -- and includes symptoms like nausea, intense stomach pain and vomiting. We were not told precisely when Travis had the colonoscopy, but we're told it was recent.

As we reported, Kourtney Kardashian took Travis to West Hills hospital, near their home, early Tuesday. From there, he was taken by ambulance to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in L.A. -- one of the best facilities in the country.

Travis' daughter, Alabama, posted and deleted a pic of her dad in the hospital while he rested in a hospital bed.

It was pretty evident Travis was in severe pain during his ordeal, tweeting "God save me" from his Twitter account.

Ricky Martin's former business manager claims the pop star shorted him millions of dollars, and now she's filed a lawsuit trying to get a piece of his pie ... which she believes is rightfully hers.

In legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Rebecca Drucker says she originally represented the singer from 2014-2018, but after a 2-year hiatus he called her back into service in May 2020 when his "personal and professional life [were] in absolute turmoil."

Drucker says she did just that ... getting his life and singing career in order, guiding him on recording contracts, touring and sponsorship deals and helping him make millions of dollars on his recent North American tour with Enrique Iglesias.

She also claims she protected him in 2020 when he was allegedly threatened with an unspecified career-ending allegation, bringing in top attorneys to handle the matter ... and Ricky walked away unscathed.

The only problem ... Drucker says Martin stiffed her out of $3 million worth of commissions as she was jumpstarting his career. She says Ricky routinely manipulated and lied to her, ultimately forcing her to quit in April of this year.

She said when she persisted in asking for her money, Martin began threatening her to stay silent and demanded she sign a nondisclosure agreement ... which she refused to do.

Drucker's now suing Martin for the $3 mil, plus punitive damages.

Pigs are flying ... O.J. Simpson is supporting Los Angeles County law enforcement.

The ex-con took a stand (not THE stand) Wednesday for the L.A. County Sheriff's Department with a video rant ripping West Hollywood for voting to cut funding for the agency.

Simpson says the decision is all wrong, pointing  out his infamous history with the law in L.A. and saying, "Trust me, we need police, we need the sheriffs' department" ... referring to the time he spent behind bars during his murder trial.

Frankly, the fact O.J. is supporting L.A. County law enforcement is rich, and probably pretty galling to cops -- considering his murder trial defense team famously and viciously attacked LAPD for allegedly contaminating evidence and being racist.

They effectively made the trial more about LAPD actions than O.J.'s.

Now years later, Simpson says he's always been against defunding the police ... claiming he's always said instead of cutting funding, money should be redirected and used for better training and expanding Internal Affairs departments where police investigate other police.

Besides his eye-brow-raising thoughts on police, O.J. is also weighing in on Donald Trump's actions on January 6th and what's going on at the southern border.

Travis Barker's family continues to be by his side during the drummer's hospital stay ... as evidenced in a photo shared by his daughter.

Alabama Barker posted and then deleted an image on TikTok of her holding Travis' hand while he lay in what appears to be a hospital bed. The 16-year-old included the message, "Please say a prayer" along with the image.

It's still unclear what has landed Travis in the hospital, but you can see in the photo he's got a brace on his left wrist -- though that's likely just a result of decades of playing the drums.

As we reported, Kourtney brought Travis to West Hills hospital Tuesday, near their home, before he was transferred by ambulance to Cedars-Sinai a short time later.

Adorable moment between Tom Brady and Gisele on their Italian vacay this week ... the two lovingly shared an ice cream cone -- but it's got us all wondering, is that avocado flavor?!?!

You'll recall ... the NFL legend is famous for never putting away sweets, and turning to the ultra-healthy avocado ice cream alternative whenever he wants to be somewhat naughty with his diet.

But, it sure seems he deviated from that TB12 Method out in Portofino while on vacation with his wife and fam on Tuesday ... 'cause that definitely looks like a chocolate/vanilla swirl to us!!!

To be fair to the 44-year-old GOAT, it seemed he only had a couple bites of the treat ... so, breathe easy, Alex Guerrero and Bucs fans.

And, yes, if you were wondering, Brady is still working out despite the vacation ... he was spotted getting in a sweat sesh on a yacht on Tuesday before the QT time with his supermodel bae.

FYI -- as for Brady's trademark avo ice cream, our sources tell us it SUCKS.