Cardi B Keep Your Hands Off Me!!! Unloads with Mic in London

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BACKGRID

Cardi B isn't standing, or sitting, for anyone getting handsy with her -- even her fans -- because she went off at the end of her show in London Friday night.

Cardi had just wrapped up her performance at the Wireless Festival, and was in the front row amongst fans. She was sitting on the shoulder of a security guard when she looked down into the crowd and started using her microphone to fend off someone.

We can't tell from the video exactly what was happening that pissed her off so much, but she got in a few good shots with the mic before dropping it on the crowd.

Seems like there was no further conflict after that. We've reached out to Cardi's camp to get some more detail about what went down.

This was her second consecutive night performing live -- just last night she was in Norway ... the first of several European dates she has coming up.

Story developing ...

Tony Sirico 'Sopranos' Star Dead at 79

Tony Sirico, one of the main stars of "The Sopranos," is dead ... TMZ has confirmed.

Tony played Paulie "Walnuts" Gualtieri, one of Tony Soprano's main guys for every season of the HBO hit show. His brother Robert announced his passing on Facebook saying "It is with great sadness, but with incredible pride, love and a whole lot of fond memories, that the family of Gennaro Anthony "Tony" Sirico wishes to inform you of his death."

Robert says Tony passed Friday morning. Sources connected to the family tell us Tony had been living in an assisted living home in Fort Lauderdale, FL for a couple years, and had been in failing health.

Of course, Tony will be most remembered for his 'Sopranos' role -- he won 2 Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble Cast.

Fun fact: He'd actually auditioned for the role of Tony Soprano's Uncle Junior -- which, of course, ultimately went to Dominic Chianese. Instead, David Chase gave him the Paulie role. He had one rule about his acting gigs ... he never played "rats."

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He also got a lot of voice acting roles on animated hits like "Family Guy" and "American Dad" -- and played a mobster or gangster in tons of movies, including "Goodfellas," "Mighty Aphrodite," "Gotti," "Cop Land" and "Mickey Blue Eyes."

Sirico was a big supporter of the U.S. military -- he and James Gandolfini once traveled to Iraq for a rally for the troops there. He continued to support the Wounded Warrior Project organization too.

He's survived by his 2 children, Joanne and Richard, several grandchildren and his siblings.

Tony was 79.

RIP

The Weeknd MY TOUR START WILL HAVE TO WAIT ... Communications Outage

The Weeknd is being forced to postpone his first stadium show in his hometown of Toronto ... the result of a phone and Internet outage causing major issues north of the border.

Abel was supposed to have a big show at Rogers Centre Friday night in Toronto, the start of his After Hours til Dawn tour ... and he says he’s crushed and heartbroken by a factor totally out of his control.

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Rogers Communications, one of Canada’s largest telecommunications companies, is experiencing a major outage affecting millions of wireless phone and Internet customers ... and Live Nation says the outage makes it impossible to put on the show until cell and Internet service are restored.

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The Weeknd says he’s been at the venue all day and the last-minute postponement is out of his hands due to the outage. Abel says he tried his best to have the show go on but says operations and safety are compromised.

Canadians were eagerly awaiting the return of one of their own ... and The Weeknd says he will make the show happen at some point in the future.

Elon Musk No Deal, Twitter!!!

UPDATE

3:01 PM PT -- Apparently, Elon's backing out on the sale isn't sitting well with Twitter execs ... the company's chairman, Bret Taylor, just tweeted, "The Twitter Board is committed to closing the transaction on the price and terms agreed upon with Mr. Musk and plans to pursue legal action to enforce the merger agreement. We are confident we will prevail in the Delaware Court of Chancery."

Elon Musk isn't going to be taking over Twitter after all, he just notified the company he wants to terminate the potential deal they had for the sale of the company.

CNBC reports Musk's lawyer sent a letter on his behalf Friday, claiming the social media company "has not complied with its contractual obligations.”

According to Elon's side ... Twitter allegedly didn't hand over business information that the Tesla CEO had requested, unclear specifically what he was looking for, but he's spoken in the past about wanting to look into the company's claims about spam accounts before a deal could be reached.

As we reported, Musk announced he was pumping the brakes on his $44 billion deal back in May ... and the stock tanked in pre-market trading -- down 25%.

While he said the pause had to do with the spam accounts, other theories began to circulate -- one idea suggested he wanted to make execs at Twitter sweat and get a better deal, while another theory believed it to be the beginning of the end of his deal with the platform.

Originally Published -- 2:51 PM PT

Amber Heard Claims One Juror Who Sided with Depp ... Should Never Have Been on Panel

Amber Heard's lawyers have just filed new documents, further detailing their claim that one of the jurors deceived the court by pretending to be the person who was actually summoned.

The new docs claim a jury summons went to a Virginia home where 2 people with the same name reside. The document says the person summoned is 77 years old, but the person who actually showed up for jury service is 52.

Now the docs say both people share the same last name. It would seem they must also share the first name as well, because it would be a big red flag to the court if the first names were different. The document does not address the first name.

In any event, Amber's lawyers say this was a fraud on the court because the 52-year-old never should have served on the jury, but apparently wanted to do so.

As you know, that juror, as well as the others, all sided with Johnny Depp on his defamation claim ... in Virginia, a unanimous verdict is required.

Amber's lawyers are crying foul, and want the verdict set aside and a new trial ordered.

Roddy Ricch Kicks Fan Who Jumps on Stage ... Don’t Bum Rush 'The Box!!!'

Festival season is in full swing throughout Europe, and Roddy Ricch is making one thing clear ... he's got no patience for fans who wanna rush his stage.

Roddy was performing “The Box” at Openair Frauenfeld Festival in Frauenfeld, Switzerland as a rando gets up to join him ... Roddy's security was quick to take the guy down, but RR wanted in on the action too.

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You can see Roddy figure out what happened, and wind up to give the fan a few kicks of his own. As soon as the area was cleared, Roddy resumed performing his classic record like nothing took place.

A wider angle of the incident also captured his ice-cold stare down.

Roddy’s tour schedule was almost derailed this year after he was arrested on an NYC gun charge prior to his Governors Ball performance … but prosecutors decided not to push the case.

Steph Curry Hits Insane Golf Shot At Tourney ... 97-Yard Eagle!!!

If you thought Steph Curry's range was limited to just shooting deep 3s, think again ... 'cause the newly-crowned Finals MVP just holed out a golf shot -- from 97 yards away!!

Curry nailed the incredible eagle on Friday afternoon at the American Century Championship celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe ... and even the announcers marveled at just how wild the stroke was.

The Golden State Warriors star -- on the par-4, 13th hole at the event -- smashed his second shot just past the hole ... but because of all the spin he put on it, it rolled backward and straight into the cup.

Curry lost his mind celebrating the feat -- dapping up his dad and brother while going crazy on the course.

It's been a fun week for Curry while out at the event in Tahoe ... the NBA superstar also had an awesome moment with a fan on Thursday -- when he made the guy do 30 push-ups to land an autograph.

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Yup, even weeks removed from an NBA title ... it's still really great to be Steph.

Boosie Badazz Loses it Over R. Kelly Sentencing ... '30 Years??? F*** No!!!'

Boosie Badazz is willing to die on Pied Piper hill with his firm belief that R. Kelly got screwed by a federal judge -- but the facts don't exactly support that argument.

The Louisiana rap legend's been pissed off ever since the judge hit Kelly with 30 years in federal prison. Remember, the singer was found guilty on a slew of sex crimes -- but Boosie insists none of them warrants such a stiff sentence.

He absolutely flipped out in a VladTV interview, claiming he knows of dozens of cases where killers and rapists were given just 10 years in prison -- and, to Boosie at least, Kelly's crimes amount to little more than manipulation of women.

As he so eloquently put it, "[Kelly] wasn't tying them to the bed. He was masterminding bitches!!! Older n****as do it all the time!"

This seems like a good time to remind Boosie, and others, R. Kelly was convicted of 9 federal sex crimes ... including human trafficking, obstruction of justice and kidnapping. That last count was for holding women against their will.

So, while Boosie thinks Kelly got the book thrown at him because he's Black and rich ... the jury clearly felt there was plenty of actual, and relevant evidence to convict him on ALL counts.

Perhaps the most offensive part of Boosie's rant was his suggestion Kelly should get a lighter sentence so he can return to society, and counsel women on how to avoid "predators."

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Lizzette Martinez, one of Kelly's victims, has the total opposite take ... telling us he deserves a life sentence, because she doesn't believe he can be rehabilitated.

Kelly's attorneys have said they plan to appeal the case ... a move we're guessing Boosie fully supports. One thing he didn't discuss is the fact Kelly could be sentenced at least 2 more times when he stands trial in another federal case and a Minnesota state case.

Facts, schmacts.

Sacha Baron Cohen Roy Moore Loses Appeal in $95M Defamation Lawsuit

Roy Moore just got his ass laughed out of another court in his legal war against Sacha Baron Cohen ... losing the appeal in his $95 million defamation suit.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, a federal appeals court in New York affirmed the ruling from the lower court, which threw out the defamation case because Roy signed a release when he filmed the segment with Cohen.

Remember, Sacha interviewed Roy on his Showtime series "Who Is America?" back in 2018 ... disguising himself as an ex-Israeli intelligence officer and waving a wand his character claimed could detect enzymes secreted by pedophiles.

The wand went nuts when Sacha's character scanned Roy, who was coming off a failed run for U.S. Senate after multiple allegations of him getting flirty with minors back in the day.

As we reported ... Roy, who denied the allegations, sued Sacha in September 2018 after the episode aired on national TV, claiming the comedian portrayed him as a pedophile and arguing SBC's prank amounted to defamation.

Roy's $95 million suit was originally dismissed last July, so Moore appealed ... but he couldn't change the result.

In the appeals court ruling, the judges agreed with the lower court about the release and, as for his wife Kayla's claims, the judges agreed with the lower court that no reasonable viewer could conclude the segment was not comedy.

Trump Documentary Presidential Campaign Led To January 6th Riot Says Filmmaker Alex Holder

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Filmmaker Alex Holder thinks his upcoming Trump documentary paints a clear picture of how former President Donald Trump and his team incited a riot at the Capitol.

Alex joined us on "TMZ Live" Friday and says Trump and co. were a hostile bunch as he interviewed them in the months that led up to the January 6th insurrection -- using words like "belligerent" to describe their tone.

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His interviews with the former President were filled with anger, and says he spoke to Trump months after Jan 6 at Mar-a-Lago, who still stuck to his story about "smart people" rightfully fighting for what they thought was right.

He says the series, which premieres Sunday on Discovery+, will follow a couple of storylines ... one about how Trump allowed the riots to take place, and another about the dynamic between DT and his kids -- something he finds just as interesting.

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As we reported, Alex's footage was subpoenaed by the House Committee last month, using it as evidence to prove Trump was involved in causing the Capitol riot.

Andrew Schulz Forget Streaming Giants I Made More Than $1M on My Own!!!

Comedian Andrew Schulz refused to bow down and censor his comedy special for Amazon, deciding to release it on his own, and the decision is already paying off to the tune of more than $1 million.

Schulz recently revealed honchos at a streaming service "freaked out" when they watched the material he wanted to include in his upcoming comedy special. We're told jokes in the project ranged from topics like Ted Bundy, abortion and Michael Jackson. Schulz claimed the honchos told him to remove the sensitive stuff, or they couldn't release it to users.

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We've spoken to sources close to Schulz who tell us he was shopping the special to Amazon and Netflix -- Amazon bid the highest -- but then backed out after Schulz refused to remove the triggering content.

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Now, Schulz has decided to self-release the special for fans through his website at $15 a ticket. We're told in the first day alone, he made $500,000 in sales and has made over $1 million in less than a week.

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Our sources say the way tickets are selling, he'll make more than his deal with Amazon was in the first place.

We should note, he's partnered with Moment House to sell his tickets -- the same company behind Justin Bieber and Kygo shows -- and we're told he's already broken sales records.

Of course, Schulz's back and forth comes on the heels of a lot of tension between customers and streamers like Netflix. You'll remember, Dave Chappelle and Netflix both took a ton of heat for the transphobic material in his recent special "The Closer."

Report: Vince McMahon Agreed To Pay $12 Million Hush Money ... To Four Women

Vince McMahon -- longtime chairman and chief executive of WWE -- agreed to pay $12 million in "hush money" to 4 different women over a 16-year time period, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal.

The paper claims all of the women were formerly associated with WWE ... and all signed agreements with McMahon preventing them from discussing their relationship with the now 76-year-old billionaire.

One of the reported settlements included a $7.5 million payment to a former wrestler ... who according to WSJ, claimed McMahon coerced her into giving him oral sex. Ultimately, Vince allegedly declined to re-sign the wrestler to a new deal after she refused further sexual encounters.

In 2018, the wrestler and her lawyer allegedly approached McMahon and negotiated a $7.5 million settlement in exchange for her silence.

There were two other previously unknown, alleged payouts made by Vince to former female employees. Each of those women reportedly received around $1 million. Those instances reportedly occurred around 2006 and 2008.

The new report comes on the heels of another WSJ story which led to McMahon voluntarily stepping down from his post at the helm of the wrestling promotion. In that instance, Vince reportedly agreed to pay a former WWE paralegal $3 million after they had an affair following her hiring in 2019.

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WWE's Board of Directors -- where Vince sits as the director -- recently hired an outside law firm to investigate the allegations. Despite being at the center of the inquiry, McMahon has said he's "committed to doing everything in my power to help the Special Committee complete its work."

It's unclear what the latest developments will mean for that investigation.

Meanwhile, Vince's daughter, Stephanie, is back with the company as interim CEO and interim chairwoman after briefly taking a leave of absence "to focus on family."

Of note, McMahon has been seen regularly on WWE programming since the initial report of a payout came to light ... making appearances on both "Smackdown" and "Raw."

Doja Cat Calls Out Noah Schnapp for Posting DM Convo ... That's Weasel S***!!!

Doja Cat's quiet efforts to hook up with Joseph Quinn are now out there for the world to see -- and she's pissed at his co-star Noah Schnapp for blowing her cover by posting their DMs.

Doja went live on TikTok Thursday night to address what went down, and you can tell she was trying like to hell to keep cool about it -- she realizes the 17-year-old actor might not have known better, but she thinks that excuse can only go so far.

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'THAT'S WEASEL SH*T'

To be clear, Doja was only chatting with the kid because she wanted him to hit up Joseph, who plays fan-favorite Eddie Munson in the latest season of the Netflix series.

Noah posted a now-deleted TikTok Wednesday that showed his brief chat with Doja ... where she asks about hitting up Quinn.

She checked herself pretty quick in the convo, though -- after asking Noah to set it up, she says no, asking "Does he have a GF?"

As for Noah's loose social media lips -- she says it's "borderline snake s***," but she hopes that's not who Noah really is and it was just a one-time slipup.

Unclear if she ended up sliding in Joseph's DMs, but odds are the actor won't be posting that convo online.

Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe Shot Dead During Campaign Speech

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Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was fatally shot on Friday while campaigning for a candidate ahead of his country's national elections, according to reports.

Video on social media showed the stunning moment Abe collapsed to the ground and was bleeding from gunshot wounds to his neck and chest in the Japanese city of Nara, near Kyoto. Authorities say one of the bullets pierced his heart.

The 67-year-old was rushed to Nara Medical University Hospital, where doctors said they tried to stop the bleeding from his wounds and did a transfusion, but ultimately couldn't save him. Abe was pronounced dead just after 5 PM.

Police reportedly arrested the alleged gunman, Tetsuya Yamagami, who was initially charged with attempted murder before Abe's death was announced. Cops recovered what appeared to be a homemade gun that the suspect had been holding, according to local reports.

At a press conference, current Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida called the attack on Abe a "heinous act," adding, "It is barbaric and malicious, and it cannot be tolerated."

Abe was in Nara campaigning ahead of Sunday's elections for the Upper House of Parliament. He was less than a minute into a speech in support of Kei Sato, a current member of the Upper House running for re-election, when the shots rang out behind him.

What makes Abe's assassination even more shocking is that Japan has one of the world's lowest rates of gun crimes because of its strict laws on owning firearms. Japan, which has a population of 125 million people, reported just nine gun-related deaths in 2018, compared with nearly 40,000 in the U.S. that same year.

Abe was Japan's longest-serving prime minister, getting elected to two terms, from 2006 to 2007 and from 2012 to 2020. He resigned in 2020 due to health issues.

Presidents Trump and Obama had close relationships with Abe. Trump met with Abe several times while both were in office and maintained a strong alliance between their countries. In 2016, Obama and Abe made a historic visit to Pearl Harbor to honor the lives lost there during World War II.

Drake I Knew The Weeknd Would Be Huge ... Right Here in the Six!!!

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Drake and The Weeknd are 2 of the biggest artists … EVERRR, and they just both happen to be from Toronto -- and Drake's celebrating that ahead of a milestone for his friend.

The Weeknd’s playing a huge hometown show Friday night at Rogers Centre, and Drizzy got in his feels a bit ... reminiscing on hearing Weeknd's music before he was a Billboard-breaking superstar.

He thanked OVO capo Oliver El-Khatib for putting him on back in the day and plugged the stadium show for Abel's After Hours til Dawn Tour ... which was delayed several times during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Weeknd was a literal instrumental part of the success of Drake's 2011 breakout album "Take Care" where he worked on several tracks before he himself blew up on the commercial scene a couple years later.

Earlier this year, Both Drizzy and Weeknd signed new record deals with Universal Music Group rumored to rival NBA contracts in terms of cash money.

Don't be surprised if Weeknd brings out Drizzy on stage tonight. With him being in town, you should probably expect it! BTW, there are still some seats left for it ... if you're in the Six.

They're also due for another collaboration ... their last official duet was all the way back in 2013.

Young Thug Nephew Arrested for GF's Murder

Young Thug's nephew is in police custody after allegedly shooting his girlfriend in the face and killing her ... TMZ Hip Hop has learned.

Fardereen Deonta Grier was arrested Wednesday after cops were called to a residence outside Atlanta. East Point PD spokesperson Allyn Glover tells TMZ ... when officers responded, Grier was crying and his girlfriend, Destiny Fitzpatrick, was dead in a pool of blood by the front door.

Glover says Grier told cops he was Young Thug's nephew, the son of YT's oldest sister ... but it's unclear why he chose to share the information. A source close to Young Thug confirms the relation.

As for what happened ... we're told Grier first told responding officers he was fending off 2 armed, masked intruders, but officers say he eventually admitted to shooting Destiny in the face. A neighbor allegedly heard arguing in the residence prior to the shooting.

Grier was arrested and charged with murder.

As you know, Young Thug is currently in custody as well ... on a wide range of RICO charges after being denied bond multiple times. His fellow YSL artist, Gunna -- also charged in the RICO case -- was in court Thursday trying to get released on bond, but a judge shot it down.

We've reached out to Young Thug's legal team for comment on the situation with Grier ... so far, no word back.