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PETA is putting Zac Efron on BLAST after appearing in an ad campaign with a bear that has spent its entire life in captivity.

The org is urging Zac to "come down to Earth" and recognize that bears belong with their families, not on screen ... according to Debbie Metzler, PETA Foundation Director of Captive Animal Welfare.

She thinks Zac, who's been named Chief Brand Officer for Kodiak Cakes, forgot to ask Tank the bear an important question in his latest ad for the company -- "How wrong is it to use a captive bear to promote 'keeping bears wild'?"

BTW -- 27-year-old Tank was born in captivity and was taken from a breeder at just 6 weeks old ... he was featured on the Discovery+ Show, "Man Vs. Bear."

Kodiak Cakes is running a limited-time collab with Zac, where a dollar-for-dollar match of their "Keep It Wild" merch will go directly to the Vital Ground Foundation, a nonprofit that supports the preservation of wild grizzly bear habitats.

PETA, however, clapped back at the promo saying ... “It’s hypocritical to exploit one animal to potentially help another. No true conservation group would ever force captive animals to perform tricks for the camera in order to raise awareness about their wild counterparts.”

The Beyhive has set its sights on another target ... none other than Monica Lewinsky, and the NFL is now appealing Deshaun Watson's 6-game suspension. So, we gotta ask ...

Yasiel Puig says he's heartbroken over Vin Scully's death -- telling TMZ Sports the legendary sportscaster was a father figure to him, and the former Dodgers star is crushed he's gone.

"I'm so sad because when I met him when I play in Los Angeles, he's a good person," the 31-year-old said.

"He's like a dad for me. I'm so sad that we lose a great person."

And, remember Puig's nickname, "The Wild Horse"? Scully is the one who gave it to the Cuban outfielder.

Yasiel told us three incredibly influential men from the Dodgers org. are now all gone ... and that's painful.

"Vin is like a father for me," Puig said, "Same to Tommy Lasorda and Mike Brito. We so sad to miss all these three amazing guys. Sad for myself and for all baseball, for Los Angeles."

Brito was a Cuban-American Dodgers scout who played a big part in bringing Puig to Los Angeles. Mike died in July at the age of 87.

We also talked to YP about a moment we captured back in 2017 ... when he ran into Vin on the streets in Beverly Hills in front of our cameras.

"I was so excited," Puig said about the moment.

"I get emotional, but that hit me in my heart like, 'Wow this amazing person is coming to say hit to me, talking to me.'"

And, Puig -- who currently plays for Kiwoom Heroes in the Korean Baseball Organization -- has been raking in honor of Vin.

"I had two homers yesterday and I hit a home run today, too."

"He's inside of me right now. I hit it and give God the thank you because he's next to God and next to his wife right now. I want to give it to him."

You can count on Hollywood's hottest to deliver the newest and shiniest trends and these celebs have been reflecting on their assets and are making metallic swimwear more sought after than the precious metals they are modeled after.

Looking like two shiny dimes, Khloe Kardashian and Kim Kardashian both went molten on the competition in a pair of platinum suits. Shining bright like  a diamond, Demi Rose went for gold in an eye-catching strappy suit ... and Lizzo brings chrome to your dome in a tarnished green color scheme.

These polished pics appear to be blinding, so throw on your shades and check out our gallery of all the sexy stars slaying in metallic swimwear.

Joe Giudice is happy his ex-wife, Teresa, is entering into a new marriage ... but he's sorry her new husband is going to have to put up with her family.

Joe tells TMZ ... he's glad Teresa found a special someone in Luis Ruelas, but he feels bad the new husband has to deal with Joe and Melissa Gorga as part of the package.

JG says of his former in-laws ... "I dealt with that thorn in my side for 20 years. Unfortunately, they always come around."

Joe says he doesn't miss dealing with the Gorgas ... and other than feeling sorry for what Luis is walking into with them, he wishes the newlyweds all the best.

Teresa and Luis, who have been engaged since October 2021, will walk down the aisle Saturday at Park Chateau Estate in East Brunswick, NJ, where production cameras will be rolling ... the wedding is being turned into a Bravo TV special.

Remember, Joe and Teresa officially divorced back in 2020 after two decades and four children together ... and he's since been released from prison and moved back to Italy.

Joe met Luis at least once when Joe and Teresa took their daughters on vacation to the Bahamas in March 2021 ... but it's unclear if he warned Luis then about the Gorgas.

Gorga family rep Mike Martocci tells TMZ ... Joe and Melissa have no comment on Joe Giudice because "he ain't worth it."

There's obviously no love lost between Joe and the Gorgas ... but Joe also tells us Teresa is a good wife and he's grateful for their children.

Rev up your engines, because ballroom dancer Sasha Farber has fled the 'Dancing With The Stars' ballroom ... and now it's on you to hit the pavement and find the minor differences in these two snazzy shots.

The dance pro was out riding his motorcycle in LA, and the paparazzi managed to snag some hot shots. Take a Quickstep off the sidewalk and see if you have the moves to find the changes in these two images ... Act as if the Mirror Ball Trophy is on the line!

Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson are calling it quits on their relationship after 9 months together ... TMZ has confirmed.

Sources close to the couple say the pair decided to end things, and according to E!, who first reported the split, the pair's constantly busy schedules and distance apart made it really hard to keep up their romance.

As we reported, Pete had recently been spending lots of time down in Australia, where he's filming a movie, and Kim's balancing traveling and working around the World all while raising her 4 kids in Los Angeles.

Kim recently flew Down Under to see Pete after some time apart, but it's not clear if that's when the two decided to pull the plug on their relationship or if it was more recent.

TMZ broke the story ... Kim and Pete were first spotted together back in October when they hit Knotts Berry Farm in L.A. with some pals. From there, Kim visited Pete in his hometown of Staten Island, where the two dined on pizza and pasta at one of Pete's local spots.

After that, the relationship seemed to take off ... the two took vacations together, and were constantly jetting coast to coast to spend weekends in NYC and in L.A.

It was in April when Kim and Pete made their red carpet debut together at The White House Correspondent's dinner.

While we hadn't seen them together as of late, Kim recently posted a set of flirty pics of her and Pete -- seemingly reminding the world they were still a thing.

The hits keep coming for lyin' Alex Jones ... a jury just ordered him to shell out $45.2 million to the parents who lost kids in the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary.

The money is for punitive damages ... and it's on top of the $4.1 million a jury in Austin, TX already ordered the "InfoWars" founder to pay to plaintiffs Scarlett Lewis and Neil Heslin.

The same 12-person jury came back with the $45.2 million figure Friday, and it includes $20.5 million each to Lewis and Heslin for mental anguish caused by Jones claiming the shooting was a hoax.

The remaining $4.2 million in punitive damages is for defaming Heslin in 2 reports where Jones questioned the father's account of holding his dead son.

The trial's been full of drama ... like when an attorney for the parents revealed Jones' own lawyers accidentally sent them all of his text messages, catching AJ in an apparent lie.

Anne Heche was involved in a wild crash in L.A. Friday, and has been taken away by ambulance in a stretcher.

The crash went down just after noon in the Mar Vista area of Los Angeles. Witnesses tell TMZ, she was driving a blue Mini Cooper and crashed into the garage of an apartment complex.

Residents of the apartment complex tried getting Anne out of the vehicle but she put the car in reverse and then sped off. A short time later, she crashed into a nearby home, igniting a fire. The fire was significant and engulfed the house.

Look closely at the photo of Anne inside the car (above) ... there's a bottle with a red cap in the cupholder next to the gearshift, and it looks like a bottle of alcohol.

Anne apparently suffered severe burns in the fire ... you see her clothes are charred as she's taken away on a stretcher. She's covered in a white cloth, when she suddenly sits up on the stretcher and starts flailing wildly as they put her in the ambulance.

We do not know the extent of her injuries or burns. We're told she's currently in the hospital intubated but expected to live. We're told her condition prevents doctors from performing any tests to determine if she was driving under the influence of alcohol.

A track meet in Colombia turned NSFW real quick on Thursday ... when Italian decathlete Alberto Nonino's junk popped out in the middle of a race.

The unfortunate moment happened in the 400-meter event at the 2022 World Athletics U20 Championships in Cali ... when Nonino was forced to lose his spot at the front of the pack and cover up his privates several times before crossing the finish line.

While the mishap will naturally have some folks giggling and blushing, Nonino went to social media to explain he wasn't in the laughing mood after the race.

"I just want to talk to you a little bit about the rumpus there’s been on blogs and social media in general," Nonino said on Instagram. "I'm conscious it was obviously an accident and I'd like to tell you I’m aware of the reaction and you don't need to send me the links to the blogs out there."

"I'm trying to laugh about it now but immediately afterwards I felt terrible and I'm thankful to my friends and family for helping me get over what happened a few hours later."

The wardrobe malfunction is similar to NFL star Chris Jones' experience at the 2016 NFL combine ... when his own manhood made an appearance during his 40-yard dash.

Shawn Mendes may have made the decision to pull the plug on his world tour, but he's not canceling some serious beach time ... soaking up the sun and taking a plunge.

The Canadian singer was spotted at the beach Friday in Miami, wearing red trunks and with his chiseled figure on display. Shawn got in the water for a bit to cool off, fully submerging before heading back to shore.

As we reported, Shawn recently announced he was pulling the plug on his Wonder World Tour in order to focus on his mental health. The singer told fans that while he thought he was ready to hit the road again, the pressures and stresses of performing city to city and being away from friends and family were too much.

Shawn's family is based in the Toronto, Canada area ... but his ex-girlfriend, Camila Cabello, who Mendes has remained close with since their split lives in Miami -- so it's possible he's spending time with her.

Kanye West and Kim Kardashian's divorce continues to drag on ... Ye has officially lost his 5th divorce lawyer.

Kim and Kanye had a trial-setting conference Friday in L.A. as part of their divorce. Ye's current divorce attorney, Samantha Spector, had previously asked the judge to relieve her as counsel, saying her relationship with Kanye was irretrievably broken, though she wouldn't say why.

She had a date set next week to officially withdraw, but the judge granted her request Friday, so she's out and Ye is without a lawyer yet again.

What's more, the judge made it clear ... either Kanye gets off the dime and submits his financial declarations to settle the remaining issues, or the case is going to trial in December ... no if, ands or buts.

If Kanye ghosts everyone -- then in all probability when the case comes before the judge in December -- Kim will get whatever she wants.

TMZ broke the story ... Kim got a divorce decree back in March, making her legally single, but there are still a couple of issues to fully resolve -- custody and property, and that's what the judge is dealing with now.

Sources connected to Kim and Kanye say they're getting along -- as we've seen evidenced at their kid's sporting events and family gatherings -- but it's been a roller coaster.

Just to be clear ... Anchorage PD frowns upon cops joking and taking selfies with potentially impaired drivers who flash a "white privilege" card -- instead of a driver's license -- as identification.

Yeah, this is actually a thing that happened. The dept just announced its findings after investigating the July incident where officers pulled over Mimi Israelah at 3:30 AM for weaving. She recorded video, which she posted but since deleted, showing officers Nicholas Bowe and Charles Worland laughing as she presented the novelty I.D. card.

One of the cops said it was "hilarious." Many people online had a much different reaction when Israelah's video went viral -- they were outraged and called on law enforcement in the Alaskan city to do something.

For the record, the cops said Israelah showed no signs of impairment, and they didn't give her a ticket -- but lots of folks thought they just let her off because they loved her gag.

If nothing else she could've been cited for not having a license on her while driving.

On Thursday, Deputy Chief Sean Case said, "We recognize that the [Facebook] post, what was contained in that post, caused a bit of a public uproar, and there were a lot of people that saw that and did not like that post."

While the 2 officers were found to have violated department policy, Anchorage PD wouldn't go further into specifics ... nor would they say what punishment, if any, they're facing.

Scary moment yesterday for Kyle Busch ... the 2-time NASCAR champion and his family were at the Mall of America in Minnesota when gunshots erupted, causing chaos, and sending people running for their lives.

37-year-old Busch had been enjoying a day at the country's largest mall with his son, Brexton, and his wife, Samantha, before things took a frightening turn.

In the video posted online, you see Busch, wearing a black and green shirt and white hat, holding hands with Brexton ... as everyone was trying to get to safety amid the chaos.

Soon after, Samantha sent an update to friends, family and fans, writing ... "If you are seeing the news about the @mallofamerica we got out and are safe."

"Praying others inside are too," she added.

"We are currently working an active incident inside Mall of America on the northwest side. Numerous officers are on scene. We will update when we have more information," the Bloomington Police Department's official Twitter account wrote.

Police later confirmed that gunshots were fired ... adding the suspect fled the MOA on foot and officers were investigating the isolated incident.

After some semblance of order was restored, Bloomington PD Chief Booker Hodges addressed the incident in a press conference ... saying his officers heard gunshots near the Nike store at the famous mall.

"After reviewing video, we observed two groups get into some type of altercation at the cash register in the Nike store," Hodges said.

"One of the groups left after the altercation, but instead of walking away, they decided to demonstrate a complete lack of respect for human life. They decided to fire multiple rounds into a store with people."

Hours after Brittney Griner was sentenced by a Russian judge to 9 years in prison ... Trevor Noah went IN on the foreign country -- dragging Vladimir Putin, while calling Thursday's ruling complete "bulls***."

Noah held nothing back on "The Daily Show," accusing Russia of using Griner and her drug trial as political pawns to gain leverage on the U.S.

"We all know Russia doesn’t care about what Brittney Griner did," Noah said. "This is the same country that’s breaking every human rights law on the planet, but they’re like, ‘That woman has vape cartridge. She’s real criminal.'"

"Get the f*** out of here, man!"

Noah went on to repeatedly call Thursday's ruling "bulls***."

The comedian, though, did say there is a sliver of positive news to come out of Griner's sentence -- the U.S. and Russia can now seemingly begin prisoner swap talks earnestly.

And, Noah's clearly all in favor of giving the country whatever it wants to get the WNBA star back.

"Yeah, it seems like they win, but don’t forget, that person now has to live in Russia," Noah said. "Yeah, yeah. They’ll get there and be like, 'This whole country is prison. I miss food in Alcatraz, no!'"

Griner's Phoenix Mercury teammates, meanwhile, honored their star center with a 42-second moment of silence before their game against the Connecticut Sun on Thursday night.

Players from both teams linked arms during the pregame ceremony -- and at the tail-end of it all, an arena-wide "Bring Her Home!" chant broke out.

The family behind the viral video of Woody and Jessie from 'Toy Story' making sure to hug their kids at Disney World say their experience needs to be the norm for all children ... regardless of race.

The parents, Candice and Harold, say they didn't know about the controversy swirling right now about costumed characters at other venues allegedly snubbing Black kids. They merely posted video because they were glad their daughter, Hayyn, got a hug from her favorite Disney character.

The parents say Hayyn would have been happy to get a wave from Jessie -- and it was a huge bonus when Woody flagged down Jessie to give the little girl a hug.

Hayyn was waiting on Jessie for the whole parade ... even wearing a Jessie dress, while holding Jessie and Woody dolls.

Of course, after posting their video they became aware of the allegations at Sesame Place and Chuck E. Cheese, and Harold and Candice say everyone's child deserves at least some kind of acknowledgment -- even if it's just a wave or blown kiss from their favorite character.

As we've reported, there's now a class action lawsuit filed against Sesame Place in Philadelphia.