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Johnny Depp just made one small step in his Hollywood resurgence ... because he's returned to TV sets, appearing on MTV at the Video Music Awards in an astronaut suit.

The movie star just made his debut as the network's famous Moonman -- recently dubbed the Moonperson -- dressing up and showing his face Sunday to kick off the award show broadcast. But that's all that was shown ... literally just a video of his mug in the suit, which appears to have been pre-recorded. He said he "needed the work," and that was that.

The real McCoy wasn't actually there for the show, it seems. Still, pretty cool!

As we first told you... Johnny was tabbed for a surprise appearance at the VMAs, and it come on the heels of both the recent announcement of his return to film plus his new deal with Dior to continue being the face of the Sauvage fragrance line.

Johnny's won 5 MTV Movie Awards in his career, including Best Villain, Global Superstar, Best Male Performance and 2012's Generation Award.

Air Canada is the worst airline in North America ... according to 'Harry Potter' star Matthew Lewis, who says the airline ripped up his first class ticket in his face.

Matthew, best known as Neville Longbottom in the 'Potter' films, vented on Twitter, accusing the airline of putting him through the wringer -- forcing him to fly economy from Orlando to Toronto.

The actor says he was booted from his initial flight -- in first class -- because it was full, and when he was rebooked the airline sent him back to coach. The switch set Matthew off, and he ranted, "Confirmed. @AirCanada is the worst airline in North America. And that's saying something."

He continued, "I've been bumped before. I think it's a ludicrous policy that we've inexplicably normalised but it is what it is. That said, that's not my issue. I wasn't told til boarding, no apology, no ask if like to rebook, and if want a refund I have to call them."

Despite his frustrations he did stop to acknowledge how big the problem was in the grand scheme of things ... he tweeted, "Lol. Privileged problems, sure. But still wild."

Britney Spears' story is worth a lot of dough -- but she's forgoing a payday to sit down and speak her truth ... and instead, doing an impromptu YouTube dump that's 20 minutes long.

The singer posted a 22-minute clip on the video platform Sunday out of nowhere, and if you watch it -- you'll see she's spilling her guts about everything ... with specific focus on how exactly the conservatorship started and what she remembers during those many years.

BS starts out by saying that she's got a lot on her mind, and noting that while she's been offered lucrative deals for exclusive interviews -- like with Oprah, for example -- she says she finds that notion "irrelevant' and apparently thinks selling your story like that is tacky.

Instead, she's giving it straight to the people ... diving into how things started when she was spiraling in the mid-2000s. She says when the conservatorship began, she didn't understand why ... but all of a sudden, her dad was running the show and was very controlling. Britney claims he told her, "I'm Britney Spears and I'm calling the shots."

She also says a woman introduced the idea to Jamie, and that her mom helped him follow through. Britney calls it "pure abuse" and recounts being held down on a gurney as paparazzi and helicopters swarmed her pad the day she was put in a psychiatric hold.

Speaking of paps, Britney says this of her infamous episode ... "The extent of my madness was playing chase with paparazzi, which is still to this day one of the most fun things I ever did about being famous." She says she doesn't know what was so harmful about that.

She goes on to describe what it was like working under the conservatorship, and it sounds miserable. Britney says she felt like a robot who was under the direct control of her father.

Britney says that after her Vegas residency ended in 2017, a new show was in the works ... and she says that when she was rehearsing for it, she stood up for herself about a certain dance move -- saying she simply voiced her preference. After that, she says she was shipped away to a facility, under the guise of seeking treatment and worrying for her dad's health.

While there, Britney says she was heavily medicated ... this after she claims her father threatened her with a major legal battle that he thought she's apparently lose.

This was a particularly dark chapter for her, Britney says, and it's clear Britney resents her family for putting her through that -- especially her mom, whom she says turned a blind eye. Remember, photos from that specific period showed Britney appearing very out of sorts, when her then-boyfriend Sam Asghari took her out for a bit around Easter time.

Britney describes more conditions placed on her during the conservatorship ... including absolute control of what she ate, where she could be, her schedule, her company, everything.

It was around this time -- 2019/2020, when the #FreeBritney movement was in full swing -- that Britney says she finally felt confident enough to take control of her life and attempt to get out of the conservatorship. She even shouts out #FreeBritny protesters who backed her.

Britney says she believes Jamie and co. thought she'd come crawling back and get into the cycle she'd been in for years, but instead ... BS says she got a lawyer and held her ground, refusing to fall back into their clutches and actually try to retake the reins of her life.

It's a lengthy confessional, but Britney's getting into all of it here ... more than we can write to in this post. As we all know, Britney did break free from the conservatorship in the end -- and now, she's telling her story on her own terms. And we're sure it's far from over too.

Another fight on a plane, but there's a twist on an Air France flight ... the brawl was between the 2 pilots.

The captain and co-pilot of an A320 which took off from Geneva for Paris exchanged blows in the cockpit while the plane was in the air!

The melee went down shortly after takeoff ... the flight attendants apparently heard the commotion and somehow entered the cockpit to break up the fight.

It appears a crew member sat in the cockpit with the 2 pilots for the remainder of the flight to make sure they didn't go another round.

It's unclear what triggered the fight, but an Air France spokesperson called it "totally inappropriate behavior" -- a spectacular understatement, right?

The 2 pilots were suspended.

Antoine Dodson, who went viral in 2010 for his "hide yo kids, hide yo wife" interview, is getting into the adult beverage business ... crafting a beer based on his famous sign-off.

Antoine partnered with his local craft brewer, Straight to Ale Brewery, to come up with an American Lager called "Run N Tell That" ... it's being released Sept. 24 at a huge party, and we're told AD will be filming a commercial.

The craft brewery is in Antoine's hometown of Huntsville, AL and we're told one of Antoine's friends set up the partnership.

Remember ... Antoine closed out his hilarious "hide yo kids, hide yo wife" interview by issuing this warning to an alleged rapist, "run and tell that" ... and now the phrase is on the beer can artwork, along with a drawing of Antoine in the same outfit from his TV spot.

Straight to Ale is really going all in on beers commemorating local viral videos ... the brewery is also releasing an American Pale Ale called "Struttin That Ale" based on another viral moment from Huntsville.

Pete Buttigieg feels people's pain when their flights get canceled last-minute ... and his team at the Department of Transportation wants people to know they're entitled to some serious green during those annoying situations.

The Transportation Secretary joined us on "TMZ Live" to chat about the DOT's new system, which is aimed at picking up the pieces for travelers when the airlines keep the deets vague regarding cancelations.

The soon-to-come dashboard will help customers determine if they're owed cash when their flight gets delayed or canceled -- something he claims airlines have failed to make obvious.

Kamaru Usman dominated Leon Edwards for the better part of 21 minutes, so why didn't the former welterweight champ just chill -- grab, wrestle, stay away -- in the 5th round of their UFC title fight? 'Cause that just ain't the Nigerian Nightmare's personality.

TMZ Sports talked to 35-year-old Usman -- one of the greatest mixed martial artists to ever step foot in a cage -- just two days after his UFC 278 loss ... and we asked if he considered running out the clock over the fight's final 4 minutes.

"No, that's not who I am. When I fight, there's a reason I'm pedal to the medal and I don't look at the clock," Usman flatly told us.

Kamaru then continued ... "That's the way that I fight. I wanted to finish. It was just a beautiful technique. I could've taken him down, but I really wanted to finish and when I was setting up, you know only God knows what I was setting up, I didn't land it."

Despite the loss, Usman, who hadn't taken an L since May 2013, isn't bitter ... in fact, he's very impressed with the head kick with which 31-year-old Edwards ended the fight.

"It was just a beautiful technique. Beautifully timed, and he threw head kicks throughout the fight, but I blocked them all. That one was just money. I'm almost in awe on how good it was but it happens. Champions fall and then they get back and show you why they're champions."

As for all the memes, the people talking crap online, the other fights like Jake Paul and Canelo Alvarez, Kamaru's paying all that no mind at all.

"I am mixed martial artist and I am the best mixed martial artist in the world. So, that's what I need to do. I need to prove that. I think of nothing else right now except that."

"When you sit on top of that thrown, then you can branch out and do other things. Right now, I don't sit on top of that throne right now. I'm not paying attention to all this side noise and side talk or anything like that. Let's focus on what we need to focus on first which is getting that back and then we'll decide."

Diddy's view that classic R&B music is a thing of the past upset a lot of artists, but don't include Brian Mcknight in that group -- he's confident it'll live on ... just by a different name, possibly.

The R&B vet got candid when we saw him at LAX this week ... dismissing Diddy's comments while offering some big-picture insight on music's ever-changing landscape.

Brian actually makes several interesting points regarding music's transformation. For starters, the "Back At One" singer says it’s silly to compound generations of musicians together and compare any of them.

In fact, Brian thinks music should go genre-less as a whole and doesn't even consider his own music to be R&B ... a pretty shocking admission in itself! He compared himself to singers like Marvin Gaye and The Four Tops and how their "R&B sound" differed from his.

One more really interesting take -- Brian says today's music's different because today's artists probably don't have sex the same way as he or Motown greats did, so their music reflects that!!!

He even likened the analogy to sports ... pointing out how hard it is to compare stats from different eras.

Ironically, Brian released what he calls his "final" album back in 2020, so technically this is a retiree's perspective.

London natives and cousins, Rosie McClelland and Sophia Grace Brownlee were just five and eight years old when their rendition of Nicki Minaj's hit song 'Super Bass' went viral back in 2011.

The singing-duo were discovered by the world and shortly after their rise to fame even hit the stage with the super queen herself ... Nicki Minaj.

Their global recognition led them to meet A-listers Justin Bieber, Rihanna, Selena Gomez and Taylor Swift ... and their young, star-quality stage presence secured them interviewing at big awards shows in 2012 and 2013!

Brian Robinson of the Washington Commanders was shot in D.C. this weekend ... TMZ Sports has confirmed.

The 23-year-old running back was struck by two bullets Sunday, which his lower half -- this during an attempted carjacking ... according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. We've been told he's been hospitalized and is in stable condition. He's expected to survive his injuries.

MPDC tells TMZ Sports ... a handgun was recovered not too far from the scene of the crime -- which occurred shortly before 6 PM ET -- but no arrests have been made yet.

The Commanders just played a game on Saturday against Ravens. Robinson was selected during the NFL Draft earlier this year.

Mable John -- Motown's first female solo artist -- has died.

The singer passed away at her L.A. home Thursday, this according to her nephew, Kevin John ... who spoke to The Detroit News. He said, "We loved her and she was a kind person." A cause of death wasn't offered.

Berry Gordy signed MJ to his new label -- then known as Tamla Records -- in 1958. She was the first woman under his brand to get her own record deal without a group attached. Other acts that were signed early included Smokey Robinson (and the Miracles), Eddie Holland and Mary Wells.

Gordy actually served as a coach/mentor for John -- who was opening for Billie Holiday in Detroit during the '50s. She and BG had a solid partnership, which flourished into a somewhat short-lived working relationship under Motown. She left the label in mid-'60s.

Still, John recorded a number of songs with them during her tenure. Some of her famous tracks include, "Who Wouldn't Love a Man Like That?," "No Love," "Actions Speak Louder Than Words," "Looking for a Man," "You Are My Only Love!" among others.

After a brief stint with Motown, she went on to sign with Stax Records -- where she churned out a memorable hit, "Your Good Thing (Is About to End)." John left Stax and went on to perform with the Raelettes, backing Ray Charles. Eventually, she hung her mainstream career and pursued a career in gospel music ... getting very involved with the church.

She opened her own charity in Los Angeles called the Joy Community Outreach, which does work with homeless people. Despite stepping away from showbiz, she certainly left her mark.

Harry Styles is the latest musician to fall victim to rowdy crowds who let it fly at concerts -- only this time, he handled it a little differently than how some have lately ... with humor.

The singer was performing at Madison Square Garden Saturday night in NYC, and at some point in his set ... he pumped the brakes on the show and addressed some thrown objects onstage. Specifically, a couple of chicken nuggets.

Watch ... HS seems kinda entertained by the fact someone chucked at least two of these at his feet, calling it a clever ploy to get his attention. He then asks the audience, who threw it?

It sounds like Harry might've actually identified the culprit ... 'cause he ended up throwing at least one nugget back. Before that though, he noted that he doesn't actually eat 'em -- 'cause he doesn't eat meat at all ... despite the concertgoers chanting for him to do.

Harry has a little banter with the alleged thrower ... joking with them that he can get 'em a new nugget. It made for about a minute of pause, and he handled it gracefully in the end -- although, something tells us he might've actually been a bit irked by the interruption.

Kevin Bacon's musical farm just dove into the Beyhive, but he's not getting -- instead, the dude's getting mad props ... and one of his animals might be partially responsible.

The actor posted a video Sunday showing him doing a cover of Beyoncé's 'Heated' -- from her new 'Renaissance' album -- on his Connecticut property ... which is chock-full of livestock, including a crap ton of goats.

He writes, "Hot day, hot song. The goats and I are feeling Heated, @beyonce. Loving this track." Kevin also added the hashtag #GoatSongs ... part of an ongoing collection of his.

Anyway, watch this hilarious video ... one of his goats was VERY curious during KB's performance -- done on nothing but a guitar, as he's perched on what seems to be a goat playground of some sort -- and it was actually trying to nibble at some the strings!

It looks like the little guy did, in fact, pluck a string while Kevin was playing ... and his owner acknowledges it at the end.

Like we said, Kevin does this sort of thing all the time ... he's done stripped-down covers of songs by Harry Styles, Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, Glass Animals and more. Whenever he jams out, his goats all seem to come flocking -- apparently wanting in on the fun.

Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne have already said they're leaving the U.S. to head back to their native England -- but their rationale has changed ... now citing political problems in America.

The longtime rock-and-roll couple did an interview with The Observer -- where they talked about a lot, including OO's health problems and his music comeback in spite of those challenges. But the juicier part of the sit-down was when they talked about the U.S of A.

The interviewer notes that Sharon made sure to mention they weren't leaving because of Ozzy's ailments -- but rather, because of the rancorous landscape that permeates our society. She says, "It’s just time. America has changed so drastically. It isn’t the United States of America at all. Nothing’s united about it. It’s a very weird place to live right now."

Ozzy hits that point home ... "Everything’s fucking ridiculous there. I’m fed up with people getting killed every day. God knows how many people have been shot in school shootings. And there was that mass shooting in Vegas at that concert … It’s f****** crazy."

He also says he doesn't wanna die in L.A. and be buried at a celebrity cemetery, adding ... "I’m English. I want to be back. But saying that, if my wife said we’ve got to go and live in Timbuktu, I’ll go. But, no, it’s just time for me to come home."

Previously, Sharon and Ozzy had blamed the soaring tax rates in the States as the reason for hightailing out of L.A. -- this after famously living in Beverly Hills for decades.

The article says they're leaving in February of 2023, and they're already working on their Buckinghamshire estate ... doing a ton of renovations, like adding A/C, an in-ground pool and a new studio for Ozzy. Their current pad in L.A. is on the market for $18 million.

Aaron Rodgers gave a full play-by-play breakdown of what exactly happened with his vaccine controversy last year ... dishing the deets to none other than Joe Rogan.

The Packers quarterback was on the 'JRE' this week, and he drilled down on how things unfolded, through his perspective, from the start of training camp to the day he was asked if he'd been vaccinated ... and it sounds like he thinks he got a raw deal in the whole thing.

Watch ... AR explains that he's allergic to a certain part of the vaccine -- the polyethylene glycol found in both the Moderna and Pfizer jabs -- and was all set to take the Johnson & Johnson shot ... until it got pulled for causing blood clots in certain recipients.

When that was out, Aaron says he researched another alternative to protect himself -- one that involved holistic medicine, he says -- and went that route ... without getting a vaccine.

Aaron says he showed up to camp with everyone knowing what his status was -- something that was hard to miss, because he says the NFL would literally separate players both physically and symbolically ... giving out different colored wristbands to differentiate.

He also says he was appealing for a waiver with the league, but he felt he wouldn't get one -- especially when they allegedly called him a conspiracy theorist after he refuted that vaxxed people couldn't contract or spread the virus ... something we now know is possible.

Aaron says he eventually caught COVID -- from an already-vaccinated player, he says -- and that's when word got out officially. He says he felt it was a witch hunt environment to begin with, and when the truth came out ... Aaron says he felt betrayed by the media.

The "Big Brother" crew has been working hard to stop fans from revealing details to houseguests over their studio walls ... and it sounds like the extra efforts are paying off.

CBS has gone a solid 8 weeks with no disruptions at its L.A. studios, according to production sources. The security teams have been able to keep people FAR from the studio, unlike in previous seasons.

As we reported, CBS made the call to beef up security last season ... after fans showed up with bull horns, yelling over the wall to try and help certain houseguests.

In addition to CBS's security team AND a third-party company that has eyes on the space 24/7, we're told they've also planted production assistants around the area to keep watch.

We got pics of security and PAs near an area of the fence that would give easy access to the studio wall -- 6 people were posted at the spot.

This week has been even more essential to keep the wall yellers away -- half the house had to live in the backyard. Luckily, not a peep was heard from the outside world.