Colleen Ballinger Blackface Clip Has it All Wrong ... It Was Green Face Paint for 'Wicked' Song

A recent viral video accusing Colleen Ballinger of wearing blackface and performing "Single Ladies" has it all wrong ... and new footage lays out exactly what happened.

The clip shot back in 2009, made rounds Wednesday ... showing the popular Youtuber and two men performing the Beyoncé classic. Ballinger appeared to be in blackface during the number ... and was slammed on social media as a racist.

However, new video -- obtained by TMZ -- shows a different perspective. Prior to "Single Ladies," Colleen performed a song from the musical "Wicked" with Oliver Tompsett, one of the musical's stars.

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COLLEEN IN GREEN

Colleen wore green face paint for the tune with Tompsett -- like the Wicked Witch of the West -- and went into "Single Ladies" immediately after the song wrapped.

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THE CONTROVERSIAL CLIP

The sequence of back-to-back songs left zero time for Colleen to wipe off the green paint, resulting in the now-viral video accusing her of wearing blackface for "Single Ladies."

As we reported ... Colleen's under fire for what many have considered inappropriate behavior toward minors as well as racism.

She issued a 10-minute "apology" video while playing a ukulele ... a video that felt flat for a lot of people considering she didn't take ownership for much.

Samuel L. Jackson Acupuncture, Cupping Sesh ... Aboard Magic's Yacht

Magic Johnson's annual yacht vacation has somehow gotten even MORE lavish ... Samuel L. Jackson just revealed the boat trip now features acupuncture sessions!!!

Johnson, Jackson and a few of their close pals set sale yet again for their yearly European vacay earlier this month -- hitting the French Riviera this time -- and the "Pulp Fiction" star showed there's truly no expense spared on the getaway.

In photos that Jackson posted to his Instagram page Thursday morning ... you can see he got healing needles injected into his skin -- all while he was relaxing and soaking in rays on one of the boat's decks.

Samuel clearly knew the moment was one dripping with luxury -- 'cause he captioned one of the pics with the words, "Accu in da Sun!!"

"DAAYUUUM!!!!" he added.

The treatments didn't stop there, though ... he also got some cupping therapy done right on a lounge chair as well!!

Of course, the extravagant amenities shouldn't surprise anybody ... Johnson's been going all out for the summer trip for nearly a decade.

This year's yacht is called "Phoenix 2" ... and the 296-footer comes with all of the expected bells and whistles -- including jacuzzis, a gym, an outdoor cinema, a swimming pool, and so much more.

Jackson's clearly been in awe of it -- and for good reason ... its price tag to rent for just one week is about $1.2 MILLION!!

Keke Palmer Doubles Down On Outfit Choice ... Gets Support From Usher!!!

UPDATE

9:24 AM PT -- Keke Palmer's BF, Darius Jackson, appears to have deleted both his Twitter and Instagram after receiving backlash for his recent comments regarding Keke's outfit.

Keke Palmer's boyfriend isn't gonna get a rise out of her -- at least publicly -- after he insinuated her choice of attire for an Usher concert wasn't appropriate for a mom.

The "Nope" actress is telling the world she had no regrets following the very public remarks made by Darius Jackson, the father of her son, regarding her outfit while attending Usher's Vegas residency last weekend.

Keke doubled down on her sexy wardrobe selection in a recap on IG ... that made no mention of Darius whatsoever.

She posted a pic in THE outfit, and said, "I wish I had taken more pictures but we were running late! I am telling y'all right now, if you haven't seen @usher YOU MUST GO!! HE WAS SO FABULOUS!!"

Referring to Usher, Keke added ... "Where is that pic of us all together with the King himself??"

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SWEET SERENADE

The "king" Usher sided with his VIP guest, or at least shouted her out ... thanking her for attending his show, not to mention giving his Vegas residency yet another viral moment!!!

Darius was royally pissed off Wednesday when fans ripped him for being extra critical of Keke's sheer 'fit. He said, "We live in a generation where a man of the family doesn’t want the wife & mother to his kids to showcase booty cheeks to please others & he gets told how much of a hater he is."

As of Thursday, Keke and Darius don't follow each other on Instagram.

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NO SHAME IN MY GAME
TMZ.com

Hey Alexa, play "Moving Mountains" by Usher. 🎶

We covered the drama on the latest episode of The TMZ Podcast, available on all podcast platforms.

Originally Published -- 8:08 AM PT

Drake Massive Stage Props On Tour ... Virgil, Ghostface, Holograms & Giant Sperm!!!

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SEEING DOUBLE

Drake kicked off his "It's All a Blur" tour in Chicago last night with no shortage of stage flair, including a moment where he spits his new poetry alongside a hologram of his younger self.

The megastar rapper lit up the United Center opening with his emotional “Look What You’ve Done" record as younger Drizzy bobbed his head wearing a Chicago Cubs' jersey.

Drake blitzed through 48 songs before the night's end and used various stage props to highlight the hit records ... paying tribute to the city's late hometown hero Virgil Abloh with a life-sized hologram of the fashion pioneer who passed away in November 2021.

The "certified lover boy" also reminded the crowd where babies come from while performing alongside a giant sperm cell.

Ghostface from the iconic "Scream" series also made a cameo, as did 21 Savage, who's co-headlining the shindig.

"It's All a Blur" will be going strong all the way to October. He's also been teasing the possibility he drops a new album midway.

Mexico Airport Freak-out Woman Goes Bananas, Destroys Electronics ... Caught on Video

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FLIGHT FREAKOUT

Bad behavior at airports and on commercial flights has plagued the U.S. of late -- and the problem has now spread south of the U.S. border.

Check out this insane video posted on Twitter ... which shows a woman going ballistic at a Volaris Airlines ticket counter in Mexico City International Airport on July 4.

In the clip, the lady picks up barcode scanners and computer monitors from the counter and smashes the items on the floor as a Volaris employee watches her in shock.

But the woman isn't through yet. She goes behind another counter and does the same thing, shattering electronic equipment on the ground.

According to the Daily Mail, the woman -- identified as Maria Guadalupe -- got angry when the Volaris ticket agent wouldn't refund her on the spot after he couldn't find her flight reservation.

Police reportedly arrested Guadalupe for disturbing the peace and damaging all the equipment.

The freak-out over the flight was just the latest in what has become an increasing trend. Unfortunately, the U.S. is ground zero for these types of outbursts whether they occur on commercial planes or in airports.

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RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINES

Chill out, people!!

Ricky Martin Splits From Jwan Yosef ... Marriage is Kaput

Ricky Martin and Jwan Yosef are calling it quits after 6 years of marriage.

The Puerto Rican pop star and Jwan announced they're getting a divorce in a joint statement Thursday.

They wrote, "We have decided to end our marriage with love, respect and dignity for our children and honoring what we have experienced as a couple all these wonderful years."

They went on ... "Our greatest desire now is to continue having a healthy family dynamic and a relationship centered on peace and friendship to continue the joint upbringing of our children, preserving the respect and love we have for each other."

The now-separated couple shares two young children, daughter Lucia and son Renn. Ricky also has two twin sons, Matteo and Valentino, both of whom he'll continue to raise as a single parent. All four kids were born via surrogates.

Ricky and Jwan first connected on Instagram in 2015 and six months later they began dating after meeting in London. They formally came out as partners on the red carpet at the 2016 amFAR Inspiration Gala and got engaged that same year. Two years later, they tied the knot.

People broke the news about their divorce.

Kim Kardashian $70 Mil Malibu Mansion Is My 'Pinch Me' Moment

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KIM'S DREAM HOUSE
Hulu

Kim Kardashian can buy just about whatever she wants on the planet, but one recent purchase, in particular, has become a true dream moment for her.

Kim showed off her new $70 million Malibu mansion on Thursday's new episode of "The Kardashians" telling fans, "This has been a dream of mine forever, and it's just one of those pinch me moments where I can't believe I achieved a goal that I really didn’t think was realistic."

Kim's also got big plans for the crib ... revealing it's gonna be a "party house" before laughing and adding it'll also be used for a ton of time with her family and kids.

While Khloe and Kim tour the property in the episode, Khloe calls it an oasis.

As for Kim, you gotta hand it to her ... she's built an empire with a billion-dollar fortune. She says the home "Represents to me all the hard work I put in and enjoying fruits of my labor, new energy, looking forward to creating so many memories here."

As we reported, the home is massive with 7,450 square feet of living space on 3 acres of land located in the area known as Malibu's 'Billionaire's Beach.'

Prince Harry Happy 4th ... Celebrates Revolutionary War in Montecito

If it wasn't clear before, there's certainly no doubt as to which country Prince Harry's allegiance is with ... celebrating America's Independence from his homeland on it's most patriotic holiday.

Harry was spotted holding his daughter, Princess Lilibet, and taking in Montecito's Independence Day parade Tuesday. Harry refrained from dawning any American flag gear, but Lilibet wore a blue dress, white socks and some red shoes ... she's half-American, thanks to mom.

The timing is interesting considering Harry's dad, King Charles III, attended his second coronation ceremony in Edinburgh. Harry's brother, Prince William, was right by his dad's side during the coronation ... but obviously, Harry was stateside.

No sign of Meghan during the July 4 festivities, but you gotta imagine the foursome -- including Archie -- did something as a family. They've set up home base in Montecito and have a network of some super famous friends ... including Oprah and Ellen DeGeneres.

Journey Co-Founder George Tickner Dead at 76

Journey's co-founding guitarist, George Tickner, is dead ... according to his former bandmate, Neal Schon.

Schon, Journey's longtime lead guitarist, announced Tickner's passing Thursday with a social media post saying, "Journey Junkies, I have some very sad news. George Tickner, Journey’s original rhythm guitarist and songwriting contributor on their first three albums, has passed away."

He added, "Our condolences to his family and friends, and to all past and present band members. So heartbreaking. I think we need to do a group hug."

Tickner was the original rhythm guitarist, when he formed Journey in 1973 ... along with Schon and bassist Ross Valory.

Interestingly, he bowed out of the band in 1975 -- before they became hitmakers, selling more than 100 million records -- because he wanted to pursue a career in medicine, and he was serious about it. George earned a scholarship to attend Stanford Medical School.

He never fully gave up on music, though ... he was reportedly writing and doing local performances as a hobby.

George rejoined his Journey bandmates -- and subsequent members like Steve Perry -- back in 2005 when the group got its star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. That's him rocking that sweet handlebar mustache.

Prior to Journey, George was a member of Frumious Bandersnatch, a psychedelic rock band formed in Berkeley in the late '60s.

Neal's post didn't mention a cause of death. George was 76.

RIP

Lisa Vanderpump PUMP Restaurant Gone, But Not Dead ... Moving Staff to TomTom

Lisa Vanderpump's iconic West Hollywood restaurant PUMP's doors are closed, but that doesn't mean the brand is done, according to Lisa ... who's filling us in on what's next.

Lisa tells TMZ ... she's not shelving the PUMP brand, and fans of the longtime hot spot could see it in a new location at some point in the future.

She says she's taking some of her longtime PUMP staff -- bartenders, the chef, and others -- over to TomTom, which she co-owns with Tom Sandoval and Tom Schwartz.

LV says she loves her crew and is thrilled to have them move just 3 doors down to TomTom. What's more, we're told some of the popular menu items from PUMP are coming over, too ... although it's unclear which ones will make the final cut.

BTW, Lisa says all of the bougie PUMP furniture will go to a warehouse she uses for personal belongings ... because none of it fits the decor at TomTom.

As we reported, the WeHo landmark restaurant started getting the ol' teardown on Tuesday, the day before its official closing date.

The building was PACKED over the holiday weekend as the "Vanderpump Rules" crew filmed a farewell scene.

Mark Zuckerberg Fires Away At Elon Musk's Twitter ... As Rival App Debuts

Mark Zuckerberg apparently can't wait to get into an Octagon with Elon Musk to take shots at the billionaire ... he spent plenty of time Wednesday night throwing keyboard jabs at his nemesis -- as part of the rollout of his new app, Threads.

The Twitter rival made its debut right around dinner time ... and just a few minutes into its kickoff, Zuck took to the site -- which many are calling the "new Twitter" -- to go after Musk and his bird app.

First, Zuckerberg tossed shade at Twitter while explaining to Mark Cuban he hopes Threads is a more "friendly" area for people to interact.

"That's one reason why Twitter never succeeded as much as I think it should have," he wrote, "and we want to do it differently."

Later, the Meta founder told UFC fighter Mike Davis he's got hopes Threads will outgrow Twitter one day.

"It'll take some time," Zuckerberg said, "but I think there should be a public conversations app with 1 billion+ people on it. Twitter has had the opportunity to do this but hasn't nailed it. Hopefully we will."

There were some veiled comments from Zuck about a potential fight with Musk too ... while replying to new signups throughout the night, he consistently made references to winning "round one" of Threads. He also laughed at the prospects of the billionaire superfight being called "The Meta Threada." He spent a whole lot of time interacting with MMA stars like Jon Jones as well.

Zuck even appeared to get back on Twitter after an 11-year hiatus to get in another little ribbing at Musk ... with an account apparently associated with him tweeting out the Spider-Man meme.

No date has been set for the potential Zuck vs. Musk superfight -- there's a lot of hangups over the size discrepancy between the two -- but it's clear, the guys are more than content battling each other behind computer screens while it all gets sorted out.

We covered it all in a recent episode of The TMZ Podcast, available on all podcast platforms.

Honey Boo Boo's Dad To Check Into Lamar's Rehab Facility ... Prescription Drug Addiction

Mike "Sugar Bear" Thompson is seeking help for an addiction ... and he's turning to one of Lamar Odom's rehab centers for treatment.

Sources close to Sugar Bear tell TMZ ... he reached out to Lamar over the weekend about going to one of his treatment centers, and on Thursday evening he will check into a facility in Kansas to focus on his recovery.

We're told Honey Boo Boo's dad is hooked on prescription drugs he started taking as part of his diabetes treatments, and he also has severe depression and anxiety.

Our sources say Sugar Bear first met Lamar last summer through their manager, and they've since established a friendship, which led him to start rehab at the Gold Bridge Treatment Center in Louisburg -- part of the Odom Recovery Group.

We're told Sugar Bear hasn't had a relationship with Honey Boo Boo for more than a year now, and he was noticeably absent from her graduation. It's unclear if their estrangement is tied to his addiction.

Our sources say Sugar Bear is still hoping he can mend fences with his daughter once he's completed his rehab stint.

As we reported, Sugar Bear underwent an astonishing makeover last year following a cancer scare, but since then he's hit a rough patch -- we're told his most recent girlfriend broke up with him a month ago, and he hasn't been handling it well.

Hopefully, rehab helps him turn things around.

Trinidad James Love Drake's New Pink Nails ... But I'm On Another Level!!!

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NAILED IT!!!
TMZ.com

Trinidad James is a big fan of Drake getting a fresh coat of pink for his fingernails before heading out on tour -- and he's offering to help take Drizzy's manicure to the next level.

We got the "All Gold Everything" rapper Wednesday at LAX, and asked him about Drake's unveiling of his new look.

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FLASHY NAILS

Trinidad's been getting his nails painted and bejeweled for years ... and he's thrilled to see another mainstream artist like Drake joining the ranks. We've seen Lil Yachty and Machine Gun Kelly do their nails, but Drake's the biggest hitmaker to jump on the wave.

The way TJ sees it ... there's a gender stigma around manicures, and he says it's good for Drake to break out of the box.

As we reported, Drake showed off his pink nails Monday on social media ... right before starting his highly anticipated tour with 21 Savage.

Get this ... Trinidad says some of his nail sets cost $7,000 and he gets his nails done 4 times a month. We're confident the cost wouldn't scare off Champagne Papi if he were inclined to do that kinda upkeep.

Trinidad repeatedly told us he's Drake's spirit animal ... and, as such, he's got a tip on how he can take his manicures a step further.

Guess Who This Kid With Her Popsicle Turned Into!

Before this Los Angeles native in her ladybug outfit was acting in movies like 'Scooby-Doo' and "Lemonade Mouth," she was just enjoying her summer popsicles, becoming a child star and leading her high school's step team.

Before releasing (just one) of her hits -- "Girls Like Girls" in 2015, her singing career started back in well over a decade ago when she joined the all-girl group, The Stunners, which consisted of 5 members including Tinashe ... She's a true triple threat!

Need one more hint? She enjoys sharing vacay pics with her girlfriend, "The Bachelor" star Becca Tilley.

Can you guess who she is?

Disney Star Coco Lee DEAD AT 48 BY SUICIDE

Coco Lee, famous for voicing Mulan in the Mandarin version of Disney's "Mulan," has died by suicide.

Coco's sisters, Carol and Nancy, say she attempted suicide at home Sunday and was sent to a hospital, where she slipped into a coma and died on Wednesday despite attempts to save her life.

Coco suffered from depression for years, her family says, and she sought professional help ... but her condition drastically deteriorated over the last few months and she ultimately took her own life.

In addition to her work with Disney, Coco performed an Oscar-nominated song, "A Love Before Time," in the movie "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" as part of a three-decade career as a singer.

Coco was born in Hong Kong but attended middle school and high school in San Francisco, where she was crowned 1991's Miss Teen Chinatown.

She was the first Chinese singer to go big in America, with her song "Do You Want My Love" reaching No. 4 on Billboard's Hot Dance Breakout chart way back in 1999.

Coco's family is remembering her for working "tirelessly to open up a new world for Chinese singers in the international music scene, and she went all out to shine for the Chinese."

Waiting for your permission to load the Instagram Media.

She was 48.

RIP

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org.

Keke Palmer's Boyfriend Defends Shaming Her Outfit ... 'I Have Standards & Morals'

Keke Palmer's boyfriend Darius Jackson -- who's also the father of her child -- isn't backing down after publicly shaming her wardrobe choice for Usher's show and now says her sheer fit reflects poorly on their family.

Darius is defending his initial comments on Keke's sexy outfit after catching a ton of heat for his critique -- specifically, he said she shouldn't wear such a revealing outfit because she's a mother.

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SWEET SERENADE

In doubling down, Darius said Wednesday ... "We live in a generation where a man of the family doesn’t want the wife & mother to his kids to showcase booty cheeks to please others & he gets told how much of a hater he is."

Unapologetically, he added ... "This is my family & my representation. I have standards & morals to what I believe. I rest my case."

The controversy started Wednesday afternoon when Darius quote tweeted a video showing Keke in a sheer dress as Usher serenades her at his Las Vegas residency. Darius said, "It's the outfit tho.. you a mom."

Tons of folks lashed out at Darius in the replies, but now he's sticking to his guns.

For her part, Keke hasn't said anything on social media in the wake of Darius' criticism.