TMZ.com Home

Ben McKenzie says celebrities should not be selling digital currencies ... instead, he says they should stick to the usual stuff, like overpriced water, so folks won't go belly up.

The former "O.C." star joined us on "TMZ Live" Thursday and we asked him about the huge ad blitz from celebs who were pushing crypto during the Super Bowl and beyond ... only for the market to crash.

Ben's since written a book about the rise and fall of crypto, "Easy Money," and he's got some strong opinions ... like how celebrities should never be giving financial advice.

Ben thinks all the folks featured in those Super Bowl ads for crypto ... like Tom Brady, Lindsay Lohan, and Larry David, just to name a few ... would be better served selling car insurance, soap and H2O.

For Ben, the big difference here is the unregulated status of cryptocurrency ... plus the fact celebs are not licensed financial advisors ... and he feels Hollywood contributed to what he sees as the largest Ponzi scheme in history.

Tons of folks lost money when the crypto boom went bust and lots of folks got sued ... and Ben says fraudsters used the lure of celebrities to reel in marks.

Popular rapper Superstar Pride has been arrested and charged with first-degree murder, after police say he's the triggerman in a shooting death.

The Panola County Sheriff's Office in Mississippi says deputies were called to a residence Wednesday afternoon, where they found a 40-year-old man dead from gunshot wounds ... cops say the ensuing investigation led them to believe Superstar Pride was the suspect.

The "Painting Pictures" rapper surrendered to authorities a few hours later, and deputies say he was booked at the Panola County Detention Center. Prosecutors charged him with first-degree murder.

A woman in Florida suffered a horrific death after her car collided with a log truck -- causing the contents to tumble onto her vehicle ... a terrifying ordeal that's eerily familiar to "Final Destination" fans.

The 25-year-old woman was driving her SUV on SR 200 Tuesday around 12:45 AM when the incident went down. According to Florida Highway Patrol, she was in the outside lane behind a semi-truck that was hauling logs, but allegedly wasn't keeping a safe distance.

The woman reportedly hit the truck, which caused the lumber to fall on her car -- the Fernandina Beach local was rushed to a nearby hospital where she was pronounced dead.

If this sounds like something out of a horror movie, it is ... because 2003's "Final Destination 2" -- a franchise known for freaky deaths -- featured a scene involving a fatal car crash and falling logs.

In the movie, Kimberly, played by A.J. Cook, has a vision of the fictional Route 23 pileup in New York, killing 18 people. The devastation starts after logs fall off a truck, smashing through a cop car and killing the officer.

Ariana Grande is dating one of her "Wicked' costars ... TMZ has learned, following her split with hubby Dalton Gomez.

Sources with direct knowledge tell us she and Ethan Slater -- who plays Boq in the film adaption of the Broadway musical -- started dating several months ago during production of the flick.

It was back in March when a photo circulated, showing Ariana and Ethan next to each other as the cast of "Wicked" celebrated Michelle Yeoh’s Oscar win in London.

TMZ broke the story, Ariana and Dalton have yet to file divorce docs -- though our sources say those are coming -- but their relationship has been over since January. We're told Ariana and Dalton remain friendly, and he's been dating as well.

As for Ethan, he's been married to singer Lilly Jay since 2018, and they welcomed a son last year. Our sources say Ariana and Ethan did not start dating until after he separated from Lilly.

Ethan's a talented dude, working as an actor, singer, composer and writer. He got his big break recently as SpongeBob Squarepants in the Broadway musical -- for which he earned a Tony Award nomination.

Rachel Leviss is making some more big changes in her life ... she changed her name, and now, she's no longer a dog mom.

James Kennedy posted some photos with Graham, the dog he once shared with Leviss when they were dating, claiming the pup is back with him for good. Sources with direct knowledge tell us James found out through a mutual friend Raquel was trying to find a new home for Graham ... she didn't connect with him directly.

Clearly, the "Vanderpump Rules" star is thrilled to have his pooch back, kissing him in photos with the caption ... "Look who made his way back home, back into my life, I'll take care of you forever and I love you. ❤️"

It appears the images are from the 'VPR' trip to Lake Tahoe ... where some of the cast members are currently hanging out. James is with his girlfriend Ally Lewber in one of the pics, kissing the dog while on a boat.

Remember ... Leviss and James originally got Graham back when they were dating, but she took the pooch with her when they ultimately split.

Now, James has the dog ... and the timeline suggests Graham Cracker made his way back to James when Rachel went to the mental health facility she ended up calling home for 2 months.

In any event, it looks like Graham Cracker has a loving home.

Vanna White has negotiated her deal with "Wheel of Fortune," but only the celebrity version, not the syndicated show, and we're told Sony has made it clear ... they're not receptive to her demands.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ, Vanna's lawyer, Bryan Freedman, negotiated Vanna's deal for "Celebrity Wheel of Fortune." Turns out that deal was up, but her contract for the syndicated show goes for another year, so first things first.

We're told Freedman told Sony Vanna wanted 50% of what Pat was making, but Sony would not disclose Pat's salary for "Celebrity Wheel." We hear Pat makes just north of $400k an episode. In the end, we're told Vanna settled for $100k an episode, which we're told was a "meaningful bump" from her last contract.

As for the syndicated show, we're told negotiations are halted because of the writers' strike, but the parties are far apart.

TMZ broke the story, Vanna has asked for half of what Pat Sajak makes, which we're told is around $15M a year. Vanna has made $3M for the last 18 years with no salary increase.

Our sources say Freedman asked Sony to use a third party who knows the game show space to evaluate Pat and Vanna's roles and importance on the show, and then come up with a "fair figure." We're told Sony turned thumbs down to that request.

We're told one of the problems ... Sony believes they ended up paying Pat too much and they don't want to use his salary for comparability. Apparently, that hasn't sat well with Team Vanna.

As one Vanna source put it, "It's gonna get ugly if they [Sony] don't get more serious."

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

The home Las Vegas cops raided in connection with the Tupac Shakur murder case was lit up with police lights in the dead of night, creating a chaotic scene ... seen in this new video.

TMZ obtained dramatic footage from Monday night's SWAT operation when Vegas Metro PD descended on the quiet Henderson, NV neighborhood around 10 PM ... honing in on one house and shouting for the people inside to come out with their hands up.

Watch for yourself ... you hear an officer talking through a megaphone, telling a woman to drop her cigarettes and comply with his demands.

Eventually, he starts to bark orders at a man as well ... telling him to turn around, put his hands in the air, and walk backward. It's unclear if these 2 people were the only ones inside, or if they were detained or arrested.

As we reported ... cops were executing a search warrant, but we still don't know what their probable cause was to obtain that warrant. Once inside, though, they seized hard drives and photos of possible suspects in Tupac's murder ... according to an ABC News report.

TMZ broke the story ... the house is owned by Paula Clemons, who's married to a former Crip named Keefe D. For years, he's claimed his nephew, Orlando Anderson, fired the fatal shots at Pac just off the Vegas Strip in 1996, and that he was in the car with him at the time.

We don't know for certain Paula or Keefe are currently living at Henderson home. Neighbors in the area tell TMZ the couple they've seen in the house moved there in 2016.

We're told they've always been nice, saying hi to folks ... with no suspicious behavior.

TMZ also knows cops were here at this address for about 2 hours conducting the search. The big unanswered question is whether they found anything that could close the Tupac murder case.

Jeanine Pirro says Jason Aldean intentionally filmed his "Try That in a Small Town" video in the same place where a Black teen was lynched ... because Black Lives Matter protestors are still breaking the law 100 years later.

Yeah, read that again, or even better ... watch the video, because it's pretty stunning. During Wednesday's panel discussion on "The Five" about Aldean's lightning rod of a hit song ... the Fox News host took up for Aldean's music video being shot in front of the Maury County Courthouse in Tennessee.

One of the reasons the music video's become so controversial is the fact an 18-year-old Black man was lynched at that location in 1927 -- but Pirro says it's the perfect place for Aldean to send a message about BLM.

"I think he's trying to show that there hasn't been that much progress. That Black Lives Matter is violating the law themselves at this point ... rioting and burning. That's what happened 100 years later."

Translation: Black people are still committing crimes, just as that 18-year-old did, Pirro's eyes, 96 years ago??? It certainly comes off as pro-vigilante justice, which is one of the reasons critics and the NAACP have been ripping Aldean's song.

Kim Kardashian is reflecting not-so-fondly on her relationship with Pete Davidson after her marriage to Kanye West fell apart, and yes, regrets ... she has a few.

The billionaire entrepreneur discussed this very topic with sisters Kylie and Kendall Jenner on Thursday's episode of "The Kardashians," explaining she "jumped into a relationship so fast" with Pete following her divorce from Kanye.

Kim said, "It got my mind away from stuff and that's not a way to run from things." She then offered herself some good ol' advice, “It's better to deal. Heal … deal, heal and then feel."

With all the drama surrounding Kanye, Kim says she's trying not to look at it so "negatively." She promised not to carry every bad event in her life, vowing, instead, to learn from her experiences to make herself a better person.

As you know, Kim filed for divorce from Kanye in 2021, finalizing a settlement the following year. During her annulment phase, Kim dated Pete for nine months, but they broke up because their busy schedules and constantly being apart were putting a drag on their romance.

Ben Affleck is yet another victim of the scorching heat wave gripping the nation ... his classic car overheated in the mean streets of Brentwood, CA.

Ben and his son Samuel were cruising in his 1969 Cadillac DeVille Wednesday -- where temps hovered around 90 -- when the car apparently started smoking.

Ben pulled over, popped the hood and hit the pavement in search of a gas station to buy coolant.

Ben eyed the engine, looking for the radiator, and a passerby leaned in for an assist. As Ben hydrated his ride, someone couldn't resist taking a selfie with him.

This isn't the first time Ben's had car issues with his son ... Samuel jumped into the driver's seat of a Lamborghini last year while car browsing with his dad in Bev Hills, but things took a turn for the worse when Sam put the car in reverse, backing into a BMW.

And then there's the time last year when Ben failed to navigate a Starbucks sign at the drive-thru while J Lo rode shotgun.

And speaking of J Lo ... she had her own issues Wednesday when she got locked out of a gym. She was clearly more upset than Ben, telling photogs, "F**k you, bye."

Another lucky California resident is an overnight billionaire, courtesy of the Powerball -- and it comes less than a year after another CA dweller nailed down a $2.04 billion jackpot.

Wednesday's drawing came with a $1.08 billion prize, the 3rd-highest Powerball prize of all time. And, despite the 1 in 292.2 million odds, a ticket matching all 6 numbers was sold at Las Palmitas Mini Market in DTLA.

The blessed individual hasn't come forward as of Thursday morning, so we don't know if they opted for annual payments for the next 30 years -- roughly $34 mil a year -- or the 1-time payout of about $558.1 mil.

That's all before very steep taxes, of course, but they're still filthy rich.

As we reported, the big win comes about 8 months after super lucky Edwin Castro grabbed the last historic grand prize. The former boy scout and student-athlete snagged his life-changing ticket at a service center in Altadena, CA.

He's being sued by a man who claimed Edwin stole the winning ticket from someone else, although Powerball says it has no doubt Edwin's the rightful winner.

EC picked up a beautiful $25.5 mil Hollywood Hills mansion, just a month after collecting his winnings ... and you can bet the latest winner is somewhere making equally big plans.

The Marlins will be on the hunt for a new third base coach for the next few weeks ... 'cause their current one, Jody Reed, suffered a broken leg after he was struck by a foul ball on Wednesday.

The painful moment all went down during Miami's game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium ... when Jesus Sanchez was in the batter's box taking hacks against Dakota Hudson.

At one point during the AB, Sanchez lined a pitch right at Reed ... and it hit the coach flush in the lower leg.

"Look out Jody Reed!" the game's announcer said after the baseball tagged him.

Reed tried to walk it off ... but he had to exit the contest due to the pain. Later in the evening, Marlins manager Skip Schumaker revealed tests showed Reed had fractured a bone.

"He's going to be down," the coach said. "I'm not sure how long, but he had X-rays and the doctor said it was broke, so we'll see how long he's out for, unfortunately."

Jennifer Lopez got locked out of a workout session and then later took out some frustration on the paparazzi with an f-bomb ... and it's all on video.

J Lo was trying to get inside Tracy Anderson Method Studio in Studio City for a Wednesday afternoon workout, but her key card wasn't working ... and she ended up waiting outside the locked door before someone let her inside.

Following the workout, Jennifer was not in a good mood despite the endorphin release ... swearing at paparazzi as she climbed into a waiting SUV.

J Lo told the photogs ... "Go away. F*** you. Bye." While we can't tell for certain if she was truly mad, it certainly seemed like a not-so-friendly delivery. She and her team then sped off.

Jennifer's been on the defensive lately it seems ... earlier this month, she caught some heat for her new alcohol brand and shot back with a video response.

Joe Manganiello has filed for divorce from Sofia Vergara ... TMZ has learned.

Joe's lawyer, disso queen Laura Wasser, filed legal docs late Wednesday citing the usual irreconcilable differences.

The docs reveal there is a prenup, and they will each keep the assets they accumulated during their 7-year marriage. Wasser has a reputation for defending prenups, and our sources say Sofia is not going to contest it.

Since they have no kids, it seems like a pretty straightforward divorce.

Speaking of kids, we're hearing a big reason Joe has filed is their conflict over having children -- he wants them, she does not.

Joe and Sofia will each cover their own lawyers' fees.

The date of separation is listed as July 2, 2023.

Jason Aldean's hit song, and its accompanying music video, about small towns in America is sparking huge debate across the country ... and, now the NAACP is joining the convo.

The Tennessee chapter of the civil rights org is strongly condemning the country singer -- President Gloria Sweet-Love tells us Jason's tone, his message and the imagery he's using are all deeply offensive to people of color, especially Black people.

Sweet-Love says the Tennessee State Conference NAACP, as an organization, finds the song/music vid for "Try That in a Small Town" awful and racist.

She adds, in their eyes, the lyrics are bad enough, but Aldean's adding insult to injury by filming the video in front of the Maury County Courthouse in Columbia, TN ... where a Black man was lynched in 1927.

Making matters worse -- GSL says the KKK has recently been hanging flyers in that town as well, and Aldean's project is only adding unneeded fuel to a fire.

Sweet-Love goes on to say she believes Aldean's track is clearly promoting racism and violence, adding Tennessee doesn't need that -- instead, she says the focus of artists should be uniting people, and protecting their children and communities.

While Aldean seems to be inviting rancor ... Sweet-Love says he should, instead, apologize now -- echoing what a lot of others have said about this, including Sheryl Crow.

As we've reported ... JA himself has vehemently denied promoting any racism or violence in the song -- and says it only reflects the community he's familiar with ... not to mention sentiments he says people he knows share. In other words, he ain't walking back anything.

CMT has already yanked the song/vid from rotation ... and Sweet-Love says TN's NAACP chapter appreciates that gesture, telling us it was the right move all things considered.

Dog The Bounty Hunter is clarifying some controversial and threatening comments he made about transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney ... and now says he wasn't serious.

The former reality TV star went on the "Two Guys From Hollywood" podcast and attempted to explain his threats of physical violence as all bark and no bite.

TMZ broke the story ... Dog's daughter, Lyssa Chapman, apologized after her father's shots at Dylan and added, "Get that punk down. Rebuke Satan out of [Dog] and just give him a couple black eyes. That's exactly and I mean that. If I ever see him, I'm dropping him."

Now, Dog's backtracking ... at least when it comes to the threats, which were part of a larger homophobic rant.

Dog says he's never actually beat anyone down, and he wants to show people mercy and give them grace.

What's more, Dog says if Dylan was ever attacked by thugs he would jump in to help DM ... and he says he's sorry for contributing to Dylan feeling unsafe.

Still, Dog says nothing changes the fact he disagrees with Dylan's lifestyle ... and he's still worried Dylan is influencing children to transition, and that's why he's so upset.

While he was reluctant to use female pronouns for Dylan, saying "she's a he" -- he now says he understands, and compares it to his own preference to be called Dog and not Duane.