Sinéad O'Connor Procession Draws Massive Crowd ... Fill Streets Near Dublin

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OUTPOURING OF LOVE
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Sinéad O'Connor is being laid to rest in Ireland, and droves of fans are flocking to the streets to say their final goodbyes during the funeral procession through her hometown.

Sinéad's coffin was driven Tuesday through the town of Bray, just outside of Dublin, and it looks like thousands of her adoring fans turned out to honor her ... tossing flowers onto the hearse as it slowly rolled past.

Mourners applauded the late singer as Bob Marley's "Natural Mystic" blared from a vehicle driving just ahead of the hearse.

The procession stopped in front of Sinéad's former home for a few minutes before continuing to her burial site.

Some of Sinéad's fellow music legends attended the funeral ... including U2's Bono, Edge, and Adam Clayton, as did The Boomtown Rats' Bob Geldof and Ireland's President Michael D. Higgins.

As we reported, Sinéad was found dead inside her London home last month, and her unexpected passing shook the world.

Artists around the world performed touching tributes, including a rendition of her hit, "Nothing Compares 2 U," from Pink and Brandi Carlile.

We discussed Sinéad's legacy on an recent episode of the Last Days Podcast, available on all podcast platforms.

Sandra Bullock Cared For Boyfriend Bryan Randall To The End ... Receives Praise From Sister

Sandra Bullock is getting major props for taking good care of her longtime boyfriend, Bryan Randall, as he battled ALS to the very end.

Sandra's sister, Gesine Bullock-Prado, posted an emotional message on Instagram, praising the actress for being there during Bryan's private, 3-year battle with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis -- a nervous system disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord.

Gesine started off by saying she's convinced Bryan is already casting his lure at the best fishing spot in heaven, teaming with salmon.

She then addressed Bryan's ALS fight, pointing out it's a "cruel disease," but "there is some comfort in knowing he had the best of caretakers in my amazing sister (Sandra) and the band of nurses she assembled who helped her look after him in their home."

Bryan died Saturday at 57. His family announced his passing Monday, thanking all the doctors who treated Bryan's health issues.

The model-turned-shutterbug first crossed paths with Sandra in 2015 when she hired him to photograph her son Louis' birthday party. The two soon began dating and came out as a couple later that year.

In 2021, Sandra described Bryan as the love of her life during an appearance on the podcast, "Red Table Talk." But, last year, rumors circulated the pair had hit a rough patch, although it might have been due to Bryan's illness.

'Bachelorette' Star Shawn Booth He & Chuck Wicks Defend Aldean ... His New Song's Not Racist

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DEFINITELY NOT RACIST
In The Booth with Shawn Booth

Jason Aldean's new controversial song is anything but racist, and is simply being twisted into something it's not -- so say Shawn Booth and Chuck Wicks.

The "Bachelorette" alum and country star were chatting on the former's podcast -- "In the Booth with Shawn Booth" -- and they started talking politics, touching on how divided the country is. Eventually, they landed on the topic of Aldean's track, "Try That In a Small Town."

Chuck was quick to defend the song and its underlying message, which he says is incorrectly being labeled as hateful toward Black people -- arguing that couldn't be further from the truth.

Instead, he thinks it's just a song about solidarity in a community -- and the reason Jason used BLM looting footage is because it's the clearest, most recent example of storefronts and small businesses being destroyed en masse ... which Wicks says was objectively criminal and wrong.

He also says people quick to assign this to race are probably racists themselves.

Shawn pretty much cosigns everything Chuck says here, and they both agree the folks involved in writing the song and shooting the music video -- most of whom they know -- are not bigoted whatsoever.

Wick and Booth end up concluding the Aldean saga is just a microcosm of a larger issue of extremism in America right now -- where things are either black or white, or this and that. It's worth noting that Wicks is married to Jason's sister, Kasi Williams Morstad ... so, his opinion's hardly unbiased.

Of course, Jason himself has defended his work ... distancing himself from any notion of racism. Despite the controversy, or likely because of it, 'Try That' topped the charts last week -- but also plummeted this week to number 21.

Steph Curry Sings His Ass Off On Stage W/ Paramore ... Crowd Goes Crazy!!!

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STEPH ROCKS OUT

Stephen Curry turned into an emo boy at the Paramore concert on Monday ... joining the band onstage and belting out "Misery Business" -- and the NBA superstar killed it!!

The four-time champ and his wife, Ayesha -- who just celebrated their 12-year anniversary with a trip to Greece -- made their way to the Chase Center after landing back on U.S. soil ... but Chef Curry was no bystander.

The two-time MVP joined Hayley Williams and the gang in the middle of the concert ... grabbing the mic and showing off his pipes for their most popular song.

Curry got REALLY into the performance ... reciting every word and jumping up and down as the crowd enjoyed every second of it.

As it turns out, Curry is a big fan of the rock band -- back in 2018, they performed at his 30th birthday celebration.

Curry has been all over the music industry this offseason -- the 35-year-old was also spotted at Drake's concert, and more recently, he appeared in Tobe Nwigwe's music video.

You could say Curry "never meant to brag," but he's quite the rockstar!!

DJ Casper 'Cha Cha Slide' Creator Dead at 58 After Cancer Battle

DJ Casper, the creator of the internationally famous "Cha Cha Slide," has died after a battle with cancer.

The artist passed away Monday, according to his family. He'd been diagnosed with liver and kidney cancer in 2016 -- something spotlighted in a Chicago interview that chronicled his health challenges, as well as his contribution to music.

Casper is most famous for his catchy dance song, which he first cooked up in the studio back in 1998, and which he tweaked and re-released in 2000. The "Cha Cha Slide" has gone on to become a go-to favorite and staple at weddings and parties all over the world.

The making of the track is well-chronicled ... DJ Casper said he first made it with the intention of it being used for his nephew's aerobics class, but upon seeing how well-received it was -- and how much play it got in local fitness clubs -- he thought it had potential as a single, and made a second version for wide release.

The track got some radio play in Chicago and then blew up in the years to come. The infectious line dance, similar to the 'Electric Slide', literally gives you step-by-step instructions throughout the dance ... which is partly what's made it such a party staple.

Millions have danced to it over the years -- in addition to your cousin's wedding, the song's also been featured in tons of movies and TV shows ... like "SNL."

"Cha Cha Slide" had done well on several worldwide music charts, and is certified platinum in the UK. It's easily DJ Casper's main claim to fame.

Casper was 58.

RIP ... and cha cha real smooth.

Flavor Flav Having A Blast At Taylor Swift's Concert ... Hugs From Taylor's Parents!

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FLAV SHARES THE LOVE

Flavor Flav is proving once again he's a die-hard Swiftie ... 'cause the rapper was feeling the love from Taylor Swift's parents at her latest L.A. concert, and they even gave the guy an important task!

Flav showed his support for Taylor at her "Eras" Tour stop Monday night at SoFi Stadium, decked out with a ton of friendship bracelets to trade with other fans, and he had huge hugs for Tay-tay's parents, Scott and Andrea Swift.

FF said "Papa Swift" gave him a bunch of guitar picks to pass out in the crowd ... along with the bracelets and his own Flavor Flav-themed buttons.

Safe to say the guy was busy all night long, mingling with the 70,000 or so Taylor fans. Pretty remarkable that the 64-year-old hip hop icon is now a Swiftee ambassador of sorts.

Flav wasn't the only celeb in the crowd ... folks like Tiffany Haddish, Cameron Diaz, Sofia Richie, Zoe Saldana, and Ashley Greene were also singing along to Taylor's hits.

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FLAVOR SWIFTIE
TMZ.com

As for Flav, he's been a self-proclaimed Swiftie for a while now -- he told us back in June all about his love for Taylor, and how he couldn't understand why others were shocked to see him having fun at her Detroit show.

YK Osiris Allegedly Ran Off with $20K Watch ... Jeweler Claims He's Dodging Payment

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WORLDS COLLIDE
TMZ.com

YK Osiris has a lot of explaining to do ... says celeb jeweler Seth Grossman, who claims the singer never paid him for a $20,000 Audemars Piguet watch he agreed to buy YEARS ago.

Seth tells TMZ Hip Hop, he first came into contact with YK through Sean Kingston, one of his longtime clients and associates. They met up in early 2020 before the COVID-19 shutdowns, and Seth claims YK convinced him to sell the AP he was wearing ... which you see YK try on, and happily flaunt, in the video above. Bling, bling baby!!!

Seth says he wasn't up on YK's music at the time but checked his YouTube and confirmed he was a legit star, and proceeded to fire off an invoice for the timepiece.

According to Seth, YK took all of his info so his accountant could wire the $20K ... but that wire transfer was essentially a pipe dream because Seth claims he's yet to see a dime!!!

At first, Seth claims YK was responsive with excuses ... but then the runaround began, with multiple phone number changes.

Seth says the times he was able to confront YK, the "Worth It" singer threw Sean under the bus with false claims that he'd returned the watch back to Sean.

In another instance, he claims YK blamed his own father for stealing all his jewelry as payment for managing his son.

Seth, founder of Essential Watches, is still pondering taking legal action against YK, but would rather pour his time and energy into running his Bev Hills boutique, 90210 Watches.

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THE GOLD STANDARD

We've reached out to YK multiple times for his side of the story. No word back yet, but apparently, he's got enough dough to have recently scooped a new gold grill -- which has gotta rub Seth the wrong way.

Tekashi 6ix9ine Tattoo Artist Suing ... Says Wife Left Him Over Heroin Claims

Tekashi69's claim the tattoo artist who inspired his name used to be on heroin is costing that man dearly ... at least according to the ink master himself, who says his wife left him over that drug abuse allegation.

Takashi Matsuba spells it out in his ongoing civil suit against the rapper -- and in the new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, he says he's entitled to a default judgment because Tekashi's old lawyer withdrew from the case and Tekashi's failed to retain new counsel.

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THE REFERENCE
HULU

But, in re-explaining the alleged harm he's endured, Matsuba makes this startling confession -- "I lost a number of friends, but by far the most important one is my dear wife. We divorced last year, because she no longer trusted me after Hernandez's false statements about me were broadcast on Hulu and Showtime."

Matsuba goes on to explain that his tattooing business has essentially collapsed by "the false suggestion that I may be a drug user."

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HEROIN CLAIMS
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You'll recall ... Matsuba was pissed over a couple 6ix9ine documentaries that name-dropped him -- one on Hulu, and another on Showtime. While he seems pissed about the Hulu reference, it's the Showtime doc that's in his legal crosshairs ... they're defendants too.

The Showtime project features a clip of Tekashi telling the story of how he picked his moniker, and in describing that -- he alleges Matsuba is a former heroin addict. Matsuba vehemently denies that, and it spurred him to sue.

Paul Vs. Diaz Just As Big As Floyd Vs. McGregor!!! ... Says Shawn Porter

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TOP TIER ENTERTAINMENT
TMZSports.com

Jake Paul's fight against Nate Diaz was on the same level as one of the most popular fights in combat sports history -- so says former boxing champ Shawn Porter, who tells TMZ Sports Saturday's event felt "just as big as" Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor!

Porter -- who was on the mic in Dallas for the big matchup -- said the vibes were off the charts throughout the Jake vs. Nate fight ... calling the experience Super Bowl-esque.

"This was just as big as Mayweather and McGregor," Porter emphatically told us on Monday.

FYI -- Floyd vs. Conor is widely reported as the second-highest-selling fight in Pay-Per-View history (behind Floyd vs. Manny Pacquiao) ... so to compare the energy at Jake vs. Nate to that is quite a compliment.

Of course, "Showtime" is no stranger to the biggest events in the sport -- whether he competed in or attended them, he's witnessed some electric crowds over the years.

But Porter said the spectator support of Diaz was second to none ... adding, "I've never heard anything like that before."

"MMA fans, man. They show up, they show out, they have a lot of fun and they are extremely loud. I was loving it."

As for the fight, Shawn gave Jake a C grade on the night, despite getting the victory ... explaining the Problem Child still has to work on finishing off his opponents after landing big punches.

There's more -- while Porter doesn't see Jake reaching world championship contention, he would love to see the 7-1 fighter "ride this wave" and ignore the purists who want him to go against more boxers.

Cookie On 'Ned's Declassified' 'Memba Him?!

American actor and comedian Daniel Curtis Lee was just 12 years old when he was first cast as Simon Nelson-Cook  ... aka "Cookie" -- the techie middle schooler and Ned's best friend on Nickelodeon's comedy series "Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide" -- back in 2004.

Daniel shared the spotlight with Devon Werkheiser as the smart kid who gets into some mischief with his friends, Ned, and Lindsey Shaw as Ned and Cookie's level-headed friend who excels in sports.

Actor Austin Butler was also part of the cast, playing the background role of Zippy for two seasons.

Guess what he looks like now!

Megan Thee Stallion I Can't Be In Same Room As Tory ... No Peace Since Shooting

Megan Thee Stallion is still reeling from the Tory Lanez shooting incident ... she says she can't bring herself to be in the same room as him and hasn't found peace.

The "Savage" rapper was NOT in court Monday for Tory's sentencing, despite prosecutors hinting otherwise, but she did provide a statement that was read in court ... and it was emotional.

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Meg says she struggled with showing up to court because she couldn't bring herself to be anywhere near Tory, who is awaiting sentencing after being convicted of shooting her.

What's more, Megan says she hasn't had a moment of peace since the July 2020 shooting ... and she ripped Tory, accusing him of making a mockery of her emotional trauma, treating it like a joke and refusing to take accountability.

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CALLING OUT JAY-Z
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Megan says Tory's blaming everyone but himself ... she says he first tried to blame the system but is now blaming his childhood trauma ... and she says if he had ever shown contrition she may have been able to heal her emotional wounds sooner.

Tory was expected to be sentenced Monday, but the hearing ran over time and will pick back up Tuesday.

Prosecutors want a judge to sentence Tory to at least 13 years behind bars, though he's seeking a shorter sentence.

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

'Barbie' PETA Gives Props To Ken's Faux Fur Coat

The "Barbie" movie is getting mad props from an animal rights organization for dressing Ryan Gosling's Ken doll in a faux fur coat instead of the real thing.

Remember, Ryan's got a few scenes where his character is wearing a white fur coat -- which would normally get a huge thumbs down from PETA -- but now it's PETA-approved because as it turns out, the wardrobe piece is faux mink.

PETA Senior Vice President Lisa Lange tells TMZ … "From his fabulous faux mink coat to his rad vegan leather boots, Ken serves looks that mirror actor Ryan Gosling's own kindness to animals and refusal to wear fur."

Ken's coat is already being sold online as a Halloween costume, and Lisa tells us ... "PETA encourages everyone to be Kenough this Halloween by following in Gosling's footsteps and keeping animals' skins out of the mojo dojo casa house."

Sounds like PETA is cool with the patriarchy ... at least when it comes to animal-friendly outfits.

U.S. Women's National Team Soccer Program Needs Big Changes ... Says Taylor Twellman

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TIME FOR A CHANGE
TMZSports.com

The U.S. Women's National Team is at a fork in the road after their incredibly disappointing World Cup, according to former soccer star-turned-analyst Taylor Twellman, who tells TMZ Sports the team has to make changes, or they'll be passed up by the world.

The ex-USMNT forward -- who played professionally from 2000 to 2010 -- didn't pull his punches when analyzing the USWNT's shocking loss to Sweden in Melbourne, Australia ... and their overall performance in the world's biggest soccer tournament.

"In this World Cup, technical, tactical -- they were completely outdone!" the 43-year-old said. "It was obvious."

Twellman continued, not mincing his words ... "They didn't score a goal in 238 minutes. You are the number one nation in the world, that's inexplicable. So now this is a watershed moment."

Of course, the team, tourney-betting favorites, were looking to make history by becoming the first country to win 3 World Cups in a row. Unfortunately for American fans, that didn't happen.

After beating Vietnam 3-0 (they were around 7 goal faves), the U.S. tied both Portugal and the Netherlands, barely squeaking into the knockout round of 16, before losing to Sweden on penalty kicks. The loss dashed any hopes of a third straight W.C. ... and sent the women on a flight headed back home.

Now, for how to fix things ... Twellman has an idea of what needs to be done.

"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result. I think top to bottom, the United States Federation on the women's side has to look at development, they have to look at the collegiate part of it, they have to look at the development within the professional leagues," Taylor said, continuing, "Are the professional leagues developing the players the right way? Is technique a huge part of it, or is it just about being bigger, faster, and stronger than the other countries? It's not gonna work anymore."

Twellman added ... "This women's World Cup has exposed the failure of the United States women to develop, and this generation I think did not carry on the mentality that winning comes first, everything else is secondary, and I think some of that criticism has been correct on that."

Of course, the mentality is precisely what U.S. soccer legend Carli Lloyd pointed out last week when she called out her former team for celebrating in the wake of another subpar performance.

"I really think it's telling that she brought it up because what we saw during the World Cup kind of backs Carli Lloyd's opinion," Twellman said.

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WTF?!
Courtesy of Fox Sports

We also talked to Taylor, who is Apple's top soccer analyst, about Lionel Messi's amazing start with Inter Miami ... and just how far the team can go with the soccer immortal playing at this level.

"I get it, Lionel Messi and [Sergio] Busquets just showed up but this is the worst team in Major League Soccer regular season," Twellman said.

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ONE OF THE GREATS
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"I think they can get to the Final but I think the semifinal and final are gonna be the two most difficult games if they get passed the quarterfinals."

Kanye West Joins Travis Scott 'Utopia' in Rome First Performance Since Antisemitic Rants

Kanye West just officially made his return to the stage, all thanks to Travis Scott, who like Ye, is very familiar with the masses turning against him.

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BACK ON STAGE
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Travis is currently performing a massive show in Rome -- on the heels of the release of his "Utopia" album -- and surprised the crowd by bringing out Kanye. Before Kanye appeared, Travis told fans there's, "Only one human being on this mother f****** planet that has ever walked side by side with me through anything and every mother f****** thing."

The crowd erupted as Ye got on stage, performing "Praise God" -- a song featuring Travis from his "Donda" album. Clearly a bit rusty, Ye missed most of his lyrics but was saved by the backing track. He also went on to perform crowd favorite "Can't Tell Me Nothing."

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FROM THE MOUTH OF KANYE
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Kanye's appearance marks his first big performance since he made antisemitic remarks, more than doubled down on said remarks, was dropped by Adidas, and lost billions. Remember, he told Alex Jones he loved Hitler -- among other things.

Many in music and entertainment have distanced themselves from or totally cut Kanye out, but Travis still clearly has an allegiance to his friend.

Of course, Travis is no stranger to public strife ... facing a ton of heat for his Astroworld music festival where 10 fans lost their lives. Travis is still facing several lawsuits from the festival, but a grand jury found that he was not to face any criminal charges.

Sandra Bullock's Boyfriend Bryan Randall Dead At 57

Sandra Bullock's boyfriend, Bryan Randall, has died, after a private battle with ALS ... TMZ has confirmed.

Bryan's family tells us, "It is with great sadness that we share that on August 5th Bryan Randall passed away peacefully after a 3 year battle with ALS."

They say Bryan decided to keep his struggle with ALS a private matter, adding, "Those of us who cared for him did our best to honor his request."

They add, "We are immensely grateful to the tireless doctors who navigated the landscape of this illness with us and to the astounding nurses who became our roommates, often sacrificing their own families to be with ours."

People was first to report the news.

Sandra and Bryan first met back in 2015 when he photographed a birthday party for her son, Louis -- they went public later that year. Despite keeping things between them mostly under wraps, she called him the "love of my life" in 2021 during her time on "Red Table Talk."

She even said at the time that they shared her 2 kids together -- 13-year-old Louis and 10-year-old Laila, both of whom she adopted.

There were reports that the couple was on the rocks and were allegedly living separately last year ... although his battle with ALS could've contributed to living apart.

Bryan was 57.

RIP

Kanye West Barefoot Loving with Wifey in Rome Can't Stop Touching Butt

Kanye West just can't seem to get enough of Bianca Censori's backside ... grabbing a handful of booty while out in Rome for Travis Scott's concert.

Ye packed on the PDA with his wife Monday in the Italian capital, hugging and touching each other's butts. Apparently, it's not always poison.

Kanye seemingly kept an eye, and a hand, on Bianca at all times ... admiring her figure as she showed off her curves in a skin-tight outfit.

It wasn't just lust though ... Kanye and Bianca shared some sweet moments too, lovingly holding hands on the street.

On this occasion, Kanye was barefoot while Bianca was wearing heels, which is kind of her thing ... and Yeezy was rocking all black while his wife dressed in all white.

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TAKING OVER TOKYO
TMZ.com

As we've reported ... Kanye's shown a huge affinity for Bianca's booty this year, be it in Santa Monica or in Japan, and it's more of the same over in Italy.

That's amore!!!