TMZ.com Home

Hurricane Chris was found not guilty of 2nd-degree murder in March ... a grueling three-year battle, the "Ay Bay Bay" rapper says cost him over a million dollars in potential earnings.

It's a point of contention for Chris, who tells us the Shreveport police didn't properly investigate the scene back in June 2020 and he's now preparing to sue for all damages and lost wages.

A jury determined Chris acted in self-defense when he shot and killed Danzeria Farris Jr. at a Texaco station in their hometown ... but only, he claims, after a key investigator was nailed on the stand for failing to track the witnesses and identify the threat on Chris' life.

Chris says the situation left him remorseful, as he's actually friends with some of the deceased's family members. He's excited to resume his career ... which will include acting.

Chris says he had to miss out on auditions for hit TV shows such as "Snowfall" and 50 Cent's "BMF" ... roles he says his real-life experiences would've enabled him to slay.

On the music front, Chris is aiming for a comeback with a pair of mixtapes he plans on dropping before the year is up.

Before this cute kid in her floral dress turned into a famous comedian, she was just roaming around the fields of Livingston, New Jersey with lemons in hand, hangin' with all her siblings and chasing her Hollywood dreams!

You probably first heard of this funny gal on late-night TV where she brought on other fellow comedians such as Michael Yo and Heather McDonald. And in more recent years, she's provided a plethora of laughs on Netflix ... i.e.: hosting and partaking in a 'high spelling bee' in her swimming pool.

Need another hint? Bert and Bernice!

Chrisean Rock is now a mom, 'cause she just gave birth to her son ... and she did on the 'Gram, no less.

The rapper was livestreaming her delivery Sunday on from her Instagram account, which captured her on a hospital bed with friends and family all around -- this while she pushed, screamed and, eventually, cried tears of joy.

Indeed, the baby appears to have been secured safely ... but it was a process. At one point in the livestream, Chrisean could be seen/heard saying -- "Get this n**** out!" as doctors worked on her. No word on how long she was in labor, but the baby boy has arrived.

Chrisean's baby daddy, Blueface, was nowhere to be seen in her video ... there's footage circulating of him online right now that appears to show him in a different city entirely.

He's made it clear throughout this whole saga ... Chrisean isn't his #1 anymore, even as he's been confronted with paternity. Remember, he's got other children from different women.

Anyhoo, Chrisean seems to have had some kind of support system around her. With that said, her pregnancy has been controversial ... with many weighing on how she'd carried herself through parts of it, including instances of her smoking with a bun in the oven.

President Biden says he hasn't a chance to visit East Palestine -- where a disastrous train derailment occurred -- but his critics say ... that's BS, seeing how often he vacations.

Joe was in Florida Saturday surveying the damage left behind by Hurricane Idalia, and while he was talking to the media ... one reporter asked him about an awful event from months ago -- bringing up the Ohio city and wondering why POTUS hasn't gone to see it.

Of course, the journo noted that the Prez explicitly said he'd get around to it at some point -- but as of now, he has yet to make an in-person appearance in East Palestine ... and now, months later, there doesn't seem to be any indication he plans to in the near future either.

JB's response to this is getting roasted -- he says he hasn't occasion to go visit East Palestine, arguing that he's been too busy with all the engagements he's had to attend to ... including some overseas.

President Biden even said he was considering going to East Palestine this week -- but adds he was reminded he has elsewhere to be. Joe finished by saying he'd made sure the people of East Palestine had what they needed to recover ... but even that is being questioned.

Some of the scrutiny he's facing here has to do with his track record on vacation days since he's been in office -- and there's been many ... upwards of 40% of his presidency, in fact, is said to have been spent away from the White House/on overnight stays out of D.C.

We've seen a lot of this for ourselves these past few months ... the dude has been hitting the beach a ton this summer -- especially out in Delaware, where he has a summer home.

There've also been quite a few bike rides Joe's gone on since being sworn in, and just last week ... he was out in Lake Tahoe. And yes -- he goes to Camp David a lot too with his fam -- and the record is starting to stack up against him, as far as his haters are concerned.

Emma Stone is getting a lot of Oscar buzz for a new movie of hers -- where she's in some balls-to-the-wall sex scenes, baring it all ... even though her character's technically a child.

This one's a little dicey, but it's being talked about a ton this weekend among attendees at both the Telluride Film Festival here in Colorado and the Venice Film Festival in Italy -- where her latest offering, "Poor Things," got screened ... and which is getting rave reviews.

The movie's about a lady who gets brought back to life, Frankenstein-style, but this time ... with the brain of a young kid. So, she's back all doe-eyed/naïve -- and apparently horny too.

As far as what age she's supposed to be portraying in the film ... it's hard to pin down exactly, but some outlets have used the term "infant" to characterize the type of child she's playing (in an adult's body). Essentially, her role as Bella supposedly plays out a sexual liberation odyssey ... and word is, this one is raunchy as hell -- with ES embracing all of it.

If that sounds controversial, well ... that's because it is, but that's not stopping the director, Yorgos Lanthimos, from heaping on the praise -- let alone apologizing for the content.

During a press interview at Venice, Yorgos said Emma was with him every step of the way in terms of playing out the graphic sex he wanted to show on camera ... noting she was fearless in doing so and had no shame to show anything off. So, yeah -- full nudity it seems.

While the subject matter might come across as, perhaps, a little too edgy ... film snobs who are there and have seen it are groveling over "Poor Things" -- calling it a sensation, and also claiming that Emma is definitely going to be a front-runner for Best Actress come 2024.

BTW, Emma's flick is far from the only one at these film fests that apparently dabbles in hanky-panky. A good handful of others are said to do the same ... including some portraying gay relationships. S/O Jacob Elordi, Barry Keogan, Paul Mescal and Andrew Scott.

Steve Harwell is experiencing the last chapter of his life -- this after battling medical complications for years -- and his family is saying their goodbyes ... TMZ has learned.

A manager for the Smash Mouth lead singer tells us Steve has been struggling with alcohol abuse throughout his life -- and now, he's reached the final stage of liver failure ... for which he'd, up until recently, been receiving treatment at a hospital.

At this point, we're told SH is in hospice at home ... where his friends and loved ones have gathered over the past 3 days. Steve's manager says he likely has only a week or so to live.

This news comes almost 2 years after a troubling incident involving Steve ... where he appeared incredibly disoriented during a live performance, slurring his words and yelling at the audience. It was concerning at the time, and shortly thereafter ... he said he was retiring.

At the time, sources close to Steve told us he'd been battling ongoing health issues -- stemming from a number of diagnoses he'd received over the years, including cardiomyopathy, heart failure and Wernicke's encephalopathy. His substance abuse was also mentioned to us back then ... which we were told had contributed to his declining state.

It's an incredibly sad development for fans of his ... and for music lovers everywhere.

Smash Mouth contributed some of the biggest pop culture hits in the early 2000s -- including, of course, "All Star," "I'm a Believer" and others ... some of which were featured in "Shrek."

Jake Gyllenhaal is as low-key as they come, but this weekend -- he wanted to put his love life on full display for the world to see ... and it's really like something out of a movie.

Check out these awesome photos of the big-time actor taking a romantic walk through NYC's SoHo neighborhood alongside his girlfriend of 5 years -- French model Jeanne Cadieu ... with whom he's been involved with since at least 2018.

As you can see, they're kinda in matching outfits here ... JG has a loose white shirt -- meanwhile, Jeanne's rocking a beige, Fall-ready cozy sweater and some cuffed jeans.

They were hand-in-hand, and at times ... even arm-in-arm, with Jeanne wrapping herself around Jake's shoulder -- and him holding onto her waist. Of course, there were also some kisses too ... like we said, it ended up amounting to a Hallmark moment, of sorts.

Interestingly enough, these pics come on the heels of Jake opening up about his relationship with Jeanne to People Mag -- where he heaped on glowing praise for his partner. Jake has this to say, "It's no secret that I'm in a relationship and it's a wonderful relationship. We are private, but I guess we are who we are. We're just living our lives. We always have. And I love that people are interested, but at the same time, it's like what's ours is ours."

Jake also said this about the prospect of settling down ... "I would love to have a family, and if it's anything like the family that my sister's raised and has cultivated, I would be proud," adding that his relationship with Jeanne is "one of the most important in my life."

In other words, this might be the one for Jake Gyllenhaal ... after all these years.

Gabriel Guevara was arrested at the Venice Film Festival this weekend -- but not for anything he allegedly did while there ... it actually stems from something in another country.

The Spanish actor -- famous for a starring role in a new Amazon movie -- got taken into custody by the local authorities Saturday while he was in Venice ... this after an international warrant for his arrest was issued out of France on a sexual assault charge.

The details of the alleged incident have yet to be released -- and the extradition process might take a while too ... as a court of appeals reportedly has to weigh in first.

Guevara was actually set to receive a pretty big award on Sunday -- the day before he was busted -- from the Filming Italy org ... which was going to honor him as the "Best Young Actor." Upon hearing about his arrest, they scrapped that entirely ... and put it on hold.

The Venice Film Festival itself also made sure to distance themselves from the drama, taking to social media to explicitly note he hadn't been accused of any wrongdoing at their event.

Beyoncé's second show in L.A. wasn't able to escape criticism from some fans who recently saw Taylor Swift at the same venue ... and who noticed a big difference in visibility. 👀

Here's the deal ... Bey has been performing at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood these past couple nights -- which is a go-to stop for big touring artists these days ... and one that TayTay also performed at just a few weeks ago to cap off her U.S. leg of the Eras Tour.

Folks who went to both SoFi concerts (Bey's and Taylor's, that is) are walking away with an interesting comparison ... namely, the monitor system. Based on some of these posts, it appears some felt Bey might've cut a few corners in the display ... whereas Taylor didn't.

What they're referring to is SoFi' 360-degree, circular videoboard -- which hangs suspended in the middle of the facility and which has massive LED screens all around it (inside and out) ... so that people in the nosebleeds can watch whatever action is going on down below.

Take a look at these videos people are posting juxtaposing the performances ... they're pointing out Taylor had that circular videoboard on the entire time, and that each screen was turned on as well. In Beyonce's case, it appears only one monitor on the videoboard was on ... and the rest of them were turned off. In other words, ticket buyers who were further out had to rely on just a couple of giant monitors on Beyonce's main stage.

Some of these Beyonce clips are a little cringeworthy ... 'cause people from certain angles legitimately couldn't witness much at all -- other than tiny specks down on the ground.

And yet, for the Taylor Swift crowd ... even the people who were furthest away seemed to have had a great view of the performance, all because that circular videoboard was turned on.

Now, there's been some speculation as to why this was the case for one and not the other ... and it all has to do with what some claim is SoFi actually charging artists/their touring companies to run and operate those monitors -- and, presumably, it isn't all that cheap.

We haven't been able to find any definitive evidence that SoFi even charges for this feature, or that the alleged cost is passed on to the artist -- but if that is the case, it's interesting.

The bigger picture here is that Swifties and Beyhivers continue to be at odds over which star is doing the touring thing better right now, but we won't weigh into all that. No thanks!

One last thing ... Chart Data claimed this past week that Beyonce's Renaissance tour had broken a record by becoming the highest-grossing tour by a solo female artist since Madonna's Sticky & Sweet Tour, raking in $461 million so far. What that report fails to acknowledge, strangely, is that Taylor's Eras Tour has been projected to be in the billions.

James Cromwell was back on the frontlines for animal rights this weekend -- taking the fight to Louis Vuitton in the Big Apple ... and showing them they had blood on their hands.

The actor/activist was one of the notable faces among a massive group of protests Saturday who descended upon the Louis V flagship store in SoHo ... where barricades had been set up, and where folks were loudly chanting through megaphones -- complete with signage.

Check out this video we obtained ... you can see that James went past the barricade and was right up on the sidewalk, facing off with what one can presume would be management.

Somewhat dramatically ... he pours some red liquid onto the sidewalk and points it out to Louis Vuitton -- echoing what the protesters behind are shouting. Earlier, he made an impassioned speech in support of veganism -- and laying out what they were there for.

Of course, this has to do with the use of real fur -- something LVMH has been accused of using to this day. As for James ... he's been in this animal rights world for a long time.

Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner are headed toward divorce ... TMZ has learned.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... Joe had his people contact and consult with at least 2 L.A.-area divorce lawyers and he is on the cusp of filing divorce docs to end his marriage to Sophie.

Our sources say the couple has had "serious problems" for at least 6 months.

We're told over the last 3 months, Joe has been caring for their 2 young children "pretty much all of the time," even as his band was touring. We're told Joe currently has both kids, as the group plays around the U.S.

On the surface, it seems there's been no outward signs of trouble. Joe and Sophie have attended events together. However, in recent weeks ... Joe has been seen not wearing his ring.

And they recently sold their Miami mansion. They bought that place just a year ago ... and sold it fairly quickly, for a decent profit.

Joe and Sophie first linked up in 2016 ... and got engaged a year later. In 2019, they were married -- Vegas-style -- and have been living the family life ever since ... quickly welcoming their first kid in 2020 ... and another in 2022. A lot has happened for them in 4 years.

Professionally, Joe and Sophie have been busy -- mostly JJ, though. He's gone on tour with his brothers recently and is scheduled to perform through the winter. Sophie's done some TV/movie stuff in recent years -- but isn't nearly as active as she was during her 'GoT' days.

BTW, they're both still young ... Joe's just 34, and Sophie's only 27.

We reached out to reps for Joe and Sophie. So far, no word back.

Erica Mena apparently wasn't just kicking and screaming during her arrest last weekend in Atlanta -- she was allegedly biting too ... not to mention dropping some fake baby news, so say cops and her lawyer.

The 'Love & Hip Hop' star was one of four people arrested Friday at a lounge there in town after police say all hell broke loose when they were asked to leave by the security -- and according to the police report, obtained by TMZ, it was a lot uglier than what we all saw.

The doc lays out what APD officers say went down -- and one of them describes a chaotic brawl he says he was trying to break up ... and says EM was in the middle of it all.

According to the cop, Erica was fighting like hell ... even brutalizing security guards as they tried to get her out of the facility. During the melee, the officer says one of the guards told him Erica had chomped down on his forearm ... and she allegedly kicked another in the face!

The officer claims he took some licks from Erica as well ... but after a lot of physical struggle, he was finally able to get her under control.

Another interesting tidbit -- the officer in this report says Erica made clear she was pregnant. Unfortunately, that didn't prevent her from getting busted ... and her lawyer tells us she was fibbing.

Erica's attorney, Drew Findling, tells TMZ ... "On behalf of Erica Mena (who is not pregnant), we will immediately start investigating the events of August 25, 2023. It is clear that this was an incident between citizens, private security and off-duty police officers that was not properly handled or de-escalated."

He continued, "We know this because the officer readily admits in his report that he punched a private citizen in the face 4 or 5 times and used unnecessary force against Erica as well. While Erica regrets some of the circumstances of that night, it is also important to understand the context and details of the incident so we will do our due diligence and review accordingly."

As for the others who were hauled to jail -- including Bambi Richardson and Zellswag, plus a mutual friend of theirs -- APD says they were all trying to prevent officers from restraining Erica the entire time ... which explains why they were booked for misdemeanor obstruction.

Tom Sandoval got in the middle of a tug-of-war during the wrap party for "Vanderpump Rules" season 11, after a man hurled a glass of wine at a security guard.

The man -- not sure who he is -- just launched as he hijacked the party. After throwing the wine, the dude picked up a chair. You see Tom run into frame trying to calm things down, as another security guard restrains the guy by grabbing his arms. An aggressive tug-of-war then begins.

The TikToker who shot the video says the dude is not a cast member and was not going after Tom. The TikToker said, “We were just sitting at a table and this random guy came and he grabbed the centerpiece [of a] flower vase [and] chucked it at the security guard.”

Burning Man has been calamitous this year ... leading to a death.

The Pershing County Sheriff's Office confirms ... they are investigating a death that occurred as rain poured down over the venue. The Sheriff has not gone into detail, but by the description, it might be rain-related.

As we reported, the event -- which was being held in the Nevada desert -- was flooded Saturday, causing cars and campers to become immobilized. It got so bad, concertgoers were told to shelter in place.

Diplo and Chris Rock fled the event on the back of a truck. Diplo said he walked 5 miles to get the hell out.

It's not looking better for Sunday ... they're expecting even bigger storms with heavy rainfall and hail, as well as 40 mph wind gusts.

Unclear if the plug has been totally pulled ... the gates to Black Rock City are locked up tight. No one can drive in the area except emergency vehicles.

Margaritaville is mourning the death of Jimmy Buffett, and one of the ways is the symbolic flag-lowering.

The Margaritaville in Palm Springs, and presumably elsewhere, lowered its flag to half-mast in honor of the legendary singer/songwriter.

Jimmy was known as the Mayor of Margaritaville, so in a way it's an official title that makes flag-lowering appropriate.

As we reported, Jimmy died late Friday night. We're told he was diagnosed with skin cancer 4 years ago and it turned into lymphoma.

He was receiving hospice care since Monday. On Friday night, we're told the house was filled with people, just hours before his death. Jimmy was in an upstairs bedroom, and he passed peacefully.

And, as we reported, Sir Paul McCartney went to the South Hampton home a week ago to sing for Jimmy and his family.

A number of people posted tributes, including Elton John, Kenny Chesney and President Biden.

Jimmy was 76.

Boosie Badazz says he's seeing life differently these days, having embraced his court-appointed anger management classes, and now he's been bitten by the educator bug!!!

TMZ Hip Hop checked in with Boosie this week, as well as renowned and reformed drug dealer "Freeway Rick" Ross, who tells us he's been mentoring Boosie for years ... dating back to the Louisiana rap legend's days in prison.

Now, they're using their alliance to spread a message to disenfranchised kids from the hood.

As Rick points out, typical children's books don't speak to kids in those environments, and he and Boosie are launching an initiative to create literature to address the problem, in addition to teaching from their own autobiographies.

Boosie says the anger management classes he's taking due to his recent arrest for gun possession have opened his eyes -- he no longer gets upset with people, because he's learned not to expect the same drive from them that's made him the man he is today.

He admits he owes a bit of luck to surviving the streets, but is proud of the maturity he displays on his new album, "Goin Thru Some Thangs" ... noting how he's not the same hell-raising rapper from his earlier days.

His newfound road to zen has proven useful for his latest bout of family drama.