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The Weeknd's Grammys snub had nothing to do with him playing the Super Bowl ... at least according to the Recording Academy Chief.

Harvey Mason Jr. -- interim President and CEO of the Academy -- says, "We understand that The Weeknd is disappointed at not being nominated. I was surprised and can empathize with what he’s feeling. His music this year was excellent."

He adds, the Grammys had no issue with him performing at the Super Bowl and would have loved to have him also perform for the awards show. TMZ broke the story ... negotiations for The Weeknd's Grammy performance got nasty, and our sources say he was issued an ultimatum -- play for us or the Super Bowl.

As for Weeknd receiving zero nominations -- Mason claims there was nothing nefarious to it. He says, "To be clear, voting in all categories ended well before The Weeknd’s performance at the Super Bowl was announced, so in no way could it have affected the nomination process."

As we reported ... it was revealed The Weeknd would be doing the SB Halftime Show on Nov. 12. The Grammys point out its voting deadline for noms was in October. Mason is adamant nobody was upset about the prospect of the singer performing at both events ... because the Grammys happens first.

Mason also says he's "saddened" over The Weeknd and his team saying "The Grammys remain corrupt." He says ... "I try to empathize with where that came from, but it was difficult to hear."

Despite the apparent damage control, it appears this controversy's not going away anytime soon. The Weeknd's manager, Sal Slaiby, also slammed "corrupt leaders" at the Grammys and demanded transparency.

The COVID-19 vaccines are already injecting renewed confidence into the decimated travel industry -- travelers are taking the news as a green light to pack their bags.

Although most of us won't have access to one of 3 potential vaccines until next spring, Cruise Brothers -- one of the largest family-owned cruise travel agencies in the country -- tells TMZ, it saw a 60 percent spike in new itineraries compared to election week ... when bookings were few and far between.

The big change between then and now, of course, is Pfizer, Moderna and Oxford-AstraZeneca all announced highly-effective vaccines are going to the FDA for approval.

That's enough to get folks thinking summer vacations -- but they're still steering clear of current COVID hotspots. We're told Alaska is the most popular destination getting booked now, while the least popular is Europe.

Antarctica, the only continent untouched by COVID-19, is attracting luxury travelers ... Cruise Brothers says trips there are up 100 percent compared to what was on the books before the pandemic.

They do expect people to start booking more traditional European getaways though ... once the current COVID surge there dies down.

TripAdvisor says 65 percent of consumers are already thinking about traveling. So, once vaccines are widely available, it's looking like the travel industry will be inundated with bookings.

Tommy Lasorda's recovery is moving in the right direction -- he's now taking phone calls in his hospital room from friends and former players!

The 93-year-old is still being treated at a hospital in Orange County, CA -- where he was admitted roughly 2 weeks ago.

We broke the story, Lasorda was initially admitted due to heart issues ... but things took a turn for the worse while he was there, and he needed to be put on a ventilator. We're told the issues were NOT coronavirus related.

At the time, sources close to the situation told us Lasorda's long-term prognosis was not clear ... given his age and medical issues.

But now, a great update courtesy of Dodgers spokesperson Steve Brener who told the AP things are looking up!

Brener says Tommy is taking "online calls" from former players and coaches -- which is great because Lasorda is widely known as a social butterfly who loves choppin' it up with people!

Hopefully, he'll continue to make progress and get home soon!

Lasorda is widely known as one of the greatest MLB managers EVER -- the dude won 1,599 games in 21 years as the Dodgers' honcho ... and earned Manager Of The Year honors twice.

Actress Joey King crashed into another car and is taking ZERO responsibility ... so claims a man now suing her.

Parviz Mohammady is suing the 'Kissing Booth' star, claiming he was driving in the L.A. area back on February 13 when Joey merged into his lane and collided with his car. According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Parviz sustained damage to the right side of his car and suffered injuries from the crash.

Parviz's attorney, Kamelia Jalilvand, tells TMZ ... Parviz was driving northbound when Joey -- who also earned critical acclaim for her role in the Hulu crime series "The Act" -- pulled out of a metered parking spot and plowed into Parviz's car. You can see the damages Joey's car suffered on the driver's side.

Kamelia tells us her client suffered a tear in his shoulder ... and says a preexisting condition made the shoulder injury even worse, requiring surgery. We're told after the collision, Parviz and Joey exchanged insurance info. No cops were called but Kamelia claims he still hasn't gotten compensated for the damage ... so now he's going after Joey in court.

Kamelia says, "Due to the collision, Mr. Mohammady sustained significant injuries, which necessitated surgical intervention. We hope that through the lawsuit, Ms. King will accept responsibility and compensate our client for his damages."

Kamal "Chance" Givens is taking a page from Michael Corleone in explaining why he was MIA from a reunion show with Tiffany "New York" Pollard ... it's not personal, it's strictly business.

Here's the deal ... Tiffany ripped Chance for blowing off "I Love New York Reunited" this week, saying it felt like he "s*** on the whole reunion show." Some of her former suitors questioned Chance's manhood and called him a coward.

But, Chance's camp says he was simply too busy to make time for the reunion because he's got his hands full with his own dating show, "One Mo' Chance," and a new movie role.

Fact is ... Chance doesn't really need Tiffany to be famous anymore, unlike some of the guys taking shots at him for not showing up.

Chance isn't sinking to their level either ... his reps say he's wishing Tiffany the best on her recent engagement. He's happy Tiffany finally found her match, and they will stay friends for life.

We're told Tiffany and Chance haven't spoken since the reunion and Chance understands why she's pissed. Chance also appeared on the OG show with his brother, who died 5 years ago, and we're told he did not want to go down that emotional rollercoaster reliving that time and loss of his brother.

Terrible news for hoops fans hoping to see Michael Jordan and LaVar Ball face off on the court ... the Big Baller is calling off a 1-on-1 game, saying they're just too old!!

It was a rare moment of humility from LaVar, who has been hyping up a mano-a-mano matchup with the GOAT for years.

But, at the Ball fam's turkey giveaway in South Central L.A. on Tuesday, LaVar told us straight-up -- it's not happening.

"Realistically, neither one of us is gonna do this," LaVar told TMZ Sports. "We over 50!"

Don't get it twisted -- LaVar joked both guys would be down if it came with a crazy price tag of $200 MILLION and at a crazy location like the Empire State Building ... but in reality, the only one getting the W is father time.

As we previously reported ... LaVar's son, LaMelo was just drafted by MJ's Charlotte Hornets -- which is why people thought the two could actually step on the court together.

But, now that LaVar's pulled off the game, we asked if he's chopped it up with his son's new boss and maybe smoked a cigar or 50 together.

By the way ... MJ will def consider this video a victory -- he's an insane competitor and would never say he's too old for anything.

There's more ... we also spoke with LaVar about the Balls unloading a semi-truck-worth of supplies for the Thanksgiving holiday ... and why it's so important for the family to give back to the community.

Canadian actor Lochlyn Munro was in his thirties when he gained fame after landing the role of the hilarious jock Greg -- whose not-so-nice nude pics embarrass him before he gets slashed at the beauty pageant -- in the super-funny horror spoof "Scary Movie."

Lochlyn Munro shared the screen with an awesome cast of young artists including Regina Hall as the talkative Brenda Meeks, a few Wayans Brothers ... and of course Anna Faris as the hysterical hottie, Cindy Campbell.

Munro is still a hard-working actor and can be spotted on big projects including "Riverdale" and the 2019 war flick "Recon."

The Weeknd was faced with a tough choice -- perform the Grammys or the Super Bowl -- but hammering out a deal to do both could've cost him Grammy nominations.

Sources familiar with the situation tell us The Weeknd's team was in talks for weeks with Grammy brass, who issued the ultimatum -- us or Super Bowl LV. We're told both sides eventually came to an agreement where Abel could do both, but not without negotiations getting very testy.

Our sources say there's growing suspicion Abel's decision to perform at this year's Super Bowl cost him Grammy noms because the bitter back-and-forth talks pissed off Grammy honchos.

It's unclear why the Grammys would play such hardball in trying to exclusively book him for their airwaves. It might be fear of duplicate performances, as CBS is airing the award show AND the game one week apart in February. Still, our sources tell us Abel and co. feel the dispute might have something to do with his exclusion.

Abel wasn't the only one who fans felt got cheated this year, voicing outrage Pop Smoke, Roddy Rich and Lil Baby -- all Black hip-hop artists -- didn't receive more nominations.

If The Weeknd does decide to stick to the deal and perform at both events -- it would be a huge achievement for any artist.

Lori Loughlin and her hubby remain behind bars serving out their sentences in the college admissions bribery scandal but at least they've checked one thing off their to-do list ... paying their fines.

According to legal docs obtained by TMZ ... Lori satisfied the $150k fine she was obligated to pay as part of the plea deal she struck back in October. Mossimo also ponied up for the $250k fine levied on him when he pled guilty to 1 count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud and 1 count of honest services wire and mail fraud.

As we reported ... Lori was sentenced to 2 months in prison after agreeing to plead guilty to 1 count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud. She also was sentenced to 100 hours of community service and 2 years of supervised release. She started serving her sentence last month.

If you're worried about having enough wipes for your counters or toilet paper for your bum, don't be -- suppliers have so much of the good stuff now, it's coming out their ... y'know.

TMZ spoke with companies in the disinfectant and tush tissue trades, and they assure us they're well-equipped to handle more lockdowns, and even panic buying. The bottom line, if you will ... they've learned from the first time around.

Take Cottonelle and Scott toilet paper, for example ... a rep for Kimberly-Clark -- the personal care conglomerate owns both brands -- tells us there's absolutely enough supply of both as COVID's resurgence has many states teetering on the verge of hunkering down again.

We're told KC cut back on manufacting other products it sells in order to focus resources on cranking out more perforated protection for your caboose.

There's another company called Bumboo -- which makes bamboo toilet paper -- and they tell us something similar ... that they've gotten ahead of an anticipated second surge -- which knocked 'em on their ass the first time around -- and put their manufacturing into overdrive.

As a result, we're told Bumboo has a lot of overstock right now heading into winter. The company's also pointing folks to its subscription service as an efficient way to order ahead of time.

As for the other wipes -- for objects and surfaces -- a rep for Clorox tells us the company is shipping out about 1 million packages per DAY in an effort to keep up with demand, which, as you'd expect, has been super high.

Clorox says it's already shipped out 50% more product this year than all of 2019.

Still, if you went shopping last weekend you know the rush is already on -- many of the big retailers, like Target in Bev Hills, had empty shelves as buzz spread about curfews and new COVID closures.

The 'Jersey Shore' family's about to get a little bigger ... because The Situation and his wife are expecting!

Mike just shared the happy news with a clever photo of himself, Lauren and their dog in the kitchen ... with "Baby Sorrentino May 2021" written in flour on the counter.

The Sitch says, "We have a Baby Situation" ... and also included a sonogram of their little bundle of joy.

As we reported ... as soon as Mike got released from prison back in September 2019 after serving time for tax evasion, there was talk of getting busy with Lauren and starting a family.

The couple stated at the time, "We look forward to continuing our life as husband and wife and working on baby situations!" Turns out they weren't lying ... and even a pandemic couldn't stop them.

Mike and Lauren also upgraded their living situation in December by buying a 4-story mansion in Jersey for $1.8 million. The 7-bed, 10-bath pad features a ton of luxurious amenities, but more importantly ... it can easily accommodate a growing family.

"I haven't had sex in a while, which is difficult to do since I have a girlfriend and she's hot as f**k."

Here's proof Jake Paul is DEAD SERIOUS about his boxing career ... saying he refuses to hook up with his bombshell model GF, Julia Rose, before his bout against Nate Robinson.

Jake and Nate are on the undercard for the epic Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones fight this Saturday ... and the Youtuber-turned-boxer is taking a page out of Rocky Balboa's book and abstaining from banging before hitting the ring.

Remember, it was Mickey who famously said "women weaken legs" in the original "Rocky" film ... and superstars like Floyd Mayweather have fully committed to the superstition.

So ... how is Jake's lady taking it??

"She's pissed, man," Jake tells TMZ Sports. "She hates me. She just looks at me like, 'I f**king hate you, bro. Why can't we do this right now?!'"

FYI -- the social media superstar and the Shagmag founder have been together since earlier this year ... and Julia has even helped Paul in the gym while prepping for the Robinson fight.

Aside from sex, Jake says he's also been cutting out food as he works toward making his goal weight of 189 ... so it's safe to say, Saturday can't come soon enough for the dude.

This could be you, Joe Exotic -- President Trump just issued his first lame-duck pardon ... sparing a feathered friend from ending up on someone's Thanksgiving dinner plate.

POTUS emerged Tuesday in the Rose Garden for the annual pardoning of the turkey in advance of Thanksgiving. It's the final time he'll cut a break for a bird -- this one's named Corn -- during his Presidency.

Two turkeys arrived in D.C. for the special event, with Corn getting the honor as the official Thanksgiving Turkey. Standard ops call for there to be a backup ... and Corn's understudy fowl was Cob. Naturally, they both hail from Iowa.

The White House soldiered on with the light-hearted event despite the dark cloud looming -- there were signs of the resurgent pandemic ... the farmers who raised Corn and Cob wore masks, while Trump went mask-free. Again, naturally.

It was a rare public appearance for Trump, who continues to stew over his loss to President-elect Joe Biden -- but he resisted referencing the election results during the ceremony, and at least put on a happy face for cameras.

Tracy Morgan says we all need to do our part to help those less fortunate this year ... and he's walking the walk.

"The Last O.G." star showed up at the Mott Haven Community Center in the Bronx Tuesday to lend a helping hand with the giveaway of 1,200 turkeys by the Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association.

As you can see ... a long line of folks in need waited to get their bird for Thanksgiving, and Tracy was a pleasant surprise ... especially for one lady.

Other than one wild turkey trying to escape, the giveaway went smoothly for the comedian ... but he wasn't done. We're told after an hour at the community center, he hit up 2 more spots to help out even more.

Tracy also volunteered with the Food Bank for New York over the weekend, doing the same thing to help an estimated 2 million New Yorkers who are hungry this holiday season.

That's roughly a 500k increase from a normal year without a pandemic, so like Tracy tells us ... at times like these, people need all the help they can get.

We've seen that giving vibe plenty in recent days -- French Montana also handed out turkeys in the Bronx, and Tyler Perry Studios held a massive food drive giveaway in Atlanta.

Dave Chappelle just flexed his industry muscles big time -- he asked Netflix to pull his old Comedy Central sketch show from their service ... and they actually did.

The comedian broke the news Tuesday in a new stand-up segment he posted called 'Unforgiven' -- where, in front of a live audience, he talked about how he recently called up Netflix and told 'em how displeased he was that they were streaming 'Chappelle's Show.'

In his act, Dave recounts how it went down. Long story short, he says he has no say, rights or rights to revenue over the show -- it belongs to Comedy Central, which belongs to Viacom -- and that it's perfectly legal for Viacom to do what it wants with it since he signed a deal years ago. But, he also asks ... is that right?

Apparently, Dave posed that question to Netflix as well -- and the honchos either agreed with him, or just wanted to keep him happy. Either way, "Chappelle's Show" is off the platform ... something they didn't legally have to do.

It speaks to the relationship Dave shares with Netflix -- he's churned out special after special with them for a few years now ... which have been wildly successful.

Clearly, Netflix respects him enough to honor his wishes and to keep that partnership going. Dave forecasted his frustration about Netflix and HBO Max landing rights to stream 'Chappelle's Show' in his SNL monologue just earlier this month.

He made it clear then ... he didn't make a dime off the licensing deals, and worked the revelation into a bit about being bought and sold like a slave.

Tampa Bay Rays outfielder, Randy Arozarena, is the subject of an MLB investigation stemming from an alleged violent incident in Mexico involving the mother of his child and the woman's father.

25-year-old Arozarena was reportedly detained at the woman's home, according to local media outlets.

ESPN's Jeff Passan reports Arozarena "allegedly tried to take his daughter from her mother and assaulted the woman’s father."

Reports out of Mexico indicate Arozarena showed up to the home with gifts for his daughter -- but things went awry when he arrived and he allegedly tried to take the child from the house without permission from the mother.

Video has surfaced allegedly showing a standoff between Arozarena and neighbors -- while Arozarena is holding a child.

Mexican authorities have said they will release more information about the case in the coming days. In the meantime, MLB has officially launched an investigation to gather information.