TMZ.com Home

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott might wanna trademark the cool catchphrase he dropped on a COVID-19 heckler ... 'cause if he doesn't, Dr. Anthony Fauci should!

The Mayor held a news conference Tuesday about his city's coronavirus restrictions when a man in the crowd repeatedly tried to talk over him. Scott finally looked up and put the guy in his place by saying, "Shorty, pull your mask up."

You gotta see how hizzoner said it, though -- it just might be the chillest political clap back ever, and something tells us you're gonna see it on merch soon.

Now, the heckler persisted for a few more seconds ... trying to use the maskless sign language interpreter as justification for presumably not wearing his mask properly. Mayor Scott wasn't having it and kept his responses to the man swift and swaggy.

Hey, it's not exactly how Fauci might handle a similar situation, but Mayor Scott's phrase delivers the same sentiment and is, arguably, more effective with young people. Behold the benefit of youth in politics -- Mayor Scott's only 36!!!

Bottom line ... mask up, because as Mayor Scott puts it, "people dying, shorty."

Police say the incident started when the woman started talking to a mail carrier about late-arriving mail, and she started shouting racial slurs when approached by a neighbor.

A new "Karen" in NJ, who went on a disgustingly racist tirade, is the last straw for an elected official who says it's time to stop excusing this behavior ... and she's calling for an investigation.

Tameka Bordeaux posted this video of her encounter with an elderly woman in Bayonne, NJ -- the woman hurled n-word after n-word as she followed Tameka down a street. Tameka captioned the video with, "The racism I had to endure walking to the store. 2021 started with a bang. Thank god for my neighbors."

At one point, a man stepped in to berate the older woman, saying ... "Why do you keep following her?" and points the opposite way while saying, "Go that way."

The video caught the attention of NJ Assemblywoman Angela McKnight who is calling for an investigation into the incident. McKnight said, "This behavior is becoming so common now that we simply refer to these racist people as 'Karen' and let it go. I can’t just do that."

She added, "This matter needs to be investigated for sure but regardless of the outcome of the investigation, one thing for certain is that Tameka was incredibly wronged today."

McKnight was also alarmed at the number of people defending the behavior. As she put it, "To read the comments of some white people now making an excuse or defense for this behavior is alarming and gets us to the real problem of this systemic situation."

The white police officer who shot Jacob Blake -- an unarmed Black man -- at point-blank range seven times won't be criminally charged ... and neither will any of the other cops involved.

Kenosha County District Attorney Michael D. Graveley announced his decision Tuesday, saying Kenosha PD officer Rusten Sheskey would NOT be charged for shooting Blake in August during an attempted arrest.

Graveley explained his decision, saying that after careful review and investigation ... officials simply couldn't find a law he'd broken under the circumstances. D.A. Graveley basically chalked his decision up to self-defense, and it was necessary for Officer Sheskey to use lethal force to stop Jacob from potentially harming him (Sheskey) or others.

According to Wisconsin law, that decision is based on a reasonable belief that Jacob might've done any of that if Sheskey hadn't acted ... and Graveley explains that in their state, that belief falls under the discretion of said officer, who has to make a snap decision.

Graveley goes on to explain that if prosecutors were to go after Sheskey, the burden would be on them in court to disprove a need for self-defense ... which he suggests would've been a losing battle in this case.

He also mentioned this ... Jacob Blake won't face any new criminal charges stemming from this incident either.

Remember, Sheskey, a 7-year vet, chased Blake down as he walked away from him and refused to obey orders to halt. The officer pursued around the other side of his SUV, and when Blake tried opening the door ... Sheskey opened fire into his back from around two feet away. He unloaded seven shots, and somehow Blake survived.

He wasn't unscathed though ... Blake is now paralyzed from the waist down, and spent a good amount of time recovering in the hospital. He's now undergoing spinal cord rehab and has since gained some upper body strength as he navigates his painful new life situation.

Blake's shooting sparked renewed racial justice protests across the country, and it seems like authorities are ramping up for the second wave of unrest. Just this week, Wisconsin's governor, Tony Evers, mobilized 500 National Guard troops to help local law enforcement.

Kenosha's Common Council passed a resolution to enforce a pre-emptive curfew for up to 8 days after Graveley's announcement. There are other measures going into effect too ... reduced bus service, road closures, designated spaces for demonstrations, concrete barricades and fences going up to protect certain buildings ... and, of course, businesses are boarding up.

Hank Aaron got his COVID vaccine shot on Tuesday -- and he did it in front of cameras in the hopes of inspiring other Black Americans to follow his lead.

The 86-year-old Hall of Famer masked up and went to the Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta along with his wife Billye to receive the first of two doses of the Moderna vaccine.

"[It] makes me feel wonderful," Aaron told the Associated Press ... "I don’t have any qualms about it at all."

"I feel quite proud of myself for doing something like this. ... It’s just a small thing that can help zillions of people in this country."

The Aarons were joined at Morehouse by civil rights leader Andrew Young and former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Louis Sullivan, who were also vaccinated.

The decision to go public with their vaccinations stems from mistrust many Black Americans have about medical research -- mistrust that stems from the Tuskegee experiment, which began in the 1930s.

The federal government essentially lied to Black people for decades -- telling them they were getting free health care, when in fact they received horrifically improper care so the U.S. Public Health Service could secretly study the effects of syphilis when untreated. 128 people died and many others suffered.

In fact, the AP conducted a survey back in December which showed 40% of Black people in America would not get the COVID vaccine, even though COVID has hit the Black community particularly hard.

Hammerin' Hank Aaron is one of the greatest baseball players of all time -- he famously broke Babe Ruth's home run record in 1973.

Serena Williams' husband is clapping back HARD at a billionaire who criticized the tennis legend ... with Alexis Ohanian calling the guy a straight-up "racist/sexist clown."

Here's the backstory ... Ion Tiriac -- the super-rich ex-tennis star who's the director of the Madrid Open -- went on a Romanian television show recently and jabbed at Serena.

"At this age and the weight she is now, she does not move as easily as she did 15 years ago," Tiriac said, according to ProSport in Romania.

"Serena was a sensational player. If she had a little decency, she would retire! From all points of view."

FYI, Tiriac has quarreled with Serena in the past ... he's criticized Williams' weight while pining that the sport needs to shine a spotlight on players outside of her. Williams, meanwhile, called those comments in 2018 both "ignorant" and "sexist."

This time, however, it was Williams' husband who fired back at Tiriac ... and the co-founder of Reddit didn't pull punches.

37-year-old Ohanian went after Tiriac on social media ... blasting the 81-year-old in a series of tweets.

"Safe to say no one gives a damn what Ion Țiriac thinks," Ohanian wrote. "Had to Google it... turns out my 3 year old has more Grand Slam victories than this [clown]."

Ohanian added, "2021 and no holding back when a racist/sexist clown with a platform comes for my family."

Tanya Roberts' longtime partner says he was distraught and confused during his final moments with her ... which may explain why he prematurely told folks she had died.

Lance O'Brien told a photog Tuesday ... when he visited her Sunday at the hospital she was in bad shape -- unresponsive on a ventilator -- but he says when he told her he was there, she sat up and opened her eyes.

This led him to believe she was responding, but he says hospital staff told him it was just a reflex ... and she was "out" shortly afterward. Lance tells us he was beside himself, so he got in the elevator and left.

Lance says Tanya's rep Mike Pingel -- who's driving Lance in this video -- picked him up from the hospital and asked what happened ... and this might help explain her bizarre premature death announcement.

He tells us he responded, "I just said goodbye to Tanya," and that was it ... then he went home and fell asleep, only to wake up later to phone calls about her passing.

Lance seems to be suggesting Mike interpreted his statement as proof Tanya had died, though Pingel also says Lance told him ... "She died in my arms."

Either way, it makes sense in wake of a devastating, tragic moment that there could be a communication breakdown ... and Lance says the ordeal was made all the more difficult due to COVID.

Lance also tells us Tanya had her initial health scare on December 23 -- not Christmas Eve -- but he thought it was just a blood sugar issue and she would be fine.

We broke the story ... Tanya died Monday night at L.A.'s Cedars-Sinai Hospital. Despite the strange story involving her death, she'll be remembered for her long and successful career as a model and actress ... most recently for starring on "That '70s Show" as Midge.

Tanya was 65.

Dr. Dre's full of it if he says he doesn't have the cash to keep supporting his estranged wife's lifestyle ... at least that's what her accountant says in new legal docs.

Nicole Young filed docs detailing how much she claims the couple spent over a 3-year period and how much dough Dre has on hand right now ... and it's impressive.

According to the docs ... Young's CPA says Dre has a whopping $262 MILLION available right now in cash and Apple stock. The accountant says selling Apple stock was the primary source of funding their lifestyle from 2017-19, and believes that will continue to be the case.

So, just how much were they spending during that time? The CPA claims their marital living expenses were $2.3 mil PER MONTH -- and despite spending about $245 mil over that 3-year period ... their available cash still increased by $26 million. Hey, Apple's been a good investment.

Based on these figures, Nicole's accountant insists Dre's got plenty of funds to contribute to Nicole's attorney fees, and "maintain the status quo" of their lifestyle.

Of course, that's a big part of the spousal support battle in their divorce. We broke the story ... Dre has warned Nicole she needs to learn to start spending less and claims he's giving her more than enough to live on for now.

As we reported ... he says he's been dishing out $293,306 a month to her while their divorce plays out, but she's filed docs seeking $2 million a month in temporary spousal support.

A renowned Harvard physicist has a bold theory -- a celestial object that hurled through our solar system in 2017 was actually not of our galaxy ... but from another, perhaps light-years away.

Avi Loeb -- whose new book, "Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth," delves more into his hypothesis -- came on "TMZ Live" Tuesday to explain why a massive, sleek unidentified piece of debris that crossed our path in 2017 might've been other-worldly.

Check it out ... Avi says when it was studied by physicists and other scientists at the time, it had none of the makings of a typical asteroid or meteor that we would see from a distant star in the Milky Way. On the contrary, he explains that it was actually propelled by an unknown source, and appears (to him, anyway) to have pierced through from a faraway place.

The Chairman of the Harvard Astronomy Dept. goes on to break down how he and his contemporaries think the object was catching flight ... it's a technology that's beyond our grasp at this point, but one that could describe how the 100-yard entity moved how it did. Think 'Star Wars' hyperspace ... and now, add light to the mix. That's pretty much what Avi believes happened here.

As for what exactly it could be ... Avi's said it might be nothing more than space junk. But, whose space junk is the key question. In his eyes, it ain't ours ... which is extraordinary.

Tyler Perry wanted to vote in the Georgia runoff THIS BAD ... he hopped on a jet and flew all the way to Georgia to cast his ballot in person ... because his absentee ballot never showed up.

Tyler says he waited and waited for more than a month for his absentee ballot, but for some reason it never came. Tyler was in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, so he hopped on his jet and flew to the Peach State so his voice could be heard, along with more than 3 million others who cast ballots.

Tyler got his prize ... the "I voted" sticker which he proudly displayed.

He raised the issue Monday, asking Georgians ... "Hey Georgia, Is anyone else having this problem? I ordered my absentee ballot on December 2nd. I’m told it was mailed on the 4th. I still don’t have it!" Stacey Abrams responded to him, and Tyler answered back.

He replied, "Hey @staceyabrams, I flew home because I didn’t get it. I will be there early in the morning. Too important to miss. Too important to miss!"

What's unclear ... how many other Georgians didn't get their ballot. It's also unclear why this is happening.

Boosie Badazz has lost his voting booth virginity -- the rapper's voting for the first time in his life ... and he's so determined, he wouldn't let his gunshot injuries stop him.

The wheelchair-bound rapper rolled up to a Futon County, GA polling place Tuesday to make his voice heard in that state's crucial Senatorial runoff election -- and he was singing a tune about change as he did it.

Boosie says he's been paying close attention to the campaign and explains why he's casting his ballot for Rev. Raphael Warnock, the Democrat going up against Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler. It's a big election ... as it will determine which party controls the Senate.

As you know ... Boosie's in a wheelchair because he suffered some gruesome leg injuries when he was shot last year in Dallas.

He says if he can vote for the first time, from a wheelchair no less, every eligible voter in Georgia needs to get to the polls.

Seems like Boosie's message is being heard loud and clear ... folks are lined up at polling places across Georgia for what appears to be another massive voter turnout.

The family of the Southern California man who died after being arrested at a grocery store is following through with a lawsuit that describes the incident in eerily similar detail to George Floyd's death.

Ernie Serrano's mother, Maria Lowrie, has filed a wrongful death suit against the County of Riverside and its Sheriff's Dept -- along with the Stater Bros. Market where the incident occurred -- claiming they killed her son.

According to the legal docs -- obtained by TMZ -- Lowrie claims Serrano was shopping on December 15 when store security began to pester him and then physically confronted him.

Serrano's mom says the security contacted the sheriff's office and falsely accused him of assault with a deadly weapon -- she claims he was unarmed. The store claims he had reached for the security guard's weapon.

According to the suit ... when deputies showed up they immediately were hostile toward Serrano and "escalated a very minor situation, into a fatal situation."

Lowrie claims her son was not aggressive toward the officers, but they responded with unreasonable brute force -- including beating him and using a Taser.

According to the suit ... the deputies were not satisfied with tasing and beating Serrano with a baton, so they took him down and pummeled him with their fists. Lowrie claims they continued to torture him for nearly 7 minutes, including slamming him on his stomach on a checkout stand and cutting off his air supply.

Lowrie says while her son was pinned down, he screamed out "I can't breathe man" and pleaded for help. Instead, a spit mask was placed on him, which allegedly restricted his breathing even more ... and Serrano's mom claims he was spitting blood into it as he begged them to take it off.

According to the suit ... after 6 minutes and 40 seconds of being pinned down forcefully, a deputy realized he wasn't breathing and had lost consciousness. Lowrie believes he was likely already dead by the time of this discovery.

Serrano's mom's accusing the deputies of ignoring all of the factors that can lead to death by asphyxia, denying him proper medical care, and assault and battery leading to his death. She wants the Stater Bros. held accountable for negligence as well.

Tanya Roberts died Monday night at L.A.'s Cedars-Sinai Hospital following a bizarre turn of events that included her domestic partner incorrectly telling her rep she had died the day before.

Her partner, Lance O'Brien, tells TMZ ... he got a call from one of Tanya's doctor's Monday night, just after 9 PM, telling him Tanya had passed.

As you've probably heard by now, Lance told her publicist on Sunday Tanya was dead. He tried explaining his mistake Monday, telling us he had visited her in the hospital Sunday, and she suddenly opened her eyes but then shut them and he saw her fade away.

He says he thought she was dead and left, without speaking to medical staff. He got a phone call Monday from Cedars, informing him Tanya was still alive. Tanya's rep, who picked Lance up from the hospital, says he told him, "She died in my arms."

Tanya will be remembered for much more than her bizarre final hours -- she will truly be remembered for her long and successful career as a model and actress.

With all her success, the show that made her an icon is "That '70s Show." Tanya played Donna Pinciotti's mom, Midge, whom all the boys in the neighborhood couldn't stop ogling.

In her heyday, Tanya was a go-to model, appearing as Bond girl Stacey Sutton opposite Roger Moore in "A View to a Kill." She also posed for Playboy and did ads for Clairol, Cool Ray sunglasses, Excedrin and Ultra Brite.

On the big screen, Tanya starred in a slew of slashers, raunchy comedies and action/erotica B-films like "Legal Tender," "Sins of Desire," "Inner Sanctum," "Deep Down," "Almost Pregnant," "Night Eyes," "Tourist Trap" and "Favorite Deadly Sins," among others.

Tanya had 41 acting credits to her name, including starring roles in campy adventure fantasy flicks like "The Beastmaster" and "Sheena."

She had a year-long stint on the old "Charlie's Angels" show, helping the Angels solve crimes as one of the three angels themselves -- namely, portraying Julie Rogers, after replacing actress Shelley Hack.

Tanya was married to Barry Roberts for several years, but they didn't have any children before his death in 2006.

She's survived by Lance and her sister, Barbara Chase.

Tanya was 65.

NFL superstar Deshaun Watson threw his girlfriend Jilly Anais an AMAZING 25th birthday party in Texas on Monday -- but there was one thing missing ... masks.

The Houston Texans QB rented out a huge space at Vic & Anthony's Steakhouse ... and packed it with balloons, flowers, candles and a light-up sign that said, "Luv Bug."

Once they arrived, there was a photography crew snapping pics and videos -- along with an artist, who was painting a pretty incredible portrait of the happy couple while party guests looked on.

There was a table set for roughly 20 guests -- though in the videos Jilly posted on her social media, none of them were wearing masks or social distancing, despite the looming threat of COVID-19.

But, no one seemed concerned ... the guests danced, drank and partied the night away with no worries.

It's interesting since Deshaun was fined by the NFL just last month after several guests (including NFL players) were photographed indoors at the QB's restaurant opening without face coverings -- a violation of the league's COVID safety protocols.

But, Watson's season is over now -- so, free to lose the masks if he wants?

Justin Combs just wanted to party, but he didn't obey Miami's rules of the water -- so instead, he ended up getting ticketed and towed away from the party. Bad form.

Miami Beach PD tells TMZ ... Diddy's son got busted for operating a jet ski more than 30 minutes after sunset Monday night on Biscayne Bay, and to make matters worse -- we're told neither he nor 2 passengers riding with him were wearing life jackets.

Both things are against the law, so police tell us Justin was issued multiple citations and the Miami Beach PD Marine Patrol towed him back to land to ensure his safety.

We're told this went down around 8 PM, and a witness on the scene tells us Justin was on the jet ski with 2 women heading to a yacht off Star Island to hang out.

We're told cops got to them before they could board the boat, though. It's unclear if they found another way to the yacht later on ... or if they had to settle for partying on land.

Miya Ponsetto, the SoHo Karen who attacked a Black teen after falsely accusing him of stealing her iPhone, had a second DUI arrest last year ... and that means a jailhouse jumpsuit could be in her future.

TMZ obtained court records of Ponsetto's DUI arrest from October 3 in Ventura County -- she was charged with DUI, resisting arrest and obstructing or delaying a peace officer or EMT.

She's entered a not guilty plea for that arrest, but the details sound eerily similar to her previous DUI bust. As we first reported, Ponsetto was stopped on May 28 in Malibu and law enforcement sources told us she went wild on cops during the arrest.

Now, on September 28, she ended up pleading no contest, and a judge gave her 3 years probation ... the terms of which call for her to stay out of further legal trouble. So, getting arrested just 5 days later for a 2nd DUI is a serious problem for her.

According to court records, a letter of a possible probation violation has already been sent to L.A. County where she's on probation. It'll be up to the D.A.'s Office and a judge, but Ponsetto's now looking at the possibility of doing time for the violation.

She's due back in court Jan. 28, for the 2nd DUI. She also has a pretrial hearing that same day for a drunk in public arrest from last February in Bev Hills -- and of course, NYPD still wants to talk to her about the iPhone incident.

When soon-to-be First Lady Jill Biden takes over the East Wing of The White House, she and her team will be treated to upgraded facilities ... but there's absolutely no proof it's because the current administration clogged the toilet.

According to federal procurement docs obtained by TMZ ... The White House is dropping a little more than $1.2 MILLION on restroom renovations at the 2-story structure where the current First Lady's offices are located.

It's not totally clear what the job will entail -- it's simply listed as "EW restroom refresh" -- but the company that scored the gig is the local, minority-owned Holmes Mechanical Contractors ... which specializes in all sorts of big-building bathroom stuff.

The project is slated to be completed by mid-May -- according to the financial docs -- so Jill and her staff will get to reap the restroom rewards for almost the entirety of President Biden's term.