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The Met Gala chef curator is defending the quality of the food served at the ritzy shindig ... this after Keke Palmer posted pics of the grub that seemed reminiscent of the Fyre Festival.

Marcus Samuelsson -- the restaurateur/chef who helped select the 10 up-and-coming chefs who created the Met Gala menu -- tells TMZ ... for starters, yes, Keke's picture is in fact some of what was served at the $30k-$50k per ticket soiree.

As for Keke's plate, Marcus tells us it was barley topped with roasted mushrooms, tomato salad with corn and zucchini slices. Marcus says food, like anything, is a matter of taste, and it tasted plenty good.

Marcus says the 3-course meal was delicious ... and the feedback he got has been incredible.

Marcus, in collaboration with Bon Appétit, selected and then challenged 10 NY chefs to create a sustainable, plant-based menu ... hence all the fruits and veggies. However ... Keke's pic, which was displaying the entree, had just about everyone talking smack on social media.

One person wrote, "This was clearly a 'eat before you get there' type of thing." Someone else said, "They feeding y'all like it's Fyre Festival."

Some of the fare included 6 hors d'oeuvres and a watermelon pumpkin salad.

Dessert included an apple topped with chocolate mousse ... because this event's about as boujee as it gets.

Fat Joe and Ja Rule went head-to-head at their highly anticipated "Verzuz," but the women they brought on stage might have come out on top of what turned out to be more of a love-in than a battle.

The 2 rappers squared off for 20 rounds at Madison Square Garden Tuesday night, playing almost all of their major hits, but at one point Joe stopped the show to present gifts to a couple of their special guests -- Ashanti and Remy Ma.

The ladies guested on both of the guys' tracks, and are credited with elevating the show beyond the back-and-forth barbs and posturing ... and Joe rewarded them with Hermes handbags.

Other big names who joined in on the "Verzuz" fun included Nelly, Lil Mo, Vita, and Dre from Cool & Dre ... but, there was also one notable absence -- 50 Cent.

As you know ... Ja and Fiddy have had beef for decades, so fans were hoping for a surprise showdown, but it didn't happen -- much like Ja Rule suggested it wouldn't.

Former "Smallville" star Allison Mack couldn't wait to start serving her prison term ... or so it seems, 'cause she showed up more than 2 weeks early to begin serving her sentence.

Allison reported to the facility Monday, according to the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin, CA. She was supposed to begin serving her sentence on September 29.

Mack was sentenced to 3 years in prison after pleading guilty to one count of racketeering and one count of racketeering conspiracy in her highly publicized sex cult case. She recruited and directed women to have sex with the leader of the cult.

After her release ... Allison will be on supervised release for another 3 years.

BTW, if FCI Dublin sounds familiar it's because that's where Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman served their sentences for their roles in the college admissions scandal.

As we reported ... Allison was sentenced back in June. The sex cult leader, Keith Raniere, was sentenced to 120 years in prison. Mack was with him in Mexico when he got busted back in 2018.

One of Aaron Rodgers' former favorite targets in Green Bay, Jermichael Finley, just went off on the quarterback ... saying he believes the Packers star has lost his "hunger" to play.

The ex-Green Bay tight end -- who caught passes from Rodgers from 2008 through 2013 -- made the eyebrow-raising comments Tuesday, explaining he thinks Rodgers has simply lost his fire.

"Bro, it's the National Football League," Finley told Max Kellerman on the "Keyshawn JWill & Max" show. "Each offseason you've got to work like it's your last season."

"And, I just don't see a work ethic in Aaron Rodgers that I have in previous years."

Rodgers had one of his worst games as a pro on Sunday, throwing for just 133 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions in a 38-3 loss to the Saints.

And, after an offseason where Rodgers stayed away from Green Bay and instead traveled the globe with his fiancee Shailene Woodley and hosted "Jeopardy!", it's clear Finley believes Rodgers' priorities have shifted from being great on the gridiron to other parts of his life.

"Actually, you can see it right through his helmet," Finley said of his ex-QB. "The eyes and the face tells everything as a personality. And, I just don't see that NFL hunger and just the hunger to go win another championship."

Finley has been critical of Rodgers in the past and has been accused of having an ax to grind against the NFL MVP ... but Jermichael insisted he was not "hating" with his strong takes Tuesday.

"I'm not a hater," Finley said. "I'm looking out, actually. I just want the guys to do their best and play Packer football."

For his part, Rodgers didn't seem too concerned about his Week 1 performance while talking with Pat McAfee on Tuesday ... even joking about a shot he took to his groin during an interception.

Kendall Jenner says she found out about Kylie's pregnancy the old school way ... with a phone call.

The model/entrepreneur told Jimmy Fallon on the 'Tonight Show' Kylie simply called her and showed her a picture of her sonogram. Kendall said she wasn't really all that shocked at the news but definitely was excited for her.

As you know by now ... Kylie confirmed baby No. 2 is on the way with a video documenting the first stages of her pregnancy. She posted the video on social media and it showed her going to the doctor with Stormi to get an ultrasound.

The video also showed the moment she delivered the news to her mom, Kris Jenner. Ever since the announcement ... Kylie, who was cooped up pretty much the entire time before making the big announcement, has not stopped showing off her baby bump.

Kendall, who also talked a bit about her tequila brand, shared some scoop on her NBA star BF Devin Booker's relationship with the fam. Kendall says he and Stormi have a special bond that actually makes her kinda jealous.

Cardi B's a mother of 2 now ... so she's asking the judge to postpone the trial over her 'Gangsta Bitch' cover art, which she was sued over nearly 4 years ago.

If you don't recall ... the album cover for Cardi's debut mixtape -- "Gangsta Bitch Music Vol. 1" -- features the rapper sitting back, drinking a beer, while a man with an elaborate back tattoo puts his head between her legs.

Kevin Brophy sued over the image, claiming that's 100 percent him in the image, but he never posed for the photo or gave Cardi permission to use his likeness. He also claimed the ordeal ruined his life and wanted at least $5 mil in damages.

The trial was finally slated for next month, but Cardi's filed new legal docs -- obtained by TMZ -- asking for a delay because she just gave birth to her son on Sept. 4.

According to the docs ... Cardi doesn't believe she should be required to travel all the way from the East Coast to Southern California next month, because she needs to be with her newborn for obvious reasons.

She also brings up the risks of COVID from travel and spending extended periods of time in public places, such as airports, hotels, and the courthouse. So, she's asking the court to put the trial on ice for at least 75 days.

Tyron Woodley isn't only prepared to pay off his tattoo bet with Jake Paul ... he says he actively attempted to get it the night of the fight, waiting in the hotel until the early morning hours, but the tattoo artist never showed up.

TMZ Sports talked to the 39-year-old Woodley ... and the future UFC HOF'er called cap on Paul, who recently said the rematch was off after Tyron refused to uphold his side of their wager and get some "I Love Jake Paul" ink.

"I wasn't willing, I was waiting," Woodley explained, adding ... "We was in the basement of the hotel waiting, no food, up late, looking stupid. Nah, it was not willing, it was waiting. I was waiting on him to follow through with they end of the deal."

FYI, Jake's tattoo artist, Tatu Baby, previously told us she'd be on hand at the fight, ready to ink up the loser.

But, Tyron says she never showed ... so there was nothing he could do.

For what it's worth Tatu Baby told us late Tuesday night she stayed for an hour after the fight to do the tattoo, but left when she believed neither fighter was down to get ink.

Despite all the confusion, The Chosen One is still down to get the tat ... and even told us he'd do it live on Instagram -- with Jake on the stream.

As for the location on Tyron's body, the fighter says he's reserved a bit of real estate on his hand for the new artwork.

"I should get it on my knuckles so when I punch him in the face, he'll see how much I love Jake Paul. I'm gonna put these knuckles all across his little temple and that big ass jawline."

There's more ... T-Wood says he's down to fight Logan, too, but not until he rematches his younger bro.

"Logan, you can get it, too! They both could to be honest but I gotta beat Jake up first because that's just something, I just hate that he can walk around and say he beat me in anything."

Nebraska native Leslie Easterbrook was in her 30s when she landed the role as the sexy blonde Sergeant Callahan -- whose buxom bod is only matched by her serious school attitude towards the incoming cadets -- in the classic cop comedy "Police Academy" ... and the decade worth of sequels to follow!

The iconic funny films were also home to some other notable actors including Bubba Smith as the hilarious Hightower, David Graf as the gun-totting, Tackleberry ... and of course Steve Guttenberg as the troublemaking, Mahoney.

In the '80s Easterbrook could also be spotted on some big-name TV shows including "Laverne & Shirley" and "Ryan's Hope."

A man was arrested after showing up at Ariana Grande's Hollywood Hills home in the middle of the night, then flashing a knife when security tried to get him to leave.

23-year-old Aharon Brown's facing a felony brandishing charge for the incident, which our law enforcement sources tell us went down around 2 AM Friday on Ariana's property.

We're told Brown arrived and demanded to see the singer, and when security told him to beat it ... he refused and pulled a knife. LAPD was called to the scene and arrested him.

It's unclear if Ariana was home at the time, but if she was ... we're told she never came out during the altercation or Brown's arrest.

Britney Spears giveth, so she can also taketh away -- which is exactly what she just did -- 2 weeks before her monumentally important court hearing.

The singer deleted her IG page Tuesday ... with a generic "Sorry, this page isn't available" message that appears if you click on her handle.

There was no heads-up from BS either, but, we've got an explanation as to why -- sources with direct knowledge say she wanted a break from social media ahead of her court hearing later this month.

As it was put to us, Britney wants to keep a low profile. As for why, our sources say there was concern in Britney's camp that she was too "out there" with some of her posts, especially the topless ones, and that might not sit well with the judge.

At the risk of possibly reading a little too much into the latest twist, the only thing Britney has on the table for the Sept. 29 hearing is to remove her dad from the conservatorship. Her social media posts shouldn't affect that decision. You gotta wonder ... will she formally make a play to end the conservatorship as well? That would be a more direct reason to 86 her social media account.

Still, it's a little bizarre ... because she'd just announced a couple days ago she's getting married to her BF, Sam Asghari.

Here's hoping she comes back soon.

G-Eazy's in the crosshairs of police in NYC, after his crew allegedly got violent with another group of guys ... with punches and bottles thrown.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... the rapper's been named as a suspect in an NYPD assault report, for an incident that went down around 1 AM Friday at the Boom Boom Room in the Standard Hotel.

We're told G-Eazy's party got into an altercation with a few other guys, and one of them claims a member of G's entourage hit him in the head with a glass bottle.

Our sources say the scuffle moved outside, where G-Eazy allegedly punched another man in the head.

We're told the dude who claims he took a bottle to the head went to the hospital to get checked out ... but the guy G-Eazy allegedly punched refused treatment.

No arrests yet, but we're told police are still investigating the incident.

Travis Barker and Kourtney Kardashian must be trying to set a world's record for public face sucking sessions -- and they must've had Otis Redding on the mind for their latest location.

The couple was standing on a dock -- the loading variety -- in NYC for Tuesday's hot and heavy make-out sesh. They were in the middle of a shopping spree when they decided to load up on the PDA.

Luckily for Kourt and Trav, there weren't any deliveries going down, but let's face it ... that loading dock isn't gonna see any better action than this. At one point, Travis kinda had his GF pinned against the side of the wall as they went at it.

It's kinda funny ... you can see there's a max height of what movers can shove through the docking entryway -- less than 11 feet -- and KK's well in the clear at just 5'1" and Travis is 5'9". Safety first, kids!

Kat Von D's tattoo parlor must have 9 lives ... a car slammed into the barbershop right next door to her place -- and while it's total deja vu to Kat, the barbers just kept on cutting through the crisis.

The former "L.A. Ink" star owns the famous High Voltage Tattoo in West Hollywood, and the pigment parlor just missed getting smoked by a wayward car Tuesday -- by just a few feet, it ended up crashing into Trendsetters Barbershop.

That would seem like a pretty good reason to call it a day, but this is Hollywood, baby ... and the show must go on!

As you can see, barbers were still cutting heads on one side of the shop ... while a silver Infiniti and smashed glass was on the other.

It's not the first time Kat's tattoo shop has narrowly avoided an outta control vehicle. As we reported, way back in 2007, the business next to Kat's was hit by a truck. It's the same exact address as the barber, but back then it was an Edible Arrangement store.

Michael Che made a bad call when he did a "homegrrl" sketch on his HBO Max show, because he jacked it from a TikToker's "HomeGirl Hotline" bit ... or so she claims in a new lawsuit.

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ ... Kelly Manno says she's a popular TikTok creator who came up with the fictional idea of a service where "people unable to cope with certain social situations can call a hotline and order a 'home girl'" to help 'em out.

Manno says she created and posted a video of her bit in August 2020, and it racked up a couple hundred thousand views on TikTok ... while a second one in September 2020 got more than half a million views.

Fast-forward to April 2021 and the release of "That Damn Michael Che" on HBO Max ... Manno claims the sixth episode of the comedy series included 4 segments about a fictional service where people order a "homegrrl" to show up where they are and help them out of uncomfortable situations.

According to the suit ... Manno says each segment ended with a character saying a variation of "Thank you, homegrrl" ... which she claims infringes on her copyright that includes the phrase "Thank you, HomeGirl Hotline!"

Manno alleges this is willful copyright infringement, and she wants maximum damages and an order blocking Che and HBO Max from using it.

Norm Macdonald -- a veteran comedian, actor, writer and producer famous for 'SNL' and more -- has died.

According to his team, Macdonald passed away Tuesday after a multi-year, private battle with cancer that he kept hidden from the public, fighting the disease behind the scenes for nine years.

His longtime producing partner, Lori Jo Hoekstra, says ... "He was most proud of his comedy. He never wanted the diagnosis to affect the way the audience or any of his loved ones saw him. Norm was a pure comic. He once wrote that ‘a joke should catch someone by surprise, it should never pander.’ He certainly never pandered. Norm will be missed terribly."

The revelation is absolutely stunning ... as Macdonald was a household name in comedy, and has been for decades. He's perhaps most famous for being one of the OG 'Weekend Update' co-hosts on 'Saturday Night Live' -- among many other TV shows and movies over the years.

He starred on 'SNL' from '93 to '98 ... what many consider the glory years of the sketch comedy series. Like many other comedians, 'Saturday' gave Norm his jumpstart -- and his career only skyrocketed from there.

Norm went on to star in (and make a number of memorable cameos) in famous flicks like 'Billy Madison,' 'Dirty Work,' 'Dr. Doolittle,' 'Screwed,' 'Deuce Bigalow,' 'Man on the Moon' ... and several other Sandler flicks. He also had his own sitcom, "Norm" ... plus his own talk show at varying points. Speaking of late-night, Norm was a regular guest for David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Fallon, Larry King, Jay Leno, Howard Stern ... and many other iconic hosts.

His TV resume is just as impressive -- he starred in (and wrote for) 'Roseanne,' 'My Name is Earl,' 'The Drew Carey Show,' 'Family Guy,' 'The Fairly Odd Parents,' 'The Orville,' 'The Middle,' 'Sunnyside,' 'A Minute with Stan Hooper,' and many, many others.

Norm was infamous for his edgy humor -- which, of late, was clashing with modern-day sentiments ... including PC/cancel culture. In fact, the last time we saw him -- just a few years ago -- he was telling us that he couldn't really be funny anymore because of political correctness.

Keep in mind, Norm famously claimed NBC exec Don Ohlmeyer got him yanked him off 'Weekend Update' in 1997 because he kept slamming Ohlmeyer's pal O.J. Simpson with jokes about the double murders.

The guy was still hitting stages even in the past year ... he was doing standup at the Improv, talking coronavirus -- and despite him battling cancer right then and there, he still looked sharp ... maintaining the same witty humor he'd always had.

Norm is survived by his son, Dylan. He was just 61.

Aaron Rodgers says one of the interceptions he threw against the Saints on Sunday was NOT his fault ... explaining the miscue was all entirely due to two New Orleans players hitting him in the groin during the play.

Seriously.

The Green Bay Packers star made the claim on "The Pat McAfee Show" on Tuesday ... saying two defenders careening on his family jewels just before he threw a third-quarter pass caused him to toss the ball to the opposite team.

"I don't like to make a lot of excuses for interceptions," Rodgers said. "There's some s*** ones. There's some ones you wish you had back. And, there's some ones that really aren't your fault."

Rodgers continued, "That one was entirely due to the double nut shot I took."

In video of the play, you can see what Rodgers is talking about ... 'cause just before he released his pass, two defenders' arms do appear to hit him just below the belt.

"Right before I'm throwing it I took a left kind of closeline," Rodgers said, adding, "and somebody on the right with a right kind of cross -- double nut shot."

Rodgers called it "painful" -- "they got their money's worth on that one," the reigning NFL MVP said -- but he joked he's "got to overcome that and throw a better ball in that situation."

Good to see Rodgers can laugh about it all now ... especially considering he and the Pack ultimately got obliterated, 38-3, in the season opener.