TMZ.com Home

Ryan Russell, an openly bisexual NFL free agent, tells TMZ Sports he was sickened by Jon Gruden's racist and homophobic comments ... and the incident serves as proof the NFL has much work left to accomplish.

"I was deeply upset, shocked, appalled even that a leader of an organization, a leader of young men, football culture in general, would have so many negative, derogatory, hateful really, discriminatory things to say about so many different kinds of people," Russell says.

29-year-old Russell -- a 5th round draft pick of the Cowboys in 2015 -- has an interesting perspective. The DE announced he was bisexual in mid-2019.

So, despite players like Carl Nassib and Russ being open about their sexuality, has progress actually been made within the league?

Russell says yes.

"I think there's definitely been progress" ... just nowhere near enough.

"We're not done yet. There's much further we need to go, and much more we need to do. There's still work that needs to be done."

Of course, Gruden resigned days after the emails came to light. He's since been taken out of the Bucs' (where he won a Super Bowl) ring of honor. He's also been dropped by Sketchers -- his biggest individual sponsor.

As for Roger Goodell and the NFL's power structure ... Ryan has some advice on how to move forward.

"Putting 'End Racism' on the field in paint means nothing if it isn't painted within your staff, if it's not painted within the bread of your organization, your foundation," Russ tells us.

English actor Harry Melling was only 12 years old when he landed the small role as the muggle cousin Dudley Dursley -- who makes home life hard for Harry Potter before he starts his magical schooling at Hogwarts -- in the 2001 fantasy film "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone."

Melling continued to be included in the 'Potter' series ... photographed above in "Harry Potter and and the Prisoner of Azkaban" ... and shared the big-screen with A-listers like Rupert Grint as the school BFF, Ron Weasley, Emma Watson as the quick-thinking, Hermione Granger ... and of course Daniel Radcliffe as the magical young man, Harry Potter.

Harry made a resurgence in the streaming world when he was cast as the chess mate Harry Beltik in "The Queen's Gambit" last year.

MMA fighter Luis Pena -- aka "Violent Bob Ross" -- has been released by the UFC following his arrest for domestic violence last weekend in Florida, TMZ Sports has learned.

The UFC tells us they informed 28-year-old Pena's management team that his contract with the promotion has been terminated.

“UFC is aware of the disturbing allegations concerning the recent arrest of Luis Pena. Mr. Pena has been open about his struggles with mental health and substance abuse issues and the organization has on multiple prior occasions attempted to help him get professional treatment," the organization told us in a statement.

They continued ... "At this time, UFC believes Mr. Pena needs to deal with the health and legal issues in front of him, and consequently has informed Mr. Pena’s management that his promotional agreement has been terminated.”

Pena -- a lightweight fighter who has a 5-3 record in the UFC (9-3 professionally) was arrested on Saturday after his live-in girlfriend called police and told them the UFC fighter had roughed her up, claiming he punched her during an argument.

LP was taken to a local jail on multiple misdemeanor charges.

In a 911 call we obtained, Pena's GF is heard telling the dispatch operator ... "I really need the cops to come and get him out now. I have scratches and bruises all over me from him, I need him gone. I'm done, and I need help, please."

Boosie Badazz was arrested, spent a night in an Atlanta jail and is already a free man after an incident that resulted in a fight at one of his shows … TMZ has learned.

A spokesperson at the Fulton County Jail tells TMZ ... Boosie was taken into custody Monday and charged with criminal damage to property, inciting a riot, disorderly conduct and criminal trespass.

We're told the rapper was released Tuesday afternoon after signing his own bond.

TMZ broke the story ... a Boosie performance earlier this month in Atlanta came to a screeching halt when a fight broke out on stage, and cops were called.

As we told you, the Atlanta Police Department responded to a vandalism call ... and cops said Boosie and his entourage had dashed on stage during the show, damaging items belonging to a production company and allegedly destroying property owned by the arena.

Meek Mill's album art plastered on the side of a bus is triggering the hell out of a man on Hollywood Blvd. ... and ya gotta see his epic rant, which is all on video!!!

The guy dives right in, shouting and pointing at the bus wrapped with an advertisement for Meek's album, "Expensive Pain" -- which features artistic depictions of naked Black women. Some of them bending over, and it's all too much for this guy to take.

The meltdown seems to center on the imagery being plastered on a bus that's driving through his neighborhood. He also thinks it's disrespectful to Black women, and laments the fact tons of eyeballs are gonna see the ad.

The epic rant continues as the guy walks all around the outside of the bus, pointing out all the things he doesn't like about the artwork ... and then he tries to tie it in with vaccines and face masks.

This video is peak Hollywood Blvd, an infamous spot for bizarre rants -- but we gotta ask?

William Shatner's space flight won't take a toll on his body despite his age ... so says Neil deGrasse Tyson who explained why, by dropping some serious science knowledge.

The famed astrophysicist tells TMZ ... he's not worried about the fact Capt. Kirk's all of 90 years old and off to space Wednesday morning. He says the kind of space flight Blue Origin's designed to take is not like the old days where astronauts needed strenuous physical training.

So, what's changed? Neil explains it's not even about advances in the spacecraft itself ... it's more about where the New Shepard capsule ends up.

He says the bottom line is ... Captain Kirk should have a cakewalk of a "mission" to space. As for being weightless up there -- Neil says it's not the lack of gravity Shatner needs to worry about, but the opposite.

TMZ broke the story ... William will be part of the second crew to take the space flight ... making him the oldest person ever to be launched into space.

He'll be joined by Chris Boshuizen, founder of Earth-observation company Planet Labs, microbiologist Glen de Vries and Blue Origin's Audrey Powers. They're scheduled to launch at 10 AM ET from West Texas ... and TMZ will be streaming live.

First, Jon Gruden lost his job ... now, he's lost his biggest sponsorship too.

Skechers has terminated its contract with the former Las Vegas Raiders head coach ... after learning the 58-year-old wrote racist, homophobic and misogynistic emails from 2011 to 2018.

"Skechers is aware of the recent press reporting on the emails of Jon Gruden, which caused him to resign his N.F.L. coaching position," a spokesperson for the shoe giant said in a statement Tuesday.

"Upon learning of these developments, we immediately terminated Mr. Gruden’s endorsement contract and our affiliation with him."

Gruden had been one of the faces of Skechers, appearing in ads for the company for the past several months.

"Skechers believes in equality, fostering tolerance, and understanding for all people," the spokesperson said. "It is at the core of who we are as a global lifestyle brand and why we have a zero-tolerance policy for such behavior within our business including those with who we formally work with."

"We believe taking a stand against racist or derogatory comments and for inclusion of all is imperative."

The news comes just one day after Gruden was ousted from his role as Las Vegas head man following the news that he had hurled an anti-gay slur toward Roger Goodell and used other offensive language in multiple emails.

In announcing his parting of ways with the Raiders ... Gruden apologized for the messages, and added, "I never meant to hurt anyone."

The Raiders have named Rich Bisaccia as their interim head coach in wake of Gruden's departure.

Kyrie Irving will not be allowed to play or practice for the Nets until his COVID vaccine situation is resolved, the team announced Tuesday.

Brooklyn general manager Sean Marks said in a statement that unless Irving gets vaccinated or the NBA provides him an exemption ... the star point guard will be barred from the team.

"Given the evolving nature of the situation and after thorough deliberation, we have decided Kyrie Irving will not play or practice with the team until he is eligible to be a full participant," Marks said.

"Kyrie has made a personal choice, and we respect his individual right to choose. Currently the choice restricts his ability to be a full-time member of the team, and we will not permit any member of our team to participate with part-time availability."

Irving has not commented publicly on his choice to avoid the vaccine -- he told his followers on social media last month that was a "private" matter -- but he's made it clear through social media activity that he is, in fact, anti-vax.

Of course, due to New York City mandates, in order to play games and practice in NYC, players are required to be vaccinated.

So far, Irving has missed all of the team's workouts in NYC as well as the Nets' preseason games over the vaccine choice ... and it's now clear he won't be a part of any of the team's activities moving forward unless something gives.

"It is imperative that we continue to build chemistry as a team and remain true to our long-established values of togetherness and sacrifice," Marks said.

"Our championship goals for the season have not changed, and to achieve these goals, each member of our organization must pull in the same direction."

It's been reported that Irving -- who's in the middle of a 4-year, $136,490,600 contract -- stands to lose MILLIONS based on the decision.

Coachella is making a U-turn ... ditching its plan to enforce a mandatory vaccination policy for ticketholders, and instead settling for testing negative right before the event.

The announcement came down Tuesday via an update on Coachella's official IG page -- which is run by AEG Presents -- saying, "After seeing first-hand the low transmission data and successful implementation of safety protocols at our other festivals this past month, we feel confident we can update our health policy."

The change ... allowing folks to come to Coachella (and other AEG Presents events, it seems) without having to prove they're vaxxed. Instead, you can just show a negative COVID test taken within 72 hours of the day you're attending.

This is a serious about-face from what AEG honchos said just a couple months ago -- when they announced they'd be requiring proof of vaccines, adding they felt they'd be on the right side of history, and that it was in the best interest of everyone.

The explanation is sure to thrill any anti-vaxx, or anti-mandate, folks on the fence about attending Coachella -- but something feels weird about the change of heart.

Frankly, if ya wanted to be cynical ... you could argue AEG's making a business decision -- especially in light of the massive pushback we're seeing around the country in relation to vaccine mandate.

Kim Kardashian West and Kanye appeared to have possibly reconciled in recent weeks, to the point where lots of folks thought the divorce would be called off, but new docs clearly show that's not the case ... Kim is going to walk away with the massive Hidden Hills Estate she and Kanye shared together.

According to court docs filed Tuesday, Kim will get the $60 million home -- where she and her kids have stayed ever since she filed divorce docs in February. We're told the former couple negotiated a buyout price for the home that was essentially rebuilt from the ground up.

Kim getting the home is significant, as most of the construction and design was spearheaded by Kanye. He worked with famed architects like Axel Vervoordt over several years ... at one point even purchasing the property next door to expand their domain.

We're told negotiations on the home were extremely cordial between Kim and Kanye, she's essentially paying cash to even things out between them

BTW ... they bought the property in 2014 for $20 million, so Kanye's handiwork in rebuilding the home paid off bigtime.

Gabby Petito's cause of death is about to be revealed after weeks of waiting on a coroner's findings -- and TMZ is streaming the highly anticipated results live.

The autopsy report is being discussed Tuesday during a press conference and comes several weeks after investigators found her remains at Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming last month.

As you know by now, the coroner ruled her death a homicide.

Now, the last pieces of the puzzle in this tragedy are finally coming together -- and may very well back up what her family suspected all along ... that she was brutalized, and left out in the wilderness to perish.

Of course, the one answer that remains elusive ... who's responsible, and obviously why? The prime person of interest is Gabby's fiance, Brian Laundrie, who has gone missing and for whom a manhunt has been launched.

Laundrie remains unaccounted for, despite a handful of alleged sightings in different parts of the country.

There was a suspected sighting nearly 500 miles away from where he was living in North Port, FL -- with a man claiming to have spotted somebody on his deer cam who looked like Brian -- but cops have said they have no reason to believe, for now, Brian's in the area.

Most recently a hiker claimed to have seen Brian on the Appalachian Trail ... but nothing concrete there either. Dog the Bounty Hunter also joined the nationwide manhunt.

As we reported ... Dog's hitting the pause button on his search -- this after injuring himself on the job.

As for Laundrie's family ... they say he went hiking sometime in mid-September, but never returned. This follows an already incredibly suspicious return back to Florida without any trace of Gabby. Her family's blasted Brian and his family for clamming up on providing answers.

The feds issued an arrest warrant for Laundrie but NOT for Gabby's death -- it was for Use of Unauthorized Access Devices. Prosecutors claimed Laundrie used a Capital One Bank debit card from August 30 to Sept. 1 to purchase stuff totaling at least $1,000.

The feds haven't said it was Gabby's card, but that doesn't seem like much of a leap.

Just a few days later ... the FBI visited the Laundrie residence to retrieve some personal items in hopes they might have his DNA on them.

One thing we do know about Gabby and Brian's recent past is that they had a confrontation in Utah ... something that was briefly investigated by a police officer, who recorded one of the final images of her alive, and crying.

And, a witness called 911 shortly before Gabby's disappearance, telling the dispatcher he saw Brian slap and hit Gabby during an argument.

Now, we're going to learn what happened to her after that ... once and for all.

NFL punter Marquette King -- who was cut from the Raiders after Jon Gruden allegedly took issue with his personality -- is hoping teams give him a second look in wake of the coach's email scandal ... saying he was never the problem in Oakland.

King -- an All-Pro in 2016 -- was released in 2018 after reports claimed Gruden wasn't a fan of his outspoken personality and over-the-top celebrations.

The 32-year-old is now speculating if there was a deeper reason behind the move in light of Gruden's misogynistic, racist and homophobic emails being leaked this week ... joining "TMZ Live" to share his reaction to the bombshell scandal.

"Once I found out, it was kinda like, now I really wonder what was the real reason why I did get let go," King said. "I'm still kinda curious about that, about why I got let go. It's just been a whole roller coaster full of emotions, period."

King -- who says he never even got the chance to meet Gruden before getting cut -- spent the past 2 years questioning who he is as a person and whether he really was an issue ... adding he found himself in a "really dark place" in the weeks following his release.

King insinuates Gruden created a narrative that made him untouchable to other teams ... and now that the coach is out of the league, it could lead to new opportunities.

The new 'Halloween' flick features a frighteningly inspired performance from James Jude Courtney, who leaned on an old friend/real-life murderer to pick up tips on playing the legendary villain behind the mask.

The "Halloween Kills" star joined us Tuesday on "TMZ Live" to reveal part of his process to portray Michael Myers -- something James has done more than anyone else -- and it was downright chilling.

He told us he prepped for one of his very first killer roles by living in a psych ward with paranoid schizophrenics who had killed people ... but that's just the tip of the iceberg.

Later in his career, James says he lived with a guy who had done hard time for murders -- he'd been a hitman -- but apparently wanted to moonlight as an acting coach.

James told us his killer roommate actually critiqued one of his movies, and told him how to make his character more believable, more realistic. That sounds great for James' acting career, but there's still the matter of actually LIVING under the same roof as a cold-blooded killer!!!

Wendy Williams is stepping away from her show after experiencing "serious complications" as a direct result of Graves' Disease and her thyroid condition.

"The Wendy Williams Show" announced Tuesday that while Wendy's making progress ... she's not 100% ready to return to her hosting duties due to her immune system disorder. Wendy continues to be under medical supervision and meets with her medical team on a daily basis.

That being said ... the show says it's been determined more time is needed before Wendy's able to return.

In the interim, the popular daytime program will start airing original shows on Monday ... "with an exciting lineup of guest hosts and panels to be announced shortly."

A statement from the show added, "Wendy is a valued and stalwart member of the Debmar-Mercury family and has been so for 12 years. We want her health to be her top priority. As soon as she's ready, she will be back in her treasured purple chair."

As we previously reported ... Wendy was taken to a hospital for a psychiatric evaluation. We were told she was voluntarily admitted to an NYC hospital last month. On top of all of that, Wendy also had COVID but, thankfully, she was asymptomatic.

Wendy's 13th season was set to premiere Sept. 20, and while the new season will kick off in less than a week ... it's clear now Wendy won't be taking part for the time being.

Smash Mouth's lead singer is calling it quits after his shot at one final show went off the rails ... because he says health challenges have become too much for him.

Steve Harwell tells TMZ he's retiring, saying ... "Ever since I was a kid, I dreamed of being a Rockstar performing in front of sold-out arenas and have been so fortunate to live out that dream. To my bandmates, it’s been an honor performing with you all these years and I can’t think of anyone else I would have rather gone on this wild journey with."

His decision comes after video of the band's performance this weekend in upstate New York went viral due to Steve's behavior on stage ... in which he slurred his words, yelled at the audience and at times seemed completely disassociated with the event.

A source close to the band tells us ... Steve knew it was time to hang it up after the show, because it's impossible for him to keep performing as his health continues to deteriorate.

We're told he was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy 8 years ago, which has led to other medical setbacks like heart failure and Wernicke's encephalopathy ... a condition that impacts his motor functions, including speech and memory. He's also battled substance abuse over the years, which is further contributing to his health crisis.

Our sources say Steve was going through an episode during the live show, and it greatly impacted how he felt, at times not even understanding his surroundings.

Steve says ... "To our loyal and amazing fans, thank you, all of this was possible because of you. I’ve tried so hard to power through my physical and mental health issues, and to play in front of you one last time, but I just wasn't able to."

He adds that he's incredibly grateful to everyone who's contributed to Smash Mouth's success over the years, and to "those who have kept 'All Star' relevant as one of the top memes on the internet today."

Steve concludes, "I cannot wait to see what Smash Mouth accomplishes next and am looking forward to counting myself as one of the band’s newest fans."

Tim McGraw's sending a pretty menacing message to his fans -- boo me, and I'm gonna get in your face, which is exactly what he did to a couple ... bringing his concert to a grinding halt.

TMZ's obtained video of the tense confrontation that went down at Tim's show Saturday night at the Nugget Event Center in Reno, Nevada. We're told he was performing "Just to See You Smile" when fans noticed something was amiss.

Some folks in the crowd thought his voice sounded off, but also ... he forgot some of the lyrics. You can see at first Tim waves off the criticism, but then he seemed triggered ... as he stood up, stuck out his chest and stared down the hecklers.

The country star asked the hecklers why they were mocking him, and essentially told them, if ya don't like it, just leave -- but that wasn't enough. Tim jumped off the stage, and got in the couple's face. It's unclear what was said, but it is 100% clear Tim wasn't happy.

Some people in the audience were pissed too, because they wanted Tim to continue the show.

He ultimately addressed this head-on, telling the crowd he'd been shooting the "Yellowstone" prequel, "1883" for 48 hours straight. His point being ... forgive me if I forget a word or two.