TMZ.com Home

Rick Leventhal is digging his heels in over his decision to dress as Alec Baldwin in a cowboy costume with a gun for Halloween ... taking some serious jabs at the guy.

RL did NOT back down from his outfit choice for the holiday -- despite getting major heat, as many called it outright offensive and totally inappropriate considering the seriousness of the matter.

ICYMI ... Leventhal posted photos of him and his wife, Kelly, in costume -- pointing out she was celebrating her Native American heritage, while he was "celebrating the great American film actor Alec Baldwin." RL is pictured in rancher-like clothes ... with a fake gun in hand.

In response to all the outrage, Rick had this to say ... "In no way was I trying to offend anyone, except Alec Baldwin. He’s a jerk and deserves all the heat he’s getting."

He went on to explain he chose this getup at the last minute, while also arguing that if we dissected every costume in terms of who it might offend -- there'd be no Halloween. Rick says he of course feels bad for Halyna Hutchins' family, but adds ... "If Baldwin is anti-gun why is he waving them around in movies and pointing them at people and pulling the trigger? Focus your anger at him and the hypocrisy of that industry."

His wife's choice of costume is also getting backlash -- but chalked all that up to people being too sensitive, and not realizing she actually has Native American blood in her.

Alessandra Ambrosio apparently has an issue with trick or treaters showing up at her house -- because she literally told them to "f*** off."

Ya gotta see the signs the retired Victoria's Secret supermodel posted by her front door on Halloween -- one reads, "No Trick-Or-Treat Sorry :( "  ... and the other drives the point home further, saying "AKA F*** OFF :) "

The handwritten notes are taped right next to the doorbell ... so ya couldn't miss it, and Alessandra's even standing guard outside, pointing trick or treaters in another direction.

It's unclear what Alessandra's beef is with candy-seeking kids, because she's not against Halloween or trick or treating at other folks' homes -- she and her man, Richard Lee, dressed up the family in "Squid Game" costumes and took her son door-to-door asking for candy.

Ben Affleck's worlds are colliding, especially as it relates to the Jennifers in his life ... and it all came together on Halloween.

Ben and J Lo were trick or treating with their kids Sunday in the private, gated Malibu colony ... where her son, Max, and his son, Samuel, were decked out in costumes. We're told Max is the one in black, and Sam is the one in the blonde wig.

Unclear if their other children were present, but one person we know was in the same vicinity was BA's ex-wife, Jennifer Garner -- so presumably, the other kids were around as well ... as this appears to have been a private Halloween event in that community.

The photo agency that obtained these pics says both parties "bumped into" each other ... but they were never actually photographed together.

It is interesting though -- ya gotta figure there was some pre-Halloween planning between the co-parenting exes ... which means, Jen (Garner) and Jen (Lopez) are cool with sharing the same space. Oh, and Ben too.

Kal Penn says he's sharing his life story -- including the fact he's gay -- to let others know that you can do anything while being true to yourself, like say ... being a gay NASCAR fan.

We got the actor, politico and now author leaving 30 Rock Monday morning in NYC, and asked how his coming out over the weekend is being received in Hollywood and beyond.

Check out this chat we had ... Kal says so far so good, and when our guy asks why he waited 11 years to share his truth -- he cracks a hilarious joke, but then opens up.

Kal explains his manager suggested he pen his adventures on and off camera -- y'know, seeing how he went from a successful actor, getting tons of work ... to a White House staffer working in the Obama administration. Obviously, he had good material.

On a philosophical level ... KP tells us he's coming out with all this now -- including his relationship with fiance, Josh -- in hopes of inspiring others to dream big, dare to do the impossible and push themselves.

Kal even dishes on some deets from the book, including the tale of how he came to meet his partner ... which entails an interesting tidbit about the "real revelation" here -- the fact that he's apparently super into NASCAR.

Halyna Hutchins' words to the "Rust" crew after being shot prove she had a wicked sense of humor -- albeit a dark one -- and maintained it right up to her tragic end.

The slain cinematographer uttered something in response to a boom operator after being struck by the bullet Alec Baldwin had just unknowingly fired. She said, "That was no good. That was no good at all," this according to the L.A. Times.

She was reportedly replying to the boom op, who'd said the exact same thing after seeing her injury, as someone else shouted for a medic to rush to her aid. Hutchins is said to have stumbled back and fallen into the arms of a gaffer, and director Joel Souza.

Souza, who was also injured, said something along the lines of, "What the f*** was that? That burns!" Alec, similarly, repeatedly said ... "What the f*** just happened?"

As we've reported, Alec and co. were rehearsing for a shoot-out scene inside a church. Alec, the lead, was using a .45 Colt revolver. Baldwin reportedly said, "So, I guess I'm gonna take this out, pull it out and go, 'Bang!'" -- at which point, he actually carried out the gesture and fired.

The gun -- which assistant director Dave Halls had just declared was "cold" before handing it to Alec -- was supposed to be loaded with nothing but dummy rounds ... but at least one real bullet was inside.

Santa Fe authorities are still investigating the circumstances of the fatal shooting, and have not ruled out criminal charges against anyone.

Production shut down, and it appears this movie may never see the light of day ... according to Baldwin anyway, who has since gone to Vermont with his family in an attempt to lay low.

He told paparazzi he was cooperating with the Sheriff's Office, and that he couldn't disclose too many details from the case. What he did say, however, was that Hutchins was his friend -- and that he and her family are devastated.

More trouble for NASCAR -- Kyle Busch is apologizing for using the r-word in a post-race interview on Sunday ... saying he should have never used the derogatory term.

Busch was furious with Brad Keselowski after making contact with the driver at the NASCAR Cup playoff race at Martinsville ... sounding off to reporters following his 2nd-place finish.

"He drills my ass coming out of (turn) 4 for no reason," Busch said after the race.

"I mean, where was he going? What was he gonna do? Spin me out? He was trying to do a (Kevin) Harvick is what he was trying to do. For what? For second place? To do what, he wasn't gonna transfer through with that."

"It’s frickin’ (r-word), man. So stupid." Busch added. "I don't understand these guys. I should beat the s*** out of him right now, is what I should do. But, that doesn't do me any good, either."

Busch took to Twitter to share his regret over using the term ... saying, "In one of my post-race interviews I used a word I should never use and I want to apologize for it."

It's the third time a high-profile driver has used a derogatory slur recently -- remember, Kyle Larson was suspended after using the n-word during a stream ... and Hailie Deegan underwent sensitivity training after using the r-word.

A spokesperson for NASCAR says the org. is reviewing Busch's comments ... which means sensitivity training, a fine or a suspension could be on the horizon.

Halloween 2021 is officially in the books, and the stars certainly took advantage of having a year off from celebrating, putting a ton of effort in for this year's bashes.

Megan Thee Stallion -- dressed as a fairy -- hosted a huge event at Ysabel in West Hollywood ... one of the more notable costumes from that party was Adam Lambert, who was all decked out as some sort of aquatic king.

The Weeknd went all out for his costume, per usual, as Don Vito Corleone from "The Godfather" with full prosthetics ... he really looked like the real deal.

Doja Cat, dressed as Cynthia from Rugrats, Anderson .Paak pulled off the perfect Bruno Mars and Anastasia 'Stassie' Karanikolaou dressed as "Joker" for Kendall Jenner's private birthday party at Harriet's Rooftop in West Hollywood.

Preaching public health, Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom dressed as a doctor and vaccine titled "Katy & Perry" ... perhaps a play on Johnson & Johnson.

As for couple's costumes, Travis Barker and Kourtney Kardashian paid tribute to the movie "True Romance" with their Halloween look ... and Kylie and Travis Scott took Stormi trick or treating.

A POTUS, a golf superstar and a model walk into a party ...

That's what went down Sunday night ... 'cause former President Donald Trump schmoozed it up with golfer Dustin Johnson and Paulina Gretzky during a Halloween bash at his Mar-a-Lago Club in Florida.

DJ, his fiancée and friends socialized with #45 during the gathering -- with Trump greeting Paulina with kisses on both cheeks, saying, "You look great."

While Johnson sported a tennis pro outfit and Gretzky went with a Baywatch uniform, Trump appeared to either ditch the costume dress code or go as himself ... and both options are pretty believable.

So, what did the group talk about?? You can bet Trump talked DJ's ear off about all things golf ... and probably even challenged him to hit the links together.

It's been a busy weekend for The Donald -- as we previously reported, he showed up with Melania at Game 4 of the World Series in Atlanta on Saturday ... and was shown smiling from ear-to-ear and giving two thumbs up to the crowd.

Unsurprisingly, Trump's appearance didn't go without controversy -- he was spotted joining fans in the "Tomahawk Chop" ... which has been deemed racist and offensive to Native American culture.

It might not be smooth sailing for Mark Zuckerberg in his quest to change Facebook's identity, because we've learned someone was already ahead of him in trying to grab the "Meta" trademark ... and they're willing to give it up to Zuck for a steep price.

Back in August, the founders of a company called Meta PC filed to trademark the word "Meta" for computers, laptops, tablets, software and more items relating to tech -- so, right in Facebook's wheelhouse.

The founders, Joe Darger and Zack Shutt, tell us they've been operating Meta PC for a little over a year, but recently filed docs to formally trademark their brand.

While Meta PC's trademark petition hasn't yet been granted, they still have a lead on Zuckerberg if he tries to claim it for his rebranded company. For that, Darger and Shutt tell us they're willing to give up their quest to lock the phrase down if Zuck will shell out $20 MILLION.

The cost might seem crazy, but the way Darger and Shutt see it, giving up the TM will require them to rebrand their entire company ... which, of course, will be super expensive.

Trademark or not, Meta PC has already reaped some of Facebook's announcement benefits -- they've seen a 5,000% increase in followers across their social media channels ... not too bad.

The Gabby Petito saga has raised questions about who the media focuses on in cases like these, and it seems disproportionally white ... so says a member of the Black Eyed Peas.

We talked to Taboo (Jaime Luis Gomez) -- who is of Mexican descent and identifies as an indigenous person -- and he broke down the phenomenon of "Missing White Girl Syndrome" ... something news networks/society has been accused of doing during this entire ordeal.

Put plainly ... the guy says it is, indeed, a real thing -- and the proof is in the pudding on wall-to-wall coverage of Gabby's story for weeks on end.

As Taboo eloquently puts it, there are scores of Black and indigenous women who go missing every single day ... but don't get even a drop of the same mainstream attention as Petito did -- or any number of missing caucasian girls/women over the years.

That's not to say this is criticizing Gabby or her family or anyone affected by the tragedy -- quite the opposite ... Taboo says he has all the empathy in the world for them.

However, he does feel an underlying issue exists and doesn't wanna shy away from hard talks like these out of fear of propriety. Check out this chat -- you can tell he's passionate about speaking up for his people and other marginalized groups, so this hits home for him.

Master P has a message for the haters who think Dwyane Wade got his son, Zaire, a spot in the G League ... telling TMZ Sports, "Life ain't fair."

As we previously reported, the former Sierra Canyon standout joined the Salt Lake City Stars earlier this month ... which just so happens to be the affiliate for the Utah Jazz, of which D-Wade is part owner.

We spoke with MP about Zaire's opportunity while at LAX this week ... and he brings the truth.

"When you look at it, it's a blessing," P said. "His dad knows the business. He played in the game."

P says Zaire is working with some top-notch trainers and busting his ass every day ... and thinks Wade can really "change the game" if he continues to put in serious effort.

MP -- who suited up for two NBA teams back in the day -- knows a thing or two about raising an athlete ... his son, Hercy, is a hoops star at an HBCU and he thinks his team can make the tournament if his son keeps it up.

"You know what, he's working hard," Master said. "He just played last night. He had a great game. They won."

"That's what life is about. Just getting better and better."

As for Wade, P also went on to rave about how bright the future is for him in the G League ... but is Zaire "finessing" the system?!? He disagrees.

"He taking advantage of an opportunity. He knows he wants to be a pro player."

Ron Perlman is walking away from his marriage with one of Elon Musk's cars ... but his ex-wife is keeping the family home in their divorce.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ ... the judge signed off on Ron and Opal Stone Perlman's divorce judgment, and his ex-wife gets to keep their massive property in Los Angeles.

Ron gets to keep a leased Tesla, and Opal is keeping a set of wheels too ... she gets a leased Mercedes-Benz.

Per the terms of the judgment, the 'Hellboy' star will pay Opal $12,500 per month in spousal support, plus 20% of his annual income between $52k and $1.5 million.

These spooked stars are getting the daylight scared out of them!

Popular nighttime attractions -- such as Universal Studio's Hollywood Horror Nights, Knott's Scary Farms, Haunt O'Ween, and more -- were scatted with spooked stars this month.

Some celebrities, like Wilmer Valderrama and Rob Dyrdek, checked out some of the more family-friendly events ... while Seth Green and Bridget Marquardt amped up the haunt with some really freaky frights.

Also, cute couples like Karl-Anthony Towns & Jordyn Woods and Finneas O'Connell & Claudia Sulewski were seen keeping each other company for comfort!

Before this hungry kid was serving up talented performances in television and film, she was just another grinning girl who was licking her plate clean in Oakland, California.

This foodie female got her start in the industry by showcasing her acting, singing and dancing skills on Disney Channel ... where she starred alongside Bella Thorne. She was able to break out of this Disney persona quickly when she was cast in a dramatic series on HBO -- in which she plays a teenage drug addict.

Now, you can catch this superstar on the big screen with her latest movie premiere that's already breaking box office records!

President Biden's press secretary, Jen Psaki, says she's come down with COVID-19 ... but is away from POTUS and has been for several days now.

Psaki revealed Sunday that she'd tested positive for the virus -- this after multiple days of testing negative upon learning people in her household had caught it. She was supposed to hit Europe with JB, but scrapped those plans after learning her family members were sick.

The Press Secretary also notes she was last in contact with Biden on Tuesday ... just before he flew to Rome, where he's currently at for the G20 summit. She notes they were standing at least six feet apart then, and were also wearing masks.

Psaki says, "I am disclosing today's positive test out of an abundance of transparency," adding ... "Thanks to the vaccine, I have only experienced mild symptoms which has enabled me to continue working from home."

She goes on to explain she'll return to the WH after a full 10-day quarantine period, and obviously after a negative test is once again registered.

Kal Penn has come out of the closet in the most surprising of ways -- announcing he's gay in a new book of his, which reveals that he's actually getting married as well.

The actor shared the news through his forthcoming offering, "You Can't Be Serious," via excerpts that leaked over the weekend ... and which is due out this Tuesday. He makes no bones about it ... he's in a relationship with a guy named Josh, whom he's been dating for 11 years.

More importantly, they're on the road to matrimony ... because the couple is engaged. Apparently, Kal met Josh while he was living/working in D.C. under the Obama administration -- for which he worked in an official capacity -- and they've been together since.

He discusses his sexuality this way, "I've always been very public with everybody I've personally interacted with. Whether it's somebody that I meet at a bar, if Josh and I are out or we're talking to friends." He adds, "I'm really excited to share our relationship with readers. But Josh, my partner, my parents, and my brother, four people who I'm closest to in the family, are fairly quiet. They don't love attention and shy away from the limelight."

The guy is getting overwhelming support for finally sharing his truth -- one that's been kept as a secret for years now ... as no one really seems to have known Kal was gay.

He posted a video thanking people for the love he's been getting ... and also shouted out folks whom he sent an early copy of his book to -- with their reaction quotes featured on the back cover.

Kal has traditionally played stoner bros in a lot of the raunchy comedies he's known for, especially from the 'Harold & Kumar' franchise. He's also known for roles from "Designated Survivor," "How I Met Your Mother," "House," "Van Wilder," "Battle Creek" and many more.