TMZ.com Home

Don Lemon went back to the network that fired him to talk about his Elon Musk interview that made him lose out on his deal with X ... and he even aired some clips from their chat.

The former news anchor was featured as Erin Burnett's guest on CNN Wednesday, where they spoke about this sit-down Don did with Elon just yesterday -- which then triggered Elon to terminate his company's deal with Don to host and distribute his new show with them.

Obviously, everyone has been curious about what exactly was said that pissed EM off so much -- and now, we have a sense of what it might've been ... 'cause CNN aired 3 excerpts.

The first clip they played showed Don rattling off stats about an uptick in hate speech on X -- and DL even entertained the topic of the Great Replacement Theory, embraced by white supremacists ... which Elon's been accused of entertaining and tolerating on his platform.

You could tell right off the bat that Elon was annoyed by the line of questioning -- and he even let Don know, he doesn't have to answer anyone's questions ... noting he only agreed to chat with Don because he was now part of the X family, and Don asked for an interview.

It was an icy interaction ... and Don goes on to tell Erin he doesn't think Elon is willing to accept facts -- going on to say he feels like Elon doesn't have to answer to anyone or take accountability for what's posted on X. The clips didn't end there, though ... there was more.

Another clip aired where Don asked Elon about his ketamine use -- something Elon has admitted to -- and while that topic wasn't nearly as awkward ... you can tell it was somewhat personal for Elon. He basically said if people are depressed, they should look into it.

They also talked politics at one point ... and Elon said he wasn't ready to endorse any candidate just yet -- although he did say he was leaning away from Biden. He noted he and Trump had recently spoken at Mar-a-Lago ... and said he hadn't donated to DT at all.

Long story short ... Don went back into the lion's den to air these clips -- which is pretty ironic, considering they kicked him to the curb, albeit under different leadership.

Garrison Brown's legacy as a cat dad will never be forgotten, as "Sister Wives" fans give buckets of money to the cause near and dear to the late TLC personality ... TMZ has learned.

Liz Olson of High Country Humane tells TMZ ... people from all over the world have donated to the animal shelter in the week since Garrison died by suicide. The cat org received donations totaling more than $13K ... and counting!

She confirms she's the one who alerted Garrison's mother, Janelle Brown, to the outpouring of support ... and then, Janelle shared her emotional reaction this week to that uplifting news.

Garrison and High Country Humane knew each other well -- Liz tells us he adopted 3 of his cats -- including new addition Ms. Buttons -- from the shelter in the last 2 years.

In response to the generosity displayed by Garrison's followers, HCH has launched an initiative in his name that will help cats get adopted throughout the month of March.

Specifically, the money will cover adoption fees for any of the cats rescued during this effort.

The tributes don't stop there ... Liz tells us the org also plans to rename its cat adoption room in his honor. There will be a plaque unveiling and everything at their 5-year anniversary celebration this month.

Ark Cat Sanctuary is also getting monetary support after Garrison's passing. Cat Roberts, yes that's really her name, tells TMZ ... the org's  received more than $500 in donations from people all over the globe, including some in Australia and Scotland.

Cat believes the support from Garrison's fans will help them stay open this year ... after receiving $30K less in grant money for 2024. She says the biggest help has been people purchasing items like wet food and kitten milk replacement from the sanctuary's Amazon wish list.

It's a small silver lining on an otherwise tragic story.

Floyd Mayweather sent thousands of pounds of supplies to Israel in October, and now the boxing legend has delivered himself ... touching down in Tel Aviv, and lifting the spirits of soldiers, rescue workers, and civilians.

Since the October 7 Hamas attack, you'd be hard-pressed to find a celebrity more outwardly supportive of the Israeli cause than the 50-0 fighter ... but Floyd wanted to do more, so he hopped on his private jet and flew to Israel, where he recently touched down in Tel Aviv.

Mayweather has been all over the place, including a stop at an Israel Defense Forces base where we're told he hosted a BBQ for the military!

Of course, Floyd's one of the greatest boxers ever ... and since the IDF base had a boxing ring, Mayweather sparred with some of the IDF. No word if he took his first L.

Floyd also made a stop at the headquarters of United Hatzalah, an ambulatory service, in Jerusalem ... in addition to the Magen David Adom blood bank.

Mayweather, who is in Israel with friends Jona Rechnitz and Avi Hiaeve (of Avi & Co.), spent time at the Western Wall, a holy site ... where we're told he prayed for peace.

Floyd was gifted a custom blinged-out TMT kippah from Rabbi Steven Burg, in addition to an awesome Star of David necklace pendant from the jewelers at Diamond Club Miami.

Last but not least, Mayweather received a one-of-a-kind painting as well ... which was presented to him, from Israeli musician Osher Cohen.

American actor and musician Jason Dolley was just a teen in 2006 when he rose into child stardom -- starring on hit Disney shows ... like playing Virgil Fox on "Minutemen", Pete Ivey on "Hatching Pete" and PJ Duncan on "Good Luck Charlie".

After his successful 8 year run on Disney, he focused on his education and graduated Magna Cum Laude from California Lutheran University and got his bachelors in Philosophy.

Dolley landed roles ins films like "Staged Killer," "The Devil's Advocate" and "Waltz of the Angels," as well as TV shows, "The Ranch" and "American Housewife."

And, he recently reunited with his "Good Luck Charlie" cast mate, Bradley Steven Perry.

Christie Brinkley says she was diagnosed with a form of skin cancer, which docs detected early -- and they got it out of her too ... something she documented with graphic pics.

The former model shared some behind-the-scenes images of her health journey Wednesday -- posting photos of her in recovery after a procedure she underwent to remove basal cell Carcinoma ... which she says she's lucky to have had removed quickly.

Christie writes, "Doctors that removed the cancer and stitched me up to perfection like an haute couture Dior. The good news for you is that all of this can be avoided by being diligent with your sun protection!"

She goes on to say ... "I was lucky to find mine, because I was accompanying one of my daughters to HER check up.. The Doctor was looking at each freckle with a magnifying glass… it wasn’t my appointment so I wasn’t going to say anything but at the VERY end I asked if he could just look at a little tiny dot I could feel as I applied my foundation."

Christie says the doctor then suspected something was amiss with what she was showing and ordered a biopsy, and the next thing you know ... cancerous cells were discovered.

Like we said ... Christie posted photos of having the cancer removed from near her temple -- and let's just say they're very detailed and gory. So, not for the faint of heart.

FYI, an estimated 3.6 million cases of basal cell carcinoma are diagnosed each year, according to the Skin Care Foundation ... but the good news is that the cancer is curable if detected and treated early.

The Missouri teen who got her head slammed into the ground during a fight has suffered severe brain damage -- and now, her family is asking for help.

The 15-year-old's loved ones have started a GoFundMe for her, and they've revealed her name as Kaylee ... with them noting that she's battling for her life as she remains hospitalized in critical condition following last week's incident.

According to the GFM -- which is aiming to raise $120,000 to help cover her mounting medical costs -- the brawl left Kaylee with major brain bleeding and swelling.

They also say she suffered a skull fracture and frontal lobe damage as well -- noting she's just at the start of what they consider to be an uphill battle of recovery.

Her family doesn't explicitly say it ... but it sounds like she might not be conscious.

Remember, Kaylee was seen alone and convulsing on the ground as the scuffle continued to play out around her -- which included several other teens throwing punches at one another. According to her family ... EMTs eventually arrived on the scene and rushed Kaylee to a local hospital in St. Louis, but it seems like the damage might've already been done by then.

As we reported ... the teen girl who assaulted Kaylee was arrested on a first-degree felony charge -- but the case is currently being handled by the juvenile court system due to the perpetrator's age.

However, we've learned she could be tried as an adult ... depending on how a court hearing plays out in a couple weeks. If Kaylee's condition worsens, it could spell bad news for the culprit in question too.

Michael Jackson's biopic is already causing controversy ... with the film's creators promising the uncensored truth and the "Leaving Neverland" director calling BS.

Here's the deal ... the new MJ film's reportedly been touted in multiple press releases as an honest portrayal of Michael Jackson's life with a focus on both his talent and his very human struggles.

Variety checked in with producer Graham King and screenwriter John Logan, who do put the abuse allegations into the film -- after all, Michael went through a very public criminal trial over them, so it would be hard not to -- but ultimately portray him through a lens of innocence since he wasn't convicted back then.

In a separate statement, Graham King said he didn't sanitize Michael's life one bit ... instead working hard to present an unbiased picture of the King of Pop.

Well, "Leaving Neverland" director Dan Reed's not buying that ... telling the outlet he's read a copy of the "Michael" screenplay -- and it's basically an ode to MJ.

Remember ... "Leaving Neverland" featured allegations of child sex abuse against Jackson by Wade Robson and James Safechuck -- their court case against Jackson's estate is still awaiting trial.

Reed says the movie goes out of its way to show Michael interacting with kids in a positive way ... and he even goes as far as to say it seems like Michael's former attorney John Branca -- an executive producer on the film -- sat the creative team down and straight up told them what to write.

We've shown you quite a few behind-the-scenes looks at the movie being made over the months -- catching Jaafar Jackson, Colman Domingo, Nia Long and more stars all dressed up and ready for the camera to roll.

While Drake Bell was living through a nightmare at Nickelodeon -- another fellow child star from a competing network says the Mouse House protected him during his own run.

Hutch Dano -- an actor who appeared in "The Suite Life on Deck" and "Zeke and Luther" in his youth -- sat down for an interview with TMZ Verified this week ... and he told us he never experienced any abuse while working for Disney, unlike Drake at Nick.

Dano says his heart goes out to the victims of abuse -- including Drake -- but he himself was never one of them ... something he says he'd absolutely admit if there was any truth to it.

HD described what his experience was like on set as a kid -- telling us he only worked with some of the best professionals in the biz on every project, adding he felt Disney did a good job keeping its actors safe. It's not a dig ... Dano's just recounting his own experience.

HD says he considers himself lucky -- as others in his position were obviously subjugated to terrible things ... and big picture, he says he's happy this issue is being brought to the light.

As we reported Drake is set to recount what happened between him and his one-time dialogue coach Brian Peck ... who was convicted of molesting Drake in the early 2000s. The full interview sharing Drake's story will air in full later this weekend ... and it's apparently brutal.

As you may know, Peck pled no contest to performing a lewd act with a 14 or 15-year-old and to oral copulation with a 16-year-old back in 2004 -- and Drake reveals the guy even had a lot of stars step up to bat for him and his character, both in person and in letters.

Robyn Bernard -- famous for her work on "General Hospital" -- is dead ... TMZ has learned.

Riverside County Coroner tells TMZ they identified the actress' body using her fingerprints after deputies responded to a death investigation call yesterday in the town of San Jacinto, CA. We're told Robyn's body was found in the early morning hours of March 12.

The Riverside County Coroner says no cause of death has been determined yet. An autopsy is scheduled to be performed on Wednesday, but toxicology will take several weeks.

Robyn was born in Gladewater, Texas, and eventually carved out an acting career for herself with small parts in '80s TV shows like "Diva," "The Facts Of Life," "Simon & Simon," and "Tour of Duty."

Her big break came in 1984 on the soap opera "General Hospital" ... playing the role of Terry Brock for 145 episodes until 1990.

Her final credited acting role came in 2002, when she played a psychologist in the movie, "Voices From the High School."

Since exiting the acting scene, Robyn kept a relatively private life, out of the spotlight.

She was 64.

Anthony Daniels is making a fortune off his "Star Wars" trinkets ... selling off a C-3PO head from 'Return of the Jedi' for enough cash to satiate even Han Solo himself.

The actor sold off the prop for $843,750 Tuesday through Propstore Auction -- a popular site for fanboys and fangirls to buy their favorite movie and TV super collectibles.

Propstore says the head matches several scenes from the film, and it was the only head still in a private collection before it was sold -- as of yet, it's still unclear exactly who bought it.

The fiberglass head -- made up of three components -- still lights up ... so the lucky mystery buyer's got a pretty dang cool new addition to what we imagine is already a stacked "Star Wars" collection.

As for why he's selling ... Daniels told The Hollywood Reporter last week all his 'Star Wars' stuff's just gathering dust in boxes and cupboards -- and he'd rather it go on display or to someone who might really enjoy it.

The head wasn't the only thing Daniels put up for auction either ... he also sold a custom Pittsburgh Penguins hockey jersey given to him by the team after he participated in a charity event as well as a gingerbread cookie given to him on his last day of shooting 'The Last Jedi,' among other wild items.

While the head may be sold, a ton of other "Anthony Daniels" collection items are still up for sale ... so hop over to Propstore quickly before they're all sold off.

Aaron Rodgers' VP bid won't last long, but the Democratic party's still taking him plenty seriously ... at least, according to some high-ranking party members.

Top officials of the Democratic National Committee tell TMZ ... they're not taking any chances with Rodgers, even though they're expecting his VP candidacy to last as long as his first season with the New York Jets.

Basically, sources at the DNC tell us they're not writing off Rodgers or any other celebrity candidate no matter what they may think of them ... just look what happened with Trump.

DNC members acknowledge third-party candidates can easily play spoiler in a close election ... so all the more reason to face Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and possibly Rodgers head-on.

Moving forward, we're told Democrats will be looking through old Rodgers interviews and dredging up the skeletons in the QB's locker. Essentially, they're welcoming AR to a whole new kind of gridiron ... one where Rodgers isn't likely to get an unnecessary roughness call in his favor.

As for how they feel about Kennedy and Rodgers teaming up ... our sources tell us it makes a lot of sense -- since they're both "self-important blowhards," as it was put to us. Sounds like the attack ads are already writing themselves!

Of course, RFK Jr. hasn't officially named Aaron Rodgers yet ... though he is at the top of the presidential hopeful's short list which also reportedly features WWE star Jesse Ventura, Rand Paul and Tulsi Gabbard.

Wendy Williams' home is apparently in the crosshairs of the federal government after it slapped her with a lien over unpaid taxes ... which they say amounts to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, the former talk show host got hit with a tax lien by Uncle Sam on her pricey NYC condo -- which records show she bought for $4.5 million in 2021 -- because the feds say Wendy owes them $568,451.57.

This unpaid balance, they claim, is a result of her owing big balances for her federal taxes for the years of 2019 and 2021.

The online records show the lien was generated in January of this year, and was recorded with the New York City Department of Finance in early February.

As of now, there doesn't appear to be any evidence the lien has been dealt with yet, but it's possible Wendy already cleared this up -- we've reached out to the court-appointed guardian of her finances, but no word back yet.

Of course, this is troubling for a number of reasons -- most, notably ... the fact that Wendy's health struggles have recently come to light, including the fact her team says she's been diagnosed with aphasia and dementia.

BTW ... Sabrina Morrissey, the guardian of Wendy's finances, was reportedly appointed sometime in Spring 2022, so she came aboard after the alleged tax violations.

The question ... is the guardian dealing with this now?

Three men are facing federal gun charges in connection with the Chiefs Super Bowl parade shooting after the U.S. Attorney in Missouri says the investigation turned up an illegal gun operation.

The defendants, 22-year-old Fedo Manning, 21-year-old Ronnel Williams Jr., and 19-year-old Chaelyn Groves are not accused of opening fire at the parade ... but instead, prosecutors believe they were part of "illegal firearms trafficking and straw purchases of firearms."

During their investigation into the shooting, police recovered multiple firearms at the scene ... at least two of which they were able to trace back to the alleged illegal gun ring.

One of the weapons, an Anderson Manufacturing AM-15 .223-caliber pistol, was allegedly bought by Manning from a gun store in 2022. He's accused of illegally trafficking dozens of guns.

The second weapon was a Stag Arms 300-caliber pistol was allegedly purchased by Williams for Groves at a gun show in 2023 ... as the latter was too young at the time.

In total, Manning is facing 12 federal charges, while Williams Jr. and Groves were both hit with 4 charges.

None of the men are charged with shooting anyone ... though officials aren't ruling out the possibility that the illegal guns were fired.

In fact, according to court docs, 12 people brandished firearms, and at least 6 fired their weapons during the parade.

"Stopping straw buyers and preventing illegal firearms trafficking is our first line of defense against gun violence," U.S. Attorney Teresa Moore said.

"At least two of the firearms recovered from the scene of the mass shooting at Union Station were illegally purchased or trafficked. We work diligently with our law enforcement partners to keep firearms out of the hands of criminals by investigating and prosecuting those who illegally buy and sell dangerous weapons."

FYI, a straw gun sale is when someone purchases a weapon for another individual.

Jenifer Lewis is using her nearly deadly fall in Africa to teach life lessons ... emphasizing the importance of getting up after suffering such a catastrophic crash.

The beloved actress joined us Wednesday on "TMZ Live" and recounted her frightening tumble in Africa, but told us she prefers to focus on the incredible steps she took to get back up on her feet again.

Lewis said she walked out onto a deck at her luxurious accommodation on the Serengeti of Tanzania -- she says it was pitch black outside, so she never saw a huge gap in the deck between her and the infinity pool. Suddenly, she plummeted down 10 feet and slammed to the ground.

Jenifer was unable to move and had to scream for her travel companion to come to her aid, and call for medical assistance ... which took a long time. She told us, while she was down there she had some scary encounters with wild animals, before a Doctors Without Borders team airlifted her to Nairobi, Kenya.

JL says she suffered through a 9-hour surgery before spending the next 6 days in the ICU ... and then she had to start a long stretch in a hospital bed.

She's got a ton of kind words for the people who took care of her when she couldn't walk or go to the bathroom by herself.

As for why she's sharing her story now ... Jenifer wanted to tell people she'd fallen once she could also tell the world how she'd gotten back up -- an inspiring message no doubt.

Jeni was on the verge of tears as she recalled her ordeal, but soldiered through the convo, displaying the kind of strength that got her back to her feet.

Boeing's video footage showing exactly who worked on the 737 Max 9 door that flew off an Alaska Airlines flight has been erased, and the NTSB believes the company's trying to hide the information.

National Transportation Safety Board chairman, Jennifer Homendy, wrote a letter Wednesday to the Senate Commerce Committee ... saying they're still in the dark about which Boeing employees were involved in the door's repair. They had requested the list of names when the preliminary report into the investigation revealed the door had no bolts during the mid-flight scare on January 5.

Homendy accused Boeing of obstructing their investigation ... telling Senators Maria Cantwell and Ted Cruz, "We still have no clue who did the work to open, reinstall, and close the door plug on the accident aircraft." She added, "Boeing has informed us that they are unable to find the records documenting this work."

During her testimony before the SCC earlier this month, Homendy clarified Boeing only provided a list of employees who report to the door crew manager, but not exactly who had worked on the door plug in question.

In her letter, Homendy says she then reached out to Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun to obtain the names, but he informed her he couldn't provide that info, maintaining Boeing had no records of the work being done.

Homendy says the absence of those names has resulted in a frustrating roadblock in the NTSB's investigation -- and she clarifies they're not seeking the names for punitive reasons, and will safeguard the identities of the employees involved.

You'll remember ... the Boeing aircraft had to make an emergency landing in Portland after one of the cabin windows blew out, causing a terrifying scene with belongings of frightened passengers being sucked out.

Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci announced at the time the company would be grounding its fleet of 65 Boeing 737-9 aircraft temporarily for a thorough inspection and maintenance as a precautionary measure. By the end of the month, they got the all-clear to resume flights.

However, former Boeing quality manager John Barnett came on "TMZ Live" to make it clear he disagreed with that decision ... because he claimed Boeing was ignoring significant safety concerns.

Barnett had even taken his fight against Boeing a step further by filing a lawsuit, alleging retaliation for his whistleblowing efforts. He sat for a deposition in the cast last week, and the very next day he was found dead ... allegedly by suicide.

12:09 PM PT -- And just like that, the court docket for Diddy's case has been wiped of any word of a settlement -- so it seems the federal court there in NY realized they'd made a mistake.

Diddy's case stemming from a lawsuit filed by a producer he worked with appears to have been settled in court -- but it's a total mistake, and this ain't over yet ... TMZ has learned.

An official court docket update came through Wednesday on the Jones v. Combs case out of NYC -- and it suggests Diddy and Rodney Jones (the guy suing him) have come to terms and reached a settlement agreement.

Per the court docket ... a settlement conference was held Wednesday, and it was apparently revealed that Diddy and Rodney not only reached a settlement, but that the two parties would submit a draft of their agreement by next week.

The docket update also says the parties appeared for the Wednesday conference by video.

However, as it turns out ... this is NOT true whatsoever. Sources with direct knowledge -- from both sides of the case -- tell TMZ this lawsuit is still very much on, and that no settlement has been reached. We're told the court staff there seems to have screwed up.

One way you know this was a clerical error is that the judge listed on the docket for this case is not the one that's been presiding thus far -- it's a completely different judge from White Plains, NY ... and more importantly, they're not the judge who's been assigned here.

Long story short, it's a false alarm, as we're told Diddy plans to fight this case -- remember, he's denied all of Rodney's claims ... which covered a wide range of salacious topics.

The only case Diddy has settled thus far is from the Cassie lawsuit last year. On this front, though, he seems ready to go to trial if he needs to ... and Rodney's not relenting either.